Dear Society... Screw you

STATUATORY WARNING: THIS ARTICLE IS PURELY A RANT AND NOTHING ELSE. THOSE OF YOU WHO AGREE WITH TITLE, PLEASE CONTINUE. OTHERS CAN GO AND WATCH CARTOON NETWORK UNTIL THEY CAN SENSE SOME TRUTH IN THE TITLE.
Eons ago, I read a qoute by a man named william e. channing. what he said was this: "to me, the progress of society consists in nothing more than in bringing out the individual, in giving him the consciousness of his own being, and in quickening him to stregthen and elevate an elevate his own mind. " I believed him. there comes (and passes) a stage in every man's life when he believes that every printed word is the absolute truth. I once quoted this line to my father, trying to prove my point in one of the countless playful little debates we had, and still have. my dad quoted " society engages in polishing and decorating the cage in which man is imprisoned". I argued that this was so-not-true. with a slight smile and a pat on the back, he said, "you'll understand what I mean after a few years, when you grow up". now, after almost five years later, I can say that he was correct. no, that didn't come from some life changing personal experience, but from acute observation of whatever shit the life threw at me to see(or gawk, if you prefer that).

You see, I learnt to think a lot earlier than I learnt to talk. and from what I've seen by now, i honestly think that society is a stupid institution comprised of intelligent constituents. perhaps, the only institute which is completely devoid of logic of any kind, which runs on just emotions and not practicality and in all, defies the sense in all and any form. Man has always been a herd animal, always trying to lose himself in the crowd, afraid of being labeled a 'misfit', a 'freak'. This might be necessary from the point of view of safety, but when the so called uniformity begins to forget that it too has individuality, a cancer called supression is born.
I've Never Been Able To Understand The Logic Behind "Majority Wins". The Only Thing Majority Wins At Is Stupidity. Majority Consists Of People Too Foolish Or Weak To Have Their Own Opinions, Or Too Cowardly To Stand By Their Ideals. Who Gives The Right To A Society To Make A Man Live As The Society Tells, And Not By His Own Preferences? How Can Someone Be Told What Profession To Follow By A Society In Which He Lives? Believe Me When I Say That I'm Not A Nihilist. I Just Have A Grudge Against Any Damn Thing That Stands Between A Man And His Feelings And Individualism. The day you begin to heed what the society tells you to follow, what people might think about you, what they tell you to do, you are over. Obviously, this does not meen that you have to be an uncivilized beast, or you might conveniently interpret this as a ticket to live like however you want to live. The only thing you need to remember is this: If you aren't good to yourself, you are worse off than the mangly dog you see near dumpsters, because even that dog is capable enough of feeding itself. Do you see the honeytrap here? to be good to yourself, you have to be good the society. You don't fit right in, you're worse than a cripple. In the process of being good to yourself, you have to take care of the society. Gradually, the only thing you're left fit to do is take care of the society. The 'I' in you is long gone. You're just another cell in this fat, useless body. And this is what sickens me. You can't be you. Don't believe me? Let's take a few examples: Galileo. Raja Ram Mohan Roy. Einstein. Newton. Initially labelled as heretics, retards, or even threats to society. Reason: Refusal to follow conventional standards set by society, or rather, create new standards for society to follow.
Now what does that tell you about the nature of our society? RIGID. NARROW MINDED. ORTHODOX. An unwillingness to change, to progress, because as much as the society is divided on the various events, it will unite against a common enemy: The gamechanger, the person who proves their fallacy, limitations. To a certain extent, society might be right to oppose radical changes, but you can't really justify opposing everything for the sake of opposing, can you? What does society do to radicals? Ban them. Hurt them. Kill them. Rape them. Tarnish their image. The same society upholds them as heroes who survive these tortures and are still able to show the finger to this bunch of wolves. Science says, we are born with 23 pair of chromosomes. As we grow up though, we acquire a new pair: hypocrisy. Personally, everybody loves a rebel; but the funny thing is: nobody likes them once they are in a group. Sorry for a being a cynic here but why do we always have to behave? Praise a person to his face and laugh and poke fun at them once their back is turned. What logic is that? Low life assclowns like the current crop of Congress Politicians running the country, while artists like aseem trivedi languish in jail. Incompetent people shaping the mind of India's future (wow, what the fuck is that) while competent officers are harassed for doing their duty and are sent to remote areas as 'punishment'. Wow society, I give up. I cannot understand you. I'm no Howard Roark, and probably will never be. Here's a quote from my favourite book "The fountainhead", which probably sums up just about everything I feel about society: " Everything has strings leading to everything else. We're all so tied together. We're all in a net, the net is waiting, and we're pushed into it by one single desire. You want a thing and it's precious to you. Do you know who is standing ready to tear it out of your hands? You can't know, it may be so involved and so far away, but someone is ready, and you're afraid of them all. And you cringe and you crawl and you beg and you accept them-just so they'll let you keep it. And look at whom you come to accept." That's all. Think of me as an antisocial element, a freak maybe. But that's what I'd had to say. Agree or disagree. Because after all, I've written this for myself and not for the society :p

