Manna Dey - a tribute from a nobody

Manna Dey!

Today the last of the great legends of playback singing from the 40s to the 80s passes away.  A time to mourn, a time to celebrate, a time to remember, a time to cherish, a time to forget ourselves and lose ourselves in the golden age of film music.

I believe, and rather strongly too, that Rafi, Kishore, Mukesh, and Manna Dey were the greatest male playback singers Hindi film music ever had. The era in which they sang also saw some of the best composers and lyricists who between them took time, rehearsed, planned each note and verse, and executed them with meticulous detail. Some of the greatest Hindi film music came from the late 50s to the late 70’s – two decades of unforgettable songs that have enriched us, entertained us, enlivened us, and taken us to heights never imagined.

A humble down-to-earth man, Manna Dey acknowledges in many interviews to the press that he considered Rafi a much better singer than he himself ever could be and confesses that he was always overawed by the effortless ease with which Rafi, Lata, and Asha could sing their lines, when he (felt he) had to struggle to get his lines right. But that was probably the perfectionist in Manna Dey which prompted him to say this.

His songs have a magical quality about them. If Rafi sang “Aiya aiya suku, suku” or “Aa-aa-aaja” you would think it was Shammi Kapoor singing them. If Mukesh sang, “Mera joota hai japaani” or “Awaara hoon”, you would immediately think of Raj Kapoor and may be forgiven for mistaking the song being sung by the actor. But with Manna Dey, it was Manna dey all along. Be it “Laaga chunri mein daag” (c’mon, it can’t be Shammi Kapoor on screen!), or “Tu hai mera prem devta” (was it Bharat Bhushan? I thought it would always be Rafi for Bharat Bhushan), or “Ae mere pyaare watan” (hmm, maybe Balraj Sahni could be identified with Manna Dey) it was always the singer and his melodious voice that transported you to the picture that the lyricist wanted to convey. One never tried identifying the actor mouthing the songs on the screen. It was futile. In Manna Dey’s case, it was Manna Dey off-screen and always off-screen. To see some of the sequences on screen, one may find that the song picturisation didn’t do justice to the voice, tune or raag.

Manna Dey was never an actor’s voice, he was his own voice. He gave playback music the much needed classicism for neophytes like me who couldn’t identify a raga, but who could enjoy the music for the lyrics and tune ; for the melodious voice and perfect diction.

Among my all time favourites of Manna Dey would be the following:

