Wails in Exile: December 2015

Wednesday, 23 December 2015

LCM-Ramea lagaie chanie leelaiay

This note is published. Edit Note

On his birthday and Gadea Batea, guests of his age invited at dinner were led to an adjacent room before dinner to serve them with a drink of country liquor in a ‘Kenzie-khoues’ (Alloy cup with stand to hold). The turbaned guests in pashmina ‘pheran’ used to stretch the narrow and long sleeve of the pheran to hold the cup. Early sixties, the country liquor was @ eight annas/quarter. To discourage consumption of liquor, the government used to hike the price annually by two annas.

1960, I was preparing for my final degree examination with A course & B course Mathematics known as Double course Mathematics as two of my four subjects. One evening, my father an employee of the excise department gave me a statement to total its columns. Each column had 30 entries and the figures in the column were repetition of the figures, 1, 1/2 and 1/4. Hours together and I was still on the job without the final result and submission of the statement. Surprised, sarcastically my father addressed me “Oh Double Course student, what are you doing? Why a job of seconds has taken you so much of time?” I said: “For addition of fractions one has to find LCM of the denominators first.” To my surprise, he scrolled each column within no time to arrive at the correct result. He said, while scrolling read 4 for 1; 2 for 1/2 and 1 for 1/4. 1+1/2+1/4= (4+2+1)/4= 7/4. 1 was for one bottle of liquor, 1/2 was for a half bottle and 1/4 was for a quarter. 

1963 after post-graduation, my friend J L Pandita retired DIG, joined as UDC at AG’s office. His academic record was meritorious. While the seniors were dressed in old ut and old fashioned garments with head gear a turban, the handsome Pandita was dressed in a blue blazer coat with colour reading College proctor. Necktie added to the grace of his youth. After passing DCT (Departmental confirmatory test) he was posted in the Book section, where he had to total columns of statements. The young, handsome and meritorious Pandita could not do the job in hours that the seniors finished in minutes. While scrolling, the seniors, simultaneously used to recite “Ramea lagaie chanie leelaiay- Ramea lagaie chanie leelaiay” and give tick marks intermittently. Sarcastically, looking over their spectacles, to tease Pandita, they would say: “Pandita Sabh, are you really a first class graduate with Double Course and MA pass.                                                                                                                                                           In real life experience matters more than LCM and academic qualification.

Coolie to office Superintedent

1967, I was posted at Jammu. Those days Jammu city was confined to Panj Tirthi to Gumut. One could meet anybody from the valley without any appointment in advance at Rugh Nath Bazar or Residency road. For closer proximity to their office most of the Pundit employees from the valley lived on rental accommodations at Jullaka Mohalla, Pirmitha, Upper Bazar and areas around Mubarak Mandi, while the Muslim employees from the valley preferably took rental accommodation at Ustad Mohalla and Khati Talav. Some would call Julla ka Mohalla, Ganpatyar of the valley. Both these areas had respectively Pundit and Muslim bakeries. Vegetable and meat markets, mandir, masjid were also around these areas. Jammu was not connected with railways. Nearest railway station was in Punjab at Pathankot. Bus fare from Srinagar to Jammu was Rs.11 and from Jammu to Pathankot Rs.1.25

Parade road served as the district and interstate bus-stand for interstate and inter district busses. Services of coolies with ‘pithue’ from both the provinces were available in abundance. Kashmiri coolies were preferred. They knew geography and name of most of the Kashmiri tenants in these rented houses. Their knowledge about the host made job of the newcomer in locating his destination easier. Besides, there was no language barrier with them. For their capacity to carry heavy loads and work harder, even this time Kashmiri coolies are preferred by wholesale merchants at Kanakmandi, Rajinder Bazar, Nehru market and even in Amritsar and other towns in Punjab. Handcarts to carry heavy loads were not in practice those days. Loads consisting of a few heavy trunks and heavy bedding piled up and tied in the ‘peithue’ were carried by the coolie on his back. The only help he would ask for was to give him hand to stand in a bent position. I confess that those days my holdall concealed rice in place of bedding. Ration rice in the valley was @Rs.0.25/kg and Rs.1.50/kg at Jammu. To escape price variation, smuggling was the only alternative.

