Grand Gandhi

 You must have read that famous Sanskrit "subhashitam", quote of the quotes, which asserts, "arasikeshu kavitva nivedanam, shirasi ma likh, ma likh, ma likh".   With a triple negation underlining his total denial of a horrible fate, the anonymous poet  explains this unenviable destiny which consists of "explaining poetic truths to an insensitive person".

As a lecturer in English language and literature, one has to often face this  soul sullying task, namely, making listless, cynical students learn, if possible, like literary texts. One such trial for me was teaching an excerpt  from Gandhiji's "My Experiments with Truth"  to F.Y. B. Com Additional English students. Most of them were from extremely rich families. For them, English was a compulsory subject to be  finished off, surely not to be taken seriously.

How to make them take Gandhi seriously? So what i did was i made them discuss some typical youthful mistakes, doing drugs, drinking, et al. I made them realise that the monies for these indulgences would come from Daddy Dearest's wallet, and yet the stigma would be such that none of them would own up the sins in public. Then we discussed how possibly one should go about admitting such fringe indulgences. Finally, we began with the actual text wherein I showed them how Gandhiji admitted his mistakes truthfully, was open to correction thereof, et al 

Once the transparent and genuine quality of the Gandhi text was thus clear, the rest of the lecture was a miracle, a joy. Most students loved the text as we compared and contrasted it with the facile glib narration in the "Munnabahai" film. Such was the interest thus garnered in the subject that throughout an entire semester, some students did not bunk a single lecture! Hail, Gandhiji! Long live his simple, thought provoking, sensible writing!

Pratima@ Truth and an appeal to the conscience form the real Satyagraha. Thus begins the search for the real ahimsa .

Loneliness

 Have you thought about an easily visible but not much analysed phenomenon? Most youngsters, who would be in their late twenties now, often have just one sibling these days. Often the scenario is much worse. There is no sibling at all as the young man or the young woman happens to be the only child of the parents who would be in their fifties.

What immense loneliness is going to hit, and real hard, these young people is absolutely unimaginable. Well, your sibling may not meet you every day. Yet there continues to be an unseen but surely existing, 'very much there' kind of support. You may not need it apparently. The very fact, however, that in this whole wide world, there is someone who wishes you well without any expectations in return is a great blessing that is absolutely invaluable.

These lonely youngsters are going to miss that wonderful support. As it is their parents' ,mostly mothers', insistence on nuclear independent  families without any care and free of any responsibility whatsoever, would have alienated them from the larger clan. Banging the doors shut in the face has been their behaviour pattern when a relative dares to visit. Thus the connect with anyone is weakened.

Just as the familial bond is thinning, the marital relationships, too, are brittle. A divorce is no longer a stigma. If such is the personal space, the work culture is going to be tough as well coz Revolution 4.0, making inroads already, would soon ossify. 

Can a robot, however humanised, replace the human feel? Can an ELSA, a talking machine, have the soft tenderness of a sister's voice or the unstated support of a brother's silent look? Would very many hobbies replace that distant togetherness? Well, in my opinion,there is an urgent need to address these issues, especially because in the social imaginary, identity politics, especially caste wise, is getting sharper and fiercer.

The thought that truly terrifies me is the fate of the only child who is autistic or mentally retarded. When i wrote an article about this issue, many parents were indeed worried about them. May be, institutions like old age homes would be their future!

Here is a fervent prayer for the eternal well-being of our loved ones!

Pratima@ Benedictions born of love are the best cure for any dis-ease.

Rathsaptami

 Remembered my childhood days with ardent love yet again on Saturday. It was the Rathsaptami celebration on Saturday. Aai loved to celebrate it with full fervour. 

Without fail, she used to light up a small little bonfire in our backyard. Around it, she used to draw lovely rangoli patterns celebrating the Sun God. She used to decorate it with lovely flower patterns as well. At about 12 noon, she used to cook a special 'kheer' made of milk, rice, ghee, jaggery and grated coconut in a special utensil she (p)reserved for this very purpose. 

 This Prasad, hardly a spoonful, given the mode of preparing it, used to taste divine. Of course, equally tasty used to be the sesame-jaggery ladoo's she would make. She was excellent at cooking. She could even prepare the halwa with her bare fingers, extremely delicate and difficult art of coating each sesame seed with the sugary liquid. Later, she would weave them in colourful patterns to prepare lovely ornaments which she excelled at. I can manage only the laddoo's which i did prepare in the memory of my parents.

Were they old-fashioned, my parents, because they loved to follow such festivities? I do not think so. They were, to begin with, extremely generous in very many ways that the so-called modern people cannot even think of. Ours was a childhood wherein all that was the best of being a Bramhin household was retained, and all that was dross never even reached us. Honestly, it was a deep (and, for me, difficult) debate during an overnight train journey which made me so acutely aware of the caste cast.

It never mattered to us otherwise. My parents followed such rituals in admiration of the tight knit family togetherness. There was no ritualistic insistence. On the Rathsaptami day, they would talk about the sun's trajectory as well. The simple lovely celebrations basically added a poetic touch to that magic world called childhood. 

Subtly the meaningfulness of existence was, moreover, ingrained in to our very souls. The Pooja was a symbol of the change in the sun's diurnal patterns, while the kheer, the porridge, that Aai would consciously let boil over, signified seasonal abundance as well as generosity for all the creatures, ants to birds, who would partake of the boiled over sweet. 

In tune with the nature around, our childhood was a happy place. Re-vision-ing it in the memory mode is indeed a joyride.

Pratima@As i was green and grew/ along the starlit ways/of the pure love of gentle parents/for whom the home was where the heart won.

The Vacation Feel

 January 26 was a national holiday. This Saturday happens to be the fourth Saturday. Sunday is anyways a holiday. Most employees in the organised sector, and many students, have granted themselves a holiday on Friday. Thus Wednesday evening began the mini vacation. 

Often in our country, there are many such self declared vacations. What is your take on such breaks? Well, my opinions regarding this issue may not exactly be welcome in many circles possibly.

I feel that most people around us, especially in the government and/or semi-government jobs, do not work zealously. The utmost attempt often is to shirk duties and work related assignments as much as possible. The question hence of work induced, or otherwise, fatigue hardly arises, right? 

