Satya Sai Baba and vAstu

Satya Sai Baba (SSB) passed away yesterday. SSB's doctors made his passage difficult with pacemakers and other life support added on - but his sharIra, whose nature it is to die and decay, had to give way. He was eighty five years old.

With anybody else, 85 can safely be considered a ripe old age. However, with Baba - the center of so much of power and opulence, any age would not be ripe enough.

A family member of Satya Sai Baba lamented that the hospital where he (SSB) was treated had "vAstu doSham"! When I read this statement - I could not make up my mind whether to laugh or to cry.

I do not wish to pontificate here - but merely want to point out the obvious. Our bodies - strong as they may be now - will eventually wither away. That is the nature of life. Whether eighty or hundred or even a hundred and ten years old - no one will live forever. It is quite amazing that this family member of SSB could not get that - in spite of the high philosophy that SSB regularly had in his lectures and speeches.

At these times, it helps to look at our purANas and itihAsa and get a grip on ourselves. Great avatAras like rAma and kRShNa gave up their bodies when it was time. Great personages like bhIShma and dharmarAja passed away too. And so did kings like shivAji and kRshNadevarAya. When they passed away however, they understood their conditions and adjusted. No illustrious personage departed kicking and weeping like a five year old.

In fact the Raghuvamsha has a phrase about this - yogenAnte tanutyajAm ("The kings of the ikShvAku dynasty gave up their bodies with yoga"). They "gave it up".

My lament is that our people are not looking at the stars in our purANic sky. They are looking at the muck and dirt - in the form of vAstu and other sick superstitions. To answer this family member - would SSB have lived forever if they had shifted him to a "vAstu" compliant hospital? Read kisA gotami's story, people!

I sometimes feel that atheism is better than this kind of belief. I read an interesting piece about SSB's and H Narasimhaiah's exchange on Outlook India here.While I do not agree with Outlook's ideology, this piece has an interesting part from the same piece that I would like to quote. [Emphases in the following paragraphs mine]

Now science seems to have been replaced by technology in the public
space. Obviously one can't speak of the values of technology as one
spoke about that of science because there aren't any. Technology is only
about application and consumption and it suits the times well. It is
ideologically neutral. I am tempted to say that as more and more
technology surrounds us, our pre-occupation with dogma and godmen has increased.

With that point to ponder, I conclude this post with my (hopefully unfounded) observation that as a society, we seem to be heading downhill - morally and spiritually - in a high powered fully featured sports car with all cylinders firing.

ಹರಿಗುರುವಿಗೆ ನುಡಿಯ ನಮನ

ಇಂದು ಬೆಳಗ್ಗೆ ಎದ್ದು ವಿಜಯಕರ್ಣಾಟಕ ಪತ್ರಿಕೆಯ ಮೇಲೆ ಕಣ್ಣಾಡಿಸಿದಾಗ ಒಂದು ಸಖೇದಾಶ್ಚರ್ಯದ ಸಂಗತಿ ಕಾಣಿಸಿತು. ಹರಿಹರೇಶ್ವರರು ನಮ್ಮೊಂದಿಗಿಲ್ಲವೆಂಬ ಸುದ್ದಿ. ಗುರುವಾರ ರಾತ್ರಿ ಅವರು ನಿಧನರಾದರೆಂದು ಓದಿ ಮನಸ್ಸಿಗೆ ಬಹಳ ದುಃಖವಾಯ್ತು. ಅದರ ನಡುವೆಯೂ ಅವರ ನಗುಮೊಗ; ಕಾಳಜಿ ಮತ್ತು ಅಕ್ಕರೆಗಳು ನೆನಪಾದವು. ಹರಿಯವರೆಂದರೆ ಹಾಗೆ.

ಶಿಕಾರಿಪುರ ಹರಿಹರೇಶ್ವರರೆಂದರೆ ಅಮೇರಿಕೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಸ್ವಲ್ಪಕಾಲವಾದರೂ ವಾಸಿಸಿದ್ದು ಕನ್ನಡ-ಸಂಸ್ಕೃತಿ ವಿಷಯಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಆಸಕ್ತರಾಗಿದ್ದವರಿಗೆ ಎಂದಿಗೂ ಮರೆಯಲಾರದಂಥ, ಮರೆಯಬಾರದಂಥ ಹೆಸರು, ವ್ಯಕ್ತಿತ್ವ. ನನಗಂತೂ ಎಸ್.ಕೆ.ಹರಿಹರೇಶ್ವರರೆಂದರೆ - ಸ್ಟಾಕ್-ಟನ್ ಹರಿಹರೇಶ್ವರರು ಎಂದು ನೆನಪು ಬರುತ್ತಿತ್ತು. ಏಕೆಂದರೆ ಅಮೇರಿಕೆಯಲ್ಲಿದ್ದಾಗ ಅವರು ಕ್ಯಾಲಿಫೋರ್ನಿಯಾದ ಸ್ಟಾಕ್-ಟನ್ನಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಕುಟುಂಬಸಮೇತರಾಗಿ ವಾಸಿಸುತ್ತಿದ್ದರು. ಈ ಲೇಖನದ ಉದ್ದೇಶ ನಾ ಕಂಡ ಹರಿಯವರನ್ನು ನೆನಪಿಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳುವುದು. 

ಅವರ ಹೆಸರನ್ನು ಬಹಳೆಡೆ ಕೇಳಿದ್ದರೂ ಮುಖಪರಿಚಯವಾದದ್ದು ೨೦೦೦ ದ ಹ್ಯೂಸ್ಟನ್ನಿನ ವಿಶ್ವಕನ್ನಡಸಮ್ಮೇಳನದಲ್ಲಿ. ಭರ್ಜರಿಯಾದ ಸ್ಮರಣಸಂಚಿಕೆಯ ರೂವಾರಿಗಳು ಹರಿಯವರು. ನಗುಮೊಗದ ತಲ್ಲೀನತೆ ಅವರ ಗುರುತಾಗಿತ್ತು. ಏನೂ ಗೊತ್ತಿಲ್ಲದ ಪಡ್ಡೆಯ ಹುಡುಗರಾದ ನಮಗೂ "ನನ್ನ ಹೆಸರು ಹರಿಹರೇಶ್ವರ" ಎಂದು ನಗುವಿನೊಂದಿಗೆ ತಮ್ಮ ಪರಿಚಯವನ್ನು ನೀಡಿದ್ದರು. ಶ್ರೀರಾಮನ ಹಾಗೆ ಇವರು ಪೂರ್ವಭಾಷಿ. ಕನ್ನಡವೆಂದರೆ ಅವರಿಗೆ ಅಪಾರವಾದ ಒಲವೆಂದು ಆ ಕೆಲವು ಘಳಿಗೆಗಳ ಒಡನಾಟವು ತಿಳಿಸಿತ್ತು. ಅವರು ವೃತ್ತ್ಯಾ ವಿಜ್ಞಾನಿ-ತಂತ್ರಜ್ಞರಾಗಿದ್ದರೂ ಪ್ರವೃತ್ತ್ಯಾ ಸಾಹಿತಿಗಳು-ಬರಹಗಾರರು.
ಅವರಲ್ಲಿ ಚಳವಳಿಗಾರರೂ ಒಮ್ಮೊಮ್ಮೆ ಕಾಣಿಸುತ್ತಿದ್ದರು. ಕೈಗೆತ್ತಿಕೊಂಡ ಕೆಲಸವನ್ನು
ಮುಗಿಸುವ ಹಠ.

ಉತ್ತರ ಕ್ಯಾಲಿಫೋರ್ನಿಯಾ ಕನ್ನಡ ಕೂಟದ ಅದೆಷ್ಟು ಸ್ಮರಣ-ಸಂಚಿಕೆಗಳಿಗೆ ಇವರು ಸಂಪಾದಕರಾಗಿದ್ದರೋ! ಕೂಟದ ಪ್ರತಿಯೊಂದು ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮ ನಡೆದ ನಂತರ ಅದರ ವರದಿಯನ್ನು ಬರೆಯುವುದು ರೂಢಿಯಾಗಿತ್ತು. ಅಲ್ಪಸ್ವಲ್ಪ ಕನ್ನಡ ತಿಳಿದ ನನ್ನನ್ನು ನೋಡಿ ಹರಿಯವರು ಹುರಿದುಂಬಿಸಿ ಬರೆಹ ಬರೆಯಿಸಿದ್ದರು - ಅದೂ ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ. ಲೇಖನದ ನಂತರ ಒಳ್ಳೆಯ ಮಾತುಗಳನ್ನಾಡಿ ಪ್ರೋತ್ಸಾವನ್ನೂ ನೀಡಿದ್ದರು. ತೊದಲುವ ಮಗುವಿನ ನುಡಿಯನ್ನೂ ಅಕ್ಕರೆಯಿಂದ ಆಲಿಸಿ ತಿದ್ದಿ ಕಲಿಸಿ ನಂತರ "ಭೇಷ್ ! ಎಷ್ಟು ಚೆನ್ನಾಗಿ ಮಾಡಿದೆ" ಎಂದು ಹೊಗಳುವಂಥವರು ಹರಿಯವರು. ಮುಂದೆ ಒಂದಷ್ಟು ಬರೆದು ಕಳಿಸಿದ್ದೆ - ಅದನ್ನು ಹೊಗಳಿ ಅದಕ್ಕೆ ಒಳ್ಳೆಯ ಪ್ರಚಾರವನ್ನೂ ಪ್ರೋತ್ಸಾಹವನ್ನೂ ನೀಡಿದ್ದರು. ಅಕ್ಷರಮಾತ್ರವನ್ನು ಕಲಿಸಿದವರು ಗುರುಗಳಾದರೆ ನನಗೆ ಹರಿಯವರು ದೊಡ್ಡ ಗುರುಗಳು.

ನಂತರ ನನಗೆ ತಿಳಿದದ್ದೇನೆಂದರೆ ಹರಿಯವರು ಬರೆಯುವುದಕ್ಕಿಂತಲೂ ಬರೆಯಿಸುವುದು ಹೆಚ್ಚು ಇಷ್ಟ ಪಡುತ್ತಾರೆಂಬುದು. ಆದರೆ ಅವರು ಬರೆದಿದ್ದಾರೆ, ಹೆಚ್ಚು ಬರೆದಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಬರೆಯಿಸಿಯೂ ಇದ್ದಾರೆ - ನನ್ನಂಥ ಹತ್ತು ಹಲವು ಮಂದಿಯಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಹರಿಯವರದು ಒಂದು ರೀತಿಯ ಬೆಂಬಿಡದ ಪ್ರೀತಿ. ಅವರೇನೂ ಒತ್ತಾಯ ಮಾಡುತ್ತಿರಲಿಲ್ಲವಾದರೂ ನಾವೇ ಬರೆದುಬಿಡೋಣವೆಂಬ ಒಂದು ಪ್ರೀತಿಯನ್ನು ಮೂಡಿಸುತ್ತಿದ್ದುದು ಹರಿಯವರ ಹೆಚ್ಚುಗಾರಿಕೆ. ಯುವಕರನ್ನೂ ನಾಚಿಸುವ ಉತ್ಸಾಹ ಇವರದಾಗಿತ್ತು.

ಬೇ ಏರಿಯಾಕ್ಕೆ ಬಂದ ಸಾಹಿತಿಗಳನ್ನೆಲ್ಲ ಚೆನ್ನಾಗಿ ಬಲ್ಲವರು ಹರಿಯವರು. ಸಾಹಿತ್ಯಾಸಕ್ತರ ಸಮ್ಮುಖದಲ್ಲಿ ಒಮ್ಮೆ ಸಾಹಿತಿಗಳ ಸನ್ಮಾನ-ಸಂಭಾಷಣೆಗಳನ್ನು ಏರ್ಪಡಿಸದೇ ಇರುತ್ತಿರಲಿಲ್ಲ. ಅವರೂ ಅವರ ಶ್ರೀಮತಿಯವರೂ ಅವಿರತವಾಗಿ ಕನ್ನಡಕ್ಕಾಗಿ ಶ್ರಮಿಸುತ್ತಿದ್ದರು. ಕನ್ನಡಕ್ಕೆ ಮಾತ್ರವಲ್ಲದೇ ಸನಾತನ ಧರ್ಮದಲ್ಲಿ ಶ್ರದ್ಧೆಯುಳ್ಳವರಾಗಿದ್ದರು. ಹಿಂದೂ-ಪರ ಸಂಸ್ಥೆಗಳಿಗೆ ಬೌದ್ದಿಕ-ಸಾಂಸ್ಕೃತಿಕ ಸಾಹಾಯ್ಯವನ್ನು ನೀಡುತ್ತಿದ್ದರು.  ಹಲವು ಮದುವೆಗಳನ್ನೂ ಇವರೇ ಪುರೋಹಿತರಾಗಿ ಮಾಡಿಸಿದ್ದರು. ಇವರ ಮಂತ್ರಾನುವಾದಗಳ ಹೊತ್ತಗೆಗಳನ್ನು ನಾನು ನೋಡಿದ್ದೇನೆ.

