Unconstitutional?

There has been a lot of outrage on the part of the intellectuals of this country that the present India Against Corruption movement has been unconstitutional. However, as a friend rightly pointed out,

 "There are many political parties that conduct bandhs, hartals, dharnas, padayatras and what not on a regular basis. Offices are shut down, stones are pelted at buses, tyres are burnt. Anyone who goes on the streets are wounded too. However, the same political parties say that a peaceful, non-violent, non-disruptive, perfectly legal protest is undemocratic?"

The Constitution of India is the supreme law of India, whose principles are to be followed for framing of laws, policies, granting of rights, and the functioning of the state. Like any other legal document, it can prove quite hard to read. The principles enshrined, however, are simpler to understand. Only the intellectual population of the country pays heed to even these. Hence, only a very small population of the country actually knows what is constitutional and what is unconstitutional.

Having read the speeches that Dr BR Ambedkar made on drafting of the constitution, I know that he would have surely struck down this protest as unconstitutional. I agree. This protest has been unconstitutional. However, let me tell you that if Dr Ambedkar were alive today, he would have been baffled enough at the rampant corruption that the parliament is responsible for today to immediately recommend some amendments to curtail the powers that the Legislature possess.

The legislature towers high above any other institution in this country. They seem to be able to call all the shots at present: How to obtain arrests of anybody (by using the Delhi Police as a scapegoat) in case anything goes wrong? How many Jan Lokpal bills to consider?  Whether they should present bills to the standing committee? Whether the bill should undergo the process of voting in the parliament at all? (Whoa!)

I'd say that any constitution that has allowed for the parliament to thrive in such unfettered corruption definitely needs a re-look. (There! I've uttered a blasphemy). I'm sure that the founding fathers of the country would never have, even in their wildest dreams, envisaged the  whole sale sell out of the country that is happening today. Why, A Raja might have made only a few hundred crores out of the deal, but has cost the country a potential whopping 1.76 lakh crores. Ethics apart, costing the country so dearly for making only a fraction of that cost is bad business!

We need laws to reign in the MPs today. The constitution has been amended in their favour so much so that they are the ultimate authority in this country. The laws against corruption, and their punishments are so ridiculous, particularly in light of the powers that MPs have. Also, these laws are so replete with loopholes that one can slither his way out easily with the legal expertise that the ministers have at hand, what with many of them being lawyers themselves.

The people on the streets have seen this happening time and again. They know that any political party that comes into power in steeped in the same systemic corruption. They do not care about the word of the constitution at this point of time. They just see that the country is being looted and want changes now! In their anger, they aren't ready to wait for a decade for palpable change to happen. Hence, they jump the gun on many occasions and demand the passage of their bill outright. It is true that anger clouds our ability to make the best decisions. It is also true that for this anger, the politicians are to blame and they are now facing the music.

As Arvind Khejriwal pointed out, intellectuals abound in the country, who think about how to proceed on every matter and are quick in their criticism of anything that goes against the grain of the many principles they hold dear. However, the vast numbers of people in this country operate on something much more basic: Common Sense. They don't want to hear your explanations of what is constitutional and what is not. They want corruption rooted out, and they want it now. The intellectuals are very relevant though. They keep checks and balances in the system so that things don't get out of hand. This movement has been a refreshing attempt at a correction of the Indian democracy. Rather than saying that Indian democracy is being threatened, it is good to see it thriving as ever.

What makes people lose faith in the democratic process?

India is a participatory democracy where people have a say in who is ruling over them. Democracy is India's biggest boon, and in my opinion, the prime reason why we haven't broken up into separate states like Europe, since independence.

The best (and only) suggestion that critics of the current anti-corruption protests provide is for people to use elections to tackle corruption. However, the protesters seem to be exasperated at this democratic system's failure. Why are they on the streets? What makes the democratic process fail?

Let us start off with a young voter of this country who wishes to do it good. He isn't a walking, talking archive of The Hindu  but he is far better informed than the huge masses who are transported in truckloads to voting booths. He can vote at the assembly level and the Lok Sabha level. But let us look at whom he can vote for. He has a choice between the two central parties, both of whom are steeped in the same corruption and malpractices. On voting for an independent candidate, he realises that his candidate will either not even cross the minimum number of votes required to collect his election deposit, or will side with one of the two 'national' parties. On voting for a state level party, he'll realise that he is playing into the hands of regionalists who are increasingly resorting to dirty, caste based politics. These regional parties also hold the trump cards in today's coalition governments and demand that they get ministerial berths out of which they can make the most money out of. ( viz. A Raja's telecom ministry)

The system is neck deep in filth. He compares it to vibrant democracies in the west where any spot of dirt on the candidates makes them liable for impeachment and unspeakable humiliation. He is now rendered speechless with humiliation at his country's netas. The parliament's first Lokpal draft dates back to 1968. His politicians haven't agreed on passing that bill for 43 years and counting. How could even the brightest optimist still harbour any hopes in the parliament?

Why not contest elections? If he wished to join either of the big parties, his purpose is defeated. Besides, there is the huge contribution he'll have to make to the party coffers for his entry. If he contests as an independent candidate... Oh wait! He already knows the fate of those naive independents.

The civil service! That is surely the panacea to his angst and eagerness to do good for the country. So he goes about exploring that option. Well, there is the rest of the young people in the country to compete with. As the civil services are highly coveted, the entire mass of India's huge and burgeoning population adds to the weight of this competition and he is faced with lakhs of competitors, vying for a few hundred posts. This also demands intricate knowledge of the country among a whole lot of other things. Only graduates can apply. After rigorous selection processes that run into the best part of a year, these hallowed people are selected to serve the masses. But wait. They are selected to serve the masses under the thumb of their neta who might not have even passed second standard! The neta is sure to transfer them if they try to do anything good against his vested interests. There is also this tradition among IAS officers to spend a huge amount of money on coaching classes and attempt at making solid returns on investment once they are in power.

The legislature and the bureaucracy are pretty much closed doors to this citizen. The judiciary is so swamped with cases to be heard that he has very bleak hope there. The legislature, with its passing of 17 bills in 12 mins, including amendments to the Prevention of Corruption Act, has also substantially weakened the judiciary's hold on it. Now that the supreme court is interfering with their dirty affairs time and again, they are going to threaten it with a judicial accountability bill. I rest my case.

The gentleman whose example has been taken in this post is mostly from the middle class. The poor are too busy making their 30 rupees per day to worry about these things. The rich aren't bothered to find out how their agent obtains their driving license. As long as he delivers it to them, they are happy. So how then does this young, middle class voter, bubbling with enthusiasm to be a part of the change and redress his grievances against systemic corruption that he encounters everywhere, from getting his birth certificate made to getting a cremation done and a death certificate obtained?