When avoiding job related responsibilities for which one gets paid is the common concern, how can there be any  burn-out? In other words, most often, people are looking for reasons to avoid work, shirk responsibilities, right? Sure one should party hard if one prefers the party feel. Do not you think though that it should be preceded by working hard? Otherwise, would not the charm of relaxation vanish in to thin air!?!?

If you rarely and hardly work but always party hard, vacations would get more boring than work itself! What say?

Pratima@ Work may not be worship for one and all. It should not be time pass either as such an attitude ruins your own soul!

Pet themes

 A regular reader of my blogs wondered why i did not write about either the Republic Day or the Basant Panchmi.  Well, i respect both these occasions a lot. I have fond memories associated with both, too.

When we were children, it was our parents' labour of love to see to it that we attended the Independence Day and the Republic Day Parade at school, come what may. No excuses were thought of by either of us, nor would they have been tolerated by our parents.

There was a genuine and honest quality to that feel. Well, now multiple media have so tamed the themes that writing about these sounds like a rehash of mishmash. Hardly can these be the pet themes then, right?

Yes, that term 'pet themes' reminds me of a study which tried to analyse why snakes can never be pets. Actually, people keep many other dangerous animals as pets, right? Why not snakes then? Are we influenced by tales such as the Takshaka motif in the 'Mahabharata' or the  'satan'ic serpent tempting Eve? 

Not really though. As per scientific studies, apparently, snakes lack the cerebral hemisphere, it seems. Well, i have not myself read much on this theme. I am sticking to it as per tertiary reading. Well, it seems due to such a lack, snakes can never learn anything. Pets, on the contrary, are adept at adapting and at adopting to human companions.

Well, look at human beings, on the contrary. No study of human brain exists wherein there is any significant lack of any hemisphere, not even amongst the mentally retarded or challenged. Yet most human beings are  much worse than the vilest of the most poisonous cobras! Why? That is the million dollar question! May be, one day, robots who are supposed to follow the three Asimov laws, would have some answer to this conundrum. Till then, beware of frenemies!

Pratima@Better be beware of the snake lurking in the garden! Truly poisonous!

Change is the only constant!

 How times change! Absolutely unbelievably! The speed of such changes is faster than that of any gale! Wreaking the same kind of havoc, too! 

A few examples could suffice. Schools, it seems, are no longer interested in the students' clarity of thought alone. They are equally, if not more, given the carbon foot obsession of the csr variety, interested in the clarity and purity of the air students breathe! Ready such schools would be to spend a hefty amount for such an acquisition! Everyone knows though who foots the bills really!

The best examples of the sea change, of course, would be in the linguistic area though. A few examples may prove my point. A mouse, for many an urban born, may never be a pest. Rather would it be their best friend, whenever, and if, they are not using the mobile, that is!

Why, the CPM has no longer anything to do with either communism or marxism. Rather now it means "cost per mille". Well, these are the days of the search engines and the social media. These are very efficient and effective marketing platforms.  So the cpm is now a reference to the" thousand impressions". Like the Sheherzade stories, for companies and advertising, 1000 is a magical and life saving number. Per mille (French for 1000) impressions, companies pay up! 

The very word "impressions" itself has changed. It no longer means 'that' how the great novel "Pride and Prejudice" was to be initially titled. Impressions now means "footprints", the internet visits an ad gets!

So times change, and with them, the mores, the language, the priorities, and oh, yes, 'preferences', as the politically 'oh so correct' language would put it. No wonder, change is the only constant!

Pratima@ Such is the speed of change that now any auto-tuner can make the most unmusical gruff grunting and croaking actually sound melodious!

Girl Child

 The need to celebrate the girl child day in 2023 is itself the tavestry of gender justice, or rather, gender injustice. Once upon a time, a girl child used to be considered a blessing. There used to be proverbs such as " your first born is a daughter/of wealth it signifies a shower". A girl used to be considered the literal reflection of a goddess, and used to be so worshipped. 

Such have been changes in the social perceptions that a daughter, whatever her position in the birth order, started being the curse, a liability for parents. Hence this need to accord her significance in the public sphere.

Unfortunately, such disregard for daughters needed to be (a)mended even in the so-called 'modern' first world countries. In Britain, for instance, the right to the throne of a princess, despite the birth of younger brothers, became an ordinance only in the second decade of the twenty first century!

In India, such corrective ways have indeed brought in some welcome changes. From a state like Haryana, for instance, now come a sizable number of women players in all sorts of sports. If a state, earlier known for utmost violations of gender justice, considers the uncertain arena of sports as a certain career choice for the daughters, it is a great and most welcome change.

Yet all is not well at all. A girl does not yet have the decisive right to say 'no' to any proposal. As her life choices are still guided thus as per the patriarchal mode, if a girl does not accede to any such proposal, she is still considered/called a 'chudail'. 

Well, the wheels of that juggernaut called social change, rattle real slow. It is hence a great sea change that many parents, at least in a socially less challenged state like Maharashtra, are slowly but surely, happy with only one daughter as the progeny/heir.  

Hopefully, sooner and surer, many such changes get welcomed in the public space, and the respect for girls and women becomes the norm, rather than an exception.

Pratima@ One such much needed change is the recognition that girls do NOT like to be chased as a trophy as shown in Bollywood films. Such a pursuit is not a tribute to any girl. It IS a direct insult to and violation of her 'agency' and privacy, most importantly.

Limericks cum sonnet

 Whence this cough-n-cold?

  A dis-ease centuries old!

  Makes you feel awkward,

  Life seems to run backward.

  No fever, no bad body ache.

  In runny nostrils for life's sake

   Some room for oxygen you make

   With each deep breath you take.

    Speaking is tough. In ears ring

    The distant songs sirens sing

     Of the creaky hospital bed's spring.

     The very thought makes the mood swing! 

     To the old adage, 'health as wealth', cling

      Thus alone can you lead life like a king!

Pratima@ managing limericks cum sonnet while real ill/shows how literatures your life fill!

