Saying good bye

 As per our family tradition, our Ganesha immersion is with the Gauri immersion. The divine Mother and son duo are bid farewell together. 

So it was this evening. Well, I do know that it would sound senti-n-mental. Yet I would have to admit that the 'devhara', where the idol was installed, appeared lonesome. Personally for me, for quite some time, as ever, I could not bring myself to look in that direction. 

The feel each year is as if someone very close to one's heart has left home. Yet, come to think of it, does he truly leave at all? Yes, there is the promise that he would be with us next year, the year after that, and so on, ad infinitum.  More than that, he leaves his imprint on us, on our heads, on our minds, on our souls, in our hearts. He does not thus leave at all. He stays, and forever.

While returning from my brother's place, which is at the other end of the city, i felt this truth in yet another way. The whole city was alive, vibrant in a unique way. There were the electrical decorations, dancing and glowing away to glory. Far n wide, there were huge queues to watch the pageants presented. 

There was festivity in the very air. Sure, the loud speakers were not exactly blaring away. The decibel level was low. Yes, there were route diversions n traffic jams. Yes, the food being sold by the roadside may not meet the Mundhe mandates. 

Yet every nook n corner of each narrow lane was unmistakably pulsating with life. There was a togetherness in the slight breeze of the balmy evening. A pleasant feel, however simplistic, crude, unrefined, seemed to assure that the Lord, somehow, stays, never really goes away!

So, oh, yes, the nay-saying Bapat's of the world,  the very much alive community feel cannot be completely wished away, despite difficulties by the dozens!

Pratima@ Which would be the best stotra to bid farewell to Ganesha who stays, and forever.  Yes, a few lines from the great sage Sant Dnyaneshwar. Hope my rough translation does some justice to  the  great original.

In the beginning  of his divine treatise, asserts the great sage, "Om, let me to the Originary Ganesha pray/Thee, whom the Vedas explicate/Thee, aglow from within/Thee, the very selfsame I//Hail, Thee, of the gana's, Thou, the Lord art/Thou dispenseth knowledge to each intellect/Says the disciple of the Nivrutti great/ to this dedication, do listen//

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Kappkottiya Tamizhan

 Which language is it that the title uses? Is that your query? Well, it is Tamil. No, no, it is not to glorify Vijay, the brand new C. M. Rather, we are going to celebrate a Tamil "magan", that is, the "son of Tamilnadu." Almost a century ago, he made P. M. Modiji's 'local to global' dream a reality, and, that, too, in the unlikeliest of fields, then and even now, namely, shipping.

Yes, we are referring to V.O. Radhakrishnan Pillai (5/9/1872  to 18/11/1936). Yes, he shares his birth date with another illustrious Tamilian, S. Radhakrishnan, to honour whose memory, we celebrate the Teachers' Day. 

Thiru Radhakrishnan-ji was no less. He was a businessman, a lawyer, a freedom fighter, but more than that, he was a visionary leader who pioneered self-reliance in shipping as a mode of international transport. In a way, he is the "appa", father, of modern Indian navigation. No wonder, in 1961, a Tamil film was apparently dedicated to his illustrious life. 

In 1906, he founded "Swadeshi Steam Navigation Company" as an answer to the monopoly of the British India Steam Navigation Company. The ships plied from Tuticorin to Colambo, and onwards. 

Sentenced for sedition by the British and clapped with a life imprisonment, this "Tamil helmsman" (yes, that is what the title of our blog today means) proves how rich the lesser known tales from the Indian independence annals are. 

Whenever I have to teach Sarojini Naidu's or Jayanta Mahapatra's or Keki Daruwalla's poems that suggest the glory of the Indian shipping trade in the pre-colonial times, there would be a salute to this radical leader/doer in whose honour is named the Tuticorin Port Trust! 

Pratima@ If Lord Ganesha is to be venerated, one of the best stotra has to be the "aarti" by Sant Ramdas. Here is an attempt to transcreate the first stanza. 

"Thou hast happiness enkindled/Thou hast miseries destroyed/Misfortunes' news Thou allowest not to last/Thou, whose blessings bestow love!/Adorneth Thee the redlead paste, head to toe/ Pearl beads on Thy neck do glow!" 

Soupçon, Fallacy Series, 6.5

 Today let us discuss another informal fallacy. It is known as the 'false dilemma' fallacy, and it is rampant in the private space as well as in the public sphere. It consists of presenting an either/or argument as if there are only two alternatives, while conveniently ignoring the very many middle-ground kind of negotiations. 

Let us begin with an example from the public sphere. The moment a new venture is announced, there emerge interest groups asserting the 'back to nature' motto, either this project or destruction of the enviornment. Well, there do exist very many sustainable development or green alternatives. There can be carbon foot printing, for instance. 

The private space overflows with such a fallacy as it is a subtle n sure tool of emotional manipulation. An example may suffice to clarify the dicey games. A son tells the 'doting' dad, 'you get me this gadget or you are a poor dad', in all the senes of the term 'poor.'  The 'poor' dad, emotionally thus twisted, has to give in because conveniently forgotten/overlooked are umpteen instances of care and concern. 

The worst case scenario of this false dilemma, it would be universally acknowledged, is the disgusting "Darr"  dread, right?

