Beloo Mehra's Blog, page 16
February 22, 2016
Why Nationalism?
A new post in Current Events
Bharat Mata, by Abanindranath Tagore Lately in India it has become fashionable among some self-styled intellectuals and their unthinking proteges and admirers to say that they don’t believe in the ‘idea’ of nation and nationalism. These can be found saying this sortof thing in some of our university campuses, TV studios, and alsosocial media.
Ironyis that all these self-proclaimed progressives and non-believers in the ‘idea of nation’ might be the first to stand...
February 12, 2016
Saras, That Which Flows: Let the Inspiration Flow
So much is constantly happeningin the life and the world around us. There is so much darkness, so much falsehood, so much ignorance, so much suffering. Within us. All around us. It is so easy to be sucked in by all that. So easy toforget that there is a whole other way of being.
No, not to be unconcerned. But to be concerned in the right way, in a truthful way, in a disinterestedway, in an inspired way.This is the wayof constantly strivingto wa...
February 7, 2016
Enough with the Collective Shaming
A new post in the series: Current Events Disclaimer: In the heat of ideological posturing often we are quick to see a view opposite to ours as something that it is not. Hence the need for this disclaimer. This is not, I repeat, NOT a defense of a much-reported and much-analysed barbaric and horrendous hate crime recently committed by a violent mob in an Indian city. Though the exact details of the crimeare still coming out, it must be emphasised that no one in his/her right mind would or co...
February 5, 2016
A Direct Question
“…India has always shown an incompetence for any free or sound political organisation and has been constantly a divided and for the most part of her long history a subject nation, that her economic system whatever its bygone merits, if it had any, remained an inelastic and static order that led in modern conditions to poverty and failure and hersociety an unprogressive hierarchy, caste-ridden, full of semi barbaric abuses, only fitto be thrown on the scrap-heap among the broken rubbish of th...
January 27, 2016
A Table’s Call
“Things also have a consciousness of their own….The Divine is in things also and that is why they must be treated with care.”(The Mother, 17.05.1955)
I have this small side table at home. It is a lightweight table with simple wooden legs. The charmof the table is in its top, a simple sheet of plywood coveredby handmade paper withsmall dried leaves rolled ingiving it a wonderful texture. Thepaper surface is laminated but in order to further protect it we have placed a sheet of clear glass of t...
January 22, 2016
Of Artist’s Ego, Art for Art’s Sake, Consciousness and More (a non-review of Katyar Kaljat Ghusali)
Source A couple of weeks ago I watched a Marathi film (with English subtitles asI don’t know Marathi) titled,Katyar Kaljat Ghusali (translated, A dagger through the heart). Before watching the film, I didn’t know much about the plot nor had I read any reviews (as per my normal habit), except that I had seen some youtubeclips which made me want to watch it. Likethis (official trailer of the film) and especiallythis,themusic videofeaturing what I think isthe best piece from this musically enthr...
January 17, 2016
Behind the Blog News
As a general rule, I don’t do rants, vents, day-to-day mundane, routine stuff. Not on this blog, nor on my other blog. Just my preference. But once in a while I do a few reflections on my writing practice, some personalobservations on blogging, blog anniversaryposts, or otherupdatesof blog related news. The last behind-the-blog newsupdateI did was in September 2014, so I figured another will not be out of place!
During thelast few months, and especially inthe last few weeksthis blog hasn’t s...
January 7, 2016
Why Give? Or Not Give?
“Donate for a good cause.”
“Your tenrupees a day can pay for apoor girl’s school fee for a year.”
“Buythese gorgeous handicrafts and help build a ruralhealth center.”
“If not for generous donors like you,thisvillage would have no clean water.”
Sound familiar?
Yes, we have all seen such notifications, such solicitationsfor donations and charity. Worded to evoke a certain sentiment, with appropriate picture(s) for complete effect. Such ‘calls for charity’arefound abundantly inall forms of ma...
December 26, 2015
Pause before RIP(ping)
Many years ago, when I first learned how to copy music from CDs on to my laptop, I learned atechnological usage ofthe term ‘Rip’ – to ‘rip’ music off the CD and to save it on the computer hard drive.
Then came my first brush with online social interaction via yahoo groups. I learned a few more online terms and their usages.BTW, IMHO were the two terms that ended up in my vocabulary and came handywhen presenting arguments and discussing issues.
But it was only when I joined Facebook a few year...
December 22, 2015
Welcome to Our New Home
A warm welcometo all ourreadersandvisitors!
At home We are pleased to open up ourblog’s new home to you all. We hope you will stay a while and strollthrough this space to see all that it has to offer.
Our earlier home, which served us well for more than two years is still available for anyone to browse through. Please note thatall the posts from the former blog are alsoarchived here (without the comments).
We are happy to relocate to this new home and look forward to this new journey. We hope...
