Teachers' Day

 For many, this unique day often begins with a very basic question. Is it "teacher's day" or "teachers' day"? Believe me, this was once a query on a group of English teachers/lecturers!!! What does that mean? In my opinion, clearly it just means that we all better be students lifelong, right? 

Incidentally, given the information explosion currently, being a lifelong student is no longer a choice. It is almost a compulsion these days. Want me to clarify what I mean? Well, look at that (r)evolution called the AI! Literally, by the day, it teaches us to be newer, and, hopefully, better, versions of ourselves as the inescapable AI learners! 

Every learner needs a teacher. This teacher  can be your parents, your siblings, your school/college/university teachers, and, the best of all, your own self, right? Believe me, it can be the family pet, too. Who else can love so much for so little in return, right?

In brief, what does a teacher do?  To understand it, let us look at the etymology of the word. The term teacher, whether the roots lie in Middle/Old English stage or the Proto-Indo-Germanic family, means to point out, to show, to demonstrate, to facilitate. 

Yes, that is what a teacher does, shows you the way to make each second still simpler, sweeter, and smarter so that you feel better with-n-in the world and with your own self, right? Hence the importance of the day which, incidentally, is named as "Teachers' Day"!

Pratima@ Hence our prayer today is the traditional Vaidic injunction, "lead me from darkness to light, from falsehoods to truth, from the mortal to the immortal." 

Quote of the day:                                                           "I am not a teacher, but an awakener." Robert Frost insists, and I could not agree more! 

Word of the day: etymology                                      Etymology means the study of the origins and history of words and their meanings.

 

The real message

 A few minutes later, the actual muhurat, the exact minute of Krishna Janm, the birth of Lord Krishna, would be here with us. Why does Krishna matter so much to us? In my opinion, he is simply superb because he leaves the final decision, allows the real agency, to the individual. 

Never ever does he impose his will, even if/when it is divine, on anybody. Let me give you a few instances in his life to prove my point. Shishupal is unnecessarily ill-treating him, bad-mouthing him, maligning him, and constantly. Krishna does not retaliate, despite Shishupal's worst offences. His punishment, when it finally arrives, hence appears most deserved! 

Yet another example. Just before the inevitable war, which cannot be avoided despite his most humiliating offer on behalf of the Pandava's, both Duryodhan and Arjuna reach him for help. He asks them, allows them to choose. Arjuna chooses him, while Duryodhana prefers his huge army.

The best example of (t)his openness is at the end of the eighteenth chapter of the Bhagwad Geeta. The Lord has explained literally the entire existence, the whole universe, the very being/becoming to Arjuna, and yet he does not order Arjuna to choose any one of the paths he has explicated.

 The last word of the Lord in the Bhagwad Geeta is " yatha ichchsi, tatha kuru", that is, "do what you want, what you consider right, what you find worthy." Truly open, equal, democratic godhead is this Lord who, from his childhood days, could understand the down and out, a few examples thereof could be the Gowardhan Parvat incident, the Sudama story or the Draupadi drape.

Is it any wonder then that Sant Dnyaneshwar, born exactly on the same day at the same time, ends his great treatise with the "Pasaydan" which hopes that the wicked would lose their evil? He, too, understood the sufferings of the rejects of the establishment, whose victim he himself was.

In brief, the lives of such great souls has very many positive injunctions, which translate real well in current (management, too) lingo, and if (thus) followed, make our lives truly enriched!

Pratima@ May be, Vidyadhar Bapat, instead of trying to be another Dipke, should follow such divine examples regarding ownership of decision making and agency!                                It seems, his atheist, nay, nihilist opinions about doing away with the Wari and/or the Ganesh Utsav angered certain citizens. Even then beating up a person with a contrarian opinión is hardly the done thing. A thought can be countered only through contradicting it thoughtfully, through offering efficiently the contrary opinion!

Quote of the day:                                                        "You and I need to be the decision makers in our own lives and careers. It is also our responsibility to allow and encourage others to do the same,"  says Jay Rifenbary.  

Word of the day: injunction                                       Injunction is an official order from a court of law to do/not do something.

Sound is sound?

 In Pune, currently a battle is raging. It is "sound n fury", rather fury about sound, and, sure, it signifies a lot, and loudly! Yes, I am referring to the issue raised by Vidyananad Bapat who stays in the Narayan Peth area in Pune. 

Bapat uses a lot of Sanskrit "subhashit", the 'wise saws' to quote Shakespeare yet again. His 'breathless Marathi' is sharing very many memes, too. Yet the point he is making is valid. He has opened a front against the use of DJ kinda walls during the imminent Ganesh Utsav. In brief, sound is not sound, that is, healthy, in his opinion, widely shared.

The songs playing during both, the installation and the immersion, processions are awful, blush-worthy, hideous, in fact. The processions as well as the " mandap" set up by the local " mandala" are loud, bothersome, traffic-congesting, and what have you. Even the dhol-tasha pathak's, despite being traditional, are one too many, and all play the so-called traditional instruments brutally loudly, right from the day they start 'practising.' 

Mr. Bapat's points are logical, and legal. Very many Supreme Court verdicts justify his claim, not to forget the annual COEP sound/ decibel level measurement. The problem is that certain other processions begin the evening before, continue till midnight the next day. The vulgarest songs get played, and who cares if there is a hospital in the vicinity because most all participants are dead drunk, are  'tight'. Equally loud are the  daily morning call-out's by certain other religions! 

To be extremely impartial, fraternal, and democrátic, ALL modes of sound pollution MUST stop. Sholapur has already set a worthy example. It is hence extremely hideous to beat up Bapat, or others of his ilk. 

True, the Ganesh festival has long time back lost its social awareness which Lokmanya Tilak had instilled in it. Now it is sheer "entertainment, entertainment, entertainment." Yet, its holy serenity must continue. True, the Lord, Shri Ganesha, has big ears. Let them not get irritated due to endless complaints about loud noise, right? 

Pratima@ Each and every tradition, festivals or otherwise, should follow contemporary constraints/restraints, legally set up. And, oh, yes, it is not right to bash up the BJP alone regarding the noise pollution. ALL the political parties share the blame absolutely equally. In fact, the court cases against the 'saffron terror' prove all possible subtle structures/strictures, however much cunningly hidden by those with underlying motives!!! 

Quote of the day:                                                           "Of all the varieties of modern pollution, noise is the most insidious," points out Robert Lacey. 

Word, rather term, of the day: sound pollution                                                                  Sound/noise pollution is excessive, unwanted, or disturbing sound that harms human health, wildlife, and environmental quality.

Does the dog know?

 Remember that famous child-hood cartoon? Oh, yes, I have used that dash knowingly. That is because the question I am going to deal with is apparently often asked by a child. Yet it is not a question restricted to childhood. On the contrary, it never ceases to 'dog' us most faithfully, though in different modalities and in newer versions. 

Okay, what is this forever-troubling-question? Well, there is this kid. He is mortally afraid of dogs. Once, just to lessen his fear, his father tells him, "Do not worry. Barking dogs never bite." With the straightforwardness typical of a child, the kid says, "Yes, Papa! You know that. I, too, now know it. Does the dog know it though?" 

No, it is not a childish joke. Nor is it adult sophistry. On the contrary, it is a query that forever h(a)unts us, and yet never gets an upfront answer. Can we have a look at some versions of this "does the ... know" question? 

Scenario Number I: Something is sure wrong with your internal system. You are not your typical self. "Nothing much. I would not worry if I were you," says the all-knowing doctor. Sure then the poor patient feels like saying, "Sure you know it. Now that you have told me so, i, too, know it. Does the 'dis-ease' know it though?" 

Scenario Number 2: It is that time of the year. Yes, it is the cruellest month, April, when the examination hangs loose over your head like Damocles' sword. There is this friend who is very sure that "imp" questions never repeat themselves for at least two years. 'Sure shot' he assures, "Do not bother. This one was asked last year, and that one the year before that." Worth a bow is such knowledge. Yet the query is inevitable, "Does the paper setter know that?" 

Scenario Number 3: It is your second week in the company you joined hardly a week ago. Your newfound colleague has landed you both in a rather sticky soup. Says this elder statesman, "Not to worry. You know such howlers happen." Yes, the query that gnaws at your 'pink slip worries' is, "Sure you know now that I, too, know it. How about the boss? Does he know that howlers happen?" 

In brief, you may grow up, and yet there is no assurance that childhood queries would get any adult answers! 

Pratima@ Life is full of glorious (or, is it, 'glaring') uncertainties, right?

Quote of the day:                                                            John Allen Paulos asserts, "Uncertainty is the only certainty there is, and knowing how to live with insecurity is the only security." How very certainly uncertain is that ( and vice versa, too?), right? 

Word of the day: uncertainty                                     Uncertainty means a state of doubt, lack of knowledge, or unpredictability about an outcome, event, or future situation. 

