101. Last words yet to be written on a typewriter

A Vintage Smith-Corona

Typewriters are staging a comeback, and that is undoubtedly a breaking news. Everybody who has one and didn't know it had value now all of a sudden knows it has value. The humble typewriter, once a staple of offices, still holds a place of nostalgia and practical use in various cultures even today. 

My proud possession - Smith Corona - is far from being merely a relic of the past. It embodies a rich tapestry of stories, innovations, and customs that vary from time to time, and country to country. There could not be any news better to hear that the typewriter of 80s still has demand. 

The demand is strategic, and not nostalgic. German politicians are considering a return to using manual typewriters for producing sensitive documents in the wake of the US surveillance scandal. The Russian government too took similar measures after the spillover impact of espionage was partially revealed. 

At an individual level, however, it is increasing incidents of cybercrime that is compelling people to live an analog life. It is forcing people to stay away from technology, enforcing them to talk less on the mobile. And for this reason, more people meet across the table with goodwill and coffee mutually exchanged. 

The much talked about espionage case may have given the market a fillip, but typewriters had gained a comeback following Richard Polt's 2017 book 'The Typewriter Revolution'. Poets, writers, artists, and even students are putting words to paper and finding pleasure in generating the familiar acoustics.

There is more to it than that meet our eyes. Typewriters use our senses to focus on one thing at a time which demands our full attention, unlike a computer where tabs and screens distract attention. The feel of the keys and the sound of the return wheel produces a unique sensation that is unknowingly transferred onto the words.    

If Global Typewriter Market Report 2024 is any indication, the typewriter market will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 3% from 2023 to 2030. The tactile and mechanical feel of the typewriters will fuel its resurgence.

Typewriters never really went away, we only did. 

100. The shadow(s) of life

It only occurred to Alexander the Great when he accosted the Greek philosopher, Diogenes. Lying in the sun, standing near him with his shield-bearing guards, Alexander wondered if the destitute wiseman had ever desired anything in his life. Ready to part away with his enormous wealth, the response was anything close to it. Diogenes instead wanted the monarch to pull way his shadow from himself "stand a little out of my sun." Dismayed to hear the request, Alexander thought it for a while but at the end admired the haughtiness and grandeur of the man.

What if the monarch's shadow was not present or he didn't have any of his own? Though shadows are known to be useless, but it did help Alexander the Great fulfil a desire. Come to think of it, shadow may not do anything substantive, but it extends unconditional support even as one ventures out or is in the company of others. It is true that people all have shadows with them, whether or not they liked, in different shapes and sizes during the day. Diogenes tried to disassociate the monarch from his shadow, and in doing so made it worthwhile for himself. Alexander was unconscious of his shadow, till he was made conscious of it.   

For psychologists, shadow is a sub-conscious aspect of the personality that one cannot even consciously get rid of so easily. Only once life is bereft of its shadows, one really understands that shadows do carry their own weight. One needs to feel the weight because in reality there might not be any. In the same way as gravity seems part the planet and for reasons is often taken for granted. Same holds good for a shadow, without doubt an essential companion like a faithful canine. One can't step outside without a shadow, especially when you've spent so many years together with it and grown up close. 

However, for a shadow a day is too long for extending an incessant company. Need it be said that a shadow to move along with a body during the long day may be tiring. Therefore, it needs to take a break. And it does so when it is completely dark, the shadow takes complete rest with the body. A person and his shadow are never pulled apart, both merges as one but that the merger is indeed a period of loneliness. It is a common human experience that can affect people of all ages and backgrounds.     

Shadow poses many possibilities. If shadow has only abstract meanings, then why doesn't everyone get rid of it? The trouble is that they don't know how to. But even if they did, I doubt anyone would discard their shadow. Simply put, because people are used to them whether it serves any purpose or not. And if our shadows are allowed to separate from us, shadows will continue to exist without any control. Hard to believe it.

But if it was to separate from the body, it would be hard to imagine how it might I look like. It might be like a pair of discarded old shoes.       

