എന്റെ സമ്പാദ്യം
...................................
ഉപ്പ തന്ന ജീവൻ
ഉമ്മ ഓമനിച്ചു വളർത്തി
മുട്ട് കുത്തി,എണീക്കാൻ പഠിപ്പിച്ച്
താത്തച്ചിമാരെന്നെ നടത്തിയതാ സ്കൂൾ വരാന്തയിൽ ,
വെള്ളതണ്ട് വിറ്റ്‌,പെൻസിൽ വിറ്റ്‌
കാർഡ് കളി പഠിപ്പിച്ചതും ചെങ്ങായിമാർ ,
പത്തിലെ ബെഞ്ചിൽ തരാം തിരിച്ച പഠിപ്പിക്കലിൽ
കൂട്ടിരിക്കാൻ ദൈര്യം കാണിച്ചവൾ എന്റാദ്യ കാമുകി,
വാശിപുറത്ത് പഠിച്ച വരികൾ
ചൂണ്ടിയതോ ആ കൂറ്റൻ കോളേജ് വരാന്തയിൽ,
വരികൾ,കുറിപ്പുകൾ, കയക്ഷര തെറ്റുകൾ
ജോലിഭാരം പത്രം വിട്ടു, പഠനം തുടർന്നു.........
അലയുന്ന ജീവിതം
തിരയുന്ന ജോലികൾ
അകലുന്ന സൗഹൃദം
..........എന്റെ സമ്പാദ്യം.........
Wednesday 21 October 2015
MY WORLD
It was during the Onam of 1971 that Ente Kadha, the autobiography of Madhavikutty alias Kamala Das began to be serialised in a magazine in Malayalam. She threw to the winds all codes and conventions that a patriarchal society had held sacred and invested its women with. Thus she literally wrote a new woman, hitherto unimagined, into language; a woman, who refused to be confined underneath the horizons of male expectations or within male literary canons. After four long decades a sequel to Ente Kadha titledEnte Lokam, has been compiled and published by DC Books.
Ente Lokam, though a slim volume of random writings, comes densely packaged with the cries of an agonised yet unrepentant soul who paid the price for her unconventionality. To a society that would rest easy only after wringing from the writer the confession that her story was only fictional, Madhavikutty plays her trump card again in these memoirs, of keeping her readers guessing about her life and self through constant play.
Many of these memoirs chronicle the emotional turmoils of a woman on the run after daring to speak the unspeakable, on sexuality, desires and the female body. Her emotional roller coaster rides, her terrifying fear of mediocrity, her striving for effect, the constant re-invention of her self, are all there for the reader once again. It is interesting to note that for a woman who flaunted many roles and shed many masks she begins the second round of her candid memoirs by speaking of the fancy dress competition called life. However, what is most fascinating about this book is the simple honesty with which Madhavikutty dramatises her self and places her life at the vortex of the controversial maelstrom unleashed by the publication of Ente Kadha. In that sense it s a taking stock of one’s own life and its perennial poetry.
Her confessions regarding her prolonged stints with religiosity, her bouts of scepticism, the attempts to project herself as a sinner before her readers and a saint before her gods all add to the enthralling enigma we love as Amy or Kamala Das or Madhavikutty. Harshly critical of Malayali women, who according to her can be much more patriarchal than men themselves, she claims that her poetic freedom of speech was often a red rag to many. Her ruminations on the deep bonds she enjoys with Punnayoorkulam and the Nalappat tharavadu are at the same time tinged by the searing knowledge that what she actually inherited are the streets of Bombay and her numerous quests for her own self there.
She writes with a binocular combination of feminine charm and feminist vigour. Political and polemical, raw and confessional, with a stark simplicity that is the mark of a truly great writer, she continues to rip the mask off the conventional Kerala society of her times. Once again we are enthralled by this strange muse who dazzles us with her lyrical prose and her sensational thoughts, by the intimacies and confessions she yields, and the easy readings she resists. This volume is further proof that here is a writer who will not go gently into the swirling mists of easy oblivion but will continue to haunt this world and the readers she so loved to enthral.
Tuesday 20 October 2015
Kamala Das’s " My Story "
Controversy followed her about like her pet poodle, yet, she couldn’t do without creating it, sometimes almost consciously. Kamala Das is one of the greatest poets of the century; but it is her autobiographical sketches in ‘My Story’ that shot her into the limelight in the literary arena. Its outspokenness and frank portrayal of extra-marital relations led on to the book becoming a cult classic. Since then this book has been known widely and read for all the wrong reasons.
