Na brooyaat satyam apriyam [Do not tell truth that is unpleasant]

 "Satyam brooyaat, priyam brooyaat, na brooyaat satyamapriyam

   Priyam cha naanrtam brooyaat, Esha dharmaH sanaatanaH". [Manusmriti 4.138]

   ONE SHALL SAY WHAT IS TRUE; ONE SHALL SAY WHAT IS AGREEABLE;

   ONE SHALL NOT SAY WHAT IS TRUE BUT NOT AGREEABLE;
NOR SHALL ONE SAY WHAT IS UNTRUTH EVEN IF IT BE AGREEABLE"

This saying is a mixed truth, and like many statements in Sanskrit it is often quoted without deep examination and unfortunately also followed as though it were a part of our sruti (dharma; fundamental scriptures) although it is indeed only part of a smriti (religion/practical advice given for the transactional world) intended for a specific time whose many pronouncements are now rightly challenged for the greater value of equality of human beings as a creation of the Supreme.

The specific part I take exception to is the one saying 'na brooyaat satyam apriyam (do not say truth that is unpleasant).'  Certainly, no one can question the practical wisdom of this saying in terms of the peril a person violating it may encounter if the truth said is against a powerful, cruel, uncouth, or unprincipled person.  So, what I take exception is not as much to the saying itself but to the attempted universal application and  censorship through quoting of it.  And, I can't ignore what cowardice may bring.

Much harm is caused in familial relationships as also in friendship when "elders" maintain silence in the belief that  truth is unpleasant and should not therefore be said.  From the tale of Draupadi's disrobing in our great epic Mahabharata to many present day situations in every family and friend circles, this fact is relived time and again.  We - elders particularly - do have a responsibility to speak up and stand up for truth and what is right even if what we must say may become unpleasant and inconvenient to some.

I have, in my public and voluntary service, often found the silence of many good thinking people even in the presence of obvious violations of trust, good behavior, etc., an impediment to good governance.  I have often called it 'TamBrahm hypocrisy' although this failing is certainly not restricted to TamBrahms alone.  I am sure that most will resonate with my angst irrespective of their race, class, creed, etc.

In the arena of arts, this saying and the threats of lawsuits (even frivolous) in certain countries  have created an environment where reviews are nothing but empty platitudes and praises only.   The real victims are truth and the arts. [Such frivolity is not possible in the US - I thank its founders for the First Amendment guaranteeing Free Speech and the courts that protect it with great force] .   For the benefits of honest reviews  both to the arts and to the artist, see my earlier blog "A critique of critics and criticisms" [ https://veeraam.blogspot.com/2017/10/a-critique-of-critics-and-criticisms.html ].

So, I appeal to you all.  Please do not take something as God given just because it is said in Sanskrit or Latin or whatever.  Please do not shy from speaking up when you must.  There is a real scriptural saying from the sruti: "asatO mA sat gamaya, tamasO maa jyOtirgamaya" [May we go from untruth to truth and from darkness to light] that should guide us when dilemmas do arise a lot more than the smriti saying that forms the title of this blog.

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This author also wrote the books 'Innovation by India for India, the Need and the Challenge' as also 'Bhaja Govindam - A Topical Exposition'  besides writing and editing several books in his fields Applied Probability & Telecommunications.  He is a former President & Secretary of CMANA, the Carnatic Music Association of North America under whose Presidency its Sangeethasagara award was instituted.  He has penned over 40 compositions in Carnatic music.  A probabilist by profession, he has been a serial inventor with many patents, and among his positions was one as Chief Scientist at Bellcore.  He was named a Distinguished Science Alumnus by Purdue University, an honor given to a very small percentage of its graduates.

Who Is a Vaggeyakara?

    “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet,” so may have declared a heroine of Shakespeare, but yet there are certain monikers like ‘royalty’ that have often been the subject of much debate and contention.  In the world of Carnatic music itself, the moniker ‘vaggeyakara’, used by many to describe a lyricist in general, is one that has become quite contentious in many venues from social media like Quora and FaceBook to famous vidvat-sabhas (scholarly assemblies).  

    Western music has terms for distinct categories of creative artists like ‘lyricist’ and ‘composer’, while in the Carnatic parlance,, these roles are confused so much that a person called vaggeyakara may be a lyricist, lyricist-composer,  lyricist-composer-singer, or lyricist-composer-instrumentalist.  The most revered composers of Carnatic music that go by the name ‘The Trinity’ - Muthuswamy Dikshitar, Thyagaraja, and Shyma Sastri - not only wrote beautiful lyrics, but are believed to have set their lyrics into music in terms of svaras (the notes) fitting them into specific raga-s (melodic patterns), tala-s (rhythmic patterns), etc., and sung them too.   Their lyrics are also pregnant with weighty thoughts that evoke the highest of sentiments.  Their compositions have indeed become both an inspiration and the standard for later day lyricists and composers. Of course, no one would argue about any of them being called a vaggeyakara despite the fact that the current renderings of many of their lyrics may or may not adhere to how they fashioned it, and that some are even sung in different ragas by different musicians.  The art is blessed with a continuing stream of notable composers even today like Sangeetha Kalanidhi Neyveli Santhanagopalan, Dr.R. Suryaprakash, Sri N. Ravikiran, et al..  Their type of an all-rounded creative talent combined with other noble traits is what makes some composers venerable. 

