ರಾಮಧಾನ್ಯ ಚರಿತ್ರೆ

ಇಂದ್ರಪ್ರಸ್ಥ ನಗರವನ್ನು ರಾಜಧಾನಿಯಾಗಿ ಮಾಡಿಕೊಂಡು ತನಗೆ ಭಾಗವಾಗಿ ಬಂದ ರಾಜ್ಯವನ್ನು ಪ್ರಜಾನುರಾಗಿಯಾಗಿ ಆಳಿ ಪಾಂಡವರಲ್ಲಿ ಹಿರಿಯನಾದ ಧರ್ಮರಾಯ ವಿಶೇಷವಾದ ಕೀರ್ತಿ ಸಂಪಾದಿಸಿದನು. ಶ್ರೀಕೃಷ್ಣನ ಒತ್ತಾಸೆಯಿಂದ ಅಖಂಡವಾದ ರಾಜಸೂಯ ಯಾಗ ಮಾಡಿ ಎಲ್ಲ ಕಾಲದ ಶ್ರೇಷ್ಠ ಚಕ್ರವರ್ತಿಗಳ ಸಾಲಿಗೆ ಸೇರಿದನು. ನಂತರ ದುರ್ಯೋಧನನ ಮತ್ಸರದ ಪರಿಣಾಮವಾಗಿ ಶಕುನಿಯ ಕಪಟ ಜೂಜಿನ ಕುತಂತ್ರದಿಂದ ಎಲ್ಲವನ್ನೂ ಕಳೆದುಕೊಂಡು ದ್ರೌಪದಿ ಮತ್ತು ತಮ್ಮಂದಿರ ಜೊತೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ವನವಾಸಿಯಾದನು. ಕಾಮ್ಯಕ ವನದಲ್ಲಿ ವಾಸವಾಗಿರುವ ಸಮಯದಲ್ಲಿ ಅಲ್ಲಿಗೆ ಮುನಿಶ್ರೇಷ್ಠರಾದ ಶಾಂಡಿಲ್ಯ ಋಷಿಗಳು ಆಗಮಿಸಿದರು.  

ಸ್ವಾಗತ, ಕುಶಲ ಪ್ರಶ್ನೆಗಳು ಆದ ನಂತರ ಧರ್ಮಜನ ಕಳೆಗುಂದಿದ ಮುಖವನ್ನು ನೋಡಿ ಶಾಂಡಿಲ್ಯ ಋಷಿಗಳು ಅವನನ್ನು ಸಮಾಧಾನಿಸುವ ಸಲುವಾಗಿ "ಯುಧಿಷ್ಠಿರ, ಸುಖ ದುಃಖಗಳು ಜೀವನದಲ್ಲಿ ಸಾಮಾನ್ಯ. ನೀನು ಚಕ್ರವರ್ತಿಯಾಗಿ ಬಹಳ ಕೀರ್ತಿ ಸಂಪಾದನೆ ಮಾಡಿದೆ. ಭೂಮಿಯನ್ನು ಆಳಿದ ಶ್ರೇಷ್ಠ ಚಕ್ರವರ್ತಿಗಳ ಹೆಸರು ಹೇಳಿ ಎಂದು ಯಾರನ್ನಾದರೂ ಕೇಳಿದರೆ ನಾಲ್ವರ ಹೆಸರು ಹೇಳುತ್ತಾರೆ" ಅನ್ನುತ್ತಾರೆ:

ಧರಣಿಯೊಳು ಅರಸುಗಳು ನಾಲ್ವರು 
ಭೂರಿ ಸತ್ಯವ್ರತರು ನಳನೃಪ 
ಧೀರ ರಾಮ ಯುಧಿಷ್ಠರ ಹರಿಶ್ಚನ್ದ್ರರಿವರೆಂದು

ಸಾರುತಿದೆ ಜಗವೆಲ್ಲ ನಿಮ್ಮನು
ದಾರನಿದರೊಳು  ರಘುಪತಿಯ ಗುಣ 
ಹಾರ ಧರ್ಮವ ಪಾಲಿಸಿದ ನರೆದಲೆಗೆ ವ್ರಿಹಿಯರಿಗೆ 

ಈ ಮಾತು ಕೇಳಿದ ಧರ್ಮರಾಯನು "ಶ್ರೀರಾಮಚಂದ್ರನು ನರೆದಲೆಗ ಮತ್ತು ವ್ರಿಹೀಯರಿಗೆ ನ್ಯಾಯ ಕೊಟ್ಟ ಕಥೆಯನ್ನು ದಯವಿಟ್ಟು ಹೇಳಿ" ಎಂದು ಕೇಳಿಕೊಂಡನು. (ನರೆದಲಗ ಅಂದರೆ ರಾಗಿ. ವ್ರಿಹೀಗ ಅಂದರೆ ಅಕ್ಕಿ. ಇವೆರಡು ಆ ಧಾನ್ಯಗಳ ಮೊದಲಿನ ಹೆಸರು.) ಆಗ ಶಾಂಡಿಲ್ಯ ಮಹರ್ಷಿಗಳು ಅಕ್ಕಿ ಮತ್ತು ರಾಗಿಗಳಿಗೆ ತಮ್ಮಲ್ಲಿ ಯಾರು ಶ್ರೇಷ್ಠ ಎಂದು ಜಗಳ ಬಂದ ಸಂದರ್ಭ ಮತ್ತು ಶ್ರೀರಾಮನು ಅದನ್ನು ಪರಿಹರಿಸಿ ನ್ಯಾಯವನ್ನು ಕೊಟ್ಟ ರೀತಿಯನ್ನೂ ವಿವರಿಸುತ್ತಾರೆ.  

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ನಂತರದ ಇಪ್ಪತ್ತು ಪದ್ಯಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಶಾಂಡಿಲ್ಯ ಮಹರ್ಷಿಗಳು ಧರ್ಮರಾಯನಿಗೆ ಶ್ರೀರಾಮನ ಜನನದಿಂದ ರಾವಣ ವಧೆಯವರೆಗಿನ ಕಥೆಯನ್ನು ಸಂಗ್ರಹವಾಗಿ ಹೇಳುತ್ತಾರೆ. ಯುದ್ಧ ಮುಗಿದ ಮೇಲೆ ಶ್ರೀರಾಮನು ಸೀತಾದೇವಿ ಮತ್ತಿತರರ ಸಮೇತ ಅಯೋಧ್ಯೆಗೆ ಹಿಂದಿರುಗುವ ವಿವರವನ್ನು ಕೊಡುತ್ತಾರೆ. ಹೀಗೆ ಹಿಂದಿರುಗಿ ಬರುವಾಗ ಅನೇಕ ಋಷಿಪುಂಗವರು ಶ್ರೀರಾಮನನ್ನು ಎದುರುಗೊಂಡು, ಸ್ವಾಗತಿಸಿ ಅವನಿಗೆ ಸೊಗಸಾದ ಔತಣಕೂಟ ಏರ್ಪಡಿಸುತ್ತಾರೆ. ಅನೇಕ ಋಷಿಗಳ ಬಹಳ ಶಿಷ್ಯರು ನಾನಾವಿಧ ಭಕ್ಷ್ಯ ಭೋಜ್ಯಗಳನ್ನು ಹೆಡಿಗೆಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ತಂದು ಪೇರಿಸಿ ಶ್ರೀರಾಮ ಮತ್ತು ಅವನ ಜೊತೆ ಬಂದವರೆಲ್ಲರಿಗೆ ಬಡಿಸುತ್ತಾರೆ. ಆಗ ಔತಣಕ್ಕೆ ಉಪಯೋಗಿಸಿದ ಧಾನ್ಯಗಳ ವಿವರ ಹೀಗಿದೆ:

ನರೆದೆಲಗನಿದು ನೆಲ್ಲು ಹಾರಕ 
ಬರಗು ಜೋಳವು ಕಂಬು ಸಾಮೆಯು 
ಉರುತರದ ನವಣೆಯಿದು ನವಧಾನ್ಯವೆಂದೆನಲು 
ಮೆರೆವ ರಾಶಿಯ ಕಂಡು ಇದರೊಳು 
ಪರಮಸಾರದ ಹೃದಯನಾರೆಂ 
ದರಸ ಕೇಳಿದನಲ್ಲಿಹ  ಮಹಾಮುನೀಶ್ವರರ 

ಆಗ ಉಪಯೋಗಿಸಿದ ನವಧಾನ್ಯಗಳು: ನರೆದೆಲಗ (ರಾಗಿ), ನೆಲ್ಲು (ಭತ್ತ ಅಥವಾ ಅಕ್ಕಿ), ಹಾರಕ, ಬರಗು, ಜೋಳ, ಕಂಬು, ಸಾಮೆ, ನವಣೆ ಮತ್ತು ಗೋಧಿ. ಆ ನವಧಾನ್ಯಗಳ ಪರಿಪರಿಯ ತಿಂಡಿ-ತಿನಿಸು ನೋಡಿ ಶ್ರೀರಾಮನು "ಇವುಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಶ್ರೇಷ್ಠ ಧಾನ್ಯ ಯಾವುದು?" ಎಂದು ಅಲ್ಲಿ ಸೇರಿದ ಋಷಿ ಸಮುದಾಯವನ್ನು ಕೇಳುತ್ತಾನೆ. ಕಪಿಲ ಮುನಿಯು ಎಲ್ಲ ಧಾನ್ಯಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ರಾಗಿಯೇ ಶ್ರೇಷ್ಠ ಎಂದು ನಸು ನಗುತ್ತ ಹೇಳುತ್ತಾನೆ. 

ಈ ಮಾತನ್ನು ಕೇಳಿದ ವ್ರಿಹಿಗೆ (ಅಕ್ಕಿಗೆ) ತಡೆಯಲಾರದ ಕೋಪ ಬರುತ್ತದೆ. ಎಲ್ಲರ ಮುಂದೆ ತನಗೆ ಹೀಗೆ ಅವಮಾನವಾಗಿದ್ದು ಕಂಡು ತನ್ನ ಗುಣಗಳನ್ನು ಹೋಗಳಿಕೊಂಡು  ರಾಗಿಯನ್ನು ಮೂದಲಿಸುತ್ತದೆ. ರಾಗಿಯೂ ಸಹ ಅದಕ್ಕೆ ಉತ್ತರವಾಗಿ ಅಕ್ಕಿಯ ಹೀನ ಗುಣಗಳನ್ನೂ ತನ್ನ ಹಿರಿಮೆಯನ್ನೂ ಸಾರಿ ಹೇಳುತ್ತದೆ. ಶ್ರೀರಾಮನು ಎಲ್ಲರ ಮುಂದೆ ಹೀಗೆ ಜಗಳ ಮಾಡಿದ ತಪ್ಪಿಗೆ ಅವರಿಗೆ ಸೆರೆವಾಸದ ಶಿಕ್ಷೆ ಕೊಡುತ್ತಾನೆ. "ಇವರಿಬ್ಬರನ್ನೂ ಆರು ತಿಂಗಳ ಕಾಲ ಕಾರಾಗೃಹದಲ್ಲಿ ಇಡಿ. ನಂತರ ಯಾರು ಶ್ರೇಷ್ಠ ಎಂದು ನಾವು ನಿರ್ಣಯ ಕೊಡುತ್ತೇವೆ" ಎಂದು ಆಜ್ಞಾಪಿಸುತ್ತಾನೆ. ಅವರಿಬ್ಬರಿಗೆ ಇನ್ನು ಆರು ತಿಂಗಳ ಕಾಲ ಬಂಧನ! ಶ್ರೀರಾಮನ ಸಹಿತ ಎಲ್ಲರೂ ಅಯೋಧ್ಯೆ ಸೇರಿ ಶ್ರೀರಾಮ ಪಟ್ಟಾಭಿರಾಮ ಆಗಿ, ರಾಜಾರಾಮ ರಾಜ್ಯವಾಳುತ್ತಾನೆ. 