Thunda, thunda, cool, cool

 Now that the winter is at its height, from late evenings to early mornings, there is a rather enjoyable nip in the air. Not only are the usual suspects like Mahabaleshwar and Nasik real cold, almost frosty, but even the  Mumbai temperature is hovering around 12! As for 'aple Pune', it is blowing hot and cold! The day is quite hot, while the late evenings and early mornings ARE cold. 

 To wear or not to wear the woolies is quite a question. If you leave home early, you need the sweater and the shawl, and the types which become quite a burden to bear by 12-ish.

Winter is on the whole the nicest season. It is not hot and bothersome like the summer nor is it messy and leaky like the monsoon. Around this time of the year, good food is available as well, beginning with the refined gulpoli and the yummy tilgul to the rustic hurda. 

In addition, any food eaten around this time makes you feel hale-n-hearty, healthy. You feel energized, moreover, to actually exercise. No worries about pounds and inches, in brief.

Everywhere there is a subtle happy, contented feel in the very air. Lovely music programmes by talented artists embellish evenings in winters. Film festivals beckon, sports spoil the spectators with choice in this very season. The greatest pleasure on earth, cosying up with a book and a cuppa of coffee and music playing on the system, is truly enjoyable in this season which has an in-built indolent feel. 

Come March, very soon, however, this pleasant cool feel gives way to heat striking us like a heavy stroke, and the April heat waves and hot winds start shaking the darling buds of May! Till then, this transient feel of contented happiness, as rare as in real life, is the best buddy to be forever awaited till returns the next  December. Long live the thanda, thanda, cool, cool winter season!

Pratima@ With leaves falling in the late autumn to new nascent foliage blo(ss)oming in late February, the winter season is as varied and lovely as life itself!

Profiles

 Are we getting to be an exploitative society? What I mean to say is: are most people these days interested in taking advantage of the situation, and of others?  Are we as a society getting to be more and more meanly and cheaply self centered at the cost of others? Have we stopped being a caring and sharing society? Instead are we merely, but rapidly, turning in to a give-n-take society?

Unfortunately, the answers to most all of these questions is a resounding 'yes'. Most people these days are neither committed citizens nor are they responsible at the job. As for care-n-concern for others goes, most people are hardly worth being called 'human'. Most often, these days, animals are more genuine and generous than the so-called human beings.

Shirking one's duty as much as possible, doing minimally and indifferently whatever work gets assigned, promoting only one's own mafia and ganging up, however poor quality-wise, licking the powerful feet (only) when the owner(s) of these feet is present, this is the work culture in most places.

 People prepare ppt's once and for all, for example. On the strength(!) of these, without minimal most changes, eons can pass happily. There are candidates, who will not change the 'junior/senior college' to 'higher secondary' in the PPT, while teaching at the school level, but their gang will hail them as geniuses who are better than Shakespeare, Milton and Wordsworth put together!

Such people desperately need to bad-mouth others. Rumour mongering, gossiping, passing vicious judgements without any reason or valid proof are the hobbies and spare time activities of such gangs. As work hardly matters to them, they have abundant spare time to 'work' on such activities.

In the process, not merely work culture but their own selves as well get truncated. Such pigmy personalities destroy not merely themselves, but the entire fabric of the society.

Luckily, however, there is a minority on whose back rides the authenticity, the efficiency and genuineness of any institution/company. I try my level best to be in such happy company. Luckily, my immediate family has always belonged to this category. 

My parents ingrained genuine values, idealism and creativity in all the three of us. They hated empty, shallow showiness, and taught us how to avoid such scenarios. We were taught to respect and value the genuine worth, not the money power or usefulness of people around us. 

That does not at all mean that we did not enjoy life. We did, and continue to do so, and abundantly, and positively. Indeed I thank my stars for being part of such a genuine togetherness.

Pratima@What is thy life if full of vile villainy?/As then hast thou no time for the truly brainy!

Rules and Rulers

 You must have already read this bit of the news, right? Oh,yes, I am referring to the furore caused by Rishi Sunak's "error of judgement", namely; removing the seat belt while filming an Instagram reel.

In a way, it is exemplary how our erstwhile rulers rule by the rules. Even when currently they lag behind us financially/economically, we indeed need to follow them in rejecting the celebrity culture, and standing by both the spirit and the letter of the law! 

In India, however, many politicians and their near and dear ones often blithely flout all sorts of stated and unstated rules and proprieties/conventions. Indeed it is unfortunate that fickle power, which seems to go to their head, makes them blind to realities and decorum. Either the Prime Minister has to rap them on the knuckles or there erupts a  (social) media frenzy, often over an absolutely avoidable non-issue, when grave themes are staring us hard in the face.

Undoubtedly, laws, conventions, decorum are for the sustenance and betterment of the public sphere. These are made by human beings, and sure can be amended, corrected, rectified, and so on.

At the same time, all, the rulers and the ruled both, must instinctively and religiously follow the existent and definitely alterable, when irrelevant, legalities. Thus would we never need that famous quote, "pata hai mera baap kaun hai", that is, "don't you know who my father is?"😀😝😀

Pratima@"Dharma: rakshti rakshitara:"!

Mother Love

 Do you watch wild life videos? They are indeed superb. Just as I like channels like the "Discovery" and the "National Geographic", i love to watch videos about wild life, animals in the open, for instance.

There was this lovely video that i watched recently. It showed an elephant mamma and her calf. The cow, as female elephants are known as, and her calf had got stuck in a  pit with quicksand and extremely slippery, sticky mud. The pair were stuck in almost till the shoulder of the cow. 

In other words, they possibly could not come out on their own, and were in real danger. All along the cow was trying to save her calf with her trunk. In fact, that attempt to save the calf, its safety seemed to be the only reason of her existence.

The forest department soon came to their rescue. As the Mama Elephant would not allow anyone to come near her calf in trouble, she had to be sedated first. The calf was soon pulled out of the extremely sticky and tricky situation. It would not, however, come back to safe shores, out of the pit, without its mother. It kept running back to his drugged mother 

Finally, the small one was sedated, too, and brought to a safer place. Very soon,  after structured efforts by the Forest Department officials, the cow, its mother, too, was on safe, dry ground. 

The calf woke up first from its sedation. Immediately it ran to its mother as if to wake her up. What an intense and lovely bond between the two! A beautiful and touching example of mother love it was!

