An Hour of Wonder: The Story of Bhishma

 An Hour of Wonder: The Story of Bhishma; from The Dharma Forest by Keerthik Sasidharan.

In the midst of a world rendered unrecognizable by the lust for power, malice and the machinations of war stand Bhishma, contemplating the immeasurable death he sees around himself as a man who cannot die. Born as Devevrata, he became Bhishma, when he decided to renounce family life, to let his father marry again, and then he was the Pitamaha for all. 

Form is destiny revealed as function, Amba is Shikhandi, who alone could kill Bhishma.

Neither side of the battle wanted him anymore - each claimant to the kingdoms of Hastinapur . One side sought to kill him despite their affections while the other, ostensibly his own side, sought his removal out of disgust. 

Killers in service of Dharma. But killers nevertheless. ..Our deaths can only be explained in the language of our lives. No one can escape it.  Bhishma had resolved not to kill a woman with own hands. Bhishma himself told this to Pandavas, and blessed them saying 'May you always seek Dharma', 'Where there is Dharma, there is always victory'.

Dharma worked its way to mete our ends that reflected the nature of Bhisma's singular life that was both, horrific in the violence he had unleashed to save the house of Kurus from implosion and also magnificent in the grandeur with which he performed his life's duties. 

Words began to seem irrelevant. Sounds were an afterthought. Bhishma began to meditate on the wonders of this life, sinking into the unfathomable self, where neither body, nor this war, nor temples or kingdoms existed. All that was there was a mind meditating on wonder - wonder at the mere act of being alive, having lived and awaiting that finality called Death beyond which not even the Gods knew what lay, until yet another life and other wonders revealed themselves.

Bhishma was one of the most powerful warriors of his time and in history. He acquired his prowess and invincibility from being the son of the sacred Ganga and by being a student of Lord Parashurama. Despite being about five generations old, Bhishma was too powerful to be defeated by any warrior alive at that time. In spite of playing completely different roles in the events that shaped the destiny of Hastinapur, indeed the whole Bharata, both these mighty personalities had great respect and love for each other. Bhishma was much older than Krishna and an extremely learned and brave man enjoying reverence by all around him. Bhishma was also well aware of Krishna’s divinity and was his great devotee. Krishna, in turn, loved Bhishma for his complete devotion to him and understood that his actions were guided by his understanding of the Vedas and Vedic traditions and the fact that  this understanding was too deeply rooted for him to accept and support the changing moral standards and world view that Krishna wanted to establish. For Bhishma, it was important to do his duty as he saw it, all the while knowing that ultimately, Krishna’s wish would be supreme.

Bhishma was cursed and born to live a painful life and he did so without any complaints. A warrior sans peers, he ensured Hastinapur was protected from any and all external threats and died in the process, finally satisfied in his heart that the throne now belonged to a righteous king.

Even when on his death bed Bhishma continued to teach governance to Pandavas from his sharshhayya. Death would not come to him easily even there. He could choose his hour of death when the sun jouneys into the northern declension, away from death and into life. 

Web of Lies : Tandav Drama & Gracious farewell

The gracious exchange, a complete rarity in a polarised polity held the house (Rajya Sabha) spell bound; was it a drama? The Dharma of the Parliament was violated in many a situation and there had to be Dharna outside the parliament.  

Ghulam Nabi Azad and PM Narendra Modi, both where General Secretary once upon a time of their respective time,  in 2006 both where Chief Minister for their respective states, and here one was the ruling head and the other was the LOP - Leader of Opposition Party. It was his last day in Rajya Sabha and he has been in LS/RS/ State CM - thus playing various role, from the time of Indira Gandhi till today. Born in Free India, after Independence, he said how blessed Hindustani Muslims were, and how he burst out crying couple of times, when on his own parents death he just wept. One was when the bus carrying Gujarat tourist was blasted half a kilometer from where he stayed when both he and Modi were PM's of the respective states. 

There has been lot of fight with Narasimha Rao, against him a group was formed by Madhavrao Schindia, Rajesh Pilot, Karunakaran, Sharad Patel and Ghulam Nabi Azad - It's different to challenge Narasimha Rao and another to challenge Gandhi. Working committee meeting was conducted in Jan. there should be an elected president in congress is his thought. 

There is no legislature in Kashmir, so he cannot contest for Rajya Sabha. He was part and parcel of Congress, but his relationship was with all.  He believed that the Parliamentary affairs ministers job is to coordinate the job of the opposition and government - and this is what he did when he was in 1991 to 1996 and also when he was LOP.  The civility and Thazeeb of his conduct, had won many hearts. 

When Article 370 was violated - he had given a very hard hitting speech, and when  Kissan bill was introduced, he  sat for 24 hours for Dharna. The government was not spared. 

Was it PM  playing on the fact that there was a personal relationship, a never seen before phenomena? Did the PM genuinely try to show a regard for Ghulam Nabi Azad, or is it that there is frostiness between Congress and Azad and Modi was trying to bring it out? All these thoughts because as these drama unveils I get message from the troll army, " Know very well, who he is, what he is and how he became a congress leader, with what purpose, why he is shedding crocodile tears telling that he is a truthful Indian Muslim and so on. He was always an anti-national and anti-hindu. Now only because of his helplessness in Congress, he is away from Sonia and is pretending to be a nationalist. Now whose tears were crocodile tears, one or both? 

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Tandav : The TV web series that created controversy, though I had no plans to see it, and the political web of lies, tempted me to know what it was all about, in it, the leader of a premiere political party – Samar Pratap Singh (Saif Ali Khan) feels he’s ready to inherit the chair of PM but Samar’s father, the party patriarch and the PM – Devki Nandan Singh (Tigmanshu Dhulia) isn’t willing to retire yet. Anuradha Kishore, Devki’s close associate (Dimple Kapadia), party senior leader Gopal Das (Kumud Mishra) are few of many other leaders considering themselves fit to sit in this chair. But this chair never comes easily, they must constantly keep striving for it. A parallel story is that of the idealistic campus activist Shiva Shekhar (Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub) who becomes an overnight icon as he shines at a political event. Shiva now wants to bring the change, sway the youth, overthrow the power pillars – he knows the sweet taste of power. And power corrupts. Shiva and Samar will meet as country politics will cross roads with youth politics. Tandav is the coming together of a series of manipulations that exposes layers of human greed, ambition, love, vulnerability, and violence. Directed by Ali Abbas Zafar and written by Gaurav Solaki, released on 15th January 2021, this web series was in 9 parts namely"

1 "Tanashah"

Shiva is a student in VNU, near Malakpur, where farmers are protesting against a factory and highway being built in farmland. Police start attacking and shooting the protestors, killing two people. Shiva's friend, Imran, who was also at the protest, is arrested at VNU. Shiva and his friends go to bail him out, but the police refuse, and call several officers to beat up Shiva and the other college students who came to the station. Meanwhile, Samar is an up-and-coming politician and member of the JLD party, led by his father, Devki Nandan Singh, the current Prime Minister, about to be in his third term. Devki plans on giving Raghu, the son of Anuradha, the Defense Minister position, but Samar wants to give the position to Aditi, a female Air Force pilot. At night, Samar gives Devki a glass of wine, laced with Aconite, killing him. As he dies, Devki calls Anuradha, but he is unable to reach her.

