A once-every-two-decade conjunction involving the solar system’s two gas giants will give earthbound observers a look at a so-called “Christmas Star” on the winter solstice.

Come sunset Dec. 21 in any time zone around the world, Jupiter and Saturn seemingly will merge into a single bright point of light low in the western sky.

The Great Conjunction of 2020 will yield an expected spectacular astronomical sight involving the two planets unseen in nearly eight centuries.

The two planets have been approaching conjunction — a point when planets or other bodies as seen from earth are near each other in the night sky — all year. That the conjunction is occurring near Christmas Day has given rise to talk about the Star of Bethlehem that the Gospel of Matthew describes in his telling of the birth of Jesus.

As the story goes, the Star of Bethlehem, or Christmas Star, appears in the nativity story of the Gospel of Matthew where “wise men from the East” (Magi) are inspired by the star to travel to Jerusalem. There, they meet King Herod of Judea, and ask him:

“Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.”

Herod calls his scribes and priests who quote to him that a verse from the Book of Micah interpreted as a prophecy, states that the Jewish Messiah would be born in Bethlehem to the south of Jerusalem. Secretly intending to find and kill the Messiah in order to preserve his own kingship, Herod invites the wise men to return to him on their way home.

The star leads them to Jesus’ home in the town, where they worship him and give him gifts. The wise men are then given a divine warning not to return to Herod, so they return home by a different route.

As I am reading a few posts by catholic believers, the current situation is akin to the one that existed in the year Jesus was born – there’s darkness, unrest, misery, death, ignorance – this planetary disposition leading to the formation of Christmas star should clear away all these evils to give back the much awaited happiness to the human race.

This is the first of the posts during the current festive season of Christmas and new year and readers can expect a few more.

As my readers know, I am blessed with the daily thoughts of Mahatria’s thanks to my old acquaintance, who is a devout Mahatria follower and who posts Mahatria’s thoughts every morning, which I eagerly await. While all his thoughts are precious and enlightening, a few are compelling that force me to share it with my blog followers. Like this one he posted a couple of days back that caught my fancy:

The master said

• If you see me as a Guru, you become a Seeker.
• If you see me as a Beloved, you become a Lover.
• If you see me as a Master, you become a Disciple.
• If you see me as a Teacher, you become a Student.
• If you see me as an Incarnate, you become a Devotee.

The Master then clarified,
How you see me does not make any difference to me, but it makes all the difference to you.

Isn’t it a beautiful thought and don’t all of us have this realisation whether the master here is lord almighty or our respected Guru! I would especially like to make a mention of our favourite God, Lord Krishna here, who is worshipped all over in his various manifestations. By virtue of his Bhagvad sermon to Arjuna from Kurukshetra battle field, he’s a universal guru ( with Bhagvad Gita and its message forming curriculum of several universities, including those abroad) , I have seen him becoming the beloved of so many, the way Radha and Meera adored and doted on him. He’s an incarnate of Vishnu, we all know and a teacher is nothing but a modern day version of the earlier guru and student of disciple. We are all devoted to him. However, the reason for taking the specific example of Krishna is another manifestation of his that of Balkrishna or the infant/child Krishna! If you see him as child, you become a parent! A similar example in other religions that immediately comes to mind is that of infant Jesus, who is adored and worshipped.

God has many infestations; the actuality of that manifestation lies in the eyes or feelings of disciple or seeker making him or her to be a seeker, lover, disciple, student, devotee or a parent as the case may be! Beautiful thought!

How about a servant, who is more respectfully called a valet, having a magic wand to solve all the problems, mainly small matters assuming monumental proportions? What about situations arising when the main protagonist is a lazy, laid back, idle member of English aristocracy, surrounded mainly by dim witted friends, termed blighted ? And the problems mainly pertain to the whims of aristocratic uncles and aunts who cannot be offended or ignored for these young lazybones depend on them for their monthly allowances and inheritance of their wealth! There are engagements and broken engagements, love triangles, game of one up man ship, lost and found, misunderstandings, false identities but never any rancour or malice. All is in good humour and ending is always happy for the protagonists and readers!

