Age cannot stale nor dull

 Age cannot stale nor dull. Yes, this title of our blog may remind you of Shakespeare's famous description of Cleopatra on that resplendent barge. Well, the lady I am going to talk about is no queen for sure. In my opinion, however, she is an empress. 

Okay, let me explain what I mean. Before I attempt that,however, let us talk of ageism. Yes, ageism is rampant in the world today, especially in India with its demographic dividend. Ageism takes two forms. Gen Z, for example, would like to earn enough as soon as is possible, and then retire from work.

 A corollary of this axiom is the other version of ageism. It consists of constantly mocking older people about their age. At times, it is attempted with a veneer of concern, but the malicious intent cannot hide itself. It hardly matters that most young are no good in any way at all.

That, however, is not our concern right now. Today we are going to meet a lady who is living proof that age is mere number. Yes, we are talking of Prof. Shantamma. For four days a week, she teaches medical physics, radiology and anesthesia. Her house is some sixty kilometers away which means, up and down, she travels hundred and twenty kilometres  per day .

What is so great about it? Many attempt it in metros. Is that your foregone conclusion? Okay, be ready to hold your breath. She is just ninety-seven years old. Two years ago, she entered the Guinness Book of Records for such an achievement. 

Both her knees are replaced. She walks with the help of calipers. Nothing can stop this lady who completed her Ph. D. In 1947. Apparently, she was the first to win that honour, too. Her students like her as well because she is a living fount of inspiration. Some proof she is that age is just a number, most often, in the mindsets of others!

Pratima@What is age? A way of thinking! What is age? A way of defying! Well, we began with a take-off on Shakespeare. So let us thus end with another!

Simplify! Why?

 The current mantra applicable to all the fields, but especially to academics, is "simplify." Indeed, it is important to make complex concepts easy to understand. That process makes studies enjoyable. Absolutely accepted. It is, moreover, true of every experience. Let me give you an example. Not everybody can understand, forget appreciate, Picasso's "Guernica". Everyone can comprehend a Ravi Varma canvas, right?

My problem is with excessive simplification, and as a corollary, with the avoidance of all that is tough. Personally I feel that human mind is capable of analysing, sorting out most complex issues. It may take a little bit of time, but one sure gets it, may be, with some practice. Do not we manage any software package with a little bit of practice even if it appears tough initially?

Why constantly insist on simplification? Let me give you a parallel example. We do not always eat mashed food like a baby, right? Why, our system needs roughage for it to remain healthy! Our minds, our brains, too, need roughage, complexities, abstractions, conceptualisations. Why avoid all these super foods for the brain?  Who is, moreover, going to gain what, profit how by simplifying everything for the majority? Is not it a new form of exclusion? Is monopoly of genuine resources and better opportunities hidden within this yen for simplification?

Yet another canard I find difficult to grasp is not declaring the toppers, the academic prize-winners in the name of, under the garb of, equality? Why? Why not pat the back of achievers? Do not we have the gold, the silver, and the bronze medals in the Olympics? Or is it the case that all the players are declared winners? 

To begin with, it is necessary to remember that equity and equality are absolutely different from each other as  concepts. True equality is not exactly allowed by Nature which is full of variety. In fact, Darwin's concept, too, despite its ethical lag, suggests a hierarchy of the weakest to the strongest! 'The survival of the fittest' is his theme song!

There is always a suspicion lingering at the the back of the entire procedure that by simplifying it for the huge majority, there is an indirect annihilation of the gifted by consciously demeaning them. When one insists that there cannot be any difference between climbing to the top of Parvati and Mount Everest, there is a demeaning of both, Mt Everest and the process of mountaineering. Excessive demand for eternal simplification could nip in the bud any demand for individual excellence which is the plinth of creativity, right? Beware of simplifiers and their sweet gobbledy gook talk of 'all are equal' because they  are, in the process, positing themselves as 'more equal'  to quote George Orwell's motto in the 'Animal Farm', a great mirror to society.

Pratima@ True, every flower is unique, each bird is special. They, however, are not equal, right?

Is this right?

 Since 10.30 p.m. on November 27, some funny, quite creepy sounds could be heard in the lane next to our home. Somebody was dragging something, some vehicle was repeatedly moving up and down. Suddenly, the vehicle would go away somewhere, though quite nearby. Soon it would return.

Generally, I do not keep the door open, surely not in winters, beyond 10 p.m. As it is, the main gate is forever locked, that, too, from inside. So I did not worry about safety, or any other fear factor as such. Yet is it right to create such an eerie feel? So much so that the eternally-screaming-at-night gangs of, I suppose, drunken louts were not making any silly noise!

Well, I guessed quite soon that the road was getting tarred. Is this the right time for heavy vehicles zooming up and down a lane? Is this the time for the workers screaming unnecessarily, and loudly at that? The vehicles making the mechanical sounds of changing the screeching gears and brakes, of driving forwards and backwards? Of trap doors banging shut and open?

Even now huge noises ( I am consciously pluralising an uncountable noun!) of the heavy vehicles, the engine whirring, the huge roller thundering on over the scrunchy gravel,  the hustle and bustle of the workers, their screaming are very much on, and right next to our gate. Sure there was not any notice of this night time work. What kind of efficiency is this that does not allow citizens a quiet sleep? Is this the proper work ethic? Is this right? What do you think?

Pratima@ There is (very much) (lot of ) sound and fury, to quote Shakespeare's Macbeth, but  signifying what?

A Unique Day

 November 26, or 26/11 as it is popularly known, is indeed a unique day. In India, it is celebrated as the Constitution Day. It was on this very day in 1950, the Indian Constitution was released. Its Preamble, which I had tried quite unsuccessfully to be included in the Compulsory English syllabus, once autonomy set in, can be considered the sum total of the entire treatise. Citizens who are not very fond of Social Sciences/Humanities, to which category most people belong, can read the one-page Preamble to get the gist of Indianness.

The day takes us back to the horrible attack on Mumbai by Ajmal Kasab and his gang. The sad saga, the sacrifices by the police, by the para-military forces, by the commandoes, by the Taj/Trident employees, by the Jewish inmates of the Chabad House, and the common man, with the famous Mumbai spirit, all deserve our deep  remembrances. A sad chapter in the history of post-independence India, it tragically, and, may be, maliciously, took place on the Constitution Day. 

This year, 26/11 turned out to be the tithi commemorating the Sanjeevan Samadhi of Sant Dnyaneshwar, a great philosopher-poet whose writings changed the course of the history of Maharashtra and of Marathi. The Bhakti Literature as well as Sampradaya/Sect owe their very inception to this great thinker. No wonder, he is known as the Emperor of Spiritual Enlightenment.

Obviously celebrated in various, mostly merely populist, ways, this unique day, too, ended with the latest excitement haunting the media of all types; namely, 'Kaun banega Maharashtra ka Mukhya Mantri, the C.M.?'

Pratima@For me, 26/11 has a sad association.

To begin with, the date '26' is the day Aai passed away in March, 2021. Every 26, I keep a fast in her memory, as on every 21, in Papa's. Tough to believe how time flies away at a supersonic speed.

As for 26/11, Manu, our cat, almost tore off my right arm and both hands on that day. She was hardly eighteen months old. Her mother had just left her, a kitten who was hardly three days old, in our home. Literally saved her from certain death.

