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‘I get to see my wife only twice or thrice a year’….Meet TapeshwarRam of Kolkata….

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In a special series, Rediff.com looks at India through the lives of her people.

Today: Tapeshwar Ram, who has hand-pulled a rickshaw on the streets of Kolkata for 30 years. He works 7 days a week and plans to call it a day soon — and that’s when he plans to take his wife for her first-ever holiday.

Tapeshwar Ram

IMAGE: Tapeshwar Ram arrived in Kolkata 30 years ago with Rs 8,000. He bought his first rickshaw, a second hand one, for Rs 12,000. Photograph: Abhiroop Dey Sarkar

I landed in this city on a hot summer day with Rs 8,000 and a heart full of dreams.

My uncle’s friend took me to a local dealer of rickshaws and I chose a second hand rickshaw for Rs 12,000.

While I paid Rs 8,000 at once, the rest of the money I paid in installments from my earnings.

After a few years, I bought a new rickshaw for Rs 18,000.

I found it really tough to ply a rickshaw.

It hurt a lot.

After ferrying people on the streets of Kolkata throughout the day, my hands and ribs pained so much that I couldn’t sleep at night.

With time, I got used to the hardship. I could comfortably carry two adults and walk as much as 10 to 15 km a day non-stop.

Now that age is catching up with me, I have been forced to cut down on the speed and number of daily trips.

Earlier, my day started at 5 am and ended at 11 pm. Now, I park my rickshaw by 9 pm.

To cut down on my daily expenses, I take two meals a day.

I set out in the morning after having a jug of sattu sharbat (a drink made of gram powder). It’s easy to digest and keeps me full for long.

I carry with me a packet of muri (puffed rice) and water for occasional breaks in the afternoon.

In the evening, I make three rotis and vegetables for dinner.

I work seven days a week unless I am sick.

Tapeshwar Ram

IMAGE: He works seven days a week unless he is sick and eats only two meals a day to cut his daily expenses. Photograph Abhiroop Dey Sarkar

On days when I don’t feel like working I take a bus to Howrah station and sit by the Hooghly for hours.

I stay in a garage with five other rickshaw-puller friends in a multi-storied building.

We share a rent of Rs 3,000 a month among ourselves.

Having worked as a rickshaw-puller for so many years, I have developed arthritis and hypertension.

I have seen a doctor who advised against working more than 12 hours a day.

I wish I could listen to him.

I still need to earn a substantial amount of money as I plan to return to my native village in Jharkhand.
I hear that babus in Kolkata and other cities retire at the age of 60. I am 58 now.

Till then, I would have to ply my rickshaw around the streets of Kolkata and build my savings.

With my hard-earned money, I have married two of my daughters and helped two of my elder sons finish their graduation.

I still send a large part of my income to my youngest son who is doing his graduation.

My elder sons have started working in local factories and contribute to the family’s expenses.

My wife takes care of my village home. We have stayed apart for years and get to see each other only twice or thrice a year.

I go home during Holi and in the winter.

For the last few years, I have been going home in the summer because business is lean at that time.

hand pulled rickshaws in Kokatta

IMAGE: The government plans to replace hand-drawn rickshaws with battery operated ones. Photograph: Abhiroop Dey Sarkar

When I started my journey on the streets of Kolkata in the 1980s, I used to earn Rs 5,000, Rs 6,000 a month. It gradually went up to as much as Rs 12,000 a month especially during the monsoon and festivals.

I also started having some regular contracts with local factories and godowns who hired my rickshaw regularly for 10, 12 days a month.

At present, I earn Rs 8,000, Rs 9,000 a month on an average.

On a busy day, I get as many as 50 passengers whereas when luck is not on my side, the number can come down to 10.

In the summer months when business isn’t good, I take up part time jobs in factories, godowns and at cold storages to make up for the loss.

Earlier, it was easy to get these jobs, but now with factories and workshops closing down, such odd jobs are hard to come by.

But if summer threatens joblessness, monsoon clouds bring much joy.

Hand-pulled rickshaws are in great demand among the residents of central and north Kolkata where water-logging is a regular menace.

From July-August till Durga Puja, business gets brisk and I manage to earn Rs 2,000, Rs 3,000 extra per month this time of the year, thanks to the shopaholics.

There is no limit to the number of people that I ferry during these months.

My customers typically consist of two types — the kind and the unkind.

The former are generous enough to pay a tip of Rs 50 to Rs 100 while the latter prefer to haggle to the last breath.

On one occasion, I was so irritated with a woman (she was bargaining for more than 30 minutes) that I returned the entire fare with a rude parting note, “I don’t take money from beggars.”

But then there are good people as well.

There is a doctor, a regular customer whom I take to the fish market every Sunday — he not only gives me Rs 100 as tip per trip, but also gets free medicines for me and my family back home.

Tapeshwar Ram

MAGE: Among their regular passengers are elderly women going for their weekly visits to the temple. Photograph: Abhiroop Dey Sarkar

With the West Bengal government keen on replacing hand-pulled rickshaws with battery operated ones (popularly known as e-rickshaws), I hear that factories have stopped manufacturing our kind of rickshaws.

I will never opt for these e-rickshwas.

I hear that each e-rickshaw costs about Rs 100,000. At this age, I don’t want to invest such a huge amount.

Moreover, I have spent more than three decades pulling a rickshaw. Now, it’s time for me to get some rest.

After retirement, I want to take my wife on a vacation to Delhi. She has never gone out of her home and deserves a grand holiday.

I like listening to FM radio.

Therefore, when my fellow rickshaw-pullers get anxious about the government’s plan to phase out hand-pulled rickshaws, I stay unperturbed.

The old has to step aside making room for the new.

Though I do feel hand-pulled rickshaws accentuate the true heritage of old Kolkata, it has been tough for us in recent years with so many cars in this city.

We find it dangerous ferrying people amid heavy traffic.

Though modern people think hand-pulled rickshaws have lost their utility, we are in great demand during emergencies at night.

Ambulances and other vehicles are hardly available at night, especially in my part of the city, and if anyone falls sick, people call us for trips to the nearby hospital.

Tapeshwar Ram

IMAGE: There was a time Mr Ram could pull a rickshaw for 10, 15 kms non-stop, not any more. He wants to retire and return to his village in Jharkhand. Photograph: Abhiroop Dey Sarkar

Our rickshaws are still in great demand among elderly women in north Kolkata who refuse to choose any other mode of transport for their weekly trips to the mandir (temple).

These women trust us a lot and once the puja gets over, tip as well and share the prasad.

I was listening to the radio news the other day.

I was dismayed to know that India scores pretty low on the global happiness index.

I have not studied much and don’t have a proper understanding of the Constitution.

But I do know that it Is the onus of any government to keep its people happy.

And on that count, India has failed miserably.

The West Bengal government wants to replace hand pulled rickshaws with e-rickshaws that would be more humane for the drivers.

Indrani Roy/Rediff.com met Mr Tapeshwar Ram on a rainy afternoon in kolkata

Source….www.rediff.com
Natarajan
 

 

 

 

NASA Scientist Turns Mars Rover Selfie Into Art….

