Reminiscing Minoojji

  On my recent blog on Sunny Jeejaji who passed away two months back, Juhi ( Shefali) commented that she would love  to read a  blog by me on Minoojji, her late mother and my sister, if I find the time to do one. I made up my mind then, that I shall.

 Minoojji, chronologically the second of our seven siblings family who grew up together in a cottage in Meerut  Cantt.  was  the smartest, most intelligent, independent minded, and confident . Also the only dusky one among my five sisters. She had very sharp features, as you would see in her pictures I carry with this blog. She was Pitajee’s ( our father’s)favorite. You  would notice the  oodles of love flowing between him and Minojji  in one of the pics.  So given the freedom to pursue a degree in Science, for which she had to leave Meerut and live with Tau ( my father’s elder brother), then a Judge of the High Court of Allahabad. After her Bsc. from the Alld Univ. when Minoojji  returned to Meerut  she did an  LLb. from the Aligarh Muslim University!  Because Meerut College was not an appropriate school for girls from certain families to study but AMU offered admission to “ Burka clad’ Muslim women, who could study at home and take the University Exam! That’s how Manjula  Chowdhry became a  BSc. L.L.B. Much later, she   also did a correspondence course to get a B Ed. degree . Circumstances forced her to opt for a career in teaching and not Law, though Pitajee and the other elders  in the family were pretty  convinced that  she would have made a brilliant  lawyer. Perhaps it was Pitajee’s frustration at not being allowed to pursue a career in Law by his domineering mother when his practice was showing signs of picking up, in Moradabad, that prompted  him to encourage Minoojji to take up a career in Law.

 Minoojji   was  married to Jadish Nigam, the youngest  in a family from Dehradun, who then worked as a manager for a private steel rolling mill in Sham Nagar, a  suburb of Calcutta, miles away from Meerut. The marriage took place in traditional style from our Meerut Cottage home, I think in December  1960. Minoojji and I enjoyed a very close, warm and humorous bond. But both being strong personalities, sparks flew when we differed ! A few days before the wedding, I ( a 15 year old then) told her that there was no way that I would cry on her  “Vidai” and would be quite happy to be rid of her! Later, when she told me that she ‘did notice the tears in your eyes, Anil when I was leaving home”,  “ Oh those were tears of sympathy for Jeejaji my dear”, I quipped.! She would regale Jeejaji , family and friends  by relating  this anecdote  till very late in our lives……

 While Minoojji was a vivacious and scintillating personality,  Nigam Jeejaji was a ‘bon vivant’ ( a nafeez, shaukeen, shakhsiat) who liked to live, eat, drink and dress well. Minoojji’s  smile was “ killing” and Jeejaji’s  laughter, heartwarming and contagious.Both shared Jois de vivre in pleny between them. His propensity to spend lavishly and  compulsively on food and clothes used to drive Minoojji up the wall. On the weekends, after his exercise& ‘ tel maalish”, Jeejaji would return loaded with the best quality of mutton and fish from the market and tell his wife, Partner , aaj parsande/ pullao/kachche keemey ke koftey/ patley shorbe ka kaliya / sarso bata banado to zindagi ka lutf aa jaaye !’Then he would go to his 'gusal' and emerge in a spotless exquisite white chikan  work malmal ka kalaf kiya hua kurta with ‘chunnat’ on the sleeves, wearing either khas or gulab Ittar. And  turn on  the radiogram  to play records of Sehgal, or Begum Akhtar Ghazals. A glass or two of chilled beer and he was ready to do full justice to Minoojji’s  exceptional culinary skills . After a hearty meal, he would invariably take an afternoon nap telling Minoojji  to give him only a “simple” dinner with Bengali fish curry, daal and rice with began bhaja  and tomato chutney on the side! A little more on Minoojji’s amazing cooking skills. I don’t think any other lady in  our family can match up to them. She was fast and had a great variety to her culinary repertoire- From Bengali cuisine to kashmiri koftas; from fish mayonnaise  with Russian salad to poori, kachauri and heeng rase ke aaloo: to caramel custard and Trifle pudding; and a variety of mouth watering  pickleswhich she generously supplied to the entire family. I think what made Minoojji special was that had the taste for good food and was genuinely interested in the art of cooking, a trait disappearing fast among housewives of India today1

The young Nigam couple  led a happy and contented life in the company of just a few friends ( all from UP) in  Sham Nagar :the Sahay family and Bansiji are the names I recall. Their oldest child Shivani,  lovingly called” Chicky’  at home and “ Shunno” by her father  was born a few years after their marriage  when they  moved to  Calcutta where Jeejaji continued to work for the same Co.( NICCO). In Cal. they lived in a small but nice three bed room flat in BallyGunj a posh locality not far from where Jeejaji’s older brother  Shri RC Nigam, an anthropologist  lived with his wife and three kids. Jeejaji was quite fond of his brother and family.

