Auld Lang Syne

Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year!

Wish you all a merry in all the Merriest Christmases I have wished you in all these years. And a very Happy New Year.

Christmas - a season of giving, loving and warm fuzzy feelings you never knew you possessed! First there's putting up the tree with the kids. With the right decorations and lights to warm up the home. Then there are the letters to Santa and breaking our backs buying and packing them. Then we crawl back from a buzzy Christmas Eve Party and place them under the tree. My kids got everything they wanted this Christmas, and Santa was especially good to me! Then there's the food for Christmas Lunch - Roasted Duck, Stuffed Turkey, Honey Glazed Ham, Roasted Potatoes, Plum Cake, Plum Pudding with Brandy Sauce and Fruit Cake, not to mention Mince Pies and Marzipan Walnuts! It is truly a feast.

Tut tut tut...don't forget I said it is also a season for giving, not just to your near and dear ones, but a meal sponsored at an orphanage with all the trimmings and Christmas cakes!

Carols, Christmas Movies, Old Time Radio Show Christmas Specials - all add up to the experience.

And, no sooner that Christmas is over, we count the days to New Year's eve and New Year's day. Bookings all made, passes bought and we are awaiting the big night when we ring in the new year. Out with the old, in with the new!

So, May all our New Year be filled with Joy, Prosperity and Blessings untold. God Bless us all in 2016! Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year!

The Masonic Family

The Masonic Family

Author: W.Bro. Ambarish Singh Roy, P.Dy.RGM, P.G.SD

Not everything on this earth can be understood by putting two and two together, applying logic or practical or should I say traditional application of mind. We do not always do things for something tangible in return. A soldier plunging into battle amidst guns blazing all around him isn’t just doing his job. He isn’t doing it for his paycheck, but for something deeper. A moth flying right into a flame also does it for a reason, known only to it. We too do things which do not seem rational or practical, but we do it for a reason known to the heart alone. We all know Freemasonry is the world’s oldest and perhaps largest fraternity, but it is something more than that – it is one big family. Like all families there is bonding, there is love and there are disagreements and there are squabbles. We also have our share of the proverbial bad apples, but they do not always spoil the other apples in the basket. Most of the credit for this goes to the teachings of Freemasonry which I honestly believe, if truly understood and applied, does make a good man better. Similarly sometimes some members of our family are dissatisfied and they leave our fold.

It is always sad to see a Brother leave, more so, perhaps, because we accept him as our brother to begin with. It isn’t a relationship orchestrated by fate or social norms, but it is by his and our choice that he becomes our brother. I personally believe that unless a person is expelled from Masonry for Non -Masonic conduct or similar such circumstance, a Mason who resigns does not cease to remain a Mason. I of course do not wish to enter into a debate about Constitutional rules and regulations. They stand where they are. I speak of something latent. A man is made a Mason, he takes oaths, makes promises, learns lessons and labours sincerely to ascend the next step. The entire purpose of an obligation is that it is meant to be inviolable. A brother thus resigning may, for all practical purposes, cease to be member of a Lodge or even a Grand Lodge, but cannot cease to remain a Mason; in other words, one can take a man out of Masonry, but not Masonry out of a Brother.

We should not and do not stay in Masonry for material benefits. We do not spend days and months toiling over ritual books and perfecting perambulations for metal trinkets and pieces of well-printed paper. We do not dedicate decades, and in many cases most of our lives to Freemasonry to get a mere Grand Rank. These things are important, no doubt, to those wanting them, but to a Freemason the satisfaction comes from something more latent, something intangible, but something pure, unsullied and uplifting. The question that then arises is – what is it that makes us stay? Is it the rituals? Is it the teachings of Masonry? Is it the Fellowship? Is it the congenial company of like-minded people? I would like to believe it is a wonderful assimilation of all of those which makes us stay in Masonry.

So why do people leave? As mentioned before, like any big family, we too have our share of problems, disagreements and strife. Like most spheres in life Freemasonry to a great extent has been plagued by politics, one of the things we as Masons are supposed to shun. The very moral fabric of our great organisation is being desecrated, by politics for an individual’s and/or a group’s struggle for prominence and control .Lodges are supposed to be a sanctum where we rise above the ‘profane world’. So naturally it disturbs us when profanity invades our sanctum. It shouldn’t, and perhaps in a perfect world, it wouldn’t affect Lodges, but times being what they are, and some people being what they have sadly become, these things do and will affect Lodges.

