Daijiworld Magazine, Vol.12, Issue 4, September 2020

FESTIVALS

Vol.12, Issue 4| September, 2020 | `20/-

Dr Supriya Hegde

SHOULD I

DIVORCE MY

HUSBAND

Dr Preethi Rebello

GAANA

BHAT

AUNT FLU...

Chhotebhai

SYCOPHANCY

ISN’T FUNNY

KAMALA HARRIS

Woman of Indian Origin in Global

News Headlines

THE COLOUR OF

MARWAR FESTIVAL

MANY LESSONS FROM

LESS CELEBRATIONS

“MY DREAM IS TO BE-

COME AN IPS OFFICER”

2

DAIJIWORLD Magazine | September 2020

DAIJIWORLD Magazine | September 2020 3

EDITORIAL

India’s former president Pranab

Mukherjee passed away on

August 31, 2020. He was a

great scholar and an orator, an

astute diplomat and an honest

politician, a devout congressman

and a shrewd trouble shooter, an

exemplary administrator and an

expert economist and so on...

But I have my own observation

about Pranab Da. When he

was appointed India’s 13 th president

on July 25, 2012, we had published

a special cover story - ‘The

Finest Prime Minister India Never

Had’. We did mean it and we had

explained why he was best suited

to become the prime minister of

India than a president.

Upon his passing away, many

TV channels and magazines

echoed our sentiments almost

eight years later. Some of them

even stated that if Pranab Da had

been the prime minister of India,

the Congress party would never

have been at the bottom of its

career graph in all its 100+ years

of political history. It was also

said that for a person with such a

strong mind and political acumen,

Pranab Da would never have

been taken for granted by his

cabinet colleagues while taking

hasty decisions, such as telecom

spectrum auctions or coal blocks

The Finest PM

India Never Had

allocations. Although he was all

for staff empowerment, wherein

he gave his colleagues to act as

per their conscience, he was also

strong enough to quell any dissensions.

This would have saved the

government and the party from

the future scams and political

bankruptcy.

It is not our intention to undermine

the ability and prowess

of Manmohan Singh, on the contrary,

we acknowledge his yeoman

efforts in the economic liberalization

of our country. But I am

afraid, he was just a suave gentleman

and a career diplomat and

not a smart politician. He failed to

read the writings on the wall. At

best he could have put in his papers

when it became difficult for

him to work as a prime minister,

which he did not.

On the other hand, if Pranab

Da had been the prime minister,

the political scene of India would

have been different, so also the

prospects of the party. The party

that brought freedom to a country,

would not have fallen from

grace en masse. In addition, the

political analysts also point out

that he would have continued as

prime minister even beyond 2014

on his own merit without succumbing

to the party high ups.

In his autobiography, ‘Free

with Trial’, Pranab Da describing

his turbulent years between 1996

– 2012, says he had a “vague impression”

that the Congress party

may project Manmohan Singh as

its presidential candidate, leaving

him to be the party’s prime ministerial

nominee for the 2014 general

election. But that sadly did not

happen.

The former external affairs

minister Salman Khurshid writes

in his autobiography, that “The

selection of Dr Manmohan Singh

over Pranab Mukherjee (then

the senior most Congress leader)

came as a surprise not only to

the Congress but also to outsiders.

Khurshid further adds that the

Congress might have averted the

2014 Lok Sabha election debacle,

(when the Narendra Modi led BJP

stormed into power) if the choice

had been otherwise or even if

they had changed horses midstream.

During his five decades old career,

Pranab Da held many powerful

portfolios such as finance,

defense and external affairs besides

being the chairman of the

Planning Commission and the

party’ official trouble shooter. It

is sad therefore that the top post

eluded India’s man for all seasons.

Not that his position as a president

wasn’t a high profiled one, but it

did not fulfill people’s aspirations.

Now that the great soul (Atma)

has departed this mortal world to

join the Eternal Soul (Paramatma),

we bow our heads in high reverence

for his great contribution to

the country. Indeed, a great ‘Ratna’

has moved on leaving behind

his favorite land ‘Bharat’.

HEMACHARYA

Editor-in-chief

hemacharya@daijiworld.com

4


TOP NEWS

U.S. Poojary elected Chairman of Bharat Bank Ltd

MUMBAI: Uppur Shivaji Poojari has

been elected as the new Chairman of the

prestigious Bharat Co-operative Bank

(Mumbai) Ltd, a multistate scheduled

bank sponsored by the Billawara Association

in the city.

Poojary is a retired banker who served

for the long term as General Manager of

a nationalised bank. He has extensive experience

in the banking sector and has

been serving as director of Bharat Bank

for many years. He is expected to utilize

his experience and skills for the overall

development of the bank which is now a popular name for

its quality service and customer support.

Poojary was selected at the Governing Board

meeting held at the Bank’s headquarters in the

presence of the Bank’s Chairman Emeritus Jaya

C Suvarna. During his leadership, it was a golden

age of Bharat Bank, with the bank achieving

a number of achievement awards by recognizing

that it is the pioneer in the banking business.

Bharat Bank, which already has 102 branches and

an extension branch in Maharashtra, Karnataka

and Gujarat, does over Rs 19,000 crore businesses.

The bank’s board of directors, bank’s MD and

CEO Vidyanand S Karkera and Joint MD Dinesh

B Salian were present.

Mumbai news by By Rons Bantwal

The memoir of Late Fr Ronnie Prabhu released

on his 5th death anniversary

MANGALORE: On August 18, 2020, to commemorate

the 5th Death Anniversary of the late Fr Ronnie

Prabhu SJ his family members, fellow Jesuits and

friends gathered at Fatima Retreat House to release

memoirs of a great social worker, educationist.

Steevan D’Souza, who was greatly influenced by

Late Fr Prabhu took initiative in compiling a book,

‘I’ll die smiling’ consisting of 38 articles by the late

priests well-wishers - Rosemarie Pais, David Pais,

Charles Pais and Olga Noronha. The book has also

messages from bishops, fellow priests, religious,

social workers, educators, entrepreneurs, students,

teachers and friends and family members who knew

Fr Prabhu from close quarters.

Fr Maxim Misquith, SJ, Director of

Fatima Retreat House released the book

and spoke on the life and times of Fr

Ronnie Prabhu. He described him as

an embodiment of two best qualities, a

man of deep spirituality and a glowing

smile. Reminiscing their association

with fr Prabhu Fr Clarence D’Souza SJ

and Fr Maxim Rasquinha SJ also paid

rich tributes to him.

Olga B Noronha conducted an Inter-

Religious prayer service, joined by Edith

D’Souza, Santosh Kumar Kadri and Patrick

D’Souza. Charles Pais proposed a

vote of thanks. u


COVER STORY

KAMALA HARRIS

Woman of Indian Origin in

Global News Headlines

Kamala Haris is

a tough-on-crime

Democrat and trotted

out her prosecutorial

credentials, but has

emphasized racial

justice as well.

By Snehal Shenoy

Freelancer from Bengaluru.

“I believe our country wants and needs some leadership that provides

a vision of the country in which everyone could see themselves.”

- Kamala Harris

Ten years ago, Barack Obama became the first blackUS president

– a proud moment for many Americans hailing from ethnic

and Afro-Asian background. Obama’s election represented

another advance in the slow but steady progress blacks and Afro-Asians

have made in recent decades in gaining a greater foothold in political

leadership, particularly in the House of Representatives and in the

Cabinets of recent presidents. But they have laggedbehindin the Senate

and in governorships.

Data from the past 50 years reveal the upward yet uneven trajectory

of black or brown political leadership in America. In 1965, there were no

blacks in the U.S. Senate, nor were there any black governors. And only

six members of the House of Representatives were black. As of 2019,

there is greater representation in some areas – 52 House members are

black, putting the share of black House members (12%) on par with the

share of blacks in the U.S. population overall for the first time in history.

6


But in other areas, there has been

little change (there are three black

senators and no black governors.

Since 1871, nine black Americans

have served in the Senate,

including Edward W. Brooke of

Massachusetts (1967-79), Carol

Moseley Braun of Illinois (1993-

99), and Obama. But until 2013,

no two black senators had been in

office at the same time. That year,

Tim Scott and Cory Booker took

office, making it the first time that

more than one black senator has

served. Kamala Harris, a democratic

from California joined their

ranks in 2017.

WHO IS KAMALA HARRIS

An American politician, Kamala

Devi Harris was born (October

20, 1964) to a Jamaican father

and an India born mother, Shyamala.

She was elected to the U.S.

Senate as a Democrat in 2016 and

began her first termrepresenting-

California in that body the following

year. She was the first Indian

American to serve as a U.S. senator

as well as the second African

American woman. Harris previously

was the state’s attorney general

(2011–17).

While her father taught at

Stanford University, her mother,

the daughter of an Indian immigrant,

activist, and breast cancer

researcher.Her younger sister,

Maya, later became a public policy

advocate. After studying political

science and economics (B.A., 1986)

at Howard University, Kamala

earned a law degree (1989) from

Hastings College.

She subsequently worked as a

deputy district attorney (1990–98)

in Oakland, earning a reputation

for toughness as she prosecuted

cases of gang violence, drug trafficking,

and sexual abuse. Harris

rose through the ranks, becoming

district attorney in 2004. In

2010 she was narrowly elected

attorney general of California—

winning by a margin of less than

1 percent—thus becoming the

first female and the first African

American to hold the post. After

taking office she demonstrated political

independence, rejecting, for

example, pressure from President

Barack Obama to settle a nationwide

lawsuit against mortgage

lenders for unfair practices. Instead,

she pressed California’s case

and in 2012 won a judgment five

times higher than that originally

offered. Her refusal to defend the

Proposition which banned samesex

marriage in the state, helped

lead to its being overturned in

2013.

In 2012 Harris delivered a

memorable address at the Democratic

National Convention,

raising her national profile. Two

years later she married attorney

Douglas Emhoff. Widely considered

a rising star within the party,

she was recruited to run for the

U.S. Senate seat held by Barbara

Boxer, who was retiring. In early

2015 Harris declared her candidacy,

and on the campaign trail

she called for immigration and

criminal-justice reforms, increases

to the minimum wage and protection

of women’s reproductive

rights. She easily won the 2016

election.

After taking office in January

2017, Harris began serving

on both the Select Committee on

Intelligence and the Judiciary

Committee, among other assignments.

She became known for her

prosecutorial style of questioning

witnesses during hearings, which

drew criticism—and occasional

interruptions—from Republican

senators. In June 2017 she drew

particular attention for her questions

to U.S. Attorney General

Jeff Sessions, who was testifying

before the intelligence committee

on alleged Russian interference in

the 2016 presidential election;

Shortly thereafter Harris announced

that she was seeking the

Democratic presidential nomination

in 2020. From the outset she


WHAT ARE KAMALA HARRIS’ POLICY POSITIONS?

POLICING AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE

Kamala Haris is a tough-on-crime Democrat

and trotted out her prosecutorial

credentials, but has

emphasized racial justice as

well. She has called for reforms

to address racism in

the criminal justice system.

She vowed to end private

prisons and mandatory minimums,

legalize marijuana,

and abolish the death penalty

and solitary confinement.

She also called for the end

of mass incarceration and undo “decades of failed

polices” that “created an unjust, unequal, and vastly

expansive system that disproportionately harms

communities of color and criminalizes individuals

just because they are poor.”

CLIMATE CHANGE

Harris has taken a firmer stance on addressing

climate change and environmental justice over the

past couple of years. In September 2019, Harris released

a climate plan in which she pledged a $10

trillion investment in a clean-energy transition

over the next ten years.

Last July, Harris and New York representative

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez introduced a plan for legislation

that would ensure that new environmental

bills are evaluated based on how they impact frontline

communities. And during her time as San Francisco

DA, Harris created an environmental-justice

unit within her office to address environmental

crimes that disproportionately affect poor communities

of color.

HEALTH CARE

She was one of the first prominent Democrats to

co-sponsor Senator Bernie Sanders’s Medicare for

All legislation in 2017. In February 2019, she faced

criticism from moderates when she expressed her

support for a single-payer health-care plan that

would eliminate private insurance.

However, in July 2019, Harris unveiled a different

kind health-care platform, dubbed “Kamala

Care,” that would expand Medicare without ending

private insurance.

IMMIGRATION

On the campaign

trail, Harris, who is herself

is the daughter of

Jamaican and Indian

immigrants, said that

if elected she’d use her

executive powers to

reinstate and expand

Obama’s Deferred Action

for Childhood Arrivals program, which gave

650,000 immigrants who came to the United States

as children the legal right to live and work in the

U.S.Harris also said she’d create a path to citizenship

for people protected under DACA, known as

“Dreamers.

EDUCATION

In the 2020 field, Harris proposed a Student-debt

plan, i.e. convoluted student-loan-forgiveness

plan that focused on helping entrepreneurs.

The plan proposed canceling up to $20,000

in student loans for borrowers who started a

business in a poor community and maintained

it for three years, and was roundly mocked for

being so limited. She also put forth a proposal to

raise teacher salaries to those of professionals

with similar education backgrounds, amounting

to a $13,500 raise on average.

WALL STREET AND SILICON VALLEY

As a senator, Harris has been critical of Silicon

Valley and has advocated for regulations, but she

stops short of calling for breaking up big tech companies.

Harris’s big tax proposal focused on tax relief

for the middle class rather than leveraging significantly

higher taxes on the wealthy.

During her presidential bid, Harris accepted

campaign contributions from an array of industries;

including finance, real estate, film, and TV (she

signed a pledge not to take money from oil and gas

companies). u

8


was seen as one of the leading contenders,

and she drew particular

attention when, during a primary

debate, she had a contentious

exchange with fellow candidate

Joe Biden over his opposition to

school bus transport in the 1970s

and ’80s, among other race-related

topics. Although Harris’s support

initially increased, by September

2019 her campaign was

in serious trouble, and in December

she dropped out of the race.

She continued to maintain a

high profile, notably becoming a

leading advocate for social-justice

reform following the May 2020

Sen. Kamala Harris with american civil rights

activist Alfred Charles Sharpton Jr.

death of George Floyd, an African

American who had been in police

custody. Her efforts silenced some

who had criticized her tenure as

attorney general, alleging that she

had failed to investigate charges

of police misconduct, including

questionable shootings. Others,

however, felt that her embrace

of reform was a political maneuver

to capitalize on the increasing

public popularity of social change.

As racial injustice became a major

issue in the United States, many

Democrats called on Biden, the

party’s presumptive nominee,

to select an African American

woman—a demographic that

was seen as pivotal to his election

chances—as his vice presidential

running mate. In August

2020 Biden chose Harris, and

she thus became the first Black

woman to appear on a major party’s

national ticket.

