Monday, April 30, 2012

Sophistication.

The world is getting sophisticated. Sophistication it seems is the new fashion..many years earlier it used to be simplicity.

People earlier used to prove(read project) themselves simple. They took the pride in being simple. Simplicity is somehow in many sense is connected to natural......well it seems so. On that line Sophistication seems to be linked with artificial.

I mean look around yourself......Nature always represents its process as simple......but the artificial definition we try to bring out is sophisticated. The simpler the process the more sophisticated is the reason behind it. Example would be like it's very simple and rather natural that a guy falls in love with a girl or vice-versa. Now why?? and the reasons could be mindlessly sophisticated....it would travel and include all the fields. The answer to it will take you into deep biology, strange chemistry, little philosophy, somewhat history, without doubt sociology and much much more and when you try to synchronize all that its shitty business.

A rather simple thing became complex for no good reason. Human have tendencies to search for answer and this in many ways and without doubt is the core reason for our progress. It has been a boon to humanity in terms of science, discovery and thousand more fields.

But do we really need to make it a habit to sophisticate things? Can't we just make things simple just as it is? I mean do we really need to find the reason behind every mundane things? Let's even not mundane things then harmless things. Does analyzing, scrutinizing and hence judging has gone deep into our bones? So much of so that we started applying it on humans.

Every lowly asshole starts analyzing some great personality with whatever bits and pieces of knowledge he/she has got. Every other day I heard someone demeaning Gandhi or other Greats, questioning his tactics, way of working. People who don't have the courage to stand against some visible malfunctioning of Government system. People who would silently pass with the none-of-my-business capsules if there is some wrong-doing is happening right in front of himself, they judge historical greats on moral and ethical ground. they question the character of people who with their strength did what others found impossible. Somehow I feel a critics thrives on the hard work of others....Alright the previous line is taken from the animation movie "Ratatouille"........Still it makes much sense to me.

People are so quick to blame and demands the sacking of cricketer, footballer or players. Whereas it's quite obvious that those people wont be able to execute what he expects the players to execute. He is relieved subconsciously that no one is going to ask or question about his/her personal life. He has the blessing that no one is interested in him. Hence he feels quite free to use his index and sometime middle finger on someone who don't have the luxury of not being famous.

Actually we strayed.....the topic was about sophistication as the new "in" things. Everyone seems to be toiling hard enough to prove his character and/or thinking sophisticates. People follow a sophisticated lifestyle. They behave complex on purpose it seems because it purports him/her as a unique mystery. It makes him/her interesting. Deep down he/she is barren and vacant and too ordinary. The outside effort is more to balance this inner void. Does he succeed? yes he does. Now how he succeed? that's an interesting question, answer I have already provided. Can you guess??

(Take your time here with slow deep breathes)

because people are there to analyze and scrutinize him. We have made a habit of analyzing other person. those analysis are based on mostly external behavior which the person has already transformed into sophistication and the analyzer since is analyzing things which is on purpose sophisticized, is most likely to short on logic to define the person's personality and that is how he finds him interesting, because he wasn't able to simplify the behavior. If his behavior would have been rather simple, the analyzer would have well categorized him in his pre-defined and self-defined categories and have not worried much about him.

So is it good or bad? When someone asks me if it is good or bad my obvious question is - if it's bad, can you stop it?? If not then it doesn't matter if it's good or bad. why to bother about good or bad?

Is there any alternatives? well I first thought that if you connect to the person and then analyze him/her your analysis will have better penetration and you would be able to see if the sophistication is genuine (it's not mostly) or It is worn. But its ideal coz if the person has put a sophisticated interface for himself it is unlikely that he would let you connect to his inner integrity easily. He fear that if you come to know his inside lull and very ordinary personality, he would be exposed. Which he won't want.

*Started feeling sleepy*

 I hate to bring out a conclusion on this matter. I just wanted to represent a view. And I guess the motive has been fulfilled.

You can tell in comments how sophisticated you are or how simple you are or do you put an effort to be something which you aren't truly inside?

Saturday, April 14, 2012

Intellectual

I just read this story "Buddhiwadi"(Intellectual) by Harishankar Parsai.....Harishankar Parsai is well known Hindi writer and humour/sarcasm is his forte.....This particular story did drag my attention, particularly due to its relevance with the current flow of changing human behavior in certain direction.......other than that its well written too.

