Wednesday, December 30, 2020

Collective Conscience?

 जो पकड़ा गया 

 सो चोर 

जो बच गया 

सो सेठ 

कोतवाल की चौकसी पर है 

समाज का दारोमदार। 

*********** 

ਜੇੜਾ ਫੜਿਆ ਗਯਾ, 

ਸੋ ਚੋਰ 

ਜੇੜਾ ਬਚ ਗਯਾ 

ਸੋ ਸ਼ਾਹ 

ਮਾਨ ਦੀ ਗੁਲਾਬੀ ਪੱਗ 

ਕੋਤਵਾਲੀ ਟੰਗੀ ਹੈ ਸ਼ੇਰਾ 

JeDa Phadeya Gaya 

So Chor

JeDa Bach gaya 

So Shaah 

Maan di Gulaabi Pag 

Kotwaali Tangi hai Shera! 


************ 

A thief is not someone who steals

It is someone 

who gets caught. 

The police station

Is the keeper

of our collective conscience. 

*********** 

Surprisingly, I loved the English version best. 


Bura Aadmi

 बुरा आदमी 

कोई नहीं होता 

छोटा सा झूठ 

थोड़ा सा नफ़ा 

ज़रा सी वादाख़िलाफ़ी 

अमीरों से बेईमानी 

दुनियादारी जितना दहेज़ 

लोकलाज जितनी भ्रूण हत्या 

मजबूरी की चोरी 

परेशानी में हुआ पाप

दुनिया के अत्याचार से लड़ने के लिए 

की गयी हत्याएं। 


बुरा आदमी 

कहाँ  है कोई? 



Thursday, December 24, 2020

Meme

Next time you want to doubt the durability of Chinese products: 




Wednesday, December 23, 2020

On 1984 coming true

 With our current technology, short of Brain Computer Interface, there is only one way for 1984 (the book) to come true.


That is, if people stop remembering. If they depend on the internet for everything, every piece of information. The internet can be changed in a short time. History can be altered really easily using Wikipedia. (As some of us already know).


I had this realisation while teaching my son the importance of remembering key figures. He didn't remember any because his school curriculum does not need the remembering of the numbers.


The idea was noble - children should understand and not cram. But the outcome, as outcomes usually are, was rather unintended. He thought Ganga was the longest river in the subcontinent (it is actually the shortest among Indus, Brahmaputra, and Ganges river systems).


Yin Yang

I couldn't decide which of the 2 versions is better, so sharing both: 

गाँव 

शहर बनना चाहते हैं 

शहर 

छोटे छोटे गाँव उगाना चाहते हैं 

आलों, आँगनों में। 

यिन यांग 

बैठक - आँगन का हो रहा है 

चिर काल से। 


 गाँव 

शहर बनना चाहते हैं 

शहर 

छोटे छोटे गाँव उगाना चाहते हैं 

आलों, आँगनों में। 

यिन यांग 

ऋद्धि -सिद्धि का हो रहा है 

पूरे विधि-विधान से 


English Translation: 

Villages 

want to become 

metro cities. 

Metro cities 

want to grow tiny villages 

in their nooks and crannies. 

Yin-Yang 

of the facade 

and the kitchen garden

Forever. 


Thursday, December 03, 2020

बच्चे के क्रिसमस ट्री मांगने पर

बड़े शहर में तो लोग भी 

क्रिसमस ट्री के जैसे होते हैं 

चमचमाते, 

सजीले, 

सुंदर, 

मॉडर्न, 

बेजोड़, 

बेजड़। 


कस्बों में कहाँ होते हैं 

क्रिसमस ट्री 

और क्रिसमस ट्री जैसे लोग। 


Tuesday, November 24, 2020

Is this written by Gulzar?

 ढहता क्यूँ नहीं सैलाब-ए-ग़म से, 

अगर ये जिस्म मिट्टी का बना है। 


I think this is a Gulzar. Does anyone know for sure? 

Sunday, November 15, 2020

कहो कवि अब क्या लिखोगे - अमित मिश्रा 'मौन' की कविता

 एक बात है, जो मन बुद्धिजीवी कवियों से कहना चाहता तो है, पर कह नहीं पाता। इसी कारण, कविता ग्रुप्स में जब भूख, बेरोजगारी, नफरत आदि पर कविता सांझी की जाती है, तो मन बोझल हो जाता है। कुछ न करके बहुत कुछ कहना भी एक कला ही है। 

इसी लिए ये कविता बहुत अच्छी लगी। प्यारे अवसादी कवियों, यह पढ़ो: 

https://poetmishraji.blogspot.com/2020/11/blog-post_9.html

Saturday, November 14, 2020

With apologies to Neruda ji

 Someone posted this snippet of a poem by Pablo Neruda, translated in Hindi: 

अंधेरे के कुएँ में गिर गई है रोशनी।

ज़रूरत है कि हम कुएँ की जगत पर बैठ,

ध्यान से निकालें गिरी हुई रोशनी को, 

बेहद सब्र से जैसे पकड़ते हैं मछलियाँ।


- पाब्लो नेरूदा, अनुवाद : गीत चतुर्वेदी

On a Diwali morning, one does not like to think of light as a fugitive, furtively hiding in the depths of a well. So, my humble response, with due apologies to Neruda ji: 

Punjabi Original: 