    There are yet many well-known and respected personalities of Carnatic music whose contributions are limited to the writing of lyrics in that they have not themselves set them  to notes or sung them, and their lyrics have been turned into beautiful Carnatic musical pieces by others.  Examples of the latter type include many famous ones from the most revered Tamil poet Subrahmanya Bharathi and yet another celebrated poet Arunachala Kavi to some more recent ones like  Ambujam Krishna and Periasamy Thooran.  It is worth noting that some in this latter category of lyricists did indeed write for specific ragas and talas adding even svara-patterns and sollu-kattus (solfa syllables) etc., as part of their lyrics.  Of course, that group also includes poets whose creations have become an important part of the Carnatic repertoire even if it be due to serendipity and efforts of others and not by their own intent or personal renderings.    The contention under discussion is about naming anyone in this second group by the term vaggeyakara. Some elitists seem to assert that the term must be reserved only for lyricist-composer-singers (or at least lyricists who have set their lyrics to notation) and well versed also in the theoretical aspects of Carnatic music, although there may be several who are very well versed in music and do write music for their own lyrics, but yet, the lyrics themselves are quite unremarkable.

  Some among the elitists have sometimes got very loud against even such great lyricists as Periasamy Thooran who certainly should have had a high level of music knowledge.  Their vituperative rhetoric is said to have got in the way of Thooran being named a Sangeetha Kalanidhi (a treasure trove of music), a description that would fit him eminently with or without that being bestowed on him formally as a title.  Ironically, even as the pedants engage in their elitist arguments, the larger community of music lovers and performers seem to care more about the artistic creations themselves than about the profile or pedigree of their creator(s).  Also, many of the elitists who make a big issue of this may well be forgotten while the work of many they take issue with may survive and stand the test of time. 

      If we take the elitists too seriously, then we are also faced with throwing most of even the very great composers into the second pile and deny them the title vaggeyakara.  Saint Thyagaraja may have set his lyrics to notations and sung them, but is that what we hear in a concert?  What we hear  is often either an abridged version of a kriti and one that is embellished with the singer’s own manodharma of various types.  We are also faced with great composers like Jayadeva and Narayana Teertha whose notations for their major creations are yet to be unearthed, and we are content with those made by later musicians.  We can argue who the real vaggeyakara for ‘Bhavayami Raghuramam’ of Swati Thirunal is, given that it was originally a piece conceived in saveri and later turned into a ragamalika by Sri Semmangudi Srinivasaiyer.   The list goes much farther and includes Devarnamas, Annamacharya’s padams, etc., too.   So, let us delve into the source of all this confusion at some depth.    

     The term vaggeyakara  (वाग्गेयकर ) is a Sanskrit compound composed of three terms vaak (वाक्), gEya (गेय), and kara (कर), respectively meaning word, song, and maker.  The literal meaning of the compound word thus could be given as ‘one who turns words into songs’ (य: वाच: गेयं करोति स:).  However, we must note that Sanskrit compounds (विग्रहवाक्य), which in their formation ignore case-endings (विभक्ति), could lend themselves to different meanings depending on how one injects case-endings to break up the compound term.  Thus,  we may take the term vaggeyakara also to mean “one who makes music with words” (य: वाग्भि: गेयं करोति स:) as opposed to an instrumental musician who may make music devoid of words or lyrics.  With either of these, using the term vaggeyakara for one who produces songs for Carnatic music may appear legitimate to many.  However, don’t you assume that calling one who makes music with someone else’s words a vaggeyakara would be acceptable based on Sanskrit grammar alone!  There is an implicit understanding that the words are one’s own.   If I may throw in a bit of a wrinkle of my own, I find this term ‘vaggeyakara’ itself quite sexist since ‘kara’  denotes a male, and I have never heard the term ‘vaggEyakarI’ (वाग्गेयकरी) ever used by anyone (including female musicologists) in these discussions despite the proliferation [1], going even all the way back to the very beginnings of Carnatic music, of many females who would eminently qualify to be called thus. 

     The orthodoxy itself leans on two texts: ‘Sangitaratnakara,’ a learned and extensive treatise on music written in the 13th Century by Sarangadeva, a scholar poet who gave the desirable qualities in a vaggeyakara; and ‘Sangita-shiromani,’ considered to be written by a group of scholars of the 15th Century, that carries this further and provides even a gradation of music makers with regard to compositions.  

     Sarangadeva’s list of desirables for a vaggeyakara is quite extensive and covers broad areas of proficiency including in what we would call linguistic skills, music theory, poetry and prosody, vocal and instrumental music, command over timing issues related to music, and a great ability to understand and depict human emotions.  They also include some that at first sight may not even appear directly necessary for excellence in creating music per se such as  deep knowledge about dance, debating skills, lack of bias, etc.  

