Author: Ankita Phatak

6 yards of history

A saree is a women’s garment from the India that consists of an unstitched drape varying from 4.5 to 9 metres (15 to 30 feet) in length and 600 to 1,200 millimetres (24 to 47 inches) in breadth which is typically wrapped around the waist, with one end draped over the shoulder, covering a larger portion of the midriff. There are various styles of sari manufacture and draping, the most common being the Nivi style, which originated in the Deccan region. The sari is worn with a fitted bodicecbodice called a choli (ravike in southern India, and cholo in Nepal) and a petticoat called ghagra, parkar or ul-pavadai. In the modern Indian subcontinent, the sari is considered a cultural icon.

History of sari-like drapery is traced back to the Indus valley civilization flourished during 2800–1800 BCE around the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent. Cotton was first cultivated and woven in Indian subcontinent around 5th millennium BCE. Dyes used during this period are still in use, particularly indigo, lac, red madder and turmeric. Silk was woven around 2450 BCE and 2000 BCE.

The word ‘sari’ evolved from ‘saatikaa’ (sanskrit: शाटिका) mentioned in earliest Hindu literature as women’s attire. The Sari or Sattika evolved from a three-piece ensemble comprising the Antriya, the lower garment; the Uttariya; a veil worn over the shoulder or the head; and the Stanapatta, a chestband. This ensemble is mentioned in Sanskrit literature and Buddhist Pali literature during the 6th century BCE. This complete three-piece dress was known as Poshak, generic term for costume. Ancient Antriya closely resembled dothi wrap in the “fishtail” version which was passed through legs, covered the legs loosely and then flowed into a long, decorative pleats at front of the legs. It further evolved into Bhairnivasani skirt, today known as ghagri and lehenga. Uttariya was a shawl-like veil worn over the shoulder or head, it evolved into what is known today known as dupatta and ghoonghat. Likewise, Stanapatta evolved into choli by 1st century CE.

The ancient Sanskrit work, Kadambari by Banabhatta and ancient Tamil poetry, such as the Silappadhikaram, describes women in exquisite drapery or sari. In ancient India, although women wore saris that bared the midriff, the Dharmasastra writers stated that women should be dressed such that the navel would never become visible. By which for some time the navel exposure became a taboo and the navel was concealed. In ancient Indian tradition and the Natya Shastra (an ancient Indian treatise describing ancient dance and costumes), the navel of the Supreme Being is considered to be the source of life and creativity, hence the midriff is to be left bare by the sari.

It is generally accepted that wrapped sari-like garments for lower body and sometimes shawls or scarf like garment called ‘uttariya’ for upper body, have been worn by Indian women for a long time, and that they have been worn in their current form for hundreds of years. In ancient couture the lower garment was called ‘nivi’ or ‘nivi bandha’, while the upper body was mostly left bare. The works of Kalidasa mentions ‘Kurpasika’ a form of tight fitting breast band that simply covered the breasts. It was also sometimes referred to as ‘Uttarasanga’ or ‘Stanapatta’.

Poetic references from works like Silappadikaram indicate that during the Sangam period in ancient Tamil Nadu in southern India, a single piece of clothing served as both lower garment and head covering, leaving the midriff completely uncovered. Similar styles of the sari are recorded paintings by Raja Ravi Varma in Kerala. Numerous sources say that everyday costume in ancient India and till recent times in Kerala consisted of a pleated dhoti or (sarong) wrap, combined with a breast band called ‘Kurpasika’ or ‘Stanapatta’ and occasionally a wrap called ‘Uttariya’ that could at times be used to cover the upper body or head. The two-piece Kerala mundum neryathum (mundu, a dhoti or sarong, neryath, a shawl, in Malayalam) is a survival of ancient clothing styles. The one-piece sari in Kerala is derived from neighboring Tamil Nadu or Deccan during medieval period based on its appearance on various temple murals in medieval Kerala.

Early Sanskrit literature has a wide vocabulary of terms for the veiling used by women, such as Avagunthana (oguntheti/oguṇthikā), meaning cloak-veil, Uttariya meaning shoulder-veil, Mukha-pata meaning face-veil and Sirovas-tra meaning head-veil. In the Pratimānātaka, a play by Bhāsa describes in context of Avagunthana veil that “ladies may be seen without any blame (for the parties concerned) in a religious session, in marriage festivities, during a calamity and in a forest”. The same sentiment is more generically expressed in later Sanskrit literature. Śūdraka, the author of Mṛcchakatika set in fifth century BCE says that the Avagaunthaha was not used by women everyday and at every time. He says that a married lady was expected to put on a veil while moving in the public.This may indicate that it was not necessary for unmarried females to put on a veil. This form of veiling by married women is still prevalent in Hindi-speaking areas, and is known as ghoonghat where the loose end of a sari is pulled over the head to act as a facial veil.

Based on sculptures and paintings, tight bodices or cholis are believed have evolved between 2nd century BCE to 6th century CE in various regional styles. Early cholis were front covering tied at the back; this style was more common in parts of ancient northern India. This ancient form of bodice or choli are still common in the state of Rajasthan today. Varies styles of decorative traditional embroidery like gota patti, mochi, pakko, kharak, suf, kathi, phulkari and gamthi are done on cholis. In Southern parts of India, choli is known as ravikie which is tied at the front instead of back, kasuti is traditional form of embroidery used for cholis in this region. In Nepal, choli is known as cholo or chaubandi cholo and is traditionally tied at the front.

Red is most favored colour for wedding saris and are traditional garment choice for brides in Indian culture. Women traditionally wore various types of regional fabrics-ikkat, block-print, embroidery and tie-dye textiles. Most sought after brocade silk saris are Banasari, Kanchipuram, Gadwal, Paithani, Mysore, Uppada, Bagalpuri, Balchuri, Maheshwari, Chanderi, Mekhela, Ghicha, Narayan pet and Eri etc. are traditionally worn for festive and formal occasions. Silk Ikat and cotton saris known as Patola, Pochampally, Bomkai, Khandua, Sambalpuri, Gadwal, Berhampuri, Bargarh, Jamdani, Tant, Mangalagiri, Guntur, Narayan pet, Chanderi, Maheshwari, Nuapatn, Tussar, Ilkal, Kotpad and Manipuri were worn for both festive and everyday attire. Tie-dyed and block-print saris known as Bandhani, Leheria/Leheriya, Bagru, Ajrakh, Sungudi, Kota Dabu/Dabu print, Bagh and Kalamkari were traditionally worn during monsoon season. Gota Patti is popular form of traditional embroidery used on saris for formal occasions, various other types of traditional folk embroidery such mochi, pakko, kharak, suf, kathi, phulkari and gamthi are also commonly used for both informal and formal occasion.Today, modern fabrics like polyester, georgette and charmeuse are also commonly used.

The Joy of Writing

Writing isn’t always about publishing. For many, the pure joy of putting words and thoughts on paper is achievement enough. Here are tips on how to find—or find your way back to—the joy of writing.There is a pleasure and a power in the art of practicing writing, rather than simply producing it. And as more and more people discover this, personal writing is becoming its own distinct form of artistic expression. It’s no longer just the writing you do before you can get published.

If you want to put pen to paper and see what unfolds, it’s time to awaken to your identity as a writer. By rediscovering, or perhaps discovering for the first time, that the simple act of writing is a transformational process, you can alleviate the pressures that stifle creativity and open up to what you are truly meant to say. You might find that the greatest rewards of writing do not exist in the future with publication and public validation, but evolve during the process of bringing your ideas to the page. Consequently, you will begin to enjoy the freedom of your own creative voice, have a new, more compassionate understanding of yourself and reap rewards that are within your reach right now, just as you are.

Unearth your voice
Each of us is born with a unique way of looking at the world and an unlimited potential for creative thought. But as we grow up, we’re forced to stifle much of our creativity in order to “fit in.” Through personal writing, you can uncover your creative voice again.

Whether you write in a journal or on a computer, you can create a safe, nurturing space where your voice feels free to emerge. Simply by acknowledging your unique thoughts, even though you don’t share them with anyone, you can rediscover your natural creativity and paint a picture of your psychological and spiritual landscape.

As you reveal more of yourself on the page, you might notice patterns in the way you think, behave or react to situations or people in your life. This kind of self-awareness can help you make better decisions, understand difficult situations and sort through your feelings. It is a powerful way to find answers to some of your most difficult questions. And at other times, it can remind you that there are no easy answers, which is the root of wisdom.

Discover your writing style
As you discover your voice, you will also tap into your personal writing style. Writers often ask about “style,” a term used by teachers and literary critics in sentences like “She writes in a style reminiscent of Hemingway.” It is something that great writers have, yet even the best teachers cannot tell you exactly how to develop it.

Writing style is an expression of your unique voice and emerges through the act of writing itself. Your style can surface most easily when you write without concern for how you might be perceived by others. This does more than just encourage your writing style to reveal itself. It can also help you understand how important it is to not repress your “uniqueness” just becauseit does not sound like your favorite writer or does not match your conception of what a “good” writer would write.

Personal writing gives you a safe place to let your style emerge, and a valuable tool to help you embrace this style as an honest reflection of yourself and what you have to say to the world.

As you begin to welcome your personal voice and style onto the page, you will notice your writing becoming more vivid. At the same time, you may find that your life away from the page becomes richer and your observations and senses become sharper.

For example, “I went to the zoo today” might become “The polar bear looked sad and the smell of monkey pee was overwhelming.” You will naturally begin to absorb your environment in a new way so that everyday details become interesting, and everywhere you look, you find inspiring material for your writing.

Look East for answers
It seems miraculous that so much creativity, self-understanding and wisdom can come from an act as simple as personal writing. Then again, writing is not always simple. It is a challenge to find the time and conditions necessary to get into “writer’s mind,” that place where words flow freely and you can be yourself. In this, the practice of writing presents the same challenges as Eastern meditation, which is especially difficult for Western minds. The first time you sit in a meditation class, you are told to shut your eyes and just listen. You might squirm, worry about what everyone else in the class is doing or think about what to make for dinner.

Then, after a few classes, it will become easier. You will begin to hear the quiet breathing of your classmates, their squirming on their cushions, a cough, a sniffle. And you will hear the noise of your own racing mind. When you learn to slow down, to notice, it tunes you into the moment, with all of its life, noises and peculiarities, including all of your bare emotions and thoughts. This is the same “tuning in” you can achieve by letting yourself write freely on the pages of your journal. And it is wrought with the same challenge you face with meditation—you have to take the time to slow down from the activities of your life to practice it. But fortunately, you don’t have to get stiff-legged on a beanbag cushion for 20 minutes to experience this “tuning in.” You can write anywhere, anytime. As Alice Walker once said about writing, “You can even do it in bed.”

Slow down
Personal writing, like children and meditation and traffic jams, slows you down and makes you aware of the only thing that is certain in life—this very moment. This is not an easy thing to do. There is little encouragement to pay attention to this moment. Instead, you are taught to focus on achieving and moving ahead. By writing down what your life is in this moment, you are facing the aspect of what you expect your life to be like.

