The Sanskrit Day

  The Sanskrit Day began to be celebrated  1969 onwards. The year marked the two thousandth birth anniversary of Panini whose sutras are the best example of minimally encoding complex ideas. To celebrate the codification power of the language as well as the master codifier, every Shravan Pournima is celebrated as the World Sanskrit Day from 1969 onwards.

In fact, as computers started flourishing, the importance of Sanskrit and of the Panini-ya sutras became better and stronger by the day. It was realised that the "devbhasha" was not merely ritualistic. The incantatory structuring of the magic(al) power of words organised with a particular rhythm and meaning became a source of  interdisciplinary studies between an ancient language and the modern most technology.

In Sanskrit relevant today? Or is it a 'dead' language in the sense that it is neither relevant nor useful in the daily lived lives of ordinary people?  Well, yes and no. Sure, we all have heard of the Kannada village where Sanskrit is spoken, used like any other 'alive'  contemporary language. 

Unfortunately, however, Indian, native, 'desi' languages are getting a beating, facing a retreat, in the post-globalised world today. Hence, the  worry if Sanskrit is going to face the plight of Greek and Latin.

Well, given the 2014 revival of the Indic awareness and knowledge, it is possible to argue that there is a co-ordinated effort to make Sanskrit relevant to daily life. The NEP, with a three language formula of the mother tongue, English/any other modern European language and Sanskrit may help the enthusiasts to effectively revive the language.

Sankrit merits such a revival because it is the mother of all the Indian languages. In the Indo-Germanic group/family of languages, it is the proto-language, the prototype reflected and realised in many sister languages. Hence the need to keep it alive, and beyond the ivory tower academia.

Sanskrit is the language of knowledge, too, be it the Vedic knowledge, our critical thought systems, our great literature, and so on. The Gen Next must become aware of this resource, much revered abroad since the colonial era, though the falsifications that entered the study of Sanskrit in that period need a correction, too. 

The Sanskrit Day must be celebrated with verve and fanfare. There should be a great time full of fun and joyful activities on that day. Thus would emerge the need of learning the language that just cannot be conveniently forgotten. Here is me, signing off the blog page as your Sanskrit emcee!

Pratima@ संस्कृत: अस्ति खलु मम देवभाषा। अपि च द्नयान भाषा। वार्तालापं च  कर्तुं इच्छामि।

Bibliophiles' Day

 The title appears tough to you, right? It is meant to be! Why? Well, in a way, the article is a dirge, a deeply sad comment on a huge lack in the contemporary world. Any guesses? Well, most would not get it because they would not even be aware of the important message hidden in the title.

Let us hence open it up. Well, in simple terms, a bibliophile is someone who loves books, who hence considers reading an essential activity. Indeed a rare species these days! There is, moreover, a rarer still chance of the revival of this extinct species.

Who reads these days? Well, the medium does not matter these days, whatever Marshall McLuhan may have said. Many people are in to the Kindle mode. Though I am a bit wary about them (because they take away the charm of imagining, a core facet of the process of reading), audio books are here to stay. 

Well, given the realities these days, such a change of medium, be it online or be it the audio mode, it hardly matters because things have come to such a pass that not merely libraries, but book shops, too, even of the footpath/the roadside variety are closing!  ''Do people read at all?" That is the 'call' these days.

Actually reading is a gestalt among  the author and the reader and the reality as analysed by the author. Reading hence enriches us both as a scholar, and better still, as a human being.

Hence the need to celebrate the National Reading Day, the Bibliophiles' Day as the title of this blog puts it, as it helps the ordinary indian adore books. It falls on August 9, most often the first/second Saturday of the month, an auspicious beginning, as the week-end thus begins. Sure there are there the possibilities of social/religious gatherings.

Yet the day is an invite to the world of reading as well. It is the day to explore, to analyse, to like, to debate books and the world that they encase! Long live August 9, the revolutionary day in this sense as well, as it leads to the evolution of each and every reader. Long live reading!

Pratima@ Some people are born readers, some people attain the reading skill. No use forcing it. Yet it makes you its own, once it acquires you, like nothing else can!

Happy Rakhee!

 Some time back, though it seems to have cooled down a little, there was a terrible hue and cry about Hindi being imposed on Marathi kids. Appeared more of a convenient political posturing that benefits polls, right? Wonder why I am thus asserting?

Well, look at the popularity of the Raksha Bandhan festivities in Maharashtra. It is not exactly "apla Marathi", our very own, Marathi festival. It came to us via the Hindi Bollywood phillums! Originating in the erstwhile border states which often had to deal with invaders, tying the Rakhee as a symbol for the sister's honour (why, in Rajasthan and Gujrat, in this very spirit, women relatives  may tie, and extremely decorative at that, rakhis to each other, right?) is not a Marathi notion! 

Yet we have assimilated it in good faith, right? Of course, currently like everything else, it, too, is more a marketed (by-n-for the entire consumer goods chain) business! Cultural icons, too, guzzle the consumerism intoxicant!

Actually, in Maharashtra, reigns supreme this lovely story. It deals with Krishna and Draupadi. As usual, Narada is the busybody key figure. He pretends that Krishna cut his finger, and hence needs a rag to stop the profuse bleeding. It is Draupadi alone who  immediately tears off the costliest saree she is wearing so as to tie up the wound.

I think, it is this care, concern and love for each other that the festival celebrates. As it is, sisters these days are self-reliant, and hardly would bother brothers for protection. The thread of affection, love and concern for each other never snaps though, and the festival, in my opinion, celebrates this bond. 

Busy with life, livelihoods, liabilities of all sorts, siblings may hardly find the time to meet each other. The weekly off on Sundays gets reserved for  family, shopping, outings, entertainment, et al. Yet brothers and sister intuitively keep on resuming that unbreakable 'bond' and with 'interest', and beyond any  worldly implications of the words consciously  put in quotation marks. They continue to pick up the threads that never were snapped in the first place! They subtly but deeply  care for each other's well-being in a way none else can. Long live the brothers-sister bond! Happy Rakhee!

Pratima@ The greatest gift our late parents gave us is we/us for each other. Rakhee is the day to celebrate that eternal 'present'.

Sea (and the) Grievances

 It is the Narali Pournima Day today. Actually, that is more of a Maharashtrian festival than the Rakhsha Bandhan which is more a hand-me-down from the Bollywood films. Sure, though, it is now as important a festival in the family-scape as the Bhaubeej. More about it tomorrow.

Today let us talk of the sea as it is the Narali Pournima today. In a way, it marks the end of the monsoon. The raging sea waters , dancing to the tune of the howling winds, start calming down. The fisherman community, that had suspended its seafaring activities due to the marauding monsoon, now hopes to revive its fishing business after a lull of about two months.

To propitiate the sea as god, emerged the custom of ceremoniously offering it a coconut and a puja. As Raju, my brother is a shippie, Papa would always offer the sea a similar puja. I manage with the Mootha as soon as there is some water in that nullah like stream.

I do, moreover, very strongly believe that we desperately  need to take care of our coasts and oceanic water bodies. Due to the climate change, the level of the sea water is already rising. Apparently, by end 2025, the Maldives may suffer the hellish misfortune of submersion under the sea water. The country is already appealing to the U.N. to accomodate its citizens not as immigrants, but as naturalised citizens of their new country of adoption. Huge geo-political, socio-economic and emotional problems are thus already awaiting us;

It is a real threat, and not some petty politicking.  This threat, moreover, is actually materialising already. An entire country, Tuvalu, is supposedly shifting to Australia by the end of 2025. This Pacific island nation faces a palpable threat of imminent submersion due to the rising sea levels!

Such environment induced victimisation is going to complicate further the immigration issue which is already  a bone of contention across continents. Honestly, with the so-called progress develop complex issues that have not merely socio-political ramifications, but deep emotional bo(u)nds as well!

Pratima@ Time we hear and see what the sea is telling us, what with its water level submerging ways of life! Are we soon going to re-live, re-visit the Dwarka disaster in the post-Krishna period?!?

Little Boy, Fat Man

 Very innocuous appear to be the words in the title of our blog today, right? What do you think these apparently innocent, merely descriptive words mean? Some title of a Charlie Chaplin film? Sorry to have to disillusion you! 

Well, these are the names of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 7 and August 9. The Little Boy and the Fat Man caused horrific destruction. Not only the military garrison deployed there was routed but more than two lakhs of civilian population died as well. For generations continued the ill effects caused by the mushroom clouds the atomic fissure generated!

August 15 was the day, the worst in the Japanese history, when the samurai spirit had to bow down to the by then emergent super power! Due to the pernicious power of the Little Boy, Fat Man! Such vicious ways of 'manufacturing consent', to quote Noam Chomsky's title, were yet again tried during the Vietnam war and the use of the Napalm bomb!

Fortunately, the 1945 'Pacific' (how very ironic, right?) war tricks have so far not been repeated anywhere across the globe, though often crises the world over have almost led to a repeat performance. Actually, mankind no longer needs the vicious atom bombs to destroy it. Worse ways such as climate collapse have been invented! In the meanwhile, here are deep condolences  to all those who suffered the pernicious weapon, and its vile effects for generations! 

Pratima@ "The bad man desires arbitrary power," maintained John Rawls, "What movés the evil man is the love of injustice."

The Himalayan Tragedy

 The Himalayas are so divinely beautiful that they remain part of your mindscape even when you are miles and miles away. The lovely hamlets  (perched atop a hill next to a deeeep valley wherein rushes a river with a loud gurgle) you saw en passim, too, continue to allure. 

Though even so far away  from thence, you continue to worry over the  structures built almost in the river bed, especially because the rivers there, given the gravitational pull, are forever rushing downstream, and they can be in spate any time, given the melting of the snow, not to foget the fierce monsoon!

Hence the Dharali tragedy feels very bad. En route to Gangotri, near the picturesque Harshil village-n-valley, the site of  the "Ram Teri Ganga Maili" shooting, lies this hamlet. Very touristy with hotels and homestays, unfortunately too close to the river which some time back had changed its course! 

As most structures there are (for example, the parking slot near the Aarti Ghat in Haridwar) built in the arable fields fed by the rushing rivers, and given the eternal landslides that may happen any second, especially in the rainy season, the Himalayan tragedies are waiting to happen!

This time round, too, it was a combo of heavy rains (though not exactly a cloudburst as in the Kedarnath tragedy in 2013) and the fissures/fractures in the abundant glacial lakes/ponds there. The right side of Dharali is literally washed away, is submerged under the debris.

