Orissa

 My memories of Orissa start from 1988, when I first visited Bhubaneswar and Konarak as a part of a honeymoon trip. Then came my first stint as a prof. in XIM in 1991, just after returning from the U.S. I did not stay long, but made friends for life. Some I still meet or interact with -both students and faculty colleagues. 

The most recent visit was in late 2019/early 2020 when I went for a conference, conducted at Mayfair Hotel, a sprawling, and luxurious property with staircases like we used to see in old Hindi films. Also met Gopal, who was my colleague at XIM (and IMT), now at IIM Trichy. In between, in 2011, I was there the day India won the cricket world cup. 

These are from 1988..

Recent visit..salesgirls at Tribes India, and Gopal, ex-colleague at XIMB

The staircase.. and Rohit, IIM Indore student I ran into

This is from Mayfair hotel...

of the staircase fame.

Book Review- The Shooting Star

This is a travel book written by a solo woman backpacker from India. That itself makes it unique. And it is. It describes an urge many of us might have had to chuck it all, and just travel around the world..or, go on a world cruise, as a post-retirement dream. The fact is, Shivya Nath is doing the former, after chucking her job and convincing (!!) her parents that this is OK.

Her descriptions of people and places as far as South and Central America, and some from our own country (tribal Orissa, Rann of Kutch) are fascinating, because mostly, she avoids the routine and goes and finds a place in the heart of the people she meets. One that I liked the best was her experience of living with a cacao-growing family, and getting addicted to unadulterated (with sugar and milk) chocolate! A volcanic crater lake (a pic is included) which she walked around reminded me of a visit to Lonar, a lake formed by a meteorite crater. Her take on veganism as a cause is heartfelt, though not many of us can take to it easily-no cheese pizza is hard to imagine, right?

A must-read for any traveller (even an armchair one), this is one book that'll stay with me for a while. She also has a travel blog called The Shooting Star.

Americanisms and Britishisms

Right now we have an American and a Brit on campus doing various things. So I was reminded of an old joke. A Brit and an American were taking a walk. The Brit looked around him, and as is the habit of his countrymen, wanting to make conversation, said, "Spring in the air."

To which the surprised American replied, "Why should I?"

Not sure what an Indian would have done in a similar situation. He might have brought a small spring coil and thrown it up in the air, maybe?

Anyway, there is funny communication that happens all the time. Another classic that I remember from my experience is the play on the word 'bus' and 'boss' thanks to some friends from Orissa and Kerala, where they mix up these two words with hilarious consequences.

The Bengali propensity to pronounce a 'v' as a 'b' leads to amusing exchanges if one is not used to it. We had a sentence in school that made fun of this Bengali trait. You have to say, "Venkatramana, Venkatramana, why are you walking in the verandah?", with all the Vs and Ws pronounced as Bs.

Gujaratis are hilarious with some words too. They say 'snakes' when they mean snacks, and 'rape' when they want to say 'wrap'.

Anjaiah, an old Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, was known for his lack of command over English and a few jokes became legendary. As in, he was shown around a hospital, and when they showed him the labour room where mothers in labour were housed, he praised the staff for taking care of their labourers (he used to be a minister for that Labour earlier). Well, let me not belabour the point. I suppose you got it by now. Say 'gotcha' if you did! 

The Heart of Kalinga

The average Oriya is a very emotional guy. To delve into his heart, we asked Mr. Kalinga (not a cousin of Malinga, but a typical Oriya Joe)a set of probing questions.

Interviewer: What makes you tick, Mr. Kalinga?

Kalinga: My state, my village, and Jagannath. Mostly, Jagannath.

I: What are your views about Posco, the Korean steel company?

K: Steel is good for man. But factories are bad for tribes. Factory should be in a city.

I: Why do Oriyas love to eat pan?

K: It is proved that pan is good for health, and digestion.

I: Why are so many Oriyas living in Delhi?

K: It is a silent revolution. We want to change the system in the country, by writing the IAS exam.

I: People are of the view that progress of a civilization needs technology and industry. What do you think?

K: As long as rice and fish are available in the world, technology will not change anything.

I: What is your definition of luxury?

K: An afternoon nap, or a Mercedes. Or, best of all, an afternoon nap in a Mercedes.