The last two days I have been performing back-breaking, grueling, utterly soul crushing labor…in my own house (well, my parents house). Have you guys ever read a news article about some reclusive old guy who had a lifelong hoarding problem (a.k.a syllogomania) and when police finally entered the house they found a rotting, partially eaten corpse buried underneath a pile of junk that was formerly on one side of the only navigable lane through the house? Yes? Then now you know what my dad is like (known as “Yo Dad” to some who read SM). My dad left with my mom for India earlier this week so I flew home to help my brother clean out the house without any resistance. I wanted to solve this looming crisis before my dad made the local news in the “odd news” segment. Over the last two days we’ve been cleaning out stuff (mostly stored in the basement) that spans back 40 years! I won’t bore you with descriptions of 20-year-old used shower curtains or “Indian luggage bags” filled with spiders. I will take you straight to the good stuff. First, check out these two cricket bats. I remember they were purchased on a trip to India in 1982/3 in Ahmedabad (I was ~7). Notice anything shocking on one of them?
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Was I an angry militant batsman as a child? |
Can someone please explain this to me? Why would a child’s cricket bat say Hitler on it? I can understand why the one on the right has Sunil Gavaskar’s name…but Hitler?? As best as I can guess, the bat makers meant to spell “Hitter” but misspelled it as “Hitler.” Why did my parents even buy me this cricket bat? This could REALLY come back to tank my candidacy if I ever run for office. This is a closet skeleton right up there with GW Bush’s and Obama’s cocaine use.
Digging through more boxes, I found a pleasant surprise to offset the feeling of guilt that the cricket bat had left inside my soul. It was my mom’s British Colonial Passport!
It had a bunch of 1971 visa stamps in it so I guess this is the passport my mom had in hand when she first entered the United States. I’m glad this precious document avoided ending up in the local dump. What a thing to show my kids some day.
Finally, I came across the one thing that can make any grown man fall to his knees and weep in remembrance of better times long since gone. Deep inside one box in the darkest corner of my basement was my teddy bear. It doesn’t matter to me that he is cross-eyed and mangy. His name is Bearhug. I named him that because that is what it said on his shirt. The name has long since been wiped off the shirt because of years of excessive hugging, but I still remember. Maybe I’m not a perfect man. Maybe I have a lot of flaws. Maybe I have a shadowy past (as evidenced by the cricket bat). But at least Bearhug loves me…still.
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Whole again |
The Hitler bat reminds me of New Shit matches.
So yeah. Likely.
Notsoyoungdesi: I agree about the average. I will go as far as to say that here in the US one can be considered highly educated even while asking “Do you speak Hindu ?”. The US has no central body determining educational curriculum, and even if it did it would probably not include Asia outside of the colonial period. We have a wide variance in the quality of education, hence the use of the SAT basic exam for university admissions over something more comprehensive than the British A levels or French IB. India of course has a central board, but it is often a hostage to political interests. I guess the US Federal govt. gets to avoid the issue via decentralized rule. You teach about Columbus one way if your chief constituency is Italian-American, about the war over Texas if you are in an Anglo or Texican/Mexican area. And you read Zinn if you go to a beatnik school like Camille or Muralimannered 😉
Abhi, to get back on topic, your “discoveries” as you rummaged through the hoardings of your parents made for interesting reading. I came to the US the very year that your parents apparently did. I lived in Kenya and had my early education there at a time when the country was still under colonial rule.
My siblings and I had very much the same view of our parents – both now deceased – hoarding of personal mementos and other extraneous items. Whether because of age or perhaps just the passage of time, some of these items have now come to mean a lot to us. I too have old passports of my parents and grandfather – the latter from when he first went to England to become a barrister in 1913!
I recently scanned old photo albums – many very faded – and put them on the net. One of my lasting regrets was the loss of old letters from my parents during one of our relocations within the US.
BTW, why is it that when I attempt to use features – such as the quoting of other posters comments – as an integral part of my response, and click on the appropriate icon, it takes me to the top of the page? This happens with both Firefox and IE.
I have to disagree–my middle/high school Social Studies curriculum did include Asian civilizations and history, before, during, and after colonialism. I knew from the moment I discovered this blog what ‘Sepia Mutiny’ was a play on. If anything, I’d say that our study of Latin America was shafted–I don’t think we covered anything after ~1820 (except for Cuba as it related to the Bay of Pigs). Then again, I am from NY, and public schools there have the Regents Exams, which test multiple subjects throughout middle/high school, including World and U.S. History.
This is funny, actually… I have a friend whose sister teaches in a primarily black middle school in inner city L.A., and when she visited her sister, she said that she was struck by how even there, the curriculum focused on a more ‘whitewashed’ version of history of African-Americans, as opposed to going into more detail about Reconstruction, the Civil Rights movement (not just something involving Rosa Parks/MLK Jr./Malcolm X), and most of the posters on the walls were of white national heroes.
