SEE WHERE TACT CAN TAKE YOU

Hi folks, here is the second entry of mine in this section:

In the Navy, for the sailors, we have a Divisional system. That is, the ship's company (crew) is divided into small manageable Divisions that are generally named after parts of ship, for example, Foxle (this is how forecastle is pronounced) Division, Quarterdeck Division, Engine Room Division and so on. Each division is under a young Lieutenant called the Divisional Officer. The healthy Divisional system is the backbone of the Navy. Hence, tact, empathy, and other skills of the Divisional Officer are often what makes the difference between a spirited ship and the one that isn't.

One young Divisional Officer was proud of being blessed with such attributes as would keep his division happy as well as performing its task ably. Following conversation took place between him and a sailor who approached him for leave:

DO: You have asked for ten days leave again. Why do you go on leave so often?

Sailor: Sir, my wife is pregnant and there is no one to look after her.

DO: (Taking out from the table drawer an open  letter envelope) Ah, here I caught you A Singh; I received this letter from your wife only yesterday. She has complained about your going home, getting drunk, and not being of any assistance to her. Indeed, she says she is with her parents and can go through the total pregnancy with their help and has requested that you shouldn't be sent on leave. What do you have to say to this, A Singh?

Pic Courtesy: Popeye The Sailor: Volume Three

A Singh, all this while is crestfallen and does not know what to say. Finally, he says, "Thank you, Sir" and starts retreating. However, from the door he turns back and approaches the DO.

A Singh: Sir, before I go can I tell you something heart to heart?

DO (Savouring his not-so-small victory over A Singh): Go ahead, A Singh, and ask for any assistance you may require.

A Singh: No Sir, I don't require any assistance. I just wanted to tell you that all this while I thought of myself as an accomplished liar; but, you have beaten me hollow...you see, Sir...the truth is that I am not married.

AN EYE FOR AN EYE

Hello, everyone. I am starting a section today 'In Lighter Vein'. This is one section wherein you too can contribute your jokes/anecdotes in the Comments. I hope you will do so. Here is the first entry.

An Indian Policeman had an Indian Navy sailor as his friend. Knowing that the sailors are entitled to get liquor at cheaper rates (since some of the taxes are exempted for them), the Policeman often visited the sailor to share the latter's rum. On one occasion, the conversation veered around to peculiarities of life in the Navy. The policeman took a good swig of the free (and reputed to be unadulterated) rum and with a glint in his eye asked the sailor, "Sailor bhai (brother), you guys in the navy go for long voyages at sea, don't you?"

The sailor replied, "Yes, we do."

The policeman asked, "I am sure you leave your families behind when you go for such trips."

The sailor admitted that such was the case.

The policeman started enjoying the discomfiture of the sailor and continued after a stout refill of rum, "But, sailor bhai, you have young wives and when you leave them behind they must be very lonely."

The sailor did not want it to go on but the policeman persisted and the sailor resignedly admitted that such was the case.

Indian policemen are persistent and lecherous. And hence, the policeman continued, "Sailor bhai, young women, being as they are; they must be having unsatisfied desires."

The sailor decided to get it over with and now readily accepted that in some cases it would happen.

The policeman was coming to the crunch and said, "Sailor bhai, sorry for my saying so; but, these young women sometimes won't be able to control thmselves and actually stoop to illicit affairs."

Indian Policeman (Photo: Courtesy Indian Express)

The sailor said yes it might happen.

The policeman was now as ecstatic as he would be in his police station investigating a rape victim. He continued for the final draw, "So, sailor bhai, I am sure a lot of illegitimate children are born. What do you do with them?"

Without batting an eyelid the sailor replied, "Nothing much. We wait for them to grow up; and then we let them join the Indian Police."

LET THE WORLD END

Lord, it has been some time

Since you came on the Earth

And stayed with your people.

It was a whiff of fresh air

Hope and Peace

Faith and miracle.

You called yourself Jesus at one time,

Mohammad at other,

Guru Nanak, and Buddha yet another.

Your people rejoiced

And we still worship you

In all your various forms

But, now rages the storm of destruction,

Of killings, stealing and corruption

Of disease, poverty and deceit

And wars, bombs, tanks and fleets.

