The Winter of Discontent - John Steinbeck

This is the third Steinbeck I read after 'The Grapes of Wrath' and 'Of Mice and Men' and am in awe of how he writes. I finished reading the novel and went back to read it again and was amazed at how tightly he set it up, how deep his understanding of human psychology is and how well he articulates the subtle in such few words. 

So we enter the world of Ethan Hawley, happy in his unfortunate circumstance of having to work as a clerk in a store he once owned. Ethan has made peace with losing his family's legacy and riches and in the end even losing the store in a building he owned. But he remains honest and true to his values. Happy with his wife Mary and his two children, Mary and Allen. Steinbeck, the matter of a few taut opening pages introduces us to Ethan, his boss, a migrant Sicilian Marullo, his wife Mary and her friend Margie, the banker Baker and his assistant Joey. Conversations turn towards some money Mary has received from her dead brother's estate which the others feel should be invested. Ethan however says its her money and should be left alone.

Margie, a fortune teller of sorts and someone who is living off her husband's alimony, tries to seduce Ethan, just as a supplier tries to bribe him but Ethan sticks true to his values. But then Margie tells Mary that Ethan will come into fortune, Joey tells him how to loot a bank and not get caught and Baker tells him he should make money. Ethan slowly changes and tips off the authorities about Marullo's immigrant status  and acquires the store, pushes his friend Danny to drink and death and gets his estate and even tries to loot the bank which does not happen. In the end Ethan is disgusted with himself and tries to kill himself but his daughter, sensing his mood, stops him. The scene where she says she wants to go with him when he says he has to go out is so beautiful and heart rending. Steinbeck ends the novel with hope which was a relief to me.

One para he wrote stayed with me and rings true even today - 

'Now, a slow, deliberate encirclement was moving on in the town and it was set in motion by honorable men. If it succeeded they would be thought not crooked but clever. And if a factor they had overlooked moved in, would that be immoral or dishonourable? I think that would depend on whether or not it was successful. To most of the world success is never bad. I remember now, when Hitler moved unchecked and triumphant, many honorable men sought and found virtues in him. And Mussolini made the trains run on time and Vichy collaborated for the good of France, and whatever else Salin was, he was strong. Strength and success, they are above morality, above criticism. It seems then that it is not what you  do, but how you do it, and what you call it. Is there a check in men, deep in them, that stops or punishes? There doesn't seem to be. The only punishment is for failure. In effect no crime is committed unless a criminal is caught.'

How true it is even today. Its a human thing and will never go away.

Steinbeck is up there among my favorite authors. Now to read 'East of Eden'.          

Hyderabad by Walk - 10 Kms Around Hussain Sagar

What started as a casual 5 km walk with Vasu and Srikanth became a full circle of the Hussain Sagar lake, 10 km approx, something I had done once last year with Sunnie and Kiri and never did again despite my many plans to do so.  And it just happened like that making it ever more clear that the best things are those that are not planned.

 

The Police Station on Tank Bund - a structure from a pre-independence era

Wall art or whatever they call it

Rail Coach Restaurant - not sure if its working

Hopes of seeing the sun rise over the lake vanished quickly as a solid cloud cover kept the sun away which actually helped us through the 2 hour walk in a way. We parked at the restaurants on Necklace Road as usual and headed towards Sanjeevaiah Park (named after Damodaram Sanjiviah, an erstwhile Chief Minsiter of the state). There was some running event going on, so half the road was blocked. We trudged along on the other side - past the Lake Front Park, the Butterfly Park, the Spice Park, Thrill City, Sphoorthi Sthal, Sanjeevaiah Park and so on. It was nice to see so many people of all ages engaging in all sorts of physical activity - running, walking, cycling etc. One couple where the lady urged the husband who was slacking off to 'go, go' - and he had to go.

Gali Maisamma Temple

Saidanima Tomb

Beyond the Sanjeevaiah Park I noticed that there have been developments since my last walk. Ghats have been built for immersion of idols perhaps with a clear walking path alongside and its a quite welcome development because that stretch was a desolate and would naturally lend itself to some unsavory activities. 

