Veer Savarkar and the 1857 "Rebellion"

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. 

The fraternal feel!

 Today is indeed unique. Why? Well, it celebrates a real special bond in our lives. Yes, it is a day dedicated to 'Brothers'! 

Brothers, even when not big the Orwell way, are a presence. Brothers are truly a birthday gift, that is, gratis from the birth-day. Brothers have our back. They save us from many a disaster, given our goofiness. 

They are smarter, ah, yes, much  much more street smart, and thus help us to be grounded. They are the best silent support system, even when it may cost them a brownie point, or two, with you know who. 

That bond, blood bound, keeps on pulsating, silently, like the oxygen that reaches via the thinnest capillaries. It may not be very flashy, it need not at all be showy. In fact, there may be months when you do not even get to meet them.

 Yet there remains an understanding, a knowing that in this big bad world, there would be somebody whose heart would unconditionally wish you well. Thank you, Aai-Papa, for two great gifts that are the refracted reflections, Pratima-s, of my becoming and being! Happy Brothers' Day!

Pratima@ As you grow older/and hopefully wiser/ better you feel emotions tender/thus you know better that forever gift 'brother'!

Quote of the day:                                                     "Born as a brother, borne a brother, no matter the distance, no matter the difference, and no matter the issue.”  Byron Pulsifer would not mind the minor yet meaning wise major changes I made to his quote.

Word of the day: fraternal                                        Fraternal refers to anything relating to brothers, brotherhood, or a close, friendly relationship resembling that of siblings. 

The Tea Therapy

 There are very many people whose day cannot begin without a cup of tea, and then there is no end to the cups guzzled, slurped, drowned down the day. No, it is not exactly addiction. Rather, it is therapy, I suppose. 

Actually, I would not know exactly. I am absolutely a coffee person who does not exactly like the Maharashtrian way of making it, with lots of sugar n milk n cardamom seeds. The "kaapi" version, especially of the decoction variety, has a better wake-up n shine message in my opinion. 

Not that I do not drink tea. I sure do, but occasionally. Oh, yes, I brew a rather nice cuppa either with ginger n lemon grass or with cardamom seeds. My heart, however, belongs to coffee which, too, I drink tops twice (very rarely thrice) a day. 

Yet I do know people who drink tea, the hotter, the better, as if it is an alternative to water which it is not, given the tanin. Yet, yes, it can be granted that making and tasting tea is quite an art, perfected by the Japanese. 

Actually, tea was invented in China where it was a medicinal brew. As for India, even when the British introduced it, it is now totally decolonised, and currently has fancy avataars such lemon tea to the very earthy, very local jaggery tea.

 Each to his taste, but let not a drop go waste (oh, yes, the boiled tea leaves are real good for the rose plant in the terrace garden) should be the motto on the world tea day, actually celebrated every day by those who cherish it! 

Pratima@ Like the tea, the bee, too, is absolute therapy for the very existence of mankind. Bees provide not merely honey or bees wax. Basically, they are the most efficient pollinators, without whom mankind would not survive at all. The real endangered species they are, though not as 'dekko'-rative as the safari tigers! 'Long live the bees' should be the forever motto of every 'bee' day which actually should be each day!

Quote of the day:                                                           "My tastes are simple. I am easily satisfied with the best." This quote, so pithy n perfect, is assigned to Oscar Wilde and Winston S. Churchill, both masters of mesmerizing quotes! 

Word of the day: taste                                                Taste, says the Webster Dictionary, is a sensory and cognitive concept that refers to the biological ability to detect flavors, as well as a person's aesthetic or personal preferences. It bridges both scientific anatomy and cultural preference. 

Elementary, Dear Reader!

  Literature is simply lovely. No two things about it! Literature may be very substantive for very many reasons. One of the most important of these vindications is that literature peoples our wor(l)ds with unique personalities. 

