Hidden, screened, walled - the real us!

“To be natural is such a very difficult pose to keep up”.  Oscar Wilde

Have you ever been to a party and managed to be genuinely yourself? Without adjusting your tie or smoothing off your hair. No apprehensions when you walked, no mental counter checking of the words spoken or no suppression of overwhelming desire to laugh? I am sure most of the socially conscious people are able to understand the underlying meaning and will respond in negative. We all try to appear as the most ‘culturally sophisticated’ beings in a social gathering and neglect our ‘real selves’ entirely for a while.

And that’s precisely what happens when we sit in front of our PC and chit chat with a stranger, a colleague or even a friend on a ‘social platform’. Maybe our mental attire alters more than physical one but there are changes nonetheless.

Scientific studies too point out that a person is most comfortable when he is alone, amidst his own self or with people extremely close to him. And his level of ease declines when the number of people in his vicinity increases. Then how can one except his mind to be in a state of tranquility and natural true self in front of virtually a whole wide world??!!

The fact is that our brain automatically starts manipulating itself so as to ‘fit in’ the moment we type in www i.e., World Wide Web.

So much so for the ‘sub conscious’ state of mind.

Now, coming to the ‘conscious’ mortal chatting or putting up ‘updates’ on the various social networking sites.

Majority of us put forward our best foot much similar to how we act in our real lives when going to a marriage or a party, your first day at college or on a newly secured job. We tend to pick out the most apt words and present ourselves as a gentle, liberal friendly guy/girl even though our own genuine self maybe poles apart.

There is another class of people who believe in the mantra that virtual world is a place to crib and so they tend to pile up all their melancholy via various updates and uploads. These people are generally the ones who either suffer from an extremely low self-esteem or aren’t well adapted to the highs and lows of a life in reality.

Then there also exists a group of morons who are a malaise to the ‘virtual world’ identical to the ones we encounter in reality.

The point is that ‘whatever be the class of people, they are neither consciously nor sub-consciously themselves on any part of the World Wide Web’.

Reasons could range from our extreme dependency to easy popularity gained on social platforms. Plus it often happens that when we meet people in bone and flesh , imperfections are bound to appear while on the contrarily virtual media conceals all such human faults so the idea of faking perfect identity is not just more luring but also a sort of necessary gesture.

As Eddie Murphy said “All men are sculptors, constantly chipping away the unwanted parts of their lives, trying to create their idea of a masterpiece”.

The problem is the too much of sculpting can create even greater and more prominent flaws.

Such identity crisis is dismantling the idea of ‘being human’ and relations seem to loose their essential flavours.  Unconsciously, sub-consciously and more often consciously we are engaged in preparing a ‘tasteless curry’ without emotions and reality has already taken a back seat.

I began by quoting the great Oscar Wilde, and now I would like to end it by another quote of his:

“One's real life is often the life that one does not lead”.

In the tech savvy era of ours this quote somehow seems to make a lot more sense. Don’t you think so?

PS: this is an old post which couldn't get posted on my blog due to some reasons. 

 

Ab ki baar...VOTER LACHAAR (helpless)!!

Before I proceed, I would like to clarify that this post will not resonate well with those who are blind faithful supporters of Modi (BJP) or congress or AAP or any other political party.

voting - democracy-disappointment

  
'India is the largest democracy in the world' - we have learnt and believed in this since the time we became acquainted with the subject 'social studies' in school. A democracy wherein the leader is chosen 'by the people, for the people and of the people'. 
But now as the 16th Lok Sabha election has already begin I cannot ignore the confusion and helplessness I feel amidst all the tamasha, hullabaloo, mockery and a storm that ironically has arrived ahead of the impending silence and disappointments. 

Being a Delhiite, I am suppose to cast my vote on the 10th of April. Voting is my right, it is suppose to give me not just a sense of power but also satisfaction that yes! I have chosen a leader who will consider my rights and the rights of my fellow countrymen as his prime duty.

And undoubtedly the numerous hoarding costing crores of rupees, loud promises being broadcasted night and day by the print and electronic media drag me to believe in them. They push me to trust that all these leaders are worthy of my vote and my faith.

