Tag Archives: shravancharitymission

FACTS & FIGURES: My Lai massacre … Vietnam War

April 29, 2020Uncategorizedamericans, cambodia, co luy, guerrillas, kamlesh tripathi, massacre, my khe, my lai, pinkville, quang ngai, shravancharitymission, son tinh, thompson, tu cung, usa army, viet cong, vietnam, william calleyshravancharitymission

My Lai Massacre was an incident, that occurred during the Vietnam War on 16 March 1968, when a group of US soldiers killed 347 ordinary people, including women and children, in the Vietnamese village of My Lai. Later in 1971, the officer who ordered the attack, Lieutenant William Calley, was sent to prison for life, but this was later reduced to 10 years and he was in fact released in 1974 in just three years. Many Americans were shocked by the incident, and as a result protests against the war increased.

To put it in perspective it was a mass murder of unarmed South Vietnamese civilians by the U.S. troops in Son Tinh district in South Vietnam. In this horrific crime somewhere around 500 unarmed people were killed by the U.S. Army soldiers.

Victims included men, women, children and even infants. Some of the women were even gang-raped and their bodies were mutilated and that included children as young as twelve. Twenty-six soldiers were charged with criminal offences.

This war crime was later called ‘the most shocking episode of the Vietnam War. It took place in two hamlets of Son My village in Quang Ngai province. These hamlets were marked on the U.S. Army topographic maps as My Lai and My Khe.

The U.S. Army slang names, for the hamlets and sub-hamlets in that area were Pinkville, and the carnage was initially referred to as the Pinkville Massacre. Later, when the U.S. Army started its investigation, the media changed it to the Massacre at Songmy. Currently, this horrific event is referred to as the My Lai Massacre in the United States and called the Sơn Mỹ massacre in Vietnam.

The incident prompted global outrage when it became public knowledge in November 1969. The incident increased to some extent domestic opposition to the U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War when the scope of killing and cover-up attempts were exposed. Initially, three U.S. servicemen who had tried to halt the massacre and had rescued the hiding civilians were shunned, and even denounced as traitors by several U.S. Congressmen. And it was only after 30 years that they were recognized and decorated, one posthumously, by the U.S. Army for shielding non-combatants from harm in a war zone. My Lai was one of the largest publicized massacres of civilians by U.S. forces in the 20th century.

On the morning of 16 March at 7:30 a.m., around 100 soldiers from Charlie Company led by Medina, following a short artillery and helicopter gunship barrage, landed in helicopters at Son My, a patchwork of settlements, rice paddies, irrigation ditches, dikes, and dirt roads, connecting an assortment of hamlets and sub-hamlets. The largest among them were the hamlets of My Lai, Co Luy, My Khe, and Tu Cung.

Although no ammunitions were fired on American soldiers after landing, the American troops, still suspected there were VC guerrillas (i.e. Viet Cong guerrillas, officially known as the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam) hiding underground or in the huts.

According to the operational plan, 1st Platoon, led by Second Lieutenant William Calley, and 2nd Platoon, led by 2LT Stephen Brooks, entered the hamlet of Tu Cung in a line formation at 08:00, while the 3rd Platoon, commanded by 2LT Jeffrey U. Lacross, and Captain Medina’s command post remained outside. On approach, both platoons fired at people they saw in the rice fields and in the bushes.

The villagers, who were getting ready for a market day, at first did not panic or run away, as they were herded into the hamlet’s commons. Harry Stanley, a machine gunner from Charlie Company, said during the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division inquiry that the killings started without warning. He first observed a member of 1st Platoon strike a Vietnamese man with a bayonet. Then the same trooper pushed another villager into a well and threw a grenade in it. Next, he saw some fifteen or twenty people, mainly women and children, kneeling around a temple with smouldering incense. They were actually praying and crying. Sadly, they were all killed by shots to their head.

Most of the killings occurred in the southern part of Tu Cung, a sub-hamlet of Xom Lang, which was a home to 700 residents. Xom Lang was erroneously marked on the U.S. military operational maps of Quang Ngai province as My Lai.

A large group of approximately 70–80 villagers were rounded up by 1st Platoon in Xom Lang and led to an irrigation ditch east of the settlement. They were then pushed into the ditch and shot dead by soldiers after repeated orders issued by Calley, who was also shooting himself. PFC (Private First Class a junior military rank) Paul Meadlo testified that he expended several M16 rifle magazines. He recollected that women were allegedly saying “No VC” (That they are not from Viet Cong) and were trying to shield their children. He remembered that he was shooting into women with babies in their hands, since he was convinced at that time that they were all booby-trapped with grenades and were poised to attack. On another occasion during the security sweep in My Lai, Meadlo again fired at civilians side-by-side with Lieutenant Calley.

PFC Dennis Konti, a witness for the prosecution, especially spoke about, one gruesome episode during the shooting, “A lot of women had thrown themselves on top of the children to protect them, and the children were alive at first. Then, the children who were old enough to walk got up and Calley began to shoot the children also”. Other 1st Platoon members testified that many of the deaths of individual Vietnamese men, women and children occurred inside My Lai during the security sweep. Livestock was shot as well. Over the next few days American army was involved in burning and destruction of dwellings, as well as mistreatment of Vietnamese detainees.

Warrant Officer Hugh Thompson, Jr., a helicopter pilot from Company B (Aero-Scouts), 123rd Aviation Battalion, Americal Division, saw dead and wounded civilians as he was flying over the village of Son My, providing close-air support for ground forces.

Thompson and his crew witnessed an unarmed woman being kicked and shot at point-blank range by a soldier Medina, who later claimed that he thought she had a hand grenade. Thompson then saw a group of civilians again consisting of children, women, and old men at a bunker being approached by ground personnel. Thompson landed, and told his crew that if the soldiers shot at the villagers while he was trying to get them out of the bunker, then they were to open fire on their comrades.

Thompson later testified that he spoke with a lieutenant (identified as Stephen Brooks of 2nd Platoon) and told him there were women and children in the bunker, and asked if the lieutenant would help get them out. Thompson found 12–16 people in the bunker, he coaxed them out and led them to the helicopter, standing with them while they were flown out in two groups.

Further in My Lai, Thompson and other air crew members noticed several large groups of bodies. They spotted some survivors in the ditch. Thompson landed again. A crew member, Specialist 4 Glenn Andreotta, entered the ditch and returned with a bloodied but apparently unharmed four-year old girl, who was then flown to safety. Thompson then reported what he had seen to his company commander, Major Frederic W. Watke, using terms such as “murder” and “needless and unnecessary killings.” Thompson’s statements were confirmed by other helicopter pilots too and air crew members.

For his actions at Me My Lai, Thompson was later awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.

It gives shivers when you think of such horrific crimes.

By Kamlesh Tripathi

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 that includes both children and adults and it has a huge variety in terms of content. We also accept donations for our mission. Should you wish to donate for the cause. The bank details are given below:

NAME OF ACCOUNT: SHRAVAN CHARITY MISSION

Account no: 680510110004635 (BANK OF INDIA)

IFSC code: BKID0006805

Our publications

GLOOM BEHIND THE SMILE

(The book is about a young cancer patient. Now archived in 7 prestigious libraries of the US, including, Harvard University and Library of Congress. It can also be accessed in MIT through Worldcat.org. Besides, it is also available for reading in Libraries and archives of Canada and Cancer Aid and Research Foundation Mumbai)

ONE TO TANGO … RIA’S ODYSSEY

(Is a book on ‘singlehood’ about a Delhi girl now archived in Connemara Library, Chennai and Delhi Public Library, GOI, Ministry of Culture, Delhi)

AADAB LUCKNOW … FOND MEMORIES

(Is a fiction written around the great city of Nawabs—Lucknow. It describes Lucknow in great detail and also talks about its Hindu-Muslim amity. That happens to be its undying characteristic. The book was launched in Lucknow International Literary Festival of 2014)

