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 time slot. Yet, the beauty of philosophy is that it traversed from "ahm bramha asmi" to "neti, neti". 

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 punch 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 clears the world today!

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! 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 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.

Kind is as kind does

The social media need not always be bad. It was on a WhatsApp group that I got to know of this World Kindness Day. Given the kind of body bags being repeatedly reported across the world, this word 'kind' should surely rule the roost. 

The first kindest persons we meet in this cruel world are parents. They never care for their convenience, comfort, or career. Such is their love that we are the very centers of their universe. Their entire being revolves around us. It is hence very cruel to ill-treat them in their old age. 

Like parents, teachers, too, care for our growth, well-being and development. Truly, kind, generous and affectionate they are, unlike others who may use us and throw us away like a used paper napkin. 

Our friends are an asset precisely because they are kind, right? At times, the very ambience can be kind. Want proof? Right now, India and Shri Lanka are jointly holding a world visually impaired women's cricket jamboree in which six countries are participating.

Such kindness in action is the need of the hour. Kindness betters the world, often inhuman and cruel. Hence the need for kind activities that make it a better place. Let us be kind, generous and full of consideration for each other, and, most importantly, let us be kind to ourselves.  If thus you receive kindness, you would be kindness incarnate, sure to make the world a place truly worthy and genuinely kind. Long live kindness!

Pratima@Animals are in fact kinder than most human beings. Better hence to say that kindness makes human beings less devilish, and more divine!

Quote of the day: "Kindness is a language the deaf can hear and the blind can see, " says Mark Twain

Word of the day: altruistic.                                    This adjective refers to a kind person who looks after the well-being of others. Mother Teresa was an altruistic person, right? 

Murderous Memes

 The social media has its own contours such as memes and stickers. Memes have been a rage for quite some time. Some five years ago, when they were just bursting on the internet horizon, one of my PG students chose to write her term paper on memes. 

Of course, I encouraged her. Yet it was rather a shocker for me that she could 'describe' them ('very kindly' - in her barely suppressed opinion-ated air - for me!). She could not, however, 'analyse' them. I wanted her to explore the communication strategies therein  which, in my opinion, are both verbal and visual. 

That is that. Let me not get in to theory here, hated as much as intellectualism currently. Ah, yes, these days the sibling of memes, that is, stickers rule the social media empire. Even then, the fascination for memes is yet not over though.

An example or two to prove my point. We all know the sad saga of the reportage of Dharmendra's 'demise'. It must be hurtful to his immediate family. For the netizens though, it was a field day to freak out. 

One meme had the typical 'Garam Dharam' grimace and lingo, namely, "Kutton! Zinda hun. TRP ke chakkar pe muze hr ghante marwana band kro" which can loosely be translated as "Curs! I am alive and kickin. Stop murdering me by the hour for the sake of the TRP"!

The one that did the most rounds was that famous " tank" scene from " Sholay" with the equally well-known caption " Gaw walon, marna cancelled!" which can loosely be translated as " Hey, folks! I have cancelled (my resolve) to die!" In the foreground is a pic of an aged Dharmendra. 

These are witty takes in a way on that impossible situation. Really 'wicked' was the sense of humour of a video. It showed an equally aged Jitendra who suffered a fall in some other function. It was an absolutely crappy crop which collated both these unfortunate events with a giggly "Dharam paaji ke chakkar me/aj Jitendra paji chale jate" which can be roughly translated as "all that hullaballo over Bro Dharam today would have claimed Bro Jitendra."

Nutty, nasty, notorious. Thank goodness, I have not as yet seen the "Dharam paaji ki tarikh pe tarikh!" Hema Malini would drag the person to court, I suppose! Hey, like every other person under the sun, I, too, dearly love a laugh. I am not being a spoilsport. Yet in my scheme of things, silly, cheap laughter, especially at something as grim as imminent death cannot be a grin! Amen! 

Pratima@A titter cannot tatter decency, right? A smile is at least a mile away from cruelty, meanness, and downright goofy madness! 

Quote of the day:                                                     "Humour is the best way," maintains Mary Ann Shaffer, "to make the unbearable bearable." 

Word of the day: frivolous.                                   'Frivolous' means without much sense or seriousness, rather silly. The memes at the cost of Dharmendra's 'declared' demise are absolutely frivolous.