Pratima@ Be it human beings or be it animals, the mother love, the parental instinct, is indeed the strongest, and especially when the child is in solid trouble. 

Creativity

 What is creativity? Yes, it is  sure rooted in the very many different art forms. It is in this sense a new way of looking at, a unique aspect of interpreting, reality through a novel use of the medium that the artist prefers.

Or is it the case that creativity is actually to be defined through the influence it has on the audience? Let me give you an example or two. Well, i attempt acrostics on my blog now and then. Personally, i am hardly ever satisfied with them.  Suppose, someone who regularly reads the blog, is not much in to verse, and yet is influenced enough through her read of my acrostics to attempt one in her own way, is not that the real, the genuine creativity?

Undoubtedly yes, in my opinion. Well, imitation in any form is the biggest compliment that is ever paid, whether acknowledged or not. To have such an impact, however, is indeed what makes your day! That is the real victory of creativity!

Let me give you another example. A student reads my blog posts on a daily basis. Writing her own blog is hence atop her bucket list. On the first day of the New Year, she actually starts one. In my opinion, the courage i have given her to initiate her own fledgling attempt is the real, true creativity.

Well, let me explain why i think so. Like all the good, great things in this chaotic life of ours, creativity, too, is like a small, little, flickering flame. But it lights up the surroundings, however dark. It is seen from, and up to, afar. Thus it nullifies, negates, neutralises the bullying darkness which would, otherwise, devour all that is brilliant but brittle, obliterate it by gobbling it up, out of existence. Keeping alight such a flame, in my opinion, is the real meaning of living, creativity included!

Pratima@ Genuine creativity has great ripple effects. Such echoes, even when indistinct, make the very existence melodious!

 

Editing

 Editing is a great skill. Very few people would agree with this opinion of mine. That is because like a brilliant translator, a good editor is visible by being invisible. No, that is not a quibble on words. A good translator is like a clean, superior glass that is so transparent that none notices it is there at all. So does an editor function. She/he weeds out all the unnecessary stuff.

It is indeed a tough job. Every author loves each word that flows spontaneously from her/his pen, or rather the laptop. Weeding out the repetitive, the non-essential would be the editor's job. 

An editor knows that writing lasts forever, and it is not merely the spontaneous overflow of powerful emotions. It is rather the recollection in the tranquility that makes it less senti-n-mental.  A good editor scissors out all such superfluous stuff.

The best example of such unique creative editing is the final version of "The Waste Land", an iconic poem that celebrated its century last year. Ezra Pound edited the original text in to its present avatar, which is reduced to almost one third of the original. T.S. Eliot accepted the master editor's contribution, and dedicated the final version to him.

An editor can make or mar a book. Look at the fate of Harry's book. It is jeered as verbal diarrhoea because it apparently runs away with the silliest details. Rather like loose motions, there is no check on the looseness of sensational smelly leaky leary details. The Americanisms, if the quotes are to be believed, are not weeded out either which is funny as the ghost writer seems to have forgotten that a British royal is supposed to write it. As a result, a confession that was to win him sympathy has got him extreme bad press.

I suppose, actually, the best editor has to be one's own self. All sorts of negativities are sure to emerge throughout our lives, in most all of our relationships. We must ourselves weed out the negative characters, bold the best experiences, and underline the nicest people who love us, stand by us, correct us, celebrate us.  The Book of Life would thus be a great read/lead forever!

Pratima@Editing is the best metaphor for intelligent and sensitive (ideally self-)  control!

Misbehaving

 Whom do you insult the most when you misbehave? I suppose, the simplest answer to that question would be 'the victim of your bad behaviour'. Well, i am not sure that would be the right answer, forget, the correct one. 

If the victim of your cheap, silly behaviour is a sensible person, she would completely ignore it as a delusional fantasy of a sick mind's attempt at self aggrandising which actually is the best proof of solid insecurities within. In fact, such a person would understand your wrong behaviour as admission of your multiple weaknesses, including lack of faith in oneself, right?

Well, when you misbehave, do you expose your upbringing? Yes, to quite sone extent. Your behaviour patterns show up the value systems, or the lack thereof, instilled in you, especially by your mother as she is the most intimate influence on you.

Personally, however, i feel that when you misbehave, especially when you are a fully grown adult, you misrepresent your own self. In other words, you are showing up yourself in extreme bad light. As an adult, everyone in his senses, would know that you make all your choices, beginning with simple choices about food, clothes to everything else!

 Similarly, when you behave stupidly, cheaply, with a terrible lack of manners, you are revealing yourself in the worst possible way. Nothing can be an excuse to condone it. Very many people have suffered extreme difficulties, terrible misfortunes without a single fault of theirs. Instead of mollycoddling themselves constantly, they have risen above the occasion, and made superb, great contributions to mankind. So why choose to be a mediocrity, right?

You do not believe me! Well, look at the current Harry saga on the world stage. He did not manage to belittle any one of his victims who, in fact, gained sympathy and credits for calm sensibility. People, moreover, found chinks in his mother's glamour. Most importantly, he made a complete fool of himself. 

He is at the end of multiple and very many brickbats. Not only in the present, but in the very history, he has now become a byword for all that is totally bad . Well, his goal was to humiliate his father and the family. Especially he tried real hard to tarnish the people on  his father's side. Instead, he managed to spatter mud only over himself.

In Marathi, my mother tongue, there is a proverb for such behaviour which could be roughly translated as "cutting your nose to spite someone else". Well, there is no effect whatsoever on your victim.  Instead, through such self indulgence, you make your own personal image disfigured for a lifetime!

Pratima@Bad behaviour costs a lot, and pays nothing in return! What poor trade off indeed!

Meaning of the Sankranti Festival

 Once upon a time, not quite long ago, like most of our festivals, Sankranti was an agrarian festival. It was a  celebration of  the 'rabbi' harvest, the second agricultural cycle annually.  It had a distinct climate orientation as well as it marked a particular phase in the diurnal journey of the sun. 

I suppose, both these aspects, solidly important currently, are, however, timepass tittle tattle for the majority. And yet Sankranti is celebrated with utmost fervour. 

