Tuesday, September 29, 2009
How Political Landspace transforms Historical Events
What is in a name even if it is a Historical event, many times depends upon from which side you are looking but more importantly who wins the battle. One of the example of groing in recently got independent poorer India or 70s is the word Indian Rebellion of 1857 or Sepoy mutiny (depending whether you are a British or Indian. A freedom fighter is someone's terrorist, example of Azad and Indian Kashmir).Interestingly the terms Indian Rebellion and Sepoy Mutiny and changing of the term in the last 30 odd years is another example of how history is dictated by Politics rather than reality. Sepoy Mutiny was still common when we were younger or reading 1950s or 60s Indain hsitory But after Britain's failing importance in World and India' re-emergence, Sepoy Mutiny is now just an addendum to historical British Britanica and the word does not even come in the democratic Wikipedia.
Friday, September 18, 2009
American Health Care
The American Health Care is at crossroads..
See some good article etc
A Radio show that discusses how US system compares with other counties
http://www.onpointradio.org/2009/06/obamas-health-care-push
Some Solutions
Cleveland Clinic Way
Data Based Stuff - Time Jun 23, 2009 How to Cut Health-Care Costs: Less Care, More Data
After Health Care Bill was put
Why the "a government-backed public option to compete with private insurers, instead proposes funds to set up nonprofit cooperatives" might not work.
Democracy Now article on it Read/Watch it here
Look at other country how they do it well
India how preventive and low technology diagnosis and non lobby based system is providing better health care See economist article
See some good article etc
A Radio show that discusses how US system compares with other counties
http://www.onpointradio.org/2009/06/obamas-health-care-push
Some Solutions
Cleveland Clinic Way
Data Based Stuff - Time Jun 23, 2009 How to Cut Health-Care Costs: Less Care, More Data
After Health Care Bill was put
Why the "a government-backed public option to compete with private insurers, instead proposes funds to set up nonprofit cooperatives" might not work.
Democracy Now article on it Read/Watch it here
Look at other country how they do it well
India how preventive and low technology diagnosis and non lobby based system is providing better health care See economist article
Tuesday, September 01, 2009
Pujo Assche
It all started with a small IM from an old Bong (Bengali college friend)
" Puja Assche ...:-) Phone Korris .. "
These words have some very deep seated meaning... Especially if you lived your most important part of your life in Calcutta or nearby.
And even the single phrase "Puja Assche" actually almost made my eyes moist.
Old memories just dwarfed in to my mind. Memories of childhood days and early youth. of Calcutta and Pujas....
Memories of the part of the year months in which Puja is set. The weather starting to cool the receding Monsoons and most important "PANDALS being erected"...
It all meant holiday and a cultural immersion like nothing I have seen, even with my vagabound years.
Durga Puja has some elements that can bring people from any background. That is the biggest charm to it and that is what makes is so special. The origin like any festival anywhere has an a religious element to it, but especially how how it originated (origin of Puja) , especially "Sarbajanin Durga Puja" which most Bengali identify Durga Puja now with is more a cultural event than religious. A event which is iconically Calcuttan and now the symbolic embodiment of Bengalis or even the "Bhadrolok" culture of 1800s and early to mid 1900s. And in it we can see why this small state has produced so many cultural behemoths and earlier the most important financial capital of British crown India and its capital Calcutta. Again why Calcutta to this day is still called the cultural capital of India.
But after being Probabsi for so long there is more to it than just the event and its symbolism. At a personal level I miss the social melange and phenomenon called Puja... Where you need not be Bengali or Hindu or even religious to enjoy it. Another reason why it still flourished in under 25 years of the only Rad state atheist.
This universal appeal of might because of how I would say un-religious abberation Durga Puja is. The Durga's killing Mahisasur which is the hallmark of Durga Puja has a lot of abberations. The date of the killing is not even mentioned in Durga Chalisa. Actually the religious significance of the last few days of Durga Puja (which most of us remember standing in front of pratima of Durga in a cultural edifice ie.e pandal) is not about Durga Mahisasura Bodhan but killing of Ravana by Ram. Ram worshiped Durga and by doing puja with 108 lotus symbolic of her 108 names to get powers to kill the most powerful king of Asura (Daemon), the powerful Ravana. Again why it is also called "Akal Bodhan" (A-Kal in Sanskrit is Untimely). Even the name Durga is not completely correct as though she killed Mahisasura the avatar was when the Bodhan ( killing) was done is actually Mahishasuramardini. Actually the the only thing which is authentic about Durga Puja is Mahalaya the first day of Durga Festivity and the Birendra Krishna Bhadra's AIR tranmission at 4 AM.
