Sunday, September 30, 2007
Friday, September 7, 2007
Thursday, September 6, 2007
When generations pass...
What is it we inherit? Is it simply material wealth...or the skills and knowledge of centuries past, the adaptations to a variety of circumstances, or memories of a time gone by?It seems that the past has no relevance for the future we are embarking upon. This, of course, is another debate for another time. However, there is one aspect of our past that we often neglect: Beauty. A vast majority of us just barely manage to appreciate beauty in traditional music, dance, and art. How about the beauty in the art of craft-work! The beauty of watching a craftsman shape and design a bell using just a flame and a tube of glass. Watching him create a work of art using nothing more than simple intruments and a whole lot of imagination. Yet, the imagination and skill used is one that has been accumulated and perfected by a thousand such craftsmen before him, and to which he will infuse a bit of his own personality before passing it on to the thousands to follow. Many a time, we behold such magic, performed by artisans of distant lands, on encounters during our travels. But, how many of us make traditional art, craft, music and dance part of our daily lives?We conveniently ridicule and look down upon these things, and gladly rush to buy factory manufactured stuff. Maintains our economic status, and keeps us in tune with the times, you see. Nevermind that we're killing an entire breed of arts and craftsmen...the messengers from the past and into the future...
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Monday, August 20, 2007
Sunday, June 17, 2007
The logic behind the illogical...
Sometimes the most illogical things seem to be the best remedy for the ills of this world. Most faith healers, evangelists, psychics, etc, already vouch for this...though, of course, the difference between them and us is that they seem to have understood the logic behind the illogical. Well, as far as environmental conservation goes...it seems that the illogical has worked for thousands
of years. Sample this:
of years. Sample this:
In villages around Darjeeling, as i've heard, there's a belief that the forests are inhabited by a
strange group of people. Strange, because these people move around not by walking, but by bending backwards, holding their ankles (hence forming a ring) and then 'wheeling' about. And at night, these people get attached to the trunks of trees and emit a luminescent glow. Now, the catch is, if any ordinary person sees one of these people, he/she gets transformed into one of them (a promise of a rather uncomfortble life, wouldn't you think?).Illogical, most definitely! For one thing, the luminescent glow is in fact caused by a form of bio-luminescent bacteria that grows on the trunk of the indegenous trees.But, look at it from another perspective. Even if some anient ancestor had cooked up this entire belief, by entrenching it in the local culture and belief systems, he/she would have instilled a mortal fear, in all the descendants, that would in effect deter them from entering the forests. Without people entering the forest, the result is environmental conservation. Illogical...not any more!Every culture in the world is a mixture of such entrenched belief systems, accompanied by relevant rituals (such as to appease the angered spirits, or pacify the gods). But then science, 'modern beliefs', 'civilization', etc, come along and rob all that from the world...leaving us in the sorry state that we find ourselves in; a dysfunctional social fabric, widespread environmental degradation, and gross abuse of human rights. At the end of it all, defending our cultures and maintaining cultural diversity is by far one of the strongest weapons we have to defend ourselves and this planet. Our cultures are our stories.
strange group of people. Strange, because these people move around not by walking, but by bending backwards, holding their ankles (hence forming a ring) and then 'wheeling' about. And at night, these people get attached to the trunks of trees and emit a luminescent glow. Now, the catch is, if any ordinary person sees one of these people, he/she gets transformed into one of them (a promise of a rather uncomfortble life, wouldn't you think?).Illogical, most definitely! For one thing, the luminescent glow is in fact caused by a form of bio-luminescent bacteria that grows on the trunk of the indegenous trees.But, look at it from another perspective. Even if some anient ancestor had cooked up this entire belief, by entrenching it in the local culture and belief systems, he/she would have instilled a mortal fear, in all the descendants, that would in effect deter them from entering the forests. Without people entering the forest, the result is environmental conservation. Illogical...not any more!Every culture in the world is a mixture of such entrenched belief systems, accompanied by relevant rituals (such as to appease the angered spirits, or pacify the gods). But then science, 'modern beliefs', 'civilization', etc, come along and rob all that from the world...leaving us in the sorry state that we find ourselves in; a dysfunctional social fabric, widespread environmental degradation, and gross abuse of human rights. At the end of it all, defending our cultures and maintaining cultural diversity is by far one of the strongest weapons we have to defend ourselves and this planet. Our cultures are our stories.
