Special!

 Special is this day. The very nature seems to be celebrating it. Even in the urban area, you can hear the nature's musician heralding it. Yes, it is the koel singing. Why, the fragrance of the mangoes ripening is unmistakable. No smell of the war infested petrol/diesel/gas can obstruct it.

The spring is in the very air! Indeed! Whether, or not, you want to "be Indian, become Indian" the currently hip way which frowns on the January 1 celebrations, Padwa pulls you in to its naturally vibrant magic. 

It is a festival of all the five senses. It satiates all of them to the fill. Look at the sense of taste, for instance. The customary neem chutney, the very first eat of the auspicious day, mixes in every possible taste, bitter, pungent, salty, sweet, sour, and so on. Thus begins the tasteful day  (and the new year on a healthy note) to satiate our taste buds with the Padwa special amrkhand (a unique mix of the shrikhand and the season special mangoes) or juicy gulab jamuns, not to forget the veggie rich pulaw. This beginning of the new year is the ultimate! Proves time and again that never late is no new beginning!

How can you ever forget the sugar gathi that decorate the special pooja full of all that is purest, earnest and fragrant? No wonder, just as the Gregorian New Year matters, this samvatsar special beginning, auspiciously inaugurates the happy feel of a new beginning. 

Pratima@This Padwa, March 19, is also Aai's birth anniversary. Adds a unique affection filled feel to a full day, to be spent as much as possible in the company of my brothers, as per Aai's loving wishes! 

Quote of the day:                                                        "No matter how hard the past, you can always begin anew," says Gautam Budhdha.

Word of the day: Outset                                           Outset refers to the very beginning, the first stage. 

On the Eve of the New Year

 Yes, on March 19 is the Padwa this year. Hence 18/3 is the last day of last year. The lost year, in a way! Why? Well, roughly from March, 2025 to today, there has been a march past of very many unhappy events, right? 

Why repeat them? As it is, the on-going war has vitiated the ambience enough! Why add to it a few more sighs, right? Instead, let us list a few positivities possibly!

Yesterday, for instance, I heard the Chief Minister say that the Agri Uni is experimenting on, and managed to create and test,  seeds that can withstand the crazy climate changes in the era of environmental deterioration the world over. 

Similarly, there was this news that the Pune MP would host an exhibition of the 'desi', native brand of cows. Of course, despite the hurtful comments below this announcement, it is heartening to know that local animals, local trees are prioritised. In such a change are rooted real answers to environmental stability. 

The 'Flame of the Forest', for instance, is very beautiful. Unlike the native brand of trees, however, it cannot stop soil erosion though. Slowly, the process leads to desertification, which, anyways, huge urbanisation and hence heavy concretisation are hastening! 'Local to global', in brief, need not be a political stance. It is an existential choice.

Like the NCL attempt to create an alternative fuel source. Like the trial to separate the oxygen molecule and create a flame out of water. Such creations could, like the solar energy, lessen our dependence on 'other'     're-souces'! Self-sufficient is indeed independent!

Pratima@March 18 is Papa's birth anniversary. Vinoba Bhave once said, "there are some great souls who never attained the much deserved far n wide fame. They yet are the real stalwarts." Papa indeed was one of such  stupendous souls. Following forever his honest to the core, humane footsteps full of humility is the real tribute to him.

Quote of the day:                                                          "Our history is a living history, that has throbbed, withstood and survived many centuries of sacrifice. Now it comes forward again with strength. The seeds, dormant for such a long time, break out today with some uncertainty, although they germinate in a world that is at present characterized by confusion and uncertainty,” asserts Rigoberta Menchú, a South American Nobel Peace Prize winning activist from Guatemala.

Word of the day: endemic                                       Endemic shows the relevance of the local! Endemic, unlike the world wide pandemic,  means a disease that is always present in a population within a geographic area, typically year-round.

Mercy?!?

