Baby steps for a better tomorrow

In this year’s Independence Day speech, our honourable Prime Minister encouraged us to show patriotism in a different way. He highlighted the need for small families, with India facing the biggest concern of population explosion. We see him proudly addressing our nation as ‘savaso crore Bhartiya’, but little do we realize that new Bhartiyas are born in some or the other corner of the country every day and that savaso crore number will have to be revised with a higher one someday.

We are a country where Kama Sutra originated and our population is soon going to surpass China’s, yet we are tight-lipped when it comes to sex, family planning and birth control. After all, a child is God’s gift. How can we say ‘No’ to that? I remember an incident from one of my economics classes when we were studying about stages of population growth. India is on the second stage of demographic growth, where birth rate is high and death rate is low, which is a stage of population explosion. Developed countries generally have a low birth as well as death rate. While citing reasons for population explosion, we came across one point in the book: Sex is the only source of recreation. The student who was asked to read this point hesitated to say the three letter word. It’s apparently embarrassing to use that word in public or we don’t want to accept the grim reality of sex being recreational source for those who cannot afford books, television, Netflix or watching movies in theatres. Another fact that amazed me was that if people of my generation showed discomfort in saying the word sex, what about the previous generations who never even found it necessary to curb the ‘countless blessings’ they got from God? There are certain families who go on expanding their lineage till a son is born to light their funeral pyre, regardless of the kind of future the children will have in terms of education and health.

I remember an advertisement campaign of Idea 3G where the problem of population explosion was addressed in a light-hearted way. The punchline was “India 3G busy toh no abaadi”. It is the era of 4G today and we may expect 5G also soon, but the burgeoning population still remains a problem at large. UN’s projections that India’s population growth has stabilized and that in future the country’s population will start declining are reassuring to some extent. Till the time this decline is visible to the naked eye, the vicious circle of poverty and unemployment that follow population explosion will continue.

Welcoming a newborn is a joyous occasion for any family. As a nation, these ‘new additions’ mean expansion of existing facilities by exploiting more resources. This bustling new generation contributes to one of the factors of production i.e. labour to take the nation on the path of development. On the contrary, this ever expanding bunch also creates strain on other factor of production i.e. land, which is a limited resource and is not going expand itself to feed the ever growing hungry mouths. As this newborn grows up, he or she takes his or her first step in the world of fierce competition by getting into a school. Nowadays school fees have skyrocketed and are equivalent to salary packages of parents. But parents want best for their children, so they admit their child in a school where all-round development is promised. It has become a status symbol for parents to send their children in state-of-the-art schools. I have heard of some parents having sleepless nights over their children’s admission. These nights get worse once the child clears his or her board exams and has to dive in the cut-throat competition where even one percent more counts to push someone back and secure admission in desired college. There are competitive entrance exams ahead with lakhs of aspirants vying for IITs or IIMS or an institute of similar cadre. Same story goes for jobs where there are innumerable applicants for few openings. In such circumstances, most students pray for ‘mass recruiters’ who can hire them; whether the job matches skill set does not matter in desperate times. Job satisfaction looks like a distant dream, because money matters more than anything else, especially when you have a large family to look after. With the preponderant population, anyone is dispensable in the job and hence we may see that in some companies the employees are not valued much. This is roughly the life cycle of any Indian today caught in the web of competition, EMIs, crowded trains and most importantly, survival.

There is however a brighter side seen these days, if I may call it bright, optimistic that I am. With an increasing number of educated women, a trend is seen that they prefer career over children. Hence, like in developed countries, today Indian women, too, postpone marriage and pregnancies to do well in career first. I think these are the baby steps to bring population under control. With schooling becoming expensive every year, the slogan ‘Hum do, humare do’ also seems like an unaffordable plan in cities today as parents strive hard to look after their only child, given the time crunch and challenges at work. However, we still see some families turning a blind eye to curb population growth till the rightful heir is born. The still prevalent cases of female fetuses found in garbage dumps explains the poor sex ratio in India. In such places ‘Beti badhao, beti padhao’ seems like an apt message with a hope that these educated women in future contribute to keep population in check.

Population of a country forms its strength as human resources are valuable to bring about betterment in any form. Measures have to be taken that this strength does not become a weakness or burden on the economy in the long run. Maybe it’s time India adopted one child policy too, and hopefully every family thanks God for a single blessing in form of one child. India is a lucratively huge market, thanks to our very own population. Businesses thrive on the life cycle of Indians- be it schools, coaching classes, products and services or companies looking for affordable labour. If we just don’t insist on having children of our own ‘flesh and blood’ or desire to establish genetic dominance like in animal kingdom, and instead think of providing a better future to countless orphans who need love and support in form of education and good health, we will soon emerge as a superpower in terms of thinking. We will then be a nation of savaso crore happy, healthy and rational minds.

