Is Honesty the Best Policy?

Remember how often we were told in younger days, ‘honesty is the best policy’. When we grew up things appeared to change much to our chagrin and reality was quite different. Every one appeared to be in a rush to make a quick buck and get rich overnight. Sometimes it makes us wonder that despite the rich cultural heritage we inherited, what happened to the value system.

Not a single day passes when we do not read a story of the scams, robbery, heist, crimes of passion and many more evils that make our stomach churn in the morning in case we happen to read the news or follow the same on the TV channels. Those who are supposed to be the leaders unfortunately are leading by the wrong examples for the lesser privileged to emulate. The cycle becomes vicious and the bigger the crime, the lesser is the possibility of proving it in the courts of justice.

Why is it that we cannot get our normal jobs done without greasing the palms of those who are supposed to be doing this as a routine work? I remember last year when I was in Hong Kong, I had gone to return my Metro rail pass as I was to come back to India the next day. About forty HKD and some small change were due to be refunded. I collected the forty dollars and left the window soon to see the girl from the counter waving at me. Ongoing back she smiled and handed me over the change which was a pleasant surprise as I was used to foregoing change at almost every place I visit and no one bothers to return the same in most places in India. In USA, even most of the stores refund the last cent after making the payment. Yet another instance, of the basic honesty was an experience in Switzerland.  I left my mobile phone by mistake in the train while leaving the Geneva railway station and soon realized my folly. I enquired at the railway station and was informed that I could go to Geneva airport where the train was to terminate. After 20 minutes I arrived there and was advised to meet the clerk at ‘The Lost Luggage ‘counter. After asking me a few questions the mobile was handed over to me and the delight was written all over. In Bangkok, I left my purse in the hotel room and even after a few hours the purse lay intact even though the room was cleaned.  

We do not have to see the Sensex soaring  to see the prosperity rising when the benefits of this are pocketed only by a few. The hard earned savings of many are wiped off in no time by a dishonest few. There is no domain which is untouched by the insatiable greed. There was a time when watching the sports and indulging in them was so much fun. Now, it is difficult to know whether the game that is being played has been fixed for monetary rewards for few and thus leaving the spectators at the mercy of the fixers.

We are born in the land of Lord Ram, Krishna, Gandhi, and many more that made supreme sacrifices.  Maharishi Dadhichi gave his body so that weapons could be made from them for the devas(gods) to win the war against asuras(demons). To this day, the highest gallantry award for the supreme sacrifice in a war, the Param Vir Chakra, uses Vajra the symbol of bones of Mahrishi Dadhichi.

 The rot seems to have set in very deep and unless each of us acts to keep our desires in check there does not appear to be an easy solution in sight. Value education does not find any place in today’s environment. Imagine a place where everyone gets enough to eat, a place to live, to make this a better world. The nature’s bounties do not differentiate between the rich and poor when it comes to sharing the sunshine, the cool breeze, flowing water.  Most of the ills will subside just by keeping a check on desires and greed. The greatest lesson in selfless service can be illustrated by bees who strive to collect honey no matter what may be the adversity.

Mother Teresa once said,

“People are often unreasonable and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of ulterior motives. Be kind anyway. 
If you are honest, people may cheat you. Be honest anyway.
If you find happiness, people may be jealous. Be happy anyway.
The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough. Give your best anyway. 
For you see, in the end, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.”

PS: Images Kind courtesy Google

Payback

The roll of thunder was deafening! The skies lit up with the lightning as it struck huge streaks of flashes across the sky. The noise of the bullet fired was drowned in the fury of nature. Neha looked at the body in the silhouette as it slumped, by the letter box where the light was very dim. The drizzle had increased in the intensity.  Neha turned on the ignition of her car and started the wiper, as the car slowly slid forward before vanishing in the darkness.

A year ago, it was a hot summer evening when she had gone to meet Chander in the Hotel Lido. Chander had asked for an appointment at 7 PM to discuss a business proposition. Neha wore a cream color saree , a golden blouse with a white pearl necklace. She had applied mascara on her eyes and wore a Christian Dior perfume. The matching pearl earrings sparkled under the chandelier light as Neha settled down in the chair opposite. Chander was immediately struck with her persona and after a brief introduction of him outlined the business proposition. Neha, looked at Chander and could feel the discomfort of his eyes, that wandered while talking to her. She was intelligent and could read his thoughts. She asked a few questions and the meeting was concluded. They shook hands and left.

