Government Job Ready

"So what do you do?" is a good question everyone asks and no one would hesitate to ask (like it was a right deemed upon them) in India once they think they know you quite well (and that takes just 3 seconds after you have told them your name). With the unemployment rate hitting 10.8% (according to http://www.indexmundi.com/g/g.aspx?c=in&v=74) and steadily growing, this is a question that often erupts people into regressive babbling. However, not to sideline the Indians alone, I think this is a common feature with people all around the world (Now that everyone is included and the topic has thus been universalized, let me continue...). People tend to judge a woman by the way she keeps a house and the food put on the table and the man by the job he does... traditional, cultural and natural (irrespective of whether I support it or not). The reflective dignity and respect depends on this (Remember, that "respect commanded, not demanded" stuff?!). 

So what comes after the comma? A regular conversation would go something like this:

"Yes Sir, my name is... duh. duh, duh" and then the real-life situation question that is soon to follow would be: "what do you do?" and then begins the line... , ("comma", cos the sentence never ended, you see, in the first place) "blah, blah, blah" or "well, hummhumph, (look away distracted)" as the case may be. Suppose you have blah-blahed as you mentioned your job, then trust me even if you were the messiah in your own company or a arse-nibbling corporate rat, you will be looked top to bottom and asked, "not government job enh?" Suppose you had said that you were actually a government "servant", the next question would be "What was your name again?" Duh! 

As one of my friends who wanted to enter the Government Office gates put it, "Even if you are a sweeper, make sure you sweep a government building... Government job matters!" Yeah, it does matter especially when his folks were out looking for a girl for him. How safe we want to be enh?! Government job, arranged marriage, pension, no tension. This is a place where we would not remove the plastic covers from our new car seats till it wears off right? Playing safe all the way...

Somehow, I have felt that government job is something where people work really, really hard to enter and relax the moment after... it is like as if they retire in their minds as soon as they get their appointment order and get ready NOT to work. 

Still, a man's got to do what a man's got to do. Jobless, and your arm is bleeding... no one would care (friends or family... standard rule stands... no one cares); have a job and a pin just pricked you and you hardly bled, the world will stand upside down to take care of you lest it hurts; sarkari naukri (government job) and you just farted, still smells good for those around. That leads me to ask... so who/what do people see?! if it is not you, is it what comes after the comma?! Then how worthless that "you, me, I, we."   

p.c: http://edccharter.com/wordpress/?paged=2

My Last Post

A while ago, a friend of mine told me that he wished to leave India for good. This was a time when I was talking about brain drain et all and how many NRIs (Not Required Indians) suck the wealth off our motherland to nourish themselves and runaway to foreign lands for money. I would then go to the extent of claiming that this act was indeed comparable to leaving your mother to be with a stranger and glorifying the alien as you put down your own at every possible occasion (like many short time "foreign-returns" do). Yet my friend was stubborn and believed that India was not a land for people who think and want to give something to the world... rather he believed that this is a land lost in the shadows of slavery, a land where everyone wants to be a master to enslave the other. He said that India was cruel to people who want to do good. He said, "India betrays." 

Ever since childhood I have been reading the preamble of our constitution, to reaffirm myself of my faith in this giant nation, wishing to hold on to the belief that what I was taught about it was true despite the ridiculous statistics that periodically decorates the front pages of the dailies about its countless scams both within as well as in the international circuit,  about its poor performance in sports as much as its inability to bring down the poverty level, malnutrition, farmer's suicide, hunger, disease pandemonium, illiteracy level, lack of schools, lack of black boards and chalk pieces in schools that do exist, teacher and doctor scarcity, poor sanitation level, pollution, human rights violations, police brutality, political impotency, safety negligence, avoidable accidents and our quick and high level of resilience to all these issues (thanks to our trademark-our firm belief in being ignorant and/or apathetic), administrative indifference, incapability to provide decent drinking water and many more things including life. Though it would hurt many times to know that my country still has villages that do not receive electricity after over 6 decades of independence, and to know that people who have been elected to power are still in the dark just as much as the people who elected them... I would still hold on firmly with belief in the foundations on which this so called "great" nation has been built; the preamble that reads " WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST SECULAR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC and to secure to all its citizens:

JUSTICE, social, economic and political;

LIBERTY thoughts, expression, belief, faith and worship;

EQUALITY of status and of opportunity;

and to promote among them all

FRATERNITY assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the Nation;"

(copied and pasted just as it was)

I believed, just as many of you would too, in the lessons I was fed in school, sans free thought with unquestioning obedience in fear of the cane that might otherwise tell who was supposed to be right. Silently finding solace in the great words once spoken... "Yet it moves" if I had anything else beyond what was being said disturbing the iota of logic. Slowly I was taught as I learnt to be humble, simple and obedient, those great values (I was expected to imbibe and pass on to the generations to come) considered essential and sacred in one's path to greatness, (nevertheless, slavery). 'Simplified', 'humiliated' and made to 'obey' thus without questioning nor reasoning... here I stand waiting for "masters" to lead me, tell me what is right and what is wrong, shackled with chains of restraint too heavy that weigh me down with its dead weight of obedience and duties of life pushing me as far as it can to bend me beyond a point of complete surrender, this slave can hardly move. I have learnt that in a country where everyone other than you are supposed to be sensitive, any act of defiance, the slightest dissent, the slightest moan or a drop of tear, can be taken up against you as a sign of grave internal threat and get you royally screwed. 

