Monday, February 28, 2011
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Happy Idiots*
“It’s a great era to be born in” someone mentioned to me whilst sipping on a glass of wine and blowing plumes of smoke in every direction. I couldn’t help but grimace. Is it really true then, are we really lucky? This individual with radically utopian views continued “Particuarly for women, there is so much we can do.” Can we really?
The complacency that has come to surround the middle class, upper middle class and the nouveau rich is deeply rooted in a sense of narcissistic myopia, hedonistic, lifestyles and wielding of horse blinders against the gruesome reality of the world. Of course we are not bidding goodbyes to chunk of our male population and sending them off to fights world wars, or living in mortal fear of civilian bombings everyday. But that is just you and I. The reality is grimmer in many parts of the world. New poverty estimates published by the World Bank reveal that 1.4 billion people in the developing world (one in four) were living on less than US$1.25 a day in 2005 (www.econ.worldbank.org). Can we even relate to how these people sleep in extreme cold or heat, do we ever think of them when we take for granted the bed that we have, the roof and walls that give us our cherished “privacy”? Is it all right to live in this state of denial? Is it acceptable to generalize the excesses bestowed upon us to the rest of humanity?
For women, there is no room to dance in sheer abandon celebrating the liberalized era, yet. With rampant Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in many parts of the world (according to a 2010 WHO fact sheet it is that estimated 100 to 140 million girls and women worldwide are currently living with the consequences of FGM. http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs241/en/), denial of basic human rights and imposition of restrictions which most women in the western world take for granted, the lacuna is perhaps even more pronounced. The factual position presented here is intended as a mere representation of the reality, and it is necessary to make our existing worldviews more coherent with the reality.
There might not be world-war looming ahead or a genocide to threaten our very existence, but the bi-product of the capitalist culture that dominates the world these days- the growing chasm of between the rich and the poor in some countries and the extremism of other forms of governance in others that leads to blatant denial of human rights to many, is something that our frugal human spirit trapped within the comfort of our bourgeois lifestyle need to acknowledge. We face the risk of becoming ketamine induced individuals where thought of people dying of hunger written off as “depressing” and prompt a quick redressal by means of deep conversations about the people that have the best sense of humour. Are we becoming more superficial and exponentially shallower? Are we at the risk of becoming happy idiots? I think you already know my answer.
I do not wish to offer a deterministic view here, however urge a sincere thought as to why the increased complacency of our comfortable life has numbed us so. Action on our part, though important, is a secondary issue at this point. Getting out of the cocoon that impairs our objective vision and worldview through its faux fur lining is the new social imperative.
* Thanks to Ms. Y. Shymko for sharing this phrase, who claims the genesis of this phrase rests with Professor D. Allen.
The complacency that has come to surround the middle class, upper middle class and the nouveau rich is deeply rooted in a sense of narcissistic myopia, hedonistic, lifestyles and wielding of horse blinders against the gruesome reality of the world. Of course we are not bidding goodbyes to chunk of our male population and sending them off to fights world wars, or living in mortal fear of civilian bombings everyday. But that is just you and I. The reality is grimmer in many parts of the world. New poverty estimates published by the World Bank reveal that 1.4 billion people in the developing world (one in four) were living on less than US$1.25 a day in 2005 (www.econ.worldbank.org). Can we even relate to how these people sleep in extreme cold or heat, do we ever think of them when we take for granted the bed that we have, the roof and walls that give us our cherished “privacy”? Is it all right to live in this state of denial? Is it acceptable to generalize the excesses bestowed upon us to the rest of humanity?
For women, there is no room to dance in sheer abandon celebrating the liberalized era, yet. With rampant Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in many parts of the world (according to a 2010 WHO fact sheet it is that estimated 100 to 140 million girls and women worldwide are currently living with the consequences of FGM. http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs241/en/), denial of basic human rights and imposition of restrictions which most women in the western world take for granted, the lacuna is perhaps even more pronounced. The factual position presented here is intended as a mere representation of the reality, and it is necessary to make our existing worldviews more coherent with the reality.
