“Things from the heart don't have an explanation."

Author : Vish      Blog : Rolling waves      Date : 3/29/2013 5:58:00 AM

'Political thinkers have opined that but for the British quelling the 1857 revolt by native Indian British soldiers, the polity of India as we have today may have been several states, controlled severally, most of them Islamic. What may have been is not that significant as what it is. Today India is a Nation that defies political logic. It is one unique polity in the world which survives as a unified Nation with such a diverse religious and cultural dispositions. Yet we are afraid to(...)'

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Right and wrong

Author : Vish      Blog : Rolling waves      Date : 2/21/2013 4:19:00 AM

'Oh! The leading lights of India,You are truly ‘great’; On either side of Vindhya You want India to shine bright.It has come to such pass,Where fundamental rightsAre only for fundamentalists, alas,Taking India everyday to murkier heightsYou say, right to life is only for criminals,The righteous are menials.Those who die defending the lawTo you, have an essential flaw.Oh! The leading lights of our countryWho seem to fight for all and sundryFor the quintessential Indian (in u(...)'

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Incredible grandma

Author : Vish      Blog : Rolling waves      Date : 2/3/2013 9:16:00 AM

'Grand ma called me last night out onto the balcony....G:  Son, No ordinance or Lokpal will ever improve the Lot of Indians...I:   But Grandma.....G:   Putr sun...beech mein mat bol...more laws means more FIRs, more investigations, more litigation with same police, same judiciary, same everything....don’t you see the humbug and skewed thinking.....I:   Ha! I see your point....G:  No you don’t.  In my younger days there was this m(...)'

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This and that: conflicts and collateral damage

Author : Vish      Blog : Rolling waves      Date : 1/29/2013 2:41:00 PM

'This and that: conflicts and collateral damageHere is a familiar scene from either a movie of yesteryears or a tearjerker soap on the idiot box. The father is expectantly pacing the corridors outside the maternity ward. It will be their first child. Everything was fine and the joy of becoming a father was just about to burst out. He was waiting for the doctor to emerge and announce ...the doctor did finally emerge after what seemed an eternity...not all was well...there are complica(...)'

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This and that: pragmatism and a ray of hope?

Author : Vish      Blog : Rolling waves      Date : 1/28/2013 2:42:00 PM

'I see a ray hope...a light at the end of the tunnel, hopefully NOT an oncoming train.Among the ebbing value system and growing intolerance, both inimical to a healthy democracy, there is an encouraging development.  A group of scholars who are also members of the powerful All India Muslim personal Law Board (AIMPLB) has invited Salaman Rushdie to debate on Islam in the wake of his book “satanic Verses” and imminent release of a movie based on his book “Midnight’s Children”.&nbs(...)'

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Grandma recommends tippling

Author : Vish      Blog : Rolling waves      Date : 1/20/2013 2:43:00 PM

'Grandma was awake. It is very unusual for her not to be in bed at 11.30 PM on a Saturday night.  No paper, no knitting, just sitting on the patio and staring into oblivion.  The night temperatures of around 18o Celsius helped. I became worried though and rushed to inquire after her health. Everything about her was fine, she assured me. However, it seems she just could not sleep.G: (With a stunned, blank look) Have you been drinking?I:  (A bit taken aback) come on(...)'

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Grandma letting out gas

Author : Vish      Blog : Rolling waves      Date : 11/3/2012 9:19:00 AM

'“It is all gas and no substance”, I said to no one in particular while watching the prime time ‘panel’ discussions by experts on TV the other day. I had not reckoned my Grandma’s hearing prowess, among many other virtues; she was perched on the sofa within human earshot distance and knitting away furiously. Grandma (G:): Putr, gas is the in thing...today’s economics is all about gas, grass and grease. I:  Grandma, why are you always knitting? (I wanted to get away.)G: (Even Hou(...)'

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This and that: sense and sensibilities II

Author : Vish      Blog : Rolling waves      Date : 9/25/2012 1:23:00 PM

'There is a saying that “empty vessels make the most sound”...It is the Indian way. Be it music, politics, humor, movies, a brawl, discussion (on TV and otherwise) or anything else it is loud and colourful while being less appealing to the senses and tickling the sensibilities. We see a sense for drama in all activities. The usually reticent MMS, PM of India, addresses the Nation on serious matters and says during his speech “money does not grow on trees...”. To this a CM (Modi N.) r(...)'

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My First Diwali at NDA

Author : Vish      Blog : Rolling waves      Date : 8/9/2012 6:47:00 AM

'I recall my first Diwali at NDA. The year was 1969. 42nd course had joined NDA on June 13 of that year. Diwali duly arrived in November (or thereabouts…).My cabin (room) was on the first floor second on the right from the central landing. First on the left was that of Arun Khetarpal. My cabin was flanked by that of two Nigerian naval cadets – lanky guys with an accent. I had not officially left the confines of NDA since joining. On Diwali day, 1969, I applied for liberty and got it.(...)'

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Reflections: Agitated agitation

Author : Vish      Blog : Rolling waves      Date : 7/28/2012 5:46:00 AM

'Grandma (G) is at it again. She is whole of twenty years older than Anna and so she does not refer to Anna as Anna (elder brother) but as Gandhi thambi (younger brother (Thambi)…Gandhi because of the topiand not fasting….G: What is this thambi up to again?I:   Grandma don’t you know!? There are twelve senior ministers in the union cabinet against whom enough proof exists for their indictment in many scams.G: Oh! I see. Who says so…?I: Team Anna of course…they have collecte(...)'