N.B. Those of you who haven't read it yet, do read "The Fountainhead" by Ayn Rand. A must read, whether you agree with this post here or not.

So, you need a smartphone. You are going to a new college. You outgrew your good old java phone. Monkeys liked the shiny exterior of your old one and took off with it. You were drunk and thought of baiting the fish with your phone instead of worms. N number of reasons. The bottom line is, you have to buy a new one. Finito.

The first thing you need to remember is, All that glitters is probably cheap chrome. The time for selecting a phone based on its looks is long gone. You gotta remember certain things while choosing the right device for yourself. Search the market, ask people about their opinions on their smartphones and  how you are going to use your own one.

When you need a smartphone, you should select it on the following criteria:

Budget : 
Remember the good old advertisement that asks, "Is your dad an ATM machine?" If yes, good. If no, you'd do well by watching it. Yeah, everyone wants the HTC One X. But getting it shouldn't burn a hole (or tunnel, for that matter) in your pocket. Decide what's your budget going to be. If you have no such constraints, spoil yourself. Waaaaaah! 
Requirement: 
now that you're decided on the  budget, let's think about how you're going to use your phone. Consider a person who needs a phone for making calls, a few texts, an hour or so of music and video playback, with not much care for a huge application base. Even a new born infant can tell you that this person will be more than happy with a symbian phone, the most imporatnt factors being sturdiness and good battery life. Likewise, if you're a businessman, you need a phone with good and secure connectivity options with encryption. (Blackberry! Blackberry! ) If you're a student, you need it all. Music, social networking, internet, and other bling bling features. (Android) Moral : You don't need an android or iPhone if you're going to use your phone for basic purposes.
Reliability:
So you just checked out that new smartphone from Meizu. It fits your budget, It's a quad core beast, perfect for your requirements and looks great. So you'll buy it. *Coughs a little* Really? Ever trusted a chinese phone maker before? One fall, end of the story, and in most cases, the phone too. (Don't think that I'm stereotyping, just user feedback) You need a decent build quality, and service centers located near you in case anything goes wrong. People with a wild side who constantly go trekking or need adventure as a daily nutritional supplement should look at devices with  IP67 certified phones. One word of caution : Don't read to much into tech sites reviews, it's a common practice for the so called tech experts to be drunk while reviewing the gadgets. Rather, ask people who've owned the phone for a definite amount of time.
Ergonomics:
Small factors like the position of the lock button and shape of the device affect the user experience a great deal. It's a common observation that people with small hands (usually ladies) have trouble operating a phone with display greater than 4.3 in. size. Also, if you're a big man with sausage hands, typing on a small touchscreen can be nothing short of hell. What I basically want to say is, the phone should be made to suit you, not the other way round.
Miscellaneous :
This is an open category. If any one factor is so important for you that it can become a deal breaker, make that factor your primary area of focus. You need to customize your phone every other week? Go for android. Need the best entertainment features? iOS. Beautiful interface with great functionality? Windows phone. Reliability and good battery life? Symbian. (Exception: Droid Razr Maxx, android device) . Enterprise features? Blackberry. A Camera that you can carry anywhere? Nokia pureview 808. Avid texter? A phone with slider keypad. There's something for everyone.

P.S. I haven't given a list of the best smartphones here. It's subjective and varies from person to person. If you need the list, you can contact me here.

