The Avian Danger

 What do you think about the title of our blog? Oh, you think that my spelling is gone wrong! No way! No, I did not want to write 'aviation'. True, post the Ahmedabad tragedy in June, such 'flying' menace seems so dangerous that even the "flying discs" of the supposed aliens, too, appear less fearsome.

No, I am not referring to aviation. Yes, the theme today is related to wings and flying. These are of the non-artificial variety though, unlike the wings of aeroplanes or of "flying discs". 

Yes, you have guessed it right. I am referring to the bird menace, a much debated topic currently. Birds are currently making people more furious than the "angry birds''! Yes, let us talk about the seed-, eh, feeding of pigeons publically.

As it is, the cityscape growing taller by the day has expelled the sparrows long time back. Now the only birds roaming the city/metro skies seem to be crows and pigeons. Of the two, crows could at least be supposed to be cleaning the garbage heaps, typical of the cityscapes, in their own winged (who said ' wicked'? True in a way because they do dirty the garbage area still more!) way.

Pigeons, however, are no help in any way, but are sheer menace. Used as they are to bulk feeding twice daily, they choose balconies and all such human households to shit. That refuse is positively dangerous as it carries particles affecting the human pulmonary organs, threatened hugely by pollution anyways.

Unfortunately, religious sensitivities have got intertwined in the whole issue as those feeding the pigeons in a huge and regular way argue that it is a caring and religious practice. They seem to overlook the fact that this comparatively recent custom is literally killing human beings. The complex effect the bird droppings have on human beings seem to be multi-drug resistant, and appear to be leading to a very painful death

Hence the need to control the avian danger. The Covid, which, too, is supposed to be avian in origin, should have taught us the lesson that nature should not be tampered with. Nature does have its own way of species control and balanced relationship between species. When human beings cross those limits for fancy food or for feeding the birds due to a much misplaced pity, dangerous are the final outcomes. Time human beings realise the avian danger!

Pratima@ "Nothing in the world," argued Martin Luther King, "is more dangerous than sincere ignorance or conscientious stupidity." 

Eat to live!

 Time was when there used to be grannies in the family who would have simple but highly effective remedies for typical illnesses such as stomach upset or its other extreme, that is, not enjoying food at all! Soon  such grannies were replaced by family doctors, kind, considerate, curing with simple remedies.

Come specialists and medicine as well as food habits became technical so much so that terms like bumilia, anorexia became household names. Princess Diana was a great help in this process! Actually, as in the West, there is an obsession now with looks, hence on bodily shape. Hence such extremes as either obsessing over food or not eating at all.

In a way, these disorders are, as Pavlov, yes, the one about the mouse and food lever in a cage or about dogs drooling, proved in his Nobel winning research that it is 'classical conditioning' that controls such responses, an observation much discussed in the cognitive-behavioural discussions.

Now, however, neither specialists nor even the googling as an alternative to  medical expertise matters! The AI doctor cum self medicating patient is already here, and may be proved by the "bromism patient."

This gentleman is a shining example of how half baked knowledge is a danger. This sixty year old man consulted the ChatGPT, and replaced sodium chloride, salt with bromide. It had dangerous consequences as he started suffering from bromism which is a condition marked by hallucinations, et al. As this practice was common in the nineteenth century, it is also calld the Victorian disease. The patient, almost near death, had to suffer the psychiatric ward as well.

In other words, the receipe to a happy and healthy gastronomical satisfaction is to eat to live. Nothing "obsesses" in such a case. You need no extreme diets that have a yo-yo effect on weight gain. Actually, the traditional lunch/dinner plate from Maharashtra is the best. Well, food is the real medicine in a way. Yes, sure one should indulge the taste buds now and then. Yes, it is necessary to make our guts strong enough to stand the street food now and then.

But never live to eat! It leads to terrible obsession with weight, and hence with grams and milligrams of protein and fat and the BMI, and so on. Most importantly, never follow the ChatGPT for advice about food! Better to remember that it is still a student, hence prone to mistakes, right?

Pratima@Actually, I intended to write about the glories of the Indian Space mission as August 23 is the Space Day. Yes, india is making very confident strides in the space. What I like about India's space walk is that it is ready to take along other countries in this journey as proven a few years ago when the Indian shuttle carried along other specimens, too, including those from advanced countries! We have already celebrated Shubhanshu Shukla in our blog. Hence better to avoid the repeat as there is a surfeit of such information!

