SAST Wingees

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Do bridges matter anymore?

(On the occasion of Gandhi’s birth anniversary, I dedicate this post to the memory of late Rajnarayan Chandavarkar among the finest sons and historians of India. Raj was based at Cambridge, England.)

“We can help make the world safe for diversity. For in the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children’s future. And we are all mortal” – John F. Kennedy

I have a fetish for bridges! I have been puzzled by it myself: whether its those small structures across our very own Cooum , the Thiru.Vi. Ka bridge across Adyar or the Napier Bridge near the Madras University or the Howrah Bridge in Kolkata or the Laxman Jhula in Rishikesh or the Blackfriars bridge across the Thames or the San Franscisco Golden Gate. Recall the movie the ‘Bridge over the River Kwai’ or the TV ad zooming in on the magnificient Tower Bridge of London?! Bridges have me all excited and thrilled. For a long-time I thought this was a fascination promoted by TV and Cinema.

Until I came across this book by Ivo Andric titled the “Bridge over the Drina” It is a fantastic book and clearly ranks as one of the greatest pieces of world literature. Over a period of 300 years, the destiny of the town and the individuals and communities living near the river Drina get inextricably interwoven with the history of the bridge. The bridge becomes a metaphor for the life around it. Andric’s masterpiece documents the unities and challenges between ethnicities and faiths, Bosnians, Serbs, Jews, Muslim and Christians and their relationship with the Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman Empires. The bridge is a silent witness to the history of Europe over centuries.

Cut to the chase. I turn to the contemporary developments across the world including our country. It seems as if some storms are causing bridges to break down and the chasms widening. There seems to be a growing passion for hate! Horror of horrors. Why would anyone want to have a passion for hate? Nicholas Fraser in his book ‘The Voice of Modern Hatred’ sets out the contours of this problem in Europe. This is truly a global problem. Hate is like a ‘malignant tumour’. Young innocent minds have been poisoned to dislike entire cultures through the sustenance of stereotypes. This is because increasingly one can notice a gross distortion in the way entire cultures, communities and identities are being represented especially in the electronic media mainly because of the violence of terrorists. There are other kinds of institutions and organizations too that indulge in violence but that is a separate subject.

I find myself very concerned with the manner in which society and media creates ideas and images of groups of people and their impact. These images to cite a few often take the form of ‘Muslims’ versus ‘Hindus’, ‘Maharashtrians’ versus ‘north Indians’, ‘Hindus’ versus ‘Christian’, ‘Dalits’ versus ‘upper-castes’, ‘Sunni’ versus ‘Shiah’ , ‘Sinhala’ versus ‘Tamil’ and ‘Christianity’ versus ‘Islam.’ The stereotypes and caricatures of ‘us’ and ‘them’ seem to be on the increase. The blame game as to who is responsible for what mess goes on endlessly.

In this madness, where are innocent, peace-loving people to go? Whom can they turn to for solace? Most sober people have adopted the posture of “Forgive them, O’Lord for they know not what they do!” The less said about the political class the better. Of course, there are always exceptions among them. What about the intellectuals? We are reminded of the ‘Prophet of Gloom’ in the form of Samuel P. Huntington who is (in)famous for his theory of the ‘clash of civilizations.’  His theory of clashes found its practitioners in the person of those hawks who promoted the invasion of Iraq and the ‘war-on-terror’ with all its attendant disastrous consequences. Such hawks made the world a more dangerous place. As for me, I draw solace from my favourite subject ‘history’ which would indeed judge these hawks and their global disciples very unkindly.

History is a great teacher. The problem with us is that we are poor students of this subject. The common refrain is that our teachers made this subject boring for us. Alas, if life were to accept such excuses, then everything would be a cakewalk. We would have often heard that those who forget history are condemned to repeat it. I would like to add repeat it at a huge cost to themselves and everybody. I wonder why anybody in their right mind would want to incur these costs. My friends and colleagues often ask me ‘what is the solution to all this? I wonder when an individual falls mentally ill, we escort him/her to a shrink. When a whole society falls sick, what do we do? Which physician knows how to treat ‘collective schizophrenia’? As I write this, there has been terrorist violence in Delhi and attacks on Christians in Orissa and Karnataka.

