Being Rama

 Despite yet another horror by yet another Rashtravadi Congress Party 'powerbaaz' member coming to light,  Ram Navami is being celebrated with utmost sincerity. Sure, such a continuity is the real hope that despite the worst in the public sphere, the private space of the community is clean and holy still. 

Well, such is the occasion, too. Shri Rama is all that is ideal. This protagonist of an epic, whose historicity has been established in an utmost scientific, objective and scholarly way by the likes of Dr. Nilesh Oak, is ideal precisely because His 'i' always 'deals' even with given realities in an honourable, high-minded, and honest fashion. 

Let us look at a few points in the "Ram Katha" (Incidentally, it begins in empathy even for a bird. No wonder, its protagonist is all that is humane.) which may prove my standpoint. Let us look at His treatment of Kaikeyi. She is the root cause why He has to face every hardship imaginable.

 Traditionally, she is presented as the arch vamp who can make any matriarch in any sick serial blush beet root red! Rama never ever treats her thus. Nor does He allow, Bharata, her own son, to treat her so. He always accords her the status of a queen (who helped the king in a decisive battle) and a mother. Extremely tough, but absolutely fair! No wonder, He is the "maryada Purushottam", the best balanced being!

I can go on giving many such examples of His treatment of women. The space of a blog is not of a research paper though. We all, moreover, know the notorious lag/lack of the  attention span currently. Hence let us look at His treatment of the non-human. 

When He is searching for Sita before He comes across Jatayu, His sources are flowers, shrubs,  creepers and trees. So say Walmiki and Bhavbhuti. Some sustainable sensibility, right? 

  Look at His respect for Jatayu whom He grants the rights/rites of an elder. Why, He can be gentle and kind even to a squirrel whose tiny little help He acknowledges gracefully. His relationship with Hanuman is the best example of the bond between companions. In brief, He is the best, both as a person and as a king, when we look at His graceful treatment of the non-human so much so that heavy stones can float in sea water due to His touch, as if they thus come alive.

In other words, every event in this 'his-story' can be interpreted symbolically. Extremely contemporary re-interpretations (hope, I would soon manage to write such an in-depth research paper) are thus possible, making the 'Ram Katha' the throbbing source and sense of identity, not only in the Indian continent, but even in the Far East!

Pratima@ Between the two great epics (often considered histories by committed scholars), 'Ramayan' is all that is ideal, and hence more appealing, I suppose, because it thus satisfies the hidden hunger in every soul for all that is quintessentially honest, best and ideal, given our most imperfect realities and selves.

Quote of the day:                                                         "Ram is my mother/Ramchandra my father/My  sovereign is Ram/My confidant is Ram/ My all is the gentlest Ram/None else I know nor need to know!"                                                                       So states the Ram Raksha, Aai's favourite stotra. Hence, today, on her fifth death anniversary,  this small little translation of a shloka she uttered at the most critical moment of her life.

Word of the day: Quintessential                            Quintessential describes the most perfect, typical, or essential example of a specific quality or class, representing the "best of the best". It signifies a pure, ultimate standard,

Water

 When you start learning Spanish, in the very few first lectures, you are sure to come across the words "el niño" and "la niña", apparently extremely innocent words which mean the boy and the girl respectively. When it comes to monsoon predictions, which determine the future of some sixty per cent of our population, they are downright dangerous though. 

The Niño creates, explain the experts, warmer sea surface temperatures in the Pacific, which disrupts the Indian monsoon, causing reduced rainfall, delayed seasons, and drought risks. This effect generally leads to lower agricultural output, particularly for water-intensive crops like rice, thus increasing food inflation, power demand, and heatwave severity. 2026, the climate specialists say, is going to face this "little boy", the climate atom bomb!

In brief, water is the base of the very existence, even in modern times, as much as it was in the ancient times when the very life began because of water. Later, civilisations grew near water resources. Water is that significant to life!

Actually, it is apparently non-descript. It has neither colour, nor taste, nor odour. It has no dissolving discretion either. It is such a universal solvent that it facilitates the very dissolving process.

It most probably is the only phenomenon available in three forms; liquid, solid (ice) and gas (vapour). The earth surface is mostly covered by water, seventy-one per cent to be precise. Unfortunately, however, most of it is not potable. 

Hence the importance of water in sustainable debates because a living organism can survive without food for weeks. Without water though, death would be imminent within a few days! Water whose central molecule is the O2 (which mixes with the H2 to form the H2O, alais water) is life itself!

Pratima@ Given this base quality of water, the Water Day, celebrated since 1999, every March 22 is indeed important.

Quote of the day:                                                         "water water everywhere/not a drop to drink" is how Coleridge's Ancient Mariner describes his, actually the mankind's, moving plight!

Word of the day: potable                                           Potable describes water or liquids that are safe for human consumption, for drinking, for food preparation, often termed "drinking water" in simple terms. It signifies that the liquid is free from dangerous contaminants. Hence that entire water purifier industry!

The Miracle Man

 The social media! Much blamed, much derided! At times hidden therein are nuggets of wisdom! Let me give you an example. Meet G. N. Naidu. He was born on March 23, 1893.  Yesterday should have been celebrated as his birth anniversary. 

Not many (including me, till yesterday) would know him. Yet I would now like to assert that he is the Pioneer of the Start-up Spirit in India! Not only was he good at re-designing, he, moreover, invented the four stroke combustion machine on his own! 

Wonder of wonders, he enjoyed merely primary education! In a way, he is the forefather of the "jugadu spirit", though in a positive way! This inventor industrialist from Coimbatore, Tamilnadu initiated the first electric motor of India! 

He was a wizard of the electrical and mechanical engineering fields. In the field of agriculture, too, he initiated hybrid cultivation. His scientific spirit and interest in the technological development that would be both practical and affordable got him the moniker the "wealth creator of India". 

Such versatile geniuses are pretty rare. Often using such star dust is attacked formal education as "sine cos theta/is absolutely useless, beta!" which is a huge fallacy! Not everybody who bunks his education midway creates a software empire! Not every engineer or doctor who gave up his field to pursue films gets the chances of an Atul Kulkarni or a Mohan Agashe! To become a success in business, it is not necessary to fashionably mock or dismiss formal education in an intellectually lazy way, right?       

 Mumbai must be overflowing with starlets (most often with a most unfortunate present and future) and dreamers (who believe that everybody becomes a Dhirubhai Ambani)! The faith that students who spend hours (or is it, the whole time!?!) outside classrooms are informally learning through peer interaction is either naive or shrewd avoidance of academic responsibility because a person who insists on academic rigour indulges in an attempt which only attracts inconvenient notoriety!

I am sure, if I were to ever write the biography of G. N. Naidu, I would find out how he was an auto-didact, somone who through sheer hard work, taught himself difficult concepts. Not everyone is  so lucky though! Hope the dazzling career of G. N. Naidu does not get used as a precedent, as a myth to dismiss formal  education, a dangerous falsehood in the era of the AI when foreign universities are making excellent education available here in India! 

Pratima@ The "Edison of India", too, like his original namesake, would believe in constantly improving/updating himself, I suppose. He must be studying, reading, analysing a lot to manage all his contributions. I do not know enough to state why he could not carry on with his education beyond primary school. May be, he, too, would have been another JRD if he were to follow formal education! 

Quote of the day:                                                          Genius is, Thomas Edison famously defined  it ,  "1% inspiration and 99% perspiration."

Word of the day: fallacy                                              Fallacy is a failure in reasoning or a flawed argument that renders a conclusion invalid, often appearing plausible but mistaken.

The real strength of Bhagat Singh

 On the Martyrs' Day, the best way to know about Shaheed Bhagat Singh's strength would be to know a little about his hunger strike in the Lahore Prison. 

Why do I say so? Well, this brilliant activity, which almost killed him, showed his superb acumen. The constant coverage of the inhumane treatment Bhagat Singh and his revolutionary friends faced in the prison created in the common man's mind terrible anger against the British.

Even when incarcerated, from behind bars, he thus continued his rebellion against the British injustices. He hence proved that, for a thinking freedom fighter, prison bars are no hindrance in continuing creatively his fight against the unjust imperialist power. 

The historic hunger strike, which lasted for impossible hundred and sixteen days, began on June 15 to continue till October. The very duration shows his wonderful will power, endurance and mental strength. 

Look at the demands behind the hunger strike, so to say, the first ever non-co-operation movement in the Indian Freedom struggle. The demands show his intelligence, idealism and inner power. First and foremost, he wanted the authorities to treat him and the other revolutionaries as political prisoners. Outright, bravely and boldly he thus asserted that, as patriots, they could not be considered/treated as common criminals. Thus he gave Indian independence struggle a great ethical height. 

