A pictorial biography of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose - by Suresh Patnaik

Vacation over; back to work L J

Lord Jagannath is back to ‘Sri Mandira’. After spending 9 days at his birthplace; garden temple, located outside the town centre called Gundicha, with his brother, Balabhadra and sister Subhadra, Lord of ‘Kalayuga’ is back in business.

As mentioned in Hindu scriptures the yugas are said to succeed each other almost endlessly. After the perfect Satya Yuga, a decline marks the Treta Yuga. Further decline brings about the Dwapara Yuga, and after it comes the final and dark Kali Yuga, a time of wickedness, when man kills man.

This is Kali yuga and the Lord of this yuga is Sri Jagannath. In this Yuga, only by seeking the blessings of Lord Jagannath Puri, one shall attain salvation.

So I suppose no salvations for those nine days of vacation ... .. .  hmmmm .. .

Of all the festivals, the Ratha Yatra of Jagannatha is the most famous. This takes place on the second day of the ‘asadha’ month. Jagannatha ordered King to take him to his birth place, the Gundicha Mandira (symbolically Vrindavana), on this day. The Raja, expressing his humility as a sevak (servant) of the lords, sweeps the chariots with a golden broom and initiates the yatra. It is said that to honour the devotion of Queen Gundicha, wife of the legendary King Indradyumna who built the Puri Jagannath temple, Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra leave their regular abode in the main temple and spend a few days in this temple built by her in their honour. The present day king of puri is Gajapati Maharaja Dibyasingha Deb. Of course kingship is abolished by the Govt. Of India; he is traditionally accepted as a king and he performs all his religious duties as his predecessors did.

Lord Jagannath is worshipped along with his elder brother Balarama and his sister Subhadra. Each sibling has his / her own chariot and goes to the summer residence with great pomp. Lord Jagannatha’s Chariot is called ‘Nandighosa’, Lord Balabhadra’s – ‘Taladhwaja’ and Subhadra’s – ‘Dwarpadalana’. The three chariots are newly constructed every year with wood of specified trees like phassi, dhausa, etc. They are customarily brought from the ex-princely state of Dasapalla by a specialist team of carpenters who have hereditary rights and privileges for the same. The logs are traditionally set afloat as rafts in the river Mahanadi. These are collected near Puri and then transported by road.

Thousands of Hindus flock to see, and to pull the grand chariots from one temple to the other, i.e. from ‘Sri Mandira’ to ‘Gundicha’. The English word "juggernaut" comes from the giant chariots of Lord Jagannath of Puri. The British were so stunned by the size of the chariots, they coined a word for it!

This is the only time when non-Hindus are able to see the deity as they are not allowed inside the temple. Well, the tourism department is not quite happy with the discriminating rule but no one wants to poke into religious issues.

In recent years there has been a dramatic change in attitude of the religious heads and the process of conducting the rituals. Traditionally the kings of various provinces, and kings alone, used to perform the customary acts but now since most kings are survived by daughters only, and who are subsequently crowned as “King”; Chhera Pahara, the symbolic ritual cleaning of the chariots, is being performed by the female kings.

15-year-old, Sulakhyana, who was crowned as the king' of Dharakote estate, after the death of her father, the late King Kishor Chandra Singhdeo and 31-year-old, IIM-B graduate Aparna Bhir Singh Bharadwaj, daughter of the late king Raja Birabara Krunshaprasad of Jaipur’s Gadamadhupur, performed the traditional duties in their respective provinces.

Hmmmmm . .. ... . .    21^st century . . . ..

Now thats what i call Women on Top !

Away from the hustle and bustle of the city, away from the innumerable temple servants, away from their spouses, the siblings enjoy their "Vrindavan-like" garden retreat. The temple routine in the garden temple is very much relaxed compared to the main temple. Various festivities and fun are planned for their short stay in this leafy abode. As the Lord has only taken his brother and his sister on this holiday, the wives are left at home! Alone and brooding, Goddess Lakshmi, seeks help from Goddess Vimala to get their husband back. Travelling by night, in a closed palanquin, she arrives at the garden temple of the Lord. She enchants the Lord and entreats him to return. A few days later, i.e. after the 9^th day, the Lord returns to his city temple. The return of rath, Bahuda Yatra, is celebrated with equal velour as the Rath Yatra.

And no one is happier than Lord’s wife. 87-years-old Sasimani Debadasi is touted as the human wife of Jagannath. She stays 100 meters from the Jagannath temple. This year she failed to participate in Rath yatra and Bahuda Yatra following ill health.

