Great Modern Lives: Charles Dickens

On any day, for any given reader, one of the most commonly familiar names that pop up at the mention of the word 'classics' is Charles Dickens. Dickens splurged the world with wonderfully touching classic tales that are to last for generations together and stay truly time immemorial. 

Born in Portsmouth in 1812, he went to a school in Chatham till when he was twelve. And, on the fateful day of his twelfth birthday, the force of inevitable circumstances pushed this young and brilliant twelve year old to quit school and work in the blacking factories of Warren. Turmoil surrounding him, with an overworked aching childhood, a father who was arrested and sent to the debtor's prisons in Marshalsea for a debt of £40, and a prolonging and never-ending struggle against abject poverty, greatly influenced Dickens' early writing as a child. 

After a brief stint with the job of a reporter, Dickens made the decision to turn full-time on what he knew and loved the most- writing. On his 24th birthday, he published Sketches by Boz, through which he threw a great deal of light illustrating the everyday life of the common man, his magnificent and captivating writing reaching to a wide audience who saw themselves in his words. It struck a chord in all those who read it, and it gained popularity with common sentiment.

Dickens completed writing The Pickwick Papers, Oliver Twist, Nicholas Nickleby, The Old Curiosity Shop, and Barnaby Rudge before going on his first ever trip to America. After his return, there came another spell of marvellous novels that were a pleasure to read, which include Martin Chuzzlewit, Dombey Son, David Copperfield, Christmas stories, Bleak House, Hard Times, and Little Dorrit. The gems of his career, the ones that he is undoubtedly popular for, came at a later stage when he gave to the world A Tale of Two Cities, Great Expectations, Our Mutual Friend, and the incomplete sotry of Edwin Drood.

In 1870, after two years of ill health, Dickens, who by that time had established himself as one of most proficient, classic authors, died at his home in Kent. Earlier the day of his passing, he had worked on his mystery story Edwin Drood. 

Dickens was a strong voice against the social evils of his time. His books recorded for eternity on the sufferings of the common people, and raised the hope for a better future. His pragmatic thoughts in helping the poor and educating children came much from his own experience. Written from a personal understanding of the societal issues, not just for the art of story telling but with a passion to turn the attention on to the looming loopholes that can be fixed, Dickens served as an emboldened voice to those who did not have their own. There were many political and social reforms after his death. Schools became better than those he depicted in Nicholas Nickleby, and hospital nurses improved than what the world saw through Mrs. Gamp from Martin Chuzzlewit. 

My first introduction to Dickens was Oliver Twist, and that may just be the day I developed a permanent soft-spot, and eventually a hopeless drool, for classics! Dickens really deserves to be put in the category of one of the greatest modern lives, with his endearing and invaluable contribution to both literature and society!

If you have never read Dickens, maybe you could start with A Tale Of Two Cities!

On Balance: An Autobiography

Title: On Balance: An Autobiography

Author: Leila Seth

Leila Seth, in her autobiography On Balance: An Autobiography, starts with the story of how she took up legal studies because of the fact that it could be conveniently combined with taking care of her son and husband. She then delves into her life in field of litigation talking about the difficulty she faced as a woman barrister in Calcutta in trying to find a senior, of her lighter moments as the sole woman judge on the otherwise all-male bench of the Delhi High Court, and her general courtroom experiences. She also portrays her views regarding corruption, discrimination and delay in the legal system. Some judgments dealing with education and with inter-personal and constitutional law have been highlighted by Leila Seth. She also, in great detail, narrates and reminisces her experiences as a member of the 15th Law Commission of India. The spirit of the book deals with taking India forward in its judicial journey. 

The title of her book, “On balance”, fits Leila Seth, as depicted by herself in the book. It was her balanced and sensitive approach of life around her that helped her become the first woman judge of the Delhi High Court, and then the first woman chief justice of a high court, paving the way for other women chief justices. She was judicious on the bench, but however retained the humanity in her. Her devotion to gender justice was evident in her book dealing with every law governing women, regardless of religion.

Injustice, death and discord are given their due but dignified place in the book. Having twice declined the offer of becoming a judge of the Patna High Court, because Patna held no career opportunities for her husband Prem Seth, this dedicated professional has also proven that you can be a committed homemaker simultaneously. What separates this book from others is that Justice Seth understands straight away how difficult it is to balance the demands of a high-pressure career in law, and the constant sacrifices that Indian wives and mothers anticipate, keeping it real.

The law was, and remains still, a male bastion. She, with great humour and vivid memories, describes an incident where a group of people entered the High Court to "sight-see" the woman judge! Justice Seth describes early tribulations faced by her as a rare woman lawyer. 

“I was used to arguing and doing the best for my client and case and then ‘letting the damn judge decide’. I soon realised that I was now that damn judge; and that the tremendous responsibility stopped with me.” 

“On Balance- An Autobiography” was a beautiful read. It teaches us many life lessons penned in the most impacting and real way. For all of us, this inspiring book is definitely in the must read category!