Come, September!

 Come September, and our minds start dancing to that zany, zingy, jazzy tune, right? This theme song for the 1961 film "Come September" was composed by Bobby Darin, but it was the instrumental group Billy Vaughn and his orchestra who made the song widely popular with their own instrumental version. 

It is peppy. It is foot tapping and hand clapping. It invites even those who dance with two left feet to twirl n twist, right? Yet its rhythm n melody are not a mere invite to mere fun n fluff. 

There IS undeniably something full of hope n forever joy that makes this sixty-five year old tune a forever means of optimism. It is enthusiasm incarnate.  It is youthfulness, nay, it is life itself. 

I suppose, this feel is indeed necessary, now that it is already September, which means that more than half of 2026 has bid us a good-bye. Yet much remains to be done, and it is this tangy tune that peps us up, right? No wonder, they say, music makes moods! 

Pratima@ Remember that Madhuri Dixit dance number, "nazre mile Dil dhadka"? It is a take on this "Come, September" tune. She is wearing just a long white shirt, and no war paint make up, no  heavy jewellery. Yet her simple graceful moves make abundant  the joie de vire! 

Quote of the day:                                               ..            "Happily we bask in the warm September sun, which illuminates all creatures." So writes Henry David Thoreau as hé welcomes autumn soon to slide in to the freezing winter. 

Word of the day: optimism                                         Optimism means the feeling that the future would be good and successful.

Sport matters!

 Around the end of the first century, the Roman poet Juvenal wrote in his Satire X, "Orandum est ut sit mens sana in corpore sano."  It means "you should pray for a healthy mind in a healthy body". What Juvenal meant was that overall well-being matters much more than chasing wealth or fame. 

The easiest way to such an ideal is sports. No, not the (mind) games people love to play with each other, and with lots of sophistry. Nope, we mean the real games,played outdoors or indoors, hardly makes any difference.

Yes, even if you play indoor games, you can win a superb bod with a healthy, happy mind. Want proof? Ask any table tennis player. Precision, agility, master strokes, all are at work, and, your mind can never ask for a better concentration gimmick, right?

Would you agree with me if I insist that team work is at play even when it comes to an individual sport? Well, these days, a good player requires an entire support system, counsellor, dietician, yoga instructor, and all that jazz, right? 

In other words, sports is no longer mere games, sheer fun. It is career, too. The brownie points people thus gather gives a head-start to their careers, it seems. Be it so very practical, or otherwise, on this National Sports Day which celebrates the birth anniversary of Major Dhyanchand, who excelled despite every obstacle, let us say " three cheers" to sports so that life continues to be "love n game." 

Pratima@ Watching kids is an eternal joy because they are forever in a 'play'ful mode. They never walk; they glide, skip, jump. They smile, nay, laugh, and with their whole being.  'Tears are temporary, joy n happiness are forever,' is their mantra. No wonder, life is fullness n plenitude n contentment when kids are around!

Quote of the day:                                                              "Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence." Yes, agreed, Vince Lombardi.

Word of the day: plenitude                                        Plenitude means a state of being complete, or of enjoying a large abundance of something.

Nuclear Tests!

 Since the two horrible  days in 1945, when Nagasaki and Hiroshima (on August 9 and 6 respectively) were destroyed, atomic energy has been  in the  danger zone, level ultimatum. Yet nuclear testing has not really either stopped. Nor has it been reduced. 

Undoubtedly, it has a long and volatile history. The nuclear testing reached its heights during the Cold War years. It began with the notorious Trinity test in July 1945. Though named after John Donne's Trinity Sonnet, it "battered" much more than a quasi-poetical, quasi-religious metaphor. 

Horrible, in fact, was its impact. The 100-foot steel tower holding the bomb was vaporized, and the New Mexico desert sand melted into a green, glassy radioactive substance called trinitite. It led to migrations as well. Yet the nuclear weapon was used, and unfortunately the race has never stopped.

The U.N. has tried to stop the race. August 29 is declared as the international day to stop nuclear weapon testing. The observance seeks to raise awareness about the devastating effects of nuclear weapon test explosions, whether conducted in deserts, or near the Arctic or underwater, on human health and the environment. The real hope lies in thus pushing toward the ultimate goal of a nuclear-weapon-free world.

Well, what exactly is the real danger? There are any number of loose cannon balls in the  international realities today. Often they translate in to rogue terror groups. Imagine the havoc that would be caused if they get hold of the nuclear weapons! With Baba Venga predicting a dire Third World War in 2026, here is wishing that the remaining four months do not lead us, the entire humanity, in to some unspeakable horror!

Pratima@ Some people hope that nuclear tests would now be AI simulated, and hence not really destructive! Even then, given the rogue cannon balls rampant everywhere, nuclear weapons need to be neuterised! 

Incidentally, in modern medicine, there exists a nuclear test!  The nuclear medical test is a diagnostic procedure that uses safe, small amounts of radioactive material—called a radiotracer—to check how your organs and tissues are working! 

Quote of the day:                                                           "The survivors (of an all out nuclear war) will envy the dead." Such is the dire prediction of Nikita Kruschev regarding atomic weapons full of the nuclear energy! 

Word of the day: nuclear                                                Nuclear means using, producing or resulting from the energy that is produced when the central part (nucleus) of an atom is split.

Is "the" the problem?

 We, Indians (note, please, I did NOT use 'the'), are indeed 'argumentative indians'. We do need some focal point to/at/on/with which to argue. Currently, it is the 'low neck' couture, culturally cumbersome, right? 

Yet the 'the' tune that Rahul Gandhi made famous in 'the' women's meet in this city of love (Oh, yes, I have always known that Pune is supposedly the "Oxford of the East"!  Yet this city which I have called mine for about four decades, brought up n bred as I am here, I have never known as 'Pune means love'!) was "smash the patriarchy"! 

The "chatraa-on ki gunj" (in attendance were only girls, it seems. From certain colleges, some maintained, an issue I would not know much about) resonated with this war cry which since has been a huge n hot (because trending it is!) debate for quite some time. 

Well, as a lecturer in English literature and language, and as a teacher of three European languages, namely, Spanish, German and French, I can most confidently assert that the definite article "the" makes a huge difference semantically.

Why did Rahulji use the "the", especially because, if reports are any proof, next he started bashing up the "Manusmriti", by now battered more than Berlin during the World War II (363 bombings and 67,000 ton of bombs!)!!! 

The definite article, which always refers to specifics, makes Rahul-ji's critique debatable. Sure, since Mary Wollstonecraft's radical critique in 1792, patriarchy and its pathologies have been opened up ad infinitum. Such threadbare examination has shown up most all injustices hidden in the crevices of the mountainous patriarchy. 

True, even those who have not actually read much about feminism would grant that feminism is not monolithic. There are feminisms galore. Yet each one of these is unmistakably and deeply critical of the injustices patriarchy heaps on women as if they are daughters of lesser goddesses.

Then why single out "the" patriarchy? Given the Manusmriti quote, the discussion becomes badly bitter, especially because from this very "Manusmriti" (most often not read by its carping critics!) can be quoted (m)any number of shlokas which are absolutely pro-women, if not downright feminist!

Anyway, "Manusmriti" is not even part of the core texts of Indianness, of Hindu identity, of the "sanatan dharma."  Why, its original text has never been available, and the translation at the height of colonialism is hence not of any authentic version.  Neither is this currently accessible text full of many interpolations preached nor practised anywhere in India. 

Then why beat it black n blue, and drum up a debate about a non-issue? The moment "the" patriarchy is thus mentioned in cahoots with an attack on "Manusmriti", there are bound to be attacks on the Muslim patriarchy, very much clad in  burkha, and standing right next to him on stage!

If "Manusmriti" is assaulted, can the "sharia" diktats or the Shahbano case be far behind? How about the Catholic women's divorce rights, a bitter battle? Countless such discrepancies creep up the moment the "the" patriarchy is unnecessarily dragged in, not to forget whatever is happening in his own party and/or the states where his party is in power! A major women's issue thus gets bogged down in politicking! Wonder who writes/'scripts' his speeches!?!

Sure his was a political speech. Undoubtedly, the urban 'GenZ' might have been impressed by it. But how does it actually change the lives of the very many women in two/three- tier cities, in villages, in ghettoes in metro cities? Why alienate, in brief, if you cannot ameliorate?!? That is "the" issue!

Pratima@ Yet another point with which I personally have solid problems is eternally showing Indian women as victims. Undoubtedly, Indian women's "agency" in the public sphere as well as the private space IS indubitable, a major focus of my doctoral research. 

Quote of the day:                                         ....              "What is the great lesson a woman should learn? That since Day One, she has already had everything she needs within herself. It is the world that convinced her she did not," points out Rupi Kaur, a much respected poet.

