Soupçon I. iii

 Let me explain the title a little. "Soupçon" is a French term, the favourite of the chef community. It refers to that special pinch (eh, 'punch', too) which adds a unique flavour to the concoction 

Our column, which extends that metaphor,  is going to be a cornucopia of 'wise saws' about literature (more the varieties, the better), related fields, humanities and the arts. It would be an immense help for those preparing for the NET/SET/JRF kind of competitive examinations. May be, the aspirants might want me to do much more along these lines. Let us see! Yet, for sure, the not-so-literary, non-specialist reader, too, would enjoy these details!

                      Soupçon I. iii                                                        Carping Criticism                               By the time, the "dis-ease" decided to turn life topsy-turvy, Shakespeare had arrived enough to invite bitterly biting criticism. Yes, one of the privileged University Wits, Robert Greene, in his "Groats-worth of Wits" (1592), lashes at this 'upstart', a 'crow beautified with our wings ', the "Shake-scene" with 'bombast blank verse', dismissed as 'Johannes factotum', in brief, a Jack of all trades. There is an equally nasty swipe at the 'tiger's heart wrapped in a woman's hide' reference from Henry VI, Part III.

Yet, given the epidemic, Shakespeare's unmistakable emergence on the cultural scene, which itself suffered a complete closure, was in danger of being wiped out. In the next spoonful of "Soupçon", we shall learn more about the 'dis-ease', how it impacted Shakespeare, and how he negotiated it. As this is the very first week of "Soupçon", let the MCQ questions not appear yet.

Pratima Agnihotri                                                       Pune  

A Great Soul

 The Chardham Yatra is a unique soul-stirring experience felt on the pulse. Every nano second of that transformative feel is etched forever in memory. Yes, undoubtedly, the awe-inspiring yet unbelievably calming grandeur of the Himalayas inspires such a sense.

Yet there is another presence, mightier than the Himalayas, who accompanies every breath i take. Yes, Joshi Math onwards, the great Adi Shankaracharya is unmistakably the immense existence who transmogrifies me from a traveller in to a pilgrim.

An astounding legend indeed! Sure, in his infinite wisdom, he transformed a moribund religion in to a vibrant way of thinking, of becoming, of being. Yet, just imagine, in those days traversing those great heights, and not merely metaphorically!

A young man, nay, an adolescent, from far away Kerala! All alone! There would not have been any defined roads, there must have been any number of wild animals across the path, and there was the chimeric climate, changing literally any moment as per its maddening moods. How could he have managed the feat?

I am hugely humbled each time I think of that great achievement. 'He' 'then' takes a dip in to the freezing bitingly cold water so that 'we' can 'now' 'enjoy' the darshan of Badrinath, which currently is so very touristy! 

On the banks of the mightily rushing Alaknanda in spate, her swirling waters lashing the banks as I perform the tarpan kriya for Aai-Papa, I re-live the magic of His charm, He being both, Lord Shankara and the Adi Shankaracharya.

Meeting him at Kedarnath, despite the silly debates about his very many samadhi's at very many places, is as primal a feel as touching the Bheem Shila that appeared out of nowhere to protect the temple. Honestly, this young man who cherished, revived, resurrected Hinduism at a critical juncture, and so intelligently, rationally and yet most poetically, is the real bulwark whom I cannot adore enough. 

No wonder, I did not mind building the customary small little home of pebbles near His samadhi, instead of troubling a 'kandi'wala bearing my weight in the 'pithu' all the steep way up to the Bhairava temple! Honestly, literally 'Beda par' as the mendicant sadhu told me when, despite the chill and the winds, I managed to light the diya Raju got from London, as the priest in the sanctum sanctotum of the Kedarnath temple so infinitely gently, and, eh, absolutely scientifically, had on his own explained the 'no diya' policy there. Enriching, fulfilling, immensely humbling!

Pratima@ Throughout the Chardham Yatra, which I yet again re-lived due to the Adi Shankaracharya Jayanti, every nano second, I kept on thinking of three individuals. Oh, yes, of Aai, given her hyper-sensitivity and the toughness of those wild pathways,  of Papa, for going there, without proper preparation, and, oh, yes, of the great Adi Shankaracharya who traversed all sorts of tough terrains so that we survive!

Quote of the day:                                                         "It is only great souls who know the glory of being good," said Sophocles.

Word of the day: Advait Vedanta                                Advaita Vedanta is a non-dualistic Hindu philosophy, primarily systematized by Adi Shankaracharya, asserting that the individual soul, atman, is identical to the ultimate reality, Bramhan. It teaches that the perceived world is, maya, an illusion, and mukti, liberation is attained by realizing this fundamental oneness. The core belief is the non-duality of the atma-paramatma, the individual soul and the divine.

