AS EASY AS 1-2-3By Nirmaldasan(nirmaldasan@hotmail.com) -— Webpublished at the nirmaldasan home page, May 2014 -— CONTENTS
1. Reading Maketh A Full Man
1. READING MAKETH A FULL MAN We all love to hear stories. It is a pleasure to hear grandma’s tall tales. But we also like to browse through books filled with colourful pictures of animals, birds, and other things. Only a few of us love to read. And of this few, only a handful make good readers. Books are of various kinds. What are the books that we may read? Some read only comics. We are happy that you are not one of those, else you wouldn’t be reading this, would you? Comics you may read, but practice to read books without pictures as well. The reason is this. Do we ever let others eat for us? Sleep for us? Play for us? Then why should we let others imagine for us? We may derive as much pleasure as we possibly can from all the pictures in the world, but we must not and cannot allow our imagination to be killed. Why do we read? Not only for pleasure, but also to gain information about various things. Therefore, we should not limit ourselves to reading Aesop’s fables, Hans Anderson’s fairy tales and the Arabian Nights. We should peruse articles on Science and Art. And biographies too. It is only through them that we can get an intimate knowledge of the lives of great men who strove to make this world a better place for us. The next question we shall answer is, “How should we read?” Read in a place where there is light. Never lie down and read. The book should not be too close to our eyes. We do not want our eyes to be affected, do we? The art of reading requires us to read silently. Never read aloud, unless we are reading out to our friends. Read slowly. It is said that reading without understanding is just like eating without digesting. It is not a question of how many books we read, but how much we understand. We shall discuss whatever we read with our friends. We shall ask our friends to do the same. This is the best way to understand a book. A dictionary is also required. Whenever we encounter a tough word, we cannot always be seeking the help of our parents and teachers. The more words we learn, the more mastery we gain over the language. One word more. Where do we get the books from? From the bookshops, of course! But books being so costly, it wouldn’t be nice to force our parents to buy them all the time. What do we do then? How about becoming a member of some library? That is the solution to our problem. Let us read away to happiness.
2. MESSAGE OF PEACE The Upanishads conclude with the benediction “Om Santih Santih Santih’. The Bible promises the peace that passeth understanding. All religions show the way to peace. But man refuses to be at peace with his neighbour. He cannot be at peace with himself. Not because he dislikes peace, but because he strives to possess it by means that are counter-productive. Peace continues to be a crying need. The Gandhi Peace Foundation has brought out three Tamil books and an English translation of one of them to reinforce the idea of peace in quite different ways. Muthaaram, a collection of 24 short plays by C. Shenbagavalli, is based on interesting and instructive episodes from Mahatma Gandhi’s life. His life was his message. He was an apostle of peace. This fact is well brought out in this collection. Arranged in chronological order, the plays make a composite whole. Children would be delighted in reading Dr. S. Kulandhaisamy’s Oru Pinguvin Kadhai and its English translation The Story Of Pingu. Pingu is a rabbit who is “always happy and likes to see others happy too.” He brings to life two pieces of wood and names them Daangu and Deengu. The story of Pingu is really the story of Kutty, a little boy who seeks peace. Amaithi Kalvi, another book by Kulandhaisamy, has been written with an eye on educators. It makes a compelling case for peace education as a seamless fabric of the curriculum. It defines peace and lists out the obstacles of peace and sets an agenda for achieving world peace. A worthy attempt to reinforce the Gandhian ideals of truth, non-violence, swadeshi and bread labour. (All three books published by the Gandhi Peace Foundation).
3. CHESS, ANAND AND YOU Think of chess and you cannot but think of Viswanathan Anand whose stunning conquests in the international arena made India a force to reckon with. His dream is to become world champion. He triumphed in the world junior championship in 1987 and soon after became the country’s first Grand Master. Last year he could have realized his dream. The world gave him a 40 per cent chance when he crossed swords with Gary Kasparov. Anand shot into the lead after a spate of draws with a surprising rook offer which even Kasparov, the godfather of chess, could not refuse. The loss shook Kasparov. But it was his experience which ultimately triumphed. He became aggressive and rattled Anand. He evened the score with an amazing rook sacrifice and then unloosed the Sicilian Dragon, a powerful variation in the game, against which Anand found himself defenceless. So Kasparov retained his crown. But uneasy lies the head that wears a crown. Let Kasparov beware. Anand has been defeated, not vanquished. It will be just a matter of time before India can boast of a world champion. Anand is unruffled by failure. It is this characteristic which has taken him to such dizzying heights and is worthy of emulation. For in a game of chess, or for any sport for that matter, neither your opponent’s ego nor yours is at stake. We may do well to remember that a game is a game, nothing more and nothing less. Chess is an exciting game. It stimulates the intellect. The action on the chequered board of four and sixty squares is so intense that only a person not familiar with the game can miss the excitement. A queen posing multiple threats, doubled-up rooks poised for battery, a spectacular knight fork, a deadly pin and a brilliant mating combination involving a piece sacrifice … The silent and non-violent battle of the minds is fought in three phases. In the opening phase the players develop their pieces ad post them in the best possible squares. Some of the popular formations are Sicilian defence, Ruy Lopez, Queen’s gambit, King’s Indian defence, Queen’s Indian defence and English opening. The next phase is the middle game marked by attack and counter attack. The opponent’s king is targeted and checkmated. In the process there is the possibility of the game drifting into the third phase — end game. By now most of the major pieces are off the board and the kings jump into the fray. Chess is not a difficult game to understand. Books for beginners are available at competitive prices in the market. There are also advanced books on tactics, strategy and theory of openings. You may become a member of any one of the many chess clubs that have sprung up in recent years. In no other game is theory so important as in chess. The lifeless pieces spring to action and behave as though they have a life of their own on the board. Chess coaches give you an insight into the psychology of these pieces besides imbibing you with the theoretical aspects of the game. Thanks to the widespread interest generated by the Anand-Kasparov clash, chess championships are held throughout the year sponsored by some organisation or the other. With a view to tapping latent talent, many tournaments are conducted for school children. Why not participate in these events and do your school proud? With chess enthusiasm gripping the country, it will not be long before India can boast of a thousand Anands. One of them could be you!
