Heart matters

 Our blog today deals with the heart (related) matters because the heart matters! Yes, indeed, this fist size pump literally spreads blood n life in our very being. If it stops pumping, in no time, the brain goes dead, and the body follows suit.

Life is threatened these days due to very many vector borne, viral, and various such epidemics. None of us has forgotten the difficult days during the COVID contagion. Yet much worse are the life style induced dis-eases. It is possible to invent some medication against an epidemic. Difficult doubtless it is to discover a remedy against the dis-ease like heart ailments.

No, the reference here is not at all to romantic relationships. Cynics amongst the readers may dismiss them as curable anyways, and speedily at that! Heart trouble these days is caused by graver (the pun is intended) factors such as 'fat'-adulterated food, for instance. It could be the trans-fat oils or the preservatives. Current eating habits are such that these harmful ingredients are liberally pushed down the gullet under the 'tasty' guise. 

As a result, the blood itself thickens, not to forget the cholesterol. The clots thus formed prohibit the smooth flow of the blood in veins and arteries, anyways narrowed. That small little pump thus finds it tough to spread the oxygenated (let us not right now think of the air pollution!) blood to the body, causing heart attacks, and the age bar is indeed lowering!

Well, much worse is the other enemy of the heart as it is invisible yet intense. Yes, we are talking of 'stress', enemy number one of the heart. Unfortunately, however, life these days is so hectic and harrowed that stress is inevitable. There are constant tensions at the work front. Recently, there have been heated discussions regarding 'death due to overwork', right?

Much worse is the fact that the personal arena is even more threatening than the professional. There is so much meanness, jealousy, envy, ambitious competitiveness, suspicious  one-up-man-ship that nothing binds individuals. Excessive individualism, obsession with personal space are creating lonely crowds. Family fares no better either.

The poor heart finds it difficult to fight with so many subtle and vicious enemies. Unmistakable, moreover, is the fast paced urban scenario that pollutes in very many ways. Given the communication revolution and the rate of urbanisation, every three tier city replicates the metro patterns!

High time, hence, that heart matters should matter. True, the pharmaceutical industry, its 'close(d)' relationship with the unprincipled in the medical fraternity may have their own nexus. Yet positive alternatives are emerging which is the need of the hour as both the North and the South suffer from heart matters! Well, let us remember, not only home, but basically life is where the heart is!

Pratima@Heart has not only reasons but also ailments that the head better know of!

A Date to Remember

 Some dates are born lucky. They make a tryst with destiny. August 15, for example. The birth of a nation, our India, is what makes the date special. April 23 is yet another unique date as it marks the birth and the death of William Shakespeare.

Unique constellations similarly seem to have auspiciously affianced in the birth chart of September  28. Wanna know why?Well, on this day, were born Bhagat Singh and Lata Mangeshkar. If Bhagat Singh gave a soul, a unique self-respect to our nation, Lata gave a voice to our hearts, our feelings, our aspirations.

Bhagat Singh is my top most favourite hero. In such a short little life, he managed to attain so much. I like him as a revolutionary patriot. Equally admire him I as an author, as a thinker. At times, how I wish he had lived a little longer! He would have thus made popular the blueprint of his vision of India. It is a vision, believe me, which is ideal yet concrete. I can go on writing reams after reams on Bhagat Singh. Better, however, to respect the limits of the blog as a mode of communication, right?

What to say of Lata Mangeshkar? I suppose her voice can better be described as a rill of ambrosia. It trills delicately like a rill. Equally transparently pure like a brook, like a rill it is. It is sheer ambrosia both for our ears and our hearts. For every feeling that can be imagined, there is a superb song in her divine voice.

Lucky indeed she was to get the music directors who enhanced the sheer magic of her voice. Equally fortunate she was to get to sing the lyrics of talented poets. One wonders if she would have survived in the music scenario of "gulabi sadi" rhythms of "what zhumka" kind of songs!

Sure, even geniuses, too, need to be born at the right place and at the right time which they make more auspicious still! Hence the relevance of September 28, I suppose.

Pratima@ Some dates are born great. They achieve  such greatness that is thrust upon them by the people born on that date. Shakespeare sure would forgive me this take on his 'great' quote.

The call of the far and the wild

 That rut called daily routine goes on and on like the bullock who would once upon a time draw oil with the wood press. The eyes of the poor animal used to be 'blind'ed, and hence the powerful beast would not even realise the mundane repetitive drudgery it would suffer day in and day out. 

Now even 'wood pressed' oil is processed mechanically, while human life has grown bovine in multiple ways. In such a scenario, we look for an alternative that takes us away from the rush hours, the chaotic traffic, the cheap petty politicking rampant in every field devoid of any genuine meaning.

Hence the relevance of tourism that teaches us to look at the boring banality around us through new eyes. Let me give a few examples. A city slicker grumbles everyday about the ruined roads. Yet she loves the dirt road that leads up a fort. The plateaus appear worthy once one has achieved a certain height, right?

Look at a pilgrimage, for example. Most of the villagers who walk annually to Pandharpur from Alandi are farmers. The wind-tossed and rain-soaked journey becomes a pilgrimage for them because the entire ambience of devotion breaks the boring routine, while giving a new purpose to their lives.

These days, there are very many 'packages' that allow you to spend a week-end happily, go on solo tours, go camping, visit different sanctuaries here or abroad. Why, the  stinking super rich can even afford the space trip! No wonder then that you can be a perfect couch potato, and yet enjoy an online tour, an experience that is getting more and more immersive.

Tourism, in brief, is indeed interesting. For a book lover, a bibliophile like me, truly touching is the ferrying across universes, both outer and inner, that wor(l)ds allow. In the masterful pages are bound vistas that are truly vision-ary, that encompass the far, the wide, the wild and the divine! Long live such tours de source!

Pratima@ Tourism makes you healthy, if not wealthy and wise! 

How flies away...

 How flies away

 Time 

 Like a doe 

 Surprised with the slightest sound 

 Or the rabbit

 Fearful of the falling sky

 The autumnal equinox is already around 

 Days shorten 

Dusks lengthen in to the night's dark sounds

Yet another day ends

The world to wars' spoils bends

A whimper with a bang blends

How blast away

Hours, minutes, seconds.

Time

 It flies away!

Pratima@Time is forever. Nothing changes it, neither the wasted wars nor the lost lives nor the snuffed sobs. Like the eternal cycle of nature that goes on, however much may we maraud it, time, it flies on!

Just a mood moment!

Rabid rain!

 Actually I am a pluviophile. Yes, like Shashi Tharoor-ji, now and then,  I, too, love using high-funda words. So this term 'pluviophile'. Etymologically, it is a mix of French and Latin, the source language, the 'mother' tongue, of French.