Given the loss of human lives, not to mention, of property, almost on an annual basis at least, one wonders why people build the way they do! As it is, the young Himalayas have a geology that is fragile. This eco-sensitive zone is earthquake prone, moreover, as the tectonic plates underneath are constantly mobile. 

Sure, tourism is the mainstay of the economy there. Yet hotels and homestays, while being built, must respect the gorgeous Nature there. They must co-exist with the wondrous Nature there, not threaten it with reckless abandon. 

Honestly, there should also be a restriction on the number of tourists even at Yamunotri or at Kedarnath. Otherwise, it could lead to a probable stampede, given the very, almost unbelievably, narrow roads simultaneously traversed by trekkers, horses, palkhi's and pittoo's! Simply horrible would be the result, given the geography!

The Himalayan tragedies MUST be averted, in brief! Vehicular movement, too, needs restrictions. Why, tourists are not devotees, and are there for reel-making, just to prove, nay, rather shriek on the social media the empty boast of "been there, done that"!

Pratima@ The very thought of the Mullaperiyar Dam, situated in the Idukki district of Kerala, but operated by Tamil Nadu, too, is an eternal terror. It was built between 1887 and 1895 by John Pennycuick. It is a masonry gravity dam! Downstream are four connected dams that are huge. No wonder, often there are online appeals to save the 'God's own country' from literally being washed out of existence!

Eh, sab ke kanon ki chein

 Yes, the title of our blog, a take-off on one of his songs that most all love, should reflect the feel, the response, the emotions he evokes in the minds of most of his listeners. Yes, indeed! Kishore Kumar, whose birth anniversary was celebrated yesterday, is a special favourite. Actually, I was not sure yesterday whether to celebrate his anniversary or Thiyyam's contribution! Hence this delay in writing about him!

I like Kishore Kumar for a number of reasons. For one thing, he is NOT classically deeply trained, and yet he is simply superb. Why, during childhood, he had a huge problem with his voice. Yet each one of his songs, whether passionate like "zindagi ke safar me/jo gujar jate hai makam", intense like the "Safar" songs or the naughty ones like the "Chalti ka naam gadi" or "Padosan" songs, or even his classical attempts  like "Mere Naina sawan bhadon" or "Payal wali dekhna" or the "Abhiman" duets or his famous yodels, each one of every variety pleases, nay, enriches our aural abilities.

Tough it is to decide which one is his best. Is it "O, Meri pran sajani" or "rim zim gire sawan" or the songs from "Parichay"? Well, each one is a gem that enhances our listening capacities, right? He is great with every music director and each co-artist. His voice can suit every actor, be it  Dev Anand or Rajesh Khanna or Amitabh Bachchan, right? 

Listening to him is celebrating the festival of sur-taal with our ears. Mind you, this festival can be of each and every type, Diwali to Holi, Rakhee  to Sankranti, 'sawan ke zoolay' to the funerary "koi hota mera apna" or the "hai, tum yad muze".

He is, moreover, a good director, an able actor, a wonderful producer, a great music director and composer, screen play writer, and so on, and so on. As for his notorious whimsicality, I have always suspected that it was a screen to hide the deeply sensitive and emotional person within. Anyways, I have always felt that it is wrong to pass summary judgements on others without truly knowing them!

Instead, better to enjoy, appreciate, admire the variety of artistic experiences his multifarious creativity unfurled for us! In brief, Kishore Kumar marte nahin.Unki ganon ki tarah "amar prem" pate hain! 

Pratima@ Wondering why so much Hinglish? Well, one can admire a multi-talented, zany and yet deeply lyrical artist just thus, right?

An ever-fixed mark

 Shakespeare's Sonnet Number CXVI/116 defines love, at first negatively. " Love is not love,"asserts Shakespeare, "which alters when it alteration finds". Next comes the 'love'ly line from which is taken the title of our blog.

What with umpteen Muskan's and Sonam's not only from metros but from three-tier Indian cities and mofussil areas, tough it is to argue that the definition of love as the lodestar remains valid still. In fact, the final challenge  in the said sonnet, "nor no man ever loved", seems to be the truth of human relationships!

In the avian and in the animal world though, there is hope still! Let us look at a few examples. Due to "Panchtantra", "Aesop's Fables", we associate wolves with duplicity, cunningness and shrewd manipulation. The Dracula stories teach us to consider their howling as an ill omen. Actually, they are exceptionally loyal to each other as a couple. The leading alpha pair as well as all the other members remain monogamous. Why, they share all the responsibilities, including rearing the pups. So do gibbon monkeys and beavers!

As for birds, it is not only the lovely swans whose elegant necks together form the heart symbol who are committed to each other for a lifetime. Bald eagles, and, hold you breath, the carrion cleaners of the jungle, that is, yes, the scavenging vultures, too, are absolutely committed to their one and only mate for a lifetime!

All these species maintain the romance in their togetherness, share every possible responsibility, and remain true to their partners. And yet we choose to call such animals 'beasts'! Some talk of projection of the self on to others, I suppose!

Have we, the so-called higher species, really evolved, one wonders, given such facts! Or in the chase for the apparent 'progress' and prosperity, such smarty pants have lost the real, human(e) selves? Lucky indeed the animals and birds are, it must be maintained, because they neither watch the positively pernicious television serials nor the highly suspicious OTT content! 

Whatever be the reason behind the human betrayals, better to follow our avian and animal friends, and be loyal and faithful. No, it is not the fear of countless contagious diseases. Rather, it is the inner contented feel that thus makes heaven of earth!

Pratima@ Even the weak become strong, when together!

Salamat rahe dostana!= Let this friendship last forever!

 Oh, yes, the friendship day!  At least a week in advance, the friendship bands dazzle in every alternate shop. Like the umpteen messages that start raining on the very many groups! These group messages have a pattern. 

They celebrate friendship as a naughty and nutty, partner-in-crime, affair, rather like the "ehsaan mere dil pe tumhara hai doston" type song of the sixties! So quite    Bollywood-y  messages flood the group. I would not know whether-n-how to agree with such hollow definitions because I do feel quite strongly that a friend STOPS you from (m)any silly naughtiness.

Yes, you laugh a lot together, you enjoy the small to big joyous moments together. But the moment your friend is up to some real mischief, you WOULD stop your friend from such silliness, right? If necessary, you would fight; at times, there might even be a strain in the relationship, but you would not allow your friend any stupidity.

In that sense, friendship is gossamer thin-n- soft, and yet stronger than any steel rod. In fact, I do not even agree with the "in need" definition. One does not use(-n-throw) any body, and surely not a friend. Typically quoted in this context is the Krishna-Sudama example. Honestly, neither used either. In fact, their friendship is THE best example of a selfless togetherness without any misunderstandings or expectations.

Of course, most of us are not that divine. So, at times, misunderstandings do crop up. Yet if you care for that friendship, you do not blow them out of proportion, and you sort them out immediately, trying to understand where you yourself possibly went wrong, right?

SURELY you do not backbite, gossip, slander, right? You are upfront, and forget the issue in the 'let bygones be bygones' mode, right? Unfortunately, MOST relationships these days are the exact opposite of such basic necessities. They are like the mushrooms that crop up in the rainy season, and are equally short-lived. But it is such people who make the most noise about empty friendship, and aloud!

Then who is the best friend? I do insist that your sibling IS your bestest friend. You have shared so much, and especially in your formative years, that NOTHING can wipe out that awareness of each other, whatever might be the changes that life may bring. Birds of a feather do flock together! Your siblings' kids matter to you, your siblings' success delights you, your siblings' unspoken hurts haunt you! Salamat rahta hai yeh dostana!

Beyond that, I think that nature, beginning with the plants in your small little garden, is always a great friend. In the Wordsworthian mode, I can assure anyone that all these moments do flash upon the inward eye! Why, in a way, I am still (lingering) in Yamunotri, Gangotri and Kedarnath. The Himalayas would forever continue to be my loveliest friends. Salamat hi rahta hai yeh bhi dostana!

 Better still is the friendship with books. They are a great mirror which shows the world, others and one's own self in the worst and  in the best light. So are one's hobbies, such as the arts, one's very good friends as they, too, allow you to be (yourself). Artless friendship! Lives in (he)art!  Salamat rahe such dostana, right?

Care for friends who are alive? Nobody like a pet for whom you alone matter, neither your successes, nor your failures. He is never going to mock you, belittle you, smirk at you. Instead, he is just going to love you for being yourself. It is the real "maitr jiwan che" to quote Sant Dnyaneshwar. Salamat  rahta hi hai yeh dostana!

Yet, THE BESTEST BUDDY, in my opinion, is your own self. Salamat rahna chahiye ye (s)achcha dostana! Here you can be as self-reflexive as you want to be. Once you enjoy this friendship, you can always be alone in any crowd, without ever feeling/being lonely! No crises can then crumble you. Forever can you be humble as to thine own self art thou true, as Socrates so said!

Pratima@Happy Friendship Day!                      Feliz dia de la amistad!                                        Schönen Tag der Freundschaft!                           Bonne journée de l'amitié!                                        Yūjō no hi omedetō!                                                मैत्रीदिनस्य हार्दिक्या: शुभकामनाः !                                        मैत्री दिन की शुभकामनाऐं!                                            मैत्री दिना निमित्त शुभेच्छा!                                                               🌺🌺🌺

An eclipse that was not (to be)

 At times, the media brouhaha reaches a crazy crescendo, creating con-texts that do not exist, and thus/thereby hiding the realities. Generally, such is the fate of the celebrities, especially the Bollywood bigwigs. They unite, they separate, et al, though more in the ever active imagination of the media.

This time round, such was the fate of the stars, the real celestial ones and the planets! For quite some time, almost a month, there was a huge hoo-hah over a total solar eclipse which was to be so potent that for six long minutes, the whole world was going to be pitch dark, and that, too, in the afternoon, 12 noon-ish!

Article after article discussed the celestial (in every sense of the term) event in the minutest details, beginning with the oh-so-scientific explanation of the concept called total solar eclipse; why, its entire path was outlined as well. I myself read many such articles, both in English and Marathi, and bothered my brothers with one!

Well, now it transpires that no such eclipse is to happen, at least not in 2025. There might be a partial solar eclipse in September which might not be visible in India anyways.

I thought rather in detail about this event not to be and its reportage. In my opinion, yet again it shows how the current media, especially the "social" version, completely, totally, absolutely lack authenticity. Actually, the media must check, re-check, cross-check, counter-check every iota of information they let loose, eh, "releases".

Unfortunately, in the byte-obsessed world today, who cares for bits of truth? There must constantly be some excitement! No wonder, it is called "breaking" news! 

