Inebriating and fuddling share a common place in the dictionary. But astonishingly to my experience, I have,more often than not, have found out that people seem to be more "sane" when taken over by the magic potion. The outrageous explosion of thoughts and perspectives that pour out with a a glass of beer or whisky, have got me thinking on this for quite some time.STOP.
Vikki, my roommate and a really interesting character, usually turns delirious when he takes his favourite "8 PM" was at his best on this Tuesday too. We had our "Minnalae" throughout ( it has almost become ritualistic of Vikki to have this one running when he drinks) and the other praxis which Vikki faithfully follows when he is in the mood - shouts of beatitude which would make a wild boar shrink in shame, uninterrupted - though bursty - belly laughs over things which only he could laugh at ( e.g. can you ever imagine a person who can ever laugh at his own laughter? He does it for a reason which only he is aware of !! He keeps on going till panting for breath) and some eclectic collection of songs which are nurtured with perfervidity by him. The series of cheers and "bottoms-up" ( as we call it ) went well in to the night considering the fact that the liturgy started around 9 p.m.
STOP.
When he had turned tired of all the hullabaloo ( I rather think that the bottle was nearly empty had dampened his spirits), we went out "for a walk" ( his metaphor for having a puff -his last for the day) and came back to lay our backs to rest, we went on fiddling on the usual topics that are picked up for discussion at that part of the night - how the day went for each of us, the recent developments if any in our respective organisations and other then-current happenings. Slowly, we were drawn to a discussion on the Srilankan Tamils and their plight. Vikki, then referred to one of his school mates by name Janakan - a kid whose family had a grocery shop in the heart of the business hub of Colombo - but had to leave their homeland with 2 sacks of rice and one lakh in cash - lamming to Rameswaram ( a small town in the southern tip of the country - entry point for Srilankan Tamils considering proximity and affability of the town to them). He went on with details on his yores with Janakan - the conspicuous peculiarity in his accent (considering the fact that they speak the same language as we do), the legerity he possessed ( courtesy the priliminary training given to every Tamil child by the LTTE).
Just as I was thinking on what makes people push to the brink of leaving their homeland parting with the fortunes hard-earned all their lives ( considering the barren fact that they can never be sure of reaching the shores - they could be done away with by either the Srilankan Navy or the Indian Coast Guard ), Vikki said "Even though we may excogitate on the details of cause,effect and eventualities of the them, we may never be able to capture the real suffering they go through. And this holds true for all the leaders who voice their interests in favour of the Srilankan Tamil diaspora." More than the words, the ineptitude that resonated in his words was what striked me.And above it, the responsibilty that he assumed , submitting for his ineptitude, was the unbelievable aspect of all.
Imagine the shamlessness and excruciation of spirit every man would undergo to see his wife or sister enacting the most pristine of acts of nature - give birth to an offspring - under blazing sun or biting cold , with bombshells and pullalating sounds of Kalashnikovs resonating to the pangs of the female. The bombings of Iraq ( advertised by Rumsfeld to be more successful than the Aucshwitz) - ironically when i did a Google, the latest killing in Iraq, a bombing which had killed 21 children was only an hour old ; the utter barbarism to explode a geletin in the vagina of a 16 year old - after being gang raped- and much more - for we only to ponder that we dont get to see HBO in Chennai!! Indians on the whole should be collectively be ashamed of the fact that the aid that flew in to Kashmir during the recent earthquake was a pittance compared to the ones that flew in for Gujarat and Nagapattinam. Do we innately approve of the fact that we dont recognise Kashmir - in letter and spirit - a part of India??? It is not our inability to generate thought process than money is what concerns me most.Introspecting further, the people in the South have always remained immune to the misfortunes of the people to the north of Tropic of Cancer.This is not a case with our nation alone, but the world over - where passion for violence, unrest and anarchy forplays to satiate the hidden demons - and the general public shun their thoughts to self and the four walls that they dwelve in.
Every nerve and sinew of mine aches to understand the commanility that links these - the intoxication that we derive on fresh smelling blood and splattered flesh. There is a certain fascination associated with violence and the beatitude the beast derives out of it will not die out even after generations.
Here in lies the responsibility of the spirit to acknowledge and empathise with the countless sufferings of people across the globe. Though we cant do a Bharathi or Che Guevera, every act of ours should be valued with the responsibility it carries - be it what we eat, dress, speak and the intagibles ; its not an advocacy for certain act or intiative that but for the reorientation of the stream of thinking of every individual - however miniscule it may be - by which, in some means or other, atleast few souls would go to sleep one night to awake to peace and freedom.
Cheers,
Avinash.
P.S: 1. I sincerely believe the thoughts and efforts of every individual influences someone in some corner of this world ( Call it Butterfly theory or whatsoever).
2. If you find the content meandering across multitudinous paths, for it was my attempt to capture the complete array of thoughts that "I" went through while penning this down.
3. Though I have titled the post with the time myself and Vikki had this discussion, it took a lot of "I" to put it down. As Vikki said, you may never know the pains and suffering that I went through during my 3 days on this piece.
4. And as long as it gets me and others "thinking" and acting accordingly, I wish to say many more Cheers to Vikki and his 8 P.M!!!!
12 comments:
It is practical and understandable that we confine ourselves to only few things in the world and dwell in it to be the entire world.Current world in itself has got so many problems, people understandbly look into their own world and dwell.