    A recent webinar of IFAASD titled ‘The Art of Composing’ [2] actually gave a list, quoting Sarangadeva, of the following specific items:  knowledge of many languages; a vast vocabulary; expertise in composing different words for the same tunes; proficiency in the scientific theories of fine arts; expert knowledge of vocal and instrumental music; command over laya (tempo), tala (time cycles) and kala (speed); knowledge of dance; thorough knowledge of grammar with prasa (rules of alliteration) and rhyme; knowledge of prosody and meter; awareness of emotive states (bhava); lovely tone-quality to project own works; command over three octaves; maturity in producing gamakas; proficiency in creative aspects like alapana; discrimination of different intonations of notes with regard to context like raga; versatility in different forms and types of music; genius for creativity and imagination; acquaintance with regional ragas; cleverness in conversation and ability to win debates;  intelligent familiarity with local custom; objectivity (freedom from likes and dislikes); aesthetic sensitivity; propriety in expression; ability to create new melodic forms (ragas?); knowledge of a character’s mind (in composing operas e.g.,); ability to compose songs at short notice.

      Lists of this type are available for desiderata for great compositions, great singers, etc.  Such lists are not limited to music either as our religious texts like Bhagavad Gita (e.g., some slokas starting with ‘adveshta sarva bhootaanaam’) abound in such lists for even a noble or desirable human being.  These lists serve the purpose of giving us a list of traits to aspire for and work towards to progressively improve ourselves.  They are not intended as checklists to grade people.  Even more, if one were to insist that one can be named thus-and-thus only if one meets the whole set of criteria, we would certainly be met with an empty set except perhaps for some characters from our mythology.  I think some elitists have indeed crossed a line in their views on limiting the use of the moniker ‘vaggeyakara’ and invoking Sarangadeva.  The list of Sarangadeva is to be treated more as a guide to those aspiring to be top composers and to give some broad guidelines only.  None of this, however, is a reflection on the great contributions of Sarangadeva or their relevance and importance to music and related performing arts.
      The irony  becomes even more glaring when one considers that many of the purists of Carnatic music are quite ignorant and sometimes even averse to dance even though the same Sarangadeva they quote defined Sangeetham as comprised of vocal and instrumental music and dance (Gitam, Vadyam tatha Nrtyam trayam Sangitam uccyate.)  Thus, sometimes the discussants of the term vaggeyakara debase themselves not to just ‘cherry picking’ but using the merits of cherries to decry other varieties of fruit bearing plants and their tasty fruits.       

      If Sarangadeva set a high bar for a vaggeyakara through his long list, subsequently the authors of the work Sangita-Shiromani appear to have gone a step further and classified vaggeyakaras into three categories.  According to them, the highest (shreshta) among them are those who not only write lyrics but turn them into music themselves.  The middling ones (madhyama) are those who set notes to other people’s compositions.  The lowest (adhama) are those who write lyrics matching the music of someone else.  Frequently, this is also a subject of discussion among the elite.  I personally consider these discussions a non-constructive waste of time and not in the interest of furthering the art for several reasons.  First and foremost, it sounds like arguing who is really the builder - the architect who conceives and plans, the ‘builder’ who manages the construction process, or the ‘brick layer’ - and who is more important.  Secondly, this discussion appears to give greater emphasis to the process than to the final product.  Thirdly, the final categorization as adhama would fit most composers even of the highest category when their compositions do not result in a new raga hitherto unknown, for they are, after all, writing words to a previously well defined tune (raga)!  By the way, it would offend most lyricists in fields like the movies, some of whom - like Kannadasan -  are great poets who do make wonderful songs with their words.  They are indeed vaggeyakaras in a literal sense unless you wish to turn it around and say geya-vaak-karas; in fact, most of them may fit both bills.  These point to a failing on the part of many to take anything, especially if said in Sanskrit and long ago, as God given, forgetting that some indeed may just be an opinion of one or more fallible humans with their own strong biases and opinions or to meet the needs of a specific group or time period.  Not only Kalidasa has cautioned us “Puranamityeva na sadhu sarvam” (it it not true that something is good just because it is ancient), even modern thought leaders have asserted it strongly, as for example Swami Ranganathananda [3] in delineating the distinctions between sruti and smriti with regard to which the same failing occurs all too often causing much harm and injustice.
    The simple fact is that what matters most is the final musical piece irrespective of the process through which it came to be.  Constructive critiques of them by experts in a way to highlight what may constitute great compositions are certainly valuable if they are also given with sensitivity in discussing lapses.   A vast majority of those who venture to compose do so out of an irresistable creative inspiration or urge and not to earn any particular moniker.  As for the moniker vaggeyakara itself, treat it as we treat a title like “Doctor” given out by universities. Some are earned through academic credentials and a demonstration thereof by way of a dissertation, while some others are given to recognize great contributions.  Indeed, sometimes they and their givers both are of questionable stature, but that is not something to become a major topic of discussion even if such abuse of titles is one to be avoided and called out occasionally.  As for me, I can only quip, “Call me by whatever name you wish, as long as you don’t call me names!”

References:

[1]Female Composers in Carnatic Music  in “Music and Moorings” ,

https://lakshmianand.com/music/potpourri/women-carnatic-composers/
[2] “The Art of Composing”, A webinar of IFAASD.
[3] “Practical Vedanta and the Science of Values,” by Swami Ranganathananda, 1996.

Acknowledgment: I thank Dr. Radha Bhaskar for providing me some example compositions. This was written for the 2023 souvenir of IFAASD (Indian Fine Arts Association of San Diego, CA). The author is a past President and Secretary of CMANA.