4. LAWS OF CHOICE CHECKERS
1. The board has eight rows (ranks) and eight columns (files). Each rank and file are alternately coloured black and white. The board is so placed that the dark square is on the left-hand corner. The ranks are numbered 1 to 8 and the files are lettered ‘a’ to ‘h’ to help record the moves of the game.
5. THE VOTER’S TASK All the parties have begun preparations for the mid-term polls. The party leaders are busy interviewing the probables for the various constituencies. Theirs is a trivial task. All that they have to do is to pick those who have a fat wallet and a little fame (cheap popularity, I should say) in their respective constituencies. Once the selections are made, the candidates’ work begins. The nature of the work is you know what — pouring invectives on their rivals and indulging in rhetoric, making that which is false seem true! This again is not a difficult task. You and I can do it as well as they! The voter’s task is the most arduous. But it is a pity that the voter takes no cognizance of this. Some do not even realize that they have a task. All that they do is to go to the booth on Election Day, stand before the ballot box and cast their vote. Is that all that is required of a voter? Has not he an important role to play? Before the Election Day of course! He can least do anything once the elections are over. Before the vote is cast, should we not ascertain whether we have made the right pick? Some may say “Oh, we know which party must get our votes. We have already decided. There is no need to ascertain —” Wait, wait, wait! It is there that you go wrong (or should O say ‘we?”). It is enough that we have been hitherto deceived. Our preparations should begin now, this very moment! But what preparations? The voter must observe what the candidates do with an observant eye and hear what they say with an attentive ear. He must not be carried away by sheer rhetoric but weigh the words with an unprejudiced mind. The candidates should be judged irrespective of the parties to which they belong. Do not for this once — may the good Lord bless you! — care a damn for the parties. Consider the character of the candidate, his education and the role he has played for the society’s welfare. But there is no such thing as a good candidate! Ha, ha, ha! Oops, excuse me, I could not but laugh. Difficult indeed it is to choose between a stale fish and a rotten brinjal. But that is why I said at the outset (a little later, perhaps) that the voter’s task is the most arduous of all.
6. ARE WE CHASING SHADOWS? All educational institutions come within the definition of industry found in the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, which was amended in 1982. The amendment excludes the educational institutions from the framework of the definition. But since the date of enforcement is yet to be notified, the term ‘educational industry’ holds good. In the past two or three decades, educational institutions, especially schools, have mushroomed in every nook and corner of the country; of which we shall consider only one kind – the residential school. In the beginning of every academic year, one can see ‘ads’ in the newspaper from these residential schools. “Teachers required”. These residential schools, with the exception of a few, are some sort of a stage on which teachers appear and disappear. Some of them resign by themselves, and most are fired! As a result the doors of these schools are never shut to those who come and knock at its doors for a job. It is a widely known fact that the terminations in such schools are arbitrary along the lines of ancient law; and yet several people, frustrated at not getting a job elsewhere, find themselves working there for more than 10 hours a day. The students are used to seeing new faces every other day, that they keep their books ‘closed and new’. Therefore the fundamental purpose of this industry, supposed to be the noblest, is defeated. Various reasons may be attributed for the employer-employee conflict, but the primary one is that the employer, not realizing that he is to some extent dependent on the employee, gets into his head the idea that the employee is absolutely dependent on him. Thus the arbitrary firing of the teacher becomes a daily affair. The employers have the ‘money power’ and so give the labour laws a damn. And even if they do, who would be so indiscreet to fight an unequal battle! At present the labour laws are very favourable to the employees. And till the amendment of the Industrial Disputes Act comes into force, every unfortunate individual may take recourse to it while there is time. The employer-employee conflict has a conspicuous effect on the students. They, being far away from home, look towards the teachers for all that the parents are supposed to give. A continuous change of teachers will doubtlessly have a psychological effect on the children. Does not a car handled by many drivers go to pieces? Then how much more a child! We can damn the employer and damn the employee, but we cannot – and should not – damn the child! Something ought to be done, but what? And how? These questions needs must have answers; but they seem to elude me. Can a solution be found, or am I chasing shadows? But why bother? For it is peculiar to our society, that when a solution is found, none will come forward to bell the cat. And I am no exception.