 God alone knows what happened to her, but Ajmal was attacking people in the CST, and here she was mauling me most viciously as if possessed. According to the mavashi, who used to clean our vessels then, it was an Amavasya, the no-moon-night! I still have the marks of those  wounds, both physically and psychologically!

The win-win possibilities

 Maharashtra elections are always interesting. For a number of reasons.  This time, for example, it was a question of sheer existence for all the major parties. I am sure all of them worked hard. The BJP-led coalition won with a thumping majority.

So far so good! What I find quite funny is that the losing opposition parties and their voters/well-wishers are crying, nay, rather screaming, foul. The funniest argument is the EVM or the counting machine being faulty!

Well, simultaneously, the results of  Jharkhand as well as many other constituencies in other regions  were being declared, too! How cum technical glitches, hacking, wrong counting do not matter there? Why the 'l lose, therefore, you must lose, too' shenanigans each time the other (ruling) party conclave wins?

What applies to political processes holds true in the  real, lived, daily life as well. Even if the other  people, downright viciously ganging up to  snuff out your chances consciously, even if they indulge in the 'you must lose' rhetoric, instead of creating a huge hue and cry, it is better to learn from your own possible weak spots, quietly move on, and start afresh.

No use crying hoarse against their 'you must lose' ganging up against you. It is a sheer unfortunate trap which sure saps your energy most nefariously. There ARE zillion other channels to reach your innocent goals. Then why give the villains a chance to justify themselves? 

No, this is not 'the other cheek turning' technique. Rather, it is accepting the viciousness of those who 'hate you just like that only.' It is choosing to avoid them for your own peace and balance of mind. Limited is our stay on this earth. Why waste it on useless fights?

 Instead, better to work every nano-second on our own betterment which leads to a (now-) win-(and forever)win success story! The crooked victimisers would sooner, rather than later, get the deserved punishment for sure!

Pratima@ Why fight useless battles? Instead forever prepare for greater wars which give you the ultimate victory, on your own self, and on your own terms and conditions 

Tradition is the individual talent

 Have you read T S.Eliot's seminal essay? The title of our blog today is a take-off on its famous title. Tradition is indeed the individual element in each unique talent, says the Eliot essay. Let me give you an example. A danseuse-activist such as Mallika Sarabhai, for instance, could experiment as a dancer because she was deeply rooted in Bharat Natyam and Kuchipudi.

India has a great tradition artistically as well as philosophically. Indian aesthetics dates to Rishi Bharata whose "Natya Shastra", so to say, created the plinth for our dramaturgy, dance forms and music. Our great tradition, hence, of classical dance forms, of music, both Hindustani and South Indian and both oral and instrumental, are deeply steeped in the tradition which every individual artist interpretes uniquely.

So is our tradition of philosophy. The Vedas are not mere religious literature. In a way, they are the very source of how we think. As we have such a hoary tration, we can genuinely create new networks, new pathways to explore the eternal truths in every field, philosophy, wys of living, science to plastic arts, performing arts, aesthetics, architecture to sculpture, and so on.

Tradition need not be only for the classes. It is very much for the masses. The folk tradition has contributed hugely to our understanding of reality. In fact, it is argued that the seven notes of the classical music are rooted in the folk response to nature in all its manifestations. 

Sure every country, each civilisation would have its own holy tradition, and we can imbibe interesting aspects thereof into our arts, our world view. Tradition thus calibrates and celebrates the individual performance by relating it to a vaster canvas to which it can respond radically, nay negatively as well.

Let me give you an example from literature to prove my point. T. S. Eliot was not merely a critic; he was a great poet as well. He introduced 'free verse' which revolutionised poetry the world over. Yet Eliot maintained that the most unusual free verse is nothing but a distant ghost of the traditional verse forms!

In other words, tradition is the individual talent, and the vice versa, however confusing it may appear as a self-contradictory statement!

Pratima@ Why all this discussion? Well, currently is being celebrated the Heritage Week, and I was indeed lucky to have listened to great artists perform unique experiments rooted in tradition.

A medley

 Can a day be a medley? I guess so if the experiences the day delivered were varied, but had a single theme, a common thread. In that sense, this Saturday was a medley with the central note being contentment.

The feel of restful fulfillment revealed itself circa 3 p.m.-ish. By that time, the mandate was clear. Maharashtra voted for the Devendra Fadnavis led Mahayuti. It was a happy feel because it was a decisive mandate which Maharashtra needed.

Sure the BJP emerged the strongest which, too, was satisfying because it clearly shows the direction the voters want. It is a clarion call against divisive politics if the Karnataka mollification fiasco is any proof, and, more importantly, for development as promised by the P.M. Personally, moreover, it is my gut feeling that the BJP can be critiqued without a vitriolic backlash.

The clear mandate mattered the most for yet another reason. Now there would not be any horse trading! Given the extremely embarrassing post poll scenario in 2019 with its mix-n-match  mishmash that made Maharashtra politics  acutely volatile thence, such a clear stance by the voters indicates the path political parties must now chart. 

For the other two parties in the coalition, the mandate must matter, too, because in a way it seals their fractured identities. Hopefully now, Maharashtra politicians would honour the verdict the citizens provided by voting in a record break way.

I find the poll results significant for yet another reason. Sure there were the star speakers with their mass appeal. Yet, in my opinion, the ground swell was a creation of the very many vloggers whose passionate videos revealed the ground realities the mainstream media may not.

Well, I am not much of a party politics person. Hence now the real reason for calling the Saturday a medley. In the evening, I attended a great annual concert entitled ''Mitra Mahotsav". My colleague Gokhale Madam and her family are the concert organisers.

By a sheer yet wonderful chance, I could get to sit next to my colleague, Deshpande Madam. Well, that added to the secure safe feel. It is always great to find a friend in a huge gathering, otherwise faceless.

The large medley audience was moved by the superbly mellifluous performance by Jayanthi Kumaresh and R.Kumaresh. In a way, instrumental music is more evocative as it gives a free fillip to one's own imagination. 

As words  from a language that one may not understand are not present, the notes allow you to traverse your own meanings. The jugalbandi by the artist couple on the veena and the violin was everything that music should be, technical perfection and soulful rendering. Such was the magic their notes weaved that the Pune evening was majestically transported to the Mylapore Sangeet Sabhas exploring 'Tyagaraja krutis' that Chennai abounds with circa November-December.

The accompanying artists were masters as well. In fact, though there was not the usual ghatam, the mridangam and the tabla were great. I heard for the first time the other instument that accompanied the most melodious medley of raga's the couple presented. Most interestingly, the spell-binding performance was a medley because the "sur" accompanying artists, too, explored the "tal", literally miraculously.

What an evening indeed! A perfect potpourri of pure pleasure! No wonder, I found the day a medley of contentment.

Pratima@ The appeal of art is priceless.

Fame-n-life

 Yes, I have consciously written the title so as to sound like "famous life" as well as "fame-n-life". Why? Well, because I want to write about an interesting fact of life through a look at Indira Gandhi whose birth anniversary was celebrated recently.

On a group was shared a pic of her in the bloom of youth. Undoubtedly, she is 'priyadarshini' indeed. Obviously, extremely good-looking. What I liked the most about that youthful photo, must be in her late teens or early twenties, is the fact that in that pic, she is very shy and unassuming. There are absolutely no airs about her. 

