Stories i tell my daughter: Sneaky Monkey

'Mama, i am hungry,' Minnie said to her mother.
'Here sweetie, have an apple,' Mother said giving a nice red apple to Minnie.

Minnie took the apple and went to the balcony outside the apartment she was living in. She lived with her monther and father in a tall apartment and she loved to eat while watching the cars zoom on the road below. They looked like toy cars from so far high.

Minnie took a bite of apple looking down from the balcony.

'Ouch,'she said as she felt someone snatch at her hand. She looked at her hand. Her apple was gone and there were small scratches on it. She felt the tears come to her eyes. Looking around, she saw an monkey eating her apple. He was sitting on a tiny ledge above their apartment.

Crying she went inside.

'Mama, the baboon stole my apple. He also scratched me.'Minni said showing the scratches to her mother.
'Oh sweetie. It that baboon again. Somebody must do something about him.'Mother said and she took Minnie to the bathroom to put some ointment on the scratches.

'Has the baboon done this before?'Minnie asked, finally controlling her sobs.
'Yes sweetie. He has been a regular pest. And he is very quick and evades capture. Don't worry, i will tell daddy about this and he will do something'.

Her mom gave Minnie a glass to milk to drink. She went to her room. Her hand was itching slightly. She was angry at the baboon and did not went him to snatch things from her.

She went outside and looked for the baboon. He was still sitting on the ledge that was on the side of the building. When he saw Minnie come out, he showed her the teeth and threw the apple core at her.

'Bad monkey,' Minnie said.

Minnie went back to her room. She had an idea to teach a lesson to the baboon.

When Minnie came out again to the balcony, she was wearing her old sweater and gloves. And she was holding another apple in her hand. This one looked even shinier.

And surprise, the baboon again grabbed the apple from Minnie's hand and climbed back to his ledge.The baboon tried to eat the apple. First he could not bit into it. He got angry and tried again, much harder this time. The apple broke off with a loud crunch. And the baboon yelped loudly as he spit out the part of the plastic apple from his mind.

Minnie was looking at all this and when she saw that baboon was getting angry, she started to laugh loudly and that made the baboon even angrier.

Realizing that he was beat, the baboon left from there and never troubled her again.

Story: Circle

Amarnath died on Saturday at 1:07 AM in morning. He was 79 years old and his youngest son was in the same room as him, sleeping and unaware of what was happening.



Amarnath though, did wake up from his slumber, just before he took his last breath. He knew. And he was happy that it was over. Being atheist, he did not thank god. He just let go.

That should have been that really.

But it wasn't. He felt himself gathering. Soon he was a small point hovering about his own body. He was not able to see anything but he still knew that he was gathering into himself and was still in same room. He still remembered the things. Not all the things. Just the things that remained with him. Indelibly imprinted on his conscious. The hand of the mother on his head as he was falling asleep on a warm summer night, his first sight of sea, and a few more. All inconsequential in conventional reckoning but still most consequential in a picture still larger.

Soon, there was a pull and the point went somewhere. It could not say where. But it went somewhere. As it zoomed, the point started to lose the memories. Soon all were gone. Nothing remained.


After a time, the point felt of joining. Something so large that there is no scale in which to imagine it. The point joined this big something like a drop of water joins the ocean. The drop is still a drop but it is part of something much larger from which it is indistinguishable.

After some time, a long time, the drop felt a pull. It went to a destination, a warm place. The point knew not how he knew to be there. But it knew that it was in the right place and it was meant to be there. And it expanded. Just a little bit. And it was a start.

Stories i tell my daughter: Misplaced Giant

Urghu was a giant. He was almost twice as tall as grown man and lived on a planet far away from Earth. The planet of Giants was one huge continent surrounded by roaring sea. Urghu did not know this and he only knew that he should walk as long as he wanted. Till he could see the sea and then walk in some other direction. He loved to walk and ate the vegetables and fruits that grew everywhere on the planet. 

One day, Urghu was walking from Cold Water Lake to the Smoking mountain. On his way, he ate some fruits and when the two suns which provided plenty of light to the forest were overhead, decided to sleep under a large tree. Little did he know that right next to the tree trunk, there will open a hole in space that will take him to Earth. But this is what happened.

Urghu went to sleep and rolled a bit. And in sleep he fell through the space hole without even waking up. The space hole could open anywhere, it could open high up in mountains or right in front of full speed train.

Luckily for Urghu, the space hole opened in a apartment in a big city. And even luckier, there was nobody at home. Urghu was not aware of how lucky he was, being asleep.

When he woke up, he felt that something was wrong. Looking up, where the roof of branches was replaced by one of cement concrete, he was afraid. He had never seen any cave like this. His legs were dangling from the bed that was too short for him. He tried to get up and bumped his head against the wall. He tried to get out and got stuck in the door. 

He got sideways and crouching uncomfortably got out of the door. He came into the hall with kitchen on one end. Urghu looked at all the new things and touched the things. Some were fluffy and some were sharp. Looking out of window, he could hardly see any trees. What he did see was a street down below where small cars passed by. He sat for a moment and closed his eyes. When he opened them, he was still in the apartment.

