Stairway to castle in the air

In the going year I made

A castle in the air,

In the coming year I'll

Make a stairway to reach there.

May you find your stairway to your castle in the air. Happy New Year! 

Something is dying

 

The hills and vales do not know,

Nor do the forests and rivers,

Or, the insects, birds and animals

That something is dying;

Some people in the beehives,

Of the cities know it though,

Those with targets and appraisal cycles;

Also, some people in the death row,

Feel something is dying,

The year is dying.

0/0/0000

 

I believe that there is no year 0/0/0000 in the Gregorian Calender. That is, there is no year between 1 BC and 1 AD. I'm told that the Hindu and Buddhist calendar do have a 0 year, though. What will be the year after 31/12/9999? Will it be 1/1/10000? Or, will it be 0/0/0000? Or, will it be 1/1/0001?

I checked and found that 31/12/9999 would be a Friday. Will it be the ultimate Thank God it's Friday? I also found that 1/1/0001 started with the Monday blues.

PS: Since the Roman numerals do not have a zero, it would be a little difficult to write 0/0/0000, don't you think?

Trespass

 

You put up a signage,

Trespassers will be shot.

But, I'll take that chance,

And trespass into your heart.

Upside down

Today I was very happy that the first page of  Sunday Times carried all good news, till I looked at the pictures in that page:

All the pictures were upside down. For a cheery perspective of  our world today, we've to look at it upside down.

Winter Solstice:

 

Sometimes the Lord favours the night,

Sometimes He favours the day,

Sometimes He wants us to make love,

Sometimes He wants us to make hay.

Reverse order of doing things

A friend sent me this beautiful message today:

And, the good thing is that this works in the reverse order too: happiness is resting, and then doing nothing.

 

Heavens triaged love

 

The heavens triaged love into:

Love, unrequited love, and loveless.

And the queue in the two of them

Was endless.

And the heavens thought they'd

Made a mistake in triaging,

So, sent the souls in those two lines,

Back again.

But the result was the same:

The loveless remained,

Those with unrequited love remained.

I let it pass

 

I received this Wednesday gyan today:

Be loyal to your future,

Not your past.

Ignoramus, that I am, I reflected on this and said to myself: Is it even possible to be loyal to the future? To be loyal to the future, one has to be a clairvoyant, or, prescient. Which I am not. So, I let it pass.

A wish remained

 

Each night, a star dimmed out,

Each night, a wish vaporised,

After a billion years,

It was a starless sky,

It was a wishless world,

Almost, though;

For a star remained,

A wish remained,

And it came true,

So love was born.

Most forms come with asterisks

 

We fill many forms:

Some for feedback,

Some to open an accout,

Some to close an accont.

Most forms come with asterisks,

At the end of bolded questions,

These quesstions we have to answer,

To move forward to the next row,

He tried to close his love account,

But got stuck at the first question,

What is love, the question asked.

He hasn't been able to close

His love account, yet.

Only love, when he is on the other side

 

Before he goes away

Love him enough;

It could be a while

Before you meet him again,

So love him enough,

That he remembers

That he was loved, and how!

Remembers only love,

When he is on the other side.

The black and white universe.

 

After all the planets, stars, and light

Are gobbled by the blackholes,

And, all the blackholes colease together,

The universe will be all black

From the outside,

And all white inside,

I wish I were there to see:

The bounded universe,

The imploding universe,

The black and white universe.

All those who have their birthday today

 

All those who have their birthday today: today is special.

Today is a near palindrome:

23-11-23

If life were a draw

 

If life were a draw,

You neither win nor lose,

No one better,

None the worse to choose.

If all men and women,

Were truly equal,

No one strives to be better,

A world without a duel.

Seven good habits of winners,

Seven bad habits of losers;

Half the books of the world

Would be taken to the cleaners.

All with same goodness,

All with same flaw,

Such a world, if God wills,

Would be such a draw!

You are in the Shade

 

Open your eyes

And see the confetti drifting down,

The slight breeze that touches you,

Wafts an aroma in the air,

And your trill enchants

The sleepy earth and the lazy moon,

Stardust swirls up

And drops from your feet,

As you throb the irradiated stage,

As you throb the hearts,

And throb the world.

But all is quiet now,

The earth has stopped spinning,

The night is carrying on,

You are in the Shade,

You are in the Fade,

Dust to dust,

Ashes to ashes.

How far does a flying kiss go?

 

I see a lot of flying kisses being showered,

And being uploaded skywards.

How far does a flying kiss go?

How accurate is its delivery vehicle?

What if someone intercepts it enroute?

What if it disintegrates enroute?

Is it one to one, or one to many?

Can a recipient refuse a flying kiss?

And, then the kiss becomes a metoo# revolt?

