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1630 India

1630 India


Two articles appeared on Sunday side by side. One was on History and Historians and other on Archives of British India. First one was by Sanjay Sonavani who has systematically elaborated the abilities and responsibilities of Historians .Dwelling on the issue he argues that history has propensity to get hijacked by politicians and that  facts tend to get distorted if there is a bias in the mind of the Historian towards specific  personalities and cult.


He works out a case in  the Maratha History about the dispute as to  who was Shivajis Guru or tutor?  The plain truth is that he might have had none.For actually Shivaji was a self made man and then there were no schools or colleges at the time although there was Guru Shishya Parampara but due the instability in the life of child Shivaji  any formal education was  impossible and unheard of. Also  Shivaji  indigenously  developed the art and science of Guerilla warfare which was a method adopted by him by default and not with any particular design  or prior policy being innocent about the theory of  a  administered  battle philosophy or war game. It was just similar down to earth confrontation tactic like that adopted by David when his adversary was Goliath and the sling was a perfect weapon.


Interestingly   both these  stories  were in  our school syllabus ;that  of David versus Goliath and the Childhood Training of Shivaji by Dodoji Kondev.Dadoji was  Jagirdar of Deccan under Bijapur Sultans .He was an able general   who probably  trained Shahajis son informally in basic skills as swordmanship and horse riding  due to mere  proximity of the child and  having  necessary resources at his disposal to award him  few lessons .Again, whether Dadoji had any vested interest to potentiate Shivaji would be another area of research like that of Chanakya who trained and tutored Chandragupta against Dhanannand


There is another school of thought which was doing the rounds : that Sant or Swami Ramdas was another Guru of Shivaji.There is no evidence to support this .The swami was a staunch ascetic and nationalist and devotee of Lord Ram .He had composed practical philosophical verse named Dasbodh .This philosophy was coincidently congruent to the movement led by Shivaji against Mughals  and Portuguese. It is easy for armchair historians to connect cultural happenings and backdrop to individual’s achievements and convince readers of great wisdom and knowledge about the era to conclude the much accepted cause affect relationship in a social process or mechanism.


Another misconception is that History has to teach lessons for posterity   as it tends to repeats itself too often. The latter is true but the argument that History must have a lesson although attractive is too naïve. Actually History does not teach, History Indicates and helps the initiated to conclude a hypothesis. An astute historian if fearless and unbiased , argues based on documents and other evidences  with  his specialized  training to decipher  facts and arrive at a most plausible hypothesis which gets accepted by consensus .A professional historian therefore should be flexible and not dogmatic as newer evidences may prop up time to time which may assist him to change or review his theories  forcing him on occasion to  discard an earlier held  premise .A historian is therefore like a clinician who develops a total picture by putting a jigsaw puzzle in place in real life and time.


Is all this important is the key question.Yes  It is, for it is the right of every stable society to know as many facts about its roots and ideologies for academic purposes and for cultural reasons. It adds dimensions to the very fabric of a sect or clan and its stream through passage of time for decisions making for the current generations putting relevant issues in perspective. It is imminently necessary not to lose sight of this perspective so that society stands on robust foundations of  meritocracy and sustenance.


It is said that in year 1630 there was a terrible mother of famines in central India .Entire villages and towns got wiped out and men turned into beast by forced cannibalism and necrophilia.The details of which have been documented by a Dutch  Trader Van Twist .Saint Tukaram another jewel in the crown of  Marathi  soil has written with great compassion about this devastation in his universal verse .Infact  I suspect  that Maharashtra turned into a land  of saints in medieval india due to war and famines.Dadoji was instrumental in rehabilitating people back which were under his survey a state duty which he performed with finesse as it is claimed


It is at this point we shall digress. In the adjacent article on Archives written by Mukund Kule who talks of need and necessity of preserving state documents in form of archives for historians and scholars who are incidentally and tragically few  .Kule again refers to the year 1630 the earliest document available in the Archives  .It is in this year that East India company started its operation in Surat by building a huge Fort and Garrison and ware house .The same Surat which was Venice of East where all wealth seemed to get concentrated and which Shivaji  plundered  on two occasions to fund his military campaigns.


The question now to an ordinary reader of history is: How remotely or closely are these two aspects connected? The great Famine with Setting up shop by the British at Surat in west when they were established in Calcutta.


History tends to dwell on personalities which sways emotions and  tends to aggrandize  persona .True history is history of setbacks and failures, it  is history  of destruction and devastation and disasters and famines .It is history of  compulsions and deceit, it is a record of  alienation and victimization. With the ongoing suicides on epidemic scales in Maharashtra, it is time that we tell our people about this great famine of 1630 and its larger effects on trade and governance and eventual British Supremacy in India .Famines are considered inevitable due to draughts and bad economic policies. Was The famine of 1630 a combination effects of the farmers being taxed by the Marathas, Portuguese,The Adil Shah of Bijapur and the British and of course the extortion by local money lenders. Was Daodoji Kondev equally to be blamed for this turmoil? More and more students of commerce and science and arts ought to join stream of history and decode unanswered questions or else swarms of westerners will descend on the archives which are to be relocated to affluent  Bandra Kurla Complex with multinationals  and purchased off by rich and powerful to distort history and  bend it to suit them  including patent law . The University of Mumbai  at Kalina Campus would be the right place for the archives to be available for reference work.


 


 

Posted in Community Concerns, Culture, Journalism, Politics.

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By Dilip Vishnu Maydeo – January 7, 2012


Vitthal Umap


Vitthal Umap


Music has no class, caste or creed. It is universal and secular just like mathematics, science and sport. It does not even have a language, but since its vocal aspect is embossed in some dialect it assumes a communicative dimension .From young days we were taught to appreciate music in form of classical vocal ,classical instrumental or light classical : songs rendered on  the stage in form of ‘Natyasangeet ‘or Hindi and Marathi Movie numbers .I was enjoying the Beatles and Cliff Richards too. And then there were African Zulu songs which were taught to us during scouting in school.


One form of music was close to my heart, the Folk music be it in any language. Folk has its origin in tribal arts and culture and the instruments and rhythms are basic, endearing and elevating. Folk has therapeutic effects on Depression where sometimes drug therapy can be disastrous.


In Maharashtra the traditions of folk Music are old and ingrained in its culture in forms like Bharud,Lavani,Tamasha or Povadas and Bhajans  the latter being  renditions in Bhakti Sangeet.Last year we lost a very protean exponent of Marathi Folk Theatre Art and Music .His forte was the  robust or Rangada Povada .Povadas are a sort  of Samar Geets or War Songs which became a medium of motivations from Maratha Period and  during Samyukta Maharashtra  movement and as late  during recent conflicts between the Chinese and Pakis.This great exponent was Shahir vitthal Umap.A backward man from Vidharbha who got trained by his father and who used to sing ‘Bhedic” a very  passionate song sung in heavy baritone  loud volume so as to rise to the heavens asking almighty to decipher the philosophy of Man-Woman,Earth Heaven and Life and Death ,this style required very high intensity of training and perseverance .Umap made  waves during  the freedom struggle as well as leftist movements under comrde Dange and lately the Dalit movement.Shahir Umap had the ability to sing  folk songs to the tune of Dholaks and Cymbals and such was the magnificent effect  of his  Buland Voice that would challenge the almighty in the sky (Bhedic as specified above).Such was the power in the voices of the shahirs    attained by constant exercise and study of folk music and its applications like that of the wrestlers.


Living in Parel and BDD Chawls at Naigon  near Trikoni Maidan I was witness to lots of sociopolitical activities in those days when I would attend meetings at Kamgar maidan or Nare Park where Communists leaders or Trade union leaders would address the working classes. As a preamble  Shahairs used to sing povadas of Marathas or Shivaji and their just rule. They would charge the audiences with ambitions and pride to be the masters of their destiny .Umap stayed in one of those BDD chawls.Even Dada Kondke the great entertainer and Shahir Sable stayed nearby. His first public appearance was possible because of one Kamble Master= Teacher who I suppose was our Marathi Sir in school .He was also the head of Scouting in our school.A very humble but honest man  Sir Kamble  even stood for an MLA election and won.Umap had a very insecure life due to his father being an avid  alcoholic so Umap was averse to it and became a teetotaler. He was a Dalit with immense talent and the elite did not recognize his form of music which was played only in small ghettos of lowly workers and  it found stage  at some gatherings of working classes at Damodar Hall at Parel.It never did find a place at Shivaji Mandeer where only Classical Music or Semi classical musicals of the middle class found a forum.


