I was at a Carrefour last night, buying some vegetables. Ahead of me in the billing queue was a short Indian guy- evidently a man who does hard labour for living buying a bottle of water. The billing girl scanned the bottle and said this is 6 Dirhams. He hesitated a bit but immediately took out his wallet. The girl sensing the discomfort said, "why dont u pick a cheaper bottle". He wasnt sure. I pitched in and said in hindi, "That whole rack has a variety of bottles, why dont you pick that xyz brand, why do u want to waste money on this brand when you dont want it". He walked till there and came back saying, "But sir those are not cold". He obviously had a hard day and wouldn't be happy with himself if he forced warm water on himself.
I left the queue and walked with him to another rack I knew had colder bottles. Got him the bottle and walked back to the counter with him. By that time, the queue had become suddenly quite bigger. I thought, "Ouch, could I have just pointed the rack to him and got my billing done faster". But no, I know how intimidating these hypermarkets can get. This guy could have come back with a wrong bottle again and this time go through with it. In the queue, in that brief 3 mins, he told me he works for a laundry and he gets paid only 900 Dhs per month and he is thinking to go back to India (where he can prolly make more money and live better probably).
Thinking about that made me happy that I helped this guy save some money he would have regretted spending. I was on that thought for a while until it struck me how sad the thought was. How important it has become for us to fill our empty lives with giving something in one or other way. How common decency has become an agent to 'feel good'- a novelty instead of a natural reaction. Disappointing!
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Thursday, March 31, 2011
My dear India-Pak cricket contest
The wait for the game was over and the day had come; We left offices half day, we stocked beer and snacks, we kept our facebook and twitter pages open and kept family and friends on sms for wishes and analyses. Then it began- we watched Sehwag blast away, Sachin unusually relive chance after chance, and Raina play yet another do or die; Wahab Riaz was inspiring, continuing the legacy of Paki fast bowling- a true spectacle. Then started the defense play, Dhoni’s true strength- but cldn’t help witness Zaheer slip a bit, Bhajji struggle for the ‘atleast one wicket’, yet Nehra bowl like a blessed bird rising from the criticism that almost buried him, and Munaf showing an uncanny grit for consistency with pace and length.
The game was alright- not entirely gripping, not a spectacular stroke play or fast chase, but a tightly held contest. The presentation ceremony and the speeches were an apt culmination of the decency that was shown on ground for such a high-profile match. Almost every other celebrity of the nation was at the stadium, while on the other side of tv we wondered about what could have gone into the security arrangements.
Come 45th over, I could hear the fire crackers off the street; Come 49th they were louder and come the victory it was an orchestra. Firecrackers, whistles, horns, screams, and “Bharat maata ki jai”. I was enthralled for being lucky to experience it, this is new every time it happens; but I had no idea of what lay ahead. A couple of friends came home and we set out on the roads to see if there was anything happening on the rallying front. A couple of bikes waving flags passed by, but not until we hit a junction where I was baffled by the size of the crowd I saw. A huge mob stood at a junction dancing and drumming; and holding every passer by to dance a step or two with them before they let them pass. It appeared obstructive in the beginning but it began to sink in. They held a bus to a halt, the bus driver aptly responded with swinging his arms to signal a dance; but it wasn’t enough, he had to get down and dance with them and then they let the bus go. This repeated with every vehicle, unless there was a lady in it. If it were there, they let it pass just with a naara, “Bharat maata ki jai”, to which the ladies didn’t mind waving their hands and smiling without being scared. By then the police had come, nothing they could or wanted to do; but just request the crowd to not obstruct the traffic. The crowd obliged and began to simmer down but its size began to deplete; no noise no point crowding culture.
But we couldn’t simmer down, we wanted more. Then we decided to explore the best place for it- the MG road. Dropped off our bikes at home, took the car and hit the road. The occasional flags waving, the drunk guy screaming from his bike, and the police patrol vehicle beaming. Not until we reached M G Road did I realize that this is the most manic, most participated rally I’ve ever been in; infact even ever seen.