Fever of the Gentleman’s Game

Tuesday, 9^th July 2019, was like any other day for some, while an anxious one for many Indian cricket fans. Heartbeats were rapid with silent prayers and best wishes for the beloved Indian Cricket team to win the semi-final against New Zealand and reach the finals. After the magnificent World Cup win in 1983 and 2011 and outstanding performances of the team in this World Cup tournament, hopes were high to win the coveted World Cup trophy, only to be shattered into shards later. Though I am not an ardent follower of cricket and do not follow most of the cricket tournaments, the consistent wins by our team motivated me to catch this season of World Cup. For me it was like reading a book where the protagonist is winning laurels for his or her good work and all odds are always in the favour of that character. Such plots encourage me to read further and further.

This World Cup season not only showed me how strong and energetic our team is, but I also learned to see strengths of other teams and players, which I barely knew earlier. Cricket is the beloved and celebrated sport of India, thanks to the British influence and it has always been a symbol of sophistication and people have loved to associate themselves to this sport since decades. The promo of this season has itself been vibrant and highlighted the competitive spirit that cricket or any other sport displays. With England welcoming all the countries and everyone proudly dancing to “Tu khwaab dekhte reh jaa hum le jayenge” and racing for the trophy symbolized that cricket is a package of entertainment, team spirit, unity and patriotism. Isn’t it why it is said that, ‘cricket unites the nation’?

For sincere cricket fans, enjoying match in a stadium is the ultimate way of supporting the team. For me, that spirit and hope for victory was very much alive watching the match in the comfort of my home. We applauded whenever Rohit Sharma scored a century, or when our men in blue hit a four or six or took a challenging wicket of the opponents. I remember those moments when our batsmen hit the ball high in the air and we sat with hearts in our mouth praying it to be a six and not a wicket. It is so much fun to see the large blue ocean of Indian supporters with several faces painted in tricolor, cheering the team with all slogans and cheerful dances. It’s as though this positive energy is passed on to our team to do better in every game. Indian team reached the numero uno position with its wins in all matches except with England. While the perceived intimidating match with Australia resulted into our victory, the most nail-biting one was the match with Afghanistan. India faced toughest fight with them, but still managed to win the match by 11 runs. I was astonished by the spirit of Afghani players who did not give up till the last ball. That match earned my respect for Afghanistani cricket team too. Not having won a single match in the entire tournament, they surely strived to give their best, these lads as young as 18 and 19. When I read more about their team, I learned that the Afghani players imbibed the sport as refugees and their entry in the World Cup itself was a mark to show that they were capable to face the existing cricket champions.

We saw some once powerful teams take a blow of defeat, bidding the tournament goodbye. Each team has their own strengths and weaknesses and set of strong players which makes them a great one. What turning of tables really means, we got to see in this World Cup. On reaching the semi-finals, many of us were confident that India was surely to reach finals since the match with New Zealand was perceived to be a cakewalk. I remember that day when everyone including I had rejoiced over the so-called manageable target of 240 for the Indian Cricket team, a child’s play for the first rankers. But the forces of Nature had other plans and, in the end, it’s all in the destiny. We got massive blows one after the other when our best players were slain in merely few overs. The audience in the stadium too looked crestfallen, but still hope wasn’t lost. With Jadeja and Dhoni emerging as the last hopes, everyone sat with fingers crossed. I developed new found respect for Ravindra Jadeja who tried to save our sinking ship by scoring 77 runs in 59 balls. They gave their best to unlock the gates of Finals, but unfortunately their efforts were not enough to reach there. The dreams of bringing World Cup home ended there for the team as well as for millions of Indian fans, who had hoped to cheer our team in the finals. I learned from that match that even the best people get the taste of defeat when it’s most unexpected. Life is uncertain, and so is Cricket. Today’s winners might not necessarily be the winners at the end. Australia, ranked second, too met with the same fate against England. With the former winners out of World Cup 2019, a new way was paved for New Zealand and England, one of whom would create a history by becoming first time winners of the World Cup. The entire turn of events in this tournament reminded me of the hare and tortoise story, where the third and fourth rankers stole the show.

Cricket teaches us some great life lessons. We should never underestimate our competitors just because we are better than them and should learn to recognize and appreciate their strengths. Strategies can then be developed to get better of the opponents by identifying which can be their probable Achilles Heel. This holds true even in the business world, for you never know who might enter the market and conquer everything that you once owned. Similarly, not being on the top position also is not a matter to get disheartened. The sun shines brightly on some one day and shows the path to overcome the difficulties to emerge as tough. Cricket and business world are all about team work and team spirit. Identifying your team mates’ strengths and giving them the chance to display the best of their skills is a way of motivating them, for the success of any team and a company depends on its people. Even in life it is important to ensure that success does not get in the head. When that happens, you will lose the appetite for failure and it will also blur the ways to still get better in life.