The question is, when it does, what do we do? We could say let others handle it. We could say it’s not my problem and walk away. We could frown in disgust and remark that this isn’t what we joined Masonry for and stop coming to Lodge. Donning the top-hat of logic and keeping our feet firmly grounded on the soil of practicality, there is no way to refute these remarks. We all have so much going on in our own lives today that we really do not wish to take on added pressures and hassles. Indeed why should we?

If we do not find an answer to this question, we will never be able to dissuade another Brother from leaving our folds. To take you back to my initial remarks here, Masonry is a family, and we do not stay in or leave a family because of the hassles or the lack thereof. We are a part of the family and we should be ready to weather any storm that hits us, together. We care when we truly feel a sense of belonging. That soldier laying down his life in the battlefield does so because he defends that which belongs to him and that he belongs to – his motherland. So my brethren, the next time we feel dissatisfied, or see a brother unhappy, let us try to understand him. Let us make him feel a part of the family. Let us not bicker amongst ourselves the way the profane world does. We are meant to be above that and we should strive to be so.

Juggie my 10 year old baby, a constant source of joy, companionship and unconditional love to me and my entire family passed away today 17th April, 2015. He had turned 10 on 27th December 2014. May his pure soul rest in everlasting peace. Good Bye my boy, till we meet again!

Welcome 2015 - Happy New Year!

The past year was a year of mixed experiences. We learned a lot, we stumbled we fell, but ultimately by God's grace it was a gainful experience. By God's grace look forward to a Blessed, prosperous, glorious and peaceful 2015 for us and all my friends. Here's wishing all our Friends, Family and Brethren a Prosperous and Blessed New Year. May the year be filled with mirth and a bounty of goodness for all of us. Stay Blessed!

Merry Christmas!

Wine can of their wits the wise beguile, Make the sage frolic, and the serious smile

"Wine can of their wits the wise beguile, Make the sage frolic, and the serious smile." Thus spoke the Greek Author Homer of the virtues of Wine.  But that’s not all. Wine not only provides delightful company to a variety of cuisines, including Indian, but research has shown moderate consumption of red wine may improve heart condition, prevent Cardiac Arrest by keeping cholesterol levels healthy and even help fight off some kinds of Cancer. The cell and animal studies of red wine have examined effects in several cancers including leukemia, skin , breast, and prostate cancers . Scientists are studying resveratrol, a component of red wines, to learn more about its cancer preventive activities. Recent evidence from animal studies suggests this anti-inflammatory compound may be an effective chemo preventive agent in three stages of the cancer process: initiation, promotion, and progression. However, studies of the association between red wine consumption and cancer in humans are in their initial stages. Another component of red wines, Polyphenols have been found to have antioxidant properties. Antioxidants are substances that protect cells from oxidative damage caused by molecules called free radicals. These chemicals can damage important parts of cells, including proteins, membranes, and DNA. Cellular damage caused by free radicals has been implicated in the development of cancer. Research on the antioxidants found in red wine has shown that they may help inhibit the development of certain cancers. Similarly, numerous studies have suggested that moderate alcohol drinking helps to reduce the likelihood of heart disease. The so-called "Mediterranean diet", which includes a larger intake of wine, has been credited with lower rates of heart disease in those countries, despite a higher intake of saturated fats. But a team of scientists from Barts and the London School of Medicine, and the Queen Mary University in London, may have found a mechanism which points to the benefits of red wine. They say it appears to interfere with the production of a body chemical which is vital to the process which clogs up arteries and increases the risk of a heart attack. The London team tested extracts from 23 red wines, four white wines, a rosé wine and one red non-alcoholic grape juice sample, after finding that Polyphenols - from Cabernet Sauvignon grapes decreased the manufacture of ET-1 in bovine artery wall cells. They found that, in the red wines, the amount they inhibited ET-1 ran parallel with the amount of these Polyphenols they contained.

But wine isn’t something most people take to easily. At the expense of sounding snobbish, wine is an acquired taste. Most people who turn away from Wine do so because they lack the skill to mix it with the food they have. True or False: White wine is to be drunk with white meats and fish, red wine goes with red meat, and sweet wines go with desserts, period, and to do it any other way is courting a visit from the Wine Police. The answer is False, but the truth is that until a couple decades ago this is how people decided what to drink with dinner. Thankfully, our minds have broadened. The current thinking is that since food can be every bit as complex as wine, the options for creating rich pairings are staggering. And it cannot be stressed enough: a successful pairing is one that you find pleasing -- maybe nobody else on the planet likes Champagne with liverwurst, but you happen to find the combination absolutely transporting. If there is a rule of thumb it would be either to go for complementary flavours or flavours that contrast. For example, a dish with citrus would be complemented by a fruity wine; a hearty stew would go well with a full-bodied wine; and a delicately flavoured dish, such as poached Beckti, would be in good company with a dry, crisp wine. Whereas a rich cream sauce would contrast nicely with a highly acidic dry wine; and a simple snack of bread and cheese would turn positively ambrosial when paired with a complex full-bodied red. The best advice of all is to experiment, open-mindedly, and frequently.