Let's all be children for a day

 

Let's all be children

For a day;

Let's smear ourselves with mud,

Or, with clay;

Let's build a make-believe rifle,

With our stick;

Let's throw the clock to find

Why the deuce it ticks;

Let's build castles

On the beach,

Stone down mangoes,

Beyond our reach;

Push fingers in electric sockets,

Without flinching fear,

Let's blow soap bubbles

Into the air.

Let's all be children

For a day.

Let's smear ourselves with mud,

Or, with clay.

Golden Jubilee Reunion, Kendriya Vidyalaya, Chandigarh, Sect 47, 1974 Batch on 31 October 2023

The Batch of '74 , Kendriya Vidyalaya, Chandigarh, Sect 47 celebrated their Golden Jubilee Reunion on 31st October 2023.

Here is a video of the function:

https://youtu.be/ksoglwuOVcY?si=A3l6W3UEfHA6wMCB

A u or A g?

 

On this Dhanteras day understand the difference between gold and silver.

It is in the different way a lady addresses her spouse: A u or A g

Fill me with so much love

 

He asked:

How will I make good 

My eons of indifference,

Make good your unrequitted love?

She said:

Fill me with so much love,

That it seeps out of my eyes

In tears,

And drowns the world

In an apocalyptic deluge.

Jupiter was chasing the Moon

 

During the night of yesterday,

The Jupiter was chasing the Moon.

Some said it chased the glazy eclipse,

Others said it chased the shiny full moon.

Victory still measured by the foot

 

On Infantry Day, a friend sent me this heart warming message:

I thanked the friend and said to him: while the world has changed to SI system, thankfully we are still following the FPS (foot, pound, second) system.

Net Run Rate India: at the end of 24 Oct 2023

 In my last post I wrote about some folks celebrating Mr Viral Kohli's century against Bangladesh. Mr Kohli once again played for his own statistics when playing against New Zealand. Instead of quickly securing victory, he played to secure his century. He failed of course to get his century.

It is now clear that despite India being on top of the table, she is third in the net run rate. Here is the table at the end of play on 24th Oct 2023.

 

(click on the table to view the full table)

The difference between India and South Africa's run rate is more than 1, or, India is approximately 51 runs behind South Africa in every game till now. 

South Africa and New Zealand have a fixture on 1st November. One of them will win. India also has a tryst with South Africa later. One of us will win. But clearly, all things being equal, it is more than likely that the NRR will decide the top position. The second and third position in the semis do not matter as much, because each will play against the other in the semis. It is the top team that will meet the weakest of the four in the semis.

Right from the word go India should have aimed at setting up a runaway net run rate. Individual statistics are subservient to team goals.

Net Run Rate: India

 

As per espncricinfo.com the 'Net Run Rate of a team is calculated by deducting from the average runs per over scored by that team throughout the competition, the average runs per over scored against that team throughout the competition'.

So, why are we celebrating Mr. Virat Kohli's century against Bangladesh? India could have easily finished the innings in 40 overs, as opposed to the current 41 overs and 3 balls. When finishing the innings in 40 overs, we could have got a better net run rate and would have inched more towards first position in the tally. Why are we so cavalier about our ultimate goal? Why are we celebrating individual achievement so lustily?

Or, have I missed something very obvious?

That night I was really dreaming

 

I looked for you in the crowd,

Then, I looked for you among the stars.

That day I was day dreaming,

That night I was really dreaming.

Someone's wish, other's despair?

 

Through the night 

When all the lights dimmed

In the streets outside

He collected all the tears

That had fallen,

And, through the night

When the clouds disappeared

And the stars had started falling,

She collected all the stars

That had fallen

And I wondered,

If the sky was weeping,

And, are the stars and tears

Just the same,

Someone's wish, other's despair?

Dear Kalpavruksha

 

Dear Kalpavruksha,

How are you doing?

It's been a while

Since I sent you my wish.

Was it lost in transmission?

Or, will it yet arrive

Saddled on Pegasus?

So, how do wishes work

In your garden?

First in, first out?

Last in, first out?

Or, is there a shelf life of wishes?

How do you do it?

When someone's wish

Is another's curse?

Does it hurt when someone says,

It's all wishful thinking?

*Kalpavruksha: the wishing tree in Indralok

Mirror Opposites

 

  Have you noticed that अक्लमंद and मंदबुद्धि are almost mirror opposites in more ways than one?

            

              

             

On those longing nights

 

That evening the sun went to sleep,

And did not wake up,

The moon waited, and waited,

She also had to turn in,

It was as if Arctic nights

Had descended on the mid latitudes.

But the heavens were happy,

For, new stars were getting birthed

Thick and fast,

As wish followed wish

And, streamed in from below.

Older stars were happy too,

Each could twinkle over

Each's loved ones,

For longer nights,

On those longing nights.

