Spying

 Spying is such a silly activity, right? Oh, yes, sure, I am NOT talking of the international arena. Even in that field, I believe, a talk between the parties concerned could avoid multiple miscommunications. Yet the contexts there are pretty complex. I would not hence much like to comment on that sphere.

In other fields, in interpersonal relationships, for instance, spying is downright ridiculous. If a person has decided to hide something from you, to begin with, that individual would have her/his reasons for it. Hence, come what may, the person would not reveal it anyways. In the process, the spies and their puppet masters would be shamed.

The best example of this universal truth is Hamlet. The hyper intelligent hurt Hamlet soon realises that everyone around him is a spy. The spy-rings around him include family and friends, mother and beloved, too, though they do not realise that they are being used, I suppose. 

The spying would have led to his death.The intelligent Hamlet guesses through it, and uses it to the disadvantage of his enemies. The best proof of how and why spying is absolutely useless, unless, of course, the spy and the power(s) behind such cheapest  cheapskate(s) love falling flat on face, like getting exposed!

No padmakers (the word has multiple layers of meanings), no raving-mad-tea's (oh, a Marathi name close to it!) can thus help any 'altu-faltu' atlee-baldies, however much they rat, scream, plot, lie, libel. Poor cheapo's, crooks all, wasting their anyways useless time and ill-gotten monies!

Pratima@spying, spying, yes, dung-o/ spreading lies, you whacko/wasting your non existent brain, ha, ha, ha!

Whither(ed) Childhood

 Currently, there is this video on the Google which is apparently hugely popular. That is to say, it has gone viral. It shows a small boy. The legend below the snap shows the kid to be three. One would not know, but the child surely could not be older than six, for sure.

This video shows a kid about to drink sugarcane juice. The father asks him to look in to camera so that the shoot could carry on. Well, the child loses his cool,  and follows a tirade wherein he blasts the father for constantly shooting him. He reminds the father that the day before he was shot while 'doing potty'.

Of course, the child's irritation, his response afterwards appeared rather 'staged'. Even then, the video raises very interesting issues such as the lust for instant and constant publicity, even if cheap, the eternal invasion of the social media in an individual's privacy, the constant camera conscious posing, et al. The list could go on.

As a result, children are precocious. They internalise very early adult values, imposed on them via the mobile, the serials, the video games, for instance. Every child now is an expert at selfie pouting, at being 'smart' at/with the camera. In the process, the essential and innate innocence is absolutely lost, completely tarnished.

The truly worst are the children participating in the multi- channel talent search shows. It is a terror, a horror to see a child mouthing, moving, gyrating to a 'lavani', to a vulgar, double meaning song with extremely provocative gestures. Even if they win, yet again the staged competition, they would be forgotten within a months tops. 

In the process in the meanwhile much is lost, much water flows under the bridge washing away forever the childhood, never ever to return! Wither(ed) indeed the childhood!

Pratima@if such is childhood, how would be the adulthood!!?!!

Minimalis Maximalis

 This evening I was looking up a research video about the planet Pluto. The whole of it is indeed infinite. The distance between the earth and Pluto, the observer spaceship reaching the Plutonic orbit in five years, performing seamlessly at such a wide angle and wild distance, conducting all possible scientific analyses, video- shooting while orbiting the planet, the whole of it is a great tribute to human intelligence powered by a superb, fertile imagination.

Unbelievable was the further analysis of whether there would be water and possibly life on Pluto. Indirectly hence it was a re-vision of how life began here on earth. Well, I have completed online courses on ecology as well as anthropology. The kind of wonder I then felt paled in comparison with the feel this evening 

And then the famous quote by Stephen Hawking that can roughly be summarised as follows: human beings are slightly better and/or advanced monkeys on an ordinary earth that is revolving around an ordinary sun slowly dying out which anyway is a mere Lilliput-ian structure in this vast universe.

Well, vast, infinite, and yet human intellect and imagination, properly used, can precisely predict the very origin and the end thereof. It is a feel that is both humbling and energising simultaneously. 

In my mid-teens, I always used to tell myself that I am a girl in a small city in a state, in a country till one progressively and exponentially reached the solar system so as to keep oneself grounded. Now one knows the grandeur of it all.

Indeed smallest of the smallest and yet grand-est of the greatest, that is defining the human. No wonder, one loves the tribute to human beings in Sophocles' Antigone and Shakespeare's Hamlet. Minimalis Maximalis, in brief!

Pratima@in a speck of dust/dormant lie the mysteries of the stars as dust!

Who is afraid of an (offline) exam?

 Yet another about to rage fiercely storm, with lot of sound and fury, signifying nothing, would be the nature of the possible format of the imminent UG and PG examinations. To write proper analytical answers or to mcq, that is the question!

Apparently, many students want the online mcq exam format because the current semester would be of just two months. When I read/heard this argument, literally there were tears of a huge laughter in my eyes because I remembered the attendance record of students pre-Corona times when there used to be full fledged, full scale semesters.

In most leading colleges, the morning 7.30 lectures would be just one or two in an entire huge building. My 7.30 Eng Special lecture, attended by 75% of the student population, would often not have a companion in an entire big building! Actually, every room had an assigned lecture as per the time table!

