Breakfast With Chandra Shekharji

By Manuwant Choudhary

I have covered all kinds of stories as TV Reporter but one story I cannot forget is when I got this news that body guards of a former Indian Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar had shot dead a student in a train at Allahabad.

Chandra Shekhar was on his way to Balia, his constituency in eastern Uttar Pradesh.

We drove all night to enter UP and as the mist was only clearing we arrived at the guest house where the former Prime Minister was staying.

SPG men in their dark suits stood all around the guest house.

I wondered if they would shoot again at an intruding press.

Chandra Shekhar himself was notorious for his temper and he would shut up even a Laloo Prasad on the floor of parliament.

So it was challenging to even send him my visiting card at that early hour.

But surprisingly I was called in within a second.

Chandra Shekhar was still in bed under a quilt I remember and its only when he spotted the cameraman behind me that he got out of bed and took a seat on a sofa.

I recall asking my questions point blank.

And surprisingly I got an equal point by point reply...with Chandra Shekhar not only accepting that the incident took place but he gave vivid details of how the SPG had to resort to to fire.

And he had no emotions.

Just like his politics.

I wondered how is it so possible to be so honest about your own ruthlessness?

But that was Chandra Shekhar...he became India's 9th Prime Minister after toppling the V.P. Singh government with support from Rajiv Gandhi.

Even while we spoke I was clear my story would be hard-hitting.

The interview over I was happy to leave when Chandra Shekharji asked me...

"Aap kahan naashta kijiyega..." (Where will you have breakfast?)

I explained that I would eat at one of the road side dhabas in UP whose utensils were so new that you could spot them from a distance.

He replied, "Nahin, nahin, aap naashta humare saath lenge..."(No, no..you will have breakfast with me..)

But then it would be sometime for breakfast so he called his men...and asked them to show me around in Balia.,,,,

"Inhein jara aap Shaheed Smarak dikhayenge..jab tak main snan karta hoon...(Kindly take him to the Martyrs Memorial till I get ready...)

And off we were...a carcade of white ambassador cars...not knowing where....

Balia is a backwater...perhaps nothing happens in these parts even though Mangal Pandey...the sepoy who mutinied against the British was from the region.

And suddenly we enter an area which was like paradise...dahlia's and landscaped gardens all around...a river even....

It was unbelievable.

In fact, this was what we call chaur or low-lying area (which is generally water-logged and good for paddy.)

On my return, I did have my breakfast with Chandra Shekharji.

Over Puri & Sabzee he explained how as a Member of Parliament he could do every little for Balia so this was his gift to Balia and to the martyrs who won India her freedom.

He told me how he has earmarked land to be given to different research organisations in the country, from seeds to forests..from computers to fertilizers....and they would all work from here and offer India a better future.

"Because I have been India's Prime Minister it is possible for me to call up Vajpayeeji and get work done..."

All this was so unexpected from a politician I did not care about that I finally asked him who actually accomplished his vision and he replied, "Charles Correa from Bambai..."

0 Mile

By Manuwant Choudhary

0 Mile: If I were Anna Hazare fighting for farmers, I would fast right here...a stones throw away is the shut Hindustan Fertiliser Corporation...I would demand either the Indian government re-open this or return the land to the farmers from whom it was acquired.

The HFC is a ghost town.

While farmers have to buy Urea in the black market.

I watched NH 10 and it sure  is a violent film.

I could watch it again with Anushka Sharma.

Gurgaons night life, the shiny sky-rises...and then the wilderness beyond - caste - honour killings.

From the film I did get it that the Toyata Fortuner is  good ...and the Mahindra Scorpio is a goon !

But 0 Mile is worse.


Its a story of how socialism has destroyed India completely.

I drove around this ghost town...and cried.

Modi Sarkar is just as greedy as the Congress.

If I were Anna I would not make common cause with the Congress land bill...70 per cent consent or whatever is bullshit..rather I would talk about restoration of first principles - the right to private property.

The Indian government has acquired enough land in the past 66 years (the Indian railways is India's biggest landlord)....and they still want more...this time to give it to the private sector.

Even Gurcharan Das should stop calling himself a liberal as he writes "Even a farmers son needs jobs."

I would say, "Even a tycoon eats food".


The debate should never have been between jobs and farmers interests...rather on the basic right to private property.

It is ironical that its the Anna's and the leftists who often fight for private property...while the liberals put up a front for corporates.

This is what happened with Enron....

The Medha Patkars stole the show while liberals in India have remained absent.

Not just the HFC...in Bihar there are 55 public sector companies..who have thousands of acres of land under them...totally abandoned.