REFRACTIONS … FROM THE PRISM OF GOD

(Co-published by Cankids–Kidscan, a pan India NGO and Shravan Charity Mission, that works for Child cancer in India. The book is endorsed by Ms Preetha Reddy, MD Apollo Hospitals Group. It was launched in Lucknow International Literary Festival 2016)

TYPICAL TALE OF AN INDIAN SALESMAN

(Is a story of an Indian salesman who is, humbly qualified. Yet he fights his ways through unceasing uncertainties to reach the top. A good read not only for salesmen. The book was launched on 10^th February, 2018 in Gorakhpur Lit-Fest. Now available in Amazon, Flipkart and Onlinegatha)

RHYTHM … in poems

(Published in January 2019. The book contains 50 poems. The poems describe our day to day life. The book is available in Amazon, Flipkart and Onlinegatha)

MIRAGE

(Published in February 2020. The book is a collection of eight short stories. It is available in Amazon, Flipkart and Notion Press)

(ALL THE ABOVE TITLES ARE AVAILABLE FOR SALE IN AMAZON, FLIPKART AND OTHER ONLINE STORES OR YOU COULD EVEN WRITE TO US FOR A COPY)

*****

BOOK REVIEW: RUSKIN BOND: Captain Young’s Ghost–Ghostly Tales from the Indian Hills

April 11, 2020Uncategorizedbahadur, barlowganj, book review, british army, Captain Young's Ghost, Ghostly tales from the Indian Hills, gillespie, himalayas, irish, kamlesh tripathi, landour, martini, mussoorie, ruskin bond, scotch, shravancharitymissionshravancharitymission

Khidki (Window)

–Read India Initiative—

This is only an attempt to create interest in reading. We may not get the time to read all the books in our lifetime. But such reviews, talk and synopsis will at least convey what the book is all about.

Neither can book lovers, step out of their homes, nor can they, order books online, due to the lockdown. So in this period of utter dilemma let me take you through an interesting book titled ‘Captain Young’s Ghost’ –Ghostly Tales from the Indian Hills by none other than Ruskin Bond. Friends, he is one author who has a universal appeal. He is read both by children and adults. Surely … there’s something about him.

Ruskin Bond has created many unforgettable characters in his novels among them are ghosts and spirits that haunt the hills and foothills of the Himalayas. These ghosts are not always horrific. They are mysterious and often benevolent, or lonely creatures looking for company among humans. The collection in this book are new stories. The publisher is Speaking Tiger. Year of publication is 1918. It is available in all online stores.

The book in all has, over twenty stories. Superb for light reading and also as bedtime stories. It’ll not be possible for me to relate to, all the stories in this short clip. But yes let me give you a glimmer of the title story that is, Captain Young’s Ghost.

‘Captain Young’s Ghost,’ is a story, set up, in the hills of Mussoorie, Barlowganj and Landour. It’s written in first person. Where, the narrator is sitting in a bar enjoying his Martini. It’s a cold day in February, and it’s been raining all along, when a person a visitor who looks familiar to the narrator walks up to him and requests if he can join him as the bar-cum-restaurant is practically empty. The narrator doesn’t say no.

Thereafter, the visitor orders whiskey. The barman gives him a choice ‘Indian or Scotch.’ But the man orders Irish whiskey. The barman declines. He says, ‘No Irish, sir. Only Scotch is available.’ Finally with a certain amount of distaste the person settles for a Scotch.

Thereafter the person settles in his chair, scans across the room, which is largely empty except for a pianist in the far corner, tinkling away to glory. He asks, ‘Why do they call it, Captain Young’s Bar? That’s an Irish name. Does he own this place?’ The narrator says no.

Thereafter, the visitor, and the narrator, get into an interesting conversation. They discuss Captain Young at length. The narrator describes the military lives of one General Gillespie and Captain Young both in British Army, when there is a sudden commotion outside.

It so happens that there is one Mr Foster whom the hotel has hired for a unique rendition. He often comes on a horse dressed as Captain Young’s Ghost, to entertain guests since it is perceived that Captain Young’s ghost is harmless. But since Mr Foster on that very day stumbles off his horse which is actually a pony the secret is unintentionally let out that Foster indeed is the protagonist dressed as Captain Young’s Ghost.

In the meanwhile the Assistant Manager of the hotel asks the narrator if liked Mr Foster’s show. Narrator says he didn’t. But by the time he returns to his table in the bar he finds to his surprise that the person or the visitor who had joined him for a drink has vanished and he was heard saying, ‘he had seen enough nonsense for one evening.’

Finally, the narrator too, leaves the bar and while walking up the hill he comes across an old acquaintance Bahadur the chowkidar who recognises him as Captain Young’s Ghost and knows that he is harmless. But he comments, ‘sir how come you are not in uniform today and without your horse.’

The story closes with the narrator walking up the steep hill. The mist gradually lifts and the moon comes out where he finds his white horse waiting for him as a homeless ghost, just like his master. He realises he shouldn’t have gone away to England, for this was the town he had created, and he should have breathed his last years here. Unfortunately that did not happen, so he keeps returning to his beloved town.

The book overall is extremely interesting especially if you like short stories. I like them hell of a lot. I would give the book seven out of ten.

By Kamlesh Tripathi

https://kamleshsujata.wordpress.com

Share it if you like it

NAME OF ACCOUNT: SHRAVAN CHARITY MISSION

Account no: 680510110004635 (BANK OF INDIA)

IFSC code: BKID0006805

Our publications

GLOOM BEHIND THE SMILE

ONE TO TANGO … RIA’S ODYSSEY

(Is a book on ‘singlehood’ about a Delhi girl now archived in Connemara Library, Chennai and Delhi Public Library, GOI, Ministry of Culture, Delhi)

AADAB LUCKNOW … FOND MEMORIES

REFRACTIONS … FROM THE PRISM OF GOD

TYPICAL TALE OF AN INDIAN SALESMAN

RHYTHM … in poems

(Published in January 2019. The book contains 50 poems. The poems describe our day to day life. The book is available in Amazon, Flipkart and Onlinegatha)

MIRAGE

(Published in February 2020. The book is a collection of eight short stories. It is available in Amazon, Flipkart and Notion Press)

(ALL THE ABOVE TITLES ARE AVAILABLE FOR SALE IN AMAZON, FLIPKART AND OTHER ONLINE STORES OR YOU COULD EVEN WRITE TO US FOR A COPY)

*****

FACTS & FIGURES: SPANISH FLU (1918)

April 9, 2020Uncategorizedalfonso, black death, bubonic, byzantine, corona virus, covid19, eurasia, flea, genoa, influenza, italy, justinian, kamlesh tripathi, pandemic, plague, pneumonic, shravancharitymission, silk road, spain, spanish flu, yersinia pestsshravancharitymission

In this dismaying season of Covid-19 here are a few facts about The Spanish Flu.

The Spanish flu also known as the 1918 flu pandemic was an unusually deadly influenza pandemic. An influenza pandemic is an epidemic of an influenza virus that spreads on a worldwide scale and infects a large proportion of the world population. Lasting from January 1918 to December 1920, it infected some 500 million people – say about a quarter of the world’s population at that time. The death toll is estimated to have been anywhere from 17 million to 50 million, and possibly as high as 100 million, making it one of the deadliest pandemics in human history, behind the Black Death.

The Black Death, has many names such as Pestilence, the Great Bubonic Plague, the Great Plague or simply the Plague, or less commonly the Great Mortality or the Black Plague. It was the most devastating pandemic recorded in human history, resulting in the deaths of an estimated 75 to 200 million people in Eurasia, peaking in Europe from 1347 to 1351.

What is Eurasia? Eurasia is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Located primarily in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean on the west, the Pacific Ocean on the east, the Arctic Ocean on the north, and by Africa, the Mediterranean Sea, and the Indian Ocean in the south.

