IPL

I have to write about IPL - cannot help it.
All the drama before a ball was bowled - that sapped some of my interest, instead of whetting it. To be honest, I did not think Modi san would carry it off - he did! Wow! As a pure management exercise, his was sublime. If CEOs can do what he did, the recession should be short work.
Heh!

Now that it is on, I watch it when I can. The few matches that have been close - especially the three in the last 5 days, were riveting stuff. Now that I have experienced it, I also know that last year was different. Last year had energy, it had raw passion. Yes, it had more than its share of silliness, yet the people in the stands made a palpable difference. The screen used to throb. You know exactly what I'm talking about.

This year, we have had even more silliness, even more blatant commercial crassness, the commentary has been pathetic and the crowds have been dull. I don't mind the silliness or the crassness or the commentary because I can do mute, or simply flick to Natgeo and come back exactly to rejoin the play. But the energy? It is missing. The crowds are thin, there is bonhomie maybe, but no partisanship, no heart-thumping electricity. Its boring.

I might as well be watching Essex bat against Notts - don't really give a rat's ass. Clearly, IPL can only work in India. That is a learning that Lalit Modi must have got by now. Knowing him, we can be sure that the next year it will be in India, come het or wet, rain or snow; and we also know that the brazen strategy break will be gone as well. Thank the Lord for small mercies!!

Resuming Talks

There seems to be a default assumption that talks should resume between India and Pakistan. What we hardly ever debate is this basic assumption. Why should talks resume? What is so pressing about talks that either Pakistan or India should take heed? Let us examine first the possible reasons why Pakistan might want to talk with us.

1. Pakistan wants to discuss Kashmir. Specifically, it wants to discuss the ways in which it will be possible for India to give up territorial rights over the part of Jammu and Kashmir that we control. Assume for a moment that Pakistan really is interested in that part which is predominantly Muslim - so the Valley, really. What does India think of this? No way! So out it goes of the window. Unless Pakistan wants to pretend to demand, and India, pretend to listen.
   
2. If giving up territorial rights to the Kashmir Valley is a no-go, then Pakistan wants to discuss ways in which India will allow Kashmir to be autonomous (much like Chechnya, Ingushetia, etc. We all know what happened there!). Again, what does India think? Mind your own business, Pakistan, it says. So, this one is out as well. Or the same humbug as above - pretend some more.


3. Pakistan wants India to not dam Jhelum and Chenab and release more water than now. The 1960 Indus water treaty is seen as unfair in both countries for exactly the opposite reasons. Since 1960, India, because of it having the upper-riparian and upstream systems, has created dams along the main and the tributaries feeding into the rivers. It is now in complete control of the flows. This is alarming from a Pakistan point of view, and exactly how we want them to be, from an Indian point of view. Over the centuries, land and water have been the primary cause of wars. This has the potential of being the number one issue between us in the next 20 years. India will extract the maximum bargain from the waters and will no doubt, try to do the tightrope walk to ensure that it does not tip Pakistan over the edge and start a nuclear exchange. Strategically, Pakistan is poorly placed in this matter. The situation is getting worse still because India has reached out to Afghanistan and offered to dam the Kabul river. This will mean further loss of water, this time from the western border. It is desperate times ahead for Pakistan and it has very few levers left. If Pakistan's planners are wise, they would focus all their attention on this issue. Kashmir, while a popular refrain, is not as important. Yes, if the Kashmir valley goes over to Pakistan then it will have more say in the river systems, specially Indus. But India will never allow the Simla LoC to change. Hence it is not a gettable target for Pakistan. Which is why it makes so much sense for the planners and strategists in Pakistan to come up with an imaginative river sharing solution. War-mongering, aggression, complaining, none are going to work in the next, maybe 30 years to come. That is so because India will be the frontier nation along with China for most trade and wealth creation.