 Aruna Shanbaug. One of the most tragic cases in the Indian criminal records. She was a beautiful, committed nurse with an absolutely fit n fine life literally lined up for her. A stupid fool's lurid lust and macabre anger ruined that possibility positively, and forever.

Due to the severe strangulation, she went in to a deep coma from which she never ever woke up. Except for her colleague nurses, all supports vanished in to thin air. She 'lived' in that vegetative state for forty-one years. Pinky Virani, a journalist, wrote not only a book on the injustice thus heaped on her due to a ridiculous fool's cheap behaviour, but Virani also filed a writ for Aruna Shanbaug's right to dignified death. 

In 2011 was passed a landmark judgement allowing passive euthanasia, that is, disconnecting all support systems of a comatose patient, long sustained on life support systems. Aruna was not allowed that dignity though, as Virani was a third party, and had no right to demand such an order.

Yet due to the plea on her behalf, mercy killing became a raging debate resulting in the 'passive euthanasia' right to a dignified death of a comatose patient on life support systems for a very long period.

Active euthanasia, in the form of a lethal injection, is still not legally valid in India. A living will which expresses the legal desire to end one's life is doubtful and debatable even today. 

Some small mercy indeed! Let me explain why I think so. During my Ph. D. days, I freelanced with 'The New Indian Express' initially, later followed by the 'Newstime' of the 'Eenadu' group, while writing intermittently for 'The Hindu' and a portal. I wrote an extensive article in the NIE on this theme. 

Both the legal and the medical fraternities whom I interviewed for this article  agreed with me that in an India, bursting at the seams, the elderly abuse would be terrible if such a legality were to exist, just like the 'living will' notion might.

My argument was also that women would be the target of this law, especially if 'will'ful, or otherwise, property was the terrible temptation. Old, ignorant, illiterate persons, especially women, would thus be at the receiving end, if legally the innocent ' right' were allowed en masse. None can predict how quasi-religious groups would at such times pressurise under the spiritual garb!

Right now, passive euthanasia is allowed, but only under the strict observation of the court. Recently, the issue yet again came to limelight, despite the war in the Middle East, due to the Harshit Rana case. He, too, was in a vegetative state, a comatose case for more than a decade.

Sad to even read the parents' anguish. The tearful family's final farewell to him at the AIMS doorstep where passive euthanasia would be administered belies their dedicated care of him for more than a decade. A near and dear one's death is never merely dry legality. It is a maelstrom that shakes the roots of existence.  May none thus suffer!

Pratima@ The worst nightmare on this earth is parents having to suffer their child's demise. Every death is terrible. Yet a parent having to suffer that terrible loss is impossible even to imagine. Hope stupid fools committing suicide due to flimsy reasons would understand that. Much worse is the obsession with some online game such as 'pubg', or whatever! Internet gaming, like every other obsession, is a horror which must not be allowed to claim young lives, and to heap horrible harm on families!

Targetting Talent

 From within the Bollywood music industry come two deeply disappointing news items. Both deal with dissatisfaction with the status quo. Arijit Singh has decided to distance himself from the industry. 

The reason is the terrible petty politicking which he has hinted at. When substandard people are promoted due to their proximity to the powerful, the creative souls sure suffer suffocation, as the subterrenean message is loud and clear; namely, "a substitute is available! Who cares for so-called standards/quality?" 

Shreya Ghoshal is the other name who, too, refuses to lip-sync on stage. Nothing can be more offensive to a talented person, when/if targeted technologically. Most often, technology is mere repetition, especially in India. Most of the Indian software industry, too, for instance, is mere application, not creation, right?

Being able to use a software needs no brains. If the flowchart is available, with a little regular practice, anyone is fluent at technology, sans the "t" of the talent. Why, babies manage bots and apps these days! Why use technology to glorify the sub-standard? That is the question!

Incidentally, if such, such are the conditions in the 'industry' called popular music, imagine the plight of the talented, without the PR and/or connections, in the classical music ambit! As it is, so limited is the audience here that established artists prefer playing to the gallery! 

