Holi

  In English, there is this expression, "Holi 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 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.

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. 

THE Punch

 A punch is always important. It exists everywhere, in a joke, in a script, in a speech or in a harsh, hard game like boxing.   No wonder, a punch is always the talk of the town. 

The Punch we are talking about right now is different though. Punch is a baby macaque. Hardly seven months old. The baby monkey was abandoned by its mother. Nor was the clan kind. True to their group titles such as 'barrel', 'troop', and what not, they bullied him!

The game changer was a plushie. Monkeys are a community oriented species. Punch hence needed to jell in. The zoo caretakers could not be the substitutes. He was hence given a soft toy. This orangutan immediately became the mother substitute. 

Punch  carries it everywhere. He curls with it for a nap. He does not allow anyone from the 'troop' to touch it. In the process, he has become " socialised" every possible way. 

As is etched in the popular imagination, Darwin established that monkeys are our ancestors. Hence the relevance of the story! Even amongst the human species, due to post partum depression, mothers abandon their babies, while amongst animals, it is because the kid may not survive, weak as it is, the harsh "survival of the fittest"  law of the wild jungle.

Yet the small little life requires support, warmth, love, affection, empathy. Even a toy mama can provide it vicariously. No wonder, Marathi has this proverb, "even if the mother is dead, let the aunt survive" n revive!

Pratima@ Love, affection, gentle kindness are as necessary as oxygen for life.

Quote of the day:                                                         "A mother's love does not make her son dependent and timid. It actually makes him," asserts Cheri Fuller, "stronger and more independent." 

Word of the day: expectant.                                      Expectant is a person who has or shows an excited feeling that something is about to happen, especially something good, in brief, a person who anticipates receiving something, mostly beneficial.

The Satan Within

 Ever heard of Marina Abramovic? In Naples, Italy, she performed an experiment in 1974. It lasted for six hours. This "Rhythm O" experiment consisted of Marina standing next to a notice board and a table. On the table were seventy-two objects beginning with roses, feathers to whips, knives, scissors and a pistol. 

On the notice board was written "You can use any of these props on me. I alone would be responsible for the result." Initially, the response was gentle. She was caressed with a rose or the feather. 

Very soon when the spectators realised that she is indeed not resisting at all, the reactions started getting violent. They tore her clothes with scissors. They cut her skin with knives. Such wicked violence continued till a man almost tried to shoot her. When she left the installation venue, all were ashamed of the darkness residing within so-called human beings! 

As the dark shadow residing in human minds thus became apparent, the experiment is also known as the "shadow" experiment. What does the experiment prove? Scratch just a little below appearances to witness the ugly brutality and viciousness residing there!

The experiment proved a few more darknesses residing in the so-called human minds. People can be cruelty personified if one does not react to their viciousness. If one does not have any nuisance value, the others would be Satan personified. Most importantly, one should  never ever allow anyone to objectify oneself!

Despite all that empty talk of empathy, sensitivity, responsibility,et al, most people are much worse than wild animals, is the most disturbing reality this experiment established. Hence the need forever to guard self and those one cares for!

Pratima@ Freud's tripartite model of the mind has the volatile "id" full of all possible negativities. The release to these through dreams may be a purgation. If such a catharsis does not happen adequately, there are psychosis of various types and, much worse revealing  human depravities! Beware, in brief, of the trust deficit! 

Quote of the day:                                                         "The part that always shocked me was the inter-community violence among the chimps: the patrols and the vicious attacks on strangers that lead to death. It's an unfortunate parallel to human behavior - they have a dark side just as we do. We have less excuse, because we can deliberate, so I believe only we are capable of true calculated evil," laments  Jane Goodall. 

Word of the day:                                                          Narcissism= obsessive self love.                          Sadism= finding joy in others' conscious ill-treatment and harassment.                                  Masochism=funding fulfilment  in being troubled/ill-treated! 

N.B.: Do watch: https://youtu.be/hxcvG5oVjIE?si=XrMjBpP9-Hx_cgsT

Cleanliness

 As on February 23 falls the birth anniversary of Sant Gadge Maharaj, the apostle of cleanliness, this theme for our blog! This topic matters a lot as cleanliness currently is a major thrust area in the public sphere since the Prime Minister gave it a philip on October 2, 2014 on the occasion of the one hundred and forty-fifth anniversary of Gandhiji. 

Sure, cleanliness first and foremost does refer to the physical surroundings. Sant Gadge Baba used to himself clean up spaces, whereas the Swacch Bharat campaign has tried to curb open defecation in the public areas. Of course, old habits die hard. Even in metro cities today, majority spit anywhere and everywhere, while any and every wall continues to be a urinal!

Sure, there is no denying that currently cleanliness is more observed, that is, followed, and is noteworthy by its quite obvious presence. Minor issues such as the 'ghanta gadi' collecting garbage in the morning  hours when working women are in a tearing hurry, or making accessible proper modes of composting which are not easy targets for rats and bandicoots, or the municipal agencies helping with the cutting down of wild trees (that grow accidentally without their seeds being consciously planted), and without charging astronomical sums to help their contractor friends! 

Yes, cleanliness matters because it is closely related to environmental cost! Let me give you an example. These days, people have made the Kedarnath temple in to a touristy holiday destination! As it is not the holiest of holies for such visitors, everywhere there are hillocks of garbage and plastic, and  this fact does not hurt anyone! Nobody bothers to remove the eyesore left-overs of the road construction or other such building materials, et al. Anyways, these are hardly selfie points tourists love, right?!!?

In other words, cleanliness need not be only physical. Basically, it is a vision, it is a mindset. If you are (for the sake of sick fun and time pass, not to mention cheap pocket money thus 'made') eternally gossiping, harassing, ganging up against innocent victims who have nothing to do with you, neither your designer clothes nor your posh interiors are going to give you a clean look or a clean feel. Cleanliness is a h(e)aven that resides in a clean mind! Clean is as it clean thinks, behaves, treats!

Pratima@Dirty minds is where the devil resides!

Quote of the day:                                                        Pristine clean, makes everything shine, be it the home, the surroundings, and importantly, the mindset.

Word of the day: pristine                                            'Pristine' means unsullied, unspoilt, in its original condition; hence, clean and spotless as if forever new!

The Address of Heaven

 (Where) does the heaven really exist? Science would dismiss such an idea as either a poetic fancy or a religious belief, right? Well, as reported, in an opinion essay published in late January 2026, Michael Guillén, PhD, a former Harvard physics lecturer and science communicator, took the internet by storm with a provocative claim; namely, paradise might have a physical address!

I could elaborate Guillen's argument in quite some detail. Well, instead I am going to look at Milton's famous quote. In 'Paradise Lost', Book I, as a punishment for a rebellion, born out of jealousy and spite, Satan and his co(-)horts are hurled in to hell which is dark and hot. As part of the pep talk to energise his followers, and himself, Satan delivers a fiery speech. 

