A day to remember!

 Some days are born great, while some days are made great. Shakespeare would sure laugh off indulgently my take on his "Twelfth Night" (II.v) quote. May 8 was one such day for me. Let me explain why. 

Yes, I do adore nature. As a result, watching documentaries that reveal various aspects of nature is one of my hobbies. When it comes to such docu-statements, who better than the GOAT in this field, Sir David Attenborough, right? 

May 8, 2026 was his hundredth birthday. In his centenary year, what except huge respect for this giant who literally made the whole world, in the air, on the terra firma, and under water, accessible to us! Like Jane Goodall, he was a friend of the human(e) forefather with whom he shared such great shots that most all would forget the monkey business! 

In my personal opinion, I do strongly feel that he is the Darwin of the twentieth century! In his "Beagle", Darwin travelled to literally everywhere, and we understood the origin of the species. Sir David Attenborough made that entire treatise come alive for us, right? 

As a mark of respect for the centenarian, I watched a few of his documentaries which, anyways, make you yet again fall in love with the varied beauty and vivacity of life on earth, in air, and under water! 

The curiosity one always feels about such documentaries is about the crew. Honestly, one of my ardent wishes is to spend a summer holiday with the team of either "Discovery"  or "National Geographic". Thus may be fulfilled yet another of my dreams, yes, holding a lion cub, playing with a lion cub. An hour would do, too!!! 

Well, why I am talking of all this what may appear as sheer nonsense to many is because I watched a YouTube video in which Sir David Attenborough's crew behind the camera talks about him. The video proved that his gentleness towards animals is just an extension of his kindness towards people, and vice versa. May he live strong and healthy, and enrich our lives with a few more of his finds around the world! 

Pratima@ The evening of May 8 was still better. I got my colleague's, Dr. Gokhale Madam's, message that Shantanu, her son, a dental surgeon with the Mangeshkar Hospital, and an absolutely accomplished santoor player would be performing in a programme in Tilak Smarak Mandir. 

There was no chance whatsoever that I would miss such a golden opportunity. Within an hour of getting Ma'am's message, voilà, I was there, and was it a great, superb, simply fabulous evening! 

Shantanu began with a folk tune that celebrated the unique sound patterns of Jammu-Kashmir, from whence hails his guru, Pandit Shivkumar Sharma. 

Next, he presented masterfully medleys dedicated to Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle and O. P. Nayyar. Further, his renditions of the gems from the golden era of the Hindi film music were simply superb. Fabulous was his tribute to the R. D. Burman-Kishore Kumar-Rajesh Khanna trio. Be it the nineties' or the recent most songs, his santoor made many amongst the audience in to amateur singers! 

The final classical raag was the ultimate crescendo of a perfect evening. The raag he chose was not a typical one. Yet his performance  was such that one would not have minded a full-fledged hour-long exploration by him. 

What was simply marvellous about the fabulous performance was that he was himself intensely n immensely enjoying playing the difficult santoor as much as his audience appreciated his brilliant rendition. 

Equally wonderful was the fact that he was constantly co-ordinating sensitively with, was cheerfully responding to, happily encouraging his co-artists. As a result, the mehfil had an enrichingly melodious effect that is sure to linger long in his audience's memory. Indeed i cannot thank Gokhale Madam enough for the invite! 

Quote of the day:                                                          Yesterday was destined to be a unique day! 

Word of the day: rendition                                     Rendition is a particular performance, interpretation, or version of a song, piece of music, or artistic work. 

THE Summer Vacation

 The summer vacation is the bestest time in a child's life, right? The final exam results are through once and for all. Everyone has accepted them willy-nilly. No other exam is looming large on the horizon. The school threat is a month away. 

Wake up late, eat heaps of mangoes in all shapes and varieties, as slices, as 'aamras', as mango shake, as home-made ice-cream, and so on, and so on. Read very many story books, get pampered silly by parents, enjoy all sorts of excursions. Life was simply fun. 

I suppose, ours was the last generation who thus enjoyed the vacation for the sake of vacation. Now there are any number of summer special batches. Parents eagerly register the kids' names in all such camps, and the punishing schedule is much worse than the school time itself.

May be, I am wrong, but I do think that both the mind and body of a kid needs a break, just sheer lazying around, living life to heart's content, simple joys, nothing much to prove, right? Hope such summer vacations would return, and soon. 

The summer times of going to grandma's place, getting indulged there beyond wor(l)ds, beyond the typical discipline of gentle parents, playing with cousins, life would be simply great!

