January 31 2008

From The Times

January 2, 2008

Nigel Hankin

Former soldier who spent most of his life in Delhi
and wrote a successful guide to the idiosyncracies of Indian English

A young man who whistles at a woman is an “eve-teaser”. A female educator is a “teachress”. World leaders “airdash” to meetings which are not brought forward but “preponed”. These are some of the glorious oddities of Indian English revealed by Nigel Hankin in his book Hanklyn-Janklin: A Stranger's Rumble-tumble Guide to Some Words, Customs and Quiddities Indian and Indo-British, first published in 1992 and soon to appear in a 5th edition.

The title is a nod to Colonel Henry Yule's Hobson-Jobson (1886), the classic glossary of Indian words, and to the Hindi habit of using rhymes such as party-warty or chai-wai (tea). Some of Hankin's entries are not so much archaic as evocative of the peculiaries of Indian life. We read, for example, of an “ear cleaner”: “An urban itinerant professional gentleman identified by his small red turban into which are tucked his instruments: tweezers, probes and buds of cotton wool.”

Revealed too are illuminating, if sometimes debatable, etymologies. “Doolally”, for instance, Hankin says, derives from Deolali, the dock near Bombay whence soldiers were invalided home. Khaki comes from Khaak, Urdu for dust or ashes and came into use at the uprising of 1857. The origin of rumble-tumble, slang for scrambled eggs, is more obscure.

Hankin said that the book was “intended as background information for the stranger residing in India, to give meaning to facets of life which otherwise might seem perplexing. I would like to think that it may also be useful to those outside the country concerned with Indian affairs.” It has won praise from Indians as well as visitors.

Nigel Bathurst Hankin was brought up by his grandmother in Bexhill, Sussex, after the early death of his father, and her Victorian attitude formed his outlook on life. He first arrived in India en route to Burma with the Army in 1945. The war ended before he got beyond Bombay, but he decided to stay, falling in love with the climate and the bustle.

After Independence he joined the New Indian Army as a captain to stay in the country. Later he had an eclectic career, including running a mobile cinema. He worked for about 20 years for the British High Commission, where among his duties was showing diplomats and their wives the sights of Delhi.

After he retired, this became his source of income. He was known as a guide to “working Delhi, not tourists' Delhi”. One of the most interesting parts of the tour was the wholesale market. Through narrow, dingy alleys, the gangly, white-haired six-footer would make his way dodging labourers carrying gunny bags on their heads, cycle rickshaws, carts, stray dogs and cows and often accompanied by the stench from open urinals. The shopkeepers knew him well and would greet him with “Ram Ram Tau” (uncle).

Hanklyn-Janklin was the result of two decades of collecting unusual Indian-English words, beginning in the 1960s. “A doctor at the British High Commission in Delhi gave me a list of 20 Indian words he'd read in his newspaper and asked me what they meant,” he recalled. “I suddenly thought if he wants to know, others might too.”

Hankin never considered returning to Britain. “I returned for three months in 1982 to visit my brother but it was so dull I went home after a few weeks,” he said. “I missed the chaos.”

Despite this, however, Hankin never assimilated into the Indian way of life, remaining a detached observer. Even after more than 60 years in India his breakfast consisted of cornflakes, eggs and bacon; dinner always began with soup. This was brought to him by the same servant for 40 years.

Nigel Hankin, author of Hanklyn-Janklin, was born on March 14, 1920. He died on November 30, 2007, aged 87 
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January 27 2008

We are indebted once again to Kailash for bringing the following stories of City tours of the following cities Delhi, Bangalore, Calcutta and Bombay

· The Hidden City 
Ever had one of those moments when you wonder why on earth you live in this urban mess, when you could be breathing fresh air on a farm in New Zealand? It's time for some time travel. 

Delhi
These neighbourhood walks are guaranteed to make you fall in love with the forgotten secrets in your backyard. Rumours abound in Delhi about a relic from the Raj, who, if found, will give the best tours of the city. Not run-of-the-mill Red Fort runs, but tours from the perspective of a true insider of 50 years, who will take you anywhere and teach you everything. But he's simply a whispered rumour to most people in Delhi. And he insists he wants to keep it that way. "Please don't mention how to contact me. I already have enough business." (A quick Google search will, unfortunately for him, reveal his secret.) Finally, after a few weeks of waiting, my group meets the man-Nigel Hankin-in Chanakyapuri. The thin, 87-year-old Hankin takes one look at us and asks where the car is. We glance at each other. We need a car for a walking tour? "Are you joking? Delhi is 30 miles across! The city itself is seven miles round! No car…" he rages. Hankin, only slightly slouched, in pressed slacks and shirt, likes things done "the Nigel way", as Manjeet Nanner, a repeat client says. Unfortunately, we set up the tour through written notes, so he didn't have the chance to tell us what his way is. A taxi is hurriedly hired, Hankin's disappointment is soothed (until, that is, I ask to stop for water: "You didn't bring any water?"), and off we drive to our walking tour. Hankin will take you wherever you want to go and discuss-albeit reticently at times-what you want to discuss. Interested in pre-Mughal architecture? You'll stick to South Delhi for the day. Need to brush up on the flora and fauna? Hankin will quickly point out the only lane in Delhi where the Flying Fox roosts or the Canna lily in bloom near India Gate. If you don't have a specific place in mind, or period to study, Hankin will take you on the We-Do-What-Nigel-Thinks-Best tour. And since the man gives the distinct impression that he does know best, we willingly follow him. Hankin guides the taxi driver around his favourite points of interest in New Delhi, including the crematorium to see a corpse awash in sprays of river water, the Gurdwara Bangla Sahib to pray and Kingsway Camp to visit "George". We dine at the Maiden hotel in Civil Lines, where he oversees the "pigs at the trough" (i.e. us). Finally, full on the buffet, we get to the walking part of the walking tour: a mad dash through Old Delhi. Of the 12-odd places we visited, only four had been seen by anyone in our group before. Shopkeepers shout "Ram, Ram!" to him and workers give him extra space as he winds through the dark alleys. On the second floor in the spice market, he laments the changing face of Delhi, for the fifth or sixth time that day: "It all used to be so peaceful and beautiful. Thirty years ago, this was a very upscale home and it had a beautiful garden here." Hankin came to Delhi in 1947 and has never left, luxuriating in his adopted city, first as an officer in the British army and then at the British High Commission, where he "moved paper from one table to another." He often took ministers' wives out for casual tours of the city, ordered to keep them out of the ministers' way until at least 5 o'clock. When he retired 20 years ago, Hankin continued the tradition for anyone interested, six days a week, year round. Though, now that he's nearing 88, he claims he's trying to cut back to four days. He takes us to familiar spots and places we've never seen, like the colourful by-lanes of Khari Baoli and Gadodia market, old Delhi's spice den. His tour finally brings me to the 14th century step well which I pass by every day to work, but never visit. Hankin's Delhi is glimpsed down secret corridors and peered at over locked fences. Plus, he's a wealth of knowledge, be it of King George's procession, where to buy nitric acid or how the salt residue on the crematorium's brick marks the last good monsoon in Delhi. And, best of all, I now know where to go if I ever need an axle for my tractor. (For groups of up to five, Nigel requests Rs2,200 and lunch, which costs around Rs1,000 per person.)
(Sadly Nigel Hankin died two months ago)