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Coffee, anyone?

Author : Vish      Blog : Rolling waves      Date : 7/27/2012 5:29:00 AM

'Recently a friend of mine was discussing coffee available around the world at places like Barista et al.  I say, any discussion on coffee is incomplete without the mention of South Indian decoction coffee (also known as filter coffee because of the method of its preparation). Two aromas typifying South India are those of filter coffee made from freshly ground coffee powder and garden fresh Jasmine flowers. Actually the combined smell of both wafting in the morning air is sure t(...)'

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Road to progress Pat I

Author : Vish      Blog : Rolling waves      Date : 7/26/2012 4:07:00 AM

'My office was only 863m from my house till the other day, when we had to shift to a bigger place which is 8630m away now.  These days I can only define the time I leave my house. The time of reaching my destination, my office, varies. It depends on a whole lot of factors such as receiving a call on my mobile just as I exit from my house and move towards the car to getting into a personal conversation with the pretty little thing next door.Once in the car, the journey to and fro(...)'

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Those were the days: Minimum Hindi!

Author : Vish      Blog : Rolling waves      Date : 7/18/2012 2:05:00 PM

'As I negotiated the peak hour traffic in Bangalore this morning the Music Jockey (MJ) from the FM channel playing on the car radio was saying  “Usko dehkte hi mein bezuban ho haya, kyunki weh itni ugly  thi” . There is a programme on the channel titled “Prithvi(MJ) ko hindi kyon nahin athi” in which Prithvi has to form a sentence with a word texted to him by the listeners…She or He whose word was used in the sentence broadcast got some goodies from the sponsor. As you gues(...)'

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Forever young

Author : Vish      Blog : Rolling waves      Date : 7/15/2012 2:02:00 AM

'Sixty they say is the half way mark. With a healthy mind in a healthy body man’s life span is expected to be 120 years. Arjuna was whole of 78 years young when he fought in the Mahabarath Yudh. So why this kolaveri about sixty? For the uninitiated, (kolaveri means “desperation to murder”)…so why this desperation / exuberance to kill youthfulness and embrace “senior citizenship” which is nothing else but a euphemism for “old”. Traditionally turning sixty is a socio-religious event in(...)'

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Grandma on underachiever

Author : Vish      Blog : Rolling waves      Date : 7/10/2012 1:05:00 PM

'With my demonstrated capabilities of aggression and leadership during childhood and as a teen my mother expected me to lead the Indian Army one day, when I joined NDA in 1969. She was (and all of us were) unaware that my DOB would not have allowed that.  When I hung up my boots as a Colonel and returned home with the kit bag slung over my shoulder, my mother called me an underachiever. My father who knew better, was unfortunately not with us by then. For instance my mother thou(...)'

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The art of seeing with eyes closed

Author : Vish      Blog : Rolling waves      Date : 7/10/2012 1:52:00 AM

'The perception of the world is different with eyes closed and open. For the effect to be complete and wholesome, it is recommended to meditate both with closed and open eyes. Closing the eyes is shutting out one sensory perception.  Seeing is also the easiest sense to withdraw. Withdrawal from all senses is a prerequisite for meditation. You will agree with me that eyes closed is not the same state as eyes open. Whereas you can’t see things with closed eyes (you can only i(...)'

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Education and God particle

Author : Vish      Blog : Rolling waves      Date : 7/4/2012 7:31:00 AM

'Grandma was upset with Italy losing the Euro cup final.Grandma (G): It is all because of that Buffoon.I:  Grandma, it is Gianluigi Buffon (as in fun) and not Buffoon(as in spoon); he is the captain of the Italian team.G: Whatever, he did end up as a buffoon letting in four goals past him. But son did you hear about this God particle?I: No Granma what is it? Is God being divided among Nations?G: No son; a bunch of scientists think they are hot onto something with which this Univ(...)'

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Simplified economics

Author : Vish      Blog : Rolling waves      Date : 7/4/2012 7:30:00 AM

'On most days, as I enter my driveway in my 2002 Hyundai Santro, returning from a round of golf in the morning at about 9’O clock, I find my neighbor Flourishing Singh (FS) hurrying into his Honda Civic while waving a hurried hi-bye to me. FS who is the CEO of a mid-sized Company is always in a hurry whenever I see him which is not very often. He works 16 hours a day, six days a week. On Sundays he is besieged by his family of 13 - including sons, daughters, daughters-in-law, sons-in(...)'

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Those were the days: The baby beach

Author : Vish      Blog : Rolling waves      Date : 6/23/2012 12:56:00 PM

'In Cannanore (now Kannur) in North Malabar, Kerala just a few meters from my ‘boarding house’ at school, there was a small beach we called the baby beach. The beach was so small that it could take not more than fifty people at one time. Besides our school, the possible claimants to the beach were the local church, St Theresa’s convent and school and the DSC Centre. In those days none other than our school laid claim to the beach. There were no ‘visitors’ from the other institutions (...)'

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Atop Marsimek La @ 18634ft (Chang-Chemno Range)

Author : Vish      Blog : Rolling waves      Date : 6/21/2012 3:20:00 PM

'Mule is the better known beast of burden. The Yak is another in the same genre but more versatile in its multifaceted service offering to mankind than the mule.    Domesticated yaks have been kept for thousands of years, primarily for their milk, fibre and meat, and of course as beasts of burden. Also their dried dung is an important fuel, used all over Ladakh and is often the only fuel available on the higher reaches of the Himalayas beyond the tree line. Unlike(...)'

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