Art is (He)art!

 Everyone blames the internet as the devil that killed reading. I do not completely agree with such a judgement. I do feel that the information overload the internet may unleash, if used thinkingly, makes us more aware and conscious. 

Look at the date April 15, for instance. Yes, despite soaking in the aura of THE Leonardo da Vinci whose 'Monalisa', 'The Last Supper' and the 'Vetruvian Man' have awed the whole world, this artist to whom, while teaching the Elizabethan Era, I have each time referred to as THE Renaissance Man who strode the worlds of both art and science, while referring to Dan Brown's "Da Vinci Code" as an alternative look at 'his-story', yes, despite all such acquaintances, I did not remember that April 15 is his birth anniversary! 

Apparently, the UNESCO has declared it to be the World Art Day.  So informed me the internet! Hence my enthusiastic celebration of the day because we do need such a celebration of art, especially right now, when the very many direct and indirect wars have brought the wor(l)d real close to self-destructions of all sorts! 

Right now we do need very many George Orwell's and Ernest Hemingway's and Picasso's whose art, whether verbal or painterly, spoke from the heart, and denounced the soulless cruelties and tactless uglinesses of the all-destroying wars! 

Art, whatever the type, plastic, performing, spatial, kinetic, verbal, that is, be it painting, sculpture, a play or a music/dramatic performance or be it a wizardry of language and meaning  in a poem/a novel/a play, art enriches us.

Art equalises us, too. It shows us, for instance, the unmistakable connect between the lower and the higher forms of the aesthetic expression. For me, for example, the unique perspectives an artistic rangoli provides makes me understand better the more difficult, enriching, energising art of abstract painting!

Art is waging another war these days. Yes, it has to negotiate with the AI that now seems to be infringing the very existence. Yet, the imagination, the individualism and the unmistakable spiritual aspect at the core of (e)very art would sure give richer dimensions to the AI itself! In brief, art is (he)art, and, hereafter, I shall never ever hereafter forget to celebrate this day in my own way!

Pratima@Every art is the best because its appreciation simultaneously gives us joy, makes us a better thinker, and adds a unique liberating perspective otherwise just not possible. Long live art as it enlivens every heart!

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

Word of the day: emancipatory                                 Art is great because it is emancipatory. Emancipatory refers, according to the Webster Dictionary, to actions, ideas, or laws designed to produce freedom, liberation, or release from social, legal, or political restraints. Art is emancipatory because it focuses on empowering individuals or groups by subtly overturning oppression, promoting social justice, and reducing the influence of controlling structures. 

How big/small ?!?

 Whenever you are a little giddy about some sizable success of yours or whenever you feel absolutely lost due to some fat failure, be it the professional arena or the public sphere or the private space, you should always remember your place, they say. 

What/where exactly is this location? Want to know it? Okay, let us present it on the descending scale. In other words, an 'i-ndividual' should forever remember that in a grand universe with countless galaxies, there is one galaxy known as the Milky Way which has very many solar systems out of which i inhabit one city in a solar system on a planet which has seven continents and some hundred and ninety-five countries. Ah! Enough, right? I need not add the exact percentage of water and land, okay? 

Sure a very ennobling thought or a truly belittling one! Depends on the perspective for sure! An idea that forever must reside in every consciousness and each conscience, no doubt!

Yet is not it worth worrying why such a perspective is never ever the parameter of a Trump or a Mojtaba Khamenei? Why does not this scale zapp every owner of each war machine making industry? How come each small time power broker, every authority as punitive that much worse, never ever remembers such a perspective? 

Why is this paradigm only for a genuine sincere committed individual who cares for, is considerate about every one in his/her ambit and for every issue beyond it? Is not it in a way (of) affixing? Hence, YES, I would surely always keep in mind this descent. Yet i would glory in my small success set up against all the big ways intent on ruining it totally, just as I would admit the honest hurt felt when a good effort is badly felled and/or hauntingly fails! 

After all said and done, how big is the world? As large as the size of the head, right? And, oh, yes, how vast is the despair? As huge as every stone thrown at me and as sharp as each splinter consciously  planted in my way, right? Who anyways worries if I live/die, unless it to their own motives they tie!?! So, live full, do worry a little, too, because who knows when would all end!!! 

Pratima@ It is indeed nice to now and then to look up the Stoic teachings which subtly open up the infinity of the 'i-ndividual' paired with/poised against all sorts of systems! 

Quote of the day:                                                          "To see in a grain of sand a world/and the heaven in a wild flower/Hold infinity in the palm of your hand/and an eternity in every passing second."                                                            William Blake would sure forgive me the minor changes I added to his great quote.

Term of the day: frame of reference                         A frame of reference is a coordinate system or set of axes used to define the position, orientation, and motion of objects, acting as a "viewpoint" for observers. It establishes a standard for measuring movement, where motion is relative to the observer's chosen frame, stationary or moving, for instance. So says the dictionary. Better to feel it on your pulse, too! 

Hawala Haul Halted?

 Out of bad, they say, sometimes, the best emerges. The current Iran idiocy can be an example thereof. Why do i say so? Let me see if I can explain.

It is an open secret, frankly shared unofficially and informally in those twin cities that Hyderabad is one of the hawala centers, and hence has huge monetary dealings, most of which, such unofficial sources say, are most questionable in nature. 

Hawala is a monetary transaction that respects the word of mouth. In the initial phase, may be, hawala could have been most honourable, high-minded and honest dealings. 

The nerve center of the hawala trade apparently is the Middle East countries, it is maintained in Hyderabad. Equally vociferously, it is argued that hawala money is all "haram" money. 

Remember, for instance, the Telgi scam? Even when an official document, the  stamp paper, was involved, there was an 'efficient' network, apparently invisible, which distributed counterfeit stamp papers, and siphoned off crores. Imagine, given such realities, the possible money laundering, the tax evasion, the black money, and the criminals involved in the hawala connections!

Now with the entire Middle East being off the bounds in a major way, the hawala haul has to be halted.  The crooks involved must suffer, if they have not found out some alternative solution, which, given their criminal proclivities, they might have. 

Yet they must face financial loss as well as losing clout and power. Every which way, this is great news for India, right? Hence the initial assertion; namely, bad may at times lead to the best! 

Pratima@Such crooks siphoning off huge sums shamelessly lead a luxurious life which, too, must get curtailed to some extent, even if they would have stashed away illegal money for generations apparently. The bad and the ugly need not forever be in good conditions!

Quote of the day:                                                          "You never know what worse luck your bad luck has saved you from," concedes Cormac McCarthy. 

Word of the day: hawala.                                          Hawala is an informal method of transferring money, relying on a trust-based network of brokers. It operates outside traditional banking, and is commonly used for rapid, low-cost remittances in South Asia and the Middle East, though it is often illegal due to lack of regulations. 

Suno, wo chaa gayi!

 1971 was the year. The Bangla Desh war black-outs could not blur the lure of "Monica". Why, to manage the black-outs and power-cuts, there used to be special matinee shows of "Caravan". Helen's sensuous cabaret which captured the lascivious words for which the 'poet' Majrooh Sultanpuri felt ashamed began with "dekho, wo aa gaya". 