The most quoted line therefrom is "The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven of hell, and hell of heaven." In other words, the address of heaven, or hell for that matter, is the "self". The address of heaven is, in other words, not possibly a few galaxies away as the Guillen's of the scientific wor(l)ds would like us to believe. 

Milton's quote provides us with an optimism that we can change every situation for the better. It suggests that it is the perspective that shapes heaven/hell/realities. Since it so prioritises the subjective, it gives us the power of agency. 

Now let us confront the realities. The AI summit may be over. Yet its echoes are reverberating everywhere. Even at its rather nascent stage, this new fangled technology is re-writing most everything. Even if we forget for the time being the accrued environmental cost and/or the other central ethical issues, we would have to accept that the heaven is where the AI locates it! What say? 

Pratima@ Let me give you a concrete example. A brilliant teacher explaining most interestingly a subject is a student's heaven. Now she need not go to any classroom to attain that heavenly feel. The ChatGPT literally hands over such a heaven at home in her palm holding the mobile. The agency soon would be completely 'agentive'!

Quote of the day:                                                         "Ignorance is the curse of God; knowledge is the wing wherewith we fly to heaven" argued Shakespeare. The ramifications of the quote are aplenty  now!

Word of the day: objective                                      Objective refers to understanding not influenced by personal feelings or opinions in considering and representing facts, and thus verified commonly, by anyone.                         The fun currently is that objectively born technology is making reality subjective, thereby making the address of heaven quite inaccessible! 

In celebration of Languages

 Happy World Mother Tongue Day!  मातृभाषा विशिष्यते। जागतिक मातृभाषा दिनकी हार्दिक शुभकामनाएं। मातृभाषा दिनाच्या अनेकानेक शुभेच्छा!  Joyeuse journée mondiale de la langue maternelle! Feliz día mundial de la lengua materna! Alles Gute zum Welttag der Muttersprache!    Kokusai bogo dē omedetō gozaimasu! 

Thus, in the eight languages that I manage rather well, I would like to wish you on the World Mother Tongue Day. Why this unique celebration every February 21? Behind it lies a sad story, in fact, a tragic hidden history not much known in the world today sold on the STEM subjects! 

It is a narrative, however, that shows the love for one's mother tongue, literally till death doth (de)part. In the erstwhile East Pakistan, Bangladesh since 1971, Urdu was imposed as the national language. The former East Bengalis loved their mother tongue, Bengali, and asserted its relevance. In 1952, there was a huge demonstration on February 21. The police opened fire on the peaceful professors and students from Dhaka University. Many died, were injured in the violence. 

In 1999, the UN decided to celebrate February 21 as a day dedicated to the languages. The motive was to honour the linguistic and cultural diversity so abundantly available in the world. 

Each mother tongue, whether of the developed countries or of countries from the erstwhile colonised global South, is important, relevant, valid, and teaches something unique about the whole mankind, and hence the message of the day is that every language, each culture deserves celebration. Long live the World Mother Tongue Day!

Pratima@In our country, there are many who most pitifully use any and every opportunity to attack, often most irrelevantly, and quite indirectly, the relevance of Sanskrit, Saraswati, and the foundational Indian culture.                                     Or they would hit horribly at the standard language. Yes, why dialects, actually sociolects, even idiolects, too, matter! Sad, however, is the shallow attempt to politicise every event! All languages, including the standard version, too, are always fluid.                                                      Unfortunately, out of total ignorance and politicking emerge, and are stoked/fanned virulent narratives. Oh, Lord, hope you would be able to forgive such hate mongers. They know exactly very well what they are doing!

Quote of the day:                                                        "Knowledge of languages is the door to wisdom," asserted Bacon.

Word of the day: bigotry                                         Bigotry is a mindset that has and expresses strong, unreasonable beliefs, and hates other people who have different beliefs or a different way of life:

How (not) to protest?

THE Sam Altman, when asked about the possible loss of jobs in the AI era, quipped answer finally, "But we are sure to find something to do." Indeed! Human beings are always creative in small to big, simple to subtle ways. 

When it comes to protest, however, there seems to be a huge deficit of creativity. Look at Altman himself. He and Dario Amodei of Anthropic gave quite a demo which established that Altman may not be as open as the AI, while Amodei proved  that human beings, unlike their inventions, can be misanthropic! 

Well, the hand-raising that thus turned hair-raising is a typically Western way of showing camaraderie, right? A common feature it is even in indian classrooms, not to forget the winning moment of a football/baseball game, right? In brief, the fist raising on both sides proved that, unlike the modern technologies, their makers may still harbour primitive proclivities. Some competitive protest!

Yet the worst example of how not to protest was the shi(r)t-y protest at  the Bharat Mandapam! Absolutely lacked imagination, forget integrity or inclination for the honour of the motherland! Why, with such futuristic n gorgeous stuff from all over the world on show, who at all would bother to look at such shi(r)t-y lack? Some imagination! 

Anyways, since 2014, 'protest-itis' is a new dis-ease rampant in India, right? People often hate for the heck of hating! The favourites are the much quoted but least read Manusmriti, the much maligned Veer Savarkar, and, of course, the much misunderstood Modi, our Prime Minister!

 Of course, some students of such 'school' have recently graduated in to protesting anti poor Bhagat Singh of all the people, not to forget Lala Lajpat Rai! How (not) to protest is a skill that needs no reservation, rather lots of talent, in brief! 

Has the Tiananmen Square gone so bare in the name of the much hyped Gen Z        'profess-ions'? Here is my protest against such belittling of the un-civil liberti(ne)s in the public space! 

Pratima@ Any responsible protest has to open up major important central issues. It cannot be a wink wink of the kiddish spit-n-scoot variety. Private gall cannot vitiate the public sphere! 

Quote of the day:                                                         "I am no longer accepting the things I cannot change. I am changing the things I cannot accept," asserts Angela Davis. B the change you wanna C, to use the Gen Z kinda slang! 

Word of the day: Profess                                           'profess' means to claim that one has (a quality or feeling), especially when actually it is not so at all. The word can also mean to affirm one's faith in or allegiance to a set of beliefs. Without such sincerity, empty 'professions' are merely 'professional' protest!!! 

Maharaj

 'Hail, His Highness' should be the ideal translation, the perfect title for a piece on Shivaji Maharaj on this day of his birth anniversary. Would it capture the regard one feels for him was my worry. I decided hence to go for 'Maharaj'. 

Much has been penned on/about Maharaj. Politically correct it is. Want some proof? Hereabouts in Maharashtra, they celebrate the birth anniversary twice, but not exactly out of affection. Rather, it is the convenient political affliction.