In the midst of it is your Man,

Not knowing what is your next plan.

It frightens me? Nay it can't,

I wish dearly that

The storm will succeed

And destroy the world

And a new world will be made

Where you will come again

And live in peace

With all your happy people.

BEING NON-SENSICAL MAY BE FAR SIGHTED

I believe that it is not just 'we are what we think'; but, also, the universe is what we think it is. Surprised? Hogwash? We often refer to it as 'magic' or 'supernatural' what we cannot understand. Those who can let their imagination take wing can 'see' and 'hear' things better than others; something that we have called ESP (Extra Sensory Perception). I have proved in this section of my blog (Virtual Reality) that even seeing is not believing; even seeing is still our imagination. So, in order to carry forward this argument, what if the saints and spiritual leaders before us had discovered that senses can get us only so far and no more; and that going beyond the senses may be the way to go. That is, the expression "are you out of your senses" may not descibe you as an idiot but as a great intellectual?

Don't get it? Well let me explain: Senses kind of 'limit' the range of our imagination or even 'knowledge', if you care to call it that. There is only an 'incremental' growth in the knowledge of the world with passage of time; even when there are such earth-shaking discoveries as atomic power and speed of electrons. So, because of this limitation, we are not able to acquire such knowledge about which we have no knowledge whatsover. In other words, you can only discover such lands and treasures that you have at least imagined them to be there. It doesn't mean all treasures and 'lands' (I am using the word 'lands' in a metaphoric sense) have been found; least of all imagined. Therefore, in our life time, we shall never imagine those things, 'treasures', 'lands' that peole will 'imagine', say, a thousand years from now.

But, what, if we were to suddenly discover a machine or tool by virtue of which we could go beyond our current imagination and discover things or treasures of future generations? Impossible? Well, I am not too sure. Leonardo da Vinci did it; Lord Rama did it; Arjuna did it.

 Probably, many of us do it but these are termed as - you guessed it - non-sensical; because, our collective sense has not (yet) taken us there.

Seen in this manner, I am convinced that there is no difference between Science, Spirituality and Mythology: the one that takes the bigger leap calls the other backward and idiotic. And who is to know which is the bigger leap? Well, our 'current' knowledge.

What happens to some of us or at least one of us who has travelled to the world beyond the year 2500 AD and lives amongst us? We don't believe but he believes because he has seen it, heard it, felt it, smelled it and spoken to it!

Let me end on a lighter note (that I frequently do) to sum up our understanding of someone else's understanding:

A man was going through the jungles of Africa and was held prisoner by cannibals. As they prepared to boil him alive and have him, he thought of scaring them with 'Magic'. He puled out a cigarette lighter (during those days the lighters were the flint-stone type) and jerked the wheel to produce a flame and turned to the cannibals and said, "See Magic". Upon this the cannibal chief responded, "It indeed is. This is the first time I have seen a lighter that worked on first go"!

We, others, and universe are what we think we, others, and universe are.

COUNTERPOISE

For something to be born, something has to die,
For someone to be happy, someone has to cry.
Is the Nature thus in a perfect balance,
Giving each emotion an equal chance?
The flood is balanced by the drought,
Sadness within has happiness without.

 Are we then parts of a whole,
Fragments of a common soul?
In pensive mood, should we search for our other half,
Who would, through our tears, make us laugh?

NURTURING INDIA'S MARITIME MILITARY RESURGENCE

The British, when they ruled India, were circumspect in giving Indians any significant role in maritime matters. It is because, Britain being a maritime power, ruled over many parts of the world through the effective use of its navy. It had realized the importance of the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) and considered the Indian Ocean as its own “private lake”. Not many of our countrymen care to remember that we were subjugated by the British because we neglected naval power, even though at one time in history (the Cholas, Pandyas, and Vijaynagar kingdoms), we were a significant maritime power. Indeed, many won’t remember that at one point in history the RIN (the precursor of the Indian Navy) was the ‘senior’ service (having been raised before the Army and the Air Force). But then, the British decided to write off the Navy rather than pass on the ‘power’ to the Indians whom they considered “never having a maritime bent of mind”.