Bangalore
 Melissa A. Bell Arun's Bangalore Between 7am and 10am on Sundays, Arun Pai hits the climax of his marketing spiel. For a captive audience of CEOs, vice-presidents, anonymous tourists and sharp citizens, Pai sexes up beleaguered Bangalore. Brushing aside the IT stars and the traffic smokescreens, he shows them a city that lived a couple of hundred of years ago. "The Sunday morning Victorian Bangalore walk (at Rs495 per head, including brunch) isn't even profitable any more, but it's the best introduction to what we do," says Pai. "If anyone calls me up with questions or inquiries for a special-interest group, I simply invite them to our signature walk." 


Starting with a half-minute silence under the porch of the Holy Trinity Church, at one end of the super-busy M.G. Road, 37-year-old Pai urges the group to look through the archway into an avenue that, from that angle, fits every straight-and-narrow concept of colonial construction. Suddenly, it isn't so hard to imagine, circa 1791, a garrison marching down the street, intent on the Bangalore Fort, where Tipu Sultan reigns as the only threat to British supremacy in the south. Part extempore actor, part pop historian, part brilliant marketing tactician, Pai prides himself on customizing Bangalore-and, increasingly, non-urban Karnataka-to suit every taste. During the recent India International Coffee Festival, which drew Starbucks director Colman Cuff and Ernesto Illy of Illycaffe to the city, Pai drew up a By/2 Coffee Tour (by/2 being the local equivalent of Mumbai's cutting chai), which steered clear of Koshy's and Café Coffee Days and headed to the legendary MTR for an experience of coffee by the yard. If that sounds suspiciously like making India sound exotic, Pai is quick to defend himself: "This was a group that knew everything about coffee, from beans to baristas. But this method of cooling the coffee was something they had never seen before." If Pai can be pinned down to a single designation, it would probably be this: The Man Who Helps You See What You Look At. Over the past couple of years-Bangalore Walks, largely a one-man show, was launched on 1 August 2005-any number of Bangalore's own, and visitors, have perceived the significance of the missing name in the church plaque commemorating martyred Hussars (an elite British regiment) and appreciated why Bangalore is the only city outside Germany to celebrate Oktoberfest. Exhaustive research, including long chats with elderly residents, meticulous networking ("especially with the security staff," grins Pai) and umpteen dry runs ensure every new tour is a hit. "My walks are about a-ha moments," says Pai. His own epiphany came after an itinerant youth spread across IIT Madras, IIM Bangalore and Arthur Andersen in Delhi and London. "Watching the Beefeaters at the Tower of London, I realized we knew all about the Battle of Trafalgar, but nothing about the Battle of Bangalore." If it's an urban jungle out there, Pai is the GPRS. To culture, history and a lot of fun. (For details, log on to www.bangalorewalks.com) 

Kolkata (Calcutta)
Sumana Mukherjee Akhil's Kolkata At 8am, 67-year-old Akhil Sircar, a man of small frame, waits for me at the corner of Beadon Street, North Kolkata. We meet him for a tour of old mansions that has been North Kolkata's pride since the days of the Raj. Sircar's familiarity with the nooks and corners of these meandering by-lanes is unmistakable, as is his wry sense of humour and passion about their architecture and conservation. Most of these houses are about 150 years old, and my naive questions about their history are answered by reprimanding words-"Europeans and Americans were far more interested in architecture than us Indians, you know." A teacher of architecture and town planning by profession and an enlisted conservation architect of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation, he is still fighting lawsuits for the preservation of structures that would otherwise be razed to build multi-storey buildings. 

Sircar began these tours 10 years ago, with the initiative of Conservation and Research of Urban Traditional Architecture, a Kolkata-based organization. Most of his tours, conducted largely during winter, cover two routes: in and around Dalhousie Square, and the other starting at the Beadon Street post office (earlier, the private theatre of Chatu Babu, son of Ram Dulal, the most famous businessman of North Kolkata) and ending at Raj Bati, the royal family mansion of Raja Nab Krishna. We proceed along the second route. Sircar is full of anecdotes from the Colonial era-traders, agents, zamindars and governor generals abound in his stories. Our first stop: Ram Dulal's family estate. The story goes that Dulal once earned a fortune by selling a sunken ship and built a house for his family, another for his mistress and a few Shiva temples scattered around this neighbourhood. The Mitra House at Dorji Para lane once had an open roof. All these mansions have an outer courtyard, an outhouse and an inner courtyard. Other emblematic features include a Thakurbari (holy shrine), always facing the north or the east, Venetian blinds, timber beams, cast iron work in balconies and classical motifs of cherubim and stained glass work on walls and pillars. A little ahead, Sircar identifies a house whose pillars were recently broken down for a car parking area in its inner courtyard. Many descendents of these families now sublet their premises to hosiery shops, printing presses and goldsmiths. Through a three-dome masjid and verandahs like open wharves, we emerged at the Blacker Square, once cursed with a series of plagues. Our walk ends at the decrepit Raj Bati. Around its side walls, Sircar leads us to a sprawling entertainment hall, where the Raja entertained the British because they were barred from entering the main house with the holy shrine. Adjacent to it is a wall with holes carved into them. "The women of the house were forbidden to attend parties that took place in this hall. So, they would peep through these holes and satisfy themselves," Sircar says. Imagine the stories these walls would have been privy to. (For details, log on to www.iisd.com) 


Mumbai (Bombay)
Aishwarya Iyer Abha's Mumbai "Thank you for calling the Bombay Heritage Walks, please note that we will resume our Sunday public walks from June 2007..." It's not the most promising introduction to the BHW, but then persistence has to be a part of the regime when you're trying to track down Abha Bahl, our young Mumbai expert. It doesn't help that her office is a nest at the back of her in-laws' legendary Punjabi Chandu Halwai Karachiwala store in South Mumbai. But then a sweet shop, with a 112-year-old history, is an appropriate address for one of the founding ladies of one of the city's oldest heritage tour guide associations. "We're heritage ambassadors, the public link between NGOs, architects, academia and government agencies," says Bahl. 