99. The town that was..

It was not a big town, but rather a small one that has been significant enough to remain in memories. It is worth revisiting those vivid, hazy images that reflect the past in detail. Springs emerged at many places that evoked life; streams encircled the town like arteries; bridle pathways connected clusters of houses; small paddy fields dotted the landscape; and sprawling tea gardens adorned the slopes. There was an unwritten harmony in the system.

Over the last few years, the town underwent unimaginable transformation. Five decades have radically altered the town. Many springs have dried up and disappeared; bridle pathways have been replaced by concrete passages; waste-laden streams struggle to flow; and tea gardens have become sparse. The small town has expanded its boundaries and grown as much as it could. There is nothing noteworthy to write about its expansion from a small town to a big one.

The town under reference is Palampur, located in Himachal Pradesh and situated about 4,000 feet above sea level, overlooks the mighty Dhauladhar mountains, which aren't snow-clad year-round. Fans and air-conditioners, once unseen, are now common. With many concrete structures and an expanded road network filled with fuel-guzzling automobiles, this change is neither dramatic nor unexpected.

Local food security is no one's concern as little grows here, or rather, is allowed to grow. Packaged food in colorful plastic bags is everyone's favorite. With the net sown area in the state shrinking from 19.07 percent to 11.81 percent over the last ten years, such a shift, against the backdrop of erstwhile small paddy fields, was expected. Weekend tourists bring their consumptive needs and leave waste for the locals.

The decline in the net sown area is glaring; land once used for farming has been repurposed for non-farm use. In the last decade, non-farm use of agricultural land in the state has increased from a low of 3.55 percent to as high as 16.44 percent. Developmentalists see it differently, viewing it as presenting new challenges and opportunities. Statistics can be misleading, often hiding more than they reveal.

However, the transformation of hilly towns across the hills is a compelling narrative of change and adaptation. Once characterized by pristine natural beauty and self-sustaining communities, these towns have witnessed rapid urbanization, environmental degradation, and shifting lifestyles in last few decades. The evolution of Palampur serves as a poignant example, showcasing how the delicate balance of nature and tradition is being replaced by concrete structures and modern conveniences. 

First published in www.raagdelhi.com, and The Tribune dated Nov 27, 2024.

98. Don't let 'creativity' slip away

'Yeh dil tum bin kahin lagta' 
(Dharmendra & Tanuja)

Howsoever disturbing it is, break up between couples-could-be is the new normal. In the so-called fast-moving world, break-ups have emerged as another opportunity to ‘celebrate/creative’. Come to think of it, it may not be a bad idea. Why plunge in misery when one can explore new opportunities? This approach to life justifies the immense popularity of Pritam’s composition मेरे सैयां जी से आज मैंने ब्रेकअप कर लिया from the movie ‘Ae Dil Hai Mushkil’. But there is more to it, that is often ignored.

Outwardly, it may seem a sane action, but I suspect it cannot be without a psychological cost being paid by affected parties. How such suppressed emotions end-up playing up with life could be anybody’s guess? In past, such emotive moments led poets and shayars to come out with their creative best, heartfelt reflections on the mental state. Cinema used such moments to enhance melancholy, evoke moving moments on screen.

Anand Bakshi expressed such moments as lost opportunity of making things work out - मुझे तेरी मोहब्बत का सहारा मिल गया होता, अगर तूफ़ाँ नहीं आता किनारा मिल गया होता in film ‘Aaye Din Bahar Ke’. Hasrat Jaipuri imagined himself in the situation when he wrote तुम मुझे यूँ भुला ना पाओगे, जब कभी भी सुनोगे गीत मेरे संग संग तुम भी गुनगुनाओगे for ‘Pagla Kahin ka’ (1970). Rather than letting pass the moment, poets worked to give words to suppressed emotions. 

Majrooh Sultanpuri could not accept separation and instead sought to invoke compelling feelings in ‘Pyar Ka Mausam’ - तुम बिन जाऊँ कहाँ,  के दुनिया में आके कुछ न फिर चाहा कभी तुमको चाहके. He went further to assert that रह भी सकोगे तुम कैसे, हो के मुझसे जुदा, ढह जाएंगी दीवारें, सुन के मेरी सदा. For lyricist S H Bihari being in love is the ultimate human vocation है दुनिया उसी की, ज़माना उसी का, मोहब्बत में जो हो गया हो किसी का in ‘Kashmir Ki Kali’. Noticeable in all these compositions is the creative genius of writers who were supported by highly talented composers of those days.