Pratima@ Remember the 'great' learning to swim? Simply getting thrown down the deep well? The whip (sp)lash of cold water! And then the tadpole swimming! Life was, well, LIFE! 

Quote of the day:                                                         "Memories of childhood were the dreams that stayed with you after you woke," says Julian Barnes

Word of the day:                                                          Summer vacation, and all is said!

Fair? Just?

 Venue: Thiruvananthapuram in Keralam.      Occasion: The newly elected MLA's meet. The mood is understandably upbeat and jubilant. The Kollam MLA, Ms Bindu Krishna, is the target of this attack. A very senior Congress Leader, Cherian Philip, ignores the hand she offers. 

Instead he tries for a tight hug and embrace, throws his arm around her neck and back. She is highly uncomfortable. That is but natural. On the basis of this awkward and highly embarassing faux-pas (which, I am sure, Dr. Shashi Tharoor, whom I highly respect, must have frowned upon), did anyone ask for the resignation of the LOP, the Congress Party top leader, Rahul Gandhi? 

Yes, the argument could have been: if a woman MLA is not safe in the party headquarters, which woman is safe in the public sphere, etc etc etc! 

Now compare the situation to what is happening in and around Pune. Absolutely sick and pervert behaviour. Such elderly relatives (?????) are wolves in sheep's clothing. They need to be punished. 

Why drag Pune reputation in to such heinous crimes? Much worse, however 'smart' politically it may be, why demand for the resignation of the Chief Minister cum Home Minister? Why drag ugly politics in to an already horrible context? 

Videos after videos show that the traffic jam near Navale Bridge due to the unfortunate and ugly incident in Narsapur was the handiwork of a particular political party during whose reign much worse events claiming many innocent lives took place. Neither the C.M. nor the H. M. (State or Central) resigned then, right? 

Undeniably, all such incidents are inhuman(e). The culprits must be heavily punished, and FAST. Yet there is a procedure to it, and the C.M., who cannot possibly control the weird perversions in every old fellow, some of whom had earlier committed such crimes repeatedly, cannot be dragged in to mean politicking over such awful occurrences. Anyways, the Badlapur encounter was horrible, too! Significantly, the Narsapur citizens, even when they caught the culprit almost on the spot, did not take law in to their hands, right?

Anyways, legal deterences alone are hardly ever helpful. There is a need to find socio-ethical solutions. May be, in ghettoes, old drunkards should be given some physical labour kind of work. May be, the company CSR funds could thus be utilised. There could be creches for the children of zopadpatti working women so that children's safety is ensured. 

In brief, it is hardly fair to attack the CM cum HM for a psycho-social evil. The police cannot, and must not, control every intent behind every 'touch' in each house. Instead, women's groups, the NSS volunters can sensitise using the CSR funds, right? 

Wrong it is equally to take law in to hands. Remember the Hyderabad rape case? Such horrors are also due to simply ugly material being cheaply (in all senses of the term) available online. May be, such online sites and the free flow of liqueur could be controlled. There ARE very many positive solutions available. Hardly fair to target the CM cum HM out of political malice!!! 

Pratima@ The "Last Traffic Jam"  on the Express Way was unfortunate. Do not we, however, travel with lots of eats and water bottles, especially when we are travelling with children? Every conscientious mother thinks ahead of all possible eventualities, and stacks against them for the sake of her kid(s). 

Out of consumerist laziness ( I shall throw money and get everything and anything at beck and call, I shall take a selfie anywhere I want to because I have an expensive mobile) one cannot blame the CM for every possible lacunae, however small or big. During the Chardham Yatra, for instance, breakfasts and water bottles used to be packed ready, even if we had to leave at 5.30 a.m., and even when everyone on the tour was approaching forty at least!

Quote of the day:                                                   "Hypocrites are those," asserts Noam Chomsky, " who apply to others the standards they refuse to accept for themselves.”

Word of the day: Discriminatory.                             Discriminatory means unfairly treating one person or a group of people worse than others.

N.B. :                                                                                Horrible it was to interview, for the sake of the TRP, the victims' parents or the criminal's wife and son. Decency should matter above all! 

Laughter is the best!

 Why this title? Is that your question? Yes, on the first Sunday of May (this year on May 3) is celebrated the World Laughter Day. Most significantly, it is instituted by an Indian, Dr. Madan Kataria. 

Yes, laughter IS indeed the best medicine. Yet this laughter is slightly different though. Across India, there are these morning laughter yoga clubs, mostly attended by senior citizens. These gatherings take place mostly in gardens. 