This statement was not altogether true since at one time India was a maritime power though we did not have maritime military ambitions. India had a substantial share of global trade and spread religion and culture through its maritime prowess. However, the British cunning in denying us any say in maritime matters resulted in our being content with our “sea blindness”. This is despite the fact that post independence we took several steps to acquire a three-dimensional, blue water navy.

Indian history, therefore, is replete with our leaders’ lack of strategic vision. In this, perhaps the area most lacking is maritime military strategic sense. As a result, it is often left to the naval strategic planners to do what the national leadership should have been doing. When I joined the Indian Navy, I was surprised to know that the GoI had not laid down any Roles and Missions for the Indian Navy. It was left to the Indian Navy to evolve these on its own. It is only recently that the Navy published its Doctrine and Maritime Strategy; assuming that the GoI’s silence on the same is to be read as acceptance in principle (AIP). Similarly, four years back, the Navy came up with MCPP or Maritime Capability Perspective Plan to seek the government’s AIP to resize the Navy against not just current and emerging threats but in keeping with the maritime capability that the nation desires to keep pace with India’s buoyant economy, assisted by 94 percent of its trade moving over the seas. The area of responsibility of the Indian Navy that was limited to the primary area of northern Indian Ocean comprising Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal got extended from the Mediterranean to China Sea. Indian Navy, in keeping with this extended responsibility, was the first one to rescue its people during the Lebanon crisis of Jul 2006 (Op Sukoon). The Indian Navy also realised that the hub-and-spokes mode of its operations (originating from an Indian port such as Mumbai and returning to the same) would have to be modified; it thus sought and obtained OTR (Operational Turn Round) facilities at a dozen ports in Africa, East and West Asia.

Globalisation is a primarily a maritime phenomenon. It is because 90 percent of the global trade moves over the seas. Navies have various roles to play. Whilst their primary role is during War, there are a number of peace-time roles such as Deterrence (especially nuclear), Securing SLOCs (Sea Lanes of Communications), HADR (Humanitarian Assistance & Disaster Relief), SAR (Search & Rescue), and furthering diplomatic objectives. After the sad years of 1980s when our sea-blindness was more pronounced than in any other recent decade, the Indian Navy planned to become a true four-dimensional navy capable of multifarious roles. MCPP enabled it to build these capabilities. The ATV project culminated in the commissioning of Arihant last year, which is undergoing trials since then. That would complete the nuclear capability triad that India had envisaged.

All these are on course. However, incidents in the past have kept us from realising the full potential of our maritime military capabilities. I shall refer to three of these to bring out the damage caused by our knee-jerk reactions.

The first one is our response to 26/11 attack on Mumbai in 2008 that not only resulted in 166 deaths but also held India’s financial capital to ransom for more than two days. Even as Pakistan government denied any involvement in the attack, Pakistan Naval Chief, in a much publicised television interview, took the Indian Navy to task for not having done enough to ward off such threats from the sea. Our government, polity and our media too conveniently chose to forget that navies are not the primary instruments to guard against such incidents.

By the promulgation of Maritime Zones of India Act 1976, we had declared varying jurisdiction over waters around the coast. The primary one is that up to 12 nautical miles around our coastline is our declared territorial sea. This means that the sovereignty of India and the reach of its internal laws extend over this. You don’t require the navies to enforce these; just as, if there is a terrorist executed cycle bomb explosion in, say, Jaipur, you don’t call the mechanised infantry to guard the city (own territory) against it. However, the GoI, in its wisdom, chose to make the Indian Navy responsible for the Coastal Security in India; making it the only leading Navy in the world to be so encumbered. Hence, post 26/11, the Indian Navy got involved in such tasks as making a census of fishermen, boats and jetties in the nine coastal states. The situation was the same post 1993 Mumbai attacks when Dawood Ibrahim & co. shifted all the arsenal for the blasts via the sea. The India Navy was mired to get involved in coastal patrolling called Operation Swan along the Saurashtra and Maharashtra coasts; which it has only recently handed over to the Marine Police, Customs and the Coast Guard whose responsibility it should have been in the first place.

