Onam, o Sweet Onam -2

01.09.2009 - Syria : 
Outside the fence, dogs make a chorus. They are united in their agony and ecstasy. That is dog’s life. They live their life as it comes to them. Here, inside the fence, live their best friends. Look, even in this deserted land, we can not dispense with fences around us. This tiny project is the only place where human beings live. This vast expanse of land is uninhabited by any other people. This land belongs to none of the inhabitants here. Still, fence is built all along the campus. 

 

Dogs are prevented from entering the campus. So, they roam around outside the campus. How do they survive? I asked this question to many, but no answer from anyone. Still, I found the answer. The One who gave mouth to them will provide food also. That is natural law of justice.

Inside the fence, we human beings enjoy all the trappings of the material life. Television beams varieties of programmes from masalas to spirituality. Choice is ours. Air-conditioner, Refrigerator and the water heater works 24x7. No one bothers to switch them off. It is no one’s property. And devil may care for the carbon foot - prints.

 

At the canteen, we collect more food than we need. With absolute nonchalance, we throw away half of what we collect. This may not even go to the mongrels wandering around outside the fence, living at the mercy of the nature. This is saddening.

 

But, I thought of writing about Onam when I started this essay. However, the barking of those best frinds of human beings from the distant terrain refuses to go unheeded. Today is Uthradom. Moon sets by 4 am on the Onam day. I have never seen moon setting at 4 am on Onam day in the past 30 years. Onam was never as exciting as it was around thirty years back. The excitement an Uthadom night used to bring about was more than what the Onam day did.

 

 We boys get together for a cycle ride on the Uthradom evening.  None of us had a bicycle. Owning a bicycle was a luxury in Olavaipe those times, honestly. So, we had to depend on cycles taken on rent. Rent was fifty paisa per hour. For many of the guys among us, even this amount was a big one. Of course, we were from a better off back ground, thanks to the restaurant in Visakhapatnam.

 

To get a cycle on rent, we had to walk three kilometers and reach Poochakkal. One or two among us, who already know riding, used to tread all the way and bring the much adored two wheelers. By 5 or six in the evening we start the ride. Our territory was  nearly one kilometer stretch of road in front of our houses. We take turns and ride the cycles up and down. We never felt tired. 

Those days, we used to wonder, why the moon does not have the full shape on the Onam eve. We needed it the most on Uthradom night. Our excitement does not die down even at 4 in the morning. But, riding after 4 was difficult as the road plunges into pitch darkness. Not even a single street lamp glows in the lamp post. Still, our spirit keeps us going. We never stop riding till the day breaks.

 

In between, we take a break to make attappokkalam - the flower decoration in front of our fore-court. This is the last day of the ten day ritual of decorating the forecourts with pookkalam. Every one of us makes pookkalam in  our houses. It was our duty to make attappokkallams from Atham to thiruvonam.

 

Even as we are on the road, our elders too go sleepless on the Onam eve, busy preparing the chips and pickles. They too never tired of preparations. Every time we swooped into the kitchen , we come out with pocket full of chips. This was the fuel that kept us going all through the night.

 

Those days, we never had chance to buy onam from the market. We had made our own Onam. Fortunately or unfortunately, we never had an opportunity to buy ready made Onam offered by the textile shops, Packaged food shops and the “media syndicate”. We did not have televison in our houses. I considered myself lucky about it, for, we had an unadulterated, no-holds barred Onam every time.

 

The sweetness of those memories will never fade. Come another Onam. My little kid like yours may be watching TV on the Onam day. He/she must be asking us “Mummy/daddy, what is this Onam?”....and we, with our anglicised Malayalam must be straining every nerve of ours to drive home the concept of Onam to a child that knows no Malayalam! There lived a dude called Mahabali once upon a time...

 

Wish you all a happier Onam this time too….

The Kunjiramans

Men are funny. They climb when the other side bends and they bend when the other side climbs. If not convinced, look at the picture on the right side. A former chief minister is prostrating at the "lotus feet" of a lady. 