Sometimes it is frightening to accept that this is where you are right now. Other times it can be exhilarating as you realize that you are doing something you have always wanted to do, or that you have carved out a satisfying life that you never could have imagined. As you get accustomed to seeing your own life in words, you can gain an even greater appreciation and understanding of how your life is unfolding.

I’ve talked to published writers who are nostalgic about the days when all of their writing was just for them, before editors, agents and readers were influencing their craft. A friend who has published several short story collections told me he spent three years writing just for himself before considering publication and that he wishes he had spent 10. He said the time before the pressures of the market bear down on your creative spirit are often the best times of your writing career. You might think it is easy for published writers to lament their exit from the bliss of “pre-publication.” But this hindsight is an indication that, published or not, you already have access to the most rewarding gifts that writing has to offer.

Whether or not you dream of publication, you can use personal writing as a way to accept where you are right now on your writing path. Because in writing, as in life, enjoying the journey is the ultimate destination.

Water: The Elixir of Life

Did you know that your body weight is approximately 60 percent water? Your body uses water in all its cells, organs, and tissues to help regulate its temperature and maintain other bodily functions. Because your body loses water through breathing, sweating, and digestion, it’s important to rehydrate by drinking fluids and eating foods that contain water. The amount of water you need depends on a variety of factors, including the climate you live in, how physically active you are, and whether you’re experiencing an illness or have any other health problems.


Water Protects Your Tissues, Spinal Cord, and Joints

Water does more than just quench your thirst and regulate your body’s temperature; it also keeps the tissues in your body moist. You know how it feels when your eyes, nose, or mouth gets dry? Keeping your body hydrated helps it retain optimum levels of moisture in these sensitive areas, as well as in the blood, bones, and the brain. In addition, water helps protect the spinal cord, and it acts as a lubricant and cushion for your joints.

Water Helps Your Body Remove Waste

Adequate water intake enables your body to excrete waste through perspiration, urination, and defecation. The kidneys and liver use it to help flush out waste, as do your intestines. Water can also keep you from getting constipated by softening your stools and helping move the food you’ve eaten through your intestinal tract. However, it should be noted that there is no evidence to prove that increasing your fluid intake will cure constipation

Water Aids in Digestion

Digestion starts with saliva, the basis of which is water. Digestion relies on enzymes that are found in saliva to help break down food and liquid and to dissolve minerals and other nutrients. Proper digestion makes minerals and nutrients more accessible to the body. Water is also necessary to help you digest soluble fiber. With the help of water, this fiber dissolves easily and benefits your bowel health by making well-formed, soft stools that are easy to pass.

Water Prevents You From Becoming Dehydrated

Your body loses fluids when you engage in vigorous exercise, sweat in high heat, or come down with a fever or contract an illness that causes vomiting or diarrhea. If you’re losing fluids for any of these reasons, it’s important to increase your fluid intake so that you can restore your body’s natural hydration levels. Your doctor may also recommend that you drink more fluids to help treat other health conditions, like bladder infections and urinary tract stones. If you’re pregnant or nursing, you may want to consult with your physician about your fluid intake because your body will be using more fluids than usual, especially if you’re breastfeeding.

How Much Water Do You Need?

There’s no hard and fast rule, and many individuals meet their daily hydration needs by simply drinking water when they’re thirsty, according to a report on nutrient recommendations from the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies. In fact, most people who are in good physical health get enough fluids by drinking water and other beverages when they’re thirsty, and also by drinking a beverage with each of their meals, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. If you’re not sure about your hydration level, look at your urine. If it’s clear, you’re in good shape. If it’s dark, you’re probably dehydrated.

Solar Power- India’s new potential

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said, as part of Atma Nirbhar Bharat or self-reliant India campaign, the country’s aim is to end its dependence on import of all equipment, including solar panels.

Dedicating the 750 megawatt (MW) solar project at Rewa in Madhya Pradesh to the nation, Modi said India won’t be able to fully use its solar power potential, unless the country doesn’t develop better solar panel, battery and storage manufacturing capacity.

This assumes importance given that green energy projects now account for more than a fifth of India’s installed power generation capacity. India has 34.6 gigawatt (GW) of solar power, with an aim to have 100 GW of solar capacity by 2022.

The fast-growing domestic market for solar components is dominated by Chinese companies due to their competitive pricing. India imported $2.16 billion worth of solar photovoltaic (PV) cells, panels, and modules in 2018-19.

Modi said that several steps are being taken to increase domestic manufacturing, and it has been decided that government’s departments and institutions will only buy domestically manufactured solar cells and modules.

India is working on a wider power sector decoupling from China, with New Delhi planning to enforce a list of approved manufacturers for government-supported schemes in the clean energy sector, including projects from where electricity distribution companies procure electricity for supply to their consumers and wants states to follow suit.

The surge in imports led the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government in its previous term to impose a safeguard duty from 30 July 2018 on solar cells and modules imported from China and Malaysia that ended in July. Post that, a basic customs duty (BCD) on all imported solar cells, modules and inverters was imposed, that will make their import from China expensive.

Going forward, India plans to impose more tariff and non-tariff barriers to check imports from China as part of its economic strategy in the backdrop of tensions along the India-China border. A case in point being India’ plan to impose BCD on wafers and ingots that go into the manufacturing of solar cells and modules.

Modi said for an Atma Nirbhar Bharat, self-reliance on electricity is very important.

India is evolving a strategy of not using Chinese equipment and technology in the power sector, and subsidising finance for promoting local power equipment usage and prior-permission requirements for imports from countries with which it has a conflict. The plan also involves procuring equipment and material locally and increase domestic capacity.

India is among the top five countries in the world in terms of solar power generation, Modi said and added that this form of energy power is “sure, pure and secure”.

India has become one of the top renewable energy producers globally, with ambitious capacity expansion plans to achieve 175GW by 2022 and 500GW by 2030, as part of its climate commitments. This has bolstered India’s image as a clean energy champion at a time the world is grappling with climate change concerns.

Modi also spoke about India being the most attractive market for clean energy and being viewed as a model for transition towards clean energy.

India’s solar power tariffs hit a record low of ₹2.36 per unit during a bid conducted by state-run Solar Energy Corporation of India Ltd (SECI) last week. The auctions were dominated by foreign firms with the lowest bid placed by Spain’ Solarpack Corporación Tecnológica, S.A., followed by Italy’s Enel Group, Canada’ AMP Solar Group, France’ EDEN Renewables and Ib Vogt Singapore Pte ltd placing the second lowest tariff bid of 2.37 per kilowatt-hour (kWh). UK’s CDC Group-backed Ayana Renewable Power and Goldman Sachs backed ReNew Power placed the third lowest bid of Rs2 .37 per unit each. The previously recorded lowest solar bid was of ₹2.44 per unit in May 2017.

“Today Rewa has actually written history,” Modi said.

Spread over 1,590 acres, the Rewa solar park settled the debate on competitive tariffs from green energy sources in India by landing a then record low-winning bid of Rs2.97 per unit in the country through intelligent risk distribution.

By breaking the electricity grid parity barrier in February 2017, the project brought home the point that solar energy is no longer a green fad but a game changer in India’s energy mix.

Modi also spoke about India’ global electricity grid plan— ‘One Sun One World One Grid’—- that seeks to transfer solar power generated in one region to feed the electricity demands of others and India’ aim of becoming an electricity exporter.

India’s global grid plans have gained traction in the backdrop of China’s attempt to co-opt countries into its ambitious One Belt One Road initiative that seeks to invest billions of dollars in infrastructure projects including railways, ports and power grids across Asia, Africa and Europe, and the withdrawal of the US from the Paris climate deal.

Technology and the pandemic

Tech companies may not have developed a new technology due to COVID-19, but they started to implement the technologies with innovative studies, said an expert.

Academician Ilker Kose, head of Istanbul Medipol University Technology Transfer Office, said Tech companies now focused to curb coronavirus.

With the transformation of the COVID-19 outbreak into a pandemic, measures have been taken in many areas to prevent the effects of the epidemic worldwide.

Technological developments are among the most curious topics in these difficult days.

“Among these developments protecting social distance comes first, and also controlling mobilizations situations and tracing systems are other important developments,” Kose said, in an exclusive interview with Anadolu Agency.

Meanwhile, tech giants Apple and Google had announced that they will make cooperation on COVID-19 contact tracing technology.

Turkish Health Ministry had also launched an application for smartphones that will enable people to detect and monitor the COVID-19 cases in their locations.

Another issue is technology companies focused on right after the first shock was the solutions that enable the things we do in daily life to be done remotely, said Kose and added:

“Distance education and video conferencing solutions improved and increased rapidly, and similarly, solutions have been developing to provide health services remotely.”

People still in COVID-19 trauma

Applications for smartphones, which developed as a warning system when entering the intensively COVID-19 patients area, became popular.
Kose said tracing people with their cameras and phone signals was already possible but it was limited due to law restrictions.

He emphasized that the people still have not gotten over the social trauma caused by COVID-19 and once we overcome this situation we will make more rational decisions.

“However, it is certain that relevant legislation will move forward to a point in which the public’s health becomes will be more important than individuals’ freedom. Therefore, many applications will be used for marking and following people, measuring the social distance which recent technology already enable to do so,” he said.

Saying that doing it is possible with all kinds of traceable devices, said Kose and added that mobile phones, smart ID cards, wearable technology such as watches and bracelet will become widespread.

5G technology people’s demand

Although the world focuses its eyes on vaccine studies, there are also very important developments in the field of digital technology.

Kose stated that wireless communication has become essential in our lives and this system mostly has been using for voice, image, and data communications.

“If people use their smartphones as they do now, this current infrastructure would be enough for these developments, but people’s demands are increasing. Furthermore, not only humans but devices also use the internet infrastructure,” he said.

He also stressed that the world approached the technological limit in wireless communication, therefore using 5G and the following technologies are necessary.

“5G technology is a solution that arising from the demands of people” he added.

Waiving freedom to prevent virus

Answering questions on personal data and individual freedoms Kose said people will prefer restriction instead of getting the virus from other people.

“This will certainly limit individual freedoms in the current sense. However, the same individuals will be willing to waive their freedom due to the risk of infection from anyone else. Therefore, when paradigms change, norms and rules will also change,” he added.

Kose said in modern societies, individual freedoms are somewhat ahead of public health.

“We see this approach in mandatory vaccine applications, but people and states will have the same opinion even the most libertarian state after this trauma for more strict tracing system to protect public health,” he said.

Western countries’ approach

China is known to have an enormous surveillance system that gives the ability to trace millions of people.

On the question of whether Western societies can establish a Chinese-style social surveillance system, Kose said: “Western societies will develop unique solutions different from China and similar countries.”

“Authoritarian countries will proceed by setting rules that the whole society will follow. But I don’t think Western countries will put pressure on people on this issue. Instead, they will ask the public to decide for the transition to the surveillance system to prevent pandemics,” he said.

Kose said that in a society where people accept such a surveillance system some people would disagree.

“Those who don’t accept it would be alienated from the people and the number of who disagree would decrease,” he added.

He claimed that there would be an accumulation of anger against surveillance and tracing system, and would witness social riots.

The novel coronavirus has spread to 185 countries and regions since emerging in Wuhan, China last December, with the U.S. and Europe now the hardest-hit areas.