1. “Ae mere pyaare watan”. Haven’t I heard this song when away from home? It is bound to bring some home-sickness in us when we listen to this song. The slow pace, haunting music, fantastic lyrics, all combine to bring out the emotions welling inside us to get back to our motherland.
2. "Tum gagan ke chandrama ho, mein dhara ki dhool hoon". A fantastic song from "Sati Savitri". Lyrics by Bharat Vyas, who was one among the rare lyricists who would avoid Urdu words in his lyrics. Pure Hindi words derived from Sanskrit. One of Lata's lines runs like this... "Tum Mahaasaagar Ki Simaa, Main Kinaare Ki Lahar; Tum Mahaasangit Ke Svar, Main Adhuuri Saans Huun". I wonder if Lata would ever have acknowledged this to anyone!
3. “Laaga chunri mein daag”. A rare song for Shammi Kapoor, for whom Rafi was the voice. I think this movie was before Shammi became the superhit star. And that is how he didn’t have any control over who would sing for him. Lyrics has a subtle hint of double entendre about it; but not too obvious as in present day “choli ke peeche kya hai”  or “Sheela ki jawaani” or “beedi jalai le” types. If it were, I doubt if the composer would have got Manna Dey to sing it for him!
4. “Ae meri  zohra jabeen”. Even now when Waqt plays on TV, I tend to watch this song with rapt attention. Because for Balraj Sahni, I cannot imagine any other singer singing. If at all any actor was there for whom one could identify Manna Dey’s voice, it had to be Balraj Sahni.
5. “Tu pyaar ka saagar hai” Again on Balraj Sahni. A wonderful song.
6. “Ketki gulab juhi” with Bhimsen Joshi. He planned to run away from Mumbai when S-J called him up to tell him that he had to sing with Joshi and “win” the contest. ‘How can I win a song competition with Bhimsen Joshi?’ remarked Manna Dey to his wife and asked her to pack their bags to run away to Pune for about 10-15 days till S-J found another singer! Sulochana, Manna Dey’s wife, persuaded him that it was not anything like that…just a movie song…the sequence demanded that the hero, Bharat Bhushan, to whom Manna Dey was lending his voice, had to win the contest.
7. “Ek chatur naar”. Playful, taunting, excellent combination with Kishore da. RD set this song to tune and rehearsed for 6 hours with Mehmood, Manna Dey and Kishore Kumar to get it just right. They again recorded for 6 more hours with Kishore Kumar improvising at every turn and making the song better. That’s probably why it is among the most listened to song by the young guys even today.
8. “Sur na saje kya gaaoon mein”.  No he wouldn’t have sung any song if the “sur” didn’t combine well.
9. “Dharti kahe pukaar ke”. From “Do Bigha Zameen”. Made all the more wonderful by the innovative picturisation by the director, Bimal Roy. Though the central character is Balraj Sahni walking along fields and making his way somewhere, the words are mouthed by various characters who he sees on the way – working on the fields. So appropriate for the movie.
10. “Aao twist karen”. This song on Mehmood. I remember it from my school days. The movie, “Bhoot Bangla” always mesmerised me. Though I didn’t see the movie, I would imagine a huge house with a group of boys and girls twisting away to glory. Was it really Manna Dey who sang this song? Did he have the range for such songs? Obviously, he was not a “devotional bhajan” singer as he was once typecast. He had to struggle to get away from that by singing unconventional songs.
11. “Tu chupi hai kahaan, mein tadapta yahaan”. What a song! The music, the lyrics, the tune, the orchestration. If ever there was a perfect song, it had to be this. I remember this song too from my school days and recording it from the radio on a cassette player that my sister brought home from Hyderabad when she came for a short stay in Ranchi.
12. “Kasme vaade pyaar wafa sab”. Picturised on Pran, whom Manoj Kumar transformed from a villain to a character artiste, this song was a superhit.
13. “Kaun aaya mere man ke dwaare” Was a pure classical song and in which Manna Dey excels himself.
14. “Phool gendvaa naa maaro, na maaro” was a song picturised on a comedian, Aagha, who sang it much fervour and emotion, just as Manna Dey had recorded it. I used to thoroughly enjoy the “saap, saap, saap ri maa” just merging with the alaap!

Windfall

I received an email informing me of a windfall and that too from the UN. The email is reproduced below:
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From: Gansner, Corina <Corina.Gansner@sheraton.com>
Date: 26 September 2013 10:33
Subject: Email From United Nations
To: 

The United Nation have selected your email address to receive a grant prize, Send your full details to this email address for claims and more details about your prize (un.dept09@att.net) Make sure you reply to this email for claims


This electronic message transmission contains information from the Company that may be proprietary, confidential and/or privileged. The information is intended only for the use of the individual(s) or entity named above. If you are not the intended recipient, be aware that any disclosure, copying or distribution or use of the contents of this information is prohibited. If you have received this electronic transmission in error, please notify the sender immediately by replying to the address listed in the "From:" field

==========================================================

This mail had all the trappings of genuineness and I immediately proceeded to start claiming my fortune or grant as the mail says. But to be a fair citizen, I would like to share my happiness with the world so that all those "needy" and "poor" people (even though poverty is only a mindset) can benefit from my success and fortune.

This mail attracted my attention, not least because it purportedly came from the United Nations, and not from some bank, or Microsoft, or Google. The United Nations, for heavens sake!

So I had to inform all and sundry about my windfall and tell them to make friends with me, because we were taught in school that wherever there is money there are many friends. I hope to get many friends and from all over the world shortly with this information being passed around.

I have also come to know that such awards and windfall or fortune are now being distributed by the UN not to countries, but to individuals directly. However, I come to know from reliable sources, that for claiming this fortune, one must possess an Aadhaar card.
 