'Pluviophile'! What does it mean? Well, it means what almost all of us, for sure, I, love to do, that is dancing in the rain. The term signifies someone who adores rains. For sure that epithet suits me to a 't'. I love jumping (in) the puddles, getting drenched to the bones, drinking hot coffee  (even tea or soup is okay, too!), eating hot n tasty bhajji's or bhutta. Why, if I am not going somewhere, I do not mind the moon craters on the road. The best feel, of course, would be when it be raining outside, and curled up in a warm shawl, with a mug of the perfect hot coffee, one is listening to songs on loop, while being immersed in some great text.

In other words, I have undisputedly established my credentials as a pluviophile, and yet I would like to assert that this monsoon, and beyond, the rains are rabid! Honestly! Yet again, there is a red alert in Pune. On its way out, the monsoon is gathering steam up there in the air under the influence of the storm brewing in the Bay of Bengal. Pune is to face a cumulonimbus cloud. There would be very heavy rain, with huge thunder and lightening, it seems. 

College authorities sent a message at 11.58 p.m. that the college would remain closed on September 26. I read it at 12.20 a.m. This time, however, there is no thrill of an unexpected holiday due to rains. Instead, there is quite some  irritation drenched in worry and clouded with fear. Sure such rabid rains must be terror for the farmers, and in the long run, for all of us! Indeed, here is a pluviophile praying, 'rain, rain, go away', and better not choose to come this way!

Pratima@In the urban scenario, when it rains like mad, what with the cemented roads and the moon like craters, traffic is a trouble, drowned in waterlogging. Such puddles are horrors.

 My brother, Parag, loves  Jagjit Singh's "wo kagaj ki kashti/wo barish ka pani". I am sure he, like every other music aficionado, would hate the song currently. I think currently the classical artists certainly would love to the forget Raag Malhar, or any of its variations. The only ditty all of us care for right now is "rabid rain, rabid rain, go away"!

Bringing up boys

 Each time an atrocity against women happens, which is, unfortunately, rather common, there is an uproar. Candle light marches, sit-in's, 'reclaiming the night' erupt like a volcano. These days, moreover, there is yet another, and valid, demand which can be summarised as 'bring up boys better'.

Indeed it is not enough that girls grow up stronger. Equally important it is that boys better be sensitised, and right from the beginning. Let me give you an ordinary example. These days, boys leave home for further studies, for better prospects. It is for their own good if they can cook, right?

In the post-Franco era, Spain, then considered the left behind dark spot of the liberal-democratic Europe, was trying to revamp itself. As part of this process, there was a look at the textbooks.  The argument was that the textbooks were extremely sexist, the Spanish version of the erstwhile Marathi medium school textbooks of English.

A typical lesson in such a textbook would read as follows. 'This is Gopal's house. Father has just returned home from work. He is relaxing. Mother has made tea for him. She is busy cooking dinner. Leela, Gopal's sister, is helping her. Gopal is playing in the garden'. The argument was that pre-defined gender roles were thus subtly but strongly asserted, and women's work, both in the household and outside, was overlooked and trivialised. A sensitively written textbook then is one of the first steps towards bringing up boys better.

It does matter a lot. Let me give a concrete example from my own classroom. The other day I was explaining profession related vocabulary in my German classroom. 'Hausfrau' means 'housewife'. A smart Alec asked most 'innocently' if 'Hausmann' meant 'house husband'. The whole class tittered. So I gave them an assignment. Each one had to tell the class what would happen if 'mother went on strike'. Thus they realised the value of the unpaid household work.

In 2024 which is almost about to end, there is thus so much need to sensitise sons, to make them realise that women's traditional work and roles are not unimportant. It is not enough that women work in different fields. The base attitude; namely,  women are weepy worthless toys without brains, needs to change, right?

That is indeed the need of the hour. In most all upper middle class well-off houses, children have their own mobiles and their own  rooms. They bang shut the door on your face. Given the information explosion literally at the finger tips, there are huge chances that the wicked world would corrupt in various untold ways. Hence the need to sensitise, especially boys because torridly toxic masculinity marauds them thus!

In my opinion, boys need to be sensitised because traditionally men are not allowed any expression of feelings. Boys have to beat the Brits at the stiff upper lip game. Such suppression of emotions can lead to angry outbursts, may not always result in wonderful 'emotional quotient'. Instead if boys are treated equally, life would be gentler both for men and women, right?

Pratima@These days, gender roles and sexual identities are so fluid that parents must constantly creatively chat with their (mostly only) child as the world's wickedness worsens by the second!

Courtesy Counts!

 Courtesy counts. At least so do I believe. You  have to be at least affable, decent, civil to/with others. That is my firm faith. I am polite even in contexts where I hold the position of power. Often such mildness might be considered stupid, I do know, though it does not much bother me. 

Let me give you a few examples. The other day I was at a nationalised bank. There was this FD certificate on which it was clearly mentioned either or survivor. Despite this obvious fact, the knowingly  ignorant lady at the counter kept on needling  loudly and very crudely regarding the death certificate. Finally, her own colleague screamed at her, shouting all the rules from the other end of the room. For no rhyme nor reason, she insulted herself, while trying to heckle me.

Let me give you yet another example. i am polite even with my students. Very rarely do i snap at them or scream at them. Basic courtesy and decency extended by one adult to another, right? As a result, their whatsapp messages are full of "okk, wokkey" type of English. Either English of these 'smart' types is very poor which is extremely likely  or their manners are poorer still which is equally probable.

Look at the behaviour patterns of most people, even 'educated' persons are no exceptions, these days. There is a blatant crude arrogance, a vacant self-importance, a cruel desire to belittle others every possible way, to take them for granted, to meanly show them down.

Actually such behaviour destroys the perpetrators' own worth. Why are people so crude and rude? Is it superiority complex, which is actually a cover up for deep seated insecurities? Nobody, not even the President of America, supposedly the most powerful person on this earth, is so busy that a few minutes cannot be spared.

May be, it is such brusqueness, meanness, viciousness that lead to deadly cold fridges that seem to freeze the very humanity these days! Well, possible as people are absolutely self-obsessed to the point of cruelty in their daily discourses! Is not this 'I could not care, as I can in any which way dare' attitude that leads to the police atrocities as in the Orissa episode with the lawyer and her lieutenant commander fiance?

 Forgive them, Oh, Lord, they know exactly very well what they are up to!

Pratima@Courtesy costs nothing, but it counts truckloads!

Dazzling Daughter

 Check adjectives that begin with the alphabet 'd', and you would get to know what daughters always are, and never are not. Daughters, for example, ARE determined, dedicated, devoted, dainty, delicate, dimpled, dapper. Daughters are NOT dull, deceitful, dogmatic, deadly, on the contrary.

No wonder, daughters need to be celebrated, and not only on the Daughters' Day. A daughter is a blessing indeed. A son forgets his roots when he forges ahead in life. A daughter never. Yes, generalizations as always are askew. Sure, there are sons who continue to be caring and considerate. As they say, however, the percentage matters, right? Exceptions prove the rule!