7. WHY THE MOVIE MATTERS In the golden days of yore, poetry and painting held the foremost place of all the arts. As time passed a desire arose in the hearts of people to blend the two. Hence the birth of drama. Drama reigned supreme till the movie arose and knocked it off the pedestal in the 20th century. The movie is a fine blend of poetry, music and painting. It is an art par excellence. All topics, whether it be of the past or of the present, of the ideal or of the actual, of love or of hate, come within its purview. It may be argued that the movies of today deal of sex and violence to a great extent, and has ceased to be an art form. But it is to be remembered that this fault lies with the producers and directors. The movie is not to blame. People from all walks of life like to spend a few hours before the screen with their family. Most of them might not know what poetry is, might not know the value of music and painting, and might not have the reasoning skills to detect worth. It is the business of the director to give what is best to the audience. The movie is a powerful medium. It can be used to bring about a psychological mutation. At present we all have preconceived notions about time, space and causation. We still live in the senses. All this must go! One may come and lecture for hours about these, and yet cause no impact. One may write books on these, and yet make no impression. And that is why we need the movie. It is the only one which can, if properly used, strengthen each one of us and bring unity.
8. THE CINE-AUDIENCE Let us suppose that in one corner of Madras a few Thyagaraja Kirthanas are being sung by a notable exponent of carnatic music, in another corner Kalidasa’s classic ‘Shakunthala’ is being staged by a drama troupe, and yet in another corner a romantic film is being screened. We shall first visit the place where the Kirthanas are being sung. We notice that the audience is small and in some sense peculiar. They listen to sounds which might mean naught to the world. For them the seven notes mean more than what meets the ear. Now we shall take a walk to see ‘Shakunthala’. The audience is a bit engrossed. There ae moments of calm and moments of storm. A whisper here and a whisper there can be heard. It can be seen that this audience is quite different from the previous one. I’m sure you are all eager now to go with me to the romantic fim. Sorry, you’ll be disappointed. I’m not going to take you there. You all know what kind of an audience is to be found there. There is something striking about the cine-audience. It is not exclusive but all inclusive. People of various colours, creeds, castes and what not sit side by side. Philosophical and strange! The beggar sits with the king and the Brahmin sits with the ‘chandala’. All eyes are glued on the screen and there seems to be no difference between them. Is this not an ideal which has hitherto been believed to be impossible? If only the movie were to be screened for ever, this equality will last unto eternity!
9. THE CHILD ARTISTE All of us are actors — only that we don’t perform on the stage. Every moment we act, for we are afraid that the world might get to know what we are. We are all hero-worshippers and would like to pass as a hero, not knowing that to be ourselves is the best. Time rolls on, and as we grow a sort of maturity sets in. We accept our weaknesses and cease to pretend anymore. Thus we cease to be actors. But the child is a born actor. It always likes to imitate. It is at this stage that the child should be introduced to the stage. For only at this stage does acting come as leaves to a tree. The reason why we fface a dearth of good actors in Tamil Cinema is because most of them were products of the film institutions where acting is taught. You might as well open an institution to teach buds to flower and fish to swim! Tamil Cinema has a long way to go before it can really come under the category of art. But the step has to be taken now. More films with child artistes should be made. The results will speak for themselves. The movie Anjali, nominated for an Oscar, is a step in the right direction. More and more films of this kind ought to be taken. Children’s classics are a-plenty. Turning these classics into movies would be another step — a giant stride too! Let me leave it at that.
10. THE MATHEMATIC PRINCIPLE Before I touch upon the principle on which the science of numbers is founded, I shall speculate on how the concept of numbers arose. Longtime ago, before arts and science came into being, a nomad roamed the valleys and hills all alone. All of a sudden lightning struck the hills and cleft the evening sky in twain, followed by thunder and its doubled echoes — and a torrent of rain! It took the nomad by surprise. Never had he experienced before the fury of the rain-god. He ran, ran to his cave and leaned upon the wall, his heart beating ‘pit-a-pat-pat!’. A few minutes, which seemed like ages to him, passed and the sound of rain ceased. With cautious steps he came to the entrance. There was only a drizzle to which he was inured. He figured that the heavy downpour must have been the father of this insignificant drizzle. He sat down and looked up at the firmament. The clouds were still there. A wind arose from the bosom of the sea and slowly, very slowly began to push the clouds away. A star sprung to his view. A few seconds later another and yet another! He gazed at the milky way — not with wonder but with perplexity. He could sense that there was an increase, a change in the number of stars. And intuitively he arrived at the concept of numbers. The change or flux, whether it be increase or decrease, is that principle but for which mathematics would not exist. Increase is termed addition; and decrease, subtraction. Based on these, multiplication and division are defined as ‘repeated addition’ and ‘repeated subtraction’ respectively. There is not a single operation in mathematics which is independent of the law of flux. Calculus, that wonderful branch of mathematics, which plays an indispensable role in Einstein’s theory of relativity, begins with the axiom that for a small change ‘#x’ in ‘x’ there will be a small change ‘#y’ in ‘y’. The great mathematician Gauss, whose contributions to mathematics are noteworthy, said, “Mathematics is the queen of sciences, and arithmetic the queen of mathematics,” for he must have perceived that only mathematics of all the sciences was founded on a principle that can never be shaken. Let me say, in conclusion, that this principle, if understood as it ought to be understood, would enable us to banish mathematicophobia (if there is such a word) and instill in our hearts an intense desire to plunge into the subject and surface with the pearl of wisdom and delight.
