A dog's tail, once twisted always twisted

I think it is not the first time that I am admitting that I have written some absurd and meaningless posts here on this blog. If that was the extent of my folly it would have been bearable, but I must admit that my foolishness has been spilling over and over again all though my clumsy walk-through life's sweet ride.

One lesson for me is that it is better if I stick to a comical manner of writing about stuff. The serious stuff is just not worth it especially because of my lack of expertise in it. 

I will just write about how water came to be and how it manages to quench our thirst. You will find it interesting that all the water in the world is actually formulated in a top-secret lab and distributed all over the world wirelessly. 

So, to begin with, one fine day many billions of years ago some of the most brilliant people realized that their skin felt too dry and crusty. They were also fed up with all the dirt they used to eat just to moisturize their inner self. So that's when they decided that it was time to find something new which was better than dirt. In a top-secret mission high up on the summit of mount Everest they set up a camp to formulate that something new. Days turned into months and months turned into years but nothing new could be formulated. People grew old and new people were sent up the summit. Many of them fell off the summit on more than one occasion. It was getting harder by the day to keep the camp together. The eureka moment was however nowhere near the horizon until one fine day when an explosion burnt the entire camp down. In the ashes of the camp, the now homeless found glistening drops of something they had never seen before. That was the beginning of the water that we all get delivered, sometimes in bulk and mostly in retail. The camp on Everest was disbanded and the secret formula of drops was deciphered. The very next day they launched a rocket that would explode far far far away near a large dense high-pressure fog of gas that ignited as the rocket exploded into the fog. It started a large fire and people here started calling it the sun to mimic the sound of the explosion that was heard after the fire was first seen.

The sun soon began burning up gases here and the fumes reached as high up as Everest. It was here and other places so high that the first ultra max air conditioners of the world were put. The rising fumes of burnt gases would be cooled by these air conditioners and fall back on earth in form of ice. large deposits of ice were in turn melt by sun's heat and water began flowing all over. So much ice melted that all the earth was submerged in water. People started living under water and since they were living under water, they made it salty because of all the sweating and perspiration. It was so salty that people had a hard time living under water, so they dug and piled up dirt in some places and climbed out of water. Some of the people stayed back so the water is still salty in those places. The people on the ground did not like the people who stayed back so they began mixing more salt in water that drained into places where people lived underwater. Anyways, water was now everywhere but most of it was salty. From the ice of mountain, non salty water would flow and soon it would pick up all the salt from dirt of earth and get salty. The people on ground made channels for salty water to flow into seas and oceans where all the salty water was kept. Sometimes they also dug up lakes for salty water. The sun would burn these oceans, seas, lakes, and flowing water to make fumes that would rise up then get cooled because of air conditioners high up in the sky and fall back as water drops and ice. 

Thats how we made water and continue to make it. To make it look great they disguise some of the labs and air conditioners in clouds. Sometimes when they run out of clouds, they just color most of the equipment invisible. All in all, the system of water formation and distribution works well. Some people then thought it would be a good idea to make some money out of water. So, they claimed some of it to be their own. They first put it in a tank and distributed it through pipes. Many people bought these pipes and water would drip from these pipes during odd hours of the day. Then they put it in smaller bottles and sold it in weird places where there were no pipes. Everything is working great, now all the great people in this wide world are free of eating any kind of dirt whatsoever.                     

The spectacle of election- An open letter to all

Preparations for the election of the sixteenth Loksabha of the Republic of India are in full swing as I write. The election commission of India will administer the electoral process in nine phases, across the length and breadth of the country, over a duration of thirty six days, with an electoral strength of 814 million Indian citizens. 

Today the people of Assam and Tripura participated in this gigantic electoral process by universal adult suffrage. Incidentally, the state of Tripura is the third smallest state of the republic of India with an estimated population of 3 million, approximately 0.25% of the entire population of India. 

Tripura has a majority of bengali people and a thirty percent minority of indigenous people. These indigenous people are recognized as scheduled tribes in the constitution of india. The Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950 listed 744 tribes in India, these tribes have since been a part of affirmative action as per the general principles laid down by the constitution of India. 