Next he insisted on books, newspapers as their right as political  prisoners. Not only does this demand brilliantly prove his stature as an intellectual but it also shows that the much ignored revolutionary movement was not mere arson and such impulsive acts by hot-headed young men. Thus, through this demand, he accorded the revolutionary wing of the freedom struggle an intellectual stature and ethical grandeur.

The other demands were clean enviornment and decent food. Even when the British tried to inhumanely force-feed the revolutionaries which, incidentally, killed Batukeshwar Dutt, the frail Bhagat Singh continued his hunger strike. This 'fast unto death', if necessary, proved the solidarity of these young men who refused to break down, and instead made the prison walls echo with "Inquilab Zindabad" even when facing death. Hence this tribute to the great revolutionary and his passionate colleagues.

Pratima@ Reading the brilliant and committed writings of/by Bhagat Singh makes you regret that he passed away so soon. If he were to get a few more years, he would have changed the very nature of the independence struggle.

Quote of the day:                                                      "Stone walls do not a Prison make,/Nor Iron bars a Cage;/Minds innocent and quiet take/That for a Hermitage," asserts Richard Lovelace.

Word of the day: patriotic.                                      Patriotic refers to showing strong love, devotion, and loyalty to one’s country. It implies supporting a nation's well-being, commonly demonstrated through actions like voting, respecting symbols, or national service. 

At the doorstep

 March 22! Remember that ugly day some six years ago? Yes, on March 22, 2020 was announced the first lockdown in Maharashtra as the corrosive Corona was at the doorstep! 

As a result, going outdoors was totally banned. Effortlessly, education entered the e-space. Students had a field day. Knowingly, they would keep the video off. Why, there were teachers who boasted that they taught while lolling on the bed! Educational standards went down the drain so much so that the notorious Corona class/batch was much mocked. Their marks were considered dicey. 

Six years down the lane, we are yet again at the crossroads. The Mi( i/u?That is the question!))ddle Eastern War is choosing to make life tougher as oil prices soar like the crazy U.S. Sanctions. The rupee, like most currencies, seems to love the slide down with the glee of a child. No question hence of "going out"  for fun or studies. 

No worries, though! Like the Corona, the current crisis, too, seems to open up a brand new era in Indian education.  At the doorstep, literally at the doorstep, are the foreign universities! 

World class UG/PG degrees in contemporarily relevant areas, with the centuries old legacies and international standards, await learners, especially those who cannot cough up some sixty lakhs for a two year long PG abroad! As for a UG degree abroad, the sum is absolutely astronomical.

In metros like Mumbai, the Delhi NCR and Bengaluru, top most universities from Australia, America and England are initiating campuses. With world class connections that would have best mentors and alumni associations, the USP of such international degrees here at home is unusual specialisations with obvious better employability.

Typically expected UG/PG degrees in AI or computers from Illinois Tech from the U.S. or MBA with specialization in Finance, et al, from Universities such as York, Bristol, Liverpool, Aberdeen,  the six universities offer at the UG/PG level unusual courses such as M.Sc. in Human Centered Interactive Technologies, for instance. 

As for Indian education itself, despite the NEP, there is much left to be desired. In so-called famous colleges, lectures do not take place; students hardly attend them; most syllabi, if completed at all, are behind times with nothing much to write home about skilling, re-skilling, upskilling. 

Sure, ideologically and/or ideally, such scenarios are sad, especially when internationally accredited education would be available at comparatively affordable prices here at home!

 As it is, when/where is education in India cheap? The LKG onwards, private institutions charge astronomical amounts. In addition, there are the costly tuitions! As for degrees, an MBBS in a private college costs a crore, while the BDS is painful at some thirty to forty lakhs, not to forget the post-degree setting up of a clinic!

In such a scenario, why would not students/their parents go for such genuine centres of excellence, now accessible in India and at reasonable fees! At the doorstep is yet another tsunami in the educational field in India!

Pratima@ Hope thus would not emerge educational apartheid's of very many varieties!

Quote of the day:                                                        "The more that you read, the more things you will know, the more that you learn, the more places you’ll go," says Dr. Seuss.

Word of the day: astronomical                                     Astronomical refers to the science of astronomy (study of space). In popular usage, the term describes an inconceivably large, immense, or huge quantity, often used to describe costs or numbers. 

Important!

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The Flower Day

 March 21 is an absolutely unique day. Our blog would reveal its various significances one by one. Today let us look at its relevance as the flower day.

March 21 is seasonally central.  In the northern hemisphere, it augurs 'well', rather, augurs fragrantly and beautifully, the arrival of the spring season. In the cold climate, this recurrent blooming of life is most noteworthy. In fact, this rebirth is almost like a regular reassertion of life. 

Even in an India where not every nook n corner is covered with bitter cold monochromal snow, this reawakening of life is insistent, inevitably, though subtly. The 'Flame of Forest' flags, for instance, itself most wondrously even in the concrete jungle. 

Have you noticed how the pale pink n crimson bunches of the rangoon creeper make every evening in to a concert of fragrance and lovely shades of pink? In fact, around March 21, bloom very many fragrant flowers making each evening a symphony of scents that drowns the stale odours of a burgeoning metro. 

In fact, flowers, even the wild ones, are so beautiful that just one flower day on March 21 is not enough. Every day deserves to be a flower day. Why, so? Well, flowers are not just beautiful. That beauty, be it fascinating fragrances, be it mesmerising shapes, be it captivating colours n shades, be it soft n smooth textures, each has its own use for the growth of the plant/shrub/tree. True examples of beauty with brains, in brief!

My brother, Sanju, who has a green thumb, has this lovely balcony garden where nestle unbelievably beautiful flowers sharing with each other their uniquenesses. Whenever I go to his place, in the company of his most loving and lovely Tashu, the colourful beagle, i spend quite some time in this balcony full of blooms. Some h(e)avenly feel it is!

Flowers can make our typical city balconies with the inevitable washing machine and drying clothes in to a vista of gentle grandeur, right? Here at Mukund Nagar, we have this May Flower. A few drops of the first summer shower, and it bursts out most colourfully from the dry clods, like my colacasia who remembers without fail to bloom back circa March 21.

Flowers, in other words, are not just pretty. They are recurrent remembrances of the eternal aspect of life, forever blooming, however much the winter may try to wipe out every colour, each fragrance. May every day be the flower day, making it most meaningful!

Pratima@ At Mukund Nagar, we have the green champak. So difficult it is to locate its little flower whose colour and shape mimic the leaves. I keep on distributing its seeds so that its fragrance would freshen up the lives of all my acquaintances! Oh, yes, rather than bouquets, better to give seeds/plants as presents. What say?

Quote of the day:                                                        Says Theodore Roethke, "Deep in their roots, all flowers keep the light."

Word of the day: destination                                  Destination is the final place where someone or something is going, traveling, or being sent. It refers to the end point of a journey. A flower proves that progress is a beautiful journey, where the bud to bloom to fruit to seed cycle,  every stage is both a destination and a pilgrimage fostering life! 

The bestest friend

 The bestest friend of a daughter is most often her Dad. From the day she is born, he is the only man in her life who would never harm/hurt her, a role seconded by her brothers. Yet, for all children, baby-dom onwards, there is one special relationship which is pure love, best solace and sheer comfort zone. Yes, that is it, the grandparents. 

As for parents, they, too, are first time in to that unknown territory called parenthood. Often, hence, huge expectations they have, both from the brood and their own selves. As for grandparents, they would have withered all possible seasons of that much loved trouble called childhood, their own children's, of nieces', of nephews', of their friends', and so on. 

Not much bothers them as a result. Tempered by age and creaking knees, they are more tolerant, and less hell-bent on discipline. Strict they might have been with their own children. For grandchildren, they are love, affection, kindness, gentleness personified!

 The most beautiful relationship it is. A grandfather, the boss in his office, can stand in a queue for a bus because the grandson loves a bus ride. Why, he can even request the conductor to allow the child to ring the bell as the kiddo loves the 'tring, tring'. 

He can stand for hours near an excavation site because the bundle of joy in his arms loves the mechanical arm going up n down, digging the surface, piling up the soil. This most meaningless activity which even the machine might hate is joy for this sixty-something fellow 'coz the grandson finds it fascinating n fun!

They are generations apart. Yet they share very many activities n interests with the same joy n thrill, the bell in the temple, the running around in the garden, the daily walk to the temple, to the garden, even to the nursery school. Least concerned about who is listening to them, both are busy chatting away to glory with equal enthusiasm.

