The beginning as the end, and vice versa!

Balance(d)!?! Motivated?!??

"Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow,/Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,/To the last syllable of recorded time;/And all our yesterdays have lighted fools/The way to dusty death." Thus laments Macbeth the impending doom in Act V, Scene V in Shakespeare's eponymous play. 

A universal truth this quote states. Look at whatever is happening at Jantar Mantar. Sure, in the world today when information is exploding every nano second and in each nook n corner, students, too, are highly aware. In fact, teachers from primary to the post-graduate level have been relegated to the status of a facilitator. 

Given such realities, how far right (and/or correct!) it is to blame the authorities alone for the NEET debacle? Are not the parents, who encouraged their wards in to malpractice by allowing them to buy the leaked question papers, responsible? Sure eighteen year old kids would not be to dole out lakhs on their own, right? 

Is the society thus self reflecting? If not, why? Any regret by the parents who bought the leaked question papers? Or by the students on the Telegram groups who happily downloaded the question papers and the best/right answers? Are not all thus involved in the dirty practice floated by the leak masters!?! 

Undoubtedly, the government has to check the malpractice. Surely, there was some quick-fix attempt the second time the unfortunate NEET was conducted, right? Next year, hopefully, the exam would be better conducted. 

Hence the entire CJP led dharana at Jantar Mantar and the intended 'morcha' appear politically motivated. As if the usual ruckus in the parliament is not enough, here is the ideologically motivated p(r)ogram in/on the streets!?! 

Hence our blog maintains that balance has to be 'the be-all and the end-all' of our protests, too. If the reportage of the 'dharna' is any proof, absolutely irrelevant issues are getting piled on in such a way that the protests appear as if organised by zealots who disagree for the sake of disagreement, and hence the protest, the 'morcha' appear suspect. Why thus dishonestly dilute genuine issues thereby alienating the majority? That, finally, is the real question! 

Pratima@ The actual loser in this entire fiasco is poor Sonam Wangchuk. He lost weight, both literally and metaphorically. Everybody knows now that he is from a rich, powerful family; in fact, it turns out that he is a minister's son who completed his engineering from a Jammu college.                                                                         All know now that the ice pyramid model, et al, was not his invention at all. It seems, he does not have a single patent to his name. Moreover, the institute he has established in Ladakh has huge FERA violations apparently. The worst bleeding cut, however, is Aamir Khan dismissing publically the perception that his Rancho from "Three Idiots" had anything to do with Sonam Wangchuk! 

Quote of the day:                                                         "Never be afraid to raise your voice for honesty and truth and compassion, against injustice." Absolutely,  William Faulkner! 

Word of the day: Politically motivated                        "Politically motivated" describes actions or decisions driven by a desire to gain power, advance an ideological agenda, or damage a political opponent, rather than by objective facts or neutrality.

Chapter VI, Verse 10

 The Bhagwad Geeta, however little you may understand it, is a great text. Literally, reading it is like wandering into a treasure trove. Anything you see, touch, find there is priceless. 

Refer to it any number of times, you are sure to garner genuine gems. How may you mine it so? Do not some extreme reading misinterpret it? Is it possible to misunderstand it, misread it consciously? Apparently, yes, it seems!!! Hence this small little attempt to understand Chapter VI, Verse 10, given the now notorious nonsense regarding it. 

Chapter VI is entitled "Atm-sayam-yog." In other words, it explicates the modes n means of self control, self regulation, self restraint. Sant Dnyaneshwar compares it to a thirsty person getting the divine nectar, the elixir, the ambrosia itself as testified by 'owi' number 3, and 'owi' number 14 would corroborate It further.

The Lord, Bhagwan Shri Krishna, is defining the "yogi" in this chapter. In each verse till verse number ten, we get to know the distinctive qualities of a yogi such as somebody who has a truly equitable vision, someone with an equanimous personality. 

In Verse 10, he advises the devotee as a yogic practitioner, as someone who is trying to understand self, to prefer solitude, to contain body n soul, to transcend desires, to rise above attachment. Sant Dnyaneshwar explains this verse most lyrically as it authentically captures the very 'i'dentity of a yogi beyond empty ego.

Honestly, in all fairness, most secularly it can be asserted that no way, by no strech of imagination is it possible to justify the awful Ansari attitude regarding it. The least one could say about the controversy is that the Ansari argument is not merely unjustifiable. Essentially it is mischievous.