Of course, this lady is not an ordinary woman. She came upto a position of immense strenght on her own steam. She shows steely nerves when confronted with crises and adversities. When she showed her guts in front of men, they gave in. Started admiring her first and then kneeling down.

 Long time back, there was an incident in the Legislative Assembly were men tried to disrobe her. Now, in a Public function, if she is on the dias, all the men of her ministry and the her party leaders sit far away from her as if they are sitting in front of a fearsome Head Master of a school. Their body language changes as if a lamb trapped in a lion(ess)'s den. They listen to her in rapt attention and only nod in agreement to whatever she says. I wonder, how men who nurture egos that are taller than Himalayas, become so subservient to a woman.

Look at this picture. The sentence in the advertisement says "We remain, Madamji, ever at your feet". She is so powerful that she is able to remote control a man who is the prime minister of a country of 1.2 Billion people. Now, she has another man instaled at the nation's heighest post. This man too will be at her service on call. Tomorrow, if she decides so, I caould be the president or prime minister of my country. Such is the power this lady enjoys without owning any responsibilty.

 She does not wear costly saris. Does not wear toe to head ornaments. Still her personality is good enough to make men fall at her feet. Her presence makes even her opponents feel awasome. She shows immense courage and character when it comes to leadership. Though I don't agree with her political line, I should say a hats off to her for her personality and the way she handles men. I wonder, how men who nurture chauenistic hegemony over the opposite sex are more than willing to remain at the feet of a women.

A scene from Uttar Pradesh- The garland is made using currency notes worth 18Lac Rupees

In West Bangal, if it were not a woman who came forward to fight the ruling party's goondaism  and ruthless policy of physically distroying the opponents, there would never have a change of government. 
                              
A woman single handedly fought the war against a mighty political party and at last beaten them to pulp. She had no mentor nor was she born in a political family. It was her sheer hardwork and courage that brought her to the Writer's Building in Kolkatta. There are so many men in West bengal who queue up to prostrate in front of her. No doubt, men deserve this.

There are umpteen number of examples. Whenever women show heart and willing to fight it out right in the middle, men fall in line. Not only with the big women we discussed here, even an ordinary woman can do it.  

 It is like domesticating a wild elephant. In the wilderness, a tusker is the most powerful creature. No one can beat him. Once conquered and then trained to obey the orders, a tusker is the most obedient animal on earth. Mind power, not muscle power matters.  

Note : Kunjiraman is a proverbial monkey's name generally used to discribe a person who obeys his master always without questioning

Appooppanthaadi-50

There is less chance to come across anything sweet to eat in China. For the past 80 days of my stay here, I have hardly had anything sweet. The day here does not start with a bed coffee  made with a thick blend of milk and sugar.. The Chinese have no habit of taking sweets. Of course they take chocolates and ice creams. 

Sweet shops are a peculiarity of our country, we must think so. It looks so boring in Chinese work places to see no one distributes sweets when a child is born. No sweets on a wedding anniversay day nor when anyone gets a promotion.I wonder, how they share happiness here. In my office in Chennai, I take one sweet minimum every day. There need not be any specific reason for this however.

Taking an example from the Chinese, I too stopped the intake of sugar and milk. Now my tea too, like the locals' is hot water with tea leaves. Though it has no great taste - it has a mild sour taste- I felt it very healthy. No adulterated milk and refined-using-bone- powder-sugar in my tea any more. 

People prefer to drink green tea here. In offices, they have big cups near their seats full of water and a few leaves in it. There are a number of types of leaves and even dry flowers are used to make tea.

 Bottled tea in different flavours are very common here. Some of them taste like perfumes and is very difficult for us to drink. Believeing that green tea is healthy, I  take two cupfull of it everyday. green tea leaves cost from 1 yuans to several hundred thousand yuans. There are tea leaves available even for 200,000 yuans for 500grams. This is almost equal to a Audi car!!

