The Revolutionary Fervour

Each to his own regarding his/her choice of the hero/heroine from the annals of the Indian Independence Struggle. I do admire many, especially those who are beyond the usual list of celebrities. Yet my most favourite patriot amongst all of them continues to be Bhagat Singh. Hence this tribute on his birth anniversary, not much remembered nor celebrated yesterday. 

Just compare him to the GenZ's, or what have you, of today. He sacrificed himself at the altar of the freedom struggle at a much much younger age. He fought an extremely unjust imperialist government reeking of capitalist tendencies. Yet not even once did he utter a single bad cuss word! And here we have the most foul mouthed freaks who are, moreover, justified by the oh-so-intellectuals!

In his early twenties, he was far better read, with a distinct progressive vision, and a clear plan of action full of commitment. Honestly, he never thought through wolfed down food! In fact, his almost forever fast from behind the bars shook the British Empire, and truly energised the nascent national feel.

That does not mean that he was a killjoy. Why, he is not only a scholar, an intellectual, but also a sincere author, and a fervent poet. In fact, he loved to mock most ironically the British 'masters'. Yet never ever was it vulgar nor in bad taste.

Actually, the great leaders of his times were not exactly on his radical revolutionary side. Yet never ever would you find, even in his extensive writing, a single ugly reference to anyone. Instead, his writings reveal an exceptionally well-read person with a very clear vision that cuts across both, class and caste. 

Nor did his parents create a huge hue n cry about his leadership. Equally committed to the freedom struggle was his entire kith n kin. Revolutionary fervour coursed along his veins. His vision was absolutely creative, constructive, and committed.

I adore him so hugely that I can write pages after pages on him. I consider it my great luck that I could read his collected writings for an article in "Kirloskar", while i got to review in "Newstime" the slew of films on him in the Centenary Year. 

Hence this paean in praise of him. Let me conclude it by saying that he read Marxism in depth, and he was acutely aware of the great traditions of our motherland. Yet never ever did he suffer from convenient tunnel vision, mired in this or that ideology. What mattered to him was the welfare of his nation. How I wish he had lived a little longer!

Pratima@ "Revolution did not necessarily involve sanguinary strife. It was not a cult of bomb and pistol." Such was Bhagat Singh's radical vision.

Quote of the day:                                                             "The world will always need revolution. That doesn't mean shooting and violence. A revolution is when you change your thinking." Absolutely, José Mujica!

Idiom of the day: tunnel vision                                  Tunnel vision is the tendency to think about only one part of a problem, plan, situation, etc. without understanding all its aspects

How to celebrate the daughters' day?

 How indeed to celebrate the daughters' day?!? Why do I say so? Well, literally the whole day, the LPU is burning, because of a reported rape. Well, the Jamui incident is hardly a fortnight old. Well, a Bangalore based firm is insisting that it does not want male employees from the erstwhile BIMARU states because they ill-treat women colleagues! 

Yes, individually, daughters dear are pretty (n) successful, and everywhere, from galli to Delhi, why, even in the space. Yet, simultaneously, in the public sphere, they are more and more the target, right? Groping, gossiping, ganging up against them (physically, as well), daughters of powerful families, too, are thus 'object'ified! How hence to celebrate the daughters' day? 

The day would be a success when a daughter performs most lovingly her duties and responsibilities by her aged parents, and her share in the parental property does not end up in the court, right? For the daughters' day to be celebrated meaningfully, a daughter-in-law  behaves like the daughter, and is thus treated, too, right? The day would be meaningful if the AI does not become a tool to gobble up 'her' job opportunities first and foremost, right?

That is, as daughters tread beyond the threshold in to the public arena, if they feel safe, secure and, celebrated, the day would indeed be meaningful. Otherwise, it would continue to be just another occasion for selfie-ops! 

Pratima@ Despite the "blue drum" type of incidents proliferating, the official data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) documents 4,45,256 cases of crimes against women in India in recent baseline reporting, averaging 51 complaints every hour!

Quote of the day:                                                         "Life is tough, my darling, but so are you." Stephanie Bennett-Henry's quote should these days be the ideal message to a daughter.

Word of the day: Daughter!                                      Daughter!Most often, a synonym for a marvellous miracle in a frail form!

A noisy night full of fights!

  At about 2 a. m. this morning, I woke up with a start because in the lane nearby,  some voices were creating a huge noise, a proper ruckus. Some dialogues were clear enough to be deciphered. "Is (not) this the address given?" as if it was a "supari" given to create a racket here! 

