Since yesterday, every time one think about the charismatic BJP Leader Pramod Mahajan, automatically one switches on the telly to NDTV 24 x 7 for a running commentary on his critical condition.
Today, my sister-in-law who comes visiting her sister every evening asked her a silly question after making a favourable comment on the excellent services dished out by NDTV. And from the bathroom, as I was trimming my hair and my beard, which is my Sunday routine ( BTW I have forgotten what it is like to sit on a barber's chair) I heard her ask her sister this silly question: What is ND Tv? . I shouted a question to her from the bathroom "Do you remember the fabled ENDO Inas? (This guy was the idiot of the village who couldn't get anything right and we Goans have all grown-up admiring his prowess). My sister-in -law shouted back "Yes". To that I shouted back "Well, Endo Inas was a male and ND Tv is a female". Being a Sunday today, my wife cooked all the things I love to eat on a Sunday afternoon, stacked all the hundies on the range, issued me laborious instructions and went off visiting some relations in far away Curtorim. When she pecked me on my bearded cheek, I told her to say hello to our Hon'ble Speaker in case she ran into him. "Why will I run into him" she retorted adding that Curtorim was a big enough place. "You miss my point" I told her. "Sonsodo, remember? It is on your way. Incase you get a whiff of scent in the air instead of the garbage stink, that means Sardinha is around." And it is approaching 3rd. May soon. Our Pirazona chapel feast is on that day. The Novenas have started and hence the morning Sunday Mass is in the evening instead. As I was at my mother's place ( just a stone's throw away) to check on her (she is 84 and quite fit), it struck me that she was not aware of the Holy Cross Chapel's evening Mass. So I casually said to her "why don't you just go for the Mass instead of shifting around?" "It will do you a lot of good". And to my surprise she did just that. As I was playing around with a silly idea on my welding machine at my work-shed, I shouted to her to keep the house keys just in case I required something from the house. She threw the keys and was off. When she came back, she came to me for the keys and started a non stop sermon as to how good it feels when one goes for a Sunday Mass et al. And what it seemed like the end of the sermon, she said this: "And you ! Couldn't you go for Mass instead of doing this useless thing? Work is always there. Those poor priest are not doing what they are doing for nothing. You will burn in hell. And then there will be no one to blame but yourself. "Burn in hell?" "How do you know I will go to heaven if I went to Sunday Mass?" I asked. "Listen mother" I told her, "You went for Mass and you feel good. Keep it that way. Don't spoil that feeling by trying to tell others how nice it feels. Let others be curious at your extremely good feeling and follow in your foot-steps". "You know me" I told her. "When I see hypocrites more holier than the holy, it gives a bad taste in my mouth and I lose the good feeling that I already have". And the last look I had on the running update on Pramod Mahajan on the ND Tv, I said a little prayer for him. A small one at that. And why not? Entire India is praying for poor Pramod Mahajan. Vajpayee, Advani, Amithab Bachan, Anil Ambani, even Sonia Gandhi and Pratapsing Rane. From the sanctity of our living-rooms, it all looks like a big flop show when one sees the sanctimonious mugs that are offering the prayers. Thank God it was only his own side-lined kid brother. If it was any one else like a Congresswalla, a Khalistani etc, the entire nation would be at war and there would have been many many more deaths. Never mind that, but I actually said a few soothing words to the one who had suffered more than what Pramod Mahajan is probably suffering under the oxygen mask. "Shivani Batnagar" I said, "only you will know the extent of his sufferings. They couldn't be more than what you went through." End _____________________________________________ Do not post admin requests to the list. Goanet mailing list (Goanet@goanet.org)