He waits for an Anna Hazare to come along. He doesn't even bother to find out the merits and demerits of the proposed bill, but plunges headlong at anything that helps him channel his anger against the corrupt politicians he so loathes. The majority of people at the rallies today don't even know what the Jan Lokpal bill does or how it proposes to root out corruption. They have lost faith in the politicians to such a grave extent that they go by the saying "An enemy of my enemy is my friend."

My Vegetarian Roots

It has always been the hallmark of human civilisation to care for those who are less capable, less fortunate and less powerful. The word 'humane' stands testimony to that fact. A humanitarian is one who partakes in, and shares the burden of those around him. As we become more and more civilised, this fact is always reinforced in stronger terms.

Coloured people, who have endured white supremacy for ages are now respected for who they are, so much so that doing or saying anything that would remotely hint otherwise is seen as taboo. Women, having been treated as the weaker sex through the centuries, are now recognised to be equal to men and the number of instances where they are being oppressed is steadily reducing world over, more so in the developed world. People who were historically seen to be handicapped, invalid and retarded are now being seen as differently abled and special people. The champions of these causes have always been held as examples for humankind to emulate.

The reason for change in this direction is the ever increasing ability to choose, that has resulted as a consequence of our progress. The desperate thief, who in his need cannot afford to be compassionate to those who he steals from, doesn't have a choice. But on progressing as a race, our choices have ever been on the increase. Earlier, we all had to roam about, foraging, hunting and living off the land. Today, the choices we have on both, making a living and consuming for living, are unlimited in their variety.

Which brings me to vegetarianism. Very frequently have the people around me put forth the question as to why I do not consume meat, so much so that they sympathise with my having to forgo the often pleasurable experiences that accompany its consumption. I never had a clear answer to that question. I somehow managed to shrug it off by saying that it was an inherent tendency.

It is not that I've never tasted meat. I've consumed enough of it in the days of early childhood. I can even vaguely remember what it tastes like. However, even as a little child, I had been shocked to learn about how silk was extracted by boiling silkworm cocoons and had told my parents categorically that I was never going to be wearing any silk all my life. One morning, when I was probably in Std 5, I attended a birthday party where I decided not to eat the cake that was on offer for its containing egg, even though I have always been very fond of cake. This was the beginning of my life as a vegetarian. On introspection, it becomes amply clear that this choice is based on an inclination towards non violence, followed by the development of a rationale that reinforces this inclination. Also, I've been born in a race, I'm proud to say, is known for having advocated vegetarianism centuries ahead of anywhere else world over. In this aspect, I deem that we are an advanced race indeed.

I'm not one of those who is for strongly enforcing vegetarianism (at times this is done even violently), for such an act would defeat the entire purpose of being vegetarian. Unlike plants, we cannot produce our own food and have to rely on the consumption of other forms of life for our living. But unlike carnivores, who cannot but eat meat, we have the power to choose what we eat. I just choose to do it in a manner as to cause a lesser amount of pain to things around me.

"What pain?," one might ask. "Animals are slaughtered with one flourish of the knife so that they don't feel pain at all."

Well, have we really thought about the conditions in which they are bred and subsequently slaughtered for our pleasure? Do we not see how chickens are cooped up in poultry farms, so much so that their coops lend to us the phrase? Don't we see them being transported, strung up mercilessly by their leg, upside down and slung across scooter seats? A lamb being led to slaughter. Butchered mercilessly. Dead meat. The phrases that turn to animal slaughter for expressing savagery are endless. Even the word massacre has its roots in butchery. These words arise from western civilisation which is only just exploring vegetarianism.

There is another school of thought that holds, very naively I must say, that if we all became vegetarians, this world would be flooded with animals and that we'd all starve to death because we'd run out of plant based food. The amount of grain and feed that goes into making meat is mind boggling. Animals could live off pastures and not consume any grain, but the lack of pastoral land and the difficulties associated with adopting that approach are formidable. It takes 16 kilos of grain to produce 1 kilo of meat. It takes nearly 1000 times the amount of water to produce one Kg of meat as opposed to wheat. Between May 2000 and August 2006, Brazil lost nearly 150, sq km of forest, an area larger than Greece, 70% of this going to cultivate soya beans to be fed to a burgeoning pig cultivation market in China. There are many more staggering facts that one can discover with a very simple search string online. In effect, the production of meat is proving so wasteful that a day might come where we are all forced to turn vegetarian. A love for nature goes very much hand in hand with vegetarianism.

But these are just facts to silence ill informed critics. The essence of vegetarianism, for me, stems out of the inherent disposition to live and let live, that has guided human civilisation ever since man ventured outside of his cave. As I question my stand, it only becomes clearer to me that it is one that I will always adopt. The variety offered by vegetarian food, seen better in India than anywhere else, is abundant. Though one can point out that it can only increase when you include meat, I'm wholly satisfied with what it has on offer, for a lifetime's worth.

A few truths about the Jan Lokpal

In all this squabble over whether the Jan Lokpal is a panacea to a corruption ridden nation or a looming apocalypse, I thought I'd do some actual research before having anything more to say.

I'd posted in support of the movement here, without saying too much about the bill itself.

Yesterday, I attended a public question and answer session with Justice Santosh Hegde organised by The Hindu. Justice Santosh Hegde, whose track record on fighting corruption speaks for itself, has served as a lawyer, the Advocate General for Karnataka, the Additional Solicitor General and a Supreme Court Judge. He was instrumental in preparing the Jan Lokpal draft. He came across as an incisive and knowledgeable stalwart in the practice of the law.

Today, I spent half my Sunday reading the bill in its entirety and also looked up some of the other acts that it often referred to. The bill can be found here.

Why the bill is required would be obvious to everyone but the completely oblivious. Anyway, just to present a taste of how our country is run, here is something you might want to chew on.

India has over 1456 Billion USD stashed away as black money in Swiss banks. This was according to a declaration made by the Swiss government. Here's the dubious top five list.

1. India—– $1,456 billion 2. Russia —-$ 470 billion 3. UK ——-$390 billion 4.Ukraine – –$100 billion 5. China —–$ 96 billion

The Indian total is far greater than the sum of the other four countries. But hold on. Figures as large as those don't make sense without some perspective. $1,456 billion translates to Rs 65,520 billion. The order of magnitude here is 13. 6.5 raised to the 13th power of 10. This happens to exceed the entire revenue budgetary requirement for the year 2010-11 by 5 times. And this is just the Swiss black money issue.

