I started writing this post on New Year's Day. FC 177 on NPA, evoked plenty of interesting comments. Many were aghast that I hadn’t read Harry Potter. Mani called it a sacrilege. Let me share some of the other comments.
Rama Iyer says: “You should read or watch HP for all its imagery as well. Watch the movies, maybe? The characters, the structures etc are so ingrained that whenever I went to the Bombay High Court after reading this, I felt I was in Hogwarts, and whenever I travelled by train, I would remember the famous platform. Thank you for recommending 'Covenant of Water'. Interesting take about whether cinema can qualify to be a performing art. I had not thought of this. But would giving multiple takes before the camera qualify as performing?”
Rama, you raise an interesting question, the answer to which is not far to see. Performing arts are identified with a live audience. The characters in a play have no second chance. Their ability to emote and live the role in real time on stage is far superior to the many ‘cut and retake’ of acting before a camera.Dr Naina says: “As usual, I enjoyed my bed coffee, literally! It came in at 5:30 am on a cold winter morning and was as, usual brilliantly penned on a very interesting topic, NPA. We otherwise wouldn’t have given it a second thought, but it was food for thought, as many of us go through the motions of life mechanically without giving attention to what we needed to and land up with NPAs and caught on the wrong foot. I’ve two NPAs already and now in my 60s have realised how busy you may be, please take pains before you realise your gains have gone in vain.”
Lakshmi Raman says: “That was a lovely and interesting read. To segue from NPAs to non-performing offspring to performances. To answer your question as to cinema—or books, or social media, or podcasts for that matter—these are more in the realm of performative. Which is, while they are not living and performing before us, they have the power to change things through their language, whether visual or auditory or thought. Thank you for stimulating my grey cells in a different way this Sunday. Have a good year ahead!”
Tarun Kunzru in a way answers a question that Arun Balakrishnan poses: “With age, superannuated directors can be hired by entities that would benefit from their knowledge, goodwill and image. As if NPA has been restructured.” As for cinema and performing arts, Tarun says: “In my book, theatre is performing art and cinema isn’t”
Shahji Jacob agrees that Sovereign Gold Bonds make a wise investment. He says: “I agree that SGB is a sort of performing asset. The fairly long holding period ensures that you have a great value on the redemption date. It is an asset you can fall back on when in dire need.”
Krupa Murthy says: “Brilliant is not the word for your NPA!! In my estimation, my parents are rated my top PA! They have brought me to this world to witness, enjoy and suffer the World of Art!! Next is my soulmate who is the constant Artist in my life making it worthwhile!! All along, Music has been my most comforting PA! Last but not least is the magical brew you have been brewing for us week in and week out, bringing in its wake the magical formula for peace and anticipation, a very profitable asset indeed. Bless you and Geetha today and through 2024!”
Atul Rajadhyaksh says: “Pras- Simply brilliant! The canvas covered in your NPA article was vast, and thought-provoking, as each of your articles is! Your recommendations on reading help improve the quality of life!! It reminds me of ‘Life is a bicycle and to keep your balance, you need to be moving forward.’ You are precisely doing that Pras! Keep it on!!!”
Dear readers, I realise that comments have taken up some space, but they are worth reading considering that they add to the narrative on NPA. I hope you find the comments interesting.
I am not sure if the acronym NPA influenced those who sent me. New Year WhatsApp messages. Some were blind forwards of a variety of pictures, sent many times over. But the standard acronym was HNY. I couldn’t for the life of me understand why the person would find it difficult to compose a properly worded New Year greeting.
As I was pondering over it, I got a message which said NYG to you. I had by then sent properly worded New Year greetings to my younger cousins. Pat came their reply, STU. I hoped they meant ‘same to you’ and not ‘stop texting uncle’. Another teenager replied WUTS to my greetings. Just when I had thought there would be no other acronym, came HNLY as a reply to my New Year greeting. I knew what it meant but wanted my readers to figure out what it meant and also share some of the acronymic texts they received. Please read my post on abbreviations 🔗Filter Coffee #065 - by M R Prasanna.
🐟 Other Fish To Fry
This idiom, ‘I have other fish to fry’, has nothing to do with fish or frying it. It is about being evasive or avoidant. The closest colloquial phrase would be ‘I have other things to do’ or ‘I have better things to do’. If one wants to be abrasive, it can be ‘You think I don’t have better things to do?’.
The idiom may point to some possibilities. People are reluctant to listen to the woes of others, or they avoid getting involved in someone's problems or worse still, they find an excuse not to help.
In sharp contrast, some people are eager to get involved in others' affairs more out of curiosity than with real intent to help them. Does it mean they have nothing better to do and are fishing for information to keep the rumour mill churning?
Evasion & avoidance are very interesting concepts that have a co-relation with the idiom. If you say you have another fish to fry, you could be either evading or avoiding getting into someone else’s problem. On the face of it, they appear to mean the same thing, namely to shy away or keep away from someone or something.
