JAI HIND !!!

Today, on 26th January, India celebrated its 60th Republic Day.

Though India got free by breaking the chains of Imperial rule of British Empire, and attained its independence on August 15 1947, it did not yet have a permanent constitution.26th January 1950 is one of the most important days in Indian history as it was on this day the constitution of India came into force and India became a truly sovereign state. The country finally realized the dream of Mahatma Gandhi, Subhash Chandra Bose and the numerous freedom fighters who, fought for and sacrificed their lives for the Independence of their country.Ever since 26th of January has been celebrated as the Republic Day of India, .

Saluting the National Flag, singing the National Anthem and greeting each other with Jai Hind are the three imperatives on August 15 and January 26 -two most important days in our history. However very few may be aware about the history of our national greeting -‘Jai Hind’.

Till 1942, 'Vande Mataram' was the slogan that inspired patriots. Then came the interim period when ‘Do or Die’ (Karenge ya marenge), coined by Mahatma Gandhi, emerged as a clarion call for all freedom fighters. Meanwhile, the Indian revolutionary Dr.Champakraman Pillai introduced the new mantra-‘Jai Hind’ which became the popular battle cry of Indian National Army of Subhash Chandra Bose. It captured the imagination of Indians and Netaji's these two words got immortalized in Indian history ever since.

Jawaharlal Nehru also used Jai Hind to conclude his speech [The Light Has Gone Out....] after the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi. Since then Jai Hind is a salutation most commonly used in India in speeches and communications pertaining to or referring to patriotism towards motherland- India. Jai Hind literally means "Victory to India" or "Long live India”.

The purpose of this 'salutation' of Jai Hind today, on this Republic Day is more than a mere patriotism. It is about the section of my locks collection [Doc’sLocks] which I fondly refer as political locks. After these many long years of my hobby of collection of locks, I‘ve realized that these are unique and one-of-a-kind in the whole world.

Everybody invariably asks me-‘why do I collect locks?’ To answer it I'll need to write another full article! Let me put in it in just one line-I collect them for their interesting combination of fun & function, art & craft, age & antiquity, story & history, rarity &complexity, form & figure, size & shape, and many other similar cmbinations. One such ‘rhomboid' lock of unusual shape drew my attention; and eventually aroused my curiosity to a great deal when I started acquiring few more of similar shapes but of different makes and sizes. Interestingly, all were embossed with ‘Jai Hind’ on the box like projections in the middle. Most of them were manufactured in Aligarh in U.P.- home to the biggest lock industry in our country, established by the British in early 20th century. I could not accept this ‘Jai Hind’ as just another brand or simple 'memorial-lock', and started exploring and making inquiries about it. We have travelled '1000s' of miles to the remotest places in our car '1000' for the hunting of locks and other collectibles . On such excursions I must have discussed about 'Jai Hind-lock' to many antique dealers, art connoisseurs, historians, freedom fighters, even scrap merchants and 'key' makers. Nobody could give satisfactoriy explanation about it . However, one old locksmith, in his 80s, in a small village- Akala [ 6 kms from Lathi, in Amreli district of Saurashtra] postulated a theory to decipher this puzzling title on these locks. I personally saw quite verity in it. Of course there be views which may vary from that!

But to interpret Maganbhai's theory, we need to go back to the final decade of Indian independence struggle, and understand the contrasting ways and means of two of the great heroes-Netaji Bose and Mahatma Gandhi- who were leading the freedom movement. Bose was elected president of the Indian National Congress for two consecutive terms but resigned prematurely from the post following the ideological conflicts with Mahatma Gandhi. Bose believed that Mahatma Gandhi's tactics of non-violence would never be sufficient to secure India's independence. He advocated violent resistance and established a separate political party-'All India Forward Bloc'- and continued to call for the full and immediate independence of India from the British rule. Of course he had lot of respect for Mahatma Gandhi, and used to cherish him as ‘patriot of patriots’. Netaji was the first to hail Gandhiji as the ‘Father of the Nation’; however his ideology was totally opposite of Gandhian philosophy of ‘non- violence’. During World War II, he founded Indian National Army and valiantly fought for the liberation of India from the British yoke. He is believed to have died on 18th August 1945, in a plane crash over Taiwan, which brought the fall and disintegration of this ‘Azad Hind Sena’. Netaji literally means ‘Respected Leader’ and is still remembered as one of the most revered politicians of modern India. His birth anniversary was celebrated just 3 days back on 23rd January.

