At the Rashtriya Rangshala camp in the Delhi Cantonment area, finishing touches are being added to the 21 tableaux that will be part of the Republic Day parade.

The floats of 12 states and nine ministries or government departments will participate in the parade. It was due to limited space and time that only 12 states were selected, according to Nampibou Marinmai, PRO (Defence), who was at the camp on Saturday.

So many states have raised their voice the thing is, we have limited space, limited time. There is a committee of experts from arts, music, culture, and other expertise. The committee has been looking into these things. We received applications from 29 states and union territories to include in the tableaux. But due to space and time, we selected only 12 states. There is no other reason, Marinmai said.

The Chief Ministers of West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Kerala had written to the Prime Minister after their tableaux were not selected for the parade.

The overarching theme for the tableaux is Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, which is meant to commemorate 75 years of Independence.

Several students are among the performers who will be part of the floats and have been camping at Rashtriya Rangshala.

Aditi Ural, a 20-year-old final-year degree student from Bengaluru, is among a group of 12 Yakshagana artistes who are part of the Karnataka State tableau. The team has been camping at the site and practising there for around 10 days now, and they are excited about performing at the parade for the first time, she said. Her father is a Yakshagana artiste, and she has been practising and performing for around 10 years.

Another performer who is at the parade this year is Nisha Kharayat, a college student studying music in Pithoragarh. She is among 16 dancers, mostly students, who will perform the Chhapeli Nritya of Uttarakhand.

The Arunachal Pradesh tableau will have 16 dancers performing the Tapu dance, which David Darang, a 33-year-old from East Siang District of Arunachal Pradesh, refers to as the war dance. Darang, a shop owner, said that they needed little training since it is a dance that is performed for festivals back home. Darang will also be at the Republic Day parade for the first time, part of the tableau that is based on the Anglo-Abor War in which the Abor people resisted British expansion.

Dabs of paint were being added to some of the floats on Saturday, with workers milling around and making adjustments atop the elaborately designed tableaux. The tableaux have been painstakingly assembled over months.

The Karnataka tableau, for instance, which showcases the states traditional handicrafts, took 45 days and 140 workers to prepare, and was brought to Delhi in three truckloads and assembled here.

Other states that will be part of the parade are Meghalaya, whose tableau will pay tribute to women-led cooperative societies and self-help groups. Gujarats tableau will focus on the tribal revolutionaries of the State, Marinmai said, while the Haryana tableau will focus on the States contribution to sports.

The Uttar Pradesh float will showcase the Kashi Vishwanath Dham, and that of Goa will portray the areas historical and natural attractions. Maharashtras biodiversity will be represented in the states tableau, and Punjabs contribution to the Independence struggle will be on display. Chhattisgarh and Jammu and Kashmir are also part of the parade.

The ministries that will have their tableaux are the Ministry of Culture, which will display one on 150 years of Sri Aurobindo; the Central Public Works Department will have a tableau on Subhas Chandra Boses 125th birth anniversary; the Ministry of Education which will showcase a tableau on the National Education Policy.

Tableaux of the Ministry of Law and Justice, Ministry of Civil Aviation, Ministry of Textiles, Ministry of Jal Shakti, the CRPF, and the Department of Post, will also be part of the parade.

More here:
Only 12 states selected for R-Day tableaux due to limited time, space - The Indian Express

It was a wintry December evening some six years ago that I chanced to meet young Shankar Chitre on the stone steps of Ahilyabai Ghat in Banaras, a city where many Hindustani Gharana of music bloomed over the centuries together with their legends.

In Banaras, one can hear folklore told and retold for centuries together pertaining to Apsaras and Gandharvas and their nexus with different styles of dance and Hindustani Raag. Chitre narrated to me one such story of Rag Basant.

Rag Basant is meant to welcome the Spring Season: the Basant. Said to be a Carnatic Raag originating from Vakulabharanam, it was blended with the Hindustani tradition to become known as Rag Basant, with variations like Basant Bahar, Basant Hindol and Shudh Basant.

A wave of this genre might have come from Persia centuries ago as it tallies in stylistic pattern with Maqam Hijaz. In Guru Granth Sahib also we find reference to this Rag. It is at least 1200 years old.

Basant was one of the pasandida (favoured) raags of Wajid Ali Shah, Nawab of Oudh under whose kingdom Kashi and Banaras fell.

I also adore this Raga, particularly the song Phagwa Brij Dekhan Ko Chalo Ri

The oldest record of this song that I could find was by Ustad Abdul Karim Khan. His eight minute song was recorded some 97 years ago yet it sounds as if recorded just day before yesterday.

Khansahab was instrumental in developing the Kirana Gharana of Hindustani songs. The gharana traces its origin to Gopal Nayak who sang in the court of Allauddin Khilji together with Amir Khusro.

Both Gopal Nayak and Amir Khusro practised Rag Basant. Amir Khusro sang Rag Basant and Rag Bahar in the presence of Hazrat Nizamuddin Aulia.

Incidentally, Ustad Abdul Karim Khan sang Rag Darbari just before his death at a bench on the platform of Singaperumalkoil railway station, near Chennai.

Old records say he was journeying by train to Pondicherry at the invitation of Sri Aurobindo, a revolutionary turned philosopher from Bengal, to perform at his Ashram.

At Chingleput he suddenly experienced severe chest pain. He was brought down from the train at Singaperumalkoil and laid on a bench. He then recited the Kalma and sang a little in the form of Rag Darbari. He could not complete what he tried to sing.

The date was October 27, 1937.

On that day, every radio station across Imperial Hindustan interrupted all programmes to announce the death of Abdul Karim Khan.

Let us return to the Ahilyabai Ghat where Shankar Chitre narrated me a legend of Apsara Chandra and her earthling lover Madhavsen.

Can you believe Chandra killed her lover so that he could be her consort forever in Gandharva Lok?

Chandra wove magic through her dance. She also learnt to dance on Rag Basant rendered by Madhavsen.

Chitre, a young Marathi Manus of about 25 whose family settled in Banaras from Pune some 217 years ago, shared with me the story that he had heard from his Ustadji, Chhote Ali who was some 93 years old.

