The current issue of Wordnet (Jan. 19, 2012) carries yet another apologia by Deepak Mehta where he ridicules the folks who criticize his ill advised and often wrong use of English words in his writings published under the pompous heading WorldNet. The term wordnet itself is a copyrighted word and it has nothing to do with the digest or articles that Deepak Mehta publishes in that section.
More over he distracts his readers to an issue that is not even a part of the criticism that is leveled against him for his wrong headed use and insistence on using English words in his columns.
In the issue of Wordnet (Jan. 12, 2012 ) Deepak Mehta reproduces the list of countries that use English language. So far good. But none of his critics have complained about use of English by any one individual or a country. The criticism is against improper and needless use of English words in Gujarati language by the Gujarati media and particularly by Deepak Mehta.
Once again, let me restate that the words Wordnet and Bookmark are copyrighted words and each time Deepak Mehta uses these terms he infringes on some one's intellectual property.
Now some one please tell me what is the meaning of In Memorial where in he writes about the gravesite of Jack London. It seems like he intended In Memoriam.
Let me share a more interesting fact about the death of Jack London. On the night of Nov.22nd he suffered acute pain from the kidney stone. The pain being unbearable, he reached for medicine and before he could take it he died. It is as simple as that... Jack London did write about suicides in some of his novels and if he wanted to quickly end his life he could have used the loaded revolver that he kept near his bed. A shot from it would have ended his pain and relieved him from the misery of kidney stone. He would not have taken morphine death from which is relatively slow when compared to a shot from a revolver.
There is another problem with the story. Jack London was NOT buried under the lava rock as our so called scholar Deepak Math implies (see his use of the word કબર. Jack London was cremated as per his wishes. His second wife too was cremated. The ashes of Jack London were carried in a copper urn that was placed in a cement sarcophagus that was buried there. The place is not too far from his cottage. The lava rock was intended to be used in the building of the cottage but the architect could not use it because of the large size of the rock. The rock had to be dragged by using four horses and placed over the spot where his mortal ashes were buried. And this is not the first time he has erred or provided inaccurate information. So much about truth and accuracy in Deepakbhai's writings.
Here is how writer Dale Walker describes the death and burial of Jack's ashes in his article titled Wolf Dying,
He was cremated, his ashes placed in a copper urn. The funeral was simple, as he wished, with a short oration, the reading of William Cullen Bryant's "Thanatopsis," one of Jack's favorite poems, and a poem written for the occasion by George Sterling containing the lines:
Unhearing heart, whose patience was so long!
Unresting mind, so hungry for the truth!
Now hast thou rest, gentle one and strong,
Dead like a lordly lion in its youth.
On Sunday the 26th Sterling brought the urn back to the ranch where Charmian decorated it with ferns and primroses. The burial place had been selected by Jack years before, a knoll about a half-mile downhill from the cottage he and Charmian shared. There were already graves there, marked by plain wooden crosses, of two pioneer children, David Greenlaw, who died in 1876, the year of Jack's birth, and Lillie Greenlaw, who followed her brother in death a year later. London loved the silent place amidst brush and flowers and shaded by tall oaks and redwoods, and told Charmian, "If I should beat you to it, I wouldn't mind if you laid my ashes on the knoll where the Greenlaw children are buried. And roll over me a red boulder from the ruins of Wolf House."
The burial was unceremonial, attended by Charmin, Eliza and her son, a few of the ranch employees and old friends such as George Sterling. The copper urn was placed in the ground, sealed within a cement sarcophagus, and, as Sterling wrote, "Amid the profound silence of the on-lookers, a huge boulder—a great block of red lava long-pitted by time and enriched by the moss of uncounted years—was urged by roller and crowbar above the sepulcher."
Jack London's second wife Charmian died in 1955. Her cremated remains were also buried under that boulder.
Jack London's “Credo” -
I would rather be ashes than dust! I would rather that my spark should burn out in a brilliant blaze than it should be stifled by dry-rot. I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet. The proper function of man is to live, not exist. I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them, I shall use my time."– Jack London 1876-1916
Deepak Mehta seems to be stubborn like a mule. Perhaps I am insulting mule by comparing it to Deepak Mehta.
How one wishes some one (hint - His Editor at the Mumbai Samachar) yanks out the Wordnet section from under his feet ( Deepak Mehta) or forces Deepak Mehta to check his writing for errors and in accurate information or have some one else check his writing before it goes to the press. Is this too much to expect from the editor of a historic Gujarati newspaper?
