The Calendar Vettai

New Year 2023 has begun but the Vettai (the Tamil word for Hunting) for calendars has ceased.  The internet and smartwatches have dealt a death blow to calendars; now one can access a calendar of any year of the past or future, thanks to data download and storage options making the calendars obsolete. 

The hunt for calendars would start in early December of the year before and continue till the end of February/March of the New Year.  Long-forgotten friends and acquaintances in big companies like Hindustan Lever, Kingfisher Airlines, etc.,   would be approached for their prestigious calendars. Only the most privileged will be lucky to get one. The calendar would be nicely rolled and packed in a cardboard tube and carried home hiding it from the prying eyes of neighbors. These corporate calendars were usually printed on 12 full-size sheets of glossy art paper with photographs of beauty parade models and young cinema stars. or some exotic pictures of snow-clad mountains of the Himalayas or Alps. In some years, they would go thematic with classical dance forms of India featuring eminent dancers or temple Gopurams or African safari and wildlife. Dates and months were only of secondary importance. Some companies would bring out what could be called Desk calendars but they did not command a premium for use in homes.

Lesser mortals will approach their regular grocers, clothiers, and other sundry merchants.  These calendars were mostly advertisements of their wares and products like LG brand asafoetida (Hing in Hindi) or TSR sandalwood powder or Kanchipuram silks. The name, address, and telephone number of the shop would be printed in bold letters and doled out only to regular and longstanding customers. The image of a Hindu deity like Goddess Lakshmi or Lord Ganesha or their brand ambassador, usually a cinema star, would be featured in them. Months and dates would be printed in small size letters on three or four thin papers clipped/glued at the bottom.  Some corporate would bring out desk- calendars but would not command a premium for display on home walls.

The irony about these prized calendars is that their charm and appeal would be only for a few days proving the saying in Tamil “Mogam Mupathu  Naal”, meaning their charm lasts at best for thirty days with some of them not even fully straightened from their embryonic posture of rolled position requiring a clothesline clip to be used.  It is inexplicable that after so much effort to get them, they were left to hang on the walls with sheets of months gone by not even removed.

My mother was not however satisfied with either the corporate or smaller mercantile calendars because the dates were not printed in individual boxes not providing adequate space for writing the daily milk and dhobi accounts.  She, therefore, insisted on my bringing a Government of India calendar printed and distributed by the Directorate of Audio and Visual Publicity, DAVP, and distributed for use in government offices.  They were of monotonous pattern year after year showing bold and big-sized numbers in a separate big box for each date.  It is another matter that they were seldom hung in offices but found their space on the walls of residences of government servants.

In our family, none of the above types of calendar answered the need for data of the day such as Rahu kalam, Yamakandam, Yogam, ruling Nakshatra, and the Thithi. Only the “Daily” calendar brought out by the Tamil publishing house Rani Muthu with the unchanging image of Lord Murugan with his inevitable “Vel” was the answer and a permanent feature in our home.  Each day even now begins with the tearing off of the thin slip showing the previous day’s data and a namaskaram and a prayer with folded hands for a happy today. The only snag with the Murugan Calendar has been about their disposal at year-end as in deference to my mother’s sentiments for deities they should not be discarded but preserved.   

Let me end this piece with a joke. At the beginning of each New Year, the office of the  Director General of Supplies & Disposals,  Government of India, would get a pile of calendars from the supplier company representatives calling on the officers for New Year greetings.   On a complaint that their distribution was not equitable among officers and staff, orders were issued that all calendars should henceforth be deposited with a clerk at the Reception office who would be responsible for hanging the calendars in the officers’ rooms. When the complaint persisted and the clerk was called to explain, he showed the record diligently maintained by him of the names and designations of officers with the remark against each as “Hanged” or “Will be hanged later”.

 

 

The Agony of the Aged

I am in the mid- eighties. The lessons from the Whatsapp University where I am registered contain many forwards, videos and audios extolling the virtues of developing a detached view of life and matters.  Spirituality, as opposed to indulgence in worldly pursuits, is suggested as the mantra for daring the inevitable extinction of life.  For the body, some minimal physical activity like walking and for the mind, some form of meditation is recommended. I have tried but failed. 