2 "Aazaadi"

The police at the station threaten the VNU students with a report that the students beat up three Police officers for no reason. Shiva visits Imran, who is worried that the media will tie his name to a terrorist organization. Shiva creates a fake video of the Police's attack on the protestors, and the Malakpur protests start trending on social media. Samar and his wife clean up Devki's office to make it seem like he died of a heart attack. News of Devki's death spreads like wildfire. Samar prepares for the funeral, while also talking to other members of the JLD party for support. Gopal Das, who was Devki's right-hand man, asks for Samar to support him as the new Prime Minister. Samar says he'll think about it, but spreads a rumor through the news that Gopal Das has started campaigning for Prime Minister almost immediately after Devki's death, shaming him in the eyes of the public. To save his reputation, Gopal Das tells the media he has no plans to run for Prime Minister. At Devki's cremation, Anuradha tells Samar that he'll support her for becoming Prime Minister, because she knows he killed Devki with Aconite.

3 "Chandragupta"

Maithili Sharan, Anuradha's secretary gets a call from an unknown number and the man blackmails her with crucial information. Gurpal Chauhan, Samar's right-hand man sends his social media cell guy, Sharat to the doctor's houses to spy on them. Professor Jigar Sampath and Professor Sandhya Nigam are on the verge of a divorce. Farmers from Malakpur arrive at VNU to support Shiva Shekhar's endeavour. Simultaneously, JLD party members have big decisions to make at the JLD office.

4 "Left se Right"

Mahant Kunj Police Station inspector Narendra Jhakar takes over the VNU students case and assists them. Garima Deswal invites Shiva for a panel discussion at National News Network where he meets Aditi Mishra, another member of the JLD. Later, farmers from Malakpur arrive at VNU again to thank Shiva as the government puts a stay order on any work happening on their land. Nomination day at VNU, Students Association of India (SAI) members nominate their respective candidates.

5 "Jeevan aur Mrityu"

Election campaigning goes on in VNU with all parties vying for votes. SAI members search for their missing friend in the university and later reach Mahant Kunj Police Station to file a complaint. Party portfolios are distributed among the various JLD members. Swearing in of all the ministers takes place, while on the other hand dramatic events follow with the SAI missing member.

6 "Babool ka Ped"

A key member of SAI withdraws their nomination. An anonymous caller calls Garima to give her a crucial piece of information. Garima questions Ajay about the same. Samar arrives at VNU and gives a speech to support and stand alongside the students. A massive fight ensues between the students of VNU.

7 "Dhappa"

Gurpal meets his informer Chhote Lal at Indian International Centre of Medical Science (IICMS) who gives him valuable information. Gurpal watches CCTV footage of IICMS and spots something major. Sana Mir and Shiva request Samar to have a proper CBI investigation of the case. Shiva reaches Samar's house to meet him, Maithili searches for the anonymous caller, but finds someone else instead.

8 "Tandav"

Reporters line up outside Home Minister Kailash Kumar's house. Sandhya gives him important news. VNU students request the election officers to postpone the elections. Shiva gives a speech and makes a major announcement at the Vivekananda Statue. Sana receives threatening messages from an unknown person. The presidential debate between Amit Mewani and Shiva is held at VNU.

9 "Khel"

Election day at VNU, we see all the students vote for their preferred presidential candidate. An SAI member gets admitted to the hospital where other members come to visit. Tragedy strikes Anuradha Kishore as all news channels report about her. Victory speech at VNU after which Sana and Shiva decide to meet. Press conference held by JLD to make an announcement.

Was it the protests and the college name VNU that was controversial, or linking politics/youth to national politics? 

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And there is this video from Sadhguru, why they are making fun of Hinduism - At this juncture - 

All our mythological Gods are with weapon, they are not shy, why? Because if anyone throw filth of them, they will make manure out of it, and throw it back. Whatever we say or do, some just keep rebelling, because they don't want us to exist. They are like leeches, we don't want leeches to grow. 

Farm Law and Farmer's Protest

 

The Farm law was passed by hook or crook and the time to speak about it is over, at that time the reaction was deaf ears, and blind eyes. Now that the issue has been exploded, Delhi roads are barricaded with barbed wires, and concrete walls with offer to freeze the laws for two years, and bring it back in in 2023 January do we want to continue the events? Also interestingly today is the day, India won against Pakistan

What is needed is:

1) Open ended public procurement

2) An assured return on agriculture produce. 

MSP should continue and must be mentioned in the act with a clause that whoever purchases the produce cannot purchase it below MSP.

There should be a guarantee for agriculture finance from bank for farmers having land lower than 5 acres with state mandi’s standing as guarantee since land records are a mess.

For 1 million problem there could be 2 billion solutions and its important to choose the right one, taking people together. The farm law, has moved into farm protest not overnight, but gradually with long outstanding wounds coming out.

https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/punjab/in-a-nutshell-144741

 Government contention

• Farmers can trade their produce even outside mandis
• Contract with price listed
• No market fee
• Farmers benefit from govt priority
• Bills prepared thoroughly

Farmers’ counter

• Will finish mandis, a tried & tested platform for centuries
• MSP on 23 crops not listed
• Market fee needed for infrastructure
• Why farmers not consulted?
• Why brought as ordinances?

https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/nation/read-the-full-text-of-the-three-bare-acts-related-to-farming-and-agriculture-marketing-182924

The Three Legislations

1. The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020

Status: Passed by Parliament

• Allows intra-state and inter-state trade of farmers’ produce beyond Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) markets. State governments will not levy any market fee
• Farmers can trade produce at any place outside ‘mandis’, including farms, factory premises, warehouses, silos and cold storages
• Produce can be traded electronically in specified trade area. This allows setting up of e-trading facility for direct/online buying. These platforms can be established as companies, partnership firms or registered societies

2. The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020

Status: Passed by Parliament

• Creates a framework for contract farming through an agreement between a farmer and a buyer prior to the production or rearing of any farm produce
• Minimum period of an agreement will be one crop season, or one production cycle of livestock; maximum is five years, unless production cycle is more than five years
• The price of farm produce should be mentioned in the agreement between the two parties
• Provides for a three-level dispute settlement mechanism — the conciliation board, sub-divisional magistrate and appellate authority

3. The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, 2020

Status: Passed by Lok Sabha

• Allows Centre to regulate supply of certain food items under extraordinary circumstances (such as war and famine). Stock limits may be imposed on agricultural produce only if there is a steep price rise
• Empowers the Centre to designate certain commodities (such as food items, fertilisers and petroleum products) as essential commodities, which the Central Government may regulate or prohibit
• Imposition of stock limit on agricultural produce to be based on price rise. The increase will be calculated over price prevailing in immediately preceding 12 months, or the average retail price of the last five years, whichever is lower

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Farmers’ posers to government

1  Govt will withdraw procurement of produce and leave it open to private sector. They (corporate houses), in turn, will purchase very little portion of the total produce ‘as per the high standards, which will be manipulated’. Won’t the farmers be paid a pittance for the remaining crop?

