english, the language with capital and small letters :-)

not once in these many years of my life and education, have i ever thought of this! neither questioned nor taught!! strange!!!

why does english have capital and small letters when others languages i have learnt do not have so (for eg. tamil or hindi)??

why this question in my mind after acquiring a doctoral degree in my discipline with english as the medium of study??!!!

at 3 years of her age, my daughter has now learned to identify almost all letters in english and writes quite a few! all in caps! interestingly, i did not realize that she wasn’t taught small letters, as learning caps is easier for children with mere shapes.

                                          pic courtesy: google images

last week, when she held her hindu’s young world in her tiny hands and started reading alphabet, i had this realization that she could spell only the headlines and rest seem to be greek and latin.

that is when i googled to know why english has capital and small letters when the language could do well with one like other languages. the answers google offered me are just two in number (1) small letters were designed to write faster in comparison to writing a whole text in caps (2) to distinctly show that a sentence begins. of late, it has become a trend to capitalize words to lay emphasis on something.

now my child has to undergo yet another whole lot of learning of the 26 letters. sigh:-(

not that learning is difficult for my daughter when her own mother tongue has 247 letters which is amazingly huge when compared to english. and also children learn things in such a short time.. but as parents our roles need more effort to make her not unlearn those capital letters and in addition learn the new ones with an understanding that both letters are same when they are not so in shapes for those simple reasons!

anyways, i am not convinced with answers as to why english has this distinction. i now feel that the language could exist only with small letters when it is originally designed only for convenience and it could have done away with capital letters.

because it would have made english alphabet learning clearer for my daughter, at the least :-) of course, nothing needs to change now. but after all i am a parent who tends to think of everything my child faces on earth!!! ;-) i know it might sound a way too much for some of you. never mind, you have just finished reading the whole text only in small letters. 

THANK YOU :-) 

In memory of you, our darling Princess :-)

             What do I have to do with you, Princess? I did not even step into my teens when you bid farewell to your cruel world! Categorically nothing to do with you! Oh, wait.. No.. I am a woman too.. A daughter, a wife and a mother as you were!! My heart goes to you as you always starved for those priceless love, laughter, compassion, trust and peace!

           

            Was it your fault to have got married to someone who never loved you and visibly ignored you? NO! Any woman would naturally search for a place that can fill life’s vacuum with love!! No matter you belong to a royal family or not. That makes your departure unacceptable till date. How hard it is to be a celebrity who is always thronged by paparazzi for their obnoxious thirst! Sigh L

            It is so heavy to be in your shoes and understand how it would have felt for you to have gone crazy in search of love and companionship as well as trying to give your best to raise your boys amidst all chaos, despite holding the prestigious label PRINCESS. Despite your physical and mental agony, you also apparently diverted your precious energy to social works and left ever traceable footprints in several domains. May be that is why I personally do not see any difference between you and Mother Teresa!!

                             Pic courtesy: Google Images

You both are so beautiful by all means, body, mind and heart! May be that is why you both left us in tears in the same year! You would have been a grandma now had you been alive (you are the young grandma in our minds as we even do not want to use FaceApp). I am sure you would have been at your best in that role too. You would have been continuously giving the world nothing but love had you been with us. It is so unfortunate not only to your kids and grandchildren but also to many who sincerely wish that your destiny had been written otherwise.

            You deserved better on earth! But I hope you are now treated like a true princess in heaven!

Lucky Me: My Ph.D

The title is slightly contrary when I deeply introspect different phases of my Ph.D in one of the oldest universities in India. Yet, on an overall view I would say I have had a far better experience than many scholars out there who unfortunately end up doing what they are never supposed to do while pursuing this.

One of my colleagues once mentioned: “part-time scholars annoy guides/supervisors whereas it is the other way round when it comes to fulltime scholars.” True!!!! Doing a Ph.D part-time is better as you do not have to please your guide at every sight. Sigh!!!

Not only media, but also on personal experiences shared by scholars, first-hand information on how they go around, beat around the bush all through their Ph.D period typically portray the PATHETIC STATE OF RESEARCH and SCHOLARS here.

I was lucky enough for the following reasons:

·         I NEVER had to do any HOUSEHOLD CHORES for my guides.

·         I NEVER had to be AVAILABLE ANYTIME at their service (be it academic or personal).