True, even in the twenty-first century, there are families that rue the birth of a daughter. Yet, things, they are a-changing, at a faster pace, and for the good. Daughters now have the support of parents for charting out their lives. The best proof of this statement, I would say, is the fact that most all women athletes and players are from Haryana, reportedly one of the most patriarchal states.

Sure, even today, women continue to face terrible threats such as eve-teasing, sexual harrasment, unwanted attention, issues that get much worse due to technological explosion. Yet, mostly, the family has her back which gives her the strength to confront cads. Yet again the best example of this shift in perspective would be Nirbhaya's mother who openly fought for justice for her daughter for almost a decade, and more.

Sure, societal changes are always slow-paced. Yet they are taking place in all the fields. A daughter needs these re-visions because a daughter is always all that is the best: brilliant, talented, creative, an achiever, kind, gentle, considerate, caring. In brief, a treasure! Happy Daughters' Day!

Pratima@A daughter is like the dawn, warm, gentle, ever with a promise ahead, always beginning anew, lasting the whole day long, and sure to be there even when the dusk darkens in to the night.

Mooning around

 Have you seen THE moon? But, of course, you would say. What kind of bum question is that? That is what your reaction would be, right? Well, no, I am not dozing off while blogging. Neither am I mooning. Nope! I am in my full senses, and in total control of myself. 

I asked you that initial question knowingly. Well, you see, on August 7, 2024 was this celestial object first seen, and very soon, from September 29 to November 25, would this moon be seen daily. 

Yes, roughly during these two months, our earth is going to get a second moon sighted earlier on August 7. That was the moon I was asking you about. That was the 'heaven-ly' phenomenon i was referring to. 

So far our earth has boasted of most probably being the only planet with life on it. Unlike the poor dear terra firma, Jupiter and Mars, why, even Pluto, could show off their moons and rings, and what not. Well, they say the Saturn has one hundred and forty-six, yes, you read it right, moons!  Unlike the population explosion on it, our poor earth had to be contented with one small little moon. Now, however, for roughly two months, we, too, can feel moon-rich, though moon-reach we have anyways always successfully tried.

No, this second moon is no forgotten stuff some ET type alien forgot. It can be explained most scientifically. Actually, it was orbiting around the sun. Due to the gravitational pull of the earth, it got pulled in to the earth's orbit. Its speed is slower than the earth's rotational speed around the sun. Hence it would be visible as the second moon till it attains the right deflection point to re-enter the sun's orbit, beyond the earth's gravitational pull. 

So, as the carpe diem poetry would say so prettily, enjoy the party till it lasts, hum the music till it is lingering, dance the last twirl till the clock strikes twelve. Enjoy the second moon, the mini-moon, before it escapes the earth's magnetism, both literally and figuratively!

Pratima@ Due to this gate-crasher, turning and twisting on their twinkle toes might be the ancient mythical stories. Whether to include the newly emergent mythical tales in the pantheon or not, and thus make the mythology 'the more, and hence the merrier' or to leave the two to themselves is anybody's guess. 

The sheen of the Silver Screen

 Corona came, corona changed life (and death), corona created alternative ways of being and becoming. This truism circumscribes the very sphere of existence indeed. Yet it applies especially to education, which has thence changed forever, and to films as well.

Yes, that indeed is so! Before the epidemic, the silver screen as such mattered. The OTT (r)evolution changed it completely. For 'entertainment, entertainment, entertainment', none needed the cinema hall, the sheen of the silver screen, any longer. The mobile screen became big enough to encase entire wor(l)ds.

That possibility completely transformed the very concept of the film experience.  In a way, it allowed freedom to the creative artists. Feckless formulae failed. Different genres, unexplored avenues of life, even taboo themes, talented directors and artists who might not fit the mainstream mode had a field day. The computer generated graphics and effects were the 'boost, the secret of the pulsating energy' of film as the OTT content.

Does that mean that the cinema hall experience whether as single screen or at the multiplex is dead? I would not say so. Well, watch the South Indian bonanza. Films mounted on a huge scale are doing big business, are winning laurels, are energising the cultural roots!

In other words, cinema as we knew it is not dead. Despite the individual-spectator-oriented OTT mode which combines the film and the t.v. serial, films on the big screen are not passe. The silven screen is re(de)fining itself.

Pratima@ Why all this discussion of films, especially when we were suspicious yesterday of spurious messages of showy exhibitionism as films? Is that your question? Well, today is the National Film Day. And, yes, my EMRC documentaries were appreciated, while my reviews of films and film festivals were awaited as I freelanced with three major newspapers during my Ph. D. days.

The kinder option

 Watched a short film that dealt with the lives of beggar women who sell mirrors, ballons, plastic dust bags, combs, pens by the road side or at the traffic signal. The main character was a young woman who wants to remain clean to avoid skin diseases. The way she is treated by the society in general, and especially by her community, formed the plot.

That short film had a middle-aged woman character whose argument was to consciously remain dirty so that neither men as such, nor (especially) 'husbands', 'bother' them. Sure the main character in the film  finally beats up her harrowing 'husband', and the last shot deals with the woman enjoying a bath.

The film initiated a chain of thought. Where exactly lies the solution? Population explosion that creates a resource crunch? In the film, the middle aged woman talks of how all the children of her types are not the off-spring of their 'husbands'.  The film shows each one of them with at least three!

If it indeed is so, as 'senti' films are hardly data-driven, what does it tell us about the population clock, mounted on the GIPE compund wall, which is ticking away by the second? Are such poor people the result of urbanisation? In the city, how can they be provided basic minimum wages for a decent life? Must not they be taught ways of birth control?

Well, let me tell you an anecdote. Some ten years ago, a young 'murali', a girl offered to god apparently, used to beg in our colony every Friday. Without fail, I used to help her with some money, a handsome amount for her. As a result, she would come every Friday. She was a chit of a girl, hardly twelve.

I offered to register her in a school and also in an orphanage. Told her about alternative ways of life. Explained to her in a language she would understand about social welfare department and also about NGO's like Sindhutai Sapkal's or the 'Maher' types. 

Despite lots of cajoling, she WAS not interested. She was convinced that theirs IS the right way. Aai felt afraid as the girl obviously belonged to a group of 'devdasis' who would not like my kind of 'interference'. 

Despite a year or so of my attempts, one day she just disappeared. A year later, she returned, heavily pregnant. I felt huge pity for her. But I also felt distressed that she would not listen to sense. Within two years, she was back with one kid at her toe, one baby her basket, and a bump clearly indicating the next pregnancy. 

