Our Roots, Our Moorings, Our Place

It is strange but we get accustomed to our neighbourhood surroundings, to such an extent that we start missing the atmosphere, and the environment, if we go out of our place, even for a short visit.

The friendly Baker, the Green Grocer, the tailor, the Post Man, the Morning Walker,  the Bank, the Post Office and a myriad other small places where we are recognized instantly, make us feel at home. We feel we are in our place ! And that this place belongs to us ! We are from this place, a reassuring feeling.

The same thing happens to us when we go to our village, where every other person, why,  almost every person in the village smiles at you and asks about your welfare. You are encompassed by your  " own people ", your own village, your own trees, birds and the cattle and even the street dogs ! Perhaps this is what they call   " my roots " or   " my moorings "  are here  !

This sense of belonging is hard to get rid of, how ever much you would like to shed these Roots and migrate to distant shores. Even after going round the best places on Earth you tend to opt to go back to what we call " my home ".

And when you are back in your own domain,  a sense of comfort, a sense of  fulfillment,  fills our hearts. And when you are away from your place, you feel Home Sick. 

This happens to all other living beings, too,  animals, birds and even wild animals in the Forests. They all crave for their " Our Place " !

Ramachandra Parsa

The Sun and the Sodium Vapour Lamp.

Quiet Flows the River and the Life in the Woods.

During winters, the Sun rises in the morning sky after 6 : 30 A M. By then the Street Lights are not yet off. It is still dark in a mild way. Kahin Andhera, Kahin Ujaala, dark some where, light some where.

My house is on the top of a small hillock, a mound so to say. When I am returning from my morning walk, I have to climb an incline, an up gradient. As I negotiate this terrain, I see alternately a Sodium Vapour Street Lamp, in its deep orange glow and the Sun in all its Grand Effulgence and Light that sustains Life on Earth, plants,animals,birds and humans.

When the two are so juxtaposed, I wonder, at the Man made Lamp and the God Created Celestial Light of Sun.

 The Sun is worshipped as a God not only by Hindus, but also by the Inca Indians of Peru and in the Andes Mountains of South America . They call their Sun God,   Kon Tiki. 

Man must have been spell bound at the radiance of this Mighty Light in the Heavens and quickly concluded that it must be the Visible God. 

To-day, Science says, Sun is nothing but a mighty Star full of burning gases and in a couple of billions of years this Star will die. O K. But, pray who created those burning gases, those celestial orderly movements of the Sun so methodically done with such precision that one cannot replicate the same at any time, for ages and ages together ?  Definitely not Science ! 

Ramachandra Parsa. November 07, 2014

Aamir Khan's Suggestion on Electoral Reforms

Yesterday, Saturday,May 3, 2014, Vividh Bharati broadcasted an interview with Aamir Khan, which was very thought provoking and most topical for the day.

Aamir Khan spoke at length on the present system of electing our Representatives to the various Legislatures and the Parliament. Our present system is,  First Past the Post is winner. That is when a candidate gets even ONE vote more than his nearest opponent he is declared as the winner in the Elections.

A simple majority is the criteria for a legislator or Parliament contestant to win. This encourages Politicians to divide the Voters into as many  groups as possible so that Vote Banks are created in every Constituency.

Muslims,  Christians,  Kammas,  Reddys,  Reddy Christians, Kapus, Yadavs, Jats, Dalits, and many many more sub sects. In Andhra Pradesh, even Scheduled Castes have been divided into Malas, Maadigas, OBCs and so on and so forth.

The idea is,  even if one group fully votes for you,  the required extra vote / votes are polled in your favour and you win the election.

Aamir's suggestion is that a winner should be determined, on the per centage of votes he polls in the constituency. Only when he polls at least 51 % of the total votes polled, he can be declared a winner. Aamir claims that when this happens, Politicians will have no choice than uniting people to get the required percentage, where as now they are actively engaged in dividing people into small small splinter groups to serve their ulterior motives to get a simple majority.

Aamir claims that in many countries this system is in vogue. And that the next Lok Sabha sitting after May 16,2014,  must seriously debate this matter and bring in the required legislation for such Electoral Reforms.

In my opinion there is a lot of validity in this suggestion and deserves a Nation Wide debate and a dispassionate view of the required Electoral Reforms. Let all patriotic citizens of India brood over these thoughts.

Let India have a clean, impartial, transparent  and  fully ethical Electoral System.

Middle Middle Class of To-day's India

To-day India is witnessing the emergence of a new class of economically liberated, educated, intelligent,  Value System conscious, and socially conspicuous section of Society.
They are the Middle Middle Class.

In every city you can easily spot them. They were once known as Middle Class. But this Class has grown so big that the size is now easily visible as divided into 3 distinct layers.

The Upper Middle Class,  the Middle Middle Class, and the latest group to join this circle, which is ever increasing,  the Lower Middle Class.

The Upper Middle Class has increased its monthly take home earnings to an appreciable level where they are competing, nay waiting to join the Affluent / Rich Class. Buying 90 lakhs + Luxury Apartments,
15 lakhs + Cars, sending their children to International Air Conditioned class room Schools, in air conditioned Volvo School buses and searching for  prestigious Clubs, to become members. They are a very happy, contended and secure lot, who do not care for any other matter or person or section of Society. Value System ? Whats that ? They ask. God Bless them !

