Changes

It is surprisingly cool. Such days are few and far between, in this city. This city, which I call home. Where I have lived here forever, except for a few sojourns.

As the wind blows from the east, from the direction of the sea, you realize that nothing much has changed but a lot has happened. The same smells and the same shanty dirty streets. The parked cars, which eat into the road, have increased. Layers and layers of tar have been added. Old houses are gone and new flats have come in.

Yet the same old trees, sway in the distance, most have weathered the storms of  nature and man’s insanity. People have grown older, new friends have been found, old ones  have either been blown away by the winds or the relationships have just waned, but history just strolls on. It walks past the very streets, which I transverse, still. I can see it, silently taking stock, of the events- what happens today, leads to a tomorrow.

It speaks through people. We hear about the past, we gain hope and passion for the future. We hope to out do it. It fuels our aspirations, by setting the chimes. We change, we walk past those things and suddenly realize in vain, but it remains. It is a superfluous being. It transpires, it lives, it exists, in our very blood, that which can never be changed by mere concrete.

I have been hearing it for 18 years and some of its stories have been forgotten, some distinctly still clear,  it still accompanies me. It instigates, it is the thread of attachment, it is what makes the chemical being, live. It is what cognates. My heart pumps it, I can feel it. The mind never tires, the hope of a better tomorrow, the dreams of unseen heights and the thrills and spills.

The path has long been laid. But even that is preceded,  by the waves and the lands. We are fascinated, when we hear of our past, not only about our family, its achievements, contributions, but also at the history of our very Earth and universe- the true family, which we belong to.

We hold on to what we can. No amount of spirituality and science can cause a centrifugation in us. It is innate. It is what makes us, us. Memories remain of  from where we came, the nostalgia will be sustained. Beyond skin, flesh and bones, our blood is thicker.

I stand upon, the wind tickles, I smile and I walk on. Life is never the same, change is the only constant, that is why everything remains.

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Tagged!!!!

After what seems like an eternity, a tag has come my way at last! 😀 This one is from Nita 🙂 It is the wish list tag 🙂

I am debating whether I should do this one seriously or to do a fun one, but an amalgam should be better? 😛

1) Write, write and keep writing. And not just poetry, I want to try some fiction/ prose too. I have been planning to start writing books for long, have the stories in mind, but well, prose demands things which poetry doesn’t. And yes I have an idea for a drama script too. The idea, the substance everything clear, but then, exams in 5 months- ugh!

It is not just about getting published or something. For a while, I did think that trying to get published was a good goal, but then realized that it was quite futile. Every time I pick up the pen/sit in front of the screen to write, it is about me. It is a journey, into myself and that is what is important.

2) Act. I love acting. And I don’t mind playing parts which others might not be willing to do. I think this is something that every writer will like to do. When you can construct characters, you can play them as well. As I said, I want to write that script and hopefully I am able to do it 🙂

3)Studies:-

i)CA:-  That’s what I am doing right now. The course demands the use of your head, so it is not at all bad. Only thing though, I need to start studying more 😛

ii) Economics:- This is a subject which has always intrigued me. One reason might be that, the subject doesn’t demand much “studying” as such, it is based on understanding. After I finish CA I might be doing something related to economics(hopefully).

4) Societal goals:- I believe education is the key. Education as in everything and anything that helps nurture a person(In this respect, blogging I will say has played a part in my education). So I intend to do something in those lines, maybe start an education institution.

5) Travelling and photography:- This is something which I want to do, explore the world. Of course it will help if I can someone who is willing to travel along with me 😉 I love taking photos( does it really matter how good or bad I really am 😛 ) ,so yes hopefully I can shoot something worth while.

6) Designing:- Maybe not my natural forte, but then again, I like trying to do creative things 🙂 SO hopefully I can get to do some serious designing.

