TN tour 2019

HOLI, Indian Valentine's Day

Last month we have celebrated Valentine's day.  Is there an equivalent of Valentine's day in India culture.  That's the celebration today, Holi, the more meaningful festival of celebrating love.  

Rathi and Manmatha (also called Kamadeva) were legendary lovers among Gods.  Their acts of love used to instill the emotions of love and lust among suras, asuras and manavs (Gods, demons and human beings).

Once all Gods were scared by the growing prowess of Tarakasura, who could be killed only by the yet-to-be-born son of Lord Shiva and Devi Parvathi.  But Lord Shiva was in deep tapas (prolonged meditation) and somebody had to wake him up to enable his union with Devi Parvati.  Gods assigned this delicate task to Rathi-Manmatha.

Rathi-Manmatha began to dance enacting different acts of love in front of Lord Shiva.  Disturbed Shiva was furious and opened his 'third eye' and instantly Manmatha was burnt to death. Rathi cried and begged Lord Shiva to give back life to her lover. Her legendary act of love soothened Lord Shiva who brought back Manmatha to life, but to be made visible only to Rathi. Lord Shiva also blessed that both Rathi and Manmatha (Kamadeva) shall become immortal to spread the message of love among all living beings forever.  This day of Rathi-Manmatha's legendary love is celebrated as Holi in northern India and Kamana Hunnime in the South.

Holi/Kamana Hunnime falls on Hunnime (Full-moon-day) of Phalguna.  In English calendar it falls towards end of Feb or early March.  The day also marks the advent of vasantha ritu or spring season.

I remember that I used to actively participate in Kamana Hunnime festival at my native place almost half-a-century ago! Children of the locality used to group together about a week in advance going round the streets collecting fire-wood, berani (cow-dung cakes) and even old wooden furniture.  We used to go from house to house singing a song.......

Kamana Makkalu, 

Kalla Sule Makkalu

Enen Kaddaru 

Soude berani kaddaru 

Yatakke Kaddaru? 

Kaman Sudok kaddaru   

A rough translation would be 

What Bastard sons of Kamanna steal?

They stole firewood. 

Why did they steal? 

To burn the effigy of Kamanna!

Some mothers used to give some fire wood whereas some others used to shy us away.  Some of us even used to jump in to compound-walls of houses to steal fire-wood, often to be caught, fired and left! Gathered fire-wood used to be put in a lot in a nearby open field.

Kamana Hunnimme of one particular year is vividly etched in my memory lane. On the day of Kamana Hunnime, by evening all town elders, ladies and children had gathered around the firewood.

I remember a pair of new weds were dressed up as modern Rati-Manmatha. Thrill of the crowd peaked when the pair landed near the site, riding on their motor-cycle!  Ladies had marked the boundary of the fire-wood lot with rangoli art. They performed pooja and aarti for the Kamadeva who was symbolized inside the gathering of fire-wood.  Then the children set fire for the fire-wood.

Soon fire had engulfed all around exciting all, especially the children who went round singing the same song 'Kamana makkalu......'. Last agenda was distribution of Charpu, the prasadam, which was puliyogare (tamarind rice) and mosaranna (curd rice).

The very next day ladies brought buckets of water around the Kamadeva-fire.  Various colours prepared out of arishina and kumkum (haldi) were mixed to water.  With the gathering of youth and children around, it was okuli (holi) time! With the mood of holi gathering peak, colored waters and colors were thrown on each other.  It was even time for plenty of dances, pranks and mischief! By around 12 noon, people disbursed towards the nearby river for taking a bath.

Now all these Kamana Hunnime celebrations have become a memory of the good old days.  No doubt with lot of north Indians too migrating towards South, Holi celebrations are still live, although may not be like the old type.

Holi/Kammana Habba is time to celebrate our culture and  remember that our elders were no less in glorifying the spirit of love. As sung by our poet D.V.Gundappa, 'hosa chiguru, hale beru koodiralu mara sobagu.......' (meaning 'let the old ways mix with the new), let us not forget to celebrate our own 'festival of love' along with the modern Valentine's Day.

Long live the spirit of love!

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Also please read my last year's blog on 'Valentine's day' using the link https://blogbuster-lakshminarayana-k.blogspot.com/2018/02/valentines-day-2018.html

(please cut and paste the link given above)

Thanks for reading, your comments are most welcome.

Family

Our Faculty, A National Hero!

Our faculty-colleague, Mr. C.R.Ramesh Babu (IDBI MSB)  is a Table Tennis national hero who has represented India and won many laurels for our Country and himself. Being his colleague I had the opportunity to explore his illustrious career.

His early days: Ramesh was born on 10th Feb 1958 at Ooty, Tamilnadu.  His father Late C.N.Ramachandran (pic. below) was an officer

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in Imperial Bank (erstwhile SBI) who was an all-rounder sportsman.  He was an accomplished player in Tennis, Table Tennis, Snooker, Billiards, Badminton and Cricket during his time.  He was a coach in these sports for many British officers of that period. Ramesh has inherited sports genes from his talented father. Ramachandran shifted his family to Bengaluru when Ramesh was a child of just 3 months.