The scheduled tribes were known as depressed classes during the colonial rule. This community of India, 8.6% of the total population, belongs to poor and hence unsung regions, scattered across all states of India, which were yet to be touched by modern civilization significantly at the time of independence. 

Incidentally, scheduled castes also share similar characteristics. Essentially, poor people comprise the majority of these castes and tribes and history stands proof that the poor are always the most exploited and marginalized class of all times. The Indian affair has been no different but it is heartening to know that Dr. B.R Ambedkar, Buddhist and a scheduled caste himself, was the architect of the constitution of India.

So with elections just around the bend there are few things that I would like to point out to any elector of India.

To begin with, the political parties of India are likely to spend 30,500 crore rupees on these elections. This translates to a marketing expense of 400 rupees per elector. This spending by the Indian political parties is next only to the $7 billion election spending on the United States presidential election of 2012. Without attracting controversy, the coffers of the political parties of India are impressive but there is little to no public records related to the source of these funds. 

How are we to ascertain that the political ideology of a party is not influenced by the donations they receive? Another thought that haunts me is that if the political parties of India are so well funded then why aren't the party workers paid better.  It could be possible that the party coffers have been supplied the funds just in time to be battle ready. To blow their trumpets and repeat the rhetoric. 

Life has taught me that money is the best money breeder. Money investors always seek good returns. Those donating to the political parties may have an entirely altruistic agenda but what if these donations are investments?  if the rich and mighty who fund these parties see the money as an investment then it is reasonable to assume that these few will also decide the direction of the country as per their needs and wishes. 

My dear elector, if this election spend is an investment then beware a huge payback is due from your pocket and to the bank accounts of these investors, a payback which will be much greater than the 400 rupees marketing expense on each one of us by the political parties.

Elections often create larger than life personalities. One such personality that has resurfaced is that of Narendra Modi, a RSS cadre and current chief minister of Gujarat. Before being named BJP's prime ministerial candidate, He was in news due to the 2002 communal riots in Gujarat which claimed one thousand Gujarati lives.   

He is a practiced orator and has no dearth of grand visions and schemes that he shares abundantly during his election rallies. Amongst his admirers are many  who look up to him as India's answer to every problem. I believe, Mr. Modi too has dutifully taken up the challenge and is leaving no stone unturned during his election campaign to convince people about his prime ministerial claim. What itches me about Mr. Modi is he that claims a model which will cure the entire country of it ills and put it on a high growth trajectory within the next five years. It may be noted that India is 20 times bigger than Gujarat in population. While he has held the helm of Gujarat for 15 years there is still a lot of development left to be desired in his state. He claims a magic potion like nobody else does! He is the the mystery man of current times. Trust him at your own peril. 

His larger than life personality is a construct. Party funds go a long way in maintaining this construct as do his oratory skills.

Indian National Congress's vote share has been on a steady decline. In 1951 general elections, 44% votes were polled in its favor. In 2009 general elections a mere 28% vote share of congress allowed its alliance to form government at the center. The congress has betrayed the mandate given to it by its electors on multiple occasions. The ideology stands defunct as its ranks and files have openly subscribed to nepotism & corruption. Rahul Gandhi, the face of congress and advocate of systemic reforms, is silent on congress fielding candidates with criminal/corrupt record. Those who want to reform the system have to make hard choices and not generous concessions.

The Communist ideology has failed to fascinate the entire country. Though communist have been successful in few states but they lack a pan-India appeal. It is time that they rethink their ideology and keep it abreast with modern times. 

Once young and motivated leaders, Mulayam singh, Lalu Prasad, Mayawati amongst others, led a wave of second generation Indian political parties to the mainstream politics but they too succumbed to the systematic corruption of Indian politics. They must in their hearts rue the fact that they betrayed their own political agenda. Today, these parties too are a part of an aimless political drift and rhetoric that plagues Indian politics. AAP, the newest political startup and a product of the popular 2011 anti-corruption movement is headed in the same direction. 

It appears that AAP is as autocratic as BJP or Congress party of today. With a handful controlling the party, its volunteers & followers are being blindfolded. It gives me shivers that many have pinned their hopes on AAP. AAP too has resorted to fielding popular candidates through a non-transparent process where merit is being overlooked in favor of popular candidates. I would like to ask its party workers- is AAP a transparent organization? All parties at their inception promise the moon. Beware AAP is no different! A party that wants to work towards weeding out corruption from the Indian system is finding it difficult to field non-corrupt candidates!