Have added  few more pictures from the Nigams family album to illustrate my blog- Minoojji in college before her marriage; as a bride; with Jeejaji at their home in Sham Nagar which they kept very spick and span; at one of their several “ honey moons” on  the hills which Jeejaji was so fond of; at the Hawan in their Calcutta home after ' Chicky' was born; and with my parents and Anand Bhai ( my late brother)in our home in Alld.

Although Minoojji took quite well to life in Calcutta and even picked up a smattering of Bengali, Jeejaji  forever yearned to go back to UP and particularly missed the “ tehzeeb “and the easy pace of life in Lucknow. He, therefore, jumped at an opportunity to go to Lucknow to work on a new business venture of an entrepreneur form UP called Suraj Prasad Srivastava, who  had plans of setting up an  iron and steel rolling mills in UP. This Mr Srivastava managed to lure both Mr Sahay, a highly qualified and experienced Metallurgical engineer and Jeejaji to join his new venture. He even managed to persuade them to   invest their life time  savings in the venture. Jeejai plunged headlong into “ Suraj Iron and Steel  Co.” despite Minoojji’s  words of CAUTION.

Life in Lko. initially ws easy and comfortable but not war long. It gradually began to dawn  on the Nigams and the Sahays that S P Srivastava was a fraudster whose plans were only on paper. But not before their life time savings were gone!It was while they were going though a hard finacial phase in Lko. that I landed up there during our Bharat Darshan from Mt Abu And it was typical of their hospitality that they invited me and my friends to their home for a lavish meal which wec all enoyed immensely.During this visit, I couldn't get even a whiff of the hard time they were facing in Lko. And then Minoojji swung into action- She found a job for Jeejaji in a rolling iron mill near Meerut and she herself got a job as a school teacher in Meerut. It was during their stay in Meerut that Saurabh ( Rinkoo at home) their second child arrived. From Meerut, they moved to Ghaziabad where Jeejaji started working for a marwari owned iron and steel Co. and Minooji  began teaching  at  Ingraham,the local convent school . They lived in a nice rented house in Kavi Nagar called “ White House” owned by an old Sardarji. About the same time, we moved to Delhi from Goa. The Nigam home in Ghaziabad was the weekend   get away for me  from the drudgery of life as a  Desk AD in IB and life in the one bed room apartment in Asia House for a family of four + a maid-servant. Occasionally, Latajji or Anurag  my other two sisters who lived in Delhi also landed up  there to enjoy Minoojji’s company and hospitality. We used to have a ball on our weekend get aways in G’bad with Taash sessions and Paans, fruits.And return loaded with sweets and a full tank in my Fiat  car courtesy Jeejaji , which was a luxury indeed  in those hand-to- mouth days when we  never had enough money to buy more than 5 or 10 Litres of petrol at a time!

Then came another turning point in Minoojji’s life – when she was expecting Shefali, their third child the Mother Superior of the convent refused maternity leave  to her. Minoojji returned sobbing to the  School  Staff room. She related how the Principal had humiliiated her to Usha Sethi, her colleague and close friend. The enraged Manjula Nigam and Usha  Sethi   jointly marched into the Pricipal's office and gave in their resignations. Next they decided to set up their own school in the Nigam rented house in Kavi Nagar! After mustering up the requisite teaching staff, they inserted an ad in the local papers announcing the launch of “ Silver Bells “ an English Medium  Junior School by two experienced Ex teachers of  Ingraham. The day was January 15, 1976. Minoojji and Usha Sethi were sitting in the verandah of the house  pretending to read the news papers  with their eyes glued to the approach road  for signs of approaching parents to seek admission to “ Silver Bells”. And they did come…..In a trickle first and then in hoards- forcing Silver bells to move to  another bigger rented premises in Kavi Nagar. Silver Bells was a big hit because both Minoojji , the Principal and Usha  Sethi  the Vice – Principal were smart, hard working and could speak English fluently!! In the prosperous city of Ghaziabad, speaking of English was a much sought after virtue in their kids.

The success of “Silver Bells” story became the buzz word of G’bad town. They bought their own piece of prime land and constructed  a building, with Monoojji and Usha Ji working very hard to see that the standards were kept high on all fronts. Minoojji was very focused and hard working and also knew  how to enjoy leisure. She and her friends would sit in one of the homes in Kavi Nagar and later in  Raj Nagar where the Nigams made  to play several rounds of serious “Paploo” with high stakes.

