'Cooking' Problems

   
     My cook has given notice. Her only daughter has passed H.S.C. and joined professional course,  now she wants to reduce her workload and is quitting all 'cooking' jobs that she was doing. She will continue to work till we get new cook. So we started hunt for the new cook. As almost everyone in our society-67 flats- have cooks, i thought that it will not be difficult to get one, but a month has passed and we are still looking. It's not that we did not get cook. The cooks we got either  had problem with our set up/timing of 8-9 in the morning etc etc or we couldn't adjust to their timing of 1pm, their style of cooking,tasteless food etc.

    I always had cook. When i was young, we were in SoBo and my mother had Maternity Home. In those days we used to keep patients for 10 days after delivery and food,tea,nasta was provided by hospital. We had Rajastani cook( Maharaj) who prepared full meal twice a day in our home kitchen.On Sunday morning 'Feast' was served and no food in the evening. Food was good or atleast would taste good for few days. But we got used to it and i had no problem with eating in 'Guju mess' in KEM hostel. In mid seventy we closed the hospital and moved to 7 bunglows, Andheri. Now problem started.

  We looked for Maharaj. There were few working in JVPD,but they would not like to come to-then faaar away Versova. In those days there were very few societies in 7 Bunglows,4 Bunglows so it was really difficult to get cook. Problem was solved by our 24 hrs maid- who had to help my wife in cooking anyway. Now she was given additional charge of cooking besides looking after my daughter,jhadu-pota and washing utensils. She was good worker and was from my wife's 'maike ka gaon',so for entertainment she would constantly argue with my wife. But we were free from looking after home and children. She took good care of children and younger one was almost raised by her.Besides she was good cook. For those 8 yrs we could concentrate on our Hospital practice. She left us when her son got married and she had to take house in Dahisar for them. She wanted to relax and enjoy life with her grandchildren.

  By now our area was well developed one and one could get Marathi Bai as house maid who would cook as well. Few of them had graduated to do only cooking. One could get Bai to come and roll out 'Chapatis' - most difficult and tiresome part of cooking.( How i wish that we could get 'Rotis' or 'Chapatis' as in USA.). But we had got used to 24 hrs maid who would cook for us. This continued till mid Nineties when one day the maid left suddenly and we had to do ALL the work in the house. We had tough week or so as we had to do everything and also look after hospital patients. Then we decided to adopt policy of 'Divide and Rule'- i.e. divide the work. Have one person for only one job. So we had 24 hrs bai, another one  for Jhadu Pota, one for washing utensils and 'Maharaj' for cooking.

  There was one advantage with Maharaj. They knew cooking !! Taste was always good. They could prepare different dishes and cuisines. Now we could get all those Farsans-Dhokla,muthia,kachori,Samosa...- and Mithai prepared at home. He could prepare Chinese,Thai, Italian food BUT ONLY VEG. Jain yes but not even eggs. We couldn't  prepare eggs for breakfast if he was around. Disadvantage was that he wouldn't listen to Home Minister. He would prepare food as he knows it. You want different taste, then prepare yourself. He was always in hurry, so any additional item was pain for him. and worst thing, since his family is in Gaon, he would take long holidays 2-3 times in a year.He would give substitute Maharaj, but substitute Maharaj was doing this work in addition to his normal workload, there was severe time constrain for new Maharaj,who would simply not turn up at your place. This sudden disappearance would destroy our schedule for the day and we had to rush home to get cooking done from other servants-remember divide and Rule !!. besides each visit to Gaon would be preceded by 'Advance' which was to be deducted from his pay when he returns. This advance amount would slowly mount to a level when you know that now you are never going to get money and he may leave work if we demand often. Come the 21st Century and our Maharaj decided to go to Gaon for small family problem. From there he phoned that his Son is getting married and he is building new 'Home.' By this time we had also got tired of managing with 'Locum" Maharaj( He was 5th or 6th one in a year). Children had left-Daughter got married and Son left for US. We used to travel to US and stay there for extended period. Hospital was looked after by Daughter so we decided to change track.

