I am not from Kolkata, neither do I love Kolkata. But after reading what Ms Bachi Karkaria has written about Kolkata in TOI Crest dated Apr 9, 2011 Bangalore edition, I thought I should write up. TOI Crest attempted to explore the characteristic of some of the cities of India. While most writers seemed to be unhappy to write about his/her allotted city and were more prone to discuss the vices than virtues of the cities, Ms Karkaria went one step ahead and she was almost spitting her hatred for Kolkata. I don't know why she is so upset with the city or the city people that she came up with such a notorious article.
The reason for my writing this blog post is not to bring forward the virtues of the city but to point out the false allegations made on Kolkata. I am not here to make any political statement also. I will simply prove why I think these allegations to be false and will also write which other city of the country actually deserves that 'allegation'. Please read on.
Ms Karkaria has expressed her annoyance to the fact that Victoria Memorial in Kolkata is still called Victoria Memorial while Victoria Terminus (VT) is called Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) in Mumbai. I want to state a simple fact here. Victoria Memorial is a building that houses a museum with portraits and memorabilia relating to the then queen Victoria. While VT was a rail terminus, which could be easily changed to any name (CST in this case), how can you actually change the house and museum of queen Victoria to somebody else's name like Chhatrapati Shivaji Memorial or Gandhi Memorial or Netaji Subhash Memorial? I really don't understand her point here. And also FYI, Kolkata hosts the biggest museum in the country.
Also, Ms Karkaria has mentioned that Kolkata is the last Indian city with an intact statue of queen Victoria. By writing this sentence if Ms Karkaria is hinting at Kolkata people's keenness towards British or pointing her finger at the city people's patriotism, then she's grossly at the wrong foot. No matter how many hatred articles like this she writes about Kolkata, she can't change the history of Indian freedom fight movement. At that time when people from Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad were busy becoming engineers and writing exams for the ticket to London, it was people of Kolkata who were protesting, marching, fasting and dying for India. So before making such a lose statement, she better checks what she is writing.
I am surprised at one sentence of the article - 'stitching seamlessly onto the English cultural fabric'! Post independence, only Kolkata was the city that had the courage to throw not only English people but English culture from their lives, for which they are now paying hard in this double-standard nation, which is obsesses with the idea that better a person speaks in English, more he is respected in the society. It is the very non-fondness of English culture that has left Kolkata youth in the back seat in the career track as Kolkata people can't speak English fluently. Whereas go to any other city in South India or North India, you will see people prefer to speak in English than their own mother tongue proving their undeterred loyalty to the English culture. Boys and girls and their parents in South India seem to have only one motto in their lives ever since they are born is - Go to America. In the same article when Ms Karkaria makes fun of a Kolkata people's English pronunciation, at the same time she blames them for being the blind followers of English culture. A paradox in the confused writer's own thought process. And also, I used to think that making fun of a Bengalee's Hindi and English pronunciation was a good subject for the cheesy script writers of Hindi soap operas and second grade Hindi films. It's quite a shock to see an editor of the most famous English news paper of the country taking such a cheap action to make her article famous. It is true that people in Kolkata can't speak great English or Hindi, but you being a non-Bengalee go to any Kolkata street and ask anyone to guide you for an address and see how that person tries hard to tell you the address in his/her broken Hindi. Try the same in Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai. Do I need to say more?
The mention of Bengalees attending Kolkata club in tweeds and formals is also beyond my understanding. Has Ms Karkaria never attended any club in India in any other city? Is she new in the country? Is she not aware that Bangalore club and Madras club don't even ALLOW people inside the club in dhotis and pyjamas? Before writing an article in a national newspaper, I think Ms Karkaria should have done some study.
Ms Karkaria needs to take a trip to Indian cities, specially to North India and South India to know what it means to be a city to be obsessed in itself. I have lived in quite a number of cities in India. Except for Kolkata and Mumbai, I have not found people in any city who has a fair idea about the country they are staying in. My personal experience has taught me that Delhi, Bangalore and Chennai are the three most self-obsessed cities in the country. Any normal people in these cities don't even know that the country they are living in has a states called Assam or Arunachal Pradesh. While people in Chennai and Bangalore don't know where cities like Chandigarh, Shimla or Darjeeling fall in the country and consider any people staying outside Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu or Kerala to be North-Indians, people in Delhi has no idea about anything beyond NCR and consider people staying anywhere in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu or Kerala to be Madrasis. Ask even an auto rickshaw driver in Kolkata about India; you will find that even you know less than him.