And as for the people of Chattia and the Jagannath temple at Chhatia, about 30 km from Cuttack, the wait continues. Chhatia has been waiting for arrival of Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra, for over 500 years now, from their abode at Puri. The priests of the temple and locals believe that the holy Triad will someday come to Chhatia after abandoning their home in the holy town. According to a prophecy, Puri will be submerged in the sea due to global warming and rise of water level. Achyutananda Das, a 15th century saint, had predicted the arrival of the trinity to Chhaita after the sea engulfs the holy town and its nearby areas. Das, known as the Nostradamus of Orissa, wrote about the return of the Lord in his famous book Malika. Das’ prediction about the Naanka drought in 1866, Super Cyclone in 1999 and other major events in the country have come true.

Every day priests of the temple worship the empty pedestal of the temple in the sanctum sanctorum with the hope that Lord Jagannath will arrive someday. Das’ famous poem in Malika says, Jiba Jagata Hoieba Lina, Baishi Pahache Kheliba Mina (All the human beings will be perished and fish will play at the steps of Puri temple). In recent times, the sea has acted strangely and devoured lands on the waterfront making the people believe that Das’ prophecy will come true one day. Till then they have to wait ... .. .

My heroic act!!! well, kind of ... .. .

Things are getting worse; it’s really becoming hard to control my byke. There’s no sign of roads anywhere. I only have to depend on Alok’s navigation. I can’t even see my legs, water is reaching waist high. Worst floods ever since 1999 super cyclone. My first experience of a natural disaster; witnessed the fury of Mother Nature. Villages on roads in temporary shelters; cattle all over; no food no water; bodies floating; I have seen enough; can’t take it anymore.

After 3 hours of horrible drive we finally reached his village; thank god his family is safe; this village is luckily at a bit higher altitude so water didn’t reach but it is cut off completely. God knows how we managed to reach there.

The site was pathetic; it was a very beautiful village; we spent many moments here. Now it’s hell, all around.

Three months later ... .. .

I haven’t been there since long and I was excited. It wasn’t a 3 hour journey this time; just 1 hr 20 mins.; but still, exhausting. Water has receded but things haven’t improved substantially. Still no power; no clean water; no roads and it’s still raining. It was getting dark and I thought I just reached in time; just then somebody came running to me and asked for a lift. I was in no mood to drive but couldn’t say no to this innocent man. Got a feeling that he badly needs to go to a nearby store to get some essentials; food; medicine; whatever. In situations like these you don’t think twice before helping. We drove back a long distance and finally reached the nearest town. He got down; went running to a grocery shop and to my surprise he just purchased a pair of 3 volt batteries.

What the F#@K !!

I drove him all this way just to get this; it was dark now; was getting difficult to drive; and I was pissed off. I didn’t question him but all the while I was trying to think what is he gonna do with that.

Finally we reached the village. I went into Alok’s house and his sister gave me some warm cloths; a hot cup of tea made up my mood; it was dark all around; just a small lamp in the corner of the room. And in just 15 minutes I realised that I made a mistake coming here at night. No electricity means no TV, no fan, no nothing. Am screwed. Just when I was thinking what to do about it now, I heard some activity. The villagers were gathering outside; they were taking their places, settling down as if they were here for a community meet. When I went out to see, they looked at me and started whispering. They greeted me with smiles. I wasn’t new to the place; most of them know me well enough; but these smiles were different. Then Alok’s grand pa, that stubborn old man, came well dressed, holding his radio; yes radio. He always had this radio and took lot of pain in keeping it in good shape. I asked him once whether it actually works. The old man gave me an angry look and that was the last conversation I had with him. Even Alok makes fun of him saying it’s the old man’s first wife.

But what is he doing with the radio? And why are all these villagers here at this hour in dark?

Alok followed his grand pa with the lamp in his hand. They placed the lamp and the Radio on the mound near the Pepal tree outside the house. Grand pa sat on the only chair there and the villagers, on the ground. As if I was not confused enough, a villager stood up and pointed his finger towards me. Everyone looked at me with smile and some even clapped. I was a Hero. And then the Radio was switched on ... .. .

I called Alok and begged him to explain what had just happened. And then what he told me was something so touchy and inspiring that I couldn’t forget it ever. He told that since the floods came, there hasn’t been any sign of electricity. Life was becoming dull and hopeless without basic amenities. Then one day grand pa took his Radio and switched it on. It actually played. Prasar Bharati was broadcasting evening news. Within a few moments he had company. Gradually the number increased and now every evening the entire village comes down at this time just to enjoy the Radio programs. Since last three days the radio was not working as the batteries were down. This was the only source of entertainment for the villagers, so they all were upset. Reaching to the town was not easy as the roads were in really bad shape and rain won’t stop. Today when they saw me with a byke, they grabbed the opportunity. Today, after 3 days, they are all together again and enjoying the show.

And thus, I became a HERO.

