White Vermillion

I always thought that sweetmeats were distributed on special occasions just because of the one function they fulfilled - they provided for more presentable forms of sugar. Thus it made no difference if one gave away motichur laddoos or dharwadi pedas or gulab jamuns - eventually they all meant to change one's blood sugar levels.

I was proven thoroughly wrong when baby Meena was born in the neighbourhood.

Mother and I decided to visit Meena's mother, Mrs. Nadkarni in ward no. 7 of the local hospital. After marvelling at how beautiful Meena had turned out to be, I expectantly waited for the box of sweets to be unsealed. I believed I'd get to eat rich pedas or something along the line of those, since the Nadkarnis were very rich. When Mrs. Nadkarni peeled open the cover of the paper box, I was crestfallen.

I had not expected glittering orange jalebis.

'Jalebis when a girl is born,' Mrs. Nadkarni proudly explained, trying to brush away my expression. 'It's symbolic.'

'And when a boy's born?'

'Pedas. It's symbolic.'

'It's sugar anyway,' mother explained, afraid I'd offend Mrs. Nadkarni. 'Jalebis taste better than pedas. Take one.' It was mother's command. I ate one coil of the sugary jalebi. It tasted good.

The equation between gender and sweetmeats is indeed a strange one. At least the next time a baby is born in the neighbourhood, I know what sweets to expect.

Spicy Hot

Why is Garam Masala called Garam Masala?

Literally translated, it means hot spice. I looked suspiciously at the packet of Garam Masala that sat neatly on the rack of our usual grocery store. It didn't have sides steaming out of heat. Nor did its description at the back talk about it being spicier than chillies. I dropped a packet into the trolley, hoping that Naani wouldn't notice.
Unfortunately she did and took grave offence.
'How dare you?' She hissed, her face looking as though she had eaten several packets of the spice herself. She scrunched the glossily packaged spice in her wrinkled hand and flung it back on a steel rack. 'No one buys Garam Masala from the store as long as Naani lives.' She stated.
Apparently she wasn't yet settled. That afternoon, Naani made me assist her in making Garam Masala at home.
The terrace floor was covered inch to inch with woven mats. Like a part of a great mosaic, there were cumin seeds, black pepper, cloves, Kashmiri and ghati chillies, poppy seeds, turmeric, coriander seeds, nutmeg, mustard seeds and black cardamom spread out in artistic patches.
'Think of the scorching sun as a great fire that roasts the spices to just the right amount.' Naani said, dusting her fingers in an attempt to weaken the odours that resulted from dealing with so many condiments.
When the 'roasting' was done, Naani and I collected all the sunbathed condiments into the container of an electric grinder. 'Technology makes tradition easier,' Naani chuckled, switching on the grinder.
After several rounds of whizzing blasts, the spicy powder was prepared.
When I touched the brown spice, it was still warm enough to justify its name.

That evening there was vegetable with chapattis for dinner. When I tasted the cooked potato and carrots, I recognised the flavour of Naani's Garam Masala. 'This is real taste,' Naani said, relishing the simple food.

I still don't know in the word 'Garam' in its name symbolizes the sun roasting it undergoes or its warmth after it has just been prepared or the hot- headed determination of grandmothers who are unbelievably attached to this spice-making process, but I guess Garam Masala is more important to Indian Kitchens than we will ever know

TANYA PINTO

60 yrs down the line: What keeps India kicking & lively?

The year was 1947. The place: the Indian subcontinent. Our nation was amidst one of history’s bloodiest exodus. Yes. We were a free nation at last. But nobody had ever imagined that the resulting celebrations would weep tears of blood and play trumpets of screams & cries. The situation had gone terribly out of control. Political heavyweights around the world predicted nothing short of an apocalypse for India. And yet, against all odds, we survived. Not just survived, but flourished. In a time frame that has been rarely surpassed in history, our nation, with all its snake charmers and cattle became the top contender for the podium of a world superpower.

It therefore becomes critical for us to analyze, what was the adhesive that held our massive nation together throughout the last 60 years? Why is it that against all odds, our nation held its own against the worst destiny could throw at us?

