India wins!

 The Indian Team won the World Cup match by seven runs, and, boy, did the country erupt in to frenzied joy! There were crackers exploding for almost half an hour. The WhatsApp messages and statuses started overflowing with congratulatory descriptions of the match, of the team effort, of the win that proved yet again the traditional beauty of cricket as a game of 'glorious uncertainty'. Why, just five minutes back, in our lane, zoomed past a car with girls screaming "chak de, India"!

In our cricket-crazy country, cricket always ascertains that there IS an India and an Indianness, however much the interested 'parties' want to divide it along fault lines such as caste, language, region, creed or religion, not to forget the rich/poor rhetoric! 

Well, in the run-up to the 2024 elections, there were harsh hard-hearted notes that almost sounded as if India was on the brink of balkanisation. Very senior, and supposedly sensible, leaders from the South were hinting at a separate South, as it is, according to them, discriminated, despite generating better tax collections, and yet getting penalized by the Center with fewer and lesser fund allocations, not to mention the supposed imposition of Hindi, and the impossible Aryan invasion gobbledygook! Better not mention the Bengali 'khela' or the Punjab da panga, right?

The very idea of the ' federal republic' of states appeared so threatened that in a way I was happy that the TDP is going to continue being part of the NDA coalition! Thus was proved what J. Sai Deepak often reiterates, "I am an Indian from the South, and not a South-Indian". Anyways, Chandra Babu Naidu Garu appears to be development focussed, moreover. 

In brief, when 'India' wins, whether on the sports field or as the aftermath of elections, one feels assured that "Saare Jahan se Achcha" is our nation, to reiterate the Iqbal quote repeated by Rakesh Sharma, our first astronaut, who thus answered when the then Prime Minister, Indiraji, asked him how India looked from the space! India wins!

Pratima@The erstwhile USSR and the Balkan countries, not to forget the riots involved during the demands for different statehood's, amply prove the dangers of balkanisation!

Hack-a-tho(r)n

 When it comes to electronic devices which are monitored by, which are operating according to softwares, there is always a huge possibility of hacking. To counter such possibilities through perfect preparation, legally are conducted ethical hackathons. Wretched, wicked, weird and twisted minds can use such (now AI-generated) bots, et al, to hack any, even unrelated, accounts.

One such hack-a-tho(r)n happened this evening @ my Telegram account. Well, I hardly use it, rarely open it. I am on the Telegram at all because of the DHFL compulsions. Next the literature and film study kinda groups got appended. Yes, the German students appended me to their  group, too. I do not  send messages on the Telegram, nor use/consult those there either. I do not even check seminar invites, call for chapters there. Even when I get intimations about who has joined Telegram, I do not even look up the invite either.

In brief, I do not operate the Telegram account much. It is almost dormant. Well, the college is to float a course in Basic Spanish. In the information regarding the course, my mobile number was shared. Generally I upload my e-mail address as I feel it is more within my control. 

Anyways, these days the mobile number, too, is very easy to access, beginning from Accounts of others (on the FB, the invites are by friends of friends or of everybody in a group), Banks, from such A, B, to every xyz! Whatever be the mode, yes, I got an extremely quirky Telegram message to identify some pic which could not be opened on my devices. There were a few technical mumbo-jumbo messages as well. First, I thought it could be some code glitch.

Fun was the message regarding opening the pic which happened to be some link. It got sent to all the accounts that the Telegram accessed from my WhatsApp. It was sent by some Aishwarya/Akanksha Natrajan. I do not know any such person. Funnier was the accompanying message which was in Russian! Apparently, it was from Texas and Ukraine!!! 

Oh, yes, for the last two months, I am getting e-mails about how the applications I never sent are getting processed. Well, there is no way, for instance, I would apply to the GE or to some British hospital where I am supposed to provide food related supplements! I negate and delete such e-mails.

Crazy! As for the Telegram, I put the information on all the professional groups and on my Whatsapp status. Here I want to state that with the internet, now further enabled by the AI, creeps from all professions, creeds and credos get an anonymous toolkit to harass innocent women who have nothing to do with them. 

Surely, it is nutcase cowards and cads with some obsessive/compulsive behavioural disorder who would continue to stalk anonymously, who would try to 'control' incognito, who would spread  unsubstantiated canards which even brainless fools would not be able to believe.  No 'MAN' would ever indulge in such cheap targetting as a revenge for rejecting unwarranted advances! Sick and stupid, in brief! Actually to be ignored totally. Mentioned it here to avoid any mess!

Pratima@ I have taken screen shots of each and every message. First I wondered if i should approach the cyber police. May be, I would if such lunatic idiocy gets repeated in any form!

Small is big!

 A look at the title of our blog may make you wonder if I am re-reading Orwell's "1984", one of my most favourite novels. Well, no, it is not one of the maxims of the Ministry of Truth! Rather, it is a motto to celebrate the MSME'S as it is the MSME day according to the status shared by my colleague, Gokhale Madam.

The MSME stands for "Micro Small Medium Enterprises". It would not be wrong at all to maintain that they drive the economy of a city, nay, a country. Want proof? Visit Dharavi as it is currently, that is, in its pre-Adani phase. As I once proved to one of  my BEC students, who was complaining about the lack of an alternative business model, Dharavi, the fallow yet fertile field of MSME's, can provide informal yet brilliant examples of business making that can easily be adopted by the West and its academia.

Remember the Mumbai Dabbewala's whom the then Prince Charles found so proficient a business model that he invited their representatives to his wedding? That is the power of the MSME for you.

Their entrepreneurial skills, mostly learned on the job, consist of service industries as diverse as catering to caregiving, from eateries to agri industry, to give a few examples. They form the bedrock of the production process of the giant companies. Want proof? Visit Pimpri-Chinchwad to understand how TATA Motors, for instance, is supported by the MSME's.

Yet, any large scale calamity, like the COVID years, can so break the MSME's that they are still not completely out of the woods. Sure, the GOI has tried to remove stumbling blocks such as the permits and the bank loans, et al. Yet if India is to be truly self-reliant, the MSME's, who would be the silent but strong partners in the production process, need a better support system.

May be, academic institutes can adopt certain MSME clusters, different ones every three years, and train them with business acumen, with linguistic finesse, with accountancy models and computer skills such as the Tally. The students, too, would thus get real life experience of the theory they otherwise learn bookishly.  Thus emerge win-win solutions, right?

Such collaborations can be structured yet informal, and all would benefit big. Let me give you an example I tried in a small way. Some of my enthusiastic Additional English and BEC students agreed with me to teach English to the college canteen workers. Those days, these hands were young boys from the Maharashtra-Karnataka border, almost the same age as the students, even younger. We tried it for two months or so. Then began the May vacations, after which there was a new canteen management! Yet for these few days,  I and my students realised that small is indeed big!

Pratima@ How would the AI affect the MSME's, especially its service industry arm, needs to be explored urgently and in a big way. Hope the academia has started exploring models to find MSME-friendly solutions.