Note: Excuse me for my limited word collection and grammatical mistakes.

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Life is made of blessings.

In childhood he helped an old beggar by supporting him in crossing the Road. The beggar blessed - "Son, may you be like me.". The old beggar must have meant his age, however he took the other meaning and became a teacher.

He was a teacher. Once he saved the life of a bat. The bat gave the blessing -"Brother, may you be like me". Whatever was the meaning of Bat, he became Intellectual. He flies with confidence and ego and when he sleeps with his leg up in the confidence that if by chance the Sky fall he will hold it with his feet.

Life made of blessings has now such a condition that he has a fixed salary of two to two and half thousand rupees*. He has a villa and car, both son are in good job and the daughter is doing research. In such condition even a honest person would become intellectual however he is not that honest. he was late in being.

After a stay of two year in foreign when he returned, relatives and known got the idea that he has become really intellectual. Drama loving people used to go to visit him and then tell that he has really became intellectual. One such person saw him down from his window and told he really has became intellectual....he is looking toward roof like he is calculating in how many year this roof would fall. One more saw him loitering in the garden and told - when he looks toward flower , it starts vibrating, He has become enormous intellect.

One day we went to visit him - my friend and I. On Phone he told us to come after half an hour. We in those days were collecting money for the relief work for the people who suffered in Storms in east - Pakistan*. we thought we would meet him and also get some donation from him.

We got into his room. Really he was changed. Black frame spectacles was gone, instead of that there was thin golden color frame spectacles. the glitter in his eyes and the shine of the frame were producing bright dazzle by reflecting each other. There was a restlessness in his stature. Restlessness is usually negative, but on his face it was positive restlessness. The restlessness was on the worse condition of the world. Pleasure was mixed with the pride in him that he has seen this worse condition of the world. His left side lower lip was drawn a little toward his ear and that was producing a little opening in between the lips. That little opening was the only place on his face from where the voice used to come out, rest mouth was closed. We speak from the whole mouth but Intellectual takes out their calculated words only from the left corner of his mouth. We laugh by opening our full mouth but Intellectual pull his left corner lip toward his nose and their is some movement in the nostrils and we get the honored message that - I am amused!! You are laughing but I am just feeling a little pleasure. Boorish people laugh, an intellectual only takes the wit.

On the table 5-6 books were placed backward in such a way that they are unintentionally and carelessly left their while studying. But even carelessly left they were in such an alignment that every book name was clearly visible. I was impressed by his knowledge of books. Even if they(books) would fall carelessly still carefully in such a way that the book name doesn't hide. I understood he wasn't reading the book, he called us after half an hour. In that half an hour he must have worked hard on the alignment and placing of the book. intellectual was continuously trying to draw our attention toward the books. He want us to be amused and say - How many types of book you read!!! We don't have even heard of the name of these. We are postponing in being amused. Intellectual gets restless.

He made us sit like that to look toward us he has to move his head for 35 degree. by moving his head for 35 degree, putting his elbow on the couch, placing his chin on the palm whenever he looks at us we gets pressurized by his intellectual terror. We feel so lowly about ourselves. On his face and eyes a magic is induced. When seeing us from this angle, slow serious voice coming right from the belly, he says - To my mind - Then we feel that this voice is coming from somewhere up in the clouds.But the sky is clear. We come to know with great effort that this voice is coming from the small opening of the left side of the lips of the Intellectual. Whenever he says 'To my mind' then I feel I don't have mind. There is only one mind in the world and he has it. If he had not his head moved to an angle of 35 degree and his chin were not on his palm he might have looked a very ordinary person. He must have put great effort in learning the art of depicting intellect by angles.

There is a flow in intellectual. Head movement has flow, palm movement has flow, his standing has flow, walking has a flow, his opening drawer has a flow, taking out book has a flow, turning the pages from the book has a flow. Every movement is slow. light personality gets nervous. His personality is beneath so much weightage of his wisdom that it can't make much movement. To me his intellect seems to be like an obese person who walks slow with heavy feet.

