Convention on Colorants 2009

Hi Folks, while I have had the opportrunity to address an audience on several occasions, most of them happen to be on new product introductions. However, recently (February 2009) I had the opportunity to share my views at an International Convention on Colorants: http://www.coc.org.in/speakers.htm

It was an amazing experience... coz it did not pertain to any products but about trends in the imaging industry (specific to my area of working) that involved a lot of reading and interviewing people.

Feels great to share this with you... 

Getting back in touch amidst the cherry blossoms in Washington, DC

March seems to be the month for getting back in touch with old classmates for me!! In addition to finding this blog, I also found a long lost (34 years) classmate from my high school in Trichy. I also drove down to Washington DC on Friday, to spend the weekend with an old graduate school room mate, Belgin, from Turkey. Belgin and I were room mates when I was studying for my Master's degree in Fargo, ND (yes it is the place where all the major flooding problems are happening as we speak)


When we got to DC we found out that we were there just in time to see the cherry trees in full bloom. We had a relaxing weekend visiting the Smithsonian Museum Garden and walking around the Tidal Basin enjoying the beautiful cherry blossoms!



The National Cherry Blossom Festival is an annual two-week event that celebrates springtime in Washington, DC as well as the 1912 gift of the cherry blossom trees and the enduring friendship between the people of the United States and Japan.

The coaldog journey: additional pics

The scooterist operating in the ghat section of Hazaribagh dismounts and tells me to stop clicking. Note the absence of number plates.
The cycles return back from Ranchi on bus tops. Chakke pe chakka

Leopold Café (Refer previous post of AB)

Amar Akbar Anthony

In 1973 I lost touch with Debashis. Ten years later we bumped into each other in JNU for a year before once again drifting away. Then one fine day Vims announced that Debashis was coming to Mumbai setting in motion a flurry of SMS’s and telephone calls. That’s how the troika got to meet on 19th of March at 7.30 PM in a 6th floor guest house at Napean Sea Road.

Believe me the three ageing SVCians were all as excited as labrador puppies become when they meet their masters!! After hugs and back slaps and polite compliments about our looks (all lies) we settled down before a huge window overlooking the Arabian Sea.

“What will you prefer?” Debashish said pointing towards the bottles of Chevas Regal, 100 Pipers and Glenn Fidditch. For an ’87 batch IAS officer working in the Health ministry he sure had the right prescrption for what promised to be a nostalgia soaked night.

“A driver”, I said promptly.

Debashis was flummoxed and I had to explain. You see, I told him, I had driven straight from office and if Mumbai Police smells liquor while you are driving you are promptly fined and if you smell of scotch and struggle with your Marathi you might even end up in jail for three months. A driver was promptly arranged and I settled deeper in my chair ready for a long night with Glenn Fidditch, Chilli chicken, Chicken tikka, tandoori chicken and a sea of memories.

Vims settled for Pepsi. We simply had to shrug our shoulders. After all haven’t philosophers said that it takes all to make a world.

We chattered excitedly about so many things that one just can’t even recollect. Sister Rosalie, the statue of St.Vincents and how we broke his hand, Gita Kar, Afshan, Shankar, Joydeep, Nanda, the secret seven club, the walk along the railway tracks, the Madras-Howrah Mail, the Faiyaz memorial tournament….. Since Debashis lived in the station road, he was the lynch pin of our ‘adventures’ around the Berhampur station and the tracks.

In between all this Vims, the unofficial ambassador of Nokia (he believes in connecting people) was busy getting voices from the past. We spoke, or should I say I remember speaking, to Joydeep, Basant Soni and were unable to reach out to Shankar and Jawaid. Vims remembered how I had hooked his new cricket ball out of Union club. That must have been in 1972 or 1973. Thirty seven years down the road we still remember those days!!!

Debashis is not a man of many words. But his broad smile and twinkling eyes say it all. You recollect an incident here and a nugget there and he would smile and nod his head and then say, “Great.” His other variation is “Yes, Yes, that was great.”

