Ayodhya

Today is a crucial day in India for reasons unconnected to the Commonwealth Games.

On 6th December 1992 the Babri Masjid Mosque was demolished in UP.The history in a nutshell is that in 1528 Mir Baqi under Babar built the Mosque which the Hindus claim is the birthplace of Lord Ram in Ayodhya.Since then this particular site has been in dispute between the Muslims and the Hindus and has been the reason for communal violence and unrest for years.

The ASI (Archaeological Survey India ) undertakes an excavation of the site. In 2003 the ASI delivers its report to the Court suggesting that a 10th century temple was found under the site of the Mosque.The Muslim community challenge this finding and since then the sides have been locked in battle in the Courts.

This is possibly one of the only times when the adage the "wheels of justice turn slowly" might serve a public purpose. People are fearful of unrest erupting and the PM has made public pleas to all to respect the Judgement. Will time serve to dent the passion, and will the communities recognize the importance of not fuelling the extremists at this point which is a particularly sensitive one in Indian politics ?

Meantime offices and shops are not taking any chances and are giving a half day to their employees.

330 pm Indian time will reveal all.

The human cost of the Games

I am going to be a sport and wish the Games all the best and the athletes a memorable stay in India. No one can doubt the fascination that this country holds in terms of history, culture, and sheer volume.

It is on this that I want to dwell briefly today. Filth or no filth the Games look as if they will go ahead. I am hoping that they will be accident free and fun. When they are over, the newspapers report that Delhi will be left with empty Games venues and no less than 30 lakh  migrant workers who migrated to Delhi to seek work for the construction of the venues and who slept in makeshift tents on the sides of the road with no running water, electricity nor sanitary arrangements.My poor maths translates that figure to 3 million. That is more than the population threefold of my tiny country and a staggering figure.

These workers like thousands of others who lived on the roads or in unsightly slums have been conveniently shifted behind colourful hoardings for the CWG or simply ejected. These people have been paid a pittance to work at the sites, have endured unreasonable and hard working conditions, have even lost their lives,and now that the  job is done, are placed out of sight and out of mind. Citizens should be appalled by this.

An editorial considered the possibility of a boycott and then suggested that people wear black bands on their arms to express their anger and dissatisfaction with the way these Games have been organized. Well that is  anyone who is going to bother going. I wonder what will be the post mortem on these Games and the human cost of hosting them for India.

Mouldy Moments

So in view of the monsoon's strength this year I am thinking of renaming this blog Mouldy Moments in honour of the little creepy fungus that is having a field day in my closets at the moment.Other happy cousins are these weird looking mushrooms I came across on one of my walks. Fungal funworld.

Homai Vyarawalla

I am always enchanted by old people who did so many wonderful things in their lives.Two of my dearest friends in Geneva are 94 and 93 respectively and they are the liveliest and most engaging women I have met for a long time. Homai Vyarawalla is 97 in December and while I have not had the pleasure of meeting her I was able today to enjoy her achievements.

She was the first female photojournalist in India, born in 1913, she grew up as a fiercely independent young woman who dealt with the rough group of photojournalists that surrounded her and often managed to capture the more humane side of politicians by just staying that little bit longer and capturing the essential shot.

Her photos are currently being displayed at the National Gallery of Modern Art in Jaipur House and if you have an opportunity to go and see them, it is well worth it. C- Hexagon Near India Gate 110003.Tel 011 2334560.

Fabulous pictures of those significant moments of Indian Independence but also wonderful city scapes - an immaculate Connaught Place and a great black and white of the Janta Manta. Delhi was a swinging cosmoplitan capital and pictures of fancy dress parties,dances and plays in the swinging 60s abound.

Nehru with pet dog, hugging Indira and just being Nehru.

This is a picture of her with her beloved son Farook who sadly died prematurely.

Happy as a Pig in ...

Ok this made my day and for that moment I forgot about hardship and everything that goes with it. I have a thing for these animals and this one captured what pure happiness is all about. Have you heard the expression happy as a pig in ....

The UN hardship and poverty

In a recent post I expressed some outrage at the fact that the UN equated living in Delhi to living in Geneva.There are reasons for this anomaly which are likely to be political and financial and which might be corrected in the not too distant future and at least for that due process can be engaged. There are a lot of people here working for the UN and for them and their families the going can be very tough but never as tough as what we see every day.

I attended a concert last night called Make Noise for the MDGs

For those of you who are unfamiliar with UN speak these are the famous Millenium Development Goals when a large number of members of the UN pledged to End Poverty by 2015. This is an effort to remind people, states and stakeholders to strive to attain these goals.

2015 everyone, is frighteningly round the corner.

The concert was held at the Purana Qila. The backdrop was magical, the musicians were wonderful, Bollywood was present as UN ambassadors and lots of UN dignitaries and Indians connected to the UN.

We applauded the speeches and the commitments and loved the music.We made noise but is that enough ?

The reality is stark and different.

On Monday leaders from all over the world will be in New York to attend the MDG Meeting. India will undoubtedly have a large delegation going there but reports in today's neswpaper would suggest that it is far from being anywhere near its goals. So the hardship continues not only for all the members of the UN whose mission it is try to move towards these goals but for the people on the ground who daily are being affronted by the hike in prices, the lack of sanitation, the lack of health services and the "cleaning up exercise" going on before our very eyes of all the dhabas, slums and makeshift accomodation of  the poor in case the CWG delegates see the real India.

End Poverty Now -

A pie in the sky ?

Diverted because of the CWG ?

When will it be the reality that India will want to show and not hide?

My Vegetable seller

He is young and bright and he has a stall just off the road on the way home.Now that the rains have come in such abundance you can see the gains on his stall.  What is lovely is that there is so much on offer that I often buy far more than I need but they look fresh and enticing and I am curious about each and every one of them though I have NO IDEA what some of them are.

These are beautifully arranged lemons and baby Brinjhals

But what is this below complete with fly on it ?

This I now know is called Tinda and is the Indian round gourd.

Some form of courgette ? I understand from an Indian friend who corrected the other indian friend that this is not a snake gourd but a ridge gourd. Oh dear I really feel I dont know my gourds very well at all !

Prickly cucumber ? I now know this is the famous bitter gourd or Karela. Great for your health, particularly if you are a diabetic but not very nice tasting.

Dried roots ? No, these are Bhen or Lotus roots. A friend has suggested cutting them in rounds, soaking in water and lemon juice, boiling to soften and then baking in the oven to make chips. Yum.