11. THE BASIS OF NUMEROLOGY If this unfathomed universe of ours be governed by chance, then numerology can by no stretch of imagination be considered to have a logical basis. This is not to say that determinism voushsafes for the subject a firm foundation rooted in mathematics. What, then, is the basis of numerology? The answer is one of choice. “God does not play dice!” quipped Albert Einstein in defence of determinism when confronted with Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle. And centuries ago, Pythagoras declared in most certain terms that numbers held the key to the mysteries of the universe. Numerology is based on faith. One of its greatest exponents Cheiro describes in his Book Of Fate And Fortune the significance and connotation attached to numbers. His arguments are brought to bear on the faith of the reader. According to him, “There are many other things we are forced to accept in life from being conscious of their truth, even when we are not able to get back to their birth or beginnings.” Convinced that the ancient students of occult studies had a foundation for ascribing to every human being his number in the universe, he rests his case with the following argument: “ ... and if we admit, as we do, that there is a moment for birth and a moment for death, so also in the link of years, days, and hours, that make up the chain of life, it is not illogical to assume that every link of life has also both its number and place.”
12. EVERY DATE HAS A DAY The maths teacher was on leave. The class monitor had the unenviable task of keeping the students at bay. “Silence please,” he said when the students began to talk in whispers. No one heeded his plea. Not even after he threatened to inform the principal. The whispers became a din. The monitor became the target of sarcastic remarks. “Does he think he is the teacher?” asked a bully and, “Well every dog has its day,” he quipped. The monitor was at a loss. This was the first time that the teacher had played truant. Fortunately, an idea struck him to trick the class into staying quiet. “Yes, every dog has its day,” he agreed and added, “Yes, today is my day because I have discovered a truth.” “What truth?” asked the doubting Thomases. “Every date has its day,” he exclaimed. He knew that this was stating the obvious. But it was a clever ploy to turn the tables on the students. His classmates called him names. “Everybody knows that, you nincompoop,” said another bully. “Is that so?” the monitor asked. And with a grin he said, “Well, I will give you a date. I challenge you to give me the day.” There was a hush. The students were taken aback. They knew that they could not pick up the gauntlet without the help of a calendar or a formula. The monitor, who had hitherto been at the receiving end, was now calling the shots. “Well?” he asked and paused for effect. Having gained the attention of the students, he said, “Most of you may know that there are several formulae for finding out the day of a given date. My formula, I suppose is more simple that the rest.” He realized that he was boasting. He had to prove himself. “Give me a date,” he said. “April 23, 1794!” a back-bencher cried. The monitor picked up a chalk and turned towards the black board. This is what he wrote: X = M + D + Y + Q(Y/4) + 5R(C/4), where M (month) = April, D (date) = 23, Y (year) = 94 (the last two digits of 1794), and C (century) = 17. He paused and said, “Q(Y/4) is the quotient of “Y divided by 4” and R(C/4) the remainder of “C divided by 4.” Therefore ... He again wrote on the board.
Q(Y/4) = Q(94/4) = 23 Therefore, X = April + 23 + 94 +23 + 5x1 = April + 140 + 5 = April + 145. Now, every month has a code. For January to June, the codes are 0-3-3-6-1-4; and for July to December, they are 6-2-5-0-3-5 respectively. Somehow memorize these codes. The code for April is 6. So X = 6 + 145 = 151. Now to find the answer: Day = R(X/7), the remainder of “X divided by 7.” Thus, Day = R(151/7) = 4. Since Sunday is the first day of the week, the fourth day is Wednesday. So April 23, 1794 was a Wednesday! He went on to clarify a few doubts. He said that the nature of the formula was such that the leap year affected only the months of January and February. So in the case of a leap year and that too only for these two months, their respective codes must be subtracted by 1. “With this formula you may find out the day of any date in the past, present and future,” the monitor said with pride. And he added, “What do you say?” Now that the students were armed with the formula, “Give us a date, we will give you the day,” they chorused. The monitor mused a space and said, “Well, what day was February 29, 1893?” The whole class put their heads together to solve the problem. But only the monitor knew that 1893 was not a leap year.
13. THE CALENDAR FORMULA
Prem: Hi, little girl!
