Do laze around

Occasionally it happens that there is a lot of work pending and you be seated with the determination of finishing yet you end doing nothing and laze around. So is with me today, but my problem is that I have a seven by five feet window in front of me that gives an amazing picturesque view of table mountain sprawled with the variable lush greens and colored crowns of the residences. A cool breeze gushes in sweeping me with its crispness, and seldom with saline fragrances.

It happens to me often that I am enchanted by the lovely, coutured, amorphous cotton balls hovering in the clear pristine blue or groggy grey sky. The clouds seem to be on a voyage, sometimes in haste, sometimes sluggish and sometimes pushing each other. It is a spectacle to observe the movement of the clouds. They are in a train, in a cluster or sometime a single meditating loner floating on the airstream. Their motion is fluidic, it reminds me of the spiraling 3-dimensional DNA structure. Sometimes they assemble followed by a disassembly. Witnessing it is a treat more accomplishing than watching a VFX creation.

 Truly nature has its simplicity-personified beauty and yes the most beautiful things in life are for free, the only price is your consideration. We all are drenched in the subsistence complicacies, but in nature’s abode one feels all those to be inconsequential and non-existent. The imperative need for survival is food that nature gifts us magnanimously; can’t we just relax, let our hair down and be a part of the nature’s abundance than take it apart?

This will take us back to the origin of civilization, a hunter-gatherer era. But this is the circle of life all about to reach the commencing point. As ‘annihilation concieves creation’ so unlearn to learn more. Try it, conveniences are boring and inconveniences fetch adventure.

Freedom of Expression

Evolution of speech and language has always intrigued me. As it is a unique gift that gives a clever disguise to our real emotions, aids in maneuvering relationships, and when used prudently earns big money. But when was a clear word articulated, how did it give birth to a language and what was the language? I am more inquisitive about the first expression that melted to give itself a voice. Was it love, despair, enthusiasm or anger? Or may be an expletive that today is interpreted as an array of expressions recently being the funny one.

It is clichéd to say India is a vast country, not in the context of its territorial expansions but owing to the gradients existing amongst people. You will find resourceful people who have the luxury of education, finance and choices along with the people deprived of basic amenities. We are a fasting country some fast to reduce calorie intake, some to impress Gods and some due to lack. Fasting is a choice for some and imperative for others. Besides our lifestyles, this gradient occurs in our thought processes too.

Use of expletives is a universal form of expression, however, its choice of usage is still unclear knowing that much assertive forms of language are available. Its use will prove you to be uncivilized yet it is proportionately prevalent amongst all the stratus of the society. In our proved orthodox Indian environment, use of expletives is pungently condemned. However in recent times expletives are touted as a respectful mark of coming of age of Indian society. The gradient in the Indian masses can be well felt by the differential perception of these edgy remarks. Those who solicit it inappropriate are advertised as hypocrites or the ones having double standards.

Language is a beautiful blessing and should be cherished as the one. I am an old expletive intolerant who abhors its usage in anger or fun. We have a lot more serious issues to ponder over in our country, but the choice of language reflects our person, contrariwise it is the manifested dividend of all the resources invested in us. The user can comfortably slide beneath the blanket of, the right of the freedom of expression and would never realize the obligation to express or not. Moreover, if one exhibits this freedom how should I invoke my right of, not succumbing to it.

However, we are a progressing nation where we pay to be a part of these expletive knitted fun fares. If resourceful, educated populaces patronize it as a mark of systematic advancement then the unprivileged uncouth practicing it should be adorned as the role models.

The beautiful lines magar mujh ko lauta do mera woh bachpan, woh kagaz ki kishti, woh baarish ka paani seem to wane. As at present, an expletive-laced childhood seems offensive but after coming of age it is a signature of modernism. Then no one will miss the innocent kagaz ki kishti and baarish ka paani.

Saints and sadhus

Once I asked my father what is the difference between a sadhu and a saint? He smiled and said that a sadhu renounces the world and penances to attain moksha. A saint seeks wisdom, truth, and knowledge and need not necessarily renounce. He told me an old saying, which says if you meet a person with lean body and pure eyes you met a guru, and if with a broad waist and obese abdomen then you have yet to meet a guru. So, a saint or sadhu is a guru too.

When young your naivety privileges you with the ability to understand things sans complexities. But my understanding became more entangled while browsing a magazine that spoke about a conflict between the saints for the succession. What bewildered me was the conflict for power by the people who were ‘saints’, the illuminated ones. The most imperative fact was they were hugely obese, so were they not ‘guru’ while they were claiming to be the ‘jagatguru’?  The desire for power and rights was incomprehensible; as for me ‘saints’ do not need one.