The Wanderer

He was a lonely traveller, always hunting something.Never resting, always in the pursuit of his dreams, though he never ever fully understood them. The mercurial wanderer, he was called; both by the commoners and wise men. He confounded them all. Never could he rest in a place, though many of unquestionable strength tried to bind him in shackles. He’d somehow break free of every rope, changing his form, soaring into the unfathomable, ethereal sky, never to be bound by the same chains. He was the true ascetic; the most possesive demon, the donor of ecstasy, the hoarder of miseries. He could be all at the same moment, but never none. He always had some shape that defined him, though he was indescribable as a whole.
That day was different though. Something had changed. The very existance of his self seemed different to him. He was actually still, contemplating all he’d ever experienced. The sublimity, passion, turbulence, solitude, unrest he’s gone through formed a montage before his very eyes. It was like dreaming with open eyes; aware of the surroundings yet experiencing its fragility.
Slowly, the light of comprrehension tricled in, illuminating the deepest crevices of his conscious. In those moments he understood the glaciers. He understood the plants that sustained in water alone. He understood the scant rains that left the thirst of the deserts unsatisfied. He understood the gazelle running away from the tiger. He understood the gazelle running towards the tiger, heedless of the danger. He understood the rainbow, he understood the clouds. He understood the depths of the oceans, he had the measure of the summits of the monstrous mountains. He understood the eagerness of a cat to return to her litter, and the beauty of a peacock dancing in the anticipation of rains.
He’d begun to appreciate the significance of the chains he’d so often bound with. Not that he welcomed the knowledge. It made the world a bleaker place for him. With an exasperated sigh, he got up and started stretching his legs. He might have understood the world, but he’d embraced his destiny. He was the lonely traveller, never resting, never stopping.

Terrible Vaudeville

I know it’s a weird title. Totally nonsensical, right? Well, just like always, I’m here to extract sense from it.  Let’s play a little game. Look at the initials of the words in the title, then open the dusty dictionary lying on the shelf (Don’t lie to me, it’s been there since god knows when) and look for “vaudeville”. For all the lazy bums who don’t wanna do the simple exercise, vaudeville  is “ A type of entertainment featuring comical and musical acts”. I guess the meaning’s clear now. I’m talking about your favourite pastime, the television (hallelujah, the bulb glows!!)

T.V. for the want of a better term, is said to be a medium of communication. It is medium, yes. It is medium as in “ordinary, mediocre”. Nothing special. And it just passes on that mediocrity to you. Don’t believe me?? Hang on a sec. Remember the last time you had a good game of football with your buddies, or visited that favourite garden of yours? Bought a book to read and read it completely? Looked at that coin collection which you painstakingly built? Tried to write poetry, which you liked to do earlier?? Naaaw. Nope, because you’re now glued to the Idiot box. I believe, T.V. is too much chewing gum for the eyes.  Gooey, sticky, indigestible and turning sour after a while.

Let’s talk about your idols from T.V. Do you honestly believe the shit they show in the daily soaps? The guy you swoon over might be a drug addict in real life. The good girl who routinely makes you cry because of her noble character might be a bitch who routinely beats up her underage maid. The “reality show” which you  dream of entering every single night might not be so real after all. Let’s have a look at the daily soaps. One breakup (no, make that two, three, four,…..n). two years have passed. Now our gal gets married (even that god awful farce of a ceremony lasts for two months). Then the husband dies after a few days, or an old flame returns to torture her (mind you, she HAS to suffer). Then a few more troubles, shedding of tears that could solve India’s water crisis and a few twists later, the series “ends”, only to be restarted with a leap of one century in the character’s lives. Be honest, how many soaps have you seen with this story line? Many, did you say? All? And little do you realize that you’ve lost precious time and gained a few kgs in the process.

Let’s not forget our beloved news channels too. We have certain channels which deliver content that’s funnier than two and a half men (atleast when Charlie sheen was still there). Who in the bluest of the blue hells wants to know which flower did Ravana gift seeta? Or the gateway to hell? We hardly need such popcorn fart thingy news!

Please get this, people. Don’t screw your time. It is stupidvision, where most people look like they have to pretend to be stupid just because their audience is. It’s like talking to a vacuum cleaner; stuff that hardly touches human brain. TV turns made into vegetable (no pun or offence intended). Throw that box outta your room and life. Don’t live some bimbo’s life, you’ve got your own to take care of.