That is the point I want to make in a way. Most often when it comes to famous people, most of us tend to forget that they, too, are human beings. Their 'fame' seems to blot out their 'life'. Everything about them is larger than life, rosier than the sky at the sunrise, and darker than the darkest sin. 

Actually, beyond, besides, and despite, their fame and name, they, too, lead a normal life, though this basic fact is often forgotten. On that very group was released a video of her wedding. In it, she is the typical young bride very much in love. There was this video of Rajiv Gandhi's marriage. In it, she is the typical flustered mother whose child is about to enter a new phase of life, the typical mother worried about the minutest most detail.

Yes, famous or otherwise, we are human beings first and foremost. Life, our careers therein, the often involved small or big compromises due to the chase after fame are just the same though the scale obviously is veeeery different. 

The moment we recognise this  essence, bitterness vanishes from perceptions. There IS a readiness to accept others as they are, not as what we perceive them to be. Of course, the famous, too, need to know and forever accept the boundaries of the 'normal'. Only then is true grace possible.

Pratima@The candid pics are the toughest to take, but they most beautiful 'art' to look at! My brother, Parag, is very good at such portraits, pics that portray the real self of the subject.

Big Brother is us watching!

 Have you read "1984", one of the greatest novels ever written? Its author, George Orwell, is one of my top most favourites for his honesty, authenticity and courage to stand up for principles. Every  word he writes is fragrant with his devotion to all that is genuine in this god-forsaken world.

In that dystopian "1984", Orwell introduces us to this 'Big Brother' whose ever watchful eyes seem to follow the hapless victims everywhere. My submission is that currently we are really  living that fictional nightmare, and every nano second. 

As it is, each time we use the internet, either for referencing or for e-mailing or for wapp-messaging, we leave an indelible trace. Every word we read, each site/sight we visit, we are scattering like the bird seed information about ourselves. All such data get mined in such a way that we are victimised by the prisons we thus make for ourselves.

This doubt of mine got strengthened due to a lecture I listened to in the evening. Well, I am attending an online faculty development programme organised by the UGC. Such attendance strengthens the c.v. and, moreover, keeps one abreast of the latest in the academia.

There was this lecture about technology and academics. First there was a reference to Google Earth. Blithely was it mentioned how thus is available a camera that can, like a drone, capture anything everywhere. In the hoo-ha that followed, it did not seem to occur to anyone nor matter much that thus is individual privacy, an impossible dream currently,  much infringed upon.

Next, there were discussions about how the ChatGpt and multiple other similar platforms (one of the most interesting though intriguing aspects of interactive (communication) technology is its infinite capability for endless repetitive doubling of functions!) get a teacher ready made lectures with the right writing of a prompt.

Everybody else, except me, found it wow, and wah-wah-ed it. How horribly bothersome, nay, downright dangerous, this is! Facetiously put, why would students attend any lecture at all as they, masters of such technology, can create with the ChatGpt, and types, any and every lecture, question paper, project possibility, and, in addition, ready-made answers to these! Given most syllabi, no HOTS are required to guess the prompts for all these!

Much worse than such kaput-ing of the teacher function is the fact that to such 'generated' material, there is not any validity nor authenticity. It is even much worse than the Google oriented copy-paste job for which people had to check at least a few sites. Such 'generated' material could, moreover, be downright wrong! Yet most teachers found it a panacea!

When I pointed out this lacunae, a huge problem, the expert had to agree to it. Most unhappily and pathetically he was asked by others how to check the authenticity to which the obvious answer had to be "check with/through books" which appeared disparaging to most.

Why the need to use technology to avoid hard work and genuine commitment to one's profession that should develop the learners' critical and creative abilities? How would that be possible through ChatGpt generated lectures, however 'smart' they might be? Why turn technology in to 'Nirali' guides? Would students, who can easily understand such sources, have any respect for their teachers?

In one of the colleges where I used to teach Eng Lit and other related papers, there was this senior professor (with all the attendant perks!ha!ha!ha!) who used to teach in the class with a guide, it seems. Students used to tell him the 'guide'  page number which he would fumble for after attending to a call on the mobile during the lecture. I had found all these stories impossible fiction. They apparently were facts. If students mocked such chicanery, what would they think of chat-gpt-ed lectures!?!

To begin with, the use of technology is always fraught with moral dilemmas. Especially for professions like teaching, huge ethical issues are involved because (in)directly the classroom creates human(e) beings. A classroom must sensitise, must teach critical analyses, must give unique insights, and not indulge in easy escapades, right? Why create/be created by Frankenstein's galore? That is the question!

Pratima@ Tesla Musk has already created not only self-driving cars but humanoids as well, that is, female robots who are perfection itself, and can give birth to genetically ideal babies with high intelligence and all health and/or beauty issues sorted out. Apparently, by 2026, these would be mass produced, moreover. Big brother is watching us all right, in our bathrooms, in the bedrooms, and in maternity wards!

'After'thoughts

 The voting process is finally over. The results, packed in the EVM, would soon be out. The guessing game has anyway begun. Some entertainment we have to have, given the difficult life, right?

As citizens though, is it enough to have voted, that, too, if at all your name was in the voters' list? Absolutely not! In a democracy, the citizenship duty does not begin and end with voting. It is necessary to participate in the democratic processes.

Yes, unlike the unorganised sector, we, the voters from the organised sector, religiously pay the income tax, not to mention the indirect versions thereof such as the GST as we insist on the receipt on every purchase. As we use the online payment mode often, we do help in the transparency of the financial processes as well.

What is far more important is to keep a check on the execution of the vision the political parties promised. Easy it is in a way because the proceedings of the Lower and Upper Houses are aired on various channels these days. 

In a way though, extremely difficult is political participation. Almost till the nineties, in the public sphere, demonstrations, sit-in's were the norm. Now a days, very rare is such social awareness. Unfortunately, moreover, if used at all, such proceedings are extremely biased and party-politics-motivated. To pull down someone is the goal. Never is it to empower the common man, the ordinary citizen.

Do not believe me? Okay, find out how often the common man demonstrated for better roads, for instance? The corollary is equally true. There is road rage just because someone overtook someone. How often do citizens insist on the lane discipline while driving a car or riding a bicycle? Signals are meant for jumping, right? Roadside curbs are public spittoons, right? How does it matter that the COVID virus silently keeps mutating?

In other words, it is not enough to vote once for all and forget for the next five years. We, the citizens, must participate in the civic proceedings in a creative and transformative way, right?

Pratima@Like citizens, like rulers!

Voting

 Voting is a great event. It is highly exciting. In fact, it gives an adrenaline rush to us, the otherwise non-descript citizens. As upper middle class people, we are hardly the demogaugic candidates to fall prey to the non-veg-n-liqueur apparently freely flowing in the ghettos, the zopadpatti's, the night before. 

As intellectuals, nor are we prone to the sarees or any other freebies. In other words, we choose to cast our votes not for any personal profit. Neither do we care for the empty caste castigations. We want to elect a government that cares for our genuine demands for a wonderful nation, for our self-respect as free, independent citizens. 

An election gives us the right to elect a government dedicated to development. We vote for a party, for a candidate who understands the contemporary contexts. We can through our votes empower thus a better state, the best country committed to sustainable goals that promise the win-win growth and togetherness of all.

