The Flute

 Being able to play a musical instrument is real special. Comparatively, singing is easier. Why do I say so? Well, when it comes to singing, you have to control your own breath, your own voice, your own enunciation, right?

When it comes to playing a musical instrument, it is a duet, but with an inanimate object to which you are giving a voice, deep feelings and a soul. It is indeed a very creative activity because in the process, you are individuating the instrument, right?

My brother, Pinaki, whom most of us call Sanju, plays the flute. The flute most suits my definition above because as a wind instrument, you are literally pouring breath, and thus, life, in to it. The flute comes alive with your breath. 

The flute is thus the very extension of you, literally the soul of the soul. No wonder, Lord Krishna made it his trademark  instrument. Apparently, when he used to play his flute, the whole sentient world would be mesmerised so much so that a tiger would not terrorise the fawn sitting right next, listening attentively to the divine (in all senses of the term) notes. 

As the flute is thus mellifluity itself, no wonder, Radha used to be jealous of it! Personally, I cannot understand how such negativities as jealousy, malice and all the other similar types, can be associated with the divinity, and that, too, in Bhakti poetry!!! 

Of course, my awareness of the religious literature is pretty limited. Yet I do believe that major saints such as Dyandev or Sant Eknath never assign such anthropomorphism to the godhead. Mostly, it is the folk tradition that gets in such associations, I think, though, of course, I stand corrected by the knowledgeable.

 In the meanwhile, let me absolutely agree with John Keats' assertion, 'heard melodies are sweet.' Indeed, because they sensitise us to those unheard, the spirit ditties of the soul.

Pratima@ I have listened to the fabulous flute by some the best masters. I am hence reasonably proud of the fact my brother plays that heavenly instrument, and rather well.

Quote of the day:                                                          "Life is like a flute. It may have many holes and emptinesses. If you work on it carefully though, it can create magical melodies." 

Word of the day: mellifluous                                     Mellifluous is an adjective that describes something sweetly or smoothly flowing. It is most commonly used to characterize a voice, sound, or piece of music that is pleasing, musical, and incredibly smooth to listen to. Etymologically, the word comes from Latin roots which literally mean 'like honey flowing.'

Woman, thy name is...

  Remember Hamlet berating his mother's behaviour? " Frailty, thy name is woman," is how he dismisses womankind. In the play, with the ghost constantly egging him on for "revenge", such negative destruction of Gertrude's 'i'dentity may appear plausible. 

Allow me to say that in real life, it is exactly the other way round. Woman, thy name is integrity, reliability, and strength! But then you are a constant 'mole in the eye' of certain people.

Often such 'beam in thine own eyes' variety of people have a field day, especially if you are non-aggressive because then you do not appear a threat to them. You do not have any nuisance value. They know, moreover, that you would not even belong to their, or,  for that matter, any other mafia. 

Utter any syllable, and voilà! They would be tongs, hammers and scissors, and with every other weapon accessible, at you! Better to give you concrete examples, right? 

Suppose, you are in good health. You take reasonably good care of your well-being. You are a fresh entrant in to the "senior citizen" category. All fine so far? Express any desire, wish, hope, and there would be these men, nay, not only men, but especially women, of the 'pointing fingers at you' type, who think that it is their bounden duty to oppose it. The typical strategy is ageism!

No, it is NOT concern. You can see (the hidden from the whole  world behind the "oh-I-mean-well" facade) the conscious wink, the uncontrollable smirk, the subtle nastiness that is overflowing unmistakably. Such 'snake in the grass' people, women especially, are hypocrisy, viciousness and nastiness incarnate. Their greatest asset is pretending to be straightforward so that they can hide behind the curtain of 'truthful talk' which is always intense criticism of you so as to overcome their own very many inferiority complexes.

They, moreover, are ambitiousness personified. They have a constant desire to prove to the whole world that they are THE super-woman. They have to manage some very minor success, and there would be a clarion call! Their very many cheap 'groupee'-s, too, consider it a god-given duty to praise them sky high.

Such are hyper competitive, and can go to the meanest possible level to ruin you, to sabotage your life and career, to spread around you a web of conscious wickedest propaganda.  For no fault of you, you are their eternal target.

How to deal with them? First and foremost, never ever say anything at all. They are thus non-plussed. Next, stay as far away from them as is possible. Do not, moreover, respond, react, reply. Remember, their tear glands are conveniently over-active, and they are excellent at garnering superficial  sympathy!

