Holy Cow! They are proselytising!

While waiting for the train home at the Penn Station, I saw many red fliers being trampled underfoot and tucked at the back of the seats. I picked one up and saw that it was a message from a group called Jews For Jesus. I thought that the message was attractive, contemporary and brought a chuckle or two even from a confirmed agnostic like me. While I detest proselytising of any sort, I could only nod my head and grin at the cheekiness.

The larger question remains. Why do I react negatively to propaganda by religions? I'm not angry when bombarded with a zillion adverts on TV, merely irritated (Well, I do get angry when they cut away just before the last delivery in the over and start an advert in a cricket match).
So what is the difference? I think that religion works at the belief level, and as everything else that works at that level (like for instance honesty, patriotism and love), they are deeply, totally personal. A belief demands that the individual grapple and seek. And if in that seeking; she reaches out to a guru, or a church, or a book, or a sect, or a philosophy; it is all right. However, what is not on is to thrust ones religion on to individuals, to peddle belief. That, to me is disgusting and beggars belief (sorry, couldn't resist that pun!). Let the seeker approach; let the one who needs to believe ask for help. Don't dishonour anyone by assuming that she needs to to believe, that she better believe!

I have heard the argument, 'But, what if they don't know that they need help? What if they are simple and innocent?' Well, all the more reason to leave them alone. If they have not yet found a reason to believe, then they don't need it in their lives. When they need it, the heart will seek.

'World Class Indian Cricketer'

Saw something hilarious today. Being a holiday, I'd gone to Nirmal Lifestyles, a mall in Mulund to pick a few bargains for the home. On my way out, my attention was drawn to this ugly stump-of-a-commemorative pillar with the following legend...

Good that we have been told about this Rahul Dravid. The one that I knew is really a banker who sells Amway on weekends. lolz

Monsoon marches

It is September. And monsoon is still around. Can't remember the last time it rained this late. Maybe the cycle is shifting? Or maybe it is going to last longer this year. I hope it does - we need the rains. The lakes are half-full. We have water scarcity at my flat anyway; with empty lakes it will be unthinkable in the summer.

It would be to the advantage of us Mumbaikars to learn about urban rainwater harvesting. I'm sure there must be some simple things that one can do. A quick google revealed that there IS a special department of theMumbai Municipality that helps home-owners to harvest rainwater. Its called Division for Education for Water. IN case you want to start off right away and don't have a clue where to begin, start by looking at this youtube video from Bangalore. Its fab!

It's time we heeded.

US and them

I returned from the US on 8th August. The assignment is now complete and the report has been tabled. All is well. So now I have the time to reflect on my 5 weeks.

On our way from Somerset, NJ to Moosic, PA, we saw 5 roadkills, all deer, large ones; ungainly in death, some bloated, others just plain pathetic. B said that deer are a menace - eat the best summer blooms and mess up the lawn. And when they crash against cars on the freeways people are not just injured (some are known to die, but that happens more with Moose than the smaller deer) but are left guilty and generally wretched having blown the car, killed a harmless but stupid animal and having to pay for the repair. Roadkill meat is not eaten. Just buried or incinerated.

But there are culling expeditions as well in many states, mostly for deer. And these are then given to the local butchers who sell the venison to the local populace.

Where we lived in Somerset, just beyond the lawns in the woods that line the property were numerous families of deer. I've seen them during breakfast - a family of three, one yearling, frisky and slim; the other two, more staid and perpetually hungry. Another family of three in the adjoining property - all large and energetic. They are completely unafraid of humans. I've also spotted rabbits and a stoat-like animal, something narrow, low and dark. It was well past 9 PM when I saw it, hence it was not too clear. Could have been a weasel. Had it been India, I would have said mongoose.

There is hunting season in all but three states in the US (Kentucky, Hawaii and Rhode Island). How different is the situation vis-a-vis India!! Hunting and gathering is allowed only for the tribes and villages inside the protected forestry zones in India. That too, of a few species.

What I find incredible is that much of the wilderness that we see in the US is really very recent: less than a 100 years old. Most of the arable land available used to be farmland - HUGE tracts of it, especially in the southern states. Cotton and tobacco. All that is gone, the farms abandoned. The forest has reclaimed all of the land. Apart from this, there are large areas in North America, especially in Canada, where the government has planted pine forests.

All this is possible because North America is still mostly wilderness. Human density is ridiculously low if you compare it to any other industrialised area. Europe is as dense as it gets, Japan too, and the densest amongst them all - UK. What NA needs are hordes of immigrants; twice as much, thrice....only then can we have a semblance of balance on the planet. It will also make Americans and Canadians more responsible environmentalists and less profligate. Well, Canadians are really quite OK. It's the American consumption that tips the scale.

