Remembering my Parsi landlady on Navroj

Navroj is the name of a Parsi festival but it is the best example of Indian diversity. Nav means new and roj in Urdu means a day. Literally it means the new day. Reading Bachhi Karkaria this Sunday about the shell-locked Parsis in terms of endogamy marriages and nit reaching out approach to other communities is self-defeating to the detriment of this highly successful minority community of India, I was reminded of a sweet Parsi lady Coomi Warden who hosted me as a paying guest when I was editing Super film magazine in Bombay in 1979,  The word Parsi is a derivative of Persia, loosely referred to Iran. Parsis took shelter primarily in Bombay and some parts of Kerala.

It was my first experience as a paying guest. Though I had one Parsi class fellow in my government school Kersi Mistry. But we met only in school. Coomi's household was a ful-blooded exposure which I often revisit in my memories.

It meant, I was a part of the family. Given a separate bedroom, met at the breakfast table for a delicious plate of Akuri, and Dhansak. I was also given a copy of the oldest newspaper of India Jame Jamshed in Gujarati. Yes Parsis are Gujarat speaking because they had landed in the western coast of India. Our second reunion used to be at the dinner table. It was a total family scene. We shared old memories and built new relationship.

Coomi, unfortunately was a widow of an Airforce pilot who died in an accident but was leading a respectable life with a brave face. She was an integral part of her extended family who visted her regularly. It continues to be a close-knit community. There was no television in my life in those days but she had a rick library of books.

She used to visit her temple called synagogue every Sunday to pray and meet her friends and relatives. She never asked me to accompany and I didn't suggest. I realized that they kept their religion close to their heart. This house on Perry Cross Road in Bandra West. In a lighter vein speaking next to Rajesh Khanna's sprawling bun glow. I was told that he comes to his balcony whenever a crowd of his fans gathered outside his house. I never ventured to be a spectator because I was a self-respecting editor of a film magazine.

The famous dating joint Band Strand was also round the corner where every evening young couples would converge and spend house looking into each other's eyes. It was an up market area where most of the film stars lived. The Bandra railways station to catch a local train was nearby but one had to take a cab or walk down in those days. My office was on Nariman point and I had to leave at 9 every morning to catch a crowded compartment. Even the first class was overloaded. But on the days, when I had some surplus money, I would take a cab.

Soon, I got a colleague in Feroza in Coomi's house. Her distant relative. A vibrant Parsi girl, deeply in love with a fellow Parsi boy. But she was a good company and a hardworking colleague. My staff thought, that I had crush on her. But I knew my place and limits and never tried to cross them. I was learning the role of Bollywood. I got my elder son in the Beach Candy hospital with the media support of Dr Soonawala, another Parsi.

 I feels ad on the circumstances, I shifted from her house in a huff. I was working with the noted theatre and serial director Ranjeet Kapoor. He visited me in Coomi house. She offered tea and Ranjeet kept the cup on her beautiful teak-wood side table. He should have used a base. She came with a disapproving look and placed the base. I felt so angry that decided to move out in a couple of days. Coomi's household was a full-blooded exposure which I often revisit in my memories. later, in my next visit to Bombay, I paid a courtesy call. But she hadn't forgotten, the way I had moved out.

That night in Pok

It was a scary night on the River Ravi in Pakistan occupied Kashmir.

On 23rd March Pakistani high commission in New Delhi celebrated their national day. The separatist leaders of Kashmir were also invited. Former teacher of Zakir Hussain College A.R Gilani criticized India over its so-called atrocities in Kashmir. Indian government chose to ignore his comments. Bits one minister Javadeker had attended it on behalf of Indian government.

Kashmir continues to be India's Achilles' heel. Pakistan has made demand for Kashmir's freedom as  its raison d'etre. Though there have free and fair elections in Kashmir and now there is a PDP-BJP state government headed by Mahbooba Mufti Mohammad Saeed but a section of Kashmiris are nursing for its freedom. The while world takes it as a flashpoint because both India and Pakistan have developed nuclear arms. It is a no-win situation for all.