In the charged atmosphere today when 'Brahminwad/Brahmanwad' (it stopped being 'bramhnywad' long time back!) is the fulcrum, better not to  dare n write anything at all, would be the strategy, I suppose. Given the echo chambers dominant n pervasive these days, there is no way knowing who would interpret what how, especially because, given my surname, I should be in Eurasia!

No worries though! I am going to write about a cute folk story about Maharaj. The 'hero' of this story is a kid, too. Absolutely apt it is hence for the occasion. 

Savlya, our young hero, is a guard at some border. Anonymous it is luckily as far as I know. No regional identities involved hence! Savlya, like most of us, adores Maharaj. His orders are Savlya's absolute diktats even when Savlya has never seen/met him in person. 

Savlya sees a horse rider trying to ride past the border, and without any formal permission. Furious, he stops the rider, and threatens him. The amused rider tries to test his commitment. Satisfied with the kid's innocent dedication to duty, he reveals his identity. The rider is none other than Maharaj himself, mighty satisfied with the feel of  responsibility of every common citizen.

Why do I still like this folk tale which I read as a textbook title, may be, in the seventh or eighth standard? In my opinion, a king/ ruler who can create effortlessly such devotion for himself and the cause in the mind of a lad has to be a great n good king, right? 

Incidentally, this folk tale which in my opinion truly shows Maharaj's grandeur is a poem by Wa. Ba. Pathak, written in 1922. Right now I do not have any references to assess the effect it had on the Independence struggle which, I think, it must have had.

True, 'his-story' should always be authenticated. Otherwise, dangerous falsehoods, convenient to interest groups, may float around. No harm though, I suppose, in thus idealising an idol, right? Sure it cannot, and does not, have any ideological undercurrents that make stories, rather 'narratives',  in to opinionated traps. Instead, it proves the Wordsworthian axiom; namely, "the child is father of the man"! 

Quote of the day:                                                        "Kindness and faithfulness keep a king safe. Through kindness, his throne is made secure" is King Solomon's wise saying. 

Word of the day: fealty.                                            Fealty may sound archaic. It means intense, sworn loyalty and allegiance, and implies a solemn promise of dedicated support.

Aye, aye, AI!

 On February 16 began this 'maha yadnya' entitled the AI Impact Summit. Yes, there is a reason why I am thus naming it. The Hindu Yogic philosophy believes in the seven 'chakras' that lead to a healthy body and a balanced mind. The AI Impact Summit, right now in full flourish in the capital, too, has outlined seven such principles for the AI to follow. 

These principles, to state them in a summary form/fashion, would harness the impactful AI in the service of countries, would improve societies, would lead to betterment of knowledge and, most importantly, would help one and all. 

This fourth AI summit is different because for the first time a developing country is hosting it. An assertion hence it is that the world is now multi-polar. It is staged on a grand scale, too. One hundred and thirty-five countries are participating in it. Bigwigs such as Monsieur Macron of France, India's very own son-in-law, the erstwhile P. M. of the currently beleaguered Britain, the heads of Brazil, Sri Lanka are there. 

Centrally significant is the fact is that the who is who of the industry are there, be it Sam Altman, Bill Gates, or the pride of India, Sundar Picchai. I listened carefully to a number of conclaves. The Google CEO believes, he confirmed, that India already has hundreds of future Picchai's who would better the here and now of India. The TCS Head, N. Chandrashekharan, too, sounded highly hopeful about this technological disruption.

Nice to hear such optimism from such bigwigs! Well, after weeks of the UGC debacle, at l(e)ast some ray of positivity and hope! Yes, I do still feel that this technological revolution is not like the earlier ones. It is "intelligence" after all, 'artificial' though it may be. 

Tough it is to decide right now whether it would be a business bubble or a dystopian future as was predicted in Davos! Right now, however, with the varied cultural bonanza beautifying the event, it is indeed 'Aye, Aye, AI'!

Pratima@ The AI may open up a new job range. Would it be accessible to most all, conceptually, intellectually, difficulty wise? That is my first doubt.

 Next, the AI promises a technology driven world wherein, would knowledge be lop- sided? Already there are reports of Humanities Departments closing. Can such a future be truly human(e), or intelligent for that matter? 

Most importantly, how about the competition? Why, absolutely sad is the Galgotias University fiasco! 

Beware, beloved country@ the 'capital' event!

Quote of the day: Four quotes today that reveal facets of the relationship between technological explosion and society. 

1) "It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity," worried Albert Einstein.

2) "We shape our tools, and thereafter our tools shape us," asserted Marshall McLuhan.

3) "The real danger is not that computers will begin to think like men, but that men will begin to think like computers," argued Sydney Harris.

4) "Technology is a useful servant, but a dangerous master," worried Christian Lange.

Word of the day: disruption                       Disruption refers to radical change in/to an existing industry or market due to technological innovation. "No industry, for instance, is immune to digital disruption" would be an apt example.

Ugly is how it begins

 Remember the 2006 Nithari/Noida Pandher/Koli case? Disgusting beyond words it was. The horrible duo were man-eaters. Literally! 

Now let us turn to the notorious Epstein files. What with Rahul Gandhi winking at Hardeep Puri and thus as usual stalling the parliamentary procedure, ignoring all along all possible central and major issues to create ruckus through sheer nuisance value! 

The Epstein files, as reported in the media and social media, are much worse. Here there is every possible perversity, cannibalism of the Nithari variety seasoned with vulgar voyeurism and using minor kids as sexual toys. How such people can be called human beings is itself a question much worse than the famous Sphinx query! Devil incarnate would be ashamed to call these so-called elites his own! 

What is truly disturbing about these atrocious Epstein files is that they re-define corruption. Corruption is no longer merely monetary. I read up a piece by Sanjeev Chandorkar who relates the files to the neo-liberal/neo-capitalist mode of acquiring and centralising power. 

In Chandorkar's opinion, the elite(!!??!!) club gangs up the power brokers in various fields so as to wield control over policies across sovereign states, beyond national borders. To control them so that they do not tell tales, they are lured in to horrid activities, and blackmailed in to co-operation, and convenient silence. 

These power-hungry, power-drunk bigwigs, childish enough to 'play' ' kid' games, are not adult enough to own up their horrid wrong doings. Instead, they 'play along', destroying innocent lives while mouthing homilies about justice of all possible kinds! Satans incarnate! 

Why have I remembered such creeps at all? Well, on one of the statuses were uploaded pics of a picnic of an international school. Obviously, the kids must come from extremely affluent families to afford the fee- structure, and the unstated but very much meant donations, right?  

Clearly, these kids belong to the primary stage of 'education'. How are they celebrating the picnic feel? The pics show their party spirit! Dancing while standing on the handles of bus seats, dancing while holding a 'bottle' atop the head! A lady, could be a teacher?, is watching such antics calmly! Parents proudly parade such portraits! And the social media world wide gases about Epstein's! The devil begins, lies (in all possible meanings of this word) in details! 

