All for Art's Sake!

 Wor(l)d(s) these days happen to be absolutely 'art'-ificial. Their meanings are indeed mobile currently. If such are the times, can arts flourish?

Oh, yes, 'Arts', as an academic discipline,  once the h(e)aven of the truly talented, is now the reserve of the worst refuse of the the educational field. Let us not talk about that 'Arts', hardly worth a discussion by any, except those preparing for the competitive exams, right?

Instead, let us look at the fine arts. Be it plastic arts or performing arts, currently there are a few trends that are quite obvious. Either it is pop art or the folk art. It is rap dance and warli paintings that sell, right?  The 'curators' would prefer an abstract or a folksy painting, okay? If markets, guided by advertising and business-men, thus dominate the sacred space that should be guided by genuine creativity and imagination, where should those who care for purity hide? 

Sure, an artist cannot live in the ivory tower. If, however, trashy serial-ised melodrama or sheer fluff without a thought through core, sells as literature, what can be the future of an author? All types of arts, pure and/or applied, have a huge threat posed by the AI!

Yet I am sure that arts would survive because in its genuine voice lies the oppositional strain that questions all that is dross in the current context, and thus holds forever, a gentle yet tensile, murmur for a better future. Three cheers for arts on the World Arts Day! Long (would sure) live arts!

Pratima@ Artists die, trends dither; Art lives, and forever  

Fond Frankenstein's!

 Have you read Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein"? Yes, the first ever science fiction in the whole world! Sure it narrates the tragedy when self-aggrandising fools tend to play god. In the process, they generate demons, literally devils, they themselves cannot later control.

These days the devil thus out of control is the social media. The so-called "big tech" companies, without a large heart, have let loose these unseen addictions. Yes, you can see a dipsomaniac rotting in his own vomit, a junkie behaving weirdly in her drug induced trance. But you cannot know what goes on behind the closed doors your young ones bang shut on your face, while they are busy scrolling, often mindlessly, the  social media sites. 

The ghouls the social media maddeningly manages has everything that is the refuse of the human spirit. There is huge bullying, rustic ragging, terrible shaming (for such reasons as age which is the stupidest because everybody is older than someone), constant cheap attempts to invade privacy, weird attitudes about women, sex, and so on, and so on infinitely!

Do not you believe me? Okay, listen to the British Prime Minister who in the British Parliament discussed "Adolescence", a web series in four parts, which shows how a teenager from an extremely loving, perfectly ideal family murders a school girl under the influence of gaming and social media induced male rage. 

Honestly, the big bad world is no longer at bay, far far away once you close the main gate shut. In fact, behind the closed doors of your children's rooms (the pampered silly brats who do not know the "c"  of creativity, the "d" of discipline or the "i"  of intelligence/imagination, but only the "b" of boredom), through gaming and social media, the worst refuse of the world, prejudices, violence, meanness, viciousness, is injected directly in to the empty brains of your children in an addictive way. 

As a result, you have newly married brides (too! Truly sad!Pitifully patriarchal!) murdering anyone convenient from the new family, students never studying but getting pushed from year to year by educational institutes to put forth the show of "hundred per cent" results! In the balance hangs the fragile future of generations to come!

Well, Frankenstein could not control the monster he created. Hope we wake up at least now. Let us have happy discussions across the dining table. Let the dictum of "at least one meal together (without any digital contraption nearby)" rule the roost again. Considerate and kind communication by parents is the key if we are not to be fond(that is, silly and foolish) Frankenstein's!

Pratima@Communication is indeed necessary because the social media create a unique lingo, the crudest mode of the exclusionary 'in-group' mentality which pavés the way to all possible hells!

Peacock Parenting

 Heard of Kathleen Saxton? She is British. She is a psychotherapist. Her book is due in September, 2025. She has released a chapter from the forthcoming book on the internet. And, boy, is there some storm!

Why? Well, Madame has introduced in it a new style of parenting. She calls it peacock parenting. Oh, let the nomenclature not deceive you. There is nothing attractive about this freshly minted mode. It reflects excessive narcissism of the parent.

In the Western behavioural analysis, narcissism is the ultimate sin. It refers to an obsession with the self. The notion originates in the myth of Narcissus, an exceptionally handsome youth who is not aware of his own charms. One day, while drinking water from a brook, he gets to look at his own reflection, and falls insanely in love with the  comeliness reflected there, that is, with his own image.

He is so enamoured that he would/could not leave the place by the brook, and wastes away there. Jupiter, or it could be Apollo, takes pity on him, and turns him in to the Narcissus flower which blooms by a water body, and bends over it, as if it were Narcissus looking at his own lovely reflection. Involved in the myth is also Echo, his beloved. Let us not get in to that tangent right now. 

Given this mythological reference, Narcissism stands for people with excessive self obsession, total disregard for the feelings of  others, and craze for constant praise while brutally hurting others' feelings forever.

In the Western world, children's behavioural issues are always rooted in the parents' personalities. A child's adult insecurities would be found rooted in the childhood  frailties of parents. The worst type of parents, hence, are the narcissistic who are so much self-obsessed that they could not care about the child's welfare.

For the Maharashtrian mindset weaned on Sane Guruji's "Shyamchi Aai", such a parental profile is tough to digest. Why, every now and then, we have actors/singers reciting paeans to parents. In my opinion, however, there is no knowing with the Gen Z, or whatever. 

Personally, I believe that once you grow up, you make your own choices. Often these choices are influenced by many other factors than the parental power. The spouse could be a magnet much more commanding and dominant than the poor parents whom many children do not even get to meet months on end. Self-interest is another factor. Why to blame poor parents, and how long? Better to accept responsibility for oneself, and ASAP, right?

Pratima@ Mostly, there are more much-too- much-over-indulged and ungrateful children than worthless parents, right? Why, epics like Kalidasa's "Kumar Sambhav" and Milton's "Paradise Lost" begin with reverential references to parents. These, of course, are to the divine/the deities or the pre-lapsarian parents of mankind.

White Lies!

 I had just completed my M.Phil. I had registered for a Ph.D. with a UGC JRF/SRF. I was simultaneously trying for a doctorate from the U.S. I did get the okay from three universities. In fact, SUNY (State University of New York at Buffalo), a highly respected university in the U.S., sent me all the necessary documents as well. There was a small little hitch though. They were ready to fund me from the second semester onwards.

Papa was insistent that I go. He was most willing to fund the Sem. I expenditure. Well, till that point, my entire education was through merit scholarship as I was always a rank-holder, if not the topper. It was not that I was "proudy" (as indian English puts it!) but I felt that it could be a little dicey to be so very dependent on the whims and fancies of a distant dream. 

Well, I remembered all of it this morning because, as usual, i found a Youtube video flashing on my screen. This particular video described in detail the absolute raw truth of the U.S. job situation since 2008, post the Lehmann-Sachs meltdown, not to forget the shenanigans post-January, 2025, that is, post Trump trumpeting his desire to oust all immigrants, legal included. 

The white lie indeed is the American dream, in brief. In all the senses of the term 'white lie'. It is an un-truth by the White, and every which way.

Much worse, however, is the white lie by the non-white, especially in India. They pretend that in the post internet era, nobody knows that they are lying through their (non-white, once again in all the senses of the term) teeth about their happy, happy h(e)aven! 

One just pities them their lies, and not only because of the very many videos that tell the truth about the job realities in the U.S., Canada, and even the whole of Europe. Of course, as a person who teaches/translates these literatures (always THE mirror to reality from the days of Aristotle!), one knows the truth anyways.

But the best alibi are the honest who do not mind stating the obvious. At Woodland, where Aai stayed with Sanju's family (she loved the stay every which way), she was very friendly with a doctor there who immensely liked her because she never ever grumbled the typical way, despite being a senior citizen.

Their friendship continued even after Aai came to stay at Mukund Nagar. By extension, she became our family friend, too. Both her children are in the States. Both of them are brilliant, toppers type. Her daughter, a gold medalist here and a Ph.D. from John Hopkins, a highly respected university the world over, is yet, almost a decade later, to get a job/an assignment which promises that so-called American dream. Her son, an engineer here, with an M.S. there, has to constantly go job-(s)hopping, not to forget settling at times for whatever is dished out.  

I respect our friend for her honesty, and pity the white lies about/by those who could not honourably scrape off a decent degree here, and would be rejected by many a company in India. One knows very well why they work where they do (Texas, to give an example, where the taxes are lower, but so are the pay cheques), and all such white lies! Yet again, one feels like stating the obvious, that is, O, Lord, can you forgive them because they know what are doing/saying!!!

Pratima@The white collar job situation across the world is tough. Would it get worse with the A.I. and the robotics striding fast the lie of the land?!?

Jai Hanuman!

 In the Hindu iconography, there are deities that are extremely lovable. Children adore them. Hanuman from the Ramayana is one such ideal character. Most kids tend to like him a lot, right?

If we explore his persona, most interesting it is. In my opinion, he is a wonderful combo of the hard and the soft power. For sure, he is the very name of physical prowess. Why, he can lift an entire mountain! Equally gentle, however, he is. Look at his adoration of Rama who resides in his heart. 

As a follower, he is total dedication incarnate. Yet he knows his limits, too. When he located Seeta in Ravana's Lanka, he could have easily carried her back. He, however, reveres her and respects her commitment. He completes his assignment, conveying Lord Rama's message, most conscientiously, but without getting in to any overdrive. 

Personally I like his curious nature. Remember how, as a kid, he tends to grab the early morning sun as a unique fruit? It is not merely an adventure. It is an attempt to internalise the unknown as well. No wonder, he is a "chiranjivi", one who would live forever as great is his desire for knowledge. Hence he is found in the Mahabharata as nestling on Arjuna's pennant.

