I-D and R-D

What do seven 40-50 year olds, more than 2 dozen 20 year olds, 4 teenagers and a few others who refused to divulge their age, have in common? Hint: they were all Indians.
Well, none of them knew why we have a Republic Day after an Independence Day (some thought that the chronology was the other way around!!)! None of them and many others (a separate survey) knew what makes a country a republic. Well, the quest to know what makes a republic was mine too. Hence, I decided to search the web for information of various sorts, and as it happens often in the Life of Eroteme, one lead to another and soon I had nothing less than 27 pages open in front of me shouting out to get my attention! They all got it in the end (hard to say no to them).

What is a republic?
I am sure most of you would have started looking up a dictionary by now. I suppose it doesn’t matter. Based on one article I read, it seems the word currently carries a deceptive connotation. A republic has a charter. The state is ruled by that charter. There, in all likelihood, would be some elected representatives, but they are in their respective offices to carry out the dictates of the charter. Thus, the power of the elected body is restricted. The representatives, I gather, can also be appointed (as a sovereign would be) and need not be elected as long as the charter is upheld. The charter is something the people get together and create. So it is a representation of the people free will.

I am still not a master of the fine differences between a republic and a democracy, so if your next question is on the lines, “Silly fellow. He just described a democracy. No? Then what is the difference?” then I have only the following to offer as explanation, which I am slightly likely of getting wrong. If anyone can point out the error(s), please do so. There are so many definitions and explanation that I realized that saying “NO” to some of the pages would have helped! :-(

A democracy is a government of the people. A republic is a rule by a charter (by anyone who understands it). In a democracy we go by majority (simple) votes, even if the majority votes for something ridiculous. A republic adheres to a charter and considers a million times and might finally rely on more than a simple majority to make the decision. The inkling I get is that in a republic, things are a shade more intelligent and based on the opinions of knowledgeable people (all those in the republic must be educated about the matter at hand. Yeah, I can already hear that, “Sure, try educating all the people in India about any matter.” We’ll take that later, or go ahead and read Atanu Dey’s articles on achieving 100% literacy and see whether it can be applied here and elsewhere.).

So what was India between being independent and becoming a republic?
Well, she was free. Then they decided to start writing a constitution for her. I hear India has the longest constitution. Sure fire way to discourage anyone from following it. All the princely states were gathered under the “India” umbrella and the constitution was readied (checked and double checked) by Jan 26th 1950. Then she became a secular republic within the British Commonwealth of Nations. It would have been better, if the British waited long enough till the constitution was written and then we had one day as I-D and R-D. But, no, they rushed off with the urgency of one dancing on the corridors to the restrooms.

Do read this article about how Alexander Marriott gets bugged with questions about differences between democracies and republic!!

I hope that clarifies a lot. It did for me.

So what is India? A republic? A democracy? A democratic republic? A republic democracy (what on earth is that, its what some people call a representative democracy)?
I'll leave you to figure it out.... :-)

Do spend some time reading Plato's Republic (I think it was called Politeia).

Of girls and falling in love...

I loved this quote (which I truly, figuratively, stumbled upon). I couldn't agree with him more.

I was about half in love with her by the time we sat down. That's the thing about girls. Every time they do something pretty... you fall half in love with them, and then you never know where the hell you are.
J. D. Salinger

Debilitated person exalted

I have been reading a couple of posts by Atanu Dey on the Nehru dynasty and another on his collection of articles against the image of Mother Teresa. Such articles and many others I read occassionally and forget to note, make me wonder: Why do we exalt people and find their debunking unacceptable? No seriously. We need to go into this earnestly. The recent ongoing case against the acharya of a well known South Indian monastary reveals the same trait at large amongst human beings. I supposed a good elephant, when it is in musth, is treated accordingly. The analogy stops there. People being people are likely to do things which is part of their system. Our main problem is in our inability to accept certain human traits as equally posited as others. We love people who are caring and giving and call them good at times prefering to leave out one of the "o", and the instant they do lie or cheat or steal we cover up for them and ignore all the evidence screaming out at us. Why do we tend to do this? There is no point running away to another mumbling to yourself, "I am not like that. Why bother?"