4. Pakistan wants India to stop interfering in Baluchistan and Sindh. While this was not a concern for Pakistan for all these years, it will now become one. Simply put, India did not really have a foothold in either of those provinces. It had a espionage network that it dismantled in the 90's (thank you, Mr. IK Gujral!), and now, nothing. However, Afghanistan is turning out to be an interesting case. With US blessings, India is slowly getting to be a 'legit' player in the geo-politics of Afghanistan. India is sure to leverage this entry it has got by means of, 'rebuilding Afghanistan' (and a mere $1billion) and surround Pakistan. It won't be too long when India will work with Iran and further get a grip around Pakistan. Shia Iran is no supporter of a majorly Sunni Pakistan. Here too, Pakistan is poorly placed to get any leverage. Plus, both the military and the ISI have played their cards wrong - they have not been long-sighted and have learnt nothing from the past, especially the colonial past. Too much reliance has been placed on the fortuitous Russian faux-pas, and the consequent Taliban movement. It stands increasingly isolated now. China can't help even if it wants to; and China is already re-evaluating its options. It will not jeopardise the possible economic benefits of being friendly to India (albeit reluctantly) for siding with an ally like Pakistan. It will be too costly. China will, no doubt, continue to surround India and 'show her its place' at every given opportunity, however, it will also build economic bridges, or more specifically, mutual dependence on natural resources like oil and minerals.

What does India want to talk about?

1. India wants Pakistan to stop supporting the Islamic terrorists and wants the state instruments like the military and the ISI to stop planning and conducting terror attacks across India. This is not going to happen as long as Pakistan exists as we know it today. In my earlier blog I have written why. In a single line: a united and secular India negates the need for Pakistan to exists as a separate nation.


2. India wants Pakistan to give each other MFN status and build trading links. This may start happening now. The military establishment might object, as it always has. People getting closer will not fit into the stratagem of fostering hatred. It won't happen if the civilian government (when it is in a position to rule) makes Kashmir a precondition. There is nothing to discuss about Kashmir.


3. India wants Pakistan to not veto its membership to OIC and not ask allies to veto us either. In short, India thinks that being the country with the second largest Muslim population makes her an automatic candidate for OIC. Considering countries like Togo make the list, its scandalous that India is not in the club. Of course, Pakistan will veto every time. If it does not, it undermines the notion of its existence.


4. India wants Pakistan to shut its ISI operations in Nepal and Bangladesh. Not one of the three countries will oblige India. India has not been a responsible big brother and this is the price we have paid and will continue to pay.

So what do we have? A very, very limited list of essential items to discuss. How long should it have taken? 5 years? Maybe 10? But 50! Is it possible that the talks are a big hoax? Examine - apart for the UN tribunals that handed bits and pieces to the two countries, nothing substantial has ever been agreed and followed. The LoC has stayed, more or less, with seasonal incursions; but the water treaty has never worked, there is no provision for visitor visa for citizens of either country; there is no overarching trade agreement, there is no cultural exchange blue-print; students cannot study in each other's educational institutions. It is clear that ours is an unhealthy relationship. No positives can emerge from this morass.

For that to happen, we need to restart. With no assumptions. No baggage of the past. Only looking ahead. If this is simplistic, then it is. Why can we not try? After all, we are neither brothers nor neighbours. We are just enemies now. We have nothing more to lose.

Beating the Heat

It's been some time since I blogged. Not that one has something momentous to say now. The summer has been tough - with the whole of May to go yet. Talking of which, I must tell you about the chaas.

The canteen has been supplying a chaas at lunch-time that has chopped coriander and just a little bit of pudina and a touch of rock-salt. The buttermilk is nice and thin and sour. Just the right mix of tastes that makes the summer mellow. That and the zero need to step out in the open from the delicious, cool interiors makes it easy to withstand. Bit la-di-da, nonetheless, lucky! Wouldn't have relished travelling under such circumstances.

The other thing that I look forward to is the pani-puri on my way back. This guy has a stall at Parey's, Sher-e-Punjab; and he has ice-cold pani that has mint and green mangoes and is fairly sour. Mumbai pani is usually bland. This guy also makes a nice aalu mix (no ragda for me, thank you!).

The first thing to do on reaching home is to make a tall glass of fresh-lime soda. Ah! Bliss!

I'm waiting for the rains. Taking a page off Alexander Frater, a-la the Indians Spices Board members, I promise to soak myself in the first shower, no matter what the situation.

