Confusion condemned

This is the time for the Indian media owners and not just journalists to stand up and say "Count me in " It's time for the common man to say "enough is enough". It's time for all Indian's to forget caste, religion and language and protest peacefully against what they feel is wrong . That is the essence of democracy . If and when politicians strive to divide , the commoners must unite . Violence is not the answer - common sense is. Let's stop talking about alleged enemies across the boarder planning to attack the country. That is a convenient distraction which pops up every now and then. India is attacking itself. The country is imploding . All the TV channels, news papers and tens of thousands of citizens can't be wrong . Our beloved motherland is on fire and the poor and the marginalised will suffer once again. Will better sense prevail or will mob violence be the order of the day ? This is a democracy and silent peaceful protestors are being beaten , Lathi charged , tear gassed and arrested . Undesirable elements are causing more confusion . This always happens and genuine protestors get a bad name . Section 144 has been imposed in many areas. There is an internet blackout, essential commodities are in short supply and prices are rising. I pray that people identify the perpetrators of this nonsense . I pray that peace reigns. We can surely do without this mayhem and madness.

Confusion condemned

This is the time for the Indian media owners and not just journalists to stand up and say "Count me in " It's time for the common man to say "enough is enough". It's time for all Indian's to forget caste, religion and language and protest peacefully against what they feel is wrong . That is the essence of democracy . If and when politicians strive to divide , the commoners must unite . Violence is not the answer - common sense is. Let's stop talking about alleged enemies across the boarder planning to attack the country. That is a convenient distraction which pops up every now and then. India is attacking itself. The country is imploding . All the TV channels, news papers and tens of thousands of citizens can't be wrong . Our beloved motherland is on fire and the poor and the marginalised will suffer once again. Will better sense prevail or will mob violence be the order of the day ? This is a democracy and silent peaceful protestors are being beaten , Lathi charged , tear gassed and arrested . Undesirable elements are causing more confusion . This always happens and genuine protestors get a bad name . Section 144 has been imposed in many areas. There is an internet blackout, essential commodities are in short supply and prices are rising. I pray that people identify the perpetrators of this nonsense . I pray that peace reigns. We can surely do without this mayhem and madness.

Christmas

Christmas will come and go in the blink of an eye. One minute you are putting up the tree, doing last minute shopping, getting a makeover in an attempt to look younger, decorating the house and planning your parties and the next you are putting away the dirty dishes, throwing away the accumulated garbage, labelling the packed decoration boxes and wondering why you feel bloated and exhausted. Then there is the X’ Mas post mortem – how so and so’s cake tasted, the ill-fitting dress worn by a friend , the boring party , the small talk (read gossip), the boring sermon by an ill prepared priest , the overcrowded malls – the list goes on . Santa goes back to wherever he is supposed to have come from, the reindeers are put out to pasture and sanity is restored once again. Oh yes you also have gifts which you will probably recycle! OMG where did the year go – the months really flew by ! And then everyone starts contemplating the New Year – fingers and toes crossed – hoping for good tidings. Yippee it’s New Year’s resolution time. Research has shown that about half of all adults make New Year’s resolutions. However, fewer than 10% manage to keep them for more than a few months and that too is stretching it a bit! The origin of New Year’s resolutions is quite interesting. The ancient Babylonians made promises to their Gods at the start of each year that they would return borrowed objects and pay their debts on time. The Romans began each year by making promises to the God Janus, for whom the month of January is named. Thereafter bedlam has reigned with the whole world jumping on the bandwagon and continuing, what has now become a craze New Year’s resolutions are quite a pain but “What’s your New year’s resolution”? is a question on so many minds in January every year so everyone starts thinking in advance so as not to feel out of sync during upcoming conversations? We all know how easily people can fall into bad habits and why on trying to give up those habits it is easy to relapse. New Year’s Resolutions usually come in the form of lifestyle changes and changing behaviour that has become routine and habitual can be hard to do. Google the term ‘NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS’ and there are umpteen pages on the same. The most common resolutions made every year around the world are: losing weight, doing more exercise, quitting smoking and saving money. All undoubtedly look good and meaningful. Who doesn’t want to fit into clothes better , drop a size or two, be able to run a mile without panting , feel healthier and have some sort of a healthy bank balance . The main reason that people don’t stick to their resolutions is that they set too many or they’re unrealistic to achieve. They may also be victims of the “false hope syndrome”. False hope syndrome characterized by a person’s unrealistic expectations about the likely speed, amount, ease and consequences of changing their behaviour. So here is my new year’s resolution- to try and be a better person than I was in 2018 – for myself and those around me. Not a SMART target but ok for someone who can do without the jargon. So what’s yours?