Showing posts with label Deepak Mehta. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Deepak Mehta. Show all posts
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Jaipur Literature Festival and Gujarati Writers
By Harish Trivedi
© 2011
Recently a revered Gujarati scholar and journalist Deepakbhai Mehta lamented about the absence of Gujarati writers and the absence of a vast majority of writers from other states in India at the prestigious Jaipur Literature Festival.
Deepakbhai’s article appeared the Gujarati daily Mumbai Samachar under the section that is called Dialogue, but in effect it was a monologue.
This is my humble effort to turn that monologue in to a true dialogue.
Deepakbhai starts out by mocking at the festival being described as The Greatest Show on Earth.
Background about the phrase:
It is said that the great impresario and circus owner P. T. Barnum coined the phrase The Greatest Show on Earth and by1872, Barnum was already referring to his enterprise as 'THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH' - and it was! 'P.T. Barnum's Traveling World's Fair, Great Roman Hippodrome and Greatest Show On Earth' It covered five acres and accommodated 10,000 seated patrons at a time ... and, to reach more people, took to the rails and traveled across the country and also took the show to England. Queen Victoria is reported to have been very impressed and amused by the show.
The phrase The Greatest Show on Earth is a copyright phrase owned by P.T. Barnum and Bailey Circus. (The full name is RINGLING BROS.-BARNUM & BAILEY COMBINED SHOWS, INC.) The company has filed lawsuites to protect their copyright for the phrase and has won it everytime in the courts of law in the United States.
In 1952 there was a movie titled The Greatest Show on Earth. It was a drama film set in the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. The film was produced, directed, and narrated by Cecil B. DeMille, and won the Academy Award for Best Picture. The movie had lavish production values, actual circus acts, and documentary, behind-the-rings looks at the massive logistics effort which made big top circuses possible. Bosley Crowther, the esteemed New York Times critic called the movie a "lusty triumph of circus showmanship and movie skill" and a "piece of entertainment that will delight movie audiences for years"
Richard Dawkins' 2009 best seller is titled The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution.
For over a century the phrase is used to describe any big or spectacular event. It is in this sense that Tina Brown described the Jaipur event as the greatest show on earth.
Tina Brown, the legendary editor of such internationally known magazines as the Vanity Fair and the New Yorker, described the Jaipur Literature Festival as the Greatest Literary Show on Earth. She is the founder and editor of the webzine the Daily Beast. Recently the weekly news magazine Newsweek merged with the Daily Beast. Tina Brown acts as an Executive Editor for both the publications.
Deepakbhai is critical of the construction company DSC for being the major sponsor of the Jaipur event. Forget the fact that the Sahitya Academy, the National Book Trust and nearly a dozen Gujarati publishers stage book fairs each year and some even host similar events (Pustak Melo) fair many a times during the year. Gujarati publishers host such events at their own expense. The Sahitya Academy and the National Book Trust host such events by using taxpayers’ money. These government bodies even participate in international book fairs at the taxpayers’ expense. So why is Deepakbhai criticizing the DSC and its many sponsors?
Further on Deepakbhai states that the Jaipur Literature Festival is not similar to (meaning not as good as) the Gujarati Sahitya Parishad and the Marathi Sahitya Sammelan.
On one hand the scholar criticizes the lack of marketing by the Sahitya Academy affecting sales of its publications, but then he is quick to mock the Jaipur event as a product of modern marketing and criticizes the advertising agencies that supports the Jaipur Festival. This does not make any sense, does it?
The advertising agencies or major multi-nationals that sponsor such events look at the audience, the demographics, and the segment of population that would attend such event and the prestige of participating in such event itself.
Can the Gujarati Sahitya Parishad provide the demographics that these agencies are covet?
Then Deepakbhai accuses that the sponsors of the Jaipur Festival look for English publications that are either popular or controversial. Nothing could be farther from truth. Just look up the names of literary celebrities that attended the Jaipur Literature Festival – 2011 in the attached document.
The Jaipur event is open to all; any one can attend the event. Folks who want to attend as a ‘Delegate’ have to pay fees that cover their lunch etc. I am sure some of the multi-national publishing houses pick up the tab of ‘their’ writers to showcase those writers’ work. Are there any Gujarati publishers who are willing to pick up a tab for their writers?
How many Gujarati publishers advertise their publications in newspapers and magazines? How many novels, short story and poetry collections are reviewed in Gujarati newspapers? How many Gujarati books are sold each year? The publication scene for the Gujarati language is pathetic, to say the least. Here is a question: Since the Jaipur Literature Festival was open to all, did Deepakbhai attend the event and write a first hand review of the event? How many Gujarati newspapers sent their reporters to cover this major international publishing event?
