Blink issue 13 april19 2014

THE FIRST STRAINS Without patents and PR, Pandit Radhika Mohan Maitra did not get his due for making the first mohan veena p20 saturday, april 19, 2014

In a world of many, the perks and pitfalls of the idea of ONE… through the windows of politics, science, literature and life

WHY DOES ARCHIE HAVE TO DIE? A brokenhearted fangirl laments the demise of the hero in her favourite love triangle p18

ACROSS THE RIVER Author Amitabha Bagchi on how a canal in Delhi tells of the city p19

GOING

SOLO

ARATI’S HOMECOMING Satyajit Ray’s re-released film Mahanagar is a mustwatch for our genderinsensitive political class p21

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better eulogy than a feast? It seemed apt, therefore, to adopt a diet where everything I ate and cooked was marinated in, flavoured with, drizzled upon or doused in golden honey. It added that extra zing to my Sunday roast where the whole spices and root vegetables soaked up its sweetness. Honey, bananas and ice cream brought alive visions of homemade banana splits and childhood evenings. I replaced tea with my grandmother’s magic brew, hot water, honey with a dash of ginger, lemon and whole pepper that had held its own against heaving chests and wintry congestions over the years. I dribbled honey down a stack of freshly made pancakes for breakfast, transported back to simpler days when happiness was all about devouring such goodies, accompanied by fragrant Darjeeling tea and great conversations. I layered food memories with kitchen experiments as I tried to add a little more honey in my life. Some worked, some didn’t, but through it all, the bees buzzed around me for a fleeting moment or two.

One such experiment — the toasted sesame and honey chicken — was born of a need to lower the intake of carbs, eat more protein and jazz up a dull weekday dinner. The best part of this impromptu, Asian-inspired dish was that it was low-fuss and could be efficiently recycled into a sandwich, salad as well as pita and roti rolls, and quickly transformed into a light workday lunch.

Trickle-down effect Used as food, medicine and cosmetic remedies, honey has held its own on the shelf for millennia kk mustafah

diya kohli is a Bangalore-based food writer

Where have all No bibi in Bibipur the flowers gone?

Forced to be single, men in this village of Haryana band together as the Union of Unmarried Men and food battlememories the scourge femaleexperiments foeticide with Layering andofkitchen golden, syrupy ribbons of honey

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andeep Rana’s cover image on Face- tracted much attention, no political outfit book reads: I’m not weird. I’m not a other than the Aam Aadmi Party made it a poll freak. There is a word for it, I am plank. “In their manifesto, they even included moved to Bangalore Delhi lastwhy April. ‘unique’.

Perhapsfrom that explains he is becoming more There just aren’t that unless 80 percommon. cent of the women in the This monthmen hasinhad different associjoined 67 other Haryana’s Bibipur vil- enough flowers left tothe feed the bees, and village give sanction, government willour not all Avivahit the cities I haveSanghthan lived in. cities lage ations to forminthe Purush do not(liquor provideshops),” kind homes for these open thekas says Jaglan.

Just From the delicious coolness of The the fledgblus- winged (the Unmarried Union) in February.

Instead of natural peroutside pollinators.

Bibipur, on the Bhiwani State hightering nor’westers or Kal Boishakhis of Kolkata ling association makes only one demand — ba- fumes, are subject to the fumes of factoway, 10 they km from the district headquarter Jind, to abundance flowers in the get springhu the dilao, vote pao of(give us brides, our ries, mosquito fogging machines, excessive are two government-run thekas. summer warmth Delhi. And then sud- pollution votes). The few oddofcampaigners whothe stopped on the city roads... bringing to mind Alcoholism is as much an issue in Bibipur as den heattiny wave in Bangalore.

Its famed good by this hamlet, before Haryana went to Einstein’s apocryphal warning, “If the beefrom disfemale foeticide.

“Most criminals come weather elusive in myforced early days hereto as this the appears vote on as April 10, were to listen from the surface of the earth, man the single, unmarried community,” says Vijencool evenings, punctuated few speeches. drops of would demand and even include itby in atheir have anounion moremember. than four“They yearsdrink, to live.” dra Kumar, sell rain andmen the of constant of bees.

For the Bibipur,drone matters have come to a liquor As much damage as Nikamme the loss ofhain bees(They’re would in the market.

The With bees became myworst markers summer head. one of the sex for ratios in the do to the Every ecosystem, theindisappearance of useless).” evening the market area, and for my newfemales abode in city. country — 877 to the 1,000 males, accord- several makeshift honey would equallyselling hard on shops be emerge, liHowever, evencensus before I could ing to the 2011 — this village is running quor by the culinary larders, medicinal glass (“Kyunki koi ₹10 ka peetacabihai, muster home remedies case of out of brides.

And everyin single man here, like koi ₹20 ka”)nets and cosmetic remedies for much cheaper rates.

Askedas if athe sting, or dreamRana, aboutisthe 23-year-old in batcha tearing hurry to any of the well as mythology, historyhad anda association’s 68 members Sweeping away a es fresh honey one could get getofhitched. language itself. criminal background, Kumar laughs and says, pile of bee corpses from hive when theJaglan’s collectors At the sarpanch Sunil residence, on “Oh no, they’reH-O-N-E-Y: the veryinword mostly involved gangdrips wars on yet another arrived, large.

Af- Unmarried or are college April 12,tragedy a few loomed members of the with a dulcet melody. A perfect goondas (thugs).” morning, I decided fected a distressing phe-is overcrowdUnionby have gathered. global The room choice as a term of endearment, to bring out as nomenon, the bees ed with trophies and made awardstheir that Bibipur has Bachelors everywhere the word is a metaphor for sweetmany flowering way our 40 female odd foeticide. Being a single won drunkenly for its workinto to combat nessman in in both real is and abstract Bibipur tough.

Just plants as I could fit apartments, not union’s 20 feetactivity from on its Face- ask 22-year-old Rana checks the terms.

AeonsSingh. beforeOrsugar, there Joginder 48-year-old in my little balcony their hives.and Like book page themalfunctioning rest catch up on their What- Ranveer Singh. wasWhile honey.

The rich, golden the younger man is botdesrobots they collided doors, sApp group, wherewith news of a newborn perately looking tled for goodness sits pretty in a bride,that the older one is rewindows and neonwith tubeaslights. daughter is greeted much enthusiasm signed to hisour larder in its myriad orfate.

“Thetoday marriageable window Sad, suicidal, they arrived in union had is between 24 as pictures of Sunny Leone. The ganic, and Kumar, singleand mass-produced 26 years now,” says hordes every evening, onlyuntil to collapse to the been busy with elections the week be- origin has been aroundoverage for millennia. who isforms, 28. “Above that, you’re and profloor in their throes — a rather anticlifore, but now death it needed to chart out a strategy spects are dim.” Joginder, dressed smartly in a weeping a pile denims, of bee corpses yet mactic such industrious creatures. for the end rest for of the year. purple shirtaway and fitted toting on a fashanother to bring outmoas Affected byelections deforestation andinincreasing “Assembly are due October,” ionable pairmorning, of shadesI decided and riding a Bullet potted plantsdealer. as I could fit ina pollution, honey are slowlymanifesto starving many says Jaglan.the “We needbees every party’s torbike, is aflowering real estate Rana, little balcony offer some recompense to in the garden city.

Bangalore is my to death make this a poll issue.”

HeBut is referring to fecomputer science to graduate, heads his own inmy kind. and I also to write just point onnot the map where phe- for maleanother foeticide and the task of the finding frastructure IT decided firm in Hisar.

Yet, this theylittle have to the lives of worker bees. And what nomenon of Colony Collapsecatchy Disorder or CCD brides. While the union’s slogan at- tribute no takers.

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“Only those who can’t do anything get into property,” says Rana, whose younger brother holds a government job in Chandigarh has received many more marriage offers. Haryana families favour landowners and government employees, he says. Private-sector employees Sesame and Honey are Toasted not considered a sound bet. Chicken But they have been to college outside BibiIngredients pur, have they not met any girls, we ask. “Itne frank nahin hai hum (We’re not that forward),” 8 chicken drumsticks cloves of garlic says8 Rana.

2 Thai bird’sare eyefrowned upon. “Chajje chajje Love affairs chillies wala pyaarortored ho chillies, jata hain,” Jaglan says. In the finely chopped 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil 1/2 tbsp sesame seeds, toasted Basil to garnish Marinade 2 tbsp honey 1/2 tbsp sesame seeds, toasted 1 tsp soya sauce 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce Salt to taste 1 tsp pepper, freshly ground

Method 1 Mix all the ingredients of the marinade and marinate the drumsticks for 1-2 hours.

2 Add the olive oil in a thick bottomed nonstick pan and toss in the garlic cloves and chopped chillies. Let them cook for a minute or so and add the marinated chicken. Toss lightly till the chicken browns. Add the remaining marinade and cover and cook on low heathearts till tender.

Lonely club (top) There are more than 30

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lakh3single men with in Haryana; (above) 48-year-old Garnish basil and toasted bachelor Ranveer Singh is now to his fate sesame seeds.

Serve hotresigned with rice ramesh sharma

noodles or steamed rice.

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No country for women (from top) Sandeep Rana (left) and Vijendra Kumar have joined the Avivahit Purush Sanghthan; sarpanch Sunil Jaglan dreams of a future all-woman panchayat; Sheela Devi, 63, belongs to a ‘secret’ committee in Bibipur that keeps a tab on pregnant women to prevent female foeticide; Ritu Jaglan, 28 and unmarried, is a women’s leader ramesh sharma

narrow lanes of Bibipur, love might have sprung, literally, from balcony to balcony, but parents are quick to quash such dalliances.

Haryana society is ruled, unopposed, by the GGG principle of “gaon, gotra, guhaand (village, clan, cluster of villages)”. Earlier, families looked for matches separated by at least nine gotras — individual, the family, the mother, mother’s mother, mother’s uncle and so on.

Now, only three gotras are considered — a paltry concession to modernity.

If the GGG principle seems outdated and rigid, the 32-year-old sarpanch offers an explanation. “See, in our culture, we like to move from place to place. The idea is that we have

family wherever we go. Then we feel at home anywhere in Haryana.”

male foeticide. On that day, Sunil Jaglan was blessed with his first daughter. When he went around the village distributing sweets, elders Buying a life partner and neighbours chided him, saying the birth Dating is ruled out; love affairs have led to of a girl was no reason for celebration. “When honour killings; 25-plus is a no-no; and eligi- it’s a boy, poore village main taali bajti hai bility criteria are stiff. So where does a single (drums are sounded in the village),” says Jaman find a bride in Bibipur? glan, who has been sarpanch for more than “The practice of bride-buying is rampant three years now. “I was the first to bring out here,” says Jaglan. Through agents, brides are the drums for my daughter’s birth.” Last bought for upwards of one lakh rupees from month, his family welcomed its second-born, UP, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Bihar and even another girl, with a similar show of pomp.

Jharkhand. Most of these marriages are not Sixty-three-year-old Sheela Devi was one of registered. And many of these brides leave for the first women to join Jaglan’s campaign. their hometown after a month or two in Ha- Now a member of the sarpanch’s ‘secret’ comryana. “A couple of months ago, a family had mittee, she keeps tabs on the pregnant wompurchased a bride from Uttarakhand. She ran en in the village. “After their second month, away. They bought another one, she too ran they have to come to the healthcare centres away.” With FIRs registered under his name in for vaccination. If they don’t come, we know Uttarakhand, the groom is now on the run. In that the women have gone to Jind aur safai some cases, the boy’s families have been karwa liya (they have aborted the pregnanduped, and in others the brides find it difficult cy),” says Sheela Devi, struggling to sit up because an ox had rammed into her in the fields to adjust to Haryanvi customs.

Another practice that has gained currency the previous day. “In the village, we also know over the years is the aatte satte ki shaadiyan, of cases where women have been pushed or which loosely translates into exchange mar- tripped,” she says grimly. However, such inriages. Families with an unmarried, 25-plus, stances have become fewer over the past year. jobless son and a younger daughter seek out “Prenatal sex determination is illegal, but other families in similar circumstances and a ultrasound scan agencies thrive in Jind and bargain is quickly struck. Just under a week other areas,” says Jaglan, ruing that the adago, Bibipur witnessed one such aatta satta ministration has done little to counter this. wedding. A family exchanged its 21-year-old His sister, Ritu, is 28 years old, unmarried daughter, who is studying privately, for their and a fierce leader of the women’s movement jobless 28-year-old son, who has passed Class here. Soft-spoken but firm, she has resisted X. “The women are the losers in this bargain,” pressure from her family to marry. “I stand my says Kumar. ground, always. Female foeticide is a huge Ranveer Singh, the middle-aged bachelor, problem, and till a few years ago women has not been to a wedding for as didn’t even know that it was kanya hatya (murder),” she says. Today, long as he can remember. “It’s diffithanks to the Jaglan siblings, Bibicult for older men,” says Jaglan. pur has a chabutra (open encloWhile not exactly shunned by soWomen didn’t sure) where women hold gram ciety, they’re not welcomed either. even know it sabhas regularly. On April 11, a day Many of Ranveer’s friends are marwas murder after Narendra Modi filed his nomried, as are all his siblings — two ination from Vadodara, Bibipur’s brothers and a sister. “There is a difwomen held a gram sabha on Jashference between pita, chacha and tau,” says Ranveer, who lives in his odaben. The BJP’s prime ministebrother’s house. “I know I don’t rial candidate had, after years of have a companion to grow old with or chil- silence, admitted to having a wife in his padren of my own,” he adds. pers. Outraged, around 50 women gathered for a spirited debate. “How can we accept Girls rudely interrupted someone who has neglected his wife for so More than two years ago, Bibipur had made long?” says Ritu on Modi. “We have been folheadlines as the first village in Haryana, and lowing the news; she is fasting for him and gopossibly the country, to talk about female foet- ing on a pilgrimage for him. We feel he should icide. The hamlet has since come a long way acknowledge his wife and invite her to live in and, in fact, changed its name to ‘Bibipur the the PM’s residence if he becomes (PM).”

Women’s World’ earlier this year. While the name change is not on paper yet, the poster on It’s her space the 24-ft-high gate at the village entrance al- In Bibipur, a khettu shyam temple has recently come up on the women’s request. In the vilready proclaims it .

Until January 24, 2012, Bibipur’s residents, lage centre, a three-storey choupal has been much like those in other villages of Haryana, constructed. A podium and blackboard, gifts were largely indifferent to the horrors of fe- from the villagers, occupy pride of place in the main hall designated for women. Shiny new fans hang from the ceilings; the donor’s name — ‘rambhaj s/o phullu’ — painted on the blades gleam in the sunlight.

Women will decide 50 per cent of the budget in this year’s outlay of ₹1.5 crore for the village. “You know, I have a dream panchayat, one which will be run by women alone,” Jaglan confides.

As we walk out of the village, the poster on the gate catches our eye — “Netaji jaaniye Haryana main kunwaaron ka ganit (Netaji, know the number of singles in Haryana).” According to the gram panchayat’s calculation, based on the sex ratio, there are more than 30 lakh single men in Haryana. It is only fitting that here in Bibipur the Women’s World, Jaglan and his unmarried union plant the seeds of a gender revolution.

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MANJH KHAMAJ Single stars

arunabha deb

A roadside seller in Chennai displays Holi water sprinklers with portraits of Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi and the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi ap/ arun sankar k

He who came first Pandit Radhika Mohan Maitra needs to be acknowledged for creating an instrument that played like the sarod and had the tonal richness of a veena

Man of many trades Pandit Radhika Mohan Maitra, one of the greatest sarod players of all time, was also an inventor of instruments

The idea of the mohan veena was born in the mid-’40s. Apart from the sarod, Maitra was a regular performer on the sursringar. Once, after he played a duet on the sursringar with veena exponent Ustad Sadiq Ali Khan, Maitra became obsessed with the idea of creating an instrument that could be played using the same techniques of the sarod but would have the resonance and gravity of the veena (which the sursringar, to an extent, has). The sursringar belongs to the sarod family, but is much larger than the sarod and requires a different playing technique, essentially because the two instruments are held at different angles.

Maitra had greater facility on the sarod than on the sursringar; he wanted an instrument that could be held and played exactly like the sarod and yet one that could match the tonal richness of a veena. His quest for these two features in a single instrument culminated in the mohan veena.

He made two principal changes to the sarod and the effect was miraculous. The resonator of a sarod (loosely called ‘the drum’) is carved out of a single piece of wood and the hollow semicircle is covered with hide. Maitra covered the hollow with a sheet of wood instead (like in the veena and the sursringar). Further, he changed the structure of the bridge, replacing the typical sarod bridge with a sitar bridge. A sitar bridge is flat, as opposed to the slightly raised sarod bridge and helps produce a richer, fuller sound. This bridge, placed on a wood-surfaced drum, produced a resonance far richer than that of the sarod. Maitra’s two aims were achieved: a tonal quality closer to that of the veena and a playing technique similar to that of the sarod. His peers reviewed it positively. Thakur Jaidev Singh, eminent musicologist who was at the helm of India Radio his at the time, the instruHowever, these contenders are each unique All chest, De marks allure lowgave on the rubric of its name: mohan veena, based on Maiin their singleness. Their individuality is more ment primitive masculine appeal.

When it comes to middle name. prominent than their singledom in the run- tra’s Rahul, De somehow scores (now, now) the four of BhattSays to find a link between I once interviewed Bhatt and attractive had askedman him up topages the election.

Milan Vaishnav, anthe as- bachelor higher as the lonely, mohan its original inventor. he wasout aware of Maitra’s mohan sociate veena at theand South Asia Program, Carnegie if holding against love and familyveena. life inHea Maitra (1917 1981) lived atPeace, a time when hearddynastic of it much afterwhich he had Endowment fortoInternational “Modi is said tragicthat bid he to avert politics, he Hindustani concernanti-esthem- named own instrument.

Maitra and livedothin positioning musicians himself asdidn’t the outsider, wants tohis end, despite Kareena Kapoor selves with patents and PR Bhatt in of Jaipur andopenly information tablishment candidate foroutfits.

PM. HeAnd hascertainarticu- Calcutta, er important ladies the land declarly nota compelling Maitra, whocontrast was a between zamindar from didn’t travel then the way it does now, he said. lated himself ing RaGa as charming.

Rajshahi inItBangladesh) He that added that if he had known, and Rahul(now Gandhi. is the ‘son of a chaiwallah’ The question goes begging is whether and cared publicity. he would haveasnamed instruversus the little ‘scionabout of India’s most the ‘bachelor leader’hiswill put His grandfather, Lalita Mohan ment veenapolitics (which,inincistoried political family’.” an endvishwa to dynastic InMaitra, patronised the sarod dentally, is the namethat he are gaverun to dia.

Political parties maestro another modification the A suitableUstad neta Mohammad Amir by many members of oneofor two One has to wade Khan a musician in hiswho estate. slide guitar).

Apart as from Jayalalithaa, was through and where outsiders pagesas of families, Will thefour ‘bachelor One day Khan actor, found“How the child Maitra’s mohan are veena a professional many Vishwa findToday, themselves sidelined, alleader’Mohan put anBhatt end Maitra tinkering with one of the totofind has been eclipsed by Bhatt’s variof these individuals struggled most the norm in many States a link between dynastic politics many sarods in the The the mohan ant. But listeners of Hindustani with an ordinary jobhouse. or profesIndia.

However, it seems alveena and across in India? maestro sensed an interest in the music should not forget sion?” asks the writer and journalnaïve to think singleMaitra’s politicits original inventor most boy and started teaching him. instrument. of Maitra’s disist Ruchir Joshi. These singletons ians can endTwo dynastic politics.

Maitra madehave a mark as a sarodiya ciples, Somjit claim “they ‘dedicated their The BJP,Jaydeep once ledGhosh by theand “Bhishmaat thetoAll India Music Dasgupta, PanditasBuddhalives the nation’.

We,Conference the nation, charya” AB and Vajpayee prime at Allahabad in wary 1937, where, after devhis Dasgupta’s son Bhabanishshould be very of those who have dedi- minister, finds then prominent “foster listening tolives his solo, Ustad Allauddin Khan, in ankar perform regularly the cated their to the nation with such ease.” family”Dasgupta, missing and seems to be led byon anothspite of being a different gharana, invitShobhaa Defrom writes, with the insight of instrument er singleton, now.

Modi.Their popularity as musied him towho perform alongsideon him.

Initially someone is an authority single men, cians is nowhere near Bhatt’s, but hopefully people could not reconcile blue-blooded will serve as occasional remindthat Modi (despite his fastinghis wife) is “not the their Familyrecitals matters lineage with hiswant mastery — home musicto was a lei- ers of Maitra’s creation. sort of guy you to take mother.

“Each party accuses the others of dynastic polsurely pursuit for zamindars, He’d probably scare the hell not out aofprofession her”. De- itics, yet has no shame or hesitation in bringis a leaders’ Kolkata-based music — butthe theyparty weremachinery soon forced to accept Maitra arunabha spite working overtime ing in theirdeb own sonslawyer andand daughters shubhodeb@hotmail.com as formidable to apublicise theartiste. attractiveness of his 56-inch writer almost as if it’s a matter of course that the

Power of one

This general election sees the highest number of singletons contesting for the main office

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t’s epic. Being single is tinged with possibilities; hope; a future; unspoken promises; undelivered bounty; unswerving floyalty. you google ‘mohanhas veena’, theasfirst And nowhere it been apthree will lead you,where in onefamilies way or parent as itpages is in Indian politics, other, to Pandit Vishwa Bhatt, have the traditionally held sway.

AndMohan the power of one ofhas thebeen bestennobled, known slide guitar playthe single bestowed with ers the world.

