College days!

A few years back, after I had retired from the army, my son presented me with a set of three books by the well known writer, James Herriot. All three books are about his life as a veterinary doctor, the most famous is titled 'All things bright and beautiful'. He wrote about animals in a gentle, wise and humorous way. His deep compassion and love of life shines out in his writings as described in Wikipedia. If you love animals, I strongly recommend  reading his books!

This post is about my early days and my brush with veterinary science as a student. (Yes sir, I was a veterinarian before I joined the army!) But it has nothing to do with the profession itself;you can relax and follow what I was up to, if so inclined. And I do seriously hope, we will still be friends!

In the first place, I joined the veterinary college at Osmania University, Hyderabad because I just could not make it to a medical college. Biology being my main subject, I had no other option in those days. It so happened that we had a wing of medical college right next to our college which was a big problem. Let me explain! In our veterinary college, we had no girls, not even one. On the other hand, this medical college had several which made us acutely conscious of our disadvantage so to speak!

As a result, a few of us bunked our morning classes with some regularity and sat in the university canteen which overlooked the road leading to the medical college just to watch the medical girls walking up to their building. A harmless but painfuL activity you will agree!

On some mornings, we had practical anatomy classes in the open where our teachers had a horse or a bullock depending upon the 'subject', explaining various part of the animal to us, we standing in a semicircle. And invariably, these medical girls would be walking up with their white aprons on their arms, on the road right next to us, completely distracting our gaze and attention from the animal under our observation to themselves, thus affecting our grades. Most unfair, you will agree again!

The two professors most affected by our rather indisciplined behaviour, I still remember their names, were one Dr Reddy and the other, Dr Takkiuddin. (I hope and wish, they are fine wherever they are!). Whenever, they happened to meet us outside the classes, they will unfailingly express their sympathy and concern for our futures. And to be fair to their emotions, we did change our ways and graduated as veterinarians in time. Except one guy by the name Pande;he simply loved the college and the whole works! We understand, he took full 7 years to complete that 4 year course and was elected twice as president of the college students union before he graduated. With full honours I will say!

Technology Era.

What and which technology will rule 2016!

According to Wall Street Journal, entering 2016, the future never felt more within reach. 'Science fiction will become science fact this year when you take virtual-reality vacations and your dish washer reorders it's own soap' it adds! It emphasises on two themes, one is liberation from day to day chores like charging phones. The other it claims, is intelligence:our machines and services will become more efficient. Life will become very easy and uncomplicated!

Well, I am not so sure! Machines may become more capable assuming that they are in capable hands. Like our smart phones where the whole world is in the palm of your hands. Messenger, what's up and the most popular:Facebook! Cameras have become redundant, texting and messaging across the world has become child's play. Only one has to be smart enough to make use of all the features. 

By the way, I consider myself to be reasonably smart but sometimes not enough! There is one thing I have yet to master is the elementary task of retrieving missed calls and voice mails. Therefore, when someone meets me and complains that he or she called, then left a message too, but still I have not responded to the same, I feel really very guilty for causing an avoidable misunderstanding. I have said sorry to quite a few. But how long this will help, I asked myself!

So as a sensible step, I decided to take my daughter's help to understand how to look for missed calls and voice messages. She patiently explained how to go about it. Now, I have mastered it and every few hours, I check my smart phone for the same. It is a different matter that most of the time there are none. Maybe, some of my friends have unfriended me! 

Could it be that the world is communicating more by other devices like the Facebook, messenger or what's up? With so much of communication, one can not be too alert! One of my close friends whom I initiated into simple mails just an year back is now merrily sending me videos and images and I am finding it difficult to keep pace with him and with the constantly evolving technology!

But the best illustration of technology going really berserk was when I overheard my wife talking actually on the phone with one of her close friends. They were having an argument. My wife had planned a get together at the last minute and this friend of hers had failed to show up. The friend was explaining that she did not know about it. My wife asked her, did you see the messenger? Did you check your what's up? No, no, the friend said again and again. Why didn't you, my wife bitterly complained. To this, the friend was livid and in utter exasperation screamed, I could hear her, 'for God's sake, why did you not simply phone?'

Let me close this communication with best wishes to all my friends for a very happy new year of 2016!

Hoping you will see this blog. If you do not respond, I will call. Do not miss my call!

SAVE THE EARTH, SAVE THE WORLD!

.'Everybody wants to save the earth;nobody wants to help Mom do the dishes' says a quote. How true!