Christmas

Christmas will come and go in the blink of an eye. One minute you are putting up the tree, doing last minute shopping, getting a makeover in an attempt to look younger, decorating the house and planning your parties and the next you are putting away the dirty dishes, throwing away the accumulated garbage, labelling the packed decoration boxes and wondering why you feel bloated and exhausted. Then there is the X’ Mas post mortem – how so and so’s cake tasted, the ill-fitting dress worn by a friend , the boring party , the small talk (read gossip), the boring sermon by an ill prepared priest , the overcrowded malls – the list goes on . Santa goes back to wherever he is supposed to have come from, the reindeers are put out to pasture and sanity is restored once again. Oh yes you also have gifts which you will probably recycle! OMG where did the year go – the months really flew by ! And then everyone starts contemplating the New Year – fingers and toes crossed – hoping for good tidings. Yippee it’s New Year’s resolution time. Research has shown that about half of all adults make New Year’s resolutions. However, fewer than 10% manage to keep them for more than a few months and that too is stretching it a bit! The origin of New Year’s resolutions is quite interesting. The ancient Babylonians made promises to their Gods at the start of each year that they would return borrowed objects and pay their debts on time. The Romans began each year by making promises to the God Janus, for whom the month of January is named. Thereafter bedlam has reigned with the whole world jumping on the bandwagon and continuing, what has now become a craze New Year’s resolutions are quite a pain but “What’s your New year’s resolution”? is a question on so many minds in January every year so everyone starts thinking in advance so as not to feel out of sync during upcoming conversations? We all know how easily people can fall into bad habits and why on trying to give up those habits it is easy to relapse. New Year’s Resolutions usually come in the form of lifestyle changes and changing behaviour that has become routine and habitual can be hard to do. Google the term ‘NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS’ and there are umpteen pages on the same. The most common resolutions made every year around the world are: losing weight, doing more exercise, quitting smoking and saving money. All undoubtedly look good and meaningful. Who doesn’t want to fit into clothes better , drop a size or two, be able to run a mile without panting , feel healthier and have some sort of a healthy bank balance . The main reason that people don’t stick to their resolutions is that they set too many or they’re unrealistic to achieve. They may also be victims of the “false hope syndrome”. False hope syndrome characterized by a person’s unrealistic expectations about the likely speed, amount, ease and consequences of changing their behaviour. So here is my new year’s resolution- to try and be a better person than I was in 2018 – for myself and those around me. Not a SMART target but ok for someone who can do without the jargon. So what’s yours?

My spectacles and me

While many believe that Benjamin Franklin invented spectacles, actually it was Salvino D'Armati, a 13th century Italian from Florence. In reality, I do not care who invented them, as I am not very fond of them in the first place.

 Some believe that shades or dark glasses were worn even earlier than that to protect the eyes from the bright sun.

I started wearing spectacles in my 40’s and dark glasses about ten years before that.

This morning I woke at about five am, as I always do to read the newspapers and then spent around twenty minutes searching for my glasses. You can put this down to old age, amnesia, and the onset of dementia or whatever. You can call me careless, sleepy head or a forgetful old man- I DO NOT CARE!

I finally found them – they had slipped between the end of the sofa and the cushion.  Thrilled, I opened the door, picked up the newspapers and sat down to read them. Only then did I realize that these were my “distance glasses”. The “reading” glasses had been near my pillow throughout.

Now I know you are sniggering at me having different spectacles for reading and distance but that is me.

