The Zoo Story

No, this is not my take on Edward Albee’s absurd play, “Zoo Story”. But an account of the “zoo” I have at home. And I am not referring to my two sons. Neither to my inclination to zoology as a counterfoil to my wife’s degree in botany. This is the story of my own menagerie, a collection of figurines of animals we have on display at home.

I really do not know how this passion started, the genesis is probably in my growing up days when I yearned to have a dog (or even a cat) as a pet. My parents refused. And for good reason. Our house was too small to have pets. “Why have them captive in small confines”, they said. The fact that our household was a vegetarian one was probably also weighing in their minds. I remember bargaining even for a rabbit or a parrot, but these too were turned down on some pretext of the other. So all my dreams of having my own pet animal were paid put.

The wheel turned a few decades later when I had to turn down my sons’ requests for a pet dog. “Our apartment is too small”, I told them, “Would you like your pets to suffer in the confines?” They did mention the various neighbours who had pet dogs but this would cut no ice with me. So they finally reconciled to a pet-less house.

But over a period of time we have a fair collection of animal figurines from across India and from across the world. Some of these have come from my travel across the globe. Like the dodo bought during a family vacation in Mauritius, the mandatory Merlion from the innumerable trips to Singapore, the pair of kissing ducks from Seoul, the rooster and the pig from Bangkok and the carved wooden cat from a trip to Bali.

And that shopping from trips within India. The set of four elephants from Kerala, the cute metal monkey and the deer from Chhattisgarh, the wood carvings of tortoise, swans etc. from Andamans, the list is long.

The largest contribution has come from my friends. So the giraffe you see in our zoo has come from a friend visiting Kenya, while the bull is from another friend who visits Spain often. We have two sets of camels and we do not mind the duplication, as it is not a duplication. One comes from Egypt while the other is from the Gulf. Both from different continents! Even the Kerala elephant foursome we have has company of another four elephants. But the latter four, hold your breath, come from Ivory Coast, deep in Western Africa. This was courtesy a friend of mine in Singapore who travels to Western Africa regularly on business. Handy to teach kids the difference beteween African and Asian elephants; the ears are shaped differently!

You may observe from the pic above that my collection is displayed prominently, and with great pride. And the intrigued- and interested- guest is taken around for a guided tour of my zoo. The names, the sources, the history etc. I am generous with all the details. Specially after a couple of drinks!

And the “tour” concludes with a request to the hitherto the unsuspecting awe-struck visitor: to add to my collections from his next trip to wherever. The specs. are very simple. The piece has to be less than five inches tall, less than ten US dollars in price (not that I offer to pay for the “gift”) and that it should be representative of the place it is bought from.  I would be loathe to have a replica of a Bengal Tiger from Belgium. One from Sunderbans is what I would be ok with. A kangaroo from Kolkata will not do. One from the deserts of Australia is more welcome.

And that brings me to the purpose of this rather “blog-gy” post which you would have realized is somewhat different to posts I do. This is a blatant request to all those of you who travel, are generous, and care to buy me an animal on your next travel. The simple- and non-taxing- specifications are given above.

Please do add to my knowledge of Zoology. Some biryani, some Black Label whisky and some great music (besides much gratitude) through an evening is something I shall offer in return!

Thanks!

Music of Jo Chaho Ujiyaar: Magic of Bhakti and Music

Goswami Tulsidas has largely shaped the Hindu sensibilities of North India, if not of all Hindus. He was neither a guru, nor a sant, not even a preacher. He mingled with the masses. He wrote for the masses distilling the essence of Vedas and Upanishads in simple, common man’s language. His most popular work is Ramcharitmanas, the story of Ram. His other works are compiled in several books e.g. Vinay Patrika, Geetavali, Kavitavali. A copy of Ramcharitmanas is almost mandatory in a Hindi-speaking household. Tulsi’s writings are meant to be sung and they have indeed been so through the last four centuries throughout India and wherever the North Indian diaspora is; Mauritius, West Indies, Fiji and so on. They have also been made into commercial recordings, the famous one being Mukesh’ 5 CD set of Ramcharitmanas. D.V Paluskar, Kumar Gandharv, Bhimsen joshi, MS Subbulakshmi, Pt Jasraj, to name just a few of the illustrious line of singers , have sung Tulsidas’ works.

Another illustrious name in this series- though much younger than them- is Sanjeev Abhyankar. An exponent of the Mewati gharana and a disciple of Pt Jasraj.  Abhyankar underscored his talent pretty early in his career when he got the best playback singer award for his very first film song (in the movie “Godmother”) when he was barely 30 years old. His soft, melodious voice sometimes emerging depths of deep meditation and sometimes floating in the air weaving the listener in silken strands of melody has been enthralling listeners for the past few decades.

