Friday, September 19, 2025

Sipra's Diary: >>>... "REPRESENT MODERN WOMEN POWER".

    REPRESENT MODERN WOMEN  POWER.

  On my daughter’s mobile- screen the image of goddess Durga with her children and pets are saved. One day her colleague who sits beside her, asked curiously, "Who is this lady with ten hands, holding a long spear targeted at a muscle-man with  huge moustache?" asked her colleague.

“This is the goddess Durga  of our biggest festival in West Bengal. The goddess comes yearly once, for only five days in the autumn, in her Mother’s house, with all her children and pets.

“Why does she have ten hands, with weapons in each hand like a terrorist?"

My daughter jokingly replied,  'Perhaps to protect and control the two beautiful   young daughters and two young boys. 
She comes alone from Kailas from the Himalayas, struggling and killing demons and overcoming all obstacles  with courage and bravery. Actually, she is the symbol of “woman-power’!
 She has to manage home and family both!

- “Is she single or widow?" asked her friend.             "No,No! Neither”--my daughter laughed.
"Then, who is her husband?"
 -"Lord Shiva."              
  -"What does he do?"
“Nothing! ...........
 He has no responsibility for the family"
‘He takes Ganja (marijuana) with his pals, dances, and roams half-naked the whole day with a snake around his neck."
  "Oh!" her friend thoughtfully murmured;
 "That sounds very similar to modern- day marital relationships!”
   



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Monday, September 15, 2025

Sipra's Diary : INVERTED PYRAMID > " New Age Crown ".

 

   

Shoes: ...............New-Age-Crown !I

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Sometimes Ad-world behaves so funny ! 
They are crazy to exhibit their excellence, their novelty in creativity! The above image of the woman is an advertisement for the shoe and not of any gym.

Purpose of the shoe is to protect feet while walking on-road and also sometimes for the elegancy,  whereas crown on the head is a ''symbol of pride and majesty''.

Though shoes of some branded company are as expensive as the crown, but shoes are shoes, simply footwear.  In the nineties, the "Reebok "was considered something as the owner's pride and neighbour's envy" in India.  My son and my husband both had that  But I was not aware of  its price and how prestigious they were!
  
About 30/35 years back I read an article of some Harvard-researcher that in coming future the pattern of our social system will be like               " inverted pyramid" that is upside down as contrary to the then present time hierarchical society. 

With the stepping of new millennium everything, in every system is changing at a faster pace.I notice this advertisement of the shoe , just opposite to the silvery globe of Columbus  Circle. It seems ridiculous  to  me !  I hid my face to release a cryptic chuckle.

I remembered the  about  the  article  
" ïnverted  pyramid " which was read  long ago ! 

Is this Ad  literally   a ' vivid sample'  or debut of 'metaphorical symbol'?....Head is rested on the footpath with legs in ornated shoes stretched up to the sky  [  on the huge showcase glass of the shop.!]
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Sunday, September 14, 2025

Sipra's diary : (from 2019) " WILD ARE NO M0RE WILD"

 

Wild Are No More Wild 


Can you imagine dragon as pet?
... Yes, I Have eye witnessed it.. People now started loving dragon which was once terrorizing carnivorous animal!

Millions and millions of years ago before the arrival of human species, giant dinosaur and dragon reigned the earth.

. Through the passage of time, most of them disappeared by nature’s selection; but some scientists think that some of the species are still living.. Through the passage of time and eco-environmental influence the shape and size of their predecessors changed.

I was invited to my son’s friend house in Austin, Tx. 
I saw a huge empty glass-box in the Host's home,  that looked like an aquarium. 
At first sight, I thought  perhaps all fishes  in the  aquarium had been   dead. 

 Emily The owner of the house made it clear to me that it was the dwelling place of her pet "dragon"; actually, it was luxurious glass-apartment with two artificial caves and cactus ,pebbles , shells scattered around the glass house inside the aquarium ;  the dragon was sleeping;  A white cement or( brownish ) colored  creature seemed to be, 4/5 pound by weight.  
                                                 
“Is it its sleeping time now?”

“No, no, perhaps the heat of the summer makes it tired; it is relaxing in the coolness of A.C. “

Emily took out the pet in her lap dotingly to give it the comfort of coolness directly. 


“Wow, what a surprise!”
Like a human baby keeping  head near the shoulder of Emily and clutching her chest with claws of two fore-legs,  started looking at us all reluctantly by moving its neck,
 but  surprisingly with not  curious  at  all.

    I thought with much disgust  ‘what for tired!

