As is my everyday ritual during lunch time, I logged on to the Times Of India Web Portal to read the eNewsPaper of the Mumbai edition when I spotted the breaking news.
I got home early as the office closed for the Thanksgiving weekend at around 3:00 pm. Since then my home resembles a "Situation room"! The TV is tuned to BBC which provides a live link to a Indian TV channel- the subtitles are in Marathi! Three laptops are pulling live video feeds from different Indian News Channel. The phone is ringing all the time as friends call to share their anguish.
I was at the Maha Ganapathi temple in Flushing NY today morning where I joined in a prayer meeting. The Mayor of NY, Michael Bloomberg attended and camera crews from TV stations were interviewing members from the audience for their comments on the Mumbai situation. priests from the temple recited mantras for peace and well being of all.
One of the mantras :
Peace Invocation
Om taccham yoravrini mahe
ghatun yajnaya
ghatun yajnapataye
daivi svastirastu naha
svastir manushebhyaha
urdhvam jigatu bheshajam
sham no astu dvipade
sham chatushpade
Om shantih shantih shantihi
We worship and pray to the Supreme Lord for the welfare of all beings. May all miseries and shortcomings leave us forever so that we may always sing for the Lord during the holy fire ceremonies. May all medicinal herbs grow in potency so that all diseases may be cured. May the gods rain peace on us. May all the two-legged creatures be happy, and may all the four-legged creatures also be happy. May there be peace in the hearts of all beings in all realms.
I was touched by the simple ceremony and my thoughts and prayers went out to the unfortunate people who were suffering in my home city.
As always Mumbai gets to face up to a new form of terrorist action. We do not need the variety - our government's response for every and any type of repeat attack has been the same. The politicians will make their speeches, the Cops will blame it on "cross border"involvement, The PM will visit some victims in the hospitals, Rs.50,000 will be awarded to a family that has lost a loved one, the blood stains will be cleaned and the city will perforce limp back to normalcy while the media praises the citizens for their unity and bravery in the face of such an onslaught.
This time no one is amused. The Indian Government needs to learn how to protect its citizens. Nothing else matters! India cannot be a great country if its people's lives are in grave danger perpetually .
The Indian people are miserable, defenceless and hopeless.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Real Chance for Love
This is the title of a local TV program. And I chanced upon it during a surfing expedition with the TV remote..
I discovered that Real and Chance (R&C) are the names of two African - American brothers. They seem to be Rap Artists and sport a variety of headgears and chains round their neck. Real is stocky and mean looking. Chance has a lean look and reminds me a lot of my erstwhile driver Mahesh in Mumbai. Some 15 girls, of different shapes and sizes are vying for the attention of the two brothers. They dress sparingly and are seen smooching and cuddling them all the time. The girls are split between the two brothers and during each episode, the brothers are shown cavorting with the babes in bath-tubs or dining at swanky restaurants .and exchanging notes with each other on which one is hot and which one is not. The girls are shown at loggerheads with each other and freely exchange expletives. So their verbal interactions are censored with the usual beep-beep.
R&C are wealthy fellows and have a huge farm house- pigs, horses, donkeys, geese, et al. One episode was about how the brothers take the girls to the farm-house to test who among them has the capability to work and live in the farm. Some girls have to catch the swine and clean it. Others had to wash the horses and donkeys. Yet others were running after the geese and hens … And the brothers were watching from behind the barn door. At the end of each episode one girl is eliminated-the brothers give away chains to the ones selected. “Babe, come and get your chain!”
What a bedlam it would cause if they aired this on the Mumbai TV channels!
I have an original theory that the worst looking guys have all the talent and wealth and get the best looking girls …
Have a look: http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=fVpyUKdEMP8
I discovered that Real and Chance (R&C) are the names of two African - American brothers. They seem to be Rap Artists and sport a variety of headgears and chains round their neck. Real is stocky and mean looking. Chance has a lean look and reminds me a lot of my erstwhile driver Mahesh in Mumbai. Some 15 girls, of different shapes and sizes are vying for the attention of the two brothers. They dress sparingly and are seen smooching and cuddling them all the time. The girls are split between the two brothers and during each episode, the brothers are shown cavorting with the babes in bath-tubs or dining at swanky restaurants .and exchanging notes with each other on which one is hot and which one is not. The girls are shown at loggerheads with each other and freely exchange expletives. So their verbal interactions are censored with the usual beep-beep.
