Soupçon I. ii

 Let me explain the title a little. "Soupçon" is a French term, the favourite of the chef community. It refers to that special pinch (eh, 'punch', too) which adds a unique flavour to the concoction 

Our column, which extends that metaphor,  is going to be a cornucopia of 'wise saws' about literature (more the varieties, the better), related fields, humanities and the arts. It would be an immense help for those preparing for the NET/SET/JRF kind of competitive examinations. May be, the aspirants might want me to do much more along these lines. Let us see! Yet, for sure, the not-so-literary, non-specialist reader, too, would enjoy these details!

                       Soupçon I. ii                                                  Shakespeare and the Dis-ease 

Yes, like the Corona confinement in the twenty-first century, twice was Shakespeare's career curtailed due to a deadly 'dis-ease'.

The first of these closures is closer to the notorious "lost years". Yes, Shakespeare's life leaves a lot to imagination, beginning with the exact date of his birth. Yet the "lost years" are truly apocryphal. 

As this is the first week of our attempt, no quizzes, no MCQ's this week. Instead let us share information.

The "lost years" refer to the seven years hitch, 1585 to 1592, that is, after his twins' baptism to his certain emergence as a London playwright. There are not any definitive records. Instead, there are all sorts of 'his-stories' ranging from run-away activities such as poaching to duties as (h)ostler, for instance. 

Yet, by this time, he was an all-in-one wizard, that is, an actor, a playwright, and a shareholder in the theater company called 'Lord Chamberlain's Men'. The 'dis-ease' was, in brief, a financial calamity.

By then, he had to his credit comedies  and histories such as "Comedy of Errors", "Richard III" and the three parts of "Henry VI". As the histories dissected weak, corrupt regimes, it was clear that the Tudor dynasty was indirectly being praised n promoted.

 In other words,  such was Shakespeare's stage success in these early years that in 1592 itself, the unhappy year of the 'dis-ease', he was viciously trolled.  How? By whom? Let us learn the details by and by. Suffice it, for the time being, to say that those 'dis-ease' days, too, were indeed tough!

Pratima Agnihotri                                                       Pune

The AI hallucinates!

 The AI IS unmistakably getting more and more human! Why am I so very sure? Is that your question? Well, my write-up on the AI and literature teaching is ready. Yet I am in to the 'finishing touches' stage before submitting it finally. 

Hence I am furreting out the minutest unavoidable but available detail. Thus I have come across this notion of the AI hallucinating. Yes, the AI does hallucinate, and, the fun of it is that the process is no different from the human hallucinations, delusions, self-deceptions. Is the AI getting more and more human! You bet! 

Okay, let us begin at the beginning. Let us understand this concept. The AI itself describes the AI hallucination as follows: "An AI hallucination is a confident but incorrect or fabricated response generated by an artificial intelligence model, such as a chatbot, that does not align with reality or the provided context. Instead of admitting a lack of knowledge, the AI often generates plausible-sounding falsehoods, such as fake citations, fake news, or incorrect data."

Absolutely human! Always far away from the real lived life; instead one's own blind surmises, supporting them widely and wildly, however much contrary to facts they may be! Never admit lack of knowledge or a mistake! Instead produce/provide falsehoods cloaked as suppositions, which are nothing but gossip dressed as narratives! 

So very many examples from very many possibilities! The AI, this newly admitted entry to the Academy of Life, has already beaten the director, mankind, black n blue (not merely metaphorically either!) in this regard as well. Long live the AI! 

Pratima@ In its hallucinatory hollowness, the AI is not humane either, and that is the tragedy!

Quote of the day:                                                                 "If you understand hallucination and illusion, you don't blindly follow any leader," says Marguerite Young. Holds true of the thought leader of the many, known as the AI.

Word of the day: Delusion                                           Delusion is a fixed, false belief firmly held despite contradictory evidence and lack of cultural consensus. Symptoms involve unshakable, illogical beliefs (persecution, grandeur, jealousy).

Akshay Trutiya

 Unique is this festival. It is celebrated on the shudhdh (waxing moon fortnight) tritiya (third day) of Vaishakh. Season wise, clearly it implies the onset of the burning hot summer. Yet such is the abundance of joy, happiness and contentment on this day that the blistering heat does not seem to matter.

 Well, this year, the Akshay Tritiya appeared indeed special as there were hailstorms in many places, thus adding a "thanda, thanda, cool, cool" effect to the alfonso mangoes special enrichment of this day, marked by abundance, often signified by new purchases, of cars, for instance. Bro Dear is sure to agree, right? 

Just look at the day. It venerates Lord Parashurama who combined the Bramha and the kshatra luminescence, that is, both wisdom and valour. In the current opening up of the typical traditional definition of caste beyond the post-post-colonial rhetoric, such an alternative look at the forever cast caste is a fulfilling look at identity politics. 

As per yet another legend, this festival celebrates the most moving meeting of Lord Krishna and Sudama which reveals the abundance of good faith, friendship and bonhomie beyond material status. 