7) Music:- Well want to concentrate more on violin and tabla 😛 Music is magic. Whether you listen or play, it does take you on a wonderful ride 🙂

8) Nothing:- Discover how people can do “nothing” and from there learn more about the human mind 😛

9) Languages:- I want to learn Sanskrit and Latin 🙂 These two because, I want to read for myself, how our ancestors thought.  Much has been derived from what’s written in these two languages and I would like to read and find out for myself 🙂

10) Football:- This is something which very dear to me, Second only to writing. The game’s got something about it. Who knows maybe I can own a team in the future? 😛

11) Carpe Diem:- Of all the above thing, this is the one. 😀 😉

Anyway hopefully the future holds something good 🙂 I never write down my ambitions, goals etc, some how hate seeing them on paper. These things form a very small fraction of what I want to do. But then achieving  is not merely having the desire, but then having the ability to fulfil your desires.

I like to think that the future is going to hold what I want it to hold. And yes, I avoided, talking about love, rather deliberately 😉  We will see 🙂 And now I pass on this tag to:-

1) Swathi

2) Fruity

3)Aarti

4)Arch

5)Alps

Happy Children’s Day

Since blogger’s who are younger than me, don’t seem to exist(put your hands up if you are one) , as a handsome young thing, I want a gift from all my reader’s. Just remember to cross check and make sure you don’t get me the same thing as someone else(you are welcome to discuss the gift in my comment section) 😀

And well all you adults out there(for 24 hrs I am kid), Don’t worry you are still a child, or at least your mom will tell you so. If not you’re a child at heart, you can start crying when someone scolds you. So Happy Children’s Day.

And well it’s supposed to be Nehru’s birthday let’s not forget. So is the Congress Government going to give gifts and hold a party for the entire nation? Why not? Make sweets for the entire nation, maybe for once we all can eat sweets, when there is no food? See you give sweets today and when the kids grow up they will vote for you. That is effective bribing or one for the future.

Quite crude, I guess. But don’t worry, once Rahul become’s our PM, we will have a Teenagers’ day. Yay! Not the one where we can’t sing our national song but the one where our tobacco industry lives only on exports(really bad bad me). But let us not be mistaken, we should have a common language by then. I am planning to invent one.

Goooo goo gaaa giii – that’s happy children’s day. Gaa? Giigeek?

Hmm..What is that a free domain for 100 years?

I thought the world was supposed to end by 2012. Don’t make people richer unnecessarily. And well I am too bugged of working on photoshop for two continuous days, so no banners and yes I think my blog is banned in China *sigh* , so again,

HAPPY CHILDREN’S DAY EVERYONE 🙂 Get yourself a big rose, on my behalf(after you have sent me my gift 😛 ).

rains, NEWS etc

Its been raining Chennai for the past few days. So no classes blah blah. Of course none of the national NEWS channels would have told you that many have died and many more misplaced and that schools and colleges have been closed etc(that doesn’t stop a few colleges and schools from working). Wrote a poem as well(in my poetry blog).

From newcamera2

From newcamera2

More about the second photo later.

I do wonder why rains in Chennai/TN don’t make it to the NEWS. Someone gets crushed by a bus in Delhi and the media is all over the place, someone sneezes in Mumbai and its hot NEWS. I am just curious that is all. After all people with better discretion run those things, the fourth estate etc etc.

We have had a couple of political fiascos going on as well. MNS, breaking microphones and well even trying to assault another leader in the Maharashtra assembly. Cool. We can forget about peace talks and Gandhigiri with such people around. No wonder others think they can lay claim to pieces of our land.

And of course one poor politician getting caught at it. I am a CA student and well the IT act(well a part of it, for my level) is there in the syllabus and  trust me, it is the most complicated thing I have never read/tried to read. As I commented – why don’t we let the IT department go after terrorists? (as per the act, illegal income is also taxable(correct me wise ones). But we all do know, the reality, if not the truth. Come on , where is 1.5 crores and over 2000 crores?

Farmville- well am jobless enough to afford getting caught up in something for a while. So yes, apart from the NEWS channels, this has kept me going(and tweeting and blogging as well). I get detoxed pretty fast, so am not worried about getting addicted etc(though it did feature in my dream yesterday night, does that count?) .

Anyway its been 20 years since the Berlin wall fell. It showed that people can rise together and get what they want. We can learn a lot from history, but ironically the only people who learn it(you and me) don’t care about it(the least popular subject in schools I think).