 A creature once living on the rough surface of rocks and sand of the earth and praying hard for its food in the jungle and now being treated like a prodigal son of a wealthy man!’

But outwardly asked politely “what does it eat? “
-  “live cockroaches, worms insects.  It never takes anything dead,” 
Emily declared quite proudly. While we were talking, the dragon was taking a tour from lap to lap of the kids and finally to the lap of my daughter-in-law who was giving massage to its back. 

Emily said to me joyfully  ” Look , how it loves massage; it loves Karen because it gets massage from her .”

I said, “yes its eyes are half-closed in physical comfort .” 

Karen is a high rated chiro practitioner and this carnivorous is getting ‘free service’!

"Lucky star"!   Karen handed over   Emily.

 I noticed its nails are long and sharp enough to pierce our skin like a surgeon’s knife. 

“How old is it?”  I asked.
“Three and half years”, Emily answered.  

- “Is it a female?”  
    
- “No, male.”  
 
“ How do you define its gender”? 

 Emily pulled one of its hind legs with some white lines that emit some odour which the only fellow female partner gets. 

“How do you know so much about them?  From   the internet or book?”

“The owner of the pet shop supplies all this information to me."  Emily answered .

Has it any children?”  
“No, I never took him to a pet shop for that purpose.”


 I said to myself ’thank god”! 

But throw a comment jokingly, " So you compelled it to forced celibacy !”.

Emily informed  “dragons don’t like community living. They began to fight as soon as they meet another one”.

I was watching closely : a combination of cement and light brownish in color;  looked very clean and  fresh , as if,[  taking  a shower;]    two  distinct  ear holes, as big as human;  the bow-shaped  mouth stretched from left to right  near to  the ear-hole; two big drowsy eyes with poetic and romantic glances !

Observing my curiosity and interest Emily asked me,” Do you want to take it in lap?”

“yes “. I stretched my arms.

As  Emily made herself free from the clutch of claws, the dragon opened its mouth for yawning and I saw a clear hole in its long tongue like Comodo.  

I screamed and jumped back to the wall by instinct;
    “No, no .I don't want ; I saw its tongue…does it spit ?”

“Yes, they spit.; but this fellow doesn’t..................
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Saturday, September 13, 2025

Sipra's Diary: ...Stupefying Ad In The Bus-Stand.

 

 Sipra's diary:Stupefying Ad in the bus-stand...

I was coming back  home from the senior center  after the music program was over. As I was walking towards the bus-stand I was quite stunned to see the advertisement on the huge glass -wall of the bus-stop, 86 th street of columbus avenue, Mid-Manhattan,
"MUSEUM FOR SEX". 
......[I ponder what does it mean?]
 After coming back home  I googled the meaning with etymology of the 'term' . Most suitable meaning which matches with museum is "gender'or"male and female'. "sex"does not sound good. 
It will not attract  standard audience;  it would be better to  be replaced by  "Museum Of Gender".
Museum is an institution, a home of muses, an adorable place almost like temple.
People are so  much sensitive about so many social issues but no voice is raised against using unparliamentary profane words in case of   giving 'title'or advertisement. Print this post

Wednesday, September 10, 2025

Sipra's Diary : A Hectic Sunday !

 

  


Tuesday, October 30, 2018

Sipra's Diary: A hectic sunday

Last week I had a hectic sunday.
At 9AM choir-music in the church; from 11AM to 1:30 again joining in the choir music and listening devotional speech in the vedanta Math; 
Finally from 2pm to 4pm Inter-generational program of discussion on the topic of 

 'Re-imagine the end of life and exploring death'.

Up to Saturday night I had in my mind to carry on all the events. But on Sunday morning,I decided to cancel the first one;because I did not practice any piece of songs and,immediately I felt relaxed as wanton school-boy.
I enjoyed the Inter-generational topic about life and death. It raises the very common questions for the elders to ponder:
Would life be better if we could live forever?............. Is death a taboo?.
what scares most about dying? 
How can we be more comfortable with the topic of death?
What is something  that death of some beloved one has taught?
What practical steps we should think in advance so that the way we die can be as unique as the way we live?

Life is beautiful but also unpredictable.
Considering and talking about our wishes ahead of time can allow the end of life to be more meaningful and less stressful. Some seniors along with some juniors shared  their personal stories of how much loss they felt by the demise of their closest one. How  is the impact of legacy they left in their minds?

