Diwali in Varanasi

I have been lucky to visit this ageless city on the banks of the holy Ganges many times as my son studies there now .
read my previous post on the city .
http://hariwrite.blogspot.com/2014/08/varanasi.html

This post came about after I saw a documentary in the Discovery channel on the Diwali period in Varanasi yesterdy .
Diwali is universally celebrated in India mostly for two to three days .
in Varanasi it goes on for more than a month.
The Ramnagar ( place of the Varanasi Royal family ) Ramleela is more of an interactive long term Enacting of the great epic Ramayana as written by Tulsidas .
Mostly enacted by adolescent boys who are called Swarups or those who become the character when they act it and are venerated by the faithful for it ,the audition of these boys is itself an event and even the king takes part in it ,generally certain roles traditionally belongs to certain families .
With the formal procession of the king the event unfolds ,it has several stagesand venues  and is over an extended time limit ,the audience moves with the performers to different venues and the whole mass is in itself a part of the big play .
Ramnagar is on one side of the river Ganges ,the Ram and Lakshman and Sita Swarups move from places called Ayodhya down into the forests and later cross the river to the place really called Lanka where the Benaras Hindu university is situated and where the effigy of the villain Ravan is destroyed as the climax and with good winning over evil the leela folds itself to renew its act after an year

Every single day the crowds follow the drama with copies of Ramayana called Manas  in thier arms and reading it meticulously ,the priests who read it out for them are called Vyasa
the people literally  live their roles .
this certainly is an amazing theater event unparalleled .

Diwali the festival of lights is celebrated in every temple ,house offices of the city where Lakshmi the Godess of prosperity and wealth is welcomed ,the festival of lights light up the city of the soul in resplendent glitter as its populace indulge in their sweets and savories .

The Dev Diwali is another event in Varanasi a few days after Diwali itself and as its name suggests it is for the Dewas or the Gods ,truly a treat for the Gods the Ganges is lit up with thousands of floating diyas as its Ghats shine bright by the lighted wicks of many earthen lamps and the Aaarathi on its banks shine into its waters a feast for the Dewas themselves .

The Nag niyatha or nag Diwali has Krishna leela to fall upon ,
not very far from Varanasi is Mathura where Lord Krishna had lived his childhood ,enacting as Lord Krishna an adolescent Krishna swaroop climbs a kadhamba tree planted on the banks of the Ganges in front of a very large crowd and falls straight into the river to kill the mythical poisonous snake kalindhi and dances on it saving people from its venomous nature ,

the felling of the tree in the dawn and its transportation to the ghats and erection there supervised by the high priest of Sankat mochan temple Shri Mishraji  is an event by itself and the crowd adores the child Krishna swaroop as he is carried on the shoulders of his devotees .
 Another Diwali ends with the fading of the earthen lamps and the stillness of the Ganges flows for ever !!
 

Ho Chi Minh

In continuing with my desire to visit nearby countries when in Brunei I thought of Vietnam when I had a few days off ,but this time I wanted a leisurely holiday and so just opted for one city ...Ho Chi Minh formerly Saigon  .( Paris of the East )

The Royal brunei airlines took less than an hour to fly to Vietnam from Brunei but it reached late that day and by the time I could reach the hotel it was almost 9pm at the Tan Son Nhat International Airport 
I took Vientanne taxis recommended as good though a bit more expensive ,everything was in American dollars as Vietnamese money did not have much value and one needed to pay huge amounts .
My Hotel was in a popular tourist area of the city .Pham Ngu Lao Street 
I had earlier talked to a lady travel agent who had booked for me an early morning Chu Chi tunnel trip the next day and thinking I had cancelled my trip promptly cancelled the booking ,she made a couple of calls and got me back in the tour and told me to be ready by seven in the morning




Ho Chi Minh is a mobike city 
one could see thousands of mopeds crowding the roads ,both riders and pillion riders are dutifully helmeted ,there are several moped taxis which could take you to any place in city for a fraction of charges one needs to pay for a taxi but one needs to have a bit of balance to sit on it as it would zip through which one gains by experience ,i went for several short trips and for one long one where i was taken to the newly developing city on the other isde of a huge bridge .