Umap was dark with a heavy rural accent when he spoke Marathi and that made him look uncivilized to the Saraswats and Chitpawans who ruled the roost in Culture and Theatre.It is claimed by Shri Salve that the elite class did not give him a break at HMV to cut a disc for 6 years than a Marathi   Christian gave him a break and his songs were cut into records to be played on loudspeakers. Although from Vidharbha  he stayed at Naigaum and in Shetye Market there were Fisher Folk of Maharashtra selling their merchandise I have experienced the sights and sounds of a fish market in those days  with the women wearing see through kashta ,a short saree and their buttocks  moving rhythmically as they walked.Umap visited these sites and quickly picked up the ethos . He then composed the great kokani song “Ye dada Avar  ye”  a mesmerizing tune played during poojas by workers staying at Gondhali Wadi or Mahadevachi Wadi. I was enthralled by this song and wondered who this artist is and why it was being played in humble gatherings and not at our Ganapati festivities.


Umap was a  follower of shahir Amar Shaikh and Annabhau sathe in his  philosophy and when Communists  split into two ,Umap joined Sathes group but his involvement was peripheral. The other group was that of Amar Shaikh but both these stalwarts   were extremely respectful to  Comrade Dange.Umap  had to  appear for  an examination to be selected as a radio singer and did many programs  all over Maharashtra  later he even did programmes abroad when invited  in Folk Music  expositions. He appeared as an expert in the popular music reality show ‘Sa re ga ma pa” and sang his greatrest number Maharashtra cha powada  a  number that catches imagination of every proud Maharashtrian. Umap never joined the communist Movement although he  sympathesised  with downtrodden and marginalized .He remained a sacrosanct balladeer  entertaining the working classes making their life  easier and lighter assisting them to escape from their toils and tribulations  and  here he  was  very  similar to the great poet Narayan  Surve although Surve was never a Dalit .


I was very lucky to witness his Musical Dance Drama ‘Jambhul Akhyan” a vibrant folk art  composition where entire repertoire of Umap and his troupe  unfolded  as  the audiences  exquisitely   experienced  Marathi culture and its versatility .Umap and the great Shahirs Like Honaji Bala,Patthe Bapurao, Amar sheikh,Pundalik Farande , ,Dada kondke ,Shahir Sable and many more stood tall in their art and who consistently served the music and people  causing convergence  .This is the rich heritage which reflects a solid aspect of Marathi Bana  or Arrowhead and not some shallow commercial  cheap entertainment by  very mediocre imposters where  quantity tries to masquerade as quality. For Maratha History is not replete with instances of mockery but episodes of valor and up righteousness  like that of Tanaji,Chimaji  and Baji and Prataprao Gujar and Tatya Tope recently like those of Babu Genu or Lokmanya Tilak. And the names can be unending .Umap classically stood for this Maratha Bana or Arrow Head as his voice reverberated through the masses and challenged the classes  piercing  through the skies like that of Conch and Ranbheri   played before warriors go to battlefield .Umap  will remain an icon  of Folk Music of Maharashtra and its eternal struggle.

Posted in Culture, Music, Theatre.

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By Dilip Vishnu Maydeo – December 17, 2011


Dev Anand


Dev Anand –Looks, Lyrics and Love


He was said to resemble Gregory Peck which I never agreed because Peck was robust and handsome whereas Dev was dainty and handsome. You never ever saw him bare chested and he always wore full sleeves. But he was a darling with a grand fan following due to his lovable mannerisms and dialogue delivery.Dev Saab is no more at grand young age of 88 for he was the icon of youth and working horsepower. He just never gave up till time stood still on him. That day we were in Dapoli driving towards Karde beach when all FM stations were talking about him. A certain fear gripped me but I did not spell it out for being disrespectful .Then on one of the channels the RJ announced it and the world seemed to come to a standstill.


For an entire generations nurtured on media and movies when money was sparse and imaginations rich he stood as a beacon of good times and lightheartedness. He made our lives feather weight when we were weighed down by burden of uncertainties, mysteries and apprehensions. He exuded optimism with grace and verve.Dev was a full blooded yet gentle and he signaled immense righteousness out of mundane evil of everyday life.


I had seen his posters and still photographs in our studio  Pamart engaged in  publicity for his movies like Kaala Pani and Guide and his clean shaven face was a treat to watch. I was introduced to this word Guide for the first time and wondered it meant. But my sister and her friend Vijaya had been to this movie .When they were discussing finer aspects, I asked them was there as combat in the movie? Not at all came the reply and I systematically relegated this movie into a corner of my mind labeling it as unseeable.When the Dateys took us to Pune in their Ambassador, their two children were singing a duet form Guide and I felt out of place and scornful  ”Aaj fir jeene ki tammana hai,Aaj fir marne ka irada hai” .But I was immature and foolish for later when I saw the movie I cried like a woman. It had all the elements of an epic movie .An epic movie is one which exhibits as many human values and follies possible with frames as well as story gliding from  unimaginable  to  very possible. Guide was a magnum opus and it set a standard for other producers and directors. It in fact, defined Bollywood as an Industry with serious social and financial objectives.


I remember to also have seen another one where he was cast opposite a new comer Zahira .And his number “Phoolo ke rang se, dil ki kalam se “ was a perfect depictment of a romantically inclined innate poetry set to  mind boggling  tune and  rhythm creating  tidal waves on human mind scape.


Then I remember a small booklet of songs and lyrics lying on our Godrej Almirah(Mirrored Steel Cupboard) which I would approach climbing up an adjacent window and read and try to sing songs of ‘Sharaabi”   “ Kabhi na Kabhi ,koi na koi kahi na kahi se Ayega”  and other awesome passionate songs that took me to a higher world of imagination and dreams without  spirits.


Hare Rama Hare Krishna was as crazy as Woodstock  and our own college days. I had worn a saffron khadi guru shirt as if it was a undeclared dress code for the audience. The sheer madness of the tunes was thrilling and inspiring .it was a cult movie making every young boy feel as free as a hippie on Goan Beach with drugs and carefree girls making strong statements of   liberty and equality .Here it meant freedom from autocracy of parents and their miserly manners. Little did we know that the movie robbed us of time and some dough? But who cares at that age. The entire groups of junkies were smoking like chimneys burning holes in pockets and probably lungs too. It was mind over matter experience and Zeenat caught imagination of every young macho compulsory single male.


But larger than life song was from Hum Dono  “ Mai jindagi ka saath…….”  . It was sheer spelling out of a great philosophy of survival for the young to be Bindaas  and tension free taking every adversity in stride and surging ahead without vengeance or guilt.Dev Saab looks like an ultimate soldier, officer and gentleman lover all rolled into one. Seeing this one I decided that I will join the army and freak out of city life full of treachery and harassed competition. I used to wear a Khaki shirt with shoulder stripes and jeans and walk the walk of Dev Saab. Alas that was not to be…


And it is at this time I miss my father a lot for if he was alive he would have shared stories of Devsaab and his romances and dedication..Farewell  friend for I met you on the  screen and admired your ways and principles  and I concur with millions …..There can only be One Dev Saab !!


( This is a spontaneous obit written in response to Dev Saabs  demise .But he deserves a longer one after recapitulating  other reminiscences)

Posted in Arts, Movies, Music, Poetry, Work, Writing.

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By Dilip Vishnu Maydeo – December 7, 2011


Fire in The Blood


Fire in the Blood


As the HIV epidemic in the early eighties spread across the world the fears of AIDS and death gripped the entire literate populace .This fear was terrible for there was no cure for this ghastly venereal scourge. It was like plague since it was expected to wipe out populations especially the promiscuous and the drug users.