I did try the progressive ones a few years ago for a few days- three to be precise- got splitting migraines,  felt nauseous and put them aside for good.

So now, I carry two pairs around and that is the problem. Am usually wearing one and have the other in my pocket. Most of my shirts do not have pockets and if I am not wearing a coat, the second pair is usually deep in the trouser pocket.

This causes them to go out of shape and often become lopsided soon. I am quite careless with spectacles as well and often leave them lying around – on  office tables , on peg tables at home , beside me on the sofa , on the seat of the car , in the receptacle between the car seats etc  . When reading, the second pair is often on my lap and the obvious happens- I get up in a hurry and the glasses are on the floor. I have stamped them, kicked them and once smashed them as well.

I am constantly being advised on how to look after them – get lanyards, use a case, treat them with respect, don’t let them lie around- this advice goes in from one year and out of the other .

No, I am not proud of the way I treat my spectacles but I am so fed up with the two pairs.

As a young boy I remember hearing conversations of people having used their spectacles for years – they never broke, were damaged or lost!  How they managed with the same pair for years beats me.

In addition, I have not yet mentioned something else. Last week I suddenly put on my glasses (in the morning) and was definite I was losing my vision. Everything was a blur in the right eye. Thoughts of cataract and glaucoma raced through my mind as I rushed to the washroom and washed my eye and the glasses too.

Only then did I realize that the lens were badly scratched and my eyes were fine. Thankful for small mercies!

Therefore, off I went to the optician to have the lens changed. He recognized me and seemed rather pleased – do not think any of his customers go through four pairs of glasses in a year.

While I sit at my computer, keying in this article, I am wearing my old spectacles. I used the old distance ones while driving this morning. Once I get the newer pairs back, I will give these in for a similar lens change – you guessed it right – both these pairs are scratched as well.

My spectacles and me

While many believe that Benjamin Franklin invented spectacles, actually it was Salvino D'Armati, a 13th century Italian from Florence. In reality, I do not care who invented them, as I am not very fond of them in the first place.

 Some believe that shades or dark glasses were worn even earlier than that to protect the eyes from the bright sun.

I started wearing spectacles in my 40’s and dark glasses about ten years before that.

This morning I woke at about five am, as I always do to read the newspapers and then spent around twenty minutes searching for my glasses. You can put this down to old age, amnesia, and the onset of dementia or whatever. You can call me careless, sleepy head or a forgetful old man- I DO NOT CARE!

I finally found them – they had slipped between the end of the sofa and the cushion.  Thrilled, I opened the door, picked up the newspapers and sat down to read them. Only then did I realize that these were my “distance glasses”. The “reading” glasses had been near my pillow throughout.

Now I know you are sniggering at me having different spectacles for reading and distance but that is me.

I did try the progressive ones a few years ago for a few days- three to be precise- got splitting migraines,  felt nauseous and put them aside for good.

So now, I carry two pairs around and that is the problem. Am usually wearing one and have the other in my pocket. Most of my shirts do not have pockets and if I am not wearing a coat, the second pair is usually deep in the trouser pocket.

This causes them to go out of shape and often become lopsided soon. I am quite careless with spectacles as well and often leave them lying around – on  office tables , on peg tables at home , beside me on the sofa , on the seat of the car , in the receptacle between the car seats etc  . When reading, the second pair is often on my lap and the obvious happens- I get up in a hurry and the glasses are on the floor. I have stamped them, kicked them and once smashed them as well.

I am constantly being advised on how to look after them – get lanyards, use a case, treat them with respect, don’t let them lie around- this advice goes in from one year and out of the other .

No, I am not proud of the way I treat my spectacles but I am so fed up with the two pairs.

As a young boy I remember hearing conversations of people having used their spectacles for years – they never broke, were damaged or lost!  How they managed with the same pair for years beats me.

In addition, I have not yet mentioned something else. Last week I suddenly put on my glasses (in the morning) and was definite I was losing my vision. Everything was a blur in the right eye. Thoughts of cataract and glaucoma raced through my mind as I rushed to the washroom and washed my eye and the glasses too.