Both share the same t.v. serials, though often for differing reasons. When the grandparent misses some telecast, the kid loves recreating it in his own way, thus forging/bonding a sense of togetherness which binds them better than fevicol.

If the kid falls down, falls ill, is scolded by the over-driven parents, the go-to person is always the grandparents who are considerate, though their children might consider them (over)indulgent. The eldest and the youngest generations teach each other a lot, too, and both are ready to laugh off the mistakes. 

Soon the grandchildren grow up. Their interests begin to shift gears, leaving that innocent island called childhood far far behind, while the other n better half of this equation keep on (a)waiting their return like a port to which ships no longer sail, like a sidey station where super fast trains never halt, like a beautiful ruin singing paeans to a glory, to an era long lost!

Pratima@As this is the week devoted to grandparents, especially to grannies, hence this ode to a lovely n loving relationship. Sad are the kids whose mothers consciously send them to a creche just to emotionally harass, ill-treat, and thus teach a lesson to the in-laws! Consciously cut off from a treasure trove of togetherness to which there are very few exceptions, such children develop a host of problems later.

Quote of the day:                                   .                    "Grandparents have silver in hair, but sheer gold in their hearts." 

Word of the day: ancestry                                          Ancestry refers to a person’s line of descent, representing the family origin, lineage, and the ancestors (parents, grandparents, etc.) from whom follows the biological descent. It defines one’s heritage, bloodline, and inherited characteristics, often tracing back through multiple generations. 

Special!

 Special is this day. The very nature seems to be celebrating it. Even in the urban area, you can hear the nature's musician heralding it. Yes, it is the koel singing. Why, the fragrance of the mangoes ripening is unmistakable. No smell of the war infested petrol/diesel/gas can obstruct it.

The spring is in the very air! Indeed! Whether, or not, you want to "be Indian, become Indian" the currently hip way which frowns on the January 1 celebrations, Padwa pulls you in to its naturally vibrant magic. 

It is a festival of all the five senses. It satiates all of them to the fill. Look at the sense of taste, for instance. The customary neem chutney, the very first eat of the auspicious day, mixes in every possible taste, bitter, pungent, salty, sweet, sour, and so on. Thus begins the tasteful day  (and the new year on a healthy note) to satiate our taste buds with the Padwa special amrkhand (a unique mix of the shrikhand and the season special mangoes) or juicy gulab jamuns, not to forget the veggie rich pulaw. This beginning of the new year is the ultimate! Proves time and again that never late is no new beginning!

How can you ever forget the sugar gathi that decorate the special pooja full of all that is purest, earnest and fragrant? No wonder, just as the Gregorian New Year matters, this samvatsar special beginning, auspiciously inaugurates the happy feel of a new beginning. 

Pratima@This Padwa, March 19, is also Aai's birth anniversary. Adds a unique affection filled feel to a full day, to be spent as much as possible in the company of my brothers, as per Aai's loving wishes! 

Quote of the day:                                                        "No matter how hard the past, you can always begin anew," says Gautam Budhdha.

Word of the day: Outset                                           Outset refers to the very beginning, the first stage. 

On the Eve of the New Year

 Yes, on March 19 is the Padwa this year. Hence 18/3 is the last day of last year. The lost year, in a way! Why? Well, roughly from March, 2025 to today, there has been a march past of very many unhappy events, right? 

Why repeat them? As it is, the on-going war has vitiated the ambience enough! Why add to it a few more sighs, right? Instead, let us list a few positivities possibly!

Yesterday, for instance, I heard the Chief Minister say that the Agri Uni is experimenting on, and managed to create and test,  seeds that can withstand the crazy climate changes in the era of environmental deterioration the world over. 

Similarly, there was this news that the Pune MP would host an exhibition of the 'desi', native brand of cows. Of course, despite the hurtful comments below this announcement, it is heartening to know that local animals, local trees are prioritised. In such a change are rooted real answers to environmental stability. 

The 'Flame of the Forest', for instance, is very beautiful. Unlike the native brand of trees, however, it cannot stop soil erosion though. Slowly, the process leads to desertification, which, anyways, huge urbanisation and hence heavy concretisation are hastening! 'Local to global', in brief, need not be a political stance. It is an existential choice.

Like the NCL attempt to create an alternative fuel source. Like the trial to separate the oxygen molecule and create a flame out of water. Such creations could, like the solar energy, lessen our dependence on 'other'     're-souces'! Self-sufficient is indeed independent!

Pratima@March 18 is Papa's birth anniversary. Vinoba Bhave once said, "there are some great souls who never attained the much deserved far n wide fame. They yet are the real stalwarts." Papa indeed was one of such  stupendous souls. Following forever his honest to the core, humane footsteps full of humility is the real tribute to him.

Quote of the day:                                                          "Our history is a living history, that has throbbed, withstood and survived many centuries of sacrifice. Now it comes forward again with strength. The seeds, dormant for such a long time, break out today with some uncertainty, although they germinate in a world that is at present characterized by confusion and uncertainty,” asserts Rigoberta Menchú, a South American Nobel Peace Prize winning activist from Guatemala.

Word of the day: endemic                                       Endemic shows the relevance of the local! Endemic, unlike the world wide pandemic,  means a disease that is always present in a population within a geographic area, typically year-round.

Mercy?!?

 Aruna Shanbaug. One of the most tragic cases in the Indian criminal records. She was a beautiful, committed nurse with an absolutely fit n fine life literally lined up for her. A stupid fool's lurid lust and macabre anger ruined that possibility positively, and forever.

Due to the severe strangulation, she went in to a deep coma from which she never ever woke up. Except for her colleague nurses, all supports vanished in to thin air. She 'lived' in that vegetative state for forty-one years. Pinky Virani, a journalist, wrote not only a book on the injustice thus heaped on her due to a ridiculous fool's cheap behaviour, but Virani also filed a writ for Aruna Shanbaug's right to dignified death. 

In 2011 was passed a landmark judgement allowing passive euthanasia, that is, disconnecting all support systems of a comatose patient, long sustained on life support systems. Aruna was not allowed that dignity though, as Virani was a third party, and had no right to demand such an order.

Yet due to the plea on her behalf, mercy killing became a raging debate resulting in the 'passive euthanasia' right to a dignified death of a comatose patient on life support systems for a very long period.

Active euthanasia, in the form of a lethal injection, is still not legally valid in India. A living will which expresses the legal desire to end one's life is doubtful and debatable even today. 

Some small mercy indeed! Let me explain why I think so. During my Ph. D. days, I freelanced with 'The New Indian Express' initially, later followed by the 'Newstime' of the 'Eenadu' group, while writing intermittently for 'The Hindu' and a portal. I wrote an extensive article in the NIE on this theme. 

Both the legal and the medical fraternities whom I interviewed for this article  agreed with me that in an India, bursting at the seams, the elderly abuse would be terrible if such a legality were to exist, just like the 'living will' notion might.

My argument was also that women would be the target of this law, especially if 'will'ful, or otherwise, property was the terrible temptation. Old, ignorant, illiterate persons, especially women, would thus be at the receiving end, if legally the innocent ' right' were allowed en masse. None can predict how quasi-religious groups would at such times pressurise under the spiritual garb!

Right now, passive euthanasia is allowed, but only under the strict observation of the court. Recently, the issue yet again came to limelight, despite the war in the Middle East, due to the Harshit Rana case. He, too, was in a vegetative state, a comatose case for more than a decade.

Sad to even read the parents' anguish. The tearful family's final farewell to him at the AIMS doorstep where passive euthanasia would be administered belies their dedicated care of him for more than a decade. A near and dear one's death is never merely dry legality. It is a maelstrom that shakes the roots of existence.  May none thus suffer!

Pratima@ The worst nightmare on this earth is parents having to suffer their child's demise. Every death is terrible. Yet a parent having to suffer that terrible loss is impossible even to imagine. Hope stupid fools committing suicide due to flimsy reasons would understand that. Much worse is the obsession with some online game such as 'pubg', or whatever! Internet gaming, like every other obsession, is a horror which must not be allowed to claim young lives, and to heap horrible harm on families!

Targetting Talent

 From within the Bollywood music industry come two deeply disappointing news items. Both deal with dissatisfaction with the status quo. Arijit Singh has decided to distance himself from the industry. 

The reason is the terrible petty politicking which he has hinted at. When substandard people are promoted due to their proximity to the powerful, the creative souls sure suffer suffocation, as the subterrenean message is loud and clear; namely, "a substitute is available! Who cares for so-called standards/quality?" 

Shreya Ghoshal is the other name who, too, refuses to lip-sync on stage. Nothing can be more offensive to a talented person, when/if targeted technologically. Most often, technology is mere repetition, especially in India. Most of the Indian software industry, too, for instance, is mere application, not creation, right?