The first victim is debatable and some think that it was basically a simian virus that mutated as we eventually discovered that it was a virion that infects the index case. The sex workers formed a pool of contagion and due to rapid centralization of populations into cities by migration the disease became a pandemic. The African continent was worst affected due to poverty illiteracy and alienation from developed and developing worlds.


It is at this time Antiretroviral drugs were rapidly discovered one after another due to some  elite companies already dealing with viral diseases, Amantadine being a prototype. As the molecular structure of the virus infecting the lymphocytes was deciphered different groups of antiviral were synthesized and ART became available between 1990 to 2000 even in developing nations, as patent laws were not applicable in these countries especially India.


India has been a hub of Chemical industry with Bengal a forerunner .Chemistry was a very popular subject amongst the Bhadralok  and there were many stalwarts who were synthesizing fine chemicals like Bengal Chemicals and East India Pharmaceutical as Tropical School Of Hygiene had a great tradition of drug innovations. Subsequent establishments like the UDCT, IITs CSIR, NCL churned  high quality professionals but during preindependance days it was a Bombay based company called Chemical,Industrial and Pharmaceutical Laboratories set up by Dr K.Hamied which was a leader in Mumbai which manufactured drugs for the British Army for supply in Second World war. Another was GIPLA but CIPLA became a champion for drug manufacture and naturally Bombay became capital for pharmaceuticals, Baroda coming next.


Having done some stint at this company, I was aware of its great heritage with Mahatma Gandhi visiting this facility and appreciating it. The company had cutting edge drug development history and knowhow, and Dr Yusuf a qualified and trained Pharmaceutical chemist heading this organization proved to be a great boon. But marketing was weak .In 1980s this department was strengthened and then there was no looking back. With new technology coming in quickly and money pouring in due to their  strength in Respiratory drug segment ,the company started daring into new ventures. A respiratory clinical research centre and its foray into agriculture with Dr Bammi to develop plant based products with facilities for drug research in Bangalore was feather in cap. Ciplas basket was one of the widest and with help of M.K.Hamied and deceased Shri Amar Lulla a finance wizard CIPLA became a household name with their stocks touching all time high in pharma industry. Modern management putting systems and controls in place was done with pioneering effort of Dr Punshi.Cipla then forayed into foreign markets bringing much needed foreign exchange. They became strong exporters to almost 200 countries of the world.


With all this, one strength was almost an essence of the company: social cause and responsibility.Cipla discovered this long before the word Corporate Social Responsibility came into existence. They had started a hospice for the terminal sick at Pune and donated freely for any social cause without reservations and many took advantage of this magnanimity. With a solid presence in various segments Cipla  then entered the generic market to satisfy a need of bringing in drugs cheaply to the lower segments and economically weak. They were now competing with locals and multinationals and soon Cipla became an International company and a household name in every nook and corner of the world.


With this image and love and respect gained from doctors and consumers alike, CIPLA went into antiretrovirals sensing the need and appreciating their own abilities. Meanwhile a sinister picture was emerging on the HIV and AIDS front in Africa whereas the drug costs were coming down in India they refused to come down in US and Africa .This had two reasons one was Indian governmental policy with patent laws and second was capitalization of health care industry by US governments and WTO .Millions of dollars were being pumped into US government to fund elections and to keep economic hegemony ongoing. This strongly prevented entry of cheaper drugs into Africa and European drug cartels prevented any technology transfer for drug manufacture into Africa.


At this time a South African white Judge who was a victim to HIV, a Journalist who was dying due to non availability of drugs, a Clinician dealing with HIV disease and AIDS and an AIDS drug activist who refused to take drugs even though he was likely to succumb to AIDS till affordable drugs were available to the poorest emerged as a strong alliance to lead  social movements in major cities of Africa protesting against Multinationals and Governments to  embargo drugs entering Africa leading to painful death to millions. Doctors beyond Frontiers were their ally too and so was Dr Yusuf Hamied chairman of CIPLA . For Dr Hamied knew one thing, that to remain in drug industry one has to innovate and innovation need not be only scientific, it can be socioeconomic too.


Dr Hamied was approached by concerned people who had patronage from Desmond Tutu, Nelson Mandela and Ex President Clinton .Dr Hamied studied the case and offered monthly drug for Dollar 300 a month against  1500 to 200 a month. He approached the European Union who disregarded this idea but the players were firm and finally after battling the embargo for 4 years the US senate gave its go ahead loosening their policy and giving its green signal for import of technology for African governments to manufacture AIDS drugs saving thousands of life and stopping cascading forward transmissions.


Fire in Blood is a 2 hour Documentary film by Brian Dylan made by inputs from Ex Pfizer and other Pharma honchos. It pictures the profiles of victim and their lifestyles due to the ravages of the disease not only in Africa but India too. The film is a tribute to Dr Y.K.Hamied who deserves the highest honors in Medicine and Health not because of drug discovery but because of Social Innovation for it is his exemplary decisions which will be realized as a greatest step to bring the Pandemic of HIV AIDS in control across boundaries of nations and their political limitations. It is this humanitarian cause which made the world sit-up and take notice of egalitarian initiative adopted by CiPLA ad Dr Hamied rather than working into a very clichéd concept of Social Responsibility through current fabricated entities termed as NGOs


 

Posted in Community Concerns, Medicines, Politics, health.

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By Dilip Vishnu Maydeo – December 6, 2011


Emu Breeding


Emu Breeding


Three years back I was in Nagpur for some work ,I don’t recollect but I was staying with my cousin who is an Oil Technologist and a trader in Rice Bran Oil since last 15 years .And slowly and steadily the business has caught up as people have recognized this oil as an excellent PUFA medium for cooking. I is rich in thiamine too plus certain other anti-oxidants. I was supposed to go and see another new enterprise of Emu breeding of another maternal cousin but for some reason it was thwarted.


Today I could complete this commitment made 3 years back and I am wise man.Satish was at my Executive Inn hotel yesterday .Vilas who was on the way to Pench Tiger reserve to assist Prachi in collecting Tiger Poo for genetic studies in Project Tiger asked a pointed question .Emu farming has been a failure and those who undertook this business are about to sue those who sold the Emus and the Government?


“ You are right it is true that certain farmers in Nasik,Pune and Gujarat were duped by a certain person who promised Rs 3000 per Emu Egg “ “ Now they filed the project based on this level of profitability and met with dead end as they could not service the loans based on the speculative figures”


When asked about the excess of suicides in Vidharba he retorted that illiterate farmers are using traditional methods, taking loans for agricultural purpose from money lenders and using it for festivals or marrying of their daughters which is bad investment leading to financial catastrophy.Backwardness ,illiteracy and misplaced social concepts are adding fuel to fire as they stand swindled by local Politicians and Goons and Traders .It is total failure of the government who has done nothing to uplift the semi tribal and farm workers.


What about NREGA ? Its on paper. There is very little actual work being done. This is a business of signature and distribution of money for election. They get a fraction of it a major part being pocketed by Babus and their agents and as a result they go and work on farms which gives them 125 rupees a day. Much above Montek Singhs figure of Rs 35.But he may be right as there are vast numbers inaccessible people impossible to be enrolled far from   any form of development to come under the ambit of UID code number statistics.


“well we go tomorrow to see my farm, Good night”


Satish a commerce graduate worked with Videocon for some time. Being a shy person he did not do well as a sales person. He then went into insurance selling but lacked the aggressiveness and was looking for a business to earn respect and sustainability. For two generations none of his ancestors ever had done any farming. But taking a cue from my niece he   purchased around 8 acres of agricultural land around 30 kms from Nagpur in the village of Mangli on Umred road.”Well, you are not a farmer then how come you could do it? By law one has to be a farmer.”   “Ha! He scorned off! Those draconian rules are for creating nuisance  for celebrities and big tycoons, not for a ordinary citizen like me , I am farming since 2003 and don’t have to prove it .Damn it I am toiling and producing wealth and no one can stop me. It is asking a live person to get a certificate to the effect that he is not dead, a common practice in Banks”! The Law is an Ass on the Whole” We were chatting while on way to Umred farm.


