A child born out of the impulsive affair of a royal princess. A prince facing the humiliation of being set adrift at birth and being raised by a non achiever. A warrior who supported the losing side. A father who saw his son killed in front of his eyes. A man who understood the impracticality of giving away his security. A disciple who was unfairly cursed by his own teacher. A King who was never there for his people. A chauvinist to the core. A follower of Dharma who gave tacit support to adharma. A seeker who was forever seeking for what he should not seek for. An egotist who never believed that he could go wrong. A practical person who always gave in to impracticality. A great man but less than the greatest because of the company he kept and the environment of his growth. A bitter man with a chip on his shoulders. A supreme strategist who could never own up to his own faults.
Karna was all this and more…
Karna was the first in a stream of illegitimate sons that Kunti had. These children were luckier than Karna, in that they were conceived by the approval of Pandu. Kunti and her co wife - Madri had 5 more sons. Yudhistira, Bhim, Arjun, Nakul and Shahadev. They all excelled in a single quality each. Together they were like the 5 fingers that make up a fist. However, individually they all lacked in specific qualities. Karna was the son that Pandu could not have. He was his hearts desire from an union he did not know of. The irony was emphasized, in that Karna contained all the qualities that the other five had together. But, as practicality would have it..each of his qualities were lesser in extent to the whole that the 5 others represented as a group. So he was a strong … but not stronger than Bhima. He was a master warrior but not greater than Arjuna. He represented Dharma but not as much as Yudhistir did. So though he was more of a man than any of his brothers , he was less in one single quality that each represented as individuals. Karna was a weaker fist than the collective five that his brothers represented as a group. However, he possessed at least some qualities that his brothers did not represent individually.
He was the all rounder. Never a specialist, he did not realize his own weakness. He attempted to be the best at archery…but could not rise above Arjuna. He tried to be the strongest physically, but could not excel Bhima. He tried to be more devout and generous than Yudhistira and yet was never perceived to be a Dharmaraj. And yet, he believed himself to be more than the collective strength of the Pandavas, and that was his undoing. A team is always stronger than the individual and Karna was shadow captaining the wrong team. A moral emerges – Back the right team.
The glorification of Karna is - in as much as you would glorify an underdog, a martyr. We take his failures unhappily and attribute them to curses and conditions. Only 2 people could string the Gandiva, but Draupadi would not hear of marrying a Sutaputra. This shocks the modernity in us and we scream – But that is unfair…Draupadi is doing this because she has her heart set on Arjuna. The truth is probably different. As the daughter of a major Monarch, Draupadi was arrogant and snobbish, she would not marry a man whose antecedents were not clear. Strong as he was, he was not a match for Arjuna’s family line. The irony was that Arjuna’s antecedents were as dubious as that of Karna. Only, Pandu was aware of it and gave him a name. That name made the difference. That is the next moral of his story – You need a family.
Even during the war, Karna could never kill any of the Pandavas. We believe that he made a promise to Kunti “You will still have five sons after the war”….”I will kill only Arjuna and spare the rest”. The point is, that this promise lost the war for the Kauravas. So, even bound to Duryodhana, Karna betrayed the very basis on which he was on Duryodhana’s side. He defeated Yudhistira in a single combat and then spared his life, Bhim met the same fate as did a combined attack of Nakul and Shahadev. Imagine this, Arjuna would have been completely devastated if Karna had killed all his brothers. Arjuna would have lost his powers and the war. So Duryodhana lost the war because of the great betrayal of his best friend. The next moral – Do what you do with all your heart. Never take half measures. Eg Bhima did not hesitate before killing Vikarna …the third of the Kauravas and the only brother who stood up against the humiliation of Draupadi. While killing him, Bhima made a chilling confession – ‘Of all the Kauravas, I love you the most. You are a true man. I do not wish to kill you and yet I have to, because of the promise I have made. Any break in that promise may look like weakness on my part”. Karna had made a similar promise to Duryodhana – That of destroying the Pandavas. He did not succeed because he gave in to emotion.
Karna was celebrated as a warrior for defeating Bhim and Yudhistira, but Karna still lost the great war to the Pandavas because of an obstinate desire to better a man who could not be bettered in his chosen field. Karna did not see the signs, did not read the writing on the wall. He insisted on taking on the one man who would never lose to him..the one man who had beaten him hands down in the past. Karna did not know his limitations..and that was the next big moral of his story – Know your limitations.
