Short term Memory

 The first death anniversary of Latatai did not seem to create (m)any ripples. Her die-hard fans like me sure would have listened to her hundred best, for instance. There were not, however, any major events to mark the occasion, right?

Tough indeed it is to believe how short (lived) the public memory is. May be, these days the mystique of a legend has given way to the glamour and razzle-dazzle of instant celebrities who, literally like the monsoon mushrooms emerge and dissolve 'season'ally. That could be a cause behind the convenient forgetfulness.

Another possible reason behind memory in the public getting shorter by the day(s) could be the sensationalism of scandals. The screaming headlines, Ms Walkar to M/S Adani, shouting from the rooftop that 'the  nation wants to know' create a cognitive fatigue, may be. 

In the private space, however, memories never dim nor fade. As for Lata Mangeshkar, for instance, i remember how i used to make Aai listen to Lata songs during her last stay  in the DMH. A song like her favourite "Aap ki nazaron" would fetch me a faint smile from Aai. Last year, around this time, a video of Latatai was making the rounds. Absolutely no difference whatsoever was there in the demeanour of Aai and Latatai as seen in the video. Such memories sear the soul.

 There are, however, around us many a   heartless  creep scurrying around like cockroaches who have to comment constantly on/about others (of course, in a witless way, and without the basic guts to confront openly). Given their cheapness and cupidity, one realises that the short term public memory is indeed a boon!

Pratima@ Neither long term nor short term memory matters when there are toxic horrors around you!

Courtesy

 What is this concept called 'courtesy'? Does it merely mean mindlessly intoning 'sorry', 'excuse me', 'thank you', et al? Does it refer to the so-called pleasantries those bigwigs share before they begin discussing (or is it dissecting, detecting, et al) such huge stuff  as the ' the teleology of the proto-typical governance models and their impact on biodiversity ', for example? Does it mean, like its namesake, 'curtsy',  merely the genuflection to greet the royalty?

I do not really think so. In my opinion, the physical activities mentioned above are mere tokens of an inner feel. What are the ingredients that go in to the making of this unique feel? 

First and foremost, it is humility. It indeed is rare to find, given the very many half-baked swollen heads that we have in huge numbers in this world of ours. Such stupid aspects of life as so-called made-up looks, or "white" complexion (as they say in Indian English) or a little riches or very minor achievements go to their heads. They seem to forget that very many superb greats are milling around, and without any show-shaw. 

The million dollar question would be: should one (continue to) be courteous to such empty vessels? I would say 'yes', and in a big way. No, your consistency may not shame them. Hopefully, though, good habits rub on even on a total fool, right? 

Courtesy, moreover, means learning from each and every one, whatever their station in life, profession, age, wage, whatever. Well, even the fools mentioned above may teach us how not to be (c)rude, right? 

Well, as they say, indeed, life is short. Yet it is not so very limited that it has no space for decency and courtesy, right? Our behaviour patterns, moreover, are a huge comment on our upbringing. Why get bad (re)views about/on our mothers, right?  Instead, better to follow the wise who say time and again that courtesy costs nothing, but buys all that is the best in this human(e) world!

Pratima@'The greater the man, the greater the courtesy', says Tennyson. No wonder, they say, poets are the wisest!

The look

 When you are in the doldrums, the look of everything around you matters, right? Such was the revelation i experienced this evening. I think i need to explain the statement a little more. 

Well, in our part of the city, often there are power cuts. Our lane, like the entire hereabouts, thus goes pitch dark as there cannot be street lights. The hugely howling, honking, vrooming youthful ( do not they have anything  constructive to do, given the fact that soon these days would be over? At times, one wonders if such rowdies get paid in some form or the other to create all sorts of nuisance!) misbehavior neither worries nor bothers me at all. 

For one thing, i keep the main gate forever locked. We have, moreover, an inverter. The home is thus a h(e)aven, full of both, light and safety. 

This evening, however, the dark, lonely lane beyond the gate, accompanied by that stupid 'youthfulness', appeared depressing. While i was watering my small, little garden, i felt like finishing off the task which i never do, given the summer like heat throughout the day. 

The same feel i suffered when my mobile came alive, woke up from the 'sleep' mode, with huge, horribly bright red flowers. The white background seemed horrid with the contrast. It was some "want to know more" type ad. Yet it appeared disgusting because my own screen is a palette of beautiful blues. 

Thus i realised that even a person like me who eternally loves to philosophise about appearances is at rare times bogged down by the look!

Pratima@ Never, they say, appearences behold/Gilded tombs, well, do not they worms enfold?

 

In remembrance!

                                 I : Loss

Each sad news

 pries open the ancient scab

 of that forever loss

 that oozing feel of every missed chance

 of letting know the welling love 

 hidden behind all sorts of stony masks

 making me mummified.

                                  II : Photo

In the mind imprinted 

in indelible sepia tones

Those faces faded forever 

No aperture now to add

any special effects whatsoever!