Pratima@ May I share another Epstein  example?  Professors who are Ph.D.'s but cannot produce in writing (an activity wherein you can think and 'check' n correct) a single correct sentence, professors who, it is told, write books overnight,  professors who complete portions even when lectures are not conducted, professors who 'in-directly' leak question papers, professors who gladly give ten marks on five, professors who correct thousand papers in a day, professors who allow students absence from academics, professors who wear the latest designer dresses n jewellery, et al, what with the eighth pay commission (or is it the ninth?) salaries but shy from buying any books, professors who play politics in ways that could shame career politicians, professors who are better than the WhatsApp in forwarding downright n sick canards, and target every possible way individuals who possibly might be competitors! "All is well, all is well" shriek Ranchos, and everyone enjoys Epstein scandals! 

Quote of the day:                                                   "Integrity, transparency and the fight against corruption have to be part of the culture. They have to be thought as fundamental values," writes  Angel Gurria, the OECD Secretary General of Transparency International. 

Word of the day: embezzlement.                            Embezzlement is a white-collar financial crime involving the fraudulent appropriation or theft of money or property by a person to whom it was entrusted, such as an employee, fiduciary, or agent. Unlike theft, the perpetrator has lawful access to the assets but misappropriates them for personal gain. It is a serious offense leading to high fines and imprisonment.                          Such is the online definition. How to define embezzlement of ethics?

As such, such is the reality, why at all go for  "Let us learn grammar"? Who at all would care for correct usage? Most would consider it 'boring' and 'terrorising' to poor, poor (obviously not financially) learners! Better to forget the feature!

Just Juicy!

 It is the typical midday rush, traffic roaring at the usual high decibel, adding sound pollution to the smoggy air of the late winter. Suddenly from somewhere, you hear that lyrically rhythmic sound of bells tied around a cow's neck. 

The nostalgia for that peaceful rural life wafting in the astringent air makes you look for the source of that musical interlude, and then you see it, the simple sugarcane juice stand. In the corner is the machine jingling those bells, a few plastic chairs, a wooden bench, a calendar or two on the simple walls; that is the whole decor of this stall. 

The juice is machine squeezed. Some centers may add a dash of lemon and ginger while the sugarcane is thus getting machine crushed. Add a pinch of salt to it, and without any ice, too, it cools down the hot afternoon around. 

Aai used to like it, too. Often I used to buy it from a wooden crusher driven by a bullock whose owner and his wife would migrate for the season. The simple crusher had a rustic beauty of its own. At home, I used to add grated ginger and a drop or two of lemon with a little salt and cumin seeds. Absolutely heavenly, and a tad tastier than the typical homely lemon juice!

Sometimes, I used to carry home "neera", the juice of  ice apple or palm fruit, and dress it up a little with cumin seeds. She used to like it, too, like the coconut water. In fact, from the Grahak Peth, I used to buy small sachets full of the powder form of coconut water. A glassful of water and the contents of the sache would make a great drink, and she did like it. 

Solkadhi, made of kokum n curds n coriander leaves n ginger n garlic was another favourite. During the summer season, from the Grahak Peth, I used to buy one litre jars of kokum and amla  concentrates, which, too, made our evenings cool n fresh. 

Healthy juices, wealthy with minerals, et al. Wise choice indeed, unmatched, and with a zing of its own!

Pratima@The sugar cane stall reminds me of the traditional jaggery making unit where Papa had taken us during our Kolhapur visit. I remember the unit at Gursale, too, where I had gone with Ajoba, that is, Aai's father. In other words, these health concentrates are memory rich, too!

Quote of the day:                                                      Freshly squeezed, simply sweet are such nature's nectars that revitalise the taste buds! Truly heavenly concoctions whose very sip is nutrient packed perfection! Just like this quote squeezed from very many fizzy drink ads, fashionable but hardly healthy!

Words of the day:                                                  Here is a list of words related to taste. Taste adjectives may describe flavours and sensory experiences, ranging from primary tastes (sweet, sour, bitter, salty, umami/savory) to intensity and quality descriptors (tangy, rich, bland, or fiery).  Some terms (flavorful, delicious, zesty, smoky, and acrid) help define the culinary profile of the beverages, and of food, too. So says the thesaurus.                                                      As our wor(l)ds today are so full, this week let us learn grammar tomorrow onwards.

This Tale Tells a lot...

 As it is the Maha Shivratri, let me share this tale. For one thing, I love it. Want to know why? To begin with, it glorifies all that is "shiv", that is, pure, holy, 'spirit-ual'. The folk tale, moreover, echoes the beginning of the Ramayana which, in a way, proves that, in the essence, godliness is the quintessential Truth, whether the form be Shiva or Rama. 

Once upon a time, there was this wicked, vicious, heartless hunter. On the Mahashivratri day, he went to the forest for the hunt. He searched for a prey the whole day. He could not get any. Hungry he was.  He did not want to go home empty-handed though. He decided to stay in the jungle that night.

Like all crafty people, he had a cruel plan ready. He knew that at night animals would come to a water source to drink water. Thus would he get prey properly trapped. He went to the brook nearby, got himself a cone of water which he made there and then, and climbed a tree nearby.

As it was the night time, and as the no moon night was approaching fast, in the darkness he did not realise that the tree was a "bilwa" tree. It was a few minutes past the midnight. A fawn came to the waterfront. The hunter eagerly moved, and fast. In the process, from the cone fell a few drops of water, and bilwa patra, the holy leaves, on the Shivling exactly below the tree. 

The hunter had noticed nothing. Without his realising it, in the first hour of the  Mahashivratri, he had performed an abhishek. Something softer must have thus stirred in his newly emergent soul. When the fawn asked him not to kill it, he did not demur. The fawn promised to return after re-uniting with the family. 

In the second hour, it was the doe. The same process repeated itself with the same result and the same promise. In the third hour, it was the turn of the stag. In the fourth hour, that entire family returned truthfully. The hunter was so touched by it that he stood up the branch. The Abhishek this time was not meagre.

Shiva, the gentle, straightforward, kind soul that this deity is, was so touched by the unmeant prayer of the hunter that he appeared before the hunter to bless him. The hunter was truly transformed at that divine moment!

Now let me tell you why I like this tale very much. First and foremost, it shows the simple purity that is the "Shiva" principle. It proves, moreover, that Shiva is so kind and go(o)d-ly that unmeant prayer, too, pleases him. In other words, rituals do not matter as they are often mere religiosity. Most of all, I love the purity, simplicity, honesty of the deer family. Dear are animals! Hence the title of this Mahashivratri special, "this tale tells a lot"!

