Reflections: I am an atheist and a Hindu (and a Sikh...and a Muslim and …….)

I like listening to Javed Akhtar (JA) talk. Don’t ask me why as I have no definite answer. Maybe it is because somewhere in his ideas there are some nuances in his approach to life that make you sit up and think. After all he is a narrator par excellence - and he is a poet now married to the daughter of another. He has spun stories to move masses. Well, I never sought why I listen to him whenever possible even though he is not a typical thinker or an established philosopher. So it was the other day, I was listening in when he was speaking with the ‘redoubtable’ Barkha Dutt, who seems to be getting prettier by the night – or was it the whisky? Well…what JA said was “I am an atheist and a Muslim”.

Answers to many of our Nation’s woes and those of the world lie in that one sentence. Socio-economic-political interests of believers are a reason why at times religious and political ideologies result in conflicts and at other times leads to peaceful co-existence. Religion is not the prime contributor to mass behavioural patterns of people, it is only a vehicle.

Consider this. Communists – with ‘no god’, ‘no religion’ ideology are easily identified with atheism. Could this be really true that all communists are atheists? It may actually appear as such as a result of a variant which may be termed as Militant atheism that became central to the ideology of Communists. It laid down how societal organisations should function and advocated the destruction of all religions. Among pursuers of militant atheism, convinced perceived atheists were not only the most politically astute but also the most virtuous individuals. As a result, religious groups were inclined to oppose communist rule. But for decades the Russian Muslims have had no problem with communism! So while religious and political conflict openly occurred in Communist societies which were predominantly Christian, many Muslims were able to accommodate their religious convictions with Soviet Communism. Indian National League a splinter group of Indain Union Muslim League (IUML) is part of the LDF Government in Kerala. Durga Puja in West Bengal could not have been celebrated by only non-communists all these decades in Poschim Bongla.

A communist necessarily being atheist is all bunkum.  Even the doyen of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, widely believed to be a party of atheists, Anna’s slogan was 'one religion, one caste and one God for mankind' – so much for DMK followers being atheists.

So who really are atheists? By definition an atheist is one who denies the existence of a deity or of divine beings. By this definition an atheist can believe in a being other than a divine one! Communists believed in Marx, Lenin and Mao! Take for instance JA. He had a humble beginning, when young on many days he slept hungry!!! He backed himself to succeed in life – backed himself. The self belief is also a belief. JA received supreme strength and guidance to fight hunger, from within himself.

I want to put in a very simple way how I see the world. Whatever one believes or does not, it is a fact that there is yet something (enabling creation of life (as opposed to creation of babies!)) beyond comprehension of known science. Let us call it ‘Supreme’ for want of a better word.

Giving ‘Supreme’ a character and in deference to gender equality say it is ‘Her’.

Dvaita (dualism) theory says that I and ‘Her’ are different.

Advaita (non-dualism) theory says that I and ‘Her’ are same – in other words it says self is supreme.

I feel it takes more to understand Advaita than Dvaita, hence Dvaita (only for better assimilation).

I define prayer as nothing but a means to concentrate one’s mind on the immediate. Methods for prayer propagated by different religions/societies/groups are varied but ultimately it all aims at concentrating the mind on the immediate.

I am an atheist and a Hindu. (and a Sikh….and a Muslim …and a Christian…and a Jew…… and a Buddhist….and a……………………………)

A sense of where you are

“I can’t control my life” is an oft heard refrain.  Immediately one can conclude that the guy has not played basketball. What has basketball got to do with the daily travails of living, you ask. Here is why....

Life can be likened to a game of Basket ball. The key to good performance in the game is the correct feeling for “a sense of where you are” on the court during play.

The court is marked and rules of play are set. You have nine other players on the court. At any time during play a good player is aware as to his exact position on the court, to the extent even if his back is towards the opposing hoop he can jump, turn and put the ball in the basket, all in one motion. Besides he should also be aware of the physical boundaries of the court, limitations (rules of play), and exact positions of the other nine players.et al.

‘A sense of where you are’ helps you handle any situation to your advantage. So, learn to play basketball and succeed in life. (That is if you are NOT into golf)…

Where are you now? ……It is game on….

