Charles Baudelaire / "The King of Poets"

Charles Baudelaire (April 9, 1821 – August 31, 1867) was a notable French poet who also produced notable work as an essayist, art critic and translator of Edgar Allen Poe's work. Celebrated as one of the major innovators in French literature, in his works we see the rejection of the belief in the supremacy of nature and the fundamental goodness of man as typically espoused by the romantics and expressed by them in rhetorical, effusive and public voice in favor of a new urban sensibility, an awareness of individual moral complexity, an interest in vice (linked with decadence) and refined sensual and aesthetical pleasures, and the use of urban subject matter, such as the city, the crowd, individual passers-by, all expressed in highly ordered verse, sometimes through a cynical and ironic voice. Formally, the use of sound to create atmosphere, and of 'symbols', (images which take on an expanded function within the poem), betray a move towards considering the poem as a self-referential object, an idea further developed by the Symbolists Verlaine and Mallarmé, who acknowledge Baudelaire as a pioneer in this regard.

The whole world was moving towards the rejection of morality as aesthetic wave swept in every sphere of life. 'Les Fleurs du Mal' (1857) had caused outrage and several of Baudelaire's poems were banned on the grounds of such scandalous themes as sex and death. Similar fate was met by Flaubert's novel, 'Madame Bovary' in  1856. Manet's painting 'The Absinthe Drinker' was rejected by the Salon for the similar reason of not being according to the conventional standard of painting.

The anguished romanticism of Baudelaire can be heard in these lines from 'Les Fleur du Mal'-

O agony, agony! Time

eats away at life,

And the obscure Foe which

gnaws on our hearts.

Grows ever stronger on the

 blood we lose!

Baudelaire's influence on the direction of modern French (and English) language literature was considerable. The most significant French writers to come after him were generous with tributes; four years after his death, Arthur Rimbaud praised him in a letter as 'the king of poets, a true God'. In 1895, Stéphane Mallarmé published a sonnet in Baudelaire's memory, 'Le Tombeau de Charles Baudelaire'. Marcel Proust, in an essay published in 1922, stated that along with Alfred de Vigny, Baudelaire was 'the greatest poet of the nineteenth century'

In 1930, T. S. Eliot, while asserting that Baudelaire had not yet received a "just appreciation" even in France, claimed that the poet had "great genius" and asserted that his "technical mastery which can hardly be overpraised... has made his verse an inexhaustible study for later poets, not only in his own language". Eliot also alluded to Baudelaire's poetry directly ın his own poetry. For example, he quoted the last line of Baudelaire's 'Au Lecteur' ın the last line of Sectıon I of The Waste Land

The Return of the Mahatma/ Anna Hazare

 

“Corruption and hypocrisy ought not to be inevitable products of democracy, as they undoubtedly are today”

Mahatma Gandhi.

The Economic Times writes-"His diminutive stature hides his steely resolve. Like Mahatma Gandhi, he uses hunger strike as a weapon to hit out at the mighty. Now, Anna Hazare, a crusader against corruption , is making waves in a country where hunger for easy money has become a way of life. "

Indeed, our country is beaming with new zeal, a kindled spirit and a passionate outcry against corruption. Hundreds of people have joined the Gandhian leader in his fast unto death at Jantar Mantar in the capital. The patriotic fever is ruling each soul and a firm belief in the power of oneness conquers citizens gathered in his support in various cities from Kasmir to Kanyakumari. Many government officials and members of goverment appointed committes for social welfare also stood in solidarity with the protesters.

One important reason why all citizens gather together in unison to support Anna Hazare is that 'unlike the usual politcal rallies, where a cause is thrust upon them, here, all of them had come with causes of their own, in addition to showing support for the septuagenarian's push for the Jan Lokpal Bill. University students came to lodge their protest against corruption in their institution, villagers rallied against not getting ration cards, and hospital staff came to highlight how the hospital that had got land at subsidized rates now refused to give treatment to the poor.' (TOI)

We all encounter the side effects of corruption in different walks of our life and this is our opportunity to unite and give it a fight. We may have been born in Independent India, but we need to join hands together and make it a free India...free from the shackles of corruption.

So let us pledge to clean the country of its corrupt politicians and beaurocrats. With the evergrowing support that the movement has gathered, it brings hope that a clean, just and morally responsible India is not a distant dream. Let DIY (do-it-yourself) be our motto when it comes to fill oneself with enthusiasm and endeavor to carry the crusade against corruption.

