Saturday 31 March 2012

Arts: To be a Ghazal

All of us in India have listened to or heard about Ghazals. Few of us though understand what exactly is a Ghazal. The points below throw some light on the definition of a Ghazal.



1. To begin with, a Sher is a poem of 2 lines.

2. Ghazal is ‘necessarily’ a collection of 2 line poems called shers. But just being a collection of shers is not enough. Here’s a list of ‘must-haves’ for a ghazal to be a ghazal:

a.Beher: Length of the sher. All shers in a ghazal must be of the same beher

     b. Radif: A rule which states that second line of all shers must end with same words for a ghazal to be a ghazal

     c. Kaafiya: It is the rhyming pattern which the words before radif must have

     d. Matla: The first sher of the ghazal is called Matla. The first sher (Matla) must have the same last words in both the lines

     e. Maqta – Takhalus – Names of writers of shers in the last sher.


Now that you are aware of what a Ghazal is, I hope you would be able to appreciate it better. Happy listening!

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Friday 30 March 2012

Psychology: Everyone Is A Genius

Albert Einstein once said, "Everyone is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it'll spend its whole life believing that it is stupid." I think he left it for the people to decipher the meaning. 


There are a lot of movies which have been made around this theme. Be it the Tom Hanks starrer Forrest Gump (1994) or Aamir Khan starrer 3 idiots (2009), people from various parts of history have tried putting this message across. 


A true genius - Howard Gardener - did some phenomenal work around this subject and, after some reasonable amount of research, introduced to the world the concept of Multiple Intelligencies.


Here are the nine Intelligencies:


1. Quantitative (Math-logical): This is the most-known and the most-tested intelligence. It is the capacity to analyze problems logically, carry out mathematical operations, and investigate issues scientifically.


2. Literary:  This intelligence includes the ability to effectively use language to express oneself rhetorically or poetically; and language as a means to remember information. People with good language skills score high in this intelligence.


3. Musical: Appreciation of music, rhythmic sounds, write lyrics, compose, perform or play an instrument.


4. Kinesthetic: Great sports personalities possess this intelligence. Hand-eye co-ordination, good reflexes, good footwork, athletic sensitivity etc indicate one's kinesthetic intelligence.


5. Interpersonal: Ability to converse, ability to make friends, read others' emotions, collaborative problem solving are the traits one relates with interpersonal intelligence.


6. Intrapersonal: The realistic understanding of who we are, what our true needs are. This lot is emotionally very stable.


7. Spatial: All of us come across people who are very good with directions; people who have exceptional navigational skills. 


8. Naturalistic: The ability to relate to the natural world. This category would know one herb from the other, which mushroom to eat. Animal related programs on infotainment channels showcase the lot with this intelligence.


9. Spiritual: People with spiritual intelligence can easily connect with the higher world. This lot can better balance decisions with yardsticks of morality and self-governance.


Reference List: 
Smith, Mark K. (2002, 2008) 'Howard Gardner and Multiple Intelligences'.

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Current: What plagues Indian Railways?

Source: Tehelka, Volume-9, Issue: 13; 31 March 2012


Some interesting facts:
1.       India’s longest train journey – Vivek Express – 4243km; upper Assam to KanyaKumari

2.       It takes 82 hours and 40 minutes to cover this distance at a speed of 51 kmph

3.       In China, long distance trains run at a speed of 350kmph

4.       2.3 crore Indians use trains every day. This is just 10% of the total passengers per day.

5.       India has 7083 railway stations and 19000 km of tracks
Problem areas:
1.       Overstaffing: Indian railways is the world’s eighth largest employer with 1.3 million employees and 1.2 million pensioners

2.       India has 12000 passenger trains but the focus on long distance trains has much more to be desired. 5200 out of this 12000 are intra city which consume as much money and attention as express trains. 4200 are slow-moving passenger trains. Only 2600 trains are actually express trains which move at rapid speeds.

3.       Because of lack of safety, signaling equipment, the distance between two trains is unreasonably high. So, the frequency is extremely low which disturbs the overall revenue.

4.       Freight trains are not considered important. 45% of the freight traffic is coal. Freight trains are made to wait as they are seen as low priority than day-trippers. This has led to FMCG goods shifting to trucks and buses, thereby, leading to a severe revenue loss.

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Thursday 29 March 2012

Book Review: Cuckold by Kiran Nagarkar

Recently, I came across a copy of Cuckold by Kiran Nagarkar. To put in a euphemistic manner, a cuckold is a person whose wife is disloyal. The first couple of pages are enough to make you feel the air of authority that Rajputs used to exercise in the 16th century (it is based in 1520s). 

Maharaj Kumar, the protagonist and narrator of the story, was the eldest son of His Majesty Rana Sanga and hence the supposed heir apparent. Mira Bai was the wife of Maharaj Kumar and he calls himself a cuckold because Mira Bai was madly in love with Lord Krishna. He imagines the Little Saint (that is how she is referred to in this book) making love to the Lord. The book, essentially, throws light on how Rajputs were pursuing their carnal pleasures oblivious of the impending dangers. Rana Sanga became too complacent to consider a new strategy to counter his enemy who was known to have a small army. The fiction meets success in creating the milieu of the era. The terms like odalisques, palanquins and quills have been used frequently. As far as the emotions are concerned, it misses hardly any.

