The Good Side of the Bad

 Well, I would not know whether you, too, are a diehard optimist  like me. Well, as for me, I always try my level best to find the good, the proverbial silver lining, in the worst situation. 

Let me give you a concrete example. Most all people love to hate the social media. I look at it as a helpful friend. No, I am not talking about the "seven best quotes by Shakespeare" types of info bits, though I do flip through these. 

Actually, not only on the YouTube, but on very many internet sites, there is a huge pile-up of information, basic to advanced, on very many topics. I do browse through such pages, of course, for a given limited time. Yet indeed it is time well spent. 

Similarly, in the worst kind of scenario, I always try and see something positive, a minute little thing one learns from it. An example could be the following. i know how one feels when the so-called busy people would not answer your message. As a result, till this day, I have never ever left a message unanswered. I might just use at least an emoji even though my knowledge of emoji's is not very thorough.

Even when it comes to people, even if they are not closely located in my lifescape, I try to learn from others' negative traits. A hypocrite may show me the snake in the garden, while a frenemy would teach me how not to be too very credulous. 

In brief, in this life of ours, every moment is a teacher, every situation adds to experiences, every person, even when distant, is a trainer! Life, in brief, is a school which allows you to be a life long learner, and every day is an exam where you may seemingly fail to soon pass it with flying colours.

Pratima@ We may fall/fail again and again. In the process, we rise/raise ourselves time and again, right? 

Relevant any longer?

 Recently, on October 24 to be precise, was celebrated the United Nations day. A truly decisive body in the post World War II period of the suspicions filled Cold War era, it started losing its valency and value in the post perestroika period which preceded the full scale LPG blast. Till the seventies, so powerful it was that there was  a fiat to the effect that all the allied nation states must declare It a public holiday. 

With the LPG, it was the IMF and WB that gained currency, and literally! With the consumerist mentality ruling the roost, any ism that mattered was capitalism. The fall-out of all these ideological upheaval is the multi-focal world today.

The American bossing, rooted in the dollar power, is unmistakably being questioned. The binaries such as South/North, colonising/colonised, developed/developing, rich/poor no longer matter much in the post Covid era. Covid indeed was a leveller.

It raised questions about China being the only production hub of the world. In this questioning lie the possibilities of India emerging as the world's economical, vibrant production center. 

In other words, such is the soft-ly backed hard power of India that India can begin a parallel U.N. with the help of the countries it helped during the Covid.

To remain relevant, the U.N. must understand this subtle but sure shift of power patterns, and the U.N. should follow the inevitable process of democratic decentralisation. Long live the U.N.

Often it is said now that in the multi-polar world, if the U.N. does not fall in line, India can create a parallel U.N. with the help of the  countries it helped during the Covid.

Well, such democratic opening and decentralisation of the American-European power bodes well, as all would indeed be well in such a world. For the Indian youth, it is necessary to constantly upskill themselves so that in the AI era, they can thus develop a safe country, a h(e)aven for all.

Pratima@ The brave new world demands brave new policies, too! 

Professional Ethics

 Is there a difference between a job  and a profession? Undoubtedly, yes, there indeed is! A job would always give you a salary, but not often satisfaction. May be, it need not be your vocation. Definitely not your avocation. A job is for the pay cheque, right?

When it comes to your vocation, and certainly when it comes to your avocation, you are not much concerned with contacts, promotions, power, power positions, pay packages. These are absolutely irrelevant.   An avocation is the call of your soul. You follow that path, however much untraversed, because both the final destination, and this narrow lane which leads you thither are your dream.

Does that mean that whatever could be your job is a mere compromise? Does that grant you the permission to care for it the least? No way because that is where professional ethics walks in.

 One may not like the job. One is there because one has good contacts in the field, and so one lands the job easily.  In fact, much much better candidates with far far superior abilities do not get it because of your connections.

Let us look at a concrete example. Most often, most people are in to teaching because they would get a permanent position with the seventh commission pay, thanks to their wonderful contacts, and often deep pockets. Often  Daddy or Mummy or Guide Sir or Hubby would have reserved, even created, the position for such people.

Do such people care about the student clientele (for them!), the discipline or the branch, the subject or the 'paper' they teach? Most often, not! Teaching for them is a routine rut. 

Most often, they would not conduct lectures under some pretext or the other. If they actually teach, they would pontificate most indifferently with the help of the same notes (at times, 'guides') made almost once and for all. Their own hold over the subject would be nothing to write home, or anywhere for that matter, about.

During staff meetings, they would repeatedly discuss in detail the syllabus design, but never ever the actual content because 'friends' are to be 'maintained', contacts cannot be offended, no? Who cares, how does it matter if the perfectly structured syllabus has no depth, or the actual texts chosen are centuries old, are not relevant to the current contexts, to students' needs and/or their futures?

 So long as a typical format gets followed (which even a set computer programme can do), and your 'friends' are 'satisfied', why worry about the contents? Who cares about the objectives of education? THAT is the total lack of professional ethics which murders great institutions, and education, and the society in the final analysis! 

Pratima@Lack of professional ethics kills you (and completely) to begin with, and then you murder the very spirit of everything. No waters of all oceans can clean that stain on your conscience, if any at all!

A real special day!

 October 28 is indeed special. Wanna know why? Well, it is dedicated to Mahrishi Valmiki. It is supposed to be his birth anniversary. Not to worry. I am not going to get in to the debate regarding his birth. Well, I have not read enough about this issue. Unless I have myself looked up all the references, I never get in to the identity politics kinda debates. 

My focus, moreover, is absolutely different. In my opinion, Mahrishi Valmiki is the foremost author who establishes beyond doubt both the vibrancy and primacy of literature, however much most people may snigger at it as irrelevant in the torrid times today.

Literature, as the epic Ramayana proves, blooms out of a deeply moving episode. Remember the first shloka of the Ramayana? "Ma nishad: tvam..." proves how literature has empathy as its very base. Hence the relevance of literature in the heartless, soul-lacking era now.

This first ever shloka of Sanskrit literature, moreover, has at least two meanings which proves essentially the open, democratic nature of literature. No epic, no novel, no play, no poem, however realistic, would ever have one and one and only one meaning. There would always be layers after layers of meaning which would open up as per the reader's capacity. Indeed "as many readers, as many interpretations" is the versatile depth of literature. In other words, literature makes a reader a creator as well. Once again, such creativity is seminally needed in the ChatGPT kinda of times today. 

Literature, moreover, creates for us paradigms of ethics,  the ideals we can follow, as in the "Ramayana", and  literature attempts it in the most indirect, non-didactic way. Literature thus enriches the reader deeply, but most subtly.

The real value of literature is that such enhancement reaches us most artistically. Once the metre of the epic was set with "ma nishad: ", faultlessly followed it was! Such sound design, the figures of speech, the rhetorical weave of literature are truly subtle, and yet very effective.

Ever youthful, literature, moreover, is an individual oriented art. Unlike music, drama or films, it is not a group activity in the making. A book, a reader and a cup of coffee with a pet silently snoozing at your feet can create a brilliant universe which vicariously exposes all the villainies of the real world, and yet empowers the innocent vision that makes life worth living.

Well, i can go on and on and on about how words create worlds. Given this fecundity of literature, this tribute to the "epic" author!

Pratima@ "Literature irrigates the deserts that our lives have already become," says C.S. Lewis

Gratitude enriches us!

 In my opinion, gratitude is the greatest virtue. What say? Well, the biggest debt of gratitude, of course, goes to our parents.  The mother who gives us birth, rears us literally giving up her selfhood sure needs all our gratefulness. But so does the father. His silent love, care, concern which give wings to our dreams often get overlooked, a serious emotional crime in my opinion. 