The tradition of Apsara, Gandharva, Hindustani music and musical instruments in Varanasi is very old. Findings of the Archaeological Survey of India during its various excavations of different ages prove the antiquity of the Apsara tradition here.

The ASI unearthed a large number of figurines of Gandharvas and Apsaras playing various musical instruments proving their interconnection with the Hindustani music of Banaras Gharana.

The early medieval Puranas also refer to Kinnars, Gandharvas and Apsaras living in twin cities named KashiVaranasi. They played instrumental music and songs in different Ragas.

The Banarasi musical and dance Gharanas attained great heights in the 16th century during the rule of King Govind Chandra. After this too the Kings of Awadh further promoted Hindustani ragas and dances.

In Wajid Ali Shahs time the twin cities became a vibrant centre of folk and classical songs including Chaiti, Kajri, Dhamar, Hori and Chaturanga. Both indoor Jalsa and outdoor singing concerts were held on boats floating on the Ganga.

It is said that nothing is new here. Even the new generation of singers and musicians are thought to follow the ancient tradition of Meer Rustam, Pandit Ram Sahai, Waris Ali, Akbar Ali, Nisar Khan, Sadiq Ali and Ashiq Ali Khan.

These past masters belonged to the courts of the Awadh Nawabs, Mughal kings and other Raja-Maharajas and Sultan-Nawabs of the Deccan and North India. It is said that even the tabla style developed by Pandit Ram Sahai 200 years ago is still followed.

Pandit Ram Sahai was a disciple of Ustad Modhu Khan of Lucknow.

Here an interesting fact needs to be recorded. Nearly 200 years ago, there was a shuffle of singers, dancers and musicians from Varanasi, Allahabad, Kanauj, Agra and Rampur to various other parts of Hindoostan.

Chitre enlightened me with this information.

How I met him?

That is quite interesting.

Chitre was sitting just a few feet away from me. Suddenly, his handset rang. He took the call to tell someone he cannot come today as he has to go to meet his Ustad Ji late evening.

The very word Ustad Ji made me curious as I knew Guru and Ustad means either a dance or music teacher. I just spontaneously questioned if he is learning music?

Yes, he said.

I dont know why but I asked him if he can present a Mukhda (beginning of a classical song) in Rag Basant or Basant Bahar, may be.

He smiled and without replying hummed Phagwa Brij Dekhan Ko Chalo Ri

The song that I like the most. Can we call it a coincidence? May be

Are you a vocalist too?

No, I am a journalist!

I see why did you ask me to present Rag Basant?

Because I like it

Then you, perhaps, have heard the legend of Chandra and Madhavsen?

No, I said. But I turned extremely curious know the legend and requested him to narrate it to me.

Well, my Ustad Ji Chhote Ali once told me an ancient tale that goes with Rag Basant. He is about 93 now and belongs to a musician family whose ancestors were said to be disciples of Muhammad Ghaus from whom Tannu or Tan Sen first took lessons in music.

Muhammad Ghaus was believed to have referred Tannu to Swami Haridas and he became Tan Sen in the court of Emperor Akbar.

Chitre began a story of Rag Basant:

Centuries ago when Varanasi was a young Janapada, an Apsara by the name Chandra (moon) descended in the city in the form of a beautiful maiden. She was in search of a consort who could sing and accompany her in dance in Gandharva Lok.

In other words, to become a Gandharva that male musician consort would have to die.

What a dangerous proposition, is it not?

Chandra wandered around Varanasi for her consort for quite a long time but found none. She was planning to return to Gandharva Lok.

Then one evening something happened during the season of Basant.

A disheartened Chandra was moving in the forest near the River Ganga. Suddenly, she stood still. A male voice was singing a honeyed song. An ethereal musical spell bound Apsara Chandra. She started searching the source of this music. A little ahead, inside the forest, a young man was singing seated under a Kadam tree, a tree beloved of Lord Krishna.

Is he a Gandharva? Chandra thought a male human being just could not be so handsome. Can an earthling sing like this? Hardly possible! He must be a Gandharva like her, Chandra concluded.

She moved towards him. He was singing with his eyes closed. This is a Rag new to her. But it is wonderful, simply wonderful.

Chandra stood right before him but he was so engrossed in the song that he could hardly feel her presence.

The song ended and he opened his eyes to find a beautiful maiden before him.

Who are you, Devi?

I am Chandra, a singer and dancer in a royal court in Ujjaini. She hid her actual identity of being an Apsara. What was the Rag your song was set in?

Rag Basant!

What is your name?

Madhavsen!

What is your name?

Chandra.

Can you dance in this Rag that I may sing?

Why not?

Well, he replied, in just about a week there would be a Basant Utsav in Varanasi in which men and women would dance to welcome Basant. I will be singing in Rag Basant for them.

Chandra said she would be very happy to dance.

With this deal, the dangerous nexus of an earthly Man with unearthly Apsara began which was soon to end.

Chandra was determined to have Madhavsen. But how? He is mortal, she is immortal. He could be made immortal only by entering Gandharva Lok. For that, of course, he would have to die in Marta Loka: earth.

Yes, he has to die, thought Chandra. She just could not allow the loss of such a talented singer and handsome man.

The Apsara began dreaming up ways to kill the Singer.

It became a daily affair for Madhavsen and Chandra to meet at the forest just after the sun set. He would sing and she would dance.

But Chandra was getting impatient to get back to Gandharva Lok with her consort forever. She was eagerly waiting for Basant Panchami: that would be the last day of Madhavsen in Varanasi.

Every evening, Chandra asked Madhavsen how many days are left of Basant Panchami?

Why do you ask this question to me every day as if that would be the last day of life in Martaloka?

Well, my handsomest man, you can guess!

Shankar Chitre really wove a Jaadu (spell, magic) with his story. I suddenly had a great desire to hear a Rag Basant Bandish set in ancient lyrics.

He smiled and without replying, began one of the ancient-most known lyrics on this Rag created by Amir Khusro. It runs like this:

Ban, Ban Phool Rahi Sarson Amwa Phute, Tesu Phoole Koyal Bole Dar Dar Aur Gauri Karat Shringer

Oh, what a nice scene Khusro has created!

