Let us laugh!

 Well, the beginning of the end has begun. Confusing it sounds to you? Well, it just means that the year is about to end as the last month is about to begin. This truth is expressed in a pithy way. Let us today try a few jokes. They are interesting because they are highly Intellectual. Why must laughter always be shallow  and silly, right?

The first two are related to 'chemical lochya'. 1)You are not part of the solution!?! Ah, yes, you must then be part of the precipitate.  2)In a cafe: "What would you have, Sir"? "H2O, Please." " How about you, Madam?" " I want H2O, too." Well, the waiter, actually a Ph.D. scholar of Chemistry, was working part time in that hotel. The lady drank whatever was offered, and she died. Why?  He got her H2O2, that is, hydrogen peroxide! 

The next two jokes play with words. 1) He is a linguist. He likes ambiguity more than most people! 2) A German goes to a bar and asks for Martini. 'Dry,' asks the bartender. 'Nein,' says the German. 'Only one! ' Ah, yes, the first joke of this two is based on ambiguity, a word/a clause that can have two meanings. The pithy sentence here means two things, too. He prefers ambiguity to people or Most people like ambiguity less, unlike him. The second one depends on phonetics, the science of sounds. English 'dry' sounds like German 'drei' which means three. 

The last one now. An absolute example of word play worth a Shashi Tharoor! Three crows are trying to be together. They are planning a murder! Well, this joke depends on the word play on 'murder' which is a collective noun, a term for a group of crows! 

Pratima@Laughter must go beyond mere hoo-haw or below the belt variety. If-n-when it challenges the brain,  then it is true fun, right?

Let us resume, let us get back, to our practice of the 'quote of the day' and of the word of the day tomorrow onwards, ok? 

Bingo, our blog forges forward!

 Hey, Dear Readers, let me share with you all a simply great feel. YES, our blog has crossed the magical 1,00,000 footfall, and in all humility, I would like to assert that the credit goes to You All. 

As our blog crosses this wonderful threshold, I have a rather complex feel. Yes, I do miss Aai. The blog began as a tribute to her. She, and Papa, would have been happy with this small, little achievement of mine.

Oh, yes, my first Marathi article in a newspaper, that is in 'Maharashtra Times', and later, after a few years,  the first English one in 'The New Indian Express ', both were published on March 18, Papa's birthday.  The coincidence had then mattered hugely to me because it made him truly happy.

Yes, to honour their memories, we have instituted prizes in educational institutions in Aai-Papa's names, just as we give annual  donations on each death anniversary and during the 'Mahalaya'. To commemorate Aai's memory, we conduct an annual literary competition, on an established platform like the 'Menaka' magazine, and it has given a space and a name to good authors. The joy I feel each time all these results are declared, I share it today, though not on the same scale as it is tinged with a forever lingering sadness.

On this digital platform, I have shared with all of you memories, poems, acrostics, reviews, 'special day' trajectories, and oh, yes, jokes, too. Different genres, varied themes! I do feel a little proud that the 1695 articles on this blog that began on the Mothers' Day in 2021 have never ever been repetitive. Each contri is unique, though thence I have not missed a single day.

The response has been great, too. Imagine, Sanjeev Kohliji, Madan Mohan's son, twice shared my reviews of 'Dil Dhoondhata Hai' on a site dedicated to Madan Mohan, my favourite music director. The first time round, it was read by 1500 readers, though I have not recently checked back. Absolutely humbling! 

It used to be a precious feel when Gokhale Madam, my colleague n friend, would gently state that she might expect a review of a music programme by Shantanu, her talented son, or of festivals organised by the Mitra Foundation such as 'Dil Dhoondta Hai' and 'Mitra Mahotsav' or of the BMCC 'Astitva'. Wow I used to feel when the next morning, I would get her trademark 'Beautiful'! 

Oh, yes, my extremely reticent bro, Sanju, checked my review of his flute rendition. Quite some compliment coming from him! Yes, there are regular readers (such as my 'quietly there' bro, Raju) of my blog who do not miss a single entry, and those others whose absent presence is my solace. Oh, yes, I do get 'heart-y' responses, too, which are highly precious to me as they assure me of the relevance of good communion in today's era of short attention span.

I am rather happy that our blog does not use the new hieroglyphics of the twenty first century; namely, the emojis. Languages and literatures must gracefully survive, especially in the written form, given the technological onslaught by the AI n types, right?

Sure, mine is just a small little bit of an attempt. It, however, is absolutely original, impartial, un-opinionated and genuine, and without any proxy team or a fulsomely admiring coterie or an echoing eco system.

Yes, I am trying to explore the other avenues that technology and the social media, used creatively, open up for all of us. Will sure keep you all in the know, in the info loop. Yeh blog-wali dosti hum nahi chodenge!  In the meanwhile, thanks a ton!

Pratima@ 'Love'ly are for me 'these fragments i have shored/against my memories'. T.S. Eliot would sure overlook my share of his famous quote, though with a tweak!

As today is a rather special day, here let me declare a holiday for knowledge, rather info, sharing of the 'Quote of the day' and 'Word of the day' variety! Thanks again during the Thanksgiving Weekend!

Bountifully blossoms faith

 The whole of India is abuzz with religious celebrations currently. Come the month of Margashirsha, the holy of the holiest according to the Bhagwad Geeta, Chapter XI, and our motherland seems to be literally overflowing with ceremonies celebrating faith.

This week began with the "dhwajarohan" at Ayodhya.  It signified n dignified the culmination of the centuries old Ram Janma Bhoomi movement. It, moreover, marked the completion of the Ram Mandir project at Ayodhya.

This morning, the P.M. participated in the  mass recitation of the Bhagwad Geeta and the Vedas, while towards the evening, he unveiled the seventy-seven feet tall bronze idol of Shri Ram.