The philosophies in sports, business or even in life go hand in hand, where today’s win is not guaranteed tomorrow unless perseverance is religiously abided by. Despite this, there is always a danger of failure, yet we must learn that we can always rise tomorrow with renewed vigour and better approach. Only when we learn to introspect and correct our mistakes and attitude, we come closer to success, although luck has a role in determining success too. Future can bring bright hopes or gloomy days, it’s how and whether we tackle it with grounded feet that matters in the end.

Gallivanting in Queen’s Land

It is said, that for any writer, mountains are the best places to come up with a good story or plot for a book, as they are havens for a peaceful mind and provide inspiration in nature’s proximity. This summer, as an escape from Mumbai’s scorching heat and hoping to get a thrust to write something better, I paid a visit to the Queen of Hills – Mussoorie, nestled in India’s Land of Gods i.e. ‘Devbhoomi’, Uttarakhand.

The journey from Dehradun Airport to Mussoorie was a starting point in Uttarakhand’s emerald green world. As we reached Mussoorie, the mountains seemed to welcome and embrace us in their wide arms. Our abode throughout the stay in Mussorie was Kasmanda Palace, a heritage hotel, which itself was an opportunity to live royally. It is situated on the busy Mall Road, where there is a plenitude of shops and mesmerizing view of mountains below. The palace is situated on top of a hill away from the hustle and bustle of the busy road. This more than a century old palace is like the one you would see in movies, where hunted animals are seen on the walls like trophies and steps are covered in royal red carpets. It is adorned by pictures of lineage of Kings who ruled the small kingdom of Kasmanda. The history of palace displayed is worth a read, as it explains how the palace has been through various avatars since its construction in 1836. It also mentions about the hunted animals seen in palace and how the kings, in order to protect their subjects, had killed these man-eater animals, thus not glorifying killing of animals. There was a cannibal tigress and a leopard kept in a glass cabinet, hunted between the years 1953 to 1958, who seemed life-like even today, with their belligerent eyes. Everything about the palace is regal, right from its rooms to the heritage items showcased in the property. The Her Royal Highness or H.R.H. point is a part of the palace where Queen Mary, wife of King George V had had tea and was thrilled to see the view of the mountains. It was indeed a scenic sight where you could get a panoramic view of humankind settled in the accommodating mountains. In the evening, the mountains and the settlements beyond them glittered like a Queen’s jewellery. The chilled evenings were a much-awaited respite from the beads of sweat experienced in Mumbai in the month of May.

The next morning, we headed out to explore the nature’s bounty. Our first stop was Yamuna Bridge, where we saw Yamuna, one of the holiest rivers of India running placidly with its pure waters. The river taught us to go with the flow of life with patience and calmness. As we were in the Land of Gods, taking their blessings was a must. We proceeded to visit Goddess Santura in her temple. It is believed that Santura Mata spared Mussoorie from a fierce earthquake in 1991. Therefore, this sacred place has profound significance among the people of Mussoorie. The story made me think of the strong divine impact on us and how God looks after His valuable creations, in times of calamity and prosperity as well. The temple is milky white in colour signifying its sanctity. The temple offers breathtaking view of green valleys below it, giving you much needed rejuvenation in untouched nature’s presence. We went ahead to meet another of God’s numerous forms, by visiting a Buddha Temple at Happy Valley. Surrounded by a meditative environment, this small temple offers peace of mind. Having sought an acquaintance with ranges of tall mountains now, it was time to explore the palette of colours on flowers at Company Garden, not far from Buddha Temple. The garden looks ebullient with a variety of flowers that it flaunts. Roses of different colours shine proudly in the gardens. A nursery within the garden is a place several multi-coloured flowers greet you and present a treat to your eyes. I remember a particular patch in that garden where flowers of all colours that you can imagine were present. It reminded me of my childhood colouring books in which I excitedly used all crayons of my box to colour a picture of garden! The evening slowly started turning into a cold one and we retired into the warmth of our palace hotel, like sincere subjects returning under their King’s protection.