Then the audience were asked to flash some thoughts on the topic.
I quoted some comment of my father in-law who was reputed doctor and to deal with death and decease was part of his daily life.
Whenever  somebody became  overwhelmed by the death of closest one,  he used to say, "to die is natural but to live is wonder".So one must lead the best use of life. Importance of intergenerational story telling is like recording  tapestry of time and events as document. It is a fact that when an elderly one dies,a LIBRARY is Lost.
Moreover ,we all, good or bad, endowed with    'death-certificate' indiscriminately when we die; Whether in every stages of academic career or in job sphere we achieve 'certificate' as promotional recognition; though certificate means 'document' but as pun it also means 'appraisal'.'Death certificate' is not less important than any other certificate of life time achievement !    ......[Perhaps  little more!]
 Even those who  don't get any certificate during life time,  there is hope to get it after life is over.

           
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Monday, September 8, 2025

Sipra's Diary : TADPOLE OR CHAMELEON

 

  


Tuesday, November 13, 2018

Urmila's Letter :: Tadpole or Chameleon

          






The position of journalism in a democracy is almost as powerful as a nuclear bomb; but not so   to  the journalists. 
Their position is precarious. After all, it is a job, a career for them; they wish to marry and maintain normal family  and not to be martyrs like freedom fighters.
But they need to act like that of a 'virtual hero' with a digital pen which is mightier than the sword' throughout the career-life: D
ouble role!

 A double-coloured balloon pumped with (questionable!) patriotism. In one hand they project themselves as a supporter of social welfare to cajole and coax the public sentiment. Because people are the King-maker in democracy; so the axis of journalists is tilted towards the mass . And Government also holds silent support to the social media to fuel the people's sentiment by criticizing government's act at random so that peoples' steam of anger is vaporized by them through the 'rights' to express free opinions. Freedom to criticize the ruling party is a great catharsis for the people to keep the political atmosphere cool down. So media acts as a cooling conductor between the public and the ruling party to protect the government from unwanted rebel and fury of the mass.

 So the status of journalists in a democratic state is to remain either as chameleons or tadpoles in water but near the land; tadpoles look like a school of small fish or baby snake; journalists need to please both: the public and government..Like tadpoles sometimes need to kiss the frog or snake or dive underwater like fish, depending on the situation. They need public support for their sustenance but for the survival?..

 They need the favor of the ruling party; they encourage the thief to steal in one hand and warn the householder to be alert on the other hand. But never forget to maintain an under-current connection with the ruling power, the oxygen supplier.

As politics   [poly + tricks]  of any country is equally important  as its  financial background , journalism also growing  new   feathers as its apparel.
In the  beginning  it was charged with patriotic spirit and literary flavor.    Now they are of different genre: the difference between the two is that journalism is unreadable whereas literature is unread!

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Wednesday, September 3, 2025

Sipra's Diary::............Modern Marvel= "FITBIT"

 

FIT   BIT:  :Modern Marvel!


                    'Fit  Bit' is the latest obsession of the present-day generation.It is an electronic fitness product;a wireless enabled wearable technology device.It presents fitness data of your total body.It can be worn as wrist-band or around  the ankle of feet.

My daughter with her group of  friends bought it with great enthusiasm .It is designed to help you more active, eat a more well rounded diet, sleep better and turn you into a healthier human being-,shows time and daily activity...including heartbeat, blood-presser, mileage, steps taken, distance travelled, food calories, calories burnt, stairs climbed-,all the active minutes and the  even 'quality of sleep'!  i.e- The app represents the sound sleep with deep blue color like calm ocean; the broken sleep with  exact number of stripes and span of time  as sleep is broken ,and disturbed sleep with nightmare dream is marked  as red and multi colored stripes.
                 It seemed to me amazing!
As soon as she wakes up in the morning she begins to take account the statistic of her body  from the app. Then she begins to ask   in her mobile about the statistics of her other friends .  The FIT  BIT community is  bulging very fast.
While most parents have declared 'innings defeat' about guiding their  adult children's health issue (because the children think their  ideas  are backdated ),  this tiny device came forward  to guide and control so efficiently on behalf of them.
This Fit-Bit community has very much  competitive  spirit.To quote their daily conversation---------------
        -"How many steps  have you  today?"
-        -"It has not been 10,000 steps yet"
        _"I accomplished 13,000 steps today"
        -"Wow!"
         -"My fit-bit has not been charged  and so I felt so reluctant to do any exercise ,walk or take healthy food."
           "Yea, same feelings happened to me; if the device doesn,t work, I spend the day wallowing on irregularities.
Now different companies are launching this popular app.Their demand is sky-rocketing.'Apple' always move fast with  added sophistication  and expensive price.


I think it us a nice useful gift ,specially for the young folk on their birthday or   after  graduation.


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