There are over 2.71 million coronavirus cases worldwide with more than 191,000 deaths. More than 745,000 people have recovered, according to data compiled by US-based Johns Hopkins University.

Harmful effects of air conditioners.

It’s the dog days of July and not only is the temperature high, but the humidity may also make it difficult to breath outdoors. One of the saving graces that people have to combat the hot weather is air conditioning. Whether you are at work, in your home, in at shopping center or in your car, a cold air conditioner can be a very welcome relief for all in July and throughout the year. However, despite the fact that air conditioners can offer temporary relief from the hot and humid weather, it also can potentially be a source health concerns to people of all ages.

Dry Eyes

Dry eyes are irritating and can cause blurred vision, itchy eyes and a burning sensation. If you stay for long in an AC room, it can trigger dry eyes. If you tend to suffer from dry eyes, you should avoid staying long in AC-ventilated rooms as that would make the problem worse.

Dehydration


While cooling the room, ACs often suck out more moisture than necessary. If you set it to a low temperature, then the chances of the room going dry are quite high. Along with the room, ACs suck out humidity from the body as well. If you don’t hydrate yourself enough, the chances of getting dehydrated are high.

Headache

The heat inside and outside the room is poles apart and on entering an AC room, you don’t get enough time to acclimatise. The result – headache. It can also happen due to dehydration. Continuous exposure to AC can also trigger a headache in people who suffer from migraine.

Infections

This is another air conditioning health problem. Drying out of the nasal passage and the mucous membrane can trigger viral infections. That’s because mucous casts a protective layer to keep the body away from infections. If it gets disturbed by the AC, infections would affect the body in no time.

Respiratory Problems


Constant exposure to AC can disturb the normal functioning of the nose and throat. It can lead to respiratory blockage and inflammation in the mucous membrane. ACs can also affect the lungs.

Dry Skin

AC’s effect on the skin is startling. ACs may lead to dry and itchy skin and hair. By weakening the scalp, an AC can propel the hair damage rate.

Lethargy

People who stay for long in an AC room tend to become sluggish and lazy. Imagine how much this can affect workplace productivity! So, it’s always better to have natural ventilation rather than an AC.

Asthma and Allergies

ACs can trigger an asthma attack if not cleaned properly. Timely removal of pollutants can help to prevent allergies.

Other Health Hazards

If there is leakage from the AC, the system can bring you in direct contact with harmful chemicals. This can cause health problems.

The City of Nawabs

The culture of Lucknow is still very much alive and retains its old world charm even today. Popularly known as the City of Nawabs, Lucknow is famous for its traditional cuisine, fine arts and the most courteous people you will ever find in India. The cultural heritage of Lucknow was pretty much influenced by the Mughal era and you find that Mughal touch in almost everything that relates to the culture of Lucknow. Be it the lip-smacking cuisine, the delightful music and dance forms or the conversation language, everything has a touch of the royal splendor that Lucknow once flourished in. Read on our related sections on Lucknow culture that shall tell you about the royal colors of Lucknow.

Lucknow People
The people of Lucknow are among the warmest and the most courteous people in India. They are known to be very soft spoken and treat guests like Gods. The place has a rich cultural heritage and is known to be the city of Nawabs.

Lucknow Cuisine
The cuisine of Lucknow has its own distinct individuality and identity. The traditional food of Lucknow was highly patronized by the Mughals thus giving it a very royal touch. The royal chefs and cooks were trained to give that distinct royal touch and regal look to anything they cooked.

Lucknow Music and Dance
Music and dance in Lucknow has been much influenced by the Mughal rule India. The kings were known to lead a life of pleasure and their main source of entertainment was to indulge in music and dance.

Lucknow Languages
In Lucknow, languages differ from region to region. Among the most common languages of Lucknow is Hindi, which is spoken all over India. However, the most prominent language spoken in Lucknow is the Urdu language. Though it is an ancient language, it is very much prevalent in Lucknow. In fact, the language is synonymous with Lucknow and is often referred to as Lucknowi Urdu. It is this form of Urdu that is used by most literary figures like poets and novel writers.

Urdu is also the official language of Lucknow. Apart from Urdu and Hindi, many other languages are spoken in different parts of Lucknow. These include the two thousand year old language called Braj, Awadhi, Koshali, Bhojpuri and Koeli. Bhojpuri is a widely spoken language in not just Lucknow but also most of Uttar Pradesh and the neighboring state of Bihar. The younger generation of Lucknow is well versed in English as most schools and educational institutions impart education in English medium.

Covid and the economy

According to the International Monetary Fund, India will be the large economy worst hit by the Covid pandemic. The Fund now says that Indian GDP in the ongoing financial year, which began in March 2020, will contract by 4.5%. Just a few weeks ago, it had been predicting 2% growth for the year.

The IMF’s projection is by and large in line with estimates from investment banks and other international organizations. Indian officials have been reticent about their own estimates. This is not surprising: India’s economy has not contracted since 1979. For the government, this is uncharted territory.

A slowdown of this magnitude will have enormous human consequences. By some estimates, the loss of three months’ income would leave nearly half of the country’s population mired in poverty, reversing all the gains made since the economy was liberalized in the early 1990s.

Worse, the government’s finances are strained. Tax revenues are set to crash and India’s hitherto relatively stable debt-to-GDP ratio may spike up toward 90%. Controlling the spread of the pandemic will bleed state resources, leaving little for the welfare measures that will be essential in coming months.

Such economic pressures help explain why the government lifted India’s stringent lockdown even though the spread of Covid-19 clearly hadn’t been controlled. India now has the world’s fourth-largest number of Covid-19 cases. While the country may be partly protected from a tide of deaths by its favorable age distribution, there is every reason to suppose that more lockdowns to protect its inadequate health infrastructure will be required. If nothing else, this complicates predictions for the medium term and makes the task of reviving the economy that much harder.

But don’t let anyone tell you the pandemic is the main reason India’s growth has gone off a cliff. The economy had already been weakened by years of mismanagement before this crisis struck.

Figures released by national statisticians at the end of May explain what went wrong. Even before the pandemic properly hit India, in the financial year ending in March, GDP only grew at 4.2%. The sequence of quarterly GDP growth numbers leading up to that point tells a clear story: 7% growth shrunk to 6.2%, then to 5.6%, 5.7%, 4.4% and finally 3.1% in the quarter that ended with the lockdown.

What was behind this slowdown? The answer is a lack of investment. Investment shrank by almost 3% over the year. Until then, India hadn’t seen investment shrink for almost two decades, according to World Bank data. (It grew about 10% in 2018-19.) And this shrinkage began well before the pandemic — in April 2019. In India, the virus struck an economy with pre-existing conditions.

The investment crisis and India’s large debt pile have the same cause: a government that thinks its own spending is what will fuel economic growth. According to official statistics, government spending increased by 12% last year, more than twice the growth rate of private consumption. Government spending was similarly higher than the other components of GDP in the previous year as well.

As a consequence, the government last year — again, before the pandemic properly hit — had a fiscal deficit 4.6% higher than the one it inherited six years ago. This is pretty embarrassing, given the government has long claimed that its stewardship had provided macroeconomic stability following the turbulent last years of its predecessor.

This should all be enough to sober any government. Yet, policymakers in New Delhi seem to be oddly sanguine. On Tuesday, they posted a cheerful update praising their “prompt policy measures” and touting an “increase in economic activity.” It’s true that May looked like a better month than April, when the lockdown was at its height. But pretty much every indicator for May 2020 is in the red when compared to May 2019. And most analysts believe any recovery will now take two years or so, rather than a couple of months.

The government’s confidence is inexplicable. It has not done enough to reinvigorate the economy. Its big weapon — spending — has failed and there is little left in its armory. Recovery needs reform. India has postponed competitiveness-enhancing measures long enough. In a crisis of this magnitude, there are no excuses left.

The Joy of Baking

As a little girl, I always loved confectionery. I would eagerly wait for Sunday mornings for my mother to bake me a cake. As a working woman she never really had time for me but a bright sunny Sunday morning would make up for the entire week. Now, during this lockdown when I look back at my childhood, I realise that cooking or baking is not something you do just for the sake of it. Those actions kneading the dough and mixing the batter have a much deeper meaning. As my mother says, ‘it is the joy of baking which helps me live through the week’, and I second that. Just before writing this article I baked some muffins and as I write and enjoy eating, let me tell y’all why I love baking.
Well to begin with, it’s therapeutic. We all know how baking a loaf of bread helps us when we need a shoulder to cry on or how that piece of cake comforts us when nothing seems alright. The world of baking is the happiest.
Blending ingredients such as sugar, flour and eggs and turning them into an edible masterpiece never fails to awe and can make you feel proud of yourself. Ingredients can be mixed in so many different combinations to form different types of cakes, biscuits or pies. That’s the beauty of baking.

Baking not only removes your bad moods, it brings joy. Nothing compares to the wonderful aroma of freshly baked bread or cakes wafting out from your oven in the morning. It immediately conjures the images of holidays, and childhood memories of licking the spoon and the baking bowl clean of cake batter.
Instead of buying an impersonal present, turn up with your own beautifully decorated cakes and cookie creations at social gatherings. You’re telling them how much you care: ‘See I made this for you.’ The recipient will definitely be more touched by this type of gift. You are gifting them a piece of your heart.
All mothers treasure the smiles of their children. This is true especially when you bake them your extra special chocolate chip cookies. You put in extra sprinkles on a cake, a little more icing sugar on the biscuits – a silent but meaningful gesture to express your love. And of course, you can always bake them their favourite cakes for their birthday.
You’ve mastered the art. You want to share it with the whole world. You can always take this passion and make it a full-time career. Many notable bakers started small time and developed a thriving business from it, so keeping on baking!

If these reasons are not compelling enough for you to start rolling that dough, and heating up your oven, well, baking may not be considered your forte.

Saving the artisans of India

The Corona epidemic has broken our back,” said a usually cheerful Aarti Patra, part of a group of sabai-grass basket-makers in an Odisha village. Rajkumari Joshi, a craftswoman from SADHANA, a women’s cooperative we work with in Rajasthan, agrees. “All the women here are feeling completely helpless and in need. We do not have work,” she says. Other artisans tell Dastkar they wonder what will finish them first – the virus or hunger.

It is an unparalleled and strange time. Not just fear of a possibly mortal disease, but a lockdown of all social, and economic activity. For craftspeople, dependent on daily production and sales, life has come to a halt — there are no melas, no sales, no raw material, no money to feed their families. We have worked with them for decades, now we share their pain.

“All our orders have been cancelled,” Vimal Kumar, a young Rajasthani potter, explains. “Even if we try our best, we will not be able to clear this stock for two years at least. This will cause not only debt, but a decrease in production. Craftspeople will be out of jobs for a long time,” he adds.
The videos of jobless migrant workers walking homewards, were incredibly moving. Craftspeople, equally affected, remain invisible and therefore ignored — by the Government, by the media, even by those who used to buy their products. Outside the safety net of regular salaries or social security, they are helpless.

