THE Headache!

 Sometimes, honestly, I do not suite understand all the hoo-ha, all that jazz. After all, it is blood. It has to perform very many functions, do its duty non-stop, and real well, right? It has to forever flow. Imagine how tough it must be, especially through all those capillaries, carrying oxygen there, taking back all that muck, and so on. Rough stuff, right?!?

Then there are the people in your life, neighbours, vendors, colleagues, students, relatives, and, absolutely not to forget, your own self! Poor blood! Would boil, right? As a result, now and then, it decides to shoot up, though never ever down, some small mercies! But normal, if you look at the whole shebang from the perspective of that poor, sticky, messy, tirelessly over-working fluid! 

Thus enters your life that entire community, the medical fraternity, tablets, capsules, the b.p. measuring machine, not to forget That machine, always with a mock of a small, knowing, wicked wink reminding you of that extra dollop of ghee or butter or ice-cream you just could not resist! 

Ah, the doctors! Sure they mean well, but!!! That white coat, the stethoscope staring steadfastly, the furrowed forehead, that look which makes you feel that you are worse than the creature which would outlive an atom bomb, yes, as if  you are a cockroach worth an immediate urgent quash! 

Why get in to such a trap, right? Instead much much better to eat well, sleep more, exercise a little, enjoy life as if this could be the very last minute, be happy, and forget forever the silent enemy. Yes, Happy b.p. day! 

Pratima@ Such are our life styles that we are constantly playing hide n seek with funny 'friends' such as diabetes, the b.p, the stress, the aches and the pains! Better to barter  with them every breath through prevention than cure, right?

Quote of the day:                                                          "Everybody is a book of blood; wherever we're opened, we're red," says Clive Barker!

Word of the day:                                                           Systolic and diastolic blood pressure are the two numbers measured in a standard reading, written as systolic/diastolic (e.g., 120/80, the magic digits) which measure the force of your blood pushing against your artery walls as your heart pumps, and rests. 

The Real Time Machines

Museums are special. They add history, art, grace, in brief, a unique identity to a city. Do not you believe me? Well, mention Paris, and ninety-nine per cent people would mention the Louvre where resides the famous "Mona Lisa." Those who are drawn naturally to the sciences are fascinated with the very building of the George Pompidou center. So unique is its very exterior. 

In fact, Europe is very well-known for its museums. In Berlin, there is a square where there are museums in all the four directions, and the range is roughly a kilometer each way. The Prada is a compulsory "been there, seen all" spot for those who visit Madrid, rich with such others as the "Reina Sophia". 

Be it Italy, Russia, the Pyramids to the National Museum of New Delhi to our very own Raja Kelkar, a tribute to one man's persistent devotion and loving tribute to his son's memory, museums are special. Culture centric cities like Pune literally burst with with such unique treasures. 

Museums are real time machines. They store the past not just for the present, but for the future, nay, for forever. The are silent assurances that mankind, however stupid it may appear contemporaneously, has not only survived but also evolved most evocatively! 

Hence, since 1977, the International Council of Museums has been observing May 18 as the international day of museums. There is a defined theme to be celebrated each year. Given THE war which has rattled the economies of most all countries, you can guess the theme this year! Yes, it is museums for world peace. Hope our dear Trump and his current counterpart in Iran would visit a museum or two which would prove to them the futility of war, given the real wealth of nations abundantly stored there!

Pratima@ Museums are so unique that any number of literary texts refer to them. My favourite one is W. H. Auden's brilliant poem "Museé des beaux arts". Worth a read indeed as it would prove to you why museums are worth a dekko or two! You may also love "The Da Vinci Code" by Dan Brown. Oh, yes, there are many, many more which uniquely curate experience itself for you. 

.Quote of the day:                                                          "Don’t go to a museum with a destination. Museums are wormholes to other worlds. They are ecstasy machines. Follow your eyes to wherever they lead you…and the world should begin to change for you," enthuses Jerry Saltz. 

Word of the day: curate                                              Curate means to select the best or the most appropriate, especially for presentation, distribution, or publication. 

Meagre musings on meaning!

 May 18 was Aai-Papa's wedding anniversary. Now the very sentence and its meaning are a problem for me, both as a daughter and as somebody who loves the subtlety of English, and every other language that I can manage. 

Why does the very first sentence of our blog today bother me? Yes, it is the "was". As a daughter and as well as an aware woman who understood the way they together created their marital partnership, the "was" hurts me. 

Why? The past tense asserts painfully their not being there any more. Yes, it is the finality of the death that is bothersome, nay, hurtful. In the fifteenth chapter of the "Bhagvad Geeta", the Lord says, "from whence there is no return, that is my final abode." Aai used to like that quote a lot. The ultimatum of death!

Yet, as a student of language, one knows that there is this tense called historical present. Let me give you an example. Suppose, I am writing a chapter on Shivaji Maharaj. I could write, " He is a great king. He has the distinction of creating the first ever compendium of Marathi words, to be used even in administrative texts " 

In that sense, May 18 continues to be their forever bond. May 18 IS their wedding anniversary! In such a meaningful way, a 'was' need not be merely that. It continues to be an "is", and that is quite some solace! 

Pratima@ Everybody is blasting the NEET nexus as it indeed must be. Yet, at times, I find such an attack, too, meaningless. Here are any number of people, common, ordinary women and men to so-called authors presenting a written product as their contri, while every comma therein, if at all used, is screaming aloud the AI authorship! There are, moreover, their gang-(wo)men who praise them to skies. And one talks about 'meaning'! 

Quote of the day:                                                           "Life has no meaning. Each of us has meaning and we bring it to life. It is a waste to be asking the question when you are the answer," asserts Joseph Campbell. 

Word of the day: significance                                      Significance means the meaning or importance of something. 

The special month

 Currently it is absolutely fashionable to deride "Macaulay Putras/Putris", the belief being that Macaulay imposed the English mode of thinking on to the 'natives'. To begin with, regarding the sweeping generalisation without the subtle contours, I have my eternal grouse, namely, people should actually read the concerned original texts and documents!

I have, moreover, yet another point to make in this context. Macaulay or no Macaulay, including his offsprings, et al, such upstarts cannot wipe out the original Indian genius. Want proof? Okay, let us look at the special month, the 'Aadhik Maas' that begins today.

This extra  month is the thirteenth month. Please note that the number 'thirteen' holds no superstitious dismissal hereabouts. Incidentally, it is, in fact, a holy number. As for the "Aadhik Maas", it is known as an intercalary month, a month that is inserted/interpolated. It was introduced by the Vaidik rishis to systematise the lunar and the solar calendars. 