He said - Only after visiting Europe I understood that we are inferiors.
 I said - To know our inferiority you had to visit so far?
He answered - One who is to fall can't see that he is falling, people from far only can see his falling.

At that time I felt that we are fallen in a pit and from the up he is telling us that we have fallen. He has seen our falling so he is not one of those who is falling.

My friend asked - What's the reason of our inferiority/falling?
 Intellectual thought by closing his eyes. Then looked toward us and said - To my mind, We don't have character.

He told us our being inferior in such a way that he is satisfied with it. If we haven't been such how he would have got the opportunity to know and say that our he is clearly seeing our falling.

My Friend thought it necessary to talk about the point at that juncture and said - There has been a massive destruction in the east- Pakistan by storm.
He told the macabre and/or touching stories of death/epidemic and starvation.

Intellectual kept listening. We two were waiting for the effect. The effect was that from the left corner of his mouth he said - Yes. I have read it in newspaper.

At that point we felt that the people of east-Bengal* got honored that he has read about their bad condition. The storm became meaningful.He has done big charity on illness and starvation.

I said - we are collecting money for those affected people.
We are there to collect money, he thought we were there to collect knowledge.

He kept his chin on his palm and said in known cloudy serious voice - Nature balances. east -Pakistan population got too much hence to balance that Nature sent the storm.

In that duration , in the lack of his help one more person would have died in east Bengal.

If someone is sinking, he would not save him instead he will think about surface tension and density.
If someone is dying from hunger, Intellectual won't give him piece of bread he would start telling about the statics about the productivity of crops of different countries.
By seeing an ill person he won't arrange for medicine instead he will read to him the World Health Organization report.
If someones comes now and tell him about the death of his father. Intellectual won't be sad, He would start telling about genetic science and hereditary system.

We let go the expectation of donation from him. If we would ask him about the money, he will start telling about the economy of the world.
Now we left ourselves to Intellectual.

He was thinking and kept thinking, After much thinking he brought from the deep oblivion the truth which till now no one has ever brought. He said - To my mind, the ever greatest enemy is poverty.

By telling this in a sentence formula, the intellectual gave us time to think about it. We thought much about it but still for the solution for the problem of poverty we again had to return to Intellectual. I asked - How the poverty can be banished from world?
Intellectual said - I have thought Capitalism and Communism both are anti-human. We should increase the productivity by using advanced technical ways.
I asked- But what should be the system for distribution?
Intellectual - That I am thinking nowadays, trying to build a theory.

After proposing a ray of light toward the humanity the Intellectual became silent.

My friend said - We would have to recreate the society.
Intellectual again looked toward us and said - The first responsibility of the society is that it should destroy itself. Society must destroy itself. Infested with these caste, creed and color differences, Society must abolish then a new will be created.

I Thought to ask - If the whole society gets destroyed then how much million years it will take for the Nature to create Human(e)? I didn't ask. Got satisfied with the thinking that 'Only I understand' this feeling makes a person arrogant.

Intellectual can talk about Marxism, can talk about Einstein and Freud. can talk about Vivekananda and Confucious. After telling every statement he gives us time to understand digest that. He knows that for the first time we are listening about these talks.

We asked - Then what you have thought about the sickness of the world. How will this sickness be cured?
 He closes his eyes and thinks. We get ready to listen to big statement. Intellectual says - Ultimately I have to return to Gandhi. Love.

Intellectual has now come to revolutionaries, says - Student power! Youth power! We should give freedom to the young generation of our society. They will change the world. Any Country which suppress it's young generation can never make progress. Look at this book by Professor Marcuse. This book by Cohen Bendi.

Intellectual got serious. He has told ultimate truth.
He started to get up, At that point servant brings to him a letter.

Intellectual started reading letter. By reading the changes in him was visible. 35 degree angle of head started reducing. He sat straight. the curve of lips vanished.The wisdom in his eye vanished, instead there came worry. Face got straight and he started breathing fast. Intellectual now was seeming rather simple.
 Intellectual squeezed the letter in hi fist, took out his spectacles. We were looking at naked eyes which were diminished. Shine went off with spectacles itself. ego perhaps was squeezed with the letter in his fist.