Old structures inside the cemetery

Sailing Club's lonely tree and bench - cannot but click

We passed the Gali Maisamma temple to the left, passed where the Nest restaurant was (which in its time had some fine memories for me), until we got to Nani's. Now this Nani's is some kind of an open food court like place with tiffins, tea and stuff - very popular going by the number of cars and people inside. Twice before I went away intimidated by the crowds but this time we decided to have a go led by the intrepid Vasu. 

The M-47 Patton Tank, one of the 66 tanks captured in the 1971 war and presented to the citizens of the twin cities   

There was a dosa counter which seemed quite popular by the number of people in queue. We went to the chai bandi and got ourselves chai. What surprised me was the huge open air seating area behind, adjacent to the lake, filled with Sunday people. We sipped our chai in khullads and headed out. Past the HYDRAA office to the left, the shabby memorial commemorating 200 years of Secunderabad (1806-2006), the stunning Saidanima tomb, a very cute cafe called Star Cafe adjacent to the Sailing Annexe.

Iconic Fish Stall

On to the Tank Bund and we passed this fabulous Nizam era Police Station which definitely was pre-Independence in construction with those Shahjehani arches. To the left was Royal Fish Fry. Then some new statues to the right of Basaveswara, Swami Vivekananda, while the left has statues of many great personalities of the past, 33 I think, - I am ashamed to say I could not recognise many of them. The tank which was presented to the citizens of the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad by Lt Gen WAG Pinto from the Bash on Regardless Bison Division (which was raised in the twin cities in 1966), the Rotary Park behind it which had an aquarium I think, have been there since the 70s. The park looked quite peaceful and I felt bad that very few have the sense of leisure to simply sit in the park. One old man was and I envied him.

Obviously not in use anymore but beautiful to see

The Police Station - can easily be made into a tourist spot if cleaned up

A fading board reveals that the man-made lake was dug in 1562 by Hussain Shah Wali during the reign of Ibrahim Qutb Shah. (Vasu noticed that 'reign' was misspelt as 'region') The pedestal on which there was this open page with a poem by Sarojini Naidu has been written over by many modern day artistes and budding poets and the original poem has now faded away along with the good intentions of whoever came up with it. Of course the practice of cutting birthday cakes and throwing it all around on the pavement still continues despite some kind of a warning by the authorities recently.

The stupa - Srikanth and Vasu in deep conversation

Steps going down into the waters

 Past the Buddhist stupa, sealed and locked. We peered over to see the steps that would go down into the lake and I remember during college times going down once and almost losing my footing on those uneven steps. For someone who can barely float, it was not a good idea I think. 

The Birla Madir atop the Naubat Pahad - a statue of Rajiv Gandhi in the foreground

The Boats Club looked like a very interesting place and there was an opening to the lake on one side which Vasu said was for boats to come into the club side. I would have never guessed. One wonders why this club with such a lovely location, beautiful building and lots of parking has not been able to match the Sailing Club even remotely. Remember going there once. 

Then there is an enclosure for G. Venkataswamy, another for Konda Laxman Bapuji, one for T Anjaiah (his name is smaller than the person who unveiled the statue Dr YSR and for a moment I wondered why YSR was looking different), one huge enclosure with a statue of a warrior which is surprisingly unnamed but which I later found was that of Sarvai Papanna, a Robin Hood of sorts. I somehow got this feeling that the lake has become a place of pride for all prominent people just like the Delhi place. With the statues on and around the lake its just too many now (43 I believe is the latest count) to have any real interest for the average citizen - we have Dr Ambedkar towering over the rest, Buddha in the middle of the lake, the many statues on Tank Bund either side, Rajeev Gandhi opposite the Secretariat, PV Narasimha Rao, Indira Gandhi near the Prasad's Multiplex roundabout, Jyotiba and Savitribai Phule nearby, and I am sure I missed a few. 