The other day, my friends and I decided to meet over lunch at an Indian restaurant, our fortnightly activity. During such meetings, besides food, our main concerns about India and the world at large take most of our time in our animated discussions. Let it be Obama, Modi, Gandhis, kejariwal or even the Yadav duo from Bihar, Laloo and Nitish, we do not spare anyone!

We have perfect solutions for all the problems and sometimes, in my quieter moments, I wonder if we should not seriously take up matters with these guys! The main hurdle in this plan of action is how to approach them. There must be millions of well wishers like us wanting to do the same. How many of them got through to them? I have no clue! It is not like you just send an email to friends to get together in a restaurant for lunch. I have tried signing up petitions but those people just have no idea about the enormity of issues like we have! Can I start a petition of my own? Not sure really!

So I came back to the quote about helping my wife doing the dishes. Let me start at home with small gestures, I thought! The first thing I noticed in the kitchen was the sink full of dishes, plates, cups and spoons, all lying haphazardly. I decided to suggest to my wife that she should keep all these items separately, systematically to make it easier to load the dish washer. When I did that, she came back saying that is my problem, why don't I do it myself? She can do it only her way, she added!

Observant as I am, I noticed another thing in the kitchen, the refrigerator. It is always overloaded with leftover food. Why do you cook so much, I asked her. Try making limited quantity which we can finish the same day, I suggested. 'So you want me to cook every day and forget my cards sessions!' she retorted. And sure enough, she said why don't I take over cooking? 'You are retired now and have nothing much to do!' In an moment of insanity, I said, 'OK, I will cook one meal at least, every day starting coming Monday'.

The day of the reckoning was just three days away. On week ends in any case, we mostly go out to eat. So I had enough time to prepare myself. In the past, just for fun, I had learnt to make a couple of dishes from my wife. I rehearsed them in my mind. And I could always ask her if I forget some important point like how much salt to add! Can't I? She is a sport, I know! Monday arrived rather too quickly. I was going to cook the evening meal. But I started developing cold feet in the morning itself. 

I took my own time to return home from my morning walk when my wife, looking rather happy, announced, ' your cooking in the evening is cancelled!' Though her words warmed the cockles of my heart, I tried to look belligerent. No, she said, I can not cook today or for the next one month. What happened, I asked. 'My mother is visiting us for a month. I just got a call from her. Now get ready in time to go to the airport. Her flight arrives at eleven'.

My mother in law was coming and that too for a month! For the first time in my life, I was so happy with such a devastating news. It was a real windfall, you will agree with me!

Conversations!

'Listening well is as powerful as talking well, and is also as essential to true conversation!' says a Chinese proverb! Very well said; but in real life, we all know it is so rare to find this phenomenon. The reality is that 'no man will listen to your talk if he didn't know it was his turn next!', so goes another proverb!

Just try talking to anyone, even your close friend, about something. But do not mistake his silent gaze for his attention! He or she is just getting ready to tell you something , anything, which happened not yesterday or a week before, but maybe ten or fifteen years back! And it may not be relevant to what you are saying. You see, he is just waiting for his or her turn! I have a friend who also happens to be senior to me in rank and service. (I served in the army!). Whenever I cross him during my morning walks, I try to avoid him. Please do not misunderstand; he is very nice, a real gentleman. Only, I dare not open a conversation with him without the risk of his telling me a long story (for the nth time!) how he as a subaltern managed a party on a Sunday afternoon way back in 1963 at the last minute after his Commanding Officer on the spur of the moment, invited the Brigade commander to lunch after a game of golf!

I have another dear friend who shares with me our weakness for an occasional evening out, spent over a couple of drinks.  I look forward to meeting him once in a while when I am in a mood. 'After the rain the grass will grow, after wine, conversation'! True to this adage, we start off an evening full of promise. After a couple of drinks though, the conversation falters. My friend gets a little forgetful and then repeats a joke he has told  fifty times before, which is fine. But repeating it the same evening for the third time is a little too much, you will agree! Only a close friend can get away with this!

Friends come in many colors and flavors in terms of conversation. There are those jovial guys who will start with a big thump on your shoulder and such resounding hello 'what is happening man!', you almost collapse! Then the guy who shakes your hand so vigorously while asking 'how are you?', you fear a dislocation and almost answer, 'I will be fine if you just release my hand, Sir'! I have another friend who simply must discuss the political scene right there on the road side and give his expert opinion as to who will be the next prime minister and from which party! And of course, there are countless those who have to shed light on the subject of cricket and the inevitable great Sachin Tendulkar, and why it is high time he must hang up his boots and retire!