Most interesting are the places of these ceremonies, from the North (Ayodhya) to the South (Udupi) to the West (the Gokarna Math in Goa). Literally, the whole of India seems to be full of religious fervour. 

Goa is the most significant of the three. In a way, Ayodhya has for centuries been the center of such religious animation (and animosity, too). The South is well-known for its religious observance. Goa, however, has a clear Christian influence due to the Portuguese colonisation.  Why, it has the remains of Saint Francis Xavier. The mostly Catholic churches and basilicas there are as famous as the Mangeshi temple. 

The tallest statue of Lord Ram in such a place is extremely  significant. It shows that the fount of faith flows literally across the length and breadth  of India. 

Does this exuberance clash with the secular framework of our multi-religious country? I do not think so. Well, look at the swearing in of the "nine mantras" by the P.M at both the ceremonies this Friday. Clearly they have a very democratic progressive inclusive profile.

There is nothing constitutionally wrong in the majority faith being thus celebrated because none of these religious events belittled the minorities' faith in any way. In fact, this week itself, the P.M. attended the three hundred and fiftieth Shaheed Diwas, honouring the martyrdom of the Sikh Guru Teg Bahadur, as well.

As it is, the term "secular" was introduced in the Preamble during the Emergency which, too, has reached its fiftieth anniversary  this year. In other words, instead of delimiting religious fervour in to communal framework and casteist terms (the legacy of British colonialism actually), it could be used to awaken the liberal ideals as the "nine mantras" oath proved.

As for the  heated debate over the P.M. attending the functions, indeed why not? Why, he attended in the past any number of ceremonies of the minority communities. He even faced backlash for praising a Sufi saint or two 

As for the carping about the political advantage thus gained directly and/or indirectly, well, each and every political (and politicking) party tried, and is trying, and will try it, right? Well, the unmatched charisma of an individual is his personal hard-earned achievement. 

In brief, continuous criticism simply for the sake/heck of it makes such motives suspicious and hypocritical, right? The battle of opinions/concepts/ideas is never won through propagandist narratives. Rhetoric which chooses to echo itself, in brief, is self-defeating!

Pratima@ Difficult to stop an idea, a concept, a movement whose time has come, to summarise Victor Hugo whom our erstwhile P.M., Dr. Manmohan Singh loved to quote.

Quote of the day:                                                        "Faith," they say, "is not belief without proof, but trust without any reservations or doubts." 

Word of the day: theology.                           'Theology'  is  made of 'theos' and 'logy'. The first means God and the second refers to a systematic study. Theology, hence, is the systematic study of the nature of God and religious belief(s).

Thud on, no Thanksgiving!

 What is a 'thud'? It is a loud noise. As a verb, it means, moreover, to make a huge noise as if a huge object has fallen. Well, this Thanksgiving Thursday, 'thud, thud' went the bullets, right next to the White House. For all we know, or do not know, two guards were mortally wounded. With such thuds on, no Thanksgiving, right? 

With the Trump-Mamdani truce, all seemed well. Now, however, Trump has seen red. War is already declared! In no uncertain terms! Terror attack, is how the incident is described. The 9/11 wounds must yet again be pried open. The blame game has begun, too! The immigrant issue has yet again emerged on the American agenda!

Sad that the Thanksgiving Thursday should be thus vitiated. The turkey, too, may not get the traditional pardon this year, given the President's mood. Sad that such an incident should happen on a day which the greatest President of America, Abraham  Lincoln, marked as a day to celebrate togetherness so that the divisions caused by the Civil War could be wiped out n clean. 

As it is, the DEI debates would have dimmed the sheen of the day, what with the Native Americans doubting the tradition. Actually, like most festivals across the world, this day, too, originally was a harvest celebration. The Pilgrims in the Plymouth Colony (Yes, America, too, was once a British colony!)  were helped by the local natives in garnering a huge harvest. Hence the Founding Fathers constitutionally adopted this national holiday. 

As inclusivity is thus being not merely theoretically debated, but is now down with a thud, this year, 'Black Friday' would literally be dark!

 Pratima@ Why terrorism? No, it cannot be poverty, lack of education type of traditional causes because the Delhi blast has clinically (in all senses of this term!) proved that white collar terrorism is hugely rampant! Which 'Operation' can cure it? That is the question!

 Quote of the day:                                                      "The fanatic," feels Elie Wiesel, who survived the Holocaust, "has no questions, only answers!" 

Word(s) of the day:                                                     Let us understand three apparently  similar words. 'emigrate' means 'to leave one's motherland to permanently settle in a foreign country'. 'immigrate' is 'to reach a foreign country to try and live there forever'. 'migrate' is 'to move to a new area in search of work or better living conditions.' 

Indians emigrate from India and try to immigrate to the West, especially the U.S.A. In India itself, there is a huge internal migration, from the erstwhile 'Bimaru' states to Maharashtra which has its own colossal intake of internal migrants, from Khandesh, Vidarbha and  Marathwada to Mumbai and Pune, for instance. 

26/11

 Yes, 26/11 is absolutely unique. Yes, as a citizen of India, it matters hugely to me. Yet, despite the commendable letter by the Prime Minister himself, i would not dare to write about the constitutional relevance of the day, though I may most humbly state that once I had tried to include the 'Preamble' in the Additional English syllabus. 

Sure it was a rough draft. Ah, the expression 'rough draft'! That itself is the reason why I choose not to touch the theme. To justify my reluctance, let me first quote: "As Babasaheb Ambedkar rises ever higher as a symbol of the self-respect of India’s oppressed and as the hope of an egalitarian India, the Brahminical forces (and the Sangh Parivar) have intensified their claim that Ambedkar was not the one who wrote the Indian Constitution. According to them, the real credit must go to the legal and constitutional expert BN Rau."

