Making sense of the world.
Posts tagged Hot Potatoes
Hit Them Baby One More Time
Sep 13th
I quite like my breakfast news. ‘Good morning world, how’re you doing?’ Before, a cup of ‘Ragi’ and a sumptuous breakfast was pretty good for digestion, till I saw ‘Burn a Quran Day’ headlined on the newspaper. That day there was ‘upama’ for breakfast. I didn’t like the ‘upama’, too bland. Neither did I like that particular piece of news. It didn’t go well with my digestive system. Forget ‘well’, it just didn’t go into my digestive system. Instead, it got sucked into my ‘nuisance value compartment’ —- situated right next to my spleen. Well, you might wonder about this compartment, and question anatomy in general to which I would say, ‘don’t, its an upgrade and its customized.
Coming back to this particular news item number. I think it qualifies to fall under the ‘I’m a virgin, said Britney Spears’ and, ‘Mandela? Who Mandela? Isn’t he dead?’ spoken by the great George W Bush in a press conference, category. Speaking of George W Bush, shouldn’t Pastor Terry Jones have thought of organizing burn a ‘Bush’ day? I mean God revealed himself to Moses through a burning bush, who knows he would have come up with some kind of mind blowing, history making revelations to Pastor Terry Jones too, especially about the 9/11 disaster. The newspaper termed him as a ‘radical Christian’. I was wondering if they have a different Bible, with a few empty pages where radicals like Pastor Terry Jones could add their own holy verses and commandments. What is the difference between him and the other self proclaimed holy extremists coming up with nothing but ‘holy shit’? He should know that it is not the love for God, but the love for one’s own greed and power and reasons for existence, that such inhumane and cheap events have taken place throughout history. Poor God has always been the scapegoat. No wonder he doesn’t reveal himself to ‘Saints and Aints’ like he used to in ancient days.
‘God, do you see what’s happening down below,
it aint ‘happenin’ anymore,
pastor jones wants to burn pages
few imams want to hold the world in cages
it takes ages for love to grow old
but just a moment for hate to be bold
he blames him, him blames he
in the process, screwed get we
and you.? you’re the context of disaster
they say you’re the one they’re running after
God, please tell them that you are cool
without guns and ‘bums’ and fools
if not for anyone, then just for me
for my breakfast and my cup of tea
and for that little time where I spend
a moment with you my eternal friend
I come with from a Christian family, and I became radical, when I ended the quest for him, because hey, He just happens to live within me.
So much so for freedom of expression.
Sleepless God
Sep 10th
The clock shows 10.20 in the night. My eyes are drooping after a full day of wakefulness and work. My daughter has exams in another three days, and trying desperately to study. In the 16 flats in my residential building, families are getting ready to sleep. Sandwiched between my building and another residential block is a small time church. Their hall window is about six feet away from my bedroom window and I can look inside their small auditorium and even hear their whispers. The amplifier is full on and a male voice is shouting “Hallelujah!” on the mike. He begins almost in a whisper and builds up to a crescendo. Maybe he thinks God is deaf. I’m told God does not sleep, but human beings do, for that is the way he made them. He made them male and female, and he also made them sleepy at night.
Is spirituality all about high volume hallelujahs? Or is spirituality about common courtesy, about doing to your neighbour as you would have them do to you?
Now they have started loud singing, or what passes for singing. And in the nearby colony, another set of speakers is blasting away. They are treating their deity to Shakira doing waka waka (or is it wakeup wakeup), this time for Africa. I do wish divine blessings on Africa, but for me, this is the time for slumber land. At least this noise will subside before midnight, hopefully. The Church of Maximum Volume will continue, week after week, drowning out the still small voice, and the cries in the wilderness, until the day the Prince of Peace comes and switches off their power.
Earlier in the evening, there was news of another small time American church leader, with a big time title, threatening to burn the holy book of another community. In any civilised and multicultural society, such behaviour should have no place, except in a mental asylum. However, for me right now, among God’s peculiar people, the nocturnal and noisy ones must top the list.
Throwaway Babies
Aug 16th
© Marek Kosmal | Dreamstime.com
The morning sun stared down at the rotting heap of garbage, one among millions across the land. A giant rat nibbled at some food, keeping a wary eye on three dogs busy cracking bones nearby. Two hungry crows pecked away at the contents of a bulging polythene bag.
A man in a white dhoti walked by, freshly bathed. He glanced at the heap, and his eyes opened wide. Did he see right? He turned and looked again. There was no mistaking it. A tiny hand stuck out of the filthy mass. And then it was gone, as his steps quickened towards the temple in the distance. The child must have been born at a most inauspicious, star-crossed moment.