At Champa we turned left .He showed me Quarrying on hills.30 units are busy 24 hours crushing stones for infrastructure in and around Nagpur a locally available raw material source bringing down construction cost a benefit doubtfully   passed to the consumer. He told me of a river water resort closeby at the confluence of 5 tributaries of Vainganga River. Gosekhurd is also nearby.Yes I have been reading about it.What is that? It’s a river water project. The dam is being constructed since  last 25 years .It was to be build for  around 50 crores but now the cost stands at about 1500 crores due to added costs of relocation of affected and their rehabilitation.Satish was an local mobile  encyclopedia. We came across Champa  forest office and two natural lakes .The roads were very good due to Pradhaan Mantri Sadak Yojana  . I was surprised , that government was interested in roads rather than education and social upliftment.What is the use when oil prices are hitting 70 rupees a liter, I thought ,who has money to buy vehicles and also run it in villages. Actually it is to bring goods into every small village and make every one into consumer than a citizen with a decent life!  It is a reward for local contractors and their Hench men to boast of the roads during election days.


With roads getting progressively smaller we came on to the lowest denomination a dirt tract with weeds and grasses. We parked the Maruti and walked for 1o minutes arriving at the farm. I took pictures He showed off his crop  of  Chana termed Harbara (Harabhara) and tur dal trees with the legume pods I plucked a few dark ones. They taste great even if raw. I told him that I have eaten it when a child during a farm visits. He showed me at rice planted and come to harvesting phase an aroma emanated from It. ^ gunnies of Chana, 2 gunnies of Tur ,3 gunnies of Rice  would be the yield. No artificial manure. Organic manure from around 50 goats and Emu droppings and Cow dung from 2 oxen that were off to grazing. Then I came to the Emu enclosure. He has eighteen pairs cordoned off into fenced dual enclosures with metal wire. They chuckled and came after us ad pecked our fingers when we inserted thru the mesh .It surely hurt by the margins as the force was strong but no injury.emu are tall birds originally from Australia but they are highly adaptable .They come in pairs by natural selection and loyal to each others. The male takes part in hatching for 45 days during which it consumes very less and utilizes its fats stores. The eggs are large and around 10 inches by 7 inches purple in colour and becomes pale if calcium is deficient.


Emu meat is considered red meat and very sparsely available as minimal Emus are slaughtered for food as enough business is generated by breeding and selling pairs.Satish showed me the pellets that are fed to the Emus which comes as a readymade product. Each emu eats food worth Rs 10 everyday. The life span is around 15 years and they seldom fall sick and die unlike the goats. Then he showed me the well around 10 feet diameter  with the pump. We struck water at 30 feet at a site suggested by Geological department who come with a water divining electrical equipment which shows deflection at the point with two superficial probe sensors held apart. Then he showed be the Ambadi plant with red flowers the petals of which are used for herbal tea making and the seeds to make powder like Besan ,The leaves can be eaten as leafy vegetables.


Emu  is  currently in the breeding stage and major business comes from selling them to hatcheries located in Andhra Nagpur area where they are put in incubators and then bred and sold in pairs.Satish bought them in 2006 primarily as a complimentary business but now with expertise it has become his core cash crop activity .We were now walking towards the farm house which was a brick wall house with tiled roof divided into two enclosures one as a mini store room and other as a residential quarter of a caretaker farmer who spends whole day and then returns at night to Nagpur.He showed me solar lamps ,there were 5 eggs kept in a bucket which he delicately wrapped in specially designed containers to carry back home. Outside stood a  mohwa  Tree and nearby Goat Farm with around 40 females and 3 males and 6 lambs. I was delighted and happy for them for the goats are suckled entirely by the lambs and no milk is consumed by the breeders. However mortality is high. They eat off the pale white Mhowa flowers which fall off in the morning. Two dogs lazed nearby but there was no bark or pampering they were farm dogs and supposed to do their job silently guarding the fields and livestock through the night.


Time was running out as I had to take a flight back to Mumbai so we wound up the educative tour with a cup of ginger tea and a Korean clove flavored cigarette. It was a farmer’s way of fellowship as I had ruled out lunch.Then in full speed he dropped me to the airport making my day. A ton of Thanks Satish and your lovely farm and immense knowledge which you can never get on TV full of soap and crap.True Value addition of ground realities and son of soil info.

Posted in Business, Community Concerns, Education, Politics, Travel, Work.

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By Dilip Vishnu Maydeo – November 22, 2011


Irani Restaurants


Irani Restaurants


They happen to be there today as well but much subdued and low key as compared to those heydays when they formed a distinct places of refreshments .Entire Bombay was studded with these golden sites and sounds of speakeasies called the Irani Restaurants and indeed they were the cultural  landmarks  of cosmopolitan Mumbai.


Irani restaurant were a phenomena like the Udipis . And they had their style statement of their own. Located predominantly on corners of buildings on main roads or even on smaller streets they had those peculiar teak chairs with rounded bottom resters with black polish and I have never seen any broken ever even when they used to be manhandled. The Marble tables were round and thick mounted on Victorian base made of teakwood and black polish. Another feature was the counters one for the owner and cashiers who was the unmistakable fair stout robust irani seated with a hunch and who would watch the entire place with his Hawkeye precision discerning every abnormality of material and service. He roared like lion and newer cowed by mavalis or goondas coming inside as there was no taboo to caste and creed sometimes displayed clearly by a signboard.


They sold Bharat Blades and Boric Powder .They sold Cavenders and Passing Show and Charminar and Peela hatthi.They sold Polson Maska in small rolls or Polson coffee and kolynos toothpaste.They sold Cadbury Drinking chocolate and Ovaltine sometimes as a beverage.They sold  Brasso  and Cheery Blossom shoe polish and Wimco matches.They sold Brylcream and Loma and Forhans.All kept in glass showcases around the Counter.There were tall cupboards with glass which kept Buns and  loaves of bread and others which had Cakes and Pastries for sale.


Iranis used to be frequented by boys and men but hardly ladies.Standard orders were Tea which was ‘Paani cum” a concept started by them where tea was made from milk rather than boiling water.Then there was Bun Maska and Omlette or Kheema which was their speciality.Some sold hot Puddings and pattices which were non veg and Kharis or toasts.Those on townside had Biryani and Payas and other exotic dishes including Dhanshaks.Business was mainly from vending tea and coffee which was filter and later instant where the cashier would add a small tinge to the stuff.Huge portraits of king of Iran and Queen of Iran decorated the walls of these hotels.They were the places from where you could make aphone call at a cost as there were very few public call booths and mobile phones were impossibles.A peep inside the restaurants kitchen was as smoothening .The waiters were peculiar people from Muslim community who would get free breakfast or periodic dose of hot tea and Kheema at lunch time with fresh bread .Smoking was allowed infact many smoked as they sipped tea and chatted in loud voices,although occupying the tables for more time was discouraged unless you ordered for another tea .There were sighboards telling not to sit without work and not to comb hair infront of the mirror hung above washbasins.


My earliest experience was one opposite Sena Bhavan at Shivaji Park.I forget the name but the memories are engraved on my mind. This one sold excellent Patties and Patti Smaosas  and Cakes. The Patti Samosas were small oil laden with masala and ingredients blended perfectly to be eaten with sauce or Tomato ketchup. When I  went to my  father’s Studio Pamart accompanying him or otherwise , I was usually  treated to these delicacies as tea was a taboo for kids. Also later on return from swimming sessions during holidays at MGMO swim pool I would relish double omelets especially when the appetite was insatiable or there was some extra cash around. It was a great feeling to walk up this place during vacations and enjoy Sosyo  at this place or at one situated on Caddell road or on the circle where there was the Building Udayam.Coco  Cola had a different taste which was inimitable at the time before Thums a up or Coke.Infact Coke was the short of Cocoa Cola  and later it became a brand just like Charms which was short for Char Minar a cigarette with strong flavor which was my father’s brand .He was an artist and artists were supposed to have minor vices to bring out their creative energies. Years later this place opposite sena bhavan was sold off and now a restaurant Chandragupt runs here instead of the much missed Irani joint.