Such is the beginning of an article published this afternoon. The article debunks BN Rau's contribution as a 'rough draft'. If a 'rough draft' is going to incur viscerally casteist raw wrath in the India of 2025, it is better to keep quiet, right?!?

Instead let me talk of the 26/11 attack, a wound that seems to have healed as there is hardly any reference to it now. Oh, yes, let me talk of the bravery of Tukaram Omble. No, I do not know his caste. Lucky me! That is because i want to hugely praise  this wonderful police officer who literally martyred himself in his brave attempt to capture Kasab who then was a walking AK-47!

At Girgaum Chowpatty, this dutiful police officer faced some forty bullets from the closest range of Kasab's machine gun. Yet he did not quit. Instead, he held tight, both the terrorist and his AK-47. Because of his commitment and bravery, Kasab could be caught alive, and the entire terrorist plot could thus be unearthed. Please accept my eternal gratitude, Omble Sir's family!

Well, given such sacrifices and honest attempts which fill my eyes with tears, i hope that we would survive, and despite the conscious propagandist twists and turns to all sorts of narratives!

Pratima@"Extreme liberty," argued Plato, "leads to the most aggravated form of tyranny and slavery." Hope the "Gen Z" in Delhi (in its worries over the vitiated 'atmosphere') and in VIT, Bhopal (destroying public property, given the 'dis-ease') remembers such ancient wisdom!

Quote of the idea:                                                     There is a "cult of ignorance", noted Issac Asimov, stemming from the idea that "democracy means that my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge".

Word of the day: diatribe                                          A diatribe is a viciously bitter and brutal verbal attack by a zealot against someone or a way of thinking, most often without any proof or a logical argument.

Flag foremost fluttering freely

  It is the fifth day of the first fortnight ( till it reaches the full moon day) of the lunar month of 'margashirsha'. Aai used to honour it hugely as Lord Krishna has himself stated in Chapter 11 of the Bhagvad Geeta,  "masanam margshirshosmi", that is to say, "Of the months, I am Margashirsha", the best amongst the months. 

Today is 'margashirsha panchami', the fifth day of the month. It is also known as "Vivah Panchami" as the marriage of Lord Ram and Devi Seeta was consecrated on this day. Is it any surprise that in Ayodhya this morning was the flag, rather the pennant, hoisted as the culmination of the Ram Mandir project? 

A remarkable moment it indeed is! To understand its relevance, one must, however, free the Ram Mandir project from the immediate party politics of what happened in Samastipur on October 23, 1990, and its political/communal aftermath.

The Ram Mandir, it must never be forgotten, is a five centuries old search for roots. Generations of sadhus, priests as well as common citizens sacrificed hugely for its construction. Much has already been written about it, beginning with the 'mythology versus history' debate to all sorts of legalities. Let us not get in to that warfare.

Instead, I would like to state that with this flag flattering freely, the temple has become a unique symbol of the unity of India. Well, such a "garud dhwajstambh" is unique to the South Indian temple architecture, celebrating the well-known 'garud-Vishnu' legend. In other words, the very construction of the temple is symbiotic, symbolic of the unity of India, beginning from material from the Rajasthan quarries to this final flag foremost fluttering freely beneath the bluest sky.

To commemorate the eventful occasion, let me try n translate three shlokas from the "Ramraksha" which significantly is a hymn by Budhkaushik Rishi alias Sage Vishwamitra, whose life is a journey from a mighty king's ambitious attempt at acquisition of Kamdhenu to becoming a great sage himself. In other words, his life is an itinerary across 'jati n varna', caste and creed, to (self)knowledge.

 Hence attempting to translate his shlokas could be a true tribute to Lord Rama as the  "i-deal". Let me first try Shloka Number 30,    "Mata Ramo..." This verse, Aai's favourite, she recited it at one of the most defining moments of her life, reveals how central is the deity to our individual existence/experience. 

"Mother is Rama, my father is Ramchandra/Master is Rama, my soul mate is Ramchandra//My whole n soul is the gentle Ramchandra /None else I know nor need to thus know//"

Now let me try Verse Number 35, " apdam aphartaram" as it shows the beneficence  of the Lord-devotee relationship.

 "The annihilator of hardships/the bestower of all abundance//To Shrirama, by all beloved/i bow repeated!"

Finally, Shloka No. 15, because like Sage Valmiki's "ma Nishad", this verse opens up how great (spiritual) poetry is born, as a 'revelation'. It, moreover, unites the Vaishnavite (as Lord Rama is Vishnu manifest, an incarnation of  the great God Vishnu) and the Shaivaite  (as Lord Shankar thus instructed him) traditions.

"Ordained thus in a vision/This Ramraksha by Shiva divine//Thus scripted in the dawn/ the Budhkaushik awakened.//

Yet another of my dreams, partially fulfilled, on an auspicious occasion!

Pratima@Incidentally, it must be remembered that the notorious Macaulay 'Minute(s)', written in India, in Ooty apparently, in 1835, actually were an aftermath of a debate between the classical (Greco-Latin) versus the modern (science oriented) education debate raging in England itself. 

In India, it was labelled as the orientalist versus the occidental duality. Involved actually was the allocation of educational funding, both in Britain, and here, in the "jewel" of the colonies.

Well, a blog is not the space to discuss either the Lord Bentick manipulations nor Macaulay's manuscript as a test case for education as a mode of subjugation, not merely of the 'natives',  but actually  of the emerging working class in Britain itself, given the escalating Industrial Revolution boom.

Oh, yes, better not to create a binary either because multiple issues are involved, the entire Indology debate, et al  to Frantz Fanon's argument in "The Wretched of the Earth" of the three stages of intellectual decolonisation, while analysing the psychological impact of colonisation. 

