In celebration of Languages

 Happy World Mother Tongue Day!  मातृभाषा विशिष्यते। जागतिक मातृभाषा दिनकी हार्दिक शुभकामनाएं। मातृभाषा दिनाच्या अनेकानेक शुभेच्छा!  Joyeuse journée mondiale de la langue maternelle! Feliz día mundial de la lengua materna! Alles Gute zum Welttag der Muttersprache!    Kokusai bogo dē omedetō gozaimasu! 

Thus, in the eight languages that I manage rather well, I would like to wish you on the World Mother Tongue Day. Why is this unique celebration every February 21? Behind it, there is a sad story, in fact, a tragic hidden history not much known in the world today sold on the STEM! 

It is a narrative, however, that shows the love for one's mother tongue, literally till death doth (de)part. In the erstwhile East Pakistan, Bangladesh since 1971, Urdu was imposed as the national language. The former East Bengalis loved their mother tongue, Bengali, and asserted its relevance. In 1952, there was a huge demonstration on February 21. The police opened fire on the peaceful professors and students. Many died, were injured in the violence. 

In 1999 the UN decided to celebrate the day as dedicated to the languages. The motive was to honour the linguistic and cultural diversity so abundantly available in the world. 

Each mother tongue, whether of the developed countries or of countries from the erstwhile colonised global South, is important, relevant, valid, and teaches something unique to the whole mankind, and hence the message of the day is that every language, each culture deserves celebration. Long live the World Mother Tongue Day!

Pratima@In our country, there are many who most pitifully use any and every opportunity to attack, often most irrelevantly, and quite indirectly, the relevance of Sanskrit, Saraswati, and the Indian culture.                                                            Or they would hit horribly the standard language. Yes, why dialects, even idiolects, too, matter! Sad, however, is the shallow attempt to politicise every event! All languages, including the standard language, too, are always fluid.                                      Unfortunately, out of total ignorance and politicking emerge and are stoked/fanned virulent hatreds. Lord, hope you would be able to forgive such hate mongers. They know very well what they are doing!

How (not) to protest?

THE Sam Altman, when asked about the possible loss of jobs in the AI era, quipped answer finally, "But we are sure to find something to do." Indeed! Human beings are always creative in small to big, simple to subtle ways. 

When it comes to protest, however, there seems to be a huge deficit of creativity. Look at Altman himself. He and Dario Amodei of Anthropic gave quite a demo which established that Altman may not be as open as the AI, while Amodei proved  that human beings, unlike their inventions, can be misanthropic! 

Well, the hand-raising that thus turned hair-raising is a typically Western way of showing camaraderie, right? A common feature it is even in indian classrooms, not to forget the winning moment of a football/baseball game, right? In brief, the fist raising on both sides proved that, unlike the modern technologies, their makers may still harbour primitive proclivities. Some competitive protest!

Yet the worst example of how not to protest was the shi(r)t-y protest at  the Bharat Mandapam! Absolutely lacked imagination, forget integrity or inclination for the honour of the motherland! Why, with such futuristic n gorgeous stuff from all over the world on show, who at all would bother to look at such shi(r)t-y lack? Some imagination! 

Anyways, since 2014, 'protest-itis' is a new dis-ease rampant in India, right? People often hate for the heck of hating! The favourites are the much quoted but least read Manusmriti, the much maligned Veer Savarkar, and, of course, the much misunderstood Modi, our Prime Minister!

 Of course, some students of such 'school' have recently graduated in to protesting anti poor Bhagat Singh of all the people, not to forget Lala Lajpat Rai! How (not) to protest is a skill that needs no reservation, rather lots of talent, in brief! 

Has the Tiananmen Square gone so bare in the name of the much hyped Gen Z        'profess-ions'? Here is my protest against such belittling of the un-civil liberti(ne)s in the public space! 

