As it is said : “Culture is roughly anything we do and the monkeys don't.”

Recently Britain's national tourism agency issued guidelines to it's people on etiquettes of dealing with the thousands of foreign visitors who are expected to visit London for the 2012 Summer Olympics.
I do not know how true are these perceptions but they are funny and interesting. Here are some with my comments :
A smiling Japanese person is not necessarily happy. The Japanese tend to smile when angry, embarrassed, sad or disappointed. - When Heroshima & Nagasaki was bombed - the world saw a lot of smiling japanese...Wonder what do the Japanese do when they are actually happy?
When you meet an Arab man - never advice him . It's a great offense & it will appear you are trying to be bossy - MCPs indeed (err excuse me for this comment) anyways advices are not for free..charge them - you will earn petro dollars..!
Do not be alarmed if South Africans announce that they were held up by robots. To a South African the word robot means traffic lights. - let's take the South Africans to a robot museum!
Avoid saying "thank you" to a Chinese appreciation. Instead, politely deny an appreciation to show humility. - now I get it; why the Red Army is up in arms against the Thank you saying Americans, even if they do not mean it many times - thank you business is not welcomed!!
Donot wink at someone from Hongkong - control your eyes, your heart & actions can be freeflowing..
Donot mistake a Canadian for an American - Live & Breathe America, but we are a seperate nation - what's the difference, our French influence..
Lastly - do not hug an Indian, avoid personal touch in initial meetings - seems the world thinks that we Indians simply cann't think it straight when someone touches them. Anyways Dear fellow citizens: do not dishearten if you want to be hugged with your touch me not image; the warning is just for the initial meetings - they want us to meet the dear Brits again & again - afterall they ruled us for 200 years, they miss us a lot! :)

Sayonara 2010..

Christmas is officially here, Christmas tree decorations are almost done ...Santa & his elves would be visiting us with their goodies..and in less than a fortnight it would be 2011. I am already in a holiday mood. Diwali can be working - but this time of the year is holiday season. It's a feeling that has been implanted in me from my school days - the Hindu radicals can blame it on my convent education.

It's been months since I have visited my own blog and that kind of explains how 2010 has been. Busy & preoccupying. For last some years, I have been in the US at this time of the year, many a times it has been an ideal white Christmas with snowflakes falling and Christmas carols being played in the radio as the story books often describe. Last year, at this time of the year - I was in the Sin City, a vacation that I did not enjoy at all - it reaffirmed that nature is the best place to rejuvenate than man made entertainment modes - though i liked the dancing waters at Bellagio.

The Santa @ Vegas heard me - 2010 professionally marked the end of a chaotic & poorly managed project of my career (that's just a mere 10 years to make a comment, not sure what the future holds for me). It's true I term it chaotic but I worked 2 & 1/2 yrs and cherished every moment of it. I met some wonderful people - more importantly the city and its people showed me a very different America - an America where people care for each other - where family does matter - an America where people stop for a minute & give you a smile. Utah may be one of the backward states of USA - but I will miss the scenic Salt Lake City, it's amazing people and my friends.

This year on a personal note too has been a decisive year - emotional battles were well fought and we as a family decided to say goodbye to my hometown - Allahabad - a difficult long pending decision but my mother made it easy. Now begins the bigger battle - the identity crisis. Given that I have been brought up in eight different places - it has always been tough to answer, people's inevitable introductory question - 'Where do you belong to?' If I actually give an honest answer - it would end up to be a long long answer and that would leave people with an impression - I talk too much. I am talkative - better not give that impression first go :). And as honesty is NOT always the best policy - my single word answer was 'Allahabad'. Many a times I have experimented saying - I belong to a cosmopolitan India, which is always on the move - trust me the looks that I have got back have not been a pleasant one. A look that tells me clearly - this woman has no home, no identity - for sure a very confused woman...Sadly cosmopolitan is not a well digested word among Indians who live in their own well. So 2011 will be a year, where I will try to find a home for me in an effort to avoid all those dirty looks.