The shirt less guy standing on his bike and swirling his tee atop his head, the innumerous flags waving, the bike stunts, the uncontrolled hand-shakes and high-fives with strangers, the “jeet gaya bhai jeet gaya”, and the occasional abuse phrase on Pakistan. The silent cops, without the lathis, were diligently just directing the mania instead of trying to control it. A manic girl was beating the bottles in her hand against each other accompanied with a head bang; looked like she had lost it but it didn’t matter, she was just too jubilant. Still the innumerous flags were waving at different heights and bikes wheeling within a huddle. A guy taking procession of Sachin’s poster with title, “Born to Win”. I wasn’t sure if the need to celebrate used the victory as a reason or if it was vice versa, but an emotional expression of this magnitude has very less space for reason.
This absolutely, positively happens only in India.
These are experiences everyone on the road that night had, in their own realm of perceptions and in their own celebration of emotions। But I had to give to it that this is the biggest mania I’ve seen on streets in all my life and I was totally glad about being a part of it। How much does cricket mean to this nation; a question asked too many times and simply concluded that it’s, ‘A little too much’. And India-Pak matches mark the epitome of sport's significance to life. But like my friend remarked, "The passions are alive, the celebrations are vibrant, the competitiveness has sharpened but the hatred has reduced". Probably it's the best metamorphosis that could happen.
India has exported religions to the east over centuries of past but had imported its biggest modern religion from the west and made it its own.
The game was alright- not entirely gripping, not a spectacular stroke play or fast chase, but a tightly held contest. The presentation ceremony and the speeches were an apt culmination of the decency that was shown on ground for such a high-profile match. Almost every other celebrity of the nation was at the stadium, while on the other side of tv we wondered about what could have gone into the security arrangements.
Come 45th over, I could hear the fire crackers off the street; Come 49th they were louder and come the victory it was an orchestra. Firecrackers, whistles, horns, screams, and “Bharat maata ki jai”. I was enthralled for being lucky to experience it, this is new every time it happens; but I had no idea of what lay ahead. A couple of friends came home and we set out on the roads to see if there was anything happening on the rallying front. A couple of bikes waving flags passed by, but not until we hit a junction where I was baffled by the size of the crowd I saw. A huge mob stood at a junction dancing and drumming; and holding every passer by to dance a step or two with them before they let them pass. It appeared obstructive in the beginning but it began to sink in. They held a bus to a halt, the bus driver aptly responded with swinging his arms to signal a dance; but it wasn’t enough, he had to get down and dance with them and then they let the bus go. This repeated with every vehicle, unless there was a lady in it. If it were there, they let it pass just with a naara, “Bharat maata ki jai”, to which the ladies didn’t mind waving their hands and smiling without being scared. By then the police had come, nothing they could or wanted to do; but just request the crowd to not obstruct the traffic. The crowd obliged and began to simmer down but its size began to deplete; no noise no point crowding culture.
But we couldn’t simmer down, we wanted more. Then we decided to explore the best place for it- the MG road. Dropped off our bikes at home, took the car and hit the road. The occasional flags waving, the drunk guy screaming from his bike, and the police patrol vehicle beaming. Not until we reached M G Road did I realize that this is the most manic, most participated rally I’ve ever been in; infact even ever seen.
The shirt less guy standing on his bike and swirling his tee atop his head, the innumerous flags waving, the bike stunts, the uncontrolled hand-shakes and high-fives with strangers, the “jeet gaya bhai jeet gaya”, and the occasional abuse phrase on Pakistan. The silent cops, without the lathis, were diligently just directing the mania instead of trying to control it. A manic girl was beating the bottles in her hand against each other accompanied with a head bang; looked like she had lost it but it didn’t matter, she was just too jubilant. Still the innumerous flags were waving at different heights and bikes wheeling within a huddle. A guy taking procession of Sachin’s poster with title, “Born to Win”. I wasn’t sure if the need to celebrate used the victory as a reason or if it was vice versa, but an emotional expression of this magnitude has very less space for reason.
