THE Headache!

 Sometimes, honestly, I do not understand    all the hoo-ha, all that jazz. After all, it is blood. It has to perform very many functions, do its duty non-stop, and real well, right? It has to forever flow. Imagine how tough it must be, especially through all those capillaries, carrying oxygen there, taking back all that muck, and so on. Rough stuff, right?!?

Then there are the people in your life, neighbours, vendors, colleagues, students, relatives, and, absolutely not to forget, your own self! Poor blood! Would boil, right? As a result, now and then, it decides to shoot up! But normal, if you look at the whole shebang from the perspective of that poor, sticky, messy, over-working tirelessly fluid! 

Thus enters your life that entire community, the medical fraternity, tablets, capsules, the b.p. measuring machine, not to forget That machine, always with a mock of a small, knowing, wicked smile reminding you of that extra dollop of ghee or butter or ice-cream you just could not resist! 

Ah, the doctors! Sure they mean well, but!!! That white coat, the stethoscope staring steadfastly, the furrowed forehead, that look which makes you feel that you are worse than the creature which would outlive an atom bomb, yes, as if  you are a cockroach worth an immediate urgent quash! 

Why get in to such a trap, right? Instead much much better to eat well, sleep more, exercise a little, enjoy life as if this could be very last minute, be happy, and forget forever the silent enemy. Yes, Happy b.p. day! 

The Real Time Machines

Museums are special. They add history, art, grace, in brief, a unique identity to a city. Do not you believe me? Well, mention Paris, and ninety-nine per cent people would mention the Louvre where resides the famous "Mona Lisa." Those who are drawn naturally to the sciences are fascinated with the very building of the George Pompidou center. So unique is its very exterior. 

In fact, Europe is very well-known for its museums. In Berlin, there is a square where there are museums in all the four directions, and the range is roughly a kilometer each way. The Prada is a compulsory "been there, seen all" spot for those who visit Madrid, rich with such others as the "Reina Sophia". 

Be it Italy, Russia, the Pyramids to the National Museum of New Delhi to our very own Raja Kelkar, a tribute to one man's persistent devotion and loving tribute to his son's memory, museums are special. Culture centric cities like Pune literally burst with with such unique treasures. 

Museums are real time machines. They store the past not just for the present, but for the future, nay, for forever. The are silent assurances that mankind, however stupid it may appear contemporaneously, has not only survived but also evolved most evocatively! 

Hence, since 1977, the International Council of Museums has been observing May 18 as the international day of museums. There is a defined theme to be celebrated each year. Given THE war which has rattled the economies of most all countries, you can guess the theme this year! Yes, it is museums for world peace. Hope our dear Trump and his current counterpart in Iran would visit a museum or two which would prove to them the futility of war, given the real wealth of nations abundantly stored there!

Pratima@ Museums are so unique that any number of literary texts refer to them. My favourite one is W. H. Auden's brilliant poem "Museé des beaux arts". Worth a read indeed as it would prove to you why museums are worth a dekko or two! You may also love "The Da Vinci Code" by Dan Brown. Oh, yes, there are many, many more which uniquely curate experience itself for you. 

.Quote of the day:                                                          "Don’t go to a museum with a destination. Museums are wormholes to other worlds. They are ecstasy machines. Follow your eyes to wherever they lead you…and the world should begin to change for you," enthuses Jerry Saltz. 

Word of the day: curate                                              Curate means to select the best or the most appropriate, especially for presentation, distribution, or publication. 

Meagre musings on meaning!

 May 18 was Aai-Papa's wedding anniversary. Now the very sentence and its meaning are a problem for me, both as a daughter and as somebody who loves the subtlety of English, and every other language that I can manage. 

Why does the very first sentence of our blog today bother me? Yes, it is the "was". As a daughter and as well as an aware woman who understood the way they together created their marital partnership, the "was" hurts me. 

Why? The past tense asserts painfully their not being there any more. Yes, it is the finality of the death that is bothersome, nay, hurtful. In the fifteenth chapter of the "Bhagvad Geeta", the Lord says, "from whence there is no return, that is my final abode." Aai used to like that quote a lot. The ultimatum of death!

Yet, as a student of language, one knows that there is this tense called historical present. Let me give you an example. Suppose, I am writing a chapter on Shivaji Maharaj. I could write, " He is a great king. He has the distinction of creating the first ever compendium of Marathi words, to be used even in administrative texts " 

In that sense, May 18 continues to be their forever bond. May 18 IS their wedding anniversary! In such a meaningful way, a 'was' need not be merely that. It continues to be an "is", and that is quite some solace! 

Pratima@ Everybody is blasting the NEET nexus as it indeed must be. Yet, at times, I find such an attack, too, meaningless. Here are any number of people, common, ordinary women and men to so-called authors presenting a written product as their contri, while every comma therein, if at all used, is screaming aloud the AI authorship! There are, moreover, their gang-(wo)men who praise them to skies. And one talks about 'meaning'! 