Such an adjustment was considered necessary for two reasons; one theoretical, the other practical. As the mode of living then was agrarian, it was necessary that for maintaining the agricultural cycle, such a 'time-ly' interpolation be made.

Now let us understand the philosophy behind the praxis. It is related to the cosmic cycle. Two modes of measurement were used to grasp it, namely, the lunar and the solar. The lunar year is made of 354 days, while the solar system consists of 365 days. 

There remains hence a difference of 11 days 1 hour 31 minutes and 12 seconds to be precise. To adjust the two modes, after every 32.5 months, is interpolated this extra month. 

The Vaidic calculations maintain that in this interpolated month, the sun does not transit  into the  next zodiac. Instead, it moves within that "raashi" or the zodiac sign. Hence that month is the "Aadhik Maas" or the extra month, which is followed by the "nij" or the actual month. Today, for instance, began the "Aadhik Jyeshtha", while on June 15 would begin the " nij" Jyeshtha. 

Such scientifically precise and accurate information is included in the "Rigveda"  as the hymn dedicated to "kaal", the Chronos/Time, while in the "Shatpath Bramhna" of the "Yajurveda", it is glorified as the addition necessary for the rhythmic cycle of the universe. 

In the "Vedang Jyotishya", supposed to be the foundational text of the Vaidic astronomy,   Rishi Lagath explicates the solar-lunar alignment formally. Obviously, legends would grow for an easy consumption of such complex phenomenon. 

Apparently, every month, except this extrapolated month, had a ruling deity. Because it was added for convenience, it was, moreover, considered impure, and was hence called "Mal Maas". The month prayed to Lord Vishnu who kindly agreed to own it, and, hence, it is now known as "Purushottam Maas", the best month for all sorts of prayers and fasts and penance. What a lovely and astounding combination of astronomy, poetry, and folk tales! 

Pratima@ i love it because one gets to eat "anaarse", one of my favourite most sweets. It is extremely difficulty to prepare, though Aai was excellent at it!

This year, all the fathers-in-law must be thanking Modiji from the core of their hearts. It is a convention to gift a special gold something to the son-in-law in this month. Given the ever rising prices of gold, all the fathers-in-law are sure to love Modiji's appeal to avoid buying any gold this year!!!

Quote of the day:                                                          "Science as an intellectual exercise enriches our culture, and is in itself ennobling," says Henry Taube. 

Word of the day: diurnal                                            Diurnal is a term mostly used in astronomy, and, of course, in poetry, and means consisting of one day. 'The diurnal rotation of the earth' can be an example.

The name is the game!

 When a baby is born in a family, the whole family is excited about the name he/she would be given. Most often, especially if they are first time parents, parents would have decided the name in advance, right? 

These days, however, there is a huge race to give the baby a name which is highly unusual, absolutely exotic, and hence, at times, truly funny. One of my students was "Vedanshi". Logically, just an impossible name it is for a girl. "Vedansh" , to begin with, means "the fourth part of the " Veda". It cannot be feminised with an "i". Similarly, "Ishanwi"  may sound cute, but is absolutely meaningless!

 Let us look at names for girls such as "Dhanwita" or "Sahassika" or "Sitaishaa". Says Nityanand Mishra, a Sanskrit scholar, neither Sanskrit grammar nor Sanskrit semantics would allow such oddities. Similarly, boys, he says, cannot be named "Krushiw" or "Govindit"!

Then there are names which are actually masculine, but are reserved for girls by indulgent but ignorant parents. One such classic example is "Savita", a vocative conjugation of "Savitru" which means the sun! 

The fancy "Nikita" is a Russian male name, while your "Anita" is nothing but "Ana + ita", a diminutive of 'Ana'! "Rajiwa" cannot be a girl's name as it cannot even be the vocative of "Rajiw"! And, oh, yes, actually, it should be spelt as "Rajiv" or "Rajeev"!!! 

Yes, names must be unique. They must, however, be linguistically possible, too,  right? Giving a name to a baby need not get reduced to calling names, right? Naming need not be shaming, and that, too, for a lifetime!

Pratima@ Names are lifelong. They assign an identity. Names are power. Choose carefully because words have grammatical relevance, and, not to forget, meaning! Better okay be the nomenclature! 

Quote of the day:                                                           "A name represents identity, a deep feeling, and holds tremendous significance for its owner," asserts Rachel Ingbert. 

Word of the day: nomenclature                                 Nomenclature is the system of naming things, especially in science. 

A better actress

 Who is a good actress? Certainly not someone devoted to fashion, right? Want proof? Look at whatever happened to Ms. Alia Bhatt at Cannes! Anyways, why this theme? Well, May 15 apparently is the birthday of Madhuri Dixit. I should know. On one too many whatsapp groups was this fact repeated! 

Personally I do not like her song-n-dance stuff. At times, it is too vulgar to deserve a mention. As for looks, it is all the magic of make-up, lighting and camera angles, not to forget the very conscious poses.

True, I have not watched her later movies/Netflix serials. For one thing, I was very busy looking after Aai. If I were to go and watch a movie in a cinema hall, imagine how she would have been treated by the "mavashi" types supposed to look after her in my absence! 

Yet as a film critic for "Newstime", I had watched  Madhuri Dixit in "Lajja", "Devdas" and "Mrityudand", and I have nothing but sheer praise for her acting prowess. Personally, my favourite is "Mrityudand." Here she is not the typical glamour doll.

As the daughter of an idealist father, who has married in to a village landlord family out of love, she is simplicity itself. She loves her husband a lot. Yet she does not mind standing up to him for the sake of ethics and  her principles when he commits mistakes. 

She genuinely cares for his family, especially  for her elder sister-in-law who is almost like his mother. Life has been very harsh to this poor woman accused of being barren. Ketaki respects her, takes care of her needs, stands up to the  whole big bad world for her choices. In Bollywood films/t.v. serials, such a 'sister'-ly depiction is almost impossible.

Much more than that, this sweet but naughty young lady is a woman rebelling against all sorts of injustices, against sexist ill treatment of poor women, against every possible 'corruption', be it monetary, ideological, religious, gender-biased or caste-oriented. Very firmly and bravely, she stands up to the powerful men, be it within the familial fold or in the village itself. 

In the process, an entire way of life changes. The film by Prakash Jha is indeed worth a watch for Madhuri Dixit's acting which brings alive a rather trite storyline. Especially noteworthy is the fact that her co-artists are of the Shabana Azmi calibre, and yet it remains A Madhuri Dixit movie! 

Kudos to her for enacting flawlessly such unique roles where she asserts a woman's worth and choices in a feminine yet determined way, and I suppose that makes her a better actress!

Pratima@ Sad was the news about the demise of Dr. Anand Nadkarni. I had watched a televised interview wherein he was interviewing a friend's daughter. Was he overflowing with admiration!