Still... unanswered

*Author's note*
 Sorry Guys, didn't update this blog for a long time. I was busy with thewackyheads.com. Now that it's stable, I'm back to this blog. To make up for the lost time, I'm publishing the last few posts which I'd previously published on TWH. A new post is preprogrammed to go public after every two days, so I guess you'll have your hands full for the next fortnight. Enjoy!

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I don’t really know what love is. The more I try to bind it in words, the more indescribable it gets…

Does love mean hoping and waiting patiently for years and years, just to meet a person someone once?

Is it walking side by side on the streets, noticing how uncomfortable that spark of electricity between the two of you has grown to be?

Or is it just pretending to look in some other direction, just to watch and admire all the graceful moves the person makes?

Is it the blush that makes your ears turn red when your hands touch accidentally, or the hurriedly uttered apology made just to fill out the awkward silence?

Is it the warmth that swells inside your heart when you see the one looking and smiling at you?

Is love hiding your dumb grin and the moisture in your eyes, so that the person does not come to know what you feel??

Is love the distress that makes your life hell, when you realize that the one with you has to go and can’t stay with you forever, or is it the silent cry that urges you to hold the other one tightly and never let them go?

Is it the hopelessness that engulfs you when you watch the one disappear slowly, saying goodbye?

Or is it the denial you make when your heart silently answers the above questions affirmatively?

I don’t really know. Maybe i’ll understand someday.

Being Human

*Author's note*
 Sorry Guys, didn't update this blog for a long time. I was busy with thewackyheads.com. Now that it's stable, I'm back to this blog. To make up for the lost time, I'm publishing the last few posts which I'd previously published on TWH. A new post is preprogrammed to go public after every two days, so I guess you'll have your hands full for the next fortnight. Enjoy!

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I was out shopping for clothing (totally pointless, but i’ve been told that being at a new college requires a change of wardrobe). Totally boring, but performing this unpleasant ritual once a year helps avoiding it for another one.  After spending three “pain in the you-know-what” hours, I was finally done with shopping and got to my favourite part of the evening, i.e. food 

As many of you know by now, little Ninad is a creepy stalker. Trying to live up to my reputation, I grabbed a corner seat and began to watch the people inside the restaurant. Interesting things are bound to happen at an overstuffed and understaffed hotel, and soon enough, soomething happened.

A waiter caused quite a commotion when he dumped a couple of plates full of food on the shining, clean-shaven head of a burly customer (If you ask me, that fatso got up without looking around, but the customer is  always right until he pays the money,so…)

Very soon, after all the mess, the guy started abusing the waiter and using all sorts of colourful expressions which you don’t normally hear at places other than truck docks. After all the doomsday threats, the guy accepted compensation from the waiter and left the restaurant smirking, his T shirt proudly proclaiming “Being human”.

I looked at the waiter. He was barely older than me and looked very close to tears due to the financial loss and humiliation. I was shocked at the behaviour of that man, but had seen many money lickers who asked for financial settlement for anything that went against them.

You see, it all boils down to money.  We don’t, or rather, don’t chose to see a worthy student who can’t buy his books or pay his fees citing our own expenses. The same day, we visit Adlabs or Cinemax, watch a trailer trash movie and eat pizza that looks like a puked-on pancake and throw a thousand bucks away.

Leave the charity aside, but look at what we teach the children: demand compensation from friends for lost or broken toys, or worse, break something in return. No wonder they don’t learn simple values like sharing. And then we cry, “Awww look where this generation is headed”.

I’ll cite another example here. I’d been to a blood donation camp recently. It felt good to help in my own small way, like many other donors there. Imagine our outrage ands hurt when when we came to know that the organiser of the drive was caught red handed (no pun intended) for selling the blood to a blood bank. He was the guy who had made a pretty speech the last day, telling everyone how benevolent our gesture was. Today charity is for showing off. People think that wearing a being human T shirt is more important than being one. Disgusting.

As I was contemplating all this, a voice intrrrupted, “I’m sorry sir, but it’s time for us to close. Can I get you anything?” I just asked for our errant guy to collect my bill. But before he could come, I paid the required amount,and emptied my pocket (or what was left of it) and decided to walk home. After all, walking is good for health, isn’t it???

