Never a dull moment

M F Husain is based at Dubai and has been leading the life of a fugitive thanks to myriad cases filed against him in various courts in India on grounds of religious sacrilege and hurting religious sentiments. Being an artist, there is question of freedom of expression and there is a sizable group of intellectuals championing his cause taking the stand that Husain's freedom of expression as an artist has to be respected. The editor of my favourite newspaper N Ram who has a personal friendship with Husain in his column has stated that the sculptures in temples have been accepted for artistic value and Husain's depiction of deities should be viewed in the same spirit. I am no fan of religious chauvinists and would be happy to see the protagonists of recent trouble in and around Mumbai incarcerated in prison. But on Husain's condition, I have mixed feelings. The impetus for modernisation and healthy criticism for religious practices have to come from within the religion for sus...

Holi, the festival of colours,is around the corner. The summer would start at the right earnest after Holi. I have enjoyed festivals like Holi, Garba and Diwali celebrated in North India. The festival celebrations in South are more subdued and somehow the community participation is lacking. The festivities in North are celebrated with gay abandon. My first brush with festivities in North was during my post graduate studies in Ahmedabad in 85-87. Though Ahmedabad had just recovered from community violence spread over couple years, garba was celebrated with fervour.Holi was celebated within the campus and was also an enjoyable event. A few years later I had seen Durga Pooja in Kolkata for three years in a row. I would rate garba as the best participative community festival I have come across so far. We were in Kanpur for a couple of years as newly weds in early nineties. We celebrated Holi in grand style there. It used take more than a month for the colours to go off from our skin and h...

We tend not to value things which are around us either due to familiarity or something elusive and elsewhere is more appealing and attractive. I have spent three years ( 1988 to 1991 ) in Kolkata. Though we all knew of the sterling services rendered by Mother Teresa and her organisation in Kolkata, I noticed that there was no visible signs of their popularity among the masses there. Though a visit to her institution was at the back of my mind when I landed at Kolkata, it remained there and I did not translate into action. "Jaipur foot" has earned the appreciation of public for its efficacy and as well its low cost. I decided to have a look at the rehabilitation centre in the leading private hospital Santokba Durlabji Memorial Hospital ( SDMH ) here at Jaipur who are making the artificial legs and also calipers for affected persons. The other big centre making these components are at Sawai Man Singh Hosptal ( SMS Hospital ) which is the largest government hospital in Rajasthan...

Medical services and reach of it especially rural masses have been big issue in India. Those who have undergone medical education tend to stick to urban areas thereby further skewing the doctor to population ratio in rural areas. A good thought provoking article on the drawback in current medical education which make doctors unfit to diagonise and remedy community diseases appeared in a leading newspape this month. This is written by professors from a leading and popular medical complex - Christian Medical College and Hospital Vellore. It is a worthwhile article which should give our government and medical professionals in public health some food for thought http://www.hindu.com/2010/02/13/stories/2010021352780800.htm

I have worked in private sector all along. I have no idea what it would be to be in a war scene or war like situation. I have seen curfew over en extended period of time in 1985 at Ahmedabad and was literally under house arrest unable to move out of our apartment building in 1992 in Kanpur for three weeks after the Babri Masjid was razed to ground. Those were tense days and they tell me how tense and terrible to be in the midst of war both for armed forces and the civilian population caught in the crossfire. I am getting such a feeling now on the eve and during the one day cricket match between India and South Africa at Jaipur. There has been traffic checks in all important junctins for the last three days. Police forces including reserve battalions are all over the place. The ticket sale has not been too good what with so many level of checks of persons buying the tickets. The process was to be an entirely on line affair but was so slow that some tickets were diverted to over the coun...

One of my colleagues in the erstwhile organization was transferred to Delhi few years ago. I went calling on him and his folks at their residence few weeks after his family had settled down at Delhi. His elder daughter had moved out after her marriage and the younger daughter was in final year school. My colleague said that she was always on phone to somebody or other and was wondering what there was to convey day in and day out. He also opined that she spent more time on telephone / mobile than on her studies. He was one of the first people to face the effects of opening of telecommunication sector on youngsters. It is our turn now. My elder daughter EldDot is taking her final school examinations next month. She is always on phone with her friends asking something or the other. We know her conversations are harmless but most of the time the landline at residence used to be engaged. In fact this could be taken as a sign that she was home! The balance on her mobile phone which has prepa...

Rajasthan has good roads in most of its districts despite being a backward state. One of the reasons mentioned for this is that it is a state visited by foreign tourists ( The tacit assumption is Indian tourists can do with bad / less than satisfactory facilities ! ). I feel the presence of largest contingents of armoured corps of army in this state is the reason for good roads for quick movement and deployment of military equipment. The roads emanating from Jaipur to other parts of the state are very good and so are those from Udaypur. I am told by one and all that roads in Jodhpur division are excellent. But I found there are exceptions which are extremes. I traveled around Bharatpur district last week. The roads are indescribably horrible. Most of the roads interconnecting taluk headquarters are in poor shape. Many of them are single track roads with pot holes all over. The metalled portion is few inches above the shoulder of the road and more often than not, one is forced to drive ...