The "Matru Din": Mothers' Day, the Indian Way

 Shrawan is, in my opinion, the month that tells us how to be. That is my take on the rituals in Shrawan. Let me put forth a few examples to fortify my argument. "Nag Panchami", for example, teaches us how not to treat a snake merely as a menace. Extremely benevolent for farmers, snakes, too, have a place in the scheme of things, is the lesson indirectly imbibed in us. 

Look at the story of Nagpanchami. A farmer's plough cuts the tails of the hatchlings of a serpent. Furious, the snake wants revenge. It forgets to bite when it sees the daughter of the family praying to God to keep her 'brothers' safe. The tale tells us not to harm even a snakelet as the earth belongs to all, and to seek a bond across species.

It is this spirit that prevails on the Narali Purnima Day, too, i think. A sea in fury due to the monsoon can be hundred times more dangerous than a cobra. However, just as a farmer needs a snake, so does the fisherman the sea. The month of Shravan,  in my opinion, teaches us to consider such a bond, holy, beyond mere utility. Hence the typical rituals, I suppose,  associated with the Shravan festivals!

It is but natural hence that the month ends with a celebration of the most misunderstood animal considered brainless,  actually toiling the hardest, the bullock. True, in the era of hydroponics, who cares for a bull? Yet the traditional rituals associated with the day reveal the deepest concern for this beast who labours in the field, without any complaint or without (m)any thanks!

The month of Shravan, the month of regeneration across Nature, what with even the barest hills lush with greenery due to the monsoon, is actually a month that venerates the maternal bond. The very first day of this festive season begins with the "Jivti Pooja", a mother's ardent prayers for the well being of her children.

The very picture of the "Jivti" that adorns the "devhara" of most all Maharashtrian households is a tribute to this life sustaining relationship. Is it any wonder hence that the holy month ends with the Matru Din, a day devoted to commemorating the mother?

The last day of the lunar month, the no-moon day, the amavasya  according to the Hindu calender, is otherwise never considered auspicious. Yet the last day of the Shravan, dedicated to the mother-child bond, becomes holy. Such is the power of the mother love!

Pratima@i would like to conclude by saying that the way Shravan is celebrated and the manner in which it ends, it is a great tribute to the mother principle that sustains, and beyond mere biology. In other words, the Mothers' Day in our culture is larger in signification, is more empathetic, and hence truly special! Long live the Matru Din, the Indian Mothers' Day!

Ageism

Which is the worst disease in our country? Tough to decide! Yet ageism would rank really high in the hierarchy of diseases, though here is hoping that such an abomination does not exist! Want proof that ageism IS a major dis-ease in India? Well, look at August 21. It is both, the World Entrepreneurs' Day, and the World Senior Citizens Day.

There was some hoo-ha in some places, including some educational institutes about the entrepreneurial day as start-up's matter a lot, especially amongst the youth. The other day, however, just did not register!

Do I hear a murmur that it is so celebrated in America? Ah, are not indians obsessed with America, despite Trump!?! Their sons and daughters might accept the lowliest salaries there, constantly shift jobs offered literally by the year, while the Damocles' Sword called the pink slip always hangs dangerously low in the AI era! Yet what matters to most happy families is that Gen Next is in the U.S! How does it matter that the Green Card list is longer than the tail of Maruti in Ravana's Lanka!

Given such obsessions, the American Senior Citizens  Day should have mattered a lot hereabouts, right? Incidentally, the euphemism called 'senior citizen' , quite an Americanism, notwithstanding, ageism IS rampant in India.

What is ageism? It is harassing, dishonouring, ill-treating an individual because of his/her age. India,supposedly a country of the young, is very good at it. The respect once traditionally accorded to the elderly has vanished in to thin air some decades ago, while the majority of the youth are nothing to write home about, obsessed as they are with consumerist dreams the market place makes them wallow in mindlessly.

Most of them do not even know the basics of their specialisation at the degree level because they never attend lectures. Not attending lectures is a boast according to them. Nobody is bothered, least of all their parents. They are, moreover, very rigid about only their way. Anyone who does not agree with them has to be on the high way! 