Chander was a typical loud mouth businessman who had several interests. He was into the real estate business. He had also opened a showroom dealing in readymade garments to offer legitimacy to his earnings even though footfalls were not enough to turn the business around. In the days that followed Neha became a business associate for Chander’s garment business.

One evening about a week before, when Neha was just getting ready to leave the office she heard a heated argument in the adjoining room. She peered through the crack in the glass partition of the window and saw two men arguing over some transaction and a stack of currency notes lying on the table. Chander had covered his mouth with a handkerchief and was telling someone to pay up the amount or else he would not see his brother alive. She stiffened and almost froze. It was call for ransom but she could not make out to whom he was talking. She quietly closed the door and slipped out of the office and waited outside. Her heart was still pounding as she tried to regain her composure. She hailed a taxi and left for her home. She turned around but could not see anyone coming out or going in the office. In a few minutes she was home. She prepared a cup of tea and closed her eyes and sipped the hot tea. Slowly the jigsaw puzzle appeared to be falling in place. She had heard the name Amit while Chander was speaking on the phone. Yes, Amit Mittal it must be with whom Chander had struck a property deal which had gone sour! But why should Chander threaten Amit?  After some more brooding it struck Neha that Chander had got Amit’s brother kidnapped through the hired goons and was negotiating the ransom when she had overheard the conversation. Neha realized that if Chander learnt that she knew of his nefarious designs, it would spell more trouble for her.

Amit opened the door to find a courier who had been ringing the bell. He collected the packet which had an address of Mumbai. He tore open the packet and was shocked to see a ring belonging to his brother Aman, tumble out from the packet on which there was a small note.

‘Your brother is with us. The proof (his ring) is sent to you.  Leave the money at the letter box painted in Green at Gol Post Office . Wait till you see your brother coming towards you and leave the place. Do not inform the police or act smart’

Amit was rattled and slumped on the sofa. His mind was racing. He was sure that it was doing of Chander with whom the deal of property had fallen.He had informed the police of the telephone call from an unknown number. A plain clothes policeman rang the bell after sometime and collected the packet and told him to wait for further instructions.

Next evening, Chander asked Neha to accompany her for a meeting in the evening. He asked her to get her car as he had to go for dinner after the meeting. Neha agreed but was still disturbed after the previous day’s episode and wanted to stop working with him. Halfhearted, she agreed as she did not want him to get suspicious!

Aman was feeling suffocated with a cloth stuffed in his mouth and his wrists ached as they were tied with the nylon rope. He could barely stretch his legs on the back seat of the car where he was held captive. He heard the voice of two men on the front seat and they were planning to dump him. The effect of the drug was wearing off. Slowly, Aman managed to free his wrists from the bond. The car came to a sudden halt and the duo opened the window and locked the car and slipped in the dark. The leaden sky with lightning and thunder would serve a perfect escape, Aman thought. He reached his hand towards the front seat and was delighted to find a pistol which had been left behind by the occupant!

Neha drove through the rain till she came close to the Gol Post Office. Chander signaled her to stop and asked her to wait till he returned. She heaved a sigh of relief and saw him walk towards the letter box painted in green color, about a hundred yards away!

Aman saw the two occupants of the car strolling nearby and also saw Chander standing on the edge of the letter box and recognized him instantly. He picked up the pistol and aimed at Chander who was picking up a briefcase! The sound of the shot was muffled in the nature’s thunder and lightning as the body slumped.

PS: Image Kind Courtesy Google

Rudderless

 

Summer is here with heat intense

 Dusty sky, hot air ready to incense

Rivers dry and snow on peaks melt

  Insensitive human hearts rarely melt

Rising tempers, growing intolerance,

  Greed unseen, deceit everywhere, felt

There are no leaders to show way

Only herds of uncouth gone astray

Is this the beginning of a major upheaval?