Children love his comedy especially  in burning the Lanka. The more the demons try to ill-treat him, the more they ill-treat themselves. In my opinion, however, there is a message in this act. I suppose, this is the way a "special correspondent" would behave, right? If ill-treated, just give the enemy a taste of his/her own poison, and thus a proof of the prowess of one's own side. 

He is close to nature. He can cross a sea, he can carry a mountain, but without harming even the smallest squirrel, right? May be, he should be thus the reigning deity, the harbinger of sustainable development, I suppose. In other words, he seems to harness nature to man's advantage, but without destroying either, unlike the 'progress' these days. Nothing can hinder him, nor does he harm anyone or anything!

Last but not the least, in my opinion, he can prove Darwin's theory most interestingly, right? However, the way we have 'progressed', forget Lord Hanuman, every flea-infested, scrawny monkey would be ashamed of such descendents!

Pratima@My youngest nephew used to call up Aai each time Hanuman would get shown on the t.v. He had to narrate the whole story yet again to her. Real defender of the childhood innocence and faith hence this Rama devotee is!

Misunderstandings!

 Misunderstandings! What are they? How are they formed? Most importantly, why are they formed, rather, consciously  created/constructed? The motive matters, and the motive is malicious most often. To trap someone so as to please someone else, or one's own bloated ego, is most often the motive, right?

Okay, let me give you concrete examples to prove my assertion. Look at the Mangeshkar issue, for instance. To begin with, why are misunderstandings being bandied against the late Lataji? Ugliest things are getting written and said, and that, too, on record! Forget the respect due to a dead soul. The vicious malice is such that it just cannot be missed. Most interestingly, while saying the ugliest cusswords against her and the rest of the family, nobody is bothering to find out their version, the other side of the coin!

Just because you choose to blame/tarnish someone/some institute out of your mean malice does not mean that you are right! For SURE! Remember, even the worst criminal is given a chance to defend himself!

In the same context, why is it that the newspaper/TV journalists do not ask some basic questions such as the need to impregnate a woman with the IVF, especially when she had cancer issues? Her highly vocal sister-in-law herself said that there were cysts. Well, why did the lady not choose to deliver at the Indira IVF center? How come they could pay the extremely hefty fee for an IVF? If the husband concerned is a PA of an MLA, how is the family a deserving one financially/income-wise? Why did the family choose to argue for five long hours if she was heavily bleeding as stated by responsible officials @the Women's wing? What does Sassoon hospital have to say about her admission? If she was so heavily bleeding, why was the delivery not done the same day? Why did Surya hospital wait for the next day? Did Surya hospital not require the estimate for the neo-natal care of the poor pre-mature babies? One weighs 600 ounces if the media reports are true! Poor baby! What about the responsibilities of Surya and Manipal Hospitals where the delivery and the unfortunate death happened?

Much worse is the 'case' of Ms Sangeeta Lote, and her story. When the video flashed on my YouTube, I felt very bad. It moved me . But today I watched another video by Dr Deepak Jagtap which, with proof, trashes all the claims by Ms Sangeeta! Honestly, one gets the feel that there might be a plot to trap either some individual or the hospital itself.

 Is it internal politics because somebody, not wanted for whatever the reason(the person is so good, in fact, is excellent, that the very presence shows others in extremely poor light, for example? And, hence,) needs to be gotten rid of? Or is it party politics? Land grab? Hospital control? Very clear it is that through half truths, misunderstandings are consciously getting floated!

Horrible and horrid it is when one knows very well that mafia of all sorts are ganging up against you. But one cannot do much as there is no concrete tangible proof to show them up. One knows very well that one is being targetted consciously, and that misunderstandings are consciously being generated, and floated, by the powerful and mighty and monied who hence have cheap following, while one is all alone! 

Well, the only reaction can be, Lord, do not forgive them. They know perfectly very well what they are doing!

Pratima@Where, and when,  misunderstandings serve others as an advantage, one is helpless to make oneself understood.

Laughter is the best medicine!

 Poor doctors!  For sure, exceptions may excuse themselves.  So, currently poor doctors are taking so much rot from all possible sides that they sure would not mind a silly joke, or two. So here we go!

1) Why do dalmatian dogs often visit an ophthalmologist?

Well,  they always see spots everywhere around!

2) What can you call a doctor who can fix websites?

A URL-ologist!

3) Why did Dracula go to  meet a doctor?

Well, he was coffin!

4) What did one tonsil say to the other? 

Behave yourself! The doctor is taking us out.

5) Can an apple keep a doctor away?

Well, depends on how well you aim!

Hope all those who are hitting at doctors day in and day out would try this innocent trick!

Pratima@ How can a robot blame the doctor if the virus is within?

The world is a theater

 A stage! That is how Shakespeare described life.  His much anthologised "The Seven Stages" must have been a text at some stage of the 'English Studies' aspect of your academic career, right?

Our blog today uses a similar metaphor, but slightly differently. To commemorate the recently celebrated 'World Theater Day', on March 27 to be precise, let us analyse how theater operates actually, every moment, every where. 

Meet anybody anywhere. You feel you are meeting a role and a mask. Sometimes, for instance, this role and mask could be that of a relative, of  a colleague; why, these days even students are busy playing a defined role, too. It is both amusing and depressing to see how the role and the mask consume the human being beneath.

In a way, that is the tragedy of treating life as a theater.  In the 'play' for amusement, may be, for edification, too, there is artifice. It is artistic. It opens up the 'hamartia', the tragic fault in the main character which leads to the downfall. An example could be Othello's jealousy and his self-doubts which are fanned by Iago's manipulation.

In the 'stage(d)' version, there is catharsis, too. That is to say, for those three hours, we can identify with the characters, feel both pains and pleasures vicariously, learn from the faux pas of the characters, and go home happily, having learnt a lesson or two.

In real life, unlike the reel one unfolding on the stage, the daggers drawn are invisible, but for real. It is extremely difficult to distinguish between a hero and a villain, eh, between a friend and/or a foe as most people you meet are busy playing a role to merely their own advantage. Such manipulations make comedies bitter and tragedies trenchant in that showmanship called 'acting' (up) in real life. The theater here is thematics that has a plot that is most crudely commercial, badly business-like, meanly money -minded, and  forever!

Who watches a play these days, they say. I am not so sure. Why, life itself is full of theatrics!No wonder, Shakespeare's Hamlet felt that plays 'hold, as if, a mirror up to nature"!

Pratima@ Theater, unlike reading a novel/a poem, is a group activity, whether it be a comedy or a tragedy. The farce called life has masks that are most alienating! That is, in fact, comically the greatest tragedy! 

Health IS Wealth!

 1948 was the year.  April 7 was the day.  Yes, that was the day the World Health Organisation was floated. Ever since, the day is known as the 'world health day'. 

Currently health is wealth for sure, but less for an individual, and more for an industry or two known as the Pharma/pharmaceutical industry, the food and beverages industry, the nutrition.. industry, the medical industry , especially its alternative version. 

Well, health is wealth these days. Given  food habits and the almost totally sedentary lifestyle, multiple are the 'dis-eases'.  Very many futures, totally unsteady, are victims of conditions such as stress disorders, panic attacks,  suicidal tendencies, and what have you.

No wonder, holistic health is the panacea. Often, it is merely placebo though. Even then, it is better than ill healths of many varieties. Long live the day, but let 'dis-eases' disappear as if magically!

Pratima@ Let health be the wealth of individuals, not of related industries!

Tariff pe tariff!

 Remember that famous one-liner by Sunny Deol of the "dhai kilo ka hath" fame? Well, just change it a little, and it describes real well the muscleman of international politics. Yes, you read it right. 'Don' Trump! And his "tariff pe tariff"!

Trump came to power with the MAGA promise to his vote bank. This "tariff" war that he has waged against the whole world is to appease his group of voters. His argument is apparently simple. America has been 'exim' targetted. Our, American, products are levied more when we export them, while we charge less when we import any. Tit for tat henceforth!

There is, of course, much much more to the trade war that has inevitably resulted. Sure, Americans have to line up for stuff as basic as toilet paper because of the sureshot backfire tariff by the rest of the world. America, too, is going to face scarcity and price rise.

That, of course, would be a temporary phase. America is absolutely aware of its military might. The gold reserves it has, and the resultant invincibility of the dollar as an international currency are "Trump" cards, anyways. So the isolationist strategy would  be protectionism for the local, native, American industry, a cushion cover to grow, and fast. Thus, in the process, will America be great again.

How about the rest of the world? Is a new 1929 Great Depression looming large on the horizon? Forget the share markets, even the farm produce and the industrial products are at stake. China, the hub of not merely the raw material but of processed products (however dishy/dicey the quality may be, as the collapsing skyscrapers disaster due to the recent most earthquake proved yet again) every which way has already entered the fray!

As for India, the service industry such as the I/T, is sure to take a huge beating. America may not have the required trained manpower. But the value of the Indian manpower for sure would be halved. America, moreover, is insistent on the deportation of even the legal immigrants. Tough negotiations ahead, in brief.

As it is, America provides huge subsidies to its farmers. As a result, in addition to the I/T turf, India would have to guard its agri-products market as well. May be, the "Make in India" kind of programmes also need to be re-energised. Like China, India must present itself as the best place for the production process. Who knows? There might be a huge opportunity hiding in this difficulty!

Regional coalitions has to be another solution. In fact, the U.S. is wary of the BRICS floating an alternative currency. Such de-dollar-isation is America's real worry! That could be the solution, too, to the current impasse. The total failure of sanctions against Russia, however, should show that such tricks do vanishing the best! Anyways, we all know who all are America's coalition buddies, right?

Tough, in brief, is the future. Later this year, when America meets India at the negotiation table, sure our armour would have no chinks in it either. Let MAGA not hinder MIGA, neither the 'let the rest of the world be great, too' mo(ve)ments!