One of the reasons could be that it allows the consumerist economy a filip. The market forces thus procure for themselves an occasion to re-assert their centrality in the post-capitalist world today. Hence, despite the recession looming large over the horizon, the festival was celebrated with tremendous fanfare. 

One of the possible causes, of course, could be the post-Covid loosening of the shackles that bound the public space for two long years. No, it is not a return to tradition. Yes, it provides a valid get-together feel which, anyway, the 'janta' enjoys every weekend these days. 

Once upon a time, it was a get-together occasion for women which no longer matters much. In my opinion, however, herein we get a possible reason for celebrating the festival, at least for the womenfolk. I feel, women as entrepreneurs have always been good at small time start-up's. 

A festival like the Sankranti gives a wonderful space to women's creativities. My brother's daughter-in-law was yesterday decked up in handcrafted jewellery made of the sesame jaggery savoury and the decorative thread. A delicate artisanship that is unique and rare, women are currently exploring such professional 'work from home' avenues, be it crafting such beauties or  making/cooking unique savouries meant specifically for this festival.

Well, my brother's daughter-in-law's aunt and mother spent some three days in crafting the lovely jewellery. For them, it was sheer labour of love. Aai, too, was excellent at it. She would even make the halwa, the base sesame-sugar sweet, with her fingertips.

In my opinion, such personal unique skills, that women have always traditionally nurtured, get an absolutely fabulous platform during such festivities. Even when meant only for the love for the Gen Next, it gives women a unique identity. Why, with the beloved child decked up thus,the sweet feel enriches the soul which is the real meaning of existence, of togetherness!

Pratima@Looked at creatively, rituals can become founts of love!

Hic, hic, hiccups

 When we were small, there was this belief. If you get a hiccup suddenly, someone, who genuinely cares for you, loves you, is thinking of you passionately, deeply. What a lovely, romantic meaning to assign to a physical action, otherwise miles away from anything approaching any positive, delicate feel! As for love, given the weird sound of hiccups, and the awful facial expressions while suffering the hiccups attack,  it would apparently not appear miles and miles anywhere in its vicinity!

Well, when we grew up, basic biology clarified how the diaphragm contracted due to the pressure built by acid reflux. Such details could drive away any possible romance. 

There were, moreover, comic references when it came to getting rid of the hiccups. Apparently, it would go away if you looked up at the ceiling where would be scowling a harridan of a mother-in- law!!! Actually, it would be a way of the royal release of the pent up air pressure, i suppose.

As Aai's caregiver, hiccups came to signify an antacid with warm water and the electric heating pad at a moderate temperature on the belly or the candle/glass treatment.

Remembered all these avatars or versions of  the hiccups coz just a few days ago, i got a terrible attack of hiccups which lasted for more than half an hour. The basic biology information regarding a release of acid reflux would not gel as there was not any cause whatsoever. Despite  such an impossibility, i tried every possible  method to get rid of it. It just would not subside.

Suddenly flashed back the childhood memories of that simple belief that someone acutely remembers you when you hiccup. Discreet enquiries proved that both my brothers and my much loved nephews were doing well. 

Given the strength and the duration of the hiccups spell, and the fact that it just would not vanish, here is wishing that the person who remembered me thus, had memories that. were positive and kind and good, and helpful! Long live memories!

 Pratima@Heart has reasons the head knows nothing of!

Judgemental

 Currently most all people are highly and hugely judgemental. May be, such as attitude is a by-product of the multiple media trials. May be, that is a way to escape the banality and boredom of the generally insignificant lives of most. When you 'high'- mouth someone, the implied grandeur of your posture makes you appear ethical, I suppose, which hides all the ugly and silly minutiae of your own meaningless lives, right?

Or is it due to the base, almost inborn, habit of carping that most all have. When you carp, you cover up your  innate defects by involving others in your tirade, mostly one-sided, right?

Personally I strongly believe that being thus 'judge' is 'mental'! What exactly do you know of the complex context or the savage situation she/he is in for you to let loose your slippery tongue that exposes your lack of brain power, of empathy, and of ethics?!?

 If you cannot put yourself in her/his shoes, at least do not let loose your tactless tongue which actually openly shows up your (lack  of) character! It might be silly timepass for you. It can get someone solidly in harm's way.

Personally, I am of the opinion that if  one can help others even in a small way, better to try it. If you cannot manage it, just keep quiet! If you cannot help a person, at least do not harm her/him! The hands-off is the best policy coz when you point a finger at others, four of your own fingers point at you yourself!

Pratima@ The weird pleasure you take in belittling others, you would pay for it here, if immediately not now, but SURE sooner than later!

Absolutely Inspirational!

 Remember that famous dialogue? A shoeshine boy refusing to accept the due payment thrown at him? "Mai Aaj bhi feke hue paise nahi uthata!". Wherever life may or may not take him, every person in the cinema hall admired his self respect and pluck, right?

Well, on the Quora which flashes occasionally @ my e-mail account, I read this story about a boy who every day worked as a shoeshine boy for twelve long hours, and  studied at night. Without fail, he topped every class exam.

As there was actually a pic to go with the story, it could not be a false feed from the Wapp University. What an inspiration! How much suffering people face in life, and yet never let go of efforts and hope!

The read made me realise two things: Number One: The social media need not always be toxic. Number Two: However many traumatic/lunatic experiences life and/or nasty meanies around you may throw at you, neither of these can harass you if you do not give up on your dreams! 

Dream, hence, forever! Work in a focussed, hard and smart way to make these visions in to realities, and life then would be  Eternal Sunshine for you!

Pratima@  Sure your feet should forever be firmly fixed on Terra Firma! Your head must, however, be always amongst the stars! 

Youth Today

 Yes, January 12 is the Youth Day. Sure it is celebrated in the memory of Swami Vivekananda, an eternal fount of positive energy, creativity and vigour, the basic most qualities of the ideal youth. We shall discuss in depth the great Swamiji and his life, his work some other time. 

Today let us talk about our 'famed across the world' democratic dividend; namely, our youth. Yes, we have the largest number of start-up's. True, we have very many unicorn companies. These young entrepreneurs and their young employees would be roughly two lakhs tops.