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A ‘selfie’ taken by NASA’s Curiosity Rover has become such a hit that it inspired one of the scientists on the team that created the camera taking the selfie to turn into an artwork.

NASA shared the picture on its Facebook page. It’s titled Le Petit Rover – a reference to French writer-aviator’s book Le Petit Prince or The Little Prince, a book about a planet-hopping ‘prince’ who falls to Earth from an asteroid.

Photo Credit: Facebook/NASA’s Curiosity Mars Rover

The original image is a low-angle self-portrait of the Mars Rover, which shows the vehicle above the “Buckskin” rock target in the “Marias Pass” area of lower Mount Sharp.

Photo Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

The artwork inspired by the original selfie has almost 3,000 likes so far.

Source….www.ndtv.com

Natarajan

Ahmedabad no Rickshawalo – Personifying “Love All, Serve All”….Meet Uday Bhai…

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On a hot Amdavadi afternoon, when the roads were as deserted as they could be, the Sabarmati Ashram was buzzing with visitors. There were school kids, a group of old ladies and some foreigners taking a stroll around the ashram, mainly in the museum – “Gandhi Smarak Sangrahalay”. While I was roaming around, my phone rang – “Hello” – “Hello, I am standing opposite to the Ashram” – “Will be there in 5 minutes”. Just as I reached the ashram exit, I had a look at the opposite end of the road. An atypical Amdavadi auto-driver, with a Gandhi Topi, waved his hand – I wondered how he recognized me, meeting for the first time. –

Ahmedabad No Richshawalo - Udaybhai

Ahmedabad No Richshawalo – Udaybhai

Udaybhai, as everyone calls him, came to me and took me and my mother (who was accompanying me, which made me a little nervous as she was witnessing my work for the first time) for a ride till Safaai Vidyalaya (a very low profile unexplored place right next to the Sabarmati Ashram). While we sat in the unique auto, Udaybhai took out two badges having a smiley and pinned one of them to my t-shirt. It was only a moment of time before he started describing his rickshaw. The energy, excitement and brightness in his eyes were very evident as he ran me through the unique features of his rickshaw.

It had facilities that are not even found in cabs. While there were newspapers, magazines and other literature to read, it also had two containers on the left and right hand side of the back saying “love” and “truth” holding snacks and water bottles for the passengers. There was also a dust bin so that the riders do not spill thrash on to the streets. However, the most unique part of the auto is that the meter always reads ZERO.

Udaybhai started “Ahmedabad no Rickshawalo” on 21st October 2010, the auspicious day of Dushhera, with the concept of gift-economy in mind. The idea behind gift-economy is that someone before you has paid for your travel; now you have to pay-it-forward for the subsequent passengers. Udaybhai, after every trip, provides the passenger with a self-written greeting card-cum-envelope in which the passenger will place the amount of his/her choice. The concept is pretty much similar to the Seva Café at CG Road. Inspired by the work of Manav Sadhna – an NGO based in the Gandhi Ashram, Ahmedabad, dedicated to the upliftment of the underprivileged, especially children, through love – and proximity to Padmashri Ishwarbhai Patel, the seed for the initiative was sown in the brain of Udaybhai.

The card in an envelope that asks the customer to “Pay From Ur Heart” –

Born and brought up in Ahmedabad, with a family of 10 – parents, 3 kids, wife, brother, sister and her son, Udaybhai comes from a very middle class family with a load of responsibilities. It takes a lot of guts to jump into something like this for a person with this kind of a family background. But his conviction on his beliefs, determination to add love to his work and some pleasant experiences when customers hear about his idea, drives him to continue with the concept.

Quoting one of the pleasant and memorable experiences, Udaybhai said: “Once, while I was coming back after dropping one of the passengers, I saw a blind man trying to cross the road. But he wasn’t able to do so due to heavy traffic. So I went to him and asked to hop onto the auto. He denied initially but agreed later. After taking him to the other side of the street, I asked him where he wants to go. He said, “No thanks, I would reach by my own”. He was probably hesitant to say since he thought that I would charge him. He would have never thought that he will meet somebody like this. After insisting a couple of times, he told that he wanted to reach Hirpur to his blind mens’ hostel. Once he sat, he told his entire life story to me and I shared mine to him. While talking about all this, we reached his hostel. His hostel’s warden came out running and worried since it was unusual for the hostel students to come down in a private auto till the hostel gates. However, he was pleasantly surprised once he came to know about the concept and invited me inside for a cup of tea.”

These are the kind of experiences that keep the spirits alive for such noble causes in spite of all the financial hiccups. Of course, there are bitter experiences as well but nothing compared to the pleasant ones. In future, Udaybhai intends to expand this drive and have many more such rickshaws. As what he believes, at the end of the day, it is the absolute peace of mind and not money that will bring him a good night sleep.

Besides running his auto, Udaybhai provides his services to Seva Café – a volunteer run restaurant where someone before you pays for your meal, your bill is zero, and you pay forward for those after you. He is also an active member of other activities of Manav Sadhna.

To know more about the work of Manav Sadhna and the concept of “Radical Generosity” visit http://www.manavsadhna.org and MovedByLove. –

source….Jay Mehta….www.thebetterindia.com

Natarajan

Inventing Emoticons….

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Inventing Emoticons

“Emoticons,” short for “emotive Icons,” (emotive meaning “appealing to or expression emotion” hence “icons that express emotions”) have been around in vertical form for some time. However, sideways emoticons seem to be a surprisingly recent invention, going back just about three decades.

“B4″ the days of LOL and apps to aid parents in understanding their teenager’s “textspeak”, a man named Scott E. Fahlman wanted his colleagues and students to understand the difference between a sarcastic joke and a nasty barb when typed.

Fahlman was part of a group of scientists and students at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) who frequently communicated via an early online newsgroup to discuss a wide variety of topics. In these groups, if someone failed to understand that some sentiment was meant to be sarcastic or a joke, they would “post a lengthy diatribe in response,” explains Fahlman, “that would stir up more people with more responses, and soon the original thread of the discussion was buried. In at least one case, a humorous remark was interpreted by someone as a serious safety warning.”

So Fahlman came up with a sideways smiley and posted it on the newsgroup in September of 1982. The following is a copy of the original post.

“19-Sep-1982 11:44 Scott E Fahlman 🙂
From: Scott E Fahlman
I propose the following character sequence for joke markers: 🙂

Read it sideways. Actually, it is probably more economical to mark things that are NOT jokes, given current trends. For this, use :-(“

Fahlman thus became the first known person to use the 🙂 and 😦 emoticons. (Although, many have since claimed that they used it before him, without having any documented evidence to support their claims.)  Of course, Fahlman himself thinks it highly probable that other people were using these particular notations before him, being a very simple idea.

Regardless if they did, it was Fahlman’s post that popularized and spurred on the creation of new emoticons.  The idea caught on quickly at CMU and it soon spread to dozens of other universities, research labs, and computer networks. Some people even made a hobby out of compiling all sorts of smileys expressing various sentiments.