HARRIS’S SIGNATURE ISSUES

In her presidential campaign

last year, Kamala Harris pitched

herself as a history-making candidate

who could appeal to both

progressives and moderates. Rather

than trying to upend the economy,

her policies sought incremental,

targeted results, particularly

focusing on historically marginalized

groups like women, people of

color and low-income Americans.

Her sharp debating skills and

affable personality made her a

top-tier contender in the early

stages of the primary race.

In naming Ms. Harris as his

running mate, Joseph R. Biden

Jr. made a groundbreaking decision,

picking a woman of color

to be vice president. But he was

also elevating a senator who

shares his center-left politics at

a time of progressive change in

the party.

HARRIS’S POSITION ON HEALTH

CARE

She’s held several of them.

Originally, she was a sponsor of

the Medicare for All bill offered

by Senator Bernie Sanders, which

would create a single-payer system

and eliminate private health

insurance.

But she seemed to change her

position frequently on elements

of Medicare for All until she released

her own proposal in July

2019. Unlike the Sanders bill, her

plan would maintain a limited

role for private insurers and seek

to pay for costs without raising

taxes on the middle class.

She has described herself as

a “progressive prosecutor” during

her time as a district attorney

and attorney general in California.

While she pushed leftward

on issues like gay marriage and

the death penalty, she sometimes

enraged liberals by refusing to go

further.

Ms. Harris attended a historically

black college (Howard

University), and is a member of a

prominent black sorority (Alpha

Kappa Alpha) and visited India

often while growing up. She often

argues that her identity makes

her uniquely suited to fight for

people who have been traditionally

ignored. u

FESTIVALS


The beauty and colour of

marwar festival

Every year,

tourists from

around the

world attend

this unique

celebration of

life, art, music,

and dance.

By Nikita Ferrao

A freelancer based in Kuwait

Rajasthan is well-known

for its grand palaces and

forts, rich history, colourful

attires, mouth-watering cuisines and

traditional people. Every time there

is a festival or event in any corner

of Rajasthan, the place is filled with

cultural vibrancy and colourful

extravaganza.

One of the most striking of them

all is the Marwar Festival celebrated

in the City of Jodhpur, popularly

known as the ‘Blue City.’ Initially

known as ‘Maand’, Marwar Festival

will be celebrated on October 12 – 13

during the full moon days of Sharad

Poornima in remembrance of Rajput

heroes of its glorious princely past.

Every year, tourists from around

the world find themselves in Jodhpur

to attend this unique celebration

of life, art, music, and dance. Here,

you can see women in beautiful

bright coloured skirts that are paired

with equally bright coloured blouses

and have dupattas (long veils),

draped on their heads that flow towards

the back. Men, on the other

hand, wear large colourful turbans.

This is in association with the turban

tying competition that is held

every year.

During the festival, singers and

dancers’ native to the land adorn

themselves in colourful traditional

attires of Rajasthan and offer live

entertainment as a means of celebration.

Umaid Bhawan, Mehrangarh

Fort, and Mandore act as the

main stages of celebration.

Here, you can also witness the

Camel Tattoo show and Polo matches.

SOME OF THE DANCE ATTRAC-

TIONS OF MARWAR FESTIVAL

INCLUDE:

• Dandi Gair: This is a variation

of the popular Gair dance that is

the traditional folk dance of the native

Bhil tribe of Rajasthan. It is per-

10


formed by both men and women

and this forms as one of the chief

attractions of the festival.

Costumes are an integral

part of the performance, where

women are adorned in their Rajasthani

bright coloured skirts,

blouses, and long dupattas. Men

on the other hand wear striking

red tunics that flow out into flaring

skirts, creating a unique effect

during the circular dance moves.

This is coupled with red traditional

churidar pants and large saffron-coloured

turbans.

• Kalbelia: While at the

Marwar Festival, do not miss the

Kalbelia dance, which is traditionally

performed by the snake

charmer community of the region.

The women dance while

pretending to be charmed by the

snake charmer men and emulate

snake-like movements celebrating

their unique livelihood.

Women are draped in their

traditional lehenga cholis in black

color base, which also includes

a number of striking embellishments

in bright red, yellow, and

green, which helps add a unique

shimmer to them.

There are other glittering embellishments

that create a mirror

effect, with decorated ‘gota patti’

work. The women also adorn

themselves in a number of silver

jewellery and enamel bangles.

The men usually wear long shirts

that go below the waist, coupled

with traditional dhoti bottoms.

• Ghoomar: One of the

main attractions of the Marwar

Festival, Ghoomar, is the most

popular dance form of Rajasthan,

and is often depicted on the silver

screen. The word itself describes

what the dance form depicts;

ghoomar means ‘to spin’. While

seemingly simple being a dance

form that comprises of stepping

in repeated circular patterns, the

main beauty of the dance is in

the flair of the large and colourful

skirts of women that shimmers

when light falls on the shining

embroidery. Additionally, women

wear colourful glass bangles that

form an important part of the festival.

• Chari: This form of dance

depicts the lifestyle of Rajasthani

women who travel a long

way each day in search of water.

Here, women perform this dance

with brass pots balanced on their

heads, wearing colourful lehenga

cholis that shimmer and shine at

each step. The cholis and dupattas

are beautifully hued along with

being exquisitely embroidered.

Churas or Churlas also known as

armlets are worn by the women

to accessorize the costume.

SHOPPING AT THE MARWAR

FAIR

Apart from the folk music

and dance, the Marwar festival

is home to one of the largest fairs

in Rajasthan that goes on till the

full span of the festival. Here, you

can find unique gems, traditional

jewellery, colourful kurtas, sarees,

suits, and much more.

MUST TRY DELICACIES

Marwar Festival is a heaven

for foodies. Jodhpur is famous for

its local delicacies and sweets, and

while here, do care to try out some

of their best dishes:

• Pyaz Kachori - fried pastry

filled with spicy onion filling

• Hot and spicy Mirchi bada

- a spicy snack consisting of chili

and potato or cauliflower stuffing,

served hot with tomato sauce

• Mava Kachori - Indian

hand pies filled with mawa/

khoya and mixed with nuts, deep

fried, and dipped in sugar syrup

Now that I have provoked

you with the beauty and colour

of Marwar festival now, it’s for

you to make up your mind to visit

the place and add Marwar to your

travel bucket list. u


FESTIVALS

MOTHER MARY’S FEAST

defines unity and culture of

MANGALOREAN CHRISTIANS

By Andrea Miranda

The writer is a freelancer and

specialist in HR.Currently works

in an Int’l school in Riyadh.

Amidst the celebrations across the

faiths encompassing the entire nation,comes

a unique festival celebrated

in our modest town, Mangalore, which

is more than a tradition, more than just

a festival. It is the fusion of happiness,

friendship and family values as the young

and the old join together to celebrate

Monthi Saibinichem festh – The Nativity

of Blessed Virgin Mary. It is time that we

appreciate the value of this festival and

maintain its holiness as it is the only festival

that reminds us of our cultural roots

of early days of Konkani Christian people

in the Coastal districts of South Kanara.

“Sokkad Sangata Melyan, Sokkad

Laagin soryan,” is a popular hymn sung

during this season while children offer

flowers to Mother Mary. The hymn keeps

humming in our ears as the month of August

comes to an end leading towards the

start of a nine-day Novena.

It takes me back to a time in

life when we were innocent little

children. The after-school hunt for

flowers with an umbrella in one

hand and a plate in another is nostalgic.

The scent of yellow ‘sivnthi’

(chrysanthemum), Orange ‘abolin’

(Crossandrain

fundibuliformis),

white ‘mogrin’ (jasmine), pinkish

‘jidde’, and colourful shoe flowers

mixed with the smell of wet mud

from the rains filled the air with a

fragrance I cannot ever forget.

A walk upto the church every

evening with the wild flowers

neatly decorated in humble steel

plates, peeping into each other’s

plate and the look of envy when

the neighbour had an extra rose

which unlike today’s times was

12


a rare delight - were some of the

little pleasures we enjoyed as children.We

all looked forward to the

recital of the rosary around the

altar before the Mass. Children’s

names would be randomly called

out to lead the Rosary and each of

us prayed that our name would

be called. Finally, along with the

familiar tunes of age-old Konkani

hymns ‘Moriyek Hogolsian' and

‘Sokkad Sangatha Melyan,’ the

flowers would be offered to Mother

Mary and we would head home

swinging our empty plates and

baskets now filled with sweets.

Doing complete justice to the

name ‘Kutmachem Festh’, (Family’s

feast) by which the locals loved

calling it, the entire family traditionally

gathered together with

great enthusiasm. The final day

of the novena called for a grand

celebration. While the ladies got

busy in the kitchen preparing the

odd numbered vegetarian lunch

and the traditional sweet ‘Vorn’ or

‘Roce’. The men would help with

the chopping of vegetables. Finally,

everyone in the house would

deck up in the best of their traditional

attire and gather for the

“Festh Mees” (The Holy Mass at

the church).

The church would be decorated

with lights and candles and an

impressive band would be playing

alongside the choir singing traditional

Konkani hymns. The new

corn (Novem) blessed by the priest

during the Mass would be distributed

to each family member.

For the final day children would

have an extra flower in their

neatly adorned plates to offer to

the picturesque statue of “Bam-

Origin and propagation

of Monti fest celebration

Origin of celebration: There

is evidence that around 55

A.C. the celebration of the feast

of Mother Mary started in Byzantium,

an ancient Greek city in

classical antiquity that became

known as Constantinople in later

years and is now called Istanbul.

There are other instances in

places like Rome (around 475 -700

A.C.) as reflected in a papal book,

Liber Ponthi Pikalis according to

which Pope Sergio gave a clarion

call to celebrate the feast of Mother

Mary at St Mary Mayor Basilica

after taking a procession prior

to a ceremonial Holy Mass.

As per historical records,

there is evidence that the celebration

started in Spain (In 7th century)

followed by England (8th

century) In the 9th century the

practice of celebrating the feast

as an obligatory day was commenced.

It was in the 13th century

the tradition spread to other

countries under the auspices of

the Holy Catholic Church.

In India – Within India, the

Portuguese who ruled many parts

of India started this celebration

under the banner of ‘Mounti Festival’

(Mary on the Mount) Later

the celebration spread to other

Coastal regions of India such as

Karnataka and Kerala, wherein

the name ‘Mounti’ became ‘Monti’.

This festival coincides with

other Hindu festivals such as

Krishnastami/Nagara

Panchami,

Ganesh Chaturthi (Chowthi)

wherein they are celebrated as

part of Harvest Festival and newly

prepared eatables are consumed

on the day.

As per the records, Fr Joachim

Miranda who was serving in

Gangoli Church (1759 – 1762) was

transferred to Farangipet Church

in Bantwal near Mangalore. Here


he was attracted by a special

statue of Mother Mary called

‘Maria Bambina’ and he started

the tradition of Monti festh

celebration. It was during this

period the practice of offering

flowers to Mother Mary, consuming

newly produced agricultural

food was started.

Monti festh is the only festival

celebrated as per Indian

traditions, wherein only pure

vegetarian food on plantain

leaves is consumed. (However,

in Coastal districts, people also

consume fish as part of feast

as they argue that fish is their

staple food.) Prior to the food

all the members in the family

drink the new corn mixed in

coconut milk or juice made out

of jaggery.

Although in this modern

age, due to the migration of

family members to different

parts of the world, this tradition

has lost its original splendour,

nonetheless the feast

is celebrated year after year

on September 8 by the Catholic

Konkani speaking people

in the districts of Dakshina

Kannada, Udupi, Kundapur

and Kasargod. The fest is aptly

called ‘Family Fest’ or Kutmachem

Fest in Konkani.

In Mumbai, Maharashtra

at the Mount Rosary Church

in Bandra a one-week Novena

is held that culminates on the

last day called ‘Bandra Feast’

which is very famous since

many years.

- By Bernard J D’Costa

bina Mary” wrapped in layers of

lace and laid down on a dainty

pillow.A juicy sugarcane was a

reward given to each child at the

end of the ceremony.

The walk from the church

back home laughing and chatting

with neighbors and friends eagerly

awaiting the grand family get

together lunch would be the climax

of the entire day. Our grandparents

would crush the ‘Novem’

with milk and after a short prayer

at the altar,each member would

be given a spoonful of the drink

as a sign of blessing and prosperity

from the first harvest. Meanwhile

our uncles would pack off

a few ears of corn to be posted to

relatives overseas so that they too

could take part in the feast.

The aroma of freshly cut banana

leaves and of aspread of odd

number of vegetarian dishes permeated

the entire house. The odd

number denoted each flavoursweet,

sour, salty, bitter, pungent

and astringent cooked from fresh

home-grown harvested vegetables.

They consisted of moong,

aloo-dento, karathem, chonne,

ambade, patrade and taushem - to

name a few. The vegetables and

rice and the soft sanna’s were

gorged and lapped up with a huge

serving of vorn or roce made from

coconut milk and jaggery leaving

our hearts and stomachs content

and delighted.

The times have changed and

given rise to new challenges and

changes in lifestyles. Nowadays

the entire family may not be able

to meet and celebrate this festival,

the food may not be cooked with

the same authenticity, and the

plucking of wild flowers has been

replaced with buying expensive

and exotic ones from the market.

The huge garment brands with

the most modern outfits have outsmarted

the humble tailors.Yet

we need to realize that we must

preserve and carry forward the

devotion towards the Mother of

God and the immense respect and

love for our Parish, the oneness

within families and neighborhood.

This need to carry forward

the culture and tradition through

generationswas the main reason

why our elders took active part in

walking us up to each novena and

made elaborate preparations on a

daily basis for the big day.

Today, we are enamored by

the western culture and gradually,

from generation to generation

we havepartially given up or overlooked

the traditions and customs

that were preserved so fervently

by our ancestors. With time our

beliefs have taken a diverse view,

but have these new ways benefitted

our families to get together?

Is it not our obligation to become

aware of this and make amends

before it is too late?

True to its words “Sokkad Sangata

Melyan, Sokkad Laagin soryan,”

a hymn that guided us to remember

our traditions is still alive

at back of our minds. I hope the

tune of this hymn and true family

values which are hidden in our

hearts would come out as we get

together these days in the wake of

the deadly ‘Corona’ virus. I believe

this pandemic will turn out to be a

turning point in our efforts to get

united as a family in the longer

run. u

14


SPICE OF LIFE

To be nice to each other

By Gerald D’Cunha

Trainer, teacher, blogger based in

Mumbai

“Happiness is gentleness.”