How about the rest of the vast majority? Are they really in a position and/or condition we can celebrate? Are they properly educated? Are they knowledgeable? Do they have both, the hard and the soft, skills required for a job? Are they full of the exemplary rigour, the magical vision, the genuine idealism one always associates with the youthful feel?

Well, across such barriers as class, gender, the urban/rural divide, the answers to such, and many other such, questions seem to be rather depressing. The youth today seem to suffer from the 'dis-ease' of limited goals and materialistic objectives. Their ambition seems to be to fit in to the consumerist goals the market forces assign them. 

Actually, as mostly the only child, or mostly two children, of the family, they are really much indulged. The educational facilities are infinite. Yet they seem to lack the drive. Nor do they have much empathy for the needy. They are happy with easy answers. No wonder, Google is their Guru! The exceptions to such profiles do exist, but they are in minority. Self obsessed almost to excess is the defining feature of the young today.

Youth, hence, one can assert authentically is not an age group. Youth is the feel of the abundant energy of clean dreams that are ever inclusive, and which make the dreamer in to a better, and better, person. Such vibrant celebration makes the real youth forever lasting, whatever might be the chronological age!

Pratima@ "Ah, to be young, that is heaven", as Wordsworth says, though the tense he uses is the simple past as he was talking about the French revolution, the youthful dream of a new beginning.

Online harassment

 With advanced technology emerge sophisticated tools of harassment, be it cyber bullying, be it stalking, be it photo morphing, be it trolling, be it some vicious, dangerous and victimising games, and so on, and so on. Well, all these forms of harassment are individual directed which is terrible and sadistic.

Let me tell you that on the internet exist modes of disturbing an entire meet as well. It is known as "zoombombing", it seems. An online seminar session that I attended this evening introduced me to this 'dis-ease'. Well, the seminar was international, and was organised by a well known university. Sentence One onwards, there were huge echoes. As per the organisers' instructions, i checked my laptop settings. 

All was, as it had to be, perfect, ideal, normal. Suddenly I started getting ridiculous, funny, crazy messages from some AB! It seems the zoom meeting was hacked, and finally the entire  meeting itself had to be removed. I googled the concept, and it seems the zoom platform is opener to such attacks, and it has been a regular feature ever since the Covid days.

Well, it was my gut reaction, and the Google info/search confirmed it: there *has to* be some inside connect who must have inadvertently, or knowingly, leaked the meet id, right? Well, yet again both the zoombombing and my suspicion that it has to be an insider job prove my eternal argument that science and technology are innocent. Human beings make them tools of torture!

Pratima@ Like the genie in Alladin's lamp, technology and science can either be a curse or a boon. Depends on who controls it with what intent!

Wither Simplicity?

 Whenever one just casually looks around, what does one get to see? People decked up to capacity, right? Why, often the DP's of most wapp accounts are literally fashion parades! Each such pic, regularly replaced, has the perfect dress combination 'suited' with all sorts of jewellery items and accessories, though we do not always get to see the 'booted' part of the person!

Take any walk of life, people are dressed to kill. No urban/semi-urban/rural divide here, please!  Dressing up, making up seem to be the life foci for all the age groups. People, the male of the species included,  seem so  obsessed with 'looks' that   one wonders when they get the time for it all! Better not talk about the expenses involved! Such scenarios scarcely seem to jell with the scarcity debates in the wake of an impending recession!

Beyond the economics and finances of it all, there is another major issue involved. Well, one wonders if what seems to matter these days is mere image creation through all such paddings. Who cares then of the vacant space inside  ( be it head, heart or soul) such human beings?

Yet another major ideational issue seems to be that; lost as the contemporary world seems to show-shaw,  where has simplicity vanished? Simple living and high thinking is no longer a motto. Instead, it is high living and simplistic thinking! Even highly educated people do not understand, and much worse, are not interested in the intricacies and nuances that emerge out of genuine attempts at creative thinking. 

'Wither, simplicity' can no  longer be a valid question as withered is simplicity.  No wonder simplification is the mantra which is indeed dangerous as machines are already taking over so many of our creative and thinking functions, and en masse, too. Very few seem concerned with the dangers and difficulties involved therein as apparently machines, too, simplify life!

Well, paper roses can be rich every which way. They cannot be innately fragrant though. Nor can they birth a bud, even figuratively!

Pratima@ All great work, all superb ideas are always simple, and never ever showy!

Diaspora

 Don't dismiss them as prodigals

 in the world wide, they create a niche

 and there re(-)poses with them whole-n-sole

 soft but sure, the Eurydice soul.

 Porous selves with in-between identities

 Odysseus dreamin rainbows yond horizons

 re(-)turns ever Ithaca-wards

 always a 'native' in a foreign wor(l)d!

 Pratima@On the 'Prawasi as Niwasi' day, this acrostic hopes to capture the complex diasporic reality!

 

The Prince as the Pauper

 I am sure you know the plot of this novel by Mark Twain. It is entitled "The Prince and the Pauper". It tells the story of a prince who impersonates a pauper, thus gets to know the life of a common man, the difficulties faced by his suffering subjects, and that makes him a more sensitive king, a 'right'ful ruler, a better human being, in brief.

Well, the narrative that unfolds in Twain's novel might not exactly be the reality. The British monarchy, moreover, that Edward VI, the son of King Henry VIII, the titular eponymous protagonist of Twain's novel, inherited is vastly different from its contemporary avatar. Yet the current melodrama that is unfurling in England is indeed real, and yet stranger than fiction!

Prince Harry, the younger son of King Charles III, who has been crying his heart out in all sorts of talk shows in his adopted country, is bringing out, it seems, his memoirs (must be, most probably, ghost written) that reveal no sympathy for his country  facing a grave crisis, neither for the suffering citizens, and surely not for his own royal family.

He, it seems, has decided to bare all his troubles which apprarently consist of Big Bro getting a bigger room in the castle, Wifey Dear not getting her way around, and so on, and so forth! It seems, he has never been Bunker Harry, and to prove his bravery, he has put himself and family exposed to the reigning supremacists in Afghanistan!

