THE DIARY OF Z

‘Phone booths serve as convenient storefronts for city prostitutes’.

This was one of my best stories in the year 2000. Here is an extract from it…

THE STORY WENT SOMETHING LIKE THIS…

It has come to light that several phone booths including ones in City Market, JP Nagar, MG Road, NR Road and Vyalikaval are functioning as fronts for the flesh trade, bringing a whole new meaning to the abbreviation ‘STD’.

This reporter posed as a ‘client’ from Mumbai at one such STD booth near Town Hall and was actually able to enter into negotiations with the ‘madam’ and two prostitutes. Ironically, he also found a Hoysala (police mobile patrol vehicle) parked right next to the booth.

The owner of the public phone booth, a visually impaired lady (blind, that is) offered the services of girls for a price of Rs 2,000 for a Sunday afternoon encounter.

When this writer said that he would only Rs pay 1,000, the blind madam replied that Rs 1000 was the Saturday rate; Sundays were twice the price because of supply-demand economics.

The prostitute, a young lady in her early 20s, confirmed that Sundays came at a premium.

After a great deal of haggling, the blind woman brought down the price to Rs 1,500 and asked for advance payment of Rs 500 for ‘booking’ charges.

While this writer never returned to consummate the transaction, further enquiries by him revealed that some STD booths in the city also serve as store fronts for prostitutes, who are usually girls who live in Bangalore (as opposed to outsiders brought in for the purpose) and they are between 16 to 22 years old.

I spoke to a few girls who operate from these public phone booths to ask them about their jobs and why they took to this trade.

Gayatri said no one forced to become a prostitute. She told this writer that her friend had showed her an easy way to make quick money. Similarly, Mala said that she ‘serviced clients’ because she wanted to be financially independent.

Sudha, however, was sad. She said she was forced to become a prostitute by her paternal uncle, who owned a nightclub. “Many people told me that it was wrong, but I did it nevertheless,” Sudha said. “At first, my uncle collected all the money and left me to service his friends. He cheated me for 2-3 months. Then I stopped going to him.”

Asked if she chose to continue in the business, she told this writer that she felt she had no other option. In her words, “once in the profession, always in the profession.”

One day, Sudha discovered that she was pregnant the father was one of her clients and a man with whom she had fallen in love. The man abandoned her. Sudha underwent an abortion and continued to be prostitute. Sudha said that her parents do not know what their daughter is doing. “I tell them that I am working at a garment factory.”

Sudha feels that she has covered her tracks well. “I don’t hand over cash directly to my parents. I just pay all their bills. This way, they won’t know how much I am earning and spending in a month.”

Has she got any marriage plans? “No, she says. “If I marry, who will look after my aging parents? ”
While some of the girls had tales of unsavoury experiences in the course of their job, they appeared to devised interesting ways to handle problems. We asked Sudha what she would do if a particular customer got nasty, obnoxious or even violent.

“I drink a peg or two and vomit.” That, she said, solved the problem. “The man doesn’t feel like having sex with me after that.”

But while Sudha complained about her livelihood, did she really want an alternative? Apparently not. When this writer offered to get her a ‘respectable’ job, she said that she was happy with her flexi-time job. In the course of the conversation Sudha seemed happy with her job. “(It) is most important to me,” she said.

How do people know where to reach you, I asked her.
“It’s all by word of mouth. I give you my pager number and you give it to your friend.”
Sudha said that after she was once short-changed by a pimp, she decided to work on her own, even if that meant “fewer clients.” She said that she earned enough to be choosy about whom she entertains. “Now a days, I sleep with one ‘friend’ a week.” A background check with some of Sudha’s clients revealed that she charged anywhere between Rs 2,000 and Rs 4,000 a night. Her clients included businessmen and college students.

When asked to confirm how much she charged, Sudha shot back, “How much do you think I should get for my hard work?”
(Some names have been changed to protect identities)

What you study to be and what you eventually become sometimes has no connection. Take a look at microbiologist-turned-photographer Sudhir Ramchandran’s life.

Ramachandran (50) grew up in the United Republic of Tanzania. Later he came to Kerala to get a degree in Microbiology. He returned to East Africa to teach the subject and got back to India three years later in 1975. And ever since, he has let his camera talk for him in ad campaigns, interior and travel photography.