Hugh Prather

“Gentleness towards self and

others makes life a little lighter,”

Said Deborah Day.

A little lighter, or a lot lighter?

And, is being ‘lighter’ same as being

‘happier’?

The Wise say, that only the

strong can be gentle; cruelty always

comes from the weak.

I am very fond of, both, Barack

Obama and his wife

Michelle.

There are scores of videos on You-

Tube, in which we get to see their

interaction with a cross-section

of people, both inside and outside

the White House. It’s so delightful

to watch how they treated people

– all people – while they occupied

the most powerful position in the

world… They treated everyone

with kindness and respect…

Is it not, then, true, that ‘Only

the strong can be gentle’?

Deborah Day rightly points

out, through the first part of her

statement, that it’s not possible

for us to be gentle towards others

unless we are gentle towards self,

first.

In one of the videos I watched

a couple of days ago, Barack

Obama is seen interacting with

a li’l Black kid, widely known as

‘Kid President’. This kid’s visit to

the White House is very endearing...

“The most important thing we

can all do is to treat everyone with

kindness and respect.” On the surface,

it sounds like an adult’s advice

to a kid. But, if we scratch it

more, it carries a very sound advice

to all of us: If we are nice to

each other, this world can be a lot

better place!

This 74th Independence Day,

reflect on the above message.

What a place this land can be, if

we all start treating each other

with kindness and respect!

It may sound naive… But, I

think, to embrace this advice, we


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16


HEALTH & WELLNESS

PANDEMIC HAS CHANGED THE

FORMAT OF OUR CELEBRATIONS

“Passover is one

of those holidays

that are all about

community and

all about making

do with what you

have; reflecting

on the past and

looking toward the

future,”

By Addie Joseph

Fred “Jackson” Brown’s fifth birthday party was going to be a big event

this year, with family members traveling from Texas, North Carolina and

other locations to attend the affair in Fredericksburg, Virginia.

But as Jackson’s birthday on April 2 approached, his parents Fred and

Elizabeth Brown, began to realize that due to the corona virus pandemic they

wouldn’t be able to host the event in person. Instead, they held the party on

Zoom. Guests sent presents in the mail and the family put up decorations and

made cupcakes at hometo make it feel as normal as possible.

When it came to blowing out the candles, some family members even had

their own treats with lit candles on screen to share the experience with Jackson.

Although it was an unusual birthday, Jackson still had a good time. “That’s

all that we can ask for,” Elizabeth, 36, tells media.

“Instead of opening wrapped presents, he was opening Amazon boxes,” Fred,

32, adds with a laugh.

As springtime holidays and events come and go, many others are also finding

ways to celebrate virtually, reaching friends, family and community members

through video conferencing and social media.


Here’s how several people

across the U.S. are adapting their

traditions and celebrations to life

during a pandemic.

HOW SEDER FEAST TURNED

INTO A “ZOOM FEAST”

For eight years, Kara Silverman,

36, a partner at a communications

agency has celebrated

the Seder feast by hosting a party

in New York City with her best

friends from the college.The tradition

began in 2012when the Ohio

natives were unable to return

home for the holiday. They decided

to host a Seder party to anyone

who didn’t have one they could

attend otherwise.

But this year, Silverman and

Martin had to hold the event digitally

since they couldn’t host their

friends in person. They opted to

have it on Zoom. “We have called

it a ‘Zoomover’, Silvermansays.

A silver lining: The event saw an

increase in the number of guests,

as distant family and friends were

able to tune in too.

“Passover is one of those holidays

that are all about community

and all about making do

with what you have; reflecting

on the past and looking toward

the future,” Silverman says. “Even

though we can’t be in person, it’s a

deeply personal holiday this year.”

CHURCHES HOSTED EASTER

SERVICES ON ONLINE PLAT-

FORMS

A similar sentiment is felt

by Nurya Parish, 49, a priest at

a church in Belmont, Michigan,

who celebrated Easter recently.

Typically, the church celebrates

Easter with live music and

worship services, as well as shared

dishes brought by members of the

congregation.

But instead of preparing for

the usual festivities this year, the

church planned to celebrate Easter

entirely virtually. It moved

its worship services to Zoom and

Facebook Live and coordinated

with musicians to perform remotely.

“My hope is for the congregation

to hear and realize that Easter

does not depend on us getting

dressed up and going to church,

but we depend on Easter and its

message of hope and resurrection

and new life. That message is valid

today and valid no matter how we

celebrate it.”

PREPARING FOR RAMADAN

WHILE FOLLOWING SO-

CIAL-DISTANCING GUIDELINES

Hack, a Muslim teacher introduces

Ramadan to her students by

decorating her school with festive

signage and preparing small gifts

that include chocolate and dates —

sweet treats traditionally eaten to

break the fast — with a note that

explains more about the holiday.

Because Hack can’t share Ramadan

with her students in person

this year, she reaches them

through social media. She made

weekly posts with tips to prepare

for the holiday. “The internet has

been a huge help because it’s allowing

me to connect, not just

with people here in our community,

but people outside of Orlando

and throughout the U.S. and

abroad,” Hack says.

Instead of sending gifts to her

neighbors, Hack sent them texts

or cards instead. And although

she could not meet with other

families for dinner after breaking

fasts this year, Hack still met them

via Zoom or Face Time.

PEOPLE ARE JOINING “TO-

GETHER” TO CELEBRATE LIFE

It’s not just holidays people

are coming together for — they’re

also finding ways to celebrate life

itself.

18


people come together and

find a way to do it anyway

— especially when

everyone’s struggling

with Covid and how hard

it is for each person — it

really blew me away that

they still found a way to

celebrate me.”

Ramadan lost its erstwhile glitter and gaity in this year.

When Albany, New York, rating their cars and driving past

resident Megan Fahy, 39, went in Fahy’s home to commemorate the

for her fourteenth chemotherapy end of her aggressive cancer treatment.

treatment last month, her doctor

surprised her by suggesting that “It was really miraculous that

she finish receiving chemo early, they put it together that quickly.

opting to instead begin radiation They were all blasting music and

therapy sooner.

it made me cry. It was really amazing.”

By 4 p.m. that day, there was

already a social distancing-friendly

celebration taking place outside was so much that I wanted to

“It means a lot because there

her home. Friends and community

members organized a “drive-

chemo and obviously that all got

do to celebrate being done with

by” parade, making signs, deco-

postponed,” Fahy says. “So, to see

HOW SOCIAL DISTANC-

ING HAS LED SOME TO

RECONNECT WITH OLD

FRIENDS

Others, like Austin,

Texas-based Josh Rubin,

41, this time used to reconnect

with old friends.

Rubin recently organized a reunion

with members of his college

a cappella group, their first in

about 20 years.

Rubin posted on Facebook to

see if any former members would

be interested in having a reunion

and within 24 hours, more than

30 people, spanning from the class

of 1995 to the class of 2001, said

that they were.

Before the reunion, Rubin had

each person record themselves

singing their part of their alumni

song, He then edited the recordings

together and debuted the

video during the group call. It was

such a success.

“It’s been 20 years since I’ve

seen most of these folks,” Rubin

says. “There was nostalgia: remembering

things that I haven’t

thought about in almost two decades,

immediately flipping back

into the same kind of patterns and

relationships we had in college.

(Courtesy: Make it.)

POINT OF VIEW


Education reforms in India

My proposals vs NE Policy 2020

By Dr Derek Lobo

Former Regional Adviser for

Leprosy & Other Diseases

Targeted for Elimination – UN

World Health Organization,

South-East Asia Region)

Though ‘teacher

training’ finds

focus and

priority in the

NEP, there is

no attempt

to attract the

Best Teachers

as Primary

School Teachers

by giving them

equal or more

salaries than

Secondary

School teachers.

Since 2017, I have had the

opportunity to address School

and College teachers as part of

the “Teacher Enrichment Program

(Me Time)” in my capacity as a lifelong

student and non-educationist,

conducted by the Catholic Association

of South Kanara (CASK) in and around

Mangalore. At these sessions, I always

presented the slide and made the

following proposals:

EDUCATION REFORMS IN INDIA

1. Have a SINGLE Board for schools

country-wide;

2. Scrap EXAMINATIONS from

Class 1-9, and replace with Student-friendly

periodic Appraisals

and Evaluations that measure

LEARNING and identify TALENTS

and SKILLS;

3. The Best Teachers should be in

PRIMARY School – The salary of

Primary school teachers should be

EQUAL or MORE than of Secondary

School teachers;

4. The current Syllabus to be curtailed

by 50%; only the most essential, relevant,

current and topics of futuristic

value to be included;

5. Great Focus and Importance to be

given to ENGLISH Language and

Computer Skills from Class-1 onwards;

6. Participation in Sports, Debates,

Music, Arts, Social Service, Red

Cross, NCC, Blood Donation will all

be valued and considered for Final

Grading and Certificate;

7. All Teachers to be subjected to mandatory

In-Service Training which

should include Social and Emotional

Learning and Teaching Strategies

for a Minimum of 100 hours each

Academic Year;

I wish to assess and evaluate the

New Education Policy of India, based

on the SEVEN points above.

20


1. Single Board for Colleges

and higher Education seems to

evolve under the NEP but there

seems to be no such proposal for

the schools. It is disappointing that

instead of a Single National Board

of Education, we will continue to

have multiple Central Boards and

State Boards.

2. The curse of examinations

will continue and in my opinion

this is a major deficiency in the

NEP. Though the NEP talks about

assessing Learning, the fact that

it continues to hold examinations

will not serve the purpose. Obviously,

examinations are a source

of power as well as a source of

income for the Universities and

Central/State Boards and also a

source of power for teachers and

school managements. Therefore,

nobody is willing to lose power or

money, even for the good of the

future generation.

3. The new format of 5+3+3+4

– a total 15 school years of which 5

years are allotted to the ‘Foundational’

years is welcome and laudatory.

However, though ‘teacher

training’ finds focus and priority

in the NEP, there is no attempt to

attract the Best Teachers as Primary

School Teachers by giving

them equal or more salaries than

Secondary School teachers. Considering

that every foundation

- cognition, spiritual, social, intellectual

or mental is laid in the preschool

and primary school level,

this is yet another major deficiency

in NEP.

4. The Point-4 in my proposal

– curtailing the syllabus by 50%

seems to have been accepted. I

hope this will be done by apolitical

educationists keeping in mind

the background of our students

and what is really essential for a

successful life.

5. The Point-5 in my proposal

– giving the highest priority

to the English language has gone

for a toss by the recommendation

that the Mother Tongue or the

State language should be the medium

of instruction at least till the

Primary School level.

This recommendation is

borne out of a nationalistic mindset

that ignores the fact that English

is without doubt the prime

International language that offers

the best opportunity for students

when it comes to jobs and international

studies in major Universities

across the world.

The second part of my suggestion

– acquiring ‘Computer Skills’

seems to be included as a priority

in NEP. I hope our schools/colleges

will ensure the benefit of Computers

to all students, both in the Government

and private sector.

6. The point-6 in my proposal

– giving adequate weightage to

extra-curricular activities seems

to have been accepted but the details

are missing.

7. The point-7 in my proposal

– mandatory In-service Training

for Teachers of minimum 100

hours per academic year does

not find a mention, though the

new policy talks about ‘Integrated

Teacher Training’ and need for

continuous scaling of knowledge

and skills.

Restricting my Evaluation to

my SEVEN points, I give 6 out of

10 for the new NEP which I feel is

a respectable score for a Government

dictated Education Policy.

In addition, NEP has the following

positive features :

• Opportunity for Vocational Education

• Shift from Rote Learning to

Thinking, Questioning, Understanding

and developing concepts

of innovation.

• Project work, internship and

social actions.

• Flexibility to shift from one

stream to another without obstacles.

• Promoting the spirit of entrepreneurship.

• Promoting Research.

In consideration of the above

positive features, in the Final

analysis, I give NEP 7 out of 10

pre-implementation. This score is

certainly good but I may change

the score upward or downward

after each year of implementation!

The success of NEP will depend

on implementation and this

is going to be a major challenge, as

it has been for several other policies

in crucial sectors like Health,

Agriculture, Rural or Urban Development.

In conclusion, let us remember

the following statements by

two outstanding Educationists of

India:

Dr CNR Rao, Scientific Adviser

to the Prime Minister who said “India

does not have an Education System,

only an Examination System”

Dr Krishnakumar, former Director-NCERT

“The best of institutions

in India are mediocre by

International standards”.

Will NEP 2020 do something

to change the profound words of

the two great Educationists? u


22


FESTIVALS

Not much celebration yet

lessons learnt are many

By Sanjay Joglekar

The writer is a freelancer based in

Mumbai

Once celebration of major

festivals in Mumbai was

the order of the day, it

was a priority but COVID 19 Pandemic

changed our priorities. It

impacted the way we celebrate

our success, organize our programs

and even how we celebrate

our festivals. In this year four major

festivals went unnoticed without

the usual pomp, glitter, gaiety

and glamour. Here is an exclusive

report about those four major festivals

and how they were celebrated

in Mumbai this year.

In this year, the tsunami-like

impact of a global pandemic was

quite capable of drowning the

faith of a whole generation as

people already witnessed in this

festival season in Mumbai. We are

standing at a juncture from which

it is difficult to predict what the

world will look like next week,

let alone next year. Yet behavioral

science and the broad sweep of

history suggest that COVID-19 has

transformed our daily lives and

our behavior in many ways.

Without doubt, COVID-19

has taught us many things – both

good and bad - certain habits

we’ve adapted will likely stick

around. Our vigilance around

things like disinfecting surfaces —

that’s probably going to continue

also a procedure to wear the mask

and social distancing.

Our new ways of interacting

with each other, good bye to handshakes

but welcome ‘Namaste’ has

even attracted even US president

Donald Trump. Video chats instead

of conference-room huddles

are likely to stay for some time.

This would make us ask ourselves,

is it important to meet someone if

we wish to communicate?

But what lingers most after a

pandemic, or any large-scale catastrophe,

is a pervasive sense that


the world is fundamentally unpredictable

— that life feels more

fragile than it once did. This kind

of threat has invariably forced

us into making many changes in

the way we eat, dress, communicate,

change our chores or even to

change our priorities.

Let’s agree, once celebrations

were our priorities but

with COVID 19 around we have

changed the way we do it. We still

celebrate our success, we share

our happiness, we celebrate our

programs and functions, our festivals,

but with a raider.

In this article let us look at the

scenario how the pandemic and

social distancing norms changed

the way the people in Mumbai

celebrate our four big festivals of

the season.