Had the city been self obsessed, they wouldn't be as welcoming to outsiders as they are. A country where racism is increasing day by day, Kolkata could be a model city for others to learn from. Everybody knows how non-marathis are not welcome in Mumbai, but what about Bangalore and Chennai? Recently, the second biggest bus depot in Bangalore removed the sign-boards in each platform where the destinations were written in two languages - English and Kannada (forget about Hindi. They don't even care about the court orders) and replaced them with new sign-boards where destinations were written only in Kannada. Should I speak about the unwelcoming characteristic of Chennai in the way they treat non-Tamilians? It's an irony that a city where from all bus numbers to all directions are written also in English for the convenience of Non-Bengalee people is labeled as 'self-obsessed city'. Ms Karkaria, get your facts correct.
Also, I want to know how much research Ms Karakria has done to dig out a minuscule population of 'panditya'caste and their story. From my personal observation I have seen that the cross-caste, cross-culture and cross-religion marriage is the highest among Bengalees. Kolkata is perhaps the only city in the country where arranged marriages happen among different castes. Whenever any such cross cultural marriage happens in India, this is almost certain that one of the two tying the knot is a Bengalee. I have seen almost all combinations of marriages with Bengalees like Bengalee-Punjabi, Bengalee-Hariyanvi, Bengalee-Uttaranchali, Bengalee-Assamese, Bengalee-Kannada, Bengalee-Tamil brahmin, Bengalee-Tamil non-brahmin, Bengalee-Malyalee Hindu, Bengalee-Malayalee Christian, Bengalee-Gujarati, Bengalee-Sindhi, Bengalee Hindu-Hyderabadi Muslim and Bengali-Marathi. But I have not seen people from any other culture mingling with other cultures to this lasrge extent. I am sure Ms Karkaria has also come across many such couples because media is full of Bengalees but she still writes something nonsense like this.
Ms Karkaria is also upset that youth in Kolkata is not aware of 'Jasmine Revolution'. I want to ask her which city boy/girl in India is aware of this revolution? I really want to know.
When compared with other city, Kolkata is not a girl-child killer city like Delhi, it's not a wannabe like Bangalore or Hyderabad, it's not stinking orthodox like Chennai or it's not a money hunter like Ahmedabad. Every city has some virtues and vices. Kolkata also has its share of flaws. If you want to dig out vices, you may have many. Simply because Kolkata is not politically correct city and is not as rich as other cities of India, it doesn't give anyone a right to write 'anything nonsense' about the city. The proficiency Ms Karkaria has shown to 'create' allegations for Kolkata out of thin air, I think she can even turn a Mahatma Gandhi to a monster. I challenge her to write an article in the same tone for Chandigarh or Chennai. I challenge her. Does she have the guts to do that?
Link to the article that is written by Bachi Karkaria in TOI Crest dated Apr 9, 2011: http://www.timescrest.com/coverstory/kolkata-bong-appetit-5133
Sunday, April 17, 2011
IPL
Where cricket is sold in the hands of entertainment.
Where players don't play for country honour but for money.
Where 'owners' not 'coaches' set standards for players to follow. ("I want 4 wickets" , 'Ok, ma'm")
Where players look more like servants to their owners than players.
Where players don't play for country honour but for money.
Where 'owners' not 'coaches' set standards for players to follow. ("I want 4 wickets" , 'Ok, ma'm")
Where players look more like servants to their owners than players.
It's Woman's world too
India is a country, which is obsessed with the word 'cricket'. We have a great team of eleven players who are not only number one in Test Cricket but also number one One-Day Cricket after snatching away the world cup two weeks back. It's quite obvious that I am talking about the men's cricket team, right? Who bother about the women's cricket team anyway?
But we have a women's cricket team also. This team may not be as glorious as the current men's team but it is somewhat more like the India men's cricket team of 10 years before. But who cares. No one really bothers about what Indian women's cricket team is doing. Neither their matches nor their achievements are covered by media; forget about them endorsing products. No one appreciates the fact that some girls are practicing hard and playing hard for the same country.
