Category: English

  • Aura Around Disability

    Aura Around Disability

    Today is a proud moment for India as a country. Two of our athletes bagged gold in the Tokyo Paralympics 2021. Our ace shooter Avani Lekhara and Javelin Record Breaker Sumit Antil have created history for us. We are extremely proud of them. On a personal level, as a person with hearing disability I am very happy that my fellows are making it happen. Avani has become the first woman Indian athlete to bag the gold for India while Sumit broke his own records thrice in this tournament to bag his gold. They are getting recognized. And almost everyone was waiting for one man to react to these amazing athletes. Yes, you guessed it right. Mr. Anand Mahindra. 

    Only last week, Padmashree Deepa Malik who’s a paralympian herself and heads the Paralympic Committee of India, requested all automobile industry leaders from our country to research and make SUVs for people with disabilities like she is using in Tokyo. And as we all expected, Mr. Mahindra promptly put his crew on the task. Today he kind of reiterated his commitment along with a promise to give the first of its kind to our Golden Girl via his twitter handle. However, while replying to this tweet a guy sid correcting Mr. Mahindra’s use of the word “disabilities”. 

    It’s not about the label

    Sadly, part of the twitter thread is now all about the “correct” label for the community. If ‘disabilities’ is ok? Or we should call it ‘different abilities’. Some might even argue to call us people with ‘special abilities’. We Indians are so fascinated with our habit of labeling everything. Our honorable PM has coined a new label for us, Divyang. Personally, when I hear that word, I feel some mythological or mysterious limb has grown on my body. 

    Every language has a word for every disability. A person without eye sight is called blind person in English, आंधळा (Āndhaḷā) in marathi and so on. In a lame attempt to feel compassionate, sympathetic for us, people started creating such odd labels. 

    However, these specific terms are adjectives. They describe a PERSON with particular disability. While addressing one should not forget that you are talking about a person. Your focus should be a person and not a disability. Many forums and organizations, like United Nations have issued guidelines about inclusive language. They all prescribe to identify someone with disability as a person with disability and not to use the terms “handicapped,” “differently-abled,” “unfortunate,” or “special needs.”

    We, the people with disabilities

    We only need recognition and acceptance as fellow human from you and not your sympathy. Our disability is a condition which we have accepted and we are leading our lives happily. And as rightly proven by Avani and Sumit, hell yeah we are successful like every other person. So, let’s just call a spade a spade for once and accept us as we are. Once again, Congratulations to our champions and excitedly looking forward to engineering mastery of Mahindra and Mahindra.

    Read more such articles here.

  • Abhangwani – Vibrant Corner of Every Marathi Heart

    Abhangwani – Vibrant Corner of Every Marathi Heart

    There’s a very vibrant and long tradition of Vaari (वारी) in Maharashtra dating back for more than 800 years.  Every year palanquins carrying ‘paduka’ (sandals) of saints are taken with this pilgrimage to reach Pandharpur on occasion of Ashadhi Ekadashi (Eleventh lunar day of the bright fortnight the month of Ashadh). It’s a great procession which goes on for 15 days on foot from Dehu, Alandi and other places to Pandharpur. Lakhs and lakhs of Vasrkaris take part in this procession singing various abhangs, devotional songs of Lord Viththal written by Saints.

    This tradition of singing abhang in procession is taken to a next level and widened its reach to the general public of Maharashtra and other places in the country by various singers and composers. However, one name comes on top of this list. Bharatratna Pandit Bhimsen Joshi composed a number of abhangs and created a full length program with them. Pandit Kumar Gandharva’s program on Sant Tukaram, Kishoritai Amonkar, Chota Gandharva, Master Krishnarao and many other musicians also composed many Abhangs and performed regularly on stage. Many marathi movies featured some of them as film songs.

    Abhangs which are very close to my heart

    Every composition by these legends is phenomenal and worth listening to again and again. Words written by these saints appear to be so simple and easy to understand, however, if you keep listening to them again and again, someday, you may feel some eureka moments. Today, I am listing some of my favorite Abhangs here for you to enjoy the eternal bliss.

    Laxmi Vallabha – Pandit Kumar Gandharva

    Pandit Kumar Gandharva composed a bunch of abhangs written by Sant Tukaram to the new tunes. Sadly the program flopped as people didn’t accept the new tunes. However, this one particular tune stuck behind and is sung by many of his disciples and musicians influenced by Kumarji’s style and music.