As the night wore on and we had exhausted our “Great” and “That was great” moments we decided to shift base. We headed to Leopold Café in south Mumbai. Yes, that very landmark restaurant from where Kasab and his band of merry men started the assault with AK-47. The chicken Biryani was really great. Though all three SVCians were unanimous on the point that Delhi was ‘the’ place for chicken. Through the blur I still recollect that Vims was shifting his allegiance back to Mumbai by talking about some chicken biryani joint in Sion or maybe Chembur!! The ball is in your court now mate. It was well past midnight when we decided to call it a day.

It was “really great” catching up with Debashish. It was equally ‘great’ to know that his younger brother Subhashis is also an IAS officer. I think he was in the first standard in 1973. His younger sister Smita Panda, two years junior to us in SVC, used to teach economics in BJB College. Her husband is also in the IAS and is currently posted in Delhi. She too is probably doing some research project there. Debashis is blessed with two children. His daughter is pursuing her engineering degree from Chennai while his son is a class X student in DPS, RK Puram. His family has shifted base from Berhampur and are now based in BBSR.

Thanks Debashis and Vims for a truly great evening/night/early morning. Hope to catch up soon. Enjoy your trip to Geneva and Paris. I am sure the trip will be great!!!

Happy New Year

You said "Over the Hill", think again son!!!

It was a crisp mid-September Day. I was going through the normal motions of getting ready to go to work when my older son came strolling in. Excitedly he exclaimed "Happy Birthday Mom, you are going Over the Hill today!! I thanked him for remembering my birthday but also mentioned that turning 40 was by no means "Over the Hill" for me. He gave a sarcastic laugh and headed off to school.

A few minutes later I arrived at work and just as I was settling in for the day, my co-worker wandered into my office. "Happy Birthday Seetha, doing anything special today?" he asked. I told him I had nothing planned and went on to recount that morning's incident with my son. He asked me to 'get used to it' and went back to his office. Later that morning I was rummaging through my desk drawer looking for an article I needed and happened upon a brochure I had picked up from the local grocery store several months back. It read, "Want to fly like a bird, then come to our facility in Rittman and try for yourself". The name of the outfit was Aerohio.

When I saw the name Rittman a light bulb went off in my head. You see, Rittman was located just a few miles down the road from where I worked. It was literally in my backyard and at that instant I knew what I was going to do for my birthday. Fancy finding that brochure that very moment!! Aerohio was a SKYDIVING school and I had made up mind that I would go skydiving for my birthday.

I watched my first skydving show on TV when I first came to the US. I remember thinking to myself "it would be so nice if I could do that". Fast forward 15 years and I found myself in my car driving to Aerohio, just a few minutes from my first skydiving experience. Yes, the minute I decided what I was going to do, I went over to my boss's office and asked him if I could take the rest of the day off. He knew it was my birthday, so with a sly smile, he granted me permission to leave. Little did he know what I was really about to do!

I arrived at the Drop Zone in Rittman around noon and walked into the main office to find out if I could even do what I wanted to do. To my surprise the place was buzzing with people in their flying suits and parachutes and other skydiving paraphernalia. I nervously approached the lady at the front desk and even before I could say a word, she quipped, "New to skydiving eh? Don't worry we will teach you what to do. We have various options you can chose from". She rattled off a whole bunch of options, none of which registered in my brain. "What have I got myself into", I thought. The lady at the front desk looked at me and smiled. She walked out of her booth, took my hand and walked me outside. She pointed to a group of people walking towards me and said, "See, those people have just come back from their first jump". I looked at them and noticed that they were all thrilled and excited and laughing. She walked me back inside, handed me a brochure with all the options available to me and asked me to go through the list and decide which one I wanted to do. I started reading and the very first option got my attention. It said 'Tandem Jump - For first time skydivers'. It went on to explain that the novice (more like nervous) skydiver would be tethered to an experienced instructor the whole time. I thought to myself, that wouldn't be too bad, I can do it. So before I could change my mind I quickly completed all the paperwork necessary (literally signed my life away) and handed it to the lady along with the fees for the jump. She then took me into the prep room and introduced me to my partner in crime, my instructor. He was an Austrian gentleman and had a very kind face. He instantly made me feel very comfortable. He showed me all the equipment we would have with us and explained how they worked. He explained how the parachute is packed, although I did not have to do it for my first time. He showed me how I should hold my body once we were out of the plane and throughout the fall, how to read the altimeter, when to pull the parachute cord etc. Of course, he explained, "I will be right there with you if anything went wrong". All this took about an hour. After that we suited up, got our gear and headed to the open-bellied plane that was waiting for us.