 Pratima@Even when this folk tale might not have a "Ma nishad: tvam" moment, it shows how the deities are kind to everyone. Hence the choice of this tale, though I had initially decided to write about the Shiv-Parvati vivah, and its symbolic signification.                                                                                                  Quote of the day:                                                       Wrote the great Adi Shankara in "Nirwan Shatakam",  "Chidanand rup:, Shivo ahm Shivo ahm." It means, I am the blessed, forever, soul-felt ecstasy, I am the pure, the divine, the heavenly. 

Word of the day: grateful                         Grateful is how I feel to Lord Shiva. I must confess that my genuine devotion for the great Shankara, the father of Ganesh, my favourite most god, has reached Himalayan heights ever since my Chardham sojourn (I forever remember every moment there/then) was truly "facilitated" whole-ly in a holy way. Not a single problem did I encounter, thanks be to all that is great, good, and divine, the " Shiv" principle ! 

Love in the Times of Market n Hatred

 After the World War II, which saw atrocities such as the Holocaust and the Hiroshima-Nagasaki tragedy, the novel as a literary genre for quite some time dealt with the theme called writing a novel. Such meta-fiction kind of texts were in a way admission of the fearsome fact; namely, after such horrendous injustices, what literary sensibility? In such times of despair burst on the literary horizon the Latin-American literary boom. The title of our blog is a take on the title of one of the major novels by Marquez, the ultimate guru of the genre. 

No, the title is not a mere word play. In a way, it, too, concedes the fact that love is an expensive proposition currently. Look at the day today; in fact, the entire week. A total genuflection it is to consumerism. The give-n-take of Valentine gifts is a market commodification of that great feel of togetherness called love, right? 

No, I am not being cynical. Love is not love when it to the markets n shops bends. Oh, no, it is not a mere heart-shaped goodie of some sort. Congested cafés/bars and overcrowded shops/discotheques may in the mode of done things be-(n)come. Let us not to the listing of typical ways of the Valentine day more details add. Poor Shakespeare must be, as it is, turning in his grave, given this take on his lovely sonnet!

May I tell you yet another reason why such a title to the blog (for) today? You must have read about/seen what happened in the North Block of the Delhi University, right? The very many videos of that horrid incident have gone viral apparently.

Well, if a query, even if it were provocative as is claimed, though the journalist's version does not make one believe so, is going to result in a mob, almost lynching, attack, with the police around, on one single young woman just because she belongs to a certain caste the mob does not like, what kind of society are we living in, and that, too, in the twenty-first century?!?

In a such a hostile climate, that beautiful feeling called love which consists of all that is the best, and would certainly make one a better human(e) being, would be rather like the Wordsworthian "violet by a mossy stone/half hidden from the eye" of such vicious, bitter, and ugly world, and it better be!

Pratima@ As a compensation,  better to read Shakespeare's sonnets or Elisabeth Barret Browing's "How do I love thee?" or Browning's "Prospice" or Edwin Muir's "Orpheus' Dream" or the story of our own Parvati and Savitri or their  modern versions, or listen to great songs, right?

Quote of the day:                                                         "Love is all we need" and "wherever we may be, with you there, it is always home" should be the best wishes for the day. What say?

Word of the day: valentine                                      As valentine means someone loved, hopefully very much, the best valentine could be your work, your pet, your family standing by you come what may, and most of all, your own self, right?

 

Women and Science

 Typically, women and Science might be considered an oxymoron. Women are supposed to be hyper sensitive which they are. That does not, however, rule out being hyper sensible! In fact, any person who is highly sensitive is sharply aware of all possible subtleties of the context, and hence can get hurt by all the subtexts that are carefully hidden. 

Such intuition is a kind of hyper rationality which is the base of the scientific enquiry. In other words, science and women are not diametrically opposed. Rather, they are complementary to each other. 

Want a live proof daily experienced? Even the most uneducated woman knows the medicinal values of every item in her kitchen, and this kind of authentic wisdom might not be codified academically. Yet it works, and most efficiently. 

In an era of Tessy Thomas and G.Madhavi Lata, why talk of the lowest common denominator when it comes to 'women and science'? Well, in a way, both of them are the creamy layer that hides the submerged iceberg of the community's attitude to women and science. Hence the attempt to prove that even illiterate women have a scientific in-sight! Long live the day dedicated to women (with-n-)in science!

Pratima@Most pertinent is the fact that the first ever science fiction, which, moreover, explores the dystopian (im)possibilities of science without a soul/heart was written by a woman who predicted almost two centuries ago what happens when man plays God irresponsibly!

Quote of the day:                                                           "Science and everyday life cannot, and should not, be separated," says Rosalind Franklin. 

Word of the day: rational                                        Rational means based on or in accordance with reason or logic. It is based in a way in the sensory experiences provided by the five senses. Such perception leads to cognition, that is, awareness/knowledge.

Let us learn grammar:                                               Let us look at another sentence structure today. It is s+v+object+object complement. An object complement provides extra information about the object. Look at the following examples. The CSK team chose Dhoni "to be the captain". The committee named her "the president" . We know a child prodigy "who completed his post graduation at fourteen". The expressions within the quotation marks are object complents which can be a noun or a prepositional phrase or a subordinate clause.

Beagle

 Beagle! The very word brings to one's mind that lovely combination of chocolate brown, white and black bundled up in a small body bursting with energy and immense love, right? Yes, my brother, Sanju, has this pedigree breed, and Tashu is one of the loveliest gifts life has to offer. 

However much I may love this cute doggie, today, I am not talking of this best buddy of mine. Rather the reference today is to this famous ship Charles Darwin travelled in during his famous voyage to South America which fed in to his re-search of the idea of natural selection. 

It was an idea that was as radical as the voyage aboard the ships Pinta, Santa Maria and Niña by Columbus who, too, discovered the South Americas, though, by accident, as actually he was looking for that "el dorado", the golden land, yes, our very own India. 

Darwin's diaries of his voyage aboard HMS Beagle made him popular as a (travel) writer. These, moreover, fed in to his radical ideas popularly known as the 'survival of the fittest'. As is always the case with monumental concepts that bring in paradigm shifts, Darwin's notion, too, was over simplified to the level of being dumbed down. Yet another example of this notorious process is Einstein's idea of relativity, right? 

Darwin's notion was revolutionary not only for the scientific world, but also for the societal set-up. The Victorian era, volatile as it was with very many radical changes, was shaken at its base, at its very core by the Darwinian concepts, however simplistically understood. 

Such a sea-change was brought about because Darwin's ideas questioned the religious base. Mankind no longer was made by Lord, the God, as His own miniature version. Rather, he was a descendant of the ape, as were widely and popularly understood Darwin's ideas which brought a paradigm shift in many branches of science! Hence this small little memoir on the occasion of Darwin's birth anniversary on February 12!