His bio-data reveals that he has won national awards for advertising photography every year since 1980. He was the President of the Advertising and Industrial Photographers’ Association of India, till last year. He has represented Asia as Ambassador to the World Council of Professional Photographers (1992-99) and was the Licentiate of the Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain in 1994.

But he is not a self-taught “image-maker” (that’s how he describes himself). He holds diplomas in commercial, advanced, colour and printing photography from universities in Kenya, Switzerland and the US.
Ramachandran is among the most well known photographers in Bangalore. He has a well-equipped production facility, including an in-house colour processing and printing laboratory, and a full-fledged production team.

Here are extracts from an interview I did with him way back in July 2000.

How did you get into photography?
It was a chance encounter. I saw an image forming in the dark room of a friend of mine (the friend later became his father-in-law), and I thought photography was a safer way than rally driving in East Africa.

But you were a teacher of microbiology, right?
Yes. And rally driving was my hobby.

What was your initial investment in photography?
Rs 5,000.

And your first income?
Rs 210. But I blew Rs 225 when I took my wife out to dinner. My wife had to pay the balance amount.

What is photography according to you?
It’s documenting what you see and making images. It’s not just shooting images, but making the viewer understand the concept behind a picture. There is a story behind it. That’s important.

What is required for good photography?
Clarity of thought. And an emotional involvement with the subject. When I feel good, my picture shows it. It’s a mirror of my soul and me. And that’s when I realised that I was achieving my objective. I try to bring this into advertising photography. Today, I have a good market in India and abroad.

What is your greatest achievement till date?
Winning the FAO Gold medal from UNESCO in 1982 for environment photography. It was a global exhibition. There were 35,000 entries.

What did you submit?
A volume of work, on the effects that biogas had in a remote village in Andhra Pradesh.

Okay, who is your favourite model?
I really have no favourite models. Very rarely does a girl fit into a concept I have in mind. For many reasons, Vidisha (Pavate) is good. The best thing about her is her attitude to work. She becomes a joint image-maker by making that extra effort.

Have you taken pictures of nude models?
Never. I find enough expressions outside nudes, but I have nothing against it. There is so much of nature around us that I really have not considered it.

Is there big money in photography?
Yes, if it is spiritual and creative. The money is amazing, if you’re able to be unique. The Internet will help sell unique expressions.

What next, after photography?
I will continue to be an educator on image making. I would like to bring more spiritual aspects into photography.

What are your other passions?
Nothing else. Just photography.

Do you eat, sleep and walk photography…
Absolutely. I also value my time with my family.

Can you tell us about your family?
I have three children. Sheetal makes films for Channel V. Sapna is a systems engineer at Wipro, Milwaukee. Snehal is a 19-year-old spastic boy who is at home. My wife Sandhya designs clothes for a select clientele.

How did you meet your wife?
I met my wife in East Africa where I was working as a teacher. I married her and came back to India when I was 24.

Is there anything you regret in life?
Nothing really. I thank God for the kind of life I have led. There’s nothing I would have changed. All I want now is to reach as many students of image making as possible and do my bit in making them believe in themselves. Neha one of my students, is doing research work for the National Geographic. There are many others and this pleases me most.

What is the flip side to photography?
There are too many people who find in photography only a way of earning money… people who really don’t care. There are many especially in advertising. That’s why you see so much mediocre work.

And the plus points?
If only you are able to express yourself, make your work unique by bringing the spiritual part of you in your photography, you have attained ‘nirvana’ (enlightenment). On top of that, if you earn from it, that’s incredible. And that’s what I have achieved.

Do you have any role models?
No. I never worked under a guru. I learnt it myself from books, even stuff like colour processing and printing. As I earned more money, I did my diplomas and went on to attend workshops in Amsterdam, New York, Switzerland, Hong Kong, Singapore and Dublin.

Located on the third floor of the State Youth Centre (Yavanika) on Nrupatunga Road, the Chess International Club of Bangalore was set up in 1983 for Bangalore’s chess buffs. The club, based in the ‘Hobby Hall’, today has over 2000 members.

