This and That aka Daily Musings

Vidula and I celebrated our 24th wedding anniversary yesterday. 24 years would mean that I have spent approximately 30% of my life so far in Vidula's company (assuming I survive till 75).  Time spent with our spouses is considerably more than what we get with our other relatives. A spouse gets connected through the ritual we call 'marriage'. Rest are thrust upon us simply by the accident of our birth. Today we have a say in choosing our spouse or partner. So why not make an attempt to have a lasting relationship? We human beings crave for some social connection. One even has the option of choosing a partner of one's own sex if one is so inclined. Marriage is not yet legally recognised but staying together is possible. No relationship is perfect in the Bollywood sense....it just cannot be. Life is unpredictable and the path we traverse unknown and with twists and turns. What better way to navigate this uncertainty than to have your partner alongside?  Vidula and I have h

I have translated one page of Gopal Ganesh Agarkar’s essay of 1880. Agarkar, a social reformer, was way ahead of his times. Just imagine writing this 130 years ago! Today gender equality and equal opportunity are buzz words but Agarkar was a true liberal and feminist much before such concepts were coined. -------------------------------------------------------------- This is a translated extract from Gopal Ganesh Agarkar’s path breaking essay written in 1880. The complete essay can be found in “Samagra Agarkar Vangmay Khanda 1”. Agarkar was one of the foremost social reformers Maharashtra has ever seen. ------------------------------------------------------------- Both genders should have access to education and that too in the same classroom! The title of today’s essay will confound and even cause turmoil in the minds of many readers. But I cannot help it. It is imperative that I write on issues about which I have utter conviction. If knowledge is imparted to students of both th