This absolutely, positively happens only in India.
These are experiences everyone on the road that night had, in their own realm of perceptions and in their own celebration of emotions। But I had to give to it that this is the biggest mania I’ve seen on streets in all my life and I was totally glad about being a part of it। How much does cricket mean to this nation; a question asked too many times and simply concluded that it’s, ‘A little too much’. And India-Pak matches mark the epitome of sport's significance to life. But like my friend remarked, "The passions are alive, the celebrations are vibrant, the competitiveness has sharpened but the hatred has reduced". Probably it's the best metamorphosis that could happen.
India has exported religions to the east over centuries of past but had imported its biggest modern religion from the west and made it its own.
Friday, March 25, 2011
Kids
There are 2 kids who live in the same building as I, and a cousin of theirs who visits them. I have been giving bike rides to the boy and been playing with the girl kid for sometime now. But the stronger bond has been through chocolates. So much so that I stock chocolates and toffees for them and indeed ration those so that it'd make the kids keep coming to me regularly. This is such a typical story of the 'uncle in the building' who gives chocolates and plays with them, nothing different. But the 'uncle' addressing hurts a bit to which the boy sometimes sensitively changes his adress to 'anna' :D
A friend once told me, "Tendancy to want to spend more time with kids is harmonal change and thus a factor of age". If thats true, then I've definitely aged into the next phase of life.
I've lived in a lots of apartments past 5 years but these little ones will be first set of neighbours whom I'll miss after I move out of the building next month. Thank you Dhanush and Prerna and their cousin Bhoomika.
A friend once told me, "Tendancy to want to spend more time with kids is harmonal change and thus a factor of age". If thats true, then I've definitely aged into the next phase of life.
I've lived in a lots of apartments past 5 years but these little ones will be first set of neighbours whom I'll miss after I move out of the building next month. Thank you Dhanush and Prerna and their cousin Bhoomika.
Friday, November 19, 2010
Journeys I Make
The road going by in the rear view,
The breeze breaking upon my helmet,
The engine thump knocking on my ears;
My eyes battling the dust,
Yet resting on the dance of the fields,
And the sight of the people passing,
Ones that'd never return;
Its the outer world
The feel changes
The view changes
But wherever I moved to
One place I was always in- My thoughts
The breeze breaking upon my helmet,
The engine thump knocking on my ears;
My eyes battling the dust,
Yet resting on the dance of the fields,
And the sight of the people passing,
Ones that'd never return;
Its the outer world
The feel changes
The view changes
But wherever I moved to
One place I was always in- My thoughts
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Deepavali- A second take (Labor Exploitation)
There's clearly a massive problem in the way the firecrackers Industry functions in India. Pl read the article on the link below and the video embedded before you go on to read my analysis further down.
http://ngopost.org/story/happy-diwali-child-labor-sivakasi
Its very sad the extent of labour exploitation (both adult and child) and the government's inability to curb it. There have been appeals from many quarters which have called for measures like boycotting the consumption of fire crackers to protest the labour practices in this industry. The victimization is both economic and social (especially caste exploitation). But we all do understand boycotting the consumption would not be feasible given the prominence of the festival in the country and indeed its not economically prudent too. Lets examine the issues from an economic perspective.