Here are some truths about how wine can react with food: -

A wine high in tannins (Bordeaux, for instance) mated with a food high in tannins (like walnuts) will render the wine almost undrinkably dry and astringent.

Protein tends to calm tannins, so a very tannic wine might be rendered glorious when enjoyed with red meat. Delicate foods - filet of Beckti or even Chicken for example - will be overwhelmed by a full-bodied red wine. By the same token, a hearty lasagne will virtually cancel out a dry, medium-bodied Sauvignon Blanc. A wine can add its primary flavour to a dish, giving food a layer it didn't start out with.

Some wine and food combinations result in a flavour that was not present in either one and is not meant to be, metal for instance. Try white turkey meat with red Bordeaux if you doubt this. Sometimes it's as though this wine has been searching all its life for this food and fireworks ensue. Tannic wines make sweet foods taste less sweet; salty foods emphasize tannin. Salty foods mute the sweetness and enhance the fruitiness of a sweet wine. Wines that are high in acid taste less acidic with salty or sweet food; acidic wines also can offset oily foods. You can, for instance enjoy a Cabernet-Sauvignon with bitter/dark chocolate. Similarly much more suited to our Indian cuisine is the Shiraz. Try having Shiraz with spicy Indian food or if you are adventurous, with some chopped green chillies & onions.

Tasting the wine fills in some blanks, mainly with regard to a wine's "balance." Take a generous sip and swirl it in your mouth. The weight of the wine in your mouth will tell you whether it's light-, medium- or full-bodied. It also tells you how much sweetness, acidity, alcohol and tannin it contains. The object is for these elements to harmonise pleasantly. The ultimate moment in tasting is just before the wine is swallowed, when the vapours hit the upper nasal cavities. In France, the concept of aftertaste has been quantified in the form of a "caudalie." If the flavour of the wine stays in your mouth after swallowing for one second, that wine has achieved one caudalie; the more caudalies the better, especially with the wines of Burgundy. Really good wines make the strongest impressions with their smell and their aftertaste.

So the next time you raise a glass, give your health and your taste buds a thought, have a glass of wine.

Ambarish Singh Roy

Merry Christmas!

Well, it's finally here . Winter, that is, or whatever semblance of the stuff we get down here. Still, there it is. Rummy thing about this season is, it creates activity. Everyone's either throwing

parties, dinners, cocktails, or just packing off and going on a toot. An

enormous percentage of the general population seems to find this season just

the right time to jump off the dock (read get married). Perhaps it's the

fallout of the activity epidemic or a realisation that all the days of the

year have suddenly run out, so why not make the best of what's left and get hitched. I must confess at this point that I have the heart of an eternal

bachelor, for it is I believe the only honourable estate which allows a man

to preserve his mental equilibrium. But I digress, getting back to the nip

in the air (and I use the expression loosely), it has it's pros and cons,

but personally speaking, I think the pros outweigh the cons. True, one can

sense the devious flu-bug flapping it's microscopic wings in the air, and

one is gulping down copious amounts of Vitamin C and orange juice to ward

off this killjoy; however, it is also the weather which heralds the advent

of Christmas. Christmas in it's varied warm hues tends to uplift ones'

spirits, gives a man hope and an inclination to look forward to the nicer

things in life. Christmas Trees,Carols, Plum Puddings,

Mistletoe, Stuffed Turkeys, Presents and of course good old Saint Nick, are

thoughts which put a smile on the stiffest of stiff upper-lips. I may not

believe there's an over-weight old gent clad in red nightwear swooping down

the chimney with a sackful of goodies, but I have no shame in admitting that

I do believe in Santa Claus. One has never forgotten writing letters to

Santa,hanging Christmas stockings and waiting eagerly all night only to run

out at the crack of dawn to unwrap the boxes beneath the Christmas Tree.

Whatever emerged from those packages, be it ever so humble as a mechanical

ladybug (one of my all time faves), it was magical. The festivities at home,

the ever-running kitchen and the warmth of guests added to that magic. That,

I believe still endures and that to me is the magic of Santa Claus and

Christmas.

What i'm getting at, I suppose, to wrap it up in a nut shell, is:

May the spirit of Christmas bring you peace,

The gladness of Christmas give you hope,

The warmth of Christmas grant you love.