Indiscretion

 Not every question deserves an answer, they say. How very apt, most students would concede, right? Beyond the examination hall, too, there are questions that hardly deserve any answer. In our blog today, let us explore a few such oddities. Please feel free to add a few of your own.

Have you ever travelled on a long distance train? Well, the metro or the local or the intercity journey is indeed short for such inquiries, actually inquisitions. The plane is too chic. These days, who travels in state transport buses? If at all used, the night engulfs all the passengers in to deep sleep quite soon. So such firing is hardly possible during such travels.

The second class long distance railway travel is unique though, absolutely one of its kind. Whatever might be the time of boarding the train, your co-passengers are sure to find some occasion or the other to salvo questions after questions at you.

You get in to the bogey. After a few queries here and there, a request to move and to adjust, you finally locate the berth. You settle down, relax a little after the hectic entry. You are about to open the book you would like to complete during the long journey. That very second booms the first question, 'where you going?'. If you take a split second extra to answer, the question is repeated most helpfully, the person pitying your lethargy in answering as if you are a dimwit.

You answer that question. A mistake actually. You should have pretended to be deaf-n-dumb. Well, you are bad at acting! Be ready then for a firing squad, " Are you working?", "in which school?" "How much do they pay you?" "Are you married?" "What does 'he' do?" "How many issues?" "Not even one? Who has a problem? You or he?"

The series goes on and on. Your reluctance to answer is no guarantee that your privacy  will be spared. Well, your personal life has to be an open book, unlike the one you are dying to read!

Why do not people understand that  personal questions are a no-no? Why do not they take a hint that you are NOT interested in sharing with them unnecessary information, right? 

The other day in the bank, that great personal assistant allotted by the bank was  hell-bent on finding out the exact amount of the salary paid to me, even when such details were absolutely unnecessary. When his probing questions became too insistent, despite my telling him in different direct and indirect ways that my C.A. manages all the deductions et al, my suspicion that somthing similar to stalking on behalf of  someone was happening started getting solidified.

Once, some time not so very long ago,  he was too curious about the minor amount paid by a literary magazine. Prompt I found an opportunity to clarify that people chat too much instead of reading which makes life a tightrope walk for publishers, and as a result for authors! Curiosity, never a weakness of the female of the species alone, does not kill the cat(ty questions)!

Pratima@"A prudent question," they say, "is one half of wisdom." And the imprudent? Better to leave it unanswered!!!

Safe Space

 All of us always search for a safe space, right? Whatever might be the orbit, private or public, our search for the "safe space" is always alive. Why, even our mythology celebrates the safe space. Remember the Dhruva story? The wicked and cunning stepmom insulted him consciously by making him get up from his 'safe space', his father's lap. In the ensuing search for a safe space whence he cannot be unseated, he became the Lode Star! That is the power of the safe space and its search.

Now picture Sunita Williams, the woman astronaut with many first's to her credit such as the number of space walks, the duration of the space stay, and so on, and so on. Is she or is she not in a safe space up there? Is she safely returning  from the  space? Well, that is the question!

Hardly does she seem to have any space in the Indian media currently obsessing over politics, cricket, and Raha Kapoor's recent most pout. Actually, the real heroine, Sunita Williams, indeed deserves the space safety,  even when her plight is  not much noticed here in India.

There is a huge helium leak in the space  vehicle which was to get her safely back .  It seems the leak was there in the vehicle in its journey 'to' the space station, too. Now the return journey is getting postponed repeatedly.  Hope she and her colleague manage to return safely. Can the tall (in every sense) claims of Elon Musk's SpaceX help  out? Hope so! Sure in our history of women explorers, we do not have any space for yet another Kalpana Chawla! Fingers firmly crossed!

Pratima@ Sunita Williams' plight could be a cautionary tale, a wake-up call for all the grandiose plans of colonising the space! In a way, it is the Icarus theme yet again!

None can fool anyone even once!

 Remember Abraham Lincoln's famous quote, "you can fool some people some time" et al which ends with "you cannot fool all the people all the time." The blog title today is a take on it. Well, this afternoon I faced a hilarious situation which prompts me to concoct this title.

This nutty incident happened in a bank. The personnel in this bank seem to belong to some dunciad. Why so? Well, for more than two long years, despite my initial polite rejection, and later disgusted dismissal, day in and day out, I used to get  at least two calls per day from this bank to make me buy the credit card. 

First, I thought that the insistence must be due to the allotted quota to be completed in a day.  Slowly but surely, I started getting the feel that it was a form of stalking, though through someone paid in 'kind', obviously to irritate me or to get a credit card so that my money can be indirectly used. Thankfully, that boring pursuit has stopped! At least, temporarily!! Hope so!!!

Now this bank has allotted a personal caretaker, as do all the private banks, to assist the 'customer'! One of my FD's was to mature. When this person (how to call him a gentleman!) called me up, I told him that I want to increase the capital amount. As the FD matured on a fourth Saturday, I made the mistake of going to the branch as per the 'advice' of this personal caretaker at 3.30ish as he insisted that I should inform him beforehand.

He was not there. I was told to call him up. He must have been in the vicinity as he appeared on the scene in a jiffy. I wanted the TDS certificate and the increase in the capital amount,if possible, as the mechanical roll-over as per standing instructions had happened already. 

He started the sales talk about two schemes which is okay, I thought, his duty/his daily quota.  I tried to cut it short by saying I would think through the schemes. I was polite as usual. He would not budge! The same thing went on and on and on. No, I did not feel sleepy. I started getting the image of a mouth, no, not as an ATM, but as if it were a printing machine spouting out meaningless reams! And the irritating bother was one could not even laugh.

What I found truly doltish was the fact that he kept on harping and harping and harping on my age (which I have never ever hidden! What is there is to age? Everyone is older than someone else!), and wonder of wonders, my possible death! Ha, ha, ha! Is he, or the person who paid him in some form or the other for such buffonery, going to live forever? As I told another such jester in another private bank, these days in every household, there are the elderly, hey, 'senior citizens', nearing ninety! I am decades and decades and decades away from such an honour.

He would repeatedly guess my age (seventy, seventy-five, and so on) in any which way as if consciously to irritate me! What such morons do not know is that I find such ageism sheer fun. My irony never seems to penetrate the thick skulls.

Yet another creepy craziness was his insistence on my grandchildren. I have never ever understood such an obsession. Begetting a baby, if our population is any proof, must be quite easy! What is the unique or special skill in being a grandparent that needs a 'grand' display, especially because the creepily (c)rude parents of these grandchildren have been really badly brought up! 

To get back to the bank fellow, he went on and on and on, apparently advising! Was there some ulterior motive as on  his mobile he kept on telling someone that he has "got stuck up" which was actually bothersome to me!

Well, 'public' bank officers scream at you for no reason no rhyme. Private bank 'customer care'(!!!) officers bore you to death. Ask them for a TDS certificate or at least an interest statement. Despite our money fattening their pay cheques, they would quote thousand rules and hefty amounts for a piece of paper! But ferreting out personal details (at someone's paid insistence?), ah, are they excellent at it! Must be profitable to such dolts in some way or the other! Sheer boredom it is to the unlucky victim, believe me!