Pratima@ Any responsible protest has to open up major important central issues. It cannot be a wink wink of the kiddish spit-n-scoot variety. Private gall cannot vitiate the public sphere! 

Quote of the day:                                                         "I am no longer accepting the things I cannot change. I am changing the things I cannot accept," asserts Angela Davis. B the change you wanna C, to use the Gen Z kinda slang! 

Word of the day: Profess                                           'profess' means to claim that one has (a quality or feeling), especially when actually it is not so at all. The word can also mean to affirm one's faith in or allegiance to a set of beliefs. Without such sincerity, empty 'professions' are merely 'professional' protest!!! 

Maharaj

 'Hail, His Highness' should be the ideal translation, the perfect title for a piece on Shivaji Maharaj on this day of his birth anniversary. Would it capture the regard one feels for him was my worry. I decided hence to go for 'Maharaj'. 

Much has been penned on/about Maharaj. Politically correct it is. Want some proof? Hereabouts in Maharashtra, they celebrate the birth anniversary twice, but not exactly out of affection. Rather, it is the convenient political affliction.

In the charged atmosphere today when 'Brahminwad/Brahmanwad' (it stopped being 'bramhnywad' long time back!) is the fulcrum, better not to  dare n write anything at all, would be the strategy, I suppose. Given the echo chambers dominant n pervasive these days, there is no way knowing who would interpret what how, especially because, given my surname, I should be in Eurasia!

No worries though! I am going to write about a cute folk story about Maharaj. The 'hero' of this story is a kid, too. Absolutely apt it is hence for the occasion. 

Savlya, our young hero, is a guard at some border. Anonymous it is luckily as far as I know. No regional identities involved hence! Savlya, like most of us, adores Maharaj. His orders are Savlya's absolute diktats even when Savlya has never seen/met him in person. 

Savlya sees a horse rider trying to ride past the border, and without any formal permission. Furious, he stops the rider, and threatens him. The amused rider tries to test his commitment. Satisfied with the kid's innocent dedication to duty, he reveals his identity. The rider is none other than Maharaj himself, mighty satisfied with the feel of  responsibility of every common citizen.

Why do I still like this folk tale which I read as a textbook title, may be, in the seventh or eighth standard? In my opinion, a king/ ruler who can create effortlessly such devotion for himself and the cause in the mind of a lad has to be a great n good king, right? 

Incidentally, this folk tale which in my opinion truly shows Maharaj's grandeur is a poem by Wa. Ba. Pathak, written in 1922. Right now I do not have any references to assess the effect it had on the Independence struggle which, I think, it must have had.

True, 'his-story' should always be authenticated. Otherwise, dangerous falsehoods, convenient to interest groups, may float around. No harm though, I suppose, in thus idealising an idol, right? Sure it cannot, and does not, have any ideological undercurrents that make stories, rather 'narratives',  in to opinionated traps. Instead, it proves the Wordsworthian axiom; namely, "the child is father of the man"! 

Quote of the day:                                                        "Kindness and faithfulness keep a king safe. Through kindness, his throne is made secure" is King Solomon's wise saying. 

Word of the day: fealty.                                            Fealty may sound archaic. It means intense, sworn loyalty and allegiance, and implies a solemn promise of dedicated support.

Aye, aye, AI!

 On February 16 began this 'maha yadnya' entitled the AI Impact Summit. Yes, there is a reason why I am thus naming it. The Hindu Yogic philosophy believes in the seven 'chakras' that lead to a healthy body and a balanced mind. The AI Impact Summit, right now in full flourish in the capital, too, has outlined seven such principles for the AI to follow. 

These principles, to state them in a summary form/fashion, would harness the impactful AI in the service of countries, would improve societies, would lead to betterment of knowledge and, most importantly, would help one and all. 

This fourth AI summit is different because for the first time a developing country is hosting it. An assertion hence it is that the world is now multi-polar. It is staged on a grand scale, too. One hundred and thirty-five countries are participating in it. Bigwigs such as Monsieur Macron of France, India's very own son-in-law, the erstwhile P. M. of the currently beleaguered Britain, the heads of Brazil, Sri Lanka are there. 