 We had learned doing Household work in our private 'San Jose University-USA'( Son's Home). Now even i could make normal daily food. Since it was prepared by me,taste didn't matter. Wife is good cook. In US we got used to packaged cut Vegetables,Rotiland or Kawans Rotis and Parathas. So we asked our Ayah bai( Mausi) of the hospital to come home after her duty hours to cut Vegetables and roll out few Rotis. My wife would put masala or instruct her  what to add and wait till food is cooked. For variation we could always order from numerous restaurants in Andheri-west,where 'Free Home Delivery' is norm.

After five years of this bliss, now this 'Cook' has given notice and....
  

Vodafone Case

Today I was watching 'Big Fight' on NDTV. it was on Retrospective amendment that the Govt. has brought after losing Vodafone case in Supreme Court. The retrospective effect extends to year 1962. One of the Panelist was Lord Swaraj Paul, MP from UK. He repetedly said that one must not bother about effect on one company. Govt. has right to amend Law with retrospective effect and all the Govts. of the World do so at some time or other. He misses an important point. It is not about the amendment.

I am born in Independent India in 1947. My entire life i believed that India is free and Democratic country. Preamble of our constitution says that Liberty, Equality and Fraternity are my Basic rights. Shorn of Legal Jargon what it means is that all the Citizens of India are equal and have Equal rights, whatever may be their Social,Political,Financial status.

In other words if I have a Dispute with Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi, I have right to seek justice and I can appeal in the Court Of Law. Courts will decide the Case on Merit. If Supreme Court gives judgement in my favor, than it will be accepted by Rahul Gandhi and Soniaji ( I am sure they would) and that Judgement is binding on all the Citizens of India,All the Panchayats,all the Municipal Corporations, State and Central Govts.,Armed Forces and even President Of India who has appointed the Judges.

In Vodaone case, after receiving adverse judgement, Govt. amended the law & retrospective effect was to overturn the judgement of Supreme Court. This has Shaken my Faith and Pride that India is Democratic country where everyone is equal before the majesty of Law. I know many will say that it is Crap,BS. When I was in collage I had read ' In High Places' by Arther Hailey, which shows actual working of Govt. behind all these lofty slogans and phrases. But on this the nation works. These are all ideals but people stake their life for. Honor, Duty are also such phrases for which armed forces sacrifice their lives.

This year Govt. has once again reversed an unfavorable Judicial Verdict by stroke of Pen.

Indira Gandhi did it in 1975 after Allahabad High court judgement and imposed Emergency.

Rajeev Gandhi did it in 1986 after Shah Bano case judgement and passed Muslim Women Act. he lost the next election.

This Govt. has done it in Vodafone case after adverse judgement.

Do Indians have management Gene?

if you go anywhere in India, you will notice large number of people milling around. There is sort of chaos and everything appears to be in state of mess. If it's some official work then you will not have idea where to go for what. There will be disorderly queues in front of windows and one can see people just joining in anywhere. Near the window there will be jostling and 3-4 people crowding around the window-even in Bank Teller window. One misses the orderliness of Europe or US. Education has nothing to do with this. Bhaidas and Mangeshkar halls are main venue for Cultural programmes for Gujratis and Maharastrian elite in Mumbai Suburb. But jostling one faces to get Vada and Tea at these places during Interval is horrible. No one would stand in line but crowd around the counter shouting their orders!! But blame is due mainly to Management of these places as they are not strict about this. So much so that even Subway and mcDonalds have complete chaos in Mumbai against orderly manner in which they operate in US. There is some problem with Indian Psyche-may be we dont have this Gene in our system,. Why do i say this ? When I travel from San Fransisco to Mumbai via Atlanta or JFK- at San San Francisco airport there is orderliness. At Atlanta/JFK Indians wont follow instructions, form a queue before boarding is announced. would try to board when their rows are not announced and they are requested to step aside near the Gate. At European Airport this is so pronounced that lone Indian Ground air hostess gets exasperated and finally free boarding is allowed after Business Class/ Women-Children boarding. In the isle of the plane there is complete chaos.