ಸುಮಾರು ೨೦೦೩/೨೦೦೪ ರಲ್ಲಿ ಭಾರತಕ್ಕೆ ಇವರು ಮರಳಿದರೂ ಒಮ್ಮೊಮ್ಮೆ ಅಮೇರಿಕಕ್ಕೆ ಬಂದು ಹೋಗುತ್ತಿದ್ದರು. ನಂತರ ನಾನೂ ಮರಳಿದೆ. ಅವರ ಅಕ್ಕರೆ ಎಷ್ಟಾಗಿತ್ತೆಂದರೆ ಅವರೇ ನನಗೆ ಒಮ್ಮೊಮ್ಮೆ ಮೈಸೂರಿನಿಂದ ಫೋನಿಸುತ್ತಿದ್ದರು. ಹಿರಿಯರು ಕರೆದಿದ್ದರೂ ಮೈಸೂರಿಗೆ ಅವರನ್ನು ನೋಡಲು ಒಮ್ಮೆಯೂ ಹೋಗದ ದುರ್ಬುದ್ಧಿಯ ದೀರ್ಘಸೂತ್ರತೆ ನನ್ನದು. ಆಮೇಲೆ ನೋಡೋಣ, ಇನ್ನೊಮ್ಮೆ ನೋಡೋಣ ವೆಂದು ಮುಂದೂಡುತ್ತಲೇ ಇದ್ದೆ. ಈಗ ನೋಡಿದರೆ ದೈಹಿಕವಾಗಿ ಅವರೇ ನಮ್ಮೊಂದಿಗಿಲ್ಲ. ಹಾಗೆ ಯೋಚಿಸುತ್ತಿದ್ದ ನನಗೆ ನನ್ನ ತಾಯಿ - "ನೋಡು, ಮುಂದೂಡುವುದರ ಪರಿಣಾಮ" ಎಂದು ಒಮ್ಮೆ ಬೈದರು. ನನ್ನ ಮುಂದೂಡುವಿಕೆಯ ರೋಗವೇ ಅವರನ್ನೊಮ್ಮೆ ಕಣ್ತುಂಬ ನೋಡಿ ಬಾಯ್ತುಂಬ ಮಾತಾಡಿಸುವ ಅವಕಾಶವನ್ನು ಶಾಶ್ವತವಾಗಿ ತಪ್ಪಿಸಿತು. ಅದು ನನಗೆ ಒಂದು ಶಿಕ್ಷೆ. ಇರಲಿ - ಇದರಿಂದಲೂ ನನಗೆ ಮರೆಯದ ಪಾಠ ಕಲಿಸಿದ್ದಾರೆ ಹರಿಯವರು.

ಹರಿಹರೇಶ್ವರರಲ್ಲಿ ಕೋಪದ ಕಠೋರ-ಹರ ನಮಗೆ ಕಾಣಿಸಲೇ ಇಲ್ಲ. ವಾತ್ಸಲ್ಯಪೂರ್ಣ-ಹಾಸವೇ
ಅವರ ಮುಖದಲ್ಲಿ ಆಡುತ್ತಿದ್ದು, ನಮಗೆ "ಹರಿ"ಯೇ ಅವರ ಮುಖದಲ್ಲಿ ಕಂಡದ್ದು.
ಹರಿಹರೇಶ್ವರರೆಂದು ಹೆಸರಿದ್ದರೂ ಅವರನ್ನು "ಹರಿಯವರು" ಎಂದೇ ನಾವೆಲ್ಲ ಅದಕ್ಕೇ
ಕರೆಯುತ್ತಿದ್ದೆವು ಅನ್ನಿಸುತ್ತದೆ. ಈಗ ನಮ್ಮ ಹರಿಯವರು ಹರಿಪದವನ್ನು ಸೇರಿದ್ದಾರೆ.

ಅವರ ಆತ್ಮಕ್ಕೆ ಚಿರಶಾಂತಿಯನ್ನು ಕೋರುತ್ತಾ ಅವರ ಕುಟುಂಬದ ಸದಸ್ಯರಿಗೆಲ್ಲರಿಗೂ ಆ ಸರ್ವಶಕ್ತನಾದ ಭಗವಂತನು ಶಕ್ತಿಯನ್ನು ನೀಡಲೆಂದು ಪ್ರಾರ್ಥಿಸುತ್ತ ಈ ಲೇಖನವನ್ನು ಶ್ರದ್ಧಾಂಜಲಿಯಾಗಿ ಹರಿಯವರಿಗೆ ಅರ್ಪಿಸುತ್ತೇನೆ.

Callousness to cows - read this and stop drinking milk!

Fight the Good Bull Fight | OPEN Magazine

All of us (barring those lactose intolerant) consume milk and/or milk products. Soy Milk is not yet at that stage where it can replace cow's milk. It is pretty amazing that we get milk in polythene covers or cartons or cans - leading to a numbed sensitivity amongst us regarding the origin of milk. We don't care about where milk comes from and what the poor cows have to go through to give us our morning cup of coffee, tea or milk or ice cream.

India is the land of cows and cow reforms. Yet, we don't seem to think about what cows experience during their lives. Cows give milk only when they are lactating - when they have recently borne a calf. So, in the interests of the millions of milk-guzzlers, cattle are kept pregnant throughout significant parts of their lives - their "cycles" are "optimized" to generate maximum milk. Just replace "cow" with "woman" in the preceding lines and think what a revolting thought that can be. Yes, it is really *that* bad!

To add insult to injury, reproduction is now mainly via artificial insemination robbing cows and bulls of those few moments of conjugal bliss in their lives. What a wretched state we have led them to!

The article (linked at the top of this piece) talks about the "outrageous" national project for mass artificial insemination. It is a well written and informative piece.

Go-rakShaNa vEdike, Vishwa Hindu Parishat, BJP and other self-appointed cow protectors! Wake up!! Fight this injustice to the animal that you worship and use for political mileage!

Why don't well intended corporates/farmers promote milk from humanely treated cows for starters? (If nothing - it is a good business idea. I for one will pay the premium to drink milk from humanely treated cows. I am sure there are several thousands if not millions of people who agree with me.) Till then, I should probably give up milk and curd entirely...

PS: This is for those who believe in karma (pApa and puNya). kartA (the doer), kArayitA (the one who gets it done), preraka (the one who provides the encouragement) and anumodaka (the one who assents to the action) - all have shares in the results of an action - boon or sin. In this case, since milk-drinkers like me (and you) provide preraNa for the cattle farmers to generate more and more milk. In other words the likes of you, gentle reader, and me are responsible for the dire straits of the bovine world. Mankind, as a whole, is suffering the consequences of the accruing bad karma. Now, when a Tsunami looms over the horizon or you're quivering in fear in an earthquake, don't think you weren't responsible....

Groundwater anarchy (via Deccan Herald)

Groundwater anarchy runs deeper across the country (Deccan Herald)

Groundwater depletion is my nightmare. The article expands on it and shows the reality. I don't think this is hype at all. Sample the following chilling observation.

In the urban centres, however, cheaper pumping devices have created
groundwater anarchy. Gurgaon, the bursting suburb of Delhi with 2
million inhabitants, is a case in point wherein unrestricted number of
borewells are consistently depleting groundwater at an average rate of
2 meters per year for the last three years. Lacking authority to ban
further digging of borewells, a helpless Central Ground Water Authority
(CGWA) instead warns that at the present rate the city will have no
groundwater left by 2017.

Can we do anything about this? Is there some kind of activism going on in this area?

All our caste/political battles (pick your favorite concern here) will come to naught when people have nothing to drink.
 

The IPL advertising horror

Rahul Bhattacharya: The advertising horror that is the IPL | Opinion | Cricinfo Magazine | Cricinfo.com

I love cricket and all its forms including the new - but now old - T20. I like the IPL because of what it could and still can do. Local Indian talent rubbing shoulders with international cricketers. Gilchrist, Vaas and Laxman plotting the downfall of Hayden or Tendulkar. Teams playing the game hard but walking off the field laughing as friends. These are pictures attractive in all their cricketing possibilities.

However, one has to agree with Rahul Bhattacharya, who in the thoughtful post above, laments the horror of advertising that the IPL now is. When do the brands not hit you? A level of imperviousness to all these ads and their messages is inevitable for the sanity of the TV viewer. But how can one bear a constantly operating jackhammer? Subtlety, as Rahul notes, is not something the IPL stands for. In your face ads, the crass brand posturing off every four or six, catch or dismissal, the breaks that are more strategic for the ad vendors than for the teams, all the white cabaret dancers cheerleaders (this is IPL - aren't there any cute Indian girls that can dance?) - all mark IPL for its sheer brash vulgarity.

The following statement (emphasis mine) from Rahul sums it up very well:

The highest possible figure is important because in India money is exciting and a truth.

This is what happens when a people are denied so much. Being told by all and sundry that poverty is the ideal for fifty plus years, people got fed up. The reality of money just is way too attractive for people not to ignore it. Everybody wants money and loves to flaunt it. Gone are those days when people would have liked to be modest. But the then
popular culture had made it cool to be poor and idealistic - the hero would be young, brave and poor while the heroine would be baDe bAp kI bigDi hui beTi - who would then get a lesson on ideals and social equality and ideals would reign in the end. 

Now, the hero and heroine meet in an airport on their way to Switzerland for a vacation. The only thing in their way is their fathers being business competitors. The end of the movie would be a business deal (win-win, of course!).

This change has been drastic- I've seen it in a little less than twenty years. This is thirst for money on steroids. Just like a hungry man ogling a rich food spread - imagine what would happen when he is allowed to eat it. I suppose this will have to settle down. America too has in your face consumerism - but people are used to it. We will get used to it too, hopefully. But when?

IPL is merely one of a million other things that are of the truth, by the truth and for the truth. The truth here - not a truth - being money.

The story of bottled water and Tata Swach

The Story of Bottled Water

Please watch the video above - a very informative and compelling video on bottled water. The bottled water phenomenon is something indeed! How the soft drink peddlers have peddled FUD here! And our government gives incentives to companies to do sell RO purified water...

However, not all the corporate world is evil. Tata has come up with its "Swach" purifier. It has already been touted as "the world's most cost-effective water purifier". Swach is a low cost water purifying solution that will benefit the teeming millions of rural India by bringing down the incidences of water borne diseases. It apparently uses rice husk ash and silver nanoparticles to do the filtering - more natural than some artificially created resin that is generally used in similar efforts. While this looks promising, we will have to wait and watch whether this will be really effective.

On this auspicious day of shrI-rAma-navami, let's all do a good deed and minimize, if not fully stop, the use of bottled water.

Indiscriminate drilling => depleted water reserves!

Tanker water all the way - Bangalore - City - The Times of India

The Times has done well by publishing this piece and that too with the right tone of alarm and paranoia.

This, however, merely confirms my worst fears. With so many huge apartments coming up, indiscriminate drilling of borewells is being resorted to. With the bulk of the tech industries disproportionately located in the outer ring road area, the number of residents in that area has gone up significantly too. Despite the fact that the residents here are more educated on an average than the rest of the town, there are not many measures being taken. The residents are remonstrating helplessly. However, if you travel along these roads, you will definitely be hit by the sheer size of the ads for up and coming apartments. People will always think - "Yeah, this happens - but it can't happen to me". Would-be buyers of apartments in this area better beware.

If the industries had been spread across town, the population would have been more evenly spread across the city leading to lower pressure on the infrastructure and environment. But looks like nobody paid attention to this simple fact when they set up SEZs.

Since I work (and thankfully don't live) in this area, I can understand the plight of these complexes pretty well. Some of my friends and colleagues live in these. While I understand that people living in this area are right now worried about basic necessities, I am more worried about the water table. The tanker industry has no qualms about things such as water tables - they want money. The quote below from the article is quite alarming.

"How can the authorities give clearance to these huge apartments without any surety of water supply? BDA had approved the construction of this apartment on the basis of assurance from BWSSB. We purchased the apartment in 2003. BWSSB had assured to give water in 2004. Till date there is no water. We are on a rocky terrain and so cannot access borewell water. All we can do is buy tanker water. We need 70 to 80 tankers every day to sustain these 550 apartments. We know that the sources of the tanker water might not be reliable. But what do we do?," questions Raj Ramchandani, management committee member, Springfields apartments near Outer Ring Road.

Another astounding figure - 10 to 12 lakh litres of water used per day!! And that too for one complex of around 1300 apartments! Assume even if there are twenty such complexes and that tankers supply water to each of these! The water table is getting depleted at an alarming rate and I am sure the tanker owners don't care about simple things such as recharging the water table.

In spite of all this, people make a beeline to live in this area. There are a few solutions possible here - I am thinking aloud here and haven't thought through each of these completely.
1. Ensure via an industry-government initiative that their employees are spread across the city. Creating more satellite offices will help reduce traffic congestion and population density. It is not easy but - at least start now.
2. Suspend construction of newer apartment complexes in the area till the situation stabilizes. Let people living here get access to BWSSB water. Others can do so later. (Of course, this will be difficult to do as there will be a lot of financial interest to keep it going)
3. Discipline the tanker business - ensure they have some limits to water pumping from a specific area. Without regulation here, we will be doomed.
4. Remind people that spending more money is not a substitute to saving water. People will have to change lifestyles and use water more sparingly. Apartment complexes are pretty close knit and they can have better self-regulation. Nothing works better than self-regulation.

On a positive note, more and more people have come to understand words like rainwater harvesting and water conservation. However, there should be more communication, nay propaganda from the government in this regard. Role models for water conservation should be highlighted and not in some remote corner of an obscure publication - but in mainstream publications and mass media. This can be a financially rewarding career for people who are sufficiently skilled. Once water conservation becomes integrated with our personal life-styles, we can hope for the better.

But whatever is going on - is it too little and worse, too late?

