Ancient Indian sages and even western saints strongly believed in the power of prayer–mantra in the language of India. Children down the ages have been entertained by stories –and adults too in the secret cockles of their hearts–of good fairies and bad fairies; witches and wizards; tantrics and mantrics.  Look at the popular fantasy fiction for adults and children and you need no further proof that there is a fascination with the power of the word!

The bible begins with a reference to a mantra!  “In the beginning there was the word and the word was God”. Vedas say that “OM” was the word of creation–the pranava mantra–and all creation emerged from OM.  Even today, saying Amen, Om, Amin are integral to the vocabulary of prayer.  These words are mantras that have been handed down to us by our forefathers and fathers and are said to endow you with the power of creativity and energy to excel.

Science too is fast reaching the conclusion that sound has creative energy.  The scientists have discovered that everything in the universe vibrates with a subtle sound.  This sound seems to be pervasive and enters our bodies, alters our blood pressure, breathing, muscle tension and skin temperature. Experiments with music have proved that healing can be accelerated with use of music therapy. The repetitive use of “om” also creates a vibration that is beneficial for healing.

If all this is true, are we being rational in refusing to believe in Mantra?

English Literature students too (who may have read the original plays), cannot claim familiarity. Most of them are caught up in famous critical interpretations of the work rather than the work itself!

A popular joke that used to do the rounds in our literature classes truly illustrates the state of Shakespeare studies in colleges in India and abroad. The joke was–if Shakespeare were to attend classes on Shakespeare, he would be the only one to fail the year end examination as he would be bewildered with the interpretations of his text!

Having said all this, what kind of introduction to Shakespeare is this post going to offer? Well, to use the cliched phrase, let us begin at the beginning and re-introducte/introduce (as the case may be) ourselves to the bard and his works in very general terms.  Perhaps with the next posts we can worm our way into the heart of the bard?

Shakespeare was a man who understood mankind. He understood the impulses of the people around him in near absolute terms. In fact, his plays underline the universal truth that “human nature never changes”.  Love, hate, anger, jealousy, lust, greed, betrayal (and all the shades of emotions in between) spring forth with the force and energy of yore in the hearts of men and women eternally. So, why should the characters in his plays be any different? He represented man (and woman) as he found him (her).

Therefore, it is not surprising that Shakespeare’s comedies are tragically comic and his tragedies are comically tragic! He laughs at the follies of men and is saddened by the consequences of their folly.  Antonio or Bassanio provoke tense laughter as the audience waits with bated breadth for the looming tragedy–consequent upon their “humanness”–to manifest and miraculously find a resolution.  A Lear or a Macbeth evoke sympathetic pain as their emotions carry them beyond reason and  they descend to the level of being comically tragic as their bizzare responses to the situation and their worldview borders on madness.

Has the foregoing commentary on the bard made you any wiser? I am sure it has not!  So what must be done?  Watch this page for further inputs!

–Dr.Vanitha Vaidialingam, Phd, IRS(retd)

I am currently grappling with three different topics that interest me. One the literary theory of Saussure, Lacan, Barthes and others. I am doggedly reading the translations of the works of these writers even though I need multiple readings to make sense of them. Finally, I am getting a glimmer of what they are talking about and am getting immensely interested in what they have to say. I am also attempting to apply their theories to literary works!  A challenging and interesting task. Very intellectual!

I am also reading a wonderful novel by a Japanese writer in English called Kazuo Ishiguro called The Remains of the day.  The writer has wonderfully captured the essence of what “buttlership” (if you forgive my coining of this word) implies.  A copy of the novel is available online (in docstoc or is it scribd?–I am not sure). Truly relaxing!

I am also working out the nuances of contract law and bombarding myself with  topics like “invitation to treat”, “postal delay in contract law” and so on and so forth till I am getting a little cross eyed with the effort. Absolutely legal! Keeps my mind live and kicking.

Of course, I cannot complain that my life is drab and dull and lacks variety.  Will perhaps translate the results of all my efforts into little articles that may be of interest to you all?