One of my friends, Dr. Arvind Kothia, who runs hospital in Lathi , had organized my meeting with that veteran lock smith- Maganbhai Davda [Luhar]. When we reached Akala by a narrow dirt road, his whole family was there to welcome us.He was a bit astonished to see a doctor like me having come all the way from Ahmedabad, and taking such a keen interest in the ancient art of lock-smithing . He generously gifted me one of the last pieces of ‘Chokidar’ locks he must have treasured for many years. He even presented me the rare copy of ‘British-Gazetter’ of 1930, in which there was a reference of 'Akala' as a trade centre famous for high quality ‘black-smithing’ in the then ‘Sorath’ of Western India. But for me -the most unexpected part was his pausible interpretation of ‘Jai Hind locks’, about which I did a casual mention. According to him-the families which believed in the ideology of Netaji Bose would use [or hang] these locks on their door frames. It was like the secret symbol or the cryptic code, to indicate to the other members of this ‘faith’, remaining oblivious to the eyes of the commoner. These revolutionaries or 'radical' ideologists wanted to hide from not only the Britishers but also from the 'satyagrahis' and the followers of non-violent movement. The explanation sounded quite dramatic. I could not confirm the exact period of manufacturing of these locks and whether they matched with early 50s- the active years of Azad Hind Sena. Unfortunately, we lack in documentation, and there are not many scholars who can endorse such speculations. However, I don't see any reason- not to accept this theory and the unusual function of these locks.

26th January-2008 [last year!]

Last year on the Republic Day, Manan, son of our friends- Relias- got married to Ishani. During this time , we had guests-Penny Melling [a puzzlist from London] and Nel Roberts [a journalist from Rhodes Island, USA]- and it was coordinated that they will attend and have the unique experience of the colourful and pompous Indian Wedding. Literally it turned out to be the highlight of their maiden trip to India. All those three days of the marriage functions,they wore Indian saris and decked themselves with traditional jewellary.They danced to the tunes of Bollywood music, ate Indian food with their fingers, squatted down for applying 'Mehandi' on their hands...and exchanged GREEEETINGS with me .... like this!

10.01~'A Date with Destiny'.

“Now, next time we must meet halfway between yours (sic) and my place”. I did not take these parting words very seriously when he left my home. Peter stays in Freiberg, Germany, where we had visited him once ,few years back.

But then, as things would have gone...

We met in Istanbul -- though not exactly halfway -- but then there could not have been a better location for our rendezvous. In the real sense East meets West here. It is called ‘Gateway to Europe’ since early ages, for the Silk Road starting from China, and passing through Northern India, ends there. The Grand Express, one of the oldest trains that connect major European cities, starts from Istanbul. Interestingly, one part of Istanbul [Constantinople of Byzantine times] is in Europe, and the rest falls in Asia.

For Peter that trip was quite nostalgic, as he was revisiting Istanbul after many years. He had booked a room for us in a 200 years old heritage hotel in Sultan Ahmet in one of the oldest parts of Istanbul, along the Marmara Sea. Actually it was a fisherman’s house that had been converted into this hotel. He took us around like a veteran local guide, showed us markets and houses in lanes and bylanes, made us try local food and drinks -- like Kebabs & Raki [aniseed flavored brew]. He introduced us to many small curio traders in Grand Bazaar, and also arranged a dinner with a top-notch art dealer at a roof café opposite Blue Mosque. He also took us to a few secret hide-outs, generally unknown to the first time traveler.

Sitting in Lale Puddings Shop, he ordered Baclava and Apple tea for us and started narrating an incident as if it had happened only the day before. He had kept it close to his heart for all these years. Istanbul, being so strategically positioned on the world map, has been one of the leading trade centers. However, it was notoriously famous for its smuggling and ‘drug’ market in the seventies and eighties. He said, “that was autumn of 1984. Turkey was not a rich country like other Middle East Muslim countries, where the ‘petro- dollars’ had started to show their shine”. He was just past his teens, and had driven down in some old German car from Stuttgart to deliver it in the ‘second hand’ market. He was left with just a few coins in his pocket. The Hippodrome locality used to be a big parking lot for trucks leaving for the Middle East and South Asia. In those days, Lale’s place used to be a small hotel, and also a meeting place for the truck drivers. In this same place, (where we were now sitting), he got acquainted with one such driver, who offered him free food in return for help in driving and maintenance of his vehicle. For him, it was an opportunity to visit many countries en route to Nepal, where they had to deliver the consignment. ['Was it any contraband?', – ‘That does not make any sense or difference at this stage’ was his brief reply.]

They reached Nepal, via Iran and Afghanistan, after 10 days. He decided not to return in that truck, but from there, he came to India and reached Goa. The ‘Hippy’ movement was all the rage at that time. He immediately fell for it and Goa became his home away from home. He lived the life of a ‘hippy’ for some years and visited many places in India. This opened up a large number of other avenues, created contacts and exposed him to Indian Art. Today, he is one of the most respected connoisseurs of oriental-metal-art in the world. Thus his very first hitch-hiking experience of 1984 changed his life forever. Though he now flies all around the world - by business class on ‘Lufthansa’ - these days, India is like his ‘Karmabhoomi’, he claims!