Silently, in brief, continue your slow, steady but sure progress in the direction of self- betterment. Remember always, "woman, thy middle name is self-reflexivity, resilience, and fortitude"!

Pratima@ Such are amusingly double-faced. Proper Janus! They would dismiss, nay, trash someone's deep grief. The next moment, or, tops a few minutes later, they would be all consolation, commiseration, care  for that very person!

Quote of the day:                                                        "A (wo)man may smile and smile, and be a villain' says Hamlet to mean 'a person can appear friendly, warm, and kind, while actually hiding malicious, deceitful, downright dangerous intentions.'

Word of the day: ageism                                           Ageism refers to stereotyping, prejudices, or discriminations against individuals based on their age. Ageism is never ever positive in tone.

The Spectator Syndrome

 I am sure that you, too, have noticed the  "have a mobile, will shoot" phenomenon. It was okay so long as it related to the selfie craze which, too, has often led to most damaging consequences. Sure, one felt utmost pity for the survivors of such fools whose daredevilry during the selfie-time led to disastrous consequences. 

The other half of the "my mobile, my sho(o)t" mania, however, is indeed incredulous. Have you realised that a majority of the population is forever filming via the mobile something or the other? One could say, "well, his forefathers must have left him a huge fortune to thus splurge!" Actually, it is never ever so. All such characters are submerged in debts. 

That apart, you could say that at least the data pack serving companies must be very happy that such creatures repeatedly buy their stuff whose rates are actually getting steeper by the re-charge! 'All is thus well, why are you grumbling?' Is that your question? 

Well, my submission, humble but heavily horrified, is that such constant reel making is desensitising the 'janta'! Let me give you an example or two to prove my point. An accident takes place. Mobiles are fast busy shooting! Instead of helping the victims, instead of calling the police or an emergency ambulance, they SHOOT reels! 

These days, if a woman is riding a two-wheeler, whether or not as a pillion rider makes no difference, there are any number of creeps humiliating her by putting their paws under her floating tee! Any number of onlookers would 'shoot' such a scene instead of confronting the culprit!

What must they be doing with so many reels on the road? Sure their mobile must have a huge storage capacity! Yet what exactly is achieved by shooting some sight, extremely ugly or gory?

The next objection that I am putting forth is truly worrisome in my opinion. Due to such heartless, senseless, soulless shooting, people merely shoot-n-store. They never feel the rawness of the moment. Such dehumanised desensitisation is the real issue.

 A person who can calmly watch-n-shoot a dying person is a psychopath! Absolute danger to self and the society! The misfortune today is that so huge is the number of such 'citizens' that one feels like saying, 'Lord, save them, but not their data, because they perfectly very well know what they are shooting, eh, doing!"

Pratima@ Why is the spectator syndrome so worrisome? Let me quote Martin Niemoller, a  German priest cum holocaust survivor.                 He writes, "First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out, because I was not a Socialist.                                                              Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out, because I was not a Trade Unionist.                                                              Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out, because I was not a Jew.                                                                                                     Then they came for me, and there was no one left to speak for me."

Quote of the day:                                                         "In life be a participant, not a spectator," asserts Lou Holtz. 

Word of the day: spectator syndrome                       The idea of “spectator syndrome” generally refers to the psychological habit of scrolling, observing, or standing by instead of actively participating in life. 

The Ticking Population Bomb

 Not so very long away, the Indian population was supposed to be a world saviour! The demographic dividend was the cause. In comparison with most other countries, the Indian population was young, which means that the percentage of the earning population was higher, and dependants were fewer in comparison. 

Subtly, however, a change was unmistakable. Slowly but surely, in the beginning of the millenium itself, the graying polpulation was growing, given the better life expectancy. By the second decade of the twenty first century, this shift in the population statistics was unmistakable. 

In the third decade of this century, however, yet another shift in the population paradigm is glaring at us in the face. The reproduction rate of India is already 2.1. This percentage, moreover, is noteworthy both in the urban as well as the rural area. In fact, in certain states, it is even below 2.

Why is this change worrisome? That is because within a decade, there would be more dependents, and fewer with the earning potential. As it is, given the AI strides, the world over, white collar jobs are shrinking. With dual advances in the field of robotics and the AI, the reduction in the blue collar jobs, too, is imminent. Given such facts, who would feed whom, and how? That is the question!