Fahlman didn’t archive the original thread, since he had no way of knowing it would ever prove to be of interest to anybody, let alone help change the way people communicate digitally.
So how do we know about it today? In 2001, Mike Jones of Microsoft sponsored a serious dig into the thread archives stored on old backup tapes to see if someone could find the origin post by Fahlman.  Jeff Baird, Howard Wactlar, Bob Cosgrove, and David Livingston at CMU managed to not only find the tape backups, but also to find a machine capable of reading the old tapes and decoding the information on them.  The original thread was found on those tapes on September 10, 2002, just nine days before the 20th anniversary of the post.

How has all this affected Fahlman? Well, Fahlman never made a dime off of emoticons, and throughout the birth and growth of the emoticon, he has remained with CMU, primarily working in Artificial Intelligence. “I am trying to create something that will have a greater impact than that stupid thing,” Fahlman says. That’s a tall order. 🙂

Bonus Emoticon Facts:

  • In an 1881 edition of the publication “Puck”, they suggested the vertical emoticons seen on your right.
  • Another early instance of a vertical emoticon was suggested in 1912 by Ambrose Bierce: \__/!  This vertical emoticon was to indicate a smile with an exclamation point at the end to indicate it was an ironical smile, thus to be used as an alternate punctuation for sentences that were referring to things ironic in nature.  While this may seem not very self evident, Fahlman states that a CMU research group was using \_/ to indicate a smile around the time he suggested the sideways smiley, though he wasn’t aware of it when he made his suggestion and it isn’t clear whether that usage came before his.
  • Yet another earlier emoticon was suggested in the New York Times in 1969 when Vladimir Nabokov was asked “How do you rank yourself among writers (living) and of the immediate past?”  He responded, “I often think there should exist a special typographical sign for a smile — some sort of concave mark, a supine round bracket, which I would now like to trace in reply to your question.”
  • Abbreviations like “lol” and the like didn’t just come about because of the internet. According to the April, 1857 edition of The National Telegraphic Review Operators Guide, in Morse code, the number 73 was used to succinctly say “love and kisses”.  This was later changed to mean “best regards” and “love and kisses” got changed to the number 88.  There were numerous other shorthand codes used in Morse code “chatspeak”.
  • One of Abraham Lincoln’s speeches may have included an emoticon or it may have simply been a typo (read: it almost certainly was a typo).  The transcript of the speech was printed in the August 7, 1862 edition of theTimes, where it stated, there is this line “… but it is also true that there is no precedent for your being here yourselves, (applause and laughter 😉 and I offer, in justification of myself and you, that I have found nothing in the Constitution against.”

Harvey Ball got forty five dollars for designing the first yellow smiley face. Ironically, the smiley face was born in unhappy days at the State Mutual Life Assurance Company. The company had purchased the Ohio firm, Guarantee Mutual, and the takeover made working conditions in the company unfriendly and almost hostile. The State Mutual Vice President suggested a “friendship campaign” and hired Ball to design something that would boost morale at the company and asked him to design something “smile” oriented.  After Ball’s death in 2001, the LA Times wrote about his work. “Ball started sketching. Fearing that a grumpy employee would turn the smile upside down into a frown, he added the eyes. He settled on yellow for the background because it was a ‘sunshine’ color. The work took about 10 minutes.”  The company distributed 100 pieces of this smiley in 1964 and asked employees to smile while they answered phones and dealt with customers. Before long, the yellow smiles were so popular that the company kept on reordering them in batches of 10,000 to fill requests by companies and agents. Soon the yellow smiley face was a popular culture icon.The LA Times reports that “By 1971, more than 50 million smiley face buttons had been sold, and the image was popping up on coffee mugs, stickers, T-shirts and countless other items.” Ball never trademarked or copyrighted the design and made no money on it after the initial $45.  Others profited immensely from it, including some in other countries who did manage to acquire the rights to the yellow smiley and sue others who were using it without paying.

Source…www.todayifoundout.com

Natarajan

 

This is how Kerala celebrates Onam….A Festival Celebrated by All People Irrespective of Caste, Creed and Relegion….

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Image: School girls wearing traditional costume share a laugh backstage as they wait to perform during festivities marking the start of the annual harvest festival of “Onam” in the southern Indian city of Chennai
Photographs: Babu/Reuters

You may be surprised to learn that worshipping the Mahabali, making apookalam and having the Onasadhya are just a miniscule part of the elaborate festival. Find out how people from different parts of Kerala celebrate the ten-day festival.

With elaborate feasting and a host of colourful activities and celebrations planned across the state, Onam is undoubtedly the biggest festival of Kerala.

While most Keralites celebrate it as a harvest festival, a famous and popular legend is also that of the erstwhile King Mahabali visiting the people of Kerala on Onam.

When King Mahabali was defeated and sent to paathaal (netherland) by Vamana, an avatar of Lord Vishnu, he’d appealed that he should be allowed to visit his subjects once every year.

It is believed that on Tiruvonam, the tenth day of Onam, Mahabali comes visiting the homes of his praja (people) to find out if they are happy and content.

What makes Onam so unique is the fact that it is the only festival celebrated by people irrespective of caste, creed or religion. That explains why it is considered the national festival of the state.

The ten-day long festival starts on Attam in the Chingam month of the Malayalam calendar.

It continues for the next eight days — Chithram, Chodhi, Vishakam, Anizham, Thriketa, Moolam, Pooradam, Uthradam — and culminates on Thiruvonam, the tenth day.

Some also celebrate Onam on Avittam, the eleventh day.

During Onam, across Kerala, a host of celebrations and activities are organised — some as part of the ritual, some for entertainment.

Since some of the customs and activities are dying a natural death due to ignorance or lack of time, we spoke to some people who were born and brought up in Kerala to tell us how Onam has been celebrated in different provinces over the years.


Image: Young girls pose next to a Pookalam designed by them
Photographs: Sahil Salvi/Rediff.com

Pookalam

An important attraction of Onam is the Pookalam— a carpet of multi-coloured flowers arranged in a decorative pattern.

Throughout the ten days of the festival, young girls and boys would wake up early and get ready to make the Pookalam on the courtyard to welcome King Mahabali and other guests who’d visit them.

Each day features a new pattern.

Ramanunni Nair who belongs to Palakkad district of Kerala remembers his childhood days of making the Pookalam and tells us how fun it used to be:

“When we were young, throughout the ten days of Onam, we used to wake up as early as 3 and 4 am. The girls would get ready, broom the courtyard and spread a layer of wet cow dung on the ground. Meanwhile, the boys would collect flowers of different colours and varieties and bring it home to the girls. Some of us would steal from the neighbouring garden just to ensure that we were on top of the game. It was fun climbing fences and trees to get as many flowers as possible.”

Nair tells us that in the olden days, the flowers were arranged on a wet patch of cow dung which ensured that the arrangement remained intact when the dung dried.

Meanwhile, Keralites who live in the cities and cannot afford to make a Pookalam every day make a small arrangement of flowers outside their apartment or their building.

Today Pookalam competitions are organised across the nation and in some countries abroad as well. The participation is huge and the designs are elaborate and innovative.