Helping her would be encouraging extremely bad practices, and that, too, in the name of rituals. Soon she realised that I would not shell out money as earlier.Yet, even now,  whenever she sees me as she is begging near a sweetmeat shop or at the crossroads, she comes running, tells me how her children are in 'eskool', how she regrets not listening to me, and how her daughters would not be 'murali'. Yet, even now, she has not given up being one! 

Pratima@ What is the kinder option? Actually helping out? Making films that fetch one kudo's? Don't know as arts sensitise, is my belief! And how to help out in a systemic way? 

Well, yes, given this episode, I feel extremely distressed when girls dance to 'murali' songs during college competitions  'coz such 'art' heartlessly and senselessly adds legitimacy to a cruel custom!

Insurance Info

 "With you, during your lifetime" and "with your family, after your lifetime (gets over!)" is how the LIC tagline reads. So I was just a wee bit curious about this concept called 'insurance' as a financial investment. Now and then I like to read up on the history of issues not directly related to our daily lives.

Sure all of us invest in the LIC, or, may be, some such private company, especially if you are the type who gets carried away by a foreign sounding name, and without getting to know its real meaning. That is quite crazy, and has its fun moments. Don't you believe me? Okay, how about the name "Nikita"? 

Many Indian parents fancy it for a daughter. Well, in Russian, it is a male name. Remember Nikita Kruschev? So is it in Greek, where it means a male victor. The nearest Sanskrit word would be 'Niketan' which means a house! Sure, the name sounds feminine, while it really means something absolutely  different! Crazy fun, right?

To get back to the LIC, its forefathers, it seems, came to India in the nineteenth century. Initially, it seems that only the British lives were considered worthy of insurance! The 'natives' were hardly worth such lordly treatment. How would they be? The colonisers had looted our treasures, imposed taxes on us, taken away our handicraft livelihoods through their 'evil factories', and had, moreover, inflicted severe famines on us!

Well, the LIC is quite some survivor if its roots come from such lop-sided 'firang' presumptions. Despite very many ups and downs, and turmoils, real or imagined and/or consciously  crafted, it seems to be doing rather well for itself  as supposedly the topmost insurance company in the country currently. Am I happy I have invested wisely!

Pratima@ To use Shakespeare's "tide" metaphor from 'Julius Caesar', there is a tide in human lives. How we ride it determines our destiny. Better though always to remember that there can be a reciprocal ebb, and better be prepared for it, may be, the LIC way!?!

The last (alias lost) day of the best festival

 Anant Chaturdashi! The much awaited festival is finally over. In the morning, the processions, mostly with dhol-tasha, that is, the traditional Marathi musical instruments, began. Come evening, and the walls of speakers that literally rattle your windows and doors, absolutely made their presence felt, rather h(e)ard. They were on till midnight. 

In the Interior Pune, the inner parts of the city, the procession must be on still. Well, to put it most mildly, year by year, the number of Ganesh pandals is giving a tough competition to the hours the procession goes on and on.

 Our school never had a holiday on the day after. I still remember the beautifully decorated Dagdu Sheth Ganapati float looking pathetic  despite the lovely decoration full of lights as it was returning to the temple the day after, and our school bus overtook it at about 5.30!

Do these processions take us away from the holiness of the festival? Sure they do. The  songs blaring on the 'walls' are ugly, to say the least. People accompanying the floats are dead drunk, and dance in the most vulgar way to these tunes. Pune as an open air discotheque has nothing to do with the holiness of the festival  nor with the original purpose with which Lokmanya Tilak initiated the festival.

That cultural-social purpose can be easily  reignited in the current context. There can be a speech series as well as competitions through which local talents, including dhol-tasha teams, can be given a platform, and some recognition. People thus coming together would build good will and camaraderie completely missing currently. Thus would end, moreover, the tyranny of the endless dhol-tasha pathak's separately performing in every chowk. The poor police force would sure heave a huge sigh of relief if such creative alternatives are adapted. 

Many such relevant creative alternatives are possible. Who cares though? Every year, the never ending procession follows the footsteps of the 'mirawnuk' the last year and the year before that.

Pratima@ Yet again begins the wait for the arrival of Lord Ganesh. Well, the idols are temporary. The Lord was there, is there and will always be there in our hearts, heads, minds, and souls.

Engineers engage

 Engineers of all the varieties, civil, mechanical, metallurgical, electronics to robotics, make life easy for all of us. Sure, engineering is not pure science. It IS undoubtedly applied technology. Thus engage engineers in all the fields of human experience, especially through some form of engineering technology.

Engineers engage with every aspect of human life. They are creative, imaginative, and most impressive. To commemorate this creativity by and of engineers, the birth anniversary of Vishweshwariya, the arch architect of the glory that Mysore state could be, is celebrated as the Engineers' day.

Interesting is the fact that the Engineers'  day falls on the Vishwakarma day. Vishwakarma is supposedly the divine engineer who could even craft the maya sabha. He is the deity of artisans as well.

Such is the craze of the engineering  degree that even the entrance exam preparation classes are big business in places like Kota. The very many Kota suicides prove that sensitising life, ethics and wisdom that come with the Arts courses should be part of the engineering education. It would help everybody to remember that Leonardo da Vinci, the greatest artist ever, was an engineer and an architect!

Pratima@It is good that the NEP allows transfer of credits across institutes and disciplines.

Democracy Defi(n)ed

 These days, the way things/events are, the way 'things fall apart', the way things/events appear to be, democracy today is more defied than defined.  Instead, in the name of democracy, there appears to be more of mobocracy currently.

Let me give you a few examples. As it is the international day of/for democracy, let us  first  see a few examples from the Western world. Remember the racist riots in England? Started by mischief-mongers against malicious rumours, these riots were one of the best examples of mobocracy, most ironically in the homeland of democracy!

In the U.S. wherein emerged the of/by/for people definition of democracy by Lincoln, the mafia gun culture is such a danger that even a candidate for presidentship is not safe from gun shots. The misfortune that democracy suffers is that interest groups have the chicanery to use spurious, far-fetched, downright vacuous arguments to beguile the unthinking masses. In brief, in the name of the folk, of the common man, the manipulative shrewd with motives mismanage, defy democracy.

 Better not to even mention Bangla Desh. Such examples of inciting the unthinking mob through vicious emotional manipulation are abundant in India. Instead of listing the boring viciousness of the wicked, let me look at the Onam  myth differently, given the Keralite festival. 

Look at King Bali. He is goodness itself as a king. Truly he cares for the 'demos', the people. It is the wicked jealousy of Indra and his fear-filled obsession with his throne signifying his centrality as a power figure that lead to the extremely unjust treatment meted out to Bali Raja so much loved that people lovingly greet his annual reincarnation on the occasion of Onam.

In other words, simplistic reductionism of problems creates more problems for the common man in whose name the wicked destroy the juggernaut most selfishly!

Pratima@The Onam sadya, especially the avial, is indeed a treat.