2  What was the hurry to introduce farm-related measures as ordinances in June amid Covid-19? The issues concerning lakhs of farmers deserved to be brought in as Bills allowing the Opposition a chance to debate before these were passed. Why was the Question Hour done away with?

3  The govt is making false claims about continuing with the minimum support price provision. Of the listed 23 crops, the MSP is paid only on wheat, paddy and cotton. Does the govt guarantee purchase of the listed crops on the MSP if farmers do not get the price from traders?

4  How will the govt ensure private sector pays the MSP when even the govt is not doing so?

5  Barring staged protests in support of the move by farmers in BJP-ruled states, are farmers in the rest of the country unjust in raising their voice against the Bills? Should they not even be given a hearing?

6  Why have farmers not been involved in the decision-making process on an issue that affects their lives? Officers from Punjab have said unlike major govt decisions where officials’ views are taken before formulation of policies, they were not consulted

7  Why are power and fertiliser subsidies being taken away and farmers being told they will be compensated later? What is the guarantee that farmers will be paid later? Many subsidies like on polyhouses and others have not been paid to hundreds of farmers

8  Why is the govt sidelining the arhtiyas? In emergency situations such as marriage/death in a family, banks never give loans. Charging not more than 2 per cent commission, arhtiyas have been the lifeline of the rural economy for centuries

Arhtiyas or often referred to as 'bichauliya' or 'middlemen', facilitates the transaction between farmers and the actual buyers, making them more akin to a broker. The buyer can be a private trader, a processor, an exporter, or a government agency like the Food Corporation of India (FCI).

One of the most nuanced and unbiased view of the bill:

https://www.theindiaforum.in/article/three-farm-bills?fbclid=IwAR0g8wq_Yq6zmMjXdzsFwk0ic3P4y5aWqRG6VWRs3YJ5-6AqPvRwnvERwAY

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Although precise numbers are hard to come by, there is little doubt that a million people died – Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs – in a hellish cycle of massacres during the 1947 partition of India, and there were retaliatory massacres. The Sikhs got no country of their own, and their Punjab homeland was sliced into two. It was hardly their homeland exclusively, though. Partition forced each group to fight for turf and to consolidate where it could best survive, resulting in a gigantic migration propelled by ethnic cleansing on an apocalyptic scale. Millions of Hindus and Sikhs were forced east out of the New Pakistan, while Muslims where given a choice to remain where they liked, against the will of few Indian’s. Lal Bhadur Shastri, had promised three things for Punjab, then there was Operation Blue Star, demand for Kalisthan, Sikh massacre, the wound would still be in the people, and when we have people calling Gandhi traitor, and wanting to rewrite history, with RSS emerging strong, is it a surprise to see a new protest? 

The Dharma Forest by Keerthik Sasidharan

 

18th of 2021 and 4th in Feb was the much awaited 'The Dharma Forest' by Keerthik Sasidharan. Krishna said: ‘The most wondrous thing about our world is that forms change. From a stone you make fire, from fires we make food. But the real wonder is . . .’

Jara spoke suddenly, in a voice that was his, but it was now inflected, heavier in tone, and more assured, as if someone else had taken possession of him. ‘. . .how wondrous it is to live, watch others live, to see others die willingly. Like in a great War.’

A moment’s silence later, Krishna suggested, ‘Perhaps you could tell me about the war in Kurukshetra, about Bhishma, Arjuna, about Duryodhana . . . about how it all came to end.’

Initially Jara protested distractedly, but Brahma and Shiva whispered into his ears, 'Speak, and the words will come....." From some deep meditative stupor, the words do come, in the cadences of oracles and soothsayers...a terrifying start and what follows is a night full of stories,  about nine lives from the days of the great Mahabharata war, where each life embodies a rasa -- love, courage, wonder, disgust, fear, ridicule, sorrow, anger, and tranquility -- colors from man’s emotional palette.

As the Mahabharata war wages on, it shows no mercy and takes no prisoners. Death and destruction abound. In the midst of a world rendered unrecognizable by the lust for power, maliace and the machinations of war, stand each of them. 

This first volume of the “Dharma” trilogy tells about Bhishma’s wondrous immortal life, Draupadi’s loves amid erotic jealousies, and Arjuna’s war-weary courage.

Before the story begin, Krishna tells Jara, " Never believe what storytellers tell you. They marry lies and truth to give birth to pleasure." 

Separate blogs for each of the stories:

Part I

An Hour of Wonder: The Story of Bhishma

A Night Full of Love: The Story of Draupadi

A Day of Valour: The story of Arjuna

Farmers Protest

The state government in Punjab has passed certain laws to reverse the impact of the 3 central farm laws. These state laws need to be approved by the President for them to come into effect. The President can give his approval if the Governor of the State sends them for approval. Governor Punjab has refused to forward the State laws to the President for approval.

Governor of a State do not have such power as per Article 200 of the Constitution.

The Centre does not have the power to legislate on matters relating to food grains as such items are covered by List II of the Seventh Schedule to Constitution of India.

Centre has used the powers applicable to foodstuff listed at Item 33 of List III Seventh Schedule to the Constitution to legislate.

First the old laws were state enacted laws and the new are centre enacted.

MSP was included in the new laws, why is there a demand for their inclusion in the new laws. The initial demand of the farmers. The centre has after few rounds agreed to assure them of MSP but were reluctant to include them in the laws.

The agitation is for Repeal of the these laws to frame new laws. On the legal mechanism in the new laws - it is the same as those applicable for sugar cane farmers. The country is reeling under cacane arrears for sometime now, it has been upto 3 years. These have not been addressed so far, how will the same mechanism minus access to courts resolve the issues.

People acknowledge issues in the earlier laws and want corrections. The new laws do not provide answers.

Majority  protesters  are from Punjab and Hariyans since the Mandi system and MSP is highest there. Farmers in East UP too are in the protest since middle men buy the produce from Eastern UP lower than MSP in cash and smuggle it to Punjab and sell them at MSP.

 MSP to continue   must be mentioned in the act. Additionally there has to be a clause that who ever purchases the produce cannot purchase it below MSP. There should be guarantee for agriculture finance from bank for farmers having land lower than 5 acres with state mandi’s standing as guarantee since land records are a mess. There are many such point completely missing.

Today it is now transformed into politics with Jats stepping up on the pedal. Kalsa aid acknowledges  they are funding  it and is collecting  donations  which is flowing  in from across the globe.  https://www.khalsaaid.org/

When Bangladesh  was formed Pakistan  had resolved  to create a divide in India as well, and it is with great restraint  things were controlled.  They were worst effected by partition with  their state being  divided into two, had to undergo operation  blue star.  If RSS have their blood boiling and is out to rewrite history, will they be silent? 

 These issues don't have yes and no answers. What is important is you have to take people along. That's what marks out statesmanship. Good and bad are functions of the mind. Like opening-up the audit profession is good according to many. Would you agree? BTW remember this government was against Aadhar, against GST, against FDI in retail. What did it later do. Tinkered, accepted, and quietly forgot that it was against it.

 Just one tweet from Rihanna and  MEA is out issuing statement  that too not 100% accurate. What’s about our hero's political campaign in support of matters not internal to India. Where is democracy heading to?