Pratima@ 'When you keep your mouth shut, some fools may suspect that you are wise. Why then open that trap to let loose verbal diarrhea, with the result that all doubts are forever removed from everybody's mind!' My take on Mark Twain's classic comment on yak-yak-yak, and yak!

Noteworthy Novels

 As somebody who loves literature, and teaches it, moreover, one reads countless texts. What Shakespeare said about greatness applies to literary texts as well. Some are born great. Such texts do not need any concerted effort by any criticism mafia to inflate them. They may not even be fashionably 'modern' in ideation or genre-wise. 

Yet such is their simple but genuine allure that they stay with you forever. Such are the writings by the Austrian author, Stefan Zweig. His long short stories, his novellas, and his novels are simply unforgettable.The milieu they explore is Austrian, and yet everywhere. The characters who people his works are not wonky or weird, unlike the contemporaneous novels in the modernist mode.

Still these unique personalities and their vivid, realistic stories live with you forever. In a way, this kind of abiding realism, during the high tide of literary modernism of the 30's and the 30's, is in itself noteworthy. Zweig, equally well-known as a committed student of historical personas and periods, inevitably uses realism. Yet his texts resonate with the lyricism of life itself.

Great are all his texts. Truly unforgettable are his 'Collection of Short Stories', his novella entitled 'Letter from an unknown woman' and one of the greatest novels in  the whole world, 'Beware of Pity'. They show his ability to explore the psychological complexities that weave the fabric called life.

Be it the young kid who wages a psychological warfare with a womaniser trying to tempt his mom, be it the passionate beloved  writing an ardent letter literally from the deathbed to her hero who hardly knew that she existed for him alone, or be it the much decorated army 'knight' who knows his soul destroying cowardice, Zweig's characters  and their tales are simply unforgettable. 

In an academy and a publishing industry fashionably obsessed with that bandwagon called the post-colonial, not many would even know Stephan Zweig's intense, human(e) wor(l)ds. Yet his brilliant texts enriched with infinite empathy are the true slice of life. No wonder, most of his literary writings have managed to transform themselves in to interesting films, a rare feat indeed! How I wish I could get a chance to translate Zweig's texts in to Marathi and Hindi so that a great treasure unfurls in front of the Indian readers.

Pratima@ Some texts are indeed born great. They do not need to be made so by the admiring bog of bards!

Dhai Aakhar...

 Thus spake Kabir! So sayeth the saint.  Sure this line, capturing the 'essence-tial' Kabir feel, is a take on the famous title by Nietzsche. Equally inspired is Kabir as a philosopher. The unique beauty of his "dohe", the unusual quatrains, is that, like all saintly poetry in the great Bhakti tradition, it speaks not merely to the sense, common or otherwise, but to the heart and soul of the listener/reader, even when (s)he may not be a devotee.

'Jyeshtha Poornima' is thought to be the day Kabir was supposedly born. The 'legend'-ary 'stories' about his birth are as endless as the controversies about the exact number of his "dohe". So simple and yet so deep are they that imitation extrapolations are but natural. Why, it has been said that even the celebrated anthology  compiled by none less than the Nobel Laureate, Rabindranath Tagore, has only six authentic "dohe"! Let us not get in to all such contestations. 

Instead, let us see if we can understand, interpret and translate the "dhai aakhar Kabir ke". My most favourite one is the one that should be, in my opinion, the motto of everyone if life is to be divine. Says Kabir (forgive me the translation of this and/or the following "dohe"), "When in search of evil I went/None I met with that taint/mine heart I searched, that moment/i knew, none so sinful ain't."

Imagine how the world would be, surely not so very near, almost on the brink of the third world war if Iran were to think thus of America, or vice versa, or Palestine of Israel, or vice versa, or Nato nations of Putin, or vice versa! Forget the big nations and the larger than life politicians. Always I wonder if, thus were not the mirror image of all the frenemies! When you point a finger at someone, please remember, the other four point back at you! 

Yet another example of Kabir's deep sense captured in the simplest words would be, "What if tall and big/like the tree called fig/ no shade ever a wayfarer found/the fruits  are afar, out of bound" What a perfect depiction with an apt image of the vainglory of the mighty but mean!

Hence let us end this brief intro to the "Kahat Kabir" epiphany with the greatest tribute that celebrates love, the force that should drive wor(l)ds. Says Kabir,"Big books they read, in death to end/the learned thus to knowledge did not bend/Love, the four lettered word, if  be the trend/in wisdom would they lives spend".

Pratima@Daily I read and try to understand the gems from "Dnyaneshwari", "Dasbodh" and "Abhang-gatha" from the Marathi Bhakti tradition to enrich myself every which way.

The day is special indeed

 June 21. Yes, the day is special indeed. Multiple reasons lead to this unique position. Let us begin with the most 'natural' one. Yes, on June 21 falls the summer solstice. It is hence the longest day, especially in the Northern hemisphere.  The seasonal cycle would hereafter unmistakably gear itself towards the autumn-winter mode. It is literally an existential issue as climate-wise hereafter slowly but surely a different mode would begin.

The day is important for yet another reason. Since the early eighties, it has been celebrated as the World Music day. Yes, as it can be guessed, this appellation of the day IS French. In 1982, the then French Minister of Culture and Arts, Jack Lang, in association with a musician, Maurice Fleuer, initiated this day as a celebration of the multiple traditions, types, modes of-n-in music. Be it classical, be it folk, be it pop, be it 'film'y, be it Western or Eastern, be it vocal or instrumental, music speaks to every emotion and each mood. Not much was made of the music aspect in the media. On my own, I was in to music in a big way, as I always am.

The third reason is special for us Indians. Exactly ten years ago, our P.M., Narendra Modiji, introduced Yoga as a holistic practice in a big way, and across the world.  A decade later, Yoga is a way of life, and beyond the mere market exploitation as a sheer exercise regime. Online i participated in two genuine celebrations, the World Record attempt by Habuild and the Yoga challenge by Isha Foundation of Sadhguru.

Well, both music and Yoga involve our entire being. In both these activities, we tune in to a (w)holistic feel within one's own self and with the beyond. No wonder, both 'days' fall on this unique day!

Pratima@Personally, for me, June 21 is seminally important as unfortunately it is the death anniversary of Papa. This year is the twenty-fifth year of Papa's sad demise. Hence I created (for private circulation) a beautiful booklet celebrating his genuine life full of integrity and loving kindness.

The school re-opens

 The summer vacation stretches looooong so much that kids start geting bored at home, and begin to yearn for the school. The opening of the school after the May vacation! Quite some event it is. 

It is special. The prep at home begins roughly a fortnight before. Buying new books and putting brown covers on each one, buying a brand new uniform, a fancy water bottle, a theme lunch box, and a zany rucksack, the entire process  sets the tone for the great day. 