After some time, Urghu got hungry. So he opened different doors and behind one, where it was much colder, he saw some fruits and green leafy stuff. Urghu got it all out and ate it with his hands. 

Urghu again opened the doors and there was one that took him out of apartment. There was a lift in front of him. He tried to get into it but could not. 

So he decided to try the stairs with small steps. His legs were too big for stairs and he kept falling down. The apartment was on fifth floor so poor Urghu fell down so many times that when he got out of apartment, he was bruised all over.

When he came out of apartment, he saw a tram in front of him. He tried to get into the tram but the tram driver got afraid and quickly shut the doors.

Urghu was now afraid, bruised and sad. He sat down next to the building and started to cry. He wanted to go home.

Luckily all Giants have a guardian Angel. Urghu's guardian Angel got to know that he needed her when his tears fell. So she came immediately and used her magic to sent Urghu back to his own planet. 

Urghu was so happy that he was back on his own planet and he ran all the way to smokey mountain and feasted on smokey tomatoes and smokey grapes as dinner.

Indian Independence Day

Today is 66th anniversary of the day when British finally left India and India gained Independence, at least in the political sense. Looking at positives, things have improved tremendously in last sixty years. People are living much longer and much better life. Most of people in the country have better access to basic necessities like food, water, health, electricity, and transportation. Quality of life for most Indians has definitely gone up, especially in last two decades.  Most of groups that could be considered as weaker part of society have been given a push through reservations and can claim to be in much better position. Indian diaspora is increasing in the world and has sizable presence in most of top companies.

We always write a lot about what needs to change in India and there are lots of things. At the same time, most of the things that need changing will take a long time, as they have everywhere else. These changes will not happen in a day or a month, no matter what our twitter or facebook conditioned brains might be demanding.

Today is independence day so let’s think if India is really Independent. India has political independence and on that we can be sure. The inability of the elected representatives to get anything done is, for me, conclusive proof that at least politically we are free. Most of India still does not have independence from violence, government restrictions and discrimination (be of gender, religious or any other kind). For Indians to be truly independent, they need to be able to live their life free of threat of violence, free to express their thoughts and free to fulfill their potential without undue restrictions. These are the foundations of just society. India today is free country but unjust country none the same. If the nation is able to achieve independence should not be restricted to vote but should be part of life for every Indian. I hope that if not today or tomorrow, at least in another 60 years, India will be a country where not just the country is independent but the people living in it are as well.

Upcoming season for FC Barcelona and State of La Liga

Spanish La Liga will begin on coming weekend and it’s a good time to think how Barcelona will perform in the season. It is a given that Barcelona will be in top 2 in terms of standings at the end of the season. They simply have too much firepower, too much money (more on this later) and Messi to be otherwise. The burning question is if they will win. I am not sure on this subject. In pre-season both Barcelona and Madrid have showed that they are playing quite well. Madrid, if anything, have better depth and as they did not win the Liga last season, they will have extra motivation. Ancelotti is a fantastic coach and knows how to get players to perform. Barcelona, on other hand, have a new coach and worrying lack of central defender. All of efforts by Barcelona to secure a top class defender have failed till date and even right now, their efforts to secure one of Vertonghen, Agger or Luiz do not seem to be succeeding. In terms of squads, I will give Madrid a slight edge and same in terms of coaching. My prediction is hence Madrid to win the La Liga.

As for Barcelona, they have excellent attack, excellent midfield and slightly suspect defense. In attack, Neymar’s arrival means that Messi will no longer be required to do all the heavy lifting by himself. Also Alexis Sanchez should have a better season. With Pedro, Tello and Dongou in picture, there is enough bench strength to take care of any momentary absences. In midfield, Barcelona for me has the best midfield in world, together with Bayern. Iniesta, Xavi, Busquets, Mascherano, Song,  and Cesc are all fine midfielders and can be considered genuine contenders for starting position. With Sergi Roberto and Jonathan Dos Santos providing young back up, Barcelona’s midfield has quality and depth. The defense though is suspect. Pique is excellent and so is Mascherano in his makeshift role. Puyol for me has reached a stage in career where he is unlikely to be able to play a lot of games. So a cover at center back position is minimum requirement for Barcelona. Alves, Alba and Adriano are good options for wing backs. This area has been problem zone for Barcelona since Abidal stopped being an option. Barcelona for defensive stability need a full back who has height and good defensive positional sense. None of the three that Barca have currently have the necessary attributes. This is in fact one reason why I feel that Barcelona’s purchase of Alba last season contributed to their eventual downfall. The quality of Barcelona team means that in most cases defensive frailty goes un-noticed but against top teams, this becomes a problem. And I think that this will again be a problem this year. Defense is a concern area for Barcelona. In goal keeping, the team is well equipped with Valdes and Pinto. Overall the team has lot of world class players and at the same time some obvious weaknesses. This compels me to predict that Barcelona are unlikely to be European Champions this season.