RAMADHAN OR EID WITHOUT

USUAL POMP OR FASHION

Ask any Muslim how he

would feel about Ramadan and

Eid, and irrespective of their level

of piety, his/her face will light

up and he/she would give you

details of all their Ramadan and

Eid memories with the excitement

of a child. But not in this

year.

In this year, the official Standard

Operating Procedure for

Eid celebrations by the government

were announced ahead of

Ramadhan naturally buried the

excitement of the people. The

SOPs issued by the BMC barred

Cattle markets whether in Deonar

or elsewhere. People were

encouraged to buy goats online.

Mosques remained shut so that

people could offer Namaz from

their homes. Goat sacrifice was

allowed, but not in red or containment

zones.

In all the past years, it was

a common scene to see people

walking around all the way from

Mohammed Ali Road to Colaba

which is over an hour’s walk and

buy what you like or you don’t.

Come Iftar time, all would rush

home to eat snacks, drink cold

drinks and offer Iftar prayers.

Politicians and businessmen arranged

huge Iftar parties to host

their friends or customers and

show their largesse, all of which

came to a standstill in this year.

In this year, no songs we

played to wake up family members

for Azaan prayer in Mumbai,

no food was sent over to anybody

to maintain safety, no prayers on

the terrace and all charity was

done from a distance.

Ever since government announced

lockdowns all over the

world and in India on account of

the pandemic, people were advised

to stay indoors, and this has

had quite an effect on the spiritual

and social aspect of Ramadan

and Eid Ul Fitr. It was for the

first time in many years, that the

streets were desolate. There were

no cattle markets ahead of Eid, no

night markets and no food joints

during the month of Holy Ramadhan,

that attracted millions. To the

extent of morning prayers on the

day of Eid at the Mosque passed

off so quietly leave alone greeting

the participants or visiting the relatives

and friends, everything became

the thing of the past.

KRISHNA’S BIRTH OR DAHI

HANDI WENT WITHOUT FUN OR

FROLIC

The grim shadow of COVID-19

crisis was visible on Dahi Handi

festivities in Mumbai and other

parts of Maharashtra as mandals

opted for low-key celebration unlike

past years which provided

for public spectacles by ebullient

Govinda squads.

Adhering to the social distancing

guidelines, Dahi Handi mandals

forming human pyramids to

mark the birth of Lord Krishna

were not held. Instead, they were

carrying out health and social

welfare drives, like blood donation

camps and removal of plastic.

Yet in some places, Dahi Handis

were held in a symbolic manner

with a small gathering and by

maintaining social distance and

wearing masks.

Ram Kadam, BJP MLA from

Ghatkopar in Mumbai, said he

used to organized the biggest Dahi

Handi celebrations in the city in

normal times. But this year, he celebrated

in a very simple manner,

observing social distancing given

the COVID-19 crisis. No human

pyramid was formed. Instead,

they performed Puja in their own

area without forming human pyramids.

The mandals organized

collecting plastic and recycling it.

The fund raised through the activity

was used for the education

of the needy.

GANESH CHATURTHI CELEBRA-

TIONS SCALED DOWN

In every year the birth of Ganesh

which was also called Gokalashtami

was celebrated by hosting

the pandals wherein the large

statues of Lord Ganesh (Ganesh)

were kept in for public viewing

or darshan. This year saw noth-

24


ing of that sort of extravaganza.

In several places like Lalbaugh

and Chembur where huge statues

of Ganapati used to be installed

every year, in this year the celebrations

were cancelled while in

other places like the GSB Wadala

Ganpati the celebrations were

postponed to Maghi Chaturthi

to coincide with Lord Ganesha’s

birthday, in February 2021 according

to their calendar.

Prior to the celebration in the

year, the state home department

released a set of guidelines that

asked people to maintain social

distancing and the department

directed all mandals to stream

darshan via Facebook, cable television,

websites and other mediums.

The public crowding was

avoided and the height of Ganpatis

at mandals was asked to be reduced

to not more than four feet.

In addition the mandals were

urged to postpone immersion or

use marble or metal Ganesha idols

at home. Instead of public immersions

at Girgaon Chowpatty,

the BMC provided five artificial

lakes at different places like Grant

Road, Tardeo, Malabar Hill, Mumbai

Central and Girgaon for the

immersion of Lord Ganapati. Instead

of immersions the ministry

urged mandals to organise health

camps, blood donation camps and

create awareness about how to

control the spread of the virus.

BANDRA FAIR CANCELLED,

CHURCH ASKED TO STEAM

MASS ONLINE

As the Mumbaites are aware,

in September in every year, the

people of all faiths from across

the city throng to the Bandra Fair,

which is held to celebrate the birth

of Mount Mary. The fair has been

held for nearly 350 years. However,

this year, Bandra’s streets were

deprived of the usual pomp and

the bevy of stalls. However, the

devotees of Mother Mary can still

catch the mass online, as Mount

Mary Basilica announced its plan

to broadcast the Holy Masses via

social media or public websites/

TV channels. According to the past

records, the last time the festivities

were cancelled likewise was during

the Bombay Plague in 1895.

The inability to celebrate

birthday, wedding or anniversary,

unable to visit one another,

unable go to work, unable to attend

school, unable to meet one

another in public places and the

worst the challenges that we face

in celebrating our festivals, what

COVID 19 has in stock for us? Perhaps

we are confronted with the

true uncertainty of human existence

and the true vulnerability

of human life. How often have

so many of us believed that we

are supreme masters of the world

around us. But now it’s time to realize

that the real control is not in

our hands.

We are brought face to face

with the most basic questions of

life. What are we here for? What

have we done with our lives?

What do we yet wish to do if given

the opportunity? The pandemic

leads us to some painful insights:

If we know who is truly important

to us and what we truly cherish,

then why have we spent so

little of our lives pursuing these

things?

he Covid-19 pandemic demonstrates

to us the value of freedom

– the freedom to move, to be with

those we love, to live in dignity

and security – for ourselves and

for those around us, from our

loved ones to the refugees and the

downtrodden, it shows us the terrible

folly of pretending that we

can achieve security in isolation,

within the borders of our nation,

culture, class or religion. The religious

insight that all people are

created in the image of God called

us to recognize that everyone on

earth is worthy of our respect and

care.u


TRIBUTES

Renowned philanthropist S V Kudva

MANGALURU: The chairman and Managing

Director of Canara Workshops Pvt. Ltd. Srinivas.V.Kudva

(87) passed away on August 29 following

cardiac arrest.

He was the second son of late V.S.Kudva who

founded the Canara Group of Industries and

had been the founder editor of erstwhile Navabharatha

Kannada daily newspaper.

Konkani activist, researcher Paul Moras

MANGALURU: Well-known Konkani activist,

writer, researcher and social worker Paul Moras

passed away on August 30 at the age of 68 years.

Born on April 28, 1952, Moras had rendered

service to the Konkani community for the last

three decades.

He has published Konkani research volumes

and several research articles. His books have

been selected for higher studies in universities

of Goa and Mangaluru. He was honoured with a

number of literary awards, including Karnataka

Konkani Sahithya Academy award. He was also

Social activist B G Mohandas

UDUPI: Renowned Kannada activist, social worker

and state Rajyotsava awardee B G Mohandas

passed away on August 31. He was 70. Mohandas

is survived by wife Yashoda, son Akhil, daughter

Yashaswi.

Born in Kundapura Taluk, Lion B G Mohandas,

widely popular as BG did his schooling in Shimoga district

followed by SSLC from Christian High School Udupi

and Pre Degree from Poorjna Prajna College, Udupi.

Kudva was the alumnus of Canara School and

St. Aloysius College. He completed his Metallurgical

Engineering from Lehigh University in the

US. Upon his return he was inducted as the director

of Canara Group of Industries followed by its

chairman/MD. He introduced latest technology in

the improvement and production of his automobile

product Canara Springs

which that created high demand

in the market .

He served as the honorary president of Kanara

Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Rotary

Club of midtown Mangalore. An acclaimed philanthropist,

he has contributed to the setting and running

of Vijaya College in Mulky which happened

to be his native place. He also awarded scholarships

to meritorious students.

Kudva has left behind his wife Sharada, sons,

Premanath, Vasanth, daughters Shaila and Neena.

News by Rotarian M.V. Mallya

the president of Konkani Bhasha

Mandal Karnataka.

Some of his works are

'Konkani Chalvoll', 'Jagaran'

and 'Mogre-Karan' and

'Khel-Rajanv'. For his work

‘Konkani Chalvoll,’ he had won Dr T M A Pai Foundation’s

Best Konkani Book award. He had also

won 'Mahan Konkani Karbari' and district-level

Rajyotsava Award.

Moras was laid to rest on August 31 at the

Derebail Church. u

He did his post-graduation from Manipal College

of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Manipal University and

worked in Kasturba Hospital as its first chief pharmacist.

He then joined VISL,

Bhadravathi, before returning

to become assistant professor

in Manipal College of Pharmaceutical

Sciences.

He left for Saudi Arabia in 1982 for 2 years, came

to Dubai to work as chief pharmacist and country

manager in NMC. He also worked as HOD of clinical

pharmacy in Gulf Medical College in Ajman before

returning to India in 2014. Lion B G Mohandas was

the zonal chairman Lions Club (1987-88). He was also

the general secretary of Manipal Jaycess u

26


POETS’ COURT

Break free

Seated in their favourite restaurant

he studied her across a table laid for two

but his eyes were not so eager as once

they were.

Between them distance grew.

He had decided to tell her

that she didn’t mean anything now

their marriage was a formality

lending her false security.

The fact of the matter was that

he had met someone pretty and nice

who was all that he had dreamt of:

slender, sleek and bright.

When he was still lost in thought,

she broke into her brilliant smile.

He tried to look away, but failed,

his gaze lingered on her awhile.

But he had made up his mind

and looked at her while silence prevailed

Where was the girl he had married?

Who was this woman in shadows veiled?

He looked at her unkempt hair,

the dreary kurta she wore

the chipped nails, the skin pale

No she wasn’t for him anymore.

Suddenly she remarked

the skin and hair you see today,

are the same I was born with


but changed for the worse as I slogged away.

This sagging stomach was a blessed womb

for our lovely kids;

my nails are chipped

from scrubbing all day long.

She spoke her heart out -

said she could have been sleek

If he had taken time off his work

to help out once a week.

Her fingernails could grow again;

her colourless lips could glow again;

if only he would show he cared

And share her joy and pain.

She then quietly reminded him

that she was once his spine

when her own back was hurt and bent

she cheered aloud; made him feel fine.

She recalled days when

they stood staring at the night sky

while he made promises now unfulfilled

and told her lie after lie after lie….

She said, Alas! It is too late now, I have

to announce my decision to set me free

To discover the real ME. To live life to the fullest

While all along “I ONLY EXISTED”.

Saying this she stood up with a sigh

of relief and of pity, and walked away

while he sat there speechless

numbly aware that he had lost something priceless.

Edited by Geralyn Pinto.

By Sonal lobo

The poet and writer is based in

Bangalore

28

PETS


DIGITAL INDIA

New Terminology in Digital Banking

By B.N. Bharath

The writer is Asst GM in a Public Sector Bank

Heraclitus, a Greek

philosopher had quoted,

“change is the only

constant in life”. He had quoted

this during 6th century BC. Lot

of water has flown in Evros, the

longest flowing river in Greece,

since then and changes have

happened in all walks of life,

not only in Greece, across the

globe, terminology world being

not an exception. The changes

have been swift, more so, during

the last few years, thanks to the

digital revolution.

Now, new terminologies are

extensively being used as never

before. ‘Low hanging fruit’, is

one such commonly used metaphor

referred to denote the easily

achievable or simplest work. But

then, had Sir Isaac Newton too

preferred to pick the low hanging

fruit like all of us, then world

wouldn’t have advanced scientifically

like today, as he wouldn’t

have got the inspiration to come

out with his theory of gravitation

watching the fall of an apple from

a tree!

Also, bankers use several abbreviations

in their daily Banking

chores or should I say, Bankers

take interest in using several abbreviations?

We have graduated

from mails to emails and further

to e-messages, which is nothing

but Whatsapp and MS Teams.

Though, all professionals are expected

to plan their daily task

properly with a TDL (To Do List),

as multi tasking is order of the day,

bankers complain that in between

the VC or now, the ubiquitous,

webinars surface and you are expected

to carry out your role play,

accordingly, more efficiently. By

the by, when I say VC its not the

Vice Chancellor of a University,

it is the Video Conference! In one

office, someone answered a mobile

phone call in a low voice, saying

“I am in VC”, but actually he

was at the nearby Vijaya Canteen

relishing his coffee!

It is expected that not only the

staff even the user public should

always be up-to-date on the latest

terminologies and abbreviations

in the present environment; otherwise

he will be considered as

old-fashioned. Next time, when

someone refers to JV (Joint Venture),

AOF (Account Opening

Form), don’t get perplexed. Also,

you have DB for Dash Board or for

Digital Banking, RM for Regional

Manager or Relationship Manager

or Raw Material. Depending

upon the circumstances; the

understanding also changes, like

water changing its shape depending

on the utensil it is stored. You

have the OVDs which have got

nothing to do with DVDs or the

outdated VCDs. These are the Officially

Valid Documents required

for opening of new accounts or

for updating the existing accounts

for KYC (Know Your Customer)

purpose. When one says officially

valid, do you have officially invalid

or unofficially valid, well…all

other documents are invalid only.

Again, these days instead of using

the word contact person, the abbreviation,

SPOC is used, meaning

single point of contact.

When a banker talks to a

customer referring to POS (Point

of Sales) machine, he, definitely,

will pause for a minute, trying

to figure out what the former

Continued on page 26

EDUCATION & LEARNING

“DAIJIWORLD Magazine | September 2020 29

My dream is

to become

an IPS

officer, says

Apoorva

By our correspondent

S

S Apoorva, a 10th standard

student from Ladyhill

Victoria Composite PU

College is greatly overwhelmed to

bag 99.04% marks in the recently

announced board examination

results. Although Apoorva missed

the first place just by 6 marks,

she has no regrets. According to

her, she realised after writing the

examination that she had made

some silly mistakes; hence she

may not get 100% marks although

initially she was determined to

secure a rank in the examination.

Ladyhill Victoria Composite

PU College has recorded 100% results

wherein all the 136 students

appeared for the examination

have passed with flying colours.

Her school has secured 95.77%

results in the SSLC examination

with 87 distinction holders and

99 first class achievers. Thanvi

S Nayak is the topper in English

medium with 623 marks and Ashwini

VittalMeti with 599 marks

is the topper in the Kannada medium.

Among the students with

distinction, Apoorva tops the list.