  Let me begin with my attempt to walk 30 minutes a day for at least   5 days a week.  My problem is choosing the 5 days.  Should they be successive 5 days or odd/even or random five days?  Should weekends Saturdays and Sundays and other holidays be excluded?   Should they be in the mornings or evenings or some days in the morning and other days in the evening?  Of course, I have duly invested in buying the appropriate footwear, shorts, T-shirts, caps, and even a walking stick but the choice problem is looming so large that the walks have yet to begin.

 Next, about the minimum aerobic exercises for keeping the body trim and the BMI within limits. . Here too I am not able to start because the question of whether to do them before or after the morning ablutions has yet to be reconciled.  The only thing I am able to practice regularly is the Savasana suggested to do in the end. Many a day, it extends to almost 15 minutes against the recommended 3 minutes.

Controlling the diet to keep away cholesterol, BP, diabetes, and the inevitable obesity by avoiding the Five Whites, i.e. salt, sugar, butter, milk, and maida, is easier said than done.  While sugar has been discontinued in my coffee and tea,   I cannot eat sugar/saccharin-less cake, pastry, jalebi or rosogolla.

In our youth, there was no internet and digital compulsion.  Railway tickets were obtained across the counter after waiting for hours and for journeys when berths were available.  All payments were on a cash basis and overdue settlement was interest-free. No EMI on credit card entailing exorbitant interest charges.    Online purchases were unheard of. Therefore, there was no fear of disclosing OTP or passwords to unauthorized persons. Memorizing the Aadhaar and PAN card numbers did not arise... The balances in my Bank Savings Accounts were safe. The Bank Cashier was a friend though he made one wait while he sipped tea or chatted with his colleague. No ATMs to expose your Balance of mind and money.   Fraudsters are on the prowl.  One cannot pin them down for stealing one’s PIN.   The online customer care number,  though accessible 24/7, is vexatious enough to offer unwanted options except the chance to speak to some person for airing a problem other than those included in the programmed menu of options.

All in all, I am in a fix not able to go spiritual, keep my body and mind healthy,  protect even my meager bank balance or cope with the challenges of the internet and digital technology.  Will they or I pass before long.?

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 The Octal Numbering System

The current events celebrating 8 years of rule induced me to research to see if there exists a numbering system with a base of 8. By Jove, or rather by Byju the eEdu expert, such a system does exist used in computers

Mortals like us are used to the decimal system of numbers which uses 10 as the base. A number, say 1064, is explained as 1x10^3+0x10^2+6x10^1+4x10^0 + 1000+0+6x10+4x1= 1000+0+60+4+ 1064. We have used the successive powers of 10 from 0 to 3 in the direction right to left. In the Octal system, we use various powers of 8 to write a  number.  So, our number 1064 in the decimal system would be written as 1x8^3+0x8^2+6x8^1+4x8^0 =512+0+48+4x8^0 =512+48+8=568

In the normal course of our lives, we are so used to the decimal system that we celebrate major events like birth and wedding anniversaries on completion of one, ten, fifty, sixty, hundred, and so on, all multiples of 10. A decade is 10 years and a generation is 25 years.  Film producers celebrate 100 days from the date of a film’s release as a major event. For Kangana Ranavat, the octal system would give a different number for our year of real independence.

 The Octopus, which is an eight-limbedmollusk mollusk, should be comfortable in the octal system, while we humans have to find new uses for our extra two fingers in our hands and toes. The time is ripe for us in India, after Aryabhata who devised the decimal system of positional numeration, to change to the Octal system of numbers.

 

Who is Who in India?

The recent NSE scam resulting in the sacking and subsequent arrest of its CEO has once more confused me as regards names and their associated gender identity.  Except once in the beginning when newspaper and TV channels mentioned the scamster’s name Chitra Ramakrishna, led me to think that the accused is a woman by the name Chitra.  However, in subsequent reports of the scam the name mentioned was   Ramakrishna, an unambiguous male name.  . Mercifully for me, the accompanying photo was that of a middle-aged woman thus ending my confusion. Similarly, when  Prabha  Narasimhan’s recent elevation in Colgate & Palmolive was announced in newspapers with her photo, I had no doubt that she was a woman; but two paragraphs down in the report where the profile appeared,  the name was  Narasimhan,   an obviously male name.  It made me wonder why the impressive profile of a male should find a place in an announcement of the elevation of a woman.  

