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Reflections On The End Of The World At Bodh Gaya - 4

By Manuwant Choudhary

Bodh Gaya: If you really want to see how beautiful Bodh Gaya is you will have to hang around near the temple while the sun sets.

Its magical.

The colours of the ancient temple walls change and the Tibetan mantras still in the air....

And the near full-moon...a few days to purnima.

By night its quite chilly but the lights look so pretty you don't want to leave.

A young Sikkim boy from  a village near Pelling spoke to me how every year his family travels by state buses all the way....and he really liked being here...he spoke about loneliness....

Although he spoke good English and he had many freinds running around the temple.

I told him about the trekking routes I had been to in Sikkim and he seemed happy.

The pujas over he would be returning to the mountains tomorrow.

In that moment of solitude I also thought about how India annexed Sikkim by police action against the Chogyals.

The Chogyals were actually friends of India and Mrs. Indira Gandhi.

I thought about how the last Sikkim soldier fought India to defend his king and was killed by Indian forces on the orders of Mrs. Indira Gandhi.

I wonder if the people of Sikkim would have been better of  outside the union of India?

India is not a good friend.

Bodh Gaya teaches you how to respect life.

I have seen an old lady here walking so carefully as to not step on to a single ant.

The Dalai Lama also is a vegetarian...but Tibetans are not...and at his kaalchakra he often appeals to his followers to spare the chicken..."We come here for prayers and non-violence..not to kill all the chickens of Bodh Gaya..."

I have met the Tibetan religious leaders here..the Dalai Lama, the Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorjee and the other Karmapa claimant Thaye Dorji......

The two Karmapas are fighting over the control of Sikkims rich Rumtek monastery....and want India's Supreme Court to decide who the real Karmapa is?

What all the Supreme Court have to decide?

India's Supreme Court cannot even decide whether India is a free democracy or a socialist one?

Both the Karmapa's have huge followings...even abroad and both know the scriptures....and both respect the Dalai Lama.

Surely, the Dalai Lama can settle the matter...

But politics is not new to Buddhism....

This time I was at a prayer meeting of  Karmapa Thaye Dorji and thanks to him I got caught in the middle of a flower war...his followers suddenly started throwing flowers at one another.

How much I prerfer this to Syria !

Bodh Gaya & Las Vegas are definitely poles apart but I did watch the Miss Universe contest on a nice Haier flat TV...and Miss Venezuela was the real beauty.

But the lights at Las Vegas are no comparison to these butter lamps at Bodh Gaya....I have been here many times...earlier the butter lamps were placed around the temple but after the temple became  a World Heritage site..it was shifted to glass houses for butter lamps.

I actually walked into one of them before realising my feet was in butter and soot.

But there was an upside to this..a girl volunteer wearing masks like a surgeon was busy lighting the lamps....

There are 8000 lamps in one house and there must be 12 houses so you can multiply them....and these volunteers keep it all burning.

Just then the lamp girl removed her mask and spoke some Nepalis before telling me in perfect English that I could wear my shoes here.

I asked her where she was from and she said she replied  `Darjeeling'.

But she looked at me in the eye...the kind of look you give when you want to say..."How mad you must be...?"

She was beautiful.

Reflections On The End Of The World At Bodh Gaya - 3

By Manuwant Choudhary

Forget the Arnab Goswami's and Rajdeep Sardesai's and the Burkha Dutts, their analysis for Narendra Modi's victory is hogwash.

I met this Hindu sadhu near this message from Lord Buddha. Its on Evil.

"IT MAY BE WELL WITH THE EVIL DOER AS LONG AS THE EVIL RIPENS NOT. BUT WHEN IT DOES RIPEN, THEN THE EVIL DOER SEES (THE PAINFUL RESULTS) HIS EVIL DEEDS." - THE BUDDHA.

Democracy is actually dangerous especially if the people leave democracy to everyone else but themselves.

Like we left defeating Narendra Modi to a party as incompetent as the Congress.

But I think Narendra Modi's victory meant bad TRP, if he lost TV news channels would get more viewers, this proves that Narendra Modi will never be India's Prime Minister.

I have been to Gujarat and there is no freedom there.

I would never like to live in Gujarat.

You can't even eat an egg without hurting Gujarati Hindu sentiment !

Imagine.

Buddha's middle path is what is needed.

As journalists we see just too much evil that sometimes it feels they (evil) always win.

But I have been wrong.

Take the example of the physiotherapist recently gangraped in New Delhi and the angry protestors on Raisni Hills - the Presidential Palace.

Its unprecedented and the western media describe this as India's Rage Against Rape !

But I still feel Indians are not angry enough or they do not know how to be angry.

Look what they are doing and talking about.

They actually go and meet Sonia Gandhi & Rahul Gandhi (whose sole aim is on how to hang on to power and not better India)

And even while the Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde keeps saying the Indian government cannot go to India Gate.

But Mr. Shinde it is time the government did go to India Gate instead of sending your  uniformed goons to assault even women protesters.

But the protesters really don't know how to be angry....they are demanding a change in laws...and hanging.

Instead, I would say India Gate should be like Egypt's Tehrir Square...a movement so overwhelming and peaceful that even the governments worst force can't move them.

Look how the Indian police assault the protestors and kill a journalist in Manipur, and governments pretend they don't own the police.

They just want the protestors to get out of the way. Putin Is Coming.

They have to sign new deals.....Defence deals....more useless Russian weaponry...more debt....

But who will defend the citizen of India?

I don't think Indians know how to be angry otherwise they would not take stupid pledges on television saying they will report every rape to the police!

Police !

The pledge should be really to demand the lockout of all police stations in the country.

You will see India will become safe.

Disarm and disband India's police force completely. Send them home.