Today was Voting Day for Local municipal Election. E.C. is independent and has conducted free and fair voting. But Electoral Rolls prepared by them are so full of mistakes. My address is wrong for last 17 years with 4-5 enumeration done by visits to my Residence by Enumerator ( Who is atleast High School graduate). Today I have voted in election, i stay in A wing of my building. My name was in B wing list and address noted was C wing/Flat No.**. Now how can a high school grad can prepare a Roll this way is beyond me. Most likely he doesnt care. He is doing this job as stop gap work till he finds some other good permanent job.So one finds news item that Film maker Gulzar's name is missing!! he should have gone through that entire booklet, his Name would be there is some other building or apartment complex.

we are spending crores ( billions) on Unique I. D. (U.I.D) number. Scheme developed by Infosys Nilanakani. For my Residence proof, I have give Ration Card as proof. Recently when I submitted same as residence Proof for cell Phone, I was informed that Ration Card and Driving License are no longer accepted as Residence Proof.! You need Electricity/ Landline telephone or Bank pass book as proof!. How strong is my U.I.D. if its based on ration card as proof.

so it goes on. When it comes to Implementation and setting a system,Indians fall short. We lack something and we cant do it properly as is done by Germans,Japs,Brits and even Uncle Sam.---PK

Anna Hazare's Jan Lokpal Bill

Today is the 8th day of fast by Anna. His health is deteriorating. Now Govt. is worried as any serious turn will lead to widespread agitation and Congress & UPA can say good bye to its chances of forming Govt after next election. But Govt. is now short of time. A week was wasted in assessing the situation. They waited to see if the crowds would melt away and they can get rid of Anna as they did with Baba Ramdev. But exactly opposite has happened. Ramlila maidan is witnessing more and more agitators.In Civil society there are more and more voices of dissent with Team Anna. It's painful to read and hear eminent people criticizing Jan Lokpal Bill without offering any new vision or changes in the Bill. Where were they since April when Govt and Team Anna held parleys to draft Lokpal Bill ? They did not insist that their point of view be heard, discussed and added to Lokpal Bill. They would have realized today that Govt. would have treated their suggestions with contempt and would have tabled same Lokpal Bill in Parliament. All Political parties are together in enacting weak Lokpal Bill which would be like CAG or CVC- a toothless,stuffed Tiger.

I do not accept the contention Jan Lokpal Bill is flawed because it is not practical or pragmatic. We can not find honest people to be members of Lokpal, or it will be overwhelmed by cases of corruption at Lower level. Yes if you want to keep Judiciary or M.P.'s action in Parliament out of Lokpal's preview, do so. We can amend and include them in future. But we must have strong Lokpal and then we will see what happens. British never believed that We could Govern. If we had agreed to that then half the world would still be under British rule. We bit the Bullet and today imperfect may be but we are the biggest democracy in world and have changed Governments through elections.

Yes, its possible that Jan Lokpal Bill's shortcoming will hinder its implementation and reduce its effectiveness. But we will not know it till the Jan Lokpal bill is passed and becomes a Law. Whatever the shortcoming it can be corrected by amendments,addition and deleting clauses. Not to pass it because "it will not work", "it will make super dictator", "corruption will not be curbed" etc etc shows lack of guts to take the risk. We will have to take the plunge in the stormy water if we want to Cross. there is no alternative to this.--PK

Punishment to Maria Susiraj

Judgement and Punishment to accused in Neeraj Grover Murder case is out. Mathew is held Guilty of Culpable Homicide and Susiraj is held guilty of only Destroying Evidence. She was awarded Jail Term for 3 yrs and as she was in jail for more than 3 yrs , she walked out free. This has not gone down well with friends and relatives of Neeraj,They are upset about the fact that she walked out free. They held Candle Light March and are planning to demonstrate against judgement. A twitter war broke out between Suhail Seth and Pritish Nandy. Nandy rightly pointed out here that right way to protest is to demand that Govt. should appeal against the judgement. Once the Hon Court announces Judgement, only higher court can change it.

