Technology: The Anti Status Quoist

I have been party to numerous discussions both within my family and friends as to how technology, especially social media via cellular phone is leading to social isolation and alienation.

The argument goes to the predictable trajectory of "loss of touch with reality" as people are invariably besotted and glued to a virtual world. My line of thought is that technology in itself isn't so disruptive as our own behavioural adaptation towards it is. So I reluctantly and partially accept the standard argument but not absolutely.

Rewind the age to two decades, and you realise that no other technology has disrupted our social functioning as much as the telly has. The 80s is the era when TV made its foray into the Indian drawing room and subsequently into the privacy of the bedroom(s). Initially, there was a plethora of hiccups - speculation and apprehension about its potential ill effects towards human health, especially towards the eyes. There would be heated discussions ranging from the distance from which to watch it to whether one could watch it in absolute darkness blah blah. And yet no one even in their wildest of imagination could think that TV would alter our social life irreversibly.

Yet not only did it survive without an iota of criticism, but surreptitiously ended up hijacking the basic architecture & aesthetics of the drawing room as well as the bedroom so much so that it became the centre of attraction of these rooms and everything around it simply complimented its very existence.

Steadily along with it, it managed to destroy the social fabric of our behaviour too. Let me elucidate - Indian families no longer needed to sit together as an entity and pamper the grand-dads and moms with their incessant storytelling! Slowly the custom of sitting together for a meal was even phased out. Well for a while, at least Indian families gathered together as a team to watch the cricket matches or the Indian epics, but that was an exception to the new rule, not an established norm.

A New World Order had established itself, oblivious to the very people whose fancy it had gained sway. As families grew affluent, they invested in multiple tellies which crept into the bedrooms, usurping the highlighting walls of the mundane calendars and other paraphernalia. It even questioned the existence of the very dinner tables in most homes as people would find it inconvenient to sit around a table and eat when they could simply watch telly either huddled in micro groups or as a solitary viewer on the couch or in the comfort of their bedrooms.

This was the moment of truth for us to have protested and reclaimed our lives. Yet, without a fight, we relinquished our core ideas to "the box". Without so much as rightful self-introspection let alone outrage or moral high-grounding.

When I compare the complicity of the telly, I can't help wondering at the power bestowed on our nimble fingers. The "new technology" has unleashed a formidable force of our imagination like no other technology has or will. It has made us more aware of our surroundings and social cohesiveness. I find it more as a disrupter of the status quo of the telly: a modern-day Kalki - the saviour of our current ills. It to me is simply an extension of my real world.

At this point of my diatribe, I can't resist quoting a popular professor from my medical days, who, when talking about medicines(drugs), had this to say - " if it doesn't have side effects, it won't probably work". This aphorism can't be more true for technology.

Another granddaddy of medical science belonging to the golden Greek ages, Galen, stated in a similar vein "It's the intent of the use of a substance that makes it a poison or drug". Without giving a micro-explanation, my stance on the advent of current technology draws heavily from the philosophy behind these two aphorisms.

Perhaps, we should provide the necessary optimal conditions to technology in such a fashion as to witness the emergence of either the butterfly or moth after moulting of the larvae into a caterpillar! I, hereby, rest my case!

Hell/Heaven

Up until a couple of years earlier, wasn't really that interested in J&K.Thanks to Islamic fundamentalism (yes it's not a freedom movement that the pseudo-ilks of Arundhatis would want us to believe) we, the ordinary Indians, have started taking J&K much more seriously and strategically. Beyond, the tourist destination of our dreams. We no longer wait for the liberal-leftist-congi intellectuals to inundate us with politically correct jargon, appeasement laden half-truths or manufactured news, any longer. We brew our own political analysis and make the counter narrative.

                                              The ground situation of J&K 

The green portion of the map to the west of the crown of India is POK (Gilgit-Baltistan).The folks of this region are highly dissatisfied with the Paki administration (so much for Islamic Brotherhood!). Once again this is Indian territory illegitimately administered by our Paki neighbour. A western longitudinal strip of GB forms what we call as North West Frontier Province.This (NWFP) is one of the 4 parts Pakistan would eventually split into if it continues to foster acrimonious relationship with India.