All the articles, et al, by him, and, yes, that very famous poem by him sure make extremely thoughtful reading. RIP!

Quote of the day:                                                             "Values are like lighthouses. They are signals giving us direction, meaning and purpose," from the "Colonel's" VFW/Victory for Veterans.

Word of the day: thespian                                          "Thespian" is a formal word for actor. Often in Indian 'film criticism', it is used to refer to a talented senior actor.

No Shadow Day!

May 13 was the "no shadow" day. On this day, at 12 noon, our shadow, supposed to follow us throughout  our life, vanishes! How is this phenomenon explained? Exactly at noon, the sun is exactly above head. As the sun is directly overhead (at zenith) at local noon, the shadows fall directly underneath objects, hiding hence the shadows.

Gone is the physical shadow! Explained is the phenomenon logically, rationally, scientifically. How about the other shadow which, forever, dogs our very existence? Yes, I am referring to the Jungian notion of the shadow. 

What Freud  called the "id", Jung chooses to call the shadow. Just as Freud talks about the sublimation of the id, especially by the artists, Jung, too, talks about 'integrating' the ' shadow. 

Why so? The "shadow" refers to the unconscious, repressed, or disowned aspects of the personality—the "dark side" containing traits deemed unacceptable, both by the ego and/or society. Anger, selfishness, or forbidden desires can be considered examples of the 'shadow work'. 

Integrating the shadow is crucial for individuation, as it holds hidden potential and prevents destructive projections. In other words, there can be  'no shadow' day psychologically, too! Indeed, some hope!!! 

Pratima@ 'Geniuses think alike.' Explains the similarity in the ideation of Freud and Jung. Never ever forget the second half of this quote by Alexander  Pope who insisted that "so do fools."

Quote of the day:                                                           " We are but dust and shadow," says Horace. 

Word of the day:  silhouette                                       A silhouette is the dark solid shape of somebody/something seen against a light background. 

The Birth of a Genre

The short story --- a story made of roughly three thousand to five thousand words tops, with a single storyline, minimal characters, and no subplots, but imbued with the creation of an intense ambience which precisely reflected the conflict at the heart of the story which often ended with a twist in the tale--- was born in response to a techno-social compulsion. 

In a way, it began n blossomed in the U. S. England did have short stories. They , however, were long short stories or novellas. Or there were serialised novels, one chapter in the monthly of fortnightly issue. 

The fast paced life in the hugely urbanising and industrialized cities, fast growing to be metros, such as New York  was tough. There was huge internal migration. Waves of immigrants chasing the American Dream were attacking the coastlines. 

Given these and many other factors, getting a home near your workplace was tough. The commute from home to work, and back, would each last at least an hour one way. To break the monotony of the travel time, the commuters needed an easy read. 

A novel was too long, the thread would easily snap, and re-building the (s)pace need not be everybody's cup of tea. A play, too, is too complex to be finished off in an hour. Anyways, it needs to be performed for the entirety of the experience to emerge. Poetry need not be everyone's muse. 

It is believed, hence, that the short story, which could be read within an hour or half, emerged, and became the favourite of the masses. I am sure each one of us has a favourite story written by Guy de Maupassant or O'Henry or Maugham or any of their descendants. Read it again, and mark the time, and you would agree with my statements!

Incidentally, our very own twenty-first century has, too, risen to the occasion. There is the new-fangled vertical drama. Vertical drama (or duanju) are plays, tops two minutes long, hyper-melodramatic series designed for vertical smartphone viewing, featuring twenty to hundred episodes. Primarily originating from China and popular on apps like ReelShort, these shows, such as "How to Break a DILF" and "The Double Life of a Billionaire Heiress," focus on fast-paced narratives like forbidden romance, revenge, and billionaire romance. Escapist entertainment for the sake of an adrenaline high!

Pratima@ My favourite most short story is attributed to Hemingway. It reads, "For sale: baby shoes, never worn."  It is the world best example of flash fiction, yet another genre thrown in by contemporary realities.

Quote of the day:                                                           "Literature is the reflection of the society," says Charles Nadier.

Word of the day: genre                                               A genre is a category of artistic, musical, or literary composition characterised by a specific style, form, or content. 

NEET is not neat!?!

 The UG NEET, the entrance exam for medical degree aspirants, got scrapped. Apparently, there was a paper leak. The "guess paper" had an accuracy rate of almost hundred per cent for Chemistry and Biology. 

A highly hugely disturbing sad fact! No, I have nothing to do with party politics of the Opposition acting holier-than-thou variety. I have three solid worries. Let me discuss these one by one.

The first is the fact that the entire medical field is unmistakably getting conquered by the AI. This reality just cannot be overlooked nor denied. There could be positive fall-out's such as an AI enabled implant making the born blind visually absolutely unimpaired.

Hidden in this technology driven gain is the very existential threat to the medical fraternity to which, unfortunately, not many have woken up. Simplistically put, today itself, when the AI is still evolving, the common man, too, chooses to consult the AI rather than meet a doctor. Very soon, robotics and the AI would hundred per cent take over surgery.  And, here, for dirty monies' sake, people are playing 'guess paper' games!

That brings us to the second truly moot point. Students, and, obviously, their stupidly ambitious parents, who are ready to pay lakhs just for the 'guess paper', not to forget crores as private college fees, hope to be doctors!!! Being a doctor, just like being in academics, is not a 'merely money minting' business. Nor is it either 'just a month end pay cheque' paying profession. How can anybody expect any human(e), forget ethical considerations, 'treatment' from somebody who has paid crores to get a degree?

That brings us to the third major point. Is being a doctor a monetary game? ''Parents have money (How? Let us for the time being forget that truly worrisome issue), will splurge it to throw at the private sector in medical education, and get UG/PG degrees'' kind of attitude reduces the worth and value of the truly talented who genuinely work hard and sincerely, at times, even without the tuition class help. The monied caste seems to be another hurdle hurting the authentic achiever!

What about the despair and depression of these who could have been truly committed to the cause of humane service and research in medicine? Doctor, heal thyself, and fast!

Pratima@ Oh, yes, there is no need to cry over this  'neet-ly' spilt milk. In every demand for "grace marks", accepted as the 'done thing', an unavoidable "compromise" as you are told, the same dirty trick is insistent.

Oh, yes, in most autonomous educational institutes, nobody (neither the students nor their parents, and certainly not the 'professors') is worried that students do not attend the minimally conducted lectures. Instead, there are "question banks" covering the small little portion taught through the now AI versions of the 'Nirali' guides! In brief, "guess papers" are everywhere!