Ask these questions to a normal Indian and answer is obvious. The pride of being Indian; common, diverse and a rich cultural heritage, unity in diversity, tolerant mindset, so on and so forth. These are just some of the “answers” that have been imbibed in our minds through our educational system and polity. And given the size of our populace, it was necessary. But ask any thinking individual and you’ll know there is more to it then what meets the eye.

It takes more then pride in ones nation to become what we are today. Cultures were never common across India let alone the heritage. We remained united because that alone guaranteed our survival. It was more of an instinct then a virtue. And given the harshness with which we practiced our system of social hierarchy, we can be called anything but tolerant. Time and again, Indians have proved the unspeakable brutalities they are capable of. Surely, there must be some thing hidden deep within us that has so profoundly helped our resurrection from the post partition chaos. What are they? Lets start from ourselves.

What we Indians have is the zeal to succeed in the face of unimaginable odds. The desire to live a better tomorrow is congenital in all Indians. If yesterday did not culminate into a better life for me, tomorrow will. If I can’t do it, my son will. If the elder can’t, the younger will. This is the kind of hopefulness every Indian lives by. And this gives him a remarkable edge to overlook his present grim surroundings. People who get back home on roads flanked by open sewers in the slums of Dharavi, one day hope to walk the red carpet in Cannes. The ‘rags to riches’ stories of Dhirubai Ambani, Shah Rukh Khan and others are something everyone feels will be someday their own. The slums in India are amongst the worst places of survival for humans in this world. And yet you will find them bustling with perpetual vivacity of life. Without this inborn resilience, survival through the last decades was not possible. And until the conditions change for good, we may need this ability for a few years to come.

A word that has become ubiquitous in India today is ‘Superpower’. Living in a superpower is a dream that is not so far fetched for Indians today. But the question we may ask ourselves is- what is it that we got right in order to deserve this crown? Why is it that with so many countries vying for this top post, we achieved it with considerable ease? The answer lies in us, The Indians. Unlike other nations, we neither aspired to become a superpower for its patriotic aspects, nor for the power and respect it would bring to us. Indians knew fully well, the perks of living in a superpower. A superpower image projected at a global level would greatly improve their local standards of living. Resources would be at their disposal. Every Indian set his eyes on a better life and collectively for a nation; it meant a country stubborn on progress. In 1991, the American government refused to sell a supercomputer to India. In response Dr. Vijay Bhatkar and his team at C-DAC went on to build India’s first supercomputer PARAM. The next day, The New York Times headlines read “Angry India Does It”. This is the kind of aggressiveness that has kept our country kicking. And kicking hard.

True, we have the world’s largest slums and empty stomachs. But equally true is the fact that we have the world’s largest reservoirs of talented human resource, literate or otherwise. Penetration of corruption in our bureaucratic caverns is as much popular as the penetration of our democratic elections to the grass root levels. We may have one of the world’s lowest female to male ratio but that does not stop us from having a woman for a president. Such a dynamic equilibrium has kept our country from swinging into a state of perpetual doom.

Another factor that sets us apart from the rest is our firm belief in the values that are distinctly Indian. In no other country will you find conscience affecting actions so profoundly as in India. The unique social structure is seamlessly woven with far greater causes. Every plant, every animal, every element of nature finds a place of reverence in our country. Our festivals unassumingly coalesce our people. Our family system is still going strong and is massive contributor to our strength. Our ethics, our values and our code of conduct in life are appreciated throughout the world. For last 60 years, these were the values that stood behind the decision makers and the results are here for the world to see.

With the advent of liberalization in 1991, a new wave of entrepreneurs was unleashed in our country. Entrepreneurship is something we always had. This virtue was something that was subjugated in the socialist era. However, it didn’t die. A careful nurturing of this skill for last 17 years is now starting to bear fruit. Indian Industry is the buzzword everywhere. The Arcelor Mittal deal and Tata’s acquisition of Corus have shaken the roots of world economy. Today, Hindalco is the world’s largest sheet aluminum maker. The success stories of India now run into volumes. This newfound optimism can be seen in every media at home and abroad. No longer are NRI’s ashamed of their roots. In turn, the nation is proud of those who have carved out their niche in this world. It was this today that the people hoped for and worked towards for the last 6 decades.

