Why Children can’t be Children anymore!!

 

One recent morning as I started to sip my favorite cup of piping hot Kashaaya (a tea-like drink made from spices) and browsing on my ever-dependable (isn’t it true for many of us) smartphone – more on this later as I want to digress a bit to say something on this fashionable instrument that has made us, its slaves.

I say Smartphones because; with its introduction in our lives, these have made us duds; at the drop of the hat, we consult our phones that have become an inimitable and an inseparable organ of our physical self. Gone are the days when we used to have mobile phones to make phone calls, perhaps to send an odd text message called SMS, store numbers and set alarms and that’s it! These days, the cellphones a.k.a. smartphones are so smart that we can also use them to make phone calls!

Let me get back to where I digressed.

I saw advertisements from a particular company called Whitehat Jr. (WHJ); even on social media about getting our children in the age group 6-12 years, to learn coding. I was flabbergasted, to say the least.

Belonging to a behemoth of an Edutech Company, Byjus, who had been a pioneer in this sphere of activities (at best and in my opinion, a glorified tuition dispensing platform) for various age and grade levels in India, WHJ started this new thing about coding for the children. Their parent company had roped in a Bollywood superstar to get their ad campaign running, pouring billions in Indian Rupees in the process. By the way, Byjus was valued at a whopping US$10.8billion recently. Not surprised at all as we have innumerable wolves amidst us, helping such and other companies through conniving yet suave ways, for the sheep (Bakaras) amongst us to fall for.

Be that as it may, WHJ started their luring campaign, hitting out at gullible parents and children, with the information ‘if the legendary Bill Gates of Microsoft fame started writing codes at a very young age of 6 or 9 and so can your child too’. Why can’t we accept that such persons are exceptions and not the rule? This company has roped in elite sportspersons to endorse their campaign. I am concerned about the way these sportspersons who, lured by the money offered to them, can lead a whole generation astray by their simple endorsement, giving a damn about the future of children. For this company and their likes, Exceptions Must Become the Rule – to keep their cash registers sound KACHIIIING!!

While most of the countries are insisting on their children to behave, play and live their lives as children, we in India are so much behind our children to become ‘Rich and Famous’ overnight as ‘child prodigies’!

With Peer pressure being a major factor in influencing children and their parents alike, companies like WHJ and Byjus are laughing all their way to their banks or to their laptop’s banking online portals.

Why have they become Grinch in the lives of our children? Who gave them the liberty to snatch our children’s childhood and make them slaves to the idiot screens? Isn’t this harassment of the young lives who are supposed to be enjoying their childhood? 

I agree, starting a business is a freedom of every citizen but what are the associations and governing bodies for ethical advertising and other responsible groups and organisations doing about educating the public on the ills of such humbugs?

Already there is a very unhealthy competition amongst the students (and their parents/guardians alike) in cramming the stuff in their heads in the garb of knowledge and education.

Private tuitions were abhorred during my schooldays (decades ago) when only those who were a bit challenged in their studies, would resort to. These private tuitions have since evolved and we have come to accept them as a way of student life now. There has been a reversal in that only those monetarily challenged would avoid these external aids now. So much for the pressure on the students.

With the new Education Policy, Government would be doing its bit in improving the efficiency and efficacy of education going forward. What will still remain unchanged would be the way students and their parents/guardians buckle under the peer pressure and keep running the rat race!

Net result: Children have lost their childhood, Parents/Guardians can brag about their wards’ accomplishments and companies like WHJ and Byjus will continue to flourish milking from unsuspecting and gullible students and their parents/guardians.

Drama in real life! A blast from the past!!

My Rendezvous with Providence aided by a lone Tusker.

 (As experienced in true life by my dear friend, Desai Shubha and transliterated by me)

It was the winter month of January during the early nineties and in my adopted hometown (Mysore), a good 140kms from Bangalore that we (my husband Prakash and I) planned to venture out on a two-wheeler to savour the nature in the nearby nature reserve.

We chose 25^th January for our tryst with nature so that we could rest the next day (a public holiday) before we start afresh on 27^th with our jobs. As planned, we set out early in the morning to nearby Nagarahole forest (don’t know what Rajiv Gandhi has to do with this nature reserve let alone visit it ever, as it is named after him).

That said, we packed enough food, water and other stuff to take care of our needs for the day trip as we planned to return later in the evening.

The weather was lovely, romantic and since we were leading a carefree life (our only daughter was born a good many years later), with no responsibilities, we wanted to indulge ourselves getting a bit free and wild. The journey was comfortable and as we reached the national park around 10:30 am, we were a bit disappointed to hear that the morning safari timings were over. 

The officials suggested that we visit the nearby Irupu falls, have our lunch and return by 3:00pm for the next safari schedule.

Sooner than said, we found our way to this beautiful waterfalls cascading the tree-lined rocks. We were totally lost on beholding the beautiful falls and the nature surrounding it. Before long we heard chitter-chatter, giggles and laughs of a group of young girls who were already playing in the water. Later on, we came to know that they were from Maharani’s College, Mysore.

As we ventured further towards the noise, they saw us and started teasing and enticing us to play with them. Sporty that we were, we too started playing with them and teasing them to the hilt. After spending a good hour or two with them, post-lunch, we returned to the Reserve’s office and parked ourselves in one of the Safari vehicles. Our safari tour was nothing short of utter disappointment as throughout the hour and a half journey, we couldn’t see any wildlife.

Prakash suggested that we should start by 5:00pm so that we can see some wildlife, as they come towards the waterholes during the dusk and by any luck we can catch sight of some. By then, the buses that brought the college girls started to leave and we decided to follow them so that should we encounter any wildlife and at any chance of risk, we could board one of those buses.