Navies in advanced countries are tasked to further the objectives of the foreign policy and shape the environment in which they function (such is explicitly mentioned in the Maritime Strategy of India, a document now in public domain). It is because the navies operate almost invariably in international waters. Powerful countries like the United States have aligned various arms of the government to further the nation’s interests. Even China has realised this and taken steps to do so. Not in India though. Various arms of Indian government staunchly preserve their turf. In February 2008, therefore, even when the Indian Navy came up with the highly successful Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) so as to involve naval hierarchies of IOR littoral nations in track II diplomacy, our own MEA ignored and boycotted it and let it be known through a number of articles by retired diplomats and others that the navy should stick to military issues leaving the diplomacy entirely to foreign service. We have this Nehruvian aversion towards involving the armed forces in any decision making; but, we have no aversion about getting them mired in such issues that the other arms of the government are responsible for but fail to deliver.

And finally, we woke up to the scourge of piracy. Earlier piracy was restricted to Malacca Straits. In the year 2002, India had escorted high value USN ships through these straits. This fell short of patrolling so as to respect the sentiments of the littoral states of the Straits. However, later, when piracy became quite virulent off Somalia Indian Navy was asked to “protect Indian interests” there. As it happened in the past, there was no clear cut government directive. Therefore, it was not understood how these interests could be best protected:

• Whether by protecting the cargo heading to and from Indian ports? In this case in 1998, Indian bottoms carried about 34 percent of this cargo but their share of carrying India’s exports and imports fell to merely 13 percent in 2007 (the neglect of our shipping sector by our government has resulted in this; but that is another story). If this cargo is to be protected, 87 percent of which is carried in foreign bottoms, how far out from Indian coast is this to be protected? Naturally, this is a mammoth task for as navy charged with responsibility of coastal security.

• Whether by protecting Indian bottoms? This is a relatively smaller number of about 900 ships. Once again we need to decide up to what range from the coast these need to be protected. It is not a war time situation requiring such stringent measures as convoys and escorts. It only calls for distant protection provided by the Indian Navy in SLOCs of our interest with the provision of on-call assistance. As I understand the Indian Navy has already promulgated SOPs to ships under pirate attacks and I believe these measures have brought some respite already.

• Whether by protecting Indians onboard? This again is a mammoth task considering that Indians may not be just passengers on board but also as crews even on foreign ships. The enormity of the task can be made out from the fact that it took the Indian government more than six months to seriously consider the release of Indian sailors on board MV Asphalt Venture, which was hijacked by the Somali pirates. Even after the ransom money was paid these sailors were not released in retaliation to Indian Navy’s very successful operations against the pirates that had resulted in the capture of more than 120 of them since the operations started in 2008.

Let me, therefore, end by mentioning just a few things. One, for news at sea, especially related to maritime terrorism, Indian media is almost totally dependent upon the foreign media and joins in the chorus of denigrating the Indian Navy without even realising the constraints under which our Navy works. Secondly, the nation needs to realise that the rapid strides that it is making economically increase the vulnerability of its maritime interests and energy sources. These need to be protected by a congruence of diplomatic, political, maritime, military, commercial, economic, and strategic means and measures rather than each one protecting its turf. And lastly, the government should realise that knee jerk reactions, as opposed to a well thought of strategy, would have their adverse fallouts elsewhere.

KAVITA KA CHAKKER

This post is devoted to a friend of mine who remarked to me that writing poems is as easy as twiddling thumbs and that he could give me a run for money. Here goes:

मनकोटिया जी अपने आप को कहते थे कवी,
एक दिन इसी बात पे झड़प बैठा रवि,
  कहने लगा, "शायरी क्या है, कविता क्या है कुछ तो जानते हो,
 के तुक्के को ही कविता का रूप मानते हो?"

"यारों पे व्यंग करने के और भी रास्ते हैं,
   कई और साधन हास परिहास के वास्ते हैं,
इस लिए कविता पर ही क्यूँ अत्याचार करते हो,
अपना और दोस्तों का समय बर्बाद करते हो"

"कविता लिखने के लिए पेन पेपर सब कुछ है आपके पास,

लेकिन दिमाग में आपके भरी हुई है घास,

 ऐसे दिमाग की प्रेरणा को गधे ही भा सकते हैं,

 पड़ने के बाद कम से कम पेपर तो खा सकते हैं."

