This one is different !

Ever seen a monkey asking for something to eat ?  At least the  answer from me is in the affirmative. I have written in my earler post that monkeys at my new place of residence are a gentler lot  and   this one is a living example.

 The least good looking even   by simian standards, it engaged the attention of my wife and me  on a very cold day  this winter when we were sitting around a fire outside our home. It came from nowhere, sat at a distance  and made a typical-----oooooon-sound . My wife ,a  Hanuman bhakt , knowing instinctively, that it was hungry and was asking for something to eat  went inside and brought two chapatis and  gave  to it, which it  gently took in both paws in  a human fashion and went away.  

One day there was a surprise in store for us. My wife brought and  gave it  a  few bread slices , which it  smelt and left . Jokingly  I told my wife that the monkey  had not eaten the bread as  the slices had a thin coating of egg yolk on the outer pieces, and that it was a true vegetarian monkey .My wife then  gave it a roti  which it  ate.    Since  then its visits have become a routine and,  every other day it comes, makes that peculiar sound and  takes  whatever is given  and eats  there and then when no other of its ilk is around.

There are times when there is nothing  to offer, and the door is closed, it knocks at  the door  repeatedly  and goes away when there is no response.

Who  can say animals have no intelligence and they do not respond like human beings  !

A Remembrance

Browsing through the H.P. Govt. website the other day , I came across a Black Border notification uploaded , informing about the  sad demise of  a  service colleague , Mr. Baldev Ram Thakur after a prolonged  terminal illness. Shocked beyond words , this once again  took me some 14-15 years back in timeline to refresh  the memory of our first  meeting .

I was posted in Kinnaur  and was required to  appear for  Govt. evidence in some court case at Nahan . Since Mr. Baldev Thakur  was posted as Assistant Commissioner, I made  him a  telephonic request to book accommodation for a night’s  stay  at the  Circuit House  in  Nahan. I reached  on  a day before the appointed day and    went straight to him . He had a set   booked in my name as requested .When after having a cup of tea  with him, as I rose to take leave, he   at once extended  an invitation to have dinner with him. I went to his residence  at the  appointed time and was  entertained with a nice   satisfying dinner. Though this was our first meeting, we talked and talked as if   we had known  each other  for years. His hospitality did not end there as again he   asked me to have lunch at  his place the next day , even though he had to go  out  for  some official work. He  actually deputed a  junior officer to  be an escort and accompany  me  at lunch. This was his human side  where he came across as a thorough  gentleman, rather a gem of a man. On the official side, he was a dedicated   and  efficient  officer   with exemplary  devotion to  duty. A photograph of his with the  then President  Dr. Shankar Dayal Sharma  giving him an award  bears ample testimony  to this. He had already sought premature retirement  on health grounds w.e.f.  March 2013, but  bade adieu even  earlier. !

R.I.P. Mr. Thakur  !  There are only a few like you .

Albela , Bela , Al-bela

There is an old Bollywood number – socha tha kya, kya ho gaya- sung beautifully by Surayya , the melody queen of yesteryears. This  starting line  has become  my favourite these days , as  I also  repeat to myself – socha tha kya , kya ho gaya,  instinctively. After  slogging     through   for  thirty five years of  bonded  service life, I had hoped for a happy retired life of a vagabond or  an Albela i.e. a self willed person who is free to do or not to do   anything ,  as he likes- with no boss overhead to control or  dictate. These last about  seven- and -a -half  months of retired life  have earned me  the epithet – ‘bela’  courtesy my  ever inventive ‘ well educated ‘  wife  who  repeats or rather parrots  the expression a  score  of times every day , not entirely jokingly , much to my annoyance  and  consternation . Now ‘bela’ is a distortion of Punjabi  word  ‘ vehla ‘    meaning ‘ idler ‘  with nothing to do  and has all the spare time or   ‘ vehal ’  on his hands . I do not know  what she expects of me in the twilight years of my life , though   mercifully I  enjoy good health,  thanks to – more than anything else- my devil- may- care attitude. Now who can tell her, a typical housewife that a person has to  pass  through  &  bear with much in life to  ensure  a superannuation pension to  spend the rest of life peacefully  and in cool comfort. Instead  she  has  made me feel like not only an idler  but the epitome of  one so much so  that   I am   forced to go a   step further and call myself  Al- bela   a  la  other  expressions  with the Arab  prefix  Al .

Now here is a call from me to  all my fellow   ’ belas ‘  to unite   and become  a  Valentine unto one another , as there is little hope elsewhere !

Any takers  ?

Happy Valentine Day  !

India- A land of Veers

India is known as a land of     ‘Veers ’ such as   ‘shoor veer’, ‘ dharamveer’ ,’ karamveer’, ‘daanveer ‘   etc. etc.- so much so that  a batsman who scores a century or more in a cricket match   innings  is   called ‘shatakveer ‘. However , courtesy  Etv, another ‘veer’   namely  ‘Bayanveer’ (बयानवीर ) was added to the list  when under the feature  ‘tirchhi nazar’  a cartoon by Abhijit was shown  close on the heels of the Republic day . The cartoon could not have been better timed  as it shows a neta type , mounted on a  vehicle wearing the Gandhi topi , his long tongue  shaped like a sword ,   jutting out - the cartoon captioned as  - बयानवीर.  However  it is not only the netas   but also  our  intellectual  elite  who  on account of their off the cuff remarks and statements find themselves in the eye of the storm , quite often. All of a sudden phrases like  -think before you speak -  &  -  gaj bhar ki zabaan – come to mind . Speech may be silver  but silence always is gold.