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!

Dhulwad

 About the Holi festival, which has huge personal significance for me, I am writing on March 12 evening, while today l am going to write about 'Dhulwad', the day which follows 'Holi'. 

Well, our educational institutions do not declare a holiday on the Holi day; rather the holiday is in the following day, the Dhulwad. In Maharashtra, it is celebrated as the colour festival. People throw colour at each other. Most all get thoroughly drenched in that colourful water.

Sure, as usual, there would be laments regarding wasting water! There would be messages regarding hazardous colours. There would be tips to prepare natural colours. People would, as is usual,un-see, un-hear, un-follow all such advice, and do precisely what they to want to anyways.

Well, how does the concept 'dhulwad' emerge? I think, once upon a time rather long ago, in the agrarian context, given the fact that the "rabbi" season was over, and the "kharip" rather away, people must have had some spare time to enjoy themselves. As a result, this festival of release of all sorts of pent-up feelings? May be, hence, literally throw mud at each each other in a symbolic way? At least, it must be so in the Marathi rural-agrarian folk context. Up North, the festival has a rather different focus and significance, about which some other time!

Well, is there any longer any need for a separate day for mud-slinging? These days, most all try their level best to get everybody else in to trouble actually and metaphorically, and so much so that, for tarnishing, a separate day is indeed not needed, right? Throw all sorts of dirt at others, especially when their profile is purer and whiter than the 'mean' majority; that is the norm!  Why then make an exception of a day, right? To shallow wickedness-es, anyways, the majority of so-called human beings hold on tight!

Pratima@ Evil is sure Satan incarnate. Much worse, however, are the ugly meaness-es and  vicious cheapness-es, truly evil, indeed Satanic!

Foe or Friend?

 You, too, must have spent agonising hours breaking your head, metaphorically, of course, against making the computer accept a simple programme. It is at such frustrating moments that you wonder whether the computer is a friend or a foe, right? 

In that sense, it is no different from most human beings, I would say. The poor computer is written as per the zero-one binary. So, the error can be easily rectified. As for human beings, the less said, the better. 

Human beings are quite like volcanoes, right? No way of knowing when why which would erupt, and in that wake follows everything, fumes, fury-n-sound, clouds that render everything invisible, red hot lava, destruction, in brief, everywhere!

Well, most human encounters are no different, right? The problem is how to respond, right? If you always take it lying down, the impression is that you are, not submissive, but a stupid fool. Everybody can take advantage of you, is the impression!

If you fight back, you are a fighter-cock. Well, it is conveniently forgotten during such accusations that you cannot fight with the wind, right? That means you are fighting with someone, and unless and until that person fought/fights with you, possibly you cannot. But you alone would be blamed!

So life is tough, in brief. It is just that the computer encounter sometimes mimics human beings! After all, like creator, like creation!

Pratima@Violence may or may not beget violence. But non-violence sure snaps or slaps back at you. Well, often one wonders if it indeed is true that even Gandhiji, who could stand up to a Churchill, would not have managed with Hitler, Mussolini and Stalin, in combo or individually!

Cricket Mania

 Super Sunday it must have been for all cricket lovers. My brothers and my nephews must have remained glued to the TV screen. Papa would have loved the match, and Aai would have enjoyed watching it with them all.

What exuberant celebration it was! The fireworks did not stop bursting for full ten minutes. Yet it has to be admitted that the 'high'  was more when India defeated Enemy Number One. Everyone knows who!

In our family, I am the only one who is not an avid cricket fan. Well, sorry I am to say so at this time when the whole team must be partying away like crazy, and when the whole of India is basking in that glory.

Well, given the monies involved, cricket always gives one the feel that people are betting on every ball and each hit of/with the bat. The moment such a reality is obvious, in creeps the fact that often the players, the administration could be part of the whole sick bookies business!

It hardly leaves a very sporty test, and taste, too, in the mouth, right? As it is, cricket now is less an art, and more a power play, in all senses of this term. Literally, too! A Gundappa Vishwanath with his bat flowing fluently and most artistically would not survive in the hard fast hitting ball variety of cricket today. Why, Gavaskar, who now survives as a commentator, would not hit the ball with his bat the helicopter shot way, right?