Being able to use a software needs no brains. If the flowchart is available, with a little regular practice, anyone is fluent at technology, sans the "t" of the talent. Why, babies manage bots and apps these days! Why use technology to glorify the sub-standard? That is the question!

Incidentally, if such, such are the conditions in the 'industry' called popular music, imagine the plight of the talented, without the PR and/or connections, in the classical music ambit! As it is, so limited is the audience here that established artists prefer playing to the gallery! 

To get a stage to perform on is tough without the purse strings being loose or without being a pawn in the power games behind the dazzle. Imagine in such a scenario the plight of the committed artist in the later stage of his/her life, given the ageism horribly rampant in the midst of our society.

Is the social media a solution? 'Yes and no, may be', 'oui et non, peut être', as the Frenchies put it. The audience here is shallow, too; prefers, hence, dazzle, while being fickle, as fingers flit faithlessly past many videos n messages, right? 

Solution, if any? Slowly but surely build from scratch, if necessary, a caring clout. Use it to sustain self and the others equally talented in need of a break. Sustain soulful survival, in brief!

Pratima@ Targetted, talent always finds worthy solutions, without cheap compromises. Adaptation to circumstances, intelligently but sensitively, is the solution, right?

Quote of the day:                                                       "When you appreciate talent, you inspire excellence." Anonymous.

Word of the day: Indefatigable.                              Indefatigable indicates someone who is untiring, relentless, and persists in tasks without getting discouraged, characterized by constant effort and total dedication. 

A unique day

 March 15 is indeed a unique day. On this special day, the consumer is supposedly the king, and not merely in advertisements. Why so? That is because, in India, March 15 is the Consumer Rights Day. 

For me, this day holds a few special memories. During my Ph.D days, i was a regular freelancer with the "Newstime", a newspaper in English of the Eenadu group. Every Wednesday, for the Features' Desk, I used to write an article about various aspects of consumers' rights. These articles were appreciated because they reflected the core meaning of journalism; namely, the public welfare.

In this series, I wrote two articles on mini gas stoves, a unique item in the Hyderabad market, obviously sold 'informally', and while hoodwinking the authorities. The stoves themselves were of inferior quality. Much worse was the fact that the tanks of these contraptions were illegally filled. 

The operation obviously was highly dangerous as involved were underhand dealings of gas theft in extremely dicey conditions. Often the procedure led to explosions and, hence, to serious wounds. Neither was it safe at the user's end. I myself had burns because the knob was not stable, and, as a result,  the piping hot oil fell on my feet, etc. 

There was no option for householders though. However much one tried, gas connection and proper cylinders were just not available, either at the right cost or during a reasonable duration. Obviously involved was huge corruption. 

My article opened up all these issues. As per the qualitative mode of research, I interviewed many consumers, discussed possible alternatives with them. The shopkeepers, of course, chose to keep mum, while the government officials were not forthcoming with answers.

A similar context, scarcity of gas cylinders, is apparently emerging right now, given the Gulf War. Hopefully, the government and its agencies/officers would handle the combustible issue with caution and sensitivity.

Pratima@Missing then were the umpteen fun memes, et al, with which the WhatsApp is currently flooded; in fact, is bursting to seams.                                                                                 Aai-Papa both believed in supporting the concept. So were bought the shares of  Grahak Peth, a chain committed to consumer rights. I have continued the practice. I have, moreover, invested in the Grahak Perh FD scheme, a kind of win-win option, both for the Grahak Perh and the consumer. 

Quote of the day:                                                          "Customers are the most important visitor on our premises... they are not an interruption in our work. They are the purpose of it," argued Mahatma Gandhi.

Word of the day: business ethics .                          These practices go beyond legal requirements to build trust, maintain a positive reputation, and ensure sustainable, long-term success with all the stakeholders. 

The Diamond Day: March 14

Yes, currently the liquids hidden deep down  the earth, and dredged for dirty monies, are the 'tally' of the town, nay, of the entire world. Petrol/diesel might be considered the liquid gold. Yet more precious are diamonds mined, though so rarely that artificially it is preferred to make them in laboratories. 

It is hence but natural as well as apt to name March 14 the Diamond Day for STEM, the conglomerate currently lording it over on the entire world. Why so? 

To begin with, 14/3 is the "Pi Day". Comedians may consider it kosher to laugh at "sine cos theta", and, how such formulae do not relate to life, beta! Such values matter though. "Pi" is literally the base of many an equation. Its first digits, 14/3, match with the date of the "Pi Day". Hence, the day is also known as the Mathematics Day. 

14/3 is, moreover, the birth anniversary of Albert Einstein, who re-wrote the very discipline of physics, making the entire chronology of scientific enquiry 'relative', be it Aristotle or Newton. Why, the atomic bomb with which the crooked, wicked, 'blast'ed Iran's and North Korea's of the world threaten humanity time and again is in a way rooted in his ideas, though he opposed it most passionately with all his human(e) might!

14/3 is the anniversary, though, unfortunately, of death, of another great scientist who explored the very cosmology, all the while fighting every nano second a deadly disease that crippled him every which way. Yes, I am referring to Stephen Hawking, the illuminating instance of human brilliance, endurance and optimism that possibly could not be defeated, come what may! 

 For STEM, all these three are eternal causes to celebrate. Hence the title of our blog!

Pratima@ Literature, currently the ignored backyard of the STEM celebrating world, too, is most interested in "Pi". The survivor saga entitled "The Life of Pi" (2001) by Yann Mattel is one of my favourite most novels. Cine enthusiasts love its 2012 celluloid version  by Ang Lee. 

Quote of the day:                                                          "Nothing is as powerful as an idea whose time has come," argues Victor Hugo. 

Word of the day: Indefatigable                              Indefatigable is an adjective. It defines people and activities that are tireless, relentless, and persist with energy, despite every possible hurdle. 

Who controls the oil business?

 What a question! Is that your response? The answer is so obvious. Is that what you feel? Well, do wait, please! Think through! As it is, critical thinking is going to dominate the AI controlled future! 

Obviously, it may seem that the main players in this context would be the oil producing countries. Actually, they hardly do! It is a natural produce. They have the cleverly structured, rather well-'oil'ed machinery to dredge it out. Hence the obvious candidates would be the middle-eastern companies, Venezuela, Russia, Canada, the U.S., and so on.

Next comes the question of the distribution of the oil barrels. Hence enters in to the picture the w(e)ary Hormuz Strait. In addition to the usual and/or current warmongers, this narrow sea route is endangered by the pirates and, most importantly, by the militant factions. All these 'actors' want 'agency' (in every sense of this term) in here, because this sea route is a proper milch cow. 

Now this clue should lead you to the real reason behind the oil crisis. Oil tankers, which ferry oil across, are huge. Building them costs lots of money. They carry combustible and precious cargo. Inevitable hence it is that they would be heavily insured. The premium is huge and astronomical is the reimbursement in case of an accident. 

Given this fact, which ship owner would be ready to enter the strait without insurance? And, all of us know insurance companies, right? They have thousand sub-, sub- clauses in extremely fine print which would render impossible the payment of costs covered in case a tanker sinks, whatever be the reason, storms or the super smart pirates et al, right? Hence no insurance company would advise shipping companies to ply their ships via this route, right?

To cut a long story short, the current crisis is more the handiwork of the ever cautious insurance agencies. I read yesterday that all of them form a cluster in London. In brief, London, rather than the Middle East, is the hot spot leading to the current oil crisis!

Pratima@The "f"  word after all! Oh, no, do not run away wild with your dirty imagination. The 'f' word refers to finance which is trans-national, beyond the boundaries imposed by the silly Lilliput nation states. We might talk of post globalization era right now. Yet the TNC/MNC insurance companies and/or the weapon industries, nowhere and yet everywhere, decide the destinies in the post-LPG (no, this abbreviation does not  refer to any oil company. Instead, remember the natty nineties!) scenario!

Quote of the day:                                                      "The consumer is both the culprit and the victim," says Nino Cerrutti. Especially, in the post-LPG world governed by the TNC/MNC finance empires!

The word of the day: finance                                 Finance is the study, science, and management of money, assets, and liabilities, focusing on how individuals, businesses, and governments raise, allocate, and use funds.

AI-abled!

I watched the video of the Chief Minister of Maharashtra being interviewed by Aamir Khan. Intelligent, aware and sensible leader that he is, Devabhau as usual answered in a way that showed his acumen. His answer that the AI would create many more jobs set me thinking. Hence this blog.

Based on a projection made scientifically and objectively, let me first list areas that would have not only theoretical AI coverage, but reveal, moreover, observed AI coverage. 