It is argued that men like to debate, a masculine trait; conversation is for the women, it is feminine! (Alcott). This implies that women are far better than men conversation wise. This reminds me of the lament of Rex Harrison (Prof Higgins in 'My Fair lady') when he sings, 'Why can't a woman be more like a man?' which is a total antithesis of this proposition in general terms. Seriously, enjoyable conversation is a treat which can be served and savored in any company. I marvel at those people, men and women who always talk in a soft voice, never raise it and yet hold listeners spell bound by virtue of their knowledge on a given subject and their sincerity.

Listening to children is one of the best rewards in the realm of conversation where you can easily forget that you are an adult and may be more knowledgeable. Though, don't be too sure! I treasure my very frequent conversations with my youngest grandchild who is barely eleven. The other day, he narrated to me about the mock election conducted in his class at his school in which he took part. He told me, he voted for Obama. 'Why did you do that?', I asked him. To which he replied, 'because he is always smiling'. In this election year in US, I wish things were so simple for adults! A few years back when he was just seven years of age, he explained to me very solemnly about formation of clouds and how it is followed by rains. He also educated me about the four seasons, summer, autumn, winter and spring, how they come and go in succession year after year.

All said and done, I feel that conversation with oneself is the best way to come to terms with life. Imagine the sheer volume of communication happening all round, whether on cell phones/phones, through TV shows, movies or when you are on your lap tops! Add to this the direct exchanges with real people, and a stage comes in our daily 24-hour cycle when we want to be left alone, away from this maddening world, even if for just a few minutes. We need this break to converse with oneself. Can you just walk away for a little while, for a one-to-one conversation , alone with yourself!

The Political Agent

This story dates back to the late 1940s just before India became independent from the British rule. I was barely ten years old. My father who was a doctor worked in a government hospital at a small town in North India which was also the capital of a tiny princely state. Once every month, this town had an important visitor, an Englishman, who was called 'Political Agent'. A tall, smart and very much a white guy, he looked very striking in his khaki shorts, a matching bush shirt and a solar hat. He would stay in the civil rest house for the duration of his visit which was usually about two days.

The Political Agent, represented nothing less than the King or Queen of England, our erstwhile supreme ruler! He would begin his day by first visiting the palace, the residence of our own King of this state, as a matter of courtesy. Having done with that formality, he would visit the main government institutions including the hospital where my father worked. I remember, he appeared very friendly as I discovered when I happened to go to my father's room in the hospital by sheer chance when he was visiting. He tried to shake my hands as I shied away from him. My father it seemed had jokingly told him that I was very fussy in my food habits and did not like vegetables. On this, he remarked to me in broken Hindi, 'do you want to be tall and fair like me? then you simply must eat vegetables' or words to that effect!

This particular visit of the Political Agent was going to be his last as the British had decided to pack up, unable to hold India any longer. The battle cry 'Quit India' of the Indian people led by Mahatma Gandhi was soon to become a reality. The people of this small town, just as a sort of a send off to the Political Agent, had managed to organize a football match between a team of English soldiers from a nearby garrison and our own local team. The Political Agent and our King of this state were to be the chief guests.

Now let me introduce to you to another person, a key character to this story, one Mahadev Singh, a teacher from our primary school. We all students of this school were simply shit scared of him, he was a very strict disciplinarian. Just to give you an idea, we would prefer to wet our pants than to ask for his permission to go to the loo during his class! In his early thirties, he was a good football player. He was the star player and captain of our ragged local team. The English team on the other hand was too just too good. Most of them were young six-footers and had beaten us by a dozen goals, couple of times in the past. So, this match was more of a ceremonial thing, nothing much was expected except some good, clean fun!

It was a Sunday afternoon when the match was to be played on the grounds of our High School. People arrived in festive mood to witness the event. In due time, the two teams reached the playground with the two referees. Soon after, our King and the Political agent arrived in the King's car. They took their seats, the referees signaled the start of the match with a long whistle. The match was on!

It appeared that our team was playing the game this day with a renewed fervor. Maybe, they were infused with the spirit of independence which was on the horizon. But,it was obvious that it was not going to be enough. The 'Tommies', as we called the English players would not give any quarter and soon were ahead with two goals against our team. Our players, much smaller in size and stamina as compared to their towering opponents, could barely take possession of the ball, but could not go anywhere near the goal posts of their opponents. And it was half time! What was remarkable though was that we had conceded only two goals in half time as against at least six on previous occasions!