Pratima@The earthquake that the trade war has released is truly high on every scale. Equally unpredictable it is! Hope, it does not release impossible tsunamis in its wake!

Shri Ram

 Like most expressions and events these days, 'Shri Ram', too, is hyper politicised. In that fray called politicking, the opponents of the BJP employ its (mis)uses to bash up their adversaries. Why get in to those deep-n-dark waters?  Well, the recent Mangeshkar incident proves how half truths lacerated with emotional drama can be used to incite public emotions, and ignite hatreds.  

On a pious occasion such as the Ram Navami, why get in to such ugly meanness-es? I at all remembered the politicisation of 'Shri Ram' because the Ram Temple at Ayodhya, it should be kept in mind, is a movement (as proven with/thorough extremely reliable sources by such committed scholars as Dr. Meenakshi Jain) that continued for centuries to culminate in 2024.

In other words, beyond petty party politics, Ram is a concept that has allured Indians, and many, many more beyond the bounds of the Indian territory. For generations, Shri Ram (right now I do not want to get in to that 'myth versus history' debate regarding the Ram Katha) has stood for all that is the best, the ideal, the perfect.

Shri Rama is the ideal son, the best brother, the most loving husband. Read Bhavbhuti's "Uttar Ram Charitra" to understand in a complex way the most debatable act in Shri Rama's otherwise impeccable persona. The play would convince you of his gentleness even in that apparently cruellest act. 

An ideal king, Shri Ram is kindness personified even with animals, trees, the adivasi's. Countless examples thereof can be provided from the 'Valmiki Ramayana'. In such inclusivity lies his true divinity. Why, he even respects, treats with due reverence his enemy, Ravana!

In brief, Shri Ram is the moniker for a way of being, for a mode of existence that is all that is wise, just and gentle. In our era that is always on the automated self-destruction mode (what with the climate change, in close alliance with the imminent Third/Atomic War  threatening our very existence), Shri Ram is an ideal that promises an eternal bond of togetherness, of communion with all the modes of creation, of peace and contentment.

Pratima@Both my parents revered Shri Ram. "RamRaksha" was Aai's utmost favourite stotra. As for Papa, his very name reflected such respect, and, in a way that I find most heart-warming, he always tried to live up to it.

Life matters!

 You must have heard of/read about that tragic case of a young mother dying because a well-known hospital did not admit her as a patient on time! Extremely tragic indeed! May her soul rest in peace! May her twins grow up to be  healthy!

Beyond this particular case, this incident raises a lot of  issues that I would like to address here. Yes, all big hospitals are money-minded. I would even go a step ahead, and argue that the "executive" programmes in cahoot with the insurance companies (who are really bothersome when it comes to the actual bill settlements ) can be the culprits.

Medical tourism that necessitates a certain set-up might make hospitals mean money machines. Yet another cause could be excessive specialisation in the medical field, and the simultaneous death of that institution called the "family doctor".

Despite all these stark realities, I would like to assert that my experience with the Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital is truly wholesome. As Sanju had registered Aai as a geriatric patient there, I used to be quite a regular there as Aai's immedite caregiver from the family, and for almost more than fifteen years. I would assert that the DM does care! Aai's gerontologist, Dr. Tamane, treated Aai as if she were a relative. Despite it being a big hospital, there was a personal touch at almost all patient care levels.

Well, unhappily, I would have to maintain that, may be, the newer set of nurses and doctors whom I had the misfortune of meeting during Aai's last hospitalisation there in January-February, 2021 was not as amicable. But the original old-timers ARE fabulous. Why, not only Dr Tamane's assistant doctors, even the nurses would greet me if we met accidentally. 

About this unfortunate event, could I ask a few questions? If the poor mother-to-be was in acute labour, why was she not taken to her regular gynaecologist? Was she registered with the Mangeshkar hospital during her pregnancy and for her delivery? 

Why was she taken to the far away Surya Hospital, if the newspaper reports are to be believed? I am sure that there must be any number of multi-speciality as well as regular gynac-and-obstetrics hospitals around, and on the way, right? 

Sure, every hospital must be accountable. This is just to state that I always found the Deenanath to be considerate and compassionate. Hence it hurts to read reports trashing it!

Pratima@ Life matters! Death is tragic beyond words. Doctors are gods. Can they though help a patient who reaches the hospital too late? 

Compound Existence

 Hope you remember the school days, and especially the grammar classes. Oh, yes, before I broach our theme today, let me assert an important point of view. People typically argue that they are weak as far as English goes (as if their Marathi is any good! But that is a totally different issue altogether.) because they studied in Marathi Medium schools. Well, better not to forget that it is only in Marathi Medium schools that English grammar is taught with utmost rigour!

In a way, all this discussion leads to the theme today. Well, English IS one of the easiest languages in the whole world. So let us get back to its grammar. Remember complex and compound sentences? A complex sentence has inter-dependent parts such as the main and the subordinate clause(s), while a compound sentence is a free-wheeling structure.

A compound sentence would have none of the if/whether conditions. Neither does it change the very structure of the subordinated clause. It allows all its elements to be as they originally were, and, most importantly, all are equally important, without any hierarchiasation.

In my opinion, this is the way life should be! Let us look at the mother tongue versus English debate, for instance. You cannot subordinate one to the other. Both are equally important in their own ways, in their own spheres. They cannot be, and must not be, treated as mutually exclusive. In fact, even a foreign language should not looked at disdainfully.

Look at the world realities today if you want to know what I mean. Recently the President of a Latin-American country was in Delhi. Given the region/country collaborations that constantly keep on re-designing themselves, currently the GOI seems to have the "Look Latin-America way" policy. Can Spanish be irrelevant then?

In other words, just as much as I love Sanskrit, irrespective of whether, or not, it is useful for computers, equally important it is that I appreciate English and other foreign languages at least for their utilitarian value.

 In the chorus against the "Macaulay Putra's/Putri's", it is important that we better not forget that contexts today are vastly different from what they were when the notorious "Minutes" (like the "Manusmriti", often quoted without having actually read a line therein?!?) were drafted.

In other words, a compound attitude is necessary. If I have such a compound opinion, I would neither glorify Sanskrit or the mother tongue in an opinionated way, nor would I demean English or any other foreign language in a frenzied way. 

Honestly, rabid extremism is always a problem. I must, and I genuinely do, love and revere my culture, my civilisational values, and oh, yes, my religion/varna/caste as well. I follow these most reverentially. That process, however, does not stop me from respecting the perspective wherein my country, my culture, my history are inter-woven with(in) the larger paradigms.

Israel, the oft-quoted example, does not dismiss English either. It does have interesting alliance patterns. Anyways, in the post-IMF and post-WB realities, not to forget the LPG perspectives, wherein even the mighty America is steeped hugely in debt, to be closely followed by China and many European nations, insularity is impossible by definition. 

Hence my assertion that the compound way of existing, wherein all the elements/ingredients/factors are important in an equi-distant way, works better, both in individual lives and in narratives of nations!

Pratima@Actually a speech at Bangalore makes me come up with this discussion. I cannot quote it though as the video is suddenly declared "private"! Incidentally, compound interest, too, grows exponentially!

Marked by abscence!

 Very very very rare, truly rare is their appearance. If they appear at all, it should be celebration times indeed! Who do you think I am talking about? Celebrities from the sports arena who are extremely busy and quite hard-working? Business tycoons much much 'more busier' than the tinsel stars, and are absolutely hard-working? Nope!

I am talking about students being present in their UG, that is, under-graduate, classrooms. They are truly like comets! That is to say, they appear just once in some million/zillion years! Literally!

Go to any Arts and/or Commerce college. Classroom after classroom would be empty, absolutely vacant! There might be some resilient teachers who WOULD teach, even if only one student chooses to grace the occasion. 

Mostly otherwise, nobody is concerned, neither the authorities, nor the teachers, least of all the students! I find their parents most interesting. (Why) Are not they worried about what their wards do? Do not they talk to their children about their studies, their progress, the difficulties (not merely academic) that they face?

Let me give you a few examples to prove my point. I used to teach in a famous Arts/Commerce/Science college. The first lecture used to be at 7.30 in the morning. In the whole big building, most often, it used to be just my Special Subject students and I! 

The situation continues to be the same, year after year, decade after decade. The worst profile is of foreign language lectures in commerce colleges. To begin with, commerce students, whose future careers are going to be people sensitive, need languages hugely.

But their Marathi (or even Hindi) itself is nothing to write home about. Their awful English would be one of the major reasons the British would never ever dare to colonise India again! They cannot write two consecutive sentences correctly, neither in Marathi nor in English!

Now such students join the German classroom. They are learning a new language, literally from the ABCD. But they never attend lectures! Well, learning a foreign language is like a chain. If a chain snaps at one point, the entire chain is kaputt. Similarly, miss one lecture, and the chain of learning would snap. Obviously, an entire lecture cannot be repeated, though a quick revision is always the starting point of the next lecture.

Yet another point with a foreign language is that it is not used beyond the four walls of the classroom. So per day some fifteen to twenty minutes of practice is necesary back at home. Commerce lectures get over at 10.30, tops 12 on some days. The entire day is theirs to spend any which way. But they never touch the book till the next lecture, and it is a mercy if they get the book along! Keep extra sheets in the Xerox section, send message after message on the WhatsApp group; very few, those who attend lectures regularly, would bother to do the needful.

The teacher explains line by line, word by word. The teacher uses Marathi/Hindi to explain each and every word and grammatical concept. The teacher makes it utmost interesting through their own constant participation.  The teacher gives umpteen examples to explain the paper pattern, the MCQ test structure. Only some ten students (of the forty-ish class strength) , who are rather regular, benefit! 