Their net asset value is 0.

Miss Roy

By Manuwant Choudhary

I am not sure why I went to see this new Hindi film Roy but I did quite enjoy it and came out falling in love with the Sri Lankan actress Jacqueline Fernandes.

She does have an uncanny resemblance to Jacqueline Kennedy.

But Bollywood directors take things just too far...I don't think she is suited to be a ballerina...even if it is for a few minutes on lovely seaside locale.

The film was modern and international and reflects the times we live in.

Even thieves are no longer the chain snatchers at railway stations.

My mom says a minister in the Narendra Modi cabinet snatched her gold chain many years ago.

But this film does make you ponder....especially when throughout the film Ranbir Kapoor keeps repeating "Main chor hoon !"

The film has some nice songs but still may not do well at the box office...its too classy even for the chor's (thieves).

Coming back to Jacqueline....she looked amazing with the horses and the way she did yoga and the reading glasses and playing hard to get....retaining a bit of her soul in this mad bad world.

Studying in the UK I got a call from an old friend in London and he asked me how things were in India.

The journalist in me would not stop as I went on to talk about the corruption in India....20 minutes of JVG, Sahara etc...and how they were looting the ordinary egg-seller.

At the end of it I asked him what he did.

And there was a pause...and his reply, "Thats exactly what I do..."

He worked for an American finance company.

Of course, todays papers have this story about Subrata Roy and that he is in prison for a year now because India' s Supreme Court wants him to pay a bail amount of Rs.10,000 crore and he has been unable to sell his properties abroad.

At airport bookstores I have seen his autobiography staring at me but I have not bought one.

Nor have I worked for him.

In fact, it has always amused me as to who this man is and the Sahara pranams I would see his employees do at airports with bouquets in hand looked so fake...almost Hitlerish..that I never cared about him, until now.

Until I find his freedom taken away from him by India's Supreme Court.

And now even Amar Singh and Amitabh Bachchan don't say a word in his support.

Nor does Mulayam Singh.

Not Team India who wore his Sahara uniforms for decades.

Not the politcians he favoured.

Roy's bail is his right....as long as he does not escape the law.

And the Supreme Court demanding 10,000 crores for bail violates the principles of justice `Equality Before Law..."

Some years ago..a friend from abroad inquired about Roy and that he planned to set up a dairy and some hotels there....she owned a logistic company.....

My advice to her, "Don't let him transport his cows in your truck...he will take your trucks alongwith the cows !"

Jokes apart....I think Subrata Roys prison term violates the principles of justice.....and I hope justice prevails....because you may be next.

My ex-boss is also a Roy - but the bearded one....

A Cat & Mouse Game In Bihar

By Manuwant Choudhary

Manjhi has rattled Nitish Kumar...and never before has Nitish been available for TV interviews so easily as now.

And why even Manjhi gets a fair share of airtime because of his utterances.

Like he called uppercastes `foreigners' and later called upon migrant workers not to leave their wives behind as they would have sex with other men !

But on TV what shines are not his words but his teeth.

I wonder what toothpaste he uses or datun (neem twig) perhaps.

Though toothpaste companies are not lining up at 1 Anne Marg just yet.

For all you know...it may be because of his diet...Rats !

There is a cat & mouse game going on in Bihar...and Nitish is spending some sleepless nights...

Just yesterday Manjhi confessed at a public meeting that he takes cuts on every bridge pillar that is built in Bihar.

What he implies is that if he takes cuts then so did his predecessor...its common practice...in which case if he is to be jailed then so should Nitish Kumar.

And I do not agree that there is horse-trading in Bihar.

Just rat trading !

And this will go on till the Manjhi government strength is tested on the floor of the house.

The BJP is ecstatic at recent developments and Nitish Kumar looks for words to explain his predicament.

After all how could a man he handpicked to be chief minister turn out to be so wrong....

The BJP says this is normal.

But the BJP forget the Ramayana so easily...when Ram was to go on his 14 year vanvasa (exile)...he asked his brother Bharat to ascend the throne.

But Bharat refused..instead asked for Ram's khadaun (wooden slippers) which he placed on the throne and looked after the kingdom until Ram's exile ended.

Essentially, this is how Manjhi should have behaved.

But this is Kalyug and Manjhi is no Bharat.....he is rather Bhasmasura...the demon blessed by Shiva that he could destroy anyone on whom he placed his hand...

Bhasmasura decided his first test would be Shiva...

A Near PK Experience !