Soupçon I. ii

 Let me explain the title a little. "Soupçon" is a French term, the favourite of the chef community. It refers to that special pinch (eh, 'punch', too) which adds a unique flavour to the concoction 

Our column, which extends that metaphor,  is going to be a cornucopia of 'wise saws' about literature (more the varieties, the better), related fields, humanities and the arts. It would be an immense help for those preparing for the NET/SET/JRF kind of competitive examinations. May be, the aspirants might want me to do much more along these lines. Let us see! Yet, for sure, the not-so-literary, non-specialist reader, too, would enjoy these details!

                       Soupçon I. ii                                                  Shakespeare and the Dis-ease 

Yes, like the Corona confinement in the twenty-first century, twice was Shakespeare's career curtailed due to a deadly 'dis-ease'.

The first of these closures is closer to the notorious "lost years". Yes, Shakespeare's life leaves a lot to imagination, beginning with the exact date of his birth. Yet the "lost years" are truly apocryphal. 

As this is the first week of our attempt, no quizzes, no MCQ's this week. Instead let us share information.

The "lost years" refer to the seven years hitch, 1585 to 1592, that is, after his twins' baptism to his certain emergence as a London playwright. There are not any definitive records. Instead, there are all sorts of 'his-stories' ranging from run-away activities such as poaching to duties as (h)ostler, for instance. 

Yet, by this time, he was an all-in-one wizard, that is, an actor, a playwright, and a shareholder in the theater company called 'Lord Chamberlain's Men'. The 'dis-ease' was, in brief, a financial calamity.

By then, he had to his credit comedies  and histories such as "Comedy of Errors", "Richard III" and the three parts of "Henry VI". As the histories dissected weak, corrupt regimes, it was clear that the Tudor dynasty was indirectly being praised n promoted.

 In other words,  such was Shakespeare's stage success in these early years that in 1592 itself, the unhappy year of the 'dis-ease', he was viciously trolled.  How? By whom? Let us learn the details by and by. Suffice it, for the time being, to say that those 'dis-ease' days, too, were indeed tough!

Pratima Agnihotri                                                       Pune

The AI hallucinates!

 The AI IS unmistakably getting more and more human! Why am I so very sure? Is that your question? Well, my write-up on the AI and literature teaching is ready. Yet I am in to the 'finishing touches' stage before submitting it finally. 

Hence I am furreting out the minutest unavoidable but available detail. Thus I have come across this notion of the AI hallucinating. Yes, the AI does hallucinate, and, the fun of it is that the process is no different from the human hallucinations, delusions, self-deceptions. Is the AI getting more and more human! You bet! 

Okay, let us begin at the beginning. Let us understand this concept. The AI itself describes the AI hallucination as follows: "An AI hallucination is a confident but incorrect or fabricated response generated by an artificial intelligence model, such as a chatbot, that does not align with reality or the provided context. Instead of admitting a lack of knowledge, the AI often generates plausible-sounding falsehoods, such as fake citations, fake news, or incorrect data."

Absolutely human! Always far away from the real lived life; instead one's own blind surmises, supporting them widely and wildly, however much contrary to facts they may be! Never admit lack of knowledge or a mistake! Instead produce/provide falsehoods cloaked as suppositions, which are nothing but gossip dressed as narratives! 

So very many examples from very many possibilities! The AI, this newly admitted entry to the Academy of Life, has already beaten the director, mankind, black n blue (not merely metaphorically either!) in this regard as well. Long live the AI! 

Pratima@ In its hallucinatory hollowness, the AI is not humane either, and that is the tragedy!

Quote of the day:                                                                 "If you understand hallucination and illusion, you don't blindly follow any leader," says Marguerite Young. Holds true of the thought leader of the many, known as the AI.

Word of the day: Delusion                                           Delusion is a fixed, false belief firmly held despite contradictory evidence and lack of cultural consensus. Symptoms involve unshakable, illogical beliefs (persecution, grandeur, jealousy).

Akshay Trutiya

 Unique is this festival. It is celebrated on the shudhdh (waxing moon fortnight) tritiya (third day) of Vaishakh. Season wise, clearly it implies the onset of the burning hot summer. Yet such is the abundance of joy, happiness and contentment on this day that the blistering heat does not seem to matter.

 Well, this year, the Akshay Tritiya appeared indeed special as there were hailstorms in many places, thus adding a "thanda, thanda, cool, cool" effect to the alfonso mangoes special enrichment of this day, marked by abundance, often signified by new purchases, of cars, for instance. Bro Dear is sure to agree, right? 

Just look at the day. It venerates Lord Parashurama who combined the Bramha and the kshatra luminescence, that is, both wisdom and valour. In the current opening up of the typical traditional definition of caste beyond the post-post-colonial rhetoric, such an alternative look at the forever cast caste is a fulfilling look at identity politics. 