Change in Gates

From today, the SEEPZ main-gate is off limits. It is being repaired / renovated for monsoons, and methink, also to handle 24/11 like emergencies better. Well, that's good news. This means, from now till the time the gates are back, one will need to use Gate #5.

I saw it today, open, and entered. All these years it has only been shut whenever I would pass it. What a surprise it is to see a ruined building right in the front - it seems like an imposing edifice. The official notice about the gate change talks about a 'church', maybe this is it? It does look ancient. I never knew it existed. Worse, it seems uncared for, for centuries! That is a shame.

That whole area near 'Gate # 5' is so lovely and old-world. It should be a good place for walks after lunch. Or even a stroll on a free afternoon. Let's see if we can take a shot at it with the camera - I'll post them here.

Apparently there is a lake behind the church and once upon a time there used to be a walk circling the lake for exactly the reasons above. Who says we are progressing?

Obama and us

At one of the Balls, when Barack, in a fit of sartorial rhetoric said of Michelle, 'How beautiful is my wife?' I heard myself say, ' No dude, it's you who is beautiful; she is merely plain'. There is a touch of the vain peacock in the President, but it becomes him. The slender tall figure with long and nervous fingers - the head a gallant study in ebony from a Togo figurine - all looks too good to be true. And that is only a third of the story. For, when Obama speaks, the heart listens.

I cried when I saw tears in the eyes of black men and women gathered there. It is not only an American dream to see a minority, any minority, who have for centuries been the exploited and the unempowered, in a position of leadership, to have it in his hands to carve the destiny of the planet. It was an overwhelming feeling to be moved by an event that is not 'our own'. It is hard to explain but easy to understand what Barack Obama means to me, to us, to all of us.

I do not know what kind of President he will be and what will he unleash, unbidden. As of now, Obama has brought hope in the free world, he has forced people in India to look at askance of their leaders - can we hope for someone with his vision, his articulation, his empathy and erudition, even? That speech at Philadelphia's National Constitution Center after the pastor debacle, is it possible to imagine anyone in the current crop to make such a nuanced and complex argument for hope and unity? Some of the public cogitations (can't call them speeches, really), of Pandit Nehru had that quality. None, after him. I am hopeful of Omar Abdullah, but it is too early. How bare does our cupboard of 1.2 billion look! Let us not despair, for just as Obama rose out of nowhere, we too might see a miracle.

Well, all the best to Barack Obama. May he continue to be the beacon. May cynicism stay away from his person, may luck ride with him in all his endeavours. Amen!

Looking for the perfect dosa

The Dosas in Mumbai restaurants are sweet. The sambhar is also sweet, or bland. The chana-coconut chutney is tasteless and often watery. Of course, very few serve gunpowder (malagapudi) here; one has to ask.

Lets start with the dosa. Instead of letting the daal and rice batter ferment on its own, the restaurants, especially the Udupi ones, add yeast immediately after making the paste. As we all know, yeast is more the bread kind of thing, it produces glucose as an end-product of fermentation, sweetening the batter and giving it the rose-like fragrance which is wholly inappropriate for dosa. Dosa needs that tangy, sour smell of fermentation, and a sour and sharp taste.

Now the sambhar. They make it mostly with tomatoes here, with tamarind making a guest appearance, or not at all. And the masala is not quite OK - too little dhania powder and hing, too much of chili powder and SUGAR!! OMG! Its terrible, the sweetness of it all!

Chutney - well! the word itself a touch of onomatopoeia about it - chhhhuttt- nee! the chhhhutt is the mouth-watery click of the tongue against the back of the teeth. And look what we get - the blandest possible paste of insipid nothingness - no tang of the green chillies, no back-of-the-throat sensation of the ginger, no roundedness of the coconut milk and the faint nuttiness of ground chana daal.