As spectator, I feel confident that Barcelona will have enough good moments to enjoy. The partnership between Messi and Neymar should be fun to watch and the yearly goal scoring race between Messi and Ronaldo should keep the scores high.

And the scores will be high because except for Atletico Madrid, none of other teams have noticeably strengthened in the transfer window. Most of top players are departing for Premier League. And this for me is sad and damning commentary on La Liga.

Even as a Barca fan, I am wondering till how long my interest will sustain in watching the matches. The anomaly of TV revenue where most of money goes to Madrid or Barcelona is taking serious toll of other teams. If there are half the teams in La Liga who are unable to maintain even competitive salary structures, the gap will widen even further and watching the matches will become meaningless. TV revenue is only source of money which is sizable enough and that can ensure that all teams are able to at least compete. Before we go further into TV revenue, let’s be clear that the reason most of clubs in Spain are in trouble is because they have been grossly mismanaged and that is not a fault of Barcelona and Madrid. In fact, Barca and Madrid should be commended that they have managed to avoid the missteps that have plagued most of other la liga clubs.

Coming to TV revenue, if we look at England, TV makes for majority of income for most of clubs. The bottom club in premier league this season will likely make around 60 million euros or more. For La Liga, I think that the bottom club will make less than 5 million euros as TV revenue as compared to around 200 million for the top 2. Most of La Liga clubs will be lucky if they break 25 million euro barrier for TV revenue. And TV revenue will be majority income for the clubs. Hoarding of TV money by the top 2 in Spain is hence having a fundamental impact on most of the clubs in La Liga who are unable not only to compete against the top 2 but also to compete against the bottom clubs from other leagues. With German and Italian leagues sharing TV revenues as well, I will not be surprised if the La Liga bottom 10 are poorer compared to bottom 10 of other leagues. With European labor market being the free market it is, this means that La Liga clubs will also lose average guys and this will further impact the quality of competition.

 This points to me that if there are no drastic steps taken, La Liga will act as provider to other leagues and the gap between Madrid and Barca will become so big that the matches will lose their competitive flavor. A few fans might love watching their team winning 10-0 every match, most of casual fans and neutral fans will desert La Liga. This will have direct impact on Barca and Madrid and the kind of brand that they want to become. I hope that the clubs realize soon that they need a healthy La Liga to back up their claims to be great teams. Without strong La Liga, they will stop mattering too.  

Stories i tell my daughter: SpiderGirl

(A friend of mine got my daughter Spiderman, Doc Ock and Green Goblin and she loves them. So i make stories of these characters. She does not like the standard stories but something different. These stories are mostly irrelevant and follow no rules.)

"Oww", the young voice shouted that made Spiderman look behind him. A small someone was falling to ground. Spiderman, without a thought, extended his arm and shot the web to catch the person from hitting the ground too hard and injuring themselves. Who is it, Spiderman wondered as he jumped to the ground.

It was a small girl. A small girl? Spiderman was not sure if he was amused or irritated. What was a small girl doing following him? Looking at her, he could see that she was wearing a cape similar to his own. Most probably an imitation copy from the stalls that were selling Spiderman costumes to young kids. They were remarkable similar to one Spiderman was wearing.

"Who are you, little girl and why are you following me?" Spiderman said. 

"Spiderman, i am your big fan and i want to become like you too."

"But who are you?"

"My name is Sarayu and i live in building right opposite yours."

Oh my god, what am i to do, Spiderman thought as he removed the web from around the girl.

"Why were you following me?"

"I want to help you catch bad guys. I jumped right after you and was holding the webs that you were using to jump after you. I am very good at it. The last web dissolved too quickly and i fell down."

"Do you know that if you had fallen, you would have broken a bone or worse?"Spiderman said. Inside he was wondering how to get out of this situation. Tough criminals were much easier to deal with for him than small girls. 

"It would have been ok. I have shoes with springs and i would have bounced once or twice."

The girl was quick at responding back. 

"You can never be sure. Will you go home now?"

"No. I want to come with you and catch some bad guys."Sarayu had balled up her hands and seemed in no mood to listen. 

Spiderman sat down and said in slow and deliberate voice, "Sarayu, catching up bad guys is not that easy. Lets make an agreement. You grow up and learn things. I will allow you to go together with me once you have grown up, okay?" 

"No. I want to come today."

Can she go back to her home by herself, Spiderman was not so sure. The girl was resolute but she was a young kid. He decided to take a direct route. 

"Come with me."

Spiderman picked the girl and took a route back. 

"Spiderman, we are returning home."

"Yes, i forgot something."

Spiderman saw that the window right opposite his own was open. 

He said, "Is that your room?"

"Yes, it is. Would you like to come inside. I have all your stories in comics format."

Spiderman was amused that they had made him a comic book superhero. Not very popular, apparently as he had not heard of them yet.

He said, "Some other time."