Match boxes
There are prominent brands like ITC distributing the matchboxes but the manufacturing is outsourced to local micro firms. The price of a matchbox is at best Rs 1 and what's worse, most times the matchsticks dont earn revenue for the retailers. The primary use of matchsticks in India is for lighting cooking stove and lighting cigarettes/ beedis. And in India, most of cigarette purchases are in the amounts of one or two sticks at a time, and the cigarette shops that sell these cigarettes have to offer a match stick to light it and this cost has to be included in the small margins made on cigarettes. There is no way of hiking the price of a matchstick as its primarily a cost to the retailer with no direct revenue. Getting the Matchboxes to the retailers at Rs 1 that includes costs of Manufacturing, Packaging and Transport incentivises the manufacturers to use cheap Child labour even though its illegal. This problem is deeply systemic in a tight margin FMGC sub sector and the solution has to involve an economic genius at the govt level. Unfortunately I've no ideas yet to offer a solution here.
Fire Crackers
This has to account for the evolution of this industry over its long history. The migration of local manufacturing of firecrackers to more centrailized manufacturing in Sivakasi that has in recent decades become a hub for the entire region in the country. But the economic model has so many variables that makes this problem complex-
Its a heavily unorganized sector- No sophisticated demand estimation, less skilled work force, no traning practices for labour, no govt regulation on pricing, no advanced transportation, no presence of Insurance mechanisms.
These are just a few but lets examine each of these individually
1) Its a seasonal item: The overheads for the entire year have to be taken care with the revenues from the one month sales.
Probable Soln: A reasonably advanced demand estimation can migrate the seasonal manufacturing to year round and encourage safe storage of inventory. The importance of govt's intervention in this regard is indisputable.
2) Less skilled work force: The industry by-and-large remains unsophisticated. And having seasonal consumption disincentivises maintaining a steady workforce and incentivises companies to encourage local un-skilled labour to flock the companies for employment in this season. How they are employing themselves around the year is unknown (may be farm labour)
Probable Soln: Shifting manufacturing to year round might help in this case too.
3) Lack of training practices: As there is no specific trend of labour association with the industry, there is less impetus on training the workforce on safety measures, providing them benefits in order to encourage retention etc., all of which can lead to creation of industrial towns which provide for better livelihood with housing, sanitation, and other community benefits.
4) No Regulation in pricing: This is the core issue. There is no backward information integration on the consumption which leaves the pricing entirely ad-hoc. In addition, every year witnesses product innovation where there is uncertainty in demand. The retailers place their order at Sivakasi 2 months in advance based on the inventory left over from their last year sales and their intuitive estimation of demand in their local catchment area (which again is bound to leave some unsold inventory that gets carried to next year as there is no returning of unsold items to the manufacturers). The retailers cant predict demand and keep a high margin for themselves to recover the cost of their capital. This eats into the margins for the manufacturers and makes them keep a check on costs (primarily labour costs). What adds to the problem is that most retailers are also not dedicated to this industry, the have other vocations for other times of the year.
Probable Soln: In heavy, bold letters- 'Organized retail'. Need not be corporate entry but atleast an Amul type experiment will do wonders in this sector in less time than you can imagine. This would also pass on the benefits to the consumer in bringing stability and predictability to the prices. And the Govt can enter to ensure 'MRP' model is implemented and practiced.
5) Non-sophisticated Transport: 'Highly inflammable substances inside'. No transport provider? These get shipped in normal trucks with probably one or two extinguishers on board. Since the perceived threat is so high, it affects the pricing heavily by including a good amount of margin for potential loss of goods. And these margins are kept with the transporters and the retailers not manufacturers who refuse to take the risk.
Probable Soln: Any local entrepreuner out there wants to specialize in providing this transport in a world class way?
6) No-Insurance mechanisms: Insurance companies dont enter any industry that they dont understand and top of it which is unorganized. If the steps above are gradually implemented, the insurance sectors need not be reminded of this opportunity, they'll see it themselves. Underwriting of the supply chain and labor work force can dramatically improve this sector's margins by removing the risks- and this can be shared between all the stakeholders- the companies, the work force, the retailers and the consumers.
7) Encourage exports: For the industry of this size (given the local consumption levels), the extent of sophistication is pathetic. If these companies are encouraged to look abroad and compete with chinese or other major manufacturing hubs of the world, it could bring in industry best practices in manufacturing quality, safe manufacturing, safety marking of the goods, labour training and practices etc.