Image: A symbolic statue of Mahabali is placed on a banana leaf
Photographs: Divya Nair/Rediff.com

Mahabali Varavelpu

As mentioned earlier, Onam also celebrates the welcoming of King Mahabali (Mahabali Varavelpu) who is said to ascend from paathal to Kerala during these ten days to visit his people and enquire about their well being.

Besides the pookalam, every household also erect a small symbolic idol of Mahabali or Maveli outside the house and offer rice and naivedyam to it.

The idol, also known as Maathevar is made of sand or clay and is painted in kaavi (brick colour).

Some of them also paint eyes and moustache on the statue to make it look attractive.

On the last day of Onam, the idol is immersed in the sea or nearby river and pray to Mahabali to visit their families the following year for Onam.

On the last day of Onam, the idol is immersed in the sea or nearby river and pray to Mahabali to visit their families the following year for Onam.

While worshipping the idol and offering prayers, most of them recite this particular poem:

Maveli nadu vaneedum kalam,
manusharellarum onnupole
amodhathode vasikkum kalam
apathangarkkumottillathanum

It says that: When Maveli ruled our land, everyone was treated equally; they were joyful, merry and free from trouble.


Image: Women from Kerala performing the Kaikottikali
Photographs: Syam Subramanian/Wikimedia Commons

Kaikottikali

Kaikottikali or Thiruvadhirakalli is a traditional dance form performed by women on Onam.

It is usually performed in the afternoon after lunch or in the evening after the traditional lamp is lit.

To perform the dance, women wear the traditional cream coloured cotton saree with zari borders and decorate their hair with mogra flowers.

A kutthu villaku (traditional lamp) is lit in the centre of the courtyard and women form a circle around it and perform the dance facing inwards.

They clap and move around the circle singing onam songs praising the harvest and welcome the good times.

Shashikala Pillai, a 42-year teacher from Shoranur, Kerala who now lives in Mumbai shares some fond memories of kaikottikali with us.

“Each Onam, we would eagerly await the Thiruvathirakalli which was performed in our ancestral home after sunset. Everyone in the family would gather and all the women, including my mother used to perform. Women in the neighbourhood would also join in the dance. Those who did not perform, contributed by singing onapaatu (onam songs) and encouraged the others. As children, we’d eat chips and banana while watching them perform,” she says.


Image: Artists perform Pulikali on the streets
Photographs: Wikimedia Commons

Pulikali

Pulikali meaning ‘tiger dance’ is where a group of dancers dressed as tigers would dance to the tune of the drums and entertain the audience.

Neetu Panicker, an MBA graduate who recently shifted to Bangalore after her marriage remembers watching the Pulikali for the first time in Trissur:

“Pulikali is very famous in Trissur. The dancers wear masks of tiger and leopard and paint themselves in animal prints. When I saw them for the first time, I was very scared. One of them almost pounced on me as if he was attacking a prey. I screamed and closed my eyes. But over time, I got used to it. I would stand by the road outside my house with my father and brother and watch them perform stunts on the streets.”


Image: Kummati artists participate in a procession in Thrissur, Kerala
Photographs: Aruna/Wikimedia Commons

Kummattikali

Very few people from Kerala remember the Kummati, complained a 55-year-old Sashidharan Nair when I asked him about Onam celebrations in Malappuram, a village in Kerala.

Delving the details, Nair tells me that during Onam, Kummattis are specially trained artists dressed in plaited grass that cover their bodies; they also wear fancy masks and garlands.

“Kummatis travel in groups and perform the Kummatikali — a form of dance where they hop and jump in a synchronised pattern to entertain children. Some times they are dressed like characters from Hindu mythology and they enact scenes from the Ramayana and Mahabharata or share lessons in peace and happiness. They visit our homes and perform the dance in the courtyard. In return we’d gift them clothes or fruits,” he explained.

Nair says the festival of Onam celebrates different ways of sharing happiness.

 


Image: Vallamkali in Ponnani, Malappuram district of Kerala
Photographs: Riyaz Ahmed/Wikimedia Commons

Vallam Kali

Vallam Kali (vallam means boat), or the sname boat races need no introductions.

In Alapuzha, Cochin and Kottayam districts, men old and young form teams to race against each other in canoes.

The leader of the team gives instructions while the rest of them sit inside the canoe and row it as fast as they can.

They also sing songs and shout slogans to cheer each other.

Kunjikrishnan Pillai who used to regularly visit the boat race in Ashtamudi, Kollam shares one of the famous and most popular vallamkali songs with us:

Kuttanadan punchayile
kochupenne kuyilali
kottu venam, Kuzhal vanam
Kurava venam

It means: When the crops are ripe in Kuttanadu village, a young girl’s voice resembles a songbird; let’s bring on the sound of drums and chorus and join the celebrations.

“Most of these songs become war cries and every year, you will see a new set of songs and slogans. The enthusiasm is very addictive; sometimes there are petty fights while cheering for their respective teams, but eventually they get sorted as people get back to the festive spirit.”

Onathallu

Also known as Kayyamkali in some parts of Kerala, Onathallu (thallu meaning fight/push in Malayalam) is a form of martial arts.

Men wearing cream and red bordered dhotis form teams of two and indulge in a form of wrestling using only the hands for attack and defense.

When the kings ruled Kerala, Onathallu was presented before an audience just to prove how mighty and skilled their war soldiers are.

Today, it is treated as a competition of strength for entertainment purposes only.


Image: Onapottan
Photographs: Nidish K Viswanathan/Wikimedia Commons

Onapottan

In certain parts of Kerala is considered auspicious to spot an Onapottan, Onattar or Oneshwaran onThiruvonam.

Some people believe that the Onapottan is a messenger of the Mahabali

The Onapottan (translated as ‘a crazy character’ in Malayalam) is dressed rather outrageously (as you can seen in the picture above) and roams about the streets of the village sharing folklore.

His face is painted in various colours and he wears a tiered colourful kireedam (crown) on his head.

“Onapottan carries a mani (bell) in one hand and an umbrella made of palm leaves just like Mahabali on the other. When we spot him, we bow to him and give him rice, fruits or something to eat, which he collects in a cloth bag he usually carries. If he throws some of the rice back at you, it is considered that you’re blessed with prosperity. If Onattar is happy, we feel that Mahabali has blessed us,” Nair adds.


Image: Kazhcha Kola
Photographs: Vinayaraj/Wikimedia Commons

Kazhcha Kola

Since the festival celebrates a good harvest, some people display a Kazhcha Kola (a bunch of ripe banana) in front of their house.

This, people say makes Mahabali happy and he blesses them in return.

And finally we have Onasadhya, or the traditional onam feast that includes rice, wheat, fruits and vegetables that is served on a banana leaf with its tapering end placed to the left.

You are supposed to sit on the floor with your legs crossed as the elderly women or men of the house serve the items of the sadhya in a particular order of significance starting with salt,papadam, banana, sharkara upperi (a sweet made from yam), banana chips and different types of pickles. The rice and curries are served at the end.