There are many regional parties that contest elections on local issues and enjoy a good local support too. These parties are proof of a move towards localization and decentralization of politics. These parties must increase their linkages with their counterparts in other states of India working on similar issues. However, most regional parties choose to side with either of the major political alliances, namely UPA and NDA.

On the quality of our members of parliament, I shall only say there is a lot to be desired. Many of them have no qualms in undermining the constitution of India.

Coming back to the scheduled tribes & castes, or rather all the poor of the country. There are millions who are jobless & landless. Some sleep on pavements, some live in slums, some in villages- they all struggle for two square meals a day. They are the forsaken. Their families have little to hope for. Their lives haven't improved as desired. Most of their future generation is malnourished and illiterate. The modern civilization has no respectable place for them in its elaborate setup. Many of them are employed as garbage pickers, domestic helps, daily wage laborers, factory workers (and many other similar menial jobs) in modern cities,towns and villages of India. Their's is a life of struggle for existence. 

The election expenditure of 30500 crores is more than the GDP of ten small states of India. What was the spend of all political parties to uplift the poor last year? nobody knows and nobody cares.

We are too busy with our own lives to care for others. Ignorance is a bliss, it is also a curse. We are the blind people of India who echo the rhetoric of political parties we support. This election we may again choose to be ignorant. On an average the election process witnesses a turnout of 60% eligible electors. We are blind to the fact that millions don't even subscribe to this democratic process. 

A vote not being exercised should mean something in a democracy. What could be the reason for 40% of eligible electors abstaining from casting their vote? It is a testimony to the fact that election is a major hogwash. 40% electors see no value in casting their vote. Often, we are told that one vote can make all the difference. However, 15 general elections and millions of votes have failed to make a difference.

The election commission of India will spend 3500 crores to successfully organize this election. NOTA, A Supreme Court of India directive, will also be available in 2014 general election. NOTA can be exercised by electors against all candidates fielded by political parties as well as independent candidates. It essentially means that although the elector polled his vote- a fundamental right- the elector has decided against casting his vote for any candidate. It is an act of expressing disapproval of all candidates (party & independents) but the election commission will treat it as an invalid vote for all practical purposes. NOTA is a step in the right direction but a button with no teeth.

As a staunch supporter of democracy, I feel pained to inform you that election in India is a major sham. It is a vehicle of legitimizing a largely dysfunctional and undemocratic governance system. This election will be pushed down your throats too while you struggle to identify the right candidates.

But as we know Ignorance is a bliss and this too shall pass. 
        

  

An extended apology

The matter of fact is that as long as I am apologizing, I must issue another apology.

I accepted ignorance but I haven't accepted lying. And I wouldn't have written anything if I didn't believe that both are equally sinister. Let me before taking this up talk about syllogism. To begin with, syllogism has a major premise, a minor premise and a conclusion. Now each of them is a proposition with two terms. To speak of apples as apples and oranges as oranges this is how it goes. If one was to say that 'All A's are B's' and 'All B's are C's', then if it is such that both the propositions are true then we can infer that 'All A's are C's'. Now, as long as the propositions are true the conclusion can stand the test of time. When it comes to ignorance and lying one cannot say all ignorance is evil or all lying is deceptive.

 The trick is not in being able to identify the bad acts associated with ignorance and lying, they are too easy to spot. Like don't be ignorant and get yourself killed or don't lie when you can get screwed for doing so. The skill is in forming an opinion about which acts of ignorance and lying are good. Now, that is a task of a wise man. So to speak I have lied and I have been ignorant. All because I haven't been wise. And great many people have witnessed this tragedy of my life. To these people I apologize, and more so to the people who were fooled by them because they are also the ones who love me the most.

On wisdom & regret

First, I apologize.

There is a lot of awful stuff written by me on this blog. It takes certain wisdom to be able to write nice things. Sooner or later we all form an opinion. An opinion about most things that we see or experience first hand in life. Now the process of forming these opinions is rather interesting. As soon as a child is born there are certain innate actions & desires in the child. A desire to be comfortable, or trivially the desire to live and a action as trivial as the act of breathing which a child needs no training in.