Next, our siblings deserve our deep appreciation. They 'know' us, and hence support us the best when it comes to tough times. The very feel that in this huge wide universe, there is somebody in whose veins courses the same blood as yours is a very calming feel, right?

I do sincerely and seriously think that our profession as well as the institute where we work deserve our gratefulness. Most all people look at the job as a boring routine to be "finished" off, as a rut outside which lies life! Well, forget all high funda ideals, the two time meals proceed thence!

Sure, Mother Nature, Motherland, Society, our pets, too, need our eternal thankfulness, right? Unfortunately, however, most of us ignore them, ill-treat them, vitiate them the worst way, right?

Friends, too, deserve our thanks if they are the right ones. If the friends are distractions in human forms and/or frenemies in trendy clothes/gadgets, lives get ruined. Friends, like jealous, vicious relatives, are a double edged weapon, to be carefully, cautiously handled.

I do think, however, that at least some part of our gratitude should be reserved for our own "self", ready to grow, committed to constant self-analysis, standing up to any negativity, however quixotic it may appear to others, the  balanced "i-deal" that makes life worth living, i believe! 

In brief, one should be like the Datt Avatar who found a "guru" in everything he encountered and in everyone he met, live, inanimate, small or big, human or animal, and so on! Thus takes roots gratitude in our being, and thus flowers a life that becomes a gorgeous garden worth a visit day n night!

Pratima@ Gratitude for today, for the tomorrow, while thanking every experience past makes us truly beautiful, right?

Attention, please!

 The low attention span, that is the grouse that defines the current context. Believe me, it is not just the classroom that suffers this deadly dis-ease. Why, the much beloved channels (not any longer, what with the mobile and the OTT) cannot boast of holding the spectators' attention. Flipping through countless channels is the fav (see, never any attention gets paid to the full form when quickie pronunciations and vivid emojis do the job fast!) hobby of many viewers whose remote runs faster than the score board when Kohli is batting.

Why is the attention span so low? Ideally, as per the human physiology and the brain chemistry, forty-five minutes form the upper limit. Now, however, being bored boils down to five minutes tops. 

One of the reasons could be the  information overload and easy accessibility of shallow information. Let me give you an example. Till almost 2010, apps were not so very easily available. When a kid learnt a foreign language hence, he had to pay attention. Now, ladle de pappaji aur mummiji believe that hundreds of app's and thousands of YouTube videos can turn their silly, over- pampered brat in to an expert overnight. So who needs attention!?!

With the advent of the AI, the malaise may grow, and worse. Till now, one had to stay put and browse through the very many sites. Now a minimal feed in to the ChatGPT finishes off in a jiffy what would take tedious hours earlier. Why and who would need attention span? When being 'creative' is so easy, who needs riyaz or why the eye-(and brains, if any)straining read, right?

Look at the celebrities now. They are here today, and gone tomorrow. Everything appears to be fast now, inclusive of all the meanings of the term 'fast', mind you. Attention, which comes from a Latin root which means give heed to, be alert, obviously needs time and systematic consideration, and is hence scarce.

Unfortunately, low attention span does not merely affect pedagogic or professional abilities. Slowly but surely, human relationships, including close bonds, are turning in to kaleidoscopic images that shift and re-arrange with every tilt and each twist! That is the real tragedy with no possible happy ending lining any near or distant horizon!

Pratima @ We still have time, a lot of time, to make ourselves what we truly are, if only we pay attention!

Celebrations: Mere Traditional rituals?

 "Dasara San motha/nahi Ananda tota" was the childhood rhyme that glorified Diwali the same way. Roughly it can be translated as "Dasara is a festival great/joy aplenty, and the best!" Yes, festivals create that happy, joyous, contented mood. Sure, it is a lot of hard work for the home maker. That is okay though. Tough, punishing schedules anyways are the norm, right?

When we were young, Aai-Papa celebrated every festival with lot of fervour. There was not any religiosity, but basic customs and traditions were followed to the t. Every Dasara, in the evening, Papa and us used to go to the Ganesh temple. Without fail, Aai used to perform the "औक्षण" when we returned. I remember very well the "himru" shawl, the "pat", the unique rangoli she used to draw with the wheat pearls.

 We used to look forward to these rituals as much as the sweets and the new clothes. Not only were we told the traditional tales about the festivals, the reasons behind all the rituals were explained as well. Why,  at home, the national festivals used to be celebrated as well!

We could never give a miss to the August 15 or January 26 parades, even when the school was some solid ten kilometers away. Moreover, back at home, we had to write essays, make speeches on all such occasions, including Tilak and Gandhi Jayanti. No wonder, I got the state level first prize for my essay on Tilak even when I was just a sixteen year old, and the other competitors were much, much older.

These days, however, festivals are mere buying sprees. Often, people choose to eat the festival special lunches in hotels, or buy these meals online. Most rituals are dismissed as mere superstitions. The dry "apta" leaves in the market these days are no patch on the beautiful handcrafted paper leaves, heart-shaped and golden-painted, that we made every Dasara.

No, I am not being nostalgic. My problem is with the consumerist mentality. I feel in the empty chase of false modernity dictated by the market forces, children today are missing on the lovely memories made during the childhood, and lasting a lifetime.

 In such practices, moreover, lay a subtle concern for the environment, and for the basic agriculture oriented Indian lifestyle. Undue wastage was a no-no, too. Even today, I cannot thoughtlessly  waste food, nor do i like electricity stupidly wasted. I cannot sleep with full a/c on, and two blankets!

No, I am absolutely not stingy. Quietly, i would spend quite a lot on social causes, though i might not wear tight jeans and tees with plunging necklines that leave nothing to imagination. The bindi on my forehead may make silly shallow fools believe that I am traditional, but most humbly I can state that my deep awareness and thorough knowlege of not only my discipline, but very many other subjects is most up to date! 

In a way, traditions and customs craft such a holistic personality for us as indirectly values get instilled. I am eternally thankful and grateful to my parents who created for us a happy childhood filled with love and care.

Pratima@ Modernity is a complex phenomenon with a unique relationship with the tradition.

The Goddess Within

 What does the Navratra festival narrate to us? Oh, yes, surely the multiple stories traditionally associated with the Devi, and her avatars. Certainly the very many rituals that are associated with the festival. Oh, yes, the conches blowing, and the drums thundering. Undoubtedly, like every other festival in India, this festival, too, is a surfeit of tastes, sounds, sights, fragrances, not to forget the rustle of the evening breeze as it gently caresses the October-heat-blasted day!

Yet the Navratri does not merely signify an abundance of perceptions. It is the beginning of a new seasonal cycle as well. More than that, however, in my opinion, it is the time to awaken the real Devi within you.

Who and how is this Devi within? Undoubtedly, she is gentle. She is very kind, too. She sure would go out of her way to help. Such would be the humane generosity that ugly, harsh treatment by others, given currently their tough times, would be overlooked. That should the Gauri within.

Gauri, however, can be  and must be the Durga if her innocent guilelessness and clean straightforwardness are considered gullible foolishness. When too many coincidences happen without even any distant logic to explain these, it is the time to be wary. 

One should be goodness itself. At the same time, one must know, one must realise that one's straightforwardness would get interpreted as silly stupidity by the wily who would like to snigger at one's credulity. The Durga within watches carefully the invisibly obvious trap getting to tighten as a noose. Time to expose it, and tell about it to a  few in the know, almost as an alibi!