 
"लिखना ही है तो मान लो मुझे अपना गुरु,
  और मेरे निर्देशन में कविता लिखना करो शुरू,
खीर खाने के बहाने हमें घर पे बुलाया करो,
   भाभी के हाथ के माल्पुरे खिलाया करो"

"पिक्चर और डिस्को हमें रोज़ ले जाया करो,
  थक जाएँ तो हमारे पैर दबाया करो,
  दो तीन महीने में आप कविता सीख जायेंगे,
  और रवि को सब कवियों का राजा मान जायेंगे."

Mankotia ji apne aap ko kehte the kavi,

Ek din issi baat pe jhadap baitha Ravi;

Kehne laga, "Shayari kya hai, kavita kya hai kuchh to jaante ho,

Ke tukke ko hi kavita ka roop maante ho?"

"Yaaron pe vayang karne ke aur bhi raaste hain,

Kyi aur saadhan haas parihaas ke vaaste hain.

Is liye kavita per hi kyun atyachaar karte ho,

Apna aur doston ka samay barbaad karte ho?"

"Kavita likhne ke liye pen paper sab kuchh hai aapke paas,

Lekin dimaag mein aapke bhari hui hai ghaas.

Aise dimaag ki prerna ko gadhe hi bha sakte hain,

Padne ke baad kam se kam kaagaz to kha sakte hain."

"Likhna hi hai to aaj se maan lo mujhe apna guru,

Aur mere nirdeshan mein kavita likhna karo shuru;

Kheer khaane ke bahaane hamein ghar pe bulwaya karo,

Bhabhi ke haath ke maalpure khilwaya karo."

"Picture aur disco hamein roz le jaaya karo,

Thak jaayen to hamare pair dabaya karo.

Do teen mahino mein aap kavita seekh jayago,

Aur Ravi ko sab kaviyon kaa raja maan jayoge."

FOREIGN JAUNTS

Traditional Maori Welcome at Auckland (NZ)

Navy is a true international service; it is because most often than not it operates beyond 12 nautical miles of the coast and hence in international waters called the high seas. Our counterparts from the Army and the Air Force rarely leave the country whereas we do it on an everyday basis; in almost every sailing we leave the territorial limits of the country. I was conscious of it in my very first sailing as a cadet on the cruiser Delhi. At sea, when I looked around, it filled me with a strange thrill that the waters around me connected me as much to foreign lands as to India.



One World One Dream - At the Great Wall of China



Still, there is nothing like actually going abroad; one of the fringe benefits of joining the Navy. I remember the then Captain Nayyar, Commanding Officer (CO) of Indian Naval Ship (INS) Delhi, addressing the ship’s company before entering the port of Aden; my first foreign port. He said each one of us were the ambassadors of our great nation ashore and were expected to conduct ourselves likewise. I thought to myself: ‘What great luck to be called “Your Excellency” at the age of twenty-one’. Some of us accompanied the CO for luncheon at the Governor’s residence  and felt like true ambassadors indeed.



With H.E. Sh. B. Jaishankar, High Commissioner of India





Our next cruise was to the port of Sabang in Indonesia. It was about 20 kms or so from the city of Balawan. This was where we imagined the fun to be. But, the problem that confronted us was how to reach there. With our meager resources we could not have hired a cab and we were not familiar with the bus routes. As we came out of the port we spotted a ‘tempo’ driven by a sardar. We thumbed a ride. As we sat with him in the front seats he got into a conversation with us about the ship. We showed off to him how the ship was fitted with the very latest in warfare and comfort. He was particularly keen to know about the conditions in the Engine Room. We told him that our Engine Room had the latest in air-conditioned luxury and had

Indian Navy officers at Cape of Good Hope

controls and sensors to match a liner. After three quarter of an hour’s journey he dropped us at Belawan with the parting shot, “Great to know about your modern ship, Sirs; you did not recognize me, I am LME (Leading Mechanical Engineroom rating) Avtar Singh from your ship. This ‘tempo’ belongs to my brother here in Belawan. How about coming to the Engine Room sometimes and doing a watch with me?” For the next few months we avoided A Singh on board as if he were a leper.