Still, if anyone feels that Indian tea is unavoidable in their daily routine, it is not difficult to have it. Lipton's tea bags are easily available. Pasturised milk in sachets and sugar are available in every grocery shop. Black tea dust is also available in the market although it is rare. Indians living here normally bring tea dust from India or depend on the Indian stores in big cities.

 Milk is not seen in packets like we see in our country. Milk sachets in 200 ml or less are available in the market that need not be preserved in refrigerators. There are so many flavours added to milk. We must be careful while selecting milk.

Though it is healthy to go Chinese in terms of tea, it is not so comfortable when it comes to food. Of course, for a non vegetarian, there are wide varaiteis of dishes on the offer to enjoy. But a vegetarian may be starved to death if he/she canot wink his/her eyes at the sight of meat. There are a number of vegetable based dishes availablable in the restaurants, but there is no guarantee that they are not laced with meat or meat based products . At the minimum, the utensils and spoons used for preparation and serving a vegetarian dish are the same that are used in non -vegetarian items. Egg and Sea food are considered vegetarian items here!

Fish brand Soya Oil

Ground nut oil, soya oil and sun-flower oil are availbale in the market in plenty but  animal fat is also common. So, no one can be sure which oil is used in the restaurant. I have been told that fish oil is much expensive and hence there is little chance that this oil is used. But, there is no guarantee that animal fat is not used.

The kitchen of my serviced apartment

For a vegetarian, the best way to overcome this situation is to cook own food. In China, getting a serviced paprtment is not so difficult. A serviced apartment provides every facility including kitchen with all utensils on daily rent. We only have to buy vegetables, rice, weat floor and sun flower oil. Serviced apartment is the best option for Indians to survive better in China.

 Every vegetable is available in the market except ladies finger and drum stick. Ginger, green chillies, red chillies, spices, masalas, different kinds of rice including basmati rice, garlic and ginger are very common in the market. Still the absense of daal, tamarind, mustard seeds and turmeric powder makes the difference.  

https://picasaweb.google.com/116557619258339510895/ImagesFromTheRoadSides?authkey=Gv1sRgCK-c3o2F7Y_ziAE&feat=email#5661527486389356242

The Chinese eat their food in a group. The dishes are kept in big bowls. People sit around and pick each item with the sticks. Food is not seperately served in plates here. 

Everyone picks from the common bowls. They eat rice too. Unlike our rice, they use sticky rice. This rice, once boiled, set together. For them, this makes it easy to pick it with the sticks. Though the western influence is so visible in their life style, every Chinese eat food with chop-sticks. I too learnt it and started eating food with these sticks now. I can even pick ground nuts with the sticks now.

Beer is an essential part of lunch and dinner. Probably, they avoid it during the breakfast. Every restarant -big or small- serve liquor. From Beer to wine to vodka to whisky, anything is freely available in any restaurant. No restaurant was seen displaying a board like "Tiffan Ready" , Tiffen Ready" or "Meals Ready" in the morning. The Chinese, thankfully eat food at home in the morning but flock to restaurants for lunch and dinner. There are a number of eateries in every nook and corner to cater to their needs. 

Contrary to the perceptions, these restaurants are reasonably clean. Of course, a few of them have a pinching smell inside the restaurants. Some of the ingradients in the food items cause this smell. This smell, for us is not so comfortable. But, though I visited so many restaurants, I seldom came across this smell. If we happen to pass by way-side eateries, chances of coming across such smell are more.

They offer dishes based on pork, beef, chicken and egg. I have not seen any snake dish anywahere but there are some restarants in some parts of China where they keep live snakes. Customers select a snake and it is converted into a dish. Snake is an expensive dish here and hence not so common in China. Look, they are far advanced from what we think of them. Still, everyone whom I questioned about snake had atleast once tasted it. They all have the same opinion- it is very delicious.Probably in villages people are still consuming snakes in large quantities.