R&C are wealthy fellows and have a huge farm house- pigs, horses, donkeys, geese, et al. One episode was about how the brothers take the girls to the farm-house to test who among them has the capability to work and live in the farm. Some girls have to catch the swine and clean it. Others had to wash the horses and donkeys. Yet others were running after the geese and hens … And the brothers were watching from behind the barn door. At the end of each episode one girl is eliminated-the brothers give away chains to the ones selected. “Babe, come and get your chain!”
What a bedlam it would cause if they aired this on the Mumbai TV channels!
I have an original theory that the worst looking guys have all the talent and wealth and get the best looking girls …
Have a look: http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=fVpyUKdEMP8
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
A Day at the Soup Kitchen
On Friday, November 14, 2008, I joined my colleagues to work at the Morristown Soup Kitchen. This Kitchen is located on South Street in Morristown, adjacent to the Church of the Redeemer.
The Community Soup Kitchen is more than a place to eat for the poor and needy. An Outreach Center provides services such as a social worker’s services, Mental Health Professionals, Substance abuse counselor, nurse, job counselor and English as a Second Language (ESL) classes
Betty Caldwell who supervises the “operations” has everything under control. Gifted with a booming voice, she has a “commanding” presence. She know the guests, she knows where the milk is, she know where the Styrofoam cups are stocked. Our team helped make the salad, cut pastries, cook the pasta and lay the table in preparation for the “guests” who would arrive in the afternoon.. Soup was provided by Madison Hotel and we did a quick “milk run” to fetch it.
At around 12:00 noon the doors opened and the poor and the homeless “guests” walked in . Some were cheerful and had a friendly smile for us . Some of them seemed to have seen better days and carried themselves with quiet dignity, briefly raising their heads to wish or thank us for what we were doing.. Others walked with their head down, not meeting our gaze, as if embarrassed by their situation. I noticed a young girl wearing a jacket that would have fitted a small child. Later, I saw someone from the staff giving her a gently used coat.
Initially, it was upsetting to see so many poor and helpless people. Existential questions come to the mind: Why is there so much suffering in the world? Why do the Cosmic forces create pain and sorrow and hunger and also create other people who can support and care for the needy and the downtrodden?. There can be no easy answers to these questions. We can only do what is in our power to help alleviate human suffering in any which way we can. I felt privileged to able to do my bit that day at the Soup Kitchen.
The Community Soup Kitchen is more than a place to eat for the poor and needy. An Outreach Center provides services such as a social worker’s services, Mental Health Professionals, Substance abuse counselor, nurse, job counselor and English as a Second Language (ESL) classes
Betty Caldwell who supervises the “operations” has everything under control. Gifted with a booming voice, she has a “commanding” presence. She know the guests, she knows where the milk is, she know where the Styrofoam cups are stocked. Our team helped make the salad, cut pastries, cook the pasta and lay the table in preparation for the “guests” who would arrive in the afternoon.. Soup was provided by Madison Hotel and we did a quick “milk run” to fetch it.
At around 12:00 noon the doors opened and the poor and the homeless “guests” walked in . Some were cheerful and had a friendly smile for us . Some of them seemed to have seen better days and carried themselves with quiet dignity, briefly raising their heads to wish or thank us for what we were doing.. Others walked with their head down, not meeting our gaze, as if embarrassed by their situation. I noticed a young girl wearing a jacket that would have fitted a small child. Later, I saw someone from the staff giving her a gently used coat.
Initially, it was upsetting to see so many poor and helpless people. Existential questions come to the mind: Why is there so much suffering in the world? Why do the Cosmic forces create pain and sorrow and hunger and also create other people who can support and care for the needy and the downtrodden?. There can be no easy answers to these questions. We can only do what is in our power to help alleviate human suffering in any which way we can. I felt privileged to able to do my bit that day at the Soup Kitchen.
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