I asked -  You look worried. Is everything alright.
Intellectual was startled and to us he seemed like a child whose toy is broken.
By taking deep breath Intellectual said - What time has come!
I asked - What happened?
 Intellectual said - Daughter was there at her Aunt house at Lucknow. She married there and I didn't know.
I asked - What does the boy do?
He said - He is Engineer.
I said - Then it's good.
Intellectual erupted - What's good in it. I will send him to jail.

A great moment was there to us. Some intricate truth about the inter-relation of human was to come from his mouth. Now his mouth is opening full. Earlier with spectacles he use to say with his curved lips. now he talks with opening his full mouth.

What does the intellectual analyze about this situation! Youth power? basis of men-women relationship? Freedom of marriage?

We look toward his face and his worries grows, Still squeezing the letter. He is perhaps eager to tell this news to his wife but we are eager to know that why he is worried about such a good marriage? There mut be some great philosophical content in it that only an intellectual might understand.

I said - Girl-Boy are adult, marriage happened at her Aunt house, Groom is good. Then why are you sad and worried? Tell us curious people about the mystery so that we too can apply an intellectual dimension toward Life.

He looked at us with his naked and diminished eyes and said with heavy heart - That boy is from low caste! 

           
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* The story is written quite early hence two and half thousand is understood as hefty money
* East -Pakistan or East- Bengal  is the pre 1971 Indo-Pak war name of what is Bangladesh  now.

Hope you would like it........thanks.


Friday, April 13, 2012

Drenched!!

Alright!! Here again..... What to write?? and where to start??

Have you ever done this? Saw a girl once and captured her beauty for forever in your eyes, in your mind....timeless beauty...the beauty without any conundrums or tantrums or burden or responsibility.

I mean why girl only? same could be and is applicable on the beauty of Nature. Think about the best rain you saw......I am sure you have got a picture in your mind or you may just for a flash of second got drenched in the beautiful memory of the best rain you watched or felt or had.

Let me describe mine.........I don't remember when it was, to be true am not sure even if it was or not or just my mind is making it up......it seems unbelievably beautiful.

The scene comes to my mind is of heavy downpour.........what they mean when they say rain lashing out. It has perhaps came after a long wait....It has hit people without notice and they are flummoxed. They are enjoying it but they don't want to forget that they have some responsibility......Fathers are trying to shield their children so that they don't get wet......Fruit sellers and Footpath vendors are trying to protect their stuff so that it does not get wet and spoil. women are running on roof to get the clothes which they put their to dry....its a waste if it gets wet again.

In all this everyone of them have a task.....every drop on their body is multiplying the urgency manifold. With the increase in the water droplets they increase their at to finish their task without wetting. But in all these somewhere their souls are enjoying those droplets.....and that soul's enjoyment is having a conflict with their mind's urgency. They are loving the drops but the notion of practicality is awakening them from suh intoxiating ideas.

children of course seems most excited........children that can be seen as well as those can't be seen. Those who were buried inside ourselves. they are excited again and you are happy to let them be but you just are bit cautious don't to loose your maturity though somewhere you are willing too.

Where am I in all this? Alright I am standing somewhere beneath a big tree.....the tree is not dense hence water are falling in between from the leaves and every drop is awakening me to a higher degree or say higher self. Every drop I feel is taking me lose to purity and innocence. At this point I am not jealous, I am not depressed, I am not selfish, I am not worried.......I am just filled up to neck just like the bucket someone kept to hold the falling water from roof to get inside their home.

Their is a small temple of Lord Hanuman......temple height is just little above the average human height.......it has already accomodated more people than it usually does. Their is small protruding part of ceiling is there to save the temple from windy angled rain to get inside......that protruding part is used as cover for few motorcycle drivers who thankfully decided to not to hurry and wait for the rain to stop.

Since people are close and they are already in the effect of this first rain they feel good in the closeness of other people to whom they usually remain distant for worldly reasons. Now in quest to save their already wet body from more rain they smile to each other whenever their eyes met. Some words also comes out which was not meant to be very meaningful.

this rain is one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen and through this post you too have seen.........It was and is and will be worth remembering......simply because it make us feel like human who's buckets are out to receive those excessive flow of joyful, vibrant, watery life.

Hope you would like this wet and drenched post....and don't tell me you had umbrella on while reading this post.........    :)