Viruses that are vitriolic!

 Hypocrisy and Partiality are two bothersome defects that vitiate any situation. Be it the office and/or the family, especially the larger variety as and when they come in to contact (as joint family as an institution is already in its very last throes), obvious partiality, and hypocrisy to hide it or to gloss over it, completely ruin relationships as totally destroyed in the process is faith. 

Do you think it is only amongst individual relationships, be it familial or work related, that partiality and its after effect (or is it the cause) hypocrisy are manifest? Not really! These viruses destroy national and international relations as well. 

Want an example? No, we are not going to talk about the 'Trump'ery or Gaza or Ukraine. These are viruses that have mutations that can defeat the Covid one! 

Let me talk about a different, a newer version. Significantly, the BBC, ever aware of the minute most wrinkle in any socio-political contexts, especially in fast developing countries like India, in this case, is conspicuously quiet. Absolutely has gone deaf, dumb, mute, blind over the issue!

The 'local' media, however, is bursting at the seams over the double dealing of the British PM about the EU connect with Britain, how it has been exposed by the Opposition, and even by the coalition partners, and, most importantly, how it has led to a constitutional climax to which apparently the Monarchy, too, has responded, proving thus that it is not merely of decorative value.

Such a context, if it really is unspooling itself in the British parliament, is a grave situation. The hypocrisy and partiality of the international media, espcially of the BBC, is such that the entire scandal is pushed under the carpet. 

Despite the funny silence of the main media over the grave context, the social media, especially of the local variety has erupted over it, opening up in the process festering wounds such as the exploits of  'grooming gang'! 

 Unbelievable is the response of the immigrant community from india. Most of them seem to form ghettos in different pockets, live the 'here' there! The umbilical cord is tough to cut! Or is it the language problem? They do not seem to integrate with the  country of adoption. They alienate themselves from the immediately local contexts, Thus win hypocrisy, and even sick conscious partiality, through ignorance! 

Pratima@ In the final analysis, partiality and hypocrisy, however much they may try, cannot hide the warts and wounds that deface the reality. Instead, despite their double dealings and two timing talks, the perpetrators of partiality and hypocrisy expose themselves totally, completely, fully! 

Bhaubeej

 The Bhaubeej this year was special for me for two reasons. First and foremost, my brothers came to Mukund Nagar for celebrating the Bhaubeej. Sanju must have come for the first time after Aai's demise. Raju, too, comes very rarely, but he did come at least a few times that could be counted on the fingertips of one palm. It must be very difficult, tough indeed, for them both, too. They honoured my wish though, which was a great high for me. 

So far after Aai's demise, the get-together happened mostly at Sanju's place. I felt very happy that both of them came here as it was a fulfilment of Aai's wishes for our togetherness. My Bhaubeej was absolutely made thus! 

The other reason that makes the Bhaubeej Day special this year is that exactly four months ago, on June 23, I was returning to Hrishikesh after an exemplary (absolutely none of the typical Himalayan problems such as traffic jams or landslides or horrible rains were a bother) pilgrimage of the Chardham. The "kapat" (as known up there) of Yamunotri, Gangotri and Kedarnath close today. 

All those memories linger forever. At Yamunotri (where Yamuna, the daughter of Surya, requests her twin brother Yama that neither painful nor untimely death would happen in the family of the devotee who visits her temple), I fell yet again madly in love with the heavenly Himalayas. 

The grand vistas en route to, and at, Yamunotri, Gangotri and Kedarnath, every moment, etched eternally on the mindscape, the mighty grandeur and yet the quiet strength of the Himalayas forever play like in a loop in my mind. As is always typical of me, I manage to push back/behind the ugly behaviour one encountered, as it appears so infinitely cheap and miniscule in that superb company.

Thereafter, every bit of information/news of the Himalayas has been a constant (companion) for me. Hence the Bhaubeej Day, when the temples close till Akshay Tritiya circa May, matters. I can imagine the literally white, absolutely total, silence that will hence rule there. Though I did get to visit the temples where the deities would now reside, it does not mean much as Yamunotri, Gangotri and Kedarnath have built a forever fortress in my mind!

Pratima@ I have always loved Wordsworth's "Daffodils". Yet now I really know what is truly meant by 

"For oft, when on my couch I lie/In vacant or in pensive mood,/They flash upon that inward eye/Which is the bliss of solitude;/And then my heart with pleasure fills,/And dances with the daffodils."

The only difference is that "they stretched in a never ending line" in my case refers to the Himalayan heights, peaks, routes and sights!

The Beginning of the End

 As and when the Padwa day, the fourth day of the Diwali festival dawns, without fail, I always feel a twinge, a pang. There are a number of reasons why. 

First and foremost, there is a sense of sadness because the Padwa heralds the beginning of the end of Diwali. Just a day more, and then a year long wait again, right? Willy-nilly, during Diwali, meet-n-greet has to happen. There hence is a pleasant sense of togetherness, of euphoria. Hence this 'just a day more' feel. 

The day is a little depressing also because it shows two contradictory, in fact, mutually exclusive attitudes to the  Vaidic consciousness, the second one aggravating the anti-Aryans feel, currently seethingly dominant.

Let us begin with the positive one as is my wont. On this day is celebrated the Gowardhan Puja. There is often an 'annakot', a mount/mound of food, signifying Lord Vishnu in his Krishanavtar saving the cowherds from the excessive rains and floods. The deity as a young lad lifts an entire mountain to save the lives and livelihoods of the common man. 

Exactly opposite is the story of the Bali Pratipada. Here, too, Lord Vishnu is a young lad, Wamana, the 'batu'. He is granted the three feet strong space by the generous and good King Bali whom he sends to the Patal Loka through trickery. Bali is granted the boon that he could annually meet his citizens. Hence the Bali Pratipada!

The narrative that is currently dominant is that of the trickster Batu Wamana, signifying the Aryans, to be specific the Vaidic believers, especially the Brahmins, being deceitful, unjust and pilfering the rights of the other, the lower castes.

Actually, both the myths relate to Lord Vishnu, and yet the narratives created are so vastly different. The Gowardhan Puja is conveniently forgotten, despite its elevating feel, both figuratively and literally, too! 

In my opinion, such convenient cherry picking kind of 're-search'ed narrativisation is indeed depressing because it unnecessarily creates bad blood between castes, and thereby in the society itself.  Honestly, at times, the anti-Aryan feelings, consciously  stoked, remind of the Holocaust rhetoric against Jews wherein jealousy masqueraded as societal justice led to pathetic (in all senses of this term) genocide!

Enough of such interpretation of the Padwa fest in the public arena. In the private space, it is a lovely tribute to the marital bond, which, too, is fraying at the edges these days. Hence this urgent need to re-imagine its original sense by celebrating it!

Pratima@ Recently I read another such example of cherry picking as 're-search'. There was this lady who was vehemently arguing that Lokmanya Tilak was anti-lower castes! Poor Tilak! During his lifetime, he was reviled for giving a status and a weightage to the non-Brahmins. He was often criticised contemporaneously as the leader of the lower castes and the downtrodden!

