Tail of two pets

I have been living with pets, read dog for the past 10 yrs. Initially I was fearful of dogs. That was until my brother got Prince our first pet Labrador retriever. Soon my fear turned to absolute love, so much so that I started observing our surroundings which was home to street dogs. Until Prince came I was not aware that they existed.

Prince passed away last February leaving a huge vacuum in my life. He was the soul of our house, everything just centered on him. He was omnipresent everywhere. He is the reason why I am enjoying a blissful married life now. It was Prince who got me two wonderful gifts, my husband and his pet Osty now our Osty .Osty is also a Labrador like Prince but like humans they are two different personalities.

Prince was trained by a professional trainer from the dog squad of Mumbai police. He was like those who went to finishing schools very polished, with loads of attitude. My brother prided in the fact that he was very obedient. While all the pet owners had people complain about their pets in our society, there was none against Prince. He was called the “Graduate Dog” as he was the only one fully trained. People who had kids who loved dogs used to come to us for a meeting with Prince, because they felt he is the only dog whom they can trust with their infants, Prince never let them down. Kids used to request me to get him down to play area so that they can pet him. He gave a complex to all other pets and their owners in our society.

I recall, it was not only fellow pets he gave complex to, he gave my friends as well. Prince was chosen to be featured in tv serials and his pay packet at the point of time was more than double pay of most of my friends and even higher than mine.  He was lovable, adorable, intelligent but had loads of attitude and was quite fussy when it came to food.  He would allow us to cuddle and pet him, but beyond a certain point he would move out to his own space. Prince had friends but he would not like them to enter his home, he would say bye to everyone at the door. His friend a golden retriever named Sergeant would come home to play with him, but Prince did not like his uninvited visits. Home was his private den, other than his immediate family he wanted no one around.

Enter Osty, a bundle of energy, bouncing all around and loves to have as many people around as possible. Osty has been trained by my husband.  He is an absolute foodie and his non fussiness about food astonished me. He is just the opposite of Prince. Osty has won many competitions on the looks front. All the guts he has are drawn from us via the leash. He is ready to take on any one as long as we hold his leash, the minute we retreat he retreats with double speed. He allows me to cuddle him as much as I want, he is very patient.  I introduced Osty to hide and seek, which I used to play with Prince a lot. Prince used to rely on his nose to search me out, Osty uses his eyes. He would never use his nose..He would look all around for me; needless to say he would struggle to find me unlike Prince who could do this in a jiffy. Osty loves to bark, Prince would only bark when any one rang the door bell. Osty can recognize the difference in the ring tones of our society intercom phone and our residence land line. Whenever the intercom rings, he runs barking loudly towards our front gate. He has linked the intercom rings to arrival of visitors. Initially I could not understand why he ran towards the gate when the intercom rang.

My husband says dogs take after their owners and he attributes the differences due to the different personalities that we are.  Osty has started a new life with me, we both are learning about each other. He has filled in the vacuum left by Prince and I am really grateful for that. I think Prince knew I would miss him too much and sent Osty couple of months after he passed away.

Familiar yet unknown !

I was walking back to my apartment lost in my thoughts when a lady whom I know for close to 10 years stopped me on the road. We do not meet often, occasionally running in to each other, occasions I can count on my finger tips. She lives in the same residential complex as me albeit a different wing. I call her aunty; don’t know what her name is. Aunty is very religious, a devout Christian. I like her because of the positive energy that she exudes.  I was carrying a pile of medical records and she enquired about my health. I told her I am expecting my first child and there she was ecstatic on hearing it. She told me that I was among a few for whom she prayed and she felt happy for me. I was touched. How many do that, not many I am sure that too for someone who bumps in to you once in a while. In today’s world one is out of mind if one is out of sight.