Everywhere, in each and every college, that used to be the same, sad story that would continue till the daily lectures ended at about 11.30! There was no Corona scare, regular full term studies used to be conducted. But students would be scarce. In a leading Univ PG class, since 20 out of 30 students would attend my lectures meant they liked me, said the Head, confessing further that not even ten students attended her own lectures.

In other words, whether the semester lasts six months or two months, students hardly attend lectures.  Look at the online lectures, for instance. When the teachers used to teach online, via the Meet or Teams mode, they were literally in the students' study room or study corner in the house, right? Even then the attendance used to be very low.

In brief, most students never study throughout the six months of the semester. Most of them mug up 'guides', now available online, too, technology, 'jai ho', and, unfortunately, even if they mug up the night before the exam, they manage to get wonderful marks. Nobody, almost nobody, fails, as even the establishment, too, wants most all to pass, by either hook or crook.

Well, the bloated 'everybody above 95%' kind of marks are not going to land them jobs as the job market is acutely wary of the quality of the Covid batches. Moreover, dictating the universities to conduct an exam in the student preferred way/mode is a serious encroachment on, grievous infringement of the  University rights as per the University mandate. 

In brief, even now there is time. The UG/PG students should improve their writing practice, and choose the offline exam like the tenth/S.S.C and twelfth/H.S.C. students did. In that lies their own good, their own better futures! Zindagi such much me nahi milegi dobara!

Pratima@ Students of   colleges and universities, unite and attend lectures, you have nothing to lose except ignorance!

Perspective

 It was by chance that I got to see the video. I was scrolling down for the news items. This particular video was ensconced therein. Actually, I rarely watch such videos about Bollywood people. It is sheer phillumbazi most often.

Well, in this particular video, Abhishek Bachchan was being quizzed about his wife. She is the "Miss World", successful as a heroine, had her share of gossip. But the way he handled every question about her, even the nasty ones, showed an extremely mature approach, very sure of himself, too. Indeed a class act which reflects very well on his upbringing, on the familial values.

Exactly opposite in attitude was the wife of a famous politician. He is well known for his efficiency,  sincerity, honesty, genuine wholesomeness, the 'good guy'  types. She was trying to be the 'oh so cool Modern Ms'. In the process, she often would come across as rather silly.

Even when the poor man was trying to save the situation in a subtle way, she would come up with, would let loose yet another 'gem', more embarrassing than the earlier. Whosoever could tell such people that publically dragging your partner over coals is not 'cool'.

Well, in public places, rectitude matters, I believe. Is not it the first rule of 'good communication' that " praise a person in public, blast him/her in private!" Openly showing your differences in public just appears hip. Actually, it is, I think, plain 'hic(k)'!

Pratima@Perspective and rectitude do matter, especially in intimate relationships in public glare!  

Of Mother, of parents, Born

 The title, as you can very easily guess, is a play on the famous quote in Shakespeare's Macbeth. That source apart, what does a birthday mean when both your parents are no longer 'alive', except in your memory and in the photos hanging on the wall?

Yes, they are very much there. There is  indeed a chamber in your brain wherein echoes their voice, both literally and figuratively. I suppose, in a way, this kind of orphaned feeling is more a call to be more responsible, both to your real self and the self they spent almost a lifetime crafting, sculpting you.

In other words, the day means yet again getting to examine your own self, getting to know the 'real', the genuine you, which should help reduce the dross in you. May be, that is why, in the Indian culture, we have the "niranjan" ritual. May be, even the  candles on the birthday cake, too, suggest this lighting up from within that is yet necessary, still awaiting its full flash?

Vinaya and Seema, my cousins, who so lovingly and painstakingly paid perfect attention to the minutest detail to 'make my evening' indeed must have yet again met their 'atya', their aunt, too, in a way? May be, it is this subtle support, that continues to be there however busy life chooses to be, is what they, the parents, leave us with, the special phone calls by brothers, by much loved nephews, the wishes, the messages, the calls by more her nieces, her brother who as well are your cousins,  your maternal uncle, your sense of gratitude to them for standing by you,  this 'we are family' feel as the f(orget me not) minor(as distant from daily lived professional lives) makes one 'of mother, of parents born' a lovely song of existence!

Pratima @ The birthday is yet another go at self reflexivity!

Work as Worship

 Sure  Maharashtra Formation Day matters a lot. In the enthusiasm, however, most all seem to have forgotten that May 1 is May Day, alias International Labour Day, too!

Personally I would have liked it a lot if there were many and meaningful debates about the nature of work right now. Due to the Corona scare, most all are blinded to the fact that subtly but very surely and rapidly, the very nature of work is changing drastically, what with Revolution 5.1, or whichever way we may choose to nominate it.

We are already in the metaverse, we are already cyborgs, we are already being defined by the AI, and what have you. These, and other such strides of technology, we possibly cannot control or contain. They have already started defining our very selves radically.

In such magical yet mysterious contexts, there is an urgent need of a re-look at the very notion of work.  It is absolutely not hard work any longer. It is no longer mere smart work either. It is neither soft skills support. 

Work soon is going to be more and more scarce as machines would do a lot of intellectual work, too. 'Pink slip' is gonna be the best buddy soon. Constant up-skilling would be the new mantra that, too, may not help.

No, I am not a pessimistic crybaby. Yet I do feel there is an urgent need to re-look at these issues, think through these existential dilemmas. How I wish such, such would have been the debates, too, on the International Labour Day.

Pratima@how to worship work now?