If you have it, you have IIT

        He woke up with groggy eyes. He didn't like waking up so early in the morning, it made his head spin and stomach roil. He had no other option though; tuitions were mostly scheduled in the morning. "Useless buggering insomniacs", he thought viciously. "It'd soon be over", he reassured himself, just for the sole purpose of convincing himself.

       He'd decided to study literature; sciences attracted him as much as rafflesia's smell. He's just joined the engineering stream because he was told it would be good for his future. By now, he'd understood that sciences would ruin his life, rather than make it worthwhile. It wasn't as if he was bad at sciences. He was rather good. Better than many. But being good at engineering and being happy were two totally different things.

      "I'd talk to my parents the next time I go home", he quietly resolved. They would understand, he knew. It'd take a hell lot of persuading, but they'd understand. It'd cause quite a scandal back home, but he'd learnt a while back that society was the most stupid organisation of all times, and he didn't giva a rat's fart to what people would say on his disgraceful(?) return.A blast of music from his cell phone jolted him out of his reverie. It was his mom on the other side.

        "Hi mom", he said. "Hello" was the stiff and cold reply from the other side. Uh-oh, I know this tone, he realized with sudden panic. He had answered the call now though, and no excuses to end it flashed through his nimble, yet now silent-for once mind.

        "I guess you now know why I'm calling at this hour", his mother said, her tone getting harsher with each word. "The topper boy of the institute has dropped out of the 30's and still doesn't have a shed of remorse. Don't you know how much me and your dad has invested for you? And you have absolutely no regard..." on and on, she went.

              He dutifully listened to the tirade, never explaining that some guys were bullying him at his tuition, that he'd had more migraine attacks in the last month than in his entire life or even that he didn't like what he was studying. After apologising for what seemed to be the hundredth time and promising to do better next time, he finally calmed his mom down.

           With a sigh. he opened the chemistry textbook and started studing the periodic table.....

TRUTH....!

Hello!!!!  Is someone happy around here? Can anyone show me what real laughter is? Why? For what? Why do we have to disagree with everyone around us, or we disagree with ourselves too? Maybe that’s the case….

Life is good for people like us. We get good education…. Culture and arts are okay too… What else does one require to be happy?  Still, I can see stress on everyone’s  face…. Why so?

Look at us,  we aren’t happy with the seasons too!!  We say, rain comes at an unexpected time.…No discipline to it. Be summer or winter, the wretched thing comes to disrupt us…Rain has become like men, unpredictable, moody…People say, “I'm alone. There is no one for me. ” Why the false claims of being lonely? Or is showing loneliness in vogue?

We like to read newspaper the first thing in morning…But is it necessary to say “There’s nothing to read in the papers” every five  minutes? Conservation of  forests, animals, is out of our sphere... “Cricketer’s marriage to actress, opposed by the bride’s farther” is considered childish. Reading about global warming is considered unnecessary. So, in this world, we’re habituated to the illusion of our own sweet uniqueness…. Criticizing everything else….

Why are we into the habit of believing that no one speaks absolute truth? If anyone asks, us our name, does the rhetoric ‘why?’ has to be used? If someone praises us, is being afraid of their intents  justified? And after all this, we have the guts to say shamelessly to our reflection, ‘I can’t really trust anyone.’

If a person is blunt, we call him arrogant, conceited…. On the other hand, if someone speaks with a proper planning, we brand the person as ‘cunning, politics playing for’. Is everything deceitful? When an orator praises someone, is he acerbic ‘Now look at the sucking up’ comment necessary?

Is every song, every coin a falsehood? Reality shows or life, do we have a reason to believe that everything is fixed? Every road has potholes of corruption, has already been accepted by us….

Politician means falsehood, police means bribery…. Artist equals addiction, and player means match fixing….. Youth means irresponsibility, trader means a cheat…Salesman is a thief, and truck drivers mean  AIDS……Promises are for breaking, and rules are never to be  followed... Temple means a theft of footwear and lectures are a big bore….. Do we need o believe in this?