We were a group of 15 people and I was the only novice in that group. One man explained to me that he had jumped hundreds of times and assured me I would enjoy myself. As soon as we boarded the plane the instructor and I got tethered together and now all we had to do was sit tight until we reached the right altitude for the jump. I was so nervous I felt like I was going to barf. But the rest of the group was very friendly and encouraging and that calmed me down a lot. We had now reached the right altitude (10,000 to 12,000 ft.) and one by one all the experienced folks started jumping out the plane. My instructor and I were inching towards the gaping hole in the belly of the plane. And then there I was standing at the edge looking down at the earth far below and it was my turn to jump (no turning back now). I suddenly realized that since my instructor was tethered to my back it was my job to do the initiate the actual jumping. I hesitated a little, said a prayer and out I went!!!






The second I exited the plane, I assumed my body position. I let gravity take over and that relaxed me. My fears just totally vanished and all I felt was the adrenalin rush of freedom. It was a gorgeous day and I felt the wind whipping against my face. It was the most exhilarating, thrilling, fantastic feeling I have ever felt. I literally felt like a bird just gliding along with the earth rushing towards me at break-neck speed! The free-fall lasted for 60 seconds (about a mile in distance) at which time we reach speeds of 120 mph. The best, most awesome 60 seconds of my life ever. When we reached the altitude of around 4500 ft. I opened the parachute and I started a joyous five minutes of just wafting along, going through clouds, and enjoying the scenery below me. My instructor was pointing out some of the landmarks of the area. After a heavenly five minutes we came in for a landing and it was all over. And then it hit me - I had just jumped off a perfectly fine plane and had the thrill of my life doing it!!!!

"OVER THE HILL"? Not a chance I said when I showed my son the video of my jump when I went home that evening.

Here are some pictures of that momentous 40 birthday gift I gave myself, :)!!

Congratulations Udaya... Oops, Vinita

The Media Foundation

30 Ferozshah Road, New Delhi 110 001

March 24, 2009

The Media Foundation is pleased to announce that the Chameli Devi Jain Award for an Outstanding Woman Mediaperson for 2008-09 is to be shared between Nirupama Subramanian, Islamabad Correspondent of The Hindu, and Vinita Deshmukh, Editor of the Weekly Intelligent Pune.

The Presentation will be made at the Indian International Centre Auditorium on Friday, March 27 at 6 p.m. The jury consisted of Prof. Nirija Gopal Jayal of the Centre for Law and Governance, JNU, Bhaskar Ghose, former CEO Lok Sabha TV, and Raj Chengappa, Associate Editor, India Today.

The Award presentation will be followed by a panel discussion on “Matching Television’s Growing Power with Corresponding Responsibility”. The panellists will be Nitin Desai, Member NBA’s Independent Monitoring Mechanism; Zohra Chatterjee, Joint Secretary (Broadcasting) Ministry of I&B; Uday Shankar, CEO, Star News; Phil Reeves, of the US National Public Radio; and Shailaja Bajpai, media critic, who will moderate.

All are cordially invited.

B.G. Verghese
Chairman

.

I have posted a google map of where I lived (see the red dot), in answer to Faiyaz's question. It was a long and narrow house and the backyard went all the way to the hospital. I am not sure if that house still stands as it used to be. We called it the train house. And that is a picture of my siblings, myself and our parents in the front yard of that house.

The next picture is yours truly as I look now and the next is of my boys, Vasanth and Sreyas

I am the way I am...

It was at Rishikesh last year while walking down one of the narrow lanes that i spotted a tourist who had this coral in one of her ear. I wanted to document the same but there was no way i could have made an image without her knowing... I walked away. Minutes later i gathered courage and decided to walk back and ask her if i could take her (i mean her ear's) photograph. But on my return to the spot i realised that i had lost her. It took quite a while to locate her in one of the shops. Made a request and she obliged. I asked her to turn around and to my surprise noticed that she had a different version on the other ear!

Yet another Guess Who

Since Vimal has posted a brain-teaser, here is one from me. I know Enarkay can, but the others need to rack their brains a wee bit.