You will see India will become safe.

I actually went to a police station and asked the inspector if he could spare one of his men.

He asked me why?

I took out my wallet and taking out a Rs..100 note I gave him and requested him to buy a BIG Lock.

He looked surprised...and asked me why again.

I told him, "This is to lock the police station.."

I don't know if any Indian has done this.

And I'm not a Maoist.

If you expect the men in uniform to be your protectors then you are highly wrong.

Treat both the criminals and the men in Khaki with the same alertness and you will see what I am talking about.

Then you look up to the judiciary.

I will tell you what happens there.

They don't believe a single witness but the judge believes the single criminal.

They call it the law.

That is why the Pakistani minister comes here and says only Kasab's statement is not enough evidence.

He wants us to believe Laskhar is a humanitarian organisation.

Indian's simply are not angry enough.

Not even when Kasab and gang butchered people on November 26.

Why do Indian's always take out candle marches?

Its like saying...."Oh my government its all right you are using water cannons against us but its cold this December, at least use hot water."

The Hindustan Times has this story on justice.

Abdul Mannan raped and killed Kalyani at Kathra village, Manigachi, in Darbhanga, on February 18, 2004.

He was awarded the death penalty for the crime.

The matter goes in appeal to the High Court and the Supreme Court.

The appeal is dismissed at every stage and the capital punishment order upheld.

The convict even escaped from prison once.

It is already 20 months since the Supreme Court described this as a rarest of rare case and ordered hanging...yet the State is still sleeping.

The rapist Abdul Mannan is enjoying his life.

I really don't think Indians are angry enough.

Otherwise they won't be asking just protection from the government, they should be asking the government to go.

Manmohan Singhji your time is up. Enough.

Soniaji please go.

Rahulji - can you please spare India?

And I don't care about Sushmaji either....or their smooth-talking lawyers.

Or Lalooji who wants the rapists to go to hell !

First his own will have to go to hell.

Remember Shilpi Jain rape and murder.

Laloo's brother-in-law Sadhu Yadav was the prime accused in the case.

I won't go into details but the courts exonerated him and when Shilpi's brother wanted to get the case re-opened he was kidnapped !

The NDA government and Vajpayee's CBI could not manage to get even the blood sample of Sadhu Yadav !

So I don't know what ABVP activists are doing at India Gate.

Sadhu Yadav is now an honourable member of Sonia Gandhi's Congress Party !

There are only two castes in the India - the politician and the people.

Does it anger you when the traffic is held up by a lathi-weilding cavalcade when Nitish Kumar is going someplace to cut a ribbon or the PM?

Or do you call them your saviours?

I think Indians are not angry.

I remember coming back to Patna and trying to enter a shop with my parents...there was water flowing outside and they had placed a wooden plank for customers to get inside....I was so angry that I went and shouted at the shopkeeper that surely he can get his drain cleaned?

He looked so calm, "Sir, I think you don't belong here. This is just a drain. Here entire colonies are flooded.."

And sure enough. As a journalist I saw entire colonies being under water..and lawyers wading out of their homes...and going to work without a word.

My colleague took a boat !

It still floods in Patna.

Indians are not angry enough.

I also saw entire north Bihar under water.....you can't imagine going on a boat for five hours and just water all around....now that looked like the end of the world.

As far as the eye could see.

And you meet an old marooned man looking up at the skies for some helicopter to drop a food packet.

Nothing comes.

He is angry.

But what can he really do.

Except shout at me..the only person who has made the effort to even meet him.

I wonder why our young men and women did not go to Gujarat.

I wish they had gone to Gujarat.

Perhaps, they are still not angry at 1000 people being killed in Narendra Modi's Gujarat.

They are not angry because they have a caste and religion.

They are not angry because they have not seen violence real close.

They are not angry enough because they have not been to Bihar and driven down the Patna-Jehanabad road where every village is witness to massacres of every kind....famous massacres...like tourist destinations.

They are not angry because they think the world will end one day..they do not know that actually the world ends every single day.

The world ends when you don't get angry.

But how will you know?

You don't know the smell of  rotting human flesh.....and blood in the killing fields....

Reflections On The End Of The World at Bodh Gaya - 2

By Manuwant Choudhary

Bodh Gaya: I think Bodh Gaya is the happiest place in India.

But of course no survey has been done on this....but a recent CNN Gallup report suggests that wealthy Singaporeans are among the least happy people in the world, less happier than people living in Iraq, Afghanistan and even Syria.

http://edition.cnn.com/2012/12/21/world/asia/singapore-least-happy/index.html?iref=allsearch

I wonder why bombs make people happier ?

But yes take a walk in Bodh Gaya and you will see the laughter all around...smiling monks...and yes even stiff Europeans open up and smile.

Something to do with the place.

Also the weather.

Summers are terrible in Bihar and Bodh Gaya perhaps the hottest place.

Only Sri Lankans visit Gaya in summers....because its just like it is back home.

With malls coming up all over even Bihar's poor are waking up to preferring cooler climes like this new Bhojpuri number where the girl demands AC, AC, AC.....from the boy...and only then will she marry him.

But spiritually, happiness lies in the giving.

So pilgrims here love to give alms and thanks to our politics poverty is something  Bihar has an abundant supply of.....

But this year I noticed a damper..with the temple management committee sealing the `begging wall' completely.

Earlier, thousands of beggars had their hands stretched from behind this wall and pilgrims would happily oblige.

Now just a handful of beggars pretending to be blind sat singing in the bazaar.

But seriously we all give all the time....and if you don't give in your lifetime then you just leave it all behind like excess baggage.

What do you really need to be happy?

I don't know where Indians stand in the Gallup report.