One might wonder why India decided not to win back GB after winning 3 wars.This inevitable question has plagued my conscience and curiosity since childhood. Honey, it's all about money - first, there's geographic disadvantage to win back this region and secondly it wouldn't be in India's economic interest to sustain this region even though this area is abound with natural resources.

The small yellow marked lingular region (Shaksgam Valley) to the north of Indian LOC is the erstwhile portion of POK now sold off or literally gifted by the Pakis to China (COK). So much, once again, for Muslim Brotherhood.

One can imagine the plight of ordinary Kashmiris, even if India decides to give up it's legitimate control of its crown (for the sake of argument and the fantasy of Islamic fundamentalists whose sole wet dream is to establish a delusionary Caliphate). These Kashmiri Islamic extremists & their pro azaadi chanting stooges would start clamoring and begging for Indian help if the Indian army decides so much as to blink! So much for the mirage of Islamic azaadi, huh... A weird concept in itself when you want a country based solely on religion. Strange the forefathers of democracy built their concepts around secularism, and equality not knowing some camel-herders from Saudi Arabia would one day concoct a cocktail of these principles with their idea of an Islamic Caliphate. So anti-thetical!

The other yellow portion to the north east of the crown of India is Chinese occupied Kashmir (Akshai Chin) which we lost to them in 1962. Thanks to my favorite Nehru Chacha who felt military wasn't required by India and the political solutions in the world could be reached through one of his proposed and now defunct NAM.

Once you are acquainted with this ground reality, it wouldn't take any Einstein to understand as to why Siachen is such a strategic stand-off for India. Once we lose Siachen, we make an easy access point between the two COKs and extremely easy land access to the Pakis from the Chinese.

                                              Another view of Kashmir

If you now look at the second map, you would realise that Kargil which is located to the south west of the Siachen glacier is of immense military significance as well, perhaps, next only to Siachen. Relinquishing hold of Kargil would have been equivalent to a military hara-kiri (The Pakis would get the same access to Chinese if Siachen was lost, if not worse.) I consider this is as the water-shed of Indian military strategy, next only to the stand-off of the Spartan 300 of Leonides. Agreed there were intelligent lapses but winning against all odds was unthinkable!

Ladakh is the region still untouched by the Wahhabist-Salafist form of Islam (which originated in the house of Saudi Arabia subsequent to the discovery of oil, way back in 1930s). Unfortunately, political dissonance and the ignorance of us ordinary Indians is facilitating the settlement of Rohingya Muslims around this part of the world. Once successful, the almost neutral buffer that India enjoys due to the present peace-loving Muslims would alter drastically! Demographic changes, darlings, that's the recent name of the game.

Now I can't resist the urge to elaborate the present situation in Pakistan. Look at the 3rd map here. A glimpse gives you the idea that Pakistan comprises 4 major provinces - NWFP (A portion of the Gilgit Baltistan of POK plus a western strip to that of GB), Punjab, Sindh & Balochistan.

Now here's the crux of the problem - Balochistan which forms more than 50 percentage of Pakistan resents the step brotherly treatment meted out to it from the administrative centre of Pakistan - Punjab. Compounded by the fact that all major decisions in Pakistan are made by representatives of Punjab. Now just imagine, how UP or for that matter other portions of India would react if decisions concerning them were being made by people only at Delhi. Is it difficult to fathom? Human sentiments everywhere are the same. The microcosm of human feeling is representative of the macrocosm of the widely variable human emotions.

One balancing act that India needs to get right is about the optimal support towards the Balochis. I was very excited when the Indian prime minister openly supported the balochi cause. There's a political twist here - there's a portion of Baloch (west- controlled by the Iranians, east by the Pakis). Once the Baloch under Pakistan is fed with Indian help, the western portion would fire up and decide to join it's fighting twin. In the process, Iran would be terribly upset with India for unsettling their apple cart. Perhaps, this is what prevented the Indian government to grant political asylum to the representative of Baloch in exile!