I have also reliably learnt that such a "direct benefit transfer scheme" of UN was a result of a new resolution proposed by India; and seconded by Somalia, Ethiopia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Ivory Coast. This has now been adopted uniformly for all citizens of the world.

The process of selection as a beneficiary is done by applying for the same. The application process to be declared a "beneficiary" is very complicated and involves among other things regular postings in various forums, including but not limited to Facebook, Twitter, group mails, mails to friends, letters to the editors, etc. about your dire needs.

There are regular audits for a period of 4 years from the date of acceptance of one's application and its scrutiny by the UN peacekeeping force, when auditors for UN (in the guise of relatives and friends) will visit one's house to assess the "neediness" and "aid receiving ability". 


There may be commitments and IOU's to various agencies in India and abroad (preferably in banks abroad) to "share" some of the windfall. That is a small price to pay for a generous pension!


Disclaimer: I am sure you realize that this blog is a figment of my imagination. If you have read it and believe in it, I am sure you are a worthy citizen of India, and will continue to vote for UPA.

Inverter logic

We have started having power cuts in our area and this has increased since the elections. I am not blaming the current government, since they are yet to find their feet; however, we were "blessed" since we were living in the same area as our ex-CM (Mr. Yeddyurappa) and hence had no difficulty with power or water. Maybe our days of shortage is nigh.

We have never used UPS/Inverter for our "power needs" and inspite of advise from well meaning friends and relatives, I have not yet installed one.

When my kids were young (primary and secondary school going), we used to get together during the dark period and play some games - like word building, antakshari, or country-capitals, and generally bond together. Other than Meena (wife), none of us could sing with any semblance of a proper tune, but that didn't deter us from trying our hand in antakshari. We developed and modified our own rules (we would include Hindi or tamil film songs, english songs, and school poems and songs too!). The three kids developed their capacity to remember all the capital cities of all countries and all states of India and US during this period, I believe!

Nowadays, when they can, my kids don't sit and talk with us. It is during these "dark periods" that we come together to share something.

Last night we had an outage for a couple of hours and listened to old Hindi and Tamil songs for some time. But the camaraderie that we shared long ago, when I could influence the thinking of my kids, is no longer there. Is it time to invest in an inverter now?

River inter-linking

The proposal to interlink Indian rivers has been going on and on and successive governments have only paid lip-service to this proposal. If the plan were implemented (albeit at some cost - some figures suggest Rs. 140 billion, or Rs. 14000 crores) it would benefit Indians in many ways. The amount in perspective (keeping in mind various scams over the last 2 years) seems minuscule indeed!

Interlinking of rivers would enable water transport - probably the cheapest mass transport system possible and of course flood relief through excess water diversion in times of plenty and equitable distribution in times of shortage. The politics of water-sharing will not be inter-state as is now, but will be pan-India and a major headache for the party and the PM in power, obviously. Maybe that is the single most important reason for the proposal not seeing the light of the day. The politics apart, what may be worrying for most people is how to garner so many resources needed for the interlinking. The major resource, of course, is manpower and equipment needed for canals and sluice gates.

As an aside, I am reminded of a very powerful movie  Do Aankhen Barah Haath made by V. Shantaram in 1957 which was a socially relevant movie (it is relevant in all ages) and spoke about a police officer willing to stake his career for jail reform by taking hard core criminal-prisoners to a distant place and making them farm land and be responsible citizens. It was a fantastic film and the performance of the actor-director Shantaram immaculate.

The connection between interlinking of rivers and the movie should be obvious now. Pardon, appropriate punishment for rape, death penalty or not, and such like being top of the mind concerns of many citizens and politicians alike, wouldn't it be great if all such convicts of various crimes (from Sanjay Dutt to Ram Singh to Hafeez Sayeed) were to come together and dig canals in Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Odisha, and Tamil Nadu? Efficient monitoring and fencing them off may be attempted to ensure that these guys do not leave the place. Even villagers which are likely to benefit by the canals can set up watch-and-ward so that these guys complete 8 hours of hard labour each day of their "incarceration".

What do you think? Workable?