It was Asha's zingy, youthful, seductive voice which captured the R. D. Burman sorcery of zany rhythm and high pitched excitement. Fast forward now to 2025. "Dhurandhar", the mega block buster. Yet again the same enchantment with the same song! Hence the best tribute to the ever youthful, vibrant, versatile voice of Asha Bhosle would be "Suno, wo chaa gayi thi, chayi hai, chayi rahegi". She was/is/will be forever! The "RIP" is a mere formality!

Controversies never ever tired of chasing Asha. "Dum, Maro dum", her award winning iconic declaration of total emancipation, was for a long time off the then very few (formal modes of ) platforms. She had solid doubts about the way Khayyam wanted her to pitch her notes in "Umrao Jaan". 

The less said the better (as the truth value of such imagined wor(l)ds would be known only to the real actors) about her much gossiped about sensational personal life, be it her elopement with Bhosale or liaisons with O.P. Nayyar or R.D.Burman, or her much-touted rivalry with Lataji.

What survived, survives, and will survive despite a difficult life is her lyrical, smooth, enchanting voice full of a soft strength. Like Lataji, she emoted with her singing. Her range included the hyper talented Nutan, Geeta Bali, Wahida to the beautiful beyond words Madhubala or Sadhana to the naughty Helen or the sweet cute Asha Parekh, and many, many, many more. Remember her 2024 release with her granddaughter or the 2025 Adnan Sami collab?

She sang all possible genres in very many languages, both filmi/non-filmi  versions, worked with practically all music directors, she jammed with international sensations. Yet, personally, my all time favourite is her natya sangeet. She re-created, nay, immortalised the Deenanath Mangeshkar magic in her own unique way.

In my opinion, that is the way she led a tough life, too. Every rejection, each rebuff, any reduction thrown at her, she magically, mystically, memorably managed to transcreate in to a 'moment-ous' victory.  "Still I will rise" will be the best homage to Asha, whom I do not mind thus intimately referring to with love (no "ji" for her, right?) even when she was older than my mother!

Pratima@ Her Marathi songs are simply superb, be it the folk "gomu sangti ne" or the gazal "kenvha tari pahate" or the greatest childhood song "baba anik aai yatil kon awade" which all of us have sung umpteen times in our own way, right?

Quote of the day:                                                         "Music, when soft voices die/vibrates in the memory," says Shelley.

Word of the day: enchantment                              Enchantment refers to a feeling of great delight, fascination, or a magical spell. Like the spell-binding effect of Asha's notes!

Throwback Tales

 April might be the cruellest month according to T. S. Eliot. Yet, for most school and college going students, it is the nicest month. Results are yet a fortnight away! The vacation has not as yet started getting booooringly loooooong. 

Summer is setting in, bringing along the koel's song and mangoes, musk melons, water melons and "thanda thanda, cool cool" drinks (I am referring to the innocent ones. Please! These days, there is no knowing actually!) 

And thus set in the times for reading! Throwback tales indeed! Panchatantra, Aesop's Tales, Sindabad, Gulliver, all sorts of fairy tales, even the Ramayana and the Mahabharata in the abridged, simplified version. What wonderful days indeed! I have literally grown up on books. 

My parents gifted us books on all occasions. I adored the gift. Why, we had the monthly subscriptions of "Chandoba" as well as "Reader's Digest". Just trying to remember those days when Birbal and Tenali Ram were my best buddies is a throwback to 'wonder-ful' times in all senses of this term. 

Sure, I started reading Literature early enough. By sixteen, I was in to the world of Austen; by eighteen, Camus' "The Outsider" was my read! As I was doing French then, I had tried reading a bilingual edition, not terribly difficult, given Camus' lucid prose. 

I need not list all such adolescent adventures, be it Sophocles or Shakespeare. Yet I love my childhood reads a lot. The sense of  innocence, wonder and enjoyment they induced, the subtle seeds of ethics thus planted, a unique perspective on life they gifted, these throwback tales are indeed a world apart. 

In today's times of cartoons and the online reels, I do not know how much children read these days. The world has, moreover, changed drastically, so much so that "Shyamchi Aai", one of my most beloved books, may now appear senti, pompous, and "boring"! 

Why, it is, moreover, fashionable (actually downright stupid, however chic it might be considered) these days to dismiss the fairy tales as politically incorrect! Fairy tales do NOT create a false world. None is a Peter Pan! We all grow out of our 'Snow White' days. The childhood reads, however, create  fantasy wor(l)ds that forever enrich us in imaginative, incredible, infinite ways! 

Pratima@ In fact, at times, they give a unique paradigm to our adult attempts. During the Corona period, I wrote seven vignettes on the Corona times which have been included in an international anthology. To bind them together, I initially used the Vikram-Vetal narrative in an ironic way, which suddenly added a unique depth to the vignette series.

Quote of the day:                                                          "Books are a uniquely portable magic, " says Stephen King. 

Word of the day:                                                            Skimming (getting the hang of the general outline) and scanning (paying careful attention to minute details) lead to better comprehension/understanding of a(ny) text. 

Flash Mob

 Mob! A term we often associate with a mindless violent group, right? Newspapers often have headlines such as 'the mob went on a rampage', 'the mob lynching', et al, which reflect our violent era currently worst on show in the notorious war whose exact status at present is most uncertain, right? 

Flash mob, to which our title refers, however, is the exact opposite. It refers to an impromptu group dance. It is always at a public space. Often it responds to a sensitive issue such as the status/stage of democracy  (the first ever flash mob dealt with this theme in Hongkong) or women's status (often tried in many places across India).

The current craze for reels, however, seems to take away the idea-tional content from such an event, and it seems to be reduced to a group dance in any space vacant enough to accomodate a 'gang' as such 'friends' call themselves! The crazier the song, the better so long as  it has a whacky rhythm! 

Honestly, such horrible dance attempts go viral these days that "any savage can dance" dismissal by Jane Austen's Darcy in her much celebrated "Pride and Prejudice" no longer appears a privileged rebuff! 

What all prancing and cavorting seems to be going viral these days! An old woman approaching her seventies dancing to the vulgarest song or kids shaking any and every part of their tiny bodies in the most sexualised way to raunchy songs! Any wonder Epstein's are aplenty anywhere and everywhere! 

'Play a wonky song with a feral rhythm, and will dance'  seems to be the mindless motto of most. In brief, currently dance is hardly classical, mostly mob, and horribly flashy. No longer is needed a stage either. Any and every public space can be a podium, or whatever.  What say?

Pratima@Anything for the sake of the reel(ing) effect sums up the absolutely simplistic, quite comic,  and rather sad attempts at gaining public attention in a mindless, chic way, right? Dance away, dullards called reel stars, and humanity has nothing to lose except glory n grandeur!

Quote of the day:                                                       "Vulgarity begins when imagination succumbs to the explicit," days Doris Day.