Voting, the basis of democracy, is as old as Greece. In modern times, it is late seventeenth century when democracies were thus enabled. The fight for the voting rights for women, for the black community, in brief, the empowerment through voting has a long history. Hence the need to exercise this right which was exercised by almost half the world this year.

Every vote counts. When we vote, we define definit(iv)ely the contours of the future of the entire polity. Thus the need to cast the vote most sensibly, and at any cost, a duty as a citizen. Hence, in May 2024, i felt very bad when my name was struck off the voters' list most surprisingly.

 In our lane, the only name missing was mine. Even people who had died a decade ago had their names present as eligible voters! I immediately wrote to the Election Commission. This time, when I tried to complete the form, repeatedly I got the message that I am already a registered voter. Looking forward, in brief, to tomorrow!

Pratima@ I love the colour blue. Hope my thumb would tomorrow thus get impressively inked!

Kindness

 Recently was celebrated a day dedicated to kindness. That made me think more and more. What exactly is kindness? Does that appear to be a very easy question? Well, I do not think so at all. In my opinion, it is a truly tough question.

Most people associate kindness with exhibition of gooey sympathy. There would be a tender tale trembling on their tip of their tongues about saving a small kitten shivering in the cold. Sure it is a good deed. Is it kindness though?

Is kindness empathy? Sure this is a better definition. It involves trying to be right, in the shoes of the afflicted. In a way, thus it includes looking at the reality from the perspective of the 'other', the victim, the down and the out.  Yet is that a complete definition of kindness?

Kindness in my opinion is tougher than mere sentimentality. Kindness involves a principled taking of responsibility till the receiver of one's kindness can stand firmly on his/her feet. Kindness is my opinion is not sentimental because such sensitivity is subtly stroking one's own ego.

As true kindness is ethical and principled, often it involves, no, not cruelty, but surely strictness. I suppose such a path is inevitable because there is always a destination, a goal to true kindness. Unnecessary detours are hence just not allowed even if such a stance may not appear very senti. Yet it is truly sensitive and sensible, i think.

Want examples? Look at the way good parents bring up a child. There are not any excessive concessions to the silly tantrums. There is a strict set of standards,  right? Yet another example could be a guru training a disciple, whichever may be the field. 

Yet another example could be an artist, be it author or a musician or a painter. The artist is kind to himself/herself and to the art. In the process, whether it be the practice session or the actual performance, there are no indulgences, no easy escapades of the temptations variety,  no dalliances away from the set path, however unique, challenging, unexplored, leading to the defined goal. 

Ask an author how much she weeds out from the page before it satisfies her a little. There is always a lot of self-critique which may not exactly be kind to one's own self. In brief, true kindness is not easy simplistic sentimentality. Tough is true kindness!

Pratima@True kindness blooms out of genuine concern!

 

Deadly Disease

 Oh, no, the title need not delude you. No, the blog is not going to be about the dis-ease called poisonous people. They sure are not worth so much thought. Period.

The blog today is about a silent killer which is hence a deadly disease. Unfortunately, India is soon going to be the epicenter of its volcanic spread. The statistics is already quite frightening. Apparently, one in every threesome is a victim of diabetes.

Diabetes has no surface manifestations. It destroys from within, and all the centrally important organs. It consists of insulin resistance. In a way, it is a life style induced dis-ease as well. Loads of psychological stress, fast food, irregular work hours, lack of exercise, addictions of all sorts result in this dis-ease.

Once detected, it requires life time medication and regulated food habits. It is not life threatening though. With proper care, normal and long life is possible for a diabetic patient. Type II is more rampant, though Type I attacks very early in life.

Its hypoglycemic version, less sugar in the blood stream, is more dangerous than the hyper- type which can easily be controlled with proper medication and regular tests. Well, facetiously it can be said that diabetes proves how dangerous it is to be sweet inside, from within!

Pratima@The disease is deadly for two reasons; namely, the prolonged medication has side effects for one thing. It may be inherited, moreover.

Well, I have a terrific, rather terrible, sweet tooth. I cannot live without sweets which I can gobble up by quintals. On Aai's side, everybody is a diabetic patient. Well, when the monthly test shows my sugar at 98 tops, for me, it is a sign that 'God is his heaven/ and all is well with the world,' to quote Browning.

Poisonous People

 In this life complex and difficult as it is,  you should never have the misfortune of meeting people who consider it their prime duty to harass you, to belittle you, to spread canards against you, and worst of all, consciously take away your chances constantly. 

Poisonous such people are. As a woman, it IS tougher to suffer them. You just have to smile at somebody, and they would go in to an overdrive to spread the worst canards against you. It does not occur to the foolish crooks that a woman should be seen at least once with some man to 'connect' her in any way! 

Interestingly, they themselves would have countless liaisons so much so they would almost have been beaten up, shamed professionally for such caddish behaviour which may even include multiple marriages.

 Women in their own immediate lives would enjoy unholy alliances of all types, would even beget children outside the so-called holy wedlock which is nothing but an empty sham, a marriage of convenience. May be, that is why such people imagine that others, too, carry on!

Actually such canards, however horribly bothersome, do not matter much because  not everybody is brainless. It can actually  and easily be observed that the only company you always keep is your own self! Sure those horrors may hence try to spread 'other' countless canards that can even reach the proportions of using political contacts, of paying roadside cheapies of all sorts to constantly call you "chudail", for instance.

Such creeps are horrendous horrors, however, when they try to constantly sabotage your career, and indirectly in the most vicious way. They do have the necessary contacts, they socialise with the right people to easily attain such effects in the subtlest way. 

Before an important interview, over a drink, they would hint to the Selection Committee  not to think of you. As they are well-connected, nobody wants to antagonise them. How does it matter that a worthy candidate loses? Your Ph.D. topic would be alloted to their favourite while you are out of town, not on campus, and that dahling feeds off your hard work, while you are told how people's Ph.D's can be 'completed' in a fortnight if 'everything' is provided!

Let me narrate a quite curious episode to prove how subtle such evil machinations are. I was freelancing with the 'Indian Express' while completing my thesis. A well-known author was in town, and I was to interview him.

It was rather a scoop. No other major newspaper was on. I literally ran to reach the venue on time. One such "poisonous persons" type ferried that great author from somewhere in his car, and I saw him clearly indicate to that worthy author not to talk to me.

It did not occur to the meanie that I was not merely someone he chose to hate. I represented a newspaper! May be, that also would have added fuel to the fire of his villainy. Well, the interview was against an  appointment. The great etc author had to spare at least a few minutes. 

I came back to campus, and I had friends of the meanie accost me, and tell me that my article would be eagerly awaited even when I had never mentioned anything to anybody. I used my reading of the author's oeuvre, my literature student sensitivities to weave a proper article around the sparse answers dished out. 

The article was received well. I made it a point to send it to the worthy soul, the great author, who wrote back in praise. He ended  that letter with 'you are very kind'! Obviously, despite being more than double my age, he was not!

The poisonous people use some creep, disgruntled for no rhyme nor reason, to make your students gang up against you, not to much success though. Repeatedly such trials go on continuously. The paid minions stand in front of your home at night, and scream at the top of their drunken voices all such achievements! 

The poisonous creeps are excellent at locating all the other worthies who choose to dislike you for some reason or the other. Such gangs jell rather well. You dare not utter a word as there is no concrete proof!

Well, I choose to think of such an 'on razor's edge' life a blessing in disguise because one is thus not  allowed a single chance to make even a minor most mistake as the consequences would be gruesome. One would never have dallied down the primrose path. Yet it is good to have a free of cost constant watch on you!

