Here's Looking at you, kid

A Faceless man

Why faceless? that wasn't the point- I just wanted the posture (:

तुने अभी देखा नहीं
देखा है तो जाना नहीं
जाना है तो माना नहीं

Great work, kudos to Google yet again। Transliteration in blogger, hoping for other languages to turn up sooner or later (preferably the former)

Invisible boundaries

A gunman shoots 32 people at a university, and has now been identified as a South Korean who was a resident alien, and studied English there. In that order, of course, with not a mention as to what his name was. In a world of man-made boundaries, it's but natural to explicitly state- you are from that circle, and that will be the only identity that you will be known by. Nationality is every person's original sin. Which nation doesn't matter, there's always someone who'll hate you for it. Religion comes next, only because of some flexibility in which religion and the option of the lack of it. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that the killer is to be pitied. I'm just commenting on a passing thought sparked off by his identification. Unfortunately, you can't opt out of nationality. But in the competition of the ill will created, religion takes the cake. The sole cause of caste, the crusades, the Riddah wars, the holocaust- the list goes on. Perhaps 'cause' is too biased a word. Property may have been the cause, but it wasn't the justification. If indeed, God (or whatever spiritual goal it is that prompts these notions) requires all people to follow the true religion (being every religion in existance in the minds of its followers) he would have known better than to send so many spiritual leaders, or agree to killing off people in his name. Old argument, still worth the mentioning. What makes anyone's religion better than anyone else's if you use it for the same purpose anyway? To give you a false notion of superiority knowing that there are others with the same misconception and to justify every act that causes harm to another in some way. Yes, humans do have a fetish for power... something to make one feel good in one's own little world- that the 'I' is of some consequence.

What is your nationality anyway? Why is your country so important when it is but a piece of the earth marked out for no concievable reason besides wanting to be 'better-off' than someone else? The productivity of the land in question may actually make you better off in terms of health, etc, but why do you want to exclude others from it on various justifications? To keep yourself better off and to keep your progeny better off. In other words, to survive as comfortably as possible. I'm quite convinced humans did evolve (I'll also give credit to genetic engineering theories like those of Erich von Daniken and others) from animals, as you see, we retain territorial instincts and it's still the survival of the fittest amongst us. Only we live in our own notions of what qualities are possessed by the fittest. Most religions seem to think it necessary to state that man is different from the other animals that inhabit the planet with us. Of course we are different. Can you see animals inventing new reasons to justify a survival instinct? They mark out territories too, but do you see them differentiating between two of the same species from different territories? Yes, maybe if one of them was stronger than the subject, and we don't see religious wars there. Atleast we haven't discovered any such religious affiliations other than food, shelter and mates, all matters of survival. Not masked in spiritual gain or the attainment of a better afterlife. Yes, humans are different, but not, as many religions of the man made world put it- better.

Until my next!

Imbroglio

A few days ago, I was faced with yet another controversy that required me to watch Aparna Sen's 15 park avenue. The movie itself was brilliant, bringing back faith in the quality of Indian cinema... &c &c. Unfortunately, as is typical of her movies, the end remains 'open to interpretation'. I do admire the creativity that goes behind bringing about such an end... it must take either a totally different mindset or an immense amount of strength to leave your creations in the lurch- to fend for themselves, so to speak; leaving it to the characteristics of the creations to lead the way beyond the "end" of the story. I only said 'admire'. My preference is an entirely differnt thing- I prefer solid endings. Happy, sad, astonishing, funny, whatever it is, just tell me what happens in the end. I usually get involved into one or another or all of the characters in the story which means that I land up needing to fend for myself in an open end. I usually manage to steer my imagination down some lane or the other, and my optimism ensures the characters' (and consequently, my own) happiness at the end of the (extended) story. In case of those stories with a decided end, I usually imagine the sequences of events that could have happened in the course of the story, or those sequences that are not particularly explicit. It is perhaps for this reason that I like knowing the end of a story before reading it- (yes, I do. Don't be so shocked) I like getting there in the confidence that the 'end' exists. Suspense does not excite me, anticipation does. I like waiting for something that I know for sure is to happen; as for what I do not know- reality is so full of it that I prefer to limit the unknown to the bare minimum of my life.

!! spoiler warning !! [not that it matters really... how old is the movie anyway?]

Coming back to the subject matter of this post- 15 park avenue- the story leves it to the viewer to figure out an end. In this case, I simply could not. There was nothing I could think of, no explaination I could offer to ease the suspense. It was a story without an end, and I wanted to leave it as a story without an end. Unlike me? Yes. For some reason, the movie did not leave me in any suspense- it left me calm, more like one of those passers-by watching the confusion, not really bothered about the conclusion. Enough for me to have known that Mithi seemed in bliss, whatever pain or anticipation she put her sister in. I watched the movie to take a stance, and ended on taking none. The reason I watched it was that my mother (a teacher, and consequently, involved in discussions with other teachers who are all equally vehement about the correctness of their own views) was involved in an argument regarding the movie. One contention was that Mithi's sister was schizophrenic, and imagines that Mithi is. The other was that Mithi becomes one of those neglected women on the street who keep turning up through the movie (ominous signs, supposedly), and her sister eventually begins to lead her own life. For my part, I am content that I have not turned schizophrenic (or so I believe) and am happy to continue living in my own life that offers ample opportunity to question reality. After all, we all live in our own worlds, created by our perception, processed by and acted upon by our beliefs of the ideal world, and there can be no 'right' or 'wrong', yet here we are, each vehemently leading those we can into thinking as we do.

Lost

Not too pleased with the situation at hand- The prospect of leaving a comfort zone carved for me yet again. I’m going Home in less than 3 weeks for over two months. I don’t seem to be too excited. I do look forward to it- How can I not like the idea of running back to the bliss of my family’s warm embrace? It’s just that I’m not counting down the days till we leave, not thinking of packing up, not planning the vacation- nothing. I’m just content with the idea of going back. Fact is that I’ve learnt to love this corner of Kolkata – A place I lost in a dream and found in reality. I don’t mean that this is the land of milk and honey that I needed to reach- (I still doubt any place comes close to Bangalore in that respect) what I do mean is that I’ve taken root here, so to speak. The word ‘home’ now means the thought of my room in the hostel (when in class) or the comfort of the hundred familiar faces that support life without choking it. I have got used to it, and getting me used to better comforts all over again seems just as frightening as getting used to lesser ones. I would now refer to this as ‘home’ and that of Bangalore as ‘Home’. Of course I prefer Bangalore to college; familiarity never has bred contempt as far as I’m concerned. All I’m saying is that I’m going to miss home when I’m Home. Kudos, Kolkata.

Haven