Can't You Take A Few More Steps

Recently a friend of mine asked his sister whether she couldn't take a few steps to help him out. It happens that she had done plenty for him in the past.

I was reminded of a scene in the old Tamil movie Sumai Thangi where L Vijayalakshmi tells her brother Gemini Ganesan, the hero of the movie, that he has done so much for her in the past. When I thought she would then consider repaying him, she requests her brother to do her one more favor.

This idea of asking one more favor after many or taking a few more steps after many is something i haven't been able to digest. It comes easily to some people, especially to people who are generally very empathetic!

Children Want It. (I don't)

I was watching a reel today. It shows a mom telling dad that it's mother's day and that the children, two young boys, want to present an expensive necklace to the mother. The father is convinced by everyone, much to his irritation, that he has to go to the mall to purchase the necklace that the boys want to present to their mom on mother's day. Of course the mother is doing it all for the boys, not for herself. 

This reminded me of a discussion i had with a female friend who was a Hindi teacher. She told me one day that that particular year was very hard on her then seven year old daughter and she had been telling her husband to take them all to a nice hill station, Kodaikanal, for the summer. 

I told her it was expensive to go to and stay in Kodaikanal and asked her if it was really necessary. She said it was absolutely. The child really needed a break. 

I suggested that her husband could take her daughter to Kodaikanal and she could stay home instead, considering that it was the daughter who badly needed a break and that she herself, just like the mother in the reel above, wasn't keen about it for herself.

Guess what my friend's reaction was to my suggestion that husband and child could go without her. "A ha ha ha, why should I not go?"

Whether it's a necklace or Kodaikanal or maintenance for the child in their custody, they can make a good case for "it's not for me at all, it's for..." Now the final question over which i have lost all my hair: At what age do women learn to project their own needs on somone else?

Being In Someone's Shoes

I am back here after a long break. Many things happened in those years. I have changed a little i guess in those years. Maybe I will write about events that happened then.

Now let's come to today's post!

A friend of mine lost her family, consisting of her parents and a brother, one by one. She was the only earning member in her family. Some acquaintance of hers remarked to her (my friend's) employer that my friend had gone through a very difficult time and managed it pretty well. 

To this the boss responded that anyone in my friend's position could and would have done the same thing. And hence there was nothing remarkable in what my friend did. 

Probably true what the boss lady said. Anyone who went through the same circumstances as my friend perhaps would have done the same thing. And maybe what my friend did wasn't remarkable. 

Just as anyone in Sachin Tendulkar's shoes would have achieved what he did. Anyone in Mahatma Gandhi's shoes would have done what he did. Anyone in Bill Gates's or Jeff Bezos' shoes would have done exactly what they did 

No big deal. 

I have a question here for the boss. What is a big deal? 

Whom Do We Trust

I came across this: APNews being the trusted source of news for half the world. 

And there is Truth Social which also is read and trusted by half of America, the Republicans. Truth Social is Trump's own Twitter like platform.

Are APNews and Truth Social at the same level and alike then? Imagine if the CEO of AP News and Trump were both invited to be felicitated for adhering to the highest standards of truth! 

I am reminded of a comedy scene in a Tamil movie where a beggar, waiting for some money from a vegetable shop owner, finds himself standing next to a police constable who has come to the shop for hafta ("wet his beak" in Mafia terms) - both of them being shooed away by the shop keeper who is busy attending to his paying customers!

Having half the world read your news or listen to you is hardly a great thing. Truth Social does that too. I wish APNews would try to differentiate itself from Truth social.

Trump's Election Interference

I can think anything that may not be true. And I can say untruths because I have a right to freedom of speech.

Based on that thought and words of mine I can allege anything. And incite others with my words to take any action, even illegal ones.

If people claim what I said was wrong and that my actions of incitement to violence was wrong, I can claim that I acted on advice of my counsel.

I do not recognise the concept of right or wrong. A man's purpose is to win. Losing is not an option.

I am not accountable for any words or actions of mine. I will continue to fight until I get what I want.

Math Puzzle - Instagram Series

The question was shared on Instagram by the handle @maths.puzzles__. The puzzle states, "Only 2% of students solved this question. 5+3+2= 151022, 9+2+4= 183652, 8+6+3= 482466, 5+4+5= 202541 Then 7+2+5 =?"

Guess The Direction Of The Train

This photo was taken in a train sleeper compartment in the morning. The train was going from Moradabad to Lucknow. Was the train moving to the left or to the right? Explain.

Map showing Moradabad and Lucknow (both circled in red pen). Regular Map pointing North

Beautiful Thought and Beautiful Emotion

I was thinking of the difference between a beautiful emotion and a beautiful thought.

This is a Beautiful jathi someone choreographed. Look how it is.

Now this is an Excel sheet i choreographed.

See how beautiful it is.

What is the learning here? 

An emotion is exceptional if it moves your heart. 

A thought is exceptional if it serves a purpose, solves a problem. The sheet above may be an Excel jathi but not a useful one.

An expression of emotion can be beautiful. A thought is never beautiful. That's not the purpose of a thought.

If a thought seems beautiful, it was actually an emotion.

A person strong in emotions can create beauty and elegance. A person strong in thought cannot.

Interesting Attachments -2

 

Lovely voice and pretty.

Satellites in the sky. Photos of Earth. Climate change 

Additional reading 

• https://vbala99.blogspot.com/2022/12/interesting-attachments.html
  

Evaluating A Dance

• https://www.facebook.com/reel/569972608529840?mibextid=rS40aB7S9Ucbxw6v
• https://m.facebook.com/reel/884798165938044/

These are videos of classical dances. Both are youngsters, informally dressed. 

And I watched each video twice: once with audio on and once without audio. 

I think this is essential. 

We should evaluate a singer without looking at what she is wearing, what she is emoting, how she looks etc. This is in stark contrast to the opinion espoused by the author here. https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/apr/19/fashion-fabrics-and-fishtails-why-we-need-to-talk-about-what-female-classical-performers-wear#comment-155980075

In the same way while evaluating a dance as shown in the videos at the top, it is essential that the person be wearing ordinary dress and that we switch off the audio and experience the dance. So our response is only for the quality of the dance. And not distorted by a good audio or by good dress or good stage effects.

Look at these two dances with and without audio and see how they are.

• https://www.facebook.com/saregama/videos/126100323764637/?mibextid=rS40aB7S9Ucbxw6v
• https://www.facebook.com/saregama/videos/3369958223244788/?mibextid=rS40aB7S9Ucbxw6v