Ho Ho Brand Dad.

To me even today Dad’s shirt is a prized possession, the greatest brand in life.

I remember in class X, I wore my dad’s white shirt, little collars and baggy at the belt.. it was a style statement. I’d told the guys it was my dad’s shirt.

Hey my son doesn’t see me as a brand. Is that because:

1) I am a no good for nothing dad.

2) The brands have become darn big.

3) My shirts are lousy.

4) The kid has far too many shirts.

5) It is a conspiracy against family values.

6) Any other reason. Tell me.

Independence Day.

I think it was in standard 4, that I first wrote an essay on Independence Day. My essay was rubbished by the teacher, then he gave me ideas “write that Independence Day was celebrated in our school, a minister had come to hoist the flag, we ate lots of sweets, then we had sports and I won two prizes “and more such humbug.

Now you know what kind of education has nourished my personality. Now I celebrate Independence Day by shopping. Bazaars big and little are great help and those where reliance is the key are in it too.

…and what of the Chickens, god dammed chickens they get fried if it is Independence Day of India or of the US …. How many countries are there? Or if it is Sunday. Even a Monday, just a day and it is good for the chick to get fried and what.. You think we eat only cucumbers at night. Ha ha.

A friend has a soft corner for the Chickens; he likes to eat them 24x7.

In God I trust rest absolutely Bunkum.

Those were the days when a child had to take small pox shots and invariably one would fall sick with high fever. The poke would create deep wound. Many old timers would show you small pox scars with relevant pride of having survived.

I have three on my left arm and my mother tells me that it was an unusually hot August and my wound had flared up. The Humerus bone was exposed. Lesser gods had given me up. There was a Dr Mehta in my Nana’s village my savior. Ma has a different take though; of course there was this doctor and some sweet homeopathy pills but I was saved by goddess Kali the supreme local deity.

Recently I e-mailed a paragraph on faith to a friend I should have added about Ma‘s faith in the goddess in saving her first born.

There is Science and Humanities in life. I reckon science is only the means while the arts make the “ends”. The ends make the rights &wrongs - good and evil. The means have changed in the last few decades the ends haven’t that is happiness.

The trust, the faith of Ma in the goddess remains.

While I gloat in the sea of science with little humanities.