Then why this confusion? Why do I feel torn between my duty as a citizen of the country and the inner voice which stands disgusted on the very thought of supporting these leaders built on in numerous promises and dreams of prosperity? 

Maybe because the party which promises 'tarakki (progress) and shakti (power) to my hands' failed to do so in the last 5 years. How and why should I trust them again?

Or maybe because a person who promises the 'his sarkar will do chamatkaar' was ruling Gujarat when the riots took place. And I don't say that he was responsible for instigating or promoting them but my fragile heart fears that a man who sat on the throne while some 700 Muslims and 400 Hindus were mercilessly killed and did nothing at all, what am I supposed to expect from him and his sarkar now? 

Curbing corruption has been not just on of our important demands but also the reason why congress failed miserably as a government. And insptie of being wee aware of this fact, the stats have left me completely taken aback. 

'30 per cent of candidates fielded by both parties have criminal charges against them; of them 13 per cent face serious charges like murder and kidnapping.
35 per cent of the BJP's candidates face criminal charges, of them 17 percent are serious charges. Meanwhile, 27 per cent of Congress' candidates face criminal charges, with 10 per cent facing serious charges.'  Source here.

How do these so called progress loving parties expect us to vote and support members who have allegedly murdered someone, looted and robbed us of our hard earned money. And not just one or two but 35% of the total? 
Is this the kind of democracy we live in and proudly associate our self with?

I do not know about others but as a girl who has been taught honesty, values and instilled with morals like 'lying, murdering, cheating are heinous crimes' my mind shudders on the very thought of pressing the button in support of leaders accused of the same.
My conscience abhors the thought of choosing a murderer or a thief to decide how I live, what I see, the college in study in, the jobs I get paid for and all other innumerable aspects of my everyday life and not just mine but the lives of those I love, my family, friends, neighbours etc.

Yet I am expected to vote. It is expected of me to exercise my right and fulfill my duty. 

Is this me playing a part of a respnsible citizen or is it me supporting an irresponsible leader?

will the blue ink bring in a sense of power to me or will it fill my heart with guilt and disgust?

I know not. But all I see is a choice between responsibility and my morals. but aren't the two interconnected? Isn't my responsibility encompassed within the values I uphold? It indeed is.

So what will I be doing on this 10th of April? who shall I support and who shall I reject? 
Is NOT voting the only sensible thing to do? so that later I can at least live guilt free when God forbid another riot takes place in some part of the country killing people like me and the sarkar does nothing to stop it? 
The more I think, the more I feel helpless. A puppet of delusional democracy
Don't you feel the same? If yes, where lies the solution? 


PS : After much thought and weighing a handful options I left with, I decided that I shall vote. And I will vote for someone who is not at least having charges and blames that repel my conscience. No matter what party or person is it. 
And if I feel that there is none worthy of the same, I shall back out. I will not let my hand for the support and encouragement of things that abhor my very soul for the sake of
responsibility.

Sabke 'bus' ki baat nahi....Degrading DTC scenario!

"Little deeds of kindness

little words of love

help to make our earth an Eden

like the heaven above"

We all have read these few yet extremely eloquent lines in our kindergarten days but growing up shoulders on bigger responsibilities and somewhere these untold gestures loose relevance in between the pages of a moribund book called 'life'.

I happen to be a daily commuter of DTC buses. Now, Delhi is a busy city. in fact, this is an understatement. its bustling with a huge flock of people running anxiously in all directions , at all destinations , all the time. yes, that's how it appears to be.

Morning and afternoons being the worst case scenarios ,with a population mounting up to a whopping 1.67 crore no wonder the buses are scanty in number and the number of commuters running hysterically behind each one of them 'to edge' a place are manifold.

this is a routine commuters life in DELHI!

And thanks to the 'phasing out' of old buses and bluelines the situation has degrade to the level of new 'low floor'.

 These red and green (and recently started orange) buses happen to be wider with automatic doors no doubt but what purpose they are to serve when those rash impulsive drivers speed them away in a 'devil may care' attitude while an old crippled lady stands helplessly for hours on the bus stop?