ਰੋਸ਼ਨੀ

ਖੂ ਦੀ ਮੱਛੀ ਨਹੀਂ ਸੱਜਣਾ

ਧਰਤੀ ਦੇ ਸੀਨੇ ਦਾ ਲਹੂ ਹੈ

ਆਇਣੁ ਜਾਲੇ ਨਾਲ ਨਹੀਂ

ਜਿਗਰੇ ਨਾਲ ਫੜੀਦਾ ਹੈ

Roshni

Khoo di machhli nahi sajjna

Dhartee de seene da lahoo hai

Ainu jaale naal nahi

Jigre naal PhaDeeda hai

Hindi translation: 

रोशनी

कुंवे में मछलियों की तरह नहीं

धरती में लावे की तरह रहती है

उसे पकड़ने के लिए

जाल नहीं

जिगर चाहिए।



Saturday, November 07, 2020

When Facebook tickles your phunny bone

 Someone posted on Facebook: 

Commitphobic. Never married. 45 years old. What will my life be like if I push myself into matrimony now? (No serious answers please) 


And here goes the answer: 

Depends on whom you ask. 

Here are some expected answers: 

Karan Johar: Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham;

 Yash Chopra: Dil to Pagal Hai; 

Rajkumar Santoshi: Andaz Apna Apna; 

Rajkumar Hirani: 2 Idiots; 

Ashutosh Gowarikar: Pehla Nasha; 

Bimal Roy: Bandini; 

Guru Dutt can either give you a realistic answer like "Kagaz ke phool" or be optimistic and say "Bahaarein phir bhi ayengi"

Amol Gupte: Ek Yodha Shoorveer 

Raj Kapoor: Prem Rog

Mani Ratnam: Dil Se 

Ram Gopal Verma: Company 

Hrishikesh Mukherjee: Golmaal 

Basu Chatterjee: Khatta Meetha 

Prakash Jha: Chakravyooh

V Shantaram: 2 Aankhein 12 haath 

Ketan Mehta: Aar Ya Paar 

Dev Anand: Ishk Ishk Ishk 

:) 




Saturday, October 24, 2020

Friday, October 23, 2020

रावण

 रावण का होना आवश्यक है , 

राम के 

महान होने के लिए। 

रावण 

अपने लिए नहीं आता। 

चिता में से खींच कर,

 उसे राम ले आता है, 

हर साल, 

बार बार, 

हर बार, 

फिर मार गिराने के लिए। 

रावण ने 

अमरता का वरदान, 

देवों से मांगा था। 

देव, सदा ही छलिये होते हैं। 

कभी मोहिनी बनते हैं, 

कभी, 

अमरत्व का अभिशाप देते हैं। 

This post is in response to Onkar ji's post here: http://onkarkedia.blogspot.com/2020/10/blog-post_21.html#comment-form

Wednesday, October 14, 2020

Book Review: The Incredible History of India's Geography by Sanjeev Sanyal

 Who am I? Where am I from? 

Why do Indians celebrate the anniversary of a violent event by dancing in a flash mob? 

Indians have a treatise on everything - dance, economics, public administration, grammar, mathematics (includes physics, chemistry, and astronomy). The record keeping system of Benares is one of the most accurate, the most longstanding genealogy documentation in the world. Why, then, do we have so few books of history? Why do people say that Indians have no sense of history? 

If these are some of the questions in your thoughts, then you are at the right place of wondering. 

Dear Children: This is a book written for you. And my advice to you is: Read your school textbooks for the marks. THIS is the book that you should read to understand your history. 

This book covers an incredibly long period of history in a very pithy 256 pages, with many illustrations and maps. 

At no point is the reader bored, or overwhelmed. The book flows like a story, going easily from one period to the next, largely in chronological order, and at a couple of places, taking steps back and forth.

Since history is multifaceted, the book obviously does not cover all chronological events and all the facets of our history. But it does give us a very good sense of our past, and a couple of things that the book took some time to explain, are really important, and not often found in history books: 

A. The continuity from IVC to ancient Indian history to the modern age. We are the same civilisation. 

B. The importance of maps 

C. The share of India in global GDP 

D. The difference between the Western and Indian concepts of history. 

Of the three, the first and the last are truly mindboggling. You will never see the world the same way again. 

I think that every Indian child, and indeed, every single Indian should read this book. Since Sanjiv Sanyal is also an economist, he also brings in a very valuable view - the share of India in global GDP over the centuries. This information is shared, not in a boring tabular view, but with context at the right places. At one time, Indians became overly obsessed with puritanism. Not coincidentally, that was also when the growth of India stopped, and our share in global GDP reduced. Over a period of time, this closed mind led to our losing the technological edge that was always ours. From being the pioneers in steel weaponry, we were laggards in modern warfare. 

There are many lessons in this book, and many stories. Like Gibran, this book will bring different things to different people. But to everyone, it will bring something worth treasuring. 






Thursday, October 08, 2020

Today's original quote

 Aaj ka fun.

What an interesting thing this is! Your arrogance both belies and befits your ignorance.

**************** 

I am yet to meet the 'genius' part of every 'misunderstood genius' I have ever met. 

******************** 

If you worry about the problems that arise because people don't think, imagine the problems that would arise if people DID think.

******************

You are either insulting my intelligence, or demonstrating yours, darling. And they are both bad ideas.

**************

You must always design for mediocrity. One can either be mainstream, or excellent. Never both. 

***************

Now remember, my dear, before we open our mouth, we must open our mind.