Similarly, in the educational field, he told his own son to take up any profession (the example he gave was that of a cobbler), but excel in it. The re-search article I refer to in the first paragraph of the conclusion of our blog talks of the great leader as thwarting, opposing the education of the non-Brahmins so that they continue in to typical traditional jobs/roles! 

Actually, currently, the white collar jobs are mostly occupied by the non-Brahmins, while the Brahmins are taking up the role of stockists and re-distributors, hardly creative by any strech of imagination. Many Brahmin women are caterers, small time to the Chitale Bandhu types. 

That was what Tilak was presciently thinking, right in the initial stages of the independence struggle. Who cares for facts and scholarly integrity though? What matters is rubbing a point in, however dishonest and unjust! 

The Diwali 'Dhan' Poojan

 When I try to make some special sense of our festivals, I try to locate a pattern. What do I mean? Is that your question? Sure, our festivals are season-bound. That is very much an established fact by now. 

Let me try a different viewpoint. Let us look at the Diwali festival which lasts for six days, right? My submission is that the festival begins in the public sphere to finally end with the private space, the truly close relationships. 

Okay, let me clarify. Till the Padwa alias Bali Pratipada morning, we are in the public domain. We celebrate the livestock (Vasu Baras) , next the medicinal matters (dhan teras), after that control over a tyrant (narak chaturdashi), next the money matters that truly matter in real  lived life (Laxmi Poojan) and the bond a good ruler can create (Padwa and Bali Pratipada), right? 

In fact, I would like to go a step forward and state that the festival resonates with the professions that mattered most during the days of the barter economy, the farmer/the cowherd, the medicine man, the 'kshatriya' (I mean the professional function, not the caste) who helped the common man against a tyrant, the trader/merchant, and finally the good ruler. 

I would like to state that all the myths associated with each day suit this interpretation, too. Kamdhenu, Dhanwantari, Narkasur Vadh, Laxmi descending to the earth, and finally the remembrance of the good king. That is the order from Vasu Baras to Padwa. 

Padwa evening onwards, the focus shifts, I would like to say. Padwa evening is devoted to the marital bond, while the Bhaubeej is dedicated to the brother-sister relationship. Both are very intimate, familial bonds. Hence my argument that Diwali celebrations travel from the public sphere to the private space. 

Sure I need to work more on this thesis. Yet I think it would jell. That is the real beauty of Laxmi Poojan. The wealth need not merely be material. It can be 'idea'-ological , too. Let us count the Wealth not merely of Nations, but of notions, ideas, concepts, thoughts as well. Sure Adam Smith, too, would like it. 

Pratima@ Newer ideas energise the celebrations of ancient traditions 

The Badi Diwali begins!

 Actually Diwali is Diwali. There cannot be any big or small Diwali, right? Under the influence of Hindi though, these days there is this high funda talk of the Badi Diwali which, I suppose, begins with Narak Chaturdashi.

Yes, THE feel of Diwali truly sets in with Narak Chaturdashi. Ardently i remember the childhood days. Aai used to wake up 4.30-ish. Well, she finally slept forever around that time, too! She used to play the Bismillah Khan shehnai record. We always woke up to those lovely tunes.

Those days it used to be truly cold circa 5-ish. Winter would have set in. The cold, however, would not matter as Aai would massage us with warm oil and the Diwali special 'utane', the special scrub. Silken used to be her fingers. The warm water, the mellow light of the 'panati', the 'diya' on the window ledge, her eyes lit up as she would perform the Diwali special "owalne"at the end of the ceremonial bath, siblings lighting up a sparkler, the Diwali special Mysore Sandal soap, this bath, a feast for four senses, would make one feel light as a feather!

The missing, the fifth, sense would soon be satiated with her truly tasty 'faral'. Distinctly I remember Papa performing 'puja', while she would bathe us. Hers would be somehow managed before the day break. Hardly  would it matter to her.

Given such total, complete and absolute adoration and love of our parents, I respect, come what may, her only wish that the three of us should always continue to care for each other, and be together at least during the festive times. Simple soulful wish, MUST be fulfilled. Till the end of my days, I am sure. It is thus that evil is defeated, the real meaning of the 'good winning', the core message of Narak Chaturdashi!

Pratima@As for the 'Narkasur Vadh', everyone remembers Krishna marrying the sixteen thousand women the demon, Narkasur, had incarcerated. Actually, the marriage is a symbolic sanction of their dignity, otherwise not granted by the social strictures supposedly.

Funny, however, it is quoting Krishna marrying  these unfortunate women because forgotten is the fact that Satyabhama, Krishna's consort, helped Krishna defeat the demon. Apparently, not only did she provide him support and succour during the fierce battle, but actually hers was the final blow which killed Narakasur. Essentially, it is a woman who can defeat a demon! 

In my opinion, that is the real win of the good over evil, often overlooked in the 'sixteen thousand wives' narrative! Actually, it is  Satyabhama, a trained warrior, an accomplished archer, who, too, sure deserves our respect, however much traditionally overlooked.

The empty useless day

 Often when the solar and the lunar calendars clash, there emerges a day during Diwali when neither of the six important Diwali days, Narak Chaturdashi to Bhaubij, falls on this day. 

Does this empty vacant day bring a lull in the Diwali fervour? Its Marathi nomenclature, "bhakad diwas", an infertile day, may make you think so! "Bhakad" refers to a cow, or any other milch animal, beyond its calf bearing, lactating period. Forgetting her lifelong selfless service, often she is sent to an abattoir. 

Heartless it is! The Diwali bhakad day though is not entirely useless. It can be used to meet the near and dear ones, enjoy a leisurely cuppa over a hearty chat long overdue. Eats anyways are forever ready during Diwali. There can be music, singing, playing an instrument, listening to the greats. 

The pet of the family should be walking in and out of this charmed circle, contentedly chuffing those sounds of endearment.

  A so-called useless day thus blooms in to the most memorable. Try it this Sunday, and feel the magic make Diwali more memorable! 

Pratima@Nothing ever is useless. You must learn to find its pristine value though. 

Diwali Special

 Yes, Wasubaras, the day that initiates this unique festival, celebrated  as it is most happily, both in a hutment and a palace, has a mythical allusion to the Kamdhenu, the divine cow, who could grant any boon, fulfil any wish. Beautiful legends are woven around her, right from the Samudra Manthan to the "making" of Sage Vishwamitra whose burning jealousy of Sage Vasishtha made him steal her. Why, in a way, she is inextricably linked to Lord Rama and his lineage as well. 

The moniker of the second day of Diwali is a little misleading though. Dhanteras does not really relate to the monetary mirage. Sure, the very festival celebrates prosperity. Yet the "dhan" in "dhanteras" has less to do with money. Actually, this day is dedicated to Dhanwantari, the deity dedicated to medicine. He has the "amrut kumbha", when like the Kamdhenu, he emerged from the samudra manthan. Alternatively, he is the sage who initiated Ayurveda. He was the first ever surgeon, too, apparently. 

In other words, the day is dedicated to health which follows the divine cow, and comes before destroying the evil (Narakasura), and before praying for wealth, the Laxmi. Well, I am trying to locate a sequence that gives a deep, uniquely symbolic meaning to Diwali. 

