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.

AI-abled!

I watched the video of the Chief Minister of Maharashtra being interviewed by Aamir Khan. Intelligent, aware and sensible leader that he is, Devabhau as usual answered in a way that showed his acumen. His answer that the AI would create many more jobs set me thinking. Hence this blog.

Based on a projection made scientifically and objectively, let me first list areas that would have not only theoretical AI coverage, but reveal, moreover, observed AI coverage. 

Following are the fields that have already been dis-abled by the AI. They are finance, computers, legal issues, education, library, all the arts, media and healthcare, especially doctors, including surgeons! 

In its unmistakable ambit are work areas such as administration, architecture and engineering, life and social sciences, healthcare providers such as physiotherapists

Not much affected, however, would be areas such as nursing staff, guards, cooks, chefs, waiters, and staff working in fields such as maintenance/construction/installation and repair/ transportation and agriculture.

A caveat: the present analysis has not taken in to consideration the development in robotics which would affect hugely the professions currently not affected by the AI. 

As things stand right now, it is clear that the AI seems to be gobbling up the white collar jobs typically considered respectable and reliable, while, right now, the blue collar jobs seem untouched. At least till they are not threatened by robotics!

Very interesting is this observation which,  in my opinion, shows why this revolution is vastly different from the earlier versions which in fact strengthened the white collar workers.  No wonder, though! This time round, the confrontation is with intelligence, however much we may dismiss it as artificial, which has already started thinking on its own, despite the minor glitches.

Which jobs would the AI enable? Let me list a few. AI prompt engineers, AI auditors, AI Ethical and Compliance Experts, for instance. These "new collar" jobs require an inter-disciplinary training,  higher order strategic and creative thinking in addition to being both practical and technically aware. Hope the right people are listening to (re)create this (b)rave new world!

Pratima@Un-learning/de-learning and re-learning constantly is going to be the new world order.

Quote of the day:                                                         "Artificial intelligence will reach human levels by around 2029. Follow that out further to, say, 2045, we will have multiplied the intelligence, the human biological machine intelligence of our civilization a billion-fold,” says Ray Kurzweil.

Word of the day: transformative                            This term as in " AI is transformative" describes something that causes a major, often positive, and lasting change in character, form, or function.

Alluring Agnihotra: Explaining a ritual

 Yes, I am born Agnihotri. It is hence a little awkward and quite embarassing that I did not know that March 12 is the World Agnihotra Day. 

Why do I say so? Let me explain a little. To begin with, well, 'Agnihotra' is no longer a Brahminical ritual. Yes, I am a high caste brahmin (highly dangerous admission these days!), and, yes, I do perform Agnihotra every evening as my parents honoured the practice, and it was followed most ritually in my paternal family just a generation away. 

How is the Agnihotra performed ritually? In a copper pyramid-shaped pot, the holy fire is lit, ideally via the Vedic way, with two pieces of holy wooden sticks. In to that holy fire are offered cow dung cakes,  ghee and rice to the chanting of certain Vaidic rucha's. It is mostly performed in the evening, circa the dusk setting.

Now, in a big city becoming a metro, all these steps are not possible. Hence, instead, I burn "Bhimseni kapur", the best and most natural camphor, and chant the related shlokas.

Why call it 'alluring agnihotra'? In a way, it is like performing daily a mini 'holi' with all its spiritual significations . No, I am not being flippant. I sincerely believe that the 'agnihotra' is a way of connecting with the basic principle of the universe.

Why, the Rigveda begins with the praise of the holy fire, the major principle of the cosmic "panch mahabhoota"! Even if one were to look at the notion from the anthropological perspective, the 'caveman' became 'human' only when fire became the focus of lived life. Before fire thus defined/refined life, the nomadic man was no better than a beast.

Now let us look at the practice from within the contemporary context. Currently, pollution of every variety is at its peak. The 'agnihotra' flame, even if it is the camphor variety,  purifies the ambience.

 Traditionally, the holy 'Agnihotra' flame symbolised divine energy. Even if you are sceptical about such a connect, why not look at it as a process of understanding your relation(ship) with the wider universe about which cosmologically as well as astronomically, we are getting to know more by the day? 

Why, we do already know that the sun IS basically a massive sphere of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core, radiating the energy from its surface mainly as visible light and infrared radiation with a certain per centage of ultraviolet energies. It is the main source of energy for life on the earth.

No, I am neither apologetic about the 'agnihotra' practice. Nor do i consider it an instance of the 'Brahminical', 'manuvadi', superstitious traditionalism! 

My firm faith in science teaches me utmost humility because basically the scientific framework forever tells me that science operates within the paradigms known so far, which can be, and are, re-interpreted anew, and often, thereby rendering any/all earlier concepts redundant superstitions. Aristotle, the father of Western science, has often been so (im)proved, right? And, oh, yes, technology has its own rituals, too, right?

Hence, even if I were to be much mocked for being an Agnihotri, I look at it as a way of spreading positivity in my own small way.  And, of course, I do try to spread it in multiple other ways, too. 

Even at the social level, moreover, these days, performing 'agnihotra' is hardly casteist. On the World 'Agnihotra' day or whenever such group activities are performed on a large scale, at places, I believe, like Akkalkot, everyone participates, beyond casteist considerations. 

In other words, the 'Agnihotra' is not revivalism. Rather it is an alluring way of re-connecting with the larger principles, thereby making the banal metro modes of life slightly conscientious!

Pratima@ In today's post-truth world where everything is merely narrativisation, necessary it is to explicate significations of rituals because, otherwise, interest groups would reduce every praxis as mere mumbo-jumbo.

Quote of the day:                                                         "With the demise of religion, many people are left stranded in a chasm of emptiness and doubt; without rituals to recognize, celebrate, or negotiate the vital thresholds of peoples lives, the key crossings pass by, undistinguished from the mundane, everyday rituals of life. If we approach our decisive thresholds with reverence and attention, the crossing will bring us more than we could have ever hoped for," says John O’Donohue.

Word of the day: ritual                                             A ritual is defined as a structured, repeated series of actions or words, often holding symbolic, religious, or social significance. These ceremonies or habits connect individuals/families/communities to traditions, larger wholes, or personal, meaningful practices. Examples include prayers, weddings, even daily morning coffee/tea routines, or specific cultural ceremonies like the Japanese/Indian bowing or lighting lamps or making of tea/coffee to modes of cooking.