Off we went following those buses and encouraged by the roar of cheering girls in the buses, my husband started playing with the bus driver by overtaking him and after a distance, allowing him to overtake us and this repeated a few times. I too enjoyed screaming and laughing with the girls as I tried to masquerade my disappointment of not seeing any wildlife, with this newfound diversion. This happened for quite some time and then we sped off leaving the buses behind, to kiss the dust left by us.

As we gathered speed and covered some distance, Prakash spotted elephant droppings and showing that to me, he said we could see some wildlife after all. I hit him on the head for his naughty comment and didn’t take notice of it.

All of all of sudden, just a good few hundred meters in front of us, was a herd of elephants of all sizes and maybe 40-50 in number crossing the road. We had to, but stop the vehicle and turn off the engine. Watching them playfully crossing the road, we were thinking of how lucky we were in witnessing majestic herd trumpeting to glory.

At the end of the herd was a lone tusker of mammoth proportions who was yet to cross the road from our right to left.  

By then, the two buses came and went ahead of us towards crossing the lone tusker. The girls exploded at the sight of the tusker and started making noise amidst clicking of cameras. This attracted the elephant but as they say, he was blind in the right eye. Irritated to the core; with his left eye, he saw us and came charging towards us.

Prakash yelled at me to jump off the bike and run for my life as he too did the same. I was too shocked to do anything and before I realised the state I was in, I was lying flat on the road with my left leg trapped beneath the fallen vehicle. The tusker came towards me and with his huge trunk around my slender waist, yanked me out that released my left leg from under the vehicle. 

I thought my end had come and was praying for a swift one, if that. But he gently put me down.

By then Prakash had reached the bus in the front and thought I too would have run behind him towards the bus. Girls on the bus were horrified at the sight of me and started yelling “Help her” but he heard it as “Hurry up” (which he told me later).

In his anxiety to make me board the bus first, he turned his head back only to see the ghastly sight of me lying on the road with the tusker playing with my body. He thought of the worst and fearing that I was dead, he collapsed and fainted. Some of the teachers from the bus tried to revive him but to no avail. He was shifted into the bus and all were watching my plight with utter helplessness.

Back to my plight, the tusker kicked me and I started rolling on the ground and slid into one of the nearby pits dug by the forest authorities for planting saplings. He picked me up from the pit and placed me on the ground. Then he removed my brand new golden coloured sandals and flung them into the air. That was the last I saw of them and even in the midst of my ordeal, I was quite sad to see them go as it was my much loved new sandals.

Next in line was my goggles that were skilfully plucked off my face and he exhibited his throwing prowess. Now that it was only me he had to contend with, I was very weak even to imagine “what next”. What followed next, made me realise that there are some forces and powers beyond our imagination and comprehension.

Next I saw myself snuggly held by his trunk and even in this plight, I remembered the girls in the circus being held like that. He threw me in the air and caught me before I could be smashed to the ground. I lost count of how many time this happened and each time I thought “This is it, my end is now” but to my surprise, I was still breathing and with horror I was witnessing how my body was being used as a toy by this huge tusker of a being.

With no one but God to help me, I started praying to my favourite God Ganesha, the elephant God. I had prayed to Him sincerely all these years and my only prayer now was that if it was death I was destined today, to make it quick and painless.

But my God had other ideas. The tusker played with me for a long time, I think, as I had lost the sense of time. He then put me down gently on the ground and placed his foot on my chest. I thought ‘This was it” and I would be crushed in no time. Instead, he caressed me with his foot and I was flabbergasted and shocked at the same time even in such a terminal situation, to see the gentleness with which he was doing this. He lifted me off the ground again and put me on his head. Thinking back, I could humour myself as a royalty sitting on an elephant and looking down on my subjects. It appears he had other ideas. He put me down on the ground again and repeated this many times. While I had closed my eyes out of sheer fear and tried opening at times to slyly understand the situation, he was iterating the exercise as a routine.

At one such point, I noticed that there was a time lag and slyly opened my eyes to see what next? By some strange chance, his attention was caught by the fallen vehicle’s lights that had started to glow. He went to the vehicle, kicked it tearing into a couple of pieces and returned to me.

By then, the driver of the bus mustered some courage and came to divert him so that with the help of others, they could safely pull me to the bus. The tusker was in no means to let go of me. He chased away the driver much to my agony and to the anguish of the passengers in the bus.

After what seemed to be an eternity, one of the Forest Department’s vehicles happened to cross that way and they were soon apprised of the events by the bus driver and passengers. One of the officials fired a shot in the air to scare the tusker. He still had other ideas, it appears, as he soon picked me with his trunk and dashed into the thick woods. The Rangers came after him and fired another shot in the air. He loosened the grip on me and as I slid to the bushes and on to the ground, he headed back into the thick forest not to be seen again.

It was dark by then and we were taken to the Reserve’s office where I was administered first aid along with Prakash. They pleaded the bus driver to take us to Mysore but the college teachers and the principal wouldn’t listen to us and refused point-blank fearing that this would be a police case and unnecessary hassle to them.

The Rangers somehow hired a vehicle and take us to a nearby village called Kutta where I was sedated to brush off my shock. Story of my tryst with death despite an attack from a lone tusker had spread to the nearby villages and the natives had thronged Kutta by then.

On waking up from my sedated slumber, I was told that there are a lot of natives (Jenu Kurubas) from the forest, who wanted to see me. I was taken aback when they started touching my feet with reverence and praying with folded hands. I was told that they thought I was an angel and hence could escape such a ghastly incident with no major injuries (though I was bruised and battered). Most people, who had been in such instances, never lived to tell their tales.

Rangers were indeed divine incarnation in helping us that day and somehow they could hire a Jeep to bring whatever was left of our vehicle and of ourselves back to Mysore, which we reached in the wee hours of 26^th.

I don’t even count the number of deaths I died in those moments and I am sure, I would put any cat to shame as they just have 9 lives.

It took me many moons to overcome the shock and was inundated with nightmares every often. I still wonder why he didn’t harm me as I had grown up listening to stories of how dangerous it is to get accosted by a lone tusker.  

