This is Asit, Live!

My father’s room

Asit K.Barma — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 21:15:30 +0000

We have decided to convert my father’s room into one with all his memorabilia – his pen , spectacles , watches , certificates he received , the books he was regularly reading , his note books , his personally made telephone directory , pictures and so on. We would not use the room for our personal need.

Geeta Chanting – part of Hindu death rituals

Asit K.Barma — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 21:06:12 +0000

Chanting Geeta is a part of the death rituals . Here Bapi Acharya , one Sanskrit scholar and an eminent astrologer from Nabadwip is chanting Geeta in my father’s room. His father was a very close friend of my father. He was so shocked at my father’s death that he came down all the way from Nabadwip on his own just to recite Geeta for my father’s peace. He spent almost six hours and end of it he rather thanked us for giving him the opportunity to recite Geeta in my father’s room. I really dont know how to pay debts of gratitude to such people.

terrace gardening

Asit K.Barma — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 20:56:28 +0000

Gardening was my father’s avid passion. He grew this mango tree on the terrace garden ! This also bears fruit every year – one of the best variety of mango , extremely good in taste though they grow only a few.

Preserving the aasthi /ashes – a Hindu death ritual

Asit K.Barma — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 20:48:16 +0000

While cremating the dead , a small portion of the forehead bone is preserved along with ashes to be immersed later on in Ganga at holi places like Nabadwip dham or Hrardwar. The first four days these objects in an earthen container is buried at a place outside home. The fifth day of the rituals include worship of lord Shiva when post puja this remains are purified with Cow urine , Cow dung , ghee , honey and Ganga water and transferred to a plastic container followed by some more rituals . This container is then buried near the Tulasi tree inside the home. At the suitable time , one can carry this for immersion in Ganga . All these rituals are performed with the chanting from Yajurveda.

Meet the other Dalai Lama

Asit K.Barma — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 20:14:23 +0000

The rituals entered the tenth day and I performed the Dashakarma .One of the aspect of the rituals is that one needs to tonsure the head. People are saying I am looking like Dalai Lama ! This is a pic taken on the terrace of my Coochbehar home. You would see the large lake behind where I performed the rituals everyday during the first twelve days . During this period I need to manage only with two dhotis , no underpants(!) , eat only fruits the first four days and afterwards you can have rice , but only once in the afternoon or in the evening . You are lucky if there is no Ekadashi , otherwise you will go without meal on that day.In Bengal the only meal during this period is called Hobishyee. Rice, potato, green banana are boiled together in an earthen pot and cooked on a fresh oven ( considering the fact that you would hardly find an only veg cooking oven in Bengal). This is cooked away from public eyes and only mother or wife has the right to cook for you unless you want to try this out yourself . No oil , no sea salt , no turmeric or spices You are not supposed to talk while cooking .You can have only one serve on a banana leaf . Thank God , butter and mineral salt ( Saindhab salt ) are allowed. I went very liberal with it. And , one more thing I forgot to share , one is expected to remain a brahmacharry - that includes most importantly celibacy ! Of course, for this two weeks only .

I lost my father , Upendra Nath Barma , a great philanthropist and social worker

Asit K.Barma — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 19:27:15 +0000

My father (80)passed away at 3.25 am on Nov09 at Coochbehar. His Haemoglobin level was falling very low last few months inspite of repeated blood transfusions . Finally after a bone marrow scan Doctor traced it to Chronic Myeloid Leukemia ( CML) .By the time it was found out ,his health already deteriorated with heart , kidney not functioning properly. He was under the treatmnent of Dr Subhash Saha . He was given imatinib by Dabur pharma – an oral chemo drug . After the fourth capsule , my father could not take it anymore and passed away. May be the doctor could have been more wise not administering this considering his health and prolong his life may be by another few weeks letting him taking the treatment from home. He was desperately pleading to come back home but we persisted with the treatment at the hospital . He has been so active that we could never imagine he would be no more.