There are faces in the crowd that attract us. When I talk about attraction I am not referring to just physical appeal, it’s a kind of positive energy, a spiritual high or that pleasantness in ones face that draws you. Aunty is one among them, I once met her at a bus stop and instantly I liked her. She is serene when she speaks, there is no relationship between us, neither did we come to each other’s help, but still there is a bond. I automatically feel some warmth towards her.  May be we have a connection from our past lives, which I have come to believe after reading books written by Dr Brian Weiss.

I also know an elderly man whom I admire a lot. In this case we have not even spoken a word. This gentleman is in his late fifties/early sixties, immaculately dressed and a fine human being to the core. Even before I could get a proof of his fine traits, I always respected him. I am not the kind who smiles at strangers but I did whenever we crossed paths. There was such warmth without even knowing each other. Indian men are generally rude and rough to woman outside their immediately circle of family & friends. There was this young man who was a loving husband and father, but when it came to boarding a bus, his animal instincts used to come to the fore. I have seen him pushing women out of his way in an effort to grab a seat, that too for a 15 minute ride.  This was his usual behaviour. One day this elderly fine gentleman who was giving way to women in the queue saw this guy pushing his way ahead. He immediately reprimanded the young guy. The young guy was embarrassed that a man possibly twice his age was giving way but he was pushing for a seat. The day I saw this incident I realized why I had so much respect & warmth for this elderly gentleman. There was a connection even before I got to witness his impeccable manners.

It has happened with me so many times, that I come across people at airports/ on the road, just about anywhere and feel an instant connect. Most of them I never meet again but at that point in time when I see them there is a certain warmth. May be we knew each other at some point in our earlier lives how I wish I could recollect those!

Ask and you shall get what you want!

One morning my husband was making coffee and the maid was cleaning the kitchen. He offered her a cup of coffee. My maid shot back, I take coffee only with milk. My husband did not like the rejection his generous offer of black coffee met with. He shot back,” well that’s what I drink”. The maid leaned to see if his coffee was black too, she did not trust him.  My husband drinks only black coffee, the maid had to accept it grudgingly. My husband did not like her demanding when he expected her graciously accept what he generously gave her.

I told my husband, she knows how to survive, and this quality of asking upright what she needs without bothering about the decorum will help her. I was once at the receiving end of her demands. One day there was no fruit Jam and I made her peanut butter sandwich, to which she said she would prefer a Jam sandwich.  I had to eat the peanut butter sandwich myself.

When I was growing up my parents taught us to live within our means. Be happy with whatever you are given; never ask for more, it was construed as being greedy. I hold that lesson to this date. I had to live with whatever money my parents gave, or meet the gap by earning the difference. I could never make myself ask for anything. My husband has a 21 year old niece studying in a hostel. Often she calls up my husband to ask for money, and other luxuries like a cell phone etc.  When the first time she called, I was a little surprised at her ability to ask for money from her uncle. I just thought to myself, this girl will survive, because she knows how to ask. Later when I came to know she was 21, I was aghast that at this age when she should be fending for herself, she was audacious enough to put across her demands for cash and other electronics. I could never do that, I was always taught that it was wrong to ask for things. While my husband did not like the maid demanding, he never saw anything wrong in his nieces’ demands. Blame it on the feudal society we live in where principles are stretched to fit an individual depending on where ones rank in the social circle.

I held to this teaching of my parents even in the corporate world. I could never make myself ask for quantum of cash. All I could say was I think that I am not paid well. Needless to say the “I think” factor was latched on to by my bosses and they convinced me that it is indeed my thinking and not reality and that I was among the best paid J. I could ask for work, to prove my sincerity but could not demand cash for work. I would rue in private about less pay and more work but could never make myself demand what I want in terms of pay. The issue used to get manifold the moment I was asked by bosses what is that I expect in cash terms. I would meekly say whatever is as per the policy. Come on girl, I would say to myself, this is the time to quote a figure!!!! But no, how can I do it, only the greedy ask. In the end I get paid according to policy which is peanuts.