Thinking back; it was nothing short of a miracle that I survived the attack, though I had surrendered completely and was at the mercy of the mammoth, thinking of my inevitable gory end but have lived this long to tell the tale. Even though it is close to 3 decades, I still get goose-bumps whenever I recall this incident or whenever any reference to the nature reserve is made.

This incident made me famous in my neighbourhood and also in the surrounding areas, adding to my popularity due to my modeling career (that was cut short due to other reasons).  

Are we heading to a Neo-Normal, post COVID-19?

Good evening!
I'm sure we are all waiting eagerly for the resumption of normalcy, post COVID19.
However, what if we have to adapt to a new normalcy that includes compulsory wearing of masks, adhering to social distancing, avoiding crowded places, limiting the number of guests for your functions, etc.
Sounds crazy and I'm sure many wouldn't agree with me in assuming the situation described above could be with us for a long time.
Well, I wish I'm proved wrong.
In a 'What If' scenario, can we adapt to the Neo-normal situations?
My answer to that is 'Why Not'?
Didn't we survive the period from 25th March to 2nd May under even more stringent conditions? 
Adjusting and/or adapting to conditions, life throws at us, is probably an innate nature in us humans.
Else, we wouldn't have evolved from the status we were in, during historic times.
Well nobody has seen the future but no harm in Intelli-guessing what it may hold for mankind and trying to get prepared in our own small way.
Like they say, A Plan May Fail But Don't Fail To Plan!
Cheers!

Use of Colloquial in mainstream media, etc. – administering slow poison to a language!

Colloquial or Slang is used basically in an informal conversation. These have found its acceptance in various places like movie scripts/screenplays, theatre plays, soapies and even in the advertising world.  

Over a period of time, there has been a spate of new slangs, in words and phrases that have found acceptance in the presentation of a language. The process of new slangs and its acceptance into the mainstream, continues.

The impact and importance of slang on everyday conversation has, probably, made it imperative in its usage in the entertainment and information worlds. The creators of these worlds have tilted towards this naturally, to exploit the placebo effect, using these slangs with a view to relate closely to their clientele and customers.

So far so good.

My grouse is the use of the slangs in the mainstream media like the news (both print and visual media). I strongly feel that the use of slangs in the mainstream media, which is currently unbridled and almost a law unto themselves (save for a poor Ombudsman who has more on the plate than to look at this aspect), must be strictly avoided. The media houses themselves must self-regulate their editorial staff before airing the news or such. 

They must be the first ones to uphold the respect for language in its pure form without using the slangs.  

Just think of the impact this has on the language or its culture by the use of crude slangs.

What reason can you give the youngsters when asked, why no steps were taken to teach us the correct language?

Can the newspersons indulge their own kith and kin, should they be conversing in slangs?  

Who is responsible for the death of a language or a culture because of the wrong use of slangs?

In my humble opinion, if left uncorrected, this will erode the respect and reverence one has for their language.

My two cents:

As far as possible, avoid using the slangs in the mainstream media like news and other programs. It is nauseating to hear colloquial in news and you end up switching the channels.

Should the theme of the play/advert not require the use of slangs, avoid it as you are not seeing the broad picture of how the slangs are impacting on the young minds (particularly school kids) who emulate these in their daily lives and also presume this as a perfectly normal way of speaking.

Experience of my friend during the 'SEAL DOWN' of their neighbourhood!

Preamble:

Bengaluru, like other parts of India, has been witnessing lockdown since 25^th March 2020. It all started due to the influx of overseas passengers flowing into the city and some transiting through.

It was tough for the Health and Welfare Authorities to determine the impact of this infection, as in most cases, the patients were asymptomatic. Adding to this confusion was the fact that a good many passengers who didn’t show any symptomatic signs were infected during the 14-day gestation period, and by then, they had come in contact with scores of others.

Yeah, Yeah, Yeah…. You all know the story of its spread now, and some of us have become armchair experts in dispensing safety precautions and solutions.

However, what I am narrating below is my friend’s first-hand experience that is continuing as I write this. How their day-to-day life has changed completely as three streets in the area are ‘Sealed Down’ and my friend’s house is located in one of those 3 streets that have been impacted.

As you scroll down this sentence, it is all my friend’s experience, mostly in my friend’s own words, with a bit of tweaking to give my touch, only where needed.

19^th April 2020

After almost 26 days of lockdown, we saw a white line being drawn on both ends of the street. We initially thought it was being done just to mark the hotspot zone, as we knew our area was a hotspot with one family infected with COVID-19.

In the evening we saw a Hoysala van (Police Patrol Vehicle) with a team of people comprising three policemen, personnel from BBMP, personnel from our local Corporator’s office and volunteers, announcing over the mic that our area has been sealed down and that we cannot go out nor anyone come inside till further notification.

It was like a jolt to us. Many had so many doubts; whether we can go out with a pass, what can be done for veggies, groceries, milk, medicines, dogs for a walk, etc., etc. Police did reply to everyone’s queries patiently. Volunteers collected the phone number of one person from each household.

Soon, they had put tall metal sheets across, on one end of the road, preventing us from going out or talking to anyone on the other side of this fence. Movable metal barricades were also put up on the other end, where there was a police outpost set up as entry/exit for service personnel and also for us to interact with police and volunteers. CCTV cameras were installed to keep a watch on the movement of the residents. BBMP/Police team also created a WhatsApp group comprising of the residents, from our phone numbers collected already. 

This group was named ‘CONTAINMENT ZONE XXX’

20^th April 2020

They listed phone numbers of the grocery shop, veggies & fruit shop with whom we can place our requirement, and shopkeepers were also given strict instructions to supply us promptly, irrespective of the quantity. They were to come to the end of the road and call us to collect the delivery. If the list of required items was long, they were then allowed to come inside the cordoned zone, keep the groceries in front of the gate, and leave. Of course, only digital payments were being made for the safety of everyone.