Kamala is believed to have portrayed her own life in My Story. The story thread is that of a young woman writer who is much younger than her highly-placed husband; not much educated formally but with such a literary background that the formal education ceases to matter. The protagonist exposes her bored life and the very physical affairs she has with men outside the marriage, and how she is disillusioned with the male gender in general. This is the first book in India which speaks so openly of the sexual desires of the average Indian woman, the subject which is always hastily swept under the carpet even now.
The story is undeniably close to her life, except for the confession part on the extra marital affairs which could be or could not be the truth. The book first came out serialized in a popular Malayalam weekly and created shock waves across the prudish Malayali community; especially since her family is a much respected one. Her father, who was one of the most influential people in Kerala, and the owner of a prominent newspaper even tried to stop the publication, but her publisher knew the value of what he was on to. He continued with the piece and a cult classic was born.
My Story was banned at most homes, and decent men asked their women folk not to read it for fear of it being read astray. It was therefore read secretly by many women, with a stupendous frenzy, and eagerly awaited each week. The serial was soon compiled into a book in Malayalam and then rewritten in English with a few more chapters thrown in. The book was eagerly awaited and even more successful in English. It has been read eagerly ever since its first edition in 1977.
Kamala Das went on to be a loved and admired poet with a huge fan following across the globe with her poems in English, even being nominated for the Nobel Prize in 1984. In spite of her admittedly limited vocabulary in Malayalam, she became the darling of the highly critical Malayali readers with her excellently crafted stories in Malayalam, written under the name Madhavikutty. She lived in Kerala in those days and was a popular invitee on all literary and non-literary stages. And during one of these days, she denied My Story saying that it was fiction and all imagination. She has since played hide and seek with the nature of the book, sometimes claiming it as a figment of imagination having been written purely for money, other times admitting it as a real auto biography.
Still My Story has been never forgotten even when she courted controversy time and again with words and actions including converting to Islam and taking on a new pen name, Kamala Suraiyya. Her intense romance with religion and her deteriorating health never took away the physical quality of her writing.
Kamala passed away in 2009 and the so called autobiography is still on the shelves and reading this after so many years, makes one wonder at her boldness in a time when taboos were the norm. The book still reads well and is a work to cherish, not for the literary quality but for the feminine strength it exudes.
മജീദും സുഹറയും. അവരുടെ ബാല്യം, പ്രണയം, വിരഹം, വേദന. ഇതൊക്കെയാണ്‌ വൈക്കം മുഹമ്മദ്‌ ബഷീറിന്റെ ബാല്യകാലസഖി. എന്നാല്‍ ഇത്‌ മാത്രമല്ല ബാല്യകാലസഖി എന്നതാണ്‌ ഈ ചെറിയ പുസ്‌തകത്തെ അനന്യമാക്കുന്നത്‌. നമുക്ക് പരിചിതമല്ലാത്ത ഒരു കാലഘട്ടത്തെ പരിചയപ്പെടുത്തുക എന്നൊരു മഹത്തായ ധര്‍മ്മം കൂടി വഹിക്കുന്നുണ്ട്‌ ബാല്യകാലസഖി. കൂടെ മലയാള സാഹിത്യത്തിനു ഏറെയൊന്നും പരിജിതമല്ലാത്ത ഒരു സംസ്‌കാരവും നമുക്ക് മുന്നില്‍ അനാവൃതമാകുന്നു.
“ ഒരു സുഹൃത്ത്‌ പറഞ്ഞത്‌ ഞാന്‍ ഇവിടെ ഓര്‍ക്കുന്നു, "ബാല്യകാലസഖി വായിക്കുമ്പോള്‍ ക്രമേണ ഞാന്‍ മജീദ്‌ ആവുകയും സുഹറയോട്‌ പ്രണയം തോന്നുകയും ചെയ്‌തു."
