The Goddess of Justice is not at all blind

 Yes, I am uploading this blog a little late. Well, am a little unwell. That is okay though. Better late than never, right? Recently, to be precise, on December 3, was celebrated the Indian National Lawyers', or rather the Advocates', Day. 

The day is celebrated to insist on the ethics of the profession. A huge demand it may look like as, apparently, in the imaginary of the common perception, lawyers are all that is wicked, manipulative and money-minded.

Actually, the justice system in India is skewed because of sheer statistics. The number of cases pending in the court is  almost in millions. Many amongst them are undertrials who thus spend a lifetime in the impossible conditions of the (indian) jails without even/ever being tried.

 In other words, "tarikh pe tarikh", 'date after date' is not merely a filmy dialogue. Often are blamed the judges' colonial set of holidays for such an unforgivable delay as 'justice delayed is justice denied'.

Yet I would like to insist that the Goddess of Justice, who now speaks in the local Indian languages as well, is not blind at all. She is impartial. It has been proven in so many seminal cases which have altered the very destiny of India, beginning with the famous Keshavananda Bharati case, the Shah Bano Case, the Ayodhya Ram Janma Bhoomi case, to give a few salient examples.

As for corruption or lack of ethics in the judicial system, the sad truth is, no other field of public and/or private life is free of such corrosion. Instead of, hence, accusing the supreme court chief justices of being lackeys of the central government, especially after retirement, why not think positively that their vast knowledge is being put to positive use that would be good for the entire polity?

  Such was the opinion of the ex-CJI Chandrachud, too, who was also viciously hounded because the P.M. attended the Ganesh Poojan at his official residence! Secularism seems to assume weird avataars according to convenience!

Pratima@ The judiciary is defined as the branch of government that interprets laws, settles disputes, and administers justice. This system of courts serves as the guardian of the constitution and fundamental rights, with a structure that is hierarchical, beginning from the Lower to the Supreme Court. 

The quote of the day:                                              In the much anthologised 'seven ages of man', Shakespeare mocks the corrupt 'justice' (actually, in Shakespeare-an parlance, it need not mean only the judge, though) as follows:                                         "And then the justice,/ In fair round belly with good capon lined,/ With eyes severe and beard of formal cut,/ Full of wise saws and modern instances;/And so he plays his part."

The word of the day: Lawyer versus advocate.                                                             .           A lawyer, according to the technical definition, has a law degree, while an advocate is a lawyer, licensed to represent clients in court by passing a Bar exam, and by registering with the Bar Council. In other words, all advocates are lawyers. Yet all lawyers need not be advocates. Some lawyers may only provide legal advice, and work outside of court. 

Let us learn grammar:                                            These days, it is very fashionable to dismiss grammar in the name of so-called communication. Yes, communication does matter, but communication, as we hope to prove, stands on the firm footing of grammar as it is, otherwise, wobbly and shaky. 

To give an ancient (in both the senses, that is from the olden days, and, aged, as it has been repeated generations long) example, in English, the subject/the doer and the object/on whom the action takes place have their given, structured placement in an English sentence. Hence it has to be "Rama killed Ravana", though certain interpretations may question such (in)justice!

More about  grammar as we meet day after day. 

Truth lies in actually reading

 They say the proof of the pudding is in tasting it, in actually eating it,  right? Our title takes after that famous phrase, and argues that we understand/know the  truth of the matter only when we read the actual documents. 

Why all this jazz? Is that your query? Well, Dear Reader, do you remember two words that never cease to raise temperature to impossible heights in India? Yes, they are "secular" and "socialist." 

As you probably  know, these two words were not there in the original Preamble to the Constitution. They were introduced during the Emergency. As this year, 2025, happens to be the fiftieth year of those turbulent times, the discussion regarding dropping these two shot up. 

Well, if you were to look up the entire debate regarding these two words during the actual framing of the constitution, you would know that K. T. Shah, himself an alumnus of the London School of Economics, and other major institutions in England, was strongly in favour of using these two words. 

Dr. Ambedkar's opinion of the term socialist was that if it is included, it would restrict, in fact, take away, the right of the people to decide which type of societal construction they would like. 

There was no reference at all to 'secular'. Unfortunately, camps or their leaders do not know such facts. Busy with pushing their agenda, they may not bother to look up the original as the blame game is important to  many hate mongers.

Extremely sorry is such state of affairs. Instead of deifying, and thus negating their truth, it is necessary to live the idea(l)s of all thinkers. Only then can past be a guide to present, and, especially to future, right? High decibels lead only to cacophony, but not either to wisdom or to truth!