Khusro, the first Hindavi poet, truly created a poetic canvas with actual description of Basant Ritu with its ripe and floral beauty.

It means the forests are wearing a yellow scarf as mustard flowers have bloomed. It is the season that Mangoes ripen and Tesu flowers smile. The Koyal is singing in the twigs of trees. The womenfolk wear all the fineries and make themselves up to welcome Basant.

Bravo Khushro, I bow before Thee!

Finally, the day of Basant Panchami arrived in KashiBanaras.

Varanasis Basant Utsav is over. It is now midnight. Shortly, Chandra will kill Madhavsen. He will become a Gandharva and the inseparable consort of Chandra Apsara.

Can we not spend a little more time on the banks of River Ganga?

But it is already getting late

Before Madhavsen could finish his words, Chandra nearly dragged him to the brink of the river.

How about we swim?

But I cannot swim, replied Madhavsen.

His reply eased Chandras plan.

She was holding his hand. Suddenly, with the swiftness of lightning, she hurled him into the river. Madhavsen was sinking sinking and Chandra jumped into the river to embrace him and quicken the process of his mortal end.

Madhavsen is dead. With her magical spell, the Apsara took his spirit to Gandhar Lok.

She now has an eternal consort in the form of Gandharv Madhavsen.

Smiling at me, Shankar Chitre stood up as he had to catch an auto-rickshaw to reach his Ustadjis house. I also have to get back to the hotel near Varanasi Railway Station.

Sky was dark. It looked like Aanchal of a black Banarasi Saree studded with silvery stars.

Looking at the stars up above the sky, I suddenly shuddered! Could one of them be Chandra, the killer Apsara watching me?

Excerpt from:
The Apsara Began Dreaming Up Ways to Kill the Singer - The Citizen

Dharmakshetre Kurukshetre Samaveta Yuyutsavaha

The opening word of the magnificent scripture Gita is dharma, the great word of ancient India. Just as beauty was dear to Greece and power was dear to Rome, dharma was close to the soul of India. Our ancient rishis exhorted us to build our life in dharma.

Dharma is derived from dhru which means hold. Dharma is the power, the force, the jivan shakti which holds life. Kshetra means field. Let us therefore, ask ourselves: What am I sowing in the field of life, dharma or adharma? If you are one of the blessed souls who are sowing the seeds of dharma, your life becomes a song, a Gita of the Lord!

In this Kaliyuga, which is characterised by the degeneration of dharma, it becomes imperative for each of us, as individuals, to adhere to dharma in the measure that is possible to us. And, it is my firm conviction that the Gita can be our leading light, our beacon of hope in this endeavour.

I believe too, that it is necessary and desirable for all Indians, especially the youth, professionals and young parents to cultivate familiarity with this precious scripture which is our great heritage. Knowing the essence of its teachings and putting into practise its practical precepts is the best way of escaping the dominant dark forces of this age.

Sri Adi Shankara himself wrote one of the most respected and authoritative commentaries on the Gita. Sri Ramanuja, Sri Madhavacharya, Sri Vallabhacharya and Sri Jnaneshwar have added valuable insights to their respective bhashyas. In modern times Lokmanya Tilak, Mahatma Gandhi and Sri Aurobindo have written on the Gita. As for me, I was privileged to be the disciple of a great-souled saint, whom many regarded as a living Gita Gurudev Sadhu Vaswani. The Gita is the core strength of every Hindu indeed, the universal guide to every thinking, sensitive human being who realises that life does not stop at the physical and material level.

The message of the Gita is affirmative; the message of the Gita is dynamic. It is a message that we all need to affirm and internalise in our daily lives.

(Dada J.P. Vaswani is humanitarian, philosopher, educator, acclaimed writer, powerful orator, messiah of ahimsa, and non-sectarian spiritual leader.)

(To receive our E-paper on whatsapp daily, please click here. We permit sharing of the paper's PDF on WhatsApp and other social media platforms.)

See the original post:
Guiding Light: The significance of the Gita for the twenty-first century - Free Press Journal

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Published on January 24, 2022

Bengaluru: Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam Education Summit 2022, organized by Summit India in association with Tech Avant-Garde (TAG), successfully completed phase-1 of its event. The 3-day inaugural conference of the 3-month long summit came to a closure with some insightful debates, discussions and deliberations. More than 10000 people including educationalists, teachers, parents attended the conference over these 3 days.

The 3-day inaugural conference started with a message from the Honble President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind, followed by a recorded speech by Honble Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi, on NEP2020. The congratulatory message was given by the Honble Governor of Karnataka, Shri Thawar Chand Gehlot.

The 3-day inaugural conference saw policymakers, leaders, educationists, bureaucrats, education body heads and industry players speak, discuss, deliberate on the future of learning and what should we do to ensure that our Indian Education System stays robust and relevant. Some of the speakers included names like Smt. AnnapurnaDevi, Minister of State for Education India, Shri. Rajeev Chandrashekhar, Minister of State for Skill Devp. Entrepreneurship, Electronic& IT., Smt. Renuka Singh, HonbleMinister of State for Tribal Affairs,Shri. M K Sridhar, member of the NEP 2020 Drafting Committee, Prof. Anil D Sahasrabudhe, Chairman AICTE, Prof. Sridhar Shrivastava, Director NCERT, Dr. Biswajit Saha, Director Skill & Training CBSE, Mr. K V Vincent, National Secretary ASISC, Shri.Atul Kothari, National Secretary, Shiksha Sanskriti Utthan, Dr. Vinnie Jauhari, Director Education Advocacy, Microsoft India,Ms. Kirti Seth, CEO, IT-ITES Sector Skill Council, NASSCOM, Mr. Rahul Tandon, Design Head, BBP and Ms Roshini Kumar, President, Lycee Corp.

Some of the key outcomes from these discussions were:

India needs to reimagine its education system. The model that served us well till today is outdated and will not help prepare our children for the new future, NEP 2020 should be adopted in day to day educational practices.