All of us know that tax evasion can be an offence, but tax avoidance is about tax planning.
However, tax accountants will tell you that some of the avoidance measures can stink—like a fish! In our daily lives, our conduct and transparency determine if we are being evasive or avoiding. If someone should ask for your opinion on a controversial topic, you could give an evasive reply or avoid getting into that discussion.
Avoiding is an ulterior intentional act. You have no intention or desire to engage with someone or get involved in some discussion. Evasion involves a scheming mind coupled with a degree of dishonesty or deceit. If one is accused of an offence and fears arrest, one could avoid arrest by seeking anticipatory bail. Another person in the same situation could flee the country, as we have seen. State of mind viz mens rea plays out in both evasion & avoidance in varying degrees.
‘I have other fish to fry’ is a way of avoiding if you truly have other pressing matters to attend to, but when if you don’t wish to get involved. You may not have any fish to fry, but pretend to have one.
All of us get invited to various functions. Some of which we feel obligated to attend and some not so. It is unavoidable when so obligated, but avoidable if you are not obligated. You could find an excuse which is, having a fictitious fish to fry.
It is quite common for people to say ‘thank you for the invitation, I will check with my secretary’ or ‘Oh! What a pity, on the same day I am scheduled to be at another function which cannot be avoided, but I will see if I can attend’ Or ‘Let me see, it is hard to predict where I might be on that day.’ These are evasive replies, but whether they result in avoidance is uncertain. Non-committal responses may well be evasive or avoided, depending on the sincerity of that person. One could change one’s mind at the last minute shuddering to navigate through the traffic or rain, but then you have to come up with a ‘fishy’ excuse when you meet the host next.
One has to be very careful hiding behind the fish. If you are caught on the wrong foot blowing away your alibi, the fish will stink, like the Bombay Duck, which is not a duck, but fish put out to dry. Simply put, if ever the truth comes out, you are fried.
It is possible to be collaborative even when you have other fish to fry. Dividing up the chores can help. If you could drop the kids off at school on your way to the office, your wife may be free to fry other fish, namely attend to other chores. In the office too, you help your colleague complete his job and your job gets done with his help.
There are situations when you would like to help a friend, but you find yourself unable to, as you have a ‘bigger fish to fry’. Your son would like to get some help with his homework, but you have an official deadline to make a presentation. Prioritising the tasks is all about Which fish you need to fry first. Not helping the kid with his homework because you are watching a game on TV will be a clear case of a fishy evasion of parental obligations.
Integrity is the differentiator between evasion and avoidance. This is more so when you are obligated to perform. For example, if one must be a caregiver to one's parents, being evasive results in abject neglect. In contrast, doing only what you can afford is unavoidable as you may have other fish to fry, viz commitments.
It is also possible to test evasion and avoidance through an ethical and moral lens. One can shirk performing a duty predicated on morality by giving oneself the excuse of many other fish to fry. Then you are not being true to yourself, but it is baggage you choose to carry. But a duty founded on ethics needs to be performed and there cannot be any ‘fishy’ excuse.
Though evasion is ethically and legally wrong, avoidance is a matter of discretion and predisposition. You avoid meeting certain people or taking part in certain events given your pre-existing experiences which are not to your liking.
When something is inconvenient to talk about, you tend to avoid it in the hope that the problem will go away. I recommend you read 🔗https://mrprasanna.substack.com/p/filter-coffee-159
Then some people avoid meeting people and some love meeting people, They are either introverts or extroverts. Neither of them has any fish to fry. It is just that they either dislike meeting people or like to be part of a gathering, even at the risk of being garrulous. If you have time, please read 🔗Filter Coffee #118 - by M R Prasanna
Dear Readers, I came to Mumbai for a week-long stay and unfortunately caught a bug. I thought of making it the excuse for avoiding writing this post. But then, I somehow managed to write it. I hope you like it. Please don’t avoid commenting on this post or be evasive, even if you wish to fry my fish!
In a lighter vein:
Why did the football star decide to pay all the taxes?
Cos, he knew it would be messi if he didn't.
In the US if you evade tax, the Feds give you free housing, food and a roommate all funded by taxpayers.
A famous chef was caught for tax evasion and the charges were that he also cooks the books.
Dear Readers, I am back in Bangalore on the 7th, by when you would have read this post. I am told, COVID is again active in Karnataka. Please mask up and take care. See you next week. Ciao!!
Thank you Lakshmi for encouraging me to look for more fish to fry :)
Interesting as usual...these writings giving us an insight and is reminding us all of our day to day behaviour and the techniques that are used to avoid and escape situations that we cannot or do not want to get into...for whatever reasons of our own... in our conscience we need to ensure as long as it is not deceptive or harmful to others or even ourselves.
Sometimes whether you have another fish to fry or not, for one's own protection it becomes mandatory on our part to confront a situation for our own welfare.
Good to think about these things sometimes and self analyze.
Keep encouraging us to be good human beings.