Here is my take on this:
Is it more our reluctance to accept the wrong doings of the godly-person or is it the disgust and associated shame in accepting our own short-sightedness? We hate to admit that we are wrong. When the good images of a person keep running back to our mind's eye and facts keep shouting out the flaws of a person, we are caught between the embarrassing scene of our admitting our lack of judgement and the chance of covering things up to save face. Most people prefer the latter and follow it in their own style. In personal relationships, we blame the other person for misleading us. We summon incidents when s/he was so nice and ask out aloud, "What else was I to believe?" and then follow it up with incidents and our own interpretations of the same and say louder still, "See? Was there anything wrong on my part? What else was I to do? I tried so hard, but..." In more public relations and cults, an organised cover-up operation takes place. Depending on the strength of the cult the phases of this operation take a colour of its own. Some are clever enough to adopt accepting to their lack of judgement and then using that to emotionally turn the tide in their favour by hinging on the human love for reaching out to the vulnerable and readily sensitive kind!!! Let's spend some time in running over our life and seeing the play of this conflict at various points in time. I suppose recognising this is sufficient work in moving towards the "solution".
So what do we do to avoid this? A couple of possibilities:
1. Don't exalt people (Reflected in the wonderful verse in the Tao Te Ching).
2. Don't debunk people. (I love this speech by Marc Antony)
3. Exalt when you feel the need, and debunk when you feel the need. (I am afraid I have nothing to cite here!!)
4. Don't exalt or debunk anyone. (Quite different from 1 and 2 above. Another verse from the Tao Te Ching)

Here above I have covered cases like one covers the truth table for a bivariate expression.

I was wondering whether the following suggestion is well taken. It strikes me as I write this post.
What if a person is taken as s/he is?
Coming to think of it, it pretty much matches the description in possibility 3 above (if you remove the frivolous tones from it). If a person does something good, you complement her/him and move on. If s/he does something which is punishable (as the then laws are defined in the state containing her/him and her/his crime) then punish her/him but do no rebuke her/his past good deed or start finding faults with it. Each stand as separate incidents. Presentism seems to do more damage than the good it promises (did it ever?). If the criminal does good, s/he loses his title of a criminal (why did s/he even get it in the first place?). Take a breath as it comes. So be it with a human being.




In rivers, the water that you touch is the last of what has passed and the first of that which comes; so with present time. --- Leonardo da Vinci (More about him later)

Sweet nothings...

Today I received an invitation from a good friend of mine. She is getting married in a week or so. One of the finest women I have ever known. I had the strangest relationship with her. We would strive to be formal, which we realised pretty effortlessly (but strife was evident in another fashion). We mostly interacted on academic issues and departed after a solution was reached or none seemed attainable at that point of time. She was a fairly good student. She had the whole department at her feet. I suppose she was and still is beautiful. (It is surprising how physical beauty blurs out when a person seems wonderful as a whole. I would never be able to answer "Is she beautiful?" about a person whom I have known pretty well.) The one thing I liked about her was that she kept to herself and only let whom she chose, close to her. Maybe it was an honour to be one of them (to a certain extent). She was aware of the effect she had on all the guys around her, but she never let that affect her persona. She was the same whether someone liked her or not. To some, her exterior was too cold and some even termed it as airs. I once asked her, "What is it? You think you are too good to involve yourself in these things?". She said, "No." That was usually the extent to which she would talk. She would never bank on the effect she had, and ask people to do favours for her. She was pretty self-sustaining in a spiritual (no, no. Not that halo stuff) way.

Through the course, our conversation was driven by necessity and purpose. In the final semester, we had a lot of time on hand and circumstances brought us occassionally to a table and let us talk. It was then that I realised that she was far from cold, quite sensitive on the contrary. She loved a lot of things around her and was quite childish at heart. For reasons that surprise me till today (an exalted Venus?) she never expressed interest in any guy. So many suitors around her and none worth her attention. She once told me playfully, "-----, none of them are good enough or the kind I would be interested in", and started laughing. I couldn't help see the sincerity and truth she held in that statement. It hurt slightly that she never considered me even close to her mark!! :-( She wasn't even keen on finding herself a guy. After we departed from our alma mater, we, surprisingly, grew closer and held wonderful conversations in which she let me into whatever she chose to reveal. It is difficult to let a woman as fine as her to the care of someone I know nothing about.
I believe she told me things she hasn't told anyone else (I asked her on a matter or two and she was very uncomfortable in admitting that. I never questioned her in this regard thereafter). I also made her do things she wouldn't have done for a million dollars. Like making her sing! I had to practically beg her to sing. No, she didn't have a good voice, but I simply wanted to hear it. And it felt nice to know that she would do something for me which she wouldn't do for anyone else. She had this song which she liked a lot. She would ask me to sing it for her occasionally. I have never refused her, her request. Once, a bunch of guys in a typical boyish fashion started clapping in the middle of the song to shut me off. I laughed at that and decided to stop (it was something everyone did). She turned to me and asked me to continue and later expressed disgust at the immaturity of those guys. I was surprised for a moment.
She is by far one of the only persons I have known whom I hold in an awe which has no tangible reasons. I had told one of my closest friends that I wanted two daughters, the older one, lovely, soft spoken, intelligent, deep, enchanting, soft tintinnabulations rolling forth as laughter, big eyes, patient, .... well, so much like this friend of mine. The second one must be a brat!
On the last day at our alma mater, I asked her to join me for lunch at one of our favourite joints. It was a lunch of which I have no recollection!
:-( On our way back, she told me something which caught me off guard. Nothing fancy but something which revealed her perspicuity of the world around her. I was touched to know that she cared enough to even notice and then let me know.
I sat back forlorn and at once happy for her while I read her invitation. She truly deserves the best, but I am yet to find a man who I can safely say, deserves her. I wish her the best for future.