Karna was known as one of the greatest philanthropists of his age. Even in this, he did not know the difference between ego and philanthropy. He knew that Indra was asking for his most prized physical possession. He knew that he would surely perish without his armour, and yet, it was his vanity that prevented him from turning Indra away. He would, under no circumstances show any sign of failure, of weakness. He wanted to show Indra, that armor or not, he was still confident of beating Arjuna. He wanted to cut a cavalier figure … a sort of Hector like fatalist. He did not realize that victories are not achieved through such empty shows of magnanimity. Imagine…would Arjuna ever give away his Gandiva? I dare say not. In fact Arjuna knew his limitations and went by them. At a very advanced age, when the Gandiva had outlived its purpose and given back to the powers that be, the same Arjuna, lost a battle to a mere bunch of highway robbers. However, by then, Arjuna had served his purpose. The kingdom had been won, a mere skirmish did not matter. Karna, by his so called philanthropy, lost the only battle that could have ever mattered.
Kunti came to him before the war started and tried to convince him to change sides. Krsna did the same. Karna, even then, admitted that this was a war that would end in disaster for the Kauravas…and yet he backed the losing side. One can see greatness in that , but one can also see the inability of recognizing good advice. Good advice is to be taken…not rejected. There is no glory in death and defeat. There is nothing more humiliating than death and nothing more insulting than a defeat that is conclusive. Karna had lost the war before he started fighting it. He was as good as dead…and yet his vanity won. He did not follow good advice. Good advice needs to be taken…specially when it comes from those who are better and more experienced than you.
Karna lost every bid for greatness he made. He was the quintessential ‘almost there’ guy. A man destined for greatness only because he attempted to scale the wall. He made valiant attempts but lost out because of these fatal failings listed above. His name became synonymous with sacrifice and that was his claim to fame.
In all of this, one totally missed out the objective of his sacrifices. Never has a man in mythology defended a cause so shallow, never has a warrior fought a war with his strength sapped so low. Never has a Hero so clearly defeated every cause that he held dear.
Karna is important for all of these reasons. Karna is great because of his sheer lack of greatness and the potential that he did not realize.
Karna is what every great man…should not aspire to be. That is then the importance of being …Karna.
Monday, September 7, 2009
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Indian and 'isms'
Hinduism was never a religion. It was always a loosely held confederation of the great Indian Religions like Vaishnavism, Shaivism, Shaktism. Basically all the religions that were born and nurtured in the historic land of rivers, far beyond the western frontiers of the Indus.
Now let us put the concept of Indianism in perspective. It is slightly confusing. The history of Indian thought goes far beyond the present boundaries of the sub continent. In fact the Indian nation extended well into the lands of Iran in the early part of proto history. This was after the origins of ruins at Suktajen Dor in western extremes of Iran and well into the realms of Vedic civilization.
The language of the early Persians were heavily influenced by the Indo Aryans and Zoroashtra himself was said to have studied the Indian scriptures deeply before espousing his specific form of religion. In fact it would not be too presumptuous to imagine that Hinduism in some form existed in Iran at that time considering that Gandhara (or Afganistan) at that time was a Hindu nation (one would believe of the Shaivism strain) and was a great meeting point of Parsi, Buddhist and Hindu Philosophy.
Alexander, as late as the 3rd Century BC had to go though the ‘pagan’ climes of the great Afgan nation and subjugated its great ruler in Taxila – the great university town. This ruler King Ambhi later aided his drive into Punjab and his face off with Porus.
Taxila, a strategically placed city – at the crossroads of the great Silk route – was the capital of the Great province of Gandhara. Situated in present day Pakistan (North West – around 60 km west of Islamabad), was adapted by the Bactrian Greeks for its importance and retained its primary role for many more centuries. Later, it was as important to the Greek communities (who established a township called Sirkap). Demitrios who ruled over this area during the later Bactrian invasion considered this city as his capital over Punjab, Sind and Afganistan. Oscillating between Iran (Persian empire) and the Indian powers, this land was forever the melting pot of Hindu and Persian philosophies.
And then lets not forget the importance of Gandhara in our epics. Remember the great Shakuni of Mahabharat – prince of Gandhara and his sister Gandhari. In Ramayana, also, these lands found mention in the origin of Bharat and Shatrughna and their mother Sumithra. Sumithra was the daughter of the Emperor of Gandhara.
The very fact that there existed such familiarity between the leaders of two nations that were situated geographically far apart, shows a kind of cultural similarity that may have found voice in similar religions and thought. Not difficult then for us to imagine that Gandhara may have spread far beyond present day Afganistan. Actually maybe much further than Afganistan …. I have this theory that Achilles and Krishna were blood brothers…both had their heels as their weakness.
So back to the topic…why the hell am I talking about the expanse of India in the isms… Merely to establish the variety of isms and the great cultural and social similarities in them. Now, understand this…India was never one country. It was a variety of people drawn together in parts and pieces or in the whole by temporal political power, by changing hues of social and religious beliefs, but mostly by a psychological entity that cut across geographies and physicalities. India of the isms existed in as much as Europe exists, only much more varied …much more colorful. The land of isms is a continent to end all continents. Smaller than the world but containing it nonetheless.