Parviz Abdulla, a city-based realtor, has been running the club for over two decades. He is also the Vice President of the club. A great chess buff himself, Parviz is also a State-level chess player. “This club is for the chess lovers. The only criterion for membership is a love of this wonderful game. Since childhood, I was always interested in this game. When I discovered this club, I immediately decided I wanted to be a part of it.”

Membership to the club is open to all. An annual membership fee of Rs 150 has to be paid, though. Members can come to the hall between 6 p.m-9 p.m to play the game. At a given time, up to 200 players can play chess in the club’s hall. All the furniture at the hall and the chessboards have been provided by Parviz. The hall is also equipped with a library with books on chess. Only members can avail of the services. “The membership fees charged goes into the maintenance of the club. There’s absolutely no commercial interests involved. Sometimes, we wave off the fees for those who cannot afford to pay the membership fees,” said Parviz.

The club is open four days a week - Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. “People from all walks of life come here to play. Some arrive with playmates while some just stroll in. It’s not difficult to find someone who is ready to lock horns with you!” said Parviz.

The earliest reference to this game of strategy is from 600 AD. Evidence exists to show that chess began in India. Indeed, there is little doubt that it did. Various references to the game exist in the Sanskrit literature of the seventh century. It is believed that the game had its origins in the Northern plains of the country. From India, the game travelled to Persia (present day Iran) and from there to the Arabian Peninsula. The game reached its zenith during the days of the Islamic Caliphate, when it was officially patronised. And, when the Moors (North African Muslim rulers) conquered Spain in the 8th century, the game reached the shores of Europe and spread. Chess was very popular among the ruling classes around the world, hence the term ‘the game of kings’. The third Mughal emperor, Akbar, is known to have played chess using live men, camels, horses and elephants in the Red Fort!

Over the centuries, the size and shape of the various pieces used in the game have undergone changes. The current pieces have existed in the standasrd form for more than 500 years, though. Today, the World Chess Federation (Federation Internationale des Echecs or FIDE) is the international body that governs chess. It has traditionally organised the world chess championship and all other major international chess events. But a difference in 1987 between Russian Grandmaster Gary Kasparov and FIDE over levels of prize funding and FIDE’s alleged autocratic methods led  Kasparov to promote a breakaway body called the Professional Chess Association (PCA).

David Padua, a former National Junior Chess Champion and an office bearer of the club said, “This game sharpens the mind. It’s a game where foresight is of the essence.” David, a business associate of Parviz, started playing chess at the age of 6.

The club organises tournaments for members every month. There are various categories, including the ‘lightening category wherein a player is allowed only 5 seconds to make a move, failing which he is declared a loser. Such games are a treat to watch and usually get over in 8 to 10 minutes.

Good chess players, claimed Parviz, are made and not born. “There are a very few natural players. Just as in any other game, you get better as you play. Of course, a good analytical ability does help. Some people believe in playing it safe and some don’t. Many players wait for the opponent to make mistakes. Personally, I believe in playing an attacking game.”

So the next time you think you want to play chess, just go to State Youth Centre, Next to RBI, Nrupatunga Road and get yourself registered.

Parviz can be contacted on 98450-18080.

Here is a full course aphrodisiac meal to rekindle the flames… So what are you waiting for? Put that apron on. And start cooking. We got here a list of aphrodisiac recipes compiled by the best in Bangalore, a full course meal of love. We’ve got everything from a Whitehouse Recipe (no poached interns here just poached oysters) to a spicy Vanilla Heater (recommended when the lights are dim).

The Salad
Ingredients and Method: Throw together one diced cucumber, ½ tsp ajwain, grapes, ½ cup raisins, lime juice, fresh cream, honey (1 tbsp), and dill leaves. And there you have it… salad a la turn-on.
(What do grapes do? Well, the Greek god Dionysus was not only the god of wine but also the god of fertility and procreation.)

