Piloo Mody - The Mody Who Should Have Been India's Prime Minister !

Rang De Basanti - Roobaroo - The Last Song

Kindness In The Air

By Manuwant Choudhary

I am not really a frequent flier but whenever I do have to travel,  I do not find it easy.

Right from planning to booking  tickets and the most difficult - packing.

And then the travel agent asking, "Sir, would you like a Corporate ticket? Rs.500 extra you will get a complimentary meal."

I say politely, "No Corporate please. I am a farmer."

But wait, "Why should only Corporates get a meal?"

Farmers after all don't they grow all that food?

And then of course reporting two hours in advance to a long queue at an Airport called Jaiprakash Narayan Antarashtriya (International) Hawai Adda (where no international planes land or take off).

The runway is so short that when even domestic planes land they have to come to a s screeching halt or they might crash into the cows of Patna Veternary College !

Its named after Jaiprakash Narayan, the veteran socialist, who fought the emergency and dethroned Indira Gandhi through a slogan `Sampoorna Kranti.'

No Indian has fully understood the meaning of his slogan yet, so this airport is completely designed to make you get a feel of what he may have meant.

From the toilets to the security checks to the glass waiting areas its so crowded that sometimes you will not have standing space and the expensive samosas sold at the Fair Price Shop is avoidable.

But if you just ponder a while..you will get the sense of the what JP really meant by Sampoorna Kranti (Total Revolution)

On board a private airline Spicejet the scene dramatically changes...pretty airhostesses in red welcome you on board...sometimes not too attentively but thats ok...it must be tough smiling all the time.

So I take a seat, relieved to be finally there.

Even as other passengers get thinking as to what they want from the airhostess and the bells start lighting up across the aisle, I never ask for anything.

I never have.

But like others I was thirsty.

Just then a pretty airhostess walked right up to the front and picked up a glass of water.

It looked as though some passenger had asked for it at the rear or she wanted a drink for herself. Since the flight was yet to take off.

But suddenly she stopped and offered the water to me.

I wasn't too sure whether I should accept it or not.

What followed was a two minute uneasy silence...with everybody looking....and then I finally gave in....and took the water.

I said Thank You.

She smiled.

On my return flight the check in staff of Jet Airways...looked at me as though I had booked a wrong flight.

She asked, "Are you sure you are flying economy."

Me: "Yes, I think thats what the ticket says."

She, "Can you wait for 30 minutes. Give me your number I will call you. The flight is so full today."

I was not sure why I was being offloaded.

But then she finally gave me my boarding pass.

Its when I got on to the plane I realised she had given me the best seat in economy..more leg room and I could see and smell the freshness of the Business Class !

With so much kindness all around I felt I looked like Ranbir Kapoor.

But I may be wrong because a friend told me they were kind only because of my greying hair...

If There Is God, He Lives In Bombay

By Manuwant Choudhary

If there is a God he lives on a two acre plot in Sewri, Bombay, at this school for special children run by the Jai Vakeel Foundation.

A few years before India's independence in 1947 a girl Dina was born to Mr & Mrs Hormusjee Vakeel but unfortunately she was afflicted with the Downs Syndrome, a genetic disorder caused when abnormal cell division results in an extra full or partial copy of chromosome 21 leading to learning disabilities.

Mr & Mrs Hormusjee's dream was to provide a learning space to their child Dina where she could grow and be happy but they could not find a single such facility in India, so they were compelled to convert their own home into a school for special children.

First there were only a dozen students but as the numbers grew the Hormusjee's bought a two acre plot of land in Sewri and started the school as it is today.

Now 700 children come here daily in buses from across Bombay. Besides this the Foundation runs two smaller facilities in Pune and Nashik to cater to children from other regions, especially rural India.

Admissions are given only to students having an IQ of 70 or less as certified by the government besides the school conducts its own IQ tests before admissions.


But to see all 700 students on the school ground preparing for the annual sports day was inspiring.

Simply because each child is unique here, requiring a very detailed attention and medical care and counselling, for me its hard to even imagine them marching to the drums in unision with so much enthusiasm.