To get a stage to perform on is tough without the purse strings being loose or without being a pawn in the power games behind the dazzle. Imagine in such a scenario the plight of the committed artist in the later stage of his/her life, given the ageism horribly rampant in the midst of our society.

Is the social media a solution? 'Yes and no, may be', 'oui et non, peut être', as the Frenchies put it. The audience here is shallow, too; prefers, hence, dazzle, while being fickle, as fingers flit faithlessly past many videos n messages, right? 

Solution, if any? Slowly but surely build from scratch, if necessary, a caring clout. Use it to sustain self and the others equally talented in need of a break. Sustain soulful survival, in brief!

Pratima@ Targetted, talent always finds worthy solutions, without cheap compromises. Adaptation to circumstances, intelligently but sensitively, is the solution, right?

Quote of the day:                                                       "When you appreciate talent, you inspire excellence." Anonymous.

Word of the day: Indefatigable.                              Indefatigable indicates someone who is untiring, relentless, and persists in tasks without getting discouraged, characterized by constant effort and total dedication. 

A unique day

 March 15 is indeed a unique day. On this special day, the consumer is supposedly the king, and not merely in advertisements. Why so? That is because, in India, March 15 is the Consumer Rights Day. 

For me, this day holds a few special memories. During my Ph.D days, i was a regular freelancer with the "Newstime", a newspaper in English of the Eenadu group. Every Wednesday, for the Features' Desk, I used to write an article about various aspects of consumers' rights. These articles were appreciated because they reflected the core meaning of journalism; namely, the public welfare.

In this series, I wrote two articles on mini gas stoves, a unique item in the Hyderabad market, obviously sold 'informally', and while hoodwinking the authorities. The stoves themselves were of inferior quality. Much worse was the fact that the tanks of these contraptions were illegally filled. 

The operation obviously was highly dangerous as involved were underhand dealings of gas theft in extremely dicey conditions. Often the procedure led to explosions and, hence, to serious wounds. Neither was it safe at the user's end. I myself had burns because the knob was not stable, and, as a result,  the piping hot oil fell on my feet, etc. 

There was no option for householders though. However much one tried, gas connection and proper cylinders were just not available, either at the right cost or during a reasonable duration. Obviously involved was huge corruption. 

My article opened up all these issues. As per the qualitative mode of research, I interviewed many consumers, discussed possible alternatives with them. The shopkeepers, of course, chose to keep mum, while the government officials were not forthcoming with answers.

A similar context, scarcity of gas cylinders, is apparently emerging right now, given the Gulf War. Hopefully, the government and its agencies/officers would handle the combustible issue with caution and sensitivity.

Pratima@Missing then were the umpteen fun memes, et al, with which the WhatsApp is currently flooded; in fact, is bursting to seams.                                                                                 Aai-Papa both believed in supporting the concept. So were bought the shares of  Grahak Peth, a chain committed to consumer rights. I have continued the practice. I have, moreover, invested in the Grahak Perh FD scheme, a kind of win-win option, both for the Grahak Perh and the consumer. 

Quote of the day:                                                          "Customers are the most important visitor on our premises... they are not an interruption in our work. They are the purpose of it," argued Mahatma Gandhi.

Word of the day: business ethics .                          These practices go beyond legal requirements to build trust, maintain a positive reputation, and ensure sustainable, long-term success with all the stakeholders. 

The Diamond Day: March 14

Yes, currently the liquids hidden deep down  the earth, and dredged for dirty monies, are the 'tally' of the town, nay, of the entire world. Petrol/diesel might be considered the liquid gold. Yet more precious are diamonds mined, though so rarely that artificially it is preferred to make them in laboratories. 

It is hence but natural as well as apt to name March 14 the Diamond Day for STEM, the conglomerate currently lording it over on the entire world. Why so? 