We are now faced with an epidemic of hate of sorts. Those who believe in religion say that these are signs that the world is coming to an end. Yet others attribute the problem to primordial sentiments and say that it has always been that way and will continue to remain that way. I refuse to buy any of these arguments. I firmly believe that human beings are capable of acting in their self and collective interest in a positive and enlightened manner.

There is still hope for and in reason. I believe that rationality can still play a role in the face of the madness of hate. I believe that millions of people are puppets on a string, or pawns in a chessboard or gullible creatures following the pied piper. It is the ability of ‘vested interests’ (the list is long depending on the context)  to elicit consent from the people to their being manipulated. There is adequate proof in historical studies that masses get easily and unknowingly misled through a set of motives different from what is in their interest. And that is indeed what is happening in this world. If there was no perception of threat to each other’s community, several politicians would be called upon to deliver on issues of bread and butter which are far more difficult than pitting one group against the other. This is true of the East and West, North and South, whether its of India or the rest of the Globe. Distraction by peddling hate is a favourite form of politics for those who are desperate for power. We have all seen in contemporary politics, the love for power. We need to show ourselves the power of love!

Now that the picture is clear, what can individuals do? To start with, we can borrow Nancy Reagan’s famous slogan “Just Say No” to hate. To prejudice. To disunity.

We can then build bridges. Bridges of Love. We can all do it small ways.  Begin with our neighbours and colleagues – do we in the first place know who they are? Do they have families and children like ours? Take an active interest in their well-being. Move beyond that to the residential area or the street or the locality in which we live. Can we build bonds of trust and oneness? As Kennedy rightly argues are we not all faced with the same challenges? We wake up, go to work, fend for our families, return take care of our near and dear ones. We all have children about whose welfare we are worried about. We all have elders who in the sunset of their lives need our company as much as we need their blessings and counsel. There are plenty of interstices and intersections where these bridges can be built. We just have to think creatively about it. Festivals, Ceremonies, Family occasions, Music, Movies and so much more are unexplored arenas of building a sense of togetherness among individuals and communities. Can the effort of an individual in this matter? Certainly. Drops make the ocean. Its better to light a candle than to curse the darkness!

The challenge before us is to build bridges -across time and space; across castes, communities, religions, races, languages and not to miss gender. We need these bridges badly. There will always be naysayers. The villains. The troublemakers. Is it not noteworthy that during war, bridges are the first structures to be destroyed to prevent the movement of people and supplies? To those who believe in a God, (s)he made us such: different from each other. Varied and Diverse. Tomes have also been written on the ‘unity of existence’ that brings together all these differences. There is no religion that by itself preaches hate - that religions can be used to create tensions is a different matter. I believe that the ties that bind people with one another are sacred. Let no one undo those bonds of togetherness.

It is the bridges that connect us all. I for one am a die-hard romantic. Its high time that all peace-loving people resisted the stereotypes promoted by the media and thought beyond them. I raise a toast to several friends, colleagues and the ‘common man’ who have rejected these caricatures. I was brought up on the staple of ‘Enlightenment’ with the firm belief of a ‘common humanity.’ I believe friendship and love will prevail. I think we need to take ‘bridge-building’ more seriously than ever before. We have to work at it.

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Deadly Justice

Very few social issues galvanize people irrespective of their geographies. Abortions. Gay Rights. Prostitution. Drugs. The Death Penalty. If people could be roughly grouped into “Conservatives”,  “Liberals” and “Moderates”, their views on the 1st 4 issues would neatly fall into “No Way, No How!”, “Why not?” and “That Depends”. But, Capital Punishment is different. Its a cause that cleaves the Overtly Pious with the Bohemian. This leaves many conservatives sputtering and purple-faced.

I’ll acknowledge the elephant in the room & state my position. I support the Death Penalty, as long as certain conditions are met. This stance of mine confounds many academics who count me among their ranks. While I have a preponderance of liberal views, I’m too brutal & pragmatic to be a quintessential bleeding-heart.

Let’s weigh the relative merits and demerits of the arguments on both sides.

Most Civil Liberty activists ask me, “What if we kill an innocent person? Can you live with that?”. Yes, many an innocent person awaits execution on Death Row. Advances in Forensic Science – such as DNA Finger-printing - have exonerated many inmates from prisons.