Why thus create communal hatred? The anger regarding such misconstruing is understandable, and yet unnecessary are awful rewards to be awarded to someone who would cut the erring tongue!

Pratima@ Why the multi-pronged manipulation to create unrest consciously? Who indeed is the puppet master? Is it the Deep State or some vested interests nearer home? 

Quote of the day:                                           "Disinformation is more than just lying: it's the denial and twisting of reality in order to present some desired image to the rest of the world," explicates Will Hurd.

Word of the day: manipulative                                Manipulative means skillful at unfairly influencing somebody.

Binaries b(l)ind!

 She is a doctor with an MBBS from a much respected institute. Used to practise, too, and for the good of the poverty stricken women. In fact, her patients' plight sensitised her to multiple injustices. Fearlessly arose her bold voice. 

The erstwhile Central Government as well as the erstwhile State Government of Bengal would not support this much hounded lady as at stake was their kind of voters' mindset! Any feminist, any Marxist, at least Leftist protest against her conscious ill-treatment, nay, open threats to her life? Hardly any! 

Hence the intelligent, well-read, aware citizen without any party affiliations, without any enjoyment of any convenient political patronage, without any compulsions hence to criticise for the sake of criticism finds it difficult to digest the hypocritical building of b(l)inding binaries! Such (hi)story repeats ad infinitum in all fields, moreover!

Yes, my sympathies are with both Sonam Wangchuk and Taslima Nasrin, both intellectuals, both dissidents, both creative, both much-felicitated. Hence it surprises me that as per convenience, one is lionised, while the other was literally thrown to wolves, and is now blithely ignored! 

Hence the doubts about the highjacking of Sonam-ji's fast by all sorts of parties, new to ancient! Why is not there any simultaneous hoo-ha over Taslima returning to Kolkatta? How about the Nupur Sharma incident? 

Forget the ideology, as they would they say, it is the money, stupid! Well, the Adani-Ambani duo is close to ALL political parties; in fact, flourished, and continues to do extremely well, in ALL the regions/reigns, right? 

Every leader, each decision is always, undoubtedly dictated by the contemporary contexts within and beyond the country, too, right? Historicise, Historicise, Historicise! Otherwise, even a worthy cause appears partisan, and so divisive that good will withers, and bitter binaries blind! 

Pratima@ The Government and Sonam-ji should begin a discussion ASAP. Is it the case that the lakhs and lakhs of students who personally suffered the NEET  paper leak would prefer an actual 'better'ing of the education and evaluation systems rather than delusional politicking over resignations?!? 

Quote of the day:                                                          "Sheep only need a single flock, but people need two: one to belong to and make them feel comfortable, and another to blame all of society’s problems on," argues James Rozoff. 

Word of the day: partisan                                          Partisan refers to an attitude showing excessive support for one person, group or idea, especially without considering it, or the multiple other aspects/sides/versions  carefully and conscientiously. 

Aha, Zentangle!

 It was by sheer chance that I got to know that today happens to be the World Zentangle Day. Yes, Zentangle is quite the rage currently. Given the special occasion today, let us explore it on our blog today. 

The term is a blend of zen and tangle. It is a mode of doodling, and it is supposed to calm upset and/or troubled minds full of stress, in brief, majority of minds (if any at all, actually) today. As the art form tends to be thus a meditative mode, it is known as Zentangle. 

The Zentangle Method, Mr. Google told me, is a 2004 find. It is a brain child of Maria Thomas, an artist, and a former monk, Rick Roberts. It was born, it seems, when Roberts noticed that Thomas’ repetitive pattern-drawing (or "tangling") mirrored meditative states. They formally combined "Zen" (meditation) and "tangle" (the drawing process) to create an accessible, abstract art form intended to promote mindfulness and focus. Driven by a background in calligraphy, illuminated art, and meditation, the founders designed Zentangle to be "yoga for the brain." So says Amigo Google about this Art Doodle. 

Given the auspicious occasion today, that is, its twenty-second birthday, no harm hence beginning to practise today onwards this free hand art. All you need is a piece of paper, pencils, pens to shade/colour better, and, voilà, ready in style would be your 'tile'! 

Pratima@ Today is yet another wonderful occasion, the Rath Yatra. I like it because rarely is there a celebration of sibling bonds. I like the nice humanisation of the entire festival, such as the deities visiting their aunt. Truly divine!                                                   Oh, yes, our blog yesterday about Sonam-ji's fast. Well, would not it be better to fight for a radical change in the evaluation mode, currently so very summative and fiercely competitive? How is any resignation going to be any concrete help? The real obit for the aspirants who committed suicide would be such a change in de/refining the entry point examinations so that the tragedy is never ever repeated, right? 