When the world conspires...

I had written about my trip in the car yesterday, and then I get information about this article from MIT's Technology Review:

http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/blog.asp?blogID=1709&trk=nl

And the day opened up...

What better way to start your day at work?
I got into my car and turned on the ignition. The dials gave one sweeping smile and looked at me deeply. The music system sensed my mood and played the "Quiet Sunset" (track from the Percussions of the World). An exotic blend of the wooden flute and drums. The volume was already set high, and the music enveloped my entire world for a long time. I stepped on the gas and slid out of the parkway onto the road. A smile was inevitable.
As I eased on the roads, my engine hummed along with the music that soothed my nerves. The flute notes were native and deep. Sounded a bit like the Chinese flute but far less shrill. As I quickened my pace on the road, a bunch of kids ran along the road. They had finished their morning game in the sand and cement bags that lined the new construction site. I hit the horn to warn them. They suddenly hurried to the flanks of the mud road excitedly, pigtails and foot-long skirts waving madly in the breeze. They stopped and turned around to smile and giggle at the car which gave them their sudden rush of adrenaline thereby making their day more eventful. Well, those big eyes in the small face which carried more happy teeth than I have ever seen, surely made my day. A small boy (wasn't more than a couple of feet tall) on the other side of the path stood arms akimbo trying to establish to the world around him and especially to the girls across the road, that he wasn't afraid of anything. I revved the engine a little and blew the horn again to watch him back off quickly and climb the sand pile before he resumed his earlier pose. The girls were quite impressed by him and were giggling and had started whispering in my rear view mirror.
The sun was warm and the rays seem to pulsate with the dum-dum......dum-dum......dum-dum of the bongos. The flute played along with the wind that lapped my face with teasing sunshine. I watched as most people hurried down the road towards work. The trees that lined the road were frivolous with the hopes from the day that lay ahead. Or was it simply the breeze playing amongst the green folds of leaves? A few flowers fell groundward. They would suddenly raise themselves in the air, like young women over a fence, thanks to a speeding car that passed close to them. I stopped long enough to watch the eddies of dust coloured with sunbeams, before I was reminded that not everyone following my car had the time for swirls and whirls!
The road to my office is undulating and has many little hillocks to climb. What I liked most about the road that took me to office today was the synchronisation. Today the music and the road and the turns were all in harmony. The crescendo of beats reached at the top of a hillock rolled down as I drove down and moved into a medley of beats and wind instruments while I made my way turning and tricking meanders and labyrinths.
Hmmm...
Nice way to start a day at work...

A dangerous place for conversations...

The bath is a dangerous place for conversations especially if you have only yourself for company (which is usually the case!). This is more so in the morning. I was running over a statement I had made many weeks ago. A fine lady asked me why am I so interested in anything Oriental (and when I say Oriental I include all Asian countries except some to the west of India). I replied in what then seemed to be a simple answer (I judge simplicity, sometimes, by the speed of response). I had said thus, "Well, the Occident didn't impress me with anything but technology."

Over the past year or so, I get to interact with many people who are not from India (and mostly from places to the west of India) and come to this place with the hope of seeing dancing snakes and taut ropes standing straight out of a silly basket. They are amazed at how livestock and humans share the same roads and lifestyles in many ways. They believe that nothing is possible in this country until we ape the West. I read an interesting article about this on Atanu Dey's blog, but beyond this there is no reason to liken this post to his. Its not just the non-Indians who believe that. Most Indians believe the same too. If a lad hasn't gone abroad, he really isn't that good, is he? If he doesn't work for an MNC, he really isn't that good, is he? He rubs shoulders with fair skinned gents? Aah he must be good. He uses four letter words (most of them)? Aaah, he is stylish. He knows about all the latest hip-hop numbers and how to place his hand on his crotch and pull himself up (ala MJ)? Hmm, really a hot find. I have nothing against this although I wouldn't recommend this to any sane human (Indian or otherwise). My pain points lie in 2 things:

1. Have we really always been a race of fools who were incapable of anything and hence need to ape, and are these non-Indians always candidate to maturity and wisdom?