And he quickly dropped the girl at her room and jumped away. 

He could hear the girl shouting, "Spiderman, Spiderman"as he sped away. 

Do i need to change the house, Spiderman thought as he hopped from one building to other. His life had become even more complex.

 

 

Fare thee well Tito and welcome Tata

Tito Vilanova has recurrence of cancer and has left the Barcelona job. I wish him all the best. What is a job as compared to life. He is young enough that if things turn out well, and i hope they will, he can have shot at coaching position again. Tito was head coach of Barcelona only for one year. Year in which Barca became La Liga champions matching record points by Real Madrid though were humiliated by Bayern in CL semi finals. Overall a good season though not a great one.

Gerard "Tata" Martino is the new coach for Barca. He has a good pedigree and is coming off a successful season with Newell's Old Boys in Argentina. Tata appears to be more pragmatic in his approach. He has made right noises about commitment to Barca philosophy and attacking play. For me, this is a good thing. One of the thing which i have felt Barca lacking in last year or two is dose of pragmatism.

Coming to team and the season ahead, Tata has a few puzzles to solve if Barca are to re-claim the mantle of the best.

First challenge is integrating Messi and Neymar in same team. This should be relatively simple though. Neymar has already professed his admiration of Messi and two of them play in complementary positions. Though it will take maybe few months, i expect both of them to play well together by December at the latest.

Second challenge is buying a center half. This has been a toughie for Barca and the need for a good partner to Pique, who is fast and tall, has been apparent for quite some time. Simply put, Barca need to have a good center half.

Third challenge is how to counter high balls. Bayern effectively destroyed Barca by exploiting the tactic of going for high balls. Though this will not be a problem 90% of time, it will be against some opponents and normally these opponents will be in crunch matches so Barca needs to find a solution.

Final challenge is refreshing the hunger of the team and finding balance to make it work together. Last season, the balance was simply off. Messi was the difference maker too many times. He will always be but as a team, Barca needs to maybe add the pressing back to its game.

Overall, Tata is unlikely to find the job easy. Ancelotti is smart cookie who will guide Madrid to the title. I think that Barca will not win the Liga or CL this season. Barca will most probably come second in Liga and out at Quarters in CL. Anything better will be a bonus.

As a fan though, i do not care that much about result. I shall be happy if the team again plays with joy and provides some excitement.

Narendra Modi and Indian education system

I came across a tweet on incredulity about Modi saying that ancient Indian education system was excellent as compared to western education. I did not understand the outrage behind this comment so started to think about it. The tweeter seemed to imply that Western (i.e. US) education system was much better and Modi was somehow wrong in saying that ancient Gurukul system was match or even better than current western education. 

Without knowing too much, i will hazard the guess that the said tweeter is US educated and thinks that his education is the best. Fair enough for me. After all, everybody's mother is most beautiful for them. 

I did start to think though. I have been educated in western education system, all through my life. And i do not believe that western education system is the best ever. It is good for sure as it has contributed a lot to human development. At the same time, if i look at the basics of the ancient indian gurukal system, it seems to be excellent too. 

If i look at ancient gurukul system, the system worked on all students living together and learning at equal footing. The teachers were dedicated to education and supported by the wealthy people and royalty. The students learned the theory and at the same time, they learned trade by actually doing it. They lived communally and learned to contribute to society. 

This was excellent system and helped India be the premier nation for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. The overall society did fail to stop the Muslim invaders and then got skipped in the industrial revolution there by allowing England to rule India for hundreds of years. And these facts have somehow made the nation feel as if the victors have best of everything. I think this view needs to be rethought. There is glorious tradition that is Indian and as Indians, we should think of how to revert to the roots, albeit incorporating modern knowledge.

Some people will say that Indian systems sucked because it perpetuated caste system. Irrefutably this is a major blot on the system. At the same time, Western education system did discriminate against african americans for hundreds of years. How is this different? I agree that way in which Gurukul worked was not perfect but the western education has not been perfect either. Western education has evolved and so can indian system. 

And if India ever has to achieve greatness again, it will have to marry the ancient with the modern. Trying to copy western model will not work and sooner we as nation realize this, we will get on right path.

Watching Test Cricket

The 5th test between England and Australia is going on and its lunch. 20 runs for Aussies to win with one wicket in hand. Poised at knife's edge. I do not want to predict who will win. I am loving the uncertainity.

As i watched the match today for entire morning session, i again realized how wonderful good test cricket can be. There are things happening, with enough interval in between to relax and think about what is happening. The pace of game gives enough time to admire what is going on.

Stories i tell my daughter - 2 - Volcano Witch Part 1

(My little girl loves Volcanos. I do not really know why. To amuse her, i have made up these stories. This is the first one.)

The ground was shaking and there was wonderfully threatening sound coming from the ground below. Athena tightened the grip on the hand of Shlava, the volcano witch, who had brought Athena to the mountain where volcano was going to explode any time. Athena could hardly hold her excitement so started to jump up and down next to Shlava. She could not believe where she was. She wondered if her mom had found out that she was missing from the house.