Even when there are three sets of question papers as in the centralised, non-autonomous, university set-up, students 'in the know', they themselves unashamedly tell you to your face, 'get to know' the 'guess paper' version. How? Any guesses?

 In brief, why learn, how teach when money, power, influence, class (of all sorts), caste (of all varieties) can get you every gain! Who cares about which losses!

Quote of the day:                                                           Says William Faulkner, "Never be afraid to raise your voice for honesty and truth and compassion, and against injustice and lying and greed. If people all over the world would do this, it would change the world." 

Word of the day: corruption                                       Corruption is defined as a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense that is undertaken by a person or an organization that is entrusted in a position of authority to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's gain.

The Unmistakable Bhakti Feel

  No, I have not forgotten Tagore. How can a student cum teacher of literature ever forget Tagore? To Indian English literature, he got glory. His early twentieth century win of the Nobel for literature gained visibility for Indian Writing in English. 

Yes, I do know that those in the know feel that his own translation of  the original Bengali Geetanjali in to English is no match to/no patch on the Bengali version. I would not know. My broken Bengali is a product of watching any number of Bengali films. As for "jana gana mana", it is absolutely Sanskritised.

Better not to get in to language debacles, eh, debates. Bitter as it is they are on Bambaiya roads! Instead, let us look at Poem No. XIII from 'The Geetanjali'. The speaker in the poem is describing a mystical feel. 

It describes an eager wait. It is intense yet undefined. The welcome song is ever ready, but yet not sung. Either the accompanying musical instrument is not strung properly or the word order is not set right. 

The agony of the wait, however, is so passionate that it sears the heart. To capture it, Tagore uses the image of an unopened bud around whom the breeze, nay, the wind is sighing by. 

Who is this visitor? Unknown he is, unseen he is, unheard he is. The speaker is just aware only of the gentle footfall in the lane near the home.  The speaker's 'lifelong' day gets spent readying the seat for this much awaited visitor. Yet the lamp is yet to be lit, and as yet are not ready the words of the invite. 

Read the poem without any reference to the poet's name. Does not it sound like any and every Meera Bhajan? Or a "vachan" by Akka Mahadevi? My favourite most Sant Dyandeva's 'virani' ( songs of separation) sound like this poem of acute awaiting. In the Bengali tradition, Jayadeva's "Geet Govindam" has any number of 'padam' expressing an eager, passionate wait. 

Hence my humble submission that unmistakable is the feel of the Bhakti tradition of the Middle Ages in Tagore's  "Geetanjali."  The unstated yet acutely felt intense love for the beloved becomes a metaphor for the devotee's stung soul striving for the divine. May be, this spiritual signification gives "Geetanjali" the glory it 'nobly' deserves. 

Pratima@ Now I am going to be horribly prosaic. Yesterday, I was rushing to reach on time to Raju's place. Suddenly in our backyard, I heard footsteps, some activity. 

A thief in the middle of the morning? No, it was the next door neighbour who just jumped in. No permission, no decency. Simply horrible. The whole day, the whole family lingers near our front yard, coughing, spitting, shitting and pissing and pissing (given the simply horrible smell, nay, stench.)

 They are literally peeping in to the open door, listening to every word while I teach online. They truly need to be taught a lesson. Forever, they are loooooudly yaking away. Why was not that unofficial visit thus declared? How about the decency to inform, to ask for permission? 

That is the reason I am wary about the backyard. Earlier, there used to be a proper fence which was absolutely flattened by the construction activities of the peaceful community building a high rise not even hundred feet away. I requested the owner at least hundreds of times to lift the rubble both sides. At least I can build a proper protective wall, right? To no avail! 

May be, certain people do not understand decency, gentleness, non-interference. I am thinking of alternatives which would din sense in to dumb heads! 

Quote of the day@ Tit for tat!                                   How to extend the tit for tat tactics without dirtying one's own soul? That is the question! Fighting with a pig is no use. One gets dirty, while the pig, anyways, loves the wallowing in the muck! 

Word of the day: swine                                             A swine is a pig , a big fat old nasty hog with short legs, thick bodies, and they eat just about anything. If someone acts like a pig, best to simply call such 'swine'! 

Her Special Day

 Should a day be dedicated to Mother? Or to Father? Well, why? Parents never ever expect a show of love and gratitude. In fact, they would be downright embarassed at the public exhibition. Yet I do feel the need to celebrate both the days, however token-ish they may appear. 

But for my mother, this blog, to begin with, would not be there. Yes, it began on May 9, 2021, the first Mother's Day without her, and I promised myself that it would be forever till I am there. Like her love. 

Yes, Aai is like oxygen. Life begins with her, life sustains due to her. So simple, so unbelievably straightforward is her only wish, her child's happiness. 

I would not be senti in a dishonest way. Yes, it is not compulsory that she likes everything we do. Her love, however, has the infinite forgiveness of  God for the devotee, of mother earth for her forever erring children. 

I consider myself one of the luckiest persons on this earth because I could in a way complete the circle. That is to say, during her last months, I bathed her, cleaned her, combed her hair, fed her, helped her to go off to sleep, and with utmost devotion and love. Just the way she did once for her baby girl. 

2020 March to March, 2021. Covid  was at its worst, the Mukund Nagar quarantine was real bad. Yet I could try my best to make her as comfortable as was human(e)ly possible.

In a way, those tough but enjoyable days, initially she would not understand how I could be teaching online, though later on she used to be more attentive than my online students, taught me that motherhood is a feel. The period strengthened my belief that being motherly is not merely a physical fact. It indeed is a soul n sole solace. 

I do know that wherever she is, she would be her contented calm happy self. Yes, life has gone on. Days begin, nights end. Everything is fine, just as she would have always wished it to be. Yet, every day, there are moments that belong to her, to her memory that forever haunts this home, her home, their togetherness! Yes, life is where Aai is! 

Pratima@ As children, the three of us are exceptionally lucky because our father had a mother's heart, too! 

Quote of the day:                                                        "When you are looking at your mother, you are looking at the purest love you will ever know." Touché, Charley Benetto! 

Word of the day: Aai. 

A day to remember!

 Some days are born great, while some days are made great. Shakespeare would sure laugh off indulgently my take on his "Twelfth Night" (II.v) quote. May 8 was one such day for me. Let me explain why. 

Yes, I do adore nature. As a result, watching documentaries that reveal various aspects of nature is one of my hobbies. When it comes to such docu-statements, who better than the GOAT in this field, Sir David Attenborough, right? 

May 8, 2026 was his hundredth birthday. In his centenary year, what except huge respect for this giant who literally made the whole world, in the air, on the terra firma, and under water, accessible to us! Like Jane Goodall, he was a friend of the human(e) forefather with whom he shared such great shots that most all would forget the monkey business! 