The 1969 to 1975 Vietnam war was at height of the cold war era 
Ho chi Minh of north Vietnam or Vietcong was in a civil war with south Vietnam 
N Vietnam being in the communist bloc was helped by Russia and China hence the  USA helped south Vietnam 
USA directly entered the war in 1969 as north Vietnam seemed to be  winning the war and they wanted to contain communism from spreading .
USA had superior air power their army had good weapons enough supplies unlike the Viet kong or the north Vietnamese 
But Viet kong used guerrilla tactics
They were aware of American air superiority and land power hence in the  border near Cambodia  they built tunnels like a spider web for an area around 250 sq Km
There were three levels of tunnels
It had storehouses kitchens meeting rooms and false entrances
Some were narrow one had to crawl
Some were deep
Entrances were tiny holes as most  Vietnamese are small made and could slip into a tunnel with ease Americans were huge and had difficulty to trace them
Deeper tunnels had noxious gases and no oxygen ,one would get poisoned there 
Vietcong lived in such conditions they mostly ate tapioca or even spiders worms snake etc
They laid clever traps for Americans to fall and kept sharp spikes below tinged with chicken shit to infect American wounds .
They would allow American soldiers to advance then emerge from closed camouflaged tunnels kill Americans and slip back into earth
Like dangerous snakes one never knew from where Viet cong would spring from  .
Americans used chemicals like agent orange for defoliating forests causing harm to many over three generations .
They used sniffer dogs to smell Vietcong in tunnels
The trained dogs did find the  tunnel openings
Viet cong used American shampoo to divert the dogs
Like this they demoralized and crippled the American army
Finally America left Vietnam and the victorious Viet cong formed the country called the socialist republic of Vietnam
Ho chi minh is father of nation
Chu chi tunnels are to be seen and experienced
They allow one to get into tunnel and crawl to next
I felt claustrophobic hence didnt do it ,
there were models of different tunnel entrances where hidden spikes tipped with poison lay trap for the Yankees 
At one place we were served tapioca to show us what the Vietcong ate during the war .

Another place where one could relive the horrific war was the War Repartition museum which had neatly apportioned floors depicting the war chronologically and how it unfolded ,some the graphic pictures

 

The Viatnamese soup called Pho was a hallmark cuisne ,consisting of meat and or vegetables in hot water made instanteneoulsy with herbs the PHO was a ready reckoner made in five star eateries as well as by street vendors ,it was satisfyning and satiating 

I tried to snug up on this old lady by telling her that she wa slike my mother and should give me a discount for the tender coconut ,she was quite smart in telling me how can you ask for a discount from a mother in fact you should pay more !

one found young students in pioneer uniforms like in the Soviet era crowding parks during sunday 

in the evening I went to a cruise in the River Saigon ,though given a prime table in the front the food was depressing and the vodka bitter though the dancers made up for the depressions and the cruise sights of course 

Tamil temple near Ben Tham market 

pagoda in Buddhist monastery 

sweet boy 

opera house 

glimmering downtown 

Noartre dame cathedral 

ingredients of PHO

the photo that moved the world later the girl would grow up in America 

point blank shooting of traitors during war 

of Viet cong torture and the damage caused by the agent orange and the napalm Bomb was disturbing ,how man could inflict such evil on each other of power and money one failed to understand ,the museum had live tanks ,war plane mounted in its front compound .
Another place where the war is remembered is the rehabilitation center for those who are affected by agent orange ,even the later generations born have several birth defects like loss of limbs etc and have to be rehabilitated by the Government ,in this center all this was explained to us by an young man who himself had been afflicted by agent orange at birth ,even US Air force pilots who carried the agent orange to be dumped were affected by serious diseases for all their lives and many Vietnamese veterans suffered psychological and physical ailments 

Ben Thaam market was a closed market where one could shop for souvenirs ,cheap and colorful clothes electronic items etc ,around the market were smaller shops ,certain areas had Arab ,Pakistani ,Indian Tamil Chinese areas with their restaurants shops and places of worship ,the place was crowded and brimming with energy ,Vietnam is notorious for thefts and bag snatching and tourists are generally victims ,the poverty that still exists in the country makes people do that ,but during my stay I felt people were generally prosperous and good mannered and I did not encounter any such mishaps .

I took a cab driven by a Vietnamese driver who did not know a word of any other language other than his own ,somehow my miming and active expressions I managed him to take me to the Buddhist pagoda a little away ,it had a multilayered pagoda and was cool inside I was able to see the prayers of several monks the offerings included biscuit packets chocolates and even soft drinks ,when I was relaxing in the cool garden outside in a bench a cute little boy came to me trying to sell a lotus flower to be given as an offering .