Baloch aside, all the other regions of Pakistan is extremely proud of their indigenous heritage and resentful of the abuse they receive at the hands of Punjabis. So it's no bed of roses for the Pakistanis.The Punjab region of the Pakistan consists of citizens who have been resettled from the western UP region of India. This has only added to the disenchantment of the Pakis in other regions. Imagine how India psychologically treated the Bengali and Punjabi refugees post independence whom they considered as social pariahs and made fun of. Would they have allowed these "refugees" to make important decisions on their behalf?

The "recent" problems aren't not so recent in origin once you know the narrative. The current imbroglio have been amplified with the introduction of CPEC. This economic corridor would largely pass through the region of Balochistan. One might imagine that this would largely benefit the Balochis, but alas no! The Punjabis of Pakistan are subjugating the Balochis to the same degradation and denigration that they had perpetrated on the Bangladeshis three decades earlier. Another fear nagging in that minds of people, and rightfully so, is that once Pakistan defaults on its loan from the Chinese the entire territorial control would fall in their hands just as it occurred in Sri Lanka.So much for history - an utterly dismal tale of people repeating the same mistakes!

The region of Sindh also wants its own autonomy. Because of a political guffaw of my dear Jawahar (amidst the many in his kitty), Sindh couldn't be repatriated with India. The region is boiling with latent anger since ages now.

Apart from its fabled cuisine NWFP is also extremely proud of its heritage and resents the interference of the punjabi tentacle. When required the region could erupt into dissensions and civil war.

To sum up - this is what our Indian spy master Ajit Doval refers to when he warns Pakis that he would spilt them into 4. Only Punjab, which is a region smaller than Assam would remain of the fabled Islamic State.

But the counter argument for us is what will be the cost-benefit ratio for us in this bargain? Will it help us immensely to see Pakistan implode into these splinters or will India have to deal with 4 heads of nations eventually?

If Pakistan splinters we would first have to deal with the Irani ire. Kaput goes the dream of India, Afghanistan, Iran pipeline.
The nuclear button of Pakistan might fall into the wrong hands. It's currently under no sane leadership but then one might have to deal with an Islamic Medusa.There might be huge influx of immigrants seeking asylum in India.

But my question is - is the situation any better now? Why don't we explore possibilities... I am not of the ilk of those ossified coagulating Indians who preclude use for the fear of misuse. The Kashmiri Islamic terrorists are the real kufrs and Inshallah, the Indian army should deal with them in a language best known to them

"Fight & Slay the pagans, wherever ye find them" (Q 9:5)

The Story of The Black Widow

Long ago, during our school days, when asked what's history, this is what one of my old school chums had to say: "It's the story of ordinary people making extraordinary achievement" (I remember this coz I love history and anything distantly associated with it)...

What then could be the story of Susanna Ann Maria whose Memorial we chanced upon on our way to an obscure place in Bengal called Chinsurah/Chichurah, once a Dutch colony. Well not actually as dramatic as "chancing upon" since I had made up my mind to v

isit this place, forearmed with the knowledge of this place from numerous internet searches.

A roadside glimpse through the shrubs and trees 

The baroque memorial

Located on a sprawling spread of unadulterated greenery this white baroque structure stands out... Plod across a small wooden bridge and voila you find yourself reading the plaque adorning the entry..

The structure, built in 1809, minimalist in design, stands on a high plinth. A flight of high-stepped stairs leads one to the memorial - the two storied structure with arched gateways in four directions and plain columns on which the dome rests.

There's no epitaph to greet you. That's what shrouds the place with mystery. An internet search would reveal that the locals had referred to it as "Saat Saheber Bibir Kobor" or "Memsaheber Kobor".

Susanna Ann Maria Vervek was married to Pieter Brueys, her first husband and also the director of Dutch administration. They had 3 children, two daughters and a son - Maria Ann de Brueys, Susanna Jacoba and Louis Adrian de Brueys. After the death of her husband she married Thomas Yeats, an Englishman of colonial Bengal.

In 1805, a few years before her death, she bequeathed all her possessions to her son. Being married twice to two affluent men made her the owner of huge properties. She died in 1809 and was buried in Ayesh Baag which had sixty bighaas of land attached to it. Unfortunately, during the British rule this property was sold off in 1833 leaving this Memorial as the solitary structure.

The tomb of her first husband is housed in the Dutch cemetery which definitely needs a visit from me!