Quote of the day:                                                           "Life has no meaning. Each of us has meaning and we bring it to life. It is a waste to be asking the question when you are the answer," asserts Joseph Campbell. 

Word of the day: significance                                      Significance means the meaning or importance of something. 

The special month

 Currently it is absolutely fashionable to deride "Macaulay Putras/Putris", the belief being that Macaulay imposed the English mode of thinking on to the 'natives'. To begin with, regarding the sweeping generalisation without the subtle contours, I have my eternal grouse, namely, people should actually read the concerned original texts and documents!

I have, moreover, yet another point to make in this context. Macaulay or no Macaulay, including his offsprings, et al, such upstarts cannot wipe out the original Indian genius. Want proof? Okay, let us look at the special month, the 'Aadhik Maas' that begins today.

This extra  month is the thirteenth month. Please note that the number 'thirteen' holds no superstitious dismissal hereabouts. Incidentally, it is, in fact, a holy number. As for the "Aadhik Maas", it is known as an intercalary month, a month that is inserted/interpolated. It was introduced by the Vaidik rishis to systematise the lunar and the solar calendars. 

Such an adjustment was considered necessary for two reasons; one theoretical, the other practical. As the mode of living then was agrarian, it was necessary that for maintaining the agricultural cycle, such a 'time-ly' interpolation be made.

Now let us understand the philosophy behind the praxis. It is related to the cosmic cycle. Two modes of measurement were used to grasp it, namely, the lunar and the solar. The lunar year is made of 354 days, while the solar system consists of 365 days. 

There remains hence a difference of 11 days 1 hour 31 minutes and 12 seconds to be precise. To adjust the two modes, after every 32.5 months, is interpolated this extra month. 

The Vaidic calculations maintain that in this interpolated month, the sun does not transit  into the  next zodiac. Instead, it moves within that "raashi" or the zodiac sign. Hence that month is the "Aadhik Maas" or the extra month, which is followed by the "nij" or the actual month. Today, for instance, began the "Aadhik Jyeshtha", while on June 15 would begin the " nij" Jyeshtha. 

Such scientifically precise and accurate information is included in the "Rigveda"  as the hymn dedicated to "kaal", the Chronos/Time, while in the "Shatpath Bramhna" of the "Yajurveda", it is glorified as the addition necessary for the rhythmic cycle of the universe. 

In the "Vedang Jyotishya", supposed to be the foundational text of the Vaidic astronomy,   Rishi Lagath explicates the solar-lunar alignment formally. Obviously, legends would grow for an easy consumption of such complex phenomenon. 

Apparently, every month, except this extrapolated month, had a ruling deity. Because it was added for convenience, it was, moreover, considered impure, and was hence called "Mal Maas". The month prayed to Lord Vishnu who kindly agreed to own it, and, hence, it is now known as "Purushottam Maas", the best month for all sorts of prayers and fasts and penance. What a lovely and astounding combination of astronomy, poetry, and folk tales! 

Pratima@ i love it because one gets to eat "anaarse", one of my favourite most sweets. It is extremely difficulty to prepare, though Aai was excellent at it!

This year, all the fathers-in-law must be thanking Modiji from the core of their hearts. It is a convention to gift a special gold something to the son-in-law in this month. Given the ever rising prices of gold, all the fathers-in-law are sure to love Modiji's appeal to avoid buying any gold this year!!!

Quote of the day:                                                          "Science as an intellectual exercise enriches our culture, and is in itself ennobling," says Henry Taube. 

Word of the day: diurnal                                            Diurnal is a term mostly used in astronomy, and, of course, in poetry, and means consisting of one day. 'The diurnal rotation of the earth' can be an example.

The name is the game!

 When a baby is born in a family, the whole family is excited about the name he/she would be given. Most often, especially if they are first time parents, parents would have decided the name in advance, right? 

These days, however, there is a huge race to give the baby a name which is highly unusual, absolutely exotic, and hence, at times, truly funny. One of my students was "Vedanshi". Logically, just an impossible name it is for a girl. "Vedansh" , to begin with, means "the fourth part of the " Veda". It cannot be feminised with an "i". Similarly, "Ishanwi"  may sound cute, but is absolutely meaningless!

 Let us look at names for girls such as "Dhanwita" or "Sahassika" or "Sitaishaa". Says Nityanand Mishra, a Sanskrit scholar, neither Sanskrit grammar nor Sanskrit semantics would allow such oddities. Similarly, boys, he says, cannot be named "Krushiw" or "Govindit"!

Then there are names which are actually masculine, but are reserved for girls by indulgent but ignorant parents. One such classic example is "Savita", a vocative conjugation of "Savitru" which means the sun! 

The fancy "Nikita" is a Russian male name, while your "Anita" is nothing but "Ana + ita", a diminutive of 'Ana'! "Rajiwa" cannot be a girl's name as it cannot even be the vocative of "Rajiw"! And, oh, yes, actually, it should be spelt as "Rajiv" or "Rajeev"!!! 