Word of the day: populism                                        Vulgar populism, often characterized by "flaunting the low," uses coarse language, bad manners, and anti-elite rhetoric to bypass the traditional culture. It relies on (melo)dramatic, often offensive, performances to differentiate the loud from the conventional, polite, discreet cultural praxis. It creates a direct connect with the majority/mob as the loud message conveyed is often simplistic, sentimental, and often vulgar.

Solution(s)

 The Mumbai traffic may not be as chaotic as the Pune traffic. In Mumbai, says everyone, drivers and riders follow the lanes. In Pune, however, discipline is something most all forget while on road. People jump signals, cut lanes, and all simultaneously want to go in all directions at smaller crossroads/intersections where there is neither a signal nor a traffic constable controlling the traffic. 

What could be the solution(s) to the traffic woes in Pune? One of the toughest problems when it comes to Pune traffic is that the nodal roads in Pune are narrow, and possibly cannot be widened. Let me give a concrete example. Look at the Tilak Road. 

One of the toughest roads to navigate is this narrow strech which cannot possibly be widened. There are any number of schools and colleges all along the route, beginning from the Abhinav Kala  College near Madiwale Colony to the New English School on one side of the road as it intersects with a lane from from the Shastri Road. 

If this simple solution, road widening, is out of question, what are the other solutions? Many many more tunnels, ring roads, two/three tier fly-overs? 

May be, the best solution would be improving the public transport. The metro, for instance, clean, on time and not expensive does have a good response, right? Even the A/C buses are preferred.

Even then, these are the dressings on the wound, right? The real problem lies in controlling the private vehicles, right? When loans are easily available and the interest rates, unlike the FD rates, are not dismal, citizens' apparent buying power knows no limits. Literally lakhs of new vehicles enter the market each year!

They say, In Pune, the number of vehicles is more than the number of citizens which, too, grows exponentially, given the internal migration from interior Maharashtra such as the Khandesh, Marathwada and Vidharbha regions.

May be, the real solution is de-urbanisation. Major industries should reach far and out, beyond the Mumbai-Navi Mumbai-Pune belt. Existing local industries in those cities/towns should be supported. Agriculture, despite all possible problems since P. Sainath listed them in the nineties, needs continued support. Such are the real solutions which are being taken up on war footing, I am absolutely sure.

Pratima@ The mindset needs a change, too. The officials must, for instance, complete all the monsoon preparations  before June. If citizens refuse to use the public transport because it is not exactly convenient, and connecting buses/autos are not easily accessible for a metro, for instance,  such solutions could be be made available with a 'win win' approach. What say?

Quote of the day:                                                        "Every problem has in it the seeds of its solutions," says P.V. Neale.

Word of the day: Decongestion                               Decongestion refers to the process of making a place less full of traffic and/or people. London, Paris, New York and other such mega-metro cities decongest by charging a heavy tax for private vehicles in the central part(s), it seems.  Fines for traffic rules' violations are very heavy, too, apparently. 

Grumpy n ole Mr. Trump?

 Mr. Trump! An ole grump he may appear to be. There are namesake old movies called 'Mr. Grump' which laugh at a pair of extremely old neighbours. These two do not at all think, but forever act n talk. Since it is a movie or two, their crazy old capers do not harm. Instead we laugh at their childish crankiness in the reels.

I refuse to believe that the Mr. Trump our real world is currently afflicted with (at present with a much pre-decided pause, worth it though!) is one such eccentric. Do not you believe me? Well, it seems, like a good director (remember, he was in to show business in a big way?), he even wrote the message the Pakistan P. M. was to share with the whole wide world. Of course, our dear old neighbour being what he is, he copy-pasted the draft, making a clown of himself in front of the whole world! 

Does not it, however, show what a smarty pants Ole Donald is? I refuse to believe silly tirades written by extremely narcissistic intellectuals getting old who revel in the clap-clap-clap from their respective echo chambers. Such people would viciously attack you if you just dare to ask them about a title they wrongly quoted or to question their current pet peeve. But they would call Trump brainless megalomaniac!

I do not think Mr.Trump is an old fool publically peeing in his diapers as such public intellectuals paint him to be. In my opinion, he is a shrewd businessman who knows very well how to negotiate, nay, manipulate, a transaction to his advantage!

Sure, a leader (especially THE so-called 'Potus') should be a statesman. That is the idea(l). Reality, as we know too very well, however, is vastly different! Look at any of the major events in the Trump regime so far. He has always behaved like a wily shrewd businessman which he basically, anyways, is. 

Remember how he negotiated the Nobel Peace prize? The exchange rate with the current winnie (better term for the lady!) was the raided Venezuela-n president and his wife whose whereabouts are currently in some deep vault, right? 

Remember how he threw a terrible feat when the Ukraine president did not accept his terms and conditions? Yes, there IS a method in his so-called madness. He is treating (body) politic(s) as  a trade deal! Often such business moguls throw a mock tantrum to get the other side of the negotiating table accede to their terms and conditions. 

Ancient civilizations, however, have their own stipulations! Yet, for the sake of all children of all gods (and, not only for the children of Iran and Palestine as sensitive intellectuals would have it!), let us all hope n pray, the Americans would think beyond the mid-term elections, and Iran (and all its terrorist cohorts) beyond the non-existent uranium well-hidden in the tunnels where the U. S. army searched for one lone pilot! 

Oh, Lord, forgive not all pretences, because all of these pretenders know very well what they are doing, however much they may give it big big and cute sounding sweet names!

Pratima@ Just as the Iran war makes my eyes well with tears for children there who are now playing "funeral, funeral", equally heavily does my heart twist for all the Indian migrant labourers in the entire Middle East  (and their families back home here) who have to hold on to small time jobs despite the terrible war conditions.                                                      Imagine the plight of a mother, a sister, a wife or a daughter (and also all the male counterparts in the family) when they watch on the television the pyrotechnics of the most modern warfare, without a word about what exactly is then happening to their near and dear one in those far away war-infested lands! 

Quotes n words of the day:                                      "I hate war as only a soldier who has lived it can, only as one who has seen its brutality, its futility, its stupidity." — Dwight D. Eisenhower

"War is so unjust and ugly that all who wage it must try to stifle the voice of conscience within themselves." — Leo Tolstoy 

"When the rich wage war, it is the poor who die." — Jean-Paul Sartre

"A nation does not have to be cruel to be tough." — Anonymous

"War is often decided by those in power, but fought by the powerless." ---Anonymous

Health is all

 'King Lear', Shakespeare's most tragic play full of all possible human sufferings, ends with 'ripeness is all'.  The title of our blog today is a take on this quote. On this World Health Day, our blog believes, moreover, that a ripe, that is, a mature, look at health is all. 

What is health? Is it a gym-trained/toned bod? Yes and no. Well, such a body most often is all muscle n no mind, protein packed, and more a mere show-off. 

Better hence might be alternative therapies for health such as yoga. Yoga, for instance, believes in a balance of body and mind. By no means are yoga asanas mere physical exercises. Supplemented they are by a particular food and supported they are by pranayama, the breath control, though not merely the fab, trendy way which the market, especially overseas, has popularised it as.