Once upon a time, I used to dream of making a world a better place etc, but when everyone hung up on making things bad, you can’t really stop anyone. So anyway, the present gen. will long be gone, it won’t be gen. X or Y it will be another one, but surely a human one(hopefully nature doesn’t watch movies/listen to humans-2012?).

What most of don’t realize is that, it is not the planet which needs saving, it is our race. This rock has been here for aeons, what makes you think, a bunch of petty creatures can destroy it? Human vanity, nothing else. And remember we are part of nature as well. Intelligence does weird things to you,  like making you think you have too heavy head. Just use it, stop trying to praise it too much. *and my comp is usually on for about 12 hours a day 😛 *

Lots more to say, but this post is just a random one, so let me end by remind you of the Great Super Heroes Challenge, just scroll down, you will find it.

 

 

 

Why so serious? :P

Fruity has given me two badges which she feels describes me (or fl’air’ ) 🙂  And yup, I know most of you will agree with her (including me :P)

Apart from the fact that I want to act as the joker in the next batman movie, this statement will hold enough water to cause a storm in the Atacama. Truth be told, I get ‘serious’ only when I sense there is more to something than that meets the eye. I never feel “serious” though, I like it when my head races away, I am more like an observer, who watches it 😀 Its fun to watch it, when it is at work and of course it is mesmerizing too 🙂

 

Ha think my relatives and friends will more than agree. I took one of those personality tests a while back and believe it or not, my introvert to extrovert is almost 1:1. So I can either be in a shell or go berserker 🙂 And yes I am very rarely short of words 🙂 Guess the serious part has got a lot to do with this. Expressing myself is something which is really important to me. Blogging can take a lot of credit for helping me express myself.

So what do you think is my flair?

 

 

 

 

What can we do? (or) what we can do?

I feel quirky and verbose enough to write something. Of course I am never the one to face a dearth of words, but posting does take some effort- like making your head think about one thing. If only it was like those good old days, where I wrote a post or two a day. Maybe there is a relationship between posting and the number of comments, but one fact which I should mention is that bloggers now days have become Scrooges- we care too much for our authority and don’t seem to be giving pingbacks any more!

The good old ping seems to be rare, soon we will have a ping market, where we all can trade and we will have terrorists making poor kids give links to their websites to recruit more people(just the thought of it!). I say this with the full interest of bloggers and blogging in my mind- what with the advent of celebrity bloggers and comment box chats, traditional bloggers like me soon will need subsidy to survive. Hope I will be able to keep my 0.0001%(stat from Alexa) share of visitors to the web.

So before I start running, you are expected to stretch your hands- first  raise it up, then side ways, again up and then down(and scroll down). Keep repeating this(yes you can walk when you talk, now you can exercise while you read). So do I see you all doing it-good.

Do this and you can stop your self from being a victim of excessive social networking(gone are the days when bloggers were bloggers, now most of us are caught up in Facebook, twitter(albeit being Christened as “micro blogging” ). Reading blogs might be the only break you take.

Bare not offence either- See, I am only advising you. So don’t tweet “He thinks he is too great, @visheshunni bloggers are not fools!! ” or  something like that. It is quite pitiable that we fail to take offence to things which we should. Or blame it on the ever-changing world-One second it is a fire, the next second a politician and the third an actor, fourth inevitably will an ad.

We read things in the Newspaper and forget it. We vociferously argue and a few seconds later wonder what we were talking about – the days of a modern man are filled, inevitably with hours and hours of being busy. We are convinced that unless we can hang a board from your collars with Busy etched on it, we are incomplete.

Blunt things happen, you forget what you did- can you recall what you wore yesterday? We expect ourselves to do certain things and others add to it. End of the day when your head hits you pillow, your head starts bubbling and you realize how fraught all this is. Personally I hate it when the world looks like a grave yard and haunted with busy quietness. It just does not work. Insanity is needed.

We crack stupid jokes, we have fights over petty things, yet all that energy in you needs to go somewhere. Blogging is a good thing, it helps get away from your usual self. You realize your life has a lot of potential- I like reading good person blogs, it is tough be conceited and funny.