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ಆರು ತಿಂಗಳ ಕಾಲ ಕಳೆಯಿತು. ರಾಜರಾಮನು ಹನುಮನನ್ನು ಕರೆದು ಗೌತಮ ಋಷಿಯನ್ನು ಕರೆತರಲು ಹೇಳುತ್ತಾನೆ. ಹನುಮನು ಗೌತಮರಲ್ಲಿ ಈ ವಿಷಯ ತಿಳಿಸಲು ಅವರು ರಾಜರಾಮನ ಆಸ್ಥಾನಕ್ಕೆ ಬರುತ್ತಾರೆ. ಅನೇಕ ಋಷಿ-ಮುನಿಗಳು, ಅಧಿಕಾರಿಗಳು, ಪಂಡಿತರು, ಸಾಮಾನ್ಯ ಜನರು ಶ್ರೀರಾಮನ ಆಸ್ಥಾನದಲ್ಲಿ ಸೇರುತ್ತಾರೆ. ಪ್ರಭು ರಾಮಚಂದ್ರನು ಸೆರೆಯಲ್ಲಿರುವ ಎರಡು ಧಾನ್ಯಗಳನ್ನು ಆಸ್ಥಾನಕ್ಕೆ ಕರೆಸುತ್ತಾನೆ. 

ಆರು ತಿಂಗಳು ಸೆರೆವಾಸದ ನಂತರ ವ್ರಿಹಿ (ಅಕ್ಕಿ) ಸೊರಗಿಹೋಗಿರುತ್ತದೆ. ಸೊಂಟ ಮುರಿದು ಆಸ್ಥಾನದಲ್ಲಿ ಬೀಳುತ್ತದೆ. ನರೆದೆಲಗ (ರಾಗಿ) ಸ್ವಲ್ಪವೂ ಕಾಂತಿ ಕಳೆಯದೆ ಮೊದಲಿನಂತೆಯೇ ಇರುತ್ತದೆ. ಇಬ್ಬರನ್ನೂ ನೋಡಿ ಶ್ರೀರಾಮನು "ನರೆದೆಲಗವೇ (ರಾಗಿ) ಶ್ರೇಷ್ಠ"  ಎಂದು ತೀರ್ಪು ಕೊಡುತ್ತಾನೆ. ಇನ್ನುಮುಂದೆ ನರೆದಲಗವು "ರಾಮಧಾನ್ಯ" ಎಂಬ ಹೆಸರಿನಿಂದ ಗುರುತಿಸಲ್ಪಡಲಿ ಎಂದು ವರ ಕೊಡುತ್ತಾನೆ. ರಾಗಿಗೆ ಬಹಳ ಸಂತೋಷ ವಾಗುತ್ತದೆ. ಋಷಿಗಳೆಲ್ಲರೂ ರಾಗಿಗೆ ಅನೇಕ ವರಗಳನ್ನು ಕೊಡುತ್ತಾರೆ. ರಾಮಧಾನ್ಯವು ಬರಬರುತ್ತ ಆಡುಭಾಷೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ರಾಗಿ ಎಂದು ಪ್ರಖ್ಯಾತವಾಗುತ್ತದೆ. 

ರಾಗಿಯು ಸನ್ಮಾನಿತವಾದ ಮೇಲೆ ನೆಲ್ಲು (ಅಕ್ಕಿ) ದುಃಖಿತನಾಗಿ ಪೆಚ್ಚು ಮೊರೆ ಹಾಕಿಕೊಂಡು ತಲೆ ತಗ್ಗಿಸಿ ನಿಲ್ಲುತ್ತದೆ. ಆಗ ಶ್ರೀರಾಮನು ಅಕ್ಕಿಯನ್ನು ಹತ್ತಿರ ಕರೆದು ಹೀಗೆ ಹೇಳುತ್ತಾನೆ:

ದೇವರಿಗೆ ಪರಮಾನ್ನನೀ ಮನು 
ಜಾವಳಿಗೆ ಪಕ್ವಾನ್ನವೀತನು 
ನೀವು ಧರೆಯೊಳಗಿಬ್ಬರತಿ ಹಿತದಲಿ ನೀವಿಹುದು 
ನಾವು ಕೊಟ್ಟೆವು ವರವ ಸಲ್ಲುವು 
ದಾವ ಕಾಲದಲಿನ್ನು ನೀವೇ 
ಪಾವನರು ಪರಮ ಸುಖಿಯೆನ್ದುಪಚರಿಸಿದನು ನೃಪತಿ 

"ನೀನು ದೇವತೆಗಳಿಗೆ ನೀಡುವ ನೈವೇದ್ಯದದ ಧಾನ್ಯ. ಆದರೆ ರಾಗಿಯಾದರೋ ಸಾಮಾನ್ಯ ಮನುಷ್ಯರಿಗೆ ದಿನನಿತ್ಯದ ಆಹಾರ ಪದಾರ್ಥ. ನೀವಿಬ್ಬರೂ ಈ ಭೂಮಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಹೊಂದಿಕೊಂಡು ಬಾಳಬೇಕು. ನೀವಿಬ್ಬರೂ ಎಂದಿಗೂ ಮಿತ್ರರಾಗಿ ಎಲ್ಲ ಜನರಿಗೆ ಉಪಕಾರಿಯಾಗಿ ಬದುಕಿರಿ ಎನ್ನುವುದೇ ನಮ್ಮ ಅಪೇಕ್ಷೆ" ಎಂದ ಪ್ರಭು ರಾಮನು ಅಕ್ಕಿಯನ್ನು ಮುಂದೆ ಇನ್ನಷ್ಟು ಸಮಾಧಾನಪಡಿಸುತ್ತಾನೆ:

ದೀನರಲಿ ದಾರಿದ್ರ್ಯ ಜನರಲಿ 
ನೀನು ನಿರ್ದಯನೆಂದೆವಲ್ಲದೆ 
ಹೀನಗಳೆದವರಲ್ಲ ನಿನ್ನನು ನಾವು ಸಭೆಯೊಳಗೆ 
ಮಾನುಷನು ನಮ್ಮೆಡೆಗೆ ನೀ ಸುರ
ಧೇನುವಿಗೆ ಸಮ ನಿನ್ನ ಚಿತ್ತದಿ 
ಹಾನಿದೋರಲದೇಕೆ ಬಿಡು ಬಿಡು ಚಿಂತೆ ಯಾಕೆಂದ 

"ಬಡವರ, ದೀನ ದಲಿತರ ವಿಷಯದಲ್ಲಿ ನೀನು ಕರುಣಿಯಲ್ಲ ಎಂದು ಹೇಳಿದ್ದು ಮಾತ್ರವಲ್ಲದೆ ನಿನ್ನನು ಕೀಳು ಎಂದು ನಾವು ಹೇಳಲಿಲ್ಲ. ನಿನ್ನ ಯೋಗ್ಯತೆ ಬಹಳ ದೊಡ್ಡದು. ನೀನು ಕಾಮಧೇನುವಿಗೆ ಸಮನು. ಮನಸ್ಸಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಚಿಂತೆಯಿಂದ ಕೊರಗಬೇಡ." ಎಂದು ಹೇಳಿ ಅಕ್ಕಿಗೂ ಸನ್ಮಾನ ಮಾಡಿ ಕಳಿಸಿಕೊಟ್ಟನು ಶ್ರೀರಾಮ. 

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ಶಾಂಡಿಲ್ಯ ಮಹರ್ಷಿಗಳು ಧರ್ಮರಾಯನಿಗೆ ಈ ರೀತಿ ಶ್ರೀರಾಮಚಂದ್ರನು ಪ್ರಜಾವತ್ಸಲನಾಗಿ, ನ್ಯಾಯ ನಿಷ್ಠುರನಾಗಿದ್ದರೂ ಯಾರ ಮನಸ್ಸಿಗೂ ನೋವಾಗದಂತೆ ಆಡಳಿತ ಮಾಡುವ ಸೂಕ್ಷ್ಮತೆ ತೋರಿಸಿದ ಬಗೆಯನ್ನು ವಿವರಿಸಿದರು. ಈ ಧಾನ್ಯಗಳೆರಡರ ಜಗಳ-ನ್ಯಾಯದ ನೆವದಲ್ಲಿ ಶಾಂಡಿಲ್ಯ ಮಹರ್ಷಿಗಳು ಧರ್ಮರಾಯನಿಗೆ ಶ್ರೀರಾಮಚಂದ್ರನ ಪಟ್ಟಾಭಿಷೇಕದ ವೈಭವನ್ನು ವರ್ಣನೆ ಮಾಡುತ್ತಾರೆ. ಶ್ರೀರಾಮಚಂದ್ರನಿಗೂ ವನವಾಸದ ನಂತರ ಪಟ್ಟಾಭಿಷೇಕವಾಯಿತು ಎಂದು ಹೇಳುವುದರಲ್ಲಿ ಮುಂದೆ ಈ ವನವಾಸದ ನಂತರ ನಿನಗೂ ಮತ್ತೆ ರಾಜ್ಯಾಭಿಷೇಕವಾಗುತ್ತದೆ ಎನ್ನುವುದನ್ನು ಸೂಚ್ಯವಾಗಿ ತಿಳಿಸುತ್ತಾರೆ. 

ಶ್ರೀರಾಮನ ಈ ಕಥೆಯ ವಿವರಣೆಯನ್ನು ಕೇಳಿದ ಧರ್ಮರಾಯನು "ಮನಸ್ಸಿನ ಚಿಂತೆ ಕಳೆಯಿತು,  ಪರಮ ಪಾವನವಾದ ಶ್ರೀರಾಮಚಂದ್ರನ ಕಥೆಯನ್ನು ನಿಮ್ಮಂತಹವರ ಸಾನ್ನಿಧ್ಯದಿಂದ ಕೇಳಿ ಮಂಕು ಕಳೆಯಿತು. ಕೃತಾರ್ಥನಾದೆ", ಎಂದು ಶಾಂಡಿಲ್ಯ ಮಹರ್ಷಿಗೆ ಯಥೋಚಿತ ಸತ್ಕಾರ ಮಾಡಿ ಬೀಳ್ಕೊಟ್ಟನು. 

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ಶ್ರೀ ಕನಕದಾಸರ "ರಾಮಧಾನ್ಯ ಚರಿತ್ರೆ" ಎಂಬ ಕಾವ್ಯದ ಸಂಕ್ಷಿಪ್ತ ತಿರುಳು ಮೇಲೆ ಹೇಳಿದ ವಿವರಣೆ. 