ನಿನ್ನ ನೀನು ಮರೆತರೇನು ಸುಖವಿದೆ? ತನ್ನತನವ ತೊರೆದರೇನು ಸೊಗಸಿದೆ?

ಮೊನ್ನೆ ವೋಲ್ವೋ ಬಸ್ಸಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಪಯಣಿಸುತ್ತಿದ್ದಾಗ ನಮ್ಮ ಹೊಚ್ಚ ಹೊಸ ಆರ್.ಜೆ ನಟ/ನಿರ್ದೇಶಕ ಉಪೇಂದ್ರರ ಮಾತು ಕೇಳಲು ಸಿಕ್ಕಿತು.ಕನ್ನಡ ಚಿತ್ರರಂಗದ ದುಃಸ್ಥಿತಿಯ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಕೇಳಿದ್ದ ಪ್ರಶ್ನೆಗೆ ಉತ್ತರಿಸುತ್ತ - ಕನ್ನಡ ಚಿತ್ರರಂಗ ಸಶಕ್ತವಾಗಿದೆ; ಬೇರೆ ಭಾಷೆಗಳ ಚಿತ್ರಗಳ ಪೈಪೋಟಿ ಕನ್ನಡಕ್ಕೆ ಬಂದ ಬಾಬ್ತು; ಇದಿಲ್ಲದಿದ್ದರೆ ಕನ್ನಡ ಚಿತ್ರಗಳು ಹೆಚ್ಚು ಗೆಲ್ಲುತ್ತಿದ್ದವು ಎಂಬಂತೆ ನುಡಿದರು. ನನಗೆ ಇವರ ಮಾತಿನಲ್ಲಿ ನಂಬಿಕೆ ಬರಲಿಲ್ಲ. ಹೊರನೋಟದಲ್ಲಿ ನಿಜವಾಗಿ ಕಂಡರೂ - ಕನ್ನಡದ ಚಿತ್ರಗಳು ಬಹುತೇಕ ಬೇರೆ ಭಾಷೆಗಳ ಚಿತ್ರಗಳ ಮರುಮೇಕುಗಳೇ! ಉಪೇಂದ್ರ ಗಮನಿಸಬೇಕಾದ್ದು - ಅವರು ಮತ್ತವರ ಹೆಂಡತಿಯೇ ನಟಿಸಿರುವಂಥ "ಶ್ರೀಮತಿ" ಚಿತ್ರ - ಹಿಂದಿಯ ಐತ್ರಾಜ್ ಚಿತ್ರದ ಮರುಮೇಕು ಎಂದು. (ಆ ಹಿಂದಿ ಚಿತ್ರವೂ ಇಂಗ್ಲೀಷಿನ "ದಿಸ್-ಕ್ಲೋಷರ್" ನ ರೀಮೇಕು - ಬಿಡಿ). ಕನ್ನಡಿಗರಿಗೆ, ಅದೂ ಬೆಂಗಳೂರಿಗರಿಗೆ ಬೇರೆ ಭಾಷೆಗಳೂ ಬರುತ್ತವೆ ಅನ್ನುವ ವಿಷಯ ಈ ಚಿತ್ರರಂಗದವರಿಗೆ ತಿಳಿದಿಲ್ಲವೋ ಏನೋ! ಒಳ್ಳೆಯ ಚಿತ್ರಗಳನ್ನು ದುಡ್ಡಿತ್ತು ನೋಡುವ ಜನರು ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಮರುಮಾಡಿದ್ದಾರೆ ಎಂದು ಮತ್ತೊಮ್ಮೆ ಅದೇ ಕಥೆಯನ್ನು ಕಾಣಲೆಳಸುವರೇ? ಈ ಸಾಮಾನ್ಯ ಪರಿಜ್ಞಾನವೂ ಬೇಡವೇ?

ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಹೊಸ ಕಥೆಗಳಿಲ್ಲ, ಆದ್ದರಿಂದ ಸ್ವಂತ ಚಿತ್ರಗಳು ಕಡಿಮೆಯೆಂದರೆ ಅದು ನಾನೊಪ್ಪದ ಸಂಗತಿ! ಏಳೇಳು ಜ್ಞಾನಪೀಠಿಗಳ ಸಾಹಿತ್ಯ ಭಂಡಾರ, ಅಷ್ಟೊಂದು ಕಥೆಗಾರರು, ಕವಿಗಳಿರುವ ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಹೊಸಕತೆಗಳಿಗೆ ಬಡತನವೇ? ಇದು ನಮ್ಮ ಚಿತ್ರರಂಗದವರ ಸೋಮಾರಿತನ ಮತ್ತು ಬುದ್ಧಿಗೇಡಿತನಗಳ ಪರಿಣಾಮ. ಇದೇ ಜಾಡ್ಯ ನಮ್ಮ ಬಾನ್ನೋಟದ (ದೂರದರ್ಶನಕ್ಕೆ ಬದಲಿಗೆ ನನಗೀಗ ತಾನೆ ಹೊಳೆದ ಪದ) ಚ್ಯಾನಲ್ಲುಗಳಿಗೂ ತಗುಲಿದೆ. ಇದು ಹೇಗೆಂದು ಮುಂದೆ ನೋಡೋಣ.

ಈಗ ಕನ್ನಡದ ಚ್ಯಾನಲ್ಲುಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಬರುವ ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮಗಳೆಡೆಗೆ ಕಣ್ಣು ಹಾಯಿಸೋಣ. ವಾರ್ತೆಗಳು, ಧಾರಾವಾಹಿಗಳು, ಚಲನಚಿತ್ರಗಳು - ಇದನ್ನು ಬಿಟ್ಟ ಬೇರೆ ಬಗೆಯ ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮಗಳೆಂದರೆ "ರಿಯಾಲಿಟಿ" ಷೋಗಳು. ಇವು ಕೆಲವು ಬಗೆಯವು - ಹಾಡು, ಕುಣಿತ, ಪ್ರಶ್ನೋತ್ತರ ಹೀಗೆ. ನನ್ನ ಸದ್ಯದ ಗುನುಗು ಈ ಹಾಡು-ಕುಣಿತಗಳ ಬಗ್ಗೆ. ಎಲ್ಲ ಹಾಡು ಅಥವಾ ಕುಣಿತದ ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮಗಳು ಚಲನಚಿತ್ರಗಳನ್ನಾಧರಿಸಿದ್ದು.

ನನ್ನನ್ನು ವಿಶೇಷವಾಗಿ ಚುಚ್ಚಿದ ಎರಡು ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮಗಳು - ಜೀ ಕನ್ನಡದ "ಸ ರಿ ಗ ಮ ಪ ಚ್ಯಾಲೆಂಜ್" ಮತ್ತು ದೂರದರ್ಶನದ "ಮಧುರ ಮಧುರವೀ ಮಂಜುಳ ಗಾನ". (ಈ ಟಿ.ವಿ. ಯ ಎದೆ ತುಂಬಿ ಹಾಡುವೆನು ಕೂಡ ಇದೇ ಜಾತಿಗೆ ಸೇರಿದ್ದು). ಈ "ಸ ರಿ ಗ ಮ ಪ" ದಲ್ಲಿ ಕುಳಿತ ನಾಲ್ವರು ದಿಗ್ದಂತಿಗಳು - ಇವರು ಆ ಎಳೆಯರ ಹಾಡಿಕೆಯನ್ನು ಅಳೆಯುವವರು. ಈ ಹುಡುಗ ಹುಡುಗಿಯರು ಬಣ್ಣ ಬಣ್ಣದ ಬಟ್ಟೆ ಧರಿಸಿ ತಮಗೆ ತಿಳಿದ ಮಟ್ಟಿಗೆ ಸಾಕಷ್ಟು ಚೆನ್ನಾಗಿ ಹಾಡುವುದು. ಈ ದಿಗ್ದಂತಿಗಳು (ಇವರ ಖ್ಯಾತಿ ಯಾವ ಮಟ್ಟದ್ದು?) ಅವರಲ್ಲಿ ಸಣ್ಣ ಸಣ್ಣ ತಪ್ಪುಗಳನ್ನು ಹುಡುಕಿ ಅವರನ್ನು ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮದಿಂದ ಹೊರದೂಡುವುದು. ಇವರು ಅಳೆಯುವ ಹಾಡಿಕೆ ಎಂಥದ್ದು? ಎಲ್ಲ ಸಿನಿಮ ಸಂಗೀತ. ಸಿನಿಮಾ ಸಂಗೀತ ಚೆನ್ನಾಗಿಲ್ಲವೆಂದಲ್ಲ. ಆದರೆ ಅಲ್ಲಿನ ರಸ ಚಿತ್ರದ ನಿರ್ಮಾಣವಾದಾಗ ಆ ಚಿತ್ರಗೀತೆಗಳು ಪೂರ್ಣವಾದವು. ಅವುಗಳಲ್ಲಿನ ಪ್ರತಿಭೆ ಸಂಗೀತನಿರ್ದೇಶಕರದು; ವಾದ್ಯ ವೃಂದದ್ದು, ಹಾಡಿದ ಕಲಾವಿದರದು. ಆ ಧ್ವನಿಮುದ್ರಣಗಳನ್ನು ಕೇಳಿದರೆ ಸಾಲದೆ? ಈ ಹಾಡುಗಾರರು ಆ ಹಾಡುಗಳ ಅನುಕರಣೆಯನ್ನು ಮಾಡಿದ್ದೂ ಮಾಡಿದ್ದೇ! ಅನುಕರಣೆ ಮನೋರಂಜನೆಯನ್ನು ನೀಡುತ್ತಾದರೂ ಶುದ್ಧವಾದ ಕಲೆಯಾಗಿ ಎಂದೆಂದಿಗೂ ನಿಲ್ಲಲಾರದು. ಹಾಡುಗಾರರ ಸಂಗೀತದ ಮಟ್ಟವನ್ನು ಅಳೆಯುವ ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮವೇ ಇದು? ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಹಾಡುವವರ ಬಾಯಲ್ಲಿ ಒಂದೊಂದು ಧ್ವನಿಸುರುಳಿಯನ್ನು ತುರುಕಿದ್ದರೆ ಅವರೇ ವಿಜೇತರು. "ಮಖ್ಖಿ ಕಾ ಮಖ್ಖಿ" ಕಾಪಿಗಳು ಸಂಗೀತದ ಮಟ್ಟವನ್ನು ಅಳೆಯಲಾರವು. ಸಂಗೀತ ನಿರ್ದೇಶಕರು ಎಂದೋ ಮಾಡಿಟ್ಟ ಹಾಡನ್ನು ಸುಶ್ರಾವ್ಯವಾಗಿ ಹಾಡಿದರೆ ಮುಗಿಯಿತು ಕಥೆ. ಅಲ್ಲಿರುವ ವಾದ್ಯ ನುಡಿಸುವವರು, ಆ ಸಂಗೀತ ರಚನೆ - ಇವೆಲ್ಲ ಹಿಂದಕ್ಕೆ ಸರಿದು ಕೇವಲ ಹಾಡುಗಾರ ದೊಡ್ಡವನಾಗಿ ನಿಲ್ಲುತ್ತಾನೆ. ಇದು ಶುದ್ಧ ಅನ್ಯಾಯ.

ಇದೇ ರೀತಿಯ ಇನ್ನೊಂದು ಜುಗುಪ್ಸೆ ಕೊಡುವ ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮ "ಮಧುರ ಮಧುರವೀ ಮಂಜುಳ ಗಾನ". ನಾಡಿನ ಊರೂರು ತಿರುಗಿ ಹಾಡಿದ ಹಾಡುಗಳನ್ನೇ ಮತ್ತೆ ಮತ್ತೆ ಕೆಟ್ಟಕೆಟ್ಟದಾಗಿ ಹಾಡಿಸಿ ತಲೆ ಚಿಟ್ಟು ಹಿಡಿಸುವ ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮವಿದು. ಮತ್ತಲ್ಲಿ ಹಾಡುವವರು ಕೇವಲ ಅನುಕರಣಶೀಲರು - ಸಂಗೀತದ ಶಕ್ತಿ ಇವರಲ್ಲಿ ಇದ್ದರೂ ಅದು ನಮಗೆ ತಿಳಿಯದ ಹಾಗೆ ಬಚ್ಚಿಡಬಲ್ಲವರು.

ಸಂಪದ್ಭರಿತ ಸಾಹಿತ್ಯವನ್ನು ಹೊಂದಿದ ಕನ್ನಡಕ್ಕೆ ಇಂಥ ದ್ರೋಹವಾಗಬಾರದು. ಚಲನಚಿತ್ರಗಳದೇ ಸಂಗೀತವೆ?

ಶಾಸ್ತ್ರೀಯ ಸಂಗೀತ - ಅದೂ ಕರ್ಣಾಟಕ ಶಾಸ್ತ್ರೀಯ ಸಂಗೀತ ಎಂದು ನಾಡಿನ ಹೆಸರನ್ನಿಟ್ಟುಕೊಂಡಿರುವ ಸಂಗೀತ. ಯಾವ ಸಂಗೀತಕ್ಕೆ ಕನ್ನಡಿಗರಲ್ಲಿ ಅಗ್ರೇಸರರಾದ ದಾಸಶ್ರೇಷ್ಥ ಶ್ರೀ ಪುರಂದರದಾಸರು ಪಿತಾಮಹರೋ ಆ ಸಂಗೀತಕ್ಕೆ ತನ್ನ ನಾಡಿನಲ್ಲೇ ಗೌರವವಿಲ್ಲವೇ? ಜಯ ಟಿ.ವಿ (ತಮಿಳು ವಾಹಿನಿ) ಯಲ್ಲಿ ಹೋದ ವಾರ ಮೂಡಿದ "ಕರ್ಣಾಟಿಕ್ ಮ್ಯೂಸಿಕ್ ಐಡಲ್" ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮವನ್ನು ನೋಡಿದ್ದರೆ ಮನೋಧರ್ಮದ ಸಂಗೀತವನ್ನು ಹೇಗೆ ಪ್ರೋತ್ಸಾಹಿಸಬಹುದು ಎಂದು ಚೆನ್ನಾಗಿ ತಿಳಿಯುತ್ತಿತ್ತು.