Following are the fields that have already been dis-abled by the AI. They are finance, computers, legal issues, education, library, all the arts, media and healthcare, especially doctors, including surgeons! 

In its unmistakable ambit are work areas such as administration, architecture and engineering, life and social sciences, healthcare providers such as physiotherapists

Not much affected, however, would be areas such as nursing staff, guards, cooks, chefs, waiters, and staff working in fields such as maintenance/construction/installation and repair/ transportation and agriculture.

A caveat: the present analysis has not taken in to consideration the development in robotics which would affect hugely the professions currently not affected by the AI. 

As things stand right now, it is clear that the AI seems to be gobbling up the white collar jobs typically considered respectable and reliable, while, right now, the blue collar jobs seem untouched. At least till they are not threatened by robotics!

Very interesting is this observation which,  in my opinion, shows why this revolution is vastly different from the earlier versions which in fact strengthened the white collar workers.  No wonder, though! This time round, the confrontation is with intelligence, however much we may dismiss it as artificial, which has already started thinking on its own, despite the minor glitches.

Which jobs would the AI enable? Let me list a few. AI prompt engineers, AI auditors, AI Ethical and Compliance Experts, for instance. These "new collar" jobs require an inter-disciplinary training,  higher order strategic and creative thinking in addition to being both practical and technically aware. Hope the right people are listening to (re)create this (b)rave new world!

Pratima@Un-learning/de-learning and re-learning constantly is going to be the new world order.

Quote of the day:                                                         "Artificial intelligence will reach human levels by around 2029. Follow that out further to, say, 2045, we will have multiplied the intelligence, the human biological machine intelligence of our civilization a billion-fold,” says Ray Kurzweil.

Word of the day: transformative                            This term as in " AI is transformative" describes something that causes a major, often positive, and lasting change in character, form, or function.

Alluring Agnihotra: Explaining a ritual

 Yes, I am born Agnihotri. It is hence a little awkward and quite embarassing that I did not know that March 12 is the World Agnihotra Day. 

Why do I say so? Let me explain a little. To begin with, well, 'Agnihotra' is no longer a Brahminical ritual. Yes, I am a high caste brahmin (highly dangerous admission these days!), and, yes, I do perform Agnihotra every evening as my parents honoured the practice, and it was followed most ritually in my paternal family just a generation away. 

How is the Agnihotra performed ritually? In a copper pyramid-shaped pot, the holy fire is lit, ideally via the Vedic way, with two pieces of holy wooden sticks. In to that holy fire are offered cow dung cakes,  ghee and rice to the chanting of certain Vaidic rucha's. It is mostly performed in the evening, circa the dusk setting.

Now, in a big city becoming a metro, all these steps are not possible. Hence, instead, I burn "Bhimseni kapur", the best and most natural camphor, and chant the related shlokas.

Why call it 'alluring agnihotra'? In a way, it is like performing daily a mini 'holi' with all its spiritual significations . No, I am not being flippant. I sincerely believe that the 'agnihotra' is a way of connecting with the basic principle of the universe.

Why, the Rigveda begins with the praise of the holy fire, the major principle of the cosmic "panch mahabhoota"! Even if one were to look at the notion from the anthropological perspective, the 'caveman' became 'human' only when fire became the focus of lived life. Before fire thus defined/refined life, the nomadic man was no better than a beast.

Now let us look at the practice from within the contemporary context. Currently, pollution of every variety is at its peak. The 'agnihotra' flame, even if it is the camphor variety,  purifies the ambience.

 Traditionally, the holy 'Agnihotra' flame symbolised divine energy. Even if you are sceptical about such a connect, why not look at it as a process of understanding your relation(ship) with the wider universe about which cosmologically as well as astronomically, we are getting to know more by the day? 

Why, we do already know that the sun IS basically a massive sphere of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core, radiating the energy from its surface mainly as visible light and infrared radiation with a certain per centage of ultraviolet energies. It is the main source of energy for life on the earth.

No, I am neither apologetic about the 'agnihotra' practice. Nor do i consider it an instance of the 'Brahminical', 'manuvadi', superstitious traditionalism! 

My firm faith in science teaches me utmost humility because basically the scientific framework forever tells me that science operates within the paradigms known so far, which can be, and are, re-interpreted anew, and often, thereby rendering any/all earlier concepts redundant superstitions. Aristotle, the father of Western science, has often been so (im)proved, right? And, oh, yes, technology has its own rituals, too, right?

Hence, even if I were to be much mocked for being an Agnihotri, I look at it as a way of spreading positivity in my own small way.  And, of course, I do try to spread it in multiple other ways, too. 

Even at the social level, moreover, these days, performing 'agnihotra' is hardly casteist. On the World 'Agnihotra' day or whenever such group activities are performed on a large scale, at places, I believe, like Akkalkot, everyone participates, beyond casteist considerations. 

In other words, the 'Agnihotra' is not revivalism. Rather it is an alluring way of re-connecting with the larger principles, thereby making the banal metro modes of life slightly conscientious!

Pratima@ In today's post-truth world where everything is merely narrativisation, necessary it is to explicate significations of rituals because, otherwise, interest groups would reduce every praxis as mere mumbo-jumbo.

Quote of the day:                                                         "With the demise of religion, many people are left stranded in a chasm of emptiness and doubt; without rituals to recognize, celebrate, or negotiate the vital thresholds of peoples lives, the key crossings pass by, undistinguished from the mundane, everyday rituals of life. If we approach our decisive thresholds with reverence and attention, the crossing will bring us more than we could have ever hoped for," says John O’Donohue.

Word of the day: ritual                                             A ritual is defined as a structured, repeated series of actions or words, often holding symbolic, religious, or social significance. These ceremonies or habits connect individuals/families/communities to traditions, larger wholes, or personal, meaningful practices. Examples include prayers, weddings, even daily morning coffee/tea routines, or specific cultural ceremonies like the Japanese/Indian bowing or lighting lamps or making of tea/coffee to modes of cooking. 

Is forgiveness the right way today?

  Recently was celebrated Eknath Shashthi which pays a tribute to the great Marathi saint, Sant Eknath. The great soul is well-known for his ability to forgive. 

Once, for instance, he had completed all his ablutions in the Godavari, performed his puja, the morning prayers, to the Sun God, and was returning home when a member of the peaceful community spat on him knowingly. 

Sant Eknath forgave him, and calmly replied, "Good, it gives me one more chance to bathe in the holy waters of Godavari." The crooked villain repeated this meanness hundred times. Sant Eknath's reaction did not change. Finally, the villain was tired of his mischief! Thus the forever forgiving Sant Eknath was known as "Shanti Bramh", that is, Tranquility and Serenity Incarnate.

I respect the great soul hugely. In fact, I have a special liking for him as he is supposed to be the reincarnation of Sant Dnyandev. Yet I wonder if that kind of forgiveness is the right strategy currently!

Such are the times now that crooks consider quiet ignoring of their misdeeds as weakness. It gives such weird stupido's the feel that they can go on with their cheap activities. 

Sure the way of teaching such crooks a proper lesson has to be the just and the legal way. Yet they MUST be brought to book. No use forgetting or forgiving them or their cohorts! They do NOT deserve it, and must be provided what they abundantly require!

Pratima@Goodness cannot be weakness. The brutes must be shown the strength of goodness. 

Quote of the day:                                                       "Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear," argues Ambrose Redmoon. 

Word of the day: fortitude                                       Fortitude is the strength of mind that enables a person to encounter or bear pain or adversity with courage 

Why the(y) gossip?

 Does it surprise you? To me, it surely does! Yes, who, and why, can spare the time, energy and (non-)sense to go on gossiping about others?

 But, yes, surely there would be, nay, are neighbours who have your complete itinerary of each day. They begin with, When did you wake up? Why did you wake up late? Why did you stay up late? Are you alive at all, to begin with? If you are dead, how to get the body out? No, you sneezed. Okay, alive! How many times? Farted, shat, pissed, and so on, and so on? 

What did you cook? What were you saying to the veggie vendor? Ah, yes, we were trying to listen to what was transpiring between you and the kachrewali, which actually is nothing but an innocent exchange about where to put the 'wet dustbin' tomorrow morning as you would be in a tearing hurry, given the exam duties!

Do not you think that such people could be asked a few counter questions? Let us look at at a few examples, right? How do you know that I slept late? What were you doing keeping awake so late, for instance? As for the physical activities mentioned, we really cannot, right? Yes, for one thing, we are too decent to mention such unmentionables. For yet another thing, the gossips are using their mouths to perform these activities! Metaphorically, of course!

