Today we are asking ourselves to rediscover our old heritage and culture in embracing the virtues of dharma, courage, patience, compassion, sacrifice and obedience embodied in Lord Ram, our Deity but sometimes we have in our families, those who lived their life with these very principles but without any pretensions or claims to greatness.

Sameer Kumar Mitra, also called ‘Niluda’ and ‘Boromama’, left Harinavi, his home of many decades in  Kolkata city, for his heavenly abode this Monday, after a valiant but quiet struggle with advancing years but which was a part of his indomitable persona. To all who came to know him at any stage, he was an gentle, soft spoken person with extraordinary qualities. An Engineer in the Indian Railways he served with brilliance and devotion. However, without achieving success in its highly conventional materialistic sense and in terms of very high positions, he leaves a legacy of human values of the highest order.

He gained love and respect and despite facing the biggest personal setbacks in life, he filled his niche and accomplished his tasks like a banyan tree that takes the heat but gives protection. He leaves the world better than he found it, looking for the best in others and gave the best he had in the gentlest of ways .

There are countless memories we treasure of an Uncle like Boromama. In him we found a role model & also the wonder, the joy and the tender moments of the ‘Mamar Barir Apdaar’ and affection in such an idyllic place like Harinavi. Boromama & Maima attended our wedding in 1980 and he had encouraging words for me ‘You married a wonderful girl, just be kind and gentle with her’.

Mortality is inevitable. When a man has done what he considers his duty to his people and family, he can rest in peace. We all know he made that effort, and that is why he will sleep for eternity. We’ll miss you, Boromama !.

PS  : Picture is of our Dad (left) and Boromama (Right) in their prime !

There are some famous lines from Tennyson’s poem ‘Brook’ which as is the wont of eloquent writers on cricket, could be rephrased to something like ‘batsmen may come & batsmen may go but his batting style lives on forever..’ As  GR Vishwanath, reticent and unassuming master batter of the 1970s turns 75 today, many seniors would stand up from drawing room seats to applaud his genius & give an arm to see one of his innings.

In India and over the ages, everyone aspires to be a good (if not great) cricketer in his growing up years and most of our time (outside of evenings doing homework) was spent in perfecting our cricketing shots in the parks/fields, albeit with tennis balls. I was just about 15 and a cricket addict by then, when in Nov, 1969, Vishy made his Test debut in Kanpur against the strong Aussies, which I witnessed with my cricket loving Dad (who’s first name was also Vishwanath but spelt with a ‘B’ !). Vishy got nervous and failed to disturb the scorers in the first innings but came up with such a scintillating 137 in the second innings, that we were all agog, hailing the arrival of a new batting sensation. It gave short guys huge reassurance to see the diminutive Vishy square cut the fiercest pace bowlers to the fence.

Though Indian cricket has seen batting iconic batting legends who rewrote the records ( Gavaskar, Tendulkar, Dravid and Virat Kohli immediately come to mind), what made ‘Vishy’ so special was his sheer class which made him stand out that even the legendary Kapil called him his ‘First Hero’ and bro-in-law, Sunny ji rates him as one of the all time greats to have played the game. His trademark square cuts, late cuts, drives and wristy strokes became a text-book rendition by a classical batting maestro and emulated by all those who followed him. It was said that when Vishy was at the crease and in full flow, India stood a chance of winning the match.

While Vishy’s batting attracted a legion of fans, there was a humane and gentle side to the man who’s modesty was as legendary as his batting prowess. While captaining the Indian side,  he once called a batsman back since he felt he wasn’t out ! Not known for his oratory skills, with bat in hand he made it all look like poetry in motion. As purists will say, there will be batters of all kinds but may never be as classy as ‘Vishy’ ! Written much later his autobiography aptly titled ‘Wrist Assured’ is treasured by cricket lovers.

