The Unmistakable Bhakti Feel

  No, I have not forgotten Tagore. How can a student cum teacher of literature ever forget Tagore? To Indian English literature, he got glory. His early twentieth century win of the Nobel for literature gained visibility for Indian Writing in English. 

Yes, I do know that those in the know feel that his own translation of  the original Bengali Geetanjali in to English is no match to/no patch on the Bengali version. I would not know. My broken Bengali is a product of watching any number of Bengali films. As for "jana gana mana", it is absolutely Sanskritised.

Better not to get in to language debacles, eh, debates. Bitter as it is they are on Bambaiya roads! Instead, let us look at Poem No. XIII from 'The Geetanjali'. The speaker in the poem is describing a mystical feel. 

It describes an eager wait. It is intense yet undefined. The welcome song is ever ready, but yet not sung. Either the accompanying musical instrument is not strung properly or the word order is not set right. 

The agony of the wait, however, is so passionate that it sears the heart. To capture it, Tagore uses the image of an unopened bud around whom the breeze, nay, the wind is sighing by. 

Who is this visitor? Unknown he is, unseen he is, unheard he is. The speaker is just aware only of the gentle footfall in the lane near the home.  The speaker's 'lifelong' day gets spent readying the seat for this much awaited visitor. Yet the lamp is yet to be lit, and as yet are not ready the words of the invite. 

Read the poem without any reference to the poet's name. Does not it sound like any and every Meera Bhajan? Or a "vachan" by Akka Mahadevi? My favourite most Sant Dyandeva's 'virani' ( songs of separation) sound like this poem of acute awaiting. In the Bengali tradition, Jayadeva's "Geet Govindam" has any number of 'padam' expressing an eager, passionate wait. 

Hence my humble submission that unmistakable is the feel of the Bhakti tradition of the Middle Ages in Tagore's  "Geetanjali."  The unstated yet acutely felt intense love for the beloved becomes a metaphor for the devotee's stung soul striving for the divine. May be, this spiritual signification gives "Geetanjali" the glory it 'nobly' deserves. 

Pratima@ Now I am going to be horribly prosaic. Yesterday, I was rushing to reach on time to Raju's place. Suddenly in our backyard, I heard footsteps, some activity. 

A thief in the middle of the morning? No, it was the next door neighbour who just jumped in. No permission, no decency. Simply horrible. The whole day, the whole family lingers near our front yard, coughing, spitting, shitting and pissing and pissing (given the simply horrible smell, nay, stench.)

 They are literally peeping in to the open door, listening to every word while I teach online. They truly need to be taught a lesson. Forever, they are loooooudly yaking away. Why was not that unofficial visit thus declared? How about the decency to inform, to ask for permission? 

That is the reason I am wary about the backyard. Earlier, there used to be a proper fence which was absolutely flattened by the construction activities of the peaceful community building a high rise not even hundred feet away. I requested the owner at least hundreds of times to lift the rubble both sides. At least I can build a proper protective wall, right? To no avail! 

May be, certain people do not understand decency, gentleness, non-interference. I am thinking of alternatives which would din sense in to dumb heads! 

Quote of the day@ Tit for tat!                                   How to extend the tit for tat tactics without dirtying one's own soul? That is the question! Fighting with a pig is no use. One gets dirty, while the pig, anyways, loves the wallowing in the muck! 

Word of the day: swine                                             A swine is a pig , a big fat old nasty hog with short legs, thick bodies, and they eat just about anything. If someone acts like a pig, best to simply call such 'swine'! 

Her Special Day

 Should a day be dedicated to Mother? Or to Father? Well, why? Parents never ever expect a show of love and gratitude. In fact, they would be downright embarassed at the public exhibition. Yet I do feel the need to celebrate both the days, however token-ish they may appear. 

But for my mother, this blog, to begin with, would not be there. Yes, it began on May 9, 2021, the first Mother's Day without her, and I promised myself that it would be forever till I am there. Like her love. 

Yes, Aai is like oxygen. Life begins with her, life sustains due to her. So simple, so unbelievably straightforward is her only wish, her child's happiness. 

I would not be senti in a dishonest way. Yes, it is not compulsory that she likes everything we do. Her love, however, has the infinite forgiveness of  God for the devotee, of mother earth for her forever erring children. 

I consider myself one of the luckiest persons on this earth because I could in a way complete the circle. That is to say, during her last months, I bathed her, cleaned her, combed her hair, fed her, helped her to go off to sleep, and with utmost devotion and love. Just the way she did once for her baby girl. 

2020 March to March, 2021. Covid  was at its worst, the Mukund Nagar quarantine was real bad. Yet I could try my best to make her as comfortable as was human(e)ly possible.

In a way, those tough but enjoyable days, initially she would not understand how I could be teaching online, though later on she used to be more attentive than my online students, taught me that motherhood is a feel. The period strengthened my belief that being motherly is not merely a physical fact. It indeed is a soul n sole solace. 

I do know that wherever she is, she would be her contented calm happy self. Yes, life has gone on. Days begin, nights end. Everything is fine, just as she would have always wished it to be. Yet, every day, there are moments that belong to her, to her memory that forever haunts this home, her home, their togetherness! Yes, life is where Aai is! 

Pratima@ As children, the three of us are exceptionally lucky because our father had a mother's heart, too! 

Quote of the day:                                                        "When you are looking at your mother, you are looking at the purest love you will ever know." Touché, Charley Benetto! 

Word of the day: Aai. 

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! 

Soupçon II.vii.b

                       Soupçon II.vii.b                            Feminist Response to the Public Sphere 

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.