  Or a battle cries to seek new order surreal

PS: Images Kind Courtesy Google

Amazing Thailand

Bangkok by night

In the lounge a saffron clad swami with a ring on every finger and holding a Blackberry handset was enjoying the adulation of some disciples. The remaining time slipped past as we witnessed the Swami explaining actions needed by the disciple to get his daughter married. A pleasant surprise awaited us as we were upgraded on the flight.

At 6.45 AM the flight descended at Suvarnabhumi International Airport. The new airport was modern and efficient and within half an hour we were issued the visas! The drive to hotel was pleasant and soon we were in the familiar settings of Pratunam Centre with all kinds of shoppers already thronging the busy street. The aroma of the local food greeted us with familiar sights of poached eggs and meat of different kinds. The hotel room had a magnificent view overlooking Amari Watergate and Baiyoke Sky Hotel zooming skywards!

In the evening we were woken from our slumber with thunder, lightning and rain which was a welcome relief after escaping the searing heat of Delhi.

Next morning we headed to  the weekend market Chatuchak , but not without a visit to the Gems and Jewellery store enroute, which has one of the most beautiful and fascinating collection of  works of jewelry , gems and stones. One can actually see these being crafted by the locals. The tuk tuk(autorickshaw) drivers in Bangkok insist on this addition to itinerary as they earn gasoline vouchers. The Chatuchak market is a must visit with all kinds of shops selling ware one can think of from assortment of food, clothes, curios, jewelry, pottery, decoration stuff etc ! I opened my purse and found to my horror, all the money was missing!!

How could  this happen? After some guesswork I realized that may be I had left the money at the hotel. I handed over the little money left with me to my wife so that she and daughter could shop around, while I rushed back to the hotel.

After reaching the hotel, was greatly relieved to see the money wrapped in handkerchief still lying on the table. Despite the room having been cleaned, by the staff the money was there, untouched!
Later in the evening we visited the Siam Centre which is a shopper's paradise. Siam Centre is fascinating and alluring with glittering shops, elevated sky train in neighborhood, finger touch guides to shopping plazas, and huge departmental stores. Black Canyon Coffee tasted  good with a deal to get one free on one ordered!

At the China town -Bangkok

Chinatown our destination for the next day,  is well worth a visit but the only problem is one has to shop in bulk! If you need to buy shoes, you have to buy at least six pairs!  The narrow alleyways are congested with people and hawkers but are truly enchanting! The local handicrafts, clothes, and bags literally everything under the sun is available.

A visit to the Patpong Night Bazaar was very interesting! The place is notorious for all the sleaze and skin shows! However, the brightly lit market is worth a visit .All the surrounding market of hawkers sells fake watches, leather and other branded goods. One can buy a replica of Rado watch to Gucci and Armani apparels on the streets. The rain came down in torrents sending us scampering for shelter! Despite rains, the market continued to function though with lesser clientele. The rain water was very effectively being cleared by a contraption of plastic pipes which we noticed at these hawkers’ outdoor shops.

Can you believe a morning bazaar starts at 3 AM and winds up at 9 AM in the streets between Baiyoke Tower I and Baiyoke Tower II at Pratunam. I got up early at 5 AM to visit this market and was taken aback to see it in full swing with shopaholics on the prowl early in the morning looking for bargains.

Later in the evening I was impressed with the efficiency of a local supermarket Big C where we went to exchange an oversize pant and the entire amount was refunded to make a purchase all over again.

After spending a hectic day going around Bangkok's Chatuchak Market yet again and enjoying all the local color and festive spirit it was time to pack the bags and head for Krabi.. The flight by Air Asia was a pleasant one.We hopped into the waiting bus outside the terminal which was very reasonably priced . The drive to Aonang beach was a long one and took about 40 min as we passed through the palm lined narrow road. Often the pounding of waves of the sea made us aware of presence of beaches around.
By the time we reached the hotel we were tired and retired for the day. The hotel  allocated a room overlooking the sea on the top floor( 4th floor).