Hello from V. Seetha!!!

Hello everyone, I am Seetha Viswanathan (was known as V. Seetha at SVC) and with this post I officially become a blogger.  I am really excited and must thank Enarkay for remembering me and introducing me to this blog and of course thanks to Vimal for inviting me.  Ever since Enarkay told me about this blog I have been sitting and reading all the blogs for hours on end. My son had to drag me away from my computer so I could feed him dinner. I noticed several of you celebrated your Silver Wedding Anniversaries, my hearty belated congratulations to you all!!

Like Enarkay said we lived on Church Road until 1968 and then we moved to RCM PG Hostel Warden's Quarters after my father became the Warden there. I went to SVC from baby class to mid VII std.  However I have two different sets of classmates.  My memory is not as great as some of you guys. I was with Snigdha, Bharati Panda and Sharada until VI std and then had to repeat VI std. This was because I failed Maths, by one mark, :((, and Mother Superior would not promote me, :((, :((.  So I ended up with Faiyaz, Tasneem, Aruna etc.  The one feature of the school I distinctly remember is the huge stage. I was a big part of all the Parent's Day plays we had every year. I remember singing Christmas carols during Christmas. I also remember one particular song (I don't remember whether it was just a song we learnt or whether it was part of a play). It went some thing like.....

Where are you going to my little maid?
Where are you going to my little maid?
I am going a milking Sir she said,
I am going a milking Sir she said!!

Of the teachers I remember Miss Shamim Banu, Sister Roslie, Sister Margaret and Mother Superior, how could I forget her, :). I noticed that some of you got a chance to meet Miss Shamim. I was glad to see her in pictures posted in this blog. She has not changed at all. Hopefully I will get to meet her too. She was a phenomenal teacher. I will never forget the fun picnics we had to places like Gopalpur, Chilka Lake etc. Ahhhhh!!! the stroll down memory lane feels so good! I used to look at the picture of all of us sitting on the lighthouse steps and wonder where everyone ended up at. Yes, that very bad picture that Enarkay posted was mine. I will see if I can get it restored and post it again. Tasneem, I remember you the most of all my classmates. As a matter of fact I use various versions of your name (and Miss Shamim's name) as passwords for several of my accounts at work, :)).

My father was a lecturer at Khallikote College but in mid 1970 he got a job as Assistant Professor at REC Trichy, so we moved. I was halfway through VII Std then. I have never gone back to Berhampur again. I have been trying to arrange a trip back to BAM with my sisters and my brother, but so far we have not been able to take time off at the same time. My whole family has such good memories of Berhampur ( I have one very traumatic memory - subject for a blog all by itself).

I went on to finish my bachelor's in Chemistry in Trichy and then worked for an an organization called ICRISAT in Hyderabad until 1984.  I then moved to the US to complete my Master's and PhD and have been here ever since.  I now live in NJ and work as a pharmaceutical Scientist.  I have two boys, Vasanth, (24 yrs. old) who is in law school and Sreyas (15 yrs. old) who is in 9th grade.
Looking forward to more blogging!!
Seetha

Guess Who...

