Kadmanivasi. My Blog. Geeta Ramani

                                                  (The Theatre of the Absurd) Once upon a time, he was a journalist. Today, he epitomizes the Super Prime-time Debate on Times-now. Ex political party spokespersons who learnt to combat him, and very few seasoned dignitaries know him as Mr. Arnab Goswami. If you watched him over the  week, you would still be undecided about who he is-an analyst, an investigator, a judge, a commissioner, an  inquisitor, or really Haldir, the 'Hidden Hero'.  You may be right to think he plays many roles. He painstakinly prepares the script with a line from the many news items of the day, for example what the elected chief minister of the new state of Telengana said or what the Chief Minister of the flood ravaged state of Jammu and Kashmir had not said.   He picks the Dramatis Personae, the guests on his panel, ...

Never mind the announcement of the 2014 Champions League Twenty20 to be held in India from 17 September to 6 October 2014; nor the news that Lasith Malinga will represent Mumbai Indians over the Southern Express side he led to victory in Sri Lanka; or the great Ian Botham saying that the IPL was “too powerful” for cricket’s long-term good as he called for the lucrative domestic tournament to be scrapped. There had been a clamour from a section of politicians and cricketers in India too for a ban the IPL! But this is not about the IPL! For you see, I have great valid reasons to bat for the IPL. Everything went wrong just before the IPL-7! Ok, just one thing, to be specific; our TV just blacked out. This was not the first time it had just stopped; it had happened on New Year’s Eve as well. My husband was away on work and our daughter had come home for the holidays. We hoped to usher in the New Year together, watching the programmes telecast on TV. So out went a call to our mecha...

Sounds familiar, isn’t it, especially to all my teacher friends! A writing prompt for kids, a favourite topic of the teachers! So many times have I read this composition and year after year, they grow impossibly difficult, painful and traumatic. I have often wondered if there is any other way out for kids and have asked myself if parents really have to subject these little children to the tongs and hammer of the dentist. I have been fortunate in the sense that I never had to visit a dentist for any serious condition, as a kid or even when I was younger. So I have really never faced this  harrowing experience. Well recently, during a general check up, my dentist suggested an invasive treatment. After having confirmed that there was no other way, or rather it was the best treatment he could offer, I returned, to have the procedure done the next day. My dentist, did, however ask me whether I was not mentally prepared to have it done that very day. If I wasn’t , I was not ready...

I had written this epilogue in my diary many many years ago .. and here, I reproduce it in my blog!   You see, our family is a sentimental lot; we get attached very easily, even to the 'treasures' we possess. From 1988 to 1992, we were the proud owners of   a second hand Sipani Dolphin 2-door car and like every such decision made at home, selling the bright red car was more dramatic (traumatic?) than buying her!   We should have realized it the first day she came home. But the little red car just bowled us over. She would start with a purr and she would race away. My husband got her for a tidy sum and declared, quite unnecessarily though, that the car was not a luxury, rather a necessity. She sat demurely in the garage, her red hue sparkling and glittering in the sun. My husband believed that she just needed a quick fix and then she’d be as good as new! Soon, the day dawned, wet and cloudy, the sky threatened to pour down the whole day long. My husband look...

The idea that a Prime Minister should address students on Teachers Day seemed a novel one and I was looking forward to it. It was not any Prime Minister, it was Prime Minister Narendra Modi. After having heard his speeches, I was eager to know what he would have to tell the children. His address in Parliament was inspirational and motivating and so was the Independence day address. From the ramparts of the Red Fort, he spoke to the common man. He filled their hearts with pride, he infused in them a  renewed vigor.  I think he excelled himself while addressing the joint houses of Parliament in Nepal, in terms of motivation and inspiration. That small Himalayan Kingdom must have really felt on top of the world that day. And so, in that strain, I was looking forward to Modi's speech. Yet I could not understand why students were being addressed on Teacher's Day! Sambit Patra, the BJP spokesperson, explained that just as a mother cannot be seen in isolation without her child, ...

Decades ago, when computers had just been introduced, people wondered where and how  they would be used. I got an opportunity in those early days, to undergo a week's training course by an institute named DPS - a basic general course about hardware, software and computer languages. This helped me to address the simple questions: what is a computer? What are its functions? Name its parts,  etc. I too found it confusing. After we got a personal computer, the operations became clear and the 'logic' became apparent! Back in those days it was comforting to begin the class with these few words.. Just as the bicycle adds to the power of your legs so does the computer, it adds to the power of our brains. It can calculate thousands of numbers, store them in memory and with a click of the button, retrieve it all. I also remember employee unions going on strike due to the introduction of computers in LIC and banks, they were afraid they would lose their jobs to the computer! The...

I realize its almost a year since I blogged! I am not surprised that a hullabaloo has been raised over the issue of the Teacher Vs the Guru. As I understand, a teacher is one who works in a school or an institute that imparts  education; one who could fall into the categories as put forth by William Arthur Ward-the mediocre, the good, the superior and the great We have come to look upon one who provides formal education as a teacher and one  who teaches a mantra or Vedanta as an Acharya.  The Guru occupies a place above; a Guru may be termed as an influential teacher or a revered mentor. The teacher is an important unit in nation building, central to both the problems of education and their solutions. Hence teachers need to be motivated and inspired. Did our Prime Minister not consider it important to address the teachers and their myriad issues on Teachers Day? Instead,  he chose to address the students at a time, when most schools get over for the day. I b...