Monkey See and Monkey Do

In those days, the country was still young and humble. So were its monkeys. The little rhesus monkeys who had made South Block their base minded their own business, steering clear of the babus who hustled files up and down the august corridors.

In later years, as the country assumed its natural role as the leader of the developing world, some of its confidence rubbed off on the primates.

They became increasingly aggressive. If India’s talks with its neighbour, usually Pakistan, were not to their liking, they swung down from the trees and screeched their disapproval. Occasionally, they lay in wait for the under secretary drafting the final communiqué and dropped a large object – a flowerpot or a brick – on his head. If a file included a decision to which they objected, they snatched it from the babu’s hands, strewing its contents all over the floor.

As long as they picked on the small fry, the mayhem proceeded uninterrupted. Unfortunately, they became ambitious. Bored with pulling out power cords of office desktops and snatching lunch-boxes from passing attendants, they headed off to Rashtrapati Bhavan to check out the scene in the most prominent address in the country.

That was a gross error of judgment. The Government was compelled to deal with this threat to its internal security. A team of langurs was recruited to police and control the smaller-sized simians. Their reward - a monthly salary paid in luscious yellow bananas.

Read more about the mokey business that erupted in Goa just before and soon after its Liberation from Portugal and its joining India as New Delhi had just completed one war (Goa's Liberation) while about to be dragged in another (the India-China conflict) in

Short Takes Long Memories by Prabhakar Kamat and Sharmila Kamat

Available at:
http://www.amazon.com/Short-Takes-Long-Memories-Kamat/dp/8129118211
http://www.rupapublications.co.in/client/Book/Short-Takes-Long-Memories.aspx

after reading some of the reviews like

http://www.thesundayindian.com/en/story/short-takes-long-memories/13/18503/s

and elsewhere in http://shortsnipz.blogpspot.com

News item featuring Mango Mood courtesy DNA India

Also cross-referenced at 3D Syndication:
http://www.3dsyndication.com/showarticle.aspx?nid=DNJAI19420

News item featuring Mango Mood courtesy DNA India

http://findarticles.com/p/news-articles/dna-daily-news-analysis-mumbai/mi_8111/is_20101002/youngistaan/ai_n55447546/

From BNET Business Library December 24, 2010

Featured orginally in DNA Jaipur Edition authored by After Hrs Correspondent

For by and from Youngistaan!

Rupa & Co is back in the city with its annual fair. For a change youngsters are picking up fiction instead of GK books… yeah!

The young adult fiction seems to rule most of the fresh shelf space this time. From the geeky murder mystery Hickory Dickory Shock! The Tale of Techies to Can't die for Size Zero (a chick lit about 30-year-old Joyeeta's journey from flab to fab), the choice for young readers is wide and varied.
"I came in looking for some GK books. But the fiction section caught my attention!" exclaims college student Priyanka Gupta. And she couldn't resist buying at least one book, though she couldn't decide which one!
Whether it is because of the location of the book fair or the pull of the new titles, day one of the fair saw a mainly young crowd.
The larger presence of young fiction, however, should not deter others. History buffs, for instance, can find an intriguing collection too. The books in this category range from the serious The Long Road to Siachen: The Question Why to the satirical Mango Mood.
With 10,000 titles for readers to choose from the publishers are expecting a good turnout even though the discounts are not exactly top of the line. "We sent out 2,200 individual invites this year to our past readers," said Vijay Sharma of Rupa, expressing confidence in the success of the fair.
Credit:
After Hrs Correspondent DNA India

And now in the UK - home to one of the largest charter tourist populations to Goa

https://www.abebooks.co.uk/servlet/SearchResults?sortby=0&vci=53200930


maybe it is time someone sold it in Russia and Israel, two other countries that are strong on sending visitors to the part of India that once spoke with a Portuguese accent....

Also available at DK agencies

http://www.dkagencies.com/

Booksellers for the Indian subcontinent

Also Galley Cat coming attractions:

http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/category/coming-attractions

Some photos of the book