In India, Maria Susiraj, though present at the scene of crime and also probably helped in chopping and disposing off the body, could be Charged only with Homicide conspiracy or Abatement. There is no crime like Accessory to Murder ( With which she would be charged in USA). As Prosecution could not prove Conspiracy charge ( very difficult in this particular case) as this was Crime of Passion. She could be held Guilty only of Minor offence- Destroying Evidence. Though She was fully aware of Neeraj's murder when she went to Police with Missing Person complain, she could not be charged with any serious offence. In US she would have faced much stiffer punishment as Accessary to Murder is punished. in India like perjury, accessory can get off with lighter Punishment, which is Pity.

Lokpal Imbroglio

Lokpal Bill is in final stages before it will be forwarded to standing committee for consideration. There are 2 drafts of the proposed Bill- One favored by the Govt. and other Bill which is more stringent,broader,extensive is proposed by Team Hazare. This bill brings PM,Supreme Court, and almost all the Bureaucrats, M.P.s. under Lokpals jurisdiction. Obviously Govt. and Political parties do not want very strong Lokpal Bill for obvious reasons. They are also advised to reject the team Hazare Bill by IAS lobby, which as Administrators and heads of the various organizations and Govt. corporation is conduit for the enormous corruption that takes place in India. There is no branch in Govt. which is not completely corrupt. PM is wrong, there are only few Civil servants who are honest. Majority are completely corrupt. More so when they have just few years of Service left. opposition parties can play footsies with team Hazare as going against it would mean -atleast in Public eye- being with corrupt. They can relax at Center but they are vulnerable at state level. Govt. and Congress is in fix because it has still 2 1/2 yrs to complete and Lokpal Bill, if passed in this session of Parliament can result in Lokpal investigating various scams and corruption cases during run up to next Loksabha elections in 2012. This will result in complete decimation of Congress, without single case being filed in court! 24x7 News channel will get atleast one case per week for their " Breaking News".

Govt. and Political parties are in stronger position as they have to table the Bill in Parliament,discuss and pass the Bill. All the Political parties are together in this whatever may be their public posturing. They can not afford to have strong Independent Lokpal overseeing affairs of the state and M.P.s.This is the attack on the most crucial aspect of Political System. The essence of being in Politics is to have Power and Money. No political Post offers good money officially. Money comes from the patronage and favors that a Politician can provide and this has to be compensated in kind- that is the Bribe and source of Corruption. If this is investigated by a body which is not under the control of Politicians then there will be havoc. How can a Politician get money for self and party? World over the corruption is at this level. In India we have to pay Bribe for day to day events. like getting a Ration Card , driving License, a water Tap, 24 hrs supply of Electricity or even parking spots near our shops or establishments for customers. So parliament would like to have Lokpal who is like CAG,CVC etc. Janta should feel that something is being done, but in effect nothing is done and Lokpal report will be out for public, Then arrest few people and our Snail paced Judiciary will take care of the rest. Politicians popularity will end before the judgement would come.

But this corruption has to end. Many Politicians have suggested, that what we need is not Lokpal Bill but Social awareness so that Society ( not themselves) would become more honest and would shun bribe!!. Even after strong Lokpal and punishment to few, corruption will not end completely but will reduce drastically. It would be deterrent and cost of taking Bribe should outweigh benifits. Atleast serial( ! ) bribing, like in Motor Vehical dept., taxing authorities, low level administrators would end. Today corruption at this level is eating away vital parts of our life. As 1993 Mumbai Bomb Blast case has shown, it was very easy to land ammunition in Konkan because Custom Officers-almost all of them- were taking money to allow smuggled goods to land without checking.