Bhatt made substantial modthein magic of mythology.

The lone crusader, ifications to the in variant of the guitar to thata single-minded his or herslide devotion was prevalent Hindustani music most larger cause ofin community or the(its nation’s famous exponent being Pandit Brij Bhushan good, abjuring pleasure for purpose; family Kabra) and called the ‘mohan veena’, delife for social good;itpersonal gratification for rived from his middle name. He won the common gain.

Grammy in 1994; then,politics the mohan veena It’s a given thatsince dynastic is held as has comeof under global focusparties. and hasFor become the bane Indian political everysynonymous with its inventor, one knows singles battle alone Bhatt. whilst families However, if you the the fourth wage wars. Even asreach the list of end largeoffamily trees page of Google results,games you will a mention involved in political infind Maharashtra, of Pandit Radhika Mohan is reUttar Pradesh or Tamil NaduMaitra, makeswho it to news garded as one of the16th greatest sarod playerswill of pages, the country’s general elections all time.more But single he hadmen another, lesser than known, witness and women evidentity. was an inventor, conceptualer before,He contesting directlywho or indirectly for ised three minister’s new instruments: the prime office. dil bahar, naba deepa most extensively recorded, moThe and, two his main contenders are the 60-plus han veena.Modi This(despite mohanthe veena preceded its Narendra much-publicised slide guitar namesake by atstatus, least three decaffidavit about his marital he mainades. wereof regular All India Radioand broadtains There the profile an austere celibate) the casts of Maitra’s recitals The on this instrument Congress’ Rahul Gandhi. other aspirants and a rendition of Darbari also Banerjee released Mayawati, J Jayalalithaa and was Mamata by tooHMV. are single, as is the lone successful chief And yet, one must wade through nearly minister of Odisha Naveen Patnaik.

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Single-minded Narendra Modi, seen here with his mother Narmada Bai, is married but maintains the profile of an austere celibate

Siblings-in-arms Rahul Gandhi and his sister Priyanka greet supporters before filing Rahul’s nomination for the Lok Sabha elections in Sultanpur, Amethi

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Amma of poll battles An AIADMK supporter stands with her child beside a giant cut-out of the party leader and Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa at a public meeting in Pondicherry afp/

manjunath kiran

scion would take over the family firm or Jaaydaad,” says Joshi.

Vaishnav points out, “Dynasticism is something most parties engage in across the political spectrum,” given 29 per cent of the current MPs have an immediate family connection in politics; up from 20 per cent in 2004. “Given the barriers to entry in modern Indian politics, dynastic politics is not going to disappear overnight based on who the PM is,” he says.

Irrespective of whether these political leaders are single men or women, “crony capitalism continues to rule our political parties,” warns Vipul Mudgal, head, Publics and Policies Programme at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, Delhi.

Sons, daughters, nephews, nieces and cousins assume prominent positions in almost all major national and regional political parties.

At the national level, it is most apparent in the Congress, where Rahul Gandhi’s mother is president and sister, Priyanka, has considerable de facto clout as she has been spotted visiting party headquarters and assisting her mother and brother during poll campaigns.

Vaishnav says that while it is refreshing to see so many political leaders running parties who are not dynastic — Mamata, Mayawati, Jayalalithaa and Nitish Kumar — these parties have their own pathologies. They are largely built around the personality of one charismatic leader; they are under-institutionalised;

and they function in a fairly top-down manner. “The lack of intra-party democracy is worrying, ” says Vaishnav.

Hands-off media Unlike the US presidential elections or in the UK, where leaders and their families come under the media scanner and images are splashed as part of quality family time and holidays, in India the politician’s family is a given. In fact, it is often viewed with suspicion of nepotism and privileges. “In India, brahmacharya (real or feigned) and singlehood are regarded in a matter-of-fact way which it isn’t in the West, especially in America, which imposes a very conservative ‘Christian family’ grid on all political candidates,” says Joshi. For Indians, the leader has been comforting as a lonesome figure even in the past. A married political leader such as Mahatma Gandhi resembled an ascetic, like sages of yore, whose family belonged to the large community that he wished to serve and not as a unit he was compelled to gratify with power’s accruements and spoils.

Additionally, Indian leaders have not had much trouble with the paparazzi or TV/video leaks unlike their western counterparts who have to contend with the media’s daunting scrutiny of their personal lives.

Family’s will As the bachelors go to seek votes, it seems too early to say whether their win will lead to the end of the political family saga. Mudgal says, “The family is hard to destroy in our country.”

He points to the family-owned businesses, offspring encouraged to take up the family profession, lawyers gifting their practise to children and doctors their clinics. “Indian society networks through families.” Professional networking, too, falls under the umbrella of the family. Families thus can’t be stopped from entering politics. The well-known exception is Arvind Kejriwal, whose children are too young to take up their father’s cause.

Thus the bachelors may win the elections, but it’s the families that will enjoy the spoils. sudha g tilak is a Delhi-based journalist

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In it together Looking for love in the urban jungles of India can be hard work... Niche matrimonial sites hope to narrow down the choices

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manjula padmanabhan

kr deepak

Lights out Super storm fizzles softly

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he weather bureau and the National Grid, the agency that supplies energy to my part of the Island, have been issuing warnings over the past several weeks: a big hurricane (defined as a tropical cyclone with winds in excess of 119 kmph) is headed our way. People by the coast have been evacuated. I am relieved to find that my part of town isn’t in the flood-zone. My friends live on higher ground and invite me to sit out the storm in their house. But I don’t want to abandon my little ship. I stay put.

The night before the storm, I step out to look up at the sky.

Despite all the maps and images of the swirling white disk ack in 2007, when Vivek Pahwa saw bearing down upon us, it’s hard to feel menaced. There’s no that his friends, all in their 30s, were rain, no thunder or lightning and the wind has not yet toustruggling to find someone likeched down. The only sign that anything is amiss is directly minded they could marry, he had the overhead: low gray clouds are racing by like giant freight idea of creating a platform to bring together trains, making no sound. A surreal and sinister sight. nd Veronica’s jumped on the first of flight toage Paris for the latest in funeral people the out same group, irrespective of Morning is cancelled. Before the sun can rise, rain begins chic. Okay, maybe not. Lasttheir week,marital when I status. heard that Riverdale’s So while most freckle-faced, matrimopelting down out of the sky. The drops sting like tiny razors. carrot-topped, love-struck nial Archie Andrews is going to on be killed off, I was perwebsites then focused the unmarried, It’s completely unlike the monsoons in Bombay and Delhi, plexed. The publishers have said that his death will be promised “heroic”, and his site SecondShaadi.com to that con-Life or the typhoons of my childhood in Thailand, because the With Archie series will continue to chronicle thesingles lives of—the rest of the gang — or Betty, nect 30-plus unmarried, divorced water is cold. Hostile. The wind comes whipping in sideRonnie, Reggie, Jughead and even Moose and Midge Chuck Nancy.

Why would widowed.

Today,and it sees 300and people signing up ways, howling. Huge trees are bowing and swaying like they do this? Does this also signal theevery end ofday, theincluding longest running love triangle?

Does he those looking to remarry grass stalks. Then the power snaps off. finally choose? Is that the only solution had?inYes, we’re pretending that the stories andthey singles their late-30s and beyond.

It is odd for me, veteran of a on Archie’s many weddings never happened.

Now Ronnie, thencases Betty… then “The number of divorce is on the Valerie! rise thousand power failures in DelHe should’ve picked! now. It made sense to run a separate site as hi, to experience a First World Anupam Mittal, founder and Murugavel Janakiraman, CEO, I can’t quite recall when I first started reading But every summer vacapeople in a Archie similarcomics. situation find it easier to repower-outage.

It’s different on I don’t want to CEO, Shaadi.com, VIPShaadi.in, Matrimony.com, Assistedmatrition, on board the Rajkot-Secunderabad Express, my backpack would stuffedofwith late to each other.

That offers morebe chances threemony.com, counts: one, the oven’s elecSelectshaadi.in 40plusmatrimony.com abandon my little Archie double digests, Nagraj comics and Cadbury’s 5 stars. would arrive clicking and taking theWe relationship to early the at tric, not gas. So even tea and cofship. I stay put the station to scour for Wheelers andnext snaglevel,” as many double digests as our holiday bounsays Pahwa. fee are off the menu, never mind ty would allow. At stations where the train would halt for more than five minutes, werimonial empire spanning general as well as problem in finding a partner,” reasons Mittal. hot food.

Two, without central would sprint along the length of the Matching platform to look for Archies. Finding Betty and Ve-specialised sites, including the 40plusmatrimoelite Little wonder then that Janakiraman has heating, the house becomes a ronica digests was tough, Jughead even tougher.

Even when I grew older, I care-ny.com and Assistedmatrimony.com (for over It was precisely this thought that alsowhen led Anu20 million clients and over 2.5 freezer within an hour.globally Three, the fully packed Murakamis and Vonneguts, thrill of hunting down double digests pamthe Mittal, founder and CEO of BV Shaadi.com, to professionals). lakhthe new members every month. At landline stops working. Yes, landline!

It’s joining got a battery always remained. I never liked Archie, although I was as and much of a klutz as about he was. It Mittal’s VIP, by invitation launch VIPShaadi.in Selectshaadi.in onlyafter service hashours.

Pahwa’s Secondshaadi.com too, registrations that dies eight My Samsung Galaxy cellphone, was the expectation that he would pick, the BV The feudfirst would have winner that twothat years ago. caters toathe crème dehasgrown 10-fold within a beautiful year and boasts 40 that haveshe doubled in the year. and prima adonna is, runs outpast of juice kept me hooked to this day. la crème of India — high networth individuals per cent success rate. For Select, is 20 per Into this mix of divorced, widowed, profesfaints awayitalmost immediately.

The love triangle was the only thinglooking that really matteredprivacy in the Archie Jugh-cent. “Our target is to double for extreme in theiruniverse. matrimobotha quick shower while there’ssionals and super-rich I have still hot water in the logging in ead’s spaghetti-and-meatball escapades legendary Five gave mebusy the lovethese success rates,” he says. nialwere dealings, while(Famous the second targets pipes and fill up two buckets to use infor thecompanionship, toilet. As eveningPune-based for bacon and Juggie, the love for spaghetti and meatballs), Reggie’s evil planseven were a professionals who believe in delegation Pradeep added yet anfalls, I light a couple of candles, putting themDixit insidehas small scream, even Dilton and his crazy inventions were atoprecursor Dexter’s lab. But theThe marriage Net when it comes finding ato partner. glass bottles so that fire bydimension falling over.—It’speople who Intothey this won’t mix ofcause aother juiciest stories were when Betty and Ronnie for their epic showdowns “This headed busy, new, career-focused breed atisPopThe online matrimonialvery business were adopted.

Dixit, who runs the still outside.

The rain has stopped.

At night, I blow out divorced, widowed, Tate’s, at proms, at their homes. Theirs was the serious first loveabout triangle I remember. practical, getting married, but is expected to grow to Supthe₹1,500 candles. Itprofessionals is pitch dark. Iand cannot non-profit hear any ofCommunication the other I have always openly rooted for Betty.

Shedoes was the Whenever either notdo-gooder. have the time to lookArchie’s for thebat-crore by 2017 from ₹520residents crore at in the building.

Foundation, MatriI consider port feeling scared butlaunched it’s super-rich, tered old jalopy broke down, en route to a date withor Ronnie, Betty who fixed right partner is justit was uncomfortable ap- hispresent. Industry chamber Assomonyforadopted .org this January. too exhausting.

So I feel irritable instead.

Matrimonyforride. If Archie had spent all his pocket money on fancy dates Ronnie, Betty proaching a stranger on a with website despite lik-wascham foresees for it a compound SinceItsitsrobust launch, it has received Then I remember my Sony E71.

Hoorah! little adopted.org adds content with snuggling next to him on couch, watching rentedHis film, eating ingher their profile,” says aMittal. sites nowpop-annual growth of over 65battery per cent 25 registrations and 3,000 hits. is still alive.

It also receives radio signals.

My Airtel adopted kids corn she had made. But in later years,attract I secretly crushed trips, thein the next two years. roaming account finds AT&T and allows users fromon allRonnie’s over theshopping world, includ“We are me conducting to send outcamps and indoor pool parties she threw the US, cruellest of winters (seasons never inginthe UK, Canada, Australia and UAE.mat- During financial year 2012-13 messages to friends and family. counselling to make peoproof-of-life I listensessions to a tricktered in the Lodge world), her cunning schemes, her jealousy and herusers extraor-alone, about 55 million “Our technology allows us to segment people ple aware it,” says Dixit, who is le of news before turning off the machine to saveofits battery. dinary ability to keep both and Archie and Reggie on a tight leash.heBetty connect like-minded people,” says.was thesigned up for online matrimonial simultaneously creating an onThen I fall asleep. quintessential girl next door,“People much like I was, but Ronnie was a fascinating from the upper crust of society usu- sites. The spurt is related toThe thepower rising stays number network of orphanages to complement off forline 18 hours.

The first thing I do when study in high maintenance.ally have to mask their identity when search- of internet users in India — pegged the site.

The first 100I registrations it returns is to reach make myself some tea.

Then charge my are free.

If Archie has to be the biggest sacrifice on theonline,” altar of sales “edgy story-243 million by June 2014, ing for partners saysand Murugavel according the In- “I’m “We’ll charge nominal ₹1,000-₹1,500 after phones.

I calltoeverybody. fine!”

I tellathem.

“It was really telling”, so be it. Even if Betty ends up with Veronica, it. If both .com. turn outternet and Mobile Association Janakiraman, founder CEOsoofbeMatrimony of India. that,” he says, way below the lakhs charged by exciting!

Nothing happened!” to be figments of Mr Weatherbee’s terrible that’s fine too. But “Smartphone use is further driving this sites catering to the elite.

His solution was imagination, to set up Elitematrimony.com give us a finale we’ll remember and complete then shutwith downthe theservices Life With in 2008, of Archie a per- se-trend (of online matrimony).

ThePADMANABHAN, breakdown authorSo, not of marriages MANJULA andwhether artist, tellsor us tales her parallel are made in ries. For life without “dear Archiekins” will be simply pointless. sonal relationship manager.

Registrations of the joint family system the movement heaven,series they increasingly appear to be finalmarginalien.blogspot.in lifeand in Elsewhere, USA, in this fortnightly A heartbroken fangirl have trebled in the past year, and one in every of people to different cities are challenging ised online in today’s fast-paced world. four members has found a match through the the traditional ways of finding a match. In a priyanka kotamraju site, says Janakiraman, who spearheads a mat- country obsessed with marriage, this creates a rashmi pratap

Dear Right Diary…click Archie’s dead

The business of online coupling in India has grown big enough to create its own niches

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Woe. What will happen to the love triangle once my freckle-faced hero is cold meat?

A

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No. 1 hit singles Singlehood is setting up camp not waiting, with bated breath, at an airport lounge

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ou know what the problem is with singlehood. Plotlessness. That is what. In one all-encompassing word. As a species, we are programmed to fulfil certain processes at certain times. Philosophy, literature, music, biology, aunts — they all hustle the same trajectory.

Hindu philosophy prescribed the four ashramas. The Bard padded three more stages, making it the seven ages of man. Cat Stevens coined his ditty Father and Son, where he crooned “Find a girl, settle down, if you want you can marry.” (Pox on you Boyzone, for killing that song for me.) And if one were to ever lose sight of these ‘goals’ — enter the gynaecologist, whose one role on this earth is to glower and say, “It is getting late.”

But what if fate, circumstance, turn of events dictated otherwise? What if the whole meet-partner-fall-in-love-be-loved-marryhave-baby-have-one-more-baby did not go quite according to schedule?

What then?

In a country where ticking these boxes becomes a badge of honour, what of those who have not yet clicked on the boxes or have chosen to ignore them altogether? What of unmarried men and unmarried women, divorced husbands and divorced wives, single fathers and single mothers? In these scenarios — in these lifetimes, to be precise — one must gird one’s loins, and find meaning in this plotlessness and seek a vision that looks beyond linear narratives.

It is not easy to imbue meaning when and where ‘society’ not only believes there is none, changed, the courage to change what one can, but annuls any possibility of it. As a single per- and the wisdom to know the difference.” son of ‘marriageable age’ you aren’t merely When on the island, why not indulge in what seen as someone who is slower off the blocks, you want to do. Grow geraniums around your but as someone ‘too picky’, ‘shunning respon- tent (roses are for the mainland), count the sibility’ and, of course, that favourite as ‘play- shooting stars, even buy a dining table while ing the field’. you are at it. Meet other island-dwellers. Boats Facebook nags you to ‘update life event’. will pass by. And who knows, one boat might Friends and family ask ‘Any news?’ And they even choose to drop anchor. mean only one thing. But you have none. And Singlehood is a stage of equilibrium. Not that is when you realise that the ridden with epic highs and even best plots are not those where the more epic lows. It is the confisequence and end come predeterdence that you can be there for mined. Instead it is those that friends and family, because, yes, leave you asking, What now? you do have time. It is to be open The challenge is to What next? to the universe and to be geared find meaning in the Most people look at being unatfor new experiences. It is not idehere and now tached with the same fervour as a al, but it is just as valid and legitiwait in an airport lounge, essenmate a stage as any other. tially, a space where you bide time Idiosyncrasies might become till departure. With every annorms, as no one is there to tell nouncement on the PA system, you hope “Me- you otherwise. It does require negotiations ra number aa gaya hai”. To be there is only an and compromises. One must choose camaraintermission — a compulsion — before arriv- derie over intimacy and often solitude over ing at where you are meant to be. But what if company. But that is not a debilitating choice. one stopped looking at singlehood as an air- A destructive relationship can char you, being port lounge and instead embraced it as set- unattached means you might have to make ting up camp on an island. Instead of movie plans in advance. It means you might constantly looking at a flight, a way out, why have to put up curtains by yourself. not revel in what it is, while it lasts.

An article in the Wired recently explained You may receive a few raised eyebrows from (through foolproof numbers) that the baby those on the mainland, but so what? Why not madness on your Facebook feed is more in try to live ‘serenely’, “to accept what can’t be your head than for real. The author Clive

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Thompson helpfully reminds us to “observe the world around us like a scientist — to see what’s actually going on instead of what just happens to gall (or please) us.”

And therein lies the crux. Everyone around me seems to be marrying and gestating and procreating. But their lives are no better or worse than mine, they are just different lives, ridden with their own perks and burdens.

A friend recently snapped, “Oh, what is the good part of being unattached? There really is none.” The challenge is to find meaning in the here and now, to not be inundated by a past that didn’t work out and a future that is yet to configure itself.

Joy doesn’t arise only from ‘life events’. It comes from incremental pleasures on a daily basis — the right espresso and a great book for company in a coffee shop; the silliness and heroics of one’s nieces and nephews; working hard and working well; stealing out time to meet old friends; meeting new people and seeing one’s city through their eyes; warming toes in the sunshine; leaning in; from leaning out. And putting up curtains.

I have become sceptical of the term ‘happily ever after’. I wonder what that means. Why should life be divided into two halves? ‘After’ implies a rupture of time, a particular event, which cleaves life into a past and future. I realise now that this is my ‘happily ever’. nandini nair

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Fresh take Pramod Nayak, owner of the 50-year-old Poornima restaurant, in Mumbai shashi ashiwal

The one for me

quire costly ingredients like cream and nuts.

“Ours is a quick meal-on-the-go and does not need to be rich. More so because we cater to people who are health-conscious,” he says.

Self-service allows customers to place their order at the till and pick up the grub at another counter. “That cuts down staff costs and helps us focus on the food without diverting attention to service,” he explains.

The 38-member staff includes delivery boys who supply to offices in Fort, and Nariman tests measuring 32 different kinds of intelli- suchChurchgate undiluted resources thatPoint. only child famgence, onlies scored higher in 25 tests, and ilies tend to have higher educational and ocRegimented cooking whether our parents equal in four. In a meta-analysis of 115 studies cupational achievement, Nayak has standardised the cooking to from such comparing only children with siblings, exam- stay together or not, and whether we are an extent the ones. bisibele bhaath always ining surveys that were both self-reported and rich familiesthat or poor same,most as doof the pongal-avial andinto comeasuring the perceptions of others, onlies tastes I’ve the watched my friends tread conut sevai.ofAnd this standardisation score no higher on loneliness than anyone the tunnel second children, few of happens them to to be theas result a lesson learnt theformer hard way. else. When 13,000 kids were asked to name emerge howofI remember their enBack inselves 1995,—three cooks leftthe the restaurant their close friends, onlies named just as many gaged there’s hardly time to even without maintaining notice, dissatisfied withtell the bonus pals as siblings did. And in studies of narcis- consider a self, they me.

“You they had received. sism, only children rank no higher than kids don’t have any idea how hard it is — it’s more That hampered andsay Nayak rewith siblings. than twice as hard,”operations, many of them repeatsolved to reduce hisdazed. dependence cooks by And yet only three per cent of Americans to- edly, impatient and It’s true.on Our family replacing theirplentiful famed travel, ‘estimation of ingreday think the single child family is ideal. Com- life, busy with the delights of dients’ withurban standard measurements all pare that to the 1970s when 17 per living, indulgent forlaterecipes. Today, the bisibele bhaath,and a speciality cent of American women said night dinner parties, the freof Karnataka,quent at Poornima made byon anaOriya they’d be just fine stopping at one freedomisto binge novmigrant worker who had notallows even heard of kid. Most people say they have el over a weekend, as much Here’s a stunningly the dish before.