Hence I find very limiting, and actually misrepresenting, the typical colonial interpretation of Diwali as the "festival of lights", the "Lichterfest", as it is translated in to German in a very Maxmueller kinda easy-to-be-understood-to/by-the-West colonial way. Diwali, I am trying to present, and actually in our bones we anyways know it to be, is much much more than a fest of lights. It actually lights up the inner horizons, is my plea. 

With Dhanteras is associated a lovely Savitri like story of a dedicated wife who saves her husband's life against the prognosis of death. Given the boon granted to her, only on this particular day, a diya is lighted with its wick towards the South, the direction of death.

Diwali, in brief, is a festival not merely of lights, but of  a celebration of all that asserts life, wins over even death. Why diminish its glory by associating the festival with merely lights, or the day with "dhan"? 

It is believed in certain parts of India that on this day thirteen diyas should be lit. In Maharashtra, such illumination has a unique dimension to it. In Maharashtra, Diwali is inner illumination because it is food for thought as well. Yes, in Maharashtra, there is this unique practice of Diwali Ank, the Diwali Special issues of magazines. Incidentally, this tradition (which provides a Diwali Special space for the churning of ideas, thoughts, opinions) turns hundred this year. 

It is a moment of quiet satisfaction for me that this year are published two of my articles, one on Guru Dutt's filmography (as 2025 is his birth centenary year) and the other on the Mexico City Convention (a definitive moment in the awareness of women related issues as it turns fifty this year) as well as on Jane Austen who uniquely defined women's stories (as 2025 celebrates her two hundred and fiftieth birth anniversary) and on Virginia Woolf (as her radically distinct novel "Mrs Dalloway" turns hundred this year).

Actually every year there are a number of my articles in the Diwali Special issues. In June this year, when mostly decisions are finalised, I was in the Himalayas, an experience which has illuminated my inner horizon with multiple high's, literal as well as figurative.

Till 2020, it used to be Aai, who would receive, and first answer, the readers' calls of appreciation as our landline phone was right next to her bed so that communication should be very easy, as and when needed. It used to be a great feel cradling the mouthpiece from her, her face and eyes full of happiness and joy. Diwali, in brief, is a special period of such lovely memories rejuvenating my mindscape!

Pratima@ Diwali is an annually recurring fest. Yet every year Diwali is special!

Diwali Days!

 Vasu Baras! The first day of Diwali! In a way, it is such a glorious tribute to the cow and her calf, the staple pillars of an agrarian community. Personally, I like the quiet, deep eyes of the cow full of profound feelings. Animals have that lovely silent adorable communication through eye contact.

This evening, in the market, there was this bull who clearly was suffering from arthritis, and his master was up to silly tricks at the cost of the majestic animal, poor soul suffering hugely. I gave a little amount to that clown, and kindly patted the  animal's forehead. Oh, like the Birbal story, did he look up, and stared long after me! 

Every year, Diwali begins with a circus called "go pujan", praying to the cow. I attend it as a tribute to my parents' belief system and for honouring the traditions they loved. So i give the usual dakshina and eats which hopefully reach the cow and her calf, may be, next day.

 However, when you see the actual puja, it is sheer punishment for the poor animals, especially the young calf. For some three or four hours, the poor cow and that small little calf have to bear all sorts of people throwing cold water at them, touching them, forcefully feeding them. 

Well, animals are super sensitive about touch. What a shudder it must be to have cold water constantly splashed at the small little calf! The owner every year thousands of times tells every one not to throw water, not to feed the animals forcefully, not to touch. Who listens though? Imagine the cow's distress for herself, and especially for her calf. We are safe just because luckily she is tithered strongly!!! 

Traditions ARE important. They MUST be followed. Divinity, however, resides in humane-ity, right? The beautiful cow with a crescent moon on her forehead and the cute calf nestling next to her would bless all better, and more, if they are not so uncouthly troubled, right? 

Pratima@Another equally cruel and crooked trouble that Diwali brings in its wake is people fancying themselves to be authors and poets. Actually, with the AI, being one is very easy. So they believe! After all, it is artificial, and shows that up intelligently. Why the need, I have never understood, to dabble in most all everything, and, much worse, to coercively contend that one is better than the best! Tough times! Truly! 

Food is forever

 After Aai's sad demise, as I began writing the daily blog as a token of my love and gratitude for my parents, I never knew I would come across so much that is unknown in this vast world of ours. Honestly, for instance, despite all my conscious awareness of the linkages among womanhood, food, poverty and all such instinctive bonds,  I did not know that October 16 has since the late seventies been celebrated by the UNO as World Food Day! 

In other words, writing these blogs on a daily basis has been sure food for thought. Now let us turn our thoughts to the theme of the day. Let us look at it a little differently. Yes, food and poverty, food and womanhood are inseparable bonds. Let us not talk about these much discussed themes. We know, for instance, how economists of Indian origin have stashed away worthy prizes, including the Nobel, by analyzing these very themes.

Let us instead talk about food as a treatment against wars, as a tool to end wars. Look at the war torn Gaza, for example.  For no rhyme nor reason, the Palestinians provoked and initiated the war. They contributed to its continuing by hiding terrorists of all trends n traits amongst the civilians. The terror outfits cannot manage their vicious cruelties of all sorts without such immediate local support. In the process suffered the common man from both the camps.

True, there was all this  talk of carpet  bombing  as precision bombing, et al. Yet it is the fertile land that provides food that was thus violated. Actually, 'land' and overall nature as such are so forgiving that even the Chernobyl site is now almost flush with flora and fauna that have learnt and managed to adjust with the context, to mould self  accordingly, and to survive! 

I suppose such resilience of the food and life chains should prove how wars, that drain resources world wide, are just useless. May be, it IS absolutely Utopian and idealistic to hope for, but the war weaponry industry should be levied such heavy tariff across the whole world that no country dreams of building and selling sophisticated weaponry! 

Sure it is some 'dream', I am absolutely aware. In this wide, bad, mad world of ours, there ARE individuals, groups, states who must constantly compete, eternally attempt to prove themselves alone as superior, n hence ceaselessly conflict!

 In.the process, as land bloodies and buries its vitality, to avoid the resultant food scarcity, there must emerge more modes of vertical farming.  Everybody should realise that we cannot eat either currency or kalashnikovs! 'Food first', well, it flourishes even in the distant space stations, that is the urgent slogan!

Pratima@ Indeed "this is no time for wars", our PM told to procure peace. Hope Russia to Afghanistan, and all in between and around, listen to the sane advice. For food's sake!

The Safety Stick

 As a child, we would have read several stories about a magic wand. This magic wand can manage practically anything. It can make a rabbit appear from a tall hat or it can take us round the world, like the witch's broom. That is a stick for entertainment. Can a real life stick do not the vanishing, but the visualising, trick?

Yes, there sure IS such a magic wand, and it indeed lights up, makes visible the world of the visually challenged, the visually  impaired. It is the white cane, and October 15 is the national white cane day.  

The white cane is absolutely a magic wand for the people with low or no vision. It guides them while walking down the road, climbing up the stairs, crossing a busy street. In a way, not only does it enable them to become independent, strong, resilient, but it also enables the so-called common, ordinary, able people/society to be empathetic regarding the problems of the visually impaired. Indeed a magic wand it is! 