Fanon himself was a West Indian from Martinique, a French Colony, let it be remembered. We are already marching in to the third stage Fanon presents! Hence the quote of the day which, I think, is relevant to the destiny of an individual as well as of a  polity, a nation.

The quote of the day:                                                 "Your talent is," states Leo Buscaglia, "God's gift to you. What you do with it is your gift back to God."  

The word of the day:                                                A flag can be 'unfurled', as on January 26, when the tricolour, rolled in to a compact furled shape atop the flag pole, is merely spread out.     

A flag, or a pennant as this morning, is rather 'hoisted'. That is to say, it is raised from the bottom to the top of a pole, as on August 15.

 

Bahut Yarana Tha!

, "Sholay"! The Bollywood version of cowboy films, fast paced, action filled, adrenaline pushing thrill! Ramesh Sippy's direction and Salim-Javed's dialogues indianised this "westerns" genre vitally. 

Time was when the entire cinema hall would know literally by heart each and every dialogue, scene by frame, close-up by montage! The title of our blog itself can prove that obsession. An absolute icon of a film that had "drama, tragedy, comedy, action...", yet again to quote from the "tanki" scene! 

'Gaon walon', it is such a tragedy that in the fiftieth year of that gem of a film, Viru of the duo whose legendary "dosti" was one of the reasons which made the film immortal, is no more. And, now, officially!

Dharmendra's demise is indeed an end of an era. "Why so? Is that your question? Ask, ask, ask no", as Basanti of the 'Sholay' fame would say. In a way, "Sholay" marks a mile stone in the history of Bollywood. It is a multi-starrer wherein the real hero is the story line. Very soon would usher in the era of Amitabh's larger than life characterisation, the only magnet of the filmography. Dharmendra, why, Rajesh Khanna, the first ever superstar, would soon be washed away in that tsunami.

Yet "bahut yarana tha, aur raha" between Dharmendra and his spectators/audience. May be, that was because he embodied that typical earthy large-hearted village bumpkin essential indianness. He appeared to be decent despite his "kutton, kamino, main tumhara khun pi jaunga" dialogue-baazi! Ah, yes, every which way, he was typical masculinity itself, 'garam Dharam',  handsome, body-builder, the first ever hero to reveal the 'packs' on screen.

Personally, I liked him for his comic sense and perfect timing, the best example being "Chupke Chupke", one of my favourites, yes, directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee. I think, a director's actor, Dharmendra was great in the Bengal branch of Bollywood. Look at any of his better films, they are by Bengali directors, most often based on Bengali stories.

 Look at "Satyakam" (1969),  one of my topmost  favourite films. It is a Bengali story that brilliantly revives the Satyakam Jabali myth. It depicts the travails of an honest engineer with high ideals. Thus it captures the disillusionment that was slowly but surely corroding the euphoria of the post Independence era. It is directed, yes, by Hrishikesh Mukherjee.

He was superbly sensitive and subdued, unlike his later screaming avataars, in "Bandini", yet again by a Bengali director, the great Bimal Roy. Who can forget "Guddi", yet again by Mukherjee!

 Oh, yes, we cannot overlook his heroines, great actresses, be it Nutan, Meena Kumari, Nanda, Sharmila Tagore, Jaya Bhaduri, and, oh, yes, the 'dream girl' Hema Malini. I suppose, Kishore Kumar's voice made melodious this he-man, one of the best examples being "pal pal dil ke paas'. Remember the " aap ki nazaron me samza", one of the bestest by Madan Mohan?

So we need not ask this evening, "itna sannata kyun hai, bhai?" The dice has, unlike the final scene in "Sholay", claimed Viru! RIP, Ashok, most often Dharmendra's screen name!

Pratima@ "Aaj mausum," to quote from one of Dharmendra songs, 'sach me', that is, truly, "bada beiman hai", Aai would have felt. She liked him, and Shashi Kapoor, not to forget, Shammi Kapoor.

Quote of the day:                                                      "For me, our job as artists is to serve the story, serve the director, and serve the fellow actors. And if you do that, by osmosis you’re serving yourself because you’ll get the best out of yourself," said David Oyelowo, a talented actor. Dharmendra would have agreed with him, I suppose.

Word of the day: impersonate.                               'impersonate' means to be somebody other than one's own self. An actor impersonates for entertainment, at times, for edification. In real life, often reflected in reel life, too, impersonation can be devious, to cheat, to hurt, to harm!

A special day!

Hello! Hi! Good Morning! Hallo!Guten Morgen! Gruss Gott! Gruezi! Wie geht es? Salut! Coucou! Bon jour! Hola! Que tal? Buenos días! Ya ho! Ohayo gozaimasu! Konnichiwa! नमस्कार! काय, कसे काय चाललेय? मजेत ना? सगळे ठिकठाक? नमस्ते! क्या हालचाल है? सुप्रभात! 

Why all these greetings, informal as well as formal, in English, German, French, Spanish, Japanese, Marathi, Hindi and Sanskrit? Is that the question bothering you? Well, it is just to wake you up to a special day. It is known as the World Hello Day! 

Observed every November 21 since 1973, it is a kind of peace appeal. McCormack Brothers, then Ph. D. scholars in Arizona State University and in Harvard, wanted to give peace a chance. Raging then was the Yom Kippur war. The McCormack brothers, it is reported, mailed one thousand three hundred and sixty letters in seven languages to leaders worldwide to encourage participation in the first World Hello Day, thence observed annually.

What is the significance of the day? The observance of this day suggests that conflicts should not aggravate in to wars. Instead, there should be a genuine and committed  attempt at resolving issues through communication. 

