Hindustan Times
‘I have answered three questions…’
Sometimes virtue is really its own reward.
I finally got around to cleaning up two ready-to-burst desk draws in office and found a precious lost book. It used to live in my bag for years, so I’m thrilled to get it back. It’s an anthology of verse and prose for private circulation made in 1992 by Soli Sorabjee and the late Rosalind Wilson,
founding editor of Target, a longago magazine for children. Ros loved poetry readings and arranged many at Soli’s house, with great taste and style. I was a giggly, frivolous teen (deep sigh…never grew up) and quite disgraced myself chortling at lines like “…a woman wailing for her demon lover” or worse, that line in Tennyson’s poem, The Lady of Shalott, when she says, “The curse is come upon me…” which is every schoolgirl’s certified giggle-maker.
Soli gave me a copy of this wonderful book back then and it contains some of my absolute favourites in the English language. It is divided into 16 themes. Here’s a childhood favourite by Lewis Carroll under ‘Humorous’:
‘You are old, Father William’
‘You are old, Father William,’ the young man said,
‘And your hair has become very white;
And yet you incessantly stand on your head -
Do you think, at your age, it is right?’
‘In my youth,’ Father William replied to his son,
‘I feared it might injure the brain;
But, now that I’m perfectly sure I have none,
Why, I do it again and again.’
‘You are old,’ said the youth, ‘as I mentioned before,
And have grown most uncommonly fat;
Yet you turned a back-somersault in at the door -
Pray, what is the reason for that?’
‘In my youth,’ said the sage, as he shook his grey locks,
I kept all my limbs very supple
By the use of this ointment -one shilling the box-
Allow me to sell you a couple?’
‘You are old,’ said the youth, ‘and your jaws are too weak
For anything tougher than suet;
Yet you finished the goose, with the bones and the beak -
Pray, how did you manage to do it?’
‘In my youth,’ said his father, ‘I took to the law,
And argued each case with my wife;
And the muscular strength, which it gave to my jaw,
Has lasted the rest of my life.’
‘You are old,’ said the youth, ‘one would hardly suppose
That your eye was as steady as ever;
Yet you balanced an eel on the end of your nose -
What made you so awfully clever?’
‘I have answered three questions, and that is enough,’
Said his father. ‘Don’t give yourself airs!
Do you think I can listen all day to such stuff?
Be off, or I’l Kick you downstairs!’
And along with the original drawing by Tenniel, the man who illustrated Alice In Wonderland‘, here’s a read-aloud:
My father’s preferred, ominous answer if we got on his nerves (which was always), was, “I have answered three questions…” - hearing which, we wisely made ourselves scarce and ’stayed not upon the order of our going’. So this is a really, really personal poem.
Skipping through this anthology now with little squeaks of joy whenever I spot another old favourite, which is every few pages, I stand on my brakes at this one:
Silence
Silence is not merely an absence of noise.
Real silence begins when a reasonable being withdraws from the noise in order to find peace and order in his inner sanctuary. There, knowledge becomes possible, in the biblical meaning of the term: a living contact with truth, a transformation in love. An encounter with God…
True silence is welcome. It has no common grounds with the mutism of a bitter heart, brooding over its resentments, poisoning itself in endless murmuring….
- Peter Minard
As to which, I unplugged the TV at home five years ago. This month I sent it right out of the house to my friends Usha and Murali (they don’t have a TV either, en principe), because Murali’s mother is visiting from Madras and likes to watch religious/spiritual programmes on Podhighai (Tamil Doordarshan) and other Tamil channels.
I see the news on one of the many TVs at work, maybe once a day.
The price I pay for no TV at home is missing out on HBO, Discovery and NatGeo.
The prize I win is ‘not merely the absence of noise’, of the overall bandwidth of ugly, unmodulated voices and weirdzillas who sound barking mad to me. The prize is ‘peace and order in my inner sanctuary’. It’s a chance to fill my head with sounds I like, or better still, no sound at all.