The bacterium Yersinia pestis is a kind of organism, which results in several forms of plagues such as septicemic, pneumonic and the most common bubonic. The Black Death was the first major European outbreak of plague and the second plague pandemic. The first being the Plague of Justinian.

The Plague of Justinian (541–542 AD, with recurrences until 750) was a pandemic that afflicted the Byzantine (Eastern Roman) Empire and especially its capital, Constantinople, as well as the Sasanian Empire and port cities around the entire Mediterranean Sea, as merchant ships harboured rats with plague that came from fleas a small flightless insect. Some historians believe the plague of Justinian was one of the deadliest pandemics in history, resulting in the deaths of an estimated 25–100 million people during the two centuries of recurrence, a death toll equivalent to as much as half of Europe’s population at the time of, the first outbreak. The plague’s social and cultural impact has been compared to that of the Black Death, that devastated Eurasia in the fourteenth century, but research published in 2019 argued that the plague’s death toll and social effects have been exaggerated.

The plague created religious, social, and economic upheavals, with profound effects in the course of European history.

The Black Death probably originated in Central Asia or East Asia, from where it travelled along the Silk Road, reaching Crimea (a peninsula located on the northern coast of the Black Sea in in Eastern Europe) by 1343. From there, it was most likely carried by fleas again–a small wingless jumping insect that feeds on the blood of mammals and birds. It at times transmitted diseases through its bite also, including plague and myxomatosis, and lived on black rats that travelled on Genoese merchant ships of, The Republic of Genoa that lies in present day Italy and was an independent state from 1005 to 1797 on the north western Italian coast, incorporating Corsica an island, from 1347 to 1768, and numerous other territories, throughout the Mediterranean, reaching the rest of Europe via the Italian Peninsula.

The Black Death also travelled through The Silk Road. Silk Road was a network of trade routes that connected the East and West, and was central to the economic, cultural, political, and religious interactions between these regions from the 2nd century BCE up to the 18th century. The Silk Road primarily refers to the land routes connecting East Asia and Southeast Asia with South Asia, Persia, the Arabian Peninsula, East Africa and Southern Europe.

The Black Death is estimated to have killed 30 to 60% of Europe’s population. In total, the plague may have reduced the world population from an estimated 475 million to 350–375 million in the 14th century. It took 200 years for Europe’s population to recover to its previous level, and some regions such as Florence did not recover until the 19th century. Outbreaks of the plague recurred until the early 20th century. The point to note is that, even in Covid-19 pandemic, both Spain and Italy are very badly affected.

To maintain the morale, World War I censors minimized early reports of illness and mortality in Germany, the United Kingdom, France, and the United States. But newspapers were free to report the epidemic’s effects in neutral Spain, such as the grave illness of King Alfonso XIII, and these stories created a false impression of Spain as especially hard hit. This gave rise to the name Spanish flu. This indeed is the reason why countries don’t want to name pandemics on names of countries. American President Donald Trump called Covid 19 as a Chinese Virus for which there was a lot of criticism. Historical and epidemiological data are inadequate to identify with certainty the pandemic’s geographic origin, with varying views to its exact location.

Most influenza outbreaks disproportionately kill the very young and the very old, with a higher survival rate for those in between, but the Spanish flu pandemic resulted in a higher than expected mortality rate for young adults. Scientists offer several possible explanations for the high mortality rate of the 1918 influenza pandemic. Some analyses have shown the virus to be particularly deadly because it triggers a cytokine storm. Cytokine release syndrome (CRS) is a form of systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) that can be triggered by a variety of factors such as infections and certain drugs that ravages the stronger immune system of young adults. In contrast, a 2007 analysis of medical journals from the period of the pandemic found that the viral infection was no more aggressive than previous influenza strains. Instead, malnourishment, overcrowded medical camps and hospitals, and poor hygiene promoted bacterial super-infection. This super-infection killed most of the victims, typically after a prolonged bedridden illness. The Spanish flu was the first of two pandemics caused by the H1N1 influenza virus; the second was the swine flu in 2009.

Covid19 is suspected to have come from the bats in China.

Stay safe stay at home.

By Kamlesh Tripathi

https://kamleshsujata.wordpress.com

Share it if you like it

NAME OF ACCOUNT: SHRAVAN CHARITY MISSION

Account no: 680510110004635 (BANK OF INDIA)

IFSC code: BKID0006805

Our publications

GLOOM BEHIND THE SMILE

ONE TO TANGO … RIA’S ODYSSEY

(Is a book on ‘singlehood’ about a Delhi girl now archived in Connemara Library, Chennai and Delhi Public Library, GOI, Ministry of Culture, Delhi)

AADAB LUCKNOW … FOND MEMORIES

REFRACTIONS … FROM THE PRISM OF GOD

TYPICAL TALE OF AN INDIAN SALESMAN

RHYTHM … in poems

(Published in January 2019. The book contains 50 poems. The poems describe our day to day life. The book is available in Amazon, Flipkart and Onlinegatha)

MIRAGE

(Published in February 2020. The book is a collection of eight short stories. It is available in Amazon, Flipkart and Notion Press)

(ALL THE ABOVE TITLES ARE AVAILABLE FOR SALE IN AMAZON, FLIPKART AND OTHER ONLINE STORES OR YOU COULD EVEN WRITE TO US FOR A COPY)

*****

SHORT STORY: CORONA ANIMAL CONFERENCE

April 7, 2020Uncategorizedcat, corona, cow, dog, donkey, government, horse, india, india gate, kamlesh tripathi, lockdown, monkey, moral, parable, shravancharitymission, tigershravancharitymission

Sit and enjoy the conference during these rare days of the lockdown. Here we go:

Pained by human atrocities some likeminded animals who even happened to be old friends, prominent among them, being a cat, cow, dog, donkey, horse and monkey decided to meet somewhere, to discuss the burning issue, and chalk out a way forward, as human lunacy was troubling them big time. But, tiger the king of the jungle excused himself, as his species, was already under threat, from human beings and he didn’t want to take an adverse position against them any further.

The scheming cat who happened to be a relative of, the king of the jungle opened the conversation by saying, ‘Friends! To us, all human beings look the same but they are divided by something called the religion, and unlike us, who don’t follow any religion but only follow our heart, human beings are guided by their religion. And if we could only exploit their religion, we could divert their attention from us to save ourselves.’

‘But what is religion? Asked, the donkey.

‘Arrey yaar! You don’t know religion? No wonder you’re called a donkey. You must have often seen human beings walking into differently looking buildings to pray. That is called religion.’ Clarified the cat.

‘But what is religion supposed to do?’ Enquired, the donkey again, exposing his ignorance further.

‘Well, it is supposed to divide human beings. And it is doing that quite effectively. For you might have noticed, human beings fight tooth and nail for anything and everything. And since I keep gallivanting most of the times. I see that with my own eyes. They might be our enemies but they are the biggest enemies of themselves’ Said the relaxing horse.

Thereafter, the animals decided to go for a long walk just to graze and relax since they were old friends and had met after a long-long time, to have a heart-to-heart conversation with each other. And they all were leisurely walking side by side, along the river, while the monkey was happily sitting atop the donkey’s back is when the donkey asked the horse,

‘Arrey boss, the government is planning a lot, for the employment of human beings but what about us? In the present scenario I neither have a job nor a peaceful place to stand, nor even an assured morsel of food. Every day, I need to walk quite a distance and that too across the road to feed myself where, you only get some dry grass and pesticides laden dry leaves to munch. A few years back I used to get the same food, in fact much better in quality, right here, where we are walking, but today because of these multi-storeyed buildings there is nothing left for us. The horse felt sad for the donkey, and while maintaining his pace he softly said,

‘I know, it’s very sad, but yaar, you’re a donkey, at least you know the art of survival and no one expects wonders from you. But look at my plight. A bright talented horse that used to participate in derbies and equestrian shows. But with age catching up I was thrown out of my job. I was then bought by a tangewalla and he used me mercilessly in Chandini Chowk for some time, but when tongas went out of circulation, he kept me for a month thinking he’ll be able to sell me off, but when he couldn’t he just left me here one day and never came back. And today a skilled guy like me is not only unemployed but even harassed on the roads by moving vehicles and the traffic police.