Moments of separation on screen helped poets to give expressions to their personal tragedies as well. Sahir Ludhianvi’s verse ये दिल तुम बिन, कहीं लगता नहीं, हम क्या करें; तसव्वुर में कोई बसता नहीं, हम क्या करें is one such enduring composition from ‘Izzat’. My submission is that even the most disturbing moments of life could spur imagination, something that celebrating break-ups miss out. In a market economy, even emotions are ‘products’ worth trading for. Tragic!

Someone might say that we are a bunch of emotional fools, but for me it is the creative-imaginative aspect in such situations that is important. I leave you with a Rajendra Kishan-Laxmikant Pyarelal composition जो उन की तमन्ना है, बरबाद हो जा; तू ऐ दिल मुहब्बत की किस्मत बना दे from ‘Inteqam’. Noticeable is the fact that actors had to come out with their best in such performances, making it a complete display of embedded emotions.

(Sahir Ludhianvi, Majrooh Sultanpuri, Rajendra Kishan, Anand Bakshi, S H Bihari, and Hasrat Jaipuri have been accomplished Hindi poets/lyricists.)

First published in www.raagdelhi.com 

97. Repeat a lie often enough...

2024 marks the year like never before. One of those years in recent memory when at least some noticeable changes have become part of our collective conscience. What was considered once a vice by society is now an emerging virtue. It is not new; it has always been there. In the past, incentives for making it public were neither present nor was the culture supportive to propagate it. Now, it is all it wanted to ever have.          

Lying is what now matters. And it matters how smartly it is uttered in public, and how conveniently it gets reiterated. The task is to change the dynamic - specifically by making lying repetitive and popular. With technology being convenient on our side, a lie is repeated so many times that it becomes the truth. A lie be told a hundred times to become anything but a truth. It becomes an assertion that is anything but a lie.  

If you disagree then you must. But for anyone to denounce a lie, one might expect consensus in our understanding of what constitutes a lie. Since the days of Lenin of saying what he didn't say, a number of principles have been perfected to make a lie into a 'great lie' or a truth. These are: i) make it big enough and people will believe part of it; (ii) repeat it often enough and you will convince some people; and (iii) say it in enough different ways, and you will convince others.      

For over a century or more, it had to wait to turn this misattribution to Lenin a reality. Now is the time and nothing could be better timed than the year 2024. Filled with obnoxious airwaves and pages with attacking ads, are all but powered by lies. Yes, you guessed it right as this is the election year amidst the largest democracies in the world. Roll your eyes and accept lying as an inevitable part of our messy democracy.

It could be easily concluded that politicians lie because it pays dividends. It scores points with their base, and at times with their opponents, and does get rewarded by their donors too. There are few, if any, negative consequences. For once, lies hold a premium currency and are more than their real value. The godi (partisan) media plays its part, it either ignores the lies or repeats them because they stir up anger and keep the ballot box full of speculation. 

With the politics of lying getting social recognition, even technology to promote it has not been spared. Sobering stories of technology interference in elections are common. Mobile technology works against the truth. What we will do with mobile technology, we may never know. It has taken rapid strides from just connecting people, as connection too has gone through sobering meanings and exalted iterations.

Will mobile technology serve us well into the future? Will it connect us any better? Will it enforce democratic norms? It could be a billion-dollar question. Come to realize it, mobile technology is more than just nuts and bolts. It is more cognitive in nature; one would need to change some software for better results. Which means just about the strategy, content, and design. The devil of mobile technology is in the details. 

Lying matters. While it may poison social discourse, fuel cynicism about the government, and make it difficult to have serious dialogues on the compelling issues, but lying does make it easy for the government to sail through odds. Lie is always knocking on the door of the truth. It seems the door of truth is ripe for lies to get a premium. Should mobile technology, and artificial media, be not given a role to reshape geopolitics and democracy!