Be it jealousy, possessiveness, love, hatred, anger, sex, or greed, the novel has elements to tickle all your senses. Moreover, it gives you the perspective of both genders and even the genderless: eunuchs. 

It won’t be wrong to say that I haven’t come across a book, which is more complete than this masterpiece. It has everything: lechery, pure love, war strategies, sibling rivalry, betrayals, spirituality, cynicism, mythology, authoritarianism, hypocrisy and traditions. It has some tools of management also. It talks of Group discussions, research (doing homework), studying competitors etc. What is striking is the absence of tears. If memory serves me right, there was not a single episode where one can relate tears. These warriors, it seems, were stone-hearted. To put it in one sentence, Cuckold by Kiran Nagarkar is a display of sheer craftsmanship.

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Fiction: A romantic walk to a park nearby

It was a twilit evening. The cool breeze served as harbinger of the forthcoming spring. Flowers were waiting to blossom. They had a tough time under the tyrannical reigns of the winter that had just retired. I was savoring my tea along with the yummy chocolate cookies.
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My only companion was the television set, which I got from my elder brother as a gift when I got a distinction in the very first year of my college. Suddenly, the fragrance of the moistened mud enchanted me to have a look outside.


It had started drizzling. I couldn’t recall to have witnessed a more charming scene for it was an absolutely innocuous drizzle passing across the dim beams of the streetlights. It was as if God’s blessings had taken a tangible form. I could touch the illuminated droplets. I immediately felt an urge to go for a long drive. God’s blessings would accompany me, I was sure.

I picked up my car keys and approached my beloved car. Thanks to its crimson color, it looked like a bunch of fresh cherries ready to be relished. The minuscule droplets slanting from the roof of the car through the windscreen looked like tears of joy trickling down the chubby cheeks of a child who had been waiting for his parents after the tiring school hours. As soon as I opened the front door, I realized that one of the front tyres had got punctured. 'You plan and God laughs’, they say.

A midst my romantic conversations with God, I was caught in a dilemma. Life is hard, I must confess, but the problem was too small to kill the joy. Nevertheless, the predicament had to be solved. It was whether to replace the tyre or to go for a stroll to a nearby park. I preferred the latter. I went inside the home and fetched an umbrella.

Crimson car, pink umbrella, it seemed God wanted me to play with colors which suit flowers best. The umbrella had a girlish feel to it. 'Pink is for girls’, my friends would tell me whenever I would carry this umbrella to college. But the weather was too beautiful to give me time for apprehensions like these. I started strolling.

I had hardly walked a mile when the sprinkle stopped. The liquid blessings had taken a gaseous form. But this form was equally lovable. The breeze caressing the naked parts of my body formed an idyllic scene. I didn’t feel like shutting the umbrella. Pink was for girls and who wouldn’t want a svelte damsel as company in such romanticized environment. Though umbrella got my primary focus, it wasn’t the only thing that was accompanying me. Walking along with me, also, was the rasp of dry leaves being rubbed by my sneakers’ soles. The noise they made sounded like their reassurance to the vacuous branches that the branches would be prospering again.

I must have walked ten more steps when I saw a group of children playing cricket under the lights. Patrons of day and night ODIs (One Day Internationals), they appeared. They had mud smeared all over their clothes. They were fighting for what seemed right to them. ‘Sports, truly, build character’, I announced to myself. The passion with which they were playing, who knows some of them might turn out to be the Sachin Tendulkars and Rahul Dravids of our future cricket team and bring us the coveted World cup. It is not for nothing that people call Spring the 'Season of hope.’

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Food: A Gentleman's Guide to Wine Drinking

SOURCE: MW/ISSUE 145/MARCH 2012/Pg - 61. 
MW is a Men's lifestyle Magazine.




Do what you feel like but if you are the one who loves enhancing the experience, here's a list of 'must-knows' about Wine Drinking:


1. Pairing wine with food: Light food (like pasta, salad and fish) with White wine and meat dishes with red wine.


2. With every 100 ml of wine, you consume 80 calories


3. It is a myth that the older the wine the better it is. The old wines, only if stored at proper temperatures, are good. The next time you go for an old wine, be sure of the temperature it was stored at.


4. White Wine is ideally served at 10 degree Celsius and red wine at 18 degree Celsius.


5. The wines are served in stem glasses and you should hold the glass from the stem so that your hand doesn't transfer the heat on to the wine.


6. White wine is served in Tulip shaped stem glasses. Their shape helps retain the chill of the wine. 


7. Wider bodied glasses are better for red wine as they help increase the rate of oxidation. Go for a big bowl when buying glasses for red wine.


8. Don't Drink and Drive. Have an excellent wine drinking experience.

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