Resolves, conspiracies and close encounters of the marital kinds...
I plan to write something real one day. Actually I plan to write fiction so maybe not "real", so cross that out I guess. Let's start over. I always wanted to write a book and I was considering starting it now. I live alone so distractions are minimal and I have a lot of time to myself. It seemed like a good idea but, as any novice writer soon realizes, writing requires a lot of discipline and concentrated effort and I don't think I'm quite there yet. To add to that, I'm sure there are some, even among you my dear readers, who would agree that my grasp of the language isn't strong enough yet. Hence, I have resolved to discipline myself by writing a post for my blog at least once a week. I mean, I have to start somewhere!
First off, I wanted to take in to consideration a certain balding blogger's censure and keep my post light and humorous so I spent all day trying to figure out what I could write about that would be funny. I am not a funny person. My life is not the least bit humorous. I was so troubled by this task that I stood under the shower for fifteen minutes and then stepped out thinking I was all done, only to realize I hadn't touched the soap! So I went back under and continued to rattle my brains. I have dishes piled high in the sink that need to be washed, laundry to be done, a vacuum cleaner which needs to be inaugurated, a car that needs to go to the car wash and a dozen other chores. Yet all I can do is sit before my laptop and think! Oh! Well! I'll just ramble on for now.
This week I signed up for a hip-hop class at the local community college for five Thursdays starting mid-September. I'm quite excited about it. I was wondering what kind of people I'd find with me in the class. The instructor is white and female, so I doubt I'll find too many African-Americans. Considering it's a mid-week course at an unknown local college I doubt I'll find any other Indians there either. Which means it will probably be full of Mexicans. Sorry Latinos (oops!). What of the white population you ask? Let's not get ahead of ourselves, I do live in LA you know! There are no whites in LA!
Demographics of my city aside, I have been surfing on a stolen Internet connection for about a month now. No, I'm not a miserly freeloader. The Time Warner Cable Company guys have made three unsuccessful attempts to come install my Internet and cable but have surpassed themselves at failing miserably. Their next attempt is scheduled for next Saturday, which is the start of the long weekend, thereby putting an end to any plans I may have wanted to make. I think they're in cahoots with my boss. He probably is going to spring a surprise deadline on me later this week and wants to make sure I have no "prior commitments" so I can work through the long weekend. Ah! Now that’s a true conspiracy theory!
In fact I think my friends may be in on this too. You see there has been some talk of a trip being planned during those days but every time I ask "where to?" no one seems to know. The default reply is always "How does it matter? You’re not coming, right?". They may have been a little upset with me for giving the cable guy higher priority over them. Or maybe they've been bribing the cable guys to keep me tied up that weekend so that they can get their much needed break from me! I do believe I'm on a roll here with this conspiracy theory. Hmmm...
Unfortunately for them though, I do get some benefit from not having a net connection. Confused, right? Well the marriage brigade has been ringing my doorbell for a few weeks now. My family wants pictures of me to pass around. Thankfully, since I have no Internet (and my mother doesn't know about the stolen connection or the existence of this blog or my kodakgallery account) I have so far managed to keep all such requests at bay. I'm buying me some time to think of a really good way to get out of it this time. Any ideas, dear reader?
Such is the story of my non-funny life. And I really need to get to my chores. Sigh!
Now that the brouhaha over I-day has died down...
I believe it is safe to publish my views on patriotism.
Patriotism is your conviction that this country is superior to all others because you were born in it.
-- George Bernard Shaw
It was this quote that actually got me thinking about nationalism, patriotism and what have you. Yes, I am Indian. Yes, I believe India is potentially one of the greatest nations of this world. Are we the best? Not by a far shot. Should we strive to do better? Undoubtedly. Does it mean every other nation is an enemy to be scorned or feared? But of course not!
This past week or so a lot of bloggers have written about our love for India and how it should be rightly expressed, the troubles plaguing India, the apathy of the educated Indian towards these problems, the vast divide in the living conditions of different sections of Indians, so on and so forth. None of these are new. It is pretty much the same conversation people have had every year around this time, ever since I was old enough to understand conversations. And yes, no one can deny their inherent truth. But there are a few points that still ring false in my mind and I only attempt to think out loud. Given the strong sentiments patriotism generally evokes, I would like to assure you, my dear reader, I love my country just as much as the next Indian and I do not mean to offend you.
While I’m at it, let me also add the disclaimer that I am no Economics guru or brilliant MBA GirlWonder. I’m also not an avid follower of the Indian GDP etc. and what I question here are issues as my peanut sized geek brain understands them.
A lot of people worry about how we're selling out to the capitalistic lure of the west, allowing MNCs to oust local competition, hence giving in to their obvious evil. They affect the economic growth. They take away local jobs. But do these companies not generate wealth in other parts of the world? Do these MNCs not employ people, albeit outside our country, providing a source of livelihood to a lot of families everywhere? Then what makes the livelihood of an Indian worker more important than that of another worker somewhere around the world? Once you accept this truth, the question arises: "should I buy Indian simply because I am Indian with no thought to what I want/need/like?". Of course, heaven forbid, I should actually say, I think some of the foreign brands are better than our homegrown products!
