Towards An Extended Life of Adventure

Wonder why the human lifespan does not average more than 77 years (Google helped me here)! 

There is so much to see: nature in all her mysterious, fantastic splendour. I find it quite unsettling if a person breathes his last without setting foot on the extreme latitudes and longitudes and all those exotic places in between. That would be such a bummer! 

Not to mention seeing, watching, living, and experiencing the lives of the countless clans of people that makes up the human race. There are so many cultures out there, ethnic people to befriend and many others waiting to be known—million secrets to unearth, mystical stories to share, fabulous cuisines to taste. 

It took me close to three decades to partially understand the person I am. I am sure there are thousands like you on the same page here. It would still take two more decades to find out what I am really made of! Between the ignorance and revelation, I would have lost those pricey 20 years of my life to marriage, children and work. I would become a wise octogenarian with the deepest regret of not having set out on a grand adventure and making my life more exciting during my days of youth. In the end, I die, say somewhere between 70 and 90.

Dang, where was the fun part? Those 70–90 years are just not enough for me. Add to this a generous dose of good health.
 
There is a whole world out there waiting for every enthusiastic human; I need not prove here that our life years would hardly suffice in any way. 

Cynics might mock me at the very thought of extending human years—is there not enough hatred, violence and vendetta in our world to escape from? I agree. There are too many of those baneful happenings around the clock, but only for the weak and soulless human to succumb to. Perhaps it is time for every cynic to ultimately accept that life cannot be cocooned within the confines of human weaknesses and rigid boundaries. It has to be left loose—in order to form a full circle, in order to feel being complete. Still others might point out that I am not ready to embrace death—a silly, alleged prejudice for me to cling to the possibility of extending the human lifespan. To them, I say "You all are exceedingly mistaken." Death is one thing, life is another. Every second could be your last. Why not live it? Why not shelve all the hatred away and enjoy while you can?

I honestly envy the immortal jellyfish which can practically NEVER DIE. I am still amazed at the thought of this creature without a bracketed life. It possibly exists forever. Is it not wonderful that it can metamorphose itself to the infant stage once it reaches maturity? Maybe, for the jellyfish I am standing on the greener side of the grass. Maybe, it does envy my mortality. I assure you that I am not rooting for immortality here, but definitely an extension of life years—to explore all possible places, people, food; to eventually breathe my last and to be at peace that I did what I wanted to do, that I did not waste my time confining myself to the limited geography of my abode, that I did venture out and sought my own grand adventure. 

All it takes are some extra years!

Stop bursting Diwali crackers

I reckon I have an extremely sensitive pair of ears. I flinch when somebody raises his or her voice and shudder when that high decibel honking of a passing lorry catches me off the hook. I clench my teeth when I ride next to a lorry and cartwheel with silent gratitude when the same lorry honks feebly. No wonder I find bursting Diwali crackers an acute nuisance. I do not remember touching a loud cracker in my lifetime but for the mild kuruvi vedi. Dang, I was scared with that one too! I love sparklers, saatais and adore watching the black serpents mysteriously cropping out of that teensy little black button. I like watching those novelty crackers that vroom to the sky and spread spatially with flashes of stars in myriad colors – they are simply fantastic! But there ends my tolerance for crackers. I shut my ears tight for the rest and pray they be done with soon.        

I understand that as Indians we have every right to rejoice the slaying of evil Narakasuran. What I do not understand is how irresponsible we can be by being blind to what is reality.

We burst crackers and thereby are the direct cause of noise, air and land pollution. We have polluted our planet enough and this just adds to the insanity. Post bursting, the smoke stays and clings to our food. We brush this off with such foolish nonchalance when it can indeed be highly poisonous. Earth as such does not belong to humans alone; there are other creatures to be valued as well. Crackers are dangerous for animals. When was the last time you saw your cuddly dog happily woofing by your side during Diwali? Birds go missing and are nowhere in sight. Only after the deafening cacophony subsides do the other mortals come out. We of course know that very young children are employed to manufacture these crackers. To their parents or relatives it may be the only best thing that they can possibly do. Just replace those helpless kids with your child, nephew or niece – is it not agonizing to watch them waste away when they could instead march their way to school? Is it really important that we dance and enjoy bursting those crackers made from the unnecessary toil of those little kids? Not to forget the less healthy – there are people living amongst us with heart problems and old people can definitely not bear the cracker clamour.

Is it not our obligation to consider all these before lighting that doom of a cracker?  The festival can be pompous, grand, out of the world and everything to render it a visual treat. Exchange sweets, wear new clothes, educate newbies to the Diwali story, sing songs, party hard, picnic with friends and family. Nevertheless, edify people against bursting crackers to make this world a healthy place to live in.

Think before you light a cracker next time.
 

Begging - To Encourage or Not to Encourage

I was travelling by train from Chennai to Mumbai last week. The weather was pleasant - it had recently rained in Chennai - I was thoroughly enjoying this travel break. In every station that the train halted, there was a different scene; the people, the anxious faces, the vendors and the beauty of the place by itself. It felt good to go through so many different visuals in few hours of travel.

We reached Renigunta, nearby the infamous Tirumala Tirupathi temple. Our train halted for a good 15 minutes and I was savouring the happenings outside. I saw an old lady come out of the waiting room with a young mentally-challenged girl of about 14 towing behind her. Both looked shabby with unkempt hair. It was clear that they had a job to do - beg. Beg the people for money and food. I suddenly felt totally helpless and seeing them that way bothered me a lot. My mood changed. I felt sorry for them one side and furiously bitter the other. 