****************

Wednesday, October 07, 2020

The Big Lie in our history

Here are the characteristics of a period in Indian history. Can you guess the period that is being described? 

1. The civilisation is, at its core, a strong mercantile civilisation, where money is the prime objective of existence, and other things, like fine things, houses in a good location, access to good civic facilities, the derivatives of that core objective. 

2. There is a mature political and civic structure. This was a civilisation that was not given to small, petty, internecine wars. They had the maturity to design and build political systems for scale - most likely, a loosely held federal system. 

3. Clearly, environment was not high on the political agenda. Nor were farmers given the pride of place in the political establishment, thinktank, or the decision table. 

4. The mature political structure ensured that small and large kingdoms reside in relative peace, with very little need for wars and weapons. What spies can do, the soldiers do not need to do. Much of the state's budget went towards civic work, administration of trade, capable ministers and a spy mechanism. Wars were rare and when they happened, decisive. 

5. Education was a priority in this civilisation. Education ensured the continuity of traditions and knowledge across many centuries and generations - largely unchanged. But the knowledge imparted in this educational system was not deadwood. This was active education that imparted the best lessons of the past and encouraged readers to develop those ideas more, and then share them with a larger world. 

6. Cities, esp capital cities, were well planned. 

You cannot guess. As this video shows, large kingdoms, or peaceful federal structures that provided stability and peace, were the norm rather than the exception in most of ancient India and as this article shows, in much of Asia. Even today, India is one of the most diverse countries held together by a single political system. This level of unity simply cannot be imagined in some of the other parts of the world.

But, who were the bullet points for? 

They were for the Saraswati or Indus Valley civilisation. (You can read the original bullet points below). But when I removed the specifics, I realised that they could apply just as easily to Ashoka, Maurya, Guptas, Nandas, Shungas, Satavahanas, Kushanas, Pratiharas, Harsha, Chalukyas, Rashtrakutas, Cholas, in short, every Indic empire. 

One of the most distinguishing features of the IVC has been city planning. But is city planning really unique to IVC and only IVC? Let's see. 

The cities have been well planned from Ayodhya (Ayudh - meaning, so secure that no war can take place there) to Ujjayani, our popular literature abounds in well planned, beautiful cities. Even Megasthenes and other travellers have written about the beautiful, vibrant cities of India and the fares sold in its markets. (Padma Priya adds:)  In the South, Madurai and Poompuhar in Sangam literature, and the story of Silapathikaram where Kannagi the protogonist burns the city down are very well known. Mamallapuram, Mahabalipuram - Pallava dynasty, Kumbakonam, , Thanjavur, Gangaikondachozhapuram - Chola period. 

Dwarka and Indraprastha in Mahabharata are both well-planned cities which were planned before they were inhabited - indicating the existence of town planning as a discipline and as a thought process. City Planning was and has been integral to administration all over India for all time!

Why is this important aspect of our history not understood better?  

I have slowly come to the view that a BIG lie that has been perpetrated about the Indus Valley civilisation is that the inhabitants of these places are now lost to us. Their genetic material, their language, their culture, and beliefs present no continuity.  This is simply not true. 

I think that the first thing we need to believe is that much of our civilisation is owed to the very intelligent people who lived in one of the most fertile river valleys of the world. The people whose cooking vessels look just like ours, whose toys are a lot like ours, and whose characteristics have not changed in the last 4000 years and counting. 

Read points 1 to 6 again. Other than education, which has been messed with by Macaulay and then our own Education ministers, which part is, even today, untrue about India? And even on Point 5, Indians continued that education inside the houses, so that the elements of our culture and civilisation are not lost. 

Here are the original bullet points: 

1. The civilisation is, at its core, a strong mercantile civilisation, where money is the prime objective of existence, and other things, like fine things, houses in a good location, access to good civic facilities, the derivatives of that core objective. 

2. There is a mature political and civic structure.  They had the maturity to design and build political and civic systems for scale - most likely, a loosely held federal system with enough money going into finding and sharing best practices - be it town planning, drainage, mercantile practices etc. 

3. The 700 year long drought proves that clearly, environment was not high on the political agenda. Nor were farmers given the pride of place in the political establishment, thinktank, or the decision table. A civilisation that had most things codified to a science, did nothing to understand the earth, and what it was trying to tell them. It was simply not important enough. 

4. The mature political structure ensured that small and large kingdoms reside in relative peace, with very little need for wars and weapons. What spies can do, the soldiers do not need to do. Much of the state's budget wen towards civic work, administration of trade, etc. 

5. Nalanda and Takshshila were universities built at a scale that was far ahead of their times. But a university is not something that sprouts. Centuries of a formal educational establishment provides the guidelines needed to set up and successfully run a university. The level of expertise that we observe in the IVC also proves that there was constant improvement and successful transmission of knowledge. The seals were codified yet universal. This can only mean that the knowledge of how to read the seals was at one time, universal. 

As I move to the later Indian texts - the Panchatantra and the Arthashastra, the universality of the thought processes becomes evident to me. 

The script is undecipherable - to most of us, yes. The Gonds claim that this is the same as their current script and the Gond hairstyles and garments being very similar to the ones we find at IVC lend credence to their claim. 

But, the Gonds are not inherently urban or mercantile. I think that they are a very important piece of the picture, but the overall picture is a rich tapestry that is still being lived out in every part of the country. 