Honestly, by now, I am cent per cent certain, someone pays such creeps to keep an eye on the absolutely innocent life I lead. Well, see, how helpful I always am! The good for nothing's sitting at home for ages doing nothing are thus getting some tax free income, right?

Basically though, seriously I feel that they are completely unfulfilled, totally incomplete in their own lives. They have hence such curious poking of nefarious noses in others' lives. Their marriages, for instance, happen/exist/continue/ are functional at all because of sheer convenience. Such dissatisfied souls have to hence worry about others' romance as it is totally absent, and forever, in their own lives!

Poor creeps! Even the Lord cannot forgive them, because they know perfectly well what they are doing!

Pratima@ It is a certain truth universally accepted that you hunger for what you lack! See, the poor baby monkey, Punch! Absolutely lacks love. Hence searches for it outside. Poor thing! Unlike gossips, it is too young to know that all that is good, within resides!

Quote of the day:                                                         Gossip is the business of loafers whose empty vacant lives give them time galore to spread vicious nonsense believed by idiots!

Word of the day: smear campaign                      Smear campaign refers to a conscious planning of  discrediting someone by whispering false accusations.

We, men, make history!

  She was fourteen. Her poor family married her off to a fifty-two year old man. She hid herself in the cow shed during the wedding night, and, next morning, she began her walk towards freedom, across a mountain, on lonely roads, with next to nothing to support her. Yet, yes, she made it! 

This girl was thirteen when her drunkard of a father almost sold her off, to an extremely abusive man of his age, who beat the kid black n blue, made her a mother at fourteen. One fine morning, she took off with her baby, and oh, yes, she, too, made something of herself. 

What do you think? Whose stories am I telling ? Where could they have taken place? Oh, you think that I am narrating the plight of some "Nakushi" from the hinterlands of India!?!

You certainly need a reality check. The first is the sad saga of Sara Hutchins from Kentucky, America who braved the Appalachian Range, bitter cold and a hundred and eighty kilometres long walk in winter to make a life for herself!  The second example, incidentally, is from America, too. 

In the meanwhile, meet this granma in her mid sixties. Her marriage made her in to a maid, and a baby making machine. At sixty-seven, this mother of eleven chose to walk out to make thus something of herself. 

In other words, be it Dr. Rakhma Bai or a "nakushi", be it India or be it the U S., be it the late nineteenth century or the  early to late twentieth century, simple women who are not a symbolic somebody's somebody (like a daughter/sister/wife of a powerful/famous man) braved all that is bad in patriarchy to make something of themselves, and on their own terms and conditions. 

Hence the need to celebrate March 8! Unfortunately, in the echo chambers that most discourses currently are, many would be busy berating "Brahminical"  patriarchy or Manusmriti (about) which hopefully they would have read! 

At the other end of this kline, there are women who use this opportunity, too, to splurge, to shop, to roam, the maids of the market that they are! Neither do their daughters, who never had to struggle in any way, had all the rights without any responsibilities, understand the relevance of the day beyond fashion and feste!

Actually, with the advent of the AI, women would be rendered more vulnerable both in the public sphere and in the private space. As the AI guzzles up jobs, women would yet again be invisible in multiple ways in the public sphere, while, individually, given the AI  rendered identity thefts, and ingenious harassments, they would suffer still more! But who cares? The much celebrated  demographic dividend is busy with fashion, accessories, and "chill", while 'ab-using' men!

Time passes, in a linear fashion, at times, arrives cyclically. Yet, despite all possible hurdles, often consciously craftily caused, we, men, make our stories which have lovely morals! Long live Match 8 in all its meaning-full avataars!

Pratima@ March 8 is not a decorative day. It is an occasion to meet one's own self, yet again and in multiple ways!

Quote  as well as words of the day:            Asserts Maya Angelou:                                              "As I walk through frozen sands/Through the flames of burning lands/My feet are torn, they're torn to strands/I will not thirst

As I cross the raging sea/Waves are crashing over me/They drag me down, they drag me down/I will not drown

They'll know my name/After the storms are passing through/They'll know my name

When they've forgotten all about you/They'll know my name

They're calling out, they're calling out/ They're calling out, they're calling out my name

And I shall rise, oh well I shall rise/Again and again/I shall rise, oh well I shall rise/Again and again

And I shall rise, oh well I shall rise

Again and again.

I shall rise, oh well I shall rise

Again and again

I shall rise, oh well I shall rise

Again and again

I shall rise, oh well I shall rise

Again and again"

Writing n painting: A rough draft

Do two different arts relate to each other? Sure they do. Why, there are any number of literary texts that deal directly with paintings, while there are many more portraits of authors. Why, the inviting cover page itself can be a painting!  While it is easier to explore the relationship between  music and literature, the bond between painting and literature could be explored a little more, may be! 

Let us begin with the most banal observation. Both painting and writing need paper! Of course, these days both have promoted themselves to the newer canvas called the computer/mobile screen, not to mention the ready-made mode imposed on both by the  new fangled AI schema, right? 

Yet NOTHING like the paper itself, inviting you to de-sign a new universe out of a plain canvas, whether it be writing or painting, right? Next, both require the background to add a unique texture. While writing quotes it with words, painting coats it with mostly the base white or black. 

Both begin with a rough sketch. Yet often the strokes, the patterns, the images, the symbols that thus emerge create their own story, and most colourfully. 

Often they say that a few lines of a painting can present what hundreds of lines and thousands of words may not. Let me disagree completely. Let me give you an example to prove my point. Look at that famous painting "Mona Lisa." 

Many say that despite its world wide fame, an actual look at it in the Louvre is almost disappointing, especially because the small little frame is almost dwarfed by the grandeur of the other masterpieces.

Let an author describe it though, even without having seen it in person in that Parisian museum. Indeed, the painting would not only come alive. Many more meanings, may be, not even intended by the artist, would make even Mona Lisa smile, and openly! In brief, long live writing as it enriches existence itself!

Pratima@ Writing is not merely creative. It, moreover, is analytical by nature. No wonder, unlike other arts, it can critique all these arts, and itself. A mode of be(com)ing, in short!

Quote of the day:                                                      Has to be by who else but Shakespeare! The quote is rather well-known but most apt in this context. Asserts the author of authors,             "The poet's eye,/in a 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 shape,/ and gives to airy nothing/ a local habitation and a name." 

Word of the day: spontaneous                              Spontaneous means performed or occurring as a result of a sudden impulse or inclination and without premeditation or external stimulus.                       That is what writing alone can be! Let there be an author, and miracles happen, and out of nowhere!

 

The War

 The Middle East is on fire yet again, as it has been since the October 7 Hamas attack. All sorts of causes beginning with the Wahabi history to the ancient Crusades between Christians and Muslims have been quoted. 

Is it the case that the war is between the Sunni's and the Shia's who appear to be supporting the terrorists? Very many are the (conspiracy) theories ranging from crude oil to cruder Epstein files, and all are equally true, not to forget the much oppressed Iranians' fate!

It is quite obvious, however, that the weapons industry, what with weapons like cluster bombs being used as if it were a festival or a party, must be laughing its way to bank accounts overflowing with the mollah, right?

At times, I do feel that even at the (inter)national level, it is just better to plain ignore the silly screaming of rabid fools replete with nuisance value. Honestly, it saves you a lot of headache, and the foolish creeps completely expose themselves, anyway!

This morning, for example, in our lane, bang beyond our fence, some crazy hoodlums were screaming their brainless nonsense for hours on end. No use asking them to keep quiet because such weirdos are absolutely aware of their "democratic" rights, however much may they constantly trample others' peace because of their brainless chatter!

Most probably, those stooges were paid to thus yak away. So they absolutely appeared. No knowing if they belonged to the "peaceful" community as, every Friday, at the recently built dargah/mosque tops two hundred feet behind my home, there is a huge rush of the faithful who terribly inconvenience by parking their vehicles right opposite the gate! 

If I were to get in to the Israel mode and question those creeps, how to prove that they were paid to thus bother? One needs huge contacts in the upper echelons of the police and/or administration to get sick sadists behind bars, where they belong beyond doubt!

If one does not reap such benefits, what does a law abiding citizen leading a good clean life do? Follow, I suppose, the advice by Winston Churchil; namely, ''Never wrestle with a pig. You get mired in the gutter, dirty and slushy. The pig anyways loves it"!

Wish Israel and America were equally prudent n wise! The world would have been spared a huge n brutal spectacle because the crooks are like the tail of a piglet. Try anything, it would never straighten. Crooked never change, rather like the spots on the skin of a swine. Creeps they were, cheap they will continue to be!

Pratima@ Hoodlums, local or (inter)national, need to be taught a lesson, but without getting down to the level of their viciousness. Otherwise, who is afraid of downright ignoble ignoramus?