Why do I do all this?  I like being an intellectual.  In fact I revel in it.  What comes out of it?  A lot of writing practice and of course a number of new creative ideas for books that I plan to write sometime in the future (only the future seems very dimly distant at the moment).   Some of the work may also find a way into literature journals and law journals and law journals.

I think I began to blog because I felt that I had a lot of information that I would like to share with others. I also felt that it would give me good writing practice as I am a writer by profession.  I was however, not very sure that anyone would want to read what I had to write.  Surprisingly, there are at least 60+ people out there who visit my blog and read it whether I have posted anything new or not.  Now I think I have another reason not become a drop out.  I have a readership who really find my blogs interesting enough to visit daily and read up. I owe something to them.

Blogging is generically very close to dairy writing. Of course you write your most secret thoughts in the diary and keep it under lock and key hoping no one else will get sight of the things you tell your diary about your fellowmen.  A blog on the other hand is an open diary. You write about everything that you are interested in and can be as democratic as you like about your readership.  Of course, you will not share your innermost thoughts and you secret cravings with your fellowmen? Yet, there is a satisfaction that there is someone out there who shares your interest and you feel joyful about reaching out to them.  I wonder what psychologists have to say about blogging?

To come to the meat of the question, I asked in the title–What is so addictive about blogging? The question follows: “Am I an addict?” Well No. I find that I can really live without blogging. It is not like diary writing. I am not searching for a confidant. I think I am reaching out to friends, like minded people who are interested in what I am interested in. One is not obssessed with one’s friends. It is just nice to have them around and have an occassional relaxing chat with them. I think my blogging fell off, because I am a healthy human being with a healthy work appetite. Sometimes I put work before friends and the need to reach out takes a back seat when work holds my attention.  Therefore, while I do not feel guilty about not continuing to blog, I do feel remorseful that I have not shared sometime with my 60 odd friends out there, who hang out at my blog hoping for a glimpse of me.

Perhaps, if I were depressed and unhappy, blogging could become a kind of addictive and I may end up blogging to myself or using my blog more as a diary than as a blog. Perhaps, I would find comfort in my readership and may even obssess about the number of people who visit my blog on a daily basis and worry if there is a drop in readership and so on…I hear people find pleasure in committing online suicide because the number of people who “like” you has changed or dropped or what not…. Even for them blogging is not an addiction–it seems more like a lifeline. They would drown if you prevent them from blogging. It is not merely a question of de-addicting them.

Business blogs are a whole new ball game. They are bloggers who are blogging for survival; to prove that they are better than their competition or just advertising as blogs attract readership. For them, blogging is a necessary adjunct to their business and not an addiction.

So, what is all this talk about addiction to blogging? I do not know. If you do know people who are addicted about their blogging do find out why and share it with us. Contact us using the contact form on http://www.consult4content.com and give us the meat on why someone finds blogging addictive.

Looking out of the window one is awed into silence as the landscape changes with every mile. Mountains, rivers, dry fallow lands, jungles of thorn bushes, small villages that totter on the verge of collapse, cities where the train tracks are considered open toilets, glimpses of towering luxury apartments, silent heritage buildings in the horizon, churches, mosques, wayside temples and what not…. You turn your eyes away from the scene and you would find a dozen  curious eyes fixed on you expectantly–humans who know that they have to share the next 18-36 hours with you and would like to know what makes you tick. They will not hesitate to ask you the most embarrassing personal questions.

The interrogation begins innocuously enough:

Are you a native of x or y? No? Are you going all the way? No? Where will you get off? Why are you going there? Where will you go from there? and so on…

Then would come the next level of questioning. Are you married? How many children? what are they doing? Do you work? Does you spouse work? Do you have in-laws staying with you? How many brothers and sisters you have?  …

Deeper still. Was your’s an arranged marriage? No? Wow, love marriage? Tell me all about it!  You were divorced? Your fault or your spouse’s? …….