Hindi hai hamari jaan

 Hindi hai hamari, Hindi hai hamari jaan, and Hindi hai hamari, Jaan. These are the three ways the title of our blog can be interpreted. Hindi is special. Hindi is unique. Hindi is amongst the five most spoken languages in the whole world. It is indeed unusual. Like most Indian languages, Hindi, too, is Sanskrit-udbhaw, that is, originating from Sanskrit. Yet, unlike other Indian languages, it has a world presence as well so much so that many Hindi words are regulars in the English parlance.

Does that mean Hindi is the lingua franca in India? Well, yes and no! In our sub-continent  of a country, with a plethora of languages and dialects, it is difficult for any language to gain that status, especially given the regional pride associated with the Southern languages  or the North-eastern dialects.

Yet Hindi does have a guaranteed acceptance as the "rajya bhasha", the state language, so to say. Why, this year celebrates the seventy-fifth anniversary of Hindi being granted that unique status. Many institutions in the public space, be it banks, corporations, government offices conduct their daily business in Hindi. The Home Ministry of India absolutely uses Hindi as the language of the whole of its functioning, asserts the Home Minister.

For most of us, Hindi is the language of Bollywood films, of the entertainment industry itself. As the language of Bollywood films, Hindi is a hugely unifying force across the length and breadth of India. Why, films use not only the "khadi boli" or the 'standard' version of Hindi. They have also made us proficient users as far as our acquaintance with very many dialects of Hindi goes.

Hindi literature is superb as well. One can provide any number of names of authors and titles of texts one has most satisfyingly read, and adored.  Hence the need to assert that there is no need to pitch Hindi against Urdu. In fact, Urdu is a version of Hindi. Let me give yet another example. The Dakhani language used in Hyderabad is a mix of Hindi, Urdu, Marathi, Gujarati, and, oh, yes, has literally been  nurtured by women across generations.

In other words, as the song goes, "Hindi hai hum/Hindostan hai watan hamara" and "Hindi hai rajya bhasha hamari"!

Pratima@Any number of three-language formula kind of academic attempts have been tried to bond over Hindi. Oh, yes, the national level exams conducted by the Hindi Prasarana Sabha have been for years a surefire technique-n-tool to get in to government jobs. Let Hindi, like all the (m)other tongues, prosper and fructify!

The festival fever

 Now that the Gauri-Ganapati visarjan, the devotion-filled immersion, of the deities at the household level is through, the public festival in Pune would peak. Starting from yesterday till Anant Chaturdashi and the day after, the Pune feel is absolutely that of the famous Ganeshotsav.  This year, as it is a long weekend, what with the Id being on Monday, the interior Pune would be choc-a-bloc with devotees-cum-revellers.

All the mandals have simply fabulous decorations  in their lovely  pandals. Mostly these pandals are in the vicinity of the Shani Par, with roughly two kilometers in each possible direction from this center point. Sure, even beyond this area, there would be pandals in every nook-n-corner in Pune.

The decorations are at times made of dancing lights set to Bollywood tunes. The Natubag Mandal is famous for such a decoration. I remember, our family had all gone to have a look around. Fascinated felt I due to these dancing lights. I remember distinctly that  the dancing lights were set to the "honthon pe aisi bat chupa ke" tune. Lovely colour combo's emerged, mixing and re-mixing in to each other, creating newer patterns by the second.

The Heera Baug Mandal mobile depictions of history and/or mythology, the live shows presented by very many mandals, unusual holy sites such as the Vrindawan or the Kedarnath being re-created, Pune has every possible variety.

What to say of the wondrous decorations of the Mandai, Tulshibaug and other "manache Ganapati", not to forget THE Dagadu Sheth pandal? Pune literally makes nights appear like early morning as the festival fever is at its height.

The crowds, consisting mostly of revellers from Pune and places nearby, literally throng the Pune roads, There is intense, high energy, forever flowing  level of  the individual and public adrenaline. Long live the Pune Ganesh festival.

Pratima@ A parallel street economics is alive as part of the celebrations. I would not know if it is formally studied. It is worth a serious analysis as the cash flow would literally be in crores as the devotees eat street food, drink tea -n- coffee, buy tidbits, enjoy the giant wheels, and so on.

In good faith

 A storm is raging in India. No, not the physical one. This year it has managed to devastate many parts of india, most recently Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Better hence not to even remember it, now that the monsoon has chosen to behave rather normal.

Many chatterati in India do not, however, seem to follow the sensible nature, if the raging storm over the P.M. visiting the CJI's house during the Ganeshotsav, performing the 'aarti' there wearing a Marathi topi, the typical headgear worn during any puja, is any proof.

Well, the Chief Justice of India, the CJI, happens to be a Marathi. Like most Marathi households, at his place, too, there seems to be the celebration of the  Gauri-Ganapati festival. The P.M. visited his residence, and performed an aarti there. As a result, a huge fire, figuratively luckily, is raging on the social media, and on the TV debates.

There are a series of salvos being fired at both the P.M. and the CJI, given this event. Some questions are regarding the PM's headgear. The implication is that he wore it to woo the Marathi voters. Well, I thought the Indian, especially the Marathi, voter is tremendously discerning, even astute! Would she/he be swayed thus?

But the doubting Thomas's are worried about how he got the cap, did he bring it along, who gave it to him, and so on! Yet another, and a rather forever, query is why the President was not invited. I would not know. May be, she had a prior commitment, and may visit the CJI's house some other day before the immersion.

Yet another element in this sound and fury is the PM and the CJI, two heads of the two arms of  the polity, the executive and the legislative coming together  at all. Good neighbours need good fences, to quote Robert Frost! 

Well, the P.M. invites Christians of many denominations to his official residence, visits many churches during the Christmas. Such videos do happy rounds of the social media circa December 26. They do the channels proud, too. So have forever the iftar ceremonies of all possible political parties. The P.M. wears a Sikh headgear when he visits the Gurudwara, right?

Moreover, at least in Maharashtra, there is this tradition to not to let professional rivalry/hatreds/bitterness-es cross in to the personal space. Often, quite comically, leaders, who tore each other apart during the day, are the best buddies as the twilight,  the dusk sets in!

Has it rattled sympathisers that the CJI did not favour the non-Shinde ShivSena or took suo motto cognizance of the Bengal tragedy? Indira Jaysingh, who first raised objections to this get-together, has been unhappy with the Home Ministry since 2019 for its objection to her NGO, right? As for the forever smiling Sibbalji, did he resent the CJI's pertinent pointed queries during his recent representation of the Bengal government? Such counter queries are sure to emerge, My Lord!

In other words, is the entire fracas in good faith? Or is it the 'gottcha' feel? Well, the CJI has often been anti-BJP, too! Moreover, it is always a bench, never an individual judge who delivers any verdict!

Cannot people meet beyond their  public roles? What exactly is the need to read motives that may not even exist? The current CJI is well-known for his integrity. Why tarnish an individual, and the two major posts, the P.M. and the CJI?