Unfortunately, the very next day of the seal down there was the death of an old lady, raising doubts in everyone's mind as to the cause. We heaved a sigh of relief when it was found that she was very healthy till the last minute and died due to cardiac arrest. BBMP team helped them a lot, for which the team deserved praises not just from that household, but from all of us in the Sealed Down area.

The above is pretty much the same activity, day in and day out.

In addition:

Every alternate day, BBMP personnel are spraying disinfectant.

One of the team members visits every household to check if we are receiving all our supplies correctly.  One day, we had no power supply, and when we complained, it was immediately resolved (this would not happen on normal days). Another person had problems with sewage, which was also resolved in no time. These types of complaints were not addressed in such a short time during normal days.

Of course, some people did have issues, like they could not take dogs for a long walk, and they were becoming restless. Another had a sick dog and wanted to go out in their car, which led to a big fight between the volunteers and the dog owner. The police team had to intervene and resolve the issue. After 3 days, most of us got used to the seal-down situation.

Routine:

First hour of the morning, there is some activity; like people taking their dog for a walk, only one milkman is allowed to deliver milk sachets to all the households, one paperboy is allowed in, and also the garbage collector. They are under strict instructions not to stay for an unreasonably long time, nor chat with the residents, but to complete their tasks and duties hastily and retreat.

After the first hour and during the course of the day, not a single person is seen outdoors. As the evening approaches, I see most of the residents on their terraces doing Yoga, some walking, kids playing. It is fun as we can see some activity, despite being sealed down.

There were issues like: kids playing without masks, disinfection process carried on without notice, non-availability of particular staple items in the notified shops. Minor issues, but these were settled amicably in the next day or two.

These are extraordinary times that call for maturity and patience in handling various skirmishes, calmly. People realised the situation within a short time and started to co-operate with the authorities and the volunteers. Complaints dwindled as the days progressed.

Of the 200-plus people in our containment zone, it is but natural for people to feel grumpy for no rhyme or reason, revolt against the system of seal-down, etc. But the way in which these apprehensions were addressed by the COVID-19 Help Group is commendable. Our group of residents is also thinking of honouring these selfless warriors who are standing by, serving us 24/7, thereby ensuring our safety.

Somehow, we must collect the names of all these volunteers, police personnel, and other personnel who are helping us get through these difficult phases during the SEAL-DOWN.

My Two Cents:

If we have not experienced the SEAL-DOWN, let’s not (for the heck of it) sympathetically say, ‘Yeah, we understand how you feel, blah, blah…..etc.’ No. We can’t understand how it feels unless we have experienced confinement.

Please be cordial to the volunteers and other service personnel. They are there to serve you and to keep you safe, and have no other ulterior motives.

We are at war here, and I am sure we can all beat the enemy in this war, only if we act maturely, taking all necessary precautions.

For reasons to protect the area and people resident here, I am neither mentioning names nor posting any pictures of the location.

Day 28 of Lock-down - My Travelogue!

The Topic: My travelogue covering our first family outing to Cape Town post-relocation!

The Time: April, Circa 2004

The Places: Cape Town to Port Elizabeth and Return

The Season: Ebbing of summer in these parts of the world

The Mood: Excellent!

The background was set.

On the appointed day, we packed enough stuff to last us a week (as planned) and off we flew to Cape Town marking the first leg of our sojourn. On landing in Cape Town, I hired a pre-booked car, which was our means of transport throughout the next week or so. Couldn’t have asked for a better one as it was a Ford Focus hatchback, quite spacious for all three of us and our baggage.

The first stop was the Cape Town Bed and Breakfast (where we stayed for three nights), on Camps Bay Drive. As we drove past the famous Table Mountain, we were in awe! Honestly, I had not seen this earlier in my life and the experience of seeing this mighty mountain, was an exhilarating one! As we reached our home for the next 3 nights, the owner, David Meyers, came out to greet us and took us around the room and a half with kitchenette. Hmm… impressive! More impressive was the sight of the ocean from the room and the patio as we relaxed post-lunch and had our tea enjoying this beautiful sight of the Atlantic. We did a bit of city tour and lazed around that afternoon and evening before retiring for the night nap.

The next day, relaxed with enough sleep overnight, we left for the city tour and our first stop was, you guessed it right! Table Mountain! Up we went in the cable car that took us to the top of the mountain. The view from here, of the city of Cape Town, was amazingly beautiful as we were lucky to have a clear day for the best all-round views. Spent a couple of hours just letting the sights sink into us (which, I can still remember very vividly). You can never have enough of such sights but compelled to move on as we were, we reluctantly climbed down in the cable car again catching the last of the glimpses of the Mother City (as Cape Town is known in South Africa).

Any tour of Cape Town would be incomplete without visiting a winery. So we made our way to Spier Winery on the route to the famous Stellenbosch wine region. We had our first taste of wine, at the wine tasting. I was amazed at my wife’s flavour discerning abilities! Believe me, this was her first venture to taste alcoholic drinks and she could handle different wine varieties with aplomb, explaining their nuances and no sooner, this was confirmed by our tasting guide for the session. We thoroughly enjoyed the tasting session as my daughter got to chomp of all the cracker biscuits that we were given, to eat between two different wines, to clear our palate. This was an experience for all of us and we spent quite some time around the winery before returning to Cape Town.

Next in our itinerary was a visit to Robben Island (just northwest from V&A Waterfront), the infamous prison of Nelson Mandela – Father of new South Africa. It is a 3.5 to 4 hours tour including the time we spend on ferrying to this island on the Atlantic waters. We could see the gruesome prison in all its infamous glory. One visit to this prison of an Island and your respect for the freedom fighters of South Africa, escalates even without any effort from you. We were taken around the places where Mandela was imprisoned and his cell where he underwent solitary confinement as well. A lot of history has been written about South Africa’s freedom struggle and Robben Island is an integral part of all such.