But what I noticed during all this is, earlier they all used to be occupied in their own little worlds. Watch TV, stay inside their homes, talk to themselves, just plan their own life. Community and social instincts were missing all together. But since the disaster struck, things have changes. The true human values have come out of the closed doors. I never saw them together, except for some occasions. Now they share problems, help each other, have common issues and laugh together. I never thought that stupid old radio could teach me such a good lesson. But then, the Radio is just an excuse to be together, the real fact is that they have learnt the meaning of ‘Social Life’, which is supposed to be the basic quality that defines the word - ‘Humans’.

My uncle used to talk of old days when all our relative in Bhubaneswar used to have a get together at least once a week. They always had reasons to go to each others’ places. But since the age of technology came all these ‘human’ activities have gone back stage. Now we need an occasion to be together. TVs, Phone, Internet, etc., all these have taken the human touch out of relationships. Earlier we used to spend so much of time with our cousins, now if anyone comes and stays at your place for even an hour, you start looking at the wall clock.

What has happened to our human values? Since when did we start enjoying solitude? We have more friends in cyber space than in real. We chat for hours on net but we can’t talk to the same person face-to-face, even for 15 mins. And think of all the elderly people around; they are not used to this new ‘life’. They want us to talk to them and spend time with them but we hardly understand the meaning of those words.

So next time you think technology is connecting people, think again ... .. ..

Virus NATO

19^th June 2011

The Libyan government says 19 civilians have been killed in a NATO air strike on the home of one of Muammar Gaddafi's top officials, a day after the Western military alliance admitted killing civilians in a separate attack. Libyan officials took reporters to Surman, 70km west of Tripoli, to the site of what they said was a NATO air strike on the home of Khouildi Hamidi.

After reading the news i had to ask the question, 'what the Fuck is NATO doing there' ?, i mean, i am not questioning the technical issues, what am interested to know is what are they doing there at the first place.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization or NATO is an intergovernmental military alliance based on the North Atlantic Treaty which was signed on 4 April 1949. The NATO headquarters are in Brussels, Belgium, and the organization constitutes a system of collective defence whereby its member states agree to mutual defences in response to an attack by any external party. It consists of 28 member states; two are North American countries (Canada and the United States) and 26 are European countries. All members have militaries, although Iceland does not have a typical army. Three of NATO's members are nuclear weapons states: France, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

On March 27, NATO Allies decided to take on the whole military operation in Libya under United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973. The purpose of Operation Unified Protector is to protect civilians and civilian-populated areas under threat of attack. NATO is implementing all military aspects of the UN Resolution.

But, Libya is not a member of NATO. 

Since last few years i have noticed that NATO has been attacking all those places where America doesn’t have FRIENDS. And they always come up with the same excuse; “protect civilians and civilian-populated areas under threat of attack”. I seems that only NATO is concerned about the civilians world over.

Muammar Gaddafi is no hero, i agree, but i see the whole episode as an internal affair. Gaddafi is just paying the price of not being a friend.

Central Asia has always been a ‘no-man’s-land’ as far as the balance of power is concerned. But now i smell foul. The balance seems to be shifting. They have bases all over the place.

Who’s next?

PAKISTAN?

Since the hunt for Osama is over now, America has no more reasons to shower its love on PAK. Now thats irritating PAK already. So what next ... .. .

And are we ready to handle this shift of balance. They keep us busy in PAK issues and we fail to see the bigger picture. We already have a hostile dragon to worry about; do we have any plans for this Python ???

ALYONA: Athena ! Athena !!

Prakash finally reached Bhubaneswar. That idiot has been planning his bachelors’ party since ages. And every time he called me I was thinking of only one thing, ‘will I have a hangover’. .. .? Sounds like a stupid question but trust me; I can’t afford to wake up late. Love can make you do strange things. We had a great party but all the while I was aware that I have to set my alarm. It rang and I got kicked by everyone. Yeh ...  so much for love.

Yes LOVE

ALYONA!!!

8:30 IST I have to be in front of my TV. I even started admiring my TV these days; not an idiot box any more.

She is a tempest that engulfs me and gives enough food for my thoughts. Her show is education for me as I see things in a new light and everything seems important now, and am sure am not the only one. She has redefined journalism or maybe she has invented a new kind of journalism altogether. She puts forward her point with such grace that “arguments” find itself out of place. You just have to surrender.

‘A Russian TV channel operating from New York’, in itself is a crazy idea and to add to that the anchor enjoys fucking American administration. Ain’t She is a Bitch. It seems she has a take on everything thats happening on this planet. I am a great admirer of Barkha Dutt but i think Alyona takes it to a next level. Of course we have our set of heros; Pronoy, Rajdeep, Barkha, Rahul, ... .. ., but what makes Alyona extra special is her grace and her self-assured persona. When you watch Barkha, or for that matter any Indian face, you always connect to a channel; you know that there’s a channel behind them and so they speak. But when you see Alyona you even forget your own identity, leave apart the channel’s name. Its Alyona all over.

I love her a lot and wish her good health.
DO watch her show ... .. .

http://rt.com/programs/alyona-show/