Letting go is really important I guess. After all Atlas might be holding the world, but then he can’t do anything about what the creatures in it do. We can nod our heads at whatever happens but the larger picture is going to take it’s time to change. So should we then be good human beings, as in mind out business and be busy?

To appreciate things, we need to look at them. And you know what maybe it is our business to look at those small things. They might help us understand global warming better, they might help us understand the mentality of neighbours better and yes maybe even understand ourselves better too.

It is fine, to call others mad, crazy and what not, but it takes a lot of guts and a bit of candour to see that they might be right and we might be wrong. No I don’t mean concede your point, just try to see how the other person reasons, who knows you might see the flaw in your argument as well.

I do wonder if we as a world can ever have consensus ad idem. This is not just a question of the good and the bad, but a question of what defines us. The heterogeny is of course too great, but somewhere, in there, we are all humans and most certainly Earthlings. We can wage wars and have raging peace talks, but if we do look at the larger picture more closely( should not be mistaken for looking at smaller things, surely) we will find that beyond all that we can still live in peace.

If  life was a football game, then we surely have a referee to blame. And a referee is needed only when we don’t trust ourselves any more. Of course blood is thicker than water, but surely humanity is bigger than the people alive at one point of time?

Or is it that which divides us? Why should we continue the battles our fore fathers fought? Maybe in this age and time, we should try to appreciate humanism more – instead it is disheartening to find in the name of religion and politics, people hating each other.

There will be enough love in this world, if we can one person, who can show embrace humanity and not a group of people or country. But unfortunately all of us come from varied backgrounds. Whether nature has made us differently or not ( like having our eyes where our spleen is) nurture surely does. But then we all are the special one, do we realize that?

To you and me, poverty maybe a movie or a music video. To someone else the things which we face are non-issues. Every issue is important for after all good health does include happy spirits. There are many initiatives in this world, but more than movements and initiatives, it is our ability to rise above remorse and have the voice to say, “he can be such, but I am better”.

No this is not about showing your other cheek, but rather catching the other person’s hand and showing his reality. We all live in our own little heavens, but do we realize that what we are doing can make the world a hell for others?

We need to let go, of our ego. We need to be willing to stand our ground-look at the world and realize where we are and then see if we are in the right place.  This is a need and not a want.

We need to take offence, when someone tries to disintegrate us. And yes there is something called putting things the right way, today we might have shrunk it down to four letters(more or less) but not everyone can understand what happened to warrant that one word comment. And the right way is not merely fire for fire, but trying to see what caused the fire.

We cannot recall what we did yesterday, but we can of course recall how we were hurt. If you think you should do something to someone who has offended you, do this- stop talking to that person.

Don’t shout, don’t act, just stop talking. That too is an action. Be quiet. Watch the other person. True silence is a weapon. For it removes the enemy or opposition.

The toughest person to face is yourself. When you come across a blank wall, you try to retrace your route, let them try it. I know what I say, is not possible, for I concede , I too might be wrong. I don’t see any harm, for after all I am not hurting anyone(or at least trying not to). Yes I too get furious and angry, every does, but it is just a reaction, we need to respond.

So hope this has given you enough exercise. Pardon me if you have exerted yourself too much. But if you aren’t too tired, do burn some more energy and let me know, what you think.

I might sound rather romantic and Utopian, but every sunrise does mesmerize and makes your day. If I have managed to make even one person happy/appreciate/given belief to then I have got what I want.

Individualism is mistaken- it is not doing those things which will benefit us in the short run alone, it doing those things that will help us become better in the long run. And what is going to do us good, is a good world.

College

So the flu is keeping me from doing anything productive. However, there are certain things that  flu can’t stop, like  writing. A review is still pending- 2 states. But am in no mood to trash crap. So wonder what to write?

First of all lets play Noddy. No, it is not a new competition, it is simple- all you have to do is be a solemn and  understanding nod-er. The topic being college( well I know, I don’t seem to be attending it at all, but still). Our education system is pathetic(yes you can start nodding), but this another whole new level.

