My Beautiful Aunt Vidya Rani Rai

By Manuwant Choudhary

My aunt Vidya Rani Rai passed away recently and she was more beautiful than Vidya Balan and Rani Mukherjee and Aishwarya Rai.

She belonged to another time when beauty was real.

So its no coincidence that she died just  a day after Suchitra Sen.

It was like God taking away all the beautiful women within a week.

Of course, she had battled all through her life..even heart attacks...several times in Patna..once in England and then she recovered fully from an angioplasty at the Bombay Hospital recently, came home...ate all the worlds food Italian, Mexican and the humble chaat..and then her kidneys failed.

Daughter of eminent physician Dr. Sheetal Prasad Sinha...Vidya Rani's life is better than what we see in the movies.

She married for love very early in life and she had not even completed her education.

My mausa (uncle) Janardan Rai wanted to be a film-star and he looked a bit like Dharmendra and he even went to Bombay once but later he returned to Patna and instead became a writer, writing plays for the All India Radio all his life.

My aunt had to make ends meet in a small town and so she joined Life Insurance Corporation as an agent and completed her higher education through distance learning and soon she was training LIC employees who were more educated than her.

Every morning over tea my mausa would read aloud the newspaper headlines telling mausi that if she did not read the papers people in the office would make fun of her.

He would call her Guriya (Doll), always ..till the very last.

They were so much in love.

Even when we were very small we would see her dress up and drive a blue ambassador to work.

She must be perhaps the first woman in Patna to drive!

And my father loved the idea that she drove around in an ambassador because every two years her company would give her a new set of tyres and father would just pick up her pre-owned tyres for his own car.

At the Income Tax Roundabout my father would invariably turn right towards Srikrishna Nagar...her home..for us too it was home...always welcome.

In those days too when there wasn't too much money around...my mausi would be the first to buy a refrigerator - a very large one !

And my mausa would take his ambassador to buy fresh vegetables brought by boat from Hajipur across the Ganga (there was no Ganga bridge then)

My father and mausa got along well since both loved dogs and both loved to eat large quantities of vegetables.

Mausa liked his curd too.

They would both laugh loudly and share stories.

My father once told him  a true story about his elder brother's wedding...it was a Zamindari story.

My father's brother's would be wife was from Rupauli Estate (a Zamindar) and it is said that when she went to school she would be carried on a chair by four servants and in the class she would be the only person sitting on a chair, the rest would sit on the floor.

So before the wedding a tailor arrived from Rupauli Estate and took measurements of all the children in the house and and said that they would each be given  a Zari Ka Coat (Gold embroidred coat).

My father and other children were so excited and happily went for the wedding.

But they never got the coat !

My mausa wrote a play called "Zari Ka Coat"...broadcast on All India Radio.

There was no internet then but the play got a huge feedback mainly from zamindaar families who all said they too had been similarly promised Zari Ka Coat !

My mausa passed away a few years ago and mausi told us he could not recognise people anymore...but whenever I entered  his room...he would recognise me instantly and ask me if my mom had come too.

My mother had a special bond with mausi....she was like her guardian and even when my mom studied at St. Joseph's Convent she would come to see her in school.

Said my mom, "The girls would get to know that my sister would be coming so they would all line up outside to catch a glimpse of `true Indian beauty'."

My mausi personified grace and elegance and was very modern.

Someone had gifted her an expensive cellphone and even a few weeks before she passed away she was trying to figure out all its features...at 82 she loved Whats App and Facebook !

She loved her family...two sons Dr. Sishir Kumar in Bombay and Alok Bhaiya in Calcutta and three daughters Munna Didi in Bhagalpur, Poonam Didi in Patna and Nidhi Didi in the UK. And her lovely grandchildren.

Just a few weeks ago we met her and she prepared a perfect lunch for us.

She talked so lovingly but I guess she knew.

There was this large ditch in her lane for several years and judges and journalists had failed to get it repaired but she never gave up..she kept calling up the municipal commissioners.....

And five days before she died at Bombay Hospital, the Patna municipality fixed the ditch !

Did Margaret Thatcher Advise Indira Gandhi On Operation Bluestar

By Manuwant Choudhary

Top secret papers reveal India had sought British advise months before it carried out Operation Bluestar to flush out Sikh militiants holed up in the Golden Temple at Amritsar.

