RIP : Supriya

Although a bit late, this one is in memory of Supriya, the only tigress of the Byculla zoo that died end of December 2005. As can be seen from the reports (and here), she died of kidney failure.

As far as I could see during my visits to the zoo, she was very popular among all age groups of visitors. Indeed, she was aptly named "Supriya" (meaning the most beloved). She had a fairly large enclosure by Byculla-zoo standards and the enclosure had a couple of "small caves" and a water pond where she would laze about in the hot summer months.

Here is a photograph of Supriya that I had shot sometime in April 2005. Now only if I had that SLR instead of the stupid compact digital camera...

Vesave Koli Food Festival 2006

As part of the Mumbai Festival 2006, several events were held in various parts of the city. One among them was the "Vesave Koli Food Festival" at Versova. This "sub-festival" was held on January 20th to January 22nd. I decided to visit it on the last day. The timings were 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Being a Sunday, I expected some crowd, but as the time passed by, the crowd only increased multi-fold much beyond my expectations. I reached the Versova bus stop at about 6:45 p.m. and decided to walk the rest of the way. It took me some time (and the guidance of a native co-worker, whom I happened to meet by chance in the "village") to find the way to the actual place.

Several stalls were put up where the local fishermen could cook and display their food items. (See the local church in the background. A temple was also present on the grounds, but I could not photograph it.)

The decoration was quite interesting with real boats, fish, nets and oars thrown in.

A stage had been decorated where dance performances by the local fisherfolk were to be held.

Versova (or Vesave as it is called by the natives) was a "real village" till some time ago. As time progressed by, the local fisherfolk have lost quite a bit of their business because of various reasons. Lack of carrying on the tradition by the new generation is also one of them. (I guess the reasoning is as follows: why would someone sweat it out on the rough seas, when one could be comfortable in a call-center office? Heh?). One could now see three to four-storeyed buildings where small houses once stood. Proliferation of other communities (noticably from the North of India) could also be seen.

But, the seniors are still around. One can see them wearing their tradtional attire (a lungi that forms a triangle near the ankles). Their skin tanned from the hot and UV-filled rays of the sun and those reflected off the water. These seniors, I guess, still go in to get the "catch". Typically, it is a night duty, since that is the time when the catch is more. These boats typically come in ashore at 5 a.m. or so.

Coming back to the festival, the Kolis (as the local fisherfolk are called), must have had it quite good. They were all smiles and why not. Looking at the crowd eating up everything they had to offer, they must've made quite a much-deserved fortune.

Dr. Amar Bose @ Techfest

This year's Techfest at IITB featured a lecture series that included (among other luminaries) a lecture by Dr. Amar Bose. The lecture was held on Saturday 21st January at 08:00 a.m. Indian time.

Since I was keen to attend this lecture, I had to rush to attend the lecture. Nevertheless, I reached 10 minutes ahead of 08:00 a.m. and took my seat. It was only then that I realized that the lecture was not a "live" one, but a kind of "video conference" with Bose being seated in the U.S.A.

The lecture began on schedule and except for a discontinuation ("line drop") after half-an-hour into the lecture, it proceeded quite smoothly and went on for about 1hr and 45 minutes.

Dr. Bose began with a question to the co-ordinator (on the IITB side) as to what he must talk about. Finally, after asking about the composition of the audience, he said he would speak first about education (since the audience mostly comprised off under grad and post grad students).

Some key points from the lecture:

• Dr. Bose was primarily a professor and mathematics seemed to be his core, but he got interested into acoustics because of a shoddy music system that he had obtained.

• He stressed that quality education was very important. Also important is the way in which education is being imparted.

• He pointed out that some of his research took place over a span of 25 years. In response to a question as to whether such long-term research made sense in today's past-paced world, he said that such research woud not be possible in a public company (because of the pressure of the stake holders). This was one reason for making Bose Corporation a private company.

• One of the reasons why he formed a separate company instead of continuing research at MIT, where he claimed to have a lot of freedom, was because of the lack of time and lack of long term people. Most people (students) in a university stay for a period of 2 to 4 years and hence, continuity of these people in the research project could not be guaranteed.

• He emphasized that Bose Corp does research only in areas that would result in a technology that common people (laymen) could understand being superior without getting into the technical details. As per his example, the new shock absorber technology from Bose Corp would make even one's mom feel that the car ride in such a car is much superior.

• Parents shape their children's character and influence them more than they think.

