Fidel Castro : Rest In Peace or Rot In Hell ?

Last week, as the news of his death came out, my social media feed got full of posts related to Fidel Castro. The obituaries were highly contrasting and polarised; some with words of praise wishing for him to RIP while others wishing for him to rot in hell after death. I wondered why.

After successfully overthrowing an autocratic government through a guerrilla warfare that lasted for several years in the 50s, he ruled over Cuba directly or indirectly until his death in 2016.

Although Cuba always had a fairly good healthcare system and a high percentage of doctors, even before the Revolution, good healthcare is one of the first things that attracts about Fidel's Cuba. With a high literacy rate of almost 100%, GDP growth rate of over 4%, low unemployment rate of 1.5%, all despite years of trade embargo put up by the USA I wondered what could be wrong with this leader ? Everybody, at least in the neighbouring Caribbean islands must be dying to go settle there, right ? Well, some more reading suggested that the case has been the right opposite, with millions of Cubans trying to escape the country and become refugees almost all these years of Fidel's rule. Human rights violations, censorship, political detentions and executions, forced labour and restrictions of assembly are some of the reasons why Cuba as a country has been more of a jail for any freedom loving individual.

Castro allegedly conducted over 3500 political executions via firing squad. A tugboat named "13 de Marzo," while carrying 72 Cuban refugees to the USA, was attacked by one of Castro's boats and sank into the Atlantic. Reluctant revolutionaries, homosexuals, Jehovah's Witnesses, hippies and other groups were rounded up and sent to "UMAPs".

No wonder people were ready to risk their lives to escape from the dictatorial rule. From 1985 to 1994 the number of illegal emigrants is estimated to 82,500, with an additional 7,500 up to the mid-2000. Even discussing illegal emigration carried a six-month prison sentence. Exit permits were difficult to obtain. However, from 2013, a new law eliminates the need for an exit permit but increases passport costs to 100 CUC, the equivalent of 5 months of average salary.

Cuba's ranking was on the bottom of the Press Freedom Index 2008 compiled by the Reporters Without Borders (RWB). Cuba was named one of the ten most censored countries in the world by the Committee to Protect Journalists. The so-called powerful leader who defied the States was so insecure of his own people that he had to ban the free use of internet all these years. I wonder if this is the kind of freedom the communists ask for ?

After all these years of evolution, do we still need to be forced between choosing either the bread or freedom ? No matter what good you did - if even a single individual was forced to sacrifice his freedom because of you then yes Mr. Fidel Castro, you were a monster and I do wish you rot in hell, if there is one.

Grow Your Own Food

It is said that growing your own food is like printing your own money. If you print your own money, you might end up in a jail but by growing your own food you are only going to be a healthier and a wealthier  person. One would wonder then why so few of us actually get to grow our own food. Well,  people have reasons. "Where is the land to do so in my apartment ?", "I have a job to do.", "Where is the time ?", "Why not buy it instead of getting your hands dirty ?". But then, people have reasons to counter the reasons. "I wanted to remain connected to the roots (literally) and eat healthy. That’s why I decided I have to find a way to grow whatever I can in whatever space and time I have", says a Lipsi in a chirping voice, showing the fresh red tomatoes plucked moments ago from her own balcony.

Lipsi has a full-time job as a software engineer and lives in a small 2BHK apartment in the suburbs of Portland. But that did not stop her from becoming a farmer in her own right. "As the summer approached, I knew that I have to grow something and I looked around for space. My roughly 40 sq. ft. balcony was all the space that I had. I decided to make the best use of this limited space and began sowing seeds in March. Soon, the balcony was full of small plants". The list of harvest from Lipsi's farm includes tomatoes, chilli, french beans, cucumber, watermelon, jalapeño and mint and this is her way to remain connected to her childhood memories of growing these plants in the backyard with her father.

One would wonder how so much can be grown in so little space ! "Growing vertical was the key. As the plants started growing, I realized I had sown more than I could reap in the small balcony. So I made two layers for the roots to thrive and then used an extensive network of strings to hold all branches of the plants vertical. Soon many of them, even tomatoes, were growing taller than me. Now I don’t need to buy tomatoes, chilly, cucumber and mint for several months."

It was not just growing of food, but in the eco-friendly and cost-effective way that it was grown was special. All the containers used in holding the soil and the roots were recycled containers. The initial small ones came from the empty containers of curd and milk used in the house, the larger ones were picked up from the confectionery section of Fred Meyers, which usually throws away such empty containers after using the cream they typically carry. All these containers were brought home, cleaned and filled with soil. All seeds, soil and fertilizer used in growing the plants are organic.

 

"The most exciting parts of this entire project are the 'community plants'- the tomato plants planted in common spaces of the apartment. These plants are watered by us but anybody who sees the tomatoes red and ripen can pluck them and take them home." says Lipsi when asked about what she likes the most about this mini-farming. "Several of my friends have loved the idea and next summer, we are hoping for many more balconies, with many more plants."

Meet Ravi

Meet Ravi, the Cube Juggler !

Meet the new wizard whose cube-juggling videos have made him a celebrity in the US. He smiles, he talks, he juggles and before you know the Rubik's cubes are all solved. Multi-tasking at its best !

Ravi Fernando, brought up in Missouri, studies Mathematics at the Stanford University. Juggling has been his hobby for long but it was not until he mixed it with his hobby of solving the Rubik's cubes that it made him an internet sensation. His first viral video, in which he juggles one cube and two balls and solves the cube while juggling, was published about a month ago and has got over 4.5 million hits by now. But for the experimenter he is, in his next video he raised the bar and solved not one but three cubes while juggling them in just around 6 minutes. This video has already got over 360,000 hits in less than a week.

