National Unity Day

We can have a good and bad memory associated with a date. But how we would want to remember the date is our choice; 31st October provides us with such a choice. While the 31st October is widely known for an event in 1984 in which country's only woman and one of the most popular Prime Ministers ever was assassinated; followed by a wide scale application of misdirected hatred in which thousands of her own countrymen lost their lives. On the other hand 31st October is also the day on which one of independent India's most popular and powerful leaders, a leader who gave shape to the map of Indian union, was born.

Thanks to propaganda the death of Indira Gandhi has for decades received much more public attention than the birth of Sardar Patel. The assassination of a reigning prime-minister was an unfortunate event but even more unfortunate were the reprisals unleashed on a particular community whose lineage of serving the sub-continent is unparalleled. While a leader was glorified, an entire community was vilified. In simple terms the events on or after 31st October, 1984 represent the 'divisive' facet of India and brings to fore the deep cracks within our diverse country.

On the contrary it would not be exaggerating to say what Sardar Patel achieved in the few years between independence and his death in 1950 united India as a nation is it we know today. If you tend to disagree, then have a look at this map of India at the time of independence. More than 35% of the entire sub-continent area was at that point of time under the control of princely states numbering more than 500. All of whom had no obligation to join the Indian union and could have declared independence on their own.

Our colonial masters were very happy to leave behind a disintegrated country which would have fought years of civil war to settle their territorial disputes. It would have ultimately led to a sub-continent split into scores of small countries; may be something like the Soviet blocs of Eastern Europe. The seventh largest country in the world would have been Argentina and not India. But that was not to be since India had a certain Sardar Patel as the Home Minister. It was the only time when a Home Minister was the Commander-in-Chief of India's armed forces (later on President) and only time when the Home Minister was equally if not more important that the Prime Minister. While the PM was more focused in stamping India's presence at the global stage, the Home Minister was very much aware that the situation at home has to steadfastly handled.

The chaos that was, is unimaginable. On one hand there were millions displaced and tortured by the partition caused by an imaginary line. And on the other side was the task of stitching together the country with a hostile neighbor breathing over the shoulder. With the help of his trusted secretary V.P. Menon, Patel was able to achieve accession of most of the princely states through diplomacy and negotiations. In some cases, as like for Junagadh, Hyderabad and ultimately Kashmir force had to be used.

It is quite doubtful had it not been for their contributions, whether the nation that we see on map today would have ever come into shape. A case in point is surely that of Kashmir, in which the advisories from Patel and his team were sidestepped by the higher authorities until the very last moment, resulting in a quagmire of never ending dispute between the two neighboring countries which now yearly drains millions from exchequer along with loss of lives. It is noted that Patel's cautious view points w.r.t to relationships with China were also over looked and for which country paid the price later.

As a political leader Sardar Patel's contributions before Independence had been many but his achievements in the integration process remains unparalleled. Considering the diverse and divisive landscape, integrating most of the states within just 2 years post independence is a super-human achievement. His other contributions in curving out an efficient bureaucracy in the form of IAS and IPS and laying the seeds of White Revolution though formation of Amul's parent cooperative society tend to get ignored in comparison.

In memory of such a tall act, today the tallest statue in the world will be inaugurated by the Prime Minister. Though it is quite debatable whether it is the most appropriate way to honor this great son of India by building an immovable statue for INR 3000 crore within just 3 years. It is interesting to note that one of the sub-contractors for this massive statute is a Chinese firm.

It almost seems that it's payback time for all the years when his legacy had been pushed into oblivion and his contributions skillfully omitted from the pages of history text books in school. However, leaving those divisive thoughts aside let's celebrate the National Unity Day in memory of the 'Iron Man of India'. Hope soon to get awestruck by this magnanimous Statue of Unity.

A day's trip to Kusu Island, Singapore

During our stay in Singapore for a few years we had the opportunity to travel in and around the island country to a great extent. Apart from Singapore we made to some of the popular tourist destinations in Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand.

Singapore as we know is an island country. However apart from the main island there are a number of small islands around Singapore which are also part of the country. Most of these islands are uninhabited or used for military and industrial purposes. The uninhabited islands are promoted for tourism purpose. One of those many sister islands is the Kusu Island.

A day's trip to the island can easily be undertaken from Marina Pier. Ferries depart from the pier at regular intervals. As of last visit there was no over night lodging facility available on the island.

History of the Island:

In March 1616 Dom Jose De Silva, Spanish Governor of the Philippines was homeward bound with his fleet of 10 galleons and 2 galleys when his galleon grounded on a reef in the vicinity. Tradition has it that the accident took place at the Kusu Reef itself and hence the island became first known in the 17th Century as "Governor's Island" and Singapore Straits as the "Governor Straits".