• According to Dr. Bose, one should work in a company where one feels like going to every day and not for the money. (Never choose a company by the money they offer!).

• He disappointed a few people in the audience when he stated that he was a core techie with no business skills or interest. He even went on to say that the salaries of everyone (including himself) at Bose Corp. are decided by a third-party (outside agency) purely based on that person's achievements in the past year.

• In response to a question on his biggest blunder, he said that he would rate the design and manufacture of a few pieces of a "spherical" loudspeaker that would occupy the corners of a room. The design of the technology was as per the acoustic theory, but when it came to selling these pieces, they realized that very few American homes had corners free of furniture. That meant that the speakers would have to be kept elsewhere and that was not what the speakers were designed for.

• Dr. Bose came close to talking about spirituality when he recalled an incident where he talked to a swami from the Ramakrishna mission. It seemed that he and his family had known the swami for some time and when Dr. Bose visited India, he made it a point to visit the swami. It was then that he asked the swami about the difference in the spiritual and academic sessions. According to Dr. Bose, academics and scientific research relied heavily on proofs, whereas the swami could not offer any proofs of the spiritual theories.
  
  The swami asked him to recall any of his "discoveries" and patented technologies and asked him whether those came about by methodological proofs or was it just a flash in the mind. Indeed, Dr. Bose admitted that all of his patents came about without proofs. It was only later that he worked backward to prove the theory.
  
  His key point was that irrational thoughts are usually at the forefront in leading to newer discoveries and ideas.
  

Pandharpur calling

Pandharpur beckons.

I feel I must visit it once, if only to see what inspired the saints to write so many beautiful songs (abhangs) about it. Something magical...something inspirational...definitely something too important to miss out.

When the time comes, I will go there. But, right now, I'm just trying to find out enough to plan a trip. I am being told that it is not the best of places to stay in (?). Its just a small village and (maybe) not yet commercialized. But, then it has always been said that Lord Vitthala was the "poor man's God". I am being told that this is one of the few places where ALL people could actually touch the Lord's feet. If poverty is judged by spiritual wealth, then definitely all of our types are below the poverty line.

Onto Solapur, by God's grace, we shall soon see what is special about this.

Stinging the stingers

Conducting sting operations is in vogue. Over the past few years, media (television in particular) have resorted to these to "expose" the alleged misdoings of some of the important people. Some people claim that the media is doing this to get audience attention. With so much competition, there might be some truth in it.

So how about "stinging the stingers"?

I was told about a few people connected with the media who were using their "clout" to run small illegal businesses. Also, some guys told me that during the July 2005 deluge, television news channels were asking a group of school-going kids to walk through the knee-deep water. This, inspite of the fact that they had other drier roads to travel on. It was just to film them and ask them how they felt walking through the water and other crap that these channels usually dish out. (Aap ko kya laga paani se chalne mein? Maaza aa raha tha ya darr lag raha tha? Thanda paani tha ke garam? )

Time to sting the stingers, I say.

Confusion over Lord Ganesha's Shloka

I have not studied this matter in depth but these are some lingering thoughts in my mind that I should find out more about. Given that Lord Ganesha is Mumbai's "favorite" God and that half of Bollywood and even "telewood" go to the Siddhivinayak temple, I thought it might be time to pose this question.

I've heard at least 2 versions of the famous Lord Ganesha's shloka. Mind you, this is the same "mantra" that is recited at the beginning of every auspicious ceremony. The 2 versions differ by only a single word, but the change seems significant to me.

Here are the 2 versions, side by side:

Vakratunda mahakaya Koti soorya samaprabha Nirvighnam kurume deva Sarva karyeshu sarvada

Vakratunda mahakaya Koti soorya samaprabha Nirvighnam kurume deva Shubh karyeshu sarvada

These are 2 separate versions that I've heard or read. The difference is a single word. In one version, it is "Sarva", while in the other it is "Shubh". "Sarva" means all, while "Shubh" means auspicious.

Thus, the first mantra is probably meant for all tasks (auspicious or otherwise), whereas the second one seems to seek blessings before beginning an auspicous task.

I wonder which one is the original one and whether both mean the same. If you have to start a not-so-legal task, you now know which one to use.

Indian Mathematicians

I came across an article that outlines the contributions made to mathematics by Indian mathematicians. One of the things that caught my attention was a contribution by a mathematician called Kaprekar.

"Kaprekar Constant" is 6174 and works as follows:

Take any four digit number in which all digits are not alike. Arrange its digits in descending order and subtract from it the number formed by arranging the digits in ascending order. If this process is repeated with reminders, ultimately number 6174 is obtained, which then generates itself.