Word of the day: patriarchy                                      Patriarchy is a social system in which men hold primary power and dominate roles in political leadership, moral authority, social privilege, and control of property.

Soupçon, In Memoriam, VI.v

                          Soupçon III                                                        In Memoriam Series                                                           VI.v        

In our on-going analysis of "Sairat", which is sure to continue for quite some time, let us today look at some aspects of the male lead of the story. He is "Parshya". Look at the very nickname he gets. It stinks of disrespect, of belittling, of dismissal. 

Compare it with the nickname of the female lead character. She is "Archi", the very moniker suggesting modernity, uniqueness, smartness, and what not. Actually, even for a woman centered film, initially she is nothing but aggression, 'attitude', arrogance born out of the privilege she is born in to so much so that love, too, is an extension of her acquisitive personality. 

Honestly, initially, she is boring; while he is from the beginning more talented, more sensitive, more aware, may be, because of his background. Remember the scene when atop her mobike , she goes prowling, in search, and the old lady tells her off? 

His insecurities, conveniently dismissed as male chauvinism, or jealousy, are more a result of his societal background, too. If a film were to be made with the same storyline, but from his (or his social strata's) perspective, it would have the title, "Bali" (sacrificial animal) to her ego, given her wealth, given her societal set-up, right? What say? 

Pratima Agnihotri

Rakhi Pournima

 This Rakhi Pournima, the entire discourse, instead of bracelets, got 'bra'-celeted.  However much the advertising company, its mother corporate company, its sister university, the model may justify it, the advertisement WAS in bad taste . Period. No need to invoke the Hindu versus Muslim festival depiction debate either. Just BAD taste, and all is said. 

Yes, our pets mean much to us. They are family, and yet nobody in right senses ties a rakhi to a doggie, and for the simple reason that the next second he would instinctually shred it literally to the thinnest thread possible, however obedient he otherwise may be! 

Instead lovelier was the video about a police officer as a sister, and the brother coming to the chowki to get a 'rakhi' tied. It had the best mix possible of a woman's agency, emotions, healthy humour, and drama to suit the occasion, right?

This year, I got to know some unique mythology, too. I never knew earlier that Goddess Laxmi tied a rakhee to King Bali to get Lord Vishnu back from the nether land, where he went to reside to please King Bali. 

Come to think of it, typically a sacred thread is always tied as a protective ring against every evil possible, and hence for the welfare of our loved ones. In other words, be it sister wishing the welfare of the brother, or the other way round, this festival is some proof that forever is the sibling bond that begins in the childhood, and never ends! Long live the love a sister and her brothers share, as it is literally the blood bound bond!

Pratima@If your parents are no more, in this whole wide, and wicked n wonky,  world, if there is anybody who truly shares every weave and weft of your original/originary being, and without any ulterior motives, it is your brothers. Hence the anger against a silly advert!

Quote of the day:                                                             "Brothers aren't simply close; brothers are knit together." True, Robert Rivers!

Word of the day: agency                                             Agency refers to your capacity to make independent choices, control your own behavior, and influence the world around you.

Narali Pournima/Onam

 This year, the Narali Pournima and the Rakhee Pournima do not fall on the same day as generally they do. In a way, good it is because each of these days has its own separate significance. 

Narali Pournima is a fervent prayer to the sea god, Varuna. Actually, he is the god of all the "Jal tatw", the principle called the water principle, the major one of the five "panch mahabhut" as per the traditional Hindu iconography. 

The seas in turmoil due to the turbulent monsoon winds start calming down around, and from, this day. Hence the fishermen community, which had suspended its activities, start resuming these Narali Pournima onwards. There is hence a propitiatory 'puja' of the sea as god. 

As my brother Parag, alias Raju, is a Merchant Navy officer, Papa used to offer coconut-flowers, et al, to the sea.  In his memory, i, too, offer flowers and coconut, of course, to that nullah called Mula-Mutha. 

Personally, I like the concept a lot, too, as a token of one's gratitude to this vast principle which has so abundantly gifted us with all its blessings. Such humility, such caring for its countless benedictions go a long way in our life, I think.

Come to think of it, the sea in a way gives us everything, the monsoon winds, the rains, hence the potable water and the harvest, literally life itself. Greedy species that human beings are, they are scraping the ocean beds! 

Given the recent Himalayan warning of the GLOF and/or permafrost variety, rather like the 2013 Kedarnath tragedy or the almost similar situation last year in Chamoli due to a cloud burst and flash floods leading to artificial lakes that can burst and cause havoc any time, it is urgent that we stop fiddling with nature!

Pratima@Keralam at the other end of the Indian map is in the Onam mood though. The Onam tale, too, is a story of goodness, of humility, of an unbreakable bond born out of generosity. The Malyali lovely flower rangoli's and that great veggie called "avial" are simply special.                                                                           "Avial" has as its ingredients certain veggies one may not otherwise relish. Cooked it is in coconut oil, moreover. Yet the taste of the final product, mixed in curds, is such that one could comfortably finish off some six seven servings, exactly in the Bhima mode who apparently invented the dish in his Ballava avatar!

Quite of the day:                                                            "The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever.". Agreed, Jacques Yves Cousteau.

Word of the day: iconography                                          Iconography is the use of visual images, symbols, and themes to represent ideas, beliefs, or stories in art and culture.The term comes from Greek words meaning "image" and "to write". It acts as a visual symbol.

Soupçon, In Memoriam, VI.iv

                              Soupçon III                                                        In Memoriam Series                                                           VI.iv        

As our further analysis would depend on it, let us summarise the story of this film. It begins with a cricket match which introduces us to the talented Parshya. His college mate, Archi, is the daughter of the village chieftain.

Many 'encounters' after, both inevitably fall in love. Encouraging them are their weak but determined friends, while both their families, nay, communities, are up against  them, literally in arms. 

Ugliest accusations after, the couple escapes. They land up in Hyderabad. Life is tough beyond belief.  With the help of a local street vendor, they survive, slowly prosper, despite misunderstandings galore. At a weak sentimental moment, Archie, now herself a mother, contacts her mother, and the inevitable happens. The love story ends with the most hateful crime, honour killing. Our analysis would explore the subtleties underlying this 'narrative'.

Pratima Agnihotri                 

Helpless!

 As human beings, we think of ourselves as ingenious. We think, we are masters of the world, what with our smart technologies, getting more intelligent by the minute. 

Yet nature never misses an opportunity to get us back to terra firma, back to ground zero. Look at what happened on the Nepal-Tibet border. The disaster of a gangantuan proportion, if the first horrific visuals are any proof!

The flood was caused by an earthquake. The Himalayan range is highly seismic sensitive, is in Danger Zone V. As a result, a torrent of mud, water and debris burst from the banks of the river that runs between China and Nepal. Homes, roads, bridges and power plants were swept away in Nepal, ⁠while officials in Tibet said they feared “major casualties”, locals as well as tourists. 

As it is an earthquake, sure there would be after shocks, and they might inundate Indian areas in the neighbouring region. China is planning a huge dam of gigantic proportions in this very area, and despite many warnings. Hope, at least now, there would be a re-think regarding the man-made disaster!

The Himalayas are beautiful beyond belief. As a young mountain range where the tectonic plates are still shifting below, the mountain chain is delicately poised. Human beings must not vitiate it through dam-ming or noisy tourism! The 2013 Kedarnath floods are some proof of the uncontrollable fury of the 'tandava' of the elements. Hope all would pay attention! 

Pratima@ All the five elements of nature, fire, water, air, earth, space, are unbridled power. Incidentally, that was one of Aai's favourite themes. Nothing, however, matches the fury of water, once it is unleashed. High time we stopped playing with the fragile eco-system!

Quote of the day:                                                           "Nature's order unraveling under the strain of human excess and negligence shows us a world untethered by rain bombs and unpredictable floods. No magic umbrella will ever protect us."  (“Rain Man - With a sky out of control“) Thus warns Erik Pevernagi. 

Word of the day: ingenious                                         Ingenious means showing great cleverness, creativity, and originality, especially in solving problems or inventing new ways to do something. 

Soupçon, In Memoriam, VI. iii

                         Soupçon III                                                        In Memoriam Series                                                           VI. iii.                                      "Sairat" bears the unmistakable Nagnath Manjule stamp. It is inevitale, too, as he is the producer, director, script-writer, lyricist of the film. Why, there is even a cameo of him in the beginning of the film. 

Sure unmistakable are the echoes of other films. The motor scene, when the couple get physically intimate at the time of her brother's, Prince's, birthday party, is reminiscent of a similar scene in the "Titanic",  for instance. 

As for the trademark caste comment, typical of Manjule, his earlier film, "Fandry" deals with the same issue, too, let us devote a separate slice of  'Soupçon' to it. 

Pratima Agnihotri

Becoming a stranger!