This is certainly one of the biggest anamoly one can see in any prominent religious festival besides Christmas. It makes even more puzzling as its origin were done by a more literate Zaminadars unlike origins of Christmas in which trying to "increase the folk" the Christian church sort of followed the pagan festivity of Saturnalia during the end of year for locals of Europe. I think the reason why this anomaly was done was the timing and the Goddess chosen. Durga Puja marks the end of Monsoon. And for an agrarian Zamindar (landlord) it meant it is time for summer harvest. A time when fields are filled with Kharif crop (monsoon season crops). The reason for origin of the first 'Baro-Yaari'Pujo( from Baro ie twelve or the twelve friends of Guptipara in Hoogly, West Bengal, who collaborated and collected contributions from local residents to conduct the first community puja) or even the earliest recording of Durga Puja by the zamindar of the Sharadiya(Autumn)Durgotsab in Bengal in c 1606.
The freedom Swadeshi movement and bringing people across the religious aspect was the rationale behind Sarbojanin Durgotsav. We see that in the aspect coming in and the first Sarbojanin of Bagbazar. The freedon stuggle element of the cultural festival is very similar to the origin of the the other festival of similar kinds i.e. Ganesha Chaturthy. It was also started around the same time by Lokmanya Tilak, when he tried to bridge the gap between Brahmins and 'non-Brahmins'. The requirement of the time to coalesce the people of British dominion into a more single form and creation of an nationalistic entity which we now call India. On a side track this trying to appeal to the melange of India with its different languages and religion and singular focus starting from the early Swadeshi movement and the later Indian National Congress was the big reason of success them compared to the non-singular goal orientation of the Indian Rebellion of 1857 or Sepoy mutiny ( See my blog explaining how Political landscape decides historical events). Again all these elements have made the cultural phenomenon which Durga Puja has now become. A sort of religious festival celebrated in an Atheist Maoist Leninist state, ruled by these atheist who certainly encourage the festival for last 30 years!!.
And even besides these slight Religious abberation of Durga Puja at a personal level has the aspects that touches people in many a way. The timing is perfect. The long hard summer month is past and also the mercurian monsoon is gone. The brutal summers and downpours have now been metamorphosed into the cooler weather and bounty of harvest. The green paddy field with the wild Kash phool (actually Kash grass gives credence to the Sonar Sabuj Bangla (the prosperity of the Bengal including Bangladesh coming from the two huge rivers Ganga Jamuna and the result of it during the Karif harvest months). And before the fields become barren and money from this harvest disintegrate to the wait for the next monsoon the timing of the festival could not have been better. It sort of exudes the the optimism of the people and land. I suppose the biggest reason of the huge acceptance of the festivity.
It is a time of the year when people come out and see one of the finest cultural aspect of not only Bengal but India's melting pot. A cultural that has as much as aspect of Indianess as is the British influence. Be it the Swadeshi movement or the cultural elements that make up the cultural enlightenment of the Bhadrolok Bengali. A very interesting love and hate relationship of British by Indian, and no where was it more poignant than Bengal and no where you see the dichotomy more than especially Sarbojoni Durga Puja and its Swadeshi movement. A festival that was started by British supported Zamindar as sort of show-off but saw its crystallization in the freedom movement coalizing of normal people of different backgrounds.
The SMS message that started it all
Friend's new status message - online on blackberry 9:24 AM
me: But anyway how are you and how are things with you... Puja Assche ...:-) Phone Korris ..
I always prefer phone.. amar number ta change hote paare keep my google voice number 661-505-8009
Friend: yeah i know a bunch of em too but i guess i am still in the iron age:-) i like my full size qwerty...nischoi phone korbo..i have heard SF bay area pujo is by far the best in the US...have you ever been there?
Sent at 9:26 AM on Tuesday
me: unfortunately I hav not gone to any pUja in US...
sonehow always missed it or there was no puja near me..
but this year will go to one in LA, heard it is also big...