Pratima Agnihotri

Soupçon, Fallacy Series, 6.4

 Whoever wants to lose the crown? None! Well, history as well as literature can provide ample proof to this effect. The current Sangli saga could be an example. We are, however, not referring to that loss. Rather, we are referring to the crowning glory which, for many, makes or mars the look. 

Yes, it is a famous fallacy, alternatively known as the fallacy of the beard or the fallacy of the bald man. When exactly can it be argued that a person is bald and/or clean-shaven, or to the contrary? Highly relative are these concepts as real life encounters of the close variety would tell you. 

Why does such a fallacy arise? First and foremost,  such an imprecision is in-built in language itself. Words and/or concepts are never clear-cut. They always exist on a spectrum. The only exception is absolute antonyms such as dead or alive.

Given the intrinsic imprecision in language, this fallacy maintains that no meaningful difference exists between two extremes, bald/hairy, clean-shaven/bearded, because a precise dividing line does not exist. 

This 'informal' fallacy, rooted in the Sorites paradox explored by the Greek philosopher, Eubulides, is also known as the continuum fallacy. Often, in real life, we meet people who want to eat the cake and keep it, too! Now you know the philosophy behind this "oui et no, peut-être" (the favourite French idiom, 'yes and no, may be') psychology! 

Pratima Agnihotri

The Notion known as Vishwakarma

We live in the AI era. As a technology, the AI is vastly different from the earlier revolutionary changes, be it the Industrial Revolution, the use of electricity, or even the electronic revolution. What these took centuries or decades to transform, the AI is managing in months, nay, days! 

In such radical times, what would the notion called 'Vishwakarma' mean? As per the tradition, this deity of the artisans is the maker of alternative universes. Remember the Indraprastha Palace of the  'Mahabharata' ? Yes, the same mansion where it was difficult to differentiate between the plain surface and the lake as the 'mock' tiles? It was his creation. Be it Indra's 'vajrastra' or Rama's "Pushpak Viman", this master designer of the gods was the maker! 

May be, the Vishwakarma Pujan is a bow in the direction of the barter arrangement of co-existence wherein all the 'smiths', be it the iron, copper, brass or gold as the medium, be it the carpenter, be it the weaver, be it the potter were artisans who exchanged their produce.

How to make what sense of this concept now? Is it as the primacy of skills over mere concepts? Well, skills transform an abstraction in to reality! Skills shape ideas in to concrete constructs. Plato would agree with such an obsession with skills!

Is it also a reminder that  'hard' work is losing ground to 'smart' work as the cliché goes? Yes, in our era of the AI designing, and developing actually, the 3D products, how to understand this primacy of crafts? 

In my opinion, in our truly transformational times, the 'Vishwakarma' concept would mean that 'work is worship'. It is this sense of continuous commitment that no AI can take away, right? Long live the 'vishwa-karma' feel! 

Pratima@ "Ganesha! This whole universe is born of Thee! This entire world abides in Thee! This entire cosmos concludes in Thee! Thou art the Earth, Thou the Air, Thou the Fire, Thou the Water, Thou the infinite Space! "

Forgiveness!

 It is the "michchami dukkadam" time of the year. WhatsApp groups are overflowing with messages to the effect. In a way, it is a lovely practice, seeking forgiveness for the hurts caused to others due to your speech, actions, thoughts, words, deeds, what have you! 

Yes, forgiveness is a great virtue. In my opinion, it is good for one's own peace of mind because each time that tsunami of  injustices reverberates, it is your own psychological horizon that turns topsy-turvy. Hardly worth it! Best forgotten! 

I am not sure though. Any sensitive, sensible, simple, straightforward person finds it extremely difficult to forget or forgive the harm sadistically, consciously caused, knowingly, willfully, viciously, most often by ganging up against an innocent, powerless, lonely victim. To argue otherwise is being hypocritical. 

Why indeed prostrate one's guileless self in front of the egoistic guilty? What is the best solution then? I suppose, it is constantly working on oneself, on becoming better n best by the day, growing up every which way. When one is so creatively committed, injustices consciously heaped pale into insignificance, and one inches for sure toward the fulfilment of each dream nurtured forever. 

As for the sadistic perpetrators, best it is to leave them to the sense of justice by which the very universe breathes. In other words, "michchami dukkadam" is forgiving oneself for being victimised viciously, and never ever to forget that hopeless, helpless contexts were such! The rest, as Shakespeare's King Lear would say, is peace!

Pratima@The try at translation which the great Gajanana is sure to forgive, but never would forget!                                                                          "In the beginning the supplication/To Ganapati, of wisdom infinite ocean!// Shrive Thee me of ignorances multiple/ Bestow brilliance, in acumen make me excel!" 

Soupçon, Fallacy Series - 6.3

 Today let us discuss further why victim blaming happens. At the base of victim shaming lies the subtle attempt to ignore, to overlook the perpetrator(s)' moral and legal responsibility.  The chain snatcher could steal the jewellery because the girl openly wore gold! Acid got thrown at her because she was not submissive, she was bold, she was not at home before 7 p.m. 

At times, small time cheap crooks would want to curry favours with some higher-up, and fan his ego by blaming, and spreading vicious nonsense about the victim. 

Often at bottom lies the 'just world' fallacy which consists of believing that bad happens to bad people, and if you are good, good alone would be your reward. This naive belief suits the perpetrator mafia, and thus continues victim blaming/shaming! 

Pratima Agnihotri