ABBA ahoy

hi folks, looks like everyone on the blog is going places- arun 2 jharkhand where he chronicles the wrenching toils of the coal-men and of course nargis bcoming the blogger of the year- congrats and can we sample a few of the pieces ( mua and words ) as sulekha is not accesible. well do u need an invite? if yes send all of us 1. so the blog is alive and kicking and there is gr8 news 4 people of my gen - ABBA the movie premieres today at 9pm on discovery.
i dont know abt u folks out there but sarita and i truly grew up on a steady diet of this won quartret in our teens. i did not go into beatlemania, jazz was just noise but ABBA was my intro 2 the world of songs, later paving the way 4 osibisa and boney-m ( where r the former?). sarita got the cassettes from cuttack i think, and i was the reluctant initiate- being totally inept musically and q painfullyb aware of my defs. yet soon i was reeled in, hook, line and sinker and we spent hours lisitening 2 this swedish grp and trying 2 decipher the lyrics..those were the gud ole days when our green ears were not 2 accoustd 2 foreign nasal twangs and some songs really flummoxed us. i remem one in particular- "girl, u better not get 2 eye". we were like - what eye, which eye? - till the penny dropped ( much like the cockney "h"). another stymied us- "and 1 day u find out he wears ??? dirty skies". sarita was patience personified- she went over the line agin and agin, rewinding the tape till she got 2 the gist of the matter- our angel eyes was master at camouflage and hallelujah - he was wearing " a disguise".
and so ABBA had our feet stomping and hearts racing. but there was nowhere we could really groove and discos were prob dens of iniquity anyway. that is when a couple of S's neighbours came up with the idea( i think they were the SP's sons- city-bred and ready 2 show us yokels a thing or 2)- they thought S's drawing room ( hall as it was called then ) would do just fine. so we were doing gyrations and jerky movements in a sorry attempt at dancing.. i was q reluctnt, so did not really get into the spirit of things- then. it was only after i saw J dancing bambaiyya style at a college do that i decided 2 let my (not q inconsiderable mane) hair down - i thought i could do better than those AB baby moves and did!
and now we r on a voyage of rediscov- i have all my fav songs on tape ( yes i still am a tape- worm, much 2 the disgust of my music dealer and daughter) and today i have declared a national holiday while i have a major date with the ABBAs. who else would like 2 join us?

Berhampur Mua

Well folks, just thought of sharing this with you all... Yummm..

Any Guesses( Borrowed this faded Pic from the Net)

I have become the Sulekha BOY ;-}

Hi everybody.....

Goodness it's not what you are thinking. The site where I blog has finally given me recognition. I was chosen as the 'Blogger Of the Year 2008'. Check out this 'humbling' acceptance speech. I'm giving you the link because I know for sure that if not all, at least the animal lovers are definitely going to enjoy it :-}

http://nargisnatarajan.sulekha.com/blog/post/2009/03/boy-oh-boy-it-s-a-double-boy.htm

33 Years? Three Cheers!

India's Historic Test win over New Zealand after 33 Years!

Thanks to TV, Kiwi and Biwi
TV - For Telecasting
Kiwi - For Losing
Biwi - Granting permission to Watch

The Coaldog milliionaires of Jharkhand

With two miserable blogs in a row I am now in the Sharukh Khan league!!

Holi hey jee… (4 comments) and May talli May talli ( 3 comments) met the same fate as Rab Ne bana… and Billu Barber. Moral of the story: If you are blogging pictures from jungles then you are barking up the wrong tree.

So let me stick to the slumdog formula. Here I go…

These Slumcoal Millionaires load on an average 150 kgs of coal bags on their cycles. The load distribution is so scientific that the cycle seldom goes off balance. The job requires real stamina. These cyclists have to travel around 80kms in 12 hours. Apart from stamina the skill level required to run these cycles is phenomenal.

The rider has to sit on the carrier right at the back and somehow get the vision of the road ahead. Both his legs dangle on one side. He then leans forward to clutch the handle bars. Many a times these are through the gaps between the coal bags. Since there is no way the cycle can now be pedaled he has to constantly keep kicking the road to surge ahead!!

There is a ten kilometer ghat section that has to be encountered between Hazaribagh district, from where the journey begins, to Ranchi. Here they have to dismount and push their load uphill.

So how do the older lot of coaldog millionaires manage? There is a jugaad for this also. For Rs.50/- to Rs.60/- their cycles can be towed by professionals on scooters and motorcycles. Many of them objected to my shooting their pictures as the coal they are transporting is illegal.

After selling their coal to a dalal in Ranchi they then load their cycles on a bus and return back. This makes them lighter by another seventeen rupees. The next day the cycle is again repeated. Their life sure is one great journey.

For all the pains they have to go through they earn Rs.400/- per trip and on an average they can make ten to twelve such trips in a month.

If after this, someone still thinks that Tour de France is the toughest biking competition he surely must be nuts.

For me it will always be Tour de Jharkhand.

Batchmates

Top row: XX, Rajulu, Chidambar, Saskar, Ramakrishna, Leelas brother?, Amitabh Palit, Aditya Padhi
These are two additions to your list Faiyaz

Hindi Miiss celebrates

26th of February is a special date for us. Not only is it the birthday of Hindi Miss but also happens to be her marriage anniversary. My parents were in Bhubaneshwar on that day with my elder brother.

