Is a ditty that most goyankars are familiar with. It is a nursery rhyme describing the Mayem lake. With prolific mining ya-ya- mayem-ya ani copper bath gya is what is happening despite the government touting it as an major tourism attraction.
Even Rajendra Kerkar the poster boy of Goa’s environment movement hesitates to ask or intiate the momentum
· Compulsory nursery and preprimary education in local, that would impart folk knowledge as that is where the geography and the traditional habits are documented.
· The education system that creates the monster who needs to be fed, instead to nurturing the resources by training people to optimize it and harmonize with it, I mean where are the agriculture colleges? Where are the fishery colleges? Where are the forestry colleges?
· The advent of the ICAR has non Goan’s who are far away from sheeth-kadi and nusthe, their research is oriented to increase in crop production, the indigenous nutrition and flavor of the ethnic strains are gone.
· Honey farming, mushroom farming are also options that are neither touted nor encouraged.
· Starred hotels just throw their waste into the Zuari /Mandovi, no one talks of it.
· Mega construction companies have come up with buildings that are most empty, is this not waste of resource?
My pet peeve is that we kids of north Indian civil servants or business men who are born and brought up in Goa but do not speak Konkani.
The correspondent from Times of India speaks so disdainfully of agriculture; they are only interested in the gay tourists and the fall out tourism.
But we are so anglicized that we focus on the disease instead of the cure.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Friday, September 11, 2009
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Abu-said Abil-Kheir
If you keep seeking the jewel of understanding
By Abu-Said Abil-Kheir(967 - 1049)
English version by Vraje Abramian
If you keep seeking the jewel of understanding,then you are a mine of understanding in the making.If you live to reach the Essence one day,then your life itself is an expression of the Essence.Know that in the final analysis you are thatwhich you search for.
Shaikh Abu-Said Abil-Kheir was one of the earlier Sufi poets. He lived more than two centuries before Jelaluddin Rumi yet, like Rumi, much of his mysticism follows a similar path of annihilation in divine Love.Abu Said's poetry ranges from the ecstatic and celestial, to struggles with abandonment. His poetry has an immediacy and even a sort of devoutly wry petulance that can draw comparisons with the great Bengali poet, Ramprasad.Abu Said referred to himself as "Nobody, Son of Nobody," to convey the mystic's sense of having completely merged or disappeared into the Divine, leaving no trace of the ego behind.
He lived in Mayhana in what is modern day Turkmenistan, just north of Iran and Afghanistan in Central Asia
By Abu-Said Abil-Kheir(967 - 1049)
English version by Vraje Abramian
If you keep seeking the jewel of understanding,then you are a mine of understanding in the making.If you live to reach the Essence one day,then your life itself is an expression of the Essence.Know that in the final analysis you are thatwhich you search for.
Shaikh Abu-Said Abil-Kheir was one of the earlier Sufi poets. He lived more than two centuries before Jelaluddin Rumi yet, like Rumi, much of his mysticism follows a similar path of annihilation in divine Love.Abu Said's poetry ranges from the ecstatic and celestial, to struggles with abandonment. His poetry has an immediacy and even a sort of devoutly wry petulance that can draw comparisons with the great Bengali poet, Ramprasad.Abu Said referred to himself as "Nobody, Son of Nobody," to convey the mystic's sense of having completely merged or disappeared into the Divine, leaving no trace of the ego behind.
He lived in Mayhana in what is modern day Turkmenistan, just north of Iran and Afghanistan in Central Asia
about avatars and yugapurush
Just thinking about avatars and yuga purush’s.
Most spiritual teachers come as teachers and their voices. Preceded by people who in turn have woken the leader.
Maybe that is what an avatar is all about, from matsya to Krishna have not laid down precepts, they have only awakened that something, or spoken to someone who asked.
That seems to be the key, since we have turned a deaf ear to all the precepts and principles laid down by God, we have lead crusades and waged war in his name instead of understanding and assimilating what he said he has chosen to be silent. Until we ask him.
Even after that we need to have the courtesy of listening to him and the courage to assimilate it into our nature. That probably is the answer to many of our questions.
Why is that we do not have the faith in God, he is omnipotent he will not make a defective piece. May be He has sent us imperfect as being awakened to perfection is realizing God?
Most spiritual teachers come as teachers and their voices. Preceded by people who in turn have woken the leader.
Maybe that is what an avatar is all about, from matsya to Krishna have not laid down precepts, they have only awakened that something, or spoken to someone who asked.
That seems to be the key, since we have turned a deaf ear to all the precepts and principles laid down by God, we have lead crusades and waged war in his name instead of understanding and assimilating what he said he has chosen to be silent. Until we ask him.