In a nation when we have such good women's cricket team, can anyone remember a good lady cricket commentator? Why is there women like Mandira Bedi, Rashmi Chopra or Mayanti Langer hosting the cricket shows? They dress in 'lucky' dresses on the matches when India is playing and talk about which cricketer looking handsome and romantic on the field. I remember during 2003 world cup Mandira Bedi used co-host the show and on the India matches she used to come dressed as a bride. Can't the organizer have the captain of Indian women's Cricket team to co-host the show? No. No one would that. The simple reason for that no one wants to see girls in that position. Girls should do only one thing - show off their skin and add on to the glamour of the show. Since there would be no lady cricketer coming on the show wearing a spaghetti strap blouse and talk absolute nonsense on the show, so get those blunt beauties.
On the top of that, you will see boys, the same boys who prefer to see a spaghetti-strapped-blouse-clad lady as the anchor than a real cricket player commenting on how girls have no understanding on cricket and how they should mind their chores at home than blabbering about cricket.
On one side when no girl of merit is allowed to show her merit because girls are just used as glam-substance, the boys are also blaming them for not having any merit! What a double standard.
But we have a women's cricket team also. This team may not be as glorious as the current men's team but it is somewhat more like the India men's cricket team of 10 years before. But who cares. No one really bothers about what Indian women's cricket team is doing. Neither their matches nor their achievements are covered by media; forget about them endorsing products. No one appreciates the fact that some girls are practicing hard and playing hard for the same country.
In a nation when we have such good women's cricket team, can anyone remember a good lady cricket commentator? Why is there women like Mandira Bedi, Rashmi Chopra or Mayanti Langer hosting the cricket shows? They dress in 'lucky' dresses on the matches when India is playing and talk about which cricketer looking handsome and romantic on the field. I remember during 2003 world cup Mandira Bedi used co-host the show and on the India matches she used to come dressed as a bride. Can't the organizer have the captain of Indian women's Cricket team to co-host the show? No. No one would that. The simple reason for that no one wants to see girls in that position. Girls should do only one thing - show off their skin and add on to the glamour of the show. Since there would be no lady cricketer coming on the show wearing a spaghetti strap blouse and talk absolute nonsense on the show, so get those blunt beauties.
On the top of that, you will see boys, the same boys who prefer to see a spaghetti-strapped-blouse-clad lady as the anchor than a real cricket player commenting on how girls have no understanding on cricket and how they should mind their chores at home than blabbering about cricket.
On one side when no girl of merit is allowed to show her merit because girls are just used as glam-substance, the boys are also blaming them for not having any merit! What a double standard.
Abraham Lincoln said it right
Abraham Lincoln had said sometime: "If you want to test a man's character, give him power".
I don't spend even a single day when I don't remember this quote. I have come across so many people who behave differently with different people. A wretched person may be very humble and polite in front of you. You may find that person to be very nice. But wait and see how that person behaves with the people who are even more wretched than him. If he behaves nicely with them, then you can conclude that that person is really a good person.
Imagine a person working hard under his manager's pressure becomes a manager one day. Now you can see the true character he possesses. If you see him treating his team members badly, don't think that he has changed; he is just showing off his true character which was suppressed till date. The housewives, who have little chance to show off their power anywhere else (except to their husbands, in some cases though) generally command their maid servants. I know many ladies who when meet their neighbors and relatives spend a considerable amount of time discussing how they control their maid servants while the gentlemen discuss their managers in details. And what about those women who never got any chance to command a maid also? They would pray for the day when their sons will grow up and will bring a daughter-in-law home. That's the time when she'll show her true character. If then the lady behaves reasonably, you can say that the lady had been always a good person. But if the lady makes her daughter-in-law suffer every moment, then it's just another case when a devil has come to its true character.
I don't spend even a single day when I don't remember this quote. I have come across so many people who behave differently with different people. A wretched person may be very humble and polite in front of you. You may find that person to be very nice. But wait and see how that person behaves with the people who are even more wretched than him. If he behaves nicely with them, then you can conclude that that person is really a good person.
Imagine a person working hard under his manager's pressure becomes a manager one day. Now you can see the true character he possesses. If you see him treating his team members badly, don't think that he has changed; he is just showing off his true character which was suppressed till date. The housewives, who have little chance to show off their power anywhere else (except to their husbands, in some cases though) generally command their maid servants. I know many ladies who when meet their neighbors and relatives spend a considerable amount of time discussing how they control their maid servants while the gentlemen discuss their managers in details. And what about those women who never got any chance to command a maid also? They would pray for the day when their sons will grow up and will bring a daughter-in-law home. That's the time when she'll show her true character. If then the lady behaves reasonably, you can say that the lady had been always a good person. But if the lady makes her daughter-in-law suffer every moment, then it's just another case when a devil has come to its true character.
