All is One. One is All. (5 things - Week 79)

"Don't you have anything else to do?? Go study."

As a child growing up in India, that is one of the things you become accustomed to. Your parents keep saying it to you, no matter what time of the year it is. Let it be at the beginning of the education calender; at the end during the exams; or in the middle during the Xmas holidays; there will be no dearth of that command from the parents. So, it'll come as no surprise when I reveal that the "Pooja" holidays is the period of the year we all look forward to.

Why you ask? It's the only time of the year, nay, the only day in the whole year that you are NOT supposed to touch books, study anything or do anything studious as such. And it was such a grand day during our schooldays. We would plan well ahead as to which movies/cartoon shows we would watch on TV; who, where and when we could squeeze in time to play cricket; which computer games we would play once we got home; and with each passing year, we would continue to plot myriad other ways by which we could utilize this special day optimally.

Five years after last keeping my books for Pooja, I was planning to be a little more religious this time around. But due to the sincere efforts of Cough, Cold, Backpain & co, I was unable to do anything more than lie around in my bed. And as the festival season draws to a close, I lie here on my bed, thinking of the different ways this day is celebrated this year. And I share them with you as the "5 things" for this week.

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1. Saraswati Pooja - Kerala

This is what I was telling you about.

"...the last three days of the Navratri festival, i.e. Ashtami, Navami, and Dashami are celebrated as Saraswati Puja. The celebrations start with the Puja Veypu (Offering for Worship). It consists of placing the books for Pooja on the Ashtami day. The books will be taken out for reading, after worship, only on the morning of the third day (Vijaya Dashami). It is called Puja Eduppu (Taking back after Puja). Children are happy since they are not expected to study on these days. On the Vijayadashami day, Kerala celebrates Vidyarambham also known as Ezhuthiniruthu or Initiation of Writing where children between two and three years old are formally initiated before they are admitted to nursery schools. The child is made to write for the first time on the rice spread in a plate with the index finger, guided by an elder of the family or by a reputed teacher. The little ones will have to write "Hari Shri Ganapataye Namah" and recite the same to mark the auspicious entry into the world of education...."

2. Kolu - Tamil Nadu

"There is a legend related to the exhibition of toys that is known as Kolu in Tamil Nadu. Since the goddess Durga needed tremendous power, all other gods and goddesses transferred their power to her and they all stood still as statues. To respect the self-sacrifice of these deities during the festival days, Hindus revere morities, which are small statues in the shape of particular gods and goddesses. Golu ends on Dasara."

3. Durga Pooja - West Bengal

"Durga Puja is an annual Hindu festival in South Asia that celebrates worship of the Hindu goddess Durga. It refers to all the six days observed as Mahalaya, Shashthi, Maha Saptami, Maha Ashtami, Maha Nabami and Vijayadashami. The dates of Durga Puja celebrations are set according to the traditional Hindu calendar and the fortnight corresponding to the festival is called Devi Paksha, "Fortnight of the Goddess". The festival marks the victory of Goddess Durga over the evil buffalo demon Mahishasura. Thus, Durga Puja festival epitomises the victory of Good over Evil."

4. Dussehara/Vijayadashami

"Vijayadashami also known as Dussehra or Dashain or Tenth day of Navratri or Durgotsav is one of the most important Hindu festivals celebrated in various forms, across Nepal, India, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh. The name Dussehra is derived from Sanskrit Dasha-hara literally means Dashanan ravan (Name of devil & in short Dasha and Hara (defeat)) referring to Lord Rama's victory over the ten-headed demon king Ravana."

5. Day of Arafa - Hajj

"The Day of Arafah (Arabic: يوم عرفة) is an Islamic Holy Day, in which the verse of the Qur'an was revealed which explained that is said that the religion had been perfected. The Day falls on the 9th day of Dhul Hijja (ذو الحجة) of the lunar Islamic Calendar. This happens to be approximately 70 days after the end of the month of Ramadan. It is the second day of the Hajj pilgrimage and the day after is the first day of the major Islamic Holiday of Eid ul-Adha. At dawn of this day, Muslim pilgrims will make their way from Mina to a nearby hillside and plain called Mount Arafa and the Plain of Arafa. It was from this site that Muhammad gave his famous Farewell Sermon in his final year of life."

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So, why did I end with the 'Day of Arafa'? Well, to let you in on a little point I was introduced to today. The following observation came from my mother. She isn't claiming this to be the only truth/logic to explain the situation, but you have to wonder if this is that far from the truth.