The four other countries have promptly transferred this wealth back to their shores. Our government is still consulting its lawyers.

I'll look at only those parts of the draft that have come under rather heavy criticism.

1. The Rogue Pal charge

Under the apprehension that the Lokpal could turn renegade, a few critics have bestowed upon it astronomical powers akin to those who run parallel governments.

The Jan Lokpal cannot mete out punishment, contrary to popular belief. It is merely an investigative body and can at the most submit its findings to a special court, whose judgement can be challenged in a High court or the Supreme court of the country. Hence, the Lokpal is answerable to these courts with regard to all its actions during the prosecution.

Article 29.7 states

"Appeal against the orders of Lokpal shall lie in High Court of appropriate jurisdiction, which shall decide the matter within two months of filing of the appeal."

Now let's turn our attention to Section 17.2

"Nothing in this Act shall be construed as authorising the Lokpal to investigate any action which is taken by or with the approval of the Presiding Officer of either House of Parliament."

which categorically strips the Lokpal of investigating any executive action whose approval is sought from the leaders of the parliament houses.

The Lokpal has been bestowed with police powers in only specific sections of the Criminal Procedure Code and the Prevention of Corruption Act. This power is granted to any wing of vigilance that functions in the country including the CBI and the CVC.

2. Its far reaching judicial powers

Article 10.2 highlights the judicial powers of the Lokpal.

"For the purpose of any such investigation (including the preliminary inquiry) the Lokpal shall have all the powers of a civil court while trying a suit under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 , in respect of the following matters, namely:-

(a) Summoning and enforcing the attendance of any person and examining him on oath;

(b) Requiring the discovery and production of any document;

(c) Receiving evidence on affidavits;

(d) Requisitioning any public record or copy thereof from any court or office ;

(e) Issuing commissions for the examination of witnesses or documents ;

(f) ordering payment of compensatory cost in respect of a false or vexatious claim or defence;

(g) ordering cost for causing delay;

(h) Such other matters as may be prescribed."

Simply put, the Lokpal has the right to examine any evidence or subject the accused to questioning in the event of an investigation. Clearly, the points above do not exceed those that are required for any investigative agency to function. Anyone who claims that the Lokpal has far reaching judicial powers is just as far from the truth.

3. The dubious and arbitrary selection committee

Well, the proposed selection panel consists of

a. The Chairpersons of both Houses of Parliament

b. Two senior most judges of Supreme Court

c. Two senior most Chief Justices of High Courts.

d. All Nobel Laureates of Indian Origin

e. Chairperson of National Human Rights Commission

f. Last two Magsaysay Award winners of Indian origin

g. Comptroller and Auditor General of India

h. Chief Election Commissioner

i. Bharat Ratna Award winners

j. After the first set of selection process, the outgoing members and Chairperson of Lokpal.

Where the senior-most judge of Supreme Court shall act as the Chairperson of the selection committee.

Here,

a. represents the political faction. b. and c. comprise of the higher judiciary. e., g. and h. represent the bureaucracy and civil society representation is present at the other posts. This keeps a healthy balance in place where people from all walks of life participate.

Why are some people against representation from civil society? Aren't 12 members of the Rajya Sabha nominated from the same civil society?

The only thing that escapes my logic here is the inclusion of Nobel Prize and Bharat Ratna awardees. These awards are not given particularly for social service. But I'm sure that these details will be ironed out in a detailed draft.

The selection isn't as "ad-hoc" as the critics thought.

Here is the Government's proposed selection committee:

1. Prime Minister

2. Speaker of the Rajya Sabha

3. Leader of the Opposition

4. One Judge

5. One nominee of the Prime Minister

This selection committee can easily undermine any anti corruption bill in its very inception.

4. Unelected people have no say in how this country is run.

Yes. They don't. But neither does the Lokpal. They are merely an investigative organisation. If they shouldn't exist, neither should the CBI, CVC, CAG, Election Commission or the President of India. (Remember Abdul Kalam for instance? He was from civil society)

5. The Prime Minister shouldn't fall within the Lokpal's ambit..

.. for a host of reasons ranging from regional instability to the sale of defence secrets to foreign powers, they say. The Indian Penal code, drafted in 1860 by Lord Macaulay, and continued by the Indian government ever since we became a Republic, holds any government official including the Prime minister answerable to the laws stated there in. Why should we now make an exception? The same argument holds for judges in the higher judiciary.

This aside, the Lokpal has made provision for the PM to be excluded from the law in section 18.6 and 18.9.

18.6

" If during the course of investigation or enquiry into a complaint, Lokpal feels that continuance of a public servant in that position could adversely affect the course of investigations or enquiry or that the said person is likely to impact evidence or witnesses, the Lokpal may issue appropriate orders including transfer of that public servant from that position or his suspension.

Provided that such orders shall not be passed against the Prime Minister."

This is obviously framed keeping in mind that dismissal of the Prime Minister cannot be made easily by the Lokpal.

18.9

"Where after investigation into a complaint, the Lokpal is satisfied that the complaint involving an allegation against the public servant, other than the Ministers, Members of Parliament and judges, is substantiated and that the public servant concerned should not continue to hold the post held by him, the Lokpal shall pass orders to that effect. In case of public servant being a Minister or a Member of Parliament, Lokpal shall make such recommendation to the President, who shall decide either to accept such recommendation or reject it within a month of its receipt.

Provided that the provisions of this section shall not apply to the Prime Minister."

The clauses above are built for preventing bureaucrats and government officials from tampering with evidence against them from their position of power. 18.9 exempts all ministers and judges from its ambit and submits that decision to the president. Strangely, the media doesn't highlight these points to us. I doubt if the media has read the original draft at all!

Prime ministers have died in office without issue of prior notice in the past. Governments have fallen in no confidence motions several times. Interim prime ministers and acting prime ministers have stepped in without there being any threat to the regional stability of our diverse country.

And why must our national secrets be divulged to the Lokpal in any case? They are an investigative agency, and not the Indian equivalent of the ISI. These are just issues that are built to divert people's attention and dilute their support.

The investigative bodies today and the Prevention of Corruption Act are framed such that they fall under the ruling government's thumb completely and are hence not adequate in today's degenerate times. We can't blame the leaders of yesterday for making these policies as they, in their wildest imagination, couldn't have envisioned the evils that haunt the Indian Government today. That is why this movement is required in the first place. 1.76 Lakh Crores has 12 significant zeros.