Not every one is a visonary and compassion without any reservations is not a simple as thing as we write.It must be brought into one's faculties when anyone is young and if not it needs personal experience to change one's own prejudices and patterns.
I will put it not lack of compassion but lack of first hand experience .I know this is crude but that is the truth.
Dei Avi, great stuff!!!
In line with your your current rage over the happenings worldover, I thought i'd send u something thats a must read. I realise u're not a keen listener of english music, But here's a classic..a Classic with a "K". Lets call it KLASSIC. It was written during America's turbulent 60s. The song is called
BLOWIN' IN THE WIND
How many roads must a man walk down
Before you call him a man?
Yes, 'n' how many seas must a white dove sail
Before she sleeps in the sand?
Yes, 'n' how many times must the cannon balls fly
Before they're forever banned?
CHORUS:
The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind,
The answer is blowin' in the wind.
How many times must a man look up
Before he can see the sky?
Yes, 'n' how many ears must one man have
Before he can hear people cry?
Yes, 'n' how many deaths will it take till he knows
That too many people have died?
CHORUS:
The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind,
The answer is blowin' in the wind.
How many years can a mountain exist
Before it's washed to the sea?
Yes, 'n' how many years can some people exist
Before they're allowed to be free?
Yes, 'n' how many times can a man turn his head,
Pretending he just doesn't see?
CHORUS:
The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind,
The answer is blowin' in the wind.
The irony is that, sadly, this song has been alowed the luxury of being relevant even in this age
!!!
N u've said "only vicky knows y he laughs". How can u be so sure he knows. Hahahahaha.
Mani, u've made a few intsightful points, espescially on compassion and the lack of first hand experience. But i must say u give me that U are sympathiser. Of course, its an inference im making from ur statements. But i think it is more important to be Empathetic than sympathetic. As i have stated once on my blog, "it is independence that we have to look yo create..and not lasting dependencies"...for it seems as though we measure our worth ONLY through the magnitude of the help we render...which implies that somone has to kep suffering for us to perpetually prove our worth.
I hope i have been clear enough...although i wonder if i could think more lucidly at this point in time. Hahaha.
Avi, as for terrorism-be it the LTTE or any other outfit, there can be no justification of their acts. It would, in crude but simple terms, be equivalent to discussing the merits and demrits of murder or rape.
All the same, it is equally important to understood that these are evolutionary products of socio-politico-economic factors- that have gone through right from the embryonic stage, through gestation, growth and finally maturation (hopefully death too). They are NOT and Not to be viewed as radical explosions that spring out one fine mornin' like a monster from the middle of the deep blue sea.
CORRECTION:
On the second para of the last comment, that was supposed to be "understand", and not "understood".
Regards.
Mani,
I do agree with your view that it is the lack of first hand experience that contribute to a part of ignorance towards the oppressed and downtrodden. But the "we" I refer here are not the public ( though my blog is for public viewing )but souls who share a similar level education. Education,as I maintain,is to relate to and appreciate the world better.That being the ulterior, people who have had education SHOULD be able to understand the realities that strike countless lives around them.But you may again come to a discussion whether the education makes them empowered to think on these lines. I infer that, it is always the person's rationality and concern ( even after first hand experinece, mind you!) that matters, no matter what is educational,economic and social status is.
Subbu,
Thanks for the lyrics (got me thinking for some time..haha).You have indeed made yourself clear(enough).I acknowledge the fact the rise of militancy ( for that matter any "ideological upheaval" -with whether the ideology does exist sometimes in question)is not a sporadic occurence, but has socio-economic reasons behind them.But my concern is,who gives the corrupted power to the oppressor or the "superior element" - to put it simple- to state their authority over the so called minority? On my observation, part of the reason is,though the majority have commanded (not demanded)this power for a long time,corruption in power sets in once they fear losing their power.Minority denegration sets in with a purpose (usually race or ethinicity)followed by the reason - which may be any ( like you are not a native or more simply you dont look like me!). Also,though we can in principle accuse the minority for having accepted their fate till that time,it is but biologically natural for the wolf to devour after the lion does!. Parallels though exist in little between biological and social scales of balance,my point is that it is but natural (and prudent???)for the minority to accept their position,only for the scales to tilt and times to change. Accept?
Avi,
I totally agree with you that it is natural for the oppressed to wait for their turn to get back at the oppressors. But my point is that if education truly opens our mind to a progressively, we'd see that, there, at some point needs to be a forgiveing and a realisation(in whichever order it comes). There should never come a point where one needs TO BE ASKED whether he thinks ot right to imprison (or hang..punish) a man or a crime his father commited??!!!
WEll, if its bad enough, he needs to asked so. The results of theis excercise (as ive found) are shocking--to both the questioner and the respondent...when he says "YES!! HE SHOULD BE!!!", bringing out the hate in all its blind darkness.
Avi,
When you talk about a need for compassion... i quote- that "people who have had education SHOULD be able to understand the realities that strike countless lives around them."., I believe it is not as simple as you've stated. You have spoken rightly about the ideative part of relating to others. But we are still far from their implementation. It poses a very serious and complicated issue as what one feels as do-able maynot be viewd the same by another who is of a "similar educatational level" and subscribes ideologically to these views.
You could well get the answer "Yes, im with you. But i dont believe I should do anymore than this. It is not my passion to makea difference on this front." And maybe he really has other ideals too and he "truly" believes he is doing "his bit" to help the cause. You cannot force a man "TO GIVE". It amounts to usury!!!
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