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| Nitidina. 1.3.20 Publisher: Timepass, Bhubaneswar. |
Saturday, 29 February 2020
Wednesday, 26 February 2020
Saturday, 22 February 2020
Column | Window Seat 23.2.20
Window Seat | Mrinal Chatterjee |
23.2.20
Mooknayak at 100
Mooknayak (The Leader of the Voiceless) was a Marathi
fortnightly newspaper Babasaheb Ambedkar started in 1920. He was 29 then. It
was his first journalistic venture. Its first issue was published on 31 January
2020. Ambedkar’s aim in launching this journal was to put forward his own point
of view on matters such as the evils of untouchability, the socio-economic
status of ‘untouchables’, their status in the Hindu society, would swaraj bring
about any change in their status, etc. These issues and questions had hitherto
not found due representation in mainstream Hindi journals. Ambedkar tried to
bring forth these issues to the limelight.
The tone was set
from the very first editorial that he wrote in the opening issue:
“The Hindu society is like a tower of many stories. It has neither
a ladder nor a door to go out. And therefore there is no way to interchange
stories. Those who are born on a particular storey die in that storey. Even if
the lowest storey person is worthy deserving to be promoted to the upper storey
he cannot move to that level. And if the person in the upper storey is most
unworthy and undeserving still he cannot be pushed down” …….
Though
he was officially not associated with it (as he was in government service
then), it was Babasaheb’s paper. In fact he wrote many of the editorials that
were published in this paper. However, Shri Nandra Bhatkar was the first
editor of the paper. Later Shri Dyander Gholap was the editor.
Mooknayak
went through many ups and downs. It remained in circulation just for three
years. Despite its short life, Mooknayak laid
the foundations of an assertive and organised Dalit politics. It announced the
arrival of a newer generation of anti-caste politics that broke the confines of
region, language and political boundaries and coincided with the larger
developments on the nationalist scene.
Good news from Population front
A large and growing population has long being
considered as one of the reason of India’s poverty. Leaders in India tried to
engage with this issue quite early on. In fact India is the first country in
Asia to adopt a family planning programme. It is the first developing country
to do so in 1951. Since then, the country’s population has quadrupled with 1.37
billion people in 2019.
However, for the first time after
independence- we have some real good news in population front. Darrell Bricker,
Author of Empty Planet says, India’s
total fertility rate (TFR) has reached replacement level. Srinivas Goli, Asstt.
Professor of Population Studies at the Centre for the Study of Regional
Development, JNU says that the TFR in India will dip below the replacement level
by 2021.
What is TFR? Population scientists have
postulated a threshold to the number of births to keep the population under
control. This is expressed as Total Fertility Rate (TFR), which is the average
number of children a woman of childbearing age must have. Population above TFR
means growth, while that below2 TFR means decline. At TFR, population is
maintained. For Homo Sapiens a 2.1
TFR would keep the country’s population stable. The UN Population Division
terms this as the replacement-level fertility.
India has either just reached that or is very
close to that point now. The National Family Health Survey (NFHS 4) conducted
in 2015-16, found India’s TFR has reached 2.2. Most Indian States had already
achieved or were below 2.1 TFR. However, the major exceptions were Bihar (3.4),
UP (2.7) Jharkhand (2.6), Rajasthan (2.4) and Madhya Pradesh (2.3). Except
Jharkhand all other states are large and with large population. Once the TFR
dips in these states- the national TFR will dip below 2.1 and that will be good
for the country- for at least three four decades or so.
But if the TFR dips very low (as Darrell
Bricker predicts would happen)- then, we’ll have to rethink and
re-strategize.
Capitalizing Corona Virus
Bhojpuri
music industry is amazing. It can churn out songs on any issue for any
occasion. Looking at the media space Corona Virus is occupying, there are at
least two music CDs releasing on the occasion of Holi- on this.
Consider
the titles: Lehenga me virus corona ghusal ba. Meaning: Corona Virus has
entered in the Lehenga. This song is sung by ‘Diamond Star’ Guddu Rangila. The
other CD has a simpler title: Corona Virus Kaisal ba? How is the Corona Virus.
Singer: Jallu Raja.
Creativity-
thy name is Bhojpuri Music.
Tailpiece: Corona Scare
Two friends met in a jam-packed
local train, no place even to stand properly.
One of them said to the other, a
bit loudly:
"Are Bhai, glad to see you,
but when did u return from China!?"
That did the trick!