I’m not flippant about life, that too, human life. Can we improve the technology used to convict defendants so that the error rate comes down drastically? Nothing works 100% of the time. Let’s pick a % of error in Death Penalty convictions we can live with: 0.01%? 0.001%? If you think that’s too high, let me offer a counter-example: Mortality rates for an Appendectomy. It is 0.2% - 0.8%. Most of us won’t bat an eyelid to get such a seemingly simple surgery done. Now, there’s nothing political about an abscessed appendix, so you don’t see people waving placards before the Operation Theater!

“What if a person killed in the heat of the moment?” I’m asked. “Do you want to fry their brains in an electric chair?”. I’m surprised at how common this misconception is. The law in most civilized countries differentiates between Murder and Manslaughter.

“First Degree Murder” is a cold-blooded murder, where the killing is premeditated, planned willfully and executed by the accused. In a “Second Degree Murder”, the accused nurses a grouse and kills the victim vindictively, but there is no premeditation – the murder was not planned. “Voluntary Manslaughter” is a classic “Heat of Passion” killing, where the accused did not plan the murder – but committed the crime in an emotionally distraught state. In an “Involuntary Manslaughter”, the accused shows criminal negligence of human life – for example, s/he may kill someone by recklessly driving a car.

Out of all these categories, only Murder-1 (First Degree Murder) is punishable by the Death Penalty. Where motive, intent to kill, opportunity and premeditation can be clearly determined.

Why does this topic garner so much press? Why does this raise the hackles of the left & right wings? For that, we must look at the origins & evolution of Criminal Justice.

The earliest laws followed the principle of lex talionis – or, Proportional Punishment. Roughly stated, “Eye for an Eye, Tooth for a Tooth”. The Codex of Hammurabi, a Babylonian king, is the earliest written law that dates back to 1760 BC. In that Stele, Hammurabi laid down a precursor of today’s Constitution along with his Punishment system based on lex talionis. Since the Old Testament draws heavily from Babylon, the Jewish Torah mentions “An Eye for an Eye” - equitable punishment – in the book “Exodus”. That this conflicts with God’s Commandment to Moses - “Thou Shall Not Kill” - is a cause of much debate among Rabbis.

Christianity and Islam, the later Abrahamic religions, urge its followers to forgive. Islamic Sharia however, also permits “Mirror Punishment” - AKA, Similar Punishment. The punishment may be milder or harsher than the original offense. For example, someone that caused bodily harm to others may be whipped, stoned or roughed up in a similar manner. Or, the organ that caused the offense maybe punished – Cutting off a thief’s hand, for instance.

It is interesting to note that much of the West’s adverse reaction to Capital Punishment can be traced to the New Testament. It all boils down to a fundamental tenet of Christianity – Confess your sins and the Lord forgives. Jesus Christ being the role model for devout Christians, the pious are urged to do what JC would do – Turn the Other Cheek.

Proportional and Mirror Punishments and their derivatives can be classified into “Retributive Justice”. They are Criminal Justice systems based on vengeance. As such, they’ve been criticized as being too rudimentary. A widely implemented alternative is “Utilitarian Justice”. Modern Justice systems are largely derivatives of Utilitarianism.

The essence of Utilitarianism can be condensed thus: Human beings attempt to eliminate suffering and maximize pleasure. It has a disturbing corollary though: It strives to increase the greater good of the society, sometimes at the expense of the individual. A detailed analysis of the ramifications of the Utilitarian ethic is tangential to the scope of the current post, so I’ll briefly touch upon the cankers as needed.

Utilitarians argue that punishment is negative and that we accomplish nothing by punitive measures. Instead, punishments are used primarily to deter potential offenders from committing the crime. An example could be the much-criticized Draconian laws for drug (Marijuana) possession. Individuals may be penalized steeply & harshly, to make an example of them. If this deters future offenders, the society at large has been protected – though by following an “Ends Justify Means” approach.

Where deterrents fail, the offender is incarcerated. The offender is incapacitated temporarily or permanently from doing harm. If a doctor is caught for malpractice, his/her license could be revoked. Or the convicts are rehabilitated - medical help is provided for the mentally unstable or the offenders are given vocational training, so they can earn a livelihood without resorting to crime. Execution is often the last trick in their play-book, as a means of incapacitation.

