Saturday, August 23, 2008

How does one react..

I used to laugh at people when they talk of life altering expierances....It always used to be the logic that how can one incident alter fundas that have taken years to built. Now I am wiser...(hopefully)

An expierance CAN alter the perspective you see things with. It can turn a view by 180 degrees and set you on a course which you may not have even envisaged in your wildest dreams. It can make a conservative out of a liberal..it can turn u an atheist from a believer and set you on a totally different tangent.

The expierance can be personal or collective ..but i have seen that its personal one that changes ppl most. Something deep down turns about and voila he /she is a changed person. The change may not be visisble or tangible but manifests itself in subtle gestures..which can be noticed on inspection.

Something tells me that even I have changed a lot in years..I hope its for the better ;)

Monday, August 18, 2008

Generation gap...

Sometimes when I think as to can I define myself as todays generation..I am cornered by the idea as to what this generation means and what are its value systems. Although its all very convinient to dismiss all "new" generation as all fart and no shit..It takes only a minute of introspection to find out that there is no homogenity in todays generation to warrant such generalisations..

Come to think of it , todays generation is more democratic in arts and culture scene. Our best directors of late have been the new blood, so have been music composers, painters, sculptors . Our best businessmen have been new blood ...But despite that there is a great divide even within this confidant lot...
The divide of viewing the way of the west. Here there are two categories.

One who believe and live in the western space. They act and believe wholeheartedly in the western scene. They are convinced that the india around them can be ignored. However they are also contributing to the growth of India.
The second category are actors. They also believe in western way of life but underneath they despise the very system. They are ok with others wives wearing bikinis as long as their missus stays in salwar. They will join in a bachelor orgy but come back and atone for their "sins" in their puja rooms next day. These ppl do not believe in the west. However the interesting fact is that both these groups are convinced that the western way of life is the most pragmatic way.

The only issue is that which group is more "correct"..? well that itself is subjective as there is also a third group which shuns western culture totally ..(but they are in no way to be confidant enough to be the movers and shakers..this group can only be a nuisance..so we will neglect them)... The is no correct or incorrect label..I think a conflict is necessary for India to evolve a "middle Path"..and I think that is possible. ie. Pragmatic westernisation with Indian values and culture....Its possible and its happening as we speak...

We just need to open our eyes...

Friday, August 15, 2008

Independence day...I am free..thanks for reminding !!!

Today as with all Independence Days and with all indians..I got up ..put on my collection of hindi patriotic songs, pinned a tricolor to my door, adjusted the flag stand on my car and maybe wished a few freinds in MHADA and IIT ..a happy I-Day (thru sms ..wat else..u expect me to go over to them..!!?) and that ended my duty towards all the idiots who gave me the chance to breathe in free air.
It ended and summed up my devotion to a country I am supposed to love. It freed me,an average Indian, from the moral and ethical responsibility of spitting on the roads , pillaging govt property, Ogling at the PYT at the bus stand, picking my nose in public,abusing infront of children, bossing over my juniors and super sychopancy to my seniors.

It freed me to think narrowly on religious lines, kicking the street dog, sniggering at the over full wards in govt hospitals, buying my way through a traffic violation, watering the roadside grass with urea and bile, lazing around, giving and taking graft ....

It freed me from the obligation of being patriotic for the rest of 364 days, of behaving like a bum , and generally talking without reason, boring people and yeah taking my freedom for granted...

What else do i expect from Independence day!! Wish fulfilled

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

When are you goin to think....

There are times I hear very very cliched lines coming from quarters that make me throw up. Thats because of the fact that somehow it really doesnt fit in the person. Or sometimes the whole situation seems so bloody cliched that you question the genuineness of the entire scenario...

Lets take a "cliched" situation.

Girlfreind/Boyfreind.Scenery one. ( we assume that the boy smokes) .

Freinds sitting in a cafe ..Boy casually starts smoking-----> Girlfreind Gets angry----> Boy is scared of his girl-----> Mock fight---->Boy admits that although he is machoest man(is there a word like that??)the the girl Controls his life---> Girl is still angry but now is coy because she has proven her "right" over him..(the end)
More often than not this situation is played out to an audience...Where the audience applauds the act(instant gratification). Society in general expects such a scene(expectation). However there is an element of randomness in which one of the participating actors lose their lines or fail to take the cue(random act of God) ..in which case the audience provides a helping hand.

What actually gets my goat is the sincerity with which the "actors" believe in the role they were playing. I have given this example because this is wat has happened with a freind of mine(yeah and his GF) and within two months they were ka-put...

Why do we let such stupid notions of what our emotions should be ruin what our emotions actually are? Why do we feel that we "should" behave in a particular way? why should we be straitjacketed into a role the "audience" wants us to play? Why seek truth in vaudevile?

I sometimes think I ask weird questions...Well what the hell can you do about it?