The global economy is predicted to contract 3%. Even as Italian fashion house Armani makes protective overalls, and Louis Vuitton turns out face masks instead of luxury luggage, craftspeople too will need to adapt to changing times. Craft is sadly not an essential; it is the first thing to be struck off consumer wish lists when purchasing power diminishes.

Different crafts and communities need different solutions — disposing of existing stock, planning their re-entry into what will be a very changed market. Skills have to be targeted to differing markets; some making functional products of everyday use, others creating one-of-a-kind pieces for high-end buyers.
As Dastkar responds to distress calls from across India, we know our aid is a temporary sop. Craftspeople, the second largest employment sector in India, need sustained investment and assistance. Housebound, it’s easy to feel helpless. But the courage and spirit of these artisans keeps us from despair.

Government, crafts organisations and designers need to come together and work closely with the craftspeople, listen to their voices, build on their strengths, think out of the box. Anand Mahindra’s response to the plight of banana farmers — getting his factory canteens to substitute banana leaves for plates — is a brilliant example.

To end with master craftsman, Prakash Joshi, “We are artists and the artist shapes the tomorrow with his art, dissipating the negative energy because after a thick dark night there is always a golden morning.”

While we celebrate that spirit, we need also to help craftspeople rediscover that golden morning. Thinking inwards and buying local will help. Don’t go and shop at fast at fashion stores like Zara and H&M, go ahead and buy that beautiful Ikat kurta from a crafts mela.

PS- My source has been The Hindu.

6 yards of history

History of sari-like drapery is traced back to the Indus Valley Civilisation which flourished during 2800–1800 BCE around the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent. Cotton was first cultivated and woven in Indian subcontinent around 5th millennium BCE. Dyes used during this period are still in use, particularly indigo, lac, red madder and tumeric. Silk was woven around 2450 BCE and 2000 BCE.

The word ‘sari’ evolved from ‘saatikaa’ (sanskrit: शाटिका) mentioned in earliest Hindu literature as women’s attire. The Sari or Sattika evolved from a three-piece ensemble comprising the Antriya, the lower garment; the Uttariya; a veil worn over the shoulder or the head; and the Stanapatta, a chestband. This ensemble is mentioned in Sanskrit lterature and Buddhist Pali literature during the 6th century BCE. This complete three-piece dress was known as Poshak, generic term for costume. Ancient Antriya closely resembled dothi wrap in the “fishtail” version which was passed through legs, covered the legs loosely and then flowed into a long, decorative pleats at front of the legs. It further evolved into Bhairnivasani skirt, today known as ghagri and lehenga. Uttariya was a shawl-like veil worn over the shoulder or head, it evolved into what is known today known as dupatta and ghoonghat. Likewise, Stanapatta evolved into choli by 1st century CE.

The ancient Sanskrit work, Kadambari by Banabhatta and ancient Tamil poetry, such as the Silapadhikaram describes women in drapes or sari. In ancient India, although women wore saris that bared the midriff, the Dharmashastra writers stated that women should be dressed such that the navel would never become visible. By which for some time the navel exposure became a taboo and the navel was concealed. In ancient Indian tradition and the Natya Shastra (an ancient Indian treatise describing ancient dance and costumes), the navel of the Supreme Being is considered to be the source of life and creativity, hence the midriff is to be left bare by the sari.

It is generally accepted that wrapped sari-like garments for lower body and sometimes shawls or scarf like garment called ‘uttariya’ for upper body, have been worn by Indian women for a long time, and that they have been worn in their current form for hundreds of years. In ancient couture the lower garment was called ‘nivi’ or ‘nivi bandha’, while the upper body was mostly left bare. The works of Kalidasa mentions ‘Kurpasika’ a form of tight fitting breast band that simply covered the breasts. It was also sometimes referred to as ‘Uttarasanga’ or ‘Stanapatta’.

Poetic references from works like Silapadhikaram indicate that during the Sangam period in ancient Tamil Nadu in southern India, a single piece of clothing served as both lower garment and head covering, leaving the midriff completely uncovered. Similar styles of the sari are recorded paintings by Raja Ravi Verma in Kerala. Numerous sources say that everyday costume in ancient India and till recent times in Kerala consisted of a pleated dhoti or  wrap, combined with a breast band called ‘Kurpasika’ or ‘Stanapatta’ and occasionally a wrap called ‘Uttariya’ that could at times be used to cover the upper body or head. The two-piece Kerala mundum neryathum (mundu, a dhoti or sarong, neryath, a shawl, in Malayalam) is a survival of ancient clothing styles. The one-piece sari in Kerala is derived from neighboring Tamil Nadu or Deccan during medieval period based on its appearance on various temple murals in medieval Kerala.

Early Sanskrit literature has a wide vocabulary of terms for the veiling used by women, such as Avagunthana (oguntheti/oguṇthikā), meaning cloak-veil, Uttariya meaning shoulder-veil, Mukha-pata meaning face-veil and Sirovas-tra meaning head-veil. In the Pratimānātaka, a play by Bhāsa describes in context of Avagunthana veil that “ladies may be seen without any blame (for the parties concerned) in a religious session, in marriage festivities, during a calamity and in a forest”. The same sentiment is more generically expressed in later Sanskrit lliterature. Sudraka the author of Mrichhakatika set in fifth century BCE says that the Avagaunthaha was not used by women everyday and at every time. He says that a married lady was expected to put on a veil while moving in the public.This may indicate that it was not necessary for unmarried females to put on a veil. This form of veiling by married women is still prevalent in Hindi-speaking areas, and is known as ghoongat where the loose end of a sari is pulled over the head to act as a facial veil.

Based on sculptures and paintings, tight bodices or cholis are believed have evolved between 2nd century BCE to 6th century CE in various regional styles. Early cholis were front covering tied at the back; this style was more common in parts of ancient northern India. This ancient form of bodice or choli are still common in the state of Rajasthan today. Varies styles of decorative traditional embroidery like gota patti, mochi, pakko, kharak, suf, kathi, phulkari and gamthi are done on cholis. In Southern parts of India, choli is known as ravikie which is tied at the front instead of back, kasuti is traditional form of embroidery used for cholis in this region. In Nepal, choli is known as cholo or chaubandi cholo and is traditionally tied at the front.

Red is most favored colour for weddingsaris and are traditional garment choice for brides in Indian culture. Women traditionally wore various types of regional handloomsaris made of silk, cotton, ikkat, block-print, embroidery and tie-dye textiles. Most sought after brocade silk saris are Banasari, Kanchipuram, Gadwal, Paithani, Mysore, Uppada, Bagalpuri, Balchuri, Maheshwari, Chanderi, Mekhela, Ghicha, Narayan pet and Eri etc. are traditionally worn for festive and formal occasions. Silk Ikat and cotton saris known as Patola, Pochampally, Bomkai, Khandua, Sambalpuri, Gadwal, Berhampuri, Bargarh, Jamdani, Tant, Mangalagiri, Guntur, Narayan pet, Chanderi, Maheshwari, Nuapatn, Tussar, Ilkal, Kotpad and Manipuri were worn for both festive and everyday attire. Tie-dyed and block-print saris known as Bandhani, Leheria/Leheriya, Bagru, Ajrakh, Sungudi, Kota Dabu/Dabu print, Bagh and Kalamkari were traditionally worn during monsoon season. GotaPattis popular form of traditional embroidery used on saris for formal occasions, various other types of traditional folk embroidery such mochi, pakko, kharak, suf, kathi, phulkari and gamthi are also commonly used for both informal and formal occasion.Today, modern fabrics like polyester, georgette and charmeuse are also commonly used.

Mughal Fashion

Fashion has always excited me but what excites me more is the history of fashion. As a student of history, I have a habit of developing interest in everything that has a past. Clothes- a very integral part of fashion have a rich history which we must explore. Today, I’m going to introduce you to the clothing of the Mughal Era.
Mughals, for those of my readers who are unaware of these great dynasts, form a very important part of India’s history and even after so many years, continue to dominate its culture.
The Mughal clothing was characterized by luxurious styles and was made with muslin, silk, velvet and brocade.
 Elaborate patterns including dots, checks, and waves were used with colors from various dyes including cochineal, sulfate of iron, sulfate of copper and sulfate of antimony were used.

Men wore long and short robes and coats including the chogha (clothing), a long sleeved coat. A “pagri” (turban) was worn on the head and “patka”, an adorned sash, was worn on the waist. “Paijama” style pants were worn (leg coverings that gave the English word pajama). Other clothing types included: “peshwaz” style robes and “yalek” robes. Women wore “shalwar”, churidar”, “dhilja”, “garara”, and “farshi”. They wore much jewelry including earrings, nose jewelry, necklaces, bangles, belts, and anklets.

Pagri styles included: “Chau-goshia”, in four segments, the dome shaped “qubbedar”, “kashiti”, “dupalli”, embroidered “nukka dar”, and embroidered and velvet “mandil”. Shoe styles included jhuti”, “kafsh”, “charhvan”, “salim shahi” and “khurd nau” and were curved up at the front. Lucknow was known for its shoes and threading embroidery with gold and silver aughi during the era. Mughal emperor turbans usually had turban ornaments on them. They were made of gold and precious gems such as rubies, diamonds, emeralds and sapphire.

The Mughal period was one of the most popular eras of jewelry making, which is well-documented through chronicles and paintings. In fact the earlier Mughal paintings indicate that the era of Akbar’s reign gave anew life into the art, crafting a range of exotic designs. The Mughals contributed in almost all fields of development of jewelry. The use of jewelry was an integral part of the lifestyle, be it the king, men or women or even the king’s horse. Women were known to have as many as 8 complete sets of jewelry. Popular ornaments included two-inch-wide armlets worn above the elbows, bracelets or pearls at the wrist stacked high enough to impede access to the pulse, many rings (with the mirror ring worn on the right thumb customary for nearly all the inhabitants of the Zenana), strings of pearls (as many as 15 strings at a time), metal bands or strings of pearls at the bottom of their legs, and ornaments hanging in the middle of the head in the shape of star, sun, moon, or a flower.

Turban jewelry was considered a privilege of the Emperor. The constant change in the influences from Europe can be clearly witnessed in the design of the turban jewelry. Akbar stuck to Iranian trends of the time by keeping a feather plume upright at the very front of the turban. Jahangir initiated his own softer style with the weighed down plume with a large pearl. By the time of Aurangzeb, this form became more ubiquitous. Turbans were usually heavily set with jewels and fixed firmly with a gem set kalangi or aigrette. Some of the popular head ornaments worn by men were Jigha and Sarpatti, Sarpech, Kalgi, Mukut, Turra and Kalangi. Women also adorned a variety of head ornaments such as Binduli, Kotbiladar, Sekra, Siphul, Tikka and Jhumar. In addition to these, the braid ornaments constituted an important part of women’s head ornaments.