So I am very sure my maid and my niece will do in life, they have the ability to ask without guilt what they need without bothering about decorum or anything that comes close to it.

When taste buds go numb

Last week my mother was doing her monthly clean up and restacks of freezer space. She generally inspects her collection of pickle, chutney pastes, if required transfers them to the lower compartments for daily use. If she finds anything stale she throws it away. This time she found a packet of what she called chutney powder. Now she has the habit of making loads of chutney powder sufficient for a year’s supply and storing them in the deep freezer. This packet was rather small, she opened it, it was not exactly of the same colour, little blurred red/maroon colour. She tasted it and found it tasteless and threw it away and continued with her task.

Next day my brother who was away returned. My mother found my brother desperately looking for something in the deep freezer. On quizzing he said, he is looking for his fish feed. My mother said she cleaned the freezer and did not find any fish feed in there. He said it was small packet with DRY WORMS!!!. It still did not ring a bell..and my mother asked him to describe it. It slowly dawned on my mother that it was exactly that she delightfully devoured the other day!!!.She was in denial for two reasons, she is a pure vegetarian and second, she could not imagine she ate worms. My brother was hopping mad, as the dry worms that he got for his dear fishes are rare and apparently the supply of these worms are once in six months. My mother told him how she confused his worms for chutney powder, tasted it and then threw it.

It was almost a day since she had the worms and till then she had no issues. On learning what she ate, she immediately started vomiting.  She called me to say what happened, I could not control my laughter. I asked her how on earth could you not distinguish chutney powder from worms! She said her taste buds did not alert her. How about your eyes I asked, could you not see worms; she said it looked like shredded coconut! My mother spent that night vomiting every morsel of what she had in her stomach and the poor fishes starved.

FDI in Retail

With the government announcing FDI in retail, views and counter views on the decision has been floating around. Skeptics say it will lead to hundreds of job losses, kill domestic retail. Those in favor of the proposal say farmers will get better pay for their produce; there would less wastage of food and consumers better price.  I am not sure about the facts and figures behind this. In the past few years FDI in retail was disallowed to help domestic brands like Food Bazaar, More, Reliance Fresh to mushroom. I think enough time was given to them to help them strengthen their position.

Having lived abroad I can convincingly say that the Indian retail outlets are offering a substandard service. The quality of vegetables sold in outlets of More, Spencer and Food Bazaar is far from international standards. I often see vegetables and fruits kept without proper refrigeration. The vegetables are not cleaned. Potatoes and ginger carry mud. Quality of vegetables is far from being called good. Also I don’t see any price benefit to the consumer. I prefer buying vegetables from the local vendor, who offers fresh and better quality vegetables at the same price.

The Indian retail outlets have not benefitted the consumers, I am not sure if they have benefitted the farmers. I don’t think they would have. I personally want FDI in retail so that the local players are made to sit up and improve their service. Most of these global chains survive on wafer thin margins, and volumes drive growth. They are able to offer services at cut throat prices through excellent supply chain management. I am sure these giants will cut out the middlemen from the scene.  So the consumers will definitely benefit. Technically speaking the farmers should also benefit and they will get a direct link to the consumer. Farming is a lucrative profession in the western world because of this.  The other benefit will be reduction in food wastages. These giants have deep pockets to invest in cold storage facilities and have effective transportation logistics in place.

Coming to the negative side, critics say it will kill the local Kirana stores and also render middlemen jobless. The fear about Kirana stores is unfounded; they survived all these years and coped well with the influx of Food Bazaars, More etc. The key to the success of Kirana stores lies in their personal touch. They are much localized, present in residential colonies, provide service on call & deliver products at the convenience of your home. Next is the middlemen, they losing their jobs could be true as the service is unnecessary fat in the existing supply chain. This fat can be skimmed. Let’s not forget the jobs that these giants will create in the whole supply chain management space.

I believe this is a good step for the benefit of consumers and farmers. 

Get up and act!