 As for the conveniently quoted 'secular' tag, people forget that it was not there in the original version of the Constitution. It is a much later addition! Discussing who/why/when added it would merely muddy the entire discourse.  Sad scenario, in brief, is the fracas of pure partisan politicking!

Pratima@ Our actions and reactions should be in good faith, I ardently believe.

The Re-turn

 In our family, the tradition is that the Ganesh immersion takes place along with the Gauri Visarjan. The convention is that Devi Gauri comes to our home as the daughter of the family. She comes to her parents' place, so to say. She stays at 'her own' place for three days. She is treated the best possible way, and leaves with her son, Lord Ganesh.

After the visarjan, I have always found it difficult to look at the somehow empty 'devhara'. I know it is senti, but I have always kept on looking at the idol as long as I could as it flows away with the current of the river. I know that in a way it is the return of the tiny with the whole, and yet it is a very emotional moment, like realising that the long lost dear  departed now would never return. The only happy feel with the Lord is that he would be there yet again next year.

This 'punragamanay', that is, 'pun: agamnay', the forever return feel, is a little hurtful now that my brother's family insists on the visarjan at home in a bucket. I know that it is comparatively more environment friendly. Yet, somehow for me, it is difficult even to imagine the much beloved idol disintegrating there in a bucket in the balcony. True, I have anyways found it difficult to look for months on end at the partially broken, tattered, destroyed idols lining up the Hussein Sagar where Hyderbad immerses the huge idols. 

Just imagine the much beloved idol as mere mud the next day. Tough! Yet I console myself in two ways. To begin with, I tell myself that in a way, it is a re-turn from the element, of the element to the element. The other way to look at is that the Lord was never really in the idol merely. He was in our mind, our consciousness, in our eternal remembrance of him. In that sense, it is the real re-turn, the forever 'punaragman', the 'pun: agaman', the forever return.

Pratima@So it is with the forever loss of the much beloved. Sure we cannot see, touch, hear them physically. They are, however, always with us, ever present in our best memories.

Speak-well

 Speak-well! Whether you think of it as a deverbal noun or as a verb-adverb combo, the concept is central to the wor(l)ds today. Communication is the need of the hour. Why, a stuck-in-the-space Sunita Williams is regularly speaking (and, well) despite all her 'spacious' troubles.

Well, these days, communication is mostly oral. Indeed it is difficult to decide what is dying faster these days, reading or writing. Actually, it is both though. On the contrary, speaking is in full form. Hence the title of the blog today 'speak-well'. 

In India, when it comes to speaking well, there are a few iconic speeches that most all Indians remember. Recently, on September 11, was celebrated the anniversary of one of those famous speeches. Yes, you are right. I AM referring to the world-wide known Chicago speech by Swami Vivekananda.

Why do I consider this speech one of the most effective examples of brilliant communication? Well, there is no attempt to look down upon the listeners. They ARE treated equally, and beyond the famous beginning. Similarly, he has used very simple language, however difficult might be the concepts. Thus has he followed THE cardinal principle of good communication.

My admiration for the speech is for a different reason altogether. I find the speech interesting because it is very anecdotal. Swamiji tells us a number of stories, of the rejects of the world seeking asylum in India, of the frogs who knew only their well, of the deaf frog winning, and so on.

In my opinion, communication improves when you tell stories of various types. A 'once upon a time' captures and holds your attention. Well, that is the method we, too, should follow because stories sustain, support, salvage any communication.

Pratima@ A good beginning is half-done, they say.  An anecdote would complete it, and most appealingly. That is speak-well, right?

Forgiveness

 Forgiveness is the theme of our blog today. Why? Is that your question? Well, two incidents suggested it. The first one is truly terrible. It took place in Pune. The family of a CEO of an I/T company had to thus suffer, it seems. 

The family was treated most vilely. They were indirectly but viciously and continuously commented on, dirt/coconuts were thrown at them and their house, the 'working class', the menials, be it the 'ghanta gadi' person, the road sweeper, were consciously made to irritate them. Ugly rumours were floated against them. They were ostracised, but indirectly. Why? It seems, they dared to question the wrong practices in the society.

The family did not choose to forgive the conscious, cruel but subtle ill-treatment. They went to court, and now the culprits are behind bars which they absolutely deserve. Conscious, vicious cruelty, committed with sophistication and subtle mafia techniques, just because you are mean or because you hate and/or are jealous of somebody better/superior, should it be forgiven? Can it ever be forgotten?

Now the second incident. On a WhatsApp group, three Jain participants expressed their "Micchami duggadam" wishes. It is the annual ritual of the community whereby the community begs forgiveness for direct/indirect injustices committed knowingly/intentionally, et al. 

On this particular group, immediately there were sanctimonious reactions about how the Jain community treats non-vegetarians, how the community is hypocritical, how their 'holier-than-thou' eating habits belittle others, and so on and so forth. Obviously, there were strong counter-reactions. A genuine ritual, sincerely expressed, became a source of verbal warfare. Should this conscious misunderstanding be forgiven? Are not non-vegetarians also imposing in a more-modern-than-thou mode their life/food choices on others?

True, forgiveness helps one wash one's hands off, psychologically get rid of, the dirty creep consciously bothering one for no rhyme no reason. So even if the worm does not ask for forgiveness, better to forget the whole ugly, distasteful ill-treatment. There ARE other, higher courts! Some consolation!

Can the Kolkatta incident be forgiven? Can literal (or figurative, that is, spreading monstrous rumours) acid attacks by a so-called admirer be forgiven? Just because you are ordinary in every which way, can your trying to ruin in every possible manner the chances of a better individual through conscious groupism be forgiven? Can a politician fanning caste hatreds for power, for political gains be forgiven? 

Should such ugly, vicious cruelties be forgiven? Sure, the victim is resilient, manages to bounce back again and again, completely ignores you. What about you and the darknesses within you which even the Satan cannot forgive!?!

In brief, forgiveness IS divine. It, however, cannot be hypocritical lip service. It must be meant by the victim. It must be, most importantly, earned by the victimiser!

Pratima@The best punishment that can be extended to such perpetrators is to continue, despite them, to prosper in very many ways, and continue to be contented. Thus the darknesses within the victimizers would be  absolutely solidified!

Oh, yes, whatever your political proclivities, you have to admire the forgiveness extended by the Gandhi family to the LTTE assassins of Rajeev Gandhi. It may be inspired by Christianity ("forgive them, Lord, they know not..."). Yet it IS generous.

Yet again the Astitva Ecstasy!

 Remember Bobby Darin's zany, zingy title tune of the 1962 romantic movie starring Rock Hudson? Yes, "Come September", and the BMCC campus is equally alive, more vibrant and absolutely as youthful as the spirit of that foot-tapping tune. Wanna know why? Yup, you guessed it right. It is that time of the year yet again, the time of  the annual Astitva culture fest.