I could now go on to explain Darwin's notions about natural selection but I will assume that the reader is aware of Darwin's ideas and their implications. So the child is born and we know for certain that a child dies too. That that lives shall also die. Plants , animals and of course us. But again it is still hardwired in us to go to bed in night believing we will be alive and well come the morning. Now there may be exceptions in cases of illness - mental or physical but in general everybody expects to be alive for some good amount of time but definitely not forever and ever. But there is not good enough reason to believe that entirely. Heart ailment, earthquakes, fires, cyanide  or for that matter Hiroshima-Nagasaki can happen anytime.

However, it is not reasonable as the chance of any of these happening is less. I won't however say that reason is the only thing that is at work here but there is optimism as well which certainly finds more favor with humans rather than plants and animals. How these emotions and in general concepts like optimism attach to humans is rather a bit of difficult explaining to do but we do know with certainty that it is not the work of my knees.

So all I shall say is that it is the brain where all this action is happening and most of it evolves as we age but the initial bit is formed sometime after the sperm and the ovum have had their work sorted out after fertilization. I shall not humiliate myself by talking about the initial phases of the brain development. Rather, I will focus on the age angle. So as a child ages it gets wiser. The child knows when and how to cry and get the work done which initially is limited to hunger, thirst, discomfort and yes about surviving.

Now, I use the word survive because living is hardly a baby's concern. We start living once we become reasonably wise. So now I shall get back to where I started from which is about my apology about whatever I have written till date. And to make it grand, I had rather say that don't hold me responsible for any of my actions from the time I was born to date. I lived my age of wisdom in a rather ignorant state.


However, it shall be a pity if one was to die ignorant. Fortunately, I realize that but I don't know how big an achievement that is and so I shall leave it for the reader to decide on that but not before pleading the reason in him to think of the ignorance that we all live in.And also, I shall not claim wisdom but I have now with me the knowledge of it's existence.

And as long as I survive, I shall also live.  

what ? who are they. i dont even know them. i dont think i like them. they are just frisbees, they come and pass. thats it. they are nothing to me. they dont even exist. why should they? like i dont have any use of them. i dont even want to use them. they are as much waste as i cant take. why even bother to think about them. i really dont feel their need. i despise it. perfectly needless. they are dead. too dead to come back again. i can see their ghosts now. red, green , blue orange. they are like colors. whats your favourite color? i am past that now. god take care of them but dont expect it from me. like they start killing me and i am already half dead.

hey,

look what i found, nothing , absolutely nothing. like i wanted to go but i didnt. what if I had? nothing, absolutely nothing. there still is a lot to look forward to, right. I absolutely think so till I think too much. How can there be an awful lot of stuff to look forward to. to tell you the truth there isnt much. How the hell did you ever think of such a thing. Its right there looking at you. dont you get it. like you should but you dont. why? To be there and still not be there as if it was the place meant to be. not exactly, maybe. look i really dont know. its a lot to be weighed down. you got to run up and face it. but i really dont get the hang of it. maybe, surely or what. do you know. frankly tell me whats on your mind because i dont have a clue about me. tonight we dance. no maybe we dont. like i am acting weird and there is far too much nonsense out here. i got to clean up. dont you think so. but it keeps on getting bigger and bigger. its piling on like anything now. the mess. like the place is too dirty now. right to the animate, its too dirty. excessive dirt. mind if i mind what i dont mind. as in tell me what, why. its heavy. too heavy. i can feel it. can you? ofcourse you cant. you do, right? . I dont know.

Dry Fruits

Afraid of dark I close my eyes only to find myself in even more darkness. I had rather turn blind searching the most flickering of lights around than subject myself to this self imposed darkness. New Year is too far away and I can’t help it if there isn’t a special occasion just around the corner to make resolutions, therefore I’ll initiate a special change in me, and celebrate the occasion with a resolution that I’ll infuse pride into me. Pride enough to make me feel good. Who doesn’t wish to be the best? Everyone does but then there is scope for only one to be that.

Average is good. Above average is better. Being happy is the best.