This has to start with the Govt agencies, the non-govt agencies can work towards bringing govt to action. The community awareness can additionally act as a catalyst. The solution listing is much simpler that implementing it- identify the stake holders and Organize them into a sector, bring in regulation for pricing, encourage competition, develop multiple hubs, increase public awareness; All this might translate to migration of the firecracker industry from a Cottage industry to an SME (Small and Medium Enterprises). This might force the companies in Sivakasi into better labour practices and help the society boycott child labour
http://ngopost.org/story/happy-diwali-child-labor-sivakasi
Its very sad the extent of labour exploitation (both adult and child) and the government's inability to curb it. There have been appeals from many quarters which have called for measures like boycotting the consumption of fire crackers to protest the labour practices in this industry. The victimization is both economic and social (especially caste exploitation). But we all do understand boycotting the consumption would not be feasible given the prominence of the festival in the country and indeed its not economically prudent too. Lets examine the issues from an economic perspective.
Match boxes
There are prominent brands like ITC distributing the matchboxes but the manufacturing is outsourced to local micro firms. The price of a matchbox is at best Rs 1 and what's worse, most times the matchsticks dont earn revenue for the retailers. The primary use of matchsticks in India is for lighting cooking stove and lighting cigarettes/ beedis. And in India, most of cigarette purchases are in the amounts of one or two sticks at a time, and the cigarette shops that sell these cigarettes have to offer a match stick to light it and this cost has to be included in the small margins made on cigarettes. There is no way of hiking the price of a matchstick as its primarily a cost to the retailer with no direct revenue. Getting the Matchboxes to the retailers at Rs 1 that includes costs of Manufacturing, Packaging and Transport incentivises the manufacturers to use cheap Child labour even though its illegal. This problem is deeply systemic in a tight margin FMGC sub sector and the solution has to involve an economic genius at the govt level. Unfortunately I've no ideas yet to offer a solution here.
Fire Crackers
This has to account for the evolution of this industry over its long history. The migration of local manufacturing of firecrackers to more centrailized manufacturing in Sivakasi that has in recent decades become a hub for the entire region in the country. But the economic model has so many variables that makes this problem complex-
Its a heavily unorganized sector- No sophisticated demand estimation, less skilled work force, no traning practices for labour, no govt regulation on pricing, no advanced transportation, no presence of Insurance mechanisms.
These are just a few but lets examine each of these individually
1) Its a seasonal item: The overheads for the entire year have to be taken care with the revenues from the one month sales.
Probable Soln: A reasonably advanced demand estimation can migrate the seasonal manufacturing to year round and encourage safe storage of inventory. The importance of govt's intervention in this regard is indisputable.
2) Less skilled work force: The industry by-and-large remains unsophisticated. And having seasonal consumption disincentivises maintaining a steady workforce and incentivises companies to encourage local un-skilled labour to flock the companies for employment in this season. How they are employing themselves around the year is unknown (may be farm labour)
Probable Soln: Shifting manufacturing to year round might help in this case too.
3) Lack of training practices: As there is no specific trend of labour association with the industry, there is less impetus on training the workforce on safety measures, providing them benefits in order to encourage retention etc., all of which can lead to creation of industrial towns which provide for better livelihood with housing, sanitation, and other community benefits.
4) No Regulation in pricing: This is the core issue. There is no backward information integration on the consumption which leaves the pricing entirely ad-hoc. In addition, every year witnesses product innovation where there is uncertainty in demand. The retailers place their order at Sivakasi 2 months in advance based on the inventory left over from their last year sales and their intuitive estimation of demand in their local catchment area (which again is bound to leave some unsold inventory that gets carried to next year as there is no returning of unsold items to the manufacturers). The retailers cant predict demand and keep a high margin for themselves to recover the cost of their capital. This eats into the margins for the manufacturers and makes them keep a check on costs (primarily labour costs). What adds to the problem is that most retailers are also not dedicated to this industry, the have other vocations for other times of the year.
