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.

An exquisite drink : A truly Indian soft drink

 There is a rather quirky joke doing the rounds of the wapp groups. "When it is cold beer, it is summer. If whiskey is offered, it means the rainy days, and if rum is on the rocks, it has to be winter."

Well, as an absolute teetotaller, I would not know the truth of this assertion. Yet just look around, and if you see the neera shoppies in every nook n corner, you can safely draw the conclusion that summer is here to stay.

Neera is indeed an exquisite drink. It is divinely cool. Absolutely quenches your thirst in a few sips, and the remaining swigs of this real soft (in all senses of the term) drink can be savoured, instead of gulping it down. 

How is neera made? Neera (also spelled Nira) is not actually made from a fruit, but is a sweet, nutrient-rich sap tapped from the immature flower clusters (inflorescence) of various palm trees. 

It has a unique taste. It is sweet, a mix of sugar cane juice and tender coconut water. It is an absolute health drink whose benefits literally cannot be counted. It saves the body from kidney infections, tooth decay, and many other high profile diseases due to a faulty lifestyle. Specially good for expectant mothers, it is equally helpful for children and senior citizens, too. 

No wonder, come summer, I am forever on the look-out for a neera shop, nectar nearby this planet of ours where most all truths and honesties are mostly mocked! 

Pratima@ The only problem is that if it is not kept cool, it ferments, and then it is nothing but "desi daru", the " local liqueur." Aai hence often insisted that it must be drunk before noon. 

Quote of the day:                                                       "Nothing I have ever drunk has ever tasted like this before: rich and cool and perfectly happy in my mouth." Neil Gaiman would excuse me the minor changes I have made to his quote. 

Word of the day: savour                                          Savour (or savor) means to enjoy food, drink, or an experience, slowly and completely, relishing every moment of the taste. 

May Day is unique!

 In the nautical dialect, which my shippie brother, Raju, knows in thorough detail,  "may day" has a particular meaning. Sure, he would correct me immediately, and point out that it is written as "mayday". Yes, it is a distress call, and it may be pointed out that it could be an off-shoot of the French "m'aider", French for 'help me.'

Yet I would like to play on the word, and insist that 'May Day' is 'mayday' or 'm'aider' in other multiple ways. Why/how so? Let me see if I can explain. May 1 is indeed special. On this day, in the Northern hemisphere alais the Western World (to use the parlance everybody would immediately cotton on to), is celebrated the spring festival. 

As the beginning of the summer festival, which is truly pleasant there, this ancient ritual celebrates fertility, exactly the same way many of our harvest festivals do. Often, there is a dancing around a maypole, and  a "May Queen", too, gets crowned! Remember the famous "sawan ke zule" hereabouts? 

Yes, it is the international labour day, and given the upstart AI currently claiming the white collar jobs (very soon, with robotics, it would manage to gobble up the blue collar jobs, too), this day needs to be taken utmost seriously. The AI, alais Revolution 5.0 or whatever, IS vastly different from the earlier technological interventions affecting the socio-economic realities, and no better than today to open up the dressing-up of this ever festering issue!

Yes, of course, I AM extremely proud of the fact that it is the Maharashtra Day. They say, what Bengal thinks today, the rest of India thinks, may be, a week later. Let me tell you, what Maharashtra thinks, feels, most importantly, does today, the rest of the world has to reverberate, and ASAP! Remember how Barry Sternlicht got an absolute earful for hinting that Monsieur Mamdani would make a Mumbai of New York?  Yes, Maharashtra was, is, and will be Number One. Here is a confident and proud Happy Maharashtra Day!

Pratima@ Want proof why I am so cheering up my region? No, it is no empty parochialism. Just go n have a look at the 'missing link' project inaugurated today! I, too, am raring to travel that way. Hope the occasion would soon emerge.

Quote of the day:                                                        Jared Loto's assertion, "the bridge between reality and dreams is work" is apt for most of all associations of this May Day.

Word of the day: unparalleled                                   Unparalleled is an adjective which refers to a person or an achievement/opportunity that  simply is exceptional, has no equal, is matchless, or is  greater than any other, thus highlighting superior quality, scope, or rarity. 