Sometimes a typical Onasadhya comprises as many as 20 different preparations — a sign of luxury, prosperity and happiness — so much so that it features significantly in Malayalam proverbs such as Onnam unnan bhagyam venam (You have to be lucky to enjoy an onam feast) and Kanam vittum onam unnanam (You have to have the onam feast even if it means having to sell your property/riches).

Source….www.rediff.com

Natarajan

 

 

Meet ‘Traffic Ramaswamy’ …80 Years Old…Still Standing Tall and Fighting against Wrong….

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One would think this 80-year-old would have hung up his boots a long time ago. Why then is he, instead of reading a newspaper on the porch and playing with his grandchildren, busy keeping the local government, policemen and officials on their toes? Meet K.R. ‘Traffic’ Ramaswamy, a social activist who fears none.

“I want to see Chennai as one of the most livable and lovely cities in the country,” says 80-year-old Ramaswamy, with high hopes and a quavering voice. This man, who started his career as a mill worker, is one of the most popular names in Chennai today.

Traffic Ramaswamy

Born on April 1, 1934, Ramaswamy is no less than a hero who continues to fight for what is right in spite of many challenges.

From asking to remove the prefix ‘Amma’ from Jayalalitha’s name to filing over 50 PILs (Public Interest Litigations), Ramaswamy has always stood by what he believes in. He even walked out of his father’s house when he demanded dowry from the bride’s family.

Who is he?

A home guard by profession, his life as an activist started when he unofficially began directing traffic on Chennai’s busy Parry Corner. In appreciation of his dedication and efforts, the police gave him an identity card which earned him the name Traffic Ramaswamy.

“It was difficult. Many family members went against me for my ‘foolish’ acts of public service. But some friends provided me food and shelter,” he remembers.

Ramaswamy’s activism grew, along with his understanding of the public system, when he worked as PA to a minister in Rajaji’s cabinet.

What has he done?

He was imposed a fine of Rs. 25,000 by the Madras High Court in October 2014 for filing a vague PIL stating “party functionaries who swear allegiance to a criminal cannot form the government.”

He had also filed a PIL to prevent Jayalalitha’s picture from appearing on bus stands and buses.

He was responsible for bringing the ban on the use of motorised fish carts in Chennai in 2002. The fish carts, also known as Thattu Vandi, are motorised carts with a flat wooden plate at the back which causes a lot of damage and injuries if it accidentally hits people. Furious with his actions, the fish sellers attacked him and damaged his property.

Ramaswamy was also abandoned by his own family when he started receiving death threats. But today, even the fishermen acknowledge his efforts and accept that the ban was important.

“What is wrong should be addressed without fearing anything. That is what I have always done.”

– Ramaswamy

Another major change that he brought to the city was by going against unauthorised constructions. He managed to get a multi-storey building which was encroaching on the street at T. Nagar demolished. He also got a one-way road where a lot of lives had been lost due to accidents, converted into two-way

 

The 80 year old man is still standing tall and fighting against wrong.

Most of his actions are backed by the PILs that he files.

Cathedral Road in Chennai is one of the best kept roads in the city as it has the houses of  two of Tamil Nadu’s biggest political leaders on each side of the road. The entire stretch of the road used to be covered with party posters and banners. Ramaswamy filed a PIL to remove the posters and won the case too. Too scared to go against the powerful figures, the police and other officials were reluctant to remove these posters. So Ramaswamy went ahead and removed them himself.

Having spoken loudly against corruption, he has been attacked several times and today has court protection and lives alone due to several death threats given to his dear ones.

He also launched a  political party, Makkal Pathukappu Kazhagam in January 2014, which is open to anyone to join. “I want to invite people to get associated with it and feel free to raise their voice against what is wrong. The party already has thousands of people engaged with it,” he says.

What keeps him going?

ramaswamy

Having spoken loudly against corruption, he has been attacked several times and today has court protection and lives alone due to several death threats given to his dear ones.

“It is the love for my city and a dream to see it progress that keeps me going. I believe there will be a day when the entire nation will be corruption-free. But only if we all come together to fight for it.”

– Ramaswamy.

He believes that the real power lies with the people and they should use it. “I want citizens to be bold. They should not fear anything and come out in the open,” he says.

From a mill worker to a social activist, Traffic Ramaswamy’s life has been full of ups and down. But he has always stood by his decisions and raised his voice against what is wrong. Even in his twilight years, he shows strong will power and immense dedication towards a better city and, above all, a better India.

Contact Ramaswamy on his Facebook page.

Source….www.the betterindia.com

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Chennai’s Colonial Era LandMarks….

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Chennai's colonial-era landmarks

Photo: Nathan G./Mint

The port city has drawn traders from far and wide to set up shop. Here are six pre-Independence establishments that are still thriving

On 22 August 1639, three square miles of land on the Coromandel Coast, where Fort St. George is located today, was handed over to the British East India Company by the local Nayaka rulers. It was from that shard of earth—flanked by ocean and dusted with blond sand—that Madras originated.

 

Now called Chennai, the city celebrated its 376th birthday on Saturday. Here are the profiles of some of the city’s most iconic institutions.

 

Victoria Technical Institute
Photo: SaiSen/Mint
Photo: SaiSen/Mint
The sepulchral atmosphere at the Victoria Technical Institute (VTI) is deepened by a marble statue of the puritanical monarch in full court dress—crown, cloak and sceptre—glaring beadily at you. The pretty young lady on the phone, however, doesn’t seem to be bothered. She has lined up a selection of baby dresses and is discussing the specifics with someone at the other end of the line, possibly a friend or relative who has recently had a baby girl. “I’m sure it will fit her,” she says, “She is still very small.”
This is perhaps one of the few places where you get frocks of this sort in the city: light-as-air smocked cotton in pastel shades with little flowers embroidered all over it. Other remnants of a time gone by can be found here: lace-edged doilies, plump tea cosies, wicker baskets, household linen with cut-work embroidery, multicoloured knitted napkin holders.
Most of the embroidery is done by women’s self-help groups in South India,” says C. Israel, CEO-IC (chief operating officer, in charge) of VTI. “We support them by giving them this platform to showcase their work.”
VTI, which was established as a public charitable trust in 1887 to commemorate the golden jubilee of Queen Victoria, was registered as a society in 1889.
“A few citizens of the Madras Presidency came together to start an organization to help the craftspeople of this country,” says Israel. “They wanted to preserve Indian handicrafts this way.”
VTI’s importance and reach grew as the society’s councillors began persuading craftspeople to route their products through the institute. Scholarships were offered to artisans and more art colleges were established in the Madras Presidency. In 1909, VTI got its first permanent exhibition centre: the Victoria Public Hall on Pantheon Road, Egmore.
When World War II erupted in Europe, British troops chose to occupy the Victoria Public Hall and the institute was moved to a rented store on Mount Road. In 1956, a new flagship showroom was opened in the same area.
The institute, which is spread across three floors and employs around 42 people, has craftspeople from all across the country supplying goods. Finely moulded statues of various Hindu gods in bronze, stone and rosewood can be found on the ground floor and in the adjoining gallery; the brightly coloured enamel work of Rajasthan and equally brilliant wares of Channapatna are balanced by the more subdued Bidriware and Dhokra art, while exquisitely carved and painted wooden furniture takes up an entire floor.

