Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Had Charles Lutwidge Dodgson popularly known as Lewis Carroll been alive today, he would have celebrated his 190th†birthday on January 27 this year. He died on January 14, 1898. Yet, Carroll is always as young as his character Alice is. Aliceís Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass of Carroll have been interpreted in many ways. Still, every page of these books unfolds a new tenor. A mathematician as Carroll was, his Alice, after falling into a rabbit burrow, a wonderland for her, fails to solve a few mathematical problems. She is confused. A few critics say Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is a satire on the social justice system in early 19th century England. The other day, a teacher of English literature and resident of Arera Colony in Bhopal, said the novel is a complete satire. Carroll has played with words in such a way as seem to be nonsense; yet they are full of significance, and everyone should sift through each page of this tome to appreciate the present political scenario. Carroll, however, said when he had composed Humpty-Dumpty in Through the Looking-Glass, he meant nothing more nothing less. A satirical remark indeed!
Firewater to chill cold!
January is about to end. Yet, the bitter chilliness continues. The northerlies almost numb the limbs and make the face burn. The sale of room heaters and woolens has gone up. All these still fail to provide any comfort from the snappy winds that have mellowed the sunlight so much that it, too, fails to give any relief. Bhopal barely experiences such a shivery winter at the end of January. Thick fog has covered many districts, the borders of which are close to Uttar Pradesh. An initial rain has benefited the crops but, now, it has damaged the yield. As soon as the evening falls, the residents of the state capital prefer the cozy corners of their homes to going out. The pavement dwellers count on the bonfires and the rugs they get from other people. The other day, a resident of MP Nagar commented: One should have a few drops of firewater to chill the polar weather; and nobody should launch a protest against it!
World's loss
The world lost two great Gandhians - Desmond Tutu of South Africa and Salem Nanjundaiah Subba Rao of India - last year. Rao passed away on October 27 and Tutu on December 26. Both of them stuck to the Gandhian principles of non-violence and simple life till they saw the last rays of the sun. Tutu fought against the brutal anti-apartheid regime through non-violence. His commitment to non-violence was such that a normal being cannot even imagine it. In 1981, he was addressing black mourners at the funeral of civil rights lawyer Griffiths Mxenge. The crowd suspected that there was a government agent and tried to kill him, but Tutu ran towards the victim and embraced him, protecting him from the crowdís anger. He ultimately pacified the crowd not to get involved in violence. Such was his commitment to non-violence. Once when a journalist wanted to know from him the reasons for not giving the Nobel Peace Prize to Mahatma Gandhi, Tutuís curt reply was: Gandhi was above any prize. The other day, an elderly person in Gautam Nagar said, We may criticise Gandhi, but only a few of us know that his teachings have inspired the freedom struggle of many countries in the world. Violence is temporal: non-violence is eternal. Both Rao and Tutu stood by it.
Tailpiece
A resident of Kasturba Nagar in Bhopal wanted to make a wooden cabinet in her room. So, she told her husband to call a cabinetmaker.
Her witty husband said, But it is not easy to call a cabinetmaker. After all, heís not any Tom, Dick and Harry. I can only call a carpenter.
His wife appreciated the pun and laughed aloud.