‘My dear horse, that’s indeed sad. Such a skilled personality like you, meeting up with such a fate.’ Donkey consoled the horse.

‘My dear dog, how are things with you?’ asked the cow.

‘Not too good. These Indians could never get out of their colonial mindset. They still keep foreign breeds as their pets, and that leaves we—the Indian mongrels on the lurch, and it really takes a humongous effort to fend for ourselves. And how about you?’ the dog asked the cat. The cat beamed and stretched itself while lazing atop the horse’s back.

‘Well … well, surviving somehow, only because we cats are of no use to a man. Neither, they require our skin, nor bones, nor our flesh. And that makes things somewhat easier for us; otherwise you can see how they have massacred the tigers of our family. But I guess in today’s time cows are the real VIPs’

‘But why do you say so?’ asked the cow meekly.

‘Boss because, you are hitting the headlines practically every day.’ Replied the cat.

‘But for political reasons,’ was the doleful moo of the cow.

‘So then, what should we do to survive, and improve our lives? Let’s ask the monkey who is very quiet.’ Suggested the dog.

Monkey, who was sitting merrily, on the donkey’s back, with his eyes closed, enjoying the spring sun and the sprawling boulevard of India Gate on account of Covid lockdown was a bit amused at the melancholic conversation that was going around. He preferred to remain quiet even when the dog had asked a pertinent question. After a few moments when the monkey didn’t answer, the cow repeated the question and coaxed the monkey for an answer.

Clever monkey kept quiet for a while and then blinked his eyes and said,

‘Well … Man might change. Let’s wait for the Corona Virus to get over.’

But … will man ever change? Well I would like to believe the monkey.

By Kamlesh Tripathi

https://kamleshsujata.wordpress.com

Share it if you like it

NAME OF ACCOUNT: SHRAVAN CHARITY MISSION

Account no: 680510110004635 (BANK OF INDIA)

IFSC code: BKID0006805

Our publications

GLOOM BEHIND THE SMILE

ONE TO TANGO … RIA’S ODYSSEY

(Is a book on ‘singlehood’ about a Delhi girl now archived in Connemara Library, Chennai and Delhi Public Library, GOI, Ministry of Culture, Delhi)

AADAB LUCKNOW … FOND MEMORIES

REFRACTIONS … FROM THE PRISM OF GOD

TYPICAL TALE OF AN INDIAN SALESMAN

RHYTHM … in poems

(Published in January 2019. The book contains 50 poems. The poems describe our day to day life. The book is available in Amazon, Flipkart and Onlinegatha)

MIRAGE

(Published in February 2020. The book is a collection of eight short stories. It is available in Amazon, Flipkart and Notion Press)

(ALL THE ABOVE TITLES ARE AVAILABLE FOR SALE IN AMAZON, FLIPKART AND OTHER ONLINE STORES OR YOU COULD EVEN WRITE TO US FOR A COPY)

*****

FACTS FIGURES & QUOTES: THE DOCTOR’S PLOT

April 5, 2020Uncategorizedanti-semitism, azerbaijan, belarus, bolshevik, doctor's plot, eastern europe, Jews, joseph stalin, kamlesh tripathi, lithuania, poland, russia, russian empire, shravancharitymission, ukraineshravancharitymission

It happened many years back in Russia.

The Doctors’ Plot is also known as the case of saboteur-doctors or killer-doctors. It was an anti-Semitic campaign also called anti-semitism. Don’t confuse it with the Doctor’s trial in Nuremberg.

What is anti-Semitism? Anti-semitism is the strong dislike, or cruel and unfair treatment of Jewish people. Anti-semitism in the Russian Empire included numerous pogroms, acts of cruel behaviour, killings, organized massacre, of a particular ethnic group, in particular, that of the Jews in Russia or Eastern Europe and the designation or areas of the Pale of Settlement. Pale of Settlement is the territory of contemporary Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania and Poland, from which Jews were forbidden to migrate into the interior parts of Russia, unless they converted to the Russian Orthodox state religion, in some ways the Moscow-Patriarchate or Moscow Church. The Pale of Settlement was a western region of the Imperial Russia with varying borders that existed between, 1791 and 1917, in which, permanent residency by Jews was allowed but beyond which Jewish residency, permanent or temporary, was largely forbidden.

Now let’s come to the Russian Revolution of 1917: It was a period of political and social revolution across the territory of the Russian Empire, commencing with the abolition of the monarchy in 1917, and concluded in 1923 after the Bolshevik establishment (that is the radical far left Marxist faction), of the Soviet Union, along with five other Soviet Republics, namely Ukraine, Belarus, Amenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, resulting in the end of the civil war.

Anti-semitism campaign in the Soviet Union was organized by Joseph Stalin. In 1951–1953, a group of predominantly Jewish doctors from Moscow were accused of a conspiracy to assassinate Soviet leaders. This was later accompanied by publications of anti-Semitic character in the media, which talked about the threats of Zionism (a political movement whose original aim was the creation of a country, for the Jewish people, and that now supports the state of Israel). The publications went on to condemn people with Jewish names. Many doctors, officials and others, both Jews and non-Jews, were promptly dismissed from their jobs and arrested. But only after a few weeks of Stalin’s death, the new Soviet leadership said there was a lack of evidence, so the cases was dropped. Soon after, it was declared to have been fabricated. This was the gist of the doctor’s plot. Let me now give you some details about it.

The anti-Jewish campaign was presum-ably set in motion by Stalin as a pretext to dismiss and replace Lavrenty Beria his close aide, and prosecute some other Soviet leaders, and to launch a massive purge within the Communist Party, and, according to some, even to prepare and consolidate the country for a future World War III.

In 1951, (MGB) the Soviet Secret Police investigator Mikhail Ryu-min reported to his superior, Viktor Aba-kumov, Minister of the MGB, that Professor Yakov Etinger, who was arrested as a “bourgeois nationalist” with connections to the Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee, had in fact committed malpractice in treating Andrei Zhdanov (died in 1948) and Alexander Shcherbakov (died in 1945), and allegedly had done so with the intention of killing them. However, Abakumov the minister, refused to believe the story. Etinger later died in prison on 2nd March 1951 due to interrogations and harsh conditions. Mikhail Ryumin was then dismissed from his position in the MGB for misappropriating money and was held responsible for the death of Etinger. With the assistance of Georgy Malenkov a Soviet politician who briefly succeeded Joseph Stalin, Ryumin wrote a letter to Stalin, accusing Viktor Abakumov of killing Etinger in order to hide a conspiracy to kill the Soviet leadership. On 4 July 1951, the Politburo set up a commission (headed by Malenkov and Beria) to investigate the issue. Based on the commission’s report, the Politburo soon passed a resolution on the “bad situation in the MGB” and Abakumov was fired. Later both Beria and Malenkov tried to use the situation to expand their power through gaining control of the MGB.

Abakumov was arrested and tortured soon after being dismissed as head of the MGB. He was charged with being a sympathizer and protector of the criminal Jewish underground. This arrest was followed by the arrests of many agents who worked for him in the central apparatus of the MGB, including most Jews.

In December 1952, Stalin accused a large group of Jewish doctors, along with the minister of security Viktor Aba-kumov, and the head of the Kremlin Guards Nikolai Vlasik, and others of having participated in Zhdanov’s murder. The basis of this accusation was a letter written by Lidia Timashuk, the head of the Kremlin hospital’s, cardiographic unit, to Nikolai Vlasik, dated 29 August 1948, in which she warned that the doctors underestimated “the unquestionably grave condition of comrade Zhdanov,” and that “this regimen may lead to a fateful outcome.” Stalin claimed that this letter had been withheld from him by Abakumov. In January 1953, articles in Pravda and Izvestiia exposed the so-called “plot of the doctor-wreckers,” causing worldwide concern about the fate of Soviet Jews.