The next day was a combination of visits to natural and man-made wonders and another rendezvous with God. We began our day by paying a visit to Naag Devta temple. Another refuge of solace, this temple is surrounded by soothing cool breeze and serenity. On its way, there are simple teachings for our day to day lives written on the walls, reading which, we ask ourselves whether we really lead our lives in these ideal ways. With a hope that we will engrave these thoughts in our minds, we headed for our next destination. We visited Mussoorie lake next, an artificial one, and it gives scope for other recreational activities and adventure sports around. The lake acts like a magnet, attracting many tourists to explore its various other offers. We were already in the mountains, but now it was time to visit a jewel originating from these mountains in form of a waterfall. We headed to Bhatta falls next, where we could hear the wild gushing of waters from a long distance. The force of this abundantly flowing milky white water was an exceptional sight to see. Freshly gifted by nature, the indispensable source of life looked pure and transparent. We drove to reach Dhanaulti next, where we went higher in the mountains, cutting across its series of zigzag, sharp turns. The air got cooler in the afternoon and the sight of green mountains and trees beautiful than ever. Our first stop in Dhanaulti - Surkanda Devi Temple, was an ultimate test of endurance, trekking and patience. This temple is situated at a highest point that you can imagine. The experience of climbing 8 to 9 kilometers of the mountain to reach the temple was exhausting as well as exhilarating. After taking frequent breaks and finally reaching the temple, beating all odds and levels of tiredness, we felt like victors who successfully passed a physical fitness test! We sought the Goddess’ blessings and thanked her implied way of teaching us that we can always overcome the difficult situations of life, if we have patience, courage and strong willpower. The view that we got from the top of the temple made us realize how far we had come climbing, motivating us to implement the same principle in our lives by progressing steadily. Exploring Dhanaulti further, we visited Eco Park – a vast expanse of 13 hectares covered in deodar and oak trees. The park looked like a typical picnic spot. The firmly standing tall trees seemed like disciplined people who followed a straightforward path of life. A tradition known as memory sapling plantation is followed in the park, as a part of which, one can plant a sapling in memory of their loved ones. What a beautiful way of remembering your loved ones than looking after and nurturing a new life with your own hands!

On our way back, we saw the King of Mountains gazing at us from a distance – the sacred Himalayas. So far in my life I had seen Himalayas only in pictures and had read about them; their significance in mythology and fascinating facts. But to see them with my own eyes was like a picture forever imprinted on my mind. These snowclad mountains were glittering in the sun, making evident to everyone who the real King was, among the numerous green mountains that we saw. The sight of Himalayas accompanied us till the long part of our drive, giving us enough opportunities to extol this distinct marvel of Nature, albeit from a far distance. To get a closer view of the magnificent Himalayas with the help of telescope, we visited Lal Tibba next, the second highest point in Mussoorie. On our way to Lal Tibba, we passed by the areas which were British establishments earlier. The surroundings still seem like pre-independent India, almost taking us back to British era. We saw Ruskin Bond’s home on our way. No wonder that the creatively conducive and pleasant climate of Mussoorie inspires him to come up with such good stories, revolving around the contentedness, innocence and simplicity of life in a hill station like this one. Having explored the lengths and breadths of Mussoorie, we called it a day, tired and satisfied at the same time.

The next day we headed out on foot to reach Gun Hill Point. A cable car ride is available to drop you there. We could see Himalayas even from there, wishing us a pleasant morning. Their sight again made our day. We walked around the Gun Hill Point enjoying the pleasant climate and gathering the marvelous view of mountains as much as possible, as it was our last day of stay in Mussoorie. The mountains also have their own way of telling how unique they are from each other. We went to Camel Back road next to see how these mountains took shape of a camel’s hump as if to distinguish themselves in some way.

Throughout our stay in Mussoorie, we relished the delicious and authentic North Indian delicacies and unleashed the foodies within us. Everything about the place was memorable- the untouched nature, kind people, the proudly standing temples and even the cycle rickshaws! Everything looked picturesque and like a description that you would read in stories. A vacation in a storyland like Mussoorie gave me a glimpse of utopian, fictional world that exists in stories where life is perfect and people are happy with whatever little they have. It was a lesson in appreciation of Nature which taught us to be humble and still be strong like the gargantuan mountains.

Thou art Slave of Thy Creation!

Lately I have been in a strange kind of friendship. Though this friendship started 3 years ago, these days I have being seeing a different face of this friend. In every friendship it is quite common that we fully understand each other over some period. I spend 9 to 10 hours of my day with my friend every day. It’s none other than the crucial professional tool, Microsoft Excel.

Winds of automation are blowing around the work I do and that’s when the macro facet of Excel comes into view. These macros are believed to be smart and are capable of finishing our work in lesser time than what we did manually. Of course these macros run well albeit some hiccups, but in the end they emerge victorious, thanks to the background commands given to them, the language which appears like Greek and Latin to me. Not exactly being macro literate, I sit agape when they run into error and immediately goes the call for help to those who have mastered this language. I sit patiently till these experts decode the macros and convince them to work properly. The time that goes in this patch-up is equal to the time I could do the same work manually. Sometimes these macros turn their back on you when you expect the most to count on them. In such situations I think to what extent we are dependent on technology and how helpless we feel when these wonders of technology don’t function. Sometimes, I ask myself who the real robot is- the automated tool or humans themselves, who don’t get to use their mind constructively.

We hear so much about automation and Artificial Intelligence (AI) these days that it makes me question the importance of human minds. Are we just going to let the rust cover our brains? Surely, automation makes work lot easier and saves time; the minds behind it are creative. But what if this automation is robbing people of their jobs and most importantly the ability to think on our own? Quite frequently I hear statements like, “This all is being automated so that you can focus more on qualitative and analytical work.” When asked what exactly they mean by ‘qualitative’, the answer is unknown to even to those who make such promises. Of course, the work being qualitative cannot be quantified in any answer, or so do I convince myself when I do not get any plausible reply.