Meanwhile, prime minister Narendra Modi played a gamble and visited Pakistan's ancestral home to break ice. But nothing happened. Indian TV channels were critical of India's Pak policy and anguished why iKashmiri separatists are being allowed to have a free run. Obviously, somebody in Pakistan is testing India's nerves. 23rd March also happened to be Holi and Bhagat Singh's martyr day. All this brought me back memories of visit to PoK  in 1990.

I had gone as a journalist from Times of India's group. My dear friend and Pakistan's press secretary Mubarak Shah had facilitated my visit with references to right connections in Pakistan. I realized a little later that an officer of Pakistan's Intelligence was my escort. He accompanied me to PoK as well. He was behaving like a hardcore diplomat. Making right kind of noises. Drive to Muzaffarpur, capital of PoK was long and uncomfortable, unlike Jammu to Srinagar highway. I didn't notice any signs of development en route. But I wanted to wait till the last mile.

When we reached Muzaffarpur, it was late night. A room in a hotel had been booked. It was on River Ravi. I was alone in that room. I was advaised to keep it bolted and not to open it even if it is knocked. It sounded scare and eerie. The river floing right under my window was making a turbulent sound. I had read about its place in Indian history. But it was stark reality facing me. The fatigue pt me to sleep.

The so-called capital city was no better. There were some scattered shops but no high rise buildings. When I pointed this out to my escort, he returned a sheepish smile. But his next sentence was rather loaded. There is an elected government and administration in Kashmir(I was amused at the stand alone expression Kashmir. Their Kashmir, our Kashmir crossed my mind. I started wondering, what we are fighting for. We have spent a fortune to keep Kashmiris happy. Obviously, Pakistan was not doing it in their Kashmir. It was keeping that portion as a counterpoint.

Finally, we landed at the office of PoK President Sardar Abdul Qayyum-a bearded mullah looking old man in his late 50s. He had been briefed about my visit. He was cordial and hospitable. I started shooting my questions:

Who takes decisions here?

We have elected representatives.

But we never heard of any elections like in J and K.

May be your media doesn't report.

I have heard that Pakistani army controls this region.

They are here for our safety.

Safety from whom?

From India, of course. Indian army is hawkish about PoK. There have been insurgents.

But trained terrorists cross border to enter J and K from your territory.

The border is no long and topographically unfriendly that there can't be any foolproof control.

Does Islamabad control your state?

No it is an independent region. Kashmir doesn't belong to India or Pakistan. We are allowed to live peacefully here, so we are comfortable. But we belive in kashmiriyat which has a long history and culture.

How long will this continue.

Allah knows.

Revisting Bhagat Singh's martyrdom

Bhagat Singh was hanged to death by the British government on 23 rd March 1931 at the age of 23 for having shot John Saunders, an assistant superintendent of British police. Saunders had injured the revered  freedom fighter Lala Lajpat Rai by caning him during a protest march which resulted in his death after a few days. It infuriated Bhagat Singh to such an extent that he shot down Saunders. After that he went underground but resurfaced in the national assembly and threw pamphlets for freedom and raised slogans against the British rule.

Aakar Books came out with a book in 2015 Understanding Bhagat Singh by a former linguist professor at the SL in the JNU. Aakar has been coming out numerous books on leftist revolutionaries. It is a well produced and documents treatise on Bhagat Singh.

Bhagat Singh was an atheist and a Marxist. Before going to the gallows he was reading Lenin. He has written a convincing piece ' Why I am an atheist'. He was a thinking person, well read and a true nationalists. He is clubbed with Latin American revolutionary Che Guevara, who was also shot dead by the Bolivian armed forces for killing an army officer a war against the state the similar death in Bolivia many decades on 9th October 1967.

Bhagat Singh  generated a nationalist fervor in the whole country by killing Saunders and his execution raised a furor. The top Congress barring Mahatma Gandhi, expressed their anguish against the execution but Gandhi opined that both hurling boms and killing a police officer were unacceptable crimes by two 'wayward youth'. He didn't approve of that.

The country was shocked at Gandhi's reaction. Many thought, if he had  prevailed upon the then Governor General Lord Irwin, may be Bhagat Singh's execution could have been commuted to life imprisonment. Gandhi did meet Irwin and this issued cropped up in the conversation but Gandhi only asked, could the top boss waive execution. But Irwin felt that Gandhi was playing to the galleries. Bhagat Singh was hanged.