There might not be world-war looming ahead or a genocide to threaten our very existence, but the bi-product of the capitalist culture that dominates the world these days- the growing chasm of between the rich and the poor in some countries and the extremism of other forms of governance in others that leads to blatant denial of human rights to many, is something that our frugal human spirit trapped within the comfort of our bourgeois lifestyle need to acknowledge. We face the risk of becoming ketamine induced individuals where thought of people dying of hunger written off as “depressing” and prompt a quick redressal by means of deep conversations about the people that have the best sense of humour. Are we becoming more superficial and exponentially shallower? Are we at the risk of becoming happy idiots? I think you already know my answer.
I do not wish to offer a deterministic view here, however urge a sincere thought as to why the increased complacency of our comfortable life has numbed us so. Action on our part, though important, is a secondary issue at this point. Getting out of the cocoon that impairs our objective vision and worldview through its faux fur lining is the new social imperative.
* Thanks to Ms. Y. Shymko for sharing this phrase, who claims the genesis of this phrase rests with Professor D. Allen.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Thy Soliloquy
When Shakespeare eloquently elaborated in As You Like it: All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players, little did he know he was foretelling the future. In this digitized virtual world, we do live our lives like a movie, a script narrated by us on forums like Facebook and Twitter, and then instead of an animated applause from the audience after our soliloquy we are rewarded with “Likes” and “Comments”.
I am bracing myself for the impending critique following this verbal vocalization of thoughts, however, I would be wrong to say that I didn’t have inspiration to begin with. The author of the book Alone Together, Sherry Turkle – a Psychologist and Director of the MIT initiative on Technology and Self Program in Science, Technology and Society, talks of how everyone is “performing” on these virtual forums. (http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/371249/january-17-2011/sherry-turkle). Also vehement discussions with a dear friend who infact told me about Ms. Turkle, are also responsible for shaping these thoughts.
Ever heard of information overload? The amount of information that assaults our senses everyday is humongous. Do we really need to know what each and every one of us is engaging in and with what emotional intensity on an hourly basis? Do we really need to update 500 people every day about the food we ate that day or the clothes we bought for our birthday party?
Let me draw a simple parallel. Do we display on the doors of our homes what we are eating, doing, feeling whenever any significant variation occurs that we deem to be important in our self concocted bubble of narcissism? No. We don’t do that because it is socially inappropriate to leave a poster outside your door announcing the purchase of your new Mac Book Air and how it is any day better than a run of the mill PC or that you had an awful day and how life is a wormhole filled with feces. We don’t do that because we want to be private about these things. This brings me to another issue- the Privacy Settings option. We need to educate ourselves more about what we share and with whom. Yes indeed, there is a way after all- of not sharing everything with the person you met in a bar five years ago and haven’t met since. Free tutorials from my side to the uninitiated is going to be my civic duty as of now.
Well, online social forums are facades for easing communication, networking and casual banter on inane issues, and they work brilliantly for these purposes. Technology has its merits after all. It’s evolution and an indication of how far we’ve come. We need to curb our enthusiasm and fast. Otherwise, very soon we won’t know the difference between what’s real and what’s not.
Disclaimer: This work is not intended to offend anyone or instill self-doubt. These essentially are ramblings which should not be considered all pervasive or universal after all everything is ephemeral. Diatribes are welcome, though not encouraged ;)
More on Social Networks in NYTIMES: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/26/opinion/26dunbar.html?scp=1&sq=150%20friends&st=cse
I am bracing myself for the impending critique following this verbal vocalization of thoughts, however, I would be wrong to say that I didn’t have inspiration to begin with. The author of the book Alone Together, Sherry Turkle – a Psychologist and Director of the MIT initiative on Technology and Self Program in Science, Technology and Society, talks of how everyone is “performing” on these virtual forums. (http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/371249/january-17-2011/sherry-turkle). Also vehement discussions with a dear friend who infact told me about Ms. Turkle, are also responsible for shaping these thoughts.