Safety of Volvo buses

In the recent accident involving a Volvo bus, as many as 30 passengers were charred to death. It seems (from reading various reports) that the passengers who were occupying the front seats managed to escape death; those passengers who fled to the back of the bus were trapped in what became a "burning coffin".

It was also mentioned later that the emergency exit of the bus was jammed and therefore the people were trapped. (This jamming of the locking system had also happened earlier in the July 2005 deluge when some people died due to suffocation in their cars).

Volvo claims to have a high safety record and I was told by some people in the US of A that Volvo cars also get a better insurance rate there because the cars are very safe. When Volvo entered the Indian market, they also claimed that all the other Indian "buses" were in fact "trucks". Their contention was that the Indian "buses" were built on the same chasis as that meant for the trucks. So, the comfort level would be higher in a Volvo (which claimed to have a different chasis for the buses than the trucks).

Having experienced a Volvo ride myself, I thought the journey was quite comfortable. It also seemed to me that even the driver comfort had been thought of. The panels (dashboard) seemed to be designed quite well, the driver seemed to enjoy the power steering. The height and position of the driver seat seemed to offer the guy quite a nice view of the road. The driver also had the pleasure of enjoying driving in air-condioned comfort. The seats for the assistant ("cleaner") were thoughtfully foldable.

The Volvo bus is a rear-engine vehicle (probably to reduce the noise inside the bus). But, maybe that's the problem too. Indians are mostly accustomed to finding the emergency exit at the back of the bus. Since Volvo buses have rear-engines, I guess that's the reason they do not have an emergency exit at the back of the bus. Yes, that's true. Take a look at a Volvo bus the next time and compare it to a BEST bus.

I do not know if the Volvo bus has any emergency exit. The emergency exit does not seem to be located at the "usual" place. Maybe that's why the people got trapped - they thought the bus had to have an exit at the back. Maybe its time to do what is done in an aircraft flight - tell people about the various emergency exits at the start of the journey.

Murthy takes on politicians

It seems like Murthy (the Murthy) has had enough of politicians and their (petty) politics. In today's article on rediff.com, it seems Murthy has "blasted" the policitians and the corruption prevalent. I am surprised he even went on to make comments about the "reservation".

Maybe it was the letting up of steam bottled up inside.

I have always felt that Murthy was doing things to Bangaloru which others could not do to Mumbai. At least from the newspaper reports, it seemed to me that Murthy was using his "industrial clout" to persuade ("threaten" would be a more appropriate word, but a bit harsh on the good intentioned man) the government and other agencies to get some good things developed at Bangaloru. The recent example was of the international airport.

I used to wonder why inspite of Mumbai having so many industrial heavy-weights ("youNameThemTheyLiveHere" types), these were not putting their foot down and getting things done for themselves and the city. I mean - at least they should do something for themselves. Just imagine being an Ambani and getting stuck in the city traffic along side BEST route no. 384 Ltd. (or whatever). Imagine the Benz being driven at 5 kmph...the beast would end up like a kitten. Okay, I hear you shout - Ambani-types don't travel by road, they only do so by air. A bit far-fetched, but not entirely ruled out. I had heard that some of those Tata people lived in Lonavla and flew in everyday to Mumbai. It takes only 0.5 hours by air to Bombay House from Lonavla compared to the 2 hours from Altamount to Fort. Okay, just a joke...but you get the idea.
Even if these guys do commute by air, they may still have to travel sometimes by road (and get stuck).

Back to Murthy - probably he got fed up of something - or maybe a series of negative events left some sort of impression on him. Maybe some of his interactions with various politicians left him wondering why those guys are so "dumb".

Time to float a new party Murthy - time to take them on - go right ahead. We are with you.

The most dreaded/awaited time of the year

Depending on who you are and what you think, the fast-approaching(?) year end / new year is either the most awaited time of the year or the most dreaded one. The lighting is all around us and so is the "spirit" and the "spirits". Most restaurants and wine shops are "stocking" it up. I mean, you don't want to run out of it half-way into the new year celebration. I am told that even regular "Udipi" bars charge more on that day...I think they have a separate menu for the new year eve.

Many events are lined up everywhere...you could choose to spend the eve and the midnight (and the morning) in some top-class restaurant or in some shady joint or still better in the open. A few years ago, I had heard that several foreigners chose to ring in the new year in the heart of the Rajasthan desert.