Of course, this is interspersed with a lot of information about themselves–it does not matter that you do not ask questions. If they have a right to know about you, you have a right to know about them!!  Logical eh?

While this exercise lasts  for a good two or three hours( –there are generally six passengers per unit and this makes it a fertile ground for investigation), the “confidantes” feed each other with whatever eatables they have brought with them for the journey or buy from the vendors passing to and fro.  Once everyone has been “throughly” introduced to everyone else, matters of general interest are permitted to take over. Someone holds forth on politics; another holds forth on music.  It does not matter that either of these people have nothing to do with the subject in their daily lives and would not dare to speak about it in other forums! Who is to question their authority?  The shaking coaches have shaken their reticence about unknown subjects and they feel that it is ok to pretend authority for the tenure of the journey.  Arguments, contradictions and even categorial assertions on impossibles, are wholly possible. No one cares. It helps bear the tedium of the journey and everything is OK in this confined world. After all, journeys end will diperse the companions and memories are short. Unimportant discussions drain out of the mind as the journey ends and one is free to move forward in life…..

Horrified? If you are pure British you would be. If you are American, you are expected to be friendly. If you are Indian, you are expected to be a bosom companion–irrespective of the fact that you may have lost your roots and are a British Indian or an Indian American. The Desis will have their tools ready to dig into you and turn your out…After all train gains are spiritual experiences that should not be missed…..Indian Railways is an effective platform!

So, if you are planning a trip to India for appreciating India as it lives in the masses or to gain some spiritual insights, take a train journey…. You will not regret it?

Are you turning away with a shrug “That is fishy. Perhaps they have an explanation?”  You bet they do.

The Department insisted that the news was erroneous and the employees had reported for work. The attendence was being maintained manually because they could not use the biometric system.

The reason for non use?  They do not have fingerprints.

What?

Oh me!  Where have their fingerprints gone???

Senior members of the management say,  “Several of these employees have diabetes melitus and the disease has destroyed their fingerprints. Hence they were unable to report for duty using the biometric system.”

Really, this is perfectly logical. If they don’t have fingerprints how can they report for duty on the biometric system?

While you laugh uncertainly with the crowd about the explanation, you are perhaps entertaining a sneaky little thought about the scientific plausibility of the explanation? Does diabetes really erase fingerprints?

You can say, this is news to the medical world. Doctors are baffled and scientists are stunned. This observation should be made the basis for a honest scientific enquiry.   Or shall we entrust the research to a student and get him a PhD on the topic? He would have a readymade clinical evidence on which to base his reasearch!  After all, someone needs to gain something out of this new understanding.

One doctor has hastily and vociferously denounced the observation. He is reported to have exploded loudly with a single word–”Nonsense!”  The larger medical world is yet to validate or deny the findings of the organization. After all we did not believe Copernicus when he said that the earth was not the center of the universe and even imprisioned him as a heretic.

The question remains: What happens next?

Let us wait and watch. Do remain tuned in on the developments.

Well, creativity and innovation can be a natural outcome of associating with all that is beautiful and attractive.  Being creative about the unattractive is the challenge. Do you agree?  Being creative about a dustbin is a challenge that I decided to take head on.  So, join me in lovingly dwelling on the dustbin!

Title: Dustbins that make a fashion statement

Body: Beautifully decorative and specatacularly clean interiors are exquisite examples of meticulous planning.  If you are decorating, forget the loud colored plastic configurations we use for dustbins and consider the discreet wooden waste disposal systems that blend with the decor and are available at hand for those who seek to throw away their rubbish. Cigarette butts,  lipstick stained tissues or even the efforts at poetic erudition that end up as screws of paper must find their way into handily located wooden dustbins that are fashionable and discreet.