This done and dusted, we took the ferry back to Cape Town, had our supper in V&A Waterfront before retiring for the night.

The next morning, post breakfast, we went down to Hout Bay and a quick ferry took us to the seal island where we could see a lot of seals basking in the sun. The ferry was navigating through choppy waters and some in the ferry was a bit sea-sick. As it was summer, the southern whales had no interest to infest the warm waters, else we would have seen a lot of them.

Next in our list of to-do visits was the Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope (CGH) and off we went from Hout Bay passing Chapman’s Peak on the way, which is one of the most scenic routes in Africa. Construction workers were busy placing steel meshes on the sides of the hilly surfaces to prevent landslides (which, this place is known for). Historically, CGH has a lot of significance as Vasco-da-Gama and before him, Bartholomew Dias sailed around CGH on their voyage to find a new sea-route to India, which Vasco-da-Gama did by landing on the West Coast of India circa 1498. These places are unimaginably beautiful what with the ocean on one side and hilly terrain on the other side. CGH is the South-western most tip of the African Continent.

By the time we reached the Cape Point, it was mid-afternoon and we had to hurry as they close this site by 5:30 pm. This place is something out of the world in the sense that you have to traverse through the Cape Natural reserve with majestic mountains and mighty ocean subsisting together. We got into funicular (a train-like vehicle on tracks) that took us closest to the point where we could see the old lighthouse. As we made our way to this lighthouse, the sight was simply awesome! The wind was blowing heavily as we could catch the glimpse of the ocean and enjoyed the sight thoroughly. We couldn’t see much of fauna here but could see lots of mountain rats (beavers like animals) all around. 

Reluctantly, we dragged our feet down to where we had parked our car and bid adieu to Kaap Punt (as it is referred to in Afrikaans) and drove back to Kaap Staad (Cape Town in Afrikaans), had good pizzas for dinner and hit the bed.

The next day, we took it easy as we started to pack stuff to move out to our next base, Knysna. This route N2 between Cape Town to Port Elizabeth is aptly called as Garden Route for a reason. The flora along this route is, really, out of this world. We had to take a bit of detour to see Cape Agulhas and it was worth the trouble. This is the southern-most tip of the African continent where both Indian and Atlantic oceans meet. Spent an hour here lazing around and marveling at the beautiful sight of the oceans and off we went back to the garden route, heading east thereon.

By the time it was dark, we reached Knysna and since I had pre-booked in Azure House, we eased into our rooms and had some fruits and bakery items for supper. We could see the faint outlines of the lagoon’s heads dimly illuminated by the lights of the city reflected on the lagoon, savoured it a bit and lost ourselves in deep sleep.

The next morning, we could appreciate the sight from the room’s patio. We fell in love with this place at the first sight of dawn here! The view of the ocean through the heads of the landmasses on both sides of the lagoon was unrestricted and I am sure we couldn’t have asked for a better location than this. That morning we lazed around in the small town and could see some beautiful sights of the lagoon during the day. A holiday is not just about traveling but also relaxing and hence we dozed off post-lunch. The second half, we drove to the nearby elephant park where there were a lot of orphaned elephant calves that were being taken care of till such time they could be left in the nearby Addo Elephant Park, near Grahamstown. My daughter had her fill of fun by feeding these elephants and enjoyed to the hilt.

The next day, we drove to Tsitsikamma National Park, located just outside of Plettenberg Bay, where we took a short break to stroll on the sands for a while. We could see a pod of dolphins swim quite close to the shoreline which, again, was a first for us. As we saw them disappear over the horizon to our left, we proceeded towards the nature reserve.

Tsitsikamma; the flora was out of the world here. I could have easily spent over a day getting lost in this wilderness. However, we had our fill and started off at the rope bridges connecting two landmasses with the river Tsitsikamma below, running into the Indian Ocean. We also had a chance for a boat ride that took us deep between the two hills that were separated by this river. As we went upstream, the opening started getting narrower and the water was deep brown in colour. The oarsman, who had the knowledge of the flora there, said the deep colour was due to the tannins from the leaves and the foliage from the nature reserve. After an hour, we returned and disembarked at the base camp. 

The weather was perfect for such an outing and though it was scorching outside, the canopy of greenery made it hard for the sunlight to penetrate let alone radiate heat. We walked all over the reserve till our legs gave away.

After what seemed an eternity, we slowly limped our way to the car for our return journey. On the way, we stopped over (which we had seen on our onward journey) at a place on N2 highway called Bloukraans Bridge, which is a famous site for bungee jumping. At the time of our visit, this was the highest/deepest bungee jumping site in the Southern Hemisphere. None of us had the kind of adrenaline push to risk the jump but having gone there we witnessed a couple of jumps from junkies. Amazing sight! Had I then been a decade or so younger, I would have ventured the jump.

We had just enough strength to book for an evening cruise on Knysna River at the Knysna Quay and grab something to eat and hit the bed for a snooze.

Refreshed after the snooze, we made our way to the Quay for our cruise in the evening. The vessel was in mint condition and had adopted an old steam engine with a huge wheel paddling through the waters, by the side powering the launch. Drinks and dinner were available on-board and we shared some good wine just for the heck of it. Nibbled something which I don’t even remember now. The lazy cruise took us to the end of the lagoon where the river merges with the Ocean and we could see both the East and West sides of Featherbed Sanctuary. Gorgeous sights and truly blissful experiences!

Dog tired, we returned to our home-sweet-home and slept the night off.