My other friends do worry and wonder if I’m nuts. “Are you bucking for sainthood, all that religion?” they ask sarcastically. Not really. I mean, my colleague Vasantha Angamuthu said just the other day, “Renuka, I hear you swear like a trooper, whatever a trooper swears like.” 
I just LIKE silence, like a personal sound spa:
‘Go placidly amidst the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons…avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexatious to the spirit …whatever your labours and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul. With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.
- Max Ehrman
Here’s a bit of something that I rate as ‘silence‘.
And my all-time faves in this department are the recordings of the late Clara Haskil:
(2 votes, average: 5 out of 5)
Loading ...Posted by Renuka Narayanan on Thursday, May 28, 2009 at 7:19 pm
Filed under She-baba · Tagged 'Humorous, Alice inthe wonderland, anthology, Lewis Carroll, silence, Soli Sorabjee, Tennyson's poem
Hi Renukaji, Father william was an old favourite of mine and i remember as a callow teen mockingly saying “go placidly amidst the noise and haste” to my Dad as I turned up our stereo volume **** with the Atom Heart Mother LP ( the one with the cows on the cover by Floyd) and there are other scattered gems from a softer, slower but perhaps deeper pre-internet, pre-satellte TV age; where we had less information, but perhaps more knowledge - in fact kids on facebook do worse at school as research has shown. We cant go back to the age of dusty libraries, but we have to figure a way of raising a knowledgeable and analytical generation in our brave new converged & connected world.
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renuka Reply:
May 29th, 2009 at 11:16 am
Hi, blasted Floyd and Tull for a spell myself but ghuma-firaake kept coming back to Hindustani-Carnatic, dunno why. Finally figured that’s my home so I’d stay there. Don’t mind listening along when others want to hear their stuff. Guess I’m okay with it because I can go back home! Wish they’d de-link Culture from whoring as a mere spectacle for Tourism and link it to Education, if active Cultural Literacy was part of Sarva Shikhsha Abhiyaan, we’d have a better-integrated India and less anxious (and therefore angry) Indians.
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Hi Renuka,
I too, had banished the TV from my home for the last 5 years. Recently, one of the travel companies insisted in giving one as a gift. Well, it stands on its pedestal, but only gets played when I run a DVD. I’m quite convinced that TV is, on the whole, too demanding. It takes the eyeballs and the ears. The radio, on the other hand, is not intrusive and allows me to read while I listen. Plus there is music.
One misses the live cricket and the Natgeo. But it is a small price to pay. On the other hand I have steadily waded through a whole cupboard-full of books. Hallelujah!! Not since summer hols during school, have I had so much time to read. Not just read - to cook, to tend to the plants, to write.
The best part, there is tranquillity in the home. And I won’t be surprised if my plants have been growing well as a consequence.
Who knows!!!
I wish I could have said ‘no’ much earlier.
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vikram Reply:
May 29th, 2009 at 3:57 am
woow thats very courageous of u maaan. and probably very wise too. when will i get all these smarts. all power to u
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renuka Reply:
May 29th, 2009 at 11:19 am
Hey Vikram, no smarts, just self-protection! Partho, I’m thrilled to discover there are more Mad Hatters out there.
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You really hit the midwicket thrice with Old father Williams, Mozart, and Clara. Open your wooden chest which you are using as sette. Keep posting such li’l titbit. Who wants TV ?
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Vulgarity, even a hint of it, seems to reap its own reward, too, quod erat demonstrandum.
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the poem of father william is so brilliantly funny. i could’nt stop laughing. thank you ma’am for this
the poem of Kaiser Bill is so naughty. Wish i too had this book.
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Glad you liked it, Vidhi. Will post more later!
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The tongue is firmly in the cheek in this one Renukaji…and without TV…my God…some strength you have…silence is golden and all…but it must get to you sometime?