And Nayak saves onasthe high their first child for themselves, freedom and pleasure parentsimple concept: salaries commanded by regular To reand their second child for the ing without a trust cooks. fund could each child dilutes tain consistency in the taste, the restaurateur benefit of the first. That’s a hell of possibly offer. parents’ resources has not changed his suppliers ’90s.

“I a commitment to keeping your Parenting usedsince to bethe just one always use Tata Godrej groundnut kid from being an only child — as partSalt of and adulthood.

But today itoil is irrespective of increase innearly prices,” says.matthough by dint of fertility you can considered allhethat He uses only Brand urad prevent yourself from screwing ters.Cow It seems the de-skinned more of a parent dal, are, a keythe component of vadas and dosas. up your kids. Three quarters of Americans tell you less you are of anything else.

“Their dal isover sun-dried, using maGallup pollsters they thought that being an Meanwhile, the past without century, adulthood chines.

That makes it more expensive lends only child was a serious disadvantage in life, has come to promise thanbut justalso duty, but it a wonderful flavour,” says. who will satresponsible for everything from gutting lone- pleasure.

We search for ahepartner coffeedevelop powderaused at that Poornima is liness to major character defects. And though isfyEven ourthe desires, career reflects made at home build by a retired government our numbers are rapidly rising, that senti- our strengths, a life that suits not offijust cial.needs, “He supplies the powder a week.

The ment only grows. our but our wants.

We once envision a liberbeansexistence, are wellone roasted, which makes the But here’s a stunningly simple concept: ated of satisfaction and fulfilpowderamore flavourful.” each child dilutes parents’ resources. More ment, life built upon intentionality and kids get less. Such resources can be time, mon- individualism rather than obligation and role LegacyThis on the menu adulthood exists at odds ey, attention — everything from funds availa- filling. liberated Poornima was run by not its take original promoter, ble for college to the number of words spoken with parenting.

It does forced populaKeshav Prabhu, for almost two decades before directly from a parent to a child. It’s thanks to tion control to raise the number of a country’s Nayak’s father, Jagannathan, took it over on only children — the relative incompatibility of lease in 1985.and The restaurant after parenthood modernity was hasnamed well taken Prabhu’s eldest daughter, and the new mancare of that. agement to leave it unchanged.

And yetdecided as desires and identities evolve, we The eatery had for focused on continue to deify oldlong myths aboutmainly only chilPramod Nayak, from the second generation dren snacks. realised barely and“But theirwe parents.

Wethat delaysnacks childbirth in of the family that has been running Poornima our moved in the afternoon.

So we gradually classrooms and boardrooms, working since 1985, has kept a tight grip on costs by fo- and changed the dating menu.”and Thedishing.

Nayaks Our eventually wishing, bodies cusing on fast-selling dishes that can be pre- get bought theOur property older. lives in get2002. crazier. By the time pared in advance. That means no cooking, and we’re Theready restaurant raises itswe’ll prices at least twice to admit that never be ready, only serving during peak hours. a year now. to “We cannot And absorb the risenot, in the it’s tougher conceive. even if it’s it’s prices to of conceive diesel, electricity labour costs. tough of doing itand again.

Keeping it simple WeWhen have our to pass it on to the customers,” Nayak internal desires clash dramatical“We don’t have elaborate menus. says.

He uses excel sheet to ly with accepted wisdom, it’san incumbent upon Every day, we prepare only 30 to outneed the cost ofmore each dish.

A us to wonderwork why. We to be assert40 dishes. Items that have a waitmargin ofexactly 15-20 per is added ive in questioning why allcent our children ing time (like dosas) are not arriving the rate of the need siblings.before Because if I’m at going to choose Nayak controls costs served during lunch hours. This dish.one, while billions of other to have another by focusingpeople on fastmeans we can serve more people NayakI should is unwilling totobranch do the same, be able know selling dishes that And in the same time,” says the 41outifto outlets Ias he is the reason. it’smore not because want toun—I can be prepared year-old Nayak, from the Dondeabout maintaining the mean in really sure want to — have another child, advance rangadi village in Karnataka, levels at multiple Ikitchthere’s a bodyquality of supposed knowledge need where boys are introduced to ens. Instead, is researching to start questioning.

Forhemyself.

For my mass cooking quite early as they freezing daughter. Andthe for potential the world for I brought herthe inare expected to prepare meals for made Poornima’s kitchto. Instead of food making the at choice to fulfil whattemple functions. en. assignment The day he gets ever breeding weit right, have Mumbeen At Poornima, any item that sells less than 50 given, baikarswewill to relish favourite canget instead make their our most proplates a day is knocked off the menu. Nayak found Poornima fareour anymost time purely of the day or night. choice independent chooses to concentrate on volumes and quali- one.

But Damani continue topeople meet It might will evenprobably feel like something ty. “While we don’t cater to everyone, there is rarely his friends at thewith eatery, as old habits — mouthassociate parenting: it might feel enough for most people to pick from. This lets like watering ones at that — die hard. freedom. us monitor the quality of every item,” he says. rashmi pratap excerpts from One and Only He also keeps away from rich foods that re- Edited

Having an only child is not just okay, it’s often better

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One and Only The Freedom of Having an Only Child, and the Joy of Being One Lauren Sandler Simon & Schuster ₹1,500 (approx)

f you have an only child you’ve heard it all before. “You wouldn’t do that to your child,” a stranger cautioned me on the subway last week, shifting quickly from approval to scorn after hearing that I’ve no intention to have another kid. For those of us who have just one, whether by choice or by circumstance, our tight smiles in the face of these encounters become a matter of habit.

Random acts of derision on the subway is one thing; still I hadn’t anticipated, after presenting scores of data on the relative advantages of an only childhood at a recent conference, the first response from an academic in the audience. This was her surly snarl: “I believe you expect us to buy that only children might be better off.” It’s a lot of public scrutiny for such a private choice.

Everyone seems to think they know who only children are. We are the loners, the misfits, and always, always, the selfish ones. But after investigating the whole matter, I don’t buy it.

In other words, I’m here to say, if you — by dint of will or biology — have an only child, it’s okay. Because here’s the stunningly banal truth: only children are not really all that different than anyone else.

Don’t take my word for it, consider the data.

In over 500 studies over the past several decades, examining 16 traits, including leadership, maturity, extraversion, social participation, peer popularity, generosity, cooperativeness, flexibility, emotional stability, contentment, only children do just as well as siblings. In only two categories is there a marked difference between singletons and sibs: achievement motivation and self-esteem.

And in those traits, onlies fare far better. In

Southern comfort food

At Poornima, office-goers grab a decent bite at prices that beat even roadside carts in Mumbai’s posh business district

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No misfit Author Lauren Sandler with her daughter

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ne of India’s best-known investors and a stock market expert, Ramesh Damani, catches up with friends once a month in the heart of South Mumbai. Not at any five-star hotel or fancy cafeteria but at a quaint Udupi eatery tucked away in the busy Tamarind Lane opposite Bombay House, the corporate headquarters of the Tata group.

The nearly 50-year-old Poornima has several high-profile regulars, including the Tata Motors CFO C Ramakrishnan and other executives from Bombay House, as also visitors to the Bombay Stock Exchange and the Bombay High Court.

Packed into two floors and a mezzanine, in all totalling just 1,050 sq ft, the eatery is known as much for its taste and hygiene as its consistent quality and reasonable pricing.

The locality boasts the highest real estate prices in Asia and the priciest vegetables in India, but Poornima has remained affordable for the many young office-goers thronging here from all parts of the megalopolis.

It still serves a plate of idli for ₹25, medu vada for ₹30 and lunch thaali for ₹66, when even roadside carts in the area sell two pieces of idli for not less than ₹35.

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Court, unquote We know all about the insecurities of Carrie Bradshaw, played by Sarah Jessica Parker in Sex and the City, but never heard from her date Mr Big (Chris Noth) ap/new line cinema

her, he never calls her again. Waldman is determined to have you, the reader, think of all possible circumstances before you decide whether you like Nate or not. It is, as introductions go, not the most favourable one.

Much of the narrative of The Love Affairs… is what goes on in Nate’s head. In Juliet’s case, Nate is willing to concede (to himself) that perhaps he should have stayed in touch with her. “But at the time he hadn’t known if a call from him would have been welcome. It might have been a painful reminder of something she would rather put behind her. Nor did he know what he’d have said. And he’d It is easier to decode gotten distracted, caught up in a pre-feminist man, other things — in life. She could one who is focused have called him.” on the shallow or the Between culpability and beltraditional ligerence lies Nate’s inaction.

Women, in fiction and in life, spend an awful lot of time trying to decode male behaviour. More often than not, they end up ascribing the blame for their date’s lack of response to themselves. Maybe I was too pushy.

Maybe I should have worn something else.

Maybe I should have suggested drinks in the evening instead of brunch in the day. Waldman’s account of what goes on in Nate’s head is indicative of the fact that all of these could be the reason but, more often than not, none of them are.

The central affair of the book is the account of Nate’s relationship with Hannah. She too is an aspiring writer. She is beautiful, smart and not emotionally high-maintenance. She is immensely likeable and, even if you think she is too good for Nate in many ways (privy as you are to most of his imperfections), you are rooting for her. ‘Make this work, Nate,’ you want to yell, ‘don’t screw this up’. Yet, between the torrents of his desire for her and his “tenderness” for her, Nate is still looking for reasons to reject her.

What makes Nate’s story important is the revelation that he is as confused about how he should look upon women in this post-feminist world as the women themselves are. He wants to be charitable and think of women as clever equals, yet he finds it difficult to accept that they are. “He thought women were every bit as intelligent as men, every bit as capable of figuring out how long it would take for train A to crash into train B if the two were moving towards each other at an average speed of C. They were as capable of rational thought: they just did not appear to be interested in it.”

He likes that Hannah challenges him intellectually. Yet, he finds himself incredibly turnknown about the man, even though he was ed on when Hannah describes past sexual the centrepiece of the narrative. Like an other- behaviour that shows her in a rather smutty worldly alien or a masterpiece of modern art, light. He finds her beautiful. Yet, he is put off men were puzzlingly observed, seriously ana- by a jiggly bit of underarm skin or an unflatlysed and little understood. tering pair of jeans. Nate seeks Hannah to be Until now, that is. Adelle Waldman’s The Love everything he is certain she humanly cannot Affairs of Nathaniel P is a worthy attempt at cor- possibly be. recting this gender imbalance. Our protagoIf Nate is everyman, it is no wonder that the nist, Nate, like most young people in the dating game is fraught. In many ways, it is inborough of Brooklyn, is a young writer. He is deed easier to decode a pre-feminist man, one “a product of post-feminist 1980s childhood who is focused on the shallow or steeped in and politically correct 1990s education. He has the traditional. Eventually, though, most postlearned all about male privilege.” Yet, in the date analyses are laid to waste. There isn’t one second page of the book, Waldman has Nate thing you can do or say that is certain to deterbumping into Juliet, whom he had been out mine the course of another person’s feeling. with three or four times. But the course of As Nate puts it, “I am not sure it’s about the their possible future relationship was blight- right person. I think it’s about the right time.” ed by a broken condom. And although Nate He’s probably right. did the “right thing” by going with her to the abortion clinic and staying the entire day with veena venugopal

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What single men want A rare peek into male anxiety about the dating game

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The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P Adelle Waldman Picador Fiction ₹890

ating is, inarguably, one of the best spectator sports there is. While the players are racked with endless anxiety, awash with insecurity and a debilitating uncertainty about what their next course of action should be, spectators can sit back, shake their heads and smirk. Having spent countless evenings with friends as they have gone on and on about the neurosis of the lawyer or the psychosis of the photographer, all I have wished for is the foresight to have brought along some popcorn and a drink. It is, by far, the perfect way to spend an evening.

The stories from the battlefields of dating, though, have long had strict gender codes.

Women talk about the travails of their dating lives. Women (and gay male) friends listen to these. Whether it is Bridget Jones or Carrie Bradshaw, even as late as the last decade, dating was entirely a woman’s story. Little was

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saturday, april 19, 2014

Silver lining

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Flying solo About 150 years ago, a lone cattle egret paved the way for others, when it strayed into South America without human assistance

dominic henry India is not a level playing field. Any sport but cricket involves pushing higher, harder, further

Leap of faith Ashish Kumar competing at the National Games manob chowdhury

Alone but not lost Single birds that end up far outside their normal geographic range, are often examples of migration gone wrong. But given enough time, even they can fit into a community

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I spy... Spot the Pink-footed Goose Chugging peter wilton along Intezar Fatima Naqvi, a senior clerk in Northern Railways, continues to officiate as a technical judge on the hockey field navalhans singh

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elhi was in a state of transition.

There was excitement everywhere as the city acquired a modern look distinct feeling of discomfort acAsian Games.

The ahead of the 9thsudden companies the realisation youth lined up you’ve to volunteer athletes prethat foundand yourself somepared to seek glory.unexpected.

Television sales boomed as where The puzzled live coverage of a unfamiliarities, sporting event was a new looks, the subtle the disoriand much-awaited phenomenon.

Theyourself Capital ented panic that you will embarrass was hosting the to 1982 Asiad.ground.

And there was before retreating familiar I associpromise for sportspersons — even those ate this yet feeling with accidentally entering who the more undervalued men’schose bathrooms at theobscure, airport, where returnsports a single-sport ing to in a place I belongcountry. involves just taking a Amidst all the hype, teenager Fatifew steps towards the door whileIntezar assiduously ma Naqvieye wascontact. nurturing dreams.

When avoiding But her imagine then getgirls of her age stayed indoors, shethe toiled on ting on a plane that takes you to wrong the running sprints and playing city,field, country, or even continent, and kho-kho you can with tillpredicament the day was done.

“I beginher to classmates imagine the of a valoved grant sports,” bird. she says. But her mother didn’t.

Naqvi’s conservative background Vagrants are individuals that endthreatened up far outto hamper her sporting ambitions.

And faside their normal geographic range, farher from ther themembers only one who welcomed mostwas other of their species.her Thedecinorsion to play hockey she joined college. mal ranges of birdswhen can be immense — many spend summers and winters in different parts of the world and migrate vast distances between them. Vagrants are often examples of this truly impressive feat of migration gone wrong. But over long periods of time, these errors play a crucial role in generating the diversity of life. Through a combination of chance and opportunity, single individuals can reshape nature.

How do these errors in migration occur in the first place? Sometimes they result from abnormal weather events, like cyclones that blow birds off-course. But more frequently, vagrants land up thousands of kilometres away from their destination because of errors in their migration programme. Older birds, experts at long-distance flight, use a complex variety of cues to figure out where they’re going, but first-time migrants depend entirely on internal, inherited instructions that specify only the direction and distance they need to travel.

A two-part instruction, however, is easy to break, because even a small mistake — go west instead of go east — has severe consequences.

But why hockey? “I got admission under the tions, rare. Hats off to the youngsters who still sports quota. So I had to pick a game. I chose aspire to be champion gymnasts. hockey, that’spatterns all,” sheofsays.

At the Asiad that There’s little money game Geographic where vagrants end from Central Asia, likelyininthe search of and seedscerto winter, India won usual gold in women’sroutes hockey, glamour.

Even thethese media attention is up relative to their migration re- tainly eat. Onno landing in Hawaii, birds encouneven as Naqvi, theright cheering crowdbut at negligible.

Butseeds Ashish beenpotenundeveal that they part travelofthe distance, tered not just butKumar a hosthas of other the Shivaji up her own plans. terred.

A sources non-descript athlete, wascreatures mocked don’t do asStadium, well withfirmed direction. tial food untapped by he other In cricket-crazy society, yet to accept wom- when he pledged to win an international Anaindividual vagrant’s chances of surviv— nectar, fruit, insects that live under medbark. en’s sports as worthy of attention, al short, in gymnastics — a great feat for ing its mistake are not great, but on longer Though their stout beaks weren’t wellNaqvi embodied spiritmistakes of de- turn into suited to eating someone who took sport timescales, some the of these these foods, sometoofthe their determination. only because his parents opportunities. Opposition Take the cattlecame egret, a bird you scendants acquired mutations that wanted altered from variouson quarters, especially him to stay getting ‘fit’. Butbetter all hisathard see perched the backs of grazing cows and their beak dimensions, siprelatives, nothing deter and persistence paid off at buffaloes,but picking off could insects that scatter out ping is nectar,work for instance, but worse at eating Vijay Amritraj her.

Naqvi offered keep egrets goal, aare native the 2010poor Commonwealth of the cattle’s path.toCattle to theseeds. strategy, butGames since among finestA seemingly tough proposition for spread a new-to thegentlemen in Delhi where Kumar wonfor silver.

Africa and Asia, but have Ameri- these variants had little competition the on the comer, andthe loved it, particularly ‘pipe dream’ was nowTheir a reality. cas within last 150 years. In this agetennis of peo-court, nectar, managed to survive. deyet theyHis since the protective equipment, A few months later, at Kumar ple shuttling every manner of plant, animal, scendants in turn gradually got better capinever seen on a helmet included, masked claimed country’s only and microbe across the world, her cattle egrets novelthe resources, eventually Grandare Slamtalising podiumon these identity.

“Even if they came toway the bronze medal at the Asian Games. unique in having found their splitting into many species, each ground, my detractors That too, by finishing of a to South America withoutcouldn’t human excelling at feeding onahead a particurecognise shecattle says,egrets now Chinese backed by of a assistance. me,” The first lar food. Acontender complex community amused by the incident. packed at Hawaiian Guangzhou. in the Americas, therefore, were over 50stadium species of honAn individual An India which cap wasmanaged the holy grail, Despite hiseycreepers performance, Kumar not a celvagrants, to but Naqvi came intoisexistence vagrant’s chances hardly allowed herself atopopuladream of it. Every ebrated sportsman I doubt he’d ever hang on and establish becausein India. vagrant Rosefinches of surviving its time her has mother chided her for playing hock- be. Yet the young manupon doesn’t being detion that persisted and spread chanced an regret opportunity. mistake are not ey, Naqvi, withcontinents. the tacit support mediocre cricketers footacross two Peopleof her father, nied what some Vagrant birds have theand capacity great but, in time, took firm step towards goal, eventually ballers may earn in terms of fame and money. have aplayed a role in theirher expanto create communities of husome mistakes turn landing a class—IVthe appointment (a government If the world mans recognises a champion, Kumar is sion, though human-mediof a particular kind as well into opportunities job a boon late ’80s).

What but sadly not in India. atedwas spread ofincattle across thefollowed was one by any yardstick, — birdwatchers (birders).

Birders aworld few appearances at the National “It’s worthwhile to invest in gymnastics. provided vagrant cattle championavidly track the occurrence of vaships... quickly fadedtointo oblivion The game is grants, gainingchasing a littleinto bit of popularity. egrets But withNaqvi the opportunity hurricanes to as a player, continuing to be with The government should make a point to continue living as they did on associated the spot the birds theyit bring with the game only as an official.

Nowfrom. a technical build halls anddistances provide good indistant continent they journeyed them. gymnastic They travel long for the judge on the field,egrets off it, she works as a senior every State,” had said insecan Though cattle in the Americas still frastructure chance to seein a vagrant Ross’ he Seagull for 45 clerk thebehave Northern to Sportskeeda fourinyears ago. But look in and likeRailways. their counterparts in interview onds, spend days camping the snow to Yet Naqvi has “noofregrets at couall”. nothing changed.

Kumar is all but forgotAfrica or Asia,says the she persistence vagrants watch a has vagrant Calliope hummingbird and “There are many like me, chasingopportunities their dreams ten, lost the race for the number one slot. pled with the right ecological arrive inin hoards to spot a single vagrant Pinkall their Some make it and some don’t. Not Theregoose are enough likeGeese.

Vijay can, overlife. millions of years, yield impressive di- footed amongsporting a flock ofgreats Canada everyone can be champion.

Butofthere is Amritraj — among thewe finest gentlemen on the versity. Islands thata lie in the path migratWe owe everything know about such varoom enough for cyclones the runners-up too.” court, to yetbirders’ never seen on thepassion podiumfor of ing birds and present the best tennis grant birds curious Grand them Slam. down Sport — is decades not about winners prospects for vagrants to diversify. Islands of- atracking of observahythe would anyone in Indiacommunities want to be a alone. is space a Naqvi orglobal Kumarpatas ten lack complex ecological tions ofThere solitary birdsfor coalesce into applaud the acrobatspectators, need to recognise their presentgymnast? on largerPeople continental landmasses, so well. terns.As Given enoughwe time, even the loneliest of ic performers a circus but aren’t don’t appreciate andfitpassion.

For there will always be vagrants that in reach islands presented effort birds can into a community. the of a budding gymnastthe in Hawaia swel- champions, but there will be runners-up too. withflexibility much competition.

Consider tering training hall.a Infrastructure alien to ambika kamath studies organismic and evolutionary ian honeycreepers, group of birds is that origiis deputy editor, sports, The Hindu the gymnastics fraternity here andflew competibiologylokapally at Harvard University nated when vagrant Rosefinches over vijay

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Open waters Almost half of urban India is single — instead of cashing in on the numbers, travel operators weigh solo travellers down with single supplements

The ring leader afp/david goldman

In Saturn, we see an atom, the nebula, the entire universe

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ften the history of a single obthought to be a continuous solid disc, a ject can reflect, when magnirather strange shape which Huygens justified a much larger ongoing fied, “… some people have imagined that, saga in nature. A lonely piece of if it were possible to construct a continrock may contain the imprints of earth’s uous arch all the way around the Earth, it magnetic field recorded over millennia; would sustain itself without any support. the rings inside an old tree may contain Therefore, let them not consider it absurd the annual auguries of climate; and oceanif a similar thing has happened of itself in ic tides echo forever in the memories of a the case of Saturn.” seashell.