Hence here is wishing the game of cricket fairness, accountability and sports feel enriched with the artistry of unique shots and superb fielding. Fans are forever as cricket is quasi-religious in India.

Pratima@ When my nephews were kids, in their childhood gully cricket, i used to be the extra player whose basic function would be the donkey work, getting water, eats, and the ball hit hard! When my fielding and batting would be due, their baited breaths would be visible! The moment I would be out, there used to be that great sigh of relief. Oh, yes, that happens to be the only cricket i truly loved!

Worth remembrance

 March 8 is the day women are showered with praise, hugely, in heaps and heaps. Literally, women are drenched in admiration on March 8. On this day, it is as if womanhood is born free and perfect.

There was this lovely message which maintained that at least on this day deserve the martyrs' mothers and wives warm remembrance and deep respect. In my opinion, these martyrs could be from the pre-Independence or post-Independence stage.

Sure, during the Freedom Struggle, women entered the public space. It was Gandhiji's contribution during the "Quit India" movement. Some of them like Sarojini Naidu, Kasturba Gandhi became  noteworthy as the female faces of the Freedom Struggle.

Equally worth devotion and respect are the mothers and wives of freedom fighters in the first phase of the Independence Struggle. How about Lokmanya's wife? How about  Swatantrya Veer Sawarkar's wife and sisters-in-law? How about Bhagat Singh's mother? How about Batukeshwar Dutt's wife who under disguise saved Bhagat Singh's life? 

The men in their lives were every which way lost to the public sphere which completely corroded the private spaces of these women. Yet like the hundreds and thousands of women who entered the nation-al arena circa the Quit India movement, these remarkable women hugely, though silently, contributed to the Freedom struggle in its earlier phase.

Similarly, post-Independence, the women in the families of the army/air force/ navy men who served our nation, protected us so that most of us could live a cosy, comfy life also deserve our deep gratitude. To give you a not-much-noticed example, the COVID stopped our lives.

 But the valiant merchant navy officers sailed the seven seas so that there could be some movement of goods and raw materials of all sorts. Like the police and doctors, these bravehearts, too, deserve our deep respects. Hence our family is very proud of my shippy brother, Parag/Raju, who is now training even girls to become superb shippy officers, cadets to captains!

Long live such unsung but unique memories!

Pratima@ There was this lovely message which stated that the day, when a woman, all alone,  walking down a lonely dark lane is not considered a prey, a liability, but rather a responsibility, would be the real women's day! Absolutely!! In the meantime, let us take care of ourselves every which way!!!

It is that time of the year yet again!

 March 8! Yes, it is that time of the year yet again. Do I sound a little cynical? Well, I know and I do not know. It is the best of the times and it is the worst of the times to quote Dickens. What do I mean by such confusing confounding statements? Well, since yesterday afternoon, I have been getting on women's groups, too, messages either of fulsome flattery, praising women to skies or of the 'twenty percent reduction for a facial' variety. Am I confused!

In my personal opinion, if there is any genuine need for observing the day, it IS now.  Why? Well, look at the speed and the access of the technology. Any fool can use his mobile to take/edit a pic, to edit conveniently what you said/did not say! A drone camera, easily available/accessible can tamper privacy like anything. 

Much worse, technology such as the A. I. is sure to have a negative impact on the job market. The effect would most adversely be felt by women. Sure new jobs would come up. The skill sets for these are not easy though.

Still worse would be the case of the huge number of aging women. Circa the end of the twentieth century and the beginning of the twenty-first, I presented a paper in the JNU about the depiction of aging women in the media and how it affects the societal prejudices. The situation is much worse now, especially because the percentage of the senior citizens is exponentially growing, while support systems are diminishing.

In such a scenario, Gen Z, Y, X, Alpha, or whatever, has a space that, too, is shrinking on multiple levels. May be, to overcome such malaise, are there the rosy tints of free facials? 

No, no, I do not have any major complaints against the government. Yes, there are many a welfare measures being conscientiously taken. Yet the very numbers are staggering, right? Unfortunately, moreover, neither the young nor the society in general seem to mind the consumerist/capitalist dumbing down of the day in to a silly celebration either of the 'reduction in hair/facial treatment' or of the usual plethora of the same speeches on the same themes the same way!