The tiny joint on Dadar TT, a few shops before Parsi Dairy makes it the way I like it. Crisp but thick dosa, made from proper sour and salt batter. The sambhar and chutney come in small bowls. The moment you finish any, the waiter will replace it with another. You suddenly feel that the sambhar and the chutney are precious - not to be lavished upon yokels. The sambhar is not the best (you can have better in Radhakrishna in Andheri West opposite Shopper's Stop); but the chutney!!! Ooooh! exquisite! The consistency is just right - a bit of the solids and enough gravy to soak your dosa into. The coconut is not ground down mercilessly into a gooey paste, but retains the granularity and hence the juices. There is ginger and green chillies - plus a hint of garlic and tiny bits of coriander stalks. Its just perfect! Try it.

Dogged if I can!

I wish I had a dog. A Labrador, maybe; or even a German Shepherd again.

I wish it was possible to convince oneself that it is a workable idea. At 1,100 sqft, the flat is large enough for me, but small for a tiny bundle of restlessness. The bigger problem - who will look after the chap when I'm away at work? One does not mind giving up vacations for the pet, but work! And one can't really depend on keepers and servants - they will mistreat the li'il guy; I've seen it happen too often. Indians as a people, are not as attuned to animal happiness as, say, the English. The countless times I've caught a keeper angrily belting the dog with the leash while on a pee-break, all because the dog had woken him up during the noon siesta, or is tugging in a particular direction, or simply to practise some whacks.

Then there is the problem of walks and exercising - where are the empty spaces in Mumbai? Where I live it is impossible to see a large enough park where one can exercise a young dog. They require vigorous physical activity, else they become moody, unfit and cantankerous. Nails grow to become talons and you can know that your dog is around at the way the nails tap against the floor. The 'parks' around my place are dust bowls fringed with debris. And they are full of kids - who, no doubt, face similar dilemma - where to play? A doggie-walk in Mumbai is a visit to the neighbourhood lamp-posts and garbage dumps accompanied by frenzied barking of the galli ka alpha male or the over-friendliness of tail-in-the-legs non-alphas.

I wish it was possible to have a dog at home now. While I was growing, I can't remember a time when we did not have a dog - maybe only those short months of despair at the passing away of the pet when we would promise ourselves to never, never again, keep pets - they die. But, once hooked, it is impossible to completely forget the joy a dog can bring in the life of a person, especially a growing child. So a few months later, another puppy would be yapping to welcome us home from school, peeing over the carpet at the sheer joy of seeing us. It would start, a familiar routine by now - and a very welcome one. Preparing the food would always be 'Mum's Department', the weekly baths would be shared, and romping in the garden would be a joint affair. Yes - we had gardens then. Not Mumbai.

Coming back to this maximum city, a dog ought to be the ideal companion of the single guy - me! A metrop ought to have the facility for its citizens to keep pets. I feel envious to see people in cities like New York and Chicago, Melbourne and Brisbane, everywhere, I would see dogs of all shapes and sizes being taken out for a run at all hours of a weekend.

Maybe I should stop moaning and just go ahead and get my Labrador puppy; after all, it is not as if mumbaikars have no pets. And maybe the pets don't mind the lamp-posts and the strays. Maybe I can get a keeper who is genuinely fond of animals - after all I have really not looked hard enough for one.

This time, it will be a tan Labrador.

Pat Style French Beans

It started off when we saw this mound of shiny and tender french beans in the thela last week. So we selected the best from the heap and then wondered what could be done with them that was different from the usual (the usual is to stir fry it for a Hakka noodle or blanch it in salt water and dress it for a salad). I remembered a beans sabzi with fresh-coconut in Mangalore. It had a little gravy and also had some kokum, if I'm not mistaken. The sabzi that I made that day turned out to be an eclectic mix of styles. And Robin loved it. Then I made it again last Sunday, and my bro, bhabhi and my niece loved it. 'Hey!', I thought, 'Hey! let's post it; maybe some more people will like it..." So here goes...

Ingredients

1. French beans - 250 gms. Take the trouble to pick tender, green ones.
2. Onion - 1 medium, red.
3. Tomato - 2 medium, red, firm.
4. Dry Coconut powder - 2 tablespoons + some more for the decoration
5. Jeera - 1 teaspoon.
6. Kasoori methi - three pinches.
7. Tomato puree - two tablespoons (for the tartness and for a touch of thickness of the masala).
8. Salt to taste.
9. Sugar - just a little, to round off the tastes.
10. Vegetable oil - 1 and half tablespoons.