Some bigger restaurants / "clubs" organize events where they invite various celebrities to do some acts. And the charges would no doubt be exhorbitant.

Some naive people think that the performing events are "the" place to be at. These (mostly newly wed or to be wed) make bookings and grand plans to go these places. Then, they realize that its not the same as they expected it to be. Most such places are "overbooked" and the people just dance and do whatever else they can in a crowded place. Maybe some of these types expected a "seated" show with the audience behaving like at a classical music performance. What they get is usually standing and the crowd behaving as if at a FIFA game or at a heavy metal rock show concert.

Some others prefer to be out in the "open". This could be any public place with the starry sky over one's head (okay, stars won't be visible in the Chembur area...instead one has nice illusionary effects courtesy of the refineries and other industries out there). The popular open spaces are the beaches (Juhu, Girgaon), the Gateway of India, the roads. I am also told that it is a tradition for people travelling in cars / other vehicles to blow their vehicle horns at the midnight hour. Drunken driving during the new year is a common occurence, but reports in the newspaper always mention that there would be strict vigils by the police.

The "other" people (probably the sensible lot), know that "outside" is a dangerous place to be on the eve of the new year. As a result, most of such people, leave their workplace at the regular time and head to their residence (buying whatever it is that they feel like keeping company with at midnight).

For these "other" people, this time of the year is the most dreaded one...the one to be at home and away from the crowd that goes berserk on the eve. Some of these "home" types tend to switch on the television and watch "an exciting array" of programmes broadcast. Among those programme types, one can be sure to see a programme with a title such as "Events of 2005" or whatever - where various important events that occurred in 2005 would be shown. Other programmes include mimicry shows and/or dance programmes and programmes that telecast live the on-goings in some "club" where the "celeberatory" types have gone.

For the people who celebrate it, they do so as if they might not live to see the next day.

Some of us are unfortunate to be working on the new year day (that is, 1st Jan). These people have to get up in the morning and go back to the grind as if there was nothing special the previous night. That's when one can see all the people who celebrated the eve going home...staggering instead of walking and needing a much desired and required rest/sleep. Happy New Year to them. Good morning to the others who stayed at home.

A ride on the new CR coaches

I had the opportunity to ride on the new CR (Central Railway) coaches this weekend. The shining steel insides and the polyurethane handles seemed quite nice. I was most pleasant surprised by the same smooth start and pickup as some of the WR (Western Railway) rakes. When this new rake starts up, one does not get a sound and a big jerk; the only way to tell the rake has started is to see outside the window or to hear the sound of the sleepers (the familiar sound of the wooden sleepers that goes tak-tak, tak-tak...you know what I mean). Extraordinary!

I had noticed this start-up mechanism in some of the WR locals. One can see an additional "box" near the pantograph and this usually makes a lot of noise (very audible when the rake is stationary at a platform). This same technology is probably in use in the CR new rakes.

Also, observed that the "stickers" displaying various notices such as "Alarm Chain", etc. were printed in neat "computerised" fonts as compared to the old hand-paint notices. These look so much better (probably at the cost of unemployment for the painters :( ).

I also observed the same disadvantages about the new rakes as pointed out by some readers in a newspaper recently: One guy had mentioned that the "wooden partition" that separated the entrance from the seats was no longer there and that would mean that the rain water would come in from the open doors onto the seats. (Probably, the designers thought that the commuters would keep the doors closed in the rains - ha! that's what happens if you do not have practical experience). Commuters standing at the door in the rains keep the doors closed, but have to open it up well before the rake arrives on the station platform. In the case of very crowded trains like the Virar fast, there is no option for the commuters but to get wet. (A true Mumbaikar is always one who would protect his umbrella from getting wet so that he wouldn't have to dry it later - even if that means that he has to get wet! And you thought the umbrellas were meant to keep the people from getting wet - silly you - Welcome to Mumbai).

The "jaali" or the "cage" that protected the windshields of the loco are now gone. The new single windshield is indeed very good looking, but one wonders if the fear of people pelting stones at the pilot's windows has gone away.

All in all - a definite welcome change.

"Purana Nikantu" - a Malayalam treatise on the Puranas

Very recently, I have managed to procure "Purana Nikantu" from God's own country, Kerala. This is supposed to be a wonderful treatise in Malayalam about the Puranas. The translation of the title ("Purana Nikantu") is "Encyclopedia of the Puranas".