For a country like India where population and hence workforce is growing at a rapid rate, automation can seem like an idea in grey zone, especially when we know the fact that labour is cheap in labour abundant countries. Ironically I see new faces around me in an environment where automation is given so much boost. I shrug it off thinking, “Maybe they are the ones who are going to do some qualitative and analytical work!”

Recently I read in a newspaper that implementing Robotic Process Automation (RPA) in HR also can save time in routine tasks like reviewing thousands of applications, corresponding with candidates, scheduling interviews, interviewing, making offers and onboarding, thus reducing process costs as much as 1/10^th. Soon many administrative tasks in HR could be replaced by RPA. This could also mean that your HR manager could be a robot who will decide whether you are fit for a job or may schedule an interview for you. The human touch in Human Resources would soon be lost in an effort to reduce costs by 1/10^th! All this is again so that people work on value added tasks. This definition of value-added remains vague. Thankfully the article acknowledged the fact that RPA cannot replace human decision making. We can hope that this value-addition could be in terms of sound and fair decisions.

I remember hearing about the period in banks when people chose the option of Voluntary Retirement Scheme when computers made an entry in their manual world of banking. People who are habituated and are convinced that the work they manually do is accurate, find it hard to come to terms with computers and the technology that follows. Nowadays I see many jobs coming up for automation processes. In a way, you develop something that works automatically and eventually ends up replacing you. So much for the ease in processes! In spite of this, we see that some people do not trust these new vehicles of technology or are ignorant about it and prefer standing in long queues. On one hand where we see so much thrust being given to automation and technology for the benefit of mankind, we see many who refrain from this newness and go the conventional way. With reduced manual intervention in processes, surely the scope for errors and inefficiencies is reduced.  Still, the void of human touch and human angle cannot be filled up with these manmade robots.

I believe that the only places where humans will always thrive are hospitality and food industries. You would not like a robot to welcome you or serve you food when you go in an airplane. Nothing can replace the special taste of food made by your mother. So far there is no technology developed for that. Soon there could be a technology wherein you input the ingredients along with the quantity required and command it to prepare a dish; but it won’t allow you to add the most important and intangible ingredient – mother’s love and warmth. Robots are robots after all who do not have the ability to think. They are the products of human creativity to ease the life of and at times replace humans. But they surely cannot replace some forms of creativity like a painting in which only a human can draw and paint those emotions. We have high-tech cameras today, sure, but the idea to capture that beautiful smile or a scenic place is a decision which comes from a human mind, before we are lost in a virtual world and forget what natural and human feels like. It is necessary to understand that technology or robotic automation is a way to reduce manual work and yes, to focus more on quality. But it should not let us overpower us in such a way that it starts to dominate us and leads to restricted and straitjacketed thinking, devoid of any ideas, just like robots.

As I express my thoughts about automation, the macro that I have been running since 30 minutes proudly flashes on the screen the amount of time it took, as if to prove every time how faster it is than me. Starting to admit that fact, I open the file in which it has created wonders only to find out that it has missed some data here and there or has replicated some data twice. I laugh at it ruefully saying, “Not so smart after all, you product of human creation!” and there again goes call for help to those who created this ‘wonder’ to (quite contrarily) make my life easy!

Be Susegad

India is a land with history where foreign conquerors established their supremacy in various parts of the country. Though these erstwhile rulers are now a part of the pages of our history, they have left their footprints in our country in form of their architecture, languages and culture, giving us an opportunity to walk back into the times when these powers dominated our nation. Having frequently appreciated British architecture in Mumbai, it was time to visit the state of India where the Portuguese ruled. We visited Goa, widely known today as the party capital of India. I had visited Goa as a child, but Goa has a changed a lot in the last few years. Going there again was something to look forward to, to feel if the changed face of Goa still brought any childhood memories back.

Several Bollywood films have glamourized Goa. Goa has more to offer than just parties. Idyllic beaches and vast expanse of coconut trees add to the beauty. To reach the erstwhile Portuguese home, we travelled by Tejas Express, a premium train offering flight-like experience. On the way to our hotel, we saw several houses painted in bright colours depicting the colourful, contented and susegad i.e. relaxed life the people lead. Since our hotel was in the vicinity of Calangute Beach, we headed to this ‘happening’ place in the evening. Swarming with people in every corner, this beach is lucrative to many who have set up restaurants and bars, ensuring good time to those who wanted to relax. To create an energetic atmosphere, famous dance tracks were playing thus strengthening the party mood. We walked on the beach enjoying the view of the sea and the people who enjoyed getting drenched along the waves. The bright orange evening sun was taking leave for the day promising to bring a sunshine full of hope the next day. As a child I thought that the sea swallows the sun when it sets. I felt nostalgic remembering the naivety of childhood.