Hail India. Hail Democracy.

(To know more about Lokpal bill,plz check the link below)
http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/what-is-the-jan-lokpal-bill-why-its-important-96600

Dil ki Baat

 An unfortunate experience.....and a nightmare for any mother!!!

कुछ महीनों पहले की बात है. मेरे छोटे बेटे ने स्कूल जाना ही शुरू किया था. ऐसे में मेरा सारा ध्यान इसी बात पर होता कि वो समय पर तैयार हो जाये और बिना रोये-धोये स्कूल बस में बैठ जाए. उस दिन सुबह से हलकी बारिश हो रही थी. मन नहीं कर रहा था कि इतनी निश्चिन्त कि नींद सो रहे मेरे लाडले को जगाऊं. सो मैं जाकर उसके बगल में लेट गयी. सुबह के वो कुछ क्षण ....जब मैं बेटे के साथ बिताती हूँ.....मुझमें दिन भर के लिए स्फूर्ति और उर्जा भर देता है. शायद हर माँ के साथ ऐसा ही होता है. जीवन के संघर्ष से जूझने के लिए भले ही वो घंटो या मीलों कि दूरी तय कर ले, पर बच्चे के मीठे से स्पर्श को वो हर पल साथ लिए चलती है.

खैर मैं उस दिन कि बात कर रही थी जब मैंने अनमने से बेटे को स्कूल के लिए तैयार किया. "छुट्टी करा दूँगी तो अगले दिन फिर स्कूल जाने में नखरा करेगा", यही सोचकर मैं हाथ में छत्री लिए हुए उसके साथ बस स्टॉप तक गयी. बेटा रूठा हुआ मेरे पीछे दुबक गया. पिछली बार जब उसने ऐसा किया था, तो बस के आने पर उल्टा घर कि ओर भाग गया था! सहेली ने बस ड्राईवर को रुकने का बहुत आग्रह किया, तब जाकर किसी तरह उसे बस में बिठाया था. मेरा मन फिर डरने लगा. बस जल्दी आ जाए और ये शुभ-शुभ चला जाए. अब तक बारिश कि गति भी तेज हो गयी थी. तभी बस आकर सामने रुकी और मैंने और मेरी दोस्त ने जैसे तैसे दोनों बच्चों को जल्दी से बस में चढ़ा दिया. आदतन हम वहीँ रुककर  इधर-उधर की  बातें करने लगे, पर मन में कुछ खटक रहा था. हम खड़े ही थे कि तभी एक और स्कूल बस आकर रुकी. सामने बच्चों की टीचर  बैठी थीं. हमारे तो होश उड़ गए. यानि...बच्चों को  हमने गलत बस में चढ़ा दिया था!!!!!

बस सफ़ेद रंग की थी, इसके अलावा हमें और कुछ भी याद नहीं था. टीचर परेशान होकर कभी  फ़ोन घुमा रही थीं, तो कभी हमारी लापरवाही को कोस रही थीं. फिर मुझे कुछ सुनाई नहीं देने लगा. बारिश तेज हो चुकी थी ओर मेरे दिल कि धड़कन धीमी! काठ  की  तरह मैं खड़ी रही...जाने कब तक. सब कुछ सिमट कर शुन्य हो गया था.

कुछ आवाजें अभी भी आ रही थीं - "जरा देख समझ कर बच्चे को बस में चढ़ाना चाहिए था!" "माओं को गप  करने से कहाँ फुर्सत होती है." "गलती किसी से भी हो सकती है"."पर यही गलती अगर किसी आया से हो, तो उसे जेल पहुंचाने की तयारी शुरू हो जाती"."लापरवाही की भी हद हो गयी.".......

पता नहीं वो बारिश की बूँदें थीं या आँखों से बहता खारा पानी, मैं अन्दर तक भीग चुकी थी !फिर सब्र का बाँध टूट गया. मैं फूट फूट कर रोने लगी.सड़क पर बदहवास कि तरह रोती जा रही थी  और  बौखलाई सी किसी भी स्कूल बस के पीछे भागने लगती! शायद अंततः कुछ लोगों ने मुझे किनारे ले जाकर बेंच पर बैठा दिया. कुछ सहानुभूति जताते हुए पास खड़े रहे.

कैसी माँ हूँ मैं?अपने बच्चे को कहाँ भेज दिया मैंने ? अब  कहाँ ढून्दूंगी उसे? कैसा होगा वो? कब देखूँगी मैं उसे? हे इश्वर! दया कर! माफ़ कर!! मेरा बच्चा मुझे लौटा दे! बारिश कम हो गयी थी पर आंसूं थम नहीं रहे थे!...................................................


