HIGHLY CREATIVE PEOPLE

                     

HIGHLY  CREATIVE PEOPLE...
(Photo Pablo Picasso)

Highly creative people are special individuals. To view  and feel what is going around them, they  tend to behave as outsiders. . They need more personal space to look around, think, absorb and reflect. Denial of space to these sensitive souls,  may make them unproductive and  moody. Such free thinkers   may rebel should they be made  prisoners of the  society. .

Such special persons have greater capacity to live with discomfort .They tend to think differently.for  which they are usually branded as  non conformists.  You can't demonstrate authority to them. Quite often , They may not  think about their own  person .  And observation is an important aspect of creativity. As observors, they need to maintain distance which may be construed as tendency to be aloof. Watch out , they tend to have razor sharp memory with a strong appetite for details.

 Streaks of  idealism inherent in  highly creative persons may also make them   misfit in the current  social order which is essentially   based on values of utility and expediency.

 A highly creative person may be verbally fluent and have a   wide range of personal  interests. He may also be indulging in day dreaming as an exercise to create intellectual  options for he surely knows the futility of day dreaming .In any discussion, he can arrest attention .

Quite often , such people maintain consistent personal standards. and ethics in dealing with others.

 Can the institution of marriage give them the  desired  comfort and stability in personal life ?

( Autar Mota)



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NIGHT' S INVITATION ( NISHA NIMANTRAN ) BY HARIVANSH RAI BACHAN

                     

HARIVANSH RAI BACHAN WITH HIS SON  AND ACTOR AMITABH  BACHAN.

Reading " NISHA NIMANTRAN"( Night's Invitation )  By Harivansh Rai Bachan...

This is a beautiful gift from a friend. Published in 1938, this collection of Hindi poems  is quite impressive .

I quote some select lines from the book.....

(1)

Hum kabh Apni Baat Chhipaatay?

Hum apnaa jeevan ankit kar
Pheink chukkay hain Raaj-marg par
Jis ke jee mein Aaye Parr le
Thum-kar pal-bhar Aatay  jaatay
......Hum kabh Apni Baat Chhipaatay.

(Harivansh Rai Bachan)....

(When do I hide my story?

After having created this living ,
this style ,
I have thrown it on a thoroughfare or
 A highway,
Whosoever desires to read it
At  leisure or for some moments or
While being in inward or outward journey,
he is free to do so ..

When do I hide my story ?)

 (2)

Saathi saanjh Lagi Ab honay..

Mitti se  thaa jinhay banaaya
Phoolon se thaa jinhay sajaaya
Kheil garondhay chhorr Pathon par
Chalay gaye hain Bachay sonay
Saathi saanjh Lagi ab honay..

(Harivansh Rai Bachan)

(Friend, it is evening time now,

The Play homes,
That children created from mud,
And then decorated with flowers,
Abandoning all these amusements,
Even children have gone to sleep.

Friend , It is evening time now...)

(3)

Aa sonay se pehlay gaa Lein...

Jag mein Praatah Punh Aayega
Soya jaag nahin paayega
Aaankh moondh lenay se pehlay,
Aa, Jo kuchh  kehnaa keh daalein
...Aa sonay  se pehlay gaa Lein..
(Harivansh Rai Bachan)

("Come, Let us sing,
Before we go to sleep..

This world shall see Dawn once more;
But whosoever went to sleep,
may not wake up again.
Before we close our eyes,
Come, Let us say
whatsoever we  feel like speaking.

Come, Let us sing,
Before we go to sleep..")

(4)

Ho Madhhur sapna tumhaara,

Kanth mein ho gaan Aisa
Thaa suna jag ne na jaisa
Aur swar se swar mila kar
Ga raha ho vishv saara...

...Ho madhur sapna tumhaara...

( Harivansh Rai Bachan)

May your dreams be Sweet,

Such a song may emerge from your side,
That is unheard and unknown to the world .
And then in tune with that song,
This world at large,
May also sing in chorus with you.
   ,,,,,,,,,,,, May your dreams be Sweet..")

(5)

Din Jaldi jaldi daltaa hai
Yeh soch thakaa din ka panthi bhi
jaldi jaldi chaltaa jai.....

Bachay pratiyaasha mein hongay
Needon se jhaank Rahay Hongay
Yeh dhyaan paron mein Chidiya ke
Bhartaa kitni chanchaltaa hai.