In a few minutes the two were
the only ones left in the compartment!!
(Courtesy:
Social Media)
***
A
journalist turned media academician the columnist lives in Central Odisha town
of Dhenkanal. Compilation of his weekly column
Window Seat, published in 2019 has been put together as an e-book. To get a
free copy send an email to: mrinalchatterjeeiimc@gmail.com
Friday, 21 February 2020
Saturday, 15 February 2020
Window Seat 16.2.20
Window Seat | Mrinal Chatterjee | 16.2.20
Do media impact culture?
Recently I attended a conference on ‘Culture,
Media and Development’ at Baba Saheb Ambedkar Open University, Ahmedabad. There
was prolonged discussion on: whether media impacts culture or culture impacts
media? If both do, then who impacts more?
My take was: media, especially the
all-pervasive tech-driven media have started impacting the culture like never
before. Let me give you just three examples. Look at what has happened to the practice
of reading newspaper in the morning. It used to be a family affair. Or for that
matter television viewing. Look at what has happened to the practice of
scouting for bride/groom. Look at the growing practice of online dating. There
is a TV serial now showing a young girl encouraging his widowed father to go
for online dating. Look at what has happened to the age old Bengali practice of
writing 'Bijoya pranam' letters. Last Puja we received none. Zero. We got phone
calls and whatsapp messages with digital rasagola or rasagolla- depending on
where it came from - Odisha or Bengal.
Agreed- these are all outer non-core areas of
our culture, which is comparatively easy to breach. But once the outer areas of
our culture are punctured with ease- media can (or can be used to) put sustained pressure on the core
and eventually breach and change it.
Turbulent Days for Print Media
India’s fourth estate, particularly the print
media is staring at imminent danger. Several newspapers across the country are
gasping for breath. Shrinking readership and ad revenues, rising costs, waning
credibility, and an onslaught of digital and social media have taken a huge
toll on their financial health. Recently published data collected by the Indian
Readership Survey shows that their future is pretty bleak.
Many media pundits believe that print media
(newspaper or magazine) as stand-alone media product hardly has any future.
Media houses must have multiple products in multiple delivery platforms to
monetize and survive.
Mooknayak at
100
Mooknayak (The
Leader of the Mute or The Leader of the Voiceless), the first journalistic
venture of Babasaheb Ambedkar, was a weekly Marathi newspaper he started in
1920. Its first issue was published on 31 January 2020. His aim in launching
this journal was to put forward his own point of view on matters such as
Swaraj, the education of the ‘untouchables’, and the evils of untouchability,
which had hitherto not found due representation in mainstream Hindi journals.
Though he was
officially not associated with it (as he was in government service then), it
was Babasaheb’s paper. In fact he wrote all the editorials that were published
in this paper. However, Shri Nandra Bhatkar was the first
editor of the paper. Later Shri Dyander Gholap was the editor.
Mooknayak
went through many ups and downs. It remained in circulation just for three
years. Despite its short life, Mooknayak laid
the foundations of an assertive and organised Dalit politics. It announced the
arrival of a newer generation of anti-caste politics that broke the confines of
region, language and political boundaries and coincided with the larger
developments on the nationalist scene.
Fake and Real
We wash our hands with real lemon pieces and
drink lemon flavored carbonated water- in effect fake lemon juice. Gradually we
are in love with 'fake' and barely tolerate 'real'. It is gradually permeating
into our culture, and this is becoming the only culture globally. Fake is
becoming the new real.
Valentine Week special
Khud talashna
katil apni aur phir katl ho jana
Isi phankari ko
badkismati se isq kahate hain
(Finding
one’s own executioner and then getting executed
This
artistry, unfortunately, is known as love.
(Courtesy: Social Media)
(Courtesy: Social Media)
Post Valentine Scenario: Love and Marraige
When you are in love,
Wonders happen.
But once you get married,
You wonder, what happened
***
A
journalist turned media academician the columnist lives in Central Odisha town
of Dhenkanal. mrinalchatterjeeiimc@gmail.com
This column is published every Sunday in Sikkim Express
Window Seat 9.2.20
Window Seat | Mrinal
Chatterjee 9.2.20
CULTURE: WHY WE SHOULD SIMULTANEOUSLY PRESERVE IT
AND ALLOW CHANGES?
In the context of humanities and sociology
culture means the ideas, customs, and social behavior of a particular people or
society. Culture is considered a central concept in anthropology, encompassing
the range of phenomena that are transmitted through social learning in human
societies. Culture is a word for the ‘way of life’ of groups of people, meaning
the way they do things. Different groups may have different cultures. A culture is passed on to the next generation
by learning, whereas genetics are passed on by heredity.