We are at the end of the information era and entering the knowledge era. An education system that is based on information accumulation will be highly inadequate

Both educators and parents are concerned about the changing social, economic, technological landscape and need help and support to navigate the digitally transformed, post-pandemic education ecosystem

We need to make our children multidimensional in their capability. Acquiring tangible skills, physical and digital, will be key

The challenges and opportunities of a digitally transformed world are immense. An education system that is inclusive, future-ready, and technology-enabled will be key to facing those challenges and transforming India into a global superpower of the Knowledge Age.

The summit organizers have contacted Examination Boards, Universities, Schools, Colleges, Members of Management, Principals, Teachers, Parents and Vendors. The vision is to reach out to 10 million educators and parents of 250 million students to sensitize them on NEP2020 and the new genre of learning, Hybrid Learning.

The Summit is being supported by NCERT, AICTE, ASISC, NIELIT, Canara Bank, Universal Sompo General Insurance, Tech Avant-Garde, Maha Learning Tab, and Edqart. The summit is conducted on the Knowledge Lavenir Conclave platform.

Speaking at the event Smt. Annpurna Devi, Minister of State for Education India, said India has always been a seeker of knowledge. We should take inspiration from our past while preparing for our future. The education system that served us so well to date has its limitations and might not be ready to tackle the needs of the future. NEP2020 is prepared to keep future needs in mind as it incorporates feedback from different and prominent people from the education sector. It is framed keeping the changing landscape of education and learning and will help in taking India to greater heights.

Addressing the parents at the event and emphasising the importance of equipping students with the right skills, Shri Rajeev Chandrashekar, Honble Minister of State for Skill Devp, Entrepreneurship, Elec & IT. said, I encourage all parents to ensure that children are acquiring multi-dimensional skills to prepare them for the future. Be it traditional skills or carpentry, carpet making, whatever it is. Children should learn digital skills, not just be digitally savvy. Parents should now know that the future of India and the future of our children for the next 10-20 years will be totally different. Globalization will bring a lot of opportunities and most of these will be digital in nature. It is going to be very different, very positive and very digital. Every parent should be aware of that and every parent should prepare their children for that.

Speaking at the inaugural event, Smt Renuka Singh, Minister of State for Tribal Affairs, said,This education summit will have large participation from the tribal, rural and urban sectors of our nation. Including government and private centres, schools and institutions of higher education. Knowledge Lavenir has emerged at the forefront of the quest to create a more educated, meaningful, purposeful, harmonious and compassionate society. The summit will comprise varied sessions with a focus on digital transformation and holistic learning along with NEP2022.

The inaugural event also featured Shri Audimulapu Suresh, Education Minister, Andhra Pradesh who spoke about the need for upskilling students with the right resources. He said, Our students need to be market-ready. and prepared to face challenges when they pass out of school in the coming years. Industries are constantly changing with technology like artificial intelligence, machine learning, augmented reality etc. Hence, our institutions should no longer be just specialised ones. As NEP2020 envisions, institutions should evolve to be multi-disciplined.

Speaking on the new education model, Sridhar Shrivastava, Director, NCERT, said, Education, going forward, needs to be adaptive. It needs to have three key elements flexibility, accessibility and customizability. A child should have the flexibility to learn what s/he wants to, have access to good teachers, content and eco-system and the learning pace and modules should be customised to his or her individual needs and temperament. We are focused to build the right digital technologies combined with well-trained teachers to deliver these elements in the new education model.

The event also had thought leadersincluding Swami Mitrananda, Chinmaya Mission who spoke about the concept of the event. He said, The very title Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam inspires us. We, the people of Bharat, were the first to ever claim that not just our world, but the whole universe is our family. That was the education Bharat had the oneness or Ek Atma Bhava. This education is very important for us to live harmoniously, and we the people of Bharat are custodians of this knowledge.

Several educationists also were in attendance, both as speakers and attendees. Speaking at the event Dr. A Chhalamayi Reddy, Principal Shri Aurobindo International School said, Sri Aurobindo establishes that, and I quote It is an education that is proper to the Indian soul, deed, temperament and culture, that we are in quest of. Not indeed, something faithful merely to the past, but to the developing soul of India, to her future need, to the greatness of her coming self-creation and to her eternal spirit.

Speaking about the format of the summit, Shri Shyam Jaju, Chairman Summit India said, This fact that this milestone event had to be done virtually due to Omicron indicates the impact of the pandemic. However, the summit being virtual is helping it reach a much larger audience, indicating the power of NEP 2020. I thank all our dignitaries, education experts, vice-chancellors, who have taken the time out and participated in this event and made it a big success.

Shri Mahesh Verma, Secretary Summit India, further added, The vision of NEP2020 is apt for the changes we are seeing happening in the education sector. The impact will truly be felt when we reach the maximum number of people in a minimum time period and develop awareness. We hope that this 3-month long summit will help us achieve that.

Because of popular demand from several educational institutes, educationists, teachers and parents, the 3-day inaugural conference will be re-webcasted again between January 27, 28, 29 and will be open to all. Following the three-day conference, there will be weekly panel discussions held from February 5th till April 9, 2022. These discussions will delve deeper into the various challenges and opportunities in the education world arising from a digitally transformed, post-pandemic world. The three-month-long summit will focus on the National Education Policy 2020 (NEP 2020), Digital Transformation and Holistic Learning (DTHL) and the role of Hybrid Learning in enabling the Indian Education System to re-invent itself and evolve into a robust framework that is in tune with the needs of the digital-native student.

Talking about hybrid learning and the role of technology, Ali Sait, Summit India Chairman South & CEO, Tech Avant-Garde, said,Communities have only begun to tap the potential of technology for learning. In a world in which knowledge is the number one asset, the benefits of this information-rich, technology-enhanced, collaborative learning environment must be extended even further to empower students, teachers, schools and entire communities to learn without limits. Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam Education Summit 2022 is one such initiative which will spread the awareness on Hybrid Learning and NEP 2020 which help reimagine education and make our society Future Ready.