    Avgha Rang Ek Zala – Kishoritai Amonkar

    Gaanasaraswati Koshori Amonkar is a legendary classical vocalist of Jaipur Gharana. She has composed a few abhangs, some Meerabai’s bhajans and performed them in her concerts. This particular abhang is written by Sant Soyarabai who was a disciple of her husband Sant Chokhamela.

    Haribhajanaveen Kaal – Pt. Jitendra Abhisheki

    Every Goan music enthusiast is proud of Pandit Jitendra Abhisheki who was accomplished classical vocalist and composer. During his time, he composed many bhajans, abhang, thumari, natyasangeet etc. Haribhajanaveed kaal is abhang written by Sant Sohirobanath of Goa in which he describes importance of self realization

    Dnyaniyancha Raja – Pt. Bhimsen Joshi

    Bharatratna Pt. Bhimsen Joshi created a flagship musical program and took these wisdom gems written by our saints to every nook and corner around the country. I am choosing this next one form his compositions. Dnyaniyancha Raja is written by Sant Tukaram in honor of Sant Dnyandev.

    Carnatic classical vocalists also sing these abhangs with equal devotion and mastery. Padma Shri Aruna Sairam, vocalist duo Ranjani – Gayatrhi are just a couple of names who frequently sing these masterpieces. Hope you will enjoy these renditions full with devotion and dedication.

    This post is a part of the Blogchatter Half Marathon. Read my earlier story here.

  • 5 Marathi films that you shouldn’t miss

    5 Marathi films that you shouldn’t miss

    Just like music, taste for films is different for everyone. Some people find  relief in comedy, some of them love romcoms. Crime thrillers catch the fancy of a few while some gravitate towards films with social cause or message. That’s why the single list of “Best Movies” will always be contested. Even this list will be challenged by my fellow film enthusiasts or film lovers. However, If you want to know what I think about Modern Marathi Films, these 5 are the best bets to pick. 

    My top picks for Marathi Films that you shouldn’t miss

    Every Marathi movie fan will pick 1988 classic Ashi Hi Banawa Banawi in the top movie lists. There are few modern entries which are obvious to the list like Sairat, Dhurala, Farjand etc. However, they are not in the list. One point in not picking them is that they already have their fame and fans. These are a few movies which I think should also get their fair share of fame out of Marathi hearts. This list is not the ranking like most to least favorite. आप इनकी क्रोनॉलॉजी समझीये!

    Checkmate (2008)

    2008 Marathi crime thriller directed by Sanjay Jadhav which follows a bunch of young guys who lose millions in a gamble to make easy money in a ponzi scheme. Film tells us the story of their attempts to recover the lost money by tracking and manipulating the mastermind behind the scheme with their intelligence. For me, this film actually marked the change in Marathi films by bringing them out from the run of a mill commercial comedy film-making trend. Go to Zee5 to watch this pathbreaking film.

    Harishchandrachi Factory (2009)

    Paresh Mokashi, a wonderful director, decided to make a film about the father of Indian Cinema and created this amazing film. Later it became the official entry of India for the Academy Awards of that year. Film narrates a story of a journey of Dadasaheb Phalke from him discovering the cinema tent to producing India’s first feature film. Knowing about the new industry, getting knowledge of techniques and equipment to make a film, struggles to put together a team of actors and technicians are portrayed in the film so beautifully in a humorous way. I simply love this film. You can watch it on Netflix now.

    Narbachi Wadi (2013)

    Adapted from a Bengali short story, Manoj Mitra’s “Chajjano Bagan”, Aditya Sarpotdar directed Narbachi Wadi. This funny story is all about generations of landlords trying to grab a piece of land from Narba. Landlord has gifted this land to Narba’s father for saving a landlord’s life. It takes you to the beautiful coastal land of Konkan. Dilip Prabhavalkar’s Narba and Manoj Joshi’s portrayal of landlor Story is full of the quirks of the land.

    Happy Journey (2014)

    Happy journey is a story of Niranjan and Janaki, a brother and sister duo. Niranjan is a very dry person, practical, detached from a family who is working in gulf. However he meets a spirit of his sister who has hardly seen him when she was alive. Both of them take this journey to rekindle their bond in a very unique way. I simply love the movie because of it’s cinematography in Goa, choice of colour pallets for different characters and songs from the film. One thing which always remains with you is “Happy Journey” the van which they revive for the journey from its scrappy slumber. Amazon Prime is streaming this one.