Even after that we need to have the courtesy of listening to him and the courage to assimilate it into our nature. That probably is the answer to many of our questions.
Why is that we do not have the faith in God, he is omnipotent he will not make a defective piece. May be He has sent us imperfect as being awakened to perfection is realizing God?
Dolls
Goa is so ganesh chaturthi oriented that the wonder of Navaratri as in the rest of the country is absent.
Every where the effects of aggressive dandiya marketing is seen. I really admire the Bengalis association for its focused traditional durga pooja. We somehow seem to have given up our traditions. When my older daughter asked me about it she was 3 then, I decided to revive the gollu tradition.
For me it brings back memories of my Penkonda nurtured maternal grandmother, and her hyperactivity. And of course the fascinating world of dolls.
Except for the cowbelt Navaratri is associated with Durga pooja, or the divine feminine.
The Navaratri gollu is a display of toys in 9 levels, or metlu/padi (essentially a step) one for each day of the Navaratri the topmost has the dampati or the raja rani dolls. The presiding dolls. In front a them a kalash with water, coin, 5 mango leaves, and a coconut are arranged. When dodda (my grandmother) was young every Navaratri at least one doll was bought.
Evening was the social occasion sundal, and paanaka would be made and women from the neighborhood would visit each other, sing songs, and of course gossip. ‘
Dolls have been part of civilizations; they could have emerged from discarded totem. Many of them were made by potters, Kosam of Allahabad is known for its toy cats. The presence of miniatures of daily life for play purpose is evident in the title of shudraka’s play Mrichchakatikam.
Mother and child dolls are offered as thanks giving many a times, while small black dolls are hung ward away the evil in Maharashtra , the scarecrow is a large version of it. Many of these are made at home, just before the puja and then immersed away after it; making of this involved the children of the family thus folk wisdom was handed down.
Sambalpuri dolls have an animal motif, toymakers of Rajasthan also have their special range of animal toys.
Toymakers always replicated what they saw round them. Then came the aesthetic component, like the theater artist the toymaker has to observe life too.
When I got married I started my collection with the kodandapalli dolls, made of wood called punki individual component is carved and fitted in. these dolls show such detailing when it comes to costumes. The trend of the Kodandapalli dolls are various professions that people follow. The dolls have now begun to depict missionaries, doctors and construction workers. The presence of thata-paati dolls kind of unconsciously make the kids accept grandparents as part of life.
The dolls from Chennai, tend be on the fuller side, particularly the chettiar couple kind of dolls again these dolls very different from the 36-26-36 image created by Barbie they teach us to accept all shapes and sizes.
The dancing dolls of Tanjavur made their appearance sometime in the 19th century and have fascinated kids since then with their curved structure and nodding heads.
The first collection I had for my daughter was miniature furniture, a miniature godrej cupboard (which was gifted to her by the company) and a miniature Hawkins. The furniture was made by a neighbor who had a carpentry unit and he fashioned this out of left over wood. She had the entire range of cooking stuff from the chennapatna collection.
The choir dolls from kerala are crafted to the details of knee joints, the patches on the skin of a giraffe; yet, the simplicity of it is amazing it is just made by interweaving choir thread.
Cloth dolls from Gujarat and madhyapradesh are another part of our heritage. Metal dolls of Bengal, the toymaker of India has used abundantly available indigenous material and created amazing creatures. These are one of a kind.
The world of dolls is so fascinating every Navaratri I try to learn something but it never seems to end. From Mohenjo-Daro to the woolen dolls of modern Punjab (made from left over wool) the bamboo puppets to the Rajastani raja-rain puppets the world is amazing.
My own favorite collection was the chennapattana dolls.
All of you out there who are like me I mean who refuse to grow up when it comes to dolls please visit the doll museum at Delhi, when you get passed the modern plastics you have ethnic crafted dolls from the world.
Every where the effects of aggressive dandiya marketing is seen. I really admire the Bengalis association for its focused traditional durga pooja. We somehow seem to have given up our traditions. When my older daughter asked me about it she was 3 then, I decided to revive the gollu tradition.
For me it brings back memories of my Penkonda nurtured maternal grandmother, and her hyperactivity. And of course the fascinating world of dolls.
Except for the cowbelt Navaratri is associated with Durga pooja, or the divine feminine.
The Navaratri gollu is a display of toys in 9 levels, or metlu/padi (essentially a step) one for each day of the Navaratri the topmost has the dampati or the raja rani dolls. The presiding dolls. In front a them a kalash with water, coin, 5 mango leaves, and a coconut are arranged. When dodda (my grandmother) was young every Navaratri at least one doll was bought.
