Sanskrit..ization..WHY NOT?

I studied #Russian language in the university and I was surprised to see its similarity to #Sanskrit. The grammar is almost same. Many words too have roots in #Sanskrit. So is #German. Many languages have evolved from #Sanskrit. Its a root language or as they say the mother language. Anybody knowing #Sanskrit will find it extremely easy to understand other languages. I do not understand the hullabaloo about it being introduced in schools as a compulsory language. It may seem like a bitter medicine to begin with but it will do lot of good to our nation. There is wealth of knowledge in our ancient scriptures, be it sciences or pure arts. If the text are not read by the future scientists, architects, doctors, engineers and artists how will they ever understand what has been gifted to them. The knowledge needs to be comprehended, understood and applied in the society for its betterment. Sanskrit should be made mandatory for medical students, architecture and engineering students. They should be made to study ancient scripture too as a part of the curriculum. The difference between #Sanskrit and English is same as Homemade wholesome food and fast food. If we want true nourishment to our brains we must take lessons in #Sanskrit.

 In any case students can learn foreign languages at various other institutions such as Max Mueller Bhawan and Alliance Francaise.

What's in a surname?

My daughters' passports were to be re-issued.. (RE-ISSUED) and the passport clerk spotted an GROSS error..Surnames do not match with those of the parents. So objection was raised. I went to APO and finally they dug out old application records and cleared the case. Both my girls have their OWN names in full..no surnames or family names. I have to explain this many times to many people that I have given my children a unique identity..they don't have to change their names after marriage etc. My husband is appreciative and supportive of this decision and the school has finally understood that too. Else I was known as Mrs So and so, four different surnames, my maiden, my married one and with my two daughters' second names.

Once a an Air India staffer at Kolkata airport asked me the reasons for no surnames and when I explained it to her, she said, "Hats off ma'am. You are a gutsy women." Guts? It is logical way to give a Girl Child her due place in society. Let her not be known by someone's name and keep changing her identity with changes in her marital status. A name is one's identity and sadly I see many women losing a part of them in these petty changes. Some feel guilty and some feel sad about changing it. Besides everything, it is whole lot of paperwork and unnecessary affidavits that one makes for these changes. As the passport clerk said.. some come for change after marriage, some after divorce and some after remarriage. What a waste of energy, time and resources, Give your girls an UNIQUE NAME and teach them to make a name for themselves. That will bring about a great change in their attitudes and in the society. Whats in a name? Lots, when you have to go through the official documentation. Its legal, social and emotional issue.

Dressing Down??

Chennai Club turned away a Judge because he was wearing dhoti. Dressing down people? This is happening in so called high profile clubs and defence clubs n messes as well. Its disgraceful. Even on an Indian festival you are sent back because the dress code for men is strictly firangi. These same very clubs allow half naked and semi-clad women. How very courteous! We are an Independent nation and we do not have respect for our national attire. What is formal in Indian attire? Lets all know it. And once it is declared it should be worn anywhere. If you can wear a decent dhoti to the parliament you can wear it anywhere, all institutions are below it. Isn't it? Any institution stating otherwise should be shut down and all licenses cancelled.

Bhutan, a small nation, has bigger national pride. Every citizen proudly wears the national dress. Same should be in India.

And why have an imperial code of dressing?. angrez chale gaye hain.. गुलामी तो ख़त्म हो गई पर कुछ गुलाम मानसिकता वाले पीछे छूट गए।  धोभी के कुत्ते न घर के न घाट के।  हिंदुस्तानी लिबास में सम्मान नहीं होता तो पार्लियामेंट में क्यों पहना जाता।  क्या वहां की गरिमा ख़राब नहीं होती?  सबसे पहले तो राष्ट्रीय पोशाक क्या है इसकी जानकारी उपलब्ध होनी चाहिए। ताकि हर हिंदुस्तानी शान से अपनी संस्कृति और अपने लिबास का सम्मान कर सके।
I would love to see Indian men wearing Indian formals in offices and work places as well. Not only they look dapper, they look very respectful. Its most suited to our climate as well.  Its also about power dressing.. #NarendraModi is seen as a power dresser world leader. Do we need more proofs?
Last but not the least Indian men look the sexiest in Indian formals.

