The Red Flag Flies High

Recently an international TV channel conducted a poll to adjudge the 'greatest philosopher' of the world. Karl Marx got 27.93% of the votes cast in the contest. It must have warmed the hearts of the Jyoti Basus,Surjeet Singhs and Karats. And E.M.S.Namboodripad and S.A.Dange must have turned with satisfaction in their graves. West Bengal,almost the last bastion of the Communist philosophy, had something to rejoice about. And Marx had a comfortable lead over his nearest rival,David Hume,who could get only 12.67% of the votes cast. The pecking order was like this:

1) Karl Marx (27.93%)
2)David Hume (12.67%)
3)Ludwig Wittgenstein (6.80%)
4)Friedrieche Nietzsche (6.49%)
5)Immanuel Kant (5.61%)
6)St.Thomas Aquinas (4.83%)
7)Socrates (4.82%)
8)Aristotle (4.52%)
9)Karl Popper (4.2%)

In my student days ,I had read about the classification of philosophers into four distinct categories. a)the social philosophers, b)the speculative philosophers, c)the political philosophers and d)the philosophers of science.Now,in which category do the above named philosophers fall?

Marx-political.Hume-speculative.Ludwig-?.Nietzsche-speculative.Kant-speculative.Aquinas-speculative.Socrates-social.Aristotle-social.Popper-?.Isn't it interesting to note that 4 out of 9 were speculative philosophers.And I was surprised with some glaring omissions.Plato,Confucius,Emerson,J.S.Mill,Adam Smith,Hegel,Darwin,Copernicus,Einstein,Schpopenhauer,Shankaracharya , Ramanujacharya and Madhavacharya.I don't know why all the philosophers of science and some famous speculative philosophers were left out of the contest!

At one time, Marxist thought ruled 33% of the world population.Who says Capitalism has now taken over and that Marxism is no more relevant.Our CPM friends who are supporting Congress today have a good chance to win more seats in the next elections and come closer to power.It is not an impossibility.It is very probable.

The Arrival Of The Modern Wada Pav

Dheeraj Gupta,an MBA has done it.Along with his wife.It is no more a street sold commodity.It is the modern version.In a state-of-the-art central kitchen,potatoes are washed,peeled and mashed with the help of modern technology.The patty is blast frozen and sent to the nine outlets between Borivli and Dadar.The kitchen then fries the wada and packs the product.Woila! Isn't that hot and tasty?.It is the wadapav in its new avatar.Thoroughbread.

Jumbo King consult with Johnson Diversey's to maintain world class hygiene standards.And have even been inspired by Ray Kroc's "Behind the Arches".Based on the McDonald strategy,Gupta is expanding.He started with an initial investment of Rs 2 lakhs.Today his sales is touching Rs 4 crores.He plans to raise it to Rs 20 crores by mid 2006.He also plans to have a 100 strong network in a year's time.Providing street food under hygienic conditions for Rs 6 is competition for McDonald which sells at Rs 20.And for guys like Manohar Mangesh Satam who runs his wada pave centre at Flora Fountain since 1971.And Ashok Haldavnekar who set up a wada pav stall on a handcart at Girgaum in 1968.He was blessed by the Shiva Sena chief. It was called the Shiv Sena wada pav.

And now with their popularity on the wane will Ashok' fortunes also take a tumble? Has the wada pav become so powerful? Time alone will tell whether Gupta survives or the Satams and Haldavnekars.

That's it.Strategically located near the Charni Road railway station.Seem to be doing roaring business. 

Quite a rush for the hot stuff. 

It takes only a few minutes,friend.Have a heart.I am not going to stand that long! 

That is the cheese wadapav.Pretty wholesome. 

And the frozen patty is fried in hygienic conditions. 

I am getting my cheese wadapav in a jiffy. 

