meethapani

  In 1953, the artist Willem de Kooning agreed to give his fellow artist, Robert Rauschenberg, a drawing to erase. Rauschenberg worked on the drawing for over a month using a variety of erasers. Despite all efforts, traces of the original drawing remained. In 2010, digital imaging revealed much of the original drawing. This act of erasure symbolises attempts to erase histories, whether individual or collective. Neuroscientist, Charan Ranganath, finds that within 20 minutes people forget 40% of what they learn and after a few days only 20% is remembered.   Since the past is over, why should we remember? It helps in making sense of the present and making better choices for the future.   Daniel Kahneman, author of Thinking Fast and Slow, says memories are all we get to keep from our experience of living. In reality memory is selective and may be far from accurate. Some memories are preserved in diaries and letters, or in autobiographies, but even the most meticulous ...

  Style is a refinement in behaviour and the cultivation of poise. Style is expressed in the way a person walks or converses, by the cadence of language, by the spaces we choose to live in. Style shows confidence, presence, personal power, often communicated without the need for words.  Unlike brute force, style cannot be fought with or overcome. It is a quiet challenge that does not seek a reaction. While it can be mocked, it cannot be destroyed. It is the result of a cultivated intentionality that becomes part of a personality. Style is like the softest notes of a piano or violin that the listener knows can build up to a powerful intensity that will make hearts tremble. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, killed in February this year, and the  Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iran, Abbas Araghchi, through all the warmongering rhetoric, impressed the world with their soft spoken manner with the slight smile of the wise dealing with the foolish. No angry fist shaking. Instead we witn...