Lakshman Rekha - in our daily life

Lakshman Rekha as a phrase comes from the Ramayana. Lakshman, in his quest to look for Rama who had gone chasing a "golden deer", draws the line in front of their ashram in Panchavati in the Dandakaranya forest and asks Sita not to cross that line under any circumstances. Being inside the line would ensure her safety, says Lakshman. However, that was not to be. Major events are sometimes linked to small and seemingly inconsequential actions. Ravana, who had anyway come in the guise who had asked Mareecha, his demon subject, to take the form of the "golden deer" to entice Sita, comes now as a sage asking for alms. Tradition has it that alms must not be given from the threshold of the house. The lady giving alms must cross the threshold to hand over alms. So, Sita had to cross the Lakshman Rekha. Once she crossed the line, Ravana revealed his true form and abducted Sita to Lanka.

In modern times the phrase "Lakshman Rekha" refers to any situation or convention never to be broken. I find this has another application in our daily lives. We interact with people in our professional and personal lives. We create a sort of line between us in our dealings with one another and try never to cross it. Once the line is breached, we have a situation of causing hurt to the other person. Take the case of children. When they are young, we tell them what they should or should not do. We expect them to listen to this "sane" advise since we feel we have more knowledge and experience in the matter. Most often our children listen to us. The "line" is drawn. The kids respect us for what we know and "obey" us (at least most kids do when told properly). However, as the kids grow up and attain adolescence and later on grow to be adults, we tend to keep the Lakshman Rekha in its original place. As parents we continue to treat our children the same way - maybe make some minor modifications, but generally continue to give "advice" which is misconstrued as "control". That causes rebellion. The Lakshman Rekha is not at the right place. We need to recognise this and periodically redraw this line.

Edited: 11-April-2013 (Mareecha as the "golden deer")

Teaching through stories

I came across this very interesting article in The Hindu about a teacher's experience of teaching mathematics  his students through stories.Read here.

I am reminded of my own experience of teaching mathematics - simple sums to my children when they were in primary school. The most vivid memory concerns a problem related to train - since they were fascinated by trains and train journeys. Most often these problems would be offered when we were travelling on a long journey (which can often result in boredom, if not for some interesting games and quizzes and problem solving) or when waiting for my wife to finish her shopping or waiting for her to finish with her work and come out of the bank.

The problem would often consist of two trains one starting from Bangalore and going towards Chennai, and the other starting from Chennai and going towards Bangalore. To make it simple, I would tell them that both trains have the same speed - average speed being 80 kmph (unrealistic, I know...but what's the harm in telling them that Indians trains travel fast!). I would ask them to assume the distance between the two cities to be 400 kms (again helping them by rounding off). Then my question would be "where would the two trains cross over?". I would listen with interest at the discussion that would ensue and the verbal jousting that would accompany - each kid trying to assert that his method was correct and would get to the right answer in the best way. After much noise and no result, I would intervene and give them some hints. I would be a proud parent when I saw them come to the solution quickly. Then to make the problem a bit more difficult, I would change the speeds of one of the trains or say that one train had some problem and had halted at Arakkonam for 30 minutes extra. So now find where the two trains crossed over. The solution was secondary, more importantly, I would be interested in how they approached the problem.

By linking problem solving skills with some "story" or incident or a product in which they were interested, I would be able to kindle their interest towards problem solving.

I do practice these same methods in my training program too!

Chance encounters and lasting impressions

Dave Kerpen while on a flight from New York to Boston met a Senator who gave him some amazing lessons in life. He didn't know the Senator, but brought up enough courage to strike a conversation with him, learned that he is a Senator who didn't put on any airs, but shared some of his wonderful insights. Read more here.

My experiences have been more modest. I have not met any person who is famous. But they have nevertheless been very interesting and the memories have been long lasting too.

Once when as a family  we (5 of us) were travelling to Hyderabad from Bangalore, we had another person occupying the only other berth in the same enclosure (in an AC 3 tier coach). As can be expected, we were talking among ourselves for a couple of hours after which we had our dinner and he had his. While putting the berth for sleeping, one of my sons accidentally hurt his fingers. Immediately, the other gentleman showed his concern and asked if he could prescribe and give some medicines. We came to know that he was an amateur homeopath who carried some medicines with him. He gave my son some medicines. We woke up to realize that our train was late by about 3-4 hours. We had time in the morning to share some of our experiences and he recounted his and how he came to practise homeopathy. He also gave us a list of medicines to use in case of minor ailments like cold, cough, mild fever, stomach upset, etc. We have preserved that "prescription" even now and my sons use that for stocking up on their medicines and for a long time they have always relied on those medicines for taking care of themselves.