I am a born optimist though. I am sure, solid solutions would emerge, and, of course, in my own small but genuine way, I shall bear the birthing pains!

Pratima@ Nobody can stop the evolution of an idea whose time has come. Victor Hugo would sure forgive me the changes I made to his great quote. 

Clean Energy

 What is clean energy? Let us look at it from two perspectives. The first one would be an individual oriented look, while the second one would be the societal-enviornmental one.

What is 'clean energy' when it comes to an individual? Sure it has to be the cleanliness of methods, modes, materials he/she uses. More than that, it means the cleanliness of purpose. If an individual's motives are clean, such an individual would have a clean aura, a clean energy.

I would like to maintain that to achieve any goal, a given purpose in life, such clean energy is indeed an asset, nay, the basic most requirement. A society which has many such individuals would have a clean ethos, too.

These days, however, such spiritual-ethical definition of cleanliness is not enough. In the pursuit of material pleasures, man has so vitiated the actual physical environment that an actual, reality-rooted definition of clean energy is necessary.

Such a definition would but 'naturally' avoid the excessive use of petrol/diesel. Mining, which has now reached even the sea beds, would be suspect, too. Instead clean alternatives which lead to a sustainable growth would be preferred. 

Which would they be? A battery operated vehicle is sure better than the one with  petro/diesel engine. For the battery generation/operation, however, emerge requirements such as mining of metals, their purification, and so on. These processes, too, pollute!

What then would be clean energy? It can be solar energy, for instance. Once I watched a video of a jugad by a mofussil man who had managed to craft from junk a solar cycle which could carry seven people! It was absolutely functional, moreover. 

Such experiments could be made more refined/sophisticated. In India, there IS a huge attempt to harness the solar energy  as an alternative to current modes of electrification. Water, wind, waves, these are other natural resources of clean energy.

Each of these, however, has its own innate limitations as re-sources of energy. In other words, energy, if it has to be truly clean, has to purified at the real source, that is, the excessive human consumption. 

If and only if human beings stop excessive self-indulgences of all sorts, energy can ever be truly clean. Such a process would involve both, sacrifices of selfishnesses of many modes and a societal better structuring at the governance level as well.

Let me give a simple example to prove this point. Instead of individual cars that pollute, that cause horrid traffic jams, citizens should use public transport which in turn must be clean, neat, punctual, pleasant which would be the duty of societal and governance structures.

In brief, whatever may be the level, individual or societal, pure is what pure does! 

Pratima@ To be clean/pure, to remain clean/pure, too, have their own price, though worth the cost!

Many an idle song

 Those of us who love literature, especially English literature, would know the blistering satires Alexander Pooe wrote. He wrote open all the warts and wounds that the genteel society knows how to hide behind thick skins. 

One wonders how many versions and editions of  "An Essay on Criticism" and "An Epistle to Dr. Arbuthnot"  (from whence comes the title of our blog today) he would have penned in the current context! Why so? Well, being an author is indeed getting apparently easier, but actually terribly tougher, by the day!

Oh, yes, all possible ChatGPT types pose a unique problem. Any theme, any form, nothing is an anathema to the A.I. It can concoct any text of any length in a jiffy. It can, moreover, provide its alternative the next minute.

The problem is that genuine creativity is hence totally lost, like Hansel and Gretel, with thick, knotty jungles everywhere, with no bread crumbs to guide you back to safety! Let us count a few which-es (who said 'witches'? Sure I did not!) that make the journey an absolute impossibility.

To begin with, yes, in every Wapp, alias whatsapp, group, whether it be family or friends, you are sure to find a poet too many (in the making). All of them think that rhyme, however far-fetched, makes poesy!

If that is not enough, there are (m)any numbers of online self-publication sites. You pay them a certain amount, and, voilà, in no time, they make you a BOOK! Yes, a BOOK, you read it right! The theme can be anything and everything, meditative, life advice, how- to-type's; the mode can be anything, poetry to research paper, a book is/gets ready-made! 