Cultures
are what make countries unique. Each country may have different cultural
activities and cultural rituals. Culture includes material goods, the things
the people use and produce. Also the beliefs and values of the people and the
ways they think about and understand the world and their own lives.
Culture
can also vary within a region, society or sub group. A region of a country may
have a different culture that they rest of the country. For example, in a large
country like India or China a region may have a distinctive language, different
types of music, and different types of music, and different types of dances.
It
is important to preserve culture of a society, State or country because that is
part of its identity. Every culture that disappears diminishes a possibility of
life. Keeping culture intact equals to patriotism, self-respect, the values of
a nation, rich history as well as a great way forward.
Culture
preservation includes documenting and studying languages: preserving and
restoring historic relics significant to a culture or heritage; and encouraging
the preservation and use of indigenous or tribal languages and rituals.
Culture
is pervasive. It touches every aspect of life. The pervasiveness of culture is
manifest in two ways. First, culture provides an unquestioned context within
which individual action and response take place. Not only emotional action but
relational actions are governed by cultural norms. Second, culture pervades
social activities and institutions.
Culture
is not a force, operating by itself and independent of the human actors. There
is an unconscious tendency to defy culture, to endow it with life and treat it
as a thing. Culture is a creation of society in interaction and depends for its
existence upon the continuance of society.
In
a strict sense, therefore, culture does not ‘do’ anything on its own. It does
not cause the individual to act in a particular way, nor does it ‘make’ the
normal individual into a maladjusted
one. Culture, in short, is a human product; it is not independently endowed
with life.
However,
we must remember that there is one fundamental and in escapable attribute of
culture: the fact of unending change. Some societies at sometimes change
slowly, and hence in comparison to other societies seem not to be changing at
all. But they are changing, even though not obviously so. Culture in not
static. It changes with time and change in technology.
It
is like a flowing river. The river rarely changes its course-it more or less
remains the same, but the water continues to flow. It is never static. If it
does not flow than the river ultimately die. This analogy is true for any
culture. l It needs to be practiced and changed with time to make it relevant
and practice worthy.
Cultures
undergo a gradual change. With passing time, some beliefs change, certain
traditions or rituals are eliminated, language and mannerisms of people change and thus their culture. Migration and
globalization lead to a mixing of cultures. When people from different parts of
the world come together, they influence each other and effectively, each
other’s cultures. These factors contribute to the formation of a multicultural
society and sometimes, even new cultures develop.
Due to education and increased awareness, newer
generations become flexible to change and look at concepts like religion and
culture with a broader perspective and have a liber4al view about them,. So
some rituals or customs become less rigid, some are replaced by simpler ones
and some are discontinued.
Due
to the exposure to various cultures across the globe, people adopt some aspects
of other cultures. This affects what they teach their children, thus
influencing the culture of their future generations and in a small way, leading
to a cultural change. Social thinking
undergoes a transition and so does culture. Gender roles change. For instance,
traditionally, the males were meant to work and earn for their family, while
women stayed at home and looked after the children. Today these roles have changed. In many
families, women work away from home, while men take care of the kids.
All
cultures change in time although their rate of change varies. It’s often seen
that the politically or economically stronger countries influence cultures in
other parts of the world and lead to social changes in the concerned countries.
Thus,
there is a need to preserve culture. But one should not be puritan and averse
to change. On the other hand too sudden or too pervasive a change would kill a
culture. We must balance this two opposing things carefully.
Tailpiece: Corona
Don’t
be so afraid of the corona virus. It won’t last long. After all it is made in
China.
But
of course you need to take precaution. However, Bengalis and to some extent
Odias need not worry. They have been taking precaution against corona from
childhood:
Eta
corona
Ota
corona
Birokto
corona
Bandrami
(mankadami in Odia) corona
Maramari
corona
Nachanachi
corona, etc.
Tailpiece 2: Accountancy Fact
What is the difference between Liability and Asset?
A drunk friend is liability. But, A drunk Girlfriend is an Asset
(Courtesy: Social Media)
***
An
anthology of his weekly column Window
Seat, published in 2019 is being published as a book. Should you want a
copy with introductory discounted price, write to him at: mrinalchatterjee@ymail.com
This column is published every Sunday in Sikkim Express.
