Pedestrian problems

 Once upon a time, during the heydays of the Cold War, it used to be said that the USSR is a mystery inside a puzzle within an enigma. If one has to describe the pedestrian problems in a similar vein, one would have to say that pedestrian problems are difficulties piled upon troubles that precariously balance themselves atop an Everest of bothers. Yes, being a pedestrian is a proper headache, not to forget the pain in the feet, tendons, legs, and that posterior part of our body, yes, the 'backside', that the Indian English users rather love.

Don't you believe me? Okay! Try using what Indian English calls 'footpath', that is to say, if that strip, narrower than the Gaza strip, exists at all. Well, it is equally, if not more, fraught with wartime woes. To begin with, the feel you get can beat the moon walk, both of the Neil Armstrong and Michael Jackson varieties. Truly tough! Any number of sudden craters, the slippery sand pored to hide the last/latest dig up doing its job most efficiently, the gravel full of leftovers of all sorts, that is the kerb for you!

Well, as and when it exists, it is always occupied by the roadside shoppies, sellers and their enthu buyers busy haggling. Do not want to believe me? Okay, visit the FC road any day any time. Veggie venders occupy every other 'roadside' the same way so much so that bang opposite the MMCC,there is an informal set-up, most probably to initiate the students in to their future of household chores! Quite some effect of the NEP principles that education better be relevant to life, one must say.

Oh, yes, how can you forget the thundering- without-silencers mobikes zooming past you as the richie rich owners seem to think that every inch of the busy road is their precious birthright. Who cares how precarious it is for the pedestrians!

Ah, yes, the zebra stripes that should help one cross the road. They are as extinct as real zebras! The  motor vehicle act apparently teaches the drivers that the red light area is dangerous, to be avoided! No wonder, they never stop there! In fact, their speed crosses every limit at that very spot. Naturally, any pedestrian who loves her life has to wait eternally at the crossroads. No, there is no road less chosen, thank you, Mr. Frost, however much one loves your poems!

Well, in brief, if you want a feel of "swarg dwar apavrtum", that is, the door of the heaven wide open, try that hellish experiment, being a pedestrian beside a busy road!

Pratima@Pedestrian problems pore finally on the road, to become more gruesome in the process! And, less said the better about the skywalks and the subways!

May be, you never leave the doorstep of your house without the vehicle keys. Even then, you can understand the pedestrian woes which, in your own way, you suffer as the driver of your vehicle!

Dil hai Hindustani

 Remember the currently most discussed pic in India? Yes, it is the Kapoor  Khandan with the P.M.! Of course, the viral video has its own hilarious moments such as the family taking a whole long week to decide how to address the Prime Minister! The lady, moreover, stylishly mispronounced the poor word. Such 'kitty party' mannerisms are but to be expected of Bollywood-ians, especially of the brood of THE 'showman' of Hindi cinema! 

The occasion of the meet makes us overlook such funny bits. The occasion was the formal announcement cum celebration of the  birth centenary of Raj Kapoor. In a way, it is the birth centenary of Bollywood itself because more than anyone else, it was Raj Kapoor who made the industry what it is today.

He was, for example, the director to begin the studio system in the Indian film world. He was the one who made films infused with both the national pride and, oh, yes, the 'wet dream' sequences. A Raj Kapoor heroine is always dunked in water in some form or the other, leaving, of course, very little to the male viewer's imagination!

Yet some of his films do capture the teething problems of a nascent nation. Look at films like 'Awara', 'Shri 420', and the much viewed, as per the Prime Minister's confession, 'Jagate Raho', for instance. His acting consisted of the Indianisation of the great Charlie Chaplin as in 'Anadi', and he did indianise 'The Roman Holiday' as 'Chori Chori'. 

He was youthful enough to let go of the obsessive and massive failure of 'Mera naam joker' and make a 'Bobby', India's own take on the Romeo-Juliet phenomenon. The songs of his films, great poetry set to melodious music, are wonderful, and they set the trend of Bollywood as song-n-dance bonanza. 

His DoP would be great, too. Remember the final scene of the dacoits surrendering in "Jis desh me ganga bahti hai"? His editors were the best in the industry then. He thus made the art of film making a dream sequence that the spectators the world over, especially in the socialist block, loved.

Ideologically, his films do critique the capitalistic forces that the emergent india had to negotiate. In that sense, his filmography is nationalist, however much it may be escapist romances. As the P.M. told his family the other day, he made films which are a kind of Indian 'soft power' in days when the concept was not even coined. Hence this tribute!