As we waited for the match to resume, Mahadev Singh was seen  giving some pep talk to the team on the sidelines. As if they were regrouping! Would they respond to their captain with a more vigorous and positive play? The public waited, talking in  hushed tones, but with some expectations. The play resumed! The English were again on the offensive, made more forays in our team's area and then scored another goal. It was three-zero in favor of the English team and it looked like the same old story. The time was running out with no hopes of our team scoring at all!

It was barely couple of minutes from the final whistle when all of a sudden, to our amazement, Mahadev Singh broke loose with the ball. He dashed all by himself towards the English half and entered their goal area taking care that he was not judged offside. With a quick body swerve, he deceived the rushing goal keeper with a feint, and bang! He scored with his right foot shooting the ball into the English goal! It was magical, unbelievable that our boys could score a goal, did score a goal against the mighty English. It was full time now and the referee blew the final whistle with the scoreline three-one in favor of the English. But spectators shouted and danced as if we had won the game!

The inevitable prize distribution followed. The King gave away the winners cup to the English captain and the runners up cup to our captain. It was time now to award a special prize to the best player of the game. There was some whispered consultation between the King and the Political Agent. Then rose the Political Agent with a smile on his face to give away the special prize to the best player of the game. It was none other than our teacher, captain of our team, Mahadev Singh!

The Music Class

She fell in love with her music teacher on the very first day of the class! He was a tall, dark and handsome guy in his twenties, like they write about in romantic novels. And she was in the last of her teens, very vulnerable! He smiled more with his twinkling eyes. And when he taught music to this group of five youngsters, his soft voice had a magical effect. In short, he was irresistible to girls. He did two classes every Saturday of one hour each, one starting at 6 PM, and the next at 7 PM. Each course lasted for three months. Our heroine of this tale and her friends had joined the 6 PM class. The 7 PM class was meant for those who wished to continue for the next level.

The teacher had a regular job on week days which did not pay much. So, he was running these classes in his two-room apartment, basically to supplement his income. A struggling young man, he was just starting his life. He planned to marry later when he could afford it. His girl students often used to banter about it and ask leading questions. He parried them blushing a little, with answers like 'let me meet the right girl' & 'I will let you know as soon I meet my future wife'. She wondered if she could dream to be his future wife!

She actually started dreaming! She had almost a proprietorial attitude about his apartment when she visited there to attend the class. She had noticed that the two-room apartment needed drastic changes. It hardly had any furniture items worth the name and the curtains were most ill suited, very shabby. The so called kitchenette displayed a few pots and pans. The crockery was woefully inadequate, just a few cups, glasses and dishes with which her teacher could not have entertained even a couple of friends. And lesser said the better about his bedroom!

This simply must change, she thought! First thing which came to her mind was a sofa set, black in color and of leather with a small center table. A round dining table with four proper chairs is a must. This can occupy the small space close to the kitchen. He should also buy some decent crockery and cutlery. A set of six will be just fine. Let him have some packs of paper napkins too. And curtains could be of orange or brown shade with white parallels. That will give some class to his apartment. She wished similar things for the bedroom too. And yes, why not a small, inexpensive carpet in the living room? All these things will not cost him too  much! Moreover, these days banks gave loans for almost any purpose. What is the problem, she asked herself!

She also realized that very soon, next month, her music class will have finished the course. It would be time to say good bye to the teacher unless she decides to take the next one, the 7 PM class. And after two months of their association, he had no idea about fer feelings towards her! She had to gather courage and somehow let him know! She would do it in the next class which was her last, she promised herself. And then, the last Saturday of her class arrived. Today or never, it looked like!

When she arrived that Saturday for her class, she deliberately came almost half an hour before time. She needed some time to confide her thoughts and feelings for the teacher. As she approached the main entrance, she was a little surprised by a lot of cleaning activity by a couple of guys. What was happening she wondered as she entered. And then she was stunned to see the changes! She found the apartment freshly painted. Not only that, she was greeted with the sight of a black, leather sofa set with a center table. There was a carpet too. And in the corner near the kitchen, there was that round dining table with four chairs around it. The kitchen counter, she saw was clean and tidy. On the shelf, there were new dishes, cups and glasses. And the apartment's door and windows had brown curtains with matching lining. She saw practically everything which she had imagined for the place! Was she dreaming?