They entered our coach and started begging - some people gave food, others pittance. I am strictly against  begging but I did not have the temerity to ask them anything or advice them on a better life, a better world. I played a mute spectator that day. I did feel horrible.They passed me to continue their dehumanizing task and I felt terribly sad for them. 

Out of helplessness, I looked out the window and saw a fiftyish man walk briskly down the platform. With salt-and-pepper hair, a decent crumpled checked shirt and a lungi, he had a staff for support and a rag bag. May be I was the only person who was staring at him from our train and he noticed that. He changed course, feigned a forced walk and stood right outside my window; arms in supplication, begging for money. I was stumped. There he was - a hale and healthy man, who can walk and talk fine (positively not a differently-abled person) and he resorted to begging. I simply ignored him, he looked at me with his penetrative eyes for a second and he walked away. Then came another lady, an old couple and many other beggars - tall, fat, thin, strong and weak, traipsing around the platform. It was an unbelievably sore sight.

Whatever happened to these people to stoop so low? I agree that they do not have good education, may be a place that they can call home or probably no one to care for. But does it mean that they are left with no choice but to seek alms? Have they lost their will power to rise and shine in life? Or just to do something other than begging? I strongly believe that even the lamest fool has some talent left within him - something unique to be put to good use. Where is the missing link? How do they get respect?

I strongly advocate to my friends not to encourage them by giving money, rather showing them in black and white as to how they lead a pathetic life, not out of being submissive to others but by their own choices. They need to know that they can lead a respected life, that they can earn money just like the fortunate others. I sincerely wish that I pluck up courage some day and confront them for good.

Every person is human and deserves a clean and refined life. I look forward to a world which appreciates this profundity and gives a fresh lease of life to hapless people, pulling them out of their misery. 

A World Without Money?

Of late I have been debating the idea of a world without money. In everybody’s life it has become so indispensable that we have lost sight of what life is truly all about. It has turned us thick and greedy, unwise and foolish. Money has become such a necessity to all of us to the point where humanity runs greedily along with it like the unsatiated sidekick. The clear distinction between the rich and the poor is a visible separation of the human race. The condescending, snobbish attitude of those holding money towards those without is a dismal projection of how money can change the very facet of human connections. Add to this the omnipresent corruption. The entire world is so corrupted, mean and selfish. What is at the dead centre of this corruption? -  of course, money!

Without money nothing moves. We have become so involved in industrialization to mint money and it has convincingly raised the status quotient of people. Everything is a trade these days. Right from birth till death - education, marriage, housing, medicine, all involve the green bill. Gone are the days when we worked not for money, but to improve the society as a whole. We have advanced so much in technology but it all comes with a price. 

So there I was mulling over the possibility of a world without money. In today’s living, it is essential. We need not be Neanderthals or vagabonds who had no roof above their heads. At the same time, we need not waste money on materialistic wants like cosmetics, clothes, jewellery and other forms of luxury. I do not understand why people flaunt their priceless clothes; unless for the mere sake of exhibitioning them to others. There are people, just like us, who do not even have the privilege of the basic necessities for living. There are such startling contrasts among people and it hits my conscience hard everytime I come across such truths. 

I seriously wish for a money-free existence. Imagine the scope of peace and harmonious living that comes along with it. Why can’t everything in this world function without money. Why can’t there be free services to humanity? We can enrich international relations just by sharing our proficiencies without the factor called “money”. It needs to enter every human’s head that we do not live in this world just to multiply money, own houses, and rev up and down in cars. We are here to belong, to share and to help each other with what we have. Every human deserves respect and every other person who is down in wealth should be brought out of their misery. Everybody should live equal and money should not be an enticing aspect. I do not propose living like a sage, rather I propose living like how a human should live - with all that is absolutely necessary and will us away from being magically entranced into the world of money and materialism.

Relationships

Just like everybody else I live amidst a plethora of relationships - familial, friendly, intimate and more. I am nearing three decades of life but to understand what relationships actually entail is far beyond my grasp.

There is definitely the notion of security and someone to look up to when we are connected to a large pool of people, when we are in a relationship. But I always find individuality losing its essence and unavoidable obligations on the rise. To top them all, relationships always have the "selfish" factor stamped on them - especially when we are expected to or when we expect others to be what we want them to be and eventually rob them off of their true persona. Stunted personal growth is what I call this! 

People do co-exist in harmony. But never without expectations, disappointments and betrayals that can shake the very sanity of a person. Not to sound like someone immersed in the lake of absolute negativity, but this is life, ipso facto. It hurts to get hurt and to hurt someone. Relationships at some point in our lives tend to go complex and confusing to the point where they can eat us inside out. Quarrels, fights, jealousy, misunderstandings and loss of peace ensue. 

On the flip side, there is so much mirth and belongingness amongst certain clan of people. I am simply amazed at those who shower their love on others selflessly. No holds, entirely unconditional and so very comforting. How do they do that? What is it that keeps them giving without expecting nothing in return? Is that not a trait that every human should possess? To glide through problems at ease, to maintain that invincible smile always and at the same time being the real us, loving, giving and sharing. Now that is a valuable and worthy relationship. 

It delights and excites to have fruitful connections in this ephemeral mystery called "life". Why not we be a part of this selfless spree?