This and that: The power of power

Physics defines power as the rate of transfer of energy. Energy transfer is used to do work so power is also the rate at which this work is performed. Hence by the law of nature, more power should result in more work. Political personalities define power as the ability to influence the behavior of others willingly or otherwise. Power is accepted as endemic to people in a society even if it is at times evil or unjust. – Do not confuse authority with power; as a teacher has authority over her pupil in the class; it is not the same as power. In the corporate environment, power is flows either upward or downward depending on flow of decisions - either top down or bottom up. Often, the study of power in a society is referred to as POLITICS. At the top of this paragraph POWER was a good thing; but by the end of the paragraph power has been turned into an ogre.

But the equation of power in everyday life, as can be seen from the above, is very simple. When power is used it has to generate energy and result in some work done. Power used in any other manner is a waste serving no purpose except to let out obnoxious gas at times.

Everything in this world is relative. The first relative to face the wrath of power usually is the wife. I am not being a chauvinist, but the male more often than not feels or wants to assert his imagined superiority. He wants to tell that ‘so many people work under me…’ et al….A newly elected leader anywhere probably wants to exhibit his ‘superiority’ among those around him. This tendency is often an offshoot of an inferiority complex. When one’s own mind does not accept  the fact of conferred leadership or authority to wield power , there arises an inane desire to exhibit power any which way to reassure the self by showing off.

The power is the feeling that power is recognized without really exhibiting power. The power of power is nixed and does not result in anything useful when it is exhibited for show or self esteem.

Missile or missal

We were watching news on TV - my granny (G) and I.

G:   Son, what is this arcing against the night sky like a cricket ball on fire, the IPL match starts only at 8.

I:    Oh granny! It is the launch of Agni V.

G:   Is it something to rival IPL.

I:    What you are watching is an historical event happening today.

G:   you mean, something that should have happened years ago is happening today?

I:   Granny, let me explain. Agni V is a missile that can target places in Africa, Europe and China. It can even carry a nuclear warhead. What you just saw is the first stage rocket detaching from the missile and falling to the ground.

G:    But then why were people on TV jumping as if a six has been hit?

I:     Granny, you watch too much IPL. Those people are scientists who made the missile.

G:     But I thought scientists were serious people who spoke with a straight face. These guys look happy and excited like cricket fans and flash the victory sign like politicians.

I:       Look granny, we can now fire nuclear warheads into China, Africa or Europe.

G:      Oh! Great. Who will pull the trigger? The Army, Navy or Air Force?

I:     That does not matter. But whoever has to pull the trigger has to get permission from the PM, Manmohan Singh.

G:  In that case we might as well have not made the missile!

I:   But granny….

G:  (interrupting) putr, at vajgaya, chal ipl lagaa!

G:  (after a while….indignantly) I told you to switch to IPL……

I:   Granny, this is IPL…and that man there with a goatee is Vijay Mallya of RCB and not a scientist. The other fellow with a similar goatee in the frame is also an official of RCB and again not a scientist.

G:   It seems the trend is reversed these days …tell me son why was AGNI V not launched from Chinnaswamy stadium? Or that …DY Patil stadium in New Mumbai if the missile had to be fired into the sea. Then the BCCI could have marketed the launch. With the proceeds all scientists could have become rich. The whole stadium would have applauded and waved placards with 4000 and 6000…..

I:   You are not funny granny…

G: And son, I believe Kaushik Basu, the chief economic adviser to our PM has fired a missile in Newyork, US today. He said that there will be no economic reforms till a new government is sworn in at Delhi!!!

I:  So?

G: So what, you ask? Ha! So ignorant you are. It has created explosions in the USA and at home, without your missiles... All political parties are agitated. There will be fire works on prime time TV where anchors will be seeking answers and looking at larger pictures. Some bombs may also be dropped after obtaining them from reliable ‘sources’.

I:  But granny all prime time TV is talking of some plane crash in Pakistan.