Couples

 November 11 is unique. It is 11/11. On 11/11 at 11.11, I got a bright spark. Why not write an acrostic cum limerick on couples, a relationship as quirky as the date! So here we go. 

Couples constantly bicker n fight.                        Oh, names each other call at its height.               Usual causes lend a fight its might.                  Painful swipes at the other that bite!               Love at the end is but sorry n slight.                Each home, every family repeats the plight!  Save the togetherness that better be bright! 

Pratima@A couple is yet another relationship of the 'cannot live with you but cannot leave you' variety, right?

Quote of the day:                                                      A couple should be "a single soul inhabiting two bodies", the classic definition of love according to Aristotle.

Word of the day: nuptials.                                 Nuptials refer to the wedding ceremony. It is a formal term for the event itself and its celebrations on that day.

On Education

 Francis Bacon was one of the great Renaissance thinkers. Bacon's "Essays" provide the pithiest, most succinct and yet in depth analysis of any and every theme he explored. His titles used to be "Of Love", "Of Learning", "Of Friendship", and so on. Closer to our times, it is Khaleel Gibran who attempted similar feats.

Following in the footprints of these giants, let us today try and explore education. Our title, however, would be "On education" as we cannot pretend to be definitive like Bacon, and others.  The occasion, incidentally, is the birth anniversary  of Abdul Kalam Azad, the first Education Minister of independent India. 

Yes, education is the greatest gift. Why so? Well, education opens up a student's mind. Basically, it is a values-oriented process that inculcates in the learner the way(s), the mode(a), the method(a) of grasping, understanding, processing any fact, every idea. It is the road which leads the learner towards fulfilment, of which the monetary satisfaction is a mere, though impotant, part. 

Now in the wake of the NEP, hands on education as well as the use of the mother tongue as the medium of education till the primary stage, are emphasised.  Yet another idea floating around is the concept of teacher as facilitator. All such refractions are good, great, most acceptable.

Yet it is necessary to point out a few canards, too, as they block the flow of learning. Let us list them. To begin with, it IS very much necessary to assert that unless the core subject, the hard skills, are learnt, no use of the very many soft skills, half-heartedly 'finished' off for a credit or two! 

Credits cannot control  learning. Period! At the college level, for example, a one credit course on the 'Vedas' or 'Arthashastra' or 'Fundamentals of Research', or 'Intellectual Property Rights,'  et al, serve the purpose of 'finishing off' the syllabus, of passing the subject as per the question paper loosely leaked! Freaking out in various direct or subtle ways cannot be studies, right?

First comes the knowledge as defined by the syllabi and curricula, which sure should be reality oriented as well. But industry needs, which change constantly, MUST not dictate the terms and conditions. 

Education, it must be remembered, IS the process of learning how to learn which is needed lifelong. As the Chinese proverb goes, students must learn how to fish; they should not be served the fish ready made. Education cannot be corporate career preparedness.

Practical relevance sure matters. Yet the base of theory gives the mind a rigour, an ability to think critically, an openness to welcome different perspectives. No use hence dismissing paradigmatic awareness in the pursuit of practical usefulness, as is currently fashionable.

No amount of practical experience can provide the ability to negotiate newer, different concepts or ideas. Otherwise, "jugad" becomes the rule, and half baked information from all sorts of (even wrong) sources is confused with knowledge.

If students are to be wise, they must attend lectures, a practice which also inculcates very many study 'skills', extremely necessary for a productive life, as well as values such as togetherness, discipline, empathy, et al. 

Sure, teachers must make learning enjoyable. Yet, under the guise of facilitation, learning cannot be reduced to "entertainment, entertainment, entertainment". A good academic 'job' cannot be mere fat pay cheques for doing everything else except actually  conducting lectures which help students learn! 

There is always a huge hue and cry that India does not produce Nobel prize winners for which dedication beyond immediate gains, sincere genuine (not necessarily merely 'smart') work, disciplined thinking, commitment are necessary. Invention IS ninety nine percent hard work, is the Edison assertion, often forgotten in the pursuit of glitzy, vacant, shallow show-off!

Education etymologically originates from "educare" which means to lead from the known to the unknown. Hence, silly simplification, empty anti-intellectualism, time pass "jugad" as success cannot replace education that is truly creative, right? After all, in the final analysis, learning is learning IS learning.