So, when Tulsidas and Sanjeev come together, the expectations are sky high.

And add to this heady mix, the famous director, poet, lyricist, Gulzar. What would you expect?

The rest of this piece is about the ensuing magic. Tulsidas is meant to be sung, I have mentioned this earlier. But I had not realized before I heard this compilation how musical- and magical- can musical be.

This album is a collection of the poet’s works taken from Ramcharitmanas, Vinay Patrika, Geetwali, Kavitavali etc. These were recorded for the play Jo Chaho Ujiyaar based on Tulsidas’ life, which was premiered recently. The music album has just been released by Times Music.

Gulzar’s introduction to Tulsidas kicks-off the CD. What follows is sheer bliss for the entire 72 minutes recording. It is a deeply researched work with selections popular and not-so-popular. Sure there is the ever-popular “Hanuman Chalisa”, but its vigorous rendition has perhaps been attempted for the first time. “Sri Ramchandra Kripalu Bhajuman” is there as well, and I have never heard a version suffused with so much bhakti, such utter surrender to Lord Ram. That stuti to Shiv, “Namami Shameeshan” is there too, but none has ever heard it similar to the two versions in this album. The serene one by Abhyankar and the vigorous- near violent- by an upcoming Lucknow based singer, Shobhit. Then there are those perennial favourite bhajans: “Tu dayalu deen hon”, and “Aiso ko udaar jag mahin”. Or this poignant piece when Ram’s mother laments his departure for vanwaas, “Ram, hon koun jatan”. And this mother’s lament sung in a male voice! See the play for the context.

There are other lesser known ones, mostly pieces from Ramcharitmanas which have been integrated into this selection. The title song, if I may call it thus, “Jo Chaho Ujiyaar”, embedded in the middle of the CD, plucked from the depths of Ramcharitmanas. In one of the initial songs, “Mangal Karni, kalimal harni” Tulsidas talks about the importance of  Ram Katha in the welfare of people. And the one which comes towards the end of the CD (also the last doha from Ramcharitmanas), “Mo sam deen”. And of course my favourite- if one can have a favourite in this rich collection- “Ram Vivaah”. That magic of Abhyankar coupled with the shehnai pieces of the Lucknow-based Sahibe Aalam. I press the replay button over and over again to listen to this. And Sahibe Aalam’s  mesmeric shehnai comes back later too in “Sriram Chandra Kripalu Bhajuman”.

Hem Singh, a music director from Lucknow, probably makes his national debut with this album. Take a bow, Hem Singh ji. I am sure we will see a lot more from you in the coming years.

I am a lay reader and a lay music person. So do not expect any pithy comments on the nuances of music. I love listening to multiple genres of music. And Jo Chaho Ujiyaar is one of the best I have heard in recent years.

Go ahead, enjoy this classic album. You will love it.

And finally, a few personal disclosures.

1. I have been privy to the making of this album, I have heard all the versions of the CD of this album- all the scratches.
2. I have been privileged to have a copy of this album for the past 4-5 months, and have been listening it to it at least twice a day. Once while driving to work, and other while returning.
3. The producer and the man behind this CD, Anshu Tandon, is a close friend of mine. And I have written about this play in multiple posts of mine. Here are the lnks: On the making of the music, my take on the play.

Seven Rules for a Happy Married Life

In this era of Dr John Gray (“Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus“) and the Peas couple (“Why Men Don’t Listen and Women Can’t Read Maps“) I am but a small fry to dole out tips for marital happiness. But I have been married (to the same woman) for nearly two decades, I do have some observations, some experiences, some after thoughts, some regrets; a wee bit of wisdom which I would like to share with anyone who cares to read.

PS 1: This piece is a work of imagination. Any resemblance to a person or a place is purely coincidental.

PS2: I have my wife’s approval for posting this piece on my blog.

Rule One:  About her Relationship with her friends

Never, ever, get trapped in a discussion about her friends, however provocative the topic may be. The W’s friend may be a vamp in one instance and an angel in the other. Let the W’s perspective change (it always will), not your focus on the W’s happiness. Just do not offer any opinions, keep your mouth shut. Period!

This is typically how the conversation between you and her would go:

Day One:

W (the wife): I think X (the friend) is  useless.

Y (you, the husband): hmm

W: I will teach her a lesson

Y: You should. (go back to your book/ TV remote/ laptop/ staring into the infinite, whatever!

W: I will

Y: You should! (sound emphatic)

A few days later:

W: You know what, X showed up and had a long chat with me. What fun!

Y: Uh.. uh.. wonderful! (try to look interested)

W: She even got me a something (suit material/ trinkets/ sandals etc.) from her holiday.

Y: Wonderful! (stay interested-looking)

A few more days later:

W: I think F (the friend) is useless.