Evening was the social occasion sundal, and paanaka would be made and women from the neighborhood would visit each other, sing songs, and of course gossip. ‘
Dolls have been part of civilizations; they could have emerged from discarded totem. Many of them were made by potters, Kosam of Allahabad is known for its toy cats. The presence of miniatures of daily life for play purpose is evident in the title of shudraka’s play Mrichchakatikam.
Mother and child dolls are offered as thanks giving many a times, while small black dolls are hung ward away the evil in Maharashtra , the scarecrow is a large version of it. Many of these are made at home, just before the puja and then immersed away after it; making of this involved the children of the family thus folk wisdom was handed down.
Sambalpuri dolls have an animal motif, toymakers of Rajasthan also have their special range of animal toys.
Toymakers always replicated what they saw round them. Then came the aesthetic component, like the theater artist the toymaker has to observe life too.
When I got married I started my collection with the kodandapalli dolls, made of wood called punki individual component is carved and fitted in. these dolls show such detailing when it comes to costumes. The trend of the Kodandapalli dolls are various professions that people follow. The dolls have now begun to depict missionaries, doctors and construction workers. The presence of thata-paati dolls kind of unconsciously make the kids accept grandparents as part of life.
The dolls from Chennai, tend be on the fuller side, particularly the chettiar couple kind of dolls again these dolls very different from the 36-26-36 image created by Barbie they teach us to accept all shapes and sizes.
The dancing dolls of Tanjavur made their appearance sometime in the 19th century and have fascinated kids since then with their curved structure and nodding heads.
The first collection I had for my daughter was miniature furniture, a miniature godrej cupboard (which was gifted to her by the company) and a miniature Hawkins. The furniture was made by a neighbor who had a carpentry unit and he fashioned this out of left over wood. She had the entire range of cooking stuff from the chennapatna collection.
The choir dolls from kerala are crafted to the details of knee joints, the patches on the skin of a giraffe; yet, the simplicity of it is amazing it is just made by interweaving choir thread.
Cloth dolls from Gujarat and madhyapradesh are another part of our heritage. Metal dolls of Bengal, the toymaker of India has used abundantly available indigenous material and created amazing creatures. These are one of a kind.
The world of dolls is so fascinating every Navaratri I try to learn something but it never seems to end. From Mohenjo-Daro to the woolen dolls of modern Punjab (made from left over wool) the bamboo puppets to the Rajastani raja-rain puppets the world is amazing.
My own favorite collection was the chennapattana dolls.
All of you out there who are like me I mean who refuse to grow up when it comes to dolls please visit the doll museum at Delhi, when you get passed the modern plastics you have ethnic crafted dolls from the world.
Friday, September 4, 2009
Sulekha team has thrown late marriage to us bloggers as abait.
I wonder if the late is as in dear departed or if it is a delay in marriage. That is the average age at which people marry.
Marriage is a socially recognized and approved union between individuals, who commit to one another with expectations of a stable and lasting intimate relation.
In simple terms it means becoming an adult and taking responsibility for your life and being a support to another.
In the modern society marriage is getting delayed as compared to other decades. Interesting this trend was seen post world war I while World War II saw a spurge in marriages and divorces.
One thing I realized from the various conversations is that both men and women these days want a “wife” of their own. What I mean by this is someone who’ll get the hot soup and pamper you when you go out and conquer the world. Somehow there is a negative connotation to it, it sounds like a domestic servant.
Being married gives a kind of social completeness, companionship, safe sexual partner, dependability, sharing of mutual interest , pooling economic resources and proper delegation responsibilities.( yes I know this is Utopia)
A colleague of mine who is in her late 40’s is unmarried her contention is why bother with marriage when you don’t need a husband to have sex, economic support, share residence or even have kids. You married women are harassed multitasking, and forever trying not to offend your husband despite of the same economic and education status.
When people do marry late, there are problems, though in the current scenario I would put it more as problems of being single. The more the marriage is put off, greater chances of remaining unmarried.
Why has this delay occurred at all? Lot of social scientist attributes it to the factor of 3 highs that is greater education, jobs and income.
The social scientists hypotheses that women delay marriage in the current scenario as
· Allows women to pursue higher studies which is the current focus
· Women can focus on their career paths.
· Pre-marital sex has become acceptable.
· It decreases possibility of divorce.
Some women opt of marrying at a later stage, when goals and aims of life are clearer. There is a sense of economic comfort. This may make a relationship more stable.
Since sex has got delinked from marriage it adds to the factor of delay in marriage. Among the Naga tribes before the missionary invasion, the social structure was such, that marriage was a commitment for life, sex, and children where different. Children were the responsibility of the community. During that social structure, domestic violence, sexual crimes were negligible.