Health is in a way closely associated with the soul. Such inner fulfilment depends on better relationships, especially with the self, overlooked most often in our era of selfies and group-fies and in the obsession with the MNC driven life style full of monies and stress to be avoided through good company and better life style. 

I am not sure though that the soul is thus satisfied. It needs a close connect with nature, with creativity, with some larger purpose, with one's duties to self and to others, especially the immediate family, often taken for granted, and for a ride. 

In other words, health is not merely eating an apple a day so as to keep away the medical fraternity, often now sold to corporate packages, heavy duty latest gadgets, et al. Missing is the friendly touch of the family doctor whose very presence half healed the patient. 

What is health then? Often the best answer would be the Vaidic negation which asserts,  "naiti, naiti, naiti," "n iti!", not this, in brief. Is health wellness, though that, too, is a marketing funda! Health is not mere humour, not mere 'happiness'. Is it stress management, despite and especially during the AI-driven days! Anxieties, worries, stress, potions n tablets! What indeed is health? Faith? Of what sort? Oh, yes, better avoid this 'baba', that 'buwa' and some sect! Soiled superstitions sullying souls!

i suppose, health is getting to know better one's self, body, mind, soul, togetherness-es, responsibilities to self and others. I think, health is realising that given the end of it all, that is, death, which could be so near n not very far, living the limited breaths allotted to us most creatively, joyously, and in fullness. What say?

Pratima@Health in fact is the only wealth. So Seneca asserted ages ago.

Quote of the day:                                                         "Your body hears everything your mind says,”  explains Naomi Judd.

Word of the day: health                                                 According to the World Health Organization,  health is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, not merely the absence of disease, focusing on active, functional living. Maintaining good health involves a balanced diet, regular exercise, adequate rest, and strong social connections. It is a vital resource for everyday life, promoting longevity and the ability to manage stress. 

Brain Matters

   A.C. Doyle whose excellent creation, Sherlock Holmes whom most all love, was himself a doctor. Hence the quote "I am a brain, Watson. The rest of me is mere appendix" is not a mere stylistic smart. In a way, it is the nutshell truth about human existence. 

Yes, brain matters, and the most. Only when the brain is dead is an individual taken off all life support. Hence this blog post about brain matters. We are going to briefly look at epilepsy, autism and Down's Syndrome because such awareness is necessary. This is the Autism Awareness week, while very recently was celebrated the world epilepsy day. 

Why these dis-eases? Certain causes are known, while more are being explored still. Epilepsy, a neurological disorder, is in a way an off-shoot of excessive electrical discharges in the brain cells. Often caused due to traumatic head injury, especially during very early childhood, such as the baby falling off the bed/cradle, like the other two, the cause could be perinatal  as well.

The perinatal condition refers to the temporary lack of oxygen supply to the baby's brain during the birth process. Autism and Down's Syndrome are often associated with genetic issues, too. Autism, for example, is caused by the 'fragile X syndrome', while Down's Syndrome is the result of an extra copy of Chromosome 21. 

The mother's age and health matter, too. Late pregnancy, shooting blood pressure and/or diabetes during pregnancy, infections during pregnancy are often cited as possible causes behind these dis-eases.

Where lies the cure? I suppose, first and foremost, in calmly accepting the reality. Luckily, these days, there are very few families, at least in cities, who would associate such conditions with a curse or divine anger, et al. Yes, the much debated urbanisation can occasionally be actually good, right?!? 

Moderate exercise, balanced diet, home-cooked food, regular dosage of required medication are the base of the therapy. A person with epilepsy can lead an extremely normal life, especially by avoiding the triggers. As for autism and the DS, some light professional training which can keep the lifelong patient permanently but easily occupied is necessary.

Similarly, parents must take clear cognizance of who would look after them during their adulthood, especially after the parents themselves are no more. When I wrote an article on  the DS and autism for the 'New Indian Express', I visited an institution which, on the lines of the old age home, took care of such adults who were thus provided with all basic amenities and necessities, including some light occupation. The Director of this institute was insistent that parents clearly write their will!

Necessary, I suppose, given the heartless world without soul where even the so-called normal are not treated decently! At times, the autism and DS patients might have a gift for a particular vocation. Here is hoping that it is detected and supported soon!

Pratima@ It is common knowledge these days that there are multiple intelligences. May be, if a person has better spatial/visual/auditory/kinetic intelligence, hope it is recognised and supported at the earliest, which might change the very direction  of many lives.

Quote of the day:                                                           "Brain health is not a destination, but a process. How you drive matters, not where you are going," says Noam Shpancev.

Word of the day: brain                                              The brain is the complex, three-pound master organ of the central nervous system that controls all body functions, emotions, and thoughts. The brain is encased in the skull and  is protected by membranes called meninges, which are bathed in cerebrospinal fluid. 

The brain comprises the cerebrum (cognition/motion), cerebellum (balance/coordination), and brainstem (involuntary functions), acting as a central processor for sensory input which leads to cognition, thought, sensory processing and motor control which initiates voluntary movement and coordinates balance. The main cause behind human behavior and emotions, often it is compared with a computer.

Sacrificial Goat!

  Yes, I do know the term is "sacrificial lamb". There is a lovely description of this "divine"(!) spectacle in Keats' "Ode on a Grecian Urn". Yet what our blog is today going to discuss hardly deserves the sanctity traditionally associated with the sacrificial lamb. Anyways, personally, I am absolutely against any animal sacrifice. 

Yet the horror we are going to discuss needs the term. Hence the title. Actually, I do know that these poor animals are very sensitive. Just behind our backyard, in the chawl, stayed a family who kept a goat. I used to feed the kid banana, and all other such extremely edible, leaves from our garden. He used to recognise my voice from some fifteen feet away. On the day before Eid, he knew instinctively what was going to happen to him. 

He was fed some soporific. Till he could keep his eyes open, he kept on staring at me, and chewing the banana leaves as cud. I was ready to buy him off from the owner, and give him total freedom in a forest. My Muslim colleague felt that such a move would cause a communal riot. So I had to keep quiet, though I almost cried my eyes out. 

Next year, that family got a nanny goat who had three kids, and she was herself a little lame. She would complain to me, creating a huge ruckus if any one of her kids was taken away from her sight. I had to console her not to worry, and that all was well. Believe me, she would whimper, but calm down. In brief, my sympathies are with any/every goat, gender/age being no bar.

Yet I am going to use that expression, given the theme of our blog today. Yes, let us discuss the sordid saga of Kharat. No, I have not watched any of the videos. I possibly cannot even imagine watching any such trash. 

Yet every newspaper, each YouTube has the gory deeds in sordid details. Why, our own C.M., otherwise a genuinely sensible man, mentioned Kharat's horrific activities in graphic details, it seems, in the Vidhan Sabha, from whence it jumped even on to college campuses where students' language is anyways awful, full of ugly expletives, and so on. Remember the theme of our blog yesterday? 

Well, to come back to that horror called Kharat, based on what is reported, I feel that currently he is used as the sacrificial goat so that everybody else involved can appear squeaky clean. 

Let us begin with women. Even a virgin has an intuitive inkling when a man is "thinking" in an ugly way about her. In Kharat's case, the so-called victims are all much married women with children. Tough to believe their "sixth sense" did not warn them. How come none of them reported to their families about some ugly drink?