This ism’s eastern extremes are better known than the western ones. But its worth a mention that the ancient versions of this culture left a more lasting impression on Indo Chinese culture than we will ever realize. Budhism, the later brand of Islam and indeed a fraction of Christianity is deeply effected by the Indian isms. Its strange to realize this….but till participants in the great Indian mix decided to coexist and worship each other’s gods, things went along fine enough. So you had a Shaivite celebrating the birth of Krishna and a Vaishnavite celebrating Durga Puja accepting the importance of Shaktism as a force in the diaspora. Initial epic battles were passed on as stories and the political importance of Shiv - the Urban God (who was that through his sheer bohemianism) succumbed to the rustic charm and rising power of the agrarian community…not to be completely replaced but to be only just subservient to Vaishnavism (In the epics it was always a Krishnavatar…never a Shiva Avataar…and then the city slicks Bali (of the hidden but grand Kishkinda) and Ravan of the glamorous and large Lanka …both Shiv bhakts lost miserably to the nomad – Rama).
Eventually even Shiva would see a great revival in the re emergence of the more sophisticated elements of Indian civilization…the drugged and mystical image of Shiva was hard for the educated City Slicker to ignore (after all). Shaktism hovered in the middle somewhere…creating a fluid bridge between the two – Remember Durga was married Shiva and had a daughter – Lakshmi who was eventually married off to Vishnu – which again in the times of those legends made Vishnu the most important factor – The spoilt son in law….a political marriage if there ever was one. Its worth noting ..that in the south of the sub continent where civilization was more sophisticated and education more widespread … the cult of Shiva thrived and eventually re usurped its rightfull throne as a predominant Ism. Each religion borrowed so heavily from the other that down the centuries they merged into one…assimilating within their folds erstwhile influences from around the globe, creating the ONE truly eclectic religion that the world has ever known.
The fall came with the rize of isolated Brahminism and the refusal of Islam to be a part of Hinduism….though assimilating in the Indian Isms, Islam could never fully integrate in the existing culture and Mohammed could never become a Hindu God…but that is another story.
Cheers. The end of tolerance is spelling the end of Indianism …and we all rejoice….we all rejoice.
Now let us put the concept of Indianism in perspective. It is slightly confusing. The history of Indian thought goes far beyond the present boundaries of the sub continent. In fact the Indian nation extended well into the lands of Iran in the early part of proto history. This was after the origins of ruins at Suktajen Dor in western extremes of Iran and well into the realms of Vedic civilization.
The language of the early Persians were heavily influenced by the Indo Aryans and Zoroashtra himself was said to have studied the Indian scriptures deeply before espousing his specific form of religion. In fact it would not be too presumptuous to imagine that Hinduism in some form existed in Iran at that time considering that Gandhara (or Afganistan) at that time was a Hindu nation (one would believe of the Shaivism strain) and was a great meeting point of Parsi, Buddhist and Hindu Philosophy.
Alexander, as late as the 3rd Century BC had to go though the ‘pagan’ climes of the great Afgan nation and subjugated its great ruler in Taxila – the great university town. This ruler King Ambhi later aided his drive into Punjab and his face off with Porus.
Taxila, a strategically placed city – at the crossroads of the great Silk route – was the capital of the Great province of Gandhara. Situated in present day Pakistan (North West – around 60 km west of Islamabad), was adapted by the Bactrian Greeks for its importance and retained its primary role for many more centuries. Later, it was as important to the Greek communities (who established a township called Sirkap). Demitrios who ruled over this area during the later Bactrian invasion considered this city as his capital over Punjab, Sind and Afganistan. Oscillating between Iran (Persian empire) and the Indian powers, this land was forever the melting pot of Hindu and Persian philosophies.
And then lets not forget the importance of Gandhara in our epics. Remember the great Shakuni of Mahabharat – prince of Gandhara and his sister Gandhari. In Ramayana, also, these lands found mention in the origin of Bharat and Shatrughna and their mother Sumithra. Sumithra was the daughter of the Emperor of Gandhara.
The very fact that there existed such familiarity between the leaders of two nations that were situated geographically far apart, shows a kind of cultural similarity that may have found voice in similar religions and thought. Not difficult then for us to imagine that Gandhara may have spread far beyond present day Afganistan. Actually maybe much further than Afganistan …. I have this theory that Achilles and Krishna were blood brothers…both had their heels as their weakness.