With "Ambassadors" of other Navies at a Seminar

On Ganga, I remember our CO’s address before entering the Ethiopian (now Eritrean) port of Massawa. After reminding us about our ambassadorial duties he embarked on another subject. He said foreign visits were also occasions to build up databanks. He said whilst we were not expected to actively indulge in any intelligence gathering, but, many a times, information could come to us in most unexpected manner. To illustrate the point he told us about the time when Indians were making overtures towards the Germans to procure submarines from them and wanted more information about them. He said he had gone to have a haircut at a saloon in Bonn and there, whilst waiting for his turn, he was leafing through the magazines. Lo and behold he found all the information about the submarines in an article in a local magazine. That evening, after we entered Massawa, we must have caused a small flutter in international – relations, for, the entire Ganga wardroom landed up at the local saloon for a haircut.

As a young officer in Odessa

On Himgiri we had gone on a foreign visit to the Black Sea Soviet (now Ukranian) port of Odessa. In foreign ports, sailors generally go out in uniform whereas the officers may go out in civvies. But, so great was the fascination of the Soviet belles with uniform that we found that the sailors managed to make friends with the prettiest of them. As if that was not enough, to add insult to injury, on the second day of our stay when a reception was held on board for the local authorities and their ladies, one of the ladies enquired of us as to why there was no officer in the reception. It was difficult to get to the bottom of this because of language barrier and it took us sometime to unravel the mystery. Apparently, a day earlier one of the Petty Officers in uniform on shore leave, when asked as to why was there a distinction between some of us going out for ‘liberty’ (shore leave) in uniform and others in civvies had informed them that only they, the officers, with an anchor or two on their sleeves, were “permitted” to go out in uniform.

On duty in erstwhile Yugoslavian port of Split

During our trip to Athens we were ambling in the Constitution Square when a kind man came to us and asked if we were Indian. He said that he admired Indians and would like us to have drinks in the company of his fair-sex friends. The drinks were nice and the girls were nicer still. We talked about our great nations, our history and heritage, Taj Mahal, Delhi etc (amongst other things, that is) and really enjoyed ourselves. We were under-trainee Acting Sub Lieutenants on board. We were convinced that we were smarter, wittier, more interesting company; else, why would the girls be attracted to us as compared to our more senior colleagues from Himgiri? In our megalomaniac trance we did not know that the man who had invited us had quietly vanished and so had our seniors. Later, we were asked to pay an exorbitant bill for the drinks, and we had to part with our entire foreign allowance and more. We were the suckers who had fallen for the obvious ploy. When we returned on board we were ‘ceremoniously’ received with all the seniors lining the gangway and going through the motions of a mock side-pipe.

In Florence (Italy)

Such hoaxes and swindles during foreign jaunts are worth remembering. During one such trip we landed up at Colombo. In order to shop there we had to first convert our Indian rupees into local currency. Just as it happened in Athens, a kind hearted gentleman came and asked us to put our money in individual envelopes that he had brought, write the names and amounts on the sealed envelopes and then he’d go and get the requisite local currency. He took the envelopes from us only to make a list and then handed these back to us. We held on to these whilst he went on his errand. We were confident that this was totally safe since we had the envelopes with the money with us. As time passed and he did not return we reassured ourselves by feeling the envelopes containing our money. However, when he did not return even after one hour of wait we opened the envelopes and found that instead of our hard-earned money these contained newspaper strips. In the evening we narrated this incident, over drinks, to other officers in the wardroom and they made fun of us for not being observant and cautious. The next day the lot to whom we had told the story also lost their money in like manner.