I've gathered from the interaction with Justice Santosh Hegde the moment when he lost complete trust in the legislature. To quote his exact words in an interview to Tehelka,

"We expect our leaders to do their jobs, but I for one lost trust when on 23 December 2008, the Parliament passed 17 Bills in 12 minutes, without any discussion whatsoever. It included amendments to an anti-corruption law. Three sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act were removed, and only civil society prevented the Bill from going to the Rajya Sabha. After this, how can they say it’s my prerogative, stay away?"

How's that for an eye opener? Do we expect these minds to engage corruption at any level?

In light of the times we live in, the need for a strong ombudsman can never be stated enough. I was pleased to read today that in the all party meeting, most parties seem to be in agreement with this. The majority has also voiced its support for the inclusion of the PM under the Lokpal. However, their words are only token promises, as is my happiness ephemeral on seeing them.

This is why the movement needs our support. This is why Kapil Sibal shows up every night trying to denigrate this bill to its very foundations, because it threatens the solid foundation of corruption that they've spent generations laying and earthquake proofing by passing 17 bills in 12 minutes. And all those skeptics and apocalypse prophets trying to join him in his allegations are misinformed armchair professors at the least and dangerous agents of the government at the most.

Everyday, the TV is blaring with the same mundane debates where politicians, both from the Government and the opposition, engage in mudslinging. The media is out there to compete with tele-serials for ratings rather than give the nation the information it needs.

We must do whatever we can to see this bill passed. We can't afford to lose having come so far.

World 10K Bangalore

All the hype and hoopla that surrounded the street marathon named, "TCS World 10-K, Bangalore" seems to have come and gone already by the time I type this out. I'll put my thoughts on virtual paper before they vanish into the oblivious recesses of my memory.

Firstly, the name itself is a piece of work. It somehow reminds me of the saying, "World famous in Bangalore."

The registration procedure involved filling a form on-line that would have passport applications pale in comparison to its length. After wrestling with several pages, one has to deal with the agony of server malfunctions and Captcha stubbornness until your lucky stars finally see you through.

Prior to the run, we were to pick up our running numbers and goody bags from the National Games Village in Koramangala. The organisers had strategically located in the middle of an exhibition that sold expensive merchandise tweaked a little to be passed off as sporty. They deliberately placed the counters quite deep inside this customer-trapping maze with its twists, turns and pretty sales girls.

The powers had hired a bunch of Bengaluru youngsters to deal with the registration. It seemed to me that they were instructed to reply in English no matter what. After repeated attempts at trying to enquire in Kannada, I settled for broken English replies.

The face to face registration process, contrary to its on-line prelude, was extremely well organised. We got out to receive our "goody bags" less than 10 minutes after our entering the auditorium.

The term "goody bag" is placed in quotes for a reason. I'd expected at least a use and throw T-shirt. Instead I was met with the following items. I've tried to put them in the ascending order of their awesomeness.

1. Volini pain relief cream sachets (Very logical)

2. Quaker Oats Porridge mix (This truly was No 2)

3. Revitalate Protein ( "PDCAAS Score of 1.0" it says)

3. Tetley Tea Satchet (Tied for 3rd position)

5. Sugar Free Gold (Its all downhill from here folks!)

6. Hippo Round Round Cheese Munchies (To maintain the Calorie Balance)

7. Itchmosol Anti Itch Cream ( An itch in time saves nine seconds)

8. GoodKnight Mosquito Repellant ( With moisturising protein pearls)

9. Gatsby Water Gloss hair gel (Heading the list of male targeted cosmetics)

10. EverYuth Menz Oxy Active Face Wash

11. EverYuth Menz Face Scrub (Extra Skin Care for Men) *Flinches*

12. Polycrol Xpress Relief Antacid

13. Revital Senior (Whoa!)

14. Revital Women (As if No 13 wasn't bad enough)

15. A bag full of Piramal Healthcare medicines

16. VLCC Fairness Facewash for Men (Racists! The worst product by a mile, 10km rather)

They probably expected a predominantly male population with the average age of 65 to participate. Moreover, after they have the fairer sex eating off their hands, these cosmetic honchos are after our virility. I rest my case.

Anyway, the run happened on the morning of last Sunday. The relevant enthusiastic junta skipped their Sunday morning slumber to turn up at the Kanteerava stadium in hordes. I thought that the crowd was managed pretty decently.

But that illusion only lasted until it was time to start. When that hour was nigh, the seemingly civilised, docile folks of Bangalore unleashed the beasts within. All manners of acrobatics were employed in scaling the chain link fences that separated them from the start line and before you knew it, the whole stadium's inhabitants flooded the running track. Open defiance of baffled security guards ensued. There was also the friendly pat administered with police lathis on unsuspecting, well endowed bottoms whose owners had overestimated their ability to scale chain link fences in the spur of that exciting moment.

The aforementioned flood burst out of the gates of the Kanteerava stadium, like a river in spate, after the start whistle was blown. Unfortunately, the track seemed to narrow into a bottleneck during the first hundred metres or so and most of us were left standing behind the inching horde, the clock ticking mercilessly away.

This traffic jam of human bodies continued to affect spirited runners. There was no clear running path for two whole kilometres owing to walkers, standers and other undesirables. It is a frustrating sight where people who register to run 10 whole kilometres start walking after a mere 100 metres or so, just outside the stadium.

Two kilometres saw the horde diffuse away and the roads open up for people to run at their desired pace. Frequent water points with tiny bottles were present at regular intervals. However, they had dustbins right beside the serving table. It was beyond the organisers' fertile imagination to think that some people might want to continue running with bottles in their hands. Hence, there were no dustbins to be seen till the next water point was at hand. The most irritating sight, however, was that of some people who defiantly chucked their finished water bottles far away, giving themselves the arrogant air of superior beings wholly indifferent to the lesser folks who have to clean up later.

On the brighter side, there were a couple of percussion crews drumming up support for the runners passing by. There were some people on the streets who selflessly cheered the runners on. Having thought that the country sorely lacked the ability to encourage anything to do with the appreciation of true sport, I was not as disappointed as I thought I'd be.

The running itself progresses through various degrees of panting. It starts of with normal nasal breathing and progresses to panting with increasing frequency until it hits a saturation rate. This state of equilibrium took about 4 km to reach and stayed with me for the rest of the race. After about 7 km, the body falls into such a wonderful rhythm that it seems to be able to run in that pace forever while your mind screams out, "Bring it on!"

Somewhere around the 7 km mark, while passing alongside the Chinnaswamy stadium, I happened to run past this yellow shirted guy with shades who quite resembled Rahul Bose. Any doubts that the instinct threw up as to his true identity was mercilessly crushed by the rationale which reasoned that Rahul Bose was much fitter than I was and he'd never give me the opportunity to outrun him. I'd half-a-mind to scream out "Rahul Bose lookalike" at the man in question, but nothing of that sort happened.