So back to the topic…why the hell am I talking about the expanse of India in the isms… Merely to establish the variety of isms and the great cultural and social similarities in them. Now, understand this…India was never one country. It was a variety of people drawn together in parts and pieces or in the whole by temporal political power, by changing hues of social and religious beliefs, but mostly by a psychological entity that cut across geographies and physicalities. India of the isms existed in as much as Europe exists, only much more varied …much more colorful. The land of isms is a continent to end all continents. Smaller than the world but containing it nonetheless.
This ism’s eastern extremes are better known than the western ones. But its worth a mention that the ancient versions of this culture left a more lasting impression on Indo Chinese culture than we will ever realize. Budhism, the later brand of Islam and indeed a fraction of Christianity is deeply effected by the Indian isms. Its strange to realize this….but till participants in the great Indian mix decided to coexist and worship each other’s gods, things went along fine enough. So you had a Shaivite celebrating the birth of Krishna and a Vaishnavite celebrating Durga Puja accepting the importance of Shaktism as a force in the diaspora. Initial epic battles were passed on as stories and the political importance of Shiv - the Urban God (who was that through his sheer bohemianism) succumbed to the rustic charm and rising power of the agrarian community…not to be completely replaced but to be only just subservient to Vaishnavism (In the epics it was always a Krishnavatar…never a Shiva Avataar…and then the city slicks Bali (of the hidden but grand Kishkinda) and Ravan of the glamorous and large Lanka …both Shiv bhakts lost miserably to the nomad – Rama).
Eventually even Shiva would see a great revival in the re emergence of the more sophisticated elements of Indian civilization…the drugged and mystical image of Shiva was hard for the educated City Slicker to ignore (after all). Shaktism hovered in the middle somewhere…creating a fluid bridge between the two – Remember Durga was married Shiva and had a daughter – Lakshmi who was eventually married off to Vishnu – which again in the times of those legends made Vishnu the most important factor – The spoilt son in law….a political marriage if there ever was one. Its worth noting ..that in the south of the sub continent where civilization was more sophisticated and education more widespread … the cult of Shiva thrived and eventually re usurped its rightfull throne as a predominant Ism. Each religion borrowed so heavily from the other that down the centuries they merged into one…assimilating within their folds erstwhile influences from around the globe, creating the ONE truly eclectic religion that the world has ever known.
The fall came with the rize of isolated Brahminism and the refusal of Islam to be a part of Hinduism….though assimilating in the Indian Isms, Islam could never fully integrate in the existing culture and Mohammed could never become a Hindu God…but that is another story.
Cheers. The end of tolerance is spelling the end of Indianism …and we all rejoice….we all rejoice.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Craziest Food I have ever tasted
- Tongba, Bamboo Beer....Hot Stimulating Cafe, Darjeeling. This is a rocking drink. Made of fermented millet and rye based in a round Bamboo Container and drunk with a Bamboo Straw with a netting at the end. The base of fermented millet and rye is topped with hot water and allowed to settle for a few minutes. You sip and sip and then top up again and again till the alchohol in base lasts. Never ending and superb. Best had with the house speciality which are freshly made Momos (all vegeterian in this joint)
- Grilled Alligator Meat with Garlic Toast and Red Wine at Brassilia - the restaurant at Lagoons in Lagos. With baby tomatoes and herbs, this is a strange, if not a very appetizing food.
- Tomato rice stuffed into scooped out Cucumber @ a friends place. Tasted terrible ....try if you like that kind of thing...specially when the cucumber is boiled
- Bhindi stuffed with Keema at a parsee friends house...made the same way that you would make bharva Baingan or stuffed bhindi (with besan).... Crazy ...the Parsees need meat in everything
- Jadoh....in the North East of India...I believe its origin is Shillong...but its recipe is like pork Biriyani but the Rice is cooked in Pork Blood ...or so I believe. Loved it before I found what it was boiled in
- Chhola Burger at Bhopal...This is crazy...It is Chhole ...pounded and made into neat cakes and placed as patties between buns... I can think of better things...Didnt taste half bad though.
- Bheja Fry @ Bhatyar Gali ...was horrible....picking goats brain....yucks
- Tea, creamed with Camel Milk...again a strict no no.... a few years back at Sarita Udyan in Gandhinagar...realised something was wrong the moment I sipped the tea...only to be told that normal milk was not available and so the Camel variety....
- Crispy Sweet Chicken @ Tangra, Kolkata...Just in case you did not get enough protien during the meal itself, here is what you do...dip chicken strips in bits of sweet marination (honey in it I believe and til) and fry it till crisp.... Sweet very sweet...And kind of ok to taste
- Alloo Tikki Burgers at Macdonalds....Hello what was that? Alloo Tikki ...ok ... but Alloo Tikki Burgers at Macs? Absolute no no...
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Ever Changing Freedom
I am tired of the ugly things in life. Thats why this is gonna be a happy blog. Thoughtful and positive yes. Unhappy ...NO.