How was it born? A Bristol photographer, named James Briggs, became blind in an accident in 1921. The world was thus rendered invisible to him. He, however, wanted to remain visible to the world so that he would not meet any further accidents. Hence he painted his walking stick white. 

In the early 1930's, Guilly d'Herbermont, a French woman, launched the white cane movement in France. Thus the concept gained currency in the Western World. In the America of the 1930's, it was the Lion's Club that made the the white cane continentally, and then, world-famous. With the advent of technology, sure the traditional white cane has been rendered more and more visually sophisticated for the visually impaired. 

In brief, magic  renders the dark reality of the ugly, ordinary life in to a life livable and lovable! Long live such life sustaining hacks, simple but soulful truly! 

Pratima@Hail the magic wand that renders visible a 'dark' (in every sense of the term) reality! 

Majrooh likh rahe hain...

 Some talented people have this insufferable misfortune of having to constantly watch far far lesser people win all sorts of laurels, while all that is possibly best getting repeatedly snatched away from right under their nose. Madan Mohan was one such genius. Despite creating songs that allure listeners even today, and surely would forever, this master of mood music at last got his much deserved due. The film "Dastak" won the National Award. Apparently, so disheartened was he by that time that he was initially not even ready to attend the award ceremony!

The great ghazals and songs from this most interesting film are penned by Majrooh Sultanpuri. Hence the title of our blog which is from the last line of one of the greatest ghazals from Hindi film music, namely, "hum hai mata-e-kucha". "Majrooh" means hurt, wounded, well, less physically, and more in the soul which is the perfect definition of the life of many a talented n creative people. 

Yes, Majrooh Sultanpuri (the surname refers to his birthplace) has many such gems to his credit. Yet what I find lovable is that such a serious poet could create "Pehla Nasha, pehla khumar", a song of the sweet sixteen/seventeen feel when he was in his seventies! 

What a tremendous variety of songs indeed! "Oh, Hansini" of Kishore Kumar, "Chahunga mai tuze" of "Dosti", "ek ladki bheegi  bhagi si" of the Kishore Kumar-Madhubala naughty romance variety, "tere mere milan ki yeh raina" of "Abhiman" nestle with  "chura liya hai tumne" and "ek din bik jayega". This poet from the Progressive Authors Movement enriched our sensibilities most sensitively! Hence this tribute to him as recently, on October 1, was celebrated his birth anniversary! 

Pratima@During the Golden Era of Hindi film music, songs used to be sheer poetry which is one of the staple reasons of its hugely lovable endurance even after decades. Each and every Generation, A to Z, hence continues to love these gems! 

Save Animals, Save Planet!

'Save Animals, save the planet'. Yes, that is the theme for 2025.  Yes, every year, on October 4, the feast day of the Saint Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals, is celebrated the World Animal Day, and such beautiful theme as this one this year, actually central to OUR, that is, human existence, is annually declared. 

Yes, animals, small to big, matter maximally for our own sustenance. Animals here would refer to the smallest creature like an ant to the biggest one like elephants whom, according to 'Aesop's Fables' and 'Panchtantra', she can defeat. 

Unfortunately, THAT, precisely is a problem in a way. We have humanised animals in multiple ways. We use them as beasts of burden. We treat them for edification. We ill-treat them for our amusement. Worst of all, we assign them human (mostly bad) qualities!

Actually, in the natural world, there is not any competition, unlike the bitter human world where bettering brilliance is not self-amelioration. Rather, it is butchering brilliance every possible way. 

In the animal world, save in  'Aesop's Fables', animals live their own lives. They never compete, they never contradict, why, they never even kill, if they are herbivores like the gentle giants, elephants. Even carnivores do not kill, if they have had their fill.

They have tremendous intellect, huge hearts and superb togetherness. Watching YouTube videos by erstwhile T.V. channels such as the 'Discovery' or 'National Geographic' is hence a treat that in fifteen minutes can make you an eternal optimist as here we can see how animals survive despite extremely harsh conditions, and most gracefully under extreme duress.

It is not only for such edification that we need animals. Without them, as the school lesson on the cycle of life through the food chain would explain to us, the planet would vanish. Remember the famous discovery that maintains that without a tiny insect like the pollinating bee, the entire earth-bound life would vanish.

We need animals for our own sustenance. As it is, we, human beings, have inhumanly encroached their habitat, unjustly we ill-treat them and yet bitterly keep on complaining about them! Why, the carbon print would lessen remarkably if livestock is not fattened so that humans can feast on them as food!

Time to realise that animals are our shields against extinction. We live if we let live!

Pratima@Want proof that if animals are protected, our world progresses? Just gaze in to the eyes of your pet dog. A world of love, kindness, empathy, goodness, loyalty  without any return gifts demanded resides there most patiently and affectionately! Love animals, live better!

Sight without Vision

 Most human beings (if at all they can be do called--actually, most should be merely called bipeds, as even wild animals are more human(e) than them) have sight, but absolutely no vision. That is to say, they have eyes, but they can not really 'see' anybody far better than them, for instance. 

Cheap meanness, despicable viciousness, motiveless maliciousness (to quote Shakespeare's comment on Iago, though translated in a language such 'common' people can understand!) are the characteristics of most devils that go by the name of so-called human beings.

Imagine the plight of those differently abled in such an ugly world. Indeed courageous are those who brave such wickedness, and attain their goals. Hence this blog to to salute one such person.

Her name is Chhonzin Angmo. The very destiny seemed to conspire against her when she went blind at the age of nine. She did not, however, let it destroy her. Instead, she completed her education from a reputed institution like Miranda House, got herself a job with a government bank, and hold your breath, in May, 2025, scaled Mount Everest! 

Most probably,  she must be the first differently abled Indian woman from India to achieve this feat. She IS an inspiration indeed. Hence the title of our blog which reverses Helen Keller's famous quote 

Most ordinary (in every sense of the term) people who 'manage' to get whatever common enough position, power, degrees, et al, through all sorts of string pulling precisely lack vision. They may have sight, but they use it blindly to gang up against anyone who can outshine their limits or is much, much better. 

Hence the typical image of prawns in a pail. Such creeps can go to any extent, ganging up the worst way, groupism, casteism being its versions, silly rumour mongering, conscious and constant harassment, sick, in brief, but not physically, but psychologically! Such bipeds are dangerous because very subtly back-stabbing are their ways which cannot be visualised as dark is their web!

How to deal with such crooks? First and foremost, completely ignore them. Next, do not fall in to their invisible traps. In addition, there should be friends who care for your welfare. Most important of all, carry on along the right path. You sure would reach the zenith. That is the vision Helen Keller was talking about.

Personally, though, I would like to add two special points. Number One: support unconditionally those caught in to such a dirty vortex.  The second one is the most important in my opinion, however. It is: Never ever join the gang of such mischief-mongers, never ever be like those mafiosi! Thus can you be a (wo)man!

Pratima@ As it is the National Farmers' Day today, I watched the P.M. talking to the farmers taking up alternative ways of farming. Interesting points city-bred's can learn through such exchanges, though many may choose to dismiss it in their own way. 

I had read about hydroponics, aqua- and aeroponics, for instance. Yet again, may be, I should read up more about ways of conserving the perishable crops. Each time, farmers throw tomatoes on roads as the price offered does not even cover the minimum cost of production, I feel tears, too, can be re(a)d! Needed very much is vision indeed! 