Daughter of Santosh Kumar

and Sujatha Santosh, a couple residing

in Urwa Stores, Apoorva

has a brother Karan who is a gold

medallist from NITK in Information

Technology and is now working

in Samsung Electronics, Bengaluru.

Here is a recorded interaction

Daijiworld magazine held with

Apoorva who sounded very excited

and positive towards life and

shared about her future course of

studies.

DAIJIWORLD MAGAZINE:

Were you disappointed that you

have missed the first place within

Karnataka just by 6 marks? What

transpired through your mind at

the time, especially because some

students score well in spite of not

studying well much those who

study hard don’t get expected result?

APOORVA: To be very honest,

initially even I was determined to

score 625 out of 625, but after writing

my examination I realised that

I had made some silly mistakes.

But I did expect to score anything

between 618 – 620 marks. In that

sense, I was very happy to score

619 marks which were within my

expectation.

DM: You must’ve slogged to

get such marvellous result. Who

guided or motivated you?

30


APOORVA: First of all, I must

admit, my parents have been my

great inspiration who guided,

guarded and motivated me into

studying well. In fact, I wanted

to score good marks and make

them happy.That was my aim.

Secondly, the teachers at school

played a great role in encouraging

and motivating me, hence

the credit behind my success

goes to them. My brother Karan

was someone whom I was looking

up to for inspiration as he

himself was a gold medallist. He

is my greatest motivator. I should

also add that he is my role model.

Regarding friends, yes, we did

group study and that helped to

secure good marks.

DM: After SSLC, what -Science,

Arts or Commerce?

APOORVA: In fact, I have

already chosen Science stream.

Physics, Chemistry Mathematics

and Statistics will be my subjects

of future study. I have chosen Science

because I

am planning to

prepare myself

for JEE and CET

exams. I must

admit, Mathematics

is my favourite

subject.

I simply love

Maths.

DM: After

two years of education, where do

you see yourself going?

APOORVA: As I said, after appearing

for JEE/CET, I wish to secure

a seat in some good engineering

college and later on to appear

for UPSC examination as my aim

is to become an IPS officer someday.

DM: Online education is the

‘new-normal’ in today’s world. Do

you think it is going to be effective,

as students keep complaining about

not being able to concentrate?

APOORVA: I think in the

present scenario, online classes

are the only best option considering

the safety of students.

I agree there is a difference between

real classroom and online

classroom, but with the present

technology it is not at all difficult

to interact with your teachers and

clear the doubts.

In the presence situation, I

believe we don’t have any other

option but to achieve best possible

results from the available set up.

Again, concentration depends on

the students if they have a mind

to cope up with the education and

I am sure it will definitely benefit

us.u

Continued from page 24 meant. Perhaps, if it is

referred to as swiping machine or billing machine,

the customer would be more comfortable. Also, we

have graduated from the days of Codified Circulars

to Master Circulars to SOP (Standard Operative Procedure).

Even government regularly comes out with

SOPs for Covid situations. Shall we presume that SOP

is not ‘old wine in new bottle’? Bankers fluently use

several abbreviations such as RACPC, CCPC, CPPC,

TFCPC, RLPC, FIMM, DSH, RACC etc., with the firm

belief that customers should grasp these.

Just as you need to a have dictionary to understand

the meaning of difficult words, it is time to

have dictionary to decipher all such abbreviations

and terminologies. Or should I say, we need to have

a granular data and MIS (Management Information

System) on all such abbreviations and terminologies

used. Also, despite giving push to digital products,

bankers complain that footfalls in branches have not

reduced at all and perhaps its time to have a paradigm

shift in their strategies. Also, when the bankers

talk of footfalls or walk-in customers can they forget

about ‘on boarding’ of new customers for new initiatives

of the Bank, under different verticals?

Incidentally, even government is not far behind

in using such abbreviations. How many of us know

the expansion of PM CARES Fund? Actually, its Prime

Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency

Situations Fund created on March 28, 2020, for

combating COVID 19 pandemic. As a matter of fact

it should have been India CARES Fund as whole of

India cares for the treatment for the dreaded virus

and not Prime Minister alone. But then, who cares?

That’s why we always say, “Kaalaaya Tasmai

Namaha”, though no one has coined KTN so far! u


EDUCATION & LEARNING

Online education:

the good, the bad and the ugly

By Patsy Lobo

Senior Coordinator, Training and

School Relationships-The Teacher

Foundation, Professional Soft Skills

Trainer, Educationalist / Script writer

of Children’s plays

Now that online

education has

become ‘new

normal’ against the threat

of Corona virus Pandemic

the role of teachers in

motivating, guiding,

guarding and educating

our younger generation cannot

be ignored. As we mark teachers’

day, September 5 every year, here

is a tribute to the hard work,

dedication and contribution of

teachers worldwide.

We celebrated our Golden

Wedding Anniversary at the end

of February 2020 - 50 years of

a happy married life. By then,

Covid-19 was creating havoc in

China and was an unwelcome

guest in a few other countries.

However, our children and many

friends from abroad and outside

Mangalore were able to join us at

the Golden Wedding celebration.

Our son, who is in the in USA

along with our daughter who is

based in Rome, raised eloquent

toasts. In his speech, my son very

proudly called me a “Contrarian”,

for a minute I wondered what he

meant. It quickly dawned to me

that we always discussed different

topics long distance and did

not always see eye to eye. I guess

you will realize what I mean when

you go through this article.

I wish to state that I have been

a teacher for over 50 years and

had the unique privilege of teaching

all age-groups from kindergarten

to Standard-10 in Bangladesh,

Ethiopia and in four States of India.

Since moving base to Mangalore

in 2007, I have been a Facilitator

for Teacher Training under

the auspices of The Teacher Foundation,

an Education promoting

NGO headquartered in Bangalore.

I have been a Coordinator for the

Personality Development Program

for School/College students

and Teacher Enrichment Program

for Empowering of teachers, on

behalf of the Catholic Association

of South Kanara (CASK) for the

past 8 years and have thoroughly

enjoyed it. I have also acquired a

Diploma in Soft Skills training as

a Senior Citizen. Thus I have the

credentials to offer my ‘Contrarian’

views on Online Teaching.

I have told many parents,

principals and friends that ‘Online

Teaching’ is not a substitute

to ‘Classroom’ teaching in the

context of India and many other

countries of the third world.

It can only be a ‘temporary’ arrangement

to remind the students

32


of their school and occupy

their minds on some subjects

and motivate them to

gather essential knowledge.

It has the capacity to generate

interest in learning provided

the teachers are well

trained to use different online

methods to promote such

learning. This works in highend

schools mostly in cities,

where the students and their

parents have the benefit of

computers, smart phones and

adequate internet facility and

the schools have the capacity

to invest in online education

platforms. This is the GOOD

part of online education, provided

everybody knows it is

‘temporary’ until class-room

teaching becomes possible or

at least a combination of online

and classroom teaching becomes

feasible. Teachers are learning to

download appropriate videos to

strengthen their online teaching

skills and are mostly familiar with

Zoom, the fashion of the day and

other online platforms.

Now, the BAD and UGLY aspects

- Several schools in India

jumped into the Online Education

bandwagon, in June 2020, without

weighing the advantages and

disadvantages of Online teaching,

without adequate training

of teachers or parents, without a

proper survey of the background

of students or parents vis-à-vis

their access to gadgets or internet

to support online education

and without adequate investment

to offer holistic online teaching.

June is the beginning of the academic

year in India in most states

and the online education could

have been postponed by one or

two months to give space for adequate

online training and preparations.

In these trying times, when

millions of households are suffering

the economic consequences

of the corona pandemic and prolonged

lockdowns, the parents

were forced to invest in smart

phones/computers/laptops and

internet, pay fees, and buy books

on online education. In addition

to starting online classes without

adequate preparations, since the

be-all and end-all of education in

India is Examinations, the school

managements and teachers

proudly conducted online tests/

examinations! The Department

of Education of course did its part

by issuing constantly changing

Guidelines, Instructions and orders.

Those who are cheering Online

Education I’m afraid are not

familiar with the digital divide in

India. According to the 2017-18

National Sample Survey report

on education, only 24% of Indian

households had an internet facility.

66% of India’s population lives

in villages, but only a little over

15% of rural households have access

to internet services. For urban

households, the proportion is

42%. In fact, only 8% of all households

with members aged between

5 and 24 have both a computer

and an internet connection.

A Family with many children is

forced to buy smart phones for

each child, adding to the already

expensive living.

My friend, a retired principal

of a renowned school in Mangalore,

feels that Online kills the

feel of school and that too much

screen exposure and absence of


quality time with their teachers

and friends is a negative factor.

Considering the above Good,

Bad and Ugly scenarios of Online

Education and assuming that the

corona pandemic will not subside

for a couple of months, what policies

should the Government adopt

and how should schools proceed

in the best interest of the future

generation? The best solution is a

combination of Online and Classroom

teaching, after ensuring adequate

safety.

I note that countries which

have restarted schooling - France,

Denmark, China and New Zealand,

offer tips for minimising

the risks. They let the

most vulnerable teachers

stay at home. They commonly

reduced class sizes, even

though that meant many

children could spend only

part of the week with their

teachers. They staggered

timetables to prevent crowding

in corridors, at school

gates and in dinner halls.

They made it mandatory to

wear masks.

They boosted schoolbased

testing and tracing. They

advised measures such as separating

desks by six feet or whatever

is realistically possible. This probably

means that not all children

will be able to go back full-time

to school. But a few days a week

with a teacher are better than

none.

The trade-offs in the poor

countries are even harder. Only

25% of schools in the poorest

countries have soap and running

water for hand-washing. However,

schools in such places are also

where pupils are often fed and

vaccinated. Closing them makes

children more vulnerable to hunger

and measles, and this risk almost

certainly outweighs that

of covid-19. The prudent course

for poor-country governments is

therefore to act boldly and reopen

schools after ensuring adequate

precautionary measures. There

are reports that some schools in

India are rejecting admission of

students who have not paid their

fees by a certain date. Parents are

in a dilemma.

On the other hand, many rural

schools in India have resorted

to unique solutions like holding

classes in play-grounds or fields

or teachers visiting homes where

the numbers are small.

My friend Anna Correa,

Principal of St Stanislaus School,

Bandra-Mumbai whose school

launched into Online Education

says “the teaching fraternity is

forging forward with hope. Our

world has changed, may be irreversibly,

but adapt we will! Teachers

have to continue to inspire, to

motivate and facilitate learners

and learning, whether in school

or via the internet. Previously

technology was viewed as an addon,

now it has to be integrated

seamlessly into the curriculum”.

As we celebrate Teacher’s Day

on September 5, 2020, let me say

“Dear Teacher – thanks for supporting

and Enlightening me”…..

Hear my Cry:

• I need to meet you in person to

tell you that I always enjoyed

your humour, your love, your

care, your hugs and how you

shared personal experiences;

• I was always excited about

what you were teaching and

have good memories of our

class discussion;

• You showed me step-by-step,

how to do things and clarified

any misunderstanding;

Will such Cries continue to

inspire teachers in this online era

is the question? My friends - HAP-

PY TEACHER’S DAY 2020!! Stay

Strong, Stay Safe, we need you

around. u

34 DAIJIWORLD Magazine | September 2020

ASK DOCTOR

Should I divorce my abusive husband?

Dear Doctor,

I am a 48 years old housewife. I got married very

young and by the time I was 25, I had two kids who are

now going to the college. My husband is a manipulative

and unaffectionate man who thinks that he is doing

us a big favour by looking after us. Earlier he was

physically abusive but now as the boys have grown up,

he has stopped lashing at me. I started going to a fitness

centre two years back and have many friends now. I

feel no need to be in a marriage. Sometimes I feel I want

to stay alone away from my husband. When he shows

affection I feel it is fake. I scream at him a lot. Should I

tell him I want to leave him? He is recently diagnosed

with cancer. I think its karma.

Dear Seema,

By Supriya Hegde Aroor

Professor in Psychiatry Dept. Father Mullers Medical

College &consultant at Arogya Clinic, Mangaluru

Seema

My heart goes out to you. You must have had a

tough time in a loveless marriage being manipulated

and abused. However karma has levelled things and

now the abuser is in a pitiable situation. Its it entirely

up to you as to what your next course of action should

be. Will guilt trouble you if you dump your spouse?

Will your children be happy with your decision? Will

society snub you with negative comments?

Rethink all the pros and cons of your decision. You

have made friends and are trying to keep fit. That is

excellent. Do you really want to rock your marital boat

now when you did not do it all during those years of

suffering? Be wise.

Dear Doctor,

I am 22 year old in college. I have a very peculiar

problem. I pull my hair when I am tensed. It is more

when I am alone or sad. I do that when I am bored. I

have consulted a skin specialist but did not tell him

that I am pulling my hair. He asked me also. I felt too

ashamed to tell.

Small bald patches have begun to appear on my

head and it looks ugly. I have begun to wear a wig also.

My mother passed away two years back. This became

more at that time. Should I consult a psychiatrist?

Dear Sharada,

Sharada

You suffer from hair pulling disorder or

trichotilomania. It falls in the category of habit and

impulse control disorders. You should consult a

psychiatrist for detailed evaluation. The onset and

course will be analysed, precipitating and allaying

factors will be delineated. Grief may have worsened

this disorder in you. A diary may have to be maintained

with details of emotions preceding each hair pulling

episode. Being around people and being busy will

help. Wig will only help you conceal the baldness. It

may actually make the hair pulling more as you have

something to hide it with. SSRI medication given by a

psychiatrist and habit reversal behavioural therapy

helps. I am certain things should improve with therapy

and medication.

Dear Madam,

***

I have been diagnosed with irritable bowel . I am on

medication and I think I am fine now. My doctor is not

allowing me to stop the drugs. It’s harming my system.

I can’t think clearly and I feel sleepy sometimes. I want

to try yoga and meditation as treatment. I am fed up of

taking so many medicines. What should I do?

Dear Jagrut,

Jagrut

Please do not stop the medication prescribed to

you before consulting your psychiatrist. Your doctor

could actually change your medication or lower the

dose if you are experiencing side effects. Please discuss

with her/him openly about your concerns. Yoga and

meditation are adjuvant and not at all the mainstay

to treat irritable bowel syndrome. I am sure you have

consulted a gastroenterologist and all organic causes

have been ruled out. If not, you could do so. u


36



OPINION

Sycophancy isn’t funny

By chhotebhai

The writer is the National

Convenor of the Indian Catholic

Forum.

Ouch! They’ve done it

again. Those Gandhi

topi wearing Congress

wallahs. The original Gandhi topi

has been replaced by another

Gandhi hat – the obsequious

and sycophantic one, before the

descendants of another Gandhi –

Indira.