Probable Soln: In heavy, bold letters- 'Organized retail'. Need not be corporate entry but atleast an Amul type experiment will do wonders in this sector in less time than you can imagine. This would also pass on the benefits to the consumer in bringing stability and predictability to the prices. And the Govt can enter to ensure 'MRP' model is implemented and practiced.
5) Non-sophisticated Transport: 'Highly inflammable substances inside'. No transport provider? These get shipped in normal trucks with probably one or two extinguishers on board. Since the perceived threat is so high, it affects the pricing heavily by including a good amount of margin for potential loss of goods. And these margins are kept with the transporters and the retailers not manufacturers who refuse to take the risk.
Probable Soln: Any local entrepreuner out there wants to specialize in providing this transport in a world class way?
6) No-Insurance mechanisms: Insurance companies dont enter any industry that they dont understand and top of it which is unorganized. If the steps above are gradually implemented, the insurance sectors need not be reminded of this opportunity, they'll see it themselves. Underwriting of the supply chain and labor work force can dramatically improve this sector's margins by removing the risks- and this can be shared between all the stakeholders- the companies, the work force, the retailers and the consumers.
7) Encourage exports: For the industry of this size (given the local consumption levels), the extent of sophistication is pathetic. If these companies are encouraged to look abroad and compete with chinese or other major manufacturing hubs of the world, it could bring in industry best practices in manufacturing quality, safe manufacturing, safety marking of the goods, labour training and practices etc.
This has to start with the Govt agencies, the non-govt agencies can work towards bringing govt to action. The community awareness can additionally act as a catalyst. The solution listing is much simpler that implementing it- identify the stake holders and Organize them into a sector, bring in regulation for pricing, encourage competition, develop multiple hubs, increase public awareness; All this might translate to migration of the firecracker industry from a Cottage industry to an SME (Small and Medium Enterprises). This might force the companies in Sivakasi into better labour practices and help the society boycott child labour
Deepavali
In an early morning phone call I remarked to my friend, "The festival of fire-crackers", and she immediately retorted with, "Its more than that. What you are holding is a 14 year old's view, which clearly shows you've not grown up beyond that". I'm not offended, as it has always been and always will be a festival of fire-crackers for me. That's why there is no place on earth than India itself to be on this day. No sky on earth lit with so many sparkles, gong with so many sounds; No ground with so many lamps, surrounded with so much bright attire adorning such unbridled enthusiasms. Only gods could shower so much positive energy on entire [Indian] humanity at a single point in time. And people seem to not care much about the choking smoke all around.
The kids start the celebrations (the fire-crackers I mean) a little too early in the day, the young start at the dusk, the older-than-young a little later; but eventually all do join the party... Beyond the fire crackers, the festival element includes a puja (when I was a child, my mom used to insist we join her in the puja room but now she lets me be), umpteen oil lamps placed on every groove outside of the house that can hold a lamp, lot of food and sweet all day, all parking arrangements redone to accommodate much space for the cracker ceremony, and the entire community coming together in clusters- sometimes sharing the view of the cracker burst and other times bursting of them itself and much later for sharing of the sweets.