The Case of Two Shrivastava's

 Remember the typical titles of Sherlock Holmes advantures? The titles always read as "The Case of...". Today let us follow the trail of the Holmes titles, and explore the curious, and yet very indian, 'Case of the Two Shrivastava's'.

Let us begin with the guessing game. Let us see if you can locate them. Okay, here is a hint. Both of them are from what is known as the 'cow belt' of India. Yes, they hail from the Hindi belt. Yes, both of them are better known through/by their "alias" names. Both have a huge impact on the Indian mindset, nay, on the twentieth century indian history, and beyond. Politics claims both. One of them changed it ideologically. The other called it a cesspool. One last clue. October 11 is their birthdate. 

Any guesses? Okay, you give up. Well, yes, we are referring to Jayprakash Narayana Shrivastava alias J.P, and Inquilab Shrivastava alias Amitabh Bacchan. Both of them have shaped Indian history indelibly.

Both come from top notch educational institutions. Those days, J.P. was educated from American universities. As the son of a famous poet, Amitabh, too, trained in high funda institutions, was very close to the then first family. Apparently, before her marriage, Sonia Gandhi stayed with, and was groomed in to Indian ways by the Bacchan family.

Despite their high-funda connects, both these Kayastha young men looked at reality from close quarters. J.P. worked in all sorts of jobs to support his education in the U.S., while A.B.worked as a copywriter, facing rejections all along when it came to his acting dream. Why, the AIR twice rejected him as an announcer, both for Hindi and English!

Is it much of a surprise that both burst on the Indian scene in the early seventies? The J.P. movement of 'navnirman' had the then Indian youth in thrall. In a way, the "angry young man" persona of Bacchan clicked precisely because of that mood of disillusionment with the establishment.

Later, during and after the Emergency, J.P. re-wrote the very destiny of India. The Indian real-politik, which had started getting ugly and murky, suddenly got an ideal(istic) face because of J.P. Sure, the post-emergency Janata Party was quite a farce. Yet interesting propositions about future emerged thence, as we now realise in hindsight.

Amitabh Bacchan, too, dabbled in politics, but his stint there was one of his failures. Yet he scripted the Indian imaginary with his superb baritone and acting prowess.  What makes him unique is his ability to re-invent himself time and again which, in a way, is true of the Indian destiny, too, especially since 1990's.

What is the moral of the curious case of the two Shrivastava's, both "loknayak" in their own ways? Well, currently there is a huge hue and cry about how Brahmins stole every opportunity since their Aryan avataar. These two Kayastha's (kshatriya) prove that such Bramhin bashing is just an a-historical, and quite empty, rhetoric. India is a land of opportunity open to all. J.P. stood up to Nehru and Indira Gandhi to decisively craft a new way of politics, while Amitabh Bachchan continues to re-imagine identities even in his mid-eighties. Here is a bow to both on October 11!

Pratima@ The curious case of the two Shrivastava's presents us with very interesting insights in to the history of (identity formation in) India. May be, one day, I might write a proper, detailed 're-search' article on this theme!

Mind it!

 The title may make you feel that the blog today would be full of crazy pyrotechniques, right? Well, not really. The superstar super power through quite crazy gestures is not our theme. I have used the signature quote to attract your attention to a very serious issue, in fact. Yes, October 10 happens to be the World Mental Health Day. Hence the famous 'Mind it'. 

Currently, stress is Enemy Number One. Stress is due to tensions at workplace, due to troublesome relationships, due to high(tened) expectations. The causes are countless. Depression hence is quite common. Luckily, however, slowly but surely, seeking medical help for such issues is no longer a taboo. 

In fact, it is not exactly necessary to visit a mental health specialist as soon as you feel tense. There exist many interesting modules of self-amelioration in our regular practices. Take, for example, the Karwa Chauth fest, which, too, is being observed on October 10. It is so very easy to mock it as a patriarchal practice which, moreover is the h(e)aven of consumerism.

No, I am not glorifying this hoary tradition. Yet I am honest enough to admit that, for many a women, it is, may be, a mode of asserting self, gaining importance in a household where a woman is always merely a role modelled to subsume her. I am not sure about it, but the rituals these days are less religious, and more 'fun'. May be, the wife thinks of herself as a 'heroine', given the cloyingly cute depiction of the fest in Bollywood films!

Yes, I am absolutely against such bollywood-isation of life. Yet, at times, one has a self- doubt. Are inexorable ideological postures taking away moments of mental self-satisfaction for a sizable societal section? Which could be more positive and creative interventions that sensitise sensibly?

Involved are mindscapes, already fragile, already brittle, already near breaking point, given the onslaught of empty 'media'ted modernities that are chaotic, confusing, cluttered in a 'mobile' way?

May be, in the fiftieth year of the Mexico convention that opened up contours of feminism, there should be some self-reflexivity about how to support minds otherwise crashing and crumbling like the landslides in the Himalayan region during the terrorising monsoon?

Answers are not easy. They are necessary though! Hence this write-up to remind everyone of 'mind (dis)orders'

Pratima@The day became still more power-packed as approaching real fast was the announcement of the Nobel Peace Prize. Well, the winner has dedicated it to Trump! 'Smart' mind-game indeed!!!

Giants as Human Beings

 Jonathan Swift's "Gulliver's Travels" is not merely childhood entertainment. There is a deep meaning hidden in each of Gulliver's travails. Look at the Brobdingnagian land, for instance. These absolutely larger than life personas are no threat. In fact, larger than their physical persona is their personality. They are kind, absolutely reasonable, fair and ethical. 

Life at times is truer than fiction. In real actual lived life, we do meet such souls. Let us today talk about two such men who were such giants in their own way.  Yes, October 9 is the death anniversary of these two remarkable men. 

On the face of it, both of them would appear as different  from each other as chalk and cheese. One of them is a diehard revolutionary; the other is an industrialist, a capitalist. What could be common at all between them? Is that your question? Our blog today tries to provide a few answers that surely defend this claim of mine. 

Look at Ratan Tata's love for animals. No, I am not referring merely to the strays he would pamper with the care and concern granted typically to a high-bred breed. Famous are all those visuals of the dog who came to pay the last tribute to the master during his funeral. Why, in the heart of Mumbai, Tata built a state of art hospital for animals, pets as well as strays. 

Now let us look at Che. On the tour of the  Americas, as described in his "Motorcycle Diaries", even a lifeless motorbike is a companion. He names it "Rocinante" , after the horse of the idealistic, rather quaint,  Don. To many bourgeoisie, so must he himself have appeared. 

Neither cared for such superficialities. Instead, both were concerned deeply about their cadres. There are any number of stories about how Che would get himself in to danger to save those fighting the guerrilla war with him. 

Countless stories are told about Tata's care and concern for his staff. Once the entire Woodland Society in Kothrud, Pune was pleasantly surprised to find Tata get off the lift. Later it was known that he was there to meet an employee who was ill. Tata himself was in his eighties with his own ailments. Yet nothing, neither his status nor his own poor health, stopped him from his care and concern for an old guard, his employee. 

