The Other Wing of Twilight...

M&M

Ear-marking the changing canvas of time in the warm afterglow of a newfound horizon.

Out at sea...

Moody blues
Sunset views
Emotions running high
Feelings churning anew

The wind in the hollow
Waves blanket the shore
A pit in the stomach
That unsure feeling once more

Life happens suddenly
People in it too
Bonds built in hope
Others broken, you rue

You learn,
You grow.
You become,
The flow

It isn’t easy
But life’s gotta’ go...
Crash into rocks sometimes
You have to battle the low

You’re the victim
You’re the muse
You’re the hero
Only you get to choose

Moving forward isn’t easy
Going backwards no more
Swimming the ocean of hope
Someday you’ll land ashore.

-Mark

Flight

Through trials and tribulations,
I will cry again.

Maybe another thousand deaths,
I will die again.

But I won’t give up,
I will try again.

The curse of my belief this is,
I will rise again.

Like a Phoenix, from the ashes,
I will fly again.

The sky is my abode,
I will fly again.

-Mark

Name, Blame...Puppy Shame!

To say I’m hopping mad at the blatant name changing spree we’re witnessing in this country of ours is an understatement. And what’s worse is the absolute lack of a political discourse about it! Rewriting history to score political mileage is absolutely unacceptable. And to counter the action in the lame defence that hitherto political parties in power also engaged in it at different points in time doesn’t help score points. Isn’t that the one of the reasons they were voted out of power in the first place? So why even imitate those actions?

But then we don’t seem to learn, do we?

And so when economics fail, we take to renaming cities on a war-footing. (Agra to Agrawal, Faizabad to Ayodhya, Allahabad to Prayagraj, Ahmedabad to Karnavati...)

As if the plethora of real-time issues screaming to be addressed in this country were not enough at hand already!

And now that the madness has been unleashed, time  they also rename the ‘samosa’, 'paranthas' 'kebabs', 'biriyani', 'pilaf', 'tikkas' 'kurma', 'falooda', 'gulab-jamun', 'jalebis', 'phirni' - them all. After all, all of these dishes originated in Mughal kitchens across the Indian sub-continent now, didn’t they? 

Do away with kurta-pyjamas, churidars, sufi music as well!

Also, boycott zaffran, onions. potatoes, tomatoes and   tea, coffee, paper, silk - all of which are not indigenous to India!

Finally, BAN CRICKET as a sport too. It's an English game. And yeah...time they realised that the national game Hockey is originally a Canadian export; time to change that to gilli-danda too.

Cultural integration and assimilation - now what the hell is that? We’re Indians - our culture, agriculture! That must explain our political preoccupation with conveniently  uprooting, re-seeding established cultural constructs, re-engineering culture/social mores seasonally into the fertile soil of time, all in the hope that such tilling efforts will reap a rich harvest of votes. 

Mera Bharat mahan.

Troll to Control

Given the current political environment, I am not at all surprised at the belligerent attacks being made on Rahul Gandhi for his comments, that attempt to draw Indian parallels, with the beginnings of Coco-Cola and Mac Donalds. However, RaGa is on point here.

Fact is that many trolling him have barely any idea of the origins of both! But then, who cares about underlying facts in these days of over-the-top drum-beating to make a point, even it meant overseeing the truth for what it is. 

As someone who’s studied both these brands at B-School, case for case, I should know. It is common knowledge that Coca-Cola began its journey selling at a soda fountain (the ‘shikanjiwalla’ equivalent) while Mac Donald’s had its humble beginnings at an airport food-stand (the ‘dhaba’ equivalent)

Interestingly, this whole shenanigan of portraying RaGa as a “dolt” , also brings to fore another keen observation about Human  Behaviour - perception (fed by ideology - right or wrong immaterial) drives acceptance and impacts credibility. 

And once that has been established in the mind, facts barely seem to matter anymore; the focus then on shifts to selectively viewing events from a lens that only validates this perception, leaving little if no scope for making change.

Perception is a dangerous beast, only because once created, it organically assumes life and a character of its own - for better or for worse - allowing its victims only enough room to play to its written script. 

Interestingly, from an Indian political standpoint, we seem to have gotten that behavioural algorithm bang-on alright.

Is Socio-Capitalism the way forward?

My economic leanings aside, here’s a brilliant dissemination on why Socialism isn’t the panacea to equality and poverty alleviation and yet Capitalism isn’t the answer to Socialism as it does not fairly address the equality principle.

The conversation also explains the exploitative links between socialism and crony capitalism - one eventually leading to the other - an example we’re only too well acquainted with in India, some parts of Europe and most parts of LatAm. 

How then do we protect capitalist principles while also nurturing an environment that maximizes opportunity for all?  Should we as a society seek equal access or equal outcomes? 

Pure capitalism is heartless and leaves too many behind unequally favouring a prized few, while overregulated markets and industries stifle productivity and growth for the majority. 

What the world is increasing beginning to seek is a sense of ‘fair-play’ balance between the two or who knows, maybe a new economic order altogether! 

Make some time to watch this clip at length. It’s compelling! And I must say, her accent only adds to the quality and impact of her delivery. 😉

 

B for Britannia, Bawa, Bombay...

Britannia used to be one Parsi Cafè (not that Bombay has many more of them left now, barring my other favourite - Jimmy Boy) I used to frequent in my college and journalism days. I have vivid memories of heated and impassioned discussions with my Editor on the copy and the features that needed to be filed for the week ahead, over my raspberry soda, chicken dhansak and paatrani maach (exactly in that order too!). Infact my very first feature on  ‘Being Parsi from Cusrow Baug’ also got finalised and to a large extent drafted over detailed discussions at the dining tables there! 

Meherwan uncle - the affable and endearingly likeable owner - as I’d fondly call him, would watch patiently from the sidelines and offer us  his perspective as he’d discern the goings-on of “city happenings” in his quintessential sagacious bawa style, whenever it was that we went there - which was quite often!

At Britannia, we never had to formally order our food; food just the way we liked it - extra kebab and a few additional dashes of ginger-garlic in the Beri pulao, an additional generous spoonful of burnt caramel over the custard - just landed on our table and in the course-order we liked it (dessert first!) under the hawk-eyed supervision of Meherwan uncle.

It came as a shock to recieve a whatsapp update from a friend late last night that he had passed away. May his soul RIP.  His passing away, to my mind, is also a symbolic passing away of all things “Bombay” to me. Nostalgia is never quite going to be what it used to be anymore!

Khoda hafiz Meherwan uncle. To good times wherever you be...

Updating a YouTube video of him and the Cafè he ‘lived’ and loved, that went on to become a veritable landmark of food connoisseurs in Bombay.