Speaking of which, it was impossible sometimes to just watch at the breakfast table, the colossal wastage of food, even now, when the going is tough. It would take all of my good breeding (?) to not get up and slap the fat lady silly - one particularly noxious woman - who would pile her plate with two Waffles, then cut them quarter-wise, pour four 'cups' of syrup, and then leave three quarters on the plate and go for crisp bacon strips and cheese omelettes. Then she would grab a 'healthy' yogurt cup, some bagels and coffee leaving an untidy mess of omelettes behind. Last, a banana and more coffee. Jeezuz!!!! Not only gluttonous, but wasteful. Except for the coffee, nothing was really 'finished'.

But why just the noxious lady - almost all the folks up there seem to leave quite a bit on the plate. Call me old-fashioned, but it would set my teeth on the edge to see all of this around me. I've not even started yet on the amount of garbage that this eating frenzy would generate. The mousy little Mexican guy would come in twice in the time I breakfasted to clear the bins.

On the other hand, there are not many people who are as generous in spirit as the Americans. Even in these blighted times, the portions in restaurants is gargantuan, there still is free coffee and cookies, the peg measure while pouring out drinks is almost always ignored.

A word on the weather. Lovely!

Exit T20

So we have been kicked out by England. This should have brought my world crashing down a few years back (umm, maybe quite a few years back!) and I would have been fuming at the incompetence of Dhoni, the lethargy of Ishant, the arrogance of Yuvi, the block-headedness of Yusuf, and so on. Instead I found myself applauding Broad for his resilience, the English spectators for their goodnatured mirth....even Pietersen for his focus. True, it is disappointing to go out in this fashion, but somewhere one also realised that the team was not the best in the tournament, it was not working as well as it did the last time; somewhere one can see that Team India was underdone. And it is all right! The team is human, after all. In Mahi we have a potential great; let us give him the time and space to carve out a splendid team that does not get blown away by het or wet, rain or snow.

For me the best sight was the Windies winning and showing the joy that only they can show on the cricket field. I for one would be glad to see this Windies team claim its rightful place in world cricket. For too long have they been mismanaged. Those of us who have seen Lloyd's and Viv's and even Richie Richardson's team, they will know what the succeeding generations of fans have missed - the grace shown by a generation of unconquered champions in victory and defeat, in the field and off it.

IPL

I have to write about IPL - cannot help it.
All the drama before a ball was bowled - that sapped some of my interest, instead of whetting it. To be honest, I did not think Modi san would carry it off - he did! Wow! As a pure management exercise, his was sublime. If CEOs can do what he did, the recession should be short work.
Heh!

Now that it is on, I watch it when I can. The few matches that have been close - especially the three in the last 5 days, were riveting stuff. Now that I have experienced it, I also know that last year was different. Last year had energy, it had raw passion. Yes, it had more than its share of silliness, yet the people in the stands made a palpable difference. The screen used to throb. You know exactly what I'm talking about.

This year, we have had even more silliness, even more blatant commercial crassness, the commentary has been pathetic and the crowds have been dull. I don't mind the silliness or the crassness or the commentary because I can do mute, or simply flick to Natgeo and come back exactly to rejoin the play. But the energy? It is missing. The crowds are thin, there is bonhomie maybe, but no partisanship, no heart-thumping electricity. Its boring.

I might as well be watching Essex bat against Notts - don't really give a rat's ass. Clearly, IPL can only work in India. That is a learning that Lalit Modi must have got by now. Knowing him, we can be sure that the next year it will be in India, come het or wet, rain or snow; and we also know that the brazen strategy break will be gone as well. Thank the Lord for small mercies!!

Beating the Heat

It's been some time since I blogged. Not that one has something momentous to say now. The summer has been tough - with the whole of May to go yet. Talking of which, I must tell you about the chaas.

The canteen has been supplying a chaas at lunch-time that has chopped coriander and just a little bit of pudina and a touch of rock-salt. The buttermilk is nice and thin and sour. Just the right mix of tastes that makes the summer mellow. That and the zero need to step out in the open from the delicious, cool interiors makes it easy to withstand. Bit la-di-da, nonetheless, lucky! Wouldn't have relished travelling under such circumstances.

The other thing that I look forward to is the pani-puri on my way back. This guy has a stall at Parey's, Sher-e-Punjab; and he has ice-cold pani that has mint and green mangoes and is fairly sour. Mumbai pani is usually bland. This guy also makes a nice aalu mix (no ragda for me, thank you!).

The first thing to do on reaching home is to make a tall glass of fresh-lime soda. Ah! Bliss!

I'm waiting for the rains. Taking a page off Alexander Frater, a-la the Indians Spices Board members, I promise to soak myself in the first shower, no matter what the situation.