One video is worth a thousand words, so have a look at the videos yourself.

Ravi is also a member of the World Cube Association and can solve a cube in as little time as 7.65 seconds. And if that was not enough, he can also do this blindfolded, or even with his feet.

If you have any doubts on the authenticity of the videos you just watched then look little more closely. The cubes falling under gravity towards the end of second video will prove you wrong !

Life is Precious

WOK !!

It has been long since i last posted something on my blog... but its only the publishing that had stopped, the life had been in fact quite happening, giving me so many topics to write upon. Well, forget those which I missed. Lets write about something different this time. FOOD.
There are people who 'eat to live' and there are others who 'live to eat'. I have always belonged to the first category and so its funny to be writing about food. But thanks to Lipsi.. for introducing me to WOK. In short, if you opt for it you get to prepare your own food (in a restaurant which serves sizzlers, normally) saving you from the pain of getting close to the stove and in the meantime giving you the option of putting your own ingredients in your dish.
By the book I think it means little different. This is what wiki says http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wok

I googled it and saw the link of YANA sizzlers, Pune where we actually had it with friends; Shashank, Vaneet and Dola. Lipsi was more into garlic sauce while Shashank freaked out on prawns... They have videos of this whole procedure on youtube. I thought I would put some of our own pix of the party... but ... lazy me ;)

Kolkata Files



Very soon after signing off it was clear to me that sooner or later I will have to end up in Kolkata. I knew leaving Mumbai will be painful and emotionally draining but I must admit that there was a hint of excitement to all of this. And no, excitement not for the hype that brand 'porno-shree' carried but more so in the anticipation of an opportunity to explore a new culture, a new city and new people, in the backdrop of small and big battles to win the ultimate war for 2nd mate's license.
After my early childhood days' and Jamshedpur neighborhood experiences with Bengali junta going there to stay for months was like going to Korea to learn Taek-wan-do. There was a lot to see, a lot to observe and a lot to reflect upon and conclude; after all it being the communist bastion of India and myself the child and grand child of some hard-core communist leaders it seemed to be the present of my past. It's present because they still hold the power there. And my past because either I disapprove or I don’t understand them, in any case I am not one of them. And kindly note that while I explain all this, the word 'future' is nowhere used.
However I did grab a book titled 'Marxist Philosophy' from my father's book-shelf and tried my best to go through it, just to prepare myself better to understand the city. I don’t know I succeeded or I failed.

Ajit Narayan
Changes are always refreshing. Well, I don’t agree completely to it. To me and I believe to most of us its kind of irritating…. Till the time we give it a thought and let it do what it can (read - refresh our lives ! ).
This particular change which I have just gone through in the last week and the days that followed it have had metamorphous effect on me. I will never forget the tough little struggle of mine and the lessons I have learnt.
Okay now let me share something interesting and more on the lighter side. Myself with a group of friends left Mumbai last Saturday night for Kolkata on Gnaneshwari Express. By the time we reached Rourkela the stock of ciggi had exhausted. And few of my friends were experiencing the infamous strong ‘talab’ for it. I had to come to rescue as the observation that most of the catering staff and attendants are Bihari and that they are the only ones who can help had already been made. I asked one of the ‘pani-botal’ for it. He said,"teen bogi baad Ajit Narayan naam ka attendant hai, uske pass milega." Okay. We started our search for Ajit Narayan. When one attendant got in our way in the second bogie itself I casually asked," bhaiya Ajit Narayan kahan milenge?" He immediately replied," haan boliye kya chahiye, hum hin hain ajit narayan." We told him what we wanted, to which he too told us to go to the next (same third bogie) one and ask the attendant there as he doesn’t have the stock right now. In the final compartment again same question – "Ajit Narayan kaun hai" and again the same reply - " haan boliye kya chahiye, hum hin hain ajit narayan."
We thought of it as some kind of joke…. Every second attendant seemed to be Ajit Narayan !! But I sensed there had to be something special about Ajit Narayan. And the shock came soon. When one of my friends indicated by hand that he needed a packet of ciggerettes the Ajit Narayan asked "desi ya videshi" ! I explained no we don’t need the booze…. Just some ciggeratte sticks… that’s all. One of us couldn’t control his amazement and ended up kind of appreciating the guy like wow you have even that on board ! Ajit Narayan smiled and explained to us in his own tashan – Sahab, paisa pheko tamasha dekho…. Sab paisa ka khel hai, aap bas boliye apko kya chahiye aur paisa fekiye, sab milega. Bidi, ciggi, ganja, charas, daru, ladki….. sab milega isi train me…. Ladki ( read prostitutes) in the train!! Just out of curiousity one of us ended up asking How Much for that ? The reply was – pachas hazar…. Well, that was not enough. We had to understand the modus operandi for a good night’s sleep….. His voice became softer and he explained… AC1 mein koopa book hoga… mobile se phone hoga aur agle station se chadhegi… TTE bhi involved hoga isliye paisa jada khilana hoga… paisa hai to sab hoga…

Little did I know that the few coming days in Kolkata will only elaborate his last line to me…

anyway, I still wonder does such thing really happen on our trains. Or moreover do we really have such idiots willing to spend so much of money on such stupid things. But one thing is for sure… I will for long remember this name- Ajit Narayan; which was not just a name but a code name and as a matter of fact none of those attendants or catering staff was Ajit Narayan !