For Papa!

 At the Kedarnath! Some 11,755 feet above the sea level. Clouds are afloat, all around me. Enveloping everything! Yet as visible as the divine mandir is the Bhim Sheela. Like Papa! Come any deluge, he would be there. Rushing in to protect, to preserve, to safeguard. THE fortifying bastion, and forever! 

Yes, throughout the Chardham Yatra, I remembered Papa constantly. I marvelled at  his tolerance, his physical endurance, his patience in undertaking such a difficult journey all alone. Of course, I felt furious, too, that he had gone there without much precise preparation. 

But that was Papa! Forever self-effacing, eternally selfless, always concerned only about our welfare. And, sure, he had his profound faith, though he was in no way superstitious. I suppose, such a deep belief sustains. No wonder, when he lost his way a little near the Kedarnath temple, the Shiva principle incarnate guided him back to safety. 

Honestly, it was for his sake that I went to Gangasagar. Yet again, there, too, I admired his fortitude. He was brave indeed, never allowed any difficulty to discourage  him. 

Basically, however, he was very kind, gentle and considerate. He never ever even once slapped any one of us, forget beating up, et al. Sure, there was discipline, with D capital. It was, however, administered in a way that was gracious, generous and warm. Not only as a father, as a family man, but also as an officer, he was integrity, straightforwardness and commitment personified. 

Sure, he was never ever superficial, flippant, shallow. Yet he had a sharp sense of humour. He loved music, writing, social service, and in a disciplined way. On June 21, which is his death anniversary, and this year, the Father's Day, too, here is stating in font size seventy two, and bolded, moreover, that I am extremely proud that I am R. M.'s daughter! 

Pratima@ It is one of my utmost blessed n happiest moments that my first publications, both in Marathi (Maharashtra Times) and in English (The New Indian Express), appeared in print on Papa's birthday. 

Quote of the day:                                                        "When my father didn't hold my hand, he had my back," writes Linda Poindexter. I could not agree more with her. 

Word of the day:                                                           Jayu, R.M's daughter, that is, I, Pratima Ramchandra Agnihotri! 

On the eve of June 21

 June 21 is indeed unique. Yes, it is on June 21 that the summer solstice takes place. In other words, it is the biggest, largest, longest day of the year. Like the heart of a father! 

Yes, this year, on June 21, falls the Father's Day. For me personally, June 21 is always special because June 21 is Papa's death anniversary. Hence tomorrow I shall write about Papa.

Today, on the eve of June 21, because June 21 is also the World Music Day, let me talk about 'natya sangeet', which Papa loved hugely.

Papa had heard Bal Gandharva himself  sing, perform on stage his famous lead lady roles. As he was very young, when Deenanath passed away, he never witnessed Deenanath perform. Yet he liked a lot the Deenanath mode of singing. In brief, Papa loved 'natya sangeet'.

'Natya sangeet', the gift of Maharashtra to the music world, is indeed unique. These songs are an inextricable and apt part of the dialogue of that particular play. Yet they are great music by themselves, too. Most often based on some raagdari cheez, the natya geet is a unique combination of the deep meaning of the dramatic dialogues, 'sur' or musical notes n rhythm.

Actually, these excellent musical pieces were in their immediate context a critique  of the colonial India. "Parwashta: pash", which Papa liked a lot, was in fact suspiciously  banned by the British who were wary of those night-long performances with any number of encores.  Entertainment, in those days charged with national fervour, was education, too! Happy world music day!

Pratima@ Rahul Deshpande has revived the great natya sangeet, nay, the traditional Marathi theatre itself. He deserves our heart felt thanks!

Quote of the day:                                                          Says Diane Paulus, "Opera is the ultimate art form. It has singing and music and dance and drama and emotions and story." Replace 'opera' with 'Marathi sangeet natak ', add 'humour', and you have a ready definition of the great Marathi tradition.

Word of the day: sonorous                                      Sonorous is an adjective used to describe sounds that are rich, deep, resonant, and full. It can also describe speech or writing that has an imposing, grand, or impressive style.                                                     

Taste is the best!

 Oh, yes, I did try to do my little bit for those preparing for the NET test. As the NET Eng Lit exam is scheduled for June 25, the Soupçon MCQ Series comes to an end this Friday. Though I began rather late, I did manage to provide some hundred test items for the examinees. Hope my attempt would help them. 

The taste in the title of our blog has nothing to do with any test whatsoever. Rather, it is an attempt to find out if the culinary preference of a person, the gastronomic taste a person enjoys the most reflects the personality type, that is, an individual's psychological profile. 