Soupçon II.v

Dancing to (he)art's content

 Dance is a unique art. True, I am no good at it. I can dance only to the Marathi children's song "nach re, mora" which was taught to us during the school days or  tops, i might emote "ya kundendu..." dedicated to Devi Saraswati or the Ganesh Stuti "vakra tunda", though not very effectively or efficiently. Ah, yes, like everybody else, i, too, would be able to manage the "ganapati mandal" special 'kite flying/cutting' step! 

Just because I dance with a lame foot, it does not mean that I do not appreciate the art form. For one thing, I am rather well-acquainted with the "Natyashastra" which I have studied formally. I do hence understand the intricacies of the entire "Ras" theory, and how dance conveys it.

I do appreciate this art which is a combo of the kinetic, aural/oral and spatial, along woth others, intelligences. It is a unique mix of the literary, musical, and gestural (both bodily and facial) art forms. 

It is hence that on the international dance day (sure, a day later), this tribute to this unique art form! Its western ballet form, a treat to eyes and ears, is responsible for instituting the international dance day! Yes, in 1982, the Dance Committee of ITI founded International Dance Day to be celebrated every year on April 29, the birthday anniversary of Jean-Georges Noverre (1727-1810) the creator of modern ballet.

May be, because I respect the art a lot (my newspaper reviews on various dance forms, including the folk 'yaksha gana' or an interview with the Kathak maestro, Sitara Devi or write-up's on the Bharat Natyam expert, Shobhana, were appreciated by the danseuses themselves!), i do have doubts about the cheapening and dumbing down of this art form.

This process includes a Gautami Patil or lavani guru's of her ilk or very young girls gyrating to the vulgarest songs on different channels or the millions of season specific dance classes such as garba special or the marriage sangeet special types run by thousands of dancers!

 Hardly, however, are there any attempts to modernize the traditional modes to reflect contemporary issues or to use dance as therapy, for instance. Is it indeed dancing to (he)art's content? That is the question! 

Pratima@ Pune never ceases to surprise me. On this auspicious day of Nrisimha Jayanti, I got to know lovely details about the beautiful, centuries old Narsimha temple in the heart of Sadashiv Peth. I have promised myself that, at the earliest, I shall try n visit this holy and artistic space! 

Quote of the day:                                                           "Dancing is like dreaming with your feet," says Constanze.

Word of the day: gyrate                                              Gyrate means to move or turn quickly in a circle or spiral around a fixed point, often referring to dancing through such body movements/motions as spinning, twisting, or circling.

Soupçon II.iv

Soupçon II.iii

                     Soupçon II.iii                                    The Public Sphere until the Enlightenment  

As we travel from the  Antiquity towards the modern times, one of the most interesting examples of an intellectual in the public sphere is the "Renaissance Man". Leonardo da Vinci (painter, sculptor, inventor) or Michelangelo (painter, sculptor, inventor) or Sir Philip Sidney (poet, critic, scholar, courtier, soldier) can be intellectual/creative giants who strode various fields masterfully.

The Enlightenment grants a clearly socio-political edge to the concept. Let us look at three major thinkers to understand it in some detail. 

Who wrote that in the state of nature, the  "life of man (is) solitary, poor nasty, brutish and short"?  1) John Locke 2) Francis Bacon 3) Michel de Montaigne 4) Thomas Hobbes. The correct answer is Thomas Hobbes's "Léviathan" (I. xiii). Hobbes argued for a strong central authority to avoid constant conflict and to maintain peace. 

Who introduced the concept of 'natural rights' such as "life, liberty, right to property"?  a) French philosphes 2) Voltaire 3) Diderot 4)John Locke. It was Locke who first asserted that the government must protect such natural rights. 

 Jean-Jacques Rousseau, the outsider against the establishment, sealed the concept of the 'social contract'. It legitimised the voluntary agreement among citizens who disapproved of the monarchical power granted by divine law, and instead as individual chose to surrender certain individual freedoms so as to gain a government protection of rights.

The Enlightenment, leading to the French Revolution (May 5, 1781) and the American Declaration of Independance (1776), becomes the major plinth of the public space celebrating democracy, individual rights and people's sovereignty. 

Next let us look at the wor(l)ds of 'salons' and the rise of the print culture and their contribution to the notion of the public space. Oh, yes, it is better to look at a concept in some detail rather than determine it the weekly way. So Soupçon II, and all the following versions, would continue beyond the weekend in to the next week, if necessary.

Pratima Agnihotri                                                        Pune