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POETRY & POLITICS, IN LOVE & WAR – FAIZ

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    FAIZ’S WORK ENDURES BECAUSE ITS CORE IS HUMANISM

    A heartbroken teenager, a lecturer in English who was drawn to Marxism, a pioneer of the subcontinent’s political poetry, a supporter of Iran’s Islamic Revolution but not an Islamist, and finally self-exiled in Beirut after General Zia executed Bhutto – Faiz always said it was the early years that shaped the poet in him.

    Aur bhi dukh hain zamane mein mohabbat ke siva, rahaten aur bhi hain vasi ki rahat ke siva, mujh se pahli si mohabbat mere mehboob na maang (The world has other problems… other comforts than a lover’s embrace. So, my love, don’t ask I love you like I once did). That’s Faiz marrying romance and politics.

    In 1932, Angarey (Fire), an anthology of mostly feminist short stories, was banned but inspired the Progressive Writers Association, of which Faiz was an integral part. He left the army in 1947 to edit the left-leaning The Pakistan Times, disillusioned by Partition’s communal violence — Ye daagh daagh ujala ye shab-gazida sahar, vo intezaar tha jis ka ye vo sahar to nahin (This light stained by darkness is like dawn tainted by dusk. This isn’t the dawn we awaited).

    Arrested in 1951for the conspiracy to overthrow Pakistan’s Liaquat Ali govt, he published two books from jail. Dast-e Saba and Zindan Nama. He never gave up on hope: Qafas udaas hai yaaro saba se kuchh to kaho. Kahin to bahr-e-khuda aaj zikr-e-yaar chale (The cage is sad and silent. Say something to the breeze. For god’s sake, let’s talk about my beloved).

   On release four years on, he found Pakistan had distanced itself from the Soviets, his inspiration, and aligned with America, which he despised. In 1974, Bangladesh, at Mujibur Rahman’s request, he composed, Ham ki thahre ajnabi itni mudaraton ke baad. Phir banege ashna kitni mulaqaton ke baad (Despite the hospitality, we remain strangers, and who knows how many meetings it will take to become friends again).

    Once Zia arrested Bhutto, Faiz self-exiled to Beirut as editor of Lotus- a magazine to promote non-Euro-centric Asian and African writing. But Faiz felt uprooted, longing for his people: Mere dil, mere musafir, hua phir se hukum sadir, ki vatan-badar hon hum tum (My heart, my traveller, the order is issued again, we are exiled again).

    His most popular work, Hum Dekhenge, is a poem of dissent. Some find it anti-Hinduism — it’s just as anti-Islam. Inspired by Iran’s Islamic revolution, sourced from the Quran’s Surah al-Waqi’ah – the inevitability of Qayamat (doomsday)- experts are still divided over Hum Dekhenge’s message. A literal translation of key lines: ‘Idols would be removed from Kaaba to establish Allah’s rule.’ But these could also mean: Every idol – false gods and tyrants – will be removed from the house of God that is earth.’ Faiz was no Islamist but simply charmed by the people’s fight to depose the Shah.

    The poem’s climax, Utthega anal haq ka nara, jo mai bhi hu or tum bhi ho. Bus raj karegi khalke khuda jo mai bhi hu or tum bhi ho. Anal haq means ‘I am the truth.’ In Semitic religions, Islam, Judaism and Christianity, there’s strict duality between God and his creation. In contrast, the Sufi anal haq resonates with the Advait concept of aham brahmasmi or ‘I am one with God.’ The poem’s message then is that humans are the ultimate truth — divinity is within humanity, hence the divine right to self-rule.

(TIMES OF INDIA 5.7.25)

Posted by Kamlesh Tripathi

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Banu Mushtaq’s (International Booker Prize Winner-2025) interview

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(TIMES OF INDIA ARTICLE DATED 2/3/25: NEED FOR MORE TRANSLATIONS TO TAKE OUR LITERARY TREASURES TO THE GLOBAL STAGE)