In my personal opinion, I do strongly feel that he is the Darwin of the twentieth century! In his "Beagle", Darwin travelled to literally everywhere, and we understood the origin of the species. Sir David Attenborough made that entire treatise come alive for us, right? 

As a mark of respect for the centenarian, I watched a few of his documentaries which, anyways, make you yet again fall in love with the varied beauty and vivacity of life on earth, in air, and under water! 

The curiosity one always feels about such documentaries is about the crew. Honestly, one of my ardent wishes is to spend a summer holiday with the team of either "Discovery"  or "National Geographic". Thus may be fulfilled yet another of my dreams, yes, holding a lion cub, playing with a lion cub. An hour would do, too!!! 

Well, why I am talking of all this what may appear as sheer nonsense to many is because I watched a YouTube video in which Sir David Attenborough's crew behind the camera talks about him. The video proved that his gentleness towards animals is just an extension of his kindness towards people, and vice versa. May he live strong and healthy, and enrich our lives with a few more of his finds around the world! 

Pratima@ The evening of May 8 was still better. I got my colleague's, Dr. Gokhale Madam's, message that Shantanu, her son, a dental surgeon with the Mangeshkar Hospital, and an absolutely accomplished santoor player would be performing in a programme in Tilak Smarak Mandir. 

There was no chance whatsoever that I would miss such a golden opportunity. Within an hour of getting Ma'am's message, voilà, I was there, and was it a great, superb, simply fabulous evening! 

Shantanu began with a folk tune that celebrated the unique sound patterns of Jammu-Kashmir, from whence hails his guru, Pandit Shivkumar Sharma. 

Next, he presented masterfully medleys dedicated to Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle and O. P. Nayyar. Further, his renditions of the gems from the golden era of the Hindi film music were simply superb. Fabulous was his tribute to the R. D. Burman-Kishore Kumar-Rajesh Khanna trio. Be it the nineties' or the recent most songs, his santoor made many amongst the audience in to amateur singers! 

The final classical raag was the ultimate crescendo of a perfect evening. The raag he chose was not a typical one. Yet his performance  was such that one would not have minded a full-fledged hour-long exploration by him. 

What was simply marvellous about the fabulous performance was that he was himself intensely n immensely enjoying playing the difficult santoor as much as his audience appreciated his brilliant rendition. 

Equally wonderful was the fact that he was constantly co-ordinating sensitively with, was cheerfully responding to, happily encouraging his co-artists. As a result, the mehfil had an enrichingly melodious effect that is sure to linger long in his audience's memory. Indeed i cannot thank Gokhale Madam enough for the invite! 

Quote of the day:                                                          Yesterday was destined to be a unique day! 

Word of the day: rendition                                     Rendition is a particular performance, interpretation, or version of a song, piece of music, or artistic work. 

THE Summer Vacation

 The summer vacation is the bestest time in a child's life, right? The final exam results are through once and for all. Everyone has accepted them willy-nilly. No other exam is looming large on the horizon. The school threat is a month away. 

Wake up late, eat heaps of mangoes in all shapes and varieties, as slices, as 'aamras', as mango shake, as home-made ice-cream, and so on, and so on. Read very many story books, get pampered silly by parents, enjoy all sorts of excursions. Life was simply fun. 

I suppose, ours was the last generation who thus enjoyed the vacation for the sake of vacation. Now there are any number of summer special batches. Parents eagerly register the kids' names in all such camps, and the punishing schedule is much worse than the school time itself.

May be, I am wrong, but I do think that both the mind and body of a kid needs a break, just sheer lazying around, living life to heart's content, simple joys, nothing much to prove, right? Hope such summer vacations would return, and soon. 

The summer times of going to grandma's place, getting indulged there beyond wor(l)ds, beyond the typical discipline of gentle parents, playing with cousins, life would be simply great!

Pratima@ Remember the 'great' learning to swim? Simply getting thrown down the deep well? The whip (sp)lash of cold water! And then the tadpole swimming! Life was, well, LIFE! 

Quote of the day:                                                         "Memories of childhood were the dreams that stayed with you after you woke," says Julian Barnes

Word of the day:                                                          Summer vacation, and all is said!

Fair? Just?

 Venue: Thiruvananthapuram in Keralam.      Occasion: The newly elected MLA's meet. The mood is understandably upbeat and jubilant. The Kollam MLA, Ms Bindu Krishna, is the target of this attack. A very senior Congress Leader, Cherian Philip, ignores the hand she offers. 

Instead he tries for a tight hug and embrace, throws his arm around her neck and back. She is highly uncomfortable. That is but natural. On the basis of this awkward and highly embarassing faux-pas (which, I am sure, Dr. Shashi Tharoor, whom I highly respect, must have frowned upon), did anyone ask for the resignation of the LOP, the Congress Party top leader, Rahul Gandhi? 

Yes, the argument could have been: if a woman MLA is not safe in the party headquarters, which woman is safe in the public sphere, etc etc etc! 

Now compare the situation to what is happening in and around Pune. Absolutely sick and pervert behaviour. Such elderly relatives (?????) are wolves in sheep's clothing. They need to be punished. 

Why drag Pune reputation in to such heinous crimes? Much worse, however 'smart' politically it may be, why demand for the resignation of the Chief Minister cum Home Minister? Why drag ugly politics in to an already horrible context? 

Videos after videos show that the traffic jam near Navale Bridge due to the unfortunate and ugly incident in Narsapur was the handiwork of a particular political party during whose reign much worse events claiming many innocent lives took place. Neither the C.M. nor the H. M. (State or Central) resigned then, right? 

Undeniably, all such incidents are inhuman(e). The culprits must be heavily punished, and FAST. Yet there is a procedure to it, and the C.M., who cannot possibly control the weird perversions in every old fellow, some of whom had earlier committed such crimes repeatedly, cannot be dragged in to mean politicking over such awful occurrences. Anyways, the Badlapur encounter was horrible, too! Significantly, the Narsapur citizens, even when they caught the culprit almost on the spot, did not take law in to their hands, right?

Anyways, legal deterences alone are hardly ever helpful. There is a need to find socio-ethical solutions. May be, in ghettoes, old drunkards should be given some physical labour kind of work. May be, the company CSR funds could thus be utilised. There could be creches for the children of zopadpatti working women so that children's safety is ensured. 

In brief, it is hardly fair to attack the CM cum HM for a psycho-social evil. The police cannot, and must not, control every intent behind every 'touch' in each house. Instead, women's groups, the NSS volunters can sensitise using the CSR funds, right? 