Therefore I have kind of stuck to neutral topics ...things that one would love till now. Stuff like food, drinks...basically 'bring a smile on your face' thingies.
So today I continue in a Nation swelling with pride and happiness. A pride and happiness thorroughly justified in the emerging 3 days, 4 night weekend coming up. All government and private sector employees will be paid during this period and all trade and businessmen will do brisk business.
The occassions are nebulous...at best preserved in the back of our consciousness, but the pleasure genuine. Janmashtmi is, on the whole, more important than Indipendence day, the latter however being more widely celebrated in its geographic extent.
Nehru said, 'Long years ago, we made a tryst with destiny....the time has come to redeem that pledge'...well have we kept that pledge? ...in many ways we have.
We are a Free country. Politically and Economically. But the time has come to fight another battle. The battle to free us from the brand of Political and Economic freedom that we have, from the disparity we suffer. The time has come to ask...Has the freedom we have really made a difference?
I presume it has. I was not born during the occupation and so I dont know the emotional hassles of being secondary in my own country. Moreover I was born into what may be considered a Socially elevated family (if not an economically elevated one). To add to it, we were not exactly hand to mouth. Therefore I was a part of the new Elite. The Elite that had taken the place of the Raj ...to create a new order....a new Raj. I must confess though...There were thousands, nay, millions of people around me, not so lucky as me, who were secondary...any which way you look at it. And this realization of mine was acute from a very early age.
Our house in Kolkata had 2 entrances. One a delapidated side door that led to the backyard, and the other, a grand entry for cars that led to a stairway into the drawing room. The side entry was used just once a day. A jamadar would come and knock and the servant girl would go and open the door. This Jamadar with a broom tail (quite literally) would go into the backyard and then take the back intrances to the bathrooms. He would clean up, take the refuse and leave the same he came. The maid servant would directly go into her bath and be allowed into the house after that.
We were not so much as allowed to go near the sweeper man. After all, the sweeper man was an untouchable. He and his ilk were unclean. In fact, these were a subhuman race...descended of the lowest of the low. They never had any chance in hell of rising above subhuman as their children would be from the same dirty seed as them.
That has changed. At least in the urban context. There has been significant changes in the Rural India as well. The Brahmin heartland of India has a seen a significant revolution that has seen the rise of the opressed classes. They have entered the earlier Brahminical bastions of Politics and Administration and have made significant progress in terms of individual property and community. Problem is that soon as these people become empowered, they become elitist. The irony is that its their origins themselves that make them elitist. They wear their untouchability like a badge and garner votes from the silent majority. They give long discourses on how to break the grip and retire back to their marble palaces and big cars. I am sure they, in their ivory palaces, have a different entry point for sweepers as well.
So nothing much has changed. We have created a new Layer of Noveu Brahmins who are in many ways even more exploitative, as they dont have the generations of education that the erstwhile higher classes have gone through. One would see this as a natural process of National Evolution and one may be right. The next generation of the New Brahmins, will be not so crass and in your face and would be capable of taking clean sophisticated decissions. These decissions, one hopes will open the road for even Newer Brahminism. There will be new graduates to the Elites ..who will reduce the span of the underprivilaged and continue on the path of unsophisticated, unplanned progress which will eventually destroy the decaying social order and a create a new ruling class in the generations to come. They will be the Brahmins of the new age espousing a new freedom that will run out of fashion eventually till newer Brahmins cause a social catharsis..
This cycle will continue till the utopian death of class politics. Which, with all due respect to the changing liberal elites, is not possible, because, all things on par, we will always need a ruling and a ruled class. There will always be parties, organisations, people, groups etc who will be more equal than others ...who will controle the food that hits our table and the safety we need at home and the healthcare we get in our old age. These people will always be elitist, till they fall to the new order.
Hell...Freedom is cool...phew....Its momentary, utopian and ever changing....That gives each one of us the freedom to celebrate our indipendence from a different cause in each succesive year. The Raj is irrelevant...let us celebrate our Indipence Day as a symbol of freedom ... from anything at all...
Therefore I have kind of stuck to neutral topics ...things that one would love till now. Stuff like food, drinks...basically 'bring a smile on your face' thingies.
So today I continue in a Nation swelling with pride and happiness. A pride and happiness thorroughly justified in the emerging 3 days, 4 night weekend coming up. All government and private sector employees will be paid during this period and all trade and businessmen will do brisk business.
The occassions are nebulous...at best preserved in the back of our consciousness, but the pleasure genuine. Janmashtmi is, on the whole, more important than Indipendence day, the latter however being more widely celebrated in its geographic extent.
Nehru said, 'Long years ago, we made a tryst with destiny....the time has come to redeem that pledge'...well have we kept that pledge? ...in many ways we have.