Such sites (and their entrepreneurial owners out to make monies, eh, writing) advise you about the designing, book cover, blurb, all in the package. Why, they are even ready to ghost-write it for you, and, wonder of wonders, they CAN make it the chart-buster, and for weeks, too. The 'password' is money, money, and money. Everything is indeed 'rated' in all the senses of the term! 

People pay to get their 'research' published. To begin with, they pay to get it written! I was asked to ghost-write a few Ph.D's. Now they would rather request such publishers who would never outright reject, unlike me. Rather, these days, the AI might be the re-searcher. Who knows? Sure it is already so at the UG level!

Equally tough to bear is the senti silly stuff on the blogs and the FB. I am saved because I am not on the insta and/or X! How to tell anyone that fluff is NOT good stuff! Sweet sweet cute cute concoctions cause blisters, please!

Let us not even mention the pop culture. Everybody is a rapper these days! So much so that in one of my German classes, I had to concoct an instant one so that my wow students could remember numbers through rhythm!

Well, *All the very best to all the poetasters as Pope would call them* . Well, writing is indeed not cooking up 'many an idle song.' Writing IS truly serious stuff. It is tough. There is no fairy mommy or sugar daddu to help you out. 

Writing wraps your brain to begin with. It pries open your heart, and has your soul in a wrench, whether it is creative stuff or re-search. It strains your eyes, moreover, because you can write well if and only if you READ a lot.

 And forget not the re-draft! In your mind's eye, every alphabet you concoct appears like a gem. On the paper/laptop screen though, you would realise that it is not even a broken bangle piece which would at least be colourful. Writing, in brief, is not an idle song! It IS heart/hard work! 

Oh, my creative angst/ my worries Thou  infer canst/let my words be blest/let times forever them test/taste!

Pratima@Writing need not be heavy. It can be very simple language. The central idea, however, must be complex. Only then do you write, and, that, too, okay-ish! Self-reflexivity is indeed a great virtue!

Cruelty, thy name is the brutish behaviour day in and night out

 Everyone, especially the regular vloggers, youtubers and podcasters, and hence their regular readers/subscribers, each one of them, is talking about the cruel murder, which is a terrible shame, rightfully leading to a resignation.

Why such cruelty? Apparently, there seem to be all sorts of reasons such as political clout of a certain inclination, caste rivalry, monetary demands, gangsterism, and so on.

Personally though, I think that basically most people have become brutal, have turned non-normal, have got desensitised. Harassing somebody is 'time pass', a fun game leading to huge enjoyment, for most people these days. Targetting a person, the better he/she is than you especially, and even in general, is a regular pastime. Whatever happened at Massajog is just an inevitable extension of such sick mentality of the "wat laga di" variety.

Let me give a few examples to prove that the societal mindset is thus degraded. In the so-called intellectual circles, for example, a person, who can grant you even the smallest, the tiniest favour, is always right. The bootlickers know perfectly very well that their lady "aka" ( a favourite term these days), what is lady-like about her though cannot be found even under a mighty microscope, is absolutely mean, a nasty power-monger allied to a political leader with a history of everything questionable.

Believe me, even such career politicians would blush if the activities of the 'great' souls in academics and/or creative/intellectual circles were to be equally well-known. But boot-licking continues unashamedly! Try uttering a sentence against their pet peeves, and the entire mafia is out with verbal knives which are worse than the actual weapons. Their Trump behaviour, equally lacking in subtlety,  is indeed worth a watch.  

Yet another tiresome entity is the so-called rejected lover. If an adult man, if he can indeed be so called, has anything approaching heart, would he gossip about his 'love' from the rooftop to the whole world? Most interestingly, you would have never ever seen the creep with the woman in question. 

He would have never moved his small toe an inch to help her, while dishing out great help to absolute meanies because they helped him in covering up his ugly life and horrible escapades. In fact, such a cad is up to horrible character assassination of the hapless victim so that his ugly family life gets covered up. To hide the very many skeletons at home, he releases all sorts of ridiculous canards.

Similarly, let a relative manage for you a job you absolutely do not deserve, and, voilà, you are his lifetime bounden slave, a vassal ready to murder metaphorically, of course, because you would not even have that much brain otherwise. 