    Faster Fene (2017)

    Faster Fene is a legendary character created by B. R. Bhagwat who is always wandering around to solve the mysteries and do adventures around. Aditya Sarpotdar brought this character to today’s world through this 2017 film. The publicity campaign was unique in itself just like a film. In this film he tries to solve the muder mystery. He gets involved in this scene when he comes to Pune for a medical entrance exam. Amey Wagh has built the character of Faster Fene superbly. It stands strongly against the powerful villain portrayed by Girish Kulkarni. You guys can watch this murder mystery on Zee5.

    Have you watched any of these films? What would be your list of 5 movies one shouldn’t miss.

    This post is a part of the Blogchatter Half Marathon. Read my earlier story here.

  • Indian Classical – tunes which I love

    Indian Classical – tunes which I love

    Music, a thing which captures the mood of the human mind and comes out as a tune which one hums. It doesn’t matter what language you speak, soulful music plucks the right strings in your heart and makes it resonate with the tune. As everyone has a unique taste, the choices of music also differ. Some souls are attached to rock music, where others choose country. Some of my fellow Indians can’t live without Bollywood music and films songs and EDM and trance music is key to some souls. However, My personal choice is Indian Classical music.

    One when it resonates for the first

    Like many foods and drinks, classical music is an acquired taste. One has to develop the likings towards it with a repeated exposure. I was getting that exposure at my home itself. Back then, it was an era of tape recorders. We had a nice one at our place. I remember, one day my granddad got a couple of cassettes. They had pictures of some old men in front of a microphone with closed eyes, wide open mouth and hands with some odd gestures on covers. Enthusiastically, I put one in and started to listen. The singer just droned elongated sounds for almost 15 minutes. I got bored by it and just left the room.

    When I remember this incident today, I find it very funny. I wasn’t even aware that those covers were pictures of the legends. Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, Pandit Kumar Gandharva and Pandit Jasraj. I hadn’t even heard these names before that point. Grandpa kept listening to those cassettes and I kept moving out of that room for quite a few months. However, It all changed suddenly one day.

    I put one cassette in the tape recorder and played. It was a misplaced cassette of Pandit Kumarji’s finest renditions in the cover of movie songs. I was about to turn it off and change when it happened. Something in his voice booming out of those speakers touched the chords deep inside. My hand stopped on buttons and I continued to listen. Since then, I have grown my likings towards Indian classical music. Now I am at the point where my first choice of music is something from the huge ocean of Indian Classical music archives available on the internet.

    My favorites from Indian Classical

    Voice of Kumarji still continues to fascinate me even after hundreds and hundreds of revisits to the same tracks. However, other maestros join in the stage of my personal conference with their renditions of amazing Bandishes, semi classical formats. It would be unfair to name one or two artists as my favorite. Vasantrao Deshpande, Bhimsen Ji, Vidushi Malini Rajurkar, Ustad Rashid Khan Kishori tai, Arti Ankalikar and the list goes on. Their voices always fascinate me. Recently, I have been listening to Pt. Vyankatesh Kumar, Rahul Deshpande, Anand Bhate and a young maestro Nagesh Adgaonkar. Classical instrumental artists like Anoushka Shankar, Shujat Khan, Saumik Dutta, Ustad Amjad Khan, have their special place in my heart. Sarod, Sitar and Violin make me happy. 

    There are so many tracks which are dear to my heart. I am going to list a few tracks of vocal and instrumental music which are on top of my head right now for you all to enjoy. Hope they touch the chords of your heart and resonate with you too.

    Raag – “Nanda” by Nagesh Adgaonkar
    Raag Durga by Pt. Vyaknatesh Kumar
    Lasya by Anoushka Shankar
    Rain Ragas by Ustad AMjad Ali Khan

    This post is a part of the Blogchatter Half Marathon. Read my earlier story here.

  • Faith – it’s good to have some

    Faith – it’s good to have some

    Last Saturday, I was searching through the Kindle Store to read something. I came across a very very tiny book called “Kind of Hindu” by Mindy Kailng. It’s a very short story of 10-12 pages about her reconnection with the faith, religion and its role in her life. When her daughter was born, she felt it necessary to find out what’s her relationship with her roots, her culture and values which she inherited from her parents. She has penned this very personal journey of thoughts very nicely. I believe at some point in life, everyone takes this path to ascertain their bearings about these aspects of life. 

    Incidentally, last week, I came across an article by Dr. Anil Awchat about his relationship with faith, rituals and religion in one of his books which I am currently reading. What could have been the chances of me coming across these two similar things back to back? Even ‘Why I am a Hindu’ by Mr. Shashi Tharoor has been on my TBR for many days. This fundamental question about ones identity pushes one on this journey. For some, it’s a conscious choice and for others life forces it upon them. Things which one sees, reads and listens to, shapes the thoughts. Every new day brings a better understanding of oneself. My journey keeps taking me back to the touch points revolving around festivities, rituals and other events I witnessed and enjoyed growing up.