Centrally significant is the fact is that the who is who of the industry are there, be it Sam Altman, Bill Gates, or the pride of India, Sundar Picchai. I listened carefully to a number of conclaves. The Google CEO believes, he confirmed, that India already has hundreds of future Picchai's who would better the here and now of India. The TCS Head, N. Chandrashekharan, too, sounded highly hopeful about this technological disruption.

Nice to hear such optimism from such bigwigs! Well, after weeks of the UGC debacle, at l(e)ast some ray of positivity and hope! Yes, I do still feel that this technological revolution is not like the earlier ones. It is "intelligence" after all, 'artificial' though it may be. 

Tough it is to decide right now whether it would be a business bubble or a dystopian future as was predicted in Davos! Right now, however, with the varied cultural bonanza beautifying the event, it is indeed 'Aye, Aye, AI'!

Pratima@ The AI may open up a new job range. Would it be accessible to most all, conceptually, intellectually, difficulty wise? That is my first doubt.

 Next, the AI promises a technology driven world wherein, would knowledge be lop- sided? Already there are reports of Humanities Departments closing. Can such a future be truly human(e), or intelligent for that matter? 

Most importantly, how about the competition? Why, absolutely sad is the Galgotias University fiasco! 

Beware, beloved country@ the 'capital' event!

Quote of the day: Four quotes today that reveal facets of the relationship between technological explosion and society. 

1) "It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity," worried Albert Einstein.

2) "We shape our tools, and thereafter our tools shape us," asserted Marshall McLuhan.

3) "The real danger is not that computers will begin to think like men, but that men will begin to think like computers," argued Sydney Harris.

4) "Technology is a useful servant, but a dangerous master," worried Christian Lange.

Word of the day: disruption                       Disruption refers to radical change in/to an existing industry or market due to technological innovation. "No industry, for instance, is immune to digital disruption" would be an apt example.

Ugly is how it begins

 Remember the 2006 Nithari/Noida Pandher/Koli case? Disgusting beyond words it was. The horrible duo were man-eaters. Literally! 

Now let us turn to the notorious Epstein files. What with Rahul Gandhi winking at Hardeep Puri and thus as usual stalling the parliamentary procedure, ignoring all along all possible central and major issues to create ruckus through sheer nuisance value! 

The Epstein files, as reported in the media and social media, are much worse. Here there is every possible perversity, cannibalism of the Nithari variety seasoned with vulgar voyeurism and using minor kids as sexual toys. How such people can be called human beings is itself a question much worse than the famous Sphinx query! Devil incarnate would be ashamed to call these so-called elites his own! 

What is truly disturbing about these atrocious Epstein files is that they re-define corruption. Corruption is no longer merely monetary. I read up a piece by Sanjeev Chandorkar who relates the files to the neo-liberal/neo-capitalist mode of acquiring and centralising power. 

In Chandorkar's opinion, the elite(!!??!!) club gangs up the power brokers in various fields so as to wield control over policies across sovereign states, beyond national borders. To control them so that they do not tell tales, they are lured in to horrid activities, and blackmailed in to co-operation, and convenient silence. 

These power-hungry, power-drunk bigwigs, childish enough to 'play' ' kid' games, are not adult enough to own up their horrid wrong doings. Instead, they 'play along', destroying innocent lives while mouthing homilies about justice of all possible kinds! Satans incarnate! 

Why have I remembered such creeps at all? Well, on one of the statuses were uploaded pics of a picnic of an international school. Obviously, the kids must come from extremely affluent families to afford the fee- structure, and the unstated but very much meant donations, right?  