14. NATURAL GEOMETRY Ram and Sam had planned to visit the nearby woods, but thought of canceling it as the rains came down with a thundering oath. But as luck would have it, a mighty wind came and pushed the clouds away. “The rain is over and gone!” sang Sam, but Ram was still hesitant to venture out lest the dark clouds return with renewed energy. It took some persuasion on the part of Sam to pull his friend out. Within two and twenty minutes they reached the lovely woods. The rain had made everything fresh. A squirrel ran past them and a cuckoo cooed from the shade. Ram returned the coo. They walked around for a while and came across a pool. Ram looked into it to have a glimpse of his face. And so did Sam. “Look!” said they simultaneously, as they saw the rainbow reflection in its clear waters. They raised their heads and looked at the rainbow. They sat themselves down on the green grass and began to contemplate its beauty. “Brother,” said Sam breaking the silence. “Do you know that we are seeing only a part of the rainbow?” “Yes,” replied Ram. “The rainbow is a perfect circle. What lovely colours!” “It is a good example of concentric circles!” exclaimed Sam. “It is possible to find another example?” asked Ram. “Newton’s rings!” said Sam, wishing to exhibit his knowledge of Physics. “Give me another.” They began to think; their eyes were fixed on the pool. A rain drop fell into the pool from the edge of a leaf. What did they see? “Concentric circles!” they exclaimed. It was then that they thought it would be interesting to discover natural examples for every geometric shape and curve that they knew. “What is a basketball?” asked Sam. “It is what soap bubbles are!” said Ram and laughed. “Ah,” muttered Sam, “it is a sphere. A good example of it is the moon. Shelley the poet calls it the ‘silver sphere’ in his poem To A Skylark.” “The sun and earth are spheres too,” said Ram. “The sun is a sphere, but not the earth. It is an ellipsoid approximately.” Ram frowned. It took some time for Sam to explain the ellipsoid to Ram. After Sam explained, Ram came up with an example: “The egg of a duck!” he exclaimed. Then they took another geometric shape. “Cone-ice is an example of a cone,” said one; “Groundnuts wrapped in a sheet of paper is a better example,” said the other. But they knew that these examples were not drawn from nature. So they began to think deeply. It was Ram who had a brainwave! He took a handful of sand and slowly emptied it out. He followed it up with another handful, and yet another. “There it is!” he said triumphantly, pointing at the cone formed by the sand he had emptied out. Sam was impressed. He thought for a while and had a brainwave. He took a stick and said, “I’ll show you an excellent example!” He vigorously stirred the water in the pool with the stick and created a small whirlpool. “There it is!” said he, pointing with his forefinger the conic hollow formed in the pool. Slowly the waters filled the hollow and the cone was gone. “Your cone may come and it may go, but mine remains for ever!” sang Ram., casting a look at the sand-cone. “Let’s see,” said Sam, and planted a kick on the sand cone. The sand flew in all directions. “Points!” They are examples of points,” Ram exclaimed. He whipped out his pocket notebook and made a note of it. “The trunk of a tree is cylindrical, and so is the sugarcane,” he thought and made a note of it too. Sam snatched the notebook and glanced at te notes. Then he snatched the pen and scribbled. But the pen refused to obey. Taking back the pen from Sam, “ I’ll make it write,” he said. He opened the pen and took out the refill. The spring fell out. Looking at the spring Sam said, “That is a spiral!” Ram bent down and took the spring and put it back into the pen. “Tendrils!” he said, offering a natural example for the spiral. “What better example can one find?” he added. “Why, there is the spiral staircase and the serpent coiled around the trunk of a tree,” said Sam. And they laughed together. It was getting dark. “Shall we go?” asked Ram. “We shall,” replied Sam, “after you give me an example of a polygon.” Ram thought and thought and shrugged. “Come on, I’ll show you!” said Sam. Ram followed him. They came to a peculiar plant. There , excellently woven was a spider’s web. “An example nonpareil!” exclaimed Ram. “It is a nest of polygons.” “Look at the parallel lines,” said Sam. A fly came swiftly into the invisible snare. The spider moved in for the kill. They watched awhile. “Come, come, it’s getting dark,” said Ram, and they both went together out of the woods. The road they took was a zigzag one. “It looks like a slithering serpent, doesn’t it?” Ram asked Sam. “Yes, it does,” Sam replied. “And the slithering serpent resembles a sine or a cosine curve!” “Ah, I did not think of that!” Ram said. “The the waves in the ocean are an example of the sine or cosine curve,” he added. “Speaking of curves,” Sam began, “I wonder whether we would be able to trace the path of a mosquito —” “And try to form an equation,” Ram cut in. “Yes, I wonder … “ said Sam, and they fell silent. The trip to the woods had been an instructive experience for both of them. They had been able to trace the fount of geometry to its source which is none other than nature. As they move towards home, Sam said once again, “Yes, I wonder …”
15. PROSE AND POETRY Whenever we speak of any two entities, it is usually expected of us to make a comparison between the two and to assert the superiority of one over the other. But this is not what I am about to do. Prose and Poetry are two mediums of expression; the nature of each varies from subject to subject. And it is the subject that decides which is most suitable for the handling of the same. The author’s choice of a medium depends on what aspect of the subject he wishes to work upon. A subject can be seen in a thousand different lights. Each light shows one aspect which can be best represented in Prose, or Poetry, or both. I shall now introduce two other mediums which are a blend of the two entities I have taken up for discussion. One is the Prose-poem and the other — Verse. If a subject most fit for poetic treatment be treated in Prose, then we have what is called a Prose-poem. Any prose translation of a poem can be considered as a good example of this. Verse is that which lies between Prose and Poetry. Pope’s Essay On Criticism is a classic example of Verse. I shall not consider the matter of the preceding paragraph for further discussion, which is only to be considered a digression — written to help the reader understand the difficulty of drawing a demarcation that would have Prose on one side and Poetry on the other. What I now intend to do is to discuss the question, “Is it easier to write Prose or Poetry?” A debate on this might prove interesting. But, again, I do not intend to take sides, but shall remain neutral; for if it be said that years of hard work went to the making of Paradise Lost, it should be remembered — if one is impartial — that as much labour went to the making of War And Peace. More can be said on Prose and Poetry. But I shall wind up with this: the state of Prose and Poetry of today. Exponents of Prose have not let its quality fall from high to low. This may be attributed to the fact that they have a wider canvas to operate on. How I wish I could say this of Poetry! The poetasters of today, a multitude of them are partly the cause of this sad state and partly the readers. Poetry has been badly redefined and every Tom, Dick and Harry calls himself a Poet, having scribbled a lot of trash. But still there are good Poets who know what ought to be done about this. They do not seek to please the multitude, but only the few who wish along with them to replace Poetry back on its high pedestal. And posterity shall be grateful.