Pious Pitru Paksh

Restoration of Argha at Baba Vishvanath Mandir: 1983

 

To the best of my knowledge, this story is as near true as possible. The story has been threaded together from what Mr Narendra Agarwal of Agarwal Ornament House, Thethri Bazaar, Varanasi - 1 had narrated to me at Chunar, Uttar Pradesh, in the year 1997, and a publication dated 26 Feb 1985 of Shri Kashi Sarafa Mandal, Varanasi. 

I had made a promise to Mr Agarwal that I would write the story of making good the loss of the stolen gold and put it up (at that time I didn't know the word 'upload') in a platform where it would be publicly accessible. Of course, at that time I had no idea about blogs or any digital platforms. 

The story is a little about the theft, and mostly about the making good of the gold stolen from the Argha below the Ling of Bhagwan Vishvanathji Mandir in Beneras on the night of 4th/5th January, 1983.

I quote from the aforesaid publication, not particularly in the order given in the publication: This Mandir has been visited by many bhakts- including foreigners - who have donated generously to the Temple. It is said that Maharaja Ranjit Singh of Punjab, in the year 1839, donated 22.5 maunds (839.7945 kgs) of gold to adorn the Mandir.

Continuing with the quote: 

There has been many thefts in the Mandir after the turn of the twentieth century. The last big theft happened on the night of 4th/5th of January 1983. The thieves made away with gold from the Argha beneath Bhagwan Vishvanath's Linga.

xxxx

The brother of the main accused, Markandaya Singh, Bhagwati, another actor in the theft drama, said to Pujari Ramsurat about the theft: We went to steal. The lock of Satyanarayan was opened with a crowbar. There we got the keys to Baba. With the keys of Baba, we opened the Mandir. With the help of crowbar and screw driver we undid the gold covering of the Argha. However, we couldn't winch out the rest of the gold.

xxxx

Honouring the sentiments of the public, the UP Government took over the Temple on 28th January 1983. Immediately the concerned authorities decided that before the Shivratri festival due on 10 Feburaray 1983, the Argha would be reornamented with gold as before. In view of paucity of time required to procure the gold, and to adorn the Argha with help of craftsmen, the Commissioner of Beneras, Shri Shaibal Kumar Mukherjee called a meeting to enlist the support and help of Kashi Sarafa Mandal on 5 Feburary 1983. The meeting was attended by DC Vinod Kumar Mittal, SSP Trinath Mishra, Gold Control Commissioner G B Singh, Sarafa Mandal's Narendra Agarwal, Vinod Bihari Shukla, Govindji, Maheshwar Nath Kapur, Jagdish Kumar, Harish Pathak among others.

In that meeting, the Sarafa Mandal with great joy and alacrity agreed to adorn the Argha with gold within the stipulated time, contingent, of course, to the gold having being made available.

Under the statutues of Gold Control prevelant then, all governmental as well commercial efforts were made to procure the gold required to adorn the Argha.

Now the story as narrated by Mr Narendra Agarwal to me:

The theft took place on the night of 4th/5th January 1983. The thieves stole the gold sheet from the 'Argha' of the Shiv Ling. (2.555 kg was however later recovered by the police.) Commissioner of Beneras, Mr S K Mukherjee, IAS, Chairman Managing Committee took Rs 11 lakhs loan without interest from the UP Government for purchasing the gold and rectifying the deformity in the gold piece. For 8 days the Sarafa Mandal tried to coax the foremost jewellers of Beneras, the Kanhiyalal Sharaf Group. The Kanhiyalal Group were not ready to ready the Argha in such a short notice.

The 5th Feb 1983 Meeting that has been described earlier was convened.

A letter was written to RBI, Mumbai that Mr Yogendra Kumar Bahal, ADM will go on behalf of the UP Government to get 3.5 kg of standard gold on credit. One Inspector of Gold Control Mr K L Khatri will also go with him to Mumbai to meet the Gold Control Administrator to get his permission for making the gold adorned Argha. Now, Argha is only an article. As per Gold Control Act, 1963 prevelant then, licensed dealers were permitted to manufacture or sell gold ornaments. They couldn't manufacture or sell 'articles'. Mr Nagendra Agarwal opined that the ADM may not be able to procure the gold in such a short period. The Executive Officer of the Mandir asked him to go alongwith ADM to Mumbai. They went directly to the airport and took the flight to Delhi. They reached Delhi by 4 PM. They took the 8 PM flight to Mumbai and reached there by 11:30 PM. They had no accommodation. All of them slept on the floor of one of ADM's relation at Juhu.