Pratima@ Partisan screeches do nothing but belittle the camp, much worse, an interesting  idea!

Quote of the idea:                                                "sapere aude", said Kant. It means 'dare to know', 'dare to be wise'.

Word of the day: preamble.                                  '  A Preamble means introduction or preface. Mostly, it succinctly summarises the entire document. 

Soil is ...

 'Soiled' is hardly a flattering adjective. It suggests dirty ugliness. Soil, the root noun, however,  is everything. Soil is soul as soil is the sole that begins and ends the very existence. 

No, it is not the 'from dust to dust' fact of the life cycle. Actually, the very life cycle of everything living, from the earthworm to the giant elephant or of the evolved mankind, depends on soil. The entire food chain begins in the soil, the uterus of the seed that blooms in to a sturdy sapling, necessary for life to continue, whether of the herbivore or the carnivore variety. Soil, in brief, is all.

Hence the relevance of the WSD! The WSD stands for the 'world soil day', celebrated every December 5 under the aegis of the UNO. The WSD encourages the sustainable preservation of soil and its quality.

Many factors threaten the basic soil and its fundamental qualities. Let us mention a few here. First and foremost, it is deforestation. When forests are felled flat, the strong roots that would have held the soil together are lost, and soil is washed away, literally down the drain.

Such soil erosion is highly dangerous every which way. It clogs the river beds. If not treated, it leads to flash floods which can lead to artificial lakes, a huge threat to the entire ecology. Remember the tragedy of, and nearby, Chamoli district of the 'devbhoomi', Uttarakhand this monsoon? The tragedy should prove the need to respect the soil.

Instead humans flood it with chemical fertilizers that finish off the soil which otherwise is alive, almost like a beehive, as various ingredients are silently, subtly, sincerely re-generating it constantly.

In other words, soil and its health are literally the root cause of our very existence. Hence this WSD, this tribute to the soil that sustains us! Let our development not wipe out the soil beneath our feet! Let us think of sustainable alternatives. Let us per year leave certain fields fallow, let us insist on organic agricultural ways and modes, let us not mine mindlessly. Let us serve soil so that it can sustain us!

Pratima@ Soil is so essential to our lives that even spiritual metaphors refer to soil, such as the soil of goodness enriches the soul, for instance.

Quote of the day:                                                       "The nation that destroys its soil destroys itself." This awareness raising, sensitising quote is assigned to many a thinkers and statesmen, including Franklin D.Roosevelt. Hope all our "devrai" forests survive such senseless destruction. Long live "chipko" movements of all sorts.

Word of the day: desertification                         This term refers to fertile land growing futile due to (in)human excesses such as excessive deforestation, horrid intrusion of human habitat in to forest land, the mixing in of chemicals in to land mass due to fertilisers, industry waste, human slurry, and so on,  the destruction, in brief, of land, of soil itself. 

The Divine Dutta

 Why this title? Is that your question? Let me explain  the symbolism that I find in this festival that today is getting celebrated in every nook and corner of Pune. 

Let us begin with the myth of the birth of the divine Dutta. It is, in my opinion, a story which truly reflects the infinite and immense feminine strength. Sati Anusuya is well-known for her devotion to her husband. Narada, the busybody, sings her praises in the heaven, the abode of gods. 

In a very anthropomorphic way, three goddesses get jealous, and want that she be tested. They send Bramha, Vishnu, Shankar to find out if her reputation is worth it. In another version of the myth, the gods themselves want to test her integrity.

Thus begins the story of a mortal woman's grace and strength, even when pitted against the all-mighty! The gods apparently arrive at her ashram under the guise of sadhu's. Their condition for eating a plateful is that she should serve them completely unclothed!

Such is Anusuya's (her very name implies someone gracious, pure, gentle, beyond envy and jealousy, truly divine in this sense) spiritual energy that she converts the three gods (or in another version, the three become) in to babies whom she can nurse against her breast!

If such a victory of the feminine over every possible pretension is one reason why I appreciate the Dutta Jayanti, let me share with you two more reasons why I like this religious celebration. 

Around the Dutta idol, one can see every possible animal and bird. The dog would signify total devotion, pure love and absolute commitment, for example. One can thus assign a symbolic value to the entire iconography, right? Incidentally, a tree, the wild fig tree, is associated with the Dutta ensemble. In other words, if you want to assign a very contemporary meaning to the icon, one could always say that Dutta signifies the arch conservationist, the force that truly cared for the fauna and flora.