Secondly my father never explained me saints and sadhus on the pretext of religion, he told me they were ‘sanatana’. We find numerous sadhus, saints, or prophets affiliated to a religion. Have they really renounced the world or ever penanced? Or have they fashioned it as an alternate way for their survival. It is bemusing that they can preach religion and rituals but not the truth, wisdom or compassion. They appear to be the custodians of the religion that is in an incessant threat and will succumb to if, not being their armor. Does religion a millennia-old tradition needs protection from the people or it can extend protection to the people?

The enchantment of being revered by the people as saints and sadhus have breeded new crop of entrepreneurs, the self-imposed ‘godman’. They appear in their publicity pamphlets meditating and they make water holy by dipping their great toe. They devour on the vulnerability of innocent in the name of penance. I believe in the tradition of saints and sadhus, but only when they alienate from asserting religion and contemplate for the liberation of the soul. 

Let's pay our homage

Subhash Chandra Bose affectionately remembered as Netaji was a devout patriot who strived his entire life to make his homeland free from the shackles of slavery. Bose’s vindication in Indian National Congress (INC) came in 1939 when he defeated a Gandhian rival for reelection. The ‘rebel president’ felt bound to resign because of the lack of Gandhi’s support. This aftermath formed Forward bloc and then Indian National Army. In August 1945, Bose, fleeing Southeast Asia, reportedly succumbed to the burn injuries of the plane crash in a Japanese hospital in Taiwan.

Lal Bahadur Shastri was second prime minister of India better remembered for his slogan ‘jai jawan, jai kisaan’ during the war of 1965 with Pakistan. The war officially ended with the Tashkent Agreement of 10 January 1966; he died inexplicably the following day, still inTashkent. The cause of death has been a subject of conspiracy theories. Government of India never took interest in pursuing the matter, investigating it and punishing the perpetrators of crime.

The issue why is Indian government is so reluctant about the death of its leaders. Three commissions were appointed to investigate the death of Netaji, apart from Taiwan neither British, Japan, Russia nor Indian government seemed to co-operate. The reports claim the plane crash of August 18, 1945 to be a hoax, but Indian government rejects the idea. The documents dealing with Netaji are claimed to be highly sensitive. Its revelations will jeopardise India’s relations with other ‘friend’ nations. On the same grounds, death of Mr Lal Bahadur Shashtri had its own share of controversies where in spite the family of Mr Shashtri demanding a probe, were denied. Government did not oblige to form an inquiry commission besides all the irregularities. It refuses to declassify the documents as they may impact the foreign relations, cause a disruption in the country and a breach of parliamentary privileges.

These two incidents present a very grim picture of Indian self-worth. It reflects the Indian society where when the known people are involved in the domestic harassment, the victim is endowed with the moral responsibility for protecting the family honour and the relationships. Is this the way we are paying homage to our leaders who laid their lives dreaming a Majestic India. Are we a victim as a nation, timorous to raise our voice for the fear of being alienated? Is a population of 1.2 billion sustaining on the alms of developed economies? Can’t we flourish by ourselves?

Government requires the determination of honouring its legends and the whole nation will stand by it. We need to earn our self-respect and if we don’t know how then presume the consequences if a US president gets killed on an official visit to other nation.

Survival of the fittest

We live in an artificial system? By saying artificial system, I mean a system where the struggles are fashioned, the paradigms are proposed and we rely more on presumed knowledge than the experienced one. The most startling fact about this setup is that we are made to believe that it is real. But is this real?

Darwin proposed the theory of the “survival of the fittest”. The context was species that survived the evolution, but we often use the term with our own interpretations. Survival of the fittest was an instinct based effort to survive the nature’s adversities. It was not pre-meditated, but the only way to ensure survival. Nature handpicked the best and the reward was Right to live. The selection pressure never diluted, the obsession to survive never died. Consequently, a relentless struggle for survival, with the sole aim to live.

Today often the phrase is used to persist in the social, political and economic ecosystems where the threat to life is rare. Rather, it is used to validate the immoral and treacherous ways adapted to be in the race to excel. We humans are surviving because we are the fittest is the half-realized truth. We are surviving because fittest amongst us organized to protect the unfit. Had it been the nature’s way many of us would have perished long ago. The question is why we always try to associate our endeavors with the nature? Does it provide a cover for us or we want to deduce that we are still part of nature?

Nature has always mesmerized humans, but we seized to be a part of it since we tried to manipulate it, correct it or upgrade it as per our wishes. We can make artificial rainfall, snow or make artificial body parts hence we are no more natural. We are trying to style a life on other planets, which is unnatural. It’s time for us to owe our actions and prevent crediting nature for our dubious ways.

Let’s think before supposing our ways to be natural and saying survival of the fittest.