Modern dustbin manufacturers are conscious of the importance of this little piece of furniture and go that extra mile to create them with mahogany, oak, rosewood or any other kind of wood that complement the decor.  Dustbins today make a fashion statement.  Premium grade wood hand rubbed to wearable grain densities could enhance your decor. Tambour design wooden wastebaskets made from natural oak, mahogany, stained walnut, genuine walnut, natural cherry or dark cherry could add meaning to the corners of your room.

Place your dustbin right next to your office desk or nestle it amidst the flora and fauna in your room! The shapes and sizes of these wastebaskets can be tailored to match the varied needs of the allocated space. A 24 quart square basket or a round basket that has a 16 inch diameter or a 13 inch one can add the right touch to the furnishings.

Make your fashion statement even with the dustbin you use for the rubbish!

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Voila! Was that creative enough? If I have succeeded in making you want to buy a little wooden waste basket to blend with the paneled decor of your room, I have been creative!

It is said that “human nature never changes”. At the core of every tale are human beings. They love and hate; give and take; create and destroy; hope and despair and experience all the emotions that we do today. There is also the eternal triangle of love that dominates this tale–be it love for another human being or love for a nation or concept. So, though the tale is retold, the story does not seem old.  We can still experience and empathize with the characters. We can relate to the situations and concur with their decisions. Old wine in new bottles are completely palatable.

“What about creativity?”–You may ask. Being creative is not merely creating new characters and situations. You can be wonderfully creative interpreting and retelling the tales told by Shakespeare!  Every time As You Like It  is played in the Globe theatre or elsewhere, the actors are giving creative interpretations of the characters, the director is creatively directing the play or the viewer is creatively viewing the whole! A mother telling the sotry of Cinderella to her little daughter is also being creative in her own way.  Creativity is not the exclusive forte of new tales.  It is the essence of presentation; interpretation. So, presenting old tales in new ways is as creative as presenting new tales in new ways!

So, if you are sitting on the fence thinking about creative writing, you could begin by putting old wine in new bottles! It will help you create your new tales in new ways !

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A friend recommended “The Tipping Point” to me.   They even went to the trouble of getting the book and delivering it to me. While they would not tell me what they found so interesting about the book, they slyly insisted that reading it would “Streeeeeeeeeeeeetch” my imagination. Well, I plunged into the book and emerged gasping. Have I been tipped the double? or Is it an attempt to streeeeeeeeeetch my mind till it breaks?

Strangely, the book seems to have really hit the market with a bang. It is so popular. While I have no data on the number of people who bought the book (for whatever reason), every book store seems to be stocking the book.  The circle of friends to whom I mentioned the book nodded wisely and pretended that they had read the book or were at least interested enough to chech out what Gladwell had to say in the book.

What does he have to say? What are the facts he is laboring to prove? The Three Rules of Epidemics lays the foundation for the argument. Often forces converge to a point where the scales are tipped and an epidemic occurs.

A recast of the “critical mass” concept? Perhaps.

He argues that  “The laws of the few” is governed bythe nature of the messenger.  The connectors, the mavens and the salesmen often tip the balance and create word of mouth campaigns that spread with widening ripples round the globe. ( Is this the “tipping point” social media consultants are seeking to exploit?–sounds like it!) While the argument is impressive, the examples are painstakingly fitted into the frame and are not the seamless “best fit” instances.

“The stickiness factor” is about Seasame Street, Blue’s Clues and Educational viruses. It is about making sure that what is said sticks to the memory. Great idea. It is seen as a useful factor in creating literary epidemics, educational epidemics and advertising gimmicks! Again the instances fill the pages and get unstuck from the mind

“The Power of context” and the rise and fall of New York Crime is bizarre!  Goetz actions are seen as the tipping point of crime. The dark night before the dawn etc. Really, there is a limit to streeeeeeeetching the point. Small changes in environment brings about large changes of context is the burden of the arguments and as the book progresses, the reader is “burdened” with examples that will not fit neatly into the defined slots of logic!

On the whole “The Tipping Point” was an experience in mental streeeeeeeeeeetching. My friend was right it streeeeeeeeeeeeched my imagination to the point of failure!