The Best Destination

 Recently was celebrated the world tourism day. What is so very special about it? Is not it celebrated every year? Are these your questions? Well, look at the theme statement this year. Invasion of the AI, it proves yet again. 

The official theme of the 'Tourism Day 2026' is “Digital Agenda and Artificial Intelligence to Redesign Tourism.” Its key focus area is integrating the AI in to the travel experience! It explores how artificial intelligence and digital tools shape travel, planning, and visitor experiences. No wonder "smart destination management", that is, using data to manage crowds, ease communication, and support sustainable practices is the sub-theme! 

Well, the sub-theme could be the need of the industry.  But why should the AI shape the individual experience? To an extent, yes, because sitting at home, through the AI, you can travel beyond the space, too! Yet why should the technology decide destinations, eh? 

Which is the best destination? I would say that it is absolutely subjective and truly individual oriented. At times, it could be a quiet weekend back in the fields that once belonged to your grandpa, but which you sold off to buy that swanky flat in the city.

At times, it could be spent in the diminishing- by-the-decade light with which the fireflies illuminate the forest. A weekend at a fort soaked in the rains and sailed off the monsoon winds can energise. Listening to the deep rumble of the ocean prefarably on a full moon day can calm all the tension tempests, right? 

Why, and how, should the AI determine the destination(s)? If such an invasion by the ever increasing AI influence is allowed, the already swollen- beyond-tolerance touristy destinations would plain crumble, collapse, nay, literally cave in.

Let me give you an example. Kedarnath can be the ultimate dream destination, even if you are an atheist, believe me. The very aura of that space is unique. If the AI starts promoting it, the chaotic crowds, already beyond control, would be such that the mythical Nal and Neel mountains would hasten to meet fast and block the entry entirely.

On October 2!

 October 2 is unique because the whole nation tends to remember two distinguished individuals who have contributed to the Indian identity in unique ways. 

Let us begin with Lal Bahadur Shastriji. Sure his very motto underlines two special classes absolutely necessary for India, and especially in the contemporary times when sustainabilities of all sorts are under threat. 

He was, moreover, a powerhouse of probity, integrity and sincerity. If he were not martyred in Moscow under suspicious circumstances, the very history of India would have been different.

As for Gandhiji, I like him more for his writings, whether as an autobiographer or as a journalist or as an essayist. One tends to find gems therein which truly are illuminating. 

Yes, currently there are multiple debates and discussions regarding his political positionings. Well, the least that can be said is what I strongly believe in; namely, contexts define individuals. In hindsight, it is always easy to castigate or praise an individual out of proportion. May be, that is THE lesson October 2 has to offer! 

Pratima@Equally important it is to note that neither hagiography nor hatchet jobs help us understand an individual. No person can be fully agree-able (in every sense of this term). Undoubtedly, there would be principles, quotes, actions that can be questioned, opened up, debated whether the person concerned is someone whom we vilify and/or consecrate. Yes, that is what October 2 should teach us. 

Quote of the day:                                                           "Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth." Yes, indeed, Marcus Aurelius!

Word of the day: hagiography                                   A hagiography is a biography of a saint or a leader that praises its subject in an idealized, glowing way without critical skepticism. 

The World Translation Day

 Does translation matter? For sure, it does. Why, during and beyond the colonial era, the Maxmuller (and others of his ilk) translations made-n-marred  the ancient Indian identity. That central to existence translations are! 

Yes, errors of/in translations could create havoc, both seriously, and crazily. All of us know the jokes about the Russian translation of the Biblical injunction as "meat is less, but vodka is enough" or the German giving "Gift", that is, poison, killing the lasvicious senior of a German junior. 

Yes, linguistic diversity matters hugely. Yet the historical hierarchisation in this field has been rendered null n void due to the recent technologies such as the AI translators which are quite right and enough for the STEM areas. 

Anyways, most translations published and sold these days are of the "DIY" variety, even when it comes to the much maligned Humanities ever since the III-B issue erupted. As for literature, who cares anyway? In a world where the attention span is byte sized and copy-pasting influencers of the AI variety rule the roost, who is going to read hundreds of pages? 

Ah, there is another variety of translation, that is, medium wise. There are the audio books that translate tomes in to listen-able versions. Of course, who can how forget the film versions of books which mostly ruin the original. Remember the anecdote of the ass who preferred to chew the book to a reel? 

Well, when the real goes the reel way, translation is hardly transcreation. Rather, it is a mere business proposal, right!?!

Pratima@ Yet there are authors and translators true to their inner calling, and that saves the (translation) day.

Quote of the day:                                                              "Writers make national literature, while translators make universal literature.” José Saramago thus glorifies translation. No wonder, there are efforts in India to translate from and in to the very many Indian language. 

Word of the day: Transliteration                                  Transliteration is the process of writing words from one alphabet or writing system into another based on phonetic similarity (as is typically tried @ WhatsApp), preserving how the words sound rather than what they mean.

Yeh heart mange...

 On this day, just a day after the World Heart Day, let us talk a little about how not to hurt a heart. No, no, no, please do not worry that our blog would be full of homilies about how to heal a hurt heart, et al. 

Well, to begin with, I am not exactly sure whether in the "I, me, my" era, most people would bother about others! Apna timepass har kisi ka, apne apne hidden agende har kisi ke, hai na!?!? So let us not get in to such ugly slush, because in the process, we would get dirty in the wallowing which they anyway love! 