Running through the Cubbon Park and Vidhana Soudha on this cloudy morning whose weather was all but perfect for the activity, one couldn't help but think how beautiful Bangalore really is without its bustling traffic. Anyone who thinks otherwise hasn't seen it in the proper light. This image, however, was continuously dented by each of the plastic bottles that some uncouth being threw away to litter the beautiful lawns of Cubbon Park. So much for it having been The World Environment Day.

Finally, it was 1 km to the finish. I had vaguely remembered that the finish line was inside the Kantaeerava Stadium's running track. I pushed on in the final kilometre and was surprised to see quite a few people sprinting past me even before the stadium's entrance was in sight. The road then turned into the stadium. Surprise! Staring at me, hidden from view by the turn, was the finish line. I was only around 10 m away and was aghast as I'd stored some energy for the final sprint. I finished the race in 51 mins and 44 seconds, feeling a little foolish that I didn't sprint the last part. The people in charge could've done well to give us boards that announced, "200m left" and, "100m left" etc. instead of this sudden termination.

The aftermath saw me navigate through a small line and pick up a few refreshments along with a neat little medal that was given to everyone that finished. I then roamed around, seeking Chinmaya who'd come along with me on that glorious morning. On reuniting, we proceeded to rest and kill time for a while, criticising the lack of drinking water after the finish line. When I decided that it was time to go, I asked him if he'd collected his medal. On his claiming absolute ignorance in the matter, I showed him my medal. It turns out that the aforementioned small line had swelled to a huge size by now. After finishing the race in about an hour, I ended up waiting for another so that he could collect his black painted trinket. The passage of this hour was made easier by finding some old friends leading me to bask in the petty glory of knowing a significant number of people in this random sample of Bangalore's fitness frenzied.

On returning home, I was met with a family that had had glued its eyes to the television diligently in hopes of sighting the spirited youngster of their household. Instead, they were given a huge dose of this film actor called Rahul and his foreign reporter friend. I casually asked if this Rahul happened to wear a yellow shirt to which my mother replied in the affirmative. The memory of having seen a freaky haired foreigner for whom Rahul Bose's lookalike had seemed to be waiting for, put to rest a lot of unanswered questions.

I'd initially thought that I'd be able to pull the feat off in forty five minutes. I'd planned to give the event one week's training until I managed to sleep through every morning in the hopes of starting the next, until the big day dawned. Next time, I'll look to train and keep my three quarters of an hour hopes up while keeping goody bag content hopes down.

Thick Forests, Thin Air Part 2

Part 1 can be found here: http://pomusing.blogspot.com/2011/05/expedition-sar-pass-13800-ft-4200-m.html

A Note on Signal Catching:

On the mountains, the golden rule is that the simpler your phone, the more adept it is at "catching" signal. This practice of catching signal is an art in itself. It involves seeking out those specific areas where the mountains have chosen not to get in the way of the transmitting tower. But that is just step one. Once such a spot has been found or shown to you by the locals, you've to hold your phone in the same place without moving an inch, lest you let a mountain disturb this surgical operation. So we found a bunch of people huddled closely near these choice spots trying desperately to catch signal. By the looks of it, a movie on the Zen of Signal Catching might be catching on somewhere.

And we also found all the cheap phones winning the battle hands down! All the 1100s were having a field day at the "cost" of the hapless E5s, HTCs and the Galaxies whose owners felt like throwing the overpriced gizmos down the cliff. The soap boxes also had batteries that lasted through the trek while the big guns were all juiced out in one session of signal catching. So on a trek, a 1100 = win!

Day 6: To Nagaru

The morning exercise on Day 2 was more strenuous than the trek to Nagaru. No sooner than we started, we found ourselves at lunch point, waiting for everyone to gather and kill time till the afternoon was spent, on a precarious ledge with barely enough space to seat our bums. To make matters worse, the lunch point happened to be a signal catching hotspot.

On reaching lunch point, we all went through the customary sipping tea slowly and gobbling Maggi fast routine. We then switched to signal catch and tried to let our near and dear know that we're still alive. One man, who'd just said hello and heard the same thing in response before his call was cut, was satisfied that his family at least knew he existed somewhere. We didn't want to ruin it for Mr Silver Lining by pointing out to him that it might as well have been an echo or feedback.

Further killing of time was getting harder and we resorted to Hannibal's phone with its mix of music that was fairly well known to all of us. We hit the end of the playlist and had even started playing Bhaja Govindam. Finally, gloomy clouds approaching gave us the necessary leverage to egg everyone ahead. We finally inched our way to the Nagaru camp.

Nagaru was supposed to be one hell of a camp. The doomsday prophet at Base Camp had warned us of gales with wind speed hitting the hundreds frequently. The fine weather, however, made it looked benign and as an ideal location for snowball fights. Chinmaya and Pom made the most of their first encounter with snow, much to the annoyance of... you guessed it! Dadhies.

Nagaru Top

Day 7: Through the top and to Biskerithatch

After a rather sleepless night in the thin mountain air, rattled by hailstorm and sharp winds (both of the natural and the man made kind), we woke up at 3 AM to set off early. We were saved from trekking in pitch darkness thanks to ample moonlight and the ability of ice to reflect this light well enough. We trudged through ice led by Sherpa guides specially summoned up for this day's trek. The rush of adrenalin through our bodies made us forget for a few moments all the niggles and catches that would otherwise have been a big deal.

Just after day break, we reached the summit. The normal routine of how humans do abnormal things when they achieve such feats was played out with people running around in exhilaration. Sadly, routine makes for boring reporting.

After the cold cut short the lives of various overused camera batteries, they were vigourously rubbed between the palms of desperate camera persons to warm them into a few more snaps.

Through Sar Pass

The next phase of the trek involved sliding down rather steep faces of ice. This was sheer fun except for the part where ice gets into every bit of clothing (I really mean every bit!). The sliding was usually followed by some dance routines enacted to get this ice off your body. Yet, some people silently let the ice melt away inside and chose to preserve their dignity.

One of them huge slide downs

After a series of slide downs, we reached lunch point. Hannibal, who'd stolidly endured melting ice inside him, really wanted to get a move on and secured permission for us to go on without having to wait for the rest of the group. On going a little further, it was a little unclear as to what the route was. Pom wanted to desperately get a move on. The others, looking at further sliding action below, were a little more hesitant. Heedless, Pom pushed on. He was followed, much to everyone's surprise, by Supreeth who slid down after. The rest stood back, watching these two go away, making wisecracks at the expense of their hapless fates.