                     III : Dis-ease

Grief has variants

that outnumber any mutations

of each virus.

Agony alone then

goes viral, 

wilder than every pandemic. 

 Existence thus is short-changed

 unto eon-long euthanasia.

Pratima@ This morning i was (dis-)counting the current stage of my mourning. Thought i had graduated rather well. By the evening, i proved myself wrong yet again. I know now i am still in the primary.

                   

Videos@the best friend

 The YouTube, used creatively, is quite a source of information. To begin with, there are a number of video journalists. Some of them, especially the regional ones, come up with excellent videos which are full of details never discussed in the main media, obviously owned (up) by industrial houses and/or political affiliations.

Yet other set of videos worth a watch are those of all sorts of art forms across the world. Such videos are indeed a joy, prepared as they are out of the labour of love.

Videos of babies are yet other mode of the labour of love, and they are simply lovely because they are genuinely loving.

Equally wonderful are the animal videos. There are two varieties in this field, the wild life types and the pet animal one's. If the first type has grandeur, the second one is full of warmth. From pet cocks to horses, all sorts of animals reveal their friendship with mankind in such videos.

The best ones of all these are the videos that show the deep love and the genuine bond that dogs  and their pet parents share. The true love overflowing every frame, these videos are marvellous, what with cute subtitles and caring dialogues! Love knows no bounds indeed! Take a bow(wow)!😀

Pratima@A pet is not a pest. Indeed he is the buddy best!

Who is a leader?

 Teaching English and/or Additional English at the F.Y. to T.Y. level, whether for Arts/Science/Commerce, is no longer merely  literature-focussed subject-specific activity. It has to be an orientation to life skills as well.

I am indeed proud of the fact that once the BMCC became autonomous, i attempted all these possibilities such as situational-communicative speaking abilities, developing vocabulary the fun way, narration, jokes and cartoons to develop language skills and multiple intelligences as well as critical thinking, the Abrams triangle and PD, preparing project reports, research paper writing skills, and so on. 

 There was a literary section obviously. For Compulsory English, i related it to watching concerned films in English or Hindi films based on it. Unfortunately, all of these efforts were scrapped.

Once i started teaching the recently developed syllabi in the SPPU affiliated colleges, i was pleasantly surprised to see that all such items i had long time back included in the autonomous syllabi were now in the new SPPU syllabi. I did feel validated. 

One such skill I had to teach was the leadership skill. What i attempted was as follows: with some inputs i provided, we prepared two lists. One dealt with the positive characteristics of a good chief. I chose to to call it "team leader". The other list consisted of the bossy bore. We chose to name it the "Big Brother" which gave me a chance to introduce George Orwell to them.

Next we discussed suitable examples or "case studies", to use a technical term, of both these categories. Thus i tried to establish that leaders are not only in politics, but everywhere, in each field.

 Finally, to drive this point nearer home literally, i asked them to discuss the woman in the family as a leader. After our discussion, they all arrived at the conclusion that whether she was a housewife or a career-woman cum home-maker, a woman is always the best leader.

Want to know why? Well, a sensitive and sensible woman is always mission driven. Forever team-oriented, she is selfless and open-minded. Being thoughtful, she is solution driven. Her ability to empathise easily makes her the perfect leader.

Thus we finally arrived at the conclusion that a true leader is someone who brings out the best in everyone. Such a leader can be in the private space or in the public sphere. Mostly a she, such a  figurehead leads by example!

Pratima@ "A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will all say: we did it ourselves," said the ancient master,  Lao Tzu.

Control freaks

 Have you met people who love to control others, especially even those with whom they have absolutely no connect whatsoever? Can you guess their method? Yes, you are absolutely right. It IS silly gossip! 

Yet another unique feature such people surely share is that they would lack the guts to say anything openly because they perfectly very well know that it is sheer nonsense. They are cheap enough to pass sick and silly comments within the earshot of the victim of their futile hatred.

These days it is indeed very easy to get all sorts of agents to get done whatever cheap nonsense you want to manage. Off the social media, too! Anyways, as it is, social media have made gossip mongering rather respectable. 

Like the old wives' tales, hence, such people would go yak-yak-yaking over a wada-pao, too. They are that easily bought. Later on, even that much throw away would not be necessary to ferret them out to gang up against an innocent victim of your malice, right?

How to deal with such distant and/or not-so-distant control freaks? The best way is, of course, to completely ignore their silly comments. One should, moreover, grant that their own lives are so empty and meaningless that they can find purpose in life only through empty comments on others.

When your own life is fulfilled and purposeful, you would hardly have either the time or the need to poke your dirty nose in others' lives, right? I suppose, hence, that such creeps should be pitied and ignored completely, but should be pitilessly exposed once any, even if minor but concrete, proof of their viciousness is handy! Then the law of the land should take its course. What say?

Pratima@ What bugs the vicious the most is the fact that their viciousness cannot vitiate you in any way at all!