Kadmanivasi. My Blog. Geeta Ramani

I have just finished reading "Bihar Diaries" by Amit Lodha, a policeman, who writes about the nexus between the the police, politician and criminal and about his success in eliminating criminal gangs in the state. The 90's were tumultuous times for the state and Jamshedpur too bore the brunt of criminalisation. Inspired by "Bihar Diaries", I write about my experiences, after almost half a century, about run-ins with criminals which disturbed our peaceful existence.   To begin with, newspapers reported incidents of kidnappings and dacoity on a regular basis. One came to learn that Kidnapping served many purposes, from obtaining easy money to a coveted bride or groom of choice, anyone could be snatched at gunpoint. The other profitable haunt of criminals was the train.  During one such night journey to Patna, as the train slowed down, my mother awoke to a strange sight. The comforter, protecting my sick father, was being pulled out of the window. Had my mother del...

"Keep a green tree in your heart and perhaps a singing bird will come."  Chinese Proverb.  Every time I enter my apartment premises, I get an opportunity to meet my green friends. Rather, the first to greet me is the Lemon tree, near the big black gate. In the beginning, the Lemon tree used to greet me, incognito, because I didn't know who she was. I could barely distinguish between the dark green leaves and the dark green fruit the tree bears. But once they ripened, and acquired yellow hues, they revealed their sweet-sour identity - the Wild Lemon. The thick peels are slightly bitter, the lemon very sour and with the addition of jaggery, the sweet chutney makes a delicious addition to any meal. The others are old friends, I used to know their cousins in Jamshedpur and Nagpur, where I used to live. Standing next in line is the neem tree, her light green leaves swaying in the breeze. They are very valued for their medicinal properties. The very bitter small white flowers a...

A chance remark by my grand daughter sparked off this trilogy.  Here's Part III. For my defense, I say only this : "Just write the truth! But truths are many, and that is the problem. Memory is treacherous, as distinct from history as emotion." Cohen, Roger. “The Girl from Human Street.”  " You can live somewhere for decades, and still in your heart it is no more than an encampment, a place for the night, detached from community."    Roger Cohen Where we love is home - home that our feet may leave, but not our hearts. As I sit here in my balcony in Besant Nagar, Chennai, overlooking the lush green trees, typing out my blog, my mind deludes me again  into believing that I'm at home in Jamshedpur. The incessant cawing of a murder of crows brought me out here. Recently,  a nest had been built on the tree and from my vantage point, I could see two soft black heads of the precious baby birds. The parents had protected this pair from rain and storm, and...

A chance remark by my grand  daughter sparked off this trilogy. Here's Part II.   For my defense, I say only this    "Just write the truth! But truths are many, and that is the problem. Memory is treacherous, as distinct from history as emotion.  Cohen, Roger. “The Girl from Human Street.”  "Every human being has a story, and there's power both in the telling and in the listening."                      The Forgotten Hours by Katrin Schumann. My great grandfather's family migrated from Kalpathi village in Palakkad in Kerala in  Southern India to Burmamines in Jamshedpur, the Eastern State of Bihar, now in Jharkhand. Here they found an expanse of green virgin land overlooking the Dalma hills. The golden Subarnarekha river held the promise of prosperity and the rich land was all too familiar! Did it remind them of home? The Kachapeshwar Iyer family grew roots in Jamshedpur.  My grandfather a...

“ People have two deaths, the first at the end of their lives. The second, at the end of the memory of their lives.” Raghu Karnad, ' Farthest Field' A chance remark by my grand daughter sparked off this trilogy.  Here's part I. For my defense, I say only this : "Just write the truth! But truths are many, and that is the problem. Memory is treacherous, as distinct from history as emotion." Cohen, Roger,  'The Girl from Human Street.'  “Naani”, asked my five year old granddaughter, in all her worldly wisdom, “Where are my Great Grandparents?  Do you think they love me?” As I prepared to answer her inquisitive queries, my mind wandered, to my Great Grandparents! Who indeed were they! What a profound chord her innocent words had touched! What did I know of my  great grandfather, who had lived and died before I came into this world! Kachapeshwar Iyer was my great grandfather's name. Eshwar for short. I know for sure. My grandfather carried his name i...