16. SONGS STUCK ON A PAGE S. Murali’s ‘Conversations With Children’ is a collection of 25 poems with a poetical preface to poetry, in which he says: “The words choose me, I don’t do anything. But of course afterwards there is this cutting, pruning and grafting.” If so, then what form does this inspired content take? He writes: “The words are like serpents curling and uncurling, whisking past, sometimes too slow, slow enough to be caught on the page; otherwise dropping off like leaves from a slackened stem. The song remains stuck to the open page — poetry we call it.” But the songs that are stuck on the pages of Murali’s book cannot be sung. In the title-piece, the poet says that ‘conversation is all empty dispensation of words’. This amounts to an unfair description of the contents. One can only say that the poet has chosen a wrong title for his book. Murali’s ideas about poetry are found in two of his poems. In ‘I Like To Let The Word Fly About’, he writes:
I like to let the word fly about The concluding stanza reads:
I like to clutch them and scooping In the other poem ‘There Is No Wisdom In Poetry’, he states:
There is no wisdom in poetry. And he goes on to ask:
So why write poetry? It appears that Murali likes to be rhythmical without being metrical. The effect is not something which the reviewer would recommend for emulation. It is this reviewer’s bias that metre is a necessary condition of verse. When this condition is relaxed, it becomes difficult to come to terms with poetic content. Murali transmigrates with ease from one persona to the other. Now he is Ekalavya clutching on to his bow; then he is Garuda ‘Moving and unmoving, above and below, / In the ever new ananda of a million avatars’. He also becomes Amba and Bahuka and Karna and Kaikeyi. Some of the poems such as ‘The Boy And The Mountain’ and ‘What She Said’ are simple; others such as ‘Passim’ and ‘In Transit’ are complex. The theme of the poem ‘My Father And R.K. Narayan’ is interesting. Here is a passage:
Father never met Narayan But the poem as a whole leaves the impression that the poet has not explored and exploited the rich possibilities of his theme. The same, however, cannot be said of ‘Karna’ and ‘The Bleeding Tree’. Those are satisfying poems. Published in December 2004 by The Puducherry Co-op Book Society, the book is priced Rs 60. For copies, the poet may be contacted at murals@vsnl.com.
17. MEASURING AESTHETICS In a series of three public lectures delivered in 1932, the American mathematician, George David Birkhoff, made a daring attempt to found a mathematical theory of aesthetics. He came up with a formula to measure the relative importance of aesthetic factors involved in an aesthetic experience. The aesthetic value or measure M, according to Birkhoff, depends on the elements of Order O (symmetry in sculpture, melody in music, to name a few) and Complexity C of an aesthetic object. By complexity he means that which increases a ;feeling of tension’ or ‘effort of attention’ involved in the perception of an aesthetic object. The sides of a polygon and notes in melody are cases in point. The beautiful as defined by Hemsterhuis, a Dutch philosopher of the 18th century, is that which gives the greatest number of ideas in the shortest space of time suggested to Birkhoff the formula M = O/C, which he asserted to be analogous to the economic measure of success given by P/I, where P is the profit and I the investment. The formula is thus based on the tacit assumption that beauty increases as complexity decreases. Birkhoff applied the formula to various polygonal forms, poetry and music, taking into consideration only the formal elements of art. This is because connotative elements “seem to defy classification since they touch our experience at so many points and in an entirely undefinable way.” The results convinced hm of the formula’s validity. The American poet, Edgar Allan Poe, had perceived mathematical relations in works of art, but the possibility of a mathematical treatment had not occurred to him or anyone with the possible exception of the Swiss mathematician, Leonhard Euler. Euler had almost hit upon the formula with the following description of the aesthetic experience: “The more easily we perceive the order which characterize the objects contemplated, the more easily and joyfully shall we acknowledge them. But an order which costs trouble to discover, although it will indeed please us, will associate with that pleasure a degree of sadness.” However, Birkhoff’s attempt was the first of its kind. He went on to formulate a mathematical theory of ethics as well. Over 70 years have gone and the formula has been laid on the shelf. Birkhoff’s interesting attempt was bound to fail as it dispensed with the connotative side of art, which, of course, does not lend itself to formal analysis. Even otherwise, the formula does not rest on a secure foundation. Beauty does increase with order, but to day that it decreases with complexity is to assume too much. Is there not the saying “more tough the battle, more glorious the victory’? There can be no absolute measure for art. To claim the contrary is to reduce it to a mere set of definitions. And to reduce it to a set of definitions is to seize the poetic licence of the artist!