Foot path eateries are common here.  During the dinner time, many of the foot paths are filled with tables and chairs. The wayside restaurants occuppy the foot paths to extend their business. As I mentioned in an earlier essay, poeple start eating by 6 in the evening.  They wine and dine themselves accompanied by beer in groups. Lastly they leave the tables wasting most of the food items.  


I must add one more thing here. Maximum Retail Price (MRP) could not be seen on any of the products in anywhere in the countries I so far visited. This is a speciality of our country. In the absence of MRP, shopkeepers charge as they please in foreign countries.

Mom's the God

Men shall not cry.  They shall not have soft hearts. If a man's heart were so vulnerable to melting at the sight of a sad thing, Bashar Al Assad's men would never have killed so many children in the strife torn Syria. They are running down cities and towns in Syria to keep their master in power.

If a man's heart were so compassionate, he would never have lured young boys and girls to his master's house, then sexually abuse and kill them. This man in Noida even ate the flesh of his victims.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surender_Koli

If men thought their hearts were not strong enough to wield an AK47, land in a crowded place and spray bullets on the people around, then there would not have been an incident like in Mumbai. Men could commit hienous crimes in cold blood

I lay no claim to have a stony heart. Though it is embarassing to reveal that my eye turn moist at times, I find no qualms in admitting the fact. The latest incident that turned my eyes filled with tear was when I watched a programme on Kairali TV a few days back. Kairali TV is one of the best television channels in Malayalam. Except their news telecast, everything is a cut above all. The poetry recital reality show "Mambazham" is the one, a Malayalee shall never miss. It is being shown at 1830hours Indian time every week days.

Presently, a programme on the air is another reality show presented by a group of small time celebrities. They are a few gifted singers, dancers and actors gathered together with a view to help the disadvantaged people in the society. They sing and dance to gather money for this cause. An act that needs to be commended. In its latest episode, a 37 years old lady along with her 5 children were featured.  The eldest child is 18 years old and the youngest 5 years. The mother struggles to bring them up while the father is a drunkard. He appears in the scene only when he wants to beat the lady. In the process of unleashing his muscle power on the helpless woman, the children too often come in the line of fire

The family minus the man was interviewed by one of the noted actors of yesteryears. The woman eloped with the man when she was 15 years old. From then on, her life took a turn for worst. The alcoholic husband led her to live a miserable life mostly in public places. They did not have a house. No one was willing to let thier houses on rent to this family due to the man's bad habit. The woman and the children were at last deserted by the man and now they in dire straight. The woman and the chidren narrated a heart rendering story of their journey so far. Still I did not feel anything new in this. In our country, this is quiet usual, even as we are 12 years into the 21st Century

The interviewer then asked another quetion to all the six members. Do they need the man back to their fold? The woman told a firm No. All the 4 younger children too echoed their mom. But the 18 year old son told he needs his father. This boy was the one who was always at the receiving end of his father's brutality, as he tried to prevent him from attacking his mother. He said, he needed father because he is above all his father! I could no longer control my emotions. Tear welled up in my eyes. Rolled down the cheek....

Look at the children who are born with silver spoon in their mouth. They get everything in their life. They are born in air-conditioned operation theatres-well, now-a-days doctors don't permit mothers to have normal delivery. They are pampered to unimaginable proportions. The life for them is a bed a roses always.

 They are fed with Boost to have 3 times better stamina, Horlics to have 2 times more inteligence than the ones who do not have it, and Complan to grow 3 times faster than the ones who do not have it. They are sent to air-conditioned schools in air-conditioned vehicles. They are force fed with the best things available. They get education in the costliest schools in the town. 

Father, for them is like a friend. The modern day father is  embodiment of phychology. He knows how to treat a child phychologically. He spoon feeds the child with everything. He attends every need of the child. The child just has to point his/her finger at anything. At the next earliest moment, the father fulfils that wish. 