A journey by Grapevine Vintage Railroad

We recently undertook a journey on the Grapevine Vintage Railroad from Main Street Station of Grapevine to Fort Worth Stockyards. It is a 21 mile route which is part of the once St. Louis South Western Railway also called the 'The Cotton Belt Route'. It generally operates with a 1896 ear steam engine or a diesel engine. The steam locomotive is called 'Puffy' and is the oldest continuously operated steam loco in the south. The diesel locomotive is known and 'Vinny' and is of 1953 make. 

The coaches are from 1920s era and are well maintained. There is one which is air-conditioned and one which is open; no windows. Guests can choose from either of the options. The coaches are well maintained and there are few refreshment options available on-board as well.we

Main Street Station of Grapevine is a historic station which dates back to 1888. The Fort Worth Stockyards came up in late 1880s to stock cattle which the the railroads reached the region. The current Stockyards station is housed in a building which was originally built in 1912.

Reminiscing Durga Puja days

When I was young I really thought whether Durga Puja is the exclusive festival of Durgapur; my birth place. Obviously that is not so but to me and many alike the definition of Durga Puja is stilled limited to the boundaries of this small town of West Bengal. Every puja holiday, I have so far afforded,  has been spent in Durgapur only. It is beyond doubt that celebrations in Kolkata overshadows anything anywhere but the soul doesn't achieves satisfaction till the lungs breath air of the hometown.

The meaning and way of celebrating Durga Puja in Durgapur has changed with time. When I was young it would start with the initiation of the Puja holidays. Though the holidays would start from Panchami, books would be packed for good right from Mahalaya. Those were the days of no FM or YouTube, so if you want to listen to Birendra babu it has to be on All India Radio at 4:30 am on the day of Mahalaya. The Mahalaya on radio would be followed by one on Doordarshan 1 at around 6:30 am; a more logical time to get up specially on a holiday.

The period between Mahalaya to Panchami would be spent around the under-construction pandal of our para puja. Climbing the bamboo structure along-with playing  hide and seek around the pandal would comprise our evening games. My para puja at that time was Edison Madhyapalli which used to be held in the field of Balaka Manimela; the pandal wouldn't be dismantled before Laxmi Puja. On Panchami evening we would celebrate our school closure with a prolonged adda in the fields of Central Puja. The adda would not end before 9 or 9:30 pm; which was almost equivalent to past midnight in those days.

Storm Cloud Formations Today (10/09/2018)

Today morning observed some threatening storm cloud formations over the city. There were warnings of severe thunderstorm and local tornadoes. Rain lashed all through the day but nothing extreme took place. However the cloud images captured today are not surely of regular occurrence. 

Place: Allen, Texas

Date: 10/09/2018

Camera: Samsung J7 phone camera

Who and Why | Nobel Prize in Economics 2018

Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided to award 2018 Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel commonly referred as the Nobel Prize in Economics to:

William D. Nordhaus (one half of the prize) "for integrating climate change into long-run macroeconomic analysis" (on left of picture below)

Paul M. Romer (one half of the prize) 'for integrating technological innovations into long-run macroeconomic analysis" (on right of picture below)

Did colonial loot and slave trade fund this Ivy League school?

Yale University is one of the oldest universities in USA having it's roots in the Connecticut Collegiate School founded in 1701 in the colony of New Haven. It is a premier Ivy League University ranked consistently as one of the top across the globe. It is the alma-mater of a numerous Nobel Laureates and a number of US Presidents as well.

But did it's founding fathers took grants from someone about whom history is not that glorious? I first read about this in a book by Indian economist Sanjeev Sanyal.

The university is named after a Boston born businesses man Elihu Yale who was once the director of British East India Company as well. As we all know to an extent the treacherous ways adopted by promoters of the company to plunder the wealth of India. In the process some of company officials became ultra rich and Elihu Yale was one of them.

Elihu Yale joined the East India Company as a low level clerk who rose to the position of director of the company. He was the President of Madras (Fort St George) between 1684 till 1692. As the President of Madras Yale was at the node of the slave trade routes in the Indian Ocean which linked South East Asia, Middle East and Africa. As per documents available from Fort St George, a minimum of 10 slaves were ordered into outbound European ships. It cannot be said that Yale was the only one who profited from this endeavor but he was surely one of the.

The other half of 2nd October

26th January, 15th August and 2nd October are holidays which no Indian would ever miss. These are dates which are embossed in the collective memory of the nation and are the only three national holidays which have a fixed place in the calendar of any organization, public or private, in any part of the country. There are a few other national holidays but the dates of them vary from state to state or from year to year. But these 3 dates are never ever contested.