Politically, 2010 has been a season of scam outbreaks in India, just like an epidemic outbreak after the heavy rains & flash floods - endless tax money that you & I pay through our nose - goes into the bank accounts of our politicians whom we elect every 5 years. The only new thing about has been that we know the lack of ethics and moral values among our politicians and businessmen but 2010 has been a year of the corrupt media (though I still have faith in Barkha Dutt). I recently read somewhere that "scams are intrinsic part of the Indian socioeconomic-political landscape...Every few years, we have an outbreak of them, almost as regularly as malaria mosquitoes resurface every monsoon" - we as public - we feel bad, are outraged - but then what?? Forget it as life has to go on - there is some serious soul searching that is required but do I care?

2010 saw the rise & rise of another man - Julian Assange - every politician from Hillary Clinton to Rahul Gandhi wants to hunt him down - but i must say what an impact. I love Wikileaks, simply because it annoys so many holier-than-thou politicians & diplomats all over the world. The G5 nations inability to capture the likes of Bin Laden & Assange proves how helpless the super-powers of the world have become. Let's see what this man and his team has to offer us in the coming year.

Well time to wrap up - 2010 will be remembered as the year of scams, a year when judiciary decided where God lived, a year where world recession continued to haunt us - 2011 will be just another year of some memorable events where we will continue to get angry & perturbed but still continue to live - as life has to go on but still I am looking forward to it with the hope that something may be different..Sayonara 2010! MERRY CHRISTMAS & A HAPPY NEW YEAR to everyone.

Happy New Year !

It's Poila Baishakh, being in the US, away from home - it's just another ordinary day with tons to do at work. But for a pseud Bengali like me, Poila Baisakh means a second take on new year. If I am behind on resolutions, this may be just another day to get a fresh start with resolutions that will be remembered again around 1st Jan 2011. So in essence it is New Year part deux. This day also means calls and wishes to and from all extended family and friends - people who touched my small world as a child, many with whom I would probably speak to or interact just twice a year (the other being in October during Bijoya time). If I would have been in India - I would have dropped the western attire to wear a new traditional Indian dress and ofcourse to keep my mom happy - made a made short trip to the temple. To sum up this day is not as eventful as it should be in eyes of a traditional "Bong".

But there is one new year celebration that I remember very distinctly - way back 15th April 1986, Dhaka - I was a part of the public new year celebrations at the Ramna Maidan, which starts from first rays of the new rising sun and continues till noon. There is a subtle difference between the way Bangladesh and West Bengal ring in New Year - Poila Baisakh is very much a part of the Hindu calendar, but this day is a national festival for the Islamic State of Bangladesh. But there is a much greater exuberance that marks the festivities in this part of Bengal on the 15th of April every year. The festival-goers were decked up predominantly in red and white, greetings of "Shubho Nobo Borsho" (Happy New Year) rang in the air. The ceremony starts with Tagore's musical invocation - Esho, he Boishakh, Esho Esho. It seemed like a day which marked the cultural unity without a distinction between class or religious affiliations. Today after so many years I can conclude that If you are in Ramna Maidan, on this day - you feel proud to be a Bengali - you forget whether you are a Hindu or a Muslim - you are a Benagli - it is an experience! I can still after so many years - the sweet fragrance of tuberose - the echo of Rabindra Sangeet and Nazrul geeti...

Like aroma of a hidden Rajanigandha wafting in the dreams of night -

You filled my heart with your melody,

You did not know, you did not know, you did not know that.

(Tagore)

To all my friends a Subho Naboborsho...may the year be full of joy and prosperity....