Such shallow 'wonders' would always mock the "senior citizens" as they are so encouraged from within the folds of  the family itself. Actually, most seniors have a lot in them which can enrich the relationship sphere, the familial space as well as the workplace! No wonder, the Modi government recently declared special positions for senior professors, and, mind you, there are no age limits! Nice to know india is anti-ageism at least at some level! 

Pratima@ We ARE our energy. The biological age does not define us.

Behave human(e)ly

 In 2017 was released a lovely Marathi song written by Sameer Samant, sung by Ajit Parab and Mugdha Vaishampayan, and set to music by Kaushal Inamdar. It was from "Ubuntu". The words loosely translated are as follow. ''This alone is our prayer/like human beings behave with (an)other."

It captures the soul of the notion called United Nations human aid, irrespective of the usual suspects such as race, class, gender, region, language, and caste. The Baghdad bombings in 2003, and the death of more than twenty humanitarian volunteers who were there to help the war torn Iraq led to the initiation of this memorial day on August 19, known as World Humanitarian Day, which celebrates humane conduct.

Unfortunately, however, missing precisely is this feel. Even within the so-called family circles, people funnily gang up to target an  innocent individual or two due to their own misconceptions, their ego, their eternal competitive one-up-man-ship, their malice and petty jealousies, and their ganging up to avoid looking at the downright  bad behaviour of someone who got them and theirs cushy comforts!

If such are the so-called extended family relationships, imagine how warring nations would behave! In that torrid, toxic, terror-filled atmosphere, easy casualties are the UN peace, humanitarian aid candidates who die because to help the vulnerable they try. The day is to mark their martyrdom! Indeed an honourable concept worthy of emulation, not just once annually, but every day!

Pratima@Behaviour is the perfect mirror to the real 'I', hidden at times even from one's own self!

Gentle Giants

 She sang. They stood transfixed, circling around her, without harming her. It was raining. They formed a protective wall around their keeper. They are always news. Big, at that. That is because they are hugely gentle, too.

Yes, I am talking of elephants. Truly gentle giants. Why, nearer home, remember Madhuri? No, silly! Do not be absurd! No, I am NOT talking of an actress. In the AI era, human beings have to be better informed! I am referring to the cow called Madhuri. Yes, a female elephant is, too, called cow.

Equally vigilante were the Kolhapur-kar's. They threatened to boycott the Jio package, a radical decision in a social media obsessed era! I do not know the locus standi of the Supreme Court proceedings regarding this issue. I do remember, however, how even muni's, the hermits from the aashram where she was a resident, wept while Madhuri was being taken away. A scene straight out of Kalidasa's "Shakuntalam"! Trees, creepers, animals, are upset; why, Sage Kanva, too, has tears in his eyes when Shakuntala is about to leave for her marital abode!

Elephants ARE indeed special. They are extremely intelligent. Their IQ is a scientifically established fact. So is their EQ! They respond to gentleness and kindness in kind. Unlike most human-beings, the real beasts on two legs.

As a herd, too, they are better than most of the human beings. They care for the elderly. They are always together. Unlike indians, who under the pretext of a false notion of modernity, are as heartless as is possible to the old and the fragile whom they leave to fend for themselves. 

No  old age homes, neither nuclear family kind of vicious selfishness amongst the elephants. Why, they mourn their dead. They return to the spot of death, unlike human beings for whom the 'shradhha', if performed at all, is a heart-less ritual, somehow finished off!

Of the wild animals, they must be the only ones to be regularly domesticated. Sure, wolves evolved to be dogs, a lovely transformation for which we should be eternally grateful. Equally committed and genuine are elephants! 

Remember the childhood visits to the zoo, and the reluctance to leave the elephant enclosure, given their kind invites to cuddle up to their trunks, their cute little eyes mischievous, their large ears flapping in joy?

No wonder, Lord Shiva chose the elephant head for his son! Come the Ganapati festival, which is approaching fast, and there would be any number of articles stating the attributes of elephants!

Elephants, in brief, are family! Every which way!

Pratima@The gentle giants can be a huge danger, when provoked. There are stories galore of the elephant  trouble, in fact, menace, whose forest dwellings actually human beings are encroaching! 

Remember the Aesop story of the elephant who taught the tailor a proper lesson for his wicked idea of 'fun'?!? 'Tit for tat' was the moral the gentle giants sure seemed to have learnt from the crooks called 'human' beings! 