  On one of the WhatsApp groups, there was this harrowing feed. It was the pic of an old lady in her early/mid eighties, well-dressed, with all the major jewellery items women of her age-group wear, with that typical upper middle class Brahmin contented look. In other words, she had the typical maternal look my generation would associate with our mothers. 

'So far, so good', you would say. Why then such a title for the blog, why call the feed harrowing? Well, the pic has been uploaded on very many groups because this absolutely gentle genteel lady is nowhere to be found!

When an elderly person, especially a woman with some jewellery on her, is thus lost, awful possibilities open up. Did she face some medical emergency, is she in some hospital, did she meet with an accident, given the atrocious traffic? Has somebody harmed her, hopefully not fatally, for the sake of the jewellery? Has she been held hostage for monetary ransom? Much worse, is she safe as a woman?

Doubts and worries assail the family like  angry bees from a beehive at which a stone  has been hurled. Most often, however, the real reason could be that the person has clean forgotten who she is, where she lives, why she left home, to go to temple, to market, to a relative's place, where is it? 

In other words, she is a victim of a 'dis-ease', of dementia, much worse, of an advanced stage of the Alzheimer's Disease. Such patients  reach this stage because certain proteins form clusters around their brain cells, and destroy the brain cells' functions completely. The Parkinson's/Dementia/Alzheimer affected brain cells cannot communicate with each other. 

The patient hence literally becomes a stranger to herself. For her, her own family are aliens. It is a very traumatic experience for the spouse if he is alive, for her children and/or grandchildren, if their mother has allowed them, or even her husband, to show some care, concern, hopefully love for the aged patient. 

What are some easy solutions so as to care for such patients? First of all, they should not be allowed alone out of home. Next, there should always be notes with their name/address/phone number pinned on to the pallu, in the purse, et al. Most importantly, they should not be allowed to wear any gold. If they insist at all, artificial jewellery would do.

Most importantly, it must never be forgotten that one day, we, too, would inevitably reach that age. Those  gentle hands, those kind eyes, that sweet soul spent a lifetime for our welfare, and most lovingly, happily, willingly. It is our utmost duty to become a better family for them when they thus become strangers to themselves!

Pratima@The caregiver has to switch the role. He/she must become the parent to the father/mother-now-grown-to be-a child. At times by coaxing, at times by scolding, at times through a small gift or two, or even some minor disciplining, he/she has to be taken care of.                                                                  Just a thought! Were Bhakt Pundlik's parents suffering thus, which made him make the Lord wait, luckily for us all, eternally!

Quote of the day:                                                            "To care for those who once cared for us is one of the highest honors.” True, Tia Walker!

Word of the day: harrowing                                      Harrowing means extremely upsetting, terrifying, and/or deeply distressing. 

Soupçon, In Memoriam, VI. ii

                            Soupçon III                                                        In Memoriam Series                                                           VI. ii

I did not see "Sairat" in the cinema hall. How could I possibly leave Aai alone at home, and go watch a film in some cinema hall? Instead, we watched it together on the t.v.

Anyway, the film was what is known in trade circles as a "sleeper hit". Sure, it got a standing ovation at the Berlin International Film festival, and later a series of Filmfare awards, not to forget Rinku Rajguru receiving Special Mention as a debutante when it came to the National Fim Awards. 

What is a sleeper hit? Such a film may not make a sensational collection at the box office on the 'first day, first show', why, not even in the first week. Almost appearing a flop initially, it gets a "sairat" reception due to the word of mouth publicity. 

I would not know the exact figures, but, sure, neither Essel Vision Productions nor the Associate Producer (the director, Nagnath Manjile himself) nor the distributors (Zee Studio) would have to regret the release, right?

Apparently, "sleeper hits" help cinema hall owners as well because they demand a certain cut from the distributor for each show, it seems. Good show" Sairat" was every which way, in brief.

Hence, in our "Soupçon", In Memorial series, we shall discuss in depth this decade old film from very many angles 

Pratima Agnihotri

Soupçon, In Memoriam, VI.i

                           Soupçon III                                                        In Memoriam Series                                                           VI. i

Let us discuss "Sairat" in this "In memoriam" series as it is now a decade old. When it was released on April 29, 2016, soon it literally created a cinematic cyclone. Yes, that is what its title means. In a dialect of Marathi used in the Solapur region, "Sairat" means wild, untamed, uncontrollable, almost feral. 

What is the 'wild' in the title that the film depicts? Sure it is a reference to the teenage love when hormones rule head n heart. In my opinion, however, it is the wildness, rampant in the society in various forms, that the film highlights. 

No wonder, the film got re-made in Kannada, Punjabi, Oriya and Hindi. The variation on the perennial Romeo-Juliet theme got a very Indian dimension in this film. In a way, such re-makes should prove both, the underlying civilisational/cultural unity of India, and the avoidable fault lines therein! 

As we analyse very many aspects of the film in our "Soupçon" series, all such issues will will be discussed by and by. 

Pratima Agnihotri

Haunting Memories

El niño can cause havoc. As a Maharashtrian, I should know.  Of course, not individually, as I was too young then to understand such enviornmental cum socio-economic issues. Yet public records show how hurtful are these memories to the Maharashtrian psyche as such. Hence the assertion in the beginning of our blog. 

The year was 1972. Even otherwise, this leap year has brandished itself in the mass memory, what with the terrorist attack diring the Berlin Olympic, for instance. Yet no other event in that fateful year could match the intense tragedy of a horrible famine due to the 'el niño' effect. 

Just as Maharshtra faced this vicious effects, so did sub Saharan Ethiopia and Sahel. Known as the Wollo famine, its after effects continued for years later. Millions died. Mass migrations were the mode of life. 

Across the world, there was food scarcity. Given the bi-polar world realities then, the USSR stocking up the grain intensified the devastation.

As for Maharashtra, then hugely agrarian,  crop failure impacted not only human lives but also the livestock. To overcome the dire straits, the then Chief Minister, Vasantrao Naik, opened fodder camps for the surviving emaciated cattle.

As for human beings, "red wheat" was supplied in a rationed proportion, while 'public works' activities such as digging canals, road construction, et al, were taken up to help the financially destroyed common man. 

This scheme paved the way for the later 'Manrega', et al. We have, hopefully, come a long way. Sure there must have been water harvesting on a major scale. Hope there have been bund canals construction as well as cleaning up of water beds/bodies so that the monsoon water gets properly stored. 

Sure the 1972 famine due to the 'el niño' effect has taught us much. Yes, the 'el niño' has struck time and again after that, but never ever with such severity. Hence the need to learn from it, and in advance, given the dire predictions about the super el niño in 2027.

Pratima@ When I now look back at our childhood, I realise yet again the greatness of my loving parents. Papa never ever allowed such dire straits affect us. We did not even realise the existence of any famine. That is paternal love, always protective like the bulwark of a castle!

Quote of the day:                                                            "Feel what it's like to truly starve, and I guarantee that you'll forever think twice before wasting food." True Criss Jami! 

Word of the day: famine                                                  The word refers to lack of food and fodder, water scarcity and loss of livelihood in the agrarian sector resulting in inflation over a long period of time in a large area that can cause the death of many people.

Why the atrocious comments in the first place?

 Three videos have made me thus wonder. The first one is from the Jantar Mantar, Delhi. Yes, the notorious remarks by Ruchika Singh! The creepy fact about her forgiveness video is that a fifteen year old (so that Posco Act can be conveniently quoted!?!) is asking for forgiveness. 

Well, even the face recognition machine maintains that she is not the "real"/"reel"  'comment'ator! The original twenty-five year old was hyper jolly while mouthing the ugliest vulgarities, nay, obscenities. She (and/or those who, it is said, paid her to thus protest!) should have respected the "office", if not the individual. 

The second one is from Ladakh. Or is it Kashmir? I am not really sure as both variants are reported. The twenty-five year old (here, too!!!) had the nastiest comments to make against the military. She seemed to have forgotten that the army officers, too, pay the taxes of all sorts! The forgiveness video, too, cannot hide the unmistakable self-obsession. 

The third one is from Pune. It is about a girl lying about the fees she paid. Apparently, she first lied most comfortably, and then remembered(!?!) the exact amount. Her convenient forgetfulness led to a near- rioting situation! 

There are  many more such forgiveness-seeking videos such as the Mumbai medical student talking about cadavers or the "biryani costing three hundred rupees" which demanded favours in return  from the companion! 

Well, all of these worthies are above eighteen, that is, legally adult. They appear to be in their senses, that is, not under the influence of alcohol or some drug. The only intoxicants that seems to be have influenced them are prejudice and the egoistic feel that nobody dare do anything to them. I would not know their party affiliations though. 

"Sorry" one feels for the victims of such mani(a)c marauding of the civic sense, of the civil liberties, of all that is decent and straightforward despite the utmost vitiating contexts. Do you know who these victims are? Sure those at the receiving end, but also us, the vast majority whom such crazy capers still actually astonish! 