And there are the cups waiting to be won - the Celebrations !

But its in the classrooms and cubicles that special individual attention is given by trained counsellors to help each child. And initially this can be slow, really slow.

But through music or something the child likes doing communication is established and over months little by little the child gains confidence and joins the learning process.

I spoke to a counsellor as to how she manages this and she replied, "Patience and lots of patience is the only way. There are no time frames, some improve fast, others could take six months even but eventually they do."

The Foundation also organises vocational courses so that they can be usefully employed. Recently, they have even introduced a course for data operator, I was told.

Those who do not find employment in the market are provided employment on campus here - from incense making, to candles to decorative items.

Like two girls show me how to make a paper rose within a minute, even I cannot make one !

And there are the looms - they weave some very fine cotton here. You can support the children by purchasing these items from their website jaivakeel.org or make donations.

A tall Muslim father stood beaming at us just near a door, "Today is the first time my son has been able to stand up on his own feet...and he seems to like this door very much !"

The child looked at us confidently ready to take on the world.

Most teachers say they too learn something new from the children everyday.

For the rest of us I would say if you spend even an hour here you will be cured of your ego.

As for me - mine just crashed - I had this one big ego that no one could love Ms. A as much as I did but here all 700 children love her as much and more...

And yet she loves me just a little bit, like she did when we first met at college.

For this I am grateful, eternally.

The Manhole Activist

By Manuwant Choudhary

Outside a tiny roadside restaurant in Patna I found a man argue with three workers who were fixing a manhole...he told them with some confidence, "Either you fix it right or I will file an FIR with the police saying you have swindled govt. money you took to do the job."

The man was the restaurant owner and the problem was that the workers had laid some telephone cables underground but they failed to fix the manhole properly at the level of the road.

The workers realised that the man was serious.

As I finished my lunch and came out I saw the workers had left, the manhole had been fixed properly except some rubble remained.

And the man who forced the workers to do their job stood alone.

I congratulated him for his activism and told him if every Indian was so vigilant then India would be a developed country.

He said his name was Rajesh Gupta and this was the only business he owned.

He then told, "Yeh kya hai..main do do Superintendant of police aur do judge par bhee case kiya hua hoon." (Oh this is nothing I have filed two cases on two SPs and two judges !)

This is his story.

"My father ran this restaurant for 30 years but now I run it..I have it registered after paying stamp paper but the government claims the land is theirs..they want me to leave and since I didnt...the police arrested me, took me to a judge's kothi at midnight and sent me to prison the next morning."

"When I was produced before the same judge I asked him if the police had ever produced anyone with a dacoity charge or kidnapping or murder at that hour at his home...and that he must check the records as he had no such cases against him."

The judge granted him bail.

Mr. Gupta continued, "I am an RTI activist too. Like did you know the govt. allocation for the small park here. Its 22 crores ! I have asked them what they are going to build?

I do not own an apartment, I live in an old house and this is my only business but do you know just to live like this I have filed 22 cases in the Patna High Court.

"I have filed cases for parks to everything....even Bangladeshi ghuspaithee ! Hindus suffer a lot in this country so I fight more than any political party."

He then asked me, "Do you see anything there?"

I said, "Yes, a sign May I Help You. Its a police chowki..."

"Have you seen any policeman ever sit there?

I replied, "No, never."

He said, "But they paint the May I Help You sign every month...do you know why?

Me: No.

Him, "The story begins when you look up....See that hoarding...that sells for Rs.5 lakh !...so their aim is not to May I Help You...but to collect money from across the city...crores....sab loot-paat hai.."

Painting Patna for Rs.1000 only !

By Manuwant Choudhary

Driving around Patna suddenly I notice the city looking brighter and more beautiful and its then I see why - young artists paint the sarkari walls with their fine Mithila art.

Some 200 artists, including women artists from Madhubani villages, are busy eight hours a day to paint the entire city  walls and they are each paid just Rs.1000 per day, something a painter would get, not an artist.

