Sankranti is celebrated in many states and in different ways.

In the south it is essentially a harvest festival.

In our traditional way cattle have a honoured place. so it is common to see decorated cows and bulls being taken out in processions.

We also have a native version of barbecue when families gather in their fields and have a feast. in some states it is celebrated over three days.

“Bhogi” as it is called, in Andhra Pradesh gives prime importance to fire.

Fire is always a cleansing agent .It is our way of saying that the past be buried and a fresh beginning made !

That beginning again is symbolised by sesame seeds though polished for the occasion. accompanied by jaggery or some sweet figurines they are shared with friends and relatives.

Is it another way of stregthening bonds?

Or our way of thanksgiving to the almighty who is marching forward by changing the course from south to north.

That is also the start of auspicious period, an event looked forward to by Bhisma Pitamaha resting on his bed of thorns.

So it is generally believed that the people who pass away during this period reach higher realms.

This is all about beginnings.

In yet another ritual the sesame seeds play a prominent part.

That is when we bid goodbye to our dear and near ones.

Punarapi Jananam, Punarapi Maranam as the saying goes is the underlying message , or so I understand.

It is not advisable to club the auspicious and the Inauspicious together

But the awareness of the greater truth perhaps will resore us equanimity.

The poise to treat both success and failure in life alike because in  one  sense they are imposters.

It also enables us to live aright.

As a wag once remarked , life is a passing show.

So enjoy what comes to our lot but with the feeling that it may or may not last.

Better still, ponder over the goal of life , Yours as well as others , so that proper relationships are established.

Happy Sankranti and may this season Herald a Happy new year for all of us, that is my prayer.

#bhogi #sankranti #newyear #festive #festivities

 

 

 

 Journal-2 

Let me now start  today with a current controversy.!!

The supposed cash outs from the chief minister's office to senior journalists

in one form or another this practice has been in existence.

only the methods differ.

In fact it was a common practice during a chief minister's time to pass on envelops to the journos present.

Another widely prevalent practice was the handouts from the secret police funds.

The corporate gifts were a given.

one editor shared an incident with me.

when he was helming the Financial Express the regular reporter was away and a substitute was sent to the annual general meeting of a company.

along with the usual company prospects and other reports he found an envelop containing cash.

he promptly returned it.

there were protests from the management . They considered it an affront to the company. The editor who was Largehearted persuaded the journo to accept it .

a Chief Minister of a Northern State was extremely generous towards the journos covering the secretariat.

The editor who was a stickler for rules had them  shifted  elsewhere.

this earned the newspaper the wrath of the establishment which cut off all advertisements.

later a compromise meeting was held . i do not remember how the problem was solved .

but the editor was later eased out.

Besides!

I was also fortunate to be associated with three wars, several elections and epochal events.

I was witness to the great split of the Congress in 1969, and I would often joke that Bangalore’s contribution or for that matter Karnataka’s to the polity has not been chronicled .when Mr Gundurao was Chief Minister he was not happy with the coverage .

Within hours the offices of Deccan Herald and Indian Express

Were besieged and none was allowed to get in or get out.

I do not recall the hour when the  siege was lifted. But some parts of the state did not receive the copies.

Without taking names a prominent Congress leader was involved.

I participated along with my colleagues on a grand march to Raj  Bhavan.

What transpired later is better guessed.

My conclusion:

Barring exceptions , the newspaper managements have the best of both worlds.

As for the journos, well, a few of them seen and known in the circuit make good.

There goes another encounter I had faced in my journey !!

Share your comments and opinion below, let me a get little boosting for my further posting !!

Have a great time

Journomurthy..!!