I am back like the Mumbai Rains!

Wow, it has caught on. Finally, Lord Varuna (Rain God) has obliged to the many prayers of Mumbaites. It has been a pouring inferno, and once again the city with its bursting population has been seen adjusting and accommodating to this downpour.

Some things that I was an eye witness since morning are what I seem to be scribbling. Knee deep water and the consequent breakdown of cars and taxis and auto rickshaws. Some fretting and fuming and showing their anger through their blaring horns and glaring stares. Those affected trying to take help of whoever passing by. Street urchins demanding huge sums to push their vehicles and make a fast buck. The office going public running fast to catch slow trains which seem to meander only to stop. The good Samaritan tea vendors serving hot tea and providing succour to those stranded passengers and motorists.

But I also observe those who are just out to enjoy the rains with gay abandon. College going couples daring the rains and taking the opportunity to get closer to each other and in a way trying to create heat for themselves. The best are the school going children bunking schools because of their parents fear of Mumbai floods. A virtual swimming pool created by them , enjoying themselves in this heavenly deluge. Pushing and jostling one another with not a care in the world. The really small ones with their parents in toe making paper boats and allowing them to sail.

And me, enjoying all these with my wife sitting by the window sill sipping steaming tea with hot pakodas. What more can you ask on a rainy day and that too after having waited for the rains for more than a month.

Alumni Meet Grand Finale

Post the felicitation at the Alumni meet, Ranga, Pai and I mingled with our professors and chatted, reminiscing old memories.

One such conversation was with our lady professor who taught us physical chemistry. An extremely beautiful lady and continues to look so even today. We reminded her how her lecture rooms swelled with male students, and if at all there were absentees they were obviously of the fairer sex. She gave us a knowing smile (which we thought was too late in the day) which accentuated her beautiful dimples, and made us even more dumbstruck. Talking of dimples, I remember my good friend Kavi remark “ Many men make the mistake of falling in love with a dimple, and ending up marrying the whole woman.” We further reminded the smiling assassin, our lady professor, the unique way she adopted in asking questions during her lectures. She had this style of saying “Come on, come on”, and all of us back benchers literally stood up to march towards her unable to resist the temptation. We told her that after so many years we understood the term ‘Physical Chemistry’.

We then met our Physics professor who had this habit of throwing chalk pieces at the students after asking a question. We called him a sharp shooter since the chalk pieces always fell on beautiful girls. Of course! he had always had his way with girls and left a mark (chalk mark) on them. Arjuna of Mahabharata fame would have been put to shame considering our professor’s shooting skills. This professor, I remember, had once seen Ranga and me lean on one of the pillars at the college entrance. In his characteristic humour, he had shot back “ the pillars are strong enough, they don’t need your support”. It was his way of reminding us that we should be in the lecture rooms instead of wasting our time at the entrance. When we reminded him of this remark, he told us “ those were the days, but you students are the real pillars”

It indeed was amazing to recall these incidents and share it with our professors. All of us brimmed with happiness and joy , and we profusely thanked our professors for their contributions in building our lives.

Jai Ho !, Our Professors.

Alumni Meet - I

A month ago I along with my friends, Ranga and Pai , attended the alumni meet of our graduation college. We met a lot of our professors and past students and truly what transpired there was nostalgic.

Professors who had taught us were felicitated for their contributions as also some students who had made it big in their lives. We were not in this category, but had decided to make it to the stage and be felicitated, come what may. My friend Pai during our conversation told me and Ranga that he had over thirty years carefully kept the college identity cards of all the four years of graduation, and proudly displayed it to us. We saw our friend Pai looking very youthful in these photographs, and we told the trustee that Pai should be felicitated for maintaining these college identity cards even though thirty years had elapsed. The trustee in good humour commended Pai for his deed and decided to felicitate Pai for his love to the Alma Mater.

Ranga and I called Pai aside and told him that we were responsible for his felicitation since we had talked to the trustee. We told him that after his felicitation, he should come on the microphone and state that he was accompanied by his two friends, Ranga and Iyer and that they also be invited on stage since they both had represented the college in Table Tennis and had occupied positions of authority in the college sports club. Pai was felicitated and true to the spirit of friendship, he talked about us and we were also invited on stage for felicitation. In a way, he did not leave any alternative for the organizers but to felicitate me and Ranga.

Ranga and I right from our college days always knew how to show up where it matters. It was a great feeling to know thirty years later, we still were good at it and had not lost our charm.

Jai Ho, Ranga and Pai.

Analysis - Paralysis Syndrome!

Always been wondering at how people worry about things that may happen in the future. They seem to be too much worried about consequences, when they really must be enjoying the present. Then there are a certain class of people who do not act imagining about undesirable consequences that may emanate. They remain where they are with just the fear that things may not turn their way. Then there are others who plan, brood and do not move an inch forward.

Application of mind is important so also analysis. Beyond a point, they lose their meaning. Too much of analysis , in my mind, leads to paralysis. Hence, over the years I have believed that ‘Knowing is knowing, Knowing is not doing, And doing is doing’.