This view of one solid ring prevailed unConsider the planet Saturn, which retil Giovanni Domenico Cassini’s observasembles a minor solar system itself, a gasetions in 1675, when he discovered dark ous sun orbited by many small moonlets gaps separating multiple rings. Almost a and debris. The famous rings of Saturn are century later, in the aftermath of Newton’s clearly visible to astronomers today like a theory of gravity — Pierre-Simon Laplace halo, but only with the help of a modern showed in 1785 that this ring structure telescope. In 1610, when Galileo trained his could not be mechanically stable under newly fashioned instrument on the planet, gravity, and therefore Saturn was surthe primitive device showed him the “ears rounded by not a few but numerous very of Saturn” as two moons. Apart from the thin ringlets, although he too insisted that fact that rings around a planet were unthe rings were solid.we try and match the credentials, in“Often heard of, what further perplexed the ItalDuring terests, the lategender, 18th century, Immanuel etcetera, of single travellers ian scientist was their periodic appearance Kant and who Laplace developed their nebular choose our villa escapes to help them cut and disappearance over time. model forcosts the origin of the solar—system. by sharing a room although there’s no The first person to identify the appendThe analogy thecent rings entered promi100 ofper guarantee that they will get ages as a ring, with a more penetrating (apnently into the development of this theory, along,” says Yogi Shah.

Other travel agencies, proximately 50 times magnification) accordingwhich to which Sun and group planets offerthe specialised tours, such as instrument was Christiaan formed of a on primeval roCosmos or out Women Wanderlust, also offer Huygens in 1655, who extating‘matchmaking’ nebula. Upon its con- But aren’t similar services. plained the waxing and wantraction, what the nebula brokebehind along roommates one leaves ing phases of the rings thus: into a series of rings thatguitar sub- in college? with the hand-me-down Saturn’s solid rings “Yes, “...the ring, which I had imagsequently conat times gravitationally we’ve had solo travellers who inwere broken down sisted ined was inclined at about densed into a the and on having roomSun to themselves.

But the the same angle to the plane of into particles, almost profile planets.

The customers rings of Saturn of our is such that they in parallel with the know the ecliptic — with a permawere viewed as asupplements fossil record are and are what single rise of atomic theory willing nent and unchanging inclinaof this carried out ontoprocess, pay it,” says Shah. tion, be it understood, as is ly part of the way.

That singletons are resigned to compensatknown to be the case on this The concept that the—rings ing for their marital status even in the low or hared EMIs, shared housework, heavy Earth of ours with the planesingle customers count shoulder volume of prospective were not solid,when but consisted seasons, hoteliers are swatting lifting, apocalyptic uteruses… there of the for equator.

From this insomething? ofand many independentare tiny sat-serving soups flies restaurateurs still are plenty of reasons why people marclination Thomas it necessarily followed that in itsreported Cook (India) has already ellitesawasthat firstcan put be forward

by James Clerk— is tragic insplit one into two ry. Double room tariffs is not onedifferent of growth aspects the same ring showed of about 35 per cent in theto new emergMaxwell in an essay that won Adams deed.

But perhaps theythe should seek comfort in them. But consider this: an 8N/9D Wondersusofat one a rather broad ellipse, aningtime segment of singles.

“Whileat the source mar-at Cambridge prize University in 1859.

In travellers a the fact that, historically, single have Europe summer package on MakeMyTrip other time narrower ellipse, and someket isa primarily Tier I metros, we’ve seen a solid way, the rings of for Saturn had finally had to settle far worse.

Jeanne Baret, the costs ₹1,44,990 per person for couples and times even a straight line. of Assegments regards the delightful diversity — be itbeen frombroken into(disguised particles, almost in to circumfirstdown woman as a man) ₹1,75,990 for a solo traveller — a steep single handle-like formations, that the youth of GenI understand Y, young corporate execu- with parallel the rise atomic theory. and discover bonavigate theofworld (1766-69) supplement of ₹31,000 or 20-odd per cent.

A phenomenon this wasinterestingly, due to the fact that travellers tives and now women This triumphant paper byhas Maxwell tanical treasures, barelywas made it to the sum that can easily pay for another weekend the ring was says not attached the globe of VP too,” Shibani to Phadkar, senior and by adopted HantaroofNagaoka, a Japanese footnotes history; Joshua Slocum, the first of temporary bliss in peak-season Leh or pockSaturn,head, but was separated from it the same Products, Leisure Travel (Outbound) physicist in 1903 to create a model the the world, man to singlehandedly sailofaround et-friendly Bangkok. distance all around.”Operations & Tour Contracting, atom based on Saturn.was Historians of physlost at sea in 1909; more reMakeMyTrip is not alone. Singling out sinThis Management. deceptively simple advance

by HuyAnd while it might ics tell us, “Nagaokacently, assumed that the Dominick Arduin, the first gle travellers is a common industry practice. gens involved a superior use aofpattern metallurgy, be too early to trace in atom is a large, massive, positively charged woman to ski alone to the North One that is about as irritating for single-inengineering, an improvedPhadkar theory offinds optics their preferences, sphere, encircled by very many (in order Pole, drowned in aofcrevice someroommates come, multiple-destination wander-lusters,and as the of tend machines thatconstruction single travellers to seekfor Aren’t magnitude: hundreds)where light-weight, nega- ice fields in in the Siberian leaves couples canoodling in public Jacuzzis on a thetelescopic grinding glass. is The what security oflenses cities from (Singapore tivelyone charged electrons, bound bywe electro2004…

And haven’t even menbehind along cruise. Or finding a pair of towel swans on same the knowledge would alsoand enable him to a clear favourite) choose static forces with analogous to Saturn’s ring, tioned Tintin and Pluto. hand-me-down bed after flying thousands of miles to put time design short-haul other optical instruments, using the or weekend trips more which is stabilised andTypically, attractedsingle to the travellers in Incollege? and distance between them and their recently which often.

Huygens “caused a stir in Paris Also, the younger they are,in guitar heavy in planet by gravitation and consists dia are just that —ofsingle or unacquired exes. Short of hanging a ‘stags and 1678 with ‘infinity little animals’ disthethe more open of they seem to be to a myriad of small fragments.” married. But god forbid you’re a dogs are not allowed’ sign, travel operators, coveredthethrough his ownrooms, new espemicroidea of sharing It is a statement tosolo its uniqueness that traveller who happens to be hotels and cruises appear to pull out all stops scopes.”cially These innovations onbiological international trips. were the same planet has served as aand metaphor married a woman, you won’t to keep singletons at home. in turn influenced by and had anSuchna impactShah, Mumbai-based Yogi and forwho models of both anfor atom and a nebula. have to wait an airline to lose your baggage The raison d’être: it doesn’t make business on figures such asBackpacker Antonie Van started The CoLeeuwenin 2004 to take Notthe to mention the mysterious to lose your wits. A travelhexagon agency we called this sense to give to one what could easily serve hoek and Robert Hooke.

“After Hooke had Indian tourist beyond ‘Rome maa ras and Paris over its North on a on sphere weekPole, insisted a Nootherwise Objection Certificate two. Costs of real estate and housekeepingnudged for maa Leeuwenhoek towards observapuri,’ have relied heavily on single travellhaving anfrom almost atmospheric thefeatureless husband for married women (not for a single or a double room at a hotel remaintions the ofers theof frog led to his dis-But unlike a embryo youngerthat demographic. surface. Due to itsmen) wafer-thin rings andto Europe, US, married travelling alone same whether one person or two occupy covery the their of the capillary customers circulationwho in the Backpacker wouldn’t bat Australia multitude of moonlets, Saturn also repreor New Zealand.

Africa and South space. But in a country where half the urban first place, it wasif Huygens earlyor en-evensents an eyelid they had who to triplequad-the most complex gravitational America are less discerning, laboit appears. So dear population is unmarried — the 2011 Census couraged him to extend his or efforts to share rooms in hostels pensiones in Eu- in the ratory solar system. intrepid solo traveller, pack your bags and Sunlit side Saturn is surrounded by numerous thin ringlets wikicommons identifies about 50 per cent of urban Indians warm-blooded animals,” writes author Ed- more up- head to the bottom of the world. Alone. rope, travellers who sign up for their as ‘never married’ (not counting the widowed, ward G.market, Ruestow.personalised holidays, or Therohit Villagupta explores the history of science as Compasswallah t banerjee @fadesingh soity divorced or separated) — shouldn’t the sheer For aEscape, long time, ringsdemanding. of Saturn were can the be more

Leaving alone on a jet planeQ In the lopsided world of travel and tourism, singling out single travellers is a common industry practice

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Bengal rising At a pro-Statehood rally in Darjeeling, where the leaders were reiterating their demand for Gorkhaland

One & apart

Skewed perspective A man from the Karbi tribe seen through a broken windshield in Diphu in the Karbi Anglong district of Assam

Everybody wants their own space.

A visual recap of last year’s Statehood struggles in the Northeast

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Road less travelled A deserted road to the Darjeeling Hills. Hardly any vehicles were allowed to ply the road after tensions between Statehood supporters and the police escalated

nce the birth of Telangana seemed certain on paper, many areas in the Northeast saw a renewed call for Statehood.

The Bodos, the Karbis and the Gorkhas all raised their voices for separate States. Road blockades, rail roko and violence were reported from across the region, more so in the Bodoland Territorial Autonomous Districts, the Karbi Anglong District in Assam and the Darjeeling Hills in the upper reaches of West Bengal.

During this period, I travelled extensively, covering agitations across Assam and West Bengal, looking at and photographing these three movements. All these regions have a history of separatist struggles demanding new States that would divide them from their current States based on ethnic and linguistic lines. What the Centre had set into motion was bound to have far-reaching effects on the eastern periphery of the Indian nation. vivek singh is a Delhi-based freelance photojournalist. He reported with the help of a grant from the Manuel Rivera Ortiz Foundation for Documentary Photography and Film 2013

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Assam spring Protesters demanding a separate state of Bodoland seen on the tracks of Kokrajhar’s railway station in Assam

A moment to reflect A placard is reflected on the windshield of a bus in Kokrajhar, Assam

On the prowl Riot Police stand guard in Diphu, headquarters of the Karbi Anglong district in Assam

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saturday, april 19, 2014

Silver lining

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14 10

Flying solo About 150 years ago, a lone cattle egret paved the way for others, when it strayed into South America without human assistance

dominic henry India is not a level playing field. Any sport but cricket involves pushing higher, harder, further

Leap of faith Ashish Kumar competing at the National Games manob chowdhury

Alone but not lost Single birds that end up far outside their normal geographic range, are often examples of migration gone wrong. But given enough time, even they can fit into a community

D A

I spy... Spot the Pink-footed Goose Chugging peter wilton along Intezar Fatima Naqvi, a senior clerk in Northern Railways, continues to officiate as a technical judge on the hockey field navalhans singh

ND-X _ A

elhi was in a state of transition.

There was excitement everywhere as the city acquired a modern look distinct feeling of discomfort acAsian Games.

The ahead of the 9thsudden companies the realisation youth lined up you’ve to volunteer athletes prethat foundand yourself somepared to seek glory.unexpected.

Television sales as where Theboomed puzzled live coverage of a unfamiliarities, sporting event was a new looks, the subtle the disoriand much-awaited phenomenon.

Theyourself Capital ented panic that you will embarrass was hosting the to 1982 Asiad.ground.

And there was before retreating familiar I associpromise for sportspersons — even those ate this yet feeling with accidentally entering who the more undervalued men’schose bathrooms at theobscure, airport, where returnsports a single-sport ing to in a place I belongcountry. involves just taking a Amidst all the hype, teenager Fatifew steps towards the door while Intezar assiduously ma Naqvieye wascontact. nurturing dreams.

When avoiding But her imagine then getgirls of her age stayed indoors, shethe toiled on ting on a plane that takes you to wrong the running sprints and playing city,field, country, or even continent, and kho-kho you can with tillpredicament the day was of done.

“I beginher to classmates imagine the a valoved grant sports,” bird. she says. But her mother didn’t.

Naqvi’s conservative background Vagrants are individuals that endthreatened up far outto hamper her sporting ambitions.

And faside their normal geographic range, farher from ther themembers only one of who welcomed mostwas other their species.her Thedecinorsion to play of hockey she joined college. mal ranges birdswhen can be immense — many spend summers and winters in different parts of the world and migrate vast distances between them. Vagrants are often examples of this truly impressive feat of migration gone wrong. But over long periods of time, these errors play a crucial role in generating the diversity of life. Through a combination of chance and opportunity, single individuals can reshape nature.

How do these errors in migration occur in the first place? Sometimes they result from abnormal weather events, like cyclones that blow birds off-course. But more frequently, vagrants land up thousands of kilometres away from their destination because of errors in their migration programme. Older birds, experts at long-distance flight, use a complex variety of cues to figure out where they’re going, but first-time migrants depend entirely on internal, inherited instructions that specify only the direction and distance they need to travel.

A two-part instruction, however, is easy to break, because even a small mistake — go west instead of go east — has severe consequences.

But why hockey? “I got admission under the tions, rare. Hats off to the youngsters who still sports quota. So I had to pick a game. I chose aspire to be champion gymnasts. hockey, that’spatterns all,” sheofsays.

At the Asiad that There’s little money game Geographic where vagrants end from Central Asia, likelyininthe search of and seedscerto winter, India won usual gold in women’sroutes hockey, glamour.

Even thethese media attention is up relative to their migration re- tainly eat. Onno landing in Hawaii, birds encouneven as Naqvi, theright cheering crowdbut at negligible.

Butseeds Ashish beenpotenundeveal that they part travelofthe distance, tered not just butKumar a host has of other the Shivaji up her own plans. terred.

A sources non-descript athlete, he wascreatures mocked don’t do asStadium, well withfirmed direction. tial food untapped by other In cricket-crazy society, yet to accept wom- when he pledged to win an international medAnaindividual vagrant’s chances of surviv— nectar, fruit, insects that live under bark. en’s sports as worthy of attention, in gymnastics — a weren’t great feat for ing its mistake are not great, but on longer Though theiralshort, stout beaks wellNaqvi embodied spiritmistakes of de- turn into suited to eating someone who took sport timescales, some the of these these foods, sometoofthe their determination. only because his parents opportunities. Opposition Take the cattlecame egret, a bird you scendants acquired mutations that wanted altered from variouson quarters, especially him to stay getting ‘fit’. Butbetter all hisathard see perched the backs of grazing cows and their beak dimensions, siprelatives, nothing and persistence off at buffaloes,but picking off could insectsdeter that scatter outAmritraj ping is nectar, work for instance, but worsepaid at eating Vijay her.

Naqvi offered keep egrets goal, aare native the 2010poor Commonwealth of the cattle’s path.toCattle to theseeds. strategy, butGames since among finestA seemingly tough proposition for spread a new-to thegentlemen in Delhi where Kumar wonfor silver.

Africa and Asia, but have Ameri- these variants had little competition the on the comer, andthe loved it, particularly ‘pipe dream’ was nowTheir a reality. cas within last 150 years. In this agetennis of peo-court, nectar, managed to survive. deyet theyHis since the protective equipment, A few months later, at Kumar ple shuttling every manner of plant, animal, scendants in turn gradually got better capinever seen on a helmet included, masked claimed country’s only and microbe across the world, her cattle egrets novelthe resources, eventually Grandare Slamtalising podiumon these identity. if they came toway the bronze at the Asian Games. unique in“Even having found their splittingmedal into many species, each ground, my detractors That too, at by feeding finishing of a to South America withoutcouldn’t human excelling onahead a particurecognise shecattle says,egrets now Chinese backed by ofa assistance. me,” The first lar food. Acontender complex community amused by the incident. packed at Hawaiian Guangzhou. in the Americas, therefore, were over 50 stadium species of honAn individual An India which cap wasmanaged the holy grail, Despite hiseycreepers performance, Kumar not a celvagrants, to but Naqvi came intoisexistence vagrant’s chances hardly allowed herself atopopuladream of it. Every ebrated sportsman I doubt he’d ever hang on and establish becausein India. vagrant Rosefinches of surviving its time her has mother chided her for playing hock- be. Yet the young manupon doesn’t being detion that persisted and spread chanced an regret opportunity. mistake are not ey, Naqvi, withcontinents. the tacit support mediocre cricketers footacross two Peopleof her father, nied what some Vagrant birds have theand capacity great but, in time, took firm step towards goal, eventually ballers may earn in terms of fame and money. have aplayed a role in theirher expanto create communities of husome mistakes turn landing a class—IVthe appointment (a government If the world mans recognises a champion, Kumar is sion, though human-mediof a particular kind as well into opportunities job a boon late ’80s).

What but sadly not in India. atedwas spread ofincattle across thefollowed was one by any yardstick, — birdwatchers (birders).

Birders aworld few appearances at the National “It’s worthwhile to invest in gymnastics. provided vagrant cattle championavidly track the occurrence of vaships...

But Naqvi quickly fadedtointo oblivion The game isgrants, gainingchasing a littleinto bit of popularity. egrets with the opportunity hurricanes to as a player, continuing to be with The government should make a point to continue living as they did on associated the spot the birds theyit bring with the game only as they an official.

Nowfrom. a technical build halls anddistances provide good indistant continent journeyed them. gymnastic They travel long for the judge on the field,egrets off it, in shethe works as a senior every State,” had said insecan Though cattle Americas still frastructure chance to seein a vagrant Ross’ he Seagull for 45 clerk thebehave Northern to Sportskeeda fourinyears ago. But look in and likeRailways. their counterparts in interview onds, spend days camping the snow to Yet Naqvi she has “noofregrets at couall”. nothing changed.

Kumar is all but forgotAfrica or Asia,says the persistence vagrants watch a has vagrant Calliope hummingbird and “There are many like me, chasingopportunities their dreams ten, lost the race for the number one slot. pled with the right ecological arrive inin hoards to spot a single vagrant Pinkall their Some of make it and some don’t. Not Theregoose are enough likeGeese.

Vijay can, overlife. millions years, yield impressive di- footed amongsporting a flock ofgreats Canada everyone can be champion.

Butof there is Amritraj — among thewe finest gentlemen on the versity. Islands thata lie in the path migratWe owe everything know about such varoom enough forcyclones the runners-up too.” court, to yetbirders’ never seen on thepassion podiumfor of ing birds and present the best tennis grant birds curious Grand them Slam. down Sport — is decades not about winners prospects for vagrants to diversify. Islands of- atracking of observawould anyone in Indiacommunities want to be a alone. is space a Naqvi orglobal Kumarpatas ten lackhythe complex ecological tions ofThere solitary birds for coalesce into applaud the acrobatspectators, need to recognise their presentgymnast? on largerPeople continental landmasses, so well. terns.As Given enoughwe time, even the loneliest of ic performers a circus but aren’t don’t appreciate andfitpassion.

For there will always be vagrants that in reach islands presented effort birds can into a community. the of a budding gymnastthe in Hawaia swel- champions, but there will be runners-up too. withflexibility much competition.

Consider tering training hall.a Infrastructure alien to ambika kamath studies organismic and evolutionary ian honeycreepers, group of birds is that origiis deputy editor, sports, The Hindu the gymnastics fraternity here andflew competibiologylokapally at Harvard University nated when vagrant Rosefinches over vijay

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Open waters Almost half of urban India is single — instead of cashing in on the numbers, travel operators weigh solo travellers down with single supplements

The ring leader afp/david goldman

In Saturn, we see an atom, the nebula, the entire universe

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ften the history of a single obthought to be a continuous solid disc, a ject can reflect, when magnirather strange shape which Huygens justified a much larger ongoing fied, “… some people have imagined that, saga in nature. A lonely piece of if it were possible to construct a continrock may contain the imprints of earth’s uous arch all the way around the Earth, it magnetic field recorded over millennia; would sustain itself without any support. the rings inside an old tree may contain Therefore, let them not consider it absurd the annual auguries of climate; and oceanif a similar thing has happened of itself in ic tides echo forever in the memories of a the case of Saturn.” seashell.

This view of one solid ring prevailed unConsider the planet Saturn, which retil Giovanni Domenico Cassini’s observasembles a minor solar system itself, a gasetions in 1675, when he discovered dark ous sun orbited by many small moonlets gaps separating multiple rings. Almost a and debris. The famous rings of Saturn are century later, in the aftermath of Newton’s clearly visible to astronomers today like a theory of gravity — Pierre-Simon Laplace halo, but only with the help of a modern showed in 1785 that this ring structure telescope. In 1610, when Galileo trained his could not be mechanically stable under newly fashioned instrument on the planet, gravity, and therefore Saturn was surthe primitive device showed him the “ears rounded by not a few but numerous very of Saturn” as two moons. Apart from the thin ringlets, although he too insisted that fact that rings around a planet were unthe rings were solid.

“Often we try and match the credentials, inheard of, what further perplexed the ItalDuringterests, the lategender, 18th century, Immanuel etcetera, of single travellers ian scientist was their periodic appearance Kant and who Laplace developed their nebular choose our villa escapes to help them cut and disappearance over time. model forcosts the by origin of the solar—system. sharing a room although there’s no The first person to identify the appendThe analogy thecent rings entered promi100 ofper guarantee that they will get ages as a ring, with a more penetrating (apnently into the development of this theory, along,” says Yogi Shah.

Other travel agencies, proximately 50 times magnification) accordingwhich to which Sun andgroup planets offerthe specialised tours, such as instrument was Christiaan formed of a on primeval ro- also offer Cosmos or out Women Wanderlust, Huygens in 1655, who extating‘matchmaking’ nebula. Upon its con- But aren’t similar services. plained the waxing and wantraction, what the nebula broke roommates one leaves behind along ing phases of the rings thus: into a series of rings that sub- in college? with the hand-me-down guitar Saturn’s solid rings “Yes, “...the ring, which I had imagsequently conat times gravitationally we’ve had solo travellers who inwere broken down sisted ined was inclined at about densed into a room the Sun and on having to themselves.