From 1948 to 1952, Stalin schemed carefully to give the accusation credibility. Contrary to the legend, he did not discover Timashuk’s letter in December 1952. Rather, he had received it one day after it was sent and had filed it in his personal archive. He signed the document and wrote “archive” across the bottom. Among the doctors Lidia Timashuk accused none were Jewish. No conclusive evidence proved Timashuk’s charge of medical malpractice, but circumstantial evidence suggested that the doctors facilitated Zhdanov’s death, quite plausibly with Stalin’s approval.

The plot assumed a Jewish character only after the death of the prominent Jewish doctor Iakov Etinger, arrested in November 1950 as part of the liquidation of the Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee. Etinger died under mysterious circumstances in prison in March 1951. In July 1951, without any evidence, a “Secret Letter” composed by the Central Committee at Stalin’s behest alleged that Etinger had confessed to the medical murder in 1945 to the Central Committee secretary Aleksandr Shcherbakov; that this assassination was the work not of Etinger alone, but of a “conspiratorial group” of doctors; and that Victor Abakumov was implicated in the affair.

From July 1951, when this “Secret Letter” was disseminated, to November 1952, the Ministry of State Security (MGB) sought to establish the specifically Jewish nature of the conspiracy by connecting the death of Zhdanov with the alleged confessions of Etinger.

A key element in this was the effort to link Abakumov with the “Jewish conspiracy” and to prove that the conspiracy was directed by the American government. Abakumov was arrested in July 1951.

The core group of 37 doctors (and their wives) arrested between 1951 and January 1953, when the “Plot” vastly expanded, included only 17 Jews. Many others were added between January and March 1953.

In which a large number of prominent Jewish doctors were arrested. The interrogations of the doctors, were accompanied by torture, sought to establish links within a widespread conspiracy involving Jewish nationalists, and the American government.

The reasons for Stalin’s actions are traceable to circumstances at the end of World War II: the onset of the cold war; Stalin’s failing physical condition; his desire to prevent the rise of any of his lieutenants to too dominant a role, particularly as undisputed heir apparent; and a revival of international Jewish solidarity associated with the founding of the State of Israel. Soon after the victory over Hitler, Stalin suffered some kind of physical collapse, which necessitated long periods of recovery in his Crimean residence. The exact nature of Stalin’s physical ailment is not known. This left Molotov and other members of the Politburo in charge of the daily affairs of the Soviet state. Western media speculated that Molotov would soon succeed Stalin. Molotov gave reason to believe that he favoured closer relations with the Western powers as well as a relaxation of censorship. Stalin criticized him bitterly for this, calling both him and Politburo member Anastas Mikoyan in December 1952 subversive.

Upon Stalin’s death, the Doctors’ Plot was repudiated by Soviet authorities. The doctors were released from prison and rehabilitated, and those who put them in prison were themselves incarcerated. Eventually most of the latter were shot. Beria accused Mikhail Riumin, former deputy minister of the MGB, of having concocted the Doctors’ Plot out of opportunism. However, only Stalin had the comprehensive vision to guide the conspiracy from the Kremlin Hospital to the Ministry of Security to the Politburo and Central Committee, culminating in a possible nuclear confrontation with the United States.

Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely is a famous quote. I end with that. Goodbye and see you next week.

By Kamlesh Tripathi

https://kamleshsujata.wordpress.com

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GLOOM BEHIND THE SMILE

ONE TO TANGO … RIA’S ODYSSEY

(Is a book on ‘singlehood’ about a Delhi girl now archived in Connemara Library, Chennai and Delhi Public Library, GOI, Ministry of Culture, Delhi)

AADAB LUCKNOW … FOND MEMORIES

REFRACTIONS … FROM THE PRISM OF GOD

TYPICAL TALE OF AN INDIAN SALESMAN

RHYTHM … in poems

(Published in January 2019. The book contains 50 poems. The poems describe our day to day life. The book is available in Amazon, Flipkart and Onlinegatha)

MIRAGE

(Published in February 2020. The book is a collection of eight short stories. It is available in Amazon, Flipkart and Notion Press)

(ALL THE ABOVE TITLES ARE AVAILABLE FOR SALE IN AMAZON, FLIPKART AND OTHER ONLINE STORES OR YOU COULD EVEN WRITE TO US FOR A COPY)

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BOOK REVIEW: INDIKA by Megasthenes

April 5, 2020Uncategorizedamu dariya, diodorus, elephants, gangaridai, greco-roman, greek, himaos, hindu kush, indika, john watson mccrindle, kamlesh tripathi, mauryan empire, megasthenes, schwanbeck, scythian, shravancharitymission, stadia, strabo, turkeyshravancharitymission

Khidki (Window)

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Indika is an account of Mauryan Empire by the Greek writer Megasthenes. The original book is now lost, but its fragments have survived in later Greek and Latin works. The earliest of these works are those by ancient Greek historian Diodorus Siculus, Strabo a Greek geographer, Pliny a magistrate of ancient Rome, and Arrian another Greek historian.

Megasthenes’ Indica can be reconstructed using the portions preserved by later writers as direct quotations, rephrase or even paraphrase. The parts that belonged to the original text can be identified from the later works based on similar content, vocabulary and phrasing, even when the content has not been explicitly attributed to Megasthenes. There is a document of Felix Jacoby’s (Fragmente der griechischen Historiker) that contains 36 pages of content that can be traced to Megasthenes.

E. A. Schwanbeck another historian traced several fragments of writings to Megasthenes, and based on his collection, John Watson McCrindle a Sottish philologist and educator published a reconstructed version of Indika in 1887. But this reconstructed version was not universally accepted.

Schwanbeck and John Watson McCrindle attributed several fragments in the writings of the 1st century BCE writer Diodorus to Megasthenes. However, Diodorus does not mention Megasthenes even once, unlike Strabo, who explicitly mentions Megasthenes as one of his sources. There are several differences between the accounts of Megasthenes and Diodorus: for example, Diodorus describes India as 28,000 stadia long (a Greek unit of length from which the word stadium has come) from east to west, whereas, Megasthenes gives this number as 16,000. Diodorus states that Indus may be the world’s largest river after Nile, whereas, Megasthenes (as quoted by Arrian) states that Ganges is much larger than Nile.

There is a description of Gangaridai that appears in the writings of Diodorus. Gangaridai is a term used by the ancient Greco-Roman writers to describe the people or a geographical region of the ancient Indian subcontinent. Some of these writers state that Alexander the Great withdrew from the Indian subcontinent because of the strong war elephant force of the Gangaridai. The writers variously mention Gangaridai as a distinct tribe, or a nation within a larger kingdom (presumably the Nanda Empire).

A number of modern scholars locate Gangaridai in the Ganges Delta of the Bengal region, although alternative theories also exist. Gange or Ganges, the capital of the Gangaridai (according to Ptolemy a historian), has been identified with several sites in the region, including Chandraketugarh and Wari-bateshwar.

McCrindle believed that Diodorus’ source for this description was the now-lost book of Megasthenes. However, according to A. B. Bosworth (1996), Diodorus obtained this information from Hieronymus of Cardia: Diodorus described Ganges as 30 stadia wide. It is well-attested by other sources that Megasthenes described the median or minimum width of Ganges as 100 stadia, about 185 to 192 metres.

According to the text reconstructed by John Watson McCrindle, Megasthenes’ Indika describes India as follows:

India is a quadrilateral-shaped country, bounded by the ocean on the southern and the eastern side. The Indus River forms the western and the north-western boundary of the country, as far as the ocean. India’s northern border reaches the extremities of Tauros the mountains of southern Turkey. From Ariana (the Latinized form of ancient Greek) to the Eastern Sea, it is bound by mountains that are called Kaukasos by the Macedonians. The various native names for these mountains include Parapamisos, Hemodos and Himaos (the Himalayas). Beyond Hemo-dos, lies Scythia (a region of central Eurasia) inhabited by the Scythians known as Sakai. Besides Scythia, the countries of Bactria, an ancient region in Central Asia. Bactria proper was north of the Hindu Kush mountain range and south of the Amu Darya River, covering the flat region that straddles modern-day Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. More broadly Bactria was the area north of the Hindu-Kush, west of the Pamirs and south of the Tian-Shan, with the Amu Darya flowing west through the center, and Ariana bordering India.