Athena had a completely unremarkable time on previous day. Her mom had picked her up in school and they returned to their flat in the suburbs of big city. In the evening, she had dinner with her parents, played some games in evening and then it was bed time. Athena's room was right next to her parents bedroom. She had a small pink room that was full of fluffy toys and pictures of Volcanos and stones picked from street. Her small bed was right next to the wall opposite of the window from where Athena could see the traffic on road outside. Her cupboard and play table was on one side of the wall. It was her dad's turn to tell her a bed time story. Atrhena's dad always loved to pick up story books with games and races and that day he had picked up story of race between animals in jungle.  Athena had fallen asleep even before the story was halfway through.

Next thing Athena could remember was that someone was in room with her. It was still dark though the night lamp gave enough light to see. Opening her eyes, Athena saw a women, closer to her mothers age, with flaming red hair standing next to the bed. Athena was not afraid though. 

"Hello Athena,"the women said.

"Hello,"Athena replied in sleepy voice. "Who are you?"

"I am Shlava, your friend. I know that you like Volcanos. Would you like to see one?"

Athena jumped up in the bed. She said, "YES! I WANT TO."

"Shhh. Do not scream,"Shlava said with a smile, "we do not want to wake up your parents."

"Ok. Shall i change my night dress?"

"No need. Just wear a jacket on top of your night shirt."

And Athena wore a jacket on top of her night shirt and looked expectantly towards Shlava. 

"Hold my hand,"Shlava said. "Close your eyes."

Athena felt something change around her. When she opened her eyes, she was on top of a windy mountain. It was warm there so Athena felt ok. There were people close by to her. Athena looked at the scene curiously. She could see girls with beautiful clothes. Some were even as old as her and some were as old as her great grand mother. Seemed that lot of them knew each other as they kept on breaking and meeting other people with a smile. 

"Where are we? Is there a volcano in front?" Athena asked to Shlava as soon as Shlava had parted from someone who had come over to say hello.

"Yes Athena. A volcano is going to erupt here.  All the women and girls here are volcano witches or are training to be volcano witches. "

"Are you a volcano witch too?" Athena squealed loudly.

"Yes Athena. I am one too."

"Will i be one as well?"

"Yes. You will be a witch too one day." Athena started to jump up and down. She was so happy. This was super.

After she caught her breath, Athena asked, "What are we going to do here?"

"As the volcano erupts, a magic that is deep within earth also erupts. We volcano witches catch the magic and fill it in our magic bag. This is the magic that helps us to do different things. Today, i brought you here to see how it happens and maybe you can catch some magic too."

"I do not have any magic bag," Athena said with panic in her voice. 

"You have one with you. You do not know it yet. "

Before Athena could ask more, there was loud noise and Shlava held Athena hand.

"Athena, when you see the first burst of lava, close your eyes and try to see if you can catch something. Its just like catching rain. I cannot explain more but try."

Athena looked around. On the mountain top, the witches had arranged themselves in semi circular shape. She felt suddenly very hot for a moment. She loved the feeling of heat. Looking towards the center of the mountain, Athena could see the first burst of golden red lava from the deep ground beneath. She closed her eyes.

After few minutes, "Were you able to feel the magic Athena?"Shlava asked. 

"I think i did. When i closed my eyes, i could see something golden that was spreading in air. I tried to catch it and i think i did some. I tried to put it somewhere but i could not."

"Maybe you did. Lets see. Try to push that stone in front of you."

Athena tried. "It does not move."

"Do not worry. It takes some time. Come let us meet some of my friend."

Athena went with Shlava. She said hello to few people, one women had blue hair. She also met one other small girl, Meena, who was her same age. 

Shlava soon took Athena back to her room. It was still dark outside. 

"Sleep well Athena, it will be day soon. And remember, this is our little secret. "

"When will i see you again Shlava?"

"Soon enough. You have lot of time to learn things. Sweet dreams."

"Good night."

Athena's dreams were full of weird haircuts and big volcanos that night.

Thoughts on Indian Penal Code

US Supreme Court decision on couple of cases has this week given impetus towards making homosexuality accepted on par with heterosexuality in US. The point where things are equal is going to take some time to happen. Things are well under way and that can only be good news.

This brought me to think about homosexuality in India. With the high court decision from 2009 watering down the section 377 of Indian Penal Code, it can be inferred that consensual sexual acts between adults are now permissible.

In reality though, things still need to improve much more. As society, it is disgraceful if part of society are persecuted because their personal choices are different as compared to others. And this acceptability needs to be communicated aggressively. With communication, India can expect that maybe in another 20 years, a homosexual person might feel ok to declare their preference in most of country, and not just in metro cities.  

If i think about it, i have wondered why doesn't Indian government, together with judiciary, just revise the entire penal code. It is great achievement that this code has survived from 1860 and retains significant parts of original. At the same time, things have changed significantly in last 150 years and  the law should evolve together with reality. 