This sycophancy was at its

worst display at the meeting of

the Congress Working Committee

(CWC) held on March 24th August,

to discuss a letter written by

23 Congress “dissenters”. Firstly, it

is wrong to call the letter writers

dissenters. They were only asking

for a revamp of the functioning

and leadership of their party,

having included a caveat that

they had utmost respect for the

mother-son Gandhi duo of Sonia

– Rahul.

My mother was a member of

the All India Congress Committee

(Indira) as also the U.P. Congress

Committee (Indira); though she

chose to go with the Congress (O)

during the Emergency, and later

rejoined the Congress. However, I

have never been a fan of the Congress,

post the Emergency. I also

hold Indira Gandhi responsible

for the bifurcation of Pakistan and

creation of Bangladesh; thereby

creating a permanent enemy on

the western front, and burdening

the country with refugees from

Bangladesh in the East.

Over the years I have voted for

the Janata Party, Janata Dal, CPM

and Samajwadi Party, depending

on who the candidate was. It

was only after Manmohan Singh

(MMS) became Prime Minister that

I began voting for the Congress.

But in the last municipal election

I voted for my friend who had left

the Congress to join AAP. This is

my political caveat.

After the Congress debacle of

2014, where Rahul Gandhi had

led the charge, I had written a

widely published article “Why

Rahul should Quit”. I had then

advocated that Rahul Baba take a

two-year sabbatical from politics,

go and live or marry his girl friend

abroad, and leave the Congress to

its fate. However, after the Congress

won the three State elections

of Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh

and Rajasthan I had reversed my

opinion to write another article

“Pappu can Dance”, based on his

nickname and a popular Bollywood

song.

After the 2019 debacle, when

Rahul resigned as Congress President

and made appropriate noises

that a non-Gandhi should lead the

party, I thought it was a wise and

humble decision. But reverting to

his mother as the interim President

meant that the Congress had

taken one step forward and two

steps backward. The “resolution”

passed at the recently concluded

CWC meeting can best be described

as a huge leap backwards

for Congresskind.

In 2004 when Sonia asked

MMS to be Prime Minister she

38


was hailed for heeding her conscience.

However, I felt that it was

more of a conscientious decision

because she knew that she had

zero administrative experience.

The Damocles Sword of Bofors

would also be hanging over her.

So she made a wise and practical

decision to step aside.

In more recent times the Congress

made two huge blunders.

When the time came for a new

Rashtrapati, they should have

made MMS, the venerable statesman,

the President. Instead they

chose Pranab Mukherjee, who

should have been made Prime

Minister then. But the Gandhi

parivar was always wary of Pranabda,

because he had the intelligence

and political acumen to

upstage the Gandhis. And the latter

did not want to lose their personal

fiefdom, the Congress party.

The second blunder was when

Rahul, the brash babalog, tore up

an ordinance passed by the Government.

That was a direct insult

to the Government led by MMS.

Had MMS then resigned, or if Pranabda

had become Prime Minister,

the course of Indian politics

would have been very different

today.

As a result the country is now

caught in a cleft stick between the

Gandhi parivar on the left and the

Sangh parivar on the right. The

nation is the poorer for it.

At the CWC meeting Rahul

baba indignantly objected to the

letter writers doing what they did

when his mother was sick; even

though one of the main votaries,

Gulab Nabi Azad, was at pains to

say that the letter was delivered

only after he had ascertained that

Sonia was fit. Sycophants then

jumped into the fray accusing the

letter writers of collusion with

the BJP, resulting in Rahul actually

having to phone Kapil Sibal to

say that he had not done so. But

the smokescreen had been raised,

no matter who actually lit the fire,

or now, the pyre of the Congress!

The CWC meeting has raised

more questions than it has answered.

If Sonia has been unwell,

and for quite some time; then why

is she clinging to the chair? How

does she justify her being so easily

convinced by her sycophantic

durbar to continue in office?

It smells of hypocrisy. The same

goes for the sibling duo of Rahul-Priyanka.

Why do they make

public statements saying that a

non-Gandhi should lead the Congress,

and then act in a way that

gives quite the opposite message?

When the Congress was in

power at the Centre for ten years,

Rahul could have easily become

a minister, and learnt the art of

administration. He also seldom

participated in parliamentary debates.

He wanted power without

the attendant responsibility. This

is obvious from his behaviour at

the CWC meeting, including his

silence on not being the next Congress

President, if and when his

mother relinquishes office.

I always held MMS in great esteem.

But now he too had joined

the bandwagon of sycophants,

most of whom are half his age. He

should graciously withdraw from

active politics. Only then will history

be kinder to him as he has

sometimes stated.

Sycophants insist that it is the

Gandhi family that is the glue that

binds the Congress together. This

speaks very poorly of the party.

It is also a whopping lie. Sonia

was anathema to Mulayam Singh

Yadav, which is why he refused

to support her claim to form a

government in 1998/99. She was

also anathema to Sharad Pawar,

who together with Purno Sangma

and Tariq Anwar broke away to

form the National Congress Party

(NCP). Sangma’s son Conrad, has

now aligned with the BJP in Meghalaya.

In Andhra, a Congress

bastion, YS Reddy’s son Jagmohan

also chose to cut his umbilical

cord with the Congress, as did

Mamta Banerjee in Bengal. Earlier

Ajit Jogi, former Chief Minister

of Chhattisgarh had also quit the

Congress.

Ironically Jogi, Sangma and

Reddy are all Christians. This

gives the lie to another canard of

the Sangh parivar that all Christians

are lackeys of the Congress,

and that Sonia is a plant of the

Vatican to convert India to Christianity!

More recently young stars like

Priyanka Chaturvedi joined the

Shiv Sena and Jyotiraditya Scindia

the BJP. Both have been rewarded

with the membership of

the Rajya Sabha. It is obvious that

the Gandhi’s cannot recognize

the talent in others, precisely because

of the lack of wisdom that

they suffer from. Far from being

the glue, the Gandhis are actually

the sticky point for many others

who share the left-centrist vision

of the founders of the grand old

party.

POET’S COURT


Hope of a new

‘tomorrow’

I’m lost in thought

seeking answers

for questions arriving unbidden:

What’s reality?

What, mere illusion?

Is this the same Earth

where once we lived?

The new ‘Normal’ is alien.

Unbelonging fills my soul.

We witness disaster everyday;

illness darkens life’s horizon

Is this evolution; Darwin’s natural selection?

Or are we victims of our own making?

But the Sun rises

carrying dawn into my life

and the Sun sets with promise

of a better tomorrow.

Nevertheless I wonder:

Do I hope in vain?

Edited by Geralyn Pinto.

By Greshal Sanjana Quadros

III MBBS, Fr Mullers Medical College,

Mangaluru

This begs the question about

the future of other bright Congressman

like Shashi Tharoor,

Kapil Sibal, Gulam Nabi Azad,

Manish Tiwari and Anand Sharma.

Will they too be sidelined

in the Gandhi Party (why call it

the Congress now)? What will be

their political future? Will they

be content to play second fiddle

to the incompetent Gandhi parivar,

or will they look for greener

pastures?

Will Sharad Pawar, the wily

old fox, who outwitted the BJP

in Maharashtra, extend them

a welcoming hand to make the

NCP a national alternative to the

BJP? Will other prominent fence

sitters like Abhishekh Manu

Singhvi and the Chidambrams

also jump ship? Time will tell.

Watch this space, for in the Congress

there is place only for sycophants;

and its not funny.

The views are personal.

40


YOUTH

Oh boy,

you are good for nothing!

By Henry D Souza SFX

Parish Priest of Salethur Church in

Bantwal

The heading may be

confusing or making you

feel angry, negative as

well as misleading!!. I used it to

stimulate you – to make the young

read the article till the end - bear

with me.

It is rightly said, ‘you live only

once, but live better’. It’s a common

flaw that nowadays youth

are blamed for one reason or the

other. It used to happen with the

earlier generation as well. Probably

in a slower gradation as the

education was taking the upper

hand than the modern way

where technical environment is

pre-dominant.

I am aware of the fact that ‘the

world’s one third population is

youth’ i.e. above the age of 14 and

below 35. This means if all youth

survive till the age of 70, the next

35 odd years the world will be

moved by the present youth and

their way of thinking, behavior,

planning and their interest which

is seen as visible today.

It is very amazing to know the

interests of the youth today. Each

one has their own way of understanding

the situation as they

wish and their behavior pattern

and attitude towards the existentialities.

The older values are been

replaced with many new, in terms

of culture and nature. Either they

have their own ‘go’ or they haven’t

with the exception of some

who are still in search of.

I would like to mention about

the youth though sounds negative

to the eyes of the reader, in

fact this stage is either passed or

on the present move. i. e. youth

are busy with what they are not

aware of. I have found them to be

reduced themselves to less and

less and gone to a world of two aspects.

One, they eat less, sleep less,

work less, less in creativity, their

real aim or goal in life and motivation

is poor. They are just led by

the wind either by their friends

or by bad company. Obedience,

respect, discipline, following the

achievements of great personalities

and their teachings and their

way of life’s achievements, and

take them as model is something

unthinkable. As rightly said by a

great reflector ‘behind every person

there ought to be a guru, and

a guri’ (goal) ahead of them. This is

not seen in most of the youth today.

The second aspects they look

for mainly are friendship and an-


droid phone. One can observe that

if these two things are there, they

do not need even food and rest.

Parents are lost, because there is

no fear, obedience and respect.

Grand parents and relatives are

silent because the youth seem to

be no longer needing them. Thus

the society seems to be broken in

relationship.

NOW WHAT THE YOUTH CAN

DO – A FEW SUGGESTIONS:

1. Do have a time table of your

feasibility and do strictly follow

it.

2. Whatever you do, do take parents

first into confidence and

do not cheat or hurt or offend

them.

3. Keep in touch with friends and

relatives how and as necessary

but don’t get enslaved by them.

4. Have a great love for the poor –

especially friends and relatives

and immediate neighbours.

5. Read or listen to the great personalities

and see how you can

build your real ‘me’ come up.

6. Have one goal and do not bow

to anything but achieve it. Do

not work hard but SMART. Let

this goal be not religion motivated

/ criminal or of destructive

/ immoral and unethical.

7. Give up the company of the

one who is not helpful to you

or who does not go with your

thought or you can not correspond

to his/her ideas or one

who hinders you to achieve

your goal.

8. Believe in God and yourself

alone. Trust in divine providence

only.

9. Believe in the blessing of your

parents and enjoy the company

of them and of your siblings.

10.Family should be your first

home, learning Institution,

play ground and open have a

formula of your learning.

CONCLUSION:

The above case is not in all

the youth but as seen from experience

with the most. You cannot

think negative and live positive.

Take one day at a time.’ A burning

candle lights another and looses

nothing’. Let the life of the youth

be their own life and so their ‘real

me’ stand up. The birds fly from

one distance to the other even

crossing the ocean but they have

a goal shared and thus they take

turn to fly and help each other to

push the air with the capacity of

the wings and make others also

fly and reach the destiny. Hence

be useful and far sighted so that

youngsters’ future should tension

free, joyful and peaceful. Often

they are the product of appreciation

rather than correction when

they went wrong. If one wishes

to travel 100 miles, he has to start

with step one then the second. I

wish all the youth a better life and

future where they are the happiest

human beings ever lived on

this world. Wish you all the best

young people.u

42


RECIPES

Baingan Bharta (Maharastra)

This is a classic dish prepared by using roasted eggplant

or baingan. Goes perfect with any type of bread/parota.

Preparation time : 10 mts

Cooking time : 40 mts

Serves : 2 people

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 large Eggplant

• 1 Onion finely chopped

• 2 tbsp Oil

• 1 tsp Cumin seeds

• 1 tbsp Garlic finely chopped

• 1 tsp Garam Masala

• 1 tsp Red Chilli powder

• 2 Green Chillies finely chopped

• 4 tbsp roasted peanut powder

• 1/2 cup Coriander Leaves

• 1 tbsp Jaggery / Gudh, Gul

METHOD

• Rub eggplant very well with oil. Then put that in to oven

tray and bake 450 degree fahrenheit. And bake 15 to 20

minutes from each side.

• After the baingan is cooked, peel its skin off completely.

• Then mash it very well.

• Heat up 2 tbsp oil, add cumin seeds, onion and saute

until onions turn translucent.

• Then add chopped garlic and green chillies and cook for

a minute.

• Add garam masala, red chilli powder, mix and cook for

2 more minutes.

• Add mashed eggplant, salt and jaggery, mix very well.

• Add roasted peanut powder, mix, cover and cook for 5

to 6 minutes.

• Garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves!u


POINT OF VIEW

ONE RUPEE for A NEW INDIA

By Fr. Cedric Prakash SJ

The writer is a human rights and peace

activist

Not only Justice Shah, but several

legal luminaires, intellectuals,

civil society leaders from across

the board, leading editorials/

op-eds have expressed their

disgust with what is happening

in the Supreme Court today.

Just a couple of days before

his retirement from the

Supreme Court, Justice Arun

Mishra gave the people of India a

very special gift - a ONE RUPEE

COIN! It was in the form of a soft

‘punishment’ to senior human

rights activist Prashant Bhushan in

the contempt of court case.

Bhushan was held ‘guilty’ and

the quantum of ‘punishment’ was to

be handed out on August 31, a little

after the clock struck twelve noon!

The 82-pages judgment concludes

with, “We, therefore, sentence

the contemnor with a fine

or (SIC)

Re. 1/-(Rupee one) to be

deposited with the Registry of this

court by 15.09.2020, failing which

he shall undergo a simple imprisonment

for a period of three months

and further be debarred from practicing

in this Court for a period of

three years” (#93)

It was perhaps one of the most

high-profile cases in the Supreme

Court in recent times. Bhushan after

all, is a well-known lawyer and

has taken up cudgels on behalf of

the poor, the excluded and the exploited;

it has always been against

the powerful, the vested interests

and of course the ruling regime

-particularly the current political

dispensation. The immediate provocation

was two tweets Bhushan

made in June; first against four former

Chief Justices and in a second

tweet against the current Chief

Justice. As the case unfolded it was

clear that Bhushan would never

relent; besides, Justice Mishra was

well known in giving favourable

judgements to the likes of the BJP/

RSS and other powerful groups.

Justice Mishra said that they

were “showing magnanimity” by

not imposing a severe punishment.

