A NEW EUPHEMISM

There is an old English saying : it is just not enough to be honest, one should at the same time also look to be so. This is possible only when the people at large are aware of your performance and to take it to the public, the role of publicity comes. There is one more similar maxim in the public, which says, publicise yourself and you will be popular. It has strongly caught the imagination of politicians worldwide today. Therefore, they prefer to dress immaculately, develop speaking power and arrange commandeered crowd in their public rallies. Publicity, today  has assumed some cheap dimensions and so nobody would like to digest the epithet that he is publicizing himself. This led to the exploration of a better and more communicative euphemism and thus the most such popular word is known as marketing.
Today, the opposition in the Indian politics charges that Narendra Modi does little and projects more as he is adept at marketing. In the business world, marketing is a strong force and no producer can survive without giving an attractive look to the packaging of his product which once again is nothing but pure and simple marketing.
I donot think why somebody should be abhorrent of publicity as it is an established measure of taking your product or philosophy to the public. The word has suffered an erosion in its connotation because of its rampant misuse. When you give a catchy packaging to your inferior product, you are indirectly cheating the gullible customer. Now come to politics and apply this logic. The parties or their political leaders, when they utterly fail on the ground and try to make up through empty marketing/publicity, they are fleecing their constituency. Since this trend is gaining more and more currency, the word marketing has been losing its punch.   

WHEN BRIDE LEAVES PARENTAL HOUSE

                   

In the Indian marriage system, the bride leaves her parental house and goes to her husband’s house. We all are aware of that moment of departure as well as the deep pain of separation in the family and environment. Being a male one cannot fathom that highly sentimental atmosphere. A girl who is under the strict control of the mother, father, brother and entire community and never allowed to go alone even fifty yards from the house, has in this moment to say goodbye to her birthplace. Even Maharshi Kanva, wept bitterly when Shakuntala left the hutment and went out with Dushyant. Kalidas in Abhigyanshakuntalam writes that when even a recluse is sentimentally shattered, what about the worldly parents.

This sad scene deserves a sad song. In Mithila, such songs are traditionally famous as SAMDAUN. When good-throated ladies, marking this pathos,sing such songs in orchestra, everybody starts weeping. Even the eyes of the cruel become tearful. A couple of days back I listened to Prasoon Joshi in the Vigyan Bhavan, who also recited a similar moving poem, giving expression to a departing bride: ‘babul more itni araj suni lijo’ which virtually compelled me to weep. On return to my residence, moved by that theme, I penned down the following lines in Maithili:

Kaya   kera paat jakan, sihari rahal achhi anukhan,

Jee uchat bha matha hammar, ghoomi jaet achhi kaukhan,

Chhooti rahal achhi baba aangan, jae parat pardes,

Bipati ki hoet aar bisesh?

Since the one will have problem in reading the entire text in Roman script, I propose to post it on Facebook by tomorrow. 

WORLD MUSEUM DAY

                             

18^th of May every year is worldwide observed as the World Museum Day. On this date every big or small museum organizes programmes for community awareness. As a matter of fact, museums are the repository of human heritage and the heritages are nothing but the objects recording achievements of the human beings. Museums will fail in their duty if they fail to acquaint the society with the saga of human civilization. As a matter of fact, the greatest responsibility of this public institution is to educate the community and that they cannot discharge without a greater outreach. That is why, such an important date is utilized to go closer to the mass.

In this backdrop, the Sulabh International Museum of Toilets, a unique experiment in the field is also making allout efforts to apprise the people of the need of toilets. Established in 1992, by Dr. Bindeshwar Pathak, it is perhaps the first complete toilet museum. So far nearly three million people have visited its website and annually some ten thousand people, with a good chunk of foreigners come to see it. By apprising the mass at large of the dangers of open defecation and benefits of clean inhouse toilets, the museum is contributing its mite in the campaign of cleanliness, ushered in by the Sulabh.

The other day, in my blog, I had quoted an American journalist, who called the toilet a seat of soul. Whether it was Gandhi, Narendra Modi or Dr Pathak, who pleaded for toilet first and temples later, have wisely got inspiration from the saying, cleanliness is next to godliness. On this eventful day, I request my fellow countrymen to give an impetus to the movement of toilet for all. I also invite them to visit the Sulabh Toilet Museum, which earlier was adjudged third in a list of top ten quirkiest museums of the world by the Time Magazine. Thanks.      