Yet another interesting fact about Dutta is that he can find guidance in n from everything, everyone and every event. I admire immensely this open acceptance. It reveals not merely an eternal desire to learn or mere humility. In my opinion, it is a sensible search for a sensitive togetherness. 

How rich indeed is our Indian iconography, traditional, ancient yet contemporary! Hence the title of our blog today.

Pratima@"Where mercy, pity and love dwell," felt William Blake, "there God is dwelling, too." 

Quote of the day:                                              Interpretation is an artistic exploration of value creation. So says yours truly! Some defining as refining!

Word of the day: Celestial                                         This word can prove my point. Literally, it denotes the sky, an astronomical phenomenon. It can, however, be interpreted as something or someone heavenly, excellent, truly good! 

Sanskrit is very much alive!

 On the internet, anything can go viral, and  anytime. On one such group, yesterday was posted a much touted video. It discussed the importance of speaking and spreading Sanskrit. Presenting it was Anil Kumble, extremely well-known for his genuineness,  integrity and sincerity. Remember his bowling record, and, that, too with a bandage literally from head to chin to cheeks? 

Obviously such a video catches eyeballs. Accompanying him was his wife. The thumbnail described the video as a token of the importance of the Sanskrit day and the Sanskrit week. The entire presentation was such that anybody would think of today as the Sanskrit day. 

Actually, the Sanskrit day falls on Shrawan Pournima. Beyond such confusion date wise, the video, otherwise, was a great promotion of speaking in Sanskrit. 

The theme reminds me of a wonderful video made by the 'Prachyam' group. It discusses in thorough detail how Sanskrit is very much alive, a very important point because it is fashionable to describe and dismiss Sanskrit as a dead, though classical, language. 

This 'Prachyan' video provides wonderful details. There are eighteen universities teaching Sanskrit, it seems, while at least twenty thousand citizens quote it as their first language! Apparently more than three million people use it as their second and/or third language. 

Prof. Tripathy, a well-known Sanskrit scholar, discusses further how hundreds of UGC accredited journals publish articles in Sanskrit, while he himself has prepared a bibliography of works in Sanskrit. It runs in to literally thousands of pages. 

In brief, Sanskrit is alive. It is used as a mode of daily lived life. May long continue to live Sanskrit! In this context, and especially given the raging debate about Macaulay's 'Minute', let me inform you that Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar wanted Sanskrit to be the "rajya bhasha." In one of his much quoted statements, he clearly and categorically states that English should be used for about fifteen to twenty years till the bureaucracy is trained in, and gets used to, Sanskrit. Thereafter , Sanskrit, he maintains, would be the language of official communication in India. 

That dream may not have been realised. Yet no need for a dirge for the "devbhasha". It is very much alive, and in use. The Kumble video, may be, would prick people's curiosity, and thus would they arrive at the welcome reality of Sanskrit today!  Every day, in brief, can be, and should be, a Sanskrit day!

Pratima@Truth is forever stranger, and stronger, too, than fiction or propaganda! 

Quote of the day:                                                         "Sa vidya ya wimuktye." A tribute to the transformative power of knowledge, it can be translated as "That is knowledge which liberates!" 

Word of the day: etymology.                                Etymology refers to a systematic study of the origin of words. It includes a historical overview of how words changed their shapes and meanings. An example can be the word "villein" which became 'villain'. Not only did the word change its spelling. Its meaning shifted in the diametrically opposite direction. Originally, it meant a farmhand! What an innocent and innocuous interpretation as opposed to its signification today! 

Dignity

“One person in one family should get reservation until a Brahmin gives away his daughter to my son, or (she) has a relationship with him, if it’s only about the economic condition.” Thus spake Mr. Verma, currently posted as a Deputy Secretary in the Agriculture Department in Madhya Pradesh. 

A huge furore was the obvious response. Why should such an insult be hurled at a girl/a woman while discussing caste (in)justice? Look at the words chosen, moreover. Hardly even a mention of a marriage! The quote reads "a Brahmin 'gives away' his daughter ... (she) has a relationship (with him"). What a ridiculous suggestion is this! 

Who gives anybody any right to thus sully a woman's dignity? As it is, there are sick stalkers, so-called chase-master (or is it monster?)  'lovers' (and their helpmeets!), if they at all can be so called, given their vulgar tarnishing of the beautiful concept called love! As if these types, rather creeps,  do not bother women hugely enough! The fast developing technology creates its own terrible traps! And, in addition, such rhetoric! 