Once you trace this 32-year-old mother, you realize she's a professional architect who unwittingly happened on the politics of Mumbai's heritage conservation. Bahl and her partner, Brinda Gaitonde, first set up the tour in 1999 when they were fresh architecture school graduates. Now there are 1,500 people on their mailing list for information on the walks. So, what's a straight-laced southsider doing running around the city for permissions from babus so tourists can look at the finer points of properties like the Victoria Terminus? "I love this city, and it's about more than just tourist maps, it's about spreading awareness for the place we live in," she says softly. Despite her political correctness, Bahl has a pet project-Khotachiwadi. The hamlet of 19th century Portuguese-style homes right in the heart of South Mumbai's trading district Girgaum, is BHW's trademark route. And Bahl's favourite crusade. "The Portuguese rule of Bombay wasn't worth much, except for the neighbourhood architecture they inspired, and Khotachiwadi is the best example of that. We can't afford to lose it,"says Bahl. Today, the area is under threat from builders who want cost-effective and profitable high rises in place of quaint brightly-coloured homes with wooden eaves and wrought-iron staircases. And as one family after another has given way, the 40 houses that used to dot this tiny by-lane five years ago have been reduced to just 32 today. The Khotachiwadi story, which began when the British handed a plot of agricultural land to a farming lord, Dadoba Waman Khota, first came to Bahl's attention in 1998, when she worked on a project commissioned by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region-Heritage Conservation Society. Today, Bahl, an urban design graduate from Berkeley, and her team of five, leads tours through the city, from walks around Mumbai's Fort and banking areas to the offbeat Khotachiwadi route. "Our most special private tour was for Chelsea Clinton, while she accompanied her father, President Clinton, to India in 2000. The hotel called us," she says, obviously proud that BHW has never touted its services. But it's the last thing on her mind as she weaves in and out of Khotachiwadi's tiny side streets that aren't large enough for even two shoulder-to-shoulder. In a crisp white salwar-kameez, her feet in sequin-studded mojris, she's breathless as she checkpoints the sporadic features of the community: the local wafer company that sits between a cross embedded in its backyard and a Ganapati on the front lawn, the polychromatic facades of the houses, the Goan-Portuguese style interiors, and sudden sprouts of open spaces in the middle of the cloistered neighbourhood. Bahl's last stop on the tour is house number 29B, which has just fallen to a builder's cranes. "I have to see this for myself," she says. The construction workers have dug out a massive ditch where a house with a pretty porch once stood. "They're building a basement car park," she says. There's bound to be a mailer going out about this soon. (Bombay Heritage Walks charges Rs100 per head for adults and Rs50 for students, while special groups of five are charged Rs2,500. For more details, email info@bombayheritagewalks.com.) Manju Sara Rajan Copyright © 2007 HT Media All Rights Reserved
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March 6 2007
Kailash again has come up trumps with this description, 
and we thank him.

Enjoy your next Currie please

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February 16 2007
We are again indebted to Kailash for spotting this realistic look at language today, and to amuse us Thank you Kailash

February 16 2007

A DIE HARD FAN GETS UNDER BRUCE'S SKIN
Veenu Sandhu
New Delhi, January 27

ARMED WITH a photograph of Bruce Willis and a couple
of thousand dollars, John Joseph Conway, a 43-year-old
firefighter from Chicago, checked into Sir Ganga Ram
Hospital on Tuesday.  He had a bizarre request to make
to hospital's plastic surgeons: he wanted to look like
his hero Bruce Willis.

Now, recuperating from his three-hour-long surgery,
which cost him $1,600, Conway says, "I am a
firefighter... I need to look the part.  I wanted to
improve my jawline.  Bruce Willis has a nice, strong
jaw."

Dr. Vivek Kumar, one of the three plastic surgeons who
operated upon Conway on Thursday, says: "After he
contacted us on e-mail, he said that as a man who
jumps into burning buildings, people in the community
look up to him and he needed to maintain his macho
image." The doctors studied his face for three days to
give him the look he wanted.

A couple of hours after the procedure, the fireman
says he is "very satisfied".  He plans to bring his
63-year-old mother here for a $1,500 face lift.  "My
40-year-old sister, who is studying to be a teacher,
will follow."  Between the three of them, the Conways
will pay $4,600 for the medical procedures,
post-operative care and hospital stay here.  Back
home, it would have cost them $40,000.

The Conways are part of the burgeoning influx of
medical tourists flocking to India's hospitals,
because treatment is not only cheap but also at par
with the best in the world.  This is Conway's second
trip for surgery to India.  He was last here in April
2005 for an eyelid surgery that cost him one-fifth of
what he would have had to pay in the US. "With the
money I saved, I got to see a new country - incredible
India," he smiles.
vsandhu@hindustantimes.com

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India's rickshaws

Colonial yokes are not bad for all

Feb 1st 2007 | KOLKATA
From The Economist print edition

The world's last rickshaw-pullers are battling against
extinction

SOME very poor men, perhaps 18,000 of them, went on
strike in Kolkata on January 24th to protest against a
ban on their livelihood, ostensibly imposed for their
own good. Much good may it do them. The Communist
government of West Bengal has long wanted to outlaw
rickshaws, of the original man-pulled variety, that
now exist only in Kolkata. Last December it did so, on
the grounds that man-powered transport was inhuman.
But what else are the thousands of rickshaw-wallahs,
in one of the world's poorest cities, to do?