Though to get back on-topic, my elementary school was in a heavily Jewish area, and we spent like half of fifth grade learning about the Holocaust.
Maybe its supposed to send a message about an impending batting mayhem and terror within the opposition team’s bowlers, so expect a cricketing run-fest something to the effect of a holocaust 😉 Thats if its not a spelling mistake or if i’m the marketing guy stuck with 10000 bats on the shelves! The part about ‘play with a soft ball only’ was an anticlimax though.
Oddly enough, I didn’t! I was aware of the term “Sepoy Mutiny”, but I’d always learned it as the War of 1857, or the First War of Independence, so I didn’t immediately make the connection. Different mental representations and all that.
Abhi, do you know what the D on your mom’s passport cover represent? Is it a diplomatic passport?
Well, Hitler did have a rather soft spot for his ball. It was precious to him, given that he had only one.
/whistles the theme from The Bridge On The River Kwai: “whee whee, whee WHEE whee WHEE WHEE wheeeee…”
ping pong, I believe the letter D on the passport, refers to “dependency”. The British referred to the countries under their rule as “colonies’, “protectorates” or “dependencies”. I don’t know what criteria had to be satisfied to meet each definition. Though the D was used on all British passports issued to citizens in any of the countries which were still under British rule.
Not sure. She wasn’t a diplomat. If I had to guess it might stand for “Dual” or signify that she was “British Protected Person” instead of British born.
Not sure. If you email me I can try to get you some help.
Could it be “D” for Dominion ? India was a British Dominion between 15 August 1947 and 26 January 1950. Uganda was a dominion until 1963…
Notsoyoungdesi & Abhi, thanks!
Notsoyoungdesi: To use the features you have to first highlight the text first and then press the required feature. For example, if you would like to quote someone , first copy and paste that segment; select that whole segment and then press the quote button. To link to something, select the text you would like to link it to and then press the link button
Zuni, thank you – that worked. I suddenly feel quite brilliant:)
notsoyoungdesi wrote:
I’m a sucker for old photos and I couldn’t resist the temptation to browse the ‘Photo Gallery’ on your webpage. That’s an awesome collection.
The “Play With Soft Ball” label is a paraphrase of a quote from Mahatma Gandhi, who expressed his opinion that Jews should put up only non-violent resistance to Hitler…
Thanks for the kind words, desi. Glad you enjoyed them!
I know next to nothing about cricket bats, although there is a handsome, very plain one lurking in my coat closet, lovingly massaged with linseed oil many years ago. What I have to say here is that my two daughters are giving me the biggest Christmas present of all– they are clearing out years of junk. A parental dwelling is always a repository of everyone’s dreams, even their own– but don’t know about that cricket bat– wasn’t there a restaurant that was closed down, talked about on the last thread?– anyhow, when we are all done here we will drink champagne, watch the battle of the Nutcrackers, and go to Midnight Mass.
Not sure whether it stands for Dominion. Kenya was classified as a protectorate. I attempted to google this but did not see a definitive explanation.
notsoyoungdesi garu – I want to thank you for providing a link to your website that gave us a chance to learn such a colorful history of your family. I loved reading the various writings and those delightful pictures in blank and white. Thank you.
Oh and yes, Abhi, you so got this down, passports have also been found, ancient ones and those about to expire. I made a Photoshop montage of my past passport pictures and PDFed it to my mother to impress upon her how old I am now. A very green Christmas tree from six years ago showed up, a long forgotten, inflatable Italian model, and all the pierrots that make anyplace New Orleans in a flash. About that cricket bat, my Ex forgot that among other things, as well as a big formal photo of his father, and the Old Man’s report cards from school before WWI. These are the kinds of things a dwelling absorbs like a sponge, and hides them under the furniture and behind mirrors and in dark corners.
Prasad, thank you – glad you enjoyed it. One is never sure when providing such a link whether it will be of interest to others not acquainted with the family.
Amrita, I just love the way you phrased the above – there is a lot of truth to that statement. Now will your daughters have a free hand in discarding the junk – or will you be the final arbiter of what can be trashed! We went through the same process sometime ago and I was the obstacle when it came to what could be thrown away.