For some happiness comes from alcohol...and Bodh Gaya also has an alcohol shop `Bodh Gaya Brothers' right on the main road.

Happiness in sex..I can understand why Thailand is such a happy place.

But monks too are happy...like I met this kid monk playing with his puppy and I could tell he was naughty enough to take on the might of  China's President and North Korea's Kim Jong !!

Reflections On The End Of The World At Bodh Gaya - 1

By Manuwant Choudhary

Bodh Gaya - The world comes to Bodh Gaya every winters...and so if the world did end as predicted I'd be in good company...in the midst of holiness and beautiful people...and not hiding under some bunker in Nevada desert surviving on stale bread and ration - with wierdos.

Lord Buddha is actually an amazing story...a prince - Siddarth. - out on a chariot tour sees four sights....an old man, a sick man,  a corpse and then a holy man...he is so disturbed by it all that he leaves his kingdom to go in search of truth.

It is after many wanderings that under the Bodhi tree at Bodh Gaya..he receives enlightenment....the four truths.

That there is suffering in this world.

The cause of all suffering is desire.

To overcome suffering one has  to overcome desire.

And the way to overcome desire is to follow the eight-fold path.

This is essentially a moral code...and even if you are not religious...you can relate to it completely.

Of course, Buddha has been completely lost in the land of enlightenment....

But the world recognises him....

And I was in VIP company...wiith Yingluk Shinawatra Prime Minister of Thailand and also the Cambodian Prime Minister visiting.

Except China's communists, I think all dictators love to come to pray here.

I wonder what Buddha tells them.

But I don't care about Prime Ministers....I wanted to meet a beautiful friend...who is doing great work in   re-introducing Buddhism to the land of its birth - India.

Its not the government of India or even the Bihar government...but Lord Buddha who is responsible for  bringing development here...imagine Bihar has an international airport and it was a pleasure to see a Thai airways flight on the runway with cyclists stopping by to watch the take-off !

But I did not meet my beautiful friend... thankfully the world did not come to an end...(to be continued)

Why I Love Miss Venezuela Irene Sofia Esser Quintero

By Manuwant Choudhary

Miss Venezuela Irene Sofia Esser Quintero is definitely more beautiful than the winner Miss Universe Olivia Culpo...

Sofia has already become an internet sensation, and not Miss USA Olivia Culpo who won the crown.

She got the third place because when judge Diego Boneta (Pretty Little Liars actor) asked her a question, "If you could change one law, what would it be and why?" Her reply was in English (although she is Spanish speaking) and it was basically `nonsensical'.

Irene, replied “I think that any leys (laws) there are in Constitution or in life, are already made. I think that we should have, uh, a straight way to go in our similar, or, eh, in our lives as is this. For example, I’m a surfer, and I think that the best wave that I can take is the wave that I wait for it. So please do our only, eh, law that we can do. Thank you, Vegas!”

Thank you Irene because Vegas and America are too Obamamised to understand you.

The world does.

There are too many laws all over the world and one should not do any wrong (go straight) and like the waves if and when laws hit you then you should just ride them.....

Well, does that make sense?

As an Indian I've been doing just that `Riding The Laws'...because we have socialist and corrupt laws...and thankfully you are not Indian girl otherwise you would say you want hanging for rape.

Laws are usually an obstruction.

Moral of the story - NO NEW LAWS....

Get it?

Irene Sofia is different....Olivia Culpo won because of her red dress and her oomph...physical attributes..but Irene has a mind of her own.

Unfortunately, the Vegas judges don't...

You are beautiful.

I love you Miss Venezuela Irene Sofia Esser Quintero.

Rape Of The Mind

By Manuwant Choudhary

Rape - every rape -  is shocking, not just those that take place closer home in Vasant Vihar in New Delhi or South Bombay.

The recent gangrape of a physiotherapist in New Delhi in a moving bus highlights not just the depravity of the act itself but also the fact that our so-called democracy is in shambles.

Criminals are not scared. They have never been scared -  not even at the stroke of midnight when the world slept and India awoke...

My grandfather actually slept at midnight when Jawaharlal Nehru hoisted the tri-colour in 1947.

I asked him why and he told me, "I don't know why Nehruji chose midnight to hoist the flag. Only thieves and dacoits stay awake at that hour..."

So India has never been safe or free.

Its not because there are no laws but because India's justice system has collapsed completely.

So do not be fooled into believing that another law against rape would make things any better or women safer.

But this is exactly what our parliament would like us to believe.

So our MPs including Jaya Bacchan for a change spoke on this crucial topic `Law and Order'.

I really can't remember our MPs discussing law and order in recent times.

Nuclear deals, FDI deals, telecom deals but its no big deal really when governments can't even focus on their primary responsibility which is to make ever Indian feel safe.

They simply have no time for that.

They want to uplift the dalits by `reserving' even promotions in jobs.

Why? Because statistics show that even though Dalits got jobs over 60 years of reservations..they were rarely promoted.

But who is to blame for this? Surely, its the same Congress Party that has been in power for 60 years.

Not upper castes but the Congress Party is responsible for not promoting dalits even when they have the job.

Its the same with the new money-transfer scheme being launched...its only an admittance of their own corruption and failure of their welfare programs.

And our politicians rape our minds every day..ever moment...before elections and after...and we do not even know.

We believe they are working for the country...at least we would like to believe.

We think that every bill in parliament is brought to lift the masses out of poverty.

But there are no principles really.

Take the new Land Acquisition bill...they plan to broaden the definition of `public purpose' so private land can be stolen by the government and given to industry (private and public) for a song.

Of course to make it all look justifiable they have to place it in the garb of `democracy'..so they talk about 80 per cent and 70 per cent votes needed locally for land acquistions.