Happy World Elephant Day!

The Magic Wand of Enchantment

 A flute is truly an infinity of melodies.  There is something indescribably lyrical, gentle and melodious in the very sound of a flute. Given its very structure, easy it is to find deep, spiritual meanings in every, in fact, in the very note of a flute. Truly it is a wand of enchantment. Why, Shri Krishna's flute allured not just the gopi's and Radha, but every sentient, alive as well as inanimate aspect of the entire universe.   

My brother, Pinaki alias Sanju, the youngest in our family, has been for the last three years learning how to play this truly divine instrument.  A software engineer with a giant of an MNC,  despite a very busy tight schedule, every weekend, he has been religiously attending flute classes in the Flute Temple Institute run by Deepak Bhanuse Sir.

On Sunday, August 16, the institute celebrated the eighty-fifth birthday of the flute maestro, Pandit Keshaw Ginde. The ceremony was organised in the Bhimsen Joshi Auditorium, Aundh. All the disciples, ages ranging from twelve to sixty, participated in the programme. 

Initially, after the customary Sarswati Poojan, performed the young ones. Most played the flute, one kid played the synthesizer. Their attempts were  quite confident, a tribute to their  "guru" and their regular practice. The next event, however,  was the real hallmark of the morning ceremony. 

Twenty disciples of Bhanuse Sir and Ginde Sir played in unison a beautiful composition by Ginde Sir. Entitled "Kalyan Navrang Sagar", a bouquet it is of six 'bandish'es that mix-n-match the 'sur's and the structures of 'raga's that can form a musical team. The rendition was so mellifluous and so attuned were all the twenty disciples that their dream of practising and playing all the six one by one would soon be  realised. The tabla, pakhwaj and keyboard 'saath' was absolutely professional, and added the perfect rhythm to the performance. 

What was remarkable about the event was that it was disciplined, properly organised and performed with gravitas. Why, there was a proper 'aarti' and a cute dahi-handi in celebration of a landmark  event in Panditji's life. Surely, he must have loved such a wonderful tribute paid by his disciples!

Pratima@ In his much quoted "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard", Thomas Gray has penned the following brilliant lines: "Full many a gem of purest ray serene/The dark unfathom'd caves of ocean bear//Full many a flower is born to blush unseen/And waste its sweetness on the desert air."

The quatrain refers to the sad plight of the talented, of a genius never accorded the recognition due. Why do I say so? Well, Bhanuse Sir has prepared world's first and only earthen flute. Extremely difficult, almost impossible to design and bake, it was inaugurated at the hands of Panditji. Next, Bhanuse Sir played a few notes on this unique instrument. The notes were beautifully melodious. It was a hallmark event that sure deserved the hype that goes to the pre-decided music contests on the television channels, right?!?

Trump Aced!

 In a card game called "Bridge", Papa was,  and both my brothers are very good at it, there is this highest trick called "No Trump". Currently, it best describes, of course, absolutely ironically, the Potus, that is, the American President, supposedly the most powerful person on the earth. Mr. Trump, in his bid for the Nobel Peace Prize (of all the awards!), has indeed reduced himself to "No Trump"!

If his first Presidency ended with that impossible attack on the Capitol, his second go at it initially generated a lot of hue and cry, absolute sound n fury, of all varieties, what with his MAGA promises, his open war against woke-ism, his send-off's to illegal immigrants, his threats of the tariff war, much more dangerous than the dreaded Third World War.

Well, currently he is "alone, alone, all all alone" (to quote Coleridge), what with the "best buddy", Mr. Musk, not on talking terms,  and the backlash to tariff war from literally all over the world. The most astounding of his truly silly acts was the screaming at Zelensky. After all, he, too, is the President of a nation,  war-ravaged at that. The public spat was crazy because Zelensky and Ukraine were supported all along by the U.S.A. 

But for that support, Putin would have long time back made Ukraine the Russian territory. After all that 'tamasha', which gained huge sympathy for Zelensky, now he chooses to meet Putin! Poor Alaska! Must have frozen to below minus hundred or some such thing, given their glacial vibes. Why, Mr. Putin publically put down both, the American President and the pesky pests called the American Press!