These days, schools, too, deck up a lot for the occasion. The premises are spruced up, the benches get dusted, the unique smell of the new paint lingers in the air. On the actual day, there are Donald Duck and other such fairy tale characters hugging the kid at the very doorstep. 

Teachers are standing in a row, clapping, putting a tilak on each tiny forehead, the fun ends with a firm handshake by the Head Miss herself; the fancy surprises just do not seem to end. A prayer assembly later, there is a PTA meet, not to forget the yummy eats!

In certain schools, there are dhol-tasha pathak's driving away the hint of a nap in every sleepy eye. Good child psychology seems to rule the roost so much so that the parents would love  a return back to their school days! Well begun is half done. The school re-opens!

Pratima@ "Let us remember,"  states Malala Yousuf Zahi, "one child, one book, one teacher can change the whole world".

Clean Energy

 There is this report which says that the heat wave in Delhi is such that the (constantly used?)  A/C's are exploding. Much more interesting is the news that the night temperature in Delhi is high because the concrete jungle, it seems, absorbs heat during the day, and releases it at night. 

Such reports sure wake us up to the real need for sustainable development . In my opinion, without realising it, they draw attention to an easy solution to the environmental issues that come in the way of the sustainable development. 

Any guesses about what I am referring to? Well, yes, I am referring to the solar energy available in abundance in a country like ours. Except for the monsoon, we get lots of sunshine. Even in the winters, noon onwards, it is quite sunny.

Why are we wasting all that energy? Well, solar energy is the most natural mode of energy which is environment friendly. Electric vehicles may not guzzle petrol/diesel. Yet the making of a battery involves mining while producing it. Later, dismantling the used up batteries would also pollute the environment.

The solar energy is free of all such dangers. The only obstacle would be making it light-weight both design wise as mounting it would thus be easy and by making all the apertures cost effective. An Australian university has researched through  all such problems. I am sure the authorities are taking cognizance of such experiments. Or else, I could share the link if I could get to know how to. Solutions exist. Let us apply them.

Pratima@ It is always better to be the solution rather than be the problem. Like the simple system of rain water harvesting that can enrich the depleted water table!

Heavenly Glory

 Do pomp and grandeur matter in a ceremony? Well, yes, one would say, after all, it is a spectacle, and as such does require a design made of patterns, of colours, of formations, right? You do not believe me, right? Well, watch the "Trooping the Colours" ceremony in England. It is a fomal celebration of the King's official birthday. The annual London parade is a visual and aural treat. Oh, yes, the young Prince Louis never fails to add to the event the unique charm of his child like antics.

Well, you would agree that every (geo)political meet these days is grand. Why, the latest G7 meet had a cuisine spread in such a wonderful way that it satiated not merely the taste buds of the world leaders.  Why, our very own G20 meets spruced up very many cities so wonderfully that they brightened up like a bride.  Oh, yes, the third oath taking ceremony of Modiji and his cabinet was grand, too, not withstanding the mysterious shadow lurking like a wild silhouette in the background.

The doubting Thomas-es amongst you may say that such raazmatazz is after all normal business for socio-political meets. Can a religious function so dazzle? Well, my answer is a resounding 'yes'. Why and how? Are these your questions? Well, my answer is, this evening i watched online the Ganga Aarti at the Dashashwamedh Ghat in Varanasi.

Honestly so wondrous it looked that it could make an atheist believe in the divine. The vibes even so very far away were heavenly indeed. Against the darkening evening sky, the ochre looked gorgeous. There were so many diyas with their reflections undulating in the water that the ghat literally looked like the starlit night. 

As if the visual symmetry was not enough, there was the oral-aural abundance. The sadhu who blew the conch could beat hollow  any ardent disciple of Sadhu Guru and Ramdev baba combined when it came to holding the breath. All along the 'damru' rhythm and the 'ghanta naad', not to forget the chanting of the mantras and the aarti's created such a magic that it was indeed divine. 

So far away I could thus feel the fragrances of the flowers blending in with that of the camphor that, oh, yes, to my bucket list is added yet another ardent entry, watching the Ganga Aarti not only at Haridwar but at Kashi as well!

Pratima@On the occasion of Aai's seventy-fifth birthday, one of the decorative pieces was a peacock made of seventy-five diya's. The hall people insisted that we should take away the earthen diya's. On the Tripura Pournima that year, I took formal permission, and lit up the entire premises of a Shiv Mandir in the vicinity. So gorgeous it looked, every flame gently wavering with the breeze, and reflecting in the marble floor, that the diya's shared the sheer  luminescence of the full moon in the sky. Aai absolutely adored the vision! My evening was made!

Tragic Comedy

 I was actually browsing the YouTube for the "Candle in the wind" video. Somehow, well, I do not know how, but the YouTube took me to the stand-up comedy genre. Initially, I was pleasantly surprised to know that there is such a wealth of varied content. Literally countless are the stand-up comics, and each one seems to be getting views at least in lakhs, with crores of subscribers to boot!

That made me wonder why our country is considered to be so low on the happiness quotient. Each video had the attendees  uncontrollably howling with non-stop laughter, and each comic seemed to have shows all over the country, not to forget the "phoren"!

 Honestly, such stand-up comics seem to compete hard (both in numbers and in inanity) with the chart-busting "bestseller" self-published books that are making authors of everybody who, moreover, pair them with some ''sell-a-" type business! Oh, yes, Alia Bhatt has children's books as her niche (business) now!

To get back to the comedy shows, they prove why our country is not very "high" comedy wise. Yes, every "tuchchee" show has to gloat over the "high" business. One grandee declares that when he goes to stay in the hostel of a famous institute, his mom asks him not to 'smoke or drink'. So the obedient son directly graduates, it seems, to "ganja", "hara patta" to quote him, and the auditorium erupts into appreciative guffaws!

The jokes in these shows are  "highly" repetitive. They always mock family, relationships, studies. In one of the comic shows, the lady (why would women trail, right?!?) talks of her siblings as "chudail, bhoot, and dayan". Sorry, I have not managed to quote exactly. Hardly matters though, as actually it is not worth a mention. 

Sure, exaggeration IS the need of the genre. Yet all that mocks, and without much wit/sardonic satire, is rather "funny", to say the least!!! And the language that is used is equally "funny", too. Every ugly cussword, mostly with reference to sexual antics, preferably targetting women, including  mother and sister,  is liberally sprinkled to "raise" the content, absolutely dull otherwise!

Who spares some four hundred buckies for such live shows? It clearly means a certain class. No Marxist prejudices implied, please! Hardly worth it! Could it be an extension of the pub culture? I would not really know, but 3.30 a.m. accidents appear worth an "essay" after such weed, eh, no, feed. Incidentally, better to clarify that 'essay' means not only what most such comics (both performers and listeners) found a horror during their school days, but the word also means 'to try'!

Why has our comic sense reached such a nadir? Being young does not mean spouting the emptiest content in the ugliest language! There are such great comics around. No, I am not going to quote P.G.Wodehouse or the P.L. Deshpande types. Why, just have a look at current cartoons in major dailies. In minimum most words and smartest strokes, they provide the most scathing critique possible. 