NADASWARAM

   

   The year 2021 marking the centenary of Sri Karaikurichi Arunachalam, one of the greatest of Nadaswara vidwans, the spotlight has been lit all around on the instrument Nadaswaram itself, which is not only the monarch of wind instruments but also one that is authentically Indian and, in addition, authentically Carnatic. Since there are many articles that focus on Sri Arunachalam and other famous exponents of nadaswaram playing, I shall limit myself here to the instrument per se except to note that ‘Karaikurichi’ is one of my great favorites, and the continuity of the nada in his playing and virtuosity he exhibited remain unamatched even now. 

   Called mangalavadyam (the auspicious instrument), the nadaswaram is considered to be the instrument of the major god Ganesha of Hinduism, the remover of all obstacles. Thus, the nadaswaram has come to be used by South Indians in all auspicious events - not only in temples and religious institutions, but also in all social functions like weddings. It is routine to see in South India this instrument being featured particularly in many inaugural as well as valedictory functions of serial music and religious events as well as of totally secular ones unconnected with music or religion. It is often featured, along with the traditional drum ‘tavil’, in concerts on the music stage including in famous arenas like Chennai’s Music Academy and Narada Gana Sabha. 

   The nadaswaram is one of the ancient instruments of Indian music. It may predate the major Tamil epic, Silappathikaram dating back to 100-250 CE but considered to be but a written version of what was perhaps verbally transmitted over several centuries before that. Indeed, an instrument very similar in structure to nadaswaram in appearance and with seven holes by the name ‘vangiyam’ finds mention in Silappathikaram. It has also been referred to by the name ‘ezhil’ in ancient Tamil literature. The original version of the instrument had its main tube made from the wood of ebony trees (Indian Blackwood, called ‘aacha’ in Tamil) over seventy-five years in age and required much lung power that few could muster. 

   The modern version appears to be a redesign by one Mr. Ranganathan Achari of a village called Narasingapettai in Tamilnadu, where a set of four families still make nadaswarams. The first one to use the modified design by Ranganathan Achari was the legendary T.N. Rajarathnam Pillai under whose tutelage blossomed the maestro Karaikurichi Arunachalam, and whose encomium is still cherished by the original family that made the redesign. Since that redesign of the instrument in 1955, it is being made with a variety of materials including bamboo, sandalwood, ivory, and copper. Besides the long tube featuring seven holes to bring out the seven notes, an additional set of five holes is also present on the tube and stopped with wax for regulating the tone of the instrument. Above the long tube is a metal staple called in Tamil as ‘mel anaichu’ and into that is pushed in a small metallic cylinder called ‘kendai.’ A small ivory reed or horn is attached to it into which air is blown with one’s mouth to make sound while fingers play the holes to generate various notes. Half and quarter notes, as well as the glides (‘gamaka’) are brought out by controlling the air flow into the pipe. The emanating sound is amplified significantly by a bell shaped piece at the end called ‘keezh anaichu.’ 

   The instrument itself is very loud and usually played without the benefit of a microphone etc., in marriage halls, temples, and processions. However, it is.  common to see it used these days with improvised mufflers along with microphones and other modern electronic paraphernalia that mark a formal auditorium. This is particularly helpful when the instrument is played in concerts in accompaniment to or with other less loud instruments like the violin or mrdangam to provide enjoyable indoor treats within the genre of the Carnatic. 

   The version of the instrument played by professional nadaswaram players is typically four feet or more in length although some shorter versions are available. Despite the redesign, it still requires significant amount of lung power to play, a context in which I must recite an incident related to me directly by Sri Namagiripettai Krishnan, yet another stalwart on Nadaswaram, during his stay in our home in New Jersey. While in Boston, he got into a discussion with some American university students on a swim team about playing the instrument. Some of them tried their might on a spare instrument he had, with several unable even to bring any sound out of it, let alone play it. The discussion on the lung power needed led to a playful challenge to see how long one could hold one’s breath and was tried out with half a dozen or so of those near professional swimmers and Mr. Krishnan in a swimming pool, and to the total dismay of the former Mr. Krishnan was the last to rise up from under water! Just the size of his chest resembling those of high mountain dwellers should have dissuaded his interlocuters from offering a futile challenge, I guess.

   Bringing out melodious music out of such material and constructions requires enormous skill both on the part of their makers and the players. It is indeed a tribute to human determination and resolve that many have not only managed to bring out captivating music out of this difficult instrument but have risen to fame amidst great vocal and other instrumental musicians of Carnatic music. In the present day, that determination and resolve are equally being shown by some female musicians who have taken up the challenge of this instrument adding yet another proof that the term ‘weaker sex’ is but an absolute misnomer. Moreover, most players of this instrument who have risen to fame not only come from many different castes designated as ‘backward’ by the government (although the very term is becoming thankfully passé) but also include members of Islam too in what is predominantly a Hindu art form. 