I managed to pop in and out of BBSR for a couple of days to celebrate the event.

while u(i) have been sleeping

well seems like we have a host of new members on the blog. am posting a pic of j and i cutting a cake on our anniv- however there r few of me as u cannot b in 2 places at 1 time(read that as - have not got the hang of getting camera on aut mode). as 4 slumdog, have had ump diss with the firangs who were swarming all over rajasthan like bounty providing ( dollars, pounds, euros) locusts. they still like 2 imagine us as people living in trees and riding camels and elephants ( a pain in the u no where experience), despite inds running the whole bloody IT world. as i told one firang- u would b happier if i was in my nine yards saree and prob bathing under a municipal tap - u dont want 2 accept an image of a well educated india. the cherry on the cake came after i came back 2 sangli- had invited nri frds 4 dinner and when i brought out a baked dish , this guy and his son ask me if i have an oven.!!prob with indians who migrate is that they r in a time warp- if they have left in 1971 they think time froze 4 us with the departure of their oh so touted brains and we r stuck in that yr 4ever. so i have issues with slumdog- as 4 enjoying ur well earned money (let me tell u taht we have a much poorer lifestyle than sim people abrd) - i think we work real hard 4 the same in india and get very few brks(j and i took a real hol after maybe 7 yrs). so i suggest that those who want 2 preach, get down into the street and do some work instead of just sounding off AB- u need not go out - there r many things u can do at home-my mil teaches english 2 all our servants children and let me tell u we have 2 bribe them 2 come with batata wadas. we can make our world a better place and the only ones who crib abt the rich r those who do not want 2 make an effort 2 climb out of their so called destiny and karma. we have 2 teach them and every effort can change at least 1 life. so folks have 2 go now as the mseb has mercifully cut my connection- u all r spared the rest of the lecture

Hi fellow SVCians. This is Nabhi Rama Krishna Rao (Enarkay) signing in. Thanks Vimal for the invite. My classmates  were Faiyaz, Henry, Amitabh Palit, Babu Singh et al. I left SVC in 1967 (after class 3) for Stewart Cuttack. Came back to Bam for Degree ( Eng Hons at Khallikote College) and PG(LSW at Bam univ) . Sancheta and Aruna were with me in graduation also. BTW I am the guy standing between Srinubabu and Leela in the photo posted by Faiyaz on 26-01-07 on this blog This photo was taken on 22-09-1966 and I  have a copy.   Greetings to Stanley, Louis, Arun, Naargis  and all other friends. Looking forward to rekindling old memories of Bam and SVC. I remember going for tuitions by Miss Shamim and the way she used the ruler( not for measuring) . I had and still have bad handwriting which even she couldnt do much about( my thanks to the inventor of the keyboard) BTW Venu is my younger brother. I am based at Kolkata working with SAIL 

Chalte Chalte mere yeh geet yaad rakhna

Kabhi alvida na kehna

Say Cheese.....Pacheese!

Jab We Met!
Wish to know after how many years? Pachees!

May talli, may talli, may talli ho gaya!!

Another interesting feature of the tribal life of Jharkhand, Chattisgarh and Orissa is the home brewed alchohol.

Handia is the cheapest and the most popular in these regions as it is made out of rice fermented over a period of time. Paddy being the main crop here there is abundance of raw material available all year round. This time around I came to know that a few drops of Handia is given to new born babies too. During death (which tribals do not mourn but indulge in merriment) handia is very liberally used and even a few drops are sprinkled on the body of the departed soul.

During seasons however you get two more poular varieties. These are known as mahua and salphi- the tribal version of single malt scotch!!

I had come across mahua in chhattisgarh however salphi tree was a new one for me which I bumped into in the proposed coal mine site of our company in Hazaribagh district of Jharkhand. This is the season when salphi blooms.

Here I am trying to pluck a salphi from a machan top. Had there been a few basantis around I would definitely have played Veeru to perfection.

Hic!!

Or should I more appropriately say," Jai ho salphi"

notes frm Bhub.