What is the ritual associated with the day? We have to greet, to wish, at least ten people. A "good morning" even if gruff and habitual, always carries a possibility of some communication opening up, right? Hence such a beginning of our blog. Please do greet as many people as you want in as many languages as you prefer! Happy Hello Day! 

Pratima@Any gesture, small or big, that leads to a peaceful togetherness is most welcome, right? 

Quote of the day:                                              "Peace cannot be kept by force," felt Albert Einstein. "It can only be achieved by understanding.”

Word of the day: peacenik.                                        "Peacenik" is an informal term for a person, absolutely opposed to war and violence. She/he may often actively protesting against it. The term is mostly used positively to describe a pacifist, an individual who prefers negotiation over armed conflict. It is often used, however, in a rather disapproving or dismissive way, especially to label an activist such as a war protester. 

No love lost

 No love lost! As this title of our blog describes the Mamdani-Trump meeting, both bete-noirs of each other, you can put a comma anywhere, and the meaning would be rather rich. Yes, you can say, 'no, love lost' or 'no love, lost' and, of course, 'no love lost', and each one of these variations would truly mean much about the meet! 

Oh, yes, the meet was sure to attract attention. It is the stuff fireworks are made of as Trump called Mamdani "a radical left lunatic", while Trump got a return gift of the "fascist" epithet. 

Well, there was no Zelensky effect at all. Instead, they were chummy  with each other like long lost buddies, even more than the two cousins whom the whole of Maharashtra knows. May be, the New York bond fastens thicker than Fevicol!

The meet can best be described by the Potus declaration; namely, "the better he does, the happier I am." Hope the bonhomie burieth below "Ground Zero"  not, when it comes to actual praxis! 

Pratima@Mr. Tharoor describes the meet as a fine exhibit of democracy. Great for those at the top to be so very large-hearted. One wonders what happens to the followers at the bottom of the pyramid who clashed violently with each other for the sake of their leaders! No love lost (for the chameleon leader either) at that level, I suppose! 

Quote of the day:                                                      "Never under-estimate," says Dan Brown, "the ego of a politician."  

Word of the day: Chameleon.                                  A Zoology expert would describe a chameleon as a lizard that changes its colours as a 'protection gear'. Symbolically, a chameleon refers to people who change their opinions and behaviours to suit convenience! 

Wor(l)d as philosophy

 November 21 is the world philosophy day. Learning philosophy is actually delearning and relearning life itself. Like literature, whom philosophy closely relates to, philosophy clears cobwebs from the mind. Philosophy is highly interesting because it shares borders with many other knowledge systems. Why, there is even a philosophy of science even when the common perception believes that science and humanities, diametrically opposed to each other, are sworn enemies. 

Hence the title of our blog today. Philosophy is everywhere, from the word to the world. Oh, yes, great philosophers do not belong to the WhatsApp University though. Why so?Well, look at the very nomenclature. The word is made of two roots, philos and sophia. Philos is love, while Sophia is wisdom! 

Capra to Camus, Vedas to Confucius, the reach of philosophy is everywhere, in each field and in every era. Yet, the beauty of philosophy is that it traverses from "ahm bramha asmi" to "neti, neti", and in every script.

Philosophy teaches you to bear with a knowing laugh as "common sense" (may be, philosophy re-fines it, that is to say, makes it finer) the most interesting people who praise each other in the " Aho Rupam, Aho Dhwani" way so that the 'common'-ality can cloud the exceptional, right?

That is it in the final analysis. Philosophy teaches you to take the whole of the life around with, nay, not a pinch of salt, but with a sack of salt! Wipe your hand across your mouth and laugh because the world revolves like cheapos gathering doled out monies for any silly task! T.S.Eliot, an interesting philosopher in his own way, would, I am sure, forgive me the word play on his quote as it clarifies the world as it is today!

Pratima@"The wise person," maintains Aristotle, "never says everything he thinks, but always thinks everything he says." 

Quote of the day:                                                     "If you accomplish something good with hard work, the labour passes quickly, but the good endures; if you do something shameful in pursuit of pleasure, the pleasure passes quickly, but the shame endures," maintains Musonius Rufus.

Word, rather, the phrase of the day:                  Sisyphus' labour.                                                         The term comes from Greek mythology. It refers to Sisyphus who had to push uphill a boulder which would promptly roll down. The concept is most interestingly analysed by thinkers  from the ancient times to one of the greatest authors of the twentieth century, Albert Camus.

The Trump Way!

As a kid, did you like watching the circus show? I did. And, immensely! Thrill it used to be looking at the nattily dressed women acrobats swinging in the air. Terror mixed with fearful fascination it used to be  watching the lion and tiger treats! Despite such adrenaline high's, the best, however, used to be the clown with his chubby cheeks, tomato red. Good he used to be especially at the volte-face. 

Despite all my sympathies for the welfare of the circus artists, mostly from poor families and extremely ill-paid, and despite my melting heart of the PETA variety, at times, let me confess, I have missed the circus show. Wanna know why? Yes, it is the clown and his flip-flops! 

Don't know how but the Potus seems to have understood my yearning for the fun-filled upside downs. Seriously he seems to have taken up an oath to fulfill that lack in our otherwise tough, drab, sorry lives!

How many volte-face! Almost serially! Releasing Epstein files, China and India, amongst (m)any other countries going almost tariff free now that supermarket racks rattled empty as the earlier trade contracts have gotten over! The H1B visas no longer appear an earth-shattering threat they were presented to be! 

Look at the people he is ready to meet. Oh, no, long lost amigo, our very own  P.M. pales in comparison with the other guys he wanna be chummy-chummy! Hey, buddy,  he is ready to meet Ahmed al-Sharra, an erstwhile  most wanted terrorist! Know the crowning glory though? No, it is neither Putin nor their joint or commonly shared Arch Nemesis, Zelensky. But, yess, Sir, Monsieur Mamdani is most welcome, no, not in New York, the citizens have already so mandated, but in the White House, too! Talk of volte-face!