Pratima@ Convenient silences at such occasions are as vocal as the originary empty screeches before asking forgiveness for them! 

Quote of the day:                                                           "Asking for pardon without actual substantial change is just noise in an empty room." Indeed! 

Word of the day: atrocious                                          Atrocious means extremely bad, very cruel, shocking. 

How much does an I-phone cost?

 No, please do not let the title of our blog fool you in to thinking that I want to buy some fancy I-phone. No way! I am very happy with my simple but super-efficient android. The title refers to an unfortunate event, the sad saga of the Chandvade family from Sambhaji Nagar. 

Honestly, it is tough to understand that entire episode. Earlier, too, in Pune itself, some four kilometers away from my place, a nine year old had committed suicide because the father did not buy the coveted sweater. At least, it was a kid who was involved in that tragedy! 

How can a nineteen year old not understand his truck driver father's financial plight? Actually, it is our own creativity, and not a mechanical device, that leads to great work. Want proof? Look at the superb cinematography of "Barsaat" (1949) by Jal Mistry who was debuting at the age of twenty-five! 

Why is the next generation, alpha, beta, Z, whatever so insensitive? In an India, where the poverty index is physically visible everywhere, how can a son in his late teens hold a middle class family ransom for a mobile device!?! How come his parents' fervent appeals could not move him? Why, the whole village was trying to convince him!

What exactly is the cause of such extreme behaviour? Excessive indulgence by parents? Total lack of discipline leading to rash thoughtlessness? Did he not develop any self control? Inflated self-centered ego that would never take a 'no'? Total lack of sensitivity and/or respect for others beyond oneself?

As much as the family is responsible for the horrid tragedy, equally responsible is our society, too. Becoming highly consumerist, people today (so self-obsessed they are that it is difficult to call them citizens!) measure their own and others' worth by the price of the silly gadgets.

To buy these actually meaningless appendages, families are drowned under massive debts. The so-called shine is the tip of the iceberg called the hefty EMI's, the monthly tension given the coarse methods used by the recovery agents, and other such absolutely unnecessary dead-ly details.

We are a society in transition. Lost (most often consciously, and without any conscience) are the traditional moorings. Under the name of empty (and misunderstood) modernity vacantly borrowed from Hollywood depictions of the Western world are chased life styles without any groundings. 

Actually, proper Western families are never extravagant. Their Protestant work ethic would hardly allow them to be so. The taxation slabs there as well as life style maintenance happen to be so high that most people there live the middle class life which is highly religious and family-oriented, too.

No, you do not need to read any great literature to understand such realities. Millions of YouTube videos would show the harsh realities of the glamorous life abroad. Yet silly Indians never learn from them the right values, do they? 

Sadness as well as frustration, vexation and empty helpless annoyance, such is the mix of feelings one experiences when one encounters such impossible behaviour! Indeed, how even to say 'Lord, help them, they know not what they do!'

Pratima@ The colonial slavishness is so entrenched in the average Indian psyche that for such  "brown" fools following fashions at the cost of one's own health is okay. The KFC food ordered online, tight jeans, extremely poor, downright wrong English they would have, but they think of themselves as "modern"! Pitiable beyond words!

Quite of the day:                                                           "And we are here/ as on a darkling plain/Swept with confused alarms/ of struggle and flight,/Where ignorant armies clash by night." So described Mathew Arnold the plight of being neither nor there.

Word of the day: flabbergasted.                                This adjective means shocked beyond words.

Soupçon, In Memoriam, V.v

                             Soupçon III                                                        In Memoriam Series                                                           V.v

The last point that I would like to make in our discussion of this film, considered  "culturally, historically, aesthetically significant" so much so that it is one of the twenty-five best films of the twentieth century according to the Library of Congress, is that it is a 'silent film.' 

Actually, 'talkies', that is, films with spoken dialogues, had already begun, since 1927 to be precise. Yet Chaplin chooses the silent mode. Undoubtedly, there are subtitles to scenes, explaining their content and relevance.

Yes, Ellen's song is 'vocal', too, though it basically is more mere empty gibberish.  In other words, the film belongs to the silent era/genre. Why so?

In my opinion, Chaplin wants to convey how the machineries of modern times render the downtrodden still more down, and out. That is his stringent comment on capitalism that reduces the poor poorer still. 

Hence the scene when the Tramp forgets the the lyrics of the song, given the loss of cufflinks which were to cover the hidden words so that his n her job at the café would continue. He somehow saves the situation by impromptu singer-ly activities in the comic mode. 

Well, this was the way on stage was born the great genius Charlie Chaplin, then an eight year old. Performing at the Aldershot Canteen in England, his mother, Hannah, lost her voice entirely in front of a tough, noisy audience of soldiers. 

Pulled from the wings, the young Charlie was led onto the center stage by the stage manager. He sang the popular tune "Jack Jones," collected in a funny caper the tossed coins while drawing laughter, and mimicked his mother's hoarseness to a delighted crowd. 

Chaplin, in brief, understood very well the pangs the poor face, but lack the voice to make them known to the world. Hence this masterpiece, critiqueing the materialistic machines released relentlessly by capitalism, continues to be a silent movie even in the 'talkies' era. 

Pratima Agnihotri 

Collaboration, thy name is work!

 Have you heard the Japanese folktale entitled "Motomoro"? Momotaro means  "Peach Boy." Once upon a time, long long ago, an old woman finds a giant peach floating down a river. When she and her husband cut it open, a baby boy pops out.

 The kind couple name him Momotaro, and bring him up lovingly. He grows up to be very strong and brave. As a young man, Momotaro leaves home to fight evil ogres on Onigashima (Island of Demons). His parents pack special millet dumplings (kibidango) for the tough trip.

On the way, he meets a dog, a monkey, and a pheasant. All of them are hungry. He shares his dumplings with them. In return, the animals agree to help him in his quest. The group reaches the island, and breaks into the ogre fortress.

The battle with the wicked ogres is less fierce and fearsome because Motomoro's friends share his travails. The dog bites the ogres' legs, the monkey scratches them, and the pheasant pecks at their eyes. Momotaro defeats the chief of the ogres. They take back the stolen treasure and return home rich and fulfilled. Momotaro and his family live a happy life.

Multiple versions of this folktale are available, with concessions being granted as per the country of origin. Why does the generous young hero in each version win the life defining battle? His victory is due to two basic qualities. To begin with, he does not suffer from any "attitude." He understands the needs of one-n-all, and reaches out even beyond species. 

The second best quality is that he has thus acquired most naturally and normally friends who are willing to help. Such allies make the toughest job a child's game. The moral of the story is that if you are generous, you may meet friends n colleagues whose collaboration would make any job easy n fulfilling.

Pratima@ Our very own epic "Ramayana" is a great example of such an attitude. Lord Rama is the godhead incarnate. In this particular avataar, he is the prince of a powerful province. Yet he is humility personified.

He is friendly with everyone, man, beast, bird, even trees, if Bhavbhuti's "Uttara Ramcharit Manas" is some proof. No caste, no creed, no species stop him from forming friendships, Nishad Raj Guha, Rakshsa King Vibhishana, the monkey master Sugriva, Shabari, the little squirrel, the monkeys and the bears; the list is endless. Why, Lord Hanumanta becomes his right hand!

Lots of lessons for all to learn from the Ram Katha, right?

Quote of the day:                                                         "Individually, we are one drop. Together, we are an ocean." So says Ryunosuke Satoro, a famous and respected Japanese writer.

Word of the day: collaboration                                  Collaboration means when two or more people or groups work together as a team to reach a shared goal, create something new, or solve a problem. It relies on open communication, sharing skills, and combining different ideas. 

Soupçon, In Memoriam, V. Iv

                             Soupçon III                                                        In Memoriam Series                                                           V.iv

In my opinion, truly noteworthy are the unmistakable literary echoes in "Modern Times". Let us look at the allusion in the scene when Ellen steals bread. She is an orphaned street urchin running after stealing bread, with police in hot pursuit. The Tramp, however, takes the blame on him.

The allusion to the beginning of Victor Hugo's "Les Misérables" is unmistakable. The Tramp thus is an example of the solidarity that the rejects of the society often share, though they may not be as humane as the priest in Hugo's novel. 

Chaplin is, after all, interested in creating a comic effect. Any sentimentality is hence out. It is hence shown that this noble plan is so as to return to the jail which in itself is ironic. The alibi that apparently saves him, too, is a comment on the empty conscience, attempted when conveniently nothing is at stake.

Yet another major allusion in the Hut Sequence as well as in the final walk in to sunset is  to Voltaire's world weary "il faut cultiver notre jardin." Such a sensitive alternative with its "back to nature" message continues to make this film relevant today, given the climate crisis.