"ಭಕ್ತ ಕನಕದಾಸ" ಎಂದೇ ಹೆಸರಾದ ಶ್ರೀ ಕನಕದಾಸರು ನಮ್ಮ ನಾಡು ಕಂಡ ಅಪರೂಪದ ಮತ್ತು ಬಹುಮುಖ ಪ್ರತಿಭೆಯ ವ್ಯಕ್ತಿ. ತಮ್ಮ ಜೀವನದಲ್ಲಿ ಅವರು ಬಹಳ ನೊಂದವರು. ಮೇಲ್ವರ್ಗದವರ ತಿರಸ್ಕಾರ, ಹಿಂಸೆಗಳನ್ನು ಅನುಭವಿಸಿದವರು. ಆದರೆ ಅವರ ಕೃತಿಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ನಾವು ಕಹಿಯನ್ನು ಕಾಣುವುದಿಲ್ಲ.  ಅವರೊಬ್ಬ ಅಪ್ರತಿಮ ಕವಿ. ಅಷ್ಟೇ ಅಲ್ಲ. ಅವರು ನಾಡು ಕಂಡ ಬಹು ಮೌಲ್ಯದ ಸಂತ, ಸಮಾಜ ಸುಧಾರಕ ಮತ್ತು ದಾರ್ಶನಿಕ. ಹದಿನಾರನೆಯ ಶತಮಾನದಲ್ಲಿ ಜೀವಿಸಿದ್ದ ದಾಸರು ನೂರು ವರುಷಗಳ ತುಂಬು ಜೀವನ ನಡೆಸಿದವರೆಂದು ನಂಬಿಕೆ. 

ಸೊಗಸಾದ ಪ್ರೌಢ ಕನ್ನಡ ನುಡಿಯನ್ನು ಅವರು ತಮ್ಮ ಕಾವ್ಯಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಬಳಸಿಕೊಂಡಿದ್ದರೆ, ಸರಳ ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿಯೂ ಅನೇಕ ದೇವರನಾಮಗಳನ್ನು ನಮಗೆ ನೀಡಿದ್ದಾರೆ. "ಮೋಹನ ತರಂಗಿಣಿ", "ನಳ ಚರಿತ್ರೆ", "ರಾಮಧಾನ್ಯ ಚರಿತ್ರೆ", "ಹರಿಭಕ್ತಿಸಾರ" ಎಂಬ ಕಾವ್ಯಗಳನ್ನು ರಚಿಸಿದ್ದಾರೆ.  ನೂರಾರು ದೇವಾರನಾಮಗಳನ್ನೂ ರಚಿಸಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಅವರ ಒಗಟಿನಂತಹ "ಕನಕನ ಮುಂಡಿಗೆಗಳು" ಒಂದು ವಿಶೇಷ ರೀತಿಯ ರಚನೆಗಳು.  ಕನಕರ ದೇವರನಾಮ ಒಂದಾದರೂ ಕೇಳದ ಕನ್ನಡಿಗನಿಲ್ಲ ಅಂದರೆ ತಪ್ಪಲ್ಲ. "ಕುಲ ಕುಲ ಕುಲವೆಂದು ಹೊಡೆದಾಡದಿರಿ" ಮತ್ತು "ಬಾಗಿಲನು ತೆರೆದು ಸೇವೆಯನು ಕೊಡೊ ಹರಿಯೇ" ಎಂಬ ದೇವಾರನಾಮಗಳನ್ನಂತೂ ಕೇಳದ ಕನ್ನಡಿಗರು ಇರಲಾರರು.  

"ಮೋಹನತರಂಗಿಣಿ" 42 ಅಧ್ಯಾಯಗಳ 2,800 ಪದ್ಯಗಳ ದೊಡ್ಡ ಕೃತಿ. ಹರಿಭಕ್ತಿಸಾರ ೧೦೮ (108) ಪದ್ಯಗಳ ಭಾಮಿನಿ ಷಟ್ಪದಿಯ ಕೃತಿಯಾದರೆ "ರಾಮಧಾನ್ಯ ಚರಿತ್ರೆ" ಅದೇ ಷಟ್ಪದಿಯ ೧೫೮ (158) ಪದ್ಯಗಳುಳ್ಳ ಕೃತಿ. ರಾಮಧಾನ್ಯ ಚರಿತ್ರೆ ಒಂದು ರೀತಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ರಾಮಾಯಣದ ಕಥೆ. ಅದರಲ್ಲೂ ಶ್ರೀರಾಮಚಂದ್ರನ ಪಟ್ಟಾಭಿಷೇಕದ ವಿವರಣೆ ನೀಡುವ ಕೃತಿ. ಇದರ ಉದ್ದಕ್ಕೂ ಕಾವ್ಯಗುಣಗಳನ್ನು ಕಾಣಬಹುದು. ಗಮಕಿಗಳು ಸೊಗಸಾಗಿ ನಿರೂಪಣೆ ಮಾಡಬಹುದಾದ ಕೃತಿ. 

ನರೆದೆಲಗ ಮತ್ತು ನೆಲ್ಲು (ರಾಗಿ ಮತ್ತು ಅಕ್ಕಿ) ಇವುಗಳ ಜಗಳವನ್ನು ಸಾಂಕೇತಿಕವಾಗಿ ಸಮಾಜದಲ್ಲಿರುವ "ವರ್ಗ ಸಂಘರ್ಷ" ನಿರೂಪಿಸುವುದಕ್ಕೆ ಬಳಸಿಕೊಂಡಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಸಾಮಾನ್ಯವಾಗಿ ಜೀವನದಲ್ಲಿ ನೊಂದವರು ಒಂದು ರೀತಿಯ ಕ್ರಾಂತಿಕಾರಿಗಳಾಗಿ, ಅದಕ್ಕಿಂತ ಹೆಚ್ಚು ಬಂಡಾಯ ಪ್ರವೃತ್ತಿಯವರಾಗುವುದು ಸಾಮಾನ್ಯ. ಆದರೆ ಕನಕರದು ತುಂಬು ಮಾಗಿದ ಜೀವನಾನುಭವ. ಗುದ್ದಾಡುವುದಕ್ಕಿಂತ ಸಾಮರಸ್ಯದ ಜೀವನ ಅವರಿಗೆ ಹೆಚ್ಚು ಪ್ರಿಯ. ರಾಮಧಾನ್ಯ ಚರಿತ್ರೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಇದರ ಪ್ರತಿಬಿಂಬವನ್ನು ನಾವು ಕಾಣಬಹುದು. ಸಮಾಜದಲ್ಲಿ ನಮಗೆ ಬೇಕಿದ್ದರೂ, ಬೇಡದಿದ್ದರೂ ವರ್ಗಗಳು ಇದ್ದೇ ಇರುತ್ತವೆ. ದೀನ-ದಲಿತರ ಪರವವಾಗಿ ನಿಲ್ಲುವವನೇ ಶ್ರೇಷ್ಠ ಎನ್ನುವುದು ರಾಗಿಯ ಶ್ರೇಷ್ಠತೆ ತೋರಿಸುವುದರಲ್ಲಿ ನೋಡಬಹುದು. ಸಮಾಜದಲ್ಲಿ ಮೇಲ್ವರ್ಗದವರಿಗೂ ಸ್ಥಾನ ಉಂಟು. ಆದರೆ ದೀನರ ಬಗ್ಗೆ, ಸಾಮಾನ್ಯ ಮನುಷ್ಯರ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಕಳಕಳಿ ಇಲ್ಲದ ಮೇಲ್ವರ್ಗದ ಜನರಿಂದ ಪ್ರಯೋಜನವಿಲ್ಲ. ಈ ಸಂದೇಶವನ್ನು ಶ್ರೀರಾಮಚಂದ್ರನು ವ್ರಿಹೀಗೆ  (ಅಕ್ಕಿಗೆ) ಹೇಳುವ ಸಮಾಧಾನದ ಮಾತುಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಅರಿಯಬಹುದು.

Products come to the Bank

There are experts in all walks of life. "Learn something of everything and everything of something" was an oft quoted adage when we were in school. A person should have a general idea of all aspects of life, but should also have deep knowledge of at leat one aspect of life, was its import. Thats why curriculum in schools and colleges had "general subjects and optionals or major subjects". All students studied general subjects like General Mathematics or Social Studies. At higher classes level, students could choose specific science subjects like Physics, Chemistry, Botany or Zoology etc if they wanted to learn more in science area. Similarly they could choose History, Geography, Civics etc. among arts subjects. At the post-graduate level they could specialise even further like studying Physical Chemistry or Organic Chemistry or Inorganic Chemistry etc. if one was a student of Chemistry. A scholar (now that he has attained some acceptable level of deep knowledge in some aspect of a full subject) at doctorate studies could even narrow down further his area of deep research.

A trader in a certain commodity should know about the entire life cycle of that commodity, in addition to the general principles and skills of business. A manufacturer should have a good idea of all aspects of his raw-materials, manufacturing process, market dynamics and customer behaviour. Similarly, a transport operator should know about vehicles, roads, handling his staff etc. So also for an importer or exporter, agriculturist, and so on. Skills in handling staff, customers and situations is required in all fields.

Banking is a very special field. A banker is expected to know about something of each type of trade, business or agricultural activity to which he lends funds to. He should also know about the life-cycle of movement of funds in all activities so that he can identify sources for mobilising funds (raising deposits) as well as deploying (lending or investing) them. Many times he has to learn about the activity then and there and take decisions. That is why we find successful bankers as a storehouse of knowledge and skills in various fields. 

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We often have a very poor opinion about Government departments and undertakings. There is a general perception of bureaucracy being totally inefficient and corrupt. Equally, there is a perception that many government undertakings are white elephants and a drain on taxpayers money. The reality is not so. The administration is carried on mostly by senior level officers who are honest and committed to their jobs. That is why there is a semblance of stability irrespective of changes in the political masters! 

The decade of 1970s was a watershed in the history of independent India. There were many upheavals at the political level with the real post-Nehru era coming into focus. Though the large part of the decade was under the leadership of Smt. Indira Gandhi, the stamp of post-Nehru era was very clear. Nationalisation of 14 major banks in 1969 opened up the economy to some extent. There were the good and bad of populist schemes at one level. At another level there were many stories of development. Many sections of people had access to bank funds for the first time. Green Revolution, piloted by C Subramaniam at the political level and M S Swaminathan and Dilbagh Singh Athwal at the field level, was a roaring success. White revolution or Operation Flood, led by Amul and Dr Varghese Kurien, was another great success story that changed the life of millions of Indians. National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) and development of high milk yielding cow breeds enhanced milk production to record levels. These two developments solved the problems of shortage of food and low economic activity in the thousands of villages in the country.

Being first generation of bankers after nationalisation of banks and fortunate to be working with banking stalwarts of that period, we are witness as to how the lives of farmers and rural population changed in those years. Recruitment of young and forward looking direct recruitment officers (popularly known as Probationary Officers) brought down the average age of bankers. Banks recruited specialist officers in many areas, especially agriculture and industry officers. These officers brought in a whiff of fresh air to the arm chair dominated banking. Field work became vigorous and pulse of the vast population was heard by the bankers. It is a well known fact the future and fate of the banking industry in India was decided by these officers. Many of the specialised officers rose to very senior positions in the banking industry and headed many banks in the next two or three decades.

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Those who heard the All India Radio programs on agriculture in those days would have heard the terms IR 5 and IR 20 paddy. Most of them do not know what these terms are. International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) started by Ford and Rockefeller Foundations headquartered in Philippines  did wonderful work in improving the quality and yield of paddy in cultivation. Government of India actively partnered with this Institute and the benefits were reaped by our farmers. IR series of paddy was developed by this institute and extensively cultivated in our villages.

