 |
| Published in Communication Today Jan-March 2019. Editor: Prof. Sanjeev Bhanawat |
Wednesday 26 June 2019
Living Legends | Krishna Patrika
Saturday 22 June 2019
column | Window Seat
Window Seat | Mrinal Chatterjee | 23.6.19
Air Pollution
Let me begin with some figures. Air pollution in India is estimated to
kill 1.5 million people every year. It is the fifth largest killer in India,
after heart diseases, diarrhoes, road injuries and self-harm. India tops world
in bad air quality: According to WHO global air pollution database, India has14
out of 15 most polluted cities worldwide. The air quality in Delhi, the capital
of India, according to a WHO survey of 1600 world cities, is the worst of any
major city in the world.
Air Pollution is no longer a problem with large cities. Smaller cities
have also been facing this problem- mostly in North India. But Eastern India
has also started facing this problem.
For example, Cuttack, the millennium city flanked by two big rivers
Mahanadi and Kathajodi- is one of the
six cities in Odisha who are among the 102 cities of the country that have
failed to maintain the national ambient air quality standards fixed by the Central
Pollution Control Board.
Along with the Chowdwar- Jagatpur industrial belt in its periphery, the
oldest city of Odisha is also one the cities facing highest vehicular air
pollution. University of Chicago’s Air Quality Life Index suggests that
residents in Cuttack could live 2.7 years longer if the Cuttack had met WHO air
quality standards.
But do we care? We don’t. But we have to. Consider this: Long-term health
effects from air pollution include heart disease, lung cancer, and
respiratory diseases such as emphysema. Air pollution can also cause
long-term damage to people's nerves, brain, kidneys, liver, and other organs.
Some scientists suspect air pollutants cause birth defects.
We have to take care and take action- at Policy, societal and individual
level.
At individual level we have to conserve energy - at home, at work,
everywhere. We have to use public transportation, cycle, or walk whenever
possible. Use carpool instead of individual use. Use environmentally safe
paints and cleaning products whenever possible. Look for the ENERGY STAR label
when buying home or office equipment. Compost leaves and yard waste. Use
gas/solar cooker instead of wood for cooking purpose
At societal level, we need to take steps to reduce open burning of
garbage, farm refuse, even dead bodies at the crematorium. Encourage walking
and/or cycling instead of using bike/car. Raise awareness about air pollution.
Lobby for reduction of air pollution at policy level
At the policy level, prioritize anti-pollution measures at policy level
and on field. Make adequate legislation and implement strictly. Make a
vigilance mechanism by empowering Pollution Control Boards. Spread awareness
Indoor Plants
Indoor plants, many scientists say, can purify
air. There are some specific plants, which can clean the ambient air.
Therefore, they advise to keep those plants inside the house and take good care
of them.
I saw a wall of green plants inside Guwahati
Airport building. It looks good and keeps the temperature down- considerably
lowering the cost of air-conditioning. This could be installed in other
airports and lobbies of large buildings.
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| Pic: Mrinal Chatterjee |
Many space-challenged cities have started to
build Vertical Gardens along high rise buildings, bridges, etc. This is being
tried at several places in Delhi. Other cities should also try doing this.
Jhelum Fables
Dr Tabeenah Anjum Qureshi, a National award
winning photographer and journalist of Kashmiri origin presently working in
Rajasthan with an English daily is like a younger sister to me. Recently she curated
and conducted a five day visual storytelling workshop titled ‘Jhelum fables’ on
a houseboat on Jhelum River in Srinagar. This unique workshop which combined
the art and craft of photography and storytelling was an ode to the river
Jhelum presented by the participants through 50 photographs and as many
stories.
 |
| Dr. Tabeenah (left) and Mahi Burza at the Houseboat on Jhelum. |
The visual stories conceived by each storyteller were an Ode to the river Jhelum, also known as Vyeth in Kashmiri and Vitasta in Sanskrit. "As the soul of the workshop was imaginations, the participants practiced this art through their writings and photography. The ripples in the muddy waters, windswept verandahs, hide and seek of mellow Sun, flutter of the evening birds, roving shikaras, conversations from the nearby houseboats, knuckles in the wood flooring, footsteps of the walkers on the footbridge, the sound of distant bells of Shankracharya temple and echoes of namaz were the sounds heard and unheard by the budding visual storytellers who later translated them into visuals and stories explaining Jhelum who taught us an art of resilience", said Tabeenah.