ഇത്‌ ഈ പുസ്‌തകത്തിന്റെ മാത്രം അല്ല എല്ലാ ബഷീര്‍ രചനകളുടെയും മാന്ത്രികതയാണ്‌. വായനക്കാര്‍ കഥാപാത്രങ്ങളെ തങ്ങളിലേക്ക്‌ ആവാഹിക്കുന്ന പതിവ്‌ വിദ്യയില്‍ നിന്നും മാറി, കഥാപാത്രങ്ങള്‍ വായനക്കാരനെ അങ്ങോട്ട്‌ ആവാഹിക്കുന്നു ബാല്യകാലസഖിയില്‍. അതുകൊണ്ടുതന്നെ, ഒറ്റയിരിപ്പിനു വായിച്ചു തീര്‍ക്കാവുന്ന ഈ പുസ്തകം വായിച്ചു കഴിയുമ്പോള്‍ നമ്മുടെ മനസ്സാകെ കലുഷിതമാകുന്നു. ഈയൊരു അവസ്ഥയ്‌ക്ക്‌ കാരണം മറ്റൊന്നുമല്ല, അതിശയോക്തി ഒട്ടും കലരാതെ, യഥാര്‍ത്ഥ്യത്തോട്‌ പരമാവതി ചേര്‍ന്ന്‌ നിന്നുകൊണ്ടാണ്‌ ഗ്രന്ഥകര്‍ത്താവ്‌ ബാല്യകാലസഖിയെ നമുക്ക് സമ്മാനിച്ചത്‌.
അവതാരികയില്‍ ശരി. എംപി പോള്‍ പറഞ്ഞപോലെ "ബാല്യകാലസഖി ജീവിതത്തില്‍ നിന്നും വലിച്ചു ചീന്തി എടുത്ത ഒരേടാണ്‌. വക്കില്‍ രക്തം പൊടിഞ്ഞിരിക്കുന്നു." ജീവിതമെപ്പോഴും അങ്ങനെയാണെന്നല്ല. എന്നാല്‍ ഏറിയ പങ്കും അങ്ങനെയാണ്‌ താനും. ഒരേയൊരു കാര്യം, ഈ യഥാര്‍ത്ഥ്യം അംഗീകരിക്കാം നമ്മള്‍ തയ്യാറല്ല എന്നതാണ്‌
ബഷീറിന്റെ ബാല്യകാലസഖിയെ കുറിച്ചോര്‍ക്കുമ്പോയൊക്കെ ആദ്യം മനസ്സിലേക്കോടിയെത്തുന്നത്‌ മജീദിന്റെയും സുഹറയുടെയും ബാല്യകാല സൗഹൃദത്തെ പ്രതിനിധീകരിക്കുന്ന മാഞ്ചുവടും, അവരുടെ പ്രണയത്തിന്റെ സ്‌മാരകമായ ചെമ്പരത്തി ചെടിയും, അവരുടെ വിരഹത്തിന്റെ മൂക സാക്ഷിയായ രാത്രികളുമാണ്‌. ഹോട്ടലിലെ പത്രം കഴുകല്‍ കഴിഞ്ഞു മജീദ്‌ സുഹറയെ ഓര്‍ത്തുകൊണ്ട്‌ കഴിഞ്ഞ രാത്രികള്‍.
നക്ഷത്രങ്ങള്‍ നിറഞ്ഞ നീലാകാശത്തിനു താഴെ ടെറസില്‍ ചിരിച്ചുകൊണ്ട്‌ ഉറങ്ങുന്ന സുഹൃത്തുക്കളുടെ നടുവില്‍ കയറു കട്ടിലില്‍ സുഹറയെ ഓര്‍ത്തുകൊണ്ട്‌ കിടക്കുന്ന മജീദ്‌. ഇങ്ങനെയൊരു ചിത്രം ബഷീര്‍ സങ്കല്‌പിച്ചിട്ടുണ്ടോ എന്നെനിക്കറിയില്ല. എന്നാല്‍ ബാല്യകലസഖിക്കൊപ്പം ഞാന്‍ ഓര്‍ക്കുന്ന ആദ്യ ചിത്രം ഈ രാത്രിയുടെതാണ്‌.
വളരെ ചെറുപ്പത്തില്‍ തന്നെ മജീദും സുഹറയും സുഹൃത്തുക്കളായിരുന്നു. എനാല്‍ അതിനു മുമ്പ്‌്‌ അവര്‍ ശത്രുക്കളും ആയിരുന്നു. അവരുടെ ബാല്യകാലത്തിന്‌ നഖക്ഷതങ്ങളുടെ എരിവും മാമ്പഴതിന്റെ മധുരവും ഉണ്ടായിരുന്നു.