Well, upto this part its history... However, not contented with history, the locals have embellished her life and story with the spice that she was married seven times...now it's a part of the modern folklore and urban legend.

An inside view of the dome

ASI protected structure

The proclamation at the entry

Ruskin Bond has supposedly based his story Susana's Seven Husbands on this mysterious woman, thus adding further colour and spice to the already masaledar scandal. The protagonist in the story quite skillfully bumps off all her seven husbands in a serial succession, thus coming in possession of their accumulated wealth.The story in due course found itself being adapted into a successful hindi movie - Saath Khoon Maaf with Piggy Chops donning the role of the protagonist.

For further details access this:

http://sohamchandra.blogspot.in/…/susanna-anna-marias-tomb-…

India Quiz

Quizzing was one of the "in-things" of our times during those school days. Though Neil O"Brien (the father of the erstwhile Bournvita quiz master Derek O' Brien) is the real father of quizzing in India, it was Siddharth Basu who made it accessible, popular and entertaining to the masses what with stuff like Quiz Time, India Quiz and many others which followed suit.

I used a Phillips ordinary tape-recorder and recorded one entire special episode during 1989 where the show was co-hosted by Geetanjali Iyer (of Doordarshan fame). Most of the participants were well known TV personalities including some Doordarshan newscasters..

Here's the soundbyte:
                                                                       India Quiz 


#indiaquiz   #siddharthbasu  #nostalgia

The coming of age of Indian ads...

Years ago, somewhere in the 80s, sex and anything remotely associated with it were a taboo in the Indian drawing room.

I still remember when I was in class three, I had chanced upon a Doordarshan commercial, probably Nirodh. The ad would show a boy and a guy meeting each other and going out (with their parents' approval of course), getting married and post marriage the guy giving extra care and attention to the girl, to the extent of reaching out his hands for hers when she climbs down the steps! The clip ends here with perhaps a voice-over and a tagline -" to love is to care, to care is to share". Before blacking out a pink small box would be shown with some fine print flashing by which no one in particular would give any thought, nor was the time sufficient to catch the fine-print (remember these weren't the days of you tube where one would have the luxury to pause and read out the text as some do nowadays with the vanity cards shown after every TBBT episodes).

Anyways, on one such occasion when my dad was around and this ad happened to be aired on TV, in a perplexed manner I asked him whether he thought it's a chocolate ad like me. The change on his countenance and my mother's easy repartee from the adjacent room ("this is what happens when you allow kids to watch TV") was sufficient to tell me chocolate ads don't create such reactions from adults.
Fast forward some decades and here we are - a liberated society with practically nothing a taboo in the drawing room or dinner table.

I had collected a few print ads, of the 90s advocating condoms, which I think which bears testimony or as a bridge between the earlier puritanical approach to the recent explicit ones..

The Snake - I found this one extremely intelligent and playing upon the concept of "original sin". It clearly breaks the tradition of not listening to the age old wisdom since not all forbidden things are sinful..

The Swimmers - This one explicitly challenges to go ahead and accomplish the task.... it definitely plays on the subconscious to be a go-getter and trend-setter!

The Devil - This one acts out as the devil's advocate. Whoever had designed this, I firmly believe, had come across the extremely popular ONIDA TV ads during those days (neigbour's envy, owner's pride) and cleverly creates this promo as a continued spin off of the devil in the Onida TV urging one to be possess rather than it being possessed by the neighbour..Absolute genius is what I would say..

The last two once again a series of ads getting bolder for its times and almost urging folks to break free from their traditional moulds.. I wonder whether someone has a collection of the evolution of such ads in the Indian print media.

Gentleman - Inner World Of Comics (Feb 2000)

We used to wait eagerly for the special issues of Gentleman during our MBBS days at Pune.
I had this music special edition annotated by me while trying out new stuff. Himsi used to have the literature and cinema special editions.. Unfortunately, all three aren't with us thanks to some skillful flicks in our hostel.
Nevertheless, managed to get our hands on this comics special edition...

Gentleman - Inner World Of Comics (Feb 2000)

The Tintin Games Book

During his last visit to India Himanshu stumbled upon his childhood collection of books one of which is this one which is no longer available...Thanks dude and happy reading!

The Tintin Games Book