Duryodhana

Last Saturday I was at the BAPASI annual book fair at YMCA grounds, after almost a decade and WOW! it has become so much bigger and better. Almost 400 stalls and I felt as excited as a child during her first visit to a circus… not sure which direction to go and wanting to buy everything my eyes fell upon.

Anyway one of the books I bought was Ajaya by Anand Neelakantan. This 2 book combo is Mahabharata from Duryodhana’s perspective. Needless to say I was immediately attracted. I have always maintained that Mahabharata is about shades of grey with Pandavas and their allies being the darker grey. Duryodhana, while not the best of humans, was nevertheless never as villainous as either the Pandavas or he is purported to be.

But I never found anyone in my circle who agreed with my take on things [leading to many a healthy debate] and so had been feeling quite unique until I saw this book.

[The book is as expected – trying hard to make Pandavas look villainous while whitewashing Kauravas – which personally I don’t think is needed as Vyasa has done a good job of it himself]

Then today I was doing my usual wiki browsing – where I start reading on one topic and then  jump to another and to another and so on – and Lo – to my surprise I found that more than 2000 years ago,  – The great Indian Poet Bhasa in his Urubhanga, has made Duryodhana his protagonist.  While the book does not detract from his ill-deeds, he is still shown as a heroic character.  

Also do you know that there is a temple dedicated to Duryodhana in Kerala?

In one of my earlier posts on the same subject I had mentioned how disappointed I was with Rajaji’s Mahabharata – where the villainous Karna suddenly becomes the virtuous Karna as soon as he learns he is Kunti’s son.

So much is lost in translations and they get tainted by the translators perspectives. Take Rama Charitha Manas for example- I am told Valmiki never calls Rama a god or vishnu avatar – it only starts from Tulsidas. One of my retirement plans is to learn Sanskrit so that I may read Ramayana and Mahabharata as originally written and the loads of other beautiful works of arts that I get to read only the translations of today.

After all my ramblings my point is that it is great to know that my way of thinking on Duryodhana is not only not unique but great minds have thought along the same lines couple of millennia ago 🙂 Feeling quite accomplished!!!

Old Age?

Happy New year!!!! 🙂

I didn’t want this to be my first post of 2020 but for some reason this has been either a topic at work and in my thoughts this last little while.

A decade or so ago, a friend was desperate to get married – when I asked him why, he said it was so he could have a companion in his old age. It didn’t strike me as a very smart answer then or now.

Today most parents do not live with their children, either by choice, circumstance or force. During their old age, their companions many times are not even their own spouses, who have predeceased them, but are paid ones.

Just 10 days ago a fiercely independent gentleman passed away and though his children were just a few KMs away, he was found 5-6 hours after his demise by a chaiwala who had brought his morning tea.

A friend was talking about some old acquaintance who has children, grand and even great grand children – all of whom are abroad and not in touch with him. Upon their death, there was no one to do the final rites. Just some kind neighbours and friends who helped.

…. And this is becoming more the rule than the exception. I have friends who are searching for old age homes for their parents so they are taken care of.

It’s not that they do not love or care for their parents … but they do have their own lives to live also. Today’s world was not what it was 50 years ago. Tomorrow is not going to be the same as today either.

This got me thinking – to all my friends and myself – does not matter whether you are married with 10 children or single. Prepare yourself for your old age, plan for it carefully (financially and otherwise) and select a good old age home or friends with whom to share it with. And just as importantly have a good plan for your after life also.

How much PC is enough?

Happy 2020!! Hope the new year brings much joy, success and prosperity to all!!!

I had been to a book sale a while ago and was very excited to see an Enid Blyton in all that dump of books. It was like a very exciting blast from the past. But when I browsed through the book I was quite unhappy to find that though the cover said Enid Blyton, the writing style was very different.

Enid Blyton had many harsh critics during her time, but since her death, authors and critics have found it necessary to be even more critical of her books for being racist, xenophobic and sexist.

This has sadly led the editors of her later edition books to revise its contents to make it more politically correct. This has changed the writing style and hence stopped being Enid Blyton’s books, whatever it may say on the cover. That aside, Enid Blyton is dead and gone but her writings are her own and she stood by it when alive. While one may like or hate it, I don’t think its right to revise it. So who is the PC police going to target next? Shakespeare? Chaucer?

This political correctness unfortunately seems to have pervaded into all facets of life. Politicians in North America are criticised harshly and trolled endlessly for putting on blackface costume for a party when in school decades ago. Like, no one has done anything weird or stupid in their teenage!!

How much PC is enough PC? Political correctness changes with time. What was politically correct 30-50 years ago is offensive today. So are we going to keep revising all the art forms and books ever created, every 30-50 years or so?