Pratima@Mukesh, his screen voice, has this gem of a song 'Jeena yahan, marna yahan/iske siwa jana kahan' which sums up the leitmotif of the life of the artist who conceptualised  the RK banners! Yes, sure 'rahengi nishaniya' (my parents', especially Aai's, favourite line) because in the globalised attire (japani joota, pataloon inglistani, lal topi rusi, et al) beat a 'dil hai hindustani'!

Inventions and Discoveries

 Inventions and discoveries! As school children, the difference of meaning between these two terms was literally dinned in to our heads, right? James Watt invented the steam engine, while Columbus discovered America, and beyond. That is the example we had to remember. 

The present times, too, are full of inventions and discoveries. Let us today look at two truly radical ones. Let us begin with 'invention' as it is a great tribute to human imagination, creativity and intellect. 

How about the possibility of things getting invisible? YES, our very own Indian scientists have made it possible. At the IIT, Kanpur is perfected a polymer that can render invisible things coated with it. This polymer, moreover, is made of absolutely local ingredients. Most interestingly, it is going to be used by the Indian army and it is an msme type of industrial unit that has already begun producing it for the aviation wing of our army.

Now, the discovery bit. Apparently, the 'Atlantis' is finally found. In Iceland, it is discovered that the Atlantic and the  European tectonic plates are still united. That is to say, deep down America and Europe are still connected as one tectonic plate. Culturally, Europe always looks down upon the brash America which prides itself on its own vibrant  energy. Well, surface differences are only a few nautical miles deep!

Well, let us end the truly enlightening blog today via the  Greta Thunberg mode, that is rendering a quite relevant fact the environmentally chic way. Well, British scientists have discovered that an ice wall, ten times the size of Britain, has collapsed. In a way, it is due to underwater currents whose temperature is the result of climate change due to human interference. The sea water levels would hence be affected, resulting in a huge danger for the coastal cities. Tiny islands are already getting submerged anyways! 

Human beings can create as well as destroy. Hope the human race chooses wisely!

Pratima@ Human beings can create heaven, but can also render heaven in to hell! Hope human beings wake up on time!

Elocution

 Who 'speaks' these days? Currently, it is the era of the ppt's, mostly AI-generated. Such visuals do the speaking! Listeners love such suspicious scholarship. Speakers find it sumptuous. The art of speaking well is dying. Yesterday I was one of the judges at an elocution competition. Hence the following acrostic!

Emphatic, empathetic

Laconic, learned

Oratorical, outstanding

Considerate, cautious

Unbiased, unassuming

Tasteful, tolerant

Idealistic, inclusive 

Original, optimistic

Natural, noble!

Do you agree with this definition of 'elocution' which, in my opinion, is surely style. It, undoubtedly, is oratory. Body language, facial expressions, intonation and sentence stress matter. So do cohesion and coherence. Vocabulary, good grammar are important, too.

Yet what matters the most is the central idea, unique, original, thought through. Brilliant analysis, researched data full of facts are the core of a good speech. Unique ideas are at the center of any good communication, written or spoken.

Therein lies the hope in the AI era today which is marked by thoughtless copying. Not only the generative AI nor the smartasses using it efficiently can copy the thought process. Sure, copy is the ultimate compliment that others can pay one. Yet this compliment cannot be curtailed even by the most competitive, however ambitious and aggressive. The central unique thought/idea is the pearl that the shell of oratory must preserve, most nurture!

Pratima@ Brilliance is not mere bombast!

The first of its kind

 The other day, I was browsing the internet,  given the submission of an assignment for the completion of an FDP.  Thus I came across this interesting initiative by the UGC, that is, 'celebrating the Indian languages week'. 

How to make it operational in the BMCC? I mentioned it to Bagwan Madam, my co-editor of the volume celebrating the BMCC on the occasion of its completion of its eightieth year.  Luckily, she immediately agreed that it was an important event. During deliberations, it was decided that there should be an elocution competition on this occasion.

Very rare are elocution competitions these AI-aided days. Especially when it comes to the Indian languages, students find it almost funny to use it, even when their hold over English leaves a lot to be desired. Hence the relevance of this elocution competition which has extremely thought provoking themes such as 'the relevance of the Indian languages in the media world'. 

It may appear as if the metros are sold out to English. Though it is not so, the Indian languages have a vibrant existence in the two- and three-tier cities, and the mofussil areas. Why, the giant MNC's/TNC's choose to translate their advertisements, for example, in the local languages. Literature in Indian languages is vibrant in these areas. Well, in Karnataka, there is a village that even today carries out its entire daily activities in Sanskrit! Hope students would explore such pulsating areas. Well, I did provide tham general guidelines for an effective presentation. Looking forward, in brief, to the event!