The Lower Middle Class is the graduation from Labour / Worker Force / Class,  into the Middle Class. Buying Refrigerators, SONY TV sets, 75,000 + Two Wheelers, and sending their children to English Medium Schools wearing uniforms, travelling to schools in School Buses. They are the Neo Rich class, even though they may live in Servants' Quarters of Rich business men and Film Stars / Producers. They no longer buy their daily necessities from the good old Kirana Shops but shop in MOR, or HERITAGE or RELIANCE departmental stores, which is now a Status Symbol for them.

They are a very happy Lot and are enjoying every moment of their new found Economic Status. In their mad rush to join and be a part of the " Middle Class ", they never bother about any values, whatsoever. Values ? Can't afford them, Sir !, will be there reply in an unanimous chorus. God Bless them !

The Middle Middle Class are yesterday's affluent but not rich class, who came up in life facing uphill tasks, struggles and really laboured to achieve some wealth with a reasonably sound Value System governing and guiding their endeavours to improve the quality of their lives. They were intellectuals, doctors, lawyers,teachers,professors and Govt. Officers. Now today they find themselves frozen from any further improvement due to the very value system they followed and believed it to be desirable in a Society.

They can neither go down and join the Lower Middle Class segment nor do they have the pluck to violate all sane values and grow Rich. They are scuttled, sandwiched and ridiculed by the segment above them and the segment below them. They are a pitiable, miserable lot. God Bless them, too !

Now let Social Scientists, Economists,Politicians and Sociologists,  study this Middle, Middle Class segment, especially their Youth, the impact they will make on Society in the future. And find remedies to prevent this Middle Middle Class becoming a Curse to Society with their frustrations.

In August, last it was Westward Ho ! In this January it is Eastward Ho !

       Last August we came to the US from India, beaming with smiles on our faces, almost shouting in our hearts   "Westward Ho ! ".

The happiness to see our children and grand children was motivating us to withstand the rigours of the long haul flight of almost 24 hours. We were immensely happy to see daughter in law Neetha , she was the first to sight us and greet us, son Avinash and grand daughter Ananya, almost four now, at the JFK Airport, New York.

The next few weeks flew just like that, happiness and nothing but happiness with Ananya keeping constant company and showing us round all the places in and around New Jersey.  Temples at Bridgewater and Strodsburg,  Bushkill Waterfalls, Wilkesberre,  and the Great Metropolis New York, spread over 4 leisurely visits

Once to see the famous Time Square, Broadway Theatrical Experience, the Central Park and the Empire State Building. Then to Flushing Meadows to see a Grand Slam match sitting in the Arthur Ashe Stadium, an experience which will be cherished through out the rest of my life. Then the New York Public Library and Ground Zero, the 9 / 11 Memorial. And of course the Statue of Liberty one whole afternoon, exclusively. Meticulous planning by Avinash helped us see New York, at our own pace, Aaram Se !

Then we went to Niagara Falls. My second son Deepak and daughter in law Rajeswari joined us from Toronto,  across the border. A truly amazing experience to see these Falls !

Then on to Boston to see the World Famous University,  Harvard, and the equally renowned  M I T.  It was great to walk through the Harvard University Lawns, and Buildings, which breathe the unique feeling of a Great Place of Learning, though for only the exclusively Rich. But I was told any number of Scholarships are available for the really meritorious brains.

It was soon time to move further West, to Omaha,Nebraska,  where my youngest daughter Divya, son in law Manoj and grand son Arjun live. It was a touching moment to bid farewell to Ananya after almost 11 weeks of joyful holidaying. Poor thing she broke down at the Newark airport, seeing us off to Omaha. For days, she would tell me, with tears in her tiny eyes, on the webcam,  "I miss you,  and Naani, Thaatha ".

At Omaha, Divya was the first to sight us and hug us emotionally, crying,  "Daddy,  Mummy ".  Then Manoj warmly welcoming us and loading our luggage into the car. And lo,  Arjun was dozing in the Child seat, fully belted ! After a while he woke up and slowly smiled a welcome smile trying to match the real faces with what he was always seeing on the webcam.

 He was hardly 17 months when we saw him off at Hyderabad in April last. Now he was grown up ! He was a good 23 months old and getting ready for his second birthday, which was being planned by his parents to be at Les Vegas ! A colleague of my son in law wondered where his 18th birthday would be, if the second birthday was to be in Les Vegas !!

When we came to Omaha in the last week of October, their summer was just ending. Still, we could go one day to a nearby Farm for Apple picking ! This Farm outing we really enjoyed, seeing the Rural America at close quarters.

Then we were off to Les Vegas via Phoenix. And what a visit it was, Oh My ! The glittering city of Les Vegas, which some of my friends back home called it Swargam on Earth, was a remarkable Memory !
We went to the Hoover Dam, one day and to the Grand Canyon on another day. A magnificient sight seeing experience, the Grand Canyon visit !