I refuse to believe that they could not tell their families/husbands. These very wives and daughters-in-law would fight their throats hoarse/dry over minor most issues! True, there might have been hypnotism. Yet why would they return to such an ugly place the nth time? Is it the case that they, too, wanted all the benefits, and hence had a silent, subtle approval of/agreement with the entire process? 

Look at the VIP's. Sure just a pic cannot incriminate anyone, especially in the AI era today which makes any "photoshop" blush, given its 're-creation-al' abilities! Yet how could very many ministers, given the reach and the power they have, not know that weirdo? After such knowledge, what faith!?! 

Hence the niggling doubt that ALL involved were perfectly aware of what they were participating in. They most probably wanted to reap the benefits of such horror rituals. Now that all is exposed, to prove themselves clean, they are pretending innocence! 

Hence that awful godman(!!!) appears to be a sacrificial goat, conveniently carrying all the blame! Given the staggering financial deals, tough it is to believe that the involved were not aware of all the murky muck. 

That social eye sore, Kharat, is like the Walya figure whom Narada meets in the forest! His wife has reportedly run away, all the mean and mighty have deserted him, all his former devotees darken his reputation. All behave as if all of them, at least in their late twenties, were innocence personified whom the wicked wretch worked in! 

No, absolutely NO sympathies for the crook. Yet this is just to wonder at the hypocrisy and the washing off hands of all the involved. Hence the title of our blog!

Pratima@ 'A saint till caught' seems to be the mantra of such goings-on. Is it the work of superstition? Tough to believe! Generally, the rural folks are street smart when it comes to the ways of the world! They have quite some time on their hand to gossip about the goings-on, imaginary and/or real. I do have hence the suspicion that ALL the involved knew what was up, willingly joined in, and now that all that trash has spilled over out in public, they are pretending to be victims! Hence the title of the blog! 

Quote of the day:                                                         'Better not to play a victim to the circumstances you yourself created!'                                           Based on an Instragram post quoted on the Google. 

Word of the day: fake                                                  Fake refers to something not genuine, intended to deceive by imitating something real, or the act of simulating/forging something. It covers counterfeit objects (e.g., fake art), fraudulent actions (e.g., faking a signature), and bogus imposters like Kharat and his sham followers. 

Whose fault at all?

 My lecture was on. Some sixty to seventy students. Not a bad number at all, especially in the second semester. I was teaching a poem. Somebody banged on the door hard. Furious, she was fuming. Some parent. Her very style, disturbing thus an on-going lecture, told a lot about her, even if she must have been so egged on by someone. 

I told her to wait it out for five minutes more, as the lecture would get over then. Most reluctantly she agreed. After the lecture, I found out that she felt her son should get more marks. I chose to show her his answer sheet. 

Then she burst out, "Oh, with such a paper, I would have given him minus marks." Next I showed her the attendance sheets. His was nil. Then she whimpered once. Almost in tears, she said, "He leaves home for college. Where all I can keep an eye?" Next she blamed the poor husband whose plight one could understand, given her behaviour. 

Somehow I consoled her, asking her to send her son to meet me. He came, and actually said that he was so glad that his mom told him that his English teacher told her not to scold him. I asked him to appear for the re-exam, guided him about how to prepare for the exam. So the chapter, designed to surefire trap me, ended quite satisfactorily for me. 

Ever since I have repeatedly thought about who is possibly responsible for students' failure? Mothers who tell sons it is okay, nay, fun, to mock, ridicule, insult elders just because they are not hi-fi fashionable? Mothers who tell sons that Standard XI is for fun and enjoyment? If the base is weak, how would the studies progress at all, right? 

Mothers who egg on sons to be 'modern' and indulge in drinking, doing drugs, speeding, being 'friendly' with girls? Mothers who quite openly support their sons' baiting? Mothers who do not stop sons from forming bad friendship, instead, stupidly encourage it under the garb of 'openness'?

Who would harness such negative energy? Such kind of 'modern', 'liberated' women are so drunk on 'they alone, topmost, besides them, their parental household, being RIGHT' that the husband and his family have no other alternative but to keep quiet because anyways, the conveniently over-indulgent woman would not listen, instead would stage a full scale drama? 

Whose fault it is indeed when futures are thus darkened? Like not upskilling oneself these days, even when the whole world is chattering about job loss otherwise! Felt it necessary to pen it all because yesterday had the misfortune of meeting a student who had a terrible accident due to over-speeding, obviously under the influence of we all know what! 

Pratima@ Remembered yet again the story of the thief who in an open court bit his mother's ear as she had indulgently laughed at his erstwhile 'simple, simple' misadventures!!! 

Quote of the day:                                                           "What a mother sings to the cradle goes all the way down to the coffin, " says Henry Ward Beecher. 

Word of the day: Discipline                                       Discipline is the practice of training oneself or others to obey rules, maintain order, and follow a structured approach to achieve goals, thus enabling consistency, self-control, and the overcoming of procrastination. Actually, it is a form of self-love, and is essential for personal, professional, and academic success. 

And so he plays his part

  Everybody, I am sure, without exception, would place the line that makes the title of our blog today. Yes, it is penned by Shakespeare. It is from Act II, Scene VI of "As you like it". "Why should everyone know it? We are not in to English Literature." Is that your defense? Very weak, let me you tell you, because there are certain texts from the field of Eng Lit that trail you like a shadow.

The best two examples of such forever texts that haunt you throughout your school/college days are "Daffodils" by William Wordsworth and "All the world is a stage" by William Shakespeare. You meet them repeatedly in your scholastic career; in fact, so often that once one of my PG students asked me most innocently if Wordsworth wrote only one poem. 

Shakespeare was saved from such embarassing reductionism because I was teaching "Elizabethan Literature" to her batch. Well, you know how teachers of literature after all are. She got an earful of a detailed demo of how the same text would yield different meanings at different 'stages'. Sure the passionate exposition must have entered that space between the two ears because, thereafter, she never bunked a single lecture. 

Well, that oft anthologised Shakespearean excerpt describes the fifth stage, the justice or the judge, which ends with the line that is our title today. This specimen has 'a fair round belly.' It is 'lined with good capon' which is a wonderful comment on his total corruption, despite 'the eyes severe' and 'wise saws' and 'modern instances' which is a superb mock at his hypocrisy. 

Why remember all that jazz today? Have not we suffered enough during our school/college days? Are these your queries? Well, the Shakespearean judge/justice always reminds me of Pontius Pilate who, despite knowing the rank lies, ordered Jesus to be crucified, and that, too, between two criminals, two thieves. He conveniently justified himself, too, as somebody who thus avoided a riot that was not to be!

In my opinion, a Pontius Pilate always hides inside most human hearts. Whenever we overlook, ignore, avoid the obvious truth, be it a minor instance or a major issue, the Pontius Pilate in us overpowers the innocent cleanliness in us with "modern saws", the brazen half-truths, lies and self-justifications, and so much so that the only assertion/prayer possible, absolutely unlike Jesus', is " forgive  not, Oh, Lord, such all" because "they perfectly very well know what they are doing"! 