Coming back to the point, I think Utilitarianism and Abrahamic religions have overtaken Retributive Justice to the point where the merits of the Death Penalty – which has its origins in revenge – are questioned. Utilitarians focus on reducing suffering even when a perpetrator is punished. And the pious want to forgive sins.

“How can we conclude that these people are not fit to live?” they ask. “Killing them is too much!”. I believe certain crimes are unacceptable. We cannot pardon everyone. The International War Crimes Tribunal prosecutes tyrants and dictators for genocides as crimes against humanity. Should we forgive them of the heinous crimes they committed? If you think they should be executed, where do we draw the line?

Who should be killed? What are the harsh realities of implementing capital punishment? And what is my single most important reason for retaining capital punishment? Let’s see that next week.

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Insights from a Yoghurt Nazi

Prolog

As Microsoft quickly found out to its chagrin, associating with Seinfeld in this day and age, may not be that fashionable. But hey, i am no Microsoft and I love Seinfeld. The inspiration for the post’s title comes from a super Seinfeld episode called the Soup Nazi.  In an earlier post, we covered how to build passion.  While passion goes a long way, we need some mechanism to build expertise in a certain area.

The Yoghurt Nazi

As I thought about this, I was struck by Priya Raju’s deeply formed opinion about Yoghurt (Curd). She looks at the texture, color, the level of sourness etc and only if it met her standards, she would consume it. I jocularly refer to her as the Yoghurt Nazi after the Soup Nazi in Seinfeld who has a zillion rules.  As for me, i have no taste in Yoghurt and would be okay with anything as long as it is yoghurt. However, i am very opinionated about which vegetable should be added to what kind of dish. I am the Food Nazi. My grandfather was a gourmet and i would like to think i have inherited some of his genes. Whereas Priya Raju didn’t have such opinions about food except that it taste good. Interestingly, she would try a lot of different cuisines effortlessly and spot trends, i found myself, slightly more reluctant to try newer cuisines.

Sound of Music

Then i started to look at tastes in music and i found another interesting thing. While i had a strong opinion about what is good music, i generally tended to experiment and discover newer genres of music, I found Priya Raju had a greater ability to say which is great music and she didn’t experiment as much as I do with music.  I also observed similar patterns in taste for movies.

The Taste Spectrum

Then I had several discussions with Priya Raju and we realized that to have a good taste in something you need to have a certain degree of expertise and a certain degree of enthusiasm for it.  We then proceeded to categorize people and plotted the diagram above that i call the Taste Spectrum.  On the X axis expertise going from -5 to +5 and Y axis is enthusiasm going from -5 to +5.

1. Nazis - these are people who have high expertise and slightly less enthusiasm than the trendspotters (see below). Expert critics, connoisseurs, gourmets would belong here.
2. Trendspotters - these have slightly less expertise compared to Nazis but have a higher degree of enthusiasm compared to them so they try more new stuff and may be the first ones to spot new trends.
3. Normal - these have medium level of expertise and medium level of enthusiasm.  If you take music as an example, many people would be in this category - everyone likes music for the most part.
4. Indifferent - these have zero expertise and zero enthusiasm. They simply don’t care about the stuff.
5. Rigid - these have some medium level of expertise but their enthusiasm is medium negative.  They will hold onto what they have tried and liked and won’t try new things that easily.
6. Bad Taste - these have a great level of enthusiasm but medium negative expertise. They may enthusiastically choose the wrong things.
7. Finicky - these have both medium negative expertise and medium negative enthusiasm. They don’t have expertise to discern and won’t try new things as well.
8. Haters - they have poor expertise and poor enthusiasm. they simply hate the stuff.

The Taste Zones

Once we plotted the spectrum, we could see 3 broad zones emerging

1. the love zone - Normal, Trendspotters and Nazi. They really like the stuff and this group as a collective has the greatest level of enthusiasm and expertise - these are the talented boys/gals.
2. the hate zone - finicky, haters. They have crossed over to the other side. the talent-free club.
3. The middle zone - indifferent, rigid, bad taste. They have potential to move to either side depending on how they develop their open-mindedness or their abilities.

Taste Translates

Overall, what we find is that, if we can develop our taste in one area, we can quite easily translate that into areas where our professional success may depend upon.  All of us belong in the love zone in atleast one thing - music, movies, yoghurt , food, travel. If we can develop that area and become a Nazi in that, we can then transfer that ability to other areas that matter in our professional lives.