Jhumpa Lahiri's Unaccustomed Earth
She is a magician when it comes to narrate human emotions. The eloquence she has to describe even the minutest feeling and expression in human relationships is something that stays on even months after you finish the stories just like a favorite fragrance. I had explored her capability of touching hearts in her last book 'The Interpreter of Maladies', but I found 'Unaccustomed Earth' even more refined than the previous one. Interpreter of Maladies had stories involving people from varied social strata but the stories of Unaccustomed Earth revolved more or less around the similar cluster of people - the Bengalees settled in America.
But the masterpiece from the magician was three interrelated stories on Hema and Kaushik. These three stories are by far the best work I have read from Jhumpa Lahiri. The deep melancholy I fell into after completing the three stories of Hema and Kaushik that I seriously needed a saline of laughter to come out of it. The story 'Once in a lifetime' seemed to be the prequel of the story 'The interpreter of Maladies'. But it was not. By these three stories she not only established her writing skill but also introduced a new concept of writing - three independent but interrelated stories.
But the masterpiece from the magician was three interrelated stories on Hema and Kaushik. These three stories are by far the best work I have read from Jhumpa Lahiri. The deep melancholy I fell into after completing the three stories of Hema and Kaushik that I seriously needed a saline of laughter to come out of it. The story 'Once in a lifetime' seemed to be the prequel of the story 'The interpreter of Maladies'. But it was not. By these three stories she not only established her writing skill but also introduced a new concept of writing - three independent but interrelated stories.
Shobha Dey
Do the words of a woman even count who goes through Botox surgery to enhance her vital statistics before posing to show off her painted cleavage for her book's cover page to cut sale?
Saturday, April 9, 2011
The Radhachura tree
I remember reading somewher that there are more than a thousand types of gulmohor flower available. I may get the number wrong though. Among all these types of gulmohor the one that still has been fascinating me since the age of two years is the thick yellow flowers with coffe coloured stems and seeds, which we call Radhachura.
I remember we were in Hailakandi then. We used to stay in the house, the last property that my grandfather had built just after they moved there from Hobiganj after India got its independence at the cost of partition, which not only cost my grandfather two houses and some acres of fertile land but also his life.
There were two gulmohor trees at the two sides of the huge gate guarding the house with two lawns and two ponds. One of them was a Krishnachura tree which used to beautify itself with big red flowers. That's the most common pattern of gulmohor avialbale I think. The other was the Radhachura tree. The nature must be the greatest fashion designer. It releases such great colour combinations that it becomes the biggest trend later. The combination of thick yellow and coffee colour is one such example.
Ours was a joined family. As our mother and aunts used to be busy in kitchen all day, me and my sister used to play all day under those trees. There used to be a mild fragrance in the air. It was so mild and faint that I never acknowledged it until last week when I went to the SBI branch near my house in Bangalore and a familiar fragrance automatically drew my face upward. It was the same Radhachura tree, I was standing under whose shaded area. It was as familiar as of a loving relative and such was its fragrance. For a second I forgot that I was thousands miles away from a house that exists no more and that more than two decades have passed since that playful time. But Radhachura is still there never ceasing to adorn itself with beautiful flowers and mild fragrance.
I remember we were in Hailakandi then. We used to stay in the house, the last property that my grandfather had built just after they moved there from Hobiganj after India got its independence at the cost of partition, which not only cost my grandfather two houses and some acres of fertile land but also his life.
There were two gulmohor trees at the two sides of the huge gate guarding the house with two lawns and two ponds. One of them was a Krishnachura tree which used to beautify itself with big red flowers. That's the most common pattern of gulmohor avialbale I think. The other was the Radhachura tree. The nature must be the greatest fashion designer. It releases such great colour combinations that it becomes the biggest trend later. The combination of thick yellow and coffee colour is one such example.
Ours was a joined family. As our mother and aunts used to be busy in kitchen all day, me and my sister used to play all day under those trees. There used to be a mild fragrance in the air. It was so mild and faint that I never acknowledged it until last week when I went to the SBI branch near my house in Bangalore and a familiar fragrance automatically drew my face upward. It was the same Radhachura tree, I was standing under whose shaded area. It was as familiar as of a loving relative and such was its fragrance. For a second I forgot that I was thousands miles away from a house that exists no more and that more than two decades have passed since that playful time. But Radhachura is still there never ceasing to adorn itself with beautiful flowers and mild fragrance.
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