This lead to thousands of deaths of even innocent Sikh pilgrims.

Bhindranwale was also killed.

But the operation until now thought to be the brainwork of  General Sundarjee....throws up fresh questions.

Questions of Indian sovereignity as well.

The Indian government also needs to answer why it sought advice on such a sensitive matter from a foreign government.

After a go ahead by 10 Downing Street SAS officers were sent to India to advise the Indian government.

British Prime Minister David Cameron has already ordered an inquiry but India's government too needs to fill in the details that ultimately led to the assassination of Mrs. Gandhi herself.

Most operations in post-independent India still remain Top Secret.

What Human Rights?

If Dr. Manmohan Singh has no problems meeting Prachanda or Pushpa Kamal Dahal of Nepal's Unified Commuinist Party of Nepal (Maoist) whose guerilla war in the Himalyan democracy led to the killings of 17000 people then its sheer hipocricy when he stays away from the Commonwealth Heads Of State Meeting to be held at Sri Lanka on the pretext of human rights violations by the Rajapaksha government. And this won't even get him Tamil votes.

The Car Pandit & The Hanuman Insurance !

By Manuwant Choudhary

Dhanteras is a day car manufacturers are happiest as even in smaller cities selling 2000 cars is easy.

People believe buying something on Dhanteras multiplies the wealth 13 times so the bazaars are full.

This is true to an extent as the shopkeepers wealth does increase as black money flows into the market.

The stock markets hits record highs !

Car dealers especially work overtime and are their smiling best…but after the formalities are over – insurance, warranties and extra warranties done..making it to the Hanuman temple is the biggest challenge.

The temple precincts are overcrowded with brand new cars…glistening in the sun…the paint still smelling fresh…(the cars Ranbir Kapoor steals in film Besharam)

At Patna’s Hanuman Mandir they charge 250 rupees and only then a car pandit will emerge and after making a swastika he will take the drivers seat and apply tikas on the dashboard and put marigold maalas onto the rear view mirror before asking for his fees…but he is busier than the Bihar chief minister…you can't waste his time…as car owners haggle him with `Panditji mera kar dijiye…(Can you do mine fast?)

Hanuman temples are generally encroachments of public land and some say Hanuman is perhaps the biggest land encroacher in the country.

The Patna Hanuman Mandir is located near the Patna Railway station and the original temple you will find literally buried on the rear side, while a massive structure has come up above it and onto the road ahead.

I wonder why Hanuman is such a law violator.

I am not sure if Hanuman ever imagined he would become India’s biggest car insurer.

So I dug up a few facts about the `Monkey God’.

According to one story Hanuman was not half monkey at all..its just that his clan had a `Monkey’ emblem !

And his face looks monkey-like since he stopped Rahu who was trying to eat the sun for the solar eclipse and Rahu complained to Indra, and Indra struck a thunderbolt at Hanuman which struck his jaws and disfigured it forever.

Hanuman’s father Vayu (The Wind God) was so angry that he withdrew all air and everyone started dying..so the Gods in order to appease Vayu blessed Hanuman with amazing powers. The Wikipedia lists all the powers Hanuman received.

Brahma gave Hanuman a boon that would protect him from the irrevocable Brahma's curse. Brahma also said: "Nobody will be able to kill you with any weapon in war." From Brahma he obtained the power of inducing fear in enemies, of destroying fear in friends, to be able to change his form at will and to be able to easily travel wherever he wished.

From Shiva he obtained the boons of longevity, scriptural wisdom and ability to cross the ocean. Shiva assured safety of Hanuman with a band that would protect him for life. Indra blessed him that the Vajra weapon will no longer be effective on him and his body would become stronger than Vajra.

Varuna blessed baby Hanuman with a boon that he would always be protected from water.

 Agni blessed him with immunity to burning by fire.

 Surya gave him two siddhis of yoga namely "laghima" and "garima", to be able to attain the smallest or to attain the biggest form. Yama, the God of Death blessed him healthy life and free from his weapon danda, thus death would not come to him. Kubera showered his blessings declaring that Hanuman would always remain happy and contented. Vishwakarma blessed him that Hanuman would be protected from all his creations in the form of objects or weapons. Vayu also blessed him with more speed than he himself had. Kamadeva also blessed him that the sex will not be effective on him.So his name is also Bal Brahmachari.