So what will be the Lokpal Bill like? The attitude of Congress is openly hostile to strong Lokpal. They are also sure that other parties will willy nilly support them in Parliament. There will be amendments, but they will be defeated in the voting. it will be difficult to know which parties voted which way. As most of the Political parties will be together in Parliament there will not be advantage to any party. There may not be any 'whip' issued for this voting to make it more opaque for party affiliation. A lokpal on the line of CVC will be installed and Congress and UPA 2 and all Political Parties will crow about fighting corruption. For people's reaction for being made sulphate, we will have to wait till 2012.

It is this realisation which has prompted Anna to start Hunger Strike from 16th August. Digvijay Singh and Sibal would try and malign Anna and will do everything to prevent inclusion of strong measures in Lokpal Bill which will be Tabled in Parliament. If in Bofors case PM Rajiv Gandhi was not named but was held Guilty of Corruption then P.M.'s office should be under the ambit of Lokpal Bill. Mr Sing is fooling people when he says that he as PM is in Favour of including PM in lokpals ambit but party is not in favour. That means he is not in Control of Govt., party is. Argument that Anna should fight election is stupid as he neither has temperament nor necessity to do so. we need people who are outside the Govt/ parliament and can exert Moral pressure on Political class. Mahatma -had he lived- would not have fought election to become M.P.!! If India has to progress and become nation which can provide its people honest administration then Lokpal is just 1st step. It may not achieve all that Team Hazare promises that it would. But here is 1st battle against corruption and we have to win it to win the war. We can do it. Just 90 yrs ago, people gave up their jobs,comforts, education and almost everything to join Freedom Struggle. Today same people are grabbing illegally everything in sight. We have to reverse this slide in our Cultural Values,Ethics, Morals and Honesty. We owe it to our ancient Civilization.

Are you afraid of taking Medicine?

Yesterday evening I was taking my daily Medicine- I have to take some 6 tablets in the morning and 7 tablets in the evening- my friend who was with me exclaimed ' so many tablets? you dont have to take dinner.' It's different story that my medicines have kept me going at 64 while my father and Grand father died in early 50s due to Heart Attack ( MI). That's why it surprises me that people are so reluctant to take life saving Medicines. They are alive and kicking,making money for their children's education, babysitting their grand children, do multiple trips to visit children and sightseeing exotic lands- all thanks to modern Allopathic Medicines developed in last 80 yrs. When my MIL-who is 84yrs old- started Medical Practice, 99% medicines that are in use today were not known to Doctors.

At the same time Diabetics would drink Neem juice everyday morning, lauki juice for heart, Desi Ghee, Isapgol,Faki for Constipation, all sorts of Churan for Gas (!). Homeopathic and Ayurvedic Medicines everyday for years, But wont take tablets for Lowering their Sugar or Cholesterol, Aspirin ( A wonder drug) to prevent Blood Clots and Heart Attack. They complain that Allopathic Medicines are Habit Forming(!),have side effects etc etc. Show me one thing on this Earth which doesnt have side effect.

Its only Modern Allopathic medicine which compares unfavourably against old remedies. No one would dream of going to London or Nairobi or Singapore by Ship. But Ship was favored mode of transport just 50 yrs ago. Who would like to fight war today with Bow and Arrow or with those Guns which are scattered around all our Ancient Forts ?

100 years ago we would apply Hing on abdomen for Pain or take Castor Oil for Constipation because our knowledge of working of Human Body was limited. As our knowledge increases, we develop medicines which can act at target site to give best result. From Belladonna leaves we have isolated and developed medicines for Abdominal Pain. These are further refined and more effective Medicines are developed by changing the Molecule chemically.This has increased effectiveness and reduced side effects! Today Insulin is more refined and effective, delivery system is so good that one can take exact dose of insulin injection. In future its possible to have implants which will detect Blood Sugar Levels and Deliver Insulin in exact necessary dose in Real time.

So its about time to discard all these inhibitions regarding taking Medicine everyday. Whatever is prescribed for you, take it for as long as you have to- which in many cases is for your life time. But thank your stars that with this, quality of your life has improved and you are going to play with your Great Great Grand children