Pratima@ It may not be oh-so-very- politically-correct to say so.But numbers never lie! It is the Hindu population that is reducing much faster. Given the shimmering tensions already surfacing in all types of "jihad's", this change is worrisome, too!

Quote of the day:                                                          Says Jacques-Yves Cousteau, "Population growth is the major source of environmental degradation." 

Word of the day: life expectancy                                 Life expectancy is a statistical measure indicating the average number of years a person is expected to live, based on the year of birth, current age, and other demographic factors like gender. It assumes that the mortality patterns of a specific population  remain constant over time. 

Veer Savarkar and the 1857 "Rebellion"

 I am a student of literature. Words hence make worlds for me. That is to say, I do not begin my analysis from the ideological premises, however popular such an approach may be. 

It is but natural hence that I have tried umpteen times to establish that Savarkar changed our way of looking at reality through his usage of language. In this light, let us look at his much maligned  "applications" to the ruling Britishers.

 My opinion has always been that such a florid, heavy usage was the done thing then, when it came to writing to the highest authorities. You cannot take a text or its author out of the immediate context. Sure, if he were to be alive today, he himself would have found all such "application" cum letters by all the late leaders then absolutely fulsome! 

In fact, Savarkar has donated many original, unique words to our mother tongue. Will write some other time about the words he contributed to Marathi. Right now, let us look at the title of his 1909 book. The very wording is a tribute to his deep, intellectual and directional patriotism. 

This 1909 book looks at the 1857 uprising against the British. The colonial attitude to it is reflected in the nomenclature attributed to it. The British dismissed it as "Sepoy Mutiny" or "Sepoy Revolt." In his seminal book, Savarkar trashes such a reductionist approach. 

The very title of his analysis is "The Indian Independence War of 1857" which adds a unique gravitas to the events. Savarkar establishes, moreover, that the battlefield of this war was not narrow as the Britishers believed. On the contrary, it was vastly widespread. 

Peasants, landlords, citizens, too, participated in it. Savarkar, in fact, argues that some princely states were privy to it. The goal was unique, too. It was a rejection of the British reforms as a dressing of-n-over the wound of being a colony. It was hence the plinth of the events that led to the actual independence in 1947.

This book, which in my opinion is truly motivational in the history of our freedomq struggle, was but obviously a thorn in the sides for the Britishers. They promptly banned it. This oppression made hardly any difference as private copies kept on circulating, and thereby adding to the feel of resistance. No wonder, in my opinion, Savarkar IS a pioneer figure! 

Pratima@ During the 1857 Independence War, "bhakari"s were used ingeniously as a mode of  forwarding uniquely the messages. This fact should prove how closely the common man was attached the independence struggle. Hence my argument that Savarkar's novel nomenclature added uniquely to the contemporaneous Independence struggle.

Quote of the day:                                                          "Independence is never given," says Savarkar. "It is always taken." 

Word of the day: nomenclature                                Nomenclate is a science oriented system of naming things. 

Melodi

 Language is a very co-operative, creative, constructive phenomenon. Forever ready it is to concoct new words to re(de)fine realities newly encountered. Blending is an often used linguistic process to coin such new words. 

"Melodi" is one such blended word, the current rage in India. It is an outrageous concoction of Melo(ni) + (Mo)di. It was cooked up because the Indian P. M. gave the Italian P. M. a packet full of "melody", a chocolate filled caramel coated toffee. 

Now there are ways to look at this incident. There is the 'high' way followed by the Opposition. Concocted are awful pics of both the leaders coupled with downright ugly messages.  Come on, why  reveal your dirty mind? She is half his age, happily married, with kids past the toffee eating stage. 

Honestly, I am ashamed of the immature response to the incident because it shows up the 'Indian' mentality to the whole world. Let me hence put forth my analysis. Madame Meloni, too, belongs to the Right-Centrist kind of politics. There, hence, is a political affinity between the two.

The current world scenario is such that unfortunately all the bi/tri/multi-lateral relationships are actually unilateral. That is to say, each country looks at events only from its own perspective. In such a volatile context, with conflicts simmering in very many directions, friends, if any, are literally a boon. 

Hence the camaraderie. Actually, that entire foreign tour, obviously pre-planned, of the UAE and the Nordic/European nations was for very many contracts n deals that could address the future needs of India. 

Now the Italian mo(ve)ment (she was also showing some long distance monument) was just a warm-up gesture before the serious talks began. It could also be positively looked at as propping up a local brand globally. 