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| Some of the participants of the workshop |
"Besides writing and photography the
objective of the workshop was to build the conversations among the
participants. The youth in Kashmir lack access and opportunities to art and
culture in some sense. Our aim was to establish one such space. This is just
the beginning, we aim to conduct many such programs", said Mahi Burza a
passionate teacher and founder of Roots, which organized this workshop.
This kind of workshop could be and should be
organized more often and in more places.
Tail piece: Types of Vegetarians
My friend Nagaghana said, India is the only
country in the world which has eight types of vegetarians.
I asked how? He answered,
1.
Pure Vegetarian. They do not take onion, garlic; some even do
not take anything that grows under the soil. Some do not take milk.
2.
Eat eggs but do not eat chicken or any meat.
3.
Eat cake with egg-white, but do not eat omelet or chicken.
4.
Eat gravy but not chicken or meat pieces.
5.
Eat outside but not at home.
6.
Eat when drinking otherwise not.
7.
Eat when somebody coaxes and forces, otherwise not
8.
Eat only on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. On other days of
the week- never.
Tailpiece: Legal Question
A drunk man asks a lawyer, “If I
buy a bottle from a Govt. approved shop and my wife tries to stop me from
drinking, is it possible to send her to prison for "obstructing Govt.
approved activity ?"
The lawyer is still searching
for an answer.
***
The
author, a journalist turned media academician lives in Central Odisha town of
Dhenkanal. An anthology of his weekly column Window Seat, published in 2018 has been published as a book. Write
to him to get a free e-copy. mrinalchatterjee@ymail.com
Thursday 20 June 2019
Tuesday 18 June 2019
Saturday 15 June 2019
Friday 14 June 2019
Column | Window Seat 16.6.19
Window
Seat | Mrinal Chatterjee | 16.6.19
Marginalisation
Recently I attended a seminar on ‘Media Representation of Northeast India’ organized
by Department of Mass Communication, Rajiv Gandhi University, Arunachal Pradesh
at Guwahati as a Resource Person. Many scholars, who presented papers there,
seem to have this opinion that North East States (which comprises of Assam,
Meghalaya, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Tripura and Sikkim)
do not feature prominently in mainstream media. North East states are
strategically very important as they share international boundaries, even then they
do not feature prominently in media probably because of its remote location or
sparse population or political weight or for all the reasons in some measures.
As I listened through many paper presentations I could feel that this
perception of marginalization is deeply ingrained in the collective psyche of
people of NE.
There are two
major conceptual frameworks of marginalisation: Societal marginalisation and
spatial marginalisation.
Societal
marginalisation deals with the social exclusion of the individuals on the basis
of social stratification, class, caste, culture, gender, age. Social
marginalisation does not derive its power from any social or divine law, but
the powerful social agencies including the ethnic groups, governments,
religious fundamentalists force a certain group of individuals to get pushed to
the margins on the basis of above-mentioned criteria. This turns out to be a
power play between the powerful and the powerless groups within a society.
Spatial
marginalisation depends on the geographic locations of the groups of
individuals irrespective of its class, caste, culture, gender, etc. The areas
which are away from the power centre are normally ignored and the people living
in those areas are forced to be isolated. The political or economic power
centres often ignore the remote locations and do not allow the population from
these areas to be an active participant in the economic or political
activities. Therefore the fruits of development often do not reach these
locations.
But an analysis of all indicators of development (economic
growth, education, health, etc.) shows that the NE states are not lagging
behind. In fact in several indicators they are far ahead of other states. The
Union government has been taking special interest in the development of the NE
states for years. I felt the perception of ‘being marginalised’ probably stems from
a ‘victim syndrome’ that many suffer from. And different political and
socio-cultural groups add to this syndrome for their vested interest.