School had a few moments, which make it memorable, but well now you are made to think that it was heaven, with the state of this place. We still have no clue when our sem. exams are going to held. We taught our accounts master that certain questions were wrong, poor fellow, he gives the same questions for the model exam- how bad is it? So much so that the trail balance in a problem doesn’t tally, now that is what I call class.

We have abusive profs. I bet he(one among the lot) will give our Autodrivers a ride for their money(when anyone else manages to do that, the world will end my friend), with his eloquence. We are irritated- we complained to everyone from the HoD to the Secretary and no action taken(another thing is, that I didn’t attend his classes for three weeks, because I couldn’t stand his filthy vocabulary). Now that is the sign of an amazing institution.

And I should mention it has been our honour in getting initiated into the great Indian system- lack of planning, lack of control, lack of this, lack of that(and my college is supposed to be one of the best). The truth is many of us joined here, for the institution’s supposed to name and fame, after all it is Swami Vivekananda College.

I wonder what he would have to say- he believed in education or so we gather from his quotes. I do wonder if he wanted to be worshipped like a deity. To me it is quite shocking, after all I studied in Chinmaya Vidayalaya, an institution founded Swami Chinmayananda. We were never told to worship, we were given a choice(rather we assumed and we never cared, at least we had space to think). I find it compelling to walk out, before I enter.

It pains me to see the lack of English(the language), in an English medium college. It pains even more to see people holding M.Com and other degrees without having a clue about the subject they teach. It pains me even more to think that if this is a good college- what about the rest?

I have never , ever had to copy an assignment from my “textbook” and yes I am not going to submit it when you count pages and not see the substance. And the notes given, well I can’t take them down, they lack  grammatical order or coherence. I bet by now you have nodded and shook your head so much   that it aches. Should I spare you? And if you don’t believe me, this is what my friends have got to say- Dhruva‘s and Raghu’s.

Thankfully I am doing my CA. It is no walk in the park, but well, I like to use my head. It is good enough a reason for me not to attend college, in fact others who are doing the course, have either not joined or quit after joining. The only reason why I go to college is that, I want to know how worse things can get.

If this is state of colleges everywhere(I think it is different in science colleges, but well, very few positives over there as well, from what I hear), then we are down the wrong path. Sorry, I can afford to do some other course and/or go abroad, not everyone can. This is going to get vicious, I fear, we are creating nothing but a group of frustrated youth.

I should mention I study in an autonomous institute which has many visiting faculty. I know there are profs. with quality- after all they take classes outside for other courses as well. But then they are in no way involved with anything else other teaching. But what can they do about it?

If we care about our country and its future, change the education system, no not just getting rid of boards etc, but bigger and better things – pay people better, remove the reservations, overhaul the syllabus and most of all try to empower kids, no not through talks and advices(alone) but making people come forward.

I have lots more to say on the topic, but think I will stop with this for now. There is always this danger, that once you finish your studies you forget about it(the system). But I think at least me and my gen. shouldn’t be callous. It is time we did something and that time has already come.

P.S:- Do remember to participate in the great super heroes challenge 🙂

licence to…

So I got my driving licence, yay! Of course, getting one is no big deal, except that you are made to wait for ever, let us not go into that.  ” No one cares and has time, you and me are going to talk about, I might write about it, but there it ends”, That was my reply to others like me who were waiting for their licence

. We Indians have refined the art of corruption and bribing. There exists a corruption hierarchy, which apart from the officials includes the driving school people among other. Forget Shaktimaan and Captain Planet, we need a Anti-corruption Man (AC man).

And talking about super heros , I have plans of hosting a blogging contest on super heros/ super stars. You are to create your own super hero/ star , complete with powers etc, what do you think?

In solidarity with the cows; Apparently we love to get offended. Remember how people took offence , when “SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE” came out? I bet half the people didn’t watch the movie and I know it is a safe bet because many still feel that the “west” is calling us Slum Dogs, pity. And in this case of the austere Cows(though, they do get their horns painted once a year, during Maatu(cow) Pongal), we should be proud that our herd now includes all the Congress Ministers(and the extra guards).