By way of confession, I must admit that I still have every tax return I filed since 1971 when I arrived in the US!! It has become a bit of a joke in the family – since there is no earthly reason for keeping decades old returns. Perhaps one day, my great grand children will express appreciation for having access to them – the way we today feel glad to have the old passports of our parents and grandparents!
oh you’d be surprised the kind of memories this evokes. I’ll give you my experience. My late grandpa worked for the indian government as an accountant through the partition. It may have been the responsibilities he had , but he was a big stickler for keeping all documentation. It seems he even had a receipt for the laddoos he distributed when i was born. anyway, so my dad and i were talking about old times a few months back and he started reminiscing. he told me about the one time granddad was audited. apparently the tax guy was looking for some chai-panee/baksheesh and asked for some random records from granddad to generally make life difficult. well, granddad took it as a challenge. he got a rickshaw the next day, loaded it up with his mounds of paper (and apparently there were several large cartons) and landed at the tax office the next day. the tax guy was astounded because most other patrons would have been content dropping a couple of 100 and passing through. so, just out of curiosity – he asked for something like, how much did you pay the cement guy for putting up your house in 19XX. grandpa produced it. a couple more random requests from the tax guy, with an increasing level of bemusement+incredulity+frustration, and then he gave up, with a “baojee, tussee jao. mainoo baksh do”. [sir. please go. have pity on me].
anyhow… the point of the above was not in the actual accounting, but in my relaying the joy and emotion that dad had in telling me this story. i dont know if i answered anything there, but i got great pleasure out of tellign this. i cherished seeing my dad as a son, and my peer, for the very first time. :_) and the takeaway here is that our idiosyncracies will be remembered, not because they show us up positively or negatively, but because they remind us of our human roots – that we’re merely a continuation of a long line of people who;ve lived, loved and passed on much as we shall in a few more years.
Why would you take offence to a bat named Hitler :p
It could be because some of Hitler’s children would have survived and were living in India. They wanted their family name to be remembered.
Just a thought! I still do not get it why you take offence to this 😀
I still have my mother’s passport and report cards from some school in UK. Funny how small things get us all emotional.
Heh, I remember after my visit to India at 8 yrs old I festooned art projects with (non-Nazi) swastikas for the next year or two in school. And not one teacher said anything?? (and I assure you this isn´t because they were enlightened about Hindu culture or would distinguish between the specific graphic design of the Nazi swastika vs. others)
Digital scans and acid-free sheet protectors are your friends. Avoid lamination.
30 · louiecypher
Are we talking about illiterate Indians? If not, it’s hard for me to buy that one. My 7th grade history covered holocaust (WWII section), Auschwitz and all. I know most state boards have their own curriculum, but can’t imagine them blanking out WWII.
Happy Holidays Mutineers and Anarchists and Universalists!
Abhi, this reminds me of one photo that I saw of an Indian corner shop. The sign above read “Child Bear”, and nobody knew what the heck that meant. The proprietor of that store apparently wasn’t that great at English, or ESL, or ETL, or EFL (English as a fifth language), and he meant to state: “Chilled Beer.”
Abhi, brilliant tactic to do the clean-up while your Ps are away. I’ve been trying to do it at my Moms for 2 years, with no success, because everything becomes a must-keep. Its kind of fun to see what the ultimate pack-rat has stashed away, including a smocked dress from my 1st bday our Disney souvenirs from the 70s, and every issue of Neurology since 1974. (She doesnt believe in PubMed)
78 · boston_mahesh said
And there was one called “iraning done here”. Good thing it was before the days of the axis of evil or Bangalore would have been less one laundry shop….
Beautiful post Abhi! Enjoy the nostalgia!
70 · notsoyoungdesi said
Abhi’s explanation makes the most sense, but in terms of “D’s” in colonial rule, they were dominions [there were dominions, protectorates, and crown colonies — each had a different definition in terms of colonial occupation/governance, access to the home Parliament, etc.] 🙂 I don’t normally promo Wikipedia, but their definitions are remarkably accurate (and match up nicely with Home Office reports, which are another easy way to figure out the classification system).
Also, I’m pretty sure Kenya became a colony (it started out as the East African Protectorate). 🙂
By the way, the new quote feature is kind of cool, but is simultaneously scaring me. Just wanted to putt hat out there 🙂
You have a bat that lasted 24 years?? (albeit in the basement) Mine never lasted more than 3-4 months, are you sure you played with them at all 🙂 ? Ah, you probably had them in and while you were planning a mutiny all the while..
No, I am talking about many recently arrived Indians working at tech companies in the US. Very poorly educated in history, Indian or otherwise. I know this is going to generate outrage but it’s what I see. This is the group that is receptive to arguments that Vedic culture or early Tamil Sangams developed 50,000 years ago. Very bright, definitely smarter than me, but with no foundation in history. Many of these people are the first university educated grads in their families and went through significant hardship, so I can’t blame them for not having the leisure to study areas outside of technology/science. I am not DBD baiting, just pointing out that history education takes a backseat if you come from a poor country with crappy primary education and the only way forward is as a technocrat.