ONE day , just for a day, let’s begin our morning by smiling at the ceiling…Let’s search for something interesting in the news…we know the person talking to us is lying, but let’s rest our head on his shoulder anyway......Perhaps, he’ll feel compelled to speak the truth ?? When passing from a kindergarten, let’s stop at its gates for a  few minutes, and rejoice in the nostalgia  of our own innocent, carefree, transparent laughter of our childhood.

Believe me, we can laugh, we can certainly speak the truth. But we’ve bonded ourselves with chains, chains which had no reason to exist…chains of  myths like singularity, uniqueness, injustice, unfair life… Do we need to die with such inhibitions? Death is the ultimate truth, but let’s live fully before the moment comes... AT LEAST ONCE!!

Again

Talking to my diary. Again. Should've been tired of this by now, but I'm out of options... again. I need to vent out how I feel, but no one's listening. The guy in the dorm right above me is playing Green Day songs, but it's a song I'm horribly familiar with, and I try to tune out the sound automatically. Again.

It's too cold in my room. Somewhere close by, an owl hoots, a dog howls morosely... The chill wind seeps through my body, freezing my bones. Again. My roomies are sitting together, laughing at bawdy jokes. I join in mechanically, without even hearing the joke. Again. They don't notice the slip in my composure or my fake laughter and carry on with more sick jokes. Again.

I throw a glance at my closet, noticing without any real interest that it has become more untidy than a doctor's handwriting. I check my emails and facebook notifications. Even before I check them out, I somehow know that there's nothing new in my inbox. My brain is numb, but I can't stop thinking while thinking about nothing at all.  Again.

By now, my roomies are hitting the sack, telling me that even abnormal human beings like me need sleep sometimes. I chuckle weakly at the old joke, but like every other piece of advice I've ever heard, I block it out before it even registers with my brain. Again.
By now it is 0430 and I'm still wide awake. Time has passed without me knowing, like it always does.  I try to sleep, but sleep behaves like a sulking child, never coming close, sticking its tongue out at me. I'm about to scream, rip my hair off and strangle everyone in my sight. Somehow, slowly, bit by bit, cell by cell, I reign myself in. Again.

A feeling of despair washes over me, ferociously trying to do me in, almost choking me with agony. I'd never thought that heartache was a physical feeling, not just a fanciful description. Tears slide down, wetting my beard. I've lost her. Again.

Welcome to facebook!

  


I've been a regular Facebook user since June 2010. Like every user, login page is the one thing I absolutely hate. Same crappy message, everyday, everytime I log in. The very first thing facebook says on the login page is "Facebook helps you connect with the people in your life" (Awesome, we know that already fellas). In my opinion, this description is as incomplete as my education. I beg to differ. The tagline should have been, "Facebook helps you connect with the people in your life AND get to understand what they really are in reality". Use it consciously, and you'll certainly notice what's written here.


You see, I spend more more observing people than actually communicating with them. The moment you talk to someone, the mechanism called "internal firewall" begins to function and all you can see is the trojan horse, the mask that this firewall keeps outside. So, just observing people does me a hell lot of good than idiotic, mind-numbing, brainless chatter. (Dexter Morgan, are you reading this???) The same goes for facebook. Log on, get offline, watch the people. Fun (and creepy).


Well,  observation number one is, quite obvious. Everybody's a winner.. No one is a loser on facebook. Ever. everyone is friggin' perfect. Even the faults one has are described to make them sound like a saint. Have a look at this, for example: "I'm scary but cute" (???). Well, I couldn't, and still can't respond to a description like this. It makes me go all dizzy. Everyone is a demi-god here. Omnipotent and omniscient. 


Observation number two is: you'll see everyone post anything and everything, however significant or otherwise, on their facebook wall for everyone to see. Pass an exam?? post it. Get a job? share it. Celebrate your b'day? Upload the pictures. Visit a friend ?? Thank him/her by adding dozens of hearts and kisses smilies. Hell, you get a haircut, and upload it. Seems extreme, doesn't it?


Observation Three: This may be one of the few "matriarchial societies", and possibly the largest ever . If you're a guy, well, tough luck, mate. You're going to have it rough. People will ask a hundred times, "Do i know you?? Why should I accept your request?" If you're a girl.. well, no questions asked. The world is your oyster. "I'm glad to have you as a friend, ma'am!" (is anyone drunk enough to disagree with me here??) 


