Chp 528. North East: The New Tibet

When Indians are racially profiled at places like airports and malls in America, we raise a huge hue and cry about it. And yet, back home, we do the same with our own people and suddenly, it seems reasonable. Yesterday’s news about not allowing any Northeasterners to be near the visiting Chinese Premier is perhaps one of the most ridiculous and bizarre news I have read recently.

I can just put a stop to this ridiculousness with a blunt statement – “WTF. NORTH EAST INDIANS AREN’T TIBETANS”.

Not allowing any Northeasterner near the visiting Premier because of the Tibetan issue is as good as putting this new map into our school books.

But this needs to be dealt with seriously and explained more elaborately, otherwise it’s just going to repeat over and over again whenever some high ranking Chinese official visit our country. My Mizo friends were once stopped in Delhi near CP when an important Chinese delegation was visiting the city a couple of years ago. They were pissed off. All they wanted to do was eat lunch at a restaurant. Other Indians were let through except them. And they said the racial difference between those who were stopped and allowed was obvious.

They even showed the paramilitary cops their PAN Cards and driving licenses. But the reply was stern - they just weren’t allowed to pass through. Another guy said he wasn’t carrying a passport right then, but even if he was carrying it around for some random reason, it wouldn’t have made any difference. And I have heard about many such incidences from other Northeasterners living in Delhi whenever we get a visit from across the border.

This is plain silly and it needs to be stopped, for good.

First and foremost, there is a huge difference between Tibetans and people from the North East. You will of course find Tibetans here and there in the North East (just as you’ll find Nepalis), and some Arunachalis and Sikkimese are said to be essentially Tibetans by heritage. But other than that we don’t speak the same language or share the same culture, among many other things. And personally speaking, much as I sympathize with the Tibetan cause, I know for a fact that a large majority of the North Eastern population are more preoccupied with their own issues than to be bothered about the Tibetan issue. Until college when I finally met somebody from Tibet, the closest interaction I ever had with Tibet was perhaps reading Tintin’s “Tintin in Tibet”.

And being somebody who had travelled all across India, I know a lot more people from this side of the country (mainland India) who are Pro-Tibet sympathizers rather than those actually from the North East.

Yes the Tibetan issue is controversial. I am not dwelling into that topic here, so I hope my Tibetan friends will understand. Discussing about whether Tibet should be free or not can go all day long, arguing about whether it is right or wrong, throwing up historical facts, wiki links and ANGRY CAPS LOCK ON COMMENTS. No, in this post, I just want to ask why North East Indians always have to serve as collateral damage whenever an important Chinese diplomat visits India.

Below are some of the comments in social media, justifying this act. [source]

WHAT tensions does the North East have with China???? The Tibetan exiles living in India have an issue with China. Other than the border dispute issue India has with China in Arunachal Pradesh (which China claims is a part of South Tibet) that most of us are aware of, do you really think Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland, Assam, Meghalaya or Tripura are bothered about China? In fact if you look at the history of the North East, back during the days when insurgency was more rampant, a lot of the insurgent groups had camps based in China. I frankly do not know any people from the North East who are angry with China (except when some Indians randomly call us “Chinese” in public, that pisses the hell out of us).

And that comment about Indira Gandhi, that is way too terrifying, dude. You’re seriously comparing what a Sikh bodyguard did to our late Prime Minister because of her action at Golden Temple to this? Remember the aftermath of that assassination? That is exactly the reason why North Easterners find it so difficult to be accepted as Indians and will always feel insecure. That is exactly the reason why just because Bodos in Assam fought with alleged Bangladeshi immigrants in their area, the ENTIRE Northeastern population living in other parts of India had to live in fear or flee back to the North East back in 2012. Why are we always generalized? God forbid, suppose one of the Chinese Premier’s bodyguards did something to our Prime Minister Modi, what are the chances that the raving mob is going to go after the blood of any Norteasterner with mongoloid features that they see? Scary thought indeed.

Noooooooooo. Yes for personal reasons, some of us Northeasterners may have sympathy for Tibet, but like I mentioned above, a lot of North East Indians are just like most other Indians - they are really not bothered about causes that do not concern or impact them directly.

Give this guy a medal. There should be more people like him. Like I said earlier, I know more non-NE people who support the Tibetan cause than those from the NE, so why are we suddenly being profiled and viewed with suspicion? Sense it makes none.

Ok what kinda mentality is this? By the way, they were protesting against the visiting Chinese Premier, they weren’t protesting against India. I don’t know any Tibetans who hold a grudge against our country. Why bite the hand that feeds? And it is only natural for people living in a different country to protest about something that strikes close to home, we see this all the time - Muslims living in UK protesting about the recent Gaza-Israel conflict, Indians in America protesting about the Nirbhaya gang rape, etc.