 Silver Bells continues to flourish as a leading school of Ghaziabad ,a  legacy left behind by Minoojji  to her family and the city. She once invited me to be the Chief Guest at the School  Annual function when I was an unknown entity locally and a mere Joint Director ( IG) in the IB in Delhi. Such was Minoojji’s affection for me that she gave  precedence to me over the local  District Magistrate and SSP  to preside over her school annual day function!

When Minoojji  and Jeejaji were struggling to get back on their feet after being taken for a ride by Mr Suraj Prasad Srivastav,I did two postings at beautiful touristy places – Goa and Srinagar which brought  lot of friends and family to these places. But not Minoojji  which she really regretted. So when I got posted to Washington DC, she told me “ Anil I couldn’t come to you in Goa and Srinagar but will surely be your guest in the US” And she did make it along with our youngest sister- both leaving their families behind. I tried to take them around as much as I could including Canada, which she enjoyed immensely. Tue to her nature, she was not very fond of doing the museums and parks for which DC is famous and made the excuse of pain in her knee joints to skip it.When I forced her to visit the museums, the only exhibits which held her interest were the gems and precious stones where she stood gazing afscinatingly at the " Kohinoor" for several minutes. But she

didn’t miss an opportunity to visit every shopping Mall, far and near, where she would forget all her aches and pains and run up and down shopping to her heart’s content !

Fate struck cruel blows to her life in quick succession. First she lost her husband  very suddenly and prematurely in 1997. She overcame the loss  using her vast reservoir of grit But just 5  years later  in 2002, her young son –in –law, Sharad  was also snatched away. Sharad was a very affectionate and considerate person and is dearly missed by all. Within a few months after Sharad’s demise,  Minoojji was  herself diagnosed to be critically ill. Although she fought bravely till the end came and never lost her spirits, my regret to this day is that I was not able to meet her. I made a dash on Emergency Home Leave from DC when told that she may not live long. Drove straight to the hospital from the airport. But she passed away literally minutes before I reached her bed side on December 6, 2002.How could she have gone back on the promise she made to me on phone ( very bravely as usual), “ Anil please come; Am waiting to see you. And don’t worry will not leave before that”? .

We in the family have several lessons to learn from the legacy left behind by Minoojji. Her grit, her zest for life and her great sense of humour, even in the most trying times. She was indeed a pillar for me! May all her kids and grand kids be blessed and happy from her immense sacrifices made for those she loved.

Sunny Jeejaji - A Tribute

Sunny Jeejaji,husband for fifty two years of my fourth sister Latajji passed away in the ICU of Vedanta Hospital, Gurgaon on April 4 2012.Jeejaji had turned 80 two months back.He grappled admirably with a dreaded liver infection for the past 10 years or more- with Homeopathy,which he loved,and a strict dietary regime.One could see and feel his strength ebbing away,day after day in the past two/three years.All his kids, particularly his elder son Anshu and his wife Nidhi with whom Latajjji and Jeejaji lived in Gurgaon,did not spare any effort- material or emotional- to sustain the quality of his life,right till the last day.He was indeed a fortunate father to have received so much care and affection from all his children.

A gentleman to the core,mild mannered,intelligent,and a very affectionate member of our family,who we all turned to -for advice and medical help in times of need/illness. Although his practice as a Homeopath- post retirement from Govt. never really took off,I doubt if there is another,to match the depth of his knowledge of "Materia Medica". He was extremely thorough, and somewhat cautious,while prescribing his medicines.Both traits fitted well into his personality.

Latajji,who was younger to Jeejaji by eight years,was easily the prettiest among my five good looking sisters. Looking back(sans cosmetics and facials),she was actually quite a Beauty. A happy- go- lucky, 19 year old doing her BA( Final) in a Women's College in Meerut,where we all lived in a Cottage in the Cantonment.

"Justice" Banarsi Das Kankan who belonged to the UP Judicial Service had embarked on a long journey in search of a " Hoor Ki Pari"(a girl with heavenly good looks)for Kailash Chandra affectionately called " Sunny", his only son!He came to our home via Justice Radha Krishan Chowdhry( my Tau),a highly revered and senior member of our family to "see" Minooji(who unfortunately was away in Alld.),the next in line of Ch. Pratap Bahadur's (my father)to be married daughters.In the absence of her two older sisters (Mohinijji senior to Latajji by one year was also not at home),Latajji was asked to serve tea to the honoured guests.The Kankan father and son,not surprisingly, were both swept off their feet.I missed this "big action" at home, since I too was holidaying somewhere with my cousins.

Despite pleadings by both Tau and Pitajee (my father) that Lata had two other unmarried sisters senior to her,and was too young to get married," Justice" Banarsi Das was adamant...The "Chowdhry Khandaan War Council" comprising Babba,(grandfather),Tau, Chacha and Pitajee(father) met and decided that it would be imprudent for Pitajee (a middle level honest Civil Servant),to decline Kankan Sahib's kind offer to accept Latajji as his son's bride,without any "demands"!The protests of youngsters in the family, like me (I was 15 years old then I think)and young Latajji's tears,were brushed aside!