But, of all the incidents during foreign trips, this one takes the cake. Whilst walking in one of the ports, knowing that the locals would not know our language, that is, Punjabi, one officer

Crossing the English Channel

would accost the lovely damsels with the naughty Punjabi line: “D--- ke thane jaana?” (Are you willing or should I take you to Thana, that is, Police Station). The damsels, not understanding the question or its import would just smile at him and walk away and all of us would burst in cackles. However, when he asked this of the most beautiful of the girls, she confronted him with, “Thane jaana”. He did not know where to look. That evening we had a reception on board and she happened to be the daughter of the Indian (and Punjabi) First Secretary. Our flamboyant Punjabi officer did the Mister India trick (many years before the movie was released) and tried to become invisible during the party.

Foreign trips or port calls or overseas deployments are great ones to showcase Indian technology, culture, greatness etc. These are occasions to make bridges of friendship across the oceans. However, what one remembers most about them are such snippets.

RAINS AND OUR SONGS

Other day I read a beautiful quote: "Some people love to walk in rain; others only get wet."

What makes the difference? You need to see Gene Kelly's 1952 'I'm Singin' in the Rain' to know the difference. Listen to José Montserrate Feliciano García singing 'Listen to Pouring Rain' to know the difference. He was a blind Puerto Rican composer who couldn't have seen the rain; but rain is not meant to be only seen.

"Listen to the pouring rain,
Listen to the rain pour;
And with every drop of rain,
I love you more...

Let it rain whole night long,
Let my love for you go strong;
As long as we are together,
Who cares about the weather?
Listen to the pouring rain,
Listen to the rain pour."

Rain means diffrent things to different people. To some it means an obstruction keeping them from what they want to do; they only get wet and are annoyed with the rain. Others enjoy getting drenched in the rain. It is a welcome experience.

By and large, I believe, lovers love the rain as it brings them closer. An Urdu couplet says:
 

"Badal tu itna na baras ke wo aa na sake;
Aur jab aayen to itna baras ke wo ja na sake"
(Translated:
"Rain cloud, hold on please so my beloved can arrive,
And when she does, pour so much that she can't return")

Various communities in India have different songs, in their own languages, about the rain. In the state of Uttar Pradesh (UP) since rains are brought by East winds (in Hindi "Poorba" or "Poorvaai") they have songs about how pleasant is Poorba. In Punjab, the rains, called sawan (pronounced saunh) remind you of what all you can do during the rains, eg, eat fried sweet delicacies. So on with other states. Maybe Indians just love to love and love rains in many different ways.

Only a few decades back, when we were kids we were so eager to sing, "Rain rain go away; come again another day". But now rains are welcome.

My favourite Hindi songs have a special place for rains (sawan).

"Sawan ka maheena, pawan kare sore,
Manva re jhoome aise jaise banva naache more"

(Rain month is here, the breeze touches you pleasantly,

Mind dances with joy in the manner of a peacock dancing in the forest)

In folklore, somehow, rains affect no one as much as lovers, and separated lovers at that. Taste this:

"Saawan ke jhule pade hain,
Tum chale aao....

Aachal na chhode mera, pagal hui hai pavan
Ab kya karun main jatan, dhadke jiyaa jaise panchhi ude hain"

(The swings for the rains are out, my love

Come be with me.

Playing with my stole, the breeze has gone crazy,

Now what should I do, my heart is beating like the flight of birds)

 
Or listen to the lyrics of Raja Mehdi Ali Khan in the 1967 movie Anita, with playback singer Mukesh singing these:

"Saawan ke din aaye,Beeti yaaden laaye,
Kaun jhuka ker aankhen,
Mujhko paas bithaye;
Kaisa tha pyaara roop tumhaara,
Poochho mere dil se, hai
Tum bin jeevan kaise beeta, poochho mere dil se"

(When the rainy days came,

They brought past memories,

Of the one who sat beside me,

With eyes looking down.

How lovely you looked, my love;

You have to ask my heart.

Without you how I lived,

You have to ask my heart)

Sawan must be a great all round friend for all of us that we get so excited by its arrival. According to me, and pardon me for getting mushy, if you haven't ever enjoyed walking in the rain you are missing something in life. And, if the following (Mohammad Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar in Ishq Per Zor Nahin, a 1970 movie) doesn't touch you, nothing will:

"Yeh dil diwaana hai,
Dil to diwaana hai.