In brief, if such, such is what makes a huge chunk of the 'young' from a certain class laugh roaringly, indeed it is tragic! Cry, Comedy!

Pratima@'How' we laugh at 'what' defines us!

Imagi(ni)ng Papa

 On Father's Day, here are five images that capture Papa the best. The rock solid man on the outside, whose heart was the tenderest and most caring. He was indeed "a father with a mother's heart" as I described him in June, 2021 on the occasion of the Father's Day. I think the following five images capture him  the best. Hence these imaginings as a tribute to him.

 The images proceed the usual way, from the known to the unknown, as a daughter's horizon expands, food, hobby, sports, profession, and life in general.

1) the white gourd/bitter gourd. Most necessary for a wholesome growth, yet not exactly fancy, unlike the cauliflower or the potato, for instance. That is the way, Papa's disciplining was, never vocal, never corporal, and very much necessary for a toned personality.

2) the trellis that helps the tender shoot of a delicate creeper grow. Once the creeper flourishes, flowers, none may notice the now fragile trellis. Yet it was the trellis that allowed, shaped the creeper to grow the right way in the first place. Gardening is the hobby for us siblings, quite like our parents.

3) the fielder at the boundary. Not exactly ubiquitous like the wicket keeper, but the best when it comes to saving wasteful four's and sixers, thereby winning the match. Papa loved playing and watching cricket. The image needs no explanation, right?

4) the password, oh, no, not to the mobile or the e-mail which the Google guesses anyways. Rather the password for the bank vault that treasured the hard-earned, much-deserved, shining jewellery that needes no exhibition, yet is always there as the quiet reserve!

5) the mountain pass Baji Prabhu Deshpande defended till his last breath, and beyond. That was the way, and is, his care, concern, and love for us all. 

No wonder, they say, "सर्व देवमय: पिता!" which means "the father is the embodiment of all the gods."

Pratima@ Papa gave me the bestest gift possible. He believed (in) me absolutely!

The recent most 'version' of a monster.

 Have you read Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein", a truly perceptive novel? It sure shows the tragic consequences of abrogating to mankind the creative powers, of acting as God.  I have yet another take on the novel. I think, the novel deals with acting responsibly while floating a new idea, an invention.

Frankenstein creates the monster, is repelled by his own creation, and thus irresponsibly lets it loose on the unsuspecting world, resulting in unforeseen havoc. In a way, in my opinion, the novel deals with the ethics of originality, of novelty.

Why am I talking about a novel (published in 1818) which is more than two hundred years old? Is that your question? Well, let me answer it in some detail. 

Let me begin with a video available on the YouTube. The two creators are gleeful about the 'joke' which has gone viral, it seems. The video shows transformations of a leading Bollywood actress, Kareena Kapoor. She is shown as a young boy, as a huge, fat lady with enormous 'love handles' and triple chins, as an old woman in her nineties, and so on.

Such 'effects' were available earlier as well for sure. Now, however, with the AI, there is a sophistication, a finesse the earlier versions lacked. The titter of the makers (almost like adolescents drawing a moustache and a beard on the roadside poster of an actress or in the doodle of the most hated teacher) and the viral reach of the video without any backlash show how desensitised the society has become. 

The video has elements of body shaming, of ageism, of manufactured images as mo(u)lds, as modes of perception. None, absolutely no one, comments on such 'vision', highly problematic, quite heartless because if a celebrity can be thus demeaned, imagine the plight of the common (wo)men!

Now, listen to this announcement. The Apple company has added 'Apple Intelligence' to all its products, lappie to mobile. Check this recent most bot to realise how effective and efficient it is, and how potently it can be used to harass, ill-treat all, but especially women, in the most vicious and irresponsible way. 

Now, given the fact that there are very many satanic sick fools with oodles of time on hand, and with the mobile as addiction, imagine the 'reel'ing possibilities! Honestly, it is terrorising and tough. Why?

Well, involved in such 'inventiveness' is the total breakdown of faith in/about each other which should be the bedrock of the public space. Instead, now fears of/about the perverse misuse underline the public sphere which would interfere with, which would invade the personal realm as an ever present threat looming large.

In '1984', George Orwell says that freedom is the liberty to assert that 'two plus two is four'.  With the current AI sophistication, 'two plus two' can be made to appear anything, minus four, inverse zero, and so on, as infinite are the possibilities. Such permutations and combinations are the absolute loss of fraternity and equality. That is the real tragedy!

Pratima@ How is the irresponsibility of the end user answerable at the creation level? That is a valid question. May be, the solution would be strict and clearly defined laws, and fast track courts to implement them. That sure would check-n-control the weird whisper-mongers' goofy gossips!

The best donor

 Remember that famous Sanskrit shloka? It compares and contrasts all sorts of  problems of "dhanam", meaning money/ wealth, of course, and arrives at the conclusion that "vidya", knowledge, is the best asset of all.

As it is the best resource, in a way, it is the best mode/means of donating as well. True, even in the era of online and/or distance mode of learning, a genuine teacher (at any academic level) teaching sincerely is the best donor ever.

There is, however, yet another donor who literally gives a new lease of life. Yes, you guessed it right. He/she is the person who donates blood and/or organ(s). It is indeed the best, the noblest of all donations, though there are mercenaries who concoct an ugly market out of it, too. 

That is inevitable in a way. Smart cookies can create ugly and cheap 'bazzars' of every noble idea, be it knowledge, yoga, spirituality, and blood and organs. There would be any number of roadside, fly by night shops selling such high concepts as cheap merchandise. That meanness in the human(e) condition can be a fault of individuals and/or the system.

Such simulations, the videos thereof, the  thumbnails of such videos cannot, however, demean the original concept. Blood and/or organ donation, for instance, is wonderful in many ways. It saves lives. It shows the greatness of human intelligence which built such wonderful medical technologies to deal with debilitating diseases and/or certain death. 

It proves, moreover, that beneath the skin, both literally and figuratively, all the human beings are the same. No credentials of class, creed, gender can differentiate between two human beings. Given this lesson in equality, humility, and humanity, such donation is indeed the best donation!

Pratima@ "Sujata", the yesteryear film released in 1959, establishes such a concept of equality most sensitively. 'Old is gold' indeed, be it a shloka or a film!

Sushegat

Online I teach French to a Dubai based student. The family is from Goa. Behind each soft, musical sound of French, I hence hear the unique rhythms of Goa.

For a Maharashtrian, the 1961 annexation of Goa is not a very pleasant memory. Very proud Marathis are of the valour of the stalwarts who suffered hugely, even embraced martyrdom for the liberation of Goa.

Despite such harsh history, it has to be admitted that Goa indeed is magical charm. No, no, one does not have to guzzle the famous "feni" to thus get intoxicated with the Goan 'spirit'. Nor does one have to go the 'hippie' hashish way to attain the Goan 'nirvana'. I suppose, that is the touristy Goa, right?