How are people from beyond Gujarat to know about Gujarati literature if the Gujarati literary establishment and governmental agencies do not make concerted effort to publicize the works of major Gujarati writers? Why criticize modern marketing methods - the potent tool of marketing in this age of globalization?
Deepakbhai laments the absence of writers from many other Indian states… The event, as mentioned above was open to all so if writers from any state could have attended the event if they wanted to attend. Why blame the Jaipur event sponsors for it? The sponsors of the Jaipur festival are not obligated to have representation from every state of India. Where did Deepakbhai get this idea?
Name-calling the English literary works is not productive and diminishes not only good writers but it also diminishes the person who makes such ignorant remarks.
Deepakbhai wonders if prominent public servants such as Kapil Sibal, Manishankar Aiyar or Nirupama Mennon Rao have written any books and thus casts a shadow on the ability of these individuals to write anything worthwhile. So for record, let me say a few words about these people who were unnecessarily maligned by Deepakbhai.
An Anthology of Kapil Sibal's poems titled \"i witness\" was published by Roli Books in 2008. He has also contributed several articles on various topical issues in national dailies and periodicals.
Manishankar Aiyar has written several books including Remembering Rajiv", Rupa, New Delhi, 1992, "One Year in Parliament", Konark, New Delhi, 1993, "Pakistan Papers", UBSPD, New Delhi, 1994 and numerous newspaper articles.
Nirupama Menon Rao is an Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer, and the current Foreign Secretary of India, serving the External Affairs Ministry.
She has also served as Ambassador of India to China, High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka, the Deputy Chief of Mission at the Indian Embassy in Moscow and as a Minister at the Indian Embassy in Washington DC. Nirupama Rao has written a book of poetry, named Rain Rising. Her poems have been translated into Chinese and Russian.Nirupama Rao’ speech/article at Singapore Consortium for China-India Dialogue titled Rabindranath Tagore’s vision of India and China: A twenty first century perspective should be a ‘must’ reading to any self professed Tagore expert.
Now everyone is entitled to his or her own opinions. Unfortunately the opinion expressed by Deepakbhai are tinted by his provincial and myopic understanding of how international literary events are organized, his views are based on mere speculation, and he does not provide any evidence to substantiate his rant.
We have a phrase for such attitude. It is called sour grapes. The phrase refers to envious behaviour, especially pretending to not care for something one does not or cannot have, a condition called cognitive dissonance.
© 2011
Recently a revered Gujarati scholar and journalist Deepakbhai Mehta lamented about the absence of Gujarati writers and the absence of a vast majority of writers from other states in India at the prestigious Jaipur Literature Festival.
Deepakbhai’s article appeared the Gujarati daily Mumbai Samachar under the section that is called Dialogue, but in effect it was a monologue.
This is my humble effort to turn that monologue in to a true dialogue.
Deepakbhai starts out by mocking at the festival being described as The Greatest Show on Earth.
Background about the phrase:
It is said that the great impresario and circus owner P. T. Barnum coined the phrase The Greatest Show on Earth and by1872, Barnum was already referring to his enterprise as 'THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH' - and it was! 'P.T. Barnum's Traveling World's Fair, Great Roman Hippodrome and Greatest Show On Earth' It covered five acres and accommodated 10,000 seated patrons at a time ... and, to reach more people, took to the rails and traveled across the country and also took the show to England. Queen Victoria is reported to have been very impressed and amused by the show.
The phrase The Greatest Show on Earth is a copyright phrase owned by P.T. Barnum and Bailey Circus. (The full name is RINGLING BROS.-BARNUM & BAILEY COMBINED SHOWS, INC.) The company has filed lawsuites to protect their copyright for the phrase and has won it everytime in the courts of law in the United States.
In 1952 there was a movie titled The Greatest Show on Earth. It was a drama film set in the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. The film was produced, directed, and narrated by Cecil B. DeMille, and won the Academy Award for Best Picture. The movie had lavish production values, actual circus acts, and documentary, behind-the-rings looks at the massive logistics effort which made big top circuses possible. Bosley Crowther, the esteemed New York Times critic called the movie a "lusty triumph of circus showmanship and movie skill" and a "piece of entertainment that will delight movie audiences for years"
Richard Dawkins' 2009 best seller is titled The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution.
For over a century the phrase is used to describe any big or spectacular event. It is in this sense that Tina Brown described the Jaipur event as the greatest show on earth.
Tina Brown, the legendary editor of such internationally known magazines as the Vanity Fair and the New Yorker, described the Jaipur Literature Festival as the Greatest Literary Show on Earth. She is the founder and editor of the webzine the Daily Beast. Recently the weekly news magazine Newsweek merged with the Daily Beast. Tina Brown acts as an Executive Editor for both the publications.