In the above context, I am reminded of a story involving King Akbar and his lieutenant, Birbal. Akbar one night dreamt that his dearest horse was flying in the sky. He realised this was a dream but wanted to make it a reality. Next day, he called all his court officials and spelt his dream. He stated that whoever could make his horse fly would be offered ten thousand gold coins. The flip side was that if anybody promised and failed to materialize the dream, he would have his neck on the guillotine. Nobody was ready to make the dream come true except Birbal who stated he could. Birbal, however, had one rider and he informed King Akbar telling him ‘Oh! Majesty, it is possible except that it will take five years to train and make the horse fly’. The king was mighty pleased and agreed to grant him time.

After the court adjourned for the day, all the officials including Birbal’s wife were concerned at the absurdity of the promise, and reminded Birbal that his neck was on the guillotine. Birbal’s wife was in tears and pleaded with him to take back the promise given to the King. Birbal, intelligent that he was, told all of them – ‘ Who knows whether King Akbar will live for five years, who knows whether Birbal himself will live for five years and who knows whether the horse will live for five years. If all of them survive for five years, we will kill the horse. Just don’t waste your time and worry over trifle things’.

What say!!!

Oh! Nature

Recently there was a news report on a cow delivering its young one. The report stated that the cow expends quite a lot of energy during delivery that it is dead tired and hungry after the calf is born. My research indicates that it takes about 270 to 290 days for a calf to be born much similar to humans. It is the legs that come out first followed by the face after three or four contractions in case of a normal delivery.

In one such case in a Bangalore public road, the cow after its delivery went on search for food, and lost its way. The calf was mooing for its mother’s milk which generally is fed by the mother immediately after the delivery. A veterinarian passing by could sense the discomfort of the calf, and since the search for the mother seemed to be in vain, decided to feed the calf through a feeding bottle. The calf would not drink from the nipple of the feeding bottle when the veterinarian came with imaginative stuff. He started mooing like the mother cow and simultaneously starting feeding the calf. The calf started sucking the nipple, and enjoyed milk to its heart content.

That very night, the calf was again hungry, and sans the veterinarian, refused to drink milk. Since the veterinarian stayed about 30 kms from the cattle shed, an unique method was adopted by the veterinarian. He instructed his staff to keep the phone receiver on the calf’s ear and he started mooing over the phone, when again the calf started sucking the nipple, and drinking milk. It was a great moment for the staff at the shed since this kept the calf going.


It was amazing and fascinating to see how the calf responded to drinking at the sound of the mother’s voice. That , I guess, is association with a mother. Research again indicates that that the child is biologically pre wired to bond to the mother. The mother’s voice becomes a reinforcement by being paired with feeding and thereby eliciting a positive response from the infant.

Simply fabulous are the ways of nature.

Time alone can heal

My good friend Jayaram lost Devika, his wife, last week after a prolonged illness. She was suffering from a kidney ailment for the last ten years and in the last few years was practically on dialysis. Jayaram did a lot for his wife and did whatever possible cheerfully. Devika’s mother had offered her kidney to her daughter for transplant, which sustained her for ten years. Jayaram has two teenaged daughters who also did their measure for their beloved mother.

I went for the funeral and there were near and dear ones grieving. It was quite touching to see the daughters literally weeping and moaning though Jayaram stood his ground for the sake of his daughters. A thought that crossed my mind was two young girls have lost their mother, the husband - his wife, and the mother - her daughter. That home will never be the same again. The kitchen will be empty, and the corner bed where Devika spent her last days, silent and still. Overnight, life changes.

Jayaram and his two daughters will continue to hear Devika’s voice, and feel her endearment and love in all they do, though she will never ever be seen again. Why (reason) and when (time) these happen are unfathomable, I tell myself.

It would sound a cliché to say that ‘Time alone can heal’, but ultimately this truth will always hold. May Devika’s soul rest in peace.

Partners in Crime

My niece, Priya had decided to celebrate her birthday with hubby , Vikram, over a quiet dinner. The devil that Vikram is - he had tied up a master plan with my daughter, Shraddha, a bigger devil, to celebrate the birthday of Priya in a manner which was more of a surprise to her.

Both Vikram and Shraddha had sewn up a master plan whereby the duplicate key of Vikram’s house was available with Shraddha. Both of them had agreed that after dinner when Vikram brought Priya home, the house would be decorated and a cake would be kept on the centre table. All the other family members were told to assemble in the house and ten of us including my eighty old mother were seated in one of the rooms with all lights switched off. Thanks to mobile phones, constant encoded messages were exchanged between the devils to ensure that the plan was executed without any glitch. Vikram, of course, to ensure that Priya had no clue , had to pretend while messaging that he was involved in serious office work.

At around 1155 pm, we heard the noise of the key on the door and Vikram along with Priya came in. There was pin drop silence and the lights were put on by Priya who saw the cake and the decorations and was heard telling her hubby ‘ Baby, thanks so much for the cake’. By then all of us rushed from the other room and in unison sang ‘Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to Priya’. She was stunned and could not believe her eyes. She was so thrilled that she lost herself for a moment and hugged each one of us expressing her joy and happiness.

For all of us , this was a memorable experience, and for Priya – it was something out of the world. Indeed the plan was executed to a ‘T’, and I had heard of such things happening elsewhere We congratulated the partners in crime, the two devils, who left no stones unturned in ensuring an unforgettable experience and a great birthday to Priya.