As far as I know, Tibetans are a bunch of really nice and peaceful people, not to mention beautiful too. Yes there were cases of self-immolations for the Tibetan cause, but how many such protests have we seen that harmed others?

And by the way, is our Sino-India relationship so weak and fragile that a mere protest can “spoil” everything? Think of the bigger picture. That’s what these talks are about.

Haha seriously, this is such a great suggestion! I would be more than willing to show the Chinese Premier how un-chinese we all are. I volunteer as tribute, even if it’s just to play the role of the doorman. Who’s with me?

See, this is exactly the reason why we have to deal with such problems. “Afraid of Tibetans passing off as a North Easterner”?

Guys, I am going to say this for the umpteenth time. The North East is not a monotonous group. I just want to point out that around 60% of the entire North Eastern population is Assamese and a lot of them look quite different from Mizos, Nagas, Khasis etc. There are indigenous peoples across the North East who do NOT have what we may consider as a typical mongoloid feature. Whether some of us look more oriental or less oriental, we are all happy with the way we look, because that is who we are. I know people don’t want to say this for fear of being politically incorrect, but it needs to be said - Not everybody from the North East is what you call a “chinky”.

Here in Mumbai, we have recently set up a “North East Helpline – Mumbai”. It is a platform where we help those people from the North East who are being discriminated. If you come to our monthly meetings and look at the representatives from all eight states, you will see a noticeable difference. And though we may vary a bit in looks, all of us are proud of our North Eastern heritage, just like how any other Indian is proud of his roots.

We all know Arnab Goswami. He’s an Assamese.

Below is my close friend here in Mumbai who is currently serving in the Indian Navy. He’s a Mizo.

And below is another friend who is of mix parentage - Her dad is a Mahanta (Assamese) and mom is a Khiangte (Mizo).

See how different all three facial features are. That is the diversity of the North East. That is our pride. No visiting dignitary of any country should take away that pride.

If looks is a factor, I’m sure some of us had friends who are not from the North East who had slight “mongoloid” features. Back in school, it was my friend Chinmoy, and in college, it was Mahima. Put Arnab (Assamese), Chinmoy (Keralite) and Mahima (Delhiite) in a line-up, and I’m sure the person they would allow to go through would ironically be Arnab (assuming the guard doesn’t know him or his reputation) compared to the other two. That is what The Nation Wants Needs To Know. Using “looks” as an excuse for security is a very shallow mindset.

And seriously, we’re talking about the Grand Hyatt here, not just any run-of-the-mill hotel. Won’t the luxury five star hotel have done background-checks on all its employees? Or is it such a lame ass unprofessional hotel not to know whether its staff from the North East is a Tibetan nationalist or not? Maybe they should just put up the map displayed above in their lobby to justify their stand.

All the comments pasted above are just from the same link given above. There are countless of other such comments all over social media regarding this incident, to which I neither have the time nor energy to respond to.

I have always admired Kiren Rijiju, our Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, for being the most outspoken politician of that stature to talk about the North Eastern stance. I wonder what he has to say regarding this. He being from Arunachal Pradesh will know more than any other Northeasterner how frustrating it is in dealing with the way both the Chinese govt and Indian govt treat them.

This needs to stop. I had such high expectations from our current Government, especially considering how General VK Singh, our DONER Minister would make frequent visits to Mumbai and conduct a couple of meetings with many of us North Easterners residing here. This practice of sidelining Northeasterners because of a visiting Chinese diplomat is a setback to all the efforts the Government has taken.

But still I have hope and faith. Faith that in the near future, this will not take place anymore. Meanwhile, I’m just gonna grab my blanket, crawl back into my cave and remain there until this whole nonsense passes by. Wake me up when September ends.

Chp 527. My Spiral Sausage

The other day I came across this awesome video where a chef was demonstrating how to make a spiral sausage. Being a foodie myself, I was literally drooling on my keyboard as I watched the video. The fact that the sausage was being grilled spirally, gave it a lot more aesthetic appeal.

Being the curious and “adventurous self acclaimed amateur cook” that I am, I decided to try it out too. I am definitely not a good cook. I just know how to make the basics, but I love experimenting.

In case you don’t know, some of my old posts like Food Fusion I, Food Fusion II and Smoked Pork in Mumbai involved me trying out new recipes, while others like The Great Bandra Momo walk and the Networking dinner series like Coral: Mediterranean Cuisine, Coral: Spanish Surprise and Coral: Pondi Salon all talked about food.