Pratima@Let us learn how to learn!

Quote of the day:                                                      "The most beautiful thing about education is that nobody can take it away from you"!

Word of the day:                                                      "erudite" which means the person has great knowledge and learning. All the Nobel Prize winners are erudite, for instance.

The Mamdani Mania

Truly famous is Thomas Hardy's "Mayor of Casterbridge" as it often is a to-do book on the list of every literature enthusiast, the Eng Lit students included, for whom its sheen may wither a little as it is most often a textbook! 

These days, however, another mayor is the talk of the town, and not only of the one he would soon start representing. Yes, let us talk of Zohran Mamdani. Unique indeed was his election campaign, highly vocal, absolutely communicative, and reaching out to the very many rejects of the glitz-n-glamour that is New York. The videos are electrifying even in retrospect. May be, the woman power, his mother and his wife, both in to image making, were responsible for it.

This democrat-socialist sure has ruffled many a feather. Want an example? Barack Obama, whose trajectory Mamdani roughly replicates, has not said a word about his victory, right? As for Trump, whom he challenged to "turn the volume up", he is being presented as the  very nemesis. 

Well, the Republicans seem to have taken his advice rather seriously. Questions are being raised about his naturalisation process. As a result, his very citizenship is under scanner. Much more viable is the danger of Elise Stefanik winning the gubernatorial race. She then gets the legal rights to remove Mamdani under some 'trump'ed up charge, not to forget the threat regarding 'federal funds' looming large.

Mamdani, in his early thirties, an erstwhile rapper, may appear to be continuing the 'Gen Z uprising' motif that rattled the South-Asian (his background referral actually) countries,  Bangla Desh and Nepal. Many in the know argue that the 'invisible hand' behind the scene was America! Ironic, right, the U.S. being hoisted in its own petard? 

The 'infidel not at the door, but in the city' propaganda does not really hold water, simply because Mamdani would not be the typical rabid jihadi terrorist. His father is a Harvard academic whose book on colonisation and Africa is published by the Princeton University Press. His Harvard educated mother, Padma Vibhushan Mira Nair, is an acclaimed film maker. 

Why the suspicions against him then?Because of his 'intifada' proclivities?   Does he rouse suspicions of the Deep State agency? Is his overt activism going to hurtle the Kejriwal way as Uday Nirgudkar says? Is it the 'Sadiq Khan of London, now Zohran Mamdani of New York' fear, especially given the 'grooming gang' kind of menace that is threatening England? 

In my opinion, it is his unnecessary overreach that  is worrisome. He is just a mayor, sure of New York, but even then not responsible for America's foreign policies, right? Why should he, given his responsible position, loosely dabble in international politics? Why dare Netanyahu to come to New York and threaten that he would be immediately  arrested?!? Why be so obviously anti-semitic, given the 'salad bowl' image of New York? Why the uncalled for remarks against the Indian P.M.? Absolutely unnecessary, right?

Actually, he is going to have a tough time, given his electoral promises. No, not because the American dream, based on hard work, is not a real fit for freebies. Actually, 'it is the money, honey'! If he really wanted to make a drastic change, cosmetic surgeries such as an all-women council, would not help. Populism may win votes but, unless promises are delivered fast, leads to total disillusionment and the feel of being betrayed, which is the real curse!

Pratima@ When a new star rises, the star dust should stick, a very basic hope, right? 

Quote of the day:                                                      "What goes up, must come down." Mania causes people (with bipolar illness) to climb higher and higher, and then," says Troy Steven, " crash like a wave rolling in to shore."

Word of the day: monomania.                              It is made of the prefix 'mono' and the base or the root 'mania'. As 'mono' means one, this 'mania' refers to a compulsive, impulsive obsession with a single cause! 

Unsung... Invisible... Overlooked

 As children, we have all read the story of the ugly duckling, ridiculed, harassed, sneered at for being a swan! Okay it is in fairy tales. In real life, it takes gigantic courage to be talented, to be a prodigy, nay, could even be a genius, underrated by the status quo which honours others not even sub par.

Let us today look at two examples. One of them is a tragedy. Better always to begin with the bad so that we can appreciate the scent of success the good grudgingly may be allowed!

Yes, let us talk of a hyper talented music director. Son of a tabla player, he was excellent at percussion instruments, be it tabla, dholak or pakhawaj. Why, before he came to the city of dreams to work at his niche, he was gifted a royal sabre in honour of his superb abilities. 