 
 और फिर हलचल होने लगी. किसी ने मुझे जकझोर कर सामने देखने का इशारा किया. मेरी छोटी सी दुनिया  नन्हे  क़दमों से चलकर मेरे पास आ रही थी ! थोडा घबराया, थोडा सहमा-सा...मेरा बेटा सामने आकर खड़ा हो गया. मैंने लपककर  अपने लाडले को बाँहों में ले लिया और  पागलों की तरह उसे चूमती रही. थोड़ी ही देर में वह टीचर की गोद में बैठकर स्कूल चला गया. बाद में पता चला कि जिस स्कूल बस में मैंने ग़लतफ़हमी में चढ़ा दिया था, वह पास ही के स्कूल जाती थी. ड्राईवर ने जब इनका अलग उनिफ़ोर्म देखा तो बैग खोलकर डायरी से घर का पता ढूंढकर दोनों बच्चों को वापस घर के गेट तक छोड़ गया!  मैं इश्वर के उस दूत से मिल तो नहीं पायी, पर खोयी खुशियों को मेरे घर का पता बताने के लिए मन कोटि कोटि उसका ऋणी है!!!  जाने कितनी सारी उमड़ती घुमड़ती भावनाओं के साथ मैं घर लौटी....पति  पूरी घटना से अनभिज्ञ अब तक सो रहे थे. सिर्फ सत्रह मिनट हुए थे ...और मैं एक मौत जी कर लौटी थी!

Cricket: Some funny incidents

In a test in 1997 between West Indies and India. Anil kumble was batting and the ball hit him in the 'unmentionables' as Ravi Shastri always puts it. Kumble just went flat on the pitch and lay there on his back for about 5 minutes. Thats the most memorable of such incidents of the millions which keep happening.


West Indian batsman Viv Richards was notorious for punishing bowlers that dared to sledge him. So much so, that many opposing captains banned their players from the practice. However in a county game against Glamorgan, Greg Thomas attempted to sledge him after he had played and missed at several balls in a row. He informed Richards: "It's red, round and weighs about five ounces, in case you were wondering." Richards hammered the next delivery out of the cricket grounds and into a nearby river. Turning to the bowler, he commented: "Greg, you know what it looks like, now go and find it."


Sourav Ganguly's antics after Natwest 2002

Emile Zola /"Nature seen through a temperament"

 

Edouard Manet: Portrait of Emile Zola (1868, Musee d'Orsay, Paris)

Emile Zola (2 April 1840 – 29 September 1902) was a French writer, the most important exemplar of the literary school of naturalism and an important contributor to the development of theatrical naturalism. He was a major figure in the political liberalization of France and in the exoneration of the falsely accused and convicted army officer Alfred Dreyfus, which is encapsulated in the renowned newspaper headline J'Accuse.

Zola's novels about the Rougon-Macquart family, widely read through - served as vehicles for their author's political and social views rather than for subtle social interplay. He had a love of set-piece descriptions involving cumulative concrete details, and for these, his imagination was certainly nourished by painting, sometimes by specific Impressionist canvases. 'The Masterpiece' by Zola was an exploration of Paris's artistic milieu. Zola created in his central character, Claude Lantier, an experimental painter impotent to realize his potential or his dream; this was interpreted by some of his old friends as a direct slur on Impressionism, and by Paul Cezanne, as the ultimate betrayal. While a passage in 'A Love Affair' (1878) was directly based on an idyllic garden scene by Renoir; 'L'Assomoir' had some descriptions of communal laundry based on Edgar Degas's evocative studies of Laundresses.

The most famous association of Degas was with the Impressionist painter, Edouard Manet, who created his portrait, an artistic masterpiece. This portrait of Zola is essentially a Japanese work, achieved with the aid of exotic props, and more signficantly, by its pictorial organization. The shallow space, silhouetted figured, and strong decorative elements of repeated flat shapes and rectangles parallel th the painting's edge.
It is also a statement of Manet's eclecticism: Japan and Spain appear together (represented by Kuniaki's Wrestler, above and Velazquez's Little Cavaliers), framed above the desk, and joined by Manet's Olympia, itself a hybrid of old and new. The open book is Manet's copy of Blanc's Histoire des Peintures- a valuable source of older art for Manet.