At 10 AM, next day (Monday), they met all officers of the RBI. The officers said thay they were only custodian of the gold. There was no policy of giving gold to anyone. The Gold Administrator said that he couldn't help because he was not a policy maker and could only operate within the precincts of the law. Giving gold to Kashi Vishvanath Temple was a policy matter.

The team contacted Jt Secretary, Finance, Central Government, Mr K K Bakshi. Although Mr Bakshi refused to give permission for making of the Argha (article), but he agreed to meet them personally at Delhi the following day.

Next day (Tuesday) the team took a flight back to Delhi and reached Delhi at 10 AM. They went directly to the North Block and met the Jt Secretary. A South Indian officer was also participating in the meeting. (Mr Narendra Agarwal did not recall his name.) He said that in South India all idols of Gods and Goddesses are adorned with what is called Kawacha. Mr Narendra Agarwal said that South India idols are adorned by Kawacha, and Baba Kashi Vishvanath is adorned by Argha. Now, the definition of ornament in the Gold Control Act was checked by the team. The definition given was, any item that adorns idol or person. Mr K K Bakshi immediately said that no special sanction for Argha adornment was required and the gold could be purchased from any licenced dealer.

Mr Haribhai Damani, of Chandi Chowk, Delhi refused to immediately give 3.5 kg of standard gold without money. His argument was if government fails to pay how will the team make good the loss? Standard gold is never sold in credit. It is booked in advance and full payment is made in advance. It was nearing 6 PM. Mr Narendra Agarwal argued with him till 8 PM. He went for a bio call. In the meantime the telephone rang. The Commissioner was calling. He was asked if the money would be paid on receiving the standard gold. The Commissioner said, 'Yes'. 

3.5 kg gold was bought and was declared at the airport but the flight had left. Mr Damani asked for a suitcase and sent the 3.5 kg gold in cargo. The team had only one ticket so the Gold Inspector and ADM were left behind.

The team went straight from the airport to the Commissioner's residence. As an aside, the Commissioner called his wife to show her the gold. The DM, the SSP, the Executive Officer of the Mandir were all present. Next day, the payment of Rs 7,15,562.50/- was made at SBI, City Branch.

The Press was called at 3 PM and was shown the gold.

Work for restoration of Argha started outside the temple at 6 PM. Smelting continued from 6 PM to 8 PM. Lights went off at 8 PM. Miracalously, there was no deficiency of gold after smelting. Rolling finished by 11 PM. After the Mandir was closed for public at 11 PM, the rolled sheet was shaped for adorning. 2 Kgs were expended thus. 1.5 kg was smelted again and after that one patti of 2 inch thickness was put all around. Still, 108 gm of gold was left, and it was used for riveting. Now, the entire thing was brought over the Ling. Work of adornment was finished by 1 AM on 10 Feb 1983.

200 bhakts bathed in the Ganges. Mangala Aarti was performed at 2 AM on Mahashivratri. At 3 AM, the Gates were opened for public. 10,000 bhakts were waiting at the gate.

Note: There may be some gaps in my narration. I had scribbled notes as Mr Narendra Agarwal had dictated to me. I may have missed out some detail. I need to apologise in advance if there are some gaps.

Unethical hacker

 

Unethical hacker:

You've uncovered my vulnerability,

You've found the only chink

In my armour,

And have tore my chrysalis

With your code of misconduct

And love.

Autumn equinox

 

Autumn equinox,

A glass half empty, half full?

How far is the sun? 

Is it too near,

Or, is it too far?

Are the seasons in the sun gone?

Are the seasons in the sun coming?

Who knows!

He knows.

There's nowhere the heart can hide

Like a wave seeking the shore,

Unmindful of the tide,

Like the trembling lips 

Seeking the cheeks that cried,

Like the sunflower willfully turning 

Onto the morning sun's side,

The pain will find me,

There's nowhere the heart can hide. 

It is Glory to Die Doing One's Duty

 

First a disclaimer: I have very little knowledge of the Bhagvad Gita, but lately, I have taken up reading The Gita (and trying to understand The Gita) in earnest. 

The motto of my Regiment, The MADRAS Regiment, is the following:

स्वधर्मे निधनं श्रेय: 

swa-dharme nidhanaṁ śhreyaḥ

It is taken from Verse 35, Chapter 3, of Bhagavad Gita. The full verse is thus:

श्रेयान्स्वधर्मो विगुण: परधर्मात्स्वनुष्ठितात् |

स्वधर्मे निधनं श्रेय: परधर्मो भयावह: || 35||

śhreyān swa-dharmo viguṇaḥ para-dharmāt sv-anuṣhṭhitāt

swa-dharme nidhanaṁ śhreyaḥ para-dharmo bhayāvahaḥ

In the Regiment, the English translation of the motto is:

It is Glory to Die Doing One's Duty.