Sad indeed, especially because it gets forwarded most unthinkingly. If the eclipse that was not to be has taught us a lesson, it is how to be a conscientious creator and consumer of data (the real gold in the AI wor(l)ds) today! 

The AI is hence dangerous because it can be used to create and consecrate half untruths to downright lies to rank gossip as gospel truths! What a "brave new world" (as Aldous Huxley would say) where "falsehood is truth" (to add yet another axiom to the three adages of Orwell's "1984")!

Pratima@Media as the message, as Marshall McLuhan put it, is coming alive in a quirky way, right?

Shine on, bright light! Illumine the surrounding blight!

 You are a Puneite by conviction, if not by birth. You love hence the Pune feel, the famous Ganeshotsav, for instance. You are, moreover, in to academics, and teach in an educational institute that is a DES satellite. Given these major and minor premises, what would be the inevitable syllogistic conclusion? Yes, that you adore Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak like a devotee, right? Yes, that precisely and perfectly describes me!

I revere Lokmanya. I do believe most fervently that but for his national appeal that in those days transcended the class/region/language differences that dog our footsteps today, the movement for independence would not have begun in the first place. In that sense, he truly is the father of the freedom movement.

The way he used the Ganapati festival and the Shivaji memorial to organise, galvanise and synthesize a society that had forgotten its moorings and had lost any hopes for a future fused with freedom is truly radical and yet simply practical. 

Sure, if he were to be around today, he would have re-energised the contemporary contexts lost to consumerism. Remember the "Swadeshi" movement? In brief, as much is he needed today as he was then. As an extremely well-read intellectual, moreover, sure he would have fine-tuned his position on a few issues.

 Anyways, his opposition was to the coloniser interfering in "our" Swadeshi matters, right? Hence his insistence on political independence, while societal freedom could be ours to negotiate within rather than imposed by the unknowing foreigner! I think, that was his oppositional stance. I do not think he was rejecting social reform whole scale. 

Yes, I do think that a brilliant scholar cum activist leader like him is a pretty rare combination. Whatever might be the contexts he would have to face, he is sure to deal with them in a thoughtful way, I believe. In that sense, the prayer in the title of our blog today!

Pratima@ When we were school children, my parents encouraged us to celebrate such National festivals at home, too. Just as she would make us a palakhi to carry around, Aai used to make us give speeches on Tilak, for instance. Ah, to be a  child of such parents/who our thinking thus did crescent!

The Myth Man

 Sant Tulsidas, whose death anniversary falls on August 31, is literally a myth maker. Why, his "Ramcharitmanas" continues to allure the common man even today. In fact, in the Hindi belt, most people would know the Tulsi Ramayan more!

There are any number of apocryphal stories that consider Sant Tulsi Das to be the reincarnation of Rishi Valmiki! Indeed Tulsidas' life is full of miracles and myths, including his birth which gave him the moniker "Rambola". The one I find most interesting is that of Fatehpur Sikri.

A caveat right at the beginning. I have not checked the historical details regarding this legend. I find it wondrous though. Tulsidas' blessings bring a dead man back to life. The mighty Mughal emperor, Akbar, gets to hear about the incident, it seems, and he wants Tulsidas in his court. 

Tulsi Das would have none of it, committed as he is only to "Ram gun gayan", singing of the praises of his one and only lord, Lord Rama. He refuses, nay, ignores as well, the royal invite. The emperor's ego is hurt. He imprisons the saint who refuses to bow down.

Instead, incarcerated at Fatehpur Sikri, he composes the "Hanuman Chalisa", and chants it for forty days. Suddenly the monkey menace has Fatehpur Sikri in thrall. Those days apparently the city is the capital of Akbar's kingdom. The monkeys are everywhere. Why, the harem is not free from the havoc of monkey bites!

Some hakim finally tells the emperor that the cause behind the monkey mischief is his own misbehaviour. Sant Tulsidas is freed. He asks the emperor to move out of Fatehpur Sikri as the capital.

Apparently, his injunction is listened to. Hence the royal but lonely edifices at Fatehpur Sikri! The emperor, ashamed of his earlier demand, now commands that the Hindus would not be henceforth harassed.

I would not know the truth quotient in/of this apocryphal story. Yet I like it a lot. This myth (most probably it might be so) proves the magical majesty of a saint's ethical power that makes legends!

Pratima@What mighty majesty, what naughty nut monkey/before a saint, such spunk is mere flunk(-)ey!

Naturally Necessary

 Necessity might be the mother of invention. Nature, however, is the mother of all that is necessary. Do not you believe me? See, oxygen is necessary for our very life, and Mama Nature provides it in abundance, and free of cost.

Oh, yes, Ma Nature takes such care of so-called non-living, inanimate objects as well. Indeed so! Look at the sea coasts, for instance. Human beings use them most recklessly, as if they are mere inanimate land, to be exploited as much as possible, and most heartlessly, without giving in return!

Yet being a maternal presence, nature continues to care. Hence the mangroves near the coasts. The mangroves may not exactly  be beautiful, like the sea facing villas that human beings heedlessly build. They are, however, truly necessary.

Mangroves save coasts from the sea erosion. Mangroves save coasts from tempests which would otherwise drown the man made cities. Mangroves save many species that make the sea their habitat. Mangroves are mandatory! Naturally necessary they are! 

Unique they are. They can survive despite the brackish, saline water. We would spit water if it is a little salty. They thrive despite it. They are not mere trees. They are an entire eco system. Hope we would allow them to survive. Otherwise, the metros near the sea coasts and tidal rivers would face threats tough to control! Wish we would wake up on time!

Pratima@Subtle symbols of strength and support systems, these roots of the sea save coasts from the routs of the sea!

Incidentally, our very own Sunderbans can prove that mangroves save a special species like the Bengal tiger, and hence ARE beautiful as well as useful, right?

Day@Danger

 The title of our blog today may make you wonder if I am talking of human beings. Yes, indeed, most human beings are THE real dangers on/to/for this earth. No, though! I am not talking of such pernicious creatures.

Which day is it today? To begin with, it is  Nag Panchami today. Now, can there be any other creature that appears equally deadly? Yes, the very look of a serpent is so dangerous that our ancient texts talk of the "sarp-rajju nyay". In the darkness, a mere string may appear like a serpent, and terrorise you. A great metaphor it is when it comes to explaining the confusion between perception and reality.

In fact, in the "Hitopdesh" as well as "Panchtantra", there is this story in which a harmless serpent and a cobra seal a deal. They enter the current of a river, and swim near human beings, and bite them. Those, who see the cobra nearby, die of fear even when they have actually been bitten by the other harmless variety, while those, who see the harmless one nearby, continue to swim happily even when they have been bitten by a cobra. 

The story tells us how our minds construct, our perceptions create our realities. Beyond that though, a serpent is supposedly a farmer's "fast" friend, keeping rats, breeding faster than rabbits, under control. These days, on the Nag Panchami Day, there are not any snake charmers, at least not in the big cities. 

Nature, in other words, must be conserved in its various manifestations. The second animal celebrated today would confirm this belief.  Yes, July 29, the World Tiger Day, is dedicated to the tiger, our national animal, re-turning from certain extinction.

 Extremely attractive, almost hypnotic, truly agile and yet hugely dangerous is this animal. Jim Corbett's tales would confirm the truth of this assertion. Unlike a lion, this big cat appears extremely shrewd and manipulative. May be, Rudyard Kipling's "Jungle Book" and Aesop's tales have prejudiced us much too much against this majestic animal, yet again hugely necessary for the life chain in the forest, and in the final analysis for the human habitat, too.

Here is hence wishing that such wonders of nature survive the human lust for power over nature. Otherwise, life would itself be a danger. Hence the need may be to revere them. In this spirit, let me end by saying that I hope to visit the Battis Shirale Nag Panchami some time as it is supposed to be a great symbiosis of nature and tradition in a humane way!

Pratima@Tiger and Serpent, slithering smart/in the forests that dense are not/ that immortal hand that their fearful symmetry made/hope, would not allow mankind to render them dead!

Please do forgive me, Dear William Blake!

Modern Grief

                           Modern Grief!

A lonely pic on the bare wall./                                In the end, THAT is all!//                                           The plastic garland never may wither./           Dust it gathers hither and thither!//          Cobwebs crowd, fine and thin./                 Memories rust in the dustbin//                            of harried dates to make/                                        so that 'success' descendents bake!//                 Newer photos soon the wall adorn./                 Current grief, for now sad n love lorn!//           'Life' goes on, nothing here stops./                      Yon emojis screen sad beeps n bops!//

Pratima@ 'What' indeed goes on?!?

THE Villain-Part II

 When we come to the Kaurava camp, there are so very many villains that it might appear impossible to pick on any one! Anyways, this gang is always boasting of its numerical prowess. Since the childhood days, Duryodhana time and again tries to ill-treat, drown, poison the guileless Bheema, his bete-noir, with the support of this number potency!

I would like to divide the villains in the Kaurava camp in to two groups. The first group consists of good people who allowed themselves to be caught in a bad 'cont(r)act'. THE best representative of this type would be Bhishma. He errs because of his excessive goodness. As a prince, his duty was to the kingdom, not to the silly lust of an aging king. It is his pledge, extremely well intentioned and loving but absolutely misplaced, that is the seed of the entire destruction. He does not, moreover, rein in the negative forces he has thus unleashed which leads to further havoc. 

In other words, excessive adherence to a misplaced ideal, too much goodness that leads in to a blind alley, the resultant tunnel vision are the real villains. Hence the balanced wisdom of Lord Krishna to which we sang paeans towards the end of the blog yesterday.

The real tragedy of Mahabharata is that in the Kaurav mafia, there are very many such people with good intentions that fetch bad results. To give a few examples, Dronacharya, Kripacharya, Vidur (who does rebel at times though) commit crimes that deserve a chapter each!

The other group of villains in the Kaurav camp are badness incarnate, with very little to recommend them to any re-consideration.  Leading them in my opinion are Dhritrashtra and Gandhari. Dhritrashtra's blind spot, both literally and figuratively, for Duryodhana's stupid wickedness, his final desire to crush Bhima whom Duryodhana so many times ill-treated show a fond (which also means foolish) father, but a bad king. Similarly, if Gandhari as a responsible wife and mother had used her vision, once again both literally and figuratively, to help Dhritrashtra rule wisely, may be, Mahabharata would not have happened at all.