The post office of Ho Chi minh is another landmark destination ,it is cavernous hall with a painting of Ho Chi Minh staring at you in benevolence ,one could exchange money there too only thing for a few US Dollars one had to fill pockets with Vietnamese money of low value

The Nortre dame cathedral was closed when I was there the reunification building too so I walked into the opera house where I had booked a ticket for  show ,before the show started we were given a guided tour of the opera hall ,an Indian couple were also there for this tour and the man was an acoustics expert who had tested many opera houses the world over and so I 
was able to get some technical facts too ,the show itself was on the village and party related activities of the country in an earlier era but was well executed by a talented bunch of actors where a lot of bamboo was used in the choreography at the end of the show the actors would pose themselves with the audienceH

Ho Chi Minh is just a small window to a big country ,there are so many other places like the Mekong Delta North Vietnamese city of Hanoi which have their own uniqueness but from what I could gather in my short stay is my respect for the resilience of the Vietnamese who had not only recovered from the ravages of an unjust cruel war they have also overcome that to achieve great strides in their progress toward a modern nation ,i was very impressed by their tourist attractions the glimmering city and the positive vibration seen in this young country ,there is lot more to come from Vietnam take my word 

My Grandmother

what can I say about my favourite amamma (grandmother )
Valliyil karthiyayani amma ,
she was gentle ,loving , pious and had a soft corner for me I think for the moment I landed in Parappanangadi she would yell
"Chozhi Harikku kayavarthathu kutiyappunde peedigennu vedicho !
( chozhi was our man friday ,buy banana chips for Hari from kuttiyappus shop )and till the day I returned to Madras I would have stock of my favourite kayavarthathu ,those days a slimmer me could afford to gorge on that but the addiction still holds and contributes a lot to my paunch !
My grandma had her routine .
she would be up in morning and after bath endowed in a spotless mundu she would walk gracefully to nearby pishariyakil ambalam and return with our favourite thrimadhram,(offering of ripe plantains mixed with coconuts and jaggery ).
In the temple she would meet her friends and do some small talk ,while returning many would greet Karthiyayani amma , some as thamburatti ( her higheness !! it was the habit those days for older ladies of bigger families to be so adressed )
she would talk to them all and as she had a bit of hearing problem she would ask entha paranjadhu ? ( what did you tell ? )and adjust her hearing aid a bit ,
she would always enquire the old embrandhiri ( the temple priest ,
embrandhiris are namboothiri brahmins from north Kerala they spoke malayalam and Tulu ) about his many children who were all my summer vacation friends ,most of my days would be spent in embranthiris house playing and spotting me she would ask me to come with her for breakfast and go again ,I would plod alongside her holding her hands tasting the thrimadhram,
My grandfather the doyen of the samorin family of calicut
Vasco da Gama had first met the samorins when he came and had long fights with them .
Padinjare kollothe Manavedan raja or PCM Raja would be spotted in the most unroyal feats of gardening or dragging the cow ,he was happiest during these moments ,while amamma would ask him ee thambrannu onnu chennu kulichude ,( can this man take a bath ? )
he would grunt a reply and they understood each other perfectly well .
Once in an evening I tried some filthy word taught by my many friends in Parappanagadi on him and he chased me angrily , I found solace in amamma and cried ammamma adikkunnu ,( grandma hes beating me ) she hugged me and said enhtinna kuttina adikkunu ?( why are hitting the child ? ) avan paranjadhu arayyo ( do you know what he told ? ) and told the forbidden word upon which she caught me steady for him to give me a couple of blows while I whimpered and learnt my lesson !
Amamma was a dictator in the kitchen ,with Nambiar our main cook she was sort of friendly and they shared a long friendship from times of her childhood when Umamma ( great grand uncle ) was alive ,Nambiar too was the main chef and directed the other assistants
Madhavi the rolly polly one who would later churn our turmoiled minds when we became older !
Amamma would make it a point to yell at her once in while and she would mumble her inannities and amamma would ask her endha paranjadhu !( what did you say ? )onnumille ( nothing madam )she would reply .
Unnuli was different she was the cleaner cum helper and Chozhis sister was always very subservient to thamburatti and so she sort of had an affection for her ,these were all people who were loyal to our family for years and were considered as part of the family .
Breakfast mostly would be soft white idlis with red hot coconut chutney needless to say rice for idlis and coconuts were all from our lands there would be my chips of course and also sweet mangoes or jack fruits .
Our return to madras would put amamma in a flurry with her directing all of them to make delicous chakka varatiyathu with ghee and jaggery fry our own cahew nuts which we cousins used to barter away for biriryanis and films at local jayakerala talkies .
My grandfathers routine made him walk to the railway station every day at 10 am in the hot sun a distance of more than five km with a tent like umbrella in his huge bush shirt ,amamma would give him a leestu of things to do like post letters , buy lacotu or envelopes and such things , the provisions parts were done by chozhi who would at times join the trip , I too would drag along but mostly put it off as the sun was tiring ,my attraction was the nannari sarpath my grandfather would get me in the market .
Amamma would doze for some time in the afternoon , by evening she would take bath wear another spotless white mundu and go to temple while the young girly in the family then would light the deepam chanting deepam deepam which was a call for us to start the sandhya naamam but me and my cousin Babu were known for thinking everything other than namamms ,
we would wait for amammas thrimadhram and then dinner and finally a warm glass of fresh cow milk , from yes our own cows sweetened by sugar and amamma would hand it over personally , I still dont think any milk has ever tasted so nice in my life than that .
As we retired to sleep we could hear amamma and amachan talking rather amamma shouting as she couldnt hear and thamburan grunting and then they would go to sleep .
and another day would end in Parappanagadi .