Around 2.15, I got a surprise message from a relative who has recently got a job in the U.S. She had written to me after many days, nay months. So I exchanged a few wapp messages with her. All along, I was thinking that the noise would die down, whosoever was screaming would go away.

But, no! Whosoever might have given these people the job  to create a proper noise pollution hereabouts must have forgotten to add that there is a hospital absolutely in the next lane, not even two hundred feet away! Loudest yaking went on. Then I thought it could be some "ganesh mandal." 

But then fights started. Somebody was beating up some Amar (at times, Aman and/or Ajay, not to forget Popya) who was screaming about his mother, et al. That ugly brawl went on and on and on till 3 a. m. 

So I decided to ring up the next door neighbour. Then thought better of it, and wapped her. Apparently, she was not there. How to go out all alone and confront them? The brawls refused to stop, the screaming, the crying, the fracas! They would not tone down their oh-so-important but actually vulgar discussions! 

At about  4.30 a.m., I called up 1091. The person on duty started asking me about the nearest police station! The moment the phone was over, there came a list of police names and numbers assigned to the situation. At 5 a. m , there was a call from the Swargate Police Station. The person on line promised to send someone. Thereafter, that number would not answer any call till 6.20!

By 5.32 a.m., some scooters entered the lane, loudly yelling about the bottle to be shared. Their give n take, peppered with "chudail" and "randi" "old people 'hearing'(some English!)" etc etc etc continued on and on. Very soon started the full scale dolby walls! They played on and on and on at the exact spot as if they were told about the complaint!

In the meanwhile, no help came from the police side, while two-wheelers are constantly screeching their brakes nearby! Our gate is always locked from inside, and I have consciously not cut the thorny branches near the gate. So safety is never the issue. 

Yet creeps can always be a problem. On September 21, a black car with the number plate MH 12 XH 0039 was so parked in front of our gate that opening the gate, getting out would be absolutely impossible! 

Ridiculous crooks who completely lack civic sense but are full of  the conviction that absolutely innocent people would be terrorised! Some hope they sure have! 

Pratima@ Mr. Bapat talks of the dolby walls, of the dhol-tasha pathak's. He forgot such noise pollution, most probably because it has nothing specific to the festival, you see! Complaints, too, are convenient, made not for the citizens, but to suit 'i'deologies! 

Quote of the day:                                                   "Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold/Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,/The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere/The ceremony of innocence is drowned;/The best lack all conviction, while the worst/Are full of passionate intensity." Thus groaned W. B. Years circa the turn of the last century. Sad that some hundred and twenty years later, the contexts refuse to change! 

Term of the day: Noise pollution                              Noise pollution is unwanted or excessive sound that can harm human health, wildlife, and overall environmental quality.                                               An example can be the very very very chatty 'mavashi' who collects the "kachra",  and talks louder than the gong she beats mercilessly.

Why understand the "Mantrapushpanjali" ?

 During the Ganapati festival, and even otherwise, on each and every religious occasion, it is a pleasure to sing (yes, the recitation does sound like a divine song with its slow, lilting, elongated rhythm) in unison the "Mantrapushpanjali"  which begins with "Om yadnyen". 

All the four hymns of this prayer which concludes the "aarti" are  "mantras"  from the "Vedas."  The first stanza  "Om Yadnyen" is from the Rigveda (also accessible from the Atharvveda, too), and pays a tribute to the heights of heaven where dwell the   "Sadhyaas", the Gods, 

The second verse "Om Rajadhirajay" is from the "Taittiriya Aranyaka", and praises Kubera. The third verse "Om Swasti Samrajyam" is from the "Aiterya Brahmna" , and states the wishes of the priest for the Kshatriya host. It describes the perfect king's profile, and is a prayer for his masterful dominion and leadership. 

The fourth verse "Tattapyeshya shloka:" is also from the "Aiterya Brahman", and lists the "Marutyas" who attained the glories post performing the "yadnya". 

The final mesmerising "Om sahnawawtu" section is a Vaidic prayer, often recited, and which apparently concluded the "Deve" recitation from the "Yajurveda."

Sure, the Vaidic Sanskrit is both, difficult and different from the classical version, and one needs to read up many translations to understand the exact meaning, and the origin of the verses that comprise this final recitation after the "aarti". 