My first meetings with Sunny Jeejaji were on the weekends when he along with Seth Sahib and Sinha Sahib,his service batchmates and buddies,all rode into Meerut from Pataudi House, New Delhi on their shining "Vespas" to get to know his fiance better.After parking his Vespa at our home,he took Latajji out for Ice-creams at Kwality's on a Cycle- Rikshaw !Another sister had,of course, to chaperone the young and innocent Latajji. How could a Chowdhry girl be allowed to be taken out by a'Delhi Boy'.His pedigree and the formal engagement,which had in the meanwhile taken place,notwithstanding!

All of us including Latajji got reconciled to this quirk of her fate rather quickly.The wedding which took place on February 19,1960 at our home- 22/A-1 Ordnance Row, Meerut Cantt.was indeed a happy occasion.All of us including Anand Bhai(my older brother) and I helped in the reparations for the " Big Event".Amit and Bunty(Amitabh and Ajitabh),alongwith "Teji Aunty" and "Bachhan Uncle" had also chipped in,I recall! Much later,Jeejaji also treated Amit for a burn injury and the near fatal injury he suufered during the shooting of "Coolie" with Homeopathic medicines. Amit graciously acknowledged this,when they met recently, after many years at a family reunion in Mumbai.I have added a photo of Amit and Jeejaji taken at this family do.

Latajji looked really nice with fresh flowers jewellery to compliment her bridal attire.The few scanned copies of Latajji's B&W wedding photos,added to my Blog brilliantly bring out the expressions on a traditional Hindu bride's face. These classics were taken by Mr S. Roy of "Pe-Arts",the leading photo artist of Meerut at that time.There is also a picture of Latajji and Jeejaji with their happy brood who happened in quick succession,soon after their marriage.

Some days after the wedding, Latajji was brought back from her Sasural in Lucknow, or was it Bareilly, by one of our Mamas,I think. On her return to Meerut,we listened with shock to stories of how the young and petite Latajji was made to wear a long "Ghoonghat",while observing the strict "Purdah" rules in the conservative Kankan"Pili Kothi",and "Bhoor Mohalla" the Kankan ancestral homes in Chowk, Lucknow and Bareilly city. But both Babuji and Mataji doted on their son,and later also showered lots of love on their Bahu Rani.Sunny Jeejaji also cared a lot for both his parents and took good care of them till they lived their long,full and contented lives.

There are several anectodes about Babuji's eccentricities as a judge,but more of that later in another Blog perhaps.Here I shall only recall that he was quite a jovial person,who spoke in either chaste Urdu or Shakesperean English and loudly recited Tennyson and Milton poetry,as he lay in his bed before going to sleep. And Mataji used to recite "Urdu Shairi", some of which was composed by her!

But days spent by Latajji only with Sunny Jeejai in their small one bed-room Hutment in Pataudi House on Canning Lane, New Delhi were much happier. After packing the "Dibba" for Jeejaji who set off for North Block on his Vespa, Latajji, occasionally wentout shopping with the wives of neighbours in "Queens Way" (now called Jan Path),a mere walking distance. When Jeejaji returned from work,pretty fagged out after grappling with piles of files in office,late in the evening,"will you please give me something to eat Lata",he would say.Latajji served him "Hot Tea, Mathis or Pakodas,and Dinner,in quick succession.Then the "Lucknow Boy's" craving for ice cream and Paan took the better of the "Delhi Babu's" insatiable hunger for files.The"newly-weds" then went for their 'after dinner walks' to Jan Path/India Gate (depending on Jeejaji's energy level on a particular day).Their week-end visits to"Bengali Market" for 'Chaat' and movies in CP were the other high points in the lives of the young Kankan couple,I recall.

When Latjji came home to Meerut for the first time,from Delhi,she brought gifts for all of us.I proudly showed off my black and white checked T Shirt to all my friends in school for many, many days!

Delhi,being only a short distance away from Meerut,Anand Bhai and I began visiting Latajji and Sunny Jeejaji on weekends and holidays.Jeejaji always went out of his way to make our stay enjoyable and Latajji's finger-licking food and snacks were an added attraction.Jeejaji and I got along famously because we studied in similar schools- he in St. Francis, Lko. and I in St. Mary's Academy,Meerut..We both sudied at the elite AN Jha Hostel of the Univ of Alld.We also used the same slangs while conversing.Jeejaji's vocabulary of was very impressive and he introduced me to the joys of "Modern English Usage' by Fowler.