Although I do not know Malayalam, I am looking out for translators to English (my father may be one, if he agrees - which is rare). I am made to understand that there is no English translation available (yet!).

I hope to update my knowledge with this book in the coming years...looking at its size, it does seem it will take a considerable time (years, not months).

The jigsaw puzzle metaphor

When we solve a complex jigsaw puzzle, most people try to fix some parts on the edge and then assuming that the piece is in its correct place, proceed to fix others relative to it. It may happen that the assumption was wrong and then one needs to backtrack and fix the error and proceed again. After all the pieces have fit in correctly, one can feel happy that the puzzle has been solved.

Actually, there are 2 ways to end the puzzle: The first way is one in which we have/know what the final solved puzzle should look like. In that case, we can simply compare the pieces and fit them in the appropriate places. Also, when all the pieces are fit in, one can cross check to see if the finished puzzle looks like what we wanted it to be. That would signal the solution of the puzzle.

There is a second way: In this, we do not know what the final finished puzzle should look like. So, we can only find out if we have solved the puzzle by cross-checking if all the pieces have fit in. Even in this, one has to assume that a certain piece belongs to a particular place. If that assumption turns out to be wrong because some other pieces do not fit in, then one has to backtrack and rectify the error.

The study of Vedic/Hindu religion is a bit like the jigsaw puzzle: one does not what is the final picture. Also, one has to assume certain parts are correct. If one makes these assumptions, then one can clearly see all the pieces fall in place one after the other. When the study is done, one could see the overall picture and see if there was any misfit pieces or not.

Just a metaphor...the way I see it.

ISKCON, the myth and the reality

My recent post (and the comments in that post) was against the "myths" created by people against those "good intentioned" godmen. As stated in the comments, I wish to put on record how my views about ISKCON changed, once I started to investigate the myths surrounding it. Here are the details...as briefly as I can state them.

We start with the myths first. BTW, this was also my original perception about ISKCON. The source of the myth probably lies in the famous old movie "Hare Rama Hare Krishna" where it was portrayed that foreigners came to India and took to drug abuse in the guise of spiritual learning. My elders had warned me about such things and somehow I came to suspect that these activities might be going on in the ISKCON temple at Juhu. During this period, I'd visited the temple a few times and though I did not see any such activity going on, I assumed there might be some "rooms" or "inner chambers" where this might be taking place.

Some time later, I was told that these people actually encourage people to become a "devotee" and once you get "trapped into this", one cannot "come out of it". Sounds familiar. This is the famous FUD thing (as mentioned in the original post about godmen).

A few years ago I was getting fed up of the routine life and felt there was something lacking - perhaps I had missed something important earlier. I also thought it might be worthwhile to investigate the myth by personally trying to probe a bit deeper.

Since ISKCON has a lot of books, I started reading some books. Most books are available in English - so a first-level understanding is not a problem. The problem was finding time to read the books and to find the correct books to read.

In about 2001, a co-worker (who was a "devotee" - in ISKCON terminology, a "devotee" has to follow 4 basic rules...will skip them here) brought a few copies of the "The Bhagvad Gita - As It Is" for selling. I bought one. That was the beginning. As if by pre-decided fate, a few months later, I found myself talking to this co-worker while commuting back from the workplace to home. The half-an-hour or so spent with him left me completely astonished. There were too many things to learn (maybe "unlearn" and "re-learn"). He made some valid points and I thought that I must try to understand (not read) the subject a bit more deeply.

Thus started the long journey to read a lot of books, to understand the philosophy, to understand what they preach - the destruction of the myth. There was no truth to the myth. Ignorance is equivalent to darkness. From the darkness to the light - that is what knowledge can do. The myth was total darkness.

I am still not a "devotee". There are some basic things required of a "devotee". But, there is nothing wrong or misleading in their philosophy either. These days I try to tell about this philosophy to other interested people - these are the people on the "fence". So what if I do not follow the teachings myself? I do not feel guilty about it. Some day I will get there.

Moral of the story: Those people who comment without knowing the details should shut up, understand first and then point out mistakes or opinions, if any. Commenting without understanding or experiencing the problem is a "dangerous thing" for the planet. Many people comment about Hinduism/Vedic religion. These people should understand (at least) the Bhagvad Gita first and then say what they want to say.

KYN WCAG in KC

What the hell was a KYN (Kalyan) WCAG doing in KC (King's Circle)?

Spotted, the other day, at King's Circle station, a KYN WCAG coming in from MM (Mahim Junction) into KC and proceeding towards VDLR (Wadala Road). MM, being a WR territory, it was surprising to find a CR-based KYN coming in to KC from the MM side.

