A Happy New Year! May 2012 Mend Our Hearts! May You Read Many Books in 2012

This blog wishes all its readers, its well wishers, its fans, its critics, its oh-what's-it-all-about skeptics a happy 2012. May it mend our hearts as we grow older and teach us to live like responsible and honest citizens of the world. I lost interest in the anti-corruption thingy not long after the tamasha about reservations in Lokpal. Providence sake, please leave such statutory bodies from the reservation ambit. 

Terribly sad about Sujit's death, of which I wrote in a previous post. I will miss his well combed pony tail (something I wanted for a long time, but never could.) He had this nice ponytail which he would maintain well, with coconut oil, and Ratri Hair Oil, I guess. (These are the guys who guarantee thick hair even to bald people in just two weeks.) I will miss his witticisms (example: it takes one hand to slap and two hands to clap.) What a blow! Yeah, death is so everpresent we just give it scant attention. My cousin died of an accident in the Gulf (They say it is an accident, but in Gulf you never know.), a boy in the neighbourhood of Artist Village fell down from a train and died. Nobody noticed his falling and he bled to death in the night all alone while his parents sat vigil expecting him to be back at home. All these incidents happened in the past few days. People, people, don't die on us.

Dev Anand died. As a friend said, "I thought I could live for ever as long as Dev Anand was alive." Yeah, I thought so too. First our parents' deaths take the wind out of our sails and then some close and beloved friends. The world is getting a mysterious place to be alive in. It's a sanguine place. 

But we got to go on living. Spreading the word of cheer and hope as best as we can. ANTHONYBHAI SAYS: I AM JUST JOKING, OKAY, MEN! SO, HM, OKAY, ERM, HUH, WHAT TO SAY? HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL YOU WONDERFUL PEOPLE! May you read many books in 2012.

I am @johnwriter on Twitter and John.Matthew on Facebook. I blog here.

Sujit R.I.P.

It was a bit of a shock. I liked the man, his witticism - quite sharp - and never let the client-agency relationship reduce to one of master-servant. Our exchanges began with a "Namaskaram" in Malayalam and we always spoke Malayalam though he was an accomplished copywriter in English and a creative mind par excellence. I considered him a friend. Together we created great brochures and ads for the company, together we sat in meetings with managers whose first reaction was, "Make the logo bigger." Yes, in most meetings the first thing said is this. Without change, without hesitation. So he made the logo bigger. Before that he would look at me and, as creative people, a look of understanding would pass between us. He was creative director of our ad agency. He died two days ago, in his thirties. It's time to begin life not end it. Damn it! I think it's unfair. Fate, or, whatever. It's not a cheerful end to an otherwise uneventful year.

Sujit was a divorcee. He lived alone. He was a child of nature. He loved street food, he loved travelling in second class though he had a car, he loved to taste life at its rawest. He also liked to taste the spirits of life. Yes, he drank heavily. I don't know if it's something in the Mallu gene that does this. (I explored this gene thing a bit more and used to accompany my Mallu friends in their binges and decided it's not for me. I became sick. I am a teetotaler now. I made a very expensive mistake.) He was in hospital once, saved narrowly by doctors and admonished not to drink, was admitted again, and succumbed.

Sujit R.I.P.

One thing about drinks is that in India what you get isn't actually liquor. It rarely is. Sometimes it is raw ethyl alcohol, which is a dangerous chemical used in chemical treatment. A huge cache of counterfeit liquor in genuine-looking bottles were caught just before Christmas. I wonder how many such caches have crossed into Bombay and the condition of the people who drank them.

First the man takes a drink. Then the drink takes a drink. Then the drink takes the man." A Japanese proverb.

When the drink takes a drink, one doesn't distinguish between what is a good drink and a bad drink. One drinks anything. Even hootch, the strong drink made from rotting orange peels and God knows what. It becomes a man thing, a male thing to do, you know "I can hold my drink" and all that stuff. Then one goes on drinking unless counseling is given by spouse or parents. Friends will never counsel, they will encourage to drink more. For by this time the man must have gathered around him a band of zealots only bent on ruining themselves. That's why I don't tell my son not to drink (I know there will be some drinking), but to stop at two pegs maximum.