.............Din jaldi jaldi daltaaa hai

(Harivansh Rai Bachan)

"How quickly does this day come to end ?"
Thinking so , A  traveler,
 exhausted by day's journey,
Takes  quick steps back home ..

 Struck by the thought of waiting little  Chicks,
Looking out from their nests ,
A sparrow too
 hurries  back putting swiftness  in her wings.
.....How quickly does this day come to end ?")

(6)

Deepak par parvaane Aaye..
Jale jwalit Aalingan mein kuchh,
Jale Agni-mai chumban mein kuchh,
Rahe adhjale, Rahe duur kuchh,
Kintu na vaapus jaane Paaye..

.....Deepak par Parvaane Aaye.

(Harivansh Rai Bachan)

("The moths were drawn towards the candle..

Some perished in the blazing embrace,
Some perished while kissing the fire,

Some remained half burnt,
Some maintained distance from the flame  ,

But none could move away.

....... ..  The moths were drawn towards the candle....")

(7)

.......Sathi  so na kar kuchh baat.

Baat karte  so gayaa tu
Swapn mein phir kho gayaa tu,
Reh gayaa me aur Aadhi-baat, Aadhi- raat.

.......Sathi  so na kar kuchh baat....

(Harivansh Rai Bachan)

Sleep not friend, Keep talking..

Why  did sleep grip you so suddenly ?
Weren't you  in communication with me ?
And then you got  lost in your dreams,
Leaving me lonesome,
with unfinished communication
  at this midnight.
Sleep not friend ,keep talking..

.......Sathi  so na kar kuchh baat.
And about Amitabh ,. His father Harivansh Rai Bachan has said :

" Not wise for a father to praise his son . But the happiness of listening his praise from others ;Yes , he always gave this happiness to us in bountiful measures. “

So does Tulsi Dass say:
                                                             

 "Dhanya Bhaag Pitu So Jug jaana
Kaan Sunaa Jo Poot Bakhaana '

( Tulsi Dass )

( What more luck does that father need  in this world ,
 Who listens his son’s praise from one and all.)

(Autar Mota)
CHINAR SHADE by Autarmota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 India License.
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HAD EMPEROR AKBAR A DISTASTE FOR NON VEGETARIAN FOOD …?

                             .

AKBAR 'S DARBAAR PAINTED BY KESHAV LAL OR KESU LAL..

HAD   EMPEROR   JALAL UD  DIN     AKBAR  A  DISTASTE  FOR NON  VEGETARIAN  FOOD  …?

I have come across so many references with regard to eating habits  of Emperor  AKBAR. I quote two most authentic  :

“ The emperor ate sparingly  , taking  flesh during  three or four months of the year . His diet  at other  times consisted of  Milk , Rice , and sweetmeats “
( Source ..  Book “ Akbar and the  Jesuits   “  by Father  Piere Du jarric    Page 206 }

“ His majesty abstains  much from flesh , so that whole months pass away without his touching animal food, which though prized by most is nothing  thought of by the  the sage."

( Page 155 Ain I Akbari By  Abu I Fazal Volume 1 translation by Henry Blochmann )

And  Abu I Fazal goes on to write :

“ It is indeed from ignorance and cruelty that , although various kinds of food are obtainable , men are bent upon injuring living creatures and are lending a ready hand in killing and eating them; None seems to have an eye for the beauty inherent in prevention of cruelty but makes himself a tomb for animals."

( Autar Mota )

PS

(1)
 Akbar had many Hindu Artists in his court .  They worked under Khwaja Abdul Samad from shiraz , a master artist who  headed  his Painting  Department. Some Prominent miniature Mughal  Artists in Akbar’s court were  Mukund,Basawan,Jagan , Madhu ,  Daswant ,Mahesh , Keshav  lal, Ram ji, Tara , Sanwala , Khem karan and  Hari Vansh ( Haribansh ) . HariBansh and  Daswant  were Akbar’s  favourite painters.
(2)
Father Piere Du Jarric  ( 1566 -1617 )was a Missionary Traveler , Writer and Philosopher .

(3)

Ain-i-Akbari (Persian) is a 16th-century, comprehensive  document recording the administration of  Akbar's empire, written by his  friend and courtier  Abu'l-Fazl  . It has five volumes all translated to English .Two volumes ( I and II ) have been translated to English by Henry Ferdinand Blochmann ( 1838 – 1878),  a German orientalist  and scholar of Persian language  who spent most of his career in India.