Wrong it is equally to take law in to hands. Remember the Hyderabad rape case? Such horrors are also due to simply ugly material being cheaply (in all senses of the term) available online. May be, such online sites and the free flow of liqueur could be controlled. There ARE very many positive solutions available. Hardly fair to target the CM cum HM out of political malice!!! 

Pratima@ The "Last Traffic Jam"  on the Express Way was unfortunate. Do not we, however, travel with lots of eats and water bottles, especially when we are travelling with children? Every conscientious mother thinks ahead of all possible eventualities, and stacks against them for the sake of her kid(s). 

Out of consumerist laziness ( I shall throw money and get everything and anything at beck and call, I shall take a selfie anywhere I want to because I have an expensive mobile) one cannot blame the CM for every possible lacunae, however small or big. During the Chardham Yatra, for instance, breakfasts and water bottles used to be packed ready, even if we had to leave at 5.30 a.m., and even when everyone on the tour was approaching forty at least!

Quote of the day:                                                   "Hypocrites are those," asserts Noam Chomsky, " who apply to others the standards they refuse to accept for themselves.”

Word of the day: Discriminatory.                             Discriminatory means unfairly treating one person or a group of people worse than others.

N.B. :                                                                                Horrible it was to interview, for the sake of the TRP, the victims' parents or the criminal's wife and son. Decency should matter above all! 

Soupçon II.vii.b

                       Soupçon II.vii.b                            Feminist Response to the Public Sphere 

Laughter is the best!

 Why this title? Is that your question? Yes, on the first Sunday of May (this year on May 3) is celebrated the World Laughter Day. Most significantly, it is instituted by an Indian, Dr. Madan Kataria. 

Yes, laughter IS indeed the best medicine. Yet this laughter is slightly different though. Across India, there are these morning laughter yoga clubs, mostly attended by senior citizens. These gatherings take place mostly in gardens. 

The faith is that even an artificially contrived laughter and a happy face thus are good for health. There are very many types of such laughters, and these are consciously imitated to have a positive impact on health.  The World Laughter Day is to propagate health this way, and across the world. 

An admirable goal! Personally, though, I am extremely wary of artificial laughter. In my opinion, laughter must bloom from within, and must be reflected in the eyes. Lips that curl in to a smile, while eyes are dead (with disgust or an other emotion) is in my opinion sheer wastage. As many people, as many opinions though!

In the dis-eased world today, laughter of any type, genuine or artificial, is indeed worthy. So, even if, our blog talks of the world laughter day a little late, no harm. Throw back your head in perfect glee, and laugh out loud!

Pratima@ It is not exactly a bad idea to join one such laughter yoga club. A morning walk, some facial exercise, better inhaling thus cannot harm for sure!

Quote of the day:                                                            "A smile is the best make up any girl coud wear," asserted Marilyn Monroe.

Word of the day: guffaw                                           A guffaw is a loud, boisterous, and hearty burst of laughter, often triggered by something stupid, ridiculous, or genuinely humorous.

 

Minding Marx

 Currently, the world over, there are echo chambers in abundance. You can 'belong' if and only if you make the right noises which that particular group loves to listen to. Even if you were to deviate by an inch/iota, the entire gang is sure to harrangue/hassle/harass you like a pack of hyenas. 

This tendency is much worse and more markedly (pre)dominant in/amongst the so-called intellectuals. So drunk are these mafioso on their forever being the correct, the right, the  'i-deal' voice(s) that nuanced self-reflexivity which doubts any monolithic formats would not dare to be anywhere near their shadow(s), so absolutely convinced they are of they alone being sincere, authentic, progressive, blah, blah, blah ad infinitum!

Do not you believe me?  Okay, just try saying that we should re-look at 'Manusmriti' as a product of its times. A beehive would blush at the attack that would follow. 'Scholars' who have not touched the text with a barge pole, 'activists' who are most often hypocritically interested in furthering their own, at the most, their gang's, welfare and agenda would reduce you to persona non grata, and in a jiffy! 

So, you have to be either pro Palestine, or you are a retrograde traditionalist conservative! Iran may shield the worst terrorists. If you were to bring this fact in to the debate, all the atom bombs in the whole world would be directed at you! 

No better is the other side! Currently, in India, for example, thinking of Marx is a crime. NO, I am NOT a Marxist! Nothing in the whole world would induce me to be one!! NO, I am not an Urban Naxalite either!!! Believe me, such would not like any truck with me!

Yet, YES, for sure, I do think that Marx is a poet of the radically transformative change. Do not you believe me? Okay, actually read his stuff, his writings on literature, for instance. Well, not interested in such theory? Read his "Manifesto". It is a poem of progress. 

Oh, yes, Marx always thinks in and through metaphors. He was a minor litterature, though he majored in philosophy, political economy, and sociology. In our so-called interdisciplinary etc, etc, etc era,  we conveniently forget how thoughtfully we could critique wor(l)ds through his paradigms. 

Just as it is stupid to criticise the never-read "Manusmriti" by quoting  some one-liner out of context, it is equally ludicrous to talk and talk and talk about the "religion as opiate" in a de-contextualised way.

No, the so-called disciples' crimes cannot vitiate a thinker. A Stalin or a Mao, I can go on listing names endlessly, cannot tarnish a way of thinking which Marx himself would not mind being opened up, being questioned, being critiqued! Hence this tribute to Marx on the day of his birth anniversary!

Pratima@ We have nothing to lose but the shackles of our silly-silly prejudices if we keep an open mind! Beyond partisanship, there exists a sphere where genuine conscientious aware wor(l)ds await us!

Quote of the day:                                                           "If partisanship makes us abandon intellectual honesty... we become mere political short-sellers, hoping for bad news because it's good for our ideological investment," asserts Kurt Andersen.

Word of the day: partisan                                          Partisan means showing excessive support for one person, group or idea, especially without considering it carefully and/or critically.

Soupçon II.vii.a

                  Soupçon II.vii.a                                       Critique of the notion of the Public Sphere 

The concept called 'public sphere' is much critiqued. In this series, we are going to look at two major strands; namely, the critique by the Frankfurt School and the response by the feminists.

Habermas himself belongs to the Frankfurt School, too. Neither would he deny how the public sphere is vitiated by the dual forces, of the mass media and of the consumerist culture. Add in the interference of/by the political parties, and, unmistakably, the public sphere gets re-feudalised. 

Adorno spearheads the criticism of the hollowing out of the public sphere and the rational debates therein. The culprit is the culture industry, given the dominant late capitalism as the overarching mode.

 The resultant commodification and, hence, the inevitable standardisation of thought processes do not encourage individuated, transformative, rational discourse as the citizen is demeaned in to being a passive conformist consumer. 

The Frankfurt School  argues that mass culture, through the various media, spreads and maintains the late capitalist ideology.