Pratima Agnihotri

The Danger(ous) Kid

 Our life these days is such that 'tension' is its middle name, while 'worries galore' is its second name! No wonder then at all that a simple Spanish word is so heating up the whole world that it is boiling anxious! 

Yes, I am referring to "el niño." It is a simple common Spanish word, absolutely innocent. It means a boy, a kid, a child. The whole world right now, however, feels threatened due to this innocuous word. Well, we have every reason to be thus terrified as it indicates a terrible weather condition, and across the globe.

What exactly is the "el niño" climate condition? How is it formed? Let us understand the concept in some detail. Normally, winds blow west across the vast Pacific. During El Niño, these winds slow down or weaken.

As a result, warm surface water flows back eastward toward the central and eastern Pacific Ocean. Such pooling of warm water alters global jet streams and changes weather patterns worldwide.

The El Niño event that is currently developing over the Pacific Ocean is likely to be the strongest in living memory, the Met Offices across the world have already started warning us!

Add in the effects of the man-induced climate change. Any wonder, given this scenario, that it is "very likely" that 2027 would be the hottest year on record globally?

There is growing scientific evidence that the weather patterns around the world are already being affected, with below-average monsoon rains in India, and suppressed hurricane activity in the Atlantic Ocean! The world is indeed just a small village, if the tantrums of this danger(ous) kid are any proof! 

Pratima@ Why this moniker? Well, in Spanish, "el niño" means the Christ Child as well. In early 1600's, Peruvian fishermen first noticed a warm sea current approaching the shores. It was the Christmas time. This seasonal warm flow reduced  fish count, and thus increased their festive, holiday, non-work feel. Hence this happy innocent name! How were to they know that some four centuries later satanic would be the proportions of this angelic current!?! 

Quote of the day:                                                         "The "el niño" conditions have started forming. A super "el niño" is arriving." So say climate experts the world over. 

Word of the day: moniker                                          A moniker is an informal nickname used to identify a person. 

Soupçon, In Memoriam Series, V. Iii

                            Soupçon III                                                        In Memoriam Series                                                           V.iii   

It can be argued that "Modern Times" is interesting because of its depiction of womanhood. In most of his films, Chaplin treats women in a rather gallant fashion, that is to say, in the typical traditional way as good, mild, sweet, kind.

Ellen in this film is quite a cookie. When the tramp first comes across her after the wreckage of his shipbroker job, she is an orphaned street urchin. She, is, moreover labelled as a thief. The Tramp saves her by declaring himself a thief, albeit in his determined effort to return to the jail.

Next when we meet her after his release from the jail, she is a café dancer. In other words, some riffraff, she is no genteel, or gentle, lady. Yet her resourcefulness, though minor and rather petty, finally sees them on the way to some space far away from all the city shenanigans lost to the repetitive rhythm of machines! 

Charlie Chaplin, in brief, is showing us that it is the common man, and woman, whom the machine-obsessed modern times vanquish. A comment worth our serious note-n-notice in the AI era of today!

Pratima Agnihotri

Who is responsible for the paper leak? Why play the 'pass the buck' game?

 A huge sorry for the unavoidable break in our daily chat through my blogs! Well, since Tuesday, I have been down with fever and cold-n-cough, and, yes, the daily responsibilities such as teaching have to be prioritised in such a situation, right? I promise you though that this would never ever happen again, and the backlog to be completed by this evening would be some food for thought, and, as usual, I shall look forward to your response(s).

Did the title of our blog startle you? Given the current climate, more active than the ever threatening 'el niño', most would provide the most facile answer, right? And, the answer would be? Any guesses? No rocket science, right? Yes, right now, it is most fashionable to say that the government is responsible for the paper leaks. 

I beg to differ though. My submission is that the government responsibility for paper leaks is quite negligible in comparison with the liability of the other stakeholders. Let me present these grandees one by one. 

First and foremost, students are utmost responsible for paper leaks. Most, excluding the very few honourable exceptions proving the rule, always want the easy way out. They never ever want to study. Want proof? Come to any college campus. Biiiig classrooms would mostly be empty! 

Their favourite teacher would be someone who teaches the least, but gives them huge hints about the "imp" questions. The night before the actual "paper",  such students would mug up answers to such "possible" questions, and puke them up, of course, in writing, in/on the answer sheet! They pride themselves on such "distinctions", too! Some 'attitude', right?

Next, the parents are HUGELY responsible for the paper leaks. How many try to find out on a daily basis what their wards are up to, how many lectures they attend, what their behaviour patterns are? Why do parents send their children to tuition classes? Most importantly, why are they ready to pay for leaked question papers? A teenager possibly cannot pay up, forget lakhs, even thousands, on his/her own. Unless there is parents' tacit support, students cannot imagine paying up for leaked question/answer papers! 

Last, but not the least, responsible are teachers and educational institutions! Why indirectly and/or directly let students know the probable questions? Instead, why not teach well, sincerely, thoroughly? Why the lust for money, when the UGC pays so very well? Why do junior colleges tie up with the tuition mafia? Why the greed for cent per cent results, somehow 'managed'? Countless are such questions, never ever answered. 

Unless and until such basic issues are tackled, the rot of paper leaks will never ever stop. One minister may resign, another would join in. Yet the problem would continue ad nauseam, unless the basic issues get sorted out! 

Pratima@ The government is after all a reflection of the society. A society which loves "jugaad", prefers chicanery over probity, price over worth, 'smart' over genuine would face, and deserves, (im)moral issues such as paper leaks ad infinitum. 

Quote of the day:                                                           "I’ve yet to see an ad seeking “Professional Victims.” And I immediately thought, “If there are no jobs for people who have honed the skill of being the victim, why are we training so many people for it?," wonders Craig D. Lounsbrough. 

Word, rather phrase, of the day: pass the buck                                                                          To pass the buck means to shift the blame or responsibility for a problem onto someone else instead of accepting the fault within one's own self. 

Ahilyabai: An exemplary lady

 Which is the c-word that controls every discussion and each debate in India? Mind you, it is not only the free-for-all field of politics that it dominates. In fact, it controls poetics even more! If the dying-in-the-AI-era Humanities Studies suddenly seek the survival mode, rest assured, it is due to the c-word. 

This c-word haunts humans in a fashion more tenacious than Hamlet's ghost! 'Re-arrange', it insists constantly, forgetting in the heat, sound n fury that the "varna" system was coerced in to "jati" due to the colonisers' tricks! 

Come to think of it, if a person does solid good work, hardly is her/his caste quoted. Want some proof? Look at Ahilyabai Holkar, for instance. Recently was celebrated her death anniversary. 

She is a mighty example of how a good ruler, be it as the queen or the regent, can be an efficient administrator. Her womanhood never stood in the way! She revived the Hindu sensibility, too. Be it ghat's, math's, temples, she (re-)built countless. 

What I admire her for is the fact that in those days, she cared for girls' education. Why, she even catered to the self-respect of the common (wo)man by initiating the handloom industry, which continues to flourish even today! 

Nobody, the rabid ideologues excluded, ever remembers her as a Dhangar product! Her father was the 'patil', the chieftain, of that area. Honestly, she was one of my 'heroines' during the childhood days, and our parents encouraged us to think of all human(e)ly. In brief, cast your net(work) thus  that no worries regarding to caste or not to caste which  is never the  real question! 'Class' is, but more about it some other time!

Pratima@ Her birth anniversary falls on May 31, which is my brother's birthday, too. A day conserved for the conscientious, I suppose! 

Quote of the day:                                                          "Waste no more time arguing what a good man should be. Be one."  Agreed, Marcus Aurelius! 

Word of the day: conscientious                                  A conscientious person is highly considerate, and always acts correctly and well for the good of the most. 

Soupçon, In Memoriam, V. ii

                          Soupçon III                                                        In Memoriam Series                                                           V.ii      

"Modern Times" (1936), celebrating its) ninetieth year, is remarkable because it is M/S Charlie Chaplin all the way. Actually, a film is, by definition, an absolutely collaborative art. 

Undoubtedly, the director is the captain of the ship. Yet different departments are most often handled by uniquely talented individuals. 

Geniuses like Charlie Chaplin are exceptions to such mundane rules. He excelled in each and every department of film making. Most of his films are one-man-does-it-all products.

As for this ninety-year old film, "Modern Times", he was the producer, truly tough job! At stake is literally a lifetime. As for the creative aspects of film making, he was the script writer (actually any film shapes here! Remember what Hitchcock said?) as well as the director. 

Moreover, he co-edited the film, a role extremely difficult then as it was the pre-analogue, the digital was not even conceptualised, era.  In addition, he created the score of the film, yet again an achievement as music making was not so mechanised then.

Hence this grosser (it made $ 1.8 million at the box office) which premiered in February 5, 1936 is such a winner, a treasure literally and metaphorically!