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CAPT DIWAN SINGH ON "MAHARAJA HARI SINGH OF JAMMU AND KASHMIR"

                                                              

                                                           ( Capt. Diwan Singh )

                                              ( Maharaja Hari Singh and Maharani Tara Devi )

 

 

CAPTAIN DIWAN SINGH ON " MAHARAJA HARI SINGH "

 

 

Capt Diwan Singh ( 1919-2014 ) ADC to Maharaja Hari Singh was privy to many inside decisions/happenings during the crucial days of October 1947. In that capacity, he was a storehouse of first-hand information relating to several political developments during the last days of Maharaja’s rule. I wish he had written a book to put many records straight and clear many misconceptions and wrong beliefs.He remained steadfast in his loyalty to Maharaja Hari Singh till his death. He proved it when he resigned from the army ( he served as a Staff Officer post-1947) in 1949 and decided to continue as Private Secretary to Maharaja in a changed environment. At that time, the lonely Maharaja was asked to leave the state and live in exile in Mumbai. No one was prepared to move with him as his Secretary / ADC. Capt Diwan Singh returned to Jammu only after Maharaja’s death.

 

 Born in a Rajput family from Palanwala, Jammu, Capt Diwan Singh’s father had served the State’s forces and seen action in the first world war. And so did Capt Diwan Singh see action in the Burma war. After 1947, he saw action in Poonch ( siege of Poonch, August 1948 ) when Pakistani troops were driven away by the Indian Army.

For people of the state especially Jammu province, he was instrumental in getting 500 acres of land donated by Maharaja Hari Singh that enabled him to set up the D A V Agricultural Collegiate School at Nagbani. After his return to Jammu, he devoted his time and energy to this cause.

 

I had two (1996 and 1997 ) interactions with him during the period I headed the Dumana, Jammu branch of our bank. In fact, during that period, he was instrumental in getting an extension counter of our bank opened inside Nagbani school. This extension counter was to operate under the Dumana branch. During those two interactions, he was kind enough to speak a little about those crucial days of 1947 when he happened to be ADC to Maharaja Hari Singh. I quote from my records /diary jottings of these two meetings. He said this:-

 

(1)

 

“ Maharaja Hari Singh spoke fluent Kashmiri. By complexion also, he looked like a Kashmiri. Maharaja never believed in clarifying himself. Never made certain 'behind the curtain' decisions public that could have presented his true and real personality. Sometimes, I feel that history has been unfair to him.  He was far and very far above petty things. Contrary to the general impression that he was haughty, I have felt that he had a human heart. He was liberal, progressive and a firm believer in reforms. As a ruler, never has he distinguished between members of his staff or the public in general on the basis of caste, creed or religion. Many Muslims were in employment with State’s Darbar. I mean on very high and respectable posts. A few I can quote were Nawab Khushru Jung, his military secretary, Sahibzada Noor Mohammad Khan, a member of his inner personal staff and Sardar Abdul Rehman Effendi who had been provided with a house at Gupkar Road. Abdul Qayoom Khan was another secretary. Maharaja’s head cook was a Muslim. Nizam of Hyderabad and Nawab of Palanpur were very close to him. Their families would be in Srinagar during summers and stay as royal guests. Nawab Taley Mohammad Khan was his closest friend. He coined the slogan 'Justice is my Religion'. In our state, if you look around any old hospital, old Government School, old college, old Technical Institution, old road, old rail link, old power project, Irrigation system, old sericulture project, industrial activity projects ( turpentine industry, bat industry, match factory, carpet factory, woollen mill, silk factory ), handicrafts emporium, J&K bank, village Panchayats, development of tourist resorts ( Gulmarg and Pahalgam), boulevard around Dal lake, or any other old public utility project, you shall find his contribution. He put the last nail in the coffin of Begaar, prostitution and child marriage. Hindu Widow Remarriage Ordinance was formulated during his rule. The state-subject rule was formulated by Maharaja in 1929. He passed an ordinance making primary education compulsory .“

 

(2)

 

“ He did not believe in rituals. He was drawn towards Arya Samaj's philosophy. He had also willed that no ritual be performed after his death but Yuvraj Karan Singh Ji and Maharani Sahiba did all the rituals and mournings as per Sanatan Dharma.”