ROW OVER PUTRAJIVAK

                              

A few days back, there was a strange uproar in the Rajya Sabha over an Ayurvedic medicine.  K.C. Tyagi, MP/RS/JDU charged that Baba Ramdev was marketing an illegal medicine, produced by his pharmacy, Divyajyoti Sansthan. Waving a cash memo for purchasing that drug, he argued that while the Prime Minister was running a ‘beti bachao’ campaign, Ramdev was selling a medicine, claimed to get only sons. Supporting him, Mrs Jaya Bachchan took a serious view of the matter and demanded not only an immediate withdrawal of the medicine from the market but strict punitive actions against the Baba.

The Treasury Benches could avert the situation from taking any ugly turn under the plea that without ascertaining the fact, nothing could be committed. The Deputy Chairperson in the chair was convinced and directed the govt to hold an enquiry and inform the House in due course.

Responding to the issue, Baba argued that ignorance about the medicine and intention of some quarters to malign him had led to the row. He claimed that it is a very old Ayurvedic medicine, having no sex preference. From hundreds of years it has been getting prescribed for the barren ladies to be pregnant. The drug helped such needy ladies to conceive and enjoy a safe pregnancy. We further probed and found that Ayurved knows a tree with the name of Putrajivka, whose seeds have properties helping the ladies to conceive. Thus it is evident that the name Putrajivak was not coined by Ramdev and he is being falsely implicated. He had earlier also to undergo a similar acid test when some persons, led by Mrs. Vrinda Karat, MP/CPM had charged that some of the Divyajyoti products contained human bone powder. The charge could not stand when necessary thorough enquiries were conducted.

Quite interestingly, some person on FB wrote that the son of K.C.Tyagi, a senior executive in M/S Hindustan Lever was unhappy over declining business of his company due to a stiff competition from the Divyajyoti products. Another man viewed that if Tyagi is so particular about the meaning of a name, he should himself renounce his worldly possessions to justify his name (Tyagi). Meanwhile, in a pragmatic fashion, the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh has held the view that the said name was creating confusion in some sections and hence may be changed. To me, a new name Viz. ‘SANTANJIVAK’ has struck and I propose it to be considered.

NAME, FAME AND SHAME

    What is there in a name? Call the rose by any name and it will smell like a rose. It looks very simple but it is not so. I am associated with an organization, having hundreds of ladies but I did not find any named Sita. This compelled me to think over the reasons and I came to a conclusion that the very name of an individual, I mean either sex, tells a lot of history, geography, culture and many such things.
There is a story in the Indian mythology. It says that Sajan, a butcher by profession, achieved deliverance because while taking his last breath, he called his son Narayan and it is said to be a great thing to take the name of Lord while dying. Thus the benefit unwittingly accrued to him. Taking a cue from this incident, in Hindu families, children started being named after heavenly figures like Ram, Sita, Krishna, Bharat, Kaushalya etc. But after the 20th century set in, this attitude took a nose dive. With modern education, people started discarding the logic that even if one was disvirtuous for the whole life, by simply taking God's name at the end would lead him to heaven. The Manusmriti has prescribed how a new born should be named. The modern crop is not amused.
 One does not like to be named as Sita because it has a rustic tinge despite the real Sita standing for all virtues of womanhood. Manthara of Ramayan and Draupadi of Mahabharat are also no more in demand for known reasons. Famous Ram bhakt Hanuman may be preferred but another great devotee of Ram, Vibhishan is no more liked for reasons known to all. Strangely enough, Radha is popular among the youth even today not only for her unstinted devotion to Krishna but also romantic aspects (Ras-Lila). After the mid 20th century, family call names took English turns and thus Sonu, Monu, Bunty, Santy etc are still household names. Even in the families of traditional pundits such names are not despised at.
In educated families, now a days sanskritised names, though with freedom of spelling are getting preference. Surendra of Bihar, UP, MP and Rajasthan becomes Surinder in Punjab and Suren in West Bengal. The moment such a name is heard, one can roughly deduce the background of the family as well as geography. The legendary ex-President of Indonesia was named as Sukarno. He had told Pt. Nehru that the Mahabharat's Karn had some blemishes and hence his parents named him as Sukarno (Sukarn). In the beginning, in Bollywood, non-Hindu actors preferred a Hindu name to appease the majority community. Yusuf Khan became Dilip Kumar. Even Jayant and Jagdip were Muslims. With democracy taking deep roots here, no such euphemism is perceptible. On the other hand in Punjab , J&K and most of South, people prefer to add thier parents as well as villages' names and thus like in Saudi Arabia, their names become quite long.
Thus, the lesson drawn is that the name is just not a fun. It may denote shame, fame and other associated matters. So, while naming a new born, let us keep all these angles in view before  putting the stamp of name on him. 