Shakuni, sheer evil egging on the stupid Duryodhana, thus would not have managed to avenge an imaginary affront. Yet another mistake of Bhishma is allowing this crook's interference in immediate family matters. The guiding principles of ruling a kingdom then were well-defined enough for him as the patriarch to end the vicious game this creep initiated. 

The rest of the set of villains, Dushasana, Jayadratha, for instance, too, signify such stupidities. It is one of my hopes to one day write detailed interpretative chapters on all these issues, quoting copiously the Mahabharata, and the abundant scholarship available! 

In the meanwhile, let me conclude this longish blog by maintaining that wise balance seems to be the key to avoid any excesseses that unwittingly lead to evil. Hence the need to keep a check on self so that goodness does not get washed off in an avalanche of the very many modes evil incarnates!

Pratima@May be, I would be thus able in a small way to explicate the much misunderstood Karma Siddhanta, with reference to the Dnyan Yoga, tempered with Bhakti Yoga, that the Geeta expounds! Talk of tall, not high, mind you, hopes indeed!!!

The Real Villain - Part I

 Reading the Mahabharata is a unique experience. Why so? Unlike the Ramayana which consists of ideal characters, the Mahabharata is peopled with imperfect, even downright negative, characters one would never like to come across in real life.

Who is the worst of them all? Tough to decide! That precisely must be the unique appeal of this great text. Let us begin with the Pandavas. Our total sympathies are with them. Constantly are they ill treated, most unjustly, and for no fault of theirs.

Recently I was at the Mana village, the last one in India. A few kilometers away is the Tibet border. It is believed that the Pandavas started their journey to the heaven from here. At the outer most boundary  of the tiny hamlet, beyond the mightily roaring Saraswati, so fierce that Bheema had to plop a huge boulder in it so that the terrified Draupadi could cross it, begins the "swarg arohini", the final road, the route to the heaven.

Here most significantly would get told a tale that points out the faults and mistakes of the protagonists of the Mahabharata! Just a few feet beyond the beginning of this path to the heaven is a tiny temple dedicated to Draupadi. She is the first to fall.

As usual, Bheema wants Yudhishthira to explain her failure to go to heaven. She was duty personified. Despite being the best every which way, she had to suffer lifelong. She bore the tragedies with dignity and grace, too. Then why does not she reach the heaven? 

Because of her partiality, explains Yudhishthira. This discussion goes on till all the four Pandavas have fallen by the wayside, Nakula for his obsession with his good looks, Sahdeva due to his pride in his great fund of knowledge, Arjuna due to his ego about his valour, Bheema due to his exultation over his power. 

Why, the Mahabharata shows that the ever truthful Yudhishthira who is integrity personified, too, lies a little, actually tells a half-truth, as a result of which his chariot, which used to be driven afloat in the air, gets grounded! In other words, the Mahabharata shows the warts and faults in all the protagonists.

It can hence be argued that the real villain according to the Mahabharata seems to be the human condition itself which never allows pure perfection, total excellence. There would be some tiniest fault which makes each and every character in this epic truly human. Why, Shri Krishna, too, is thus human(e). He advocates wise compromises with the human condition! May be, in this sagacious balance lies the meaning of existence. The real villain is someone who does not understand this boundary!

Pratima@Tomorrow let me see if I can explain the other, the downright villainous, side, the antagonists of the Mahabharata as the vices to be avoided.

Incidentally, in the Vyas Gufa, right next to the Gajanan Mandir in the Mana village, there is a rock that has the look of a huge tome! The cave thus proves the truthful vision of Mahabharata, eternally etched in Nature itself!

Shravan Begins...

 The month of beauty and duty, that is how the month of Shravan can best be described. Nature is at its luscious best in this month. It is sheer shades of green everywhere. Coral flowers (=Parijatak), champak (of every variety) are abloom. Thus every slightly damp breath you inhale, given at least the inevitable drizzle, is fragrance itself.

The month is full of fasts of all sorts. Most of these are for the welfare of the children of the family. In other words, each such fast is both, a duty and a joy. The fast is always broken with some sweet, or the other. Yet the green peas curry, the radish-curds 'raita' are simple yet divine to taste. Like the unique  'gopal kala' of the Janmashtami.

Taste truly rules supreme in this month. Puran poli, narali bhat, the Nag Panchami special 'purnachi karanji', as an option the simply tasty 'sudharas'  made of sugar syrup and lemon, the simple but sustaining 'kelya che shikran' every Shrawan Monday, why, the special milk as the 'prasad' every Friday, the month is truly satiating the palate, and especially, the sweet tooth.

One of the nicest of the Hindu festivals, Raksha Bandhan, falls in this month. It celebrates the brother-sister relationship. Sure, it is percolated to Maharashtra due to the Bollywood hype. For Maharashtrians, however, the Narali Pournima is the more traditional festival. Papa used to offer a coconut to the sea, given Raju's Merchant Navy career. I manage with the Mutha, as and when there is some water in its year long narrow nullah version! 

Shravan, in brief, the month of memories, merriment, and magnanimity! The magical, magnetic Shravan! It comes every year with its magnificence and munificence! Why love Shrawan? Aplenty are the reasons. Long live Shravan!

Pratima@ I love all the typical folk stories associated with Shravan because their sugar-coated folksy advice is enriching in a very modern yet traditional, contemporary yet time-worn(e) way. Long live the ever recurring Shravana!

The Nomenclature Matters

 It is the name that shapes the identity. Indeed! This truism holds true not only for human beings, but for days as well. Let me explain what I mean.

The Ashadh Amavasya, the last, the no-moon day in the month of Ashadh is often called "gatari amavasya". This term means that the no- moon day gets spent in the gutters, near/in the drain, rolling in one's own vomit due to excessive binge drinking. The reference is to the vulgar practice of non-veg parties, liberally laced with liqueur, to celebrate the last day of Ashadh as all the "tamasik" food/drink are prohibited throughout the ensuing month of Shravan.

Instead of this ugly and mean and cheap name, how about calling the last day of Ashadh the "deep amavasya", the day of celebrating light, the day when home and hearth get lit up with as many diya's as is possible? There is a pure, pious, clean and almost Diwali-like feel to the premises, be it at home or in schools as some schools celebrate this mini festival with elan. What a beautiful and apt way of welcoming Shrawan, the month of devotion and beauty incarnate!

Pratima@ It can be an occasion that can be used to introduce children to the very history of the concept of light, right? Incidentally, museums like the Raja Kelkar museum have a beautiful collection of diya's used across ages. May be, thus would children's, and adults',  obsession with the notorious blue light of the mobile be less!

Brain, Brain, Oh, Dear Brain

 Which is that one organ in our body which controls that mean machine, our body? The Heart? Oui et non as the Frenchies would put it. Well, you can be put on an artificial heart that can pump, and provide blood and oxygen to the smallest possible cell. So it is not the heart then. And, oh, yes, the same logic would apply to stomach or colon, eyes or ears.

No guesses yet? Well, the only smart and correct answer belongs to the only organ capable of giving it. Yes, it is the brain. A human being can survive without any other organ which a machine can supplement/supplant. Never the brain though! The moment it stops functioning, the brain dead person is persona non grata!

These days, however, this fragile-most organ is the most under stress and wear-n-tear. Hence the need of a day like July 22 which is devotedly dedicated to the brain. 

It is a very complex, truly delicate, and much preserved organ. It is the mother board, while the heart and types can be the apps or the soft disk, necessary but not inevitable. Hence the need to protect, preserve and pacify the brain.

We all know the culprits who threaten the  Brain Dear. Yes, the major most enemy number one is stress, and the artificial placebos heaped on to relieve it, be it,  the drinks, the drugs or adrenaline pumping dangers!

Avoid all these like the poison because they are the poison. There are any number of simple exercises that help maintain the health of the brain, the most important, essential organ for a human being. My favourite most antidote to brain harassment is humour. And, yours?

Pratima@Brain, Brain, Oh, Dear Brain/ let nothing nor anyone push you down the drain!

Mourning

 Why two blogs posted one after another? Is that your question? Well, yesterday I was real tired, what with the lingering fever, refusing to go way cough n cold, reaching my brother's place almost before the day dawned (after years I saw the still sleepy Pune as neither I nor my students have to any longer face the first 7.30 a.m. lecture!), not to forget, the monthly-Date 21-'fast' ( a day managed with two coffees, one tea and two small little cutie-pie bananas) and a journey, was I a little drained! Yet before today technically began, i did complete writing the blog for yesterday, though the uploading may appear as if it is today. Happens!

Yesterday I attended the last rites of my mother's younger brother. He was an Ayurvedic doctor. In his late eighties, he belonged to that by now almost extinct species, the family doctor, the "doctor uncle" on whom three generations, grandpa to grandchild, used to depend.

And, did the Dombivali-kar's rise to the occasion! His patients, most of them themselves in their mid-/late seventies, paid their respects. People stood in a queue at his dispensary. The queue, the relic of our childhood, now fast forgotten in the every which way 'metro'-ized Pune! 

I do not think I am prejudiced, but I am doubtful if any other satellite city of Mumbai would have so risen to the occasion. I am equally uncertain if any doctor of a later generation, given the excessive specialisation and the inescapable 'business' outlook, would 'de-serve' such respect!

And, yet, the usual mourning mentalities managed to amuse me despite the sense of sadness. Well, I do not pretend to be busier than Mr. Modi. So i cannot constantly check my mobile for some mostly re-hashed messages when a corpse, about to face the last rites, lies there awaiting the final farewell from home. I DO switch OFF my mobile even in the classroom, though my lectures, to cut a crass joke, are never dead-ly!

Why, earlier I never used to touch the mobile if there is anybody with me, sitting next to me. Now I have realised that some people do deserve the dose of their own poison. So i do now and then check my mobile in front of such, though it IS mostly switched off.

Awaiting the final moments of the last journey of somebody from your immediate circle cannot be the time spent away in cracking loud jokes, in back-slapping relatives and acquaintances you managed to meet after decades. Can it be an occasion for exchanging pleasantries, invites, addresses, the much desired mobile numbers, and that, too, in a loud voice that can drown the Ramraksha stotra hummed in a gentle way?

None expects everyone to pull a serious face. Why, in their hearts, many might be thanking that the old, with thousand health related issues, are no longer a responsibility, though such honesty  would never match their hypocrisy!

Yet what stops such gossip-mongers from getting up from their place, going to the next room, or the passage way, do the needful (of all sorts, please!) and come back to keep the vigil? Why, nobody is playing musical chairs there, right? Nor are people Fevicol fixed to their seats!