Every day while on my way to work, I used to get stuck in a messy traffic block caused by an open man hole. The open man hole was a huge one and cars had to negotiate its way through causing the block. Like everyone else I too used to wait in the long snarl, wasting time, petrol and above all spoiling your mood.

After a week or two of waiting I decided to act. I had never done this before, but then the Anna Hazare wave was sweeping the country and I decided I should act. I first approached a cop who was manning the snarl and asked him who should be replacing the manhole cover. His response was destructive “ what is the point in replacing, some one will come and steal it the very next day”. He seemed disinterested and I thought to myself why this sense of resignation. This guy was standing there and directing traffic , inhaling all the pollutants yet he did not even wanted to attempt resolving it.

Next I took to the net and for the first time tried to understand who does what for Mumbai Municipality. I too was not hopeful, but I thought I should at least try. Surprisingly I found a lot of information on the net and from there I was guided to some help line numbers specifically for my ward. On my first attempt the receiver at the other end was very polite and asked me what kind of manhole was that, is it a storm water drain or sewage drain. Phew! how on earth would I know that. The guy at the other end patiently explained to me how to distinguish. Simple if it had dirty water spilling out of it then it is a sewage manhole!

I recalled that the drain was dry and he said then definitely it has to be storm water drain. He directed me to another number, at that point of time I thought this guy was just making me run from pillar to post. Nevertheless I called the number he provided me with.

This time it was answered by a curt guy, he did not ask me much detail other than what my complaint was about. He transferred the call and to my surprise the guy at the other end took my complaint and gave me a complaint number. He said the issue would be resolved in a weeks time. Honestly speaking I never expected to get a complaint number or a turn around time from a government department. Like how all Indians are eternal skeptics, I thought to myself  this cannot be true, nothing is going to happen. However before hanging up the phone I asked him what if it is not done in a weeks time, his response was “ call back and quote your complaint number”. Okay!

The complaint was lodged on a Saturday. On Tuesday when I was travelling to work in the morning I reached the highway seamlessly. It is only after reaching the highway did I realize that there was no block. I could not look back, I thought to myself, may be it’s a public holiday and fewer cars are on the road. I still could not believe that they would have closed the man hole. On my way back, I made it a point to slow down and see what has happened. Can you imagine a brand new man hole cover was in place and they had cemented it making it difficult for any one to steal it. It works!!!! I exclaimed to myself.

I was so happy that my effort worked, that I called up all my friends and narrated the story. They too were taken aback.

This incident proved that we Indians never attempt to resolve any issue, we just crib and complain that nothing works in this country. How many of us have even tried the system before passing the judgment. If each one of us makes it a point to resolve issues that affect us and make use of the system in place, it is bound to work. Systems are in place, but we always expect some one else to do it for us. In the end no one acts and then we lament “nothing works in this country”. My faith in the system has grown after this incident. As the Bible says “If you have faith as small as a mole hill, you can ask a mountain to move”. How true!

Adopting Green Energy

A landmark day in Japan was celebrated in May'2012  as they shut down the last of their nuclear plant. Germany has also committed to phase out nuclear power whereas the US has started investing in alternative and green energy like wind and solar.

Where does that leave India? The recent the protests over the Kundakulam nuclear plant brought to the fore the simmering issue once again. A country that has abundant sunlight twelve months a year is far far away when it comes to tapping in to this source of energy. Whenever I have tried to broach the topic of  Solar energy , people have dismissed it calling it an expensive source of power. This at a time when prices of  Solar panels have crashed over the years thanks to the growing demand for Solar energy in the rest of the world.

The problem with our policy makers is that they think big when it is not required. They talk of acute shortage of power and invest in mega nuclear plants . These plants cost millions of dollars when a localized solution costing a fraction of this costs can provide a more sustainable green energy. The developed nations are dumping technology that is being shunned in their part of the world and our policy makers are lapping it up throwing up acute shortage of power as a reason for the same.