After a while, a 70 year old man from the group who much resembles Osho looked at these bunch of youngsters lounging away while waiting for the guide. He then stated, "I don't know about you guys but I'm going on." Thus needled, the young guns kick-started their engines and finally got to camp Biskeri.

Biskerithatch might as well carry the sobriquet The dhobighat of Himachal for the display of clothes the trekkers arranged on its lush lawns. Sliding on one's arse down steep slopes of melting snow is a wetting affair indeed!

The fiery argument between Hannibal and Pom surely deserves mention here. Its seriousness was such that it would have easily passed off as a glorious debate which was to decide the fate of two races locked in a feud for thousands of years. Both sides brought in a lot of colourful history, debated pros and cons, and gave up ground of their own in pursuit of strategic leverage. This entirely commendable, marvellous exercise was to decide whose version of the card game "bluff" was better, surely a matter that warrants at least this amount of seriousness if not more.

"My bluff is the real deal"

Day 8: Bandakthatch

Rumoured to be just as much the Switzerland of India as Khajjiar and Dalhousie are, Bandakthatch was a camp sitting on a sprawling lawn replete with breathtaking sights, patrolling Egyptian vultures and mule loads of mule dung. "How better to use this place than play lagori?",

suggested the camp leader. When no one bothered about it, he personally went to every tent and goaded people out into the lawn.

For the uninitiated, lagori has one team trying to pass a rubber ball and get the other team out by throwing it at them. The only catch in Bandakthatch (rhymes if you say it right) is that you've to dodge the generously laid out manure too or learn to like cutting cakes, as Hannibal refers to the act.

As if this wasn't complicated enough, the game, played with several variations across the country, sparked off debates every round it was played. Soup time ended lagori, coming to the rescue of Pom's hapless team which managed to lose every match that was played.

The lawns of Bandakthatch

How Koti cried Wolf

Nightfall brought with it pitch darkness and a need for Koti to step out into the woods. After availing of the woods' facilities, he came into the tent, all excited. He claimed he'd seen a fox or a wolf prowling about the lawn at which the dogs were continuously barking. Pom rushed out of the tent in sheer anticipation. On reaching the lawn, he looked eagerly out of the camp, where rumours were spreading faster than the winds atop Nagaru. A few seconds there and he started reasoning that wolves would never make it to that spot and that foxes were too timid to venture into a camp and linger on boldly. We wonder where his incisive reason was when he rushed outside previously. The mystery of the shining eyes in the dark, however, remains unsolved to this day. Skeptics claim it must merely have been a rival dog, but if they are to be believed, the world would be a very boring place without its ghosts, Yetis and Extra Terrestrial abductions.

Day 9: Back to filthy human surrounds

Every trek, especially the ones which put us in complete isolation of habitations for prolonged periods involve this shock period where we are reunited with the filth that we're actually products of. The whole experience screams "Your vacation is over! Time to get back to you crappy lives, buster!" And no city screams those lines better than the national capital itself.

In our case, the trek ended at a dusty, grimy dam construction site. We then got back to Kasol, spent two days in its forgiving, hippie pace before we made our way to Delhi. Just before parting with the mountains, we happened to try our hand at rafting on the Beas and Parvati that happen to run through their laps. That didn't live up to expectation thanks to the Ulsoor Lake like odour that emanated from the rivers. The expert in our boat didn't help our cause either, taking us through particularly tame parts of the river and avoiding many an exciting rapid while constantly reminding us of how much he hated Indians.

All in all, it was this tremendous experience that offered enjoyment, thrill and goodness in Himalayan proportions.

Thick Forests, Thin Air Part 1

The Expedition: Sar Pass, 13,800 Ft (4,200 m) starting from the hippie town of Kasol and coming full circle, organised by the YHAI.

The Characters:

1. Chinmaya

Crazy about photography and can do marvels with his four year old obsolete camera which is on the verge of giving up. But this boy's talent lies in turning anything you say to imply something dirty

Codename: Pervy

2. Hannibal

Logical genius par excellence. Is also known as the 13th day Adventist given his legendary ability to contradict nature when it beckons to him each morning.

Codename: Dopist

3. Anirudh

Fun loving dude known for his uncanny abilities to unleash torrents of profanities fiercer than Siberian blizzards when irked. Doesn't bow down to anyone save one character. Frequently chants Waddup! in characteristic falsetto.

Codename: Dhadies (Thadis in Palakkad parlance)

4. Supreeth

The only dude with the capacity to bring Dadies to his knees. His greatest asset is his ability to establish contacts even in uninhabited reaches of the Atacama desert. At any given time, you'll see him reclined in an Ananthashayanam pose in the most favourable spot around.

Codename: Five star

5. Shankz

shankar_cool_s as his id dictates is quite the cool dude and more importantly, the owner of the famed 20X zoom camera. He prefers to swearing in foreign tongues so as to get away with it even in front of unsuspecting mothers and awe-struck children.

Codename: Shaitze

6. KoTI

Everybody knows who's KoTI. Spelled thus for his unswerving loyalty to TI going as far as to defend Texan IQs. Has the ability to unhinge Dhadies' toxic tongue more often than there are seconds in a minute. Also known for his not having taken offence in 11 years.

Codename: Gotakeashower

7. Yours Truly

Bird crazy rambler who pissed Dhadies off by deleting some of his pics to make way for birds (of the feathered kind of course). Quite the nature boy considering he never missed his 5:30 body alarms. Doesn't take tips from Hannibal in this regard.

Codename: Pom

Day1: Reporting to Base Camp

The crew reached Kasol, the base camp, on the afternoon of the 11th of May and chilled out for the day. Everybody save Pom was aghast at the sweet Poha that welcomed us there and immediately deemed base camp food uneatable. Other than the field director's doomsday prophesies, the day passed rather uneventfully.

The night did not! It started with all of us chewing our nails, sweating and promptly disowning Koti for his nearly profane joke during "culture-time". Only when it ended, cleaner than we'd expected, did we all release nervous squeals of laughter and looked at each other in sheer relief.

During the early hours of the 12th, Shankz felt something against his body. Suspecting his tent neighbour Pom, he was surprised until he figured out that the culprit was something little, fuzzy and had proceeded to lick him awake. He then endeavoured to rid the tent of its uninvited canine guest when he was accused of animal cruelty by Koti. On observing its affinity to Chinmaya's chappal, Pom threw one of the pair outside the tent and promptly closed it once the pup charged after it. He then slept well, proud of himself for having outsmarted a creature whose undeveloped brain was the size of a walnut.

