Buy the people, for the people
Have you ever thought about where your thoughts come from? Our mind is constantly churning out new ideas, old assumptions, and much more throughout the day, deep into the night. There is no resting period up there. Always on. When something bad happens, we feel like our brain has gone on an overdrive and your loved ones would tell you “don’t think too much” but the fact is, your brain was thinking as usual. It’s only you who is paying close attention to the machine. With or without your focus, the machine keeps working. During such a worrisome phase, some thoughts sound like they are a result of a fully erect penis: exploding without consequences. If not reined in on time, they’d lead you to conversations filled with premature ejaculation of empty words.
The most reasonable thing one could do if they are interested in politics, but aren’t interested in participating in it, is be a student. Keep your eyes and ears open, in order to read and listen to every possible version of a story. Most non-participating political folks fail to do this because they are blinded by their love for a particular party or an ideology. This leaves them stranded in their island of self-righteousness as they lap up narratives built against their opponents and turn a blind eye to those that are critical of their own players. Any rational person, with 20 grams of common sense, should know that humans are fallible and are driven by sentiments more than anything else. And politics is a playground ripe for such mis-experiments. This is not a place for nobility. Heavenly ideals sound great only in speeches, not in application.
The Ukraine crisis has been going on for a few months now and is most likely to continue throughout the year. If anything, it exposed the double standards of the West in every possible realm of policy-making. For starters, the refugee situation highlighted the deep-rooted racism practised by the European media. And these entities are supposed to hold the torch of equality for the rest of the world. On the energy front, we noticed how even the most powerful European countries weren’t willing to give up on Russian gas even though they expect greater sacrifices from the poorer countries in the name of democracy. Forget geopolitics, even Wimbledon banned Russian and Belarussian tennis players from the ‘prestigious’ event. Too much irony for the West that leaves no opportunity to preach the so-called Third World that politics and sports shouldn’t mix. Well, times are not changing. We are only seeing better now.
When Joe Biden’s trembling hands took over the mantle of White House, the liberals finally drew a sigh of relief. Their hyper-reaction to the Trump presidency—most of it deserved and some totally done for theatrics—convinced us that Biden is going to be the leader of the apparent free world we deserve. So much so all screens of scrutiny were lowered for the old man. We could notice how the media turned soft all of a sudden—CNN even got rid of the COVID cases ticker from the TV screen—and it’s been over a year of his tenure and the drama of low accountability continues. The USA remains a circus of sorts, with China gaining ground every passing day, pulling us towards the world where Mandarin would be adopted en masse.
Since we’ve latched onto the sacred subject of democracy today, let’s take a step back and check whether humans are genuinely ready to carry the cross of gumption. So far, it’s evident that expecting our species to think for themselves is too much to ask for. Even the most literate-cum-educated folks end up taking decisions that are detrimental to their interests, especially when you consider our side of the globe. To know that you have a choice has become a choice now. Under such dark clouds of ignorance, it’s difficult for a democracy to breathe. The only way India can now match the Amreeki level of democracy is when we elect our next PM from Bigg Boss.
The British left us almost 75 years ago and we are still wrapping our heads around sir. In essence, it’s a word marking respect. But the beauty about desi context is, you can drag in a new layer of a weird compulsion. Here, there could be two usages of sir: one to showcase appreciation and another to apologize. When you use it for our superiors in the professional settings, you are either being respectful or plain submissive. When you use it for those belonging to the working class strata of the society, you are being smug without being smug as a part of you feels bad for them. In both the cases, there is more than enough room for pretension.
Are you often caught talking to yourself? If yes, you’d relate to this paragraph for sure. Most of us are conscious about talking to ourselves, and more specifically, getting caught talking to ourselves. Of course, things get more awkward when you observe a man walking on the street talking to himself before you realize he is on a phone call.
Them: “Why do you talk to yourself?”
You: “I find myself very interesting.”
Speaking of talking openly, the literacy system in India doesn’t appreciate communication skills. Students are expected to be quiet and docile in the classroom so that the teachers can finish their allotted syllabus on time. When students are vocal, classes get extended and portions get delayed. Which is why the disruptive students are branded as ‘talkative’ and often end up in bad books. This methodology deprives our system from identifying children who are gifted with good communication skills. It curtails those kids who could have been encouraged to pick up vocations that would help them hone their expression in the future.
In the middle of the work call, a team member excused himself only to return a few minutes later. He calmly said, “Guys, my dad just passed away. I won’t be able to continue with this call. Need to make some arrangements.” There was a buzzing silence for about 20-25 seconds before a senior team member added, “We are sorry for your loss. Please take care.” During such moments, you become supremely alert—a rare feat for a work-related call—simply because you receive a metaphorical slap as nothing can possibly prepare you for life. Or death.
When I quit journalism for corporate communication, my amma was encouraging because she was fed up with my shitty journo pay. But my pappa was a bit concerned for a different reason altogether. You see, he took a lot of pride in showing off my bylines to people around him. So, when I told him I am leaving Mumbai and moving to Gurgaon to work for Zomato, his first question was – “Will your name appear there?”
All those who tell you—especially the poets and the lyricists—that love is blind have been lying to you. Love is seldom blind. More often than not, it’s built on (past) concepts and (future) conditions. Over the years, you conclude certain likes and dislikes, some demands and compromises, and based on those calculations, you fall for someone. Very rarely do you fall for someone you haven’t gauged fully. Why? Because your heart is a serious matter. All your senses work full throttle to ensure its safety. Which is why, no matter how egalitarian you are, you never seem to fall in love with your maid or people who belong to the lower rung of the society.
Language suffers when silence isn’t appreciated. In our quest to fill up gaps in a conversation—because silence makes us uncomfortable—we started using non-words a lot. Yup. Great. Awesome. Etc. We do this because of our overemphasis on the act of speaking and degradation of the art of listening. What this exercise does is it not only dilutes language but also damages perspective. One more example is the word ‘smart’. When we call a person smart, we should be specific because smartness applies to a field chosen. We generalize too much by declaring “SHE IS SMART!” without pointing out “HOW EXACTLY?” A person who is smart with a chessboard doesn’t necessarily translate to smart decisions in life. A smart coder may not be the smartest person in the room either. A smart businessman may not be smart in visualizing the bigger picture. And so on.
just wooooowww!!!!