Another remarkable one was at Parel TT .This was too was an  unforgettable place because of its specialty Pudding and Cakes which were served in a Glass bowl as assortments and you were supposed to be pick only the ones which tempted you k.My father took us to Firdausi on special occasions and he used to foot the bill when everyone was done . Just outside Firdausi was a small library of Comic books and this was our recluse during vacations as we devoured one after other on binge reading .When we stood out side at the Library rich flavours emanating from the bakery at Firdausi would greet us.During Christmas time this was a treat by itself.We would then wonder when we would grow up become employed so that we would have them all at one go due to our affordability. Firdausi beckoned us during college days when we were broke and I would walk with Shekhar around parel TT with few coins in our pocket we would purchase Chana or peanuts eyeing the temptation called Firdausi. But alas the time never came as our likes and desires migrated to other realms like beer and I remember during my college days occasionally I would hop into Firdausi to down one or two beers which was either LP or the staple golden eagle.Firdausi is now extinct and its place has been taken by a wretched department stores . Firdausi thus saw the evolution of my childhood into Collegean and then into a salaried young man treating his friends but the place itself evolved changing the merchandise .Another delicacy  at Firdausi was Falooda with rose milk and sabja  .This dammed thing was always costlier at Firdausi but then we enjoyed this at roadside joint on corner of Sheyte market at Naigaum  sold as doodh cold drink and in summer it was a nectar of life supplying volume and antioxidants and proteins.


Mashaallah was situated next to a post office in Naigaum next to police quarters where Bapat satyed a colleague at college. This was a joint where we chilled out during high school days. It was may be a chiliya place.But this was special as we had here a Juke box where we played Rajesh Khanna songs .It was actually a gramophone box where choice of the song was buttoned in after a fall of a coin in a slot and we could see the  Lac record being lifted and played .It was ultimate ecstasy to hear this sipping tea and occasional having double omlette which was a common highlight of my bachelor days during Diwali Vacations  .I remember telling one of my rich neighbors to gift me a  Irani restaurant like Mashaallah so that I would sit at the counter gathering money and enjoying the ambience of the rendezvous with rich flavors and music .A crazy dream !


Modern Times was next to Hindmata Talkies. It still exists at a vantage spot. We collegians would meet at this place boisterously cracking jokes and making plans to see matinee shows or talking of courtships with fervor. There was one on opposite road too where I remember to hear a bollywood song on it Juke Box one in which Asha Parekh sang it on the large screen with her sinuous body movements  “parde Mein Rehene Do”  an enchanting and insinuating number which caught fancy of youth.


Lucky Restaurant was bang opposite Chitra cinema .It was a place where we would have tea and Britannia or Parle biscuits on our evening or late evening strolls  outside boys hostel.This place has been converted to Lucky furniture shop


One next to Aurora theatre was coolest spot especially when we had cold drinks during intervals of Western Action movies or movies of Dean Martin. Another one was at Dadar TT where Milan Shop stood for years .It was a large restaurant catering to officers and Parsi gentry from Colony .We would settle for Soda plus Lemon of dukes which was a fizzy drink of repute as refreshing as ever.Sarvi was in Byculla where we enjoyed Paya soup exactly as prescribed by Asif my friend .One opposite VJTI was a craze too spending fun time with friends after strolling at Love Gardens would give us a high which was unsurpassed delight of youthful days. Occasionally we relished Joy Ice-cream with Vanila flavor which was irreplaceable taste and feel on tongue. But the ultimate place was one next to MGMO swim pool besides the sea shore with open air and cool sea breeze and meeting here after stroll on the sands was something worth cherishing all our lives. Some iranis at town side were places like they showed in Hollywood movies with Glass top tables and a menu which suited our pockets during Christmas and New year times when we would try to go to jam Sessions at Colaba a dream world like Saturday night fever .the instances when we went were when we went to British Council Library or Asiatic library.


Those were the days of dreams and romance of the Iranis added  to our fantasies .Due to their décor and western culture they endeared us to make our youth colourfull and rich. This is a tribute to those Irani restaurants which added spice and hope and tang to otherwise insecure life of distant days!!


 

Posted in City Of Mumbai, Culture, Music, Writing.

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By Dilip Vishnu Maydeo – November 6, 2011


Tantra IV


Tantra  IV


Etymology is a science of origin of words .This science may be modern as one tends to derive the origin from phonetics or other means .But words themselves are ancient and so is Tantra.Thantra is the natural logic of concepts and effects as well.Tantra is basically Technology and all Tantrics are technologists


What is their specialty .It is the discovery of science itself in its most primordial form. It is the technology of the Sky Stars and the Planets and their effects on the earth and its resident’s .It is the Technology of Winds and Rains and Storms and Hurricanes. It is the Technology of Seas, waves waterbodies.It is the Technology of Monsoons and Rains and water flow in rivers.


It is the Technology of Mountains and Valleys and Ravines and Earthquakes. It is the Technology of Forests and Animals and Plants and Fishes and birds.


Tantra is a Technology of the Flute and Strings. It is the Technology of Pottery and Fire and Hunting and Cooking. It is Technology of the Bow and Arrows, Spears and Axe. It is the Technology of Leather and Wood and Wax and Fats. It is the Technology of Caves and Darkness and Habitats. It is the Technology of Rising and setting Sun and rising and Setting Moon. It is the Technology of Fruits and Grain and Meat and Herbs. It is Technology of Fear and Fright. Flight or Fight. It is about the migration of Birds and breeding. It is about Fishing and Canoeing. It is about Running and Balancing. It is about Eating and Digesting and urinating and Defeceating.It is about Sex and Intercourse. It is about Child bearing and Birth. It is about Sleeping and Drinking and Dreaming .It is about Breathing and yawning and sneezing and coughing. It is about Running and jumping and swimming. It is about combat and killing .It is about tree climbing and mountaineering  and rowing. It is about cattle breeding and alcohol making .it is about Agriculture and Artisans. It is about Talking and Commanding. It is about Crying and laughing.


Tantra is the Technology of feeding and motherhood. It is about parenting and language and singing and painting. It is about flexibility and coordination. It is about strength, flexibility, position and posture. It is about Soil and watering. It is about salt making and storing. It is about seducing and kissing .it is about manure and fertilization. It is about aphrodisiacs and purgatives. It is about catharsis and kilns. It is about implements and weapons. It is about energies, spirits and occult. It is about Yoga and Pranayam.It is about horse riding and the constellations. It is about animals and their behavior. It about fire and flintstones, It is about minerals and gems. It is about gold, copper and Iron. It is about archery and pole vaulting. It is about brewing and honey. It is about rivers and streams and snakes and serpents. It is about slaughter and blood about bones and intestines. It is about dexterity and swordsmanship. It is about love, hate, anger, valour,faith and acctualisation.It is about lust and self control  .It is about health and sickness.It is about growth and ageing . It is about living and dying


Technology existed since brain existed. It has been there before its formal discovery as a subject.Tantra comes naturally to animals and humans alike in their process to live and breed. It is based on logic and convenience. It is based on economy and observation. It is rationalization of resources and the art of studying all that is in nature and vicinity of humans and animals alike.


Technology is the act of a crow to put pebbles inside a narrow utensil to let the water level rise till its beak it is about carnivores ingesting herbs when they are sick. It is about the sudden turn of the deer when the predator is pursuing it as a food. It is about the Tiger putting marks on trees to demarcate its territory. It is about the kite gliding and the rattle snake making noise. It is about honey bees making hives and birds weaving nests. It is about camouflage and cow judging speed of a vehicle to just avoiding by moving to the correct side.