What is the name of the Chief Executive Officer of Alphabet and its subsidiary Google? Is it Pichai or Sundar?  His own company Google mentions, “ Pichai Sundararajan, better known as Sundar Pichai ……, Pichai earned his degree from IIT ……..” and records the names of his spouse, parents, and children in two parts with  Pichai as a common second part. Am I to infer that his given name is Pichai though he is usually referred to as Sundar Pichai? As one of the richest men in the USA, his name as Sundar (handsome) Pichai (donation) appears appropriate!

After the Adhaar card and Passport, I leave it to you to choose for my name one or the other from   Venkata Raman Arunachalam or Arunachalam Venkata Raman or A. V . Raman.     

 

Kohli's Resignation

 

It has happened, the worst-feared catastrophe; Virat Kohli has announced his resignation as captain of our Test cricket team suddenly in the wake of losing the series against South Africa.  The news has hit the nation like a thunderbolt.  Newspapers are carrying analysis of this national tragedy in column after column by everyone connected with cricket. BCCI officials, sports correspondents, cricketers  past and present, his team mates, managers, coaches, support staff and cricket fans from across the country, advertisers et al, are dissecting this with reference to its timing like when BCCI President is recuperating from his recent illness, the oncoming series in SriLanka, and not the least elections in five States. Not to be left behind, TV channels are beaming the news in every edition besides conducting panel discussions on the impact of this Tsunami on the future of Indian cricket with particular reference to The World Cup, The ICC Cup etc.  The emotional tribute by his wife Anushka Sharma and other Hollywood persona is particularly heart rending.  Short of an official Gazette Notification from Government, every other form of communication like social, print and electronic media has come into play carrying  the poignancy created  by  this  news of the decade. Twitter is agog with this unexpected calamity wondering what would happen to the moneybag Corporates bidding for cricketers for IPL and sponsors like Byju.   

There is also the question regarding his successor as captain causing great anguish. Will  he  a batter like  Rohit Sharma or K.L.Rahul or, for a change, a wicket keeper captain like Rishabh Pant or a pace bowler captain  like Jasprit Bumrah.  Social commentator and columnist  like Santosh Desai in his weekly column in The Times of India has addressed this earth shaking news under the caption “A Resignation Foretold” and discussed the matter threadbare including   Kohli’s souring relationship with BCCI. He  asks “ Was it Kohli’s growing unpopularity with a vocal section because of his advocacy of a cracker-free Diwali and his standing up for Shami when he was being trolled communally ? ” He also says that BCCI has decided to do what politicians excel at – insert itself into a situation and mess it up thoroughly  without a plan and no clear successor in place .

In the Indian context the views and opinions of two other cricket aficionados, Ram Chandra Guha and Shashi Tharoor will be eagerly watched.

       

A Single World Leader

Today we live in a world, where thanks to technological advancements in communication and digitization, countries have only geographical significance. Even problems such as Covid 19 pandemic with its variants like Delta and Omicron, climate change, terrorism, drug menace, human trafficking, etc., affect all nations.

  The fight against these scourges also tends to get global with nations coming together under the aegis of The United Nations (UN) through organs like  World Health Organisation(WHO),  the UN Counter-Terrorism Committee, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, the  Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change(IPCC). Besides these,  other bodies like NATO, G20 summit, Conference of Parties 26 both held recently in Rome  Glasgow respectively also discuss ways and means of dealing with the problems.

 A fair assessment of the results of these global initiatives however points out that the problems still persist. The main reason for this is that though nations gather to find unanimity of approach, their respective national interests take a higher priority than the compulsion of implementing an agreed decision or solution. 

Take the Covid 19 pandemic for a case.  When the first and second waves of Covid were in full swing calling for vigorous vaccination drives, strict quarantine of victims,  area lockdowns, and travel restrictions,  many nations faced problems of insufficient quantities of vaccines, hospital beds, oxygen cylinders logistics difficulties, and demand outstripping supply,. Production of vaccines to meet the global needs at affordable costs is fraught with disputes over vaccine patent waivers. The WHO was crying hoarse to speed up vaccination of all adult population and enforce rigorous enforcement of Covid Appropriate Behaviour like masking the face, social distancing, and frequent handwashing. Individual nations or even areas within a nation decided these issues weighing the pros and cons of lockdowns vis-a-vis livelihood needs of the people. Then there was the problem of resistance to vaccination by some people. 

