Window
Seat| Mrinal Chatterjee | 17.1.21
Can we
make our monuments accessible?
Many of our old temples, mosques, churches and
historical monuments are not easily accessible for people with disability.
There are stiff stairs and places that persons with physical disability cannot
move without difficulty and/or danger.
To build an inclusive society, we must think
about them. Making physical access to buildings and movement in public places
easy is one of the important steps that could be taken.
All historical monuments which have public
access need to be retro fitted to be accessible to people with disability. It
is heartening that some temple authorities are doing that. For example, the
management of Jagannath Temple of Koraput, called Sabara Shreekhetra have recently constructed ramps and made
available wheel chairs so that persons with orthopedic problems can go to the
top platform of the temple. Other temples and monuments should follow suit-
without damaging the aesthetic appeal of the monument.
Similarly roads and especially footpaths need
to be barrier and clutter free and should be designed for easy movement of
wheel chairs.
Prabudha
Bharata
January 12 was the
birthday of Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902). He was born in an aristocratic
Bengali Kayastha family in Kolkata and named Narendranath Sen. He grew up as a
restless and intelligent young man and found his mooring as he became a
disciple of Ramkrishna Paramhansa, a socio-spiritual guru. He was renamed as
Swami Vivekananda.
Swami Vivekananda was a
major force in the revival of Hinduism in India and its spread abroad. He
contributed to the concept of Indian nationalism as a tool to fight against the
British empire in colonial India. He established Ramkrishna Mission as a
socio-spiritual organization aimed towards service and social reform.
His birthday is
celebrated as National Youth Day across the country.
Not many outside
Ramkrishna Mission and Math know that he inspired to publish a journal, which is
presently regarded as India's longest running English journal. Name of the
journal is Prabuddha Bharata (Awakened India). It has just completed 125 years.
On January 2021 it has published the first issue of its 126th year of
existence.
It is an English-language
monthly journal of the Ramakrishna Order, in publication since July 1896. It
carries articles and translations by monks, scholars, and other writers on
humanities and social sciences including religious, psychological, historical,
social and cultural themes. It has a section for book reviews where important
publications from university presses from around the world are reviewed. It is
edited from Advaita Ashrama, Mayavati, Uttarakhand, and published and printed
in Kolkata.
 |
| Cover of The Prabudha Bharata, March 1897 issue |
Prabuddha Bharata was
founded in 1896 by P. Aiyasami, B. R. Rajam Iyer, G. G. Narasimhacharya, and B.
V. Kamesvara Iyer, in Madras (now Chennai), at the behest of Swami Vivekananda,
with whom the founders had been closely associated before he went to America in
1893.
 |
| Cover of Prabudha Bharata, January 2021 issue |
Swami Vivekananda
suggested the journal's name, and encouraged the founders through his letters
to them. The editor, B. R. Rajam Iyer, was only twenty-four years old.
The first issue of this
monthly journal appeared in July 1896.
Since then it has been
published without interruption with the exception of one month, when its editor
Rajam Iyer passed away suddenly in 1898- just after two years of the
publication of the journal.
Swami Vivekananda, then
in Almora, asked his English disciples, Captain Sevier and his wife Charlotte
to assume the duties of publishing the journal. The Captain had a press, type
and ink transported from Kolkata.
The journal, which had
missed a number, was now brought out from Thompson House in Almora, with
Swamiji's disciple, Swami Swarupananda, as the editor.
Captain Sevier
meanwhile, at the behest of Swamiji, looking for an ideal place for an Ashram
in the Himalayas, He found one in Mayavati in the district of Champawat,
(presently in Uttarakhand) 6,400 feet above sea level which became the Advaita
Ashrama.
The journal with the
press was relocated there in March 1899. Prabuddha Bharata continued to be
published by the monks and few local people.
In 1914 a separate
building was erected nearby for the journal and the press. From 1923 the
printing was done in Kolkata, while the editorial office remaining at Mayavati.
The journal has been
published without interruption for all these years. The present editor of the
journal is Swami Vireshananda.
To read the January
2021 issue of the journal see: https://advaitaashrama.org/read/
Photo: Prabudha Bharata
Jan 2021 and March 1897 issue
Tailpiece:
Husbands for Sale
A store that sells “New Husbands” opened in a
city, where a woman may go to choose a husband.
There are six floors and the value of the
products increases as the shopper ascends the floors.
A woman goes to find a husband.
Floor 1 - These men have jobs.
She continues to the second floor..
Floor 2 - These men have jobs ...and love kids.
She continues upward...
Floor 3 - These men have Jobs, love Kids, and
are extremely good looking..
'Wow,' she thinks, but goes to the fourth
floor.
Floor 4 - These men have jobs, love kids, are good
looking and Help with housework.
She exclaims, 'I can hardly stand it!' Still,
she goes to the fifth floor...
Floor 5 - These men have jobs, love kids, are
very handsome, Help with housework, and are very romantic in nature.
She is so tempted to stay, nevertheless, she
goes to the sixth floor, where the sign reads:
Floor 6 - You are visitor number 31,456,012 to
this floor.... There are no men on this floor. This floor exists only as proof
that women are impossible to please!!!
Thank you for shopping at the Husband Store.
Part-2 of the story.
The store's owner opened a “New Wives Store”
just across the street.
The 1st Floor has a signage: Wives that listen
to men.
The 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th floor have never
been visited by men.
Tailpiece:
the real reason for wearing the mask
Are you aware that once you are admitted into
the ICU for COVID 19, your wife will be holding your phone for 14 days?
Wear your mask.
***
Journalist
turned media academician Mrinal Chatterjee lives in Dhenkanal, Odisha. Odia
translation of an anthology of essays titled Mahatma Gandhi: Journalist and
Editor, originally published in English is releasing by mid-January 2021.
mrinalchatterjeeiimc@gmail.com
This column is published every Sunday in Gangtok based english daily Sikkim Express and www.prameyanews.com
No comments:
Post a Comment