Some of these mysteries will always remain, I guess. As soon as the loco (travelling "light") came along platform 2 of KC, I looked at the starter. It was ON (meaning, the signal was "red". Red is "on" and Green is "off"). But, the loco showed no signs of stopping. Was it going to jump the signal? My question was answered as it braked quickly just close to the starter. A moment later - as if it was being expected by the pilot - the starter turned OFF. And, the loco was off on its way to VDLR. During its brief stay at KC, some school-going kids decided to touch the loco (to see if it was "real"?) and some even clambered onto the rails of the rear cabin.

In case you are wondering about the differences between a WDM, a WAM, a WAP, a WCAM, a WCAG...and the likes, rest assured that its easy to know, once you know.

The first letter (in the modern naming convention) denotes the gauge. The "W" is "broad gauge". The last letter denotes the type of trains the loco is meant to haul. ("S" is shunter, "G" is goods, "P" is passenger, "M" is mixed.)
The middle letter(s) denote the power. ("D" is diesel, "A" is A/C, "C" is D/C and "CA" is dual A/C-D/C). So, a WDM is a broad gauge diesel for mixed trains. A WCAG is a broad gauge A/C-D/C goods loco.

And, while we are on the subject of KC, here is a recent photgraph of what must've been the original ticket counter at KC station. The year mentioned below the station name is 1940.

Godmen and the FUD against them

Today's (18th Dec 2005) Mumbai Mirror has an article that throws the spotlight back on the "godmen". More specifically, it states how a "devotee" of a locally famous "godman" (Anirudhha Bapu) has filed a defamation case against Bollywood actor (and self-styled "crusader") Nana Patekar.

That's not the first time Nana has gone against "such" people. Neither is it the first time he has got into such trouble. There was the recent case where he had threatened a car driver on the road for driving "rashly". It was alleged that he had even pulled out a revolver (a licensed one). On the other hand, the recent case where another godman Narendra Maharaj was not allowed to take his "holy staff" aboard a plane may have prompted Nana to speak against them again.

Now, the very first point of argument against Nana's statement is that he seems to be against "fake godmen". Does this mean that he is alright with the "real godmen"? If so, what is it that differentiates "fake godmen" from "real godmen"? And how does he know that Asharam Bapu, Anirudhha Bapu and Narendra Maharaj are "fake"? Has he met them ever? That is something that should be thought over.

But, coming back to the case filed against Nana, the "devotee" (one Mr. Ulhas Kulkarni) gives very nice arguments and (as you shall make out by the end of this posting), I fully support these godmen ("fake" or "real"). Mr. Ulhas goes to the extent of criticising Bollywood and how they are not doing any good either by projecting and promoting "prevesity and obscenity". Right on dot, Mr. Ulhas and congratulations for taking a courageous step. It takes guts to fight anyone from Bollywood. These days even script writers of useless soaps and serials are pretending to be great. (These days if you are not connected in any way with Bollywood or her sister "Telewood", then you are an "insignificant person".)

Time and again one has heard of countless arguments against these "godmen". Send these people to me...nirvana guaranteed. These arguments are often referred to as "FUD" (Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt) in the Open Source world. For example, private software companies try to create a FUD in the minds of CEOs/CIOs/other vulnerable people regarding how open source software can destroy the industry, etc. But, we will not get into that. The FUD here, is against the godmen. Lets take a look at some of the arguments that one hears:

1. These "godmen" mislead people and take favours from them (money, other worldly desires, etc.)
2. These "godmen" show people some magic tricks and get people to treat them like god.
3. These "godmen" encourage people to have "blind faith" and believe in superstitions.
   

There are many more, I am sure. But, for every argument raised here, I can assure you that I'll have an equally unanswerable counter-argument. One single point is easy to demolish all this:

Let one who has not sinned cast the first stone

Argument over. Go home! Not convinced. Let's try to answer the above points one by one.

Point #1. : What do you mean by "mislead"? Show me one actor, politician, businessman, builder who does not mislead? What about people who show off their status and money to seek sexual favors from women and then dump them? Are they not in the same category?

Point #2: Treating people like god is nothing new. Some people come all the way from Allahabad to Mumbai to see their "gods" (like Amitabh). Pity they don't even have time to visit their local temple. But, who are the gods? And what good have these guys done to merit such status anyway? They have "acted" well in a blockbuster. (Isn't "acting" related to "falsely portraying one's true self"? Isn't it the same as "misleading"?)