In Bombay, however, he would not find work! For eight years, he was an assistant with a salary of mere hundred rupees. His music direction was so superb that "Mirza Galib" had a special show in the Rashtrapati Bhavan. The Prime Minister praised it.

Yet work never came his way! At last, he was the chosen one for ''Pakeezah". The film trailed so long due to causes beyond his control that he died in penury almost a decade earlier. 

Yes, we are talking of Ghulam Mohammed who died without, forget medicines, food. The only saving grace in this sad scenario is that Pran refused to accept his award because the year  ''Pakeezah" was released, despite its superb music, the much deserved award went to another! Some recognition at last, though post humous!

Now let us look at the rather happy ending. The Indian Women's Team won the World Cup recently. The captain bowed to him, and the euphoria included him in to recognition long long long overdue. Yes, we are referring to Amol Muzumdar. Records at the Ranaji level, wonderful at his game, excellent batsman. Yet success at last came his way almost three decades later, at least as a wonderful coach, much appreciated by his team.

Why this phenomenon of the 'unsung hero'? Why is talent overlooked, often when the most ordinary is hailed? For being in the wrong place at the wrong time? For being too straightforward? For not cozying up to those in power positions? For lacking a support system who should be the cheer leaders? For unknowingly being the soft target of conspiracies galore, for thus being consciously alienated thenceforth?For rubbing the mediocrity around the wrong way just by being far far far superior?

Easy it is to say that at last everybody does have a place in the sun! What about the opportunities snatched away right under the nose though rightfully they screamed to belong to the ignored, ill-treated talent? Late justice is no justice, right? In the final analysis, whose loss is it? Sure of the individual, but much worse is the state of affairs for existing so, for blaming the victim, thus shaming its own glitzy sheen!

Quote of the day: "The last to bloom," according to Rune Lazuli," is the strongest." 

Word of the day: late-bloomer. It refers to a person whose talents or capabilities become apparent or are noticed later than is typical or common for most.

In Obeisance

 We are multi-lingual. We are multi-ethnic. We are multi-religious. We are multi-regional. As a country, a continent  of variations we are. Our geographies may be different. Same, however, are our histories, our cultures, our civilizational identities. 

If there is any one ditty that captures our unity in diversity, it is "Vande Mataram". 2025 happens to be its sesquicentennial year. Ah, not to worry about that pedantic touch! Used it at all, Dear Reader, because the context would amplify its meaning. Yes, today, on November 7, this fervent tribute to our nation celebrates its hundred and fiftieth year.

The song is written by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee in his novel entitled "Anandmath" which glorified the Bairagi Rebellion, a glorious but lesser known chapter in the Freedom Movement. The eponymous film has an ardent rendering of this song by Lata Mangeshkar. In my opinion, if Pandit Nehru were to hear it, he would have shed tears a decade earlier. That passionate is its rendering set to music by Hemant Kumar, one of my favourite most singers and music directors.

The song is unique for two reasons. To begin with, it celebrates the abundance that is India, and, that, too, in a multi-lingual mode, Sanskrit, and Bangla in the original Bengali version, not to forget the echoes of Sanskritised Hindi or for that matter, Marathi.

The second reason why this song is simply great is because of its central image. It would not be very far-fetched to maintain that it is this song which constituted the iconic image of India as Bharat Mata. This image, much debated later, during  the heydays of the Subaltern Studies, however, was instrumental in uniting the masses and the elites during the Independence  Movement.

In the making of a nation comes a moment when its soul in captured in reverent words that charge and enlarge the hearts of many and of everybody. Suffice it may to assert that 'Vande Mataram' marks one such moment in our cultural imaginary!

Pratima@Do listen to the Lata-Hemant version of 'Vande Mataram'. Passionately it captures the gravitas of the song.

The quote of the day:                                               "I want all people to be Indians first, Indians last, and nothing else but Indians," asserted Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar. 

The word of the day:                                             'ardent,' means very enthusiastic and passionate. In the olden days, the word also meant glowing, burning. Everybody sings the national song ardently, for example.