Clearly, these kids belong to the primary stage of 'education'. How are they celebrating the picnic feel? The pics show their party spirit! Dancing while standing on the handles of bus seats, dancing while holding a 'bottle' atop the head! A lady, could be a teacher?, is watching such antics calmly! Parents proudly parade such portraits! And the social media world wide gases about Epstein's! The devil begins, lies (in all possible meanings of this word) in details! 

Pratima@ May I share another Epstein  example?  Professors who are Ph.D.'s but cannot produce in writing (an activity wherein you can think and 'check' n correct) a single correct sentence, professors who, it is told, write books overnight,  professors who complete portions even when lectures are not conducted, professors who 'in-directly' leak question papers, professors who gladly give ten marks on five, professors who correct thousand papers in a day, professors who allow students absence from academics, professors who wear the latest designer dresses n jewellery, et al, what with the eighth pay commission (or is it the ninth?) salaries but shy from buying any books, professors who play politics in ways that could shame career politicians, professors who are better than the WhatsApp in forwarding downright n sick canards, and target every possible way individuals who possibly might be competitors! "All is well, all is well" shriek Ranchos, and everyone enjoys Epstein scandals! 

Quote of the day:                                                   "Integrity, transparency and the fight against corruption have to be part of the culture. They have to be thought as fundamental values," writes  Angel Gurria, the OECD Secretary General of Transparency International. 

Word of the day: embezzlement.                            Embezzlement is a white-collar financial crime involving the fraudulent appropriation or theft of money or property by a person to whom it was entrusted, such as an employee, fiduciary, or agent. Unlike theft, the perpetrator has lawful access to the assets but misappropriates them for personal gain. It is a serious offense leading to high fines and imprisonment.                          Such is the online definition. How to define embezzlement of ethics?

As such, such is the reality, why at all go for  "Let us learn grammar"? Who at all would care for correct usage? Most would consider it 'boring' and 'terrorising' to poor, poor (obviously not financially) learners! Better to forget the feature!

Just Juicy!

 It is the typical midday rush, traffic roaring at the usual high decibel, adding sound pollution to the smoggy air of the late winter. Suddenly from somewhere, you hear that lyrically rhythmic sound of bells tied around a cow's neck. 

The nostalgia for that peaceful rural life wafting in the astringent air makes you look for the source of that musical interlude, and then you see it, the simple sugarcane juice stand. In the corner is the machine jingling those bells, a few plastic chairs, a wooden bench, a calendar or two on the simple walls; that is the whole decor of this stall. 

The juice is machine squeezed. Some centers may add a dash of lemon and ginger while the sugarcane is thus getting machine crushed. Add a pinch of salt to it, and without any ice, too, it cools down the hot afternoon around. 

Aai used to like it, too. Often I used to buy it from a wooden crusher driven by a bullock whose owner and his wife would migrate for the season. The simple crusher had a rustic beauty of its own. At home, I used to add grated ginger and a drop or two of lemon with a little salt and cumin seeds. Absolutely heavenly, and a tad tastier than the typical homely lemon juice!

Sometimes, I used to carry home "neera", the juice of  ice apple or palm fruit, and dress it up a little with cumin seeds. She used to like it, too, like the coconut water. In fact, from the Grahak Peth, I used to buy small sachets full of the powder form of coconut water. A glassful of water and the contents of the sache would make a great drink, and she did like it. 

Solkadhi, made of kokum n curds n coriander leaves n ginger n garlic was another favourite. During the summer season, from the Grahak Peth, I used to buy one litre jars of kokum and amla  concentrates, which, too, made our evenings cool n fresh. 

Healthy juices, wealthy with minerals, et al. Wise choice indeed, unmatched, and with a zing of its own!

Pratima@The sugar cane stall reminds me of the traditional jaggery making unit where Papa had taken us during our Kolhapur visit. I remember the unit at Gursale, too, where I had gone with Ajoba, that is, Aai's father. In other words, these health concentrates are memory rich, too!