Held on September 3 and 4 this year, it lasted just two days of the actual performances. Yet the lovely BMCC campus was alive since August 28, given the elimination rounds of the music, dance and drawing contests, not to forget the essay competition.

The Astitva essay competition, entitled "Shabdalankar', is indeed unique. It explains, rather is at the heart of, the youthful ecstasy entitled "Astitva". Imagine hundred and thirty students from very many colleges actually preparing quite well to write an essay on themes which were quite difficult for them. If Astitva can manage this feat in today's ChatGPT 4.o days, it absolutely deserves its moniker which means existence, identity, being alive intellectually and creatively.

Astitva thus truly explores the multi-faceted personality of what youth today is. Each of the very many contests, beautifully and uniquely named, has high standards because the judges insist on excellent performances. For the highly talented alumni of the BMCC, the Astitva often is a deja-vu event, either as the chief guest or as the judges.

Spectators! Ah, yes, without their all enthusiastic response, the rapture of the Astitva melee would be incomplete. They cheer every offline event for sure. Yet the loudest are the shout-out's, literally indeed, for the finale of the event, the group dance. The young Astitva brigade indeed deserves huge congratulations  for sleekly managing the decor and the discipline of an event whose memories linger lastingly.

Pratima@ The Astitva event 'exists' so breathtakingly because of the stalwart efforts of Gokhale Madam and her team who cajole, encourage and insist on wonderful performances  by the youth brigade. Hence this highly deserved tribute to the youthful and pulsating performance # the annual inter-collegiate cultural fest "Astitva"@the BMCC.

The forever youthful vocals

 Mention Asha Bhosale, and which figure do you visualise? A lissome vibrant passionate pixie, right? Yes, there is something unmistakably and eternally youthful in her voice. Why, she herself forever dresses funkily. Surely not as a great-grandmother would. Rather, her style would forever  give a complex to the young generation.

Considered the voice of the 'hot', sizzling numbers, actually she has tried every genre, bhajan to ghazal to the classical, the raag-based to the folk. Her non-filmy songs are a wonder, too. Her actual stage performances, until recently, are precisely that, that is, performances. Yes, her voice 'acts', too. Remember "acchcha, ji, main hari" or the calm reassurance of "dukh or sukh ke raste bane hai"?

No wonder, she is at her pulsating  peak with music directors such as O.P. Nayyar and R.D.Burman. The lilt in her voice came alive when she sang under their direction. Yes, she impersonates through her enunciation the "zumka gira" naughtiness the best even for an otherwise 'serious' master magician such as Madan Mohan. Yes, her ghazals can embellish an Umrao Jaan, and Asha's classical renditions are a joy, too. 

Here is wishing a 'Happy Hundred' to  this nonagenarian on the occasion of her first  step in the nineties club!

Pratima@ We are indeed lucky that we could hear among other great singers the ever ebullient Asha!

Festive Feel

 Every festival is special and unique. Padwa( the beginning of the lunar new year), Dasara (the ten days long celebration of the Devi), Diwali (the festival of festivals), each one of these is unique. Every festival is much loved.

Yet the festive feel of the Ganeshotsav is indeed absolutely unique. There is a happy freshness in the very air when the Ganeshotsav begins. May be, that is because it is simultaneously celebrated both in the personal space (individual homes) and in the public space. Hence, may be, there is a really charged, enthusiastic, energetic and happy feel during this festival. May be, Bengal and Gujarat would have that double dose of the festive feel during the Navratri, too.

Here in Maharashtra, and especially in Pune, the charged feel is quite ecstatic. May be, the unique beat of the dhol-n-tasha adds up to the atmosphere. Sure, there are objections to the practice of the dhol-n-tasha pathak's/groups leading to their at times hour-long sessions per chowk/crossroad. Yet any day any time, they are better than the "walls" used by other social celebrations. 

Right now, the roads have that decked up look, what with the pandals, the colourful pennants, the works, in brief. Well, none seems to mind the traffic snarls, the diversions the pandals and processions cause. 

That is it. Constant complaints about billboards, grumbles about advertising that 'cheap'en the cityscape, the irritation about the snail slow traffic, nothing seems to matter. Instead there is a happy, joyous feel in the very air.

Once the pandals are decorated fully, the Pune night life for some six to seven days is super charged. The PMT, may be, the metro, too, have special runs. The whole of Pune does not seem to doze off for a week or so, charged with this unique festive feel. Long live Ganeshotsav!

Pratima@May be, another special aspect of the Ganesh festival is that each one, the poor and the rich, each social group of every vatiety celebrates it in their own unique way, and, yet, there is a festive commonality to this unique festival. About how far the festival has wandered away from Lokmanya's vision or about the economic vistas underlying this festival, some other time!

Awaiting Gajanana

 Shri Ganesha, Gajanana is indeed special. In the traditional religious observance, he is the one with whose prayer begins every activity. Thus has he been beautifully described in an extended metaphor by Sant Dnyaneshwar.

Today, however, let me see if I can unravel his very humane qualities. In my opinion, he is a very happy, accessible, democratic god. This "gananam ish:" can be envisioned in very many various forms.

Unlike his father, Shri Shankara, we can imagine him to be a cute kid who can, moreover, be a foodie. Despite being the God of gods, he likes modak.

He can choose the meagre mouse as his vehicle. Despite his huge, heavy form, he can ride the small little mouse which shows, in my opinion, a tendency to see the best in the meanest. Like his eyes. Small but deep and perceptive.

His trunk is yet another proof that this look-alike of an elephant is kind not only to his bhakta, but to each and every form of existence, the smallest to the hugest.

In brief, in our environmentally challenged era, he gives us the assurance that in a balanced relationship with self emerge solutions! Happy Ganesha, Happy Ganesh Chaturthi!

Pratima@ Every other god in the Hindu iconography has a definite shape. Try drawing an image of  Ganesha. The procedure is so simple a child can depict Ganesha in every possibility. Awaiting you, oh Lord, in all your glory!

Want to learn Basic Sanskrit?

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Teachers' Day

 Yet another day in the life of every teacher it is. Yet it is not like any other day. It is special indeed. Morning till evening, there would be messages, phone calls, pleas to meet personally, and so on. 

Yes, every Teachers' Day is a quiet re-assertion of the fact that you chose the right profession indeed, even if it may not exactly pay well. What makes your students like you as a teacher? Your degrees? Your fund of knowledge? I do not really think so because in this era of explosion of information, none can boast of her knowledge as a bonus.

 Rather I think it is your ability to provide unusual insights. Slowly they start to develop that habit as well, and that makes them fall in love with the subject, and as a corollary, with the teacher. Without their realising so, they love the subject because they love the teacher, and vice versa.