You must be wondering about the theme of this article. It’s on the current reading I am into – writings of PG Wodehouse ! I have read him before off and on. But during my recent Covid isolation, my attending physician advised me to avoid stress and read, watch and listen to only feel good stuff. So I have been watching nice videos of SPB on YouTube, listening to my favourite old Bollywood songs on Google play and reading P G Wodehouse.

PG Wodehouse’s novels, novellas, stories. his characters – Bertie Wooster, Jeeves, Psmith and uncles and aunts make up a very interesting light hearted read and the humour is subtle, but makes you burst into loud laughter at times. And the beauty of the language and use of quaint English words is to be read to be believed.

I have more than 5000 pages of PGW’s writings on my Kindle and as and when I come across the Master’s uniqueness, I will share the same with my readers.

Some light humour in these dark times is highly recommended.

Years ago, I read somewhere a short poem on our attitudes toward relationships. It read:

When my son-in-law

Takes tea in bed for my daughter

She’s so loving

And he’s so caring!

When my son

Takes tea in bed for my daughter-in-law

She’s so selfish

And he’s spoiling her.

This remains etched in my memory years after I read it because of its stark truth. And this came back to my mind the first thing when I received a forwarded post on my WhatsApp that talked about paradoxes as under:

(1) Moms want their daughters to control their husbands and sons to control their wives.

(2) Everything run by government is very bad except government jobs.

(3) We are always in hurry, but seldom on time.

(4) Holy places are very interesting – poor beg outside and rich inside.

I think there’s nothing paradoxical about the above things and it’s more to do with our attitudes. Every mother herself would have been all other three – a daughter, a daughter-in-law and a mother-in-law and she just needs to remain herself and not to change as per her role.

Government should not run businesses and govt jobs should have same benchmarks like private sector.

Punctuality is a virtue that is as important as honesty and truthfulness. If one wants, he or she can always be on time and I myself am a practising exponent of punctuality.

In front of God, we are all beggars and not everyone may be begging for money – people beg for issue, business, success and mental peace.

Some posts on social media exhort you to think and mull over it. This was one such post.

These days I get quite perplexed. There’s nothing that’s black and white – everything has shades of grey. My humble view is that things can either be good or not good. Or at least can be okay and not as good as originally conceived or expected; however, something which is well intended cannot simply be bad and undesirable.

If the farm bills are so good then why the press, electronic media and intelligentsia of the country are not coming together and cornering the leaders of agitating farmers and the fence sitter politicians. And if it so bad, why the nation is not coming together and forcing the Government to repeal these laws? Why there’s so much confusion, so much bitterness, so much bad blood and above all loss to the farmers for they should be spending this time sowing seeds in their farms, especially now that the God has gifted us with very beneficial winter rains and to the innocent public facing traffic jams?

My fear is that if this bitterness doesn’t end soon, there are anti social elements on the prowl sensing their chances to use this agitation to pursue their nefarious designs. We are hearing about separatists of different hue and colours surreptitiously entering the agitation to add fuel to the fire!

In a democracy, conflict of views is very common and any such instance requires deliberations between the conflicting parties. Also, in a democracy that’s live and breathing, peaceful agitations and demonstrations are bona fide tools to express resentment. But democracy also entails responsibility and sense of duty in addition to sense of right. Anything that weakens nation or national interest requires introspection and re-strategising. Flexibility and to bend a little to conquer are necessary ingredients of democracy. But we are seeing agitations of a different sort where agitating parties show rigidity, inflexibility and above all scant regard for inconvenience to common citizens. We noticed this during Shaheen Bagh sit-in and now seeing farmers doing the same. Worst, this can weaken the nation’s fight against coronavirus!

Government has bent to allay farmers apprehension. Now farmers should also bend a little and give Government an opportunity to demonstrate its intent. If the modified provisions are still falling short of farmers’ expectations, farmers can regroup to resume agitation.

For the sake of our country, let no fence sitter, manipulator, enemy of the country and any such dubious group take advantage of this agitation to weaken our great nation.

