Guntur Bomb

I come from Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, India. Apart from education and rowdies, this place is very famous for hot cuisine - Guntur chilli, Guntur gongura, Guntur avakai – those names are enough to ooze saliva in mouth.

Guntur mirchi bajji with green chilli chutney – it will top the world's hottest food menu. And, the hottest mirchi bajjis in the Guntur city are made at our street – Donka Road.

On casual browsing, when I stumbled across a post on Guntur Mirchi in a national magazine, The Outlook, it brought back some memories.

When I was 6 or 7, my uncle (father's younger brother) took us to the Bajji bandi for the first time to return the favors my brother and I did to him at our shop.

From that day, mirchi bajji has become part of my life – it is our favorite pastime. Bajji party is the standard treats for every occasion. I have friends who take the bajjis daily.

The important fact is that I have never heard of stomach ulcers and gastric complaints from any localite I know.

I miss the Guntur Donka Road mirchi bajji badly :-(

Some excerpts from the Outlook article (source:http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?233612) -

You wonder what Guntur would be like without its chillies.

Guntur's chilli trade is second only to Mexico's in the world; a bad season shakes the city to its very hub.

This, though, is but a momentary lapse, as Srinivas Rao will tell you. This Gunturian has been wheeling his cart to Donka Road Crossing punctually at 7 every evening for the last 22 years, dishing out over 5,000 plump, green chillies a day dipped in besan and deep-fried in a kadai the size of a small lotus pond to his enthusiastic clientele. His business, Rao informs us in between skimming the chillies out of the blubbering oil, is booming as never before. No, Guntur can't do without its mirch masala.

Are you still wondering about the title, Guntur Bomb – it is the common name for our own Guntur mirchi bajji. Brahmanandam makes a reference to Guntur Bomb in Chiranjeevi's Chudalani Vundi movie.

Sleeping Rough

I read ‘Coolie’, authored by one of the early Indian English writer who made it big, Sri Mulk Raj Anand. It is the journey of an orphan boy, staged in the British Raj, who comes from a remote hill village to work as a servant, works at various places before moving to Mumbai to join in a cotton mill and finally dies of some disease.

Though it is a master-piece, I felt that it is a bit exaggerated and dramatized for the English (read the British) audience.

I just remember that I have not started this writing for a literary review, neither I am equipped to review book of such standard. I read an article today, which immediately reminded this book.

Though I did not like the book completely, I was completely moved by the life of Munno (the boy) in Bombay (now Mumbai) – sleeping on pavements, then in a medical shop, sharing a hut with another big family and so on. While it was just fiction, the article I read on THE HINDU (English newspaper) Sunday magazine, it shook me for quite some time.

The harsh reality is that there are some things that have not changed since British Raj, after 61 years of independence, though I should admit that the Governments and NGOs are trying to do their part (read article). Yes, India is shining, if we read that the to-be world’s expensive home is being built in the same Mumbai.

A point to note is that most of the people surveyed do not appear to be beggars, but laborers who cannot afford the rent of a hut.

Some excerpts from THE HINDU article –
(Full article: http://www.hindu.com/mag/2008/11/02/stories/2008110250050300.htm)

The dominant feature of homelessness is “sleeping rough”, being forced to sleep without the protection of walls and a roof, battling the excesses of the seasons, insecurity and loneliness. Homeless respondents in all cities agreed that the most trying and disagreeable season for homeless people were the monsoons, closely followed by the winters.

In Delhi, for over a hundred thousand homeless people, the Delhi government runs over 14 night shelters, with a maximum capacity of 2,937 people. In other words, night shelters provide a roof for not more than three per cent of all homeless people in the city. There are none for women, or migrant families. The other cities lack even these, although NGOs extend night shelters to a small number of homeless people mainly in Patna. Of the government shelters, the largest in the nation’s capital is the one near the Old Delhi Railway Station. It was the first night shelter opened by the government in 1964, and in winter and the rains, its four large halls are crowded well beyond its official capacity of 514 persons. The facilities are elementary. For a fee of Rs. 6 a night, bare mats are spread out on the floors in each of the shelters on which men sleep, body pressed against body. Ragged blankets are provided for the winter, and there are common toilets and bathing places, erratically cleaned but always in demand. Outside in the walled city, private contractors called thijawalahs rent out quilts and plastic sheets for Rs. 5 a night to homeless sleepers. Iron cots are lined up in the corridors outside shops, for a rent of Rs. 15 per night.

The respondents to our survey said what disturbed their sleep most were the police (17 per cent), mosquitoes (16 per cent), the noise (12 per cent), the weather and health problems (9 per cent each). In Delhi, police brutality figured highest at 32 per cent for disturbing homeless people at night.