But lets move on to another aspect of jobs and industries and talk about outsourcing, be it IT, ITES or BPO as these also deal with people earning a living by competing with foreign competition. Everyone agrees it's OK for us to vie for these jobs, because as we claim, we’re cheaper, faster, better. With that logic, why shouldn't manufacturers, of every shade and hue, attempt to make an entry into the Indian market? It’s purely a matter of competition and if the Indian industries can’t take the heat they should get out of the kitchen, rather than complain about Walmart or McDonald’s or whatever else is considered to be the arch enemy these days. As a consumer, I would want the best and national loyalties, in this case, seem irrelevant to me.
The other issue of high debate has always been 'brain drain'. Somehow, I’m inclined to believe it is only those with the privilege of being born to a good life that can afford to speak against it. Everyone is entitled to work their way towards their image of a better life. Why should anyone be obliged to stay in a country/ state/ city/ town/village simply because they were born there? It’s really a matter of degree from where I'm standing. If it is OK to move out of a village in search of a better life why not move out of your country? I do not want to imply that India is a village among the countries of the world; it was simply a parallel to show how people may opt out of their current circumstances. In fact, considering India's problems, one might think the faster people move out the better it would be as there would be fewer people vying for the fast diminishing resources.
At the end of the day all the hue and cry comes down to "it has got to be better than this because I was born here". There is ego involved. The same sort of ego which would rather have hundreds of thousands of people (soldiers, natives, tourists) die rather than give away a piece of land to a neighboring country. But I don't even want to stir that hornet’s nest!
To me, Utopia would be a world without borders. Countries, as we know them, might cease to exist. Taxes would be paid voluntarily as one might pay for the maintenance of their homes. Traveling to different lands would be free. Citizenship would be a matter of where one’s heart feels at home. People would believe themselves to be children of this Earth rather than of a state or country.
Then again, Utopia will never come to be. A mutual respect may be the most we can hope for. This thought provoking quote, seems to me, the only answer to all these questions.
I realise that patriotism is not enough. I must have no hatred or bitterness towards anyone.
-- Edith Cavell
PS: Something completely off the topic (I rarely, if ever, mix train of thoughts, but this was something I needed to get out of my system so bear with me!) - something about friendships. If someone has to let go of one friendship to accept another, two questions come to my mind -
- was the first relationship really worth anything if it could be let go so easily?
- is the second relationship really worth accepting if at its very conception it brings with it pain and sorrow to someone you once cared for?
Congratulations! You reached the end! I applaud you!
My "guitar playing friend" :-)A few months ago I spent two nights out with a stranger and lived to blog about it. We talked (a lot!) and hit some sort of common frequency. And then he went away, but fortunately not from my life. Thanks to the Internet (I can't seem to be thankful enough for it now can I?!) we have been in touch, constantly in touch. We talk every day. He tries to wake me up on time, I try to make him sleep on time and the time difference works for us. In the last three months I have gone to the east coast one weekend and he came back to the west coast once.
What sounds like a long distance relationship to most is, in reality, something a lot more important for me. In my experience, friendships last longer than romances. And I have found a real friend. And this is my tribute of thanks to him.
I start my day with his coaxing me awake. He has the patience of a saint. He makes sure I get to work on time. He makes sure I eat well. He has persuaded me to give up sodas and brush my teeth every night. He tries to get me to cook dinner so that I don't sleep hungry. He is thoughtful and caring. He pays attention to the details. He makes sure I'm ok.
I know him to be strong willed, almost stubborn. He never gives up on something he wants. It is this reserve of strength that helps me keep up my morale whenever I get that down-in-the-dumps feeling. His take on life is unlike anyone else's I ever known. I know he went through some pretty difficult times in life and he's come out of it with dignity and I respect him for that.
Truth be told, while he is the one who has made me more careful of my grammar in my posts, he is also solely responsible for completely ruining my spoken English. He is funny and witty, sometimes bordering real genius! No matter what kind of mood I call him in, he can always make me laugh. He listens when I talk, which, of course, happens a lot. He tells me when I'm wrong and then immediately proceeds to make me feel better. He helps me in the most ridiculous situations and just makes my life so much easier. He has the map of LA memorized and always helps me get to where I need to go by the simplest route possible. His memory is awe-inspiring!
Oh! And of course he is, first and foremost, a musician. Did I tellya he's an awesome guitar player? Surprisingly it was not why we started talking but it certainly adds to the coolness factor! O Well! It doesn't hurt!
And if you're getting sick of the cheesiness and the nauseating sugar sweetness of this post - well now heres the truth! Did I tell you about his wit and genius? If you're not careful that wit will sucker you into promising a pure ego-boost post on your very own blog! Ok! Ok! I didn't get suckered into it. I walked into it with my eyes open in exchange for a stupid bet!
Oh well!
What can I say?! It's still all true and I'm still happy to be his friend.
searching...give me a reason
a reason to love
to look for a moonbeam
in the starless sky above
give me faith
in a single grain of sand
to hold all the universe
in the palm of my hand
give me the joy
of an unshed teardrop
to wash away the oceans
when the heartbeat stops
give me a sunbeam
or a bud in half bloom
or a pearl in its oyster
or a real peacock plume.
give me the beauty
of an age old prose
the wisdom of the ancient
in the thorn of a rose.