THREE FACES OF INDIAN WOMANHOOD

    Like a man, God, if you believe, also created woman. When they came on this earth, they were equal in status. But as the wheel of time got moving, things started getting settled for the better. But a few of them took an ugly turn and continue to be so even today. Her baby child, with the age became a daughter, a wife, a mother, a grand-mother …  So far so good. However, it caused a great concern when things started taking dirty turns. The dominating male subjugated her to the extent that she became a commodity at his command and relegated to three additional inhuman categories for which the Creator had never meant her to be. Today, definitely we should castigate none other than ourselves for compelling her to a demeaning status.
It is strange that the man did so also in the name of God. On May 1. 2015 I was reading an article in an English daily on the death of the last Devdasi named Shashimani in the Jagannath temple Odisha. History says that the Devdasi system, mostly prevalent in the South Indian temples is older than a thousand of years.  Godmen would impress upon the devotees to donate a daughter to the Lord. The parents, generally  out of blind faith or just under the pressure of poverty would oblige them. These girls learnt dance and singing for performing before the deity as prescribed by the ‘bhakti-marg’. Thus the system gave renownrd artists including the world famous M.S. Subbulakshmi to the society. But later on it deteriorated to sexuality. They started being treated as the kept of senior ‘pujaris’. Having a big number of beautiful Devdasis started being attached with the glory of a temple. Like slaves of middle ages in Europe, the authorities exchanged them with other temples. Without going still deeper into it, let us be happy that the practice is counting its days and will disappear in near future.
The second category is that of the professional pross, but let us be clear that the practice must have been started by man.  It is on the record that the flesh trade is treated as the oldest profession. That clearly mentions that the profession is as old as the civilization itself. Who are these poor ladies? Definitely they did not drop from the sky. A Hindi film song adequately defines this nasty system: ‘aurat ne janam diya mardon ko, mardon ne use bazaar diya, jab jee chaha masla kuchla, jab jee chaha dutkar diya’. How the children and young girls are cheated or compelled to adopt it is a long story. Well oiled networks are operated by mafiosis. Despite being illegal, it goes on as a well run business, which ashames the society. The people who demand ban on cow slaughter, can not stop it too? Think over.
The third face is associated with marriage. The society which launched this excellent method of allowing a male and a female to live together legally, nipped in the bud the sexual crimes to a great extent. In this wedlock, when the wife died, the husband had freedom to go for further marriages. On the other hand, after the death of the husband, the wife remained a widow for life under very strict regime of life-style, worse than a stoik. The matter took a still more despicable turn when perhaps under economic pressure, sons started mercilessly chasing away their mothers. These hapless ladies took refuge in pilgrimages at Mathura, Vrindavan, Varanasi etc. A reasonable person cannot stand the pitiable condition of these widows having hardly any roof on head, proper clothing and minimum two meals daily. Humanity should virtually weep after knowing that instead of proper funeral, their dead bodies are crudely disposed of. How their sons and daughters might be sleeping peacefully with their own children hoping them of not being equally shameless?
All these three conditions are man-made. Did we ever sit to take notice of the said predicament of our mothers and sisters? How much ‘punya’ we can earn by worshipping in temples without ever having any mercy on womanhood ? ‘Butkhana tor daliye masjid ko dhaye, par dil na toriye ye khuda ka muqam hai’.