Maria O Maria

What to faith in? What to be sure of. Losing a religion, a belief is okay. But being unsure of what you see live on a TV channel or from stadium stands, is hard, if not impossible, living. For me, sports is that. When Maria Sharapova confessed to failing drug tests, it was news, like any news. And then the mestastasis. But Maria, with sufficient grace, has owned up; she did not fulminate, deny and all that muck. She accepts the forehand drive went over the lines. No need for a referral. And there wont be pall bearers for her; most of her promoters are jumping off. Reuters reports Swiss watchmaker TAG Heuer chopping ties with Maria Sharapova; Nike and Porsche are afraid being left alone; when somebody is down, owns up, wow, the rich land up for free punching bag sessions. Maria grunts irritated me; yet, liked the grunts as she tried to overwhelm Serena Williams; for me she is a tennis player, who became honest today. Wonder sports will be helped with legalising drugs. Maybe, an alternate Gita. A 2016, correct, E-society pushing hardest for success should not mind drugs; you cant be an achiever and not have drugs. For me the best lady ever played tennis is Martina Navaratilova and when she admitted to being a different sex, the world did not like it much. Now they are reconciled to her. Do not think we will see much of Maria; tennis is a player, set, match down. Then what do me do;  not watch sports on TV; read sports pages of newspapers; thats what me knows; thats all me life at 70. Only pray (to which god?) Usain Bolt is playing fair. He has been claiming a long distance from drugs. That's what cyclist Armstrong did, got me to buy his books, read him and write him, and ....made me and many fools. Maria gone, something still left. Because if Usain Bolt goes..... A Shankara Bhagavadpadar had Advaita; Tuka a Vittala; Kabir,a Ram; but a 70 year old me with nothing.... Living with doubts is stony, cannot work. Maria, you have done me in ..... Got up from bed to koyals and house sparrows...they were real. 

A Song 33

At Marine Drive
in Arabian Sea,
Kabir and Tuka,
jhendu in khadi collars,
on a Sunday stretch and
yawns.
Annachi downloaded
wadas, dosas, chunteys, sambhars
from a creaking cycle,
given by grandma in 1816;
today, more an idea of a cycle;
a Bihari watchman joined
from night duty;
licking fingers taped in chutneys,
Kabir and Tuka,
slapped card packs
for Sunday rounds
of Teen Patta.
A Sunday do.

RBI over

'A new monetary policy committee that will move interest rate setting powers from RBI Governor to the broader policy panel is likely to start functioning by the third quarter, a top finance ministry official said. The six-member panel, which will include RBI Governor and three nominees of the government, will set interest rates to bring CPI inflaion to pre-set targets,' says a quarter inch item in Briefly on the Economy (page 17) of The Indian Express. RBI is a news in brief. Prime Minister Mr. Modi and Finance Minister, Mr. Arun Jaitley have zeroed a venerable institution, there is none left. Dr. Raghuram Govind Rajan, the RBI governor, does not think it worth a resignation letter. And the business press, business channels and all the banking experts do not think the issue big enough to broadcast their views; if Sensex drops by one point, they wail as if someone in the family died. Some could argue for merging RBI with the Finance Ministry, as has happened; but no comments, preferring quiet? Mr. Surajit Bhalla (if me am not wrong) in The Indian Express had doubts over the longevity of the Supreme Court as an institution and rested faith on RBI. Its over. Dr. Raghuram Rajan has given up. He who talks on everything, is not talking on RBI. He dissented bravely on dissent. Isnt that odd? Mr. Arun Jaitley has won a process started by Mr. Pranab Mukherjee and Mr.P. Chidambaram; Dr. Raghuram Govind Rajan has softened the headbutting beginning with Dr. Yaga Venugopal Reddy. A six member committee with three government nominees will decide interest rates; RBI governor will have a casting vote of the commoner, not the veto vote; if the committee decides 4-2 in favour of interest rate cuts with RBI governor in the minority, RBI will have to suck it. Pass and over. RBI an institution is dead. None is protesting, not the media, not the Opposition, not Dr. Raghuram Govind Rajan, RBI governor. Mint Street can now freely mint currency. 

A Song 32

At Marine Drive
in Arabian Sea,
Kabir and Tuka,
tongues surfing music
(Kabir for Kishor,
Tuka for Lata)
for couples taped to sea-walls,
ever in generous defaults,
logging hours in a Festival,
sure as Churchgate locals;
merry vandals
of Marine Drive.