The Devi within is intelligence tempered with emotions, and feelings fostered by brilliance. If either is in excess, the balance between the Gauri and the Durga would be askew, and literally. In other words, the Navratri, as one understands the significance of each reincarnation every day, consists of the realisation that as a woman one needs to be kind and just to oneself as well. 

Dash-hara is thus the day of celebration, of a win-win over demons such as fear, harassment, doubts, worries, difficulties, gullibility, hateful frenemies who would like to use-n-throw, knowing sneers, maligning smears to emerge triumphant of the whole(-n-)sum of all that is the best within, ready yet again to face the wor(l)ds wisely.

Pratima@"sa: aham/soham", Aai used to say, is the true realisation of the unique oneness between the devotee and the divinity. Indeed, every festival is the ideal "muhurt" to realise the divinity within.

The Dreaded Day!

 Tithi wise, today is a great day. It is the Durgashtami day. Of the Navratra, it is the most important day. Traditionally, on this day, in Maharashtra, there used to be the "Awahan" of the great goddess. In this ceremony dedicated to the invocation of the deity, there used to be a game called " ghagar funkane". Deep breathwork combined with lovely footwork would be the essence of this process. 

Date wise however, it is not exactly a heavenly day. Well, it is the date associated with a certain person whom most employed love to hate. Yes, you guessed it right. It is the boss' day.

Why is the boss often hated? For communicating authoritatively? Behaving brusquely? For aggressively finding fault in a job done the best way? For being suspicious? For being a tiger in the office, while behaving like the bunny rabbit at home?

Well, yes, that used to be the boss' image traditionally, what with a secretary he lusted after thrown in as the eye candy. Well, like every other relationship these days, the employee-boss bond has undergone a sea change, too. For one thing, most often, the boss is a SHE. Sure, there would be cases of the "devil wears Prada" variety of female bosses. 

I believe though that women perform better in any context typically denied to them. That is because women mostly are empathetic, genuine, caring, and creative. Sure, you might have met many women bosses who are anything but this. Such catty, mean, jealous bosses  could be the rule, but exceptions matter, right?

Moreover, these days most employees are their own bosses. For one thing, post pandemic, it is blended work. Most people work from home, dropping in at the office once a week. None can be too bad across the distance mode, may be!?!

Yet another change is that there are very few bosses these days, as there are many start-up's. When you are your own boss, life is easy; work is fun, right? May be, that is the time to be more self-aware, conscious and cautious, the duties traditionally a boss performed, right? In brief, 'boss is always right'!!!

Pratima@ The best boss makes one an excellent employee, right?

Shammi Kapoor kabhi marte nahin

 I am sure you all have watched "Anand", the film that could sell zillions of tissue papers. It is a cathartic film coz while watching it, most all spectators cry their hearts out. At least I do. I might watch it for the nth time, and yet I weep, cry, silently sob. This soul-stirring film has such unforgettable one-liners as "zindagi et natak ...", "zindagi lambi ...", and so on. One of my favourites is "Anand kabhie marte nahin" which signifies that Anand is sure a live-ly human being. More than that, Anand is a way of thinking, living, feeling; an attitude to life, a mode of  being with the people, without being of the people!

Well, in my opinion, there are a few non-fictional, though filmy, stars/actors for whom we can use this one-liner. Shammi Kapoor, whose birth anniversary falls on October 21, is undoubtedly a candidate for this category.

In my opinion, in his heydays, Shammi Kapoor was quite a phenomenon. He introduced an almost inimitable dancing style. He was the male counterpart of the "chulbuli, sharati", that is, livewire and naughty/nutty heroine his wife Geeta Bali, one of our finest actresses, excelled at.

Well, he was much much more than that in my opinion. A generation earlier, the trio of Raj Kapoor-Dev Anand-Dilip Kumar ushered in the post-Independence idealistic hero. Watch any one of their films, and you would agree with my statement because even when they depict a character with  a negative shade or two, unmistakable is the silver lining of idealism.

Not so with Shammi Kapoor. He is in my opinion the first to introduce the modern metro sexual hero version in the Bollywood scenario. 'Silly brat with a golden heart' is how his persona can best be described. He can be goofy, slightly Bertie Wooster-ish, but basically a nice fellah! At times, unmistakable is the James Dean kind of late teenage kinda rebellion. 

In that sense, he is ever youthful, vibrant, energetic. Watch him in any frame. It looks as if he cannot sit still for a moment. Honestly, Horlicks, or some such energy drink, should have hired him as the brand ambassador. Want proof? Watch "Dil ke zaroke  me tuz ko bithakar" from "Bramhchari". He is enacting a broken hearted lover whose beloved is weeping her eyes out, but he is charm personified with all the zatka's n head twists and body wrings!

Aai used to like his joie de vivre. So I always used to tease her that orthopedic surgeon's hospital would be the best place one would surely find him in, given the way he danced cum twisted every possible organ. Indeed, he appears to be the best candidate for such horrors as cervical spondylitis and a slip disc, and stiff shoulder, and types, right?

Of course, I liked him hugely in "Junglee". Remember that unique pout he sported initially? Later on, our dear P.M., Shri Narsingh Raoji, could come anywhere near it, especially in the cartoons. Fun apart, I absolutely adore that film, especially its storyline, not to forget the songs, especially "Ehsan Tera", both versions, Lata and Rafi.

Would you agree with me that the film captures the quintessential Shammi phenomenon? Indeed his is a personality type, high on charm, and charisma that never dies. Hence the title of this small little piece!

Pratima@ "kis kis kis se pyaar karu" is not the dilemma his films leave us in. We love them all for the zingy youthfulness he absolutely personifies. 

Cast(e) iron

 Watched this evening a video by Mr. Sachin Patil. It dealt with a truly serious issue. With lot of concern and sincerity, he was seriously reporting a grave issue in the video.

According to him, in the interior Maharashtra, especially in adivasi-dominant areas, this year none can burn the image of Ravana as part of the Dashara festivities. Certain local groups, it seems, consider Ravana their king.

Truly disturbing is the focal point he makes in the video. He says that certain communities and groups are threatening that "atrocity" cases would be slapped if the Ravana image is burnt.

This video is indeed raising serious issues. First, it exposes the double standards and hypocrisy, asserts Sachin Patil, of certain intellectuals who consider Rama a mythical/literary character, but support fringe groups who consider Ravana their king, a historical figure!

Well, Ravana, according to the Ramayana, and the other stotras assigned to him, was a "dashgranthi" Brahmin! Apparently, moreover, he was rather proud of this fact.

In other words, the question that emerges is that "is the caste issue being made cast iron in this fashion"? Sad realities that need lot of urgent and in-depth debating!

Pratima@ Divided, the society falls/fails! United, all flourish!

Age! Old!

 Just by fluke did the video open. I was not even browsing the YouTube. My mobile misbehaves at times. So was trying to get it back to normal. Thus I came across this video of Hema Malini's seventy-fifth birthday. 

Yet again I remembered Aai acutely. She used to like Hema Malini for aging beautifully. I did not want to disillusion her with discussions of dye, botox, and stuff. I used to hence say that because she dances daily, her body is supple and slim. As for the make-up bit, an actress after all! 

In that party, too, there was this attempt, almost a competition,  to act girlie girlie. Why? I have never understood it. Why not instead age  gracefully? What is wrong with aging? All of us, including a new born baby, are aging by the second, and inching towards death which is anyways beyond our control.

