शब्द म्हणजे काय असतं?

 

शब्द – हा संवादाचा पाया, विचारांचा दरवाजा आणि भावनांचा सेतू आहे. माणसाच्या जगण्यात जे काही घडलं, ते शब्दांतूनच व्यक्त झालं. ज्ञान, संस्कार, इतिहास, साहित्य – या सगळ्याची किल्ली शब्दांतच दडलेली आहे. शब्दांतूनच आपण शिकतो, समजतो आणि जगतो. संतांची वाणी, कवींची कविता, लेखकांचे विचार – हे सारे आपल्या मनापर्यंत पोहोचले ते केवळ शब्दांच्या सामर्थ्यामुळे. शब्द हे मनाचे आरसे आहेत; तेवढेच ते मनाला उभारी देणारे किंवा जखमा करणारेही असतात. म्हणूनच शब्दांचा वापर नेहमी जपून, संयमाने आणि प्रेमाने करावा लागतो.

शब्द म्हणजे काय असतं?

बालपणीचे ते बोबडेपण,

मनामध्ये नात्यांची वीण –

तोच शब्द असतो ना?

शब्द देई ऊब जिवाला,

तोच कधी दूर लोटे मनाला –

तोच शब्द असतो ना?

शब्दामुळे उमलतं प्रेम,

शब्दामुळे साधला जातो नेम –

तोच शब्द असतो ना?

संवादाने वाट खुली होते,

विसंवादाने पोकळी निर्माण होते –

तोच शब्द असतो ना?

गोड शब्द माणसाला घडवतो,

कटू शब्द माणसाला मोडतो –

तोच शब्द असतो ना?

शब्द म्हणजे ऊब – झाकून घ्यावी किती?

शब्द म्हणजे राग – सहन करावा किती?

तोच शब्द असतो ना?

शब्द म्हणजे गालावरून सरकलेले मोरपिस,

शब्द म्हणजे अचानक बसलेली चापट –

तोच शब्द असतो ना?

शब्द म्हणजे हरणीच्या बेंबीतील कस्तुरी,

सुगंध त्याचा कधीच न संपणारा,

सदैव दरवळत राहणारा… दरवळत राहणारा…

-जुईली पवार

A Language With No Words, Still Heard

 

Listening with your eyes, a phrase which beautifully encapsulates the idea of listening not being confined to only hearing words, but understanding them through sight. This might sound unusual to us but, this has been a way of life for the millions of deaf people around the world, for whom words can't be heard, but seen. Seen through human expressions, actions, and especially sign languages. Sign language, being their superpower, is the unique linguistic identity of the deaf and hard-of-hearing community. What's fascinating is that these sign languages are not mere hand gestures, or 'English on hands' as often misunderstood, but are independent languages with their own grammar, sentence structures, vocabulary, and culture which is passed on from generations. With millions of users worldwide and over 300 different sign languages, including ISL (Indian Sign Language), which not only opens doors for communication with the nearby, but connects all over the globe.

In 2017, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 23rd September as the 'International Day of Sign Languages', a day for awareness towards the human rights of the deaf, such as equal access to public services, education, and employment. A global celebration which encourages inclusion of sign languages in all areas of life, and ensures that they get the same opportunities as everyone, and can participate fully in the society. I believe, examples like cafés in India such as Echoes, employ only deaf staff, where customers place orders using sign language and placards, shows that such inclusive spaces break communication barriers leading to their empowerment, and of the society.

Across the globe, International Day of Sign Languages is celebrated through cultural programmes and awareness campaigns. Each year a new theme is announced, and the theme for this year, 2025 is “No Human Rights Without Sign Language Rights”. Which for me highlights something very powerful, the foundation of equality for the deaf lies in ensuring their right to communicate in sign language and their human right towards inclusion and participation in all aspects of life. 

We can recognize its significance clearly as 90% of the deaf children are born to hearing parents, creating communication barriers between the child and their parents. In such cases, sign languages become a bridge between the both of them, which makes the children feel understood and included. I think here we, the hearing community, can play a role too. Organizations like the National Association of the Deaf (India) and the World Federation of the Deaf host campaigns to narrow these gaps by promoting inclusive policies and interpreter training. There are also several community events held which invite both the deaf and hearing community to come together and join hands. Personally, this day is a reminder that we all can contribute by learning a few basic hand signs, supporting the deaf-inclusive policies, promoting inclusivity in schools, workplaces, and treating them as equals. It is only then we could build a world where everybody can express and connect, be it with hearing or with sight.