TMKrishna

For a public intellectual, thinking is not a two-part coin. No sure yes-no; maybe, maybe most appropriate. Going by this measure, the 40-year old, musician Thodur Madaburi Krishna, is a public intellectual. He asks, has no certain answers. Not having a like for music, me cannot appreciate much of Krishna music; but his having a music festival with fishermen in Chennai is something no musician has attempted; and most, if not all, musicians prefer to dwell in notes; TM Krishna prefers to go for a walk, comment on this and that. In readable site, scroll.in, TM Krishna has an essay: The Thin Edge:  'I am not a nationalist. I am not even patriotic about this state created national identity. I refuse to be an unquestioning loyal servant of our political form. I am not vowed by the symbol of the State. I certainly dont enjoy watching the Republic Day Parade where every type of  killing machine is on grand display. I dont believe that the death sentence should be awarded even to terrorists. Yet I will say that I belong to this land and have an equal right to its embrace and no one, and I mean no one, including the highest courts can take that away from me.' Old man Gandhi walking Marina beach is nodding in agreement an old head as he was a public intellectual like TMKrishna; me agrees entirely with TMKrishna; in India2016, TMKrishna is still free and singing. It is not the first time a private TMKrishna is a public intellectual, pecking at everything within his reach. Two months ago, invested in a hard-bound copy of A Southern Music by TM Krishna; struggled but failed to read the book; like Mohammed Amir bowling a speeder to Sardar Singh, Indian hockey captain. He starts off: No one journeys through life alone. From nowhere almost, a companion joins in and keeps step right through - music......Even in those who believe that they are tone deaf or not musically inclined, certain songs and tunes rouse emotions.' Well to me music is a no-no. That alone me understood of the book; packed the book and have not got back to it. But when TM Krishna muses over politics, he is a changed man; rarely has a top class musician in India become a public intellectual. And his politics, verging to the Left, is pleasant and querying. David Shulman in a Foreword,quotes a Telugu verse:

The beauties of  a poem are best known
by the critic.
What does the author know?
The beauties of a woman are known
only to her husband.
What does a father know?

TMKrishna knows, not entirely; thats not given to mortals.  

Walking to Rio

Midnight. Landline shrilled. Ajoba rushed. Chiyu, Janai Rajesh Patil, born. Aji rushed out of home; midnights are not times to get an auto. At 4 a.m. Aji and Ajoba speeded an auto in July rains to a Dahisar maternity home and lay in the cradle their dearest Chiyu. Chiyu turned on her belly, crawled, stood holding Aji for support, the first step of a long walk and then the run, every Mumbaikar is fated. Today, every morning, Chiyu is at the school ground, running. Aeons ago, in a different context somewhere in Africa, the first human took the Chiyu step....leaving the world wrapped in a wonder. In 2016, the run, sprints and marathons, are celebrated; the walk to the starting line for the run is not a camera shot. A world increasingly decided by corporates favours a run; it gives ad space; a corporate run garners middle class and the rich; and sports writers prodded by sports editors. Yet, the Origin of Species began with a walk like Nihal Koshie and The Indian Express over the last few days writing of Indian walkers; not front page news, that is for J. Bomrah with a bharata natyam bowling action; more a dancer than a bowler; fillers, respectable, three and four columners; today, Nihal Koshie writes of Indian male and female walkers bettering Olympic qualifying times. 'Walkers take giant stride' says Koshie and thank you very much for that. 'A statistic from the men's 20 km event at the 3rd National Open Race Walking Championship serves as an indicator. The top 7 walkers clocked a time within the qualifying mark set for the Rio Olympics. Add to this number, the two women, Khushbir Kaur and Sapna Punia, both had qualified before Saturday's event. Two others, Sandeep Kumar and Manish Rawat, have been fast enough to be eligible for both the 20k and 50k events.' Over four to five years, the timing in 20 km has been cropped from 1:25.00 to K.T. Irfan 1:20.21 in London Olympics; the qualifying time for Rio is 1: 24. Yet, our coach, Russian Alexander Artsybashev predicts a top-10 finish at Rio; no medals. That's okay; years ago our batsmen ran away from Hall, Gilchrist, Marshal and Holding; they did not want to bat. A top class walker, Babu Bhai Panocha is quoted: 'I used to tell people in my village (Ambava village, Malpur, Gujarat) that I was a sprinter. This was because nobody understood why there was a competition for walking. Nowadays, I think they accept what I do.' Yes, Panocha, me did not know you till date; over the last few days have been picking up from Nihal Koshie. Government believes India will win 10 to 14 medals; my bet is five, no gold. And for walking to get a gold, Standard Chartered should organise pristine 20 km and 50km walk events in January, in my dear Mumbai. Thanks again, Nihal Koshie. 

A Song 31

At Marine Drive
in the Arabian Sea,
Kabir and Tuka,
with a tenner fluttering;
a taxman, on a morning stroll,
winced at the untaxed income;
a seawind blew away the legal
currency;
leaving the taxman in an official
fury,
Kabir and Tuka in a
Rama, Krishna, Hari.