I find this entire merry-go-round very funny.  Often amongst relatives and acquaintances, there are these women whose children are roughly Sanju's age. So they would be tops five years younger to Aai. But they always talk to me as if I am their age. Women who are almost Aai's age, or at least fifteen to twenty years older than me, talk to me of " our generation". I cannot control my laughter though I keep a straight face.

We have relatives who were not even ten years younger to Aai, but they would always say that my Aai was their Aai's age. So once I laughingly said to Aai that the mothers of these ladies must have borne them even before attaining puberty, at the age of ten tops! Well, Aai did not like my naughty remark, but she accepted the truth thereof.

I understand neither, the  fear of  age and its offshoot, the obsession to be younger than somebody who is fifteen or twenty years younger to you. What is wrong with accepting one's age which hardly matters if your mind is fresh and vibrant? What is the use of being young, and dull and dumb!?!

So when auto walla and subzi walla fellows choose to holler at me as "Ajji" as if they have been paid to get such cheap thrills and amusement, most politely I answer back,"Yes, Uncle/Mama"!

I respect my age, my maturity, my reality a lot to hide either of these, or to compete ridiculously with somebody age-wise decades younger than me. Clownish and laughable is such stupid behaviour in my opinion. What say?

Pratima@ Why are people ashamed of their age? Why are such clowns afraid of being old?

The Ideal Idol

 During the Navaratri and the Diwali, I get lovely pics of the reigning deity of Maharashtra, Vithoba. In fact, to me get sent the unique snaps of all the idols in the Pandharpur temple premises. Well, it is a courtesy shared by the city school where we have instituted a prize in Aai's name.

In fact, every time, there is any special occasion, the Ganesh Festival to the Independence Day, the idols and the premises are uniquely decorated, and lovely are the pics. Most gorgeous, however, are the Dasara-Diwali pics as they reveal the Lord in the best of all His finery. Unbelievable are the jewels and the clothes with which the idols are decked up. Rakhumai wears the richest jewellery possible, and her uniquely crafted 'asana' is decorated fabulously as well. Lord Venkatesha, Vithoba's elder brother, often wears the nine "avatar" kind of regalia.

Fabulous and lovely are these images which I share with my brothers, and most dutifully forward them to Aai's relatives, her brothers, her sisters-in-law, her cousin. So dazzling are these images that seen together as tableaux @ the WhatsApp images, it would be difficult to take one's eyes off them.

True, these images ARE quite a vision. Yet I love the usual, simple Vithoba images that are sent to me every morning. The daily sight of Vithoba with the 'tulsi' garlands is my ideal idol. He is the Vithoba I have met and loved in the great "abhanga"s by Sant Dnyaneshwar, Sant Eknath, Sant Tukaram, and the others. This is the Vithoba I have felt when I walk a wee bit with the "wari" devotees as they go on the pilgrimage from Alandi-Dehu so as to reach Pandharpur on the Ashadhi Ekadashi day.

To me, this ideal idol signifies the  Pandharpur principle, so to say. He appears to be the god who meets the downtrodden in very many forms to offer them solace, to give them courage during difficult days. As it is, the Bhakti cult does admit that the "sagun murti", the idol, is the easy way for the common man to reach the "nirgun" principle which I find in the simple idol that I see in the daily snaps.  Well, each to her/his own, Pandurang all hearts has won!

Pratima@ The idol, in whichever form, the usual, simple statue or the special, rich image, is the royal route to the oneness a true devotee would share with the Lord.

Villain: The real focal point!

 Did the title of our blog surprise you? Well, let me give you a few examples to prove my point. Most of you must be watching Bollywood films, right? True, many typical Bollywood hits are really stupid, right? They have stunts that defy gravity, for instance. We do understand that all these shenanigans are nothing but camera/editing/animation effects, and yet the hero's often monkey like antics are adrenaline-pushers. Wonder why that happens? That is because there is a viable villain who needs to be beaten up!

Films like "Don" or "Jawan" and many others of this variety are therefore superhits because they give a voice, a face to this human need to bash up the baddy. On the contrary, a good film like "Swades" with an idealistic message feels wishy-washy to many! Wanna know why? Yes, you guessed the answer right. It hath not a villain! 

Want yet another convincing example? Compare and contrast an india-Pakistan cricket match with an England-Bangladesh cricket match. The second one may be better cricket. Yet the first one is high on decibels, grabs more eyeballs. Wanna know why? Yep, you said it! It has a villain to be pummelled up, black-n-blue at that!

Hence the title of our blog today. The villain is the real focal point of any narrative, right? Have you noticed that, to lead normal, typical lives, many people create a villain where none exists! To each his/her own villain/vamp! At times, it could be the boss, a colleague, a mother-in-law or a daughter-in-law! People's lives lack spice if there is not any such opposition!

Personally though, I find such a narrative a little dangerous because this need for the villain makes us dependent on 'others', right? One stops being self-sufficient. The graver danger in my opinion is that thus you start creating villains where there might be none which can complicate relationships, right? 

Much worse still, you may develop the habit of opposing for the sake of opposing. You get so drunk then on this idea of opposition that you may make villains out of heroes, and laughing stock clowns of yourselves. In the process, a relatively impartial observer may start empathising with your villain which absolutely defeats your purpose, right? Just look around and you would find umpteen examples of this reverse procedure!

Yet again hence I would like to get back to Milton, and say that the mind is in its place, and makes a villain of a hero, and vice versa!

Pratima@ Opposition for the sake of opposition makes us illogical, ridiculous, forgetful of the focal issues, in brief,  the real villain of the piece who is a laughing stock, a buffon!

And that makes the difference!

 In politically correct circles, nothing ever is wrong. There ever is this notion of 'perspective'. An example thereof could be this notion of who a terrorist is. In such circles, it would always be maintained that a person who appears a terrorist to one faction could be a patriot, a hero for the other.

An example of such a perspective  could be that the Hamas might be terrorists to Israelis, while to Palestinians, they are saviours. Is this right? Well, 'yes and no' as the French people say, 'may be'!

Personally, I am a little suspicious of such total relativism. In my opinion, absolute relativism may lead to chaos. Freedom of any sort, in my opinion, always comes with a huge responsibility. Similarly, I do feel that the purpose behind any activity or the ultimate objective does matter. Only if the objective has a trace of 'objective'  validity, of 'universal' nobility, can the activity be valorised.

Let us look at a concrete example. Meeran Borvankar, whose book release has caused a huge scandal currently, was reportedly talking of Sanjay Datt and Ajmal Kasab in the context of her much quoted comment on the Yervada jail.

To begin with, I have never ever understood the glamour attached to the Sanjay Datt case. When he was caught in the infamous terrorist arms deal case, he was in his late thirties. 'Sanju Baba', as he is/was fondly called, was no child, in brief, and must have known perfectly well what he was doing. Just because this drug addict (surely then) was a pampered silly son, actually a brat, of famous, rich and connected parents can not alleviate his participation in a crime that killed innocent lives.

I have never understood how he could be a hero, of/for a feature film or of/for the doting media or  of/for silly spectators! The Borvankar lady says that this 'hero' caught in anti-national nefarious activities was shit scared that there would an encounter! A real patriot would never indulge in a nefarious activity,  nor cringe in a cowardly fashion when it comes to facing its aftermath! And that makes the whole difference, I suppose.

Now let us look at Ajmal Kasab. A poor person, used as a convenient, dispensable tool by his "aka", he cried like a child on the eve of his execution, says Borvankar. No revolutionary would ever do this. That makes the difference, I suppose.