Now comes the million dollar question. Bhagat Singh did break the law of the land. Yes Saunders committed a crime by blowing lathis at Tilak but one can't kill an officer for doing his s-called duty. Every one condemned what Saunders did. There could have been a mass movement against him. Gandhi did use his best weapon of fast unto death to force the British to punish Saunders.

In a similar situation Udham Singh went to England and shot General Michel Dyer who had ordered mass killing at a peaceful freedom rally at jalianwala Bagh in Amritsar. He was also hanged and like on Bhagat SWingh, films were made on him, books written and both were hailed as martyrs. It takes steel courage to shoot a person and be hanged for it. It a willful invitation to death. Both Bhagat and Udham chose that path. The country is more than grateful for their ultimate sacrifice but their action can't be condoned as an act of national interest.

The world history is full of such martyrs.  Danton of French revolution on 5th April 1794. He is a glorified in the world history. So are Bhagat Singh and Udham singh along withother martyrs like Ramprasad Bismil, Jatin Das, Chandra Shekhar Azad. The list is endless. It even includes authors, artists and war heroes like Lakshmi Bai, Tatya Tope, fiolk hero Mangal pandey and even Bhagat Singh who suffred a long and sustained torture from Delhi to Rangoon.

It is a critical debate. Indian establishment had remained lukewarm towards the legacy of Bhagat Singh. Though people like Kuldeep Nayyar, Chaman Lal and many others have written more than books on him. No other national hero got such a reception by authors and publishers. Plays have been staged, films have been made. Punjab government conducted an extravaganza in the birth anniversary year of Bhagat Singh by earmarking crores of rupees. It was spent in seminars, books etc.  

We are a country who creates gods from animal figures like Hanuman, Ganesh. These monkey and elephantine figures arouse the setiments of multitudes unlike human figures like Ram and lakshman. In fact there are few stand lone temples for Ram, Lakshman and Sita but every nook and corner has a Hanuman temple. It gives us a larger than life feeling. What would TV channels do, if there was no Ganesh or Hanuman.,

Coming back to the rationality against Bhagat Singh's execution is redoubtable. Chaman lal has quoted the example of an Irish prime minister Eamon da Valera who had was sentenced to be shot dead a week before swearing in. His sentence was pardoned and he introduced the constitution. But India is India and Ireland.is Ireland.

Bharat Mata is symbolic, India is real

There is a dangerous debate being raised about the chanting of Bharat Mata ki Jai. It is being clubbed with nationalism. A section of Muslims are refusing to join the chorus. Hindu demagogues are calling them anti-national. Muslims are refusing reacting to it. They say that Bharat mata is a symbol and their religion forbids them from bowing to any symbol. They don't symbolize even Prophet Mohammad. They follow only a holy book- Koran. It is an unfortunate and avoidable debate.

The agenda of Hindutva lobby is  loud and clear. To arouse the sentiments of Hindu majority. Ever since Modi government has come to power, the RSS lobby has become  They want to revive the Hinduism to retain power. Modi's victory was democratic. He didn't play theHindutva card. In fact, he sold the vikas-development dream. He ius doing a good job but the RSS has got other designs. It is beyond Modi. It is suicidal. Even Bhagat Singh's name is being dragged into it. Let's stop and think.

India is a secular, all inclusive nation with a 5000-old old history and culture which gave us great epics like Ramayan, Mahabharat and philosophical mythologies like Ved, upnishad, and poets like Kalidas and thinkers like Chanakya.  Besides the religious overtones, they have a message for humanity and food for body and soul. Gita has been termed as philosophy for all times. Translated into many languages across the world. Even Rama's story has 320 versions. Where does Bharat Mata fits into this?

Bharat mata means the land of India. The mother earth, that gives us water, food, shelter and an identity. We are grateful. This land was clandestinely bought by the East India Company from the short-sighted Indian princes and they held it two centuries and made millions. Martyrs like Bhagat Singh wanted it back. Hence they raised the slogan Bharat Mata ki Jai before going to the gallows. Today, it is a free sovereign nation, not only a piece of land.