Some of my students are participating in the event. I have asked the entire German group to 'grace the occasion.' Hope they will turn up to cheer their classmates. It indeed matters a lot because in a commerce college, languages always get the step-sisterly treatment, though actually commerce students need languages the most as communication is the fulcrum of their future careers.

Hence this sincere attempt which could fructify in to reality, given the Library machinery that Bagwan Madam can gear up in to action mode. May be, like its unique PNG Language Lab, this language-oriented initiative in the BMCC, a commerce college, too, turns out to be "neighbours' envy, owner's pride"!

Pratima@Languages matter the most, especially in the AI-era.

Beware of Fraudsters

 I was busy completing an article. Constantly hence was I checking and re-checking. In that process, I came across this video which talked of this stupid but almost hypnotising concept called 'digital arrest'. Actually the nomenclature itself is a fraud. There possibly cannot be any such notion.

I checked hence some four youtube videos on this theme. One involved Sudhir Chaudhary, Editor, AajTak. There was one of a lady journalist. There was one of a social media influencer. I saw the fourth one which was that of a seventy-eight year old victim who was a retired auditor. 

The Editor, AajTak and the Social Media influencer recorded the whole process. The old man, despite being an auditor, succumbed to the fraudsters. The lady journalist did not lose money, but lost her peace of mind. 

These four videos clearly indicate that it is more a psychological game. So to begin with, one should never answer/respond to an unknown number. Next, both Mr. Chaudhary and the Gujrat based social influencer insisted that one should not feel either tense or afraid. Fear psychosis is their way of trapping the victim.

The social media influencer suggested that one should insist on the local (police, bank branch) for confirmation before doing anything drastic such as allowing them to shoot you or following their demands for money transfer. 

Well, with new technologies emerge new rogues. It sure is not the mistake of the technology that it gets misused for white collar crime. As a law-abiding, sensible user, it is better to be constantly aware. Surely one should never ever let anybody know the bank details.

Personally I do not believe in online purchase. The lady journalist said that she got trapped because of the online purchase. Yet those who love it should remember that the online OTP is the easiest way to trap you as a victim.

In brief, it is extremely important to be aware and careful so that one's hard-earned money is safe and secure. Nor should the cheapskate tricksters threaten you with any distortion of your image. Beware of fraudsters!

Pratima@i shall need just a day more to complete the research article. But the lessons learnt by watching these videos are priceless. On Saturday, I could have been so victimised. So now I realise! Yet as I said in that blog, innocence is its own protection!

School reunions

 School reunions is quite a fad these days, right? You hear everyone talking of  all types of school reunions, beginning from 'a decade later' to all possible types. Currently I am co- editing a souvenir. Surely it is not about the school days. The articles, however, are some proof of "looking back in love-n-admiration".

Yes, all the reunion types are always mushy and senti. It makes you wonder if it is more a convention to be so very senti-n-mental about the past. Such nostalgia always has an agenda hidden within; namely, critique-ing the present and, not to forget, the mundane attempts at 'connections' which matter much in the real world.

Whenever I hear of school reunions, I always remember the following laughter riot. "I said, "Oh, Lord, life as an adult is truly tough. Please make me a school kid again." Agreed Lord, the God, " Sure! Once again your companions would be trigonometry, axioms, rules, algebra, formulae, chronologies, climates and crop patterns in far away lands..." I shivered and shuddered at this rattling off. Before he could go any further, I stopped him, and said, "No, thank you, Lord! The present is much better!"

I suppose the bountiful crop of films about the rosy romances during school days (I have always wondered who had the time, given the flurry of constant tests  and eternal homework, and the pre-puberty spunk, given the teachers' strict stares !?!) has increased the yen for such reunions, at least in Maharashtra! So sorry single sex schools, no? You never know though!

May be, school reunions are more about showing off, and, oh, yes, yet another occasion for eating out! Sorry for the cynicism! Honestly though, why do people hate something so intensely what they would nostalgically gloat over a few years later?!?  

Yet again another quote from a cartoon, and I shall sign off. It is the  famous wor(l)d of the most lovable Dennis, the menace. My topmost favourite cartoon strip. In this particular cartoon, Dennis' mother is trying to feed him. Grimacing, he is refusing even a spoonful. Says the harassed Mom with irritation, "Eat it fast. Some twenty years later, you are going to tell some unfortunate girl how much you loved the food your Ma cooked!"

Nostalgia nourishes!

Pratima@ Distant mountains are always easy to scale, right?