·        I was NEVER asked to BRIBE them (though they were aware of the fact I was sufficiently paid by the UGC for the Junior Research Fellowship).

·         I was NEVER physically abused.

·         I was NEVER stopped from exploring on areas of research I wanted to.

·         I was NEVER forced into an unwilling area of study for the benefit of the guide.

·     I was NEVER forced to change my idea or style of writing my thesis despite it had flaws (for which I took complete responsibility in my public viva-voce).

·       I was NEVER interfered in my experimental way (sometimes strange way) of pedagogy when it comes to sharing their classes.

·     I was NEVER forced to submit my thesis unless and until I was thoroughly satisfied with my work.

·      I was NEVER asked to sponsor anything for anyone at any time (I do not even know how my examiner commuted to the viva-voce).

·        I was NOT STOPPED when I decided to go by my option of not offering food for the participants on my Viva-Voce.

·        I was NEVER directly or indirectly asked for any gifts or favour.

I was NEVER told or directed about whom I should talk to and otherwise.

             There are a couple of real bitter experiences during the same period that clearly brought down the masks of some highly respected individuals and highly trusted friends. There were administrative challenges that totally put me down at a crucial point in time. Still, as far as my research work is concerned, I did not have to go through what most of the scholars are going through today. Unlucky lot they are and I really feel sorry for them!!!!

Yeeeesssss, LUCKY ME!!!! I love my research work and do cherish every bit of it!!!!

Scholars out there, it is YOUR RESEARCH, YOUR PASSION AND YOUR RESPONSIBILITY!!! Don’t shy away when it is necessary to voice out and act!! Coz no worries, there will certainly be better people to guide you if you decide to call it off!!

Cheers J

A BROAD DAY LIGHT CRIME - Theatre and Snacks!

Ask a family of four, “Why is it that you don’t prefer to watch movies in theatres?” Their immediate response would be the high expenditure to be met; they whine that it is not just the ticket fare but the additional expenses that come along such as parking fee (not only in case of malls) and the highly expensive snack counters!!! This pinch on a family’s budget is the most important factor for increasing movie watching at homes and video piracy. It is not about justification of this illegal activity by pointing out personal economic reasons. But addressing it might increase theatre goers with a smile!

I say this because in 90s and 2000s, families did go to theatres in large numbers but they had the privilege of carrying their own snacks for every family member. But now there is a strict rule enforced that “outside food is not permitted.” Why??? To maintain cleanliness of the hall? To ensure ban of plastic (in case of chips and the like)? To uphold etiquette by not making anyone munch throughout so as to give every movie watcher a pleasant movie time? NONSENSE!!!!! To mention the least, snack counters in fact serve you while movie runs (depending on your advance booking on when you would like to be served). That makes it clear that the reasons for not permitting outside food are not that are mentioned above. It is to make you buy from their counters! Isn’t it a CRIME?????

There are families that cannot afford high priced food; there are some who would like to avoid giving junk for their kids (most theatres offer only junk food); some may not be comfortable with outside food and; some might feel really annoyed with the loooooonnnnnnggggg queues during intervals that would spoil mood to watch rest of the movie; and some who can afford think why do I have to waste money.

Kids easily get carried by visually appetizing items available on the counters. But had the families been permitted to carry their own, it is the parents’ responsibility to soothe the kids. But given the existing situation, every movie goer is left with only two choices: (1) buy at the counters (2) stay without snacks. Mostly, we are tempted to eat something at the counters and that becomes favourable to the theatre management.

What if every movie goer consciously decides and practices not to get anything at the counters??!!!! Let us give it a thought!!!! May be the earlier practice of letting people in with their own snacks will come into place. Let it be purely our choice: to bring our own or buy! It is highly condemnable to let some theatre owner decide it for his and his family’s welfare!!!

PROTEST!

Tamil Nadu tops Indian states that held most number of protests in one year according to reports in 2015 (Hindustan Times, April 30, 2017)

Protest!!!

The connotation of the word has changed drastically over a period of time. These days it sounds to be one or many of these: dictatorial, horrendous, impractical, hilarious, diversion, unruly and purposeless. Probing reasons for such referencing is beyond this piece of writing. My whole idea here is to promote protest! Particularly among Youth.

Hold on! Don’t be in a hurry (just like google that predicts before I say) to label me as an anti-Indian.