When Gita Gopinath criticised demonetization, she was called leftard, anti-national .. Now she praised farm laws, she is now the poster girl! Anything  said not in their favor  there is a military  attack with words like mind your own business  and you are an anti national  go to Pakistan. Now would  you  ask the international  anti-internationalist to go to Mars?

 Why did the government dilly dally until it went out of control, and why these barbaric methods used Trenches, barbed wires, nails on road. 

The farmers have been leading a peaceful protest by and large. If it is getting out of control now, it is their fault. Even the tweets, it should have been given only the importance it deserved, no one said the laws are wrong. The MEA had to jump in? 

There are vested interests who leverage this on both sides. Sadly, the government has behaved in an immature manner.

Either they are dumbo  or over smart. Definitely  not dumbo as they have been in politics  forever. Why did they not act before the tweets inspire of so much of warnings  and  experiences  from CAA? Is it for international fame and recognition? Matter of great shame. 

Galat Aur Bahut Galat Mein Se Chunna Ho, To Aap Kya Chunenge?

Daddy-Long-Legs By Jean Webster

Daddy-Long-Legs By Jean Webster was my 17th of 2020 and 3rd in February.  It is called an  epistolary novel. An epistolary novel is a novel written as a series of documents. The usual form is letters, although diary entries, newspaper clippings and other documents are sometimes used. Recently, electronic "documents" such as recordings and radio, blogs, and e-mails have also come into use. Though have read such books, never knew of this term. Seems even Pride and Prejudice was written in this format  in it's initial  edition.  Sibi recommended  this book, which I thoroughly  enjoyed and was also reminded  of her question  when in school to Gladis Miss on Pride and Prejudice.  Also the book is categorized as Fiction, and I wonder, really?

Jerusha Abbott was brought up at the John Grier Home, an old-fashioned orphanage. The children were completely dependent on charity and had to wear other people's cast-off clothes. Jerusha's unusual first name was selected by the matron from a gravestone (she hates it and uses "Judy" instead), while her surname was selected out of the phone book. At the age of 17, she finished her education and is at loose ends, still working in the dormitories at the institution where she was brought up.

One day, after the asylum's trustees have made their monthly visit, Judy is informed by the asylum's dour matron that one of the trustees has offered to pay her way through college. He has spoken to her former teachers and thinks she has potential to become an excellent writer, especially after reading her Blue Wednesday, which was a trend in the orphanage, when the trustees visited, and everything had to be spick and span.  He will pay her tuition and give her a generous monthly allowance. Judy must write him a monthly letter because he believes that letter-writing is important to the development of a writer. However, she will never know his identity; she must address the letters to Mr. John Smith, and he never will reply.

Judy catches a glimpse of the shadow of her benefactor from the back, and knows he is a tall long-legged man. Because of this, she jokingly calls him Daddy-Long-Legs. She attends a "girls college" on the East Coast. She illustrates her letters with childlike line drawings, also created by Jean Webster.

The book chronicles Judy's educational, personal, and social growth. One of the first things she does at college is to change her name to Judy. She designs a rigorous reading program for herself and struggles to gain the basic cultural knowledge to which she, growing up in the bleak environment of the orphanage, never was exposed.

During her stay, she befriends Sallie McBride (the most entertaining person in the world) and Julia Rutledge Pendleton (the least so) and sups with them and Leonora Fenton. Then there comes Master Jervie. Mr. Jervis Pendleton of the House of Julia; her uncle, being in town on business, decided to meet his niece.  As Julia was busy, she asked Judy to take him around. For vacation they go to the perfectly beautifyl Lock Willow Farm.  She writes to Daddy about him, slowly  she starts liking him and wanted to take daddy's advice  about him. But then thinks her priority  should be repaying daddy. She is confused and wants to meet dady, but gets to know he is seriously ill. She is invited and allowed to meet him for some time and lo and behold,  the Bollywood drama unfolds.

Did you know there is a Malayalam movie based on this book. 

Kanamarayathu.

Man’s Search For Meaning , by Viktor E. Frankl

Man’s Search For Meaning , by Viktor E. Frankl was my 15th of 2021.

Man’s Search For Meaning is the culmination of psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl’s 3 years spent in Auschwitz and other Nazi concentration camps during World War 2, and is a memoir of the realizations and epiphanies he came to during this time about some of the most fundamental questions of human existence. It is a journey through the daily lives of camp inmates, revealing lessons of perseverance, man’s capacity to endure suffering, and the need to confront this suffering with dignity by giving it meaning even in the harshest of circumstances, like the death camps of a totalitarian State.

It is this ‘𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨’, that forms the foundation for Frankl’s ‘Logotherapy’ – the school of psychotherapy founded on the idea that a search for meaning is the primary human motivation. As expounded upon in the second part of the book, Logotherapy is a departure from the kind of impulsive and hedonistic ‘will to pleasure’ that undergirds Freudian Psychoanalysis. It seeks to explain the human condition as one in constant search for meaning. Suffering is ubiquitous and inescapable, and man must constantly fight to remain worthy of his suffering by leading a meaningful life – to justify his existence despite all its pathologies. The pursuit of purpose, not power or pleasure, is the antidote to suffering. One is reminded of Neitzsche’s words “𝘏𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘢𝘭𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘩𝘰𝘸.” This statement Viktor claims, withstood the ultimate test in the death camps of Auschwitz.

Part 1 is the autobiographical account of camp life that serves as the stock of experience from which Viktor draws, in briefly laying out the core tenets of Logotherapy in Part 2. The reader is taken through a personal, yet extremely powerful and haunting description of life in the Nazi concentration camps. Hunger, disease, torture, humiliation, death, the freezing cold, the insufferable work conditions and the constant battle for life revealed truths about human nature in conditions no social experiment could replicate. One of these key truths and a common thread throughout the book is that the human spirit is capable of withstanding even the greatest of suffering only when this suffering is infused with a sense of meaning. Frankl builds upon the notion that the existentialist philosophers of the past had always proclaimed - the belief that the individual has free will and possesses the unique human capacity for reason. Viktor’s own experience of being a prisoner to one of the most evil totalitarian regimes in history, as well his up close and personal experiences with his fellow inmates as a psychiatrist made it clear to him, above all else, that at the root of man lies an undying urge to find meaning in his existence. Those in the camp that had even a glimmer of hope to cling on to - a purpose to fulfill, a personal achievement to realize, a career goal to reach, or even just a loved one to go back home to, were the ones that did not succumb to the paralyzingly hopeless existence of the Nazi concentration camps.

Frankl writes of how not just the physical and mental state of the prisoner, but the very integrity of his moral being was stretched to its limits. For many, stealing bread from a fellow starving prisoner, betraying a friend or family member, or switching identification numbers with a stranger so they would be first to suffer the fate of the gas chambers was no longer immoral conduct. The ambit of morality for many, had expanded to include any act of cruelty and deceit that would trade in for another lease on life. Because indeed, those not willing to forego their moral standards even in a concentration camp died earlier and more brutal deaths - as Frankl writes, “the best of us did not return”. This is what Frankl means by what he calls “the last of human freedoms – the freedom to choose one’s attitude in a given circumstance”. Prisoners in the torturous work camps among the raging famine, death and disease were presented this one last freedom by fate.