Pratima@ As my shippie brother, Raju, would accept, ships as modes of trade, whether ideational or actual, have changed destinies, Odysseys' mythical travel being yet another literary example. 

Quote of the day:                                                   "None can stop an idea whose time has come," asserted Victor Hugo.

Word of the day: anthropology                       Anthropology refers to the study of human societies and cultures, and their development.

Let us learn grammar:                                             A subject complement can be a noun or an adjective. Let us look at examples. Darwin was a scientist (a noun). Darwin's ideas were great (an adjective). This sentence construction s+v+ subject complement is often used 

A simple try at a complex task!

 1) Blest is that town                                                   where forever is Lord's recitation. 

2) They who praise the Lord's deeds                       they be the favoured, the destined. 

3) He who the worlds ruleth                                    Sayeth, in the Kaliyug, Prayer cools. 

4) Ramdas so sayeth                                                 Devotion the best saveth. 

As it is the Ramdas Navami today, here is a modest try to translate one of his abhang's as a tribute to this unique saint and in remembrance of Aai who for years used to go to his abode, the Sajjangad where she learnt his teachings so well that she was one of the examiners for a course that celebrated his divine work! 

Pratima@Given this attempt ( a rough try that needs much refining) at all that is superior-n-fine, today let us not try the grammar bit. 

Quote of the day:                                                 "Devotion complete culminates in knowledge supreme," promises Raman Maharshi.

Word of the day: dedicated.                        Dedicated means devoted or committed to a task or purpose.

The Blame Game!

 There was this questionnaire on a WhatsApp group. I could not read it actually because it was meant for the students. That is to say, the first few entries in the questionnaire were such that only a student could process it. The questionnaire was about the difficulties students from small towns face when they come to a bigger city in search of further opportunities which could include further studies, job openings, settling down in the big city, et al. The way the questionnaire was introduced, it was clear that the blame was directed at English as the medium of instruction.

Absolutely agreed that students should not face any problems just because of the medium of instruction/expression. Could I ask a few basic questions though? To begin with, how many senior college students attend the English Language lectures? 

In any college these days, out of the roughly hundred and twenty students per division, not even twenty would be present! How would anybody learn any subject in absentia?

I am sorry if I sound cynical, but even the so-called post-graduate qualifications of most students appear vacant, in fact, absolutely meaningless, because they would not have  attended even twenty per cent of the total lectures of any subject! How they manage to pass the qualifying exams is anybody's guess!! Mug up whatever material from some cheap guide during the night before the exam, puke up in the answer sheet whatever is foggily remembered,  try n copy as much as possible when it comes to internal assessments, et al, right???

 I have often wondered at the parents' absolute lack of interest in whether their "ward" is attending/not lectures! I know any number of girls from lower middle class families who wander around the city during college timings instead of attending lectures! How come their parents never get to know? Do not parents ever talk to their "wards" about what is happening during lectures, how their studies are going on, what they have learnt newly, and so on?

Often there is this talk about students not being industry ready. How would they be if they do not bother to attend even ten per cent of the total lectures? Forget soft skills! Where are the core, the hard skills, and this sick plight in an era of information explosion! Sad scenario!

Pratima@ In addition to attending lectures regularly, how about appearing for internationally qualifying exams such as the CEFR exams? If the exam fees, payment for lectures for these appear steep, how about cutting down on a few avoidable expenses and comforts?

One of Aai's 'mavashi' (that is, the caretaker) had daughters who expected dresses worth five thousand rupees for Diwali, for their birthdays! Often Netflix packs, regular data packs kind of "necessities" cost thousands, given the all night long binge watching and game playing! All that money could be used to take proper tuitions, right?

Anyways, other inexpensive options, too, are available for language improvement. Instead of working on one's language sincerely, why choose the easy option of blaming the medium???

Quote of the day:                                                        "Concern yourself more with accepting responsibility than with assigning blame. Let the possibilities encourage you more than the objections discourage you," asserts Ralph Marston. 

Word of the day: the blame game.                           The 'blame game' is a situation in which different individuals or groups attempt to assign blame to each other for some problem or failure.

Let us learn grammar:                                                So far we have learnt two basic sentence constructions; namely, 1) s+v and 2)s+v+ direct object (+ to + indirect object).             Now let us look at subject +verb+ subject complement. To begin with, look at the term 'complement'. It does not mean what you would share with the valentine on February 14! That is "compliment".  'Complement', on the contrary, refers to 'complete'. The subject complement completes the meaning of the subject.  Let us explore this sentence pattern tomorrow onwards. 

Creepy crazy foolish behaviour!

 Well, I write articles, stories, translation, et al for different magazines, journals, and so on. I am supposed to get hard copies of these once they are printed. Funny, creepy , crazy stuff happens these days. The so-called courier people  bluff saying that thrice they tried to deliver the material, and the door was closed!

What stupid rubbish! To begin with, I leave for college around 10-ish, and I am back home after college latest by 2 p.m. Earlier, moreover, these very people  used to call me up or message me in the morning, and without fail, the courier fellow would come at about 6 to 7 p m, and deliver the copy. I, moreover, get all sorts of other couriered material! 

Suddenly what happened? Is there some desperate cheap creep who wants to peep in other people's houses? Is some such sick sadist peeping Tom egging on people who do not have anything else to do except loaf around lazily, and keep on yaking in a nonsensical way? 

Logically, to begin with, why must doors be constantly open? Why, moreover, cannot there be a telephone call? The mobile number is there on the envelope. Simpler still, why not knock? Or call out? If a message is sent on the mobile number, I could always to go to the courier office, and collect the book/magazine! As simple as that! Why brainless lies?

The same kind of behaviour with the meter reading as well! The man comes at 8 p.m. because somone in the neighborhood met him, and told him! What stupid rot! 

Why stand around and talk about "chudail" et al? Who pays cheap fools who apparently have nothing to do except to say such nonsense? Absolutely un-"man"-ly behaviour by some third rate cad! 

The cheap creep behind all such nonsense does not realise that NOBODY is thus frightened! Moreover, he (has to be some so-called namesake "he" !!!) can be easily exposed, if worse comes to worse, and the consequences would be tough for this soft-brained fool and his cohorts!

Sick, silly, third-rate behaviour! Thomas Hobbes used to argue that human beings are "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish", while human life is "short." The first part of this quote is proved by some sick fools around. Unfortunately, however, their life is as empty as it is long! 

Pratima@ Basically I am amused by such low crooks who keep an eye on each and every movement, and hence i tend to completely ignore them.                                            These days, however, I get the feeling that their (how to say intellectual or moral as they have neither brains not ethics! Tough to believe they are aged adults!) ugliness is such that these stupido's feel that silence is weakness!                                                                  Why, at night, all creepy stuff is attempted such as jumping on roofs, loud shrieks cum chats late at night and early morning, scratching/thumping on walls! Sick behaviour that sucks! What the cheapos do not realise that I am NOT thus frightened. In fact, I am the last person on this earth to be thus terrorised!