स्वधर्मे निधनं श्रेय:  along with its English translation, 'It is Glory to Die Doing One's Duty' is prominently displayed in the Quarter Guards of all MADRAS Regiment units.

In my humble opinion, this translation is not correct, indeed it is misleading.

Two well known Gita translations: One, Gita As It Is by Swami Prabhupada, and two, The Holy Geeta by Prabha Duneja give respectively the following translation of Verse 35, Chapter 3:

This, some may say, is the Bharatiya perspective. But, the thing is that even a Western perspective, like the one given by Winthrop Sargeant in his book 'The Bhagavad Gita', writes the translation of the verse similarly:

There are some who have said that the translation may have been done to give a motivational tilt to the motto. In my humble opinion, a totally unrelated translation to fill in the purported contour of motivation is ill conceived. One cannot incorrectly translate verses from the Bhagvad Gita, however motivational the translation may appear.

We must change the translation of the line in question to the one that is given in well known books giving English translations of  Bhagvad Gita.

 

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What could have been…….. but what was not

 

This story is by Gp Capt Ashwani Bhakoo(Retired), my coursemate from NDA. The piece has been reproduced here with his kind permission. He is a gallant Hunter.

Ashwani is now a qualified Psychologist and because of that I say: Quiet flows the adrenaline now.

In Jan 1980, after my training, I was posted to the first operational fighter  squadron, the No. 28 Sqn Air Force, called the First Supersonic. Flying the Mig 21, T-77 was simply awesome and we were at the top of the world. 

It was a beautiful Thursday morning on 04 Sep 1980, with clear skies washed deep blue by the departing monsoon. Flying was in full swing and our operational syllabus was accelerated after the slowdown in the monsoon months. 

Low flying was the new training phase and this required high focus as the reaction times for flying at 780 kmph at 150 mts above ground were now reduced to a fraction of a second. Any mistake at this height and the ground was just 0.5seconds away. 

The monsoon had left the mighty Brahmaputra in spate and large areas of Tezpur were under water. Bird activity was very high due to many animals being swept away by the mighty river breaking its banks leading to the birds feasting on the floating carcasses. 

It was on this fateful day of 04 September 1980 that I was programmed for carrying out a Low Level Navigation at 150 meters above ground at a speed of 780 kmph. The maps were prepared and Sqn Ldr V  the decided to be my chase to ensure safety, as the rules dictate that no fighter aircraft shall fly single at low levels. The route selected that day  ensured that we stayed clear of the Brahmaputra and avoided flying over the flooded river. Sqn Ldr V checked the  maps, briefed for the sortie and revised the actions for emergencies at low level and we were off with me in the lead  doing the low level navigation. 

The first leg was uneventful, though realisation dawned that the mighty Brahmaputra had breached its banks and the entire area was flooded. We could not avoid flying over the massively flooded Brahmaputra specially as we approached our second point. The raging river was scary and the birds were all over. It was on the second leg, while I was looking for checkpoints that the worst fears of a fighter pilot manifested and I had a head on collision with a large eagle. The loud thud of the eagle hitting the aircraft at 780 kmph brought all my focus to the front.  Half the eagle went into the engine and the other splattered the front windshield with its blood and remains. 

The engine quit and the dreaded 'low level bird hit engine failure over water' manifested itself in its full form. The cockpit instrument panel went berserk, the engine rpm winding down, engine temperature heading to zero, oil pressure dropping, the orange and red warning lights blinking and the master blinker flashing in all its glory. The head phones were filled with the screeching warnings trying to wake up the numb brain. With just 50 hours experience on the Mig and a total of less than 300 hours of flying experience it was simply crazy in that cockpit. The survival instinct coupled with hours of training hammered in by the instructors took over. Adrenaline flooded the body. Despite the brain being in shock, the hands moved on their own and the immediate action to ease back on the stick and gain height by converting speed to height while checking instruments for damage was smoothly executed. During this time Sqn Ldr V was going beserk trying to call me on radio to find out why I was climbing.  My jammed brain, with all the cockpit warning sounds, was responding without pressing the radio transmit button - "can't you see what has happened - I have a bird hit flameout". The brain was just focused on the speed reduction and the height being gained. I eased up to nearly 1100 mts by the time the speed reduced to 400 kmph - the lowest handling speed at which point now height had to be converted to speed if I did not want to fall out of the sky. I lowered the nose into a glide. All this time my mind was frantically going over the actions of "bird hit engine flameout". I adjusted the throttle and reached for the engine restart switch while maneuvering the aircraft to get out of the flooded Brahmaputra and onto dry land. It is said that a Mig 21 after a bird hit flame out will not relight as the engine would have been shattered by the bird. Well, I had to try, there was no option, I was not going to eject into the Brahmaputra and be swept to Kolkata and out to sea by the raging river. The relight button is positioned on the left hand side wall of the cockpit just above the throttle, it is guarded by a metal bracket to make it stand out and a technician puts a 0.005 mm locking wire across the mouth of the bracket to ensure that the switch is not put on inadvertently. It is positioned in such a manner that it can be flicked 'On' by a single finger as there is no further access. 