കഥ തുടങ്ങുമ്പോള്‍ ഏതൊരു സാധാരണ ബാല്യം പോലെയും സുന്ദരവും കുസൃതി നിറഞ്ഞതുമായ ഒരു ബാല്യകാലമാണ്‌. എന്നാല്‍ ആ ബാല്യം വെറുതെയങ്ങു പറഞ്ഞു പോവുകയല്ല ബഷീര്‍ ചെയ്‌തിരിക്കുന്നത്‌. മറിച്ച്‌ ആ ബാല്യം നമ്മെ അനുഭവിപ്പിക്കുകയാണ്‌. അതുകൊണ്ട്‌ തന്നെ മജീദിന്റെയും സുഹറയുടെയും ബാല്യം നമ്മുടെ സ്വന്തം ബാല്യത്തെ പോലെ നമ്മുടെ ഹൃദയത്തോട്‌ ചേര്‍ന്ന്‌ നില്‍ക്കുന്നു. അങ്ങനെ ബാല്യത്തില്‍ തന്നെ മജീദും സുഹറയും നമ്മുടെ ഹൃദയം കീഴടക്കുന്നു. അവരുടെ ശത്രുതയും സൗഹൃദവും നമ്മളും അനുഭവിക്കുന്നു.
"ചെറുക്കാ, ആ മുയുത്തത്‌ രണ്ടും മുന്നം കണ്ടത്‌ ഞാനാ", എന്ന്‌ പറയുന്ന സുഹറയെ നമുക്ക് എങ്ങനെ സ്‌നേഹിക്കാതിരിക്കാനാവും! അതുപോലെ, "ഓ മിഷറ്‌്‌ കടിക്കുവല്ലോ!" എന്ന പരിഹാസത്തില്‍ ചവിട്ടി മാവില്‍ കയറുന്ന മജീദിനെയും. "
ഒരു സ്വപ്‌ന ജീവിയായ മജീദ്‌ മരങ്ങളില്‍ കയറി ഉച്ചിയിലിരുന്നു വിശാലമായ ലോകത്തെ നോക്കി കാണാന്‍ ശ്രമിക്കുമ്പോള്‍ മരത്തിന്റെ അടിയില്‍ നിന്നും "മക്കം കാണാമോ ചെറുക്കാ?" എന്നു ചോദിക്കുമ്പോള്‍ നമ്മളും മരത്തിന്റെ ചോട്ടിലിരുന്നു മുകളിലേക്ക്‌ നോക്കിപോകും. സുഹറയും മജീദും വളരുന്നതിനനുസരിച്ച്‌ അവരുടെ മനസ്സും വളരുന്നത്‌ കാണാം . ഒട്ടും തന്നെ ഏച്ചുകെട്ടില്ലാത്ത ആ വളര്‍ച്ചയില്‍ ബാല്യകാല സുഹൃത്തുക്കള്‍ പ്രണയിനികളാകുമ്പോള്‍ നമ്മുടെ മനസ്സില്‍ തീരെ അസ്വാഭാവികത തോന്നിക്കാതെ എഴുത്തുകാരന്‍ വിജയിക്കുന്നു.
ലളിതമായ ഭാഷയിലാണ്‌ ബഷീര്‍ ജീവിതത്തിണ്ടേ സങ്കീര്‍ണതകളെ ഇവിടെ വരച്ചു കാട്ടുന്നത്‌. അതും വളരെ കുറച്ചു വാക്കുകളിലൂടെ. മജീദ്‌, സുഹറ എന്നീ രണ്ടു കുട്ടികള്‍. അവരുടെ മനസ്സിലൂടെയുള്ള സഞ്ചാരം. ആ രണ്ടു കുട്ടികള്‍ വളരുന്നതിനനുസരിച്ച്‌ അവരിലുണ്ടാകുന്ന മാറ്റങ്ങള്‍. ഒരു ആണ്‍ക്കുട്ടിയുടെയും പെണ്‍ക്കുട്ടിയുടെയും ലോകങ്ങള്‍ തമ്മിലുള്ള വ്യത്യാസം. ദാരിദ്ര്യം എങ്ങനെ നമ്മുടെ സ്വപ്‌നങ്ങളുടെ ചിറകൊടിക്കും. ഒരു മരണം ജീവിതത്തില്‍ എന്തെല്ലാം മാറ്റങ്ങള്‍ വരുത്തും. ജീവിത നിലവാരത്തിലെ ഉയര്‍ച്ച താഴ്‌ചകള്‍. ഇതൊക്കെ ഈ ചെറിയ പുസ്‌തകത്തില്‍ ചുരുങ്ങിയ വാക്കുകളില്‍, എന്നാല്‍ ബ്രഹത്തായ അര്‍ത്ഥത്തില്‍ പറയാന്‍ കഴിഞ്ഞു ബഷീറിന്‌. അതുപോലെ കാതുകുത്ത്‌, സുന്നത്‌ കല്യാണം എന്നിവയൊക്കെ അന്ന്‌ എങ്ങനെ ആഘോഷിച്ചു എന്നും വളരെ വിശദമായി തന്നെ ഇതില്‍ പറയുന്നുണ്ട്‌.