We can understand the past much better after we understand its connection with the present. Once we acknowledge these similarities, it is a quantum leap in our understanding of that esoteric civilisation. 

But there is no archeological evidence for it. 

The DNA evidence of the Rakhigarhi skeletons conclusively proves that the DNA is the same as that of the current occupants of Rakhigarhi villages. The skeletons belong to the late Harappan period. So there is genetic continuity at least from there. 

Here's the thing: We get nothing absolute from archeological evidence. We always have to interpret the archeological evidence to create a narrative. In creating the narrative of what we have got from the later periods, we have ignored their similarity to the artifacts of the IVC. Therefore, a story of non-continuity has emerged. But if we view the 2 pieces together, we see that there is similarity - enough to indicate a continued tradition. 

 

Sunday, September 27, 2020

The Right, Ability, and Responsibility of an Opinion

 मत देने से पहले सुनिश्चित कर लेना चाहिए 

मत का अधिकार। 


सभा में बोलने से पहले, सभासद होने की योग्यता ज़रूरी है। 


अंतर है 

मत के अधिकार 

और मत की क्षमता में भी। 

और मत की क्षमता, मत देने का 

उत्तरदायित्व नहीं है। 

This is not really a poem. It tries to explain 3 concepts that I have been thinking of a lot. 

Since the advent of social media, we live in an opinion epidemic. One would expect reasonably intelligent people to know when to speak up, and when to shut up. But apparently, social media performed some sort of invisible brain surgery and took common sense away. Overnight, we all lost our ears and were blessed with a thousand tongues, that could wag at the same time. We were experts at whatever was happening anywhere. From Palestine to America, from Military affairs to public health, we were specialists at everything. What is even more appalling is that opinions are expressed, not from a place of humility (I may not know much, but I feel~) but from a place of blatant entitlement. The 

The right to have and express an opinion

 Before you speak at the table, you must have a seat at the table. 

Do you have a locus standi? Are you a stakeholder in the issue? 

If not, you may have an opinion, but seriously, it has no weight.

The ability to have an opinion 

I am a Sikh. That gives me a seat at the table for issues related to the social ills we see within Sikhism. But my exposure to them is so limited that I have neither anecdotal nor scholarly inputs to offer. There is the right, but not the ability to offer an opinion. 

The responsibility of an opinion 

And this brings me to the wise old owl. The more he saw, the less he spoke. The right and ability to have an opinion - does it place upon our shoulders the responsibility to have an opinion? What do you think? 

My experience has been that in almost every sphere, the truly aware do not speak as often, or as much. What has been your experience? 

Gardening

 मैंने देखा है 

कि बागीचे के पौधों को 

वसंत और वर्षा में 

देखभाल की 

कोई जरूरत नहीं होती 

खुद ही उगते और पनपते हैं 

जैसे 

मौसम, खाद, कीट, सर्दी, गर्मी जैसी 

छोटी छोटी बातों का 

मोल ही क्या है? 


ग्रीष्म और शिशिर में 

देनी पड़ती है 

छाँव, गर्माहट 


मन का भी 

कुछ ऐसा ही है। 

***** 

Not so perfect English Translation: 

************ 

I have seen 

that the plants in the garden 

need nothing

during spring

and monsoon

They sprout and grow

as if on their own 

oblivious to 

small things like 

manure, weather, pests, or other silly things. 

Come summer or winter, however, 

and the very survival 

needs shade

and warmth. 

I think 

the human heart 

is a little like that too. 

*********************** 


Sunday, September 20, 2020

कतरनें - तुला

 कृष्ण के प्रति राधा का प्रेम, कृष्ण के प्रति मीरा का प्रेम - इनकी उपमा दी जाती है। 

कृष्ण का राधा के प्रति प्रेम, कृष्ण का मीरा के प्रति प्रेम - इनकी उपमा नहीं दी जाती। 


प्रेम में और तुला में, यही अंतर है। प्रेम में संतुलन नहीं होता। 


Monday, September 14, 2020

Poem on Hindi Divas हिन्दी दिवस पर कविता

हिन्द की भाषा हिन्दी
हम सब की माता हिन्दी

संस्कृत की बेटी
ज्ञान की पेटी

रंग  से भरी 
बचपन की परी

गर्मी में बनती बयार
जाड़े में कुनकुनी ज्वाल

मिट्टी की सौंधी सुगंध
लोरी माँ के आँचल संग

ऐसी मुझको लगती हिन्दी
मेरी अपनी, प्यारी हिन्दी

Note: This poem was written for my son's class assignment on Hindi Diwas. If reusing, pls give credit. Thank you!  



Today's original quote

In our films, the quality of production has gone up, the quality of direction has plummeted.

To watch a Bimal Da film, or any of the international classics, shows us what is missing in our cinema today - the heart and soul of story telling. 

Corporatisation has its benefits. Soulful cinema is not one of them. 

I don't meant the socialist cinema of NSD alumni. I mean directors who really had an individuality, a voice, a thing that they wanted to say in a certain way, and the standards that they held themselves to. 

I miss that. Truly. 

********************* 
On reducing privacy and no one being appalled by it: 

Why are we humans in a race to become goldfish in a glass bowl? 
*************** 

Sunday, September 06, 2020

Circles

वृत्तांत
में होता है
आदि
मध्य
और अंत.

वृत्त में
सम्पूर्णता।

Translation: 
Stories have a beginning, middle and end.
But in a circle, there is no such distinction.
Circles are complete unto themselves. That which is the start might well be the middle, or even the end.