Y: Really? (maintain a concerned tone of voice.. never ever sound weary or bored.

And then let the conversation be dictated by W.

Rule 2: About voicing your views about her friends

Voicing that you think her friends are pretty/ attractive/ sexy or whatever is sure to land you in trouble. Not that she (the wife) does not know, she is likely to be acutely aware of this. Perhaps she knows it better than you do. You just keep your thoughts to yourself.

Or better still, do not have these thoughts at all. Wives have their own way of ferreting out your thoughts.

Never comment on:

• Their friends’ dresses
• Or their looks
• Or their physique
• Or their demeanour
• Or, or, God help you, they are sexy.

Rule Three: About the wife’s mysterious “hmmmms”

Always beware of her hmmmms. I do not know how many have encountered these mysterious hmmmms, but whenever you do, beware! They could mean anything from an expression of wistfulness to a question to a complaint .… to just being an aid to chat-continuity. You may ignore her hmmmms and counter it with silence at your own peril.

You want to know the response to her hmmmm? You should do another hmmmm, with a very concerned tone of voice. And then steady your eyes on hers, with some dexterous eyebrow movement, as if eliciting an answer. Of course she will not respond and she will expect you to speak out. Which you should.

Some suggested interjections at this juncture are: “What happened?” “Kya hua?”. “Kee holo?” “Enna ma”? Never ever say what you can do for her, in whatever language. You shall never hear the end of this then. Starting from the day when the two of you got married, whether it was 6 months ago or 60 years ago! I should know, my parents have been married now for more than 60 years!

Rule Four: About her questions on some weighty matters

Very often you would be accosted with her question about her weight. “Do you think I have gained weight over the last few days”? The answer to this is rather tricky, and specific to the wife who questions. This is a perilous track, tread on it very, very carefully. Many a marital relation have been strengthened or weakened on this momentous question. There is a corollary to this question, which I find it easier to address here. “Do you think I have lost weight?” This is popped to the unsuspecting husband by the wife who is a full THREE days into evening walks. Never mind if these walks are gentle strolls in the park at a leisurely speed of 1 km per hour, punctuated by stops every 100 meters to catch up with her friends. A walk is a walk. Especially if the accessories have been shopped for newly, a new pair of sneakers, a new pair of slacks and a T shirt.

You must always say, “Yes!” with a pretty studied tone of voice. If you are emphatic, it will be construed to be flippant and derogatory. If too cursory then you are accused of being indifferent. You have to figure out for yourself what the right voice modulation is. Suffice it to say that you must always agree, yes she has lost weight.

If you think you are left off the hook with your answer, brace yourself for the lethal one: “Where do you think I have lost weight from?” Now this is one hell of a question requiring careful thinking. “Dunno” is NEVER the answer. Weigh the question, but only for a very short time. Strike back with your answer, quick. Now this too is dependant on what you have sensed is her pain (=gain) area. So be prepared!

Rule Five: About maid-servants

Discussions on maid servants and the attached woes are best handled by agreeing to whatever the wife has to say. Never EVER get involved in deciding upon a maid’s appointment. Or the maid’s salary. Or her work timings. Or her disappointments. Maid-management is strictly a wife’s domain, and keep it that way; do not even as much a proffer a suggestion.  If you try and act helpful you will always be told to shut up. Like: “Are you around to handle the maid-servants? What do you know about about maid-servants?”  True. You do not know a bit about the maid-servants, and keep the discussion on those lines. Stay SHUT.

Unless, of course, the maid has seduced your married driver. On whom you have slightly better control. Take charge then, sack the driver!

Rule Six: About Lessons in History

One great difference between a husband and a wife is that a wife is an undisputed expert in history. Never mind if she is a D. Litt in English Literature. The husband is never the history expert. Even if he is a Ph. D. in Ancient History. She knows exactly what happened, when. Pleasant or unpleasant. The husband rarely does, which he discovers ever so often at his own peril.

The pleasant ones: The basic ones first. Never forget the birthdays and anniversaries. Period. And this includes yours, hers and sundry other relatives.  The husbands who are advanced practitioners of this do not forget the gift they bought for their wives for which occasion. Sample this discussion:

W (after dressing up for a party): “ How do I look today?”

H (also dressed for the party):  “You look good.” (smart answer, but that won’t get you far.)

W (quizzical smile on her face): “hmmmmm”

H (innocent chap is content with keeping quiet, says nothing)

W: “Hmmmmm”

H: (silence)

W (after a longish pause as you are buckling your belt): “Achha, tell me how does the dress look?”

H: Um, uhh, pretty good. (he thinks the questions are over)

W: Hmmmm

H (about to fetch the car keys before he steps out of the house.)

W: “Remember you bought this?”