ಅದಿಲ್ಲದಿದ್ದಲ್ಲಿ ಭಾವಗೀತೆ? ಈ ಸುಂದರ ಪ್ರಕಾರ ಕನ್ನಡಕ್ಕೆ ವಿಶೇಷವಾದದ್ದು - ಇದೂ ತನ್ನ ನ್ಯಾಯವಾದ ಗೌರವವನ್ನು ಪಡೆದಿಲ್ಲ.

ಒಟ್ಟಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಸ್ವಂತಿಕೆಯನ್ನು ಮರೆಸುವ ಅನುಕರಣೆಯನ್ನು ಮೆರೆಸುವ ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮಗಳಿಗೆ ನನ್ನ ಈ ಧಿಕ್ಕಾರ!

Happy new year - 2010!!

Here's wishing a happy new 2010 to all of us!

2009 for me was many things. Hectic, no-blogging, rewarding in a few ways, work, work and work! 2010 doesn't look like it will be any different on the work side. But this blog - my one soapbox - had been almost neglected last year. This year, I should make a resolution to post something at least once every fortnight, if not more often. I am still in the process of making that resolution. It will happen as time permits.

Wide, wild and wonderful that this world is, there was no dearth for several compelling topics to write about in 2009 - both news-wise and on the personal front. However, rather than do impulse blogging (which is more fun - but it requires you have enough time to feel both the impulse and then blog it) it would be better to make a list of topics that I do want to write about this year. That way, if I am a little more methodical, I can keep my random writing part of the brain active.

For starters, I (along with a billion other people, I hope) am worried about the muck our collective lifestyle is putting into the environment. There are great ideas for implementation everywhere. However, for several people, including me - one should start small and easy. What are some things we can start doing that would reduce the ecological footprint of our lives? I agree entropy is not going to decrease - but can we at least  keep the increases lower? One good thing that I did last year and will continue to do is the use of public transport. I have taken my car to work less than five times last year. My company's transport and BMTC's Volvo service work quite well for me. Of course, this one is easy because I get the advantage of being able to get a few winks of sleep while travelling. Are there other similar things we can do - easy to implement and easy going - entropy increase wise? (Of course, I am referring only to the thermodynamic entropy and not its information counterpart).

Book reviews should happen - if I read a few books. Actually, I did finish the Panchatantra last year. Other titles - the Black Swan by Nicholas Nassim Taleb and Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers. The former one is an eye-opener. The second is more a Gladwellesque perspective on different topics. I am reading GEB right now. It's a rather ponderous read - but there is enough stuff to retain interest - very well written! Others - include my favorite - the Bhagavadgita. The more commentaries you read, the more facets of this gem do you get to admire. Hopefully, this will influence my outlook towards life in a positive way. Many books adorn my bookshelf - bought with great desire, but unopened. This unread list of books should become smaller and the number of reviews on this blog should increase. Samskrit classics lie in this list too. mRcChakaTika, mudrArAkShasa and shAkuntala should hopefully get reviews on this blog this year.

I will try to write about my reflections on random topics too. Some of them - Is it ethical to drink cow's milk from the dairy?  What is the state of Kannada in Karnataka? Is 2012 a hoax - if so, who started it? I'd like to try some occasional science and technology topics too - let's see how that part goes.

I hope to write about these in the usual languages - English, Kannada and Samskrit.


With this hope, and a wish that all of us might have a happy, prosperous, peaceful and healthy 2010, I conclude my first blog of the year....

||  sarve janAH sukhino bhavantu ||

Water conservation and tradition - a meandering reflection

India's Farming 'Revolution' Heading For Collapse : NPR
(via SepiaMutiny)

While the world is busy dealing with the global economic recession on the one side and incessant acts of terrorism and patriotic saber-rattling on the other side, things that are far more essential and fundamental to human existence are in great peril. While we can exist without money and we can definitely thrive without terrorism, we will die without food and water.

"hoTTege hiTTilla, juTTige mallige hUvu" (Trans.: No flour for the stomach, but jasmine for the plait) goes a common Kannada proverb. We seem to be so interested in this proverbial jasmine for our hair while we are almost out of stock on the food side.

For me, the biggest problem now and in the next ten years is that of water. We can choose to be ostriches with our heads stuck in the sand but the problem will not go away. All the alarming news that we hear about depleting ground water reserves is not mere propaganda - it is reality. While I have not done a scientific study, my random sampling seems to indicate this trend. For instance, I had seen an abundance of water just fifteen years ago - not just in Bangalore - but in the surrounding rural parts and districts of Karnataka as well. Normal hand wells and borewells were sufficient to get water to people. Effort to get water from the ground would be back breaking work (picture womenfolk having a go at the village hand pumps) - but the water tables themselves seemed at a healthy level - indicated by how easily borewells could be drilled. I fondly remember the well in my neighbor's house in urban Bangalore being filled almost to the brim during the rainy season.

Fast forward to 2004 and beyond and the picture changes drastically. A single example will illustrate my point. A massive apartment complex comes up near Malleshwaram in Bangalore where they sink at least twenty to thirty borewells. And guess what? Forget the open wells; but almost all borewells in the surrounding areas go dry. Plain dry. My old neighbor's well is gone. If you wander in and around old residential areas, remnants of dry hand pumps, many of them sunk during the 1984 drought, call out for attention. However, residents of houses around the same wells, of houses that were modest during that age but have now been replaced by fancy looking multi-storeyed buildings, get water - 24 x 7, mostly from a borewell sunk 400 feet.

A similar state can be seen on the rural side also. At my village, we had a well - which again, like at my Bangalore neighbor's house would be almost full. Now, the well is dry and had to be closed. Each family in the village has dug at least two borewells - sometimes to depths of a thousand feet. Agriculture is not the same as before. Peer pressure adds to the vagaries of rainfall. When other farmers in the area in earlier times would at least lend a helping hand in times of distress, they are too busy counting notes now to help their neighbor. And envy has come as an urban export to rural India. In light of this, what does the sAmAnya farmer do when he sees his neighbor counting money? Take a loan and dig a well to keep up with his neighbor. The arguments about water table levels do not appeal to people whose existence tomorrow might be at risk.

The path to economic might has somehow landed us in ecological peril - not that economic might has been reached either. I sincerely hope that the picture is not as bleak as I see it to be. People are getting educated about rain water harvesting and other areas - but we can only hope for the best.

Tradition has been a vehicle for best known methods of livelihood in its respective geographical locations. However, with colonization and subsequent "modernization", tradition has been pushed back. To understand how traditional ways of water management were very effective and have since been dismantled over the ages, refer to a good research proposal here. Disregarding traditional values and wisdom without due consideration has been a classic case of throwing the baby out with the bath water. India presents a very sorry example for this case.

The plight depicted in the following quartet written over fifty years ago by DVG still affects the world and India, especially. And will probably do so for a longer time to come.

haLeya bhakti-shraddheyaLisihOgive mAsi
suLidillavAva hosa-darshananada hoLapuM
paLagidda mane bidda kuMTa kuruDana teradi
taLamaLisutide lOka - mankutimma

(An apology of a translation - without any intention of belittling our visually and physically challenged brethren):
The ways of tradition fast fading away
And the new Vision yet unseen;
As the lame-blind stumbles about his ruined old home
Mankutimma, does the world bumble away...

The example of the lame-blind is testimony to the keen insight DVG had into the Human psyche. The lame-blind lived in his old home and was used to it with the objects he needed at the right place. He knew for example, how to get to the water pot, where he could get support, which wall he could lean on etc., With his old house ruined - (no commentary on how that happened...) - it fell because it was probably old, he could not rely on his old methods of livelihood and hence spends his time stumbling over the fallen bricks and walls of his old house.

The metaphor is quite apt as the lame-blind has not actually arranged the objects at home as he is not just lame but also blind. He probably started living in an old house built by somebody else. Tradition is similar to an extent that its methods and rules, though they might have been intelligently derived by its originators, are now blindly followed by its adherents, who lack the "legs" to progress forward and the "vision" to see things for what they are. However, tradition was still useful, even to the "blind" and the "lame" - but with it becoming ruined, the blind-lame are left to their stumbling and bumbling ways.

Though the earlier thought is somewhat depressing, the new vision at least according to DVG is still only unseen. It may exist and hopefully, will be seen by us. With that hope, till the next post... take care.
 

दीर्घसूत्रता - एकं दीर्घलेखनम् ।

आबहोः कालात् न संस्कृतेन लिखितं मयेति सर्वदा मम संस्कृत्तलेखानाम् आरम्भे प्रलापः । एतस्मिन् लेखेऽपि स एव क्रमो मयाश्रितः । कारणं नाम समयाभाव इति तु असत् । यस्मात् कन्नडाङ्ग्लाभ्यां न सर्वदा परं तदा तदा लेखाः लिख्यन्ते मया । संस्कृतॆ विरला लेखा मम ।

कारणान्वेषणकाले तु भगवद्वचनम् एकं मनसि आगतम् । उच्यते खलु गीतासु -
अयुक्तः प्राकृतः स्तब्धः शठॊ नैकृतिकोऽलसः ।
विषादी दीर्घसूत्री च कर्ता तामस उच्यते ॥ (१८-२८)

प्रथमम् अस्य श्लोकस्य तावदर्थपरिशीलनम् । तदनन्तरम् विषयप्रसक्तिः। अर्थार्थं भगवन्तं भाष्यकारं श्रीशङ्करमवलम्बे ।
अयुक्तॊ नाम असमाहितः । यस्य मनसि समाधानं न विद्यते स अयुक्तः।
प्राकृतॊ नाम असंस्कृतबुद्धिः । यस्य बुद्धिः संस्कारविहीना स प्राकृतः।
स्तब्धः विनयविहीनः । छान्दॊग्यश्रुतौ श्वेतकॆतुः यदा द्वादशवर्षाध्ययनानन्तरं स्वगृहं प्रत्यागच्छति तदा ".... महामना अनूचानमानी स्तब्धॊ एयाय" इति तस्य विवरणं दृश्यते । तदनन्तरं पिता तस्य भगवदुद्दालको ब्रह्मतत्त्वं बॊधयतीति तु भिन्नं।
शठॊ वञ्चकः । नैकृतिकः अन्येषां वृत्तीनां जीविकानां च छेदकः ।
अलसो यत् करणीयमस्ति तद्विषयेऽपि यस्य अप्रवृत्तिः ।
विषादी विषादम् एव सदावलम्बते एष इति ।
दीर्घसूत्री अधुना कर्तव्यविषयेऽपि "श्वः कुर्मः । परश्वः अन्यदा वा कुर्मः" इति यस्य मतिः सः ।
एते गुणा अवगुणा वा यस्मिन् निवसन्ति स तामस इति उच्यते गीताचार्यॆण।

मम च पुर्वॊक्तावगुणानां च सम्बन्धॊ नास्तीति तु न वक्तुं शक्यते । यद्यपि नास्ति सर्वदा तमोगुणसम्पर्कः तदा तदा उष्ट्रवद् मनोमण्डपं पूर्णं प्रविशति । भाग्यवशात् तु नाहं सर्वावगुणदष्टः ।

कबीर-सद्भिरुक्तम् -
"कल् करे सो आज् कर् ।
आज् करे सो अब् ।" इति ।

मम विषये न तद्वद्द्भाग्यं ।
इदानींतनकार्यं वै प्रसृत्य दिवसेषु च।
करॊति पुनरन्यच्च दीर्घसूत्री स कथ्यते ।।
इति मे स्थितिः । ततः सोऽहं दीर्घसूत्री । सा च दीर्घसूत्रता अस्याश्च अग्रजः आलस्यं नाम मनसि मधुरायॆते । किमपि कर्तुमुद्युक्तमना यदाहं अन्यत् किमपि दृष्टिपथमायाति । यथा राज्ञः पुरतः नूतने वस्तुदर्शने मन्त्रिणः राजकार्यं त्यक्त्वा अपसरन्ति तथैव मनो मे प्रस्तुतकार्यं आपसारयित्वा नूतनं रुचिकरं प्रकाशयति ।

आलस्यं तदानींतने समये अमृतवत् आस्वाद्यं अतिमधुरं च भासते । तस्य विषस्वरूपस्तु गच्छता कालेनैव ज्ञायते । आलस्यममृतं विषम् - इति तु न व्यर्थोक्तिः।

तेन गोमुखव्याघ्रेण आलस्यामृतविषेण कतिपयेषु अवसरेषु बाधितोऽपि आलस्यपरं एव चित्तं मे सर्वदा इति तु चित्रम् । अस्माकं सुभाषितकाराः आलस्य-दीर्घसूत्रतायॊः विषये सदाजागृताः अन्यान् अप्रमत्तान् कर्तुम् उद्युक्ताः सन्ति ।

उदाहरणमेकम् अत्र विद्यते ।
षड्दोषाः पुरुषेणेह हातव्या भूतिमिच्छता ।
निद्रा तन्द्रा भयं क्रोध आलस्यं दीर्घसूत्रता ॥

शड्दोषेभ्यो मुक्तिः प्रापणीया ऐश्वर्यं इच्छता मनुष्यॆण । के ते? निद्रा - अतिनिद्रा स्वनाशाय एव । तन्द्रा नाम अशक्तिः । भयसहितो पुरुषः न हि किञ्चित्कर्तुमर्हति । क्रोधोऽपि महान् शत्रुः यस्मात् पुरुषे कुपिते सति बुद्धिः मोहमायाति अनर्थसम्भावना च वर्धते । आलस्यं दीर्घसूत्रता च अस्माभिः गत ज्ञातौ विषयौ।

एवं बहूनि सन्त्युदारणानि संस्कृतवाङ्मये। उच्यते खलु "वचने का दरिद्रता?" इति । परं मूलप्रश्नः कथं एताभ्यां मुक्तिरित्येव । वचनसरांसि शतानि भवन्तु परं कार्यजलस्य बिन्दुरपि नास्ति चेत् किं तेन प्रयॊजनम् । मनोनिग्रह एव अत्र कर्तव्यः । कथं पुनरेषः?