But Hanuman continued being mischievous so the Gods gave him a mild curse that he would only remember his powers until he was reminded of it by someone else.

That is why when Sita is to be rescued from the clutches of Ravan, it is Jambavantha who reminds Hanuman of his powers and Hanuman agrees to help Ram.

And to overcome fear people recite the Hanuman chalisa.

Narendra Modi’s BJP has an ultra wing called the Bajrang Dal but they are violent and ugly and give a bad name to Hanuman who is also called Bajrang Bali ...

Just like Nitish Kumar calling Narendra Modi – Hitler !

But at Patna’s Bailey Road there is also a Hitler Hanuman !!

Onions For Vogue !

Charlatans Of Gandhi Maidan

By Manuwant Choudhary

A walk on Gandhi Maidan is not as great as London’s Hyde Park but in a place like Patna for many it’s the only place for recreation.

Besides, its historic..from Mahatma Gandhi to Jaiprakash Narayan to the great stalwarts in the freedom struggle have spoken to India from this very place.

For our post-independent politicians holding a rally here is a high point in their careers !

And some who did so are in prison now !

From the gareeb (Poor)  rally, to the lathi (Stick)  rally..to Vikas (Development) to Parivartan…its all in a name.

Like this time the BJPs PM candidate Narendra Modi is to hold a rally here…its called Hunkar…which basically is a sanskritised word for a `war cry’.

So I took a walk around Gandhi Maidan to reflect on the two Gujaratis.

I wondered what Mahatma Gandhi would have thought of Narendra Modi?

A man under whose rule thousands were killed in Gujarat and who sees winning elections as confirmation of his innocence or people’s forgiveness or even affirmation of his `Iron’ rule.

Or that people don’t mind being killed as long as there is high growth!

In fact Narendra Modi proudly claims to belong to the RSS, the RSS openly supports this man and it is an RSS man Nathuram Godse who killed Gandhi.

Of course, Narendrabhai will come here and talk about Gandhiji and the links Bihar has had with Gujarat.

And he will promise the moon.

Modi the Supermodi!

But Gandhi Maidan even on an ordinary day is full of charlatans.

Like I saw this man holding mushrooms and claiming to cure all the worlds diseases from cancer to you name it.

He knows the names of all the top doctors and narrates how they all failed and told him to go to Bombay.

But can a poor man afford a ticket to Bombay?

So he found a way to cure himself.

His captive audience were two persons who listened to him in rapt attention.

So far the only thing Narendra Modi has said is “Pehle Shauchalaya, Phir Devalaya.” (First Toilets, Then Temples.)

And at Gandhi maidan he has kept this promise at least 250 toilets being constructed for 5 lakh people !

But I write this not just because Narendra Modi is shit.

I don’t like the way India is being ruled since independence.

Democracy itself is losing its meaning.

There is far too much symbolism and the slogans just jam the airwaves.

Modi does not talk about Liberty or Property or about None Of The Above (NOTA), Modi is also not just about toilets, he is about the temple, he is about making voting mandatory, he wants criminals to be allowed to contest elections (on the criminal ordinance he was on the side of the Prime Minister), he is for compulsory singing of the national anthem at cinema houses….he wears patriotism on his half-sleeve.

A majoritarian democracy is no democracy.

A Hindu India is no different from a Muslim Pakistan.

India should just be India..where the minorities and majorities live together in peace.

But I guess every politician has their own idea of India and Gandhi.

Like even the Gandhi statues here tell a story…the one by Laloo is bare-bodied with ribs showing, a Gandhi stooping with a stick….in  a loin cloth.

The Gandhi statue built under Nitish Kumar’s `Sushashan’ (Good governance) is a `prosperous’ Gandhi…a richer Gandhi…covered in a  fine shawl, looking healthy and with two smiling girls holding books on either side!

                                                                           Photos: Manuwant Choudhary

Just then I see this girl sitting at the bottom…she did not look like the girls in the Gandhi statue…or the girls who get their MID day meals at school..,or the girls who could even get Nitish Kumar’s bicycle.

She just had this look on her face as if she doesn’t think about her future because she is just too scared of the present.

And she definitely won’t be on the giant LEDs at Hunkar Rally….

How The Economic Machine Works By Ray Dalio