What about the chances unjustly snatched? Well, others are sure to emerge! Technology is crafting interesting avenues that can design outlets for one's creativity. At least, one knows one never paid up, one never compromised in any way, unlike the harassing horrors, to attain so-called success!

Pratima@Judas was not really very close to Jesus. Yet he pretended to be a disciple to betray the prophet for thirty silver ducats. Well, he knew very well what he was up to!

The Moon Mystique

 The moon! Just a minor planet orbiting our earth! It is nothing but bare rocks and barren valleys, a surface not much better than most roads in India. 'The giant step for mankind' has already often treaded there. Why, Mr. Musk is already planning touristy visits there!

Despite all this materialistic realism, the moon has an allure of  its own. Never can it fail to charm. Its crescent appeal is that of a bud about to bloom, while its unique glory on a full moon night can attract the mighty oceans as the waves impatiently rush to meet the shores.

Poets have loved it. Be it the Madeline's casement as described by Keats or be it the beloved walking in beauty as presented by Byron, the moon light and its gentle magic, poets can never have enough of it. Why, the evil, too, can camouflage itself in the hide-n-seek that the pale moonlight plays with the shadows as in Coleridge's gothic "Christabel"or the witchery of an unusual moon as in his great poem, "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner".

Indian mythology as well as literature, too, shimmer with the glimmer of the moonlight. Countless examples can be quoted. Incidentally, in the Indian writings, the moon can evoke not merely the passion of love but also the gentle affection of a fond mother for the innocent demand of her little one.

Each pournima, the full moon day, is unique. Yet the Tripuri Pournima is special because of its association with Kartikeya Poojan and because of the interesting legend of how Lord Shiva came to be known as Tripurasurharta.

Most interestingly, truly reflecting the innate secular "sarva dharma samanata" of Indianness, this Kartik Pournima is centrally important both to the majority Hindus and the minority Sikhs as it celebrates the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak who founded Sikhism. He enunciated the triune principles central to Sikhism that are the very lifeline of Sikhism. 

Be it such a glory of religion or be it the beauty of literature, the Kartik Tripuri Pournima, the night diya's on the land compete with the stars in the sky, is indeed a wonder.

Pratima@ The moon in all its magical majesty makes mystical the material realities. 

 

Childhood is tough these days!

 The title of our blog today may appear self- contradictory. In fact, it may anger a few self-declared champions of childhood. Ever since the Romantics like Blake, Wordsworth, Coleridge glorified its heavenly proximity to godliness, it is quite fashionable to idolise childhood.

Well, my submission today is that it is not exactly easy to be a child these days. In fact, currently childhood is tough. Indeed! Let us explore a few facets of this curious but factual statement.

Let us begin with family. Mostly, it is the nuclear family these days. A child is hardly allowed the warmth of relationships. Grandparents do not enjoy the unique status of yesteryears. If at all they are in the 'one bhk' flat, they are more a convenience, an unpaid cook cum nanny. Most often than not, the relationship is so fraught between the two generations that the baby of the family is more a punching bag.

The doting aunt, the caring uncle, the bunch of cousins are rarely parts of the child's experience these days, given the busy, fast pace of life and the huge distances between places, and people obsessed with the 'i, me, my' spaces. A WhatsApp group is an easier, better proposition for the shadow shallow presences.

Often, an only child, kids today do not know the sibling bond. Parents often supplement quality time which they rarely can spare with costly gifts that actually lose their sheen-n-glamour quotient within a fortnight. Pets are soon a burden!

The silly serials on the television, the violent games on the game console or on very many apps, the unwanted adult world encroaching childhood via the internet, childhood is a lonely and tough space these days. Let us not even mention the ubiquitous depravities that threaten via the 'bad touch'!

As the only child whom they smother with all the heavy expectations, all their unfulfilled dreams, all the currently wonky idea(l)s of child rearing,  parents these days can hardly spare their precious time. Schools do follow rituals, but that unique individual touch would be missing, given the sheer number of students in a division, the  notorious 'class strength'. In brief, childhood today is hardly 'songs of innocence' to quote Blake's famous title!

Pratima@ November 14 is Children's Day in India as it commemorates the birth anniversary of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister of India, who nurtured the nascent nation in a unique way. 

Piecemeal peace

 The world is literally going to pieces. Would you agree with this assertion? Yes, indeed! The world IS heading in that direction. Two huge wars are looming large yearlong at least. Hopefully, Mr. Trump would fulfill his promise during the election rallies, and stop wars as he asserted then.

Wars, however, are not alone in breaking the world peace to pieces. Multiple are the causes behind its piecemeal destruction, and beyond the usual typical culprit, that is, dirty politics and greedily ambitious politicians. Since the COVID epidemic unified the world in to victimhood, mental peace of most all people has gone for a toss. It fragments multiply the moment one sneezes, coughs, chokes a little longer. The pulmonary tract tractions mental peace now!

What can better such a condition? In its infinite wisdom, the UNESCO suggests that it can be science, and I suppose thus is involved its practical application, namely, technology. Can science and technology truly lead us toward peace? Can peace thus get a piecemeal chance?

Yes and no! Yes because pure science is the base of many a technological gadgets that create better health, better communication, better entertainment for the masses, and better modes of knowledge and wisdom for the cognoscenti who then explore better and deeper the principles that govern the very universe, within, that is, in every mind, as well as without, that is, beyond the known boundaries of space and time.

No because most human minds are terrible. They would use promethean powers the frankenstein way, and create monsters who mollify the very concept of peace. The history of the world is full to the brim with examples that can prove this truism valid zillion times! 

Well, it is not the mistake of science and/or technology that they are thus misused. The mischief monger is the human species. Human beings need to be humanised if peace is to get a chance to prevail. May be, more meditation centers and multiple yoga days are needed the world over! What say?

Pratima@Peace is piecemeal/Peace can be full/If permitted is the criminal/not peurile intentions foul!!!

The killer disease

 Fear kills. Want proof? There is this rather crazy story wherein a non-poisonous snake wants to prove the point to a cobra. They bet on it, apparently. What must be the wager? 'Curious' question all right! Yet it need not detain us right now. Let us continue with the story.

Both of them float in the river. A swimmer dives in. The cobra bites him, but he sees the non-poisonous snake floating nearby. Nothing happens. Soon another swimmer jumps in. The non-poisonous snake bites him. He sees the cobra floating nearby. Convinced that he is a victim of a cobra bite, he dies of a 'fear'ful heart attack immediately.

THE dis-ease that causes similar trauma in a patient is cancer. It kills at least half of the patients out of sheer fear. The treatment is both painful and costly. So terrifying is the cancerous reality that the ghoulish pictures of oral cancer can stop anyone fron tobacco abuse of any sort.

Certain cancers can be curbed. In fact, with the latest medical technologies, many can be controlled, reversed, made less life- threatening. In fact, with proper medication, the patient can lead a normal life without any relapse.

Most often, cancer kills because it is detected at a later stage. By then, it has spread all over. The collateral damage within the body is huge, and hence destructive. Cancer is a bother, moreover because it is an auto-immune disease. It is as if the body rebels against itself, and then preposterous is the growth of the cancerous cells.