    It is a matter of recorded history that some leading Carnatic musicians not only provided training to nadaswara vidwans, but also put them on a high pedestal and even learned from and emulated them in their own performances. A significant example is the famous G.N. Balasubramanian, whose brigha laden music even went by the moniker ‘nadaswara bani.’ To him, nadaswaram players like T.N. Rajaratnam Pillai were more than heroes, and he acknowledged Rajaratnam Pillai as one from whom he learned much. Indeed, as stated many times by Sri G.S. Mani, a noted Carnatic vocalist with cinematic fame as well, in his remarks on how ragas like Todi should be sung, their vocal renderings should be so laden with brigha (vibrato) as to resemble the playing of nadaswaram by the great stalwarts; they should create, in the way a good nadaswaram player would, the imagery of a tank making marks on earth with its treads. Indeed, many ragas like todi, kalyani, kharaharapriya, and navarasakanada are extremely beautiful when played thus on nadaswaram or sung with inflections resembling that of nadaswaram. This is an interesting facet of this instrument from the aesthetic and sociological aspects of the Carnatic milieu. 

   In the recent couple of decades since the introduction and acceptance of saxophone into Carnatic music, the saxophone had begun to replace nadaswaram in many functions. This is due not only to the softer baritone sound of the instrument but also to the genius of Sri Kadi Gopalnath who coaxed such beautiful Carnatic music out of it as to make that happen. Nevertheless, one must, however reluctantly, agree that the saxophone with its fixed key positions is, in general, not a match for nadaswaram that is more attuned to the Carnatic genre. 

   Even a brief article on nadaswaram will be unpardonably incomplete without mentioning the fact that despite its glorious sound and long history, the instrument and its players and makers are becoming an endangered species threatened with extinction primarily for declining patronage and economic reasons. While a small few top players may be lucky to earn a good amount of fame and wealth, the typical nadaswaram player and his entourage languish in poverty. The situation is much worse for the instrument makers who are not even visible to the public. It is our duty as lovers of Carnatic music and proud inheritors of great traditions that have lasted centuries (despite all kinds of invasions and onslaughts) to do our bit to preserve the great art of nadaswaram. In addition to urging the local and national government to provide greater support, we need to take active steps to see that the artists and skilled instrument makers associated with nadaswaram are afforded greater respect and monetary support so that the future generations will not flock to greener pastures forsaking a profession that requires long years of dedication in accumulating and refining some rare and delectable skills. The Indian diaspora needs to find innovative ways of becoming active participants in this noble endeavor as well by including nadaswaram more in its own temples, festivities and functions, as well as in concert schedules and by finding ways of supporting the instrument makers through appropriate endowments and formal training and marketing schemes. A well done documentary on this instrument, its makers and players could also go a long way in increasing public awareness. 

 References: 

[1] https://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/society/the-unsung-makers-of-music/ article7872965.ece

 [2] https://www.thehindu.com/features/magazine/narasingapettais- nadaswaram-makers/article7088894.ece 

[3] Silappathiikaram – Wikipedia article and references therein. 

[4] https://pocketcultures.com/2013/06/26/why-its-a-big-deal-to-see-a-female-nadaswaram-player/ 

  This article was written for the 2022 souvenir of the Indian Fine Arts Association of San Diego. Dr. V. Ramaswami is a past President of the Carnatic Music Association of North America (CMANA) and the author of the book, “Innovation by India for India, the Need and the Challenge.” A set of ten compositions of his in Sanskrit, Hindi and Tamil, rendered as a collection called “Swaraabharanam” by Sri Sikkil Gurucharan, Sri V. Sanjeev, and Sri J. Vaidyanathan, was released a few years back. Two more albums are to appear soon, one by Sri Sikkil Gurucharan and another by Dr. R. Suryaprakash.

THE WAR IN UKRAINE

To view what is happening in Ukraine as a war of Russia against Ukraine is naive. What we are seeing is yet another power play of some lethal powers of the world using a third country as their proxy theater without regard to human life or the misery it causes. None of these nations has a moral standing to judge the other or preach to the other given their own flouting of all international law and lack of humanity, even in the recent past, when it comes to others they consider lesser mortals. The root cause of this evil is the expansionist attitude on all sides. Humanity's fight should be against such attitudes and not against each other. As we edge towards a possible WW III, what is needed is not a compromise agreement between Russia and Ukraine alone, but a comprehensive commitment by all nations to abide by international law and to stop their own expansionism without finding excuses and rationale. The lesson for non-nuclear nations in these episodes is that what we call a world order is still a jungle where some carnivores rule, and the less powerful better not get in the middle but let the carnivores fight it out elsewhere. Let us hope that the lesson they will learn is not that they too should seek the most destructive weapons and become ruthless in the most unconscionable ways.

THE FILTH IN THE "S*** HOLES"

     The President of the United States did it once again!  The man who called some countries S**t holes earlier has now called out some countries, including India, for their filth.  While the filth is indeed a reality, the tone and the insensitivity of the comment show a high level of ingratitude for the red carpet treatment given him as also his own lack of empathy and the absence of an intellect able to understand and appreciate the why behind the what.  Unfortunately, when it comes to the 'dirt and filth' of the developing world, his sentiments and disdain are shared by many in the general population in the US including the so-called the NRIs, the Non-resident Indians, and their American born and groomed children - the latter's ingratitude being for the almost free education the first generation here got in India and helped them move here, and the insensitivity for, and most likely due, the privilege they and their families enjoyed back home for reasons like caste and position.  These make it necessary to examine this topic of filth in some detail and with some honesty.