Banu Mushtaq’s Translated Short stories have just made it to the Booker longlist, but the 77-year-old is more than a writer — she is also an advocate and a feisty feminist who has spotlighted the cause of Muslim women through her literary and legal work. Shrinivasa M spoke to the Kannada author, whose stories have been adapted into an award-winning film as well as being featured in literary magazines like The Paris Review and The Baffler
    Q. What was your reaction to ‘Heart Lamp’ making it to the International Booker longlist? You’ve received many national awards before, but was this a surprise?
    A. For a moment, I couldn’t even grasp what our literary agent was saying. Then, as congratulatory messages poured in, the atmosphere turned festive. At first, I saw it as a personal achievement, but watching my colleagues celebrate made me realise it was a collective success. More than anything, it’s a recognition of the Kannada language, Karnataka’s rich literary heritage, and the people of India on the global stage.
    Q. Kannada literature remains under-represented internationally. What can be done to change this?
    A. Interestingly, this is the first time both Romanian and Kannada languages have been included in the Booker longlist. Though Kannada has produced diverse literary genres, its international exposure remains limited, unlike Malayalam Literature, where translations into English happen promptly. Despite the vast volume of Kannada literature published daily, less than 1% is translated. Many masterpieces remain inaccessible to international readers, and this recognition highlights the need to bridge the gap.
    Q. Your stories often challenge caste, class, and gender hierarchies. What inspired the narratives in this anthology?
    A. ‘Heart Lamp’ is the English translation of my anthology ‘Edeya Hanate.’ My inspiration comes from daily life–observing society, people, and the compelling human stories I come across in newspapers and in my practice. As an advocate who offers free mediation services, I often witness clients, especially women, sharing not just legal concerns but also their emotional struggles. During these sessions, I maintain two sets of notes–one for legal aspects and another on their personal journeys. These emotional narratives form the foundation of my creative work. Short stories come naturally to me as I feel I can effortlessly transform daily interactions into compelling narratives.
    Q. How did you choose which stories to include in this collection for international readers?
    A. The selection was a collaborative effort between my translator Deepa Bhasthi and me. She read my five anthologies, and we discussed which stories to include. Some moved and disturbed her deeply, and I honoured her choices because if a story impacts her, it will resonate globally. The injustices of male dominance and societal hierarchies exist everywhere, and women across cultures will find themselves in these stories.
Q. You were a key part of the 1970s Bandaya Sahitya movement. How did it shape your writing, and what is the relevance of the resistance movement today?
A. The Bandaya movement inspired multiple social movements, including the rights of women and Dalits. Working in Hassan, a hub of activism, I witnessed protests daily, and my work documents personal experiences of humiliation, struggle, and resistance, allowing me to reflect and find solace through storytelling. Bandaya is a mindset — It’s about resistance against societal injustice, and it remains a way of life for me. While society is not always unjust, certain periods impose rigid norms, demanding blind adherence. At such times, we must challenge these restrictions. I continue to question societal, political, and religious structures, particularly male dominance.
Q. You have strongly supported the cause of Muslim women, even braving a social boycott in 2000. Do you feel issues like the hijab have become politicised, and become, a tool to target Muslims?
A. No. In fact, a segment of Muslims has begun adopting political Islam, and we should be wary of this trend. The hijab controversy in Udupi’s schools and pre-university colleges emerged due to the political agenda of outfits like the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI). This led to a series of actions and reactions. It is crucial to understand the sudden emphasis on the Constitution by certain groups who previously showed little interest in the matter.
Q. What is the role of literature in social change?
A. Literature has the power to influence decisions and perspectives. Recently, a Muslim woman from the coastal region sought legal advice from me. She told me that watching ‘Hasina’ –a Kannada film made by Girish Kasaravalli which is based on my story of a woman deserted by her husband after he finds her pregnant with a fourth daughter –helped her find answers to her struggles. That moment reaffirmed my belief that literature can shape lives, encourage resistance, and offer solutions.
Q. Were there any challenges in translating ‘Heart Lamp’?
A. Yes, especially due to the regional and linguistic nuances. I use Hassan dialect, colloquial Kannada, and many Urdu and Arabic words, which are difficult to translate. Deepa consulted publishers and ultimately retained many native terms. She met me multiple times for clarifications. She put in immense effort.
Q. With ‘Heart Lamp’ gaining global recognition will you write more for an international audience?
A. I have always written for myself and Kannada readers, without considering a global audience. My commitment remains to human experiences. My style and expression may evolve, but my core themes will not change.

Posted by Kamlesh Tripathi

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Shravan Charity Mission is an NGO that works for poor children suffering from life-threatening diseases, especially cancer. Our posts are meant for our readers, including children and adults, and have a huge variety of content. We also accept donations for our mission. Should you wish to donate to the cause of cancer? The bank details are given below:

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Literature: Rejected Then Revered–The Literary Life and Afterlife of American Author Herman Melville

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    Any struggling author might find consolation in knowing that Herman Melville (1819-1891) didn’t have it so easy, either. His story of literary success and failure is as relevant now as it was in his time. An author makes a splash on the literary scene, and the public demands more of the same, only to find that the author has moved on. His growth as a writer no longer allows him to produce the same type of work that the public wants, and his stardom begins to fade. This is how we understand Melville today as a misunderstood genius. His stardom extended beyond the circumference of his readers’ taste.