The idea is from the Indian philosophy of Advait - non-duality. So long as we view time as a linear concept and see a duality between us and the world, there will be a concept of a beginning and an end. But the minute we view the entire cosmos as a unified whole, we understand that like a circle, it is complete and forever. There is no beginning, no end, no pain, no attachment, nothing except a feeling of wholeness and perfection. 

The wordplay is on the word for narration (vritaant) and circle (vrit) in Hindi.

Sambhaav/ समभाव

पहले बुद्धि
फिर अनुभूति
फिर समरसता
फिर आनंद
फिर प्रेम

इस से आगे का रास्ता
अभी नहीं देखा.

प्रेम से ऊपर
केवल दीप्ति
न स्रोत का ज्ञान
न गंतव्य की आवश्यकता
केवल
परिपूर्णता।






Sunday, August 30, 2020

कतरनें: विश्वास

तुमने मुझ पर हमेशा शक किया। कभी विश्वास नहीं किया मुझ पर।

क्या तुम विश्वास के योग्य थे? 

नहीं, पर तुम ये बात नजरंदाज भी तो कर सकती थीं । रिश्ते में, विश्वास का छलावा भी तो हो सकता है।




Thursday, August 27, 2020

How to deal with an abuser without feeling fear or negativity?


How to deal with an abuser without feeling fear or negativity?

This was the question I was dealing with in the morning meditation. Here is the answer:

You deal with an abuser the same way that we deal with Ravana – through a Lakshman Rekha. On either side of the line, the exchange can be quite cordial. It only becomes negative when the abuser tries to cross the line into your domain, or forces you to cross your comfort zone and make yourself vulnerable to his/her abuse.
Image from the internet. Credits not mentioned. 


Suppose someone is emotionally unavailable but makes demands on your time as and when they need it. Now, you draw a Lakshman Rekha that eliminates expectations from them. Their emotional availability is no longer needed. Can you still give them love? The same way that you would pet a tree in your house – with love, but without obligation. The exchange is no longer negative or worrisome to you. They are, of course, free to accept or reject your love when presented this way. The beauty of universal love is that it is completely transferable. 

Now, suppose, there is an instance where they are emotionally available. You have created a data point that has their availability (let’s say, a family function, or a lunch with your colleagues). The next time this situation presents itself, you expect them to be there, because the data point says so. And that is what separates the abuser from the normal human being. The abuser refuses to be there, just because you expect them to be and they have the power to refuse. Their reward is your squirming or pain. That is how abuse functions. How do you protect yourself? By remembering the line. Visualise them, not as intimate partner or family member, but as the tree in the yard that deserves a hug, but cannot expect or enforce it. The important metric in the situation is your positivity. If you feel resentment or feel like an empty bucket pouring to meet someone else’s expectation, stop. You cannot stroke a tree without feeling love for it.  

Now, lets take the case of an abuser who is always guilt-tripping or criticising. You create a Lakshman Rekha where their opinion is outside the line. It no longer matters. Your external validation comes from people who are fair and objective. They praise and criticise in equal measure, but more importantly, based on their understanding and opinion of the world, not based on their power, love, or hate towards you.
Once again, a data point is created where you are praised once for something – it could be a dress, an event, a simple gesture. Next time you do that thing, you would rely on the data point. But the person guilt trips or criticises, not based on any objective idea, but out of sheer habit. How do you protect yourself? By remembering that their happiness comes from your pain and isolating the outlier data points.

Next, an abuser who is, unfortunately, physically or sexually abusive. In this case, the line needs to be drawn thick and clear. There is no excuse, no adequate provocation, for physical or sexual abuse. Draw that line and remember Sita every time you are tempted to cross it.  

Tuesday, August 18, 2020

Logic Puzzle based on phonetics


Ben, Gen, and Len,
Had a pretty pen
Which had 3 hen:
Rug, Lug, and Tug.
Pink, White, and Blue,
Can you tell who’s who(se)?

Rug is not white
Tug’s owner is bright.
Lug is Blue
L starts the owner’s name too.
Gen’s pet is pink.
It’s solved, don’t you think?

Note: In this puzzle, 3 kids – Ben, Gen, and Len, have a pet hen each. The hens are also of different colour. Can you figure out the colour and owner of each hen using this rhyme above?

Monday, August 17, 2020

Once a decade, ready to be conned

The year was 1998 or thereabouts. The dot com boom was at its peak. I was among the few nonbelievers.

A few years later, the dot com bust happened. Validation? I am not sure. Because by 2008, the world believed that just because someone in a pinstripe suit was selling it, bad loans were somehow an investible asset.

Validation? I am not sure. Because 10 years later, we truly believe that companies that don't have a profitable business model deserve to open to record IPOs. That is public money, by the way.

Why does this work? Why does it work so often? And so consistently?

Please do share your thoughts.

If we knew the secret recipe of why that public confidence comes to these businesses, and applied that to real businesses that need public confidence, imagine what that would do.

Wednesday, August 12, 2020

Honi - 2 kshanikayein

दुनिया में
बहुत सारे गलत काम
हो जाते हैं.
इसलिए नहीं
कि वे होने चाहिए
बल्कि इसलिए
कि वे
हो सकते हैं.
किये जा सकते हैं.
होनी होती नहीं.
होनी
की जा सकती है.