G:   Son, you see so much all round destruction without a missile…..amen

Recall : A choppy affair

We all dream. I do.  I ‘day dream’ too. I live literally in the backyard of HAL, Bangalore. I have more than once imagined an aircraft crashing into one of the buildings as I watched or a helicopter crash landing on one of the roof tops. I have often wondered that one day one of these test pilots with their eternally under development machines will land on my roof. I tell you very often dreams turn into reality. Sometimes there are near misses. On the day before yesterday one helicopter force landed on the roof of a building about a kilometer from my house.  They landed on the terrace of a building alright,  but alas, it was not mine.  Yet, it was close - a 'near miss' dream. The machine was a Schweizer-300C helicopter.

This incident reminded me of a time in Sikkim when I was airborne in a chopper.  Seldom there happens something which is not dreamt. It did then. It had been snowing along the IB in the Nathu La and the adjoining sectors in East Sikkim for a few days. On a particularly bad day a patrolling party was caught in a blizzard and lost their way.  Rescue teams were pressed into service but we found the patrol had scattered over on either side of the watershed. When the skies cleared in a couple of days after the blizzard we had yet to account for two more soldiers from that patrol. Others had been rescued alive. With clear skies, which in those parts of the Himalayas last for only hours and at times for only minutes, we pressed into service a AOP helicopter for search operations. As BM I was assigned the task to get airborne from Gangtok. At the helipad I found our own PC Bandhari (PCB) in control of the aircraft. We searched the area in all its length and breadth and some. But as the snow was not melting yet, as we were to learn later, we could not spot the missing two.

By then clouds had started gathering below us. In these places the weather changes faster than the time it takes for a couple of successive winks. Though we resisted until the last possible minute before we got trapped, reluctantly we had to abandon the search and head for base. All of a sudden it was a white and grey fluffy carpet below us stretching to the horizon. Though I didn’t see any angels around us, I had to pinch myself to ensure that we were not heading towards the pearly gates ourselves. I looked at PCB, he was cool. A CM is a CM and he was in control – I could recognize that on his face. Ha! then, so was I!!! Cool….We headed in the direction of Gangtok and as we neared the target we found a small little opening through which PCB guided the chopper down just as that too closed.  It snowed for another two days, in the forward areas.

That year it snowed in Gangtok too…I was told after decades.

Proof of the pudding is in eating it

Rahul Gandhi (RG) and Bhilawal Bhutto (BB) were at the same table for lunch hosted by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in honour of the visiting Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari. In Pakistan Bhutto-Zardari is likened to Nehru-Gandhi – not the Mahatma but the other one.

RG. Hi! Bhilawal. Kya haal?

BB:  All well. (Pointing at the chicken) halal?

RG: No, Chicken.

BB: I heard that you had counted the chicken in UP before they were hatched.

RG:  Yes. The counting went awry. Harvard does not teach pure arithmetic you know.

BB: But I thought you went to college at Trinity in Cambridge.

RG:  Oh yes I stayed in that hostel too. You are in Oxford are you?

BB:  Yes. Great place. My mother was there too.

RG: Let us talk about your father; where did he study?

BB: Forget them yaar; when did you last visit Venezuela?

RG: Don’t need to. We meet in US. My mother goes there often these days. I use her as a cover to spend a few days in the US. Also while there we attend to some other family matters too.

BB: But I thought you had family in Italy. (…..while tucking in some dosas)

RG: True but the only thing Indians support from Italy is hostages. Life must be easy for you as President PPP, with no Party work actually….I mean political work…I have to go and stay in villages, in mud huts often without electricity and internet et al.

BB:  That is true I am having a whale of a time in England and Dubai. Catch me in a mud hut in Sind or elsewhere, and I am Osama Bin Laden!!! We don’t have to do such things to win elections in Pakistan.

RG: Where does your father stash all that money he made from 10%?

BB:  Most of it is in cash in underground cellars in our ancestral home. The family runs a small feudal kingdom in Larkhana. Besides it is different in Pakistan as long as you let the Army do what they want we are all safe!!! Then we also let LeT chief Hafeez saeed loose to create my hem occasionally. Doesn’t he irritate you Indians to no end? (The pudding, Rasagollas and kulfi are BB’s favourites, has been served.)

RG: But now there is a bounty on him announced by none other than your ally the USA.

BB: Rahul, they are still our ally. By announcing a bounty for proof against Hafeez the USA is telling India that you gave not given to Pakistan enough proof against Hafeez to prosecute him in his involvement in Mumbai attacks!!!! You get the point?