    No human being likes to live in filth.  The aspirations of peoples for a good life, and a good environment to live in, are the same irrespective of their nationality, color, or whatever.  The main differentiators are education, natural resources, wealth, and history - not necessarily in that order of importance.  Without basic natural resources, particularly clean water, it is plainly impossible to maintain a high level of cleanliness and good health.   You also need a good amount of wealth to pay for even essential things like garbage pick up, street cleaning, and even more for expensive infrastructure like sewer systems and waste disposal and recycling plants.   

     Ask the people of Flint, Michigan (which is in USA, by the way) if you are in doubt.  My friends in America who speak loudly about filth in the so-called Third World have never seen Flint or have gone across the proverbial 'railway track or creek' in many states in the US, nor have they ventured into the poor areas of the large cities of America.  They probably have not read about the 'superfund sites' and have probably turned a blind eye to all the pollution and cancer and other diseases-causing filth created by mindless industrial filth here.  And, of course, we are blind to how we export filth by moving polluting industries out to other nations.  Ever heard of Bhopal, India?  But then we are affluent and can do that ignoring the glass house we live in and the bigger tragedy that this happens here too despite the incredible wealth of this nation.

    What matters equally is education - not just in school, but as it applies to that elusive thing we learn from the cultural milieu we live in.  The state of Kerala in India is a great example.  Much of Kerala is very clean - at least the Hindu and educated Christian parts, and that has nothing to do with the wealth of the family.  Even the poor keep their homes and their surroundings very clean.  Walk across to the muslim sections of Malabar, and you will see a very different thing.  (Wow! What a politically incorrect thing to say!  But that is a fact that no one can unfortunately ignore.  I say this because I believe that the Indian society has to do everything to uplift the muslim population there if the nation is to really progress.)

    Filth breeds on itself.  It is well-known that depression and filth form a vicious cycle.  People who are depressed pay little attention to how clean they and their environment are, and the lack of that cleanliness adds even more to their depression.

    Finally, history is an important factor.  Many of the developing nations have been plundered for generations by the West, and the filth you see there is the other side of the coin whose better side of cleanliness, better health, greater longevity, etc., we enjoy due to that plunder.  In fact, you do not have to go even that far to understand this.  Just look at the situation of the African Americans or Native Indians in this country.  Much of the filth they have to endure is the result of the history of their exploitation.

    So, the next time you or some prep boy or girl complains about filth in the developing nations, please remember the above facts.  Understand, think, and speak with empathy and concentrate more on what you can do to improve things even in a small way.  This is perhaps the best lesson we can teach our children too.  THANK YOU! 

Kashmir can't be the Victim of American Prostitutes, Tricks, and Naifs.

An election year in America brings Kashmir naturally to the forefront in many ways, and there is considerable concern both among Indians and Indian Americans that a government of the Democratic Party may lean the wrong way as it has for decades - wrong not only for India, but also for the USA.

That Kashmir has been an integral part of India for eons and part of its Hindu ethos from the distant undetermined start of that religion is undeniable.  The destruction of many sacred shrines or the driving away of Hindus cannot change history.  Many a Hindu saint and scholar as also many Hindu religious Sanskrit works and Indian classical literature grew out of Kashmir, and it finds mention in the very ancient and revered texts of Hindus as not anything foreign but an integral part of the land of their authors.   And that history goes back at least 5000 years.   Its Islamic history came much later beginning about 710 CE with the violent invasions of the barbarians in the name of a religion for whom anyone who did not subscribe to it, and only it, was a 'kafir' to be killed unless forcibly converted.

From a more modern geo-political point of view, Pakistan is strategically important to the so-called free world, because its falling in the hands of the communists and authoritarian regimes endangers international trade and prosperity of many nations through easy access by undesirables to the Arabian sea.  In fact, it is an even more important domino than the dominos for which thousands of Americans have given their lives.  Indeed, today one of the supporters of Pakistan in the Kashmir issue is China which has cleverly acquired from Pakistan, in exchange for WMDs and delivery mechanisms, a path through Pakistan-occupied Indian land to the Arabian sea.  Wait until its implications fully roll out for our nation USA that fought tooth and nail in Afghanistan and lost many just to stop the Russian communists gain similar access.  If you think the Chinese menace has become too much, wait for this to roll out!

It would be too naive and criminal to assume that otherwise intelligent US politicians and their so-called expert foreign policy advisers would be unaware of the above facts.  Then why are many of them blinded to support Pakistan in its quest to permanently acquire Kashmir and to turn a blind eye to recent history of many an act of aggression, deceit, instigation, and terrorism by Pakistan?  Why do they make blanket statements that superficially sound rooted in high democratic and humanitarian principles, but are in fact opportunist, corrupt, hypocritical, and above all suicidal?

Ask yourself how US would react if Puerto Rico, an Indian Reservation, or even a distant small possession of the US were to want to break away under similar instigations of a foreign nation or even on its own?  Would these US politicians let the same "principles" they  propound in the context of Kashmir apply to these situations and let them become independent?  And would they even look at it kindly if the instigating power is a known failed state, a harborer of terrorists against the US, and aiding a totalitarian communist state that has become the nemesis of the USA through the Kissinger-Nixon exercise of stupid expediency and subsequent nurture for the cause of crony capitalism by successive governments of both parties?  [Read the book 'Massacre' by the award winning US correspondent Robert Payne to understand how these two even ignored, just to make the US-China partnership happen through the "good" offices of Pakistan, the massacre of about three million Bangladeshis and the rape of over a million Bangladeshi women by the Pakistani army.]