“There are over a hundred different sorts of handicrafts here,” says Israel. “And we constantly meet new craftsmen and invite them to display the best of their workmanship here.”
The Old Curiosity Shop
There is something decidedly Dickens-esque about the red-brick building on Mount Road that houses the Kashmir Art Palace. Step inside and you will understand why it is also called ‘The Old Curiosity Shop’. A line from the inimitable author’s novel, by the same name, flashes unbidden across the mind as you step inside, “the place… was one of those receptacles for old and curious things which seem to crouch in odd corners of this town and to hide their musty treasures from the public eye”.
Mohammed Lateef, whose father started the store in the mid-1940s, says, “The struggle for Independence was at its peak back then and there was a lot of turmoil in the north of India. My father (Ghulam Mohammed) came down to Madras for a visit and liked the relative peace and simplicity of the people here.”
Mohammed Lateef. Photo: SaiSen/Mint
Mohammed Lateef. Photo: SaiSen/Mint
So, Ghulam went back to Kashmir, sold his existing business and used the money to set up the shop on Mount Road. “Back then, people didn’t understand the concept of antiques,” says Lateef. “This used to simply be a gift shop for the English officers who needed to pick up things to take back to their homeland.”
It was his clientele who named the shop, laughs Lateef, turning on a cassette player. Don McLean’s Vincent wafts through the store. With a satisfied expression, Lateef leans back and says, “My style has always been vintage and I don’t sell anything I don’t like. I suppose this store reminded (clients) of the original Old Curiosity Shop.”
Currently, he says, his shop has a mix of both old and new things, “A lot of my clients are in the IT sector—they like to spend money on their house. And I like educating them,” says Lateef, who claims that Jawaharlal Nehru, former chief minister M.G. Ramachandran and actor Sivaji Ganesan visited the store during their lifetime.
“I can make you go back in history,” he promises, picking up a large lump of quartz that gleams gently in the dim light. Holding it up, he remarks, “This is at least million years old.”
There are other things in the store, perhaps not so primeval, but rare and unique nevertheless: finely embroidered, ancient pashmina garments, sepia-hued letters written by Indian statesmen, black-and-white photographs and the cameras that took them, gramophones, radios, typewriters, telescopes, compasses, sundials, five-decade old comics, century-old etchings and sketches, toys, vinyl records, coins, stamps, vintage jewellery, old movie posters, books produced by the Gutenberg press.
“After the British left India, this changed from a gift store to an antique one,” he says, “I talked to my clientele, understood their hobbies and started sourcing things for collectors all over the world. Some of the things I have here once belonged to royalty.”
Gem and Company
It is a small, unpretentious store on NSC Bose Road opposite the Madras high court. Clunky old buses trundle past, shoving pedestrians off the road and raising whorls of dust that find their way into the store, coating furniture and clients with a fine layer of dirt.
Behind the glass shutters of the wooden shelves, however, the pens are safe enough: the little-girl fountain pens with Disney princesses and fairies emblazoned on them, the slender metal cylinders that glint in the sun, the hand-crafted ebonite canisters of swirly brown and streaky black, the packets of cheap and convenient ball pens, the multicoloured gel pens.
“I have a passion for pens and love them,” says M. Pratap Kumar, owner of Gem and Co., which exclusively sells pens. “That is why I do what I do.”
M. Prabhat Kumar. Photo: SaiSen/Mint
M. Prabhat Kumar. Photo: SaiSen/Mint
It began a little less than a century ago, in the late 1920s, when Kumar’s grandfather N.C. Cunnan and his friend Venkatrangam began Gem and Co. Back then, all pens had to be imported from England, he says, adding that today, besides the regular brands such as Parker, Reynolds, Cello, Waterman, Sheaffer and Cross, he also sells the shop’s own brand of pens, Gama. “We sell our pens all over India and abroad,” he says.
Though he stocks a variety of pens, Kumar admits that he has a penchant for the good old fountain pen. “I always advise children who come here to use fountain pens. They are cheap, long-lasting, eco-friendly, don’t stress either the paper or your fingers and give you a much more legible and neat script,” he says, admitting that he is thrilled that schools in the city today are now insisting on their students using fountain pens.
In addition to selling pens, he also focuses on pen servicing, “The fountain pen is a very technical instrument; our exclusive service station for old pens can help you revive even your grandfather’s pen.”
From a shelf below, he takes a slender, velvet-padded box and opens it to reveal an amber-coloured pen. The cap is shattered and the nib cracked, but he picks it up almost reverentially and remarks, “This is an antique pen—once I am done with it, it will write better than any new one.”
Higginbothams
The air-conditioning isn’t working and shimmery, gossamer cobwebs hang like decidedly unlovely birthday streamers off long-stemmed grubby white fans. But the stained glass through which sunlight filters in leaving behind tiny pinpricks of bright light on the smooth black and white Italian tiles is beautiful, as is the sweeping wooden staircase that leads to the gallery above.
The pendulum of the tall grandfather clock must have oscillated for nearly 170 years, but time continues to sit lightly on Higginbothams, the oldest surviving bookstore in India. Unlike most other popular bookstores in Chennai, which have diversified their offerings over the past decade or so (in a few cases, books are no longer even stocked there), Higginbothams is unabashedly what it claims to be—a bookstore in the truest sense of the word.
Photo: Nathan G./Mint
Photo: Nathan G./Mint
M. Hemalatha, a senior customer relations manager who has been with the company for more than 33 years, says, “We are a conservative place and our environment may not be fancy. But when it comes to books, we have all that you require here. We have books across all subjects—technical and academic, bestsellers, classics, non-fiction, regional language publications…”
Labelled shelves of books cover the nearly 12,000 sq. ft store, while notice boards mounted on the wooden railings that bind the mezzanine floor celebrate the power of the written word. “Finishing a good book is like leaving a good friend,” declares one notice, attributing the comment to American publisher and author William Feather. Joseph Addison’s observation that “Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body,” is printed on another. Then there is Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and writer Barbara Tuchman’s simple but lucid comment, a personal favourite—“Books are the carriers of civilization.”
Started by Abel Joshua Higginbotham, a former librarian, in 1844, the bookstore has grown into one of the key attractions of the city. It was frequented by the who’s who of the day, from publisher John Murray to Madras governor Charles Trevelyan and British prime minister Clement Atlee; it became the official book supplier of most government-owned or managed institutions of the time, including the Connemara Public Library.
In 1891, Abel’s son C.H. Higginbotham took over and began expanding the business—building the large high-ceilinged white building where the store is now located, taking it to other large cities in South India and also establishing capsule versions of the store at most railway stations.
“In addition to our larger stores in South India, we also have stores in college campuses, railway stations and the Chennai airport,” says Hemalatha.
In 1925, the store was bought by John Oakshott Robinson and merged with his existing printing unit, Associated Press, to form Associated Publishers.
Black-and-white portraits of the various stakeholders in the business smile enigmatically at you as you enter the store. Between the two portraits of founder Abel Joshua Higginbotham and his son C.H. Higginbotham is one of the late S. Anantharamakrishnan, founder of the Amalgamations Group.
“The bookshop was taken over by the Amalgamations Group in 1945,” explains Hemalatha, adding that it has been with the group ever since.
Despite it being a weekday morning, there are a few children crouched on the floor, examining the bottom shelf of the children’s section. “Reading is increasing among young people in spite of multimedia influences,” says Hemalatha. “Earlier, we were afraid that physical stores would go as the online market was able to give discounts we could not match. However, people who truly love reading still enjoy browsing in a bookstore for the touch and feel of books. And because we are a serious bookstore, they continue to come here.”
Poppat Jamal and Sons
The last year of the 19th century saw a terrible famine spread across Western and Central India. Poppat Jamal, whose family had a wool-exporting business in Gujarat, decided to escape it by leaving home. After a brief stint in Rangoon and then Bombay, he decided to explore the south of India and landed up in Madras.
“My grandfather came here and found a job working with Ibrahim Peer Mohammed and Company, a crockery company in Broadway,” says Mahmud N. Jamal, who has taken care of the business since the early 1970s.
Mahmud Jamal. Photo: SaiSen/Mint
Mahmud Jamal. Photo: SaiSen/Mint
In 1901, Poppat Jamal’s employer decided to sell the business, “He asked my grandfather what he thought the stock in the store was worth,” says Mahmud. “My grandfather said Rs50,000, which was a fortune in those days.”
Though he didn’t have that sort of money, Poppat Jamal agreed to take it over. “The former owner told my grandfather to pay him back after selling the goods. There was a lot of trust in those days,” adds Mahmud.
The large blue-and-white cup and saucer at the entrance of the store may proclaim the name of the business in its current avatar, Poppal Jamal and Sons. But it was not always named so, reveals Mahmud.
“My grandfather started the business with his brother, so it was initially called Poppat Jamal and Brothers,” he says. “When his brother passed away in the 1920s, the name changed to Poppal Jamal and Sons.”
Prior to Independence, the wares were imported from the UK and Japan, he adds. However, as better Indian brands came into the market, they started sourcing more products locally.
From bright melamine dinner sets to Cristal d’Arques glasses, neatly packaged lunch boxes, ceramic cups, airtight storage boxes, electronic gadgets and finely carved silverware, the range is extensive and attractive.
“We stock both local and international brands; we also have Taz, our in-house brand,” says Mahmud, adding that baking equipment is currently hugely popular. “We have a cross-section of buyers and our price range extends from Rs10 to Rs40,000.”
The store has changed locations (in 1958, it moved from Broadway to Mount Road) and the business has expanded (the company now has four stores in the city, as well as stores in Coimbatore and Vijayawada) but what the brand stands for remains essentially the same: PQR—Price, Quality, Range.
Mathsya
They say that when the Battle of Kurukshetra was fought, the king of Udupi refused to take sides, opting instead to cook and serve food to the soldiers gathered on the battleground. As with most stories from the epics, divine intervention came into play: the king would meet Lord Krishna every day to determine how many soldiers would survive the battle that day, thereby deciding the quantity he had to cook.
Little wonder indeed that the little town of Udupi in South Kanara, Karnataka, produces some of the finest vegetarian food in the country. Once upon a time, Madras was filled with hotels serving Udupi cuisine; unfortunately with the changing times, many of the old Udupi hotels were forced to shut down.
Mathsya, located at the corner of Halls Road in Egmore, has managed to hold its own since the turn of the last century. Ram Bhat, a partner of the popular restaurant, says, “To understand Mathsya, you have to understand Udupi philosophy. At the Udupi Sri Krishna Temple, food is served as prasadam to all.”
His grandfather Ramanna Bhat, who set up the restaurant in the early 1900s, was affiliated to that temple and set up the restaurant when he moved to Madras. “Back then, it was called Madras Café,” he says. “When my uncle Shama took over, he called it the Udupi Sri Krishna Bhavan.”
The name changed again after Independence, it was then called Udupi Home, he says, adding that “During the Indo-China War in 1962, there were constant power cuts, the trains came in late and people were stranded without food. So, the government gave Udupi Home permission to serve food post-midnight.”
And that holds good even today. The bells that decorate the hand-crafted wooden door of the restaurant jingle into the wee hours of the morning, while a wooden statue of Mathsya (the piscine avatar of god Vishnu) in the centre of the room welcomes all who enter—middle-aged homemakers, runny-nosed children, mustachioed businessmen and mini-skirted party-goers—equally graciously.
“In the late 1970s, we changed the entire set-up and gave it a more modern look and menu,” says Bhat. “While the rasam vadai, Raja Raja Cholan dosai, onion rava dosai, Manglore bondas and filter coffee continue to be all-time favourites, we also have things like cheese toast, bread-peas masala, aloo parotta and pav bhaaji,” he says, adding that “we are the first restaurant to introduce authentic Punjabi and north Indian cuisine to the south”.
Source…..Preeti Zachariah…..www.mintonsunday.livemint.com
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Message for the Day…” Shiva must be seen thro the two horns of Nandi…”