Epilog

What do you all think? What are you a Nazi in?

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Pray, where is the cream of India?

After the Beijing Olympics, the media has gone to town with small-town India. Suddenly, we seem to have discovered talent there! The population and infrastructure pressure on major metros has made industry discover tier-2 and tier-3 cities. This is still the story of urban India being played out. What Olympics or what industry would it take to ‘discover’ the villages? Gandhi said India lives in its villages. Nehru spoke of the Discovery of India. We are yet to discover it and this post is an attempt to be part of that journey.

Several years ago I was talking to the Vice-Principal of a ‘Public’ school located in north India. He announced with aplomb his deliverable as a teacher and educational administrator. He said, “You know we prepare the cream of India at my school!” I was perturbed that a senior teacher could display such snobbishness and stupidity! Snobbishness because he was clearly bragging about the wealthy character of the students at his school. Stupid because he had no clue about the history and character of the wider educational experience in India. So much for being a Vice-Principal.

There seems to be a widely-prevalent fallacy prevailing in middle-class circles that the ‘cream of India’ is being educated at ‘international’ and ‘public’ schools, as these terms are understood in our country. One would like to think that irrespective of their class character and geographical location, schools of all hues across the country are preparing the future generation of leaders and citizens of our nation. The parents mean well for their children but the assumptions on which their decisions are made are well off the mark. The first assumption is that the brand names of these schools would enable their children to climb up the career ladder in the future. A big brand with low marks does not get their wards anywhere; The second assumption is that because these are affluent schools, the quality of education offered is superior and their children would study better.

Year after Year when the 10th and 12th standard results are announced, less known and almost unknown schools seem to be the ones with the toppers. On the contrary, the environments of the so-called public/international schools promote degenerate habits and values that are bad for the children themselves. If the assumptions of parents are misplaced, what could be the driving forces that propel the parents to search for and uphold these institutions even if it’s at great cost to themselves and loss of achievement for their wards. The motivation is a kind of conspicous consumption in the educational market and a myopic vision of what constitutes success for the younger generation. What schools did some of the great achievers in India go to - let’s look at every field be it science or business or governance. The recent examples of APJ Abdul Kalam, Manmohan Singh(his early schooling) and the late Dhirubhai Ambani seem to belie the assumption that only public or international schools produce successful or eminent persons/leaders. Numerous would be the examples like these who have studied in ordinary institutions and by sheer grit and determination made their way to the top. Our parents, elders and so many of our nation-builders have been to very unassuming, ordinary and in fact rural institutions.

India is already a role-model to the world through its democracy, pluralism and its social welfare principles for the less fortunate. In our rhetoric to becoming a ’superpower’ (whatever that is) we seem to want to ape the behaviour and consumption patterns of societies whose history is different from that of ours. The scandals that have hit the headlines in the recent past whether it is to do with boys circulating MMS images of their girlfriends or underage alcohol-induced hit-and-run cases all involve children belonging to the ‘creamy’ schools. There seems to be evidence that we might be producing in the years to come generation of spoilt brats who are more into consumerism at an early age clueless of either their parents labour in affording their education. I watch with consternation the behaviour of the Gen-Y (at least in the metros) and their day-to-day concerns and priorities. What makes for a successful school or an achieving student? It is not the school buildings nor the glitter of the uniforms nor the number of cars parked outside it. It is the care and concern shown by teachers; it is the well-rounded scheme of education with a good component of extra-curricular activities; it is the interest and time given by the parents to complement the efforts of the school in ensuring the achievement of their children. It is the tenacity and fortitude of the student to persist in their studies regardless of the meagre or absent resources. It is the availability of scholarships that would enable less well-off families to afford education.

Perhaps the urban mall-dependent Gen-Y is not to blame given the social environment all around with all the mdeia / resources at their disposal, the gadgets available and the negligence of their parents. It was heartening to see the positive response from several sections of Indian society to the movie ‘Taare Zameen Par’ in terms of the requisite change required in parents/teachers attitudes to children.