The 3-month long Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam Education Summit 2022 will open dialogues between thought leaders, bureaucrats, policymakers, industry players and educationists. With the pandemic induced turmoil, there is a lack of clarity about the best way forward. These events have been designed to offer educationists guidance in a collaborative yet flexible manner.

Read more from the original source:
India reimagines its education system to suit a digitally transformed world - APN News

Amidst this vexing pandemic, most of us have deliberately locked ourselves indoors, and othershave to face fear and restrictions to move around. Good news has become ararity. But before I divulge what to me is a piece of excellent news, it reallymakes me feel proud and happy that decades of wrongdoing have been finallycorrected.

The man who taught us pathology and histology in the third year of medical school, was four and a half feet tall and extremely obese. Given his lack of a neck and oval dimension, he was also secretly, though fondly, calledByang, meaning frog in Bengali! So, if you saw this person, afrog would indeed be the first impression that would come to mind! But he was anastounding teacher, and thats all that mattered.

He was a very well-trained craftsman who could read histological slides with an adeptness that would put modern-day technology to shame. For the uninitiated, slides are two small glass panes between whichbiopsied tissues or blood are placed. One needs years of training to examinethe patterns created therein to delineate and thus confirm a diagnosis of different diseases, including cancer.

As a young man, this Professor was in the British army, during the second world war. He told us a fascinating story once. British soldiers captured a place nearSingapore. His ship landed around a few hundred yards from the shore, andtroops embarked. Since he was a beloved but a very short doctor, hugetall Norwegian nurses almost carried him to the beach after treading throughwhat would be neck-deep water for these six feet tall gentlemen.

One evening he visited the Ramkrishna Vedanta Mission in Singapore. He sat in front of the large picture of the trio placed on a raised podium- Swami Vivekananda, Sri Ramkrishna,and Sarada Maa. Engulfed in reverence, he suddenly realized it was almost an hour that he was sitting there. Then, through the corner of his eyes, he saw a gentleman in an orange robe standing at an angle. As he turned his head, he saw a tall, handsomesanyasi probably in his sixties standing there and smiling at him!

Are you fromIndia? the sanyasi asked, smiling.

Yes,

retorted the Professor, from Bengal, Sir.

I thought so, said the sanyasi coming closer as the Professor stood up and bowed tohim, touching his feet!

Exactly a couple of weeks before, Netaji Subhas had come, and he was sitting here in the samespot as you and was crying, the sanyasi said.

Crying, questioned the Professor, But why?

I do not know, but I asked him what he wanted from God? quipped the sanyasi.

I asked Swami Vivekananda to give me strength so that I can free my motherland. I have failed till now, Netaji told him!

The establishment of Netajis statue at the India Gate marks India paying homage to that son of the soil whosesacrifice to the motherland was inimitable! What was extremely sad was thatuncouth politics and nasty favoritism deluded him to the honor that was hisdestiny since independence.

The man who every Indian, including the present generation, irrespective of caste, creed, and religion, holds in the highest esteem, amongst all freedom fighters certainly deserves this.

Unfortunately, even today, others remain to be relegated to such a status. Let us take Surya Sen,who bravely led the Chittagong armory attack, or, Pritilata Waddedar, who was inspired by him and sacrificed her life for this country at the age of 21. Both were horribly tortured and finally hanged by the British!

Knowingly or unknowingly, weve been celebrating the wrong ones. While the likes of Rash Behari Bose and Rishi Aurobindo were kept in abeyance, a mammoth-sized statue of one of Russias oligarch stands in the most prominent Kolkata square called Esplanade. Where are the names of freedom fighters banished to the Andamans to serve Kala Pani for their audacity to challenge the British empire? Inmates likeFazl-e-Haq Khairabadi,Yogendra Shukla,Sachindra Nath Sanyal,Bhai Parmanand,Sohan Singh,Subodh Roy, andTrailokyanath Chakravartywere tortured, beaten, starved, and some finally hanged!

So why are their names not in the history books? Why are stadiums, roads, airports, and popular government schemes not named after them rather than political juggernauts whose claim to fame is either belonging to elitist dispositions by either birth or craftiness? An article like this can be a reminder to my readers to stand up to their legacy and honor the past that has granted them the freedom they enjoy. Otherwise, it will end up being just another epilogue to our unsung heroes who would remain hidden until time takes its toil to reveal the reality.

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Views expressed above are the author's own.

Original post:
When Netaji cried to Swami Vivekananda! - The Times of India Blog

Watch Video: Rapper Kanye West legally changes his name to 'Ye'

Looking back at the 20-year career arc of any musician would be revelatory.

But when that artist is Kanye West, its compelling, confusing and maddening. In other words, pretty much on brand.

Those looking for salacious details about the recently rebranded Yes celebrity lifestyle or explosiveKardashian drama wont find it here. Instead, jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy is a fascinating plunge into his relentless drive to succeed, his wavering friendships and the toll of mental illness.

DirectorsClarence Coodie Simmons started filming Ye in 2002 to document his signing to Roc-A-Fella Records and met Chike Ozah, a producer on MTV's You Heard It First, shortly after.

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Their film, which premiered Sunday at Sundance Film Festival and arrives on Netflix Feb. 16, is divided into three 90-minute acts: Vision, Purpose and Awakening.

Early on, Ye, now 44, saysdoing a documentary at the embryonic stage of his career shift from producer to rapper is a little narcissistic.

That self-awareness would, over the years, become clouded by hordes of enablers and adoring fans. The death of Yes beloved mother, Donda, caused a shift in molecules that Simmons captures withheartbreaking clarity.

He didnt seem like the same Kanye. We hardly ever spoke, Simmons says in a voiceoverexplaining a gap in footage from 2008 to 2014. Yes team told the filmmaker that there was no room for him to accompany the superstar on his Glow in the Dark tour.

But a call from Common askingSimmons to film his 2014 Aahh!Fest in Chicago proved fortuitous:Ye was booked as a surprise guest.As much as Simmons anticipated reuniting with his friend, it wasnt without trepidation.

It made me nervous because I knew Kanye, but Id never met Yeezy, Simmons says.

The pair renewed their friendship, and in 2017, he returned to filming the superstar.