 

(3)

“The ruling political set-up at that time ordered him to move far away from his family, his home and above all his motherland. The way Maharaja was exiled from the state in 1949 was a grave insult to him. This hurt remained with him till his death. As an exile, he turned diabetic. He had some incurable boil on his neck. He endured all silently. Never made any hue and cry of his pain and suffering. He never spoke against any political personality that had connived to throw him out ."

 

(4)

“ Mountbatten visited our state in June 1947. He stayed for about a week in Srinagar. One day before his departure, Mountbatten had told Maharaja “ Then I advise you to join Pakistan “. They were supposed to meet the next day. But Maharaja sent a letter through me to be delivered to Mountbatten declining to meet him again. Maharaja’s heart was always with India. I am more than sure about this issue. Jinnah also tried to meet Maharaja twice; first in August 1947 and then in September 1947 but Maharaja refused. ”

(5)

“ Even Before Pakistan sponsored Tribal Raid, Maharaja wanted to accede to India and was waiting for clearance from leaders essentially Pandit Ji. But Pandit Ji wanted Sheikh Abdullah and National Conference leaders to be released first. The leaders of the National Conference along with Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah were released in September 1947. Probably Pandit ji had some hostility towards Maharaja since 1946. Pandit Ji was well-educated and the most influential leader at that critical turn in the history of the subcontinent. Pandit Ji possibly felt that the key to Kashmir’s tangled lock lay only and only with Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah. Time proved him wrong. Pandit Ji was also cross with Maharaja for what he felt as his humiliation at Kohala bridge. The media reported it as the arrest of Nehru. Let me tell one and all that Pandit Ji was never arrested. He was merely stopped from visiting the valley that was already boiling due to the 'Quit Kashmir' movement. He was requested to stay in Maharaja’s guest house near Uri and a cook and some servants were sent from Srinagar for him by Maharaja. Even Maulana Azad had been made to believe that Pandit Ji had been arrested .”

 

(6)

“As Maharaja came to know about the tribal raid, he wanted to lead his troops from the front like a true Kshatriya. Inside Srinagar Palace, during those crucial days of October 1947, one day, I saw Maharaja in battle dress. He called his officers and asked us to be ready for any sacrifice to save our motherland. It was only Brigadier Rajinder Singh who stood like a rock and stopped Maharaja from visiting Uri and leading troops to stop the advancing tribal raiders. I disagree with the popular belief that Maharaja ran away at night to save his life; let me make it clear that during those critical days, Maharaja‘s mind was only focused on driving away the raiders and saving his state and the people. He never thought of leaving Kashmir. He was very firmly asked to or better say directed to move out from the valley immediately by Mr V P Menon who suddenly flew to Srinagar one day with the draft of the accession document. The painful decision to leave was reluctantly taken during the afternoon of the same day. It was 25th October 1947. And we left during the night at 2 a.m. the same day. Sheikh Abdullah had sought assurance from Pandit Ji that Maharaja will leave Srinagar before the formation of the popular Government once the instrument of accession was signed. And Pandit Ji did not want to annoy Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah."

 

(7)

" We started from the Palace at the dead of the night. I was in the back seat of Maharaja’s car. Maharaja was on steering. Maharani Sahiba and other ladies followed us in separate cars. Maharaja could hardly carry some personal belongings in a few cars/vehicles. The stories about Maharaja taking everything with him on that fateful day are all false. Most of his belongings remained in Srinagar palace when he was asked to leave in an absolute hurry. He did not say a word during the entire Journey to Jammu. Arriving at Jammu, he had a long sigh and said, 'we have lost Kashmir'. After 1947, the heavy golden throne of the Maharaja ( lying in the possession of the State Government ) was donated to the Central Government by Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad during the Chinese aggression. Many Persian carpets, cutlery, furniture, gifts and valuable things were removed from the Palace post-October 1947. Even imported sanitaryware fittings were removed from the Palace after Maharaja left. The government occupied his Jammu palace and old palace in Srinagar. This was something unusual when you see other princely states in the country. "

(8)

“ The final Instrument of accession was signed inside Hari Niwas Palace, Jammu. After signing the instrument of accession, that night he went to sleep a little early. He called me and said, meaningfully, ” we need to save people from marauding raiders. If the Indian planes do not fly to Kashmir in the morning, shoot me in my sleep. Don’t wake me up."