Sometimes when one hears about fines of few thousand rupees for millionaires, it is clear that the amount that was high in past is not enough today. 

To great extent, Judiciary has lot of respect and most of people do believe that the highest judges in India are with good character and make fair decisions. At the same time, there is significant frustration among those who have to deal with lawyers or courts in any format. I know a few people in my life who have had to be involved with court cases and the delays in court making decision is just sad. 

I come from family which has some lawyers and most cases the lawyers handle take multiple years, if not decades, to come to conclusion. For lawyers, this is preferable as they keep on making money through fees. Those involved as litigant sometimes lose everything, hope being the first to go. A just society is one where law follows common sense and can be trusted to treat supplicants fairly, in terms of decision and time. Structurally Indian law is there but if i ask those who have had to closely deal with it, the reality is much sadder.

Stories i tell my daughter: 1. Dancing Doctor

I have a young daughter who loves to listen to stories. I make up a lot of them. Most of them are not worth repeating but sometimes she loves the stories i tell. I shall write them here so if you have young kids, you can try them too and tell me if your kids loved them too.  

Dancing Doctor

Dr Tom worked in a hospital in a small town. He lived in a house just a few minutes from the hospital. One night, Tom was sleeping in his bed while a witch passed over his house on her broomstick. As the witch was applying make up and riding on the broomstick, some of her magic, which she carried in a small bottle escaped and fell down. And magic bottled in water, if it escapes, has to find nearest human or else it will mix with air and lose its power. This magic found Dr Tom who was sleeping soundly in his bed.

Next morning, Dr Tom woke up and when he got down from the bed, he found out that he was not able to keep still. His feet kept on dancing. He had so much trouble to even put his pants and eat breakfast. He was hopping as he ate his breakfast and most of the tea from his tea cup fell down. Dr Tom did not even have cup of tea in the morning. That made him cross.

Dr Tom tried to ride his bicycle to work. He kept on falling down as his feat got tangled with the bike. Dr Tom had to walk, or rather dance to the hospital. On his way, people kept on asking him why he was dancing. Dr Tom could not say anything as he did not know too.

In the hospital, his patients could not understand why their doctor was dancing. One old women refused to be treated by dancing doctor. She said that it was rude that her doctor danced. Small children who came to Dr Tom joined him in dancing. It made Dr Tom's job very difficult.

Soon all the people in town heard of dancing doctor and came to see Dr Tom. As the hospital got crowded, the chief doctor came to see Dr Tom. He could not find out what was happening and said to Dr Tom, "Go home and rest."

On way back, Dr Tom was accompanied by half the town. He had scores of young children trying to dance with him. It made for a merry spectacle. 

The witch was returning home from her party and saw the party below. She slowed down and soon realized that it was her magic that was causing Dr Tom's dancing. She put a counter spell and Dr Tom stopped dancing. He breathed a sigh of relief and ran home. 

Revolutions as tool for social improvement

In last few months, i visited Istanbul a few times. Living in Western Europe for few years, my impression of Turkey was based on the Turkish migrants i had seen around me. When i visited the first time, i was pleasantly surprised. Most of people i met were broadly similar in their attitude and approach to most of Europeans i have met. I found them friendly and charming. And every night i stayed out with my friends, we started bar hopping at Taksim Square. That is why the recent images of protests in Turkey are thought provoking for me. Though what i happening there is no way a revolution, it is not great leap of thinking that it can turn out to be one. I hope it does not.

Revolutions are tricky things that rarely improve situation in short or medium term. Revolutions by definition are against something and not for something. What we find after most of revolutions, even successful ones, is that society has to pick up the pieces of all the things that are necessarily broken in the upheaval. If we look at the recent revolutions in middle east, almost none of them have improved the situation of the normal people living in those countries. At the same time, sometimes those who govern are so far out of line that revolution might be only way out, no matter how painful it is. 

I personally am not in favor of revolutions. Too much inconvenience for my liking. 

Also, the long term success of revolutions is dependent on broad participation of society in the improvement of its lot and significant number of people behaving morally. These factors for me are also possible in restrictive conditions and they can help evolve a society into becoming better society. 

A social structure that rewards moral behavior and participation in social activity can achieve progress without the pain of revolution. Results of such action are slow to materialize and those who dedicate to these goals have to be really selfless in their pursuit. For vast majority of people going out to protest is something hard to do. For same people, being moral and participating bit more in social discourse is possible. Now that would be a worthy goal to follow.  

Narendra Modi: Will BJP support him?

BJP voted Narendra Modi as member of its Parliamentary board & election committee. This appointment is clear indication of positioning Modi as leader of BJP for upcoming elections & candidate for prime minister post if BJP can cobble up a majority. And the effects are already apparent with LK Advani tendering his resignation. If nothing else, the coming months shall introduce some much needed energy into the indian political scene. 