But the the same angle to the plane of into particles, almost profile planets.

The customers rings of Saturn of our is such that they in parallel with the know the ecliptic — with a permawere viewed as asupplements fossil record are and are what single rise of atomic theory willing nent and unchanging inclinaof this carried out ontoprocess, pay it,” says Shah. tion, be it understood, as is ly part of the way.

That singletons are resigned to compensatknown to be the case on this The concept the—rings ing for their maritalthat status even in the low or hared EMIs, shared housework, heavy Earth of ours with the planesingle customers count shoulder volume of prospective were not solid,when but consisted seasons, hoteliers are swatting lifting, apocalyptic uteruses… there of the for equator.

From this insomething? many independentare tiny sat-serving soups fliesofand restaurateurs still are plenty of reasons why people marclinationThomas it necessarily followed that in itsreported Cook (India) has already ellitesa wasthat firstcan putbe forward

by James Clerk— is tragic insplit one into two ry. Double room tariffs is not onedifferent of growth aspects the same ring showed of about 35 per cent in theto new emergMaxwell in an essay that won Adams deed.

But perhaps theythe should seek comfort in them. But consider this: an 8N/9D Wondersusofat one a rather broad ellipse, ingtime segment of singles.

“While at theansource mar-at Cambridge prize University in 1859.

In travellers a the fact that, historically, single have Europe summer package on MakeMyTrip other time narrower ellipse, and someket isa primarily Tier I metros, we’ve seen a solid way, the rings of for Saturn had finally had to settle far worse.

Jeanne Baret, the costs ₹1,44,990 per person for couples and times even a straight line.of Assegments regards the delightful diversity — be itbeen frombroken into(disguised particles, almost in to circumfirstdown woman as a man) ₹1,75,990 for a solo traveller — a steep single handle-like formations, understand that the youth of GenI Y, young corporate execu- with parallel the rise atomic theory. and discover bonavigate theofworld (1766-69) supplement of ₹31,000 or 20-odd per cent.

A phenomenon this was due to the fact that travellers tives and now interestingly, women This triumphant paper byhas Maxwell tanical treasures, barelywas made it to the sum that can easily pay for another weekend the ring wassays not attached the globe of VPadopted too,” Shibani to Phadkar, senior and by HantaroofNagaoka, a Japanese footnotes history; Joshua Slocum, the first of temporary bliss in peak-season Leh or pockSaturn,head, but was separated from it the same Products, Leisure Travel (Outbound) physicist man in 1903 to create a model the the world, to singlehandedly sailofaround et-friendly Bangkok. distance all around.”Operations & Tour Contracting, atom based on Saturn.was Historians of physlost at sea in 1909; more reMakeMyTrip is not alone. Singling out sin-This Management. deceptively simple advance

by HuyAnd while it might ics tell us, “Nagaokacently, assumed that the Dominick Arduin, the first gle travellers is a common industry practice. gens involved a superior use aofpattern metallurgy, be too early to trace in atom is a large, massive, positively charged woman to ski alone to the North One that is about as irritating for single-inengineering, an improvedPhadkar theory offinds optics their preferences, sphere, encircled by very many (in order Pole, drowned in aofcrevice someroommates come, multiple-destination wander-lusters,and as the of tend machines thatconstruction single travellers to seekfor Aren’t magnitude: hundreds)where light-weight, nega- ice fields in in the Siberian leaves couples canoodling in public Jacuzzis on a thetelescopic grinding glass. is The what security oflenses cities from (Singapore tivelyone charged electrons, bound bywe electro2004…

And haven’t even menbehind along cruise. Or finding a pair of towel swans on same the knowledge would alsoand enable him to a clear favourite) choose static forces with analogous to Saturn’s ring, tioned Tintin and Pluto. hand-me-down bed after flying thousands of miles to put time designshort-haul other optical instruments, using the or weekend trips more which is stabilised andTypically, attractedsingle to the travellers in Incollege? and distance between them and their recently which often.

Huygens a stir they in Paris Also,“caused the younger are,in guitar heavy in planet by gravitation and consists dia are just that —ofsingle or unacquired exes. Short of hanging a ‘stags and 1678 with ‘infinity little animals’ disthethe more open of they seem to be to a myriad of small fragments.” married. But god forbid you’re a dogs are not allowed’ sign, travel operators, coveredthethrough his ownrooms, new espemicroidea of sharing It is a statement tosolo its uniqueness that traveller who happens to be hotels and cruises appear to pull out all stops scopes.”

These innovations cially onbiological international trips. were the same planet has served as aand metaphor married a woman, you won’t to keep singletons at home. in turn influenced by and had anSuchna impactShah, Mumbai-based Yogi and forwho models of both anfor atom and a nebula. have to wait an airline to lose your baggage The raison d’être: it doesn’t make business on figures such asBackpacker Antonie Van started The CoLeeuwenin 2004 to take Notthe to mention the mysterious to lose your wits. A travelhexagon agency we called this sense to give to one what could easily serve hoek and Robert Hooke.

“After Hooke had Indian tourist beyond ‘Rome maa ras andover Paris its North on a on sphere weekPole, insisted a Nootherwise Objection Certificate two. Costs of real estate and housekeepingnudged for maa Leeuwenhoek towards observapuri,’ have relied heavily on single travellhaving anfrom almost atmospheric thefeatureless husband for married women (not for a single or a double room at a hotel remain tions the ofers theoffrog led to his dis-But unlike a embryo youngerthat demographic. surface. Due to itsmen) wafer-thin rings and married travelling alone to Europe, US, same whether one person or two occupy covery the their of the capillary customers circulationwho in the Backpacker wouldn’t bat Australia multitude of moonlets, Saturn also repreor New Zealand.

Africa and South space. But in a country where half the urban first place, it wasif Huygens earlyor en-even sents an eyelid they had who to triplequad-the most complex gravitational America are less discerning, laboit appears. So dear population is unmarried — the 2011 Census couraged him to extend his or efforts to share rooms in hostels pensiones in Eu- in the ratory solar system. intrepid solo traveller, pack your bags and Sunlit side Saturn is surrounded by numerous thin ringlets wikicommons identifies about 50 per cent of urban Indians warm-blooded animals,” writes author Ed- more up- head to the bottom of the world. Alone. rope, travellers who sign up for their as ‘never married’ (not counting the widowed, ward G.market, Ruestow. personalised holidays, or Therohit Villagupta explores the history of science as Compasswallah tbanerjee @fadesingh soity divorced or separated) — shouldn’t the sheerFor aEscape, long time, ringsdemanding. of Saturn were can the be more

Leaving alone on a jet planeQ In the lopsided world of travel and tourism, singling out single travellers is a common industry practice

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Fresh take Pramod Nayak, owner of the 50-year-old Poornima restaurant, in Mumbai shashi ashiwal

The one for me

quire costly ingredients like cream and nuts.

“Ours is a quick meal-on-the-go and does not need to be rich. More so because we cater to people who are health-conscious,” he says.

Self-service allows customers to place their order at the till and pick up the grub at another counter. “That cuts down staff costs and helps us focus on the food without diverting attention to service,” he explains.

The 38-member staff includes delivery boys who supply to offices in Fort, and Nariman tests measuring 32 different kinds of intelli- suchChurchgate undiluted resources thatPoint. only child famgence, onlies scored higher in 25 tests, and ilies tend to have higher educational and ocRegimented cooking whether our parents equal in four. In a meta-analysis of 115 studies cupational achievement, Nayak has standardised the cooking to from such comparing only children with siblings, exam- stay together or not, and whether we are the ones. bisibele bhaath always ining surveys that were both self-reported and an richextent familiesthat or poor same,most as doof the pongal-avial andinto comeasuring the perceptions of others, onlies tastes I’ve the watched my friends tread sevai.ofAnd this standardisation score no higher on loneliness than anyone conut the tunnel second children, few ofhappens them to be theas result lesson learnt theformer hard way. else. When 13,000 kids were asked to name to emerge howofI aremember their en1995,—three cooks leftthe thetime restaurant their close friends, onlies named just as many Back gagedinselves there’s hardly to even dissatisfied withtell the bonus pals as siblings did. And in studies of narcis- without consider notice, maintaining a self, they me.

“You received. sism, only children rank no higher than kids they don’thad have any idea how hard it is — it’s more That hampered andsay Nayak rewith siblings. than twice as hard,”operations, many of them repeatto reduce hisdazed. dependence cooks by And yet only three per cent of Americans to- solved edly, impatient and It’s true.on Our family theirplentiful famed ‘estimation of ingreday think the single child family is ideal. Com- replacing life, busy with travel, the delights of dients’ withurban standard measurements all pare that to the 1970s when 17 per living, indulgent forlaterecipes. Today, the bisibele bhaath,and a speciality cent of American women said night dinner parties, the freof Karnataka,quent at Poornima made byon anaOriya they’d be just fine stopping at one freedomisto binge novmigrant worker who had notallows even heard of kid. Most people say they have el over a weekend, as much Here’s a stunningly the dish before.

And Nayak saves onasthe high their first child for themselves, freedom and pleasure parentsimple concept: salaries commanded by regular To reand their second child for the ing without a trust cooks. fund could each child dilutes tain consistency in the taste, the restaurateur benefit of the first. That’s a hell of possibly offer. parents’ resources has not changed his suppliers ’90s.

“I a commitment to keeping your Parenting usedsince to bethe just one always use Tata Godrej groundnut kid from being an only child — as partSalt of and adulthood.

But today itoil is irrespective of increase innearly prices,” says.matthough by dint of fertility you can considered allhethat He uses only Brand urad prevent yourself from screwing ters.Cow It seems thede-skinned more of a parent keythe component of vadas and dosas. up your kids. Three quarters of Americans tell dal, you aare, less you are of anything else. dal isover sun-dried, maGallup pollsters they thought that being an “Their Meanwhile, the past without century, using adulthood That it more expensive lends only child was a serious disadvantage in life, chines. has come to makes promise thanbut justalso duty, but a wonderful flavour,” says. who will satresponsible for everything from gutting lone- it pleasure.

We search for he a partner Even coffeedevelop powderaused at that Poornima is liness to major character defects. And though isfy ourthe desires, career reflects at home build by a retired government our numbers are rapidly rising, that senti- made our strengths, a life that suits not offijust cial.

“He supplies the powder a week.

The ment only grows. our needs, but our wants.

Weonce envision a liberare wellone roasted, which makes the But here’s a stunningly simple concept: beans ated existence, of satisfaction and fulfilflavourful.” each child dilutes parents’ resources. More powder ment, amore life built upon intentionality and kids get less. Such resources can be time, mon- individualism rather than obligation and role on the menu adulthood exists at odds ey, attention — everything from funds availa- Legacy filling. This liberated was run by not its take original promoter, ble for college to the number of words spoken Poornima with parenting.

It does forced populaPrabhu, for almost two decades before directly from a parent to a child. It’s thanks to Keshav tion control to raise the number of a country’s Nayak’s father,— Jagannathan, took it over on only children the relative incompatibility of lease in 1985. and The restaurant after parenthood modernitywas hasnamed well taken Prabhu’s eldest daughter, and the new mancare of that. agement to leave it unchanged.

And yetdecided as desires and identities evolve, we The eatery had for focused on continue to deify oldlong myths aboutmainly only chilPramod Nayak, from the second generation snacks. realised barely dren and“But theirwe parents.

Wethat delaysnacks childbirth in of the family that has been running Poornima moved in the afternoon.

So we gradually our classrooms and boardrooms, working since 1985, has kept a tight grip on costs by fo- changed the dating menu.”and Thedishing.

Nayaks Our eventually and wishing, bodies cusing on fast-selling dishes that can be pre- bought theOur property get older. lives in get2002. crazier. By the time pared in advance. That means no cooking, and we’re Theready restaurant raises itswe’ll prices at least twice to admit that never be ready, only serving during peak hours. ait’s year now. to “We cannot And absorb the risenot, in the tougher conceive. even if it’s it’s prices of conceive diesel, electricity labour costs. tough to of doing itand again.

Keeping it simple WeWhen have to it on to the customers,” Nayak ourpass internal desires clash dramatical“We don’t have elaborate menus. says.

He uses excel sheet to ly with accepted wisdom, it’san incumbent upon Every day, we prepare only 30 to outneed the cost of more each dish.

A us to wonderwork why. We to be assert40 dishes. Items that have a waitmargin ofexactly 15-20 per is added ive in questioning why allcent our children ing time (like dosas) are not arriving the rate of the need siblings.before Because if I’mat going to choose Nayak controls costsanother served during lunch hours. This dish.one, while billions of other to have by focusingpeople on fastmeans we can serve more people NayakI should is unwilling totobranch do the same, be able know selling dishes in the same time,” says the 41outifto outlets Ias he is the that reason. And it’smore not because want toun—I can be prepared year-old Nayak, from the Dondeabout maintaining the mean in really sure want to — have another child, advance rangadi village in Karnataka, levels at multiple Ikitchthere’s a bodyquality of supposed knowledge need where boys are introduced to ens. Instead, is researching to start questioning.

Forhemyself.

For my mass cooking quite early as they freezing daughter. Andthe forpotential the world for I brought herthe inare expected to prepare meals for made Poornima’s to. Instead of food making the at choice to fulfil kitchwhattemple functions. en. The day he gets ever breeding assignment weit right, have Mumbeen At Poornima, any item that sells less than 50 baikars to relish favourite given, wewill canget instead make their our most proplates a day is knocked off the menu. Nayak Poornima fareour anymost time purely of the day or night. found choice independent chooses to concentrate on volumes and quali- But continue topeople meet one.Damani It mightwill evenprobably feel like something ty. “While we don’t cater to everyone, there is his friends at thewith eatery, as old habits — mouthrarely associate parenting: it might feel enough for most people to pick from. This lets watering ones at that — die hard. like freedom. us monitor the quality of every item,” he says. pratap Edited excerpts from One and Only He also keeps away from rich foods that re- rashmi

Having an only child is not just okay, it’s often better

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One and Only The Freedom of Having an Only Child, and the Joy of Being One Lauren Sandler Simon & Schuster ₹1,500 (approx)

f you have an only child you’ve heard it all before. “You wouldn’t do that to your child,” a stranger cautioned me on the subway last week, shifting quickly from approval to scorn after hearing that I’ve no intention to have another kid. For those of us who have just one, whether by choice or by circumstance, our tight smiles in the face of these encounters become a matter of habit.

Random acts of derision on the subway is one thing; still I hadn’t anticipated, after presenting scores of data on the relative advantages of an only childhood at a recent conference, the first response from an academic in the audience. This was her surly snarl: “I believe you expect us to buy that only children might be better off.” It’s a lot of public scrutiny for such a private choice.

Everyone seems to think they know who only children are. We are the loners, the misfits, and always, always, the selfish ones. But after investigating the whole matter, I don’t buy it.

In other words, I’m here to say, if you — by dint of will or biology — have an only child, it’s okay. Because here’s the stunningly banal truth: only children are not really all that different than anyone else.

Don’t take my word for it, consider the data.

In over 500 studies over the past several decades, examining 16 traits, including leadership, maturity, extraversion, social participation, peer popularity, generosity, cooperativeness, flexibility, emotional stability, contentment, only children do just as well as siblings. In only two categories is there a marked difference between singletons and sibs: achievement motivation and self-esteem.

And in those traits, onlies fare far better. In

Southern comfort food

At Poornima, office-goers grab a decent bite at prices that beat even roadside carts in Mumbai’s posh business district

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No misfit Author Lauren Sandler with her daughter

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ne of India’s best-known investors and a stock market expert, Ramesh Damani, catches up with friends once a month in the heart of South Mumbai. Not at any five-star hotel or fancy cafeteria but at a quaint Udupi eatery tucked away in the busy Tamarind Lane opposite Bombay House, the corporate headquarters of the Tata group.

The nearly 50-year-old Poornima has several high-profile regulars, including the Tata Motors CFO C Ramakrishnan and other executives from Bombay House, as also visitors to the Bombay Stock Exchange and the Bombay High Court.

Packed into two floors and a mezzanine, in all totalling just 1,050 sq ft, the eatery is known as much for its taste and hygiene as its consistent quality and reasonable pricing.

The locality boasts the highest real estate prices in Asia and the priciest vegetables in India, but Poornima has remained affordable for the many young office-goers thronging here from all parts of the megalopolis.

It still serves a plate of idli for ₹25, medu vada for ₹30 and lunch thaali for ₹66, when even roadside carts in the area sell two pieces of idli for not less than ₹35.

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Court, unquote know all aboutSurabhi the insecurities Corporate socialWe responsibility?

HR set up of CarrieQuotient Bradshaw, played

by Sarah Jessica Parker in Political after realising there were few Sex and the but never heard from Mr Big avenues for City, youngsters to engage with her the date political ap/new line cinema (Chris grn somashekar; and (below) Pritesh Mittal, a systemNoth) final-year student at IIT-Bombay, is a volunteer with her, he Aadmi neverParty callspaul hernoronha again. Waldman is dethe Aam

termined to have you, the reader, think of all possible circumstances before you decide whether you like Nate or not. It is, as introductions go, not the most one.party, it and convince them tofavourable vote for their Much narrative of The many Love Affairs… is will be a of tadthe easier to convince others in what goes of ontheir in Nate’s head.career In Juliet’s case, the course corporate — be it for Nate is willing concede (to himself) the approval of atoloan or a business plan. that perhaps heisshould stayed touch manwith “Politics about have resource andinpeople her.

“But at thetherefore, time he hadn’t known a call agement and, an ideal placeiffor an from him would have been welcome.

MBA graduate.

Likewise, there is a lot It ofmight scope have been a painful reminder of for using technology in politics today, so techsomething she would rather put nology majors from reputed colleges can volbehindwork her.for Nor did he know unteer tech-related political parties,” says Surabhi. what he’d have said. And he’d It is easier to decode gottenofdistracted, caught upthe in Much like many the AAP volunteers, a pre-feminist man,at TMCother thingsMondal — in life.

She could interns — Tanmoy and Samprione who is focused called him.”with the party’s ti Motghare —have too are working on the shallow or the Between culpability belmedia and communications teamsand to find traditional ligerence liesmasses.

Nate’s inaction. ways of reaching out to the in fiction and in The internsWomen, also conduct research to life, unspend an by awful lot of time trying earth the issues faced locals, suggest soluto decode male behaviour.

More tions, and liaison with government offices for party work. often than not, they end up ascribing blame for their date’s of reRevantthe Soni, secretary of the NSSlack (National sponse to themselves.

Maybesays I was too pushy.

Service Scheme) at IIT-Delhi, one can nevMaybe I should something er be sure what anhave IITianworn will turn out to beelse. ten Maybe I should the years from now. have He orsuggested she mightdrinks be an in entreevening instead of or brunch in with the day.

Waldpreneur or a techie working a start-up man’s account whatthe goesexperience on in Nate’s head in a rural area.of“But gained is indicative ofwith the fact of these could from working MPsthat andall MLAs will broadbe but,onmore often than and not, sensinone en the theirreason outlook policy matters of are.to the larger issues facing the tisethem them The central affair of the book is the account country,” he says. of ANate’s relationship with Hannah.

She tooinis final-year student, Soni coordinates an aspiringwith writer. is beautiful, smart and ternships theShe Centre for Legislative Renot emotionally high-maintenance.

She is imsearch and Advocacy.

Students undertake mensely and,and even if you think she is research likeable on policies make presentations too good for Nate in many ways (privy as you before elected representatives on complex are to“This mosthelps of his the imperfections), you are rootbills. leaders in decision-making her. this work, Nate,’ you want to ing.for And the‘Make students gain experience in polipostgraduates in Mumbai and Delhi. yell, ‘don’t screw up’.career,” Yet, between the torcy research early this in their he adds.

A 100-strong group that includes software rents of his desire for her and his “tenderness” engineers, bankers, lawyers, designers and for Nate isrush still looking for reasons to reTheher, internship marketers has set up Citizens for Accountable ject her.

While students have always taken a keen interGovernance (Indian CAG), an NGO to promote estWhat makesboth Nate’s important the in politics, at story the national andislocal Narendra Modi’s brand of politics. And there revelation is asthat confused about how he levels, it isthat onlyhe now they have access to is Political Quotient, a for-profit consultancy should look upon women this to post-femiplatforms that bring them in closer real-life set up in Bangalore only eight months ago to nist world as thehas women themselves are. He politics.

Surabhi witnessed this transforhelp students and young professionals learn wants be charitable and think of women as mationtofirsthand. the political ropes by working with elected clever equals, yetSurabhi he findswanted it difficult to accept In 2009, when to work with representatives. that they are.

“He thought women every politicians, she didn’t know wherewere to begin.

“Politics, policymaking and governance re- bit intelligent as men, every bit asGopinath capable “Onasmy own I approached Captain quire talent from different backgrounds. of figuring out for how it would take for (who contested thelong Lok Sabha from South There is place for everyone, from the grass- train A to crash intoand train B if thewith two him,” were Bangalore that year) interned roots workers and professionals moving towards each other at an average she recalls. to students,” says Surabhi HR, dispeed of C. They were as capable rational That spurred her tooflook for a rector at Political Quotient. And thought: theystructured just did not appear to be interway of engaging stuthe opportunities are way greaested in it.” dents with the system, and PolitiThe ability toHe get ter during an election, as some likes that challenges himbeing. intelcalHannah Quotient came into things donelectually. can be Yet,Since IIT-Bombay students have he finds himself incredibly August 2013, the outfitturnhas learnt while ed working known about the man, even though he was discovered. on whenreceived Hannah110 describes past for sexual applications inpoliticalbehaviour parties that the centrepiece of the narrative. Likewith an othershows her instudents a rather smutty ternships from as well worldly alien or askills masterpiece of modern art, light. He finds Corporate-ready beautiful.