Pretty Picture - The Telangana Secretariat

We realised that the stainless steel structure with a flame on top, the Telangana Martyr's Memorial has an entrance that is rather hidden from the main road and walked into it by mistake thinking it to be a short cut. I realised that there is a huge place inside the Telangana Martyrs Memorial and maybe will visit it one day - its apparently the world's largest seamless stainless steel memorial. Lots of largest stuff on the lake - the Buddha statue is one of the world's tallest monilithic statues at 58 feet, the flag near Sanjiviah Park being the third largest Indian flag,  the second tallest Ambedkar statue in the world, the third tallest standing statue in India. There is some nice sitting area in front of the Martyrs Memorial where Vasu and Srikanth sat for a bit before we headed back. The Secretariat looked as imposing and nice as ever - it makes a great picture post card.

All's Quiet - Selfie time 

The B.R. Ambedkar Statue

On the Necklace Road I saw one very interesting sight - a group of 12-15 women bikers, their bikes parked on the road while one of the seniors spoke to them, perhaps their route map for the day. They were engaged in such serious talk that I gave up on the idea of asking them if I could take  a picture - would have been a rare one. 

The Buddha on Gibraltar Rock (wonder why its named Gibraltar Rock)

The NTR Gardens looked brilliant with huge lush green trees that overlooked the road and one wonders how beautiful the road would have been if they had not chopped off some 100 plus trees for the eFormula Racing. Those trees were such brilliant yellow and it would fill the heart to pass by one the road when they were in bloom. Past fully decked up girls who were shooting for reels with their faithful photographer boyfriends (now every girl needs one such guy who will take photos patiently), and one guy who hired two photographers while he posed in front of his car. As we turned the corner to our car, many dog owners who come on weekends to Necklace Road for the dog show were heading off with their dogs on the bikes and scooters.

The Telangana Martyrs Memorial 

Some more development in terms of seating area and playing areas for children to the right of that road. However I would like more see more seating area overlooking the lake all around - there are too few places to sit. Nothing gives people more peace than merely looking out at water bodies and if we give them enough place to just sit and watch over, people would be calmer and more at peace I feel. We ended the walk about 2 hours 15 minutes into it and figured we must put back all the calories we burned asap and headed to Purna Tiffins. 

Good job.   

Hyderabad by Walk - Durgam Cheruvu

Deccan Archives announced a Durgam Cheruvu walk today at 7 am. Vasu was game and so was Srikanth and we landed up at the lake ahead of time. 

We have memories of Durgam Cheruvu from four decades ago when we were in college and the lake lived up to its name of 'Secret Lake'. Now it's not so secret.  It wasn't easy to find then and when we actually found it, the idea was to climb a couple of those rocks and chill for a while. Vasu remembers going fishing which is something I have seen other people do too.

There was zero construction around it then, though the bund was there and the lake was full and could be seen from the road connecting Jubilee Hills to the Old Bombay Highway. 

Around the 2000s we could see signs of development around it. Some development on the hill overlooking the lake made it more accessible. We could park and walk on the goat path right upto the bund even then. 

That green cover - that's been sold off

Now the lake is suffocated with construction on every side. Looming over it are tall buildings, restricted boundaries, the cable bridge over it, development and beautification works all around slowly gobbling it up. Wahaj pointed to the piece of greenery on the iLabs/Inorbit side will all go - it's been auctioned and sold off to a real estate company. 

The old wall - if you look closely and below the three sluice gates

Wahaj and Dheeraj led the walk which was called and Art Week walk. Durgam Cheruvu was called so because it fed the Durg - the Golconda Fort. I could never think that possible because I never thought Durgam Cheruvu was higher - the Qutb Shahi kings (1518 on) channeled water from the lake by gravity through aqueducts and channels. The water ends up in the Bouli or well in the Qutb Shahi tombs area and served as a secret source of water for the people inside the fort. Quite ingenious that. 

Durgam Cheruvu Valley on the downstream - How long will it last I wonder

Wahaj said something like the Mughals trying to poison the water sources by putting dead bodies and carcasses and what not - but I got distracted by a call and missed that interesting part. I am not sure if they did that with the Durgam Cheruvu.