[Actually, this story was started as 'Interesting Istanbul'. However, I'm cutting it short here, and clubbing the above incident with another one- probably more 'interesting'.One can view few more pictures of 'Istanbul'- by clicking the following link.] http://picasaweb.google.com/drhirenshah/INTERESTINGISTANBUL?feat=directlink

On this day-25 years back!

Around the same time, another young man was on the threshold of transition from his student life. He had just earned his post graduate degree and was to join one of the institutes in Mumbai.

However fate had other things in store for him. His parents were in Karad (south of Pune), in Maharashtra, and were keen to see their son settle down in their home town of Ahmedabad. So his father took premature retirement and decided to move lock, stock and barrel to Ahmedabad. The huge load of household goods – accumulated over 17 years of stay in Karad -was planned to be transferred by road in a truck belonging to one of the family friends. After lots of debate, the young man was persuaded not to go to Mumbai but travel to Ahmedabad first in the truck. He was told that this would save the bother of packing and unpacking of the goods and at the same time help unloading of the vehicle at the destination. So, he and his friend (the owner of the transport company) clambered on that ‘lorry’ to set out for altogether a different journey. The route chosen was ‘Karad-Poladpur-Mahad-Thane-Bhiwandi-Ahmedabad’. which completely bypassed Mumbai. (It also meant avoiding the heavy traffic on the Pune-Mumbai highway and the dangerous steep curves on the Khandala Ghats). Little did he know that this would result in Mumbai being bypassed in the course of his future career also!!

Along with loads of house-hold goods, medical books and a stethoscope in the baggage, that young doctor reached Ahmedabad on the early morning of January 10 ,1984. 25 years back – exactly! 'The original plan was for the young man to leave for Mumbai immediately afterwards. But here too, Destiny had other ideas - he could not join the designated hospital in Mumbai within the stipulated time. So it turned out that his future was not to be framed in Mumbai. On the other hand, in yet another quirk of Fate, he found his future wife in the same year in Mumbai only.

For his parents, it was ‘homecoming’ in a real sense, as their home in ‘Thakor Park’ was built by themselves some 30 years ago. But for the young man, Ahmedabad was absolutely an alien world, and he was cursing that ‘truck travel’ and its destination for the first couple of years. The harder he tried to explore other places and possibilities for settling down for his career, the more he was stuck to this place. Probably, it was destined - that he reached his ‘karmabhumi’, riding on a truck.

Do I need to tell who was that doctor?

While talking to Peter, I recalled the above incident and realized that we not only share many similarities with common interests and hobbies, our ‘carrier’ to our ‘career’ is also common- the truck.

On this day-17 years back!

And while working on the exact dates of my reaching Ahmedabad, I got the most pleasant surprise of recent times. I realized that this particular date has a special rendezvous with Namita also, and of course me too again. We were blessed with twin sons-Shamol and Shanil, on the same date, 17 years ago- January 10, 1992.This date became the special milestone in our lives. For Namita, now a mother of ‘three’, it was the time to redefine her priorities, restructure her professional agenda, and reshape her career!.

Destiny is the dream that lies within all of us, for our desired and preferred future .It’s been said that our actions, our words, our attitudes, and our relationships- all lead to our destiny. But then is that all? There must be many more ‘uncontrolled’ factors, which also play an equally vital role to plan and fix that ‘date’ with the future. Otherwise how can one explain these strings of events where- luck ‘stuck’ via a truck, on the date which repeated to cast ‘twin shadows’, leaving even an atheist and nonbeliever- awestruck!

As all these thoughts came rushing to my mind, I decided to put them down in writing --- lest I forget these interesting parallels in our lives. Twenty five years may be a long time to escape from one’s memory, but then we remember and celebrate this ‘date with destiny’ every year, at least for last seventeen years! And, then this number 10.01 looks symmetrical and sounds auspicious too!!

Giant's Causeway ~ Faith or Fiction ?

‘Hiren, I still recommend Giant’s Causeway. It’s worth a special trip to Northern Ireland. You must squeeze in 3-4 days more….’P.Hajek was a friend from London Medical School, helping us to plan our itinerary for UK tour in that summer. Few more mails, many more hits on web sites and numerous references from the travel pages- our route for driving vacation got ultimately charted. A week in London and then another in Scotland. Northern Ireland was literally wedgedin the last leg of Wales and south England.

Excitement was palpable on everybody’s face, when we drove from Glasgow to reach Stranraer in south Scotland to catch the ferry to Belfast. Children were thrilled to experience the driving of our rented van- Peugeot 407- directly into the under belly of world’s fastest ferry- HSS Voyager. We crossed Irish Sea in less than 2 hours. Without entering in Belfast, and resisting the temptation to peep in the H&W dock where Titanic was built, we directly hit M5 to take Causeway coastal route.