Haute Cuisine

Did Prez Bush get it right,I wondered. That was my first reaction when I read about the banquet he hosted for our PM and his wife during their recent visit. Was he under the impression that MS belongs to the BJP?. The silk table-clothes were saffron coloured and chocolate lotus blossoms were on the platter.The food appeared to be vegetarian,though Manmhoan Singh is not. Dubya is known for his faux-pas and I thought this was yet another one! Apparently not.Halibut is a flat fish and these are normally eaten on holy days.(I had to check this out on the net.) And Dubya had done his homework. Manmohan Singh has a weakness for fishes like Vajpayee has for chicken.

It was a four course dinner.The menu card read as under:

1)Chilled Asparagus Soup and Lemon Creme

2)Pan-roasted Halibut and Ginger Carrot Butter

3)Basmati Rice with Pistacchio Nuts and Currants and Herbed Summer Vegetables.

4) Salad of Bibb lettuces and Citrus Vinaigrette.

5)Chocolate Lotus Blossoms With Mango,Chocolate-Cardamom and Cashew Ice-creams.

In all there were 134 guests and a Jazz band was in attendance.

They hit off well. Unlike our ex PM's name which Prez Bush always forgot,this was an easy one. He had to just sing(h) a song and dance. Which he did well and the two built up a good rapport.

But then everything is not hunky dory.While the father praised Prez Bush for improving the relations between our two countries,the daughter was giving the US government sleepless nights on the inhuman treatment of Iraqi prisoners.

Coconut Water-The Great Healer

Coconut water is a very effective diuretic and a wonderfully refreshing drink.Once you get hooked on to it,you will never leave it. It is one addiction worth holding on to.Nariyal pani piyo aur khush raho.

The Japs Have Arrived

It is not unusual to see the Japanese in Dalal Street these days. And it is a refreshing change. The traditional bowing ceremony,exchange of visiting cards and conversation in slow,halting and measured tone. "Ohayo godaimaaz","konnichi wa" and "domo domo" are japanese words which our gujju brokers have picked up fast. They even move their face to the right and left to signify a 'yes' and up and down vertically to indicate a 'no'. Exactly the opposite of what we do. They are the contrarians. They have come with 'yen 'and 'zen' and are pushing the sensex and nifty higher and higher every passing day.

The story is not over. They are also pushing your minds. It is dekho,dekho,sudoku! .The puzzle game which is sweeping Mumbai. In Japanese it means digit or single number. The puzzle grid is made up of a 9*9 matrix. That is,nine rows and nine columns. Every three rows and three columns constitute three boxes of nine cells each. Some numbers are already there in the puzzle. You have to fill in the blank cells so that every row and every column has the digits 1-9 in it. No number can be repeated in a particular cell,row or column. Every puzzle has only one correct solution. And according to the experts,you can keep on playing with a new number combination infinitely almost. Do you need to be an expert in maths or number theory to master the game. No,not at all. What you need is clear logical thinking and sharp eyes.

Like the compulsive net surfer,you have today the compulsive sudoku player. Till they have solved the day's puzzle they just won't do anything else. Invented by a New Zealander called Wayne Gould,it has spread like forestfire. Sudoku is being recommended to keep the brain active and ward off Alzheimer's. Build up what is called a 'cognitive reserve'. Maintain your brain and make sure that when you are 80,your brain is still there with you.

Solving time varies from 10 minutes to 30 minutes,depending upon the proficiency you have acquired. And many say that the adrenaline rush is what they enjoy and feel at the end as if they have conquered the world.

Just type sudoku in google and get going(www.sudoku.com). You may soon start getting this puzzle every morning on your cellphone too. Suffer its agony and discover its ecstacy. Go solve it.

'The Forum' -A Swanky Mall In Bangalore

The Forum-A Swanky Mall At Bangalore
Originally uploaded by gopoo.