समस्यापरिहारार्थं पुनः भगवान् गीताचार्य एव आश्रयणीयः।
असंशयं महाबाहॊ मनो दुर्निग्रहं चलम् ।
अभ्यासेन तु कौन्तेय वैराग्यण च गृह्यते ॥ (६.३५)

जगद्गुरुणापि आङ्गीक्रियते यन्मनसो निग्रहः कष्टम् इति । परं उत्तररूपॆण शब्दद्वयं दीयते तेन । अभ्यासो वैराग्यश्च । अभ्यासो नाम निरन्तरं तदेकचित्तताप्रयत्नः। बुद्धिवाञ्चिते लक्ष्यॆ चित्तस्य एकाग्रताप्रयत्न एव अभ्यासः।

अभ्यासविषयॆ तत्र महत्कष्टम् अनुभूयते प्रायेण सर्वैरपि । उच्यते यद् एकविंशतिदिनपर्यन्तं यस्य कार्यस्य अभ्यासः क्रियते स वशवर्ती भवति इति । परं तावत् पर्यन्तं निरन्तरं तस्मिन् रन्तुं मनो न उत्सहते । बुद्द्यङ्कुशेन कथमपि मनोव्यालनियन्त्रणं करणीयम् ।

पुनश्च वैराग्यम् । वैराग्यं नाम लक्ष्यविरुद्दॆषु वस्तुषु सन्ततदोषदर्शनात् उत्पन्ना अनासक्तिः । अत्रापि बुद्दिकार्यम् अपेक्ष्यते ।

श्लॊकार्धेन भगवान् मनोनिग्रहं उपादिशत् । परं "अगच्छन् वैनतेयोऽपि पदमॆकं न गच्छति" इति श्लोकार्धे यथोक्तं तथैव अभ्यासवैराग्ययॊः अनुष्ठानादेव मनोनिग्रहः सिध्यति । "अभ्यासे चापि वैराग्ये अनुष्ठानशक्तिं दॆहि नो भगवन्" इति प्रार्थनं कर्तुम् शक्नुमः ।

श्रीमद्-विरोधिनामसंवत्सरस्य सर्वेभ्यो हार्दिकाः शुभाशयाः ।

अत्र कश्चिद्विशेषः । रोधो नाम नियमनं (आङ्ग्ले stop इव) । सामान्यतः विरोधो नाम विशेषः रोधः इति अर्थः स्वीक्रियते । यस्य विरोधः स विरोधी । कस्मात् विरोधीति संवत्सरस्य अमङ्गलं नाम? न तथा यस्मादत्र शक्यते चमत्कर्तुम् । विरॊधः इत्यत्र विगतः रोधः इति अर्थ्यते चेत् रोधो यस्मिन् संवत्सरे नास्ति स विरोधिसंवत्सरः इति शक्यते वक्तुम् । तस्मात् अयं श्रीमद्विरोधिसंवत्सरो नो द्वितीयार्थद्योतनो भवेदिति काङ्क्षन् विरमामि ।
॥ इति शम् ॥

ಕಾಮನ ಹುಣ್ಣಿಮೆಯೋ ಕೃಷ್ಣನ ರಂಗಿನಾಟವೋ

ನಿನ್ನೆ ಫಾಲ್ಗುಣ ಮಾಸದ ಪೂರ್ಣಿಮೆ. ಅಂದರೆ ಹೋಳಿಯ ಹುಣ್ಣಿಮೆ. ಅಪರೂಪವಾಗಿ ರಜೆಯ ದಿನ. ಹೋಳಿಯ ದಿನ ರಜೆಯಿದ್ದ ನೆನಪೇ ಇಲ್ಲ ನನಗೆ. ನಮ್ಮ ಮನೆಯಲ್ಲಿ (ನಾವು ಬಯಲು ಸೀಮೆಯವರು) ಹೋಳಿಯೆಂದರೆ ಅಂಥ ವಿಶೇಷ ಆಚರಣೆಯೇನೂ ಇಲ್ಲ. ಒಂದು ದೇವರ ಪೂಜೆ, ನಂತರ ಒಬ್ಬಟ್ಟಿನ ಊಟ. ಮನೆಯ ಮಕ್ಕಳಿಗೆ ಸಂಜೆ ಆರತಿ. ಇದೇ ವಿಶೇಷವೆಂದು ಹಲವರಿಗನ್ನಿಸಬಹುದು. ಆದರೆ ನೆನ್ನೆ ನನಗೆ ಅಷ್ಟು ವಿಶೇಷವಾಗಿ ತೋರಲಿಲ್ಲ. ಹೋಳಿಯ ಮಹತ್ತ್ವವೇನೆಂಬುದರ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಆಲೋಚನೆಗೆ ತೊಡಗಿದೆ. ಆಗ ನನಗೆ ತೋಚಿದ್ದನ್ನು ಬರೆಯಬೇಕೆನ್ನಿಸಿ ಇಗೋ ಬರೆದಿದ್ದೇನೆ.

ಎಲ್ಲರಿಗೂ ಹೋಳಿಯೆಂದರೆ ಕಣ್ಣ ಮುಂದೆ ಬರುವುದು ಗುಲಾಲಿನಾಟ. "ಬಂಧನ" ಚಿತ್ರದ ಸುಹಾಸಿನಿಯ ಮೇಲೆ ವಿಷ್ಣುವರ್ಧನ್ ಸುರಿಯುವ ತರಾವರಿ ಬಣ್ಣದ ನೀರು ನೆನಪಿಗೆ ಬರುತ್ತದೆ. ಕಿರಿತನದಲ್ಲಿ ಹೊರಗೆ ಹೋಗಲು ಭಯ - ಎಲ್ಲಿ ಬಣ್ಣ ಮೆತ್ತಿಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳುತ್ತೇನೋ ಎಂದು. ನಾನು ಚೆನ್ನಾಗಿ ಹೋಳಿಯಾಡಿದ್ದು ಒಮ್ಮೆಯೋ ಎರಡು ಬಾರಿಯೋ ಇರಬಹುದು. ನಂತರ ಮೈಮೇಲಿನ ಬಣ್ಣ ಹೋಗಲು ನಾಲ್ಕೈದು ದಿನಗಳೇ ಹಿಡಿದಿದ್ದವು. ಆದರೆ ಈಗ ಎರಡು ತೊಂದರೆಗಳು ಬಂದಿವೆ. ಮೊದಲನೆಯದು - ಬಣ್ಣಗಳು ಜೈವಿಕ ಮೂಲದ್ದಾಗದೆ ಕೇವಲ ರಾಸಾಯನಿಕ ಮೂಲದ್ದಾಗಿವೆ. ಇದರಿಂದ ಚರ್ಮಕ್ಕೆ, ಕಣ್ಣಿಗೆ ಬರುವ ತೊಂದರೆಗಳು ಹಲವು. ಆದರೂ ಬೆಲೆ ಕಡಿಮೆಯೆಂದು ಇದನ್ನೇ ಬಳಸುತ್ತಾರೆ. ಎರಡನೆಯದು - ಹೋಲಿಯ ನೆಪವೊಡ್ಡಿ ಹಲವೆಡೆ ಹರೆಯದ ಹುಡುಗಿಯರ ಮೈಕೈ ತಾಗಿಸಿ ಮೋಜುಮಾಡುವ ಪರಿ ಸಾಧಾರಣವಾಗಿತ್ತು. ಈಗ ಹೆಣ್ಣುಮಕ್ಕಳು ಹೊರಗೆ ಹೋಗದೇ ಇರುವ ದಿನಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಹೋಳಿಯೂ ಪ್ರಮುಖವಾದುದು. ಆಸಿಡ್ ದಾಳಿಯನ್ನೇ ಮಾಡುತ್ತಾರಂತೆ. ಹಬ್ಬದ ಈ ಮೋಜಿನ ಸಂಗತಿ ವಿಕೃತಗೊಂಡದ್ದು ನಿಜಕ್ಕೂ ವಿಷಾದನೀಯ. 

ಈ ಗುಲಾಲಿನಾಟದ ಐತಿಹ್ಯವೇನೆಂದು ಯೋಚಿಸಹೊರಟೆ. ಶ್ರೀಕೃಷ್ಣನ ಕಿಶೋರಾವಸ್ಥೆಯ ಲೀಲೆಯೇ ಇದಕ್ಕೆ ಪ್ರಮುಖವಾದ ಸ್ಫೂರ್ತಿ ಎಂದು ನನ್ನ ಈಗಣ ಅನಿಸಿಕೆ. ಉತ್ತರಭಾರತದಲ್ಲಿ ಹೋಳಿಯಂದು ಕೃಷ್ಣನು ರಾಧೆ ಮೊದಲಾದ ಗೋಪಿಯರೊಡನೆ ನಡೆಸಿದ ಬಣ್ಣದಾಟದ ನೆನಪು ಮೂಡಿಸಲು ಬಂದ ಹಬ್ಬ. ಬಂಗಾಳ ಮೊದಲಾದ ಕೃಷ್ಣಪಂಥದ ಪ್ರಾಮುಖ್ಯವಿರುವ ಸ್ಥಲಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಇದೇ ಹಬ್ಬ. ಕೃಷ್ಣನ ಪೂಜೆಯ ಜತೆಗೆ ಹೋಳಿಯ ಓಕುಳಿಯಾಟ. ರಾಧೆಯ ಸ್ಥಾನವೆಂದು ಖ್ಯಾತವಾದ ಬರ್ಸಾನಾ ದಲ್ಲಿಯೂ ಇದು ದೊಡ್ಡ ಹಬ್ಬ. ಆದರೆ ಭಾಗವತ-ವಿಷ್ಣು ಪುರಾಣ-ಹರಿವಂಶ-ಮಹಾಭಾರತವೇ ಮೊದಲಾದ ಗ್ರಂಥಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ರಾಧೆಯ ಹೆಸರೂ ಇಲ್ಲ. ಆದ್ದರಿಂದ ರಾಧೆಯ ಹೆಸರೂ ದಕ್ಷಿಣದಲ್ಲಿ ಅಷ್ಟು ಚಾಲ್ತಿಯಲ್ಲಿರಲಿಲ್ಲ. ಇದರಿಂದ ಈ ಬಣ್ಣದಾಟ ದಕ್ಷಿಣದಲ್ಲಿ ಈಚೆಗೆ ಕಂಡಿದೆ ಎಂದು ಧೈರ್ಯವಾಗಿ ಹೇಳಬಹುದು.

ಬದಲಾಗುತ್ತಿರುವ ಬೆಂಗಳೂರಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಈಚೆಗೆ ಕಾಣಿಸದ ಹೋಳಿಯ ಆಚರಣೆಯೆಂದರೆ ಹಳೆಯ ವಸ್ತುಗಳ ದಹನ. ನಮ್ಮ ಕಡೆ ಹೋಳಿಯೆಂಬ ಹೆಸರು ಬಂದದ್ದೇ ಈಚೆಗೆ. ಕಾಮನ ಹುಣ್ಣಿಮೆಯೋ ಅಥವಾ ಕಾಮನ ಹಬ್ಬವೆಂದೇ ಇದನ್ನು ಕರೆಯುತ್ತಿದ್ದುದು. ಒಂದಿಪ್ಪತ್ತು ವರ್ಷಗಳ ಹಿಂದೆ ಬೀದಿಯ ಸುತ್ತಮುತ್ತಲಿನ ಪಡ್ದೆ ಹುಡುಗರು ಸುತ್ತಲ ಮನೆಗಳ ಹಳೆಯ ಚಾಪೆ, ಪೊರಕೆ ಮೊದಲಾದ ಒಣಗಿದ, ಕೆಲಸಕ್ಕೆ ಬಾರದ ವಸ್ತುಗಳನ್ನಾಯ್ದು ರಸ್ತೆಯ ಚೌಕದಲ್ಲಿ "ಕಾಮಣ್ಣನ ಮಕ್ಕಳು, ಕಳ್ಳ ಸೂ.. ಮಕ್ಕಳು, ಏನೇನು ಕದ್ದರು" ಎಂದೆಲ್ಲ ಕಿರುಚುತ್ತ ಸುಡುವ ಸಡಗರ ಈಗ ಕಾಣೆಯಾಗಿದೆ. ನಿಮ್ಮಲ್ಲಿ ಇದು ಈಚೆಗೆಲ್ಲಾದರೂ ಕಂಡಿದ್ದರೆ ನನಗೆ ದಯವಿಟ್ಟು ತಿಳಿಸಿ. 