It is my hunch that most probably it might. Do not the homeopathic and/or ayurvedic doctors ask the patients any number of such questions so that the basic personality type, sanguine, choleric, kaffa/pitta/vata dosh, et al, might be located so as to route the 'dis-ease' at the root?

Unfortunately, the very easy to digest, Whatsapp University kind of generalisations, that may appear spurious, suspicious, or both, ruin the taste of such an analysis, right? Actually, if thoroughly and deeply analysed, such a connect between the taste and the psychological profile may indeed be the best bet to understand, to work upon, to improve one's own self, and in the process , one's relationship with the self and the others, right? After all, you are what you eat! 

Pratima@Even the Bhagwad Geeta, especially Chapter XVIII, talks of the three "aahar" and the three personalities, "tamas", "rajas", "satvik", right? 

Quote of the day:                                                          "Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you what you are." Touché, Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin! 

Word of the day: flavour                                          Flavour (or flavor, as in American English) primarily refers to the sensory experience of a food or drink.  It is also a metaphor across all the arts such as music, and in linguistics.

Soupçon MCQ Series 32

 In this series, I have provided a variety of MCQ questions that cover quite some range of the portion prescribed for this qualifying examination.                                                                As already clarified any number of times, the series is a sheer academic activity. I do NOT have any 'official' contacts of any sort with any person setting the question paper. Nor am I connected in any way with the coaching and/or publishing industry. Hope these almost hundred items, as I began the series a little late, would help the members of this community who are going to appear for the NET (Eng Lit) on June 25. May I take this opportunity to wish you all the very best?                                                                          

Here are the final three items of the series.

1) The Caroline poets were known as a) Cavalier poets b) carpe diem poets c) the Roundheads d) the Royalists.  Which of these four options is wrong?  

The correct option is (c). The Roundheads, named after their Puritan sparse hair style, were the Parliamentarians who opposed the King's absolute authority.

2) The following quote depicting Orpheus' angst is from a poem by a)Edwin Muir b) Rainer Maria Rilke c) Sitanshu  Yashaschandra d) Sujata Bhatt. 

"It was a lack of faith,/I admit it. I didn't believe enough/in you or even in the power of my song" 

The correct option is (d) .

3) Who amongst the following is supposed to be the pioneer of the graphic novel genre as attempted by Indian authors? a) Samarth Banerjee b) Appu pen c) Orijit Sen d) Bhargaw Kulkarni 

The correct option is (c).

All the Best!                                                                 

 Please note:                                                            Hereafter, Monday through Friday, I shall go back to the analysis of a literary concept in "Soupçon", rather like the analysis of the       "public sphere" before I began the " Soupçon MCQ Series". Such Soupçon analysis would not be restricted/curtailed by the week-end feel. In other words, the discussion may spill over in to next week(s).

Every Monday, I would name the theme and the blog address. If you so wish, you may read it. I would feel honoured indeed if you were to respond to the discussion.            

 All the best yet again to those appearing for the NET exam on June 25!                         

Pratima Agnihotri                                                      Pune

Deadly n dangerous!

 The Himalayas are heavenly. Tremendous serenity resides there. Peace is powerful in those sky scraping mountains. Every which way the land of fairies as per the local folk tales, this abode of gods is prayer incarnate. 

Yet human beings being what they are, they have made these gorgeous gorges and translucent rivers n scenic vistas in to either a death trap (as with the scaling of the Mount Everest and the terrible traffic jam there!) or 'dead-ly', in all senses of the term, what with the Raja Suryavanshi case or now the missing Babita Pandey mystery!

What/how is the actual Himalayan journey? First and foremost, the Himalayas are fragile. The rock structure is not the Sahyadri solid basalt. A comparatively younger mountain range, the tectonic plates below are afloat still, and are constantly clashing against each other. The entire area is dangerously prone to the 'huge on the richter scale' earthquake.

Given the environmental issues across the world, the glaciers are melting fast and furiously. In the process, they are creating artificial lakes which can burst at any second. The climate of the entire region is highly volatile. Anything can happen any second.

The worst, however, is that trade called tourism. For the 'ease of doing' that business, huge mountain cliffs are being drilled out, cut open at the base. Both the Joshi Math issue and the Harali flood are trade-offs of that heartless manipulation without any conscience. Two-storeyed hotels and/or home stays are built literally in the river bed!

The Himalayan rivers are not very deep, but they have a terrible speed and force, given the gravitational pull. They are, moreover often in spate, given the horrible rains any second and/or the melting ice. 

