Dear Readers,
FC #62 on ‘Solastalgia’ was well received and I thank you all for your compliments. I would like to make a mention of what Capt. Sharma said: “The items I value will have no place after my time. My collection of books, my cherished set of pens, Vishisht Seva Medal award, Commission Parchment, rare crockery, various naval crests and momentos will find no place. My children abroad may not attach the same value to my collections. It is a matter of solastalgia which I think many of my generation have to face.”
Many recalled their teachers and Ashvin reminisced about the teachers of the 50s and 60s who were poorly paid and yet were passionate about teaching. I couldn’t agree with him more. Capt Sarma spoke of teachers who left an impression on him.
P A Verghese felt that the English word ’Teacher’ is not representative of the various attributes of a teacher that are captured in Sanskrit words: Adhyapak, Upadhyay, Pandit, Acharya, and Drishta to the Guru. I looked up and found that:
1. Adhyapak gives you information.
2. Upadhyaya imparts knowledge combined with information.
3. Acharya imparts skills.
4. Pandit (could be Pradhyapak) gives you a deep insight into a subject.
5. Drishta is a visionary and teaches you to think in that manner.
6. Guru, one who is able to awaken the wisdom in you, leading you from darkness to light.
Here’s a rib-tickler: A politician tells the teacher “I am what I am today, because of you”. The teacher says: “Don’t blame me. I tried my best.”
September 12th may be of some interest to Tennis buffs: On 12th Sept 2004, Roger Federer won his first US Open title, beating Lleyton Hewitt. On 12th September 2011, Novak Djokovic won his first US Open title beating Raphael Nadal.
Viva La Vida
You have come across the famous phrase “The king is dead, long live the king”. This seemingly contradictory phrase originated from the French phrase “Le roi est mort, vive le roi!’ which was used for the first time when Charles VII ascended the French throne. The first part of the phrase announces the death of the previous king and the second part hails the new king and wishes him long life.
This Spanish phrase ‘Viva La Vida' means “Long Live Life”. One can correlate this with ‘the king is dead, long live the king’ to mean that a king may die but another takes his place and life goes on.
The phrase ‘Viva La Vida' has become very famous by its depiction in the famous painting of the renowned Mexican artist Frida Kahlo titled “Viva La Vida, Watermelons”.
Frida’s life story can be an inspiration to all those who believe that they have been dealt a bad hand by destiny to overcome that feeling and resolve to pursue and realise their dreams.
Frida was born on June 6, 1907, in Coyocoan near Mexico City. She grew up in her family home Casa Azul, the Blue House.
At the age of 6, she contracted Polio which affected her right leg. She limped but had the guts and determination to play sports.
In September of 1922, she was involved in a ghastly bus accident and both her spine and pelvis were fractured leaving her physically and psychologically distraught. She had to remain in a bodysuit for weeks. To overcome the drudgery of loneliness and time hanging heavy on her, she started painting and finished her self-portrait in 1923. She said about her self-portraits, “I paint myself because I am often alone and I am the subject I know best.”
Frida had an unhappy marriage, though she loved her husband, fellow artist Diego Rivera, deeply. On top of that, she could not conceive due to the damage caused to her spine though she was very fond of children.
She continued to paint and created one masterpiece after another. In 1934, Frida painted “The Broken Column” in which she depicted herself in a surgical brace with nails all through her body, an indication of the pain she was going through.
In 1950, when her health condition worsened she underwent many surgeries including amputation of her right leg to prevent the spread of gangrene.
Sometime in 1953, she started working on ‘Viva La Vida, Watermelons’. She considered watermelons to represent the life cycle and called it ‘long live life, watermelon’. The painting which was completed a few days before her death at the age of 47 in 1954 was also interpreted to depict her struggle. The hard exterior was symbolic of her resolve to develop a thick skin to overcome the pain, agony and anguish she was put through. In her mind, the seeds of the watermelon represented fertility and the promise of a new life. But she had no desire to be reborn as was made clear by the last entry in her diary: ‘I hope the exit is joyful - and I hope never to return.’