Ear ornaments were also quite popular during the Mughal times. Mughal paintings have represented earrings quite often. Ear ornaments were worn by both men and women. Mor-Bhanwar, Bali, Jhumkas, Kanphool and Pipal patra or papal patti are some of the known earrings from the period. Neck ornaments of different kinds of pearls and precious stones were worn by men and women. Some of the neck ornaments for men included Latkan, amala necklace as well as Mala. Neck ornaments formed an important part of jewelry of women also and included Guluband, Hans, Har and Hasuli. Nose ornaments were worn solely by women. It appears that nose ornaments appeared in India around the last part of the 16th century initiated by Mughals. The variety of nose ornaments worn by women during the Mughal times constituted phul, besar, laung, balu, nath and Phuli.
Owing to the relative isolation of the ladies in court, due to the Purdah, fashion in the early days of the empire adhered to traditional dress of Khurasan and Persia. In time, the social and diplomatic relationships between the Mughal Dynasty and the rest of India (Rajputana in particular), led to more exchange in accoutrements. Noble women in the court of Babur or Humayun would have begun their outfits with wide loose pants, painted or stripped. Their upper body was covered in loose garments fastened at the neck or with “V”-shaped necklines. Other articles of clothing included the Yalek: a tightly fitting nearly floor length vest, buttoned in the front, with the chest accentuated, in both short and long sleeve varieties.

Agriculture in India

Agricultural productivity depends on several factors.  These include the availability and quality of agricultural inputs such as land, water, seeds and fertilizers, access to agricultural credit and crop insurance, assurance of remunerative prices for agricultural produce, and storage and marketing infrastructure, among others. 

As of 2009-10, more than half of the total workforce (53%) of the country, were employed in agriculture. The share of population dependent on agriculture for its livelihood consists of landowners, tenant farmers who cultivate a piece of land, and agricultural labourers who are employed on these farms.  Agricultural output has been volatile over the past 10 years, with annual growth ranging from 8.6% in 2010-11, to -0.2% in 2014-15 and 0.8% in 2015-16.

The country’s requirement for food grains in order to provide for its population is estimated to be 300 million tonnes by 2025.The estimate of food grains production in 2015-16 is 252 million.  This implies that the crop output needs to grow at an annual average of 2%, which is close to the current growth trend.

Despite high levels of production, agricultural yield in India is lower than other large producing countries.  Agricultural yield is the quantity of a crop produced on one unit of land.  Agricultural yield of food grains has increased by more than four times since 1950-51, and was 2,070 kg/hectare in 2014-15.

Besides providing for the livelihood of farmers and labourers, the agricultural sector also addresses food security for the nation.  The Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations defines food security as a situation where all people have, at all times, physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets the dietary needs and food preferences for a healthy and active life. Despite high levels of production in the country, 15% of the population continues to be under-nourished, as per 2014 estimates.

India enacted the National Food Security Act in 2013.  The 2013 Act aims to provide food and nutritional security to people by ensuring access to adequate amount of quality food at affordable prices. Under the 2013 Act, persons belonging to certain categories are provided with food grains (wheat, rice and coarse cereals) at subsidised prices.  As of 2015, 68% of the population, i.e. 81 crore persons (of which 77% are in rural areas and 23% in urban areas) are covered under the Act.

Over the past few decades, with increasing per capita income and access to a variety of food groups, the consumption pattern of food in the country has been changing.  Dependence on cereals for nutrition has decreased and the consumption of protein has increased. Sources of protein include pulses, meat, seafood, and eggs, among others.  According to report by the Finance Ministry, incentivising the production of pulses in the country, poor levels of nutrition suggest that increasing the consumption of proteins should be the policy priority for the government.  The report estimates that the cost of pulses as a source of protein is lower than other sources.  Under the current domestic scenario, India is facing a shortage of pulses which is being managed by increasing imports. Thus, the struggle to find a balance between economic growth and ensuring food security continues.

A chill down my spine

At around 3 in the afternoon usually when I have my tea I switched in the TV to catch up on the news and unfortunately, the headline that I saw is one which I’ll never forget. I was devastated (still am), shook and almost in tears. Images of a 3-year-old boy sitting on the motionless body of his grandfather in J&K’s Sopore emerged from an encounter site. The 60-year-old grandfather was a civilian who was killed in the cross-firing on Wednesday morning in Kashmir when an encounter broke out between militants and security forces. The cops as they reached, rescued the boy and took him to a shelter. The boy wailed uncontrollably over his grandfather’s body. A police person carried the baby on his lap and took him away from the encounter site.

The police say Khan was killed in a crossfire when Kashmiri insurgents attacked their forces in the Sopore district of India-administered Kashmir. One Indian paramilitary trooper was also killed in the gunbattle, say the police. 

Khan’s daughter says her father had gone to the bank to cash a cheque and on the way he was dragged out of his car and then shot in cold blood.

The CRPF personnel who took the child were relentlessly trying to calm him down but failed. They offered him biscuits, food, consoled him but to no avail. How could the child stop crying? He had seen his grandfather being shot right in front him. Imagine, just imagine the horror, the shock and the trauma that child has been going through.

While you and I look back at our childhood as a sweet dream and wish that we could go back to it, do you think this young boy will have the same memories? Will he remember his childhood days playing in his grandfather’s lap or will he remember sitting on his dead body, crying out for help?

Immediately after the incident this news was all over the media. All news channels were covering it but for them it was just another piece of content. There were panel discussions, debates, comments coming in, people tweeting- everything you can imagine. Virtually, the whole of India came out to offer their condolences to the family but should we not question the people who are responsible for this? Should we not question those politicians who just sit in their air conditioned cabins passing orders which only leaf to bloodshed? Today, I as an Indian demand an answer from the Indian government that why is it so that people in the valley have to suffer so much? Why is it so that children in the valley only see death? Why is there no peace? Why isn’t the government not taking any action?

The French Revolution

As you all know, the French Revolution was a long period of social and political upheaval in France and its various colonies which began in 1789 and ended in 1799 with the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte. A combination of social, economic, intellectual and political reasons led to this revolution.
Let us look at the causes of the revolution one by one.

  1. BANKRUPTCY
    The very first reason for the outbreak of the revolution was the bankruptcy of the treasury. Under the French king Louis XVI, France had helped thirteen American colonies in gaining freedom from their common enemy- Britain. The French government had spent a lot of money on the war and had incurred a debt of over 2 billion livres. The treasury was being used up for paying back the loans which the government had taken and to maintain Louis XVI’s flamboyant and extravagant court at the palace of Versailles. Thus, to meet its regular expenses like maintaining the army, the court, the universities, running of government establishments etc, the government had to increase the taxes.
    Now, we first need to understand that the French society was divided into three estates or classes- the Clergy, the nobility and the peasantry. The first two estates enjoyed a lot of privileges which included exemption from paying taxes. Hence, now the entire tax burden was on the shoulders of the poor peasantry who did not even have the resources to afford a decent living. Thus, this new burden of paying increased taxes enraged them.
  2. STRUGGLE TO SURVIVE
    The second reason which led to resentment amongst the French was the struggle they had to go through for survival. The population had increased from 23 million to about 28 million between 1715 and 1789. This led to an increase in the demand for bread but unfortunately, the production of grain did not grow in tandem with the rise in demand. Thus, the price of the bread rose rapidly.
    Now since the wages of the workers were fixed, they could not afford buying bread at increased prices which led to widespread hunger and malnutrition amongst the people and the economic gap between the rich and the poor also increased.
  3. GROWING MIDDLE CLASS
    The third reason was the growth of a middle class. Throughout the 17th and the 18th century, there was a growth in the production of textiles and subsequent rise in overseas trade. Consequently, by the 18th century, a new middle class emerged which was engaged in this trade. The members of this class believed that no group in the society should be privileged by birth. Rather, a person’s social position must depend on his merit. Philosophers like John Locke and Rousseau put forward the idea of a society based on freedom and equality. Their ideas slowly became popular amongst the common people who would widely discuss their philosophies in salons and coffee houses.
  4. ADMINISTRATIVE ISSUES
    The last reason was the inefficiency and corruption in the administration, which did not pay attention to the peasantry. Added to this was the injustice the third estate (which was essentially the peasantry) was facing because of its social position.
    Hence, all these reasons forced the people of France to attack the wealthy aristocratic class including the monarch.

Locust Plague in India

Large and aggressive swarms of these crop-devouring short-horned insects have invaded more than two dozen districts covering more than 50,000 hectares of desert areas of western India. Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat are the worst affected states. In neighbouring Pakistan, authorities declared a nationwide emergency in February, saying locust numbers were the worst in more than two decades. Local reports say that farmers are fighting the ” worst locust plague in nearly three decades” and the swarms were decimating crops and sending prices of food soaring.We are battling a major locust attack from across the border. This is the biggest invasion in nearly three decades. The swarms are very big and they have migrated from across the border after breeding a month earlier than we were expecting,” KL Gurjar, deputy director of India’s Locust Warning Organisation, said”We are lucky that there is no crop in the fields now. But the locusts eat up all the green vegetation, leaves, flowers, fruits, seeds and plants,” Mr Gurjar said.

The Covid-19 pandemic is posing fresh challenges for some 100 odd workers who are battling the insects, using vehicle-mounted sprayers, pesticides and drones in the searing desert heat.
They are staying in the villages, where they are being given foods by locals, and going out at night to hunt down the insects in face masks and wearing some basic protective clothing. “They have migrated here after breeding across the border. It is a severe attack,” says Om Prakash, a plant-protection officer, who works in Rajasthan state .
India, clearly, needs to be watchful in the months ahead. “We need to be alert and anticipate where this is going next. The situation is all the more alarming as it comes at a time when the affected states are already reeling under Covid-19 and the ongoing heatwave,” says Anshu Sharma of Sustainable Environment and Ecological Development Society, a non-profit disaster management organisation.

Expectations vs Reality

Let’s face it, life does hit us hard a million times. We get hurt, cry, try to vent out our anger and then finally get back on track but do you realise that 99% of the times, the problem wasn’t that big as you had imagined it to be. I’m not saying you cried over something stupid but probably, the intensity of your reaction wouldn’t have been that strong if you didn’t have really high expectations. Yes, ‘expectations vs reality’ is the root cause to most of our problems and if we don’t imagine and expect a lot, the reality won’t hit us hard either.

Let me give you an example- you went to a new grocery store and as luck would have it that day, in the baked items section you found your favourite bread. Voila! Great day! Now you can have that delicious pasta with the bread you had been planning to eat for the past whole month. ‘Great store’ you say to yourself and decide that now on, this will be your go-to place for groceries.

Next time you go to the store, you neither find the bread you loved last time nor do you get the usual cheese Urgh! Frustrating isn’t it? The store let you down and now you hate it.

Well, things run out sometimes, doesn’t mean that the store is bad, right? Sometimes you find what you wanted and sometimes you don’t. You don’t have to hate it to be honest. Same is the case with life, if it doesn’t meet your expectations, don’t start hating it. It’s fine, relax. What you are expecting isn’t the reality and the reality can’t really ever be expected from before.

This may have sounded a bit complicated so let me simplify it for you. What I’m trying to say is basically, don’t keep any expectations from or in life. Take things as they come. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t plan ahead in life or you should not be ambitious. You just don’t have to over fantasize and imagine every single moment of your life because sometimes things may not go as you had planned and that can be very hurtful so the best thing to do is, do whatever is at hand and leave the rest to the universe. Try not being obsessive about planning everything. It leads to unnecessary exhaustion and anxiety. Relax, take each moment as it comes, utilise it to the fullest and enjoy!