Oh, yes, according to yet another myth, Akshay Tritiya is supposed to be the day when that abundance of purification, the Ganges, descended on the earth. 

Let us not forget that it was on this day that Draupadi received the "Akshay Patra" which sustained her, and the Pandava reputation for beneficence, during the extremely tough exile era. 

No wonder, it is the day of new beginnings that last forever, because Sage Vyasa began dictating the Mahabharata itself to Lord Ganesh on this very day. 

Very important is this day to other sects and religions as well. It marks the Basweshwar Jayanti. Sant Basweshwar's was yet another attempt at a democratic space beyond caste identities. I have translated some of his "vachanas". Some other time, will discuss my "vachana" presentation. 

For the Jain community, it is the most significant occasion when the first tirthankar, Sage Rishabh Deva, ended his year long fast and accepted sugarcane juice to break his fast. Honestly, as one of our earlier blogs discussed it, sugarcane juice on a hot afternoon day is no less than the heavenly manna itself. 

May this day of special prayers, charity and forever prosperity make your lives full, too. Long live Akshay Tritiya!

Pratima@ Aai had her own version of the Akshay Patra, a brand new vessel she would use only once annually, on this day for ensconcing in it the special prasad. It indeed is beautiful and unique. 

Quote of the day:                                                           "Doing what you love the most is the best source of abundance in your life," say many influencers. 

Word of the day: cornucopia                                      Cornucopia is a symbol of abundance, traditionally represented as a curved, horn-shaped basket overflowing with fruit, vegetables, and flowers, often called a "horn of plenty". It represents an inexhaustible, generous store of items. 

Soupçon I. i

 As Akshay Tritiya is the day of auspicious beginnings, when Sage Ved Vyas himself began dictating the Mahabharata to Lord Ganesh, let us begin this brand new blog. 

Let me explain its title a little. "Soupçon" is a French term, the favourite of the chef community. It means that special pinch (eh, 'punch', too) which adds a unique flavour to the concoction 

Our column, which extends that metaphor,  is going to be a cornucopia of 'wise saws' about literature (more the varieties, the better), related fields, humanities and the arts. It would be an immense help for those preparing for the NET/SET/JRF kind of competitive examinations. May be, they might want me to do much more along these lines. Let us see! Yet, for sure, the not-so- literary, non-specialist reader, too, would enjoy these details! 

                           Soupçon I. i

Who but Shakespeare can be the best candidate to thus float a new venture? Remember the Corona confinement? Shakespeare, too, twice suffered such a predicament. Which were the years? Which disease was it? How was it looked at by the common man, the majority of spectators then? How did Shakespeare respond to such closures of the cultural space? How did it affect his career? Such and many more questions would be so designed and answered that memorising the answers would be no trouble at all. See you then, every Monday through Friday! 

Pratima Agnihotri                                                        Pune

Protecting the Past in the Present for the Future

 Which are the visible symbols of our cultural identity? There sure are many, beginning with the bindi that caught the sight of the Lenskart recently, for example. Undoubtedly, such personal markers matter.

Yet, in the larger public sphere, a nation's civilizational/cultural wealth is often associated with its monuments. These iconic structures are annually celebrated on the world heritage day, that is, on April 18.

Given the actual and ideological wars that are right now, and as always, the open wounds, worrisome is the future of these treasures from our past. How we hand them over safe and sound to the future generations that is now the real issue, given awful threats such as atomic and chemical warfare! 

Pratima@ In the Indian context, April  18 stands for a real monument of our society. Yes, April 18 is the birth anniversary of Maharshi Karve, a great social reformer in India in the field of women's welfare. 

He advocated widow remarriage, and, as a widower, he himself remarried a widow. Karve was a pioneer in promoting widows' education. He founded the first women's university in India, the SNDT Women's University, in 1916. He organized a conference against the practice of devdasi. He started 'Anath Balika Ashram', an orphanage for girls which helped women get a social standing. Indeed, he re(de)fined heritage, truly re-built it. Truly, he gave posterity a present that purified the past!

Quote of the day:                                                         "Embrace your heritage with pride. Remember that history and culture are a part of who you are," asserts Maya Angelou. 

Word of the day: heritage                                         Heritage, according to the UN,  refers to the traditions, beliefs, culture, and physical artifacts passed down through generations, representing a shared history and identity. It includes tangible items (monuments, artifacts) and intangible elements (customs, folklore) valued in the present and preserved for the future. It signifies a legacy from the past. 

Let us laugh n loud!

 Today let our blog be silly, silly PJ's. Why so? Well, T. S. Eliot wrote a poem entitled "Preludes". This strikingly radical poem, which changed wor(l)ds, ends with a brilliant image which captures the futility of reality. 

T. S. Eliot ends his poem with "wipe your hand across your mouth, and laugh;/The worlds revolve like ancient women/ gathering fuel in vacant lots."

So much in so many places, the high space parliament to hi-fi corporate companies, is so astounding that reeling, like the Eliot image, is the effect! After such realities, what sincerity? what seriousness? what authenticity? what 'alter-natives'? Instead, as ever, only very many narratives! Hence let us, too, wipe our hands across our mouths and laugh out loud!