"So why do i say that the story is chief amongst his fellows? The same reason that i think that our people will sometimes give the name Nkolika to their daughters - Recalling-Is-Greatest. Why? Because it is only the story that can continue beyond the war and the warrior. It is the story that outlives the sound of the war-drums and the exploits of brave fighters. It is the story, not the others, that saves our progeny from blundering like blind beggars into the spikes of the cactus fence. The story is our escort; without it, we are blind. Does the blind man own his escort? No, neither do we the story; rather it is the story that owns us and directs us. It is the thing that makes us different from cattle; it is the mark on the face that sets one people apart from their neighbours."
---Chinua Achebe, Anthills Of The Savanna.
So, what's your story?
So, what's your story?
Friday, June 15, 2007
Ramblings of a Confused Man...
[WARNING: This mail was written in a heightened sense of confusion, compounded by lack of sleep. Readers are advised to continue at their own risk]
Its a question we ask ourselves atleast once in our lives.
Who am i, and what am i doing?Most often, the first part of the question is what stumps someone...but lately, i realised its the second part of the question thats the tough nut to crack! Our world is very simple, we are told. Go forth, achieve economic development...goods and services at the click of your fingers (or a mouse, as it is these days), unending supplies of raw materials, the elimination of the poor and helpless classes of society (or, the upliftment of the 'working class', if you choose to be politically correct). Whatever the mantras of the new world order, the bottom line is: you need money, and lots of it! And of course, the money is 'yours'. And any threat to 'your' money is a threat to society. So, the rural farmer who defies orders to vacate his land, the only livelihood he's got, so that society can put up its instruments of development, has obviously missed out on the entire logic and scheme of things.Poor him...he should willingly make the 'sacrifice' for the betterment of the great people of this world. Ok, so we need to get money...Go forth, earn money! Forget your goals, aspirations and desires for the time being. Just earn the bloody money...and then all shall be taken care of. You need money for your 'survival', we are told repeatedly. Back in school, i was told that that meant food, clothing and shelter. Hang the authors of those textbooks! Survival means great food, branded clothing, swanky shelter, a good car (nevermind if we forget how to walk), all the latest gadgets to make life easier (yeah sure, we urbanites have it real tough!), etc. Economic development leads to the protection of the environment. The USA being the number 1 polluter in the world is just a minor glitch....nothing to worry about or take notice of.Above all, economic development = freedom!! I have a couple of things to say about that, but a close friend of mine says it better on his blog:"you wake up in the morning and start dressing up for the day. the toothbrush enters your conciousness ,followed by the pot and then the shower( in varying order, depending on levels of personal hygine). In the short gaps between u ponder over the state of the world through the eyes of the reporters? never taking a moment to wonder if its all real. The sceptic in you is silenced by the loud hum of the tv, the refrigerator, the computer u just bought (for a pretty good deal, of course) . And slowly , in the confines of all the cement that you call your own.... you melt away. slowly at first as your immunity fights back, but then with ever increasing speed , you melt into the stream then the river and before you know it you are in the ocean , a tiny spec of salt bound into the everlasting cycle with hydrogen bonds penetrating into your technocratic self. and boy those bonds hurt. they hurt everytime you look at a report which tells you what to do, they hurt everytime you walk into a store inspired by the ad you just saw , to buy your brand of carbonated drinks. I hurts here and there . but most of all it hurts where the wings used to be. the ones they sawed away. aaah!Boy, are we fucked or what?Our wings are clipped , but it doesnt even matter because we are too busy to ever fly.Freedom? ha ha ho ho he heNot in a million years."
A monk in a dark red robe. He chants his prayers along with his fellow monks, as the sun rises over a new day. Once the prayers are done with, breakfast awaits, after which the rest of the day is spent studying spiritual texts, etc. This is the usual routine at Bylakuppe...a Tibetan refugee settlement, a good 5 hour drive from Bangalore. The monks are a distinct group among this lot. You look at their daily routine, and you are hit by a sense of awe. But most people, deep down inside, thank their lucky stars that they aren't one of them! And then the pity flows...the worldly possessions of a monk may at best be his robes, and religious scripts. And then you take a closer look. What do the monks own collectively? They own a society. One based on equality, mutual respect, and discipline. They own a society that measures its wealth in terms of the strength of their culture, and its propogation amongst the generations to come. They own a temple with three eighteen metre tall, gold plated Buddhas (one, 'The Buddha', the other two being Buddhas that followed later), their own universities, etc. Point to note...everything is owned by everyone, everything is shared by everyone. No one is 'more equal' than the other. Now,to me, that is wealth. Wealth that every individual, in a community or society, has access to. What do we have? Title deeds, patents, intellectual property rights...we have nothing!Back to the question 'Who am i, and what am i doing?'. To hell with who we are. What are we doing...we're taking all the bullshit thats thrown at us, swallowing it, and then smiling in pride. STOP. Take a look around. Get off your ass and do something about it!!