"Look at that. It is such an auspicious day for everyone. Saraswati Pooja for us, Kolu for the Tamilians, Durga Pooja for the Bengalis, Dusshera for everyone. I read that today is Arafa for the people attending Hajj at the Mecca. This must be more than just a coincidence. I wonder if it was all just one special day for everyone at some point in time - where everyone celebrated one festival. And someone wanted to make themselves special and decided to split into another group. Like they do in our political parties all the time these days."

ALL is ONE. ONE is ALL.

P.S. I know that Arafa is calculated by the lunar calender and the Arafa might have easily been on yesterday, as it could have been on tomorrow.

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Before I wrap up for this week, I would like to thank those brave souls, who with their sheer determination, read last week's "questionable" post. It takes some effort to read, and I thank you for taking your time to do so.

***

So, that's all for this week then.

Have a great weekend!!

'til next week.

Nice talking to ya!!!

"So, what you are saying is that you want people to come and talk to you?"

A lot of banter in the workplace is said to occur at the water fountain. It is not so at my office though, but that is mostly because of the fact that the water fountain is right in front of the restroom. So, people usually refrain from spending too much time at this specific locale at the office.

But that doesn't dither me from having this conversation right there. As I gulped down on a glass of water, I collected my thoughts on how to frame my reply.

"Yes"

"That's it? Just an 'YES!'. Come on man. You said you religiously follow this annoying thing. Now, you have to explain why you do it."

I have always been known for blurting out my secrets in public, but over the years, because of some very specific, bitter experiences, I have been compelled to curb that habit of mine. But seeing as to whom I was having this conversation with, I decided to let go of my better judgment. I actually wanted someone to take a through investigation of my theory.

"My theory to arrive at that conclusion is based upon my experiences. Whenever I have to initiate contact with someone, I feel awkward. I'm someone who has thought long and hard about personal space and absolutely values it. So unless I know that somebody is in such a mood so as to entertain my trespassing of their personal space, I feel uncertain about trying to strike up a conversation with them."

"That's a load of bullshit."

Ignoring that completely, I continued.

"Before the advent of the Whatsapps, social networking and phones, people  had only one way to contact each other - talk face to face. And believe me if you will, but it was one tough thing to do. You had to have guts to go up to that beautiful gal you know from college/work, and strike up a conversation. These days,  it's more of a guerrilla warfare kind of thing."

"Guerrilla warfare?"

"Yeah. You ping her at the place you stalk her, and wait for a response. It takes out the dangers of saying the wrong things; of having a prompt, unwelcome reply thrown at your face in public; of having your friends watch on as they wait to mock your impending failure; etc etc."

"So this applies to only talking to people of the opposite sex?"

No No No. I just used that as an the worst case scenario. Consider talking to someone you haven't talked to in a long time, like since school. Assume that you asked them about their school crush. It must be a decade after the event. You don't know how that ended for them. You are simply putting them in a bad situation. You will definitely end up having some pauses, some uncomfortable silences. You'll end up saying something and then regretting it."

"So?"

"So, I will say it again. Talking face to face to someone - anyone - takes a bit of courage, of having a mentality to efficiently tackle all the uncomfortable things that come up during the conversation. You can't log off, you can't risk a "seen at", you can't wait and formulate an apt reply. Everything is instantaneous, everything is risky."

"So what you are saying is that its cowardly to try and chat online?"

"No and yes."

<long pause>

"Should I prod you with a stick to get the answer out completely?"

"No, because I am not against people talking online altogether. It is an easy way to keep in touch with people and there is no need to get rid of it altogether. But one should make sure that it is not the only way that one keeps in touch with his friends."

"Yes, because if it is the only way you keep in touch with them, then slowly, a barrier is built. I believe that people always talk to each other standing behind a wall. They don't want to expose themselves completely in front of the other. You don't do that until you meet the one."

"So, while chatting online, in the language of short hand and smileys, you'll be building an extra layer of protection for yourselves. This makes you miss out on the actual feeling - their impetuousness, their tone of voice - which would have been easier to gauge if you had been talking to them in person."

"So you want people to use online methods to a lesser extent and start having actual conversations for a change."

"Yup."

"And you are only going to use direct methods for communicating with people from on??"

"That's what I plan to do."

"So does that mean you won't ping anyone in WhatsApp; poke them in Facebook; or send a chat in Gmail??"

"Precisely."