Well, "melody", that famous caramel-and-chocolate candy is manufactured by the Mumbai-based FMCG company, Parle Products.  Like the Bengali  "jhal muri", the toffee thus got a great toss-up. Actually, quite some business deal in its own way, right? 

We should thank our collective stars that neither Ambani nor Adani makes/sells the "melody" toffee. Just imagine what would have been the chaos, if it were so!

Now, I sure would be accused of being an "andh bhakt" which, surely, I am absolutely not. To prove it, let me provide a unique perspective. Was the gift-n-guffaw a mock at you-know-who? Indeed, one can imagine the rile the Congress must suffer due to the Italian intimacy up on show!

In brief, I refuse to be a Modi-hater or a Modi-baiter, quite an epidemic hereabouts. A visceral hatred for the sake of hatred blinds a citizen's perspective is my opinion. Hence my refusal to prove to the whole world that Indians are so obsessed with the ancient "Kam Sutra" that nothing, no word, no laugh, no hug, remains innocent! Spare me the dirty mind, please! 

Pratima@ Women, even in high positions, even on the world stage, even when the contexts clearly are asexual, have to looked at as sexual objects!?! Patriarchal mindset seems to be lasting longer than even the cockroach, supposedly surviving an atom bomb! 

Quote of the day:                                                        "Reality is just a point of view", says Philip K. Dick, while Richard Rohr argues, "every viewpoint is a point from a view." 

Word of the day: mindset                                          A mindset is an established set of beliefs, attitudes, and mental habits that shape how you interpret the world, view yourself, and react to situations. It acts as an internal lens, guiding your thoughts, behaviours, and choices. 

Melody Incarnate

 Remember the intense request that captured Seeta's determination to accompany Rama in to the forest? Yes, I am referring to the soulful "nirop kasla maza gheta?/Jethe Raghaw, tethe Seeta." Sure, the touching simplicity nestled in the poet's, GaDiMa's, words. The melody, however, was not only Sudhir Phadke's, because the sweet, gentle voice that enlivened his notes and GaDiMa's words was Manik Varma's! 

All of us who have some training, quite basic for sure, in singing, have let loose our vocal chords on her "amrutachi godi tuzya bhajanat" and "amruta huni god nam tuze", even otherwise the staples of Pune Akashwani, where you could hear these simple sweet lovelies at least twice a day, right? Remember "ektari gate geet" or "Kabirache winto shele"?

Yes, the sweet simplicity of Manik Varma's gentle bhakti geet, bhava geet, natya geet appears effortless. Actually, hers was a hugely trained voice. She was Hirabai Barodekar's disciple. In a way, it is as good as saying that she was a direct descendant of the Kirana Gharana. No wonder, she was melody incarnate. From the Agra Gharana inputs, her "thumri" attained an additional poignancy, right?

Given her stalwart contribution, it is such a surprise that her centenary on May 16 went almost unnoticed. May be, her daughters and disciples like Asha Khadilkar might be planning a worthy tribute to this accomplished artist who excelled in-n-at her womanly duties as well.

Basically, however, such careless yet conscious neglect is precisely the plight of the genuine these days. In the AI-infested wor(l)ds today, indeed it is difficult to decipher the truth from the trash, the real from the false, the genuine from the fake(d)!

 You have to be very good at advertising from the roof top, nay, these days, from every WhatsApp or any such other countless platforms your non-existent talent, and you can rule every t.v. show on each channel, while the insta/FB are yours to conquer!

Does it matter though? The loyal listener hardly cares for the showmanship, just as she never did. Her melodious notes have enriched our listening, and will continue to enthral us!

Pratima @ Much worse is the  literary wor(l)d. With rampant (self-) publishing possibilities, given the internet, every pen pusher, key presser actually, considers himself/herself the greatest gift to mankind! 

Yet those in the know do not care for a Gautami Patil, for instance. They would rather listen to Sulochanatai Chavan who sang the raunchiest lavani's, yet neither her face nor her eyes nor her body reflected the vulgar gestures, the sexy "ada"!

Quote of the day:                                                          "Humility is not thinking less of yourself. It is thinking of yourself less," argues C.S. Lewis.

Word of the day: unassuming                                  Being unassuming means being modest, quiet, and unpretentious. It describes someone who does not draw attention to himself/herself, does not act arrogantly, or try to appear more important or flashy than (s)he actually is.