Instead, on this occasion, let us look at how we could avoid hurting our hearts, the art of healthy heart, in brief. The first basic, very simple, funda, folks, is drinking enough water. Yes, for the heart, and for the brain, to function properly, we should drink some eight glasses per day.  Otherwise, it seems, it is difficult for the heart to pump back the impure blood from the lower extremities. 

Next, do exercise, but not in excess. In the burning yearning to look fab, do not cycle away on the trademill for hours on end so much so that the lower extremities, that is, the feet ache, would not move, and you have to collapse in a chair. Any exercise, be it jogging, walking, swimming, trade-milling, which tires you out in the end, you better be wary about it.

Last but not the least, never ever compare, contrast, compete constantly with others. So called successes reach there after many (literal) heart-burns known to them alone. Let me give you an example. There was this student of mine from the S.P. College. I helped her with the IELTS. Now she is settled abroad (luckily, no constant Trump threats there!), but that was after three years of continuous, conscious and crippling efforts.  Most (im)migrants lead middle class lives there, however much glitter they may show off here. 

In brief, yeh heart mange a happy feel, a heart-y contentment, and a healthy lifestyle more!

Pratima@ The medical fraternity, too, is worried that the heart related dis-eases are getting younger (that is, the targets these days are in their early thirties!). Hence our blog post!

Quote of the day:                                                          Give your heart a head start!

Word of the day: sleep.                                              Sleep tight for your head n heart to be bright!

Let us understand ...

 Since we are in the fallacy land, let us understand two basic notions, deduction and induction, which help us understand, and hence express, better. Induction, as the famous example proves, consists of a specific premise ( Socrates is human), a general premise (All humans are mortal) and a conclusion based on these (So Socrates is mortal).

 Deduction has nothing to do either with maths or tax. It is a process in which we  argue through  facts that we already know. An example may help. "All the novels are fictionalised autobiographies of their authors. 'Finnegans Wake' is a novel by James Joyce. 'Finnegans Wake' is Joyce's autobiography'.

While writing a specimen essay that might open the academic portals abroad (actually, they depend on your ability to cough up fat tuition fees, right?), our entire discussion of fallacies might help.

Pratima Agnihotri

Debonair Dev and Principled Prima Donna

 Yesterday it was the birth anniversary of THE Lata Mangeshkar, while on September 26, it was the birth annivesary of the forever Dapper Dev Anand. Lovely memories mushroom in our minds the moment we think of these movers n shakers (because both changed the existing paradigms) of a bygone era that was the golden age of Hindi cinema. 

What can we say of Lataji's voice? Do read the lovely tribute P. K. Atre, one of the most acerbic satirists ever in Marathi, paid to that marvellous magic called Lata's voice. She is indeed the prima donna who was/is/will be the lead melody of measureless moments in countless lives.

Personally, I tremendously respect her for being a principled artist. To begin with, in THOSE days which were absolutely patriarchal, here was this chit of a girl who stood her ground. Life must have been truly tough. Yet she never gave in. 

It is due to her staunch stand that singers get any royalty at all. During that particular period, literally the whole establishment was against her, and yet she never compromised, and thence every singer, whatever be the quality of voice, has benefited, both in terms of recognition, and monetary benefits.

Why, she would not budge an inch, when she was ill-treated, be it by S.D.Burman or Mohammad Rafi, for instance. She was once insulted in Hyderabad. It took some thirty years for assauging that hurt. 

Well, talent, rampant even otherwise, is god's gift. The way you respect that inborn treasure is what makes you a genius. I do not exactly believe the stories about her snuffing out others' careers, basically because Bollywood is such a bazzar. They would not bother about her if she were not useful to them. In such an ugly wor(l)d, she stands uncompromised! Salute!

Like Lataji, Dev Anand, too, was was unique. He was the Gary Cooper of the Golden era of Hindi films. A look-alike, he absolutely personifies that 'modern' charm, so distinct from the rustic roughness of a 'Leader' Dilip Kumar or the 'tramp' Raj Kapoor.

Personally, I highly respect him, yet again for being different. Why, right in the beginning of his career, he enacted extremely gray characters in films his friend, Guru Dutt, directed. In those days which could not imagine a live-in with a married woman, he did not mind being a Raju Guide! And, yes, till the end of his life, he was busy making movies, though, may be, without realising that the mode had moved on.

In brief, both these greats prove that life lived acoording to certain values and principles, makes it worthwhile. Hence this tribute on the occasion of their birth anniversaries!

Pratima@ Principled legends make magic!

Quote of the day:                                                          "When given an opportunity, deliver excellence and never quit," reasons Robert Rodriguez.

Word of the day: principle                                         A principle means a  rule for good behaviour, based on what a person believes is right.

 

A quickie of a summary!

 We have so far looked at the informal fallacies. These can be divided in to three major groups. The first type is informal fallacies of relevance wherein the premises of the argument are logically  irrelevant. Hence they depend on distortions, attitudes and feelings which are rationally unexamined. Straw man, red herring, ad hominem belong to this type. 

The second group, which we analysed last Thursday/Friday, consists of fallacies due to ambiguity which result due to vague signification, given the multiple meanings of words and loose grammatical constructions. 

The third type is the informal fallacies of presumption which arises because of insufficient and/or defective data. Begging the question, slippery slope, for instance, are the dilemmas we thus explored.

Pratima Agnihotri