So here is my attempt at making spiral sausages. Of course I started with pork hotdogs first since we were out of sausages on that night I decided to try this out :) and since we didn’t have a grill, no BBQ could take place, so I had to rely on plain old oil + gas stove.

First, get that packet of hotdogs.

Defrost them. You can either do this in the oven or just leave them in water for some time.

Next, get a long thin skewer that you can shove all the way through. Make sure that happens right in the center.

Now take a knife and cut the meat in an angle, all the way till the skewer. Once the blade reaches the skewer, continue cutting the hotdog spirally till you reach the other end.

Your hotdog will look like this…

And once you have enough practice, it will look even more appealing, like this…

Now prepare the condiments. I just used onions and chillies.

You can use olive oil too if you want, because… it sounds more exotic. Like I said, I’m just an amateur wannabe cook :P

In my case, I used the leftover oil that was used to fry fish previously, hence the “bubbles” below…

Now throw in some pork salami because mixing up is great and it makes you kinda feel like a pro even though you have no idea why you’re doing that :D

Don’t forget to place it on tissue paper once it is fried, to absorb the excessive oil used.

Now place them the way you want and devour it. AWESOMENESS!

The very next day, I bought some pork sausages. I could only find the small ones, but it sufficed. I followed the same process…

Skewer them…

Cut them spirally…

And tadaaaaa… awesome spiral sausages!

Of course they didn’t look as appealing as the ones that inspired me, posted below. But that was made on a BBQ grill. The next chance I can get my hands on a grill, I am so going to make these spiral sausages again! Attaching the video tutorial below too, in case you too want to learn. Cheers!

[Above image and video source: Food Wishes]

Chp 526. Two new fluffies in the family

Last week, Sumeet, my friend and fellow Co-Founder of FITH Media, decided to gift us two of his recent litter - two adorable doll face Persian cats. They are around two months old.

[click on all images below to enlarge]

Even though we decided not to get another cat after our previous one passed away, this was a gift we could not refuse; they were just too damn adorable and cute.

This one below got worms and was constipated. It was my sister who immediately recognized the symptom when I sent her the photo because she being the cat expert with more than five cats at home, told me that cats usually rest in their litter box when they have constipation or stomach issues.

When it comes to cats, I don’t want to sound like an elitist snob, but I prefer Persians because they are just so damn friendly. In my limited experience with cats, it is so easy to pick up a Persian cat and cuddle it etc, whereas when it comes to the common domesticated cat, they get so bloody moody. I could never pick up any of my sister’s cats back home without them scratching my arms or face. They also really know how to pose and below are a few more photos of them, giving me that “draw me like one of your French girls” pose :)

They are so cute when they eat too. Like two tiny fluffy ball of cotton wriggling their tails.

That’s why I love Persians when it comes to cats. Dogs on the other hand, I can love any breed equally. Currently we have a beagle, and back in Delhi, we had adopted two local ones, the type that we refer to as “Indian” breed.

And that was our main worry when the lovely kittens arrived at home. How would our beagle react to them and vice-versa? Below is a video I took, recording their first encounter!

But it didn’t take much time for them to get along. Within 2-3 days, everybody was at peace with each other. It was soon safe to leave the three of them alone in the same room.

And sometimes Saddam would wanna play with them, and even though the kittens are no longer terrified of him, we don’t want him hurting them even though his intention may be playful. He needs to know that he is much stronger than they are. So we would scold him every time he tried playing with them and he would just jump on a chair and sulk :)

Recently I’ve been noticing the kittens to be the first one to approach him too, which is a good sign. But he usually sleeps on his own ignoring them when he knows we’re watching him :)

The other day, one of the cats roamed up to the open window and a crow aggressively flew nearby, cawing at the confused kitten. Immediately Saddam too rushed up to the windowsill and barked and chased the crow away. Now that is the big brotherly love we want to see more often. :)

So that’s the update for today. More cuddles will follow soon. Cheers.

Chp 525. Why I don’t do the Book List Challenge

“There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them.” - Joseph Brodsky.

Recently, a lot of my friends have tagged me in the latest series of a viral pastime on Facebook called “Top ten favorite books of all time – The Book List Challenge”, where people are supposed to list out their top 10 favorite books and tag others to take up the challenge.

And surprisingly, I got tagged quite a few times, especially by friends with a literature background or academicians or people whose passion for books is obvious from their daily status updates and shares. I, on the other hand, am actually not an avid bibliophile. Which is why it is quite embarrassing for me because after going through all the classics and rich books they’ve mentioned, I realized I haven’t read any of them.

If you take a look at some of the most common books people mentioned - The Catcher in the Rye, The Alchemist, Vernon God Little, Atlas Shrugged, 1984, To Kill a Mocking Bird, The Great Gatsby, Lolita and so on… Yes I am familiar with the names of such renowned books, but I actually haven’t read any of them. For crying out loud, I haven’t even read a single Harry Potter book.