Trump returns from Alaska empty-handed, though there is no knowing what Putin, who was accorded that awful aerial welcome, might have, in the spirit of an avenging angel, given such public put-down, made Trump accept. Zelensky must be laughing his head off, too! With the much desired Nobel Peace Prize receding further and farther  beyond-n-beneath the political/international horizon, Trump is truly aced!

Pratima@ He is just a President chasing his dream, eh, award, and the world, too, is facing an impossible adventure! (Along the lines of "i am just a girl chasing my dream, and enjoying the adventure" a typical Mills-n-Boon-y  quote!)

The Krishna Consciousness

 As it is Krishnashtami today, the roads are full of the excesses of the human pyramids that show the vanity of the organisers, least concerned with the safety of the "govinda's" who participate in those difficult, dangerous formations. Rather, the "organiser's pride, neighbour's envy" stuff!

The internet, too, is overflowing with content as there are multiple interpretations of the Krishna Consciousness. Let me see if I can add my bit to the discussion.

Why is Krishna truly likeable? In my opinion, we like Krishna because he is always fair. He is never ever partial or unfair. He has many relatives, whose hearts are darker than the Yamuna on the darkest night of the month! 

Look  at his own Mama, maternal uncle, supposedly should be the nicest relative! Krishna's Kans Mama is after his life even before he is born, not to forget all the horrors he sends the nephew's way. Even then Krishna continues to be fair to him, to Jarasandha, to Shakuni, to Karna, to Jayadratha, name any villain in the 'Mahabharata'. Krishna is always fair and impartial. Why, when the Yadu clan, his own people, misbehave, drunk on their riches, he gives them, too, a piece of his mind.

Yet another reason behind Krishna's likeability could be that he is forever supportive and accepts support as well. Zillion examples can be given from his life, Draupadi to Sudama to the headstrong Balarama to Subhadra, to prove Krishna's supportive nature. Look at, however, how he is supported, too.

 His parents get incarcerated because he is to be born. They gladly accept the punishment for a crime never committed. His father braves the Yamuna in spate to save him. His mother suffers the pangs of separation for his welfare, while Yashoda and Nanda love him to distraction even when their own daughter dies in his place, given Kansa's cruelty. The entire Gokul loves him, follows his advice even when he is a child. He sure is a miracle kid as the Govardhan Parwat or the Kaliya Nag incidents prove.

Yet another characteristic of Krishna that i love a lot is his very open, equal and democratic discourse. He forever helps, always teaches, eternally clarifies, but always leaves the final decision to the person concerned. Remember the choice he offers to Arjuna and  to Duryodhana, who chooses the vast Yadu army!

He never ever imposes even his divine will on anybody, not even on villains! The best example, however, to prove my rather unusual point would be the Bhagwad Geeta itself. In that great treatise, he discusses the Dnyana Yoga, the Karma Yoga, the Bhakti Yoga; the three types, namely, satvik, rajas and tamas of every activity and personage; he reveals his grand avataar. And, yet the Geeta ends with, "यथेच्छसि तथा कुरू!" , that is, "do what you want". In other words, he allows Arjuna the total, complete, inalienable freedom of choice. Indeed how very truly divine! 

No wonder, the Krishna Consciousness is attractive world-wide!

Pratima@ Yet another unique point about Krishna is that he understands, appreciates, loves quiet, mature, sensible devotion. The best example of this would be Rukmini who, unlike Satyabhama, is happy with a tulsi patra and a parijat flower. Another could  be Meera who lives the Krishna Consciousness even when she is viciously, cruelly and bitterly ill-treated and punished for it.

 I would hence like to state that Krishna is for the people, of the people and in the people ( and their hearts) who truly understand the real Krishna Consciousness!

The Unique Day

 August 15 is always special. Each and every year. This year, it is unique though. Why? Is that your question? Our blog tries to give you a few answers.

Well, it comes after that entire Trump threat fiasco. Countless cartoons and thousands of memes prove that the ordinary Indian has not taken it much seriously. Yet it is a quandary, absolutely arduous at that. The government, however, seems to be handling it with finesse, a policy much needed in a multi-polar, post-globalisation and post-liberalisation world where rules the "each  country  for its own" diktat. Which other day but the Independence Day to celebrate the management of the tight rope walk?

Equally important is the fact that it falls in the post-Sindoor success era. Yes, arguments that appeared endless raged about the Sindoor Operation. Yet the most unfortunate Pahalgam incident was undeniably a proof that terrorism does have a religion!  The Indian response was indeed fitting, beginning with Colonel Sofiya Qureshi reporting the military moves because her appointment for this office effectively  proved that WE do not differentiate on the basis of either religion or gender.