Next day we set out to explore South Goa. Our first spot was Coco Beach, named after the large number of coconut trees that surround it. Sitting in a boat we had an amazing rendezvous with the dolphins who swam along the boat as if to build camaraderie with us and exhibited their stellar swimming skills. As we sailed in Coco Beach, we got views of the Old Portuguese jail, Aguada fort and millionaire palace. The old Portuguese jail looked ramshackle, having lost its former glory. The bungalow of a diamond merchant nestled in the greenery looked grandiose concurring to his rich status. The cool sea breeze while we sailed made it a soothing experience. Our next stop was Miramar Beach which gave me a déjà vu feeling of having visited it as a child and building sand castles with my sister. The almost white sand and the clear water reminded me of Bondi Beach in Sydney. Tall coconut trees act as welcoming entrance while walking towards Miramar Beach. Next we visited Dona Paula, where Mandovi and Zuari rivers meet the Arabian Sea.

In spite of having the image of a party hub, Goa is also home to religious faiths in form of beautiful churches and temples. We visited Balaji and Mangeshi Temple and sought blessings of the Almighty. Mangeshi is an incarnation of Shiva and also the deity of Mangeshkar family. The splendid architecture of the temple embellishes the divine presence of God. We experienced serenity in God’s own abode. To meet God in His next home and experience divinity again, we paid a visit to Basilica of Bom Jesus and Se Cathedral. Basilica of Bom Jesus is a UNESCO world heritage site and holds mortal remains of St. Xavier. It is said that the saint’s body is still fresh as the day it was buried. We got the view of the mortal remains of St. Xavier and it seemed that he was in a deep, peaceful sleep. The interior of the church is simple though it is guarded by strong altars. We experienced the same serenity inside the church in divine presence. This tall church and its intricate designs enthralled me. In the courtyard, we saw a beautiful view of the memorable day when Jesus was born in a shed-like structure surrounded by various animals. The statues of Mother Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus in a manger looked lifelike, letting us imagine that day when the Lord was born. The Se Cathedral, which stands opposite Basilica of Bom Jesus, was built by Portuguese to commemorate the victory of Afonso de Albuquerque, a Portuguese general against the Muslims. The Se Cathedral houses the ‘Golden Bell’ which is the largest in Goa. It is said that in the olden times the ring of this bell reached several kilometers and the villagers were notified of events through this bell. The Cathedral also houses an archaeological museum, where we saw stone scriptures in Marathi, Urdu and Persian excavated in different parts of Goa. It also explained the history of Goa. Outside the museum is a tall standing statue of Afonso de Albuquerque as if to welcome us to the historical times. Thus, we cherished the mesmerizing views of South Goa, learning something about the Portuguese rule and spending time with the beaches, attracting tourists like magnets.

Next day we visited North Goa. We started our day by visiting the Aguada Fort of the Portuguese which was built to guard against the Dutch and the Marathas. This fort provides a spectacular view of the fresh blue Mandovi river below. The word Aguada means ‘water place’ thus explaining its presence around the river. It also has a light house which looks pure white as if it was built yesterday. Not far from Aguada Fort, we visited Sinquerim beach next, which resembled like the one which we would see in Mauritius or other famous beaches in the world. The meeting of soothing blue water with the sand is a beautiful colour combination that one would see. Our next spot, the snow white Saligaon Church was located far away from the hustle and bustle of the city surrounded only and only by tranquility. The beautiful image of Mother Mary holding Jesus in her arms literally seems like God watching over all of us. Goa being a hub of beaches, we visited Baga, Anjuna and Vagator beaches where we saw people enjoying their vacation basking in the company of the sea. We ended our North Goa trip with Chouranginath temple, again an incarnation of Lord Shiva, relaxing ourselves in the composure of the temple.

We felt the Portuguese presence wherever we saw boards in various shops in Portuguese language. It showed that the Portuguese roots are still firm in Goa where people are descendants of Portuguese heritage.  Attracting tourists all over the world, we saw many foreigners exploring Goa on bikes and on foot getting the tan that they needed. On the journey back home, we met a couple from New Zealand, a German woman and a New Zealander man who had come to visit Goa along with their children. It was a pleasure to converse with the woman in German and she had a gleeful look to know that an Indian could speak her language. I feel proud about our nation where tourists come from all corners of the world to explore our rich heritage. The world is wonderfully connected with the mobility options and of course the internet prompts us to visit a different city or country. I wondered about the time when the Portuguese discovered and invaded Goa when none of the modern amenities were present. I think it was only their zeal and curiosity which encouraged them to travel for days and months together to reach a faraway land where everything was new and foreign, be it people or the landscape. They came, they saw and they conquered. It was a challenge that they accepted and made a mark in our history. We bade goodbye to the party capital where beaches, churches and temples provided us respite from monotony and taught us to be susegad in life.