Students, who have not attended even a single lecture, are under the impression that they can mug up the night before. That idea is WRONG, but it might be feasible/possible for a subject they would have studied for a couple of years, but surely not for a language whose letters of the alphabet they did not know till the academic year began.

Much worse are students who had a smattering of the foreign language in the junior college/school. They have forgotten everything, but they believe boastfully that they know, and can manage, every thing! One of the students who brandished his cent per cent marks (how he got them is a wonder!) at the SYJC level could not manage the simple most Akkusativ case, but he generally behaved, whenever/if he turned up at all, as if Goethe was his menial!

The most amazing are the people around who organise all, and every, possible extra-curricular activities (and practice sessions) at the same time as the foreign language lectures. Any number of students report back the wonderful comments such worthies make about learning a foreign language. Of course, one tries to convince the students that the worthies did not mean it that way. But they do know, right? How can you thus persuade to the contrary a young man/woman of nineteen years, right?

As a result, students expect that the paper be indirectly leaked. To your face, they tell you the names of other teachers who do it, and regularly. They rattle off names of teachers who give them the attendance sheets to sign on the day of the MCQ exam to process/prove cent per cent attendance. The only possible response you have is 'mum is the word'! No wonder, students just expect 'timepass' fun, and not learning, in classes if they attend at all!

And we talk of the demographic dividend!!!

Pratima@ Marked by absence is the authenticity, the sincerity, the accountability of such 'academics' if it at all be so called!

Horror indeed!

 "Horror!Horror!Horror!" is one of the most famous quotes. It is from Joseph Conrad's great novel, 'The Heart of Darkness'. Such are the oft-repeated cruelties that are these days getting constantly reported that the Conrad quote seems to suit the current realities. Darknesses, unfortunately, seem to cloud very many hearts, and, female, at that.

Well, as it was April 1 yesterday, there was a riot of memes, et al, on groups, statuses, and what have you! One such pic showed a young man carrying a blue plastic drum. The accompanying comment was "Needed: a wife who uses the drum to fill water, and not to cement me in it."

Indeed, the very thought of that notorious case from Meerut is horrible. Here is a married woman with a child.  She coolly murders her Merchant Navy husband who indulged her so much that he flew back from London for her birthday. 

Her own parents argued vehemently that he was a good son-in-law, and a good husband. For her sake, he had totally severed all the ties with his family whom she harassed hugely till she could get total control over him.

And, after all this, she murdered him most horribly with the help of her lover against whom she was repeatedly warned not only by the besotted husband but also by her own parents! Much worse, as per her lover's injunctions, she stabbed the drugged husband with the chopper she bought supposedly for her kitchen, for vetting her non-veg appetites. She coolly chopped his body, allowed the lover to take away the blood dripping head for sorcery.

Much worse still, they together cut the man's body and cemented the parts in a blue plastic drum. After all this, she had the gall to go on a "Holi" holiday with her lover. She remembered the foolish man only when money went scarce during the fun trip. After returning, she was ready to get rid of the drum which turned out to be kinder to the husband than she was! Otherwise, she would have continued her happy life with her lover without regret or without being found out!

Even otherwise, she comes across as an extremely shallow, ill-educated woman who entices a man with her looks(!?! Really! She has a very vixen like cruel face!), uses him, completely controls his money matters, carries on, that is, has affairs behind his back, and finally murders him! 

If she wanted her paramour so much, she could have gone for a separation, filed for a divorce, right? Live-in's are hardly frowned upon these days even in three-tier cities. Moreover, there would have been the alimony! Why finish a life, and his entire family?

Indeed women, too, seem to follow the terrible male ways these days. A young son is the only hindrance and encumbrance in an affair? The mother murders him! The son knows much too much about her affairs of all sorts? The mother declares him mad or epileptic! Gets him electric shocks and psycho-surgery-ed! 

Anybody from the extended family so much as dares to disagree with her over a very minor issue? Create a huge public ruckus! Want to appear 'modern'? Get one's own children addicted to booze and to baiting! 

All such shenanigans are much, much worse than the earlier attempts during the 1990's  such as ill-treating, threatening, and maligning in-laws under false pretexts of dowry demands! In the face of such heinous cruelties pales the ill-treatment of one's own sons by mothers because, in their maternal homes, their parents got only grand-daughters!

Indeed,  such patriarchally prejudiced behaviour by anybody, male or female, is bad. Such cruelty has to be gender-neutral. Currently, however, women, too, seem to compete with men in such treacherous horrendous acts. What could be the psychological, pathological, and sociological causes behind such brutalities by women? The mind boggles!

Pratima@ Such brazen barren (he)arts hide sad tales of women who are genuinely harassed which is the true 'horror!horror!horror'!

Full April Fool!

 April 1! 'The' day of pranksters, and the world over, right? Apparently, it originates in one of the greatest comedies in the literary world, Chaucer's 'The Canterbury Tales'. Of all the origins awarded to this concept, this possibility, in my opinion, would be the highest!

Mocking the nincompoops, laughing at faults and foibles, gently satirising the social ills go in to the making of this fest of full freedom and liberty to laugh, surely without malice  or partisanship, extremely rare in these days of showing the 'others' down in the most self-satisfied, and virtuous(o) way!

I suppose that the 'April Fool' Day custom helps us keep the child in us alive, a tough job these days, I would say, as children attain adulthood asap these days when to retain your innocence is the toughest skill!

Hence my April Fool Day would consist of curling up with the great writings by P.G. Wodehouse, Henry Fielding, Jane Austen, possibly with P.L.Despande or 'Rag Darbari' by Shrilal Shukla. If time permits, my other favourites such as 'Dennis, the Menace'  may troop up, too. No, why watch the reels!?! They real make us fools the year long, right? How about you? What are your plans?

Pratima@ Hey, creating that 'Ghibili' cartoon of yourself the AI way is surefire proof of the fact that you indeed are a cartoon! What say?

Is the Consumer the King?

 The other day I was at the Grahak Peth. I feel it is always better to buy at a store run by the consumers and for the consumers. That was the way Grahak Peth began in the mid-1970's. I am not very sure, but, I think, due to one of the severest draughts, both the prices and the quality of the goods were in an inverse ratio with each other. As a result, the most abused was the common man.

Papa bought shares of the movement on principle. I added to these in Aai's name. I have also invested in their  f.d. scheme. Moreover, many items are sold there below the MRP, given the contractual agreements, I suppose. As the sum total of all such parameters, every consumer gets good returns for sure, and every which way. In the process, the concept/the movement continues to grow as well. An absolute win-win situation/solution, right?

Otherwise, in the fmg market(place), actually in every market related area, the consumer is at the receiver's end. Let us look at the "within minutes" Swiggy/Zomato, et al, kind of b2c business. Given the city/metro traffic (and distances), more than ten minutes would be necessary for the transport itself. When then is the item cooked? Obviously it must be pre-cooked, and processed with all sorts of harmful preservatives! Most people, addicted to such 'modernity', instead of the fresh food cooked at home, are thus consuming harmful health hazards! Who cares though in that craze to appear 'cool'? No wonder, all sorts of ailments and illnesses are on the rise!

From food to all possible fads, the gullible consumer is deceived and duped through seductive advertisements that never tell the truth. Whatever be the business brand/mode, including the 'gully' to google, the end customer is the one who pays, and in more than one way.  There indeed is no free lunch. Hence the need for consumer rights, consumer courts, consumer concerns. Hence the relevance of the consumer rights day, recently celebrated on March 15.

Pratima@Given the subtle monopoly marketeering, the typical consumer is like the proverbial emperor, without clothes but supposedly grand! Hence the need for awareness raising movements. 

Let us not discuss in this brief piece how the middleman mentality 'manages' both the producer and the consumer. This praxis is  fully operational, whatever be the product. Minimum governance with maximum properly placed, thoroughly debated laws and regulations could be the solution. However, petty politicking could kill the consumer in the final analysis!

The Seven Tastes

 Happy Gudhi Padwa! A new year awaits us. Let us embellish it with wonderful unique experiences. How can these experiences be? Let me explain these through the metaphor of the "gudhi padhwa chutney", a mix with which the day would begin during my parents' days. I follow the tradition.

What is it made of? It has the fresh neem leaves, tamarind pulp/extract (you can use the raw mango slices as well), a little salt, a pinch of asafoetida, cumin seeds and sugar/jaggery as its ingredients. Like Aai, I, too, use just a drop or two of water to make it a smooth paste.

Now let us look at the taste of each one of these ingredients, extremely healthy. The tender neem leaves taste bitter, tamarind is tangy, salt has the salty feel without which food cannot be swallowed, asafoetida is pungent, while cumin seeds taste warm, earthy, while sugar/jaggery makes it sweet, and just the right amount of water binds it all together.

Is not that the recipe of our daily lived lives, too? Our experiences, too, are often bitter, sometimes pungent, rarely astringent, even bitter, unavoidably salty n sour. Happiness and  joy add sweetness to life, while a teardrop or two enriches the humane awareness, right? 

Well, let us throughout this year, and beyond, enjoy this unique mix with verve and vivacity. Happy Padwa! Happy New Year!

Pratima@ The seven tastes remind me of the 'seven seas' tablets which Papa made the staple diet alongwith our morning milk, warm, glassful, and enriched with the powdered wheat essence that Aai prepared  so painstakingly.

Blue Fo(x)es

 Reading is one of my passions. Luckily, my parents encouraged it. Our childhood was full of books. Why, Papa had even got us the annual membership of the famous 'Reader's Digest'. 

One of my favourite reads then was, and even today is, Aesop's "Fables". In fact, as we grow older, we realise the subtleties of these succinct (ending with) moral stories. They are indeed like the kaleidoscope we used to make with the pieces of Aai's glass bangles. Change the angle just a little, and an absolutely new design emerges.