We are a Free country. Politically and Economically. But the time has come to fight another battle. The battle to free us from the brand of Political and Economic freedom that we have, from the disparity we suffer. The time has come to ask...Has the freedom we have really made a difference?
I presume it has. I was not born during the occupation and so I dont know the emotional hassles of being secondary in my own country. Moreover I was born into what may be considered a Socially elevated family (if not an economically elevated one). To add to it, we were not exactly hand to mouth. Therefore I was a part of the new Elite. The Elite that had taken the place of the Raj ...to create a new order....a new Raj. I must confess though...There were thousands, nay, millions of people around me, not so lucky as me, who were secondary...any which way you look at it. And this realization of mine was acute from a very early age.
Our house in Kolkata had 2 entrances. One a delapidated side door that led to the backyard, and the other, a grand entry for cars that led to a stairway into the drawing room. The side entry was used just once a day. A jamadar would come and knock and the servant girl would go and open the door. This Jamadar with a broom tail (quite literally) would go into the backyard and then take the back intrances to the bathrooms. He would clean up, take the refuse and leave the same he came. The maid servant would directly go into her bath and be allowed into the house after that.
We were not so much as allowed to go near the sweeper man. After all, the sweeper man was an untouchable. He and his ilk were unclean. In fact, these were a subhuman race...descended of the lowest of the low. They never had any chance in hell of rising above subhuman as their children would be from the same dirty seed as them.
That has changed. At least in the urban context. There has been significant changes in the Rural India as well. The Brahmin heartland of India has a seen a significant revolution that has seen the rise of the opressed classes. They have entered the earlier Brahminical bastions of Politics and Administration and have made significant progress in terms of individual property and community. Problem is that soon as these people become empowered, they become elitist. The irony is that its their origins themselves that make them elitist. They wear their untouchability like a badge and garner votes from the silent majority. They give long discourses on how to break the grip and retire back to their marble palaces and big cars. I am sure they, in their ivory palaces, have a different entry point for sweepers as well.
So nothing much has changed. We have created a new Layer of Noveu Brahmins who are in many ways even more exploitative, as they dont have the generations of education that the erstwhile higher classes have gone through. One would see this as a natural process of National Evolution and one may be right. The next generation of the New Brahmins, will be not so crass and in your face and would be capable of taking clean sophisticated decissions. These decissions, one hopes will open the road for even Newer Brahminism. There will be new graduates to the Elites ..who will reduce the span of the underprivilaged and continue on the path of unsophisticated, unplanned progress which will eventually destroy the decaying social order and a create a new ruling class in the generations to come. They will be the Brahmins of the new age espousing a new freedom that will run out of fashion eventually till newer Brahmins cause a social catharsis..
This cycle will continue till the utopian death of class politics. Which, with all due respect to the changing liberal elites, is not possible, because, all things on par, we will always need a ruling and a ruled class. There will always be parties, organisations, people, groups etc who will be more equal than others ...who will controle the food that hits our table and the safety we need at home and the healthcare we get in our old age. These people will always be elitist, till they fall to the new order.
Hell...Freedom is cool...phew....Its momentary, utopian and ever changing....That gives each one of us the freedom to celebrate our indipendence from a different cause in each succesive year. The Raj is irrelevant...let us celebrate our Indipence Day as a symbol of freedom ... from anything at all...
Monday, August 10, 2009
10 things to eat before you die...there are 100s....but for today
- Chello Kebab at Peter Cat, Park Street, Kolkata....the recipe is pure. Delicately herbed rice lightly suated in butter ringed with tender makhmali Sheek Kebab and melt in your mouth Chicken lasagni tikkas...topped off with a perfectly rounded fried egg.....
- Prawns Fry with Malabari Paranthas, Bhatiyar Gali, Ahmedabad....Shrimps (sizeable) fried in flavored oil (flavored with thousands of rounds of frying) slightly caramelized and with a masalla of tomatoes, garlic and onions. The Malabari Paranthas ...slightly sweet to the taste ...brilliantly rounded in layers and roast fried to perfection...You generally sit in your car and order for this. Carry a Thumbs Up with you. If you prefer something harder .. feel free.
- Liver Curry....you will get this in any standard Bong Home....Diced Goat's liver and potatoes....in a gravy of Peas flavoured with light haldi, tomatoes, garam massala, onions and garlic....Dried and stir fried it tastes great with Rotis...preserve a little liquid and it tastes great with Rice
- Patra Fish, A 1 Parsee Food Corner, Nanpura, Surat. Silver Leaf, Ahmedabad. Yezdi, Flora Fountain, Mumbai or at Sagar, Navsari. Slabs of white Pomfret ... marinated in a fine mixture of pudina, dhaniya, coconut, raw mangoes and other condiments...Steamed to perfection in its on marination wrapped in banana leaves...