Moral/Ethical values - Start thinking

CAUTION: Long read!

A majority of us in the company are youth. We boast to driven by values.

- When some unfortunate incident like bomb blast, fly-over collapse happens, we give our quality views on the corporate bulletin boards (A web portal where employees share their views).
- We speak about the declining moral values of politicians. We comment on raising corruption.
- We declare that the “System is like that. It is irreparable.”.
- We admire supposed- to-be patriotic and youth-inspiring movies like Yuva, Rang De Basanti, Lage Raho Munnabhai, etc. and tell that these things can happen only in Filmy world and we can’t do anything.
- When we don’t get an engineering seat or a local job, we push it on cheap-reservation politics or on a recommendation from local MLA.
- When we don’t get a filmy ticket (not multiplexes) for first day, we blame the big group in the theater laughing at us who have obviously got them in advance for being classmates of theater owner’s son.
- When we don’t get accommodation in Tirumala – we curse the people who have got it due to recommendation from an MP thanks to a distant (non-existing sometimes) relationship with his P.A.’s brother-in-law.
- When we have to stand in a long queue or in those jail cells for hours in Tirumala – we curse the people who got through VIP darshan and Special cellar darshan.
- When our bus gets jammed in traffic - we complain to our co-passengers on how negligent and rash today drivers are and why don’t they follow traffic rules being educated and civilized.
- When we drive the bike/car and nearly bumped into a group of pedestrians, we curse them for walking right in the middle of the road.
- When we are pedestrians and faced the same, we find fault in the road-rashers and not the authorities for not providing footpaths.

But, what do and why do I do?

- I don’t boast of as THE PERFECT following all legal rules, respecting all moral values with high ethical principles.
- I did, am doing and will do some of the above actions.
Am I ethical? The answer is No. Then why should I ask everyone to follow the law and the moral values.

Because –
- I try to follow them as much as I can (This ‘much’ is relative and may differ from person to person. And again, when I don’t, people call me opportunist).
- We live in a society. If we don’t have laws, rules and principles governing us – then the resultant will be utter chaos. Many Hollywood movies came on this theme.
- Even animal kingdoms have laws.
- If everyone thinks I cannot change the society alone and my wrong-doings will not affect the society – then it’s like "A cat closes her eyes and drinks milk thinking noone is watching her!" and the Milk story in Akbar-Birbal / Tenali Ramakrishna (Ramlinga for non-Telugus) and other folk stories.

Start thinking.

How many times you might have avoided causing inconvenience to others due to your urge to finish your things quickly or could have got the job finished in the straight path but had chosen the shortest but not the legally/morally/ethically correct pat again due to your urge to finish your things quickly.

You are answerable only to your conscience.

Now, why I write this?

A person put a Train ticket sale on a corporate Bulletin Board and these are some of the responses/view from today’s youth and a few of them are interesting and most I can’t digest.

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Ultimately one has to answer to their inner voice. But also be prepared for adverse consequences. And when your luck runs out, don’t play the victim because you are not one.

Sanjay Dutt kept a gun and Salman Khan killed a deer. They never thought at that time it would come back to haunt them the way it has. Next time you break a law, think about the risk and if you think it’s worth it, it’s up to you.

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I personally don’t see any issue in selling the ticket to anyone whom I know or a fellow mate. All those who talk about the moral and legal aspects neebds to understand the practical aspects as well.

Just ponder…

Have u not bribed the police when he came for ur house verification to issue a passport
Never ever given any cash to the Traffic police even though with most of the correct documents.
There are many instances like this…where you are forced to be practical follow this unwritten rules.
And I want to state my opinion that giving a ticket to colleague is OK but using Bulletin board for this purpose is bad because it is against the company policy.

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Unfortunately, if you follow rules in most of the cases, you are like a stupid.
Go by the general practice. Don’t worry about the rules and sections. Very few officials know abt the rules and sections.
Tell me how often a TTC has verified your ID card while traveling on a train? I am not advocating anything against the law!. But If you are supposed to travel and bought a ticket, and you are not able to travel but your brother can travel instead of you. I don’t think you cancel your ticket and buy a waitlist ticket for your brother, do you?

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Its not selling …. If somebody wants to help a colleague whats wrong in that ?
Its Festival time ..very difficult to get tickets ..and if someone has a spare ticket he/she can always offer it to the needy . And yes , one cannot donate a ticket ..so he/she has to take the money from the needy person .
No ones explicitly selling tickets here ….. its just a help .

p.s.: I have to use “We” since most of the readers (not only Indians) can relate to this and if you don’t relate, just don’t think you are part of this “We”.