'The Blue Fox' is one such 'moral' story. Once a fox foraging food falls in to a trough filled with blue colour. Every inch he is true blue now. Being wily, shrewd and deceitful by nature, he decides to take advantage of the situation. He convinces every animal in the jungle that he is an altogether unique, special species. 

Having never seen such a creature ever, the straightforward animals are first beguiled totally. Lions to monkeys, all serve him devotedly. The wily fox loves this comfy life at others' expense. One full moon night, His  Lordship, the Fox, is relaxing. From afar hears he a skulk of foxes barking and screaming. Unable to control himself, he joins in. You can imagine what must have happened next.

What is the moral of the story? In my opinion, this small little story warns us that, in our lifetime, we are going to meet all sorts of and any number of blue foxes. As they are hyper manipulative, it is compulsory to learn the art of locating them, and still better, from afar. It IS very important that we do not allow the wily trickster to use us for her/his purpose.

There is an important message, I believe,  for the blue fo(x)es, too. Just because people are straightforward, better not take for granted that they are fools. They can see through all sorts of foxiness-es. Vixens are truly the ones to be guarded against. Vixens, however, must remember for their own good that none can fool all the people all the time!

Pratima@ Animals who inhabit the pages of story books are much less malevolent than those horrors walking on two legs, and sweet talking glibly!

Water, water everywhere

" Water, water everywhere", that famous quote from Coleridge's great poem entitled "The Ancient Mariner" is ideally suited to the theme of the blog today. Indeed, as befits the praxis of many a so-called 're-search' scholars, it may appear partially quoted. Surely though, it is not out of context, unlike many a theses and/or research papers!

Well, these prefatory remarks should have indicated that the theme of the blog today deals with water as befitting the world water day  celebrated exactly a week ago. No, discussing water woes is never late. Yes, like so many scarcities which, moreover, affect the environment and the very quality of life in  major ways, the scarcity of potable water is a world wide worry. In fact, as in interior parts of Maharashtra, such as Marathwada, water, whether potable, or for daily use or for farming purposes, is scarce, and not only during scorching summers.

If such are the water woes in those parts of Maharashtra, other parts of Maharashtra such as the coastal Konkan or the upland Sangli-Kolhapur face inundation every monsoon. In other words, water, water is the issue everywhere. Sure, the Chief Minister did reveal a grand plan of regional river linking programme. Hope it materialises fast, and soon.

Circa 2016, Amir Khan's Paani Foundation  had mobilised a unique movement through  community participation which made people responsible for 're-storing' the water table with monsoon water in unique ways such as, during the summer months, digging, desilting water reservoirs in and near farmlands, building bunds, unlike the bitterly contested dams, and so on.

Similar attempts have been reported in rural Rajasthan as well. As water bodies invite the migratory birds and help both big and small wild animals during the harsh summers, such attempts, often initiated by committed individuals, such as Anil Bishnoi and Prem Bishnoi, are most welcome.

Water, one of the natural resources absolutely essential for life itself, is a worry the world over. As water bodies as diverse as rivers and the seas, too, are suffering pollution in various ways, the attempts to save them from deterioration are in full swing, too, and the  world over. Hence the drives for re-forestation!

If water woes are not to result in tears or in riots, addressing the worrisome water problem everywhere is the need of the hour. 

Pratima@ Anand Malligavad, known as the "Lake Man of India," is a Bengaluru-based mechanical engineer who has dedicated his life to reviving and restoring water bodies, particularly lakes, using ancient and easy to maintain water management techniques from the Chola dynasty.

 He has successfully revived numerous lakes in and around Bengaluru, using techniques that include desilting, rainwater harvesting, and creating natural ecosystems. His techniques replicated in many places across India would indeed ensure "water, water, everywhere".

Teeth Trouble

 Each and every one of our body parts matters much. Yet, of all our organs, some sure get sidelined. Let me give you a concrete example. Just a little of my eye drops, the best ones, great against any infection, was the residue in the bottle. 

My ear was itching badly. Well, my feel was that anything that can be good for an organ as delicate as the eye cannot hurt/harm any other organ. So I used the last few of the eye drops for the itching ear. When the ENT specialist heard it, did I get an earful!

Teeth, in my opinion, happen to be yet another part of our body that we tend to ignore, right? Sure we do take care of the basic dental hygiene and oral care, we brush regularly, we rinse the mouth often, and all.

But! Imagine a visit to the dentist's! The teeth matters then become truly troublesome! The very teeth chatter then! Personally I avoid a visit to the dentist as much as possible. When it comes to teeth, the follower of allopathy in me suddenly transmogorifies  in to a firm faithful of naturopathy. Camphor, cloves, sensodyne toothpaste, anything is okay, but not the dentist's drill.

The very thought of the dentist's chair gives me horrific visions of the electrocution chair. Imagine sitting there, mouth wide open. Well, you are not Lord Krishna, providing Yashoda Mata the vision of the whole universe. 

The only sight the poor(!!?!!) dentist may site is your awful teeth in horrible shapes, given the cavities in them. All along, you are sitting on that wonder of a chair, mouth wide open. You feel as if you are a gaping crater on the moon, or at least on any Pune road, especially during the monsoon, given the then over active salivating process which can make any of Pavlov's dogs blush beet root red.

True, they say that if you ever want to know how awful you look, the best alibi would be your Aadhar Card photo or the pic on the I/T Card. In my opinion, however, neither can beat your visage while you are perched atop a dentist's chair.

Then your hear that dreadful sound of that drill. While you are silently willing the dentist not to use it, he is ready with yet another weapon, that injection in the gums! The momentary pain is nothing in comparison with the later numbed swollen feel that lasts for four hours at least. 

I absolutely admire people who can visit the dentist to get a great smile. Orthodentistry is the name. Must have heard it! I was the co-producer of two EMRC programmes on this then emerging branch. That determined the conviction rate as far as I was concerned!

Dentists sure are artists. Yet this is the only art form I cannot follow faithfully. Teeth are trouble indeed, both in our babydom and during late teens. Dumb you can just not be when molars choose to play hide and seek with the gums, especially in our early twenties!  What to say of the teething trouble when senior citizens go for dentures that take a few years (off), while fitting! Teeth truly trouble!

Pratima@Yes, I am reminded of that execution chamber called the dentist's chair because recently was celebrated the oral hygiene day!

The Societal Jungles

 Yesterday our blog talked of the sparrow, a tiny bird. In this era of wars waging world wide, who cares for the flight of a fragile entity, obsessed as we are with space odyssey-s? No, nothing wrong surely about the exploration of the space. Sure it shows human ingenuity, the power of human imagination and human creativity.

Yet there is a lurking fear that wonders/worries if we want to escape the earth because life hereabouts is nasty, short, brutish, et al, a Hobbesian hell where all are fighting against all! Neither is hidden the lust for expansionist colonisation, and the resultant loot of natural resources, as on terra firma 1492 onwards.

In other words, whether in big cities or even in villages where old parents are left alone to till the small piece of land, much divided after family feuds, life is a jungle. A jungle is a threatening place where roam wild beasts, right?

The need of the hour is to make the feral jungle in to a friendly forest where the natural cycle of life co-exists. Rivers flow un-damm/n-ed, and trees, insects, birds, beasts stay here in their natural habitats, and in their own  normal ways. Human beings do not encroach. They may not go there like the yesteryear "Sanyasi" or during the "wanprasthashram", but rather as tourists who marvel at the alternative way of life.

Such a symbiotic communion is indeed necessary if our earth is to survive at all. When a species is extinct, it disturbs the entire eco system. If bees were to die, for instance, the whole world would collapse in a few days! Let us look at a rather lesser known example, the mangroves.

Mangroves protect the sea coast from erosion. Storms become less deadly due to the mangroves.  They desalinate the sea water. They are the greatest source of security and feed for the marine life,  Yet for the aquaculture industry and for sea-facing hotels and villas loved by both, the richie-rich and the tourism industry, this natural coastal cover is depleted, and severe are the consequences.

How one wishes the traditional practice of "devrai", the sacred groves which allowed the rich resources of woodlands flourish unhindered and untampered, gets resurrected! Only then would the routine ritual of the namesake observing of the World Forest Day be truly meaningful.

Pratima@ True, the "Jungle Book" existence, so lovingly presented by Rudyard Kipling, is a fantasy. Yet such fiction of togetherness must be-and-become the reality, if we all are to survive.

Titanic imprints of a tiny one

 Initial clarifications first. The titular 'titanic' has nothing to do either with the fated ship or the feted film. The term 'titanic', if you were to look at it etymologically, refers to Greek deities, absolutely huge; gigantic, in fact. In other words, out title refers to the tremendous effect of a tiny bird, and its disappearance.

Yes, we are going to talk of the sparrow. A sparrow is an omnivorous bird who eats grains to insects that might infect the grains. A sparrow may not have a gorgeous nest that shows its weaving capabilities. Hers is a simple nest, but it is always close to the human habitat.

A sparrow is a chatterbox. No wonder, she is an integral part of our childhoods. She used to love our feed as babies. Aai would have to feed us literally all around the home. The sparrow would be happy with the tiny share that would unmistakably drop hither thither everywhere in that entire lovable process.

Happily, in brief, lived the sparrow with human beings. This people's bird is now noteworthy by extinction. As homes have become high-rises, sparrows have flown away. Whereto, none knows. The cities are full of crows and pigeons, even bats! The tiny, tawny sparrow is rarely seen though.

They say that the fall of a sparrow bodes not well. True it is absolutely. Titanic are the implications of this tiny bird literally vanishing in to thin air. It shows how non-natural is human existence now. Hi-fi horizons we sure do crave, but for togetherness no spaces we have! This small bird that for centuries built its nest in a happy co-existence with human beings is, no wonder,  almost extinct, surely in metros, in cities of the three-tier variety, too.