Constant competition, jealousy, meanness, viciousness, hatred, ganging up in a creepy way, spreading sick, silly rumours, neighing a mocking smirk, meaningless taunting, the cheap list is endless. Sure, these are 'mean', in both senses of the term, tendencies. Currently, however, the cheap chorus is at a cruel crescendo. For a cup of tea and a vada-pav, an entire army of  fools can harass an absolutely  innocent victim. 

Kindness, goodness, gentleness, decency, honesty, integrity are noteworthy currently because of their minimal most presence! People think that mocking, jeering, deceiving, lying do the trick!! Well, there IS justice in this vast Universe!!!

Pratima@In Orwell's "1984", there is a precise, distilled image of all such inhumanity, a heavy boot forever crushing a face! Sick, barbaric brutality cannot have a better image.

www=world wild way

 Do you love watching 'Animal Planet'? Do you like the FB groups about the various safaris? Is it the case that if you see a pic or a video about any form of wild life, birds, animals, trees, you cannot scroll by? If your answer to any or all of these questions is a 'yes', here is a metaphorical handshake.

I love the wild life with its unique sights, sounds, scents, and silences. In my opinion, however, wild life does not merely mean the lions, the tigers, the elephants, the polar bears, and all the other exotic fauna. Sure they matter a lot. In my opinion, however, equally important is the flora in the wilderness. 

Let me give you an example to prove my point. If the bear is to survive, honey in the beehives is important. For a beehive to thrive, bees would require certain plants, specific trees with their unique flowers. See how the wild life is a life cycle, where the whole includes every part, and each part feeds in to the larger whole. No wonder, in the olden days, rishis preferred teaching and meditating in the wilderness!

It is this symbiotic communion, total rapport, fraternal inter-dependence with a truly social feel that binds the wild life together, right? Hence, earlier, human beings used to maintain 'devrai', a sacred space dedicated to the wild life every which way. Unfortunately, however, after destroying the primeval hinterlands,  human habitats are mostly mere jungles, nasty, mean, brutish in its total 'i, me, my' vacantness. No wonder, an Emerson, a Thoreau preferred the 'wanopnishad', the sacred praise dedicated to the forests, away from the non-/in-human jungles, called cities, contaminated every which way.

If we are to survive, we have to follow the www. No, no, not merely the 'world wide web', but the 'world wild way' as well. Let us preserve, conserve, and deserve a 'wild'er tomorrow! Happy World Wild Life Day!

Pratima@ How to make that jungle called human habitat in to a fantastic forest; that is the question!

Oh, yes, we hardly know enough about that wilderness called the seas and the oceans where actually once upon a time long long long long ago, life began. Let us not make the seabeds in to our 'waste'-lands!

The Zelensky (in) Shambles

 "Behind closed doors" was quite a key phrase in Maharashtra politics circa 2019. It appears as if this phrase might have been rather relevant in the current America-Ukraine face-off. Actually, when two presidents meet, all the details of the possible interview are threadbare discussed by the foreign ministers, and other such officers as the consul, etc,  behind 'closed doors'. Every mo(ve)ment is finely orchestrated and monitored.

Hence that surprise called the Zelensky fiasco which leaves the wrecked and wretched Ukraine more and more in shambles. Actually, till Trump won, Zelensky was openly attacking him in the Democratic conventions. So sure he was of the Kamala Harris candidature. In addition, he had already thrice avoided inking the deal. Obviously, behind closed doors, Trump, Vance, and the Aids must have decided to teach him a lesson.

It was pure theatrics, " good television"  as Trump stated openly.  He was perfectly successful in showing (off) that he cares for peace and the American interests, given his tough stance which translates to "treasure only if and only if ceasefire", that, too, as per the American terms and conditions. His voters are thus shown how he is not splurging unnecessarily the ordinary American tax-payer's hard-earned money. 

It could have been a warning to Europe, too. EU nations, mostly in shambles themselves, cannot help Ukraine without America's help. Messers Trump, Vance and Co. are perfectly aware of this reality. Hence the open insult and ill-treatment of Zelensky who was presented poorly as pressurising for the Third World War.

Well, Zelensky pouted, threw a tantrum like a kid. Immediately he rushed to Fox TV ( of all!) to complain and carp. He cut a rather sorry figure for his beleaguered country where impeachment may await him! 