Look at the number of times they have amended our constitution....the one we gave ourselves at independence.

Gangrape !

Brute Majority!

Democracy !

They are all familiar.

Its about force.

Its violence.....

Our MPs have never heard about fundamental rights and they don't care.

In India fundamental rights are no longer important.

Right to property has been removed from the fundamental rights....

And our MPs can pass bills that violate every other fundamental right that still remains.

They believe they have been elected to trample on every single right.

So when they shed a tear on law and order.....I wonder why they don't give up their own Z-plus security cover.

Why don't Rahul Gandhi and L.K. Advani and Manmohan Singh become the `Aam Aaadmee' they claim to reperesent?

As for television....they too rape our minds....yesterday I got such a headache...RAPE, RAPE, RAPE...on all news channels..and they shout so much..each louder than the other....competing for our eyeballs but through our eardrums !

I have not seen a piece of investigative journalism in recent times....maybe Tavleen Singh was the last one.

But who reads the `Durbar' and that too in English?

Who cares how Sonia fights with Maneka because Maneka took out the foriegn dog buiscuits in the fridge and gave it to her own `desi' bitch?

You want more bills...you will get more....

Right to Work, Right to Promotions, Right To Food, Right to Shelter, Right To Pollute, Right To Rape......

We vote for them because we allow ourselves to be raped every election.

Taj Mahal's Dahlia-man !

By Manuwant Choudhary

If life does not surprise you then it means you are spending too much time at home...so in todays world I am different because I like getting old cars repaired, enjoy a cup of tea with my car `mistry' and I also like to walk into shops and not buy.

So in Patna while I got my old car repaired at a garage opposite Kumhrar (the ancient site of Patliputra) I just took a walk and alongside a railway track I came across this nursery...and I asked its owner if he had any Dahlia saplings.

And he blurted out, "Dahlia...haan hai...aisa waisa nahin....mera Dahlia to Taj Mahal jaata hai..."(Yes, I have Dahlia's but not ordinary one's my Dahlia's go to the Taj Mahal...")

I asked him which Taj Mahal does he mean the Taj Mahal Hotel?

And he said, Nahin Agra waala..."

So I joked with him that he must be as famous as the Taj Mahal.

And he smiled back, "Nahin, nahin..main nahin, Taj Mahal famous hai...aure mere Dahlia famous hain."

His name is Mohammed Shafi.

So I decided to make him famous too.

He then took me to the rear of his small nursery and sure enough there were 6000 saplings all named varieties arranged in different colours..ready to be shipped to Agra.

He told me how he started his business as a youth and that he has been supplying Dahlia's to the Taj Mahal for 30 years now.

"Sirf pichle saal...mian contract nahin liya...kyonki wo ghoos maang rahe the..." (Only last year I did not take the contract because the officers were asking for a bribe).

But he said when he visits the Taj Mahal he is treated with respect and put up at a guest house near the Taj Mahal for three days.

Mohammad Shafee buys his sapplings from Calcutta, raises them in Patna and when they are ready takes them by train to Kanpur and then by train to Agra.

I bought 80 Dahlia saplings from him for my home....so if you can't visit the Taj Mahal in Agra to see the Dahlia's in bloom, you are welcome home.

Bahadur Shah Zafar - The Last Emperor

By Manuwant Choudhary

India's last emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar is all but forgotten so it was surprising to see India's foreign minister Salman Khurshid paying a visit to the place where Bahadur Shah was buried in Rangoon, Burma, in exile.

Wikipedia describes Bahadur Shah Zafar as the Mughal Emperor whose empire extended only till the Red Fort !

Yet, if you study Indian history you will note how when a rebellion broke out in 1857 and sepoys mutinied against the British, the rebels looked towards Bahadur Shah Zafar for leadership and to give the rebellion a sense of national unity.

Bahadur Shah although weak, supported the rebels.

British historians called this a `Sepoy's Mutiny' but Indian nationalists like Veer Savarkar called it India's First War of Independence.

Savarkar said it was not a mutiny because not just soldiers but Jhansi Ki Rani, Tantia Tope and many others fought the British and they were definitely not sepoys of the East India Company.

Bahadur Shah Zafar was tried on four counts - one of them was treason - and convicted on all four but later exiled to Rangoon, Burma, where he went with his wife Zeenat Mahal and later died.

It is one thing to be strong and fight for your country but quite another to be weak yet choose to fight for your country.

In a sense Bahadur Shah Zafar was braver.

And he loved India.

Yet, I cant say the same about Salman Khurshid and India's Congressmen.

I wonder what went through Mr. Khurshid's mind when he paid homage to Bahadur Shah Zafar.

Can he hold his heart and honestly say the Congress Party is building a stronger India?

Or will India become one day as weak as the last days of  Mughal rule?

We don't even remember our hero's.

Studying in the UK an English girl came up to me and asked me, "Do you like Jhansi Ki Rani? She is my hero."

I asked her how she heard about Jhansi Ki Rani and she told me that they study her their history lessons.

Its always been economics and corruption and character of its people that makes a nation great or petty.

But when Walmart pays 125 crores to lobby for opening up FDI in retail in India, it just shows where we are heading.

It looks like the Mughal court where the East India Company representatives would come and offer expensive gifts to win favours.

What has changed really?

The Congress Party swears by socialism and disallows anybody to set-up a political party that opposes socialism.

India is a democracy for only socialist parties.

So its not even a democracy.

I still think Bahadur Shah Zafar was a greater man than our present rulers and his poetry better than Vajpayeeji's...he was denied a pen and paper in his cell and so Bahadur Shah used charcoal to write this on the walls of his prison cell...

"My heart has no repose in this despoiled land
Who has ever felt fulfilled in this futile world?