-Radhika Bhonsle

Because Every Life Is Precious...

I still remember that day and it shakes me to my core till date. That evening felt heavier than usual. That day when nothing made sense. I hadn’t eaten, not even spoken to anyone. I had failed UPSC, the exam I had prepared for day and night, the exam that carried not just my dreams, but the expectations of my parents too, their disappointment cut deeper than any wound. I felt like a failure. A thought kept haunting me until it consumed me completely, "Am I not good enough?”. That evening, I went up to the terrace. I felt numb as I stood there, looking down, thinking to myself that ending it all would be easier than carrying this pain, the pain of expectations. All that was left was just one step further and it’ll all be over. 

But just as I was about to, I heard a voice. My friend had followed me upstairs, he looked at me with pure concern, pulled me back, and said, “You don’t have to do this. You’re not alone.” I started sobbing uncontrollably. Just hearing those words saved my life. My friend didn’t stop there, he recommended me a psychologist, and I began therapy. Slowly, I began to understand myself better. I realized that what I wanted wasn’t death, but an escape from the heavy burden I was carrying. Suicide was a mere step to run away from all my problems. I understood that failing an exam didn't mean life was over, rather it was an opening to a new way of how I looked at my own life. But sadly I chose the wrong path back then, but not anymore! With the right support, I began to heal.

This is where I understood something important: people who attempt suicide don’t always want to die. They are crushed by their pain, whether it’s academic failure like mine, family pressure, financial struggles, society's impossible expectations or their own. The mind gets so trapped in darkness that ending life feels like the only way out.

Today is 10th September, World Suicide Prevention Day, and it makes me remind that not everyone is as fortunate as I was. I had a friend who saved me, but many others stand on the same edge, and there is no one to stop them, no one to say “Everything will be alright”. Every person in this society, may it be a farmer or a student like me should know that failure is not the end of life. They should get proper assistance, from a psychologist, a friend or even a family member. 

It's not just about them, but also about us, just being there for someone who is screaming but no one can hear. Sometimes, a kind word, attentive listening, or reminding them that they matter can change everything for a person. So if you ever come across someone who looks disheartened, even if it's your enemy, don’t just pass by. A small 'Are you okay?' or just spending a little time with them can mean a lot more than we realize. As someone who has been on the other end, take it from me that the tiniest effort we show today could be the reason someone decides to hold on for tomorrow.

-Mrunmayee Pataskar 

दृष्टी

 

कविता ही अशी देणगी आहे जी कधी कधी काही प्रसंगांना सहजच शब्दबध्द करून जाते, तशीच ही माझी कविता! आपण कधीकधी आपल्या दुःखांना मोठं समजतो पण कधी असं झालंय तुमच्यासोबत की कुणीतरी नकळत तुम्हाला हसत हसत संकटांना सामोरं जायला शिकवून गेलंय ? माझ्यासोबत एकदा असं झालं आणि त्या प्रसंगाने मला जीवनाकडे सकारात्मकपणे बघण्याची एक नवीन 'दृष्टी' दिली.

ते स्तब्ध होते; माझ्या मनात मात्र विचारांचे वादळ होते.

त्यांच्या चेहऱ्यावर शांती आणि निरागसतेचा संगम;

माझ्या मनात मात्र कोलाहल, प्रश्न, संभ्रम होते.

माझ्याकडे सगळं असूनही मी अतृप्त होतो;

त्यांच्याकडल्या उणीवाही त्यांना जगण्याचं बळ देत होत्या.

मला चिंता होती भविष्यातल्या 'जर-तर'ची;

ते वर्तमानातील चिंतांशीही मैत्री करून जगत होते.

ते एकमेकांचा हात घट्ट धरून उभे होते;

मी तर हेव्यादाव्यांच्या जगात कधीच एकटा पडलो होतो.

ते एक एक पाऊल सावकाश टाकत होते,

आणि मी पुढे जायच्या घाईत काही पाऊलं कधीच गाळली होती.

ते जात होते पुढे चाचपडत, पण योग्य दिशेने;

मात्र मी निवडलेली दिशा योग्य आहे का नाही, हे कधी पडताळून पाहिले नव्हते.

त्यांच्या चेहऱ्यावर आशावाद स्पष्ट दिसत होता;

त्यांच्याकडे उमेद होती,

मी मात्र उसनं अवसान आणून, एकेक दिवस पुढे ढकलत होतो.

त्यांच्यातल्या कमींसाठी ते कधी मागत नव्हते सहानुभूती;

ना देवाला दोष, ना ग्रह-ताऱ्यांची भिती त्यांना होती.