Then,  observation number four is actually funny and quite common, too. Go check the comments under the photograph of a pretty girl. you'll see variations of this comment: heyyy.. looking.. beauty... dear.. niceeeee! I lyk u :) (an actual comment copy-pasted from a friend's account) Check the pics of a hundred girls with pretty faces, you'll see tons of comments like these, albeit with a few variations.


Observation five is pretty straightforward: the greater number of friends you have, greater is your cool quotient. Friend invitations are just like flyers distributed everywhere. Free, open for everyone, and most of the times, equally useless. Accept a request and the only thing you're going to know about the person is... just that. His request to add you as a friend. If you don't want to interact, what's the use of being a friend?


Then there's a somewhat important, not-so-light matter. Those of you involved in creative stuff and/or have a page for your services must have experienced this. Someone unpopular does some really great stuff like, wildlife photography, creative writing, poetry, etc and shares it with people, his work will be noticed by just 10-20%  of his/her friends. Moreover, he won't get the appreciation he deserves, and hence, will feel low. On the other hand, picture this: someone popular or "cool", even if he goes to a freaking water park, will get a hundred likes and generic comments. (whatever happened to fairness in this cruel, cruel world?. (I guess "Life is a bitch" has its origin in facebook. Necessity is the mother of invention, right?)


The only thing I wish for is honesty. People feel cheated when they don't get that. Be frank guys; don't try to pretend what you're not. It always brings Headache, Heartache and bad digestion later on. I'm not anti-facebook; indeed I'm greatful to facebook for providing me an opportunity to be a part of something big like thewackyheads, which I'm almost sure i wouldn't have otherwise been able to accomplish... I just want a little transparency. So do you. Be honest!  

Omnipotent Me

Omnipotent Me...

God... probably the strongest entity  that single-handedly has the ability to unite or divide us humans, for good or evil. The funny thing is, God has become more of a political figure these days, than the pillar of faith He (or She) was originally meant to be. God is the base of faith, and religion is just the hollow building that stands upright due to it's support. Demolish the building, you can make a new one. Destroy the base, and the building tumbles down... automatically. What happens when someone refuses to believe the existence of base itself? I'll tell you.


A few people who know me personally  are aware of the fact that I'm an outspoken agnostic, despite the fact that I come from a family of devout Hindus (not superstitious, though). Not a single time has it failed to surprise people, though what's so surprising, eludes me. Recently, I had an opportunity to visit a very famous and ancient temple with a friend of mine. I agreed, out of a little guilt that had sprung up from very little socialising on my part, and I needed some fresh air anyway. 


As promised, I went to the temple with him. However, I stopped at the gates to observe the architechtural  grandiosity. The entire temple was carved out of black stone of some kind. There was a certain grace in the temple that made me stop in my tracks and pay attention to the minute carvings and details. Meanwhile, my friend had almost entered the temple, stopping only when he realised that I hadn't followed him. He impatiently signaled me to join him. I shook my head to state my refusal and asked him to offer his prayers and meet me outside. After trying to reason with me for some time, he shrugged and completed his prayers.


On our way home, he couldn't control himself and finally said, "Dude, you are a hindu, then why didn't you come inside the temple??" I said, "I'm a hindu by birth, but agnostic in nature". He stared at me as if I had just asked him to moonwalk . A few seconds later, he asked the million dollar question: "Why so?"  To which I replied, "I don't need a God". My answer obviously didn't satisfy him, and we had a round of arguments which remained unsolved for quite a few days.


In the meantime, I was searching for a way to frame a proper response for his arguments . A few days later, blasphemous me formed a convincing reply and decided to end this unfinished business forever. I caught up with him the next day and we resumed our World War.


Realising that this conversation was headed the same way as the last one, I interrupted his talk halfway and said, "Look, I'm not saying that God does not exist because of the lack of scientific proof. I'm not even saying that I lost faith because of calamities, poverty, inequality and other such reasons.  It's just that I don't believe in omnipotent-benevolent concept. I don't leave anything to God, I prefer to do it myself.  I can say that I'm responsible for my own life and decisions. I don't need to look to the heavens and mutter in the air for help, I can find it deep within myself. I don't need to create safeguards and face the consequences of my actions, however pleasing or depressing they might be.