Similarly, I find the senti(n honestly)mental overflow of powerfully exploded feelings quite astonishing. Sure, after death, better to forget the cruelties and the crudities and the conscious craftiness! Better to remember a positive occasion or two, if possible. Otherwise, better to keep the trap (here, too, the over-sharing/showering/shivering mobile screen!) shut!

Here, too, the gang goes in to a overdrive. Persons, about whom they have often shared their real opinions, suddenly are better than saints, gods, or both combined. There emerge all sorts of stories as their memories choose to unroll these tales.

Of course, there is HUGE (read font size seventy-two, bold-ed, italicized)  partiality, groupism, gangsterism even in such remembrances. People the mafiosi do not want to be acknowledged, as they do not belong to their own mafia, or as they never forever back-scratch the mafia, are completely forgotten, ignored, ill-treated, are even laughed at for these very or similar praxis, while their own types are praised sky-high so much so you wonder why YOU never came across this gem! 

Aai used to call such an attitude "smashan vairagy", that is, the rabid response due to the momentary (in all the senses of the term) surge of grief. Please to note, the translation is MINE! Nothing, absolutely  nothing, to do with her! Another caveat, please. These observations, if they bear any similarity to any person, known/unknown, alive/dead, the similarity, it must be noted, is absolutely incidental. No need to find ANY 'Pratima', image or reflection, there(in)!

Pratima@ The quiet genuine grief may often be lost to such exhibitionism which demands that others must see your tears, hear your howls, eh, sobs! Why, the family and friends debate later who cried how much! The reality could actually be the count of all sorts of orders! No wonder, I admire 'absurd' plays of the "Mahanirvan" variety, despite the pomposity of 'those' mafia! Death indeed is an equaliser!

Rains

 Rains have a way of prettifying even the worst case scenario. Why, after the first n sudden summer showers, our urban spaces, often literally swollen in any which way, actually appear clean and cute, like a baby properly bathed by a loving grandma. Honestly, even in the monsoon puddles, with their curious mix of overflowing drains, slush and the leaked petrol/diesel, i manage to see lovely little rainbows! Monsoon, in brief, beautifies!

Given such a truth universally acknowledged, imagine the Express Way (our very own "Autobahn" of which we can reasonably be as proud as Germans are of their own) during the high monsoon. It is wondrous, all shades of green, punctuated by the rivulets of the purest trills of the whitest serene jumping gleefully down the rough and tough terrain! 

Yet, despite all your "Mi Marathi" pride, THE Sahyadri appears quite hillock-y-ish, once the Himalayas have claimed you as theirs! Honestly, such is the grandeur and yet the dreamy allure of the Himalayas that the only possible reaction is falling desparately in love with the Himalayas, as if you are the Kalidasa and Wordsworth combo re-born!

Forget the monsoon, even the sudden summer showers there are unimaginable. Anyways, all along the high terrain, winding, narrow routes, clouds literally play hide-n-seek with you every nano second. The deep ravines, the craggy peaks literally scratching the skies, the dangerous, can-crumble-any-second cliffs, all these threats wear a diaphonous veil of bridal beauty. The sky-shattering thunder and lightening, i suppose, must be the warning of the 'real', the 'Sonam before the police take her away' look the day after, once the costly bridal make-up and re-fine-ry (full of chemicals! so!) are removed!

Silly jokes apart, the Himalayas, with or without the rains, ARE glorious. Yes, I am absolutely aware that I watched all that majesty safely, from behind the panes. Yes, one does know the terrors the cities/towns there face. I suppose though that it is human beings who, too, are to blame. If structures are built in a threatening way, almost within the 'norm'-al way, what else could be Nature's response, right?

In brief, despite all the dangers that could claim your very life every-and-any second, the Himalayan magic "rocks"! Literally! 

Pratima@ Rains!Rains! Blast away/the squalour with which humans betray! / Honest innocence they always besmirch/As comfy respectability they 're-search'!

Consolation

 When an elderly person in her/his mid- or late-eighties, why some people might even draw the line at mid- or late-seventies, passes away, it is almost customary to maintain that 'good, the old tired body did not have to suffer a lot'. It is almost as if long life, quite common these days, gets associated with woes, worries, wounds, and what not.

This common form of consolation, I do agree, may convince the head, the brain, the intellect.  Yet just scratch a little, and underneath lies this heart that very easily bleeds, this mind that more easily is wounded, this soul that never ever easily accepts the absence!What to do with them?

 That room, that corner of the room, the bed, and most importantly, that never ever to be repeated kind touch, loving glance, everything hurts, and continues to hurt. Why, there are days of wild regret for every minor most, but now deeply remembered, mistake, some error of omission by you by sheer oversight.

Mourning continues to keep a vigil in an innermost corner of your being. Nothing, your remembrances of the happy times together, your memories of the very many positivities of the dear departed, some very intense moments that enriched you both, nothing can ever displace that forever tender spot which can get worried open any moment a similar situation arises!

Time flies away, life goes on, routine has to set in. And, yet, the hurt heart refuses to heal. The deep void never ever fills. Honestly, real consolation never ever happens!

Pratima@ Happy masks always hide deep wounds that can wrench open, and easily at that, whether or not the rest of the materialistic world may/not understand the plight.

Oh, 'the tender grace of a day that is dead will never come back to me'! Wrote Tennyson. Accepted, Indeed! Completely, totally, inalienably!

As students, as teachers!

 There are certain professions in which the success rate absolutely depends on the receiver's abilities. Sure, each and every profession is a kind of give and take. Yet certain professions depend absolutely on the excellence of the doer. Let me give you an example. The I/T industry, for instance. Herein your own coding excellence alone matters.

On the contrary, some professions depend more on the receiver.  A few examples may suffice. An artist, for example, performs better if his audience is not of the wafer crunching variety.  The artist performs excellently ALWAYS, yet if the audience is the cognoscenti, the artist's performance excels.

A teacher, on the contrary, is always only as good or as bad as his/her students. Even if the teacher is excellent knowledge wise, brilliant communication wise, if the students are so-so or ordinary, his/her entire teaching capacity goes down the drain! The students' calibre decides the teacher's success rate!

If the teacher is ordinary and/or mediocre, students always have other alternatives to become knowledgeable, such as the apps, the Google sites, the AI 'agents', and so on. In other words, students pass in spite of the extremely poor/mediocre abilities of the teacher. In other words, unlike every other profession, the end result of the teaching profession is independent of the main agent! As many worthy/unworthy students, as the teacher's success rate.

There ARE ugly pressures, moreover, on a teacher. For an imaginary 'success' profile, the institute wants 'everybody' to pass. Even if the teacher may refuse, students at the border line are pushed to the next year by all the authorities concerned.

Parents these days are funny, too. They often over-indulge their ward who is arrogant, rude, ill-behaved, ignorant, and yet has an attitude! Such stupid students want teachers to be clowns who 'entertain' them! 

The teacher, especially if she/he is very good at the subject, has a knack for teaching, but is not 'political' in any senses of the term, is always rendered invisible. Hence the argument, as students, as teachers!

Pratima@The worst authorities are highly political, openly casteist, have a herd mentality, that is,want every one else to be minions in to their group, and are the worst at their subjects. Such people ruin both, the 'discipline' and the institutions.

 

Unity in Diversity

 Very soon would begin the month of Shravana in Maharashtra. Many people observe a number of "vrat" in this month. Often, these rituals mean restrictions on food/eating and drinking. On Ashadhi Amavasya, the last, the no-moon day of the month, people indulge in a splurge of non-veg parties with drinking binges that find them in the drains. The day is hence called "gatari amavsya", the no-moon day of rolling in the drains. 

Once the Shravan begins, there is no non-veg, no liquor. It is supposed to be a month of purification. There are "Satyanarayana puja" in the public sphere and in private spaces, that is, at home/in families. Many people would read a holy text, and so on.

Down south around the same time, though  slightly a little earlier, begins the month of Karkideyam. Throughout this month, in most all homes is read the "Ramayana".  So it is also known as "Ramayana Masam." A wonderful idea indeed to make the common man pious, rooted in his traditions, and by implication, a better player in the public sphere, given the ideal of Prabhu Ram.

In our country bursting at the edges with population, there is an urgent need of such a grounding. Due to such an empty hobby as reel-making  which gives a still more mediocre and hollow reputation (why, there are sites which write your books for you, which publish any empty verbosity as literature, and such people dare to call themselves 'authors'), the societal space has become extremely vacuous, and such corrections are truly the need of the hour!

Pratima@Gone case are the parents who choose to ignore such crass behaviour of their wards which one day is going to land them, the children, in solid trouble. But who cares? So long as people get their cheap high's, any weirdness is okay!

Truths transcending time!

 Do people read the classics? I am not so very sure. Forget the Sanskrit greats such as the plays and poems by Kalidasa, for instance. How about Shakespeare? Do you think people read him these days?

Well, honestly I do not think so. As for the post-graduate English literature students, mostly, they no longer depend on the Google either. It is all the A.l. stuff! As for the other type(s) of readers, this rather famous author in Marathi could be the role model. He has written a book on western literature. Every page therein is a very loud declaration, indubitable proof of the sad but obvious truth that he has not touched even with a barge pole any author, any text mentioned  in his book!

As for Shakespeare, this wonderful person invents a kiss in 'Hamlet' that the prince of Denmark shares with his mother! True, the play does have a latent Oedipal tension. Sure, however, there is no physical intimacy between the mother and her son. 

Forget such horrible anomalies which are botched up summaries. The common man should read the original texts of Shakespeare's plays because they are full of truths transcending time, that is, there is  useful advice, too. "Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none" can be an example. In very simple English, an important truth, " be generous, but trust wisely", is revealed. "Listen to many, speak to a few" is yet another example. And, yet, he makes fun often of such 'wise saws', too! Such a complex vision is the real gift great authors often share!

Pratima@Personally, I am against such a utilitarian attitude to literature which, in my opinion, is a unique aesthetic experience with ethical undertones wherein every word is a gem that shines with beauty and vision.

The Return of the Native

 Yes, sure, the title of our blog is directly borrowed from one of Thomas Hardy's superb  novels, and, undoubtedly, one of my favourite ones. Thomas Hardy IS a great novelist, and his novels can move the cynical most. I should know as I taught "Jude, the Obscure" to successive batches of M.A. students for whom "sub golmaal hai, bhai...", well, less said, the better! Yet the worldiest of them all was shaken to the core, and unaffectedly, that I can sure vouch for, when I related the Jude plight to the immediate Indian context.

Well, that is not our theme today. Let not the word 'native' in the title delude you the typical way either. No, our blog is not going to repeat the favourite rant these days against the "Macaulay putras/putris".