Most importantly, both had a vision for their respective countries. It was optimistic, positive, fair and just. In fact, just as Che cared for the entire South America, the whole of it from Mexico to Chile, bound by a common past and a possible destiny. 

Tata made Mumbai as his base. Yet the whole of india, and beyond, he spread the wings of his industrial empire wherein employees were treated with dignity and honour.

Right now these many similarities should suffice to prove my point that superficially they both may appear to be coming from vastly different perspectives. Yet both shared a similar dream, the welfare of the motherland and the good of the common man. Hope our mindsets are Brobdingnagian enough to appreciate this commonality amongst differences!

Pratima@ Great is what great does. Hope we are good enough to appreciate it!

Writing Well

 No, right now, let us not discuss literature or poetry or short story, et al, if the title makes you so believe. We are not looking at the content of "writing well". Rather we are looking at the instruments of writing well. Tough to undestand it would be in an era when everyone is busy typing with the keyboard. 

May be, the generation born after the millennial change would not have even seen a ball pen either, forget a fountain pen.  Any number of my students take down notes, if at all, on their mobiles. Anyways, they are excellent at looking at you with most vacant eyes with the distant most expression, while typing away to glory all sorts of messages to all sorts of people. 

How would such types know the pleasures of writing with an ink pen? Genuinely it was an art, writing with an ink pen. First and foremost, it indirectly taught you precision. When it came to filling the pen with ink (Papa got us 'Kale' ink, well-known then!), you had to subtly calculate the exact measure, not even a drop extra as it would make the whole stuff messy. There used to be a small little cloth decorated with dots of all colours, blue, black, red, green (Papa's favourite) as it would be used to tighten the nib-holder properly to the funnel with the ink. 

Still if the ink chose to play funny, fingers would be directly wiped on to hair. If your school uniform got any ink spots, you would get an earful both from parents and teachers. The nib had to be proper, too. If one part was slightly bent or if both were rather apart like the blades of a hoe, your handwriting would go for a toss which was absolutely not appreciated by the elders.

Fountain pens which Indirectly taught our generation accuracy, correctness, attention to minutiae and beauty were on the wane, down and out, by the time we were to complete schooling. An extinct species  now, on the day of its origin, there are competitions and exhibitions of good handwriting with fountain pens, a dinosaur now when it comes to writing well! Inexorable Time, it moves on. Countless beauties are thus tossed out. A heap of memories!

Pratima@ Papa loved the Parker fountain pen. I suppose, I am not sure though, Nehru used to don one in the front pocket of his jacket. Sanju got me a Parker ball pen from Boston. It is one of my prized possessions!

The Birth of Poetry

 On the occasion of the birth anniversary of Rishi Valmiki, it is but natural that we think of poetry. His "ma nishad" is the first verse of Sanskrit poetics. As for the Muni/sage himself, fierce debates are raging.  One strand of scholarship denies the 'robber turned sage' tale altogether. Such scholarship maintains that he has always been a proper Rishi himself. 

In the post-Mandal contexts, everything and anything is caste-coloured. Some scholars, hence, maintain that he was a Brahmin who fell on bad days due to a famine, and hence turned a dacoit. The Brahmin bashing brigade (I heard one such  (honestly, hate) speech! Sheer vitrolic it is! Absolutely and ah, yes, absurdly prejudiced!) buyeth not this version. For them, Valmiki represents mythically the down trodden, the down and out!

Another problem with 'Ramayana' is that most people believe in the TV, that is, the Ramananda Sagar, version. Created more for entertainment, this 'Ramayana' is a serial in both the literal and metaphorical mode. Hardly to be believed as authentic.

There are, moreover, many many versions of the 'Ramayana', the Tulsidas  'Ramcharitmanas', the Kamban 'Ramayana', and so on. Each one has its own unique interpolations in the original 'Ramayana' which anyways is tough to locate. Better not get in to such debates as our blog need not be a space of contestations. 

Instead, let us look the poetry aspect. As per this 'Adya' Kavi's 'pratham shloka', that is the first enunciation by the first ever poet, poetry is born in pain and grief. Poetry is, moreover, 'spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings'. It is highly ethical, in addition. It respects the natural order of things. It has a metre, some rhyme, great rhythm and a sparse use of the figures of speech. What a lovely definition of poetry, nay, of literature itself!

In the ChatGPT era of instant (and multiple) versions (which can change as per the 'prompt' given), just a tiny little minority would continue to create such poems. Most would be busy passing off the AI crafted stuff as their own. Poor AI! What else?

Let us end our blog today with a poem entitled "Choice".      

"Life is a labyrinth!                                                  To a new route leads every unknown path.     Each turn, every mode leads astray,                  from the roots away.                                              Thus traverse the feet.                                          Life marches to a frenzied beat.                         Far away there in that wilderness,                      Hums a selfsame tune, sans bitterness!"

Pratima@Literature is life!

 

At Hundred

 Is Hundred! Continues to turn heads! Whom do you think i am thus describing? A lady? True it is that a lady turns more beautiful as she matures. Rather like a pickle. The older, the sweeter n tangier, right? No, though! We are not talking about any aging beauty! 

The entity we are talking about, however, too, is not withered, though it turns hundred. In fact, it continues to 'turn heads' in both the denotative and connotative senses of this phrase. Okay, let me not waste time and footage on n in guessing games. Yes, i am talking about the UPSC. It turned hundred on October 1, 2025.

I do know that some of my readers are already steadfast followers of this unique entity. For their sake, a nutshell history! Its conception, as a follow up of the Montague Commission recommendations, is as old as 1919. Given its proper Macaulay spirit, this exam then was so Britain-oriented that no Indian could clear it till 1922. In 1925, the ICS producing exam took the shape which we now know.

Even now, it is one of the toughest exams to crack. Often candidates may require any number of attempts. The more focussed ones start preparing for it alongside their degree studies. Political Science, Economics, History are the favourite subjects of such aspirants. I would say that they should be very good at psychology, communication and emotional intelligence as well,  as theirs are going to be people sensitive jobs. 

The IFS/IAS officers to be, who work truly hard to get in to these power echelons, should be ethical as well because they are the real decision makers. Remember the brilliant BBC laugh riot entitled "Yes, Minister"? Despite its comic excesses, it did show how the Secretary, the Joint Secretary, the Under Secretary, such hierarchy actually handles, and can manipulate, the ruling class as "ministers may come n go, the system is ours."

In other words, the leaders depend on the genuine inputs by these bureaucrats. We do know of the very many  positive feeds by the IFS/IAS/IRS officers who, as interns, learn at the Mussoorie training institute the how of processes of actual governance and  the wheels (within wheels) in it as it really runs. Actually, the  job does come with many tantalising perks so much so that in the dowry bazaar, the price of such a groom is quite high! 

Such nasty realities apart, actually the  three-tier UPSC entrance exam (the prelims, the mains, the interview) hones the aspirant's knowledge base, tones the perspective in the context of the current international and national realities, and thus clones a responsible officer. 

Such a glad tiding it is that women candidates excel in these exams, despite the nerve-wracking prep period. Supposedly, such a higher percentage would sensitise the actual working of the bureaucracy as the belief is that women tend to be less corrupt.