2. Are we only going to ape what seems cool or hot (actually they are used to mean the same thing in most cases) or are we going to be sensible enough? Atanu Dey has a more first hand experience about this question out here.

Will update this post over time....

DISCLAIMER
What follows is not a sorry excuse of pointing fingers at others or trying to establish that other countries are "bad". The following information has been provided mainly to help the reader realise that people all over the world, and countries all over the world have enough past and present that they are ashamed of. Sometimes it is presentism, and sometimes it is truly embarrassing. Whatever the emotion, the following information does not intend to serve as resource to poke fun at other countries or citizens nor justify our foolishness or feel excessively proud about what we were once upon a time. What we need to realise is that we are talking about human beings everywhere who are, unfortunately, not very different from one another. And for heaven's sake, this is not patriotism! If the reader is still unprepared, please read something else. Maybe a billboard or the details on a milk carton.

What are the usual points that Indians are ashamed of and foreigners are glad to point out (actually not all. The ones I know are wonderful people and very understanding)?

1. Bad spoken English.
2. No traffic rules
3. Poor public mode of transport
4. Weather
5. Poor reach of technology
6. Poor hygiene and quality of food on the roads
7. Horrible public administration (though this is commonly used, no one is very clear about it)
8. Child labour
9. Treatment of women

Will add more to the list above.

In personal circles, the following do crop up as something "that never exists in the West":
1. Caste systems
2. Maltreatment of women
3. Superstitions
4. Arranged marriages
5. Strict customs and traditions/conservative practices

Just as a feeler of what is going to come, nearly all of this exists in other countries as well. Any documentary about Europe on Discovery(Travel and Living) will tell you that very few of the natives speak English!!
Traffic rules are quite absent in India, and I am not going to deny it. But what are we doing to improve it? We aren't aping the West on this. We are ok with driving on the wrong side of the road, headlights in full beam (I am going to sue those car/SUV companies for even installing such powerful lights. Sunshine car my foot!), no helmets, no stopping at the god-forsaken red signal lights. And why-oh-why do we have turning indicators? But are we doing anything to improve this? Would you consciously take a longer route and make a U turn or would you stick to the sidewalk and drive on the wrong side of the road till the divider ends and then you zip across to the other side of the road? Lets ape the West on this. Come on, lets do it. They have something called discipline which we forget at the drop of a hat.
Poor public mode of transport is a problem for everyone.

Will continue tomorrow...

Koyuki San

This is an excerpt of an excerpt from a mail I sent to a friend of mine...

Have you watched The Last Samurai? Most girls I know watched it for Tom Cruise!!! So, if you like him, I am sure you would have watched it too. I really like that movie primarily because it deals with the Orient. But as I watch it more often (---- lent me the DVD) I like the Japanese actress more. Her name is Koyuki and she happens to be a model. Wonderfully simple features but she is so gracefully beautiful (not essentially good looking, but ...). There are 2 scenes when I really fell in love with her. There is one in which Tom comes over to her to let her know that he is leaving. She is washing her hair in the spring. She turns and sees him and the sheer pleasure of seeing him is evident on her face. Beautiful expressions. He excuses himself and continues to tell her what he has come to tell her. She slowly pushes (there is a better word for this action but I simply can't recall) her arm back into the sleeve of her kimono and turns. Fine kimono, fine hair, fine features. She notices that he wears his uniform and her expressions change, softly but quite marked. And he tells her that he has to leave. All she says is "Hai" (Japanese for yes). He tells her that she has been kind to him and he shall never forget her. She is quite in love with him now, but like a sophisticated woman of her times, she cannot acknowledge it. Class. When he says this to her, you should see the pain on her face. She says nothing and bows her head. I would have died then and there. Such grace, such finesse. What could I, but worship such a woman? In another scene (actually this precedes the one I described above), Tom apologises to Koyuki for killing her husband. She realizes that there was no fault of his, and she tells him that her husband did his duty, and Tom did his. She accepts his apology with a simple statement, "I accept your apology...". You should see the change in expression on her face from a casual expression (before he apologises) to sheer pain (when he apologises). Her face changes from marble (we need a word like marblesque in English to suggest the smooth texture of such a face) to pink to deep pink when her veins stand out and her breath is drawn in raggedly. You have to look hard to notice it. Remarkable. Finally her face relaxes and tears of joy slide down her face. Just one or two tears. She doesn't present herself in excess. Brilliant woman. Tom cruise was wonderful too, and I am surprised that he didn't even get a nomination. Every expression of her's is wonderful. You want to ever know who I would call a classy woman? Watch this movie, and watch for Koyuki
The word I was looking for (as I mentioned above) was "tucks". Nothing fabulous, but most appropriate. Tucks does have a very soothing connotation

Does God exist merely as long as I do?

