News & Views

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DC 23 October:

Pune:

"In a bizarre case, a bull along with its owner was 'summoned' to a police station in Pune regarding a complaint of the animal being treated 'ruthlessly' during the Ganesh immersion last month. Sandip, the bullock, was in attendance with his owner on Friday after a complaint by the police alleging ruthless treatment of the animal during the Ganesh immersion"

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I do not know if I can comment on this delicate matter which is sub judice.

This sub judice thing comes very handy nowadays to our politicians. Most every inconvenient matter is sub judice and likely to remain so for good. They refuse to answer any (in)delicate question at all.

But the other day the Supreme Court was fuming by a statement by our erudite Law Minister. He is reported to have said that corporate honchos should not be kept in jail for too long, since it is effecting the growth of our economy adversely. He didn't say it but the wrong implication is that politicians can very well be kept there as long as the SC wishes since they are eminently expendable.

This at once drew a sarcastic comment from the august bench that they are not at all interested in playing host to the said corporate honchos or even politicians (implying that it is becoming very expensive for the Court...they tend to get unwell too soon unlike common criminals).

Anyway the reported 'ruthless' ill treatment of the said bull(ock) goes against all enlightened thought on cruelty to animals (not including man).

My learned UP friend, Tyagi, half a century ago recited a well-known verse from the celebrated Goswami Tulsidasjee (?) which goes against all wisdom, if not kindness. I forgot the exact Awadhi couplet but its sense is somewhat as follows:

"Cattle, harijans, drums and women are all beat-worthy" (I beg to be corrected).

This of course is scandalous nowadays; and I am most happy that we don't subscribe to this adage any longer.

Let us first take women.

I always speak from personal experience in my blogs, as you all know. I never beat my wife (32 years on). On the other hand, I used to get regularly kicked by her unconsciously (for her) every night. She suffers from (or enjoys) a syndrome...not RLS...but KJR (Knee Jerk Reaction). While she is in her deep sleep (within a minute of closing her eyes till a minute before opening them) she often 'kicks' her left leg in the air sideways at completely random and unpredictable intervals (if I change sides, it is the right leg that becomes active, meaning she is ambidextrous sympthaticae).

After the first few months, I devised a plan...I keep four pillows between us in our double bed.

But a few years ago, all the members of our extended family had to sleep on the floor of a Marriage Function Hall at Gudur...the muhurat was early in the morning and we had no overnight transport. As is the custom, all gents slept on the right half of the floor and ladies on the left.

This right-left business is rather rigid in our families...Lord Raam has Sita to his left in all their joint family portraits. So does Lord Shiv have Parvati on his left half. Anyway the custom is enlightened since ladies are left-leaning...I mean progressive like the inhabitants of JNU by default (Supratim!).

Coming back to our night-rest on the floor of the Function Hall...two of my six sisters (by rotation) shared sides with my slumbering wife and complained to me vehemently next morning. I offered profuse apologies on my wife's behalf...but inwardly I said: "Serves you right!" {;-}

This evening Ishani came running into our bedroom when my wife and me were relaxing and gossiping (you know about who...my sisters) and clawed up on our bed and mounted astride the boundary pillows and pretended she was driving a horse (not bull, no way). After a while she lisped: "Granpa! Why these pillows?"

I told her that they are the dividers between Hindustan and Pakistan.

That seemed to have amused her so much that she went away repeating: "Hindustan, Pakistan...Hindustan, Pakistan..."...kids know instinctively that our relations with our half-brother across are hilarious.

This morning there was this unusual news item:

Apparently, an Indian Army helicopter strayed into the Pakistani air space. The default reaction is to fire anti-aircraft missiles, or bring it down and incarcerate the pilot indefinitely and bargain the exchange rate:

1 Indian pilot = all the Pakistani prisoners in Indian jails

But surprisingly (or not so surprisingly) the matter seemed to have been settled amicably and swiftly and within five hours the Chetak helicopter with its lieutenant-colonel, two majors and a naib subedar were safely back in Kargil...Pakistan foreign affairs are now in cute hands.

Talking of planes and helicopters, we have this smug news that the world's largest passenger aircraft, A-380, from Bangkok to Dubai, made an emergency landing (the third one in a row) safely in our Shamshabad Greenfield Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (after being refused permission by Chennai). See, I told you, Hyderabad is hi-tech...

Oh, yes, I forgot... a baby girl was safely delivered on an Air India flight bound to Toronto. The delivery took place over Kazakhstan. Great news! The baby can now play ice-hockey for Canada, kickbox for Kazakhstan; and of course become the President of India.

That's all for tonight...the Invigilator is shouting: "Time up...stop writing!!!"


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