Starting from our family structure, to school, college, workplace and society, we are taught not to protest, most of the times. Thus begins and grows our failure of expressing though it is widely referred to as a constitutional right! Somewhere we fail to groom our youngsters in knowing the value of protests, in encouraging them to participate and in preparing to handle its means and ends.

Without a doubt, canvassing to the parents that the child should be taught to protest right from its childhood is indispensable. May the parents of today’s kiddos (who seem to be knowing the world inside out and upside down) do it for a better society!!

Instead I would like to insist that educating college students to protest is substantial. Coz, that is the bunch filled with fire and enthusiasm withinJ. Bollywood and Kollywood keep fantasizing this. We see a lot of movies in Tamil moving around students, youth, politics and protests such as Puthiya Mannargal, Varumaiyin Niram Sivappu, Ayidha Ezhuthu, Ko and Uriyadi to name a few.

Unfortunately in reality, whenever a protest is likely to happen (through intelligence reports or self-declaration of students’ union) the management gets geared up to collect data on participants so as to threaten with dire consequences to please the ruling party. In another case, students are easily provoked by teachers, political parties and unions to protest against one or more for personal benefits. In most of these cases, students are totally unaware of what, why and how of it!!!

Protesting against something or someone is both an art and science (I know it sounds more like a subject’s introduction in most of our classrooms). YES! Protesting is both!

It is science when participants pool their energy in understanding the matter that they do not agree with. Unless one knows the nuances of an issue, the disapproval remains meaningless and superficial. Breaking the problems into tiny bits to gather information and finally coagulate the same to get a bigger picture is where science lies! This segment of protest cannot be done away with and there are absolutely NO SHORTCUTS to rely on.

And how is it an art?!! It completely depends on what have you chosen as your mode of protest! You can choose to be either conventional or creative. Hundreds of protests have taken place in the world till date among which some are unforgettable. One recent interesting protests is that of Japanese bus drivers who refused to charge their customers that eventually led to loss of revenue, instead of boycotting their work. Considering the modern day protests in India, unique ones include the Jallikattu protest in 2017, Iron Sharmila’s fasting for more than 15 years, Tamil farmers protest in Delhi, violent protests of Tamil women against TASMAC shops and the silent march of more than a lakh farmers in 2018. To watch more unique protesting methods (all tiny ones), I recommend this Tamil movie, Joker! J  The tool one chooses to protest has to be in sync with their purpose and desire. More creative and unconventional are the protests, more is the reach and attention. This requires EFFORT to THINK.

So here is a quick checklist! When you decide to join a protest, try finding answers to the following questions:

·         What is it for? The PURPOSE?

·         Whom/what are you protesting against?

·         Why this? Why now?

·         Do my personal values sync with the group’s?

·         Who benefits? Society at large or any individual?

·         What is the mode chosen? Anything detrimental to fellow human beings?

·         What if it is decided to drop in the middle of its journey?

·         How handle situation when any untoward incident take place?

·         Do I possess enough legal knowledge on this?

When you are unable to answer any of these basic questions, it is a better sign for you to not participate.

Students and teachers out there, let us understand and accept that “Imparting this knowledge to students is crucial, as protests are precious for it is a strong way of communicating your stance.” Making it a part of teaching and learning by teachers and students respectively will prove bigger results. This exercise would easily penetrate into society and enable larger audience to join hands.

Let us not forget history, sensible partaking in protests with utmost sincerity for larger benefits to the society has transformed participants to leaders, particularly in Tamil Nadu.

Why do I write about protest now? There are quite a lot happening around us that demand registering our dissent, of course strongly!! 

TAMIL NADU, ELECTION RESULTS AND VOTERS

I am nowhere near any political analyst; nor do I hold even a Diploma in Psephology. Nevertheless as a committed citizen who never misses to vote in elections since 18, I write my random thoughts on the elections results that are being out in this largest democracy. Importantly, I restrict my opinions to the state of Tamil Nadu predominantly.

Every household has tuned in to one of the News Channels to know who is ahead in this significant race and make their own comments and express happiness, anger, frustration and so on.  Every conversation over a cup of coffee, every discussion over a morning walk and even a greeting for each other do not complete without a say on today’s election results. So much of eagerness, excitement and energy is pumped into it. Well, it has to be highly appreciated!! The society needs a lot of discussion in the first place, be it sensible or otherwise. Let people talk about elections, parties, votes, majority, minority, alliance, government and the like. Such mere talks on these topics will one day turn out to be a conversation filled with constructive content. Those days are not far, fortunately!!