 A revolutionary would neither be heartless nor would indulge in mindless violence. The ideal pursued would be genuine, would enjoy a humane philosophy behind it. Revolutionary activity can never be mindless cruelty.  Precisely the point Charles Dickens makes in his brilliant analysis of the French Revolution. In other words, a genuine Sydney Carton is far nobler, truly a revolutionary than any  number of committed Madame Defarge-s. And that is the difference!

 Pratima@ In the times of universal deceit (called 'perspective'?!?), telling the truth is a revolutionary act! Long live George Orwell! Literature is always truer, more revolutionary than any 'theory', and thus makes the difference!

Student eternally

 One is leading one's own clean, straightforward life the honest way. None has one bothered, harassed, ill-treated or humiliated. Yet destiny dishes out a huge whack. Out of nowhere. It changes one's life though. For a lifetime. Does one wallow in self pity? For a little while, yes! Soon, very soon, one gathers the pieces of life together, and creates a mosaic much much better than the original one. 

Such has been the lucky journey of only a few charmed individuals because they have chosen to give back to life in a huge way, unlike those who lead banal shallow lives. James Bicks was one such gifted individual. His career as an actor came to a grinding halt because he lost his eyesight in a freak accident. To remain mobile independently and without any further ado, he painted his walking stick white so that the drivers of vehicles could spot him.

Thus was born the white cane, way back in 1921. In the 1960's, Lyndon Johnson, the U S. President, decided to celebrate it. Thus began the white cane day. Celebrated every October 15, it symbolises how one can continue a life of dignity and normalcy despite the tough question paper life may design for us. Thus we learn to be a lifelong student. 

Well, books, whichever might be the form, print or digital or aural/oral for the visually challenged or as an app, enrich us with such a vision. Our erstwhile president, Kalam Sir, who, too, faced many a difficulty in his life realised this immeasurable value of books. He wrote many, too. No wonder, his birth anniversary, which falls on October 15, gets celebrated as the Reading Encouragement Day. Here is wishing you all many many more such happy reading days!

Pratima@ It behooves to be a student forever as only then does one become a better teacher, and a sensitive/sensible human being.

 

Era to come

 Tomorrow starts the Navratri, absolutely a new beginning in many ways. Though the huge climate change has affected the seasons in a big way, the seasonal cycle is unmistakable in this festival. It initiates the "Sharada" feel, the "sharada" which is more than the autumnal dro(o)ping of leaves. 

Significant it is in this context that Navaratri is by definition inclusive because it is a celebration of the womanly virtues, namely, creativity, empathy, and faultless multi-tasking without any stress.

The New AI tools, not clear as of now, whether enabler or destroyer, would be the current challenge that the creative thought, envisioned as the Devi in the coming ten days, will have to negotiate in the coming years. These tools are already re-defining realities, and would intervene more in lived lives as they get finer. 

If we negotiate with them creatively, not only would we be the vishwa-guru, but we can also establish new paradigms of  wisha-bandhutwa, the universal fraternal feel, our goal from the ancient times to today.

Well, I have been thinking a lot about the AI intervention. Have recently written a story about it. Whenever I get a chance to do so, I  talk about it to my nephews (hope they choose to listen). Now and then I mention it to my students, too.

It was hence a huge happy feel for me that I am absolutely on the right track when at the Mumbai International Olympic Meet, Herr Bach talked in detail and depth about how the AI already has and would change completely the Olympics in structure and spirit. I found in his speech an echo of my gut feeling that there is very much a need to be thoroughly prepared. No longer do we have the time to rest on past laurels.

Hope the Navratri gives us the energy and the strength to enthusiastically negotiate with such an era sure to come, and very soon.

Pratima@If I do not want to be the past, I must creatively use the present to craft the future!

Ye koi baat hai?

 Kishore Kumar, a multi faceted genius he was. He was an actor. A comedian par excellence, he could emote tragic depths as well. As a comic icon, his body spoke, while his eyes conveyed the deep feel when it came to serious shades. 

He wrote some scripts, too. He was a music director as well. As a singer though, he is simply superb. Countless of his songs, expressing myriad emotions linger in our ears, abide on our lips. His unique voice has endeared thousands of feels for us. 

The beauty of  his singing voice is that he was not classically trained. Yet the raw energy of his voice literally floods our ears with the bestest of tunes expressing a varied range of emotions. Faultless is he despite his 'lack' of training.

And yet it is his supposed eccentricity and his colourful married life that continue to be the talk of the town. Yeh koi baat hai?  Why so?

Most probably, it is voyeurism. Most people are thus expressing their lust to know more about his personal life as their own lives are absolutely nothing to write home about. Yet another possible reason could be that by thus bringing him down, they allay their fear of his tremendous talent. Only thus can they render him ordinary, right?

It could also be an attempt at self assauging. To hide the lack of talent in themselves and to avoid having to praise it in him, the need to dismiss him via his complex personality and difficult life, may be.

Why did he act whimsically? I do not know much about the details. Yet I feel that it was his cloak, his mask which helped him  hide his real emotional self from the selfish world around him. At times, it could also be his mode of mocking the teeming vicious fools around him. It could be a deterrent to the mundane as well, whenever he saw through the shallowness around. Tough to decide!

Well, ek actor achha sa/Ghar se nikla gata, gata sa/Mila hamare Kano ko/jaise  Amrit ho swarg sa/yeh to baat hai! Right? 

Pratima@ In great admiration of Kishore's tough yet simple songs that touched zillion  souls!

Vision

 All of us perceive the world through five senses basically. They are the aural, the tactile, the visual, the olfactory and the gustatory. That is to say, we can hear, touch, see, smell and taste the world around us, and its facets. The respective organ for each one of these activities is indeed extremely important. 

Would you agree with me if I were to insist that the most crucial one, however, is the eyes? Indeed eyesight and its philosophical version, vision/insight are THE most salient features of our experience of the reality. 

Hence the relevance of today, the world eyesight day. Indeed it is important to celebrate this day. Very young to very old, all are addicted tom mobiles these days. Even more harmful than the laptop is the mobile.

Opthalmologists are repeatedly warning the whole world against the harm the excessive use of mobile causes. Hence this day to formally warn people. The internet would burst tomorrow with eye catching  (literally!) food items to exercises.

In my opinion, however, it is not just the physical eyesight that the social media is ruining. Much worse still, it is ruining our insight, the human(e) vision. It is this faculty that differentiates us from hyenas, may be. We are not governed merely by our bodily functions, and physically and physiologically defined demands.

Our vision (metaphorically) too makes us what we are, right? Unfortunately, the social media is ruining by the second such insight(s) as well. Hence the need to wake up, and hence the relevance of this day. Merely the abundance of cheap data should not blind us. We should make judicious use of the new modes of communication and knowledge acquisition. Used creatively, the  internet tools are heavenly! Why make them hellish, right? On this day dedicated to in-sight insist we shall on a choice and wise use of all media so as to be happy, healthy and wise!

Pratima@ "It is not what you look at that matters. It is what you see," says Thoreau.

Born again:The Real Rebirth

 When the Mahalaya begins the day after the Anant Chaturdashi, across Maharashtra start the shradha rituals. The entire process is quite elaborate. What we do on Bhadrapad Mahalaya Ashtami and the Bhadrapad Mahalaya Dwadashi is on both these days dedicated to the memory of Papa and Aai respectively, we offer a heart-felt prayer in the Mahamrutyunjay temple, and offer a rather handsome 'dakshina' to the Guruji there, a small little act of help to a poor Brahmin family.