In other words, our 'tryst with destiny', initiated exactly seventy-eight years ago,  seems to be working out, despite all sorts of hiccups. Hence the need to celebrate in style the beginning of its entry in to the seventy-ninth year.

When we thus peer in to the future, a peek back in to history matters, too. This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of an event that was a blight on our very functional democracy despite all sorts of attempts to sabotage it, and despite the very many snide comments about its certain failure. Yes, I am referring to the Emergency which has turned fifty this year. It did teach us how to guard against the glaring loopholes that can threaten a nascent nationhood. It showed, moreover, how resilience bounces back, and becomes much better and stronger in the process.

Yet another reason why this day is special for a film buff like me is that 'Sholay', a film that changed the very terrain of Bollywood films, turns fifty today. About 'Sholay', in great detail some other time! 

Today is unique, in brief. Let us celebrate it with panache!

Pratima@ Yet another reason why today is special is because it is the Krishna Janmashtami today. About Krishna, more in the blog tomorrow. 

On the eve

 It is a customary practice that the President would deliver a speech on the eve of the Independence Day, the Republic Day, that is, occasions that matter in the national context, the "fetes nationales" as the Frenchies would put it. The Prime Minister would address the nation from the ramparts of the Red Fort on the Independence Day. The President's and the Prime Minister's addresses behove larger issues. 

For a nation (a concept currently contested, both in theory and in praxis at many levels) to progress, very much necessary are the "on the eve" and "on the D-Day" ideas, notions, thoughts of citizens as well, right? Hence this "on the eve" attempt on our blog.

Whatever be our profession, we must pursue it genuinely, not merely for the namesake nor merely for monetary gains, right? If you are a lecturer, you should try and make your students like the subject, relate its relevance to contemporary contexts, put it in a larger perspective beyond grades and degrees, right?

Instead if you teach as little as is possible (with the autonomy of institutes, such an educational practice is easier as you design and teach the 'syllabus', you set the question paper and you correct the answer sheets! Sure, even in the centrally, that is, at the University level, created question paper setting, the professorial cliques with the back-scratching 'camaraderie' have their own ways to 'in-form'), leak the paper but oh-so-indirectly, give ten marks on five, correct thousand answer sheets in a day, generally freely distribute marks/grades as if they were the birdseed so as to remain in the good books of students, colleagues, authorities, whom are you deceiving except your own self, right?

Do students respect such teachers? Even if they cared the least, should not there be, instead of groupism and petty politicking, professional integrity as well as personal ethics?It is such loose, lax loss that ruins institutes and disciplines, right? And in the wake creates obsessively self-ish  Sonam's and Muskan's!

Much worse is casteism, a concept crafted and continued by the colonisers, currently carrying much weightage. Identity wars are so fierce now as religion, region, race, language, class, caste and gender are its parameters. 

In an era when science  n technology are  constantly re-organising realities, the AI being the most obvious current example, is not it necessary that you, too, are genuine in the 'progress-ing'  scenario, right?

In brief, the citizens'  to-do-list has to be large(-hearted) for a truly vibrant india!

Pratima@ Can a nation progess if its citizens could not care less!?!

Born to rule the wild, both, the jungle and human imagination!

 Yes, indeed they are not merely 'born free' as Joy Adamson's Elsa proved. They are born to rule the wild, both the wild, that is, the wild natural state and our wild imaginations. Lions are unique. They are special. They are majestic. 

Their very look has a regality, even an innocence. They do not appear mean or shrewd or manipulative. Unlike a fox or a wolf or a hyena or a tiger, or nearer home, a cat, even when genetically they may belong to the (large) cat family! Instead, they seem loyal, genuine and caring.

Of course, that is because we see them from afar! Yet look at their "prides" ( a truly apt term!). Unlike tigers or cheetahs, they are very social. There is a clear division of labour. There is a strong bond. Not only cubs, but wounded and old lions are taken care of by the other members of the pride, it seems. The only other group that is so sensitive is the herd of elephants, well-known for their emotional intelligence and high I.Q.

