WINDOW SEAT | Weekly column in English | 27.2.22

 Window Seat | Mrinal Chatterjee | 27.2.22

Bob Dylan

As the world comes to a flash point with Russia and Ukraine going to war, we remember Bob Dylan’s iconic song titled Masters of War:  

Come you masters of war
You that build the big guns
You that build the death planes
You that build all the bombs
You that hide behind walls
You that hide behind desks
I just want you to know
I can see through your masks

 

Known for his anti-war songs and often regarded as one of the greatest song-writers of all times Dylan wrote this song in 1963 in criticism of American leaders and officials. It was meant as a realization of the times, what war was coming to and why war became a pointless act, rather than a means of defense. In this song he condemned the world's power brokers and the way (according to him and many others) manufacture international conflict.

Read the song, or better still hear it. It is as relevant today as it was when it was written.

CSMVS@100

Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (CSMVS) turned 100 this January. Opened as the Prince of Wales Museum of Western India on 10th of January, 1922, (it was renamed in 2001) it has grown as one of the finest museums of South–East Asia and has established itself as the foremost cultural institutions in the country.

Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, Mumbai

It has an interesting history.  On the 14th of August 1905, a number of prominent citizens of Bombay including Pherozeshah Mehta, Justice Badrudin Tyabji, Narotamdas Gokuldas, Justice Chandavarkar, Sassoon J. David and many other dignitaries who were known for their outstanding contribution in their respective fields ,and also in the development of the island of Bombay  gathered at the Town Hall. They resolved to erect a Memorial to the visit of the Prince of Wales (later King George V) in the form of a public museum.

It was erected on a plot of land known as the ‘Crescent Site’ on the southern tip of the island. The Foundation Stone of the Museum was laid by the Prince of Wales on the 11th of November, 1905. It was established through public contribution aided by the then Government of the Bombay Presidency. The building was completed in 1914, but opened its doors to the public 8 years later. Until then it was used by the military as a hospital and for Children’s Welfare Exhibitions.

'Pagri Sambal Jatta’

Remember the song, 'Pagri Sambal Jatta, Pagri Sambhal Ooi (Take care of the Turban, O peasant, Take care of it), featured in several films on Bhagat Singh!

These lines were written by Banke Dayal, the editor of the Jang Sayal newspaper. On 3 March 1907, Banke Dayal sang the song for the first time at a peasants rally in Lyallpur (present-day Faisalabad, Pakistan). The song soon became an anthem against three British Laws-- the Doab Bari Act, Punjab Land Colonisation Act and the Punjab Land Alienation Act.

Banke Dayal

The rally was organised by Sardar Ajit Singh (Bhagat Singh's uncle), Kishan Singh (Bhagat Singh's father) Ghasita Ram and Sufi Amba Prasad.

Sardar Ajit Singh

Sardar Ajit Singh, was born on 23rd February on 1881 at Khatkar Kalan village of Jalandhar district in a family of freedom fighters. His grandfather Fateh Singh was part of Maharaja Ranjit Singh army and continuing the tradition all three brothers Kishan Singh, Ajit Singh and Swarn Singh were part of freedom struggle, for which they suffered long jail terms. Ajit Singh remained exiled for 38 years and returned to India only in March 1947 at the invitation of Jawahar Lal Nehru. He passed away at Dalhousie on the early morning of 15th August 1947, after listening to PM Pandit Nehru's Tryst with Destiny speech. 

The Owl

During my late evening walk around our wooded campus bordering a reserve forest the other day, I found a solitary owl on a bamboo bush. It was not a rare sight. Usually we find owls at night sitting on lampposts or on tree branches. They fly away as soon as we approach them. But,  this particular owl somehow did not budge- probably because he found me an innocuous being or probably he was not in a mood to go anywhere. So I stood there, and took a good look at it.

With white face, it probably was a Tasmanian masked owl ((Tyto novaehollandiae castanops). As I was trying to figure out its identity by comparing its photo with the photos in literature the next day, I found an interesting fact: a group of owls is called a "parliament".

Parliament! I exclaimed. In Hindi an owl is known as ‘ullu’ and its connotation is stupid. However my young artist friend Gorvachove Pothal enlightened me.

“Most collective nouns for groups of birds date back to the middle ages and are usually based on a bird’s characteristic or trait. In ancient Greece, owls were a symbol of higher wisdom and associated with Athena, Goddess of Wisdom and Strategy. There are no set numbers for what determines a parliament of owls, since these birds rearely congregate in large groups, smaller numbers are considered special and would be referred to as a parliament or congress.

The term originates from a children’s book in the 1950’s called The Chronicles of Narnia. In this book, the author describes a group of owls is a parliament of owls, and with the book’s popularity sealed their fate in popular culture and literature alike.

Tailpiece: Indian Media

According to Indian media Russia will attack Ukraine in 24 hours….

Russian President Putin has requested Indian media to give more time to prepare.

(Courtesy: social Media)

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Journalist turned media academician Mrinal Chatterjee lives at the valley of Paniohala Hill at Dehenkanl, Odisha. He also writes fiction and plays.

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This column is published every Sunday in www.prameyanews.com Gangtok based English daily Sikkim Express. 

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