Quote of the day:                                                       "If you do not learn lessons at the right time, life will teach you the same lessons at the wrong time, and in the worst way." 

Word of the day: offender                                       An offender, most often such criminals are repeat offenders, is a person who causes problems, does something surely wrong, commits an illegal act.

If the bottle be new, why the old wine?

 Yesterday, on a group was shared a video about robots. You bet, tough it was to believe that they were robots. They were absolutely life like. Their skin looked soft as a petal. Their faces were fabulous and youthful. Their waists slim n trim, in great shape were their bodies. 

They could perform very many activities, too. They exchanged pleasantries, they hugged n kissed, they spoke faultless English, they exercised! Nattily dressed they were. The tag line was, "within five years, one of these could out-perform you as your companion." 

So far so good! Then why such a title to/for our blog? Well, their surface look was feminine, and they were treated as female! They were effective, undoubtedly. They were not presented as efficient though! 

Made by men, male fantasies they were essentially. All of them were sexy. They were dressed provocatively. To open them up, to check some robotic functions, all the switches were near their breasts or below the belt!

In other words, be it the rock/stone (st)age or the robotic age, women are eye candy. Who cares about their intelligence, their minds or their souls? In the most vulgar way, stupidly they are assigned one and only one function in the male imaging. And such beasts are called men!

Pratima@Men, who have vulgar thoughts/words about women, and reflect these in their eyes and 'activities', should never forget that they were born of a woman, and are so-called fathers to daughters! Their deeds would sure sooner be reciprocated on to their daughters, and hundred-fold! That is the law of nature!

Quote of the day:                                                        "Lust is satanic " Anonymous but universal!

Word of the day: gender                                         Gender refers to identities with reference to social and cultural considerations rather than biological ones.

Wild Life

 To most, especially if they belong to the currently potent Gen Z, or the counter-culture gang of the sixties, wild life might mean the "vida loca", the "high" life in every sense of the term, right? 

To me, too, wild life has a huge appeal. For me, however, it refers to the ferocious forests where the footprints belong to  majestic lions, terror-fic tigers,  intelligent elephants, elusive snow leopards, bears of all types, sprinting deer and zippy hares n rabbits running races with the wind on ancient trails known only to gnarled trees and twisting creepers. 

Yes, forests of all types, however much mankind might manage to destroy them, flourish and in all their truly wild beauty. Wild life, too, survives there, living proof of the adaptability beyond all possible Darwin's. Hence the importance of the World Wild Life Day. 

Want proof? Yes, the jungle safaris! The lions' mesmerizing yet amused look captures the camera, rather than the other way round! Or the tigers with their famous "fearful symmetry"! Trapped they might feel by the gypsies on both sides, overloaded with the descendants of monkeys chattering, shrieking, and what not. Yet they quietly twist their way out.

My brother, Sanju, sent his son, nine year old Kunal, for a children's camp in a tiger reserve. Kunal came back with fabulous photos. How? "Oh, they are coolly moving about," was the kid's response!

Thus, in brief, big cats to smallest animals have learnt to adapt. Even when human beings have encroached their habitat, patiently and yet proudly they continue to lead their natural ways. 

Beastly indeed we are. Poaching, international trade in animal parts, constant encroachment in to and destruction of deep forests, felling of trees in the name of development, wild life tourism, scarce funds, many are causes affecting the wild life.

Undoubtedly heart warming are the efforts at conservation, too. Though I do not exactly appreciate throwing food at them as if they were strays in a dirty lane, the Kevinson's of the animal world-mankind interface prove how responsive they are, and responsibly!

Luckily, circuses cannot ill-treat them any longer. Imaginative movies like "The Lion King" romanticise them almost in an anthropomorphic way.  "Vantara" type of rescue and rehabilitation centers proliferate, despite the controversies. In other words, the wild jungles called metros and cities have  taught human being to respect forests, wild life and the tribes co-habiting with them!

Pratima@Yes, wild life in all its forms is visually appealing. I find the sounds and silences of the wild life fascinating, too. The rustle of the leaves, the babble of the brooks, the swish n whoosh of the wind, the very many calls of animals "talking" to each other, and the unique profound silence, the soundscape is simply fabulous. Long live wild life, however many species might have been rendered extinct unfortunately. 

Quote of the day:                                                         "Wild animals never kill for sport, " says J.A.Froude. Unlike so-called human beings!

Word of the day: savage                                            Savage refers to an animal (or force of nature) fierce, violent, ferocious and uncontrolled. Jean-Jacques Rousseau had an interesting take on the "savage" though. More about it some other time. 

Respecting Authors!

 These days, does anybody write? Why, most people prefer to orally send even their WhatsApp messages. Typing a message is considered either bothersome or boring! No, it is not merely due to the human tendency to laze around. 

Why, every recent most technology, be it the simple WhatsApp or the latest ChatGPT version or some such recent most, and never nascent, AI avataar, it assures you that you have to speak the message, and it would get converted in to the written form, if you so wish at all! 

Dictators hence most people are! Do remember that such habits enter the human psyche, and start twisting it accordingly.  When you speak, for instance, you hardly think. Rather you shoot ( n scoot!)

 When you write, irresponsible you are not allowed to be. You tend to think through. Automatically you get to to correct yourself. Such a self-check, both literally and metaphorically, is absent when you choose to speak! 

If this is the condition of the daily, banal exchanges which, moreover, are invaded by that modern hieroglyphic called the emojis, imagine the condition of any serious writing.

 As it is, most readers (a quite rare tribe, given the yen for browsing!) anyways read the DIY, the "useful" kind of books. Given the information explosion, coupled with the summarising, re-presenting, editing technologies, forget students, even most lecturers refuse to touch serious tomes reference material with a barge pole! .

In such a scenario, how about literature? Well, given the curtailed attention span,  everyone explores not even short stories, well, even editors glorify, "flash fiction"! May be, payment might be the consideration, too, given the tough times most publication houses face! These two/three hundred words, moreover, might be machine made!

If such such are the times, great need there is to respect authors who are still ready to spend their time, intellectual energy and innate creativity to craft a book, be it literary or be it on a knowledge-able(d) reference material types. Hence the relevance of March 3, the international writers day instituted by the international P.E.N. Association! The 3/3 is indeed auspicious!

Pratima@Authors, whether they attempt discursive, journalistic or creative writing, are using both intellectual and imaginative resources to creatively craft an alternative world through words. Thus authors open up the existing world, too. Hence are inequalities, inequities, injustices lesson-ed n lessen-ed! Long live authors! The writerly space is indeed sacrosanct!

Quote of the day:                                                         Says Susan Sontang, "A writer, I think, is someone who pays attention to the world." 

Expression of the day: attention deficit                  Attention deficit refers to inattention and not being able to keep focus which may result in impulsive hyper activity, especially among children.

Holi

  In English, there is this expression, "Holy of the holies." In the Indian context, too, Holi is indeed the holiest! And for a number of reasons! Shall we analyse a few? 

Let us begin with the mythological. As per the Bhakt Prahlad myth, Holika is weaponised by the daitya/demon king, Hiranyakashyapu, to get rid of his son, Prahlad, who loves, worships, idolises Vishnu. The spiritual meaning of the festival hence would be Holi as the ego which can burn off a devotee who is pushed in to that fire due to evil tendencies such as anger, desire, greed, hate, gloom, et al. 

Yet another way to look at Holi would be agrarian. Most all festivals are literally rooted in the fields and the soil, as our economy has essentially been agrarian. Seasonally, around this time, the kharip and rabbi rotations would be over. Before the next cycle begins, the fields must lie fallow. 

If the land were to be thus roasted a little before the fiery summer season begins, may be, the yield in the next crop cycle would be better. Hence this festival which, moreover, as the offerings to the holy fire involved would prove, taught gratitude to nature 

Yet another reason could be that the season would be shifting around this time. Heat would start chasing cold. Hence the splashing of water and colours, right?

 Earlier, moreover, the sexes could not mingle openly in the public space. Hence the need for letting go of all the bottled up passions, desires, fancies, tensions through the splashing of colours and letting loose of all inhibitions on this occasion of dhooli vandan/rang panchami, the sister festival of holika dahan.

In brief, the festival suggests burning up, finishing, letting go of all that is negative so that joy, happiness, creativity would yet again bloom!

Pratima@For me, my brothers and her maternal family, the festival has a very personal feel. Aai was born on the Holi day. Like the holy Holi fire, she, too, was good at burning up all sorts of negativities. She hardly held grudges, for instance, however much she was  provoked. Nor was she, a happy-go-lucky person,  forever gloomy. 