Yes, names must be unique. They must, however, be linguistically possible, too,  right? Giving a name to a baby need not get reduced to calling names, right? Naming need not be shaming, and that, too, for a lifetime!

Pratima@ Names are lifelong. They assign an identity. Names are power. Choose carefully because words have grammatical relevance, and, not to forget, meaning! Better okay be the nomenclature! 

Quote of the day:                                                           "A name represents identity, a deep feeling, and holds tremendous significance for its owner," asserts Rachel Ingbert. 

Word of the day: nomenclature                                 Nomenclature is the system of naming things, especially in science. 

A better actress

 Who is a good actress? Certainly not someone devoted to fashion, right? Want proof? Look at whatever happened to Ms. Alia Bhatt at Cannes! Anyways, why this theme? Well, May 15 apparently is the birthday of Madhuri Dixit. I should know. On one too many whatsapp groups was this fact repeated! 

Personally I do not like her song-n-dance stuff. At times, it is too vulgar to deserve a mention. As for looks, it is all the magic of make-up, lighting and camera angles, not to forget the very conscious poses.

True, I have not watched her later movies/Netflix serials. For one thing, I was very busy looking after Aai. If I were to go and watch a movie in a cinema hall, imagine how she would have been treated by the "mavashi" types supposed to look after her in my absence! 

Yet as a film critic for "Newstime", I had watched  Madhuri Dixit in "Lajja", "Devdas" and "Mrityudand", and I have nothing but sheer praise for her acting prowess. Personally, my favourite is "Mrityudand." Here she is not the typical glamour doll.

As the daughter of an idealist father, who has married in to a village landlord family out of love, she is simplicity itself. She loves her husband a lot. Yet she does not mind standing up to him for the sake of ethics and  her principles when he commits mistakes. 

She genuinely cares for his family, especially  for her elder sister-in-law who is almost like his mother. Life has been very harsh to this poor woman accused of being barren. Ketaki respects her, takes care of her needs, stands up to the  whole big bad world for her choices. In Bollywood films/t.v. serials, such a 'sister'-ly depiction is almost impossible.

Much more than that, this sweet but naughty young lady is a woman rebelling against all sorts of injustices, against sexist ill treatment of poor women, against every possible 'corruption', be it monetary, ideological, religious, gender-biased or caste-oriented. Very firmly and bravely, she stands up to the powerful men, be it within the familial fold or in the village itself. 

In the process, an entire way of life changes. The film by Prakash Jha is indeed worth a watch for Madhuri Dixit's acting which brings alive a rather trite storyline. Especially noteworthy is the fact that her co-artists are of the Shabana Azmi calibre, and yet it remains A Madhuri Dixit movie! 

Kudos to her for enacting flawlessly such unique roles where she asserts a woman's worth and choices in a feminine yet determined way, and I suppose that makes her a better actress!

Pratima@ Sad was the news about the demise of Dr. Anand Nadkarni. I had watched a televised interview wherein he was interviewing a friend's daughter. Was he overflowing with admiration!

All the articles, et al, by him, and, yes, that very famous poem by him sure make extremely thoughtful reading. RIP!

Quote of the day:                                                             "Values are like lighthouses. They are signals giving us direction, meaning and purpose," from the "Colonel's" VFW/Victory for Veterans.

Word of the day: thespian                                          "Thespian" is a formal word for actor. Often in Indian 'film criticism', it is used to refer to a talented senior actor.

No Shadow Day!

May 13 was the "no shadow" day. On this day, at 12 noon, our shadow, supposed to follow us throughout  our life, vanishes! How is this phenomenon explained? Exactly at noon, the sun is exactly above head. As the sun is directly overhead (at zenith) at local noon, the shadows fall directly underneath objects, hiding hence the shadows.

Gone is the physical shadow! Explained is the phenomenon logically, rationally, scientifically. How about the other shadow which, forever, dogs our very existence? Yes, I am referring to the Jungian notion of the shadow. 

What Freud  called the "id", Jung chooses to call the shadow. Just as Freud talks about the sublimation of the id, especially by the artists, Jung, too, talks about 'integrating' the ' shadow. 

Why so? The "shadow" refers to the unconscious, repressed, or disowned aspects of the personality—the "dark side" containing traits deemed unacceptable, both by the ego and/or society. Anger, selfishness, or forbidden desires can be considered examples of the 'shadow work'. 

Integrating the shadow is crucial for individuation, as it holds hidden potential and prevents destructive projections. In other words, there can be  'no shadow' day psychologically, too! Indeed, some hope!!! 

Pratima@ 'Geniuses think alike.' Explains the similarity in the ideation of Freud and Jung. Never ever forget the second half of this quote by Alexander  Pope who insisted that "so do fools."

Quote of the day:                                                           " We are but dust and shadow," says Horace. 

Word of the day:  silhouette                                       A silhouette is the dark solid shape of somebody/something seen against a light background.