    Travel narratives were once the most popular genre in the nineteenth century. Americans were fascinated by foreign cultures, specifically, as a means to understand their place in the global world. Today, we recognise Melville for his whale of a masterpiece, Moby-Dick. But it was his first two works, Typee and Omoo, that made him most famous. Typee was an autobiographical travel narrative based on his real-life experience of being held captive by cannibals after he deserted the whaling ship Acushnet in 1841. The cannibals on the Marquesas Islands were fortunately friendly and fun-loving, and Melville was able to leave and find his way back home. People were captivated by the exotic story, and the title Typee made Melville an immediate sensation. He followed it up with “Omoo,” another adventure story set in the Polynesian islands, and it appeared as though Melville had a long way to literary fame ahead of him.

        With new fame, a new wife, and a blossoming friendship with fellow writer Nathaniel Hawthorne, Melville began working on another novel. In 1849, he published Mardi, a novel that marked a shift in style and substance. Like Hawthorne, Melville also became interested in writing romance, in which he was free to create a work based on symbolic representations of ideas rather than specific facts from his real life.

    Mardi was a forerunner to Moby-Dick. The book was panned by readers and rejected by the public, who just wanted to hear exciting sea-faring adventures.

    Melville’s masterpiece, Moby-Dick, in many ways was a patchwork. It was a mix of styles, narrative, points of view, and literary forms. It contained dictionary entries, word etymologies, whaling manual entries, elaborate, contorted sentence structures, and biblical allusions. It was part comedy, part tragedy, and part epic. For all its complexity, the book was a masterful mix of all these features and was regarded as a work of genius.

    Moby-Dick starts with that iconic line in literature: “Call me Ishmael.”  Ishmael, the narrator of the book, decides he has had enough of land and joins the crew of a whaling ship, named Pequod. As he waits to set sail, he finds himself sharing a room at an inn with another crew member, Queequeg, a cannibal and harpooner from the South Seas, and they quickly form an unlikely friendship. They don’t meet their mysterious captain, Ahab, until after the ship sets sail. Ahab announces to the crew that this will not be a run-of-the-mill whaling trip. They are on a mission to find a formidable white whale named Moby Dick, which once claimed Ahab’s leg in a violent attack and destroyed his ship. The crew is now part of Ahab’s monomaniacal quest to avenge his attack. They encounter Moby Dick three times, until the great White Whale finally crushes the ship, taking Ahab down with it into the vortex of the sea after the rope of Ahab’s harpoon catches his own neck. Ishmael is the only crew member who survives to tell the tale, floating atop Queequeg’s coffin.

    At its core, Moby-Dick is an allegorical quest narrative, but the complexity of the book lends itself to multiple interpretations. Some readers view it as a cautionary tale about the hubris of humanity in attempting to control nature, while others see Ahab’s mission to kill Moby Dick as a fight against evil. Others interpret it as Ahab’s obsession as a battle against evil, or even as a search for God or divine truth. For both Ahab and Ishmael, the whale is the centre of the book, a mysterious, gigantic creature that symbolises the ineffability of nature. Both try to come to terms with the whale – Ahab with his harpoon and Ishmael with his exhaustive lists of whale anatomy, dictionary of whaling terms, and passages clipped from whaling manuals.

    The name “Ishmael” itself is symbolic. In the Bible, Ishmael is the outcast son of Abraham, suggesting that Melville’s narrator is a kind of societal outsider, observing life from the margins.

       Moby-Dick barely made a ripple when it was published. It took more than seventy years for it to come into its own, finally recognised as the literary masterpiece it is. Hawthorne, to whom the book was dedicated, was one of the few people who praised the book.

    After the early success of Typee and Omoo, Melville never again found popular acclaim. The rest of his life was spent writing in obscurity, disillusioned by the need to cater to the public’s tastes in order to survive. Many of his works after Moby-Dick, such as the short story “Bartleby, the Scrivener,” a parable about the incompatibility of commerce and the human spirit, and The Confidence-Man, a book satirising the level of faith people like Emerson put in the goodness of human nature, are testaments to his bitterness. Melville died relatively unknown but has now become recognised as the author of (in some minds) “the great American novel.”

    The next time you go to pick up that cup of Starbucks, remember this fun fact: Starbucks is named after Starbuck, the first mate of the illustrious Pequod.

Written and posted by Kamlesh Tripathi

Author, Poet, & Columnist

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Shravan Charity Mission is an NGO that works for poor children suffering from life-threatening diseases, especially cancer. Our posts are meant for our readers, including children and adults, and have a huge variety of content. We also accept donations for our mission. Should you wish to donate to the cause of cancer? The bank details are given below:

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Panchatantra: The Curious Monkey

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“Wow! What’s that?” The curious monkey asked his friends–fellow monkeys. The friends, looking in the direction he was pointing, saw what had attracted his attention. It was a log of wood.
“What’s so interesting about a log of wood?” His friends asked.
Instead of answering the friends, the curious monkey ran to the log and jumped on it. Looking at the wedge in the middle of the log, the monkey reached out to touch it.
A little further down, a group of woodcutters were laughing and enjoying their meal, unaware of the prank the curious monkey was about to play. They had been cutting this log of wood all morning and had managed to cut a part of it, but they had to take a break for lunch. Not wanting the log to close up again, they had placed a wedge in the slit to keep it open.
This wedge was what the curious monkey began to tug at, while the other monkeys stepped aside. Suddenly, the wedge snapped and the log of wood shut, trapping the curious monkey’s leg.
While all his friends ran away in fear, the sad little monkey sat there in pain, waiting for the woodcutters to return from their break.
Lesson: Unnecessary interference in others’ matters may interfere with the matters of your life.