ಪ್ರಭಾವಿ-ಸಂಸ್ಕೃತಿಯ ನುಸುಳುವಿಕೆಯ ಉದಾಹರಣೆಯಾಗಿ ಇದನ್ನು ಕಾಣಬಹುದು. ಹಿಂದಿನ ನಮ್ಮ "ದೇಸಿ" ಸಂಸ್ಕೃತಿಯ ಕಾಮನ ಹಬ್ಬ ಹಿಂದಕ್ಕೆ ಸರಿದು ಉತ್ತರ ಭಾರತದ ಸಿನಿಮಾ ಶೋಕಿಯ ಬಣ್ಣದ ಹಬ್ಬ ಇದೇ ಹೋಳಿಯ ಆಚರಣೆ ಅನ್ನುವುದರ ಮಟ್ಟಿಗೆ ಮನೆ ಮಾಡಿದೆ. ಇನ್ನೊಂದು ಚೆನ್ನಿಲ್ಲವೆಂದಲ್ಲ - ಆದರೆ  ನಮ್ಮ ವಸ್ತುವನ್ನು ಕಳೆದುಕೊಂಡಂಥ ಕೊರಗು ಎಲ್ಲೋ ಕಾಡುತ್ತದೆ.

ಈ ಆಚರಣೆಯ ಹಿಂದೆ ಕೆಲವಾರು ಕಥೆಗಳಿವೆ - ರೋಚಕ ಕಥೆಗಳು ಕೂಡ. 

ಮೊದಲನೆಯದು - ಕಾಮ ದಹನ. ಶಿವನು ತನ್ನ ಮೂರನೆ ಕಣ್ಣಿನಿಂದ ತನ್ನಲ್ಲೇ ಕಾಮವನ್ನು ಕೆರಳಿಸಿದ ಮದನನನ್ನು ಸುಟ್ಟ ಕಥೆ ಸುವಿದಿತ. ಈ ಸಂಗತಿಯನ್ನು ಪುರಾಣಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಮತ್ತು ಕಾಲಿದಾಸನ ಅಮೋಘವಾದ ಕುಮಾರಸಂಭವದಲ್ಲಿ ಚೆನ್ನಾಗಿ ಕಾಣಬಹುದು. ಇಲ್ಲಿನ ವಿಶೇಷಾಂಶಗಳು ನನಗೆ ತಿಳಿದ ಮಟ್ಟಿಗೆ ಎರಡು. ಒಂದು - ಶಿವನಂಥ ದೇವಾಧಿದೇವತೆಯೂ ಒಂದು ಕ್ಷಣಕಾಲ ಕಾಮದಲ್ಲಿ ಸಕ್ತನಾಗಬಹುದೆಂದರೆ ಕಾಮದ ಶಕ್ತಿಯ ಸ್ವರೂಪ ನಮಗೆ ತಿಳಿಯಬರುವುದು. ಎರಡನೆಯದು - ಕಾಮವನ್ನು ನಿಃಶೇಷವಾಗಿ ಸುಡಲು ಸಾಧ್ಯವೆಂಬುದು. ಬುದ್ಧನು ಮಾರನನ್ನು ಗೆದ್ದ ಬಗೆಯೂ ಇದಕ್ಕೆ ಸಂವಾದಿ.  ದೇವೀ ಉಪಾಸಕರು ಆರಾಧಿಸುವ ಶ್ರೀಲಲಿತಾತ್ರಿಪುರಸುಂದರಿಯ ಕಥೆಯೂ ಇಲ್ಲಿಂದಲೇ ಆರಂಭ. ಸುಟ್ಟ ಕಾಮನ ಬೂದಿಯಿಂದ ಭಂಡಾಸುರನ ಜನನ ಇತ್ಯಾದಿಗಳನ್ನು ಲಲಿತೋಪಾಖ್ಯಾನದಲ್ಲಿ ಕಾಣಬಹುದು. ಕಾಮದ ಶಕ್ತಿಯನ್ನು ತೋರುತ್ತಲೇ ಅದನ್ನು ಮೀರಲು ಸಾಧ್ಯವೆಂದು ಹೇಳುವ ಈ ಕಥೆ ಬಹಳ ಸಮಂಜಸವಾಗಿದೆ. ಹೀಗೆ ದಕ್ಷಿಣದಲ್ಲಿ ಶಿವನ ಪೂಜೆಯನ್ನೂ ಈ ದಿನ ಮಾಡುತ್ತಾರೆ.

ಇನ್ನೊಂದು ಕಥೆ - ಹಿರಣ್ಯಕಶಿಪುವಿಗೆ ಸಂಬಂಧಿಸಿದ್ದು. ತನ್ನ ಮಗನಾದ ಪ್ರಹ್ಲಾದನನ್ನು ಸುಡಲು ತನ್ನ ಬೆಂಕಿಯು ಸುಡಲಾರದ ತಂಗಿಯಾದ ಹೋಲಿಕೆಯನ್ನು ಕೇಳಿಕೊಳ್ಳುತ್ತಾನೆ. ಹೋಲಿಕಾ ಪ್ರಹ್ಲಾದನನ್ನು  ತನ್ನ ತೊಡೆಯ ಮೇಲೆ ಕೂರಿಸಿಕೊಂಡು ಅಗ್ನಿಪ್ರವೇಶ ಮಾಡಿದಾಗ ಹರಿಭಕ್ತನಾದ ಪ್ರಹ್ಲಾದನಿಗೆ ಏನೂ ಆಗದೆ ಹೋಲಿಕೆಯು ಬೆಂಕಿಗೆ ಸಿಗುತ್ತಾಳೆ. ಭಕ್ತನ ಉದ್ಧಾರದ ನೆನಪನ್ನು ಹೀಗೆ ಹೋಳಿಯು ಮಾಡಿಸುತ್ತದೆ.

ಮತ್ತೊಂದು ಕಥೆ - ರಘುಮಹಾರಾಜನಿಗೆ ಸಂಬಂಧಪಟ್ಟದ್ದು. (ಓದಿರಿ - ಶ್ರೀ ಪಿ ವಿ ಕಾಣೆಯವರ ಧರ್ಮಶಾಸ್ತ್ರದ ಇತಿಹಾಸ, ಭಾಗ ಮೂರು). ಓರ್ವ ರಾಕ್ಷಸಿ (ಢುಂಡಿ ಎಂದು ಅವಳ ಹೆಸರು) ಶಿವನ ವರದಿಂದ ಹರೆಯದ ಹುಡುಗರ ಅಶ್ಲೀಲಶಬ್ದಗಳಿಂದ ಮಾತ್ರ ಸಾವನ್ನಪ್ಪುವ ವರ ಪಡೆದಿದ್ದಳು. ಅವಳ ಅಬ್ಬರ ಅತಿಯಾದಾಗ ರಘುವಿನ ರಾಜ್ಯದ ಯುವಪ್ರಜೆಗಳು ಅಶ್ಲೀಲಶಬ್ದಗಳಿಂದ ಬೈದುಕೊಂಡು ಹಳೆಯ ವಸ್ತುಗಳನ್ನು ಸುಡುತ್ತಾರೆ. ಆಗ ಆಕೆಯ ಸಾವು. ಈ ಕಥೆಯು ಬಹಳ ಪುರಾತನವಾಗಿದೆ.

ಕಾಣೆಯವರು ತಿಳಿಸುತ್ತಾರೆ (ನಮ್ಮ ತಂದೆಯವರೂ ಈ ಆಚರಣೆಯನ್ನು ನೋಡಿದ್ದಾರೆ) ರತಿ-ಮನ್ಮಥರ ಮೂರ್ತಿಗಳನ್ನು ಮನೆಯ ಅಥವಾ ಗ್ರಾಮದ ಚೌಕದಲ್ಲಿಟ್ಟು ಅವರಿಗೆ ಪೂಜೆ ಸಲ್ಲಿಸಿ ಕಾಮದಹನವಾದ ನಂತರದ ಬೆಳಗ್ಗೆ ಪಾನಕ-ಪಣ್ಯಾರಗಳ ಸರಬರಾಜು. ಇಲ್ಲಿಯೂ ಅಶ್ಲೀಲ ಶಬ್ದಗಳ ಪ್ರಯೋಗ ನಡೆಯುತ್ತಿತ್ತು. 

ಸನಾತನ ಧರ್ಮ ಕೃಷಿಮೂಲದ್ದಾಗಿರುವುದರಿಂದ ಪ್ರತಿಯೊಂದು ಹಬ್ಬದಾಚರಣೆಗೂ ಪ್ರಕೃತಿಗೂ ನಿಕಟವಾದ ಸಂಬಂಧ. ಇಲ್ಲಿಯೂ ಹೀಗೆಯೇ. ಮಾಸಗಳ ಗಣನೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಎರಡು ಬಗೆ. ಈಗಿನ ಹಾಗೆಯ ಆಮಾವಾಸ್ಯೆಯ ಅಂತ್ಯದ್ದು ಒಂದು - ಅಮಾವಾಸ್ಯೆಯಿಂದ ಅಮಾವಾಸ್ಯೆಯ ವರೆಗೆ ತಿಂಗಳ ಎಣಿಕೆ. ಎರಡನೆಯದು ಪೂರ್ಣಿಮೆಯ ಅಂತ್ಯದ ಮಾಸದ ಗಣನೆ - ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಹುಣ್ಣಿಮೆಯಿಂದ ಹುಣ್ಣಿಮೆಯವರೆಗೆ ಎಣಿಕೆ. ಎರಡನೆಯ ರೀತಿಯ ಪ್ರಕಾರ ಫಾಲ್ಗುಣ ಪೂರ್ಣಿಮೆ ವರ್ಷದ ಕೊನೆಯನ್ನು ಸೂಚಿಸುತ್ತದೆ. ಒಂದೆಡೆ ಛಳಿಯ ಅಂತ್ಯ, ವಸಂತದ ಆಗಮನ ಇರುವುದರಿಂದ ಇದೊಂದು ಸುಖದ ಕಾಲ. ಪ್ರಕೃತಿಯು ಎಲ್ಲೆಡೆ ಸಸ್ಯಶ್ಯಾಮಲೆಯಾಗಿ ಕಂಗೊಳಿಸುವ ಕಾಲ. ಹಳೆಯ ವರ್ಷದ ಹಳತು ತೊಲಗಲೆಂದು ಹಳೆಯ ವಸ್ತುಗಳನ್ನು ಸುಡುವ ಸಂಪ್ರದಾಯ ಇದ್ದಿರಬಹುದು. ಈ ಆಚರಣೆಯೂ ಹಳೆಯದೇ. ಆದರೆ ಈಚೆಗೆ ಕಾಣಸಿಗುತ್ತಿಲ್ಲ.

ಒಟ್ಟಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಹೋಳಿ ಹಬ್ಬ ಅಥವಾ ಕಾಮನ ಹುಣ್ಣಿಮೆ ರಮಣೀಯವಾದ ರೋಚಕವಾದ ಐತಿಹ್ಯವುಳ್ಳ ಆಚರಣೆ. ಒಂದಷ್ಟು ಗುಣವಿರುವ ಹಿಂದಿನ ಆಚರಣೆಗಳನ್ನು ಮತ್ತೆ ಜಾರಿಗೆ ತರಬಹುದೇ ಎಂಬ ಜಿಜ್ಞಾಸೆ ನನಗೆ. 

ಕೊನೆಯದಾಗಿ ಒಂದು ಮಾತು. ಕಳೆದ ತಿಂಗಳಿನ ವ್ಯಾಲೆಂಟಿನ್ ದಿನಾಚರಣೆಯ ಹಿಂದಣ ಬಿಸಿ ನೆನಪಿಗೆ ಬಂದಿತು. ಒಂದೆಡೆ ರಾಮಸೇನೆಯವರು "ಹಿಂದೂ" ಸಂಸ್ಕೃತಿಯ ಗುತ್ತಿಗೆದಾರರು ತಾವೆಂದು ಎಗರಿದರೆ ಇವರಿಗೆ ಸರಿಯಾಗಿ "ಪಿಂಕ್" ಚಡ್ಡಿಗಳ ಬಣದವರ ಅಬ್ಬರ ಮತ್ತೊಂದೆಡೆ. ನಾನು ನೋಡಿದ ಹಾಗೆ ಸನಾತನ ಧರ್ಮದ ರೀತಿ ಈ ಎರಡು ವಿರುದ್ಧ ಬಣಗಳ ರೀತಿಗಳಿಂದಲೂ ಬೇರೆಯಾಗಿದೆ. ಬೇರೆ ಯಾವ ಧರ್ಮದಲ್ಲಿ ರತಿ-ಮನ್ಮಥರನ್ನಿಟ್ಟು ಪೂಜೆ ಮಾಡುತ್ತಾರೆ? ಇದನ್ನು ಕಂಡ ಸನಾತನ ಧರ್ಮದ "ಮಡಿವಂತಿಕೆ"ಯನ್ನು ಜರೆಯುವ "ಪ್ರಗತಿ"ಪರರು ಈ ಆಚರಣೆಯನ್ನು "ಪ್ರಗತ" ಎಂದು ತೇರ್ಗಡೆ ಮಾಡುತ್ತಾರೋ ಅಥವಾ ವಿಕ್ಟೊರಿಯಾ ರಾಣಿಯ ಕಾಲದ ಮಡಿಯನ್ನು ಮತ್ತೆ ನೆನಪಿಸುವಂತೆ "ಲೋಲುಪತೆ" ಎಂದು ಅನುತ್ತೀರ್ಣ ಮಾಡುತ್ತಾರೋ? ಪ್ರೇಮವೆಂದು ಹೇಳಿ ತಿಪ್ಪೆ ಸಾರಿಸದೆ ಕಾಮನ ಹುಣ್ಣಿಮೆಯೆಂದೇ ಘಂಟಾಘೋಷವಾಗಿ ಹೇಳುವ ಈ ಬಗೆ "ಹಿಂದೂ" ಧರ್ಮದ ಆಚರಣೆಯೆಂದು ರಾಮಸೇನೆಯವರಿಗೆ ಹೇಳಿದರೆ ಅವರು ಮಡಿಮಡಿಯನ್ನು ಬಿಟ್ಟು ಸಿಡಿಸಿಡಿಯಾಗುವರೆ? ಅಥವಾ ಇದನ್ನು ತಮ್ಮ "ಹಿಂದೂ"ಧರ್ಮದಿಂದ ಬಹಿಷ್ಕರಿಸುವರೆ?