I do think that students like those teachers who treat them with respect. Such teachers never lower their own dignity, but treat students, whether the brightest or the differently abled, absolutely honourably. Such teachers never demean a student in his/her own eyes. Instead, they teach their learners self-respect by leading them through their own example, I suppose.

I think students love teachers who care for them as individuals in their own right, right?A teacher with a gentle sense of humour is liked as well. Yet students want the teacher to have a subtle sense of discipline as well. "Everything goes" type of teachers are never respected/liked.

In brief, being a teacher is becoming a teacher, too, and it is a process that is absolutely enriching for the teacher herself!

Pratima@When you wish your teacher on such a day, it shows you are human(e) because, in a way, even in the days of the AI and online/distant  teaching, a sincere teacher continues to be your friend, your guide, and your parent!

Hilarious Wickedness

 Atop the roof  of our home, there is some stupid but wicked contraption by some absurd creep. Especially at night, it appears forever activated. It is constantly rolling, roaming, running up the roof. Obviously, I cannot climb up the roof at night to check out the crooked fool.

I find the entire harassment absolutely idiotic. For one thing, I am not at all afraid as I know I am absolutely safe in my own home. Second, I know for sure that there is/exists no camera that can see through roofs, walls, and so on. 

Even an infrared camera, not easily available, cannot take any pic through a wall or a roof. An infrared camera can only indicate the heat patterns. As for that stupid rolling movement, none can use a  drone  without permission. Who will permit which creep to target an innocent citizen? 

Earlier I used to think it could be a cat. But the footsteps like effect is hardly like a cat's. Since the whole effort is absolutely futile as I am in no way frightened nor am i going to budge from any of my clean, decent, innocent activities, I feel the fool indulging in such silly techniques is wasting his money, energy and resources!

 How I wish he (it has to be a crook!) spends his night (since he is keeping awake the whole night to keep a watch on me, while I manage my sleep pattern comfortably) in some constructive or creative work. Obviously, the fool is not up to it! So such hilarious, inane wickedness, right?

Pratima@Curiosity kills the cat even when it has none lives!

Work Ethic

 Remember Mr. Murthy? Yes, I  am  referring to the Infosys tycoon who got India on to the world wide software map. Now, however, at least in India, he is known as the "seventy hours" bore!

Poor Mr. Murthy! He committed the cardinal sin of expecting sincere, authentic, genuine, selfless work from Indians, most of whom spend hours thinking ways of shirking work the easiest way. Unfortunately, exceptions that prove the rule excluded, Indians absolutely lack work ethic.

You would agree with me that this lack begins rather early in the life of an Indian. Parents, for example, either themselves complete, or outsource, the projects of the 'ladla' or 'ladli' who continues this trick/streak in to  college/university life, and beyond.

Ask any college/university student to take up an assignment that makes him/her read up, think through, analyse at least a little originally, and they would hate you like hell. On the contrary, give them any assignment that involves chamkogiri, and they will outsmart even themselves, break their own earlier record!

In any office, similarly, the utmost attempt is to avoid any responsibility whatsoever. People are excellent at shirking or off-shouldering it as much as possible, and as soon as possible. When it comes to salary, on the contrary, every paisa matters!

Sad, but true! India does lack work ethic! Sincerity of purpose is a taboo for us. Show-off, talking huge credit for mediocre work, engaging in side-business to pass it off as great achievement, we are excellent at such  prizes we heap upon ourselves.

No wonder, in the popular imagination, 'jugad' defines us, hardly the qualitative edge for a country that wants to celebrate its potential!

Pratima@Work IS indeed worship.

The Bull Story

 The cock-n-bull story is an English phrase which means a far-fetched, rather impossible narrative. This is how in the folk wisdom the bull meets us. Often is the bull the image of brainlessness, for foolishness, especially in educative tales such as by Aesop, for instance.

Otherwise, the bull is a symbol of brutal, thoughtless and bestial force. This is how we find the bull in the Spanish bull-fight or in the Spanish bull-run. Hemingway's novels, too, often refer to this image. Personally though, I have never liked the bloody (literally and figuratively) game. I have always found the torero to be a pathetic figure despite his glitzy wear which indeed is a tear. Either he or the bull is going to be torn, and copious tears would be the only response. Gladiators are hardly heroes! Truly!

The rather sympathetic portrayal of the bull power by George Orwell apart, this mascot is often pitifully portrayed. Actually the best friend of a farmer, he is already withering away in to oblivion as farming gets more and more mechanised, more and more urban, hydroponic, and so on. Very soon a bull would be found in a zoo. That is not a cock-n-bull story though! How tragic!

Pratima@ The bovine eyes may not be limpid like a cow's. Yet they tell their own story of hard work, often thankless. Hence this tribute to the bullish version post-'Pola'.

Sanskrit

 Recently was celebrated the Sanskrit Day. Hence this acrostic!

Serene and sanctimonious

Adaptable and agreeable 

Native and narrative

Sacramental and sacrificial 

Keen and kaleidoscopic

Rigorous and ritualistic

Ideal and ideating

Truly a treasure!

That is our Sanskrit, a rare, a unique language as it mothers all, deities to computers!

Pratima@ All Indian languages have Sanskrutodbhav words. Why, German has words that bear similatites with Sanskrit. For example:  मातृ/Mutter, पितृ/Vater, स्वशृ/Schwester, भातृ/Bruder.

Fragile Floral Beauty

 Shrawan is about to end. In Shrawan bloom any member of beautiful  flowers with wondrous fragrances. Every where there seems to be an overflow of lovely flowers in this month.

Of all these blooms, the best is the coral flower in my opinion. Sure, each flower is wonderfully unique. Yet the coral flower is indeed special. It is unbelievably fragile and delicate. It has five petals and these petals have a lovely pattern of half swirls at the outer edge. These snow white petals are centrifugally joined with an ochre centre that juts out in to a delicate small little ochre stem. Thus this flower is a lovely bundle of shapes, patterns and colours.

Much better is its fragrance. It is mild, not heady. Yet it makes your palms fragrant for a long time if you hold the flowers gently cupped in both your palms just for a few seconds. It is a folk belief that if the flower does not wither nor wilt in your palms, you are a very good person.

The lovely fragrance of the coral flower wafts with the wet weather. At night, it blows gently with the breeze. The moment you open the door in the morning, the mild fragrance meets you the most welcome way.

More than its look and fragrance, I find fascinating the way it separates from the branch. Literally it dances with the wind. Otherwise just shake the tree a little, and there would be a cascade that looks as if all the stars in the sky are spread out in your front yard.

No wonder, it is known as a tree from the paradise that Lord Krishna was gifted due to his valour. The entire story is quite well-known, and hardly deserves a repeat, right? In brief, such is the unique beauty of the flower that you begin dreaming of the next Shrawan even when the current season is still on!!!

Pratima@ Beauty is as beauty does.