അത്ര സൂക്ഷ്‌മമായി പരിശോധിചില്ലെങ്കില്‍ത്തന്നെയും, ഗ്രന്ഥകാരന്റെ ആത്മകഥാംശങ്ങള്‍ ബാല്യകാലസഖിയില്‍ നിന്നും കണ്ടെത്താന്‍ കഴിയും. മജീദിനെ പോലെ ബഷീറും വീട്‌ വിട്ടു ഒരുപാടൊരുപാട്‌ അലഞ്ഞിട്ടുണ്ട്‌. പല പല വേഷത്തില്‍, പല ദേശങ്ങളില്‍ അലഞ്ഞിട്ടുണ്ട്‌. എല്ലാതരം ജോലികളും ചെയ്‌തിട്ടുണ്ട്‌. മജീദിനെ പോലെ ബഷീറും അനുഭവങ്ങള്‍ മാത്രം സമ്പാദ്യമായി കൈയില്‍ കരുതി നാട്ടില്‍ തിരിചെത്തിയിട്ടുണ്ട്‌. മജീദിനെ പോലെ ബഷീറിനും പ്രതാപം നിറഞ്ഞ ബാല്യം ഉണ്ടായിരുന്നു. മജീദ്‌ വീടിലെ ദാരിദ്ര്യം കണ്ട പോലെ ബഷീറിനും ഉണ്ടായിട്ടുണ്ട്‌. മജീദിനും ബഷീറിനും കാണുന്ന മറ്റൊരു സമാനത, ചെടികളിലുള്ള താല്‌പര്യമാണ്‌. ബഷീരിന്റെ ജീവിതത്തിലും പുസ്‌തകങ്ങളിലും ഒരു പോലെ പച്ച പിടിച്ചു നില്‍ക്കുന്നതാണ്‌ ബഷീറും ചെടികളും തമ്മിലുള്ള ആത്മബന്ധം....
സമർപ്പണം : ന്റെ സ്വന്തം സുഹറയുടെ മജീദിൻ (മലപ്പുറം കാക്കാക്ക് )
shahal mohamedharyana,CUH
Thursday 8 October 2015
Buddha
നമുക്ക് വേണ്ടി കാവൽ തേടന്ന് പൂജാരിമാരില്ല, നമുക്ക് വേണ്ടി പ്രാർഥിക്കാൻ അമ്പലങ്ങളില്ല, നമ്മുടെ മനസ്സുകളെ പിടിച്ചു കുലുക്കുന്ന ഫിലോസഫികളൊ നേർവഴി പറയുന്ന പുസ്തകങ്ങളൊ ഇല്ല....
പകരം നമ്മുടെ മനസാണ് നമ്മുടെ അമ്പലം, നമ്മുടെ പ്രവർത്തിയാണ് നമ്മുടെ ദൈവം , സഹജീവികളോട് കാണിക്കുന്ന വിനയവും സഹായവുമാണ് നമ്മുടെ പുസ്തകം.......
.......... ബുദ്ധമതം .................
നമ്മുടെ വിശ്വാസങ്ങളാണ് നമ്മുടെ ശരികൾ... ആരും ആരെയും മുറിവേൽപ്പിക്കാതിരിക്കുക, especially അവരുടെ വിശ്വാസങ്ങളെ , ആ വിശ്വാസം നമ്മെ മുറിവേൽപ്പിക്കാത്ത കാലത്തോളം........