I believe that Modi was elected not from support of top BJP leaders but despite of them. There is ground swell of support for Modi and BJP leadership has had to heed to this support at ground level. In my view, he is the BJP leader with highest recognition & support across country. At the same time, he is the leader who will polarize opinions & most probably make his opponents join together with common aim of defeating him. So by choosing Modi, BJP will bond their supporters more closely and at the same time face with opponents who are willing to go extra mile to see Modi defeated. 

And in between these extremes, there is a large middle group who decide elections. And i believe that this group looks at Modi and his record in Gujrat and is impressed. This middle group is interested in progress and wants good infrastructure. This group wants better life & politicians who are able to do something. And this group, when times choose between BJP & Congress, will go with Modi. The first question is that how many of this neutrals will overlook the problems with Modi & chose to support him for the things he has achieved. 

Secondly, the question will be how Modi's governing style & personality affect BJP. Modi, by all accounts, has a autocratic way of governance & is very result oriented. Indian politicians are good at lots of things, governance is not one of them. Also, the leadership follows the dictum of never be direct with anyone. Also, Indians are not good at taking direct feedback or criticism. One can imagine that political leaders are even more touchy when it comes to taking orders. So Modi's style will be difficult for most of the top BJP leaders to accept. I would not be surprised if even before elections, Modi has to deal with lot of discontent within his own party. LK Advani for me, is just first of many top BJP leaders who will find it tough to live with Modi's persona. 

Coming period will give us answers to these two questions & they will define how Modi's BJP will perform in elections. He will need to get leaders who completely support him (and hopefully get rid of all those who don't) and then come up with a plan and hope enough neutrals will support him. 

One thing being overlooked is that Modi also provides Congress with rallying cry. If Congress uses this correctly, it could make a good showing.

In appreciation of Great Gatsby - the book and movie

What makes the novel The Great Gatsby, great? It is a small enough novel with simple enough story line. Lovers re-united after one of them is married & husband helping crucial mis-understanding that kills the upstart and wife returns to husband. The writing is good, even very good. The characters are fairly drawn & the story moves at rapid pace. The time period is exciting with the parties and the general euphoria that was the pinnacle of jazz era. Thing to note is that Gatsby was not a best seller when it was released. It sold significantly less as compared to other Fitzgerald books. It is a book whose appreciation and place in popular culture has enhanced as time has gone by.

Two main themes that always accompany Gatsby are its foreshadowing of Great Depression & the American dream. American dream for me makes sense. The books infers a story of a man who was willing to do anything to make money. In itself, this is not something which is unique to America. What is unique is that with money, Gatsby was able to throw parties & get social acceptance. So the ability to reach the top of social strata by spending money was American dream & something that was quite different from the aristocratic way of rest of world at that point in time. I have not read of too many books from 20’s but Gatsby is the one which is best known example of realization of this American dream and this thing, for me, is one of the reason why it is so relevant in terms of understanding that period & American dream in general.

As for Great Depression & Gatsby foreshadowing it, I do not believe it to be the case. Gatsby did not stop parties because he grew poor. He stopped because he had achieved his dream of being with Daisy. Also his death was not because of his excess but because someone else manipulated the events and he paid by life for trying to do noble thing.

And this takes me to second part of American dream. I will call it American reality. It is that achieving what you want is not enough as you always want something more, something unattainable. Gatsby did not just want Daisy but he also wanted to her to acknowledge that he was her only true love. He believed in it and her being his only true love. And this belief was the end of him. He was not happy that daisy loved him. He wanted her to say that he was her true love. And his money was not able to help him achieve this. And this is why he is like a bewildered child as he is not able to understand why daisy does not acknowledge him that he is only one. Here is Gatsby, with his big mansion, lots of money, social status of being elite with a girl that is with him and still wanting more.   

And if you see US today, it is still the same. Bush or Obama are Gatsby’s of today. Bush launched attack in Iraq and expected people there to welcome him with flowers instead of guns. He had freed them from a Tyrant after all. Obama became president and expected everyone to get reasonable just because he was president and people had voted for his message of hope. This childlike expectation that they will get everything just because they got what they wanted in material terms and being unable to understand when reality is otherwise is strain that runs even today in Americans. And for me, this makes Gatsby great. It captures the American dream and the American reality.

And the book is gives some insight into why America is dream of so many. There is this underlying innocence to Gatsby as a character. A nobleness that comes through even though he might be involved in sordid activities. He is a dreamer who wants love. And the society/culture allows him to go for his dreams and his money makes him acceptable. In a world stratified by class, caste, religion, ethnicity, this was representation of society where only thing that was required was money. Money that anyone can make anyhow. For those who could never be elite in their existing society because of reasons mentioned above, I can understand the powerful attraction of being  in society that allows you to reach top purely by making money, which is untainted by any of those prejudices.

So for me, the well written story that brought home all the things I wrote above is what made The Great Gatsby a novel that I loved.