"So are you going to call or meet them and talk to them directly now??"

"Hopefully. I will have to build up the courage to break into another person's personal space though."

"So is your days of being an online stalker over?"

"I never said that."

"Haha. I should have known as much. Anyways nice talking to you. It's been great."

"Yeah. You are such a great guy."

"You are not so bad yourself."

"Haha.. Bye then."

"Catch you later."

As I walked away, I realized how much I had missed talking to myself.

Is this the Incoherent ramblings of an Incompetent Mind?? (5 things - Week 78)

Are we in the process of renaming the title of this blog??

If yes, can't we come up with something better?

If not, why did I say that?

Was it because this phrase was stuck inside my cerebrum for an extended period of time? Why then, had it not made its way out like the thousand other phrases that have come after it? Is it because of a bout of shyness? Fear of reproach from the general public maybe? Or is it something yet unknown, which kept the created masked from the audience?

Are you wondering why every sentence is a question today?? Are you getting annoyed by it? Are you getting irritated by it? If you are feeling either of those, can you pause to contemplate how it might be effecting me? What do think is my condition right now? What do you think my condition will be at the end of this post?

Are you thinking how many questions are going to be there in this post?? Would you like to calculate? Or would you like to know the answer to the first question in the paragraph only? If yes, would you please jump to the next paragraph? If not, did you know that, on an average, I write about 1000 words per post? And that the average sentence length will be something around 12? Can you calculate 1000 by 12 to find the average number of sentences per post?

Did you know that the people who decided to calculate what was asked in last question got an answer close to 84? So how many question are over already? Would you believe me if I said that this is the 24th question? Or would you like to go back and count from the beginning?

Are you wondering what I would get because of this perennial questioning? Is it a sense of achievement or accomplishment? Or is something more petty like payback or revenge? If so, a revenge for what? Is it because I was subjected to something similar during the day? If so, do you think I would risk an anti-climax by stating the reason for this before we reach the end of the post?

What else do you think we should talk about as we make our way over there? How about the weekly ritual of going through "5 things" for this week? What should be the 5 things for this week? How about I list out some words I always wanted to use, but couldn't; some things I always wanted to admit to, but didn't; because of a lack of appropriate situation? Shall we begin then?

Did you know that that was the only sentence which you might find in a run of the mill post over here - "Shall we begin then?"? Are you wondering whether it is right to use two 'that' consecutively as in the previous question? What if I tell you that it is correct from what I understand of the English language? Will you agree that it has more chance of being correct than 'recent future' as someone used the other day? Or are you confused about what is wrong with 'recent future' like that someone?

But seriously, shall we begin then?

***

1. Did you know that I always wanted to use the word 'hirsute' in a sentence?

Is it because the word fascinated me when I first came across it in my eighth standard textbook? Is it because the word wraps up in gift paper a generally disliked word like hairy?? Or are you wondering whether I have any kinky attraction to hairy things?

2. Did you know that I am not a bathroom singer?

And more importantly, are you aware that I sing when I ride my bike through this city of mine? Is it because I have less chance of being found out as someone who lacks basic rhythm and sense of music notes?

3. Did you know that I always wanted to punctuate my feelings on here with swear words?

And shall I inquire whether you will be offended by it? Are you wondering why I would like to use swear words? Are you hoping that it be some silly reason? Is 'to satisfy one of the conditions to cement my online personality's character as cool' a silly enough reason?

4. Did you know that online chatting is a fake?

Is it because the response is always having a time delay compared to real life conversation? Is it because the said time delay allows for one to contort his/her reply to mask their true feeling, so that they can cajole their conversation partner to do what they want from them?

5. Did you know that I'm an imaginative pessimist?

Should I give more proof to that? Won't this whole post suffice to make my point valid?

***

Are you aware that we are only on the 61st question? Will it be weird if I confess that I am wondering how I will push another 22 questions onto you? Shall I begin by finally explaining the reason for the style that has been adopted for this post?

Did you know that I am an Arsenal FC fan? And not just a fan, but a bit of a fanatic fan? Will you agree to my title if I say that I follow about 5 daily bloggers who write exclusively about Arsenal? Do you think that I will only be glad to admit that my own weekly blogging is inspired from the effort those writers are putting in? What if I told you that this style was also inspired in such a manner?

Would you like to read the article that is the source of this inspiration? Have you gone through that article? Did you read Tim apologize to Padgett Powel for copying his idea? Do you think I should apologize to them both? If you think I should, can you take this sentence as my apology?

