Celebrating 21st June!

Celebrating 21^st June!

As I woke up in the early morning hours I was already aware that it is going to be a busy Sunday. The International Yoga Day was being celebrated in Rwanda too and was looking forward to participate in the day’s activities.

Yet, when I woke up and perused through the messages the enlightenment had already started. While being greeted for the International Yoga Day, that little machine of mass communication: the cell phone informed me that it was Father’s day, the longest day of the year,World music day as well as Sunday. Take your pick, it was telling me so to say-I mused to myself. Yet I did not have much time to fritter away as I was to get ready for the Yoga Day celebrations.
As I was going through the daily chores,was reflecting to myself as to how simple life was when 21^st June was just known as the longest day in the year. As we studied geography,  we realized that it is the day of the year with the most hours of daylight only in the Northern Hemisphere while  the Southern Hemisphere had  the fewest hours of daylight and not the earth as a whole. The day had another relevance too. It was the birthday of my friend and neighbor who was my age but in a different school. Way back in those days birthday celebrations did not have cakes but used to be with some dessert like payasam or kheer  ( a sort of pudding) and the child was blessed by the parents with the mother performing a small ritual called ovalne ( cotton wicks dipped in ghee and then lightened to felicitate the child)

Back to modern times, while I do not wish to dwell into observance of a day as some would say everyday is a Father’s day, every day is Yoga day or music day or that these days are being observed to commercialize events, promote consumerism and make good revenue as happens especially on Valentine’s day. Yet remembrance does have its own place in the human psyche. Of course it does involve exchange of a lot of jokes and funny one liners around the theme yet the fact remains that such jest too is creativity and someone is putting the thinking cap for cracking those jokes. At the same time think of those who have given their lives for a cause. Like Pandit Ravi Shankar, Pandit Bhimsen Joshi,  Zakir Hussain, M.S. Subbalakshmi, Beethoven, Zubin Mehta, Johnny Gimble – the list could go on and on  – but each one an iconic figure who gave their best in the service of music and offered to the world a divine gift that left the world spell bound and perhaps in a trance. Should we not honor the cause?Like music there are so many other creative pursuits be it performing arts,science, technology, architecture, pure arts and if every day was science day and everyday was music day we will be spending all our time in commemoration alone leaving little time for further creative pursuits.

The same goes with relationships.While at one end we have children who remember the father only on father’s day we have enough examples like Shravan Bal, who gave up their lives in service of their parents. Also there are millions who do not have parents anymore and do reflect nostalgically on their own parent when they read a poem or an essay glorifying mother or father. We all know that some lines aptly apply to our parents while some may not but yet the love and care oozing in those pieces of literature does inspire us to be better parents. If such observance creates the feelings of love, repentance, forgiveness to make the world a better place lessening the pathos of life, why not celebrate? So it is well that we assign aday for celebration.

The first International Yoga day celebrated in Kigali was hosted jointly by five organizations the Brahmakumaris , Art of Living, Transcendental Meditation of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi , African Healing Inside Out and Holistic fitness Rwanda. Having attended many yogic discourses and workshops in India,the presentations or speeches seemed very elementary. However that was necessary as the organizers had to first educate the people before taking them to the next level. Although hosted under the Indian banner it was really heartening to note that many Rwandans participated in the event. The Indian High Commission along with the Indian Non residents Association had invited a yoga expert who had specially flown all the way from Kaivalya Dham, Pune to Kigali for the event. His demonstration of yogic postures (aasanas) was breathtaking. All performed with a calm composure.

The common theme weaved around yoga being promoted as a tool that can help one to live a holistic life through the proper understanding of the trio - mind, body, intellect.While each of the institutions made presentation , most of us are in some way aware ofthese organizations. Of these  ‘African Healing Inside Out’ was an interesting feature. It described a technique called acroyoga. It is a practice that combines the dynamic wisdom of acrobatics with the awareness   of breath and balance of yoga. It also combines in itself the healing, loving nature of Thai massage known as shiatsu.
The hall was witness to a packed audience and happy faces. There were mothers with infants, small children;young and old underscoring that yoga has no limitations of age, culture or religion. It is for all.

Anagha Hunnurkar
Sunday, 21^st June2015.

To Rwanda, with love.........

To Rwanda , with love……….

As the car sped though the roads my eager eyes were gazing through the window. Neatly tiled pavements, clean roads and greenery all over met the eye. The car wound its way from the airport and as it neared the town I was amazed to see that the whole city was clean and beautiful. Yes my dear friends welcome to Kigali! Murakaza neza as they would say in Kinyarwanda.