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Sathya Sai Baba

When visiting a temple of Lord Shiva, none should pass between the bull (Nandi) and the Lingam – the Jiva (individual soul) and Lord Shiva, it is said; for they are to merge into one. Shiva must be seen through the two horns of Nandi, they say. When asked the reason for this procedure people reply, “Well, it is holier than other methods of viewing the Lingam”. But the inner meaning is, ‘You must see the Shiva in Jiva’ – Pasu (animal) and Pasupathi (Lord of all beings) are one: Nandi and Iswara become Nandiswara. When in bondage, it is Nandi; when the bound becomes free, it is Iswara – Nandiswara! This Union is entitled to be honoured. When Pasu is offered to the Pasupathi, and its separate identity is cast away, it is true Yajna (sacrifice). Today, these symbolic acts have changed beyond recognition. The practices of today and the principles of yesterday are far apart – the smallest detail of secular life must be inspired by the higher ideal of spiritual fulfillment.

 

In 1962, This Man Saved The World By Preventing A 3rd World War….

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Vasili Alexandrovich Arkhipov, a Soviet Navy Officer, single-handedly saved the entire world from an upcoming devastating fate. Arkhipov, then 36, did something that was beyond atrocious for an officer of his rank. He disobeyed orders!

Here’s a quick summary:

1. In 1962, Arkhipov was onboard of B-59, a nuclear-armed attack submarine of USSR in the Caribbean sea.2. A US battleship started throwing depth charges to make B-59 surface.3. The Captain of B-59, thinking a war has began, ordered to launch the nuclear torpedo.

4. Arkhipov strongly opposed and convinced the Captain to surface and wait.

5. And stopped what could have been the beginning of a nuclear war between US and USSR eventually turning into 3rd World War.

And that one act stopped a worldwide nuclear war from starting, which would have easily destroyed anything of the shredded humanity that we were left with after World War II.

The background:

Image source

The time was 1960’s, only about one and a half decades after WWII, and the entire world was already dreading another World War, this time armed with nuclear weapons. Politically divided into two groups led by the USA and the USSR, most of the countries of the world were engaged in the Cold War. And the international waters were full of ships and submarines from both parties, ready to pounce on a moment’s notice.