Quote of the day:                                                       A "healthy man does not torture others," says Carl Jung. 

Word of the day: threaten.                                     'Threaten' means cause someone to feel vulnerable or at risk; endanger. 

Let us learn grammar:                                       English does not have cases (विभक्ती). The only exception to this rule is "pronouns". They substitute nouns, and their forms as objects are: me, you, him, her, it, us, you, them. Let us look at a few examples: I help her.  She scolds him.                                                    The pronoun as an indirect object  can be before the direct object or it can follow the direct object. When it follows the direct object, it is preceded by 'to'. Let us look at a few examples: I explain grammar to them. On her birthday, we give her gifts or On her birthday, we give gifts to her. 

Awesome Architecture

 At an altitude of some eleven thousand seven hundred and sixty feet resides Kedarnath. The square and/or oblong stone slabs, rather blocks, built together by the interlocking system that go into the making of His abode would not be available anywhere in the Himalayas. Yet the temple stands tall there, defying bitter winters, fearsome floods and ravaging time. Even before you enter the temple, its very architecture envelops you in its mystique! 

Awesome architecture! That is the first feel Indian temples always awaken in us. Would you believe me if I insist that right in the midst of the ever expanding Pune full of shrieking horns and shrinking spaces are two temples that are architectural marvels? 

Yes, I am referring to the Trishund Ganapati Mandir and Nageshwar Mandir in Somwar Peth nestled on the bank of  the Nagzari river once flowing freely in this central part of Pune. 

The Trishund Ganapati Mandir is in a way a  document built in stone of the Maratha Kingdom, not to forget the Indian Independence struggle. Why, a plaque in the outdoor wall has a stucco engraving commenting on the 1857 War of Independence as well as the lackdaisical self-obsessed attitude of the very many royalties then. 

With the "Hathyogi Gosavi" contribution to its fame, this marvel has stories galore in each of its images. A unique synthesis of the Rajasthani, Southern, and Marathi architectural styles, each carving, every column and all the corners here are deeply symbolic. 

The Ganesh idol in this temple is unique. Hence the nomenclature of the temple where the stone inscriptions clarify that literally all the deities, Shiva, Vishnu, Dattatreya and the goddesses, the Hamsavahini Saraswati to Gajantlakshmi, reside in this unique space whose structure is such that flood waters drain on their own! 

The nearby Nageshwar temple goes back to the fourteenth century, the Yadav era, and even earlier. It is a unique combo of the "hemadpanthi" style, superimposed by the Peshwa wooden built-up area. A complete unit in itself which once housed everybody associated with the temple, truly special is its canopy which tells a unique tale of how Mughal architecture subtly started influencing the temple construction. 

A must-visit wonders are these lesser known temples where divinity resides in ageless (hi)stories.

Pratima@ The Heritage walk was guided by the duo M/S Shantanu Paranjape and Vaidya. Absolutely infectious was their commitment to the oral narratives of-n-about these two heritage gems that sure need better awareness raising. A great Sunday morning, in brief!

Quote of the day:                                                         "We shape our temples, and thereafter they build us, and forever." Winston Churchill would overlook my re-structuring of his famous quote.

Word of the day: serenity.                                 Serenity refers to a state of being calm, peaceful, and untroubled, often characterized by an absence of any stress or anxiety. Derived from the Latin serenus, it signifies tranquility, composure, and quietude.                                                                   The term is often used as a title of dignity for royalty or high dignitaries, especially religious.

The Mumbai Spirit?

 On one of the groups was shared this video of the 9.10 Dombivali Fast as it reaches the railway platform. There was a dare, too. 'Try getting in to this local train.' Honestly, it was pathetic. People were attacking the bogies as if their lives depended on it. 

In a way, they did, too. The local train would take them to Mumbai, and fast. Yet the very sight was inhuman(e) because the scenario totally desensitised, dehumanised and objectified people as living skeletons! 

Those who stay in Mumbai would maintain that such behaviour is a matter of habit. Each one would have his/her story about it. In general, such insensitivity, pushing others so that one gets in to the bogey, literally mowing down someone who falls down in that crazy hustle n bustle to catch the train, just moving on even if someone dies on the tracks, and much worse, the subtle, unstated yet obvious gangster like behaviour inside the bogey! Alll these phenomena revealing the dormant 'Flee it or fight it' animal instinct!

Often all these compulsions are sugar coated and glorified as the Mumbai Spirit. Is it really so? Luckily, for the last decade or so, there have not been any bomb blasts or riots or underworld gang wars in Mumbai. Otherwise, people would travel in the same trains, on the same tracks as if nothing had happened! 

Is such habit formation that leads to a hard, rough core within, such desensitisation, such dehumanisation desirable? Why must life be so mechanical? How (much) must it hurt the idealists, the sensitive, if at all they survive the so-called Mumbai Spirit.  Last but not the least, let us never forget the Malad Incident which exemplifies the worst of the Mumbai Spirit!

Honestly, the video reminded me of T.S.Eliot's "Preludes", "The Waste Land" and the "Hollow men". What cost money when human lives are easily dispensable, and cheap!

Pratima@ Have you noticed that all the acidic jokes on all groups about the Pune 'attitude' are from Mumbaikar's?!? Must be a case of lower self-esteem disguised as a superiority feel! 

Quote of the day:                                                         'Those who follow the crowd are usually lost in it! ' The author is anonymous! 

Word of the day:  expeditious.                                Expeditious  means done with speed and efficiency.

As usual, we learn grammar Monday through Friday. See you on Monday for the "Let us learn" section.

Unki awaz hi pehchan hai

 Remember that immortal song from the film "Kinara"? That lovely assertion "meri awaz hi pehchan hai" has over the years grown to be the signature tune of Lata Mangeshkar. This tribute to her on her death anniversary would like to state that unbelievably varied are the moods of that voice.

 A truism this statement may appear to be.  Let us hence in our blog try an appreciation which possibly is a little different. Very rarely are Lata's "naughty" ditties discussed, right? Sure, she avoided the oomph songs. It seems, she found "abhi na jao chodkar"  'suggestive'! To be very frank, till this date, I have not deciphered why/how! 

Hence this attempt to understand her "bahon me chale" from 'Anamika'. Well, listen to that refrain. The hook line is " baho me chale aao". The queen of pronunciation, rather enunciation, that she was, Lata takes a slight, almost unnoticeable, pause after "aa", and it is heard as "aa o". In my opinion, that pause adds a cute naughtiness, without the open invite sounding vulgar. 