This August we celebrated his 80th Birthday .He has been the Commissioner at the Coochbehar Municipality . Earlier he held several important social responsibilities like being the President and Secretary of Coochbehar Kshatriya Samity , National Federation of P&T Employees Union and so on . Born in Rangpur District in Bangladesh he was one of those taking the brunt of India Partition. He was a brilliant student never missing a centum in maths ! That’s why I felt so happy when my son too scored a centum in his 12th CBSE Board exam. However post partition he was forced to take up a job very early during his graduation. He worked with the State Government for some time before joining the P&T department and retired as the Head Postmaster of Coochbehar Head Post Office.

He was a person of extreme discipline , honesty and integrity . Disillusioned with the communist rule in Bengal he joined the Congress party later in life. He always received tremendous respect and affection from everyone in the society irrespective of their political affiliation. I lose count of how many needy people he helped with his own personal resources . He never cared for his health when it came to duty for people’s happiness.

His leaving has been really royale .So many flowers , garlands and wreaths were placed over him with messages pouring in and there are so many to accompany him till he is taken to the creamatorium made me feel proud of being his son. The procession carrying him went past the entire city stopping at Coochbehar Municipal Corporation, Kshatriya Samity , Khagrabari Shiva Yagna temple, and the district Congress party office with his body wrapped in party tricolor and slogans of “Upen Barma Amar Rahe” .

As a father he always gave me whatever I asked for since my childhood – right from toys to expensiive books , coaching or funding my studies at premier institutes ( education loans were not available that time) inspite of his very modest salary and many other responsibilities . Once he was to go to an outstation for departmental training for six months when I was very young –about four years or so . Fearing he would go on training without taking me with him I used to tie my tiny hand in his sacred thread while sleeping ! I wish I could do so this time too and not let him go – but by now I lost the purity of childhood ! I keep praying that he is born soon in the best circumstance in my surrounding. My Daddy is the best. I really regret so many days I could not call him , I could not spend the kind of time he would have liked me to spend with him , I am really really sorry dad … but now you would be always with me through my prayers.

I am elected the Chairman of Society of Automotive Engineers ,India- Southern Section

Asit K.Barma — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 15:41:03 +0000

Last Saturday I was elected the Chairman of the SAE India Southern Section for 2009-11. It’s a great honour for me to lead this esteemed organization – a position earlier held by many distinguished personalities.SAE India southern section has about 10,000 members with about 60 collegiate clubs – the largest SAE chapter outside Detroit. This picture has the new and the old managing committee members.

In my speech I stressed on the need to draw a Vision 2015 for SAE India Southern Section – how the section would look like five years hence ? If India continues on its growth trajectory , with the Detroit embracing a slow death , why cann’t SAE International HQR be shifted to Chennai ? With more than 30 % of its cost going into electronics /automotive infotronics , we need to discuss allied technologies around automotive engineering rather than focussing only on core designs . With growing interest in aerospace engineering , proposed an additional conference on Aerospace technology besides holding the usual national students convention. SAE aims to advance the research, design and development of vehicles which operate on land,water,air and space.

An evening with Adam Gilchrist , Ambassador, University of Wollongong

Asit K.Barma — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 18:46:44 +0000

I had a great evening with Adam Gilchrist on this Saturday . Attended the event on an invitation from the Australlian embassy.Gilchrist came as the brand ambassador of University of Wollongong, Australlia to promote the university in Chennai . His brother was an alumni of the institute and Gil’s father used to coach there.That’s how Gil got involved with the university . No prize for guessing that many of the questions they volleyed were around the recent attacks on Indian students in Australlia. They downplayed the subject citing the stats that out of a huge Indian population in Australlia , number of such incidents are really very small and are usually blown out of proportion by media . They don’t know that my latest trick ( am sure many other Indian parents also do the same) of keeping Aniket under check is to tell him that if you don’t make it to a good University in US or IIMs , your next destination is going to be Australlia !