 

ಒಂದೆಡೆ ಕಾಮವನ್ನು ಅತಿಯಾಗಿ ವೈಭವೀಕರಿಸದೆ ಮತ್ತೊಂದೆಡೆ ಅದರ ತೃಣೀಕರಣವೂ ಕೂಡದೇ ಕೂಡದು ಅನ್ನುವ ಮಧ್ಯಮ ಮಾರ್ಗ ವ್ಯಕ್ತಿಗೂ ಸಮಾಜಕ್ಕೂ ಶ್ರೇಯಸ್ಕರವೆಂದು ನನ್ನ ನಂಬಿಕೆ. ಅದೇ ನನಗೆ ತಿಳಿದ ಹಾಗೆ ಸನಾತನ ಧರ್ಮದ ಮಾರ್ಗ. ಮಾನವನ ಪ್ರತಿಯೊಂದು ಆಸೆಯನ್ನು, ಪ್ರತಿಯೊಂದು ಬೇಡಿಕೆಯನ್ನು ಸನಾತನ ಧರ್ಮ ಅಂಗೀಕರಿಸುತ್ತದೆ. ಆದರೆ ಎಲ್ಲಕ್ಕೂ ಕ್ರಮವನ್ನು ವಿಧಿಸುತ್ತದೆ. ಎಲ್ಲವೂ ಧರ್ಮದ ಚೌಕಟ್ಟಿನಲ್ಲಿ ನಡೆಯತಕ್ಕದ್ದು. ಆದರೆ ಧರ್ಮವೇನು ಅಧರ್ಮವೇನೆಂಬುದರ ಪ್ರಶ್ನೆಯೇ ಮೂಲದ್ದು. ಅದರ ಅರಿವು ಮಂಥನದ ನಂತರ ಆಗುತ್ತದೆ. ನನಗಂತೂ ಧರ್ಮವೇನೆಂಬುದರ ಅರಿವು ಕಷ್ಟಗ್ರಾಹ್ಯ ಎಂದು ಮಾತ್ರ ತಿಳಿದಿದೆ. ಇದು ಇದೇ ಎಂದು ಹೇಳಲು ಬರುವುದಿಲ್ಲ. ಆದರೆ ಅ ನಿಟ್ಟಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಚಿಂತನೆ ಮುಖ್ಯವೆಂದು ಹೇಳುತ್ತಾ ಇಲ್ಲಿ ವಿರಮಿಸುವೆ.

|| ಇತಿ ಶಮ್ ||

SL Bhyrappa's sAkshi - a quick reflection

"dharmAviruddho bhuteShu kAmo.asmi bharatarShabha"
(O bull among the bharatas, I am kAma not opposed to Dharma in all beings)
declares the Lord in the bhagavadgItA. kAma and dharma are fundamental puruShArthas in the Indian psyche. It is easy to understand why Krishna qualified kAma with the additional adjunct of not being against Dharma. But still, in this age, when kAma and the artha are the more favored and attractive puruShArthas, sAkShi - Bhyrappa's novel, underscores the importance of Dharma and sounds a sobering note to those solely focused on the the second and third values of life.

sAkShi (English: witness) is in my opinion, Bhyrappa's most explosive novel. AvaraNa might be more controversial and tantu or parva more voluminous and philosophical. But no other book I have read recently packs profound, even mind-blowing philosophical questions with such a complex but gripping story line. Written in 1986, it is puzzling to me that this title is not on the lips of people. Bhyrappa is more identified with Parva, vamshavrikSha, dharmashrI and more recently with AvaraNa - but never so much with sAkShi.

sAkShi - the novel - is on a different plane altogether. While most of his other novels are mostly bound in a definite time and place, for example dATu (post-independent rural India) or tantu (India during emergency), or even Parva (mahAbhArata age) sAkShi with a few changes can easily transcend space and time, for, the concerns it raises are universally human. It is not that the others I mentioned lack parts of timelessness - but that this novel when stripped of its particulars can be equally at home with ancient India or with even modern America or medieval Europe. And it would be quite easy to strip them out lending itself quite well to an English adaptation (not just translation).

sAkShi also marks the creation of a great character, from a literary perspective - Manjayya. More about him later.

Some words of caution : sAkShi is not for the weak stomached. For example, I would shudder to share it with some one who is puritanical minded or some one who has just started reading.  People with Victorian mores are to be shooed away from this book.

The story begins and ends with a unique plot-device - discussions in the judgement court of Yama, the Supreme controller and arbiter in the Hindu puranic realm. It sounds fanciful, but does not come across as such and ends up enhancing the appeal of the novel. The novel begins with a dead soul in the court of Yamadharma narrating the conditions of its suicide. The spirit is then given permission to passively witness the mental conditions and thoughts of other actors in its earlier life.

Back in the real world, the story is set in the surroundings of Tiptur, Channarayapatna and Hassan - as Bhyrappa is wont to do. I suppose he has this particular choice of region for a couple of reasons. The first and most obvious is that Bhyrappa is himself intimately aware of these settings - given that he grew up there. The second one is that he probably finds it convenient to get the necessary scaffolding for his story out of the way as quickly as possible before grappling with the more fundamental issues. To explain it a little further, Bhyrappa is keen on exploring the universal in the particular. The structure of a novel demands that he give a certain "believability" to his characters and the plot. If he chose a place different from his customary surroundings, he would have to do research about a topic that he is peripherally interested in at best. By using a place he is already familiar with he achieves a wonderful narrative very easily and can set his mind to digging deep into each character's innards. Look at sArtha for a diametrically opposite kind of novel. Set in ancient India, Bhyrappa had to probably do enormous amounts of research to lend authenticity to the story. Here, he gets to the core quickly.

When the soul that has committed suicide is given a chance to explore the minds of its acquaintances as a silent witness, it chooses to do so. The characters range from the silent but thoughtful rAmakrishnayya (reminds you of shrInivAsa shrotri of vamshavrikSha), his wife, a money-minded Sukanya (a predecessor to tantu's kAnti) and their son Ganesha.  Manjayya is a coconut farm owner in the same village. Nagappa, the epitome of artha as an independent value, is Sukanya's father and Satyappa the Gandhian is Ramakrishna's brother-in-law. Savitri is the daughter of the house. Mention has to be made of Lakku and Sarojakshi who bring about profound changes in the story.

Continuing in the aftermath of a murder trial, the story serially narrates different events from the perspectives of different characters. Of course, we, as readers are also sAkShis in the book. It is quite difficult to go into the character without narrating some of the plot and that conflicts with the objective of this post - getting readers from this post to the book. However, the questions it raises are worthy of examination.

What is truth/falsehood? Are these absolute values?

Is concealment different from lying? Why do some people keep lying?

Is stating a truth a different way the same as lying?

Is it better to control one's base desires and falter occasionally or go all out in self-gratification?

What is the basis of carnal desire? Is it just the body or is there something else to it? When would it stop?

What is better - to have base desires secretly without satisfaction or treat it the same as any other bodily affliction?

Are suicides primarily caused by disproportionately morbid amplification of a momentary setback without a thought for the bigger picture?

What is Dharma in action? How do you recognize it?

The notion of purity and conversely, of sin- how much of the body and how much of the mind?

Is abstinence a virtue? How so or why not?

The Ego and its power

Manjayya is so much of this world - we see a lot of his likes everywhere - as anonymous statistics and reports in newspapers and sometimes in ourselves. Yet, there is something other-worldly about him; for no where else can we see such single minded self-indulgence. Manjayya is on par with a Duryodhana or a rAvaNa - Note that these characters are
not simple minded "evil-doers" - they are complex and layered. Manjayya is like that. Bhyrappa has created several characters - but Manjayya ranks with the highest, of course from a purely literary stand-point. SLB portrays Manjayya so convincingly that at times, there is no way to refute his arguments. 

The situation of Satyappa is very similar to that of Praneshacharya in URA's Samskara. The difference between URA and SLB is basically in what happens to each of their characters after they succumb to desire. Praneshacharya becomes a libertine whereas Satyappa is mortified. Satyappa is shaken out of his ivory tower and is ostracized by his family and society. However, Satyappa himself does not change - he sees the folly of his earlier ways and uses his fall (his perception) to achieve more focus on his life's mission.

Nagappa is another finely etched character. While self-indulgence for Manjayya is through bodily desires, the miserly Nagappa devotes his life to amassing wealth. Bhyrappa portrays the extreme nature of his desire brilliantly.

Sarojakshi is an intriguing character as well. While her similarity to Manjayya is alluded to on the surface, it ends right there. Her character could not be more different from that of Manjayya. Towards the end, the face off between the two shows how different they really are. While Manjayya epitomizes single pointed kAma, Saroja shows how kAma could be spread across pursuits. 

The story progresses towards a climax with two dramatic events. Between AvaraNa and sAkShi, there is a similarity of motif in the brutal nature of the first event. The second event - a revelation - is not as brutal but more disruptive to the characters and the reader. The plot twists are both unexpected and powerful, impacting both the reader and the story. 

However, Bhyrappa offers a vision of what he sees as ideal. For him, the ideal of disinterested karma as a tool to purify the mind is an important one. His focus, as seen in other works, on nirlepa karma (tantu, dATu) is echoed here as well.  The following sentence of Shankara in his introduction to the gItAbhAShya - "dvividho hi vedokto dharmaH | pravRttilakShaNo nivRttilakShaNashcha|" ("..Dharma is two fold, one characterized by activity and the other by renunciation") finds an echo in Bhyrappa's characters.

The two faces of his ideal are Ramakrishna and Satyappa. The former - distant, worthy of respect and immersed in Vedanta - is in the tradition of nivRtti dharma. The latter -  more down to earth, realistic and worthy of sympathy - is in the pravRtti path.

Bhyrappa leaves us with a question - "what is the origin of lies?"

To summarize, Bhyrappa is in his element here - so much so that the reader does not care for the name of the author when reading it. For all readers of serious literature, don't miss this.

PS: My apologies for writing this review in English. In hindsight, a review in Kannada would have been a lot better. Also, it seems that this book has been translated into both Hindi and English.

India's $10 "laptop" - a media circus?

Why India's $10 Laptop is a Load of Hype | Technomix | Fast Company

I hate to tell "I told you so" for this - but this merely confirms my suspicion that the device would be far from a laptop. 500Rs is too low a price to get any decent "computer" (unless subsidized by long term contracts etc.,) and this device is not by any standards a laptop.

This "laptop" word associated with the device seems to be a hyped-up concoction of some clueless Indian media-person and less probably, some government busybody. I am quite sure folks in IISc and IIT-M would shudder to call this a laptop.

Of course, any "thing" can be a laptop - a book, a hard drive, or even a child. After all, it sits on top of your lap, right?

The only unfortunate thing is that this enterprise, worthy as it is, got all the publicity for the wrong reasons and now, instead of being appreciated it is called "Load of Hype", "massive exaggeration" and "downgraded by reality" among other things.

I wonder who called it a laptop - Indian media does have a fancy for hyperbole and this may be just it. Indian media seriously needs to tone down its hyperbole, sensationalism and shrillness factor. Anybody from Indian MSM reading this?

BJP delegation invited by Communist Party of China

China woos saffron parties; Arunachal on agenda

Of all mainstream political parties, it is the BJP that is deemed most 'nationalist' - especially by its supporters. Hence it is interesting that the Communist Party of China has invited a delegation of key BJP/RSS folk led by people such as Ram Madhav and Balbir Punj to China. Though the report (rediff link above) is dated Jan 08, 2009, it mentions December 5th as the date of the trip. Has it been a month now or is it a typo?

This invitation seemed unbelievable in the backdrop of several things like the following:
1. BJP/Sangh folks have always brought attention, to put mildly, to the Chinese "treachery" of 1962. And apparently there was no greater sham than "Hindi Chini Bhai Bhai"
2. NDA defence minister, George Fernandes openly naming China as rival no 1
3. That China is widely recognized as the arch rival not just in defense but in most other spheres.
4. That China has helped Pakistan with logistical and arms support over the years. It is quite possible that Pakistan became a nuclear state only because of China.
5. The cause of Tibet
6. China doing other things like claiming suzerainty over Arunachal Pradesh and damming rivers like Brahmaputra - all seen as India threatening.