Point #3: Ah! the whiff of "blind faith". We'll have dozen people (including the so-called "human rights activists") crawling all over soon. What exactly is "blind faith"? I say if one has reposed complete faith so as not to question his "god", then that is his/her personal judgement. Why do you have to interfere?

In a much broader perspective, so what if the "godmen" do "bad" things? Gosh if they had got it all right and were perfect, they would be right up there, with "God". Surely, they are not worse than the corrupt lot of actors and politicians. Look at their positive side: as long as they preach people to do good things, so be it. And if people go to "bad godmen", then no one has asked them to go there. They are not bound by any bond to be going to that guy. And if they do so, they are doing it because they get some inner peace.

Ah! I know. These actors...they are probably getting jealous. How dare people worship other gods when they are still around? Well, this is the age of competition. So, grow up and fight back (in the same competitive spirit). Not by asking people to beat the devotees and put "chappals" around the godmens' necks. And, not by creating FUD in the people's minds against these.

Oh maybe its because Nana had to face a lot of incovenience because of thousands of devotees gathered for some satsang. Maybe that's why he is so upset. But, wait. Weren't there some real innocent people incovenienced because of Amitabh's stay in the hospital? And what about those useless film shootings that are held on public roads? No one dare say anything against them, then.

Truly this is the age of Kali. Where to even preach good is considered bad. Where heroes now are those who can only "act" well.

Thanks, Mr. Patekar. You have opened our eyes. We still have a lot of work to do.

Of "Tiger faces", "Barbie Dolls", "Baldies" and "Jumbos"

These are not some fictional characters in some movie, but "nick names" given to certain class of Indian Railway locomotive because of their appearance or color. Certain loco sheds prefer to paint their locos in specific color combinations (maybe also based on a specific class of locomotives).

A "Tiger face" can be seen adjacent. This one is a WAG-7 from Ajni shed. Its face has some stripes and so is called a "Tiger Face".
A "Jumbo" is here. This unusually sized WDM-2 from Guntakal shed is called so because of its larger than usual structure. Most of the "Jumbos" may have undergone structural changes because of accidents or damage.
A "Baldie" looks like this WDM-3A from Gooty shed. The hood of a "Baldie" sets it out from the other normal WDMs and hence the name. Again, this modification would have been necessary because of some accident or damage.
And, a "Barbie Doll" is named so because of its "lipstick" color combination. This one is a Tatanagar WAM-4.

Four weddings and a temple visit

This weekend, spilt over to Monday, included hectic trips to record my presence at four weddings. In addition, the weekend began with a visit to the Lord Ganesha temple at Titwala.

Saturday morning began normally and I had decided to visit the temple at Titwala. I took WR local to DDR and changed over to DR (Dadar, Central Railway). Then, there was some waiting time until the next local. So, I decided to take some tea from a nearby restaurant. I came back in time for a Badlapur fast local. I made sure I got a sitting place and then started the long journey to Kalyan (KYN). KYN was crowded as usual. I had to disembark at KYN and wait for the next local that was going to Kasara (KAS). A short time later I was at Titwala. A 5-minute "share-a-rickshaw" ride brought us to the temple. The rickshaw drivers have their pre-determined vendors where one can buy flowers and other offerings for the Lord. In addition, one can keep their footwear with them.

A 3-minute walk from the Ganesha temple is another temple - that of Shri Vitthal Rakhumai.

The wedding receptions were held at various places in Mumbai and Navi Mumbai. The first two were on Saturday. The real challenge was in attending both. Both were in the evening (the usual 7:30 p.m. onwards) - one was in Byculla and the other in Bandra. But, I was up for the challenge...after all, it was quite possible with some careful thinking. I knew that if I had to do it, the local trains would be the best commuting option. I was at ADH at about 19:20. A fast train to CCG at about 19:30 ensured that I reached BCT at 19:40. A taxi from BCT to Byculla and I was at the reception at 19:45 before the bride and groom could arrive. Before I could sneak out to the other wedding, I met some people from the same apartment complex as mine. Then, I had to tag along with them. One of them had a car and my hopes of catching the other wedding reception soon disappeared when it seemed possible that I might accompany them in the car. Had I taken the train even at 21:00, I could've reached Bandra station by 21:15 and the venue by 21:30.