Wednesday, 5 February 2020
Window Seat 2.2.20
Window Seat | Mrinal Chatterjee | 2.2.20
200 years of Vidyasagar
This year, the Nation is celebrating the 200 years of the birth of Ishwar
Chandra Vidyasagar. (26 September 1820 – 29
July 1891). Born Ishwar Chandra
Bandyopadhyay. he received the title "Vidyasagar" (in
Sanskrit Vidya means knowledge and Sagar means
ocean, i.e., Ocean of Knowledge) from Sanskrit College, Calcutta (from where he
graduated), due to his excellent performance in Sanskrit studies and
philosophy.
Ishwar
Chandra Vidyasagar was a philosopher, academic educator, writer, translator,
printer, publisher, entrepreneur, reformer and philanthropist. He was at the
forefront of Bengali Renaissance along with social reformer Ram Mohan Roy. He
helped shape modern Bengali, and in an extension, the Indian society.
He was the
most prominent campaigner for Hindu widow remarriage and petitioned Legislative
council despite severe opposition. It was his campaign and Lord Dalhousie’s
initiative that led to Hindu Widows' Remarriage Act, 1856.
Vidyasagar’s efforts
to simplify and modernize Bengali prose were significant. He also rationalised
and simplified the Bengali alphabet and type.
Ishwar
Chandra Vidyasagar opened several schools for women and was instrumental in
bringing the Hindu Widows' Remarriage Act in 1856.
He also
modified the rules of getting admission in Sanskrit college to allow
non-Brahmin students there.
He was one of
the first persons to have realized the potential of newspaper as a toolfor
social reform. He was associated with several newspapers including Somprakash
(Bengali) and Hindoo Patriot (English).
Vidyasagar
did not get his due recognition during his lifetime. In fact he faced severe
social opposition. His personal life- towards the end was tragic. But he stood
steadfast in his mission to reform the society.
Existential Crisis
An existential crisis may occur when a person frequently
wonders whether or not life has any inherent meaning or purpose. A person may
also question their own existence within a world that might seem meaningless.
Experiencing an existential crisis is common, and it is normal and often healthy to question one’s life and goals. However, an existential crisis can contribute to a negative outlook, especially if a person cannot find a solution to their questions of meaning.
Existential crises may be associated with a number of mental health conditions. For this reason, it is sometimes best to involve a doctor — especially if an existential crisis has the potential to lead to despair or suicidal ideation.
Experiencing an existential crisis is common, and it is normal and often healthy to question one’s life and goals. However, an existential crisis can contribute to a negative outlook, especially if a person cannot find a solution to their questions of meaning.
Existential crises may be associated with a number of mental health conditions. For this reason, it is sometimes best to involve a doctor — especially if an existential crisis has the potential to lead to despair or suicidal ideation.
Haiku on KONARK
A haiku is an unrhymed Japanese poetic form that
consists of 17 syllables arranged in three lines containing five, seven, and
five syllables, respectively. A haiku expresses much and suggests more in the
fewest possible words. The form gained distinction in the 17th century, when
Basho, a Japanese poet considered the greatest practitioner of the form,
elevated it to a highly refined art. It remains Japan’s most popular poetic
form. The Imagist poets (1912–30) and others have imitated the form in English
and other languages.
Jaipur, Rajasthan based Himanshu Vyas, a National Award
winner photojournalist indulges in various art forms including haiku. Here are
some of his haiku on Konark Sun Temple, a thirteen century marvel built on Bay
of Bengal coast about 30 kms from Puri.
1. sea breeze
sweaty smell from
warm sculptures
2. spitting betel
juice
guide withholds
secrets of carved queen
3. statue of dancer;
tourist’s wrist slowly rests
on waist
4. in stone spokes
a green sprout keeps
the ‘wheel’ moving
5. carved danseuse
anklets
of hasty pilgrim
Tailpiece 1: Economics
Economics is not that difficult if we have the
right examples.
Interviewer: What is Recession?
Candidate: When "Wine & Women"
get replaced by "Water & Wife", that critical phase of life is called
Recession!!
Tailpiece 2: Difference
If
you think you are too small to make a difference......try sleeping with a
mosquito in the room!
***
The
author, a journalist turned media academician lives in Central Odisha town of
Dhenkanal.
An
anthology of his weekly column Window
Seat, published in 2019 is being published as a book. Should you want a
copy with introductory discounted price, write to him at: mrinalchatterjee@ymail.com
Tuesday, 4 February 2020
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