To their credit, however, the delegation that visited China opined:

"We emphasised that Tibet has a distinct culture and that identity must be preserved. We also gave them an idea about how much Dalai Lama is revered in India. Of course, we have different perspectives but dialogue is important."

Good to read that. This is indeed the first time that there has been any dialog at the party level between India and China. (barring the CPs of India, of course)

I am also sure most of the delegation has read books like "Are we deceiving ourselves again?" by Arun Shourie (and Dalvi's Himalayan Blunder - banned in India - but these guys should have had access to it).

But this seems to be a definite instance where one could repeat Lord Byron's oft quoted words:

'Tis strange, but true; for truth is always strange;
Stranger than fiction: if it could be told 

Sherlock Holmes' s Birthday?

The Curious Case of a Birthday for Sherlock - City Room Blog - NYTimes.com

Sherlock Holmes has captured the imagination of the English reading world for well over a century now. It is but natural that several clubs honor and cherish the adventures as much as the first time reader. In fact, even in Bangalore you have a couple of societies or chapters of larger societies celebrating Sherlock Holmes.

Arthur Conan Doyle can never be thanked enough for giving us this wonderful detective.

I did not know till I read this interesting post that Sherlock Holmes has a birthday celebration every year. And the date? January 6th or Twelfth night.

Read the interesting post to understand why this date was chosen.

I like the editions illustrated wonderfully by Sidney Paget as published in the Strand Magazine. Others just don't cut it.

And about the actors, I think Jeremy Brett portrayed Holmes best. Did you know that Roger Moore ("My name is Holmes, Sherlock Holmes") and Christopher Lee (and Saruman the white) have played Sherlock Holmes? Basil Rathbone was a favorite of Americans of the black and white generation. There were quite a few non-Conan-Doyle stories that featured Rathbone as Holmes. Personally, I have not read a non-Conan-Doyle Holmes and I don't think I will try to either.

I finish this post with a quiz: Which adventures of Sherlock Holmes have a number in their names? (No cheating...)

Nepal's Pashupatinath and de-culturing

Nepal priests to conduct worship at Pashupatinath-South Asia-World-The Times of India

Nepal was the only country in the world that proclaimed Hindu Dharma as its state religion. Soon after Prachanda and his cohorts took up power in Nepal, one of the first things they did was to remove the word "Hindu" from the country's constitution. Hindus the world over felt a twinge of discomfort when they read about it (this blogger included).

Karl Marx had this to say about religion, amongst other things - "It is the opium of the people." Whether his view was more nuanced than what this quote implies is a different topic. But as far as his followers are concerned, this statement pretty much sums it up. Religion and pre-communist tradition are something that have to be shunned. Atheism, nay, a form of nihilism and communism go together, that way.

Back to Nepal, the Pashupatinath temple is a very old and sacred centre of religion. Legend has it that Sri Shankaracharya instituted worship in this temple and appointed a lineage of priests (called ravals) from Karnataka. This tradition has gone on for centuries. When monarchy reigned in Nepal, Hindus and Hindu institutions flourished. That the pontiffs of the Kanchi Matha were held in high esteem by the king of Nepal is well known.

Communists, completely supported by the Chinese, started their activities within Nepal long ago. With bloodshed and rivalry within the royal family, their ascent to power accelerated. And finally, Prachanda got democratically elected as the prime minister. He belongs to the Communist Party (Maoist) of Nepal. The fact that he owes much to China can be seen from the name of his party as well as by his act of traveling first to China instead of India, as was the norm. The cold shoulder to India is quite evident here. It may not be long before Indian citizens need a passport and visa to visit Nepal, just like everybody else. India might need to worry about open borders with Nepal - but that is a separate issue.

The ascension to power by Prachanda was marked by the abolition of monarchy. Beginning with that, a systematic change of traditions instituted by the royal family has started. The change of the rawals is but a marker in the process of this "deculturing".

Monolithic religion-ideologies such as Islam, Communism and Christianity have one thing common amongst them. Wherever one of these has risen to power, the clock on history and culture is reset - as if there was no history and culture in these lands before the advent of these ideologies. Pakistan is an example in point. Textbooks are full of glorification of everything Islamic and condemnation of all else. Two generations of readers of such text books are all it takes to obliterate a country's indigenous traditions. Harappa is still in Pakistan, but from those textbooks, its achievements pale in front of those of a Ghauri or a Ghaznavi as Mohenjodaro et al were pre-Islamic sites and therefore jAhil. Mao's cultural revolution is similar.

A similar effort seems to be afoot in Nepal. Textbooks will, in all likelihood, be the next target if not already targeted. And it will be decreed in them that Nepal was under continued oppression till they were "liberated" by Chairman Mao's ideology, whose able representative is Chairman Prachanda. Whatever good remains will be credited to the new ideology and all things bad will be cast as the relics of a forgettable past.

The following quote by an American author sums it up quite well -
“Only when the war propaganda of the victors is entered into the history books of the vanquished, (and this is also believed by succeeding generations), only then will our reeducation have succeeded”

An absolute treasure - Shri Dharampal's works online!

DHARAMPAL's India

Shri Dharampal has written several illuminating works on Indian history and science and this was the real stuff.

The website above has a bunch of his important works online. Other ones like "The Beautiful Tree" will be online very soon.

Enjoy - it should be an eye-opening read.

Daniel Pipes, MJ Akbar and the T-word

Still Asleep After Mumbai :: Daniel Pipes

Daniel Pipes is a known expert on the Middle East and the Islamic world. In this piece he has chillingly assessed the aftermath of the Mumbai carnage.

This piece caught my attention. (Please read the full piece though, it is as informative as it is alarming).

Nomenclature lays bare this denial. When a sole jihadist strikes, politicians, law enforcement, and media join forces to deny even the fact of terrorism; and when all must concede the terrorist nature of an attack, as in Mumbai, a pedantic establishment twists itself into knots to avoid blaming terrorists.

I documented this avoidance by listing the twenty (!) euphemisms the press unearthed to describe Islamists who attacked a school in Beslan in 2004: activists, assailants, attackers, bombers, captors, commandos, criminals, extremists, fighters, group, guerrillas, gunmen, hostage-takers, insurgents, kidnappers, militants, perpetrators, radicals, rebels, and separatists – anything but terrorists.

The following is exactly what MJ Akbar, the premier journalist, says on his blog (www.mjakbar.org) in a piece called "Biting the BBC bullet". These are the words he wrote to the BBC when they did not use the T-word.

"I am appalled, astonished, livid at your inability to describe the events in Mumbai as the work of terrorists. You have called them 'gunmen', as if they were hired security guards on a night out. When Britain finds a group of men plotting in a home laboratory your government has no hesitation in creating an international storm, and the BBC has no hesitation in calling them terrorists. When nearly two hundred Indian lives are lost, you cannot find a word in your dictionary more persuasive than 'gunmen'. You are not only pathetic, but you have become utterly biased in your reporting…Shame on you and your kind."

Kudos to Akbar for his forthright expression of indignation.

My feeling about the T-word is the same. (My thoughts on this from 2005 can be found here and I have not changed my stance). International pressure builds on the direct and indirect perpetrators of such acts when strong words are used. Pussy-footing is what our government had done earlier by using words like "militants" and "miscreants" to refer to terrorists in Kashmir.

The Indian government has worked itself into a corner. If it refers to certain acts as terrorism, it assumes that it is accusing the minority community. This is basically insinuating that all the minorities in India are anti-national and hence sponsors of terrorism. Minority leaders should actually take exception at the government's not referring to the killers by the T-word.

In the present world, the importance of media presence cannot be over-emphasized. It will do the government a lot of good if it can use its media handlers more effectively to convey the gravity of the situation.

As the acts have become increasingly heinous, the Indian media has finally started using the T-word. Oh wait, not yet. This link from this leftist TV channel still uses the word militant. Militant does give a more harmless connotation and that is why we need to use the strongest possible words to describe the killers. When Pipes takes the international media to task for using "militant", here are our guys - still stuck with militant.

HonestReporting had this to say when castigating AP's treatment of Hamas - militant or terrorist, while commending NY Times for using the right word. And this was in 2006.

The Associated Press actually used the words "terror network." What is surprising is that they use the phrase to label Al-Qaida, while referring to Hamas as a more neutral "militant group".

Can I hope that our media folks will look at such subtle but important distinctions while reporting? MJ Akbar, it looks like nobody from NDTV has looked at your blog or that of Pipes or HonestReporting. Or is it something else with these people?

Concluding this post, I wonder if our esteemed PM Dr. Manmohan Singh gets enough sleep at the thought of poverty in the Indian Muslim community. A recent post by MJ Akbar reports that a whopping zero percent of the money allotted to minority development was spent in Maharashtra. Rather than be too sensitive about perceived slights that a community might take offense to or not, it would be far more useful to uplift and educate minorities and bring them to the national mainstream. But then, who would re-elect these politicians?

Terror in the ministry

UPA proud of my Karkare remark: Antulay

Now that we have terror everywhere, it makes sense to consult the dictionary to understand what the actual meaning of the word is. The Merriam-Webster's online dictionary has this to say:

Terror
1 : a state of intense fear
2 a: one that inspires fear : scourge
   b: a frightening aspect terrors of invasion>
   c: a cause of anxiety : worry
   d: an appalling person or thing

Looking at this definition, the perpetrators of the horrific Mumbai carnage were not terrorists to the UPA government as it was neither fear inspiring - given that Rahul Gandhi, the heir-apparent, partied all night when commandos were still engaged at the Taj. It was neither appalling nor a cause of anxiety. Apparently, our honourable PM did not lose sleep over this as much as he lost over the condition of a mother of a bomber. Even if the nation was terrorized, the UPA government was probably not.

However, the current event is terror inspiring to the UPA. Abdul Rahman Antulay is a terror not only to his party comrades, but also to his co-religionists and all Indians.

By his parrot-like repetition of an ill-conceived conspiracy theory the likes of which are often repeated (recall the canard of a CIA-Zionist plot of 9/11 that is claimed as gospel truth in a large part of the Muslim world), Abdul Rahman might have endeared himself to Islamist fanatics and the sensationalizing aspect of Pakistani media - but has become a political hot potato now.

His wayward comment about Karkare's death not being at the hands of terrorists is not only irresponsible but also downright malicious. In an exercise that Goebbels would have been proud of, a Pakistani channel and Abdul Rahman mutually reinforced one another. Now each will have the other's word as evidence. How convenient!

If we look back at the events that transpired, we had a few people, incidentally Hindus, investigated in the Malegaon blasts. The fact that the Indian media took this up with undisguised glee and projected this as the Hindu counterpart of the global threat of Islamic terrorism is indeed deplorable.

When the Mumbai events unfolded, the world saw the unprecedented horror occurring before it. Even so, Somini Sengupta in the New York Times in her report of the Mumbai events had to have a footnote on "Hindu Terrorism" - which, even if this Sadhvi character is proved to have committed, would amount to less than a drop in the whole Arabian sea.

I read somewhere that India now is a dubious statistic of being the second worst terror-affected country after Iraq (which is under civil war!) in the last five years. How much of this loss is due to "Hindu" terror?

When I read Somini Sengupta's piece that mentioned this "Hindu" terror in the same piece in her Mumbai report - as the events were transpiring - I squirmed in my seat. What blatantly misleading information was being fed here! Luckily, due to more sensible media houses in the west - who were on the ground and not dependent on their Indian agencies, the extent of the damage as well as clear information on the origin of the perpetrators was conveyed to the world.

The public has a short term memory. Three weeks later, people are just normal - of course - we don't want people to continue to be terrorized. Politicians are back to their quibbling ways. However, several common people have been really shaken by the events and they are taking to the streets in protest.

There are welcome changes occurring too - though I don't know how many of these will be effective in the long run. The first one is the refusal of the Waqf body to conduct an Islamic burial for the slain terrorists. Till now, all slain terrorists, be it in Akshardham or in J&K were apparently handed over to some Islamic body which would then bury them in Indian soil. Now this will not happen. I am so glad that the Muslim community has come out in strong protest.

The second one - in smaller measure - is the red gun salute given by Naxalites in memory of the Mumbai victims. This was unprecedented. If the trained Naxalites were to fight the LeT-types... I continue to dream.

The third one is the support - diplomatic and logistic - that India is getting (finally!) from the US, UK and Israel. Not that this was not done earlier - but there is a feeling of increased solidarity against terror.

Fourth, new guidelines about crisis coverage have been instituted by the news broadcast association. This should hopefully trickle down to lessened sensationalism in other spheres as well.

Fifth, a national body to counter terror, curiously labeled NIA (they liked the CIA acronym?) has been set up. This should hopefully increase intelligence dissemination among government agencies.

Coming back to Antulay and the UPA, I would at least hope that the UPA has enough sense to boot him out of the party and make him a political pariah. But this could be a double-game by the UPA. By retaining Antulay, it can retain the vote bank of insecure minorities while pandering to the majority at large by effecting ineffective changes such as mere legislations and ministerial resignations. Why am I such a cynic?

Whatever happens, I hope the haunting images of smoke billowing out of the Taj and of that gun-toting criminal walking through the CST looking for his next kill never fail to awaken righteous indignation amongst all Indians.