Sri Pingali Venkayya- The Man Behind Our Tiranga

I wrote this essay for a competition when I was in school. I did not know who Pingali Venkayya was before that, and felt pretty ashamed when I came to know that he is the man behind our national flag- Tiranga. I thought that I might have already put it up on my blog, and wanted to share the post today. But when I found that I hadn't, I wanted to share the essay, on account of India's 71st Republic Day, today! Happy Republic Day, and happy reading! Jai Hind!

Every free nation of the world has its own flag. It symbolizes the ideals that a country fundamentally stands for. At all national meetings, festivals, and occasions, it is the national flag that flies high. It is by the national tricolour, the tiranga, that India has its identity. Waving the national flag creates a sense of unity and patriotism in the country. Be it a cricket match, or a national event, the tricolour flag of India flies proudly. It is hoisted in the Red Fort every year by our President and Prime Minister during Independence Day, 15th August, and Republic Day, 26th January. And, this flag is a slightly altered form of Sri Pingali Venkayya’s design of the Indian National Flag.

Sri Pingali Venkayya was born in the village of Bhatlapenumarru, Krishna district, near Masulipatnam, Andhra Pradesh. After finishing his schooling at Machilipatnam, he went to Colombo for further studies. He first met Mahatma Gandhi while he served for the British in the Anglo-Boer war, fighting for the British, in South Africa. He was kindled and inspired by Gandhi, and was also greatly influenced by his ideas. He became a Gandhian.

During the duration of five years that Sri Pingali Venkayya stayed in North India, he actively participated in politics. After the 1906 Congress session with Dadabhai Naoroji, Pingali Venkayya manifested himself as an activist. 

During the National Conference of the Indian National Congress, Sri Venkayya came up with the proposal of having a unique flag for the Indian National Congress. Mahatma Gandhi liked and approved of Pingali Venkayya’s idea. He asked Venkayya to design a flag himself. Sri Pingali Venkayya proposed the tricolour(tiranga)- saffron, white and green- with a chakra or spinning wheel in the centre. This design was the basis for the National Flag of India. 

Our National Flag, in the form that it is now flown, was adopted during the meeting of Constituent Assembly held on the 22 July 1947, a few days before India's Independence from the British on 15 August, 1947. It served as the national flag of the Dominion of India between 15 August, 1947 and 26 January, 1950, and became the flag of Republic of India after that. The term "tricolour" or “tiranga” refers to the Indian national flag.

What do the three colours, that Sri Pingali Venkayya created for the Indian flag, represent?

The saffron colour represents courage, the white colour represents truth and peace, and the green colour represents faith and Prosperity. The saffron represents the Hindus, the white represents the Christians, and the green represents the Muslims, creating a unity among the three major religions of the Indian population. The Indian National flag is a perfect model representing an “Independent”, “Republic” and “Secular” India. It is the pictorial representation of the Nation.

Sri Pingali Venkayya definitely has to be attributed for creating the idea and design, on the basis of which our present National Flag of India has been created. It has been so many years since the adoption of our Indian flag, and still the flag is hoisted up creating a strong bond among the Indians. The tiranga unites the diversity of India.

Knowing about Pingali Venkayya’s contribution to the nation, and the important relevance it has in our nation today, will serve the purpose of institutional memories of the nation and the Freedom Struggle, to keep the youth of India motivated and inspired to stand up to basic values. This will help the youth to participate actively in Indian politics, and also be responsible citizens of India, upholding the constitutional values that India's flag stands for.

Sanskriti Express-On Rabindranath Tagore

Indian Railways launched Sanskriti Express to commemorate the 150th birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore. Throwing light on the life and works of the versatile genius Rabindranath Tagore, this mobile museum is visiting all parts of the country. The Sanskriti Express is at Chennai Central Railway Station between 3rd October and 6th October. On Sunday, I visited Chennai Central to see the mobile museum. There are 5 coaches. Rabindranath Tagore lived between 1861 and 1941. He was born on 7th May in Kolkata. He is fondly called Gurudev. When he was 8 years old, he started writing poems and published his first substantial poetry when he was 16. Rabindranath Tagore was a versatile person and explored various art forms. He was a poet, novelist, playwright, painter and musician who reshaped Bengali Literature and music.

He has to his credit

• Over a thousand poems
• 8 volumes of short stories
• Almost two dozen plays
• 8 novels
• Books and essays on Philosophy, Religion, Education and Social Topics
• More than 2000 songs and Composed music for them
• Many paintings

Other interesting facts include

• His offering of songs(Gitanjali) was introduced by W.B. Yeats.
• He was the only litterateur who penned the national anthem of two countries-Jana Gana Mana, the national anthem of India and Amar Shonar Bangla, the national anthem of Bangladesh.
• He won the Nobel Prize in Literature.
• He was knighted by King George V, which he renounced later.
• He founded the school which is now famously known as Visva-Bharathi University.
• His meetings with Albert Einstein and H. G. Wells are evidence of his brilliance.

Source: Sanskriti Yatra Mobile Museum hand-out by Indian Railways. Photos: taken by me from the display.

I also bought a handbag and a mobile pouch from the souvenir shop in the last coach of the train.