Lion suffer-i's

 Dear Reader,                                                      Hello from Pratima Agnihotri. Here is a promise. Yes, today onwards, at the end of our daily blog, there would be a quote and a word related to the theme of the blog. Since the practice begins today, let us look at the related quote and the word right in the beginning. Remember, though, tomorrow onwards, both would appear blog finally. 

Quote of the day: "Dominate your day like a lion, resolute and focussed." 

Word of the day: leonine: like a lion (The king had a leonine presence.)

Let us get back to our blog. Look at the title. Do you think it refers to lion safaris, currently very much in vogue? No, not really. Our blog refers to the lovely, true and most heart-warming stories of lions in trouble, actually asking for human help, and thereby bonding with humans.

Lions are lonesome animals actually. That is to say, they prefer their own prides, and surely they cannot be domesticated. They are not pets, however excessively cute their cubs may appear. By nature, wild and ferocious, they have an aggressive presence, with a weight and a bite that can be lethal. 

In the African savannah grasslands --- I am referring to this region because the YouTube videos present the 'be(a)st' accounts from this region --- the rules rangers and veterinarians follow are, never anthropomorphise and never interfere, however (un)natural it may appear to do so. 

Yet human(e) instincts overtake, and humans help these gorgeous lords of the forest, either saving a drowning cub, or bringing up a cub rejected by the pride as it is too weak or caring for a cub which strayed too far in its playfulness, and thus got lost. At times, even the adult lions seek human help, wounded, or harassed due to a draught, or by the traps set by dicey poachers, supported by the high stake international  market in lion parts.  At times, the doggoes fetch or protect a lost cub.

Thus begins the lovely healing process, most often highly educative for the human beings involved as it shows that the beasts are no brutes. In fact, their cognition process, scientifically and objectively analysed during the contact,  is so complex that they assess the good intentions intelligently, regally allow interventions, and, yes, they remember the timely help.

I have impulsively (and almost compulsively) watched so many such YouTube videos (no, they are not AI generated 'creations' because names and places are clearly mentioned) that I know almost by heart the responses and gestures of lions, the stages in the growth of a cub, and, ah, yes, the lovely descriptions of the African safaris, the sunrises, the sunsets, the storms. 

No wonder, the Romantic poets such as Coleridge whom I adore, would, like me, swear by Shakespeare who summed it up best: "The poet's eye, in fine frenzy rolling,/Doth glance from heaven to earth, from earth to heaven;/And as imagination bodies forth/The forms of things unknown, the poet's pen/Turns them to shapes and gives to airy nothing/A local habitation and a name." May I add to 'the poet's eye', the camera's (and the reader's/viewer's) eye to make the quote complete(ly relevant)?

Pratima@Who needs expensive safaris when you have "imagination all compact" and YouTube videos that help you visualise lion suffer-i's showing all that is humane in inter-species bonds!?!

Gorgeous

 Diwali itself is beautiful, what with the whole house spruced up. Equally heavenly is this Dev Dipawali, what with earthen lamps softly lighting up the entire premises which can easily compete with the 'super' version of the full moon and the very many stars illuminating the  night sky. 

The festival is important for a number of reasons. In Kashi, for instance, on this day is celebrated the Ganga Mahotsav. Anybody,  who has participated in the Ganga aarti sitting on the steps of the Ganga ghat, the river flowing gently near one's feet, and the entire spectacle of the aarti unfolding in front of one's eyes, knows the unique feel. 

I participated in the evening Ganga aarti at Haridwar. Despite the unmistakable squalor around, which is highly disturbing, the actual aarti itself is absolutely heavenly. I can hence imagine the Deepotsav at Kashi as part of the Ganga Mahotsav. It has to be a sight that gods themselves would love. Hence the title Dev Dipawali absolutely suits the occasion.

It falls on the Kartik alias Tripuri Pournima. Unique is this festival as it is a celebration alike for Hindus, Jains and Sikhs. Near the ghats of the unique Pushkar lake which extends to the horizon despite the terrible desert around, every Kartik Pournima is celebrated at the only temple of the Bramha, the origin of the entire universe, who granted the three a-suras the unique boon of the three, the 'tri pur', the three  invincible cities. 

On this day formally end the Diwali celebrations, making us await the reiteration of the festivities next year. 