H: “Uh, uhh, really?” (he had indeed bought this dress for her in a weak moment of his a few years ago.)

Mr husband, the unsuspecting, has just been instrumental in unleashing a torrent of history lessons for himself.

“What do you know?”

“What have you ever known?”

“You will never know”

Etc. etc.

The hapless husband is reduced to a bundle of nerves. This is a no-win situation. Which is resolved by yet another gift from some other travel/ occasion. Which is fuel for yet another round of such discussions.

No-win and endless.

There are multiple examples of unpleasant ones, all those who have been married or in a relationship would know. Like:

“ Remember the last time we went to buy the pressure cooker (that was some 57 years ago) and you forgot your wallet.”

“Remember how kid-the-elder cried through the night and you slept through it.”

And those how-can-you-forgets:

“How can you forget what I did for your cousins twice removed when they came visiting us.”

“How can you forget that dinner I made for your colleagues?” (You can forget, as that was 12 years ago. You can forget, at your own peril)

These discussions, as the aforementioned ones, are no-win and endless.

Practical advice: You can never be good in history. Perish the thought. Just reconcile yourself to this fact.

Rule Seven: About the perils of shopping

There are many. Be aware that any joint shopping expedition is bound to lead to, to put it mildly, disagreements. Always. But the good thing is that eventually this results in agreements. You agreeing with her. Always!

If you go to buy a pink raincoat for your little daughter, be prepared to return with a blue shower curtain. That is still understandable: the domain is the same, protection from water. Consider this: You go to buy a humble toothbrush for yourself, and what you have delivered home instead is a spanking new frost-free 365L refrigerator.

Find it familiar?

Such rules are the some of the fundamentals on which a strong marital bond is based on.

Forget the rules at your own peril!

ओ मेरे शब्द!

सपने कभी साकार तो होंगे ,

मन के अक्षर आकर तो लेंगे,

टूटे शब्द कभी तो जुडेंगे.

सोचा है कब से,

जाना है जब से,

अनकहे शब्द कभी तो खिलेंगे.

—-

घुमड़ते बादल कभी तो छटेंगे,

मनहूसी के बादल कभी तो उठेंगे,

उदासीनता के गुबार कभी तो थमेंगे.

आशाओं के दीप,

आकाँक्षाओं के समीप,

मेरे शब्द और विचार कभी तो मिलेंगे.

——

ओ मेरे शब्द,

बैठो मेरे पास निशब्द,

मेरे साथ, निर्बद्ध

कुछ बातें कही, कुछ अनकही

साथ-साथ शायद नहीं? थोडी दूर ही सही,

थोडी ही दूर, हम साथ तो चलेंगें.

====

Satya Akshar: Making of a Book

Here is something which may be of interest to some of you who have been regular readers of my blog. You may recollect that I have written about my involvement in the publication of some of my father’s books. I decided to put these together in a “book” form as a gift to Pitaji and presented it to him when I visited my parents earlier this month. The picture you see below is the cover page of the book.

The Cover Page

A small explanation on the name: Satya comes from from Pitaji’s name, Satyadeo. And Akshar as it is an account of his written words. Satya Akshar.

I quote below the introduction I wrote for this “book” which explains the background.

“I have been involved in some ways over the last few years with the publication of two books written by Pitaji and one commemorative volume released on the day he turned eighty. I have written about the making of these books at various points of time in the last year on my blog.

This booklet is a collection of the four pieces from my blog which talk about these books. Pitaji does not read my blog but he does read all what I print-out and send to him. And he has read all the pieces in this book. I have compiled them here for his ready reference.

Each piece is a personal account about of my involvement, so you will find a lot of personal anecdotes; some frivolous, some not-so. But I have been happy to play a role in making the books see the light of the day. There has been unbelievable help and cooperation from so many people, some from people I did not even know then. This is a story about them as well.

Like the books which had to see the light of the day, and I suppose each of these articles is a story which had to find an expression. And in writing them, I have not only relived the heady days preceding the release of each book, but I have relived my past few decades. The years in which I was beginning to discover the joys of reading and the pleasures of learning. All of which was due to one single individual, Pitaji.

Thanks to my good friends Rajan and Anshu for suggesting this great name for this “book”.

And last and not the least, I thank my wife Kiran, who is the first reader and critic of all what all I write, most of them right from the development phase. Thank you for being highly supportive of the book projects I undertook and my sundry writing interests.”

So that was the story of my first published book, never mind if it is self-published. A book is a book!!

In case someone wants a copy, my apologies in advance! You see, I printed just three copies of this “book”, digitally of course. Two copies have been given to Pitaji and other copy is in my library.

PS: Here are the posts which have gone into this book. Amrit Mahotsav, Thesis publication, Making of the Vinoba Bhave book, Release of the Vinoba book.