 

(Avtar Mota)

 

PS.

 These are jottings made by me from what Capt. Diwan Singh spoke sometime during 1996 and 1997. These are not my views.

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THE KURDISH MUSLIM GOVERNOR WHO WROTE A SHIV LEELA

                           

 ( A Portrait of Ali Mardan Khan)

  ( Mughal king Shahjahaan welcoming Ali Mardan khan to his Darbaar)

           (Chashme Shahi Garden Kashmir)


SHAB  SHAH  E  KI MUN  DEEDAM....
    .                              
A man of Kurdish background , an adminitrator who first served under  Persian safavid kings and later Mughals. A poet, scholar , spiritualist , engineer ,builder and a specialist in laying canals and water fountains ,  Ali Mardan khan was held in high esteem by Mughal king Shahjahaan. Shahjahaan sent him as Governor of kashmir where he witnessed a phenomenon that he wrote in a persian poem.He wrote he saw shiva in his dream. I quote some parts from this long poem that begins as:

" Huma Asle Maheshwar Bood
 Shab Shahe ki mun deedam..
Gazanfar Charam dar bar bood
Shab shahe ki mun deedam"

He was in fact Maheshwara (shiva)
whom i saw last night.
Nothing except a Lion's skin he wore,
That king i saw last night.

 I quote more



(1)

Ze  Basmash Jaam-e-bar-tan,
Zunar-ish mar-e-bar gardan,
Ravanish Gang-e-bar sar-bood,
Shab Shahe ke mun deedam.
.

Body smeared with ash,
A snake around his neck as his scared thread ,
And river Ganga flowing uninterrupted from his hair,
That king i saw last night..

(2)

Ajab Sanyaasi -e-deedam
"Namoh  Narayana "Guftam
E-Khaakay paaye bosidham
Shab Shah e ki mun deedam

A strange sanyasi my eyes saw,
 At that sight , i uttered "Namoh Narayan"
I kissed the dust at his feet ,
 That king i saw last night..

In literal meaning Namoh narayana means  salutations to Lord..swami jankananda writes"

" The mantra expresses that no matter where you come from, then I respect the path you have chosen. I greet you! I bid you welcome, as I would to god. "

(3)
Umaa  Az soy e -chupp-binger,
 Ze Sad Khursheed Tabaan-tar,
Savare Kulb-e-nar bood,
Shab Shahe ke Mun deedam.


On his left , i saw Uma or Parvati ,
His face radiated like  thousand suns

seated on Bull( Nandi) ,
That king I saw last night……

(4)

Nigahay bar manay Miskeen
Namood Az Chashm e Tabaan Tar
Makanash Laamkan tar bood
Shab Shah e ki mun deedam.


Upon a poor man like me,
He cast a glance  ,
His eyes were bright and radiating,
His abode, i saw in that infinite and uninhabited Land,
That king i saw last night.

(5)
Ba poseedam khuda Hasti
Kina hasti chira Masti,
Sarosham guft shankar Bood
Shab Shah e ki mun deedam.

I asked"Are you the lord,
If not , then what is  this
Carefreeness all about?"
From sky a voice said
" He is none other than Shankara"
That king i saw last night.


(6)


Se chash-mash bar jabeen khushtar
Ze mehr o Maah Roshantar,
Hilaalash Taaj bar sar bood
Shab shahe ki mun deedam..


With three eyes shining bright like the
Sun and the moon,
Beautiful looked his forehead.
On his head, he wore the crescent as his Crown,
That king i saw last night.

(7)

Manam Mard e Musalmaanam
Ali khanam Hami daanam
Khudaaya Banda parvar bood
Shab shah e ki mun deedam


I am a muslim by faith
Ali khan ( Ali Mardan Khan ) is my name,
Beyond that i know nothing.
The lord,  the benefactor of mankind had Come himself,
That king i saw last night..

                               

SHUFTAA. ..THE TRADITIONAL KASHMIRI SWEET DISH

                                         

SHUFTAA.

In DAV School , i  had heard this word " Shufta " from my teacher Pandit Narayan joo Miyan. He would generally say to us :
" Kolla Shufta karaai "
                    Or
"You boy , i shall make shufta of you"

This word remained embedded in my memory. Post marriage, my wife added one more item to our shivratri Cuisine : SHUFTAA..