On another occasion again while travelling from Hyderabad to Bangalore this time by Sleeper class, I found the enclosure vacant when I boarded the train at Secunderabad (those days the train used to start from Secunderabad). At Kacheguda station, however, a noisy and energetic group of school girls boarded the train. They were school students, obviously. They were travelling in a group, and this time I was the lone passenger who was the odd man out in the enclosure. Watching them however, gave me a jolt. They were deaf-mute (pardon me if I am politically incorrect; but I don't mean anything derogatory by using this term). I saw that in the enclosure for 5 other people, there were now about 10 girls in an animated conversation among themselves. One girl jabbed my arm and drew my attention to her and then started a conversation with me, asking my name, my family details, what I did for a living, where I was headed, and such other things. Then they decided to teach me their language - sign language. The next hour was devoted to teaching me the alphabets and periodic questions of my recall. I didn't do too well, much to their amusement.  I was enjoying their company and when their teacher came to inquire if the girls were a "problem" for me, I simply shook my head and told her I was really enjoying this attention from 10 girls. They mentioned about themselves, their family, why they had gone to Hyderabad and such other things. Once they asked me a question, for which I looked out of the window trying to compose my response, for which I again got a jab in my arm. I looked at the girl by my side and raised my eyebrows. She gestured to ask why I looked out of the window. I said I was thinking. She insisted that I should maintain eye contact since they were lip readers and needed the other person to look at them while speaking. Not making eye contact  was a sign of disrespect. Such a humbling experience for a consultant and a trainer who has been in that profession for more than 25 years, I thought!

In another recent incident, while on a trip to Bhutan, on the night previous to the day of my departure for India, I went to the market and on my return trip engaged a taxi. The driver kept up an animated conversation with me and told me about him and asked me about myself. He also said I could engage his taxi whenever I wanted to do some sight-seeing. I found this guy to be a bit irritating and when I reached my hotel, I alighted. He asked me if I was staying there. I suspected his intentions and replied that I had come there to meet someone, but was staying somewhere else. He handed me his business card and I kept it in my wallet. Next day, I came down to the reception desk and tried to find out if my taxi to take me to the airport had reported. It had not. It was December, severe winter (outside temperature near freezing), and early morning 4 o'clock. I didn't know what to do. I called up the coordinator, who was probably sleeping soundly and not answering her phone. I asked the desk if the guy knew of any alternative. He said he could call his friend. I asked him to do so. Time was running out. The receptionist called up his friend, who told him that he was away and couldn't come to the hotel. Now my options were almost non-existent. It was almost 4.45. I had planned to leave for the airport at 4. I was behind schedule and worried about missing the flight. Then I remembered the business card. I took it out and asked the receptionist to call the number. The driver answered the phone, and promised to come in 10 minutes since he was staying close by anyway. True to his word, he came in 10 minutes. We discussed the fare and I left at 5. It was my turn  now to engage him in a conversation for the one hour journey to the airport. We reached the airport with enough time to spare and I made a friend that day!

I was not so "conversational" before, but now my outlook has changed and I try to engage my co-passengers in small talk whenever I travel. Who knows I may one day chance to make friend of someone who may become the next PM or President!

Nostalgia

What can be more nostalgic than going to one's school after a gap of nearly 40 years? That is the experience I had recently.

I was invited to my friend's son's wedding in Ranchi in the same township that I grew up in - Shyamali colony. My friend works in Mecon and lives in the same township in which he grew up in and works for the same organisation that his father worked!

Five of our classmates with whom I am in touch decided to make the journey back in time - so to speak. I booked my tickets about three months in advance ensuring that I got reservations via Calcutta. The entire journey was by train and I enjoyed looking at all the stations that I had peered long ago. The only difference was that I travelled by AC coach, whereas long ago I travelled by III class sleeper or First class (if we were travelling on LTC).

