Sharmishtha Basu's Blog: Sharmishtha Basu writes, page 192
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Agnishatdal Boisakh (April) critique by Troy David Loy
Agnishatdal Boisakh 1424 Review by Troy David Loy
https://exohumanjournal.wordpress.com/,
Rabindrajayanti 9.5.17:
So, the 9th of May (Indian date) is the iconic polymath’s birthday! I have a few Ingreji translations of his works, and know of his famous meeting with Einstein when the two discussed science, philosophy and spirituality, a true meeting of minds! May the great scholar remain always in the hearts and minds of those around the world as a tribute to humanity!
Jamini Roy:
Now here was a painter of some note. His innovations on traditional art styles make his work especially interesting!
Budapest Missives:
Juliette here gives an account of her youth in Hungary. How fascinating to those of us unlucky enough never to leave their country of origin, at least in their early years!
Dear Zindagi:
Sweta writes a letter of thanks and appreciation for the meaningful things in life, that made and make it worth living indeed for her.
I Am Watching. I Am Citizen Null:
Our new arrival, Citizen Null, offers a stern commentary on the state of his country. I’m interested to see what more he has to say.
Red Heels Pt. 2:
Brieue continues from last issue with this narrative tour of the bright side of life in smalltown America from a shoe aficionado.
Haunting:
A notably interesting image and missive by Eleanor Leonne Bennett –
fascinating work!
Cultivation:
Excellent food for thought by Swati on the power of thoughts over perceptions, selfperceptions, and suffering.
Praise:
Wendell offers a paean to devotion. Good use of form. Excellent phrasing, and without use of rhyme; that would have hindered the message.
Tenali Raman And The Vidooshak:
Raghunandan tells the story of a plot to bring down a wise man using a king’s court jester. I love that Raman so easily bested them despite being forced by circumstances to play along!
Lost outside looking in:
Dom offers some brief but poignant verse.
Treats of the Month:
The Rainbow Horizon – Karen S. Cole:
Here, Karen talks about her book, with an interesting cast of characters and lots of satire.
Hemdiva Dev’s interview was illuminating, showing her talent for prolific storytelling. Her energy for writing is to be admired!
KJ. Yesudas: The Celestial Singer:
A remarkable voice this man has! I’m listening to one of his songs as I write this. I could never match this level of vocal skill!
This month’s recipe should be a quick preparation once I can get the ingredients. I have a friend who knows how to make it, has made it, and has all of the needed spices to boot! This will be tasty!
Creator’s Quill:
The rookie:
A cute story about a young spider learning the ropes to proper spiderin’.
Thus Spake Hypocritananda:
An enjoyable new installment. Especially so, as the worst evils often get free rein, not by the actions of evil people, but by the silence of good ones!
India This Month – Biosakh 1424
And so, the new year begins! May it be better than the last (and fewer good people die, too)! With both poila boisakh and Rabindrajayanti to celebrate this month, Bongs have much to keep busy! With Buddhapurnima falling afterwards, and then…May Day followed by the hot, sweltering doomy doom of summer!
Pieces of Past: Gautam Buddha:
The life of the founder of Buddhism, both in history and shrouded by legend, happened in an interesting time, when new movements and philosophical awakenings were going on around the world. It’s no surprise to me that many of Buddhism’s mindfulness techniques are used today, and adapted for modern life.
That’s it for now! I await the Jyeshtha issue!
Agnijaat Boisakh (April) critique by Troy David Loy
Agnijaat Boisakh 1424 Review by Troy David Loy
https://exohumanjournal.wordpress.com/,
Indian Raga Now:
Irrfan Khan and Nawazuddin Siddiqui… here are two actors worth watching. The four others noted are more established, but worth checking out just the same! Good stuff, as I’ve seen some of their movies on YouTube.
Spotlight On Shivkumar Sharma:
This is…cool! I’m listening to recordings of his as I write this. His santoor playing is absolutely marvelous! I must also check out his partner’s music! I’ll make that tonight while writing.
Nurjahan:
This woman, who reined in, possibly being one of the factors the brought about the end of the Mughal empire. What a remarkable human being!
Other side of the **** world:
Bloodhounds: Privacy is a big issue in today’s Internet, and so is the intrusiveness of editing programs. Some good warnings of what to expect when interacting online.
Caste System 4:
Offering government stipends to the socio-economically disadvantaged sounds like a good idea, along with better educational opportunities without quotas. This I think is worth considering, at least trying out to see if it works, though my hopes aren’t high that it will be implemented!
Nature @Kolkata in Biosakh:
From dangerous storms to sweltering heat, summer is NOT a good season there, even dangerous without air conditioning or a sturdy constitution.
Clear your attic:
An uncluttered, clear, and healthy mind is a good one, and much more useful than when it’s filled with detritus. Maintain it well, and it will serve you well.
Bhakti Saints: Madhavacharya:
born in medieval India during the 13th century, this man had some interesting views on the nature of souls and God. I’ll have to pour through my podcasts on Indian philosophy to get a more thorough look at them.
Story Time:
Unique rebellion:
This is a fun one that I’ll enjoy reading in its entirety. Humorous, with commentary of human exploitation of our own private moments on film!