What an avid blogger really needs...

Basically what we need is a way to record our thoughts as and when they occur and then with least effort transfer them to our blogs...

Recording our thoughts as and when they occur is best done using a microrecorder (this is the one I have, not the best but decent enough). What we now need is a software to translate voice into text and then post it to our blogs as a draft. When stored as a draft all we need to do is edit any minor errors in the translation (voice to text).

Not sure whether this already exists, but seemed worthwhile putting it down. Maybe someone who reads this might implement it.

Contrasting views on philosophy

"Let no one be slow to seek wisdom when he is young nor weary in the search of it when he has grown old. For no age is too early or too late for the health of the soul. And to say that the season for studying philosophy has not yet come, or that it is past and gone, is like saying that the season for happiness is not yet or that it is now no more. Therefore, both old and young alike ought to seek wisdom, the former in order that, as age comes over him, he may be young in good things because of the grace of what has been, and the latter in order that, while he is young, he may at the same time be old, because he has no fear of the things which are to come. So we must exercise ourselves in the things which bring happiness, since, if that be present, we have everything, and, if that be absent, all our actions are directed towards attaining it." —Epicurus, Letter to Menoeceus

If God had meant us to do philosophy he would have created us. -- Marek Kohn

....or are they?

The Book of Nothing

This book by John D Barrow, is quite an interesting book. I am still reading it although my mind isn't readily attached to the book. A little too mathematical and sometimes purely historical. With a title like that I would expect something semi-philosophical. But alas! not much of the book contains that. The quotes sprinkled generously throughout the book are a cheerful read and some made me grip my stomach while I read them and rolled off my chair (well, nearly rolled off). A poem called the "Prayse of Nthing" (nope, no typos in that) was mentioned in the book. So I googled, but couldn't find it. Here it is nevertheless...


Nothing was first, and shall be last
for nothing holds for ever
And nothing ever et scap't death
so can't the longest liver
Nothing's so Immortall, nothing can,
From crosses ever keepe a man
Nothing can live, when the world is gone
for all shall come to nothing

A lot has been written about nothing. The most interesting tale of nothing is found in this verse from the Tao Te Ching.

Still more to come about this book that I am reading. Or I just might have nothing to say...

Why I love not a woman?

I love this poet!! Ha ha ha ha!!


They smile then laugh a little so,
Burst into sweet giggles before the run.
Rings in my head and wants to know,
Why not I love a woman?

Skirts & tassels & all that fuss,
Flowers in tresses & hair in ribbon.
Deck their selves & ask me thus,
Why not I love a woman?

Such gaze in which the sun does bask.
Greys or browns & filled with fun,
They stop me in sleep, in wake & ask,
Why not I love a woman?

Their sweet caress with lips so pink,
Bosoms which leave my soul undone.
As I hold each close to me, I think,
Why not I love a woman?

You grab & ask with earnest true,
Why not love one o' these women?
I do , I do, I swear, I do,
Not one but all these women!

Listen.. Shush... Just listen

It is difficult for me to listen nowadays. I sit back and hear so many voices, some belonging to a face and some whose face I will never see. The head is a bantam house which is home to the voices of the world. And beyond...

The incessant conversations in my head are growing to be painful and are verily, the reason why I am alive. I do not wish them away, nor do I see them helping me in a tangible manner.

Pray tell me what am I to do while I sit back and let the voices speak? Currently, they are all speaking together and helping me type this out.

Aha! got it. Now I got it...

Don't listen to me... I have a lot to listen to, myself.

UP3

Jisse pyaar karte hain, us-se keh nahin paate.
Jahaan ki kushi chahen, kuddh de nahin paate

Urdu Poetry

A few nazms (not ghazals. For a note on what makes a ghazal visit this page).

Har dukh dubo ke jab mudhe, saamne tum aaye (mudhe => turn around)
Ishq ke aseeree se nikle, ke saamne tum aaye (aseeree => imprisonment, captivity)

Story 1

This is a story I wrote long ago. Honestly, I had forgotten that I had written this one. I was rummaging through my collection of files and archives and chanced upon this and a few others. I will be posting these without editting them, as I wish to same the initial works as they are (however pathetic they might be). I remember it was Hemingway who said that the initial draft is nothing but excrement! Here goes...