Pratima Agnihotri 

 

Yet another Unique Day

 Shravan is the month of all sorts of religious practices. One such practice Aai-Papa followed most sincerely was the Monday fast. Both of them kept it the whole day. To break it in the evening, Aai used to make wonderful sweets. Many Maharashtrian GenZ types may not even know (the names of) most of these. 

Aai used to also prepare a special 'raita'. Simple recipe but fabulous it used to taste. Grated radish, slightly tangy curd, a pinch of salt and a spoonful of sugar. She did not even need coriander leaves to add to its unique taste.

 They say, some people, like my brother, Sanju, are born with a "green thumb". Similarly, very very rarely, some women are born with "taste-maker fingers." Aai was a gold, silver, mention any, medal, winner amongst such gems, and forever! 

On the Nag Panchami Day are prepared "kadabu", patties made of "puran". Yours Truly is rather an expert at this recipe because it is the easiest to make, unlike the "puran poli." Yet again, Aai's  "puran poli" literally used to melt in the mouth, and you did not require dollops of ghee or cups of warm milk to down them. 

The beans veggie she made during Shrawan, her other special "raitas" (why, she could manage a great chutney out of the green threads that would emerge as you shell a tender ridge gourd before cutting it in to pieces), the papad-kurdaya, and all such savouries she would have made during the summer, not to forget her simply wow pickles, her Shravan special dishes still tickle my taste buds! Ah, to eat Aai's dishes during Shravan! Sheer ambrosia! 

Pratima@ Except at  the town " Battis Shirale" , everywhere else, there is a legal prohibition  against unlicensed snake-charmers, as the practice leads to many superstitions, not to forget violence against the cobras.                           Yet interesting it is to decode the nine naga's and their traditional significance in a contemporary way. Will try to understand n write about the mythology by-n-by, as related to it is the yogic concept of kundalini! 

Quote of the day:                                                           "The serpent god reminds us that life is a balance between power and peace.” Such is the traditional faith. 

Word of the day: Nag Panchami                                 Nag Panchami is a traditional Hindu festival dedicated to the worship of the snake as a deity. Celebrated on the fifth day (Panchami) of the first fortnight of the lunar month of Shravana (July–August), devotees worship idols, or paintings of snakes (Aai used to draw with sandalwood paste the Nag Devata) to seek protection from snakebites, to augur family welfare, and to honor and be in a balanced companionship with nature. Unmistakable is the agrarian economy echoes as snakes eat rodents of all types. 

Soupçon, In Memoriam Series, V. i

                               Soupçon III                                                     In Memoriam Series                                                        V.i         

A little clarification regarding the numbering of the series. Soupçon I was about general literary issues, while Soupçon II dealt with some hundred MCQ questions that might help the NET aspirants.

 Soupçon III is the  new "In Memoriam"  series. In it, III.i dealt with "Gulliver's Travels" (being refined still). So as not to get bewildered by the endless III. numbering, we chose to call the next theme, that is, the "International Year of Women Farmers" IV. Now this week onwards, begins a new theme. Hence V. This scheme would be continued. Each new theme would get the next digit. 

Now let us begin dealing with Charlie Chaplin's " Modern Times", one of the most trenchant comments on excessive and dehumanising industrialisation. In 2026, the film celebrates its ninetieth year, and is truly close to our times, when the AI, with its frightening greed for data that now it seems to define/refine in its own dehumanising ways, is demeaning us, its human(e) creators. 

Pratima Agnihotri

The Coaching Conundrum

 Kota in Rajasthan. No longer is it famous for the unique sarees. Ages it has been by now that it is the tuition center for all sorts of competitive exams, the major ones being the JEE and the NEET. 

No different is the Latur pattern. So intense is the coaching classes competition there that it apparently led to murderous attacks, while in Hyderabad, Standard VIII onwards, children are sent to residential schools where they start training for the JEE, while 'managing' the X and XII board exams. 

Delhi is THE place to be in for the UPSC exams. Some irony it is as it would be in that power center where the aspirants' possible future career might be. They say that the JNU hostels house such aspirants, mostly from Bihar apparently, for whom the Bachelor's, et al, degrees are secondary in comparison with the "upsc prep."  

Quite similar is the Pune ' peth'  pattern wherein the inner city "peths", especially the Sadashiv and the Nawi Peth, are mini Maharashtra as herein is the concentration of the MPSC coaching classes, "reading halls" known as 'studies' and the 'pg', that is, the paying guest rentals. The entire economy there is worth a serious academic study. 

This coaching class conundrum is actually quite tragic because it costs a lot, both financially and psychologically. There are not any psychological counsellors available. Is it any wonder then that the not-so-young students in their mid-thirties continue chasing the distant dream of competitive exam success, without any concrete Plan B lined up! The only alternative often chosen is suicide!

What is the solution to this conundrum? The Prime Minister had one up his sleeve during the Independence Day speech this August 15. In my opinion, however, schools, colleges, universities must include the competitive exam studies in the curriculum itself. Why, the MPSC/UPSC aspirants use the CBSE/NCERT textbooks! The JEE or NEET portion cannot possibly be very different from the Junior College syllabus, right?

Is not it a terrible mockery that commerce students bunk college lectures to attend C.A./C.S. classes!?! The course details possibly cannot be drastically different. Why cannot be there C.A./C.S. extra credit courses on campus? The very same logic applies to Arts College Departments teaching Eco/Psycho/Pol. Science! And, oh, yes, how about making the school/college/university examination system more rigorous, more formative than merely summative!!!

Instead of colleges affiliating themselves to coaching classes, why cannot be it the other way round? How can coaching classes dictate terms and conditions to colleges, for example, regarding the class timings?  Radical solutions, given the current info- and technological explosions, is the only alternative.

Pratima@ Attendance has to be compulsory in colleges/universities wherein teaching should be so excellent that there should not be any need for any coaching classes.                          'Working students' must get excellent learning material so that they would not need any private tuition. When such academic alternatives emerge 'system'-catically, where would be the need for any parallel coaching!?!

Quote of the day:                                                            "A bad coach makes the student dependent. A good coach makes himself redundant," argues Paul Strikwerda.

Word of the day: conundrum                                       A conundrum is a confusing problem or a tricky question, very hard to sort out.

Independence Day

 August 15 feels special, however cynical you might have grown, given that rough and tough ride called daily lived life, right? Actually, each August 15 is like every other monsoon day, muggy, drizzly, slushy, right? Yet, with or without the sun shining, the mindscape is full of bright, brilliant, beautiful beams, right? 

What does independence truly mean? I suppose, the real meaning is far, far beyond the typical, routine, ritualistic celebrations, often managed in a quite mindless way. Why, there are 'citizens' who mindlessly repeat every harmful detail that former colonisers and/or current frenemies pile up day in, and seconds out, right?

In my opinion, real independence, whether as a nation or as an individual, is not getting bogged down due to and/or within the narratives in to which 'others' want us to get sucked.

There would always be mostly conscious, and, at times, thoughtlessly unconscious, attempts to minimise you utmost, to reduce you in to a persona non grata every possible way, to wipe you out completely. 

 Real independence lies in your soul unfurling itself bright n beautiful in every space full of distant yet inviting stars, above every sky, however cloudy, dark or drenched it may be made (out to be). 

Long live the joy that lies in being your own self, despite every struggle, despite every setback, despite every obstacle, and with every ounce of creativity, contentment and calm happy gratefulness, forging better bonds! Happy Independence Day!

Pratima@ Independence is also getting over the barriers within which our own subconscious thresholds us, right?

Quote of the day:                                                          "I am no bird; and no net ensnares me: I am a free human being with an independent will." Charlotte Brontë's great quote indeed!

Word of the day: freedom or independence.        It is the feel of not being held prisoner or controlled by somebody else. It is the right or ability to do or say what you want, without harming others' freedom(s).

Soupçon, In Memoriam Series, III. ix

                         Soupçon III                                                     In Memoriam Series                                                        IV.ix                                       International Year of the Woman Farmer

This would be our last post on this theme. Monday onwards, let us begin the discussion of a new topic in the "In Memoriam" series of our 'Soupçon.'

As we today sum up the brief yet intense discussion of this topic (begun on August 3), let us understand the contribution of three remarkable women related to this 'field'. Two of them are doers, while one is more of a theoretician-activist. 

As doers matter more, let us begin with tributes to "Seed Mother" and Pappamal.  "Seed Mother"  is from Village Kombhalne, District Ahilya Nagar, that is, the erstwhile Ahmednagar. In her sixties, Rahibai Soma Popere, alias "Beej Mata", is a farmer cum conservationist. She has developed a community seed bank, which given the organic farming methods she likes, is highly sustainable, and protects native variants of crops. To self help groups of women farmers, she provides highly profitable hyacinth beans. 