Quote of the day:                                                         Says the Indian Express, "May God gift you all the colours of life, colours of joy, colours of happiness, colours of friendship, colours of love, and all the other colours you want to paint your life with." 

Word of the day: gloom                                            Gloom means a physical state of darkness, dimness, or obscurity, but often it refers to the psychological feeling of deep sadness, melancholy, or depression, often accompanied by a lack of hope, creating a somber mood or atmosphere,  winter feel before the summer sets in.

What a day!

 Actually, I had thought of writing a blog on the possibility of  the world being in the throes of the third world war, what with almost the whole of the Middle East 'weaponizing' (literally!) against each other, that, too, in the Holy Month. 

Well, not only has Baba Venga predicted it, but M/S Trump seems hell-bent on actualising it, and in the partnership of  Netanyahu and Associates. Afganistan, moreover, is teaching the next door neighbour some real tough lessons, too. 

What a world we are living in! This feel becomes real strong when we remember the day today. Yes, today is the "Zero Discrimination Day"! A noble idea indeed! True, inclusion is ideal. Yes, prejudice of any sort is far more horrible than even pride. 

Yet something seems to be corroding this idea, gnawing at its roots. While breaking down barriers, while building a society that must enjoy the different, why is the so-called normal (heavy duty word actually, given the 'norm' involved in it!) being badly tarnished? 

To make your line longer, you do not have to cut or wipe out someone else's line, just because the person happens to be, oh, yes, 'different' from you, your socio-economic background, your political opinions! That precisely, however, is happening right now in the public sphere as well as in private spaces today.

Okay, a few examples to prove the point! A senior government officer in Madhya Pradesh openly states that Brahmin girls be 'available'. What a statement to make against women, whatever be their caste! It was later clarified that he apparently wants Brahmin brides. How about the "inclusion" of  the girls' choice? Such diversity must matter, too! 

Every alternate day, there is a threat to finish off Brahmins, to send them to Eurasia, and the so-called 'intellectuals', who beat themselves blue in the name of all possible inclusions, never dare to utter a single word against such gross injustice!

In the private space, too, being "bindaas" is much celebrated. It is the done thing to be as badass as is possible. That is okay, too. But just as you have the choice/right to laze around doing nothing for decades, to be drowned deep in debt while maintaining a hip lifestyle, to wear revealing clothes, to drink, to smoke cigarettes or weed, to sleep around, the society has to be "inclusive" enough to honour those who want to be "different" from such set patterns. Your wokist 'norm'al cannot decide/define others', just because they refuse  to abide by your so-called 'modern' lifestyle!  The moment we call out such hypocritical chicanery, the day would truly honour inclusion and difference!

Pratima@ Such an ideological war hidden behind gooey words and slippery stances, however convenient, is the real threat to all sorts of inclusion and diversity!

 Quote of the day:                                                      "Every individual has a place to fill in the world, and is important in some respect, whether he chooses to be so or not," asserts Nathaniel Hawthorne. 

Word of the day: complacency                               Complacency means a feeling of smug or uncritical satisfaction with oneself. 

Science

 It is the National Science Day today. It celebrates the discovery of the famous Raman effect which revolutionised various fields such as chemistry, physics, and medicine. This discovery known as Raman spectroscopy earned Sir C. V. Raman the Nobel in 1930.

To commemorate this special day, let us in our blog try an acrostic that celebrates the uniqueness of the scientific vision.

Seance born of curiosity n rationality                 Calmly hits at superstition with animosity        Imaginative it is, explores with velocity           Effectively fights anti illogical atrocity             Nature's secrets explores with alacrity              Cause n effect it binds with generosity          Eagerly explodes it each monstrosity! 

Pratima@Yes, science is a vision, an outlook at n on the world, be it nature or society, that is rational, curious, open, willing to admit errors in the Edison way as an experiment that taught how to better it! Long live this 'vision' of science! 

Quote of the day:                                          "Science is a way of thinking," says Carl Sagan, " much more than it is a body of knowledge." 

Word of the day: research.                            Research is always re-search because it is a systematic but creative investigation aimed at increasing knowledge, analysing data, and developing new, actionable insights into issues or finding possible solutions to all sorts of problems. 

In honour of Marathi: Marathi Gaurav Day

 Today is the birth anniversary of  Kusumagraj, a much venerated (he was a  recipient of the Dnyanpeeth Award) and prolific author. As a tribute to his memory, his birth anniversary gets celebrated as the day dedicated to the Marathi language. 

Actually, it must be. Forget the much hyped importance of the dialects, why, the  much derided, despised, hated so-called standard language is hardly "Marathi" any longer! No, the usual culprit, English, has not much to do with this phenomenon. 

Actually, it is Hindi! Most all of my Maharashtrian students complain, "तुम्ही सांगितलेले पुस्तक नाही भेटले लायब्ररीत."  The "भेटले" here is the Hindi "मिलना" encroaching on Marathi! In simple, proper Marathi, it should be "सापडले" or "मिळाले". I can list countless such examples. 

At times, I wonder if the opposition to Hindi was born out of the anger against this huge invasion. Oh, that is a silly joke, the tribe that proliferates today! All of us know the party politics involved in that episode!

Actually, I would like to get back to the theme we discussed yesterday. Yes, Savarkar! Often I wonder how many, who oppose, berate, attack him teeth and nails bared, know that he enriched the simple spoken Marathi hugely?

Let me provide a few examples. "दिनांक, क्रमांक, बोलपट, वेशभूषा, दिग्दर्शक, चित्रपट, मध्यंतर, उपस्थित, प्रतिवृत्त, नगरपालिका, महापालिका, महापौर, पर्यवेक्षक, विश्वस्त, गणसंख्या, स्तंभ" are some of the very many regularly used Marathi words which he introduced!

Hence my contention! Whether it be a person or a language, when you hate someone for the sake/hake of hating, you belittle yourself, not the person or the issue concerned! 

Pratima@One must be proud of one's mother tongue. One must use it often, and  properly. Yet that love should not translate in to a hatred of or a belittling of other mother tongues. Every language is beautiful, rich and enriching in countless wonderful ways. 

Quote of the day:                                                           "Never ever forget either your mother or your mother tongue." Anonymous quote, but highly relevant! 

Word of the day: contention                                   "Contention" refers to a strong assertion, especially in an argument. Hence expressions like the "bone of contention". 

Biases are bad!

 February 26! Actually, it should be a day of quiet reflection leading to deep commitment. Instead, currently it is cacophonous. Why do I say so? Let me explain!

February 26 is the death anniversary of Veer Savarkar. Right in the morning itself, on this particular group, there was this awful message bad-mouthing him. Immediately i deleted it. 

In fact, on a related group, a few days back, there was this message attacking Savarkar for tendering an apology to the British. There and then, I explained how the discourse in the early twentieth century used extremely formal, heavily ceremonious language. I explicated further that everyone, irrespective of political affiliations, used  similar expressions. Biases, however, never die, however much viciously they smear reputations. 

A very basic proof to support my argument can be a documentary by the Doordarshan. It is presented by researchers such as Sadanand More and Parth Baviskar. In other words, there should not be accusations of ideological alignments. The documentary narrates in detail the life of  and works by the great patriot. 

Personally, I must confess, I have not read all of his writings. Yet his poems, his "Kale Pani", his "Sanyast Khadga" and selected essays prove that despite an extremely tough life, he was a very thoughtful and sensitive author who hugely embellished the Marathi language, and had very many progressive reformist ideas. Why, he was the first one to call the 1857 "sepoy mutiny" the "war of independence" which completely changed the very focus and perception about it. 

As for cherry picking sentences/arguments, quoting them out of context is not exactly  scholarship. Hardly is it fair either. Currently, there are political leaders who thus accuse poor Bhagat Singh, my all time hero! Yes, I have read (partially translated, too) his complete writings, translated in to Hindi by his nephew.

I believe, moreover, that everyone, including geniuses, is always made of, bound by, related to the immediate contexts. It is bad and biased to impose contemporary debates on the past, whether it be on heroes or on the times/contexts! 

Pratima@ What we think of a person, how we express it, such issues reveal more about us than anyone else! A finger pointed at others has the rest pointing at us! 

Quote of the day:                                                          Says Gordon Brown, "I hate prejudices, discriminations and snobbishness of all kinds. They always reflect on the person judging, and not on the person being judged." 

Word of the day: smear campaign.                           A smear campaign, or a smear tactic,  is an intentional, premeditated effort to damage an individual's reputation, credibility, and character through misinformation, scandal-mongering, cheap exaggeration, silly rumors, innuendo, or, in some cases, outright falsehoods to alienate support.