Tantra is the very essence of innovation to change as per the day and night, as per season and year. It is to change during phases of life from childhood to youth and old age. It is to change as per the relationship and situation. It is to adjust to the phases of the moon and the motion of sun .it is about responding to light and darkness. It is about responding to hunger and desire. It is about stamina and endurance and coping. It is about harmony and synchrony. It is about realization and introspection. It is about knowledge and application. It is about experience and understanding. It is about ecology and intelligence .It is about grief and happiness. It is about sustenance and subsistence.Tantra is ultimate that decides the result good or bad. Right or wrong. Positive or negative without remorse. It is the science it its natural form and freedom. It is the sublime nectar of the mightiest god ‘Shiva’

Posted in Culture, Indology, Writing.

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By Dilip Vishnu Maydeo – October 21, 2011


Dhanraj Vanjari


Dhanraj Vanjari –The Policeman & Poet


A few years back I was called for the release of a collection of poems by Dhanraj Vanjari .It was titled Kalasya Karanam. I made it a point to attend this ceremony for the releaser was the unmistakable poet Narayan Surve.I had tremendous respect for this stalwart poet who had set a benchmark in Poetry of Working Class and who was a vidrohi poet more than a conventional poet.I loved the speech made by Dhanraj and Surveji.I acquired the collection and congratulated Dhanraj personally before leaving.


Later I did read a few poems and liked some for the concepts and meter. But I did not understand the technical aspect of the poetry and could not offer a detailed critique. I remember that it had a tinge of counter establishment hue and I admired this very shade of his poetry.


As I sat in the department teaching my students from practical cases, KCM walked in and sat in front of me.He apprised me of the occasion .Dhanraj is visiting the college to make a presentation on “ New Economic World Order” . Now that was a tall order for a poet policeman who had no formal education in economics and finance and me for it was a last moment decision with my busy schedule and appointments. But I relented and gathered in the main lecture theatre hoping to leave as per need and situation keeping my cell on silent mode. The crowd gathered gently most were faculty members and staff and other students.I was reintroduced when Dhanraj was ushered in. I sat at a vantage spot with my colleagues.


Dhanraj was introduced by the Dean and the upright officer walked to the podium with the walk of a confident orator. Then for next hour he held his audience in awe .I shall put point wise what appealed me most and the salient points he made to explain the new order post world trade centre catastrophy.


1)      He did not use power point, sign of a orator and public speaker than a mere commercial sales person.


2)      He was at no point selling himself to the audience but only putting effort and logic to convince the gathering by his rational approach.


3)      He did not use body language to sound frivolous or act like a jester to make audience laugh. He was not an entertainer but a thinker who stimulated his subjects to ponder.


4)      He was not repetitive. He had constant eye contact with the audience


5)      He was loud audible hard hitting and transparent.


Now I shall recall the actual matter point wise


Dhanraj was analyzing the new world power hierarchy which he equated with economic order and he did this with the precision of a police investigator who looks at the entire issue in a perspective. He cajoled his subjects to think and read in between lines the political turmoil in 3rd world and the economics of terrorism as a successful business model and imposed onto the commoner who under compulsion has to bear the loss of draining of finances causing great harm to his quality of life. He called certain countries as garrison states who keep the world in a state of flux and insecurity.


He said that Saud was a family from Europe who ventured into Arabia eventually integrating into the fabric of the country to command the natural resources just like Lawrence of Arabia. The new economic order is to perpetrate a war on each and every individual and sap him of his freedom leaving choices which are equally worst relegating him to a mechanistic existence forcing him to work like clones .This analogy he drew from the social structure of ants and their colonies where the queen and soldier ants control others worker ants to toil for the entire lifetime. This genetic superiority of select few make them get into such leveraging positions that makes them powerful like the corporate honchos who have at their disposal immense resources and information controlling huge fleet of employees perform with singular coordination to gain more mileage on all fronts  concentrating tremendous power into their hands .


The new value system is not necessarily based on meritocracy but on opportunity and manipulative capabilities. He cajoled the audiences to remain aware of the harsh realities and aware of the role of power in the new order of things to come. The war on the individual is on his privacy and freedom. It is a war which will get him in a compromising situation which will dictate the locus of his actions and limitations reducing him to intellectual donkey working ceaselessly for benefit of select few who are at the top of the hierarchy. Dhanraj at this point even mentioned a certain very rich business man industrialist who was one of the power mongers. I quickly thought that he is unlikely to mention names unless he has definite proof. Then I was suddenly worried of this public person who is spreading a thought of suspicion and where the needle is pointing. Then I sat back and told myself. Well he is a poet and poets are fearless more fearless than policemen.


Dhanraj took the entire gathering through a tour of energy crisis and petroleum and energy cartels where we are forced to cough out huge sums for a decent living on fringe. Today we spend miniscule on food but more on electricity and transport, a fallacy of developmental politics termed as infrastructure and progress. Dhanraj was a professor of chemistry and later joined police force. His scientific analysis is commendable. A multidimensional personality of his type ought to be heard by youth of the country who have bold choices to make in future to shape the life of fellow countrymen.Dhanraj is no politician who mingles words .He is a public servant disposing his duties as a concerned officer and a preventer of terrorism and allied activities .His forensic analysis of many accidents and crimes may be equally educative. The talk was delivered with precision of an astute clinician and I am tempted to address him as Doctor if not his highness or milord or ‘Saheb”.Keep going  sir for we need more specialists like you than all those clowns in Media .


 

Posted in Community Concerns, Education, Politics.

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By Dilip Vishnu Maydeo – October 13, 2011


Ancient Mariner


Ancient Mariner


Irony
Irony is a situation, or a use of language, involving some kind of discrepancy. An example of this is ”Water, water everywhere but not  a drop to drink’.


 


Romanticism 
The principles and ideals of the Romantic Movement in literature and the arts during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Romanticism, which was a reaction to the classicism of the early 18th century, favored feeling over reason and placed great emphasis on the subjective, or personal, experience of the individual. Nature was also a major theme. The great English Romantic poets include Wordsworth, Coleridge, Byron, Shelley, and Keats.


 


Ballad.


A poem that tells a story similar to a folk tale or legend and often has a repeated refrain. “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” by Samuel Taylor Coleridge is an example of a ballad

Climax
The turning point of the action in the plot of a play or story. The climax represents the point of greatest tension in the work. The climax of John Updike’s “A&P,” for example, occurs when Sammy quits his job as a cashier.


Conflict
A struggle between opposing forces in a story or play, usually resolved by the end of the work. The conflict may occur within a character as well as between characters. Lady Gregory’s one-act play The Rising of the Moon exemplifies both types of conflict as the Policeman wrestles with his conscience in an inner conflict and confronts an antagonist in the person of the ballad singer.


Fiction
An imagined story, whether in prose, poetry, or drama. Ibsen’s Nora is fictional, a “make-believe” character in a play, as are Hamlet and Othello. Characters like Robert Browning’s Duke and Duchess from his poem “My Last Duchess” are fictional as well, though they may be based on actual historical individuals. And, of course, characters in stories and novels are fictional, though they, too, may be based, in some way, on real people. The important thing to remember is that writers embellish and embroider and alter actual life when they use real life as the basis for their work. They fictionalize facts, and deviate from real-life situations as they “make things up.”


Protagonist
The main character of a literary work–Hamlet and Othello in the plays named after them, Gregor Samsa in Kafka’s Metamorphosis, Paul in Lawrence’s “Rocking-Horse Winner.”.The Ancient Mariner is a Protagonist in the Rime


Rime : A Ballad or Rhyme .A long Poem


 


 In 1969 in Ruia College I had joined the Science stream. I was a first year student .It was a very nice feeling to be a collegian in this college managed by an exclusive institution called Shikshan Prasarak Mandali. There was a Science stream and Arts stream. The Art stream was called Humanities. Not that Science stream was inhuman or subhuman. In fact those joining Science used to behave like super humans and look down on the ‘lowly’ arts students.