Sent at 9:28 AM on Tuesday
Friend: i want to pause for a moment and reflect on the sentence you said "Pujo Asche"...it's just two words but it means a lot to Benaglis....and it continues to amaze me that inspite of your roots not being bengali...the way you said it had all the essence and emotions that i can associate with those two words:-) makes me happy..and probably made my day...
Sent at 9:32 AM on Tuesday
me: It is true... that few lines you replied actually almost made my eyes moist, jsut brought back memories of days of childhood and youth, of Calcutta and Pujas.... And months ago the weather started cooling and Pandals used to start... and after being Probabsi for so long.. jsut miss the social melangee and phenomenon called Puja...
Will get an email which will capture it in a better way
Another short IM
Another friend: well i have just gone through your blog and it is indeed a very well researched piece of work
me: oh thanks
Sent at 2:13 PM on Tuesday
me: well sort of wanted to write a bit of stuff of what I make of the festival and especially after i moved out of Calcutta and India, it was a sort of trying to understand why I was so still moved by all of it. So basically what is it in it that still captivates me and emotionally moves me.
" Puja Assche ...:-) Phone Korris .. "
These words have some very deep seated meaning... Especially if you lived your most important part of your life in Calcutta or nearby.
And even the single phrase "Puja Assche" actually almost made my eyes moist.
Old memories just dwarfed in to my mind. Memories of childhood days and early youth. of Calcutta and Pujas....
Memories of the part of the year months in which Puja is set. The weather starting to cool the receding Monsoons and most important "PANDALS being erected"...
It all meant holiday and a cultural immersion like nothing I have seen, even with my vagabound years.
Durga Puja has some elements that can bring people from any background. That is the biggest charm to it and that is what makes is so special. The origin like any festival anywhere has an a religious element to it, but especially how how it originated (origin of Puja) , especially "Sarbajanin Durga Puja" which most Bengali identify Durga Puja now with is more a cultural event than religious. A event which is iconically Calcuttan and now the symbolic embodiment of Bengalis or even the "Bhadrolok" culture of 1800s and early to mid 1900s. And in it we can see why this small state has produced so many cultural behemoths and earlier the most important financial capital of British crown India and its capital Calcutta. Again why Calcutta to this day is still called the cultural capital of India.
But after being Probabsi for so long there is more to it than just the event and its symbolism. At a personal level I miss the social melange and phenomenon called Puja... Where you need not be Bengali or Hindu or even religious to enjoy it. Another reason why it still flourished in under 25 years of the only Rad state atheist.
This universal appeal of might because of how I would say un-religious abberation Durga Puja is. The Durga's killing Mahisasur which is the hallmark of Durga Puja has a lot of abberations. The date of the killing is not even mentioned in Durga Chalisa. Actually the religious significance of the last few days of Durga Puja (which most of us remember standing in front of pratima of Durga in a cultural edifice ie.e pandal) is not about Durga Mahisasura Bodhan but killing of Ravana by Ram. Ram worshiped Durga and by doing puja with 108 lotus symbolic of her 108 names to get powers to kill the most powerful king of Asura (Daemon), the powerful Ravana. Again why it is also called "Akal Bodhan" (A-Kal in Sanskrit is Untimely). Even the name Durga is not completely correct as though she killed Mahisasura the avatar was when the Bodhan ( killing) was done is actually Mahishasuramardini. Actually the the only thing which is authentic about Durga Puja is Mahalaya the first day of Durga Festivity and the Birendra Krishna Bhadra's AIR tranmission at 4 AM.
This is certainly one of the biggest anamoly one can see in any prominent religious festival besides Christmas. It makes even more puzzling as its origin were done by a more literate Zaminadars unlike origins of Christmas in which trying to "increase the folk" the Christian church sort of followed the pagan festivity of Saturnalia during the end of year for locals of Europe. I think the reason why this anomaly was done was the timing and the Goddess chosen. Durga Puja marks the end of Monsoon. And for an agrarian Zamindar (landlord) it meant it is time for summer harvest. A time when fields are filled with Kharif crop (monsoon season crops). The reason for origin of the first 'Baro-Yaari'Pujo( from Baro ie twelve or the twelve friends of Guptipara in Hoogly, West Bengal, who collaborated and collected contributions from local residents to conduct the first community puja) or even the earliest recording of Durga Puja by the zamindar of the Sharadiya(Autumn)Durgotsab in Bengal in c 1606.