To begin with, 14/3 is the "Pi Day". Comedians may consider it kosher to laugh at "sine cos theta", and, how such formulae do not relate to life, beta! Such values matter though. "Pi" is literally the base of many an equation. Its first digits, 14/3, match with the date of the "Pi Day". Hence, the day is also known as the Mathematics Day. 

14/3 is, moreover, the birth anniversary of Albert Einstein, who re-wrote the very discipline of physics, making the entire chronology of scientific enquiry 'relative', be it Aristotle or Newton. Why, the atomic bomb with which the crooked, wicked, 'blast'ed Iran's and North Korea's of the world threaten humanity time and again is in a way rooted in his ideas, though he opposed it most passionately with all his human(e) might!

14/3 is the anniversary, though, unfortunately, of death, of another great scientist who explored the very cosmology, all the while fighting every nano second a deadly disease that crippled him every which way. Yes, I am referring to Stephen Hawking, the illuminating instance of human brilliance, endurance and optimism that possibly could not be defeated, come what may! 

 For STEM, all these three are eternal causes to celebrate. Hence the title of our blog!

Pratima@ Literature, currently the ignored backyard of the STEM celebrating world, too, is most interested in "Pi". The survivor saga entitled "The Life of Pi" (2001) by Yann Mattel is one of my favourite most novels. Cine enthusiasts love its 2012 celluloid version  by Ang Lee. 

Quote of the day:                                                          "Nothing is as powerful as an idea whose time has come," argues Victor Hugo. 

Word of the day: Indefatigable                              Indefatigable is an adjective. It defines people and activities that are tireless, relentless, and persist with energy, despite every possible hurdle. 

Who controls the oil business?

 What a question! Is that your response? The answer is so obvious. Is that what you feel? Well, do wait, please! Think through! As it is, critical thinking is going to dominate the AI controlled future! 

Obviously, it may seem that the main players in this context would be the oil producing countries. Actually, they hardly do! It is a natural produce. They have the cleverly structured, rather well-'oil'ed machinery to dredge it out. Hence the obvious candidates would be the middle-eastern companies, Venezuela, Russia, Canada, the U.S., and so on.

Next comes the question of the distribution of the oil barrels. Hence enters in to the picture the w(e)ary Hormuz Strait. In addition to the usual and/or current warmongers, this narrow sea route is endangered by the pirates and, most importantly, by the militant factions. All these 'actors' want 'agency' (in every sense of this term) in here, because this sea route is a proper milch cow. 

Now this clue should lead you to the real reason behind the oil crisis. Oil tankers, which ferry oil across, are huge. Building them costs lots of money. They carry combustible and precious cargo. Inevitable hence it is that they would be heavily insured. The premium is huge and astronomical is the reimbursement in case of an accident. 

Given this fact, which ship owner would be ready to enter the strait without insurance? And, all of us know insurance companies, right? They have thousand sub-, sub- clauses in extremely fine print which would render impossible the payment of costs covered in case a tanker sinks, whatever be the reason, storms or the super smart pirates et al, right? Hence no insurance company would advise shipping companies to ply their ships via this route, right?

To cut a long story short, the current crisis is more the handiwork of the ever cautious insurance agencies. I read yesterday that all of them form a cluster in London. In brief, London, rather than the Middle East, is the hot spot leading to the current oil crisis!

Pratima@The "f"  word after all! Oh, no, do not run away wild with your dirty imagination. The 'f' word refers to finance which is trans-national, beyond the boundaries imposed by the silly Lilliput nation states. We might talk of post globalization era right now. Yet the TNC/MNC insurance companies and/or the weapon industries, nowhere and yet everywhere, decide the destinies in the post-LPG (no, this abbreviation does not  refer to any oil company. Instead, remember the natty nineties!) scenario!

Quote of the day:                                                      "The consumer is both the culprit and the victim," says Nino Cerrutti. Especially, in the post-LPG world governed by the TNC/MNC finance empires!

The word of the day: finance                                 Finance is the study, science, and management of money, assets, and liabilities, focusing on how individuals, businesses, and governments raise, allocate, and use funds.