National Seeds Corporation Limited (NSC) started in the year 1963 also became very active during these years and worked in close coordination with the state agriculture departments and banks. Banks started adopting villages and forming Farmers Service Societies (FSS) in the adopted villages. The concept of Indirect Agriculture Lending took firm shape. FSS were co-operative societies established under the relevant acts of the states and were managed by the farmers themselves Banks lent funds to the societies and societies gave loans to individual agriculturists. This prevented the farmers from having to go banks many times for loans as the issues were settled at the village level itself. Banks placed one of its officers, usually the Agriculture Officer himself, on the board of the FSS for better coordination and control.

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We were a young generation of bankers working in the bank in this phase of development. Those who showed interest were actively involved in visiting the villages, formation of societies and interaction with the farmers. The sight of a full farming cycle, starting from just tilled fields to harvest festivals, was a very educating and fulfilling exercise. 

After one such harvest in the adopted village, farmers moved their produce to the city for selling in the markets. One tractor containing the produce contributed by all the farmers of the village village was brought to the bank and each staff member was given a bag of vegetables grown there. As a bachelor at that time, I told the AO that this is not fair to us as we were unable to use the vegetables. I also suggested that we should finance more for growing fruits. The AO smiled and said, "Wait for sometime Sir. Fruit harvest is round the corner".

In a few days, another tractor came to the bank and a bag was again to all staff members. This time it had Watermelons, Grapes, Guava, Sapota, Banana  and other fruits!

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Products grown or manufactured visiting the bank is not a very new idea. Many manufacturers bring and show their produce to the bankers. Those involved in field work know these already, but for those confining themselves to the bank premises get an idea of what is happening in those units. 

A recent development in Kerala takes the cake as far as products visiting the bank is discussed. Federal Bank, Cochin, Kerala sanctioned a loan to a Robot manufacturing company. A Robot manufactured by the company actually came to the bank, thanked the bank authorities for sanctioning the loan, and received the loan sanction letter! Robot receiving the sanction letter video is given below:

If you are unable to view the video here, Please copy and paste the link given below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96biXoNN650

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Wonders never cease! Future of mankind appears to be in the hands and minds of Robots!

Seven Lives To Three Minutes

"Literature" is defined in Dictionary as "Written works, especially those considered of superior or lasting merit". There are many other definitions but this probably effectively sums up the concept. There are many forms of literature like poetry, prose, drama or play, fiction and so on, "Novel" is also one of the forms of literature. "Novel" is defined in English Dictionary as "A fictitious prose narrative of book length, typically representing character and action with some degree of realism". The extent of realism is not defined and there are no measures for it. Hence it is safe to assume that it can be one percent to a hundred percent. Moreover, reality is often a matter of opinion. What is considered as real by one may be unreal to another.

Romantic poets, or poets in a romantic mood often state that life itself is poetry. There are many songs in every language mirroring this statement. Anyone who has lived life for a considerable length of time would certainly agree that life is a poem consisting of lot of realism and many true situations that look like fiction. People generally agree that life is a poem with lot of drama mixed with an amount of fiction along with many time spans that run like dry prose.

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In Kannada and Marathi languages, the equivalent word for "Novel" is "Kadambari". There is a novel in Sanskrit with the title "Kadambari". It is a romantic piece of literature written some 1,300 years ago, with one of the principle characters with the name "Kadambari". Probably this must have given the name to an entire class of literature as Kadambari. The equivalent word for Novel in Sanskrit itself is "Upanyas". Hindi, Assamese and Bangla also use "Upanyas".  Many other Indian languages use the word Novel itself as its equivalent in their language. One may recall that Devaki Nandan Khatri's "Chandrakanta" was the first novel or Upanyas in Hindi. This was made into a popular TV serial in Hindi and eagerly watched by millions.

"Kadambari" is the name of a famous prose work in Sanskrit. Poets believed that writing in prose is indeed a big challenge. "गद्यं कवीनां निकाशं वदन्ति" (Gadyam Kaveenaam Nikasham Vadanti) is the statement. It means that writing in prose is the touch-stone for a poet or writer. Just as purity of gold is measured by using a touchstone, a poet's real worth is measured by assessing his wrintings in prose. 

The prose work "Kadambari" in Sanskrit is composed by a great poet by name Baana Bhatta. It is also said that this work was composed over two generations. It appears the poet Baana died when the work was not yet completed, and his son Bhushana Bhatta completed it. So, it is a two generation creation of a love story that actually spans three generations as some of the characters in the novel take rebirths and all ends well in the end with the lovers being united at last. It probably symbolises that love extends to many generations. Or to be more accurate, love is a matter for generations!

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Those who believe in re-birth tend to believe that love and marriage for a man and a woman are for seven generations. Some may even believe it is eternal. Modern life has taught us that this can even be extended to love between two men or two women, irrespective of whether law and some sections of society accept a marriage between such couple. 

This subject of "seven generations love" is very popular with filmy people. There are hundreds of films in different languages on love (or even hate as shown in films like "The Reincarnation of Peter Proud" in English and "Karz" in Hindi) that show eternity of deep love. "Is janam me to nahi; agle janam me zaroor milenge!" (Not possible in this life time, but we will be definitely united in the next life!) is a popular dialogue in all love tragedies. Naturally many films have songs that glorify seven generation love. "Janam janam ka saath hai nibhaneko" (It is an affair of generations to carry on) sung by Mohammed Rafi in Shammi Kapoor Babita 1969 film "Tum se achha kaun hai" is an all time hit. It repeats again in 1982 Smita Patil starrer "Bheegi Palken". There are many more for generations, in all languages.

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Why should one wait for seven generations for fulfilling one love? Why not experience more in this lifetime itself? "Ye Dil Maange More!" (The heart needs even more) some may say. There may also be concerns of sour relationships and the fear of suffering the same fate for seven lives? Naa baaba, naa. nahi chahiye! (No dear, I don't want that). It is also logical to find the right person in this life by trial and error so that there is no trouble in the coming six lives. It is indeed a good idea.

Two time Oscar winner as best actress and famous Hollywood star Elizabeth Taylor appears to have tried this as well. Known for her roles in many super-hit movies and especially as Cleopatra, she married eight times in her life, to seven persons. Eight marriage with seven persons, because she married the same person, Richard Burton, twice. She first married him in 1964 as her fifth husband and lived together for 10 years. She divorced him in 1974. She married him again in 1975, but divorced again in 1976. Maybe to be doubly sure that her decision to divorce was indeed right.

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What if someone does not want seven lives or even one full life for that matter? There have been many short lived marriages. The record for the shortest marriage was probably held by a UK couple for a long time. It happened in Stockport Register Office in Greater Manchester. A couple exchanged vows and celebrations started. As the celebrations were on, the newlywed wife did not like the the toast proposed by her husband to the bridesmaids and smacked him on the head with an ashtray at the reception. The husband attacked the police when they were called in. He spent the night in jail while the lady celebrated their divorce. The marriage lasted all of 90 minutes!

Many thought that this record would stand for ever.

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There was a wedding in Kuwait in 2019. The wedding was solemnised before the judge and the couple left the venue after the proceedings were over. The bride tripped and fell over. The husband called her "Stupid" for falling over. The bride got enraged at this insult, re-entered the venue and requested or demanded the judge to dissolve the marriage. The judge agreed with her and issued an annulment order within three minutes of declaring them man and wife. 

Forget seven lives or even one life. The marriage lasted all of 180 seconds or three minutes.

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The shortest marriage that lasted three minutes happened in 2019. That wonderful and ever excitement creating WhatsApp University is again circulating this news now, as if it happened yesterday. 

One hopes that this record will stand for a long time. It probably needs a set of at least three geniuses to break it, the Presiding Officer or Judge included!

Banyan Tree to Dalal Street

We, human beings as a group, are realising the true value of trees rather vey late. Of course, one can always say better late than never. Trees are worshipped for a long long time in India and some other countries as well. Among the many trees, Banyan tree and Peepul tree are two trees that have fascinated and found value in human lives. Both belong to the broad "Fig Family" though not of edible variety. In India especially, both these trees are considered sacred and highly respected and valued. Peepul or Pippala or Sacred Fig as it is also called, is worshipped for various reasons. It is considered as very important in maintaining biodiversity. People travel far to see the "Bodhi" tree in Bodh Gaya. 

Banyan tree is known for providing thick shade and shelter to many birds and other animals. The accessory trunks that develop from prop roots help it to grow horizontally as well. The tales of the big banyan trees in Calcutta (Shibpur, Howrah), Chennai (Adyar) and Bangalore (Ramohalli) are well known. They have been tourist and picnic spots as well. Calcutta tree is said to have more than 2800 supplementary trunks. It covers about 5 acres of land! Adyar banyan tree is said to be five centuries old. As college students we have seen the fight scene of Dr Rajkumar in the film "Jedara Bale" (Spider's Web) some fifty years ago, filmed in the vast area of the Ramohalli tree.

*****

This is the season for filing Income Tax returns. Last date for filing is fast approaching. We still remember the times when one had to wait for years after filing returns for getting a refund from the IT department. Fortunately, good days are here for refund seekers. Nowadays refunds are coming within weeks of filing returns, There are also cases of the lucky ones who got refund within three days of filing the returns. This is most welcome by Non-Residents even more since they would have paid 31.2% TDS and plenty of withholding tax as well. 

Tax returns are generally filed by people who have incomes as it is "Income Tax" as the name itself suggests. But there was a very peculiar report last fortnight of a Chartered Accountant in Assam having filed an income tax return on behalf of a 3rd Year B Tech student. That in itself is no big deal. But the issue is that the boy did not have any income at all! Even with zero income he has filed a return. The secret is that he has suffered a loss of Rupees 26 lacs during the year 2023-24. How does a student who does not have income lose so much? He had incurred such huge loss by trading in F&O (Futures and Options) segment of the stock market! It has further been revealed that he had suffered a loss of Rupees 20 lacs last year as well on similar lines. 

Carry forward of losses is permitted in the tax laws of all countries to enable adjustment of such losses against income of the coming years. Tax laws provide for a maze of provisions for setoff of losses suffered in earlier years against future income subject to some monetary limits and time limits. The types of losses that are allowed and not allowed are also given in the acts and rules. This student may be able to adjust some of the losses against his future earnings, but it is most likely that he will not be able to cover all the losses when he has lost so much in two years. 

This is one instance that has come out in public. There are thousands who suffer such heavy losses by falling into the lure of making fast bucks using their perceived skills in forecasting things.

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A big banyan tree near Town Hall in Bombay (present Mumbai) did something more than all other banyan trees. It had a big role in the development of trade and commerce in India. When "The Native Share and Stock Broker's Association" was started in 1875, stock brokers met under this tree for the daily activities relating to buying and selling etc. In due course it got converted into Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). BSE is now 147 years old. It remained the top stock exchange in India till the incorporation of National Stock Exchange (NSE) in 1993 and started operations a year later. BSE is presently housed in P J Towers in Dalal Street, Mumbai. Banyan tree to Dalal street has been a very eventful and historical journey for BSE as well as growth of trade and commerce in India. 

From the time brokers met below the Banyan Tree near Town Hall to present trading from the tech based trading platform, from the comforts of the house or office, many people have made fortunes below the Banyan Tree or P J Towers in Dalal Street. Probably even more people have lost money!