The Cocktail
Spicy Vanilla Heater:
Ingredients: Vanilla - 1 pod; cinnamon powder - 2 gms; cognac - large; cream - 60 ml; crushed ice.
Method: Make an extract of vanilla and cinnamon in some water; Cool and set aside; In a parsit glass, put a little crushed ice, heat the vanilla extract, flambé with the rest of the cognac; Pour flaming mixture into glass.
(Vanilla is a powerful aphrodisiac)

The main course
Rum flamed chilli garlic prawns (Makes four potions… er… portions):
Ingredients: olive oil - One tsp; garlic - Two tsp; prawns - 16 medium size; dark rum - three tsp; green and red capsicum cut into very small dices - one tsp each; dried red chillies - 12 half cm diamonds; cold butter - 60 g; green asparagus - 12 spears
Method: Heat one tsp olive oil in a pan and sauté two tsp chopped garlic till golden; Add 16 medium sized prawns (shelled and de-veined) and sear them; Flame with 15 ml dark rum by adding rum to the hot pan and tilting the pan towards the flame so that the rum catches fire; Allow the rum to burn;
Now add one tsp each of fine chopped red and green capsicum, 12 diamonds of dried red chillies; Cook on slow fire for one min; Add two tbsp of chicken stock or water and cook for one min; Take the pan off the fire and add 60 g of cold butter; Blend the butter to make a sauce; Arrange prawns on a plate and pour sauce. Serve it with boiled green asparagus.

Lobster/prawn in saffron jus
Ingredients: Lobster / prawn - 500 g; Garlic - 1 pod; Saffron - 1 pinch; Shallots - 30 gms; White wine - 50 ml; Cream - 100 ml; Parsley - 10 gms; Olive oil - 15 ml.
Method: Shell and de-vein the seafood; Marinate with a little white wine and seasoning (salt and pepper); Remove outer loose skin of the garlic pod and roast in the over for about 30-40 minutes till it softens; Skin and remove flesh and puree; In a pan, heat olive oil and add the freshly chopped shallots and garlic puree; Add the herbs and the seasoning and sauté rapidly; Deglace with wine and let it simmer in its own juice; Add the cream, seasoning and saffron; Simmer till thickens; Serve with garlic rice or risotto.
(A little about what effect your garlic is going to have: It makes food more appetising, stimulates the secretion of gastric juices, increases the appetite and contributes to a feeling of ‘well-being’.
And the saffron: Supposedly makes erogenous zones even more sensitive.

Oyster Gratinee (This is called the Whitehouse recipe and is what Bill Clinton used to eat. Oyster is a major aphrodisiac)
Ingredients: Oysters - 12; White wine - 50 ml; Fish stock - 30 ml; shallot - minced; mushroom minced - 50 gms; Brown sauce reduced (cooking till it becomes demi-glaced) – 150 ml; Tomato puree - 30 gms; chopped parsley - 1 tbsp; salt and pepper - to taste; Bread crumbs - 40 gms; Garlic mince - 5 gms.
Method: Remove oysters from their shells; Place in a buttered pan; Add white wine and fish stocks to the pan; Poach oysters until the edges are removed; Remove and place back in shell; Strain the poaching liquid; Add shallots, mushrooms and garlic mince; Cook till it reduces by half; Add brown sauce and tomato puree and reduce until sauce consistency; Add parsley and season with salt and pepper; Spoon the sauce over the oysters and sprinkle bread crumbs on top and bake in oven until brown.

For dessert, the consensus was to go totally sinful on chocolate.

LOVE BREADS
I have no idea if this is true, but it makes for a rather interesting highlight. Apparently, around 1000 AD, after the wheat had been harvested, a woman would undress and roll around in it. After she was done, the wheat was taken away to be threshed. After milling the woman used the flour to make her ‘love breads’. Any man eating this bread would immediately desire the woman.

SUSHMA SWARAJ, the 56-year-old charismatic Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader known for her gift of the gab, is the machine gun-mouth of the political outfit.

She was earlier a lawyer in the Supreme Court and later went on to become the youngest cabinet minister of the country at the age of 25 years.

When Swaraj is not spending time with her 25-year-old daughter Bansuri and dog Rakshak, she curls up with the Bhagavad-Gita, she told this writer when he met her way back in 2000. Here are a few excerpts from the brief tete a tete…

What are you reading these days?
One Hindi and one English book.

What’s the title?
Saga of Hinduism.

Are you rediscovering Hinduism?
No. It’s about the resurgence of Hinduism. It’s very readable. The other book I am reading is Dragon Fire by Humphrey Hawksley (It’s about how China considers the democratic Indian model as the biggest threat to its nationhood and talks about the Indian retaliation against China’s Operation DragonFire).