During my recent visit to Bangalore my sister enquired whether I had shopped in 'The Forum'-a relatively new mall that had come up in Bangalore.When I said that I hadn't, she urged me to visit it as it would be a very memorable shopping experience.
I had then just concluded a tough labour negotiations meeting quite successfully,and I imagined that I definitely needed a break and that a quick jaunt to this wellspoken of mall was justified en route to the airport.
I therefore set of for the old Mico road and when I saw the mall from a distance,I realised that the mall culture has indeed arrived.I must say that I was very impresssed. A humongous place,ample carparking space in the building,huge shops,you name the internationally known brands and they are all there. When I mentioned this to my Kannada friends they said,"enri,neevu garuda nodlilva.adu ondu doddu maalu! alli hogbittu shop maadi" (hello,haven't you seen the 'Garuda'.that is a huge mall'.go there and shop").Garuda is the latest addition to the long list of malls coming up in Bangalore.

Last month ,the CEO of Wal-Mart met our PM and showed interest in establishing some WM outlets in India. The increase in spending habits and spending power of the 300 million middle class is a great business opportunity which the big ones will not ignore. And India tops the list of the 30 most attractive countries in emerging markets for mass merchandise and food retailers. Russia has been pushed to the second place. The current moves by the Government to ease restrictions on FDI in this retail business is pushing global players to capture first-mover advantage. Carrefour,Casino and Tesco will surely and quickly enter India using a combination of different business models like M&S and Benetton who are already there.The Red is red in its face and has warned the PM not to make any concessions on FDI while in the US. They want the local kiranawallas and small mom and pop shops round the corner to continue. Unaffected.And MS has shot back that he needs no sermonising. But then political compulsions will be there when the Govt tries to liberalise the retail business.Backing out on BHEL disinvestment is the latest example.

Many years ago when I visited Kolhapur to discuss sale of fertilisers in the sugar belt,I was struck by the huge shopping store(not mall),I visited. For a 2 tier or 3 tier city,it was a big jump.Now with old textile mills and unviable manufacturing units closing down, in different parts of the country,a lot of urban space is coming into the market and is being devoured by property developers for housing cum commercial centres. Recently,17 acres of prime land was bought by the Delhi based DLF at Mumbai for an eyepopping Rs 702 crores.Y'day I read about 5 acres of prime land near Shivaji Park going for a mindboggling Rs 350 crores.

The Retail boom has arrived. Gurgaon is set to get the mother of malls.40 lakhs square feet.It will be spread over 32 acres and will have parking space for 10,000 cars.Bigger than Minniapolis and Shangai,the biggest malls in the world today,the DLF mall is expected to cost Rs 1500 crores and will be ready by 2007. Who says we Indians can't think big?

The Pantaloons and the Food Worlds better watch out.Consumerism is driving the retail market and the smaller players may get driven out. And brands are proliferating.Tommy Hilfliger,Louis Vuitton,Dockers,Red Tape,Bulgari,Chambor,Corelle,Magpipe and a host of others are knocking at the door or have already gained entry inspite of the Reds asking the Govt to show them the door. Soon our retail industry will be on par with its counterparts in the developed world.

Life at 70,feels like 60

Life at 70,feels like 60
Originally uploaded by gopoo.

While I was travelling in Germany last year,I met this 'young lady' on a train. She was 70ish,but I was amazed at how she took her age lightly. She was travelling to her son's place and was carrying a bagpack slung on her shoulder and hand bags (heavy) in each hand(gifts for grandchildren) and when I offered help smilingly she declined it. I was very impressed with her attitude. She was 70 but acted 60.

We are all getting older but people today act younger than their parents did at the same age. Scientists have come out with a new age theory to explain why populations are ageing but simultaneously getting younger. Age is not measured by how many years you have lived,but how many more years you can look forward to. Sanderson and Scherbov have estimated how elderly people in USA,Japan and Germany will change in the years to come. Middle age in 2050 would come around 52 instead of 40 as in 2000. As people have to live more years,they are behaving as if they are younger. The focus should be on how many years we have to live which would help in designing a useful and effective healthcare system says Sanderson. In the discussion on ageing,how many years we have to live has been completely ignored so far.

So,going by this concept I feel I am now 50.Like someone said,Fifty is the old age of youth and sixty is the youth of old age.Look at it the way you want.