Viktor describes witnessing the manifestation of many of the human mind’s defense mechanisms in the unprecedented psychological stress it was presented with in the concentration camps. The shock upon admission sent many of the prisoners into a state of apathy – a kind of deadening of emotions and numbing of the senses that left the individual unperturbed by the senseless pain, suffering and death that surrounded him at all times. The future was no longer relevant, and any ‘future’ to worry about shrank from years to days, to hours to sometimes even the next few minutes. 'Living' for the camp prisoner was reduced to mere ‘𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦’, where nothing else remained relevant but the here and now. Hope took many forms for those who still wanted to hold on to it - from mental images of eventual freedom and family reunions, to the rare moments of recreation that the inmates created among themselves. For the dying prisoner with no life outside the confines of the camp to look forward to, even as much as the sight of a tree outside the prison window could provide a moment of relief and reflection. One of the most moving sentences in the entire book was where Viktor talks about the redemptive power of love. Frankl writes of how often the image of his beloved wife spared him moments of calm and peace from the torturous daily march to their work site, despite not knowing where she was, even dead or alive:

“𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘐 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘺 𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘱𝘰𝘦𝘵𝘴, 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘥𝘰𝘮 𝘣𝘺 𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘦𝘳𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘵𝘩 – 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘨𝘰𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘱𝘰𝘦𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘧 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵: 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦.”

 Viktor’s experience in the concentration camp however, paints a more sinister picture of how authoritarian tendencies perpetuate –that tyranny is the consequence of each individual’s moral failings as much as it of the moral bankruptcy of the State. Viktor’s description of life in the concentration camp teaches that man does not hesitate to turn against fellow man when thrown into a struggle for daily bread and mere survival. Viktor observed in the concentration camps the repudiation of the Freudian idea that uniformity of suffering in a group, orients the group toward a single collective goal. Tight group identity of prisoners in their mutual suffering in the concentration camp did not unify them, instead turned many of them against one another in a kind of bitter and selfish fight for ‘survival of the fittest’, to use Darwinian terms. This infighting further weakened the group collective, and allowed the authoritarian power to cement control over its subjects.

The struggle for life “𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘱𝘵𝘩𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘭” and exposed the same qualities of good and evil that reside inside every human being, leaving the choice to the individual which of these qualities to manifest in the fight for survival. The ‘Capos’ - prisoners who had agreed to be Nazi accomplices in the administration of the camps, were often even more brutal than the Nazi SS Guards towards their treatment of the prisoners. This reminded me of the famous ‘Milgram Experiment’ in social psychology, whose results demonstrate how man’s willingness to commit acts of brutality increases as his sense of individual responsibility for the act decreases. It is easier to inflict pain and suffering when you think you’re just following orders, not burdened with personal guilt.

Some of the darker passages in the book, mainly in Part 1 were so powerful that I often found myself momentarily looking away from the page just to fully absorb the depth of what I had just read. It is easy to read most survival literature like this, from the view of the poor oppressed victim - but what I’ve come to realize is that it’s just as important to imagine yourself in the shoes of a Capo or a Nazi SS Guard, to learn what twisted sense of moral virtue drove ordinary men to commit such genocidal acts of evil. You need to be aware of the darkest parts of your being, inside what Carl Jung called the ‘Shadow’, in order to guard against it.

Tales from the concentration camp also refute the notion that any clear line can be drawn between two groups with regard to good and evil. Viktor rejects this collectivist idea through his narration of personal experiences with both the camp guards and his fellow prisoners, dividing people into simply ‘decent’, and ‘non decent’ men. This refutation of collective guilt or victimhood reminds of what Alexander Solzhenitsyn said in The Gulag Archipelago: “The line separating good and evil passes not through States, not between classes, nor between political parties either – but right through every human heart ... And even within hearts overwhelmed by evil, one small bridgehead of good is retained. And even in the best of all hearts, there remains an unuprooted small corner of evil”.

Frankl’s development of Logotherapy was the practical and psychotherapeutic application of these experiences and the lessons learned during his 3 years of captivity in Nazi concentration camps. Approaching man as being driven primarily by a pursuit of meaning, and not by a pursuit of power or pleasure as described by his predecessors, Logotherapy seeks to solve neuroses, obsessive compulsive disorders and chronic depression by orienting the individual to a purpose in existence, awakening him to the finitude of his life and helping achieve what Viktor calls ‘𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧-𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦’.

One of the more interesting things in the latter part of the book was Viktor’s diagnosis of the modern man as stuck in an ‘𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘷𝘢𝘤𝘶𝘶𝘮’– a kind of monotonous and mundane daily existence in a soulless industrialized world that provides no sense of individual meaning beyond everyday life to most of the working class. The cure to this epidemic of meaninglessness says Viktor, is to never allow the youth to be in a state of stasis, rather always be oriented towards attainment of a goal - whether in creative achievement, in personal experience, or even in simply facing life's suffering with dignity. These are in fact, the three avenues to meaning that Viktor offers the reader in the fight against the 'tragic triad' of life - namely pain, guilt and death. A constant struggle towards one of these avenues to meaning is how the individual is prevented from degeneration into pleasure-seeking impulsive gratification that may take the form of several self-destructive behaviors.

Another thing I could gather from the passage on Existential Vacuum is that the condition of man is not meant to be static and tensionless. Viktor seems to imply that the human condition retreats to its most primal and instinctual form in the absence of a struggle towards a purpose higher than oneself. This is true of the most fundamental biological drives like one's eating habits and sexual behavior. Upon reading this I was reminded of what Fyodor Dostoevsky said about the nature of man – “Shower on him every blessing, drown him in a sea of happiness, give him economic prosperity such that he should have nothing else to do but sleep, eat cakes and busy himself with the continuation of the species, and even then, out of sheer ingratitude, sheer spite, man would play you some nasty trick”. This Dostoevskian idea suggests that the curious and unresting mind of man is essentially built for trouble and mere satisfaction of biological needs cannot pacify him. This rings similar but in a way the reverse of Frankl’s idea of existential frustration and its resultant devolution of man into a more primal being driven by immediate instinct. The difference lies that Viktor Frankl replaces this tendency for ‘playing nasty tricks’ with an orientation towards a productive and meaningful goal.

It is clear that Viktor emphasizes the necessity of meaning in individual life, but in parallel he has also rejected the existence of a grand universal meaning for the collective humankind. Instead Viktor says, that the particularities of each individual’s life – in both his biological and social being, are so unique that each is independently responsible for carving out a pathway to a meaning that he alone can define for himself. It is in the absence of this personal meaning that the individual either succumbs to hopeless nihilism, gives up his individuality in conforming to the group collective, or submits to the tyranny of an authoritarian power. However, for one to be cognizant of his responsibility to find meaning in life, it is to be assumed that man is ultimately in control of his own life and destiny, and not a mere ‘plaything of circumstance’, be it his internal biology or external environment. This is Viktor’s major critique of Sigmund Freud and psychoanalysis – claiming that its deterministic nature only adds to a patient’s neurosis by treating him as if only driven by deep biological impulse beyond his control and conscience. This criticism is backed up by observational experience that none of Viktor’s contemporaries can lay claim to – 3 years of enduring and witnessing the worst of horrors that man is capable of both inflicting and suffering, inside the Nazi concentration camps.