If that is indeed true, his intellectual calibre, it must be stated, leaves a lot to be desired. Apparently, the book details his horrible escapades such as doing the drugs, getting dead drunk, and generally making a spectacle of himself in multiple other ways! 

What ridiculous issues to be revealed by a man in his thirties! Or is it in his forties? How peurile when his country, where he has always led a privileged life of total comfort, is facing real lived difficulties such as the Covid threat, the economic crisis post Brexit, made much worse due to the Ukraine War! Hence the title of this blog!

May be, as commentators argue, the prince wants to overcome his own pauperdom, given his self exile. Monies need to be manufactured. The best titillation would be washing the dirty linen in public as readers, he must believe, are brainless enough to plod through some five hundred pages, it seems, of such much known royal scandal!

It seems his sense of being 'spare'd by birth was seconded by Wifey Dear who thus wanted bread and butter through bared (though not bred) bawling! Well, whatever Wifey, apparently a propah Mrs Manipulative, may 'manage', does not one have a head, if not the heart and the soul, to understand one's sense of belonging to a family that so far gave him everything, including this birthright to use the public space for a total tell-tale! Hence he seems to be indeed a candid candidate for a novel entitled The Prince as Pauper! 

Pratima@ Sad that in the twenty first century world when the AI is creating alternative realities, a prince should 'hurry' the death knell of the decorative monarchy by 'harry'ing it so!

Survival of the Fittest!

 No, no, no, i am not going to write about the great Darwin and his theory which my title may appear to quote. Well, that reference is more evocative. What i want to talk about in this blogpost is the evolution of technology, and how it seems to sound the death knell of an earlier mode of technology that was the talk of the town.  

Technology is truly short lived these days. Rather, it is unbelievably fast paced. Just a decade ago, the t.v. ruled the roost. The remote was the king maker in each family every evening! With the advent of the laptop, and worse still, the multimedia mobile, the t.v. is almost not needed with that "duniya kar lo mutthi me" instrument.

The multimedia mobile is easier to handle, is much more handy and accessible, one can share easily the links to be watched later, the charges are not hefty at least in India, and it is user friendly! Slowly but surely, forget the t.v., even the laptop is getting out of fashion! Now, moreover, the folded version is available abroad. Very soon it would hit the market here, too! RIP, the T.V. and The Laptop!!!

In the process are emerging many interesting issues worthy of serious consideration. The excessive individuation of the private space, the resultant diminution of the public space, its usurpation by the lumpen-ised and simplistic argumentation of all varieties seem, at times, to lead to the death of intelligent creativity!

Why be so pessimistic though? Creativity is like the constant trickle of water that can sooner than later break through the hardest rock! Better to learn from the mistakes of the  misuse of the earlier version of technology, adapt sensitively the newer, so as to grow better and more, right? 

Pratima@2023 progresses, teaches us a lot about the mistakes in 2022. Hence every January, hope renews yet again. The same is true of technology, I suppose!

Human(e)?

 Whatever is happening around us? Well, the 'Delhi ki beti' story is taking weirder round about turns than the u-turns of the car which apparently dragged her.  

If that is not enough, there is that unfortunate story of the young television actress. In a  huge press conference, and, much worse stll, under the garb of "telling THE truth", all the narratives continue to blame and shame her more and more, now that she cannot counter-expose everybody else's falsehoods! 

Much worse is the case of a totally horrid nature. Well, it took place onboard a flight from the U.S. It really spins at an unbelievably dizzy speed. On board a flight from the U.S., a senior citizen was treated like a urinal by a totally sozzled passenger with obviously huge contacts. 

What is common to all these horrors  is the dismissive attitude to women. It is indeed inhuman, indeed not humane, surely! Equally horrid is the melodrama which accompanies it, not to forget the string pulling and power(baaz muscle) flexing involved in the FIR. Leaves me speechless!

Pratima@ Such cruelty must be immediately nipped in the bud!

Master of Music

 He was mad(e) for music, i suppose. And what a great control over and finesse in it he enjoyed, whatever be the version of music he tried his hand at. Why, he could make a prosaic verse in to a unique song! Remember "Mera kuch saman"? By now you must have guessed who i am referring to. Yes, he is the one and only R.D., as most Bollywood music buffs would prefer to call him.

Oh, yes, he deserves such intimacy of-n-by his fans. Why, you would ask, right? Well, i would like to say, he is the Shammi Kapoor of Bollywood music. Just as Shamni Kapoor adorned the typical Bollywood hero with a youthful, boisterous feel, R.D's music gave the Bollywood music a peppy, zingy feel. 

I could provide an endless list of such songs. Why try that impossible feat though because each of us would have a unique favourite, right? Remember the vicious threat in the "ya Madhu?" in  "Mera nam hai Shabbo" from the film "Kati Patang"? The lilt despite the hysterical, subtle revenge is real musical which adds  menace to the danger of the fearful exposure. In other words, his great music adds a speech like normal rhythm even to a gyrating cabaret song.

Though well known for using the western instruments, though famous for adding the Western symphonic effect to the  Bollywood genre, he was great at the Indian classical music as well.  Some of his gems in this version  of Hindi film music are indeed some of the greatest examples of the use of the classical base in filmy songs.   

He tried his hand at, or rather wielded his music director's baton, at most all types, from a soulful ghazal, an emotional romantic song, a prayer, a lullaby to a groovy dance number. Yet he was branded with a rhythm strong, rather than the melody master, kind of  musical identity.

Recognition and appreciation reached him quite late, almost posthumously with the great music of "1942: A Love Story". In fact, he was regularly accused of plagiarism, despite his tremendous originality. Why, he was, and probably continues to be, the best  fusion artist in the Bollywood music genre.

Well, not only his fans but the cognoscenti as well know the power and the glory, the real worth of his superb contribution to the film and non-filmy music. Let me hence conclude this small little appreciation piece with minor meaningful changes to one of his own great creations, namely, "nam gum ho jayega/chehra bhi badal hi jayega/uski dhun ki awaz hi pechan hai/ Jo bilkul bhi yad hi rahe", right? 

Pratima@ It is indeed difficult to thank such artists who have enormously enriched our lives. 