Not so long ago 3 svcians met... i thought it merits a dekko by fellow bloggers,as 1 of us has been more oft'n than not unavailable---so guys --presto--herez Shankar Rao!!!!--hero ofArun's myraid anecdotes and illustrous neighbour frm Bam---It was gr8 meeting them!!!

Holi hey jee holi hey

Just a few weeks away from the D-day the wild and irrestible Palash trees flower in full bloom announcing that holi is round the corner. The harsher the sun the more radiant are the flowers- almost showing a defiance and anger at mother nature. It is because of this quality that Palash is also known as the "flame of the forest."

I was passing through the forests of Jharkhand when I spotted these magnificient flames.

Villagers tell me that long before synthetic clours came, palash flowers were used to make colours which are very strong and safe.

I also do not agree with those who use this festival to make an "intellectual" or a "political" statement and state as to why they will not play Holi this year. For God's sake which year in the history of our civilisation have we not witnessed natural calamities, terrorist attacks, death and mayhem!!

For me it's time to shout, " Holi hey jee Holi hey, Lalajee kee dhoti....."

Happy Holi to you all.

Do you want to kill me, Mamma?

Dear Vimal
Pl help me post this on the blog - when i tried to do it the entire poem is coming as one big paragraph. Can u put in the same poetry format. sorry for the bother
cheers and warm rgds
vinita

This editorial of mine is about the futility of celebrating International Women's Day against the backdrop of female foeticide which is prevalant even in educationally and culturally rich cities like Pune. .

Do you want to kill me, Mamma?

When God sculpted you, he fell short of mud
So, you were born a baby girl!
They sulked, they baulked at such bad luck
No one rejoiced when you came into this world

They were in a hurry to give you a brother
Not because you needed company, but to mend their bruised ego
But when you got a sister instead
No one rejoiced when she came into the world.

Then they decided to fight God, nature, injustice, law
To ensure it is a brother, the next time round
When invasive tests proved you would get a sister again
They said to kill her even before she was born.

I am sorry but after that, there were two more murders
For again your would-be-sisters were hacked in my womb
Once more they avariciously said – this time luck would favour
And lo behold, it was a male foetus – allowed to flourish in my womb.

Now, they say ours is a happy and complete family
As a heir has finally been born to savour the legacy.
My girls, you would now be showered with more affection
As you have a brother to boast of in the family.

I don’t want to kill you child, but in birth your torture has begun
They only say education and prosperity has brought woman power
But the undercurrents of discrimination are overpowering
Save for oasis of appreciation, your achievements are a cropper.

Your fraternity has invaded male bastions and emerged triumphant
But that’s just a miniscule number, which too is fraught with contempt
If you are not a superwoman, and do not soothe the male ego
You are accused of high-handedness, arrogance, encroachment.

For the many of you, who have been tireless homemakers
Relentlessly working towards making a family and a warm home
Your acknowledgement reflects in taunts, sarcasm and belittling.
Sorry, no one rejoices, cherishes your contribution to this world.

Kalpana Sharma may have conquered space
Rani Jhansi may have been the epitome of valour
Such instances are thrown on your face like boiling water
To highlight your ineptitude of being similarly capable

If achieve you must, then YOU must muster courage
IF achieve you must, then YOU must sacrifice
If achieve you must, then YOU must be humble
IF achieve you must, then it CANNOT be at the expense of family.

This is not to take away credit from remarkable men
Who have let their wives/daughters blossom with magnanimity
Girl, it is just to tell you
That Woman’s Day celebration is a mere formality.

Until each one of us rejoices at your birth
Until each one of us reject and object to sex determination tests
Until such time my girl
Our existence is only `wanted’ to producing male heirs.

Until then my girl, we are only fooling ourselves
About equality between men and women
For, that does not come in the clothes you wear
…but in the embodiment of a fair spirit.

Vinita Deshmukh
Editor
Intelligent Pune
isue dt March 6

The Power of Punctuation

Tere Naam..La..La..La..La

Tere Naam Hum Ne Kiya Hai,
Jeevan Aapna Sara Sanam,
Ho Jeevan Aapna Sara Sanam,
Pyaar Bahut Karte Hai Tumse,
Ishq Hai Tu Humara Sanam,
Ho Ishq Hai Tu Humara Sanam,
La La La La La La Lala La La La La,
La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La