We love and respect our farmers and love our country too ! A weak farmer will weaken the country and that will not be tolerable to patriots of this country.

Let’s move ahead! Jai hind!

India is an agrarian country and economy because in spite of urbanisation, a large part of its populace is engaged in agricultural activities and a considerable part of its total GDP is contributed by agriculture. To feed a nation of more than 130 crore is no mean job and look at our markets that are flushed with not only food grains but also fruits, vegetables and other agricultural produce. And this is notwithstanding the fact that agriculture is still largely unorganised in the matters of finance and automation.

It’s to the credit of the farmers that a section of them have done well in their lives. They have mechanised farms and ability to hold on to their produce for the right price. They also have acquired general affluence in life in the form of good homes, vehicles and child/ relative abroad, mainly in Canada. But there’s also a section and mind you this section is in majority that lives in extreme penury, laden with debts and barely making two ends meet. It’s not for nothing that we come across so many farmers committing suicide.

For all the service rendered to the nation, sheer amount of hard work involved in farming and the uncertainties of nature that can spoil fully ripe crops, I have a bias in favour of farmers. I don’t advocate tax on farm income but support frequent waivers allowed by Government in the form of write off of farm loans. This profession simply cannot be equated with other professions and needs to be kept on a separate pedestal meriting preferential treatment.

Obviously, if I hold the above feelings, I cannot be supportive of any politics around their cause. Sharad Pawar might have advocated amendment to APMC acts as agricultural minister and he could be opposing new farm bills now. Congress might have earlier contemplated such bills and could have upped its antenna against the government now. It’s all about the role play. Parties do change their stand depending on whether they are in power or opposition and we should not make too much out of it. Also, labelling all those opposing government stand as traitors or part of tukde tukde gang is anathema to healthy democracy. After all Umar Khalid, Sharjil Imam, Kanhaiya Kumar etc aspire a career in politics and they will reach and support any movement that helps them further their ambitions. I also saw a reference to overseas Khalistani groups extending their support to this movement. That does not make farmers’ movement anti nationalistic.

Farm laws are good for farmers, at least in parts and are progressive. But in democracy no idea can be enforced – it has to be hard sold. A thing can be good only if it’s found good by the targeted audience. If farmers feel that farm bills are not good for them, there’s no fun pushing these bills down their throat. If government’s intentions are noble, it can do so much for all sections of society, not limited only to farmers, without fiddling with constitution or laws of the land!

Jai hind! Long live peasantry the annapuraks of this country!

Idu idu yeh Pallavi

Agram ippo sigram

Ilaya Nila

My readers must be confused whether I have gone berserk? No, in fact all the above are iconic Tamil songs sung or composed by the only one – the legend S P Balasubrahmanyam ! As I grieved his untimely death due to Corona virus, I attempted to explore his work outside Bollywood and was amazed at his repertoire, more particularly in Tamil.

My search on YouTube took me to certain videos concerning the maestro’s 2019 tour of Singapore. Accompanied by ever dependable Chithra and another legend K J Yesudas, it’s a performance by SPB to be seen to be believed. The way he regales and enthrals his audience with his on stage mannerism and antics, but more precisely with his music, is to be seen to be believed. The concert I believe happened at an open ground near CODDISIA converted into a concert hall boasted of excellent setting, stage and acoustics that were the highlights. My search told me that SPB had acted and composed music for Tamil blockbuster SIGRAM, for which KJY sang this immortal song Agram ippo sigram achu composed by now immortal SPB. Towards the end of the song as SPB joins his vocals with KJY, it’s a surreal experience with one master, SPB, bowing to touch the feet of another master, his senior KJY!

SPB’s rendition of Ilya Nila made me ecstatic as it has the same tune as “Neele Neele Amber pe” sung by my favourite Kishore Kumar. Without going into the controversy of whether Tamil version was a copy of Hindi version or vice versa or whether one was reproduced after taking permission from another, rendition by SPB at Singapore concert is a must for all music lovers.