Another factor, which discourages localized and green solutions, is the kickbacks that the babus get in mega deals. How much money exchange hands when such kinds of deals are signed is of common knowledge. I am appalled why a country which is facing huge fiscal deficit and ever-growing oil bill is not pushing the use of alternative green energy. The recent budget did provide some concessions to  Solar Thermal project but it left out  Solar Photovoltaic industry, which makes up bulk of  energy market today.

The good thing about Solar power is that you can have localized solutions for eg, a School /Hospitals / Residences can have their own source constructed within the vicinity. Recently I read an article where a house owner in Chennai is able to beat the incessant power cuts by installing Solar power source in his residence. He is the envied one in his locality which plunges in to darkness very often due to rampant power cuts. Of course it is expensive but with support from the government these solutions can be made affordable to a wider base.

NDTV greenathon programme has been successfully lighting remote villages  using  Solar lamps where conventional electricity would take ages to reach. It is amazing that just by providing light after dusk one can alter the quality of life and improve productivity of the rural populations. These villages have no source of power and a simple Solar lamp is playing the role of catalyst in the overall development. Some times exceptions rather than rule hold the key to development. The general mindset is to go by the rule but it pays to step back and think if an exception to rule can help.

If the industry gets the right push the prices will come down driven by growing demand. Scarce financial resources can re-directed to projects that badly need funding.  All this requires political will and also tremendous amount of foresight.

Fighting Cancer and Protecting Intellectual Property Rights (IPR):

Recently the government allowed a local pharma company to sell the generic version of the anti cancer drug Nexavar at 97%  lower than what is charged by the patent holder MNC drug company. This brings the cost of treatment down from the current INR 280000/- to just INR 8880 pm.  A welcome move for ordinary Indians  already crushed under mounting inflation.

Needless to say this would not have gone well with MNC drug companies.  The government made this concession under the compulsory licensing provisions of Patents act. To those who would like jog their memory, India moved from Process patents to Product patents in 2005 and it did not have much choice but to move post the Uruguay round of trade negotiations. The drug is under patent until 2021.

Drug pricing has been a sensitive issue every where. In the US where bulk of the medical innovations takes place and where IPR are well-protected, medical care has become beyond the reach of ordinary Americans. What is the use of innovations if those who need it cannot afford it. The nexus between insurance companies and drug companies has made medical care expensive prompting government intervention in a pure capitalist country like US. Another factor, which has added to the spiraling cost of medicines, is the merger of pharma companies. In the last 2 decades competition among global players had shrunk due to mergers as it has reduced the number of players in the market. It has been a double blow for the patients, reduced competition and stricter patent laws.

While innovation is key to new drug discovery, we cannot ignore the human side of it. Profit is a reward for enterprise but then it cannot be at the cost of life. Agreed MNC companies spend a lot of money on R&D and IPR is their way of recovering the cost of research spend, it is the margins they are looking for which is inhuman. Healthcare should not be treated like luxury industry that operates on high margin and low volumes.

When I was in my early teens, USSR was going through Glasnost and Perestroika. My uncle who is a communist at heart was pained at the developments there. I was a big proponent of privatization and he told me then the perils of giving private enterprise a free run. Today after two decades I understand what my uncle said. Though I still advocate privatization, it has to be bound by humanist boundaries. Invoking of the compulsory provisioning under the patent act is a welcome move. This will send a strong signal to MNC drug companies who are out to make a kill to mend their ways. When a choice has to be made between profit and human lives, the latter should be preferred and no compromise on that.

Orange Juice

I have been consulting a Homeopath for a routine stomach infection and his medicines seem to work for me. Last week during one of the meetings he asked me about my diet regime. I was quick to add that I eat a very healthy and balanced meal. I am very proud of my breakfast, Oats and sugar free Orange juice, but the doctor looked far from happy hearing my regime.