While I was gaining height and having realised that my engine had quit, I wanted to put on the relight button but it just would not budge. I just could not put it on as the protective wiring was a bundle of many 0.005mm locking wires twisted together blocking access to the relight button. The top of the climb had been reached, the glide started, the Brahmaputra was staring at me and I could not put the relight button "On". Survival & adrenaline again kicked in and I hammered the switch guard with my fist, finally succeeding in breaking the guard though I could not break the wire. The switch was free and as I commenced descent, I put it "On". 

Nothing happened. Ejection into the Brahmaputra stared me in the face. I was approaching the critical height for ejection in a descent in a Mig 21 as these were not "Zero height Zero speed" ejection seats. The ejection seat needed height and speed for a safe ejection. I tightened my straps, gave a call and continued gliding to get out of the Brahmaputra and then the miracle happened - the RPM flickered, the Engine temperature started rising, the oil pressure started moving up. I was running out of time to eject but I patiently persisted and at about 300 meters the engine started. I tentatively eased the throttle forward and slowly picked up the nose to start a shallow climb, not stopping before I reached 2000 mtrs and turned towards base. The time lapse in all this was only a few seconds but for me time had stood still, for the world & specially Sqn Ldr V, the Radar and the ATC, time had raced. I received a lot of instructions and was given a priority landing. A safe landing was done and the aircraft was brought to a halt on the Runway apron where it was immediately surrounded by the rescue vehicles. 

The adrenaline which had pumped itself into my system to help me survive slowly started ebbing and the world started making sense again. A burly Sardar from the rescue team stood towering over me trying to get me out of the cockpit. He insisted, I refused his help and came down the ladder on my own but, as my foot touched the ground the adrenaline finally gave up and I collapsed into the comforting arms of the burly Sardar. 

I recovered fast in the ambulance and after a brief visit to the Sick quarters reached the Squadron where Mrs Singh (The CO's wife) had sent me a big bowl of Rasgullas with a note - "What could have been…….. but what was not. God Bless". 

On inspection it was found that 40% of the engine blades had been broken/twisted and it was a miracle that the engine had started. I was debriefed and planned to fly the very next day again. The miracle of life goes on……

Stereo Type

 Someone sent this message today:

There was this rejoinder to this post:

Type.......................................................................Type

The originator the message train asked: What is this?

The rejoinder guy answered: Stereo Type

Insured his heart against break

 

He insured his heart against break

And, his heart did break, eventually.

But surprising as it may sound,

None claimed the assured amount.

You complete me

 

Like the first ray

of the sun,

Like the first rain

On a parched earth,

Like the first gush

From the spring,

You begin me.

Like the last flourish

Of the brush,

Like the last piece

Of the puzzle,

Like the last grain of sand

In the hourglass,

You complete me.

Sharada Maa Peeth

 

I have been watching TV episodes on the 18 Shakti Peeths in a Serial called Sarvam Shaktimayam. The story is woven around a family that goes to visit the 18 Shakti Peeths.

The episode about Sharada Maa Peeth evoked nostalgia. Sharda Maa's Peeth, I discovered, is in POK across Krishnaganga river opposite Teethwal village in Kashmir.

In the early eighties, my unit was at Tanghdhar, in Kashmir. Down the spine of the spur of the Saari ridge, at the very end, was Teethwal village. As subalterns, we  have climbed down from our posts to the path alongside Krishnaganga river. The path reached the Teethwal village. From Teethwal, we have often climbed up the Samsaari ridge and then finally descended into Tangdhar village.

When we were in Tangdhar in the early eighties we - at least I - didn't know about the Sharda Peeth across the Krishnaganga river.

This family in the episode is unable to visit the Sharda Maa Peeth because it is in POK. The protagonist in the Serial wonders if a Kartarpur style corridor could be made for pilgrims to visit Sharda Maa Peeth.

I also wonder.

Billion for dummies

 

I received this post today:

People don't have as strong intuitive sense of  how much bigger 1 billion is than 1 million. 

● A million seconds is about 11 days. 

● A billion seconds is about 32 years. 

This is another way of saying that a billion is about a 1000 times more than a million:

    1 (day) x 365 x 32 = 11680 

    That is 32 years is 11680 times a day.

    Therefore, 11 days is 11680/11  part of 32 years 

    Or, a billion is 1061.8 times a million, or about 1000 times more than a million.

The same would be true if we compare one thousand and one million.

Since a million is a thousand times more than a thousand, the same calculations would hold.