Not boasting about it at all, but we have instituted academic prizes (Shahu College, Kolhapur, GIPE and Kamayani in Pune in Papa's memory, and Abhinav Kala Mahavidyalaya,Pune and Lokmanya High School, Pandharpur in Aai's) in their memory. There is an annual story competition in Aai's memory in 'Menaka', a major Marathi magazine. In addition, on every date-wise death anniversary of both of them, we donate rather handsomely to institutions/individuals dedicated to social work.

Wondering why I am mentioning all these details at all? That is because I strongly believe that thus are they born again each year, every anniversary. When a student gets the prize, there is a very happy sense of honour in his/her entire family.  The student herself/himself feels encouraged. When an author wins a literary prize in a major publication, not only his/her mindscape, but the very language itself is enriched.

 In my opinion, in this subtle but sweet blossoming of all that is the best in minds of absolutely unknown, unrelated people lies truly the genuine 'born again' feel, the real rebirth, right? Sure, Aai-Papa would have both appreciated such a tribute rather than a typical puja that Raju does take care of tithi-wise.

That brings me back to the 'born again' theme. Recently were celebrated with huge fanfare the birthdays of Amitabh and Rekha. Much was written about their acting prowess which absolutely is undeniable.

Have they, however, as elder statesmen of the cinema field contributed to the art that made them? Has Amitabh, for example, created a YouTube channel explaining the art of dialogue delivery? Has he written a book on the art of acting that goes in to the making of very many different characters with absolutely unique personalities? Does he as the doyen of Indian cinema and television directly/indirectly explicate the craft of "kaise banega a good artist?"

In my opinion, if he were to thus mentor a passion for the art and craft that made him, he would be born again and again and again in one lifetime. Imagine an FTTI short term course in "Acting and Dialogue Delivery" by the great Bacchan! Students would literally die for the honour of attending such lectures, right?

 If not physically, he can have such talks online, may be! For a person who repeatedly triumphed,  despite very many obstacles and hurdles in very many ways, such a re-birth-in(g) and of his precious art should not be difficult at all, right? Hope he reads this blog! For sure, I would gather countless, even when unexpressed, thanks!!!

As for Rekha, she did make yoga glamorous which precisely proves my point, right? So here is wishing them both very many such proud "born again" feels!

Pratima@ Creatively returning to who and what made us in the first place makes us experience the "born again" high, I think.

Washing hands!

 Soon, it seems, there would be a day, next Sunday, to be precise, which would celebrate washing hands. What all days people think of! True, washing hands takes place post eating as  we eat with our fingers. Similarly, post certain bodily functions, 'morning ablutions' as they used to say in old-fashioned English, washing hands is s healthy and necessary practice. 

When it comes to washing hands as an obsession, the Covid period was the culprit. People washed their hands till the skin literally peeled off, what with the sanitisers. As Aai was a super senior citizen, what I did was always maintaining extreme cleanliness around her. 

In Mukund Nagar, we used to get only two hours respite from the Covid curfew. If at all I went to buy veggies or apples for her, I used to take a full fledged bath, head to toe, before going anywhere near her. I used to sit on the veranda steps and read the newspaper so that nothing approaching the virus approaches anywhere near her.

Washing hands always reminds me of Lady Macbeth and her guilty conscience as in Act V, Scene iii. How psychologically sensitive and subtle is Shakespeare's writing! Each time one reads it, newer associations and deeper meanings emerge.

Incidentally, English has this phrase 'wash one's hands off' which means avoid/abdicate one's responsibility. Well, the Covid period has taught us how one must never do do. Instead, let us always extend a helping hand, given our tough times!

Pratima@ 'Hands off' should be the strategy for physical and emotional well-being.

Mind

 "The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven of hell, and a hell of heaven," thus enthused Milton's Satan, when it came to awakening, arousing his followers, his foot soldiers, the fallen angels from their depressed state of mind which was much worse than the labyrinth of fire and brimstone that they were literally wallowing in.

Yes, depression is that ancient. From the post-lapsarian period to the post-modern, one of the constants has been depression. Currently, of course, there is an epidemic of depression, more contagious and deadlier than even the dreaded Corona virus caused Covid!

In a way, it is inevitable as life these days is a regular morass. It sure sucks. The eternal  nuclear threat, that could be an apt metaphor for life today. There is no knowing, none and never, when which Hamas would erupt in whichever form! There are very very few emotional stays, moreover. Those with a very fragile bent of mind are often likely to crack up.

And yet it is quite a fashion statement to wear your depression on your sleeve. Just as once it was fashionable to be a Devdas or a little later, a brooding angry man about to explode any second, now it is quite 'normal' to be a "nadan parinda" screeching "sadaa haq".

Well, in addition to the "chemical lochya" in that yet to be understood organ called the brain, there are  such add-ons habitually enjoyed by 'smart' girls-n-guys as liqueur and drugs that make every region an "udta Punjab".

That is because most people are not ready to taste the test of that zing called life with all its very many low's, and very few but much deserved high's. Well, that requires understanding how to invoke the happy hormones despite the deadliest troubles. Remember what Milton said? In a way, WE plan our heavens, and we plant our hells. 

Just look around and you would see how many real troubles people face with quiet grace, huge dignity and genuine heroism, making every day a success story. Why worry and woefully cry  that you have to wear contact lenses when in your classroom, you teach daily a visually impaired person who carries on with life absolutely effortlessly, as if there is no idea of darkness and everywhere shines the golden sunset.

No, I do not believe in that 'be always happy, be always positive' crap. Yet it is equally true that we can work on ourselves, rebuild our lives, however meagre the materials and however broken the tools may appear. In brief, like everything else in this weird, wild world of ours, depression, too, passes. Why not help it go away faster?

Pratima@ Like life, mind is beautiful!

"Dak aya"

 Time was when clouds used to be the messengers, as in "Meghdootam". That was sheer lyrical expression of intense passion. In reality, however, trained pigeons might carry the messages. Yet another mode of communication used to be the horse riders. In desert(ed) lands, it could be the camel. Difficult, and hence indeed much desired, was  communication.

Those were the long lost historical days. Towards the end of the nineteenth century, in Switzerland began the post office. Soon the service spread world wide. Indeed the postman was a magical figure, much awaited almost till the turn of the millenium.

Have you heard that song " Dakiya Dak laya"? No, nothing unusually great about it as a song. The lyric, however, describes in great detail the activities of a postman in far flung rural areas.

Why, even in urban areas, letters were the regular means of communication. Diwali cards, Sankranti Tilgul to all the relatives by post were rituals Aai-Papa followed with a sweet regularity. We were made to draw greeting cards. Aai used to stitch cute little pouches, 'potlis', for the delicate halwa, extremely difficult to make, though she was excellent at it.

As a family, we know the intense wait for letters as Raju would sail for the 'at least eight months' long assignment. We have waited for his letters (landline phones, too, were not easily available till the early 1990's) as eagerly as a farmer would await the monsoon. His neatly written letters in his nice handwriting were literally the elixir, the manna from the Heaven, for us all.

The romance of letters, much celebrated in Bollywood phillums, died a sad death once mobile data became available in cheap abundance. Now most people communicate with emoji's. Looks wise quite like the ancient hieroglyphics, the emoji's have destroyed the art of writing. In the so-called busy times, who reads? Exceptions, of course, are there, you all regular readers of my blog, for instance! Thank you indeed!

Now the post office always wears the look of the (mostly to be closed) co-operative banks, once haunted by small time investors and pensioners. Postmen, and post women, too, are there. Now, however, they carry  unexciting, not awaited, regular stuff.

Well, times change. So do technologies. Yet nostalgia never dies. In that sense, the comatose art of letter writing would never die!

Pratima@ To write a letter is humane. To receive one is heavenly!

Tech takes!