After finishing school in Meerut,I landed up in a Delhi Univ.College Hostel for my Bachelors degree.The hostel Mess food did terrible things to my delicate tummy and worse things to my discerning pallet.The craving for home cooking was so intense that I made a bee line for Pat House on weekends with a couple of similarly starved hostel friends.We would land up,often unannounced, around lunch time at 75/1 Pataudi House by taking a DTC Bus from Maurice Nagar.Latajji being overjoyed to see her sibling used to make hot Chapati after Chapati for us till the Atta was over!The then tiny Sangeeta,(now Shalini)and Shishu,(now Ashish) served us on the table,one hot Chapati after another with mouth -watering "Haldi Wala Patley Shorbe ka" Mutton curry and Daal with Baigan or Aloo ka Bharta!Pat House was filled with laughter of tiny- tots and aroma of home food, a far better option for us than the expensive and rather stuffy restaurants in CP:)

About Sunny Jeejaji's academic brilliance I came to know much later (from Latajji).He was too modest to tell.He had stood First Class First,throughout his school,college and university,except once,when he fell ill before his Final Exam, perhaps in Class 9. He was a topper in MSc.(Physics) from the University of Alld. and lived in the famous A N Jha( Muir)hostel. He also did his LLB.Alld. Univ and Muir Hostel were the toast of higher education in UP then.

That he did not make it to the IAS is another story- too touchy for me to hsve broached with him.But I was told that by dint of his academic brilliance he did make it to the 'Interview" stage,where he did not score well because of his cautious approach His colleagues who did make,said that it was a loss to the service.I have also heard first hand from officers he worked with that he was easily the best CSS Officer they had come across.

Although serious by temperament,Jeejaji had a great sense of humour. His michievous and innocent smile was heart warming indeed.In the early seventies like other friends,I took a young Mizo girl friend studying in LSR College to Pat House for a treat at lunch time.It was a winter afternoon and we were seated in the small front lawn on a Charpoy.Lunch was ready and we were waiting for Jeejaji to come home.A Standard Herald car had by then replaced his Vespa scooter.Looking to have some fun,I asked my young Mizo friend to greet Jeejaji with a kiss... and she did! On being thus greeted by a Jeans and Tea Shirt clad young lass,Jeejaji's facial expression and reaction was memorable. " Arey, arey arey..." he said greatly amused, embarrassed and blushing!I am carrying a picture taken that afternoon.

But he was a serious embarrassment for those accompanying him to watch Hindi Movies because he used to get so carried away by the melodrama that he began loudly commenting on the sequence of events....."Ab woh isey marega...ab yeh mar jayegi...ab woh Salaa villain aa jayega...ab woh ghar chhod ke chala jayaga..." etc, etc.Latajji's admonitions- "Please... Chup Rahiye.Saath wale log sab hamaari taraf dekh rahe hain.. ." were totally ignored by Jeejaji.

When Latajji wouldn't stop putting on weight after Sangeeta was born- he began calling her"Fatso".He would often tell me over the phone,- "Your fat and lazy sister is lying on the bed watching Telly and refuses to go out for a walk with me!"

His concern for ensuring marital bliss for all boys and girls of marriageable age in the family and close friends was genuine. He was forever match- making,much to Latajji's annoyance.

I enjoyed a close and warm bond with Sunny Jeejaji till his last days. All of us, including he himself were aware that his days were numbered but the manner in which he fought with Hepatitis C infection contacted by him during a blood transfusion many years ago by was truly admirable.The several leading Gastro-Enteroligists and Haemotoligists of Delhi and Bangalore who treated him,were also amazed. Towards the end,however, he felt rather frustrated and disgusted with his repeated bouts of illness. Being a very active and sociable person,he was truly fed up of the restrictions on his diet, frequent stomach upsets,extreme weakness,lack of sleep,and the heavy toll his illness took on his quality of life. But he kept up the fight almost till the and tried to lead as normal a life as he could- he would as a routine sit on his Desk Top Computer to surf the net for material for his research papers on Homeopathy, access his email,walk a bit, and also drove around to the market, bank etc. to attend to his personal chores.

In November first half every Govt Pensioner is required to present himself before the manager of the Bank as proof that he is alive. In 2010, although he was quite weak, we had met at the North Block Branch of SBI where we both maintained our pension accounts and signed the register together. Last November ( 2011)I called to remind him of this obligation. But he said he was not up to it.So I spoke to the Bank Manager about his inabilty to come personally.The manager was kind enough to give me the Form and asked me to get it signed by Jeejaji,which he said he would accept.But Jeejaji chose to go to the Gurgaon Branch of the SBI peronally and did the needful. Such was his equanimity! I made sure it reached the right quarters on time.
Some days later when he was feeling very low,I reminded him that on February 17, 2012 when he turns 80,his pension,shall automatically be enhanced by 20 %. He knew this and added that so would Lata's family pension after he was gone. "Let's see..." he added sceptically. But he did cross the 80 year mark and with a bang!