The key word here is ‘teachers’ - till date I recall with great reverence all those who taught me for the values and the perspectives they instilled in us. We had a great scholar President in Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan (Teachers Day on September 5 recently passed us by - celebrated in Radhakrishnan’s honour) but today’s pop/film star celebrities are the ones who inspire Gen-Y. Alas it is ‘Pokkiri’ in, Gandhi out! All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy indeed. So, what forms of recreation and extra-curricular development can we hope for our children? Imagination plays a great role in what the child can dream for him/herself, the family, community and nation. But in what direction this passion/imagination/talent? This imagination is fired not by inane films but by how the child’s mind is cultivated and moulded into being a responsible and empathetic global citizen. The role therefore that a teacher plays in cultivating a child’s mind cannot be understated.

One can’t stop individuals or groups from thinking that they constitute the cream. They are free to think that way. However, it would be a sad future if one were to think that the cream would emerge out of exclusive gated communities like public or international schools. In my view, every citizen who puts her/his shoulder to the wheel and contributes her/his might to the building of a strong nation represents the cream. Such citizens are the real elite or leaders. Those who think for themselves and transcend various prejudices are the cream irrespective of the social strata that they come from. They don’t have to have positions or designations to do their job well whether at work or at home as parents. The only difference with this cream of India is it performs its calling silently without making a noise about its role and contribution. They are the unsung heroes and heroines. If only we could provide equality of opportunity to our citizens with its attendant resources, it might well be that the rhetoric of India becoming a country to reckon with may no longer remain just rhetoric. It could well become a reality!

The cream therefore ladies and gentlemen is everywhere. Its just that the ‘Discovery of India’ by our intellegentsia is as yet very incomplete. I rest my case.

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The Accidental Historian

I don’t renege on promises. Unless the bribe is considerable. And it involves Italian food & a glass of Port. Then, I don’t give a hoot about promises. Every ideal is negotiable & now you know the economics of my avouchments.

This here is a promise I’m keeping though. Last week, I said I’ll write a follow-up post on my unusual hobbies. To my utter consternation, I couldn’t zero in on a particular hobby. Should I write about the time I collected chocolate wrappers? I made it into a sort of neighborhood drive. Even the adults were hooked. Remember the Broken Glass collection? And how we broke perfectly good bangles to add to the collection? Because only shards were legit. How about the time when Raman’s mother chased us with a stick, shrieking “Hooligans!” when she spied us with her glass vase? Or, what was left of it.

Never mind. I’ve had many resplendent habits. But, I decided to write about a hobby that hounds me to this day. I collect old books. The older, the better. And not just any old book. I collect books that offer me more than their presumed content. On my lap is “The Ghost of Blackwood Hall”, a Nancy Drew mystery. On its fly-leaf are the words “To Caroline from Dad - August 9, ‘52″. To Caroline, from Dad. Its a poignant & touching phrase. I’m not a fan of Nancy Drew, but I simply couldn’t leave the book forlorn on the Thrift Store shelf.  I’m faintly troubled by the voyeuristic nature of my hobby. But all it takes is another old book to stifle the clamor of my conscience.

I’ve always been addicted to books. I was a sickly child. Typhoid, Measles, Bronchitis - You name it, I got it. I was bed-ridden a lot & I couldn’t play with other kids. Though I have to admit I didn’t miss it at all - I’m bone-lazy, nerdy & aloof. During my convalescence, my companions were books, our German Shepherd Brownie & our Grandpa’s adorable, magnificent no-name ginger cat. I would read my favorite passages to Brownie & Ginger, or show them pictures that caught my fancy. Ginger looked appropriately sagacious & uttered scholarly meows, but I regret to say that I couldn’t interest the dog in books at all. He just stupidly slobbered over the pages & tried to shred them.

I don’t know about other languages, but Tamil has a lot of Weekly Magazines. These magazines have an age-old habit of publishing novels - 1 chapter every week. Every chapter was illustrated by a famous artist - and it depicted a major event in that chapter. “Illustrated Weekly” used to do this too. Since Indians are by nature thrifty, they would cut the pages carefully & bind all the chapters into a book. Et Voila, they had a card-board bound, calico backed novel - a piece of gift-wrapping paper served as the “Cover Art”. I’m particularly attracted to this kind of books. Every book has an elusive fragrance, a character. You can capture the evanescence only if you read it with the original illustrations.