At the extreme point of India, there is this gnomon the projecting piece of the sundial that often casts no shadow, and the Ursa Major constellation that is completely invisible at night. In the remotest parts, the shadows fall southward, when even Arcturus the brightest star is not visible.

India has many large and navigable rivers, which arise in the mountains on its northern border. Many of these rivers merge into Ganges, which is 30 stadia wide at its source, and runs from north to south. The Ganges empties into the ocean that forms the eastern boundary of Gangaridai. Other nations feared Gangaridai’s huge force of the biggest elephants, and therefore, Gangaridai had never been conquered by any foreign king.

Indus also runs from north to south, and has several navigable tributaries. The most notable tributaries are Hupanis, the Hudaspes, and the Akesines (all difficult names to pronounce). One peculiar river is Sillas, which originates from a fountain of the same name. Everything cast into this river sinks down to the bottom – nothing floats in it. In addition, there are a large number of other rivers, supplying abundant water for agriculture. According to the native philosophers and natural scientists, the reason for this is that the bordering countries are more elevated than India, so their waters run down to India, resulting in such a large number of rivers.

In the primitive times, Indians lived on fruits and wore clothes made of animal skin, just like the Greeks. The most learned Indian scholars say that Dionysus the god of the grape-harvest, winemaking and wine of fertility, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, and theatre in ancient Greek religion and myth invaded India, and conquered it. When his army was unable to bear the excessive heat, he led his soldiers to the mountains called Meros for recovery. This led to the Greek legend about Dionysus being bred in his father’s thigh Dionysus taught Indians several things including how to grow plants, make wine and worship. He founded several large cities, introduced laws and established courts. For this reason, he was regarded as a deity by the Indians. He ruled entire India for 52 years, before dying of old age. His descendants ruled India for several generations, before being dethroned and replaced by democratic city-states.

The Indians who inhabit the hill country also claim that Herakles a Greek deity was one of them. Like the Greeks, they characterize him with the club and the lion’s skin. According to them, Her-akles was a powerful man who subjugated evil beasts. He had several sons and one daughter, who became rulers in different parts of his dominion. He founded several cities, the greatest of which was Patliputra. Herakles built several places in this city, fortified it with water-filled trenches and settled a number of people in the city. His descendants ruled India for several generations, but never launched an expedition beyond India. After several years, the royal rule was replaced by democratic city states, although there existed a few kings when Alexander invaded India.

India has several mountains with fruit trees of every kind. There are a large number of animal species in India. The Indian elephants are far stronger than the Libyan elephants, because of the abundance of food on the Indian soil. The elephants are domesticated in large numbers, and trained for war. The gestation period of the elephants range from 16 to 18 months, and the oldest of the elephants live up to 200 years.

Gold, silver, copper and iron are abundant on Indian soil. Tin and other metals are used for making a number of tools, weapons, ornaments, and other articles.

India has very fertile plains, and irrigation is practised widely. The main crops include rice, millet, a crop called bosporum, other cereals, were pulses and other food plants. There are two crop cycles per year, since rain falls in both summer and winter. At the time of summer solstice, rice, millet, bosporum and sesamum are sown. During winter, wheat is sown.

No famines have ever occurred in India because of the following reasons:

The Indians are always assured of at least one of the two seasonal crops
There are a number of spontaneously growing fruits and edible roots available.
The Indian warriors regard those engaged in agriculture and animal husbandry as sacred. Unlike the warriors in other countries, they do not ravage farms during war conquests. Moreover, the warring sides never destroy the enemy land with fire or cut down its trees.

Because of its large size, India is inhabited by many diverse races, all of which are indigenous. India has no foreign colony, and Indians have not established any colonies outside India. The Indians are of pure air. They are well-skilled in art, above average stature, because of abundant food, fine water and air.

A law, prescribed by ancient Indian philosophers, bans slavery. The law treats everyone equally, but allows the property to be unevenly distributed.

The population of India is divided into 7 endogamous and hereditary castes:

One must appreciate Megasthenes who wrote such an illustrative books when knowledge was very limited. Unfortunately the original book is not available now. He was born in 350 BC and lived for 60 years.

Posted by Kamlesh Tripathi

https://kamleshsujata.wordpress.com

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NAME OF ACCOUNT: SHRAVAN CHARITY MISSION

Account no: 680510110004635 (BANK OF INDIA)

IFSC code: BKID0006805

Our publications

GLOOM BEHIND THE SMILE

ONE TO TANGO … RIA’S ODYSSEY

(Is a book on ‘singlehood’ about a Delhi girl now archived in Connemara Library, Chennai and Delhi Public Library, GOI, Ministry of Culture, Delhi)

AADAB LUCKNOW … FOND MEMORIES

REFRACTIONS … FROM THE PRISM OF GOD

TYPICAL TALE OF AN INDIAN SALESMAN

RHYTHM … in poems

(Published in January 2019. The book contains 50 poems. The poems describe our day to day life. The book is available in Amazon, Flipkart and Onlinegatha)

MIRAGE

(Published in February 2020. The book is a collection of eight short stories. It is available in Amazon, Flipkart and Notion Press)

(ALL THE ABOVE TITLES ARE AVAILABLE FOR SALE IN AMAZON, FLIPKART AND OTHER ONLINE STORES OR YOU COULD EVEN WRITE TO US FOR A COPY)

*****

LESSON FROM POET & AUTHOR HERMANN HESSE

March 30, 2020Uncategorizedauthor, german, hermann hesse, kamlesh tripathi, nobel laureate, nobel prize, poet, shravancharitymission, suicideshravancharitymission

According to a study conducted sometime back, it has been established, that those who attempt suicide but don’t succeed, develop in them a great incentive to live and later emerge as heroes.

In this context let me narrate a factual story to you. It is about Hermann Hesse. Hermann Hesse was a famous German poet and novelist who lived between (1877-1962). In his early days, Hermann experienced severe personal turmoil and conflict with his parents. The situation led to extreme frustration. So much so that at the age of 15 in 1892, he attempted suicide. But luckily he was saved.

Thereafter Hermann completed his education and subsequently took to writing, as a career. After a long struggle, he became a great writer and in 1946 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.

Friends, human beings are not born in this world by accident. On the contrary they are born in accordance with a divine plan. The creator has endowed us with great qualities. It is therefore incumbent of every human being to unfold these qualities, unlock one’s potential, and play the role that is destined for him by providence. According to God Almighty, the Creator of this planet, every person must live in hope and should be positive. There is no reason or excuse for becoming pessimistic.

The world is full of opportunities. If someone fails in doing something, he should, take it as a temporary setback, and not as an inordinate delay leading to a final failure. Under no situation, committing suicide is an option for an individual. One has to adopt the formula of wait and watch, rather than killing oneself, for then, one leaves, no other option open for himself because he is gone.

Be positive … that’s the essence of life.