Fact Source

 

Cuban Missile Crisis:

Image source

In 1962, the then Soviet President Nikita Khrushchev and Cuban President Fidel Castro reached a “secret” agreement to deploy Soviet ballistic missiles in Cuba, to protect both countries against the USA’s advances. It was also a defense mechanism against the American Jupiter ballistic missiles placed in Italy and Turkey, which could have destroyed Moscow within a quarter of an hour. Needless to say, the USA didn’t quite like this arrangement, and a 13-day long confrontation in late October of 1962 began between the USSR and the USA.

About the man:

Image source

Vasili Arkhipov was the second commanding officer onboard of the nuclear-armed Soviet submarine B-59 in the Caribbean sea. Before that, he was an executive officer of the ballistic missile submarine K-19, infamously known as “Hiroshima” for the number of accidents it suffered. He, alongwith the crew of the submarine, saved K-19 from a nuclear meltdown after its only coolant reactor failed. Arkhipov suffered severe radiation injuries in the same incident, which killed most of the crew.

Here’s what happened:

– B-59, a nuclear-armed Soviet sub headed towards Cuba
B-59, as a part of a group of 4 attack submarines of the USSR, each armed with 22 torpedoes, one of which was a nuclear torpedo, made way towards Cuba in October 1962.

– The Captain had the authority to launch the nuclear torpedo
The Captains of submarines had the permission to fire the nuclear weapon if a situation arises, with only the consent of the political officer. They would not have to wait for orders from headquarters in Moscow.

– A US battleship began throwing depth charges
On 27th October, USS Beale, an American destroyer, begun throwing depth charges in the sea to make the Soviet submarines surface. Meanwhile in an attempt to hide from the Americans, B-59 was too deep under the sea to receive any radio signal, either from Moscow or from the American ships.

– B-59’s Captain ordered to launch the nuclear torpedo
B-59’s Captain Savitsky thought the depth charges were a result of a war already broken out, and ordered the nuclear torpedo to be launched.

– Arkhipov opposed the decision
Now, though, rules said he only needed his political officer’s consent, who was more than willing, the presence of Arkhipov onboard changed the game. Due to his earlier contribution onboard of K-19, Arkhipov had a say in the matter.

– He made the Captain wait
As you can guess, he said no. He also convinced the Captain eventually to surface and await orders from Moscow, and made the biggest save of the world!

The later life of Arkhipov:

Arkhipov served in the Soviet Navy till mid-1980’s. He was promoted to the position of rear admiral in 1975, and died in 1998, at the age of 73, largely due to the nuclear radiation he was subjected to while onboard of K-19. In 2002, Robert McNamara, the then US Secretary of Defense, said in an interview with the Guardian,”We came very, very close,” while talking about the Cuban missile crisis,”closer than we knew at the time.”

Had it not been for Arkhipov, I would probably not even be here to write about this, or you, reading this article!

Source….Anwesha Maiti

http://www.storypick.com

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Room for Tea…

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Parsi mint tea with brun maska

Taj Mahal Tea House in Bandra is a bright and airy space serving 40 varieties of tea

Amid a mix of old residential buildings, small eateries and ice-cream parlours, a grand bungalow painted in royal blue and pristine white has been making heads turn in an arterial street in Bandra. So although it opened on Independence Day weekend, people around already recognise the Taj Mahal Tea House. It appears to have been plucked straight out of Pondicherry’s French colony but the intended theme, we are told, is all things Indian and all things tea.

This becomes more obvious on the inside, which looks like an ornate, life-sized version of the brand’s blue-gold-beige tea box. Floral turquoise tiles have been introduced into the original floor of the bungalow. The walls are painted in rough, textured beige and gold. Cushions, wall art and staff uniforms also follow roughly the same colour theme.Hindustan Unilever sees this as a natural extension of its 49-year-old brand in the experiential space.
It serves some 40 varieties of tea. The Indian part of the tea menu includes references to Goan, Parsi, Rajasthani and Kashmiri traditions. The beverages have a base of Taj Mahal tea and milk infused with different combinations of spices. The pick of the lot is the Parsi mint tea which is not unlike the tea still served at the cafeteria in Colaba’s Cusrow Baug. It teams well with a serving of butter-slathered brun maska and homemade jam. Like most things that are good for your health, the karipatta or curry leaf tea is an acquired taste. The too-milky base does not help it. On the other hand, the recommended food pairing for this – a breadupma made with crunchy croutons – is quite pleasant.

The menu also has white and green teas, oolongs and cold teas. We tried the warm jasmine pearl tea, which is soothing but perhaps best suited for the end of an evening. The pink jasmine lemonade tilts heavily on the sweeter side. The menu mentions the two coffees that are also available, like an afterthought. The all-day food offerings are served starting as early as 7.30 am. While the fluffy omelette with toastedbesan bread – the tea house’s own creation – is a winner, the sandwich with cucumber, rucola and aubergine filling makes no impact. A cup of tea is priced around Rs 150, while a pot could cost up to Rs 200. Prices for food including breakfast and main courses range from Rs 150-650 per serving.

India, and certainly Mumbai, loves its tea. Tea lounges have mushroomed as a posh alternative to the scores of tea stalls on any street side. They are a welcome addition to an arena crowded with identical, unappealing coffee shops. There is famously Tea Centre in Churchgate, Cha Bar or Wagh Bakri tea lounge. More recently, XVII Tea Room in Bandra and Burma Burma in Fort have entered the market in Mumbai.
The experience at the new tea house is planned to feel like a home, not a tough ask in what used to be someone’s home. The bungalow’s thick wooden ceiling, archways and patio have been restored. There is what is called the sun room, a bright-airy section just by the entrance with a couple of chairs and stacks of newspapers and magazines. The main area has conventional dining tables. The other segments provide copious nooks for those who need time and room to themselves. Anyone looking to join one’s friends here on a busy day might have a hard time finding them in this meandering tea house.

A variety of unique seating is spread throughout the 3,500 sq. ft. lounge – including arm chairs, rocking chairs and big one-seater sofas. Such a set-up could find takers in a city starved of living and breathing space. A patio with large tables is ideal for big groups. A standout feature is the music room, where the decor includes Niladri Kumar’s sitar, Zakir Hussain’s tabla, other memorabilia and an area for music performance or poetry readings. Bookshelves are sprinkled across the space. There is a chess board too. Hindustani and Carnatic classical are also the choice of background music in the lounge.
Other walls showcase Brooke Bond ads from the 1960s, one of which features a young Zeenat Aman, painstakingly sourced from eBay and Chor Bazaar. The final section of the lounge is for the retailing of tea leaves, breads, biscuits and muffins. Fans of the beverage may be tickled by the quotes hung in frames and printed on napkins. For instance, Jane Austen’s ‘Indeed I would rather have nothing but tea’ or Chaim Potok’s ‘Come let us have some tea and continue to talk about happy things.’

Source….Ranjita Ganesan…www.business-standard.com

Natarajan