‪#‎indiazaroorSudharega‬ ‪#‎merabharatmahaan‬ ‪#‎BJP‬ ‪#‎Narendramodi‬ ‪#‎Thenewcodeofdressing‬ Please share it as much as possible... Make Indian dresses our national pride.

This is the full news ......
Here's the news ...Chennai club turns away a Judge for wearing dhoti...

Pre Marital Sex ???? OMG, OMG !!!!

Preity Zinta is back in town and busy chatting up with tweeple about the hackneyed PMS..pre marital sex. Oolala! That was my the lead story in Deccan Chronicle's Sunday Page co authored with a friend. A well researched article that was published in 1994 in DC sizzled the ground I walked on. The heat was unbearable. The responses ranged from this extreme to that. Many chose to believe our researched facts in the story and others just chose to abuse me and look at me with suspicion and contempt because I was a young unmarried woman writing about it. What people did not understand that I was not endorsing or supporting PMS. 

I had not known the story was already in print for the Sunday edition when I walked into the DC office on a Thursday evening that time and the reactions and the glances of some people were just too much to handle. Uff!!!

As a woman writer I always feel  sensitive to whatever gets written about sex...pre or post marriage. And how the spoken word goes around. From an innocuous SEX column where each one of us have been ticking Male/Female to announce who we are to SEX as a three letter forbidden word the whole perspective changes. 

Read this:

"Navneet Chaurasia ‏ @c_navneet

@realpreityzinta i think it's completely OK as sex is an emotion more out of love than marriage & love does not wait for marriage to happen.

Retweeted by Preity zinta

I would say that there is no point in getting judgmental about it but yes while men communicate to get that sex, women give sex to get that communication right. Somewhere along the line if its only about good sex and not about bonding then it is devoid of emotions. And that can turn a relationship into a nerve breaking stressful one which has a very short shelf life.

There is nothing wrong about sex if it happens to be a building block in a healthy, respectable and a loving relationship without a negative space of guilt!!!

Cool Japan Festival....Mumbai Mein!! (Biggest)

Sometimes I just land at the right place, like today when I was at the Phoenix Mills I did not know that I actually would be attending the opening ceremony of Cool Japan Festival celebrating 60 years of Indo Japan relations. As the tag line read "Feel Japan like never before"...well, the opening set the tone right by bringing in some traditional things for the first time in India.

Ah, not another Sushi darlings, that is available everywhere now. They brought a Robot, made like a woman and something that could  move and shake hands. Robots is again a synonym with Japanese so no big deal if they brought a machine like that. The big deal was that they brought in a Maiko in flesh and blood...the Japanese doll like. Okay, you would know a Maiko if you had read 'Memoirs of Geisha.' Well she is a trainee to become a Geisha, the traditional entertainer and dancer. I had read the book twice over because the detailing is so vivid that you can actually visualize the whole life of a Geisha.  When Maiko later performed traditional Kimono dance it felt so beautiful living a page from the life of a Geisha to be.

How could I not tell you about Wadaiko Drum performance that was before the Maiko's. That was an electrifying performance by young drummers lead by a girl. Oooh.....it was certainly not to be missed as I was told by the back stage guy. Thanks to him I was hooked on to the event till the end.

Did I say end?? What an end! Oh, that was quite a surprise. Have you ever seen a Japanese Sardar? I did, today night. Check out the flicks to believe and to feel like Japan. Chadda came on the stage attired like traditional Japanese and a turban on the head crooning saki O..the sad, sombre song which he explained were similar to our Gazals. Then his own rendition in Hindi but sung like a pure Saki O floored the audience. The MC was half Indian half Japanese and Chadda was 100% Japanese, at heart for sure as he said "WE JAPANESE"....

