Wednesday, March 31, 2010
So stereotypical!!!
Viva Goa!! I feel really lucky to have been born here. I love it and no other place could ever be home. I love that its laid back which is one of its distinctive characteristic.Most outsiders, on their first trip here, are enamored of its beauty;culture and joie de vivre way of life and end up returning to goa time and again.And can you blame them? I, personally am smitten by this little state of mine.Having said all this and established the passion i feel for my state id like to confess theres one thing about goa i implacably dislike and you may be surprised to find that this happens to be the subject of this post contrary to how i started. Its the stereotypical ideologies of most of the people here. I say "most' because it would be really wrong to generalize and say "all" as i know of so many people who dont think like that. Heres a little incident that happened this morning and as inconsequential as it is it got me writing this.
I went to JMP Dias(the most well known electrical store in panjim...actually, the only one known to me) this morning. This elderly (75+) english man stopped by to ask where he could get plastic sheets with adhesive on the back. The store guy was clueless so i told him his best bet would be J D Fernandes and he thanked me and walked out. Heres the funny thing-thats exactly where i was going and could have easily offered to drop him there. And it wasnt as if the thought didnt strike me. It did but for some strange reason i held back from offering him a drop in the electricity store. When i was driving to the stationery store i kept an eye out and did luckily spot him.He looked rather disoriented, what with people jog trotting to and fro in some inane race against....time or themselves or each other...When i pulled over and offered him a drop there were these taxi drivers parked on the other side of the road who stopped whatever it was they were doing to stare brazenly at us. Thats the thing im talking about. I felt like i was doing something wrong.Only, i wasnt. And then i realized, as ashamed as i am to say it, that the reason why i hadnt offered to drop the the man inside the store was that at some subconscious level i didnt want to be seen offering him a ride lest people judge and talk about me. Ive had discussions with friends along the same lines and concluded that almost everyone, perhaps in varying degrees, conforms and adapts their sensibilities according to what is socially acceptable and not acceptable irrespective of right or wrong.But thats the deduction and not the solution. So what can be done to change this? And will it ever completely change? Cause i find myself in a place where i keep crashing head on into this social barrier of what is and isnt and i make no headway.
I went to JMP Dias(the most well known electrical store in panjim...actually, the only one known to me) this morning. This elderly (75+) english man stopped by to ask where he could get plastic sheets with adhesive on the back. The store guy was clueless so i told him his best bet would be J D Fernandes and he thanked me and walked out. Heres the funny thing-thats exactly where i was going and could have easily offered to drop him there. And it wasnt as if the thought didnt strike me. It did but for some strange reason i held back from offering him a drop in the electricity store. When i was driving to the stationery store i kept an eye out and did luckily spot him.He looked rather disoriented, what with people jog trotting to and fro in some inane race against....time or themselves or each other...When i pulled over and offered him a drop there were these taxi drivers parked on the other side of the road who stopped whatever it was they were doing to stare brazenly at us. Thats the thing im talking about. I felt like i was doing something wrong.Only, i wasnt. And then i realized, as ashamed as i am to say it, that the reason why i hadnt offered to drop the the man inside the store was that at some subconscious level i didnt want to be seen offering him a ride lest people judge and talk about me. Ive had discussions with friends along the same lines and concluded that almost everyone, perhaps in varying degrees, conforms and adapts their sensibilities according to what is socially acceptable and not acceptable irrespective of right or wrong.But thats the deduction and not the solution. So what can be done to change this? And will it ever completely change? Cause i find myself in a place where i keep crashing head on into this social barrier of what is and isnt and i make no headway.
Friday, March 26, 2010
Love,Sex and Dhoka-a good hindi movie at last....
A good hindi movie at last!! I watched LSD the other day with a friend and thought it was a really good film.I dont say i enjoyed it cause its not the kind of movie ones enjoys.Definitely not a feel good movie. Quite contrary to that actually. Some of the scenes are inflammatory and stay with you even after the movie.Its the kind of movie that gets you thinking but what makes it unique and sets it apart from the other movies in this category is the realism in its three stories. Some of the scenes are so intense that they slam you hard in the face before you even have time to register them. I for one couldnt get over some scenes for a while after it was over. The actors have done a great job and are convincing to the extent that you feel the dread,fear and happiness of the characters almost first hand. Its well translated and the director hits the nail on the head.So in my opinion its a great watch and for people who arent a bundle of nerves and dont have a weak heart, a must watch.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Its Kalyug then....