I wish all my friends here, and their n & d ones a very Merry Christmas and

a Blessed New Year ahead.

Friday the 13th, September, 2013 – Why was it significant for India?

Friday the 13^th carries with it many myths and legends. Americans believe it to be an unlucky day when ghosts and goblins make an appearance hither and nigh. Historically, Friday the 13^th marked the day The Vatican ordered simultaneous assassination of the Knights Templar throughout it’s Papal realms, which resulted in the ‘disappearance’ of their Order and ultimately led to the brutal public burning of Jacques DeMolay, their Grand Master.

Cut to present day India. On this date most importantly, the Judiciary in it’s wisdom decided to award the Death Penalty to the four rapists-cum-assasins of ‘Nirbhaya’ the Delhi gangrape victim. The court in it’s sagacity termed it as the ‘rarest of rare cases’, and rightly so. The judgement will be appealed, unfortunately, by a defence counsel who is in contempt of court and harbours a desire to ‘burn his own daughter if she goes out with a guy at night’. Not only should his license be immediately revoked, he should be assigned to a psychological correctional facility – the man has issues! However, the court judgement today provided a much needed salve on the wounds of Nirbhaya’s family, at least for the moment. It is a pity that the juvenile who caused most harm to the victim got away with 3 years imprisonment in a juvenile correctional facility – his punishment should have been at par with the others. But such are the laws of the Indian Penal Code and we must accept them till they are amended.

The Bharatiya Janata Party chose this very day to crown it’s next PM-in waiting – Narendrabhai Damodardas Modi, much to the chagrin of the Party’s patriarch and mentor Lal Krishna Advani. By 6 P.M. Advani had been completely isolated and sat at home licking his wounds. I would have loved to be a fly in the wall when after the announcement Modi went to visit Advani. Even a die hard Advani supporter and Modi detractor till yesterday; a person of apparent integrity, Shushma Swaraj, changed tags and said she was ‘Happy’ with the announcement. Will Narendra Modi be the savior who will deliver us from the evils that plague India today? Only time will tell. But let us examine Advani’s point of view here for a moment. Given, that the octogenarian still lusts for the PM’s post. Let us try to examine his cause for this boycott, apart from the fact that Modi snatched his dream nomination away from him. Modi also snatched both titles of Lauha Purush and Vikas Purush away. What does that leave Advani with? In the eventuality that the BJP comes close to majority in 2014, it will need allies cutting across ideologies and party lines. It has to win back the JDU. It would need help from parties like the TMC, BSP, AIADMK and perhaps even the National Conference. It would be difficult for Modi to attract such a multi-faceted coalition given his staunch Hindutva (or should I say Moditva) reputation and an almost dictatorial style of functioning. In such an eventuality Advani, the lone voice of dissent against Modi would be resurrected by the party and be persuaded to take the PM’s post. So Advani, might be down, but the old war horse is still not out!

What was Congress’s reaction to BJP’s announcement? A smirk by Kapil Sibal and a taunt by Renuka Chaudhury. Perhaps two terms in office has made it complacent or even over-confident? They need a battle plan badly to counter Modi and Modi is a formidable opponent. So it’s high time they get their act together, peel off the sticking plaster from their lips and get into combat-mode. It’s time to speak up and walk the talk. They need to decide on the PM candidate for the UPA 3 and launch a counter-offensive.

So, Friday the 13^th didn’t turn out any differently than what myths and legends tell us. We have punished 4 Ghouls, but we have also elevated a man who will, given time and circumstance, either restore our country into the Economic giant and global power it was, not very long ago…or destroy, disintegrate and dispirit it. God Bless India!

India can't afford to become a welfare state ...yet!