(In)Sight

 Imagine a world where there is only darkness around you. Well, the only colour you know is black. In fact, you do not even  know or understand the concept called 'colour' as it does not exist in your world. Well, thus is the reality of the visually impaired, the visually challenged.

Louis Braille knew such difficulties from real close quarters. This French genius was born with healthy eyes, with typical normal vision. A freak accident in his childhood ruined his eyesight, robbed him of his vision. Did he allow that misfortune to destroy his insight? No way! With perseverance, he invented the Braille script for the visually challenged, and, voila, the world became "in sight" for each person thus affected/afflicted.

Monsieur Braille's life is indeed a great insight. It teaches us how not to let difficulties and misfortunes stand in our way. In fact, we can learn from him how to use a total negativity so as to transform it into a complete positivity. 

Life must have been terrible for the blind those days, in the early decades of the nineteenth century. There must have been glaring and countless superstitions about the disability. Currently, there are audio books, the voice enabled softwares. All such comfort zones were unthinkable then. Yet he never gave up. Hence he made a change  not only to his own life, but in the lives of millions thus afflicted. 

His life teaches us that mere sight or the loss/lack thereof is nothing much. What matters the most is the insight, the vision that enriches not only your own personal space, but generations to come! Hence this humble tribute to Louis Braille, the 'vision'ary who shows you, reveals for each and everyone, the 'in-sight' that can light up wor(l)ds!

Pratima@Remember Milton's great sonnet "On his Blindness"?

Vicious Cruelty

 Have you read about the viciously cruel Delhi accident in the wee hours of the new year? A car dashed against a woman's scooty apparently, and dragged her around for miles on end. While she died due to multiple injuries, the duds in the car did not even realise, it seems, whatever was happening!

How would that be possible? If a scooty or a dead body were to be stuck in/around a car wheel, it would make a terrible noise, not to forget the obvious difficulties in driving the car. The only conclusion hence is that the five creatures in the car were either dead drunk or they committed this heinously cruel act knowingly!

Whatever is happening to people? Where have compassion and empathy evaporated? Into the stratosphere? Is it a 'victimising a woman' issue? Or is it plain indifference to others' pain and hurt?

I think basically it is absolute                       self-centred behaviour. People of all sorts and at different authority positions behave with utter callousness these days. A peon who consciously does not allow you to meet the officer and the officer, who despite an appointment, keeps you waiting because (s)he is busy with office politicking and silly gossiping and ganging up to make a game of a person s/he does not want around are equally self-obsessed with that small little power position that has gone to head.

 The next stage/step of such vulgar self- importance is the Delhi barbarity which, too, consists of plain ignoring, in fact, enjoying the discomfort and pain of someone else who appears defenceless against one's mean obsession with power and self-importance.

Due to such self-obsession, actually you dirty your own self to such an extent that you can without any pang of conscience harm and harass another. The 'high' is more if the victim of your  self indulgence is a woman! 

Harassing a woman is always easy because the societal mindset easily grants she has to be by definition wrong. To cover up your own issues and infirmities, you can easily spread vicious rumours targetting an innocent woman. Well, you think she is in your way. Remove her! How does it matter whatever happens to her?

It is such vicious cruelty of the "i, me, my ego, my comfort, my pleasure, my gang" that is the real cause of the Delhi barbarity. Sure there would be enquiry. Hopefully there would be justice. It may even be argued that the perpetrators would be paid back in the same coin in this very life, etc, etc, and etc! What is the use though? An innocent, blooming life has forever been squashed most cruelly! How about her family? What happens to them? Why worry though so long as your ego trips are on!

Pratima@ Self-centred callousness and vicious cruelty are two sides of the same coin!

Mood Makers!

 How our hearts are twisted by some vague memories is indeed difficult to gauge or grasp. Let me give you a concrete example. Our home is some six or seven kilometres away from the railway station. So the train bogeys rattling away boringly, the piercing train  whistle do not form part of our daily story, unlike the Mumbai houses right next to the tracks.

Well, in winter months though, from midnight till six a.m., when the density of the air is indeed thick-n-high, we can hear not only the whistle, but even the bogey wheels chattering away against the track. The long distance sound has a certain mystique of its own.

On such occasions, moreover, Aai used to talk of the "whistle of the train" scene in "Pakiza" which, too, has its own intense sensitivity, and hence the ability to tug at the heart strings.

 Given all these associations, now whenever on late winter nights, I listen to the long whistle of the train as it complements the rattle-tattle of the wheels, somewhere seemingly far far away, it brings tears to my eyes. It creates a soul twisting melancholy about something lost, vanishing  forever and forever, further and further away, beyond the farthest horizons! The much loved  winter then becomes the cruellest season!

Pratima@The train whistle or the wheels drumming their own ditty against the tracks, oh, what solid but never expected objective co-relatives! T S. Eliot would have loved them!

The new year begins...

 The New Year Begins! Means what happens? There are two extreme responses to this event. Some people dance till their lower most limbs, legs,  cannot any longer shake, and drink till their upper most organ, that is, their  non-existent brains, ache. The other group, though not particularly respectful of the native culture always, suddenly remembers the Gudi Padwa. Well, both breed boredom as both are poses, postures, parades to impress and/or irritate others.

Actually, when the new year begins, the only thing that changes is the calendar. Otherwise, we are just the same. Are we though? Should we be though, moreover?

No, we are not just the same. For sure, technically, we have grown a year older, a fact most people dread in the plastic (lasts forever!) world today. And, oh, yes, we SHOULD not be just the same either.

With a new calendar, opens a new Vista of Newer Possibilities that promise to work out real well as we would have hopefully learnt a lot, given our lacunae, our mistakes, our failures in the  past year that just a few seconds ago was the present.

The New Year, i would like to say, is like opening a new chartbuster for a quick read. Well, secretly we know that the plot would be the same, that the characters cannot be vastly different, and yet we are hoping, even against hope, that the climax would be different, and the ending would be the forever happy types.  It is this bright hope, this brilliant never-ever-give-up spirit, that is the real new year wish in my opinion.

So, have a happy read of the chartbuster called the new year. May you get a delightful  lead in the blockbuster named 2023!

Pratima@Happy New Year is a pleasant hope that the celebrations🎂 this night would last throughout the next year, in fact, lifelong!