What can be an antidote to the reductionist false consciousness which thus dominates? In the opinion of the Frankfurt School thinkers, the radically oppositional art alone can open up the subtle but unmistakable authoritative underpinning which diminishes the potentially functional public sphere in to a mere empty facade. 

Such radical oppositional art often is the contribution of the historically dispossessed, as categories such as gender, race, class or ageism (targetted against both the weaker sections, that is, children and the 'senior citizens') keep them out in the first place. Hence this eight part introduction (II.i to II.vii.b) to the concept called public sphere, which gained fresh traction due to the sad demise of Habermas, would end with an outline of the feminist response to the notion of the public space.

Pratima Agnihotri                                                        Pune 

The Bengal Win

 Election results are always electrifying. Like the thunder and lightening before a sudden summer shower, they change the very feel. However much predicted, via psephology or otherwise, there always is a sense of throbbing tension, of anticipation, of surprise. 

The election results of the five state assemblies this summer were almost foregone conclusions, yet there were twists such as the surprise Tamilnadu sprang. Hence there is always a lesson or two to learn in every election season. 

In 2025, i, too, travelled from 'Gangotri to Gangasagar'. Every second of that journey is a forever imprint on my mind. Yes, I do vividly remember the drive from Kolkata railway station to Gangasagar, and back. The taxi fellow was what I would call the 'chota bhadralok'. 

What I mean is that the young man was  an extremely aware person. He cared for his state's progressive image. He knew his gracious behaviour would matter in creating the "amar shonar Bangla" effect.

 He was politically extremely voluble, had defined opinions he could discuss intelligently, the typical cultured person one typically associates with Bengal, the 'bhadralok'. I call him "chota" because he came from the lower middle class, unlike the richie-rich zamindar bhadralok. 

His opinions were quite some crystal gazing for the Bengal mood,  best reflected in the aware  middle class/upper middle class anger at the GOAT Messi fiasco at the Salt Lake stadium. Equally palpable was the frustration felt at the unmistakable illegal immigration, nay, invasion. No wonder, the election result in Bengal was as obvious as the Assam or the Baramati win!

Praiseworthy are the efficient efforts of the election commission machinery who had the most uneviable duty, what with record break voter turnout, not to forget the usual Opposition allegations. The BJP as usual worked very hard, and systematically, for its victory. The party played its cards most astutely. What was lost in the women's reservation bill debates on the floor of the parliament was thousand fold retrieved during the election result counting! Talk of a twist in the tale! 

Pratima@ I absolutely admire the stamina and the dedication of both, Modiji as well Dr.Tharoor. Both tirelessly combed the respective constituencies in the blazing heat, even when both are in their mid-seventies. Admirable commitment!

Both of them are clearly highly respected in their respective constituencies, albeit the thunderous response his rallies received in all the five states would mean that, for Modiji, the whole of India seems to be a constituency! Most significantly, this time round, Modiji, dressed the Bengali way for the victory speech, did  never ever, not even once, mention "Didi, oh, Didi" in his speeches. Wonderful learning from faux-pas!

Quote of the day:                                                        "Victory is always possible for a person who refuses to stop trying, " says Napoleon Hill.

Word of the day: bhadralok                                    Bhadralok (Bengali for "gentlefolk") is a social class in Bengal, emerging during the British rule (the nineteenth century) as an educated, upper-caste, and elite Bengali community, marked by both wealth as well as cultural, intellectual, and refined behavioral standards. 

Nota Bene:                                                                   Despite open attacks by Madhu Kishwar, and her spoofs with proof as she insisted, nothing shifted, altered, changed in Modiji's popularity! Perceptions once formed, never ever waver! 

Soupçon II.vi

                     Soupçon II.vi                                                      Habermas' Public Sphere        

As an intellectual, Jürgen Habermas strides dense domains. Philosophy is his forte, though his ideas can be part of sociology, politics as well as media studies. He had a brilliant long career which experts divide in to four groups. At the outset, literature students need not go in to such minutiae. Suffice it here to get to know the silhouette of his notion of the public sphere. 

For him, it is a vibrant and essential middle terrain between the state and the private space. An organ of the civil society, it is for him a "discursive space" where citizens may debate, analyse threadbare, discuss issues of public interest . 

As he thinks of it as an open and equal arena, free of any economic compulsions or  political partisanship, or any other conflict of interest or intimidation, in his opinion, the discussion in the public sphere can lead to rational influence by-n-of the public, and in the final analysis can result in a democratic check on state activities. 

The quite Utopian notion is a fall-out of the post war era. It is ideally suited to the Western context, to be precise, is relevant to nation states that are mostly monolingual, and are not chaotically multi-religious and multi ethnic. Unity, rather than diversity, is the base of such rational debate. 

As literature students, we know that literature has yet another ambiguity built in to literature because it is simultaneously in the public arena and in the private space as subjective engagement and personal identification both by the characters and the reader(s) matter the most. Literature hence uses simultaneously almost all the linguistic functions as defined by Michael  Halliday. In other words, the Habermas-ian public sphere opens up interestingly, if/when extended to literature.

Pratima Agnihotri                                                       Pune 

A transcendental date indeed!

 Remember "Narayan, Narayan" intoned in a certain way to the tune of the veena? Yes, in the "maha" episodes of the much liked mythologicals on the single channel television of the eighties, this character enjoyed a love-hate relationship with the spectators. 

Yes, Maharishi Narada whom the serials reduced in to a comic tell-tale villain was actually never so. Not only was he a great sage, but he was also highly knowledgeable and wise. Why, he invented the veena! A great singer and artist, he was the divine messenger, too, whose advice led to unique events such as the 'Shiv-Parvati Vivah', for instance 

In fact, May 2, supposed to be "Narad Jayanti", is hence celebrated as the 'journalism day', dedicated to honest journalism. True, in our post-truth era marked by narratives, journalism is most often reduced to opinionated partial (in every sense of this word) truth, nay, falsehoods. No wonder, like the teaching community, once revered to no end, journalists, too, were highly honoured. I do know rather very well the respect for both these vocations. 

Message was medium, and vice versa, as Marshall McLuhan would say. The divine Narada would be the ideal deity for that tribe. Unfortunately, currently, like most all everything, journalism, too, has mostly reached the nadir in its partisanship. Truth is lost in the opinionated cacophony, just like pop raps drown great tunes celebrating superb poetry! 

Pratima@Great souls are born on May 2. Yes, the date marks the birth anniversary of Vasantrao Deshpande, one of the best music doyens whose unique renditions enriched classical music as well as Marathi "natya geet" and "bhava geet". His " main patiyan likh bheju" entice our ears as much as his  "surat piya ki" or "tejo nidhi loh gol". His "datuni kanth yeto" is so touching that many modern brides may not mind their costly eye make-up thus getting washed out in the torrent of tears. 