The nightingale complains about neither the sentinel nor the hunter
Fate had decreed imprisonment during the harvest of spring

Tell these longings to go dwell elsewhere
What space is there for them in this besmirched heart?

Sitting on a branch of flowers, the nightingale rejoices
It has strewn thorns in the garden of my heart

I asked for a long life, I received four days
Two passed in desire, two in waiting.

The days of life are over, evening has fallen
I shall sleep, legs outstretched, in my tomb

How unfortunate is Zafar! For his burial
Not even two yards of land were to be had, in the land of his beloved."

Happiness In Exile !

By Manuwant Choudhary

There is something about the Dalai Lama that endears him to the entire world, except China.

He said communist officials only believe in power of the gun and not the power of peace of mind.

In India he is popular and never fails to express his deep appreciation for India.

Ocasionally, he wants India to be greater.

But its his smile thats really infectious.

So he was in Kochi, Kerala, recently to talk on `The Art of Happiness', I thought this was a greater subject that Sr Sri Ravi Shankar's Art of Living.

And the Dalai Lama spoke on the rich Buddhist traditions and how Tibetans as a people were more compassionate and happier.

But are the Tibetans really happy? Why would there be so many self-immolations in Tibet?

Its clear Tibetans are not happy living under Chinese rule or even in exile. They want a home....their own home.

Back in Lhasa the Dalai Lama's source of happiness apart from Buddhism was this Zenith radio that kept him in touch with the outside world.

Still the Dalai Lama is an inspiration and his is what he said on Tibetan Medicine and how to be happy,

"It is symptomatic of Tibetan culture, which is a culture of peace, non-violence and compassion. He added that since the arrival in Tibet of the message of the Buddha, with its logically presented philosophical views, Tibetan society as a whole became more compassionate. He admitted that he too is someone who regularly takes Tibetan medicine and recalled that after an international medical conference convened in Tibet by King Trisong Detsen in the 8th century CE, Tibetan medicine had become much more effective, adding that there is still room for improvement.

Inder Kumar Gujral - An Encounter

By Manuwant Choudhary

Inder Kumar Gujral is described by most as India's accidental Prime Minister.

And they are right, in a way he exemplifies how faulty Indian democracy really is.

Mr.I.K. Gujral with his beard resembles Captain Haddock in Tin Tin Comics and for many Indians he looked foreign enough to be just that - a foreign minister.

Indians in the villages laughed at him every time he appeared on television because he looked like a `Botu' - a male goat.

So for someone like that to be in Indian politics and get to the top must be quite a chance.

But I.K. Gujral did have a few similarities with Dr. Manmohan Singh.

Both were born in the area now called Pakistan.

Both made Punjab their homes.

Both are perceived to be honest personally.

Both can't win elections.

Both cheated to contest from Bihar and Assam to get into the upper house - the Rajya Sabha.

And both have been helped by another Sardar ...the Communist Harkishen Singh Surjeet to get the top job.

But Mr. Gujral disagrees and writes in his memoir that Surjeet  actually favoured Mulayam.

Both belong to the inner circle in New Delhi (read Tavleen Singh's new book Durbar).

So its not surprising Congressmen making a beeline to offer condolences while nothing from the old United Front leaders.

I.K. Gujral was an embedded Prime Minister.

If you study Indian history you will note that except the dark horse Deve Gowda and Atal Behari Vajpayee all of India's Prime Ministers have been from the Congress Party.

Even after a hard fight when the Janata Party came to power it was Morarji Desai who became prime minister and then Chandra Shekhar.

In effect, India saw no real change.

The new looked like the old.

And so the old were brought back.

So Congressmen are thankful to Shri Gujral.

I happened to get a glimpse of a unique moment in Indian history when not Delhi's 10, Janpath but  1 Anne Marg in Patna was the power centre.

Laloo Prasad Yadav was at his peak of his popularity and had just held the massive gareeb rally.

I was just a student activist then and wanted to interview Laloo Prasad Yadav for a youth magazine.

Laloo Yadav's brother had met with an accident so Laloo left for the airport suddenly.

In a semicircle all his powerful ministers sat...Nitish Kumar as well.

Suddenly an ambassador car arrived and a gentleman stepped out.

He was Inder Kumar Gujral.

None of Laloo's ministers even looked at him or even offered him basic courtesies like a chair.

I recall going up to him and introducing myself and asked him if I could ask him a question.

He replied, "Yes, yes, please."

I asked, "Sir, if your home is Punjab then what are you doing in Bihar looking for a Rajya Sabha seat?"

Shri I.K. Gujral had a nameplate in a Patna locality to fool the Election Commission.

And Shri Gujral got a bit hassled, "Thats a very journalistic question..."

He left immediately without meeting Laloo !

An Oberoi Lunch With Manisha Koirala

By Manuwant Choudhary

News of Manisha Koirala being taken to Jaslok Hospital in Bombay for suspected cancer is a bolt from the blue and for all her admirers a reason for concern.

I have admired Manisha Koirala for her beauty and as an actor...her roles in the film Bombay and 1942 A Love Story are breath-taking.

This special post is for her speedy recovery.

Bollywood has many talented actors but Manisha Koirala in her 20 year career is the only one who reminds us of  classic Bollywood beauties like Madhubala, Waheeda Rehman & Nargis.

Ofcourse, Manisha wasn't so lucky as them....she did some great films but there were those which were bad also.

She is a director's actor...a good director and a good script could do wonders.

And there is no denying that she is a talented actor otherwise how could a girl from remote Nepal come to India, get some training in classical dances and enter the big, bad world of Bollywood and make it big.

In Bollywood and India her famous Koirala surname doesn't count.

Koirala is good for winning elections in Nepal.