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Last Friday (19th July 2024) which also happened to be the 55th anniversary of Bank Nationalisation in India, Smt. Madhabi Puri Buch, Chairperson of SEBI stated that F&O segment has become a "Macro Issue" now. She expressed serious concern about household savings going into speculative bets and youth of the country are losing tonnes of money in these trades, The 3rd year B Tech student who has lost Rupees 46 lacs in two years is a classic example of such cases. 

NSE website says that it is the World's Largest Derivative Exchange in terms of number of contracts. Number of participants in 2019 was 7 lacs, This has gone up to 45 lacs in 2022, which is more than 6 times in just 3 years. This is a phenomenal growth in the volumes of trade in this segment. Number of contracts traded in a year is about 90 billion or 9,000 crores. This is a staggering number by any standards. Notional value of these contracts is said to be around Rupees 105,00,000 crores (105 lac crores!). The value of contracts traded in the F&O segment has doubled in the last one year.  Such massive surge in just one year is naturally a big cause of concern for the regulator. Another alarming factor is that 90% of F&O trades resulted in losses with average losses being Rupees 1.25 lacs.

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Last few months have seen massive surge in the BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty. Sensex has crossed 80,000 levels which was not even thought of a few years ago. Many experts wonder whether this surge is really backed by true value of stocks or based purely on sentiments. Lot of expectations is placed by markets on the budget of the Union Government to be presented in two days time.

Weather changes very quickly during monsoon times. So does the sentiments in the stock markets. Any steep fall will erode huge amounts of savings of small investors. We have learnt from the past experience that when there is a massive surge in a short time, it also has a potential for scams. 

We can only hope that all will be fine in the coming days and will bring more prosperity to small investors.

It is the same Water!

IT was a little over a year or so after the India-Pakistan war in 1965. They were difficult days for the entire population in India as the country was recovering from the effects of the war. There were famines in some parts of the country to torment the large population, in addition to poverty and unemployment problems.  The common questions asked in written tests and interviews for selection of candidates for various jobs then were about poverty eradication, solving population explosion, solutions to unemployment problem and providing health services support to the people. They were also the popular topics for essay writing for students in examinations.

We were in the advanced stage of schooling. We had a session on "Rivers of India" and the teacher was explaining the difference between the terms "Jeeva Nadi", "Maha Nadi" and "Upa Nadi". We were told that "Jeevanadi" is one in which there is water flow throughout the year with english equivalent being "Perennial River". "Mahanadi" is a river that ultimately joins the ocean.  An "Upanadi" is one that joins a Mahanadi at which point its identity gets dissolved. Most Mahanadi are usually Jeevanadi but only some Upanadi are Jeevanadi and so on.

The teacher himself raised a question as to why we have given the status of Mahanadi to Yamuna and Saraswati when we invoke the confluence of the seven rivers in the small pot of water we use for rituals (Gangecha Yamunechaiva). They may not qualify to be included here by the mere definition of a Mahanadi, but they are no smaller by means of their length, spread and service to mankind that live on their banks. Saraswati may not be visible today, but it has existed for long and even now is latent and hence considered here. Therefore, one may call them "Special Invitees" to the august company. Then the question as to why river Krishna is not included, because it is a Mahanadi itself and qualifies by all standards. The answer was that you cannot list all Mahanadi in the country as there are so many. Looks logical, but one cannot help thinking that Krishna should have been there.

They all have the same water. Life giving and life saving water. 

*****

In the next session on "Water Cycle" one important question came up. While the entire water in the seas is salty, how does rain water remain saltless? The answer was that it is similar to distillation where the solute (dissolved substance) is left behind and only the solvent evaporates and condenses later on and hence rain water is not salty. The teacher was himself a Vedic scholar and further informed that our Vedic literature clearly mentions that the Wind God "Marut" (from which the word Maruti is derived) by his special powers separates water from different rivers that has merged in the sea water and sends them to respective river beds! It is one of the big secrets of nature and creation of the universe, he said. 

The "Dabbawalas" system in Mumbai is legendary. Lunch prepared in the homes of millions are collected by Dabbawalas before noon, transported to the table of the office worker by cycles and local trains by lunch time, and the empty lunch boxes are returned to the respective homes in the evening. It is said that not a box gets missed or mixed up despite the system handling millions of such lunch boxes. They use a combination of colours and numbered codes to ensure the system works without any hitches. The system used by the wind god must be similar so that water from the rivers reaches the sea by flowing on the land, but returns via the sky. In a way, this is better than the Dabbawala system as on both sides of the journey it is full, unlike Dabbas that are empty on the return journey!

The water coming as rain is the same water that went into the seas from the same rivers.

***** 

All the students and teachers would go home during lunch except some who came from nearby villages and the houses were a bit far from the school. The school got a newspaper in the morning which was delivered to the Head Masters house. He would bring it to school and leave it in the teachers room. Since I used to stay back in lunch time, one of the illiterate peons would bring it to me to read it over to him. He was more interested in sensational news like accidents or murders, but i used to read the full paper in the 45 minutes time allotted for lunch, When these sessions were going in the class, the newspaper carried a fantastic headline one day. Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare made a speech somewhere and mentioned in the speech that "the coffee you drank today might have been made from the water in which queen Draupadi bathed in Dwapara Yuga"!

Dr Sripati Chandrashekhar was a noted international demographer, sociologist, economist and scholar at that time. He was born in Rajahmundry in present AP, studied high school in Vellore and graduated from Presidency College in Madras (now Chennai). He went to Columbia University and New York University for higher studies. After obtaining a Ph D from New York University he worked as a Professor in many universities. He married Ann Downes, who came from a Quaker family in New Jersey, just before India got independence from British rule. He returned to India to accept the post of Professor and Chair in Economics at Annamalai University. He traveled extensively and delivered lectures in many universities and international gatherings about population control and allied issues. 

He was elected to the Rajya Sabha (upper house of parliament) from ruling Congress party in 1964. His enthusiasm for population control impressed the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and she took him in her cabinet as Minister for Health and Family Planning (name changed as Health and Family Welfare during the Janata Government in 1978) to put his ideas into practice. He tried his best to spread the ideas of birth control, sterilisation and other birth control methods like IUD. The average birth rate in India came down from six to three per family during these years, and much credit is given to Dr Chandrashekhar for this.

Some of his statements and acts were controversial especially in a country where such ideas were not readily accepted at that time. "Coffee made from Draupadi's bath water" was one of many such statements made by him at that time.

Anyway, the message was clear. It is the same water.

*****

Morarji Desai (1896-1995) was a cabinet colleague of Dr Sripati Chandrashekar, but much senior and had a long innings in politics and public service. Morarji Ranchodji Desai was Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister in the Indira Gandhi cabinet when Chandrashekar was Minister for Health and Family Planning. A noted freedom fighter and statesman, Morarji Desai was chief minister of the undivided Bombay state, minister in various cabinets and ultimately became Prime Minister when Janata Party came to power in 1977, after Indira Gandhi was defeated in elections consequent to Emergency and its aftermath. Born on 29th February, Morarji celebrated only 24 birthdays even though he lived just ten month short of 100 years. He was a freedom fighter, Gandhian, congress stalwart and able administrator.

Morarji Desai was a practitioner of "Urine Therapy" that centred on drinking one's own urine every morning. It was even joked during his tenure as Prime Minister that the most discussed topic under his leadership was urine therapy. He attributed his long living to this therapy. 

It was the same water.

*****

Indian origin American astronaut Sunita Williams and fellow US astronaut Barry Eugene Wilmore are now stranded in space due to technical issues relating to their Boeing Starliner. While everyone on earth are praying for their safe return, the two astronauts are continuing with their duties in outer space. They have placed their confidence in the technical team to sort out the issues and get them back to earth.

While staying in International Space Station (ISS), we are told that astronauts drink water that has been recycled from their own sweat and urine using the Environment Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) placed in the ISS. One article even says that it is a refreshing filtered blend of shower water and pee. 

Our generation may not be able to see it, but in the next few decades there could be regular travel between Earth, Moon and Mars. The lucky travellers will also have the same refreshing filtered blend of water to drink.

Again, it is the same water!

A Robot Commits Suicide?

Famous Kannada novelist and scholar T R Subba Rao, (Talukina Ramaswamaiah Subba Rao), popularly known as Ta. Ra. Su. (ತ. ರಾ. ಸು.) was a nephew of T S Venkannaiah (Talukina Venkannaiah), a towering personality who did yeomen service to the growth of Kannada language. Subba Rao was well-known especially for his chain of historical novels centred around Chitradurga Fort and the royal families that ruled from that place. His novel "Durgaastamaana" (ದುರ್ಗಾಸ್ತಮಾನ), about the fall of Chitradurga fort and the Madakari Nayaka rule, earned him Sahitya Academy award. Many of his novels were made into movies and are even today considered as trend setters. Chandavalliya Tota (ಚಂದವಳ್ಳಿಯ ತೋಟ), Chakrateertha (ಚಕ್ರತೀರ್ಥ), Chandanada Gombe (ಚಂದನದ ಗೊಂಬೆ), Gaali Maatu (ಗಾಳಿ ಮಾತು), Bidugadeya Bedi (ಬಿಡುಗಡೆಯ ಬೇಡಿ)i, Benkiya Bale (ಬೆಂಕಿಯ ಬಲೆ) were all popular films based on his novels. "Hamsageete" (ಹಂಸಗೀತೆ) was another classic movie that is considered as one of the finest movies made during the golden years of Kannada film industry and a milestone in the career of popular artiste and hero Anant Nag.

Three of his novels, Naagara Havu (ನಾಗರಹಾವು), Sarpa Matsara (ಸರ್ಪ ಮತ್ಸರ), Eradu Hennu Ondu Gandu (ಎರಡು ಹೆಣ್ಣು ಒಂದು ಗಂಡು) were merged and made into a movie under the title "Naagara Haavu", meaning King Cobra, by Puttanna Kanagal, one of the most famous directors of the South Indian film industry. This film launched the film career of Vishnuvardhan (ವಿಷ್ಣುವರ್ಧನ್) and Arati (ಆರತಿ), both evolving into highly popular hero and heroine of Kannada movies subsequently. The film was also made in Hindi later, with the title "Zahreela Insaan" and directed by Puttanna Kanagal himself. 

When the movie Naagara Haavu was released in 1972, there were mixed reviews. Some people said that they had never seen such a magnificent and big Cobra. Others had a different view though it was a big box office hit. Ta. Ra. Su. himself is reported to have said that it is not a Cobra but a "Kere Haavu", meaning it was a non-poisonous snake or "Rat Snake".

*****

Three new legislations dealing with criminal laws have come into force in India from 1st July, 2024. Titled Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), and Bharatiya Saakshya Adhiniyam (BSA), they replace Indian Penal Code (IPC), Criminal procedure Code (CrPC) and Indian Evidence Act (IEA). Those in support of the new acts say that the three new acts are path-breaking and replace the age old British-era acts. Those against the acts say that they are draconian and will be used to silence the critics of people in power. Many in South India appear to have not gone into the acts themselves, but stuck in the titles itself. These are Sanskrit origin words and not acceptable, they say. English is fine, even if it is a foreign language, but we don't want Sanskrit names, is their line of thinking. 