Only then did I realize that the lens were badly scratched and my eyes were fine. Thankful for small mercies!

Therefore, off I went to the optician to have the lens changed. He recognized me and seemed rather pleased – do not think any of his customers go through four pairs of glasses in a year.

While I sit at my computer, keying in this article, I am wearing my old spectacles. I used the old distance ones while driving this morning. Once I get the newer pairs back, I will give these in for a similar lens change – you guessed it right – both these pairs are scratched as well.

I love music

"The man that hath no music in himself,

Nor is not moved with concord of sweet sounds,

Is fit for treasons, stratagems and spoils;

The motions of his spirit are dull as night

And his affections dark as Erebus:

Let no such man be trusted. Mark the music."

 -Lorenzo from The Merchant of Venice (Act V, Scene 1)

A number of pupils I have taught would relate to this quote from The Merchant of Venice so let me share a little bit about myself and my interest in music .   

I enjoy music and always have. Be it Rock and roll, country or the blues – I can sit and listen for hours. I still play the guitar for pleasure, used to play the drums and a little bit of mouth organ as well. The keyboard is something I would love to learn now.

Now before you even start wondering as to how proficient a musician I am, let me state the obvious facts. I am no Clapton or Santana on guitar, no Ringo Starr or Phil Collins on the drums or Larry Adler on the mouth organ. However, I did play in a few bands for a number of years - it was great fun and I earned money as well.  Hundreds have danced to my tune at weddings, dances, parties and picnics and that is when I realized that music does give you a high, especially when the crowd asks for more!

I am an ardent Elvis fan and have always considered him the “KING” but also enjoy quite a few other musicians of varying genres.

Now they do say that music is in our genes and comes down through generations, however no one I know of among my ancestors had a musical note in them (I could be wrong) and I guess the music will die with me, as my daughters are not very musically inclined either.

I guess I would have to thank my mother and my aunt who first got me into singing. Whenever we had visitors, my cousins and I would be called out to entertain them. We had either to sing or say a poem. We did not enjoy it very much and as we grew older we, felt more embarrassed but entertain guests we had to! Probably those impromptu concerts gave me the confidence to sing.

I was about 12 when a family friend presented me a handmade guitar. It was something I had always wanted and I was over the moon.  It was cream in colour and had an amazing tone. At first, I played absolute rubbish and broke umpteen strings but perfected the poses in front of a large mirror!

 Now you must remember that there was no Television or YouTube back then so we listened to the radio and noted down words of songs. A number of the well-known songs were repeated daily on Radio Ceylon so I would sit patiently with a paper and pen to fill in the gaps I had missed the day before and finally within a few days would get the whole song down. There were a few songbooks as well so we would buy, borrow and lend.

I finally met a friend who got me to note down and learn a few basic guitar chords. In fact, I learnt three to begin with and sang all my songs on the same three chords. I was satisfied with myself. From there on it was a matter of practice makes perfect.

In my early twenties, I got fascinated with the drums. In case, you need to know, I taught myself – so four of us friends then started a band- I purchased a second hand drum kit and we practiced hard. Soon we were getting bookings!

The band was well known and we played regularly for large functions – we earned money as well – not in thousands but sufficient to keep us happy. From time to time, I also freelanced with another group of experienced musicians playing either guitar or drums.

A funny matter made me abandon the drums and revert to guitar. I noticed that at all the functions; the guitarists in the band were always jumping around in the front and gaining all the attention while I soldiered on at the back – singing and drumming but hardly being seen.

That was it. It was no more drumming & rhythm guitar henceforth - and more band life. Every year when I would go down from Pune for the winter vacation to Allahabad, I would join an established band and journey to Varanasi to play for the Christmas and New Year week. It was quite the highlight of my year.

I still enjoy playing the guitar and singing with friends and find it extremely relaxing and immensely enjoyable.

So, either you yourself or if you have a kid – get them into music. It is a stress buster and much better than sitting with a laptop, mobile phone or a gaming console.

It is a decision you will never regret.