Jumping to the results, as far as Tamil Nadu is concerned, there are widespread talks in tea shops, family functions, workplaces and public spaces that common public are fed up with the two Dravidian parties for their corrupt nature, dynasty style of politics, less proactive policies, failure to address issues such as water scarcity, unemployment and on the whole lift the society and its downtrodden lot, their hidden agenda in not providing quality education and health services and failing farmers consistently. OMG!!! The list has to be stopped somewhere. Therefore I mention only a handful of issues here. Despite such a looooonnnnngggg list of disappointments and disagreements among common people of Tamil Nadu, the election race is clearly between the two Dravidian parties.

In every election, we vote either DMK or ADMK to power, mostly the anti-incumbency factor works. This is absolutely fine as far as this factor works in favour of common people. YES, there are two party systems in democracies around the world that are successful and no complaints. Trust me, two party system is less complex, but our multi-party system is more interesting as it is pro-people. It might look like there is no clear verdict, but voters have their own choices and reasons for the same, most of them are rational in nature. So far, the trend in today’s show finds DMK/Congress alliance capturing majority of parliamentary seats whereas the national trending is otherwise. Yup, we are UNIQUE!!! 

Whatever, why is there no new party that projects itself to be an alternate to the existing ones and that promises to give all that we, common citizens (most particularly “the youth”), are craving for???!!! I try to identify few reasons from a lay person’s understanding.

(1)   Irrespective of our understanding of the issues pertaining to our personal, social and overall country’s development, most of us are under the assumption that the established parties only could lead the State, given their experiences and achievements in the past. It is more or less like the saying “known devil is better than the unknown angel.”

(2)   We conveniently forget the fact the these established parties were once new and the present new or small parties with genuine vision needs to be given a chance to prove themselves.

(3)   Whatever be our personal choice of candidate while voting, we are still largely persuaded by family inclinations to parties, knowingly or unknowingly.

(4)   Most of us like to associate our votes with the to-be winning parties that are identified by our media groups and peers, bound to their level of analysis and understanding respectively.

(5)   We succumb to the belief that not being a part of cabinet is the end of it and there is no point in a party winning a seat or two, unless your chosen candidate becomes a part of ruling government.

These are just a few myths we all hold strong and do not want to let go off. Notwithstanding these, voters cannot be blamed for their choice of government, instead it has to be respected. Each one of us, based on our education, gender, caste, community, nature of job, economic status, family structure, exposure to world outside, personality, needs and desires, end up choosing one among them.

If at all the State needs a real change and makeover, the real effort to bring about an alternative political scenario in Tamil Nadu with a strong vision under a visionary leader has to come from the political party itself. This is easier for a new party as it has no past with dark background. It can easily wipe off the persisting evils and bring a change. Yet, this is possible only when they begin to acknowledge the fact that any political journey has to always start from the grassroots i.e. villages. Unless the party reaches to the villages, eventually to towns, districts and assembly constituencies, one can never hope to reach heights with heightened goals.

There is a very essential need for those claiming to be alternatives to engage closely with public starting from their doorsteps. It is highly ambitious to believe that people would accept one’s presence by just appearing in political scene. Their manifestos howsoever constructive, their candidates’ impressive profiles and the star campaigns will contribute to divide the vote share to a minimum extent (though it should not be considered negligible) and not to create a massive difference. The reason why the two major parties still hold a strong position in the state is because their roots have still not eroded. Now what is needed is that the eroding roots of those major parties have to be strengthened or the new parties need to strengthen themselves. This is possible only when the roots of the alternatives get stronger. The parties need to understand this and not worry about what is to be projected outside rather what is to be strengthened inner and deeper. This will certainly take a while but will long last.

Tamil Nadu has always been clear about what is expected of their politicians and leaders. Now it is high time for the alternate political parties to realize where they are and what has to be done next in order to be a real change agent positively. Because the leader/leaders has/have to EMERGE!!!!  

P.S.: Let us not compare and complaint that AAP was able to achieve in Delhi whereas no such miracles happen here. There are a lot of differences between Delhi and Tamil Nadu and this has to be discussed independently.