Children are taught Mathematcis, Science and English. Sadly these children do not know a world outside the contours of their sweet home and the school. No wonder if they look down upon a poor child. They may treat a servant maid in their house with contempt. Little they realise that, servants are also a part of the society. Without them these children would not have gone to schools in time wearing "surf excel" style clothes.

They know who is Mahatma Gandhi. Who was the first President of Independent India. Who invented electric lamp. Shockingly they may never know what is the name of their grand father (I mean their father's father!!). They can explain how a computer works, but never know how a complicated family setup or a society works. In the ivory towers, these are hardly any subjects to learn...

In the last, when they grow up and become an 18 years old boy (or a girl) they hardly recognize even the father who lived all his life for them. They show more affection to FaceBook and the make beileve world it creats around them. Finally when they get a job, they simply fly away from the nest. Father (also mother) bacomes a burden as he/she grows "younger"...

The boy in this story has already seen the life. He came up against all odds. He shows tremndous maturity. Definitely, he can never be otherwise, because he has a good mother. No child in the world can ever go wrong if he/she has a virtuous mother. That is the greatness of motherhood. 

Forget and forgive is the message this young man is giving out. Anybody listening?

Appooppanthaadi - 49

An hair cut was over due. The long hair started affecting my smart looks. I have been avoiding visiting a saloon because of two reasons. The long hair was covering up the grey ones to some extent. The second reason was the language. Finally I took one Chinese friend with me to the saloon for translation. He explained to the barber how to style my hair. As usual, I preferred a close cut this time too, knowing fully well that all the that I have been covering up so far will be fully revealed. I decided to take that risk. The bluff is about to be called by the locals on my age!

In all hair cutting saloons, the first thing they do is to wash our head with shampoo. There is seperate facility to wash head alone using hot water. Then the hair is dried with a hair drier.

After the wash, they led me to a chair to dry the hair and then cut. As I was about to sit in the chair, I noticed a few 100Yuan notes lying on the floor. I immediately alerted my Chinese friend and also the saloon employees. He took the notes. It was 3 100 Yuan notes. The young woman sitting in the next chair and having a haid do claimed that amount. My friend handed that amount to her. The girl said "tsank you, tsank you" to me. My friend appreaciated my honesty.

300 Yuans is more than 2000 rupees. I am convinced, I did a reasonably honest thing. At the same time, I was wondering, what would have been my response, if I spotted a bigger bundle of notes there? Probably, I would not have been that honest! For me, the proud son of Aarshabharatham, betraying concience is not a big thing. Believe me, it is just like sipping away a cup of tea! 

 I know, almost 98% of my countrymen will nod in agreement with me. If not convinced, just have a look at the fairness cream and hair oil advertisements on television channels. Super stars compete with each other to tell white lies to the public. We have no caste, creed or religious differences when we say a lie or involve in cheating others!! We even help each other to break laws without considering  religion and caste .

In 2005, when I lived in Mumbai, from Andheri railway station to our comapny's guest house at Chandivili, it used to cost me Rs49 by an auto rikshaw. The auto driver returns one rupee when I give him a fifty rupees note. The meter reading was almost consistant  every time I traveled. I only hope, the Mumbai autos are still consistant.

In Chennai it is much better. No worry about meters there! The  auto drivers are like gangs in Chennai. Come out of Chennai Central railway station and approach an autorikshaw - in fact, they appraoch us and even nag us. We need not go to them. The first thing that will pass through the auto driver's brain will be how to take the prospective customer for a ride and fleece the maximum from him/her. 

Where do you want to go? the driver asks. 
Mogappair, we answer. 
A barrage of questions follows. Where in Mogappair?  
4th Coss, Golden Colony. 
Is it near MMM hospital? 
It is near the DAV higher secondary school. 
Do you need to be dropped inside the colony or outside?
 I need to be dropped inside. 