Navarathri has begun. My mom and sis have come up with a creative gift this time(will put up photos soon) 🙂 There is nothing special for me though, no holidays, even if college gives us off(even if they don’t I bunk, cut about 10 hours last week), I have those CA classes everyday morning. Its been days since I got to read the book(Argumentative India) , it is an amazing book, I am lovi’ it but no time to read.

Went to McDonald’s yesterday and again today. It’s on the way to the place where I went for the rehearsals . The Aloo Tikki Burger tastes really good. The violin rehearsals are bad though. So bad that, even the lazy me , had to prompt for more practice. Playing all the songs once over  is not rehearsal.

I manage to update my poetry blog(yes, I am talking about it again, vanity indeed) about once or twice a week. I want to write 3 posts a week (at least over here), but then my schedule is so irritating , that I feel too sleepy to write about anything. There was a time, when I wrote about 60 posts a month, now I am not able to do 6. But being me, you can expect to writing pretty soon.

And I have to start studying as well. It’s freaky, to see all those weird sums. CA is no joke. You do to be really fast and see beyond the obvious. Lets see what happens. One thing is for sure, I am not going to get to sleep *sigh.

Between , check out this video, awesome, no clue, how he(Jascha Heifetz) does it. I want to learn western one of these days. I love the way, how the music travels and tells its tale without words.

I got a new phone-Nokia 5800. Its got 8GB memory and I have already loaded about 4.2GB of songs. Got lots more in my Comp, but I want to try out new stuff, especially something without lyrics, what would you suggest?

There are many things which I want to write about, the ideas do come and go, but arranging them is the problem. And writing is tough if you are tired-words do come out, they get stuck. There are moments when I wish, I can sit down and write forever..*how I wish..*

Among other things, I think I will be writing about something I have observed- though we talk about equality , a new stratification has started to form in our world, I do wonder, how many of us realize this. I do wonder where this will lead.

And yes, I did shoot a few things, think this is the best of the lot:-

From newcamera2

From newcamera2

From mocha…

The last photo was taken at Mocha. Yes, I almost got choked. Spent 25% of the time closing my nose, another 25% taking photos and the rest talking/trying to breath. But the shot is worth the effort(I guess) 😛 Anyway, hope I find time to post this week. Will try to record the violin programme.

And yes do tell me, what you think about the idea of another contest?

P.S: clarification- that is not me.. I am allergic to smoke 😛

A dead leaf

He held the dead leaf in his hand. Fallen from its plant, it was left to rot and fuel its own origin.

Or it could be picked by a wind. It can fly away from here, it can sail to the lands the winds choose and finally i might settle in a land of paradise, forever in a new joy or..

..or it might end up in a land as dead as itself. It will then stay there, till something swallows it or lifts it again. But one which is dead?

When it was alive, it was bound to its plant. It nourished it like its brethren , it was one among all, acting like how all expect it to. But is this what a passing eye feels but never the one held? Maybe it is held thus, because it chooses to?

But doesn’t one dream of the birds in the sky, at least when one is young and can race the clouds? Is it that dreams are meant to be dreamt but never sought in life? Is it just, is it fair to just die? Is this how frail all this is?

Is this a continuum, where the memories are buried and memoirs forgotten, sooner or later?

We strive for living, we fight for survival, we work together, we rebel, there are new beginnings , there are old endings, a fresh burst of air here, more heat there, one for all, all for one, will it be in the end, that we all will come alive, like actors talking a bow as themselves and being applauded for the parts we played?

Is this all a fantasy, these endless possibilities? Is our imagination a tool used to lead us from reality, which might shock the living out of us? What is living, if we are to die a baseless death? But isn’t this what we see and learn? How is this real? Can there be something bigger which we are a part of?

Is it love, that we die for? Is it misery that we live for this long? Do we all wait for the day, when we open our eyes no more? Is it that the quest we go on, offers no more, for the recesses have long outrun the excitement of the path, unbeaten?

Are words capricious fabrications, just to easy the pain of knowing the inevitable ? Is the mind there only to paint a vivid misery when in joy and a blunt happiness when in sorrow? Is the past only to be a seed for a morrow and today a retrospection where we dare to water that seed and tomorrow the day when the leafs do peek again, a visage fresh and innocent that the first brush with the polluted air does font it of earth?