Ramachandran who had keen eyes for spotting and nurturing talent was quick in identifying Ramesh for Table Tennis.  Under his tutelage Ramesh grew very fast as a TT star.  His father, besides coaching him, used to take him to witness top level TT tournaments.  Ramesh says he has learnt more by observing top players. Within six months of early training, young Ramesh, 

 just 11 years old, caught the attention of the entire State when he won the 'State Level TT non-medalists Singles championship'.  Very soon he was ranked among top 5 State Juniors! There was no turning back further. He went on to win the State level junior championship during 1972 and 73, and was 'ranked 1' among juniors till 1974. He caught the national attention when he won the State seniors championship during 1974, while still being a junior. He dominated State senior championship by consecutively winning the trophy for next six years and remained 'State number 1' for 8 years.

At the national level:
1) Ranked No.1 among juniors during 1973 and '74

2) Won the National team title for Karnataka

3) Won the doubles title with B.K.Arun kumar

4) Won all the 5 zonal junior championships 

5) Ranked No. 4 among seniors during 1981

6) Ranked within No. 8 among seniors for 5 years

7) Won the Inter Institution title for Indian Airlines for 3 years

At the international level:

1) Represented India in Asian championship held at Yokohama, Japan during 1973 and reached quarterfinals.

2) Represented India in Mohammed Shah Reza Pallavi tourney in Teheran, Iran (1977) and helped India to finish 3rd, wherein China also participated!

3) Represented India in a TEST series against Trinidad & Tobago (WI) in 1979. He was responsible for India winning the series and was aptly declared best male player of the series.

4) Represented India in Asian championship held in Kolkatta (1981)

His strengths:
During his peak days, Ramesh was recognized as player with the most stylish action.  He wan an offensive player and was considered the 'dead-end' for most defensive players of the country. He had a very effective top-spin and a very deceptive service.

Recognition & Honours: Although very talented and a long time achiever, not many awards have come his way excepting the State award during 1975 and the Dasara award during 1992.  In this cricket-mad country, who cares for players from other sports? Remember he was ranked number 4 among seniors of our country and was a very aggressive player. 

Comparing him to cricket heroes, Ramesh should have earned name, fame and money like K. Sreekanth/Ravi Shastri of 1980s or Rahane/Rohit Sharma of today! Also the fact that TT is a highly competitive game played in over 200 countries makes his achievement much more valuable.

His best performances:
Recalling his peak playing days, Ramesh says that the best match he ever played was a win against B. Saikumar (a national champion) at Mysuru during 1985.  Saikumar was a defensive player and Ramesh had to smash 15 times on an average to earn a point! This was a marathon match which took more than 90 minutes involving 5 games.  All those 5 games were decided on 'extended points'.

As a junior during 1973, Ramesh won against Mir Khasim Ali (3 times national champion) at Chennai.  Impressed by the 

flamboyance of Ramesh, one of the organizers carried him on his shoulders all over the stadium.  That organizer was blessed with a baby-boy on the same day who was named after 'Ramesh'.  Ramesh fondly recalls even that boy grew to become a state level player and now owns a team which plays in 'Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT)', the IPL version of TT, started during 2017.

Tough lessons:
Ramesh also had some tough experiences.  He recalls a tough opponent from China, Xiang Ho against whom he could not even collect 3 points.  He was also deeply impressed by Hasegawa 

of Japan (pic above) who was a very aggressive player.  No wonder Ramesh tried to copy his style and action.

On modern TT:
Ramesh, an old-timer rues about the decline of the rally game.  Like in T20 cricket, TT too has moved towards high speed and power display. Now each game is played for just 11 points compared to 21 points of Ramesh's days.  Changes like plastic balls and the use of anti-spin rubber for the bat has curbed rallies, which has taken away the old beauty of the game, laments Ramesh.

Message to youngsters:
Ramesh advises young players to concentrate on foot-work and develop the match temperament.  Ability to handle pressure and win holds the key.

Professional career:
Recognizing his TT achievement, Union Bank of India offered him an Officer post during 1981 under sports quota.  World Badminton champion Mr. Prakash padukone who was already an officer in that bank was instrumental in recognizing Ramesh for this honour. After his playing days, Ramesh has concentrated to distinguish himself as a serious banker and rose upto Chief Manager on his own.

Hobbies and Interests:
Ramesh likes to sing.  He passionately loves old Hindi and Kannada film songs.  He also loves Carnatic classical music.  He has read a good number of Kannada and English novels too.  He is an ardent believer and practitioner of  'madhwa philosophy'.

A widely traveled man Ramesh also loves to cook!  Cricket, Shuttle Badminton, Tennis and Football are his other favorite games. His 

friend and colleague Prakash Padukone and Roger Federer are his favorite sportsmen.

His family:
Ramesh is proud of his father and brothers.  His eldest brother C.R.Nagendra is an international TT umpire.  His elder brother 

C.R.Jayasimha (back row L-R 3rd in Pic) is a State Table Tennis Coach. His younger brother C.R.Anand (front row L-R 1st in Pic) is also an international TT player.