Pratima@ The Good Friday is as much about how to be angelic like Jesus, as it is subtly about how not to be a Pontius Pilate because it kills all that is human(e) in hearts! 

Quote of the day:                                                          "No guilt is forgotten so long as the conscience still knows of it," asserted Stefan Zweig, one of the greatest authors of the twentieth century. 

Word of the day: sanctity                                        Sanctity refers to the state of being  sacred, or inviolable, often implying supreme importance or worth and immense respect. 

A Distinct Interpretation of the Heavenly Hanuman

 Chaitra Pournima is unique for us, the Hindu's. It is centrally significant for both, the Dutt disciples and the Hanuman devotees. As the occasion is thus doubly important, and as typical interpretations are aplenty, let us try something different, distinct, distinguished. 

Let us today briefly discuss "El mono gramático", a 1970 Spanish prose-poem cum reflections on literature, language, meaning making among other such issues important for creative analysis and criticism. It is written by Octavio Paz. He wrote it when he was the Mexican ambassador to India.

In a way, it has aspects of the travelogue genre. Paz describes his journey to Galta, a city near Jaipur, which has ruins of ancient temples, with lots of monkeys around. Thence he takes a mental flight to Hanuman's mythic leap to Lanka.

What begins as an exploration of space, time, decay and permanence/fixity, becomes a deep look at language, too. Is language a god given structure, signified in this text by Hanuman?

In this prose-poem, Hanuman is presented as the ninth grammarian, a master of language, a bridge between the "shashtras"  that is, the sacred scriptures and the unprocessed, non-refined thought.

In other words, Hanuman creates order out of chaos. Yet, given the meandering monkeys in Galta, unmistakable is the fact that once upon a time, at least in his childhood days, he was a mere monkey, too, wildly jumping from branch to tree. Using this as a metaphor, Paz wonders if language is the rigid grammar (Hanuman) or the (simian) wild, free, meaning making activity. Thus he proceeds to his core idea of how to make meaning, how to create a poem, a literary text. 

Interesting ideas! Hence i thought, i would try n present them in brief. Hope your mental wheels have started whirring at the supersonic speed at which Hanuman flew and burnt everything throughout the golden Lanka, the symbol of rigid egotism. Thus let us re-turn to the religious layer of meaning making. Happy Chaitra Pournima!

Pratima@ On this Pournima day, Pune was literally pulversied by torrential rains that lasted for almost an hour. Absolutely MAD rains here! Simply unbelievable!! Just lashing the cityscape!!! Horrible thunder and lightning!!!! Many roads turned to rivers, many low lying areas in to temporary lakes!!!!!

Aai would have been terribly frightened. She did not exactly like thunder and lightening, phenomena which i absolutely adore. She used to find monkey-ish my capers to watch the thunder and lightening.

Once, after conducting a PG lecture, I had walked back home through such a storm. When I presented to her my grand adventures of walking through the rain-dimmed vast expanse of the institute ground, she felt worried, and described the lightening in the rural areas, and was agitated by the possible dangers.                                                                                                 Sweet sentimentality of a loving mother, much missed!

Quote of the day:                                                           "I always like walking in the rain. No one can then see me crying," states Charlie Chaplin.

Word of the day: Criticism                                        Criticism, says the dictionary, is the act of evaluating, analyzing, or expressing judgment on the merits and faults of someone or something, ranging from constructive, improvement-oriented feedback to negative fault-finding. It is essential for artistic, literary, and intellectual discourse, focusing on providing reasoned judgment, interpretation, and analysis. 

As you treat others...

 Reciprocity is the base of all relationships. If you knowingly and constantly, and without any valid reason, except your own mean jealousy, cupidity and/or cruelty, ill-treat, insult, humiliate an innocent person who has not harmed you in any way, who has instead tried level best to humour you, to adjust with you, even to honour you, what would happen in the long run? 

Such a person would avoid you like the plague or corona itself, right? Let me give you a few example. Suppose you constantly harass a woman who NEVER was, is NOT and WILL never be interested in you, do you think she will like you because you ill-treat her, insult her, harass her by spreading vicious nonsense about her?

Suppose somebody suffers the misfortune of being related to you! You eternally humiliate such a person knowingly but subtly. Let me give a few wicked examples. You throw food at her. You throw a chapatti in her plate. As if she is a beggar. Such cruel behaviour is something what a loving master would not do to a pet! If at all you give a gift, you demean the person by consciously choosing something of a lower value, of a cheaper price, unlike the gifts you give your favourites, 

The person never ever comes empty-handed to your place (Difficult to call it home!). You knowingly let the gift go waste, or, right in the sight of the person, give it to your maidservant. If the person has the misfortune of being related to you and is trying to continue the status quo for the sake of the family feel, you train/brainwash your childish brainless aged offsprings to humiliate the person in subtle yet obvious ways.

Just because the person is superior to you in every possible way, you spread nasty rumours, you gossip in mean ways, you consciously ignore every success of the person you hate for no rhyme no reason, while praising to skies some extremely ordinary achievement of your favourite(s). Very knowingly, very subtly, very viciously, you target and alienate the person.

What would happen sooner or later? First and foremost, the person would start avoiding you, as peace matters more to such people than sick confrontations with shallow people who are knowingly mean, and would never accept their conscious mean activities, even if concrete proof were provided. Such a victim is, moreover, wise enough with a better perspective to know that there have been vicious cruelties on a huge scale such as the Holocaust or the Partition.

Fair is yet the fact that somehow there is in the entire universe a sense of justice. Even if your unfortunate victim chooses to ignore your conscious viciousness, somewhere, somehow, it is registered, and you would have to pay for it personally! Why, even at non-universal, human level, international tribunes try to committ themselves to justice.

Reciprocity sure works at the universal level. Harass, harm, hurt a person who has the misfortune of being related to you personally and/or profesionally, it bounces back at you, and zillion times more! 

Pratima@ There is another interesting version of such phenomena. There are authors who want every line of trash they dish out to be read and praised to skies, while they would never read nor praise a word by others.

Similarly, I had a colleague, a Head of the Department, who would always grandly talk of justice. When it, however, came to actual help in small or big ways, even to students, her actual actions would speak the lowest. Why such duplicities?                                                             Respect and get respected!

Quote of the day:                                                         "There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest," asserts Elie Wiesel.

Word of the day: Reciprocity                                    Reciprocity is the practice of exchanging goods, services, or social gestures for mutual benefit, based specifically on the principle of returning kindness, favors, or obligations. It is a fundamental social mechanism fostering cooperation, obligation, and fairness, specially and frequently used to build trust in relationships, international relations, and in business related activities such as marketing. 

The End of what once was supposed to be a beginning!

 March 31, 2026! Indeed a special day in Indian history as, on this day, finally and formally was declared the end of Naxalism. The dooms day of the "Red Terror", in brief, happens to be the historic March 31, the dawn of the new, f(r)ought financial year.

At this stage, let us not get in to the ideological warfare. Instead, let us look at a cinematic and a literary re-presentation of the issue to understand the subtle human(e) resonances. 