I asked him what keeps him going ? He said , it was the desire to sacrifice for whatever you want to do. He feels , for success , there should be absolute desperation to be totally committed to whatever you are doing. He was citing the example of his missing a catch off VVS Lakshman on one occasion ( world cup final or semi final) just by a few inches and after a post match video analysis he saw he could have easily reached out by those extra few inches and taken the catch had he been totally desperate to do so . So his conclusion was that , to be successful , whatever you are doing , at that point of time that is the most important work for you in the whole world . While explaining what he did to bring a change in fortune for Deccan Charger from IPL1 TO IPL 2 , he gave two key reasons –(1) Leadership programme on cultural appreciation since there were seven different nationalities playing in the team including the support staff , and (2) creating an environment where players would love to be in. To him , the shift from IPL 1 to IPL 2 was the biggest challenge in his cricketing career. While citing some of the difficult moments of his wicket keeping he remembered experience of keeping during VVS Lakshman’s knock of about 290 runs at Eden and keeping against Michael Bevan , since Bevan himself had absolutely no idea of what he was bowling !

Transformation of Deccan Charger from IPL1 TO IPL 2 can definitely make a good corporate lesson. I am sure Gil is writing on this .

Obama refuses to meet Dalai Lama : US Dadagiri finally stopped by China

Asit K.Barma — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 17:48:12 +0000

In an utter shock to human rights supporters , Obama did not grant an appointment with the Tibetan Buddhist leader Dalai Lama who is on a tour to US now. This is the first time in about ten visits Dalai Lama made to US so far , he is unable to meet the Highest Office in the US.Notably Obama does not want to offend the Chinese just prior to his immediate visit to that country. Or has China’s recent show of nuclear capable intercontinental ballistic missile passed on the chill to Uncle Sam? This incident is a major blow to the values championed by US , the so called custodian of world democracy and human rights ! To tide over wide spread bankruptcy and economic slow down Obama announced historic stimulus package. For such morale bankruptcy or miscarriage of will to uphold the human rights what could be the stimulus package ? Obama seems to be too much into the act of balancing , is this the change he was advocating ? Only history will say.

Rahul magic works in Tamil Nadu

Asit K.Barma — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 15:55:56 +0000

A few days back when my son asked me how to become a member of youth congress , I was convinced that Rahul magic is working in Tamil Nadu. There was a report of a few lakhs of youth joining youth congress in Tamil Nadu. It’s a refreshing change. A vast majority of people in the state are looking for an alternative to Dravidian politics. They are also getting sick of so called conscious keepers joining politics such as Sharat Babu of Food King as if highly educated ones are beyond corruption ! The late P V Narasimha Rao was one of the most learned politicians country has ever seen but he was also the PM to be accused of being in a record number of scams. What about the ex external affairs minister Natawar Singh who was an IFS officer? Besides , smaller parties in TN are devoid of any solid political ideology – with many of them trying to use their reel life celebrity status to influence voters. People , fortunately cannot be fooled in today’s i -Pod era !

Indian psyche adulates sacrifice. It is this state where Rahul’s father laid down his life trying to take the country into a new century. Contrary to his cousin Varun , Rahul has been very matured ,striving to develop the organization , working with the Dalits and poor , understanding their problems even though taunted severely by his jealous peers in politics . The lure of a cabinet berth could not deter him from his conviction . At 37 plus , he has sacrificed his youthful luxuries to stand by his mother and prove a point . He could have enjoyed a royal luxurious life under the Z plus security cordon - there was no need for him to join politics with the damocles sword hanging over him. People cannot fail to take note of this sacrifice. You will not hear any scandal about him the way you hear about many of the politicians of his age. His personal integrity is beyond question . People found a Buddha in him who has left his royal abode to work with the people defying all threats and sarcasm . People especially the youth wanted such a leader – the state was starving so long for a youth leader who can be a role model to them.Naturally the response was simply unimaginable .The youth in TN found their role model – their leader , excited with the prospect of a change in the state. The worries of a political tsunami in other political camps was quite palpable when one after another “celebrities turned politicians “ were in undue hurry to issue their statements denying intention to join the Congress. This further validates Rahul magic is working in TN !