The freedom Swadeshi movement and bringing people across the religious aspect was the rationale behind Sarbojanin Durgotsav. We see that in the aspect coming in and the first Sarbojanin of Bagbazar. The freedon stuggle element of the cultural festival is very similar to the origin of the the other festival of similar kinds i.e. Ganesha Chaturthy. It was also started around the same time by Lokmanya Tilak, when he tried to bridge the gap between Brahmins and 'non-Brahmins'. The requirement of the time to coalesce the people of British dominion into a more single form and creation of an nationalistic entity which we now call India. On a side track this trying to appeal to the melange of India with its different languages and religion and singular focus starting from the early Swadeshi movement and the later Indian National Congress was the big reason of success them compared to the non-singular goal orientation of the Indian Rebellion of 1857 or Sepoy mutiny ( See my blog explaining how Political landscape decides historical events). Again all these elements have made the cultural phenomenon which Durga Puja has now become. A sort of religious festival celebrated in an Atheist Maoist Leninist state, ruled by these atheist who certainly encourage the festival for last 30 years!!.
And even besides these slight Religious abberation of Durga Puja at a personal level has the aspects that touches people in many a way. The timing is perfect. The long hard summer month is past and also the mercurian monsoon is gone. The brutal summers and downpours have now been metamorphosed into the cooler weather and bounty of harvest. The green paddy field with the wild Kash phool (actually Kash grass gives credence to the Sonar Sabuj Bangla (the prosperity of the Bengal including Bangladesh coming from the two huge rivers Ganga Jamuna and the result of it during the Karif harvest months). And before the fields become barren and money from this harvest disintegrate to the wait for the next monsoon the timing of the festival could not have been better. It sort of exudes the the optimism of the people and land. I suppose the biggest reason of the huge acceptance of the festivity.
It is a time of the year when people come out and see one of the finest cultural aspect of not only Bengal but India's melting pot. A cultural that has as much as aspect of Indianess as is the British influence. Be it the Swadeshi movement or the cultural elements that make up the cultural enlightenment of the Bhadrolok Bengali. A very interesting love and hate relationship of British by Indian, and no where was it more poignant than Bengal and no where you see the dichotomy more than especially Sarbojoni Durga Puja and its Swadeshi movement. A festival that was started by British supported Zamindar as sort of show-off but saw its crystallization in the freedom movement coalizing of normal people of different backgrounds.
The SMS message that started it all
Friend's new status message - online on blackberry 9:24 AM
me: But anyway how are you and how are things with you... Puja Assche ...:-) Phone Korris ..
I always prefer phone.. amar number ta change hote paare keep my google voice number 661-505-8009
Friend: yeah i know a bunch of em too but i guess i am still in the iron age:-) i like my full size qwerty...nischoi phone korbo..i have heard SF bay area pujo is by far the best in the US...have you ever been there?
Sent at 9:26 AM on Tuesday
me: unfortunately I hav not gone to any pUja in US...
sonehow always missed it or there was no puja near me..
but this year will go to one in LA, heard it is also big...
Sent at 9:28 AM on Tuesday
Friend: i want to pause for a moment and reflect on the sentence you said "Pujo Asche"...it's just two words but it means a lot to Benaglis....and it continues to amaze me that inspite of your roots not being bengali...the way you said it had all the essence and emotions that i can associate with those two words:-) makes me happy..and probably made my day...
Sent at 9:32 AM on Tuesday
me: It is true... that few lines you replied actually almost made my eyes moist, jsut brought back memories of days of childhood and youth, of Calcutta and Pujas.... And months ago the weather started cooling and Pandals used to start... and after being Probabsi for so long.. jsut miss the social melangee and phenomenon called Puja...
Will get an email which will capture it in a better way
Another short IM
Another friend: well i have just gone through your blog and it is indeed a very well researched piece of work
me: oh thanks
Sent at 2:13 PM on Tuesday
me: well sort of wanted to write a bit of stuff of what I make of the festival and especially after i moved out of Calcutta and India, it was a sort of trying to understand why I was so still moved by all of it. So basically what is it in it that still captivates me and emotionally moves me.
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