Here its talent and how the film goer's appreciate what you do.

Her role in Mani Ratnam's film Bombay - based on a love story between a Hindu boy and Muslim girl - was not just controversial but a super hit.

I happened to watch a pre-release of Bombay with the mullahs and the Shiv Sainiks as well as the edited post release.

But as a journalist I was not particularly lucky with Bollywood stars and models..they were always my toughest assigments...but Bombay is a place where you may just happen to bump into them.

And we owe Manisha an apology.

The newspaper I worked for once accidentally triggered a riot in Bombay.

Manisha was already under threat from fanatics for her role in the film Bombay...and the Times of India carried an intelligence report saying so.

And our newspaper that same afternoon carried a front page news item "Manisha Koirala Killed"....

Soon our office was flooded with telephone calls..even from Kathmandu.

Before we realised some violence broke out in Mohammed Ali Road and half of Bombay lowered their shutters.

Its only then we realised the `goof up'.

Someone had placed an advert for a film in which Manisha is killed...and the advert read like a news report...and accidentally the adtv at the side fell at the time of page-setting....and so what appeared was like a report by a staff reporter !

And Manisha Koirala herself called up our editor Behram Contractor, who apologised profusely.

But Manisha was kind and forgiving and she would always personally invite our editor for all her functions.

But this one goof-up got me an Oberoi  lunch with Manisha Koirala !

Nepal's Prime Minister was in town and Manisha was hosting a lunch in his honour and she invited our editor but our editor had not fully recovered from the goof up and so  he asked me if I could go in his place.

At the Oberoi Manisha wore a pastel peach chiffon saree and she looked pretty and graceful - much better then even her films.

But I was careful.. kept a very safe distance...I did not really know how to tell her I am a reporter from the newspaper that killed you.

But the Oberoi lunch was great.

I hope Manisha gets well soon.

Bal Thackeray & The Face-reader

By Manuwant Choudhary

Ever since the death of Bal Thackeray I have been feeling a bit uneasy but not because Bal Thackeray died but how he died.

This is so because 14 years ago I wrote an article that Bal Thackeray will not fall to a fanatics bullet but rather he would die of a heart attack.

At the time I was the Chief Reporter of the Afternoon Despatch & Courier and must be among the few journalists who never sought an interview with Bal Thackeray.

Early one morning I was informed by the receptionist that someone had come to see me so when I went to meet the guest I was surprised - my guest looked unusual - not the common man... bijli, sadak, paanee kind.

He wore a red-maroon robe, was darkish and had unkept rough hair - a sadhu or a tantrik - and he wore the rurakhsha that Bal Thackeray also carried.

But why would someone like that want to to meet a secular journalist?

His appearance could scare you so I looked closer and the sadhu was in fact young...maybe mid 30's...and he had large dark eyes and I decided to hear him out.

He told me he was a face-reader and that he was different from other astrologers or tantriks because he never took money from his customers at first but he would return when his prophecies would come true.

And then his clients would reward him suitably.

With him he carried a large register and in it he had written statements from eminent persons whose future he had foreseen.

He said he was `scientific' in his approach and wanted to keep a record of face-reading.

So in jest I asked him whether he had read Bal Thackeray's face and he replied `Yes'.

He asked me what I wanted to know.

And again just like that I asked him how would Bal Thackeray die?

And he replied. "Bal Thackeray will not be killed. He will die of a heart attack."

So when Bal Thackeray died I remembered the face-reader...

 I also reminisced my days as a cub reporter in Bombay.

The Shiv Sena - Bal Thackeray's party - was in power but it was Bal Thackeray who called the shots and we called it the `remote-controlled' government.

The governments decisions were in fact taken by one man - Bal Thackeray - so even reporters from English dailies had to read Bal Thackeray's newspaper - The Saamna - to find out what the Shiv Sena government would do next week.

I had already seen what Hate Politics can do to a city and as students we saw Bombay go up in smoke in the communal riots.

I have been chased by both Hindu and Muslim mobs in the lanes near the Metro cinema where we had gone out to get something to eat.

So I did not really care for India's politicians.

But I have tried to have an open mind and talk to even those whom I don't like.

Once I even helped Shiv Sainiks.

A group of Shiv Sainiks wanted to see me and again I was surprised so I asked them what brought them to me.

And they told me that they had some problems and they had actually gone to Matoshree to meet Bal Thackeray and there they met a senior journalist from India Today who advised them to see me.

So I asked them what was their problem and they said that the Shiv Sena government had destroyed their temple !

And the story took me to their homes near the Arthur Road prison.

The Shiv Sainiks belonged to the dalit community - India's lowest caste-  and it was they who kept the city clean.

But the conditions they themselves lived in were terrible.

10 persons slept in a single room and the public toilets were appalling.

Their leader Bal Thackeray had never visited them.

And they took me around their homes with the great respect and affection.

For a day I was Bal Thackeray !

In a restaurant they bought me a cold drink and told me how they became Shiv Sainiks.

Then they showed me a small temple the Shiv Sena government had destroyed.

As we stood there suddenly we saw Sanjay Dutt - the actor charged under the arms act for keeping and AK 47 - going into prison for his daily court appearance.

And you would imagine people running to meet Sanjay Dutt.

But the Shiv Sainiks just stood there and instead shouted , "arre Sanju idhaar aana..."

And Sanjay Dutt lankily walked all the way to meet us.

The Sainiks introduced me to Sanjay Dutt and Sanjay promised to pitch in to rebuild their temple.

Not the big industrialists but there were the honourable few who stood up to the might of Bal Thackeray.

Among them was my editor Behram Contractor.

Ofcourse, as an editor he would be worried when we did anti-Bal Thackeray stories because it was known that the Shiv Sena mobs would attack newspaper offices.