Jewels of Madhulipi:
A really cool ghost story, with a surprisingly happy ending! excellent!
Nabobarsho:
With the onset of the new year in Bengal, there is much to celebrate and many ways for celebration. Much more colorful and interesting than New Year’s Day in the West!
Let us begin:
I loved the images and verse of this section! Among my favorites are One, Three, Four, Six, while the image for Two, the story from Five and the narrative from Seven: ‘To stay or to leave’ stood out as well. I love it when an artist evolves her craft!
Thus Spake Hypocritananda:
Good commentary in verse form!
I look forward to the Jyeshtha issue of Agnijaat!
Agnishatdal Jyeshtha (May) critique by Troy David Loy
Agnijaat Critique for Jyeshtha 1424
By Troy David Loy
https://exohumanjournal.wordpress.com
Nazrul Birthday: as someone who suffered tremendously, while producing such wonderful songs, Kazi was quite accomplished in a tragic way. Yet he brought forth such amazing music, some of which may be found on this playlist: https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=a9Vsdd9DIZI&list=RDa9Vsdd9DIZI#t=0
M.S. Subbulaxmi: I’ve listened to her music while reviewing the twins, and she was quite talented. I should watch a few of her earlier movies, and see her acting talents i full. Quite the songbird, this one!
Budapest Missives 2: Thoughts of a Budding Artist: Juliette here expresses misgivings that many artists have toward their own work. It’s called Imposter Syndrome, but as she suggests here, it can be overcome.
6 gateways to a worth reading article: Sweta offers some sound ideas for good articles, of the sort that sometimes ‘goes viral.’ My favorite, of course, is Catchy Title, as that’s the first part of any article that people see. But the others are no less important!
Red Heels Pt. 3: The story continues as the heroine encounters a photography aficionado with cameras older than hers!
Need Again: Eleanor offers an evocative image and missive on her photography work.
In disguise: Swati gives an account of her father, with a poem expressing her admiration and gratitude.
A cure for baldness: Horrors! A raja is going bald, so what is he to do? A clever young man enters the picture with an eye toward curing the potentate’s malady in a most unexpected way!
Twisting by the pool: Dom gives a short verse on the heat of summer, and the wonders of swimming pools.
A happy belated birthday for Swati and Sweta, and I hope it was glorious!
So too, a wonderful belated birthday to Juliette! May it have
Diva Dev interviews Sharmishtha Basu: an interesting talk, in which Diva shows her interview-fu with insights into the writing processes of the Twins creator.
Bhupinder Singh: too bad that he’s distanced himself from music, but as I listen as I write this, he’s got an amazing voice. Here’s a collection: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_sOuyLLEzY
Jyeshtha Recipe: Machher Jhaal – Spicy Fish: sounds tasty, looks tasty in my mind’s eye. I’ll have to give this one a try when friends are over for a gathering.
The bottle: a cute story, and a warning on taking extraordinary claims at face value; when it sounds too good to be what it says, it probably is!
Bhandananda Uvach 2: Some good commentary in verse, on the things said by authoritarian politicians to stir up discontent and nationalist fervor.
Bengal This Month: So, the birthday of a famous poet is celebrated this month, as is the festival of Jamaishashthi for those guys lucky enough to be sons-in-law – getting treated like a king by your bride’s family, what could be cooler!
India this month: With two more festivals celebrated this month, and this time throughout India no less!
Pieces of Past: Mahaveer: a fascinating link in the history of religion in India. The Jains stand out as a religion by reason of their code of strict nonviolence.
That’s it for this month, and I’ll see you once again in Ashar!
Agnijaat Jyeshtha (May) critique by Troy David Loy
Agnijaat Critique for Jyeshtha 1424
By Troy David Loy
https://exohumanjournal.wordpress.com
Indian Raga Now: Hindi vs Bengali: some thoughts on movie genres and the filmindustries they come from. A fascinating take!
Spotlight on Hariprasad Chaurasia: an amazing flute player, this man is. I’ve foundsome of his music here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=5wjJ3hpVO0k&list=RD5wjJ3hpVO0k#t=26
Marry or NOT: Some thoughts here on the dark side of marriage in India…
Caste System 5: a social system being gamed by politicians for their own purposes, in using scheduled castes for their (ethically) dirty work.
Nature @Kolkata in Jyeshtha: This could be a fun month, if you’re a son-in-law or you like mangoes and watermelons, though for my purposes I prefer icecream as mangoes aren’t cheap in my locale!
BHAKTI SAINTS: Vallabhacharya: a proponent of a non-dualistic Bhaktivad, living from the 15th to 16th centuries, he held philosophical views worth a closer look and further examination.
Story Time – Cirruska and the little girl, Breaking free: two cute stories from a pair of tobe- rereleased books,
Child of woods and Tell me a story
The verses this month were fun, but Five was a short story that stuck out as especially amusing in content, but deeper in the question it raised: how do we really know when we are awake and when we dream?
This month’s theme was inspiration, and ‘Seven: To do or not to do’ offered a nice take on that.