Have your reading tastes changed over time?
Not really. I read fiction, poetry…

Which is the book that has influenced you most?
The complete works of Swami Vivekananda and… The Bhagavad-Gita that I read every day.

Which is your favourite bookshop?
Take Sons in Delhi.

Who are your favourite authors?
Ram Hari Singh Dinakar in Hindi and Vikram Seth in English.

When I was in college, my lecturer used to say, “The king and the queen died is a story. The king died but the queen died of grief is a plot.” Apply it to Jeffrey Archer, the master storyteller, and you will agree that the story should read: ‘The king died and the queen died. But both were later found to be alive.’

His tales with a twist have enthralled readers across the globe. I have read all his short story collections from the very first ‘A Quiver Full of Arrows’ and ‘A Twist in the Tale’ to ‘Twelve Red Herrings’ and ‘The Collected Short Stories’.

‘To Cut A Long Story Short’ is the latest from Archer’s stable. Out of the 14 short stories, 9 have been inspired from real life incidents. But unlike his earlier books, this one is good only in parts.
It gives you the impression that Archer wanted to be overly fair to the actual events that he left out his own little anecdotes and characters to make interesting reading.

The collection might not be a ‘wonderfully satisfying read’, as the blurb says, but it does provide useful insights into the characters of people. While some stories fail to sustain your attention, others like ‘The Letter’ and ‘Love At First Sight’ stand out for their ingenuity, style and presentation.

But then again, the choice is purely subjective.

According to Archer, the art of storytelling bears no relation to birth, upbringing and education. He talks of the contrasting upbringings of Joseph Conrad, Walter Scott, John Buchan, O Henry, HH Munro and Hans Christian Anderson.

P.S: Though this book released in 2000, it retains its topicality till date.

Genetic engineering has entered Bangalore’s marriage market. No longer will prospective marriage partners seek knowledge from the stars… horoscopes, gotharams, panchaangams and so on… to determine if the baby will be bouncy and healthy. Instead couples will have to get ready to reveal the secrets of their genes.

“In future, prospective couples need to be matched with their blood groups, not by their horoscopes,” says B Rajendra of Kaakateeya Matrimonial Wing. His centre in Basaveshwarnagar provides the additional option of ‘genetic tests’ to would-be brides and grooms. “It’s an option that people can go for, but not compulsory.”
Tests will be conducted by renown geneticist Dr Sreedevi Hegde at Manipal Hospital. “She will take samples of blood from both the prospective bride and groom, culture it and do the ‘Karyo typing’ that will show clearly if either of them are carrying silent ‘recessive’ genes that might express themselves in their children or grandchildren. The worst case scenario would be children born with Down’s Syndrome (mentally abnormal),” said A M S Sairam, a medical consultant at Kaakateeya.

According to Rajendra, health, in many ways, will determine the compatibility of marriage partners in the new millennium. “Health will play a key role in the person’s choice of partner A person who is healthy, minus HIV, cancer, raised or lowered blood sugar levels, etc. will be preferred over a person earning a six figure salary but with an ongoing health problem like diabetes.”

Dr Hegde agreed, “In future, genetic blue print of the person will decide whether he is marriageable or not. It will list down common genetic disorders. A screening panel checks out if he is all right or not.”
According to Hegde, genetic disorders are largely due to chromosomal abnormality. “Genetic counselling comes in whenever there is a family history of genetic disorders like handicapped children, infertility, cancer, heart defects, muscular dystrophy, high myopia, diabetes, hypertension. All of us carry 20 abnormal genes, out of that 4 are recessive genes. If the marriage is between two people carrying the same affected gene pool, like uncle and niece, the risk of disability is increased.”

Hegde said that genetic tests are followed up with premarital genetic counselling. “We conduct genetic tests and give total genetic counselling to the couples. We tell them how much risk is involved in marrying someone with a family history of diabetes, hypertension or cancer. Whether it can be prevented or not. We look for any familial disorder, conduct studies on the nature and consequences of it, do the diagnosis, prognosis and determine whether it will recur or not. If the risks are low, we advise people that they can marry with certain precautionary measures. But if the risks are high, we let them decide,” said Dr Hegde who holds a Ph.D. in Genetics from Bangalore University and has done 10 years of research on the subject. “Some girls come to me when they don’t conceive. They would not have attained menarchy, This is a chromosomal abnormality. We prescribe hormone injections to make them produce children.”