Ye's altercation: Kanye speaks out about incident in L.A.

Simmons and Ozah have describedjeen-yuhs as a film rather than adocumentary. Its a notable distinction because there are no talking head interviews or footage other than Simmons' raw takes, aside from a few quick-cutscenes that include a Kardashian red carpet photo op andYes MTV Awards disruptionwith Taylor Swift.

Simmons'footage, culled from 330 hours of video, is unflinching. He thought the documentary was completed at various points in Yes life. But there was always another chapter.

This one ends with the rappers idiosyncratic unveiling of his Donda albumin Atlantalast summer, with his limp body being raised through the opening in the Mercedes-Benz Stadium roof at the end of the presentation.

Perhaps it was meant to symbolize a new beginning. But first, here are some jeen-yuhs highlights from the past.

After a twentysomething Ye teases his mother about the bottle of Zinfandel in her refrigerator, she notices the gold cherub hanging from his neck. You need an angel to watch over you, she says, flashing one of her infectious gap-toothed smiles.

The love and ease between West and her son is showcased in the most mundane moments, but its particularly sweet watching her rap Like Son, Like Mother beside him in her kitchen.

West is Yes compass and Simmons captures her dispensing poignant advice. A giant looks in the mirror and sees nothing, she tells him. Stay on the ground, but you can be in the air at the same time.

West died in 2007from heart failure following complications from cosmetic surgery.

I could tell Kanye was grieving, but he kept working, he refused to stop, Simmons says.

Ye never talks about his mothers death on camera, but there is a rare interaction captured with his father, Ray West.Following Yes admittance to a hospital for a psychological evaluation and his inflammatory 2020 presidential campaign speech about abortion, he is shown FaceTiming with his dad.

When you go out and say things like no abortion, you know how the medias going to be, Ye tells his dad. Thats a very strong Christian statement, and Christians are scrutinized and killed for our beliefs and following the word of God. And I use my voice and I wont not use my voice.

His father pauses. I would just say, write your speech next time.

Simmons was there after Ye, having justlanded a verse on Jay-Zs track The Bounce," crashed his car and broke his jaw in three places.

I was afraid hed never rap again, Simmons says.

But, as Ye lore goes, his ambition to finish his debut album, The College Dropout, couldnt be halted by having his mouth wired shut; instead, Ye had his first hit, Through the Wire.

Coachella 2022:Headliners are confirmed with Harry Styles, Billie Eilish and Ye

Simmons camera accompanies the rapper to the dentist (look away, needle-phobes) to have his wiring removed, but the bigger story is Yes capacity to continue working. Jamie Foxx, Ludacris and John Legend are enlisted to join Ye in the studio to restart the momentum behind his debut, which arrived in 2004 to massive success, including a Grammy Award for best rap album.

By the third act of jeen-yuhs, Ye is designing sneakersandembracing Christianity with the advent ofhis Sunday Service concerts.

Ye also retreats to his Wyoming ranch, where Justin Bieber is among those in the giant garage/studio, laying down vocals and listening to Yes numerous soliloquies.

View Gallery: Kim Kardashian, Kanye West split: See the couple through the years

Its apparent as the film rolls on that Yes medications have slowed his speech his voice sounds deeper and more deliberate and Simmons is aware and respectful of his friends challenges.

A 2020 meeting with real estate friends in the Dominican Republic turns into a diatribe, even though Ye tells them, I took bipolar medication last night to have a normal conversation.

But the rappers discourse becomes so scattered, Simmons stops filming.

It was hard to tell how he was feeling, Simmons says. No matter what he was going through, he always buried himself in his work.

View Gallery: Kanye West, Tiffany Haddish, Common protest racial injustice

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Although faced with anger from agroup of conservative parents over what they claim is racisttraining, Brevard Public School officials show no sign so far ofreconsidering a summer program to teach staff about social and emotional learning.

Members of conservative parent group Moms for Liberty at Tuesday's School Board meeting criticized a contract to buy 53 tickets for the Conscious Discipline Institute, a summer program teaching school staff to implement social and emotional learning (SEL) in classrooms, at a cost of $79,500.

SEL techniques teach students interpersonal skills and self-awareness to help them deal with emotions and resolve conflicts. But Moms for Libertyparents at the meeting criticized a 2020 blog post on the website titled, Raising Antiracist Kids: 9 Steps from Ibram X. Kendi.

Kendi is an anti-racism activist, author and the director of the Center for Antiracist Research at Boston University. The organization linked to a free online seminar during which Kendi spoke.

This is $79,500 that is going to CRT training for teachers, Moms for Liberty member Katie Delaney said at the Tuesday meeting. This is continued racist training.

Increased review of books, instruction materials: Florida House GOP seeks to nix school board salaries, increase scrutiny of library books

'Critical race theory' on the agenda: Brevard School Board meeting peaceful, but political divides were still on display Tuesday

Ashley Hall, Brevard chair of Moms for Liberty, said her group wants more transparency from the district about the program BPS staff will attend.

We were just trying to bring up the concern basically, Who is this organization? Why are we spending so much money on this, and how are we supposed to know that these ideologies are not being inserted into this training? … I know that they've used Conscious Discipline for a while now. We have teachers in our group (who) speak highly of the program itself, but have also seen some of the changes that have been made over the last couple of years that have gone a little bit to the left.

As political debates around critical race theory and LGBTQ rights have taken center stage in school board meetings around the country, social and emotional learning has sometimes been caught in the crossfire.

In November, Asra Nomani, vice president of conservative group Parents Defending Education, called social and emotional learning a Trojan horse to bring critical race theory and LGBTQ+ curriculum to the classroom around America.This fall parent groups in states including Texas, Indiana and Washington have pushed back against SEL programs.

BPS spokesman Russell Bruhn said he isnt aware of any plans by the district to reconsider sending staff to the Conscious Discipline Institute, and School Board Chair Misty Belford said its unlikely the district would move away from the program. Belford added that the summer institute was approved by the state as part of BPS reopening plan and has nothing to do with critical race theory.