The real Goa is the 'sushegat' sense. May be, it is the old world buildings, the winding narrow roads with the greenest canopy, the tingle of the Konkani dialect, the unique fêtes-n-floats, and the gentle 'ghazal' of the sun-kissed sea waves, Goa always gives you the feel that Time itself seems to relax here. The Spanish 'siesta-fiesta' scheme seems to suit superbly to the Goan 'sushegat' mood, right?

There is a calm, quiet, laid-back feel to Goa. It is not the Lotus Eaters' subtle but sure death wish that Tennyson captured superbly. Rather there seems to be a mood of contentment, a happy, no (y)earning laid-back life style without the harrying hurry of the metro cities.

Goa forever seems to be in a time warp wrapped in the pre-Industrial, agrarian self-sufficient barter existence full of leisure, the quiet, contented dream Marx' Manifesto outlines. The ideal 'sushegat' sensation wherein you have loads of time on hand to curl in a corner swing, sipping a coffee, eating a cashew nut now and then, with a great book, the Spanish guitar or some such great music on the loop, and your pet peacefully nestling at your feet! That is h(e)aven indeed!

Pratima@ You may think that every holiday I must hurry to Goa. Well, forget such rushing, I have never been there. See the power of imagination fed by great texts and superb videos? Well, yet another 'sushegat'  item on my long wish list, hopefully soon to be fulfilled!

Why blog?

 Yes, I blog, and with utmost regularity. Why? There are a few reasons behind it. To begin with, I started writing these blogs since the Mother's Day in 2021. It is hence a tribute to Aai. In a way, the blog and its regularity are an emotional response.

Yet another reason is that it is a mode of communication. There are many regular readers who read my stuff without fail. Not everyday may they get back to me. But, yes, a connect is created, and to me it matters.

A blog is more like a diary one shares. Well, I can say with some confidence that I have so far never repeated a theme. I have, moreover, tried to introduce different perspectives as well. In other words, instead of blah-blah-ing about the social media, I have tried in my own small, little way to sensitize it.

Yes, the blog allows me some creative space to experiment with forms, modes, expressions. Oh, yes, none is judgemental in response which is quite encouraging. Dear Reader, given such indulgence on your part, let me not stretch it a bit too far, right? Here hence is the full stop. See you tomorrow!

Pratima@ I was told that once the viewership reaches one lakh, Google monetises a blog, it seems. I could not care less. Money and market matters matter not much, right? Your response sure does!

Silence: An Acrostic

 "The rest," sighed Hamlet, "is silence", and fell forever 'mum'! Critics have interpreted that cryptic quote in many ways. Let us not right now get in to these "wise saws" to quote yet another Shakespearean pithy expression. Let us instead try an acrostic on "silence". An attempt after many silences indeed!

Silence: An acrostic 

Sweet sister of wisdom

Indeed 'a-kin' to death

Likened often to boredom

Ever an antidote to wasted breath!

Not merely golden as deifi(n)ed by tradition

Certain an opp to hide idle exhibition

Enough empty chatter is apt end 'pose-ition'!

Pratima@ Wise sounds a fool till (s)he opens his/her mouth, the chat app(-erture)! The rest, the remaining, better be silence, a rest indeed to the listener's ear!

In the name of the rose

 The title of our blog, an obvious take on the nomenclature of the great Umberto Eco novel, is an echo of the idea dedicated to this flower. Oh, yes, June is the 'month' of the rose! Now, as noted in one of our earlier blogs, not only are there 'days', but also 'months' celebrating some concept or the other. Hence the association of the month with the flower. 

I suppose, the moment a rose is mentioned, for sure we remember the unique shape, the special texture, the distinctive fragrance of this flower. Its range of colours, very aggressively marketed in the Valentine week, is wondrous as well.

Yet, unlike any other flower, the rare most quality of a rose is that this beauty blooms amidst thorns. Hence the rose symbolises all that is attractive yet unattainable. Every language on the earth would sure have a proverb of the 'no pains, no gains' variety associated with this special flower.

The rose, anyways, is deeply symbolic. For Christianity, it symbolises the perfect Trinity as the shape of a rose about to bloom has this triune structure. For the lovelorn, a rose is always the Robert Burns declaration, 'my love is like a red, red rose'.

It is the national symbol of England since the fifteenth century. Well, England had a centuries old War of Roses! America, however, usurped the flower as its national flower in 1986 with the then President, Ronald Reagan, declaring grandly that they hold the rose dear as a symbol of life, love, devotion, eternity and beauty. Talk of the American expansionist tendencies!

So many texts there are dedicated to this beauty queen. Our blog itself mentions a few. Cute is our very own Sarojini Naidu's poem celebrating the birth of the lotus. In that sonnet, she, too, has a line dedicated to the proud bloom of the rose! 

A rose is a rose is a rose, in brief. So let us end our tribute to it with Juliet's world famous assertion, "What's in a name? That which we call a rose, by any other word would smell as sweet"!

Pratima@Rose vibes are indeed wonderful!

Deadly Death: A Dirge

 What exactly is death? It is a forever ache no medicine can heal. It is a pit in the stomach nothing can fill. It is a loss that makes the soul still.

Yes, we all know that we all are mortal. Yes, death is inevitable. Yet it is terrible to know that the kind touch would never be felt. That face, much loved, can never be seen again. A simple handshake you were quite casual about would never be repeated ever.

In a way, the dead depart once, but for those left behind to carry on living, something dies inside, and reviving/revitalising that within is quite tough. Death is a wild regret, too, for " words left unsaid/ and deeds left incomplete and undone" as opined Harriet Stowe whose critique of the slavery led to sweeping reforms, nay, to the end of the slavery as Abraham Lincoln would say.

Hence, despite Donne's  much celebrated paradoxical reassurance in his sonnet, namely, "Death, thou shalt die", I prefer his sermon which insists, "No man is an island, entire of itself. Everyman is a piece of the continent, a part of the main." Every death diminishes every one, each end finishes all!

Pratima@ True, we should remember the happy memories of the departed rather than grieve. Well, it is this silly heart which chooses not to listen to the clever head!

Monsoon Musings

 The monsoon seems to have arrived on time this year. Sharp on June 7, it joined our mundane lives. It sure bought some respite from the scorching summer heat. 

However, the monsoon season in a metro like city is simply much bother, and no sum of happy memories. For one thing, the drainage system is non-functional during the monsoon. The municipal authorities must clean the entire system on time. Apparently, they do not. 

Hence the roads are eternally inundated during the season with minimum most rains.  There are traffic jams, nay, soggy snarls, and everywhere. Vehicles are water logged. Roads get slippery. The worst season it is for the city traffic, especially for the pedestrians. Sadists among the drivers use the dirty puddles to harass women further by squirting the dirty water as ugly jets. Umbrellas, raincoats are no use against such creeps.  