Get Going

1. Pare, wash and dry the beans. Chop them into tiny cylinders of half centimeter.
2. Clean and chop the onions fine.
3. Pare the top off the tomato and chop it fine. If if find the tomato skin annoying, do take the trouble of removing the skin. I leave mine in.
4. Roast the Jeera in a kadhai, wait till it browns evenly; then add the oil. Once the aroma starts to waft, put in the onions. You must have noticed that I have put no chillies. Yeah, strange, but true...
5. Stir till translucent, add the beans and put in some of the salt so that the colour is retained. The kadhai is to be kept at medium heat throughout. As the water dries off, and the beans still look green and crunchy, add the chopped tomato.
6. Stir in the tomato till it becomes mushy. Add it the salt and stir it till the tomato becomes part of the gravy. Keep tasting the beans - they should be crunchy, yet cooked. It should not have the rawness, say, that is desirable in stir-fried beans.
7. Add the puree to adjust the tartness and the consistency of the masala. Remember this dish is not intended to have a 'gravy' but will have some nice masala. around the beans pieces. This should take 8 minutes.
8. Add the coconut powder and the kasoori methi and work it into the sabzi.
9. Adjust the salt and the sugar to your taste
10. The sabzi is ready. Keep it in the kadhai as the beans sweat and cook a little while not losing its crunchiness.
11. Serve in a bowl and sprinkle more coconut powder on it.
12. It goes well with phulka and daal

War Looms

Something does not add up.

The meekness of sending the dossier to 180-odd countries; so many of the barbs from the Pak-establishment being ignored, or dealt laconically; too many high-level meetings involving the Services Chiefs; sending 2 Sukhois for retrofitting; the Army not responding to the Pakistani troop movements and loud warmongering, the PM mumbling out exceptionally harsh statements; the US interlocutors of all shades seen too frequently in the neighbourhood; the ambhibious INS Jalashwa and INS Viraat both patrolling the west coast.

All this cannot be for 'putting more pressure' to Pakistan to 'comply' with its promises. The signals are muddled and work against each other. The studied underplay, the meekness of 'crying out for help' does not fit with the medium-term planning of Sukhois and warships.

Can it be that India is preparing for a limited strike at defined targets inside Pakistan and POK? The planning points towards it. The timing need not be defined by the elections - the first intuition might suggest that things will move into top gear before April. However, traditionally political parties have been united in the matters of defence - as witnessed during the 1998 testing - when all the preparation was done during the Congress government, but the testing happened under Vajpayee.

The logistics of the strikes will need at least 6 months - given the winter and the lead time required to unleash the covert links on the targets. Indian government's reaction to another attack on Indian targets would be an interesting indicator. If it is raucous then maybe there is no planned strike. If it is muted and wreathed in silence, then war is afoot.

Despite what the US may try to sell as an argument, if push comes to shove, India will not listen to US concerns about Pakistani troops shifting to the east, abandoning the war on Taliban and Osama. The argument would be, 'you take care of your interests, we will take care of ours'.

If indeed there is war, however limited, the reasoning should be reconstructible. Let's attempt it.

First big concern: will Pak press the nuclear trigger? No. The MAD scenario will not be invoked. The Pak nuclear buttons are now split and secured (under Musharraf's insistence) and while they are bunkered in the western region (nearer the Islamist armies), they are safe from being taken over. Islamist sympathiser top brass have been purged from the army and the ISI has never shown an appetite for full-blown nuclear war. Besides this, the US Navy is keeping a close watch on the bunkers from the Arabian Sea.

Well, then in the situation of a low nuclear risk, India might think thus: there is no way that Pakistan will ever be reconciled to being India-neutral, not after Bangladesh. Any peace movement will always have periods of controlled warfare, either through terrorist strikes or Kargil-like incursions. In short, it will never be like France and Germany. The only reason Pakistan can give for its existence is if it leads to the dismemberment of India. Else it does not need to exist. Thus Pakistan will always seek India's dismemberment. If that is so, can India afford it? No. Not if it wants to be part of the global leadership. Simply because the setbacks caused by Pak strikes would never give it the legitimacy of a leader and it will always be seen as an economic risk by investors.