Drink carefully, responsibly. Or, don't drink at all. Seek help. Let not another Sujit succumb to his habit. It was the time to start living and not stop living.

I am @johnwriter on Twitter and John.Matthew on Facebook. I blog here.

Kolaveri, Kolaveri Di

Usually I would have come down hard songs like Kolaveri Di (murderous girl) and such nonsense (the stupid lyrics are here). However, I read this quote from Robert Frost and decided otherwise. After all, I don't want to lose my friends for a stupid song. The following is Robert Frost's words that gives a new and acceptable twist to the tripe that is Kolaveri Di:

A civilized society is one which tolerates eccentricity to the point of doubtful sanity. Robert Frost

Okay, okay, so I will retract my stand and let the song be. Let peace prevail. I am a peaceable man. Actually it's so popular in Japan because Japanese don't understand Engrish so well (they speak broken English, mostly, you see. (Not to say this of the intellectual elite, of course; so they don't really, really know the sexist, racial slurs that dot the lyrics of this song. Being a civilised society we tolerate Kolaveri Di and half-baked songs like that because we are tolerant (we are used to sexism and racism) and because the singer is so-and-so's son-in-law, who it seems has a fixation for (murderous) girls with white skin (don't we all have it?). What does the "white girl" being a "Kolaveri" has to say about a dark-skinned girl. That she is inferior in some way? That sexism. And this whole thing of life being dark harkens to racism. My point of view. Yesterday's front page story in a tabloid was all about how a former star was not allowed to take a doggy bag from a restaurant.And the newspaper was full of what and where film stars were going/doing for new year.

But a protest has to be made. Please, singer, don't take this too far. It's stretching it too far. These things deflect our attention from serious issues like unemployment, homelessness, waterlessness, roadlessness and lack of electricity.

I am @johnwriter on Twitter and John.Matthew on Facebook. I blog here.

Tata's Nano in Trouble?

It seems India's favourite small car has run into trouble. I am a bit sad because I love that car and wanted it to be my first one. No more. Here's an article in knowledge@wharton which is a good source of information on India. Some of the coverage and precise data you get there is unmatched by any Indian publication. Try it. They have a free newsletter every week which links to these articles. Here's an extract.

By the end of the year, it was a different picture. As of December 2010, there were about 77,000 Nanos sold -- a far cry from the one million units group chairman Ratan Tata had been talking about in 2005. This figure includes open sales (that started in August 2010) and some deliveries to the second batch of applicants. That would imply that at least 78,000 (23,000 from the first batch plus 55,000 from the second) have cancelled or "delayed delivery" (where customers opted to take delivery later).

A friend said that much as he liked the Nano, we wouldn't want to be seen arriving in a Nano. I think there lies the car's identity crisis.

I am @johnwriter on Twitter and John.Matthew on Facebook. I blog here.

Sarah Palin's Biography Stirs Controversy: "Racism, Adultery and Cocaine"?

In Sarah Palin's biography "The Rogue: Searching for the Real Sarah Palin" author Joe McGinniss paints a grim picture of the Republican presidential aspirant. A review of the book in CNN has this to say:

If that's not enough for you, how about charges of racism, adultery, and cocaine abuse? Her parenting skills also leave something to be desired, if McGinniss is to be believed.

Needless to say, those closest to the former governor are not amused. The Palin family has had a rocky relationship with McGinniss [the author] since he moved in next door to their home in Wasilla last summer to research the book.

I am @johnwriter on Twitter and John.Matthew on Facebook. I blog here.

2012's Jaipur Literary Festival Will Be Bigger and Better

William Dalrymple says this year's Jaipur Literary Festival will be bigger and better, here on Conde Nast Traveller.

I have nothing to add. I have never been to any Jaipur Litfest. Do they serve any purpose? I don't know. Maybe, I will discover a use for them when my novel is published, if ever that happens.

I am @johnwriter on Twitter and John.Matthew on Facebook. I blog here.