Sunrise at Krabi

I woke up early and could not resist the temptation of going out for a walk on the beach. The sky was jaded and flaming orange streaks indicated the break of another dawn. The sand was pristine and a walk on the beach was very refreshing. Back in the hotel, after a breakfast of the lovely tropical fruits, freshly baked bread and juice, we headed for the beach to admire the nature in all its glory. The market at Aonang Beach is a typical beachside market strewn with all kinds of restaurants, shops selling clothes, curios and foreign exchange vendors, massage parlors etc. Later in the evening we took a Songthew (a local bus open at the rear and can take up to 15 passengers) to the Krabi town. The ride to Krabi town through the lush green jungles, along small hillocks and occasional brush with seacoast was thoroughly enjoyable. The small fruit and vegetable market was very interesting and haggling with the vendors was a nice experience!

A view of the island lagoons at Krabi from long tailed boat

 

Another lovely morning greeted us! I quietly slid into the sports gear and stepped out. Suddenly, a motor bike stopped and a young Thai girl climbed down. One was still seated on the bike and other walked up to me. They appeared to be in mood for some fun as the girl came closer and said if she could walk with me. She started a small conversation and said her name was Jane and she was from Bangkok. She wanted me to go to a nearby hotel room across the road but I politely thanked her. She was hugely disappointed and asked me if I was carrying some money. I told her that I did not. I came back and narrated the incident to my wife who laughed at this early morning encounter .Later in the day we visited, Noppharathara Beach that was about 2 km away. This is a long expanse of sand, strewn with shells along the coast. There are a number of islands which are just at a wading distance from the shore. It was fun exploring the beach. In the evening we went out for dinner in a Pizzeria! A walk along the lively neon lit market where the crowds were slowly building up was interesting.  People throng here to enjoy the local cuisine and the sea food

Excited,  we got ready and waited for the van to take us to the Hong Islands, the next morning. A short ride to Nophrathara beach was the boarding point for the Long Tailed boat. In the long tail boat we were soon joined by a silent German, a Thai couple, two young and stocky girls from Canada and two ladies ( a mother and daughter from Taiwan). I soon picked up a conversation with the Taiwanese girl, Zheng (her name) who had travelled a lot around the world, including India where she learnt, Yoga, Meditation etc .The boat headed through small troughs of water. It was a clear sunny day and the view was studded with many small islands exploding with greenry and soul elevating landscapes. The first stop was Paradise Island and as the name suggested, the land locked lagoon was a perfect paradise!. We snorkelled in the water and saw scores of colorful fish. While feeding them is fun it could sometimes be close as they try to snap at fingers feeding them! After about an hour the boat took us to Pkhia, Raily and Lading islands with a 20 min stopover for photo sessions. After this the boat veered towards Hong island and one could see literally hundreds of starfish at the crystal clear bottom. We got down and had a nice picnic and lunch on the island of rice, Thai curry, fish and fruits. After the lunch we honed our snorkeling skills in the lagoon. The aquatic life is amazing and the company of these marine creatures is a blissful experience. The return journey was uneventful and we retired in our room.

Getting ready for Snorkeling at Paradise Island

Next morning I got up earlier than usual at 3.45 AM ! Later after breakfast, we waited for the pickup and watched a group of 30 odd Chinese tourists who descended into the restaurant for breakfast ,noisily .A forty minute drive through thick foliage of rubber, cocoanut, palm and banana plantations brought us to Ao Thalene , a place with lots of vegetation,swamps and aquatic life. We had a company of a German with Polish wife At Ao Thalene  after a cup of steaming coffee we were given a lesson on basics of kayaking. What followed next was an unending saga in hilarity for next few hours. No sooner we started paddling, the boat started going in circles. Anyhow, we soon realized the mistake and made some progress. Finally we were off by 25 m from the coast when the old German came to our rescue and brought us close to the shore. On alighting from the kayak we saw hundreds of crabs, starfish, shell fish , snails and other creatures to greet us! There is a huge settlement of these creatures swarming all over the place. We were in the kayak again and after a while were grounded in mud! It was an effort to pull out the kayak and get moving again. The feeding of monkeys lead to a bloody fight ending in sniping off four fingers of one monkey and thumb of another in bitter struggle for bananas. We also saw, a school of barracudas and fed them pineapple bits. We also came across’ mud creatures’ which survive only in mud. The disaster struck when on return, I tried to get into the kayak and fell on the back seat. In the process my wife was airborne and ejected out of the kayak and my daughter desperately clinging on the edge :) The other tourists went into peals of laughter ! Slowly, and steadily we kayaked back to the start point but not before we kicked one kayak out of the way to avoid collision and in the process pushing them behind :) It was finally curtains down as we were exhausted for the day. A great experience indeed!