By the way, can you fathom the effort that must have been made to write an entire book, only with questions? Will you believe if I claim that I can? Isn't the experience of having to churn out this blogpost having 1127 words spread over 81 questions in about an hour a reference enough to do that?

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Are you still here? Are you still waiting for me to wish you a great weekend like is the custom? Can you sympathize with me if I say that it is hard to do so talking in questions? Will you accept a promissory note saying that I'll wish you one in another post tomorrow? And, by the way, are you afraid that that post is also going to be like this?

Stabilized Repetition (5 things - Week 77)

Before we get down to business, there's some congratulations in order for all of us - for the team effort which saw this blogsite cross another milestone, garnering 10000 views since it's inception. Started in 2011 as the third blog in my arsenal, this one briefly thrashed about like a fish out of water, died, then rose like a phoenix early last year, and has been flying high ever since. Thank you for that!!!

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Welcome to a brand new Weekend!!! And boy did I miss them. A weekend becomes a weekend only when you are cooped up in an office for the preceding five days. And in those terms, this is my first such weekend since early December last year. And boy did I miss them. I think I said that already. Who cares, I really did miss this weekend feeling a lot.

The anticipation of the upcoming weekend is what keeps the mind sane during the week. Even though most weekends are the same and mostly repetitive, that doesn't make them boring in any sense. The repeated repetition is not something which makes it mundane. The iterative deja vu is something you get used to.

And as per the laws of control systems, this is how you acquire stability - when you get the same result over a long period of time. You would think that repetition and stability are by themselves bad things, but then you are too young to yearn for them. Once you get to a certain age - something I believe I had reached a long time ago - all you want is this repetition, this stability, this boredom.

Take for instance my nephew, Ambadi. I've lost count of the number of times he repeats what he's doing for what seems like an eternity. All of three years, he is yet to know the nuances of life. But even with the endless possibilities and discoveries to be made, he dedicates his time to repetition. I remember the day he was given a kiddie lunch box. It had three compartments which could be taken apart and put together. I showed him how to do it, and he just sat there for three hours straight doing it again and again. I am waiting for him to grow up so that I can get to know the thought process behind such behaviour.

And talking about repetition, whatever takes the effort to repeat in our life is never to our satisfaction. Just think about how great our lives would have been if we could relive the best days of our lives. It's true that it might leave a sort of groundhog day effect on us, but still who hasn't thought of going back to college once more. Those were the best days of my life. And by what my friends who are/were pursuing higher degrees claim, one of the reasons why they are/were doing it.

If you ask me where I'm going with all this, I just don't know. I had all these thoughts inside of me, and you have been a kind ear to me all along. If by some twist of fate, these ramblings induce some great thought in you, I'll be humbled. That is afterall the purpose of writing - not to sow the seeds of curiosity and questioning into the mind's landscape, but to act as a fertilizer, as a contributor which will enable the mind to explore its boundaries.

As for the "5 things" for this week, we'll look at some of the Stabilized Repetition we have come across.

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1. Onam celebration in Thiruvananthapuram

I had written a little about this. The celebration is over a week long. It has the city all decorated in lights, the main ground filled with joy rides and people, and it ends with a procession through the city. I've been going to this for eight years, and it has always been the same rides and the same route. But each year, the crowd's more and more.

2. Marriage

Introducing to you the flagship of Stabilized Repetition - the institution of marriage. That's all.

3. Weekends

Like I said before, weekends are the prime example of repetition being not boring.

4. My loo routine

At the public loos that I've to visit often (like at office), I always have a favourite stall when I go to the loo. I had decided mine at my new office by the end of my first day. Not only do I have a favorite one, I've a top three - you know just in case the first one is busy. It's crazy I know, but I sort of find some peace in this. Figure that out.

5. THIS!!!

Blog. Every week. 77 weeks. Repetition. Stability.

GOD!! You people must have got sick of me saying that so much. Jokes aside, I'm happy that a simple request back in March 2013 has resulted in so many people hating me.

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Nothing much to add on all that really. I'll most probably have a request to make to you people next week. We've about 110+ posts on the blog and there are plans to expand the blog's audience. The said plans are currently being worked on by my marketing manager. Being a non-profit organization (look around, there are no ads), I hope the manager is willing to accept [goodwill/a hand of friendship] and [a pat on the back/a hug] as remuneration.

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So, that's all for this week then.

