Melody Incarnate

 Remember the intense request that captured Seeta's determination to accompany Rama in to the forest? Yes, I am referring to the soulful "nirop kasla maza gheta?/Jethe Raghaw, tethe Seeta." Sure, the touching simplicity nestled in the poet's, GaDiMa's, words. The melody, however, was not only Sudhir Phadke's, because the sweet, gentle voice that enlivened his notes and GaDiMa's words was Manik Varma's! 

All of us who have some training, quite basic for sure, in singing, have let loose our vocal chords on her "amrutachi godi tuzya bhajanat" and "amruta huni god nam tuze", even otherwise the staples of Pune Akashwani, where you could hear these simple sweet lovelies at least twice a day, right? Remember "ektari gate geet" or "Kabirache winto shele"?

Yes, the sweet simplicity of Manik Varma's gentle bhakti geet, bhava geet, natya geet appears effortless. Actually, hers was a hugely trained voice. She was Hirabai Barodekar's disciple. In a way, it is as good as saying that she was a direct descendant of the Kirana Gharana. No wonder, she was melody incarnate. From the Agra Gharana inputs, her "thumri" attained an additional poignancy, right?

Given her stalwart contribution, it is such a surprise that her centenary on May 16 went almost unnoticed. May be, her daughters and disciples like Asha Khadilkar might be planning a worthy tribute to this accomplished artist who excelled in-n-at her womanly duties as well.

Basically, however, such careless yet conscious neglect is precisely the plight of the genuine these days. In the AI-infested wor(l)ds today, indeed it is difficult to decipher the truth from the trash, the real from the false, the genuine from the fake(d)!

 You have to be very good at advertising from the roof top, nay, these days, from every WhatsApp or any such other countless platforms your non-existent talent, and you can rule every t.v. show on each channel, while the insta/FB are yours to conquer!

Does it matter though? The loyal listener hardly cares for the showmanship, just as she never did. Her melodious notes have enriched our listening, and will continue to enthral us!

Pratima @ Much worse is the  literary wor(l)d. With rampant (self-) publishing possibilities, given the internet, every pen pusher, key presser actually, considers himself/herself the greatest gift to mankind! 

Yet those in the know do not care for a Gautami Patil, for instance. They would rather listen to Sulochanatai Chavan who sang the raunchiest lavani's, yet neither her face nor her eyes nor her body reflected the vulgar gestures, the sexy "ada"!

Quote of the day:                                                          "Humility is not thinking less of yourself. It is thinking of yourself less," argues C.S. Lewis.

Word of the day: unassuming                                  Being unassuming means being modest, quiet, and unpretentious. It describes someone who does not draw attention to himself/herself, does not act arrogantly, or try to appear more important or flashy than (s)he actually is. 

The fraternal feel!

 Today is indeed unique. Why? Well, it celebrates a real special bond in our lives. Yes, it is a day dedicated to 'Brothers'! 

Brothers, even when not big the Orwell way, are a presence. Brothers are truly a birthday gift, that is, gratis from the birth-day. Brothers have our back. They save us from many a disaster, given our goofiness. 

They are smarter, ah, yes, much  much more street smart, and thus help us to be grounded. They are the best silent support system, even when it may cost them a brownie point, or two, with you know who. 

That bond, blood bound, keeps on pulsating, silently, like the oxygen that reaches via the thinnest capillaries. It may not be very flashy, it need not at all be showy. In fact, there may be months when you do not even get to meet them.

 Yet there remains an understanding, a knowing that in this big bad world, there would be somebody whose heart would unconditionally wish you well. Thank you, Aai-Papa, for two great gifts that are the refracted reflections, Pratima-s, of my becoming and being! Happy Brothers' Day!

Pratima@ As you grow older/and hopefully wiser/ better you feel emotions tender/thus you know better that forever gift 'brother'!

Quote of the day:                                                     "Born as a brother, borne a brother, no matter the distance, no matter the difference, and no matter the issue.”  Byron Pulsifer would not mind the minor yet meaning wise major changes I made to his quote.

Word of the day: fraternal                                        Fraternal refers to anything relating to brothers, brotherhood, or a close, friendly relationship resembling that of siblings. 

The Tea Therapy

 There are very many people whose day cannot begin without a cup of tea, and then there is no end to the cups guzzled, slurped, drowned down the day. No, it is not exactly addiction. Rather, it is therapy, I suppose. 

Actually, I would not know exactly. I am absolutely a coffee person who does not exactly like the Maharashtrian way of making it, with lots of sugar n milk n cardamom seeds. The "kaapi" version, especially of the decoction variety, has a better wake-up n shine message in my opinion. 

Not that I do not drink tea. I sure do, but occasionally. Oh, yes, I brew a rather nice cuppa either with ginger n lemon grass or with cardamom seeds. My heart, however, belongs to coffee which, too, I drink tops twice (very rarely thrice) a day. 

Yet I do know people who drink tea, the hotter, the better, as if it is an alternative to water which it is not, given the tanin. Yet, yes, it can be granted that making and tasting tea is quite an art, perfected by the Japanese. 

Actually, tea was invented in China where it was a medicinal brew. As for India, even when the British introduced it, it is now totally decolonised, and currently has fancy avataars such lemon tea to the very earthy, very local jaggery tea.

 Each to his taste, but let not a drop go waste (oh, yes, the boiled tea leaves are real good for the rose plant in the terrace garden) should be the motto on the world tea day, actually celebrated every day by those who cherish it! 

Pratima@ Like the tea, the bee, too, is absolute therapy for the very existence of mankind. Bees provide not merely honey or bees wax. Basically, they are the most efficient pollinators, without whom mankind would not survive at all. The real endangered species they are, though not as 'dekko'-rative as the safari tigers! 'Long live the bees' should be the forever motto of every 'bee' day which actually should be each day!