Ever heard of information overload? The amount of information that assaults our senses everyday is humongous. Do we really need to know what each and every one of us is engaging in and with what emotional intensity on an hourly basis? Do we really need to update 500 people every day about the food we ate that day or the clothes we bought for our birthday party?
Let me draw a simple parallel. Do we display on the doors of our homes what we are eating, doing, feeling whenever any significant variation occurs that we deem to be important in our self concocted bubble of narcissism? No. We don’t do that because it is socially inappropriate to leave a poster outside your door announcing the purchase of your new Mac Book Air and how it is any day better than a run of the mill PC or that you had an awful day and how life is a wormhole filled with feces. We don’t do that because we want to be private about these things. This brings me to another issue- the Privacy Settings option. We need to educate ourselves more about what we share and with whom. Yes indeed, there is a way after all- of not sharing everything with the person you met in a bar five years ago and haven’t met since. Free tutorials from my side to the uninitiated is going to be my civic duty as of now.
Well, online social forums are facades for easing communication, networking and casual banter on inane issues, and they work brilliantly for these purposes. Technology has its merits after all. It’s evolution and an indication of how far we’ve come. We need to curb our enthusiasm and fast. Otherwise, very soon we won’t know the difference between what’s real and what’s not.
Disclaimer: This work is not intended to offend anyone or instill self-doubt. These essentially are ramblings which should not be considered all pervasive or universal after all everything is ephemeral. Diatribes are welcome, though not encouraged ;)
More on Social Networks in NYTIMES: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/26/opinion/26dunbar.html?scp=1&sq=150%20friends&st=cse
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Monday, January 17, 2011
Toxic
The dark muck slides down,
It slides down the sides.
It slithers and it taints,
It dirties all in sight.
The noxious liquid of disgust,
It creeps up inside,
Engulfing the prolific center,
It corrodes till the good dies.
It slides down the sides.
It slithers and it taints,
It dirties all in sight.
The noxious liquid of disgust,
It creeps up inside,
Engulfing the prolific center,
It corrodes till the good dies.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
The Chimera of Capitalism
What’s this thing I heard?
Let’s go and get it,
everyone must.
Perhaps, we need more,
this is now necessary,
to feel happy just a tad.
Let’s not think here now,
lets make haste,
we got to jump in.
I’m here now,
where everyone is,
Ah, yes, we’ve arrived.
But what is this,
out there, there’s more,
I’ m going to run,
lets run some more.
Let’s go and get it,
everyone must.
Perhaps, we need more,
this is now necessary,
to feel happy just a tad.
Let’s not think here now,
lets make haste,
we got to jump in.
I’m here now,
where everyone is,
Ah, yes, we’ve arrived.
But what is this,
out there, there’s more,
I’ m going to run,
lets run some more.
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Foolish Sentiments
We are all fools,
Fools of grandeur,
Fools of illusion,
First we fool others,
And then we fool ourselves.
Fools of grandeur,
Fools of illusion,
First we fool others,
And then we fool ourselves.
Night, the mighty temptress
The Queen of Dusk,
the agony of morn
Nightfall, your spirit
enamors all.
Your magic permeates,
descends like a fog,
us humans are prepared,
ensnared, in this fall.
Laughter of inebriation,
trickles down the streets.
You watch and conceal a smile.
Lust and Love enraptures the roads.
You open your hair, and
observe-pleased.
Mortals taste the elixir of immortality,
from your cup of darkness.
Oh, night! How you fetter my spirit,
and then you set it free.
the agony of morn
Nightfall, your spirit
enamors all.
Your magic permeates,
descends like a fog,
us humans are prepared,
ensnared, in this fall.
Laughter of inebriation,
trickles down the streets.
You watch and conceal a smile.
Lust and Love enraptures the roads.
You open your hair, and
observe-pleased.
Mortals taste the elixir of immortality,
from your cup of darkness.
Oh, night! How you fetter my spirit,
and then you set it free.
Sunday, December 5, 2010
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