 We are living in different times. All national boundaries are getting blurred because of the opportunities available to migrate and settle anywhere. Indians have been going to the Caribbean islands and later to the US for greener pastures. They don't chant Bharat mata ki jai. Are they anti-national? Basdeo Narain, former PM of Trinidad and Tobago and Chhedi Jagan, former president of Guyana were of Indian origin. They played a leading role in the social and political space of those countries but they called them as Caribs and not Indian. They didn't disown their roots but didn't flaunt. Once when this writer asked Chhedi Jagab while interviewing him in Rashtrapati Bhawan in 1990s, why don't you help the extended familes of Indian descenets to reunite with their roots, he  quipped, let them take a boat and go. No Bhrat Mata was on his mind.. Even Nehru had advised sunrise that don't keep one foot there and one foot here. Belong to where you live.There was an incessant flight from UP and Bihar from 1840s to 1920s to Fiji, Mauritius, Jamaica Guyana and Suriname. They don't chant Bharat mata ki Jai. But they are proud of their roots and heritage. They celebrate Holi and Diwali like we do.

Indians settled in the US have earned a respectable place in the polity and society of the big brother's domain. Many of them crave to return. Others shuttle across seven seas. Communication has eliminated distances. The jetlag doesn't cause discomfort anymore. They don't chant Bahart mata ki jai. They were born in India and saw opportunities abroad. They migrated and remain connected. That is what globalization is all about.

There is an urgent need to oppose this dangerous nationalism.

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Revisiting my honeymoon with RSS

Why I joined and left it in 1960sRSS ( Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh), a socio-cultural wing of BJP is back in news. It was founded by Keshav Baliram Hegdewar in 1920s. The pronounced objective was to reunite India. It has worked for that goal for a century now. But Hindus are no more better united. They are in the same state of mind as they were at that time.

Hegdewar's successor M.S.Golwarkar ( Guruji has spelt out  RSS philosophy in his book Bunch of Thoughts). The need to creat such an organisation must have arisen because of the Hindu-Muslim rift that was apparent in Indian polity and the society. RSS was never in the forefront of Indian politics. It has always called itself as a socio-cultural organisation. Its apparent activity is through its shakhas ( branches). One of such branch used to organize its one-hour daily drill every evening in a part next to my house in Kamla Nagar.

I was a student of a government school and got introduced to it by a RSS ideologue Shiv Kumar who later taught  mathematics in the US and India. He virtually forced maths on me when I took admission in B.Sc. It was in vogue to study in science stream. It cost me three years of my growing period as I failed thrice  while doing graduation. Though I compensated it by winning debates and took it as hands on training in polishing my written and spoken Hindi. I built my whole career on that.

In that one hour, we were asked to play kabaddi, kho, do exercises , followed by a discurse on Indian heroes like Pratap and Shivaji who fought against Muslims in medieval history. There was address code as well. White half-sleeved shirt and khaki short. We were called swayamsevaks ( volunteers. The hidden message was that nothing was being forced. I didn't find anything offensive against. Muslims were never mentioned in any physical or mental activity. Though it was a socio-cultural wing of the then Jan Sangh but was politics was never discussed. Yes, we were expected to work during the election campaigning for Jan Sangh. But no compulsion. There used to be an annual function on Dussehra called Guru Dakshina where every volunteer  was expected to donate an amount of his choice for the organization.

It was a subtle organization. It didn't flaunt its muscles publically. I remember in one of the election meeting, someone  abused Congress candidate. He was refrained from saying any offensive comment in public. It was supplemented by a tounge-incheek remark that , we agree with your feelings but keep them up to you. Jan Sangh was not a political force to be reckoned with. Though its founder was inducted as a cabinet minister by Nehru soon after independence but he walked out and founded Jan Sangh.

I never found RSS as a nuisance. In fact its members took to social service during  natural calamities like famine, floods, earthquakes etc. It never caused any communal riot in my memory. Though, its some members might have  contributed  in an ongoing riot. But they were never charged in a court of law.

After Gandhi's premeditated murder by Nathuram Godse, the blame was put on the RSS. It was even banned by Sardar Patel for a while. Its leader Savarkar was named as a sympathizer. But he came out clean. As far as  Hindutva philosophy is concerned even the four-time Congress president Madan Mohan Malaviya, was a great votary of Hindu Sanatan Dharam concept. He founded the BHU and worked for Hindu unity and  even advocated to fight, if attacked ( Madan Mohan Malviya's autobiography by Prof Vishwa Nath Pandey). But no one doubted his intentions.