First published in www.raagdelhi.com

96. A New Like Never Before

“On July 5, it came as a pleasant surprise. I call it ‘pleasant’ because, in a way, that's how it felt to me. It was around 8:30 in the evening; I had just finished my daily table tennis routine, and before any further plans could be made, something else was about to unfold. I was struck by what they call a ‘neural attack’. A young friend, a colleague from my project work, was speaking to me on the phone when she suddenly sensed that something was wrong - perhaps she noticed a change in my speech. Knowing that I live alone, she did not waste any time. She contacted a few other colleagues who lived close to my apartment in West Delhi, and with their help, she promptly arranged for an ambulance. How I managed to open the door for the ambulance staff and the colleagues who came with them remains a story in itself.

No one knew what was happening, not even me. Had I forgotten to be myself? Yes and no. I knew very little about my own state but strangely could recall every detail of a song that seemed to be playing – whether from the neighborhood or just in my mind, I still do not know. Astonishingly, I could rhythmically recite it in my head. The right side of my body had lost all sense of life. To cut a long story short, I was taken to a private hospital close to my house, and my son who rushed in from Gurgaon, took over. I owe my gratitude to the doctors and medical staff who cared for me during my stay in the hospital.  They sent me back home with the reassurance that I would soon walk and speak properly if I stayed positive and kept up with my physiotherapy sessions. It felt as if a new chapter, a fresh start, had been given to me.

Some might say these 13-14 weeks must have been ‘trying time’ for me. If you ask me, it has been a ‘unique learning’ experience for me. There's no other way I could have learned so much. As I returned to life, I learnt what we often take for granted, is indeed a great learning experience. As a child we picked ‘walking’ as a natural practice that was taught by our parents at a very early age. But relearning it now, is an entirely different experience - it's like adding new motor experiences to my being. The physiotherapist helps the limbs do the needful. It may take time, and I need patience.

Now, the learning for me is at each step. It opens up new avenues for learning. Relationships have gained a new meaning for me, each one now carrying its own distinct significance. While experiences may vary, all relationships acquire a renewed sense of ‘meaning’ and ‘depth.’ Their presence brings sympathy and kind words, which are certainly welcome, but ideally, it should go beyond that. However, it often doesn’t, and this is where the real issue lies. Relationships should transcend mere formalities, or they risk fading away if efforts aren’t made to rebuild them.

Friendship, on the other hand, has many layers and meanings. I never did a permanent job in my life, only short-term commitments but my friend have always stood by me. They even took care of my medical bills, without knowing that they would eventually be reimbursed. Their physical presence over these two and a half months has been incredible; and there are those who enrich my life by daily digital interaction. I have never felt alone. Friends are friends without conditions.

Every friend has contributed and continues to do so. One friend visit me every week, takes me for a long drive and we end our outing with a cup of coffee in a busy shopping mall. It makes me feel like I’m part of the crowd. In fact, the biggest lesson has been learning to appreciate the small things in life. I am still learning, and this is a truly unique opportunity. There are inspiring stories all around, and I feel enriched.

But the story is far from over. There is still so much to learn from this experience. Most importantly, I have realized that there is little point in dwelling on the past. Only by looking forward can we carve out a better future."

First published in www.raagdelhi.com and Outlook India Weekender: Art & Culture Stories, Poem, History etc. Also, as Trying times are learning times (deccanherald.com).

95. The tri-logic of the tripod

Is a tripod a beacon of excellence and innovation? It is said that the tripod approach provides ideas for designing new products, but for most of us a tripod promotes instability. Tripod reflects '3' in numbers, and the three is the cause for uncertainty. Rarely if ever are three friends.

For some reasons, the number '3' is not welcome in social life. Teen Tigada Kaam Bigaada is a popular phrase, which means ‘3’ is the cause for ominous disturbances. People avoid mingling with this number in multiple scenarios, as number three is considered as portent. 

Is everything wrong with ‘three’? Three has more to it than we have understood. It is said that the first time you share tea, you are a stranger. The second time you share tea, you are an honored guest. The third time you share a cup of tea, you become family. 

  

Should it not make us rethink on '3'?