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Hi Diva, funny how it doesn’t. I didn’t take a dramatic shapat. I just realised one day that I never switched it on. After paying my cable dues thrice in a row without ever having put the TV on, one day I just laughed and pulled out the plug, as a joke. It stayed that way. And when I moved house some months ago I didn’t get a connection at all.
This very evening I dropped in on a friend and she was watching stuff on Hallmark and I watched a bit with her. I was happy to hang out for some time with my friend and be fed some excellent food by her terrific cook. But no, not planning to call Tata Sky or whoever. It’s not strength of mind :), It’s some internal switch-off, damn, I feel weird now….Earth, can you hear me, this is Renuka calling Earth…!!!
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Diva Reply:
June 4th, 2009 at 11:04 am
Well then…may the force be with you!!!
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Hi di,
Father William Poem Reminded me when I was in 5th std and still discovring the pleasures of reading. It was part of our English syllabus..
You truly find gems and share with us..!!
Thanks a lot !
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U r most welcome! So glad you enjoy them, too.
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Brilliant, beautiful, topical. Poetry scores over prose by being visual, visceral at times. Always a pleasure reading your blog.
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renuka Reply:
June 1st, 2009 at 3:37 pm
Thank s!
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Harshal Reply:
June 1st, 2009 at 7:03 pm
Anytime. Took me the best of 30 years to appreciate it. Shame, i think. Just got into reading poetry by Borges and am finding it delightful. So good to see.
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renuka Reply:
June 2nd, 2009 at 8:38 pm
Oh yes. Feeling lousy about the Air France crash in the Atlantic and the beer-bottle muder in Delhi. Found this poem:
Remorse For Any Death
Free of memory and of hope,
limitless, abstract, almost future,
the dead man is not a dead man: he is death.
Like the God of the mystics,
of Whom anything that could be said must be denied,
the dead one, alien everywhere,
is but the ruin and absence of the world.
We rob him of everything,
we leave him not so much as a color or syllable:
here, the courtyard which his eyes no longer see,
there, the sidewalk where his hope lay in wait.
Even what we are thinking,
he could be thinking;
we have divvied up like thieves
the booty of nights and days.
Jorge Luis Borges
Dear Renuka,
Soli Sorabji’s gift to you is timeless. In changing times and moods like today, these poems are a reminder, that the Heart longs for beauty and literature does compensate those who treasure such values. A quiet evening with poetry and music could rekindle our hopes of a good living.
While I find you amazingly liberal, and yet you have ” Dogmas” such as “NO TV”. That does not gell with your thinking as Rigidity at times makes us hard on issues. You are young and enjoy life with the modern tools that you have at your disposal. Some Seminars, even discussions are educative and intellectually captivating. Sorry, I do not intend to offend you. I like your expression and through it you portray a liberal and honest down to Earth philosophy.
Back from US , I am here in London with my youngest boy and his two toddlers, boy 3 and a girl 7 months. Amidst their innocence, and the beautiful world they enjoy teach us that there is so much to be happy with small things than continuing conflicts and miseries in the world. I am thinking about those thousands Innocent Tamils who have lost their lives caught between the devil and the deep sea. We hope to see the end of that colossal tragedy .
The Summer is just peeping in London, with the cool winds and the occasional rains. and I am dreading the heat and humidity of my lovely place Chennai.
Regards, HMS.
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Dear Hamid, nice to hear from you. I enjoy your enjoyment of your family. Indeed, the weather is horrible now. Not rigid at all about TV for others, just tuned out myself, a personal choice that I was in a position to make so I went for it!
Best regards,
Renuka
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Hi Renuka,
Great post.
By showing the TV exit door you have made the better choice.TV as a medium has lost its sheen has become one of the source of pollution( cultrally).I have no TV at my home and never felt like buying the one also but sometime do watch it in official guest houses when i am travelling.just week back i was watching this Dance competition in one of the channel in which two participants did classical dance on the song from movie HUM( Jumma…).It was such insult to our classical dance what added further to the injury was that every body was giving standing ovation to the act.