By Kamlesh Tripathi

https://kamleshsujata.wordpress.com

Share it if you like it

NAME OF ACCOUNT: SHRAVAN CHARITY MISSION

Account no: 680510110004635 (BANK OF INDIA)

IFSC code: BKID0006805

Our publications

GLOOM BEHIND THE SMILE

ONE TO TANGO … RIA’S ODYSSEY

(Is a book on ‘singlehood’ about a Delhi girl now archived in Connemara Library, Chennai and Delhi Public Library, GOI, Ministry of Culture, Delhi)

AADAB LUCKNOW … FOND MEMORIES

REFRACTIONS … FROM THE PRISM OF GOD

TYPICAL TALE OF AN INDIAN SALESMAN

RHYTHM … in poems

(Published in January 2019. The book contains 50 poems. The poems describe our day to day life. The book is available in Amazon, Flipkart and Onlinegatha)

MIRAGE

(Published in February 2020. The book is a collection of eight short stories. It is available in Amazon, Flipkart and Notion Press)

(ALL THE ABOVE TITLES ARE AVAILABLE FOR SALE IN AMAZON, FLIPKART AND OTHER ONLINE STORES OR YOU COULD EVEN WRITE TO US FOR A COPY)

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Facts & Figures: Holinshed’s Chronicles

March 29, 2020Uncategorizedbritain, british isles, celtic, cosmography, cunobeline, cymbeline, england, enland, holinshed's chronicles, ireland, john leyland, kamlesh tripathi, king lear, macbeth, pre-roman, raphael holinshed, scotland, shakespeare, shravancharitymission, walesshravancharitymission

You might have heard of Holinshed’s Chronicles in case you studied English Literature. But for those of you who haven’t, let me give you a glimpse of it. Holinshed’s Chronicles otherwise is a detailed subject that has influenced many iconic writers and playwrights.

Holinshed’s Chronicles, also known as Holinshed’s Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland, is a collaborative work published in several volumes and two editions. The first edition was in 1577, and the second in 1587. It was a large, comprehensive description of British History published in three volumes (England, Scotland and Ireland).

The Chronicles have traditionally been a source of interest and writing influence on many big time writers, because of its extensive links to Shakespeare’s history plays, as well as King Lear, Macbeth, and the lesser known Cymbeline (Cymbeline, is also known as The Tragedy of Cymbeline or Cymbeline, King of Britain) is a play by William Shakespeare set in Ancient Britain and based on the legends that formed part of the Matter of Britain concerning the early Celtic British King Cunobeline) of pre-Roman Britain.

The Chronicles could have also been a primary source for many other literary writers of the Renaissance period such as Christopher Marlowe, Edmund Spenser and George Daniel. Now let me tell you how these Chronicles came into existence.

In 1548, Reginald Wolfe, a London printer, conceived the idea of creating a “Universal Cosmography of the whole world (Cosmography is a branch of science that deals with the general features of the universe, including mother earth), and among them certain histories, of every known nation.” He wanted the work to be printed in English and he also wanted maps and illustrations in the book. Wolfe acquired many of John Leland’s works (John Leland was an English poet and antiquary—dealing in rare books), and with these he constructed chronologies and drew maps that were up-to-date. When Wolfe realised he would not be able to complete this project on his own, he hired Raphael Holinshed and William Harrison to assist him.

Wolfe died with the work still unfinished in 1573, and the project—changed to a work specifically about the British Isles—and was run by a consortium of three members of the London stationers. They retained Holinshed, who employed Harrison, Richard Stanyhurst, Edmund Campion and John Hooker. In 1577, the work was published in two volumes after some censorship by the Privy Council of some of Stanyhurst’s contribution on Ireland.

The Chronicles narrative is characterised by a set of rhetorical figures and thematic paradigms that establish the national, royal, chivalrous and heroic ideals that define a state, its monarch, its leaders, and the political role of the common people.

Influence on Shakespeare:

Shakespeare is widely believed to have used the revised second edition of the Chronicles (published in 1587) as the source for most of his history plays, including the plot of Macbeth first performed in 1606, and for portions of King Lear and Cymbeline.

Several other playwrights, such as Christopher Marlowe, also used the Chronicles as a source.

The Chronicles and Macbeth:

Shakespeare used Holinshed’s work extensively in Macbeth, but in modified form. An instance is the Three Witches, whom Holinshed describes as “creatures of the elderwood … nymphs or fairies”. Nymphs and fairies are generally viewed as beautiful and youthful, but Shakespeare’s three witches in Macbeth are ugly, dark, and bizarre. It is believed that he made the change to heighten the suspense and darkness of the play. However, the Chronicles lacked any descriptions of Macbeth’s character, and therefore Shakespeare improvised on several points. The characters Banquo and Fleance in Macbeth were also taken from Holinshed’s works, but they are now considered to be inventions of the 16th century.

The primary difference between the Chronicles and Shakespeare is characterisation. The character of Macbeth is primarily depicted as a good ruler, a king who was fair and just for 17 years. The Shakespeare’s plot displays King Duncan as a minor character and a weak king. It is possible that the reading of Shakespeare’s King Duncan was inspired by the tale of King Duffe contained within the Chronicle. The story follows a similar narrative, where, King Duffe and his murderer Donwald, closely mirror the narrative of King Duncan and Macbeth. The bad omens following the murder of Duffe are similarly mirrored in Shakespeare’s narrative.

Synopsis:

The Chronicles tale of Macbeth differs from Shakespeare’s version in numerous ways. The play features a scene in which Banquo and Macbeth encounter three women and each speak of a prophecy that would contribute to the characterisation of these women as, ‘other worldly’.

In the Chronicles version, Macbeth is a much more sympathetic character. King Duncan is depicted as a weak ruler who had violated the Scottish laws of succession by failing to consult with the “Thanes”, or Lords, before naming his son.

In Holinshed’s Chronicles, Banquo is shown as a scheming character—he is an accomplice in Macbeth’s murder of Duncan. In comparison to Shakespeare’s version, which has Duncan murdered in his sleep, Duncan is slain in battle and his death is not highly detailed.

In the Chronicles, Macbeth ruled Scotland not briefly, but for 10 years. He was apparently a capable and wise monarch who implemented commendable laws. Fearing that Banquo will seize the kingdom, Macbeth invites him for a supper where he intends to kill Banquo and his son. He succeeds in killing Banquo but his son, Fleance, flees to Wales. Macbeth, convinced by the witches of his invincibility, commits outrageous acts against his subjects becoming a cruel and paranoid ruler.

The tale ends when Macbeth is slain by Macduff who then brings his head to the son of the original King, Malcolm.

The Chronicles and King Lear:

It is believed that Shakespeare would have used the revised second edition of the Chronicles which was published in 1587. Shakespeare’s King Lear loosely follows the story detailed in the Chronicles but it is unlikely that the Chronicles acted as a primary source.

Holinshed’s chronicles proves a point that even for a world acclaimed writer ideas can come from anywhere including history and mythology.

By Kamlesh Tripathi

https://kamleshsujata.wordpress.com

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NAME OF ACCOUNT: SHRAVAN CHARITY MISSION

Account no: 680510110004635 (BANK OF INDIA)

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Our publications

GLOOM BEHIND THE SMILE

ONE TO TANGO … RIA’S ODYSSEY

(Is a book on ‘singlehood’ about a Delhi girl now archived in Connemara Library, Chennai and Delhi Public Library, GOI, Ministry of Culture, Delhi)

AADAB LUCKNOW … FOND MEMORIES

REFRACTIONS … FROM THE PRISM OF GOD

TYPICAL TALE OF AN INDIAN SALESMAN

RHYTHM … in poems

(Published in January 2019. The book contains 50 poems. The poems describe our day to day life. The book is available in Amazon, Flipkart and Onlinegatha)

MIRAGE

(Published in February 2020. The book is a collection of eight short stories. It is available in Amazon, Flipkart and Notion Press)

(ALL THE ABOVE TITLES ARE AVAILABLE FOR SALE IN AMAZON, FLIPKART AND OTHER ONLINE STORES OR YOU COULD EVEN WRITE TO US FOR A COPY)

*****

English: Connecting the world

March 28, 2020Uncategorizedamerica, british, down and under, english, europe, kamlesh tripathi, lenapes, lingua-franca, shravancharitymissionshravancharitymission

ENGLISH: Connecting The World

De-colonisation of English Literature in India

There was a time when the sun did not set on the British Empire. The saying implied the vastness of the British Empire. Historians inferred that roughly 25% of the earth landmass was in control of the British. The Empire was so extensive that, at any point of time there was daylight in one of its colonies. This resulted in English language, travelling to several continents and many countries. India was no exception. English gradually became the lingua-franca in many countries.