The faith is that even an artificially contrived laughter and a happy face thus are good for health. There are very many types of such laughters, and these are consciously imitated to have a positive impact on health.  The World Laughter Day is to propagate health this way, and across the world. 

An admirable goal! Personally, though, I am extremely wary of artificial laughter. In my opinion, laughter must bloom from within, and must be reflected in the eyes. Lips that curl in to a smile, while eyes are dead (with disgust or an other emotion) is in my opinion sheer wastage. As many people, as many opinions though!

In the dis-eased world today, laughter of any type, genuine or artificial, is indeed worthy. So, even if, our blog talks of the world laughter day a little late, no harm. Throw back your head in perfect glee, and laugh out loud!

Pratima@ It is not exactly a bad idea to join one such laughter yoga club. A morning walk, some facial exercise, better inhaling thus cannot harm for sure!

Quote of the day:                                                            "A smile is the best make up any girl coud wear," asserted Marilyn Monroe.

Word of the day: guffaw                                           A guffaw is a loud, boisterous, and hearty burst of laughter, often triggered by something stupid, ridiculous, or genuinely humorous.

 

Minding Marx

 Currently, the world over, there are echo chambers in abundance. You can 'belong' if and only if you make the right noises which that particular group loves to listen to. Even if you were to deviate by an inch/iota, the entire gang is sure to harrangue/hassle/harass you like a pack of hyenas. 

This tendency is much worse and more markedly (pre)dominant in/amongst the so-called intellectuals. So drunk are these mafioso on their forever being the correct, the right, the  'i-deal' voice(s) that nuanced self-reflexivity which doubts any monolithic formats would not dare to be anywhere near their shadow(s), so absolutely convinced they are of they alone being sincere, authentic, progressive, blah, blah, blah ad infinitum!

Do not you believe me?  Okay, just try saying that we should re-look at 'Manusmriti' as a product of its times. A beehive would blush at the attack that would follow. 'Scholars' who have not touched the text with a barge pole, 'activists' who are most often hypocritically interested in furthering their own, at the most, their gang's, welfare and agenda would reduce you to persona non grata, and in a jiffy! 

So, you have to be either pro Palestine, or you are a retrograde traditionalist conservative! Iran may shield the worst terrorists. If you were to bring this fact in to the debate, all the atom bombs in the whole world would be directed at you! 

No better is the other side! Currently, in India, for example, thinking of Marx is a crime. NO, I am NOT a Marxist! Nothing in the whole world would induce me to be one!! NO, I am not an Urban Naxalite either!!! Believe me, such would not like any truck with me!

Yet, YES, for sure, I do think that Marx is a poet of the radically transformative change. Do not you believe me? Okay, actually read his stuff, his writings on literature, for instance. Well, not interested in such theory? Read his "Manifesto". It is a poem of progress. 

Oh, yes, Marx always thinks in and through metaphors. He was a minor litterature, though he majored in philosophy, political economy, and sociology. In our so-called interdisciplinary etc, etc, etc era,  we conveniently forget how thoughtfully we could critique wor(l)ds through his paradigms. 

Just as it is stupid to criticise the never-read "Manusmriti" by quoting  some one-liner out of context, it is equally ludicrous to talk and talk and talk about the "religion as opiate" in a de-contextualised way.

No, the so-called disciples' crimes cannot vitiate a thinker. A Stalin or a Mao, I can go on listing names endlessly, cannot tarnish a way of thinking which Marx himself would not mind being opened up, being questioned, being critiqued! Hence this tribute to Marx on the day of his birth anniversary!

Pratima@ We have nothing to lose but the shackles of our silly-silly prejudices if we keep an open mind! Beyond partisanship, there exists a sphere where genuine conscientious aware wor(l)ds await us!

Quote of the day:                                                           "If partisanship makes us abandon intellectual honesty... we become mere political short-sellers, hoping for bad news because it's good for our ideological investment," asserts Kurt Andersen.

Word of the day: partisan                                          Partisan means showing excessive support for one person, group or idea, especially without considering it carefully and/or critically.

The Bengal Win

 Election results are always electrifying. Like the thunder and lightening before a sudden summer shower, they change the very feel. However much predicted, via psephology or otherwise, there always is a sense of throbbing tension, of anticipation, of surprise. 

The election results of the five state assemblies this summer were almost foregone conclusions, yet there were twists such as the surprise Tamilnadu sprang. Hence there is always a lesson or two to learn in every election season. 