And here is the weirder side of it. Go try out http://www.deathclock.com. A clock will start counting off the seconds that you have left. After you have entered your date of birth,weight,sex,attitude(pessimistic,optimistic,sadistic) and whether you smoke or not. When you hit enter,a popup window gives you your date of death.

Chill. All is OK.

FIFO(Fish In Fish Out)

FIFO(Fish In Fish Out)
Originally uploaded by gopoo.

I am not referring to the accountant's inventory management acronym. I am referring to 'fishy' matters.And normally accountants don't like to meddle in such things.
Exactly a month ago,on Margashira day,the Bathini Gaud brothers for 2 days were pushing small fishes laden with a medicine down the throats of asthma ridden patients. And there was an unprecendented traffic problem in Hyderabad and elaborate bandobust had to be made. And this is an annual ritual for more than 30 years now.
Every year once,under the right constellation,the brothers administer this medicine.It is a secret handed over to them by a Sadhu and they will not reveal it even to the High Court whose intervention was sought by some organisations.They said faith in the medicine was its strength.Some 26 food items have to be avoided for 40 days for the medicine to be effective.Thousands of patients who came from all over the country could care less.We are getting relief,why should we bother with all this opposition was their typical reaction.

And in Kolkata,Satyendra Nath Boral,a Vaishnavaite and living in Bowbazar,once every week,at high tide releases 3 kgs of fishes that he has bought from the market bitten by penitence for all his past killings of fishes.He has been doing this week in and week out for the last 25 years or so.He even feeds cows,dogs and pigeons in the neighbourhood.He has also given up drinking milk (Maneka Gandhi would be very happy to hear that). He is now forming a trust to carry on these activities when he is gone.

And in both the cases-the Gauds and Boral,the fisheries department of the respective states have been more than cooperative.While AP supplied more than 65,000 murrel fingerlings at 32 counters priced at Rs 10 each, the WB government offer him fishes better able to adapt to the Ganga at a reduced rate and that too Bhetki for his indulgence.

Who says the bureaucracy does not have a heart?

All That Glitters Is Not Gold.

Gold
Originally uploaded by gopoo.

Mariya,Mariya,Mareeeeeeeeya!.Remember that old hitsong. That was what was on everybody's lips last week at Wimbledon when she was playing Venus Williams in the semifinals. But chanting of that mantra did not help the women tennis's fashion diva from crashing out.

Tall,goodlooking,longlimbed and blonde ,Maria Sharapova had established against her opponents that she had no feet of clay. She made her feet glitter. The sweet seventeen had just turned eighteen. The superstar wore 18 carat goldstudded sneakers for Wimbledon. She became an ambassador of the yellow metal. Her tennis cloak had gold details,and even a gold zipper.Long gold danglers,which complemented her golden mane.She went around with a gold trimmed bag. Gold prices in the bullion market started shooting up and was expected to reach stratospheric levels. Such was the sudden demand for gold.

But then all the psyching she did on her opponent did not help her. Venus remained unfuzzed and quietly stole victory.Maria's grunt while serving which is worse than a siren not withstanding. At the end it was a dejected Maria who walked away carrying all the gold sans the golden Wimbledon cup.She learnt a hard lesson.Gold does not always glitter.

But then offcourt she continues to win.Her businesses are flourishing.She even has a mobile phone named after her(Maria Moto),a mobile game and a perfume too.She has a keen eye for business and wants to become a fashion designer some day.Her 18 million dollar looks surely will help her.

And there is an icon and rolemodel for our Saniabeti. And a message. "I know what I am good at and I will stick to it."

Caught in the Net

Caught in the Net
Originally uploaded by gopoo.

Are you addicted more to your morning 'kaapi' or to the internet? Would you rather give it up than your vsnl/mtnl/hathway connection? Particularly when the homely kaapi is getting a sophisticated trendy flavour.Demerara or special coffee sugar. We will come back to that a little later.