Yet, he isIt put as her young professionals. has off so men were puzzlingly observed, Pritesh Mittal, a final-year stu-seriously ana- by a jiggly bitfarofworked underarm skin or an unflatin conjunction with lysed and little understood. dent of Energy Science and Engitering pair of18jeans.

Nate and seeks three Hannah to be interns elected Until now, is. Adelleand Waldman’s The Love everything he neering at that IIT-Bombay a is certain she humanly cannot representatives.

Affairs of Nathaniel is a that worthy attempt at procor- possibly volunteer for AAP, Psays while college be.forward to scaling up and working “We look recting this gender imbalance. vides technical knowledge, “youOur also protagoneed in- with If Nate is everyman, it is in nothe wonder thatyear. the nearly 45 legislators coming nist, Nate, like young people the dating terpersonal skillsmost and the ability to get in things game is fraught. many it is inThe demand far moreInthan weways, can accomborough of Brooklyn, is a while youngworking writer. He is deed done, which can be learnt with easier decode pre-feminist man, one modate, andtoour seats aare full right till Decem“a product of post-feminist 1980s childhood political parties.”

So the interns at AAP are do- who is focused ber,” she says. on the shallow or steeped in and politically correct 1990s education.

He has theAttraditional. ing everything from creating a voter helpline Eventually, though, postAAP too, youngsters are makingmost a beeline learned all about male privilege.”

Yet, in the date for locating polling booths, developing interanalyses laid to waste.

There isn’tDitto one to intern andare volunteer with the party. second page of conducting the book, Waldman has camNate thing active apps and door-to-door canIndian do or say that is certain to deterfor theyou BJP’s CAG. And while the Conbumping into Juliet, he had been paigns. Deadlines are whom non-negotiable and out the mine of another feeling. gress the hascourse not offered any person’s internship prowith three or fourmonitored. times. But the course of As interns are closely Nate puts “I am not sure it’s about the gramme so far,it,it’d perhaps be better off doing their possiblethey future blightAlongside, are relationship honing their was people and right person.

I think about way the right time.” so. After all, this is yetit’s another of catching ed by a broken And although managerial skillscondom.

— a key requirement forNate suc- He’s themprobably young. right. did thing”job. by going herbelieve to the cessthe in a“right corporate These with interns rashmivenugopal pratap abortion clinic staying the entire in dayrallies with veena that if they canand manage the crowds

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Students hone special managerial skills by interning with political parties in the heat and dust of electioneering

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olitics is emerging as the newest training ground for India Inc’s future managers. And the ongoing elections in the world’s largest democracy are proving to be the perfect laboratory for mixing management and technology principles with political policies.

In West Bengal, the ruling Trinamool Congress selected two out of the 31 IIM-Calcutta students who had applied to intern with the party in February this year. The newbie Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is offering both full-time and part-time internships for graduates and

What single men want A rare peek into male anxiety about the dating game

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The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P Adelle Waldman Picador Fiction ₹890

ating is, inarguably, one of the best spectator sports there is. While the players are racked with endless anxiety, awash with insecurity and a debilitating uncertainty about what their next course of action should be, spectators can sit back, shake their heads and smirk. Having spent countless evenings with friends as they have gone on and on about the neurosis of the lawyer or the psychosis of the photographer, all I have wished for is the foresight to have brought along some popcorn and a drink. It is, by far, the perfect way to spend an evening.

The stories from the battlefields of dating, though, have long had strict gender codes.

Women talk about the travails of their dating lives. Women (and gay male) friends listen to these. Whether it is Bridget Jones or Carrie Bradshaw, even as late as the last decade, dating was entirely a woman’s story. Little was

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In it together Looking for love in the urban jungles of India can be hard work... Niche matrimonial sites hope to narrow down the choices

ELSEWHERE

manjula padmanabhan

kr deepak

Lights out Super storm fizzles softly

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he weather bureau and the National Grid, the agency that supplies energy to my part of the Island, have been issuing warnings over the past several weeks: a big hurricane (defined as a tropical cyclone with winds in excess of 119 kmph) is headed our way. People by the coast have been evacuated. I am relieved to find that my part of town isn’t in the flood-zone. My friends live on higher ground and invite me to sit out the storm in their house. But I don’t want to abandon my little ship. I stay put.

The night before the storm, I step out to look up at the sky.

Despite all the maps and images of the swirling white disk ack in 2007, when Vivek Pahwa saw bearing down upon us, it’s hard to feel menaced. There’s no that his friends, all in their 30s, were rain, no thunder or lightning and the wind has not yet toustruggling to find someone likeched down. The only sign that anything is amiss is directly minded they could marry, he had the overhead: low gray clouds are racing by like giant freight idea of creating a platform to bring together trains, making no sound. A surreal and sinister sight. nd Veronica’s jumped on the firstof flight out toage Paris for the latest in funeral people the same group, irrespective of Morning is cancelled. Before the sun can rise, rain begins chic. Okay, maybe not. Lasttheir week,marital when I status. heard that Riverdale’s freckle-faced, So while most matrimopelting down out of the sky. The drops sting like tiny razors. carrot-topped, love-struck nial Archie Andrews is going to on be killed off, I was perwebsites then focused the unmarried, It’s completely unlike the monsoons in Bombay and Delhi, plexed. The publishers have that his death will be promised “heroic”, and hissaid site SecondShaadi.com to that con-Life or the typhoons of my childhood in Thailand, because the With Archie series will continue to chronicle thesingles lives of—the rest of the gang — or Betty, nect 30-plus unmarried, divorced water is cold. Hostile. The wind comes whipping in sideRonnie, Reggie, Jughead and even Moose and Midge Chuck Nancy.

Why would widowed.

Today,and it sees 300and people signing up ways, howling. Huge trees are bowing and swaying like they do this? Does this also signal theevery end ofday, theincluding longest running love triangle?

Does he those looking to remarry grass stalks. Then the power snaps off. finally choose? Is that the only solution had?inYes, we’re pretending that the stories andthey singles their late-30s and beyond.

It is odd for me, veteran of a on Archie’s many weddings never happened.

Now Ronnie, thencases Betty…

“The number of divorce is onthen the Valerie! rise thousand power failures in DelHe should’ve picked! now. It made sense to run a separate site as hi, to experience a First World Anupam Mittal, founder and Murugavel Janakiraman, CEO, I can’t quite recall when I first started reading Archie comics.

But every summer vacapeople in a similar situation find it easier to repower-outage.

It’s different on I don’t want to CEO, Shaadi.com, VIPShaadi.in, Matrimony.com, Assistedmatrition, on board the Rajkot-Secunderabad Express, my backpack would stuffedofwith late to each other.

That offers morebe chances threemony.com, counts: one, the oven’s elecSelectshaadi.in 40plusmatrimony.com abandon my little Archie double digests, Nagraj comics and Cadbury’s 5 stars. would arrive clicking and taking theWe relationship to early the at tric, not gas. So even tea and cofship. I stay put the station to scour for Wheelers andnext snaglevel,” as many double digests as our holiday bounsays Pahwa. fee are off the menu, never mind ty would allow. At stations where the train would halt for more than five minutes, werimonial empire spanning general as well as problem in finding a partner,” reasons Mittal. hot food.

Two, without central would sprint along the length of the Matching platform to look for Archies. Finding Betty and Ve-specialised sites, including the 40plusmatrimoelite Little wonder then that Janakiraman has heating, the house becomes a ronica digests was tough, Jughead even tougher.

Even when I grew older, I care-ny.com and Assistedmatrimony.com (for over It was precisely this thought that also when led Anu20 million clients and over 2.5 freezer within an hour.globally Three, the fully packed Murakamis and Vonneguts, thrill of hunting down double digests pamthe Mittal, founder and CEO of BV Shaadi.com, to professionals). lakhthe new members every month. At landline stops working. Yes, landline!

It’sjoining got a battery always remained. I never liked Archie, although I was as and much of a klutz as about he was. It Mittal’s VIP, by invitation launch VIPShaadi.in Selectshaadi.in only after service hashours.

Pahwa’s Secondshaadi.com too, registrations that dies eight My Samsung Galaxy cellphone, was the expectation that he would pick, the BV The feudfirst would have winner that twothat years ago. caters toathe crème de hasgrown 10-fold within a beautiful year and boasts 40 that haveshe doubled in the year. and prima adonna is, runs outpast of juice kept me hooked to this day. la crème of India — high networth individuals per cent success rate. For Select, it almost is 20 per Into this mix of divorced, widowed, profesfaints away immediately.

The love triangle was the only thinglooking that really matteredprivacy in the Archie Jugh-cent. “Our target is to double for extreme in theiruniverse. matrimobotha quick shower while there’ssionals and super-rich I have still hot water in the logging in ead’s spaghetti-and-meatball escapades legendary Five gave mebusy the lovethese success rates,” he says. nialwere dealings, while(Famous the second targets pipes and fill up two buckets to use infor thecompanionship, toilet. As eveningPune-based for bacon and Juggie, the love for spaghetti and meatballs), Reggie’s evil plans were a professionals who believe in delegation even Pradeep has added yet anfalls, I light a couple of candles, putting themDixit inside small scream, even Dilton and his crazy inventions were atoprecursor Dexter’s lab. But theThe marriage Net when it comes finding a to partner. glass bottles so that fire bydimension falling over.—It’speople who Intothey this won’t mix ofcause aother juiciest stories were when Betty and Ronnie for their epic showdowns “This headed busy, new, career-focused breed atisPopThe online matrimonialvery business were Dixit,out who runs the still outside.

The rain has stopped.

At adopted. night, I blow divorced, widowed, Tate’s, at proms, at their homes. Theirs was theserious first loveabout triangle I remember. practical, getting married, but is expected to grow to Supthe₹1,500 candles. Itprofessionals is pitch dark. and I cannotnon-profit hear any ofCommunication the other I have always openly rooted for Betty.

Shedoes was the Whenever either notdo-gooder. have the time to lookArchie’s for thebat-crore by 2017 from ₹520residents crore at in the building.

Foundation, MatriI consider port feeling scared butlaunched it’s super-rich, tered old jalopy broke down, en route to a date withor Ronnie, Betty who fixed right partner is justit was uncomfortable ap- hispresent. Industry chamber Assomonyforadopted .org this January. too exhausting.

So I feel irritable instead.

Matrimonyforride. If Archie had spent all his pocket money on fancy dates Ronnie, Betty proaching a stranger on a with website despite lik-wascham foresees for it a compound SinceIts itsrobust launch,little it has received Then I remember my Sony E71.

Hoorah! adopted.org adds content with snuggling next to him ing on her couch, watching rentedHis film, eating their profile,” says aMittal. sites nowpop-annual growth of over 65battery per cent 25 registrations and 3,000 hits. is still alive.

It also receives radio signals.

My Airtel adopted kids corn she had made. But in later years,attract I secretly crushed trips, thein the next two years. roaming account finds AT&T and allows users fromon allRonnie’s over theshopping world, includ“We are me conducting to send outcamps and indoor pool parties she threw the US, cruellest of winters (seasons never inginthe UK, Canada, Australia and UAE.mat- During financial year 2012-13 messages to friends and family. counselling to make peoproof-of-life I listensessions to a tricktered in the Lodge world), her cunning schemes, her jealousy and herusers extraor-alone, about 55 million “Our technology allows us to segment people ple aware it,”battery. says Dixit, who is le of news before turning off the machine to saveofits dinary ability to keep bothand Archie and Reggie on a tight leash. connect like-minded people,” heBetty says.was thesigned up for online matrimonial simultaneously creating an onThen I fall asleep. quintessential girl next door,“People much like I was, but Ronnie was a fascinating from the upper crust of society usu- sites. The spurt is related toThe thepower rising number network of orphanages to complement stays off forline 18 hours.

The first thing I do when study in high maintenance.ally have to mask their identity when search- of internet users in India — pegged the site.

The first 100I registrations it returns is to reach make myself some tea.

Then charge my are free.

If Archie has to be the biggest sacrifice on theonline,” altar of sales “edgy story-243 million by June 2014,phones. ing for partners saysand Murugavel according the In- “I’m “We’ll charge nominal ₹1,000-₹1,500 after I calltoeverybody. fine!”

I tellathem.

“It was really telling”, so be it. Even if Betty ends up with Veronica, it. If both .com. turn outternet and Mobile Association Janakiraman, founder CEOsoofbeMatrimony of India. that,” he says, way below the lakhs charged by exciting!

Nothing happened!” to be figments of Mr Weatherbee’s terrible that’s fine too. But “Smartphone use is further driving this sites catering to the elite.

His solution was imagination, to set up Elitematrimony.com give us a finale we’ll remember andcomplete then shutwith downthe theservices Life With in 2008, of Archie a per- se-trend (of online matrimony).

ThePADMANABHAN, breakdown authorSo, not of marriages MANJULA andwhether artist, tellsor us tales her parallel are made in ries. For life without “dear Archiekins” will be simply pointless. sonal relationship manager.

Registrations of the joint family system the movement heaven,series they increasingly appear to be finalmarginalien.blogspot.in lifeand in Elsewhere, USA, in this fortnightly A heartbroken fangirl have trebled in the past year, and one in every of people to different cities are challenging ised online in today’s fast-paced world. four members has found a match through the the traditional ways of finding a match. In a priyanka kotamraju site, says Janakiraman, who spearheads a mat- country obsessed with marriage, this creates a rashmi pratap

Dear Right Diary…click Archie’s dead

The business of online coupling in India has grown big enough to create its own niches

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Woe. What will happen to the love triangle once my freckle-faced hero is cold meat?

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HOME SPUN

amitabha bagchi

Across river No. 1 hitthe singles

The disappearance of a nala and the homecoming of an author Singlehood is setting up camp not waiting, with bated breath, at an airport lounge

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ou know what the problem is with singlehood. Plotlessness. That is what. In one all-encompassing word. As a species, we are programmed to fulfil certain processes at certain times. Philosophy, literature, music, biology, aunts — they all hustle the same trajectory.

Hindu philosophy prescribed the four ashramas. The Bard padded three more stages, making it the seven ages of man. Cat Stevens coined his ditty Father and Son, where he crooned “Find a girl, settle down, if you want you can marry.” (Pox on you Boyzone, for killing that song for me.) And if one were to ever lose sight of these ‘goals’ — enter the gynaecologist, whose one role on this earth is to glower and say, “It is getting late.”

But what if fate, circumstance, turn of events dictated otherwise? What if the whole meet-partner-fall-in-love-be-loved-marryhave-baby-have-one-more-baby did not go quite according to schedule?

What then?

In a country where ticking these boxes becomes a badge of honour, what of those who have not yet clicked on the boxes or have choMoment in timethem Crossing the nala became a decade sen to ignore altogether?

What of un-later a point of departure for the author’s first novel monica tiwari married men and unmarried women, divorced husbands and divorced wives, single n 1990, a few days after moving the these roads there was a small cemented plat- your blessings). . fathers and single mothers?

In theseacross scenarios Yamuna, I walked early one morning to form on which, the very first day, I spotted the — in these lifetimes, to be precise — one must On summer afternoons when I got off the the bridge overfind the meaning wide nalainthat gird one’s loins, and thissepaplot- remnants of some kind of religious observ- bus I would look at the saplings that were rated our swathe of Mayur Vihar from ance. A few days later what I had initially taken planted along the road that led home and lessness and seek a vision that looks beyond shutterstock/pretty pointy chin the river’s floodplain, and took, with some to be litter took on a new life when I saw, at one urge them to grow quickly linear narratives. so that they could trepidation, what to be a reasonable It is not easy to seemed imbue meaning when and corner of this platform, a white-bearded man throw shade on this burning path for those position on it, thereby existence where ‘society’ not onlybringing believesinto there is none, changed, in pants the andcourage a shirt, to saffron changecloth whatwrapped one can, Thompson such as myself who reminds had onlyusever walked helpfully to “observe a stop for the bus route thatofcarried my East but annuls any possibility it. As a all single per- and around neck, lighting a tableau the thehis wisdom to knowa lamp, the difference.” home fromaround bus stops through the bowered world us like a scientist — to see Delhiof schoolmates RK Puram. son ‘marriageableto age’distant you aren’t merely When whoseon impact was greatly heightened the what’s the island, why not indulge inbywhat streets actually of Lutyens’ Delhi.

This silent prayer going on instead of what just Tinged the freshness of early in you seen as with someone who is slower offmorning the blocks, presence, indo. theGrow background, of around a squatyour red happens want to geraniums would beto comprehensively answered, years afgall (or please) us.” my memory, lit by the pink hue of a rising sun tent but as someone ‘too picky’, ‘shunning responmotorcycle parked edge of thecount road.the terAnd (roses are for at thethe mainland), I had graduated from school, by the Delhi therein lies the crux.

Everyone around and redolent of course, the sewage flowed sibility’ and, of that that favourite asunder ‘play- shooting In the years come this pujari would shed me stars,toeven buy a dining table while Metro thatto would build anand elevated line over seems be marrying gestating and the bridge, this moment became, a decade lat- you ing the field’. his polyester pantsother for more sadhu-like attire. are at it. Meet island-dwellers.

Boats procreating. the nala, drowning this road permanent But their lives areinno better or er,Facebook a point of nags departure for‘update my first life novel.

This will you to event’.

He would slowly expand the one platform into a worse pass by.

And who knows, boat might shadow, arresting the are smell sewage lives, that than mine, they justofdifferent novel was a semi-autobiographical Friends and family ask ‘Any news?’ Andwork they even double-storied mandir.

He would build a wall ridden choose to drop anchor. had always likeand I was home, and withmade their me ownfeel perks burdens. whoseonly long gestation had enclosing mean oneand thing.difficult But you have none. And DDAis land on both sides Singlehood a stage of equilibrium.

Not raising snapped, property values andisrentA friend recently “Oh, what the brought me toyou therealise realisation that is when that that the my solitary of his mandir, creating a herb ridden with epic and highs and even good part ofal incomes in this There now coveted being unattached? really is walkplots up the road to the best aresloping not those where thebridge, inevi- vegetable garden onelows. side and moreon epic It is the confi- none.” The challenge neighbourhood. is to find meaning in the table onceand myend father’s sequence comeretirement predeter- from gov- using the other to house a menagdence that you can be there for here and now, Three-novels-old now,by and myto not be inundated a past This pujari would ernmentInstead service mined. it isand thoseour that consequent erie that included a cowbecause, yes, that didn’t work friends goats, and family, self the father of a child is out and a future that iswho yet to shed his polyester externment from theWhat protected enclaves ofchallenge Lu- andisa to leave you asking, now? flock of geese.

He would beis to be open configure itself. you do have time. It about to enter school, I drove by The pants for more tyens’next?

Delhi had brought my family find to what What rumoured sacrifice to the universeyoung and to be geared myarise old only bus from stop the day, Joy doesn’t ‘life other events’.

It meaning in the sadhu-like attire was then the periphery of the city, had here beenandhomeless Most people look at being unatchildren atexperiences. his altar and It is not ide- comes from navigating for new through incremental slowly pleasures on a dailya now emblematic, encapsulating asa it did the sometimes disappear tached with the same fervour as for weeks al, but it is just as valid and legiti- basis — the right crowd of Grameen sewa book vehicles espresso and a great for themes of aairport bildungsroman starring a son of on end leaving wait in an lounge, essenthe temple mate a stagelocked as any other. company in waiting for thethe next train to bring a coffee shop; silliness and hethe Indian salaried coming tially, a space whereclass you bide timeof age in the and people saying that the police Idiosyncrasies might become roics of one’s thenieces next round of customers.

The and nephews; working earlydeparture. years of a significant economic and his- had picked him till With every anup. And heone would finallytoleave norms, as no is there tell hard nala isand notworking visible anymore, obscured a gagwell; stealing outby time to torical shift inon our nation’s life. you hope “Me- you nouncement the PA system, neverotherwise. to return when therequire great inevitability of meet It does negotiations gle ofold cycle rickshaws that new jostlepeople whereand theseepufriends; meeting bus stop I hadhai”. created corner ra The number aa gaya To bestood thereonisaonly an and the Delhi Metro hadOne obliterated his temple by ing compromises. must choose camarajari’sone’s geesecity had once flocked — under the through their eyes; warming formed by two one parallel to thearrivnala derie intermission — roads, a compulsion — before building a station onand this often corner.solitude But in those over intimacy over toes shade a row of tall trees that once been inof the sunshine; leaning in;had from leaning thatatI walked up every morning ing where you are meant to be.and Butanother what if company. first days, But before history began to unfold, thatthis is not a debilitating choice. out. saplings hiddenup bycurtains. the new concrete PartheAnd — putting that stopped came across the nala from the Noida one looking at singlehood as anroad air- A alldestructive I knew of him was thatcan he had re- non relationship charrecently you, being of the Metro, but I sense its‘happily waters I have become sceptical of thethat term and burrowed deep into Mayur ViharitPhase port lounge and instead embraced as set-1 unattached tired as a minor functionary in ahave government means you might to make ever continue serene and malodorous as after’.toI flow, wonder what that means. Why and, further, to Trilokpuri, where, I Instead am reliably ting up camp on an island. of movie office, and oninmeeting his of- should plans advance.anItofficer meansfrom you might ever, down sewage treatment plant‘After’ near life to bethe divided into two halves? informed by someone lived thereout, in 1984, constantly looking at awho flight, a way why have fice who toby beyourself. a colleague of a implies to puthappened up curtains Noida, and then, cleansed, to theevent, river. a rupture of time,onward a particular the stench corpses hung in the air for days friend not revel inof what it is, while it lasts. of the father the girl who shared my which An article in the of Wired recently explained In this monthly chronicle cicleaves lifeseries, into aauthors past and future. the I realmaking it impossible forraised the living to eat from their (through You may receive a few eyebrows bus stop, and on being asked what was do- ise foolproof numbers) thathethe baby tiesnow they that call home. this is my ‘happily ever’. mealson without retching. rectangular those the mainland, butInsothe what?