Nothing surprises one today in a scenario that’s charged with allegations and rebuttals that come, even in most personal relationships that have gone sour ! If the fracas involves celebrities, unconfirmed reports get splashed in the social media and there’s a lot in stake in terms of tarnished reputations and emotive claims made. At times it’s the price of having fame and wealth.

It can be convincingly argued that famous stars (cricketers are in the firing line what with the domestic problems being faced by Shami and Shikar) are soft targets and find it tough to publicly retaliate given their status and also political or business affiliations they have, that may affect their image !   

As per reports, Team India’s sought after all-rounder refuted the allegations leveled by his father, who reportedly accused the cricketer’s wife of creating differences in the family. He called his father’s interview with a daily “scripted” and has said it was an attempt to “tarnish” his wife image !

Again reportedly, the father had been interviewed by a local paper in which he said he has ‘no relation whatsoever with his son or his wife’. While the saga unfolding with a celebrated and popular star-cricketer is unfortunate, the fact remains that he has risen from humble beginnings and family does play a role in successful careers of achievers. Moving on and forgetting the past may be sad and not reflect well on him.

Today, this story would look quite commonplace if he was just an ordinary working person without any big credentials. The joint family structure has been slowly falling apart with the nuclear set-up and unfettered freedom in life that young folks aim for & has now become standard practice, with the seniors mostly adjusting to it all ! When it’s in the public domain, there are strings and emotive elements involved. The star player must face it well ! 

One of the traits of the Millennial and the Gen Z ( include X and Y too ) is their gradual breakaway from the literary activities like ‘writing’ and ‘reading’, which are now mainly confined to academic exercises prescribed in school curriculum. From there being no technology in realm of ‘chalk and talk’ teaching methods in days of yore, predominance of app-based studies has brought a sea-change in the way young students think and act.

Most friends, associates and peers from our time of 1970s, would recall our penchant for visiting libraries & of borrowing books and notes from friends and even gifting a perfect ‘classic’ novel to someone who was precious ! How could then films be left behind ? In a famous old Lucknow based movie ‘Mere Mehboob’ (1963), the young lead pair collide, their books lie scattered on the college hallway – it’s quintessentially ‘love at first sight’ !

Having said that, paradoxically the book-stores with dwindling business and few buyers of books and literature lovers left till just few years back, have suddenly got a new lease of life with the emergence of writers of all genres. Today anyone can think of becoming a popular pulp fiction writer or ace biographer, an author or a poet with a little talent for wordplay and lucid expression, unlimited access to information on the public domain for drawing on ideas & publishers, not fussy about quality of writing or of plagiarism !

The urge that our famed celebrities (including politicians, statesmen, leaders, business honchos, sportsmen and yes, superstars !) have to let their life (success) stories be told through their memoirs and autobiographies (mostly ghost written) has flavours to it – they draw on people’s fascination to know about their private lives, struggles, setbacks & victories but many are written to set the record straight and give a new twist to accepted facts. A  few like the iconic Big ‘B’ have yet not relented to being chronicled into a book !    

Also, it seems we don’t really know our gen-next and their proclivities that well. My Son and Daughter in law are always very particular about birthday gifts they must shower us with. Initially their choices came as surprises to us ! In the last few years they’ve gifted me beautiful books starting with a bound copy of ‘Gone With the Wind’ and compilation of  ‘World’s Greatest Speeches’! A way of expressing appreciation for our love for books !         

This piece is meant for cricket aficionados who follow the nuances of great stroke-play by the legends that eloquent commentators of yore described as ‘poetry in motion’ ! One of the most elegant shots in the book is the classic ’cover drive’. It’s the stroke on the cricket ball through the covers (field position) with well-timed wristwork and conventional movement of the front foot toward the pitch of a delivery aimed at or outside the off stump.

As a veteran cricket buff, I often wondered what’s it with left handers and glorious cover drives they could caress through the off side so effortlessly ! Purists will recall left hand batting legends Neil Harvey (Australia), David Gower (England), Brian Lara (West Indies) and Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka) as finest exponents to demonstrate the elegance of the cover drive. There may be others but here it’s all about classiness and not brute power.