Conscious Discipline has been around for a long time, Belford said. And the elements of the program that we're teaching have nothing to do with the raising an anti-racist kid blog post on the website. It's really about how do you encourage good choices by children and how do you address when children make bad choices and a positive way so that you can redirect them.

I'm kind of baffled by how social emotional learning has been turned into what it has been by some groups. I think it's just a misinterpretation.

Belford said the training is especially important due to the disruptions and emotional challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Students are dealing with a lot of big emotions that I don't think our students have had to deal with in, goodness, decades, Belford said.

On Tuesday, School Board member Matt Susin said the training isn't until summer, giving the district plenty of time to ensure the training is appropriate. He told FLORIDA TODAY in a Friday interview that he expects the best and hasn't seen any reason for concern with Conscious Discipline.

"Everything Conscious Discipline's done with our schools has been in line with rules and regulations, and no CRT's been taught," Susin said."And we hope to continue that with them and look forward to continued collaboration with them to help our kids."

Hall said her group isn't opposed to the training as long as it strictly deals with students' emotional health. For parents to be made comfortable, Hall said the district should share the materials or access to the training itself so that they can see that no critical race theory has infiltrated the teachings.

I think parents should have an open invitation to the training, Hall said. As long as we could see what the training materials are and see it for ourselves, so that we can feel comfortable that these ideologies aren't leaking in.

Bailey Gallion is the education reporter for FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Gallion at 321-242-3786 or bgallion@floridatoday.com.

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Brevard School Board: training accused of critical race theory has nothing to do with race - Florida Today

Versatile and overused, the colloquial "okay" conveys a wide range of expressions: an acknowledgment of one's well-being, an attitude of either support or indifference, a polite decline of goodwill offered, or an affirmation of someone's resilience.

Universally adopted, the term "okay" can seem both plain and mysterious, like in the case of Weike Wang's titular heroine in Joan is Okay.

Joan is a Chinese American doctor who feels most at home when at work. Wang's inside joke in keeping with the world's exhausted and exhaustive use of "okay" is to present Joan as an old stereotype: mousy, industrious, inscrutable, asexual. Joan's supervisor both admires and begrudges her robot-like dedication, "brilliant and potent, but with no interests outside work and sleep."

At the beginning of the novel, Joan appears pokerfaced after receiving news from China that her father has just died from a stroke. She takes Friday off to fly across the globe for his funeral, then comes right back to work the following Monday. The novel, in illustrating Joan's seemingly detached personality, satirizes the post-Enlightenment concept of self-determination as a blinkered worldview that actually impairs, rather than promotes, self-awareness. Reese, Joan's colleague, whose Teutonic image on the hospital's information brochure exudes strength and commitment, doesn't understand why his "reasonable" demand for sleep and holiday leave should hinder his career advancement. Mark, Joan's neighbor, while well-intentioned, holds facile assumptions about race, culture, and gender that prevent him from seeing Joan on her own terms.

Almost everyone Joan encounters would try to teach her how to live. To them she is an Eliza Doolittle, or a petite Frankenstein's monster, unformed but full of promise.

But Joan, whose name evokes "God's grace" in its subtle reference to her 15th century namesake, prides herself in being an unobtrusive but critical component in a well-run system a 5-ft. tall maestro who orchestrates breathing machines and brings order to the daily chaos at a New York hospital's medical ICU wing. As a teaching physician, Joan humbly compares herself to a "standardized" vessel, protected by emotional discipline and years of accumulated knowledge.

While Joan's ideal of medical efficacy seems closer to machine than the Romantic notion of freewill, it helps her appreciate her staff's core humanity: "If learning required mistakes, then teaching required watching different people make the same mistakes. Teaching was relentless dj vu but grounding. It cemented the idea that we are all the same height and weight did not matter, and the possibility of failure or (success) for anyone was never too far off."

Joan's belief in the universality of human resilience renders fluid the borders between native and other, home and exile, American Dream and Chinese Dream. In embracing medicine as her true home, Joan resists people's limited view of her as a cultural outcast. Likewise, her parents do not consider their condition of exile to be permanent. After years of struggle in an unyielding America, they return to China as soon as Joan goes off to college, and in time to establish themselves as members of Shanghai's upper-middle class.

Despite her parents' propitious homecoming and eventual success, their past sacrifices in what many often assume as the land of opportunity remind Joan of Ernest Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea, in which Santiago's dead, shark-infested marlin symbolizes the onerous American Dream.

But Wang's novel, in a way, is a sly correction of Hemingway's tragic individualism. Even at the novel's outset, Joan has already achieved her American Dream, and her parents have regained their Chinese Eden.

Throughout the novel, when thinking about her deceased father, Joan often meditates on the homonymic chung, which depending on the tone can mean either "to create something that never was, to forge a new path, to innovate," or "breaking down barriers and charging through." By espousing a pragmatic, resolutely untragic concept of agency as embodied by both meanings of chung, Joan at once pays homage to her father's legacy and affirms her Hippocratic oath.

Set during a six-month period from September 2019 through March 2020, Joan is Okay takes the reader through the inevitable rise of COVID in New York City, deftly showing the parallel between Joan's present calling and her parents' past labors. To be an effective physician in a pandemic is similar to being a hardy immigrant in an adverse environment: One must learn to go with the flow, put others before one's needs, accept suffering, and nurture hope.

By exploring the spectrum of commitment from doubts about one's career and cultural identity, as depicted in Wang's debut novel Chemistry, to a deep passion for one's calling that seems tantamount to faith in Joan is Okay Weike Wang has shown us myriad ways to build a sense of home, myriad ways to feel okay in our skin.

Thy inh is a freelance critic and literary translator. Her work can be found at thuydinhwriter.com. She tweets @ThuyTBDinh.

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Weike Wang's 'Joan Is Okay' explores the idea of home - NPR

Known as the It Girl on social media to her millions of followers, New York native Aaliyah Jay is expanding her resume as a beauty influencer into the fashion lane. As she prepares for the release of her upcoming clothing line Twisted Saints, the Los Angeles-based beauty is learning more about the fashion industry and herself as she spreads her wings into the world of fashion design and correspondence. The 27-year-old YouTuber is not abandoning her followers who know her for makeup tutorials and Girl Talk vlogs, but shes always known that her passion for fashion has burned inside of her and been a form of creative expression.