A starfish at Ao Thalene swamps

 

 

 

My Kayaking team - daughter and wife

It was time to bid adieu to lovely Thailand!  We left by afternoon flight to Bangkok and further to New Delhi with all the happy memories!!

 

 

Summer Delights

The eyes opened with the melody of koel chirping on the nearby mango tree. The calm breeze was blowing as the children had started flocking in the park where a solitary fountain was sending a stream of jet in the air as the spray drifted in the ever changing direction of the wind. I looked up at the sky which was crystal clear and a distant overflying jet with a plume of white smoke appeared on the horizon. The summer vacations had commenced and the schools would reopen now in July. Such a nice feeling engulfed the mind. A quick cup of tea and we rushed out to join the fun in the adjacent park. The little girls waited for their turns on the swing whereas we rushed on the rickety merry go around as each new entrant gave a hard tug to maintain the speed as he climbed up with abandon !  Soon we would be sweating and hungry charging to the kitchen. Ice was crushed with a pastel to the ‘lassi’(sweetend yoghurt ) which was frothing after churning with a wooden handmixer called ‘Rai’ till there was a huge froth settled atop. Piping hot ‘aloo paratha( stuffed potato pancake) and lassi was’ heavenly’ to mark the start of the summer vacation.

In the days that followed we made frequent trips to the market to pick up the ripe mangoes. They would be then immersed in a huge tub of water and guzzled by dozens on the hot afternoon never to even think about the amount of sweet intake. Also, the water melons and smaller musk melons would be regularly devoured in the afternoon post siesta.

As the sun moved in the westerly direction the temperature raised and the air was soon similar to a draught straight from the oven. It was almost impossible to step out of the house so the best thing to keep us children occupied were a game of cards, or carom board, snakes and ladders and Chinese checkers. There was no TV program in the morning and only insipid ‘Krishi Darshan’ and some stray movies on weekends were telecast. A weekly program of select movie songs called ‘Chitrahaar’ was telecast for 30 minutes once in a week. Most of us kids would go to the nearby community center to watch this fare with glee!

It would be fun to help mother in slicing the raw mangoes once in a season to prepare the pickles at home and the tangy pickle was stuffed in an earthen ware pot, after covering the lid and the container placed under the sun for the pickle to season for another week  before we start using it with every meal till the throats got sore!

There were no refrigerators so huge earthen pots were filled with water every day for meeting the cold drinking water requirements of the day. The unbeatable aroma of the cold water coming from ‘Matka’( the round tummy pot} or the ‘Surhai’( The long necked earthen vessel) would satisfy the thirst almost instantaneously!

That reminds of the adventures of trying all kinds of colored ice candies (golas) from local vendors who crushed the ice on a contraption and squeezed it in a small glass and inserted a straw and pulled it out effortlessly. The colored sweet syrups would make them enticing. The ‘kulfi ’(sweetened milk candy with dry fruits) treat was always something to look forward to. In summer months certain berries ( phalsa) were available which had a lovely tangy flavor! Somehow, these are no longer available in the big cities but one can find them in smaller towns. Another wonder fruit was’ Bel’ which was very fibrous and the pulp of it produced an excellent coolant in the summer months! The other summer delights were the ‘Raw Mango Panna’ (Cold sweet drink from raw mango pulp),’ Sattu’( Made from roasted gram ), Khus Khus and Thandai( both drinks made with various spices and herbs and dry fruits).

 

Though the times have rolled on, many of these local delights have been gradually taken over by fizzy colas, sundaes and smoothies and assorted frozen desserts! Many of the outdoor games we played have slowly crawled back in pages of history to be taken over by a maze of video games like 'Angry birds'! We now have far more ‘Facebook’ friends than the real ones with whom we could play and fight and await yet another day of summer vacation to spend time with!