So much for a dead leaf. What beauty can there be in the dead? For once dead all that remains is to rot. But when alive, all that remains is that we die. But when unborn, when a dream, all that remains is to brought alive. Call it optimism, call it human vanity, call it that I try to hide from reality and maybe it is true but I will dream anyway.

I may fail again and again. But I will pick up leaves again and in them see much more than what I need to. It might all be a soothsayer’s words, but at least there is hope of a better morrow. The plant may not remind us of the leaf, but the leaf sure does make you search for a plant.

I believe there are magic flowers, do you? Even if you don’t I do. I can feel them, hear them, see them, one day I will get to them. When I do, I will show them to you, I will not get angry or take pride for how can own that which is already owned, unless it is a meek being or I elude myself by calling it is a gift. When a leaf is plucked another one might grow, but there is more to be given for that to happen.

You can hold water in your palms but can we stop it from evaporating? Only thing left is to put to use while we still hold it.

The madman

Once upon a time, I found a key. It  opened all the doors I tried. And in one room, which I walked into , I found a madman.

He seemed to be talking to himself. Papers were strewn around the room. There was a musical Instrument , I noted(but I forgot which string it was) and also a football. When he saw me , he gave a rather rueful smile. Sorrow not his , but mine. He seemed to know, that I held the key. But he did not try to escape, rather he started talking to me. This was what I think was said between us. I have(for obvious reasons) excluded the initial part of the conversation. I regret keeping you in the dark about the secret, but then the war within me has not yet ceased and the land is still the ante, how can I spread ruse among the people , the bounty?

The madman:-Shhhh…its a secret..

me:- But why should it be?

The madman:-Because people don’t deserve to know it.

me:-Who are we to decide?

The madman:- Who can predict the masses? Nitwits lead by nitwits.

me:-But isn’t it our responsibility?

The madman:-You are responsible as long as you use are allowed to use your discretion.

me:-But don’t we have the choice? And when we choose to act , aren’t we accepting that we can withstand anything.

The madman:-True enough. That is why we choose not to be a part of it.

me:-But this a nation. We people are a part of it. If we don’t rise up the challenge, then no one will.

The madman:-Of course they will. You and me , will never be allowed to do what we imagine. We have a few good leaders among the thousands and they some how survive, some become sycophants , some are born into a creed and some are just destined to be.

me:-What if , we choose our destiny , by making a choice now.

The madman:-Tell me, have you ever felt at any point of time, that you should share this secret?

me:-Yes I have.

The madman:-Have you shared it?

me:-N…yes

The madman:-And, How did people take it?

me:-They couldn’t understand what I told them.

The madman:-Everyone?

me:-Everyone.

The madman:-Why do you think so?

me:-Maybe I didn’t put it properly.

The madman:-Maybe.

me:-Or maybe I chose the wrong people.

The madman:-Then you agree , that the majority till date , in the sample space you chose can’t understand a simple matter.

me:-Maybe.

The madman:-If so , can you think of the type of leaders they would elect.

me:-Yes, but isn’t it our responsibility to help them choose better?

The madman:-And how do you intend to do it?

me:-By simplifying it.

The madman:-You want to dilute it even more? What is it you are trying to do , add more water to the ocean?

me:-No…its not like that..

The madman:-Alright , tell  , do you think people will listen to you?

me:-Why do you think they won’t?

The madman:-Because you try to make sense of things,  you  try to see the source of problems..and that is what no one wants to do , at least they are not allowed to do that..

me:-But aren’t they free to realize that?

The madman:-Freedom? How can slaves be free? From the second they are born, they are bombarded with everything  that  which  we are against. It is not that people are bad or something , that is relative,  it is just that life makes them such..You call it inertia, they call it determination; In the end who is right ? Its either or neither and not one.

me:-But aren’t you the one who told me , that there is a right and a left , a while back?

The madman:-Of course and I still stand by it. Yes what is happening is wrong. We see things differently and we realize. We have , even when we were small , realized that you are not supposed to do certain things. We have  exploited our capabilities and our cognition is better developed. But tell me if I were to lock you in a room , how would you feel?

me:-Aren’t we all locked in rooms of sort or the other?