Profanity, I swear!

Headphones have become a must these days. No, not because you can’t hear anything clearly anymore. Nor there is any disturbance in the background. However, the things that you may want to hear can be disturbing. If others listen what you are listening to, eyebrows will be raised and you don’t want to be judged for the content that you are watching. In today’s era of web-series, using cuss words without any censors has given entertainment the raw and realistic representation that it needs. Hence, the need for headphones has risen more than ever.

When entertainment in form of web-series was unknown to me, I remember watching Roadies on MTV or English movies and series on television with frequent beeps at places where it would get uncomfortable to watch with the family around. Any viewer could make out the derogatory or objectionable words from the actors’ lip movements. Maybe a hesitant little step to maintain the originality of the content! If I have to play devil’s advocate, I think that swear words do not always have to sound violent or offensive. They give you fits of laughter and sometimes can be embarrassing as well, if they are articulated in a casual manner. And we Indians feel the sense of familiarity and solidarity with Hindi expletives in particular. As a result, some dialogues and scenes in Sacred Games and Mirzapur gained popularity, apart from the content they showed.  As a Narcos fan, I loved Wagner Moura’s performance as Pablo Escobar. His Spanish expletives and emphasis on each syllable with evident hatred for his enemies made him look like a formidable protagonist-cum-antagonist.

When I was learning German, I took interest in its slang expressions as well, to understand how the language changed its forms as human emotions varied. Gradually the German movies and series acquainted me to some ‘Schimpfwörter’ or swear words commonly used, ‘Scheiße!’ being most common and innocent one. In one of my classes when we were discussing about ‘Schimpfwörter’, we came to know that swear words evolved too, with immigrants entering Germany from various nations. I wondered the number of ways in which we carry our heritage like food, culture and even expletives!

Swear words are not limited to any particular class in a society. They are found in books as well, to convey the situation or environment better. Sometimes the portrayal of a place or the people living there cannot be convincing unless a real picture is shown, albeit with cuss words. And reality, though savage, is something that we long to watch or read because we want to peep into the real world. We swear when we have a reason to be angry with someone or something. But when it comes to music, which is supposed to be soothing and refreshing, cuss words or vulgarity in the songs having no solid context, seem totally unnecessary and look like a means to be a popular hum among listeners. The sentiments associated with expletives are eventually dissolved in the process and soon these words become a part of daily language, though we may not utter them at certain places or in company of some people. Suddenly cuss words and expressions start sounding ‘cool’ to us.

Another amusing thing about expletives is that they are used differently by men and women. Indian men tend to utter Hindi expletives more, in their raw and original form, whether while having casual talks with friends or colleagues or even when there are arguments.  Expletives are very common and come out very smoothly in any normal discussion between some men, especially when drinks act as appendage and sobriety is given a break for some time. When women are around, some men tend to get conscious and avoid saying any beep word, trying to act all suave. I have experienced this in some cases when my male friends or colleagues uttered cuss words in a matter-of-factly way and then immediately realized and apologized for having said them in front of me. I shrugged that off thinking it as a way to express certain emotions. For women, abusing in English makes them sound womanly. Men have a united stand when it comes to hurling abuses- they stick to regional language. But disparity can be seen among women, especially in local trains. Women traveling by first class compartment act sophisticated and hence you may hear English abuses in most cases. On the other hand, women in the second class compartment vent out their anger with a regional touch, sometimes beating out men in the abusing competition. What follows is a melee between several women, almost looking like a riot on the road. In spite of this, some heads turn when they hear a woman using expletives; they think it is very untoward or tomboyish. Wait, aren’t we living in a society where women and men are treated equals? It’s quite ironical that swear words have a restricted use only to men, when in fact some of these words are associated with women. 

Expressing anger or disappointment is a natural human tendency. Some people clear the differences by amicably resolving the disputed matters, while some use these cuss words as weapons to hurt or insult those who have wronged them. It all depends how people tackle anger and disappointment. Also, the usage of atrocities has a lot to do with the environment we grow up in, the people we hang out with or these days, the web content that we watch. In some cases, these very words can get a person in legal trouble. Hence, it is necessary to make careful and prudent use of these words.  Having said that, you cannot label someone as lowly of character just because he or she is foul-mouthed. The real person beyond those words could be warm, kind and affectionate. Coarse language could only be one of the shades making him or her probably a grey personality. Language evolves because of people. Hence, even languages have palette of words, good and bad, like distinct façades of people. It is up to us, which shade we choose from this palette, so that it suits us the best. We play with words every day, even with swear words. So let’s make sure that we do not succumb to the injuries nor injure anyone with these words in a fit of anger or anxiety because extreme emotions are momentary but words remain ingrained in mind for long.