Quote of the day:                                                           "My tastes are simple. I am easily satisfied with the best." This quote, so pithy n perfect, is assigned to Oscar Wilde and Winston S. Churchill, both masters of mesmerizing quotes! 

Word of the day: taste                                                Taste, says the Webster Dictionary, is a sensory and cognitive concept that refers to the biological ability to detect flavors, as well as a person's aesthetic or personal preferences. It bridges both scientific anatomy and cultural preference. 

Elementary, Dear Reader!

  Literature is simply lovely. No two things about it! Literature may be very substantive for very many reasons. One of the most important of these vindications is that literature peoples our wor(l)ds with unique personalities. 

Sherlock Holmes is one such kindred soul for me. So ingrained is his rational, logical, factual mode in me that thus I am often saved from all sorts of impossible abysses, given my rather excessively senti-n-mental soul. 

Yes, Sherlock shapes your vision. He shows you not only how to observe but also how to deduce the root cause, and thus how to be real, with feet firmly fixed on terra firma even when the mind may wander across all the seven seas, and beyond, or even when your head may be in the stars, or beyond. 

Read his tales (stories as well as novels), and a baby detective is unmistakably born in your brain. That forever friend helps you unravel the motives of most all, whether you meet them in the pages of  books or in the high n mightily dangerous lanes of real lived life.

As is always the case with literature, you cannot stop admiring the genius and his art that shaped and immortalised such unique characters. Yes, Arthur Conan Doyle created Sherlock Holmes as a way out of dire straits. True, as you read more and more, you may meet better n smarter avataars of the sleuth figure. Yet Sherlock remains Ho(l)me(s) to our investigative affinities, and forever. Happy Sherlock Holmes Day,  Dear Reader, celebrated each year on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's birth anniversary!

Pratima@ A unique aspect of the Sherlock Holmes persona that I cannot adore enough is the droll, dry, decent but deep sense of humour that pervades the Doyle depiction. Indeed, so wondrous was the creation that readers made Doyle bring him back to life time and again. Incidentally, 2026 marks a special something in the Sherlock saga. More about it when my translation gets published circa Diwali !

Quote of the day:                                                           "Life is infinitely stranger than anything which the mind of man could invent. We would not dare to conceive the things which are really mere commonplaces of existence. If we could fly out of that window hand in hand, hover over this great city, gently remove the roofs, and and peep in at the queer things which are going on, the strange coincidences, the plannings, the cross-purposes, the wonderful chains of events, working through generations, and leading to the most outre results, it would make all fiction with its conventionalities and foreseen conclusions most stale and unprofitable," says Sherlock to his dear friend, Dr.Watson, the namesake of a friend who helped Doyle during his difficult days, the dire straits that led to the makings of Holmes.

Word of the day: Deduce                                            Deduce means to reach a logical conclusion by reasoning from known facts, evidence, or information. 

The End of Innocence

 Every twenty-first, I keep a fast to honour Papa's memory, while every twenty-sixth, Aai's. The death of parents is indeed the death of very many aspects, of a way of life, of all subtle support systems (a brother would sure be there for you, yet he is governed by mighty forces that would have nary a concern for your welfare), in a way, hence, the end of innocence. 

Innocence is a feel that has nothing to do with naivete. Being naive is related to childhood, to young age, in a way. Being naive comes from being inexperienced. Naivete is rooted in ignorance.

Innocence, on the contrary, is the prelapsarian freedom from any guilt, any negativity, from all the bleakness that knowing the world brings in its wake. With parents being there, innocence remains protected, because in your heart of hearts, there is a certainty that there is a haven existent, if n when the world is much too much with us, right? 

May be, the fast kept to honour the parental memory is a resurrection of that feel of prelapsarian security beyond all abandonments! Long live innocence!

Pratima@ The death anniversary of Rajiv Gandhi may prove my point to some extent. In the honeymoon period of his prime ministership, he had that clean, innocent, idealistic charm.  

As he descended deeper and deeper in to that " cesspool" called politicking, so described by his then best buddy, his 'look' changed so much so that  later he looked exactly like a wily 'netaji'!

 Some magazine, I think, "India Today", had even published an entire series of his pics in which finally it was difficult to differentiate him from, say, an Arun Nehru!

Quote of the day:                                                          "The innocent are not stupid. They think that the whole world is just like them, " says Swami Vivekananda. 

Word of the day: prelapsarian                                    Prelapsarian refers to the time or state of humanity before the biblical "Fall of Man", specifically, to the period of innocence and perfection in the Garden of Eden. Metaphorically, it is used to describe any unspoiled, carefree, or innocent period, often before a negative life-changing event. 

THE Headache!

 Sometimes, honestly, I do not quite 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, though never ever down, some small mercies! But normal, if you look at the whole shebang from the perspective of that poor, sticky, messy, tirelessly over-working 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 wink 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 the very last minute, be happy, and forget forever the silent enemy. Yes, Happy b.p. day! 

Pratima@ Such are our life styles that we are constantly playing hide n seek with funny 'friends' such as diabetes, the b.p, the stress, the aches and the pains! Better to barter  with them every breath through prevention than cure, right?

Quote of the day:                                                          "Everybody is a book of blood; wherever we're opened, we're red," says Clive Barker!

Word of the day:                                                           Systolic and diastolic blood pressure are the two numbers measured in a standard reading, written as systolic/diastolic (e.g., 120/80, the magic digits) which measure the force of your blood pushing against your artery walls as your heart pumps, and rests. 

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.