***************************

होनी
अटल भले ही हो
पर उसके कार्यकर्ता
नामांकित नहीं
स्वयंसेवक होते हैं


*होनी - Destiny (esp. related to misfortune) is called होनी in some parts of Punjab and Hindi speaking belt. e.g., होनी को कौन टाल सकता है.

*कार्यकर्ता  workers, the ones who bring something to fruition
नामांकित nominated , someone who has been designated to do something.
स्वयंसेवक volunteers, people who want to do something. 

What if we could walk on water

ठुमक ठुमक नहीं, 
छपक-छपाक सी होती तब 
पैरों की चाल

तरल जल पर नृत्य होता 
लहरों पर तब बजती ताल! 

तरण ताल तब कहीं न होता 
और न होती स्विमिंग की क्लास 

डूबने का, तैरने का ,
कोई डर न फटकता पास! 

समुद्र पर हम टहलने जाते 
नदियों पर करते विहार 

मछलियों से जी भर मिलते 
उनको भी खिलाते घास 

पानी पर जो हम चल पाते 
सदा ही रहते ह्वैल के साथ! 


The idea is from a friend. 


Tuesday, August 11, 2020

Original Quote of the Day , and where it came from

Stories, like trees, have deep roots. All our stories begin long, long before the point from which we start telling them.

****** 
The story of Gluten allergy did not start with gluten allergy. It started with hybrid and GM wheat. 

The story of Indo-Nepal conflict did not start with Indo-Nepal conflict. It started with the Communist government being voted to power in Nepal - in 2008. 

The story of the loneliness epidemic did not start with the loneliness epidemic. It started with the Fountainhead - in 1943. 

The story of a country of clerks did not begin with the civil service. It started with the British educational system. 
***************** 

All our stories today, are like rivers. They don't always come from a single source. They come from many tributaries. Many things have come together to create the story that flows from our lips today. 


Sunday, August 09, 2020

Men are like Mars, Women are Like Venus -NOT

This is the second conversation in the 2 conversations i mentioned in the earlier blog post.

2 things are happening in our society.
1.
Women are being taught that adjustment is bad ipso facto. The word adjustment is a bad word. You should not have to adjust or make an effort to fit into anyone else's world after marriage. They should accept you as you are.

2.
Woman says - I need to pick up my child from day care, the manager says, "OK" (however grudgingly, but no denial).
A man says, "I need to pick up my child from day care."
Manager: Are you crazy? Who will do the work here?

Woman: I need to take 2 days off. A family member is unwell and I need to take care of them.
Manager: OK.

Man: I need to take 2 days off. A family member is unwell and I need to take care of them.
Manager: Why? Don't you have anyone else at home? I hope you will be available on call.

Woman: I was cooking, so could not come to the phone.
Mom: OK.

Man: I was cooking, so could not come to the phone.
Mom: Yes, this is how it is these days. Your father has never entered the kitchen. What's bahu doing?

You get the idea.

So, 2 macro machineries are at work here. 

The first, teaches women that: 

  1. It is ok to not work at home. 
  2. It is ok to not invest in building relationships if you don't want to. 
  3. Adjustment is a bad word. 
  4. The man must share in the housework. 
The second, teaches men that: 
1. She marries you for your money. You need to be a good provider. 
2. A woman's domestic duties are taken for granted, but a man's domestic duties are discouraged by an entire ecosystem - friends, family, office, everyone. 
3. A woman is the epitome of love. She builds loving relationships around her. 

Between them, these 2 machines create a HUGE Expectation - Reality gap among the genders, pulling them in literally opposite directions. 

One of these machines needs to stop rolling, if the genders have to come together. 

If men have to do more at home, their ecosystem needs to be sensitised to this, as much as the individuals are. 

If women have to step out, their ecosystem needs to stop viewing this as an anomaly. AND, their ecosystem needs to tell them that it is ok to love, it is ok to not love. It is ok to work, and ok to not work. All relationships take investment, and most of that investment involves a give and take of love. There are expectations involved. Managing those expectations and rights over each other is a part of the relationship building process. 

And both genders have to really stop counting their sacrifices and start counting their blessings. An entire social narrative of one gender being the victim and the other the perpetrator just has to stop. It is not true, and it only serves to increase the gender distance. A single story of feminism and a single story of the ideal man is like the 2 elephants of Fevicol. 


2 conversations: One

Why doesn't the govt make rules for the middle class? Either they take care of the very poor or the very rich. The middle class is literally hung out to dry. 

This govt assumed that the trading community cannot unite. This Rakhi, by not importing a single Rakhi, the trading community has proved that it can unite. The govt had better take note of that. 

And what about the salaried classes? Us? 

Oh, we are the prostitutes. We sell our whole life for a few bucks. We are the ONLY tax paying community whose tax is deducted at source. We don't even demand our basic right to a life after office. We don't unionise, we don't support each other. One person leaves a job and 10 are ready to take it. We dishonour our commitment to join an organisation if someone throws an extra 10000 at us. We have no moral fibre and no backbone. Why will anyone think of us during policy making? Where is the incentive? We don't even vote! 

Why is that? 

Because we grow up in colleges that do relative grading. Our entire higher education is designed to teach us to compete against each other. To put each other down. To ensure the failure of others because that automatically ensures our rise. When that becomes your ethos for the 4-7 years of character building, how can you develop a moral fibre? We are never taught to work together. Never rewarded for co-operation. In fact, in the RG method of grading, if you help someone, you are automatically putting your own rank down. 