What is at play are two highly troubling facts.  One is money from Saudi Arabia and some other Islamic nations, none of which has any semblance of democracy or human rights themselves.  In the quest to amass campaign contributions and possibly other payoffs, the US politicians and their advisers have chosen to prostitute themselves and the high principles on which our own nation is founded to take sides with totally non-democratic and totalitarian players.  They even forget that the distant history that we conveniently quote when it comes to Israel is not applied to India whose history with Kashmir pre-dates even the very birth of Judaism or Islam.  The second is the expediency of trying to get some favors and short-term economic gains for the US (and possibly personal ones like huge donations to one's 'charity' foundation) and looking good while running the US government, even if it be at the expense of the long term welfare and good of the US itself.  Both China and Pakistan are true nemeses of this latter sin as far as the US is concerned.  And in this, these politicians behave exactly as tricks who go for the immediate fun from undesirables at the expense of many a disease to come later.  And, of course, you have the lobbyists too who are the equivalent of pimps in this game.

What is at stake is the long term prosperity and security of the USA.  Young Americans and Indian Americans need to educate themselves on the history of Kashmir, the brutal invasions and subjugation of its people by tyrants and rogues in the name of the Islamic religion, and the more recent driving away of hundreds of thousands of Kashmiri Pandits (Hindu Brahmins) from their land.  It is unfortunate that at least a pair of American generations has been (mis)educated by those who themselves lacked that lesson in history and a proper perspective, due mostly to the texts and writings of dishonest propaganda of the British to perpetuate their empire and satiate their own racism and bias.  Herein lies the third cause of why America acts in total antithesis to its own asserted values and practices when it comes to Kashmir.    Wherever do we park our commitment to human rights or democracy if we continue USA's blind and misguided support to Pakistan and the essentially terrorist movements in Kashmir?  The argument that a terrorist is someone else's freedom fighter is not an argument we would accept if any group in the US were to resort to even a fraction of the violence and terror acts perpetrated in Kashmir through the instigation of Pakistan and the covert support of China.

Enough is enough.  For our own long term security and respect among democratic nations of the world and for the right evaluation by history, it is high time that we - the USA - as a nation shed our hypocrisy in the matter of Kashmir and re-examine everything.  May be, it is high time to send some of the old advisers and 'experts' to their real paymaster nations and get in place those who will serve the US honestly and with its long term good and only that in mind.

ON DEATH AND DYING

   Why am I writing this blog at this time when most of the world is facing a pandemic and many are worried about becoming a victim?  Certainly, it is not because of any personal fear, or any perverse desire to make you more worried.  So read on setting your worries aside. It is mainly to let you know that if you feel scared, depressed and down, it is a natural reaction.  There are things you can do to subdue those feelings.

   My first encounter with death was early in my fourth year in Kerala, India.  Hearing some loud crying, I came out of the main hall into the side room of our house to see my favorite 'Shantha teacher' bawling a good four feet or away from the side exit door to our house narrating to my mother and grandmother how her younger brother contracted small pox on a train and died just three days later.  There was no official manifesto for 'social distancing' in those days, but what contained epidemics to some extent was probably all the social and religious taboos surrounding death and concerning diseases like small pox and chicken pox. Those forbade visits from and to houses infected and required that their members may not touch anyone for several weeks.  Not that I knew what death really was, but I could figure that something really bad had happened.  I kept asking my mother and grandmother for many days as they tried to put me to bed, but was told not to think about it, and that all my teacher was crying about was that her brother had left to God's place and she could not see him any more.  That, of course, brought from me many questions about God and why people go to his place etc., but no answer came that was anywhere near the truth or what I could understand.

    In another six months or so, my great grandfather who was living with us passed away.  He had become very old (93) and had suffered a head injury from a fall, but he recovered surprisingly.  But he developed a diarrhea which got worse by the day.  None of the medications was working, and my grandfather, who was a doctor, had pronounced that his father was sinking, and all we could do was to make his days as nice as possible.  Those were days when old people were allowed to die without more pain induced on them through heroic attempts to keep them going even if it were only to a life with highly diminished quality.  One morning when I woke up, I saw the old man laid in the main hall like a stick.  He seemed to be sleeping.  The odd thing was his two big toes were tied together, and there was also a yellow ribbon tied from under his chin to the top of his head.  We lived in a small town, and our custom does not permit moving the body to a mortuary or morgue.    I saw lots of crying, some religious ceremonies being performed, and later my great grandfather, who used to make me breakfast every day, carried out on a bamboo stretcher sort of a thing and driven off in our large family car.  The mood of the house had changed drastically, and it stayed that way for many days.  Again, I could get no satisfactory answers from my elders.

     When I was about eight, we moved to Madras (now called Chennai) where it is common sight to see dead bodies being carried in full view in a procession to the burial or cremation grounds.  I was initially scared to see these, and even more scared to ask anyone at home since I knew by then that this was not a topic for discussion.  But then I had classmates who could give almost an entire lecture on death, and from them I 'learned' quite a bit.  Yet, the statements by some contradicted those of some others and left me with some knowledge buttered with a lot of confusion.