 Yesterday was a rather weird day. Well, i do not like to be Ms Gripe. Indeed I am none. "Why worry? Let the silly stuff itself bury" has always been my motto because I do believe that when a window closes, a much wider door opens. Similarly, when someone is consciously creating very many difficulties and a lot of trouble for you, the best way to defeat such unholy aspirations is just not be bothered by the whole of it. Getting affected is granting the wicked the pleasure of their  villainy.

Yet, yea though! So many things went wonky  yesterday, and the worst bit of it was the fact that I was not wrong at all in any of these scenarios. Morning I attended the convocation of the GIPE coz we have instituted a prize in Papa's memory. A student of mine was to graduate as well. Well, I was there sharp at 10.30. 

The technology failed, and the live streaming consisted of funny sounds now and then, and a snap or two of the ceremony. I pitied from the core of my heart the parents who had travelled all the way from places as far-flung as Kolkata, for instance. Like me, there was another teacher who wanted to enjoy her student's glory. She, too, was from West Bengal. Another set of parents had a son with the Down's Syndrome, and he was getting more and more irritated by the second. Sad scenario! 

Technology failure was to stare me in the face yet again, and equally critically. My laptop has been misbehaving lately. So got it thoroughly checked by the computer expert. It stayed with him for a day for a recheck. The battery was changed. Suddenly still, it started a leak which made the laptop stop precisely five minutes before the deadline. Then suddenly the Word went weird!  

The whole stuff almost appeared staged. Well, with technology, one is opener to victimisation by wicked crookedness. A creep can station a vehicle within fifteen meters in the vicinity. Powerful online/offline tools they have to technologically intervene in innocent lives. I have already discussed how a water meter has stopped my water supply. Often while typing the blog, saved matter vanishes, but funny rangoli refuses to disappear!

Sure I did try to explore alternative ways to deal with the situation. They may turn out to be effective. I, moreover, think that thus I get yet another chance to burnish my stuff. All that is well, and it WILL end well. Yet one is human after all, and wallows for a few minutes in senti self pity for being harassed for no rhyme no reason! Well, when crooks collide, innocence suffers!

Pratima@ The technolgy is the new avatar of the genie in Alladin's lamp. Unfortunately, Alladins these days are Sadist-uddins! 

Super Moms!

 Women started 'working' (that is, outside the household, and formally) during the first world war era, they say. Actually, all along the winding routes human history has taken, women have always been working. During the  pre-industrialisation times, marked by the agrarian economy and the barter mode, every artisan, be it carpenter, ironsmith or a farmer, for instance, was helped by the women in the family. 

This 'helpmeet' role was secondary though. 'She' was not the principle bread winner. Nor did she get any direct wages for her tireless work. Given the suffragist movement and given the paucity of men, as generations were occupied at (and were wiped out at) the war front, women had to 'work', feed the family.

Thus began the process of super mom making. She, the super mom, was more than the best every which way. At work, she was the owner's pride, and the rival companies' headache. At home, she was the best caregiver. Hers was the fluffiest cake. The clothes she stitched were better than the Van Heusen products. Her children were blessed, and called her so! 

This 'quality time' on all fronts business started getting on the nerves of women, and soon of everyone else. Now the pattern has done a perfect somersault.  In metros and big cities, most households are 'dink' set-up's. 'Dink' refers to 'double income, no kid' type of couples. Anyways, the extended family is there only to be ignored, and, if possible, to be ill-treated. 

The six-pack salary hence is often splurged on self, on a swanky home with Italian marbles and French windows, on flashy foreign tours, and, of course, on being the mumma hooman to the doggie dearest mostly, though, at times, it could be the kitty coolest as well. 

 Don't you believe me? Watch the YouTube. It is flooded with regular video-series of such pet pals who sure are cute. The expenses of the princely lives they lead could support at least one of the local language schools in the rural area which are mostly on the verge of extinction. May be, the CSR activities should be introduced, and made compulsory, on the home front as well!

Pratima@ This new version of the supermom phenomenon is yet another proof of how human lives are progressing down the primrose path of least responsibility. Very soon the preponderance of the AI and Robotics enabled household would intensify this feel. What say? 

Poetry is the insight!

 Does anybody  care for poetry these days, except,  may be, PG and Ph.D. students? Most probably, the answer to this  question may be a resounding 'no'. My submission is that poetry is here, there, everywhere. It is an insight. Poetry never incites, rather it takes us in-site to a world full of creativity. 

You do not believe me, right? Okay. Let us look at this nursery rhyme "twinkle , twinkle, little star". I can show you how poetically rich it is.

It uses a quatrain as a stanza with the rhyme scheme a-a-b-b. Thus it gets the in-built gentle effect of a two-line couplet which adds to its musicality. So does the alliteration from the very first line. The repetition of the consonance 'tw' captures the  distant uniqueness of the star.

The nursery rhyme uses the star as a rich image with a metaphorical quality. It does not stop there either. It has a deep symbolic value. The star could signify   unique brilliance of ideals which guide like the lodestar. On a still deeper level emerge the existential meanings of total alienation and the breakdown of communication.

Even now I am not done with the vision the  poem is enriched with. I can continue analysing its syntactic structure, its invocatory/incantatory aspects which will add their own unique meanings.

In brief, poetry is the very in-sight. It is in our vision which can locate unusual significations in every word and each line. Such a habit of creative interpretation can enrich our daily lived lives beyond compare. Long live poetry, in brief!

Pratima@Poetry so permeates our lives that every day is actually a poetry day!

Here is looking at films!

 Films are fantastic, right? Watching them on screen in a movie hall is a unique experience. These days, however, hardly is it a family feel. The reasons thereof are many. First and foremost, most people prefer the privacy of their respective mobiles. What with the competition from the OTT and stuff, the content may often not exactly be the family together watch types. Yet another reason could be the cinema hall ticket price, which is quite phenomenal, what with the mandatory popcorn and cold drink, et al. 

On the National Cinema Day celebrated recently, the movie halls generously reduced the price to Rs 99/-. It could be one of the ways to continue getting spectators back to the cinema hall in the post pandemic period. When 'national' is a prefix, emotions are easier to whip up either way, and by everybody involved. Why get cynical when talking of art though?

Similarly, let me not here get in to the discussion of the concept of nation  in the post-colonial mode. Yet, unmistakably, there is a national film experience. One can easily locate a French film, a German movie, 'the' Hollywood product, not to forget the excellent Irani films.

In India, too, Bollywood or mainstream films are just the tip. The great regional films create the national ethos. These movies use unbelievable genres. Unique are their themes. They are director-driven. They are hence a 'vision' in every sense of the term.

Yes, films may not enjoy the immediacy of a theater performance. Yet watching them is pure magic. Watching them on screen is sheer witchery. What with the galloping growth of the AI, very soon we may get to watch the movies the 4D immersive way.  No harm hence quoting Humphrey Bogart's famous line, though slightly altered, and exult, ' here is looking at films'.

Pratima@  Yet again, to slightly misquote THE Don, Films make us an offer we can't refuse! Fascinating is the magical feel of the silver screen!

Defining a Hero

 Who is a hero? The film stars? As somebody who ''assisted'' at the pre/during/post stages of eleven EMRC films, I can most authentically state with total authority that the actors' contribution to any film is minimal, may be,  just two per cent. The script writer, the DOP, the editor and most importantly, the director herself are the real, though mostly unsung, heroes. 

Are the sports stars the real heroes? Well, yes and no, as the Frenchies put it. Like the film stars, they, too, contribute precious little to the daily lived lives of the common man.