Jeejaji and I would speak on phone frequently,though we could not meet as much because of the distance between NOIDA and Gurgaon.In the last few months, however, I knew that things were not right with him.... his cell phone began to be answered by Latajji and he would occasionally refuse to come on line by saying he was not feeling upto it.

Although I could not be with him at the series of anniversaries he celebrated in February,beginning with his Birthday on the 17th when I am told he cut the Cake with all his kids and one "Saali" ( my youngest sister); went out for " Chat" which he loved with the family on their 52nd Wedding Anniv. on the 19th; and shared a Chinses meal ordered in at home with Latajji on her Birthday on February 22nd.It should be a matter of immense satisfaction for the entire family, Sangeeta and Vikas, daughter and son in law,Shishu and Madhulika his younger son and his wif who live in Bangalore(but frequently visited him almost every month) that they all spent very happy days together in February and March before Sunny Jeejaji breathed his last after spending only one night in the ICU of the Vedanta hospital in the early hours of April 4,2012.He hated going to a hospital and always insisted on being discharged quickly whenever he had to be admittd to manage his haemoglobin level which kept falling dangerously low from time to time.He had,I believe, made his kids promise that he would not be subjected to life support systems,ever. The considerate person that he was, he avoided leaving this world on April 3, which happens to be Anshu's birthday but waited till the next morning to make his final exit!

You shall be missed dearly by all of us Sunny Jeejaji.But the sterling legacy of love,caring and highest integrity in personal and public life that you have left behind for the entire family shall be cherished for a long long time....The void left by you shall naturally be felt most by latajj for whom I offer prayers to bear the loss with rectitude.

aring

An Open Letter to Young Akhilesh Yadav

Dear Akhilesh,
Heartiest congratulations on a well-managed campaign and a well-deserved victory. After being sworn in as the youngest CM of the most populous and politically important state of the world's largest democracy today, the spot light is clearly on you.

Administering the gargantuan Uttar Pradesh(which happens to be my home state too) shall indeed be a formidable task.Every ball you play as you open your innings, shall be watched closely by not only a packed stadium,on TV screens across the country and abroad,as also by the umpires, including a hawkish media.The team you are up against shall try every trick,not always sticking to the rules of the game, to bowl you out, you can be sure.But you have the people's mandate" Janaadesh", and age on your side.Another factor in your favour is the total mess and corruption that you are inheriting.

I have had the priviledge of working closely,but briefly,with your father while he was the Union Defence Minister and I the head of SIB UP. I hold Mulayam Singh Ji in high esteem because he has risen from the roots of politics,and his ground level fighting skills.He used to proudly relate to me at our one on one meetings over breakfast in his house in Lko. his experiences of leading several agitations against the Government,as a student leader in the Sixties.

Your first and real test Mr Young CM UP will be in the area of maintenance of law and order, and controlling organized crime.You are aware, I am sure, of the stigma of " Goonda Raj"which has,unfortunately got attached to previous SP regimes in the state.

Here is my unsolicited advice on this front, backed by nearly 40 years experience in the Indian Police Service in some of the country's hottest spots like J&K and the North East.

Without seeking the help from your bureacratic advisors (who are sure to oppose it tooth and nail because of their own vested interests),go ahead and take a decision which has been hanging fire since long,but is long overdue,viz., introducing the Police Commissioner systems in Lucknow, Kanpur and NOIDA by also including districts contigous to Delhi like Baghpat,Ghaziabad, and Hapur in its jurisdiction.Select Officers of appropriate seniority and with proven track records, as also integrity, as CPs of these three Metropolitan areas.The spade work for this exercise has already been done more than once. The files must be gathering dust in the Home Dept.in Luckmow Sachivalay.

In adddition to the present DGP(Atul)who is an extremely competent and honest officer,you would do well to call upon a few veteran and highly respected IPS officers who have impecable records in policing in their careers, from the UP Cadre,like S/Shri Prakash Singh, former DGP UP and DG BSF, Trinath Mishra,former DG CRPF and Ajay Raj Sharma former CP Delhi and DG BSF ( all living in NOIDA now),to assist you in this, and also in your other endeavours to maintain peace and harmony in the state,which in my humble view, shall be your acid test, and key to my state's future.

The superiority of the Police Commissioner system, over the archaic dual control syetem of the DM and SP,a legacy of the Brtish Colonial days,has been ackowledged by all expert Committees,including the National Police Commission, headed by Shri Dharam Vira, ICS. Its inbuilt prompt and proper resonse to crime and law and order in Cities,is time tested.