The roads are narrow n winding beyond belief. Boulders tumbling down is quite normal. Horrible, however, is the traffic. At times, it seems a traffic jam can last for six/seven hours! Drivers, riders, moreover, are up to silly stunts which can land the creeps in to a steep free fall of thousands of meters. 

THE worst are the tourists and trekkers. On a narrow strip of a mountainous road as wide as the Tulshibaug Lane, there are shops, hotels, pedestrians, pittoos, palakhi-wallahs and horses ferrying the tourists. 

No, they are not pilgrims. They are silly tourists, busy taking pics n selfies, making reels, dirtying that great presence. Most mendicants, almost réplicating the mindset of the hotel owners there, are no good either. Everything and anything is sheer manipulation for money. 

The Nepali palakhi-wallahs and pittoo-wallahs can quote any amount as charges. There is no control on how they or the horse/house owners treat the tourists.  Given the vagaries of the climate, the helicopter service, often operational mercenarily, gets grounded any minute. 

Most importantly, there is rampant corruption. The tour guide of the company I travelled with was openly boasting that he could block the entire registration of the day! He openly stated, and most all agreed, that the officers' 'cut' is mandatory and normal! No way of knowing if the permits issued to the pittoo/palakhi-wallahs or the horse owners are genuine, how often they are renewed honestly and validly! 

Any minute horses are released in the path of ponies. The pittoo/palakhi-wallahs as well as the horses are carried horribly close to the edge of the deep ravines. Given the huge traffic, it is literally as if all are awaiting a huge calamity, a tragedy truly of Himalayan proportions, especially due to human stupidity, cupidity and limitless greed and avarice! Oh, Lord, save the Himalayas from humans! 

Pratima@ The "devbhoomi" must be devoutly dedicated to that unique beauty, that vast grandeur, that pure piety called the "abode of gods", the Himalayas. 

Quote of the day:                                                           "While mountains provide us with challenge and nourish our spirits, they are also powerful and potentially destructive places that must be respected." Touché, indeed, Mike Hamill. 

Word of the day: mercenary                                       A mercenary is either a professional soldier hired to fight in a foreign army or, more broadly, anyone motivated entirely by financial gain rather than ethics, loyalty, or principles. 

Soupçon MCQ Series 31

 1) Which of the following poems are not written by the Romantic poets? 

a) To the Skylark b) Ode to a Nightingale c) Hope is the thing with feathers d) Crow and the Birds

The correct options are (c) and (d). Emily Dickinson is an American poet with echoes of transcendentalism, and Ted Hughes is a twentieth century poet. 

2)A sestet is made of...a) six lines. b) two tercets c) a quatrain and a couplet without a specific rhyme scheme d) is often used by Shakespeare in his sonnets. Which of the four options is not valid/true? 

The correct option is (d). A Shakespearean Sonnet is made of three quatrains and a couplet with a defined rhyme pattern.

3) Nursery rhymes make a brilliant use of the poetic 'foot'.  "Twinkle, twinkle, little star" uses a) an iabmic pentameter b) an anapest c) a tetrameter spondee mostly d) a trochaic trimeter line ending with an extra stressed syllable

The correct option is (d).

Pratima Agnihotri                                                       Pune 

Soupçon MCQ Series 30

 1) The preface to "The Wretched of the Earth", one of the most moving critiques of colonialism, is written by a)Frantz Fanon b) Albert Camus c) Jean-Paul Sartre d) Ngugi wa Thiong'O e) Edward Said

The correct option is (c) whose preface is both, theoretically rich yet humane. Ngugi and Said, like the author Frantz Fanon, are major theoreticians/critics of colonialism. 

2) "O! Horror, horror, horror" is a quote from a)Hamlet b) Othello c) Macbeth d) King Lear. 

The correct option is (c). 

This famous repetition of "O! horror, horror, horror!" in Act 2, Scene 3 functions almost as if it is the structural and thematic epicenter of the play. Spoken by Macduff upon discovering King Duncan’s assassinated body, the threefold repetition, it is argued, highlights an existential dread so profound that it strips even a seasoned warrior of his expressive ability.

Joseph Conrad has used it brilliantly in his novel "Heart of Darkness". 

3) "Portrait of a lady" is a poem written by    a) Robert Browning b) T. S. Eliot c) Khushwant Singh d) Henry James. 

The correct option is (b). It is a 1915 poem. Browning's poem about a lady's portrait is "My last Duchess". Singh's is a short story, a tribute to his granny. The title of James' superb novel is "The portrait of a lady".

Pratima Agnihotri                                                    Pune