People like Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, Raghunath Mashelkar and their likes have made our country a knowledge superpower. People like Vikram Sarabhai have driven the country’s stride into the technology front. Our artists and the film industry have popularized our culture the world over. The India Phenomenon has swept the world.

Exciting as they were, last 60 yrs were by no means easy. The country has seen 3 major wars, countless separatist movement, a few riots and a stint of dictatorship. The earth continues to smolder in the valleys of Kashmir and terror attacks have repeatedly scarred our land. And yet we continue to stand and meet our crisis in the face. Perhaps, our greatest asset is our people. We have shown great courage when our country needed us. Every blow dealt on our people has been retorted by strong urge to get over it and move on. We have made sure that life triumphed over death, good over evil, humanity above everything else.

To quote our former president Dr. Abdul Kalam, “A developed India by 2020 or even earlier is not a dream nor mere vision in the minds of many Indians. It’s a mission we can all take up, and succeed.” The dream might be realized earlier then we think. Friends, let us make sure that for the next centuries our country keeps kicking, and lively.

SAGAR KAMAT

I had never really thought about how coconuts were plucked from those tall breezy palms. Until that day on the beach when I realized that you didn’t necessarily have to join the gym to have six-pack abs.

‘Where does your father work?’ I asked Jenny, a newly made acquaintance.
‘He sells fish in the market on weekdays.’ She replied, pouring sand from her fists.
‘And the weekends?’ I prodded.
‘He’s a part-time render.’
‘Oh.’
There was a minute of silence. I didn’t exactly know if Jenny knew that I hadn’t understood what a render was.
‘My father plucks coconuts.’
‘Really?’
‘That’s what renders do, stupid.’

She told me a render had to be as nimble as a scuttling spider to climb along the slender length of the coconut tree. They placed their feet in the notches carved into the tree’s trunk and reached all the way to the bunch of green coconuts amongst the leaves.

‘Don’t they fear falling?’
‘The coconuts? They are lowered to the ground with a rope.’
‘The render?’
‘Spiders can’t fall from coconut trees. Not after they’ve developed six-pack abs from climbing palms. ’

I laughed.

The next time I visited Goa, I never again bargained with the coconut vendors – I felt too guilty paying less money when a somewhere a render had performed a tree-climbing act that deserved a standing ovation.

The flaming pink windows of the Jaipur Palace
Misty whit walls of the Taj Mahal
Musical anklets worn by women
Bedecked elephants marching through the streets of Lucknow
The fragrance of mangoes overcoming the Konkan
One nation - of so many names, so many people - but just one soul
As India participates even more actively in globalisation, there is a mounting fear that it would lead to the loss of our culture. So what should we do to combat this problem? Start wearing silk sarees at home? Cotton lungis to the market? Exchange our top of the range cars for elephants to go to office? The answer to this difficult question can be found in the very first words of the preamble of our constitution that says, 'We, the People of India.'
India is not a mere conglomeration of states or a developing country on its way to becoming a world superpower. India is us, its people, its citizens. What we need to preserve even more importantly today, is not India's external facades but our crumbling love and pride for our country.
Many may argue - that today it is difficult to believe in the potential of our country than it was hundreds of years ago. All those years ago, India was rich in jewels and wealth and thus it came but naturally to take pride in one's national identity. But I say, if we regain just one bit of the self - confidence we had all those many years ago, we can not only become two times richer but much more emotionally happier than we presently are.
It has once been said, 'A man's country progresses in exactly the same degree in which he works for its welfare.' When we triumph over the secret fascination we have for everything that is foreign and learn to genuinely love our Indian way of living, we will never have to fear losing our Indianness.
Preserving Indianness in a Global India.
That isn't necessarily about eating with our fingers, saying Namaste or breaking coconuts.
That is about having faith in our country, India, and having faith in ourselves as Indians.