Hegde maintains that only those people who have had a family history of an abnormality like mental retardation. childlessness, abortions or are marrying a person within the family, need come to her for genetic tests. “It happens a lot in South India. People marry their maternal and paternal uncles or nephews and nieces. I get about 6-8 such cases a day. There are hundreds of genetic disorders for which different kinds of tests are needed. If we can’t do them here, we send it abroad.”

Genetics aside, Kaakateeya has also gone cyber-savvy. Its data base of 3000 prospective brides and grooms is already up on the net (www.kaakateeya.com). Most of their overseas clients are NRIs from the USA. “We put up the entire biodata of the girl or boy’s, minus their contact number and address,” said Rajendra. The biodata also includes details like, the ‘property share’ of the girl or boy and, his ‘requirements’. The marriage resume of a sub editor at a leading daily read, “Property share: Rs 25 lakhs + gold. Requirements: ME/BE/Ph.D/MBBS/GRADUATE/ Well settled in business.”

Bangalore is gearing up for the new millennium in many ways, and marriage is one of them. But whether Bangaloreans are willing to open themselves up genetically, remains to be seen.

P.S: No wonder, they have 27 branches in major Indian cities

According to Dr. Satwant K. Pasricha of NIMHANS in Bangalore, “Yes, there is life after death.” A professor of Clinical Psychology at NIMHANS, she has worked with A.N. Stevenson, a world authority on reincarnation.

According to her, a human being is made up of physical (body) and non-physical (mind) components. Once a person is dead, the non-physical associates with another physical body and lives on.

Pasricha claims that most babies recall previous lives between the ages of two and four. “Observing the behaviour of their parents, the child starts talking on impulse about his previous birth, saying things like, ‘Father never used to get angry at me.’ The child’s present-life behaviour matches up with its previous avatar.”

She offered several instances as proof of reincarnation. “There was this child in UP who used to take a stick and tell his friends to open their mouth so he could check their temperature. Investigations revealed that he was a doctor in his previous birth in a village 300 kms from the place where he lived.”
Pasricha says once a child reaches the age of 6 or 8, pat lives are forgotten although behaviour patterns persists a little longer. “What makes these cases hard to disprove and easy to prove are a child’s prominent birth marks and physical anomalies, which have a bearing on its past life.” She explains, “One boy remembered his father’s grandmother. He would smoke beedis just like her and object to his sister going out with her hair uncombed. Similarly, one woman who was a male lawyer in a previous life, would talk like a man. She never accepted the fact that she was a woman.”

Twins figure in the hundreds of cases that she has studied from over 8 countries. One twin was an unsavoury character in Bihar while the other was a school teacher. Their behaviour in this life matched their previous life. The former was tough and non-religious and the latter was a religious pacifist. One person who was fed nasally before he died was reborn with a nose mark.

Pasricha related several anecdotes, using slides to illustrate her theories. “A girl in Rajasthan recalled how she was pushed to death by her cousin sister in the past. There was a birthmark on her head to prove it. One gentleman remembered his past life as a Muslim dacoit. He was reborn a Hindu with fingers missing on his right hand. Apparently, the dacoit had his fingers chopped off in an encounter.”

Dr. Pasricha says that 70% of rebirth cases were as a result of newspaper advertisements. Her investigations include medical examinations to determine the cause of death, and matching up injuries of the deceased with the living person. In most cases, “detection was easy because most homes were in the residential radius of the person who was reborn.”

Her research claims that 49% of Indians died violent deaths in their previous birth while the rest had died due to natural causes. The difference between a deceased person and his rebirth varied from 15 to 91 days. There were also some people who remembered more than one past life.

In most cases, children were not reconciled with their earlier families “Because of the wide socio-economic gap. A Thakur born in a cobbler’s family for example”

Then what’s the objective of the research? “To supplement genetics and environmental factors to explain why a child is physically disabled or has unusual behaviour in its infancy and early childhood,” says Pasricha.

If you have a nagging doubt about someone’s behaviour or physical characteristics, they could well be carrying the baggage of the past. Call Pasricha at Nimhans to find out. But be warned!. While she may hook you up with your past… getting connected by telephone to NIMHANS is a much tougher proposition.