There is chaos everywhere. The municipal corporation never gives timely permission to cut branches. Hence trees are never felled, they fall. There are centuries old buildings never properly cared for, not to forget the hoardings. Tragedies are waiting to happen everywhere. Electrical outages take ages to normalise. Remember the mosquitoes? They invade!

In brief, the season is nothing romantic in cities. It is sheer harassment, on the contrary. You always feel hence that it should rain only in the catchment areas of dams, and in villages where the farmlands are.  Cities do not deserve rains. "Rain, rain, go away/ to the farms far away" is the city-slickers' prayer every monsoon.

Pratima@ The gusty showers wrap/ the (s)crap around the potholes, on the pathways, against the soles/ souls in the cities. Rain, rain, go away/never again come this way!

And the Sea

 The title of this blog is obviously a take on the famous title by Hemingway. The Hemingway novel is a tribute to the indomitable human spirit. I think when dealing with the sea, one would require a certain toughness. Inevitable it is as the infinite oceans that surround the earth are truly vast, deep and unfathomed. True 'blue' (in all the senses of this term) are the seas every which way!

We know much much more about the space than we know about the seas. Incidentally all these cutsie quotes about 'where the land meets the water' or 'the sand meets the sea' are fine by the seaside. Near the shore, the salt can cure the soul.  Far away from the shores, deep within the ocean, the roar of the sea is not exactly soul soothing. Remember the December, 2004 tsunami? Whoosh, indeed!

There is a brilliant story by Edgar Allan Poe entitled 'A Descent in to the Maelstrom' which deals with the malefic aspect of the ocean. So vivid is Poe's description of the terror that realistically you can feel every twist and each turn of the terrible experience of the narrator.

You do not have to be a Ulysses to understand the trouble that the high seas are. If you want proof, just check  the 'high waves' videos on the YouTube. Unbelievable are the storms that the ships wither. Literally like a  sky high wall are the waves, each crashing against the board capriciously, cruelly, and crudely. The sailor song that goes with such storms is so horrible that it can sent shivers down the spine.

Hence the need to appreciate Columbus who set sail in the Atlantic aboard wind tossed, sails propelled ships Pinta, Niña, and Santa Maria, and without any technological gadgets. Sure he introduced the cruel colonisation that crushed continents, yet his own spirit that 'sea-rched' for a new, unexplored sea route to India  is truly commendable.

Pratima@ All these sea musings are a tribute to my shippie brother Parag, alias Raju, whose birthday falls on June 7 when the Mriga constellation heralds the beginning of the monsoons, an absolute terror on board a ship, I think.

Practise what you preach!

 June 6 is close to every Maharashtrian heart. It is the day when the pride and the inspiration of Maharashtra, King Shivaji, ascended the throne.

Shivaji Maharaj is indeed unique, both as an individual and as an emperor. In my opinion, his life proves how you win everything, your goal, the followers/friends who support you to advance fast trot (literally!) towards that journey even when you began, you did not have much to write home about.

Undoubtedly, Maharaj is a great inspiration, but would not you find intriguing the people who utter his name every second, and disgrace it actively, and every minute? Want proof? A few examples here and there could prove my point, I suppose.

People spit, and thus spray the individuals passing nearby through a widow with a picture of Maharaj! Eve-teasing is a normal  'done' thing hereabouts. So mobikes vroom past. They are playing mouthful of ugly Rangpanchami. If they get to play a prank at a woman thus or otherwise, they are the happiest. Yet umpteen times would they tell the 'legend'ary story of the Kalyan Subhedar's beautiful daughter-in-law and her honorable treatment at the hands of the great king!

Many more such examples can be added. The moral of the story, in brief, is 'practise what you preach'!

Pratima@ When a great person is deified, put on the pedestal, it is easier for the followers to pay mere lip service, I suppose! Thus are ideals tarnished, right?

Enough environmental exploitation!

 What is progress? Since the eighteenth century Enlightenment era, this question has haunted humanity. As the rational, logical mind started superseding the softer inner self thence, egotism, both at the individual and the societal levels, evolved abundantly. Technological developments, cushioned by the capitalistic forces, fed in to this narrow vision. 

As a result, development started meaning an instrumental approach to everything and everyone. Exploiting nature and others for the immediate, miniscule, self-centred profits meant progress and development. 

Such a framework has resulted in a threat to sustainability. Nature seems to be grieving the (in)human inroads in to everything natural. Hence the need to raise awareness that total destruction awaits us if human-beings continue to follow such a path.

Since 1972, the U.N. has been celebrating the World Environment Day. The urgency, however, is felt more and more as we proceed further in to the twenty-first century. Flora and fauna as well as the aboriginals are the species we are making extinct. Given the notion of the food chain, such extinctions actually lead to our own destruction!

Even a kid today knows about the u/v ray's, the carbon footprint, the flash floods, the forest fires, the soil erosion, and so on. Why repeat all that shebang? Instead, let each one of us do at least the following, and soon "earth will not have anything more fair to show": 1) planting and caring for at least three plants 2) insisting on rain water harvesting 3) car pools 4) not using a vehicle for a minor errand 5) insisting on alternative sources of energy such as the solar energy. 

Pratima@ The best change always begins with our own selves, right? So a small but sure step towards the final goai!

The Democratic Process Wins

 The election results. Finally they are out. I do not know the exact tally as a few rounds still remained last I checked. Yet the picture was quite clear then.

Why the title of this blog? To begin with, this time, as it suited them perfectly, the Opposition Parties did NOT repeat a replay of their 'blame the EVM' game. In my opinion, this is a great win for the democratic process as once and for all, now it is established beyond doubt that the EC conducts the elections fairly. 

Sure I could not vote because in my ward, except me, even dead people, possibly non-existent voters, all were there in the voters' list. Such bureaucratic lapses were not heaped on to the EC by the Opposition Parties which is a great democratic gain not just this time, but forever, as it is proved indubitably that all is fair! As for me, I am happy to know that at least the Income Tax Department never de-lists me!

In brief, institutions that are the fulcrum of any operating democracy must never be demeaned. The election results have cleansed at least one systemic base of the democratic process, namely the EC, of any culpability, and I feel elated, even when, as for myself, personally I could not vote, despite trying a lot.

Yet another takeaway in my opinion is that we are India, we are not America! Want to know why? Despite disappointing results, there was not any rioting on the roads. Remember the Capitol onslaught? No such shenanigans in India, please!  'Foreign hand', moreover, did not intervene in the Indian election process, unlike the U.S.!

In other words, the Indian democracy, given the sheer numbers, is not merely the largest. It is absolutely mature as well.

Now onwards, the dirty politicking may begin as was hinted/openly stated by very many anchors and the experts on their 'debates'. That is none of my business so long as the good practices of the earlier government do not get derailed in sheer retaliation because the nation and its stability should matter the most, right? Our status at home and in the world matters the most, right? 

Surely introspections and equations et al will go on and on. Such tamasha matters hardly so long as the democratic process wins! Just a passing thought incidentally! Psephology, like astrology, seems to be more a belief system, often practised without much depth, right?