The problem is:
when a community or group feels marginalized - gradually it is alienated from
the mainstream. There is then a growing tendency of looking at everything from
the viewpoint of a victim. This triggers a paranoiac response to every small
incident. That again snowballs into larger issue reinforcing this sense of
being marginalized.
At the seminar, I presented my point of view: if you think
you are marginalized, you will perpetually suffer from victim syndrome. Fight
that mindset. In a federal country like India, no area, no community can remain
marginalized. Wrest your place by sheer hard work.
Beauty
At Guwahati I
stayed at Don Bosco Institute at Kharghuli Hills, on the banks of the mighty
Bramhaputra river. It offered a majestic view. In the early morning the water
looked crimson, gradually the colour changed to gold and then to silver.
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| Bramhaputra at dawn. Photo: Mrinal Chatterjee |
Just across the
window of my room stood a Sonajhuri (Sunari in Odia, Hunari in Assamese. Acacia auriculiformis) tree,
resplendent with gold coloured flowers. Up on the hills, away from the gaze of
people. As I looked at it and took couple of photographs to capture the image,
(you can capture image, but can you transmit that sense of beauty, I don't
know) this tree probably became happy. Some body at last appreciated. Or
probably annoyed. Why are you intruding into my privacy? Or probably both.
Simultaneously. You never know.
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| Sonajhuri Tree laden with flowers. Photo: Mrinal Chatterjee |
Beauty always
comes with enigma. And that adds to its mystique.
Namghar
As I wondered
in downtown Guwahati I came across many identical looking places of worship- called
Namghar (literally meaning a house for chanting the name of the Lord), mostly frequented by the Vaishnavas.
Though Assam is known for Shakti worship, thanks to the presence of Kamakhya
Temple, it has had a strong Vaishnava tradition, initiated by Sankardeva
(1449–1568). A saint-scholar, poet, playwright, social-religious
reformer Sankardev inspired the Bhakti movement in Assam just as Guru Nanak, Ramananda, Namdev, Kabir,
Basave, Shri Chaitanya and Mahima Swami inspired it elsewhere in the India.
Among many other initiative, Sankardev started Namghar- a place for community
worship, religious discourse, cultural practices like dance and drama and also
social interaction including conflict resolution.
 |
| A Namghar at Kharghuli Hills, Guwahati. Photo: Mrinal Chatterjee |
The Nāmghar is a living institution and for over 500 years, its impact on Assamese society and
culture has been tremendous. I am told that the
Nāmghar is a common feature of every Assamese village. In the villages, in
addition to serving as the common prayer hall, it also serves as the village
stage and the meeting place of the village panchāyat. It has continued to be
the centre of social and religious activities.
Furthermore, both the Satras and the Namghars led
to the creation and development of drama, music and the stage. These three have
been the most powerful instruments for popularising culture in Assam.
Blue Liquid
As I was wondering, I saw a bottle with some
blue - violet liquid tied to the front gate of a house. I saw this in several
other houses in that area. I enquired and was told that it's purpose was to
ward off evil eyes of a particularly naughty spirit. I could not understand
what was there in that liquid that had the power to scare off evil spirit's
eyes.
 |
| A Blue Liquid Bottle hanging on the gate. Photo: Mrinal Chatterjee |
Days later my student Ripunjay told me that
“the liquid is plain water mixed with blue; and the purpose is to keep away
evil dogs from shitting near the gate”.
I liked the evil spirit story.
Kamakhya Temple
Assam,
particularly Kamakhya Temple is said to be associated with tantric and occult
practices. The most important event at Kamakhya Temple is Ambubachi Mela. The Ambubachi is a ritual of asceses
observed with “Tantrik means”. It is believed that the presiding goddess of the
temple, Devi Kamakhya, the Mother Shakti, goes through her annual cycle of
menstruation during this time stretch. The
doors of the Kamakhya Temple remain closed for three days. It is believed that
the Mother Earth becomes unclean for three days. During this time any kind of
farming work is not taken on. Daily worships and other religious performances
are also stopped during these days. After the completion of three days, the
doors of the Kamakhya Temple are reopened after Devi Kamakhya is bathed and the
other rituals are executed. It is then believed that the Mother Earth has
retrieved her purity.
