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                                               VENICE OF THE CARIBBEAN  -  PART III      

Passages from Chapter XXXI - To Trinidad We Go

Prime Minister Robinson could mobilize the nation but even he was helpless in getting a room at the Prime Minister’s official residence at St Ann’s converted into a Library by the public service. When after five months the ‘project’ was nowhere near completion, in exasperation ANR Robinson rang me up and asked me to enquire into the reasons for the delay. Minister of Works, John Humphrey, welcomed my interference when I apprised him of the Prime Minister’s request. Quite aghast I was to find that though senior engineers, architects and furniture supervisors were involved in the project there was no coordination between them nor did any of them bother to obtain Prime Minister’s approval for the proposed work. More than $20,000 had been spent and no one knew when the work would be completed. I took the matter in my own hands instead of wasting my time in a time consuming Enquiry. I told all the workers to go back to their various departments, designed a simple system of shelves which the Prime Minister approved, and put five carpenters to work day and night and they completed the job in 8 days at a total cost of $13,000.

This little stupid act that every house owner carries out at sometime or the other won me great laurels from all directions. Even the workers were happy because they were neither blamed nor had to undergo the indignity of working hours and hours every day for 8 days. My usual detractors were not impressed. They said it was all happening to me because my name was derived from Mathurin who was said to be a Patron Saint of fools. And when I told them that even John Humphrey had become my admirer and said that hardly any cabinet meeting ends without the Prime Minister mentioning my name, they rejoined, ‘Yeh, check his record at the Mental Hospital at St Ann’s’.

......

But probably it did not take Minister Richardson long to discover my true worth. A few days later he visited St James barracks of the Police Service with Commissioner Sealy, Colonel Baden Semper of the Defense Force and me in tow. He was appalled at the untidy conditions and overgrown grass there and exclaimed, ‘Nowhere in the world do you see a military and paramilitary area in such condition’. Now it was his turn to take matters into his own hands. He decreed that next day we assemble there again at 6 in the morning to set things right. I took the statement to be a normal hyperbolic one that people in high places sometimes make and reached the site at the decent hour of 8AM only to find that the Acting Minister, dressed in jeans and a golf shirt, was brandishing his swing blade to battle with the overgrown grass with a few men from the Police Force following his example and a few gentlemen from the Press following his movements. Now multi-million dollar projects I might be able to coordinate but very inept I am at the art of cutting grass and I literally turned my back on the noble task for which the Minister had picked up his swing blade. I deservedly got the look that as a non-believer I have consistently elicited from many divine beings. On that note I excused myself to attend to the less strenuous business of organizing a visit of the Prime Minister to Camp Ogden that was scheduled for the next week.

From Chapter XXXII - Study Tour in North Carolina

But in United States at that time Pope John Paul had come and was greeted by President Reagan.

‘I come as a friend,’ said the Pope. He had a special message for the media, ‘God will hold you accountable if you used your power to spread pornography’. In hindsight it seems that some Roman Catholic priests saw the message to the journalists as a license to indulge in child pornography as the subject was then taboo for the journalists to report. In fifteen years time the edict would lapse when journalists all over the world would expose the pedophilic priests in 2002.

As for me, I had just bought a copy of ‘Playboy’ and was not quite sure that if I stayed on any longer in the Country, God would hold me also accountable for spreading pornography. I very quickly left such a country where one could not enjoy a little bit of pornographic material with a clear conscience and took my flight back to Trinidad where all civilized citizens look through the weekly ‘Punch’ that features  pictures of girls whose skin is rather more exposed than it is in ‘Playboy’. Since the publisher of the “Punch’ was a leading personality of my own religion, I expected to still remain on the right side of my God in Trinidad.

Whenever I find myself in a tête-à-tête with another person I tend to guide the conversation to the philosophy that the other person lived by to better understand him or her. I did so now with Subhashini over a cup of coffee expertly (if I may say so myself) made by me. Quite delighted I was to learn that she lived by a philosophy that was a great refinement of Hindu philosophy. She educated me saying that at birth every human being received one out of the millions of available bodies. Consequently the body was providential and impersonal; it was only a ready-made, borrowed thing. She was too much one with her body; that is why she always felt anxiety about it and had kept it in such a good state that even at forty she looked a very desirable and attractive young woman.