18. THE BEGGAR-SAINT OF TIRUVANNAMALAI Tiruvannamalai has long been associated with what is termed sacred. It is where sadhus, rishis and yogis spring by the dozen. But it was not here that Yogi Ramsuratkumar was born. Kasi, the ancient and revered centre of pilgrimage, had that privilege of giving birth to this spiritual giant. The year, 1918; the date, December 1. His spiritual quest began quite early in life. He was wont to frequent the banks of the Ganges and mingle with the sadhus. Often he was found locked in conversation with them. At the young age of 12, an unfortunate incident made a terrific impact on him. While drawing water from a well he unwittingly killed a bird. It could spread its wings no more to soar into the clear blue skies. Like Prince Siddhartha, he had seen death. This led to his renunciation at the tender age of 16, even before he had really felt the pulse of life. He wandered like a mendicant all over the country, received spiritual guidance from Sri Aurobindo Ghose, Ramana Maharishi and Swami Ramadoss. It is said that he received gnana from the first; the power of penance from the second and bhakti from the last. The death of Sri Aurobindo at Pondicherry and of Ramana Maharishi at Tiruvannamalai in the year 1950 touched him deeply. The loss was so great that it took him months to recover from the shock. In 1959, after many spiritual travails, he came to roost at Tiruvannamalai. He has not ventured out from the place ever since. He is a self-proclaimed beggar. Sporting a hoary beard, he holds a palm-leaf fan and a coconut shell in his hands. He is often found sipping gooseberry juice from the shell. He is poorly clad and seldom speaks a word. It is not known when last he had had a bath, and yet no stench issues from his person. He is a man, nay a saint of wonders. Many miracles are attributed to him. Over 300 devotees flock to him everyday, for his presence is believed to still the turbulent mind and fill the soul with peace. One of the foreign devotees, Truman Keyler Wadilinton by name, has authored a book titled ‘Yogi Ramsuratkumar: The God Child’. His other disciples are also keen on drawing the yogi into the social mainstream. But Yogi Ramsuratkumar has always shunned publicity. He even dissuades devotees from falling at his feet. “It is not necessary,” he would often say in English and at times he would utter the vernacular equivalent. It was his healing touch that gave a second lease of life to an advocate who was virtually in his death bed. The person in question, Pon Kamaraj, realizing the greatness of the yogi, founded the Yogi Ramsuratkumar Manthralayam at Kanimadam, some 8 km north of Kanyakumari. Constructed at a cost of about Rs. 15 lakhs, the Manthralayam is a temple of sorts. A six foot bronze statue of the yogi is set up therein. Devotees who visit the serene shrine chant the newly formulated manta ‘Yogi Ramsuratkumar Jaya Guru Raya’. The Yogi Ramsuratkumar Manthralayam Trust has constituted a committee to discuss the modalities for a Mahakumbabishekam at Kanimadam for the yogi. It was partly in this connection that a press party was taken to Tiruvannamalai. The press was bent on unsealing the lips of Yogi Ramsuratkumar on several crucial and controversial issues like the Babri-Masjid episode. But the suave yogi would only say, “I am just a beggar. Why ask me about these?” or something to that effect. And silence reigned supreme. Sat-Chit-Ananda. Absolute existence, absolute knowledge and absolute bliss!
19. I COULD HAVE BEEN ... The youth has his dreams. His fancy weaves for him a world of certainty which is void of the unpleasantries and ironies in life from whose net none can escape. His mind is fixed upon the ideal and his heart is full of hope. He cares not about the past but speculates about the future. All that matters to him is what he could and should be! It is perhaps a tragic truth that every rose has a thorn, and every wave a hollow. As victory deserts him and Fate deals a blow or two, he finds that his faith in the ideal is shaken to the core. He is convinced for a moment that life is nothing but an empty dream. But then Hope comes along as she always does and helps him on to his feet. The failures now seem to him as something of the past, and the past, as remarked earlier, do not deter him. Again he lets his fancy roam, and all through the day and throughout the night he dreams of what he should and would be! Again falls the blow! — In nature everything operates in cycles. Night yields to day, and day to night; and so is it with triumph and disaster. The blow lays him low, but he is back onto his feet. The cycle repeats itself. “Alas! That Youth’s sweet-scented manuscript should close,” sang an epicurean poet. Yes: everything that has a beginning should have an end. Age creeps on youth, and in the autumn of his life he observes that the ideal ever recedes from him as the mythical river from Tantalus. The philosopher in him awakes and he looks at the future with an indifferent eye. He now speculates about the past. “I could have been …” he thinks and sighs. Something definite can be said about man’s nature. Speculations seem indispensable to him. Just like Janus, the double-faced Roman god, he either looks into the future or looks back at the past. The past may be dead and the future unborn, but both of them are essential for man’s development in as much as the former counts for experience and the latter for motivation. Speculations may have their utility and may be given a place in our lives; but one ought to be conscious of their parasitic tendencies. When Martin Luther King made his famous speech ‘I have a dream … ’ he was not speculating. The same is true of Vivekananda when he referred to India’s past in his epoch-making Chicago addresses in the Parliament of religions. Since time immemorial, philosophers have asked us to keep our feet rooted to the present. It is only the present which we have at our disposal. It can be likened to clay out of which man’s destiny can be shaped. Thoughts about the past and future may add spice to life and perhaps cannot be dispensed with. But in the final analysis, it will be found that thoughts such as ‘I could be … ‘ and ‘I could have been … ‘ may have utility, but what really matters is the fact ‘what I am!’.