After the success of the system in these three important metropolitan cities,it can be extended in a phased manner to the other KAVAL towns viz., Agra, Allahabad and Varanasi.

By taking this bold step you will send out a strong message that you mean business.It would also have an immediate all round and salutary impact on the citizens who will be benefitted by the quick response to their problems from the police,in their times of need.

Now I turn to the field of development- The impressive performance of SP at the hustings has given rise to widespread misgivings in the minds of most NOIDA residents that all development activities in this prime residential and commercial hub of NCR Delhi shall come to a halt and lawlessness shall return to this area.These fears have to be quickly allayed by you by not only not blocking the on going development projects, but also ensuring that there is immediate relief in ceratain critical areas like Coverage of the open drains and speeding up supply of the Ganga Canal water supply; Widening of the bridge over a small culvert which is the chocking point for thousands of daily commuters working in the several IT Cos including MNCs, which have located their hubs in NOIDA, in preference to Gurgaon, for lack of comparable infrastural support systems; Speeding up the construction of the Intracity network of roads; Inaugurating the Taj Expressway, which should win even international accolades for you by;Improving traffic regulation and flow on the Expressway which has been dubbed a "killer highway" because of the large fatal casualties;and Finally making NOIDA a more safe and secure place to live in. Pl do not neglect NOIDA, which holds the key to the state's prosperity.

You have ignited the hopes of thousands of UP Niwasis like me! Do not let us down.Good luck and God bless you Akhilesh.

-Anil Chowdhry IPS ( Retd)
Former Secretary (Internal Security), MHA, GOI.

Vasant and Holi in quick Succession in Delhi

The prolonged winter over Delhi delayed the arrival of Vasant and the peak flowering of winter annuals, which normally happens around mid- February.It was not only a very busy wedding season in Delhi,but also the time best time of the year for garden lunches hosted by those fortunate few who live in ground floor homes with a compound. We enjoyed many such lunches in February, and also lots of wedding receptions.Not anticipating the very cold wind which continues to blow over Delhi at night even now, many of these receptions held in the open were a rather chilling experience! Conservative Hindu families also adhere to the tradition of serving only vegetarian food and no alcohol at weddings, which makes them really painful for guys like me who have very low tolerance of cold weather.Why not exempt senior citizens from attending wedding dinner receptions held in the open during the winter months? Asking to be excused is an option, but not all hosts shall forgive your absence from an important happy event in their family.
I have in my past blogs too pleaded for making weddings in North India more simple.There is need for a serious debate on this.But extravagance and vulgar display of wealth at such occasions, alas continues unabated.The "Big Fat Indian Weddings" are a boost to business and economy, I am told.But why can't we cut on the guest list to include only family and close friends and serve more tasty, less greasy and fewer items of just one cuisine, instead of the multi- cuisine extravaganza one comes across at such events?
The prolonged Delhi winter this year has led to an overlap of Vasant and Holi,which is just one week away now(March 8).Though not my favourite festival, Holi does bring back happy memories of Holis gone by.During my childhood,our home was filled for days together with the aroma of frying Gujiyas filled with both Khoya and Mewa (for the family) and Sooji and sugar (for the servants); Samosas stuffed with Mutton Keema and Aloo, Matar,Besan Sevs,Aloo and Besan Papads.We would start devouring these mouth watering delicacies made under Maa's close supervision for several days, as these were being taken out of the Kadhai.Not to forget the "Kanji Vadas" which took several days to ferment in "Matti ke Ghare".
On the day when Holi was played ( "Phagwari"), which followed "Holika Dahan" the previous evening , when it was burnt, the preparations began early inthe morning with "Tesu" flowers being boiled on open fire till the water was the correct yellow hue and several other vessels were filled with various coloured water - mainly Pink, and Purple. These water colours was the ammo for the youngsters to fill their " Pichkaris" (all made of brass and not plastic) to spray at the visitors mainly neghbours and close friends.Our white Malmal Topis were also colored in Tesu."Thalis" were prepared to greet guests with all kinds of savouries including Gujiyas, "Abeer and Gulal" mixed with "Mogra" and "Khus" "Itars".all traditionally wore white or light coloured clothes on which the colours stood out.Thandai ( both with and without Bhang) was made by grinding mixtures of Badam, Kali Mirch and, Rose Petals etc., on "Sil Batta"."Tolis" of Holi revellers,carrying Dholaks and Majheeras, coloured from head to toe, went past our house singing and dancing on the streets.
What endears me to those distance memories of Holi in our cottage in Meerut was the spirit in which the festival was observed. The largely Christian and even Anglo- Indian neighbourhood participated in the revelries at our home quite happily and whole heartedly.The sight of Pitajee and Babba ( grandfather) affectionately hugging Nathi Lal and Prem Lal, our domestic helps and the latter touching their feet in reverance thereafter, filled our young hearts with true joy and pride!
In the evenings, another charming Holi custom inour family which is quickly evaporating was the "Devars" offering " Phagai' to their "Bhabhis"- the " Phagai" was the favourite drink of the Bhabhis which the Devars were obliged to provide.I recall Pitajee fondly relating how his Bhabhi would always demand Sherry from him as "Phagai".The " Chakha Chukhi" was when the men folk sat together to enjoy their drinks and the eldest lady, in our case " Bhabbi" ( grandmother)would ask all the married ladies to take a sip out of a glass of wine.Even those who totally abstained were made to dip their finger in the wine and touch it with their tongue, as a symbol of their participation in this ceremony. A hearty meal of Pooris, Kachauris,Dahi Vadaas and " Kaliya"( mutton curry)was the grand finale to the Holi festivities at our home.
I am posting a few photos of the Holi revelry at my Niece's home in Hauz Khas last year which brings out the joy and colours of the festival.also some photos I took at a lunch at the home of a friend in New Moti Bagh, Chanakyapuri on February 25,2012.His wife is an amazing gardener. I call her a gifted garden "jeweller"!Hope you enjoy viewing them.
Happy Vasant Ritu and Holi all rolled in to my one Blog.