Apart from that, hers was a life without shame, without past or future, without obligations. It was a life that was extraordinarily free. She could say, do, and feel whatever she liked. In a matter-of-fact way she told me that she had gone to see her lawyer regarding her divorce case the hearings for which were due next week. And that after the discussions the lawyer had taken her right on his office table. My own dark designs on her evaporated instantly. Nonetheless, I accepted her invitation to meet her next morning at 4 a.m. at Shirdi Sai Baba temple near her home. At the temple there was a big statue of the Shirdi Sai Baba in front of which Subhashini and several others were praying. Subhashini was at peace with herself. I stood leaning at a column feeling neither devotion nor any repulsion. Even so, I felt content that the Supreme Being, as I understood it, did not require strict faith and obedience. Above all, as a Hindu I belong to the only major religion in the world that does not claim to be the only true religion. I find it immensely congenial to be able to face my fellow human beings of other faiths without being burdened by the conviction that I am embarked upon a ‘true path’ that they have missed.

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We took Taj Express for a two-hour train Journey to Agra. Riding an auto rickshaw from the crowded Railway Station we reached Taj Oberoi Hotel. The standard of the Hotel was such as I had rarely come across in Europe or America or the West Indies. It had overwhelmingly attentive staff that was far more numerous than its counterparts in the developed world and far more capable than its counterparts in the developing world; startlingly efficient housekeeping; and food of a deliciousness and variety that Western cuisines would be hard put to imagine. I could gladly exchange a day in paradise for a day in Taj Oberoi, and not notice the difference.

An ADC introduced the Father of the bridegroom much as the Mogul emperors were heralded in the days of old. The personage was His Highness Nawab Syed Zulfiquar Ali Khan Saheb of Rampur, also known as Mickey Miyan, a product of Aligarh Muslim University. Also in the party was Badar Durrez Ahmad son of Fakhruddin Ali Ahmad and a product of Aligarh Muslim University. When my turn to introduce myself came I tried to use as many appellations as could be expected to cast an impression of grandeur. I was ‘Colonel Mahendra Nath Mathur formerly of Queen Victoria’s Own Madras Sappers and Miners and an Engineering Graduate of Aligarh Muslim University and now advisor to the Honorable Minister of National Security in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago’. Mickey Miyan immediately marked me as a friendly infidel who would not hesitate to disregard the Islamic stipulation of non-consumption of alcoholic beverages.

And so it turned out that bottles of Black Label scotch were regularly supplied to each room of the marriage party. Soon this anti-Puritanism pervaded all the functions related to the marriage and a jolly good time was had by all. Even my mother-in-law was merry and friendly. Though it must be said that she did not cross the line. She stopped short of inviting Zia and me to her home for a meal.  But Rashid Nawab pulled out all stops to make the marriage one lavish and glittering three-day party. His wife Safinaz could still match the beauty of the bride, Yaseen, while his eldest daughter Sweetie was in a class by herself. No wonder the son-in-law, Kazim Ali, was in the seventh heaven.

Chapter XXXIV - From A Taste of Trinidad with a Dash of Grenada and Martinique

I was required to wear a dinner jacket when my wife and I were invited to a banquet given by the Prime Minister for the visiting Vice President of India, Shankar Dayal Sharma at the Hilton Hotel. On opening my box of suits I found that my Dinner Jacket was moth eaten and I had to make do with a lounge suit. On entering the Banquet Hall I was embarrassed to see that I was the only person who was improperly dressed. Nonetheless bravely I went and sat down at the seat marked for me ignoring a few disparaging looks that were cast my way. Greatly relieved I was when soon opposite me on our table appeared a person who could not even find a suit and came in a combination. He was fellow bridge player, Chief Justice-to-be, and an aspirant to the Presidency of the Country in 2003, Michael de la Bastide. While Bastide shared with me his vision of a dress code in Trinidad, the Prime Minister delivered his whole speech relating to his sharing with the Indian Vice President the vision of a nuclear-free world. I suppose if Princess Margaret had been visiting landlocked Bhutan at that time the King of Bhutan would have shared with the Princess his vision of a world free of the Navy.

A very pleasant week we spent with Varun, Leila and above all our enchanting granddaughter Priya. Ira and Rashmi joined us at the weekend for a family outing to the Hampton Court. Zia cooked potato parathas and lamb curry that we all ate with great gusto and to the great embarrassment of Ira and Rashmi at the spacious lawns of the Court. But Zia would not allow me to go to a local pub with our son, Varun, telling him, “Don’t spoil my husband”. If only she knew how rotten and lecherous at heart her husband was!

....