Thousands
of pilgrims and tantric babas and swamis from all over the country throng
to the Ambubachi Mela. This year the mela is from 22 to 26 June.
As
such there are many babas and swamis with long beards and
hair at the vicinity of Kamakhya Temple. They look quite menacing with long
tilaks and colours pasted on their foreheads and beads hanging from their necks
and wrists. Many of them wear multiple number of rings on their fingers. Most
of them are more than willing to get photographed.
Food
Food is an
important part of the culture of a country or state or community. North East
States have over 200 tribal community.
Every community has its own food habit and cuisine. The sheer variety is mind
boggling.
It is a good
development that in Guwahati different tribal communities are opening
restaurants offering their own cuisine.
A restaurant called
Rabha Kitchen serves cuisine of Rabha tribe as well as other food. Mising
Kitchen serves cuisine of Mising trinbe. Mainly traditional thali. A restaurant
called Nagameez- it serving mainly Naga food. These kind of restaurants, I am
told, are becoming very popular now.
Tailpiece: Sorround Sound System
Define Surround Sound System?
Award winning answer- Wife in the front seat of
the car, her mother and sister in the back seat!!
***
The
author, a journalist turned media academician lives in Central Odisha town of
Dhenkanal. An anthology of his weekly column Window Seat, published in 2018 has been published as a book. Write
to him to get a free e-copy. mrinalchatterjee@ymail.com
This column is published every Sunday in Sikkim Express and www.orissadiary.com
Wednesday 12 June 2019
Column | Window Seat | 9.6.19
Window Seat | Mrinal Chatterjee | 9.6.19
Democracy
Recently I read a long article by Booker winner writer and social
activist Arundhati Roy in which she was ventilating her ire at the democracy we
live in. She argues that it is not the real democracy, it can at best be called
majoritarianism.
Several other thinkers also share her views and they say, it is
happening at a global scale. Populism is on the rise. People are looking at
short term gains, politicians are offering them exactly that. Everything is instantified. In the rush to get short
term gain and instant nirvana, we are probably ignoring or are becoming short
sighted enough to see the big picture.
The public sphere is losing its credence and probably traction with what
is beneficial for the society.
Part of the problem today probably lies in the democratisation of public
space itself. Everyone is entitled to express themselves in any form or medium,
and on any subject. And everyone does. In a single day there are 150 million
exchanges on Snapchat, 1.15 billion opinions on Facebook, 500 million Twitter
feeds, and a multitude of reactions on newspaper, TV and web pages. Certainly,
social media platforms allow the world to be more connected, but much of the
connection comprises only an unhealthy competition
to be heard for a reason — for more followers, more likes, and other forms of
self-adulation. With more selfies taken, every life event recorded, the
self-obsession becomes desperation to gain approval from strangers. The petty
personal nature of the exchanges aside, the sheer glut of useless factoids only
degrades and diminishes the content of public space. And political parties are
force-crowding this space with bombardment of propaganda.
In the cacophony the sane voice is probably
getting lost. And the problem is in our haste to make our voice heard, hardly
anybody notices that.
Children’s Literature
Children worldwide
love to hear stories and explore the unknown. They need to be provided the
opportunity for both- to develop them into fine human beings. Literature is one
area that can provide both. It opens the gateway to fun, entertainment and
knowledge. It satiates the curiosity of children and ignites their mind to
explore more. It tells them stories that take them to a dreamland. They enjoy.
They learn.
National Book Trust
(NBT) established National Centre for Children’s Literature (NCCL) in 1993 to
promote, create, coordinate, monitor and aid the publication of children’s
literature in Indian languages. It also provides assistance and expertise to
teachers, librarians, editors, writers
and illustrators by arranging creative workshops across the country especially
in rural areas for promoting reading habit among children.
NCCL runs Readers Club
Movement to promote the habit of reading at school level. Till date over 35,000
Readers’ Clubs have been established in the country.