त्यांना बघून जणू माझं भावविश्वच ढवळून निघालं;

विचारांचा वेग वाढला,

आणि मी स्वतःलाच कोड्यात पाडलं.

तेव्हा कळून आलं — माझ्याकडे नजर होती,

पण त्यांच्याकडे दृष्टी होती.

ते दृष्टीहीन नव्हतेच; मुळी मीच स्वार्थांध होतो.

ते जगण्यासाठी धडपडत होते,

मी धडपडत जगत होतो.

तेवढ्यात सिग्नल हिरवा झाला;

गाडी सुसाट सुटली,

आणि या अल्पशा वेळात जणू जीवनाची नवी वाट गवसली.

नेहमीप्रमाणे मी कॉलेजला जाण्यासाठी बसने प्रवास करत होते. एका लाल सिग्नलवर थांबले असताना खिडकीतून बाहेर पाहताना मला असे काही दिसले की त्या पाच मिनिटांतच आयुष्याचा एक मोठा धडा शिकायला मिळाला. त्या अनुभवातून उमटलेली ही कविता — माझ्या भावविश्वाचा तो दृष्टांत तुमच्यापर्यंत पोहोचवण्याचा प्रयत्न आहे. ही कविता तुम्हालाही माझ्यासारखंच जीवनाचं बळ देऊन जावो!

-मनाली देशपांडे

Bharat: A Civilizational Identity, Not a Colonial Construct

 

From the past 104 years, on 1st August, Vaadasabha, which is the official debating union of S. P. College, has been organizing Lokmanya Tilak Punyatithi programme in the remembrance of Lokmanya Tilak. This year Vaadasabha had the honour of hosting Hon. Sanjeev Sanyal, who is a celebrated economist, historian, and thinker. His address was a powerful blend of history, geopolitics, and civilizational introspection, focused on a theme both ancient and urgent: the origins of our national identity as Bharat.

In a world where national identities are often defined by colonial timelines, India, or more accurately, Bharat stands out as an ancient civilization whose continuity predates modern statehood by millennia.

Yet ironically, even in 2025, it becomes necessary to reassert this civilizational truth. As Hon. Sanjeev Sanyal pointed out in his lecture and presentation, the colonial attempt to erase the idea of India wasn’t some historical misstep, it was a deliberate strategy of domination. Calling India “no more a nation than the equator” wasn’t just Churchill’s rhetoric but civilizational gaslighting.

The roots of Bharat go far deeper than modern maps or Mughal chronicles. The term Bharata first appears in the Rigveda, tied to a small tribe — the Bharata-Trutsu, who lived along the once-mighty Saraswati River, lauded as Sindhu-mata, the mother of rivers. This river, dismissed for years as mythical, is now visible through satellite imagery and archaeological evidence, flowing from the Himalayas to the Rann of Kutch, supporting a flourishing Saraswati-Harappan civilization that collapsed not by war, but by climate.

But here's the kicker: India didn’t become a civilization despite its diversity, it became one because it assimilated it. The Battle of Ten Kings, often treated as a mere military episode, laid the foundation of something deeper. After victory, King Sudasa didn't impose, he assimilated. The Vedas emerged not as sectarian texts, but as a Samhita — a compilation of shared wisdom across tribes. This principle ‘unity without uniformity’ became the operating system of Indic civilization.

The Rigveda even ends with a civilizational compact: “Common be your assembly, common your thought.” This idea would echo for centuries, from the scattered Shakti Peethas to Shankaracharya’s pan-India yatras, from Tolkappiyam (the oldest Tamil grammar) rooted in Vedic wisdom to the sacred geography described in the Puranas — rivers, mountain ranges, and even people like the Kiratas and Yavanas are mapped into a cohesive whole.

Even when colonial powers tried to fracture this identity, the internal memory of Jambudwipa (the sacred land of the rose apple) held, from Kashmir’s sages to Kerala’s Mahabali. And nothing symbolizes this better than the Ashoka Chakra on our national flag. It is not merely a wheel, it is the ancient emblem of the Chakravartin — the universal sovereign. King Sudasa once wielded this very symbol, not to dominate, but to unify. Today, it stands not for empire, but for democratic dharma, the wheel that turns not by force, but by consensus.

This blog isn’t a nostalgic ode. It’s a civilizational reminder, that in the face of fractured narratives, we must remember we are not fragments. We are the fire. We shall speak together, let our minds be one, Samgacchadhvam samvadadhvam.

-Aditya Phad