I - Mixed Bag

Today's journal is like an Indian Thali. Indian Thali??? Some of you
will raise your eyebrows ? I can visualise ? 'a typical Indian word,
damn you! how can I understand?' someone swears under his/her breath. I
can feel the warmth of the breath.


First let me tell you, an Indian Thali is a typical Indian
lunch ? rice, dal, roti, sabzi (curry),fish or meat( in gravy, full of
masala, I mean spicy), bhaji, papad, achar(pickle), if you have a sweet
tooth a sweet dish as payesh(Bengali sweet dish) or rosogollas. You
will say, 'you Indians you eat all this stuff for lunch?' I say, 'so
what this is the way we eat here'. Don't worry; I wanted to give you a
picture of the yummy meal of the day.


Let me tell you about Holi. Holi is the festival of colours.
People play with colours, throughout this country. It is a day of 'the
riot of colours'. This year Holi was celebrated on the 7th of March, a
holiday marred because it was a Sunday. At home we did not play with
the colours this year, just a touch of the red colour on the cheeks and
forehead to keep up the tradition. You will understand the reason as
you read about the problem.


On March 9, my husband was admitted to the hospital and the
next day he had to undergo an operation. What a time I had, hospital
and home, had to manage both. Hospitals, operations, it scares me and I
just can't imagine the eight difficult days I had gone through. He is
back home, the doctor has advised rest ? for a month.


The Samsung Cricket Tournament ended on March 24. A day/night
match played between India and Pakistan, India grabbing the opportunity
with their best performance to lift the trophy, a great moment for the
Indian cricket fans. People were glued to their T.V. sets, waiting for
Saurav and his boys to make India proud in this one day series. Bad
luck for Saurav, hurt himself while trying to stop a ball and fell full
length, a back injury. Hope he is fit for the Test Series. After a gap
of fourteen years India is playing a cricket series against Pakistan ?
in Pakistan.


Today's newspapers carried the heading 'Tagore Nobel medal
stolen'. Rabindra Nath Tagore won the Nobel Prize for Literature in
1913. He was the first Indian who won this prize for his poetry
collection 'Gitanjali'. Tagore's Nobel medal and Citation, his
favourite gold pocket watch, his wife's gold bangle and antique
Baluchari sari, his father's gold ring, several silver utensils used by
the family and ivory articles of personal use, has been stolen from the
museum. R.N. Tagore was the founder of Shantiniketan, the Viswa Bharati
University. Tagore was also a painter, a musician famous for his
Rabindra Sangeet ? his lyrics and music. A national T.V. channel said
that Stockholm will give a bronze replica of the Nobel Medal. It is so
difficult to know the modus-operandi of the person or persons involved
in this heinous crime ? is it the act of a petty criminal or the
brain-child of a national or international antique collector is yet to
be ascertained.


The political scenario of India is getting hotter day by day
with the General Elections round the corner. Political parties
releasing their manifestos and giving promises, true or false, only to
be seen after they come to power. False promises, nurturing hope in the
people. In my State the Assembly Elections will be held simultaneously.
Like a flowing river, money is being washed-out by the different
parties and individuals. In this largest Democracy, it is a must that
we elect our leaders every five years to give us good governance. This
is a part of the political game, the big fight to come soon. This
election will have no ballot papers but the electronic voting machine
will do the work throughout the country. A boon or a bane, only God
knows.


Month of March, every tax paying Indian has to make sure
he/she has paid tax before March 31. If the whole process is not worked
out properly and the tax not deducted in monthly installments, one can
land up with a fund crunch in this month with no money to take home.



March 26 is the independence day of Bangladesh. This year
they are celebrating their 33rd Independence Day. Before 1947,
Bangladesh was known as East Bengal, an integral part of India. My
parents were born and brought up in East Bengal. Because of the
partition of 1947, this Sonar Bangla became a part of Pakistan, known
as East Pakistan, now independent Bangladesh. Although I am a child of
post independence era I feel I have a lineage with Bangladesh because
of my parents.


The worst part is, we, the people of India are gearing up to
face the hot summer that is looking at this part of the world with its
hungry eyes, to pounce on us and make our lives miserable. Warning to
those foreign tourists from cold countries, 'don't visit India during
summer. All that you will get is the sweltering heat, dust, sweat, and
you will not enjoy the beauty of India. You will return home with a
heavy heart taking back dreadful thoughts. Winter is the best time in
India and you can enjoy every moment here. Best time to visit India is
from October to March. Don't forget to taste the Indian Thali,
haan'.