Now, the driver pronounces the price. 300 rupees. That means, 30 rupees per kilometer. A bargain follows and at last he agrees for 250 rupees. A grudgy driver starts his vehicle....No doubt, he will never drop you at the exact spot you want to reach. No ride will be complete without a verbal duel between the passenger and the driver in Chennai. For the past 15 years, I have been experiencing this. The most painful thing is that all thse autos have colourful religious symbols decorating the front part. God is the mute witness to all their atrocities...

 The situation is  not so different in other parts of the country too. Last year, at Nizamuddin Railway station Delhi, a middleman fleeced 100 rupees from me. I was on way to Dwarka from Nizamuddin along with my family. He demanded 400 rupees and we settled for 300. The orignal auto driver was paid 200 and the middleman pocketed 100.

In sharp contrast, we get a different experince with public transport systems in foreign countries. Taxis take the place of three wheelers everywhere. In European countries, there are specific taxi stands. We can get taxis only from these stands or call them to our place. In gulf countries or in China, taxis roam around like autorikshaws. 

Get in to an auto, sorry, a taxi, show your address. Rest assured. The Merc moves. The meter is turned on. The driver takes us to the exact spot. Hands over the bill and takes exact amount from us. While returning from Europe, I had a big collection of Euro coins in my bag, that prompted the Customs people at Chennai Airport to mistake them for gold coins! 

In China, we need not even speak a single word to the taxi driver. The only requirment is that we must have our destination mentioned in Chinese. Meters are always consistant, well, almost. Of course, here too all are not angels. I did come across a few bad taxi drivers in Harbin. But the general experience is very good

Once, in Germany's Manheim railway station, I was waiting for buying cheese burgers from Burger King outlet. (Like in China, food is a major concern in Europe too- especially for vegetarians. But, there is every chance that we come across an Indian restaurant in every city.) I saw a woman pushing a bicycle upto the entrance of the Burger King. She stopped there, locked it and then stepped into the shop. 

In Eurpoean countries, people use bicycles so extensively. They can take it in the trains to different places. There are special spaces in the coaches of the trains to carry bicycles. While, Eurpoeans are using pedal cycles, in China, padal cycles are almost replaced by battery operated bikes. 

Here the point is, why the lady at the Burger King locked her cycle? Is it not because she feared theft? Does this not imply that all are not angels in a rich country like Germany too? I don't think she decided to lock it because she saw me around!!

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12-08-2012 : Here is a shocker from this part of the world. Just three days back, one man has gunned down a woman and shot another two men to rob the woman in front of a bank. This had happened in broad day light in a city in China. The suspected robber is a serial killer. He killed a man to rob him of a huge amount using a gun last year. So far, he killed at least seven people and is at large for the past 8 years. Police could not catch him so far. Click the link to read more : http://english.sina.com/china/2012/0810/495222.html

Frightening indeed. Gun is so dangerous. In US, people use it just like a toy. Though it is very rare in China, it does happen here too

14-08-2-2012 : Police has gunned him down in the morning. I am relieved. This criminal does not deserve to live in our society. Let us hope another one like him never comes up. Violance begets violance. Killers and crimnals don't realise this until the sword that was lifted by them kills them.

Andaman Islands 2

If you have seen the movie Kalapani starred by Mohanlal and Prabhu, then there is no need to describe more about Cellular Jail. The movie directed by quintessential director Priyadarshan succeeded in drawing a clear picture of the mindless torture the thirst for freedom was handed down by the alien invaders.


The hard core freedom fighters were sent away from the mainland to the island only to serve the rest of their life in miserable conditions in Andaman's Cellular jails. The torture methods, cruelty of the authorities and the endless suffering of the human beings are honestly depicted in the movie at the back drop of a romance by the hero back in the main land. This romance is shown as a flashback.

As we enter the Cellular Jail after taking the entry ticket, there await guides. Guides are a better option while we go around inside the jail, because this is not just a building of intereset, but a building that saw monumental sufferings by hundreds of patriotic citizens of our country. Every wall of the structure has to tell a story- a story of pain and distress. The guides were mostly Hindi speaking. I could see many tourists from Tamilnadu struggling to find a Tamil or English speaking guide. The guide charged me Rs 100 that time for taking us around. 