In my house it starts with the customary act- the grand old man (my grand-dad) of the house lighting the big ladi. Then he goes back to his big chair in the corner overseeing the act. As far as my memory goes, its been his onus to see to it that the fire-crackers act should last atleast for an hour and half, and that everyone is busy in the act always and also that they are not scared- you fiddle around with a 'hydrogen bomb' placed on ground a couple of times and it still doesn't light, you can sure expect a scream from him, "what the hell are you scared for, at your age we used to light them and throw them with our hands". (That scream was for my sister btw, I too can light and throw them with my hands)
My bro-in-law is teaching me what's the best way to fire a 'double sound' bomb while my sister is busy thinking of arrangements for lighting many flower pots at a single time and how beautiful it might look. My mom has saved her 'vishnu chakras' which she keeps lighting in intervals, the ones that you hold in your hand with a little stick while they twirl in fire, its damn thrilling and it sure needs courage to hold one; she is damn proud that its her favorite thing- I realize everyone's favourite almost remains the same since their childhood. My dad's lighting 'Ground chakras' and 'Lakshmi bombs' one after the other, somehow the range of firecrackers is limited to those two for him this year. But he has been asking us to start firing the rockets already. Parashuram, the 20yr old young man, my dad's business cum house help is aiding in continuously rearranging the inventory of fire-crackers and in intervals picking his stuff and lighting them himself; he sure has worn his favourite pair of clothes today, it shows in his face. Srihari, the tiny boy of the tenant comes to the floor bringing his packet of sparkles, flower pots and ground chakras but is clearly lost in the madness. He is about to go back when his mother also comes down and assures him its going to be fun. He and his elder sister keep taking the floor between us and they are beginning to get into the groove. But he still hates the ladis we keep firing.
This is nicely consuming all of us when all of a sudden we witness the first sky spectacle- A sound bang and sparkles fly in all directions forming an umbrella over your head. Its bright, the fall is slow and symmetric, a total magic how many ever times you might have witnessed it already. Before we digest the awe and turn back our heads, another one goes off this time throwing sparkles of different colours and like an umbrella opened flat on sideways. My mind goes to my 'special item' but no, I'm saving it for the last. Then I witness an uncanny thing, a latest invention in this area- a gas balloon styled, heart shaped, fire under a balloon flying in the sky. Someone prompts to me that its called 'Parachute' and it floats in the air as long as the fire lasts, and its drifting in the air amazingly.
Slowly now our festival seems to be nearing the end; Parashuram is staring down a bleak inventory of firecrackers and my dad tells him to leave a few for next door watchman's little son and take the remaining to his siblings at home, he packs them up carefully into two bags. While we are winding up our act, my dad has been cautioning us about washing our hands before we eat anything and carefully reminding us that we have to wait to eat the sweets until the grand old man eats the first one. Our marwari neighbour (whose house is lit today with a gazillion electric lamps) has sent us dry fruits and a Rasogolla tin box, both of which add to the lot of dishes my mom has made since morning.
We wash our hands, eat our sweets, some say their prayers and we are back in the living room. A deepavali that still hasnt ended as there is so much of sky to stare at while the real competition of who's got the best sky spectacle is going to last for a while. The city police commissioner has issued a notice to end the fire crackers by 10pm but this is not the only rule that people here have ignored as it conflicts with their joy.
The kids start the celebrations (the fire-crackers I mean) a little too early in the day, the young start at the dusk, the older-than-young a little later; but eventually all do join the party... Beyond the fire crackers, the festival element includes a puja (when I was a child, my mom used to insist we join her in the puja room but now she lets me be), umpteen oil lamps placed on every groove outside of the house that can hold a lamp, lot of food and sweet all day, all parking arrangements redone to accommodate much space for the cracker ceremony, and the entire community coming together in clusters- sometimes sharing the view of the cracker burst and other times bursting of them itself and much later for sharing of the sweets.