What is interesting to note is the recent 2005 Web@Work survey.It says that 52% of US employees would rather give up their addiction to coffee than their internet connections.93% of all employees in the US access internet at work and that many log on to do their personal work.12.6 hours is spent averagely every week accessing the internet.Almost 50% of this goes to work-unrelated browsing. As expected,women employees are more disciplined.54% admit to nonwork surfing against 62% by men. Visit to investment and sports sites was common among men and some even played games. 25% admitted visiting porn sites though a third of them indicated that it was the slip of the finger.

What does the survey recommend? To maintain and enhance overall productivity and morale,the employees must be given the freedom to fulfil their need of the personal use of the Web.

And if a similar survey were to be done in India what would it reveal? Frequent visits to the filmi sites,astrology sites and even shaadi sites? It would be interesting to know the surfing Indian's preferences.

Barista,Coffee Day,Starbucks,better watch out.Hip India's signature beverage is under siege.Inspite of demerara sugar,the pull towards the net is only increasing.It may be a good idea to provide internet access in your cafes.

The Coffee chains can then eat the cake and still have it in their hands.

And recently I heard a surfer saying ,"Not that I love my kaapi less,but that I love my Internet more". Kool!

The Colourful Crows

kaka
Originally uploaded by gopoo.

Crows are held in special esteem in Mumbai.And therefore when recently there were a spate of crow deaths,the Mumbaiwala was very sad.What caused these deaths is still a mystery but then about 450 of them seemed to have met their end rather suddenly.One might say that in a population of 500,000 or so in Mumbai alone,it is a miniscule percentage.Even then,there is a tinge of sadness in the hearts of the Mumbaikars.
Crows have struck fear in the minds of people from time immemorial.Particularly those who are superstitious.Even Sita in Ramayana when her breast was plucked by a 'raven',knew that some doom was imminent.It is even thought that a crow striking at the window is summoning a human soul to the grave.
Inspite of these minuses,the crow is still a very popular bird.And during 'sraddha' when the pindams(rice balls) are offered to the 'pitrs'(ancestors),they are supposed to be partaking of the offerings in the form of the crows.They are clever,enterprising,adaptable and smart.However like Sardarjis,they are the objects of fun and jokes.Sanskrit books abound with stories of the foolishmeess of crows,like when it tries hard to change its colour or when it is induced to sing by a jackal so that the flesh which it had picked up drops for the waiting jackal to snatch and run away.Oh!,kakasya moorkhata!
But then ask the naturalists and they will go ga ga over its gait and flicking of its wings.They are quite intelligent,have a sharp memory and when hurt can take sweet revenge.They are a bit human.After all,people who lagao maska(butter) to their bosses are known as kaka pidichifiers(in tamil).May the crows live long!

SOAM

SOAM
Originally uploaded by gopoo.

It was 29th June,my 61st birthday. We decided to dine out and I was given the choice by my better half to decide on the restaurant. I remembered having seen this new eatery having come up opposite Babulnath Temple at Girgaum Chowpatty. I didn't have to scan Times Food Guide or go through Rashmi Uday Singh's 'Around the World in 80 Plates' to get the bearings of this spanking new foodjoint.

We headed for 'Soam 'named after the Babulnath deity. Valet car parking was very welcome,as it was drizzling . Though there was a sizeable crowd waiting for seats,as we were just two we got our turn rather quickly though I suspected it was a bit out of turn probably to impress the newcomers. Gleaming white flooring,comfortably airconditioned,neat and clean and good ambience. Essentially a cafe for short eats-chaat,snacks and mini meals. All veg-idlis,dosas,gujju snacks and gujju/marwari chota meals. We were served on peepul leaves,bronze-copper Rajkot thalis and there were a variety of chutneys and aachars on the table. We looked at the menu card and after some debate decided to order the following:

1)Thandai Ice Sherbet

2)Bajra Methi dhebra with launji

3)Paanki Chutney

4)Gatto nu shack with satpadi roti.

The food was tasty and filling.Their service was courteous.And to top it all, the total bill came to only Rs 275.We even carried one bajri roti away in a doggy bag!.Strongly recommended for light veggie chaat cum meal.

Like Son,Like Father

Black Buck
Originally uploaded by gopoo.