Quote of the day:                                                         "The true work of art is but a shadow of the divine perfection," maintains Michelangelo. 

 Word of the day: doodle                                             A doodle is a simple drawing that could have concrete representational meaning or may just be composed of random and abstract lines or shapes, prefarably attempted without ever lifting the drawing device from the paper.

That is the question!

 He created the "Ice Stupa", thereby inventing the artificial glacier technique, which consists of freezing winter meltwater into cone-shaped ice heaps to provide water for spring agriculture in the trans-Himalayan region, which was also a practical way to fight climate change.

 Yes, that is the innovative Sonam Wangchuk for you. Much admired for his advocacy (educational included) so much so that he has been lionised in, after, beyond "Three Idiots", the film which made him famous for the ordinary citizen. 

The question hence is, how come the lakhs and lakhs of students -- for whose sake he is "losing muscle mass" (to quote the CJP's founder, Abhijeet Dipke) and is compromising with his blood pressure for almost three weeks now -- are just not concerned with such a protest? 

Is it the case that the common man sees through the obvious partisan party politics involved, and hence is wary, does not want to get involved? Tough to believe that students are not 'aware', as narratives are literally thrown in to everyone's face, especially on the social media. 

Well, the March 2026 protests against the UGC stipulations do show that students of ALL 'colours' ARE responsive, both pro and against, when it comes to the academic arena. How come then that there is no major reaction to this demand for the resignation of the Education Minister?

In my opinion, the issue is much more layered. Honestly, given the ubiquity of information explosion everywhere, these days it is tough to hoodwink anybody. People see through party-specific posturing, right? No, it is not the dea(r)th of the middle class, the erstwhile sensitive/sensitised group. 

Rather, people ARE acutely aware of ALL issues, Deep State type international p(r)ogrammed propaganda included. May be, extreme factionalism (born out of the echo chambers everywhere) makes the common man suspicious about the hidden agenda(s)?

 Yet I do feel that the government should, rather must, initiate a dialogue directly with Sonam Wangchuk to avoid any further, universal at that, embarassment and/or emergency. Better late than never!

Pratima@ Given such turbulent times, is it any wonder that the Kalidasa Day on "ashadhasya prathm diwse" was almost overlooked?!?

Quote of the day:                                                            Maintains Malcolm X, "Concerning nonviolence, it is criminal to teach a man not to defend himself when he is the constant victim of brutal attacks."

Word of the day: partisan                                            The term refers to showing excessive support for a person, group or idea, especially without thinking through all possible pros and cons. 

Madan Mohan's ek song, silken, soft, gentle

 Madan Mohan's ek song, silken, soft, gentle! Guessed it? A tough question, that one, right? One can line up hundreds in answer, right? Yet, in my opinion, the best match would be "tum se kahun ek baat" from his National Award winning  sound track of "Dastak". 

Actually, each and every song of "Dastak", like almost his entire oeuvre, is a gem. Yet "tum se kahun" is unique. It uses the whisper-singing mode, getting popularised in the third decade of the twenty-first century, that, too, mostly in the Western pop genre. 

In 1970, Madan Mohan uses that soft yet spoken intimately whisper, that, too, without the breathy husk. The harmony is indeed petal soft aurally. Mohammad Rafi has most lovingly captured that romantic feel penned passionately by Majrooh Sultanpuri.

The tender repetitions, the soulful similes and images, the calming composition of light consonants by Majrooh Sultanpuri is accompanied by the lovely ensemble of violins and guitar interludes. Equally special are effects such as the add-in of a horse driven tonga retreating along a lonesome lane.

That "silent night, lovely night" effect captures most lyrically the soulful intimacy of genuine love. Madan Mohan thus continues to enrich our sensibilities most sensitively. Hence this tribute on his death anniversary!

Pratima@ In the AI era now, making music may be mechanical. Can, however, such magic be ever spun yet again?

Quote of the day:                                                              "Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and life to everything," asserts Plato. A definition that stands the test of times! 

Word of the day: harmony                                          Harmony refers to the pleasing, gentle, balanced arrangement of different parts, resulting in an overall sense of perfection, unity and aesthetic balance. 

Pratima R Agnihotri                                                    Pune