Its also that the phase of life devoted to forming relations is also the period of life focused on career. Instead of symbiosis where balance is no doubt achieved but to many at the end of the day there is a sense of disappointment, focus on one area seem to make more sense.
Emotionally most chronologic and physiologic adults are not adults. Early childhood and young adult focus on academics, at the cost of learning basic interpersonal and survival skills like cooking, mending or ironing scares many kids. This is another factor contributing to avoidance in committing to a relationship.
My colleague from the psychiatry says despite of the Alpha+ image portrayed majority of human beings are not Alpha+. Domesticity is a necessity for emotional health. It has been noted that depression, sexual repression and related perversions, anger syndromes, are more in late marriage, as is the chance of the marriage failing. With age people become set in their habits, and more choosy when it comes to their partner. All this presents a picture of incompleteness.
The above psychological scene spontaneously presents greater life style disorders hypertensics, diabetics, cardiac disorders and the works.
With women there is an additional limitation of the biologic clock ticking.
Actually the change of structure from a early marriage, to a late one, the conflicting rationale behind it is all well portrayed in an Israeli movie, I do not know the Israeli name the English subtitle is delayed marriage. The hero who is waiting for his ideal love, and companion, the parents who are worried about their son’s reducing choice market, and basically the change in priorities of the generation.
I wonder if the late is as in dear departed or if it is a delay in marriage. That is the average age at which people marry.
Marriage is a socially recognized and approved union between individuals, who commit to one another with expectations of a stable and lasting intimate relation.
In simple terms it means becoming an adult and taking responsibility for your life and being a support to another.
In the modern society marriage is getting delayed as compared to other decades. Interesting this trend was seen post world war I while World War II saw a spurge in marriages and divorces.
One thing I realized from the various conversations is that both men and women these days want a “wife” of their own. What I mean by this is someone who’ll get the hot soup and pamper you when you go out and conquer the world. Somehow there is a negative connotation to it, it sounds like a domestic servant.
Being married gives a kind of social completeness, companionship, safe sexual partner, dependability, sharing of mutual interest , pooling economic resources and proper delegation responsibilities.( yes I know this is Utopia)
A colleague of mine who is in her late 40’s is unmarried her contention is why bother with marriage when you don’t need a husband to have sex, economic support, share residence or even have kids. You married women are harassed multitasking, and forever trying not to offend your husband despite of the same economic and education status.
When people do marry late, there are problems, though in the current scenario I would put it more as problems of being single. The more the marriage is put off, greater chances of remaining unmarried.
Why has this delay occurred at all? Lot of social scientist attributes it to the factor of 3 highs that is greater education, jobs and income.
The social scientists hypotheses that women delay marriage in the current scenario as
· Allows women to pursue higher studies which is the current focus
· Women can focus on their career paths.
· Pre-marital sex has become acceptable.
· It decreases possibility of divorce.
Some women opt of marrying at a later stage, when goals and aims of life are clearer. There is a sense of economic comfort. This may make a relationship more stable.
Since sex has got delinked from marriage it adds to the factor of delay in marriage. Among the Naga tribes before the missionary invasion, the social structure was such, that marriage was a commitment for life, sex, and children where different. Children were the responsibility of the community. During that social structure, domestic violence, sexual crimes were negligible.
Its also that the phase of life devoted to forming relations is also the period of life focused on career. Instead of symbiosis where balance is no doubt achieved but to many at the end of the day there is a sense of disappointment, focus on one area seem to make more sense.
Emotionally most chronologic and physiologic adults are not adults. Early childhood and young adult focus on academics, at the cost of learning basic interpersonal and survival skills like cooking, mending or ironing scares many kids. This is another factor contributing to avoidance in committing to a relationship.
My colleague from the psychiatry says despite of the Alpha+ image portrayed majority of human beings are not Alpha+. Domesticity is a necessity for emotional health. It has been noted that depression, sexual repression and related perversions, anger syndromes, are more in late marriage, as is the chance of the marriage failing. With age people become set in their habits, and more choosy when it comes to their partner. All this presents a picture of incompleteness.
The above psychological scene spontaneously presents greater life style disorders hypertensics, diabetics, cardiac disorders and the works.
With women there is an additional limitation of the biologic clock ticking.
Actually the change of structure from a early marriage, to a late one, the conflicting rationale behind it is all well portrayed in an Israeli movie, I do not know the Israeli name the English subtitle is delayed marriage. The hero who is waiting for his ideal love, and companion, the parents who are worried about their son’s reducing choice market, and basically the change in priorities of the generation.
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