83 · Camille said
ngaaah… how khaufnaak ! 🙂
actually I was expecting something like in Emacs, where you type yow and it pontificates stuff like this – “Yottawa is YOW and Los angeles is LAX”
Hey Abhi – Btw hope you are recycling all the the junk that your are removing from yo dad and mom’s house. Pretty much everything can be recycled (including old posts). Let me know which part of the the US you are doing your winter housecleaning and I can post some local recycling resources on the list….
I have seen similar traits in many Indians, techies or not. I met a PhD (Chemistry, working in `Bio-Engg’) who was extolling the virtues of Ayurveda and how US agencies are conspiring to keep that knowledge out of USA. Incidentally it was another visiting prof. from IT-Bhu who gave Mr. Ayurveda a 101 on phrama industry regulations in USA.
This probably has more to do with cultural chauvinism than just lack of knowledge. One does not have to face hardship to be a chauvinist. OTOH do you think all the commentators and bloggers on this board have a balanced perspective? I don’t think so.
One theory that can explain the lack of knowledge in history (or even arts) in some of these engineers is the brutally competitive entrance exam system for engineering colleges in India. Most of the aspiring engineers are only concerned about PCM (Phy-Chem-Math). On the similar note not many artsy types in USA (or anywhere else) can solve differential equations.
Although the holocaust is a big deal in the USA / Europe – it is not a big deal for most of India. Also, India had very limited diplomatic relations with Israel – relations thawed only in the 90’s. Jewish sensibilities is not of prime concern in India. A close relative was an INA veteran and received pension as a freedom fighter till his death. Does anyone know if India voted ‘for’ or ‘against’ the creation of Israel in 1948.
Too late. I am an eco-freak, but when you have to haul 9 tons of material (yes, that was the actual weight as measured by the truck scale and three trips to the dump) you are forced to commit numerous eco-crimes. Shit went down. Shit I’m really not proud of. I had only three days. What you propose would have taken three months. Did I mention that my dad’s number one hoarding favorite is office supplies, particularly paper goods? We could have set up an Office Max franchise out of our basement.
I hope Al Gore doesn’t read this.
India voted against the creation of Israel in the UN in 1948
This was because they did not want to upset Indian Muslims.
Sulabh: I basically agree with you. But even as a person with an engineering/math background, I find social sciences/civics illiteracy more damaging to society. Numeracy and science is of course critical to national economic competitiveness, but this area of weakness has profound consequences in a country like India where we have many different people thrown together by consequence who know little about each other. I’m not suggesting that given the same set of historical facts we will all agree with each other’s analysis, but we at least need some basis for conversation.
Does anyone else think that Nazi uniforms were very well designed.
I suppose he did not use his bat as much as he used his balls 😉
Forget Hitler and history, Gujarat is poised to vote for Modi again, the Germans only voted for Hitler once.
For some people in India Hitler’s example is to be emulated, to much of the leadership of the Hindu right he is a hero and I would wager that they are well aware of the Holocaust.
I wonder how much Muslims idolize the guy.
louiecypher, i don’t agree with your above comment re: the history part. yes, history is important. but what is more damaging than historical illiteracy is learning biased history written with no scholarship other than sucking up to the fashionable idea of the day—or outrageous extrapolations based on ideology—which is my opinion of the most controversial parts of indian history, be it the left or right versions.
till historians on both sides raise their standards—at least to the extent of acknowledging gaps in knowledge where they exist rather than fill it up sneakily with their agenda, i am happy their vitriol is not given importance. and it is not true that people know very little about each other in india—stop being so condescending. ask your grandparents about any of the groups prevelant locally, they will tell you quite a bit about them.
i will readily agree with you if you say this is flawed, since biases creep into such a decentralized version of disseminating history. but i won’t necessarily agree with you if you say the current history scholarship does anything better. your scholars don’t even care for most of local versions of history in any case.
No outrage here. Most likely they memorised just what was needed to secure good grades, moved on and forgot everything they “studied”. Our grade 5-10 curriculum had local, national and global history. It covered wide ranging subjects like Maratha rulers, Bismarck, Boston Tea Party etc. etc. Sure, it wasn’t perfect and was whitewashed to suit the rulers’ POV, but it did cover the basics. State shouldn’t be held responsible for the willfully ignorant.
Why do you think it was not a principled stand ? Indians have and have had empathy for Palestininas who are bearing the brunt of this conflict – I have not seen appropriate coverage of their suffereing in mainstream US media. I think in this case Indians did the right thing. The “no” vote would not have changed the outcome. BTW look it up, the voting in UN was postponed more than once until the horsetrading by US and Isreal ensured the desired outcome. Votes were changed either with carrot or stick.
And, yes India has a sizable muslim population so the vote probably reflected the desire of her people – no ?
Free India Legion – A Waffen SS Foreign Legion in World War II. We had Indians fighting for Nazi Germany.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indische_Legion