The next day, we drove past George towards Oudtshoorn. This place is well known for the Ostrich farming industry. We visited High Gate Ostrich Show Farm where we were taken around the farm by enthusiastic guides. They showed us the different uses they made from the ostrich that were slaughtered for meat. I was given to understand this meat is pretty lean meat compared to red meat and very healthy. Not that I tried. The feathers were put to multiple uses including feather duster (they showed how to make one and my daughter eagerly made one that was gifted to her by the guide), fillings for pillows and different uses of ostrich skins and eggshells as well.

As we went out into the open, we were shown ostrich eggs and I was insisted to stand on it to test its strength. Hesitant and reluctantly I stepped on it, first on one leg but I was forced by the guide to stand on the egg with both my legs. To my utter surprise, it could hold all of my 80+ kilos of weight. 

I had no words to express the beauty of Nature. The egg easily could have weighed around 2 kilos, to my knowledge.

Post this, we were given a lesson on the digestive system of ostriches. Did you know that ostrich pecks and eats pebbles which in-turn acts as a grinding stone in its stomach to digest its food? Amazing, isn’t it!

Then, we came to the adventure part of the tour. Yes, an ostrich ride! First it was my daughter’s turn to sit on an ostrich and one of the handlers ran along with the ostrich in tow. A good distance of 100m and boy, did the ostrich ran! She enjoyed the ride thoroughly and was overjoyed. Next was my chance to ride on this creature of a bird. My word, this is quite a powerful bird at that and could easily take my weight and run at a considerable speed. They say you can never outrun an ostrich and I then, knew exactly why they say it. It was a different experience for me and I can’t say that I enjoyed it.

We returned to Knysna by dusk and had dinner, lazed out in the patio watching the lights yonder, squinting our eyes to see the outlines of the heads that separated the lagoon and the starlight sky above long before we hit the bed for the fourth night in a row.

We had a good breakfast, packed our stuff and checked out of the hotel. We came to George from where we were supposed to take our return flight to Johannesburg, late that afternoon. Before that, we had plans to visit a nature reserve at the Outeniqua Mountains outside this town. There is a power van that takes us through the scenic passes as we reach a picnic spot in the mountains. We had a picnic basket that got empty in no time as we were hungry by then.

On our return, we could see the debris of the fateful flight of Hanse Cronje, a famous cricketer and captain of the South African cricket team, who died tragically at a very young age. He was implicated in match-fixing scandal and had to unceremoniously resign and retire from active cricket.

We reached the base and saw the Outeniqua Museum where the Choe Tjoe Train originated from and so many other vehicles. Post this, we drove off to the airport, dropped off the hired car and embarked on our return trip to Johannesburg.

On the whole, though we missed many more spots and sights, it was quite a satisfactory trip and by the time we reached home later that evening, we were quite charged up and totally relaxed.

Trips like these don’t drain you and despite getting totally exhausted by the end of every day, we were totally stimulated to go on for more as we woke up the next morning. Such is the power of this elixir and added to this, if you have your loved ones as a company, what more can one ask for?

To conclude:

Those were the days we had no smartphones and the only maps were in our heads other than the physical map books we had taken with us. It makes a hell of a lot of difference if you have a membership with Automobile Association of SA. Their offices provide free maps to everyone irrespective.

Those were the days where, your cell-phones could only make phone calls unlike the modern ones, which can also be used for making phone calls. Else this article would have been filled with some of the photos we clicked along on our tour.

Be that as it may, that we enjoyed the vacation and even today that I could write most of this travelogue without taxing my grey cells much, is stark evidence of how much the sights have ingrained in my system.  

Day 26 of Lockdown!

Culture and Tradition:

One of those things happened to me while surfing the net (YouTube), inadvertently.

Hold your horses! What I have in mind, to click and clutter my screen, is just not what you are imagining!

Intrigued? Hmmm, thought so!

Well, this was what I had in my mind and letting loose from my grey cells.

I chanced upon a few Korean soapies and thought, what the heck? Let me give it a go. Anyways, they all had the option of subtitles in English (for people like me) and so I started to watch their soapies and tried to compare it with ours. Not that I am a big fan or critic of Indian soapies. But to my limited knowledge of watching them, on and off compulsorily, I was just curious.

To my utter surprise, I watched so many of their soapies non-stop, not just over these days but also prior to that. Man, there are some serious Rom-Coms, Action, Thrillers, Historical, Sci-Fi, et al. and believe me, these are produced very well covering all genres.

Most of these soapies are of 16-20 episodes of which many are further stripped into parts of an episode around 20min each. You can go on binge-watching these episodes on YouTube, if you activate the Auto Play feature. They even have short stories and dramas too.

What really struck me, on viewing over a number of episodes from a variety of soapies, is the fact that the Koreans have a very strong affinity for their culture and tradition. Also, they address their parents in the way very similar to us; e.g. for mother they call “Umma” and for father, it is “Appa”, which surprised me a lot.
 
In all of those I watched, there was a respect to the tradition, be it;

• Sitting on the floor for eating breakfast, lunch or dinner (only those that exhibited lifestyle of the ultra-rich showed dining tables),
• Display of respect to elders and guests,
• Changing the footwear used outside the house to the ones for use indoors only, right at the entrance of the main door, etc.
• Accepting a drink (including tea) from any person with both hands,
• Not drinking with your face to the elder or senior but by turning your face to the side not visible to the elder/senior,

To check my understanding, before I conclude on the above, I made sure to watch from amongst assorted themes and genres. I was really flabbergasted to see the strong clasp, of their culture and tradition, come across all these soapies without an exception.

This is in sharp contrast to what we exhibit in our soapies, at least to my limited knowledge of these across various genres. Except where the central theme is around rural or semi-rural background, all other soapies ooze unnecessary grandeur and unrealistic costumes, particularly of the female cast, which not only confuses the viewers but are way off from reality. Agreed, our costume directors for these soapies, base their creation on what is warranted by the producers and directors of these productions and also ape the ideas from other regional soapies. After all, we have umpteen languages and the TV channels have to cater to all these languages.