Why not madness ing nowadays had replied: Ek feed mandir on your Facebook is bana moreliya in nair amitabha bagchi’s novel This Place is out in stores strip by “to the accept nala and thecan’t first be of your try todemarcated live ‘serenely’, what hai, aapki kripa se (Have made oneauthor templeClive with nandini head than for real.

The

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MANJH KHAMAJ Single stars

arunabha deb

A roadside seller in Chennai displays Holi water sprinklers with portraits of Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi and the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi ap/ arun sankar k

He who came first Pandit Radhika Mohan Maitra needs to be acknowledged for creating an instrument that played like the sarod and had the tonal richness of a veena

Man of many trades Pandit Radhika Mohan Maitra, one of the greatest sarod players of all time, was also an inventor of instruments

The idea of the mohan veena was born in the mid-’40s. Apart from the sarod, Maitra was a regular performer on the sursringar. Once, after he played a duet on the sursringar with veena exponent Ustad Sadiq Ali Khan, Maitra became obsessed with the idea of creating an instrument that could be played using the same techniques of the sarod but would have the resonance and gravity of the veena (which the sursringar, to an extent, has). The sursringar belongs to the sarod family, but is much larger than the sarod and requires a different playing technique, essentially because the two instruments are held at different angles.

Maitra had greater facility on the sarod than on the sursringar; he wanted an instrument that could be held and played exactly like the sarod and yet one that could match the tonal richness of a veena. His quest for these two features in a single instrument culminated in the mohan veena.

He made two principal changes to the sarod and the effect was miraculous. The resonator of a sarod (loosely called ‘the drum’) is carved out of a single piece of wood and the hollow semicircle is covered with hide. Maitra covered the hollow with a sheet of wood instead (like in the veena and the sursringar). Further, he changed the structure of the bridge, replacing the typical sarod bridge with a sitar bridge. A sitar bridge is flat, as opposed to the slightly raised sarod bridge and helps produce a richer, fuller sound. This bridge, placed on a wood-surfaced drum, produced a resonance far richer than that of the sarod. Maitra’s two aims were achieved: a tonal quality closer to that of the veena and a playing technique similar to that of the sarod. His peers reviewed it positively. Thakur Jaidev Singh, eminent musicologist who was at the helm of All India Radio his at the time, the instruHowever, these contenders are each unique chest, De marks allure lowgave on the rubric of ment its name: mohan veena, based on Maiin their singleness. Their individuality is more primitive masculine appeal.

When it comes to tra’s middle name. scores (now, now) the prominent than their singledom in the run- Rahul, De somehow fourtopages of BhattSays to find a link between I once interviewed Bhatt andattractive had askedman him up the election.

Milan Vaishnav, anthe as- bachelor higher as the lonely, mohan veena its original inventor. if he wasout aware of Maitra’s mohan sociate at theand South Asia Program, Carnegie holding against love and familyveena. life inHea Maitra (1917 1981) lived atPeace, a time when said that hearddynastic of it much afterwhich he had Endowment fortoInternational “Modi is tragic bid he to avert politics, he Hindustani musicians concernanti-esthem- wants namedtohis own instrument.

Maitra and livedothin positioning himself as didn’t the outsider, end, despite Kareena Kapoor selves with patents and PR Calcutta, Bhatt in of Jaipur andopenly information tablishment candidate foroutfits.

PM. HeAnd hascertainarticu- er important ladies the land declarly nota compelling Maitra, whocontrast was a between zamindar from ing didn’t travel then the way it does now, he said. lated himself RaGa as charming.

Rajshahi inIt Bangladesh) Hethat added that if he had known, and Rahul(now Gandhi. is the ‘son of a chaiwallah’ The question goes begging is whether and cared publicity. he would haveasnamed instruversus the little ‘scionabout of India’s most the ‘bachelor leader’hiswill put His grandfather, Lalita Mohan ment veenapolitics (which,inincistoried political family’.” an endvishwa to dynastic InMaitra, patronised the sarod dentally, is the name he are gaverun to dia.

Political parties that maestro another modification the A suitableUstad neta Mohammad Amir by many members of oneof or two One has to wade Khan as a musician in hiswho estate. slide guitar).

Apart from Jayalalithaa, was through and where outsiders pagesas of families, Will thefour ‘bachelor day Khan actor, found“How the child Maitra’s mohan are veena aOne professional many Vishwa findToday, themselves sidelined, alleader’Mohan put anBhatt end Maitra tinkering with one of the totofind has been eclipsed by Bhatt’s variof these individuals struggled most the norm in many States a link between dynastic politics manyan sarods in the The the mohan ant. But listeners of Hindustani with ordinary jobhouse. or profesIndia.

However, it seems alveena and across in India? maestro sensed an interest in the music should not forget sion?” asks the writer and journalnaïve to think singleMaitra’s politicits original inventor most boyRuchir and started teaching him. instrument. of Maitra’s disist Joshi. These singletons ians can endTwo dynastic politics.

Maitra“they madehave a mark as a sarodiya ciples, Somjit claim ‘dedicated their The BJP,Jaydeep once ledGhosh by theand “Bhishmaat thetoAll India Music Dasgupta, PanditasBuddhalives the nation’.

We,Conference the nation, charya” AB and Vajpayee prime at Allahabad in wary 1937, where, after devhis Dasgupta’s son Bhabanishshould be very of those who have dedi- minister, finds then prominent “foster listening tolives his solo, Ustad Allauddin Khan, in family” ankar Dasgupta, perform regularly the cated their to the nation with such ease.” missing and seems to be led byon anothspite of being a different gharana, invitinstrument Shobhaa Defrom writes, with the insight of er singleton, now.

Modi.Their popularity as musied him towho perform alongsideonhim.

Initially someone is an authority single men, cians is nowhere near Bhatt’s, but hopefully people could not reconcile blue-blooded their recitals will serve as occasional remindthat Modi (despite his fastinghis wife) is “not the Family matters lineage with hiswant mastery — home musictowas a lei- “Each ers of Maitra’s creation. sort of guy you to take mother. party accuses the others of dynastic polsurelyprobably pursuit for zamindars, He’d scare the hell not out aofprofession her”. De- itics, yet has no shame or hesitation in bringarunabha is aleaders’ Kolkata-based music — butthe theyparty weremachinery soon forced to accept Maitra ing spite working overtime in theirdeb own sonslawyer and and daughters shubhodeb@hotmail.com writer as as apublicise formidable to theartiste. attractiveness of his 56-inch almost if it’s a matter of course that the

Power of one

This general election sees the highest number of singletons contesting for the main office

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t’s epic. Being single is tinged with possibilities; hope; a future; unspoken promises; undelivered bounty; unswerving floyalty. you google ‘mohanhas veena’, theasfirst And nowhere it been apthree will lead you,where in onefamilies way or parent as itpages is in Indian politics, the other, to Pandit Vishwa Bhatt, have traditionally held sway.

AndMohan the power of one ofhas thebeen bestennobled, known slide guitar playthe single bestowed with ers in the world.

Bhatt made substantial modthe magic of mythology.

The lone crusader, ifications to the in variant of the guitar to thata single-minded his or herslide devotion was prevalent Hindustani music most larger cause ofincommunity or the (its nation’s famousabjuring exponent being Pandit Brij Bhushan good, pleasure for purpose; family Kabra) and called the ‘mohan veena’, delife for social good;itpersonal gratification for rived from his middle name. He won the common gain.

Grammy in 1994; then,politics the mohan veena It’s a given thatsince dynastic is held as has bane comeof under global focusparties. and has become the Indian political For everysynonymous with its inventor, one knows singles battle alone Bhatt. whilst families However, if you the fourth wage wars. Even asreach the listthe of end largeoffamily trees page of Google results,games you will a mention involved in political infind Maharashtra, of Pandit Radhika Mohan is reUttar Pradesh or Tamil NaduMaitra, makeswho it to news gardedthe as one of the16th greatest sarod playerswill of pages, country’s general elections all time.more But single he hadmen another, lesser than known, witness and women evidentity. was an inventor, conceptualer before,He contesting directlywho or indirectly for isedprime three minister’s new instruments: the office. dil bahar, naba deepa most extensively recorded, moThe and, two his main contenders are the 60-plus han veena.Modi This(despite mohanthe veena preceded its Narendra much-publicised slide guitar namesake by atstatus, least three decaffidavit about his marital he mainades. the There wereof regular All India Radioand broadtains profile an austere celibate) the casts of Maitra’s recitals The on this instrument Congress’ Rahul Gandhi. other aspirants and a rendition of Darbari also Banerjee released Mayawati, J Jayalalithaa and was Mamata

by HMV. too are single, as is the lone successful chief And yet, one must wade through nearly minister of Odisha Naveen Patnaik.

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saturday, april 19,19, 2014 saturday, april 2014

Read mySiblings-in-arms lips Red lipstick is Rahul Gandhi and his one of Mahanagar’s most importantsister propsPriyanka greet supporters before filing Rahul’s nomination for the Lok Sabha elections in Sultanpur, Amethi

Single-minded Narendra Modi, seen here with his mother Narmada Bai, is married but maintains the profile of an austere celibate PTI

afp/sanjay kanojia

Hear, hear for Arati scion would take over the family firm or Jaay-

Sons, daughters, nephews, nieces and cou-

and they function in a fairly top-down man-

says Joshi. politics of Satyajit Ray’s sins assume prominent positions in almost all ner.

“The lack of intra-party is wordaad,” gender The Mahanagar is more relevant than ever before,democracy and our Vaishnav points out, “Dynasticism is some- major national and regional political parties. rying, ” says Vaishnav. politicians need catch re-release thing most parties engageto in across theits politiAt the national level, it is most apparent in the

Amma of poll battles An AIADMK supporter stands with her child beside a giant cut-out of the party leader and Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa at a public meeting in Pondicherry afp/

manjunath kiran

cal spectrum,” given 29 per cent of the current MPs have an immediate family connection in politics; from 20 per in 2004.

“Given f oneupwas looking forcent Bollywood counterthe barriers entrybeinfair modern Indian poliparts, it to might to say that Satyajit tics, dynastic politics is(1963) not going to disappear Ray’s Mahanagar was the Abhimaan overnight on who and the PM is,” hethe says.

(1973)based of its decade, though comIrrespective of awhether these political leadparison remains tad preposterous, it was, in ers areways, singlethe men or women, “crony capitalsome Queen (2014) of its age.

Like ism continues to Mahanagar rule our political both these films, sees itsparties,” female warns Vipulcarve Mudgal, head, Publics and Poliprotagonist an identity that extends the cies Programme at the Centre for thePlayed Study to of confines of an expected domesticity.

Developingby Societies, Delhi. perfection Madhabi Mukherjee, Ray’s Arati decides to ignore the conservative edicts of her patriarchal household. She takes on the job of a salesgirl to supplement her family’s modest income. She befriends her Anglo-Indian colleague Edith, and as they go knocking from door to door, Arati acquires an urban boldness that her role as dutiful homemaker never seemed to afford. It is this juxtaposition that provides Mahanagar its drama, and somewhat tragically, its pertinence.

Digging through the newspaper archives of just the past two years leads us to a rather troubling conclusion. Not only does the discourse of a film made half a century ago still seem relevant today, many of our political luminaries remain squarely on the wrong side of its gender politics. In Mahanagar’s opening sequence, Arati’s husband Subrata starts by declaring that a woman’s place is in the house, more specifically in the kitchen. By this point, Mohan Bhagwat would certainly have been hooked. In January last year the RSS chief decreed, “A husband and a wife are involved in a contract under which a husband has said that you should take care of my house and I will take care of you.” Though Bhagwat specified that any violation of the contract by the wife could be ground enough for her to be disowned, he failed to detail the game’s rules fully. A perennially hard-pressed Subrata might possibly ask, “What if I can’t take care of the missus... then what?” Ray has an answer. Help her get a job and when she returns home with her first salary, go into a sulk.

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Congress, where Rahul Gandhi’s mother is Hands-off media president and sister, Priyanka, has considera- Unlike the US presidential elections or in the UK,Square. where leaders and their families unbleOne de facto clout as shemost has been spottedprops visit- sie of Mahanagar’s important Just a few crossings away, come a woman ingtheparty and assisting her was der gang the media scanner and in images are is tube headquarters of lipstick that Arati brings out raped on Park Street February motheratand brother poll campaigns. splashed part thrown of qualityfrom family and car. howhen work and during hides carefully when at 2012 andasthen a time moving Vaishnav says that while ishorror refreshing to While lidays, Banerjee in India the politician’s family is a was givhome.

Having discovered it, it the of Subclaimed that the victim see so reaction many political leaders running en. Inoffact, it is often viewed with suspicion of rata’s has perhaps only everparties been part a larger conspiracy against her, a Trinabrahmanepotism and privileges.

India, who are by notPresident dynasticPranab — Mamata, Mayawati, matched Mukherjee’s son mool Congress MP helped“In clarify this stand. (real orDastidar feigned)dubbed and singlehood are recharya Ghosh Jayalalithaa Kumar — these parties Kakoli Abhijit, whoand hadNitish famously referred to protesthe incident “a garded in a matter-of-fact way two which it isn’tinin havein their own They all are“dented largely misunderstanding tors Delhi as pathologies. “pretty women”, between parties the West, in America, imposbuiltpainted.” around the personality of one charismatand While the average Bengali man’s volved in especially professional dealings, which between a laes aand very ‘Christian family’ grid ic leader; they are under-institutionalised; unchanging attitude towards makeup does dy herconservative client.” Arati’s boss is just as quick on brand all political candidates,” sayspromiscuous Joshi. For Inseem troubling, it seems more important to to her colleague Edith dians, the leader has been comforting as a note that the Congress MP’s comment was and degenerate. in the past.

A married made in the context of the outrage that fol- lonesome There is figure much even in common between Edith political leader such as Mahatma Gandhi relowed the brutal December 16 gang rape of a and the Park Street rape victim. They are both sembled an ascetic, of yore, whose 23-year-old girl on a moving Delhi bus. The Anglo-Indian.

Much like like sages the sassy Edith who family to employer the large community that year 2012 changed the complexion of the gen- can talkbelonged back to her when she chooshe Suzette wished Jordan to serve and not a unit he was der debate. Emancipation wasn’t being mea- es, decided to as shun anonymity compelled to with power’s accruesured by breaks in the glass andgratify make her battle against injusments and spoils. ceiling anymore. Crime statistics tice public. They are both indeAdditionally, Indianwomen leaders who have chose not had were telling their story and in the pendent to much trouble withand theact paparazzi or TV/video case of West Bengal, an ugly one. dress how they pleased, Jaya Bachchan can leaks unlikebut their western who According to a National Crime both foundcounterparts it impossible to arrange a screening have to contend with rightful the media’s Records Bureau report, West Benfind their placedaunting in a city for Mulayam Singh scrutiny of their gal reported 30,942 cases of crime that’spersonal riddledlives. with unfortunate and Abu Azmi against women in 2012, the highdiscrimination.

Family’s will Mahanagar was never free of est in the country. Given the fact As the bachelors go to seek votes, itRay seems too that Kolkata itself was adjudged controversy.

Accusing of prejearly to say whether their win will lead to the the third most unsafe city for udice against his community, an end of the political Mudgal says, women, one is forced to wonder if Arati would Anglo-Indian MP hadfamily raisedsaga. the issue in Parlia“The family is hard to destroy in our country.” still consider the metropolis a land of infinite ment.

He had not seen the film.

But its prints He points to the family-owned businesses, opportunity. It isn’t only her husband who’d have now been restored.

There should be no offspring to take up the family frown at her sitting in a restaurant with an- reason for encouraged our political class to again miss out. profession, lawyers their practise to other man. Mamata Banerjee would be just as Since Mahanagar wasgifting her debut film, perhaps children and doctors their clinics. sodisapproving. In October 2012, the West Ben- Jaya Bachchan can arrange a little“Indian screening ciety networks Professional gal chief minister attributed the rise in cases for the likes of through Mulayamfamilies.”

Singh Yadav and Abu networking, falls under the making umbrella of of rape to freer interactions between the sexes Azmi.

With alltoo, their talk of ‘boys misthe family.

Families thus can’t be — “Earlier if men and women would hold takes’ and ‘women being hanged’, theystopped are the fromwho entering The well-known excephands, they would get caught by parents and first needpolitics. to see the gendered paradigm tion is Arvind whose children are too reprimanded but now everything is so open. It in plain black Kejriwal, and white. to take up their father’s cause. is like an open market with open options.” A young A digitally restored version of Mahanagar was Thus the bachelors mayonwin man of constant laments, Arati’s patriarchal released across the country Aprilthe 18. elections, father-in-law would surely have raised a toast. but it’s the families that will enjoy the spoils.

Mahanagar ends with Arati and Subrata dis- shreevatsa nevatia is a freelance writer based in sudha g tilak is a Delhi-based journalist appearing into the busy, commercial Dalhou- Kolkata

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better eulogy than a feast? It seemed apt, therefore, to adopt a diet where everything I ate and cooked was marinated in, flavoured with, drizzled upon or doused in golden honey. It added that extra zing to my Sunday roast where the whole spices and root vegetables soaked up its sweetness. Honey, bananas and ice cream brought alive visions of homemade banana splits and childhood evenings. I replaced tea with my grandmother’s magic brew, hot water, honey with a dash of ginger, lemon and whole pepper that had held its own against heaving chests and wintry congestions over the years. I dribbled honey down a stack of freshly made pancakes for breakfast, transported back to simpler days when happiness was all about devouring such goodies, accompanied by fragrant Darjeeling tea and great conversations. I layered food memories with kitchen experiments as I tried to add a little more honey in my life. Some worked, some didn’t, but through it all, the bees buzzed around me for a fleeting moment or two.

One such experiment — the toasted sesame and honey chicken — was born of a need to lower the intake of carbs, eat more protein and jazz up a dull weekday dinner. The best part of this impromptu, Asian-inspired dish was that it was low-fuss and could be efficiently recycled into a sandwich, salad as well as pita and roti rolls, and quickly transformed into a light workday lunch.

Trickle-down effect Used as food, medicine and cosmetic remedies, honey has held its own on the shelf for millennia kk mustafah

diya kohli is a Bangalore-based food writer

Where have all No bibi in Bibipur the flowers gone?

Forced to be single, men in this village of Haryana band together as the Union of Unmarried Men and food battlememories the scourge femaleexperiments foeticide with Layering andofkitchen golden, syrupy ribbons of honey

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andeep Rana’s cover image on Face- tracted much attention, no political outfit book reads: I’m not weird. I’m not a other than the Aam Aadmi Party made it a poll freak. There is a word for it, I am plank. “In their manifesto, they even included moved to Bangalore Delhi last April. ‘unique’.

Perhaps from that explains why he that is becoming more There just in aren’t unless 80 per common. cent of the women the This month hasin had different associjoined 67 other men Haryana’s Bibipur vil- village enoughgive flowers left to feed the bees, and sanction, the government will our not ations allAvivahit the cities I have lived in. open lage to forminthe Purush Sanghthan cities thekas do not(liquor provide kind homes for these shops),” says Jaglan.

Just From the delicious ofThe thefledgblus- outside (the Unmarried Union) incoolness February. winged Bibipur, pollinators.

Instead of natural peron the Bhiwani State hightering nor’westers or Kal Boishakhis of Kolkata ling association makes only one demand — ba- way, fumes, theyfrom are subject to the fumes of facto10 km the district headquarter Jind, to abundance flowers in the get springhu the dilao, vote pao of (give us brides, our are ries,two mosquito fogging thekas. machines, excessive government-run summer warmth Delhi. And then sud- pollution votes).

The few oddofcampaigners who the stopped on the city roads... bringing to mind Alcoholism is as much an issue in Bibipur as denthis heat wave in Bangalore.

Its famed good by tiny hamlet, before Haryana went to female Einstein’s apocryphal warning, “If the beefrom disfoeticide.

“Most criminals come weather as elusive in my early to days hereto asthis the the vote on April 10, were forced listen appears from the surface of the earth, man single, unmarried community,” says Vijencool evenings, punctuated a fewspeeches. drops of dra demand and even include itby in their would have ano moremember. than four“They yearsdrink, to live.”

Kumar, union sell rainthe and theof constant of bees.

For men Bibipur,drone matters have come to a liquor As much damage as Nikamme the loss ofhain bees(They’re would in the market.

The With bees one became myworst markers for summer head. of the sex ratios in the useless).” do to theEvery ecosystem, of eveningthe in disappearance the market area, and for my new abode to in 1,000 the city. country — 877 females males, accord- several makeshift honey would equallyselling hard on shops be emerge, liHowever, evencensus before I could ing to the 2011 — this village is running quor by the glass culinary larders, medicinal (“Kyunki koi ₹10 ka peetacabihai, muster home And remedies case man of here, like koi ₹20 ka”) nets out of brides. everyin single and cheaper cosmeticrates. remedies for much Asked as if a sting, or dreamRana, aboutisthe the 23-year-old in abatchtearing hurry to any of the association’s well as mythology, historyhad anda 68 members Sweeping away a es of fresh honey one could get get hitched. language itself. criminal background, Kumar laughs and says, pile of bee corpses from hive when theJaglan’s collectors At the sarpanch Sunil residence, on “Oh no, they’reH-O-N-E-Y: the veryinword mostly involved gang drips wars on yet another arrived, loomed large.