How come this happened? Was it a case of telepathy, she wondered! And then he emerged from the bedroom. 'Oh, you have come early today' he exclaimed. 'Please have a seat and do not mind this last minute activity', he continued. She was tongue tied but managed to ask him about this sudden uplift of the place. He smiled rather shyly and then said, 'well, you will be the first person with whom I am sharing some good news. You remember how you and others used to tease me about my single status and about my marriage? You will be happy to know that I met my future wife exactly three months before. She had just graduated from my 6 PM class and had joined the 7 PM class. It was not a case of love at first sight as we met off and on for three months. It was rather gradual and then we decided to get married. But only on one condition, she had said. 'I am giving you three months to get your place properly cleaned up, ready and fit for a married couple. Only then, we will get married'! And she had given me a list with guidelines as to what she expected. 'I just followed her instructions. I barely managed to meet her deadline! We are getting married in a month's time. Of course, you  all, my students will be invited', he concluded.

The teacher then asked her as to why she came early. She replied that she will not be able to attend this last class for some reason and wanted to personally inform him. 'Does not matter' he said, 'I will arrange an extra class for you to make up'. And then he suggested if she would like to join the 7 PM class for the next level. "Not really', she replied enigmatically, 'It is rather late for that. You see, I do not want to join the wrong class for the second time'!

When the wife is away!

I had just returned from the airport after seeing off my wife who flew to another town on a week's trip to meet her relatives. As I entered my little condo, I looked forward to a week of total freedom. I was excited, I was free to do whatever was in or on my mind or just to laze around, do nothing! I savored that strange feeling of being an absolutely free man ready to indulge in whatever took my fancy. Yahoo! as Shammi Kapoor would have shouted!


Now for heaven's sake, do not start thinking of such silly proverbs like 'when the cat is away, mice play'. My wife is no cat and I am certainly not a mouse! Regardless, I had already made a vague list of things to do when she would be away. Nothing wild, just some modest yearnings of a much married man when the wife is not around!


 It was evening time now and it was the right time to take stock of the 'list'! The first and foremost of course was to have a drink without having to ask her 'if you do not mind!' and I proceeded to do that exactly! Then I looked at the TV which was never at my disposal for the simple reason that we have only one set and my wife makes full use of it What she watches does not interest me,  those loud and boring family serials of mostly women loaded with ornaments, screaming and shouting at each other for whatever reasons the writer and director provided! Now it was my turn! I was free for a whole week to watch my favorites which I will have to look for! News of course and cricket? And may be some sitcoms if you please!


Tomorrow I must go for a hair cut, 'one of my favorite things' as Julie Andrews or was it Audrey Hepburn crooned. This is one thing about which I am always cut up with my dear wife. Whenever I talk of my hair cut, she is at her sarcastic best with remarks like 'where are the hair?!' or 'let the hair grow another fortnight, why waste your hard earned money for nothing!' meaning no hair! If she has her way, she will make my hair cut a six monthly affair except that I have no intention of looking like some arty creep, given my army background!


Before she left on this trip, she had cooked enough dishes for me and kept them in the refrigerator so that I do not go hungry when she is away. Very thoughtful of her, I agree! But then this was my only chance to go out and eat. When we are together, she very rarely agrees to do that. She starts talking of money which we will pay, the amount in which she will make ten delicious dishes to last us for many days, she argues. She is right I know, but then we miss the fun, I try to tell her. She rarely gives way. Nevertheless, I have decided to eat out at least thrice come what may. Time to be firm in life, I pat myself!


What was the next item on the list, I try to recollect. Golf, yes! Only snag is with whom I will play! I have just a couple of friends who play this game. Will they be available? Two games in one week will be fine. I just can not afford more! Next day, I called them. As I had feared, they were busy with some social commitments. Their wives have not gone away for any reason, how sad! I decided to go alone and join some group like many people do. 


I love to go to a library to read. That is one place where I literally forget to keep track of time. I planned to go there every morning or evening considering that afternoons are reserved for my naps. Nothing like books and magazines to read for a person so inclined. I embarked on this with great satisfaction, more so because I did not have to return home in a rush, my wife being away.


So far so good! But I was barely in the middle of the week and I could not see or think of the next item to 'do' in my much vaunted 'list'. I was almost in a panic! Is that all I looked forward to in this week of my 'freedom'?! I had already seen some TV which was enough. My haircut was done, the next nowhere in sight! I barely ate out twice, thankfully returning to the dishes my wife kept in the fridge, cursing the food these restaurants serve! I did have a game of golf. And frankly, going to library was getting monotonous. That is all? What next? What the hell was the matter with me?


The truth was that I was already getting bored of my 'freedom' and was missing my wife! So when she called this evening to say that she had changed her plans of staying with her relatives for the full week, and was returning tomorrow, I could not hide my joy. 'Why, what happened' I asked nevertheless. She said nothing except that she was bored and was missing me! God bless her!