Rather, the title refers to Subhanshu Shukla's safe and sound return to terra firma after a brief stay at the International Space Station. For me, it IS one of those historic moments for us "natives" as we were dubbed by the colonisers. Yet again gets proven the fact that we are as good as our wor(l)d. Remember that cartoon when first we decided to fire satellites in to the space?

This return, precise, on time (unlike the much, much delayed return of the ABCD Sunita Williams from the ISS) proves that it might be a short stay for this astronaut, but it is a huge, giant, long visit of a native, to quote Neil  Armstrong the 'native' way. Hence the title, the re-turn of the native!

Pratima@While the whole nation cheered, tears flooded his mother's, and father's, eyes. Well, I do know this feel as my brother, a Merchant Navy Officer, would go on these looooong assignments. In those days without either satellite phones or the internet enabled communication, every letter posted weeks ago, reaching months later, meant much, a silent heart-felt prayer of thanks, and all the best wishes that no ocean could ever wash out!

Stress skills, too?!?

 However much you may try 'not to be', you have 'to be' on a few inevitable groups. Except for a very few and truly original ones that delight you, most message material is a re-send of re-hash received from other groups, right? 

Yet you do not mind looking it up if it is a video made of clips from an interview of Dr. Hiremath for "Amuk-Tamuk", especially as you may not be watching the 'to do' channel. Yes, interesting is this much re-sent clip. Dr. Hiremath discusses in it his own life which adds to the authenticity as well as sincerity of the stuff.

Dr. Hiremath, the famous cardiologist, narrates herein the story of how his father cured himself after a heart attack at fifty-two. The triune technique that the celebrated heart-specialist son continues to teach others is: proper diet, (right amount of) exercise and most importantly, de-stressing, off-loading/delegating responsibilities.

Though all the three matter much, in my opinion, the last one is the (he)art of heart (for that matter, any organ, why, the entire life itself) care. It is stress that kills. At times, though it might skill, too. 

I should know. Well, when I was absolutely all alone, on my own, in the dicey context (as absolutely anything life threatening can happen any moment there) in the mighty Himalayas, I was perfectly okay. No fever, no cold, no cough, stomach under total control.

Back at home, I fell ill, properly. High fever for the first few days (it took almost a week to subside), cough-n-cold that still continues, slight stomach upset. Yes, I have gulped down all the necessary medicines. Yet, I do think that the real reason why I thus fell ill is because I know subconsciously that help IS nearby. My brothers are just a call away though, of course, I have not bothered them except keeping them in the info loop. 

Stress, in other words, can skill, too. It need not always kill, right? May be, stress, which, possibly, gets self-regulated subconsciously, is a survival technique? Hope I get a chance (of course, not as a patient!) to unravel this mystery with the great cardiologist some day. Yet, right now, multiple self-observations in very many contexts, on very many occasions make me believe that stress can skill, too! 

Pratima@I did wonder though, I must confess, that, this time around, it must be the pure air in the Himalayas that saves one from illness. However much one may care for home, sweet home, Pune pollution leaves a lot to be desired, right?

Ah, yes, I need to read the Dean Penish book, too, that Dr. Hiremath refers to during the discussion.

Flash of a Fiction

 Flash fiction! No, nothing to do with the Texas floods. Rather, a unique narrative it indeed is! Creates a whole world with minimum words! Maximum impact with minimum prompts!

Let us begin with the most repeated/respected example, full of a sense of loss and grief, supposedly by Ernest Hemingway.

 "For Sale: Baby Shoes. Never used." 

Now Yours Truly is going to try her hand at a few examples, and in different genres!

1) The Suspense Thriller cum science fiction

"The only woman in the universe sat all alone in the space station. Suddenly, a 'Space-Ex' careened close, its gravitational pull all amiss."

2) The Terror Tale 

"Deep Trench. The fish feasted on her eyes. She woke up."

3) The Existential "Absurd" Tale

"Thunder and lightening. All was foul. On her fair cheek froze, forever, a tear. Like the South Sea pearl."

4) The Indian Writing in English

"It was the Ganesha Immersion Day. Holding the idol close to her chest, our youngest cried her heart out. At the doorstep, all the elders chuckled."

5) Historical Romance cum tragi-comedy

"Yes, dear, bring me the brightest diamond from India," shouted Mrs.Wicksham as John, her husband, stood at the deck of the departing ship. She wiped her tears with and blew her nose in the 'fairy hanky' he last got her from Africa. Luckily, she had managed to get it from Jack's room the night before."

Pratima@ Ah, yes, you must have noted the allusions, quite ironic though,  right?!!? That is what happens when a student of literature tries her hand at micro fiction. Oh, yes, these could be the beginnings of a proper tale or two, though not always with a moral, okay?

Forts as the Force

 Shivaji Maharaj is considered an ideal leader for very many reasons. It can, however, be argued that his forts, like his famous guerrilla technique, are the real force that strengthened his nascent kingdom.

These forts are built brilliantly in the rugged ranges of the Sahyadri. Not only can they be not seen/accessed from the foot of the high hills, but often they are also not visible/traversed unless one reaches quite near the main gate. As a result, they are extremely well guarded against the  main enemy then, the mighty Mughals spreading their tentacles in the South of India.

How they could have been constructed in those days without any cranes or crushers is itself a wonder. Yet they are perfect examples of both, a powerful military garrison, and a civil center for the families. From water storage to markets, they are brilliant examples of construction excellence.

The other two types of forts, those built on plains and those built to develop the seafaring might of the kingdom, especially against the foreign marauders, are also considered examples of the foresight and fortitude of Maharaj's astuteness as a ruler.

I have not visited either of these two types. I have hiked up a few of the hilly forts though. The sad decline of these marvels due to the ravages of time, the silly comments 'etched' on the ruins, the ugly use of these for vulgar parties by revellers, the resultant mounds of waste, especially of plastic, would hurt the sentiments of any sensitive and sensible person.

 The unmistakable encroachments and the extremely problematic religion-based politicking behind such built-up areas are, moreover, two more worrisome concerns.The ASI rules as well as the indifference of successive governments could be further deterrents behind the deterioration of these wonders. 

It is hence a great news to read that twelve of these forts are now UNESCO heritage sites. Both, the state and the central, governments deserve our heart-felt gratitude for this worldly (in possible senses of this term)  honour as the maintainance of these historic wonders would now be much better. These would now be world wide centers of attraction for both researchers as well as tourists which would be revenue sources as well.

Indeed, it is a truly nice feel that future generations would now meet these wonders not only in the pages of textbooks but also as present realities singing paeans to a great past!

Pratima@ Forts were a force behind the Maratha kingdom. Due to their being declared as UNESCO heritage sites, they would continue as a force in the future as well. Our forts, our pride!

Janiye kaisa tha woh kalakar jisko mila bhar bhar ke dedh sara pyar

 Remember that great song of grief, loss, disappointment seasoned with the disdain for the heartless and feckless world? Yes, from the title of our blog onwards, I am referring to that ultimate anthem of lost love, "jane woh kaise log the /jinke pyar ko.." Why so? Well, our blog today is a tribute to the great genius, Guru Dutt, whose unparalleled film "Pyasa" thus captures the desolation of a poet deserted by the wily world.

In this centenary year of his birth, Guru Dutt, celebrated the world over for his sensitive films such as "Pyasa" and "Kagaz ke Phool" that explore the loneliness of the abandoned-n-distant/distraught artist, deserves such a celebration. Indeed sad is the fact that this director, who gave us the first film noir with a finesse that was absolutely world-class, is not the talk of the town in 2025! Hope Modiji would read my blog, and, may be, a stamp is issued in Guru Dutt's honour!

I am a devout fan of the Guru Dutt oeuvre. Indeed what tremendous variety! He has to his credit the genre, pretty rare in Hindi films, the film noir like "Baazi", for instance. Yet this thoughtful and sensitive soul could direct breezy comedies, intense love triangles, the typical Bollywood types, but with a richness that was absolutely unparalleled. Remember "Aaar-Par", "Jaal", "Mr. and Mrs. 55", "Chaudhavi ka Chand", for instance?

His legacy, much admired abroad as well, is great because of his 'finds', too. It is only an extraordinary artist who recognises and celebrates others' talents. Be it Dev Anand as an actor/director, Abrar Alvi as a script-writer, V.K.Murthy as a cinematographer, Johnny Walker as a comedian-cum- support system of the lone-n-distant protagonist he himself personified, and, of course, Waheeda Rehman, one of our finest and most beautiful and graceful actresses. Oh, yes, ''Kagaz ke Phool" is the first cinemascope film in Bollywood. 

No wonder, the typical Bollywood bonanzas such as song-n-dance sequences come alive in his films that refuse to be the formula types. A trained dancer, this actor/director/author/cinematographer was a power-house of brilliant talent that expressed humane depth as well. So sad that he is not much remembered in his centenary year. He sure would have been hurt deep down though he would have exposed the worldly ruthlessness with yet another "ye duniya agar mil bhi jaye to kya hai?" Rest in peace, Sir, despite such "wakt ka sitam", because there ARE aficionados who may not be chatterati, but are cognescenti enough to admire deeply your superb contribution, the agony of a brilliantly talented but much ignored genius!

Pratima@ I wrote an analytical and detailed piece on "Pyasa" for the celebratory volume by the Hyderabad Film Club. Well, I did feel quite happy that the volume was released by his artist-sister, Lalita Lajmi, who sat next to me throughout the function, followed by a film screening.

 

Botching up with lies!

 Why is it that people lie through their teeth? See, I do not mind it if it is for their self-aggrandising. Sure, it could be to hide some weakness within. Psychologists often argue that those who hate themselves within would always boast a lot in public. It sure is sad. At least, it does not harm someone else, right?

The problem arises when lies are spouted to consciously  harm, displace, malign an innocent person just because that person's very presence is an indirect comment on your existence, right? Suppose, you are a teacher, and you are very poor, at best, are mediocre, at your subject. Moreover, you cannot speak well, that is, neither correctly nor effectively. 

In such a scenario, what should you be doing? Well, if you had an iota of conscience, you would work on your content, your hold over the language, right? Especially because anyways, you get both, a quite hefty salary and a long vacation very often, right? 

If, however, you were born and brought up without conscience, what would you do? Consciously create some ugly plan full of lies that can be easily exposed by even a child? Sad are the people who for their own selfish ends would, and do, help you!

Well, such sick dastards are present in institutions. May be, that is why institutions that once had a great name crumble!?! Much worse, such creeps could be the fulcrums of joint families whom they have in the past so obliged that their dishonourable lies are the word of law for the whole gang!