The Science subjects taught were Mathematics consisting of Calculus and Trigonometry and Coordinate Geometry .Biology consisted Zoology and Botany .Chemistry was Inorganic, Organic and Physical Chemistry and Physics consisted of Light, Mechanics and Heat. These subjects were compulsory. But we had another set of compulsory subjects which were taught but were not meant to be examined at University level .These were languages Marathi and/or English. And we had reader for these .For English we had ST Coleridge’s ‘Rime of the Ancient Mariner’


I remember the diminutive Prof Rege wearing his thick bifocals dressed humbly in trousers and bush shirt entering the smaller classrooms for tutorials on second floor on the northern wing of the colossal college building that stood like a ship of knowledge, learning and academics. We sat with reverence and admiration, for his sincerity while teaching English Literature was phenomenal. I must confess here that I used to love humanities as much as the  Science subjects and tried never to miss any class unlike others who  abhorred the subject feeling that it took away their valuable time. A select few students, some sincere others romantics sat glued to their seats as Prof Sadanand Rege  with his theatrical gestures would get us involved in the scents of the oceans and the weird experiences of the Mariner. There was another poem  of Colridge which was prescribed for teaching . It was ‘Christabel’ which was equally eerie and  scary  but Mariner was my choice as I felt at times that the Sea beckons me to make a career ,and I was eyeing a course in marine Engineering.


 Coleridge wrote “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” in 1817 during the Romantic period, which was concerned with nature and art and defined by a strong sense of optimism regarding human nature, although the Romantics often rejected formalized religion. Instead, they believed humans could redeem themselves through “an act of self-realization.” Essay topics on “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” could address how the poem represents the concerns of Romanticism, particularly the optimism of the poem’s ending and the theme of redemption throughout, as well as the powerful, almost god-like presence of nature. Essays could also compare Coleridge’s poem to other classic Romantic works, such as William Wordsworth’s “Lyrical Ballads.”


 


 


The famous quote “Water, water, everywhere, / Nor any drop to drink” describes the helpless fate of seamen aboard a ship in the famous poem . After the mariner kills an albatross, the sailors endure an eerie experience of the ocean turning to slime. After this episode silently a ship approaches .It ia manned by Death, who takes all of their lives except for the life of the ancient mariner. The mariner narrates all this to a man so enthralled by the story that he misses a wedding he is on his way to attend. The narrator, the ancient mariner, has fascinated readers for two centuries. Writing an essay on his character — grotesque, eerie, bizarre — might illuminate the meaning of the poem and  address the narrator’s sense of guilt and responsibility. The notion of his captivating a person with his story against that person’s will sets an uncanny tone for the Romanticism and how he narrates his own redemption. “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” is filled with strange characters and creatures. Some have speculated that the poem might be a kind of Christian allegory. An essay could explore how this might be possible and, if so, what the narrator and the albatross represent, tying the symbols into the themes of guilt and  suffering and more intriguing was the fact that the wedding guest is was “one of three” that the narrator stopped this denotes classical symbolism.


The Mariner has been cursed by an ultimate curse and that is to tell the same story whom he desires since eons till he attains salvation. It is here that Coleridge climaxes specifically in this narration how he is relived as his redemption is complete. The poet emerges as much a winner as the mariner who has become old and ancient.


 


Many scholars, and Coleridge himself, have noted that the ending to “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” is unsatisfactory. The idea that the mariner is punished for killing a bird seems to make the poem simply a moral lesson. Essays could discuss what the mariner’s crime actually was, and if it was killing the albatross, what the albatross might represent, especially considering the Romantics’ emphasis on a kind of non-religious spiritual hope.


Very strangely I too went on telling as many about the great Epic ballad and recommended this one as a must read of course without any curse but surely of obligation I felt on my part towards this greatest of English Poets


 


o    .






 


 


..





 


On Thursday, July 14, 2011 at 04:05:32 AM Eunice D’Souza writes in Mumbai Mirror


Whenever I read old poems, I’m struck again by how marvelous many of them are. In the light of Nick Hayes’ graphic work The Rime of the Modern Mariner (Jonathan Cape 2011), a re-telling of the Coleridge poem, I’ve been re-reading “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” first published in 1798. Coleridge was a master of strange, terrifying, supernatural effects, and his poem still gives me the creeps.



Coleridge’s poem is about a mariner who, in an act of meaningless violence kills the albatross that has been following their ship, and bringing it fair weather. Terrible consequences follow:


 “The very deep did rot, O Christ!/That ever this should be!/Yea, slimy things did crawl with legs/Upon the slimy sea.”


There’s water everywhere, but nothing the sailors can drink:


 “And every tongue, through utter drought,/Was withered at the root;/We could not speak, no more than if/We had been choked with soot.”

The events are strange, but the obsessive guilt he feels even after being forgiven, is very realistic. He can’t forgive himself, he can’t let go of the blame he has internalized. He is doomed to tell his story of guilt and redemption over and over again to any listener he can mesmerize with his “glittering eye.”









The book The Rime Of The Modern Mariner talks about the degradation of the earth done by mindless humans


Hayes writes a modern horror story about the mindless degradation of the earth. (The Romantics, too, living in an age of industrialization were also concerned about the environment). The modern mariner finds his ship becalmed in those “great, slow-moving whirlpools” of plastic and other waste that exist in every ocean.

They are seven of them (five according to others) with the North Pacific Gyre nine kilometers deep in some places. According to descriptions I’ve read, the rotational pattern of the ocean at certain points draws in and traps all kinds of debris, mainly plastic waste.

Some of this plastic releases toxic chemicals into the sea. This ends up in the stomachs of birds and animals. If humans eat contaminated fish, they end up absorbing this toxicity.

As in Coleridge, the jaunty verse which accompanies his graphics reads somehow emphasizes the horror:


“Screaming fists of hail and ice/Crashed down like weights of lead…/And ancient Thor of Nordic lore/Hammered on my head./I gaped across Poseidon’s lair…/And saw a gathering army:/Waves of wailing Mymirdons…/Had formed a great tsunami.”

Earlier, when the supercilious modern mariner has just killed the albatross, the sailors are terrified:


 “You killed the lucky albatross,/You contravened the sea,/And by the morals of the mariner/Punished all are we./These superstitious simple souls/I soon put in their place/But they just sat with silent eyes/That drilled into my face./So I turned around frustrated/And looked across the sea/And saw we were surrounded/By a wash of polythene./Swathes of polystyrene/Bobbed with tonnes of Neoprene/and polymethyl methacrylate/ Stretched across the scene.”

Coleridge had to rely on words for his effects. Hayes uses graphics along with words. Robert Macfarlane writes in his blurb, “Brilliant, eerie and timely, Nick Hayes has created a stunning visual language to match his modernizing of Coleridge’s poem, hints of Bewick’s woodcuts, Hokusai’s waves, but with contemporary anger and edge.”



Somewhere Nick Hayes says, “It was when I discovered a picture of an albatross, belly swelled to busting, full of plastic bottle caps that it had mistaken for shrimp, rotted and interlaced with plastic bags tight around its bones, that the penny dropped: albatross; Coleridge; burdens of guilt. It was time for a modern mariner.

Nick Hayes is political cartoonist for The Guardian. He is also the founding editor of Meat Magazine, a periodical which includes new writing, comics and illustrations. The Rime of the Modern Mariner is his first book.


When I read about this piece I was overwhelmed .Nick deserves my salutes .As an environmental soldier who has just finished reading ‘Ecological Intelligence’ by David Goleman ,I am compelled to read this masterpiece and debut when times comes but first let me thank Prof Rege for introducing me to such fine poetry ,the real tribute to which was paid by Nick Hayes.





 

Posted in Arts, Books, Fantasy, environment.

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By Dilip Vishnu Maydeo – October 2, 2011


Sagar Putra


Sagar Putra


The first time I went to Dabhol my visit was a great success. It was a night journey to Konkan my own land of origins and hence I was too excited. We were travelling at Night in ST with my own assistant who had a small house at a seaside village in Bhiv Bunder around 4 miles from Dabhol proper.


I was in ecstasy that evening .We arrived at around 5 am at Dabhol Bus stand and Rupesh had come on the stand to receive us. We walked through narrow lanes with wadis(farmhouses) on all sides from the stand .My arrangements were made at a contractor’s house who was Rupeshes Uncle. He had contacts in the Dabhol Power plant as well his own trawlers. Those days there were no Mobiles and the trawlers kept Walkie Talkie with sets at base location to communicate whereabouts and business information. He had a base station on first floor of his two storey Bungalow .This bungalow was one of the finest and outstanding one in Dabhol probably coming next on heels of Shri Ashok Kadam which I never got an opportunity to see.