In 2025, i, too, travelled from 'Gangotri to Gangasagar'. Every second of that journey is a forever imprint on my mind. Yes, I do vividly remember the drive from Kolkata railway station to Gangasagar, and back. The taxi fellow was what I would call the 'chota bhadralok'. 

What I mean is that the young man was  an extremely aware person. He cared for his state's progressive image. He knew his gracious behaviour would matter in creating the "amar shonar Bangla" effect.

 He was politically extremely voluble, had defined opinions he could discuss intelligently, the typical cultured person one typically associates with Bengal, the 'bhadralok'. I call him "chota" because he came from the lower middle class, unlike the richie-rich zamindar bhadralok. 

His opinions were quite some crystal gazing for the Bengal mood,  best reflected in the aware  middle class/upper middle class anger at the GOAT Messi fiasco at the Salt Lake stadium. Equally palpable was the frustration felt at the unmistakable illegal immigration, nay, invasion. No wonder, the election result in Bengal was as obvious as the Assam or the Baramati win!

Praiseworthy are the efficient efforts of the election commission machinery who had the most uneviable duty, what with record break voter turnout, not to forget the usual Opposition allegations. The BJP as usual worked very hard, and systematically, for its victory. The party played its cards most astutely. What was lost in the women's reservation bill debates on the floor of the parliament was thousand fold retrieved during the election result counting! Talk of a twist in the tale! 

Pratima@ I absolutely admire the stamina and the dedication of both, Modiji as well Dr.Tharoor. Both tirelessly combed the respective constituencies in the blazing heat, even when both are in their mid-seventies. Admirable commitment!

Both of them are clearly highly respected in their respective constituencies, albeit the thunderous response his rallies received in all the five states would mean that, for Modiji, the whole of India seems to be a constituency! Most significantly, this time round, Modiji, dressed the Bengali way for the victory speech, did  never ever, not even once, mention "Didi, oh, Didi" in his speeches. Wonderful learning from faux-pas!

Quote of the day:                                                        "Victory is always possible for a person who refuses to stop trying, " says Napoleon Hill.

Word of the day: bhadralok                                    Bhadralok (Bengali for "gentlefolk") is a social class in Bengal, emerging during the British rule (the nineteenth century) as an educated, upper-caste, and elite Bengali community, marked by both wealth as well as cultural, intellectual, and refined behavioral standards. 

Nota Bene:                                                                   Despite open attacks by Madhu Kishwar, and her spoofs with proof as she insisted, nothing shifted, altered, changed in Modiji's popularity! Perceptions once formed, never ever waver! 

A transcendental date indeed!

 Remember "Narayan, Narayan" intoned in a certain way to the tune of the veena? Yes, in the "maha" episodes of the much liked mythologicals on the single channel television of the eighties, this character enjoyed a love-hate relationship with the spectators. 

Yes, Maharishi Narada whom the serials reduced in to a comic tell-tale villain was actually never so. Not only was he a great sage, but he was also highly knowledgeable and wise. Why, he invented the veena! A great singer and artist, he was the divine messenger, too, whose advice led to unique events such as the 'Shiv-Parvati Vivah', for instance 

In fact, May 2, supposed to be "Narad Jayanti", is hence celebrated as the 'journalism day', dedicated to honest journalism. True, in our post-truth era marked by narratives, journalism is most often reduced to opinionated partial (in every sense of this word) truth, nay, falsehoods. No wonder, like the teaching community, once revered to no end, journalists, too, were highly honoured. I do know rather very well the respect for both these vocations. 

Message was medium, and vice versa, as Marshall McLuhan would say. The divine Narada would be the ideal deity for that tribe. Unfortunately, currently, like most all everything, journalism, too, has mostly reached the nadir in its partisanship. Truth is lost in the opinionated cacophony, just like pop raps drown great tunes celebrating superb poetry! 

Pratima@Great souls are born on May 2. Yes, the date marks the birth anniversary of Vasantrao Deshpande, one of the best music doyens whose unique renditions enriched classical music as well as Marathi "natya geet" and "bhava geet". His " main patiyan likh bheju" entice our ears as much as his  "surat piya ki" or "tejo nidhi loh gol". His "datuni kanth yeto" is so touching that many modern brides may not mind their costly eye make-up thus getting washed out in the torrent of tears. 

Quote of the day:                                                        "Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, light to the soul, and life to everything," asserts Plato.

Word of the day: Transcend                                     Transcend means go further than the usual limits of something.