Divinity Defined

 Just before my CharDham Yatra began, one of  the most unfortunate events of the year so far, the Ahmedabad aeroplane tragedy, was the headline. Whenever such awful accidents take place, typical agnostic questions start clouding the minds of the non-believers.

These questions have been there since the antiquity.  Does God exist? If He does, why do the good suffer, while the evil prosper?  Why the punishment to the innocent? And the secular question that has haunted  every society since the days of Sophocles' "Antigone" and, may be, our Charvak, namely, what matters  more, the individual conscience or the religious dicta; which are more important, the  laws of the state or the laws of the Divine?

Of course, there  have been multiple answers to these multifarious answers.  One of these has been the notion of present individual life as the sum of all the "Karma'' of previous births, et al. Even when I respect Marx hugely, right now is not the time to get in to his economic/political/societal analyses.

When one is in the  midst of the ultimate of Hindu religion, that is, the Devbhumi, how does one answer such insistent and persistent questions? May be, by celebrating each day as the very last day of one's life? Live life to the fullest and the best each way and every day? Well, there is no knowing if you would see the sunrise tomorrow. Celebrate hence the every ray of sunshine, the silver lining, however dark may be the clouds? That is the real divinity within humanity, I suppose.

Pratima@The divinity you seek is born(e) with(in) you!

At last, the beginning!

 Ever since  Aai-Papa took the pilgrimage, I had heard such unique stories about the Chardham Yatra. The more you read about it, fabulous appear all the details. Post-2013, the Bheem Shila at Kedarnath has become for me the symbol of the belief that the good is always divinely supported. 

So today begins the yatra. Am reporting from the airport where i reached early for two reasons. From our place at Mukund Nagar to the air port, there is not any convenient thoroughfare. The Ola/Uber types are good at cancelling at the last  minute. So,  very early morning, what would I do if they attempt their regular vanishing trick!?! Better to safely wait it out  at the airport!

The other reason is the rain! Circa 9.30 p.m., it started to rain, and indeed it was raining madly. It appeared as if the  clouds had decided to pour down every droplet  of water they could possibly have. The lightning and thunder were terror striking. Luckily the taps ran dry at 11 p.m. So the early arrival . 

Here I come, Oh, Himalayas, whom once you visit, you have no other alternative but to fall in love with. Am excited hugely about this journey. But what really made the beginning unique for me was my brother's, Parag's, call full of concern and care. He made my evening, and absolutely unique! At the air port, Sanju, too, called up. Such was the din that he might  not have heard a word.

The crazy adjustment, however is that Kesari people have the travel tickets! Must say this arrangement is a  little weird as one cannot enter the lounge without  the boarding pass/ticket! For some time, keeping me company while I am perched atop a trolley was a doggie, my favourite most animal anyways!  

Pratima@Happy breezy beginning to a unique experience!

Soft Skills

 Recently, not so very long ago, a rather sad news item flashed on all sorts of screens, Lost to the cruel antics of the Hagwane  family drama and later the Sonam sadism, very few people noticed it. Yes, I am referring to the sad demise of Joseph Nye.

It was his concept of soft power that changed the world, in the political sphere, in the corporate culture, and oh, yes, in academic syllabi. Unfortunately, however many a student thinks of it as an alternative to professional expertise.

Which it is not! Yes, it could be considered an advance on the concept entitled "how to make friends" by Dale Carnegie. Carnegie's book in my opinion is the predecessor of the "how to" or the "DIY" wave.  Well, Nye's notion is not merely practical tips . It is a psychologically astute concept of inter-personal relationship.

A blog is not exactly the site for discussing the impact of behaviourism and/or cognitivism, and the Nye notion in such a theoretical paradigm. Suffice it to say that Nye's notion is both, academically strong and  practically relevant.

In international relationships, it means  co-option rather than coercion. That is to say, instead of brute coercion, it is better to use 'kid gloves' so to say.  Significantly, it was the LPG era of the '90's that coincided with the Nye-ian ideas.

Without getting cynical and wo(r)ld weary, it can be said that soft power means generating  more cultural and emotive responses to situations, and, oh, yes, to individual entities. Useful in its own way , it is not mere manipulation. It has helped many institutions to smoothen out crevices created due to egotism! Hence this remembrance!RIP, Nye. 

Pratima@ Sanju joined Bharat Forge on 8/8/88. In that company, often there used to sessions on soft skills. He used to practice them  at home! 

Let children learn!

 It is that month of the year. June! A month of  feverish academic activities, it is even more worrisome than April, the cruellest,  when results get declared! Why so? Well, right now, hectic parleys about admissions are the talk of the town.

Which is considered a good school? Most parents would go for an institute that strengthens the STEM base. Such a grounding is supposed to be the plinth of a successful career, et al.

I would, however, say that it is better to choose a school that prioritises the arts, too, which would include a good grounding in varied arts such as  literature, painting, sculpture, and music. 

Why this insistence on plastic and/or performing arts? Is that your question? Well, the simplest answer would be that arts make children learn! All these arts introduced at such an early stage make learning fun. If enjoyment becomes the base of learning, children would later be less afraid of the inevitable evaluation process, the bane of the educational sector in multiple ways.

I would love to explain in quite some detail how introducing literature as early as possible goes in to the making of a good learner and a better individual. Lest I get accused of being prejudiced in favour of literature, let me analyse how music makes an excellent academic base for every child.

Music is melody and rhythm. It has a regular pattern, a consistent structure. Cognitive scientists have established beyond doubt by now that an early learning of music is a great help for brain health. There have been very many studies that have certified that certain centers of the brain are activated when a child learns to enjoy music. 

So when choosing a school for the Junior, it is better to go for a school that is ready to experiment with the non-STEM studies as well. Your child's soul would forever thank you for realising that such studies activate the multiple intelligences of the children, be it verbal, aural, spatial, and so on!

Pratima@ Music connects us to the rhythm of the entire universe. 

In-sight-ful n Savvy

 In the P.N.G. Language Lab, before the current credit-craze had sky-rocketed, I used to teach introductory courses in Spanish, German and French which used to prepare the students for international examinations at the A1 level.

In one such batch, I had seven visually impaired students who studied Spanish with me for two levels. Highly remarkable they were. Always happy n jolly, never ever did they keep on crying, blaming the difficult destiny imposed on them. 

Honestly, humbled I always felt  as a human being while teaching them. I think I can reasonably be  happy with the prowess of my memory. In this group, however, there was a student called Raju Yadav who would remember Spanish lessons, line by line, each number of every page. Those days, towards the end of the last decade, apps of all types were not so easily accessible. This young man proved to, nay, taught me what concentration and memory truly mean!

These kids enjoyed life to the fullest. Happy, youthful used to be their togetherness-es, heart aches, and so on. So it was such a pleasure to get to know that two of them, Suvidha Waghmare and Raju Yadaw, are getting married. Truly in-sight-ful and savvy is their togetherness in my opinion. Why-n-how? Is that your question? Sure both of them are bank employees. 

More  important than that advantage,  however, is their care and concern for each other. Well, in the 'status' quote that Raju uploaded, I saw the happy and enthusiastic invite and the haldi of Suvidha. 

The sheer joy of that video has made me absolutely sure that they would support each other real well, and every which way. Here is wishing them both all the very best on the happy occasion of their togetherness.

Pratima@ "It is your reaction to adversity, not adversity itself that determines how your life's story will develop," asserts  Dieter F.  I am in complete agreement with him. Absolutely n totally!

Woman, thy name is...

Right now the certain murder of the newly married husband and the possible abduction/murder of his brand new wife seem to haunt the social media in India. The couple from Indore was supposed to go to Shri Lanka for their honeymoon. Instead, they chose to go to Meghalaya, and the horrible tragedy began to unravel itself without any end to cheap speculation(s) in the near future.

What, and how, happened to the couple, where the wife could possibly be, nothing is definitively clear as yet. Yet many titles/thumbnails of videos and, much worse, the comments below these by 'netizens' blame the young wife. The wannabe Hercule Poirot's are dead sure-n-certain that the culprit has to be the wife who must have cooked up the plan in Indore itself! 

This is how it has always been. Remember, the Bible blames Eve for the fall. Milton, a great poet, shows in Book IX of the 'Paradise Lost'  how Eve manipulates Adam in to eating the fruit of the Forbidden Tree, while Adam, having failed to convince her to the contrary, finally eats it for his love for her! 

Shakespeare's Hamlet, even when in two minds about to believe or not to believe the Ghost, is certain, however, that "Woman, thy name is frailty"! If the 'Iliad' blames Helen for the defeat of the invincible Troy, even when she is a mere tool/toy in the hands of the Divine Powers that be, our own 'Ramayana'  hints at Kaikeyi, not to forget Sita herself in the case of the Kanchan Mriga/the Golden Deer, as the cause behind Ravana's crime. Look at the women in Mahabharata, from Ganga to Draupadi, to understand how women are thought to be the reason behind any/every crime in the societal imaginary.

Yes, women, too, ARE heir to all the faults that make human beings devilish. But why begin the blame game with women? Look at the Vaishnavi Hagwane case, for instance. By definition, the sister-in-law is the culprit in the media trial. Ugliest things are said about her by the intellectually lazy, loose-tongued 'netizens'. Conveniently it is forgotten that there can be at least two sides to the coin. The "woman as woman's worst enemy'' motif is an ancient patriarchal trick, it is conveniently overlooked. 

In such a scenario, it is a sin to be an attractive woman who is brilliant, talented, and extremely well-behaved. Whatever you  do is by definition wrong. If you are the quiet type, you are 'proudy', aloof, worse still, a beguiling temptress. You have to just smile, even to yourself, and your dimples are sure to create sensational storms of imaginary affairs in the minds of the 'curious' (in all senses of the term) even when the only companion you most often have is books, or a lappie or a musical instrument! Why, the creepy thinking, of both men and women, can make such a virgin in to a sex bombshell with many steamy affairs, nay, abortions to her credit. It does not occur to such sick dastards that she is never ever even seen with a man!

The logo of womanhood, hence, I think , should be "woman, thy name is victimisation." One's humane divinity consists in standing up to such sick nonsense with quiet dignity and courage-n-conviction! Show them not thy tears nor thine vulnerabilities. Shame them, instead, with more and better self-actualisations that totally belittle them!

Pratima@Thy name, Woman, is total transparency born out of self-reflexivity!

 

A Special Day yet again, but in the public sphere

 Our blog yesterday, uploaded late for sure, dealt with a special day. It was in the private space. Let us today talk about a special day, but in the public sphere. In other words, let us discuss the celebration of a few events as they  typically take place "publically ".

Let us begin with the ascension to the throne by Shivaji Maharaj. Maharaj ascended to the throne on June 6, 1647. As is usual, thus began the endless arguments over whether it should be celebrated according to the "tithi" or the date. Ideally, it has to be the 'tithi', and for two reasons. To begin with, for such holy purposes, a special 'tithi' is always arrived at after consulting all sorts of astrological details, charts, and what have you. Yet another reason is that the 'tithi' and/or the date arrived at, often without documented  authentic source(s), could cause furores!

Now the crux of the matter! How to celebrate such a day? With the DJ and 'walls' led processions full of laser lights dancing (like the participants in the procession) to vulgar tunes? Through thrills deemed necessary for reel making?  By opening up contentious debates, often not validated  through authentic proofs, thereby pitting a caste against another? Of course, it is as usual easier to bash up Brahmins! Such is the intensity of the hatred that Sant Ramdas, despite his brilliant praise of the great king, is not spared! 

Is it enough to stick up a hologram or a pic of Maharaj on the rear glass of a swanky car, while violating with aggressive virulence every possible rule of traffic  or of decent behaviour? If one adores Maharaj, can one ill-treat an innocent woman who has not bothered you one bit nor has anything at all to do with you?

Thankfully, there are exceptions to such general behaviour! Compared, anyways, to such vulgar displays of toxic masculinity, Ahilyabai Holkar's birth anniversary on May 31 is celebrated more meaningfully. In my opinion, here is a woman leader who broke effectively many invisible ceilings, and centuries ago.

It is hence necessary that the precepts of such great people are actually practised, and neither in retrospective nor in a regressive mode. That would be the real tribute to them as they believed in genuine 'action' than in any show-shaw or empty verbosity!

Pratima@This morning a very happy announcement was shared. It seems a peak in the in the Spiti Valley in the Baital area is named after Veer Savarkar, often consciously misunderstood and misrepresented!