Beg, is the best guess of a group of rickshaw-pullers
on Debendra Ghosh Road, a typically crowded alley in
central Kolkata. Like most of their fellows across the
city, they are migrants from Bihar, India's poorest
and third-most populous state. Earning around 150
rupees ($3.50) a day, with an average fare of 20
cents, they are not flush. But with an annual income
of a little over $1,000, after paying rent on their
rickshaws, they make roughly double West Bengal's
average. “I may not like it, you may not like it, but
I have children to feed,” said Mahendra Paswan, a
rickshaw-wallah for 26 years, with bare feet, a
blue-check lungi, and six offspring in school.
West Bengal's government sees the rickshaw trade as an
outworn symbol of the colonial yoke. “A disgraceful
practice that flourished when the British lorded over
the people,” is how Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, the chief
minister, has described it.

The rickshaws are used by Kolkatans of all classes,
especially in streets too narrow for taxis. But the
chief minister, despite his Marxist mantra, has been
furiously opening the state to business over the past
six years. His vision, which includes making West
Bengal one of India's top three producers of
information technology by 2010, is apparently
incompatible with the herd of “human horses” on
Kolkata's streets.

The rickshaw-pullers are going down battling. When the
government started destroying unlicensed rickshaws a
few years ago, they formed themselves into a union to
fight the ban. “We are all faced with ruin,” lamented
Mr Paswan, who fears that cycle-rickshaws, which the
government says it wants instead, are even more
arduous to operate. In the meantime, Mr Paswan can
offer a pleasant trot across Kolkata, an excellent way
to view to view the city's fine colonial buildings.
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November 1 2006
Our thanks to Kailash for the following twos stories, and letting us see how others see us !

CURRY PROTECTS AGEING BRAIN’

New York: A diet containing curry may help protect the ageing brain, according a study of elderly Asians in which increased curry consumption was associated with better cognitive performance on standard tests.

Curcumin, found in the curry spice turmeric, possesses potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.

It’s known that long-term users of anti-inflammatory drugs have a reduced risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, although these agents can have harmful effects in the stomach, liver and kidney, limiting their use in the elderly.

Antioxidants, such as vitamin E, have been shown in protect neurons in lab experiments but have had limited success in alleviating cognitive decline in patients with mild-to-moderate dementia.

Dr. Tze-Pin Ng from National University of Singapore and colleagues compared scores on the Mini-Mental State Exam (MMSE) for three categories of regular curry consumption in 1,010 non-demented Asians who were between 60 and 93 years old in 2003.  Most of the study subjects consumed curry at least occasionally (once every 6 months), 43% ate curry often or very often while 16% said they never or rarely ate curry.

They found that people who consumed curry “occasionally” and “often or very often” had significantly better MMSE scores than did those who “never or rarely” consumed curry.  “Even with the low and moderate levels of curry consumption reported by the respondents, better cognitive performance was observed,” Ng and colleagues report.

Curry is used widely in India and the prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease among India’s elderly ranks is four times less than in US.
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 November 1 2006

ASH’S NEW FAN IS ‘DEVDAS’CAMERON

Vijay Dutt  --London, October 18 

AS ANY Indian fed on Bollywood lore will tell you, think Devdas and you cannot but think Paro.  Now, even the British stiff upper lip is quivering in agreement.

Which is why, when Indophile David Cameron, known as the Tory answer to Tony Blair, was “re-christened” Shriman Devdas Cameron at a pre-Diwali reception at Bhaktivedanta Temple in Watford by Gauri Das, president of ISKCON in Britain, pat came the reply,” I am told the name Devdas is very popular in Bollywood.  I hope the next time I go to Mumbai I will be able to meet Aishwarya Rai.

That Aishwarya was Paro to Shah Rukh Khans’ Devdas in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s movie might have been lost on many Britons but Cameron is a well-known Indophile – he has even started a blog on his travels to India this September.  And going by this remark, he seems to know his Bollywood. 

The Tory leader was delighted at the array of rituals that welcomed him at the Temple and went around showing his “Kaleva” – a red thread – on his right wrist.  To the over 200 members of the Hindu community, he said, “I hope this would be my lucky charm for the Prime Minister’s question Hour.” He also promised to take special care of the small statue of Lord Balaji which was presented to him.

In his keynote address, Cameron praised India and the role of the Indian community in Britain.  “The festival of lights sends a message of hope and optimism that all of us, of whatever faith, can embrace enthusiastically.  Much of what I have to say to you… is about the kind of Britain I want to see for everyone.  But first, I’d like to say something about the Hindu community.  It’s no surprise that you have become such a successful part of British society.”

He pointed out, “Many of the values that Hindus brought with them when they arrived here are those traditionally associated with Britain: tolerance, honesty, enterprise, and respect for the law.”
“Hindus make up 1 per cent of the population of England and Wales but only 0.025 per cent of the prison population.  You live independently of the government but never shirk from contributing to society.” The BJP would love Cameron.  There were more paeans to the unemployment of any minority community.  And you help to strengthen (aspects) that have been in decline here, such as commitment to the family.  Hindus are more likely to stay married than people from any other community in Britain.”

Heralding a change in the Tory approach so far on selection of parliamentary nominees, Cameron said, “I also want to see more Hindu MPs….In the past ten months I’ve moved my party back to the center ground of British politics.  People deserve a real choice of government.  I will make sure that there is always a sensible and moderate alternative to vote for.”

He warned of the challenges ahead. “I have no doubt that Hindus will play a full part in meeting those challenges.  Not just in the fields of business and enterprise, where this community have made an amazing contribution out of all proportion to its size.  But also n the public sector where so many Hindus serve as doctors, as chemists, as civil servants”.

Cameron was full of praise for “the dynamism of the Indian economy and the vibrancy of Indian democracy.  There is a “clear sense that here is an emerging super power” and reiterated that” I want to see a new special relationship in the 21^st century between Britain and India.  Not simply because of our shared heritage, values and the English language.  But also because of the challenges we face together.  Key issues such as the impact of globalisation and the threat of terrorism.  And, of course, the need to create and maintain successful, pluralist, multifaith democracies.”
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September 20 2006

COFFEE BRAND REPLACES SIKH IMAGE

Yudhvir Rana / TNN

  Amritsar:  Sikhs here are pleased after a Scottish coffee brand changed the label on its jars that showed a Sikh servant serving coffee to a Scottish soldier.  Reports said the new label on ‘Camp’ now shows a Sikh drinking coffee along with a Scottish soldier.