Pratima@They say, in politics, nobody is a permanent pal nor a forever foe! The Trump Way (earlier, my way or no way or high way!)is sure proof of that ancient wisecrack!

Quote of the day:                                                       "I remain just one thing,"  admitted Charlie Chaplin, " and one thing only, and that is a clown. It places me on a far higher plane than any politician."

Word of the day: autocracy                                      Autocracy refers to a system of governance by a domineering person claiming absolute power.

Men will be MEN!

 Come November 19, declared as the International Men's Day (incidentally, without any authorisation whatsoever by any institute worth its 'title'! Has to be so, right? After all, men's day, no?), and the social media would be aflush with dark humour of the 'blue drum' and 'honeymoon blues' variety flashing re(a)d! 

Well, all that Bangalore kind of 'badmashi' is BAD! No doubt whatsoever! Any devilish behaviour is gender neutral. Period! That is to say, a vamp is a vamp is a vamp! All those harridans could have gone for a divorce, instead of murdering and/or pressurising the husband or his family or finances in to a ruin. And let us not forget that for every woman taking disadvantage of the legal rights, there is at least one man misbehaving in the public sphere or private space or both, right? 

Instead, can we not think of the very many positivities that ARE very much there, too? So, echoing the undeclared anthem entitled  "let my country awaken", let us discuss how/when/where "men will be MEN", okay? 

Men will be MEN because                                     They, too, are good at child care.                        Why merely change nappies?                                 The wow-est nannies they are.                       They are the kid's bestest friend n happy!      They cook great stuff, at times she rests.         Being a house husband is quite an asset.           No Eve they mercilessly tease.                           No attention forcefully seized.                         Secure in one's own skin.                                        in 'her' success they shine!                               Wifey's mamma's obedient son,                       equally loving to parents own!                              Lists n details such endless are.                          (He)Men be MEN, truly humane they are! 

Pratima@ True masculinity is genuine empathy. 

Quote of the day:                                                           'It takes more courage to reveal insecurities than to hide them, more strength to relate to people than to dominate them, more 'manhood' to abide by thought-out principles rather than blind reflex. Toughness is in the soul and spirit, not in muscles and an immature mind.'                            An anonymous quote!                        Humane indeed the person who it wrote!

Word of the day: masculinity                             Masculinity means caring for, not scaring sway, all the wretched of the earth, beyond the bounds imposed by language, class, gender, region, religion, race, caste or ethnicity! 

Health is the only wealth!

 Heard of Hippocrates? Yes, the Greek philosopher, considered the 'Father of Western Medicine' whose oath ' to help and not to harm' by which all the doctors at least swear by, though not many may abide by, as is proven  by the Delhi blast and the plot it unravels. 

Well, Hippocrates opined that "old people have fewer diseases than the young." Quite a prescient soul! Just look around to find abundant proof of his axiom. Our P.M. in his mid-seventies is much healthier than many of his citizens in their early thirties!

Indeed the threshold of 'dis-ease' is lowering like anything, while life expectancy is rising! Every family has at least two super seniors in their eighties. The young, however, are  prone to all sorts of dis-eases of body and mind. In a college, for example, there are so many students who casually tell you that 'depression' is an epidemic! Why, schools have to have psychologists!

As for physical distress, high blood pressure, diabetes, why, even heart attacks are targetting the young in their late twenties or early thirties so much so that just yesterday on my screen popped an ad for mobile aided ECG  machine with the tagline about buying the equipment  ASAP, given the heart attack frenzy!

Why is it so? Yes, life is tough. Tensions about degree, about job, about security given the AI invasion, terrible competition, the list is endless in the public sphere! In the private space, relationships are a trouble. Divorces, no longer a taboo, are an easy solution to even a minor disagreement. Often there is not any sibling support as parents age as many double income families of the earlier generation often preferred an only child!

If the support systems are wearing thin, personal discipline has gone for a toss, too. Waking up any time, lack of enough sleep, excessive exercise (in the chase of 'packs') in gyms or no exercise at all, drinking 'protein shakes', eating excessively spicy Chinese or fat filled pizzas, drinking aerated drinks, not to forget liqueur, 'doing' drugs, the 'life style' of the young is such that dis-ease would just fall flat for it!

Worst of all, molly-coddled (mostly by mothers using it consciously as a way to get the in-laws irritated, and thus out of 'her' life, her 'space' etc etc), these cock sure smarties cannot take a 'no', while life is full of rejections! As a compound result of such complex causes, the dis-ease amongst the young, right?

What can be the cure? Change in life style is a must. 'No extremes in either way' has to be the mantra, right? Actually around us, there are so very many examples of genuine people who have overcome severe trauma to build a meaningful life that positivity is easy to locate, right? Why chase the empty sheen without any substance? Why 'do' regularly unhealthy stuff in the chase of an empty modernity? Get well soon every which way, let health as wealth permanently with you stay!

Quote of the day:                                                     "The only way to keep your health," quips Mark Twain, "is to eat what you don't want, drink what you don't like, and do what you would rather not."

Word of the day: wholesome.                'Wholesome' refers to a way of life conducive to and suggestive of the good health of the body, mind and soul.

Dancing is the strain

 The title of our blog today, a take on the title of a recent Indonesian film about autism and of a Yugoslav film of the early sixties about misunderstanding ruining relationships, is not a misnomer. It is deliberate. 

Oh, yes, it is a social phenomenon that needs exploration which we would partially, and rather superficially,  attempt in our blog today. Ours are aspirational times, and ours is a driven, determined and motivated polity. Post/past 1990's, moreover, young Indians are at a crossroad of careers that is more confusing than the Piccadilly Circle, nay, circus, and literally!