Plus, these books are bona-fide historical records. For along with the story could be that week’s Editorial, Tidbits, World News or Sports Trivia. They give the reader an authentic whiff of that period - Primarily because people left these tracks inadvertently in the magazines, without any intent of creating epochal relics. One can flimflam official records because of the desire to deify oneself. The bound books - let me call them that, for lack of a better name - are a fund of period information. News items on the State of the Union - always leave me wondering whether I should chuckle or grimace. Here is an example from “Kalki”, Circa 1988.

A startling discovery was made in the Indian state of Meghalaya. During a routine Status Review of the Education Department, it was discovered that most of their primary school teachers were illiterate. They affixed their thumb impressions to receive their pay checks, since none of them had mastered the art of signing their names.

Often, magazines dredge up stories from the annals of history. Here is a sample from “Ananda Vikatan”, Circa 1966.

When Edward VII of England visited France, a ball was given in his honor. After dining magnificently, the men started a heated debate - “Who is the most beautiful woman in the world?” Each one had an opinion, naturally. “I’m sure she’ll be Egyptian” said one. “No, Indian” said another. “You fools. Greek women are the prettiest” said a third. His Royal Highness put an end to the debate thus - “Its my wife!” he declared. Nobody had the nerve to challenge him.

For the Sports Trivia buff in all of us, here’s a sampler from Kalki, Circa 1995.

A funny thing happened in a Chess Tournament in 1927. Aron Nimzovich was playing Milan Widmar in New York. Mid-game, Widmar tried to light a cigarette. Nimzovich threw a hissy fit & the organizers begged Widmar not to smoke. Widmar complied immediately. After a few minutes of maintaining peace, Nimzovich kicked up a storm again. The organizers were non-plussed - “My dear Sir, Mr Widmar isn’t smoking!”. “I know” retorted Nimzovich earnestly. “But, he looks like he wants to smoke!”.

History to me is beyond what the kings did. It doesn’t stop & end with the castles, the aristocrats & their numerous battles. Prominent people bore me - We have a superfluous glut of information about them as it is. I want to know about the commoners. I’m simply devoured by curiosity about their habits. And I want to feel their culture in my bones. What were their cherished beliefs? What were their quirks? What were their pre-occupations & passions? I think if I know what they ate, the clothes they wore, the jokes that made them laugh & the stories that enthralled them - I’ll “get” the sub-text. That is, their culture.

Old advertisements really give me a kick. I particularly like the Ads from the 1940s & 1950s. Margarine (Vanaspathi) was touted as a “Healthy Alternative to Oil”. People were urged to use “Sunlight Soap” - unless you used soap, your clothes might get torn. And my personal favorite - An Ad for the very Indian “Panama” cigarettes. From “Ananda Vikatan”, Circa 1966. The company praises stores that stock their cigarettes for their patriotism

I’m intrigued by what people of a by-gone era coveted. What was the i-phone of that period? And more interestingly - How much did it cost? Here’s an Ad from “Kalki”, Circa 1967. For Rs 323, you could buy a 5-Valve, 3 Band Radio. If you wanted 6 Valves, it would set you back by Rs 415. For a pirate’s ransom of Rs 668, you could get 6 Valves, 5 Bands & a Ferrite (whatever it means) aerial. And wonder of wonders - 2 speakers.

“So, how did you get interested in old books?” my husband asked. “Did some First Edition catch your fancy?”. I threw up in disgust. I’m not a “First Edition” snob. I collect books for the pleasure of reading them. The brag value of owning a book is for the snooty at heart - it is lost on me. “Then, what started this - your - love affair with old books?” he persisted.

My uncle once loaned me an old, dog-eared copy of World Proverbs. The book had ink stains, it looked naked without its covers & a colony of bookworms was feasting on the pages. But, it had this profound Arabic apothegm that I can’t get out of my skull:

He who knows not, but knows not that he knows not - He is a fool; shun him.
He who knows not and knows that he knows not - He is simple; teach him.
He who knows, but knows not that he knows - He is asleep; wake him.
He who knows and knows that he knows - He is wise; follow him.

He looked unconvinced. “You know, that incident sounds too good to be true”. “Wee-llll, now - I was trying to satisfy you” I said. “We have a dire need for everything to have a discrete beginning. Things have to start somewhere & end unambiguously in an apocalyptic BANG!”. “Maybe you just love nostalgia” he suggested. I shrugged. “Or maybe I don’t have a damn clue. You have to admit that quoting the proverb was a neat touch”.