Let us begin with Gulzar's debut as a director, his early seventies' film "Mere Apne", a Hindi remake of Tapan Sinha's Bengali film, based on a Bengali short story. 

"Mere Apne" deals with the angst of a defeated idealist who dreamt of justice, fairness, equality for all. In a way, he had found the then nascent Naxalbari Movement as a mode of liberation from oppressive forces of all sorts.

Instead his naive faith gets him, an intelligent scholar who could have made something of his life, to descend down to the lowly status of a street corner gang leader. As he watches his idea(l)s getting eroded by the corrosive system, the director shows through him the fall from grace of an entire generation who lost not just the soul but also almost all to Naxalbari and its askew ideals. 

Mahashweta Devi's short story "Draupadi" shows that the Naxalite Movement not only gobbled up its own children, but it also victimised the status quo by making it brutal beyond belief.  Translated in to limpid English by Gayatri Chakravorty-Spivak who used it to raise the problem of the subaltern voice, the story stands the Mahabharata tale of 'Draupadi Chirharan' on its head. 

Dopdi Mehajen, whose attempt to help her tribal people, gets her brutally violated by the police force chasing her, has no hopes of a mythical help. Instead, she uses her tattered femininity, her traumatised body to taunt the perpetrators. 

Art, in brief, be it film, be it literature, brings in to sharp focus the twisted complexities, the ugly underbellies, the lived realities underlying the ideological slogans. If we want to completely understand this end of what once supposed to be a beginning, better to read more and more of such literary texts, watch many more films detailing such delusions! 

Pratima@ In Aai's memory, we have floated a short story competition. It is annual. The theme in its initial year was "parents". The first prize went to a story by a tribal author from the Nagpur-Gadchiroli belt. His story dealt with the disillusioned return of a tribal youth who had converted to the Naxalite cadre. The story was a moving analysis of how and why the boy decided to return to the mainstream. 

Quote of the day:                                                         Says Salman Rushdie, "Literature is where I go to explore the highest and lowest places in human society and in the human spirit, where I hope to find not absolute truth but the truth of the tale, of the imagination and of the heart."

Word of the day: Naxalbari Movement                Today was declared the formal end of the Naxalbari Movement. It was a 1967 armed peasant uprising in Naxalbari, West Bengal. It was led by Charu Majumdar, Kanu Sanyal, and Jangal Santhal. Emerging from a CPI(M) faction, it targeted landlordism and land dispossession, sparking a prolonged, radical movement known as Naxalism. It spread to various states, becoming a significant Left-Wing Extremism, its urban variant, et al, in brief, a circular cause n effect challenge to the status quo, peace, development and progress. 

Let us laugh at war!

  Sure, war is no laughing matter. Yes, indeed! Yet, at times, one feels, the warlords may take themselves a little less seriously if they were to know that they are laughed at despite blowing billions in to thin air. Hence these jokes! 

1) For a change!                                                           An Irani submarine captain is asked: “If you see in your periscope an American and an Israeli destroyer, which one would you attack first?”

“Of course, the American one,” the captain answers, “Duty always comes before pleasure.”

2) The Perfect Murder.                                        The grandson asked his Grandpa, "Papy, did you murder anyone during the war?" 

"Possibly, Son. You know, I was appointed as the cook of our unit " 

3) The word play 

Why did the tank break up with the jeep? 

It needed more armor in the relationship.

4) Growth

Why does the military plant trees every year?

To grow the infant tree.

5) A real soldier! 

Why was the sergeant mad when his son brought home a 100 on 100 on a math test?

The kid spent more time dividing than conquering.

Pratima@ Laughter is indeed the best medicine! 

Quote of the day:                                                           "I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones," asserts Albert Einstein. 

Word of the day: battle                                             A battle is a violent, large-scale fight between armed forces or a long, intense struggle, contest, or dispute. 

Prejudice

   Prejudices govern our wor(l)ds. Want proof? Okay. Look at buffaloes. Actually, except for the super senior citizens and the super junior babies below twelve months, rest all depend on the buffalo milk, thick, fat enriched, adding a creamy layer and taste to your tea or coffee, which the comparatively thinner cow milk, despite all its medicinal value, can never manage. 

Yet, none respect the buffaloes. They appear too large, too dull, too lazy to be liked. Often they seem to plomp down in water, chewing the grass endlessly, with the most vacant stare, emptiest eyes. 'Bovine' is the adjective used to describe them, or the so-called dull in the human world. 

Neither is their colour or hide designed to endear them to a world sold on external beauty. Unlike the does with the golden spotted hide or the cows with milky white to pale amber hides, buffaloes are always jet black, and with a thick rubbery hide. Hence all the prejudices against them. 

Their habits/habitats are not much to write home about either. Most Indian buffaloes are water buffaloes. They use mud wallows to cool their almost hairless, highly sensitive skin. This behavior protects them from insects and the harsh sun, making them ideally adapted to marshy, tropical climate conditions.

Actually, they are very supportive animals. Look at the birds who feed off the insects on/around a buffalo. Compared to the huge size of the buffalo, they are tiny. Has anyone ever heard though about a buffalo (herd) stamping the birds (to death)? 

The herd seems to have a cozy togetherness. They entirely on their own seem to return to the shed, which shows intelligent communication and a very strong sense of smell.

 In brief, this bestie of a farmer/milkman may look out of fashion forever. Yet, actually, she is the most 'in' animal, quiet, gentle, dependable!

Pratima@A buffalo is not lazy. It is the physique that requires those ritual mud baths, absolutely healthy for them, unlike the excessively health conscious amongst the urban elite who, too, love mud baths, supposedly medicinal!

Quote of the day:                                            "Prejudice is the child of ignorance," argued William Hazlitt

Word of the day: Prejudice                                       Prejudice is an unjustified, typically negative attitude, belief, or feeling toward an individual or group, formed beforehand,  based on inadequate knowledge. It often stems from stereotyping. 

Rahul, Madhu and a Committed, Conscientious Citizen

  I have never ever liked the name, Rahul, dominant in the natty nineties' Bollywood bonanzas. Nor was I much taken by that "over acting ki dukan" who mostly impersonated this namesake on the screen, however much most all drooled over him. 

My irrational prejudice against the very name cemented in to a certainty when RaGa, as he is fondly nicknamed, walked in to a press conference, and tore to pieces an ordinance the Prime Minister of his own party had legally and formally passed with his cabinet. 

Not only did I respect Dr. Man Mohan Singh a lot, but, moreover, I also disliked the princely arrogance of Rahul. People started dismissing him after the doomed interview with Arnab Goswami. For me, it was, however, that terrible press conference which humiliated a prime minister while on a foreign tour in his alma mater, a senior citizen, a scholar who had been heaped with all the blame of others' wrong-doings. 

Rahul's later antics -- such as winking, hugging, blowing kisses in the Parliament where he dressed, talked most inappropriately, raised irrelevant issues, wasted days over books which had only the cover without the pages inside, and so on -- were not exactly endearing, however much his b(r)and of "andh bhakt'' tried to market him. Nor did it augur well that all the good people from his party, except Dr. Tharoor, left the grand old party! 