- Kolkata Biriyani @ Shiraz, end of Park Street, Kolkata....Delicately flavoured rice covering mutton cooked to perfection in a wonderfully evolved marination and topped with sauted potatoes soaking in mutton gravy and 1 boiled egg...Nobody in India has a better Biriyani recipe. Its actually evolved from Lucknowi biryani brought to Kolkata by a very kind Wajid Ali Shah and then evolved into perfection.
- Chingrir Malai Kari @ Bhojohori Manna, Ekdaliya, Kolkata. There are many shops that serve this in many cities, but the one at BM, Kolkata is special. King Sized prawns with their heads on soaking in a evolved gravy of coconut cream and other usual masallas. Tastes devine with Rice
- Gujju Thaali at Vishalla, Ahmedabad...I will get discent on this one...but I still maintain that the Vishalla Thali with its atmospheare and ambiance and of course delightfully tasty condiments to go.
- Khichdi and Labra (mixed vegetable) at any Durga Puja Mandap in any city at all...Dont try this at home... it will never taste the same. Seems to taste the best on Ashtami.
- Butter Chicken @ Ranjit da Dhaba in the road behind Safdarjang Hospital, Delhi ... I have forgotten the name of the Road. The creamy red white mixture bubbling with sinfull chicken tastes super with Tandoori Roti.. The Pandara Road variety isnt too bad either...but there is something special about standing on the road amidst polluting vehicles to have this
- Prawns Kolivada @ Lambas, Chembur main Road, Mumbai.....Words fail me here....Kolivada...dont have it with anything at all....and watch it getting made...if you want a little Rum and Coke wouldnt be out of place
Patriotism...the meaning
A very young friend of mine asked me " What is Patriotism" . And I kept on thinking about it the whole day.
The conclusions. Patriotism is a partisan feeling towards ones ilk. You could be a Bengali Patriot or Indian Patriot. You could, if you so wished, even be a Tamil Patriot or Amdavadi Patriot. The moot point therefore, you have to identify yourself to your belief of a Nation...a geographic / political entity.
Still that doesnt quite describe the feeling.
I personally am a patriot. In the same way that I would, feel badly, if someone spoke ill of my mother, I feel terrible if someone says lousy stuff about India...my chosen subject of passion. I illogically try to find virtue in every grime filled corner of this country. I magnify beyond belief every small achievement of the collective polity. I blame every ill that it suffers on myriad conditions and fate. I am proud to be Indian, even when Children get raped and killed. I am proud to be Indian when people get lynched on the road and when mature grown up people drive on the wrong side. I am proud to be Indian when we send a mission to the moon and make our first neuclear Submarine. I am happy when Amartya Sen wins the Nobel Prize for a life spent in America and when Indophiles like Dalrymple write about our History.
In a nation starved of Heroes...Patriotism is the only Hero that one worships. Its good that the feeling rises above the individual and truly rises as a giant body ....Something like Krishna's Vishwaroop.
That said, I look forward to the day that Nationalism in its present form dies out. The day that the whole world becomes a nation.
That day, patriotism will have a different meaning.
The conclusions. Patriotism is a partisan feeling towards ones ilk. You could be a Bengali Patriot or Indian Patriot. You could, if you so wished, even be a Tamil Patriot or Amdavadi Patriot. The moot point therefore, you have to identify yourself to your belief of a Nation...a geographic / political entity.
Still that doesnt quite describe the feeling.
I personally am a patriot. In the same way that I would, feel badly, if someone spoke ill of my mother, I feel terrible if someone says lousy stuff about India...my chosen subject of passion. I illogically try to find virtue in every grime filled corner of this country. I magnify beyond belief every small achievement of the collective polity. I blame every ill that it suffers on myriad conditions and fate. I am proud to be Indian, even when Children get raped and killed. I am proud to be Indian when people get lynched on the road and when mature grown up people drive on the wrong side. I am proud to be Indian when we send a mission to the moon and make our first neuclear Submarine. I am happy when Amartya Sen wins the Nobel Prize for a life spent in America and when Indophiles like Dalrymple write about our History.
In a nation starved of Heroes...Patriotism is the only Hero that one worships. Its good that the feeling rises above the individual and truly rises as a giant body ....Something like Krishna's Vishwaroop.
That said, I look forward to the day that Nationalism in its present form dies out. The day that the whole world becomes a nation.
That day, patriotism will have a different meaning.
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Biryani Cake...and you may not have THIS recipe
Here goes .....