We had taken the house of Ved Ji on rent in the interior of Julla ka Mohalla. Ved Ji and his brother were running a grocery shop in the Molalla. Besides, his brother was a post office employee. The two served as Resident directory also.

One morning, on way to my residence, I heard someone calling me from distance. I was on head of the lane. A coolie with a ‘pithue’ hanging by his shoulder came running to me and wished me adab arz mahra. I reciprocated and expected that I may have to fill up money-order form for him or write a postcard for him.

He said: “Mahra mai chivea na purznavan” (Sir, don’t you recognise me?). “No, I don’t recognise you. Who are you and how do you know me?” said I.

He said: “Sir, I am your student.”

Astonished! My student, and that too, a collie! I said: “You have placed me wrongly. May be you have taken me for someone else”.

“No sir. Are you not B K Dass, who was our teacher at Government High School Verinagh in the year 1961” said he.

I said: “You are correct. I am B K Dass and I was on the teaching staff of Verinagh High School in the year 1961. Why have you not completed your education to at least tenth level”.

He said: “I am matriculate and have passed 10^th class in second division. Kindly help me in getting a job”.

Those days, 10^th pass was enough and minimum requirement for a job. I took him to Ghulam Hassan Malik, the then Joint Registrar Cooperatives J&K. He was from Doda. He too was moved. He offered a leave arrangement for three months and assured permanent job subject to vacancy. The coolie did not accept the temporary arrangement. He rightly said that during leave arrangement, he would have to put on an official dress and in case he failed to get the permanent or leave arrangement any further, it would not be possible for him to pickup ‘pithue’ again and go back to the collie dress code. Next, I took him to my friend J L Pandita, retired DIG, the then Dy. S P. Both being from Verinag was an additional point that I counted on. He said that he would try and manage to get him recruited as a constable in the Police department. The collie said nothing less than a head constable.

One day, G M Sadiq the then Chief Minister of the state had to attend some function at Teachers’ Training College, Jammu. I drafted an application for a job and asked him to submit the same to the CM and in the same collie dress code with the ‘pithue’ hanging by his shoulder. He acted as directed, but was arrested by the police for stopping car of the CM. After the function was over, Sadiq Sahab looked for the Collie and asked the police to get him to him. The police had already released him with some ‘muchlaqa’. Sadiq Sahab’s persuasion, the police had no alternative but to trace him out. The Collie was appointed as a clerk in TEO’s office at Akhnoor. After some years, he recognised me again at Old Sectt. Srinagar in official dress. He was collecting some books from Directorate of Education for District Education Officer’s office Anantnagh. I believe, he must be retired by now and enjoying retired life at Verinagh.

Tuesday, 22 December 2015

Successful Entrepreneurs

Sabzi vajenie

My roadside vegetable vendor has never been to any school or college. He has not learnt LCM, Calculus, number theory-real and imaginary numbers, rational and irrational numbers, even and odd numbers, integers, whole numbers and fractions etc. He attends, talks and packs for different customers simultaneously. He orally and simultaneously calculates correctly the amount to be paid for different vegetables of different prices and different weights packed. He calculates and returns the money after deducting his due from a note of higher denomination.

"Hia Dustarea kotue gav” said Shamboo Nath in distress!"