Ze Base Camp

Day 2: Rock Climbing, Rapelling and the Sneaking out for dinner

Next morning, it dawned upon everyone in the tent that Chinmaya's chappal, which was used to bait the little pup, was missing. The walnut sized had had its revenge!

The rude 5:30 AM awakening, done by opening up our tent so that cold shivers shake us awake, was followed by morning exercise. In spite of the gruelling nature of the above mentioned activity, the base camp food did not taste palatable, leading us to discredit the age old saying, "A hungry man has no bad bread" and leading us to append "except at the base camp." It also made us determined to sneak out that night for dinner, the stringent 7 O' clock curfew notwithstanding.

The said sneaking out did happen after a session of rock climbing and rappelling. It also helped us give culture-time a well deserved miss and gave us a wonderful dinner in return. Expecting some action on returning, we were pleasantly surprised to figure out that YHAI had given up on reforming us already.

Rappel down

Day 3: To Grahan Village

53 pairs of legs used to much pampering in mostly urban areas were getting a gruelling reality check as we trudged our way to Grahan village. The bunch of us were quickly ahead of the pack, but kept pushing on under the assumption that some people were ahead of us. Koti fell behind owing to his obsession of clicking every leaf on every tree that we passed by. We reached the next camp way before time to meet a Gujarati uncle and his son, also part of our trek, displaying apprehension with regard to entering the next camp for the fear of scoldings. We cockily brushed his suggestion aside and swaggered in only to the chagrin of a bloodshot eyed uncle who felt very bad that we didn't trek with the rest of the laggards. At a later date, we found out the reason for the bloodshotedness. Hic!

Our discovery of Maggi stalls at these altitudes added refreshing variety to the camp food offered. We were also delighted that Maggi was to be our constant companion throughout the trek leading us to blow up more than 1.5 grand on Maggi and tea alone!

The discovery of the wisdom in the Arabian way of eating off the same plate saved us a lot of washing duty through the trek, starting from here. We also cherished the Christian custom of drinking off the same cups, leading us to unwittingly launch a secular movement of sorts.

Cricket Grahan style where a sixer = Match Abandoned

Koti's query:

After trekking through barely navigable routes for five hours, we were met with Koti asking us if Grahan village had a bus route. He claimed that his question was justified by the presence of one on Mt Washington.

Day 4: The padhyatra to Padri

The trek to Padri emphasised the term "painfully slow," something that would haunt us for the rest of the trek. We couldn't make it ahead even if we wanted to, owing to our dependency on the guide's knowledge of routes through the forest.

We encountered tilled patches of land fenced off by thorns and fallen trees in the jungle and learnt later that they were actually weed farms. Waddup!

La Lune from Padri

Day 5: Rathapani

The trek to Rathapani would've been normal if not for Pom spotting this neat walking stick, all by itself, on a seemingly treacherous slope. Given his tendency to foolishly defy authority, Pom coolly went off the normal path in an attempt to salvage the prized stick. On finding it, he proceeded to chuck it onto the normal path and make his way back. This attempt, however, resulted in it landing short and sliding down further along the slope. Chinmaya claimed that the stick was lost for everybody now. This irked Pom enough to go back further down the slope to recover his prize and slip a few feet in the attempt. This caught the attention of all the trekkers that were making their way to the slope, and for everyone who missed it, Supreeth offered exaggerated running commentary. Pom, already adrenalin pumped, started screaming back at Supreeth to shut his trap in an embarrassing display, which is quite comic in hindsight.

It was not so much for the possession of the stick as it gave Pom an excuse to do something crazy that this act was attempted. The stick was later donated to a fellow trekker looking for one at the camp site.

Camp Rathapani

Photo credits go to Chinmaya and Dadhies.

The next part of this post will detail how Sar Pass was passed through and later happenings.

For more pics of the trek, especially the birdlife, see

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.174480839274608.43203.100001380800740&l=df227072f3

For all the Jan Lokpal doubting Thomases

There have been many views on how much good this movement to initiate the revamp of the Lokpal bill has done and many counter arguments exist that question the legitimacy of this movement while prophesying the creation of a group of all powerful, legitimate vigilantes. Let us look at what the critics have had to say.

1 Do Anna Hazare/Shanti Bhushan represent the civil society? Who made them the representatives?

Let us remember that we're not dealing with low down, selfish people with vested interests like KCR, who are making these demands. These are people who've spent the better halves of their lives selflessly serving people. We aren't talking about Karunanidhi and his half-a-day air conditioned fast. We're talking about Anna Hazare, Kiran Bedi and Arvind Khejriwal.

As far as civil society is concerned, it is obvious that no one in civil society has a problem with the ends that the Jan Lokpal bill is achieving. Its ends are undoubtedly to do much needed and much approved good to the people. I agree that there isn't a legally binding mechanism that makes them the representatives of the masses. But this protest is very much under the ambit of the spirit of the law which rises much above the written words that try to convey it. Objectively speaking, people may point fingers. But sadly, the world is extremely subjective in its approach.

There is also the fact that the affair of politics in our country has become so sullied that corrupt elements have crept in and conquered, preying on the ignorance and poverty in the country which is extremely prevalent. A free colour TV for every vote, votes for cash and various other false promises constitute a huge bulk of the parliament's votes today. This is a protest by people who aren't, at least, remotely as ignorant. It strives to see that these practices are rooted out, for the benefit of the poor and the ignorant. So essentially, they have their say.

Anyway, democracy still has its say. This is merely a plea for drafting a bill. The passing of the bill through the houses of the parliament will give it the fiat of the people of this country. The act of recommending what is to be implemented is well within the purview of the citizens of a democracy.

2. This sets a very bad precedent in a democracy where a person merely has to go on a hunger strike to bring the government to its knees.

Well essentially, its not just merely a person fasting. The success of these movements depends on who's skipping his meals. Nobody cared for KCR's sham fast. We're as close to Telangana as we were to before he started. While I deeply regard Irom Sharmila, who's not had a morsel of food for 11 years now, I'd like to bring to attention that merely threatening to fast doesn't move mountains.

Besides, every measure possible was adopted before resorting to fast unto death. It's just that the "elected representatives" were apathetic enough to completely ignore everything until it came to a Gandhian fasting for 5 days.

3. The people of this country will get demoralised if this fails.

Yeah. That's probably true. So let's not attempt to do anything while the country gets systematically looted and systemically conquered. Let us also not attempt any significant achievement in our lives. The possibility of failure is a far greater price than success itself.