The car journey took a long time even inspite of a light traffic. Then, we had to find a "suitable" parking space. Since it was new car (about 15 days old), we also had to worry about other vehicles "scratching" against the gleaming paint of the car. I complimented myself on making a good decision not to own a car (yet!). We finally reached at about 22:15 and most of the guests had left. We just had some token dinner and left (again by car => more woes).

The 3rd reception was on Sunday. Again, I met quite a lot of our "neighbors". Some of them were amazed that I had reduced so much. Others (who had lost weight earlier) tried to advise me on how I should have tackled the weight problem. Some others were of the opinion that this life was meant for eating and drinking in the first half...yes, I thought to myself...and the rest half of the lifetime (and money) could be spent in being bed-ridden. Thanks, nevertheless, for showing so much concern.

The 4th reception was on Monday. That was not really a reception. It was a "re-reception". The actual wedding and reception was held in the North of India and this one was held in Navi Mumbai for those people who could not make it to the northern part. The very interesting part of this 4th reception was the food...it was what people might like to call "authentic Punjabi food". Since I am not from Punjab or the north (heh - until some years ago, the northern most part of India that I had visited was Vasai Road), I could not vouch for the authenticity. Nevertheless, it was quite tasty.

Thus ended a solid weekend of receptions and a temple visit. Was I exhausted? Not so much attending those as I was in writing this. Phew!

"Dombivili Fast"

Saw some posters (inside CR locals) about a new movie titled "Dombivili Fast". Its a Marathi movie and it seems to be based on a commuter's life. Finally, Dombivili (station code "DI") is in the news for the right reasons. Earlier, it was infamous for its house crashes and rickety buildings.

Hopefully, the movie is shot in a "real-life" train and the madness inside is captured. That might bring a sense of urgency to the state administrators to improve the commuter's life. Instead of wasting the money on developing Metros which may never be used (as outlined in this post by WGFA-CS), the administration might do well to reward the people of Mumbai for their hard-working habits.

Unusual professions #1...temple cow feeder

Some say that anyone can make money in Mumbai. That's why its sought after by all our Indian junta. One can find all kinds of professions - usual and unusual. It is surprising how people earn their living. Let's see an example. Let me call this profession "temple cow feeder". The choice of this title is not entirely precise, but then I have yet to find anything more suitable. As we shall see, there is a reason why we call this profession as "cow feeder" (and not as, say, "cowherd").

I've observed (as would have so many Indians) this set of people outside temples with one or more cows and a heap of green grass. Hindus and Jains believe that cow is a sacred animal and one must feed the cow to get blessed (and to credit to our "karmic account"). The cow is typically tied to a tree or post and is usually under a nice shady tree (if the cow is lucky). There are one or more persons in charge of the cow. One needs to pay some money (Rs. 2/- is minimum in the posh suburbs) to this person(s) and they will give us a bundle of green grass. This green grass needs to be fed to the cow. The cow and the person are in position by morning 9 a.m. and this might go on till afternoon or late evening (depending on the demand). (Remember - this is a business model. All business rules apply (including demand/supply)).

Now, I wonder sometimes if the cow ever gets fed up of eating the same old green grass. Cows outside Jain temples are more lucky. As per their rules, Jains do not eat anything that has been prepared a day before. So any leftovers are also brought along and fed to the cows. Sometimes, the cow will ignore grass that is being fed and instead prefer to eat chappatis and bread.

That's not the main point. The point is that the person in charge of the cow is actually just a "feeder". That person is not the owner nor the cowherd. Nor does the person look after the cow or give her a bath or milk her. The way this works is simple (if you know): A designated cow from a stable (tabela) is brought over by the real cowherd and handed over to the "feeder". This happens outside the temple - only that we are too busy to take notice of this "handover". The cow has probably been milked in the tabela and given a scrub and brought to the place. Now, this feeder takes over and handles the feeding of the cow until the "time" is up. The cowherd again makes an appearance and, after taking a (hefty) commission from the feeder, takes away the cow back to the tabela.

This is real "business". If one is lucky, the feeder might make hundreds of rupees outside popular temples. Instead of the cow remaining idle in the stable, the cowherd "leases" it to the feeder who acts like an "agent". After the time is up, they split the earnings (in whatever agreed upon ratio). It is probably good for the cow too. Its breakfast and lunch get taken care of. Everyone is happy - including the people paying money to buy the grass.

Time to publish this model in HBR (Harvard Business Review). Some MBA courses might want to study this "model", after they have had enough of the dabbawalas. As a bonus, some of these feeders and cowherds might get to attend some royal wedding in Britain.