Photos: Grandchildren

These are file photos of Adithya and Archana, children of my daughter Rosemary and her husband KO Isaac. They were taken at various locations, years ago.

Me and the grandchildren after some function.

On the beach....

14 now, Archana is good at Bharathanatyam.
See Dances for the gods
But her forte seems to be Carnatic music. She has already done 20 odd kirtans.
Her Guru seems to be pleased with her.

Enter the Dragon... Adithya is now an engineering student.

What was the brother whispering in the sister's ear?

Click on photos to enlarge. Copyright reserved.

Sr. Abhaya case: Sex and the CBI, a detective story gone awry?

The investigation into the death of Sr. Abhaya, a young Catholic nun has been going on for 16 years. She was found dead in the well of her convent. A nun who was in the same convent as Abhaya and two priests were arrested recently as prime suspects for murdering Abhaya. (See Kerala: The arrest of two Catholic priests and a nun for murder)

Granting the accused bail, the Kerala High Court came out with scathing criticism of the way the latest team of sleuths (there had been a few earlier) of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is handling the case. The Court also expressed disapproval of the media role, and the accused nun being subjected to virginity test.

The virginity test in this case defies logic. It could have only two results – either the woman concerned had sexual intercourse or she was still inviolate. This is determined on the finding whether the hymen is still intact, though that need not lead to a precise conclusion.

The Catholic Church resorts to virginity test in instances were annulment of marriage is sought on the claim of non-consummation. But the examination is done discretely and total secrecy is maintained. In the Abhaya case the news was in the media in no time.

The CBI theory, as far as I can make out, is that Abhaya saw the accused in a compromising position and the threesome resorted to murder to silence her.

What was the CBI trying to prove with the virginity test? Assuming that the accused nun was found to be not a virgin in 2008, what bearing does it have to Abhaya’s death 16 years ago? She could have, if at all, lost her virginity before the alleged murder or some time after it.

If a lady is proved to be a virgin according to the test, does it confirm that she has not indulged in sexual activities with the opposite gender? Certainly not. What then was the relevance of the virginity test in the Abhaya case?

Then there was the unfortunate publicity to the event. Belonging to a religious order neither invests any one with special rights nor take away any existing rights. Every accused has to be treated decently and humanely.

Yesterday the doctor who conducted the post mortem on Abhaya’s body gave a secret statement before the concerned Magistrate that Abhaya drowned in her convent’s well and the death could amount to manslaughter. I do not know whether a doctor is legally competent to make such an observation. If this claim has deviated from his original report, he would have a tough time to survive cross examination.

What is incredible however is that the ‘secret’ deposition was all over the media within hours.

What is the CBI up to? Are they on the right track or messing up the investigation? The High Court has done well to instruct the CBI to bring the current investigation team under the direct supervision of an experienced and competent senior officer.

The CBI’s reaction? Reportedly the agency is contemplating appeal to the Supreme Court.

Ends.

Also see:

Sr. Abhaya case: Justice Vs. Justice?

Down the river of no return

A bewildering SMS received yesterday reads:

‘I am leaving forever, never to return. I don’t know how you feel about me. Hope you carry fond memories of our time together. Goodbye.’

Before revealing the sender’s name, let me tell you briefly about my trip to Cochin. I was planning to stay there till the 4^th of Jan but had to return to Chennai earlier on some urgent matter. That was a pity because the weather is pleasant in Kerala and there are so many weddings and functions on these days which I would have loved to attend.

First I tried to get an air ticket on the 30^th, but the price quoted ranged from Rs.4,700+ to nearly Rs.10,000. I decide that it was too much and asked for a ‘tatkal’ train ticket. A couple of hours later when I switched on the TV there was a news flash saying the some airlines were cutting fares by 35% to 82%. That is how it goes!

Anyway, it was a pleasant surprise when the travel agent came back with a regular 2AC ticket, senior citizen concession and all. Saved Rs.4000 by not buying the air ticket!

I suppose that people do not like to spend New Year eve on a train. Or was it a fear of terror attack? There was a warning about an assault on our aircraft carrier Virat, but the Alleppey Express, I felt, was too insignificant a target. I reached back safely.

In my ‘Merry Christmas’ post on 25^th December I mentioned that liquor sales for the festival was reportedly low. Well, Blogger Nebu has pointed out that the same evening the Kerala Beverages Corporation announced an all time high sales of Rs.41 crores (410 million) worth of spirits on Christmas Day!

Apparently, I had spoken too early. I should have known my Keralite brethren better.

By the way, ‘River of no return’ was the title song of a popular movie of the 1950s starring Marilyn Monroe.

Now about the SMS. The sender’s name was given as ‘2008’ !

A HAPPY & PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR to all of you.

Merry Christmas

I am at Cochin for the festive season.

This year Christmas seems to be rather subdued. Some say it is in remembrance of the victims of 26/11. If true, that is something noble.

There is not much of color lighting. May be it is because of the bad power situation. Decorations and celebrations are also down. Last night, around midnight, I had a long drive across the city. There were hardly any carol groups on the streets.

I am told that liquor sales are also less. That is something unusual for Kerala. Are people being patriotic, or tightening the purse strings in view of financial the meltdown? Will this mean more mosquito menace after Christmas? To understand this question, you’ll have to read

http://parayilat.blogspot.com/2008/10/merry-mallus-and-mosquitoes.html

Season’s Greetings to all of you

Photos: Kerala chillies

Photos from Olavipe by me. Copyright reserved.
Click to enlarge.
Also see: Photos: Kerala fruits

Weddings, then and now

A joke heard in Cochin: If you have a son or daughter to be married, follow these steps in the given order - arrange a good caterer, book a hall, fix time with temple/church, and then, start looking for a bride/ bridegroom. During wedding seasons there is such a rush to book halls and caterers.

