Online Education

We all wear masks even when offline. Students, one of devotion to the class, until it falls off when sleeping. Professors, one of 'studied indifference', which also falls off when a student sleeps in the front row. In the online world, it's a mask with the faces barely visible. A different mask, maybe.

What is the fun in an education with only content being transferred, but the experience missing? In a residential course particularly, the fun is in meeting people, friends and others, during your stay. Sharing stories, assignments, discussing things that happened during the day.

A marketing guru once said 'sell the sizzle, not the steak.' Meaning that the tadka is as important as the dal. Online education is like dal without tadka, or sabzi without salt. Insipid, though content learnt may be the same.

Anopheles and Our Media

 Anopheles came back into reckoning, when she confronted me the other day. It was a quiet evening, but only because my TV was off. Still, she had somehow caught a whiff of the news playing on it the last few weeks. 

As soon as she flew in, she asked pertinently- "Who is Rhea? " 

I said, as truthfully, based on news that was floating around, "She's something like a Black Widow who can do black magic." That threw her off, just a  bit. "What do you mean," she said?

I said, "Well, she can cast a spell from some distance, and make people do something they don't want to."

Anopheles said, "Like what?"

"Anything, you name it." 

"Can she make you dance?" Anopheles knew my shortcomings too well. 

"No, except that, she can do almost anything. She can make you disappear in a jiffy, if she wanted."

"Well, those must be prized skills. Why don't you guys use them to get rid of this cheeky virus that's stopped your world?"

"I think we like the Work From Home idea too much -we'd have to go to office, and drink the horrible canteen chai." I tried frivolity. (my speciality)

"Ha, ha. Don't forget, we can bite you more often at home." She was equal to the task. "But tell me, who is this Rajput guy she hung around with?"

"I really don't know too much. He was an actor, and he was from Bihar- an engineer too, I believe."

"That's depressing." That word triggered something. 

"He was also in a depression," I said. Don't you have such diseases in the mosquito world?

"Certainly not. We are quite busy doing something all the time. And we don't live in the make-believe world like some of you seem to.." with that stinging reply, she flew off to be with her REAL WORLD, leaving me to believe whatever it was that I wanted to..

Astrology Backwards

 This is strictly in the realm of fiction, let me state up front. Since I don't have a name for this technique, I am calling it backwards astrology- rather, Astrology Backwards.

It involves looking back at your life, and telling you what you did, and when. For instance, it will tell me I won a race in the 100 metres in school, in the year 1967. And got a chocolate as a prize. Of course, it will also tell me when I acted like a prize idiot in life, and did not get a reward. So there is a downside.

You might argue that if people kept a diary, they wouldn't need this. Or, with Facebook reminding you what you posted N years ago, you think this technique is worthless. But what about the Kodak moments that got away? For instance, your first awkward speech that you did not record in your memory, your first awkward attempt at dating,...you get what I am getting at, I suppose. Backwards astrology will give you all of that, and more.

Not just people, it will give you the foolish things countries did and when. There seems to be a memory loss in that direction, barring Shashi Tharoor's calculations in the case of British looting India. So it will serve us well to remember these things..particularly when it deals with OTHER countries being foolish. 

So you see, your arguments don't hold water. What, you want to call it History? No, I would argue my name for it is much more compatible with what you get.

Cups

 They say a cup is half full, or half empty depending on how you look at it. I always thought mine was full of joy. Here's a celebration of cups large and small, always full of life! 

Terry Pratchett

 My introduction to this author happened recently, thanks to a present from Nishka, a former student and a writer herself. The book is called Nation, and it has a lot of wit and sarcasm, about Colonial Powers (especially European-the author is British). This story is a satirical take on a small island that gets wiped out by a Wave, but for one Man-Boy. Because he'd gone elsewhere to become a Man when the Wave hit.. 

A couple of survivors from other islands/boats come in, and their story of survival is the rest of it. There's a girl from the Trousermen initially, who helps him explore the scientific riches stored in The Grandfathers' cave, kept hidden from commoners. It proves that they had knowledge of astronomy and a lot more before the rest of the world. Her father accidentally becomes a King of his country, making her Princess.

Almost everything has a parallel in human history, except it's upside down. The islanders are far ahead, and others, backward. But this is hidden behind myths that the islanders have created, sometimes to preserve history, and to make it palatable. 

Interesting, and recommended if you like understated humour.

Masala Films

 Masala adds zest, if used well and in right proportions, to food-and to films. Some people in the 60s-70s who made good masala films, and their work that I enjoyed. In Hindi films, music is also a big part of the masala..

B.R. Chopra- Humraaz, Gumraah, 

Yash Chopra- Kabhi Kabhi, Trishul

Don- Chandra Barot.

Teesri Manzil, Jewel Thief, Johny Mera Naam, Hare Rama Hare Krishna, ..Vijay Anand, and Dev Anand.

Prakash Mehra- Zanjeer, Muqaddar ka Sikandar.

Khel Khel Mein, and a couple of other Rishi-Neetu romcoms..

Manmohan Desai- Roti, Amar Akbar Anthony.

Nasir Husain- Yaadon ki Baraat and Hum Kisise Kam Nahin. 

Brahmachari, Jungle Mein Mangal, Zakhmee, Paheli (Rajshri film, with Namita Chandra), Dushman, 

Disaster films were a thing in Hollywood- Poseidon Adventure, The Towering Inferno, ..

Also Star Wars and Close Encounters of a Third Kind.. Spielberg.

The Omen..a sober horror film.

Comedies by Mel Brooks and Woody Allen- different as chalk and cheese.

Change the Only Constant

Maths was not my favourite subject, though I did well enough in it, academically. All those sub-Maths subjects also did not make any holistic sense to me, though they must have had an over-arching meaning..it was never explained to us.

Anyway, the equations always had a constant. No change, even if you changed the equations.. the constant remained in most. So the statement that change is the only constant is wrong, in my view. It should be- Change (your equation) howmuchever you will, the constant will remain.

Anyway, the biggest change in the last five months has been the Corona pandemic, and the richest people in the world have remained the same, more or less. The airline barons always lived on the edge financially, and they just went a little more red - in the face and on their balance sheets, if there is any such thing-more imbalanced or unbalanced than ever, I assume. 

The makers of food and liquor continue their brisk business, particularly if they also do takeaway. The media and politicians the world over continue to blabber, show how elections (or similar agendas) matter more than lives or anything else and generally make fools of themselves..so no change there.

Corporates are at a loss for words..or maybe are just at a loss, period. Barring those that make biscuits..my consumption alone would have made Britannia millions! Work From Home is the norm, so the laptop makers are smiling..except that they can't get parts from China. There, the Supreme Leader never smiles, because it's a sign of weakness..no change there!

WHO suddenly became very prominent, and we found who its Chief was..small mercies.