The reason for counting in the West go from one to thousand, to million, to billion... and so on is because three zeroes uniformly come in between. That is:

1 one

1000: thousand

1000000: million

1000000000: billion

It is believed that beyond three zeroes, the human eyes get confused with the number of zeores and we start counting the zeroes with our fingertips after three zeroes. That is why, when we have currency written, we often insert commas after every three zeroes:

1000,000: million

1000,000,000: billion

Now, in the Bharat way of counting, it is not the same: We have laksha (lakh)with five zeroes after and koti (crore) with seven zeroes after.

Although this may not be visually as symmetrical as the Western way of counting, I have noticed that the laksha (lakh) is always a easy way to count. Only, the West keeps calling it hundred thousand instead of lakh.

Your thoughts?

Neither sweat nor dew

 

At times the grass is wet with dew,

At times the grass is wet with sweat,

Who dances on that grassy patch?

What collects at her pretty feet?

Is it sweat, or is it dew?

That patch's owner murmurs thus:

At dawn it must be dew,

Honest sweat at noon is due,

At dusk the grass withers and bends,

'Tis neither sweat nor dew.

How many vows are disavowed?

 

The heart and the soul took a pledge,

Not to part, ever.

The heart could not keep its vow

And parted with the soul at death.

Though the soul carried on

It was never the same again.

Had a part of it died too?

How much pain does the soul gather

Through lifetimes and more?

How many hearts break the soul's heart?

How many vows are disavowed?

Will I lose again?

 

How will I know love again?

Will my pole star disappear again?

Will I be lost again?

Will my wasted heart flutter again?

Will my arid eyes moisten again?

Will I lose again?

Commutative property and Indian Army

Commutative property of addition doesn’t work in the Indian Army:

 

Commanding + Officer ≠ Officer + Commanding

 

Commutative property of multiplication doesn’t work in the Indian Army:

 

C x O ≠ O x C 

How many dreams?

 

I asked:

How many worlds do your eyes hold?

How many dreams do your eyes hold?

And you said:

None, none at all.

Eyes are not for dreaming,

They are for seeing,

or, crying.

Raakhi's gossamer touch

Some threads are made of cotton,

And can become of steel,

Most times a raakhi's gossamer touch,

Other times a mail of steel. 

* raakhi: a cotton thread a sister ties on her brother's wrist for his protection

The South Pole of the Moon

 

I am the South Pole of the moon.

I don't know what is walking,

But I believe someone is walking on me.

Nothing like this happened in eons.

Someone from the earth tore a part of me,

And threw it up in the sky.

The earthlings call it dust,

And they say, the dust will settle.

This walker will leave imprints

On my pristine soil,

It will tell the earth 

About all the elements

That reside in my self.

But it will miss the heart and soul therein.

Earthlings will then take the elements

To yonder beyond,

And leave me bereft of my elements.

Who are they to take my elements away?

Whose Universe is it anyway?

Song of the moon stone

As the landing comes near,

My heart trembles with fear,

Will the giant hand

Take away stone and sand?

And the last time around,

When the earth's buggy didn't run aground,

They tore up my mother's heart,

And took away many a part.

I never saw our stones again,

Word came they went into a den,

And became a hundred parts,

They call them now lunar parts.

Word came that there is breeze,

And the winds there never cease,

The winds wear away earth's stones,

And lay them bare to the bones.

Don't ferret me out,

O monstrous earth's scout,

Let me be in my land,

With my stones and sand.

Wrong side of Sixties

As I cross over to the wrong side of sixties, my feelings are a bit like this message I received a few days ago from a good friend:

When I was young, my family was hardworking and not-so-rich. But I can tell you, after years of honest, hard painstaking work, I am no longer young.

Happy birthday to me.

 

Fables of stones and pebbles

 

Died to know what is afterlife.

 

The other side of the hill is also green,

Yet, I trudged far to see that green,

The colour of the sky is not blue,

Yet, I flew many miles above to see that blue,

Water has  no colour,

Yet, I dived many leagues below to see its colour,

Nothing remains after life,

Yet, I died to know what is afterlife,

And, I died to know what is afterlife.

This is my freedom come

Chains have become ghungroo,

Unshackled, and cut asunder,

And, Shiva's tandhav

resonates on earth and sky,

This is my kingdom come,

This is my freedom come.

*ghungroo: Small metallic bells strung together on the anklets worn by classical Indian dancers 

Not an episode

 

Lachrymosity,

the welling of the eyes,

And arrhythmia,

the uneven forcefulness

Of the heart,

Have such a strange arithmetic:

They, at times, happen together,

And, at that time,

It is not an episode.

Fewer than 5000

I received this post yesterday:

Was reassured when I read the 'Fewer than 5000' part.