Katta Maisamma temple - protecting the bund

A little further up he showed us three sluice gates which he says were from the Nizams era. The channel to the fort was through on ground or elevated aqueducts. Parts of the elevated aqueduct are visible in certain areas - the road parallel to the Qutb Shahi tombs leading to Narsingi I think. 

Old Qutb Sah era mosque

The downside of the lake or the valley is green with lots of birds and plants. They list 149 species of birds in the area on the net. One can imagine this prime area going under the hammer soon.

A little further one can see the Katta Maisamma temple - built to invoke the goddess to protect the bund and keep it from breaking. Wahaj spoke about the three festivals peculiar to Telangana around the monsoon time - Bonalu at the beginning of the monsoon, Bathukamma at the end, and the Kartik Mrigasira which is when they give out fish that cures asthma.

Serene

Further down is a small mosque and it's certainly centuries old - now collapsed. We could see a lot of construction activity to develop and beautify the bund and losing the original wall under it almost. 

The walk ended there. We took the longer route out and walked all around the lake. The yoga place is the one place that looks really nice. All this will go when the real estate company begins it's work. I think I'll go back one day and get some nice pics of that place. It looks good in winter.

Thought for the Day - The Moral Centre

For good things to happen on a sustained basis, the moral centre has to be good and stable and protected. What one sees (maybe more and more these days across the world) is that the moral centre has been sidelined very carefully.

Once the moral centre is removed, the entire pack of cards will collapse. One may have brilliant minds (like our tech giants) but if they lack the moral centre, there will be no peace, no sustained good.

Even if they seem quiet, inefficient, not as sexy, it's important to maintain the balance by keeping the moral centre. The day we become arrogant enough to think we can do without it, is the day the ground starts sinking beneath our collective feet.

Once Upon a Time in Scandinavistan - Zac O' Yeah

The book has been with me for years and I am wondering why I never attempted to read it (also didn't attempt to get rid of it). Was it the size at 400 pages, the title, or all these out together. 

Anyway having evolved a bit more I decided to give it a go and soon found myself in a story where a divorced or single cop like chap is working in a futuristic Sweden that's been Indianised . The name of the town is Gautampuri (once upon a time Gothenburg) with Gandhi margs, Ambedkar avenues, Friendship Chowks, Indian food, Indian beaurocracy and our hero stumbles upon a Tandoor murder at the 'Tandoori Moose' restaurant where marinated bodies are put in a Tandoor with the general idea being to have them for a meal. At this juncture I kind of stopped and asked myself if I should proceed after knowing that the suspects are blondes who are possibly cannibals and that I could be subjecting myself further to more such gore which beats what's on OTT these days hollow. But something in the writing, the intelligence, satire, told me to plod on and I did and I am glad I did. 

As I moved on I came across the lovely Kumkum, our hero's married muse with three kids and a missing husband, our hero's partners crazy family, a club where many officials go to satisfy their wild desires, an ashram, and many more characters, places, blood, bones, flesh, amputated arms, sex, violence and finally the story heaves to an end in some carnival plot. Not so well for many but our hero somehow gets the bad guys and gets away with a few teeth missing.

I think I secretly admire Jack for his ability to write like this (secretly to myself I mean since I am saying this publicly to the public and not to the secret me). Full marks there. Wondering if some trimming could have helped and stuff like that but then it wouldn't be this novel then. Too much good stuff to write about and if one is OK with some of the stuff mentioned go right ahead and you will not be disappointed. Zac however seems to be an interesting guy and I wonder if I will ever meet him over some chicken tandoori and stuff like that. 

Divine Detour That Changed My Life - Dr. Vishal Chaturvedi

Dr. Vishal Chaturvedi is a doctor, screen writer and director, leader of a chanting community, and more importantly the director of the runaway hit film 'Hanuman Ansh' based on the life of 'Chamatkari Baba' Neem Karoli Baba. The book is an account of the life of Neem Karoli Baba and how one fine day Vishal was drawn to Kainchi Dham when out on a drive in a car and how his life changed after that - his divine detour. Neem Karoli Baba is known as Chamatkari Baba for the number of miracles that are attributed to him - the movie certainly is one having grossed over 450 crore after being made for 1.80 crore. A huge case for good, clean intent with no attachment to outcome.