The acts were passed by the parliament when most of the opposition pary members of parliament were suspended from the houses for various reasons. While the jury is out about the true test of these laws, the opinions expressed on them reminds us about the reviews we read and heard when the film "Nagara Haavu" was released.  A former Union Home Minister well known for his talents in drafting and changing drafts has even gone on record to state that these legislations have been drafted not by professionals, but by part-timers. Only the roles are reversed here. Those opposed to the Acts see big cobras in them whereas those in favour are seeing not even rat snakes, but beautiiful flowers!

This is the tale of three novels there, and three acts here.

*****

Many of us believed that natural and artificial could not co-exist. Like for example, teeth. The Lord gives us natural teeth. When they fall due to old age or extra affection shown by someone, we go to a dentist and get a set of artificial dentures. It is artificial teeth after natural. It was so thought for intelligence as well. One thought that artificial intelligence will come after we lose all natural intelligence. It ia not so. Now artificial intelligence not only exists with natural intelligence, it is in fact created by natural intelligence and is even threatening to overtake natural intelligence. The story of Frankenstein is coming to mind, For example, the picture given at the top of the blog post is said to have been created by using AI. 

Gurmi City Council in South Korea had created a Robot, called as "Robot Supervisor" for assisting people in various tasks when they visited its office. A picture of the robot is given alongside. It was working fine for quite some time there, until last week, when pressure of work caught up with it. 

Robots have been created for quite sometime to enable transfer of many routine, risky and monotonous tasks to them so that humans are safe. One thought that robots  will not feel tired after sometime and can work for long times without fatigue. They were also expected to work without pressure of work, the most common excuse given by humans for all their mistakes and blunders. Korea is one of the countries that has excelled in modren technology and created many robots for performing various tasks in all walks of life. 

Around 4 PM on Thursday, 4th July, 2024, it started "behaving strangely and circling in one spot as if some thing was there". Then it fell from second floor and was found in a heap between second and first floors. 

A picture of the robots body after the said suicide is given alongside.

This is called as the first "Robot Suicide" in the world and has sparked a worldwide debate. 

It happened in Seoul and hence no conspiracy theories have been floated so far. There is also no speculation yet as to whether there should be a commission of enquiry, and if so, whether it should be headed by a next generation robot or a retired superior court judge or a serving senior judge. 

While scientists and robot manufacturers may suggest that this was no suicide, but a routine malfunction that can happen anytime, labour unions may take up the cause of stress in working environment for their actually working colleagues. 

*****

What is the connection between "Robot Suicide" and the three criminal laws? 

When someone contemplates suicide, it should be executed with all heart and mind. Then there is final solution and salvation. But a failed attempt at suicide will bring in even more misery. An attempted suicide or even abetment of such attempt was punishable under Section 309 of the now repealed IPC. It was punishable with imprisonment up to one year or fine, or both!

Mental Healthcare Act, 2017 exempted such punishment in certain circumstances.

Fortunately for all suicide lovers, the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which has come into effect from 1st July, 2024 does not have an equal provision against the Section 309 of its predecessor, IPC. Thus the act of attempt to suicide is actually decriminalised now.

One trusts that this good news for suicide lovers should be equally applicable for robots as well.

Clean Hands

Macbeth and Banquo ware the two Generals of King Duncan. They see three witches on a bleak Scottish moorland. The witches prophecy that Macbeth will become Thane of Cawdor becomes true shortly as King Duncan declares him as such due to his success in the battlefield. The King also plans to make a brief visit to Macbeth's castle in Inverness. Having come to know of these developments, Lady Macbeth decides that she will do everything in her command to ensure that Macbeth will become the King, by whatever means that is necessary. 

Macbeth comes to the castle and King arrives shortly thereafter. Macbeth couple decide to kill King Duncan in order to achieve their goal, and wait for everyone to fall asleep. When everyone is fast asleep, Lady Macbeth gives drugged wine to the guards so that Macbeth can kill the King. King Duncan is killed. King's sons flee fearing for their life and are blamed for the King's death. 

Macbeth becomes King but feels insecure. In order to save his throne, he unleashes a reign of terror and many persons are killed, including Macduff's family, since Macduff (another General) is loyal to King Duncan. Even after all these, Macbeth is not comfortable and fears attack from enemies who have fled to England. He seeks further advice from the witches who inform that he is safe until Birnam Wood marches to fight against him. He is also told that anyone born of a woman cannot challenge him in war. 

Malcom, one of Banquo's sons who had fled to England moves in to attack Macbeth with help from Macduff. The army carries branches of the trees in Birnam Wood as camouflage. Lady Macduff is now overcome by guilt for having left a trail of blood due to serial killings in the pursuit of her husband's ambition. She sleepwalks and tells her secrets to a doctor. As Macbeth prepares for the final war with Malcom's army, aided by Macduff, he learns of the suicide of his wife, Lady Macbeth.

During the war Macbeth is challenged by Macduff. Macbeth learns that Macduff was born out of a Caesarean birth and knows his end. Macduff brings Macbeth's head to Malcom and Malcom proceeds to be crowned as the King. 

*****

This is the summary of the play "Macbeth" by William Shakespeare, considered as one of the greatest plays of all times and one of his famous tragedies.

Just before her suicide Lady Macbeth wonders and utters the famous words "All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand". The full statement in Act V, Scene 1 is as under:

"Here's the smell of the blood still. All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand, Oh, oh, oh!"

Her hands were indeed clean as she had never touched any blood directly. But the burden of the many killings, of which she was privy, was sufficient to drive her to death by suicide. After a particular stage even a hardened person cannot withstand the rigours of the wicked deeds. They  may escape others view, but yet torments the one who is responsible for them.

*****

That was about blood stained hands. But we know about clean hands being washed again and again and still being in doubt as to whether they are really clean. Remember our tryst with Coronavirus days? The dreadful period when one washed hands as well things that were often clean, and yet felt it was not sufficient!

In jurisprudence, clean hands are indeed an important consideration. The maxim is "He who comes into equity should come with clean hands". What is a maxim? A maxim is a short pithy statement expressing a general truth or rule of conduct. Such maxims are universally accepted and do not require any proof. A pithy statement is one that is forceful and meaningful in expression. The maxim of "he who comes into equity should come with clean hands" means once who seeks equity must himself be just and honest. Someone whose hands are tainted with wrong doing cannot seek justice due to his own shortcomings. 

When we talk of equity, we should also differentiate between "equality" and "equity". Equality means providing the same to all. Equity means recognising that all people do not start at the same place and require some adjustments to create a level playing field. The following image probably explains equality and equity quite well:

As can be seen above, in the first part of the image, all the three persons are given two slabs each to stand upon to see something, may be a game or performance. This puts a taller person at an advantageous position but does not help the short one. In the image on the right side, no slabs are provided for the first person, two slabs are given to the second person and four slabs are given to the third person. This helps all the three to see the visual of the game or performance at the same level. This symbolises equity. We may recall how our fathers used to life us on their shoulders so that we could also see what is happening in front of us, which we would have never been able to see otherwise. It was indeed some real equity!

*****

All students of Organic chemistry know that "Alcohol" is a family of compounds. Ethyl Alcohol or Ethanol (C2H5OH) is the usual ingredient in most of the liquors. In states or provinces where prohibition is in force, some people make "illicit liquor", popularly known as Hooch, and sell it clandestinely. This often contains Methyl Alcohol or Methanol (C3H5OH) or wood spirit, which is very dangerous when consumed by human beings. In addition to this, the hooch is prepared in most unhygienic condition and often using decaying material. 

We often hear of tragedies wherein several people of a village or a group die due to consumption of such illicit liquor. These instances happen quite regularly. The victims of such tragedies are mostly from the poorer sections of the society. There is a craving for giving compensation to the families of the victims. State governments give compensation to the suffering families and often generously with a eye on vote banks.  

Recently there was such a case in Kallakuruchi in Tamil Nadu. The state government gave a compensation of Rupees Ten Lakhs to the families of the persons who died by consuming illicit liquor.

One of the public spirited persons filed a PIL (Public Interest Litigation) before the High Court of Tamil Nadu stating that the very act of consuming illicit liquor is illegal and providing compensation for such victims is unwarranted. It violates the principles of equity and is indeed a burden on honest tax payers. Such compensation tends to encourage consumption of illicit liquor, the PIL said. The PIL also said that the victims are not freedom fighters or social activists, but ones who consumed illicit liquor knowing well the dangers it posed. 

In a judgement delivered on Friday (5th July, 2024), a two judge bench of High Court in Chennai applied the maxim of "Clean hands" and wondered how the government was encouraging such actions by giving a high compensation of Ten Lakh Rupees. They also suggested that the state government may reconsider its decision.

*****

What the government will actually do is not known. But this case has brought into focus, the issue of governments giving liberal compensations to all and sundry without applying the "Clean Hands" principle. 

ಪಕೋಡ ಮತ್ತು ಆಸೆ

ಮಳೆಗಾಲ. ಜಿಟಿ ಜಿಟಿ ಮಳೆ. ಸೋನೆ ಮಳೆ. ಒಂದೇ ಸಮ ಸುರಿಯುವ ಮಳೆ. ಹಗಲು ರಾತ್ರಿ ನಿಲ್ಲದೆ ಬರುತ್ತಿರುವ ಮಳೆ. ಮನೆಯ ಹೊರಗಡೆ ಹೋಗದಂತೆ ಹಿಡಿದಿಡುವ ಮಳೆ. ಬಿಸಿಲು ಕಾಣದಂತೆ ತಡೆಯುವ ಮಳೆ. ಕೆಲವು ದಿನಗಳ ಹಿಂದೆ ಬಿಸಿಲ ಬೇಗೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಬೇಕೆನಿಸಿದ ಮಳೆ. ಬಂದರೆ ಸಾಕೆಂದು ಪ್ರಾರ್ಥಿಸಿದ ಮಳೆ. ತಾಳಲಾರದ ಸೆಕೆಗೆ ಕೊನೆ ಹಾಡಲೆಂದು ಬಯಸಿದ ಮಳೆ. ರೈತಾಪಿ ಜನ ಬೀಜ ಬಿತ್ತನೆಗೆ ಕಾತರದಿಂದ ಆಕಾಶದೆಡೆಗೆ ಮುಖ ಮಾಡಿ ನೋಡುತ್ತಿದ್ದ ಮಳೆ. ಈಗ ನಿಂತರೆ ಸಾಕೆಂದು ಆಶಿಸುವ ಮಳೆ! 

