The Pandharpur Puja

 Shesh-shayani Ashadhi Ekadashi is a ritual very close to most  Marathi hearts. The formal government puja very early  this morning is a beautiful, kind and devoted ritual. 

Caring for One's Own Self

 Often a guilt trip is what many ride. Why is it so? That is because life long they are blamed for not caring enough for others, and instead prioritising self care.

Sure you should not ignore the welfare of others, especially those absolutely dependent on you, be it kid or the parent(s). It is the primal duty, to be performed most pleasantly, and with love.

Equally important it is to care for your own self. Such self care is not selfishness. If and only if you respect yourself truly, you can care for others, right?

Self care consists of a healthy body, a sensible mind full of sensitivity, an intelligent brain, a heart full of kindness, and a soul charged with imagination, integrity and contentment 

Currently, there are very many avenues available so as to acquire such a balanced selfhood. Mindfulness, with some sense of discipline and control over self, is the best route to follow during such a search for peaq\ce and contentment. 

Sure, currently, mindfulness is weaponised in to a billion-building bullying business which one follows to avoid mind games. Yet, we better remember, it is only when our mind is happy, fulfilled and quiet that we enter in to meaningful relationship with others, with the world, and with the self. Hence self help is indeed the best help!

Pratima@ In this self help week, time it is to initiate some hobby. Equally important it is to be financially absolutely independent. Oh, yes, better to remember that Satan prefers an idle mind!

Quote of the day:                                                            "Self-care is how you take your power back." Says Lalah Delia. 

Word of the day: Self-care                                                Self-care means taking active steps to protect your physical health, mental well-being, and emotional balance which arrives through physical rest, healthy eating, and setting clear personal boundaries.

Soupçon III.v

                             Soupçon III                                                        In Memoriam Series.                                                           III.v

The Second Book of "Gulliver's Travels" deals with the 'Voyage to Brobdingnag.' It consists of eight chapter as well. Let us at first summarise it in some detail so that we can understand better the irony and the satire Swift employs in this part of the novel. 

The PI Pathos

 On the day dedicated to "pi" (π), a mathematical constant representing the ratio of any circle's circumference to its diameter, which is approximately 3.14159, let me talk of the pathos of Pi. 

Yes, I am referring to Yann Martel's magnificent n moving novel "Life of Pi." The main character of this 2001 deep text (yes, it deals with themes as deep as the high seas which it traverses), Pi Patel, has to lead an unbelievable life cum journey.

After a shipwreck, he survives some two hundred and twenty seven days, stranded on a lifeboat in the Pacific Ocean n with a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker as the frenemy. 

Generally, I am not very keen on watching movies based on books. Most often, such movies murder the magic that is a literary text, be it a play or a novel. Yet I sure would like to watch Ang Lee's 2012 film based on this novel.

Especially it is the end that I am truly interested in. In the novel, after a journey that can shame with its adventures the mythological "Odyssey",  when they finally reach the shore, Richard Parker just vanishes in to the forest without even a single glance back at Pi, lying prostrate n desolate in the sand.

In our life, we often meet many such Richard Parker's who vanish in to the distant horizon for no rhyme no reason. It is this pathos of Pi, far more grievous and dangerous than the mathematical 'pi' that terrorised our school days, which needs extensive exploration deeper than the 'Challenger Deep' in the 'Mariana Trench', right?

Pratima@ On the lighter side, in Marathi, Mr. Tiger is the nephew of Ms Kitty. Tougher to decide who between these two mysteries would be more self-centered, right?

Quote of the day:                                                               "I wept like a child... because Richard Parker had left me so unceremoniously. I still cannot understand how he could abandon me so unceremoniously, without any sort of goodbye, without looking back even once. That pain is like an axe that chops at my heart." Thus laments pathetically  Pi Patel. 

Word of the day: Bengal tiger                                       The Bengal tiger, one of the most endangered species, is famous for its striking orange coat and unique black stripes, its immense size and strength as an apex predator, and its vital role as a cultural icon and the national animal of India. 

Soupçon III. iv

                           Soupçon III                                                        In Memoriam Series.                                                           III.iv

"Gulliver's Travels" is a novel consisting of four parts. Part I, "A Voyage to Lilliput", consists of eight chapters. We shall summarise it in some detail, and try to understand the irony and the satire Swift employs in this part of the novel. 

Soupçon III. iii

                             Soupçon III                                                        In Memoriam Series.                                                           III.iii

Yesterday we looked at two basic narrative modes within which the novel operates; namely, travelogue and fantasy. The novel, though now considered a children's book, is essentially a great satire. 

Though his "The Journal to Stella" reveals his warmth and gentleness, Swift indeed is known as a great satirist as is proven by his famous "A Modest Proposal" which mocks both, the wealthy and the religious establishment because both are heartlessly indifferent to the plight of the poor in Ireland, Swift's motherland.

In his "Verses on the Death of Dr. Swift", he maintains, "Yet malice never was his aim;/He lashed the vice, but spared the name." Further, he states, "His satire points at no defect,/But what all mortals may correct." In other words, his satire does not deride an individual, rather shows up the British and European vices. In Part IV, he renders ridiculous the very human race, and so much so that his critique is often considered misanthropic. 

The satire in "Gulliver's Travels" is 'formal satire' of the 'Juvenalian' mode. It has unmistakable elements of the 'indirect satire' in the 'Menippean' mode as well. Tomorrow we shall summarise the novel, and continue to analyse the satirical elements accordingly. 

Pratima Agnihotri

A Week for the weak!!!

 Sixty is indeed a cross-over, whichever may be the field. In the field of education, much contested currently, if you manage sixty and/or above, the whole family releases a sigh of relief, even in the AI-era. 

Most interesting, however, is the "sixty n sixty-plus" phase of your life because you are literally dying to eternally extend wor(l)ds of wisdom, alias "advice", to others, while the whole world is hell-bent on advising you! 

Cough or sneeze a little, and the crowd, hardly five or six years younger to you, starts a wheeze about lung and heart health. Remedies, prefarably of the harmless(?!?) Ayurvedic variety, rattle glibly off every tongue, while it is you who has to swallow that bitter concoction.

Curious is the case with the doctors. Mention any ache, and a battalion of tests starts chasing you with the vigour of a posse of police on a hot trail of the worst ever gangster. Of course, after all is done and tested, your gerontologist is sure to convince you that "all is well!" 

Life indeed is great fun because the whole jingbang is dead set on proving you weak, while you never felt stronger in your whole life, right? So, hey, all of you who have crossed the threshold which officially nominated you as "senior citizens", in this week dedicated to you, never ever feel weak-ened. After all, you have now nothing to lose but life!

Pratima@ Let anybody and everybody be in a tearing hurry to send you back to pavilion retired, never ever stop enjoying every nano second tirelessly n every which way. There is no knowing now which might be the last breath, right?

Quote of the day:                                                            Said Henry Ford, "Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty."

Word of the day: senior citizen                                 This Indianism refers to any person who has attained the age of sixty years or above. Better tax benefits await you if you manage to live n be super seniors!