By Manuwant Choudhary

My car got amazingly stuck at this railway crossing at NH 103 on the Hajipur-Jandaha Road in north Bihar.

The powerbrakes just froze.

I could not move an inch.

I really did  not know what to do...

And my car does not even have a photo of Sai Baba or Ganesha or Hanuman...or the dangling Koran from the rear-view mirror.

No help !

No pics of any Baba's either !! (Many are in jail...and Sanju Baba is not a Baba)

I looked for signs of any oncoming train....luckily there were none.

But one never knew...

It had to  be a quick decision.

I tried the accelerator but it just made a loud hum and the car would not move.

How I missed my amby....where you wrote `Powerbrakes' behind on the boot but in fact there would be no brakes.

But no time for all that....

A train could come any minute and already a few cars were honking behind...

Then there were instant flashes of news headlines were tractors are hit by oncoming trains.....

But a thought did come... `Wait...this car does not move forward, let me see if it can move backwards at least...."

A reverse gear and Eureka !

My car moved.

I have never been so happy at anything moving backwards as now.

In fact, in the state I live in everything moves backwards....even caste politics.

Like Bihar was one of the best administered states at India's independence, today its at the bottom.

Quickly, I reversed and let others pass...and then I just drove in the reverse for a while...

Children at the roadside looked amused.....the elderly smiled.

They were all wondering this driver is crazy or just PK !

I smiled back.

I do not know why but I must have driven backwards for a few kms and then I stopped.

I stopped in front of  a house...there were a few bamboo poles in front..in preparation for something.

But I did not know why I stopped there and not anywhere else.

I did not get out of my car but just sat there....a void had set in.

My cellphone battery also had run out.

Then a man wearing a white dhoti and a white shawl stood next to my car and with folded hands he asked me if he could be of any help.

I asked him if I could get my cellphone re-charged anywhere?

He took me to his home...but could not promise if there was any electricity.

As I recharged my phone....the electricity went out again....but I managed to call Hyundai for help...

But during my wait for help..I noticed someone had passed away in the family.

An 86-year-old man sat on a chair assisted by another man...personally wrote down names of invitees on a thousand cards....for the bhoj (feast).

His wife had passed away due to the cold wave..She was 85 !

Jawahar Singh was a retired school teacher himself and he explained how it is important not to miss anybody for this feast...all castes...all the people in 5 villages.

"It is tough to remember all...but we try..because even if one person is left out he will feel bad....but more difficult is the distribution of the cards...."

A young family member was called, "Please ensure that you begin distributing the card in one village first..and finish it completely...not leaving anyone out...do not criss-cross the villages..."

Just then a wholesome meal was brought for me..despite my protests.

Rice, dal, aloo-gobi sabzee, chapatis and salad....

I wondered why they took such good care of me.

I was a complete stranger.

And wait this is `Kalyug', isn't it?

So I asked my host why he was good to me and this is what he replied, "Kalyug and Satyug are both on this planet....when you meet a good person and he treats you well it is Satyug...what if you met someone who robbed your car...then it is Kalyug."

On the road they met both.

Like once even a car thief met with an accident !

So generally I enquired if they were happy living on a busy highway.

I remember this road only some years ago was just a village road...and in many places there was nothing...

Then I also saw women repair the road under MNREGA...literally, no machines were used...stones were hammered in by hand..it must be the worlds second hand-made road..this first being in Gaya by the `Mountain Man', who built a road by cutting through a mountain alone.

But my hosts were not happy.

"It is bad for us..now they plan to build a four-lane highway here...They will destroy our homes..."

The Modi's & Jaitleys and Nitish & Manjhi's....will never understand their pain...

I only wish Anushka Sharma gave me some AIRTIME to explain......maybe the NATION does want to know !

http://blogs.tribune.com.pk/story/9573/rutties-love-letter-to-jinnah/

http://blogs.tribune.com.pk/story/9573/rutties-love-letter-to-jinnah/

This last letter from Ratanbai `Ruttie' Petit Jinnah to M.A. Jinnah is beautiful but it reflects the turmoil of the times, even personal. Ruttie must be a beautiful individual.

To Pakistan Without A Visa 4

If I were Narayanmurthy with 1.1 billion dollars for philanthropy I would invite Pakistani singer Misha Shafi to perform at the Taj Mahal Hotels poolside in memory of those killed on 26/11.....the terrorists from Pakistan did not know that they were desecrating a most sacred place...its at the Taj Mahal Hotel that Rattanbai `Ruttie' Petit Jinnah lived and died in her last years...she was the wife of Pakistani's Qiad-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah...