In Obeisance

 We are multi-lingual. We are multi-ethnic. We are multi-religious. We are multi-regional. As a country, a continent  of variations we are. Our geographies may be different. Same, however, are our histories, our cultures, our civilizational identities. 

If there is any one ditty that captures our unity in diversity, it is "Vande Mataram". 2025 happens to be its sesquicentennial year. Ah, not to worry about that pedantic touch! Used it at all, Dear Reader, because the context would amplify its meaning. Yes, today, on November 7, this fervent tribute to our nation celebrates its hundred and fiftieth year.

The song is written by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee in his novel entitled "Anandmath" which glorified the Bairagi Rebellion, a glorious but lesser known chapter in the Freedom Movement. The eponymous film has an ardent rendering of this song by Lata Mangeshkar. In my opinion, if Pandit Nehru were to hear it, he would have shed tears a decade earlier. That passionate is its rendering set to music by Hemant Kumar, one of my favourite most singers and music directors.

The song is unique for two reasons. To begin with, it celebrates the abundance that is India, and, that, too, in a multi-lingual mode, Sanskrit, and Bangla in the original Bengali version, not to forget the echoes of Sanskritised Hindi or for that matter, Marathi.

The second reason why this song is simply great is because of its central image. It would not be very far-fetched to maintain that it is this song which constituted the iconic image of India as Bharat Mata. This image, much debated later, during  the heydays of the Subaltern Studies, however, was instrumental in uniting the masses and the elites during the Independence  Movement.

In the making of a nation comes a moment when its soul in captured in reverent words that charge and enlarge the hearts of many and of everybody. Suffice it may to assert that 'Vande Mataram' marks one such moment in our cultural imaginary!

Pratima@Do listen to the Lata-Hemant version of 'Vande Mataram'. Passionately it captures the gravitas of the song.

The quote of the day:                                               "I want all people to be Indians first, Indians last, and nothing else but Indians," asserted Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar. 

The word of the day:                                             'ardent,' means very enthusiastic and passionate. In the olden days, the word also meant glowing, burning. Everybody sings the national song ardently, for example.

Lion suffer-i's

 Dear Reader,                                                      Hello from Pratima Agnihotri. Here is a promise. Yes, today onwards, at the end of our daily blog, there would be a quote and a word related to the theme of the blog. Since the practice begins today, let us look at the related quote and the word right in the beginning. Remember, though, tomorrow onwards, both would appear blog finally. 

Quote of the day: "Dominate your day like a lion, resolute and focussed." 

Word of the day: leonine: like a lion (The king had a leonine presence.)

Let us get back to our blog. Look at the title. Do you think it refers to lion safaris, currently very much in vogue? No, not really. Our blog refers to the lovely, true and most heart-warming stories of lions in trouble, actually asking for human help, and thereby bonding with humans.

Lions are lonesome animals actually. That is to say, they prefer their own prides, and surely they cannot be domesticated. They are not pets, however excessively cute their cubs may appear. By nature, wild and ferocious, they have an aggressive presence, with a weight and a bite that can be lethal. 

In the African savannah grasslands --- I am referring to this region because the YouTube videos present the 'be(a)st' accounts from this region --- the rules rangers and veterinarians follow are, never anthropomorphise and never interfere, however (un)natural it may appear to do so. 

Yet human(e) instincts overtake, and humans help these gorgeous lords of the forest, either saving a drowning cub, or bringing up a cub rejected by the pride as it is too weak or caring for a cub which strayed too far in its playfulness, and thus got lost. At times, even the adult lions seek human help, wounded, or harassed due to a draught, or by the traps set by dicey poachers, supported by the high stake international  market in lion parts.  At times, the doggoes fetch or protect a lost cub.

Thus begins the lovely healing process, most often highly educative for the human beings involved as it shows that the beasts are no brutes. In fact, their cognition process, scientifically and objectively analysed during the contact,  is so complex that they assess the good intentions intelligently, regally allow interventions, and, yes, they remember the timely help.

I have impulsively (and almost compulsively) watched so many such YouTube videos (no, they are not AI generated 'creations' because names and places are clearly mentioned) that I know almost by heart the responses and gestures of lions, the stages in the growth of a cub, and, ah, yes, the lovely descriptions of the African safaris, the sunrises, the sunsets, the storms. 

No wonder, the Romantic poets such as Coleridge whom I adore, would, like me, swear by Shakespeare who summed it up best: "The poet's eye, in fine frenzy rolling,/Doth glance from heaven to earth, from earth to heaven;/And as imagination bodies forth/The forms of things unknown, the poet's pen/Turns them to shapes and gives to airy nothing/A local habitation and a name." May I add to 'the poet's eye', the camera's (and the reader's/viewer's) eye to make the quote complete(ly relevant)?

Pratima@Who needs expensive safaris when you have "imagination all compact" and YouTube videos that help you visualise lion suffer-i's showing all that is humane in inter-species bonds!?!

Gorgeous

 Diwali itself is beautiful, what with the whole house spruced up. Equally heavenly is this Dev Dipawali, what with earthen lamps softly lighting up the entire premises which can easily compete with the 'super' version of the full moon and the very many stars illuminating the  night sky. 

The festival is important for a number of reasons. In Kashi, for instance, on this day is celebrated the Ganga Mahotsav. Anybody,  who has participated in the Ganga aarti sitting on the steps of the Ganga ghat, the river flowing gently near one's feet, and the entire spectacle of the aarti unfolding in front of one's eyes, knows the unique feel. 

I participated in the evening Ganga aarti at Haridwar. Despite the unmistakable squalor around, which is highly disturbing, the actual aarti itself is absolutely heavenly. I can hence imagine the Deepotsav at Kashi as part of the Ganga Mahotsav. It has to be a sight that gods themselves would love. Hence the title Dev Dipawali absolutely suits the occasion.

It falls on the Kartik alias Tripuri Pournima. Unique is this festival as it is a celebration alike for Hindus, Jains and Sikhs. Near the ghats of the unique Pushkar lake which extends to the horizon despite the terrible desert around, every Kartik Pournima is celebrated at the only temple of the Bramha, the origin of the entire universe, who granted the three a-suras the unique boon of the three, the 'tri pur', the three  invincible cities. 

On this day formally end the Diwali celebrations, making us await the reiteration of the festivities next year. 

Pratima@ Special indeed are the myths about this Tripurari Purnima when Shiva alias Pinaki used the special, grand, invincible Pinak bow which with one arrow destroyed  the "tripur", the iron, silver and golden cities of the three a-surs who were so pious, ideal and good that Lord Vishnu had to create a wrong, a false Dharma to taint them. Equally grand is the Sikh version of this festival as on this day is celebrated the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak. For the Jains, it marks the end of the Chaturmas penance period and as a day to venerate the first Tirthankara, Adinath. One day uniting three religions! Very special, unique and typical of India! 

Observing Chaturmas

 Tomorrow would finally end the Chaturmas, the four months of not eating onion and garlic. Formally, it ended on Monday, the day after Ekadashi. As the Tulsi Vivah ceremony ends tomorrow, every which way, the restriction ends, too.

How about trying to understand this restriction? Well, it begins two days before the Ashadhi Ekadashi, and ends on the Kartiki Ekadashi. Most interestingly, these are known as the Devshayani and the Devprabodhini Ekadashi respectively. 

In other words, from Ashadh to Kartik, the Lord and his consort rest. How to understand this concept? Sure it is anthropomorphism, transferring human needs such as the need for rest, on to the divine. 

There is yet another way to look at the practice. Sure, the climate cycle has gone for a toss now. Yet, earlier when the monsoon respected its entry and exist points, these four would be the monsoon months. May be, hence the need for controlling the food intake. 

May be, the onion increases the 'kapha' (phlegm) and the garlic increased the  'wat'  (the bile) in the body. Hence to balance the "tridosha", the Ayurveda would suggest such restrictions which the common man would follow only if assigned some religious values, I suppose. Yes, I will counter-check these facts, I promise. 

The Jains and the Krishna Consciousness kind of movements do not ever eat these two veggie items as onions and garlics are not only not "satvik". They are, moreover, considered "tamasik" (arousing wild passions) and "rajasik" (igniting ignorance, laziness, and so on).

Well, allopathy would insist that garlic is the best for heart health, while the onion controls most all everything from cholestrol, blood sugar as well as blood pressure. 

What to do when "-pathies" clash so violently? Well, moderation, I would argue, is the best medicine. Hence I observe the Chaturmas which was part of my parents' belief and faith system, too. Of course, they suffered patiently my 'informative' lectures which now you are tolerating, Dear Reader!!! In other words, their following of the practice, too, was not either superstitious observance nor any caste rigidity.

Thursday onwards, I would eat these two veggies, of course, in moderation, however much they tingle the taste buds!

Pratima@ Understand the principle, practice follows!

Precious indeed!

 The title of our blog today should tell you about the theme of our blog today, right? Well, not really, not exactly, I would say. The title should be "Pricey indeed". That would immediately clarify the topic of our blog.

Yes, I am talking of gold and its prices. Post Diwali, especially circa October end, suddenly the market was abuzz with the news that the gold rates are falling. I ignored the carpet bombing of such news for quite some time.

Well, the info was here, there, everywhere. Finally, curiosity got the better of me. I hence checked the reduced rate. Per ten tiny grams, rupees one lakh, twenty two thousand! If that is peoples' idea of reduction in rates, the less said, the better! Incidentally, these reduced rates do not include the GST, nor the amount charged for designing/making the ornaments!

Like everything else under the sun, be it population explosion, be it assembly of parts processing them in to perfect products, India and China always compete. With each other, rather than with others. How can obsession with gold be an exception? Gold must, moreover, be the only long lasting item from China!  Together, us and Chinese would capture almost half of the gold in the world market! 

Significant it is in this context that the Chinese government's recent most planning regarding the gold rates is sure going to make the yellow metal almost blood red for the common man across the world!

Actually, gold is precious, no, not when it comes to ornaments a (Chinese or Indian) woman may possess, but because it involves the gold reserves in the national treasury. The U.S., for instance, has a huge burden of debt. Yet the dollar dominates the currency considerations, solely due to the American gold reserves. Remember, in early 1990's, India had to go for the LPG solution, because otherwise, there would have been the impossible situation of  liquidation of our comparatively meagre gold reserves

Except for such international realities, personally i have never understood the passion for gold. Hardly precious it is as it makes its owner pretentious! Sure, since childhood, be it ear-rings or the nose pin, I have rarely, almost never, worne the artificial equivalents. Yet the price of gold or clothes and other such show-off stuff withers away like the state in the Marxist theory in comparison with the prices of books which, too, have risen to the roof, and beyond! In brief, currently, most human beings know the price of everything and the value of nothing, as Oscar Wilde would say!

Pratima@ "Gold is money. Everything else is credit," argues J.P.Morgan. Who else!?!

 

Wateronomics

 Where rivers are, there civilizations grow . That is ancient wisdom, much testified to through ages. Look at our own Ganges. Once you meet her at Gangotri jumping eagerly across boulders like a naughty girl, once you hear her at the "panch prayag" confluences amidst the mighty, magnificent Himalayas, once you see her shimmering across at Rishikesh, you understand a great principle to live by. 'Where there is will, there is a way', her bouncy flow reiterates with a guiding gurgle. 

She indeed is Ganga Maiya. Yes, she is the legendary source of life and benediction as narrated in the Bhagirath myth.  In contemporary times, this holy river relates to economic realities as well, however unholy but real!

An article in the "Down to Earth"  asserts that the Ganges basin (which is spread across many northern states and effectively borders many north-western states) houses forty five per cent of the country’s population, accounts for forty four per cent of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and twenty five per cent of India's coal fleet, apparently.

This article by Madhumita Paul quotes the findings by the CWR, a global thought leader. According to this report, the Ganges shares the fate of all the rivers that originate in the Hind Kush Himalayas, known as the HKH. 

Let me quote directly from the article. The article maintains that the Ganges basin, like all the basins of all the ten HKH rivers, faces a ‘triple threat’ to its future — insufficient water for development, the impact of climate change on water resources, and the concentrated risks in river basins. This situation puts hundreds of millions of lives and trillions of rupees worth growth projects at risk, it seems. 

For a country like ours, at the cusp of making history, a river is not merely a source of potable and/or farming water. It has many more financial facets such as power generation and as a core content in many industries. 

The report states that the Ganges basin is experiencing huge urbanisation which creates complex problems. Moreover, given the climate change realities, sea waters are rising, causing a tangible threat to such urban centers as Kolkata, for instance. Given such water stress, the need for water economics map, says the article. 

In other words, in our much troubled times, our rivers are threatened, too, given the economic realities, especially when we share the water resources with hostile neighbours. Rivers, as gifts of nature, no longer remain merely holy. They are currents along which flows water (as) economics!

Pratima@ The 'Namami Gange' mission is not merely a holy concept. Rather, it has to have financial facets! 

Ladies' Game

 Cricket is supposed to be religion in India. Such a statement should explain why many would choose to be, and to forever remain, avowed atheists. What is so very divine in an individual (or a dozen others) who has a certain skill set in one particular game, employs it to gain huge monetary gains for himself, often shrewdly plays up to the 'system' in the game, and to the larger establishment that be, so that he gets to be an M.P., never attends even then any parliamentary sessions, yet manages to land a Bharat Ratna by placating the right people at the right time! 

Such people perfectly very well know which side their bread is buttered. They would hence criticise, too, in the politically correct way, even if huge corruption every which way would be rampant in their own field. They would not dare utter a single word against such bosses as repercussions would be imminent and obvious in the selection process. As if the monetary gains in the field are not enough, they are advertisement gurus' favourites, too, gaining contracts to the advantage of  everyone involved! 

What indeed is divine in players who directly/indirectly participate in the baiting process? Why call such  convenient and dicey adjustment with the status quo the "gentleman's game!"? 

 I  would call it a " Ladies' Game'' though. Why? Just  to contrast the men (and main!) cricketers with the Indian Women's cricket team. Look at the achievements of the Ladies' Cricket team. They are about to create history. No hysteria is whipped up though by the media about their genuine, sincere contribution to the game.  All is quiet on the cricket establishment front! 

Slightly better it is this time though, it must be admitted. Mostly, it is the social media which has risen (up) to the occasion. There ARE a few reels making rounds. WhatsApp groups are providing support to the young ladies. Despite the obvious gender prejudices and biases so very obviously apparent, here is wishing them success. Hope their skill sets alone (Who is anyways going to bait on women's cricket?) would do India proud the ladies' way! 

Pratima@ Unfortunately, however, it is the religious conversion by Jemima Rodrigues' father which is more a debate on the social media. He was wrong as per the 'secular' framework. Yet the game should be ruled by the genuine contribution by the player, and not by extraneous considerations such as the antics of the player's papa!