Bonsai Exhibition at the Delhi Gymkhana Club ( Feb 11 & 12,2012)

Hello Dear Fellow- Gardeners ,

Resuming my blog after a very long gap- almost a year.

Some time back I chanced upon an amazing Bonsai artist- Manoj Kum.I did not really chance upon Manoj,but sought him out in pursuit of my own hobby of creating Bonsais via good friend Mr Satish Mathur,a respected and well known floriculturist of Delhi. It was a rough drive in to Manoj's Nursery through many fields on the banks of the river Yamuna near Lakshmi Bai Nagar in East Delhi.When I got off the car at the rather inaccessible Nursery with no sign board,I saw a fascinating treasure of truly amazing Bonsais and Penjings ( the Chinese art of Miniature landscapes made with Rocks and decorative ceramic figurines and Bonsai trees).
Manoj has been practising,teaching, learning and living Bonsai for almost thirty years.Manoj's personality of a simple, honest, tenacious and hard working man is reflected in his works of art art.He comes to his workshop every day on his M'bike to work on his Bonsais. Many of his Bonsais have won national and international awards by various Bonsai Associations.He has also been invited as an expert delegate at Bonsai seminars held in China and Taiwan.
Manoj suffered huge losses two years back when his nursery was flooded by the inundated Yamuna.He showed me the skeletons of his Bonsais which had been ravaged by the floods and how he was trying to overcome the losses suffered by him by putting in extra efforts.

I was so struck by Manoj's sincerety that I took it upon myself to promote his art among my friends and social circle.I offered to him the holding of an exhibition of his Bonsais at the Delhi Gymkhana Club where I am fairly active and have friends in the club's management including the incumbent President.He readily agreed.I wrote to the Club as long back as early December introducing Manoj and his extraordinary talent of creating beautiful Bonsais proposing a show of his Bonsais on Saturday February 11 and Sunday 12 at the Club's Kashmir Lawns which draws large gathering of Members and their guests for lunches out in the open on the week-ends at this time of the year.The response from the club was positive.

Manoj was given almost one months lead time for this project and he really worked hard.In addition to my friends and family, I invited the active members of the Delhi Bonsai Association including Satish Mathur.Ms Shyama Balbir, the Secy. of the Association agreed to make a presentation on the art and techniques of making Bonsais at the inaugural function.

The inaugural function was well attended and went off well.During the preparations and the exhibition I was most impressed with young Vinay Rathore who calls himself a "student of Manoj" and worked with totally selfless devotion and passion for the success of the Exhibition. Vinay is a bright IIT and IIM graduate working as Manager Business Development with TCS, and yet manages to find time to pursue his hobby.

The Exhibition saw many more foot falls the next day ( Sunday).Almost 80 Bonsais and Penjings ( about 30 of yours truly) were on display.It drew very good response from the club members especially from the ladies and kids. Although the exhibits were not on sale,a small sales counter was also put up in a corner. The sale was disappointing largely because the viewers did not feel sure whether they would be able to take care of the Bonsais.But it was a hugely satisfying event for me and Manoj also felt quite elated.

I am posting a few pictures of the Bonsais which were on display at the Exhibition for your viewing pleasure - one of the 85 year old Ficus Micro Mapa which drew the maximum admiration and two Penjing forest creations of Manoj.There are two other pictures - one of the movers behind the show in a relaxed mood when the show was coming to a close and the other of a 40 year old Bougainvallea ( a proud inheritence from my father), which is still in bloom!