Pratima@ Special indeed are the myths about this Tripurari Purnima when Shiva alias Pinaki used the special, grand, invincible Pinak bow which with one arrow destroyed  the "tripur", the iron, silver and golden cities of the three a-surs who were so pious, ideal and good that Lord Vishnu had to create a wrong, a false Dharma to taint them. Equally grand is the Sikh version of this festival as on this day is celebrated the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak. For the Jains, it marks the end of the Chaturmas penance period and as a day to venerate the first Tirthankara, Adinath. One day uniting three religions! Very special, unique and typical of India! 

Observing Chaturmas

 Tomorrow would finally end the Chaturmas, the four months of not eating onion and garlic. Formally, it ended on Monday, the day after Ekadashi. As the Tulsi Vivah ceremony ends tomorrow, every which way, the restriction ends, too.

How about trying to understand this restriction? Well, it begins two days before the Ashadhi Ekadashi, and ends on the Kartiki Ekadashi. Most interestingly, these are known as the Devshayani and the Devprabodhini Ekadashi respectively. 

In other words, from Ashadh to Kartik, the Lord and his consort rest. How to understand this concept? Sure it is anthropomorphism, transferring human needs such as the need for rest, on to the divine. 

There is yet another way to look at the practice. Sure, the climate cycle has gone for a toss now. Yet, earlier when the monsoon respected its entry and exist points, these four would be the monsoon months. May be, hence the need for controlling the food intake. 

May be, the onion increases the 'kapha' (phlegm) and the garlic increased the  'wat'  (the bile) in the body. Hence to balance the "tridosha", the Ayurveda would suggest such restrictions which the common man would follow only if assigned some religious values, I suppose. Yes, I will counter-check these facts, I promise. 

The Jains and the Krishna Consciousness kind of movements do not ever eat these two veggie items as onions and garlics are not only not "satvik". They are, moreover, considered "tamasik" (arousing wild passions) and "rajasik" (igniting ignorance, laziness, and so on).

Well, allopathy would insist that garlic is the best for heart health, while the onion controls most all everything from cholestrol, blood sugar as well as blood pressure. 

What to do when "-pathies" clash so violently? Well, moderation, I would argue, is the best medicine. Hence I observe the Chaturmas which was part of my parents' belief and faith system, too. Of course, they suffered patiently my 'informative' lectures which now you are tolerating, Dear Reader!!! In other words, their following of the practice, too, was not either superstitious observance nor any caste rigidity.

Thursday onwards, I would eat these two veggies, of course, in moderation, however much they tingle the taste buds!

Pratima@ Understand the principle, practice follows!

Precious indeed!

 The title of our blog today should tell you about the theme of our blog today, right? Well, not really, not exactly, I would say. The title should be "Pricey indeed". That would immediately clarify the topic of our blog.

Yes, I am talking of gold and its prices. Post Diwali, especially circa October end, suddenly the market was abuzz with the news that the gold rates are falling. I ignored the carpet bombing of such news for quite some time.

Well, the info was here, there, everywhere. Finally, curiosity got the better of me. I hence checked the reduced rate. Per ten tiny grams, rupees one lakh, twenty two thousand! If that is peoples' idea of reduction in rates, the less said, the better! Incidentally, these reduced rates do not include the GST, nor the amount charged for designing/making the ornaments!

Like everything else under the sun, be it population explosion, be it assembly of parts processing them in to perfect products, India and China always compete. With each other, rather than with others. How can obsession with gold be an exception? Gold must, moreover, be the only long lasting item from China!  Together, us and Chinese would capture almost half of the gold in the world market! 

Significant it is in this context that the Chinese government's recent most planning regarding the gold rates is sure going to make the yellow metal almost blood red for the common man across the world!

Actually, gold is precious, no, not when it comes to ornaments a (Chinese or Indian) woman may possess, but because it involves the gold reserves in the national treasury. The U.S., for instance, has a huge burden of debt. Yet the dollar dominates the currency considerations, solely due to the American gold reserves. Remember, in early 1990's, India had to go for the LPG solution, because otherwise, there would have been the impossible situation of  liquidation of our comparatively meagre gold reserves

Except for such international realities, personally i have never understood the passion for gold. Hardly precious it is as it makes its owner pretentious! Sure, since childhood, be it ear-rings or the nose pin, I have rarely, almost never, worne the artificial equivalents. Yet the price of gold or clothes and other such show-off stuff withers away like the state in the Marxist theory in comparison with the prices of books which, too, have risen to the roof, and beyond! In brief, currently, most human beings know the price of everything and the value of nothing, as Oscar Wilde would say!