The son did it several years ago. The father emulated him on June 3. Both are now charged for similar crimes. Killing an endangered species. The black buck.

Mansur Ali Khan, the Nawab of Pataudi,ex MP,former cricket captain of the Indian team finally surrendered to the Haryana police after going underground for more than two weeks. During this period,his near and dear ones,moved heaven and earth to get him off the hook. And the senior police officials seemed to have cooperated. Dame luck was not in favour of the killer of the buck though . Finally he surrendered and was in lockup at Jhajjar for 2 days. What a fall. Finally,the hunter was hunted down. The Nawab spent nearly 48 hours in a dingy room with minimal comforts and bread and boiled potatoes for lunch and dinner.

It is an enigma. What made a sophisticated,educated,urbane,knowledgeable,enlightened person indulge in this barbaric act. Perhaps all the qualities attributed to him,he did not really deserve. And this was not an one off incident. It was his bad luck that he got caught.When his Gypsy boot was opened in a routine manner,when he was leaving the forest area,perhaps he did not expect the chota police official to have the gumption to question His Highness the Nawob.Out came the caracasses of the black buck and two rabbits. Surprisingly,he was not detained.He was let off. That he couldn't remain untouched for long is a different story.

One explanation for this seemingly mad behaviour which I tend to agree with is the Nawabi arrogance that no mortal can question their actions. Otherwise how do you explain the killing of thousands of birds in one single day by the Nawab accompanied by the begumsahiba and chote nawab in Kashmir?

Whether he will be ultimately brought to book is something to be seen but Raymond's 'complete man' has been shorn of all his clothes and stands naked in front of all animal loving people.He killed a female deer and one which was carrying.His crime therefore gets compounded.It is said that shikaris don't shoot during the mating season. Also that they do not kill a female deer. And also not when she is pregnant.And Pataudi violated all these unwritten rules.Shikar ka nasha hai,nahin to aur kya.

The Baishnoi community for whom the black buck is like a guru has sworn to take revenge.They follow the 20 and 9 commandments laid down by their preceptor. Bees aur nau and that is why they are called baishnoi.

Naveen Patnaik,the CM of Orissa is anguished. He fell in love with the black bucks when he saw them in his father's constituency,Aksa. And so carried away he was with its beauty that he immediately painted a black buck on canvas and wrote an appeal in Oriya asking his people to preserve the endagered black buck and bring no harm to them.

Sharmila Tagore says that she has great faith in the country's judiciary.I don't know what that means.But for the crimes that the three have committed,they deserve to go to the gallows.

Lassi Masti

Lassi
Originally uploaded by gopoo.

Heard of Abhinav and Nidhi Agarwal? Well,they run the Chaat Masala restaurant near the Bombay Stock Exchange.You can dine in style and pick your favourite chaat from a spread of about 30 different chaats.Their paanipuris are awesome.And here too you have a great choice.Have you tried paalak ki chat? Crispy spinach leaves and green chillies with sweet and sour chutney and chaat masala.
The main course has multani dhingri kebabs,paneer tikka masala,mirchi ka saalan(made famous by the hyderabadis)and superb desserts as the finale.Moong dal halwa or tiranga kulfi.
A bit stiff on the purse though. Re 400 per head. Though not big money for having street food in a sanitised ambience. Oh,I completely forgot the main reason for posting this blog.

Lassi. Strawberry,kala khatta,kesar etc. Absolutely heavenly! And why don't we make lassi our national drink. Even Lalu wants coke,pepsi and other drinks to be replaced by buttermilk(a diluted form of lassi) in khullars(clay pots)!.Chalo,kuch thanda ho jaaye.

Made famous by the Punjabis,lassi is the ideal drink in the hot season.The lactobacilli in lassi acts as a lubricant and helps us to digest food easily.It also relieves one from gas and constipation.Containing protein,vitamins,iron and calcium,it can be consumed in all age groups -from newborn babes to the elderly.

It is the quintessential Deshi drink.

Lassi piyo aur masti karo.