Saawan ke aate hi,
Baadal ke chhate hi,
Phulon ke mausam mein,
Chalte hi purvaai, milte hi tanhaai,
Uljha ke baaton mein,
Kehta hai raaton mein,
Yaadon mein kho jayun,
Jaldi se so jayun,
Kyunke saanvariya ko sapno mein aana hai."

Phoolon ke mausam mein

(This heart is crazy,

Crazy is this heart, because,

On the oncoming of rains,

In the shadow of the clouds,

In the season of flowers,

When the East winds blow, and when I am alone,

It gets me entangled in following talk,

In the nights:

Sleep quickly my master,

And get into the world of memories,

Because your beloved has to meet you in the dreams)
 

There are songs and songs on rains. Finally, my all time favourite is by the Music Director Salil Chaudhary, who composed music for this song from the 1960 movie Parakh in such a way that you not only get the pangs of separation but the pitter-patter of the rain that makes the separation unbearable:

"O sajnaa, barkha bahaara aayi,
Ras ki phuhaar layi, ankhiyon me pyaar layi,

O sajnaa

Aisi rimjhim mein o sajan, pyaase pyaase mere nayan,
Tere hi, khvaab mein, kho gaye,

Saanvali saloni ghataa, jab jab chhayi,
Ankhiyon mein rainaa gayi, nindiyaa na aayi
O sajnaa ..."

(O Love, rainy season is here,

That brings the spray of nectar (of love),

And longing in the eyes.

A view from my house in Kharghar

In this pitter-patter, my love, my eyes thirst for,

Dreams of you in which I lose me,

Dark clouds of rain when they come,

My eyes look for you in the nights, sleepless)

Saawan, folks, unfetters dreams.....

POLITICISING BABA RAMDEV

I am an apolitical man. All articles in my blog and all my utterances have always been so. Baba Ramdev may have said something in the past, which appeared to be favouring one group or party. Afterall, manipulating an emerging leader by pulling him down to our level of moral and other values is a national pastime. But, despite this manipulation I believe that by and large Baba Ramdev is apolitical and has the best intersts of the nation at heart.

However, I am amused by the so called elite's opposition towards Baba Ramdev. Is it because he cannot harangue in English language? Is it because he's a common man? Our media that is ruled by the rich and the powerful has ascribed itself the power to make a demon out of a saint and vice-versa. Do they give a thought how such means of theirs help the nation?

Nearly sixty four years after independence, the fruits of a true democracy and freedom have not reached the common man (read http://sunbyanyname.blogspot.com/2011/01/how-proud-should-we-be-of-indian.html) and yet we still want to indulge in politics, mud-slinging, and above all corruption.

The indecent manner in which the government bore down on Baba Ramdev and his supporters today at the nations capital (of shame) reminded me of Lala Lajpat Rai: "Every blow aimed at me is a nail in the coffin of British imperialism." Lalaji was proved right and the British were evicted. But, soon, the British imperialism was replaced by the imperialism of the political class. It also reminded me of 'Freedom' is always hard fought; even Freedom from Corruption.

Photo: Courtesy NDTV

THIS IS FOR THE ELITE:
Baba Ramdev's forcible eviction from Delhi reminds me of a scene from 1970 movie Love Story. The scene is what a rich Oliver Barrett tells his son when he confesses to loving a commoner Jennifer, "Well, if you do, I shall not give you the time of the day". The son Ryan O'Neal responds, "Dad, you don't know the time of the day".

I feel that Corruption is really the issue. The man on the street is fed up of having to pay underhand that should be legitimately his right. That's the time of the day. I hope we all read it like that and don't get it confused by politics, personalities, biases, proclivities and innuendoes. Lets not, in our cynicism, look down on every venture to steady the boat of our nation. This is precisely what the govermnent wants to do. Lets not make their task easier by a divided house.

Baba Ramdev is an above average Indian and I, like crores of others, have immense respect for him for rekindling love within us for Yoga and our ancient heritage. However, just to defeat the cynicism, I shall support even the local bhangi if he is capable of raising voice against the rampant corruption in the Indian system.

Lets not make fun. That's an un-Indian thing to do. Lets also not get frustrated by the fact that it is a long journey. Lets take the first step and everything will follow.