Started off as a story before getting transformed into a dialogue...


And the world goes round & round & .....

It was late in the evening . We had to go to Mr. Dwight's birthday party . I never liked parties . They were too noisy & usually too crowed.So I thought a quarter hour rendezvous with my solitude could ease out the party-time blues. I loved walking on these jagged rocks with waves lashing around for attention. They would get in between these rocks & swell to meet. If you acknowledged their eagerness,they might return, if you didn't they would recede & return nevertheless. I always wondered about the relationship between the rocks & the brine.Were the waves beating the rocks & foaming into Schadenfreud laughter or were they running across endless miles of watery landscape to meet their earthy friends, their zest broken down only by the steadfast friends who greet them in their entirety. May be every wave had a different relationship with each rock & the beautiful sun watched over them. I loved the sunset. It brought back the energy that my day's work hungrily consumed. I had no favourite spot, but usually sat atop the rock on either side of which, there were rocks. It was like a natural throne. The waves rarely reached my throne. I moved towards it & noticed a person at a distance sitting alone. His back was crouched, but he faced the sun. The only thing familiar about him was his fishing cap. I walked up to him. He didn't hear my footsteps or he chose not to. I bent a little & said,"Mr. Dwight?" He turned around, slowly and said,"Andy, what a pleasant surprise. What made you come down here?"

A: Wish you a very happy birthday, Mr. Dwight. I was just strolling & couldn't help but notice that you here all alone. Aren't you supposed to be at home getting ready for the party ?

D: (Smiles & pats the ground besides him ) Sit down Andy. Parties are a little too crowded.

A: (Waits for a few seconds) So, how does it feel to be 75, Mr. Dwight? Must be a wonderful experience.

D: (Breathes in deeply) Yes, but I wonder if it was worth waiting so long. (Smiles at me ) 'Tis heavy stuff for you, son, lets just watch the sun set half way & leave.

A: If I am not probing , what is it, whose worth, you wonder about?

D: Whether it was worth living with these people I know, whether it was worth being what I have been. Whether these 75 years have been worth the wait for 75 years to complete.

A: Why do you wonder? If you are happy right now,don't you think it must have been worth it?

D: (Smiles at him) That is a very interesting thing to say. You have a little poet in you. I watched you while you watched the waves. You have a different way of looking at them. But when you grow older you might have to stop looking at them the way you do now. The people around you take a lot of your time. Do you like the people around you?

A: Yes, a large portion, I would say.

D: Why is it that you don't like the rest?

A: Some I disagree with & some.....

D: On what grounds do you disagree with them?

A: Some are liars, hypocrites, unethical & the like. I couldn't like Johnny because he smokes & tries to force people around him to take it up, too.

D: I think 99% of the human race is crazy. They say something & expect something else.

A: Quite true ( but I noticed he wasn't listening to me)

D: They live according to their convenience & talk of ideals. They beat their child for being dishonest,but are ready to furnish a false medical certificate so that the school pardon's their child's absence. They talk about compassion & understanding but are to engaged in the super bowl or the soaps to give it to their near ones. They taboo sex but okay it between a married couple. They are so judgemental & feel that the conclusion is more important than the subject over which the same is drawn. They call a group, fanatics, & burn down their establishment. They pick at the person's personal life to prove him incapable of the position he holds in his professional life. If you say," It was wonderful", when it wasn't then you are a liar; when you say,"I didn't like it", then you are rude. You know something is correct, but you are not supposed to adhere to it. You speak honey and sugar, people love you no matter how ridiculous your statements were; you speak straight sense then you are bitter and hard-hitting.

A: But there still are the people you love.