Man’s Search For Meaning has to be one of the most profound books – so dark in its subject yet so uplifting in its lessons of hope and meaning. It makes you wonder how many other great minds and stories died unnamed and unreported in the Holocaust and the genocides of the 20th century. The book will leave you spellbound and teach you that if meaning can sustain prisoners inside a death camp, then we can be sure that it is meaning that will pull us through the trivial suffering of our individual lives – that there is something uniquely powerful about the human spirit once it is oriented towards a noble purpose. 

Traveling with Pomegranates - Sue Monk Kidd and Ann Kidd Taylor

Thoughts of Mother and Daughter was my 16th of 2021.

Kefi: Joyous Abandonment

Am reminded of May Sarton's 'When a Woman Feels Alone', from this book:

Old woman I meet you deep inside myself.

There is the rootbed of fertility,

World without end, as the legend tells it.

Under the words you are my silence. 

Heuresis! (Greek name for mother daughter reunion) Demeter and Persephone. The intersection of mothers and daughters. Persephone the daughter is the 'green fuse' in the soul, the regenerative energy. She's the bright, invisible sap within that must rise after fifty. 

How the reunion of Demeter and Persephone conveys : the essence of Young and Old coming together in a woman to create new life. A new self. 

Theologian, Richard Niebuhr said: “Pilgrims are poets who create by taking journeys.” A new poetry: the spiritual composition of the Old Woman, not through words, but through the wisdom of a journey.

For Sue Mon Kidd, the older woman the trepidation it stirred. The small, telling “betrayals” of  body. The stalled, eerie stillness in  writing, accompanied by an ache for some unlived destiny. The raw, unsettled feelings, the need to divest and relocate, the urge to radically simplify and distill life into a new, unknown meaning. And about  own mortality?  Finally, she wrote a series of questions: Is there an odyssey the female soul longs to make at the approach of fifty– one that has been blurred and lost within a culture awesomely alienated from soul? If so, what sort of journey would that be? Where would it take me? The impulse to go to Greece emerged out of those questions. To make a pilgrimage in search of an initiation.

The trip is a pilgrimage for Ann, too. She was officially exiting the precincts of girlhood and stepping into young womanhood– another threshold that wasn’t all that defined and acknowledged– and she did seem daunted lately. She had her moment at the Acropolis writing about Athena; when she had been there for earn college credit but turned into a kind of unravelling of herself, with a vision for life, destiny in hand, a big jubilant fire warming inside determined not to loose herself again; but then all of it was fallen apart. 

There are struggles, when the mother, try to let her daughter go, while unconsciously seeing her as an appendage of herself. And the daughter, enmeshed in her mother's power, compelled to please her and pattern herself in her mother's image, but straining at the same time to craft an identity separate from her. For some after a point there is a distance. Some find flashlight like Demeter lighting her torch. 

Grandmother, Mother, Self, Daughter  - so many daughters and patriarchal underpinnings from society. Powerful demands of motherhood, need for a separate life; not knowing how to balance them - with a need for solitude and creative expression. When Sue asked her mother, what she wanted to be when she was young, she told her 'mother'. Sue too wanted to be a mother, but differently.  Her book prior to this was 'The Dance of the Dissident Daughter'. 

Leonardo da Vinci's The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne; Christ is shown grappling with a sacrificial lamb symbolizing his Passion as the Virgin tries to restrain him. Saint Anne, Mary's mother has all eyes for her daughter.

The book has mother daughter relationship where both look for love and freedom  in their relationship. It also has changing times along with a chance for virtual travel to Greece and Turkey and France and South Carolina. In South Carolina there is a garden called 'The Secret Garden' build based on that book, I read all about it again and  again. Which garden am I invited to? What are the connections?

Her relationship with both her daughter and mother had no fireworks, only the necessary loss and then the loving congeniality. Wishing for a deeper connection. 

All through her life Ann was the quiet, happy girl; but now she was pretending to be happy. An act. Kefi: Joyous Abandonment. For Ann who had initiated the novel, it was here she first met Demetri for few hours, he had introduced her to herself, had caused her to fall in love with herself.

For Sue it was the search for meaning,  need to connect  with her daughter, get into her passion  of writing...

Girl Before A Mirror by Pablo Picasso

As is said child is the father of Man'.

From Becoming to Belonging.

In parts, the first part of the book is  Loss and covers Greece/Turkey/South Carolina during 1998-1999, the second part is Search in France/South Carolina in 1999-2000 and the third is Return to Greece in 2000.

There is often the mention of the Trinity: Athena, Joan and Mary.  Mary is often called Madonna as well, from Italian ma donna 'my lady'. These are the places mother and daughter visit, as they grow and their life change with it. Sue in the end mention that they write to taste life twice. Living the experience and writing about it, mother and daughter together. 

Nightingale 2.0 How Eleven Women Showed Grit, Guts and Gumption + Grace

6th February 2021, at the D Rangaswamy Memorial Lecture, was the launch of the book Nightingale 2.0 How Eleven Women Showed Grit, Guts and Gumption. Time 11am IST

Here is the YouTube link. https://youtu.be/zrg16uEX1SM

First version of women who are mostly 60+, this book are stories of those who are 40+; and the reason for bringing  this book out, is to show there are outstanding women who have overcome odds.  This book talk about women from different strata of the society.  All these women have shown enormous Grit, Gut and Gumption.  People who have been part of the journey had a team of young writers. Writing desk worked on the schedule, and brought out engaging stories of the nightingales. It has great feel to it, brought out by Malai Selvam; the cover has a great Moral. We might make quick early steps, but the distance from good to great is short, but has a great hurdles. These 11 women are:

1) Sarika Jain: Having polio effected leg, did not get on her way, first women CA IRS.

2) Rima Dhawan: Single mother at 44, motor rally. 

3) Vidya Lakshmi: Investment Analyst to MD in 10 years.

4) Rajani Gopala Krishna: 90% of eye sight gone, got into corporate world, and was into social work, who said she doesn't have a vision?

5) Petchi Thangavel: Daughter of vegetable vendor, now into her own practice. 

6) Sridevi Balasubramanian: A corporate CA turned, Chef. She gave her corporate career.

7) Annapoorna Venkataramanan: MD in a banking career. 

8) Seethalakshmi Subramanian: Bharatanatyam dancer with a corporate life. 

9) Sudha Suresh: Micro Finance Industry. 

10) Vidya Subramanian: Accountancy and Music. Gave up corporate career abroad, to take up teaching music in India.

11)  Pragnya Mohan: Young Athlete. 

The tales tell you what it takes to make it big.

The writing desk had Sudha Athreya a civil engineer, Balaji Swaminathan a freelancer, Valambal Subramanian a school teacher from Bengaluru, Balaji Sridharan from Canada, Shivanath Pandit a Journalist from Goa, CA Siddharth Ranjan from Bhubaneshwar and CA Geetha Renganathan from Chennai designed by N Malaiselvan. 

Read these stories of 11 outstanding women video brought out by voice artist Harish Sahas. 