Sherlock Holmes is one such kindred soul for me. So ingrained is his rational, logical, factual mode in me that thus I am often saved from all sorts of impossible abysses, given my rather excessively senti-n-mental soul. 

Yes, Sherlock shapes your vision. He shows you not only how to observe but also how to deduce the root cause, and thus how to be real, with feet firmly fixed on terra firma even when the mind may wander across all the seven seas, and beyond, or even when your head may be in the stars, or beyond. 

Read his tales (stories as well as novels), and a baby detective is unmistakably born in your brain. That forever friend helps you unravel the motives of most all, whether you meet them in the pages of  books or in the high n mightily dangerous lanes of real lived life.

As is always the case with literature, you cannot stop admiring the genius and his art that shaped and immortalised such unique characters. Yes, Arthur Conan Doyle created Sherlock Holmes as a way out of dire straits. True, as you read more and more, you may meet better n smarter avataars of the sleuth figure. Yet Sherlock remains Ho(l)me(s) to our investigative affinities, and forever. Happy Sherlock Holmes Day,  Dear Reader, celebrated each year on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's birth anniversary!

Pratima@ A unique aspect of the Sherlock Holmes persona that I cannot adore enough is the droll, dry, decent but deep sense of humour that pervades the Doyle depiction. Indeed, so wondrous was the creation that readers made Doyle bring him back to life time and again. Incidentally, 2026 marks a special something in the Sherlock saga. More about it when my translation gets published circa Diwali !

Quote of the day:                                                           "Life is infinitely stranger than anything which the mind of man could invent. We would not dare to conceive the things which are really mere commonplaces of existence. If we could fly out of that window hand in hand, hover over this great city, gently remove the roofs, and and peep in at the queer things which are going on, the strange coincidences, the plannings, the cross-purposes, the wonderful chains of events, working through generations, and leading to the most outre results, it would make all fiction with its conventionalities and foreseen conclusions most stale and unprofitable," says Sherlock to his dear friend, Dr.Watson, the namesake of a friend who helped Doyle during his difficult days, the dire straits that led to the makings of Holmes.

Word of the day: Deduce                                            Deduce means to reach a logical conclusion by reasoning from known facts, evidence, or information. 

The End of Innocence

 Every twenty-first, I keep a fast to honour Papa's memory, while every twenty-sixth, Aai's. The death of parents is indeed the death of very many aspects, of a way of life, of all subtle support systems (a brother would sure be there for you, yet he is governed by mighty forces that would have nary a concern for your welfare), in a way, hence, the end of innocence. 

Innocence is a feel that has nothing to do with naivete. Being naive is related to childhood, to young age, in a way. Being naive comes from being inexperienced. Naivete is rooted in ignorance.

Innocence, on the contrary, is the prelapsarian freedom from any guilt, any negativity, from all the bleakness that knowing the world brings in its wake. With parents being there, innocence remains protected, because in your heart of hearts, there is a certainty that there is a haven existent, if n when the world is much too much with us, right? 

May be, the fast kept to honour the parental memory is a resurrection of that feel of prelapsarian security beyond all abandonments! Long live innocence!

Pratima@ The death anniversary of Rajiv Gandhi may prove my point to some extent. In the honeymoon period of his prime ministership, he had that clean, innocent, idealistic charm.  

As he descended deeper and deeper in to that " cesspool" called politicking, so described by his then best buddy, his 'look' changed so much so that  later he looked exactly like a wily 'netaji'!

 Some magazine, I think, "India Today", had even published an entire series of his pics in which finally it was difficult to differentiate him from, say, an Arun Nehru!

Quote of the day:                                                          "The innocent are not stupid. They think that the whole world is just like them, " says Swami Vivekananda. 

Word of the day: prelapsarian                                    Prelapsarian refers to the time or state of humanity before the biblical "Fall of Man", specifically, to the period of innocence and perfection in the Garden of Eden. Metaphorically, it is used to describe any unspoiled, carefree, or innocent period, often before a negative life-changing event.