Time to unlearn certain folkways !

Indians, irrespective of their caste, religion, sex or gender, whether rural or urban have a culture of showing respect to elders by addressing every Tom, Dick or Harry as aunty or uncle. If somebody is married and dons a saree, she is an aunty. Then of course, the middle-aged women with kids are aunties. And men, if they look aged or are having kids, they are referred to as uncles. In addition, the plumber, sweeper, shopkeeper, barber, every man in the neighbourhood is either an uncle or a bhaiya (brother) and their counterparts are aunties or didis (sisters). Showing respect is good. But one cannot show respect just like that. I am coming to a more serious issue here.

Generations after generations, we teach our children the same folkways of addressing everyone as aunty, uncle, bhaiya and didi. Nuclear family is a norm these days. Now, in some cases, the children do not even know their consanguineal kins, forget about the affinal kinship relations. They might get confused as to how come everyone is an uncle or a bhaiya. And if they are not confused, it is even worse. They trust them to be well-wishers and their own. It is time, however, to unlearn these folkways.

The NCRB report (2017) says that 95 % rape victims in India are known to the offenders. Internet is full of various reports and studies on Child Sex Abuse where the offenders are mostly either family members or acquaintances. We know where we stand in our education system. There is no sex education. Pornographic films, literature, etc are easily available on internet. There are juvenile delinquents who still need to be potty-trained but are actually out for such heinous crimes. We have the Nirbhaya case, for instance where one of the offenders was a minor. And, children are easy prey.

It will take time to make things good. Education is a must. But, we can do our bit by teaching our children that a plumber is a plumber and not plumber 'uncle', a Professor is a Professor, a Doctor is a doctor and a shopkeeper is a shopkeeper. Likewise, a grocer is a grocer, a sabziwallah (vegetable vendor) is a sabziwallah. I know, it will take time. It will take time for even us to stop saying these nouns. But, trust me, we can do it. After all, what is wrong in saying Dr.----, Mr.---, Mrs----, Miss---- (or simply by adding a 'ji' after the name or surname). People in the West and other parts of the world (except I guess Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and where majority of Indians reside) do the same thing. This does not make them less cultured. They too respect their elders. It is time we learn from them. The larger society might take time to digest it. But, I believe, this small bit will make some difference. At least, children would know that a stranger is a stranger, an acquaintance an acquaintance and not a family member.

TRIPLING SEASON 2 REVIEW

TRIPLING SEASON 2 BRINGS BACK PURE NOSTALGIA

Star Cast: Sumeet Vyas, Maanvi Gagroo and Amol Parashar

Tripling season 2 stars the same main star cast as season 1. The sibling- trio this time take us to three different cities, namely, Lucknow, Kolkata and Gangtok.

Chandan is now a writer and his favourite character is his brother Chitvan, the hero of the book. Chandan had a chance meeting with Chitvan, in a public restroom. Both exchange each other’s story so far and head towards Chanchal. Chanchal, who is the female protagonist of Chandan’s book, is the queen of the palace and also holds a bigger position in politics. However, her life turns upside down with this book being released as it contains certain personal details of the people of the palace. Her husband goes missing.

The trio escape from the palace and start a road trip to find Chanchal’s husband. Their first destination is Lucknow. Here, credit must be given to the writers of this season as how beautifully they dealt with the peculiarity of a place. The portrayal of the king who is a symbol of the decadent nawabi culture of Lucknow needs praise. I feel the portrayal is closest to the renowned Urdu writer, Naiyer Masud’s story “Taoos Chaman ki Maina”. It depicts king Wajid Ali Shah’s reign and times.

Next, we are exposed to the land of Kolkata. Kolkata is certainly famous for its Rosogolla. Bengal’s Rosogolla got its GI status in 2017 and later, it also won its battle of claim against Odisha. Now, one more thing is related to Kolkota which takes us back to the famous detective series of the 1990s. Nostalgia is sure to strike each one of us who grew up in the 1990s. I guess, that’s the trick of the writers to show us the interplay of tradition and modernity and it needs an applause.

The last destination of this season is Gangtok or the Rumtek monastery in Sikkim to be precise. Sumeet Vyas might have got his idea of showing this particular place as he had already been to this place in his another travel series named ‘Stupid man, Smart phone’.

Tripling season 2 is important in more than one way. One, it stars people who are internet sensations. People can connect to them. They are not stars. However, I feel they are a ‘Salman Khan-like phenomena’ for today's social media savvy generation. Second, how beautifully it told the story of different time and space and cultures. Then, the song “Maula mere ishq ka hafiz hai tu” written by Hussain Haidry and sung by Nilotpal Bora is mesmerising. It takes you to another world. It is actually a qawwali. And, Gajraj Rao, Shweta Tripathy,Rajit Kapoor, Jeetu and Nidhi Bisht are certainly icing on the cake.

To me, it seems it’s a must watch. 4 stars from my side.

Transience, Permanence and Nostalgia

Tabernimontana divertica, is the botanical name of the flower commonly known as crape jasmine or pinwheel flower. In Odia, we call it 'tagara', in Hindi it is called 'safed kaner'.

Years back, around 24 years back to be precise, I watched a movie on DD 1 OR DD 2 which used to be telecast in the afternoon. This movie was named "Cheluvi". The story is fresh in my mind but in bits and pieces...

The rest of the article can be read here:

https://thenewleam.com/2019/04/transience-permanence-and-nostalgia-returning-back-to-natures-womb/

"Kuch aise aakar gira hai sote mein shaakh se phool mere chehre pe ke jaise haule se raat tum naam lekar mujhko jaga rahi thi". (Gulzar)

This is not the end of nostalgia of white flowers. As Makhdoom says, "Phool khilte hain duniya mein, roz niklegi baat phoolon ki".