What should the victim do? For one thing, the victim should realise that subtle and in cahoots are the ways of such people. The nexus they weave is apparent, and yet is not exactly easy to prove. Hence the victim should be clean and innocent, but extremely wary because such mafia are very good at acting in a way whose cause-n-effect chain is obvious, yet difficult to establish.

The victim should, moreover, be wary of the past, present, future motives and endeavours of such hoodlums so that they cannot harm viciously, however much they would try, and in unison, through contacts, nearby and far afar.

Best of all, though, it is to believe in the fact that justice reigns supreme in this universe, and the vicious will be paid in their own coin sooner, and not later!

Pratima@The most important lesson that the victim must learn, however, is never ever to be like these perpetrators of subtly heinous crimes, never ever to botch up innocent realities with vicious lies!

Guru Purnima

 Every Guru Purnima, it is a very happy feel when students, whom one taught more than a decade earlier, too, make it a point to write (an extremely feel-good) message to me. Yes, one does try in one's own way to provide that much needed succour to the young souls, at times at a rather low, nadir point of their  (given the youth) emotional life.

That sense of gratitude is their goodness. From every batch, from each student I  meet, I, too, try to learn something special, something unique. In that sense, I am a firm believer in Dattaguru who could find a guru in everybody and everything.

Despite the kind messages by my students, I, do feel that "guru" is a nobler idea. A guru indeed gives a vision, opens our eyes to truth, right? A guru teaches you humility. At Mana village, for example, Ganesha himself is ready to accept dictation from a great  "Kavi", Guru Vyas. That humility, that grace, that perception are the real gifts of a guru.

Of course, Nature, in its multitudinous forms, too, is a guru.  The best Guru's are our parents, too. On this auspicious day, here is a deep bowing to all of them! 

Pratima@ Gurus, who are merely outwardly gurus, but lie, cheat, double-deal are an insult to the very concept, however much full of piety they pretend to be!

"You and your welfare and safety first"

 Yes, "You and your welfare and safety first". That was the feel of the braveheart, Baji Prabhu Deshpande. Some  three hundred and fifty years ago, in July 1660 to be precise, he fought utmost bravely and intelligently to save the life of Shivaji Maharaj, and in the process, the nascent Maratha kingdom.

In the Pavan Khind (a pass in the Western Ghats, then known as Ghode Khind), with his three hundred soldiers, he managed to finish off the wicked and wily plans of the mighty Moghuls, a troop of at least ten thousand. Why, he himself, even when his head was cut off treacherously, continued to fight off the enemy, and that, too, with two swords in two hands!

He fought the difficult battle most intelligently as well, with the special smart guerrilla technique associated with Shivaji Maharaj and his followers. Initially, hence, Shiva Kashid was sent off in a palaquin to hoodwink the enemies. In the meanwhile, the king was dispatched to the safety of Wishalgad, a fort nearby. Till he could hear the artillery blast indicating the safe arrival of his king at the fort, he, even his dead body, continued to fight and ward off the enemy away from his king.

What huge commitment, both for his king and the concept called "swarajya"! Well, in my opinion, in our lives, too, there is a Baji Prabhu who wards off every trouble in our way, and at the cost of his every, small to big, comfort. SURELY, in my life, there WAS one such superb individual. Yes, you guessed it right. My father!

 I do feel that our fathers are our Baji Prabhu Deshpande's! In fact, I wrote a poem to that effect. Our happiness, our comfort, our achieving our goals is all that matters to that unique individual. He can fight any battle, most heroically and in the most committed fashion so that the final victory is ours! No 'pass' can fail this Baji Prabhu in our individual lives. Every day is hence Fathers' Day in my opinion! 

Pratima@These days, there is an ugly and cheaply casteist reference to "Anajipant". Well, very important it is to remember his contribution, too, and far more necessary it is to never ever forget the very many Baji Prabhu's who adorned the reign of Maharaj!

Animals are the 'love'liest

 Have you watched that cutest and sweetest video from Thailand? Lek Chailert, the lady who initiated the "Save Elephants" movement there, has shared it. It seems that she took shelter under a mushroom shaped arbor as it started drizzling. She was singing along. The entire herd of elephants thronged the place, attracted by the sound. Fa Mai, a cow elephant, felt worried that Lek might get hurt, and kept protecting her with her trunk.

What a lovely, that is, both full of love and beautiful, gesture! What tremendous emotional intelligence and maturity! Most human beings completely and totally lack either of these emotions, eaten up as they are by competitiveness, one-up-man-ship, viciousness, cruelty, self-centered-ness, wickedness; oh, the list is endless! Why waste words on such negativities? Well, the wonder of wonders is that such beasts call poor animals names!

Let me give you another example. My brother has a beagle. As the breed is very cute and smart, everyone likes him a lot. Yet Tashu has a special fund, a great reserve, of love for me. When I go to my brother's place, his joy is unbounded. When I am about to leave, he stares most mournfully. With his nose jutting out of the grill of the balcony, he keeps on looking at me as long-n-far and as much as he can.

Well, for the five or six hours that I am there, he has to play with me. He is all the time hovering around, keeping me constantly in sight. Indeed, like children, animals understand and reciprocate the language of love, and that, too, without any expectations of any return gifts! No wonder, the very memory of that gentle, innocent visage is such a calming balm. Long live the love of animals!

Pratima@At Mana village in the "Devbhoomi", there is "swarg-rohini", the final path to heaven the Pandavas took. There are (rather garish, gaudy and glitzy golden) statues of all the Pandavas and Draupadi about to tread that path, the road of no return. Leading them all is the statue of a dog who, according to the legend, was the only one to accompany Dharmaraj till the end! Sure I remembered Tashu, Jimu, our dogs, and that friend of mine at Yamunotri. 'Dog', read the other way round, is 'god'!

Fare well, Weather

 Does the title of the blog surprise you? Well, 'fare' as a verb means to do, to behave. Let me give you an example. 'How did you fare in the exam?' means 'did you do well in the exam?'. If it is indeed the way the verb fares, the title must surprise you, right?

Well, I read a news item, and it did not fare well with me. It described the extremely bleak weather in the 'devbhoomi', Uttarakhand. Especially were mentioned the districts Chamoli, Rudraprayag, Tehri and Haridwar. It was stated that the rivers are in full spate, and there are landslides galore.

It indeed made my heart bleed. I have recently been there. As luck would have it, neither a drop of rain nor a single boulder from a landslide disturbed my journey. In fact, each one of these districts, despite all the corrosions, both natural and man-made, fared really well throughout my journey. 

Indescribable was their beauty. At every twist and turn that went in to the making of the narrow strip of the road, a newer and lovelier vista would open up. My mind, my vision, my imagination are filled to capacity with those lovely, truly divine visions. My ears can still hear both the gentle murmur and the giant roar of those rivers, tributaries of Bhagirathi/Ganges,  who were at times like a bubbly brook, at times a regular deep stream. Honestly, the mountains and the rivers really felt like friends, long lost but now forever united, eternally together.

It is hence difficult to read that thunderstorms, cloudbursts, boulders due to landslides are destroying that noble beauty full of divine peace. Sure, the climate there IS tough, quite a bully whose rough moods can change any nano second. Human beings, moreover, are adding their own  disturbances. Why, there are houses that are almost built mid-stream!

One knows all the causes. One regretfully accepts, too, that one cannot single-handedly do much to prevent the loss, and yet this mind of mine, this hurt heart, this seared soul of mine refuse to just read the news item, and clean forget it. The only supplication from the bottom of my being is to the Lord who SURELY listens to the fervent prayers, and protects all the wonders one genuinely cares for. Amen!

Pratima@ If such are my worries, imagine the tensions of people surviving there day in and day out. Real bravehearts!

Panduranga

 Panduranga, known as Vithoba in Prakrit Marathi, has been described, praised, venerated most beautifully by Marathi saints. Today let us look at his description by the great Adi Shankaracharya.

At Kedarnath, one of the most beautiful sights, besides the Kedarnath Temple itself and the Bheemshila protecting it beyond all rational explanations, is the Adi Shankaracharya Samadhi sthan. There is a lovely statue of this young monk who literally rejuvenated the moribund Vaidic "sanatana dharma".

Shankaracharya has written a beautiful stotra, a hymn so to say, praising and venerating Vitthala, that is, Panduranga. In his attempt to quail the in-fighting between the two major sects, that is, the Shaivaites and the Vaishnvaites, the arch philosopher of Advaita, calls Panduranga "parabramha lingam", and yet continues to praise him as an avatar of, a manifestation of Vishnu.

Actually, that is the real core of Vithoba's existence. The great Marathi saint, Dnyaneshwar, too, repeatedly presents him thus. The idol, mostly adorned with the Vishnurup, has a crown which has the typical Shiva iconography. Incidentally, in a way, in the Marathi folklore, he absorbs the form of the 'local' deity as well.

The great Shankaracharya praises Panduranga's divine beauty and grace, his captivating smile (which always lingers in his every pic which I get to see every morning as the Headmaster of Aai's school sends it as a token appreciation of the prize instituted in Aai's memory), his Krishna like bluish dark brilliance, his splendour comparable with the autumn moon.

There are lovely references to the jewels that add to the Lord's beauty. Why, the great Acharya refers to the beautiful flute the Lord plays, and whose lyrical melodious sweetness is repeatedly referred to in the Marathi bhakti poetry.  

More than that, Pandurang is "anandkand", that is, the root cause of bliss. The stotra does refer to the Pundarik legend. The core of the stotra, however, is the description of the Lord as "tribhangi", that is, the guide beyond the three doshas, of the three stages of dhyata, dheya, etc. 

Shankaracharya's Pandurang, however, is radically relevant because he explains the idol putting his hands on his waist. The great Acharya argues that this position signifies that the ocean of the world and its multiple ebbs and flows are merely up to the waist, and hence easily vincible. Thus this Lord, the supreme abode of Kaivalya, is the god of gods in this stotra that the Acharya wrote for his ailing mother. 

The lovely lilt of the melodious Sanskrit in the stotra adds to the divine praise in the sholkas which are simply unforgettable. Thus, Pandurang, the elder brother of Lord Venkatash at Tirupati, absolutely comes alive in this symphony of a stotra!

Pratima@In the Pandurang Stotra, we meet the "sagun", that is, the physical form, of the bramhan, that leads us towards the "nirgun", that is, the idea(s), the ideational realities!

