Over last Saturday/ Sunday (September 29/30 2007), I watched -J. Robert Oppenheimer’s biopic on History Channel. It was very disturbing. It showed few American scientists celebrating the “success” of Atom bombs.
JRO knew Sanskrit well and is shown quoting from Bhagavad-Gita- "Now, I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds." -when he sees the first nuclear explosion "Trinity". Oh how I wish he read Buddha and Bhakti literature after Gita and never joined Manhattan Project!
Don Quixote says: “And had the luck, with much ado, To live a fool, and yet die wise.” but how about we making some attempt to live wise!
American empire’s desire to reshape the world manifests itself in many ways. Atom Bomb, like current Iraq war, was just one of them. Neither the first, nor the last.
Another such attempt was San Francisco Conference, formally known as United Nations Conference on International Organization (April 25–June 26, 1945)- an international meeting that established the United Nations. Forty five nations, including the four sponsors, were originally invited to the San Francisco Conference: nations which had declared war on Germany and Japan and had subscribed to the United Nations Declaration.
American President Harry Truman attended the conference. He flew in there on his plane "The Sacred Cow".
Poet B S Mardhekar बा. सी. मर्ढेकर wrote following untitled poem included in his book “मर्ढेकरांची कविता“ (Mardhekar’s Poetry, Mauj Prakashan 1959-1977).
सुखदुःखांचे गळे कापुनी
मळे पिकविले वर्षांनी तरि,
रवंथ काढी कुढ़या मनाची
जुनाच भाकड़-कडबा हा वरि.
कुड़ीकुड़ींतिल भाव लाळला;
आचळ धरिती पातळ आशा;
अधू मनाची दुडकी कुठवर-
जमेल तर ही जिथवर भाषा,
-अणि पांगल्या गाई जगभर
गोमूत्रानें पावन अंबर!
Critic M V Dhond (म वा धोंड) has written a masterly book “तरीहि येतो वास फुलांना" (Rajhans Prakashan 1999) appreciating handful of Mardhekar’s poems.
He since then has written few more essays-most of them have appeared in Lalit Diwali numbers- analysing few more poems of Mardhekar.
Dhond called me some time in 2003 and asked me if I knew this poem. I did. How did I find it? I liked it, particularly the last two lines. Did I understand it? I had no clue! Then I requested him to include every poem of Mardhekar in the next edition of his book because I now didn't seem to understand even those poems that I thought I had understood earlier!
He explained to me what Mardhekar probably meant. Mardhekar is making fun of America’s President astride “Sacred Cow” and their latest instrument - San Francisco Conference- to reshape (manipulate?) the world.
I congratulated Dhond on his impeccable timing because US had invaded Iraq that year, again by brazenly manipulating UN. We all now know how brazen and with what consequences!
I did some googling and sent Dhond some info relevant to the subject. Showing large and kind heart, he has mentioned me in the essay. Please see his letter to me on the subject at the end of this post. Feel his humility.
Lalit Diwali 2003 has that essay-”Gomutrane Pavan Ambar!” (Cow’s urine sanctifying the sky).
Artist: Robert J Day The New Yorker May 5, 1945
M V Dhond's letter to me on September 8, 2003
JRO knew Sanskrit well and is shown quoting from Bhagavad-Gita- "Now, I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds." -when he sees the first nuclear explosion "Trinity". Oh how I wish he read Buddha and Bhakti literature after Gita and never joined Manhattan Project!
Don Quixote says: “And had the luck, with much ado, To live a fool, and yet die wise.” but how about we making some attempt to live wise!
American empire’s desire to reshape the world manifests itself in many ways. Atom Bomb, like current Iraq war, was just one of them. Neither the first, nor the last.
Another such attempt was San Francisco Conference, formally known as United Nations Conference on International Organization (April 25–June 26, 1945)- an international meeting that established the United Nations. Forty five nations, including the four sponsors, were originally invited to the San Francisco Conference: nations which had declared war on Germany and Japan and had subscribed to the United Nations Declaration.
American President Harry Truman attended the conference. He flew in there on his plane "The Sacred Cow".
Poet B S Mardhekar बा. सी. मर्ढेकर wrote following untitled poem included in his book “मर्ढेकरांची कविता“ (Mardhekar’s Poetry, Mauj Prakashan 1959-1977).
सुखदुःखांचे गळे कापुनी
मळे पिकविले वर्षांनी तरि,
रवंथ काढी कुढ़या मनाची
जुनाच भाकड़-कडबा हा वरि.
कुड़ीकुड़ींतिल भाव लाळला;
आचळ धरिती पातळ आशा;
अधू मनाची दुडकी कुठवर-
जमेल तर ही जिथवर भाषा,
-अणि पांगल्या गाई जगभर
गोमूत्रानें पावन अंबर!
Critic M V Dhond (म वा धोंड) has written a masterly book “तरीहि येतो वास फुलांना" (Rajhans Prakashan 1999) appreciating handful of Mardhekar’s poems.
He since then has written few more essays-most of them have appeared in Lalit Diwali numbers- analysing few more poems of Mardhekar.
Dhond called me some time in 2003 and asked me if I knew this poem. I did. How did I find it? I liked it, particularly the last two lines. Did I understand it? I had no clue! Then I requested him to include every poem of Mardhekar in the next edition of his book because I now didn't seem to understand even those poems that I thought I had understood earlier!
He explained to me what Mardhekar probably meant. Mardhekar is making fun of America’s President astride “Sacred Cow” and their latest instrument - San Francisco Conference- to reshape (manipulate?) the world.
I congratulated Dhond on his impeccable timing because US had invaded Iraq that year, again by brazenly manipulating UN. We all now know how brazen and with what consequences!
I did some googling and sent Dhond some info relevant to the subject. Showing large and kind heart, he has mentioned me in the essay. Please see his letter to me on the subject at the end of this post. Feel his humility.
Lalit Diwali 2003 has that essay-”Gomutrane Pavan Ambar!” (Cow’s urine sanctifying the sky).
Artist: Robert J Day The New Yorker May 5, 1945
M V Dhond's letter to me on September 8, 2003
1 comment:
maybe you need to read richard feynman's account of the building of the atom bomb in 'surely you're joking'. Maybe then it won't be so disturbing.
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