During the lockdown as we keep scrolling through our social media profiles, seeing other’s pictures of doing yoga I don’t know for how many hours a day, looking all fit and eating healthy etc can make us nervous. ‘Why am I not doing anything? Why am I useless’ – these thoughts are likely to come to your mind if you compare yourself with others and expect that you are going to be exactly like others. It’s dumb. We alk have our own individual and unique journey in life. You are not always going to react to situations the way your friends do. You have a different life, you have had different experiences, you’ve met different people, you are your own unique and different individual, period.

Hence, as I had said earlier live your own life and don’t try to clone others. It won’t help.

Beauty standards

A straightforward and a simple title, but a very difficult and a dynamic topic. Since ages, the beauty ideals across the world have been very different. From wanting a tall and slim wife in Europe to a robust woman in some parts of Africa- the beauty ideals for women have been even more different. I can speak for India. In India, a common ideal is ofcourse the much overrated and controversial- fair skin. Everybody in India wants to get fairer. We have traditional face packs to our grandmother’s remedies for getting a whiter skin. I don’t know if it’s a trailing effect of the colonial days or has the society always been like that but one thing is for sure, had not most Indians been brown, I think we would have been the most brutal racists on the planet.

The obsession which Indians have with white skin is crazy. Recently, a very famous company in India which sold a fairness cream called ‘fair and lovely’, dropped the initial word and is now called the ‘lovely cream’. I don’t know if changing names of products is really going to make a difference in the social mindset but it is a great leap forward. The fact that companies are willing to admit and accept that they do in fact have very racist ideals is a big change, a change for the better.

Growing up I was always loved by my teachers and relatives since I have a fairer skin than the average Indian. There was a time in my life where I felt that people who are dark have committed some crime that God made them like that. I didn’t like darker people as a child because it was fed into my mind by the society and my family that being fair is something great and is a privilege. It was only later when I got older and realised that skin is just- skin. It comes in various colours, shades, types but none is superior to some other. I feel that children these days are growing up in a much more acceptable environment. George Flyod’s death sparked off millions of protests across the world because people realised that racism is unacceptable. Imagine him being killed say even 20 years back. Do you really think people would have spoken up? I don’t think so.

I understand that the world still isn’t perfect nor is it ever going to be but from my life’s lense, I feel that the world is changing and it is changing for the better.

Unlocking India

The pandemic got us all by its horror. While the Indian government continues to miserably fail at actually governing the nation with its highly communal and primitive ideas, unlocking India has gotten worse than the lockdown itself.

The Jagannath Puri Yatra has commenced and a person whopwho was of the yatra has already tested positive for the deadly virus. I remember when we were locking down the country here, the government continuosly blamed the Tablighi Jamaat for having worsened the country’s situation. Our Islamophobic government continued to attack the muslims for having deliberately planned this entire thing to attack Indians. They were kept all sorts of names by the media especially the channels supporting the right wing. Now what? Isn’t the Puri yath ratra also going to lead to the spread of the virus? Isn’t this fatal? Just because the yatra us being lead by the majority religion of this so called secular nation, shouldn’t the government be questioning this too? Who is going bro be responsible if the whole of India gets the virus due to this yatra. I do not mean to disrespect Lord Jagannath but isn’t it common sense to not allow a thousand people to roam around with no physical distancing whatsoever? Trust me, I’m waiting for the government to put the blame of this foolishnes on the Gandhis. In the last 6 years of their highly inefficient and ineffective regime, all I’ve understood is that if their is a problem, the opposition is responsible and if there is something passingly going fine in the country we must hail Modi.

The leading party is poisoning the body politic of India. The unlocking isn’t going fine. The Economy is dying, there are as always issues related to electricity and water, people don’t have food to eat, the diesal prices are going over the roof, people are dying, hospitals are ineffective, employees are losing their income. In such a situation how can the home minister even dare to say that things are going fine? The only thing the government knows is how to attack students who are trying to raise their voice. It only knows how to attack and suppress people. It only knows oppression. This country is no more a democracy and it will be too late before people realise this. Sad, we are in a sad state.

The art of forgiving

I have grown up idealizing my grandma. I love her and love everything she does. For me she has always been my iron woman. I have never in my life seen her whine or cry over something even once. It’s as if she doesn’t care. As if this world is too juvenile for her attention and care. Trust me, she doesn’t give two hoots about anything on this planet. Her life has always revolved around her and it continues to be like that. I’m not saying she’s selfish, she’s just not as bothered about others as we are. If she ever receives a compliment from someone, she thanks them. If people ever talk I’ll about her she does something which most of us fail to do- she forgives them.

I don’t know how she does it. I asked her one day how she lets go of all her anger to which she said that people who make you angry have the sole purpose of annoying nad irritating you. They want to get inside your mind and poison it. They want you to constantly think of them and how they wronged you. When you get angry at someone you pledge that you would never talk to them or think of them and in order to hold up this pledge you have to constantly remind your mind to not think of them. This is counterproductive because in order to forcefully and deliberately forget people you in turn constantly remind yourself of their bad deeds. This spoils your mind and wastes your time. Holding a grudge against someone comes with a heavy cost which you have to pay with your peace of mind. Thus, in order to be happy, you have to prioritise who is more important to you- yourself or others and if the answer is the former, you must forgive others.

Forgiveness isn’t philanthropy. You are not doing it to release others from their crimes and deeds, you are doing that to release your own self from the negative emotions and thoughts which come with resentment.

Life is too short to live it for others. You must start living for yourself. Love more, hate less because this is going to benefit you. Prioritise yourself. You should be your first priority and your happiness should be above your ego. The day you start loving yourself and the moment you realise that you want to start living life for your soul is the moment you will learn the art of forgiving. Imagine living for a 100 years. When you were 5 years old you had a fight with a friend of yours and you decided you would never speak to that friend or ever think of him. Now, you spent the next 95 years of your life reminding yourself how that person hurt you and how you should never think of him. Thus, you kept living every moment of your life for that person and just wasted a glorious 100 years holding on to a grudge which was fatal for your mental peace and we’ll being.

Thus, the path to eternal happiness starts from forgiveness. Let go of the hatred you have towards other people and you’ll notice how improved your life is. Always remember that your self respect is greater than your ego. While your ego prefers holding on to something your self respect will always remind you to let go because that’s the only way you can actually honour yourself.

Om Shanti.

Why all of us should read!

From the title you must have guessed that the title is about the importance of reading. All of us grew up being told by our parents that we should reduce our TV time and instead go ahead and pick up a book.

I had never really understood and paid attention to the importance of reading until I entered high school. It was in high school that it struck me how important it is to expand your vistas and learn more, read more. In higher classes it is expected out of us that we should have a good and expansive vocabulary. I wasn’t much of a reader back then but my inclination towards books started at that time itself.

Over the years, reading has helped me in a lot many ways. Apart from the fact that I have more concrete opinions and ideas nowadays, I feel more confident. I feel intelligent and smart. It has boosted my self confidence. It is a good escape from the world. You can imagine, think, fantasie- it’s just you and your story, nothing else. It’s a beautiful world- the world of reading and I suggest you should try going there sometime. Trust me, you wouldn’t want to come back!

As they say, a book is man’s best friend and we’ll, it is true in everyway. A book doesn’t judge you or laugh at you. You can do whatever you want to, you can read any genre- there will be no opinion of the book! You are free, left to your own devices!

There is a piece of writing for every human emotion. You can feel a certain way and almost immediately ( in today’s internet driven world) find a book which suits and matches your feelings!

These days people resort to reading softcopies of various authors. It may suit their requirements but for me, the hard Bound book with it’s muddy sweet smell has a different feeling. It gives me a different high, trust me! I would suggest that for a beginner, the old school hardcopies of books are the best. They give you a feeling that you are actually reading something. It’s a different experience. Go ahead, enjoy yourselves.

Happy reading!

Caste system and food- yes, it’s related.

I’m not a nutritionist but food has always attracted me towards itself and for good. I grew up in a very strict household where my mother made sure that I knew what was good for my body and what wasn’t. Junk food was a strict no-no! No aerated drinks, no chips, no pizza etc. I hated all the restrictions which were put on me but with time I understood that it was all a part of food education- yes, it exists and you actually have to educate your kiddos about food. This isn’t a common tradition in India but for my parents it was crucial that me and my brother knew everything there was to know about food and it’s benefits.

Fast forward to my 19 year old self, I thank my mother for all that gyaan! The compliments I receive for my physique today are a result of my upbringing.

Sometime back in college when things were hunky-dory a friend of mine walked up to me and asked if I was ‘on’ some diet.

‘I’m never ‘on’ a diet Ayesha, it’s a part of my life. I eat to survive. Diet is survival!’

‘Don’t lie, I know you are on Keto. I’ll also start from tomorrow’, and off she went, even before I could ask her what that diet was and what she was planning to do. I went home and Googled it and was not surprised to find out that like many other diets out there, this one also kicked carbohydrates out of the balcony! NO CARBS WHATSOEVER (it says little carbs but if I can’t I have my roti and chawal it’s equivalent to no carbs only.)

This diet is a disaster in making. I hope all of you know about the Vedic caste system. For those of you who don’t, let me explain it to you as simply as is possible. The Vedic or let’s say the Hindu caste system divides people into four castes or say, types- Brahmanas, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and the Shudras, with the Brahmanas being on the top of the hierarchy and the Shudras at the bottom rung. Now the caste system has another category- the Ati Shudras.

The Shudras and the Ati Shudras were despised by everyone. In a town which comprised of the other three castes, the Shudras weren’t allowed to enter. They lived on the periphery of the town and were subjected to the most inhuman treatment you can fathom. Worst was the scenario for the Ati Shudras who has sound a clapper before they set their foot in the town so that the people knew they were coming. The system was pathetic. It poisoned the body politic of India like nothing else and we are bearing the brunt of it even today.

Now to understand the relation between the caste system and food, replace carbs with the Shudras, Protein with Brahmanas and the story will become clear to you. Think over it, it may ring a bell somewhere in your brain.

I’ll elucidate on this tomorrow. Also, I do not mean to hurt anyone’s sentiments or feelings by this article. I’m only drawing a comparison. Please forgive me if at any point it hurt you even if in the most subtle way. Healing is my only intention. I mean no harm to anyone.

Om Shanti.

International Yoga Day

Since 2015, on this day- the 21st of June all of us come together to celebrate ‘The International Yoga Day’. I feel it is a very good initiative started by our Prime Minister who managed to convince the entire globe to come together on this day and dedicate some time of their day to yoga.As many people say and even you must have heard, Yoga is not just about exercise and asanas and losing weight, it is actually the unification of the mind with the body and soul. It is the coming together of all your senses to unite and synchronise.

This morning, my college had organised an online yoga session for us students. Because of the lockdown I hardly am used to waking up on time anymore. My morning starts when its almost noon and then like an owl I am up almost the entire night. Today as i woke up for the session early, the world outside seemed a bit different. Inspite of the eclipse, it was bright and sunny, I could hear the birds, I went outside in my garden, walked on the fresh dewy grass and questioned why it did’t occur to me before? Why didn’t I wake up early every single day and enjoy my day like this? While I was going to college, I barely had time to enjoy my day like this. My time went away in watching series, just lying on my bed, eating and sleeping because during college, this was my definition of relaxing and calming down. Today I realized that that is not what I want. That is not my true self. I don’t enjoy sitting in front of a screen the entire day. I am a nature’s baby, this is what I like doing and I was surprised that just one day of seeing the early morning sun could make me feel like this.