The main roundabout a la our own flora fountain of South Mumbai is like a picture perfect neatly manicured garden with a flowing fountain in the middle and a center of attraction. The workers may be working discretely at night or perhaps early morning hours but at no point of time do you see even a speck of garbage in the precincts of the roundabout.  

Be it the church, the roads, the shops, the pavements – the cleaners are cleaning it with such zest as though it is not their work but their religion. It’s a great site to watch them clean the areas. There is a rhythm to their feet as though they are not working but dancing to some foot tapping music or may be playing a game requiring adept foot work.  

Initially,  I thought that perhaps it was just the main roads that were kept spotlessly clean. As the wanderer in me started taking long walks after having settled in the city, I found that not just the main roads but even small alleys and pathways that did not have any tarmac or asphalt, were clean too. The marketplace which is the most crowded and prone to garbage dumps is also regularly cleaned so that when the market is closed you find dirt free roads and not garbage dumps. In fact the roads and pavements in Kigali are so spotless that figuratively speaking, one could say that you can easily sleep on the roads. The  city is not just bestowed with natural beauty but you can realize that the city administration has gone at lengths in keeping it beautiful.

Another thing I observed that be it young or old, rich or poor - there is perhaps a community pride in dressing neatly and cleanly. I have yet to see anyone walking barefoot on the road - Be it even beggars or street urchins.

Rwandans have another great tradition that they follow every month called the Umuganda. On the last Saturday of every month each and every person right from the President to the grassroots all put in a hard day’s labour for community work. It could be building a road, or helping a friend to construct a house or digging the village well. Shops and all undertakings are closed and people are not allowed even on the streets. They have to be busy doing community service.

And yes I must mention the feeling of safety and security. I was told that I could go wherever I wanted without any fear even if I was a foreigner. Rightly so. The police that are posted are so shipshape and disciplined that it instills an automatic sense of respect for them.  You find that by evening there are gun toting military men posted at almost every corner or Street Square, which gives a real feeling of safety. They are quietly standing sentry to ensure that the streets are protected.

Discipline is their culture. You will find pedestrians crossing only at the zebra crossing and yes, the vehicles wait and allow you to pass. No honking, no screeching brakes. Even at the bus stand people are standing in a queue and when the bus arrives there is no jostling or pushing. Each one waits for the other to alight or board the bus as the case may be. All in harmony and peace.

When I was admiring the clean roads with one of the Rwandans he told me ‘Mama, it was no always like this. It took a lot of policing to see that people follow rules. So now it is our way of life.’ ‘ Byaybaye nk’umucyo noneho’ he said in Kinyarwanda – meaning It has now become a culture. Nothing surprising about it is what he meant. Yet frankly, on my part I was amused. Police could transform peoples’ habit? Elsewhere in some countries I have seen people palming off currency notes to police when they were caught peeing on the road or spitting. The police then looked the other way and all was hunky dory. You could throw rubbish, break traffic rules and all you need is a handful of currency notes to tame the police.

Does that mean Rwanda has no problems like the other nations? No, in fact the nation has more complex problems being a small land locked country with a thousand hills making logistics challenging. Then there are other issues like premature deaths, malnutrition, food supply, clean sanitation, health care, education and many more. Yet what is most encouraging is that the community as a whole recognizes the importance of agaciro ( dignity)  and  under one leadership is ready to rise like Phoenix from the gory ashes of genocide.

Imagine there are many who have grown up with no relatives at all; leave alone the nurturing of parents. When we look at the great lengths at which our parents strive to look after our needs, our value system and our traditions we can realize the vacuum that many of them have suffered with no one to call as even a relative.

By and by I realized that it is the Government’s avowed strategy of pursuing and demonstrating by action a zero tolerance to corruption that had percolated deep down to the lowest rung. I am told that if someone tries to bribe the police they would find themselves straight in jail. Simultaneously, if any police or other officials are found to take bribe, they were summarily chucked out of their jobs.

 A track record that ensures community discipline. So the spotless clean roads are not by chance but by design. It is by concerted efforts of both the administration and the community that this status has been achieved.

Rwanda I salute you!

Anagha Hunnurkar

Sunday, 14^th June 2015

Big Wonder

Big Wonder

As I was sipping cappuccino at the coffee shop with my friends, saw Mike waving at me. Mike is Makarand for the uninitiated.

‘Oh Mike when did you come from USA’

‘Just a week back dear’

‘How long?’ I asked. ‘I am here for just three weeks but this time there is a surprise.’ Mike was full of life as usual. A question mark writ large on my face.

‘Well this time Dorothy has accompanied me to India. So when are you coming to meet her?’‘ He asked. ‘O wow! Let me make it coming Sunday.’ I did not want to miss the opportunity of meeting Dorothy.