But he never stopped us from doing the stories.

And the stories would be carried prominently.

Bal Thackeray could be cruel in other ways too.

Like when a Muslim Sheriff of Bombay Mr. Khorakiwalla went to meet Bal Thackeray along with Bombay's editors to request him to stop his mobs from rioting and killing innocent people of Bombay, Bal Thackeray asked Mr. Khorakiwalla to pick up the stone next to his chair.

The Sherriff picked up the stone and Bal Thackeray told him, "Its from the Babri Masjid."

The Sherriff Mr. Khorakkiwalla is a strong personality and while leaving the Matoshree (Bal Thackeray's home) told Bal Thackeray that his home was encroaching on public space and if he did not remove the encroachments they would be demolished.

Bombay died when an entire city feebly accepted their new name Mumbai, without even a fight.

I felt sad.

Bombay was a great city made of great people.

How could they accept everything what Bal Thackeray says and get on with business.

Our editor did put up a fight and in our reports we would avoid using the word but rather call it the `city'. The Afternoon address at the rear still said Bombay.

The mornings were a challenge because coming up with headline news every morning is not really easy even in a place like Bombay with all its rain and problems.

So one morning as I got read I overheard on my landlords black & white TV a Doordarshan newsreader saying there was  a central government notification that people were free to call Bombay as Bombay.

As I got into the newsroom and tried to make a copy, something unusual happened.

My editor entered and this is something he never does but he asked me, "Manu what is the headline today?"

I showed him what I was writing and he made me get up and took my chair and wrote in his Busybee style...

BOMBAY IS BOMBAY, NOT MUMBAI.

The then Prime Minister Deve Gowda had secret parleys with Bal Thackeray and was visiting Bombay that day and when he addressed a press conference some journalists waved copies of the Afternoon newspaper.

It completely ruined the Prime Minister-Bal Thackeray meeting.

Bal Thackeray was quite false in many ways..but he enjoyed the trappings of power even when he was out of power.

He always made his speeches in Marathi and we journalists were expected to know Marathi.

But I did not know the language.

I almost lost my job.

I was asked to cover a Bal Thackeray presser and it was in Marathi.

Some kind journalists told me Bal Thackeray gives English interviews only to the BBC !

I tried my best to understand Bal Thackeray, minus the expletives, and wrote my piece.

Luckily, my report and the Times of India report looked similar.

I got to keep my job.

I never liked the Shiv Sena brand of politics.

Politics through hatred and fear.

So when Ramesh Kini was killed and Raj Thackeray, the nephew of Bal Thackeray, accused of the murder, it was a story that needed guts.

And I did my bit.

Its not easy to work under real threats but when I did the Ramesh Kini story even Shiv Sainiks helped me to translate Kini's Marathi letter into English.

I knew the Shiv Sena would lose the next elections.

But I have often thought about the face-reader and how Bal Thackeray would die.

I am a non-believer.

So once I shared this story with a senior journalist Mr. Ashok Desai and after hearing me he softly replied, "Extraordinary Co-incidents!"

Co-incidents or not but are we really supposed to have all the answers?

Like what happens after death?

Have Bal Thackeray and Kasab gone to heaven or to hell....or they are just around...laughing....because their kind of politics and hatred and brutality is not dead.

Its very much alive.

Barbarta Ki Dhaal Thackeray - A Hindi Poem by Nagarjun

“बर्बरता की ढाल ठाकरे”

बाल ठाकरे! बाल ठाकरे!
कैसे फासिस्‍टी प्रभुओं की –
गला रहा है दाल ठाकरे!
अबे संभल जा, वो आ पहुंचा बाल ठाकरे!
सबने हां की, कौन ना करे!
छिप जा, मत तू उधर ताक रे!
शिव-सेना की वर्दी डाटे जमा रहा लय-ताल ठाकरे!
सभी डर गये, बजा रहा है गाल ठाकरे!
गूंज रही सह्याद्रि घाटियां, मचा रहा भूचाल ठाकरे!
मन ही मन कहते राजा जी; जिये भला सौ साल ठाकरे!
चुप है कवि, डरता है शायद, खींच नहीं ले खाल ठाकरे!
कौन नहीं फंसता है, देखें, बिछा चुका है जाल ठाकरे!
बाल ठाकरे! बाल ठाकरे! बाल ठाकरे! बाल ठाकरे!
बर्बरता की ढाल ठाकरे!
प्रजातंत्र का काल ठाकरे!
धन-पिशाच का इंगित पाकर ऊंचा करता भाल ठाकरे!
चला पूछने मुसोलिनी से अपने दिल का हाल ठाकरे!
बाल ठाकरे! बाल ठाकरे! बाल ठाकरे! बाल ठाकरे!

- नागार्जुन

Skyfall & The Bond Girls

By Manuwant Choudhary

I really wonder what it is about the James Bond formula that has kept us watching them over decades and enjoying them all.

For women it is James Bond and all his scruffiness but for men its obvious they go to check out the Bond girls.

I have noticed that his girls can be dangerous too.

But if you are James Bond you will live to tell the tale.

 Skyfall is the 23rd and I must say I enjoyed it because of the Bond girls.

36-year-old Naomie Harris plays Eve, a fully-trained British field agent who drives fast and draws her gun even faster. The London-born Harris says Eve "kind of sees herself as Bond's equal. She's not, but that's how she sees herself."  

Skyfall is interesting because of the action in Shanghai and Macau...and is a reminder that not Russia but China is where all the action is.

Also the storyline is deeper compared to The Spy Who Loved Me.

And James Bond's country home Skyfall from which the film gets its name gives James Bond a more earthy feel.