     The time I came to understand death in a proper way was while I was in high school browsing through some medical books of my grandfather.  This was something of a routine done clandestinely and started with the curiosity about certain body parts and related matters.  Surprisingly, I found the discussions in them very interesting, not in any prurient sense but in a really intellectual way.  I was getting wiser about life and death after all, along with information on lots of anatomy, diseases, and treatment.  Wiser may be, but not at ease, as I found out later in Vaishnav College right in front of which was a cremation ground from which at times came the smell of burning bodies into our class room.  Even today, the burning of flesh in a barbecue brings back in me those nauseating memories.

     I must say that those were days when my agnosticism was at its peak.  All the religious stuff appeared absolutely nonsensical to me.  But then, other than my agnostic grandfather, the rest of the household was too religious for me even to disclose my agnosticism, let alone to have my doubts cleared.  And, I kept reading and reading, trying to find answers to many an intriguing question while simultaneously going through many a religious ceremony mechanistically to please the elders, nay to avoid their ire.

     The time death really hit me hard was when I was in my early forties and when a young colleague at Bellcore died due to a recurrence of his sarcoma.  His cancer had spread to his brain, and details of his last days filled with unbearable headaches and his resisting to take morphine so that he could take in every waking moment in the company of his mother who had come from India broke my heart as of many of my colleagues.  Sitting in his memorial meeting, something really snapped inside me making me wonder whether I could go too just like that, and what would happen to my whole family.    The only thing I could do was to take out some insurance policies on myself and my wife; I did that. But that did not help with the other challenges imagined for those dependent on me I would leave behind.  All this, combined with a discovery of a cyst in my wife's brain that took two years and three divergent medical opinions about surgery to resolve into a diagnosis as an 'arachnoid cyst' that was not growing and didn't pose a risk, was driving me up a wall.   Retrospectively, I must say that what I went through as a consequence was really an utter depression, although at that time, I thought my doctor was jumping to conclusions and most likely wrong.  Prozac, Zoloft, and a series of medicines helped me to appear normal to the rest of the world, but there was a deep abyss in my own mind known mostly only to me and my wife.  Trust me, pretense is not a pleasant game.

     An American lady, who was a Ph.D. class mate of my wife and also a Counsellor, suggested that I read, "Passages: Predictable Crises of Adult Life" by Gail Sheehy, a book that I would highly recommend to all as one that details the ages 20-60 in very insightful ways.  Just to cite one example, explaining the so-called 'midlife crisis,' the author says that around 40, some young friend or relative dies and that changes one's personality much; men begin to become mellow shedding their previous aggressive quest to succeed at all cost, but women begin to become suddenly self centered complaining how they have spent their prime years serving others like a husband, children, et al.  That book was certainly an eye opener in many ways, but unfortunately not a solace.

     Then I hit the jackpot in the form of a small book titled, 'Teaching of the Bhagavad Gita' by Swami Dayananda Saraswati.  Written in captivating prose, it started expounding the lessons by pointing out how inconsequential the problems we worry about really are, and how there is a big macrocosm that makes our microcosm and its issues quite irrelevant.  It was as though I suddenly became an Arjuna being told by Krishna himself:  'asOchyAn anvasOchastvam (you are worrying about things not worth your worries).'  That set me off on a serious study of vEdantA which, as a system attempting to answer many fundamental questions, was the perfect antidote to my hitherto agnosticism.  It cleared many a doubt in my mind and gave a level of incredible peace.  More importantly, the mathematician in me was fascinated by its unquestionable logic and consistency of thought.

     Here I am at 70, immune compromised, and facing a virus that is causing enormous devastation all around and killing many.  Yet, I could not be more at peace with the notion of death than ever or anyone.  It is true that I have been fortunate to be blessed with many wonderful people and things around me and to have some accomplishments.  I could also look back at my life and claim that I have lived a good life in the sense of having been blessed to do some things of value and usefulness to others.  But they are not the real reasons for my peace.  Like everyone else, I too feel my life as incomplete and want more time to achieve a few more things.  But I know, to hope that some day we can claim our life to have become complete is a futile quest.  In any case, none of that matters.

     My peace comes from the Vedantic view of our world and our existence as a small part of an infinite continuum of repeated states of being manifest and unmanifest of the Supreme Consciousness that the true Self in me is.  Many may applaud, "Cowards die many deaths, the valiant but once," but to me the most appealing tenet is that of Vedanta that the real I does not die.   I accept that model and many of its explanations as the best I have seen based even on  many observables.  How else does one explain how even members of a twin often are different in diverse ways, even as babies exposed only to a common environment?  But the real reason of my acceptance may well be the underlying cogency and logical foundation on which the concepts of Vedanta stand.  Among the many privileges of my (this) life has been to have had my eyes opened to this great system of thought and the opportunity to delve into it seriously and to attain a level of peace that is indescribable.

         If one death can have profound impact similar to that of my colleague on me, it is no wonder that news of many deaths every day, day after day,  and worries for oneself and the near and dear could become quite onerous. The right way to uplift ourselves in such an environment is through taking on a quest to understand what this life is all about through the teachings of the wise across many generations that have preceded us, and to fill our minds with those thoughts and inquiries thereon rather than be consumed by what is being played out incessantly on television and the newspapers.  In the least, hear some nice lectures, or pick up the phone or connect through the Internet and talk to some who can give you the right perspectives.  Above all, stay safe, and be proactive.