Once the session was over and I was lying in Shavasana, I thanked my body for having putting up with me all these days. I have pledged that now on, from this day onwards I’ll take care of my body and not take it for granted. I will ensure that my laziness doesn’t take over my mind and that I’m able to make good decisions for my health.Yoga, has made me realize that if I take care of myself I will feel happier and more energetic. Our brain tricks us into procrastinating and just not doing anything but that is not how we truly are.Our subconscious mind always wants us to be the best version of ourselves so why not try being that.why do we let our brain take over. On this International Yoga Day, let us all pledge that we will look after ourselves and love ourselves.

Om shanti.

Megaliths

Megaliths are very interesting to learn about. They are very intriguing and for the past many decades, historians have been trying to study them in greater detail to unravel the mysteries of the prehistoric times.

Imagine seeing huge blocks of stone in a particular pattern? Won’t you be excited to know who built them? What if I tell you that these structures were built by men and women who lived thousands and thousands of years before us?

If I ask you touch a stone, do you realise that that very block of stone was once touched, picked up and placed in that particular place by the prehistoric man! Isn’t that exciting! Come, let’s delve deeper into these structures.

Let’s deconstruct the term to understand what it means. ‘Mega’ is a Latin term meaning large and ‘lith’ means stone. So from the name itself you can guess that the term ‘Megalith has something to do with huge blocks of stone. Let us understand this further.

Why were Megaliths constructed?

These were primarily burial sites or were constructed to commemorate something- for memories. There are various types of Megaliths found at such burial sites or commemorative sites. By erecting a huge piece of stone at the particular site it was easier to spot it. Just the way you see a gravestone with epitaphs on it in graveyards, similarly, a megalith acted a marker for the site.

Types of Megaliths

The burial sites contain actual burial remains such as dolmenoid cists (box-shaped stone burial chambers), cairn circles (stone circles with defined peripheries) and capstones (distinctive mushroom-shaped burial chambers found mainly in Kerala). The urn which contained the burial remains was made of terracotta. The commemorative or the memorial sites include Menhirs which are tall erect stones. Thus, these stone structures are the ones which tell us about the Megalithic culture which lasted from the Neolithic Age upto the early historical period which is 2500 BC to 200 AD. In India, archaeologists trace the majority of the megaliths to the Iron Age (1500 BC to 500 BC), though some sites precede the Iron Age, extending up to 2000 BC.

Where can we find these?

Megaliths are spread across the Indian subcontinent, though the bulk of them are found in peninsular India, concentrated in the states of Maharashtra (mainly in Vidarbha), Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

Even today, a living megalithic culture endures among some tribes such as the Gonds of central India and the Khasis of Meghalaya.

There were several waves of migration from 70000 BC to 40000 BC. Consequently, there are four linguistic groups in India: Austro-Asiatic (the oldest), Tibeto-Burman, Dravidian and Indo-Aryan (the most recent). As megalithic societies were preliterate that means their linguistic origins are difficult to trace, the racial or ethnic origins of the megalithic people are difficult to understand.

Extensive research has been conducted on the mortuary practices, belief systems and political economy of megalithic people which has revealed that they can be given credit for the rise of the ‘political economy’ which means a proper structured political system and an economy was put in place by the megalithic people for the very first time. This of course is just an assumption made by historians since we do not have any written evidence to support this.

Megalithic people carried out agricultural activity in both the Rabi and Kharif seasons. A large variety of grains such as rice, wheat, millet, barley lentil, black gram, horse gram, common pea, pigeon pea and Indian jujube have been recovered from habitations.

The very idea of burying the dead along with burial goods indicates strong belief in life after death and possibly rebirth among megalithic people. The respect accorded to the buried individual ensured that the grave and the goods contained within were not harmed or subjected to vandalism and theft. Paddy husk has been found in burial sites, further proof of the megalithic peoples’ commitment towards ensuring their dead a comfortable afterlife. They also believed in some idea of a soul.

The living megalithic culture in India provides strong hints regarding the belief systems of prehistoric megalithic people. “The Gond people believe in life after death, they believe that every human being has two souls: the life spirit and the shadow. The life spirit goes to ‘bada devta’ but the shadow still stays in the village after the erection of stone memorial. Gond people believe that the first and foremost duty of the shadow spirit is to watch over the moral behavior of the people and punish those who go against the tribal law,” says S. Mendaly on the living megalithic culture of the Gonds of Nuaparha in Odisha. Interestingly, the popular Indian belief in the evil eye—buri nazar in Hindi—may be a legacy of the megalithic age.

Understanding the structure of Megaliths

Building of the Megaliths, its shape, the placement of stone and the process of construction also says a lot about the society. The construction of megaliths was a massive endeavour, requiring the active involvement of the community. A very noted historian called Mendaly has made very important observations about the Megalithic society of the Gonds and I’ll be quoting him- “They invite their relatives and friends from other villages and other castes, and erect the memorial stone in a burial complex or ‘matha’. After that a sheep or goat is to be slaughtered in honour of the deceased, and its meat eaten at the feast, but before that they offer this meat to their village deity and their ancestors. They believe that the animals killed in this occasion are supposed to become the property of the deceased in the spirit world and there is the belief that if this ceremony is not organized then they face serious problems throughout the year.”

The range of iron artefacts recovered from the burials indicate that the megalithic people practised a wide range of occupations and included carpenters, cobblers, bamboo craftsmen, lapidaries engaged in gemstone work, blacksmiths, coppersmiths and goldsmiths, proof of complex social organization. Beads made of various semi-precious stones and steatite( If you have studied about the Indus Valley Civilisation, you must have come across this stone. Do check out its pictures on the internet. It’s a beautiful stone) have also been found. Bronze figurines of animals like buffaloes, goats, tigers, elephants and antelopes have been recovered from inside urn burials at the site of Adichanallur in the Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu.

To understand where exactly does the Megalithic society stand in terms of India’s historical narrative let us look at what Korisettar has to say- ‘’Megalithism indicates the developments of a second urbanization, a chieftain society or chiefdoms, as reflected in monumental architecture as well as other aspects: surplus being generated, multiple crops including cash crops and horticultural crops, mineral, stones. Essentially, the emergence of Megalithic period marks the beginning of second urbanization in various parts of India beyond what was covered by Indus Valley Civilization.” 

The Sangam literature also has something to say about the Megaliths. The poems included in the literature describe the way burials were made thus giving historians some literary clue about the Megalithic society.

The Revolt of 1857

As a student of history, i feel this a question which most of us have had at some point and it needs to be addressed now. Whether or not can we call the revolt of 1857 the first war of independence? Now, there are two viewpoints to this. I will introduce both the ideas to you all and then you can do your research to come to a well informed conclusion.

NOT A WAR OF INDEPENDENCE

VD Savarkar was among the first to call it a war of independence. Many of his contemporaries as well as later scholars have disagreed with him. It is argued that it was neither the first nor a war and nor was it a struggle for independence.

It was not the first such uprising because it was preceded by numerous tribal and peasant revolts at local level. The Santhal revolt preceded the Sepoy mutiny by two years. Pazzhasi Raja, a chieftain in the Malabar region of what is now Kerala, struggled against the British from 1793 till his death in 1805. These are, but two examples of armed rebellion against the East India Company’s rule.

It is also misleading to call it a war. In reality, history records the events as a series of localised battles, with little or no coordination among the mutineers spread across cantonments. Moreover, the revolt was restricted to the Bengal Army. The Bombay and Madras Armies remained largely unaffected.

The most inappropriate aspect however, is the argument that the mutiny was for independence. In fact, the Indian chiefs who joined in the mutiny primarily did so over personal grievances. Nana Sahib, who led the rebellion in Kanpur, was aggrieved because the British were cutting off his pension. Rani Lakshmibai, of Jhansi was mainly concerned that her adopted son be recognised as the ruler of Jhansi (under British suzerainty). Similarly, Begum Hazrat Mahal of Lucknow lent support to the mutineers in order protect the interests of her young son Birjis Qadir. Kunwar Singh, who led the revolt at Arrah, was motivated by his desire to protect his Zamindari rights.

In fact, this diversity of interests ensured that there was no unity of purpose among the leaders of the mutiny. This was a major reason for the failure of the revolt. While the Indian protagonists had widely varying interests, the East India Company fought with the sole objective of self preservation in a land where they were hopelessly outnumbered.

It would be more appropriate to remember the mutiny as one among many events that shaped the events of the next century.

WAR OF INDEPENDENCE

The Nationalist historians have a different story to tell. According to them the fact that Hindus and Muslims came together to fight against British oppression proves that it was the first war of independence. The Revolt was not successful but well it was the first every armed struggle of such a huge impact by the Indians against the British. Even though it did not necessarily lead to freedom from the British, it made the Indians realize that they could overpower the British and establish their independent rule.

The mutiny took place in 1857 and exactly 90 years later, in 1947 India did gain independence and we must not forget that after 1857, Indians never stopped their struggle for freedom and continued to fight against the British oppression. Thus we must not in any way undermine the events of 1857.

The amount of damage inflicted upon the British by the sepoys was enough to scare them off. This was the first time when the British realised that their Raj was not going to last forever and a very strong message was put across by the Indians.

The mutiny was magnificent display of Indian unity, power and might.

Thus, with this we can answer the question raised. I would request you all to read more and analyse the mutiny in greater detail and come up with your own unique answer.

Sino-Indian Relations

The violent clash between the Indian and the Chinese army is all over the news. While 20 of our jawans were martyred and over a 100 injured, reports claim that the damage inflicted upon the dragons was even more. Well, whatever the news reports say the fact of the matter is that a lot of bloodshed was caused, many families were disrupted and a few precious lives were lost.

I find it very sad and hurtful that the Indian media goes on to romanticize and glamorize such armed struggles. Yes it is true that these brave men laid down their lives for the nation but these journalists do not realize that every time they go onto say that ‘we are going to avenge the death of our men’ they do not understand that all that they are doing is instigating the public. Now there is a lot of political pressure that goes into any war or an armed fight and a major factor behind this pressure is the public. When crores and crores of Indians are filled with vengeance towards China the government in a lot of ways is forced to give a stronger retaliation than the actual attack. I am not trying to say that we should just ignore the soldiers’ martyrdom and what China has been doing to us but it is very easy for us to say that we want a war and we want to give a befitting reply little realizing that the ‘we’ in these statements is the defense after all. You and I are not going to Ladakh for that reply, are we? It is the soldiers who’ll have to lay down their lives to avenge the death of their brothers which is only going to cause more bloodshed. More families will be broken and more children orphaned, do we ever give this thought?