Rituals

 Aai was from Pandharpur, while Papa was from Kolhapur. Like my brothers, I, too, am born in Pandharpur. I never ever forget the fact that as a baby, I must have been first put on the feet that were once touched by the great Shankaracharya, and my favourite most saint, Sant Dnyaneshwar. 

Hence watching the Vitthal Mahapuja in the morning wee hours of Ashadhi Ekadashi has been a ritual religiously followed since 2005 when I came to stay with Aai in our Mukund Nagar home. I used to wake up exactly at 2.30 a.m., wake Aai up, and if she wanted, make a cup of tea for her before the transmission of the puja began. 

 She used to watch on the t.v. the warkari procession from day one onwards. Hence watching this early morning maha pooja was a joy for her. I, too, love to watch it. That is what I did until just now.

Watching the poojari decorate the idols of Vithoba and Rukmini is a pleasure. In my opinion, it is a minor art. Look at the Rukmini idol. Making such a beautiful but small little idol wear a nauwari saree is indeed quite some skill. 

During the Navratra, Aai used to watch the entire evening aarti sequence of the Kolhapur Mahalaxmi. Indeed it is an art, this decking up the idol in a rich but holy way. Why, I like the way the priests apply the chandan/sandalwood paste to the idol's forehead, and stick the tulashi patra to the forehead of the idol. The idols literally come alive in a jiffy.

Sure it is anthropomorphism. It hardly matters to me though. I love the love of the devotees for the "sagun/sakar" murti which takes them to the "nirgun, nirakar." Without such touches, may be, theology would be truly  cut-n-dry, and beyond the common man. 

This morning, the Lord in bluish-purple tunic really looked like the "Dark God" Krishna whose manifestation he is. More about him in the blog tomorrow for Ashadhi Ekadashi.

Pratima@i cannot help watching the Kedarnath valley/temple at least for a few minutes every day. Today, the entire valley was diffused in dark clouds, like the Shiva himself, while Mandakini was roaring past, like the Bhagirathi from Shiva's locks.

Luckily July 5, the much predicted doomsday, is past without any destructive tsunami. Let it be so. Let nature's rituals not be harsh this year, or ever. Let the divinity continue to tolerate human frolics, foolishnesses, frivolousness fondly! 

Memories

 Once you have been to the Himalayas, you just cannot let go (of) the journey. The travel/travail continues to tug at your heart strings. Look at me. It is more than seven days that I am back from the Chardham Yatra. Yet every moment is still alive.

Why is it so? In my case, may be, it is due to illness. I am still not exactly okay. I was absolutely fine during those fourteen days. Now though, my body refuses to get back to normalcy. But it is not just the illness. 

Personally my opinion is that the journey continues to hold one in thrall because of the life threatening dangers one escaped due to sheer luck. I had decided that everyday I would spend a few minutes thinking of that travel. Well, I do not even have to look at any videos. The news every day is full of the Chardham Yatra.

Unfortunately, however, the news is always negative. The Yamunotri parents who lost their daughter in a split second to a landslide, the landslides at Janakichatti, at Gaurikund, at Sonprayag, the devotees complaining of the horse-wallahs, the terrible traffic jams sure to last hours on end, only wails and complaints one gets to hear whenever one tries to access the Chardham yatra news.

May be, hence, one cannot thank enough one's lucky stars that saved one from each one of these horrid terrifying horrors. At Yamunotri, there WAS a conscious attempt of the Indore variety. Even when I overcame it, there WERE conscious horse stampedes in the way of my pony. The incident at Kedarnath while waiting for  the special pooja, the Maan village incident, and many more, each time one felt as if people had accepted money for such unfair treatment, though it IS difficult, nay, almost impossible, to provide any proof for such bribing. Well, the company agent, who repeatedly said that 'everything is money game here' openly boasted that he "CAN reserve each and every palakhi in advance" if he so wished!

Just as I wonder at my own naivete in believing people, I cannot thank enough all that is Great, Good, Glorious in this infinite universe for making my journey so safe that storms, landslides, traffic jams, each and every thing that could go wrong, happened ONLY after I was happily and safely out of the venue.

Though such sad memories linger, they immediately vanish the moment one remembers the gorgeous Himalayas. My Himalayan journey was indeed a great, grand and gratifying success so much so that the minute I close my eyes, the beautiful sights/sites I captured moment by moment in my short term and long term memory re-emerge!

Beyond such sheer luck, what must be done to make the yatra memorable for everybody? First and foremost, the obvious corruption must be controlled. Shame on those who can be corrupt in such a scenario! Yet platitudes cannot be a genuine help in the real time world, right? The government must wake up to its duties. There have to be systemic changes.

First and foremost, there MUST be a control on the number of devotees allowed up the dangerous treks whose railings on the ravine sides must be rebuilt any number of times they break due to landslides, given the fragile ecology/geography of the region.

At the foot of, at the entrée point of all these divinities, strict government control must be exercised. Every 'yatri' going up must be identified, whichever mode (s)he chooses. The ghode-wallahs, the palakhi-wallahs, the pittu/kandi-wallahs who take the devotees up must be counted. The Aadhar cards of everybody up there in the mountain ranges must be with the authorities at the time they begin the trek up, and must be returned only when they return to that entry point. I am sure, such strict measures are taken for all the hiking/trekking expeditions, right? Why not here, too?

Thus the revellers who trek up for making reels/videos will be controlled.  People would know that there IS some check on, some observation of their behaviour. The moment the number is thus controlled, the narrow paths would stop being so dangerous. Should there be a very heavy entry fee? May be, yes. Thus, may be, people would stop thinking of "doing Kedar" et al as sheer time-pass!

The Himalayas are very young but very wise. The Divinity must not be tarnished due to irresponsible human behaviour!

Pratima@Unless such strict measures are put in to place, I WILL NOT recommend the Chardham Yatra to anyone 

Why not to eat?

 Just two days away from the Devshayani Aashadh Ekadashi on Sunday, tomorrow happens to be "Kande Navami". Beyond tomorrow, for four months, till Dev Diwali, we would not use either onions, brinjals, or garlic.

Aai was from Pandharpur. She felt rather strongly that the Chaturmas should be followed, and I always respected each of her opinions, every one of her structures/strictures. The tradition continues even now.

Why not to eat these veggies? In my opinion, the religious restrictions often are a way to avoid health hazards, especially according to the Ayurveda. These are the "tamasic" food items that alleviate the passions, it seems. It is believed that the "chaturmas" is health wise so unique that even the Lord goes off to sleep. So the "Devshayani Ekadashi". Hereafter, there is always a pillow behind the idol's nape!

I do not know enough, but onion, brinjal, and garlic increase the "vat" and the "kapha" "tatva" in the body which would be bothersome in the monsoon which, despite the global climate change, still happens to be from June to October.

Personally, I do not need such justifications. If a minor restriction honours the memory of my parents and their simple wishes, I have absolutely no issues following a practice! In a way, it sure adds finer contours to one's character, right?

Pratima@Restrictions are not a handcuff. Wherever we are, in the corporate office or in an academic space, we have to follow certain rules and regulations about our dress code, food patterns, et al. Why not follow them at home to please our elders in a simple way? Why not  not eat onions/garlic/brinjals for just four months, right?

Media Trial!

 I do know that this blog, risque in all senses of the term, may not exactly make me popular. Well, something within me says though, that it MUST be attempted. Yes, I am referring to the Sonam saga!

While it was getting unravelled, I was in the Himalayas. Hence the intensity of the danger,  may be, I can understand absolutely intimately. The treks and trails are so tough-n-dangerous that neither a supari-killer nor a pistol nor a hatchet is required, believe me, if you are keen on finishing off someone!

 Sure, many of the horrendous details of the case I would not know then. One IS quite cut off from such uglinesses, and, yes, one enjoys that grand feel the Himalayas provide in abundance, despite the obvious dangers constantly lurking around you everywhere!

Now, happily and safely back in Pune, with that story constantly being thrown in to one's face ( I am sure the frequency must be much less now!), I have been thinking 'through', rather than 'about', it. Nothing seems to make sense to me. Many, much much too many, doubts cloud my mind.

May be, I am too avid a reader of Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot and Jane Marple and Vyomkesh Bakshi and Narayan Dharap, and types. Somehow though, it confuses me that the so-called double-dealer, the much vilified Sonam is not allowed a single word. It is all the police version, as reported by the media. Forget her legal denying it in the court.

Logically and/or psychologically, if she were indeed such a scheming vamp, would she commit such an obvious crime for which she clearly would be caught? Crime fiction tells us that she would be far more calculating, right? What possibly could be the motive which according to crime narratives drives the characters. NOTHING seems so very attractive about the so-called paramour, Raj, whose mother and sisters were crying their hearts out. They appeared very simple people, not possibly up to much artifice. Neither of the friends of either co-accused ever mentions any 'shadi'  and the 'second mangalsutra', et al 

Sure, I have not gotten in to all the finer details. The very contours of the roughly known narration appear very curious to me. Makes me wonder if "hawala" money or some business deals/interests etc is involved in the murder for which she is being scapegoated 

I find it equally curious that the dead husband is being projected as a saint, if not a god! His mother, unlike the so-called lover's poor mother, always appears on the screen with fancy danglers in her ears, and in good drapes! In the initial videos, she repeatedly says that punishment must be given to whosoever has done it! Indeed, is it business interests of either family that are the real culprits? Otherwise, the Oscar for excellent acting must go to Sonam this year.

Sure, it cannot be a love triangle. In many of the marriage videos, she appears very happy, participating actively in the rituals, too. That Raj fellow appears more an insignificant use-n-throw cog in the wheel, too. There IS something more to this mystery. Of course, I have not bothered to read the details, as I find the entire circus disgusting.

I think, the media are encroaching much too much in to private lives, and unthinkingly. With the tidbits thrown in by baseless gossip and the police, who, may be, want to keep their agenda under wraps, the media have already decided the plot, the culprits, the victim. Roles are too nicely-n-neatly distributed to appear authentic! 

Simple details like the dead body being carried away so far from the scene of crime, and that, too, in such a hilly terrain are difficult to unravel as the place has a proper secure bridge,too. Accountability and/or authenticity, in brief, does not seem to matter much to the media. Incidentally, the victim, too, was video-shot chatting with the perpetrators.

Without any fancy feminist positioning, one constantly gets the gnawing suspicion that there is something much more to this media trial. God alone knows what truths would tumble out during the actual court proceedings. Hope the media would report those aspects of their own current clumsy reporting of  scandal-mongering. They sure would, I suppose, but only if some other screaming headline were not to obsess them then.

Pratima@ Truth will be, and is, out, however much the powerful and the monied might try to push it under the carpet!