‘Sure! Come with your family in the morning and spend the day with us. After all haven’t met your kids for a long time now’ Mike’s hospitality spoke. ‘O sure’ I confirmed.

Mike had made it really big in the great US of A. He had flown way back in the 80s to do his Masters in computer engineering and stayed on initially working for a huge MNC and latter on settling to open his own IT Company. The tech boom had really helped him to make a gigantic success of his life. We had been in touch off and on. As technology advanced, letters that took a month to reach USA now transformed to emails and the world became a smaller place. FB and Whatsapp brought the world still closer and more personalized.

Mike had fallen in love with Kelly then. (Kalpana for the uninitiated) They were a happily married well settled couple with all comforts and luxuries and blessed with three kids – two sons and a sweet daughter. Life was full to the brim – success, name, fame- you name it and Mike had it. His palatial house had butlers and there were chauffeur driven Chryslers and Prado in the porch. When I had a chance to visit USA, I made it a point to visit Mike. Lived a life of ultimate luxury in those two days.

Yet, destiny had different plans. Kelly faced an untimely death and Mike was lonely. He immersed himself in work only to be more successful to a point where the stock of his company had zoomed at the bourses making Mike filthy rich. Yet Mike had never forgotten his roots and whenever he would travel to India made it a point to drop in at the same coffee shop whenever he was around. It was a stark contrast to some who had been celebrities in their own right but had the stiff upper lip and a snooty feel to their personalities. These types keep the safe distance and never indulge into friendship for fear that they may have to favor. Mike on the other hand was very generous and would help out whatever way he could - be it an opportunity, a job or even money.

So every time that we managed to meet, all of us used to tell him to remarry. His lone worry was bringing up the kids. He was not too fine with the idea of bringing a step mother at home. As time passed we got the news that Mike had finally married Dorothy. The couple was lovey dovey and Dorothy not only managed to be the perfect hostess but also a loving mother to Mike’s three kids. It was as if the clock had turned full circle to bring back the perfect life for Mike. Being part of the Mike fan club, we always used to get updates of things happening to Mike, his company and his family.
Mike was tied to his roots so to say and visited India every year. Once in a while he used to bring his kids to show them the incredible India right from the Taj Mahal, Kanyakumari, Gir forest, temples, Himalayas and all the rich heritage of India. Yet Dorothy never accompanied them on all these sojourns and we used to wonder why?

So now when I had a chance to meet Dorothy in person, I was too excited to see her. Dorothy was perfect in every which way one could imagine. Beautiful, demure, gentle – almost like Lizzie from Jane Austen’s - Pride and Prejudice, I thought to myself. We chatted and laughed. Exchanged old time memories with Mac and had a grand lunch. She was so perfect in every which way one could imagine. Her large blue deep eyes, her slender neck, the sparkling solitaires, her shapely toned body, her bewitching smile and her soft voice – everything about her was so mesmerizing. She even sang some songs from the Sound of Music. Time seemed to have halted in its feet.

Yet all of a sudden while the butler was serving coffee, the family dog Rudy happened to walk past and a brush of his tail happened to tipple the cup of coffee off the butler’s hands. The coffee spilled all over Dorothy. Her richly embroidered dress was smudged and Dorothy seemed to freeze with a listless expression. Mike suddenly jumped off his couch and quickly escorted Dorothy to the ante chamber. As the doors closed on us my thoughts were racing - Oh what a caring husband I thought to myself.

After a few minutes that seemed to last for lifetime Mike came out. When we enquired about Dorothy, he said ‘O she is all fine’ and yet something in his eyes told me that he was hiding something from all of us.  Mike was searching for excuses when little Stella spilled the beans. Actually Dorothy was not a human but a robot, she told us. Shock and surprise – the only two feelings we had then. I remembered having seen their wedding video and said ‘Oh but you both were kissing so passionately in the video. Just can’t believe she is a robot, Mike.’ Mike laughed and said that all that can be programmed into a robot. Oh really, how life like I thought to myself.

‘Well do you remember that serial – Small Wonder?’ asked Mike.

‘Yes, we do?’

‘Well to put things in perspective, I used to watch this serial in which the father had developed a robot that was just like a member of the family, a girl child, who was the daughter in the family. Well, I thought why not build a wife robot. I started researching on it and by and by developed Dorothy. She has all the specifications to be the perfect hostess, mother, and advisor and could also build emotions into her. The only thing is internally she is all metal and plastic. So although on the exterior she is a perfect being, internally she is still a machine. She needs to be taken care against liquids and also needs to be recharged just like all other gadgets.’

We were all aghast. The magic of technology was not easy to fathom.

Mike guffawed and said ‘Well,
 She is my Big Wonder’

Anagha Hunnurkar

Sunday, May 31, 2015