He is fooling no one! There would

have been ‘magnanimity’, if he had

declared the entire case null and

void and apologized to Bhushan for

the mental trauma he has caused

him, for the tremendous loss of

resources and time and if he had

decided to look objectively at all

the charges of corruption against

past and sitting judges. Instead by

awarding the Re 1/- fine he has initiated

a national movement; where

hundreds of people who stand up

for democratic principles, for truth

and justice, for Constitutional values

and certainly for Prashant Bhushan

were spontaneously ready to

put the Re1/- into the kitty. Re 1/- is

mainly in coins today; but the ordinary

citizen is short-changed all

the time. If you pay in cash with a

big note or coin, the small change

(particularly the Re1/-) is hardly returned.

In fact, one cannot get one

of those ‘masala’ pouches or even

a gulp of tea, today for Re 1/-. That

coin has become useless; today

however, it is pregnant with meaning!

It is not about a ‘token’ punishment;

it has suddenly become a

powerful symbol of a resilient and

new India waiting for change, ready

to overthrow all those who have

been destroying every sacred institution

of our democracy!

44


One needs to re-visit the sequence

of this case :on June 27

(the day after the anniversary of

the 1975 emergency in India) Bhushan

wrote a one-sentence tweet

opining about the Indian Supreme

Court’s role in eroding freedoms

in the world’s largest democracy.

He said “When historians in

the future look back at the last

six years to see how democracy

has been destroyed in India even

without a formal Emergency, they

will particularly mark the role of

the SC in this destruction, and

more particularly the role of the

last four CJIs.”

Two days later (June 29), his

second tweet said,“The CJI rides

a Rs 50-lakh motorcycle belonging

to a BJP leader at Raj Bhavan,

Nagpur, without wearing a mask

or helmet, at a time when he keeps

the SC on lockdown mode denying

citizens their fundamental right

to access justice!” This tweet had

a photo of the CJI Bobde astride a

Harley-Davidson.Some members

of India’s Apex Court were upset

with these tweets. On July 9,

2020, a petition was filed by an advocate,

for contempt based on the

tweet against the CJI sitting on a

motorbike, with an application

for exemption from producing

consent of the Attorney General

(AG) or the Solicitor General (SG).

The matter was listed on July 22

before the Bench presided over

by Justices Arun Mishra, B R Gavai

and Krishna Murari, which

passed an order, inter-alia, gave

consent for the matter to be listed

and notices were served to the Attorney

General for India. The Supreme

Court issued a show cause

notice to Bhushan after initiating

the criminal contempt against

him for his two tweets. Besides

this, another suo motu contempt

petition was also pending before

the same three-judge bench

against Bhushan for calling past

CJIs corrupt in a 2009 interview to

Tehelka magazine. Bhushan had

offered an explanation but the Supreme

Court refused to accept the

same and ruled the matter would

be heard. (that case, however, is

now expected to come up before a

different bench on September 10)

In its judgment dated 14 August,

the bench ruled that Bhushan

was guilty of contempt of Court

for his tweets against Chief Justice

of India SA Bobde and last

four CJIs , saying, such an attack

which tends to create disaffection

and disrespect for the authority of

this court cannot be ignored. The

Judgement further stated that the

scurrilous/malicious attacks by

the alleged contemnor No. 1 (Bhushan)

are not only against one or

two judges but the entire Supreme

Court in its functioning of the last

six years. Such an attack which

tends to create disaffection and

disrespect for the authority of this

court cannot be ignored. ”

On August 20, several hundreds

of citizens had gathered all

over the country and particularly

on a national webinar to express

their solidarity with Bhushan.

Updates of the court proceedings

were given regularly to the participants

at the webinar. Several concerned

citizens openly expressed

their disgust of the way the Constitutional

rights of the citizen

were being trampled upon.

Towards the end of the hearing

Bhushan’s statement included

the following, “I have gone

through the judgment of this

Hon’ble Court. I am pained that I

have been held guilty of committing

contempt of the Court whose

majesty I have tried to uphold --

not as a courtier or cheerleader

but as a humble guard – for over

three decades, at some personal

and professional cost. I am pained,

not because I may be punished,

but because I have been grossly

misunderstood. My tweets were

nothing but a small attempt to

discharge what I considered to be

my highest duty at this juncture

in the history of our republic. I

did not tweet in a fit of absence

mindedness. It would be insincere

and contemptuous on my part to

offer an apology for the tweets

that expressed what was and

continues to be my bonafide belief.

Therefore, I can only humbly

paraphrase what the father of the

nation Mahatma Gandhi had said

in his trial: I do not ask for mercy.

I do not appeal to magnanimity. I

am here, therefore, to cheerfully

submit to any penalty that can

lawfully be inflicted upon me for

what the Court has determined to

be an offence, and what appears

to me to be the highest duty of a

citizen”.

Caught very badly on the

wrong foot, Justice Mishra and

his colleagues refrained from giving

the order for the sentencing

of Bhushan on that day. In an apparent

face-saving device and as

a last-ditch effort they felt that

Bhushan had to unconditionally

apologize in order to settle the


matter; asserting that they were

giving him 2-3 days more to think

over things. But Bhushan in a

style which is so characteristic of

him, was unrelenting saying that

he would never apologize.

On August 25,Venugopal

made a strong case for Prashant

Bhushan, particularly on his

tweet on retired judges; “Can anything

be said whether whatever

has been said is correct or not? We

cannot possibly go into this aspect

without the views of those judges.

That would mean an inquiry

which will go on and on. Prashant

Bhushan can’t be punished till

this inquiry concludes. So, my

suggestion would be to give a quietus

to this matter without getting

into that exercise. He urged the

Supreme Court “to show statesmanship

and not use the powers

of the contempt.” Once again, the

Supreme Court did not hand over

the ‘punishment’ to Bhushan.

One wondered why? Heading the

bench was Justice Arun Mishra.

His track record in the Supreme

Court has been just disgraceful: he

has blatantly been on the side of

the RSS/BJP combine ( his admiration

of Prime Minister Modi is unabashed,

referring to him in public

once as “a genius who thinks

globally but acts locally”) ; he has

sided with their crony capitalist

friends like the Adanis most

of the time; given several questionable

and dubious judgments (

with others) like the case of Sanjiv

Bhatt, the Haren Pandya murder

case ( where he overturned the

acquittal of the ‘alleged’ killers),

the mysterious death of Justice

Loya and many others! His bench

was regularly given important

and politically sensitive matters.

That was one of the bone of contentions

which prompted Justice

Gogoi and three other senior judges

of the Supreme Court to hold an

unprecedented press conference

in January 2018.

Prashant Bhushan has over

the years has also been his ‘bête

noire’. Giving Bhushan some punishment

was perhaps, the only

way by which, Justice Mishra

could have ‘his pound of flesh’ and

be crowned, by Modi and his ilk,

just as they did so to the former

CJI Gogoi, post-retirement! Not

only Justice Shah, but several legal

luminaires, intellectuals, civil

society leaders from across the

board, leading editorials/op-eds

have expressed their disgust with

what is happening in the Supreme

Court today. Some of the judgments

have been extremely prejudiced,

one -sided and hardly befitting

of the most important pillar

of democracy. Besides important

cases (and judgments..) are kept in

cold storage.

That several of the judges

have succumbed to the political

powers and have not displayed

the courage and the prudence to

protect the Constitutional rights

of the citizen is to say the least.

Later in the evening Prashant

Bhushan at a Press Conference

stated, The Supreme Court of India

has announced its verdict on

the contempt case against me. It

holds me guilty of contempt of

court and has decided to impose

a fine of Re 1, and failing that imprisonment

of three months and

debarring me from practicing for

three years. Therefore, while I reserve

the right to seek a review of

the conviction and sentencing, by

way of an appropriate legal remedy,

I propose to submit myself to

this order and will respectfully

pay the fine, just as I would have

submitted to any other lawful

punishment.

He ended the press conference

by thanking two senior advocates

who sided with him, Rajeev

Dhawan and Dushyant Dave,

but not before recording a strong

statement - “My tweets were not

intended in any way to disrespect

the Supreme Court or the judiciary

as a whole, but were merely

meant to express my anguish, at

what I felt, was a deviation from

its sterling past record. This issue

was never about me versus the

Hon’ble Judges, much less about

me vs the Supreme Court. When

the Supreme Court of India wins,

every Indian wins. Every Indian

wants a strong and independent

judiciary. Obviously if the courts

get weakened, it weakens the republic

and harms every citizen.

What is very heartening is that

this case has become a watershed

moment for freedom of speech

and seems to have encouraged

many people to stand up and

speak out against the injustices in

our society.

He ended his speech by saying

- Long live democracy! Satyameva

Jayate!”

A powerful statement! It

should be because the Re 1/- is the

symbol of change: of a NEW IN-

DIA u

46


CHILDREN’S CORNER

The Three Little Pigs

The story of The Three Little Pigs featured here

has been adapted from different sources and from

childhood memory. The primary sources are English

Fairy Tales, retold by Flora Annie Steel (1922)

with illustrations by L. Leslie Brooke from the 1904

version. This story is featured in our Favorite Fairy

Tales and Children’s Stories.

An illustration for the story The Three Little Pigs

by the author

Once upon a time there was an old mother pig

who had three little pigs and not enough food to

feed them. So when they were old enough, she sent

them out into the world to seek their fortunes.

The first little pig was very lazy. He didn’t want

to work at all and he built his house out of straw.

The second little pig worked a little bit harder but

he was somewhat lazy too and he built his house out

of sticks. Then, they sang and danced and played together

the rest of the day.

The third little pig worked hard all day and built

his house with bricks. It was a sturdy house complete

with a fine fireplace and chimney. It looked

like it could withstand the strongest winds.

The next day, a wolf happened to pass by the

lane where the three little pigs lived; and he saw

the straw house, and he smelled the pig inside. He

thought the pig would make a mighty fine meal and

his mouth began to water.

So he knocked on the door and said:

Little pig! Little pig!

Let me in! Let me in!

But the little pig saw the wolf’s big paws through

the keyhole, so he answered back:

No! No! No!

Not by the hairs on my chinny chin chin!

Three Little Pigs straw houseThen the wolf

showed his teeth and said:

Then I’ll huff

and I’ll puff

and I’ll blow your house down.

So he huffed and he puffed and he blew the

house down! The wolf opened his jaws very wide

and bit down as hard as he could, but the first little

pig escaped and ran away to hide with the second

little pig.


The wolf continued down the lane and he passed

by the second house made of sticks; and he saw the

house, and he smelled the pigs inside, and his mouth

began to water as he thought about the fine dinner

they would make.

So he knocked on the door and said:

Little pigs! Little pigs!


But the little pigs saw the wolf’s pointy ears

through the keyhole, so they answered back:

No! No! No!

Not by the hairs on our chinny chin chin!

So the wolf showed his teeth and said:

Then I’ll huff

and I’ll puff

and I’ll blow your house down!

So he huffed and he puffed and he blew the house

down! The wolf was greedy and he tried to catch

both pigs at once, but he was too greedy and got

neither! His big jaws clamped down on nothing but

air and the two little pigs scrambled away as fast as

their little hooves would carry them.

The wolf chased them down the lane and he almost

caught them. But they made it to the brick

house and slammed the door closed before the wolf

could catch them. The three little pigs they were

very frightened, they knew the wolf wanted to eat

them. And that was very, very true. The wolf hadn’t

eaten all day and he had worked up a large appetite

chasing the pigs around and now he could smell all

three of them inside and he knew that the three little

pigs would make a lovely feast.

Three Little Pigs brick house

So the wolf knocked on the door and said:

Little pigs! Little pigs!


But the little pigs saw the wolf’s narrow eyes

through the keyhole, so they answered back:

No! No! No!

Not by the hairs on our chinny chin chin!

So the wolf showed his teeth and said:

Then I’ll huff

and I’ll puff

and I’ll blow your house down.

Well! he huffed and he puffed. He puffed and he

huffed. And he huffed, huffed, and he puffed, puffed;

but he could not blow the house down. At last, he

was so out of breath that he couldn’t huff and he

couldn’t puff anymore. So he stopped to rest and

thought a bit.

But this was too much. The wolf danced about

with rage and swore he would come down the chimney

and eat up the little pig for his supper. But while

he was climbing on to the roof the little pig made

up a blazing fire and put on a big pot full of water

to boil. Then, just as the wolf was coming down the

chimney, the little piggy pulled off the lid, and plop!

in fell the wolf into the scalding water.

So the little piggy put on the cover again, boiled

the wolf up, and the three little pigs ate him for supper.

u

48


WOMEN

A life coach, a Reiki Master, Tibetan Sound bowl healer

A Magic Capsule called Archana Rao

By Andrea Miranda

The writer is a freelancer and

specialist in HR.Currently works

in an Int’l school in Riyadh.

is like a camera; just

focus on what’s important

and capture the good “Life

times. Develop the negatives and if

things don’t work out just take another

shot”

In a country where marriage is

often considered sacred and quintessential

for a woman, and most are

riddled with this stigma, we have

the contemporary artist, Archana

Rao who stood strong challenging

that perception and pushing for

a change. For someone who has

emerged from a failed marriage

and a drowning career into the one

woman in India to hold the title

of “Laughter Yoga Champion”, she

proudly states “Your value does not

decrease based on someone’s inability

to see your worth”

True to her vibrant nature, Archana

was eager to provide legions

of her loyal followers an insight

into her rapidly growing business,

whirlwind personal and family life

and her refreshingly honest perspective.

She’s a woman who never

seems to slow down or stop moving

-constantly running from her impressive

art studio where she hosts

a parade of interesting clients, supporters

and female entrepreneurs

to events and shows in various cities

in India. However, what seems to

really resonate with her followers is

that Archana has no qualms about

acknowledging that neither her divorce,

nor her life have been easy.

In our increasingly curated world,

her refreshing honesty provides inspiration

to women trying to establish

a new normal.

DELIGHTFUL MOMENTS

Born in the beautiful town of

Ahmedabad into a humble service

class background Archana says she

has fond memories of her childhood.

As a child she was a very

carefree, happy go lucky person.

She was amazed by the small things

around her and was intrigued that

how God has created this world and

different people so unique. She was

never thinking about the future nor

was ever into planning her life into

a particular track. She was neither

outstanding in class nor the standing

out of the class types.

She firmly believes that her family

is the main source of her survival

and being. According to her,

her parents and sister have been

her biggest support at all times. Her

friends too have also believed and

trusted in her through all times and

stood like a pillar and supported her

in all possible ways.


THE UNSEEN BARRIERS

Growing up in a closed society

she was keen on experiencing the

outside world and on completing

her education, marital bliss

brought along the excitement of a

new life. “It was an arranged marriage

where I got to meet him once

and in 6 months we were married,

we used to sneak calls once

a week”, she smiles. Her marriage

meant the world to her, she felt on

top of the world and found herself

to be very lucky. “It was the

wow factor in my life, I felt I was

the luckiest woman in the entire

world”, she explains.