The book is slim at 89 pages and covers the journey of Neem Karoli Baba from his birth to his death and after. Born Lakshmi Narayan Sharma in a wealthy Brahmin family in Akbarpur in Uttar Pradesh in 1900, he lost his mother when very young. He showed early inclinations to spiritualism and would be engaged in prayer or meditation. At around 11 years of age he was married off after a year he decided to become a wandering sadhu in the quest for truth - living on alms, staying in jungles and temples. He traveled to Rajasthan (Pushkar), Gujarat (Rajkot and Vavania). In Rajkot the mahant of the temple where he stayed was impressed enough by the young sadhu that he wished him to take over form him but Baba left, not wanting to get attached to one place. At Vavania he was known as Talaiya Baba because he would meditate for long hours in a pond, neck deep. His travels took him to Rameswaram, Hmapi, Madurai - all places where he sought Hanuman. 

He returned to Vrindavan and Mathura and while wandering the foothills of Himalayas he stopped at the village Neeb Karori (also called Neem Karoli). It's here that he stayed for long and many miracles are experienced such as curing the sick, helping people overcome their obstacles etc. The villagers dig a cave for him where he meditates. The incident of one of his devotees entering the cave by mistake and seeing Neem Karoli Baba's body wrapped by snakes is from here. At some point Baba's father comes and takes him back saying that he has  wife to take care of. Baba returns and stays with his wife, has children and after some years heads back to the mountains. 

Neem Karoli Baba's most talked about miracle (the one where his name stuck) happened in 1958 when he is asked to get off a train by a British officer at Neeb Karori village because he was travelling in a first class compartment. Forced to alight the train he walks off and sits at a distance meditating. Meanwhile the train does not move whatever the personnel do. Another engine is called for and even after that the train refuses to budge. It is only that the officers and others realise. They apologise to the Baba and ask him to get back on the train. The Baba says he is just a sadhu and has no power over trains but he agrees to get back on the train. But before getting on the  train he tells the Railways personnel to make a railway station at Neeb Karori to make life easier for the villagers and also not to harass any sadhus or holy men travelling in trains. Then, the train starts. News of this miracle spreads far and wide and he came to be known as 'Neeb Karori Baba' or 'Neem Karoli Baba'.

In 1964, he goes away from Neeb Karori and establishes the Kainchi Dham near Nainital. He also stays in Mathura and Vrindavan. In 1967 he establishes the Hanuman temple in Lucknow.

From 1967 on, Baba's western disciples such as Ram Dass, originally Rupert Alpert, a Professor for Harvard who experimented with LSD to explore consciousness and the limits of human mind, Krishna Dass, originally Jeff Kagel, an aspiring rock musician who composes bhajans and music for the Baba, Bhagwan Dass and others carry his message of 'Love all, Serve all' to the west. Though the Baba passed away on Sepermber 11, 1973, his disciples like Ram Dass who had gone back to the US influenced many from the west to come seeking him. Steve Jobs, Zuckerberg, Julia Roberts are famous known westerners while Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma have gone there is recent times.

One of the chapters in the book is devoted to Neem Karoli Baba's core teachings which I found to be the most important part of the book.
The main ones are
1) love without condition (everyone is a reflection of me)
2) service is worship (love all, serve all)
3) simplicity and silence (give up money and all the wealth is yours)
4) surrender and faith (all is god's will)

5) Don't worry, be happy 

They are messages I would like to follow.

The legend of Neem Karoli Baba has grown by leaps and bounds and is showing no signs of abating even after 50 years of his passing away which is itself a miracle. Now thanks to Vishal's movie it must have grown even more and they say one cannot visit Kainchi Dham because the crowds are too great.  I visited it in 2021 and it was a very peaceful place. 