Anyway, we visited our school, and were surprised that it has become huge and is decently maintained with a nice patch of rose garden.

I met the Principal and we sat and were discussing the various memories that we had; our teachers and the other students. One of my classmates who had also come was a school topper and we did mention that he was one and that his name was on the merit list board in the school.

The teachers and the Principal were quite happy to receive us in the school when suddenly the Principal took out a Guest Book and asked us to see the book. While we were flipping through the pages, I saw my father's name in the book. He had come with me on 01-Oct-1969 when I had been admitted to the school in VII standard. (His name was A.S.Dandapani and that entry can be seen in the photo alongside).

Lost and found

Delhi Police have been facing flak since December 2012 - from within the civil society as well as from the political class. The latest, of course, is a public castigation of the Police from the Chief Minister of Delhi, Sheila Dikshit (you can read her statement here). There are not many sympathizers for the Police, at least not among the public since police force all over India have earned notoriety in not caring really for the public, but serving only the elected representatives.

This blog post, however, is related to something surprising - a shocking experience, that turned well after all, thanks to the Delhi Police.

I had travelled to Delhi by the evening flight from Bangalore and reached Delhi about a couple of hours later than the scheduled time, thanks to inclement weather in the month of January a couple of years ago. After having collected my checked in baggage (which took another half hour), I spent a further 20-30 minutes in the pre-paid taxi queue inside the airport manned by the Delhi Police.

I got into a Maruti 800 taxi at the airport and the taxi took me to a hotel where I had my reservations. Due to the delay and traffic, I reached the hotel (close to Nehru Place) almost at 11 pm. I had to take out my wallet to check the address of the hotel. In the confusion to get my bags out, and get into the hotel at the earliest due to the biting cold, I seem to have dropped my wallet inside the taxi. By the time I realized I had lost my wallet, the taxi had already left. I didn't know what to do. My credit card, debit cards, driving license, and cash (about Rs. 4,000) were in the wallet and I didn't have any identity proof elsewhere. I was sure that the driver didn't really know that I had dropped my wallet in the taxi. Anyway, the hotel staff didn't insist on any identity proof and said I could produce it after I got back my wallet. I didn't know what to do. I asked the staff for help, but saw that they too didn't have a clue. Nevertheless, I did have the pre-paid receipt for the taxi in my hand and on the reverse of the ticket there were telephone numbers for any complaints or help. I first tried those numbers, but was told to complain to the Airport Police and was given their numbers. I didn't get them on line. After a few failed attempts, I again dialled the helpline and explained my position to the person on the other end. He was not only sympathetic, but also mentioned that he had already contacted the Airport police station and informed them. Fortunately, I had memorized the taxi number which would prove easy for the Airport police, I was told. I checked up with my contact in Delhi and was advised to lodge a complaint in the nearest police station and get an FIR if I needed to get my duplicate documents. I did that and by the time I came back and settled down, it was 1 am.

Around 2.30 am there was a  call in my room and a chap at the other end asked for me by name and introduced himself from the Airport police to inform me that they had located my wallet and it was with them and could I please collect my wallet immediately! Imagine my surprise. But how to reach the airport at the dead of night in a cold winter morning in Delhi? I asked the receptionist of the hotel, and he arranged a taxi in about half an hour. I reached the airport and woke up the police guy, who took a letter from me and handed over the wallet after checking my driving license. But my real surprise was to follow.

When I wanted to tip him with Rs. 500, he refused and with folded hands said, "Sir, this is like a temple for me. I will not take a single rupee from you. I am glad that I could help you and you got your wallet and your cash and other valuables intact." I was dumbfounded.

I returned to my hotel in the same taxi, a much relieved and happy man silently thanking the Delhi Police.

Allure

A recent news item caught my attention. It says that India is the largest importer of gold - mostly used for jewellery. The most amazing news item was that after crude oil, gold is the largest material imported by Indians. Wow! That is something. Gold imported in 2012 by India is a staggering 25% of the total gold mined in the world, and the value of the import - (hold your breath) - $60 billion in fiscal 2012, just 50% higher than the $40 billion in fiscal 2011. I do not know the import duty on gold, but it is not high - at least not high enough to restrict consumption. The fear that if the government raises the import duty, there will be large scale smuggling is the major worry - given the laxity of officials in various areas of government!