Put both these things together: 
Reward Active Negative Behaviour 
Penalise Co operation. 

What do you get? 
We get the salaried middle classes of India. 


Wednesday, August 05, 2020

Logic Puzzle: Playing this week?


Anvesha decides what they will play on Monday and Thursday, Bina on Tuesday and Friday, and Charu on Wednesday and Saturday.
Can you use the clues below to figure out what they play on each day of the week?
  1. Bina and Charu love basketball and want to play it often, but Anvesha will only play it once a week, so they have to comply.
  2. Mondays are for badminton and Fridays are for chess.
  3. Charu’s favourite sport is swimming. She makes her friends play it on one of her days.
  4. Saturdays are Scrabble days!
  5. Anvesha likes tennis.

Tuesday, July 28, 2020

आलसराम - Hindi poem for children


एक थे भैया आलसराम
करते थे बहुत विश्राम
दूध, मलाई और जलेबी
उनकी थी सब सखी सहेली
कसरत से वे कतराते थे
तनिक भी नहीं कर पाते थे
हाथी जैसे झूल के चलते
पीड़ा बताते नहीं थे थकते

बहुत हो गया आलसराम
उठो करो अब कुछ व्यायाम
खाओ, पियो, मौज मनाओ,
पर इस तन को जरा हिलाओ
मीठा छोड़ो, दाल भी खाओ
पानी पियो, कदम बढ़ाओ!

Monday, July 27, 2020

On Discipline, Children, and parenting

Someone in a parenting group asked:
I wonder why imparting Discipline is mostly equated to lack of love, care and empathy and why should discipline stifle creativity? 

Let's address the question in 2 parts:
Why is discipline equated to a lack of love?

The easy answer is that discipline requires us to stop the child from doing something that they want to do at that time, and make them do something that they NEED to do. i.e., a clash between the id and the superego, in Freudian terms.

But what makes discipline undesirable is not the clash itself, but the child's perception that this clash is a function of lack of love, or that it somehow stifles their independence.

Was it always this way?

Yes. The id and the super ego have clashed forever. BUT, by the age of 4 or so, Indian children have typically been conditioned to view discipline as the route to a better life. That is why we have 5 year olds practising Bharatanatyam.

So, what changed in the last few centuries for the Indian child? Greater self awareness? An altered concept of self?

Let's read on to find out.

Tangential Detour: One of my most lasting impressions came from an image in an old book (I found it on the internet):

If the child finds itself nodding or drooping from sleep, the hair will tug and the child will be awake.

No one forced the student to do this. Why was this student, and many others like him, doing this?

That question explores the 2 completely divergent emotional responses students have to discipline.

So, how did we get from the student above to the children today who equate discipline with emotional ruin? (The original poster also drew a comparison with the Gurukul system, so I am going to address that too)

400 years ago, we had Victorian ideas like "Children should be seen and not heard." . This led to a lot of child abuse in Europe. Children were routinely starved and beaten in the name of discipline.

Why did a similar idea not lead to child abuse in India? 
Because the Indian social structure was different.

Joint Families
Unlike Europe, in India, we typically had joint families. So, the Man of the House had no absolute authority to practise physical violence. There were other members of the family.

Close Knit societies 
Social censure, or "What will people say?" was, and continues to be, one of the greatest deterrents in India. It was important to keep up an image of being a morally right family.

Absence of formal schooling
Majority of children learnt AT HOME. They were expected to go into caste based vocations and formal education was considered, at best, an enabler.

The idea of taking money for educating someone was considered rather sacrilegious. This meant that vocational training happened at home, with one's own families. (You will still find this big time in jewellers, potters, weavers, and other skill based vocations).

Formal education was a function of choice - for both - the student, and the teacher. Teachers did not enter education for money. There was no money. It was what the student willingly gave and the teacher accepted. But the moral authority of the teacher was so absolute that even the king bowed to the Rajguru - the royal teacher.  So, teachers taught because that was what they wanted to do. Students learnt the 3R education only as much as they wanted to.

Coming back to discipline 
From an early age, a child knew that he is the breadwinner. Other than govt servants and Munshis (clerks), no one else got salary. Which meant that they had to learn to fend for themselves. If they were potters, they would have to make great pots. If they were jewellers, they would have to learn their craft. If they were priests, they would have to learn the rituals and the scripture. There were no fathers waiting to support them.

Against this backdrop, early on, children knew that discipline and training was the route to success. The ONLY route to success. Discipline then became a symbol of a parent's love, and an integral part of growing up. It was a hygiene factor in the life of a child.

The importance of community 
You view something as being negative or positive only if its optional. Let me give an example - Most children today don't view healthy eating as optional. All parents enforce it and all children follow. But if some children are allowed pizzas everyday and some children are made to eat Dal, the children eating dal will get the idea that it is optional to eat healthy. It is exactly the same with discipline. Even 50 years ago, discipline was not an option. Children stopped playing with you if you were not disciplined. A mistake by one member of the family placed a blotch on the name of the entire family.

Did it lead to abuse? Yes, in some cases. But the design of the educational structure was non-abusive. Discipline was woven into it automatically. Krishna, for all his pranks, still took the cows out to graze with his elder brother, even as a child.