After the incident, Sikhs are hoping that their incessant campaign to acquaint the world with their distinct identity would not only restore the turban’s pride but would also help in lowering incidents of hate crime against their community.

Welcoming the move, Ajaybirpal Singh Randhawa, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) municipal councilor and secretary general of the party, said, “With the Scottish company changing the label of their product, incidents of racism against Sikhs are likely come down.”  “Filmmakers here should take lessons from the incident and stop portraying Sikhs in comic roles.  A sub-committee has been constituted to search the internet for denigrative images of Sikhs and take appropriate measures to change them,” Randhawa said.

Shiromani Youth Akali Dal (Badal) president Gurpartap Singh Tikka said the party had issued messages to its units across the world to intensify the movement to restore their pride and motivate Sikh youths not to cut their hair.

“We have asked them to identify similar denigrative images of Sikhs and take up the issues with concerned authorities,”  Tikka said.  Similar instructions have been issued to SYAD leaders in India.  “It is a matter of pride for us and we will hold a rally in support of turban pride,” he said.

DIGNITY RESTORED:  As opposed to the old label, new label on Camp shows a Sikh drinking coffee along with a Scottish soldier. 
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September 20 2005

THE ROYCE ROLLS BACK

The good times are back again?  Once upon a time in India, a Rolls-Royce was the ultimate in luxury and maharajas thought nothing of buying half a dozen at a time.  But with independence, this emblem of British rule stopped being sold in India.  The maharajas lost much of their power, status and money and the market for 1 m pound cars dried up.  The Rollers were left to rust, or sold to Europe and America.

Now, with the Indian economy expanding at a dramatic rate and the ranks of wealthy entrepreneurs swelling, the Rolls (now owned by BMW) is ready to make a comeback, says Jeremy Hart of The Sunday Times, London.  In May, Rolls-Royce joined luxury brands including Ferrari, Porsche, Louis Vuitton, Dior, Chanel and Bulgari and opened its first Indian showroom.  Mumbai’s Navnit Motors hopes ultimately to sell 30 Rolls-Royces a year, especially if the luxury tax, which adds 107% to the Rs.3.5 crore cost of a Roller, is cut.  Last year Yohan Poonawalla, 34, owner of a biotech company, bought the first modern Rolls-Royce Phantom sold in India.

In its glory days of the 1920s and 1930s, Rolls-Royce executives coined the phrase “doing a Mysore”, referring to the Maharaja of Mysore who bought his Rollers in batches of seven.  India was one of Rolls-Royce’s biggest markets, making up 20% of global sales.  Indian princes demanded custom-built models for tiger hunting, “purdah” models with thick curtains on the windows, and jewel-encrusted ones that had to be guarded during trips to the garage to prevent pilfering.
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May5 2006

Once again we have to thank Kailash for keeping us 
informed, the use of the word Scotch has been left as is, 
but should say Scottish when referring to people with 
roots going back to Scotland and Scotch when referring 
to the greatest drink

Kailash writes: Following appeared in the Hindustan Times 
recently,enjoyed reading the one on John Kenneth Galbraith 
who was US Ambassador during 60-62, highly respected and
trusted American here even in cold war years.  

SCOTCH WIT

AN INTELLECTUAL giant who stood six feet eight inches
tall, taught Economics at Harvard University, served
as ambassador and was a member of think-tanks under US
presidents, would be expected to be a serious person.
But not so John Kenneth Galbraith, Former US envoy to
India, who died on Sunday at the age of 97.  In his
book Ambassador'ss Journal he wondered why most women
in underdeveloped nations had overdeveloped bosoms.

Galbraith was a Scotch-Canadian and proud of it.  He
recounted his early days in The Scotch, a book meant
to please the author and not the people.  But it had
the typical Galbraith touch, brilliant wit and humour
and full of whimsical nostalgia.  He recounts that
first names like John, Jim, Malcolm and Dan abound
among his fellow men.  But there was no confusion.
Because there were Big Johns and Little Johns, some
Black Johns and regrettably there was a Lame John, a
Dirty John and a Bald John.

While some Scotch Canadians believed in large
families, others pondered over the question whether a
wife was really economically essential.  The moral
code was strict in the community, and to father an
illegitimate child was to be an outcast.  An
adventurous Macllum boy who was courting one of two
sisters would sneak into the girls’ badrbedroomnce, to
avoid a suspicious father, the young man hid himself
between the two sisters under the sheets and by
mistake got the wrong sister pregnant.  Of course, he
did marry her but his standing in the clan went down,
explains Galbraith.

Courtships and illicit affairs were difficult in the
community because of the lack of suitable meeting
places.  Even normal endearments sounded out of place
when most men referred to their wives as ‘my auld
woman’ or ‘my auld lady’ A swain could not take his
girl to the barn because that would make his
intentions clear.  The region was bitterly cold for
most of the year and undressing fully was difficult.
With passion sidelined, the main Focus was on earning 
money.  The Scotch worshipped money for its own sake.  
They earned it and did not spend it wastefully.  As Galbraith explains, the Scotch agreed with Dr Johnson’s views, 
“A man, who keeps his money, has in reality, more use for 
it, than he can have by spending it.”

The community was heavily dependent on farming.
Tapping maple trees for syrup was a major event.  A
team of two Scotch found that commercially produced
syrup lacked the flavour and switched back to the
traditional method.  The syrup was kept in open tubs
which attracted falling leaves, moths, a couple of
field mice and their droppings.  When this concoction
was boiled, the original flavour was restored.

This humour was the essence of Galbraith’s life.  The
Scotch is an unalloyed delight.  It has the flavour of
the traditional maple syrup.
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March 29 2006

255 YEARS ON, CLIVE’S GIANT PET DIES 
IN KOLKATA ZOO


Kolkata: When he was born, the Americans were still
plotting their independence, the French fiddling with
the concepts of justice, equality, liberty and
fraternity.  The British were sailing for far-off
lands on wooden ships powered by sails.

When he died, Voyager had already set off on its
10-year journey to Pluto.  Two hundred and fifty five
years – that’s how long Addwaita lived, spending his
early years in Robbert Clive’s garden and his last 130
years or so in the Kolkata zoo.