Most importantly, I can believe in my own power than believe in someone else. I steer my own canoe rather than leaving it to the mercy of the waves. In a way, I'm my own god, and I'm omnipotent as long as things need to get done my way.... Isn't that a reason enough???"  I fell in my chair, tired from my sudden outburst.


For a moment, he didn't say anything. Then he smiled sheepishly and said, "You've scored pal ! you know you have!"

Passion

PASSION


Anyone who lives in India knows the five common features of  the Indian roads: Potholes, unruly truck drivers, cattle, jaywalkers and marriage processions. In short, it's a massacre if you're an amateur driver.However, these factors can provide some very insightful  sights if searched for. 


  Recently, I took a trip to a hill station with my friends. We stopped for our daily dose of tea at a kiosk on our way, as it was quite early in the morning and  none of us is what anyone would describe as an "Early Bird ". We were right next to a temple, where a marriage procession had arrived with the bride and the groom. The musicians, though quite exuberant  a few minutes ago, had settled down. 


I love to observe people, unnoticed. People are natural when they think no one's watching them. So I closely watched the people assembled. However, the humble musicians were the ones who caught my attention. They had a content smile on their faces, a twinkle in their eyes. They were SERENE.


Frankly, I couldn't understand why were they so happy. It was obvious their job didn't pay well. They had limited means; that's just a polite way of saying they were poor, and their job couldn't do much to their income. I wondered, "How can they be so happy?"


The answer evaded  me for many days. However, my brother  answered that question without him knowing it. During a conversation, he mentioned that he was tired of his IT sector job and wanted to work with publishing houses, as literature was always his first  priority. Although his job paid him obscene amount of money, he wasn't  getting any joy from his work. It lacked job satisfaction.


It was the eureka moment; the moment of revelation. I understood  the reason behind the serene smile of the musicians. They were happy and  loved their job. They ENJOYED their work. 


As a child, I never took the proverb "Work is Worship" too seriously. Now that I've matured a bit, I can finally understand what it means. And yes, it IS the best worship, better than spending a couple of hours reading religious scriptures each week and asking god to bring happiness in our lives.


It is the work itself and not the money that makes people happy. How many of us students (Indians, anyway) really get to do what we want? Many of  us never even realise what we want from our work, we only treat it as a way of paying the bills. When we realise what we always wanted to do, it's too late. That's the biggest regret. Ask yourself. isn't it true??
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The writer is an engineering student studying at the Pune University. You can contact him personally on facebook(http://www.facebook.com/ninad.jane) and this blog.

Illusions!!

     It's my first entry on my new (and completely my own) blog... hope that you like it. Comments on the blog entry, positive or negative, are greatly appreciated, as long as they pertain to the article and not the writer personally...
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  The other day, I came across an interesting optical illusion : It said, "Honesty is the the best policy" in a regular triangular signboard.  Being a prankster, I printed it out and showed it to a few friends  and my ever gullible little sister and asked them to read what was written. Nine times out of ten, people answered, "Honesty is the best policy", and then looked at me like I was an infant who couldn't read English.


That set me thinking. I couldn't understand how people got confused with such a simple illusion. A few days later, I read a passage from Dan Brown's "The Da Vinci Code" which was based on a common misconception about the world famous painting ,"The Last Supper". It says that, certain images get so firmly imprinted on our brain that the brain automatically rejects the contradictory image, however different it may be. 


Leave all the medical talk, but we can talk about our real life situation here. We seem to miss so many obvious things, and i'm not referring to our little illusion here. An appreciative or disapproving mark from your teachers , The I-wish-you-were-dead look behind the smile of your archenemy, the love behind an admonishment by a parent, an admiring smile by an adoring person... the list is endless. And like an optical illusion, we seem to overlook these little things.


I wish, as a human being, that our sixth sense would improve. it would help to avoid many unpleasant situations caused by trifles, get along better with our fellows, make society a better place to live, and most importantly, lift the veils of illusions from our eyes, and help us think clearly... After all, illusions are solved when thought about objectively, and life is the greatest illusion of them all...


Don't you agree???
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The writer is an engineering student studying at the Pune University. You can contact him personally on facebook(http://www.facebook.com/ninad.jane) and this blog.