Let me add to your knowledge that the campaign for these giant size , low floor buses were initiated in order to favour the elderly and crippled citizens. Pedestrians were laid down and there were talks of providing wheel chair service too.

but what is the use of such campaigns and promotions, when the drivers, the very in charge of this running system are ill mannered and ill practiced?

the bus that should be stopped centimeters away to the bus stops is distanced metres away and at times not halted at all. They are sped away mercilessly while a young school child strangles with a foot in air.

It is this inherent disregard for the value of human life , upbringing to various precautions, it is this numbness to everyday chaos that actually holds away the very finger of the bus driver for the door to close and bus runs away.

To top it up , our system puts up a material gloss on its insufficiency and thereby brings momentary false hopes not just to its citizens but also gives a pseudo emerging India picture! The internal diagnosis would reveal how crippled we are in our thinking..no really!!

forget about those unsaid , unselfish acts of kindness, we are unable to even handle our own jobs honestly!

when I see commuters blindfold themselves to this and many such mal practices each day, it instantly crosses my mind as to what purpose is our knowledge serving? 

We are so ignorantly busy in creating a heaven for ourselves without giving a a thought to the fact that what roads are we taking..will it really 'make our world a better place' or would it bring us to a 'hell unknown'?

CRICKET - country's pride or government's ploy ??

The season of hits and catches is back !!!
And India seems to be going bonkers on anything remotely related with cricket.. As the cricket mania sweeps us to our couches, do we care to know whats happening in our mainstream politics? or whatever happened to the 11% inflation ?


Cricket - no matter how esteemed or ecstatic it may appear, at the end of the day is just another 'sport' - a form of recreation and entertainment. then how can it kick back the economic and social happenings of a country? Who has to play a pivotal role in it? We, the government or the media?
It is actually a vicious circle of government and bureaucrats puppeting media person and the junta in turn being a silent , gullible puppet of the media's hullabaloo.


Media has always been the most influential tool for all sought of communications to and within the masses. what they show us is what we not just see but also believe and preach.
As Noam Chomsky , one of the greatest living thinkers alive puts it - 'media today is the channel which rules the minds of the people' .    


Not long ago, in the midst of CWG 2010 , India shackled and drenched in in numerous scams - from Prime minister or states minister, each one was caught to be a sinister. But what did the media show us? Uncompleted CWG sites, preparations that didn't speed up even as we watched them and disgusted ourselves 24x7. Did our respect degrade more when the bridges collapsed or did is collapse more when the genuinity and dignity of our dear PM was at stake?  Behind the media blitz of energetic sporting events lies governments dark curtains to hide off corruption and loot of wealth , peace and prosperity. Doesn't it sound peculiar that 'IPL buying and selling of players' can be a national headline when India was being tagged ( or was on its way to be tagged) as the SCAM CAPITAL OF THE WORLD?


History presents before us a classical example of the same. The Romans inaugurated a 150 days of games- the Olympics, at the time when people were being oppressed and killed, what was the need of 150 days of games in a year? It was in reality their tactics to loot the other civilisations , inhabitants and near by empires. These Olympics which were being played at the expense of the state.on the front they showcased youthfulness and bravery but behind it lay more darker objectives of repression , subjugation and economic loot.

Aren't we facing something similar today? Or what is the need for IPL, 20-20 , one -days and now the world cup?  Even the standard news hours of the day are not spared of repeated telecasts of each little petty issue on and off the field. Does it really make a difference to know who 'buys' whom and for 'how much' when on the real stage we are paying a high price for even our basic amenities? Do the glittering brand endorsements by a handful of players matters more than the bitter reality that 1/3rd of the Indian population continues to be below poverty line? Does Sachin Tendulkar's century come above the cost of loosing a child every 15seconds due to unhygienic health conditions? 

If it does than we deserve to be where be are even after 62 years of 'glorious' independence. but if it doesn't than we need to rip open those curtain and desire to seek something substantial rather than blindly going batty over ulterior motives of silly puppeteers !!