(Pictures of my visit to Bylakuppe, and lots more, are online: http://www.akvish.shutterfly.com/)
Its a question we ask ourselves atleast once in our lives.
Who am i, and what am i doing?Most often, the first part of the question is what stumps someone...but lately, i realised its the second part of the question thats the tough nut to crack! Our world is very simple, we are told. Go forth, achieve economic development...goods and services at the click of your fingers (or a mouse, as it is these days), unending supplies of raw materials, the elimination of the poor and helpless classes of society (or, the upliftment of the 'working class', if you choose to be politically correct). Whatever the mantras of the new world order, the bottom line is: you need money, and lots of it! And of course, the money is 'yours'. And any threat to 'your' money is a threat to society. So, the rural farmer who defies orders to vacate his land, the only livelihood he's got, so that society can put up its instruments of development, has obviously missed out on the entire logic and scheme of things.Poor him...he should willingly make the 'sacrifice' for the betterment of the great people of this world. Ok, so we need to get money...Go forth, earn money! Forget your goals, aspirations and desires for the time being. Just earn the bloody money...and then all shall be taken care of. You need money for your 'survival', we are told repeatedly. Back in school, i was told that that meant food, clothing and shelter. Hang the authors of those textbooks! Survival means great food, branded clothing, swanky shelter, a good car (nevermind if we forget how to walk), all the latest gadgets to make life easier (yeah sure, we urbanites have it real tough!), etc. Economic development leads to the protection of the environment. The USA being the number 1 polluter in the world is just a minor glitch....nothing to worry about or take notice of.Above all, economic development = freedom!! I have a couple of things to say about that, but a close friend of mine says it better on his blog:"you wake up in the morning and start dressing up for the day. the toothbrush enters your conciousness ,followed by the pot and then the shower( in varying order, depending on levels of personal hygine). In the short gaps between u ponder over the state of the world through the eyes of the reporters? never taking a moment to wonder if its all real. The sceptic in you is silenced by the loud hum of the tv, the refrigerator, the computer u just bought (for a pretty good deal, of course) . And slowly , in the confines of all the cement that you call your own.... you melt away. slowly at first as your immunity fights back, but then with ever increasing speed , you melt into the stream then the river and before you know it you are in the ocean , a tiny spec of salt bound into the everlasting cycle with hydrogen bonds penetrating into your technocratic self. and boy those bonds hurt. they hurt everytime you look at a report which tells you what to do, they hurt everytime you walk into a store inspired by the ad you just saw , to buy your brand of carbonated drinks. I hurts here and there . but most of all it hurts where the wings used to be. the ones they sawed away. aaah!Boy, are we fucked or what?Our wings are clipped , but it doesnt even matter because we are too busy to ever fly.Freedom? ha ha ho ho he heNot in a million years."
A monk in a dark red robe. He chants his prayers along with his fellow monks, as the sun rises over a new day. Once the prayers are done with, breakfast awaits, after which the rest of the day is spent studying spiritual texts, etc. This is the usual routine at Bylakuppe...a Tibetan refugee settlement, a good 5 hour drive from Bangalore. The monks are a distinct group among this lot. You look at their daily routine, and you are hit by a sense of awe. But most people, deep down inside, thank their lucky stars that they aren't one of them! And then the pity flows...the worldly possessions of a monk may at best be his robes, and religious scripts. And then you take a closer look. What do the monks own collectively? They own a society. One based on equality, mutual respect, and discipline. They own a society that measures its wealth in terms of the strength of their culture, and its propogation amongst the generations to come. They own a temple with three eighteen metre tall, gold plated Buddhas (one, 'The Buddha', the other two being Buddhas that followed later), their own universities, etc. Point to note...everything is owned by everyone, everything is shared by everyone. No one is 'more equal' than the other. Now,to me, that is wealth. Wealth that every individual, in a community or society, has access to. What do we have? Title deeds, patents, intellectual property rights...we have nothing!Back to the question 'Who am i, and what am i doing?'. To hell with who we are. What are we doing...we're taking all the bullshit thats thrown at us, swallowing it, and then smiling in pride. STOP. Take a look around. Get off your ass and do something about it!!
(Pictures of my visit to Bylakuppe, and lots more, are online: http://www.akvish.shutterfly.com/)
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