To stir a controversy the controversial Gideon Hanuman Singh organized a panel discussion on the book Satanic Verses at Radio 610. He had already invited a couple of Muslim leaders to be the part of the panel and now he looked for someone who might have read the book. There was only one person in the Country who had read the book. I! Ira had sent that book for me from England. Gideon got the wind of this intelligence and asked me to join the panel on a certain evening.

I had myself a few doubts on the accuracy of the book and to clarify them I went to my Pakistani friend who worked with the Bank of Credit and Commerce (BCCI) in Trinidad. I related to him that the book mentioned that Prophet Mohammed had ten wives and perhaps that was an exaggeration.  He replied, ‘That is blasphemous and Rushdie must be killed’. He went on to add, ‘Rushdie should have clarified that the Prophet (on whom be peace) never had ten wives at the same time. At any particular time he never had more than four wives. A new wife only came in when one was divorced’.

From Chapter XXXVII - Renunciation at Saylorsburg

Partly to thank God in my own bizarre manner for Varun’s recovery and partly to formulate a plan for making the best use of my remaining time on this planet I headed for Arsha Vidya Retreat Center one May morning. What follows is a gist of his teachings, as I understood them during my five-day stay at the Retreat.

There are three approaches to end a want or a desire: (1) by acquiring the object of desire, (2) by giving up the desire as undesirable and (3) by growing out of the desire. The one who follows the first mode of getting rid of a desire is called a worldly man, the one who follows the second mode is called a sacrificer and the third one is called a renunciate. A renunciate has neither attachment nor aversion. He is the one who has grown out of wants and who enjoys therefore a real freedom. The renunciate is not dependent upon any external object or situation for his happiness.

Knowing my real nature is the only means of eliminating the self-ignorance and the disowning of the assumed incompleteness. The primary means of achieving completeness, freedom, fulfillment, is the knowledge of the Self. As the problem is one of ignorance, knowledge alone can be the solution.

‘Whatever is dear to me is dear because I love myself.’ This Upanishadic statement gives the message that I always love myself and therefore happiness is my nature – because everyone loves happiness. I love things and beings of the world, not for their sake, but for the sake of self. The self has got to be known. Sage Yajnavalkya taught his wife Maitreyi, ‘The Self, O dear, is to be seen, listened to, reflected upon and meditated upon.’

Action performed with the attitude of worship is enjoined for the elimination of impurity. Meditation is enjoined for the elimination of the distraction of the mind. When these two have gone to a great extent, one is free from any obstacle in understanding the teaching.

The attitude with which I perform my actions is important. This attitude is described in the Gita:

The one from whom is the creation of all the beings and by whom the world is pervaded; worshipping Him with one’s own duty, man attains perfection.

‘Bring thy failures to me’, says Lord Krishna in the Gita because result is not in our control. A given expectation may be said to have failed but I have not failed. That I have failed or the action has failed is a wrong conclusion; only the expectation has been wrong. So there is no such thing as success or failure; there is merely the action and its result. I have the freedom of choice in performing actions while it is the laws, created by the Lord, that produce the results. The results are Prasada. Anything coming from the Lord is prasada.

From Chapter XXXVIII - Yes, Prime Minister

MAY 1, 1989. Today is my wife’s birthday but I am having all the excitement.

As soon as I reach my office I get a call from Michael Narine, Head Flood Relief Task Force called NOAH. He says he wants me to do him a favour. ‘Anything you say’, he has caught me in a celebratory mood. ‘Colonel, this is confidential information. Three names were suggested to the Cabinet for filling the newly created post of the Director, National Emergency Management Agency – Colonel Joseph Theodore, you, and me. I am the preferred candidate of the NAR party and the most competent person to get the job. No body wants Colonel Theodore and you are the least competent for the job’. I thank him for his vote of confidence in me, congratulate him and say “Bye”.

‘Not so fast’, slowly responds Michael. He continues, ‘There is a possibility that the Prime Minister might offer the job to you. You must ring him and tell him now that you are neither qualified nor competent for the job’. Thanks to Gandhi’s referring to the poor of India as ‘dumb millions’, people everywhere think that any body coming out of India is dumb.  To live up to that image, very much in a dumb way, I offer him three reasons why I could not comply with his apt request. ‘Firstly, the job has not yet been offered to me. Secondly, the Prime Minister has already sent me on various courses and visits abroad to learn about the job. Thirdly, I was incompetent as a Soldier and Civil Engineer too, but that did harm only to my Country’s enemies and none at all to the projects that I handled’.