That is how much of a non-enthusiast I am when it comes to reading.

I may have a passion for writing, but I haven’t read a good book in ages. Sure I started reading early back in school, starting with my Enid Blytons when I was in junior school - The Secret Mountain, The Secret Island, The Wishing Chair, The Famous Five series, The Secret Seven series, Malory Towers series, those were my favorites. I thought Enid Blyton was the only person who wrote a novel back then.

And then 7th standard onwards, I moved up to a more composite genre of writing, like juvenile sleuth detectives - The Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew and The Three Investigators. Man those were some great moments spent with the characters, and how they all had relationships that were completely platonic.

It was only years later that I found out from the internet that the so called author of “The Hardy Boys” series “Franklin W. Dixon” was actually a pen name used by different ghost-writers writing the series, and that the creators of both The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew series was the same freaking person. I still remember how excited I was reading the first “cross-over” series featuring both the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew. And to this day, I still remember how I felt when Lola Morton, the girlfriend of Joe Hardy and the sister of Chet Morton, was killed in a car bomb. And then later finding out that the authors of both these two series was the same person/publication was such a knee jerk to the guts. Daymmm it was like a “My whole life has been a lie” moment!

Soon I graduated to an even more mature genre of writing towards Higher Secondary School – Sydney Sheldon, Robin Cook, John Grisham, Jackie Collins, Jeffrey Archer, Ken Follett, Frederick Forsyth, Mario Puzo and my all time favorite author Robert Ludlum (I even made a very comprehensive and popular GeoCities webpage dedicated to Ludlum and all his novels, may his soul rest in peace, which had been taken down now after geocities was discontinued in 2009).

I was crazy about Ludlum and his protégé “Jason Bourne” who was like the Jack Bauer of espionage novels (by the way, the Bourne movies suck compared to the novels, but then again, have movies ever been as good as their novels?). Robin Cook too influenced me to such a level that I actually went for medical college entrance exams tutorials after school because I wanted to become a doctor, until my doctor-cousin burst my bubble, telling me that life in the medical field was never as glamorous as that in Robin Cook novels.

After that, I joined Engineering College and did my Computer Science Engineering, and suddenly, I stopped reading.

Stopped reading initially because there were too many other things to be read regarding computers and technology, which were unfortunately nothing like the Isaac Asimov or MechWarrior/BattleTech kinda novels that I was also a fan of.

Instead, it was boring Theory of Engineering Mechanics, Operating Systems, Data Structures, Design Applications, Microprocessors, Digital Signal Processing, Compilers etc. Even though we had free time now and then, those times were spent on activities other than reading, and soon, that lull started becoming more permanent. Throughout my entire Engineering course, I didn’t read a single novel.

Soon it became a habit, a habit not to read leisurely. Even after college, during my CAT and UPSC coaching classes, again I was required to do a different set of reading, readings that were more on the technical lines rather than pleasurable time-pass. MBA days required a lot of reading on various corporate case studies, market research and consumer behavior, not to mention subjects I had never studied in my life before like Economics and Accounting, while UPSC coaching again demanded more subjects I had never studied in my life before like Political Science, Sociology, Public Administration and Anthropology.

But that definitely does not mean one must stop reading good books just because one is busy concentrating on one’s work. I had a lot of peers who kept reading despite their hectic schedule. At the end of the day, it’s all about effort. I was just too damn lazy to take that extra effort to do some serious reading. Higher studies definitely doesn’t mean lesser time to read, or write. I mean, take a look at one of today’s most successful Indian authors - Chetan Bhagat. Whether you agree with his style of writing or not, you can’t ignore the fact that many people adore his novels. And he is an IIT-Delhi and IIM-Ahmedabad grad. And then there are the likes of Sidin Vadakut, Rashmi Bansal, Amish Tripathi, Ravi Subramanium and a lot of others from the IIMs who have an enormous fan following because of their writing. It all depends on how you prioritize your work and passion.

Someday, I really wish I get to read all those fantastic books my friends have listed out. I want to read them not just because sometimes I feel left out… but because I want to experience what my friends felt, the addiction, the emotion, the satisfaction. As Francis Bacon once said, “Some books should be tasted, some devoured, but only a few should be chewed and digested thoroughly.” That is what I want to experience too. Definitely there on my bucket-list now.

Happy weekend, and hope you understand now why I don’t take up the Book-list challenges I get. It only made me realize what I’ve been missing in life. I’m taking this book list challenge in a different way - to read the list of books my friends have listed out before this year ends. What are the good books you would recommend to me?