Be that as it may, I have often wondered what makes buying gold so attractive. Is it the lustre, is it its lasting value, is it the very fact that it is almost indestructible, is it because it can be used to pledge and collect almost the entire value as loan? What is its allure? Maybe a combination of all of the above. Does wearing gold increase one's beauty? I believe in the opposite.

It is said that gold is one metal that cannot be "lost". We can always get back the gold through physical or chemical means. India has also been one of the first countries in the world to realize its value and use it for jewellery making since 2500 BC or thereabouts. A very long history.

But is it really required for a regular middle class person to invest in gold for his/her daughter's marriage? To borrow money and buy jewellery and give to the daughter for her to take away? What is the reason why we are so attracted to gold? Many rituals place a requirement for the person (groom or bride) to wear jewellery made of gold. That was when it was affordable. Is it affordable now? Then why do we insist on following the same ritual even when we know that we have to borrow, sometimes beyond our means, to artificially beautify ourselves? I don't understand the logic.

I stopped wearing jewellery a few decades ago. I didn't take any jewellery during my marriage - much to the chagrin of my in-laws inviting possibly some comments like "probably there is something wrong with this fellow that he doesn't even want a ring". My parents too tried to force me to agree at least to one ring or one chain. I refused. No regrets.

What if everyone stops getting attracted to gold? What if the metal stops being such an alluring possession? Imagine the grief of the miners, the jewellers, the goldsmiths, and the entire industry dependent on the allure of the masses. They will come to grief.

How I wish I had a magic wand to make this love for gold vanish!

My sporting life

Its been some time since my last blog. Many unsavoury things happened in December 2012 and the most unsavoury was of course the gang-rape and "murder" of a 23 year old in Delhi, Nirbhaya (not her real name). I thought out of respect to her, I should refrain for some time from posting anything that is not serious. And blogs are not for serious posts! At least not mine.

I have been watching some cricket of late and India's decline specifically. After losing the Test series to England at home, we managed to draw the T20I series (1-1) and lost the ODI series to Pakistan (2-1). Yesterday we lost the first ODI to England. So amidst all this gloom and my relative's exhortation that those who watch cricket are only wasting their "precious" time, I reflected on what did I achieve in my school and college days. Nothing, really. No competitive sport.

I grew up in  a township in Ranchi and we had less people there when I was in school. The township roads used to be pretty empty - thus my friends and I would draw the boundary lines on the road (tarred road) and play hand tennis. We had "fault". No "let" call since there were no nets. We also played "doubles" to ensure that there were no spectators - all players! I don't recall anyone reprimanding us from playing on the road. Life was simple. After sometime I graduated to play cricket on a ground not yet developed for township purposes. It was pretty flat, adjoining a railway track connecting Hatia to Ranchi junction. Amidst the chugging of an occasional goods train, we would bowl and bat there. I may not have lasted a few balls with the bat, but I was considered an amazing fielder and, not unlike some current Indian players, would be included in any side solely based on my fielding.

There was a "friendly" match being played between two schools and I was drafted into the side simply because there were not enough players who had come to the ground! I lasted a couple of balls and was probably bowled moving towards the leg side when facing a pace bowler. I remember our captain, RS (called "nai" for a reason I don't recall) had a few unsavoury things to say to me for lasting just a few deliveries and not troubling the scorers. I decided to retire from all forms of cricket after that episode. However, my retirement was not to be. During the "games" period in my school, I happened to hold the bat and Nai was bowling! He was smiling to himself thinking he would get another wicket in the same over. Ha ha! Not so fast mate. Not only did I NOT move towards the leg-side at the time of his bowling, but I smote him for a few boundaries and by the time the bell rang for the period to be over, I was still playing with a creditable half-century. My only one! He didn't have the guts to say anything to me after that. But unlike Afridi, my retirement was final. I concentrated on table tennis later. Couldn't get hurt, see!