As everybody started leaving, RG was left wondering on that last sentence from BB.

It is all about timing

Recently there have been many questions raised about timing…timing of ‘Coup’, timing of ‘bribe’, timing of ‘litigation’, timing of ‘letter’ and so on……in this world everything is about timing; what with plenty of time going around….

It is IPL season once more. The timing couldn’t have been better for the King of good times – Vijay Mallya. He knows, we all know everything is about timing. The pilots of Kingfisher airlines withdrew the strike threat on being promised free tickets for all IPL matches involving Royal Challengers. The cabin crew has been promised a spot in the 2013 limited edition Kingfisher calendar. The timing of the IPL is a boon for Vijay M of KF, but not for the Vijay M of Chennai Super Kings. Murali Vijay, the dashing Chennai opener, could not get the timing of his stroke right and was dismissed early in their last night’s match with Mumbai Indians. But SRT got his timing of the injury right so that he does not have to play the remaining fixtures of IPL and can earn a living simply by sitting by the side of Nita Ambani in the stands. There was some advance planning too in the timing of handing over the captaincy to Harbhajan.

It is all about timing at the bourses. He who knows when to get in and get out with stocks and bonds in time makes money. Timing can be qualified. There is good timing and bad timing. Good timing for some may be bad timing for others. Those adversely affected by the timing will question motives behind timing.  Time and timing are not the same. They are like chalk and cheese. For instance one has to time his arrival at the airport such as to catch the flight in time as also not waste time at the airport waiting. Talking of cheese your photo will be good or bad depending on the timing of your smile in relation to the shutter action of the camera when posing. The timing of your arrival in this world, they say, influences your life. All the star positions are drawn out and the astrologer prophesies your future the quality of which is inversely proportional to the time of arrival and directly proportional to the ‘fees’ you can afford to pay him. Then there are astrologers like Bejan Daruwala (Can you beat this for an oxymoron name?) the generalists who time their predictions to suit the market returns.

But timing is not the same as horology either. Horology is statistics while timing is all about action, like birth and death. Like revelation of secrets. Like CBI raids on adversaries and ‘friends’. Like an interview to the media. But then everything in life is not timed. Most times they just happen…as they have to happen at some spot in the eternal cycle of time, the timing of events are speculated – mostly by those like me who it may seem have nothing more compelling to do. But I time my actions such that the timing takes cares of the lack of time. In other words timing is most essential to make optimum use of time.  By smartly timing actions time can be harnessed.

The question then is “Is timing a function of time or of action?”.

In the answer lies the secret of effectiveness.

An ode to the ghazal!!!

This and that – an ode to the ghazal!!!

“Kal chaudhavi ki raat thi Shabbar raha charcha tera……”….  I was listening to the heavenly voice of Jagjit Singh last evening. The ghazal reminded me of an evening drowned in a heady mix of these – nazarse pilaye jaaam, soulful ghazals bringing out the joy of love amidst pain of loss and rogan josh with basmati rice (boiled). A strange combination you may say. But stranger are the ways of an errant life. These moments are not planned. They just occur and then you wish for them to recur. And with each recurrence it is reliving the initial moment. The initial moment was in December 1982, of all places in MHOW. My Yezdi was with me and we were in a restaurant strangely named “The Stork”.

What followed when we left the restaurant was macabre. We were two couple both on YEZDIs. Somewhere on the road along the way we were accosted by two goons who seemed to be in some sort of trouble until one of them pulled out a knife and pronto we were the ones in trouble! All of a sudden all the alcohol oozed out of each pore in the body as sweat in that wintry cold. That was of course cold sweat. But all the rum that had gone into the brain became active. The message from the top was clear – fight or perish. That is what we did with only an inch long ¼ inch deep cut in my right forearm. The scar remains. But more enduring is “Nashili raat mein jab tumne zulphon ko sawara hein….” in the mellifluous voice of Jagjit Singh.

Sounds like fiction? That is exactly how life is, like a political discourse where it is difficult to discern where truth ends and fiction begins. Why, even the recent (should it be ‘ongoing’?) saga of Chief’s DOB also runs in the same vein….we are yet not sure what is the truth and what is not!!! But we know a ghazal is fiction but we look for truth in there always and every time. We derive pleasure from pain leading to the belief that there can’t be pleasure without pain!!!!!  