From the coaching point of view, batsmen able to master the cover drive are usually given high praise because of the shot’s difficulty in execution and requirement of exquisite timing of the ball. When played to perfection, the cover drive comprises a batsman’s seemingly effortless wielding of the blade in a downward trajectory through the off side, the cricket ball gliding through infielders in the covers at pace toward the boundary at deep cover.

Most left handers seem to have a penchant for this particular shot. Some of my finest cricketing memories of mid 1990s was ‘Dada’ Sourav Ganguly’s  perfection of the shot that earned him the iconic sobriquet ‘God of Offside’ from none other than Rahul Dravid, his great team-mate. An illustrious  lefty from the same era was Yuvraj Singh and a magnificent off-side player. In contemporary cricket, dominated by white-balls, young Yash Jaiswal’s & Axar Patel’s cover driving are delectably special and in text book style. King Kohli is still regarded as the best in business but he bats right-handed.

Times change and so do our perceptions as we watch some huge talent emerging from different quarters. My current favorite is none other than the poster girl of women’s cricket in India, Smriti Mandhana, so elegant as she steps out to hit a six on the off side, reminiscent of Dada’s panache ! 

We are always ready for a long weekend getaway from Amchi Mumbai but have now outgrown the allure of regular trips to popular close destinations Pune, Lonavala, Alibagh etc. Rather, whenever there’s a chance we love to visit the  charming, culturally vibrant city of Vadodara for it has amazing rail connectivity with Mumbai 24×7, that’s just a six hour train journey ! 

More importantly, it has been home-city for many decades to my eldest sister Bijoya Di and our late Jamai Babu, Col. Baksi, as their family of five had decided to settle there. We often say in jest to our Didi that she is now a bonafide ‘Gujju’ who pursued an illustrious career there, receiving fame and recognition. Over the years we’ve been privy to famed hospitality of the Baksi family comprising of wonderful nephew, nieces, grandchildren.

This time our visit was for the milestone 75th birthday of Bijoya Di, which was celebrated by her children in a glittering luncheon meet with grand bon-homie with close friends and colleagues. It was sheer delight meeting & reconnecting with genteel Baroda ‘vasis’, always so warm & welcoming. This visit also included a day’s getaway to a unique  home-stay/resort about one hour’s drive from my sister’s house in New Sama Road.

Known as ‘Misriote Farms’ on sprawling open space, it is a place where one can meet nature in pristine serenity away from the city’s hustle bustle. Located on banks of the Mahi River, 20 kms from Vadodara city, ‘Misriote’ has very idyllic surroundings, lush greenery, excellent facilities and fun activities for a comfortable overnight stay (or more) and to have repose & to rejuvenate. It was a unique experience, which we will always cherish. 

Needless to say, every visit of ours to Vadodara and our Didi’s home is memorable and itself a treat, that makes us do ‘Wapsis’ again and again.

On 20^th, July, 1969. two US Astronauts, Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin, had become the first humans ever to land on another galactic body, the moon. A phenomenally historic achievement for the entire world and what Armstrong had then reportedly said, became a most famous quote ‘One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind’ !

Based on this huge event, American singer ‘Lobo’, sang a profound song written by John Stewart from the album ‘Just a Singer’ which was released in 1974. Composed fifty years ago, the words of the song has as much relevance to the prevailing hostilities in today’s world, fraught with pockets of poverty, distress and deprivation and on-going threats to the global environment and it’s balance and to peace and harmony across all  the people.