The giant Aldabra tortoise was possibly the oldest
animal on earth.  He died in the zoo on Wednesday
morning, of liver failure.  He’s survived by no one.
He had been a bachelor all his life.

The story goes that British seafarers brought Addwaita
along with three other mates from the Seychelles
Islands and presented them to Clive.  The four lived
in Clive’s sprawling Latbagan estate at Barrackpore.
Three of the tortoises died in the foreign environs.
But Addwaita survived.  A tortoise of simple habits, a
vegetarian quite happy eating wheat bran, carrot,
lettuce, soaked gram, bread, grass and salt Addwaita
didn’t need much more.  Not even a partner.

For the past few days he hadn’t been keeping well.
“We were keeping a close watch on him.  A special
attendant had been engaged.  He had developed a wound
on his chest.  A crack also developed around the
wound,” said forest minister Jogesh Burman.  But
finally, it was liver failure.  “This morning, zoo
keepers found him immobile.  Immediately, the zoo
director was informed.  Officials rushed there with
the vet who was treating him.  He was declared dead,”
said a senior zoo official.

“He was cremated, but his shell will be processed and
preserved in the zoo,” said the forest minister.  It
was Burman who had given him the name – Addwaita.
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March 18 2006

This is part of the story below about Chris Patten;s daughter which was missed on the first 
communication of February 6 

An academician-politician, and father of an actor who has invoked feelings of intense patriotism among thecountry’s youth in Rang 
De Basanti – Chris Patten ishere on a mission

Last time, the world saw him, Hong Kong’s last governor-general Chris Patten was bidding a teary goodbye to then British colony, Hong Kong.  The year was 1997.  Nine years down the line, the
academician-cum-politician is in news for a completely
different reason.  He is the father of Alice Patten –whose character Sue started a revolution not just in Rang De Basanti but in the hearts of the Indians too.

“I have been coming here for two decades now and I amhappy that Alice has continued the tradition,” says the proud papa. “A little before her audition, she was asked if she’d be comfortable with Hindi.  After all, she had to speak that language in the film.  Without
telling them, she took a quick lesson that same afternoon and gave the audition in Hindi itself.  That must have impressed the film-makers and, of course,her being a linguist helped,”  Chris recounts.

Needless to say, Alice got the role.  “I was happy that not only was she acting in an Indian film, she was also acting with finest actors of this country like Aamir Khan and Om Puri,” adds Patten.

Talking about the intense feelings of patriotism that the film evokes, he says, “This is something that people anywhere can identify with.  The feeling of patriotism is so strong that it can get to anyone in
any part of the world whether you’re Indian or British.”  And Rang De Basanti has today taken over his other favourite Hindi film, Lagaan.  “Both the films have been terrific.  They represent the fact
that Indian films are not for just mass entertainment, they’re serious stuff.  And films like these are making people across sit up and take notice.”

Now that the daughter has done her bit for India. It’s dad’s turn.  “India is the largest liberal democracy which will, one day, change the world. Consequently, we want to strengthen relations between
the two countries in different spheres and attract more students from India to our universities,” he says.  It was during his days at Oxford that Patten’s political innings began.  The most memorable moment, however, remains his stint in Hong Kong.  “I was there
as the governor for almost five years and must say it was most exciting to be part of an important moment in the history,” he says.
PURNIMA SHARMA 

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February 6 2006

EMPIRE’S LAST DAUGHTER BACK IN LIMELIGHT

THE ROUTE to fame in Britain for most actors, it seems, is via Bollywood. The latest example is Alice Patten, daughter of the Chancellor of Oxford University and the last British Governor in Hong Kong. She had never been written about or interviewed as much for her acting talents as after her stint in Rang De Basanti.

Ironically, she is the girl who had cried as Hong Kong blipped out of the Empire. “I became a symbol that day.” She reminisces. “The human face of a little bit of history.”

On her stint in Bollywood, she says, “Bombay is extraordinary, but there is hierarchy you will never find in London.
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February 28 2006

Kailash kindly sent this from the Khaleej Times of today

India renames Assam state to Asom
(Reuters)

28 February 2006

GUWAHATI, India - The government in India’s restive Assam has renamed the state Asom, saying Assam was the corrupt version of its original name used by British colonial rulers.

“We have decided to revert back to Asom which was used by the indigenous people instead of Assam, a corrupt version left by the Britishers,” state government spokesman Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Tuesday.

Assam is in India’s remote northeast and was ruled by the indigenous Ahoms for six centuries from 1228. Ahom means ”uneven” as the region has many hills.

The original name came from the Ahom dynasty which ruled before the British occupied the state more than 150 years ago and set up tea gardens and oil refineries.

In the past 26 years, thousands of people have died in separatist violence in the state, linked to the rest of India only by a tiny strip of land.

The powerful rebel group, the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) -- fighting for independence for the the state of 26 million people -- has been writing the spelling of “Assam” as “Asom” since the outfit was formed in 1979.

In the past decade, several Indian cities have been renamed to reflect local cultures, such as Bombay to Mumbai, Madras to Chennai and Calcutta to Kolkata.  
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February 18 2006
It is interesting world we are living in, what will happen in the next ten years? 

The two items below are in continuation of the the grandson of Henry Ford's venture in the Himalayas.

 Thank you Kailash for keeping us informed of items of interest which are not usually reported in the international press

GODS TO DECIDE SKI RESORT FATE
RAVEENA Aulakh
Manali, February 15

FORD VERSUS Kullu gods has reached its finaround.Snow and rain battered Manali is preparing for the clincher in style. The bone of contention is a $150 million Himalayan Ski Village (HSV) project, slated to come up on the outskirts of Shuru and Prini, two villages in Manali.

A brainchild of Alfred Ford, grandson Henry Ford, the resort has pitted the local oracles against the maverick Iskcon devotee, who goes by the Indian name
of Ambarish Das.

Representatives of nearly 300 Kullu deities will congregate on Thursday for a “Badi Jagati Puch (grand convention)” to decide the fate of the $300 million venture.

The ski blizzard has been raging through the slopes for almost two months now.Ever since the deal was inked. HSV demanded water rights from the streams and grazing land, which the villagers resisted. Other issues include environmental degradation, felling and apprehension over the use of chemicals to preserve snow on the slopes for a longer period. The resort, which Ford has promised will give the Swiss destinations are run for their money, will be spread across 100 acres.