Then it is “Tum itna jo muskura rahe ho! Kya gam he jisko chupa raheho…..”  ….akin to the ‘laughing Buddha!”

Malaria be damned

Malaria became the scourge of the Allied forces fighting the Japanese army in the jungles of Burma. During the war mosquito nets were issued to troops. As they were in short supply soldiers resorted to various other methods to prevent mosquito bites. In one barrack some soldiers hid under their beds hoping to ‘hide’ from the mosquitoes. At night the mosquitoes found them alright and in the damp tropical the fireflies also came in droves. So one soldier remarked “Hey Tom it is no use hiding under the bed, they are coming with lanterns”!

It is reported from Afghanistan that “Cases of the mosquito-borne disease malaria, which military doctors say are preventable, have struck U.S. troops in Afghanistan at the highest rate there in nine years.” It is thus no surprise that Defence Research organisations of all big countries are still researching to find an effective means to ward of the mosquito in the field. Our own DRDO is also in the fray and have recently launched “…… the 'Maxo Military' and 'Maxo Safe and & Soft Wipes,' DRDO said the cream based product will fool the mosquitoes, will have a pleasant fragrance and will not block your skin pores-- a common problem with such products”. I wonder whether the US forces in Afghanistan are aware of this path breaking invention.

This lowly mosquito is good for the economy of the Nation. It creates jobs – for doctors, ddt sprayers, people in repellent, cosmetic (to hide pimples from mosquito bites), fans, air conditioners, textile (mosquito nets), infra blue lights (?) et al industries. It also helps municipal tax collectors in Mumbai to earn an extra buck and counter inflation. It works his way. All offices in Mumbai grow indoor plants in pots. To prevent the floor from stains a plate is kept under the indoor flower pots to collect spill over and drained water. This is not allowed by municipal laws and the water collected in these plates is classified as stagnant water. Directors of such companies who violate this law are liable to be arrested under a non bailable offence. Get the idea?

Sun down, pants down or down with anything…..the mosquito is an essential part of the growing economy of our country in all senses. Malaria or dengue be damned.

A secret that isn't

I do not understand what is ‘TOP SECRET’ about the leaked letter from the Army Chief to the PM. Years ago, there was a shop in a little cute town that doled out “made in USA” and “made in USA” (Ulhasanagar Sindhi Association) stuff in exchange for post dated cheques from unsuspecting young officers. In this small shop there was the usual Indian cosmetics and stuff on display. All real stuff was stashed away elsewhere to be home delivered free. In a dire emergency you could accompany the ‘boy-guide’ to the back alley and collect the stuff immediately. The shop was full of customers (young officers) through afternoon to late evenings every day of the week. The shop owners’ USP, besides prompt service, was his advanced knowledge of postings of officers in and out of the station. He had this information at least 24 to 48 hours before it trickled down to the actual movers and shakers.


What is so ‘Secret’ about the contents of the leaked letter written by Chief t the PM? Whenever I am introduced by friends to the non uniformed fraternity, most ask me ‘Which department?’. When I reply “Artillery”, immediately they sneer “Oh! Bofors!”. Almost always the conversation ended there. Hence I do not have many new friends in the Civvy Street. Then there was this incident on the Golf course on the eighth green on a Sunday morning when the test pilot of ‘Tejas’ decided to test something in the ‘being designed’ aircraft and took one up in the skies. My middle aged civilian playing partner asked “I have been seeing this plane being tested since my school days, will they be of any use to the IAF now?”. The other day the neighbour’s kid, all of six years old, dropped in while I was watching some news on TV. All of a sudden he queried “Uncle why is our soldier using a rifle when the terrorist is armed with an automatic?”


Hence my astonishment and quip as to what is so “SECRET” about the Chief’s letter to the PM. Is the outrage because the ‘secret’ letter is ‘leaked’ or is it because of the ‘public’ secret is being made public? The truth does not astound but the revelation does – a Hippocratic approach to problem solving.


Heard on the streets “Are our Armed Forces being given arms or alms?”