RSS is being put in a dock after Modi government came to power. It is being mentioned that the real force behind Modi is RSS. He won around 300 Lok Sabha seats because of RSS support. No one can doubt Modi's credentials as an administrator and a clean politician but RSS finds itself in the driver's seat. Some of the RSS  workers feel emboldened and trying to shoot from the hips. Modi has advised them to be careful.

Muslims are feeling uncomfortable in the present situation. Leftists are enjoying this situation. They find themselves as a natural ally of the Muslims and dalits. It is their political stance. A section of the RSS, perhaps feel that it is  golden opportunity to build their support base among Hindus. they are trying to mobilize Hindu unity syndrome. But the question arises, Do Hindus need to be united. Are they feeling any threat from the Muslim, Yes, Pakistan is continuing its Kashmir azadi agenda but it is a political ply to keep teir anti-India stance alive. It helps their political parties relevant. But the real source of power is Pakistani army which survives on its arms trade  from the west. They want to keep  Kashmir on the front burner.India has to live despite Modi's flight to Nawaz's ancestral home. The solution, as suggested by  by a Sufi thinker Qadri that India. and Pakistan has a common enemy and that is the is terrorism.

To sum it up, I discontinued attending the RSS evening drill after a couple of years, the way I had joined. I never felt impressed by the call to units Hindus. If Mughal rule ( 1526-1857) couldn't make Indian Islamic state, how 18% Muslims can change Indian demography. They are suffering from their own economic condition added by the lack of higher education. Their clergy are working overtime to keep the faith alive but Indian Constitution grants that right.

Horror stories of Ansari Road

Ansari Road is widely known as the biggest publishing hub of India. It is named after the renowned freedom fighter of last century Mukhtar Ansari who was also a doctor and practised from Ansari Road. Toda,y this crowded road has more than 500 publishers, predominantly of Hindi books. It includes leading  Hindi publishers like Rajkamal and Vaani. English publishers like Oxford, Cambridge, UBS also have their outlets here. But there is a skeleton hidden in the by lanes of this historical road in the heart of Darya Ganj. It places Hindi publishing in the uncomfortable company of the oldest profession of the world  which thrives on from the kotahs of the notorious G.B.Road at a stone throw distance.

 India produces ( not publish) more than 75,000 books every year, including school and university text books. Barring academic books , 99% are good for nothing. Nobody reads them. In fact it is a horror story. Most of the Hindi books are on unreadable literature written in Sankaratised Hindi which neither anybody understands nor speaks in modern India. The other categories are literary criticism and PhD dissertations. These books are published out of vanity.

In urdu, a writer is known as sahibe kitab. One who has created a book. India has a long tradtion of books. Geeta, Mahabharat, Ramayan, Vedas and upnishads were written in prehistoric times. Kalidas produced immortal literature like Kumarsambhav in that period. Printing hadn't arrived. It was invented to circulate bible to the faithful. The books were handwritten and its copies were made. The gurus made their pupils learn manuscripts by heart. It was a fascinating world in quest of knowledge. But over a period of time, it has been a down the hill journey almost reeking of a scandal.

Bhartendu Harish Chandra corrected this situation by popularizing khari boli in place of the dialects which had no scripts soon after the 1857 war of independence, khari boli replaced the dialects like like maithili, bhojpuri and Avadhi. Tulsi Das made Ram into a god from a fictional character created by Valmiki many millennia ago by writing Ramcharitmanas in Avadhi which is a household treasure in most of the ritualisticHindu familes..

Coming back to our theme of Ansari Road horror, Hindi publishing is a scandalous racket with a criminal nexus between publishers, state government education departments and politicians. It reads like a crime thriller. Here are some choicest instances.

 

An author went to a popular pocket books publisher seeking some translation work. He gave him the English version of popular folktale Mulla Nasrudd ke karname running into 100 pages. Rs 3000 was promised for this work. The author-turned translator brought back the accomplished job before the deadline. The money was paid in all earnestness by the publisher. No agreements, no contract. Both seemed satisfied.