Af- Unmarried or are college April 12,tragedy a few members of the with a dulcet melody. A perfect goondas (thugs).” morning, I decided fected by a distressing global phe-is overcrowdUnion have gathered. The room choice as a term of endearment, to bring out as nomenon, the bees made their ed with trophies and awards that Bibipur has Bachelors everywhere the word is a metaphor for sweetmany flowering way drunkenly our 40 female odd foeticide. Being a single won for its workinto to combat ness in in both real is and abstract man Bibipur tough.

Just plants as I could fit apartments, not union’s 20 feetactivity from on its Face- ask 22-year-old Rana checks the terms.

AeonsSingh. before there Joginder Orsugar, 48-year-old in my little balcony their page hives.and Like book themalfunctioning rest catch up on their What- Ranveer Singh. wasWhile honey. rich, golden theThe younger man is botdesrobots group, they collided sApp where with newsdoors, of a newborn perately looking tled for goodness sits pretty in a bride,that the older one is rewindows is and neonwith tubeas lights. daughter greeted much enthusiasm signed to hisour larder in its myriad orfate.

“The today marriageable window Sad,pictures suicidal, they arrived in union had is between 24 as of Sunny Leone. The ganic, andKumar, singleand mass-produced 26 years now,” says hordes every evening, onlyuntil to collapse to the been busy with elections the week be- who origin has that, beenyou’re around for millennia. is forms, 28. “Above overage and profloor but in their death throes — a rather anticli- spects are dim.” Joginder, dressed smartly in a fore, now it needed to chart out a strategy weeping a piledenims, of bee corpses yet mactic end of forthe such industrious creatures. for the rest year. purple shirt away and fitted toting aonfashanother decided to abring out as Affected byelections deforestation andinincreasing “Assembly are due October,” ionable pairmorning, of shadesI and riding Bullet momany potted plants as I could fit ina pollution, honey slowly starving torbike, says Jaglan.the “We needbees everyare party’s manifesto is aflowering real estate dealer.

Rana, my little balcony to offer some deaththis in the garden city.

Bangalore is computer to make a poll issue.”

He But is referring to fescience graduate, headsrecompense his own infor my kind.and I also decided to write this little just another point the the maptask where phe- frastructure male foeticide andonnot of the finding IT firm in Hisar.

Yet, they have tribute to the lives of worker bees. And what nomenon of Colony Collapse Disorder or CCD brides.

While the union’s catchy slogan at- no takers.

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“Only those who can’t do anything get into property,” says Rana, whose younger brother holds a government job in Chandigarh has received many more marriage offers. Haryana families favour landowners and government employees, he says. Private-sector employees Sesame and Honey are Toasted not considered a sound bet. Chicken But they have been to college outside BibiIngredients pur, have they not met any girls, we ask. “Itne frank nahin hai hum (We’re not that forward),” 8 chicken drumsticks cloves of garlic says8Rana.

2 Thai bird’sare eye Love affairs frowned upon. “Chajje chajje walachillies pyaarortored ho chillies, jata hain,” Jaglan says. In the finely chopped 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil 1/2 tbsp sesame seeds, toasted Basil to garnish Marinade 2 tbsp honey 1/2 tbsp sesame seeds, toasted 1 tsp soya sauce 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce Salt to taste 1 tsp pepper, freshly ground

Method 1 Mix all the ingredients of the marinade and marinate the drumsticks for 1-2 hours.

2 Add the olive oil in a thick bottomed nonstick pan and toss in the garlic cloves and chopped chillies. Let them cook for a minute or so and add the marinated chicken. Toss lightly till the chicken browns. Add the remaining marinade and cover and cook on low heathearts till tender.

Lonely club (top) There are more than 30

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lakh 3single men in Haryana; 48-year-old Garnish with basil (above) and toasted bachelor Ranveer Singh is now resigned to his fate sesame seeds.

Serve hot with rice ramesh sharma

noodles or steamed rice.

scan know

saturday, april 19,19, 2014 saturday, april 2014

narrow lanes of Bibipur, love might have sprung, literally, from balcony to balcony, but parents are quick to quash such dalliances.

Haryana society is ruled, unopposed, by the GGG principle of “gaon, gotra, guhaand (village, clan, cluster of villages)”. Earlier, families looked for matches separated by at least nine gotras — individual, the family, the mother, mother’s mother, mother’s uncle and so on.

Now, only three gotras are considered — a paltry concession to modernity.

If the GGG principle seems outdated and rigid, the 32-year-old sarpanch offers an explanation. “See, in our culture, we like to move from place to place. The idea is that we have

family wherever we go. Then we feel at home anywhere in Haryana.”

male foeticide. On that day, Sunil Jaglan was blessed with his first daughter. When he went around the village distributing sweets, elders Buying a life partner and neighbours chided him, saying the birth Dating is ruled out; love affairs have led to of a girl was no reason for celebration. “When honour killings; 25-plus is a no-no; and eligi- it’s a boy, poore village main taali bajti hai bility criteria are stiff. So where does a single (drums are sounded in the village),” says Jaman find a bride in Bibipur? glan, who has been sarpanch for more than No country for women (from top) Sandeep Rana (left) and Vijendra Kumar “The practice of bride-buying is rampant three years now. “I was the first to bring out have joined the Avivahit Purush here,” says Jaglan. Through agents, brides are the drums for my daughter’s birth.” Last Sanghthan; sarpanch Sunil Jaglan dreams bought for upwards of one lakh rupees from month, his family welcomed its second-born, of a future all-woman panchayat; Sheela UP, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Bihar and even another girl, with a similar show of pomp.

Devi, 63, belongs to a ‘secret’ committee in Jharkhand. Most of these marriages are not Sixty-three-year-old Sheela Devi was one of Bibipur that keeps a tab on pregnant registered. And many of these brides leave for the first women to join Jaglan’s campaign. women to prevent female foeticide; Ritu Jaglan, 28 and unmarried, is a women’s their hometown after a month or two in Ha- Now a member of the sarpanch’s ‘secret’ comleader ramesh sharma ryana. “A couple of months ago, a family had mittee, she keeps tabs on the pregnant wompurchased a bride from Uttarakhand. She ran en in the village. “After their second month, away. They bought another one, she too ran they have to come to the healthcare centres away.” With FIRs registered under his name in for vaccination. If they don’t come, we know Uttarakhand, the groom is now on the run. In that the women have gone to Jind aur safai some cases, the boy’s families have been karwa liya (they have aborted the pregnanduped, and in others the brides find it difficult cy),” says Sheela Devi, struggling to sit up behile Ellen DeGeneres,cause Barack Pope Francis Virender anObama, ox had rammed into and her in the fields to adjust to Haryanvi customs. ith its 17,248 solar panels on its 236 feet-long wings (longer than that of a comSehwagcurrency are some ofthe theprevious more famous cogs the ‘selfie revoluday. “In theinvillage, we also know Another practice that has gained mercial Boeing 747), Solar Impulse 2, the updated version of Solar Impulse, is tion’,satte a British doctor has finally putwhere on record whathave manybeen havepushed always or ki shaadiyan, of cases women over the years is the aatte getting ready to take to the skies. Test flights and simulation tests are on right now suspected: that thismaruniquely 21st century formgrimly. of narcissism is ansuch indi- inwhich loosely translates into exchange tripped,” she says However, for the flight which once it takes off will circumnavigate the globe beginning from of Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD), a chronic mental illness riages. Families with cator an unmarried, 25-plus, stances have become fewer over the past year. the Gulf region. where there is aseek preoccupation with onesex or more perceived flaws in ap-but jobless son and a younger daughter out “Prenatal determination is illegal, Designed and to be flown by Swiss pilots Andre Borschberg and Bertrand Piccard, pearance that usually unnoticed by others. other families in similar circumstances and goes a ultrasound scan agencies thrive in Jind and who unveiled the upgraded version of the flying machine last week, the flight time DrJust David Veale, a consultant psychiatrist in cognitive bargain is quickly struck. under a week other areas,” says Jaglan, ruing behaviour that the adaround the world, they say, should be around 20 days. Last year an earlier version of therapy toldaatta a British daily, ministration “Two out of three patients who have BDD in satta ago, Bibipur witnessed one such has done little to counter this. the plane was successfully flown across the US, raising hope for a longer flight. the camera age have a His compulsion to repeatedly on wedding. A family exchanged itsphone 21-year-old sister, Ritu, is 28 yearspost old,selfies unmarried Although commercial planes powered by solar energy will be a while coming, the socialprivately, media sites.”

An extreme was when Bowman, a daughter, who is studying for their and aexample fierce leader of theDanny women’s movement Solar Impulse 2 gives us hope that there will be a day when you can say: “Carbon footteenpassed tried toClass commithere. suicide after not getting theshe perfect jobless 28-year-old son,British who has Soft-spoken but firm, has selfie. resisted print… what’s that?” in timepressure by his mother though is now“Iastand vehe-my X. “The women are theBowman losers in was this saved bargain,” from her familyand to marry. ment spokesperson againstground, the selfiealways. obsession. says Kumar.

Female foeticide is a huge Ranveer Singh, the middle-aged bachelor, problem, and till a few years ago women has not been to a wedding for as didn’t even know that it was kanya hatya (murder),” she says. Today, long as he can remember. “It’s diffithanks to the Jaglan siblings, Bibicult for older men,” says Jaglan. pur has a chabutra (open encloWhile not exactly shunned by soWomen didn’t sure) where women hold gram ciety, they’re not welcomed either. even know it sabhas regularly. On April 11, a day Many of Ranveer’s friends are marwas murder after Narendra Modi filed his nomried, as are all his siblings — two ination from Vadodara, Bibipur’s brothers and a sister. “There is a difwitter might have a whopping 974 million members but most pita, chacha and women held a gram sabha on Jashference between of them seem to be just sittingtau,” ducks or shall we say silent says Ranveer, who livesbirds. in his odaben. The BJP’s prime ministeStatistics revealed by twopcharts.com, which house. monitors brother’s “I Twitter know Iactivdon’t rial candidate had, after years of ity, shows that 44 per cent of people whoaown a Twitter to account f you are a lover of the Free Body Culture or as the have companion grow have old with or chil- silence, admitted to having a wife in his panever tweeted at all. The stats go ondren to show that 30 per cent of users Germans say, Freikörperkultur, Munich is the city of my own,” he adds. pers. Outraged, around 50 women gathered have posted only a maximum of 10 tweets and it’s 13 per cent of the for you. Germany’s third largest city legalised pubfor a spirited debate. “How can we accept world’s twitterati who account forGirls mostrudely of theinterrupted activity on the microlic nudity by introducing six designated nudist someone who has neglected his wife for so blogging site. zones. People are now officially welcome to strip in More than two years ago, Bibipur had made long?” says Ritu on Modi. “We have been folWhile the large number of inactive users will definitely affect in rev-Haryana, and lowing the news; she is fasting for him and gothese zones, some of them along the river Isar, makheadlines as the first village enues adversely, the active userspossibly accountthe forcountry, a prettytosignificant ing for a comfortable nudist getaway right in the talk about female foet- ing on a pilgrimage for him. We feel he should number still, which was 244 million at last a good percome cent a long way acknowledge his wife and invite her to live in heart of the city. icide.

Thecount, hamlet has 30 since increase from the same period lastand, year.in fact, changed its name to ‘Bibipur the the PM’s residence if he becomes (PM).”

These ‘urban naked zones’ are in parks which are Surprisingly, the people at Twitter themselves have remained partially secluded and located across the city. For Women’s World’ earlier this year. While the spookily silent on their ‘dark pool’, piping up only toon saypaper that yet, theythe poster on It’s her space Germans who have a reputation of loving to bare it name change is not are not in a position to comment on all, this provides a legal sanction to an age-old practhethird-party 24-ft-high statistics. gate at the village entrance al- In Bibipur, a khettu shyam temple has recently tice. Nude beaches in Germany have apparently come up on the women’s request. In the vilready proclaims it . been in existence since the 1920s and in Munich, Until January 24, 2012, Bibipur’s residents, lage centre, a three-storey choupal has been ‘beautiful meadows’ such as the Englischer Garten much like those in other villages of Haryana, constructed. A podium and blackboard, gifts have been nudist-friendly since the 1960s. were largely indifferent to the horrors of fe- from the villagers, occupy pride of place in the main hall designated for women. Shiny new fans hang from the ceilings; the donor’s name — ‘rambhaj s/o phullu’ — painted on the blades gleam in the sunlight.

Women will decide 50 per cent of the budget in this year’s outlay of ₹1.5 crore for the village. “You know, I have a dream panchayat, one which will be run by women alone,” Jan taking enviro-friendly to another level, Cine’al Ltd, an Israeli nanoglan confides. technology start-up, is trying to create diapers and other assorted As we walk out of the village, the poster on products using a substance acquired from jellyfish. The company says the gate catches our eye — “Netaji jaaniye Hathat this is a novel way to reign in the increasing number of jellyfish as ryana main kunwaaron ka ganit (Netaji, know well as solving baby poop troubles. the number of singles in Haryana).” AccordJellyfish have apparently become the ‘scourge of the seas’ with global ing to the gram panchayat’s calculation, based warming leading to favourable environments for them to proliferate on the sex ratio, there are more than 30 lakh and take over large parts of the marine ecosystem. Cine’al says their cresingle men in Haryana. It is only fitting that ation called Hydromash made out of jellyfish can be a viable alternative, here in Bibipur the Women’s World, Jaglan since the material used for making diapers and other super absorbents and his unmarried union plant the seeds of a today take hundreds of years to biodegrade. The jellyfish variant on the gender revolution. other hand, will take only 30 days.

Taking off the light

A team in Europe is working on a solar-powered plane that can fly around the world

Munich creates urban nackt (nude) zones

Doctor says selfie obsession can be a symptom of mental illness

W

W

Nackt? No problem

Mirror, mirror on the wall…

Silence of the birds

Q R

New stats claim 44 per cent of Twitter accounts have never tweeted

T

I

Baby bottoms for jellyfish An Israeli start-up says it can create diapers and tampons from jellyfish

I

priyanka kotamraju

ND-X _ A

3 23BL BL

HANG

saturday, april 19, 2014

BL

24

cornerstone in-faq by joy bhattacharjya

I 1

n keeping with the theme of the issue, a quiz about quick singles and solo performances.

Reinhold Messner’s probably the greatest climber alive and renowned for making the first solo ascent of Mt Everest without oxygen.

He has also conquered all fourteen 8,000-plus metre peaks. Why did Messner start climbing solo in the early ’70s?

2

Before he moved to an extremely successful solo career, Phil Collins was the drummer and vocalist for which British group, known for albums like Abacab and Duke?

3

In the world of classic 19th-century literature, by what sobriquet would you better know Chingachgook. If it helps, he was the sidekick of a hero named Nathaniel Bumppo?

4

Who won a ticker tape parade in New York in 1927 for winning something called the Orteig prize? Since this is a quiz on singles, the parade and year should give it away.

5

Shakti was the last film in which the great script-writing duo Salim-Javed worked together. Javed, however, did not have to wait long for his first solo hit, striking gold with his next release, with a newcomer as hero in 1983.

What was Javed Akhtar’s first solo hit as story and screenplay writer?

the new york times crossword-0302

reel-life anniversary

6

Which US State is nicknamed the Lone Star State to signify its status as a former independent republic and as a reminder of the State’s struggle for independence from Mexico?

7

Which is the first Asterix book that featured Uderzo both as writer and artist. Hint, Uderzo intended it to be a metaphor and condemnation of the Berlin Wall?

8

Only four Sherlock Holmes stories are not narrated by Doctor Watson. Two, ‘His Last Bow’ and ‘The Mazarin Stone’ are in the third person. Of the two narrated by Holmes, one is the ‘Blanched Soldier.’ Which is the other solo effort, which features a creature with the scientific name Cyanea capillata?

9

Piano virtuoso John Mikali’s flair as a musician is matched only by his skill as an assassin. But when he kills a young woman while fleeing from a murder scene, the woman’s father, a special forces soldier in the British military, vows to avenge his daughter’s death.

Plot for Solo, a thriller written by which wellknown writer?

10

Sneaking in the last singles question on a favourite topic. Which single malt is described in its ad as “The single malt that started it all” and is the highest-selling single malt whiskey in the US and the second highestselling single malt brand globally?

ANSWERS 1. Reinhold lost his brother Gunther while attempting to scale Nanga Parbat in 1970, and did not want the responsibility of risking others’ lives in his attempts 2. Genesis 3. The Last of the Mohicans 4. Charles Lindbergh, for crossing the Atlantic solo in the ‘Spirit of St Louis’ 5. Betaab, 1983, Sunny Deol’s debut film 6. Texas 7. Asterix & the Great Divide 8. ‘The Adventure of the Lion’s Mane’ 9. Jack Higgins 10. Glenlivet

joy bhattacharjya is a quiz master, Director Kolkata Knight Riders and author of Junior Premier League — The First XI t@joybhattacharj

ACROSS 1 Bush judicial appointee 8 Quarterbacks, often 15 Bush judicial appointee 20 Professional tennis since 1968 21 Rank 22 Singer with the album “Live at the Polynesian Palace” 23 Time for the best deals, maybe, in a going-outof-business sale 24 *1939 Judy Garland film 26 There was a great one in Genesis 27 One-named designer 28 Lava comes out of it 29 Kind of car or tee 32 Appear suddenly 36 Slaughter in the 1946 World Series 37 *1933 Jean Harlow film 40 “Nuts!”

41 Gator’s tail?

43 D-backs, on scoreboards 44 Daily riser 45 How things may be brought 47 Pass 51 Restful places 53 Each

54 *1943 Spencer Tracy/Irene Dunne film 56 Is threatening, in a way 58 Colorist 60 Self-absorbed sort 61 Hit 63 Some kitchenware 66 Call from a curb 67 Sprint competitor, once 68 *1939 Vivien Leigh/Clark Gable film 73 ___ king 76 Sprint 77 Word of agreement 78 2000s events in North Korea, for short 82 Provider of music on the go?

85 Court grp.

88 Footnote abbr.

89 *1942 Spencer Tracy/Hedy Lamarr film 92 Odist’s preposition 94 When repeated, a Polynesian capital 95 Publish 96 Drinkers’ toasts 97 Brother of George W. and Jeb 99 Award for Miss Hawaii, in addition to a tiara 100 Summer hrs.

102 Snow queen in Disney’s “Frozen” 103 *1948 Ingrid Bergman film 105 Elegance 108 eBay user 110 Certain newspaper advertisement 111 Like Christiane Amanpour, by upbringing 113 Pub containers 115 Perfect, as a home 119 Director of the eight starred films in this puzzle, who was born on 2/23/ 1889 123 Torrey Pines Golf Course locale 125 Suffer humiliation, in slang 126 Comeback 127 Brooks Robinson’s team 128 Sitcom with a 1974 wedding 129 Foreign traveler’s purchase, maybe 130 Source of the line “What’s past is prologue,” with “The” DOWN 1 Massage therapeutically 2 ___-blue 3 “I should ___ lucky”

4 Put into a sepulcher 5 *1932 Clark Gable/Jean Harlow film 6 La-la lead-in 7 Perhaps 8 Migratory seabird 9 Vier + vier 10 What Babe wants to be in “Babe” 11 Finish (up) 12 New Haven reuner 13 “Frasier” role 14 Major glitch 15 Puts together 16 Things that should be tied up by the curtain?

17 Playfully 18 Complete, informally 19 Transudes 25 Beatles title girl 27 Queen of literature 30 Send off 31 Gave up 33 Birthplace of 22Across 34 Hunts, with “on” 35 Lacking variety 37 Gives up, in slang 38 “Then again, I could

be wrong” 39 Adult’s counterpart 42 Obsessed with 45 Fortunetelling aids 46 1980s-’90s series based on the fictional firm McKenzie, Brackman, Chaney& Kuzak 48 Doing ___ (dancing springily) 49 Basis in accounting 50 Head to Paris?

52 Overly confident 55 Recipe instruction 57 Wiry-coated terriers 59 Lead-in to Pen, commercially 62 Genuflect 64 Night that “Friends” aired: Abbr.

65 Swashbuckles, say 69 Some London lords 70 Effected, in a bad way 71 “___ ba-a-ack!”

72 “Ed Wood” star 73 When the story begins, perhaps 74 1960s U.S. bombing target 75 Flight board info: Abbr.

79 Milan’s La ___

80 Go-getter 81 Unemotive 83 Means of access to a cafeteria, maybe 84 In past centuries 86 Joint parts 87 Specialties 90 Give off coherent light 91 Overreacting sort 93 Essen article 98 *1925 Percy Marmont film 101 One way to the top 103 Pub measure 104 1960s western sitcom 105 Chopped ___ 106 ___ Heep (Dickens character) 107 Blade brand 10 9Red opening?

112 Bit 114 “Render ___ Caesar …”

116 Shelfmate of Vogue 117 Tavern stock 118 Place for a topgallant 120 Lash holder 121 Green monitor, for short?

122 Finish (up) 123 Fate 124“___ we done?”

Edited by Will Shortz

It has been brought to our notice that some Jain organisations are unhappy with the use of the image of Jain sadhvis in the column titled ‘The sanyasin and the sanyasi’ (BLink April 4). The photograph, as is clear from the caption and contents of the article, was used for purely representational purposes and no offence was intended. — Editor Reach us at blink@thehindu.co.in. Follow us on t@Ink_BL and facebook.com/blink.hbl or log on to thehindubusinessline.com/blink