India needs to become economically sound before it attempts to be come a Welfare state. Health Care, Food Security are excellent initiatives. But the timing is questionable. Our Macro-Economic situation does not allow such populist albeit necessary policies to be rolled out at this fragile fiscal juncture. I agree when our Economist PM says "Indians are spending too much on unproductive assets". We spend on Imported electronics, Gold (Which is more a burden on the economy at this point even if a month ago it seemed like a good investment). To put it in simple terms India imports much more than it can afford and exports much less than its' potential. This causes a Balance of Trade problem. Fiscal Deficit at over 4% is a big worry (Remember Dr. Manmohan Singh, the then Finance Minister rang alarm bells as Finance minister in 1991 when fiscal deficit was at 2.5% of GDP). We are doing worse than all other developing nations. FII's have pulled out and don't want to come in till the 2014 elections are over. It is the same case with FDI. So we're low on Forex income, we won't sell our Gold, we can't control the runaway inflation, and we certainly won't curtail Government expense and propose an 'operation hair shirt' (to quote Humphrey Appelby) to reign in our Government budget. Parliament costs us 2 Crores a day - nothing gets done. The stock markets are on life support - they don't know whether to react to the overtures of the RBI and the Finance Minister or react to the plummeting Rupee. We are having to spend more than ever on our Defence budget and, excuse the expression, homeland security budget thanks to incursions by our neighbours (heck even Myanmar crossed our borders today), and the Maoist insurgents, all thanks to our toothless foreign policy and impotent policies of the Home ministry. And now that the Government keeps on introducing populist policies which will cost the exchequer Lakhs of Crores every year, there is no scope of implementing the tough fiscal measures that the Government knows that it ought to implement. America was one of the first countries to be hit by the global recession - it's back on it's feet...it's currency is strong and it's economy is looking up, even though it's rate of unemployment is still high....it's getting there. When will our Government wake up and remedy our Economic problems which have hit every strata of the society? Or do they really want us to wait for the 2014 elections for another Government to pull us out of this economic inferno?

Our Christmas

There is a distinctive nip in the air, it's that time of the year, my personal favourite. Peace on earth and Goodwill towards all men. Hearts aglow with the warm yuletide spirit. Shiny wrapped up presents under a well decorated Christmas Tree and Christmas Carols sung by The Rat Pack, Elvis Presley and Nat King Cole. 

I follow a set Christmas pattern, well it makes me happy. On Christmas Eve I watched A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens starring Sir Patrick Stewart with my little one Vrinda (My elder one Rai is away in Punjab visiting relatives on her mother's side). This was followed by another Christmas favourite 'Christmas with the Kranks' a movie starring Tim Allen adapted from a novel 'Skipping Christmas' by John Grisham. In the evening we went out to Red Hot Chilli Pepper for a quiet dinner with the family. We skipped the Christmas Eve party at the Club this year. After a sumptuous meal and some spiritual sustenance, we headed home and wrapped the presents while The Rat Pack sang lovely Christmas carols. At night we watched Christmas Mass from the St. Paul's Cathedral which is always very touching. Then I sent out the last of my Christmas emails and tuned in to Old Time Radio - BBC After Dinner Christmas Ghost stories. Of course there was a lot of food from Nahoum's - Calcutta's famous Jewish bakery - Cheese Puffs, Pince Pies, Jam Macaroons, Marzipan Walnuts, Plum Pudding, Plum Cake, Rich Fruit Cake and delicious Chicken patties.

On Christmas Day Vrinda was ever so excited to unwrap her presents from Santa. The look on her face was priceless! To add to the Joy my parents returned after a 11 day vacation so the home seems full again. We're  still missing my elder daughter Rai, but she's having the time of her life. We went to Christmas Lunch with friends to Calcutta Club. After a couple of cocktails we dug into the delicious spread which consisted of Roast Turkey, Fried fish with tartar sauce, Sliced Ham with pineapples and Pork Chops ending with Plum Pudding with Brandy sauce. After lunch we came home and enjoyed a siesta. Watched some Christmas specials on TV and caught up with my parents.

So all in all it was a very enjoyable Christmas at the Singh Roy household and we wish you a very Blessed and Merry Christmas - from our family to yours.

Change in weather

The Gathering Storm

A blistering summer is upon us this year and there is no escape from the heat or the humidity. In Calcutta temperatures ranged from 40C to 42C last week. The streets wore a deserted look in the day with people wary of venturing out in the heat and with good reason. Heat related deaths in the state almost touched a hundred, which is I must say, an appalling figure. Even the Air Conditioners gave up their noble fight and barely wheezed cool air under the stifling weight of summer heat. Whenever I drove past traffic policemen I felt sorry for them standing out in the sun with nothing to protect them save a metal helmet.

But enough of the obvious morbidity of the situation, there is a lighter side to summer. The kids are on their summer recess (now extended) and families are heading to the hills or foreign climes. Readers of this blog will realize that I happen to be slightly out of the ordinary, so when most people get influenza in the winters, I got mine this year at the peak of summer, accompanied by a throat infection. And I confess, even at 42C hot Lung Fung Soup felt good to the palate and warmed up my cockles no end. The infection lasted 5 days even with heavy dosage of anti-biotics and other assorted drugs and it gave me the luxury of resting for 4 out of those 5 days, even in this busy season. 

However, there are signs of a change in the weather. The MET Department says we are to have Monsoons by 10th June. Yesterday evening we had heavy thundershowers which cooled things down considerably. If that is a sign of things to come, it is welcome indeed!