1) The Trust deficit:

Why do not scientists trust atoms?                              Because they make up everything!

2) The prize and the news 

Why did the scarecrow win a Nobel prize?             Because she was outstanding in her field.

3) Such is 'no bell'!                              

  Knock, Knock!                                                               Why? Who?                                                         "Nobel"                                                                           Why? Who?                                                                "Nobel, that’s why I knocked!"

4) Shame! Shame!

Why did the tomato blush?                                        Because he saw the salad dressing.

5) The final cut! 

Why is grass so dangerous?                                       Because it is full of blades!

Pratima@When realities are crazy, laughter is the last refuge! The more PJ-ish, the better!

Quote of the day:                                                          "Rhetoric is not important," asserted Nelson Mandela. "Actions are!" 

Word of the day: Disillusionment                         Disillusionment is a sense is of disappointment and unhappiness resulting from discovering the truth about someone or something previously respected or admired. It occurs when reality fails to match high expectations, often leading to a disenchanting loss of faith in ideals. 

Getting a job

 Have you noticed some quite crazy stuff recently? Yes, it deals with this very touchy theme entitled 'getting a job'. Let us today look at it in some detail. First and foremost, there is the AI scare. True, new jobs may emerge, but they ARE going to be scarce, and absolutely focussed on higher order (intellectual/thinking) skills.

 Students who never ever attend lectures, colleges where semesters are not even of twenty five lectures, institutions where not even half the portion is taught as lectures just do not take place (Who cares, anyways!!?!! Teachers get wonderfully well paid, which most often is their only goal. Indirectly, or even quite shamelessly, openly, directly, students are often told (about) the possible/important questions. So they, too, are happy that they get a degree without any studying, in addition to developing 'skills' which would make the Bloom taxonomy blush!), given such realities, would such students have the mental capacity for, forget higher order, any thinking at all?

Anyways, there are any number of 'coaches' on the social media circuit who advise openly that jobs cannot be gotten through Naukri.com or even LinkedIn. Their open secret is creating a clout, developing contacts, managing connects!!! Just listen to/watch their ads that come along every YouTube video. They ARE quite open about this fact.

So the cat is finally out of the bag. To get a job, you require either, though prefarably both, of the two c's. The two c's are 'contact' and/or  'caste'.  If you have the right contacts, you need not be able to speak/write a single correct sentence in English, your so-called copy-paste Ph.D. thesis on the banal most topic/theme under a guide, whose own English and scholarship are extremely dicey, would have errors on-n-from the title page itself, and yet you get a job in an English medium college, and, yes, you would win awards for being a celebrated teacher and a great scholar!

I do not even want to, forget dare to, mention the other 'c'! Why am I talking about the college education alone? Well, unfortunately, in our context, a degree, anyhow gotten, is always associated with jobs! Truly unfortunate because even post-graduate degrees are gotten, even with a first class/distinction, by students who would go to college only for the exam or related duties, not to forget the social events! What to say about students depending on 'guides', now AI is thus 'enabling', when teachers themselves use such!!!

One of my M.A. students, she herself could not construct a single correct sentence, was telling me how uneducated her in-laws, especially her sister-in-law was her real target, would be. I kept on listening to the silly tirade. At one point, it got so crazy that I just could not control my laughter. When I pin-pointedly asked her a few very simple questions which totally exposed her post-graduate ignorance, she chose to keep quiet!

This total lack of, forget knowledge, even information begins at the school level. Kids are sent to tuitions from the first standard!!! Why? What is (not) happening in the teenie-weenie classrooms? What are the parents themselves up to? Why cannot they bond better with their own kid by teaching her/him basics at the primary level!?!

When the base to top is so completely  hollow, how would,  forget the higher order, skills develop at all? Anyways, why are skills currently getting reduced to glitzy event management without the least content? Most all of the traditional disciplines, courses and colleges would repeat the same sad story! The sick n silly ways students complete their entire term related assignments in a day, study for the exam just the night before, is pathetic. 

No wonder, to get a job, you require contacts, rather than intelligence, imagination, creativity (which is now reduced to event management related DIY activities!), scholarship! Sad scenario indeed!

Pratima@The very institution called college and/or degree would very soon undergo radical changes. Want an example or two? Forget the online degrees from major universities. Foreign universities with world wide fame are setting up local campuses here in India with unique, relevant, absolutely contemporary courses. Major companies are offering online certifications which make candidates corporate ready! All along, colleges are busy with petty politicking and internal gangsterism, eh, groupism!

Quote of the day:                                                          "The whole purpose of education is to turn mirrors in to windows," asserts H.J.Harris.

Word of the day: integrity                                        Integrity is the quality of being honest, enjoying strong ethical principles, and maintaining consistency in actions, values, and methods. It implies incorruptibility and wholeness, often described as doing the right thing even when no one is watching. Synonyms include honesty, honour, probity, rectitude, says the Cambridge Dictionary.

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.