Let me clarify here! Unlike Bangla that I can speak and understand, I do not know even abc of Tamil and all the above songs are just musical journeys for me and not poetic, though my sense is that some of these songs could be poetic masterpieces. I also know that Tamil is not an easy language to understand or learn. But late icon SPB has inspired me now to dwell deeper into his work, especially in Tamil and more specifically that he co-created with another master Illaiyaraja ! My Tamil lessons will start soon but till then nothing can stop me from enjoying these pearls of melody!

This is a follow up blog on my previous blog in which I expressed my relief at the month of November being over in spite of that month being full of events as explained in that blog.

However, as I think further about December, I realise that I underplay the importance of December in spite of so many milestones achieved by me in this month. If I start chronologically, my elder brother got married on the 6th of December, making today his 38th anniversary day, while my first job started on 28th December 1983, which will make this 28th December my 37th work anniversary! My engagement to my wifey dear happened on 3rd December 1987 and the big switchover in my life came when I quit State Bank and joined today’s Axis Bank, then known as UTI Bank on 5th December 1994. My readers might recall that last year was my 25th work anniversary in Axis, I having completed 26 years on this 5th of December.

So it’s not only festive spirit of Christmas and the new year Eve that are main attractions of December, it’s been on the whole quite a happening month in my life as evident from above! I am happy to be in December and like everyone else, await the end of this pandemic year 2020 and the start of mint fresh 2021, which will hopefully bring in lot of happiness and prosperity and take away Corona!

हे कोविड यह तूने क्या किया

छीन लिया हमारा चैन, इतना दुख दिया!

सब कुछ छीन लिया- पर क्या छीना?

गरीब से उसका रोज़गार

मज़दूर से उसका घर बार

रोगी से उसका उपचार &

निरोगी से उसका पूरा संसार #

बच्चों से उनकी पढ़ाई

जवानों से उनकी सगाई %

बाहर घूमना फिरना

दोस्तों से मिलना जुलना

रेस्टोरेन्ट का खाना

फ़िल्में देखने जाना

अपनों से जुदाई

बंद हुई कमाई

और छीना हमारे प्यारों को

कई फ़िल्मी सितारों को

इरफ़ान बालसुबरमणयम तो चले गए

यादें पीछे छोड़ गए

मैं तो खुद भी न बच पाया

कोविड ने मुझे अपना शिकार बनाया

मैंने मास्क पहना और हाथ धोए

फिर भी दिवाली मनाई सोए हुए

न जाने और कितना नुक़सान दुनिया का होगा

जब तक कोविड इस दुनिया से दफ़ा होगा

आशा की किरण तो नज़र आ रही है

लगता है क्रिसमस के बाद फिर ईद और दिवाली आ रही है

Explanatory notes & – Many patients undergoing long term treatment such as dialysis were deprived as hospitals were struggling with Covid patients

# those enjoying good health escaped Covid but lost their near and dear ones to the pandemic!

% Many engagements were broken as marriage prospects became uncertain

Actually, it’s November I look forward for it’s a pretty festive month for me. Apart from Diwali that more often than not falls during November, birthdays of my wife and daughter are other major highlights. Of course, being surrounded by scorpion friends and relatives, November ensures whole lot of action.

However, like the year itself, November 2020 was a month that I would like to forget, though I may not do so in hurry! At the beginning itself, I felt slightly under the weather, a position that consistently deteriorated. I was under high fever on my wife’s birthday and spent the day in bed, while on Diwali day that incidentally coincided with my daughter’s birthday, I tested positive for COVID. That heralded two weeks of home isolation, repeated blood tests and some none too pleasant experiences!

But all is well that ends well! As December starts today, I am almost recovered, raring to take a plunge into my day to day routine. I have dressed for my office, though for 2 more weeks at least, it will still be work from home. Medicines, except for some vitamins and supplements are almost finished and the heart is again looking forward to some pleasurable moments! Of course, spirit of Christmas only adds a bit of zip to the life!

The debilitating effects of Covid will be felt in the body for a few more weeks, but spirit is ready to sore again – in anticipation of good times, Christmas, new year and the end of the pandemic!