But the marital bliss was short

lived as she quickly realised that

she was emotionally drained and

slipping away, yet she tried to

hold on and took all the trauma

and frustration for 7 long years

with a hope of a better tomorrow.

“It was in 1999 where divorce

was looked down upon and I

having come from a small city

and an orthodox society I could

never imagine my life without

my husband although I was depressed

and kept breaking down”,

she sighs. Finally, help came in the

form of her parents who decided

to move ahead by giving her the

hope and courage to come out of

the toxic relationship into a whole

new world of her own.

“I kept asking myself if I was

doing the right thing because I

quit my job from a top IT firm, I

took a divorce and I moved cities.

But one thing I realized in those

tough times is that life never

stops”, she says bravely. “It’s ok

to cry and be depressed when

life puts you though a tormented

situation, but the question that

changed my life was: “How long

am I going to cry? Is the other person

also crying for me? Are people

around me crying? No! They

forget whether you are divorced,

sick or deceased no one remembers”.

So, we need to pull up our

socks and not bother about what

the society has to say, one builds

their own destiny.

SHIFTING GEARS

A new city, an empty pocket

and an undying spirit to succeed

brought Archana to Bangalore.

Having given up her earlier job

she had to settle for a position

as an executive in a staffing firm

which she took up delightfully.

But life had more trials in store

for her. “I was working with an

executive search firm and due to

organisation politics and in spite

of having good performance, was

laid off. But I walked out and started

my Executive Search firm, “Du

Kaizen”. Two of my clients also

supported my decision to become

an entrepreneur”, she explains.

Formed during difficult times

posed a different set of tasks at

hand. Yet this time she chose not

to yield to it and with her hard

work and constant self-boost she

single-handedly managed her

venture and established her company

as the finest hiring firm.

DESIGNING DESTINY

On being questioned how the

rise to fame happened, she says,

“I was doing very well professionally

but was held back due to the

busy corporate life. Also, there

was a restricted way of looking at

work and gradually the need to do

something creative or intellectually

stimulating kept nagging me.

Arandomn episode of “Ted

talks” on laughter yoga made

me wonder all about its hype,

that’s when my journey started.

I watched it for 15 minutes and it

left me smiling and laughing with

Dr Madan Kataria who was conducting

the show. That is how I

was introduced to laughter yoga

and the same night I contacted

him and in less than a month I attended

a training program and did

my certification in laughter yoga.

Thus, began the journey from

a simple girl to being a laughter

Guru India looks upon.

“Laughter Yoga India” came

as sunshine amongst dark clouds

of personal trauma and setbacks

in Archana’s life. An invite to do

a session for a corporate took a

life-changing path and she has

50


never looked back since then. “I

was more than happy to support

this session and it turned out to be

a great success and the response

was overwhelming. This landed

me with requests pouring and the

corporates recommended starting

this process for their new joiners

and I was compelled to register it

as a company. The journey started

then is now so big that it brings

in a sense of fulfillment to have

achieved so much in so little time”,

she gleams with pride.

created a record for making 3000

ladies laugh at the same time in

Mumbai she is working towards

creating a record with the Guinness

Book for the most people

laughing together at the same

time. She is also working on an

awareness and approach project

to therapeutic laughter and a

research on “How does laughter

help and support the healing process

in cancer patients”

Amongst the international

trainings conducted

IN PERFECT HARMONY

An enthralling journey from an

innocent girl to a woman of substance,

Archana feels she would

have been more of a home maker

and traditional wife, had she not

explored and pushed herself to take

certain decisions in life.”

“The biggest challenge in today’s

world is stress, worry and

tension and what I am propagating

is laughter without jokes and

SOARING HIGH

Today Archana is crowned as

the leading woman in India chosen

to be the laughter ambassador

in the Global Laughter Yoga

forum representing India and recently

been interviewed by SBS

TV channel in Australia, Indian

Express and Radio City channels

in India. Being the most renowned

student of Dr. Madan Kataria, the

founder of Laughter Yoga University,

and with his blessings she is

the lone Laughter yoga Trainer

in the country doing high impact

sessions for more than 500 high

profile clients. Having already

by her, Hollywood actor

Daniel Lane from UK and MS Helen

an actor from the theatres in

UK are a few well known personalities.

Her future plans include

moving to the UAE in the coming

few months and start her

own center named “The Healing

centre” while she would continue

to run her Laughter classes

in India. She wants to spread

her knowledge across the globe

and intends to train people on

spreading the joy of healing and

creating a more meaningful and

purposeful life.

comedy, which is not easy. People

come with their conditioning of

logic, but here is my challenge. Every

group is unique and has resistance

in the first few minutes. But

at the end of the day what makes

me happy is to see the same people

moving out happy and peaceful

that makes my day,” she reveals

contended.

A life Coach, a Reiki Master, Tibetan

Sound Bowl Healer, Access

Bars Consciousness Practitioner,

Laughter Yoga Guru and an amazing

human being that is the magic

capsule called Archana. u


POINT OF VIEW

Corona pandemic has reshaped

our festivals

By John B. Monteiro

Senior journalist, regular contributor to print and

electronic media. He also serves as the Editorial

Consultant for major publication projects.

“Always do your best. What

you plant, you will harvest later.”

— Augustine “Og” Mandino (1923-

1996), American author who

wrote the best-selling book,

The Greatest Salesman in the

World.

Mandino’s optimistic

message does not

always deliver

as many a time floods and

droughts destroy our crops.

This year, in the wake of the

ongoing Corona-19 pandemic,

PM Narendra Modi had

announced a number of feelgood

measures kicking in midyear

and lasting until end of the

year which, he said, is marked by

celebrations by various religions

and communities.

While this is welcome, many

such celebrations, mainly marked

by harvest festivals, were occasions

for family reunions, which

are now debarred due to the travel

restrictions and social distancing.

Let us take the instance of

Mangalorean (Canara) Christians.

Their members have had a long

history of working away from

their home district and sending

money back home. It started with

Mangaloreans working on ships,

initially as cooks and butlers and

later on decks, including as Captains

and Chief Engineers. And, of

course, office and factory employment

followed, starting with Madras,

the Provincial capital, then

Bombay, a booming city that hosted

financial institutions, and then

Bangalore, the new capital of Karnataka

State. Then there were/are

Gulf countries which threw open

their vast job ranges to Indians,

especially to those on the West

Coast of India with Mangalore in

the forefront.

Taking the harvest festival of

Canara Catholics, it is called Montiche

Fest and celebrated on September

8 which is the birthday of

Mary, mother of Jesus. It is considered

a family feast with many

working away from the home

district, returning home to participate

in the celebrations.

For Catholic Christians, for a

change Mother Mary’s birthday

provides an opportunity to savor

a pure vegetarian (consisting odd

numbers – 9, 11, etc. for whatever

reasons) and milk-based payasam,

in which the new corn (rice), is

mixed and reverentially partaken.

On this day, the consumption

of non-vegetarian food is

a taboo although people from

the Coastal districts prepare a

fish item, mostly King fish as

they argue that they are celebrating

their first catch in the

season.

Coming back to the family

aspect of harvest festival,

if the family members are

unable to join for different

reasons, they were not forgotten.

The parent or siblings used

to send them the new blessed

corn by post, but this has now is

a thing of the past for every part

in the world is now celebrating

the fest where they receive fresh

corn even before it is available in

Mangalore.

Although Corona pandemic

has disrupted to some extent the

age-old charming rituals, yet the

spirit is high and people are looking

for another year to celebrate

the feast in full zest.u

52


HEALTH & WELLNESS

Aunt Flo…

By Dr Preethi Rebello

Assistant Professor, Dept. of

Psychiatry at Father Muller

Medical College, Mangaluru.

So next time your wife,

mother, daughter, sister

or girlfriend is cranky,

just give them a

smile and say you

understand what they

are going through.

Chums, Menses, girl flu, time

of the month….different

names for the same monthly

routine half of the population has

to go through for more than half

of their life, for a minimum of

cumulative 60 days in a year (almost

2 months). For the uninitiated XY

chromosomes, it is the time of the

month in your mothers, sisters,

wives, girlfriends and daughters

lives where their uterus decides

let’s make them miserable for the

next 5 days. Its code red when they

feel bloated drained, and ugly. The

pimples decide to pop up and have a

party all over their face.

When I was pre-pubertal I

used to wonder why mom has

diapers hidden in her cupboard

but later I realized I will be tied

to it for the next 4 decades of my

life. Sanitary pads have made our

life much easier than our mothers

and grandmothers who used unhygienic

cloth repeatedly washed

and dried in secrecy as if what

they are going through is abnormal

and other people to know.

Also now sanitary pads come

in pretty yellow, pink, blue small

packs which look like a purse

where in olden days they used

to come in big rectangular pads

wrapped in newspaper and

passed along with much difficulty

when required. When my dad

used to go to medical stores to buy

sanitary pads for mom (proud of

him for being so macho) they used

to wrap it in 2 to 3 layers of newspaper

as if, if it’s a WMD. (Weapon

of Mass Destruction)

Then when it is again the

time of the month we are always

stressed about overflow, staining,

changing, peeing, toilets nearby,

coughing and sneezing. It

also becomes like a sisterhood of

stained skirts when a classmate or

schoolmate who you do not know

comes and sympathizes with you

and whispers in your ears… “its

stained” and we go running to

restroom to check and change.

Physical activity becomes like a


obstacle race and you get sprain

in neck from looking back and

checking if all that you wear is in

the same colour or not. Add to it

the pain in the stomach, giddiness

, fatigue, headache….etc. etc.

Yes, the boys make fun of our

mood swings . Ohh…she is PM

Sing..ohh…why are you cranky…

is it that time of the month. I

dare all the boys to bleed 5 days

a month with all hormones being

pushed to their limits and still

maintain their cool. We women

at least have a reason to be cranky

unlike men…wink wink. Along

with these are other taboos which

accompany the time of the month.

The most irritating is the unpredictability.

You have a long

trip planned and it starts, a function

to attend in a light colored

dress it gives a guest appearance,

plan on swimming in a pool.. Lo

behold it happens, why does it decide

to show when it is least invited

is still a mystery.

Some men believe it is beneath

them to buy sanitary pads

for their girls but then there are

some who will call and ask “do

you want the green one or the

blue or the all night long one or

the advanced one.” Oh guys ..You

are the ones who truly deserve all

our love…The current hot topic

of ‘Period Leave’ has its pros and

cons..Will it be a relief to us girls

or will it be another arrow in the

queer of the masculine to discriminate

and bring us down and call

us too delicate to do other work…

but come what we may will deal

with it as we have dealt with it

since the time the world began.

So next time your wife, mother,

daughter, sister or girlfriend is

cranky, just give them a smile and

say you understand what they

are going through. You will know

that Aunt Flo is giving a visit…! u

MUMBAI NEWS BY RONS BANTWAL

Model Bank Ltd launches its own IFSC Code

MUMBAI : The premier co-op

bank in the private sector, Model

Co-op. Bank Ltd on September

8, 2020 launched their very

own IFSC code - MDBK0000xxx

(where xxx varies depending on

the Branch). This will facilitate

24 x 7 credits into their customers

account and faster processing

of transactions. Model Co-op.

Bank Ltd continuously strives to

provide the best customer experience

to their customers with

Professional, Quick and Efficient

customer service. The IFSC code

which has been assigned by RBI

to the Bank is another step in this

direction. The fact that the Bank

has been able to operationalize

this service even during these

COVID pandemic times shows the

determination and commitment

of the Bank towards it’s customers.

In this context it would be

pertinent to mention that efforts,

good performance and financial

soundness of the Bank have been

regularly recognized and felicitated

both at the City and State level.

The Bank has received 11 awards

in the last 5 years for their good

performance.

Albert W. D’Souza- Chairman of

the bank addressed the viewers/

online participants and indicated

how the bank has been growing

from strength to strength since

its inception as a credit society

104 years ago. He did the IFSC

code launch in the presence of

William D’Souza (former General

Manager and now Advisor) and

Zenon D’Cruz (Officiating General

Manager), Senior Officers Osden

Fonceca, Vijay Chawan, Anil

Menezes, Ratnakar Shetty, Naresh

Takuru and staff members alongwith

over 200 customers. u

54


EDUCARE

Teachers are

Lifelong Learners

By Dr. Madam Grace Pinto

Managing Director

Ryan International Group of Institutions

September 5, is celebrated

as ‘Teachers’ Day’ to

commemorate the birth

anniversary of Dr. Sarvapalli

Radhakrishnan, the Second

President of India and a renowned

teacher and a philosopher for

his commendable contribution

to education. This day is rightly

set aside to honour our teachers

for their sacrifice in making a

significant contribution to the

society. Dr. Radhakrishnan

believed that “teachers should be

the best minds in the country”.

Indeed, teachers are lifelong

learners because learning never

stops neither for them nor for the

students.

Due to the current pandemic

situation, over the past few

months, the Indian K-12 sector

has evolved tremendously with

a transition taking place from offline

to online mode of learning.

Lifelong learning being the essence

of teaching, we witnessed

teachers unlearn and relearn, and

learn new strategies and tools that

were available online in order

to provide a productive learning

experience for the students. As a

result, there was a seamless transition

for many schools from offline

to virtual interactive model

of learning. We greatly commend


all our teachers for their commitment

and sincere effort to constantly

upgrade and equip themselves

for the betterment of our

students. In the years ahead, hybrid

blended learning with ‘faceto-face

classrooms and virtual

lessons’ is likely to be the future

of education that will provide engaging

and meaningful learning

experiences for our students. Virtual

learning as an integral part of

education system is here to stay,

however the holistic development

through school activities with

teachers as mentors will continue

to remain extremely integral part

of child’s education.

While we appreciate our

teachers for their relentless effort

to guide children, with the National

Education Policy (NEP2020)

the whole pedagogical framework

has undergone a change and

therefore we will stand to benefit

if our teachers as lifelong learners

embrace the changes proactively

and redesign and redefine

the learning outcomes to make

our children more global citizens.

Teachers as mentors are not only

empowering individuals but empowering

generations to come.

On this Teachers’ Day, we urge all

our dear teachers to rededicate

themselves for this noble cause

of education. There is a wealth of

talent and potential within every

child and teachers would serve

them well to facilitate the unlocking

of this wealth and empowering

them to discover their true

purpose in life. Teachers - cherish

your special calling to be lifelong

learners in order to impact eternity.

Happy Teachers’ Day! u

56


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Daijiworld Magazine, Vol.12, Issue 4, September 2020

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