Quote of the day:                                                      Freshly squeezed, simply sweet are such nature's nectars that revitalise the taste buds! Truly heavenly concoctions whose very sip is nutrient packed perfection! Just like this quote squeezed from very many fizzy drink ads, fashionable but hardly healthy!

Words of the day:                                                  Here is a list of words related to taste. Taste adjectives may describe flavours and sensory experiences, ranging from primary tastes (sweet, sour, bitter, salty, umami/savory) to intensity and quality descriptors (tangy, rich, bland, or fiery).  Some terms (flavorful, delicious, zesty, smoky, and acrid) help define the culinary profile of the beverages, and of food, too. So says the thesaurus.                                                      As our wor(l)ds today are so full, this week let us learn grammar tomorrow onwards.

This Tale Tells a lot...

 As it is the Maha Shivratri, let me share this tale. For one thing, I love it. Want to know why? To begin with, it glorifies all that is "shiv", that is, pure, holy, 'spirit-ual'. The folk tale, moreover, echoes the beginning of the Ramayana which, in a way, proves that, in the essence, godliness is the quintessential Truth, whether the form be Shiva or Rama. 

Once upon a time, there was this wicked, vicious, heartless hunter. On the Mahashivratri day, he went to the forest for the hunt. He searched for a prey the whole day. He could not get any. Hungry he was.  He did not want to go home empty-handed though. He decided to stay in the jungle that night.

Like all crafty people, he had a cruel plan ready. He knew that at night animals would come to a water source to drink water. Thus would he get prey properly trapped. He went to the brook nearby, got himself a cone of water which he made there and then, and climbed a tree nearby.

As it was the night time, and as the no moon night was approaching fast, in the darkness he did not realise that the tree was a "bilwa" tree. It was a few minutes past the midnight. A fawn came to the waterfront. The hunter eagerly moved, and fast. In the process, from the cone fell a few drops of water, and bilwa patra, the holy leaves, on the Shivling exactly below the tree. 

The hunter had noticed nothing. Without his realising it, in the first hour of the  Mahashivratri, he had performed an abhishek. Something softer must have thus stirred in his newly emergent soul. When the fawn asked him not to kill it, he did not demur. The fawn promised to return after re-uniting with the family. 

In the second hour, it was the doe. The same process repeated itself with the same result and the same promise. In the third hour, it was the turn of the stag. In the fourth hour, that entire family returned truthfully. The hunter was so touched by it that he stood up the branch. The Abhishek this time was not meagre.

Shiva, the gentle, straightforward, kind soul that this deity is, was so touched by the unmeant prayer of the hunter that he appeared before the hunter to bless him. The hunter was truly transformed at that divine moment!

Now let me tell you why I like this tale very much. First and foremost, it shows the simple purity that is the "Shiva" principle. It proves, moreover, that Shiva is so kind and go(o)d-ly that unmeant prayer, too, pleases him. In other words, rituals do not matter as they are often mere religiosity. Most of all, I love the purity, simplicity, honesty of the deer family. Dear are animals! Hence the title of this Mahashivratri special, "this tale tells a lot"!

 Pratima@Even when this folk tale might not have a "Ma nishad: tvam" moment, it shows how the deities are kind to everyone. Hence the choice of this tale, though I had initially decided to write about the Shiv-Parvati vivah, and its symbolic signification.                                                                                                  Quote of the day:                                                       Wrote the great Adi Shankara in "Nirwan Shatakam",  "Chidanand rup:, Shivo ahm Shivo ahm." It means, I am the blessed, forever, soul-felt ecstasy, I am the pure, the divine, the heavenly. 

Word of the day: grateful                         Grateful is how I feel to Lord Shiva. I must confess that my genuine devotion for the great Shankara, the father of Ganesh, my favourite most god, has reached Himalayan heights ever since my Chardham sojourn (I forever remember every moment there/then) was truly "facilitated" whole-ly in a holy way. Not a single problem did I encounter, thanks be to all that is great, good, and divine, the " Shiv" principle !