Pratima@ A wonder it is, is not it, how/why huuuuuge crowds do not translate in to votes? What exactly could be the reason? Not only the leaders but the voters, too, must walk the talk by being responsible, actually going to the booth and voting beyond any temptations and/or threats, right? Yet another takeaway, right, that neither money nor muscle power (no major mention at all of either in this election!) nor caste/religious equations  nor optics nor any kinds of tool kits matter! The democratic process alone wins!

 

The Cycle Diaries

 Remember Che Guevara's "The Motor cycle Diaries"? I love the book. It shows how wandering makes you both, wonder and wiser. My AIR speech on the text was well received. Actually, I was supposed to translate it from the original Spanish in to Marathi. Well, the publisher's enthusiasm waned soon, as no huge sales/profits  seemed to be looming large on the horizon!

Remembered all these details because I feel many amongst us can write "The Cycle Diaries", right? Honestly, the bicycle almost always has lovely/lively childhood memories. It is a proper ride down the memory lane. For me, the remembrance consists of Papa teaching me how to ride a bicycle. 

Very emotional stuff because in my opinion this activity symbolises Papa's faith that once equipped/educated well, I would never falter! He trained me so well that later learning to ride a two-wheeler was no big deal. I can manage such a ride so well that after Jadugar Raghuveer, if there is anybody in Pune who can ride a two-wheeler blindfold, it would be me!

With the bicycle, I have other cute memories such as reaching/fetching my kid bro to/fro his school. His Royal Highness would be riding pillion, and guiding me from behind!

Yes, riding a bicycle is magic. The wind whistles gently in your ears, the tring-tring of the bell adds its own music, the breaks are yours to control, and the paddles are yours to speed. There is no danger, moreover, of the 'Vedant Agarwal' variety. Even if you were to hit someone, at the most, you and the victim might suffer a few scratches. So no worries about writing essays!

A cycle is so handy that you can manage zillion "chal meri, Dhanno" types. No loss of any energy, moreover, neither petrol nor electric charging needed. Wonderful exercise for the entire lower part of the body in addition! No wonder, till mid-eighties, Pune was the bicycle h(e)aven! I can go on and on the bicycle way, but, hey, can I hear the horns honking, signifying the rude, eh, road rage of the reader! So better to move on, right?

Pratima@ Cycling is so heady that in the golden era of Hindi films, the hero and the heroine would either meet in a library with their books falling, et al. Or their bicycles would together crash. Crush forever for sure!

The Queen!

 May 31 is the birth anniversary of a unique woman, Rajmata Ahilyabai Holkar. She is unique in multiple ways. In fact, in very many ways, she literally re-writes history. Hence the title.

To begin with, from Chaundi near Ahmednagar to Indore, her journey is not merely geographical.  On a subtler note, her identity changes, and in to regality. She manages it so well that to her father-in-law, she is more like a son. 

In those days, she does not go sati, a remarkable feat indeed, as it was THE norm then. Instead she chooses to guard a kingdom like a king. She leads her army in to wars to win them, and to make the patriarchal mindset accept her supremacy, both as a warrior queen and as an able administrator.

For her, as a queen, her citizens are like her children. She takes care of their professional development so that they can lead a comfortable life. It has been said that she initiated the industrial revolution in India.

Undoubtedly, she propagated the Hindu Dharma, then on the wane. Literally across India, she built temples, 'dharmashalas' as teaching centers which would also provide a protective space to the dispossessed. The river side 'ghats'  she built channelise both, water and religious practices.

In my opinion, she is an example of a woman enabling her own self, womanhood, and a way of life. Fabulous is her contribution. Often i think of her as an excellent example of the Gramscian concept of an organic leader. What a shame indeed hence that in the so-called progressive Maharashtra, she is getting limited/restricted to the casteist rhetoric!

Pratima@ "I have to be seen to be believed," said Queen Elizabeth II. Ahilyabai Holkar was so unusual and great that we need not even see her. Her legend lingers on!

Challenges galore

 Well, it was just by chance that the Sadguru twenty-one day challenge flashed on my mobile, and I decided to take it up. No, not on an impossible impulse (that would ba wasteful wager!), but because it is worth taking up. Why, anyways, I am in to yoga and meditation. A habit, moreover, is always formed when followed for twenty-one days.

Anyways, challenges are fun. Why? Well, they test the real you, the inner soul that one is. Challenges show you how tough you can be even when otherwise mostly you have always been quite a senti(-n-)mental fool.

Oh, yes, it is equally enriching to stand up to the whole world, your own timid, shy, introverted self included. Challenges introduce you to the tremendous reserves of strength you had embedded within you. Like the fiery rebellion against all sorts of cheapness-es, just blubbering around!

Challenges create a fortress that save you from all the ugly compromises. Nor do they allow you to be harsh, hard-hearted neither mean. Well, anyways, your dreams have always been so clean. Hence that is also a challenge to fulfill them, come what may! Long live challenges of all sorts!

Just a passing thought before this passionate praise of challenges ends. In the new, politically correct lingo, none is deficient. Everyone is 'challenged'. None is blind or deaf or mute, for instance. Why, none is a dumbo either, is just a wee little bit "intellectually challenged," for sure!

Pratima@"In life," writes Roger Crawford, "being challenged is inevitable. Being defeated is optional."

Happy Memories

 Why do we love jokes? That is because they leave a track record of happy memories in our minds, right? Okay, look at this play on words beyond a typical PJ. The joke is as follows:"Which part of a laptop does an astronaut love the most?" No, it is not the RAM nor the software as expected. Rather it is a memorable play on words. "It is the space bar".

 Let us look at another joke which is a cheeky comment on harsh reality, hard facts, and hence is memorable. Makkhan Singh reaches Kanaiida (Canada, as pronounced thereabouts) the 'Dunki' way. He does not get the much awaited job though. While wandering here and there, he meets an agent who offers him the job of draping as a bear, and sharing the cage of a lion.

Makkhan is afraid actually, but has no other go. Willy-nilly he has to accept the job. Terror-stricken, he enters the cage. The lion is inching towards him. At that last moment, an amazed Makkhan says:’’ Ari,O, Kartara, tu itthe kitthe?" Murmurs the lion, "Hum sare itthech." A wonderful comment on the dream job abroad, most often pittance paid and highly dangerous, given the uncertainty of a pink slip! 

Let us look at one more before we bid good bye for the day. What with Delhi @ 52 degree celcius, whether real or a bureaucratic embarassment, this one should stick around like plaster! It is 2 a.m. A man in pyjamas walks in to the kitchen, gets the thanda, thanda, kook, kool. Back in his bedroom, before he can take a swig, he sees three mosquitoes floating around. As he reaches for the mosquito repellent racquet, a mosquito buzzes past, and hums in his ear, "God promise, we will not bite you. But allow us to stay in this air conditioned room, please!"

Pratima@ Why remember jokes today? Well, as May 31 is the birthday of my bro, Sanju, this is to wish him a 'Happy Birthday' with jokes, as he loves both, listening to them and making them up!