A few months later, the author spotted the published title of his translation. He picked up the a copy and flipped through the pages. To his utter shock, the credit of the translation was given to some Vikas Gupta. He called the publisher and shared his pain. The publisher was non-challant. He said, but I had paid you your translation charges

Isn't it?

That's fine but why Vikas Gupta. Why not me. I am the translator.

The cunning publisher was unmoved. he said, what's the proof that you did the translation. If you try to be smart, I will charge you for the infringement of copyright.

The translator was dumbfounded. He shared his pain with some friendly Hindi publishers. But everybody laughed it off. Thank god, you got the money. Just forget it.

Horror story 2

Another author-translator, a fan of Spanish writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez, translated his monumenta work One Hundred Years of Solitude and tried to get it published. But he was told that it has already been translated. We published it.

Can I have a copy, the writer, asked?

No, it is sold out.

You must be having a record copy.

No we have withdrawn the translation.

But why?

Because it was not up to the mark.

I have done it. You will like it.

No we are not interested.

I also discovered a leading scholar got her Ph.D on her transkation into Hindi of the same book. But, no one was interested because  the copyright was with this publisher.

Horror story 3

Another scholar translated  Don Quixote, presumably, the first novel in any language written in Spanish man a couple of centuries ago. Took money from the Spanish embassy for the translation and published a few copies for vanity. There goes another greatwork down the memory lane.

Horr story 4

I worked for a leading publisher for a year in my lean days. He appointd me his chief editor. On day one, he handed me over a manuscript to edit but with a refrain. It has been written by a vice-chancellor. So you don't have to edit. If anything goes wrong, the vice chancellor will bear the brunt. We have taken money from him to lend his name on the publication. You just read the proof. I realized that I had become a proof reader after being the head of four media schools. I was also asked to hunt authors with big names. But they were not supposed to write the books. The manuscript will be generated with the help of internet and their name will be used. They will have to pay Rs 3000/-. The factotum who culled out matter from Google was also paid Rs 3000 each.

One day, I asked the owner-publisher, sir, what is all this. He said, he used to print calendars earlier but someone suggested that there was more money in publishing. So we graduated to books. Now we print just one copy, send it to state education departments, pay the minister through his staff and get the book approved for their libraries. In fact we don't supply copies. Just a bill of 300 copies. I almost fell from my chair.

Horror story five

A couple of years ago, my wife got fed up of my files and loose papers and threatened that if I didn't remove them, she would sell them at Rs 10 per kg. I sorted out pap0ers. they were my printed articles in Hindi and English in leading newspapers. I classified them subject-wise and put them in attractive files. Put my three-piece suit, picked up files and drove to Ansari Road.

I stopped the car in front of the first publisher. he asked me t come next week. I went to the next, he said he was not interested. I didn't lose pati8ence. The third one looked interested. He told his staff to bring files from my car. He tasted one of the files. Counted the number of files. They were 25. He said would Rs 4000 a piece would be ok. I hadn’t heard this six digit figure in my life. I brought the check and handed it over to my wife, saying that the raddi was sold for a lakh.

Today my allmira adorns 25 anthologies of my previous wrings in book format. I became an author overnight.

Sex was same in 1960s as in 2016

Everything has changed in the world around us but not this three-letter word called.SEX. The salwar kameej has been replaced by the jeans and T-shirts. Dupatta has gone with the wind. Girls don't carry parantha and subzi in their tiffin boxes. Smoking away is a common sight. They don't mind in sharing a drink or two. No girl knits a sweater for her boy friend these days. Now they have enough money to buy a  branded pullover. No girl brings a folded love-letter. They say whatever they want to on Apps. But the grammar of physical intimacy hasn't changed. It is the same as described  by Vatsayan in Kama Sutra. Holding hands in cinema halls, flying kisses and a fun and frolicking go at it hasn't changed.

No girl was a loner then and no one is now. Be it a brother's close friend, a next-door neighbor, a classmate or someone who dared to approach in Metro. All girls are seeing a boy each, if not in a steady relationship. They, infact have multiple relationships. Not necessarily getting physical. But in those days, dating somebody was aimed at marriage. Not that every relationship ended in a marriage but the thought did cross their mind. Parents were in a tearing hurry to marry off their daughters but not any more. Now the girls are career conscious and they want to settle. Frankly speaking, I am surrounded by the daughters of my friends, who are in their late 30s but marriage is no where on their cards. Surpriingly most of mthem have joined the leagal profession after studying law. It gives them a sense of security.