D:(Looks at me as if I slapped him). Love? Son, people play around with that beautiful emotion too. They expect to be loved in return. They are not interested in whether they truly love X, they want to make sure that X loves them, too, and accordingly might continue to "love" (draws quotes in the air) him. If they can't accept that they are just another very good friend of X, they run away, withdraw, stop talking and interacting with X or worse still, call him discriminatory and other names. So why shouldn't he be? Doesn't everyone have strata of friends? And why should you expect to be dosed in the privileges X offers to his closest few? Aren't you supposed to earn it? People are lazy.
They are not prepared to work on relations. They just want them to fall into place & expect it to be ever-rosy & beautiful. They take things for granted & then when things worsen, a wiry haired shrink tells you that things need to improve. Can you believe it? People go to shrinks & marriage counsellors & child specialists (I think he meant psychiatrist), whom they meet for the first time, to solve problems they face with people they have known for a considerably long time! People are satiated by quick-fix solutions & that's why buildings come crashing down but the Pyramid of Giza stands arrogantly upright. People aren't interested in relations; they are more interested in names; mother, father, girl-friend, boy-friend, husband, wife, son, daughter,etc. The depth is gone.
(Takes a very deep breath).When I was a kid my father made me feel what fatherly love is & I loved him & revered him like any son would have. When Robby was 12 he tells me, "Dad, relax, I'll manage it from here." My job was over. But being a father wasn't a job to me. I wanted to be with Robby everytime he won a race & everytime he fell down. I wanted to help him out with his homework & learn the new stuff. I wanted to meet his girlfriend & not by chance. He thought I was denying him his freedom & independence. So I gave it to him the way he wanted it. Twenty years later he tells me that I never seemed to have time for him. And today he goes out and buys the cake. Why? 'coz that's what a son is supposed to do on his father's birthday.
These books and talk shows have made things so stereotypical that spontaneity is restricted to those kids in high school whom everyone call "coooool". People try to do things & match them with the ideals in books and mags. "If your score is between 24-29 then you are a caring spouse, if it is between 20-24 then you are fine enough, if it is between 16-20 you are on the edge, if it is below 16 your marriage needs counselling. Contact the phone number below and get an appointment immediately". People are crazy enough to score their lives. But against what? An upper score set by a god-knows-who with a dainty degree from god-knows-where? People are no longer interested in living.
They just want to perform. They just want to top their SATs, the GREs, have an ideal girl-friend, get a 6 figure salary, marry an ideal woman, have beautiful kids, make them top their class. They call this ambition. Why? "You have to give up something to get something" or "You can't do this if you really want that" could be some of the replies. If everything has to be done exclusively then people should brush their teeth on Monday, bathe on Tuesday, breakfast on Wednesday, lunch on Thursday, dine on Friday, go to work everyday as that is their ambition, maybe talk to their kids & spouse on Saturday & sleep on Sunday. This is as ridiculous as giving up on things to achieve something else. Trust me, people are crazy.
Then there are these cults & religions all man-made but treated like the Truth. They would kill their loved ones if it was protocol to their religious faith. Don't do this, don't do that. This has to be done & that may or not be done. You have to go to the Church on Sundays & say your prayers. Why can't I say them at home? Can't i just talk to God? Why doesn't any religion teach us to try understand ourselves & people around us? We are supplied with orders like "Be nice to thy neighbour" and "Give to the poor" & not "Understand your neighbour" or "Empower the poor". "The seven sins" are proclaimed in nearly every religion. Why are they called sins? Just because our sense drive us to them? So, if it is so natural, why call them sins at all?

A: Maybe 'coz we lose our control & sense to them. Maybe 'coz if we spend too much of our time & energy on them we become less productive to society.

D: Firstly, why do you wish to be in control? Who is this "you"? Is it not your senses & your mind that manifests as your ego & wishes to be in control? Hence you are released from the bondage of some senses by being enslaved by another. Secondly, how productive is a saint or a priest? Why aren't they called sinners? Just 'coz they talk big stuff and have embraced ascetism? Aren't they more interested in talking about Jesus or Jehovah or Allah or some Hindu God? Are they productive? So why blame a man who indulges himself in food whenever he can or never refuses a sexual favour? Why ostracise them? Thats why i call them hypocrites. But it's okay if he has sex with his wife 10 times a day, but even once with another woman then he is an infidel. Give me a break. Sex, hunger, thirst, rest, shelter, raiment and money are all basic wants and cannot be sullied by the narrow-mindedness of the human race. People are just not able to get out of their confusion & don't seem ready to, as this confusion awards them a sense of security. So be it with daily life. You get into a party & everyone tell you that X is so good & nice & caring & understanding & the works. If you interact with him/her & realise that all this is just a mask, people call you jealous and a jerk. Criticism is entertained as long as it doesn't challenge the person's stance. Once it does, you are castigated. People are not interested in discussing the truth & vivisecting it. They are merely interested in opinions and gossip. As long as you are nice to them they are nice to you. You do anything that is correct but against them then you are an aposter. Principles take a back seat. Everything is romanticised (I wonder if there is such a word, but I didn't want to interrupt). You cheat then you are wrong; if you cheat X 'coz he cheated you then its quits. The biggest hypocrisy is the tobacco industry. They sell cigarettes after telling you that they can kill you. Its like stabbing you after informing you that it could be fatal. And the government insists that they warn you & its illegal if they don't! A whole big bunch of buffoons.