He said why don’t you eat some Oranges and leave some for the less privileged. I was a little lost, I told him I drink juice and my trainer at the gym said a glass of Orange juice has about 4 Oranges. I tried explaining him that in effect I am eating 4 Oranges every morning, which is commendable!. He said precisely for this reason he wants me to quit having Orange juice.

Next question was, would you be able to eat 4 Oranges at one go? The maximum I could have was two and that makes me very full. Next question was, can you finish one Pomegranate in one go?. Again my answer was no, I generally share. You cant eat that much amount of fruits in one go, but we can easily gulp down a glass full of juice.

The doctor I visit is an elderly, soft-spoken gentleman. He told me a juice gets immediately excreted out of the system. When you have a whole fruit you get the added fibers and also it goes through the whole digestion process and stays in your system longer. Also juice extraction, i.e. 4 oranges for 1 glass of juice has led to the rise in the prices of fruits making it unaffordable to the underprivileged. The convenience of juice has a cost which I was unaware of, plus it was of less nutritional value than a whole fruit.

He said we should think about our fellow beings and ensure everyone can afford basic necessities of life. In our pursuit of convenience and maximum effectiveness we at times rob a vast majority of their needs. How many of us spare a thought for this. So hats off to Dr Kenia for having thought about it and enlighten me. Will I stop drinking juice now? Well I wont stop but I will restrict intake and be a little considerate, as they say drops of water make an ocean.

A step backward for a leap forward

I finally decided to catch a movie that I desperately wanted to watch today.

I decided to go for an afternoon show, as I knew the chances of getting a ticket were high with summer in its full glory now.

My mother is not so comfortable with escalators as arthritis has affected her reflex action. So we decided to take the lift. Once inside the lift, I saw a man with a walking stick and grey hair. He resembled some one I knew but for some time I was not sure if it was indeed Rajesh. As I was pondering, I saw an assuring voice asking him to step aside. It was his wife, once I saw her, I realized it was him. 13 years had passed since the day he had hired me as a fresh graduate. Time had taken a toll on him but his wife was as elegant and beautiful as ever.

Rajesh was never the one who would take the help of a walking stick.

I recalled the day approximately 13 years back when I was awaiting my results. I got a call from a equity broking company for an interview. When I reached there I was led in to an office where Rajesh was seated along with another young chap.

He was smartly dressed and talked like a thorough professional in impeccable style. He was the CEO there and I was wondering how did he make it to that post at such a young age.

After interviewing me he stood up to rush to meet some one. The moment he stood, I was shocked. He was limping badly, for a moment I thought he would have hurt himself. When he walked past me I could not believe what I saw. He was maimed.

Rajesh is from Delhi, and a gold medalist from one of India’s top management schools. Polio struck him at a young age on his right leg. His disability never came in the way of his academic and professional achievements. I asked one of my fellow colleagues why he has to limp, he can use crutches. Rajesh never liked crutches. He would limp but never touch crutches.

I went across and said hello. But he did not recognize me. I asked him to give it a shot but still he could not. Then I had to tell him, he gave me my first job break.

He said he suffered a stroke last year; he apologized for not being so clear and audible. He was struggling to speak. The stroke opened the doors for walking stick to enter his life. He told me he was on his own, consulting with one of the leading business channels.

I recalled the image that he portrayed when I first met him. Life always holds surprises. He managed to bat the first googly that life threw at him and that too for a six.

He never allowed his disability to come in his path to success. He is married to a lovely lady, theirs was a love marriage and is blessed with a son. Now life has thrown a second challenge, but he decided to bat that as well, this time with the help of a walking stick. A walking stick was a small compromise for him to take on the bigger battles that life had rewarded him via stroke.

At times we are adamant of not stepping back in our fights, but some times a small compromise is necessary. To understand and accept it one needs intellect and Rajesh is blessed with that.

Redemption

I have come across many who think it is ok to deny some one basic things such as love, care just because they never got it in their lifetime. They think it is their formal right to deny. I really feel sorry for such people not for the lack of compassion but the fact that they did not learn from the pain when it was denied to them.