Deepakbhai is critical of the construction company DSC for being the major sponsor of the Jaipur event. Forget the fact that the Sahitya Academy, the National Book Trust and nearly a dozen Gujarati publishers stage book fairs each year and some even host similar events (Pustak Melo) fair many a times during the year. Gujarati publishers host such events at their own expense. The Sahitya Academy and the National Book Trust host such events by using taxpayers’ money. These government bodies even participate in international book fairs at the taxpayers’ expense. So why is Deepakbhai criticizing the DSC and its many sponsors?
Further on Deepakbhai states that the Jaipur Literature Festival is not similar to (meaning not as good as) the Gujarati Sahitya Parishad and the Marathi Sahitya Sammelan.
On one hand the scholar criticizes the lack of marketing by the Sahitya Academy affecting sales of its publications, but then he is quick to mock the Jaipur event as a product of modern marketing and criticizes the advertising agencies that supports the Jaipur Festival. This does not make any sense, does it?
The advertising agencies or major multi-nationals that sponsor such events look at the audience, the demographics, and the segment of population that would attend such event and the prestige of participating in such event itself.
Can the Gujarati Sahitya Parishad provide the demographics that these agencies are covet?
Then Deepakbhai accuses that the sponsors of the Jaipur Festival look for English publications that are either popular or controversial. Nothing could be farther from truth. Just look up the names of literary celebrities that attended the Jaipur Literature Festival – 2011 in the attached document.
The Jaipur event is open to all; any one can attend the event. Folks who want to attend as a ‘Delegate’ have to pay fees that cover their lunch etc. I am sure some of the multi-national publishing houses pick up the tab of ‘their’ writers to showcase those writers’ work. Are there any Gujarati publishers who are willing to pick up a tab for their writers?
How many Gujarati publishers advertise their publications in newspapers and magazines? How many novels, short story and poetry collections are reviewed in Gujarati newspapers? How many Gujarati books are sold each year? The publication scene for the Gujarati language is pathetic, to say the least. Here is a question: Since the Jaipur Literature Festival was open to all, did Deepakbhai attend the event and write a first hand review of the event? How many Gujarati newspapers sent their reporters to cover this major international publishing event?
How are people from beyond Gujarat to know about Gujarati literature if the Gujarati literary establishment and governmental agencies do not make concerted effort to publicize the works of major Gujarati writers? Why criticize modern marketing methods - the potent tool of marketing in this age of globalization?
Deepakbhai laments the absence of writers from many other Indian states… The event, as mentioned above was open to all so if writers from any state could have attended the event if they wanted to attend. Why blame the Jaipur event sponsors for it? The sponsors of the Jaipur festival are not obligated to have representation from every state of India. Where did Deepakbhai get this idea?
Name-calling the English literary works is not productive and diminishes not only good writers but it also diminishes the person who makes such ignorant remarks.
Deepakbhai wonders if prominent public servants such as Kapil Sibal, Manishankar Aiyar or Nirupama Mennon Rao have written any books and thus casts a shadow on the ability of these individuals to write anything worthwhile. So for record, let me say a few words about these people who were unnecessarily maligned by Deepakbhai.
An Anthology of Kapil Sibal's poems titled \"i witness\" was published by Roli Books in 2008. He has also contributed several articles on various topical issues in national dailies and periodicals.
Manishankar Aiyar has written several books including Remembering Rajiv", Rupa, New Delhi, 1992, "One Year in Parliament", Konark, New Delhi, 1993, "Pakistan Papers", UBSPD, New Delhi, 1994 and numerous newspaper articles.
Nirupama Menon Rao is an Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer, and the current Foreign Secretary of India, serving the External Affairs Ministry.
She has also served as Ambassador of India to China, High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka, the Deputy Chief of Mission at the Indian Embassy in Moscow and as a Minister at the Indian Embassy in Washington DC. Nirupama Rao has written a book of poetry, named Rain Rising. Her poems have been translated into Chinese and Russian.Nirupama Rao’ speech/article at Singapore Consortium for China-India Dialogue titled Rabindranath Tagore’s vision of India and China: A twenty first century perspective should be a ‘must’ reading to any self professed Tagore expert.
Now everyone is entitled to his or her own opinions. Unfortunately the opinion expressed by Deepakbhai are tinted by his provincial and myopic understanding of how international literary events are organized, his views are based on mere speculation, and he does not provide any evidence to substantiate his rant.
We have a phrase for such attitude. It is called sour grapes. The phrase refers to envious behaviour, especially pretending to not care for something one does not or cannot have, a condition called cognitive dissonance.
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