I never understand the logic of showing clips of serials( Comedy circus,Balika vadhu…) on the news channel.May be they need all this to remain broadcast for 24*7.Realty shows are more of drama these days and nobody knows what really happened to winners.
Compared to TV silence acts as a great stress buster and gives instant feedback on your actions throughout the day.It gives you immense power to to give you choice on the right actions and is best for ones introspection.
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Hey, the sankhya is growing! Anurag, that’s Partho and you now, besides Usha-Murali. Never expected to find others who are tuned out like me. Some things are iconic though from Doordarshan’s heyday (Brunch did a nice cover on this). My best thing, besides Krishi Darshan which I was gape-mouthed riveted by, was ‘Ek chiriya, anek chiriya…’ . Also remember ‘Swimmy’ (the Fish!)… DD’s ‘Pradeshik Chitrahaar’ did a lot to unite the country. Every region felt silly by turn when a particularly useless song from ‘their’ language came on and then we’d forget it all and have ourselves a jolly Punjabi bhangra that always came as the finale!
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Dear Renuka,
Hi. Wish I could chuck my TV I am tempted everyday when I saw the rubbish beamed on cartoon channels and the kids lapping it up. The worst are the Chinese/Japanese ones. It is so addictive the minute the kids walk in their hand falls on the remote first.
The only good thing out of TV is both the children speak good Hindi for Tam Brahms. Last week when it was drizzling my little one all of 5 yelled out to his cousin Sharanya Kale Kale Badal Aa Rahe, Bijleee Kadak Rahi , Lagta Hai Baarish Aane Wali Hai.
I just read my post and K’s comments, I was talking about Shankacharya’s Bhaja Govindam. I don’t have the time now to quote from the shlokas will take out time later. To achieve spiritual goals and to realise the Supreme within one has to control the senses. Out of this to control lust is most difficult, so the Acharyas have asked us not to be enraptured by the female form but to attain Man Ki Ekagratha.
Just today I was listening to Vishaka Hari’s Katha Kalashebham on Sundara Kandam. She describes how Hanuman ventures into Ravana’s palace and saw beautiful women . He also saw a dining hall full of food. She says why does Valmiki describe all this. She goes on to add because Hanuman has full control over his senses - both lust and greed.
Maybe my understanding of shlokas are not good but in couple of places I did feel that it was written in the male perspective
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Finally - a place where I can admit to my own idiot-box abstinence. Thank you for making it possible Renuka. I have not watched TV since 1992, except for snatches in the company of others, back in the days when the box occupied the corner space in most drawing rooms and so you just had to endure it. While my daughter has grown up with her cartoons and stuff, I sat with her as she glued herself to Noddy or some toon with a shuffling octopus in it - I forget his name. Now that my kid has outgrown Bob the Builder, I find it is as many years since I have even set my eyes on the family set. The true test that told me that I had completely overcome any residual or unknown desire for this object was when I lived abroad for a few months at a time during training courses - alone - and did not feel the need to switch on the TV in the room even once.
I think I am normal otherwise. Smile.
Lovely pieces of verse from your thankfully - retrieved book. Keep sharing ! Does your book contain ‘Godfrey Gordon Gustavus Gore’ ?
And may I add another version our class circulated with many titters -
Jack and Jill
Went up the hill
To fetch a pail of water
God knows what they did up there…
But they came back with a ———-. (has to rhyme with WATER)
Ok, it is rather silly and this is supposed to be a ’spiritual’ blog, so I shall desist.
And may I request Latha to kindly let me know where I can source Vishaka Hari’s aforementioned discourse - I am assuming it is a discourse. Is it in Tamil or … ?
Thank you very much indeed for these lovely verses, legends and quotes…..
Oh, by the way, I just remembered the name of the shuffling octupus toon - Oswald.
Raji
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