Oh, yes, despite many an "Anand' and a 'Majboor', there is NOTHING remotely romantic about cancer.  Sure life is a stage, as says Anand, and the villain in the 'drama'tic show is  cancer. Hence the urgent need on the cancer day to create as much awareness against it, its causes, its cures as is human(e)ly possible!

Pratima@ India is slowly but surely turning in to the world capital of life style diseases such as diabetes, blood pressure AND cancer. To avoid SUCH pandemics with hugely high mortality rate, advances such as the gene therapy ARE important. Much more needed are  life style changes such as healthy food and lots of exercises including 'pranayam', 'onkar' and stress management, I suppose. 

Education, anyone?

 The title of our blog today must surprise you. Well, let us begin with the relevance of the title. November 11 happens to be the National Education Day in memory of the first education minister of independent India, Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad. 

On this august day, let us discuss a little the 'what', 'how'  and 'why' of education today. Initially, i would like to assert that world wide education is at cross roads currently. Why, so? Well, traditional definitions and modes/methods of education are coming apart.

Now not only textbooks but the Nirali kind of 'guides' also are not much help because newer technology like the Chatgpt, with its newer versions by the day literally, has revolutionised the very notion of knowledge. Now knowledge is ready-made. 

Every which way! Earlier with the Google, students had to at least look through/browse some ten websites to decide what to copy-paste! Sure it was mere information, moreover. It was neither knowledge nor wisdom.

The current situation is much worse because the Chatgpt creates the information for the student who can submit it as an answer to an assignment without even once browsing through it. Unfortunately, students busy with the social media trivia choose such methods to submit their assignments, thus finally to get their degrees. Such a practice seems to suit most all disciplines! Hence the title of our blog.

The technology has reduced, nay, taken away the relevance of many a professions, moreover. The list is too long to be included. Sure, newer professions, too, emerge with the newer technology. There is always, however, a lag between the institution of formal education and such demands which puts a question mark on the concept.

Current insistence on STEM subjects at the cost of Humanities is yet another problem area. It creates individuals who are hyper egoistic, competitive in a mean, jealous way, and vicious in their ill-treatment of anyone whom they choose to think of as a threat. A simplistic example of such weirdos would be the recent road rage murder in Mumbai.

Hence the need for a very balanced education that creates a specialist who is a decent human-being and a good citizen, and not merely an acquisitive jealous meanie! Hope the NEP emerges as a viable solution to this dilemma.

Pratima@"The education process should always be an evolving process," says Sadhu Guru.

Dea(r)th of golden opportunities

 There was a birthday bash in the extended family circle. Aai's elder brother's only son, Vivek, was celebrating an important landmark in his life. Hence there was this 'evening with music' programme. In attendance was an impressive orchestra.

The group was headed by Mr. Bhuruk, well-known for his ability to croon Kishore Kumar songs. Not only he, the lead singer,  but the entire ensemble was absolutely talented. There was this 'dholaki' player whose fingers literally danced on the dholaki. There was this brilliant saxophone player. The performance by the entire group, the female voices included and all the percussionists, was undoubtedly beautiful.

Sure the volume was loud. That could be easily adjusted. Professionally perfect was the performace. Yet would they get the opportunities they hugely deserve? That question troubles me each time I watch all these t.v. shows as well. Kids to adults, many many times, in these shows and competitions emerge truly talented candidates.

Sure there is huge hype. Yet some angel dust must fall, right? What happens to those hopes when there are very few golden opportunities? Much worse still, due to the advent of technology, there are auto tuners, for instance. Extremely ordinary perfomers may thus attain star status. 

In such a bleak scenario  wherein most performers do not even know the ABC of classical music/dance, what happens to the genuine truly talented individuals? What to do when there is dea(r)th of good opportunities? That is  the question!

Pratima@Sure the caste, region, groupism kind of  considerations vitiate the results  (of the talent shows) as is often seen. Given such 'hunts', such dea(r)th of equal  opportunities, wither/ weathered the future of the genuine?

 The same story in academics, in the publication industry as well! Dea(r)th of  golden opportunities hurts/hunts the truly talented! Ah, yes, the Sushant Singh sad saga! No wonder, Ayn Rand's "The Fountainhead" haunts still!

Mirror, mirror, on the wall

 Remember the catch phrase of the wicked stepmother in the fairy tale "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs"? Yes, it is "mirror, mirror, on the wall/who is the fairest of them all?" Till Snow White has not grown up, the mirror always gives her the answer she loves. When the mirror soon tells her the truth though, all hell breaks loose.

Well, the fairy tale is not exactly our theme though. The stepmother's obsession with beauty that is at the center of the fairy tale, that is our topic today.  Why? Well, the Google is running a story entitled "The Most Beautiful Women in the World". I browsed through it, and found it most disappointing.

Oh, no, the stuff is politically most correct. Yes, there are black women; there are Latinos; there are Indian beauties, too.  Yet I found the article horribly boring. Why? Well, all these beautiful woman belong to the entertainment industry. They are either actresses, singers or models. 

Extremely sad this fact is! The underlying premise behind such a choice is that women are nothing but eye candy! It, moreover, implies that the world begins and ends with the entertainment industry! Even within that industry, there are brilliant women directors, superb cinematographers, creative script writers/lyricists. Why are they not beautiful? Why such passive idea of beauty? Why is beauty skin deep and make-up thick?

How come an author is not a beauty? How about a scientist? A thinker? A philosopher?  Well, such women are not only traditionally beautiful. They have a tremendous personality. They ARE extremely beautiful what with the intelligence, maturity and creativity just burnishing through. Even look at the political leaders. They exude a certain charisma!

And how about the ordinary  woman? These days even the Swatch women turn up for their so-called lowly work more decked up than the actresses, et al. Yet their kind of beauty due to and despite hard work is special, too.

A housewife, a mother, a teacher/lecturer, all of them are beautiful, and far far more than the typical ideal flaunted by the entertainment industry. Just look around, and you would find zillion examples!

Pratima@Sure one should be clean,  neat and proper. That basic fact adds hugely to the presence of a person, right? 

Right is right!

 Remember Paul, the Octopus? Yes, the same one who was a sensation during the 2010 World Cup? As it is, passions run high when it is a football match. As for the World Cup, the stadium is literally charged; both on the field and off the field, that is, in the stands. 

Dashed difficult it is to guess who would win. Anything and everything can happen in those ninety minutes and, at times, beyond. Paul, however, used to predict the result of a match before it began, and his success rate was phenomenal. Twelve of his fourteen predictions were right, and both for the host country, Germany where Sir Paul, Herr Octopus  resided.

Why do I remember that joke taken most sportingly then, as his strike rate flooded the market with wise parrots, genius doggies, and what have you?  Significantly, all such animals are much better at predicting the future results than the psephologists!

Interesting is this fact. The psephologists are highly educated. They have the latest technologies to help them. Statistics is literally at their finger tips. Yet they lack the animal instinct when it comes to predict the election results, the voters' mood. 

Election after election, country after country, the poll forecasts regularly go wrong! What I find rather funny is that they never accede their defeat gracefully. In fact, at times, candidates might; but the psephologists, never! 

They would always say that the pendulum swung too far right which is to be interpreted as the death of democracy. In my opinion, nothing can be further from the truth or more wrong because in a democracy, by definition, the people's mandate matters, the voters' decision is final.