Mutation document

In medicine mutation is a very common term and means some change had taken place  in the basic structure of a gene which affects the body 
mutant genes cause many illness 
 I never imagined there are mutated documents in land registry department ,torn worm eaten missed documents are very common but mutated document was new to me .
Recently while trying to sell off my house in Cochin at the last minute the lawyer of the buyers bank providing him a loan for buying the house threw a spanner in the works declaring the mutation document was vital .
there was no way one could go ahead without the said document and the onus fell on the seller to get the document ,in fact it should have been got by the owner the time he bought the land and built the house ,that was around 25 years back ,so the lawyer raised his bushy eyebrows to ask so why has it not been done yet !!
 The past came to haunt us .
but India is one country where time is relative and the past can be brought to the present by knowing the right people 
so we found someone who could make things easier and get the said document in time as the running around needed was considerable ,
The process started at first with a visit the village office with the original document which would be scrutinized by the clerk concerned and later he would give a date to visit the site ,
one had to take the clerk to the site and he would meticulously measure the land and house dimensions and give a location document ,
this document needed to go to the to the Revenue Divisonal office for further scrutiny which in normal standards would take a couple of months but one could physically taker it in an hour or so and confirmation the document is brought  back to the village office .
Then the mutation document is issued ,
it was afternoon and Cochin was fuming with heat ,there had been no electric power in the office since morning and the dark interiors showed the officer ,clerks and computer operators working in humid atmospheres
even in the heat they did their job diligently as they checked the documents with care and also the computerized version ,
the idea of making it online is to dispose off the paper based documents but now both are being used 
we really appreciated the work of the Government offices in India as we signed off our house in Cochin

Moonshot

“Moon shot for cancer cure “is the catch word today on the eve of the World Cancer day

What is meant by moonshot?

During the sixties there was a race for the first man to reach the moon, a race between the cold war rivals USA and USSR, the spurt in US Government spending and focused efforts by its rocket scientists made it the winner and that jump  was then called as a moonshot.

So any focused concentrated attempts to a target by all agencies including the government to achieve that target is termed Moonshot.

Oncology did have a previous moon shot and it did bring about dramatic developments though the cure which was aimed for was never reached.

Today both the President and the Vice President of USA have initiated a moon shot again which will definitely make a difference .

Cancer is one stigmatic diagnosis that has an imagery which is very negative.

For years people have always associated cancer with dread and as a dead end to life

To a certain extent with all the advances even today it is true.

But to a large extent their comprehensibility of the enigma is totally wrong

Cancer is not one disease.

If someone says we conquer cancer it is unlike saying one conquers small pox or TB

Calling cancer as a single disease is akin to calling the Himalayas as a hill!

Every cancer is different and depending on its organ of origin, the person it afflicts and its aggressiveness

Over the years research has brought about a paradigm shift in its management, survival and cure too .They all have  increased to a remarkable amount but there is still miles to go in order to relieve every unfortunate who has been diagnosed with one and definitely a surge in its research and funding will help accelerate this process .

In that sense the moon shot is welcome