Posted by Kamlesh Tripathi

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https://kamleshsujata.wordpress.com

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Shravan Charity Mission is an NGO that works for poor children suffering from life-threatening diseases, especially cancer. Our posts are meant for our readers, including children and adults, and have a huge variety of content. We also accept donations for our mission. Should you wish to donate to the cause of cancer? The bank details are given below:

NAME OF ACCOUNT: SHRAVAN CHARITY MISSION

Account no: 680510110004635 (BANK OF INDIA)

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World Music Day: An Intertwining of Rhythm and Soul

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    World Music Day is also known as Fête de la Musique. It is celebrated annually on June 21. It originated in France, where citizens were encouraged to play music in their homes and neighbourhoods. The English word ‘music’ originates from the Arabic word ‘Mausiki.’ 

    The world has never been bereft of music. The veena of Goddess Saraswati symbolises the harmony of the universe. It is the melodic balance of speech, sound, and silence. Meera Bai’s bhajans captivate listeners with love and devotion. She sang for Lord Krishna. “Mere to Giridhar Gopal, doosro na koi” (I belong only to Giridhar Gopal, no one else.) In her Vakhs, Lal Ded, the 14th-century Kashmiri mystic poet, speaks of an inner sound or vibration that leads to spiritual awakening. The idea supports the Indian philosophical concept of Nada Brahma—the belief that the universe itself is the divine sound.

    “Mujh se pehli si mohabbat meri mehboob na maang, Mausiki mein bhi ab woh halaat nahin rahe.” (Do not ask me for the love I once gave you. Music no longer holds the same sweetness.) In this line, Urdu poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz intertwines lost love with the fading joy in music, linking emotion with melody.  

    Tansen believed music was the path to the divine. His practice was deeply spiritual, and he often sang in praise of Lord Krishna. According to legends, Tansen could light lamps with Raga Deepak, bring rain with Raga Megh Malhar, and calm wild animals with appropriate ragas. Though these tales may be exaggerated, they reflect the belief that music is a natural force, not merely an art form, but a form of sadhana (spiritual discipline). Tansen said, “Raag aur taal ke bina sangeet adhoora hai. Sangeet vo hai jo man ko shaant kare aur bhagwan se milaye.” (“Music without raga and rhythm is incomplete. True music is that which calms the mind and brings one closer to God.”)

    Mystic poet Kabir did not regard music merely as an art but as a sacred practice and a direct path to the divine. His verses (dohas) often express the idea that true music arises from within, when the soul becomes attuned to the divine presence. 

    Greek composer Vangelis, whose iconic theme ‘Çhariots of Fire’ (fit to be the Olympic hymn) won him an Academy Award in 1981, conveys his underlying craving for music. He believed that music shaped the universe and that he understood the world through music. Vangelis believed in ‘Sadhana’. 

    André Rieu, the famous Dutch violinist and conductor, emphasises the emotional and universal nature of music: “I make music to touch the souls of people as it’s a language we all can speak.” German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche famously stated, “Without music, life would be a mistake.” Persian Poet Rumi believed passionately in the use of music, poetry, and dance as a path for reaching God. For Rumi, music helped devotees concentrate their whole being on the divine. Rumi encouraged Sama to listen to music and engage in the sacred dance. Rumi’s favourite musical instrument was the reed flute … ‘Listen to the reed and the tale it tells’. 

    “The music is not in the notes, but in the silence between,” was Mozart’s take, and “Music should strike fire from the heart of man and bring tears from the eyes of woman,” proclaimed Beethoven. “If music be the food of love, play on,” wrote Shakespeare, in Twelfth Night.

    And finally, life is best described in the musical song ‘Que Sera Sera. Whatever will be will be,’ written by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans. Let music be your companion in joy, in sorrow, and in silence. Happy World Music Day. 