Parents are also getting reconciled to this spinsterhood. Some find them as an additional source of family income and some feel helpless. But that doesn't mean that they are not in a relationship. Brothers, unlike Savdhan India scenarios, the brothers are not behaving as guards of virginity. They are tense and create ruckus but sooner than later accept it. However, the demands and desires of the body haven't changed. The MTP ( medical termination of pregnancy, popularly called abortion is available on a platter and at an affordable cost. Now yoy don't have to approach a quack. Most of the qualified doctors offer it on their bill boards. Now no Hindi film has a familiar scene, ari kulta ye toonekya kar diya. ab hum kise muhn dikhayenge followed by a loud music. I recall a witty poster in a village, apni beti ke haath peele kar dijiye warna ye aapka muh kala kar degi.

Turning a few pages from my 1960 diary, I can share without taking names that I organized three abortions of my girl friends and ththat of my friends in 1960s without any moral qualms. Though, theother day when my 16-yearold daughter asked me baba, is there anything wong in having a relationship. My refrain was jystdon't get pregnant. Rest is all fine. Now no body looks for dark ridges in theJNU or the flagstaff near VC's office in the DU. Everything is on open. Of course not the final act but all preludes.

Near DU, there used to be two restaurants Ajanta and Satkar who hadtables in dark corners for young couples from the iniversity. You order two esperesso coffee, tip the aiter heaviuly and have a whale of time. Even Carlton and Khyber were also hot spots near IP college.

The bottom line is man-woman relationship which is a popular theme in most of the world literature can never change except a violent streak that has crept in. Love and sex crimes. Extra-marital relationships, incest and infidelity is the routine content of our daily newspapers. One page is exclusively devoted to it. The high and mighty like Peter Mukherjee, Indrani Mukherjee arethe best examples. Why to blame our bold and beautiful. Bill Clinton converted his oval office into an oral office.

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Review of Last queen of India by Michelle Moran

A Hachette Publication

Hachette India is doing a wonderful job in the realm of Indian history. After their five-volume series of the Moghul emperors, I just finished Last Queen India. It has been hailed on the cover as asovereign of the East and defender of an empire. I have read many biographies of Jhansi ki Raani Lakshmi Bai, the formidable defender of not only her own empire but the entire Avadh. The acclaimed poetess Subhadra Kumari Chahan has penned some immortal lines on  her: " Khoob ladi mardani, wo to Jhansi wali ranee thi, Bundele harbolo se hamne suni kahani thi". This poem has been figuring in Hindi text books.

What is  different in this biography. It is objective, humane, takes us to the personal world of Lakshmi Bai. The author has created a playmate of hers Sita who Lakshmi in the art of combat through sord and even pistol. They had a close friendship. But the more interesting aspect is the court intrigues among her courters. Some of them had become the moles of the British army and were damaging her campaigns.

This novel dwells on the complex relationship between Indian princely states and the alien rulers. It later became a threshold of Indian freedom struggle.after turning into a war of independence called the sepoy mtine by the foreign historians. History is a multi-edged weapon. A famous line come to my mind that history is not unipolar. It depnds upon the strands of facts and characters that a historian chooses for his interpretation. The Last Queen of India is the best example. Lakshmi Bai was defending her tiny empire. She used to scream Main apni Jhansi nahin doongi. For this, she apparently, according to this British author opposed the Indian rebels and gave a tactical support to the British officers. But when General Rose targeted her and laid a siege, she fought a do or die battle and became a martyr.

Queen Victoria sitting in her Buckingham Palace in England was monitoring the moves of Lakshmi Bai. Even the latter also took it as a one-to-oneconfrontation between the two queens. The British viceroys had been reduced to pygmies in theisbattle royale.

The book does full justice to Indian heroes like Tatya Tope, Gangadhar, Moropant and Bahadur Shah zafar. This war convinced the British that Indians can revolt and fight for their land. They saw Hindus and Muslims can close ranks to wage a united fight. It isa must read on a a role model. There is a college , road, colony after her in Delhi and else where. Jhansi is considered to be a pilgrimage for Indians at heart.