An unconscious effort

Have you ever wondered how stories help kids sleep? Even ones that make no sense, whatsoever. Sometimes you can make up stories and watch them sleep away happily. The funny part however, is that we continue doing it even once we grow; at least I do. Perhaps we don't get someone else to read out stories or don't even read them ourselves. We just form pictures in our head that follow to form a story, again one that makes no sense whatsoever. And then in due course of time, we'd be snoring our way to glory.

Recently I was trying to draw such pictures in my mind and in turn doze off. I was dead tired that day as I had been travelling the whole day. Surprisingly, I found that it was easier for me to imagine a picture when I was physically and mentally drained as compared to several earlier occasions where I had failed. What caught my attention was the fact that it was actually easier to imagine pictures when the mind and body were tired.

It got me thinking about how conscience actually hampers our imagination. We all experience that its easier to come up with more creative thoughts and better jokes when we're with our best of friends and not in front of say, bosses. Isn't that because we're less 'conscious'? Isn't it precisely why kids come up with the most creative thoughts. In fact the most creative of people are those who remain child-like despite showing the world they've grown up. We all have sensed our brains thinks wilder when intoxicated. It's rather fascinating how a tired brain seems to work more than an alert one.

I found one probable answer in Aldous Huxley's essay, the doors of perception. It states-
In one of his studies eminent Cambridge philosopher, Dr. C.D. Broad states "The function of the brain and nervous system and sense organs is in the main eliminative and not productive. The function of the brain and nervous system is to protect us from being overwhelmed and confused by this mass of largely useless and irrelevant knowledge, by shutting out most of what we should otherwise perceive or remember at any moment, and leaving only that very small and special selection which is likely to be practically useful."Quite a revelation. Isn't it.

That might answer why the less conscious brain opens up more to imagination. But having said that, how do we channelise our thoughts and remember or note them, if not through a conscious mind? Well, there goes yet another confusion of a restless mind.

The pursuit of pain

The heart pursues pain wholeheartedly

makes me wonder why such vehemence

Every low in life is just an excuse

to unleash a chain of pain

You scratch open old wounds

Just to feel the heart bleed again

and then wonder why it wouldn't heal

and yet don't realise, it didn't come uninvited

Happiness causes such discomfort

The absence of turbulence is scary

The heart once heavy, clears all dilemma

and makes everything rest in pain

The truth is pain is a friend for life we can't live without

If it doesn't find you, you find it

Nothing to say

It’s surprising but as the year comes to end, I just realised that I've had nothing to post in months. My life has been through so much; good and bad phases. A lot has happened in this period. Still I find it hard to believe I couldn't come across a thought or an observation to bring up here.

One of my writer friends and a senior at one of my earlier companies once was discussing about the joy of writing and how he would go about it. During the conversation, he told me that an effective way to get around a ‘writer’s block’ is to write about it. So here I am, writing about ... well, nothing.

Isn’t nothingness strange? I guess it is a key emotion that we never acknowledge. It could take forms of bliss and later on, boredom. But it certainly forms an essential part of our lives, doesn’t it? It could make you see the beauty of life and miss it at the same time.

Incidentally, nothingness could also be a big void in a train of thoughts. The mind probably works like a train and you need to take out one thought in order to let another come and play. So probably getting out the nothingness might make way for somethingness. I really hope that made sense.

Now that I really have nothing to write about and have probably stopped to make sense, I'd just conclude by saying that there might be many more similar writings on ‘nothing to write about’ coming up. Anyways, here’s hoping I wouldn't need any.

The Great Indian Pendrive

They say education aims at making us better humans. But how effective is it, if it makes us underconfident, prejudiced and practical failures. Welcome to India, where education aims at making you nothing but another brick in the wall, to put it in the words of Pink Floyd. Even though that was a generalised take on education, I'd just like to add that it personifies India like no other.

Since the days of the gurukul education system, we've only been made to memorise and recite like parrots. Reasoning and questioning is never encouraged by parents or teachers. But in this era of google.com and virtual reality, isn't memorising a job that's just left to pendrives?

Talking about education as a whole, it is not a process that just starts at school. It starts from home. And our teachers and elders have the perfect ways of killing any interest that a kid may cultivate. We're so insecure as a nation and society. This insecurity combined with false pride and ego takes a toll on a kid's future. Job security rates higher than passion and the kid is made an instrument for parents' ego.

We would like to believe in chasing excellence in stead of success. But the truth remains that we succumb to "what has scope" and to "what our neighbour's son does". Just for the record, India would be one of the very few nations in the world where people want to become engineers for the fear of not getting another job that suits their "position in the society" otherwise.