Posted by Kamlesh Tripathi

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https://kamleshsujata.wordpress.com

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Shravan Charity Mission is an NGO that works for poor children suffering from life-threatening diseases, especially cancer. Our posts are meant for our readers, including children and adults, and have a huge variety of content. We also accept donations for our mission. Should you wish to donate to the cause of cancer? The bank details are given below:

NAME OF ACCOUNT: SHRAVAN CHARITY MISSION

Account no: 680510110004635 (BANK OF INDIA)

IFSC code: BKID0006805

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POEM: MONSOON MELODIES

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MONSOON MELODIES

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“The vibrant monsoon is a bonanza that revives the flora and fauna. Each drip and drop of rain feels like manna, falling from heaven and breathing life into Planet Earth.”

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When the clouds occupy the sky,

And the day becomes overcast,

When the raindrops begin to fall,

My mind slips into a flashback.

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When the downpour turns generous,

The world begins to hum in mellifluous,

The gardens swell with spirited life,

And streets flush clear, washed of strife.

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The trees stand rinsed and tall,

Leaves shimmer in the rainfall,

Flowers beam their brightest hue,

The air feels clean, the world feels new.

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My flashback swells and opens wide,

Revealing the joy I once kept inside,

The cool breeze brushes against my skin,

With the gentle warmth of life within.

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The rainy day,

Pulls me out of my hideout,

For once,

Outside appears to be better than the inside.

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In the slush and storm, I start my stride,

No longer wishing to hide,

The atmosphere becomes soothing,

When each moment becomes moving.

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While sitting on the park bench,

I notice the droplet that lands on the shining leaf,

It remains there for a brief,

And then starts rolling down the leaf,

Taking with it all the heat.

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The scourge of global warming,

Momentarily cools under the heavy downpour,

But the Hydra-Headed Monster,

Will soon rise, fears Mother Earth.

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Life transforms and becomes mellifluent,
Thoughts become benevolent,
The air, though soaked, feels light and delirious,
Each moment is sweetly reminiscent.

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The beauty of life sleeps in off time,

It awakens when the monsoon arrives,

It dresses up when the showers go by,

So enjoy the rain, the biggest gift to mankind.

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“Monsoons give renewed life to Planet Earth. Typically, we don’t attach much importance to them. But can you imagine life on Planet Earth without the drip and drop of Rain?”

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Posted by Kamlesh Tripathi

Author, Poet, & Columnist

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https://kamleshsujata.wordpress.com

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Shravan Charity Mission is an NGO that works for poor children suffering from life-threatening diseases, especially cancer. Our posts are meant for our readers, including children and adults, and have a huge variety of content. We also accept donations for our mission. Should you wish to donate to the cause of cancer? The bank details are given below:

NAME OF ACCOUNT: SHRAVAN CHARITY MISSION

Account no: 680510110004635 (BANK OF INDIA)

IFSC code: BKID0006805

***

Interesting Facts: Sweet Mango Faces a Bitter Heat Challenge

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(THE TIMES OF INDIA 21/7/24 SWEET MANGO FACES A BITTER HEAT CHALLENGE