A sparrow must learn to be a hawk, they say, if she is to survive at all. Well, but then, she would not be that teenie weenie birdie we all loved as babies and kids. In other words, somewhere somehow it is OUR responsibility, at least for our own good,  to see to it that the sparrow survives!

Pratima@Not exactly a very happy sparrow day that flew away on tiny wings on March 20 without many not even knowing it! 

Sparrow, dear, do not to the unknown fly away/To the modern world, you have fallen a prey/Grey is life with problems huge in the fray/Stay, stay, with us, oh, dear, I do pray!

Hypocrisy Incarnate

 Shahid Diwas! Yes, it is a memory that needs to be again and again awakened in the indian consciousness, especially these days. The current indian mindset, it can be easily argued, shows a societal framework that is much fractured. The Meerut Murder of a husband, with the help of a paramour (and, may be, the maternal family) shows to what level the society has generally sunk. 

The people involved are typical middle class indians. The woman's family, the woman herself, the husband's family are what go in to the making of the mass(es) of Indians. The paramour with his lust for dark rituals, too, reveals the superstitious bent of most Indian minds. Unfortunately, such cemented, refrigerated, pressure-cooked bodies, men committing suicide, women as victims of horrendous harassment are no longer one in a million instances either. Such brutalities are so typical and regular that 'a horrible headline that the media milks till the next senseless sensation happens' is becoming the numbing norm.

The Meerut Murder today is a horror. No longer is the moniker, unlike the Meerut Massacre, a bright chapter in the glorious narrative called Indian Freedom Struggle. It is hence but normal that great revolutionaries beginning with the triune Lal-Bal-Pal to the trio Bhagat Singh-Sukhdev-Shivram Rajguru to Savarkar to the nameless others who suffered hugely due to their participation in the Independence Struggle need to be reverentially remembered, and repeatedly. But for their sacrifices, the independence Indians today enjoy with so much blase feel would not have materialised.

Like Tilak in the earlier generation, Bhagat Singh was both, an activist and an intellectual. In 2007, his centenary year, I wrote in a magazine entitled 'Kirloskar' a detailed article on his multifarious contribution. I read up hence his writings. The sheer volume and brilliance are astounding.  As part of that article, i translated quite a bit from the Punjabi/Hindi to Marathi.

It is hence tragic that either such greats are forgotten in the humdrum realities of the Meerut Murder variety or glibly paid tribute to by smart-ass professionals because such a mention would add sheen to their dull profile. Such creeps are never ever true to their own professions, avoid deviously duties which would not bring them any publicity personally, would gang up in the most deceitful but subtle way, would be politicking in the meanest way. 

Such snakes in the grass, when they praise the poor revolutionaries  in a public way, are hypocrisy incarnate, and, in my opinion, destroy absolutely the already tattered fabric of the societal consciousness and conscientiousness! Poor revolutionaries! They sure deserve better!

Pratima@ A (wo)man may simper and simper, and yet be the worst villain! This universal truth is brought in to sharp focus by the glib but hypocritical tributes on such days. 

Happy is as happy does!

 This evening I attended a musical programme organised by Mitra Foundation, a cultural organization run by my colleague, Dr. Rajeshree Gokhale Madam, and her family. It was one of the happiest evenings of this month. Given the advance in technology which enables digitization, it was as if one was back in to the golden era of Marathi 'light' music which included every genre, folk to the Kirana Gharana classical. The whole auditorium, despite all sorts of differences, shared a very happy feel of literally being drenched in the simple yet deep poetry of Ga.Di.Ma and the unbelievably sweet 'sur's of Sudhir Phadke.

That set me thinking. What exactly is happiness? Is it collective? Is it individual? What makes it? What mars it? So varied it is! For some, happiness resides in helping others. For a few demented ones with sadism as their defining core, happiness would be harassing a hapless victim! 

Does happiness consist of materialistic acquisitions? For most, the answer to this question would be a huge resounding 'yes'. The bigger the car, the newer the mobile, the larger the house, they feel happier. While for a select few, happiness would mean self-reflexivity and self-amelioration. For sure, contentment is more enriching than mere enjoyment.

If such is roughly the space happiness inhabits, many are the tools, soft and/or hard in nature/variety, it uses. Family, friends, favourite relatives, health, art, nature, religion, social work, all such, and many more, make most happy. I think, one is the happiest if one's profession is closely allied with one's hobbies. If you are a lecturer and an amateur author, reading as your hobby would embellish your profession, right?

Is happiness defined by time? Is it space-specific? For SURE! April, for the students and hence for their entire family, is the cruellest month, what with the impending results, right? Well, on the contrary, Ashwin, from Day One to Diwali is soaked in and saturated with happiness. As for space making one happy, better to ask Sunita Williams and her colleague. The Terra firma would sure be a happier space for them than the space station, however lovely the sun-rises, right?

Despite differences in defining happiness, I suppose, its base is contentment. It is something, I would say, opens up in concentric circles from self to society, and, yes, better is the happiness if intersect many circles at multiple points.

One can go on and on which would reduce the happiness of the readers of our blog, right? Let us hence be succinct, and sum it up as "happy is as happy does!"

Pratima@ Happiness index released on the World Happiness Day, as done recently,  appears confusing, to say the least. By which paradigm can Pakistan, disintegrating at all borders , be ten places higher in the hierarchy  than India! May be, the International Community is like farmers burning off their 'harali', the dry stumps of the last year's produce? Whither the green footsteps that could make all happy, rather like the solution to water woes through the participation of the common man!

Missing! Missing! Missing! Found her?

Monody

In memory of poetry

Forgotten by all

On the World Poetry Day!

Missing! Missing! Missing?                                  Found her anywhere?                                          How to locate her?        

                                   

Let me her describe. Imbibes she all that is the best. To life, she adds taste. Delicate she is, fragile, wispy. Yet very strong.                                                                      

God-gifted is her blessing. She can charm and subdue a king. She is beautiful. She is simple. She is straightforward. In fact, so much so, she touches any heart, however world-withered. To the world-weary, ambrosia she gives. Of hope, of love, of days better n best ways.

Today is her day.                                                    Missing she is!Missing! Missing!                      Where to find her?

In the money mad metros? In forests with tree stumps? In river beds where fish die? In hearts as bone dry? In souls that to wound others try?           

No, no, no, dead she is not!

Like the rare rainbow, appears she. Like the sparrow of a baby story, chirps she.

Find her fast.                                                          Thus would lost wor(l)ds forever last!              

Know her not?                                                         Ah, yes, when the prosaic reigns,                      Poetry is forever lost!

Pratima@March 21 is the World Poetry Day. None remembered it. Neither schools, nor colleges, not even slam sessions. In a world, lost to money, finance, slandering, polluting, politicking, services, industries, technologies, who wants poetry? Missing she is.                    

  Amen! Om Shanti!                                                  

Yet why not remember? By the undulating space ship on a navy blue sea dolphins dance for sheer joy!   

She stays!              

                                                                               

To Poetry, eternal, forever n in forms new.          On the World Poetry Day which few knew!

N.B.: The internet page cannot hold poetry precisely. I had structured it differently. But in the 'i.t.'enabled blog, thus alone can she log!

Doth sleep murder!

 When one teaches a foreign language, be it German, French, Spanish or Japanese, one has to teach such concepts as 'the typical day', 'the dream day', 'hobbies', et al, and one weaves grammar and vocabulary around these notions. The moment one talks of hobbies and the dream day together or even singly/separately, some smartypants surely says that his/her hobby is sleeping, and the ideal day would consist of sleeping late in to the afternoon.

Well, given such answers, worth a laugh every which way, one does, however, hope that the so-called youth are not suffering from old age dis-eases such as sleep apnea or insomnia. There is no knowing though. Sleep these days is pricey stuff, in all the senses of the term 'pricey', given the extremely costly, and difficult to get, sleeping pills, often used as 'the' permanent solution.

Why is it that modern times murder sleep? In Shakespeare's 'Macbeth', from whence comes the title of the blog today, it is guilt, tension about future evil plans that kill sleep. The most quoted term in the sleep related discussion is stress as well. The increased screen time and excessive use of caffeine, et al, could be some of the reasons, too. Sleep, or the lack of it, is big business. Hence the abundant discussions.

Personally, I am of the opinion that one should be 'gudakesh' when it comes to sleep. 'Gudakesh' is a term used in the 'Geeta' for Arjun. It means 'one who has conquered sleep'. Honestly, the ideal way to be! One is so much in control of one's sleep that one can doze off in seconds, and as and when one wants to.

Sure, safer it is to have a regular schedule. Hardly matters though so long as one gets adequate sleep which means the deep REM sleep, absolutely necessary for total health. As for dreams, one is anyways eternally dreaming, and even with eyes wide open!

In brief, sleep well, not long. Remember the Peshwa King, Bajirao I? Yes, the Mastani reference, as popularised by the Bollywood, is correct, absolutely right . He was, however, not just an infatuated, besotted paramour. Rather he was a brilliant statesman and a wonderful warrior. And he could manage to doze off and relax the tired body and mind while horse riding! No wonder, he was such a great achiever!

Pratima@Yawn not, toss not/Sleep right, and tight/to make your days bright! Happy World Sleep Day!

Praise@Parents!

 Every person close to us is unique. Truly irreplaceable, however, are parents. Parents are the horizon of our existence even when we have grown up. Like the horizon, infinite is their influence. Like the horizon, they circumscribe us. Like the horizon, they always appear accessible. Yet distant we feel from our own selves after their demise. Yes, whatever be your age, losing a parent creates a void that is difficult to define!

Hence here are a few images to understand and appreciate our parents!

Program of our life! If Father is the hardware, Mother is the software. No virus vitiates ever the run of this perfected programming!

Ambush they are against every attack, direct or indiscreet, that may hit us. Their guerrilla tactics in thus saving us from dangers, palpable and/or invisible, are unmatchable.