Justice Doctor Anitha Suman  gave the memorial lecture and released the book. Sivakumar Sir said, this would give a back ground to Justice Anitha Suman to give her talk, but she said, this has made her speechless. Hot from the press, had a quick read in 48 hours, but very inspiring and want to re-read. 

Fond memories of D Rangaswami and that generation and life lesson and mentorship they provided, they were the giants of the profession. There had been series of arbitration, where he was the only Arbitrator. Natural choice for today's talk would have been tax or public issue, but have deliberately chosen the technical subject, being the need of the hour. Rajesh Chakraborty, in the success story of the state bank of India, had similar title.  

Women who gave wings to their dreams in varied profession, with CA as the base. Kudose to all of them. Their second inning was a great success. May their tribe increase. We are an amalgam of hope, aspiration and culmination of many generation of women before us. All of us can relate to some such people in our life, may be our own mothers, without which we would not be who we are today. 125 years divided into 5 stages and speak of millennium women. Our tradition says Women must be regarded as Shakthi, Rigveda places women on equal platform as men. First charter of Women was Yajurveda. Brahmacharya Sutra say, Women should get same education as men. Another say, Parents should impart knowledge to their children. Merge your intellectual with your partner, and be part of legislation. Emphasis was on parity. Something went wrong over the years, But today, women have come forward to redefined themselves.  We use the word empowerment in a light sense. It's our responsibility to not only develop ourselves but to create ripple effect to enable this to those who do not have the privilege.  Women should be placed on a pedestal. Change of mindset translate into actual change in society as well. 

A very enriching session. Congratulations to the team, looking forward for many more. Why nightingale? May be the song is sweet - the songs these women had to sing, and reference to Florence Nightingale symbolizing compassion, strength and care. 

One more Grace - Grace of force - science /nature/almighty whatever you believe in, Grace that each of us should show. 

Farmers Protest Continue...

 As the farmers Protest continue:

Let’s Go by the Chronology:

1) In June, two ordinances were promulgated to revamp the agricultural sector: The Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion & Facilitation) Ordinance, 2020 where farmers were allowed to sell their produce to anyone they wish, and the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Ordinance, 2020 which created a framework for contract farming, meant to protect and empower farmers. Besides these two, the Centre also introduced the Essential Commodities (Amendment), 2020, directly in the Parliament which deregulated the production, supply, and distribution of essential items like potatoes, onions, etc. The sentiments against the ordinances heightened in July when effigies of members of NDA and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) were burnt in villages. Eventually, tractors also became a symbol of protest with parties like the Aam Aadmi Party and Congress also taking out their marches.

2) In September the bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha where it faced massive resistance. While it struggled in the Rajya Sabha.  Bill was passed without parliament scrutiny, through ordinance, Oppositions view was not heard, It started as a good fight. Listen to the Video:

https://twitter.com/derekobrienmp/status/1307689051185532929?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1307689051185532929%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fthewire.in%2Fpolitics%2Frajya-sabha-harivansh-derek-obrien-farm-bills

Eight Rajya Sabha MPs were suspended for a week on September 21, prompting them to stage an overnight dharna at Parliament premises. The resistance from Opposition, notwithstanding, the Centre managed to push through the Bills in the Upper House as well. Understanding the fury of farmers, SAD quit NDA in September, while asking the Centre to dump these proposals.

3) But why? If the Farm Bill was passed in consensus with the farmers, or the voice of opposition heard, the situation would never have reached this stage. Farmers believe that eventually mandis would be rendered toothless and they will be left at the mercy of corporates. They also fear the companies will decide procurement rates.

4) Notably, the protest is concentrated in Punjab and Haryana as government procurement in these states is excellent.

5) On September 25, farmers from across the nation participated in a Bharat Bandh, called by BKU, All India Farmers Union (AIFU), All India Kisan Mahasangh (AIKM), and All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC).

6) After the protests didn't force the Centre to repeal the laws, in November nearly 40 farmers’ organizations planned a massive agitation, which entailed them to march toward Delhi and stage a sit-in there. However, they were stopped mid-way, with police even using water cannons on them, forcing them to sit on the borders. The Singhu border became the center-point of the agitation.

7) On Dec. 21st first batch of farmers of 11 members went on hunger strike, leading to 5 rounds of inconclusive talks. wherein the government indicated it won't rollback the laws but can give a written assurance on minimum support prices (MSPs). The Centre also promised mandis would stay. Farmers requested the law to be repealed. 

8) The Supreme Court formed a committee to end the deadlock. It also directed the government to not use force against farmers, while allowing them to stage a protest.

9) On 4 January 2021 the court registered the first plea filed in favor of the protesting farmers. Their leaders said that staying the farm laws is not a solution. On 30 December, the Indian Government agreed to two of the farmers' demands; excluding farmers from new pollution laws and dropping amendments to the new Electricity Ordinance. 

10) On 26 January, tens of thousands of the farmers protesting against the agricultural reforms held a farmer's parade with a large convoy of tractors and drove into Delhi. Few protesters deviated from the pre-sanctioned routes permitted by the Delhi Police. The tractor rally turned into a violent protest at certain as the protesting farmers drove through the barricades and clashed with the police. Later protesters reached Red Fort trying to install farmer union flags on the mast on the rampart of the Red Fort. 

11) Before Navreet Singh, of Melbourne University on vacation in India, who died while participating in farmers’ Republic Day tractor rally on 26 January 2021; around 60 protestors died participating in this rally. 

12) The first round of talks was on 14 October 2020 in which the farmers walked out on finding that the agriculture secretary was present but not the minister; ten rounds of talks were initiated, and the Union Ministers first attended the meeting on 4th Jan. 

13) Modi Government being kind enough might Withdraw the Agricultural Laws on 30 February XX.

14) There have been lot of fake news, and conspiracy theory going around since June, but why did all this begin and how did this inflate to such a large proportion? A Stitch in time would have saved nine. 

The Bhakth's respond :

The government has agreed all the points put forth by farmers(i mean middle men group)..

MSP...

Dispute clearance in local civil court..

Not to abolish Mandi system....

Abolishing criminal case charging against those who are burning Baggase....

At last, PM itself said 3 laws can be freezed for 18 months and lets continue discussion on the laws in both the houses and with farmers....

Still they are demanding abolishing the laws in Full which is not acceptable...

Still blaming Modi Govt. Just because its is BJP who implemented this...

Pathetic....

Ok... Continue the campaign...... Seems interesting 😃

 

No my boy, this is not at all interesting.  The policy of divide and rule, has always been dangerous, and always, when two people had a fight, it is the third who had benefitted. 

Egg Curry

 The Ten year old, made his first egg curry, all by himself.

In his words:

           Recipe of egg Roast

1) first put a pan on the fire and put it in low flame.

2) Put some oil in it and put chilly powder , turmeric powder and some Salt

3) Then put boiled eggs and mix it up.

4) And put those eggs in a plate then in the same pan put some oil and put whole garam masala then put chopped onions and ginger garlic paste and mix it till it becomes brown

5) when it becomes brown add chopped tomatoes and mix it up till it becomes desolved and then put coriander powder , turmeric powder , chilly powder and salt then mix it and add curry leaves.

6) if you want you can add coriander leaves.