A: If I am not being rude, Mr. Dwight, what is it that you expected out of this world & its people? Maybe then you might realise which is plausible & which isn't. Idealism is beautiful but not always practical. Somethings happen not because that is the correct way, but, because they were supposed to happen that way.

D: You believe in destiny? (I just shrug). Maybe you do, maybe you should, maybe everyone should. But there are quite a few things that do not rely on destiny for their existence. Things like virtue, ethics, morals, humane traits. I wish to rationalise on these issues. It might be destiny that Robby & I couldn't share a relation like my father and I did, but it isn't destiny when it comes to him acting like a goody-goody son today. That's hypocrisy. And then ....

A: Aren't you being stereotypical yourself? You want a relation between two people viz. you and Robby to be like a relation between two different people. When people don't have standards in their life, they resort to books & talk shows. Its just a different frame, but the underlying motive is the same, isn't it?

D: Very good, you are right. I fell into the trap myself but I did try to give that relation its rope. I gave Robby & the relation what it wanted & not what I wanted to & hence i feel i can shift my scrutiny to the underlying emotion or the absence of it.
You wish to know what i expect from this world? Nothing much, just honesty & simplicity. No pretense, no ideals, no beckoning the truth & ignoring it 'coz it is unpleasant, no conflict in the mind, no confusion, no fervid urge to judge people, no fanatic drive to make the world nod to your words, no denying love to an orphan, no act of putting people on pedestals & later debunking them, no rushing after money & status by selling your near and dear, no reaching the top and kicking the ladder which let you climb, no waiting for the person to greet you first, no words which you don't mean, no expectations of sweeter words to render false intentions, no hopes for someone to love you, no score books, no talk shows which teach you how to live, no acts done because they are supposed to be, no hesitation in doing what is correct and heartfelt, no agreeing to what everyone says merely on the grounds of democracy but for the truth in their statement, no acting caring because it impresses people around you, no expectations and hence no disappointments, no conditional love, no blindly unconditional love, no cheating on someone, no ambitions, no fanaticism, no groupism, no segregation, no loss of interest in simple things, no glorification of small things, no hype; in short, no hypocrisy. I suppose this is too much to ask of this world.

A: I guess it is. I think the approach, hence, could be changed. Instead of expecting this of the world, one should tune oneself to live up to this. I fear the world will never achieve these. If it did, people will make these their ideals, expect them from everyone else, expect them to happen but not be able to accept the consequences. It is a vicious cycle.

D: (Standing up and dusting his trouser seat). See, I told. One wonders whether it was worth spending 75 years in this cycle.

A: Look on the bright side, Mr. Dwight, you get to meet people from such a variegated collection of background, psychology, attitude, shapes & size. It is impossible for the intelligent not to learn & unlearn from these events of interaction.

D: (Looks at me). True. I am not sure whether 75 years were worth it, but this evening & definitely this conversation has been worth it all. It isn't what I expected, & which didn't happen, that disappoints as much as the complacency in the human mind towards all that we discussed. I guess you are right; the world will never change. It will just go round and round ....



The sunset was never more beautiful, the air never so crisp. Was it just today or the import of the conversation? I refuse to realise.

Not quite a post...

I feared I might not post today. No more.
After completing school, a student must be allowed to explore different possible fields in order to get a fair idea of what lies beyond hearsay. The entire society in which she lives must help her see the different facets to an occupation. From the glamorous version that visual media portrays to the mundane side the man who truly occupies his day with work. After that 1 mandatory year of free flowing travel (it really is a travel), the student must be able to convince herself and a panel of educators (comprising teachers who are familiar with the student) about the line of study she wishes to pursue. If the reason is banausic, fine. No harm. At least she should be clear about it. Idealism kills more men than reality ever conceived of doing away with. Once things are clear, then the student should pursue the field of study. After completing the course, another year must be spent in working at different places as an apprentice before being fully employed. This helps establish things on a more solid ground. Oh! my god, she lost 2 years of income!! 2 years in a career's life time of around 40 years. That is 2/40*100 % or 5% (I like 5%. Its the same key without and with the shift key depressed). That's fine. You will be 95% happy. Do I hear a solution which can give me better results than that?

But does society really care about giving the young an interesting life? Does it really care about making their life a true joy so that people around can also be happy?

Money & status decide a lot. Is this inevitable? Is this how it should be? Hmmm. Need to think about it.

And I never planned on writing more than the 1st line... Hence, the title.