    Be it the sweet and succulent Dussehri of Maal-Malihabad, Langda of Varanasi, Saharanpur’s  Chausa, or Rataul variety of Baghpat – mango, the king of fruits, continues to reign supreme.
    Another significant constituent of UP’s diverse mango wealth is Gaurjeet of Gorakhpur, for which the UP government is trying to get a GI tag. If this happens, UP will become the state with the maximum GI-tagged mango varieties.
    What, however, has emerged as a challenge for mangoes in UP in the last few years is the unpredictable weather. Lucknow-based ICAR lab, Central Institute for Subtropical Horticulture (CISH), is working to make mangoes climate-resilient by introducing new technologies and, also, new varieties.
    “Last year, it was the untimely rain, and this time, it was the extreme temperature and heat which affected the crops.” Said director, CISH, T Damodaran.
    CISH Lab conducts research on mandated subtropical fruits, mangoes being the one, to come with improved varieties.
    In the case of mangoes, Dussehri, being an early ripening variety, is 80% more susceptible to heat and high temperatures. “In many fruits, we saw premature ripening this time, ” the director said.
    To deal with the impact of weather on mangoes, CISH is working at two levels – developing climate-resilient technologies and making efforts to come up with genetically improved hybrids. Many orchards in Malihabad had mangoes covered with paper bags this year, to control the impact of the heat. “This was only one of the ways devised to tackle the impact of heat. We have also come up with technologies to control the attack of pests on mangoes, as unpredictable weather may also trigger that,” he said.
    The institute has already released two hybrid mangoes – Ambika and Arunika. The varieties are genetically improved and were tested over a period before they were released for commercial production. Each is a cross of two types of mangoes.
    Ambika is a cross of Amrapali and Janardan Pasand, and Arunika is a cross of Amrapali and Vanraj, a mango from Gujarat.
    Two more varieties developed by CISH, Samriddhi and Madhurika, are ready for release shortly. Besides, at least 11 other hybrid mangoes may be up for screening by the institute to be released for commercial production.
    The hybrids are genetically improved, have high productivity and yield a better-quality fruit. They are also tolerant to heat waves and biotic stress due to the attack of pests and insects. The varieties developed scientifically are also nutraceutically improved. Along with this, CISH has also come up with improved varieties of Dussehri.
    It is by mid-March that a Dussehri tree usually completes its flowering stage, and within a week, the fruit may set in. In Dussehri’s cycle of growth, rain in March may be damaging because that is when the flowers just open and pollination takes place. “Rain may make flowers either drop or turn black, something that happened last year,” said Naseeb Khan, a mango entrepreneur in Malihabad.
In that case, some fruits that develop may be false fruits as they would lack seeds. Mangoes need a temperature between 27 degrees Celsius and 35 degrees Celsius to grow ideally in March and April. The varying temperature damages the fruit. Cloudy weather, high humidity and high velocity winds may further hit the crop. “In many fruits, this year, the seed may become soggy, affecting the taste. It was because of the extreme heat,” said Khan. UP accounts for over 23% of the total mango production in the country. Lucknow, Saharanpur and Meerut are the main mango-producing regions. In the last few years, mango varieties from the state have been exported to Singapore, Malaysia, the US, England and Dubai.
(PICTURES OF MANGO VARIETIES ON A PLATTER)
(‘OG’ (ORIGINAL) MANGOES OF UP)
– Dussehri from Maal-Malihabad in Lucknow, Langda from Varanasi, Rataul from Baghpat, Gaurpreet from Gorakhpur and Chausa from Saharanpur grow naturally in UP.
– Dussehri, Rataul and Langda are GI tagged. The UP government has sought a GI tag for Chausa and Gaurpreet.
– Dussehri, Langda and Chausa are exported outside UP and India and are commercially successful and popular.
FIRST HYBRID MANGO VARIETIES
– Work to develop hybrid varieties of mangoes started in the 1960s at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi
– The purpose was to develop varieties that would bear every year and have high productivity, besides yielding good quality fruits.
– Amrapali (cross of Dussehri and Neelam) and Mallika (cross of Neelam and Dussehri) were the first hybrids.
– Dussehri is from North India, and Neelam is from South India. While North Indian varieties are biennial, those from South India bear annually.
– CISH CONSERVES AND PROPAGATES 775 MANGO VARIETIES
– CISH has the biggest collection of mango germplasm in the world.
– Many varieties are now extinct at their places of origin
– Collection started in 1975 when the institute started as the Central Mango Research Station.
– Kensington Pride from Australia was the first exotic variety brought to the institute.
– Today, it has 17 others, including Tommy Atkins, Sensation, Edward, Eldon, Keitt, Kent, Osteen, Palmer, Kitchner, Starch, Filipino, Lilly, Maya, Carabao, Kowasaji Patel, St Alexander & Prior-de-Amroesia.
– Mangoes have been sourced from nurseries and orchard owners over a period of time, and are used to develop new varieties.

Posted by Kamlesh Tripathi

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Shravan Charity Mission is an NGO that works for poor children suffering from life-threatening diseases, especially cancer. Our posts are meant for our readers, including children and adults, and have a huge variety of content. We also accept donations for our mission. Should you wish to donate to the cause of cancer? The bank details are given below:

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Let Your Life Be Like Music

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World Music Day, also known as Fête de la Musique, celebrates the beauty and diversity of music. Sangeet transcends boundaries, cultures, and genres. People worldwide embrace music and its profound impact on their lives.     In his essay Music at Night, Aldous Huxley rightly said, “After silence, which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music.” Music is to the soul what words are to the mind. Everything in the universe has a rhythm; everything dances.

Science has proven that rhythmic tones diminish the feral instincts not only in humans but also in animals.     Rangers at Kruger National Park in South Africa play instruments to tranquilise rogue elephants. Urdu poet Naubat Rai ‘Nazar’ wrote, “Pathar ke seene mein bhi dil ubhar aata hai/ Iss qadar asar hota hai mausiki ka” – Heart appears even in a stone/This is how music impacts.   The Arabic word mausiqi became music in English.

The universal language of symphonic serenity, which the cosmos uses to express itself, has neither geographical barriers nor requires learning a new language to appreciate. One only needs ears to appreciate nature’s soulful cadences. “Kaanon mein jo shahad ghol de/Pahunchaye jo dil ko sukoon/ Usi ko naam diya hai mausiqi ka” — What pours honey into the years/ Gives solace to the heart/ That’s what we call music.    