That’s it for now. I’ll see you again in Ashar
Agnishatdal Ashar (june) critique by Troy David Loy
Agnishatdal Ashar 1424 Critique by Troy David Loy @ https://www.amazon.com/author/troyloy
Santidev Ghosh:
I’m listening now as I type this, and find his music amazing. While my grasp of Bengali is still somewhat wanting, the intonation, rhythm, and less measurable qualities of his singing place him in my view among some of the greatest performers of his style of his day. Perhaps when my ability with the language is bettered, I’ll be in good position to enjoy it in full. I found a link after a quick search of his name here:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwLeG19I5Ds The devotion to his teacher marks him as a far more diligent student than many at this point, and his inspiration by Tagore to so carry on his style apparent in his performances.
Sunil Manohar Gavaskar:
I’ve not watched cricket before, but found a recording from a game near the end of his career here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EMEGQWfZ0s Despite my naivete about the game, I can say that it’s impressive to see him play on the field, and his sportsmanship is evident.
Budapest Missives 3: The Problem with Race:
Juliette makes a good point here, that fear and reviling of the Other doesn’t have to be universal even in nations where it’s common and accepted. We all have our likes and dislikes of certain categories of people, but this is not something that absolutely must be: we can do something about it, to not be the slaves of the more primitive parts of our brains, to not be so motivated by our instinct for tribalism that we lose sight of what makes us more alike than different.
Red Heels Pt. 4:
Our heroine exchanges cameras and pictures with her person of interest, a man with a shared penchant for vintage photography and morning coffee with not-so-strangers. The mention of Rilke was interesting, as I’ve read little of his work, something that may be worth looking up, in English, as the closest I come to knowing any German is the pseudonym of one of my cats, Herr Rickmeister Fluffenhoffer.
Time stands still:
Eleanor offers a beautifully evocative image of what looks like a possibly abandoned storefront with a young boy before it preoccupied with something unknown to the viewer on the sidewalk. Good b&w rendition, as that has a starkness that reveals contrasts that many color shots do not.
A Family Crisis:
Raghunandan tells a humorous story of a gathering at dinner with a ten-year old girl’s confession to her family of something not so scandalous as it at first seems. Knowing some of Raghunandan’s previous writing, I expected some kind of twist to this, and wasn’t disappointed. But just what it was turned out to be wholly unexpected, and a good surprise at the end.
Love deeper than the night:
A short verse, both poignant and economical in size, evokes love in one of its many forms using the metaphor of a strong caffeinated beverage to drive home its point.
Happy birthday to both Raghunandan and Sharmishtha this month! I’d like to offer my best to each of you on completion of another lucky trip around the Sun! May there be many more and be at least as good to you if not better! A happy birthday this month to actress Meryl Streep and to tennis player Leander Paes as well!
Gulzar:
As a songwriter, this man seems quite accomplished. I’ve listened to this: https://
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1h_gfnGTZ0 from the movie Khamoshi. Lovely stuff, even without fully “getting” the lyrics. Then again, with his more playful approach to the lyricist’s art, maybe I’m missing the point! Another was here: https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=Wu7JsGN2wHo
This month’s recipe,
for lobster curry, sounds absolutely delightful. Lobster is a treat for me, so this will be good for special occasions. I may be able to find many if not most of all of the ingredients in conventional grocery stores. I’ll gather those as they are available and I can competently prepare them, then cook this, maybe with the help of a local friend with experience in Indian cooking, and I think I know just who… *looks at Christopher in mind’s eye*
All peachy: All peachy on the desert front!
This looks like a fun story, with Mr. Green and Miss Grey, both misleading each other about their species in this cute little romance. I suppose there are benefits to avoiding a predator/prey relationship when it’s online and there would be that awkward incompatibility of species otherwise! This looks to me well worth the pitance of $1.00.
Bhandananda Uvach 2: Thus spake Hypocritananda:
A good point about government and the odd failure of politicians professing religious motivations who nonetheless act contrary to the actual teaching and values of the faith. I see the same thing here with American politics, though focused on pseudo-Evangelical Christianity rather than Hinduism.
Kagaje ankibuki – Lines on paper, and Kash – If only!
Beautiful verse the two of these, in both Bengali and Ingreji. Good use of form, economy of wording, and of course the ever-graceful Bangla script!
Rathyatra:
Interesting! I’ve seen some of the videos currently online, and here’s a link to one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFiQwPW7zpk I’ll warn you beforehand, there may be issues with getting this one to stream!
India this month:
With four festivals this month, including Rath Yatra, along with Eid ul Fitr, Gurupurnima, and Nagpanchami, there is much to celebrate. And though snakes are cool, I have more respect for teachers than I had in my school years, so Gurupurnima would probably the festival of choice!
Pieces of Past: Alexander’s Invasion:
Alexander was one of the more fascinating kings of his day. I’ll add that he was tutored by none other than the philosopher Aristotle himself, and may have furnished his old teacher with biological specimens of plants and animals from India as well as from his other conquests. I definitely agree that despite other mistakes by the British in India, unifying it under one administration was one of the good things they did!
Well, this concludes this months critique, and I’ll see you next with the reviews for Shraban, 1424!
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