I recently had a very tough conversation, convincing some one not to force their destinies on others. This lady said she was always in short of money and could not bear her children providing for people who did not matter. Her contention was no one provided for her when she needed it, so why should her children provide for those who do not matter. I was appalled at the bitterness that she carried within herself for the how life turned out to her. Now she is out of those miseries, her children are well settled but unfortunately she has chosen to keep the miserable part of her life alive. She wants others to go through the same misery as she did, and to do that she stops her children from helping those in need.

She did not see any thing wrong in what she was doing, it appeared as if her soul was dead. All I could do was pray to god to give her some compassion.

I also had my share of bitterness in life..who doesn’t . At times I also have felt why me and why not her or why her and why not me. That is human. But it stops there. I cant make myself wish the worse things for others. I have never allowed my past experiences to colour every thing that I see or wish in life.

Each one of us goes through their destinies, some bitter some sweet. The bitter ones that we go through present an opportunity to feel the pain, frustration, and loneliness. Feeling pain makes you relate to pain that others go through. Consider your self redeemed if you can help at least one soul to over come pain that you yourselves has gone through.

Bidding adieu

A beautiful chapter in my life was closed today with the passing away of my pet Lab. 10 yrs of togetherness without any bitter memories. The void is difficult for any one to fathom.

I knew his time has come and I guess he knew too. He kept on going for me, for my brother. Last night I took a call to let him go, a very difficult decision but I could not see him suffer. Universe had started sending me signs that his time was up. I was in denial though a small bit of me was harboring that fear. I was hoping against hope that he would pull through.

Sings that the universe sends prepares you for the worst but he was too special for me to even imagine giving up. To begin with a friend of mine told me about a dogs battle with cancer last year and my pet got the exact ailment in a few months time. It was as if I saw a trailer before the actual movie. In 10yrs for the first time we lost his leash, his feeding bowl for last so many years broke. One after another events unleashed that slowly took him away from me.

The five months that he was ill, not once did I thought of it as pain to take care of him. I still thought he could make it and he tried his level best to keep my hope alive. The vet said he is alive because we do not want him to go, he was in severe pain but never let us know that.

I wonder where he is now, who is there to take care of him. I hope he gets the love and affection that we showered on him. To all those who took him away from us , please ensure he is cared for the way we did. I hope you are listening

One eyed Kings(Queens)

The other day I saw my mother teaching my dad how to access a contact directory and how to save a contact on a cell phone. This comes from a lady who while answering a call using her flip phone, uses the answer button to answer the call, without realizing that when you open a ringing flip phone, you have actually answered the call.

All these are not relevant to my dad, who thinks she is a guru when it comes to cell phone operation. She is the queen in the land of people where the subjects are like my dad, with zero technical knowledge. He was ardently listening to every word of instruction provided to him.

They have their respective areas where they excel and try their mastery on each other. My dad bluffs a lot about politics which is not reality but his take on the general political condition. My mother takes it as the gospel’s truth. When it comes to politics he is the one eyed king.

They keep me out of their conversation as I am two eyed person and will question and challenge them. Enlightened ones like me have no status in their kingdom. The other day after Supreme Court gave a reprieve to our Home Minister P Chidambaram; my dad started his political sermons. The audience was only my mother.

He said “ P Chidambaram is a Brahmin and he is called Chidambaram because he contest and won a parliament seat from a town called “Chidambaram”. Can any thing be more wrong than this!!!

I thought my mom will challenge him this time, but to my dismay I found her accepting every word he was saying. I challenged my dad , he said he is ready to pay me 1000Rs if his sermon is proved wrong. This was my chance..chance to prove to my mom that her teacher’s credentials are questionable.

I zoomed on Wikepedia and my Dad ‘s statement was no where close to reality. The one eyed king lost!! His subject was left confused, how the king could lose! The kingdom shook. I grinned my way to the bank J