A morning walker came along, Nike shoes striding forward. He pinched his nose, looking distastefully at the putrid collection. When would India change? Memories of last week’s trip to the US came back to mind. Then he stopped, shocked. A little infant lay curled up in the garbage. Must be dead. He recalled reading about abandoned babies. A glance at his chronometer told him to keep moving. Not much he could do. Like the garbage heaps, this was another thing about India that will take time to change, if ever. Too bad. And the walker walked on.
The bai stopped and stared. She knew of newborn females thrown away, just like that. Newly arrived, but unwelcome and unwanted. And so, mercilessly dispatched. She remembered a neighbor telling her of someone she knew who had adopted such a baby. One of the dogs was dangerously close to the filth covered infant. Shooing them away, she hurried off to her work of cooking and cleaning. She didn’t want to be late or lose the job. But she hurriedly made a call from the public phone in the corner shop further on.
By the time Babu and his wife arrived on the scene, the dogs were sniffing at the infant. Parking his bike, he shouted away the dogs. He scooped up the infant in his hands. The baby was alive, barely. His wife took the little body and wrapped it in a clean sheet she had brought. Then they sped away.
On India’s 64th Independence Day, the abandoned baby crossed her 22nd month of life. A cute and healthy child, no one looking at her would guess her tragic beginnings. For her foster parents she is one of their own. Anugrah they call her. And as they watch her play with their other children, they offer a silent thanksgiving for the gift of life, and the gift of love.
Oasis? You Must Be Joking!
Oct 31st
The largest cruise liner yet built was launched from Finland on Friday, October 30. Oasis of the Seas is five times larger than Titanic and 40% larger than any other cruise ship in the world. It rises 20 stories high and stretches 1,200 feet. The ship accommodates 8,400 people on board. There are parks, squares, arenas, 12,000 plants, a 750-seat outdoor theater, an indoor theater seating 1,300, four swimming pools, volleyball and basketball courts, a mini golf course, and blah blah blah.
Exciting! Impressive! Symbol of man’s progress and dominion, or, is it destruction?
Why would someone sail on the high seas to play golf? Or volleyball? I lived a couple of decades in the mountain town of Manali. And saw people coming to this beautiful Himalayan paradise, supposedly on holiday, but holed up in their rooms watching movies and what not. Now, why would people do that? They could do that back home in Delhi or Mumbai, or wherever.
What about the 8000 people doing potty on board? That’s a lot. Where does it all go? It is claimed that none of the sewage will be discharged in the sea. Maybe that’s why they made it so big, so several day’s contributions could be carried and dumped, where? Your guess is as good as mine. I wonder how the dolphins feel about it. Like the little boy in Slumdog Millionaire running to meet Amitabh Bachhan.
What about the garbage? The fuel emissions? Looking at pictures of the ship and reading about it gives a disorienting feeling. Is there really an environmental crisis? Or a fuel crisis? Or an economic recession? All those economists and environmentalists must be joking. Or has the situation gotten so bad that you have to call this monstrosity the Oasis of the Seas. That’s irony.
The Economics of Begging
Oct 22nd
© Francois Etienne Du Plessis | Dreamstime.com
Anyone visiting or even passing through Mumbai city is a potential client. The huge network of the ‘begging’ franchise spreads wide across the world, it may well be the largest commercial chain of entrepreneurs there is.
Beggars, for all they know, provide a much needed service to the cosmopolitan society. Some may disagree but if we tweak the prevailing perspective on this subject just a little, we will realize what the act of ‘giving’ offers to some. It provides vindication and a sense of belonging to the social paradigm. However, this may be a spit & shine solution to a much deeper conundrum.
Giving alms to the poor has been completely redefined in the modern world. It is no longer the occupation of the weak or underprivileged. There may even be a corporate hierarchy in some begging outfits. A team leader to manage the foot soldiers. A manager coordinating multiple teams and even a director of operations overseeing the macro functions of the group.
Good People, Terrible Decision
Oct 16th
A recent BBC news report:
A US couple who prayed rather than seeking medical attention for their dying daughter have been sentenced to six months in jail.[i]
The couple is accused of recklessly killing the youngest of their four children by ignoring clear symptoms of severe illness as she became too weak to speak, eat, drink or walk. The couple had a legal duty to take their daughter to a doctor but had instead relied totally on prayer for healing. More >