Dear Readers, her biography is worth every minute you spend reading it. You can access it and also get a glimpse of her many paintings here: Frida Kahlo biography
If you are a movie buff, please watch ‘Frida’ on Amazon Prime, in which the titular role is played by Salma Hayak. I’m sure you will enjoy it.
Viva La Vida, closer home, can also be found in Jackfruit. If during her time Frida had come across the jackfruit, who knows, she may have painted ‘Viva La Vida Jackfruit’. As you all know, jackfruit and the tree are considered the most useful of all the trees and fruits. Right from the tree to the seed inside, everything is edible either by humans or animals. It does represent ‘long live life’.
Viva La Vida is an aspirational statement. It makes us all believe that living life is not always easy and yet each of us does our best to overcome the challenges and live long enough to tell the stories to our grandchildren.
I have personally witnessed physically and visually challenged people being in single-minded pursuit to achieve what they were passionate about. Way back in the mid-60s my father had a junior lawyer, Raghuramachar, who was polio afflicted and who with grit and determination commuted to the law college in a manual wheelchair which he operated with handheld pedals.
He passed his exams with distinction, interned under my father and later became quite successful in life. He had a younger brother who also became a lawyer and he would lift his brother off the wheelchair and seat him on one of the chairs in the court hall. When the Judge took his seat he would acknowledge Raghuramachar’s presence and accept his apologies for not standing up in court.
There are many such stories. Stephen Hawking, Helen Keller, Oprah Winfrey, Tom Cruise, Franklin Roosevelt, Nelson Mandela all lived a life that was full of challenges and they gave a new meaning to Viva La Vida.
Back home, Sudha Chandran with a Jaipur Foot became a much-acclaimed dancer and actor. Rajnikant’s transformation from a bus conductor in Bangalore to a Super Star is also well known. There are so many more of these stories; I welcome readers to add to this list.
Finally, let me also tell you that “Viva la Vida” is a modern classic song by the British rock band, Coldplay. It was written by all members of the band for their fourth album ‘Viva la Vida’. when Louis XVI was walking up to be publicly executed via guillotine, he tried to give one final speech to his people but the drums’ sounds and people’s screams were too loud so no one could hear him. Coldplay’s song “Viva La Vida” is an interpretation of king Louis’ last words before his death. I strongly recommend that you listen to this song with headphones on; click here to listen.
The album cover features a rendition of French artist Eugène Delacroix’s historical painting known as “Liberty Leading the People”, which commemorates the French Revolution of 1830.
Covid too shall pass and Viva La Vida! See you next week.
Lovely inspiring views Pras, although when I first saw the title of the post in Whatsapp I had quickly read it as Viva la Vada, postponing a fuller reading for later, a mischievous autosuggestion played by my mind. Long live our vadas anyway, they deserve eternal and universal recognition.
As a hobby painter myself I was aware of Frida and her works, but not her life story. Hers and the other examples you mentioned are pure celebrations of life.
Viva la Vida. Indian beliefs of Karma and Dharma, so beautifully illustrated in the Mahabharata, help us do just that. Let us not forget.
Depravation, pain, suffering brings out the best in humans. There cannot be a greater motivator than the desire to overcome all odds to succeed. Hellen Keller the well known American author and educator was blind and deaf. Her education and training represent an extraordinary accomplishment in the education of persons with disabilities. From a total of 19 athletes at Rio Paralympics, India secured 19 medals as against 127 participating in the regular events.
Ekalavya in the Indian epic Mahabharata surpassed the great Arjuna as a self taught person in archery when the great Guru Dronacharya refused to teach him the skill on account of his humble circumstances.
Then there is a Abdul Kalam who rose to the office of a President, though born to a humble boats man who ferried pilgrims from Rameswaram to Danushkoti.
But I was at a loss if Dhritarashtra qualified to this genre. He was born blind and yet he fathered one hundred sons !
By the way the date of the French Revolution is 1789