Revive the Tradition

The last festive season, we embarked on a mission inspired by a lady in a far away country. It was beginning of December of 2014 and the time when most of the places in the world are in a festive mood, some more than others. We were on a train and we saw a lady, from a couple of generation before us, having a glass of wine and writing the Xmas and New Year cards.

I thought why not try revive the old traditions of sending cards for the festive seasons to some of our friends and relatives. That way we will give a chance for the postman to shake their legs a bit. . Cards and letter are fast getting extinct and by now and I do not see anyone campaigning to save the post box.  My last “partner in post” has also given up about two years back and got baptised to the internet. When I started to receive response to my letters through emails, I did not know how to react. It took the experience out of getting informed though I got the response almost instantly. I had no idea if I wanted to get a response so instantly but in the process brought the whole communication business to a standstill.

So we bought some art papers and started to create our cards right from the scratch and managing the envelope was as difficult a challenge as the card itself. Trust me it is not as easy as you would imagine when you start something that you have not done for such a long period of time. It reminded me of Shakespeare’s quote from The Merchant of Venice.....

“If to do were as easy as to know what were good to do, chapels had been churches and poor men’s cottages princes' palaces. “

But there was no going back and I took out my old address book form an old trunk (the one made of real paper) and drew up a list of friends and relatives with still valid addresses. The list was as follows:

Kolkata -              8

Mumbai -             2

Pune -                   2

Delhi –                 2

Bahrain -              2

Bangalore –         1

Agartala -            1

Doha -                 1

Al Khobar -         1

Muscat -              1

London -             1

Finally it was time to go to the post office and buy the stamps, stick them to the envelope and drop those in the mail box. Even though it cost a small fortune, it was worth it as my daughter got the first taste of writing and posting a real letter. This was our contribution in reviving the tradition and also give “Stamp collection” another chance.

However, 4 months later there seems to be still 6 cards undelivered. It appears that it will take more effort to remove the rust out of the postal system. Come December, we shall have another attempt.

Tale in Two Cities

There are turmoils occurring around the world starting from the later part of 2010 and it looks like it is going to continue through 2011. On one side there have been natural disasters in New Zealand, Japan and Myanmar and on the other hand there are plenty of manmade disasters going on in many countries around the world.  I would not make any political comment or put forward my personal opinion on any of those conflicts here in my blog.

In this post I share two incidents as narrated by two individuals through their emails. This gives an insight into people’s life that happens to be inside the conflict zones.

Libya - February 22, 2011

“This was a great evacuation from Libya.... its horrible experience by all expats. My passport which was in Libyan immigration, Misrata (300km from Tripoli) which was with protester was destroyed as the immigration office was burnt down. I was asked by my company at last minute to request Indian embassy for a paper. February 22, 2011 is unforgettable day in my life. I have taken high risk to meet Indian ambassador, helped by Libyan taxi driver (having gun in car)...met ambassador and after my humble request she had given me an emergency certificate (a  temporary passport).

Our company arranged a charted flight for all staff and we escaped.  We were evacuated safely to Malta where we had taken rest in hotel and finally from there we got flight home via Cyprus and Dubai.

Thank God... I and my wife with 1 1/2 yr kid kissed the freedom.

But many Indians are still waiting for their safe evacuation, please pray for them...”

Bahrain - March 16, 2011

“We woke up to sounds of gunfire (most likely rubber bullets and tear gas shells) just before 7:00 am. Within no time cars were speeding across on both sides of the street in front of our house. The more practical ones fleeing the action while the foolhardy (or the brave heart, depending on which side of the fence you are) and emergency vehicles, going towards the action.

 It started to get difficult to breathe inside the house with the acrid smell of tear gas filling the house. Firing continued unabated. Soon the entire Pearl roundabout was shrouded in thick black smoke. After that the earth shaking noise of the propane tank bursting. The crowd slowly started disappearing from the road in front of our house. A few pickups and four wheel drives with their rear doors open sped across with the wounded. Then there was the eerie calm on the street but the gunfire continued in the background.

 At about 8:30 am there was a rumbling sound of heavy vehicles and slowly 3 armored personnel carriers came into view from my kitchen window, followed by foot soldiers and riot police. They were accompanied by 6 Land cruisers with turret mounted machine guns. They asked everyone to get away from the windows and balconies. To emphasize their point they started firing shots in the air. 

The security forces have now started moving into the dens. The “cleansing” operation is likely to continue. Hope some sort of normalcy returns in the next two days. I am waiting to take off for as soon as possible.”