May be, that is why, next to dogs, if there is any animal, especially of the wild variety, that is accepted as a pet, it is lions. Dubai sheikhs have such costly and rather dangerous, and quite cruel (remember, lions are 'born free'!) hobbies. Yet there are any number of YouTube videos, 'real' reels,  that show the human-lion friendship, especially because the lion was taken care of in his 'cub' days!

Hence despite "The Lion King" which I adore, my favourite lion story continues to be "Androcles and the Lion". Androcles is a nobody, a mere slave. He helps a lion, the king of the forest, who is in trouble. He removes the thorn in the lion's paw, dresses the wound, takes care of him, and then goes his way. As he is a run-away slave, soon he gets caught, and the cruel punishment meted out to him is severe so as to make an example of him.

In the open arena of the gladiatorial ring, he is thrown in front of a very hungry lion who is fiercely roaring. The cage door is opened. The hungry lion lunges at him, and wonder of wonders, starts licking his feet. The public, who had come for entertainment, is amazed. Well, it is the same lion whom Androcles had helped! 

This is after all Aesop's fable. Yet it appears plausible because lions, as I said, rule the wild, our imaginations included! Indeed there is a huge need to allow this king of the jungle to rule unfettered as he is a major link in the food chain,and thus truly necessary for the good of our species! Long live lions!.

Pratima@ On the occasion of the World Lion Day celebrated on August 10,  let us just remember how the king of the jungle rules very many of our cultural icons, and most royally!

One item, hence,  very high in my bucket list is holding a lion club in my arms!

Stereotyping

 Most people love to stereotype, right? Brahmins are bad, their ancestors harassed the entire society, is, for instance, the usual rant! The extreme corollary of such axioms is that the Adivasi's whose honour is celebrated on August 9, and who have their own unique 'culture', but no 'religion', and hence are supposedly free from any Brahmin influence, are the best.

They are, moreover, the most ill-treated, exploited for generations, and so on. What we seem to be missing in/about such generalisations is that they are partially true, and partially downright false, and, at times, are even made-up.

Indigenous tribes, for example, have been exploited world wide since the era of the colonisers, and they sure deserve the societal help. The Rousseau-esque romanticism has undoubtedly dinned in to the societal genes the concept of the 'noble savage', though, of course, wrongly, and  without even grasping, forget actually reading, Rousseau's texts/concepts! Oh, yes, as for the Indian tradition, in the Vyas Mahabharata, the Eklavya story is vastly different, while the original Valmiki Ramayana does not have the Shabri myth.

The "WhatsApp-y" knowledge, actually half-baked misinformation, and most often, brutal propaganda, is the real culprit. Such stupidities make 'forward-ers' forget facts! Now the Adiwasi "pada's", in India, for instance, too, are not immune from the LPG phenomenon, the media onslaught and its side effects, what with the internet access penetrating the remotest areas.

Hence the Adivasi's, the ' indigenous' Indians are no longer the romanticised "ghotul" dwellers! Look at our Rashtrapati-ji! Unfortunately, come August 9, and there are political opportunists poisoning the societal space through sheer nonsense such as the Dravidian race was defeated by the marauding Aryans, actually meaning Brahmins, who must now be thrown out of India. And such ideologues fulminate against Fascism, Nazism; Hitler and Mussolini being their pet peeves!

Actually, Brahmins have been out of power, had hardly any political clout for generations, at least in Maharashtra. Yet, even today, they lead the "conscientising"  efforts in/for the society. Then why such conscious targeting which is at its peak in the South and the North, and is surely spreading its tentacles in Maharashtra?!? Remember, a small time leader had threatened to burn off all the Brahmins in three minutes!?! Political leaders, shifting their stances in ways that would shame salamanders, back such ridiculous nonsense for temporary political gains n mileage, conveniently forgetting the harm to the societal arena.

August 9, a holy day for the whole of India, cannot get reduced to an indirect "Chale Jao, Quit India, Brahmins" behind the garb/veil of the World Indigenous Peoples/Tribes Day, known as the Adivasi Day hereabouts. Well, that is because such targetting is the worst stereotyping that would shame Gestapos, too!

Pratima@Involved in such false narratives are sheer misleading lies. Here is an example. True, Khadi was a major tenet of the Indian freedom struggle. But Gandhiji surely never insisted on a 'khadi rakhee', right, as asserted on many 'forwards' shared on WhatsApp groups?!?

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.