NCCL also has a
beautiful Children's Library cum Documentation Centre in its Delhi office with
a collection of over 15,000 books on Children’s literature in 44 languages of
the world. Besides Children's books, it has a good collection of reference
books. The Centre has an aesthetically designed wall panel depicting a story
from Panchatantra made of particle board.
Do visit this centre
if you love Children’s books or just to soak in the ambience. I went there and
was impressed.
Daryaganj
Daryaganj in Delhi with rows of offices and showrooms of publishers is
like the College Street of Kolkata minus the enthusiasm with which people
throng the second hand book stalls in Kolkata. Most of the publishers in
Daryaganj publish and sell educational and text books, guides, self help books,
etc.
There are several publishers here who would publish your books for a
price. The price depends on how badly and how fast you want your books to be
published.
Tailpiece 1: Delhi ki Garmi
Delhi was sizzling at 40 plus degree when I had been there. A
joke was doing rounds: the heat will continue to rise till it crosses the
number of seats Congress has got.
Tail piece 2: Desh Badal Raha Hai
Look at this. Man will take care of Home, and woman will take
care of Finance. The country is changing, bro.
Tailpiece 3: Circle Complete
Cabinet Allocations in a nutshell:
Party Chief gets Home,
Home Minister gets Defence,
Defence Minister gets Finance and,
Finance Minister goes Home
Circle complete.
(Courtesy: Social Media)
***
The
author, a journalist turned media academician lives in Central Odisha town of
Dhenkanal. An anthology of his weekly column Window Seat, published in 2018 has been published as a book. Write
to him to get a free e-copy. mrinalchatterjee@ymail.com
This weekly column is published every Sunday in Gangtok based English daily Sikkim Express and www.orissadiary.com
Monday 10 June 2019
Wednesday 5 June 2019
Needed Content Writer for a Bhubaneswar based Company
Bhubaneswar based Arrowleaf Solutions Pvt Ltd. has job opening of content writer. They need 8 to 10 people to hire.
Here are the details:
1. Position: Content writer
2. Salary: 10k to 30k
3. Experience: 2 years to 10 years
4. Job Description: The candidate should know how to write articles in English language. Should be internet savvy. H/She has to research on a topic and write articles, blog posts and other product descriptions in his own words. We'll train him to understand technicalities of Google and Yahoo. It's a full-time job.
5. Working hours: 8 - 10 hours/day
Here are the details:
1. Position: Content writer
2. Salary: 10k to 30k
3. Experience: 2 years to 10 years
4. Job Description: The candidate should know how to write articles in English language. Should be internet savvy. H/She has to research on a topic and write articles, blog posts and other product descriptions in his own words. We'll train him to understand technicalities of Google and Yahoo. It's a full-time job.
5. Working hours: 8 - 10 hours/day
They are accepting freelance candidates as well. They are scheduling an interview on 6 June Thursday.
Interested candidates can call on: 91787 60505(Tanuj Nayak) for more details.
Posted on 5.6.19
Competition
The Press Institute of India (PII), Chennai, and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), New Delhi, are together once again organising a competition for the best three articles and best three photographs on a humanitarian subject.
The theme for this year (2019) is IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON HUMANITARIAN ISSUES.
The article or photograph should have been published in any national or regional newspaper or magazine in India or online site of repute between 1st April 2018 and 15th May 2019 and can be in English or in any Indian or regional language (English translations required).
The applicant will have to produce proof of his or her article having been published.
Last date for receipt of entries is July 31.
For queries contact: Sashi Nair, Director and Editor , PII
Email: editorpiirind@gmail.com
Posted on 5.6.19
Sunday 2 June 2019
Column | Window Seat | 2.6.19
Window Seat | Mrinal Chatterjee | 2.6.19
New Innings Begins
On 30 May, the day Narendra Modi took oath with 57 ministers I was in Delhi. No, I was not invited to the swearing-in ceremony held at Rashtrapati Bhavan. But like tens of millions of people I was interested in knowing who will be our ministers and as a former working journalist I was interested to know how people reacted to the brand new ministry.