Coming to movie, instead of focusing on superficial things like jazz music or hip hop music, Luhrmann got the main things right. The excess of the 20’s with loud parties, the casting of characters and the underlying wistfulness of the book. Nick is plain, Gatsby is magnetic, Tom is brute & Daisy is pitiably human. I think that the movie has got all this right. And Dicaprio has provided a presence that is in tune with character. He is innocent but canny. A dreamer who is unable to accept the reality. I liked the movie a lot because of this.

CL Final May 25

Champions League final will be at Wembley on May 25th between Borussia Dortmund & Bayern Munich. I want Borussia to win though i think Bayern will win.

If we look at the form of two teams in domestic league, Bayern have won the Bundesliga quite comfortably this season. After two seasons of Dortmund dominations, the baverians upped their game quite significantly & have a great squad. Not only their first 11 is very strong, Bayern also have a excellent bench. Borussia on other hand focussed on Champions League this season and have been one of most exciting teams to watch in CL. Borussia have maybe the first 11 which can match Bayern, they do not have quality in their reserves. With Gotze out injured, the first 11 of Borussia is further weakened. I think Bayern has the edge in terms of available resources.

I expect both the teams to be set up in similar 4-2-3-1 formation. Borussia has maybe better striker but Bayern have better wings. In middle of park, Gotze will be significant miss. In defence, Bayern again has the edge for me. Hummals, for all his good qualities, can make some mistakes.

Tactically, Bayern have more weapons in their arsenal. Bayern can play counter attack & can also play possession with equal effectiveness. Borussia on other hand are built for speed. Quick forward moves & pressing have been their hallmark, not just for this season but also for previous ones. The problem with this approach is that once other teams get used to it & if they have enough quality, they can beat it. This is same as what happened to Barcelona in last two years. Madrid has been able to neutralize Barca to great extent & for me, this is same for Bayern when it comes to Borussia.

So in summary, Bayern are the favorites for me. They have the form, the players & the motivation (losing final last year at home is a big burden the players would want to get rid of).

Still i want Borussia to win. I do not have anything against Bayern per se. Borussia are underdogs & i like the youthful energy with which they play. It brings smile to my face.

End of Barca era

As i type this, Barcelona is losing 4 - 0 to Bayern. The Germans have been clinical, cynical & in general, better than Barcelona. Germans identified the Barca dis-advantage on height & took full advantage of it. Bayern were physical & with Victor Kasai allowing good amount of physicality, they took fill advantage. The body check by Muller for fourth goal on Alba was cynical to say the least. And how Javi Martinez survived so long with out card beggars belief. 

To focus on main point in this match though. Baverians were worthy winners. They hardly allowed Barca to play till they were leading 3 - 0. There were no serious Barca attacks & mostly the catalans had toothless possession. Bavarians just had better personnel & better tactics. 

And this is not the first time this has happened to Barcelona. They were outplayed by Madrid multiple times through the season, Real Sociadad defeated them fair & square. Barca have lost in previous seasons but never been comprehensively outplayed. In this season, they have been multiple times. 

Bayern are now for sure in final. Barca are not going to come back from this defeat. 

Lots of wake up calls. Messi had close to zero service. There was fear in Barcelona every time Bayern hit ball in the box. 

Maybe it is bit pre-mature to say that the Barca era has ended but for me, it has. Maybe they will have new era. But with this set of players, without any major re-inforcements, Barcelona will slide down the table. Due to their financial might, they will not slide down too below but they are on downward trend. 

Since 2005, teams have won against Barca but rarely by challenging them in football. This season multiple teams have & won. So it is safe to say that Barca no longer occupy any higher perch. 

Even as Barca fan, this saddens me but does not surprise me. After all, what goes up comes down, and this truism is even more applicable for sports where cycles rarely last few years. 

Comparing First Law Trilogy with Song of Ice & Fire

Recently I discovered First Law trilogy written by Joe Abercrombie. I was happy to have discovered a brilliant new series and one that did not make me wait to find out how the series concluded. The conclusion was in line with the how the series was, which is to say it was not a story book ending.  

What I liked most was that there were no obvious good or bad guys in the books. In fact, all the characters were flawed. If I have to identify two of the favorite characters in the books that I liked, these would be a torturer who shits in his bed & a mad berserker who can kill even a child when he is in rage. I wouldn’t consider these guys to be heroes in any way.  

And after reading the book, I was reminded of the Song of Fire & Ice series by George R R Martin. It is currently all the rage with a big HBO TV series, Game of Thrones, making the work mainstream. What makes GRRM’s books notable is that almost all the characters are with gray shades though the Stark’s are mainly on the lighter side of grey. GRRM is the standard bearer for the more realistic fantasy which is in contract to Tolkienesque world composed of good & bad.

Scope of the GRRM universe is much wider as compared to First Law universe. Also GRRM has larger set of strong characters. I found the writing style of Joe Abercrombie to be funnier, especially the insight into the torturers mind were constant delight. I found myself laughing at most horrible situations.

All in all, GRRM books have larger canvas and bigger promise. On other side, First law trilogy is complete & ready for consumption. So while waiting for next installment of Fire and Ice, fantasy fans can enjoy the First Law trilogy.