Anthonybhai's Christmas

Boxing day! Christmas was a private affair with wifey and Ronnie. Went to church and spent the day at home. Had a blessed and happy Christmas, though marred by a few deaths: father-in-law, a cousin, some prominent icons of my childhood, about whom I cannot make a mention in this small post. They will be missed and, dear Lord, take good care of them. I am reminded of mortality of the flesh these days. Yes, quite a lot.

Boxing day is the day of goodwill so I will be good to all ye mine sworn enemies (or, friends). I am in the mood to forgive, so call me and ask (beg, rather) forgiveness. Joking. This is the day of gifting when employers gave their employees money and gifts and a holiday to boot so that they could go and visit their relatives.

Since I have none of these luxuries bestowed on me, poor me, I am confined to home and hearth. Took time to re-connect with old friend Anthonybhai, who has this to say:

"Men, men, men, whatappen, no Christmas, so much eating drinking, liver got worse, only, no medicine-vedicine, drank the whole night after mid-night mass, morning-morning wondering where I am. Actually, I had gone cousin Paul-baba's house, there no so many big-big whisky-bhisky bottles only, black dog, white rum, Johnny Walker Red label, Cutty Sark, Campari, couldn't resist men, I had all and then don't know what-what hit me, men, men, still in hangover, men."

That's Anthonybhai's story.

I am @johnwriter on Twitter and John.Matthew on Facebook. I blog here.

The Battle for Pratapgarh

A casual reference led me to this article on the battle for Pratapgharh which established Maratha king Shivaji's kingdom. A lot of what followed was decided by this war, the spoils of which were the several forts Shivaji annexed to his kingdom. It has all the elements of treachery and deceit of those times. Afzal Khan came deliberately to commit murder though the meeting between the two warriors was supposed to be an unarmed peaceful one. Shivaji knowing his enemy had gone well prepared with tiger claws and managed to kill Afzal Khan, the 7-foot tall Afgan warrior.

I am @johnwriter on Twitter and John.Matthew on Facebook. I blog here.

Are We Profane? Do We Use Profanities without Restraint?

Are our moral standards so low? I am asking because I returned from one of India's leading banks and the executive sitting behind the desk was saying to his friend, "Mother****er, Sister****er," something or the other, which I didn't quite catch. I thought, "God, here he goes!" There were customers around and even women. He didn't give a damn when he swore his profane words. He seemed so casual and unconcerned that I began wondering why moral standards are so low in our tradition and culture.

Ahem!

Listen carefully to conversations, on the streets, even in five star hotels - I do - and you will be amazed at the profanities we fling around so casually and without restraint. I had stopped using profanities some time ago, in a more than idealistic youth. No more. Nowadays, I go with the flow when talking to friends and and profanities come naturally, as if willed by the custom of our culture.

That makes me wonder is our culture, so much under evolution now, one of open expression of profanities and swears? Has liberalisation something to do with it? We accept profanities as a part of our lives, conform with it in our less than discerning ways and to hell with the nay-sayers, the guardians of softspokeness.

Some areas of the country have the most beautiful of expression and language. Talk to a Lucknowi and you will know what I mean. Conversation with them is always a pleasure, nay, an ecstatic experience. At least, they don't swear, they don't vilify, cast aspersions, denigrate, or indulge in verbal diarrhea.

Exactly, this propensity has been captured in my novel, a chapter of which I have posted here. Do read and comment.

I am @johnwriter on Twitter and John.Matthew on Facebook. I blog here.

Author Journalist Christopher Hitchens, Another View

My mentor and former boss Anil Siqueira points to another article on Christopher Hitchens, this time by Fr. Raymond J. de Souza on the blog "Curious Presbyterian". Curious Presbyterian? Why? Maybe, an anti-view as they come after a person's death.

On hindsight, what I don't approve about Hitchens is his criticism of Mother Theresa. Nobody can dispute the selfless lady for the work she has initiated in India and still being carried out by her sisterhood. But those are my own personal views. His other views were on the human side and therefore humanist and philanthropic. That only goes to state the controversial nature of the man.

I am @johnwriter on Twitter and John.Matthew on Facebook. I blog here.