Ingradients
Ingradients
- 1 Kg mutton ....cleaned
- 500 Gm palak
- 3 large Capsicums
- 2 jharis of Dhaniya leaves
- Some Tulsi
- 1 Sweet Mango
- 500 gm Dahi
- 6 wonderfully white onions
- 8 kernels of Garlic
- 4 delightfully tight tomatoes
- Red Chillies
- Green chillies (5)
- Garam Masala (the usual suspects powdered)
- Garam Masala (Seperately ..Cloves, Cinnamon, Elaichi (kala and green), Tej Patta
- 200 Gms of butter
- 2 table spoons of Ghee
- 2 Eggs
- Saffron in cold milk
- And before I forget ... The finest Basmati available (1 Kg)
Phase 1
Take the palak, dhaniya leaves, Capsicum, Mango, tulsi, green chillies. Cut them into fine pieces and grind them to fine consistency with a table spoon of cream in a mixie that works
Heat a wok, put in the butter and when it clarifies, put in 2 jullianed tomatoes, 3 kernels of garlic and the powdered garam masala (around 2 tea spoons will do ... so that the other natural flavours come out)
When crackling, pour in the Palak mixture with the Dahi and allow it to simmer for 2 minutes. put in salt to taste, let it boil for 5 minutes and set it aside to rest.
Take the Rice and parboil with a drop of ghee. Drain in muslin and set aside
Clean the wok (or take another one). Heat the Ghee and the remaining onions and garlic. Put in the full garam masalla and let it crackle. When delightfully brown, throw in the mutton and let the color fade. Now put in the tomatoes and salt to taste and set it on high heat till the entire juice is semidry and the mutton looks wonderfully red golden brown. Dont pay any attention to whether boiling has happened or not.
Phase 2
Take a large heavy base (prefereably non stick) tapela. Grease the same with some ghee or butter.
Take the 2 handfull of par boiled basmati and mix in 2 eggs. mix them to create some very eggy parboiled rice. Now coat this mixture into the base and sides of the Tapela
Now put in a layer of rice ...and follow it up with a layer of Palak and mutton...Repeat this till you are out of ingradients. Take care to see that the top layer is a thick layer of rice.
Now mix the Saffron well with the cold milk in a small bowl and sprikle the concoction on this top layer. Take your call whether you want some roasted almonds on it or not. I personally preffer this straight up.
Seal the Tapela with Atta or foil (atta priority) and slow heat this on the gas or burner for 1 hr 15 minutes.
Phase 3
Turn of the heat and let the Tapela rest for 15 minutes. Now break the seal and Turn Tapela upside down on a large dish. The biriyani will ease out like a piece of pie or something. Sprikle golden brown fried onions on this and other personal garnishing and serve ... hot.
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Birth of a Blog
You know how it works...You read a lot of Wodehouse, Kazantzakis, Tagore and Amitabh Ghosh. You write a few class esseys that are liked. You speak a kewl tongue and find that the majority dont understand what you are talking about. And, subsequently, you start fancying yourself as a writer, a sharer of ideas and information.
Its actually a mid life crisis...or the beginnings of one in any case. A situation when bills run faster than prize horses, and the paunch looks like it needs immidiate drastic action. Its when you realise that you cant be the Prime Minister or Mr Bill Gates,.....why....you cant even be the guy next door who bought that snazy car. Your credit rating is average and your commitments are legendary. It is also when you realise that most people couldnt care lesser about your interests. When knowledge or the yearning for it becomes irreversibly destroyed by basic real life practicality. So you sit down and tell the Krishna story to your daughter .... and she listens to you with rapt attention and then says...Dad can I have that PSP now that I have listened to all you have to say...and you start calculating the coming pay packet.
To top it all, rickshaw drivers start calling you Uncle...Now that is miserable.
So one needs a release and technology offers the perfect solution. This Blog therefore is about anything at all. Anything that one may want to say. Anything that one needs to share. For posterity...if not for the present.
Its actually a mid life crisis...or the beginnings of one in any case. A situation when bills run faster than prize horses, and the paunch looks like it needs immidiate drastic action. Its when you realise that you cant be the Prime Minister or Mr Bill Gates,.....why....you cant even be the guy next door who bought that snazy car. Your credit rating is average and your commitments are legendary. It is also when you realise that most people couldnt care lesser about your interests. When knowledge or the yearning for it becomes irreversibly destroyed by basic real life practicality. So you sit down and tell the Krishna story to your daughter .... and she listens to you with rapt attention and then says...Dad can I have that PSP now that I have listened to all you have to say...and you start calculating the coming pay packet.
To top it all, rickshaw drivers start calling you Uncle...Now that is miserable.
So one needs a release and technology offers the perfect solution. This Blog therefore is about anything at all. Anything that one may want to say. Anything that one needs to share. For posterity...if not for the present.
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