ಮಧ್ಯಾನ್ಹದ ಊಟ ಆಗಿ ಬಹಳ ಹೊತ್ತಾಗಿದೆ. ರಾತ್ರಿಯ ಭೋಜನಕ್ಕೆ ಇನ್ನೂ ತುಂಬಾ ಸಮಯವಿದೆ. ಆದರೂ ಏನಾದರೂ ತಿನ್ನುವ ಬಯಕೆ. ಯಾವಾಗಲೂ ಏನಾದರೂ ಆಡಬೇಕು; ಇಲ್ಲ ಬಾಯಾಡಿಸಬೇಕು ಎನ್ನಿಸುವ ಚಪಲ ಚೆನ್ನಿಗ ನಾಲಿಗೆ. ಇಂತಹ ಹೊತ್ತಿಗೆ ಸರಿಯಾಗಿ ಹೇಳಿ ಮಾಡಿಸಿದ ಪದಾರ್ಥ ಈ ಪಕೋಡ. ಅಥವಾ ಇದರ ಸೋದರ ಬೋಂಡ. ಕೆಲವರಿಗೆ ಇದರ ಜೊತೆ ಸ್ವಲ್ಪ ಖಾರವಾಗಿರುವ ಚಟ್ನಿ ಸಿಕ್ಕಿದರೆ ಇನ್ನೂ ಸೊಗಸು. ಈಗ ಸಿಕ್ಕರೆ ಎಷ್ಟು ಚೆನ್ನ ಅನ್ನಿಸುವ ತಿಂಡಿಗಳು. ಬಿಸಿಬಿಸಿಯಾಗಿ ಸಿಕ್ಕರೆ ತಿನ್ನುವ ಆಸೆ. ಸ್ವಲ್ಪ ತಿಂದ ಮೇಲೆ ಇನ್ನೂ ಸ್ವಲ್ಪ ತಿನ್ನುವ ಆಸೆ. ಅದೂ ಆದ ಮೇಲೆ ಮತ್ತಷ್ಟು ತಿನ್ನುವ ಆಸೆ! ಒಟ್ಟಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಆಸೆಯ ಮೇಲೆ ಇನ್ನೊಂದಾಸೆ. ಅದು ತೀರಿದಮೇಲೆ ಮತ್ತೊಂದಾಸೆ. ಆಸೆಗಳ ಸರತಿಯ ಸಾಲು. ಬೇಕೆನಿಸುವ ಇಷ್ಟವನ್ನು ಸೂಚಿಸುವ ಪದವೇ ಈ "ಅಸೆ"!

ತುಂಬಾ ದಿನ ಇಡುವ ಪದಾರ್ಥಗಳಲ್ಲ ಈ ಸೋದರ ಸಂಬಂಧಿ ಪಕೋಡ ಮತ್ತು ಬೋಂಡಗಳು. ಸಮಯವೇನೋ ಸರಿಯಾಗಿದೆ. ಆದರೆ ಮಾಡಲು ಸಾಧನ, ಸಲಕರಣೆಗಳಿಲ್ಲ. ಇದ್ದರೂ ಮಾಡುವ ಮನಸ್ಸಿಲ್ಲ. ಮಾಡಿಕೊಡುವವರೂ ಇಲ್ಲ. ಏನು ಮಾಡುವುದು? ಚಿಂತೆಯಿಲ್ಲ. ಇವರ ದಾಯಾದಿಗಳ ಸಂತತಿಯೇ ಇದೆ. ಚಕ್ಕುಲಿ, ಕೋಡುಬಳೆ, ಓಂಪುಡಿ, ಮುಂತಾದ ಸೋದರರ ಗುಂಪು. ಸಿಹಿ ಬೇಕೆನಿಸಿದರೆ ಅವುಗಳ ದಾಯಾದಿ ರವ ಉಂಡೆ ಉಂಟು. ಒಮ್ಮೆ ಮಾಡಿದರೆ ಕೆಲವು ಕಾಲ ಇಡಬಹುದು. ಡಬ್ಬಿಯಲ್ಲಿಯೋ, ಗಾಜಿನ ಶೀಶೆಯಲ್ಲಿಯೋ ಭದ್ರವಾಗಿ ಕುಳಿತಿರುತ್ತವೆ. ಅದರಿಂದ ಹೊರತೆಗೆದು ಹೊಟ್ಟೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಸೇರಿಸುವ ತನಕ. ನಂತರ ಕೆಡುವುದೆಂಬ ಅಥವಾ ಬೇರೆ ಯಾತರದೋ ಭಯವಿಲ್ಲ. 

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ಪಕೋಡ ಅಥವಾ ಬೋಂಡಾ ತಿನ್ನಬೇಕೆನಿಸುವುದು ಆಸೆ. ಏನೋ ಒಂದು ಇತಿ-ಮಿತಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ತಿನ್ನುವುದು ಸರಿಯಾದ ಆಸೆ. ಆ ಮಿತಿ ದಾಟಿದ ಮೇಲೂ ತಿನ್ನಬೇಕು ಎನಿಸುವುದು ಅತಿ ಆಸೆ. ಈಗ ತಿನ್ನುವದಕ್ಕೂ ಮುಂಚೆ ಮತ್ತು ಬೇರೆಯವರಿಗೆ ಸಿಗುವ ಮೊದಲು ನಾಳೆಗೆ ಇನ್ನಷ್ಟು ತೆಗೆದು ಇಟ್ಟುಕೊಳ್ಳಬೇಕೆನಿಸುವುದು ಕೆಟ್ಟ ಆಸೆ. ಕೈಯಲ್ಲಿ, ತನ್ನ ತಟ್ಟೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಸಾಕಷ್ಟು ಇರುವಾಗಲೂ ಬಡಿಸಲು ಇಟ್ಟಿರುವ ದೊಡ್ಡ ತಟ್ಟೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಕಾಣುವ ದಪ್ಪ ಬೋಂಡವನ್ನು ಇನ್ನೊಬ್ಬರು ತೆಗೆದುಕೊಳ್ಳುವ ಮುಂಚೆ ಹೊಡೆಯಬೇಕೆನ್ನುವುದು ದುರಾಸೆ. 

ಆಸೆ, ಅತಿ ಆಸೆ, ಕೆಟ್ಟ ಆಸೆ, ದುರಾಸೆ ಆಯಿತು. ನಮ್ಮ ಮನೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಇಂದು ಪಕೋಡ ಮಾಡಿಲ್ಲ. ಮಾಡುವುದೂ ಇಲ್ಲ. ಆದರೆ ಪಕ್ಕದ ಮನೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಮಾಡುತ್ತಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ವಾಸನೆ ಗಾಳಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ತೇಲಿ ಬರುತ್ತಾ ಇದೆ. "ಹಾಳಾದವರು. ಪಕೋಡ ಅವರು ಇಟ್ಟುಕೊಂಡ ಮೇಲೆ ವಾಸನೆ ನಮಗೆ ಯಾಕೆ ಕಳಿಸಬೇಕು? ಅವರೇ ಇಟ್ಟುಕೊಳ್ಳಬೇಕು. ಇಲ್ಲದಿದ್ದರೆ ಅಷ್ಟು ಪಕೋಡ ನಮಗೂ ಕಳಿಸಬೇಕು. ಸ್ವಲ್ಪವೂ ಸಂವೇದನೆ ಇಲ್ಲದ ಜನ!" ಎನಿಸುತ್ತದೆ. ಇದೇ ಹೊಟ್ಟೆಕಿಚ್ಚು. ಅಷ್ಟು ಅಂದುಕೊಂಡು ಸುಮ್ಮನಾದದ್ದಲ್ಲ. ಮಾರನೆಯ ದಿನ ಅವರು ಎದುರು ಸಿಕ್ಕಾಗ, "ಏನು? ನಿನ್ನೆಯೆಲ್ಲ ಚೆನ್ನಾಗಿ ಪಕೋಡ ಮಾಡಿಕೊಂಡು ತಿಂದು ತೇಗಿದಿರಿ" ಎಂದು ಹೇಳುವುದು, ಅಥವಾ ಹೇಳುವ ಧೈರ್ಯವಿಲ್ಲದಿದ್ದರೆ ಮನಸ್ಸಿನಲ್ಲಿಯೇ ಹೇಳಿಕೊಳ್ಳುವುದು. ಇದೇ ಅಸೂಯೆ. 

"ಅವನಿಗೆ ಇದೆ; ನನಗಿಲ್ಲ" ಎಂದು ಚಿಂತಿಸುವುದೇ ಹೊಟ್ಟೆಕಿಚ್ಚು. ಅವನಿಗಿರುವುದು ನನಗೂ ಬೇಕು ಎಂದು ಪ್ರಯತ್ನ ಮಾಡಿ ಸಾಧಿಸಿ ಪಡೆಯುವುದು ಒಂದು ಧನಾತ್ಮಕ ಕ್ರಿಯೆ. ಇದು ಒಳ್ಳೆಯ ಆಸೆ. ಅದರಲ್ಲಿ ತಪ್ಪೇನಿಲ್ಲ. ಆದರೆ ಆ ಪ್ರಯತ್ನವೇ ಪಡದೇ ಒದ್ದಾಡುವುದು ಹೊಟ್ಟೆಕಿಚ್ಚು. ಹೊಟ್ಟೆಕಿಚ್ಚು ಇರುವುದು ಬೇರೆಯವರ ಬಗ್ಗೆ. ತಮಾಷೆಯೆಂದರೆ ಆ ಬೆಂಕಿ ಇರುವುದು ನಮ್ಮ ಒಡಲಲ್ಲಿ. ಆದ್ದರಿಂದ ಅದು ಸುಡುವುದು ನಮ್ಮನ್ನೇ! ಅವರಮೇಲೆ ಅದರ ಪರಿಣಾಮವೇ ಇಲ್ಲ. ಇನ್ನೊಬ್ಬರು ಚೆನ್ನಾಗಿರುವುದು, ಅವರ ಉತ್ಕರ್ಷ ಕಂಡು ಕೊರಗುವುದು ಅಸೂಯೆ. ಅಸೂಯೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಪರಸ್ಪರ ಸ್ಪರ್ಧೆಯಿಲ್ಲ. ಆದರೆ ಒಂದೇ ಸಮಾನರಲ್ಲಿ, ಒಂದೇ ಗುರಿ ಸಾಧಿಸಲು ಹೊರಟವರಲ್ಲಿ ಸ್ಪರ್ಧೆ ಇದೆ. ಅವನಿಗಿಂತ ನಾನು ಮೇಲೆ ಹೋಗಬೇಕೆಂಬ ಜಿದ್ದು ಉಂಟು. ಇಂತಹ ಸ್ಥಿತಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಪ್ರತಿಸ್ಪರ್ಧಿಯ ಏಳಿಗೆ ಕಂಡು ಒದ್ದಾಡುವುದೇ ಮತ್ಸರ. 

ಆಸೆ, ಅತಿ ಆಸೆ, ಕೆಟ್ಟ ಅಸೆ, ದುರಾಸೆ, ಒಳ್ಳೆ ಆಸೆ, ಅಸೂಯೆ, ಮತ್ಸರ ಆಯಿತು. 

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ಮಾಡಿರುವ ಪಕೋಡವೆಲ್ಲಾ ನನಗೇ ಇರಬೇಕು. ಇನ್ನೊಬ್ಬರಿಗೆ ಸಿಗಬಾರದು" ಎಂದು ಯೋಚಿಸುವುದು ಲೋಭ. "ಅವರಿಗುಂಟು, ನನಗಿಲ್ಲ" ಎನ್ನುವುದು ಹೊಟ್ಟೆಕಿಚ್ಚಾದರೆ "ನನಗೇ ಬೇಕು, ಅವರಿಗೆ ಸಿಗಬಾರದು" ಎನ್ನುವುದೇ ಲೋಭ. ಲೋಭ ಗುಣ ಉಳ್ಳವನು ಲೋಭಿ. ತನ್ನಲಿರುವುದು ಇನ್ನೊಬ್ಬರಿಗೆ ಸಿಗುವುದನ್ನು ಹೇಗಾದರೂ ಮಾಡಿ ತಪ್ಪಿಸಬೇಕು ಎಂದು ಯೋಚಿಸುತ್ತಾನೆ ಲೋಭಿ. 