Now,  Apart from other dishes, Shufta is invariably prepared in our house on shivratri day.

SHUFTA

It is prepared with  cocunut, almonds, small pieces of fried  cheese, cashewnuts and khas-khaas (Poppy seeds) . Hard skin of the cocunut is  scrubbed away and it is  cut to small pieces.
Fried cheese cut to small pieces is mixed with all and then boiled  in simple sugar syrup or chaashni for about one hour  or more till it turns soft. It is then Cooled and served. No need to re-heat even if kept in regrigerator .Better soak almonds   in water overnight to peel off  the skin effortlessly .

And shufta has been traditional sweet  dish of Kashmir..In olden days, it was seved as sweet dish in marriages  to Baratis who accompanied the Bridegroom . It was brought in small containers or metal pots  and served with spoons to all Baratis who sat inside the shamiyana for meals. For various reasons,  Gulab jamun replaced shufta as sweet dish in marriage functions.



I will not suggest adding walnuts to shufta  because other than seasonal stuff, old walnuts turn dry ,oily and a little bitter to taste. You must be 100% sure about walnuts in this preparation  and better use fresh seasonal walnuts after soaking them in water overnight to peel off the skin. Shufta is not to be confused with Sund Panjeeri prepared in some  Punjabi households more specifically in Jammu .

(Autar Mota)




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WHERE HAVE THE BOOK READERS GONE ?

                                                                            

WHERE HAVE READERS GONE?

( Photo EBD Book Store Dehradun)

If there is a dearth of Good writers , there is a real dearth of readers for them. Something dangerous is happening on the Literary front .. The writer is constrained to be a reader and the reader tends to become a writer . 

I met owners of some Book stores in India and abroad. All are experiencing downward trend in sales. Worldwide, readers for poetry books are shrinking at an alarming rate. A time may come when you won't be able to find a poetry book in a Book shop.

  A Senior employee of a  reputed  Book Shop in Mumbai  in  told me:

" In many countries, Book stores selling literature are using existing space for some additional profitable Busuness to meet *fixed cost. Poetry Books are not selling.May be people are experiencing poetry in their life style.I mean romance, feelings and emotions.Demand for short story books is also dwindling. People read Novels, Travelogues and Biographies .They desire a peep into personal lives of celebrities and famous people. From Biographies, they want to emulate good things ;A short route to self improvement. Novels written as Visual scenes and something different are picked up. "

Recently i found the old EBD ( English Book Depot) book shop on fashionable Rajpura Road Dehradun using front space of the book store for running a coffee shop . This is a very old and Premier  Book shop  in Dehradun.  The gracious old lady (who owns the book shop ) at the counter confirmed declining trend in sales due to  Poor Book Reading habit of present generation.

Has Information Technology  and Television     done this   damage ?   
.
( Autar Mota )

*In simple terms, Cost is an expenditure that is to be incurred for running and managing a business. In a business, fixed cost is something that has to be paid at periodic intervals even if there is no turnover or the business is in loss. Fixed cost means rent, Telephone and Internet fixed rentals, electric bills, salaries to employees etc.

 
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ALBERT CAMUS AND ACTRESS MARIA CASARES..

                                                                           

ALBERT CAMUS AND ACTRESS MARIA CASARES..

THE SECRET AND PASSIONATE LOVE AFFAIR BETWEEN ALBERT CAMUS AND ACTRESS MARIA CASARES .. ..

Catherine Camus brings out a 1300 hundred page book that has about 860 Love letters exchanged by her father Camus and Actress Maria .

Maria was an exile . Her family had moved out from Spain during the Spanish civil war and had decided to settle in France. She was 21 and he 30 when they first met in 1944. It was wartime ( IInd world war ) and France was under Nazi occupation.

She , a talented and independent minded actress , and he, a writer and Editor of the underground Newspaper combat . 

One day, Camus brought Casares to a dinner hosted by Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir. Simone de Beauvour had remarked :

" She is Beautiful and confident"


In 1944 , Many friends saw Camus driving a bicycle down Paris Boulevard with Maria on Handlebars .