Add to this unique offering the sizzling of the "I, me, my" choice and space. As a result is ready on platter this mode(l) of be(com)ing, known as dancing. Just as every second family these days has someone or the other settled abroad, every third household has a dancer, gender being no bar! 

Dancing is everywhere. Every lane has a dance school, next often to an Ayurveda center offering the "panchkarma" therapy. No, that is not because the first brings the second patients, as everyone, the young as well as the old, is dancing!

Well, the real reason appears to be that both are 'trending',  are 'the' trend(s) these days. Just as every  channel has a "Dance pe Chance" kinda of programe for every age group, toddlers to their toothless, dentured yet adventurous grannies n grandpas, every third household these days has a dancer! 

Of some variety or the other, ranging from the classical to pop to folk, and their very many versions! In schools, colleges, universities, let there be anything approaching a 'cultural programme', and the entries for dancing, individual, couple, group, would be longer than the famous tail of Lord Hanuman in Ravana's Lanka! 

Why, every wedding these days has to have a "sangeet" which has less to do with singing, and everything to deal with dancing, everyone, bride to 'bhataji' (who croons the 'manglashtk' to some famous dance tune), obsessing over, yes, you guessed it right, dance! 

Yes, 'come September', and there mushroom any number of dance institutes specialising in 'garba'. That brings us to a moot point. Well, forget the sexualising of tiny bodies on the television, is there indeed any future for so many dancers who punish their own bodies so very mercilessly!?! 

Hope every fleet foot lands on very strong n sure terra firma because while learning to dance, to appear accomplished, each hopeful twists in to impossible gyrations, resulting in to everything from spondylitis to weight gain, hormonal imbalance, and so on! Is dancing indeed a strain(ing)? 

Pratima@ Can dance be a career? Or does it reduce itself to a time consuming hobby that (re)tires the body and the soul!?! And empties the purses-n-pockets of every doting and hyper-ambitious parent!?!

Quote of the day:                                                 "Every savage can dance," says Darcy in Chapter VI of "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen whose two hundred and fiftieth birth anniversary is getting celebrated this year. 

Word of the day: pirouette.                                     'Pirouette' is a fast spin on one leg in the ballet mode of dance. In daily lived life, it refers to a graceful gentle movement.

The King of Wisdom!

 The King of Wisdom! The Monarch of Divinity and Spirituality! The Emperor of Devotion! The only Bosom Friend, Boon Companion, Soul Mate the Lord truly cared for! Whom do you think I am thus describing? Yes, the saint of saints, Sant Dnyaneshwar. 

2025 marks the seven hundred and fiftieth birth anniversary of this unique presence who defined Marathi-ness. Yes, it was his translation of the Sanskrit 'Bhagwad Gita' that 'made' Marathi. How puny appear the contemporary (f)rigid fights over dialects in comparison with this genuine contribution! 

What a Himalayan presence he is! A brilliant scholar with infinite awareness and deep knowledge of Hinduism (and the antagonistic traditions), a subtle thinker without any ideational obscurity or deluding obfuscations, he is divinity itself. 

He is, moreover, a great poet. His brilliant, deep, subtle thought reaches us through great poetry that is both rich philosophy and simply superb verse. His "Haripathache Abhang" are such sweet simplicity that the illiterate of the illiterate can easily grasp them, and learn them by heart most naturally.

He initiated the Bhakti Panth in the thirteenth century Maharashtra. Actually, his guru, his elder brother, Nivruttinath, belonged to the Shaivite tradition. His Nath Panth would not be a road to spiritual awareness that can easily be traversed by the common man. Sant Dnyaneshwar made it accessible to each and every one, beyond caste, gender or ethnicity.

And, mind you, he was hardly twenty-one when he decided that he had fulfilled his mission, and chose to welcome "samadhi" on Kartik Vadya Trayodashi (the thirteenth day in the dark phase of the lunar month 'Kartik') to be felicitated tomorrow. In a lifetime, he completed to immense perfection achievements most would need generations to complete!

All such brilliant performance was attained against, and despite, an extremely difficult life full of conscious harassment for crimes never committed, neither by him nor by his family! And yet such was the power of his empathy that he could make a he-buffalo narrate the first 'Rucha' from the 'Rigveda'. Why, he could make his back in to an oven so that his sis, Muktai, could prepare a simple sweet denied to them by the vicious, jealous, mean status quo-ists. Wonder of wonders, an inanimate wall would listen to his gentle will! He literally  (and not merely as spiritual symbolism) awakened the dead, too!

A towering presence, and yet such was his genuine piety and pity that this young man of twenty-one continues to be the gentlest  motherly presence since the thirteenth century! Hence the title of our blog, the 'King of Wisdom'! 

 The 'pasaydan', the final farewell in 'Dnyaneshwari', the great commentary on the 'Gita' by this wondrous, wise soul ends with a fervent prayer that the wicked would lose their wickedness, and would flourish in the ways of righteousness! No wonder, he is 'mauli', a kind gentle motherly presence till eternity!

Pratima@I can comfortably write a book each on his poetry, on his philosophy, on his contribution to the Bhakti Panth which revived Hinduism. That much I adore, venerate, respect him!

 Well, I am aware that readers of blogs believe in the short-n-sweet format. Hence this temporary full stop to a tale that never fails to inspire, to fascinate and to liberate!

Quote of the day:                                                      Here is my attempt at a translation of the first quatrain of a much loved 'abhang' by this phenomenal presence.                                           "At the divine doorstep, await awhile/           Thus attain liberation quadruple//                       Let lips " Hari" reiterate/                                       Who then can bliss enumerate?//                                                                                                                   Of course, work very much in progress!