As per yet another legend, this festival celebrates the most moving meeting of Lord Krishna and Sudama which reveals the abundance of good faith, friendship and bonhomie beyond material status. 

Oh, yes, according to yet another myth, Akshay Tritiya is supposed to be the day when that abundance of purification, the Ganges, descended on the earth. 

Let us not forget that it was on this day that Draupadi received the "Akshay Patra" which sustained her, and the Pandava reputation for beneficence, during the extremely tough exile era. 

No wonder, it is the day of new beginnings that last forever, because Sage Vyasa began dictating the Mahabharata itself to Lord Ganesh on this very day. 

Very important is this day to other sects and religions as well. It marks the Basweshwar Jayanti. Sant Basweshwar's was yet another attempt at a democratic space beyond caste identities. I have translated some of his "vachanas". Some other time, will discuss my "vachana" presentation. 

For the Jain community, it is the most significant occasion when the first tirthankar, Sage Rishabh Deva, ended his year long fast and accepted sugarcane juice to break his fast. Honestly, as one of our earlier blogs discussed it, sugarcane juice on a hot afternoon day is no less than the heavenly manna itself. 

May this day of special prayers, charity and forever prosperity make your lives full, too. Long live Akshay Tritiya!

Pratima@ Aai had her own version of the Akshay Patra, a brand new vessel she would use only once annually, on this day for ensconcing in it the special prasad. It indeed is beautiful and unique. 

Quote of the day:                                                           "Doing what you love the most is the best source of abundance in your life," say many influencers. 

Word of the day: cornucopia                                      Cornucopia is a symbol of abundance, traditionally represented as a curved, horn-shaped basket overflowing with fruit, vegetables, and flowers, often called a "horn of plenty". It represents an inexhaustible, generous store of items. 

Soupçon I. i

 As Akshay Tritiya is the day of auspicious beginnings, when Sage Ved Vyas himself began dictating the Mahabharata to Lord Ganesh, let us begin this brand new blog. 

Let me explain its title a little. "Soupçon" is a French term, the favourite of the chef community. It means that special pinch (eh, 'punch', too) which adds a unique flavour to the concoction 

Our column, which extends that metaphor,  is going to be a cornucopia of 'wise saws' about literature (more the varieties, the better), related fields, humanities and the arts. It would be an immense help for those preparing for the NET/SET/JRF kind of competitive examinations. May be, they might want me to do much more along these lines. Let us see! Yet, for sure, the not-so- literary, non-specialist reader, too, would enjoy these details! 

                           Soupçon I. i

Who but Shakespeare can be the best candidate to thus float a new venture? Remember the Corona confinement? Shakespeare, too, twice suffered such a predicament. Which were the years? Which disease was it? How was it looked at by the common man, the majority of spectators then? How did Shakespeare respond to such closures of the cultural space? How did it affect his career? Such and many more questions would be so designed and answered that memorising the answers would be no trouble at all. See you then, every Monday through Friday! 

Pratima Agnihotri                                                        Pune

Protecting the Past in the Present for the Future

 Which are the visible symbols of our cultural identity? There sure are many, beginning with the bindi that caught the sight of the Lenskart recently, for example. Undoubtedly, such personal markers matter.

Yet, in the larger public sphere, a nation's civilizational/cultural wealth is often associated with its monuments. These iconic structures are annually celebrated on the world heritage day, that is, on April 18.

Given the actual and ideological wars that are right now, and as always, the open wounds, worrisome is the future of these treasures from our past. How we hand them over safe and sound to the future generations that is now the real issue, given awful threats such as atomic and chemical warfare! 

Pratima@ In the Indian context, April  18 stands for a real monument of our society. Yes, April 18 is the birth anniversary of Maharshi Karve, a great social reformer in India in the field of women's welfare. 

He advocated widow remarriage, and, as a widower, he himself remarried a widow. Karve was a pioneer in promoting widows' education. He founded the first women's university in India, the SNDT Women's University, in 1916. He organized a conference against the practice of devdasi. He started 'Anath Balika Ashram', an orphanage for girls which helped women get a social standing. Indeed, he re(de)fined heritage, truly re-built it. Truly, he gave posterity a present that purified the past!

Quote of the day:                                                         "Embrace your heritage with pride. Remember that history and culture are a part of who you are," asserts Maya Angelou. 

Word of the day: heritage                                         Heritage, according to the UN,  refers to the traditions, beliefs, culture, and physical artifacts passed down through generations, representing a shared history and identity. It includes tangible items (monuments, artifacts) and intangible elements (customs, folklore) valued in the present and preserved for the future. It signifies a legacy from the past.