In 1950, Camus wrote to her :

“ We are tied to one another by Bonds of Earth , Intelligence , Heart and Flesh . Nothing , I Know can surprise or separate us. “

And Maria wrote back :

“ Do You realize what happiness we have, and what has been given to us . We met , we recognized each other , we abandoned ourselves one to the other . “

After Allied forces won and Nazis left France , Camus’s wife came from Oran ( Algeria ) to live with him . Maria had already given him an ultimatum . Camus may not have believed in the institution of marriage yet he opted for his married life and went to live with his wife Francine Faure who was pianist and a Mathematician. 
                                                                                 

        
                                                     ( Camus with his wife Francine )
Through this new Book , Catherine makes all that secret aspect of Camus’s 15 years (1944 -1959 ) steaming relation with actress Maria open. They exchanged hundreds of letters even when Camus had children( son Jean and Daughter Catherine) and lived as a family man.
Maria acted in many of his plays .
And Francine knew all and that was possibly the reason of her slipping into bouts of depression . About this depression, Heims, Neil in his book "Biography of Albert Camus", writes:
"In 1953, Francine's pain at Camus's indifference and her unreciprocated love became overwhelming. It was expressed in a depression that grew in severity into a full blown illness which included a suicide attempt and severe withdrawal, staring straight ahead and repeating the name Maria Casarès. Francine was hospitalized and subject to more than thirty electroshock treatments."
Both Camus and Maria kept shining like bright stars in their respective professions ; She in acting and he as writer . After being cheered lustily for her performance in Buenos Aires in 1956 by a crowd of 3600 , Maria wrote to Camus :

“ I uttered a few words of thanks but kept thinking of you only “

After Receiving Nobel Prize for literature in 1957, Camus sent a Telegram to Maria and wrote :

“ I have never missed you as much as I did today “
Some days before his fatal accident, Camus wrote to Maria:

. "I send a cargo of tender wishes, and may life splash up inside you all year long, giving you that dear expression that I've loved for so many years, but I love your face when it' s worried or any other way. See you soon, my superb one, I'm so happy at the idea of seeing you again that I am laughing as I write it... I kiss you and hug you tightly until Tuesday when I can start all over again."

After Camus died in the fatal road accident , Maria suffered severe depression. She married her friend and Singer Andre Schlesser. She was 74 when she died in 1996.


To Camus lovers , I pose a question:

Does Camus hide himself in his novel "THE FALL" ?

Maria and Camus lived mostly separated from one another. Now that these letters are out, the collection may provide a sense of their togetherness to Camus fans . This collection will also trace their beautiful love story that remains unknown to world at large.

I end this post with a Camus quote:

" Don’t walk in front of me… I may not follow
Don’t walk behind me… I may not lead
Walk beside me… just be my friend ."

( Autar Mota )

CHINAR SHADE by Autarmota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 India License.
Based on a work at http:\\autarmota.blogspot.com\.

SOME PORTRAITS OF ALBERT CAMUS

                                                                                 

    



PORTRAITS OF ALBERT CAMUS DONE BY  VARIOUS  ARTISTS ..


A Cigarette between the lips , the  upright Aura and the thoughtful gaze .And Camus had said :

“An intellectual is someone whose mind watches itself.”

( Autar Mota )

( Images source ..Internet with due thanks to the up-loaders )

 
CHINAR SHADE by Autarmota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 India License.
Based on a work at http:\\autarmota.blogspot.com\.

CARTOONIST R K LAXMAN'S BOOK " A DOSE OF LAUGHTER "

                                                                             

                                                                                

Reading " A DOSE OF LAUGHTER "
by
RK Laxman(1921-2015)

 Published by Penguin Books India ..

This book contains 100 funny cartoons that Laxman has drawn over the years about doctors, the medical profession, and health care in general. These cartoons are accompanied by one hundred funny jokes about doctors and the medical profession . Through these cartoons, Flaxman takes you to world where politicians and criminals feign illness. 

Laxman was very popular for his "The Common Man" character .And Most of his common man characters were published in the newspaper "Times of India". For this Newspaper, these cartoons created a value addition that helped it in improvement of sales through widening of reader base.
These cartoons presented the issues faced by a common man in India.

                                            

Laxman also did portrait sketching of so many famous celebrities.He also did wonderful illustrations for the book "Malgudi Days," written by his brother RK Narayan.

Laxman was a winner of Ramon Magasaysay award apart being confered Padma Vibhushan by Government of India.

(Autar Mota)

 

CHINAR SHADE by Autarmota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 India License.
Based on a work at http:\\autarmota.blogspot.com\.