 Yes, bureaucrats could be corrupt as they do have tremendous  power. Actually, corruption in various forms is the tragedy of most all careers. Yet, in this case, too, it is the two percent genuine contributors who literally carry the weight of the nation. 

Like the army, the bureaucracy, too, is not as obvious as the parliament, the court, the media houses when it comes to protecting the democratic feel. Yet, like the army, stellar is its role. The UPSC exam hence can now be attempted in the mother tongue so that the regional raw talent,  too,  can try it.

Of course, as for any competitive exam with a very low success rate, there is a regular IAS training market, especially in Delhi, and now online, too. Sone such famous Guru's wield quite some power over the social (media) imaginary. 

Certain age-old journals such as the CSR do help the aspirants prepare well as they have to be absolutely update with the current news as well. As there IS a certain luck factor when it comes to passing the three-pronged process, it is always better to have a Plan B ready.

 May be, the Mains Prep may help the candidate crack the equally tough NET exam which can help the candidate be a lecturer, and possibly pursue a Ph. D. if she passes the NET with JRF/SRF. Well, I am rather happy about the fact that I passed the NET (with JRF/SRF) twice, and in its earlier analytical/descriptive, non-MCQ, version.

Well, I have mentioned the necessity of a Plan B so that all that prep does not go waste. Such candidates can join the MSW workforce or run an NGO, may be. Otherwise, despondency and depression set in which I observed at close quarters as I used to teach English to MPSC students. 

I taught English at that center for two years, four evening batches, mostly rural students with dreams of making it big. At least, the UPSC exam takes place on time, and the results, too, are declared annually, and within a set time-frame!

At Hundred, certain most welcome changes, given the AI invasion especially, are sure to take place. Here is wishing the UPSC (and the hopeful's) creative contribution to our nation as state!

Pratima@The UPSC, for me, has a rather senti connect. Papa appeared for it, cleared the mains as well. Due to family responsibilities, he had to give up his dream at the third n final, at the interview, level. Never did he, the dutiful son  that he was, grumble about it.

May be, he would have been very happy if I were to chase the dream. He never imposed it on me though. Good in a way because I do think that such authority comes with much too much political interference which often can be highly suspicious, motivated, and hence destructive n dangerous! How a tiff between a 'Netaji' and an officer, especially if conscientious, could turn nasty is not merely a guess, right?

The Art of Heart

 The art of heart! What thinketh Thee? That the title of our blog today is topsy turvy? Nope! I mean what I say, or write, for that matter. Yes, critics generally talk of the heart of/in, et al, art. Oh, yes, that is right, too, as i, a student of critical theory and literature, can vouch for. Good art has to have heart. For sure. Otherwise, it would be empty frippery. 

Anyways, that is not our theme today. We ARE indeed going to talk about the art of heart. That could mean a number of things. For one (and for once, too), not merely should  hospitals be state of the art. Hearts, too, should be so! Oh, no, wrong guess again! No, we are not referring to the heartlessness much on exhibition these days.

Rather, let us discuss the lack of healthy hearts these days. No, this statement has no symbolic underpinnings. The Heart Day, observed annually on September 29, has such awful data, proving that the heart disease, be it ischemic syncope or angina or be it the actual heart attack, is attacking the young. No longer is it merely an enemy of the senior citizens. The threshold has come down to forty-ish. 

Be it the heart ailments, be it the b.p. and diabetes (both of which are literally feeders for the heart trouble) are all life style diseases. Life as an eternal race, hence acute stress, poor eating and drinking habits, low quality of nutrition, air pollution, the list is endless that leads to arterial thickness/narrowness, and so on. The statin in most blood thinners, the alpha/beta blockers in the b.p. medicines, can indeed prove how medicine itself is danger(ously) poison(ous)!

Thus is needed the art of maintaining a healthy heart, and hence the title of our blog today. This art consists of maintaining not merely a healthy life style, but developing a proactive personality that protects the self at all layers of our existence. The need of the hour literally for all the age groups is the art of (maintaining a healthy every which way) heart!

Pratima@ Heart is where health is! Health is where heart is!

Two Ways of being THE Woman

 I would not know about you, Dear Reader, but I adore Sherlock Holmes, despite all his quiddities. One of Sherlock's oddities is that he has a very low opinion about women, especially their intelligence. Yet, remember Irene Adler of "The Scandal in Bohemia", the brilliant, beautiful Irene who outsmarts him? He never ever mocks women's lack of brains after that episode. She forever remains THE woman for him 

Remembered all this jazz as they say, 'coz our blog today, as the title would indicate,  is going to talk about two unusual women. Well, the contemporary  AI (r)evolution is literally questioning what it is to be a human being. Allow me to say that since the 1960's, there was this great researcher whose take on Darwinian notions and whose 're-search' on/of chimpanzees literally re-wrote what is to be human(e).

I am anyways a Jane-ian. Well, I love Jane Austen whose (to use a Shashi Tharoor-ism) semiquincentennial, that is to say, two hundred and fiftieth birth anniversary we are celebrating this year. Jane Goodall is another Jane I highly respect.

 For six decades, this British primatologist studied the big ape in Tanzania. She proved that chimpanzees, gorillas have a complex intelligence, deep emotions and extremely interesting social structures, all the aspects which supposedly advanced human beings boast about as their "progress", unlike 'animals' disdainfully dismissed.

Currently, it is very fashionable to be a conservationist, and to be environmentally conscientious. We have actresses bursting in to tears publically over the plight et al of the planet! Jane Goodall literally lived these concepts for more than six decades. True to her surname, she proved that ''big or small/bright or dull/ play all a role full/ in evolution's rule''.

The other woman i would like to discuss in our blog today may not have this grand a stature for sure. After all, she was just an actress from the Marathi and Hindi film industry. 

She died of old age yesterday. Yes, I am referring to Sandhya, famous for her films such as 'Amar Bhoopali', 'Pinjara', 'Zanak Zanak payal baje', 'Navrang', and many more that mirror her skill as a danseuse. The way her body gyrated in the (mostly Vasant Desai) loveliest songs in such films made one almost think that instead of bones, she had elastic that never snapped however much stretched whichever way.

The impossible dance postures she attempted were, moreover,  gracefully fluid and lyrically beautiful so much so that school gatherings to inter-college/university events, the budding dancers would continue to do a Sandhya dance year after year, decade after decade. 

In brief, I would like to assert that her stylised dances and acting added to the expressionist aspects  of V. Shantaram's filmography in unique ways. She enriched the film industry through her own special rhythm. Hence this tribute! 

Pratima@ May their souls rest in peace!

Truly Touristy

 Recently was celebrated the World Tourism Day.  Tourism is truly the trade of the twenty-first century. There are countries whose major source of income is tourism, in addition to the immigrants who make their country of adoption richer by providing better and/or more service at remarkably lower wages. 

Right now let us concentrate more on the truly touristy trade, and less on the emigrants because that discussion leads to the inevitable identity issues. These days, it is undeniable that Indians travel tremendously. They tour mostly the "phoren", though actually India itself has all possible varieties, natural wonders and national parks, religious corridors, architectural beauties. You name it, and we have it. 

In addition, the tourist who visits India is greeted with all the hullabuloo typical of the chaos every which way overflowing in abundance. The truly touristy feel is rooted in that unique 'method in madness' that terribly touristy places in india comprise.