The song is still a huge hit with those who love the gentle melodies of the golden 70-80s. Here are the lyrics of one of Lobo’s most soulful songs, that has an ageless quality to it. When we try to sing it, we’re magically transported back to our good old College days :

‘Black boy in Chicago, Playin’ in the street

Not enough to wear, Not near enough to eat

But don’t you know he saw it, On that July afternoon

Saw a man named Armstrong, Walk upon the moon

Young girl in Calcutta, Barely eight years old

The flies that swarm the marketplace, Will see she don’t grow old

But don’t you know she heard it, On a July afternoon

Heard a man named Armstrong, Walk upon the moon

Rivers getting dirty, The wind is getting bad

War and hate are killing off, The only earth we have

But the whole world stopped to watch it, On that July afternoon

Watched a man named Armstrong, Walk upon the moon

And I wonder if a long time ago, Somewhere in the Universe

They watched a man named Adam, Walk upon the earth’

It’s unfortunate that the diligent, hard working ‘washing machine’ has today acquired a negative ‘political’ connotation with aspersions on the yeoman services it’s rendering. While other utilities have been spared the heat of the conundrums in TV prime time debates, the ‘washing machine’ has been subject to ridicule by the political parties against the opponents, rightly or otherwise. In ‘Macbeth’, the Bard had also said ‘All the perfumes of Arabia, won’t sweeten..’. But back then washing machines didn’t exist !  

However, let’s get to basics and the difference this wonderful item makes to our lives, since so far it’s greatness has been ignored except when it stops working (like you know who !). In fact, I’m surprised that in school we knew about great inventors, Bell, Edison, Franklin etc. but we weren’t aware that James King in 1851 created the first washing machine to use a drum, Hamilton Smith in 1858 patented a rotary version, and in 1868 Thomas Bradford, a British inventor, created a commercially successful machine that resembles the modern device.

Being born in the era of 50-60s and long before ‘W-M’ came into our lives in India, I recall what cleaning the large joint family’s laundry was like then. It demanded hot water, strong soap and washboards, paddles or plungers. It was backbreaking labor, mostly performed by our women. There was an old family ‘dhobi’ who’d take ‘chaddars’ for washing & ironing, and there were few ‘dry cleaning’ shops for the affluent. When our two Sons started going to school, there was the added pressure of keeping their uniforms spotless & devoid of stains, never mind ‘daag dhabbas’ from school fights.

In the 70s also came the competitive edge in middle class families, with ad campaigns of washing powders asking ‘Uski Kameez Zyada Safed Kyon’. White sari clad ‘Lalitaji’ became a household name selling ‘Surf Excel’ and another big success story was of ‘Nirma’ soap ! Finally, we got our first W-M sometime in the 1990s but over the years, the brands have changed for us. Basic to automatic to higher end ones with dryers, all available now !   

Well-trained, domesticated men know that washing ‘kapdas’ isn’t simply dumping clothes in the W-M tub. For one, they first have to learn how to operate the machine – putting timer, mixing water, adding right amount of soap, running dryer are processes to be followed. Not all our apparels can be machine wasted, some need gentle hand wash with good soap ! The job is over only after clothes are put up for drying & later folded & pressed … 

In 1980s, I’d heard a line (from a Prestige Cooker ad) ‘Joh karte hain Patni se pyaar, woh kaise kare inkaar’. The intent should be to liberate the home-makers from the daily back-breaking, time-consuming drudgery of multi-farious house-keeping jobs by offering to humbly assist in some ways. Like the tireless ‘W-M’ does, let’s try to be useful at home, noiselessly !

For those whom we love we pray for their long life, sound health and well-being that’s filled with happiness, contentment and tranquility. Conventionally we wish our seniors and peers that they live to be a centenarian. The standard blessing from our elders has been ‘Jeete Raho and Sau Saal Jiyo !’ As Sunnyji said ‘a century is a century, whatever the conditions were’ and such an innings is worthy of applause ! While it’s creditable on a cricket field if one reaches that coveted score but it is indeed a major milestone in anyone’s life when one turns 75 !