Harris is joined by 33-year-old Paris native Berenice Marlohe, who plays the alluring Severine.  The exotic beauty -- her mother is French and her father is Cambodian -- is making her English-language debut in the film.  Severine is employed by the villain, Raoul Silva, played by Oscar-winner Javier Bardem.

Of course, of late even Indian film makers have been attempting to make films dealing with  India's spy agents...like Vidya Balan plays the pregant spy in Kahani....

But no I'd prefer Marlohe anyday.

She is a stunner.

Khulaasa News

By Manuwant Choudhary

I was there at Arvind Kejriwal's presser at the Press Club of India yesterday but there was a foul smell all over....so I asked Mr. Kejriwal about it.

AK: Yes, yes, I agree this presser is not going smoothly..these journalists are asking too many questions.

Me: But journalists are supposed to ask questions.

AK: No, no..they can ask questions but they are asking as though they are owners of HSBC.

Me: But sir, the HSBC is a great bank...why do you want it to be shut down. Actually, its the SBI which should be shut down.

AK: Why shut down SBI? They should remain open since it takes months to open an account there. But HSBC should be shut down because they open accounts over telephone.

Me: But that means HSBC is so efficient.

AK: Efficient my foot. I hate HSBC.....they are efficiently corrupt.

Me: You mean they are like Ambani Brothers?

AK: yes, yes, and how dare they open accounts of Ambani brothers?

Me: But its obvious that Ambani's have the money...surely the poor can't open accounts at HSBC.

AK: Exactly, thats why they should be shut.

Me: But ok ok, I wanted to know why this place smells...you could have held this presser at Lodhi Gardens...

AK: Look I dont know where its coming from....but all I know is that journalists are asking too many quetions and they are also saying the `Khulaasa' has not been verified by them.

Me: But exactly, you name all the biggies and do you want even the jouranlists to be charged for defamation..but this place smells awful.

AK: I really don't know...

Me: But Ambani's say their rivals are leaking wrong information...so do you think the smell is something to do with rivalries.

AK: What rivalry...the Congress is in their pocket.

Me: But that means Ambani's must have big pockets.

AK: Big and deep?

Me: No, but still I don't know where this smell is coming from...its hard to breathe.

AK: I am serving the country so I don't smell anything except corruption.

Me: But surely, you cant expect all HSBC employees to become like you...they sit in nice offices..and its doesn't smell there....and no one shouts there..they play instrumental music...

AK: Exactly, thats why SBI is better..there are crowds and crowds and smell and shouts...and fights....

Me: I really don't understand all this..so do you think all income tax officers should also quit the government?

AK: I didn't say that...they are serving the country so they should not quit.

Me: But you mean only HSBC employees need to quit to serve the country.

AK: Don't waste my time...I have to do 500 khulasaa's in the next few days...

Me: But your Khulasaa's smell too much..what did you eat? Did you eat a Dabur product?

A.K.: Dabur, never...they are so corrupt ...these Burmans.....I never eat Dabur.

Me: But that means you prefer their rivals - Baidyanath..

A.K. Yes, I like their churan.

(how to make this special Kejriwal churan)

redients

2 tbsp carom seeds (ajwain)
2 tbsp cumin seeds (jeera)
2 tbsp fennel seeds (saunf)
2 tbsp dill seeds (suva dana)
1 tbsp fenugreek (methi) seeds
1 tsp rock salt
1 tsp black salt (sanchal)
2 tsp asafoetida (hing)

Method

1. Heat a non-stick pan, add the carom seeds, cumin seeds, fennel seeds, dill seeds and fenugreek seeds and dry roast on a medium flame for 3 to 4 mins.
2. Remove from the flame, add the remaining ingredients and mix well.
3. Blend in a mixer too a smooth powder.
4. Store in an airtight jar.
5. Take 1/2-1 tsp after meal or if necessary anytime.

My Pakistan Yatra

By Manuwant Choudhary

I have never been to Pakistan but one day I would like to make the journey.

But not like chief minister Nitish Kumar flying to Dubai and then Karachi...or even meeting Asif Ali Zardari...or going to the tomb of Jinnah.

Mine would be different.

Of course, Laloo does not like Nitish Kumar's Pakistan yatra and plays the spoiler, "What will happen if the Pakistani's come to know that Nitish is Narendra Modi's friend?"

Laloo has himself been to Pakistan and understands the yatra is good if you want to win the Muslim votes.

But he is worried Nitish is trying to win over his Muslim voters.

But in the BJP and the NDA there are those who hate Jinnah and there are those who love Jinnah.

I would say like L.K. Advani and Jaswant Singh....and Nitish Kumar love Jinnah.

And they also love Jinnah's politics of divide.

That is why Nitish divided Bihar.

But now Nitish claims to be  a champion to demand Bihar's rights so he held the Adhikar Rally recently.

But with Bihar's official machinery working overtime to make the rally a success...some called it the `Adhikari' Rally.

I have been invited to Pakistan before by friends close to Pakistan's then President Parvez Musharraf but somehow I did not feel like visiting.

For so many years we have heard about governments trying to improve people to people contacts to improve bilateral relations but I am not so sure if its easy to get a visa yet.

But I would not like to fly to take a train to Pakistan - I would like to drive into Pakistan through the Wagah border - ignoring the boot parade of  soldiers on both sides.

And I would get out of my car to meet a Punjab farmer in Pakistan..have tea with him.

Then I would like to visit Mohenjodaro and Harrappa - the great civilisations - that we have lost.

See the Great Bath.

Learn a little more about town planning.

And also see the snow in Kashmir in Pakistan.

And finally, I would like to meet the other Bhutto - Fatima - but not interview her like CNN does sitting at a distance of 30 feet but take her out for coffee.