If that is the saga of the political leader who disappointed a committed, conscientious citizen, the Madhu Kishwar version shows the tragedy of the intellectual in the public space. 

I was in my early twenties, and a struggling author (That status  is yet to change!!!). My poem "Lopamudra" was published in "Manushi", though I did not have nary a connection in Delhi. It was liked a lot, too. Yes, I was happy that  "Manushi" of Madhu Kishwar found my poem worth a print. 

Much later, I met Madhu Kishwar herself in a seminar. Despite her fame and name, she came across as a warm person  whose feminism appeared a brand of theory tempered with the indigenous realities.

Hence the unhappy feel now. Lucky, I am not on Twitter, et al. Yet Youtuber after Youtuber would discuss her tirade against the présent prime minister. What surprises me is the timing. 

Why is she opening up a Pandora's box, which demeans her own self as a "padjiwi"; someone who wanted some political leverage not granted to her, and hence is descending down to character assassination!?! It hurts to see her so (p)resented.

If she all along knew all those ugly realities, why did she keep quiet all these years? Why did/does she not go to court with solid proof? Why the '(s)hoot n scoot' policy which hardly suits an intellectual? Or is she indeed playing a pawn cum king maker in the internal politics of the one-up-man-ship in the BJP, as say most Youtubers, which is ultimately demeaning to an intellectual.

Much worse, why is a feminist weaponising a woman's femininity? Why present a woman as a sexual toy? Is not it the typical capitalist attitude to women's work? Why must a woman's achievement always be "bed"-ridden!!?!! 

I, too, had niggling doubts about the "education minister" whom Madhuji apparently  attacks indirectly. Even the men ministers whom she preceded raised many eyebrows when they were appointed, right?

Yet, in a very straightforward, rather naive, way, I, however, thought that the party wanted a heavyweight (given her Amethi performance) who would unquestioningly toe their line. As it is, most unfortunately, education is not exactly on the top priorities list of governments.

Yet I have no qualms in openly admitting that academics has changed hugely post 2014. Surely, the NEP needs fine tuning. Without doubt though, it IS a sea change. Similarly, only post 2014, can a J. Sai Deepak, a Vikram Sampat, a Meenakshi Jain, a Dr Ranganathan, and many many others of their ilk assert their much deserved space in the academic arena. Hence the unhappy feel about the ugly spat!

Much worse, it shakes the common man's much damaged faith in politics, which is the worst to happen in a democracy. I have other worries though. With a third world war hanging over our heads like the Damocles' sword, if such gossip leads to either the coalition tensions, can we afford yet another election, and its uncertain aftermaths? 

Yet another disturbing doubt! Is this yet another trap by the 'deep state' types? Given the current tough times, some Gen on the roads is hardly the need of the hour! Hope the BJP upfront addresses the issue. Much, too much, is at stake!

Pratima@ A career politician may have his own compulsions. Should an intellectual "miss"-re-present realities? That is the question!

Quote of the day:                                                            Says Janis Joplin, "being an intellectual creates lots of questions, with very few answers." 

Word of the day: Intellectual                                     Intellectual refers to the ability to think, understand, and reason at a high level, focusing on complex ideas, study, and logic rather than emotions by a person devoted to mental, academic, or creative pursuits. 

The Play is the Thing

 This quote from "Hamlet", which makes the title of our blog, ideally sums up the world theater day, celebrated each year on March 27. It was instituted in 1961 by the International Theater Institute. 

The quote is a play on the word 'play'. A play means the theater piece, 'drama' as typically it is understood/referred to. Such a play always abounds with reality in all its aspects, and thereby 'mirrors', to quote Hamlet again, reality. 

Often, in reality, we enact different roles in different spaces. 'A boss in an MNC is a cook and a maid at home', as was pointed out by Indira Nooyi, for instance. In addition, some people are so excellent at putting masks that their faces blur behind such screens. 

'A man may smile and smile, and be a villain', so observes  Hamlet. Such a veil, which made the exp(l)osive 'mousetrap' in the play within the play in 'Hamlet', is what the dramatic space opens up on the stage and in life with its 'seven stages'. 

Drama has always been central to life, and it everywhere. The liturgical rituals, full of spectacle, led to British drama, while the Greek theater, detailed human flaws and tragic destinies in the cosmic/'fatal' contexts.

Our very own theatrical tradition is as fabulous as it is diverse and varied. Our classical Sanskrit texts are so enriching that even an orientalist translation of Kalidasa's 'Shakuntalam' made Goethe dance ecstatically.  Our folk tradition is vibrant, too.

 A 'yakshagan' performance, a Kathakali  dance drama, a  'dashavtar' by the 'mandali's, the 'Ramlila', absolutely rich are the variants which so 'show' the epic stories thousand times told all over India that you see them yet again with dazzled eyes and enriched with enchanting ditties. Some proof is the Marathi Sangeet Natak.

Just as Aristotle in his 'Poetics' talks about hamartia and catharsis, our Bharat Muni in his 'Natya Shastra' talks of how a play creates the "Ras Anubhuti." The play, in brief, is indeed the thing.

In our times, when the mobile screen is downsizing the wor(l)d in to a cocoon of the "I, me, my" space, the theater with its famed 'fourth wall' sustains the community feeling, right? Hence the importance of this day dedicated to play!

Pratima@ Whenever I teach a play, I refuse to make it a mere script. I make students enact, at least orally, if not the full-fledged way, a few scenes. Thus come alive for them, I believe, the spaces and silences which sure would help their own communication, too!

Quote of the day:                                                          "Actors are agents of change. A film, a piece of theatre, a piece of music or a book can make a difference. It can change the world.” So states, the British actor and director, Alan Rickman the importance of drama.

Word of the day:                                                           'Drama' refers to the entire ouevre of an author, while a 'play' is an individual instance thereof. Shakespearean drama has plays such as 'Hamlet', 'Othello' and 'Macbeth', for example.

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 (sub)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 Jatindranath Das, popularly known as Jatin Das, 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. 

P.S.: Batukeshwar Duty's story is truly miserable. Will share it some other day.

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!

 Interested in appearing for the updated *TOEFL- ibt*? Or the *IELTS*? Or want to work on your Business English? Or want to appear for the internationally certifying CEFR examinations in-n-for *Spanish, German, French*? Or want to improve your basic hold over English? Better still, want to clear either the *SET* or the *NET/JRF (English Literature/ELT/Linguistics)*? Or  are you interested in *English  essay writing* for the UPSC? How about *English Literature*  as the special subject for the *UPSC Mains*? How about an *Intro to Sanskrit?* Yes, I do conduct workshops for specific goals such as the GDPI, Critical Thinking Development,  EQ Development, Soft Skills, Communication Skills, too. If you are *looking for customized/personalized, committed, effective, efficient and up-to-date  online/offline guidance either at the individual/institutional level,* please contact me at pratimagnihotri@gmail.com. You may message me directly at 8380946921. Yes, just as a P.S., let me add,  I am hugely interested in literary translations.

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.