Recently, the film by the surname sake of Yours Truly has shown how the real heroes are the brilliant, hard-working, sincere scientists. Yet the news apparently is that the film is not doing as well as a silly comedy or a formula film is.

Why are the scientists not 'heroes' despite being truly heroic? That is because apparently they lack glamour, it seems. Well, if I were to tell you the name of a freedom fighter who walked the talk (to quote from our blog yesterday) and was highly glamorous as well, you would realise what real heroism is and who a true hero is.

Yes, you guessed it right. THE man I am referring to is Bhagat Singh whose birth anniversary was recently celebrated, though, like Shastriji's, in a slightly bated/muted way.  Many a citizen might have missed it, too!

Why is Bhagat Singh truly heroic? Where does his glamour come from? Sure, he, too, walked the talk. He was self-sacrificing, moreover. Most importantly, he thought unusually. He carried out thoroughly that unique thought which brought in systemic changes. 

The best example thereof could be his prolific writing. Personally though, I think that the fast unto death he undertook when he was imprisoned is a great example of how and why heroes are made. From behind the bars, he shook the very foundations of the imperial colonial power. Prison laws had to be changed because he remained steadfastly true to his idea(l)s. In brief, heroes are neither born, nor made. Rather they evolve to revolutionise routine realities, right?

Pratima@ A real hero may not have six or eight, or whatever, packs. A true hero positively packs in a punch that changes the status quo for the better.

Walking the talk

 October 2. Each year, the same ritual. That is to say, most people realise rather late that the day marks the anniversary of both, the Mahatma and his outstanding hardcore disciple. Yes, I am referring to Lal Bahadur Shastri. 

Both the guru and the disciple, that is, both Gandhiji and Shastriji, are unique because both of them walked the talk. Let us look at a few examples that would prove this point of mine.

As Gandhiji, for example, genuinely cared for the lowest of the low, like them, forever he travelled the janata class, and wore minimal clothes. Such integrity of purpose getting reflected in his actual behaviour in the daily lived life was the hallmark of Shastriji as well. 

Apparently, in his son's college application form, this prime minister indicated his profession as "government servant." I am very proud of the fact that Papa shared many of Shastriji's sterling qualities, and hence have a special soft corner for him.

Due to this yen for "walking the talk", not only were their lives sans luxury and creature comforts, they suffered a difficult death as well. Honest and genuine people are always a thorn in the flesh for most!

Well, times have changed totally. In a way, the innocent idealism possible then appears improbable now, and yet, even today, much respected are those who walk the talk. However professionally driven the mores may be now, all continue to care for those who practice what they preach!

Pratima@ 'Ever respected everywhere are those who do not merely tell, but actually show' is the moral such lives on us bestow.

Old IS Gold!

 October 1 is the World Elderly Day, and sure it must be much celebrated, and with lots of enthusiasm and joy. Wanna know why? Well, for the elderly, "zindagi such much me badi hoti hai", and in all senses of the term "badi"! Want a translation? Well, "for the elderly, life is indeed big", and in all the senses of the term because as an elderly person, life is truly  great, grand, and gorgeous.

Sure, what Virginia Woolf said of women authors absolutely holds true of the elderly. You need both, a room of one's own, and a decent financial security. If you have both in a worthy measure, elderly-dom is the great golden era of your life.

Why? For one thing, you are rather mature and quite wise. The silly tantrums of youth pale before your quiet dignity and witty joie de vivre. In any situation, sad or sweet, you know by now that "this, too, will pass". That unique equanimity adds a special grace to your very being.

Given the awareness of the imminent finality of life's dead end, you are so very happy chasing so many dreams that you hardly have any time left to be mean or vicious which you anyways never were, not even during the so-called heydays. Instead, given the intense bursts of creativities, every day gets celebrated like a festival.

Age is indeed a number! The bodily weaknesses/aches/pains, you can easily fix with multiple remedies. Alternative therapies are yours to try as anyways there is nothing much to lose your sleep over the side-effects. May be, for many an elderly, anyways, losing sleep is so much a routine that it hardly matters!

Indeed contentment is so dominant a feel that the youthful pitying or snide swipes appear rather funny, quite cheap. As for looks, currently dyes to botox, all types of silly solutions are abundantly available, if you so wish. Personally, I feel the original tenderness and compassionate smile that grace your elderly face is the best makeup.

Being elderly, in brief, is not a loss of youth. It is a novel search of newer selfhoods. Well, a sunset is much mellower and more beautiful than either the blazing afternoon sun or the dim rays of the sunrise, right? Long live elderly-dom!

Pratima@ A ripe mango has its own unique sweet taste that no green fruit can ever match!

 

Inter'View'

 Generally I do not watch such programmes because often such interviews are problematic for two major reasons. For one thing, they appear absolutely scripted. There is an unmistakable feel of everything about the interview being staged, the rehearsed "q-n-a" types. 

Yet another problem is that the interview is often Inter'View'. In the sense, the 'expert' editor would ask  certain 'probing' questions to certain interviewees with a certain profile. Such daring may not often be there with, may be, politicians with lots of muscle and money power! Anyways, most interviewees are excellent at hedging, too!

Much worse are the views expressed by the 'viewers'. Most spectators 're-view' any programme from a certain 'view'point that could include caste biases, for instance. Most often, the language used to express the 're-view' is extremely vulgar so much so that the very concept 'freedom of expression' itself gets maligned!

All these thoughts crowded my 'views' because I watched Gautami Patil's interview. There were only two valid questions in that lengthy chat. One of the lady journalists asked Gautami  her opinion about the fact that that only a stage (and folk) performer gets trolled for 'inviting' gestures that otherwise are rampant in films, for example. The same lady asked another valid question. Why blame the dancer for 'provocative' dances because actually blameworthy are the organisers and the spectators. Most probably, the purport and the purpose did not reach her.

The rest of the interview appeared more like the "Chandramukhi" interview. I have not watched the film. I read the book because the film was the talk of the town. The Gautami Patil interview sounded a little too similar to the final interview in that story.

Yet another question that emerges from this Inter'View' is the glorification and validation of the lowly instincts because they sell. It amounts indeed to making poverty, grief in to consumer goodies. The moot question, moreover, would be, 'just because a girl is poor, why should she choose to be a (bar) dancer or a woman who sells herself'?  Bollywood films, too, are full of such cliched simplifications.

True, not everybody is good at studies. Even then, there are very many alternative honest and honourable professions. One can be a 'mavshi' for the old or an 'ayah' in a hospital, for example. Many households with the elderly need such help. Girls can be electricians to cooks/chefs these days. Such, and huge, is the variety available. 

The problem is that the payment would be a paltry five hundred per day. In comparison, as a vulgar dancer, the earnings would be mind-boggling! Unfortunately, such are the contemporary mood and moral(e)s that 'very less work with truckloads of money' is the goal!

Hence the disturbing view regarding such an inter'view'. In the race for a huge TRP, whom to glamourize? By co-opting such vulgar dancing (Impossible to watch are kids dancing to ugly songs on the channel 'talent' hunts which thus sexualise a child's body! Equally horrible are college competitions full of re-runs of awful double meaning 'lavani' performances), not only the art but also the very taste of an entire society are trivialised and vitiated. Can the concept of 'entertainment, entertainment, entertainment' get away with anything and everything?

The moment the celluloid or the television (much worse as it enters the very household) screen ennoble the wrong, in my view, the good would always get demeaned/defeated!

Pratima@ As a public performer, do not the entertainer, the t.v. channels, and such have any responsibility towards a given art, the larger society, and, finally, to their own conscience?