I cant really pinpoint what singular thing, occurrence, dialogue or conversation spurred this thought on but over a day or two i have been subconsciously pondering over how modernization, which evidently is a by product of evolution, has an inversely proportionate relationship with the sanctity of life and its various branches and sub branches.And the more i consider and delve into it the more right it seems.
We have advanced so much that small things in life dont matter any more.Nothing is like it used to be.Progression is de rigueur for the growth and development of any social strata but we ve reached a level where along with advancement our constants in life like virtues, principles and values have transformed. Marriage is an archetype of this kind of transformation.Relationships is another. Marriage is an institution and considered the final deciding ritual to unite two people. But the frivolous practices and patterns seen these day of marriage followed immediately by divorce seems sacrilegious.And this decay goes beyond traditions and rituals and penetrates the little things like values and principles that constitute the foundation of a way of life. There were times, although its hard to believe, when a persons given word was substantial enough to manifest an iron bond of trust between two people. Contrary to this, nowadays oaths are taken and the very next moment mercilessly broken and all for either money or some other unconscionable reason. Swears, vows and promises seem like antiquated ideas and will soon be reduced to fading memories. Happiness has become dependent on achieving and attaining physical , material things and making more money.Yet, it doesnt end there as moneys never enough.So the chase just goes in circles- man makes money to quash his craving for happiness and then he makes more money cause he hasnt found what hes looking for and so on and so forth. Even then hes unhappy and happiness seems like a chimera.
So this must really be kalyug.The dark times.But going by that theory it also means life comes full circle and as a circle doesnt exactly end anywhere theres a chance that at some point we will start over from the beginning. Innocence will be returned and love and happiness will come to life again from being hollow shells of words. I just hope all this wishful yearning for a better world bears fruit sooner then later.
We have advanced so much that small things in life dont matter any more.Nothing is like it used to be.Progression is de rigueur for the growth and development of any social strata but we ve reached a level where along with advancement our constants in life like virtues, principles and values have transformed. Marriage is an archetype of this kind of transformation.Relationships is another. Marriage is an institution and considered the final deciding ritual to unite two people. But the frivolous practices and patterns seen these day of marriage followed immediately by divorce seems sacrilegious.And this decay goes beyond traditions and rituals and penetrates the little things like values and principles that constitute the foundation of a way of life. There were times, although its hard to believe, when a persons given word was substantial enough to manifest an iron bond of trust between two people. Contrary to this, nowadays oaths are taken and the very next moment mercilessly broken and all for either money or some other unconscionable reason. Swears, vows and promises seem like antiquated ideas and will soon be reduced to fading memories. Happiness has become dependent on achieving and attaining physical , material things and making more money.Yet, it doesnt end there as moneys never enough.So the chase just goes in circles- man makes money to quash his craving for happiness and then he makes more money cause he hasnt found what hes looking for and so on and so forth. Even then hes unhappy and happiness seems like a chimera.
So this must really be kalyug.The dark times.But going by that theory it also means life comes full circle and as a circle doesnt exactly end anywhere theres a chance that at some point we will start over from the beginning. Innocence will be returned and love and happiness will come to life again from being hollow shells of words. I just hope all this wishful yearning for a better world bears fruit sooner then later.
Monday, March 22, 2010
Why is it that the basic tendency of human beings as a race is always more inclined towards the negative? Whether it is an assumption, presumption or reaction, in a neutral and unbiased plane the first thought that comes to our minds is always negative. A friend who has done us a lot of good and very little bad will always be remembered by the one bad and the good is conveniently overshadowed. Its like negativity stems from within us and to quash it we need to think positive.
This theory of mine rooted from this simple question asked by one of my professors the answer to which superimposes this very theory. He asked us "if A was standing facing east and B facing west what would their position to each other be?". And just about everybody in the room said back to back while the answer quite simply was face to face.
This theory of mine rooted from this simple question asked by one of my professors the answer to which superimposes this very theory. He asked us "if A was standing facing east and B facing west what would their position to each other be?". And just about everybody in the room said back to back while the answer quite simply was face to face.
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