In India, the slaughter of cattle is allowed with restrictions (like a 'fit-for-slaughter' certificate which may be issued depending on factors like age and gender of cattle, continued economic viability, etc.), but only for bulls and buffaloes and not cows in fourteen states; it is completely banned in six states with pending litigation in the supreme court to overturn the ban; while there is no restriction in many states.This has created communal disharmony in India and frequently leads to unwanted incidents.
Gopastami, a holiday celebrated by the Hindus once a year, is one of the few instances where cows receive prayers and sacrifices in modern day India. While the cow is still respected and honored by most of the Indian population, there has been controversy over the treatment of the cows during the holiday. Part of the holiday includes sacrificing the cow to symbolize the continuation of life. Since cow slaughtering is only legal in two Indian states, cows must be transported around the country in rather poor conditions, usually train or by foot.This lack of sacredness toward the cows alarms many animal activists and some dedicated Hindus.
Indian society is actually in the path of renaissance (revival of the past). European renaissance was a glorified thing in history where Indian cultural revivalism is a black mark in the history of India. Hindu oriented Modi government force people to go back to the Vedic times. The rigidness of caste practices and the caste based politics which make a rude stratification in the society are evidences for this. The cultural liberalism is declining and forcible religious rigidness with the aim of creating a ‘Hindurashtra’ is in its peak now. Narendra Modi’s image is like a pious believer who initiates bloody sacrifices to satisfy the blood thirst of his god, The Hindu majority who can Change, Preserve, and destroy his rule. The blood shedding incident took place in Dadri is an example for this. The fundamental question about the value of human life is raised but it is answered with the ‘great’ value of animal’s life....
CHU
Haryana.
Wednesday 7 October 2015
Is it okay to ban beef in a secular country like India on religious grounds....?
Reasons why beef should not be banned
Asecular stateis a concept of secularism , whereby a stateor countrypurports to be officially neutral in matters ofreligion,
By the very definition of secularism, the state cannot ban cow slaughter citing the reason to be: "Banned in Hinduism". The state has no right to ban cow slaughter simply because it is banned in Hinduism just like it has no right to ban idol worship simply because it's banned in Christianity/Islam. (Before you accuse me of pseudo-secularism, know that I support Uniform Civil Code as well)
Coming to economic arguments, what is the economic benefit of keeping bulls or dried up cows? (If the cows are artificially inseminated and the fields are ploughed by machines, it is a burden on the farmer to feed bulls). The cows slaughtered for beef are not the milk-giving ones. India leads the world in beef export and it fetched India Rs.13725.23 crores in 2012. So in purely economic terms, it is an unsound decision to ban cow slaughter.
3. Now let's come to how the lifestyle of the people is affected. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation UN (FAO) report titled Livestock Information, Sector Analysis and Policy Branch says the largest consumed meat in India is beef (Note: meat does not include chicken) . The total consumption of beef in India per year is 26 lakh tonnes[1], as compared to 6 lakh tonnes of mutton and 14 lakh tonnes of pork. Given that this is the case, a nation-wide ban on cow slaughter will have a considerable effect on lifestyle and is an encroachment on the fundamental rights.
4. If it's about animal rights, why be partial to cows? What about pork or mutton?
Contrasting views within Hinduism about cow slaughter
The verse in Hindu scripture which is said to ban cow slaughter is:
Rig Veda 10.87.16: “yaḥ pauruṣeyeṇa kraviṣā samaṅkte yo aśveyena paśunāyātudhānaḥ,yo aghnyāyā bharati kṣīramaghne teṣāṃśīrṣāṇi harasāpi vṛśca"
which specifically mention horse (asva) and not cow, and asks Agni to cut off the heads of those who eat horse and human meat.
But another verse which speaks about slaughtering bulls as food,
Rig Veda 10.86.14: uksnó hí me páncadasha sakám pácanti vimshatím, utáhám admi píva íd ubhá kuksí prnanti me v’shvasmad índra úttarah
Translation: Fifteen in number, then, for me a score of bullocks they prepare, and I devour the fat thereof: they fill my belly full with food. Supreme is Indra over all. (Indra eating bulls)
and another on sacrificing ox & cow to Agni,
Rig Veda 8.43.11: uksánnaya vashánnaya sómaprsthaya vedháse stómair vidhemagnáye
Translation: Let us serve Agni with our hymns, Disposer, fed on ox and cow, who bears the Soma on his back. Swami Vivekananda writes in “The complete works of Swami Vivekananda (volume-3 page 174) :
“There was a time when a Brahmin without eating beef could not remain a Brahmin”.