There was also a deluge of Europeans who started migrating to America from the Continent and British Isles. Historically, they were the most aggressive and ambitious race. So English language too, travelled to the America. Europeans are accomplished people. They managed to change the name of New Amsterdam to New York (in the honour the Duke of York). They bought New Amsterdam from the local tribe (the Lenapes). And with all this the spread of English language continued hammer and tongs. Gradually, it even travelled, to down and under (Australia and New Zealand) and even Africa. Europe has given to the world great seafarers and explorers. English language concomitantly travelled to wherever they went. The language of English was also skilfully taught and used in administration and day-to-day living, and today it connects the world.

British rule in India began around 1757. English language in India is therefore, over 250 years old. The British left India around 70 years ago, after which English language in India has stood on its own spine. Since then the language has Indianised and even undergone a change in tone and tenor. With the advent of social media English Language has made deep penetrations even into rural areas.

A number of high-flying authors have emerged in India and they have been able to de-colonise the traditional English oeuvre. The assortment of Indian authors is wide. But there is a threat to English language in India and that is Hinglish.

By Kamlesh Tripathi

https://kamleshsujata.wordpress.com

Share it if you like it

NAME OF ACCOUNT: SHRAVAN CHARITY MISSION

Account no: 680510110004635 (BANK OF INDIA)

IFSC code: BKID0006805

Our publications

GLOOM BEHIND THE SMILE

ONE TO TANGO … RIA’S ODYSSEY

(Is a book on ‘singlehood’ about a Delhi girl now archived in Connemara Library, Chennai and Delhi Public Library, GOI, Ministry of Culture, Delhi)

AADAB LUCKNOW … FOND MEMORIES

REFRACTIONS … FROM THE PRISM OF GOD

TYPICAL TALE OF AN INDIAN SALESMAN

RHYTHM … in poems

(Published in January 2019. The book contains 50 poems. The poems describe our day to day life. The book is available in Amazon, Flipkart and Onlinegatha)

MIRAGE

(Published in February 2020. The book is a collection of eight short stories. It is available in Amazon, Flipkart and Notion Press)

(ALL THE ABOVE TITLES ARE AVAILABLE FOR SALE IN AMAZON, FLIPKART AND OTHER ONLINE STORES OR YOU COULD EVEN WRITE TO US FOR A COPY)

*****

BOOK REVIEW: ‘OWN IT … Oprah Winfrey In Her Own Words.’ Edited by Anjali Becker and Jeanne Engelmann.

March 28, 2020Uncategorizedanjali becker, corona virus, Hebrew Bible, jeanne engelmann, kamlesh tripathi, lockdown, milwaukee, oprah winfrey, oprahgailwinfrey, orpah, own it oprah winffrey in her own words, queen of all media, shravancharitymission, tennessee, vernon winfrey, wisconsinshravancharitymission

Khidki (Window)

–Read India Initiative—

In these tough times of Corona Virus when there is a complete lockdown, it is indeed the best time to go through all the book reviews that I’ve done. You’ll find them all in my blog.

I’m sure you must have heard the name of Oprah Winfrey. Well!! I’ve been able to lay my hands on a book titled ‘OWN IT … Oprah Winfrey In Her Own Words.’ It is edited by Anjali Becker and Jeanne Engelmann.

There is something about her name that I must tell you upfront. Orpah Gail Winfrey (the Biblical “Orpah” mentioned in the Book of Ruth in the Hebrew Bible was mispronounced as “Oprah” and the name stuck on to her).

Before I head out to tell you about the book let me first give you a brief introduction of Oprah Gail Winfrey. ‘One of the most successful entrepreneurs of her generation.’ says Forbes. Oprah was born on January 29, 1954. She happens to be an American media executive, actress, talk show host, television producer and a philanthropist. She is best known for her talk show ‘The Oprah Winfrey Show’ broadcasted from Chicago. It was the highest-rated television program of its kind in the history and ran in national syndication for 25 years from 1986 to 2011. Dubbed the “Queen of All Media” she was the richest African-American of the 20^th century and North America’s first black multi-billionaire. She is also ranked as the greatest black philanthropist in American history. By the year 2007, she was often ranked as the most influential woman in the world.

Winfrey was born in poverty in rural Mississippi to a single teenage mother and later raised in inner-city Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She has confessed that she was molested during her childhood and in her early teens and became pregnant at the age of 14. Her son was born premature and died in infancy. Winfrey was then sent to live with the man she calls her father, Vernon Winfrey, a barber in Tennessee, and landed with a job in radio while still in high school. By 19, she was a co-anchor for the local evening news. Winfrey’s, often emotional, extemporaneous delivery, eventually led, to her transfer, to the daytime talk show arena, and after having boosted a third-rated, local, Chicago talk show, to first place, she launched her own production company and became internationally syndicated.

Credited with creating a more intimate, confessional form of media communication, Winfrey popularized and revolutionized, the tabloid talk show genre, pioneered by Phil Donahue. Through this medium, Winfrey broke 20th-century taboos and allowed LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual & Transgender) people to enter the mainstream through television appearances. In 1994, she was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame.

By the mid-1990s, Winfrey had reinvented her show with a focus on literature, self-improvement, mindfulness, and spirituality. Though she was criticized for unleashing a confession culture, promoting controversial self-help ideas, and having an emotion-centered approach, she was also praised for overcoming adversity to become a benefactor to others. Winfrey had also emerged as a political force in the 2008 presidential race, delivering about one million votes to Barack Obama in the razor close 2008 Democratic primary. In 2013, Winfrey was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Obama and an honorary doctorate degree from Duke and Harvard. In 2008, she formed her own network, Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN).

The title book ‘Own it’ is quite a disappointment. It hardly has any, so called editors’ contribution barring a short flat introduction. The total number of pages, in the book are 144, plus the table of contents. It is just a series of bland, quote after quote, presumably uttered by Oprah herself, during her long prolific career. The book doesn’t even have a proper introduction or a foreword by Oprah. The publisher is, An Agate Imprint.

The editors have divided the quotes into eight chapters namely Preperation/Risk Taking/Decision Making/Challenges/Work-life balance/Leadership/Mission-Vision and Philanthropy/Oprah’s achievements. In addition there is a chapter each on milestones and citations.

The editors have not made any introductory sentences to link the quotes. The title of the book states, ‘in her own words’ which in fact is somewhat deceiving. The book is all about words that Oprah might have spoken, but it is not written by Oprah.

The book doesn’t have much to offer. In fact I liked the ‘milestone’ a chapter at the rear of the book better than the main book. It describes her life in pointers from 1954 to 2016.

Let me spell out a few quotes that I liked out of the book:

Here is one on Ratings

‘I don’t do anything just for ratings, but as I’ve said, we’re in the television business. If you all are not watching this, if this does not attract your attention, then that means we have not succeeded in doing what we’re supposed to do as a business. So am I looking for people I am interested in and also that I believe the public is interested in, our viewers? Of course. And does that equal ratings? I hope so.

On Being Grateful there is a quote that I liked.

Opportunities, relationships, even money flowed my way when I learned to be grateful no matter what happened in my life.

On Leading by Example

It appears Oprah believed in Mahatma Gandhi. I can figure that out when she talks about leading by Example … Become the change you want to see—those are words I live by (a quote of Mahatma Gandhi). She goes on to say: Instead of belittling, uplift. Instead of demolishing, rebuild. Instead of misleading, light the way so that all of us can stand on higher ground.

My rating five out of ten.

By Kamlesh Tripathi

https://kamleshsujata.wordpress.com

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BOOK REVIEW: ‘OWN IT … Oprah Winfrey In Her Own Words.’ Edited by Anjali Becker and Jeanne Engelmann.