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

Word of the day: Transcend                                     Transcend means go further than the usual limits of something.

An exquisite drink : A truly Indian soft drink

 There is a rather quirky joke doing the rounds of the wapp groups. "When it is cold beer, it is summer. If whiskey is offered, it means the rainy days, and if rum is on the rocks, it has to be winter."

Well, as an absolute teetotaller, I would not know the truth of this assertion. Yet just look around, and if you see the neera shoppies in every nook n corner, you can safely draw the conclusion that summer is here to stay.

Neera is indeed an exquisite drink. It is divinely cool. Absolutely quenches your thirst in a few sips, and the remaining swigs of this real soft (in all senses of the term) drink can be savoured, instead of gulping it down. 

How is neera made? Neera (also spelled Nira) is not actually made from a fruit, but is a sweet, nutrient-rich sap tapped from the immature flower clusters (inflorescence) of various palm trees. 

It has a unique taste. It is sweet, a mix of sugar cane juice and tender coconut water. It is an absolute health drink whose benefits literally cannot be counted. It saves the body from kidney infections, tooth decay, and many other high profile diseases due to a faulty lifestyle. Specially good for expectant mothers, it is equally helpful for children and senior citizens, too. 

No wonder, come summer, I am forever on the look-out for a neera shop, nectar nearby this planet of ours where most all truths and honesties are mostly mocked! 

Pratima@ The only problem is that if it is not kept cool, it ferments, and then it is nothing but "desi daru", the " local liqueur." Aai hence often insisted that it must be drunk before noon. 

Quote of the day:                                                       "Nothing I have ever drunk has ever tasted like this before: rich and cool and perfectly happy in my mouth." Neil Gaiman would excuse me the minor changes I have made to his quote. 

Word of the day: savour                                          Savour (or savor) means to enjoy food, drink, or an experience, slowly and completely, relishing every moment of the taste. 

May Day is unique!

 In the nautical dialect, which my shippie brother, Raju, knows in thorough detail,  "may day" has a particular meaning. Sure, he would correct me immediately, and point out that it is written as "mayday". Yes, it is a distress call, and it may be pointed out that it could be an off-shoot of the French "m'aider", French for 'help me.'

Yet I would like to play on the word, and insist that 'May Day' is 'mayday' or 'm'aider' in other multiple ways. Why/how so? Let me see if I can explain. May 1 is indeed special. On this day, in the Northern hemisphere alais the Western World (to use the parlance everybody would immediately cotton on to), is celebrated the spring festival. 

As the beginning of the summer festival, which is truly pleasant there, this ancient ritual celebrates fertility, exactly the same way many of our harvest festivals do. Often, there is a dancing around a maypole, and  a "May Queen", too, gets crowned! Remember the famous "sawan ke zule" hereabouts? 

Yes, it is the international labour day, and given the upstart AI currently claiming the white collar jobs (very soon, with robotics, it would manage to gobble up the blue collar jobs, too), this day needs to be taken utmost seriously. The AI, alais Revolution 5.0 or whatever, IS vastly different from the earlier technological interventions affecting the socio-economic realities, and no better than today to open up the dressing-up of this ever festering issue!

Yes, of course, I AM extremely proud of the fact that it is the Maharashtra Day. They say, what Bengal thinks today, the rest of India thinks, may be, a week later. Let me tell you, what Maharashtra thinks, feels, most importantly, does today, the rest of the world has to reverberate, and ASAP! Remember how Barry Sternlicht got an absolute earful for hinting that Monsieur Mamdani would make a Mumbai of New York?  Yes, Maharashtra was, is, and will be Number One. Here is a confident and proud Happy Maharashtra Day!

Pratima@ Want proof why I am so cheering up my region? No, it is no empty parochialism. Just go n have a look at the 'missing link' project inaugurated today! I, too, am raring to travel that way. Hope the occasion would soon emerge.

Quote of the day:                                                        Jared Loto's assertion, "the bridge between reality and dreams is work" is apt for most of all associations of this May Day.

Word of the day: unparalleled                                   Unparalleled is an adjective which refers to a person or an achievement/opportunity that  simply is exceptional, has no equal, is matchless, or is  greater than any other, thus highlighting superior quality, scope, or rarity. 

Soupçon II.v

                    Soupçon II.v                                                         The English H(e)aven:                          Coffee Houses and the Publishing Industry 

"The Rise of the Novel"  (1957) by Ian Watt is a definitive text in the field of criticism. As he analyses authors such as Defoe, Richardson, Fielding  move away from the archetypes and universal ideals inscribed in the "romances", and instead prefer the realistic mode presenting daily lived lives of real time people, he provides us a panoramic view of the literary-intellectual scenario of the eighteenth century England.

He talks of the unmistakable rise of the aspirational middle class eager for intellectual finesse. This growing non-aristocratic readership preferred individualism and democratic openness, unlike the feudal shackles of the Middle Ages.

The other major factor was women (no longer a part of the production process in the era of the Mercantile and Industrial Revolution, unlike in the agrarian economy) who were eager readers. The increasing literacy rate in this target group and the affordability of books due to the advances in the printing industry created a dynamic intellectual ambience. 

The eighteenth century London, given the readership's huge demand for 'knowledge', was the hub of the publishing industry. Alexander Pope's satires such as "Letter to Dr. Arbuthnot", "The Dunciad"  provide us ample proof of poetasters bursting with writer-ly pretensions. 

Despite such detestable pen-pushers, there was an unmistakable hunger for knowledge, so to say. Thus flourished the publication industry which published novels, newspapers, magazines. Remember, Dr. Johnson and his ''Dictionary"? Thus began, and flourished, professions such as critic-scholar(s), journalists, novelists, and the publishing industry thus grew exponentially.

In Fleet Street, London, publishing cut its umbilical cord with mere printing, and became a profitable business with its own strategies of marketing and distribution. Thus emerged a public sphere of very many discourses because such 'ephemeral' prints as newspapers, magazines, pamphlets need not always necessarily be in mutual agreement. 

Coffee houses, also known as "penny universities" ( pay a penny for a hot drink, prefarably coffee and enjoy hours of literary, philosophic, intellectual discussions), allowed 're-views' of most all everything.                       

The coffee house clientele was not an  aristocratic monolith. Unlike the salon, here was a cross section of the entire society which debated along with the intellectuals, authors and journalists. This democratic, egalitarian feel allowed for free flow of ideas, for dissent. Indeed it was hence a h(e)aven for the growth of the public sphere.

Pratima Agnihotri                                                       Pune