HSV proposed, but the Gods disposed. In an unusual request, the Jamlu Devta, through his oracle, demanded a “Jagati Puch” for a final say. “That’s just what I am doing,” clarifies former BJP MP Maheshwar Singh, the erstwhile “king” of Kullu, the caretaker of the chief deity of Raghunathji  Busy preparing for the “Puch” at Naggar Castle, he brushes off allegations that the proposed village has become a veritable political yo-yo.
“There is a ski-lift near Jagatsukh. No one opposes it,” he says. But this “Jagati Puch”, he says, is “not because the Gods re against development but because they don’t want their sacred land, in the upper reaches, to be desecrated”.

KULLU ‘GODS’ VETO FORD’S $500-MILLION SKI VILLAGE PLAN 
By Jagdish Bhatt / TNN

Kullu: The “gods” have spoken. Alfred Ford cannot make his $500-million Himalayan Ski Village here.
Devis and devtas of Kullu valley gathered on Thursday to pass a judgment on Ford and his ambitious plans for a ski resort in this scenic region. And they were clearly not impressed with either the Ford scion’s grand venture or his frantic claims of being a Hindu.

Ever since Ford announced his project for the area, propelled adequately by local politicians, the region has been ravaged by a fierce debate that has pitted profit against piety.

Descendant of the erstwhile Kullu state, Maheshwar Singh, who also doubles up as the vice regent (first servant) of Lord Raghunath and a BJP leader, had earlier said that all the gods and goddess would congregate on this day to decide – through their human mediums – if Ford could go ahead with the resort.

“In the jagati (congregation of gods), we had invited the various devtas and devis of the valley. Over 90%of the about 175 deities who had come here were against the proposed ski village,” Singh, a former BJP MP, said triumphantly.  Singh further remarked, “The gods of the region have given their view. There is no platform above the jagati and at least at the religious level the verdict is final.”

Going a step further, Singh said that “each of the deities” had been spoken to and the view on the project being inimical to the interest of the people was unanimous.  The deities apparently also said they would leave the place and the people will have to live without their blessings if the go-ahead was given for the ski plan. The jagati on Thursday was called after a gap of 36 years, the last being held in 1970 when the valley was hit by a famine. Jagatis are held only to decide in case of exceptional situations.

There are others, though, who say the whole thing is a BJP-engineered hogwash.“We will get better livelihood, more facilities and enhanced infrastructure if the resort comes up,” said Teja Thakur in Solang Valley. “Villagers here do realize the good things that will come with this,” Thakur said.
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CONFRONTED BY KULLU ‘GODS’, 
FORD INVOKES HIS AMBARISH DAS ID

While Harry Ford’s company is battling over an overhaul plan that involves laying off 15,000 workers and shutting down plants across the United States, thousand of miles away, his great-grandson is embroiled in a curious controversy that has pitted him against local gods.

A $500 million project proposed by Alfred Ford and approved by the Congress-led Himachal Pradesh government, to turn some of the hills into a ski resort, is confronted by the local deities of the area.

First it was Jamlu devta, the most important deity of Kullu, who “advised” the locals against the project through an oracle. He also asked king of the erstwhile Kullu state, Maheshwar Singh, to hold a congregation of all devtas on the issue. Singh is the ex-chief of BJP’s state unit and a former party MP.

The latest salvo that the company has to defend itself against is that the promoter isn’t a Hindu. Jamlu devta too had ‘warned’ that the project would bring in people whose beliefs were not in tune with Hinduism and they would ‘pollute’ the area.

These charges have led the promoters of the project to

highlight the ‘Hindu’ credentials of Henry Ford’s great grandson. Incidentally, Alfred Ford, chairman of the Himalayan Ski Village company, is a devotee of Lord Krishna, a teetotaler and a vegetarian. Married to a Hindu woman from West Bengal for over 20 years, he is known as Ambarish Das in Iskcon circles.

“When Alfrred Ford visited Kullu valley two months ago, he went to all temples that he could, to pay obeisance to deities as they were his priority over business,” the company’s senior director Ajay Dabra said.
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February 4 2006
Kailash has once again provided us with a piece of history and we thank him

The Railway serving Darjeeling has been operating for well over a century and here is the reports of what has happened since

Smitten by the magic of a ride on the DHR (now a Unesco world heritage property) 10 years ago, British railway baron and chairman of Chiltern Railways Adrian Shooter bought the world’s oldest-surviving DHR locomotive – model number 778 built in 1889 by Sharp
Stewart and Company, Manchester – to restore it to perfect condition and run it in his personal garden.

The Indian government had sold off the locomotive to Hesston Steam Museum in 1960, not realizing what it’s worth would be 40 years later, after being declared a world heritage by Unesco.

Shooter shipped the locomotive in a container from the US to a steam rail workshop in Tyseley. Birmingham, where he got it restored to perfect running condition. He now runs the train in his private garden. He has laid tracks over 1.5 km, making the loop in the shape of the number eight. He has also built a station that looks exactly like the original Sukna station in Darjeeling besides laying a pathway that criss-crosses over the rail tracks, exactly the way it is in Darjeeling.

He has also purchased an Ambassador car to run along the train, a common sight in Darjeeling.

Here are a few photographs taken from the website

http://irfca.org/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.ShowItem&g2_itemId=20463




world’s oldest-surviving DHR locomotive – mo del number 778 built in 1889 by Sharp Stew art and Company, Manchester

DHR loco 19B at Tyseley, Birmingham, on 19 Jan. 2003, following its move from the US to the UK. Photo by David Churchill.
Date: 2003-03-28

  Another shot of the DHR loco 19B. On the right is Adrian Shooter, who purchased the locomotive. Photo by David Churchill.
Date: 2003-03-28