People often end up arranging places that they can ill-afford for the wedding reception. Sometimes it is the other way. Social snobs could feel that a venue is below their status. In such cases a whispered apology accompanies the invitation, ‘Sorry, we couldn’t get a better place’.

There was a time, not too far back, when holding a wedding reception in a hotel/ public hall was not the done thing. (I am talking about Kerala and more specifically, Syrian Christians.) The inference was that the host neither had a house good enough for the function nor the people to organize it. Even now, some prominent families hold marriage parties at their residence.

Inviting for the function was a time consuming process. The hosts had to visit the houses of relatives and important people and personally invite. There would be categorized guest lists: (1) those to be personally invited, (2) cards/letters to be sent by hand, (3) invitation to be mailed, and (4) those to be invited/instructed by supervisors to attend.

Personally inviting too had certain rules. Ladies would attend the function only if a lady was involved in inviting. No card or letter was to be given to close relatives. The invitation to them was actually a request to conduct the function.

And they would come, days ahead of the wedding. Those who were not from the same locality would stay with the host. Actually, each function was a family get together – wonderful days spent jointly in a clannish atmosphere.

It was the right of the ammayi (father’s sister) to bring the sweet to be given to the bridal couple after the marriage - that was known as ‘ayini’. Originally ayini was ‘churut’, a savoury made with coarse rice powder and palm syrup filled in a crisp, thin cone. Some used grated coconut with sugar instead. In course of time, most people switched over to cakes.

Along with ayini, Ammayi would bring many baskets of sweets and delicacies. The quantity would depend on her husband’s finances – own or borrowed.

This is running too long. I’ll cover just a couple of points more. In the old days there would be separate cookhouses for vegetarian and non-vegetarian food. And exclusive eating pandals too, based on category and caste/class.

I must mention here about our chief manager, Narayana Kaimal. In all his 60 years of service with us, this member of an aristocratic Hindu family never consumed anything that was cooked in our house. Well, except tea or coffee. And bakery bread. He wouldn’t take even those, once large supplies of fish and meat for a major function began arriving.

Now conducting a wedding is so easy. Entrust the whole matter to an event manager. If you have that kind of money.
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Also see:
Syrian Christians (Nazranis) of Kerala: Some interesting customs
Sadhya - a sumptuous Kerala meal

More on fighting terrorism

Here I am trying to answer some of the questions raised in the comments on Terrorism: A shocked nation awakens
1. By asking for more proof that the 26/11 plot was hatched in their country, the Pakistanis are probably trying to probe how much details India has in its possession. It is also an attempt to confuse the issue. Not revealing all the cards we hold may be a wise policy at this juncture.
2. India allowed the Americans and the British to interrogate the surviving terrorist. Pakistan possibly cannot follow this example because they have not made any meaningful arrests linked to 26/11. They are just trying to fool the world.
3. Mug shots of the dead terrorists, DNA etc., can link to the records archives of our agencies as well as those of friendly countries. Also, the items recovered from them do tell tales.
4. We should be grateful that at least one terrorist was caught alive. There could be still more information to be extracted from him. Bringing him to trial has many benefits. Firstly, we are committed to the rule of law and cannot resort to lynching culprits. Secondly the trial would help in sustaining public attention on the question of terrorism. Thirdly, the solid evidence that India claims to have would be subjected to judicial review and more credibly presented to the world.
5. Kandahar was an avoidable bad dream. But the politicians who were involved in that episode keep blabbering loud about fighting terrorism.
6. The handling of 26/11 by the officialdom, at least in the initial stages, was inefficient, to say the least. Proper analysis of the mistakes should help us to streamline our strategies, tactics and operational procedures for the future. The controversial media reporting of the tragedy has been taken note of and the News Broadcasters Association has issued guidelines for future coverage.
7. To take a pessimistic view of the prospects of India is self-defeating. As Happy Kitten has rightly pointed out, to feel that India is finished would amount to surrendering. Morale has to be kept high. Winston Churchill's famous 'We shall fight' speech on June 4, 1940 was one of the major factors that turned the WW II around. Britain was almost on the verge of collapse at that time. India is nowhere near that situation. What we require is not oratory but the courage of conviction and concerted action.
8. Surgical or pre-emptive strikes by India should be resorted to if they become essential but such operations require Entebbe-like planning and precision. That in turn needs quality intelligence. Hopefully, the proposed National Investigation Agency would provide the necessary input.
9. AR Antulay might have put his foot in his mouth, but on one point he is right. It is incredible that in a warlike situation three top police officials were caught together in one car. That was a fatal mistake. Some of you might recall the entire AC Milan champion football team perishing in an air crash some decades ago. In very prosaic terms – never put all your eggs in one basket.
10. It is possible that there might be more terror attacks on India causing further loss of men and materials. We should be prepared – it is an undeclared war on the country that may not end with one battle. We are a strong nation and we shall overcome.
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(You can read Churchill’s famous speech at http://www.presentationhelper.co.uk/winston_churchill_speech_fight_them_on_beaches.htm It is said that after the formal last sentence of the speech over the BBC, Churchill covered the mike with his hands and concluded with words to the effect – and if everything fails we shall hit them over the heads with empty beer bottles which is about all that we have got to fight with.)
Also see:
Mumbai: The Last Post and after