There was a time about five decades ago when septuagenarians (those between ages 70 to 79) were thought of as quite elderly, frail and needing looking after due to failing health conditions. Today, there’s a sea-change in societal attitudes towards them (thanks to transformed life-styles, huge progress in medical sciences & facilities and better living conditions), ‘Age is just a number’, ’70 is the new 50’, ‘You’re as old as you feel’- are the new-age ideologies. It’s now not uncommon to find folks sprightly, suavely clad, with just a few streaks of grey, well into their 70s, who’d leave gen-next overawed with their joie-de-vivre, energy, versatility and zest for life.

Let’s look to Bollywood for instant motivation – from ‘Big B’ phenomenon and evergreen actors Dharam Paaji and Sharmilaji ( breaking news is Rakhee at 76, returns to acting !), prolific poets Gulzar and Javed to great business barons Ratan Tata and Narayana Murthy & many in other fields who’ve defied age barriers & continued to explore newer avenues given half a chance !  Names of ‘octogenarian’ Hollywood actors & film-makers is an amazing bevy of past ‘A’ listers, who still work like Clint Eastwood, Al Pacino, Julie Andrews, Jane Fonda and Steven Spielberg.   

But why go far away when you have age-less ‘achievers’ in your own family… We siblings take much pride when our brood is led by a veritable leader like ‘Baksi Maam’ as she’s called in the hallowed portals of the famed Navarachna School, Baroda where she’d served as a Principal (later Director) for two decades and won many accolades and awards over the years. In keeping with her ‘larger than life’ persona and popularity, we her ‘chota’ siblings call her ‘Big B’ ! She turns 75 on January,22^nd but her self-belief, poise and exuberance are simply unstoppable !  

Not one to rest on her past laurels achieved in the realm of education, post retirement she has taken up literary writing and worked on innate talents as a singer and painter. She participates in creative sessions in singing and painting groups with her versatile friends from yester-years.  When not on sojourns to exotic destinations chosen by her loving daughters and grandchildren and with family and friends, her outpourings come in form of poetry and she has over time composed beautiful thoughts into lovely verses ! She also savours good films she sees on OTT.

Have a Marvelous Milestone Birthday, Didibhai ! For the indomitable spirit you show and  your amazing ability to stay connected to people and their lives, you are always an inspiration to us !

Switch to the old melodies from the golden 1970s and you’re almost living the quintessential lines from that soulful song ‘It’s Yesterday Once More’ for it transports us back to the days when we were (or blissfully felt we were ! ) in love with a dream that took the form of a person, an idea, a voice or a song in the most pristine garb of an idyllic, romantic adventure !

Of the many old memories that never seem to fade was a song released in US in 1972 by the group ‘Carpenters’ that had become a rage, but we first heard it on the tape that my NRI sister & B-in-law (now Singapore based) brought during their visit to India in the mid-70s. Those were days of audio tapes, recorders – you’d magically rewind & hear favourites again & again. One particular song (among many wonderful ones) just won hearts and captured our imagination for its lyrics, melody and a sublimely, clear voice quality was ‘Top of the World’ by group’s lead singer ‘Karen Carpenter’ !

Here was a lilting number that made one feel-good (with what we today call ‘Wow’ effect) for it had in it lines that spoke of youthful splendor of a discovery ‘There’s wonder in most everything I see’ and romanticism of ‘Not a cloud in the sky, got the sun in my eye’! Truly it resonated the idea of being in love with such supreme joy that had us spellbound as youth, and more so for those who were ‘carrying the torch’ for someone special.     

What makes this song eternally elevate spirits even now, when we and our peers are in our autumn years ? For one, the song’s title ‘top of the world’ conveys thoughts of contentment, happiness, gratitude in the relationship, all quite old world, devoid of brashness and aggressiveness seen today. For music lovers, it’s lilt has ageless charm of the 70s and yet sounds so fresh.

But what about that singer, Karen Carpenter with amazing vocal skills. She had formed the highly successful, famed musical group ‘Carpenters’ with her elder brother, Richard. Tragically and like so many other greats from the world of music, she died at the very young age of 32 ! As she herself sang beautifully ‘I’m on the top of the world, lookin’ down on creation’ !