(and on page 536)
“You will be astonished if I tell you that, according to the old ceremonials, he is not a good Hindu who does not eat beef. On certain occasions he must sacrifice a bull and eat it.”
Having said all this, it is irrelevant to me whether Hinduism prohibits cow slaughter or not. I am a Hindu who eats beef (it's pretty common over here in Kerala). Hinduism is a pretty inclusive and tolerant religion. My whole family does and I don't think the secular state has any right to tell me not to eat it.
Tuesday 6 October 2015
Photos and photo Captions
Photo captions are an integral part of newspaper storytelling, but they are often the most underdeveloped element in the mix of words, graphics, and photographs in a newspaper. A poorly executed caption can destroy the message of a photo or the story package of which it is part. The reader/viewer expects nothing less than accurate, complete, and informative information, including captions.
Photo captions are an integral part of newspaper storytelling, but they are often the most underdeveloped element in the mix of words, graphics, and photographs in a newspaper. A poorly executed caption can destroy the message of a photo or the story package of which it is part. The reader/viewer expects nothing less than accurate, complete, and informative information, including captions.
few suggestions to writing captions.
Check the facts. Be accurate!
Avoid stating the obvious. “Dennis Rodman smiles as he kicks a broadcast photographer in the groin.”
Always identify the main people in the photograph.
Don’t let cutlines recapitulate information in the head or deck or summary.
Avoid making judgments. “An unhappy citizen watches the protest…” Can you be sure that he is unhappy? Or is he hurting. Or just not photogenic. If you must be judgmental, be sure you seek the truth.
Don’t assume. Ask questions in your effort to inform and be specific. Be willing to contact and include the visual reporter.
Avoid using terms like “is shown, is pictured, and looks on.”
If the photograph is a historic or file photo, include the date that it was taken. Mayor David Dinkins, 1993.
A photograph captures a moment in time. Whenever possible, use present tense. This will creates a sense of immediacy and impact.
Don’t try to be humorous when the picture is not.
Descriptions are very helpful for viewer. The person dressed “in black,” “holding the water hose,” “sulky from chagrin,” or “standing to the left of the sofa, center” are helpful identifying factors. (Photographers must ferret out this kind of material.)
Be willing to allow for longer captions when more information will help the reader/viewer understand the story and situation.”
Quotes can be an effective device, be willing to use them when they work.
Brindley says photo captioners will interview the photographers and photo editors; they’ll even talk to people in the photo. If the image is of nature or an animal, they will talk to an expert in the field and get information on what is going on in the background.
"
A demonstrator throws back a tear gas container after tactical officers broke up a group of bystanders on Chambers Road near W. Florissant Avenue on Wednesday,.... "
" Lately, I’ve noticed the predominance two kinds of images with stories about Ebola — the virus itself and people in hazmat suits. I’ve used both for stories myself and wondered about the tone and message they’re sending. "
Now it’s over. Yogi Berra has died at the age of 90.
He leaves behind a legacy of baseball greatness, and a propensity for the memorable phrase. Those of us who quote people for a living can learn a lot from old number 8.
I was born into an Italian-American family on the Lower East Side of New York City in 1948, Yogi Berra’s second full season as the catcher of the New York Yankees. My grandfather, Peter Marino, loved the Yankees, a team with many famous Italian ballplayers: Crosetti, Lazerri, DiMaggio, Rizzuto, and his favorite, Berra. Next to Mickey Mantle, Yogi became my favorite too. The first package of baseball cards I purchased with my own money (five cents), Lawrence Peter Berra was the first card in the pack. When my dad took me to Yankee Stadium for the first time in 1958, Yogi hit the game-winning home run.
Hall of Famer Yogi Berra waves before an induction ceremony at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y., in 2009.
You can look it up. The statistic that stands out to me is that over 18 seasons Yogi hit 358 home runs, and struck out only 414 times. (By contrast, one of my favorite players for the Tampa Bay Rays, Carlos Pena, once struck out 182 times in a single season.)