Round table they provide us throughout our lives. At this 'round table', never have they any precedence (like King Arthur's), and yet are they the fulcrum around which is organised the meet.

Earth-like they are in their countless forgiveness-es of all our transgressions of all types.

Never ever they want anything in return except iotas of love we dole out in our 'busy' lives. The parental (and, yes, the sibling, too) is the only relationship without any expectations of 'return gifts', though every day is a 'birth day' in a way.

Tree-like parents are, forever giving (and forgiving, too), joy, shelter, beauty, the list is endless.

Solitary they never let us feel. Our unspoken griefs easily they guess-n-grasp. With a gentle pat ease they our unshed tears.

Whatever be our age, however much may we think of ourselves a sage, the loss of parents is a grief we never can gauge, as they alone with our entire being engage!

Pratima@ This acrostic encomium is dedicated to and celebrates my parents whose birth anniversaries are on March 18 (Papa's. Ever the first to bear every brunt!) and March 19 (Aai's. Ample and abundant is the very word!).

Rakhi Garhi

 Have you heard of this sleepy hamlet near Hussar in Haryana? No, no, it does not have anything to do with the shooting of 'Sholay', or of any other film for that matter. Not exactly very far away from the national capital it is. Currently it is getting to be internationally famous. Want to know why?

Well, here are found a few more proofs of the Harappan civilization. These fragments cursorily started getting noticed circa 1960's. It was in and after 2014 that first, seven mounds, and later, overall nine mounds were located by the ASI, that is, the Archaeological Survey of India. 

The ASI excavations show that seven of these mounds belong to one group of settlement,  the eighth one could be the funerary place, and the ninth one could be from a later or a slightly different (era of) human settlement. 

The one human skeleton, or surely part of the head, found by the ASI archeologists, shows that it could not have come from the Steppes. This possibility matters a lot in the heavily charged ideological battle today which maintains that the Aryans are non-Indians. They invaded the Northern plains after the weakening of the Harappan civilization.

In the caste-ised battleground that India unfortunately is today, the Aryan invasion gets equated with the Bramhin assertion. As a result, there is this not so subtle insistence that Brahmins do not belong here. There are almost Holocaust like overtones of ethnic hatred that are unmistakable in such assertions.

 The Rakhigarhi or Rakhi Garhi, both titles are accepted in the scholarly circles, excavations, and especially the skeleton/head, show that there is not any archaeological proof that Aryans are alien invaders from the Steppes, from the Iranian regions, et al.  

Of course, post 2014, nothing in this part of the world is non-politicised! Critics, hence,  have chosen to maintain, despite modern most techniques such as carbon dating, that these ASI excavations are part of the agenda to assert the existence of a unified Hindu nation, et al!

Well, in scholarly, especially (quasi-)scientific studies, paradigms sure shift. Yet it is indeed sad to assign motives to discoveries because it defeats, nay beats, the very purpose of research which thus gets guillotined to prejudices!

Pratima@ Rakhi Garhi from the recent past, the research about the core of the earth and the resultant tectonic shifts are as exciting as (the entire process of) Sunita Williams returning to earth a few minutes later from now. What giant steps of human intelligence and creativity these are both in the past and in the future !

If the blog posted today deals with the public most sphere, the blog tomorrow would talk about why March 18 and 19 matter the most to me. Well, the two dates occupy a truly intense part of my private space. So read the blog today and tomorrow to notice the difference!

Press 'Pause'!

 Such are the current contexts education-wise that they are hardly wise. Foolhardy, in fact, they are because of the excessive use of educational technology in the teaching/learning scenario.

During the Pandemic, the ed-tech (as educational technology is fondly known) was the only alternative. Even then, it was noted that very little learning actually took place. In fact, the 'Covid Batch' was, and continues to be, a disparaging term with implications of the  'little learning, more marks' slur.

Post Pandemic, however, the educational sector did not choose to wean itself away from the ed-tech. Instead, over-dependence on e-boards, that is, electronic boards is supposed to be sophistication and modernity! Actually, the tech-smart students, we made them so, are hardly intellectually excited about or emotionally engaged with actual teaching/learning. 

They mentally switch off the moment a teacher uses a video, et al, with a mental smirk that s/he can download better stuff, for sure now, given the ChatGPT. They are not much attached to either the class proceedings or to teachers or to the classroom/college because they are NOT learning. Information overload there sure  is!Very little learning/knowledge happens, however!! Who worries wisdom-wise?!?

Learners have instead turned in to passive consumers of information. Swanky might be the video or the ed-tech programme(d) material. But the student is not actually handling it the way the traditional paper-pen procedure would force him to. 

Significantly, there has not been much systematic scientific study of the effects of ed-tech on students'  actual learning. In fact, neither executive skills nor learning abilities such as basic arithmetic, reading, writing have improved perceptibly. Instead, they have gone down drastically.

The screen-time seems to hurt not merely their eyes but their analytical skills as well, given the fact that due to the ed-tech, students are passive consumers, and not active participants in the learning process.

Significantly, neither the tech giants nor their children are 'masters' at the ed-tech! In fact, it is reported that most of the tech wizards do not allow their children near the lappie! Yes, European countries like Sweden, Britain are back to the pen-paper mode, too.

Unfortunately, in India, an extremely irrelevant skill as far as actual learning goes, that is, the sleek use of ed-tech is getting both prioritised and valorised. Are we pushing our learners behind the world in the name of the much advertised technological finesse? 

The key term, I would believe/maintain, should be restraint. Educational technology  cannot, and need not, be completely wiped out. But it should be used tangentially, most minimally. In brief, now is the time to 'press Pause'!

Pratima@The 'Great Gen' ( born circa,1901-27), the 'Silent Gen' ( born between, 1928-45), the 'Baby Boomers'(1946-64), the 'Gen X' (born circa 1965-1980) may lack the finesse in mindlessly repeating the computerised commands. But even the most ordinary amongst them would be good at arithmetic, reading, and writing. 

Look at the millennials, the Gen Z, the Gen Alpha. Most of them are good only at processing and following in the footsteps of an already prepared programme. Excellent they are at screen time which ruins not merely their eyesight. Ask them to write a few sentences, read a passage, manage arithmetics without using a calculator (the basic most R's of learning), they would be at  loss totally.

They may be tech native, to use a fancy term. But they are absolute dumbo's otherwise, fragile both intellectually and emotionally. So say educationists and psychology experts. 'Great danger ahead, caution, go slow' should the sign on the expressway to edu-tech/ed-tech!

Come, disaster looming!!!

 Most all people love predictions. Why, there are souls who would not leave home before checking the daily prediction either in the newspaper or on the t.v. Predictions ARE big business, what with the Baba Venga and Nostradamus types.

Yet another area where predictions indeed loom large is astronomy. After every few months, some asteroid, some comet or, at least, some satellite threatens to be the ultimate danger to the Earth and the earthlings.

Most often, such predictions are a great source of amusement and free of cost entertainment. But what if the prediction deals with the world of finance? And what if it is made by a tycoon who has weathered it all, going bankrupt, bouncing back to wealth, writing 'how-to' books about wealth creation?

Yes, I am talking of Richard Kiyosaki of the 'Rich dad, poor dad' fame. Some time back, he made a dire prediction about the "everyday bubble" bursting the worst way, which in his opinion would be such a bloodbath in the share market, et al, that the Great Depression of 1929 would pale in comparison.

Yes, post Trump, the markets are volatile. Kiyosaki, of course, advises a calm, collected, cool reaction. He has even listed sectors that would survive better. One of them is supposed to be the bitcoin, which I find rather funny!

My real hope is that he had predicted the dire crash to happen on Feb 25. Almost a month is already over, much past the deadline. All seems to be well! Hope this  predictive bubble bursts soon! Fingers crossed!!!

Pratima@ We can, and cannot, control or create future!/ Why then lose moments in fear and despair? Anyways, que sera, sera! That is, and better be, the last word!

Terrible Tidings

 'Glad tidings' and/or 'good tidings' is the standard collocation in English. These days, however, tidings are rarely good, glad or great. The company the term 'tidings' keeps these days is terrible and terrorising, without any 'or' option.

Look at what happened in Vadodara yesterday. Actually, it is national news these days. Be it Pune, Mumbai (the 'Best'(!!!)bus, though on hire), Chandigarh, Vadodara, the news is the same; a drunken or stone-d(ead), 'high' fool mowing down innocent lives. True, the argument against the victims in Pune was that they, too, must be partying wildly, given the area and the timings.

Yet whatever be the percentage of the drugs or alcohol intake in the blood stream, nobody gets the right/the licence to take another('s) life or to create a scene on the road. The Vadodara culprit loudly screaming some girl's name followed by a Muslim male name, yelling for 'another round', then cheering (actually jeering, given his inebriated state) away the 'Hindu' way (as was pointed out by the regular 'identity' freaks who clearly went deaf with the other male name he was screaming! Indeed, what all lengths people go to in their pursuit of their pet peeves!) indicated that the fool was dead drunk (given the 'another round' reference).

In his chase of 'mod' life, what with the (friend's?) costly posh car, heavy drinking, swanky clothes, the fool's parents apparently forgot to instil in him some decency and a few basic values. He ruined an innocent family. As yet, the further details about the other injured are not out. May be, there could be many more fatalities!

 And, yet, one pitied the fool, no, not for his injuries due to the beating/bashing, which was severe, nay, brutal, too, but for the way he has destroyed himself and his own family, what with him in jail and the total reputation of himself and his family in tatters, completely ruined. How one wishes, instead of keeping creepy company, he had actually studied in the M.S. University!

The authorities were the most lovable (hope, the irony is not lost, given the weak hold over English, or even over the mother tongue, these days) in this context. As in Pune, they went in to an overdrive to protect the guilty. No, the culprit was not provided five star treatment (yet, most efficiently, most of his wounds WERE bandaged!) as in the Pune case! 