ತನ್ನಲ್ಲಿರುವುದನ್ನು ತಾನೂ ಅನುಭವಿಸದೇ ಹಾಗೆಯೇ ಕೂಡಿಡುವವನೇ ಕೃಪಣ. ಅಚ್ಚ ಕನ್ನಡಲ್ಲಿ "ಜಿಪುಣ". ಇವನು ತನ್ನಲ್ಲಿರುವ ಸಂಪತ್ತನ್ನು ಮತ್ತೆ ಮತ್ತೆ ನೋಡಿ ಸಂತೋಷಪಡುತ್ತಾನೆ. ಅವನ ಸಂತೋಷವೆಲ್ಲ ನೋಡುವುದರಲ್ಲಿಯೇ ಕಳೆದುಹೋಗುತ್ತದೆ. ಆ ಪದಾರ್ಥ ಅನುಭವಿಸದೆಯೇ ಹಾಳಾಗಬಹುದು. ಅಥವಾ ಆ ಪದಾರ್ಥ ಚೆನ್ನಾಗಿದ್ದರೂ ಇವನಿಗೆ ಅನುಭವಿಸುವ ಕಾಲ ದಾಟಿ ಹೋಗಬಹುದು. 

ಅವಳ ಬಳಿ ಅನೇಕ ಸೊಗಸಾದ ಜರಿ ಸೀರೆಗಳಿವೆ. ಈಗ ಅವನ್ನು ಉಟ್ಟು ಮೆರೆಯುವ, ಸಂತೋಷ ಪಡುವ ವಯಸ್ಸು. ಆದರೆ ಅವನ್ನು ಪೆಟ್ಟಿಗೆಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಮಡಿಸಿಟ್ಟು, ನುಸು ಗುಳಿಗೆಗಳ ಕಂಪನ್ನು ಕೊಟ್ಟು, ಆಗಾಗ ತೆಗೆದು ನೋಡಿ ಸಂತೋಷ ಪಡುತ್ತಾಳೆ. ಆಸೆಗಣ್ಣಿಂದ ನೋಡುವ ಅಕ್ಕ ತಂಗಿಯರಿಗೂ ಒಮ್ಮೆಯೂ ಉಡಲು ಕೊಡುವುದಿಲ್ಲ. ವರ್ಷಗಳ ನಂತರ ಇಟ್ಟಲ್ಲೇ, ಮಡಿಸಿಟ್ಟ ಕಡೆಯೇ, ಆ ಸೀರೆಗಳು ತೂತು ಬೀಳುತ್ತವೆ. ಆಥವಾ ಅವು ಚೆನ್ನಾಗಿದ್ದರೂ ಇವಳಿಗೆ ಉಡುವ ಕಾಲ ದಾಟಿತು. "ಅಬ್ಬಾ, ಇವೆಷ್ಟು ಭಾರ. ನಾನು ಉಡಲಾರೆನಮ್ಮ" ಎಂದು ನಿಟ್ಟುಸಿರು ಬಿಡುತ್ತಾಳೆ. ಇದೇ ಜಿಪುಣತ್ವದ ಪರಿಣಾಮ. "ತಾನೂ ತಿನ್ನ. ಪರರಿಗೂ ಕೊಡ" ಎನ್ನುವ ಗಾದೆ ಹುಟ್ಟಿದ್ದೇ ಇಂತಹವರನ್ನು ಸೂಚಿಸಲು. 

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ಆಸೆಗೆ ಪರ್ಯಾಯವಾಗಿ ಬಳಕೆಯಲ್ಲಿರುವ ಇನ್ನೊಂದು ಪದ ಕಾಮ. ಇದು ಸಂಸ್ಕೃತ ಪದವಾದರೂ ಸರಿಸಮನಾಗಿ ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲೂ ಮತ್ತು ಇತರ ಅನೇಕ ಭಾರತೀಯ ಭಾಷೆಗಳಲ್ಲೂ ಈ ಪದದ ಪ್ರಯೋಗ ಉಂಟು. ಈ "ಕಾಮ" ಎರಡು ಕಡೆ ಪ್ರಮುಖವಾಗಿ ಕಾಣಿಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳುತ್ತದೆ. "ಧರ್ಮ, ಅರ್ಥ, ಕಾಮ, ಮೋಕ್ಷ" ಎನ್ನುವ ನಾಲ್ಕು ಪುರುಷಾರ್ಥಗಳು. ಜೀವನದಲ್ಲಿ ಸಾಧಿಸಬೇಕಾದ ನಾಲ್ಕು ಗುರಿಗಳು. ಹಾಗೆಯೇ "ಕಾಮ, ಕ್ರೋಧ, ಲೋಭ, ಮೋಹ, ಮದ, ಮತ್ಸರ" ಎಂಬ ಅರಿಷಡ್ವರ್ಗಗಳು. ಜೀವನದಲ್ಲಿ ದೂರ ಇಡಬೇಕಾದ, ಪ್ರಯತ್ನ ಪಟ್ಟು ಜಯಿಸಬೇಕಾದ ಆರು ಶತ್ರುಗಳು. 

ಮಹಾಭಾರತದಲ್ಲಿ ಒಂದು ಪ್ರಸಂಗ ಬರುತ್ತದೆ. "ನಾಲ್ಕು ಪುರುಷಾರ್ಥಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಯಾವುದು ಮುಖ್ಯ? ಯಾವುದನ್ನು ಮೊದಲು ಸಾಧಿಸಬೇಕು?" ಎನ್ನುವ ಚರ್ಚೆ ನಡೆಯುತ್ತದೆ. "ಧರ್ಮವೇ ಶ್ರೇಷ್ಠ. ಅದನ್ನೇ ಗುರಿಯಾಗಿಸಬೇಕು" ಎಂದು ಧರ್ಮರಾಯ ಹೇಳುತ್ತಾನೆ. "ಹಾಗಲ್ಲ. ಜೀವನದಲ್ಲಿ ಏನು ಸಾಧಿಸಬೇಕಾದರೂ ಅದಕ್ಕೆ ಮೂಲದ್ರವ್ಯ ಅರ್ಥ. ಆದ್ದರಿಂದ ಅದನ್ನೇ ಮೊದಲು ಸಂಪಾದಿಸಬೇಕು" ಎನ್ನುತ್ತಾನೆ ಅರ್ಜುನ. ಭೀಮಸೇನಾದರೋ "ಎಲ್ಲಕ್ಕೂ ಮೂಲ ಕಾಮ. ಅದಿಲ್ಲದಿದ್ದರೆ ಏನೂ ಇಲ್ಲ. ಅದೇ ಮುಖ್ಯ" ಎನ್ನುತ್ತಾನೆ. 

ಮನುಷ್ಯ ಇನ್ನಾದರೂ ಮಾಡಬೇಕಾದರೆ ಎರಡೇ ಕಾರಣಗಳು. ಮೊದಲನೆಯದು "ಸುಖ ಪ್ರಾಪ್ತಿ" ಆಗಬೇಕೆನ್ನಿಸುವ ಆಸೆ. ಈಗಿರುವುದಕ್ಕಿಂತ ಚೆನ್ನಾಗಿರುವ ಸ್ಥಿತಿ ಬೇಕು ಎಂದು ಅನೇಕ ಪ್ರಯತ್ನ ಮಾಡುತ್ತಾನೆ. ಎರಡನೆಯದು "ದುಃಖ ನಿವೃತ್ತಿ" ಆಗಲೆಂಬ ಆಸೆ. ಅಂದರೆ ಈಗಿರುವ ಯಾವುದೋ ಕೊರತೆ ಅಥವಾ ನೋವನ್ನು ಕಳೆದುಕೊಳ್ಳುವುದು. ಇವೆರಡೂ ಇಲ್ಲದಿದ್ದರೆ ಮನುಷ್ಯ ನಿಷ್ಕ್ರಿಯನಾಗಿ ಸುಮ್ಮನೆ ಕೂಡುತ್ತಾನೆ. ಈ ಸ್ಥಿತಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಅವನು ಏನೂ ಮಾಡುವುದಿಲ್ಲ!  ಕಾಮವೇ ನಾಲ್ಕು ಪುರುಷಾರ್ಥಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಮುಖ್ಯ ಎಂದು ಭೀಮಸೇನ ಹೇಳುವುದು ಇದೇ ಕಾರಣಕ್ಕೆ. ಧರ್ಮ ಸಾಧಿಸಬೇಕೆನ್ನುವುದಕ್ಕೆ ಮೂಲ ಹಾಗೆ ಬದುಕಬೇಕೆಂಬ ಆಸೆ. ಅದರಿಂದಲೇ ಮುಂದಿನ ಪ್ರಯತ್ನ. ಬೇರೆ ಪುರುಷಾರ್ಥಗಳನ್ನು ಸಾಧಿಸಲು ಮೂಲದ್ರವ್ಯವಾದ ಅರ್ಥ ಸಂಪಾದನೆಯೂ ಈ ಆಸೆಯಿಂದಲೇ. ಇದೇ "ಕಾಮ ಎಲ್ಲ ಪುರುಷಾರ್ಥಗಳಿಗೂ ಮೂಲ" ಎಂದು ಭೀಮಸೇನ ಹೇಳಿದ ಮಾತಿನ ತಾತ್ಪರ್ಯ. 

ಆದ್ದರಿಂದ ಆಸೆ ಅಥವಾ ಕಾಮ ಇರುವುದು ತಪ್ಪಲ್ಲ. ಅದು ಅತಿ ಆಸೆ, ಕೆಟ್ಟ ಆಸೆ, ದುರಾಸೆ ಆಗಬಾರದು. ಹೊಟ್ಟೆಕಿಚ್ಚು, ಅಸೂಯೆ, ಮತ್ಸರಗಳಿಗೆ ದಾರಿ ಮಾಡಬಾರದು. ಆಸೆಯಿಂದ ನ್ಯಾಯವಾಗಿ ಸಂಪಾಸಿದ್ದು ಸರಿಯಾಗಿ ಅನುಭವಿಸಬೇಕು. ಜಿಪುಣತನದಿಂದ ಹಾಳಾಗಬಾರದು. ಸುಖ ಜೀವನಕ್ಕೆ ಇದೇ ಸರಿಯಾದ ದಾರಿ!

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"ತಿಥಿ - ಅತಿಥಿ - ಅಭ್ಯಾಗತ" ಎನ್ನುವ ಸಂಚಿಕೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಹಿಂದೆ "ಕೋಶಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಕೊಡುವ ಸಮಾನಾರ್ಥ ಪದಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಸೂಕ್ಷ್ಮವಾದ ವ್ಯತ್ಯಾಸಗಳಿರುತ್ತವೆ" ಎಂದು ಹೇಳಿತ್ತು.  ಅದರ ವಿವರ ಬೇಕಿದ್ದಲ್ಲಿ ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಕ್ಲಿಕ್ ಮಾಡಿ. ಸಮಾನಾರ್ಥಕ ಪದಗಲ್ಲಿ ಇರುವ ಸೂಕ್ಷ್ಮ ವ್ಯತ್ಯಾಸಗಳನ್ನು ವಿವರಿಸಲು ಪಕೋಡ ತಿನ್ನುವ ಆಸೆಯಾಯಿತು!