Lost & found the spectacles hanging by the collar of the T-shirt

(Oh! “Where did my turban go” said Shamboo Nath in distress?")
This morning after reading headlines of the Daily Newspaper, I went to washroom and on my return looked for my spectacles at its designated locations. At such occasions, I generally keep my spectacles on the table or on the bed nearby. Today after I failed to locate the item at its expected locations, I looked for it here and there frantically but it was an exercise in futility. I preferred to be cool and postpone the search as I usually do. I have kept two spare spectacles to bank upon in such situations. Being a wanderer in exile, to travel lighter, I had left the spare ones back at Srinagar resort. Reconciled with the circumstances, a little later, I chanced to locate the lost one hanging by the collar of my T-shirt. My personal experience has taught me that in tension one loses capacity to solve the problem that can easily be solved when one is cool.
One of the topics in 3rd Grade, NCERT English text book ‘Let us learn English III’ was on Kitchoo. Kitchoo lost his spectacles and looked for it in each nook and corner of his house and his office. Sarcastic smile on the faces of his family members and colleagues caused him more tension, irritation and embarrassment. It was only the dressing table that finally came to his rescue and showed him his spectacles resting above his forehead. That time, when I was in forties, Kitchoo became a laughing stock for the whole class including the teacher. One could never expect that Kitchoo is a common character and everybody has to play Kitchoo one time or the other.
Shamboo Nath was an Accounts officer at AG’s office, Srinagar. He had given the impression around that he was a hard task master. This impression after Sardar Patel had earned him the title ‘Shestuer’ (Iron) and in his circle was called by the name Shombea Shestuer. One day, he was called by his officer, the then Deputy Accountant General, Mahaldar Saab tougher than ‘Shastuer’ Those days official dress code was a necessity. The junior could not call on his senior bare headed. ‘Dustar’ was an important item of the dress code. On the call of his senior, the junior lost his nerves. He looked for his turban on his table, in his cupboard, racks etc. In the meantime the peon came again to remind him. He asked him the reason for the delay. Shamboo Nath said that his turban used to be handy, but that day it was untraceable. The peon said: “Mahra Dustar chuvea tohie godie kulus peith”(Sir, your turban is already on your head). To make it doubly sure, he raised both of his hands, touched it and heaved a sigh of relief.

Bríjû dàss te Girdass chhú vanàn låsív tû basiv.

A wanderer in exile at 76 Deprived of his Cremation Ground by the Farooq Abdullah Government with acquiescence by the Rajiv Government at the Center.

“Mezareabal tanie chi hazar tufaan Vujarea gachi gachi kabaer ti ravem”(Dolwal)
From:Mumbai
Contact No, 9869923093

Tolevoer

Tolvoer

This man has never been to school. He knows not whether square root of 2 is rational or irrational. He never bothered to prove it either. He has never read fulcrum, principles of lever. Without knowing anything beyond the boundaries of his village, he, strangely applies principles of lever that Professors teach at College level. He has not heard name of Archimedes and still applies the principles authored by Archimedes. He does not know

Falcrum

that levers date from the 3rd century BC and were provided by Archimedes who remarked: "Give me a place to stand, and I shall move the Earth with it". I believe, he learnt it by innovative method and may have been in vogue much before Archimedes was born. It will be injustice with him, if he is charged in Raj Sabha or Lok Sabha of infringing the copy rights of the descendants of Archimedes and reason to stall the two Houses further.

Thursday, 17 December 2015

Chandpora Harwan Srinagar Kashmir as on 23-11-2015Deserted Mata Bhuvane Shori Temple at Chandpora Harwan

Mata Bhuvane Shori Temple at Chandpora Harwan

Deserted house of Kashmiri Pundit since January 1990

Prior to 1990 exodus of Kashmiri Pundits from Kashmir, Chandpore Harwan was thickly inhabited by Kashmiri Pundits. Many of my seniors and juniors and many classmates from this pocket earned name and fame for this belt by din't of their academic excellence. Kumar Ji Bhat who served all along at NASA is a Gold Medalist who graduated through Amar Singh College Srinagar. Next to him, his younger brother Dr. Pridman Krishan Bhat also graduated through Amar Singh College and bagged Gold Medal at both Degree level and Post Graduate level in Mathematics through J&K University. He resigned from the State services and did Phd. at IIS Banglore. The late Dr. Chaman Lal Bhat Ex. Director BARC who earned Gold Medal at Degree and Post Graduate level in

Deserted house of Kashmiri Pundit since January1990

Physics; Phd. from London in record time too got name and fame to the area. Retired Divisional Commissioner S L Bhat IAS who also served as Chairman J&K Public Service Commission lives beside the Mata's Temple. This is the area where students worked to compete with one another to break the previous record. Prediman Krishan Bhat still impatiently keeps a watch on the University results to ensure that none breaks his record.