In religion and in science, ‘3’ is a formidable number. If trinity of three gods is a reflection of the divine, the atom with three fundamental particles is the essence of life. Come to think of it, it is the ‘three’ that strikes a distinct balance between ‘creation’, ‘maintenance’, and ‘destruction’. 

One may need to contemplate a bit to get a sense of it. A car is a moving example of how ‘three’ plays a critical role in mobility, with a balance between ‘speed’, ‘brake’, and ‘acceleration’. Imagine, the chaos if there was no gravity to promote deceleration. The analogy of a car reflects how most of us have lost control on our lives.

Finally, we must realize that mind, body and spirit are indeed the tripod of being. 

We can draw philosophical reason by applying the tri-logic at various stages of life. Applying this parable may lead us to appreciate the need for striking a balance between the ‘three’. Trouble is that ‘deprivation’ guides our decisions regarding access to ‘materials’, ‘assets’, and ‘situations’. Balancing act between the ‘three’ is critical for making a sense of meaningful life. 

94. Why do we avoid talking about it?

For the Iranians, talking about death is natural. Since the family often buy burial land, an Iranian friend once told me, that having family picnic on such landed property is but natural. Their only child would often insist on being buried between parents. This reflects cultural acceptance of 'death' as an integral part of life. They consider 'life' to be trapped between 'birth' and 'death', as a package. Death literacy is more of a norm.

But why don't we talk about it when none of us can ever escape it? Are we socially and culturally primed to abstain from it? Do we gain by not talking about it? Perhaps, it is the inherent fear of the known that is bound to dawn on everyone someday.  

Talking about 'death' in our society is taboo, and surprisingly so when death all around. Death as a subject of conversation is a big NO. Even death at a ripe age of 90+ is regretted. It gets talked about after it actually happens, and that too briefly. Yudhisthira had rightly remarked: "The greatest wonder is that everyday death strikes, yet we live as if were immortal."   

Death is permanent and who doesn't know it, but avoiding conversation on it seems an unwritten dictum. Come to think of it, ours is a death-avoidant society in words. 

Primitive societies are known to have celebrated ‘death’, and few instances remain of counting death as a ‘virtue’. If ‘death’ actually means ‘re-birth’, it is said, then why must it not be a cause for celebration? Ironically, rebirth remains more of a myth - an issue worthy of discussion. Not ever is an effort made to read scriptures differently to understand death as an integral part of life.

Whatever be it, can anyone escape the reality of death? Why then avoid talking about ‘death’? Such cultural reluctance to talk about death results in avoiding major decisions - type and need of end-care; organ/body donation; and choice of funeral preferences. Unsurprisingly, India ranks 67 among 85 countries on the Global Quality of Death Index.

Death is not talked about because we all want to live longer. We want to be in control until the very end.  Death is viewed as a realm of human condition, that can be medically avoided. In a landmark work of cultural history ‘The Work of the Dead’ (Princeton Univ Press), Thomas Laqueur examines how societies have cared about the dead, without any effort towards discussing the subject of ‘death’. However, in recent days ‘death cafe’ has emerged in many cities where ‘death’ as a subject gets talked about.

First published in www.raagdelhi.com

93. Is Shame the new normal?

In recent times we seem to be more ashamed of ourselves and our dealings than before. Aren't we ashamed of our looks, our culture, our ethnicity, our sexuality, our poverty, and our politics. Despite warding off words like 'shame' and 'shamelessness' from our lives, these seem to have returned to us with full force. To be sure that it has indeed been so, I checked data generated by Google Books' Ngram which indicates that the use of the word shame, which stayed low in usage till 1980, has risen in usage since then.

What seems notable now is that shame in its present manifestation is not a relic of our 'shame-culture' of the past. It isn't an emotion that two-people used to slug it out on the street as just a personal matter. Instead, we are now getting trapped in some kind of spiral of shame. If one were to agree with author of 'Shame' Professor David Keen at the London School of Economics and Political Science, shame has been integrated into the political economies that produce and reinforce it.    