The Gurukul system and discipline 
Let's understand the Gurukul system. There still are Gurukuls - the KangDi Gurukul in Haridwar and I think some gurukuls in the South. But, by and large, the ideas of how to run a Gurukul, are only a remnant of what we knew. As part of an earlier initiative, I spent a LOT of time trying to understand Indian education techniques. Gurukul, obviously, was one of them.
Those who want to understand the Gurukul system better, Amish Tripathi's book comes close - the Suryavanshi system in the first book (except that the parents took their own children back)

But here are some key tenets of the Gurukul system:

  • It was for a long time: Children did not flit in and out of Gurukuls like hostels. When a child was sent to a Gurukul, it was assumed that the child would now come back home only after the completion of their education - very likely, towards the end of their Brahmacharya. 
  • It was a matter of choice: The students chose their Gurus, and the Gurus had to accept their students. It was a 2 way process. Once the commitment was made, both sides worked to understand each other and work with each other. 
  • The devotion was absolute - from both sides: Many ppl think that the student's devotion to the Guru was absolute. But the converse was also true. The Guru also committed himself to the development of the student. The failure of a student to learn was also the failure of the Guru. 
  • It was personalised education: While the Guru did hold classes as a whole, they were also mindful of the individual traits of the child and their learning style. They gave their assignments according to the interest and the ability of the student. No one called it personalised learning. It was just assumed. 
  • It was not universal: Many ppl think that ALL children went to Gurukuls. That was not the case. We have more than enough instances - from ancient times, that Gurukuls were for some people. They were not universal. 
Were Gurukuls loving places? 
We are all human. Which means that universal answers don't apply. In my view, the Gurukuls were run by gurus for the love of learning. Usually, the gurus chose their ashrams in secluded parts of the forest, where the students worked to make a pleasant sanctuary. There was everything that goes into the practice of a good life  - hard manual labour, specialised learning, weapons training, agriculture, dialogue, play, meditation, and a good routine. 

Therefore, just like home learning, there was some love and some tough love. Just like home learning, the children found friends and nooks and crannies of time when they did the breaking of the rules that is so necessary to our emotional survival - as children and adults. 

Does discipline stifle creativity? 
I'm not a specialist - done or read no great study on the effects of discipline on creativity. So, this is  an anecdotal answer. 
I love painting. And dancing. I can't do either. Because I did not learn. 
Until, one day, I realised that even to truly enjoy my passions, I need to learn more. And all learning needs.. that dreaded thing... discipline. 
Now, one can choose to reinvent the wheel, of course, but turns out, I am not a genius of that category. I definitely cannot create the Natyashastra out of my head. However, after learning the techniques, I was able to create more, based on the body of knowledge that already exists. 

Discipline is not an end in itself. It is only the means to an end - learning and growth is that end. Only the student decides what and how much they want to learn. Their discipline comes from within. No one from outside can dictate that. 




















Sunday, July 26, 2020

Sushant Singh Rajput was not a suicide

Disha Salian's suicide was small news on June 8th. Sushant Singh Rajput had sent a condolence msg. I read that and thought: Why is he sending a condolence message? Didn't he also go through a suicide case? And the idea "One Week" flashed in the background. Then I hit self on the head and said, "No, he is not in a suicide case. He is alive. That's why he is sending a condolence message."

And then, when the headline flashed, I thought it was my brain playing tricks again. "No baba, he is not dead. Its you thinking of things that are not true. He will not commit suicide. He is a successful actor and extremely intelligent."



Only, it wasn't my brain playing tricks. He had been declared dead. But it was not suicide.



I followed him on Twitter. This was a young man with a LOT of interests. Even if he had failed in the film industry, he would have done something in physics. The list of people he followed on Twitter had NO filmi junta except the folks we know to be hardworking. In short, no celebrities. This was not a person whose self concept depended on films. Or anyone else.


Update: Later, it has emerged that when he thought he has been ousted by the film mafia, he wanted to go and do organic farming in Kerala. But even if that was not the case, he would have found something to do.



This is a video by an ex RAW official, and the pointers he gives deserve attention.

Part 1:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=132&v=zymzzxW2dJM&feature=emb_logo

Part 2:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rbaAK2MHNM

This was not a suicide.

I rarely believe in conspiracy theories. But this is not a conspiracy theory. This is just something that cannot be explained away.

Is Depression an infectious disease?

Manjeet Grewal - May 16
Preksha Mehta - May 25
Disha Salian - June 8th
Sushant Singh Rajput - June 14th

Wow, no?! 4 friends committing suicide one week after each other. How amazing! Did you know that depression is infectious and spreads among friends? I didn't either.

Its been over a month, and the hype around his death refuses to die. I hope that remains. I hope that this death (which is not a suicide) serves some purpose. And I have a sneaky feeling that it will. Far too many people not willing to let this go.

We will not watch. We will not pay. We will not even give TRPs. Its just one person, but oh, that one person sleeps well. 

Sunday, June 28, 2020

Children's Hindi poetry on butterfly


मैंने पूछा तितली से

क्या डरती हो बिजली से?

तितली बोली, ‘धत, पगले!

बिजली है डरती हम से!

 

सृजन सदा बड़ा होता है

भय से और गर्जन से

तितली की सब राह हैं तकते

चित्त से और चिरंतर से

 

English Version:

 

I asked the humble butterfly

Does the thunder make you cry?

The butterfly laughed at me

It’s the thunder that is scared, not me!

 

Creation always supercedes

All fear and disease

The world awaits the butterfly

Forever and fearlessly.