Don’t we say in English that it’s mellifluous to our ears? Anything with the power and quality to transport us to an ethereal realm is tuneful. Listen to Chopin’s classical piano masterpieces, Yehudi Menuhin and Niccolo Paganini’s gossamer creations on a violin or Beethoven’s most famous compositions, including Symphony No 5 in C Minor, you’re bound to say, ‘Agar firdaus var roo e zameenast/Hameenst, Hameenst, Hameenst – if there’s heaven elsewhere on earth/ It’s here, here and here.     Tuneful soulfulness also has a therapeutic impact on the human mind.

Many prisons in the Western world have a specific room where prisoners can go and listen to symphonies because rhythms can curb criminal tendencies. In other words, music has a humanising quality. It makes us human and humane. Tunes and tenors are also cathartic. That’s the reason heartbroken people listen to sad songs and ghazals. They feel better after that because sangeet purifies from within and is heart-cleansing. To quote Mirza Ghalib, “Rone se aur ishq mein bebaak ho gaye/ Dhoye gaye hum aise ke bas paak ho gaye” — I felt more liberated in love/Once I shed tears and became sanctified. Let’s listen to soothing music in these times of utter cacophony and merge ourselves into the Elysian bliss because Life is for living/ Death is for the dead. Let life be like music/ And death a note unsaid. Remember, some people have lives; others have musical notes as boon companions. Doesn’t it sound like an ethereal symphony to your ears? June 21 is World Music Day ***

(SPEAKING TREE TIMES OF INDIA, JUNE 21, 2025, “LET YOUR LIFE BE LIKE MUSIC” BY SUMIT PAUL, JUNE 21 IS WORLD MUSIC DAY )   

Posted by Kamlesh Tripathi

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Shravan Charity Mission is an NGO that works for poor children suffering from life-threatening diseases, especially cancer. Our posts are meant for our readers, including children and adults, and have a huge variety of content. We also accept donations for our mission. Should you wish to donate to the cause of cancer? The bank details are given below:

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READER’S REWIND: THE TIGER’S TAIL

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    The tiger’s tail takes me back to Shillong of the 60s. Once, I was returning from Guwahati to Shillong in my father’s sky-blue Chevrolet Bel-Air car. Father had returned to Gauhati from Delhi via Kolkata, and the car had gone from Shillong to pick him up from Guwahati airport. (Shillong airport was not operational till mid 70s). I was very young and had tagged along with our friendly chauffeur, Bahadur, to receive Father. Father was a member of the Assam Cabinet. This was before Meghalaya was carved out of the state of Assam; until then, Shillong happened to be the capital of Assam. The sky-blue Chevrolet was cruising along quietly on the winding, hilly road. In those days, the drive from Guwahati to Shillong took about three hours, on account of the single road with a half-hour stop at the picturesque Nongpoh circuit house (midway) surrounded by tall pine trees and lush green hills. Nongpoh was famous for delicious mutton chops.

    We were close to Barapani, on the Shillong-Guwahati Road, aka the GS Road. Father was taking a well-deserved rest on the back seat after a hectic tour, and I was in the front seat with Bahadur. I was talking in undertones with him, and he too was replying in the same manner, as we didn’t want to disturb Father. Since Bahadur was well versed with Shillong and the vicinity, I was trying to find out if there was any wildlife around, even when I had seen plenty of wolves and foxes frequenting the iconic Brightwell Bungalow, our home in Barik Point, Shillong.

    Suddenly, Bahadur pointed at something unusual as well as bizarre on the roadside, a little before the Umiam Dam Project coming up in Barapani near Shillong. A group of about eight tribals were carrying a tiger with its legs bound on a sturdy pole, and the body lashed with strong and thick creepers. They were resting there while the tiger was lying by their side. Bahadur and I promptly got out of the car and approached the party. I started circling the tiger, not knowing how to approach it. Bahadur offered that I wanted to feel the tiger, especially its ears, whiskers, paws, body or the tail. I realised that even a fallen tiger looked so ferocious. I gradually gathered some guts and touched its tail. The tail wasn’t soft and silky as generally made out. I was anxious that the tiger might get up and pounce on me. But sadly, it was lying dead.  I ran my fingers on the tail from one end to the other and finally lifted it with both my hands. It was an amazing experience. Bahadur explained, the tiger uses its tail for balancing, counterbalancing and signalling while chasing targets. Soon we were back in the car. The car was filled with the scent of tiger.