 The Paris Agreement as a legally binding international treaty on climate change has set a goal to limit global warming to a level below 2, preferably 1.5 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels. This calls for all nations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions like carbon dioxide which is the main pollutant from burning coal for power generation. Both China and India have resisted attempts for a G20 declaration on phasing out domestic coal consumption. Here the economy of using locally available coal for the generation of power overrides the global good of reduced pollution arising from power using non-fossil sources.  

 The question arises as to why global initiatives for dealing with global problems have not delivered the goods in spite of the existence of global organs like the UN and overall laudable efforts by leaders of various nations to find solutions. Is it the respective national economic, political,  social, governance, ideological interest overwhelming global good.?

 Can there be a leader(s) to lead other leaders? What will be that entity's source of authority to lead? Will a group of public intellectuals, activists, authors, statesmen, artists, academia be able and acceptable to provide unified global leadership to leaders of governments? The UNGA and UNSC are only assemblies of governments with some of them threatening to stop funding and with weapons like Veto power can and have indeed torpedoed many viable solutions for many problems in the past. 

  

 

The Old Man and the GK

For Delhites GK is the abbreviation of Greater Kailash. This blog however talks of another GK . Most Delhi University graduates of my age have either made it , or failed to make it like me ,to the IAS, which if nothig else, made us great in GK, i.e., General Knowledge. GK was a compulsory paper in the wrtten exams and a favourite mind- teaser with the interview panelists. The Manorama Year Book was one of the the main sources and approaches to gain the bookish GK . Many bits and facts inputs were required to be learnt as GK . Examples: Babylonian civilization, marvels of scientific inventions and discoveries including Wagner's theory of the continental shift, milestones in world history, Hindu and Greek mythology, politics, plant , animal and sea life, evolution of the State from Plato to Marx and last but not the least current affairs. Famous authors and their works are another an important part of GK, like Kautilya's Arthshastra, Kalidasa's Shakuntalam, Milton's Paradise Lost, Gibbon's The Rise and Fall of The Roman Empire and so on which none of us have even heard about much less read. Perhaps this type GK was designed to make the IAS personnel know everything except Indian Adminisration which they would in any case learn later in their career from the political masters. Talking of books, Ernest Hemingway's The Old Man and The Sea which has inspired me to title this blog after it with Gk in place of Sea though I have not read it. In one of his recent pieces , Jug Saraya , the columnist for The Times of India, divides the modern age into BC standing for Before Covid and AD for After the Disease . My piece here is about both these divisions in my life . My recent BC years were marked by personal mobility at my will and pleasure for shopping, haircut, attending concerts, evening meetings in our Society senior citizens group, taking morning/evening strolls in and around our residential campus, visiting bank ATMs and temples . Iwas particular about my attire choosing the right combination of shirts, short/long sleeved, and trousers. In the mild winetr months of Mumbai, I showed off with my wardrobe of blazers, scarves, shawls and sweaters. There was also the undisclosed agenda to present myself with charm and elan to the ladies of the Campus. Occasional academic tasks took me to a couple of local management institutions for delivering lectures, attending college development committee meetings etc, where I exhibited my extensive GK acquired for IAS exam to audiences sitting dazed at my wisdom. My questions at faculty selection or students admission meetings were not so much on the subjects like finance or HRD but based on the ever green GK gained years earlier for IAS. Except Current Affairs , most other GK has remained the same over the years. My current AD life is marked by more or less solitary confinement in our home with strict Covid compliant prtocol behaviour enforced by the family. New skills have been learnt like washing the hands frequently with soap and sanitizers, wearing a mask all the time and speaking clearly for others to understand and keeping social distance. The last requirement was not new to us as my wife and I have always maintained cosiderable distance of body and mind between ourselves. Not only our Society was declared as local containment zone, we too have our inhouse cotainment zones with me sitting in the hall watching the TV and lazing while my wife is locked in another room talking endlessly on phone with her daughetr, sister living abroad and brothers and cousins and local acquinatances . The Mask has given rise to one more Murphy's law i.e the itch in the nose occurs more often when one wears a mask than when not masked.Other noticeable changes in my persona are overdue hair cut , a lackadaisical approach to dress and apperance and opinionated or polarised views. It is said that the endemic will usher in new normals in every aspect of our familial, social, occupationalrelationships , behaviour and lifestyles.. Hope my accumulated GK would survive.