Absolutely it is the mentality of the warlords of the Middle Ages who would vitiate the women of the enemy as a revenge, but elaborated it is in the third decade of the twenty-first century boasting of the AI, et al! A typical example of the multiple jeopardies women face! 

How does a Brahmin girl 'having a relationship' minimise caste injustice? How does a Brahmin girl cleaning latrines lead to a just society? Actually, an ideal society should be one in which NOBODY has to face any demeaning activity. 

Factually, even an insistence on an inter-caste marriage (forget finer facts such as the victimised girl's will/desire!), too, continues the caste system as the offspring would get the  father's caste! Patriarchy thus plays the defining role. Why then such insults? Why the convenient silence of the feminist groups? 

A woman's dignity is inalienable, whichever caste, creed, class, religion, ethnicity, age group she may belong to! That is that, AND  beyond any convenient partialities! 

Pratima@ Every, and any, transformative solution  has to be just and humane to ALL. Otherwise, there would only be Madame Defarge of all cast(e)s! History should have taught that Holocausts born(e) out of various jealousies and fractured understandings of genealogies lead only to vicious bloodshed, which is hardly any cleansing! Fascism's of any hue and every variety overlook such sincere subtleties!

Quote of the day:                                              "Injustice anywhere," maintained Martin Luther King, "is a threat to justice everywhere." 

Word of the day: fairness.                                      No, it does not have anything to do with some sick n silly advertisement about a cream that comments on pigmentation. 'Fairness' means "an impartial and just treatment and behaviour without any favouritism or discrimination." 

The Birth of the Bhagwad Geeta

 Geeta Jayanti! The day carries an acutely personal significance for me. Aai studied in depth the Geeta Dharm Mandal course that analyses the treatise. She was among the toppers, too. It was on this particular day that she was ceremoniously awarded the certificate. I felt proud of her . As was usual with her, she never wasted time. Instead of sitting around 'chatting' cum gossiping, she studied in detail many religious treatises, and continued to enrich her life, age being no bar.

Yes, on the Mokshada Ekadashi of the month of Margashirsha in the waxing phase of the moon is celebrated the Geeta Jayanti. It is believed that the Bhagwad Geeta was 'narrated' by Lord Krishna at the Kurukshetra on this very day. Hence the moniker 'Geeta Jayanti'. 

Why the commas encircling 'narrated'? Well, it is my earnest submission that the treatise is a dialogue. Krishna never edifies, nor sermonises. Instead, he 'facilitates' the spiritual awareness for/of Arjuna. Hence dissolve typical doubts such as how could so much time be spared at the war front. Even otherwise, reading the Geeta in an aware way takes roughly two hours. Possible as well as probable it is that the Lord thus sensitised his disciple cum best friend  before the war actually began. 

Come to think of it, every second of our very existence is a kind of war, at times with contexts, at moments with people we care for, but forever with our own selves. Every instant is an attempt to create some sanity  out of the surrounding meaningless chaos. The Geeta philosophy is a mode that helps us shore up some sense out of this void of nothingness, of meaninglessness, of illusions.

You may choose any one of the principles the text (scholars have written zillions of words explicating it) abounds with, be it Dnyan Yog, Bhakti Yog or the much debated Karma Yog. By definition, the Bhagwad Geeta is democratic. It explicates various modes of (self-) knowledge, and leaves you to choose the one you like.

 Why, Lord Krishna, after this entire exploration of the universe itself, the Vibhuti Yoga in Chapter 11 included, concludes with "yathechchasi tatha kuru." Translated even literally, it means "act as you wish to", that is to say, 'follow the path your head, your heart, your conscience, your soul, your 'self' wants you to.' 

It is such upfront openness, an equality born out of equanimity, the right to choose one's path in an aware way that makes the Geeta truly democratic. Hence it never remains some religious mumbo-jumbo. It pulsates in our very being, a forever guide any time conflicts corrode the inner space!

Pratima@Ah, yes, since 1988, December 1 has been declared the Aids Awareness day, indicating a disease whose severity, once a huge scare, has absolutely diminished, what with the advances in the medical field, and given that terror called the all crippling corona!

Quote of the day:                                                        "Nobody ever outgrows the scriptures," says Charles Spurgeon. "The book widens and deepens with our years."

The word of the day: orthodox.                              Etymologically, the term is made of two units, orthos (signifying right, true, straight) and doxa (meaning opinion). The modern word comes from the Greek verb uniting these two roots to mean 'to have a right/correct opinion'. The negative implication of rigidity, of exclusion of other perspectives, of dismissal of alternative opinions is a much later acquisition!