In between Arjun's second birthday celebration in Les Vegas. Oh truly enjoyable visit it was.

Omaha is a beautiful city. Spread out and very spacious you just love the lovely spread of all those lovely shopping Malls, Restaurants, Down Town area, lakes and parks and jogging / cycling tracks so well laid out through out the residential areas,  are all pleasing and soothing on the eye and soul.  Residential Communities so well planned and self contained make living a pleasure. The Halloween Festival gave us an opportunity to see the friendly people of Nebraska State in general and of Omaha in particular. We even saw the house of Warren Buffet who lives in Omaha,  in his old, modest house in spite of his phenomenal wealth.

The Omaha Zoo, the Strategic Air and Space Museum, the New Year Eve Fire Works in Down Town, were places we loved to see and cherish those memories.  We got to experience the rigid winter temperatures of Minus 25 degrees F ! It was an experience, yes, it was !

Omaha really captivated us. No doubt.

After almost 12 weeks, we are leaving for New Jersey, en route to India, by end of January. Leaving behind Little Arjun is going to be really tough for us. The Little Hero really got used to us or it is the other way, we got used to him. God Bless him.

We could not visit San Fransisco, Seattle, Spokane, Chicago and Charlotte, though friends and cousins in these places were constantly goading us to come over. Similarly we could not go to Toronto in Canada to see and spend some time with my second son Deepak and daughter in law Rajeswari.

May be we will cover all these places in our next visit to this part of this world !

As we prepare to go home with a sad moan in our hearts "Eastward Ho ",   it is a very tough odessey back. Going back to an empty home, with all the children and grand children abroad, makes the heart heavy as a rock !

 Emotions are one inevitable part of our lives. They are inescapable.

Ramachandra Parsa. Jan.14, 2014, Omaha NE. USA.

My Friend, Deccan 1591. A Friend Indeed.

We were classmates from II nd. Standard to X th. Standard, in St. George's Grammar School, Hyderabad.
1949 to 1957.

 Then we lost touch till the 21st Century started. Some time in 2007 another close friend, Siraj, rang me up and said "arey sun, Zubair aaya vuaa hai, thujhe yaad kar raha tha. " !

We renewed our contact and continued to be in touch via Email. He was in Houston, Texas, US and I was in Hyderabad.

I was in Singapore during 2012 December  -  2013 January and he tried to contact me on my Hyderabad  phone. As there was no response he found out my whereabouts through another classmate of ours, Khyroo, in Spokane, Washington State, US and sent me a mail. I replied that mail saying that I was in Singapore and went a step further in describing how beautiful the city and people of Singapore were.

This mail appealed to him and he flew into Singapore one day, all the way from Houston US ! When he called me up in Singapore I could hardly believe his reasoning, for coming to Singapore. He said "I felt like meeting you and also seeing Singapore since you wrote so highly about this place in your mail "!!

We met in the famous  book shop,  Kuno Kuniya, on Orchard Street, wandered around in that Shop for a while and had Lunch in the Cafeteria inside the Book shop itself and chatted for well over 2 hours, running up and down the Memory Lane from 1949 to 2012 !

Then we planned a Visit to the Botanical Gardens one day, and spent a whole day, wandering around the sprawling gardens, gazing and wondering at the Botanical names of Plants, Flowers and Trees being reeled off by my friend. We just had some pizza for Lunch and rounded up the day with a couple of cups of Hot Tea at a small Cafe near the Exit of the Gardens. As we sat sipping Hot Tea it was raining heavily, pouring down cats and dogs.

My friend went off on a tour of the Far East countries like Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia, while I returned to India to Hyderabad, my base in life.

I came to the US in 2013 August to New Jersey and moved to Nebraska, Omaha in October 2013. I planned a visit to Dallas and to Houston to meet my old friends who were now settled there. And my friend Zubair sent a mail saying that he was planning to go to India during the dates I planned for Houston, so he would miss meeting me. But, he assured, "I will come to Omaha and see you ". I thought he must have really not meant that and for courtesy's sake he must have consoled me for my disappointment in meeting him in Houston.

But one fine morning I get a call, "Hey , I landed up in Omaha last night to see you. I am coming to your place in another hour's time " ! I could hardly believe my ears as I hung up the line in sheer astonishment. A friend flying in almost a thousand miles just to meet an old childhood classmate.

We spent a whole day together in my daughter's house chatting, laughing and regaling at old jokes nostalgic  chatter spread over 6 to 7 decades ! In the afternoon after Lunch we went to the Strategic Air and Space Museum just outside Omaha, about 30 miles from the city, which my friend recommended as a MUST SEE place. We spent a good two hours in this unique Museum. We came home and after Dinner he bid me good bye and left for Houston.

This happened in mid November and during December middle I visited Dallas and Houston. I just presumed Zubair would have gone away to Hyderabad as he planned and never bothered to even try giving him a ring when I was in Houston. I came back to Omaha and sent him a mail, presuming he was in Hyderabad, that I had gone to Houston and I really missed him.

Pat came the reply Mail

 "You Rascal could you not just give a ring ? I am in Houston still. My visit to India got postponed " !!!