The book however could have done with better editing as many parts of it are repeated and not organised very well but as with the movie, it's purity of intent is what matters. Vishal Chaturvedi must surely be thinking of writing more books or coming out with another edition of the same book. Nice easy read with many interesting pictures and anecdotes.    

Hyderabad by Walk - Anathagiri Hills and the Source of the Musi

This walk was by myself even though Deccan Archives had a walk planned on the Sunday and I was curious to see the stepwell and the origin of the Musi as mentioned in their book 'A Brief History of the River Musi'. I have anyway been keen to check this place that is so close to Hyderabad out and it wa sa good time to go because A was in town and we decided to do a overnighter.

The step well

The Telangana Tourism has a huge place with about 42 rooms on the edge of the cliff, normally they get the best sites, but the service and upkeep is generally a bit wobbly. Since I did not know of any other I booked online and we headed off on the two hour drive to Ananthagiri which is about 80 kms away. The road goes past the Chevella-Moinabad route and seems to be on the route for greater prosperity with huge road being built. Currently much of it is under construction and the road is mostly two lane. As one gets closer to Vikarabad the greenery gets lush and the trees get taller and the general outlook gets better.

Origin of the Musi

Sarais from Qutb Shahi era 

We went and found no one at the reception and had some trouble finding the person to check us in. The canteen is outsourced and they have their own limitations - no breakfast on normally days and only on weekends, the menu is rather limited. The staff was low on account of Dussehra and overall the wobbliness of the entire experience was that much more. And oh, they have a bar called Madhushala.

Steps

A temple

The evening was the time to head to the Anantha Padmanabha Swamy temple which is where the main attraction was for me. We drove into the foresty area, past a place where the Medical College is (with signs of No Entry). Once there was a TB Sanatorium here and I remember coming here when I was a child - perhaps that is what has been converted into the college. The temple shows up to the right.

Another temple - look at the stone formations

It looks ancient and one has to go into a cave like inner sanctum. There is a tale on the net that the Nizam got a dream to build a temple and he built it - or donated money towards it. But the older story of the river Musi which was also called Muchukunda comes from the tale of how one Rajarshi Muchukunda got a boon of undisturbed sleep from Lord Indra - who disturbs his sleep dies ( a bit tricky this boon because he could as well kill the person who disturbs his sleep without waking the sleeper). A demon Kalayavana who occupies Dwaraka follows Lord Krishna to Ananthagiri where he disturbs Muchukunda and dies. Lord Krishna blesses Muchukunda and makes him live on permanently as Muchukonda Nadi. 

Entrance to the temple

Another story in the Skanda Purana is that of the Sage Markandeya who installed the temple and would do his Yoga Sadhana here and go through a tunnel to Kasi to bathe in the Ganga. Once when he is unable, God grants that the Ganga flows near these hills.

The forest is dense and beautiful and suddenly one gets the feeling that we have been transported to some ancient place as one sees old rocks with cave like structures dug into them, ancient trees, no sign of development. The steps lead downwards, a couple of hundred perhaps. To the left one can see a stepwell with a fountain, very pretty and inaccessible. Behind that, are Qutb Shahi era sarais and mandapams, small temples. A wall and a gate separate us from the origin of the Musi - some entry fee is stipulated but no one was there to collect it and we went in. To the left is a little paved pond with a sign board that says it is the origin of Musi. Sign boards all over give information about the hills, the birds in the forest, the many movies that have been shot here - Aithe, Life is Beautiful, Varsham and so on.

Anantha Padmanabha Swamy

The Anantha Giri hills are ancient and are part of the earliest habitat areas with ancient caves and medieval fort structures. Its quite beautiful. After seeing a 100 year old mango tree and the path that goes into the forest for trekking, we climbed the steps back, found a place that sells mirchi bajjis and headed back to our stay. 

Caves

Trees

The temple

I noticed that Deccan Trails has some nice cottages and facilities right next to the Haritha place and that may be  a better option next time. Overall glad we went and saw some stars and experienced a quiet that is rare in the city.