We teach our kids to believe in idols, century old scriptures, holy books and superstitions. But make it a point to NEVER teach them to believe in themselves. A post graduate in India goes around asking help to fill a resume while even a kid in the west would know how to sell himself. The same theory of "give a man a fish and he'll eat for a day, teach him how to fish and he'll eat for a lifetime" applies here. But unfortunately, we're least interested in learning how to fish. We're glad being highly educated, complacent and less readier to face the world.

Albert Einstein once said that Education is what remains after one has forgotten everything he learned in school. And here in India, once an exam is over, we're formatted pendrives.

Hello Auto

Three wheels, a pig like face and as synonymous with India as Elephants and snake charmers, welcome on board our very own autorickshaws! Apart from being one of the most common modes of transport, it is a face of every city in India. Funny but true, every city is recognised by it's Auto drivers. So I'd just like to take you through a ride of autorickshaws in different cities.

Well, let's start with the capital, Delhi. The auto drivers are absolute thugs who hardly use the meter and charge you as they please. But their USP is the long routes they take to justify the amount they charge. And if you're new to the city, nobody can save a hole in your pocket. They step out with a drilling machine and aim at pockets. One good thing however is that they hardly refuse to go to any area. Even if you want to go across the street, they'll ask you to sit while they take you for a ride.

Well, this exactly is the biggest difference between Delhi and Bangalore. If you ask an autodriver to leave you at a place 5 km away, he'll tell you directions and ask you to walk instead! They really are that dumb! But don't get mistaken when they seat you and turn the meter on. They fiddle with meters and you end up charging more than you would in a Delhi or Chennai. Even though not so common, it is something to watch out for in the city of pubs.

Next is the turn of the most notorious autorickshaw drivers! The cymbals clash, the trumpets blow and the applause roars! Make way for the undisputed winners, Chennai! First and foremost, meters do not exist. No, not even for decoration in some autorickshaws, hence exorbitant rates. Next is their attitude. I'm sure, Himesh wouldn't write "fulltu attitude dede tu zara" if he had travelled by Chennai autos ever.

And the biggest reason for their notoriety is their driving style which can make any atheist chant hymns and mantras out of nowhere. If you want your auto to stop, you better watch the incoming traffic because they would just switch lanes and hit the footpath without seeing anything that would be coming their way. It's at the end of the ride that you get to know the exorbitant rates were actually for a roller coaster ride in the guise of an autorickshaw.

Well, after going through all these cities, you finally go to Mumbai. Step out of the Railway Station or airport and hire an auto. He'll say yes, seat you and turn the meter on. All of a sudden life is simple.

Please Use Me

life nowadays is becoming more and more materialistic. More in terms of disposing material, rather than possessing it. There was a time when a pen used to be a treasured possesion. one would keep his pen for ages put together. Now even cameras dont last that long. The only option we have is to dispose. technology changes so fast that repairing costs more than buying new.

On one hand we talk about recycling and reducing wastes. on the other hand, we dump huge possesions becaus there's nothing we can do about it. Income is also treated in terms of disposable income. Quiet literal, it simply means the more income, the more you dispose.

"Disposability" as i may call it has creaped into our lives to such an extent that it goes beyond materials. Be it relationships, jobs or even contacts, nearly everything is disposable. Simply put, the disposition of disposing is quiet fast catching up.

The Reverse Big Bang Theory

Edwin Hubble in 1929 discovered that celestial bodies and galaxies are drifting away. Thus was discovered "The big bang theory" which states that the universe is in a constant state of expansion. The theory goes on to prove that spaces are ever-expanding

Having said that, I would like to say that today we live in times which holds relevance to what i would like to term as a 'reverse big bang'. The stars may still be drifting away but today spaces and distances are shrinking. Continents might not be merging to form the Pangea again but geography for sure has become history.

We talk regularly to people halfway across the world. I need not explain how technology helps bring people from various parts of the globe on a common communication space, though not physical or geographical. One of the most common examples would be that of chatting over the internet with people from all parts of the world. Ironically though, we may not even know who lives in our neighbourhood.

When I mention that spaces have shrunk, I not only mean distances between places, but also personal spaces. Earlier where families would use the same products and commodities and watched television together, today, each member has his/her own "brand" for every commodity. And also separate televisions playing separate channels/programs.

The time of joint families is long gone. Nowadays, even nuclear families are on the decline with the rise of single parenting. Thanks to shrinking personal spaces. The shrinking now goes beyond separate televisions that i've mentioned above. Media is getting as personal as possible with "media-on-demand", namely ipods and laptops. We are in the process of being reduced to secluded species, both socially as well as intellectually.

All that said, could Hubble's theory still hold true in today's social scenario, considering the fact that bodies are continually drifting away?