Containment is not going to help because, as we have seen, even a limited, once in a year strike can swing the sentiment away. Besides, instability in Kashmir and North-east, Telangana and Naxal-zones will not be options anymore. They will need to go.

Sooner or later, India will need to undertake this job of relieving Pakistan of its army, the ISI and hence, of its islamists. This cannot be done only though warfare. It can be done and sustained through building institutions, civilian rule, shared civilian-army control on the nuclear button and economic revival. All are long term factors.

Making Pakistan smaller is an active thought with India - it has succeeded before and hence may think that it can do it again. Separating Sindh (or parts of Sindh) will mean a lesser sized territory to handle. Balochistan could be next. In other words, its the Punjabi army and ISI that is the enemy; it is that which needs to be defeated. These are again long and strategic activities - we can see them slowly unfurling over the next 15 years.

But why is India planning to strike now? It can only be one thing - a rehearsal. India wants to test the waters before unleashing the grand plan. The brief incursion of Indian fighter jets can be explained only if we assume that it was done to check the scramble-times and the counter-strike readiness of Pak jets.

By doing a quick strike, say on a Lashkar camp and on JuD HQ, India will know the extent to which Pakistan will engage them militarily. Under the current economic conditions the world will stop Pakistan from a revenge strike. India has the advantage of not carrying a begging bowl. Far from it - it may be the only economic oasis in the free world in 2009 and 2010.

If this is the way then we will see a sustained effort from India to keep the post 26/11 situation warm. It will remove embassy staff, gradually withdraw from trade, cut air-links, shut roads. India will do so based on the timetable of the planned strikes. All this will be to ensure that the 26/11 situation is not allowed to cool despite conciliatory gestures (and even actions) by Pak.

So all portends to a grim 2009.

28th Nov

The US offices are closed for Thanksgiving, hence not many mails. The presentation can wait. There is some attendance at work - maybe 30%? The canteen is on and I have already got my morning cuppa and idli. I was bewildered yesterday, and when I left work, a little sad. Today I am writhing in anger. And I want to spew venom here on this blog. Its an impotent attempt at doing something. The news coverage is annoying the hell out of me - everybody seems to be speaking loudly and with no coherence. I don't feel comforted. The PM said something in a weak, whiny voice that set my blood boiling. So I won't get into that.

I got an auto to come here and there are buses plying as well. When I entered, there were armed policemen in the van in front of the SEEPZ gate today. They looked just as lazy and unkempt as always. Who would trust them to save their lives? I won't. I would run; or maybe in a mad, blind run, choose to attack those who wish to harm me. I would be dead in the most likely scenario.

Back to the screen - there is smoke billowing out of the front of Taj now - must be some botched attempt at rescue, or maybe the chaps inside are lighting all the furnishings? I remember going up to the top-floor suite once to visit a rich American cousin. The room was tiny, the roof was low, the bed was huge, the doors were narrow, the bathroom was shiny but without any character. I remember the curtains were thick and ugly and had three layers. The upholstery everywhere was soft. So it must be an arsonist's delight, this Taj.

The three police honchos who died yesterday - I can see repeat pictures of them and can't help wondering - why the heck did three top guys need to go in the same jeep? I'm familiar with Karkare's name, and the little bit of the Malegaon thing; he seemed to be a smart guy, with his wits about him. I bet his last thoughts must have been, 'fuck, what a chutiya I am to die like this!' And did you look at his helmet? And his tiny, frayed flak-jacket? In fact, even as I write I can see more policemen in front of the Taj barricades; none are in flak-jackets, and two are bare-headed. Why do we have jokers to protect us? We in India are not that poor, surely?

More news pouring in - all are condemning the attack, rah rah, and we have a grim faced Pranab saying something that seems to be in English. But then I am illiterate in that version of the lingo. I am not interested in his bakwas. I'm curious at this stage to know what happened to the hundreds who were caught at CST. No update yet on that. Perhaps the crowd that was caught in the crossfire was not as glamorous as this crowd. Or maybe the killing ended too soon and there is nothing else to report from the 'scene'.

Its lunch. I'm hungry.