Word of the day: martyr.                                             A martyr is person who is made to suffer immensely, even unto death, for holding (mostly) religious opinions inimical to the powers that be.

 Sant Dnyaneshwar and his family were in a way martyred by the orthodoxy of his times. Why, his parents paid with their lives for a sin never committed.

Musical might

 Music is magic. As for an individual listener, it can change his/her perspective, can intensify , enhance and/or wash away the mood of the moment, and energise the soul. As for the larger whole, the community, music has the might to unify the varied group in to something better. 

Why these musical musings? Is that your 'a-mused' query? Well, the immediate look-in is the ongoing Mitr Mahotsv, organised by Mitra Foundation. 

Imagine a lovely evening, dusk setting silently. There is a dapper nip in the air as winter is tentatively deciding to settle down in Pune. Just a hundred or two feet away from the roaring traffic is a well-lighted pandal, perfectly structured, what with giant screens mounted at strategic points. 

The softest delicate notes float in, and the batate wada crunching chit-chatting janta goes quiet. The silence, nay, rather, the peace grows by the second, as transfixed by the sweet santoor notes is the public that does not understand the niceties, especially because the performing artist, Rahul Sharma (the son of Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma who made santoor, a local Kashmiri  instrument, accepted globally, and both by the classes and the masses) has chosen to play a Raag not much known. 

Yet every trill and each tone of the Raag, Raag Rajeshwari, keeps on unfolding with masterful and yet gentle charm. Somehow, somewhere it touches the sensitive chords of a roughly two thousand strong audience that listens with rapt attention, clapping at times at wrong places which is okay, too, because that piece, may be, touched some cord in the soul.

Next follows a 'jugalbandi' with the tabla maestro. This duet of the 'sur' and 'taal' literally transfixes the audience. So is the artist, eyes closed, as if lost to the world of music which he himself seems to enjoy a lot, accompanied by his percussionist, too. He reveals, moreover, how the melody in that extremely difficult-to-play instrument can create its special harmony, its own rhythm.  The mehfil continues from classical to folk.

On the wings of notes float two hours. The ticking time, measured by seconds and minutes, does not seem to matter as captivated by the empire of music is the audience, even if not exactly initiated. That is the might of music.

Such might, present in abundance, makes the evening magical, especially because instrumental music is beyond words, and yet somehow manages to touch softly the tender core of human(e) beings. Yes, mighty magical is music!

Pratima@ I cannot thank Gokhale Madam enough for the invite because thus could I participate in a miracle!

Quote of the day:                                                    "Music washes away," feels Berthold Auerbach,"from the soul the dust of everyday life."

Word of the day:leitmotif.                                 'Leitmotif' refers to the underlying idea, the  central organic structure of the piece. It is a term that has transcended the empire of music to successfully reside in the realm of literature. 

The Death of Innocence

 This year, November 14 was dedicated absolutely to the Bihar election results. Delhi to gulley, the various ramifications of the result, immediate as well as long-term, were the themes around which discussions and debates developed. Given such ambience, it was but normal that neither the birth centenary of Pandit Nehru nor the death centenary of Hegel got much mention. 

Nehruji's birth centenary gets celebrated as the 'children's day'. One would like to argue that the tsunami of discussions centered around the election results and politics, Indians'  favourite most obsession, washed away that tiny island. 

Why is such a hijacking possible at all? Well, my submission is that there is hardly any innocence left at all. Naïveté, that primitive stage of innocence, is almost invisible. Innocence is an entity that is marked by its absence currently. 

Do not you believe me? Okay, let us begin with children. With mobiles in their tiny palms and the politics of reality inscribed there in the forms of wily and violent comics, innocence and naïveté wither away faster than the state in the Marxist ideology. 

A little older, what do children watch? Horribly vicious serials wherein family relationships are mere politicking in the worst possible way! Or the alternative is the 'Big Boss' types which teach hatred, malice, envy, jealousy masqueraded as normalcy! 

Can innocence at all bloom in such a barren mindscape? Much worse are the  dance competitions for children. A kid of five or six gyrates to the vulgarest songs. The young body is thus  sexualised beyond belief. What can such child pornography have to do with innocence? 

Personally, I am absolutely against introducing dramatics or dance in to the lives of children till they grow up to be ten. Why so? Is that your question? Well, when you thus consciously teach a child to falsely feel an emotion, imitate through gestures a false feeling, such 'acting' breeds a false consciousness. You are training your own kid to pretend! Whither(ed)  innocence?!? 

The sizzling to this tasteless broth is the constant competitive fierceness fast (in all senses of the term) bred amongst kids. Within the familial space, vicious and cruel, especially due to its subtle proliferation, is its contamination which has a super fast spread everywhere, in schools, on the playground, for instance. Eternally, parents, highly ambitious, are in to such one-up-manship. As a result, children are in to very many activities taken up not for joy but to prove superiority of the parent's (mostly  mother's, not to foget 'her' maternal family) upbringing. 

Wither naïveté in such a scénario? Absolutely impossible is innocence because, by definition, innocence is freedom from any guilt. Well, guilt is the hallmark for childhood activities today, be it family, be it recreation, be it education. The dirge for the lost innocence is tough to sing. Hence this note of condolence for an era long lost wherein a child, not pushed, instead allowed to be innocent, was not a performing poppet!

Pratima@Nuclear and/or single parent family would not alone be the culprit, I suppose. Whatever be the causes, the resulting knowing cynicism on the perenially pretending young faces is pathetic!

Quote of the day:                                                      "I have always been fascinated," argued Clint Eastwood, "with the stealing of innocence. It is the most heinous crime, and certainly a capital crime, if there is any." 

Word of the day: sanctimonious.                          The word refers to pretending to be superior to others by adding a moral veneer to lowly, despicable motives.