Have a great weekend!!

'til next week.

are you HAPPY now??

This post has been sitting there in the "Drafts" section for over a year now. I was confused about the topic when I started writing it. I think I've finally had the closure to write it completely. Enjoy!!

***

If you ever face a life or death situation, and if in such a situation, if the chances of you surviving depends on correctly identifying the being in front of you as human or not, by asking it just one question, ask it,

"Are you satisfied with your life?"

If the answer is NO, then its human.

Of course, you could have asked it "Are you human?" and got a straight forward answer, but then this example won't help me prove the basic point I'm trying to make. This is on top of the fact that we are ignoring one of the most basic, universal traits in humans - the tendency to not say the truth.

But we are digressing. I intended to let you see the point that us humans are never satisfied with what we have. I had always thought so, but over the past few weeks, I got more examples depicting this and defecting from this.

Here I give you the three kinds of Humans, according to me.

** I have not used any name for the characters here. These are my close friends. I don't want to unnecessarily drag them into this topic. Whatever levels of apparent satisfaction I derive for them from their actions are arbitrary, and only for giving you an example. I'm not advocating that their actions are good or bad. **

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The Go-Getter

This friend of mine comes from my own college, has worked at a reputed company, did an MBA from a distinguished college and is now working for huge bucks at another reputed company. Each of those four achievements would have individually ticked off the ambitions of many an individual. But this person goes one step ahead and is now preparing for the administrative services.

That's all you need to know about that person. Now, consider a person in a category like this. With each subsequent step, they try to go one up. Their drive has to be acknowledged and appreciated, but I have a nagging feeling that if you continue in this trend, you'll never be satisfied with what you've achieved. And as long as you are not satisfied, you may not be happy. Do note that I'm working on a lot of ifs, buts and maybes; and that it might be the case that this person wanted to be an IAS officer from a young age, but had to go through this route for some reason.

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The Happy-go-Lucky

And there are people who do not know what they want from life, but are comfortable enough to let destiny/fate dictate the terms in which they live their lives. They would like to try different things, but are too lazy to do so. They are the sort of people who would start their reply with a "ehhh.." if you ask them what they want to be doing in 5 years.

Nothing much to say about these kind of people. External forces, call it Fate/Destiny/Peer or Parental Pressure, decides their life for them. I was one among them, then I changed to the next type in the series.

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The Content Man

There is this other friend of mine from college. He first decided to work; then decided to try his hand at the GATE for an M.Tech degree; then decided to bell the CAT for an MBA degree; finally cursed the Indian reservation system, and moved on to try his hand at GRE for an MS degree. He applied at many colleges and for their related scholarships. It was at this moment that he got a call for an interview from a reputed government organization, based on IES exam he had cleared nearly two years before.

And, against his current dream, he aced the interview, much to the comfort of his ego. Two months after he joined there, he got an admission with scholarship offer from a German university, which was his dream 3 months before.

And then, he decided not to go for his dream. His reasons were “The new work is okay. People are impressed that I work here. My friends are here, family is near. I know my dream is doing an MS, but then I’m doing good over here. Why change? Even if I want I can go next year.” And he made a decision to stay at his job for at least one more year in June 2013.

But now, he would be reading this post from Germany, where he is acing his classes for his M.S. degree. He felt he was being more "Happy-go-Lucky" in sticking to his job here. He wanted to be the content man. So, he took the "Leap of Faith" in July 2013 by going for his MS degree.

Now, think about this guy. Due to a multitude of reasons (none his own), he kept changing his dreams because he wasn’t able to achieve the one before. But he always had an aim - in this person's case, to study. That's the hallmark of a content man. He has an aim. And he strives only to achieve that.

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Now you have seen the three categories of people - one who keeps chasing dream after dream; another who has an aim and goes for it; and another kind, who'll just go along with the flow.

Everyone will go through being each of those at a different points in their life. Like that person I mentioned above, you'll always have a choice to change from one to another. And what you do with that choice, coupled with your circumstances that define the choice, will determine how happy you are with your life.

So, which kind are you know? The go-getter, the content man or the happy-go-lucky guy? And which kind do you want to be?

If you ask me the latter question, the answer would be The Content Man.

I've grown tired of doing what life tells me to do, but I don't want to live my life chasing one dream after another. I want to have an aim in my life, and I want to stop answering to "where do you want to be in 5 years?" with a "ehh..".

And more than anything, I want to achieve that aim - the aim of being a content man.