Who has designed this I asked one day ? “ Well that’s is another big story “ he said and went on to tell me about it. To make a long story short he had said that an architect had taken up the project but it had run into trouble both for technical and commercial reasons. The building thus was half done putting the entire household to inconvenience, but they were lucky as a savior had arrived on the scene. It was one Mr Athavale of Roha who I happened to know as he used to be staying in our colony .This man spent his childhood in Lokmanya society at Matunga and had known my maternal uncles family ‘The Ponkshes’ whom he  held in high esteem. My own encounter with this professional architect was during our few travels we undertook while on chess tourneys with his son Anup .Mr Athavale was a thorough gentleman and he carried his cigarettes with up righteousness .He was researching on the mystic of Vastushastra of Temples and its design to bring out the meditative characters of Human mind and harnessing faith by right design especially the sanctum sanctorum.


No doubt that this Bunglow looked like a marvel,I thought.For Mr Athavale probably belonged to the same clan as Pandurang Shastri Athavale a social reformer of Swadhyay Parivar hailing from Roha.With Athavales entry into the project the Bungalow had positive vibrations of a Temple. This household was vibrating with activity and affluence. There was plenty for everyone and hospitality was endless. Especially the fish in all its variety and tastes. Those days I was a poor eater and they were amazed at my consumption even though I loved fish but they cooked in copious oil.


Next  morning we walked to the Suru Ban or Casuarina  grove at the coast of the creek where we could spot the Dabhol Bunder or Port clearly as water lapped on the creek sands .The  Tall casuarinas trees stood in harmony with their fruits fallen in the sands.It was a great serene feeling of beauty for a city dweller like me who had come on a holiday.I was being exposed to the local sights ,sounds and people in true spirit of culture curry. Then from a distant hill top came a shrill cry which was peculiar, I asked Rupesh about the sound and he told me that it was the peacock .I was greatly thrilled with this unexpected piece of exotic information. During my visit to a local temple Hanuman  we had also sighted and ‘animal’ a long tall Krait black snake.


I was hell bent on making my trip a success and that afternoon we went to Local Chandika Mandeer which is on a hill top besides a seasonal river. It is actually a cave and the Guravs are a family by the name Puri who have been here since generations. I sought blessings of the goddesses and since then carry a photo in my purse .It is a very popular spot in Konkan and is venerated by many.Shri Ashok Kadam has gifted a lot of his earnings to the deity and we happened to bump into him.He was aloof when I was introduced but I thought I was lucky as I had a glimpse of his palatial bungalow the biggest on way to Dabhol.Paying respects to a local deity is always on my agenda on excursions as we can quickly come in touch with the people who are without any defense or sycophancy at such locales. Puris are Temple priests traditionally from North Konkan .The their name comes from Aparant or Puri Konkan as is written in ancient history of Thane and Colaba.This temple is a grotto and to entre it you have to seek assistance as it is pitch dark inside except a small lamp burning in front of the goddess diety  carved out of black granite or basalt stone. It is there since time immorable.And as in our own temple in Burumbad there are Samadhi or graves of some of those who laid down their lives in penance or fighting with Muslim or Portuguese invaders. This grotto is a non commercial set up as against some popular temples in Konkan and that adds to its sancitity.In fact it is listed as a powerful diety goddess who blesses the region and the faithful.


We came back truly satisfied of having experienced a unique and exquisite temple  of Mahakali.Next day we went to Dapoli around 10 miles from Dabhol and a district place.Dapoli is in fact a hill station of the region as it is perched on highland if not hills. This place is was actually a British cantonment due to its salubrious clime. But it was a small place then with one main broad road from the ST Bus stand till a college. One landmark that stood out 10 years back was the Hotel belonging to Surves with a paan shop at the side.It is the most happening place in Dapoli and a very favorite place of chow. We had fish curry ,Tandul  Bhakris and steamed rice .The stuff was divine with Konkan flavor and aromas. Every time later I visited this place I have had food at this unmistakable joint. We had decided to stay at Top in Town a very humble but clean place with very hospitable staff.Rupesh had connected with a official at the Agricultural University and we were taken to their experimental farms .It was a great learning experience for a city buff like me with profound interest in this ancient trade that gives us food for survival. I asked as many questions and probable exposing my ignorance and expertise all jumbled into one. The replies were informative. I felt satisfied as I was hell bent to make this trip a perfect mix of enjoyment education and culturally complete.


Enron was a sensation in Dabhol and the Todankars were the contractors in the project so we could get the passes .Next day we arrived at Enron and saw the gigantic project from and observation post at a small hillock. We could see the giant pipelines and huge reactors ,stacks and a maze of superbly constructed buildings and a jetty for ships to land with gas and other fuels for generation of energy. Again I had a lot of question to be asked having worked in a fertilizer factory .I was happy and sad happy to see this project which would bring electricity to small villages in Konkan and sad because it had run into financial difficulties and also for the fact that it was spoiling the natural environment of coastal north Konkan.Later when I talked to locals ,they told me of the poor catch of fish in the creek and that only those with large trawlers could manage sufficient sea wealth for local consumption as they went deep into sea. But the small time fisher folks were pushed into poverty. We were then taken to the hospital where workers and locals were to be treated once all the departments were functional and adequate staffing possible. I enquired about the possibilities of employment of locals in Enron and further saddened when they told me that all key posts were given to outsiders and even middle level jobs were given to Diplomas and ITI certified personnel who were predominantly outsiders and only menial jobs were given to locals ,who scrambled to get jobs falling prey to corrupt officials and politicians. This has been a repetitive sad story of all moffusil areas where so called development has been forced without inclusion. A policy of all governments which discriminates and marginalizes the locals snatching their lands livelihood and dangling carrot in front of them through false promises and dreams.


Next on agenda was Sagar Putra a welfare centre run single handedly by a dedicated man Anna Shirgaonkar.Anna is a small man of few words and more action. He runs a hostel for students who come to Dabhol to study trades in fishing and allied industry .Anna himself is a perpetual student and lover of Konkan.He has special interest in history and archaeology of this region and its people especially those connected with the sea coast. He is a disciplinarian and a dedicated social worker. He has great collection of artifacts and coins and literature. He himself is a avid traveler and a writer all rolled into one. His enthusiasm in welfare is evident by the number of projects he is involved with. But his attitude is brahminacal and at time cynical which is natural as he gets into way of so called modernists and development lobby.Anna writes with zeal about the predicaments of locals the Kolis ,the Bhandaris and the Kunbis .When I showed interests in his activities he invited me to conduct a camp for land laborers who use wood fuel to cook food. I promised all help and did return next year with my entire team .


This year in the beginning a small article appeared in Marathi press.Anna was being felicitated by the Government of Maharashtra for his contribution for the understanding of History of Konkan or Aparanta .This part  of west coast of the subcontinent is said to have discovered and created by Parshuram the primordial originator of civility or Adipurush of Chitpawans  who wears and axe which symbolizes the fact that this region was a dense forest 10,000 years back and with discovery of the axe in iron age the fair Aryans reclaimed land for agriculture.Parhuram was against the kshatriyas whose only livelihood was to  plunder the early settlers  and farmers. These also were Aryans of warrior sects and Parshuram fought battle against to establish peace and social structure.


I was overjoyed as someone befitting was receiving the citation and award .There was one reference and a cell number of an acquaintance in that press article. I called this gentleman and he furnished me Annas number. I called Anna. Yes he remembered me and my service at Sagar Putra.I told him that I call for the sake of record and appreciation of his involvement with the locals in Konkan and their culture and history. Anna as usual invited me to write to him, a job that is surely pending. Anna is an institution by himself .His selfless toils are a role model for future social workers  in Konkan.


 

Posted in Culture, Travel, Writing, environment.

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By Dilip Vishnu Maydeo – September 25, 2011