Pappammal, a Padmashri awardee like the Marathi Rahibai, was from Tamilnadu. Before she died on September 27, 2024, this 105 years old grandma credited her long life to her staple diet of simple millet n veggies. Born in 1914, this Coimbtore "ammama", who worked in her one hectare farm, followed a punishing regime which consisted of waking up at five a.m.  Politically active as a DMK member, she championed organic farming. 

Yes, there are a few more such sterling examples of women farmers which prove how women do it differently! Now let us look at a scholar-activist committed to environmental issues, food sovereignty advocacy, and ecofeminism. Given such a profile, Vandana Shiva opposes genetic modification of crops (therefore her insistence on the protection of native biodiversity) and corporate control of the agri field.

Given, moreover, the pioneering efforts by journals such as "Down to Earth", there is some powerful proof that the agri- environmental field flourishes, when the gender gap closes! 

Pratima Agnihotri

Elephants

 Elephants are unique indeed. Huge they are. In fact, appear clumsy at the first sight. That long trunk, those floppy ears, those small eyes, that hulky body, nothing, nothing about them is beautiful or attractive at the first sight. Hardly have they the grace of a lion or the power of a tiger.

Yet, in my opinion, they are the BEST in the forest, or even as domesticated, however much I may dislike the idea. If at all you were to have a tiger as a pet, it is more for the entertainment, or even show-off value, right? Is the tiger helpful in a way? Nope! Why, our bestie, a doggie, is a kinder, nicer, cuter companion, despite his smaller size in comparison!

Look at the elephants though. They are strength incarnate. Impossible are the tasks they manage effortlessly, and with utmost ease, calm and quiet! As if they know that they can murder, and yet gently bear with all the human faults and foibles! The only alternatives to this great feel are parents, and God!

Look at that much mocked body, too. That trunk is the most sensitive organ in the whole world. What are noses of the perfect size, shape and width in comparison with that brilliant organ? Those ears can hear the minutest sound, while behind those small eyes is a great brain.  And, oh, yes, they are truly clan-oriented, more family-oriented and social than the so-called societal human beings! Forget never ever that they are more matriarchal than the arch-est feminist! 

No other animal is as ancient, as intelligent and as kind/playful/beneficent as this gentle giant, the elephant. Happy elephant day forever!

Pratima@Is it any wonder that the God of Gods, Ganesha, dons the head of an elephant!!! 

Quote of the day:                                                            "Nature's great masterpiece, an elephant; the only harmless great thing." Absolutely agreed, John Donne! 

Word of the day: matriarchal                                     Matriarchal is a society or a system guided by women rather than men; passing power, property, et al,  from mother to daughter, and all the woman-oriented relationships. 

A unique day indeed!

 Today is special, absolutely unique indeed. To begin with, the day welcomes the month of Shrawan. This morning, there was that typical Shravan like hide-n-seek of the fresh rays of the early sunshine and a light drizzle. 

Well, there was not exactly the rainbow Bal Kawi describes in his famous poem describing the unique month of Shrawan.  A unique coincidence it is that today happens to be his, Balkawi's, birth anniversary. 

Bal Kawi, the pen name of Tryambak Bapuji Thombre, was a nature poet who wrote exquisite Nature poems in the vein of the namesake Romantic poets, especially Coleridge and Wordsworth. 

Like them, he, too, imbued Nature with a mystical, divine, pervasive presence, a staple concept with the American transcendental poets such as Emerson and Whitman as well. 

Shravan is the month of that fullness when nature is at its loveliest. The Ashadh rains would have rejuvenated every bush and each brook. The Shravan look is hence simply beatific, beyond beautiful. The very many festivals add to it the glamour and dazzle that satiate all our senses.

 Shravan, in short, is a unique month. Rains seem to have understood it, too. Cloud bursts, landslides, rivers in spate overflowing their banks have all receded. The cities look actually clean. All is well, all is well. Welcome, Shravan! 

Pratima@ August 13 is unique for another reason. It is the organ donation day. Thus we can give life even after death, and for the patient, a new life blooms again, with high hopes for health and well-being! 

Quote of the day:                                                           “Never underestimate the power you have to take your life in a new direction.” Indeed, Germany Kent! 

Word of the day : rejuvenate                                  This verb means make somebody/something feel or look younger, allow a fresh lease of life. Like Shravan! 

Soupçon, In Memoriam Series, III. viii

                             Soupçon III                                                     In Memoriam Series                                                        IV.viii                                         International Year of the Woman Farmer 

Why should there be a special year dedicated to women farmers? The answer to this question points to the unique contribution women always bring to any field in which they participate. 

Women are always in the present and yet constantly relate to the future, right? Well, such are the roles they enjoy in their lives. Yes, they ARE themselves, and yet they are not afraid of  being  a special someone to most all who join their ambit. Ppp

This capacity to add a special "soupçon", a little unique something, to  each person, to every task, to life itself that makes it necessary that there must be a special year dedicated to women farmers. 

Women make everything sustainable, right? Look at food scarcity, right from the inner most circle, that is, the family. A mother can cook up a great breakfast from the left-over's of the recipe of the night before. Actually, like my mother used to be, a good housewife would, to begin with, without any calculations of grams and milligrams, never ever stuff her refrigerator with any leftovers. 

Such sensibility and sensitivity make women farmers the fulcrum of sustainable, enviornment conscious, responsible actors. Most importantly, women farmers would keep biodiversity intact. Our next, and the last in this series, contribution  would clarify why women farmers need a unique celebration. 

Pratima Agnihotri

In visible!

 It is the total solar eclipse today. Apparently, it is not visible in India.  Its global path is such that only parts of Greenland, Iceland, Spain, Portugal, and northern Russia can see it. 

Yet a glimpse outside convinces me that the solar eclipse may not be visible, yet its impact is everywhere! The birds in the trees in the front yard, always busy cooing, creating their own natural symphonies, are unusually quiet. 

The sunlight is not its usual bright self it typically is at this hour. It is dim. There is an unmistakable gloom in the very air. A kind of dead, drear silence as if predicting some doom. Why, there is a chill in the air, almost prompting to reach for my sweater.

How the climate affects our moods! The climate conservationist in me confirms yet again the commitment to sustainability  needs. 

The distance does not matter, I agree, when the source of energy is dimmed. The absent moon on this no-moon day is standing between the sun, the source of light, nay, of life itself, and us, the earthlings. All sorts of mythical tales and science fiction keep on scrolling before the mind's eye. 

A perfect metaphor the feel is for the evil in our lives. They are in visible, yet visible is their vicious effect on innocent lives. Eclipse incarnate they are! What might be the cure against such who drain the very vitality? 

Create your own electrifying luminosity, I suppose. It would bloom out of a conjunction of all that is the best, the brightest and the blithe in your own soul, heart, and mind. No eclipse, partial or total, can then render 'in visible' your clean, clear, calm path!

Pratima@ Saw a few clicks of the eclipse, the ring of fire, especially. Beautiful is this depressing natural phenomenon!

Quote of the day:                                                              "Nations, like stars, are entitled to eclipse. All is well, provided the light returns and the eclipse does not become an endless night." So says Victor Hugo. The 'nations' in this quote can comfortably and effectively be replaced by 'selves'/'selfhoods'/'i-dentities', right?

Word of the day: solar eclipse                                    In India, solar eclipses (Surya Grahan) are traditionally viewed as inauspicious bad omens caused by the mythical demon Rahu swallowing the sun. Cultural superstitions dictate strict avoidance of routine activities like eating, cooking, and stepping outside to ward off perceived evil energies, radiation, or spiritual impurity. Rituals do have their owh customary significations, right? 

Soupçon, In Memoriam Series, IV.vii

                           Soupçon III                                                          In Memoriam Series                                                         IV.vii                               International Year of the Woman Farmer

The ultimate authority when it comes to farm distress in India is P. Sainath. Let us hence look at his invaluable inputs. To avoid repetition, as we have been exploring this issue since August 3, let us concentrate on the unique points we have not so far mentioned 

Let us look at the data he provides. 96 per cent of rice transplantation, 76 per cent of seed sowing and 86 per cent of crop transportation, he maintains, is women's agrarian contribution. Such work requires squatting, bending and carrying a heavy load. 

Given the inevitable household work, it is a huge burden. In other words, P. Sainath brings to everybody's notice the health issues of women farmers/farm hands.

Yet another major point he makes is regarding the total exclusion of women farmers from the farm crisis data as they are referred to as "widows of male farmers." The very nomenclature denies them any legal status, and hence any financial exclusion.

 They do try to till the land and carry on with both farm related and household duties. As they are beyond the bounds of legally accrued financial help, they, too, commit suicide when the debt gets mountain high. Their deaths, however, are not thus mentioned in the National Crime Research Bureau, according to P. Sainath. Injustice continues to haunt them even after death!

Pratima Agnihotri