The alumni from College of Arts in Patna struck upon this idea and made their proposal to the government, a tender was floated, they bagged it..and hundreds of young artists let loose their artistic fantasy across the city.

For the government they can manage the funds from their Smart City project idea.

But Patna is far, very far from being smart.

While the walls have been covered by culture and religious art, passersby often spit on the walls even while the artists are at work.

Anisha Angad has just finished her course and has applied to Shantiniketan for further studies but until then she is enjoying this art experience, although she is a scultor by training.

"It hurts us when we see people spitting. We hope and pray that through our hard work we can help change peoples mindset on hygiene and keeping the city clean."

Art would be the last thing on the minds of youth in Bihar for whom a paying job matters most so I was surprised how so many youth are taking to art.

Said Anisha, "My mother is an artist. She now lives in Lakhisarai but she is originally from Jamshedpur so I was inspired by her. Of course job prospects are negligible."

Whats most amazing is that the artists enjoy doing this - with earplugs for some music. What fun !

Nana - A Giant ! (June 17 1933-December 23 2018)

By Manuwant Choudhary (Photos Courtesy Midday)

Just last week in Bombay I walked up to Nana Chudasama's office on Marine Drive and asked a guard about his health.

The guard replied, "Saheb wheelchair pe aa gaye the tab bhee office aate the...lekin ab nahin aa sakte.." (Even on a wheelchair Saheb would come to office but now he can't make it...)"

Nana's daughter Shaina N C is the BJP spokesperson but the guard informed she only comes sometimes.."Zyada to wo yoga kartee hain..."  (She mostly does yoga !)

I posted his last banner on facebook on Modi's assault on the Reserve Bank of India - he was the predecessor to twitter, his witty one-liners would make it to the front pages of newspapers.

I thought of him so spoke to a friend that I would like to visit Nana the next time I am in Bombay, but that was not be as people driving on Marine Drive saw this banner.

Narendra Sinhji Mansinhji Chudasama was the son of Bombay's second police commissioner. He was from Rajkot in Gujarat.

After graduation he joined an American oil company but later as a public man he was the Sheriff of Bombay.

His well known organisations included I Love Mumbai, his anti-spitting campaigns in the city he loved won him the hearts of millions.



But few would remember that his leadership potential was first recognised by Swatantra Party and they even gave him a ticket. He lost the elections but he became extremely popular with the people of Bombay and remained in public life long after the party ceased to exist.

In fact his banners reflect his liberal spirit and that of the original party he joined - Swatantra.

As a student in Bombay after graduation I was in need of a place to stay...the only one available was a Patel hostel but I was not a Patel so obviously I could not get in. A friend suggested I meet Nana, he was a trustee.

I wasn't sure but gathered some wit to approach him in his office. I introduced myself and that I was from Bihar and I needed  a hostel. Without a word he pulled out his letter head and in a neat handwriting gave me a recommendation.

Although I never stayed at the Patel Hostel but I still value his  act of kindness - he was a Bombay man till the end.

Also as a member of the Association of Youth for a Better India (AYBI) all our weekly meetings were held at Giants International...so my training as a liberal activist would be incomplete without him.

As a member of Lions and Rotary Clubs he realised even an Indian Club could become International and do valuable work. So he founded Giants International which now has 500 Clubs in India and abroad.

A journalist colleague asked me what Nana would have thought of his daughter joining the BJP.

Of course, I cannot answer that...but to me he would be happy that at least she is in public life, although she looks quite uncomfortable answering for the sins of her party.

Nana married a Bohra Muslim Munira in 1969 - secretly.

A prayer meeting for Padma Shri Nana Chudasama will be held at the Nehru Centre Auditorium, Worli, on Wednesday December 26, 2018, from 5 pm to 7 pm.

He was cremated at Banganga yesterday.

Nana is survived by his wife Munira Chudasama, Daughter: Brinda/Alfaz Miller. Son Akshay Cudasama. Daughter-in-law Aparna Chudasama. Daughter Shaina NC/Manish Munot. Grandchildren: Aahana, Aashti, Wyoma, Shananya, Ayaan,

And the people of Bombay.