As Ram Bilash Paswan took oath somebody said: Government kisika vi ho, ye saks ministry me jaroor rahega (No matter who forms the government this man will be there). The Janata Dal (United), a constituent of the NDA kept away.
As the swearing in ceremony got to a close- some of my friends said, why Suresh Prabhu and Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore were not included, both performed well in the last ministry. There were other prominent exclusions too including Arun Jaitley, Sushama Swaraj, Maneka Gandhi, Radha Mohan Singh and J.P. Nadda. Nadda, some journalist friends on BJP beat told, would probably be the BJP president, since Amit Shah has joined the government.
Modi took oath with 57 ministers. The council of Ministers saw representations from 22 states. Here is wishing the new government and new ministers all the very best. May they fulfill their promise of: Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikash- Inclusive development of all.
Increasing Women Power in the Loksabha
For the first time as many as 78 women members have been elected to the Loksabha. That comes out to 14 per cent of the total strength of the house. In the first ever election, only 5 per cent of the House consisted of women. In the last Loksabha (2014) the number of women member was 61 (11.23%) an increase of 2 members from the 2009 Loksabha.
The global participation rate of women in national level parliaments is 24.1 per cent as of December 2018. Bolivia has 47.2 per cent. African country Rwanda has 38.5 per cent.
Odisha is the first state in India to send 33% of women MPs in the 17th Lok Sabha. Odisha has 21 MP seats and it has elected 7 women members (2 from BJP and 5 from BJD) including the youngest MP to be elected- 25 years and 11 months old Chandrani Murmu. Chandrani, a tribal woman and an Engineering graduate won the Keonjhar Loksabha seat. She represents Biju Janata Dal (BJD). BJD has fielded 33 per cent women candidates in Loksabha seats. In fact it was one of their election strategies to field more women candidates to attract more women vote- which proved successful.
Mamta Banerjee led TMC from West Bengal went one step ahead and fielded 42 per cent women candidates. But unlike in Odisha, this strategy did not work as Modi wave swept through West Bengal.
The growing number of women in the Loksabha definitely looks empowering the women. It creates a condusive social atmosphere for the women to take part in public affairs. Hopefully the increased number of women in the Loksabha will translate into better women-friendly legislation and better governance of the country.
A gentle reminder
I got this from a social media posting:
After you are done with Congress’s obituary and Rahul Gandhi fail memes, do remember INC (Indian National Congress) is the only real pan-India opposition party. The rest are either regional rajas or caste groupings masquerading as political parties.
The country needs a strong opposition for a functioning democracy.
Tail piece 1: Strange Misery of the Kerala Voter
Those Keralites who voted for Congress are sad and depressed because their party and leader got drubbed at the national level.
Those Keralites who voted for Communists are shattered with the near total decimation of their party as well as Left Democratic Front, in Kerala and in India.
Those Keralites who voted for BJP are disillusioned because their party drew a blank in Kerala once again. They cannot whole heartedly celebrate the magnificent BJP win at national level.
In essence, entire Kerala is unhappy today.
Only the Beverages Corporation ought to be happy.
Tail piece 2: Modi’s recent conversation with Trump!
Trump: “Congratulations Mr Modi on your election victory. Please be careful about sanctions against Iran”.
Modi: “Hi Donald, we have already stopped dealing with Iran. Anything that bothers you?”
Trump: “CIA just informed me that you used some Irani to defeat Rahul Gandhi”
Tail piece 3: India’s Condition Today
Northeast: Give me some sunshine.
Delhi: Give me some rain
Kejriwal: Give me another chance
Rahul: I wanna grow up once again
Modi: na na nana na na na nana
Tail piece 4: It’s a changed world…
It’s a changed world…
Indians are ‘MODIfied’
Brits are ‘disMAYed’
Americans are ‘TRUMPed’
The French are ‘Macarooned’
and Canadian are ‘Justified’
While Russians just stay ‘Put in’..!!
(Courtesy: Social Media)
***
This column is published every Sunday in Gangtok based English daily Sikkim Express and www.orissadiary.com
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