One more look at DHR loco 19B. Photo by David Churchill.
Date: 2003-03-28

 and a report from Wales

The Ffestiniog Railway's FR50 Gala (30 April - 2 May 2005) had a distinctly Indian flavour.
Star of the three-day event was Adrian Shooter's restored Sharp Stewart 0-4-0ST No 19. Built in 1889, the splendidly restored locomotive, complete with its two newly built carriages, was in action on all three days and later also worked a special charter train up to Tan-y-Bwlch.
Adding further colour to the event, the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway Society (DHRS) transformed the Ffestiniog's Minffordd Station into 'Sukna' - a station on the DHR - complete with such authentic local touches as prayer flags, and Indian station signs. For hungry or thirsty passengers there were stalls selling such Indian travel necessities as chai and samosas, mango juice and Cobra beer.
Said DHRS Chairman David Barrie "We were delighted to support our Ffestiniog Railway friends with such a major event. The DHR deserves all the publicity it can get and by seeing No 19 and visiting 'Sukna' we hope that many other people will be encouraged to plan a trip to the line'
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We are yet again indebted to Kailash our Delhi Correspondent 
for passing on to us these two  interesting items--thank you Sir

January 12 2005
 Assam digs up Stillwell tree
RAHUL Karmakar  Guwahati, January 5

ASSAM IS digging its roots with gusto.  After ferreting out the descendants of Lady Curzon and Robert Bruce – the tea pioneers – last year; it has
tracked down the “offshoots” of two American soldiers who helped pave the historic Stillwell Road linking India and China during World War II.

Officials said Ron Bleeker and Otto G. Metheke III would figure in the line-up of 50 foreign invitees to the Dehing-Patkai festival, a three-day ethnic carnival, slated from January 7 at Lekhapani in eastern Assam’s Tinsukia district.  Forefathers of most of these 50, mostly Britons, were part of
American General Joseph Stillwell’s band of builders, who laid the 1,738 km road connecting Ledo in Assam and Kunming in China’s Yunnan province.

“A bit of research and networking helped us locate the descendants of those involved in building the road,” said Assam forest minister Pradyut Bordoloi.  The minister said he would have ideally liked to invite Gen Stillwell’s descendants, but they could not be traced.  Part of the Stillwell Road, now dilapidated, runs through Bordoloi’s turf Margherita.

“While Bleeker’s father was a foot-soldier, Metheke’s father was an army doctor posted at a hospital in Namduang Gate near Zero Point, the road’s origin,” Bordoloi said.  Tinsukia district authorities said the decision of invite the pioneers’ descendants was to draw global attention to the plight of the road in view of New Delhi’s “Look East” policy.  Both India and China have been trying to reopen the link to give border trade between India, Myanmar and China a leg-up.  A recent report said using the road would slash the distance between India and China from 6,000 km to 1,300 km.
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January 12 2005

 Harrods brings exotic tea from China, at 8.5 pounds a cup
By Chris Brooke   Daily Mail, London.

It is almost as expensive as a glass of champagne.But at 8.50 pounds, Harrods is promising to present connoisseurs with the perfect cup of tea.  The store is to start stocking Tieguanyin tea, a rare Chinese variety which sells for 1,700 pounds per kilogram – or around 8.50 pound per cup.  Believed to be the most expensive in Britain, the tea is said to have an
exceptional aroma and taste.

Those who stock up their caddies with Tieguanyin will comfort themselves with the fact that the same tea leaves can be used seven times without any significant  deterioration in quality.

It is said to have a ‘sweet and smooth’ taste with ‘notes of autumn fruit’.  The tea produces a 'fragrant, orchid like aroma’ when poured.

To brew a perfect cup of Tieguanyin, fresh mineral water should be boiled to exactly 100C, or 212F, then poured rapidly on to the leaves in a teapot.  About five grams of the tea should be used per brew and the third of the seven servings will give the best flavour.

Hafizur Rahman, senior tea buyer for Harrods, said the Chinese tea had a magnificent taste.

High in antioxidants, which remove harmful chemicals from the body, it was a very healthy drink, he said. “Of the thousands of teas I have tried this is one of the best,” he added.  Tieguanyin is almost three times the price of Harrods’s previous most expensive tea but the store expects a strong demand.  “The tea connoisseur will be interested,” said a spokesman.

“There are people who consider really good tea like a fine wine.  At the end of the day, wine is just fermented grape juice but people pay a lot of money
for it because if gives them pleasures.”  Tieguanyin is a premium variety of oolong tea which comes from Anxiin the Fujian province of China.

Daily Mail, London.

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January 2006

Kailash has very kindly forwarded some interesting Delhi photos--Thank you for taking the time and trouble to show us today's pictures

Soldiers marching by India Gate rehearsing for 
the 50th anniversary of Independence

Safdarjang Tomb, one of the last examples of 
Mughal architecture built

A Shop Keeper with trays of nuts, legumes,pulses 
for sale in Old Delhi


Birds eye view of fruit and vegetable market 


A typical crowd scene in busy Chandni Chowk


A statue commerorating Gandhi and the salt march of 1930

A fountain in a broad pool of water outside the Lok 
Sabha, the Delhi Parliament

Slightly crowded auto-rickshaw on road outside Delhi

A monument marks the spot of the assasination of 
Mahatma Gandhi in Birla House

Protected sacred texts at a shrine of Nizam-ud-din Chisti. 
Chisti was a Muslim saint who died in 1325

Sunday cricket on the flat grounds of Coronation Durbar

New Delhi Traffic

A view of New Delhi from Jama Masjid 
minaret

Pottery figures at Sanskrit Museum of Indian terracotta

Magnificent Rajasthani moustache and the proud owner

The fairy Queen of Delhi reputed to be the oldest (1855) 
working steam engine in the world

The elephants of Delhi are used mainly at festivals and 
wedding parades

A 16th century eight-tiered bridge called ATHPULA in the 
Lodi Gardens

Stores selling Rajasthani fabrics at Janpath market

Bangles for sale. The bangles are usually worn by married 
women and smashed on the death of their husband

The Lion emblem on the gate leading to 
Rashtrapati house in Delhi, the President of 
India's official residence

India (New Delhi) Nehru Place

The Grand Hyatt Hotel in New Delhi

The Lotus Temple New Delhi

Red Fort structure # 2
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October 26 2005
Kailash has diligently kept us abreast of what's happening in the Tooth business and Tea Marketing
Thank you Kailash

Stories of Teeth and Tea

1.  INDIA RETURNS BRIT WOMAN'S SMILE
By Vividha Kaul / TNN

New Delhi:  Her might not be a million dollar smile,
but it comes close.  After mortgaging her house again,
spending 50,000 pounds and 400 hours on getting her
teeth fixed by dentists in UK, US and Denmark,
45-year-old Julie Pharro has finally been able to say
c