May be, hence I feel rather strongly that certain places cannot be, and should not be touristy. The Chardham Yatra full of the majesty and grandeur of the Himalayas cannot be tourist spots of the 'done that, been there" variety.  The ever winding trek of Yamunotri cannot be a pleasure trip, for instance. Nor is Kedarnath a family trip wherein six months old babies accompany rather ambitious and absolutely fool parents! 

The very vibe at Gangotri, Yamunotri and Kedarnath cannot jell with typical touristy trends. These are not LTC driven places of fun- and reel-making.  The Kedarnath temple, who could have built it, and how? Such spiritual wonders are these places, not producers of hillocks of garbage of all types

If human vanity and foolish/foolhardy behaviour of the tourists, matched with the avaricious, greedy, rude, corrupt and unruly locals, and (mis)management do not get streamlined, tragedies much worse than the 2013 floods are imminent, and on a much, much larger scale.

Tourists, in brief, must observe the decorum and dignity of the destination, while locals, who indeed depend on tourism, should not fleece them every which way. Otherwise, the internet, its AI insistence on "ask me", its Skype types do allow you to be a couch potato who can experience online all sorts  fun in 4-D, 5-D versions!

Pratima@ Tourism should lead to elation and/or enjoyment, and not to either exploitation or excesses. An example can be the natural habitats of wild animals in India. They are not open air zoos! The forests belong to them. Discretion, in brief, is the key to tourism, too!

Indeed a unique day!

 October 2 this year! Indeed a unique day! On this day, our nation celebrates the birth anniversary of the most unassuming but truly tall leader ever, Lal Bahadur Shastri ji; while the world over gets celebrated the birth anniversary of Gandhiji. This year, on October 2, the RSS centenary year has reached its fruition, I suppose, though the formal date the organisation was established is September 27, 1925. In addition, on October 2 this year , we celebrate Dasara as well. 

 In this short piece, let us unravel what these occasions signify in the public sphere and in the private space. Let us begin with the political, next the social, and finally the religious/civilisational categories.

In my opinion, in the public space, Shastriji, the "hail, farmers; hail, soldiers" man stands for probity and integrity. Unbelievable, but absolutely true, anecdotes about his honesty are public knowledge. 

What does he signify in the private space? In my opinion, it is his humility and gentleness. Yet he was a brave person who stood up to all sorts of mockeries and wickednesses consciously planted in his way. A true statesman, very rare amongst politicians who mostly are power magnets! 

In the public sphere, Gandhiji would symbolise non-violence and the uncanny ability to mobilise mass support through moral ideas. In the private space, it is his ability to accept his own mistakes is what I find appealing. 

He seems to treat life as work in progress. Often, after a blunder, he collects the pieces together to form a new and a better mosaic of the self. Rather, I would say, like the Japanese art of kintsugi alias kintsukuroi which consists of piecing together broken heirloom vases, urns with an inlay of gold varnish, thus creating in the process a beautiful work of art, in fact, much better than the earlier valuable pottery pieces. 

In the public arena, the RSS may signify all sorts of ideologies to all sorts of people. In fact, it may very well be said of the organisation that there are absolutely contradictory, mutually exclusive/explosive opinions about the organisation. 

In my opinion, however, at least in my private sphere, the RSS stands for dedicated, selfless work that does not crave publicity. Silently but surely, the RSS people perform wonders. Let me quote two examples. When the Malin tragedy happened, the core Sangha people were the first to arrive and the last to leave there, and ready for any, literally any, duty. So it was during the COVID era. The RSS helped curb the super spread of COVID in Dharavi, and so much that an arch critic like Barkha Dutt eulogised, highly praised their contribution. 

Worthy of emulation are the RSS processions as well.  May be, that is because the Sangh processions on the Dasara day celebrate in a disciplined organised way the core Indic values, the civilisational principles.

 In the public sector, the Dasara may mean a holiday, such processions that celebrate the culmination of the "navratra", the return of Rama to Ayodhya, the boon granted by Kubera to King Raghu and Sage Kausts, the end of Pandavas' 'vanvaas', their unjust banishment, and so on. 

What do these myths and the public burning of the Ravana mean in the private space? I suppose, it would be recognising the a-sur, the a-vidya, the a-lakshmi within. In Sanskrit, the prefix 'a-' means negation. The a-surs in my life could be people who find the speck of dust, the mote in my eye, while consciously ignoring the beam in their own or their favourites' eye(s). Dasara means 're-cognising' such people, and cutting them to Size Zero in my reality. 

The a-vidya i must get rid of can be getting upset due to such vicious people and their activities, allowing them in derailing my 'dream' journey, worrying over their conscious nastiness, et al. 

The a-lakshmi can be wasting (wo)man hours through ignoring my health, for instance. Luckily, I am not addicted to the social media. Otherwise, the social media can be the worst cause of a-lakshmi, for instance. 

Dasara, in brief, is the 'haran', the dissolution or destruction of not only ten, 'dash', but as many as is possible of the 'a-' within!

Pratima@ The public is private, and the private could cleanse the public. 

Old is gold!

 Those were charmed days, the last three years of the twentieth century, and the first three years  of the new millenium. Along with my doctoral studies, I was a rookie journalist  with such established newspapers as 'The New Indian Express', ' The Hindu' and the 'Newstime' of the Eenadu group. And, oh, yes, I had gotten the assignments sheerly on the basis of my writerly merit, in a place where I knew none! Even when I was a freelancer, I used to write at least one article literally every day for the Features' Desk. 

As a young woman, it was quite a high that I was the go-to person when it came to many, many themes. One of my regular duties was to review films, film festivals, et al. It was thus that I saw him at a premier of one of his films, most probably, his last, under his Navketan Banners. 

At eighty plus, he was his own usual  jaunty self, dressed impeccably, on his Sunday best behaviour. After the show, he was ready for a presseur. As fresh as a daisy. The film, well, he had tried his level best, but a new, different kind of filmography for a totally different kind of audience was the demand and command of the hour. Literally, there was a cultural shift. 

He had not changed though. The debonair unflapped hero of the yesteryears. Dev Anand. Honestly, during the press meet, I felt both awe and pity for him. Awe for his genuine sincerity, and pity for his failed attempt to remain relevant in times that were absolutely different from his heydays. 

Anyways, I have always admired Dev Anand for taking up different, nay, difficult challenges, such as film noirs, right at the beginning of his career. I also like his remaining true to his promise, and giving a chance to Guru Dutt whom everyone else was in a hurry to write off. I admire his attempt to keep his personal life private as proven by his dignified silence over the Suraiya connect. 

Values of/from times absolutely bygone! Now are the times when the older you are, younger you pretend to prove yourself to be, at least half your age! Unlike such supposedly young at heart oldies, Dev Anand belongs to an era when dignity mattered. Sure he started working when my parents would have just left the portals of primary school. Yet his persona appears relevant to the thoughtful even today. 

Hence this piece on him on October 1, the day dedicated to senior citizens! 

Pratima@ In an India for a long time boasting of the so-called demographic dividend, missing is such finesse, such professionalism, such commitment to a work ethic! Long live the senior citizens! Such old is indeed gold!