One can look around to find that shame is playing an especially important role in very disturbing political scenarios. It seems to be more of an opportunity than a problem for leading political leaders. From Trump in the US to Johnson in the UK, from Bolsonaro in Brazil to Duterte in the Philippines, and from Modi in India to Putin in Russia, there are a series of leaders who seem to possess an amazing quality of shamelessness. These leaders appear to have turned shame into a political currency. 

These leaders play a double game by first stirring shame, and then proposing promises to remove it. They do what the market does with the consumer. Market interests both foster and feed a deep underlying shame about everything from our looks to our bodies and the rest of it, and then help us throw off shame by buying and selling magical products. Shame seems to have been used as an instrument to first demoralize people and then make them vulnerable to manipulation.

Come to think of it, shame has worked as a convenient emotion that makes people question their own worth. It stirs deep-seated prejudices that coalse to emerge as a social construct that is more damaging. Though politicians present shame as a spur for improvement of one's life, the reverse is more often the case. Donald Trump is one amongst many who has demonstrated shamelessness many times during his years in power. But there are many more on both sides of the Atlantic emulating him.  

In today's polarized overheated political environment, shame as a social construct has been conveniently used as the go-to attack on one's perceived enemies. The victims of poverty are filled with shame to be its foot soldiers, and those who benefit tend to exhibit shamelessness. Shame and shamelessness work in tandem to create the power of an emotion as a formidable political force with deleterious impact. One only hopes that there is a limit to which shame and shamelessness itself can be sold as an attractive spectacle.  

First published in Outlook on June 15, 2024.

92. Blue with a tinge of yellow

With mercury touching a searing high, swimming pools are back in business. Who would not love to be in blue waters at this time? Barring early afternoons, cooling off in the pool anytime during the day is a bliss, be it in fancy star hotels or pocket-friendly neighborhood pools. But swimmers often wonder if swimming in other people’s pee in the pool is worth the risk. Curiously, no one has ever claimed not to have emptied one's bladder in a pool. After all, when you gotta go, you gotta go! 

The best option is to feign ignorance, counting it as a hidden price for a big comfort. After all, pee is over 95 percent water, and the remainder gets diluted to have any serious effect. Celebrated writer Khushwant Singh found pee silent in swimming pools (as p in psychology) where its diluted presence is silently ensured. A 2012 study published in the International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education had reported that about 19 per cent of people admitted to having peed in a pool. Clearly, an underestimation but good for us.   

To pee or not to pee in a pool is subjective, only the bladder can take the final call. Pee may not be as bad as we might think, however. A British naturopath John W. Armstrong had cured himself by treating 'on nothing but urine and tap water' for 45 days. In urine, he had discovered a system of alternate medicine that his family had long been practicing for treating minor stings and cuts, and which even the Bible prescribed: 'drink waters out of thine own cistern and running waters out of thine own well'. 

In his hugely popular book 'The Water of Life', published in 1944, Armstrong had literally advised his readers not to be pissed off, but instead cajoled them tu pee aur jee - drink and live longer. It gained credence with politicians and celebrities, as much with ordinary souls. While former Indian Prime Minister Morarji Desai added a political tinge to his own perfect medicine, the British actress Sarah Miles immunized herself against allergies for being on her own urine dose for over thirty years.

Having tasted thine own waters, Desai even went to the extent of suggesting pee to be the perfect medical solution for the millions of countrymen who could not afford medical treatment. Not without reason as Shivambu Kalpa, a treatise on the pharmaceutical value of urine, propounds it as an acceptable practice across several societies. Ancient Chinese documents describe benefits of drinking one’s own urine, and people in Africa and the Americas have long used urine for various medical conditions.    

Its medicinal value withstanding, the creative aspect of pee has been explored in Bollywood blockbuster '3 Idiots' where pee only helps to hydrate the screenplay. The very idea of innovation in the script is pitched around this universal saline excretion, which is a good conductor of electricity. Pee is so creatively woven into the script that for once the Hindi-challenged character of Chatur Ramalingam's struggle to find a place for mutra visarjan (urination) through the 180-minute entertainer lands him in real trouble. 

All considered, I have renewed my swimming pool membership.

First published in Outlook on May 26, 2024