    Rituals – Why are they must-haves?

    I remember my childhood when we used to recite some chants daily. These chants are traditionally recited in almost every Hidnu household at dusk when the lamps are lit at the shrine at our home. Back in those days, I wasn’t even able to pronounce the words, understanding and knowing what they mean was a distant thing. I was growing happily at home enjoying all the festivities and witnessing my grandfather offering daily prayers and poojas. Whatever piety I had then was just because of these observations and experiences. 

    By the time I gained a bit of autonomy and freedom of movement, I started my own journey. I used to visit a particular Ganesh Temple or sit in the Kalaram Temple in Nashik. It wasn’t the “journey to search for the truth” at all. These visits just the routines which calmed my mind back then. It led to discussing things with a few of my friends who had this inclination. And the journey continued. Even today, I don’t think I am on THE journey of search. But I read, I ponder and sometimes write about it.

    Faith – Fluid and evolving power

    I ask the question to myself which Mr. Tharoor asked, “Why am I a Hindu?” And then it goes on and on with many follow up questions. Is it just because I am not born in a family with some other cultural or religious moorings? What do I believe in? Does god even exist? Does my questioning the existence of God make me a non-Hindu? And so on. The search for the answers is still going on. It’s just the beginning. I have even heard that one may take many births to understand the answer to just one of these questions. Learned people say that ancient scriptures have answers to all the questions. Yet, I feel it is difficult to dig them out. 

    On the other hand, the things which I have a strong faith in are the values and hardwork. This journey has definitely evolved the power of my faith on these things. Today, I find rituals and festivities as a way to reassure oneself. This reassurance is important. I feel they give a sense of belonging as your kith and kin gather around that common thing. And who can ignore the delicious food prepared on the occasion. If you ‘believe’ in being atheist, enjoy them for the food and fun. By the way, being atheist is a faith in a way. So, just chose your way, and be – Faithful.

    This post is a part of the Blogchatter Half Marathon. Read my earlier story here.

  • Audiobooks – a newfound joy

    Audiobooks – a newfound joy

    If you are a bibliophile on the move, carrying a book in your backpack is the only option to quench your literary thirst. Wait what, it’s 2021, I am sorry guys, please forget the thing I mentioned. One about a book in a backpack being the only option. Today we are living in the digital age. The era when things which make us happy are at our fingertips. Music is streaming endlessly, movies are getting released on mobile applications. How the world of books will stay out of this game. Now we can enjoy books like we used to enjoy bedtime stories with audiobooks.

    Where book reads itself

    I got introduced to the wonders of audiobooks last year. It came as a surprise gift from one of my friends. That gift membership of Audible gave one audiobook free per month. Ohh boy! It won’t be a lie if I say I was amazed with my first ever audiobook. Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie was on my TBR for a very long time. It immediately popped out from the list which was on my mobile screen. I picked it as my first experience. Adjoa Andoh, the narrator, brought the world to life penned by Adichie. The way she narrated the story has completely hooked me to audiobooks.

    Audible, the amazon company, has an amazing collection of English audiobooks. However, they lack a collection of Indian regional literature. This is where I got introduced to the amazing platform of Storytel. I find these platforms of Audible and Storytel India are a gift of a bibliophile on wheels. 

    Nowadays, almost every book is getting published as an audiobook along with its physical and eBook versions. As of now, I have finished listening to some 10 odd books on Audible as well as Storytel. And oh boy, none of them has disappointed me. Every experience was so captivating it kept me wanting to listen to the book till it ended.

    Recording my own audiobook

    While enjoying the audiobooks I had thought of recording my poems and creating my own audiobook someday. However, I wasn’t expecting that dream to become reality so soon. Earlier this year, after the first wave of COVID pandemic receded and we got some freedom to get out. And I got an opportunity to record some of my poems for an audiobook. A fantastic publication house called “Prose Publication, Pune” published my first ever audiobook चिमुकली स्वप्ने (Tiny Dreams) in March this year. Recording session was a very unique experience. That hour in a small air conditioned recording room was magical. You can enjoy my poetry on Storytel, and don’t forget to tell me how you like it.

    Cover of चिमुकली स्वप्ने (Tiny Dreams)

    This post is a part of the Blogchatter Half Marathon. Read my earlier story here.