Zero is also fewer than 5000.

 

The rainbow has broken

The rainbow has broken,

And the colours are all spilling out,

The rain has stopped,

And, the colours are spilling out.

Now, I see the sky

As if through a prism,

As I often see the world:

Shades of grey

Make the black below.

Above, some say,

The seven colours

Make up the white. 

Friendship is older than friends

 

Friendship is older than friends,

Happiness is older than friends,

Life is older than friends,

Some roads are older than friends,

New roads take me away from friends,

And, I drift away from friends.

But friendship is older than friends,

And it outlasts new roads and friends,

And survives;

Happiness remains, life remains.

Can't unravel, can't untie

 

How do you do it seafarer,

Do it with ease?

Untie all knots

On harbour, or, on rough seas?

I can't unravel, can't untie,

Mangled threads, or, even this life,

Therefore, I often cut open

With a surgical knife.

The search is on for love

 

Over each darkened path

In this world

There is a floating lantern.

Below each waterfall

In this world

There is a lagoon blue.

And, all the runnels and rills

in this world

Have been stopped and dammed.

And, the search is on for love.

और, इसलिए ज़िन्दगी मिली

 

कुछ तो अच्छा किया होगा,

कुछ तो अच्छा जीया होगा,

कि बंधुओं की बंदगी मिली,

और, इसलिए ज़िन्दगी मिली ।

* I must have done something good,

  I must have lived true,

 That I got the fondness of friends,

 And, that's how I found life too.

बुध को बोध गया

 

बुध को बोध गया,

बुध को बोध हुआ ।

*On Budhwar (Wednesday), they went to Budh (Bodhgaya), On Budhwar (Wednesday), they experienced.

Are you lonely?

 

Are you lonely?

I haven't forsaken you.

But, I can't find you.

It's the fog

That's all around me.

It's the veil

That's all around you.

When will they lift?

Will they ever?

Nothing special in this present moment

 

Some say, live in the moment,

Some say, seize the moment.

I say, life is a string of moments,

Nothing special

in this present moment,

I was there in all moments past,

I will remain

When all moments are past.

And, when all moments are past,

Love will still remain.

Nothing special

in this present moment.

Traveller, your search ends here

 

I climb a crest,

And there's one more to climb,

I find a search,

And, there's one more to find.

Is there a place

Where the signage shouts:

You're almost there.

Traveller, your search ends here.

I con

 

What is an icon? Is it like the National Geographic which is said to be iconic? Or, is it like the Wellington Gymkhana Club? The former is closing down, the latter was coerced into closing, albeit for a few days. 

Per Webster, icon is: 'a person or thing widely admired especially for having great influence or significance in a particular sphere'. 

How can admiration close down?

Some say the word icon is the amalgamation of the subject and predicate of a very short sentence: 'I' + 'con'.

What do you say?

My, my, it's July

 

Some sigh,

It's already July;

Some say, My, My!

It's July!

Artificial intelligence pack

The online seller

Sent a text:

Arriving on doomsday,

Your free 

Artificial intelligence pack

to combat doomsday.

Rate your experience,

And give your feedback

On the AI pack

To the Maker.

And, call the Maker

On doomsday

For any support.

All the anger of the world

 

The day

All the anger of the world

Dissipates into the sea,

And, the sea rises

And touches the sky,

All souls

Will walk the viscous sea,

In search of life,

In search of love.

We are like this only

 

We are like this only:

We are 6/6 in hindsight,

We use microscope for foresight,

We are generous

When we are not paying,

We ask, kitna deti hai?

Of the car we aren't buying.

We are like this only.

*kitna deti hai: What is its fuel consumption

Love to hate

 

I know that hate-to-love

Is a kind of hate;

Is love-to-hate

A kind of love?

And feel the pain again

 

Parting has become a bit of a habit now.

That same intense pain and sorrow

When the first movers crossed over,

Is no longer there.

Two mates crossed over

To the other side yesterday.

The hurt has deadened a bit.

Some of our mates

Must be still be choking with intense grief.

Mine must be an utterly bad habit.

Should I get out of this bad habit?

And feel the pain again?

----------------------------------------------------------

Only on the 9th June, the Indian Army's 64 Regular commissioning day, I sent a message to my coursemates thus:

Happy commissioning day, pongos*. 

May you get decommissioned only at aakhri padrao.**

*pongos: Armymen, so-called in the Tri Services

**aakhri padao: The last stop, metaphorically, the cremation or burial spot.

Can this be counted as a life for the batter?

 

Just saw Mr Rahane appeal against a lbw decision. Turns out, it was a no-ball on which he was declared out. As such, the appeal was upheld and Mr Rahane was declared not out.

My question is this: Did Mr Rahane get a life when the lbw decision was upturned?