My Cradle - Allahabad

Today 7th Oct - the day when I was born into this world in midst of annual festivities that every Bengali house celebrates every year. My parents had lost their 12 year old daughter just a year and half back after fighting a long 5 years battle with leukemia - to hold me in their hands was a moment of joy and sadness. Allahabad, the Sangam city - my birthplace - in my childhood days known for its broad avenues, picturesque British era bungalows, Gothic style churches, the overly congested Chowk area - and of course the colossal Allahabad fort at the banks of Sangam. Allahabad - "Abode of Allah", the name given by the illustrious Mogul Emperor Akbar, is situated at the confluence of Ganges, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati, is an important pilgrimage for devout Hindus. Also known as Prayag, it is the host to one of world's largest ablution event of the world - the Kumbh Mela, held once in 12 years. The reference point for Indian Standard time, Allahabad also boasts to have one of oldest High Court and the fourth oldest University in Republic of India. Great writers and poets of Hindi literature have lived here and have been inspired by this city. It is the home to India's first political family, given 7 out of 17 Prime Ministers to the country. Today - this city is becoming a forgotten city with a glorious past. Colonial Allahabad, along with the intellectual energy that the city once generated, has quite disappeared. The bungalows have been going, all my acquaintances from my parents generation have moved out, my friends with whom I spent some wonderful days have migrated to different cities for greener pastures - 8A Hastings Road my birthplace, was a typical bungalow from the colonial era - today it still stands dilapidated waiting to be grazed to the ground soon to be replaced by apartments of the modern society - As I walk down memory lanes - I have just lost time to recall - nothing more than that. Dad re-located to Jaipur 2 years after my birth, but we returned to the city when I was in Grade IXth. I lived in this city till I graduated from the university. I still keep going back to this city probably once a year, a city which I still call "my home". I have a strange feeling of nostalgia whenever I visit Allahabad. The Ganges attracts me, it gives a lot of calm and repose when I stand at its banks. Though I do not believe in taking a dip to wash my sins as commonly believed by a devout Hindu - but standing at the confluence, gives me a feeling of tranquility, it works as a sedate for me. The last time I visited the city was in Oct 2006 - it is almost 3 years now - every time I am in the city - I go for a stroll down my favourite road - Thornhill Road, a road which always unleashes memories both sweet & bitter for me - brings back so many events, fun filled long summer days, dull winter evenings - plucking delicious guavas from roadside & of course some very special people - not to miss out that this was the road when I was first proposed on a Valentine's day - the teenage infatuation which had evaporated as fast as it had grown - I am also reminded of that unfortunate afternoon when we were returning home from school - one of my classmates was crushed to death (it was one of the saddest days of my life) - this is the road where I advanced from a bicycle to a scooter to a car - this road always serves as an instant reminder of those days which will never return but will always bring a smile on my face. It is many years since I have left the city - the city has degenerated considerably over the years, it has lost touch with its rich past of glory. As I walk down the roads - poverty around me leaves me sad. India is a poor country, but after staying in rich states of Maharastra and Karnataka, we get a delusion that India is growing. The impact of globalization is perhaps positive..but it is a conclusion that many Indians make without going thru facts - when I see people in Allahabad, I feel miserable. A reasonably good pay package that I earn - stands meaningless when I see a homeless man enduring the variation of weather that mother nature offers in my hometown - a high of 48 degrees to a low of freezing temperature. I wish I could do something - someday for my city where I was born, which I still call my home - i am not sure whether I would really be able to do something - but I wish I could..in memory of those beautiful days that this city offered when i was becoming a woman from a teenage girl.

Gandhi - is he still relevant?

Around the world we associate "Gandhi" as the messiah of non-violence - who with a stick in his hand and a white cloth drapped around him - won India her freedom from imperialism. A man who believed and followed Ahimsa - met one of the most violent death of his times - still lives on in this world as one of the most influential figures of modern day politics. As we celebrate 140th birth anniversary of the Mahatma today - I wonder whether his ideals and principles are still relevant in today's world ?

Gandhi, the father of the nation - was a demi god in India. With the rise of fundamentalism in Indian politics and increasing hatred towards the fascist Muslim world - Gandhism has for sure taken a debacle. Also, today's India is becoming a consumer society - exacerbating differences in wealth between the middle classes and the rural poor - has forced people of my generation to distance themselves from Gandhi's principles. But more importantly in a society where we all believe in survival of the fittest - a world full of depravity, apathy, brutality, selfishness and self indulgence - are his ideals pertinent?

There are several answers to this debatable isssue - but somehow - I really feel that there is a lot of truth and substance what he stood for and who he is. May be we will not be able to do what he could do - show doors to the mighty British empire, standing undeterred and determined for India's Independence though being called "nauseating" "middle temple lawyer, now posing as a fakir" "striding half-naked" by Winston Churchill - bringing a radical change in way of life of every Indian at that time .

I agree that a non-violent response might be an anachronism in today’s violence ridden society, but that doesn’t make Gandhi irrelevant. I believe Gandhi will live in us - obviously it does not mean that we become a vegetarian overnite and become saint to things around us - but we can strive for a little more justice, a little more peace and most importantly a "little" more equality around us -

....Sab Hai Teri God Ke Paale, Koi Neech Na Koi Mahaan,...
Ishwar Allah Tere Naam, Sab Ko Sanmati De Bhagwaan.