Ramesh is married to Ms.Vedavathi and has got a son 'Prapujya', who is a sound engineer and a guitar player.

Ramesh, the gentleman:
Ramesh, gentleman to the core is a good teacher and coach too.  He keeps low-profile and never boasts about himself. A tinge of innocence in him makes him most adorable.

Let's wish Mr. Ramesh and his family a very long life, health, happiness and prosperity.
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Those who want to wish Mr. Ramesh babu on this occasion may send their message to his mobile/whatsapp number 89512 68716

(Thanks to Mr.Ramesh Babu C.R. and other sources for providing me the pictures used here).

Victory For Home Buyers!

Jayanagar-based developer 'Windmill Immovables Ltd' was ordered by the Bengaluru RERA Court to reimburse Rs.52,06,901 to the complainant Mr.Krishna Patil of Koramangala in connection with the 'Windmill' project.  Patil had filed a case against the builder stating that the carpet area in the flat he had purchased was lesser than what was initially promised by the builder.  The RERA Court heard the case on January 18, 2018. The Court also ordered an additional amount of Rs.18,19,547 as interest and tax amount paid by the buyer.

IT professional T Samarth was among the first few in the city of Bengaluru to be refunded his deposit of Rs.9,00,064 by Sri Krishnadeep Properties after he lodged a complaint with RERA.  He had paid the initial amount for a 1,400 Sq.Ft. house in Anjanapura.  Later he changed his mind as many of the amenities promised were absent and wanted refund.  He visited the builders office 10 times, but never got it.  The RERA court ruled in favour of Samarth!

Jaswinder Kaur and Malkiat Singh from Chandigarh were desperate when the Bank from which they had availed the Home loan started demanding Installments of repayment (EMI), although they had not received the possession of their first-ever flat. They had paid an advance amount of Rs.20 lakhs to the builder 'Frontier Homes' 3 years ago, for buying a flat costing Rs.2 crores. There was an inordinate delay in the delivery of the flat and the duo knocked the doors of the RERA court for remedy. The court decided in favour of the buyers, and ordered refund of the advance amount with interest!

(All the above three stories are real ones, but the names have been changed to preserve anonymity).

When one browses through the sites of RERA courts formed in different States, he can read many more such stories which provide great relief to the most vulnerable group of present and prospective home buyers.

Buying a home is every person's dream.  It is always a struggle between meager sources and the ever increasing cost of dream homes.  Added to this is the tricks played by unscrupulous builders who are ever-ready to exploit the hapless home buyers.  Therefore the long felt need of a level-playing rule was enacted by the present Government under the name RERA, Real Estate (Regulations & Development) Act 2016 which has become effective from  1st May 2017.

RERA is applicable to both on-going and new projects.  Projects covering area 500 Sq.mts or more and also buildings involving 8 apartments or more come under the purview of RERA.

10 major benefits of RERA

1.Standardized carpet area: 
RERA has prescribed a standard formula for assessing the standard carpet area of every property.

2.Rate of Interest on default:
In case of payment delay by the buyers or delay in delivery of possession by the builders, the rate of interest on default will be the same.

3.Remedy for false promises:
When there is a variation between what was promised and delivered, buyer can claim refund of the whole amount with interest.

4.Advance payment:
Builders can't seek more than 10% of the cost of the property as advance at the time of agreement for sale.

5.No diversion of funds by the builder:
70% of the money received from buyers has to deposited by the developers in a separate bank account.  This money can be withdrawn only for construction purpose of the specific project, that too on producing completion certificate from approved Engineers.  

6.Delayed possession:
In case of delayed possession, buyer is entitled to obtain refund of the entire amount with interest.

7.Defective construction: 
In case of defective construction, buyers can seek rectification within 5 years of taking possession. The defect has to be set right within 30 days free of cost.

8.Defective title:
In case the property title is proved defective, buyer is entitled to seek total refund of money with interest.  This right of the buyer is never barred by 'time limitation'!

9.Right to information:
Buyer is entitled to seek all information connected with the project from time to time.

10.Disputes resolving mechanism:
There will be a State appointed authority for looking into grievances of the buyers/developers who will decide the cases in shortest possible time.  There will also be an authority for hearing appeals against the orders of the former.

RERA is applicable to all residential and commercial projects. 

Also RERA registration is compulsory for real estate brokers and agents.  It seems even it applies to those who develop plots.

But we have witnessed many cases of one-to-one contracts of house construction wherein contractors have taken the most gullible house builders for a ride.  There is a need to bring such contracts also to the RERA fold.

2019-Good for home buyers!

Along with RERA, the newly introduced Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code (IBC) has also empowered home buyers.  Under IBC homebuyers also get same treatment as Banks while enforcing recovery of dues from builders. Moreover keeping General elections in mind, Government is in mood to show further reduction in GST for homebuyers.  Developers have now come to terms with the new realities which has ensured transparency and accountability. With nearly 7 lakh affordable and ready-to-move-in flats available for sale and ready availability of home finance, 2019 is going to be a good time for home buyers! 

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(Thanks to the sources of all pictures used in this blog)