Never do the Nostradamus-es of psephology accept this fact as it would mean acceding their defeat, their wrong judgement! Instead they quote the far right! Hardly right, right? Hence the title of our blog today!

Pratima@ Why does psephology fail? I suppose the sample they analyse might not be adequate. Their premises might be prejudiced is another possibility. May be, it is sheer election  or the voter fatigue. Most often, however, their right is not right, and they end up accusing the far right! 

Fraud n victim

 Victimising others is a sadistic streak that the crooks use to trap the gullible. The modes are aplenty. The lowest common most denominator of all such tricksters and fraudsters is the veneer of truthfulness.  Currently, however, the online avatar of fraudsters is rampant, and one needs to be extra careful with such wolves in sheep's clothings.

Why all this pontification? Is that your question? Well, just now I woke up to find an email by one Flo Williams who thanks me for using PayPal, and  promises me that the goods I ordered are on the way. It is a bill for five hundred dollars. The country I cross-checked is east-central Virginia. The city can be Richmond, but need not be.

Very interesting it is! For one thing, I never ever order anything online.  If at all I were to thus order, I would always use the COD payment method. Interestingly, what I have ordered from which shop where is not mentioned at all. But the invoice is perfect.

The best part of the whole transaction is that I do not even ever transact the pay pal way! I do not even have any such account. Obviously, it is some online fraud. 

My first reaction was to write back to Ms Flo Williams that she is mistaken, and that I do not have any pay pal account nor have I ordered anything online, and surely not from the U.S.

Then I thought the better of it. I would show the receipt to my brothers. If further there is any e-mail, I intend approaching the cyber police. Hopefully thus at least one gang of cyber criminals would get caught, right? In brief, in this era of Bitcoins and what have you, every 'pal' is suspicious, especially because people could go to any extent for fleecing, for free 'pay' ! 

Pratima@" 'Pals', pretending to be friends, are actually foes in disguise" is the moral of the story!

Yeh Aamrika MAGA more!

 Oh, no, not to worry. The title of the blog today should not delude you to the effect that I do not know spellings well. It is just that I want to inter-semiotically, that is, across signification systems, that is, across languages play with words and meanings.

Well, how do most Indians pronounce 'America'? Mostly it is "Aamrika", right? Well, my submission today is that the Trump Triumph has yet again proved that it is wrong to 'under-estimate the power of the common man', the 'aam adami', in this case, from 'Aam-rika'!

The Trump Triumph is indeed stunning. In its wake, it has yet again stunned the political punditry as well. Why? How? Let us explore a little the possible causes. The MAGA magic undoubtedly worked, and how! ' Awesome' hugely! It looks as if that was what America wanted, the 'dil mange more' chorus by the 'Aam-rikans', right?

Let us begin this  brief analysis of the Trump Triumph by trying to find out why his opponent lost. Well, the Biden bid was withdrawn a tad unwillingly, and a bit too late. It was not ageism either. His dementia like inefficacies got writ large on the entire world canvas, and rather too often. The whole poor show was harsh on an octogenarian, and embarrassing for a nation 'pride'-ing itself on its 'dream' vibrancy. 

Ms Harris thus entered the arena quite late. She was, moreover, Biden's V.P. She possibly could not hence shake off any of the regime's inadequacies as these were hers, too, by implication, obviously by association. Her abortion insistence, may be, made the campaign a tad too of/by/for women, as if sidelining the larger stakes of economic realities which the MAGA clarion call addressed powerfully, I suppose.

'Remember, it is always the money, honey', as the American dialect would put it. And did not the Mr. Musk moolah add to the MAGA matters? Does that mean that now the trans-national (or is it inter-galactic, eh?) big companies would rule the roost? They, anyways, have in the post-globalised world!

That makes me address the fears that America, which twice defeated women candidates, in the process preferring Trumpism, would now be ultra-conservative. I absolutely do not think so. I am sure Mr.Trump would have learnt from his past mistakes. He is too much a shrewd businessman not to have. Neither would his party allow him to throw to winds a great win for them.

Most importantly, I have solid faith in the institutions that are the checks and balances of any democratic nation. Anyways, more than the Democrats, the Republicans are pro-India, actually. So here is hoping that the tested-n-tried Trump-Modi equation is both MAGA(=make America great again) and MIGA (=make India great always)!

Pratima@None can now accuse the favourite culprit, the EVM, right? And, oh, yes, the international conspiracy theories! Well, it is difficult attempting a Dan Brown in a blog, right?

Less is more! More is less!!

 No, the title of the blog today is not a clever game on words. No, it is not a quote from George Orwell's "1984". Neither is it my attempt to prove how good I am at using that unique figure of speech called oxymoron. Rather it is a response to realities faced these days as a reader. What is this trend currently popular?

Well, very few people 'read' now-a-days. Most people 'hear' books these days. Yes, you read it right. People prefer to hear literary texts. Oh, yes, as for the other 'diy' kinda texts, they choose to hear the summaries!

Personally, I am not comfortable with the idea of listening to a literary text. Yes, the reader has a voice quality one may not like. The pronunciation may be awful. The word stress, sentence stress, intonation may be such that the whole read grates on one's ears. 

The worst part of this 'listen as read' stuff is that one inevitably gets to hear the reader's interpretation. Often it may not exactly be the okay type, forget the excellent variety.  When one reads on one's own, one is re-creating the writer's universe in one's own unique imaginative way. Listening to a literary text is like watching a film based on a great literary text. Most often than not, it is inferior in quality. In this sense, more is less!

Think of it from a larger perspective though. Suppose, one is visually impaired. Such an atrophy is always balanced by a hypertrophy. Most often, it would be an auditory finesse. For such a person, a speaking text that he/she can listen to is a godsend. In that sense, such more can never be less.

In other words, one should never ever generalise, I think. Every generalisation is an over-simplification that lacks the acuity and finesse of a thought-through opinion. It is intellectual laziness, in brief. Such a general perception may appear more, but it is always less!

Pratima@As for the speaking texts, it is, I suppose, a matter of developing a taste for it. May be, one should initially choose texts 'read' by the best in the field so that the psychological resistance to it could be overcome, and one can 'listen' to, rather than 'read' a text if and when necessary and/or inevitable. Anyways, something is better than nothing! Less is always more!

The best medicine

 Generally, ignoring minor ailments is the best medicine, is what I think. You would agree with me, I suppose. In my opinion, be it cough, cold, fever or relationships, whether personal/professional, generally I tend to ignore, of course, absolutely knowingly, the minor disturbances.

At times though, better measures become necessary. Let me give you my own example. Around October 8, or, may be, it was October 9, it rained really heavily, and I got caught in it. As I was returning home anyways, I did not pay much attention to how thoroughly had i got drenched which had happened twice or thrice earlier, too.

As usual, I saw to it that the head is properly dry, and went ahead with the usual routine. Around October 10, my system started prolifically producing phlegm. I had to clear my throat repeatedly, the voice quality had gotten rough, too. 

By October 14, my nose and ears blocked badly so much so I could hear my own voice echoing in my ears while I spoke or taught. I got an earful from the ENT specialist, took the medicines he prescribed. I felt, however, that these should be supported as well. So tried the traditional wisdom kind of medicines, too. Am slowly limping back to normalcy, my typical state.

For a person who generally does not fall ill, surely not easily or often, illness is tough to bear. May be, hence, the traditional alternatives could also help alongwith the allopathic tablets, I suppose. Along side these, it helps to remember people you care for. Laughter is the best medicine, too!