Well, many of the traditions have long gone into thin air as a heavy dose of ‘Westernisation’ has swayed us and made us question everything that our culture had, innately. The current scenario of lockdowns and emphasis on personal hygiene and social distancing is proving to be a chance to make people understand that these were the exact hygienic values our forefathers and ancestors had bequeathed us but in the garb of modernisation, we have lost all these by the wayside.

Isn’t it time to think about this? Can’t we pick up from where we left and move on?

Repercussions of COVID-19 pandemic on normal life!

Prelude:

Peeping into the looking glass; Year 2020 holds a significant deviation from the norm. Personal Hygiene, Social Distancing and Lockdowns coupled with the inimitable abbreviation WFH (Work from Home) have become buzz words and has almost become the ‘new normal’ of many nations in the world.

The metaphorical vision 20/20 (ironically, rhymes well with the current year 2020), was severely lacking; where none of the think-tanks of over 200 countries in the world, nor the world bodies like the UN and WHO, could even comprehend how the cataclysmic influence, a minuscule non-living protein matter covered with just a thin layer of fat (Corona Virus), could hold the world to ransom. 

Fear of infection, in this case, is far worse than the fear of death despite the number of infected people recovered so far, far outstrips the cases of death from its infection.

Having said that, I sincerely hope not to see the second wave of relapses with an evolved strain of this virus. God forbid; if this happens, it might spell disaster to many parts of the current civilisation as an already shaken world population would get into a mode of desolation.

Repercussions on normal life:

Well, normal life has been redefined as we have been witnessing a state of stupor in the hitherto known buzzing and chaotic outer world that was an inevitable part of everybody’s lives. As the contagion of COVID-19 spreads; most of the private sector employees are working from home, while essential staff are the only active ones plying on the desolate roads. Public transport in particular and Air, Sea and Surface freight and passenger transports are being restricted to just about minimal and emergency movements, worldwide.

Food security and shortage will be the first ones, to be in the epicenter of strategical thinkers and advisors of the countries worldwide. Enough care must be taken of and by the farmers themselves, about their (and their employees’) health during this massive outbreak. Failing which, agriproducts will be severely impacted. So will be the case with the fishing and other food providing/processing industries. I am sure all the governments worldwide, would have this as one of their top priorities.

Intercontinental trade has long stopped and the ramifications of this will only exacerbate as the days pass by. Shortages of many items are already noticeable on many shelves across different distribution centers and to replenish these stocks to normalcy, will take a long time due to logistical challenges that are imminent once the worldwide lockdown relaxes. Hence, the distribution of food and staples, is sure to be amongst the top of the list in the sequence of their priorities.

Governmental activities in a variety of ways will ensure the return of confidence amongst its citizens and these should be the ones to resume quickly, among the other firsts in the priority list.

Schools and other educational institutions are on a long vacation, yet many of them are going about with online classes and exams thereof. Online education is being refined and redefined during these trying times and so too are many other hitherto traditional activities and concepts that required a set rules of environment for their effective and efficient performances.  

Many a profession that require face-to-face interactions with clients and professionals, are yet to evolve with times that compel them to change and change, they must, to survive and yet deliver the requisite outcomes. Deadlines will be missed and their repercussions are unimaginable and incalculable (like in court cases, deadlines for tax and other statutory submissions, etc.).  

Normal banking activities and other services like insurance (both Short and Long Term), investment activities, collection and payment of various rates and taxes, levies and cesses have taken the brunt of the lockdowns.

Trading activities have come to a standstill with the closure of most of the non-essential items as the world has moved into a warlike situation to combat this minuscule protein particle. So has the manufacturing activities of many and most of the products worldwide.  Resumption of these activities will be important in more ways than one as this feeds the major employment sector.

Handymen like plumber, electrician, masonry, construction workers and others are in their nightmarish worst with the lockdowns and restrictions. Their daily wage-earning has come to a grinding halt. Steps to be taken to address these issues of the tradesmen, in terms of providing handouts or grants to sustain themselves and their immediate families, failing which, we can see a major social upsurge.

Doctors in practice, who rely on the inflow of daily patients for their livelihood, too, are at the short end of the stick, due to this pandemic. Governments must either call them to serve the emergency situation or provide alternative means for their sustenance. With the looming outbreak and agnostic as to its continuance, Dentists, ENT and other oral health professionals will have to wait for a long time before they can start practicing their profession with confidence. So is the case with so many other related health professions.

Porters at various transport terminals and railway stations ring in the same stories, of their daily bread being snatched away and uncertain as to how long will their daily bread remains ‘a pie in the sky’. So is the plight of Auto rickshaw (in many developing countries) and Cab drivers, in general.

Small-time restaurants, hotels and accommodation providers in various cities and towns across the world and more specifically in tourist locations too, would be glaring at doom till some remedy comes their way to avoid the complete collapse of this sector.

Barbers and hairdressers would, probably, be the last ones to resume their profession only after the last of the residual viral strains being neutralised, as this can be the easiest way for the virus to infect the healthy population (in addition to Dentists and other oral healthcare professionals).

So goes many more classes of small-time professions like repair shops of various nature, small mom-n-pop shops, round the corner greengrocers, individual pharmacies, domestic helps, couriers and other deliverymen, etc. The list goes on and on and is very inclusive.

Conclusion:

The mopping-up operations post this endemic is a humongous one, hitherto unheard of during our lifetimes. Thorough cleaning operations, coupled with enhanced personal & herd hygiene and marked changes in social behaviour, is the way we can prevent such outbreaks to dominate mankind, in the future. Preventative measures implemented across various countries’ port of entries will go a long way to mitigate the contamination and contagious impact of these viruses. Budget allocations, previously not apportioned to such activities, will now be prioritised.   

Proactive interventions of the world bodies like WHO, both in terms of mitigating such outbreaks and also in guiding their developing and other member countries in combating these contingencies will repose faith of the mankind in humanitarian purposes for which these bodies were conceptualised and established.