What does all such information tell us? For one thing, we get to know how a divine prayer is rooted in the different branches of the "Vedas" to thus reinforce the unity of the " ekam sat, vipra: bahudha vadanti" version, which means that the Truth is one, while there may be different modes to approach/attain/ascertain it. Thus there is a denial of any hierarchisation imposed conveniently in the later epochs. 

The prayer may appear feudal apparently. Actually though, it is a wish for a steady secure existence. It is hence necessary to be understood today, when vested interests are busy playing castes against other castes, tribes and communities! 

Pratima@ It is indeed necessary to explore all such prayers, given the times today when caste politics controls 'dead'-ly (in all senses of this term) sagas! 

Quote of the day:                                                         The quote today is from the "Rigveda"  1.89.1: "Ā no bhadrāḥ kratavo yantu viśvataḥ" which means "Let noble and auspicious thoughts come to us from every side." In other words, here is a prayer asking the cosmos itself for an open, wise, and positive mindset.

The word of the day: Hierarchisation                           It is  the process of arranging items, people, or concepts into a graded series based on importance, status, or priority. 

Soupçon, Fallacy Séries, 6.10

 Another major fallacy of ambiguity is known as amphiboly. It consists of using a grammatically ambiguous sentence to mislead/confuse the audience/reader. 

Standard/well-known examples are "I saw the man with the telescope" or "Visiting relatives can be a headache" or "Flying planes can be dangerous." 

Hence an example of amphiboly as a fallacy can be "The Mayor said, 'Save soap and waste paper." Yet another example can relate to wild life conservation. It reads as "I shot an elephant in the pyjamas " where it could either mean either "I" or the "elephant" was in pyjamas. 

It may sound nonsensical. Absurd poetry as well as advertisements use it often though.

Pratima Agnihotri

Clowning glory!

 What is up with academics? Seems to be proving the much stated truth that the first time, it is tragedy, while the second time, it is comedy! In the present context, it is both pitiable and cringe-worthy. 

Yes, the IIT-B events are truly tragic, what with Sahil's suicide and its after-effects. Well, whatever happened in the Nirma University, Ahmedabad, is no less serious, though the cause is 'comedy'! 

There was this cultural programme going on, it seems. As is almost compulsory these days, there was a stand-up comedian present as well. Yet he was, happily, and for a change, was not the source of the unsavoury incident that followed! 

Well, Dr. H.K. Patel, Head, Department of Electronics n Communication, was delivering his speech. Suddenly, there was a catcall from the audience. It was a student repeating the "Golmal" dialogue, "Jaldi bol, subah Panvel niklana hai"! 

Professor Saab did not exactly like the dialogue, and he cannot be faulted for that either. He called the concerned student up the stage, and gave him left right center, and not merely a piece of his mind, it seems

Honestly, where does fun end? Where does conscious affront begin? Why insult a senior professor in such a manner? If the professor were to let it go, he and the teacher community would be mocked more, and further, though there should not have been a physical scuffle.

True, teachers should be friendly. Why does that, however, mean that students should be foolish enough to render the teachers open to public ridicule?  Teachers' duty is to teach the most relevant material the best possible  way. Teaching, in brief, is not clowning glory!

Pratima@ This is hardly a matter over which to play politics. The student should tender a public apology, just as the Head should promise that he would not get in to physical scuffles. Hardly worth it, right?

Quote of the day:                                                            "A teacher’s job is to take a bunch of live wires and see that they are well-grounded." Agreed, Darwin D. Martin

Word of the day: respect                                           Respect is a positive feeling or polite action shown toward someone or something important, serious, or valuable.

Soupçon, Fallacy Séries, 6.9

 Let us understand fallacies of ambiguity. Such fallacies occur because a statement can be (mis)understood in multiple ways. 

Let us begin with simple but quite famous examples of ambiguity. "I saw her duck" can mean "her duck" (a bird) or her "slip away" (an activity of stealthily going away). Another example of such vagueness can be "The fisherman went to the bank" where "bank" can relate either to a river or a financial institution. 

The well-known fallacy of equivocation is built on such multiple meanings. Let us look at an example of such a logical fallacy wherein a single word/phrase has multiple meanings throughout the argument. 

For example: Premise 1: Flowers are light (not heavy). Premise 2: Light ( colour wise) things cannot be dark. Conclusion: Flowers cannot be dark. 

Advertisers use such fallacious statements most effectively.

Pratima Agnihotri