Happy Janmashtami & Independence day

Hi All,

Yesterday was JANMASHTAMI.It's Independence Day today. Janmashtami continues to be observed with great fervour throughout the northern, western and eastern parts of the country, but Independence Day is losing some of it's sheen and enthusiasm. No " Prabhat Pheris" or flag hoistings, 'Laddus' distribution in schools and colleges. This is natural: those who fought for Independence are either no more or are fading away; Independent India which seemed a distant dream then, is now a fait accompli.The youth of the country which constitutes the bulk of the population is clearly and undestandably disappointed with the poilitical and bureacratic leadership over various issues- enempoyment, lack of education and health sevices as also infrasture development and CORRUPTION being the key ones.The general mood is , however, upbeat and the pace of development all round is picking up.The world is looking upon the Indian Democracy with admiration and our neighbours with awe and bewilderment.

Childhood memories of Janmashatami are fresh with preparations of a variety of sugary sweets made with dry fruits, especially " Chiraunji", "Makhana'. " Gola", " Post or "Khus Khus" and even " Gum" of the edible variety. There was lots of " Charnamrit or Panchamrit" made out of, milk, curds, Ghee, honey, Ganga Jal , Tulsi and Chiraunji alonwith " Kasaar" which was Atta fried in Desi Ghee mixed with sugar, 'Shakar Paras' etc.At midnight, Lord Krishna was given birth amidst a lot of fan fare including blowing of Conch Shells, and ringing of bells, behind a curtain, curiously out of a Cucumber! I am still to figure out the rationale behind this ritual.The " Jhankis" were decorated in every Hindu home and " Mohalla" with forests, water falls, rivers and animals being hand crafted by the ladies and children. My father took a lot of ineterest in this as we watched in facination his creations of mud houses, water ponds and forests with scenes of Lord Krishna's birth in Mathura.

How can any topical blog be complete without a word about H1 N1 or 'Swine Flu' which has been declared to have acquired epidemic proporions, affecting a number of countries across continents. As long as there were no fatal casualties, the people in India took it in their stride. But about 10 days back, as deaths began to be reported from a few cities like, Pune, Bangalore, Ahmedabad , Mumbai and Delhi, the media started ringing panic bells! The lack of preparedness of the Govt. hospitals and health authorities made headline news over teh innumerable the TV news channels and even the national dailes leading to a scare , especially among parents of school going children. The Indian mass media has again come into sharp focus for its irresponsible coverage of national events. Factual reports and dos and don'ts are welcome but not the ones predicting mass casualties among children. In the US and Canada which are much worse affected, while the mediacl labs and researchers are working over time to discover vaccines, no school or college was closed down.

I ahve added pictures of Janmashtami Puja being perormed at our home by Antara our 2 1/2 year old grand daughter, and, of course, a couple of pictures of the flowers in our garden taken on Janmashtami.

Lord Indra seems to smile over Delhi agin with good rains being experienced in the past couple of days. The mercury has dipped and hope of a good vegetables and Ravi crop revived.

I end with prayers for more rains in the northern parts of the country.

Love you all