In my house it starts with the customary act- the grand old man (my grand-dad) of the house lighting the big ladi. Then he goes back to his big chair in the corner overseeing the act. As far as my memory goes, its been his onus to see to it that the fire-crackers act should last atleast for an hour and half, and that everyone is busy in the act always and also that they are not scared- you fiddle around with a 'hydrogen bomb' placed on ground a couple of times and it still doesn't light, you can sure expect a scream from him, "what the hell are you scared for, at your age we used to light them and throw them with our hands". (That scream was for my sister btw, I too can light and throw them with my hands)
My bro-in-law is teaching me what's the best way to fire a 'double sound' bomb while my sister is busy thinking of arrangements for lighting many flower pots at a single time and how beautiful it might look. My mom has saved her 'vishnu chakras' which she keeps lighting in intervals, the ones that you hold in your hand with a little stick while they twirl in fire, its damn thrilling and it sure needs courage to hold one; she is damn proud that its her favorite thing- I realize everyone's favourite almost remains the same since their childhood. My dad's lighting 'Ground chakras' and 'Lakshmi bombs' one after the other, somehow the range of firecrackers is limited to those two for him this year. But he has been asking us to start firing the rockets already. Parashuram, the 20yr old young man, my dad's business cum house help is aiding in continuously rearranging the inventory of fire-crackers and in intervals picking his stuff and lighting them himself; he sure has worn his favourite pair of clothes today, it shows in his face. Srihari, the tiny boy of the tenant comes to the floor bringing his packet of sparkles, flower pots and ground chakras but is clearly lost in the madness. He is about to go back when his mother also comes down and assures him its going to be fun. He and his elder sister keep taking the floor between us and they are beginning to get into the groove. But he still hates the ladis we keep firing.
This is nicely consuming all of us when all of a sudden we witness the first sky spectacle- A sound bang and sparkles fly in all directions forming an umbrella over your head. Its bright, the fall is slow and symmetric, a total magic how many ever times you might have witnessed it already. Before we digest the awe and turn back our heads, another one goes off this time throwing sparkles of different colours and like an umbrella opened flat on sideways. My mind goes to my 'special item' but no, I'm saving it for the last. Then I witness an uncanny thing, a latest invention in this area- a gas balloon styled, heart shaped, fire under a balloon flying in the sky. Someone prompts to me that its called 'Parachute' and it floats in the air as long as the fire lasts, and its drifting in the air amazingly.
Slowly now our festival seems to be nearing the end; Parashuram is staring down a bleak inventory of firecrackers and my dad tells him to leave a few for next door watchman's little son and take the remaining to his siblings at home, he packs them up carefully into two bags. While we are winding up our act, my dad has been cautioning us about washing our hands before we eat anything and carefully reminding us that we have to wait to eat the sweets until the grand old man eats the first one. Our marwari neighbour (whose house is lit today with a gazillion electric lamps) has sent us dry fruits and a Rasogolla tin box, both of which add to the lot of dishes my mom has made since morning.
We wash our hands, eat our sweets, some say their prayers and we are back in the living room. A deepavali that still hasnt ended as there is so much of sky to stare at while the real competition of who's got the best sky spectacle is going to last for a while. The city police commissioner has issued a notice to end the fire crackers by 10pm but this is not the only rule that people here have ignored as it conflicts with their joy.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
The Wonder years
Sitcom of the early 90s in US. So many people had suggested and so many times I tried to watch but kept deferring; my restless mind wouldnt settled down on the idea of watching a 'soulful' act. And after I got hold of the sitcom and each time I mentioned to some friend that I'm planning to watch it now, anyone who has seen it goes, "Awwww I love it". I realized, may be there are some emotions that run common in everyone, unite us all without any exception.
Makes you appreciate the little things of your life, the everyday things, the simplistic take on otherwise complicated things, the family things and about loving someone. The things you thought were lost in past bcoz you are no longer the same person you were but it does hit you that some of them come back and when they do, you discover yourself again. Like its said in an episode "Things that go beyond distance and time".
May be it was good I didnt watch it before; everything in life has a best time for it. Isnt it?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LSTc-5Fn_Y
Makes you appreciate the little things of your life, the everyday things, the simplistic take on otherwise complicated things, the family things and about loving someone. The things you thought were lost in past bcoz you are no longer the same person you were but it does hit you that some of them come back and when they do, you discover yourself again. Like its said in an episode "Things that go beyond distance and time".
May be it was good I didnt watch it before; everything in life has a best time for it. Isnt it?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LSTc-5Fn_Y
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