In fact, she has sung the entire song as if it is more a chatter than an overtly seductive 'come hither' type. The whisper effect, enhanced by the impossibly high note (she alone could manage it so musically) stanza finally, adds a subtle allure to that naughtiness, right? May be, it adds to the mystery in the film, too, I suppose. 

Yet another interesting facet of Lata's artistry is that her voice enacts the screen emote, right? Well, the song is picturised on Jaya Bhadhuri. Then she was the sweetheart of Bollywood, surely not the "angry old woman" (just a take on the famous Amitabh persona, no ageism/no aspersions meant, please!) much derided now. 

In my opinion, Lata's rendering of the Majrooh Sultanpuri verse manages to capture the cute innocence (notice, please, in this context Lata's smile in the song. She does not laugh, nor does she simper, she cutely smiles, right?) of Jaya's sweet face then. This R.D. Burman product in the Lata version of naughtiness has all the charm of the Asha sizzle without the sensual provocation, right? No wonder, "unki awaz hi pehchan hai" as our title puts it!

Pratima@At the BMCC, the Internationally renowned project n light artist, Herr Philip Geist from Berlin, Germany, literally performed magic in the evening. 

With two haze machines, four projectors, and a software programme, it was graphic design as the witchery of light, accompanied by lovely sound effects. The College building appeared 'ethe-real'! Beautiful beyond words!

Quote of the day:                                                       "Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life, " asserts  Pablo Picasso.

Word of the day: exclusive.                                        Exclusive refers to  something unique, restricted to the person, group, or area concerned. Lata's rendering of the naughty ditties is exclusive, for instance.

Let us learn grammar:                                               A di-transitive verb, as the very name suggests ('di' in Latin means two), uses two objects, direct and indirect. A direct object is necessary for the meaning of the sentence to be complete. Let us look at an example. We learn grammar/music/painting/cookery/gardening, and so on. Unless the object is stated, " we learn ..." would be incomplete. Hence it is the direct object (" what" is the question often asked to locate it).

Now look at this sentence. "She explains grammar to students". The "to students" is extra information, not necessarily crucial to the meaning of the statement. Hence the indirect object ("whom" is the question that places it).

Cancer Cure

  February 4 is the world cancer day. Cancer is the cruellest disease, whatever might be the type or the stage. No doubt whatsoever about it! How do I know it? For the New Indian Express, I wrote articles on cancer. I met a lady whose dis-ease began with breast cancer to morph in to uterine cancer as well. It was tough listening to her lament about how the disease relates to her very i-dentity as a woman. 

Much worse was writing about childhood cancer. Be it the six month old baby with eye cancer or a six year old who played innocently without knowing what was imminent, meeting such victims of the cruel disease was heart-rending. 

Equally tragic is getting to know the last stage, beyond cure cases. Palliative care, the inevitable use of morphine as the pain killer at that stage were issues which moved me beyond tears when I wrote an article on palliative care, a rather novel idea in India in the early years of the twenty-first century. 

All these are instances of cancer assaulting physically. Much worse is the cancer cruelly cutting in to the societal space. Do you know its nomenclature? Yes, it is the fear of, the avoidance of, the rejection of excellence. 

Yes, take any field of the public sphere, or private space for that matter, the hunting down of excellence is unmistakable. The worst case scenario, however, is in academics. This cancer is so wide-spread that, at times, its morbidity is frightening, especially because its nodes, hence spread, are everywhere!

What is the panacea? Tough to tackle as there seems to be an apathy at all which is terribly terrifying, what with the AI shrinking possibilities galore! 

Pratima@ Cancer is an auto-immune disease. That is to say, the body seems to rebel against itself. Hence this metaphor!

 Mathew Arnold had a beautiful image for such a tragic trajectory, 'ignorant armies clashing by night', not knowing whom they are fighting, finishing off, friends or foes!

Quote of the day:                                                        "Not all monsters hide in the shadow. Most smile soothingly during the day." An anonymous but apt quote!

Word of the day: stellar.                                          The word, close to the celestial, that is, the starry firmament, means 'of the best quality', excellent.

Let us learn grammar:                                              What is a transitive verb? The very term explains it, right? 'trans' is 'across'. A transitive verb hence is a verb whose action/activity, whether corporal/physical or abstract, is carried across the object. Let us look at examples. Children love pizzas. Students bunk lectures. I love reading. Poets use imagination. 

Incidentally, the thumb rule is to ask " who" to find out the subject of the sentence, and  "what" to find out the direct object. Tomorrow we shall further discuss the direct and the indirect object(s) when we shall try to understand di-transitive verbs.

The Best of Bhimsen Joshi

 How to decide the best one by Bhimsen  Joshi? Simply impossible is such a futile exercise, right? Well, to begin with, his range is literally infinite. He sings the classical ragadari sangeet to perfection. His Marathi abhang and Hindi bhakti sangeet mesmerise one and all. Why, the film song "ketaki gulab juhi" is as beautiful as the flowers it describes. 

Neither musical genres nor even his Kirana gharana is a limitation for his brilliant art in to which he pours both technical perfection and deep emotion. May be, hence, it is difficult to decide the best of Bhimsenji, right?  

Yet each one of us has her/his favourite, right? Well, mine is the Bhairavi which begins as "jo bhaje hari ko sada". This composition by Bramhananda truly guides us towards, and in to, both bramha, the ultimate truth and the beatific anand, the ecstatic joy when Bhimsenji renders it absolutely inimitably. 

The "rasa" this Bhairavi creates is a kind of deep peace which allows you to be both within and beyond this world made of imperfections. The "bhava" Panditji generates is both "nirgun" and "sagun" bhakti, that is, devotion. 

In other words, whether or not you are a devotee or a believer, this Bhairavi as rendered by Bhimsenji is sure to lead you to be as close as is possible to the divine feel. 

You need not know either the technicalities of a bhairvi nor need you be entrenched in to the religious literature. Yet this bhairvi is sure to carry you on the wings of sur and drut gat teen taal (at times drut gat Dhumali, too) in to the world of exquisite joy and ultimate peace. Hence this tribute to Panditji on the occasion of his birth anniversary!

Pratima@ I must confess that it was the story shared by  our C.M. Devendra Fadnavis which reminded me of the special occasion. Indeed it is a very nice feel to have a Chief Minister who is so artistically sensitive, what with all the issues circumscribing Maharashtra politics right now!

Quote of the day:                                                   "Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and life to everything," says Plato.

Word of the day: harmony.                            Harmony is the combination of simultaneously sounded musical notes to produce a pleasing effect.                                                                        No wonder, any good relationship is always known as 'harmonious'. 

Let us learn grammar:                                          Since we have discussed dedicated depiction of devotion deeply, why descend down to something as prosaic as grammar, however 'basic' it may be to communication, right? Let us learn more about transitive verbs tomorrow.