On a Faraway Land

Nowadays we all have become globetrotters, or at least that’s the word we use when we upload umpteen pictures of our trip on social media. Some trip pictures inspire us to go on the same trip ourselves to discover that place and experience the same magic as shown in the pictures. The world has come closer today and a variety of flight options, attractive deals and cashbacks have made travel a cakewalk. Our ideas to visit a particular place is based on our extensive internet research, reviews and pictures. However, Google, the one stop where we find all our answers, may not have answers about the unspoken, undiscovered and unheard part of the world. That brings us to the question whether man has really discovered the entire world. Does the world have more than what catches the eye? What more secrets are yet to be unearthed on this Earth of ours?

It seems I came across one such interesting page of the mysterious world when I read about Sentinelese tribes in Andaman Islands, believed to be one of the world’s last tribes uncontacted by civilization. They came in the news for killing a young American missionary. The article also spoke about other uncontacted and isolated tribes in various parts of the world. Reading about these tribes and what they did for a living, fascinated me. In a world where we strive to make our presence known, here are sets of people who choose to live a life of solitude, away from the modern civilization. I think that they are real guardians of our planet as they protect the natural environment and live a humble life by reaping the gifts of Nature, quite contrary to the ‘civilized’ humans who are wiping the precious elements of Nature off the Earth.

The fact that they are ‘isolated’ and ‘uncontacted’ made me read about them. The internet, in so many forms, connects people from all parts of the world. Yet there exist people like these who are complacent to not be in touch with the modern world. Sometimes I wonder if we can ever live a life like these tribes; isolated and cut off from the world. Is it difficult in today’s world, unless you are nestled in a forest or a mountain with no network in cellphones? In today’s corporate world, it is believed to be rewarding to be always reachable and accessible. There are many people who would still prefer working or checking official mails after going home. There are workaholics who reply to mails even when they are on vacation, making them look like indispensable to the organization. Even mails late at night would mean that you are really dedicated to your work. Such people should learn a thing or two from these uncontacted tribes who do not bother to make their presence known or feel the need to prove anything to people around them.

Man by nature is social and hence we have societies. We have many people around us, but still we may feel lonely, lost and isolated in the crowd that we are in. Therefore, some ‘me-time’ is something that we really need to gift ourselves every day to know ourselves better, to take off the masquerade that we wear and be good listener to our own mind and heart. It should be a break from all the hustle and bustle around us. We go on vacations to get away from all the monotony, to have peaceful time at an exotic place. Yet the mind wanders to the likes and comments on our pictures that we post on social media. Recently I read an article wherein some travelers, in order to get the feel of the place and to truly live the experience, did not carry cameras with them. They just wanted to spend time with that place without letting the world know about their experience. While there are some rational travelers like these, one of my acquaintances had a hard time in a scenic place like Ladakh because he could not find mobile network there to upload live updates and pictures of his trip. With the bustling world of Instagram and Facebook, the world is at our feet and fingertips. Hence it can be challenging to resist the temptation of not being visible on them for a few days. I have seen three categories of people; first, who are totally detached from the nexus of social media, the second who are moderate users of social media and the third, for whom social media is the fourth basic necessity. This last category has regular posts about routine activities of life; be it traffic, crowded railway platforms, weekend plans or something as trivial as posting a ‘Good Night’ selfie. Such people, I feel need a change in the privacy settings of life.

‘Me-time’ for me is spending an hour or two reading, a window which lets me look into the real and fictional world. It is a break from the drama by some real characters around me. We are surrounded by distinct humans who make our lives better or worse; we are surrounded by the modernity which I think could be difficult to part with, though we can certainly modify the way of life. We are part of a civilization which is prospered by the behavior of humans, whether it be in form of committing some deeds or expressions through social media to make their existence known. Sometimes this need for isolation or detachment can have an ugly face as well when we see family members or friends sitting in the same room without interacting with each other, glued to the phone going through the posts of friends with apparently better lives or hypnotically enjoying a gripping show with headphones on, thus literally shutting ears and mind. People are walking and changing with technology and each one of us is just a fine particle in this huge mass of humans, always competing and comparing, without having the need to look for what is best for us. It might not be practically possible to live a nomad life like the tribes or of abstinence from technology, given that it plays a pivotal role nowadays. But surely we can take frequent breaks from this widespread web. Taking a break from modernity or people does not necessarily mean heading out alone somewhere. It could also mean spending time with the people who mean to you, albeit off camera or check-ins. The memories created in that much time could be the best moments of isolation from rest of the world. Meaningful conversations and laughter with someone without having to put a mask on, spending time doing something what you really love, could possibly be the paths to live a life as serene and oblivious like the uncontacted tribes of the world. This ‘me-time’ should be like the space that is only known to you, it should a fictional and ideal land in your mind, where no one is allowed to intrude with vagaries of life. It could be the best gift for you, from you.