20. PRACTICAL CHRISTIANITY Christianity is not a bundle of theories built on the sands of dogma which the churchgoer hears every Sunday and forgets. It is a practical religion, consisting of the teachings of Christ, founded on the rock of reason. Its end is to attain the kingdom of God which is within us. That is to realize the Christ in ourselves. In other words, to become Christ-like that we may be “perfect even as the Father in Heaven is perfect.” There can be no doubt about its practical nature, for Christ practiced all that He preached. And so did His followers whom we now call saints. One objection that we might hear is that the teachings had been practical, but have long since ceased to be so. No, this is not true. Every piece of teaching is practical if only we take the trouble to understand the spirit of it. Now we come to the means. To become Christ-like, all we need to do is to understand the spirit of His teachings and practice them. To understand the spirit of His teachings, it is essential for us to His personality. All throughout His life Christ was “as shrewd as serpents and as harmless as doves”. I would like to point out two instances. First, when the Pharisees brought an adulteress and asked Him whether they should stone her as per the laws of Moses, He stooped down to write on the sands as though He heard them not. When they pressed Him, He said, “He that hath committed no sin cast a stone upon her,” and stooped again to write on the sands. The Pharisees were struck by conscience and they silently left the place. Second, when He was asked whether it was lawful to give tribute to Caesar, He perceived that they sought to trap Him. He said, “Show me the tribute money.” And when they brought out a penny, He said, “Whose is this image and superscription?” When they answered, “Caesar’s,” He said unto them, “Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s and unto God the things that are God’s.” One apparent paradox we find in His life is that He who said “resist not evil”. “went into the temple of God and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the table of the money-changers, and the seats of them that sold doves.” This was a case of righteous anger. It was the selfsame Christ who later resisted not, though he had the strength to, when the Romans mocked and whipped Him. To have the strength to resist, and not to resist is virtue. And Christ had that. There are other ostensible paradoxes. Just as “we have human paradoxes He had divine”. He had no attachment. “The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the son of man hath not where to rest his head.” When He was told that His mother and brethren were standing without, desiring to talk to Him, He asked, “Who is my mother? And who are my brethren?” and Himself answered: “For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.” Yet it was the same Jesus who wept when Lazarus died. A young man came to Jesus and asked what he should do to attain eternal life; and Christ answered, “If thou wilt, be perfect, go and sell that thou hast and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasures in heaven: and come and follow me.” But when the disciples took a woman to task for pouring precious ointment on the head of Christ, saying, “To what purpose is this waste? For this ointment might have been sold for much, and given to the poor.” Jesus said, “Why trouble ye the woman? For she hath wrought a good work upon me. For Ye have the poor always with you: but me you have not always.” These paradoxes — if they can be called so even in the narrowest sense of the word — are divine, for they are marked by selflessness. Not a single instance can be found in His life where He had been selfish. When the people desecrated the temple of God, He drove them out, but when they mocked and whipped Him (the holiest temple!) He resisted not. He had no selfish attachment to anything or anyone. When the young man asked Him the way to eternal life, He asked him to sell his wealth and give it to the poor, and yet He asked not the woman to sell the ointment, for the first was selfish and the last was not. When Christ was asked what the greatest commandment was, He said, “Thou shalt Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment.” But this being a bit abstract, He continued, “And the second is like unto it, thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” How can one love another like oneself if he be not selfless? Elsewhere He says, “And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abused: and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted. He had great healing powers, and yet He was not proud. All His life He helped the helpless, and His left hand did not know what His right hand did. Now we are ready to make a categorical statement. To become Christ-like we have to be humble, selfless and shrewd as serpents and harmless as doves. These are the means. Nothing on earth can stop us from achieving the end save one, and Christ warns us of that and shows the way: “Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” In the sermon on the mount Christ teaches us how to pray. There cannot be a simpler and more meaningful prayer than the Lord’s prayer. God is well aware of all our needs, and therefore we shall not ask Him for material things. All that we need ask of Him is “wisdom”. We need that in abundance to carry out the means. Despite the travails we shall surely reach the end of being Christ-like, and therefore “perfect even as the Father in heaven is perfect.” Amen and Amen.
|