When the prime minister has the audacity to say that we are going to fight back does he ever think about our soldiers? Sitting in his air conditioned cabin it is very easy for him to say this. Why doesn’t he come out and apologize for this? Why isn’t he being questioned? Why doesn’t he ever say that he will personally have a word with the Chinese premier and ask for an answer? You know why he doesn’t do all this, because he doesn’t have the courage which the army does. He doesn’t have the love for India which these martyrs do. A lot of us think that this just a game of politics. Some of us write about it, some of us debate about this while many of us participate in it with all glory.

To everyone reading this reading this, just close your eyes for a second and imagine the person you love the most coming back wrapped in the tricolour. You will understand what families of armymen go through every single day and then probably you will have the brain to question the government and not ask for a war.

The Chain of Habits

A wise man once said that habits are the ladder to success and excellence. Who doesn’t want to be successful and happy? Aren’t we all craving for achieving something in life? We all have ambitions right? So why not go ahead and do something which will help you in life?

First things first, there is no magical potion for affluence and for reaching heights. You have to work hard but as they say, hard work without any planning is simply a waste of time. You are spending your energy doing things which are not going to take you anywhere. Hard work has to be done smartly. You have to plan it all out in such a way that all your efforts help you, not exhaust you.

So that is why I’m here. Today, in this article I am going to help you out in planning your day in such a way that you are able to achieve you goals in the shortest time possible.

I’m sure you must have heard of the saying, ‘Well begun is half done.’ Well, these small tips and pieces of advice haven’t been passed down to us through our older generations just like that. There is a reason why people believe in this. You can go through several of interviews by successful and well-established people and to your surprise, you’ll notice a pattern in all of them. As you will go on to analyse what all things do these big sort CEOs and Directors of big well established MNCs do, you’ll realise that they all one thing in common and that is a good, well planned out and productive morning routine. Yes, a good morning routine is life changing and it can help you in a lot of ways.

Let me decode this for you. I’ll start by looking at what most people do, then I’ll move on to giving you the ideal routine and then we’ll talk about the benefits of one.

So, 90% of the people wake up quite late and when they do, they continue to lie in their beds and check their social media handles. After having done that, they go to the washroom, brush their teeth, get ready for work, grab something to eat and out they go, rushing to work. This routine is a disaster in making. You cannot continue with such a pattern hoping to get somewhere in life. I’ll tell you why.

Problems in this routine

  1. Waking up late already sets your body in panic and you are not able to concentrate. You cannot or let’s say, do not plan your day ahead in time which sets the ball of problems rolling for you.
  2. Then you go onto check your social media which is filled with negativity. You see your friends’ photographs, them partying out all night which makes you feel miserable and unwanted.
  3.  After this fiasco, you are most likely to be disinterested in getting g ready properly so you just put on whatever you see on top of the pile which will make your turn out at work horrible.
  4. Then finally, to top it all you do not have a good nutritious breakfast which hampers you health thus bringing this cycle of problems to a full circle.

So now let us look at what you should ideally be doing. Firstly try waking up on time- somewhere around 6 or 6:30 in the morning. Then immediately as your alarm goes off jump out of the bed and make it. Don’t hit the snooze button. Draw the curtains, unfold the blinds and let sunlight in your room. Now go to loo, freshen up, brush your teeth etc. Once you are done, have a glass of water. All this will take around 15mins. Now take time to choose a good outfit, get dressed, do your hair properly, polish your shoes etc and go to your kitchen to have a good nutritious meal. Take time to sit down and eat while reading the newspaper so you are aware of what’s happening around you and the world. Now finally, check your social media etc and you are good to go!

Zamdoodh

I have been very lucky when it comes to ‘homes’. Now, one may ask why I am using the plural form of a word which for most people translates into love and comfort. Well, I’m a fauji brat and I have been quite fortunate for having been to and lived in so many places across India that for me, home isn’t a place where we live, it is much beyond that. More so because we usually live in places for not more than 2 years so you must understand that I have to arrive, like, love and miss a particular place in less than 800 days.

As a child while most people associated their favourite place with their favourite restaurant or say, some really good friends, I always have fallen in love with those cities and towns which were very quaint and tiny, filled with people who had nothing to do with the world outside. For them, the place was ‘ghar’ and like most Indians they had sworn to not leave their ‘ghars’ ever. We, the fauji guys were simply ‘fauji jo aate jaate rehte hain aur border par hote hain.’

Today, while having my lunch I ate some curd which reminded me of my first love story which began long back, around 16 years ago. The memory is still as fresh in my mind as a daisy. I was also watching the news, something to do with the bitter bilateral relations between India and China where Ladakh is now on the butcher’s block. Let’s not get into the news here. I wanted to tell you all about my experience of having lived in Kashmir, very near to the border. It’s a very simple one but I’m sure you’ll enjoy.

I think this was somewhere in December. My birthday is on the 27th so back then mum had decided to bake me cake. You don’t usually get a maid in Srinagar but we were lucky to have found one. Maa and I were looking for the cake tin and other paraphernalia required for making my birthday a huge success, invitees for which were me, maa, baba and my favourire- Raja Begum.

I don’t remember much of her but maa tells me Raja Begum’s name was Shehnaz. Heaven knows who named her raja and why but she loved it and didn’t like been called Shehnaz, nor ‘Raja’ or just ‘Begum’. Meticulous and organised to the tee, her routine was set. She would come, make herself do ande ka ‘aamlet’, have some tea, talk about how beautiful Kashmir is while washing the dishes, dance around with the broom for some while and then leave. I don’t know if she really helped my mother with the chores but in an awfully cold place like Srinagar with connections snapping every now and then, my wailing self to top it all, I reckon Raja Begum was a pleasant presence.

She was the one who had taught me how to walk. I was almost 2 and wouldn’t move an inch from my stroller. I used to just sit there either crying or eating mashed apple looking outside the window. My Raja Begum took it on herself to teach me the art of moving on two feet and she was very successful I must say, it’s been 19 years since and I have only improved. She took me in her arms one day and put me on the floor and as expected, I didn’t do anything. ‘Haraamzaadi, tum chalegi nahi?!, yelled Raja Begum and within no time I had started to walk to my dear mother’s utter pleasure.

So now I hope you understand what value Raja Begum holds in my life. Coming back to my birthday party prep in full swing, as always, Raja Begum walked in, made herself an ‘amlet’ and since she was loving herself a bit more that day, she used three eggs that day instead if two thus using up all we had.

‘Arey ab kaise cake banega Raja Begum! Ande khatam’, said my poor maa.

‘Usme kya beti? Zamdoodh daalo, cake ko banega.’ For those of you who don’t know, Zamddodh is curd/yoghurt which apparently is used to make cake sometimes. My mum didn’t know this and asked Raja Begum if it would turn out edible to which she replied, ‘ Kyun nahi banega accha? Raja Begum ko aata cake. Hum Kashmiri daalte hain zamdoodh. Aap Hindustani nahi istmal karte honge.’

We made the cake and it was tasty and while it has been so many years, I’ll always remember how Raja Begum felt she wasn’t Hindustani enough. She stands for the many Kashmiris who don’t feel like a part of India but alas, in spite of all the constitutional changes and the political efforts, they are still Kashmiris trying to save themselves from us Hindustanis.

Matters of the mind

The sudden demise of Sushant Singh Rajput came as a shock. The young actor was apparently undergoing treatment for depression and had been on medication for quite a few moths but yesterday, he succumbed to his illness.

I had recently watched Kedarnath and was awestruck by the late actor’s work little realizing that he had been undergoing such emotional turmoil. His death was sudden and shocking and it got me thinking about one’s emotional and mental well being.

Well, prima facie the actor had everything. A swanky house, a well established and growing career, money, looks, a great physique- everything one would desire. A graduate of DTU, it is quite obvious that he must have been great at academics as well so then, what drove him to take such a step? There has been an outpouring of grief from across the country. Fans, friends, family and all the big shots of Bollywood took to the web to express their grief sorrow. Some even went on to ask questions like ‘Why did you do it?’

Really? Are we honestly stooping down to the level of saying that it was Sushant who was mentally unstable and not strong enough to handle the pressure which comes with the very first film you sign? Are we saying that it was his fault that he gave up and not that of others? Well, to be very honest I was one of these people blaming Sushant for what he had done and how he should have shared his thoughts with others but after a lot of contemplation I realized that I was wrong. It wasn’t his fault because if we go on to assume that  every person who chooses to commit suicide is the one who is weak and should have thought of some way to get out of his/her/their mental condition, we are actually assuming that people deliberately choose to kill themselves inspite of there being other more viable options.

The problem doesn’t lie with the people who end their lives but others, who create that atmosphere where ‘flight’ seems like the only option and apart from escaping this thankless world there isn’t any way out.

I do not have much to say in this regard. I am not a psychologist to suggest a few ways to be happier and not suicidal nor am I a spiritual guru who can relate life’s every problem with the divine and how the answer to every question of ours lies in the universe heaven knows where. I am just a regular girl who has only one thing to say and that is- please make this global space a bit more liveable. Let’s not talk behind each other’s backs and let others live for god’s sake! Stop criticising others for not fitting the template you have created for the ideal someone. Can we not appreciate everyone for their efforts/ Can we not  love a bit more and be more kind? Is this what we have come to that people cannot even speak thieir minds out in the society? Why have we become so pathetic, obnoxious, miserable and judgemental?

We have something to ponder over and think about. Mental well being is not a myth and nor is it funny. It is serious and we have to take it seriously.

The Class of 2020

The Corona pandemic came like a hailstorm pretty much disrupting the life of everyone in some way or the other. People are facing financial issues, there’s panic about job security, the poor don’t have a place to live nor food to feed themselves. Amidst all of this, it is the field of education which in my opinion has been hit the worst.

While the younger tiny tots continue to stay at home, I wonder what memories will they have of their childhood growing up? That they weren’t allowed to meet their friends or the fact that they didn’t go to school? Will their childhood be spent in this ‘masked avatar’ we all have or will this pandemic ever end to give these children a ‘normal childhood’- the way someone from our generation would describe it.

But, let us not forget about the graduating lot- The class of 2020. The smiling faces which had entered their classrooms a few years back, didn’t even get a farewell from their juniors. From completing and submitting online assignments to taking online exams- these fellows have had it the tougher way. While the anxiety of their graduation mulls over, these young minds also have a more serious question lingering at the back of their heads- what about the placements? In this financial crisis will they ever get a job? This degree they’ve worked so hard upon, is it of any tangible use? The amount of investment which goes into higher education, was it any worth?

Well, as the panic continues, we have to look for ray of light somewhere in this vicious tunnel which doesn’t seem to have an end! My suggestion to the outgoing batch would be to shift online and start applying for various internships and jobs virtually. We don’t know when this pandemic is going to end and what it is going to leave us with but, instead of panicking and worrying, we should work with what we have as of now, which is the web.

Another question which students may have is about their stipends? What about the money? Well, companies across the globe are facing an economic crisis so whether or not someone freshly out of college will be paid is really upto the employer, but nonetheless, don’t miss out on gaining the experience.

Even though the pandemic has swept away our happiness to quite some extent, let’s smile and work along with millions people who are out there all day everyday serving us, without complaining. 2 decades into this century, having faced a global emergency of such magnitude, it does scare me but still, at the back of my mind I have this weird thought that it’s a ‘once in a lifetime experience’, hopefully!