    Father enquired if the tiger was dead. We felt the question was strange, as a tiger alive would have threatened and jeopardised our lives, as no one possessed a gun. We then came to know about the extent of the father’s knowledge about the local flora and fauna. He informed us that different tribes used dissimilar poisons to traumatise and kill the prey. The availability of poisons varied with locales, and in the present case, the poison appeared strong enough to kill the tiger immediately and not just make him unconscious. The Khasi Hills had several little-known Asiatic poisons but very powerful ones. Some strong poisons were extracted from flowers that bloomed once in two years or maybe three. This, however, cannot be authenticated now, but the local wisdom still believes in it. The tiger had probably been killed by a poisonous arrow (Teer) and chased after being hit. Tiger meat is still a delicacy and is used as an aphrodisiac in many parts of Asia.    The hapless tiger with its upturned body was a grotesque sight. They lifted the pole along with the tiger and vanished into thin air, taking a shortcut through some glade, shouting ‘Khublei.’ (‘Thank you’ or ‘God bless you’ in Khasi language). This method of hunting was primitive, though much followed by the old veterans of the village. It was economical as guns and bullets were unnecessary, and was mostly manpower oriented.

    This one-off episode, just twenty minutes of screen time, wrapped around my soul like the tail of a tiger. It struck me not with a roar, but with a whisper so powerful that it echoed through the quiet chambers of my heart. It was a scene that stuck in my mind for life. A mix of danger and beauty.

    Since then, whenever I visit Shillong, I stop at the location near the dam to remember the animal that had found space in my heart, and I don’t know why. How could an animal carcass find space in my heart, I could never figure out? I have seen umpteen tigers since then, some in zoos and some in sanctuaries, but that sleeping beauty of my childhood days was different, and the feel of the tiger’s tail was indelible. It lives in me even now as I watch the world in silence. The memory doesn’t fade. It has only grown sharper with time and refuses to forget me. That is why I scripted this story with freshness, as if it had happened only yesterday. Childhood memories always stay alive.

Written by Kamlesh Tripathi

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Shravan Charity Mission is an NGO that works for poor children suffering from life-threatening diseases, especially cancer. Our posts are meant for our readers, including children and adults, and have a huge variety of content. We also accept donations for our mission. Should you wish to donate to the cause of cancer? The bank details are given below:

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The Significance of Number 18 in Hindu Scriptures

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    Number 18 unquestionably is considered auspicious and has great significance in Hindu scriptures. This significance is highlighted in the great epic, the Mahabharata. While reading the holy epic Mahabharata, you will find that it is divided into 18 parvas (sections). Let’s not forget that the holy war of the Mahabharata, fought in Kurukshetra, was fought over 18 days. The battlefield witnessed 18 divisions (akshauhinis) of armies. 11 divisions were on the Kauravas’ side and 7 were on the Pandavas’ side. At the end of the war, which lasted 18 days, it is believed that only 18 prominent individuals survived. This underlines the transformative impact of this conflict, which had spiritual and moral dimensions.

    The Bhagavad Gita, which is a sacred discourse delivered by Lord Krishna and is the most important part of the Mahabharata, also consists of 18 chapters. At the end of its 2nd chapter, Lord Krishna outlines 18 qualities that define a person of steady wisdom (sthita-prajna), highlighting the traits of one who has achieved spiritual victory.

    Apart from the Mahabharata, the number 18 also appears in other key Hindu texts. There are 18 major Puranas and 18 Upapuranas, which include stories, teachings, and cosmological concepts. There are 18 Dharmashastras, guiding principles of law and ethics for righteous living.

    The central idea of all scriptures of all religions in the world is the same. The prime idea is the victory of the higher being over the lower one, or righteousness over unrighteousness, or of the good over the evil, and of dharma over adharma. Ved Vyas had originally titled the Mahabharat as Jaya (victory). The word Jaya is in the opening stanzas of both the Mahabharata and the Gita.

    Interestingly, in the ancient Katapayadi system (numerical notation system) of Sanskrit numerology, where letters are assigned numerical values, the word “Jaya” (meaning “victory”) equals 18. The original name of the Mahabharata was Jaya Samhita, and it appears in the opening verses of both the Mahabharata and the Gita. This numerical value emphasises the theme of spiritual triumph. To highlight the significance of the word Jaya, the number 18 is given a prominent place not only in the Mahabharata but also in various other Hindu scriptures. Thus, the number 18 is repeatedly used as an auspicious reminder to stay alert in our constant battle for inner spiritual victory.

Across all Hindu scriptures, the central message remains unchanged: the victory of dharma (righteousness) over adharma (unrighteousness), the higher self over the lower, and good over evil. The repeated use of the number 18 serves as a symbolic reminder of this ongoing inner battle—and the ultimate goal of achieving spiritual victory, or jaya.

Posted by Kamlesh Tripathi

Author, Poet, & Columnist

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https://kamleshsujata.wordpress.com

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Shravan Charity Mission is an NGO that works for poor children suffering from life-threatening diseases, especially cancer. Our posts are meant for our readers, including children and adults, and have a huge variety of content. We also accept donations for our mission. Should you wish to donate to the cause of cancer? The bank details are given below:

NAME OF ACCOUNT: SHRAVAN CHARITY MISSION

Account no: 680510110004635 (BANK OF INDIA)

IFSC code: BKID0006805

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