We were first taken to the place where the model of the jail is kept. The cellular jail, constructed in 1906 , had 7 wings with a watch tower in the middle. Each wing is 3 storied and there were 693 cells in total. At present only 3 wings are seen as the other 4 were demolished by invading Japanese forces and then by the Government of Independent India.

The front side of each wall faces to the back of the other wing. Each cell had a single ventilator at around 3 meters height. This peculiar construction was done in order to avoid any kind of communication between the prisoners.  The isolation was absolute

The guide then took us to the hall where the remnants of the devices used by the Colonial Masters and their servants to torture the prisoners were kept. This included whips, clothes made of jute and chains of different kinds that were used to confine the prisoners in pricarious postures. Prisoners were forced to work in the scorching sun wearing the jute clothes. Whip is of course the time tested organ for subjugation. This is still a favourite tool in the autocratic and feudalist set ups.

We then moved to the jail. We had a long walk along the corridoor of the prison. All along the corridoor, we could see the small sized cells. Each cell has a size  of 4.5meters x 2.7 meters. Only one prisoner was kept in one cell and they were abosolutely isolated from each other. The information about Veer Sarvarkar's brother's presence in the jail was known to him only after several years. Look, how the dictators fear rebellion. This is a telling example of how the heavy hands work all over the world. They can never survive without the use of brute force and cruelty of unimaginable proportions

 
Sarvarkar's cell is specially marked and every visitor does not miss a feeling of this cell. We can enter this cell. There is a picture of the freedom fighter inside the cell. His cell is at the end of one of the wings. Looking from his cell, he could see the gallows. This gallows were in the open yard of the prison. Here a number of prisoners were hanged right in front of other detainees. The babus were giving a strong message to one and all, though it never worked with the spirited souls. Killing and dragging the bodies were all done in full view of the freedom fighters. The gallows and the noose are exhibited in the prison.

 
There is a picture exhibition in one hall and there are so many other bigger rooms in the courtyard of the prison. These halls were the places were the prisoners were used to do hard jobs including extracting oil from coconuts. The servants of the Raj used whips to keep them going even if they were unable to carry on with it further.

On top of the Jail, at the backdrop of Ross Island

On top of the prison, visitors can have a panoramic view of the sea and the beautiful islands near by Port Blair. Prominant among them is Ross Island. This island was the place used by the masters to live. They wallowed in all comforts there. There is nothing left out in the Ross Island now. All the biuldings used by the Britishers in the Ross Island are gone. Only damaged parts of walls can be seen there at present.

The locking system of a cell.

In the evenings, a Light and Sound show is presented to the visitors inside the Jail compound. In the open courtyand, a story as told by a banyan tree which was witness to all the atrocities carried out by the aliens on the Freedom Fighteres of India is presented to the visitors. 
                                                                                 
                                                           

As the banyan tree unveils the story, lights glow at dirrerent parts of the jail. Once inside the prison cell, then inside Sarvarkar's cell, then inside the work area where the jailors were forced to work, then in the gallows and so on. The narration is heart rending.


Have a look at more photos here. Do not miss the captions: https://picasaweb.google.com/ppnatesan/CellularJail?authkey=Gv1sRgCNzCzaTN99K5Uw&feat=email#


 No one can leave the Jail without a heavy heart. Hundreds of the men and women who sacrificed their lives for a free India were just ordinary people like us. We are all heavily indebted to them. They embraced hell to gift us a heaven. Remember, heaven is existing on this earth itself -only fools think otherwise.

One thing was disturbing my mind while walking out of the Jail. Colonial masters were heartless. They tried to supress dissent using brutal force. At the same time, it remains an irony that the very same people had taught us the generous phrases like "excuse me" and "I am sorry"....