March 23rd, 2020. The day we would begin our annual holiday to spend time with our grandchildren. Eager and ecstatic beyond measure, we were very well prepared this time, having learned a few lessons from our earlier visits. But by the end of February, we started hearing rumblings and by the second week of March, we had to make an informed decision, of either postponing or cancelling this much awaited visit. The corona virus had hit the Earth, and unlike the tsunami of 2011 or the deluge of 2015, its extent was not known. Much like a foreign invasion, we got to hear of its coming  from the TV. The origin and spread of the COVID 19 Corona virus, by now, has been  well documented. Pandemic in nature, it has already claimed an unprecedented number of lives, with hundreds and thousands infected. The recovery rate is encouraging . A possible step to check its march, lies in one hopeful action, a lockdown with social distancing. The poor bear the brunt of it, the elderly are mos...

Who will become a millionaire? This programme aired on prime-time TV in India, provides some clues. ‘Kaun Banega Karodpati’ is a unique game show, a quiz contest, which pits contestants against an all-knowing computer. The host is truly the anchor, he provides stability and confidence during an uncertain situation. The show is driven by both, the contestants and the host. After watching a few episodes, I believe that none of the contestants come to the sets, wanting to become a millionaire. They have only one aim and that is to reach the hot seat. Some achieve this by chance or good fortune. Others get there by design, through sheer effort.  From here on, we get a peek into their lives -   enlightening, entertaining and often enigmatic! They keep the viewers engrossed.  And when they fail, the host Mr. Amitabh Bachchan takes over. He brings to the show, his own charismatic brand of energy, enthusiasm, and empathy, oftentimes, worthy of emulation.  ...

Having just read 'Open', the true and inspiring story and acclaimed autobiography of Andre Agassi, I felt re-assured, in my belief, that only effort carves one’s destiny. Andre worked like no other, single minded, pursuing his father’s dream which became his own. Although,  it is true, that not all effort is rewarded so abundantly, yet I believed that no destiny can be shaped without effort. The next book that I read, shook this core belief. Another poignant autobiography that made me rethink. I have just completed a marathon reading session of the book, 'A Long Way Home' by Saroo Brierly. It is the story of the author's life, who lost his way as a five-year-old and found himself in Kolkata. He spent several months roaming about in the city, until a good soul took him to the police station. From here begins his extra ordinary journey to a Children’s home and finally adoption by an Australian family. At 25, he writes about his search home, to...

                                                                  Rain, rain, go away! come back another day.         I need to fill my nut cache, Fall is on its way!         Beech, Hickory, Hazel.....Hurray!         The nuts in the garden, my buffet!          It was all good till the month of May,          When Grama and Gramp came on holiday.                                                                                    They watched over me .......night and day      ...

A  new Hindi Entertainment Channel, Investigation Discovery -ID, made its appearance in India in 2014. I had watched some episodes of this channel on my visit to London the previous year. It was a dramatized version of real life episodes and one wondered if truly any god fearing human being ever lived on this earth! It was a challenge to watch mankind at its worst- in episode after episode. The detectives had little to go by, they built clue upon clue, gathered witness and circumstantial evidence, and tried to solve the crime and nail the guilty Upon its introduction in India, the ID channel was advertised as a ‘hit in the US and one of its fastest-growing channels’. Internal research had shown the channel had potential in the country.   The channel producers were confident that ‘these stories relate to anyone who watches it.’ Prophetic words, indeed! Over the last two weeks, every national English news channel seems to have been inspired by it! What is more- the ...

When a fragrance stirs a memory, when berries on trees against a shaft of light takes your attention from the world, when you walk down a path and wonder where it might be going, you step beyond who you are and where you are. For the briefest of instants, you have stepped into the magic realm. I need the magic of memory to conjure magic again. I need to know and remember, and I want to tell you!  Last week end, I attended the wedding of our friend’s son. We were old friends, we had known each other from the time we went to school, and we knew their parents and our brothers and sisters were friends too. Both our families have traveled far away from home since.  So we were eager to meet a lot of old acquaintances from our hometown; many of whom I had seen in school uniform.  Now we had   families of our own, including children and grand children!   I welcomed the guests with flowers, in the traditional South Indian way and was shocked when I was introdu...