Our first stop at Carrickfergus Tourist Center proved quite rewarding. ‘No need to rush here- after all this is one of the most dramatic and scenic routes in the world.’ We followed this tip and took almost eight hours to cover just eighty miles. We leisurely cruised over the bridges and under the arches, past bays and beaches, cliffs and coves, castles and churches. Every twist and turn in the road revealed new sights and spectacular scenery, compelling us for frequent stops and inciting us to snap many pictures. Detours in the country sides lead us through tranquil woods and lush vegetations, sloping farms and rushing streams.We came across many highlights of this interesting route-like unusual sundial clocks in Carnfunnock Park, magnificent Mountain Views in Glenariff forest, unique rockery at Ballycastle, colorful marina at Balintoy .

Our night stay was equally befitting to the invigorating experience of day time. Youth hostel was itself situated on a cliff top and over looking Atlantic Ocean at White park Bay, just next to the Giant’s Causeway. On the same route, on next day we visited Bushmill-world’s oldest licensed whisky Distillery. We had a thrilling experience of crossing the precarious Carrick-A-Rede Rope Bridge which spans 24 m deep and 18 m wide chasm between two hillocks. We were lucky to witness an Irish marriage in the medieval ruins of Dunluce, supposed to be most romantic castle dating back to 14th century. But before that, in early morning we started for our prime destination - A Giant’s Causeway- the top most tourist attraction of Ireland, and UNESCO’s unique world heritage site!

The audio visual show, in the visitor center was quite informative; it rather whetted our hunger to reach the ceann scribe [‘main destination’- in Irish language]. After about a mile’s walk, our imagination was to turn into reality. Recalling our past visits to numerous natural wonders, I was musing about the kaleidoscopic Mother Nature and recalling those weird ‘Hoodoos’ in Bryce Canyon , USA; ‘Fairy Chimneys’ in Cappadocia ,Turkey; ‘Pancake’ rocks in Punakaikki , New Zealand; ‘Stalactite Curtains’ in Phangnabay, Thailand, and so on...And lo-- we were already walking on those unusual rocks of mythological pathway! One more cosmic creation-one more 'supernatural'/ super 'natural' sculpture!!

It is an area of about 40,000 interlocking basalt columns, the result of an ancient volcanic eruption and millions of years’ erosion. The tops of the columns form stepping stones that lead from the cliff foot and disappear under the sea. Most of the columns are hexagonal, although there are also some with four, five, seven and eight sides. The geometric shapes attributed to slow and uniform cooling of lava filled in a river valley. Columns of varying heights [ tallest being about 36 m] make dramatic landscape, and makes it one of the unique geological formations.

Legend tells that the giant was Finn MacCool, some 52 feet tall! Finn wanted to do battle with a rival bigger giant in Scotland, known as Benandonner. They had never met, so Finn built enormous stepping stones across the sea, so that the Scottish giant could cross to Ireland to face the challenge. The story takes a humorous twist -how the Scot was tricked by Finn’s wife Oonagh. When she heard thunderous rumblings of his footsteps and then saw the massive shadow of Benandonner across the land, she quickly realized that the Scot was far bigger than Finn and so the result of the trial of strength was a foregone conclusion. She woke Finn, bundled him into one of her nightgowns, covered his head with a bonnet and made her bewildered husband to pretend that he was asleep in a large wooden cradle. Moments later, the mighty head of Benandonner loomed into the cave. "Right, where is he hiding?", he roared. Oonagh shushed him, "Be quiet or you'll waken our baby", and pointed towards the slumbering Finn. Benandonner was alternately bemused and worried. He wondered, if that was the baby how big would the dad be? He wasn't going to hang around to meet him. He started retreating , and while fleeing back home in fear, he ripped apart the causeway, just in case he was being followed.

While returning back to the visitor center, I wondered how folklores are similar all across the world. The story and the place reminded me of our own ‘RamSetu’. In the Indian epic ‘Ramayana’, Hanuman’s monkey brigade constructed 'RamSetu' to enable Lord Rama to cross over from India to Lanka in order to rescue his wife Sita from the clutches of the evil king Ravana. I questioned myself- if Irish can sell this story to lure about 4 lakhs visitors every year , why should we shy away from our mythological characters and ask for those carbon tests to defy our deep rooted faith or defend the modern science!

Driving back on the next day to Belfast, I was day dreaming of being in a Irish pub ,but was worried of being a victim of 'slipping a Mickey Finn' [it’s a slang term for ‘drugging’ one’s drink without one's knowledge to incapacitate him/her- named after the Chicago’s infamous hotel manager] I started confusing the names of these two Finns-MacCool or Mickey.I could not figure out between the Irish Giant and an American Bartender, even in that 'day dream'? But then I comforted myself- why bother about faith or fiction…