They, however, allowed the culprit a presser, which is legally impossible and democratically disadvantaged! But how does that matter?  What matters the most these days is the 'right' connections in high places, the  'correct' caste and the might of money! One can thus/then literally get away with murder!

Pratima@How about the responsibility of the University? These days, the student attendance in classrooms, surely in traditional Commerce/Arts/Law colleges, is nothing to write home about. 

Parents send their wards to far away places, or to so-called famous institutions, to study. Neither they nor the colleges/universities are concerned about the actual classroom attendance. 

Money mutters, eh, matters! So long as fees are doled out, and cash counters keep on ringing, who cares if students attend lectures, if portions are indeed completed, especially when (and even otherwise) papers get set 'autonomously'.

You know what that means, right? Teach the minimal most, indirectly 'hint' out the question paper, and be happy that you are a lecturer, popular with the students, funkily called 'gang' or 'guys'!

 It would be a great research paper, with/out many co-writers, et al and hefty publishing fees, that actually analyses if lectures really take place, if any teaching happens at all, given the classroom strength. 

Anyways, that facade called exams emerges with great results! Who is deceiving whom indeed! And the talk about demographic dividend gushes about, like a river in spate!

Marx Matters!

 The title of our blog today is consciously ambivalent. The second word in the title; viz, 'matters', is both a noun and a verb. As we go along, meanings may emerge, and, would hopefully be clearer. However, in the world today, when Marx is often used for that silly sick joke of the "you are an absolute marks-ist" variety, why, in the first place, insist on the relevance of Marx? 

Well, on the occasion of his death anniversary ( March 14), I would first and foremost, and most forcefully, and sincerely, like to assert that Marx has nothing to do with either Marxism or Marxists. People, who have not even properly read his works, assert or accuse/attack his legacy, I must say, in an intellectually lazy way. 

Let us look at  a few typical examples before I come to Marx' relevance, et al. We have, I am sorry to say so, an intellectually quite vacuous socio-cultural climate where the sick followers define, and thus detract from, the relevance of a thinker. Let me give you a number of  examples to prove my point.

Calling everyone else beyond one's own mafia Manuvadi or Sanatani is considered chic these days. Ninety-five per cent of the people, who thus get their high through this exciting abuse, would not have seen (the question of reading any such text hence does not even arise at all)  either the 'Manusmriti'  and/or the "Geeta", forget the entire "Prasthan-trayi". To begin with, they would not even understand Sanskrit. Their Marathi is non-descript, and as for their English, the less said, the better!

Anyways, these days, most are doctorate holders, Ph.D's, who 'pass out' daily from the great WhatsApp University. Podcasts (we know by who, the types are by now rather 'famous', right?) are the reference points! It is, however, so sexy, and it gives such a huge high to beat black and blue, metaphorically, of course, the Manuvadi's, and to talk of caste without knowing its colonial history or the notions of 'varna' or 'guna'. It is easier to rattle off Shahu-Phule-Ambedkar without having read any writings by/on either! 

Those to whom Marxism is an anathema are no better either. Just because Stalin, Hitler, Mao, et al, misused his name and/or his theory (I am not sure these worthies either would have read poor Marx. Thank God, those days the near-the-college-gate 'intellectual' meetings did not exist either!) does not mean everything Marx wrote is a potent atom-bomb intellectually.

Well, actually, Marx never ever provides permanent solutions for or against any concept, including, oh, yes, religion. His methodology, a critique, always emerges out of self-critique-ing, out of questioning the givens. Okay, most want simplistic solutions, right? So let us not get in to theorising. 

Let us instead briefly say that his doubts about the dehumanising after-effects of capitalism are worth a thought today. I would soon write a blog on the fears of a 1929 re-surfacing. In other words, globalisation and privatisation have created many bubbles which could burst any second. Marx' 'matter', that is, his ideas, his framework, shows us what brings us to such a pass.

Marx was never ever arguing that he had THE final solution. If you have read just the 'Manifesto', you would know that, in the final analysis, he even wanted the proles to outgrow empty meaningless mechanical work. A literature person himself, he would seek sensitive, not rigid, solutions. But who cares!

In brief, Marx matters, that is to say, is centrally relevant today. Look at the mad rush of the A.I. these days. Technology is speeding by such leaps and bounds that there is every possibility that robotics and the A.I. might outsmart the creator, the mankind. Many professions are literally dying. New ones may emerge. 

Surely, however, the constant upskilling/reskilling involved would create multiple problems in its wake. In such fluid and complex times, Marx may provide a few solutions. Hence this tribute to him on his death anniversary.

Pratima@ Any thinker, rooted in and hence limited by his times, can never ever be used as a 'one solution fits all' placebo for later times. Sure, however, every intellectual lamppost makes the road ahead clearer, right?

The Melodious Music

 The morning of March 14, as is typical of the rangpanchami/dhulwad festivities, will begin with a blast of blaring music as it is an absolutely public festival, truly for/of/by the people. The typical songs (and there are many more) that will be played full volume will be the Ranbir Kapoor-Deepika Padukone starrer "balam pichkari" alternating with the Rajesh Khanna-Mumtaz version of "Jay Jay Shiv Shankar" and the "Aaj na chodenge" featuring Rajesh Khanna yet again. Of course, who, and how, can miss the "rang barse" or "hori khelat Raghubira" in the unique Bacchan baritone, right?

Sure for most people, it is a festival of colours, of getting high, and of openly licensed flirting. These songs feed in to this unique combo of the Hori mood, right? 

Would you know, however, that these are dumbed down versions of the 'cheez' of the 'hori', a quasi-classical form of the Hindustani classical music. May be, there are similar forms in the South Indian music, too. In the Hindustani music, one could say, I suppose, with 'hori' begins the singing of the semi-classical modes such as 'kajari', 'chaiti', et al, which reflect the shift in seasons, and the change in the climate, and, hence in the mood, in the very feel.

Up North, such 'baithk-s' would be in full swing. In Pune itself, I think, Devaki Pandit recently ended her classical music programme with a 'hori'. In other words, this is 'the' festival of colours, of music, and of Bollywood dance as well as of Katthak, right? Does that mean this festival merely satiates the senses?

I do not think so at all. Well, in places like Vrindawan or in Pushkar, it is celebrated as a mode of the Radha-Krishna togetherness. Their union, too, has deeper philosophical and religious significance, right?

The obvious interpretation is that Radha-Krishna signify the body and the soul respectively. So the festival means celebrating this bond. In fact, I read an extended metaphor kind of explanation of this togetherness.

It seems the sixteen thousand 'naris' with whom Lord Krishna plays 'hori' are actually all the 'nadi's' in our body.  If Krishna is the heart, Radha- Radha continuously and fast repeated sounds as 'dha-ra-dha-ra' which would then be the normal flow of blood necessary for a balanced existence.

One can continue to explicate the extended metaphor in multiple ways such as Vasudev as the head, Yashoda as the backbone, et al. So it must have been explicated , and in depth, I suppose.

Festivals, in other words, can be analysed as  rooted in the agrarian-rural economic structures or in the ideational-cultural modes. Looked at either way, they signify a return to roots, so very necessary for a full(filled) existence!

Pratima@The deep surface structures, as Noam Chomsky, the great linguist-cultural analyst argued, are universal, and matter much more than the variations at the level of the surface structures/strictures.

Holi

 Holi is indeed holy. Most all of our festivals are symbolic. Holi is absolutely one such festival that is deeply symbolic. The demoness, Holika, burnt ceremonially this evening, signifies all that is evil, all that is demonic, all that is vicious within individuals as well as inside communities.

What all are the negativities in human beings? In fact, there are one too many even to merit any listing. In my opinion, however, the worst is ego. It is the devil, the incarnate demon that makes people chase the nadir the worst way. 

Can ego be controlled? Indeed why not? I do feel that it can be channelised positively. Once it so happens, such a person is never ever interested in wiping out someone else's line of fate, of identity, of being and becoming, so to say. 

Such a person, on the contrary, is so much involved in bettering his/her own line/self that all that could be dross gets burnt in the holy/Holi fire, and all that remains is sheer pure gold. The festival Holi basically signifies such self-purification in my opinion.

Given such deeper significance of the festival, rituals should not deter through devalued discussions. Let me give you an instance. Many people would believe that offering a puran poli to the sacred fire is a waste. Better give it to a poor person. 

In my opinion, any "dan" should be to a deserving person. Having read not only books on/about economics in addition to Brecht's "Three Penny Opera", a take on an eighteenth century play entitled 'The Beggar's Opera,' by John Gay, one knows that chicanery called the poor and poverty! Why, the use of children at busy traffic signals can exemplify the bitter and banal truth.

Better hence would be to continue the traditional rituals symbolically as token 'naiwaidya' and give the puran poli to the deserving, not the professional poor. Otherwise would begin the whataboutery about the ugly rituals in other faiths, right? 

In brief, let us all burn bitter arguments , and let the beautiful light of all that is the best in human beings and in the universe shine forth. That, in my opinion, is the real Holi.

Pratima@The festival Holi has a deeply emotional meaning for me. It is Aai's birth anniversary as per the tithi. Aai had the flame like brilliance and purity in her personality. Like the flame, she believed in always flaring upwards, being better constantly. She believed  in burning away bitterness-es consciously caused by others. So holy Holi is Aai who never carped on grouses, and instead believed in the 'from the darkness to light' feel of the Vaidic prayer.

Holi also has a tragic overtone for the last two years. Dhanu, 'Dhati' as my parents abbreviated her name 'Arundhati', Aai's beloved niece, succumbed to her kidney condition on the Holi day. Aai and Dhanu had a special bond which was thus cemented on the Holi day!