Well, thats a great way to celebrate a great bond....!!!      Great evening for me and AB....            Sayonara!!

Check all the flicks on fb too , I will upload Chadda's Video link too.

"Khadi Kadhi" >There is PUN in Punjabi!

People often tease me that Punjabis know of only one type of culture, 'Agriculture'. Well, Pun is a part of 'Pun'jabis with large heart and large-tummies (read foodies). So, I am proud of my agriculture. I have no reason to mind that because we Punjabis are the best at it anywhere in the world. We can even make rocks fertile enough to grow something worth while. All because we love eating. We dream food, we grow food, we love food, we talk food and we offer food without asking and what more..we force people to have some more for our love's sake. Well, that is our culture.

Our telephone conversations begin with a hello, hi and 'khana kha liya' (had food?) or Ki chadiya..(what's cooked today?) Oh, our lives revolve around food so much that no matter what part of the world we live in we still give into the temptation of somebody bringing Saunth Gur (Jaggery with dry ginger and dry fuits), Shakkar (brown sugar) and Pinnies (ladoos loaded with Pure Ghee) all the way from our pinds...from Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Patiala, Chandigarh, Amritsar or Batala or any other place in Punjab.

Recently a friend went to her home town and came back with red carrots, peas, shalgam (turnips), sugarcane, shakkar, gur, cooked sarson da saag and other regulars all the way to Mumbai and made me taste quite a few. OMG, just writing about these is teasing my taste buds. Why not? There is no place in the world where you can get sarson da saag like you do in Punjab. Not many people would know that in Punjab we use the 'gandlan', tender stems and not the leaves of sarson (Mustard) to cook the most delicious recipe. That too cooked on a slow flame and tempered with chillies and garlic with dollops of white butter on it. Mummmy.!!!!!!!!!

My mother is the ultimate cook and host. She never forgets to call me to tell what was 'chaadiya' (read cooked) every day. Even her phrases are laced with delicious Punjabi dishes. 'Khaadi Kadhi' is one such phrase she uses for "so be it". Now how it came into being is another blog. But here's a funny tale about her PUNjab travels. Once on arrival at Hyderabad she was caught for excess bagage on the railway station. Yes! Excess baggage on rail ticket. She was taken aback too and so was the young checker when he came to see a sack full of neatly cut sugarcane, fresh radish and some more. "Don't you get it here?", he asked bemused.

"No, this is from our fields, the farm in Punjab and it is special", she answered cutely. She paid half the fine...."Ganne mahnge pae gaye"..sugarcane proved costly. (LOL)

(Hey guys, think I can go on and on but then I promised to deliver quirkies...so next time!)

Half Ticket...in Hindi

Namaskar!!

This Saturday last I had taken my girls out and while coming back we boarded a BEST bus in Colaba. I asked for 'do adha' and 'ek poora' ticket from the conductor. He was completely taken aback as if I spoke some Greek. I repeated twice and seeing the lost expression on his face I said," 2 half and ek full ticket" and said,"Sorry bhaiya, ajkaal Hindi bahut kam log bolte hain."

The fact is that Hindi is becoming like a foreign language in our own country. Parents hate it when their kids speak Hindi with their friends and so it is little surprise that our children loathe it and feel it is forced upon them in their school curriculum.

Banks and other Government offices proudly display..Hindi mein baat kijiye...hamara aaj ka shabad hai...aabhaar. Well, it is limited to that board. Try giving an application or complaint in Hindi....they will make you look like a ganwaar. Our armed forces take the cake when it comes to following everything British. Hindi is scripted in Roman English and that too for Jawaans. Official work happens only in English.

The importance of Hindi is highlighted on Hindi Diwas, once a year. When is that????

Bye...I will let you know..when it comes.