Day 17 of Lockdown!

Mauritius – not just any other ordinary (Stopover/Transit) destination:

This was my first visit to Mauritius, though I was just a hop, skip and a long jump away from this exotic and a dream destination.Yes, having spent over a decade and a half in Johannesburg I never had an opportunity to see this fabulous Island of a Country.

Be that as it may, providence provided me with a perfect chance to visit this country that was a French colony in the decades gone by. Though I had a stopover of just 21 hours, I decided to make full use of this time.

Travelling to Johannesburg from Mumbai on Air Mauritius, along with my friend and associate, Madhu Kongovi, the flight took off on time. This early morning flight had us totally drained of our sleep as we took a late night flight the previous day to Mumbai from Bengaluru. I hadn’t travelled this route (overseas via Mumbai) in more than a decade and hence was ignorant if there were any transport facilities between the terminals. When enquired, we were told to take the public transport to reach the other Terminal. Booked an Ola cab and reached the other Terminal around midnight on 15^th November. Our flight was only at 06h40 on 15^th to Mauritius. With more than a couple of hours to kill before the check-in counter opened, I employed a couple of ways from my bag of tricks to tide over.

Once the counters opened, we checked in and on crossing over to no man’s land (after emigration formalities) we reached the lounge where we spent the next couple of hours before the flight. Dead tired that we were and also famished due to long interval between flights, the food at this lounge was just what the doctor ordered.

This done and dusted by the time our flight was announced, we lazily strolled towards the flight and boarded leisurely.

Friendly and courteous flight attendants were at our service from the time we entered the aircraft and served sumptuous food with a plethora of drinks to wash it down with.

Dozed off the rest of the flight post breakfast, only to wake up close to landing time and the sight of a typical tropical flora.

Immigration formalities took a longer time to my liking since most of the passengers, other than Mauritians, had to be issued visas on arrival. That done, we got a few stuff for our friend whom we were about to meet.

Mahen Appadoo, a major logistics contractor, had come to the airport to receive us.  Warm guy, we hit out with him instantly. He took us to the hotel where we were given transit accommodation for a night as our connecting flight to Johannesburg was only the next day at 10am. We freshened up and while Madhu went along with Mahen, I lazed about in the hotel and relaxed before they returned along with a friend of Mahen, a Vimal Ramloll.

Our next stop was Port Louis, the capital city. Using Mahen’s clout, we could meet up with one of the Ministers of the recently elected Government, to discuss some business projects.

This done, let me introduce Vimal properly. Mr Vimal Ramloll, owns a company named Chiselmet and the uniqueness of Chiselmet is, it specialises in restoration of colonial buildings and furniture.

This said, Vimal chaperoned us around two of his present projects, in Port Louis. First, an imposing Theatre, which had been dilapidated over time and is being restored completely.

Aptly named as “The Theatre”, construction for this structure began around 1820 and inaugurated on 11th June 1822. This is one of the oldest theatres in Southern Hemisphere. 

The maintenance of this building was totally neglected over the decades. Restoration of this building started over a year ago and will continue well into 2020. The work that Vimal and his team has started with, needs special mention as he has left no stone unturned in his efforts to bring this building back to its old glory.

Some of the pics of this great historical monument:

 

 

We then drove down to his unit, ‘Chiselmet’, where he showcased us the painstaking process of restoring these fittings and fixtures like dados, panelling and cladding, tiling, etc.

Some of the pics are below, courtesy Vimal’s Chiselmet:

 

 

 

 

Incidentally, many of his workers are from Bangladesh and many of them have adapted to Mauritian way of life, as they are known to do so worldwide. Few of them speak rusty French (which is the official language other than Creole and English) and their supervisor was pretty fluent in both Creole and French.

Post this, we had a good snack at a bakery/restaurant in downtown as we were famished by then. This reminded me of the many Irani joints in Mumbai, where, I had the pleasure of hogging on their Maska Paav and Tea. Here we had a couple of chilli bites and maska bun as well.

Next on the list was to visit one of the resorts owned by Vimal, which was a good distance from the city. The roads and the topography reminded me of my life in Goa.

                                                                                     

He gave us a quick tour of the resort and I must say, it was really an excellent place to relax, relax and relax. Refreshed with a couple of drinks, on we proceeded to our next venue of interest.

Next one on the list was in Rose Hill, which for a long time was the temple of culture in Mauritius, thanks to Plaza. This magnificent old-fashioned Theatre and its Village Hall have hosted many a major event in the past. With the Party Hall finally being restored, the Theatre being renovated, will put these buildings to its former magnificence. Unfortunately, due to time constraints and the time of the day, I couldn’t get inside these buildings to take a few pics.

 

Also, due to lack of time I couldn’t get more information on these and other projects. Perhaps in my next write-up, I will cover these better, with more information.

Great job Vimal! All the very best and hope you restore some more of these nostalgic buildings to its former grandeur.

Next in tow was our visit to Mauritius Club, where we met some of who’s-who in the Indian community of Mauritius. Celebration of Diwali festival at this club, was the highlight of the day, with some excellent live music ringing out some of the old Hindi numbers. While the elders’ eyes were moist and their faces brightened up from nostalgia, the youngsters too enjoyed the music in their own way.

Downing a couple of tots along with a plethora of short eats, we were full to the brim and almost ready to call it a day.

Mahen’s son was our designated driver and thanks to him, we reached our hotel safely in the night. Hit the bed almost instantly and dozed off just after reminding the reception to wake us up early the next day as we had to catch the connecting flight to Johannesburg.

This in short was the travelogue of my first, but certainly not my last, trip to Mauritius!

Thanks a lot to Mahen and Vimal for the excellent hospitality extended to us and particularly to me as I was a total stranger who was quite at ease in your company. Hope I get a chance to reciprocate this gesture of yours, in future.