Debarth's Den

I woke up to a dreary morning in the small town of Kakinada on the eastern coast of India. Everything this morning held up the promise of a Sunday not unlike any other in the recent past. I had an appointment to keep at a give-away function organized by my company for the distribution of free food packets to HIV infected children from nearby villages; an event that hardly conjured up any prospect to enthuse my spirits. However, I conscientiously regarded it my duty to be present at the function as I am one of the contributors to the fund that supports these children. With these thoughts of dutifulness and an inflated sense of nobility firmly ensconced in my mind, I set out for my destination with my friend and colleague, C N Wong. On our arrival at the site of the function, my spirits were bogged down even more at the sight of the dilapidated building and the gloomy confines in which the function was to be held. However, when we finally emerged out into the open after more than two ho...

The news of Michael Jackson’s death struck me like a bolt of lightning. To many, the happening has been a virtual non-event; but somehow, the whole journey of the enigmatic personality from his death to his funeral has been one fraught with poignancy for me. As stories of Jackson’s life flashed incessantly on television, I wallowed in a pleasurable wave of nostalgia. Images of Michael Jackson’s dominance of the 1984 Grammy Awards flashed across my mind. I recalled my brother and I watching the nominations of the awards on Doordarshan late into the night on our portable black-and-white TV. At that time, music in video form was at its infancy and watching Michael Jackson performing in “Beat It” and “Billie Jean” on video was a heady visual delight. Memories of pavement slabs getting illuminated at his every step in the video “Billie Jean” remain etched in my mind to this day. We were truly fascinated by this slightly built, cute Black boy with his natural dance movements setting the scre...

Lookin' back on how it was In years gone by And the good times that I had Makes today seem rather sad So much has changed. It was songs of love that I would sing to then And I'd memorize each word Those old melodies Still sound so good to me As they melt the years away. All my best memories Come back clearly to me Some can even make me cry. Just like before It's yesterday once more On a lazy Sunday, my mind lilted pleasurably to the haunting strains of “Yesterday Once More” by “The Carpenters”. This song never fails to transport me into my past and linger in my sweetest memories, very akin to a freewheeler inebriated in ade. Unfailingly, my nostalgia was stirred once again and it spurred me further on my journey into the bygone days as I dug out melody after melody from my MP3 album and soaked in the emotive notes of my favorite numbers once again. Soon, “yesterday Once More” gave way to “Always Somewhere” by “The Scorpions”, my all time favorite band. Next on the list was ...

The massive success of the movie “Slumdog Millionaire” at the Oscars has proven one point beyond doubt – India’s potential to rise like a colossus on the world scene can never be overestimated. Certain personalities of no meager eminence (I would prefer to call them shortsighted cynics) in the country have been quick to label the movie as a blatant exhibition of the muck that pervades Indian society. Superficially viewed, all these people may have a valid point, based on the flimsy logic that such a portrayal may undermine India’s progressive image in the world. Here, I am tempted to quote Shakespeare, maybe a touch incongruously – “beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder”. Indians have to look at this picture of India through the eyes of the world. One has to understand that such a portrait, even if accepted as a deplorable-but-true depiction of India’s current social fabric, will also go a long way in showcasing India’s latent energies to the world. Although it would be irrational to...

It was one of my numerous trips to an offshore rig drilling for oil in a vast watery wilderness far, far away from the humdrum of the world. The rig floor rumbled with activity as the Travelling Block moved up and down. The drillers, the roughnecks and the roustabouts strained themselves to enable steady progress of the operation. My shift was yet to start and I had come up on the heli-deck for a breath of fresh air. In spite of spending close to eighteen years doing the same job, I never cease to wonder at the sheer crudity of operations on an oil rig. Notwithstanding all the effort put in by the crew round the clock, there is no certainty that our efforts are going to bear fruit, that is, it is still impossible to prove the presence of oil inside the earth until we actually get to it. If one traces mankind’s footsteps over the past few decades, it will be observed that He has indeed made huge strides in certain fields of science such as Astronomy, Nuclear, Electronics, Computers, Tel...

Roger Federer must be cursing the day a certain youngster from Spain decided to take up playing Tennis for a living. Just that one lad has forced Federer to come round to the fact that the road to supreme authority in any field comes at a price. There will always be that one last, thorny path that has to be walked before one can lay claim to the ultimate pedestal of fame. In Federer’s case, it has been just one thorn, in the form of an indefatigable, never-say-die Spaniard called Rafael Nadal. Just when he thought that the going was all too easy in his journey to becoming the greatest Tennis player of all time, that one guy has always blocked his path with the stolidity of a stone wall. Try as he might, Federer has been unable to shake Nadal off his back, and off his mind. Federer has always been the cynosure of all eyes in the male Tennis arena. The grace and equanimity with which he has been sailing through the toughest of moments in matches time after time had given him an aura of g...

The world watches in muted attention as Israel continues to pound Gaza with all the firepower at its disposal, unconcerned about the danger of collateral damage to innocent civilian life and property. America’s dual policy in regard to world peace has never been more exposed. On the one hand, the US wants more restraint from India in its fight against terrorism from Pakistan while on the other it opposes a UN resolution for bringing hostilities between Israel and Palestine to an end. Once again the world is confronted with the danger of an irresponsible and unscrupulous power holding the reins in a uni-polar world. It is not so bad to have one superpower controlling the affairs of the world provided that the country in control is just and responsible in the dispensation of its policies. America certainly is not one such nation. It is hardly concerned about the loss of human life anywhere in the world and in any number as long as the lives lost are not of Americans. America is not a cou...