7) And put those eggs in it and mix it and close it for 1 and half minute.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Interesting event, panel discussion: For me indeed "“DEI has always been Accepting people as they are, for what they are, adding variety with “tolerance and justice”. "

Toleration is the allowing, permitting, or acceptance of an action, idea, object, or person which one dislikes or disagrees with. It's a wider term. 

Diversity = the “what”

Diversity refers to the variety of similarities and differences among people, including but not limited to gender, gender identity, ethnicity, race, native or Indigenous origin, age, generation, sexual orientation, culture, religion, belief system, marital status, parental status, socio-economic difference, appearance, language and accent, disability, mental health, education, geography, nationality, work style, work experience, job role and function, thinking style, and personality type.

Diversity is Difference, Dimension, and Development. 

• Difference is good! Ignoring differences is bad. 
• When we talk about differences, we acknowledge that there is difference between groups as well as within groups. Dimension is a more appropriate term for the difference within groups
• Diversity is also Development : which is simply defined as growth. If you hire difference and dimension but your culture values sameness, there will be little to no development of your people.  

Diversity means, safely and openly, bringing together people form all variety and abilities in a space where they can truly be themselves. 

Jeeva shared her story on Diversity:

I worked for a firm where most of the employees were men and I was the only female employee to be worked on the live production floor(It’s a Mobile manufacturing company)

When I selected for the firm, I felt overwhelmed as it was my core company where I thought I could implement all my studied theories, I was topper in my college and got this opportunity from the campus interview among 65 students, so you could imagine how the feeling was!!

But things were not that much easy, as most of my colleagues are men they group and laugh together all the time, they don’t even care that I was there, I felt alone as they always shows that they are Group of men and they are seniors.

I have been in meetings where I used to get a comments that “ you always have some useless points! women always speaks without any point please say! so that the meeting will come to an end” this was a Joke for them but hurts me badly and still I can hear those voice in my mind.. If I made any point stronger with some evidence they call it as “Headstrong but no results” and rejects it straightaway! I was clueless, how to overcome as I cannot leave the job just like that since it’s my carrier and my family needs it.

I worked with the same kind of people for almost 3 Years, my bad dream days I could name it as scary days of my life, I was waiting for my day to come but worked towards it always, somehow I done one project where I struggled and got approval after 3 times rejection, that also when the senior leadership pressured for the project from each individual. You believe it or not the result was amazing and appreciated by one of the senior leadership guy. It was presented as the global project for the year and I won the “Employee of the Year 2010”, this is the day where I got recognized as an employee/colleague not as a women. But what would have happened if the project got failed! This thought comes to my mind even today, There are many people who still experiences this kind of struggle we cannot say that same kind of project success will comes to everyone! ,  So I hope this is an eye opener for diversity, every individual born with some talent don’t differentiate them by Gender, Age, race etc., give your hands to them and help them. 

Equity:

What is equity?  The word equity was included to point out that once you start to create diversity within your organization, you must ask some important questions: What are you going to do with that diversity? How are you going to cultivate it? And how do you want your people to feel, think, and act as a result of that diversity? Here are three components of equity you should keep in mind as you embark on a diversity and equity journey:

• Equity is not Equality: Equity is defined as the quality of being fair and impartial.  With equality, we treat everyone the same and give everyone access to the same opportunities. 
• Equity is Justice 
• Equity is Ownership

The Interaction Institute for Social Change has a great example of equity in Illustrating Equality VS Equity which shows three young people attempting to watch a baseball game. With equality, each person is standing on a crate of equal height attempting to peer over a fence. One has a great view, one has an adequate view and one has no view at all. The individuals are of different heights so the same sized crate doesn’t take that fact into account. With Equity, each person has the same view of the game. In the illustration, one person can stand on his own feet without a crate to peer over the fence but the other two need crates of different sizes to be able to see the game. That is the definition of equity – providing each person what they need in order to be equal. While we all are created equal we are not all treated equally. Equity recognizes that we need to meet peoples’ needs and not simply increase opportunities.

Equity is an honest understanding that not every person is considered equal by the society, and does not come from the same background, set of experience or fortune - and taking action. Fairness doesn't mean everyone get the same, fairness mean everyone get what they want. 

1) Some of you might have read the book Lean In ; Sheryl Sandberg narrates an incident. For those who do not know her, she is the COO of FB and founder of Leanin.org.  Sandberg was pregnant with her first child and had ballooned to the size of a "whale" (her words, not mine). Late for a sales meeting, she was only able to find a parking spot far from the front door of Google's headquarters,  and waddled her way inside. The next day, Sandberg marched in to see her boss, Sergey Brin, and demanded that the company create closer pregnancy parking for expectant mothers. Brin immediately said yes and wondered why such an idea had never occurred to him previously. Sandberg asked herself the same question. A closer parking slot for expectant mothers who require it – She said it, and now many  are implementing it!!

2) Next I would like to share experience from Seema one of our colleagues who was to share her thoughts today,  but who could not join us. She had migrated to Australia for her higher studies, her Manager gave her a book of slangs  so she could use it  in the day to day conversation  it helped her  get used to accent and be at par with others.  It helped her understand her colleagues better. A small but unique gesture from her manager helped her. 

3) I too have had wonderful and supporting managers and colleagues throughout my career so far. As we recruit and develop teams, though we try to keep our teams as diverse as possible, we ensure that the best person gets the job. It’s key to  identify what people are good at and give them what they need or want. Not all  have same needs. We try and ensure that  Learning and development opportunities and opportunities for growth, success and promotion is fair for all. We have sessions like Ignite – for all employees. We might not have our teams as diverse as possible, as we try to ensure equity. 

 Inclusion = the “how”

Inclusion is a dynamic state of operating in which diversity is leveraged to create a fair, healthy, and high-performing organization or community. An inclusive environment ensures equitable access to resources and opportunities for all. Here are three important components of inclusion:

• Inclusion is Incorporation: Incorporation is being invited to the table
• Inclusion is Involvement : Involvement is being asked to help plan the meal, attend the dinner, and actually get to dine.  Involvement requires active participation. A positive by-product of involvement is that it bolsters ownership. 
• Inclusion is Intentional:  When you are intentional about inclusion you seek perspectives that are not typically in the room and become deliberate in showcasing them. 

Inclusion begin with I. Inclusion means listening and learning from each other, to positively influence our culture and the great work we deliver. 

The way Lopamudra narrated was amazing, the natural flow added to the beauty.  She first summarized the topics, and for Equity gave a very good example stating, you want three boys to study, but they don't , the first say, he is thirsty, the second say, he is hungry and the third say he has no book. To make them study, you need to give water to the first boy, food to the second and book to the third. And she gave three examples of Inclusion : 

1) How when she joined a new company, she was not accepted by others, and she went and made herself part of the group.

2) How she was friendly with a colleague with hearing impairment, who asked her why, and she said that she was better than her, as she herself could not see properly and therefore could not drive.

3) How a boy when proclaimed that he was gay, was chucked out by his family, and though, did not have much, she got food for him, and so he gave her books to read.

An amazing virtual panel discussion, for me it was first, of the kind, with moderators like Freddy and Nikita. 

Thinking Independently, Together!