PS: Images Kind Courtesy Google

 

Bloggerscroak@ BlueFrog

The Venue was The  Blue Frog at Mehrauli a pilgrimage for the Indibloggers on the hot Sunday afternoon in New Delhi yesterday 14 Apr. Till the previous day I was in two minds to travel all the way but one SMS from a blog friend Anukriti changed it all. I had never met any of the friends, I had earned in my last one and a half year of foray into the brave new world of the blogs. An hour long journey by metro was preferable to drive in the soaring mercury of Delhi’s unbearable heat. The time flew in company of this wonderful friend as we arrived the venue 20 minutes ahead of the schedule, opposite the historic iconic Qutab Minar.

The venue- Blue Frog , New Delhi

 

The stage was set for the Blog Leela ( akin to Ramlila and Raas Lila *) to commence and what followed next was a bonanza for the blog fraternity, A welcome address, followed with introduction of the new bloggers in the psychedelic  setting of the dimly lit pub where the best of the blog world minds met. An unusual setting which if Harivansh Rai Bachhan the great poet,  if alive today would have felt proud of . How right was the poet when he had said:

मुसलमान औ' हिन्दू है दो, एक, मगर, उनका प्याला,
एक, मगर, उनका मदिरालय, एक, मगर, उनकी हाला,
दोनों रहते एक न जब तक मस्जिद मन्दिर में जाते,
बैर बढ़ाते मस्जिद मन्दिर मेल कराती मधुशाला!

 (Translated: Hindu and Muslims are different but share the a same  goblet, liquor and bar.They never live together in their places of worship as these places divide them. A bar is the only place where they both live in harmony)

 A Literary meet at Madhushala( A Liquor bar)!!

Goodies were doled out by the organizers Microsoft and Indiblogger in form of surprise gifts ranging from Blue Tooth Mouse, Cash Vouchers and even a kiss from the Organizer!( though there were no takers for the same)!



Two Minutes of glory

The afternoon rolled on with a marketing blitz from Microsoft promoting Office 365 singing paeans of the special features especially for bloggers like Cloud Computing and backup, Parallel editing feature and synchronizing and updating their blogs, be it on their domain names, Blogger or Wordpress! The interactive session was interesting with questions being hurled from the audience. The only thing that came between the beer and eats now, was a session from the Airtel , the cosponsors with Microsoft. The team tried to hard sell the special plan for the entrepreneur promising them of best offer which would cost no more than three movies a month or equivalent to eating a burger at McDonalds every day. While Airtel tried to woo the customers the connectivity of their network behaved erratically akin to an aircraft hitting the airpocket every now and then making the ride bumpy.

The Indi Minds- Spot your favorites

 

During the Beer Break many of the attendees tried desperately to grab the ‘veggie dishes’ due to the ongoing ‘Navratras’( Nine days when even die hard non vegetarians turn to eating grass). The sponsors arranged a few games to test the brawn of the youngsters to make them do sit ups and push ups to earn ‘cash vouchers’. The time was perfect to network with dozens of bloggers and exchange their blog IDs and relate to the names which one just otherwise saw in the written media!

Post break out session, the Blue Tooth network became ‘Live’ and the organizers asked participants to send out tweets about the features of Microsoft Office 365 which impressed them most, to judge the best ones on the spot for awards.

Anukriti walked away with the enviable prize of ‘Nokia Lumia 820’ Smartphone, for the best tweet. It was a fitting finale to bring down the curtains to the lovely event.

Priya, Manjulika and the winner Anukriti with Nokia Lumia 820

 

 *- Ram Lila and Raas Leela are the stage enactments of the mythological Ramayana and Lord Krishan’s love saga every year all over the country

 PS_:1.  Images Kind Courtesy Akanksha Dureja/Indiblogger

        2. The event was a memorable one in meeting so many young and experienced bloggers whose names would need another post .

In Love With South

My entry in the blog world is more a happy coincidence as I was keen to pen my thoughts that often drifted like clouds in my head. I have been fortunate to make friends from all over the world in this pursuit. Some of them happen to hail from South India with whom I get easily attracted as a North pole of a magnet!  One such blog friend,  Latha who resides at Folsom in USA and pens ‘Found in Folsom’ requested me to write for her. She has a blog full of interesting personal encounters and humor. This post is a dedication to the simple and kind friends who hail from South India and above all my love for their food. To read more continue on the link :http://foundinfolsom.blogspot.in/2013/04/in-love-with-south.html#comment-form


PS : Image Kind courtesy Google