As for people, often ignoring them does not help. No use it is confronting them either as they have either consciously or/and maliciously planned the whole, and as a group activity. Your irritation is going to comfort them as they breeze along their ego trip. I suppose, keeping calm, and trying to find out more (for example, if others are sailing in the same boat) could be a strategy.

Yet another possible medicine is letting these others know that there ARE people supporting you. This afternoon, a lady in the neighbourhood, who I hardly ever talk to, on her own suddenly starting asking how I stay 'all alone', et al. So sweetly but surely I let her know that I am busy with my teaching etc, and, moreover, I often go visit my brothers, and that we are in constant touch. May be, she got the hint, and that is what I think is the best medicine for 'nosy neighbours' types, and other such variants! What say?

Pratima@ It is extremely difficult these days to gauge the hidden motives of people, their curious activities, their subtle machinations! Such people, whether in the personal space,  social sphere or in the professional arena, have complex motives difficult to decipher, especially because they always operate in gangs, however hidden. Being cautious is the best medicine, I suppose!

The Bhaubeej Gift

 You might have read that simple yet superb story entitled "The Gift of the Magi." The moral of the lovely and most touching story is that a real gift is from the heart, and hence always centers around what the receiver adores.

Both my brothers proved this Diwali how faithful this signification of a true gift is. Well, I adore idlis. This morning at 7.30-ish, Sanju, my brother, made me the most luscious, softest idli's with the perfect coconut/coriander/ginger chutney. Divine the dish tasted, offered literally on a platter as it was.

On the Laxmi Poojan day, I was with Raju, the elder between them. My coffee connect is well-known in our family. In soft tones, he asked his daughter-in-law if she would make coffee for the breakfast. One of the nicest cuppa's it was. 

This Raksha Bandhan day, Raju himself prepared the ideal most masala mix tea. So wonderful was the taste that a coffee person like me fell for it.

I suppose, such heartfelt actions without much ado are the bestest gifts. Some sick people may think that I did not get the other typical gifts. Well, not to worry, weirdos! I did get them. But such typical gifts can never be as ever-lasting as these moments and momentous memories.

Well, like the father's, the brother's love is the most selfless. There are hardly any expectations in return. Busy with their lives, they may not meet me every day. Hardly matters at all. I know very well that they sure would be there if and when the need arises! That re-assurance revived yet again is the real Bhaubeej gift, and I treasure it the most! 

Pratima@"The heart of the giver makes the gift precious," says Martin Luther, the great monk, who literally made German a language and initiated Protestantism.

 Rather like our Sant Dnyaneshwar who initiated a social and  signification revolution by translating the Geeta in to Marathi, then just a mere dialect, one among many! As they say, great souls think alike.

Sis-n-bro/is how we grow!

 Big brother! That terror made horrific by George Orwell in his dystopian novel "1984" could be a reality for many in real life, sibling relationships. Lucky I am! I do not have to worry that way.

Sure the sister-brother relationship is more complex than what many senti novels or most typical Bollywood films show. Indeed, flowers and stars would most often than not blush at what they are supposed to say as per the famous song because very few sisters are 'one in million'!

In other words, hype may be hip, but it is as banal as the apparently naughty, actually nutty, smart Alec-y wisecracks that WhatsApp, Instagram types overflow with. A sibling IS for lifetime! No other relationship, except that with parents, is as born and grown up with as the sibling bonds are. 

So much is shared during the formative years that it just cannot be wiped out. Whatever magic as well as havoc life may bring in its wake, our responses, despite all the developments during later years, are defined by our pre-teen years when the closest we are is with our siblings. In short, as sis-n-bro we do grow.

Cousins can never replace a sibling. Period. The reasons are aplenty. That is hardly the theme today though. A brother, unlike a cousin, would never even think of harming you even unconsciously. Whatever might be the compulsions in his life, he would wisely negotiate them so as to be there for you if you need him. In brief, as sis-n-bro is how we do grow, and stay.

Yes, a brother is a silent support, most reliable in a world that is always busy back-stabbing and/or double-dealing. If your brother dislikes something you say or do, you worry yourself sick finding the cause, and the solution to it.

What I like the most about the sister-brother relationship is that there are hardly any material expectations. Most sisters these days are independent, have their own careers, face thousand difficulties, personal/professional, on their own. Yet the real succour if it is found is with one's own brothers who are the same generation, and hence would help the best, in case you need any.

As the sister-brother bond is so born(e) and basic, is not it but natural that Diwali, the festival of hopes, should close with the celebration of this most helpful and hopeful bond? Happy Bhaubeej!

Pratima@Oh, yes, unlike "rakhee",  "Bhaubeej" has not evolved either historically nor has it proliferated due to Bollywood bonanzas. It is very much there in our texts, myths and legends.

Yes, I am aware that most children these days are the only child of their parents. May be, that is why all the tensions and troubles that cannot be shared? 

Oh, yes, brothers are the best buddies and sisters often are strong supports in the "Little Women" mode, right?

A new beginning yet again!

 It is the second last day of the festival that all of us, literally the whole of India, loves. This fact is what is remarkable about Diwali. It does not differentiate between the rich and the poor. Each one celebrates it in his/her own way. In big cities, moreover, many individuals as well as associations take care of the less advantaged.

With the Diwali Padwa, we notice yet another remarkable aspect of our festivals. Our festivals are both individual oriented and yet have a social signification. This Padwa, like the Chaitra Padwa, celebrates the beginning of an era, but in a unique way. 

Associated with this Padwa is the memory of King Bali. It is hence known as Bali Patiprada. King Bali's story is most interesting for two reasons. To begin with, it shows a deep bond between a good, committed ruler and his devoted people. So strong is the bond that there is this annual reunion celebrated joyously year after year.

The Bali story is significant for yet another reason. The powers that be, however domineering, cannot wipe out either a good individual or his memories. The bond remains, the connect continues. In dark times, nothing can be more reassuring! Happy Padwa, hence! Let us celebrate this victory of good over the evil which is the real meaning of Diwali.

Pratima@In Maharashtra, the day dignifies the marital bond by assigning this day as a special celebration of the relationship. What a lovely reminder of a relationship that could be as equal and as ever lasting as that of King Bali and his beloved countrymen.

The real wealth

 It is Laxmi Poojan today. All of us would perform the traditional pooja in the evening. The home-n-hearth would look real pleasant with the glitter of our hard-earned wealth. 

The evening is worth a wait. Some proof it is of our year long sincere genuine commitment to our respective professions. For the merchant community, it is the beginning of a new account book. Even when these days, they might not ever be using the traditional "khatawani", they perform a puja that celebrates the tradition, right?

Let us hence explore the trite notion of what real wealth is. Let us begin (and end) with what Sant Dnyaneshwar says as he is the progenitor of the classical status of our mother tongue, Marathi, right? Yes, his 'Dnyaneshwari' accorded the status of Dyanbhasha to a dialect by en'rich'ing it with deep vision, superb knowledge and poetry felt on the pulse. 

Sant Dnyaneshwar compares Diwali with removing the soot of very many ignorances from our discerning conscientious awareness. That indeed is the real wealth because a mind lighted from within can truly illumine existence, right?

Pratima@Let your inner light shimmer ever. That will illuminate all the "amavasya's", darknesses within.