The moral of this fiasco is that in contemporaneous international relations what matters is the insular interests, mostly monetary. The mighty America, which is so much demurring regarding weapons to Ukraine, is comfortable with the arms deals with the Middle East! Words like democratic ideals et al are, in brief, mere salad dressing!

Pratima@Sure Zelensky stood his ground regarding the "suit" stuff. Beyond that, he played in to the American hand by trying to tell Trump how the "ocean" can be no safety measures which led to Trump literally roasting him! No wonder, one remembers the Kissinger quote, viz; "enmity with America is dangerous, friendship fatal!"

All are equal

"All are equal." Yes, that is basically the theme of the 'No Discrimination Day' celebrated on March 1. It is an initiative by the U.N. In our world marked by very many differentiations, such a day is indeed necessary.

What all discriminations are created by the power hungry 'i'diots. Yes, behind all discriminations stands a bullying 'I'. Such an aggressive 'I' trying to belittle others, and trying to keep all things plum  for self, relatives and friends, is often hidden behind a very so-called-progressive facade. 

This mask falls/fails, and the real ugly power hungry and self-centred face shows up the moment there is an imaginary scratch on their so-called self-importance. You cannot ask such people a simple question. It appears a threat to them. The entire gang would be up in arms against you! 

Such people, who would comfortably compromise behind the scenes to get, and to hold to themselves and to those of their ilk, the utmost power and every possible centrality, would always wear the cloak of fraternity, freedom, liberty and equality!

Hence the need of the "no discrimination" day which marks the rejection of any differentiation on the basis of colour, creed, class, caste, region, religion, language or gender. 'Give respect and get respected' is the simple slogan that summarises this unique day much needed in the world today so that nobody turns out to be "more equal".

Pratima@ Chandra Shekhar Azad, whose death centenary was recently celebrated, insisted, " enemies' bullets we would face/free we were, independent we remain." Such a 'born, bred and stay free' attitude questions all possible discriminations, right?

The Art of Science

 Oh, no, do not worry! Do not think, please, that just because  it is the National Science Day, I am going to fulminate on how the Newton-ian optical principles were reflected in Wordsworth's celebration of the rainbow. Believe me though when I insist that the traditional view which looks at the Romantic poets in a very non-/un-scientific paradigm is absolutely wrong. 

It is very easy to establish the connect between the Romantics and the contemporaneous developments in science. Remember, "Frankenstein'', the first ever science fiction in the whole world, was written by Mary Shelley in the beginning of the nineteenth century, a beehive of multiple scientific and technological developments.

Why then the title of our blog? Is that your question? Well, my contention today is that science and art are not diametrically opposite, are not mutually exclusive. Unfortunately, the popular binary treats them so. Rational science versus intuitive art is the silly prejudice nurtured over centuries.

Believe me though when I insist that science and literature, in fact, most plastic arts, are two sides of the same coin. Why do I say so? Well, both begin with imagination and inspiration. Scientists, too, enjoy that 'frenzy of imagination'  Shakespeare or Coleridge  talks about. Often we have read about how this or that scientist found the perfect solution to an impossible problem through the epiphany of a reverie.

Next, both use the royal road of the perception for the Eureka  moment. The  perception tools, touch, taste, et al are tools of both, right? Well, both can make or mar an individual or a society. Multiple examples can be given to support my statement.

Are there any differences? Yes, undoubtedly. Science, and its offspring, that is, technology are value-neutral. The duo is in fact a-moral. Literature, on the other hand, is deeply ethical in its search of the meaning of the perceived reality, and beyond.

Well, whatever be their differences, I love them both immensely. Though literature is my oxygen, I try to keep myself abreast in the sciences. Believe me, in brief, beyond binaries exist excellent expanses!

Pratima@In my opinion, science teaches you the ultimate humility because it tells you that the reality we understand is limited by our current paradigms. Let the paradigm shift, expand, evolve a bit, and new worlds emerge. Einstein expanded the Newton-ian world view beyond belief. Now, not even the A.I. knows what it can attain!

Oh, yes, performing arts like music and dance, too, are mathematical. But  let us discuss this issue  some other time!