His athletic prowess, his squat stature (perfect for a catcher), and his goofy demeanor, turned him into a New York icon. If that weren’t enough, he was Mister Malaprop, a public figure whose mangled aphorisms conveyed a kind of folk wisdom. His most famous include:
“It ain’t over ‘til it’s over.”
“When you come to a fork in the road take it.”
“It’s déjà vu all over again.”
Rather than perceive these as redundancies or non sequiturs, the product of an eighth grade education in a working class St. Louis neighborhood, fans accepted them with a smile, happy to see the stab of truth behind them. Sports Illustrated once wondered whether or not Mr. Berra might not actually be an Eastern mystic, a real yogi, of the type for which he was named.
Because Yogi wore uniform number 8, I will share my eight favorite Yogi-isms now, letting each one inspire some insight into the ways writers capture how people talk:
“90 percent of the game is half mental.” Lesson: Just because someone uses numbers in a quote does not mean that he or she is adhering to mathematical logic. Don’t grab your slide rule. If the point has been made, let the inconsistencies slide.
“If you can’t imitate him, don’t copy him.” Lesson: There are no true synonyms. Yogi is not being redundant here. The American Heritage Dictionary makes this distinction between the two key words: “To imitate is to act like or follow a pattern or style set by another….To copy is to duplicate an original as precisely as possible.” Yogi was manager of the Mets at the time and told his player Ron Swaboda that he might not have the ability to try to adopt the unusual hitting stance of the great Frank Robinson.
“I really didn’t say everything I said!” Lesson: This modest denial should be a reminder for journalists to check out the quote that is too good to be true, to see if it’s apocryphal or carries a false attribution. Authors such are Ernest Hemingway and Mark Twain are often cited as having said or written things which they never said or wrote. (The reason I am confident that Yogi said these things is that I am getting them from The Yogi Bookwith the byline Yogi Berra (New York: Workman, 1998).
“If the world were perfect, it wouldn’t be.” Lesson: You could argue that Yogi doesn’t know the meaning of perfect. Or that he has made a wise value judgment. To use a more common formula: “Perfect is the enemy of the good.” It is not patronizing or condescending to argue that common wisdom can be as powerful as and more interesting than the stuff that comes from philosophers and kings.
“Never answer anonymous letters.” Lesson: Yogi offers clairvoyant wisdom in anticipation of the digital age. (Yogi would have been great on Twitter.)
Yogi was a long time pitch man for the chocolate soft drink called Yoo-Hoo, which I loved as a kid. At a Yoo-Hoo convention a women asked him, “Is Yoo-Hoo hyphenated?” Yogi responded, “No ma’am, it isn’t even carbonated.” Who knew that Yankee catcher was the master of parallelism, ironic juxtaposition, and emphatic word order, where his key word often comes at the end – like a punchline?
Why buy good luggage? You only use it when you travel.” Lesson: Behind such an odd statement, there is usually some evidence to support it. Turns out, Yogi’s teammates made fun of his beat-up luggage, but its bumps and bruises seemed almost built in. “You couldn’t hurt my bags,” he said, “but theirs could only get worse.”
“I’m as red as a sheet.” Yogi said this after he flubbed his movie line in a Cary Grant/Doris Day movie “That Touch of Mink.” Lesson: It always helps to tweak the predictable. Who would remember this if he said, “I’m red as a beet” or “white as a sheet.” So did the blood rush to his face or rush from his face? In essence, Yogi doubles-down on his embarrassment, reminding us that a mash-up need not be a mix-up.
Thanks for the memories, Yogi. And say hi to my mom.
Monday 5 October 2015
India is back in “Black Renaissance”
Indian society is actually in the path of renaissance (revival of the past). European renaissance was a glorified thing in history where Indian cultural revivalism is a black mark in the history of India.
Hindu oriented Modi government force people to go back to the Vedic times. The rigidness of caste practices and the caste based politics which make a rude stratification in the society are evidences for this. The cultural liberalism is declining and forcible religious rigidness with the aim of creating a ‘Hindurashtra’ is in its peak now. Narendra Modi’s image is like a pious believer who initiates bloody sacrifices to satisfy the blood thirst of his god,
The Hindu majority who can Change, Preserve, and destroy his rule. The blood shedding incident took place in Dadri is an example for this. The fundamental question about the value of human life is raised but it is answered with the ‘great’ value of animal’s life.
ഉപ്പ തന്ന ജീവൻ