Pratima@ "Gold is money. Everything else is credit," argues J.P.Morgan. Who else!?!

 

Wateronomics

 Where rivers are, there civilizations grow . That is ancient wisdom, much testified to through ages. Look at our own Ganges. Once you meet her at Gangotri jumping eagerly across boulders like a naughty girl, once you hear her at the "panch prayag" confluences amidst the mighty, magnificent Himalayas, once you see her shimmering across at Rishikesh, you understand a great principle to live by. 'Where there is will, there is a way', her bouncy flow reiterates with a guiding gurgle. 

She indeed is Ganga Maiya. Yes, she is the legendary source of life and benediction as narrated in the Bhagirath myth.  In contemporary times, this holy river relates to economic realities as well, however unholy but real!

An article in the "Down to Earth"  asserts that the Ganges basin (which is spread across many northern states and effectively borders many north-western states) houses forty five per cent of the country’s population, accounts for forty four per cent of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and twenty five per cent of India's coal fleet, apparently.

This article by Madhumita Paul quotes the findings by the CWR, a global thought leader. According to this report, the Ganges shares the fate of all the rivers that originate in the Hind Kush Himalayas, known as the HKH. 

Let me quote directly from the article. The article maintains that the Ganges basin, like all the basins of all the ten HKH rivers, faces a ‘triple threat’ to its future — insufficient water for development, the impact of climate change on water resources, and the concentrated risks in river basins. This situation puts hundreds of millions of lives and trillions of rupees worth growth projects at risk, it seems. 

For a country like ours, at the cusp of making history, a river is not merely a source of potable and/or farming water. It has many more financial facets such as power generation and as a core content in many industries. 

The report states that the Ganges basin is experiencing huge urbanisation which creates complex problems. Moreover, given the climate change realities, sea waters are rising, causing a tangible threat to such urban centers as Kolkata, for instance. Given such water stress, the need for water economics map, says the article. 

In other words, in our much troubled times, our rivers are threatened, too, given the economic realities, especially when we share the water resources with hostile neighbours. Rivers, as gifts of nature, no longer remain merely holy. They are currents along which flows water (as) economics!

Pratima@ The 'Namami Gange' mission is not merely a holy concept. Rather, it has to have financial facets! 

Ladies' Game

 Cricket is supposed to be religion in India. Such a statement should explain why many would choose to be, and to forever remain, avowed atheists. What is so very divine in an individual (or a dozen others) who has a certain skill set in one particular game, employs it to gain huge monetary gains for himself, often shrewdly plays up to the 'system' in the game, and to the larger establishment that be, so that he gets to be an M.P., never attends even then any parliamentary sessions, yet manages to land a Bharat Ratna by placating the right people at the right time! 

Such people perfectly very well know which side their bread is buttered. They would hence criticise, too, in the politically correct way, even if huge corruption every which way would be rampant in their own field. They would not dare utter a single word against such bosses as repercussions would be imminent and obvious in the selection process. As if the monetary gains in the field are not enough, they are advertisement gurus' favourites, too, gaining contracts to the advantage of  everyone involved! 

What indeed is divine in players who directly/indirectly participate in the baiting process? Why call such  convenient and dicey adjustment with the status quo the "gentleman's game!"? 

 I  would call it a " Ladies' Game'' though. Why? Just  to contrast the men (and main!) cricketers with the Indian Women's cricket team. Look at the achievements of the Ladies' Cricket team. They are about to create history. No hysteria is whipped up though by the media about their genuine, sincere contribution to the game.  All is quiet on the cricket establishment front! 

Slightly better it is this time though, it must be admitted. Mostly, it is the social media which has risen (up) to the occasion. There ARE a few reels making rounds. WhatsApp groups are providing support to the young ladies. Despite the obvious gender prejudices and biases so very obviously apparent, here is wishing them success. Hope their skill sets alone (Who is anyways going to bait on women's cricket?) would do India proud the ladies' way! 

Pratima@ Unfortunately, however, it is the religious conversion by Jemima Rodrigues' father which is more a debate on the social media. He was wrong as per the 'secular' framework. Yet the game should be ruled by the genuine contribution by the player, and not by extraneous considerations such as the antics of the player's papa!