This is going to sound really cliche, but I think its me. Ive inspired my style as of lately, Aaliyah Jay told ESSENCE when asked about her personal style influences and how she fell in love with fashion. As of recently, Ive really found myself and Ive been doing a lot of self-work and Im like, Why dont I express this on the outside?. Ive been really trying to do that and I kind of just put on whatever I want.

While the influencer lives her life publicly and shows the Instaworld the glitz and glam of a day in the life of Aaliyah Jay, she does experience the dreaded imposter syndrome and finds ways daily to balance her mental health. I experience it all the time, she admitted about her experience with imposter syndrome. In times when she finds herself in bouts of negative self-talk, Aaliyah reminds herself that she is deserving of all the things that she has. Ive actually had to identify with it as of recently becauseself-awareness is very important.

To watch ESSENCEs full interview with Aaliyah Jay, check out the video above where the beauty influencer and associate editor DShonda Brown talk more about Twisted Saints, what the beauty industry has taught her, and her experiences with social media and imposter syndrome. Take a look!

TOPICS: Aaliyah jay beauty influencer fashion line

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Beauty Influencer Aaliyah Jay's Personal Style Is A Reflection Of Her Self-Work - Essence

This January, its time to take it easy and hone in on healthy habits that you can live with for an entire trip around the sunand beyond. Weve enlisted the help of industry experts to put together three four-week plans designed to help you move your body, eat more sustainably, or show yourself some loving care. Pick a planor threeand hit refresh. Get the Program

I am a big believer in creating what you want to see in the worldthrough conversation, intentional planning, and by exuding the positive energy that you'd like to be returned to you. I dont spend as much time reflecting as I would like (its something I'm consciously prioritizing and mindfully making more time to do), but as I work on leveling up the skill, Ive realized how core doing so is for being able to effectively set up the life I want to live.

To round out the month of using self-care practices to facilitate the creation of foundational happiness and positive growth, this week is about learning how to design your dream future, both by dreaming and doing.

Its important to capture affirmations and reflections, since they'll steer you toward the future that's meant for you. Buy a new journalwhether it's a gratitude journal, a dream journal, or a general notebookand practice capturing your thoughts in small ways. You can start with prompts to get into a creative flow. For instance, try responding to the prompts "What do I know for sure?" or "When do I feel most authentically me?"

Journaling is a favorite resetting hack of mine, because its nice to flip back to previous entries and see how much youve grown since you began the practice.

In addition to providing the self-awareness power of orienting you to how you authentically feel, journaling is a favorite resetting hack of mine, because down the road, its nice to be able to flip back to previous entries and see how much youve grown and changed since you began the practice.

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Do you know where in the world you would most love to visit for a transformative, worldview-shifting trip? Dream up this locale you want to explore by reading, watching content, and connecting with others about their travels. Consider what you might see on this trip, who you might meet, delicacies you might try, and experiences you might have.

I follow several travel accounts on social media to drum up inspiration for myself. As you dream about future travel, don't worry about the logistics of getting time off or paying for this trip or actually planning itall of the details are for down the road. Today, the purpose is to dream about your future trips.

Have dreams of going on a trip with friends, or even attending an event together that will beget meaningful shared memories? Make an Airbnb Wishlistwhich is basically a mood board where you can pin dreamy properties where you would like to stayand share it with your friends. You could also use online scheduling and surveying tools such as Doodle and Survey Monkey to gauge where your friends might like to go.

If a trip isnt in the cards, you can still scratch that travel itch by finding a special event happening in your city that everyone is excited about, like a concert or a play, and go. Or, you could host a group dinner themed to a specific destinationfor example, if a trip to Jamaica isn't in the cards, perhaps you could make jerk chicken together and watch How Stella Got Her Groove Back.

Make space in your schedule for a new practice or skill that youre excited to learn. Maybe you've always wanted to speak French, or you've been meaning to find time to take a pottery class. Whatever it is, leave notes around the house affirming the new practice or habit and look into local or digital classes. Cultivating comfort around learning a new skill at any age is important and something that many people lose as they get older.

Think about reading as an exploratory practice. How can you add novelty into your reading routine? If you are already an avid reader, branch out into new-to-you genres and see what excites you. To do so, find and source books on topics that interest you but you have never picked up before. I typically read fiction, for example, but I recently picked up A Work in Progress: A Journal by Ren Redzepi and it has been such an insightful read about the creative workings and the highs and lows that come alongside entrepreneurial success.

If you aren't a regular reader and aren't sure where to start with your book list, ask friends for their favorite books or join a book club. Check out descriptions and see what might resonate with you (choosing a favorite of someone else allows you the bonus of being able to connect with them about it). However you interact with reading, the act allows us to learn more about ourselves by way of learning about different arenas of the world in general.

Have you been musing about creating something you want to see in the world? Put your ideas on paper and start breathing life into them! You can start as small as drafting a purpose statement, creating an Instagram account, or making a mood board. I started Ethels Club in 2019 with one Instagram post that spoke to the need and power of safe spaces centered around joy and community. That post evolved into conversations, then into press, then into a physical space, and now into a brand known around the world. Put your ideas out thereyou never know what they could add to your life and the world if you keep them to yourself.

You've reached the end of the first month of the year, so bring all of your New Year energy and pour it into a shared experience with friends and loved ones. Have a small gatheringIRL or virtualdesigned around intentionally supporting one anothers dreams. A lot of magic happens when you speak things into existence, and starting with a strong support system of people who believe in you will give you the energy you need to keep going.

After youve sent out invitations, ask all attendees to create a three-minute presentation outlining their goals and desired milestones for the year ahead. At the party, everyone can share and talk about ideas for supporting and uplifting one another. After the party, create a group chat where everyone can share successes and challenges to keep the supportive relationships continuing throughout the year.

Looking to hit refresh on your healthy habits this January? Check out our full2022 ReNew Yearprogram for expert-led plans for sustainable eating, exercise, and self-care routines.

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