4. The bill will give the Lokpal unquestioned and complete authority

There are seemingly learned people who've posted snippets from the proposed Lokpal bill and have interpreted it as one that grants dictatorial power to the Lokpal. I'm not very well versed in the language of the framing of laws and cannot evaluate how relevant these arguments are. When it comes to this matter though, I'd rather trust people who've spent their lifetime serving humankind than a few armchair political scientists who prophesy doomsday on their blogs.

Either way, I'm sure that the final draft is yet to be arrived at and that the drafting process must right a few wrongs that might have crept in. It is only fair to judge the merits of these arguments after the completion of that process. All we are saying is give these a chance.

The middle class, especially the thinking middle class has always been living in the established paradigm that the system is impossible to change and that anything done in that direction is merely a waste of time, akin to "throwing rocks at slush" as one such has described. It is obvious that it will continue to live in this paradigm and that it will fiercely defend its point of view to stay there.

Sure, this bill has its share of shortcomings, like any other bill. However, I deem that this movement is much worthier than sitting on our asses and watching the country get looted. Everyone who takes part will get sensitized against corruption. Once that happens, it is less likely that they'll resort to corrupt means themselves. It's just a means to changing society as a whole. It is symbolic of the good that we've always wished to see.

As for me, I'm crossing over from the side of cynics who believe that nothing can ever change and throwing my bags in. After all, a great soul once proclaimed "Be the change that you wish to see in the world."

Crash Course

This happened about 2 months ago.

Our family, along with a couple of family friends, was returning from ISKCON. We'd taken off our footwear before entering the temple and had left it in the car. We entered the car and I took the wheel. I usually drive with footwear on, but on this day I decided to go barefoot.

Soon after we started, we noticed a strikingly pungent odour in the car. While wondering what the source of this odour was, we opened the car windows to let in some fresh air, but to no avail. Malodourous air continued to trouble us.

The car was moving on the traffic choked west of chord road where the metro barricades stifle traffic worse than we were choked on that fateful night! At the same time, people inside the car started speculating about the cause of this stench. It was agreed up on that the most probable cause was someone's footwear. Driving as I was without footwear, my dad tugged at the sandals that lay by my feet to examine them. So conscious and insecure was I of whether it was my footwear that was causing this problem, I got distracted and took my eyes off the road. The vehicle must've been doing 20-25 kmph. I got alerted by a voice in the backseat. I lifted my eyes to see a Canter truck right in front of me. I pressed hard on the brakes, or thought I did, for my feet, usually inside footwear while driving, hadn't compensated for their absence. My feet slipped down without applying the brakes. However, the impact did.

*CRASH*

It wasn't a dangerous impact seeing as how traffic was so slow. It was devastating, nonetheless. The canter's rear was at such a height that it directly impacted the delicate innards of the car, just under the bonnet which deformed like crumpling paper before my eyes.

The impact cost us around forty two thousand rupees after insurance coverage.

While returning from the service center, we noticed that foul smell was still in the air. It must've been some industry in that area causing the air pollution. This still doesn't explain how there was foul odour inside the car as soon as we started. At a later date, it was discovered that the latter was caused by a problem in the A/C unit.

Obviously, the accident was entirely my fault for having forgotten the primary duty of a driver - never lose the road. However, let us look at the remarkable turn of events that led to this accident.

1. I decide to drive without footwear.

2. A problem with the A/C unit decides to prop up right then, stinks up the air inside.

3. I've worn the same sandals I wore to work.

4. The polluting factory stinks up the air outside.

5. My dad decides to inspect the nature of my sandals. As a result, he too has taken his eyes off the road.

If any of these things hadn't happened that day, that accident might have been avoided. Anyway, now it feels like I just paid forty two thousand rupees on a 2 second course that screams out loud what I'd dismissed as so redundant a platitude - Keep your eyes on the road and your hands upon the wheel.

A tribute to the poet

The last hour or so has been filled with bursts of pure emotion, has presented startling revelations and has instilled deep admiration of creativity so sublime that it produces the most humbling effect of how far one is from any semblance of greatness.

I happened to finish Tagore's Farewell My Friend while on the bus ride back home.

It started off as a classy rendition, replete with metaphors and such figures of speech as strike that unique combination of being startlingly relevant to their context while not compromising on the beauty that they were invoked to deliver. The story flowed easily enough. The poet appealed to me, giving me samples of how to say exactly what one means, while at the same time, appealing to one most artistically. He seemed to me, reimposed on that image we're all led to have of him through our text books and our elders, a wise bearded teacher whose calm appearance is steeped in knowledge.

As the stone rolled on, it began to gather quite a bit of moss. The book got heavier and gradually became a little harder to read. While the paragraphs proceeded as beautifully and artistically, they seemed to have acquired a cryptic nature. The poet ventured to the very extremes of creative expression. However, while enhancing the poetic nature of these sentences, they seemed to lack the relevance that they earlier possessed. He now represented that which almost every genius has ventured into - eccentricity. He now assumed a mysticism that is frequently synonymous with one of an appearance so outré.

One is reminded of a jigsaw puzzle consisting of many pieces, pretty themselves, but separated from the whole. The preceding paragraphs had presented to me those pieces, leaving me unsure as to whether the writing was too hard for me or if it was in the poet's nature to leave his readers minds murky as when one does when he steps into a crystal clear pond that is bottomed in alluvium.

The conductor continues waving his baton, to the inexperienced eye quite the same as before. However, the music seems to change as surely as a mathematician, having tackled a demoralising deadlock, hurries to the end of his proof as if it were child's play. The pieces of the puzzle came together to reveal the grand scheme that this grand old man had in his enlightened mind all along, the precision and the murkiness, all its participants. The story moves on quicker than ever but at the same time, one's mind wages a battle with his own hungry curiosity to slow down and grasp the sheer magnificence of what has his emotions strung up like a puppet. The purest of feeling surged through my nerves and would've gotten the better of me if it were not for the crowded bus. The book ended fast, slowed down with the pleading of a lover who begs to change the mind of one who is determined to leave him forever.

The emotions, tragic and deep though, do not compromise the author's ability to teach, the lessons of a nature so pure that they leave the very soul stirred. In their manner, so harsh and heated, one is reminded of the divine blacksmith Hephastus, whose striking blows have made creations so legendary. When you step back to look at his masterpiece, the poet's eye twinkles with the mischief he has wrought on you, like Lord Krishna's, while his mind reflects the knowledge of the all knowing.

Farewell My Friend is one of the best books I'll ever read.

The original version of Farewell My Friend was actually written in Bengali as Shesher Kabita (The last poem). The version I read was translated by Krishna Kripalani, quite skillfully at that. If a translated version can be so inspiring, one is staggered at the thought of how good the original must be.