The madman:-We are. But how big the room is the question and also if it dark or if its got some light. Imagine you are in a small dark room , just big enough so that you can’t really touch the walls , when you are tied to one place. How would you feel?

me:-I get what you mean , but isn’t that our mistake?

The madman:-IS it our mistake that this world has people who are willing to exploit the masses? Is it our mistake that we cannot chaff with good stupor stuffing? Is it our mistake that all we seek is a peace? Is it our mistake that we become a kind of aliens if we were to stretch our heads to full sensibilities? What shall we do, slay the animals when we are against cruelty to animals? Can you tame a wild, fully grown beast?

me:-No we can’t , but we can help them when they are young.

The madman:-Exactly.

me:-So? Let me go tell the secret to the young ones.

The madman:-To what vain? You would have to take it upon your self to make sure they perceive things the ‘right’ way. And yes , we are like this because of our circumstances.

me:-But it is possible, if we can separate them from the society?

The madman:-And then how will you show them enough of religion, so that they respect culture and understand the functions of it but at the same time they aren’t be draw to the mania. How can you show them enough about difference in classes , so that they understand not everyone can be a master for not everyone knows ‘why’ they are doing something and at the same time ensure that they feel that no one is superior than another?

me:-But isn’t that the truth?

The madman:-That is not the truth but the reality you see. The difference is bound exist . But all animals are equal. And it is not that some are more equal than others , it is rather some understand equality better than others.

me:-But then if they do understand equality why do they exploit?

The madman:-When people know smoking is bad why do they smoke? When they know hurting someone is bad , why do they hurt? Some understand equality but only a few can judge and answer the why. We believe in equality not because it sounds cool but because we  need to be equal to everything so that we can talk the same language and make everyone feel inclusive and thus belong to everyone and everything. The reason for that is , we seek peace. We cannot tell a tiger to stop killing the deers but nor can we kill all the tiger. We cannot imprison the tiger nor can we reason to it, when it is hungry.

me:-Then? Anyway humans aren’t tigers.

The madman:-Yes we are not. But tell me can you talk about  your riches to a beggar? You do nothing but  tempt him. Is it possible for you to praise a dead leader in a land where he was loathed? You will only end up stirring unwanted emotions. Can you explain to a moderate that there are extremes? For him his grey , is bright enough and dark enough , if anything , he is happy to watch a silver lining on another cloud and say blessed are a few.

me:-But we are talking about Equality.

The madman:-Exactly. To the beggar, you can talk about the world. In the country you can talk about the precedent and the consequence. And you can agree that the silver lining looks good and blessed are a few, but then you can blow him a little so that he starts flying towards the sun.

me:-All that sounds wonderful , Yes yes. But how do you do it?

The madman:-That will be something you should search for. You have the key , you know it opens doors, but you should know what lies behind the door before you open it. A key without a lock is useless and the secret without cognition is worthless. And if you open the wrong door, you might let out the true madman.

me:-Aren’t you the madman?

The madman:-I am.

me:-Then did I open a wrong door?

The madman:-yes , you have. Your life will never be the same again.

me:-Will you be leaving this place , now that I have set you free?

The madman:-Ha but a home needs to be lived in and besides who will tell people, the others who open this door, the secret ? I cannot leave.

me:-But I insist. And I already knew it.

The madman:-Everyone knows , few realize it. You are a madman like me. I have locked myself , in my room and spread the keys so that people who I hope to meet , will come to me. You have locked yourself in your mission and you place the keys with a few, who know you. If either of us was free, we would never meet our kind. What is freedom, but the chance to realize our choices? Our freedom lies within and not in the world. How can we belong to a world which is not ours?

me:-I hate to leave you.

The madman:-We shall meet again, when we need to meet again. Our choices will lead us. So choose wisely.

And I left the room. I walked for a while, before I realized what had happened. As he said my life has never been the same again.

P.S:-

1)The title is borrowed from Gibran.

2) “All animals are equal but some are more equal than other” is a line from the book animal farm.