Take for example a group of peaceful protestors who requested a sustainable energy source in place of a nuclear plant towering in their soil, against their wish, against their logic, against their feelings, against their livelihood, against everything they stood for... my country which is great in providing justice, liberty, equality and recalls fraternity, as mentioned in the preamble in all its endeavours, trampled upon these people... not only here, in the forests where poor tribals try to protect their land from foreign miners who wish to loot the soil and destroy their homeland, it happens in any place where voices of distress can be heard. The easiest way to solve these problems as our great leaders, the guardians of our constitution have recently learnt... Kill them all! Finish them, till they can shout no more. First the scream, then the cry, then the shout, then the silence, then the mourning, then eternal peace on the forgotten dead bodies of those souls, thus the end... C'est la vie. 

My "for the people, by the people of the people democratic country" has 7 jokes in its giant book of jokes called the "Indian Penal Code" to contain these issues; well, these same jokes are applied anywhere, any place and to anyone who refuses to bend his back and rebels to stand straight for a change, just like it slapped these jokes on the protestors in Koodankulam recently...

Joke 1:  Section 121 (waging or attempting to wage or abetting waging of war against the Government of India), 

Joke 2: 143 (unlawful assembly), 

Joke 3: 188 (disobedience to order promulgated by public servant), 

Joke 4: 153A (doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony), 

Joke 5: 341 (wrongful restraint), 

Joke 6: 505 (statements conducing to public mischief) and 

Joke 7: 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code.

Considering these, maybe I should, like many of you, who think, who write, decide to close my pen's cap, kiss my pen 'goodbye' along with my rights... (shhhh!), wear that fool's cap and learn to nod that famous 'Indian nod' along with flashing that 'meaningless Indian smile' and say the great 'Indian "Yes, Sir!" to everything and everyone and live peacefully ever after. 

Yet it moves...

Bottomline: "It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, Peace, Peace — but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!" Patrick Henry

p.c: http://generoussplooge.wordpress.com/2011/08/07/homophone-who-you-callin-a-sound-alike/

Ref: http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-tamilnadu/article3330136.ece

Jamba'kai

This is locally called the "Jamba'kai"-a crispy, juicy fruit with a sweet note. Don't know the English equivalent of the fruit though. It is usually considered best to try fruits like this one in the photo I clicked recently that are tasted by the squirrel first... the squirrels are supposed to pick the ones that are the sweetest. Talk about living with nature.

Figs

These are figs found and clicked growing like wild in one of my friend's house in Nagercoil. Adam and Eve used the leaves of the fig tree to sew garments for themselves when they realized that they were naked. Wonder what they did with the fruits though... Hahahaha!

Incredible India (The Police)

Here is a link to an 5.55 minutes-audio-visual piece that was created and titled "Incredible India (Police)" and needless to say, "YES, it is sarcasm!"

Follow the link below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uV-xsUeCex4&feature=youtu.be

p.chttp://doodlewala.blogspot.in/search/label/Toon%20art

A H2O Lily In A Pond

Clicked a Water Lily bathed in the reminiscent droplets of the rain in a pond in Nagercoil yesterday.

The Golden Spiral

i just tried to recreate the 'Golden Spiral', a commonly used rule in photography which corresponds to the 'Fibonacci Number', and slow as i am, it took quite sometime for me to get it and to finally experiment with it, i went back to its source of inspiration-the humble conch. Here is a photo used to experiment this rule shot yesterday.

Stay Off This Post

I have a confession to make. Looking at people in this blog-world, waiting for others to read their stories, people who so surrealistically provide a virtual shoulder to lean on through their comments (esp. when it is a woman), many who think that they are liberated by speaking words which they otherwise would dare not utter and others who would think vice versa, I always wonder why do people call for so much attention upon themselves? why so much attention-seeking? why so much of discontent about themselves?!

People who hint about feminism and other right-based issues, often the unaffected who pledge virtual support, people who write about nothing and go around sending 'likes', promoting others 'blog post' and even giving their diplomatically useless 'comments' in hope that their deed would be reciprocated, people who simply have nothing better to do to bring home the moolah... these are the kinds I have been seeing mostly around here (the jobless kind).

Of late, I had things to worry about. So much that I worried about where to begin. Probably I must make a priority list of things to worry about. Should I begin with my younger sibling who is going through the frustration of a divorce, or should I worry about my old-classmate who is going through the pain of seeing his daughter, barely 5-years-old, fighting cancer or should I start with my friend who just days after knowing that his wife is pregnant is in agony losing his job and with an almost empty pocket? Frustration, Pain and Agony... this list is just the tip of the iceberg of people in real life around me here who need my real shoulder and I sit here wondering over the crap "some" people often blog about and expect that "some" other to give them the support they feel they so strongly deserve. Those virtual fools!

"My cookies did not come out well (sob, sob, sob)", writes one, "Indian people are such an ugly race... and it just gets worse as you travel southwards (hahaha)", writes another, "Watched a movie yesterday... dumb! can't people make any good movies just like those old days? (my pop corn on slime tasted better)" writes yet another. And I read these like an idiot (yet another). Just look at our blog-posts in the mirror for sometime and it will tell us how pathetic we are. What a sad reflection of being wanted, being loved, such attention-seeking lost lousy souls we are! We have it all and hardly realize how lucky we are yet we complain and once we get what we want, we find another reason to complain about something that we want right now... Losers (with a capital 'L'). When the real world needs us, here we are, hiding from our duties and responsibilities, in this virtual world, connecting to people we do not know-disconnecting from everyone we do... piling reasons, lies and excuses to disappear all the while... I thought.

Then I saw people connecting in these networks, sharing their pain and suffering, agony and anxieties, frustrations and passive anger; those who have no one else to share them with, no where to go and no where to run. Those who see this outlet of thoughts as a light shining in the far-end of the tunnel, probably the only light they get to see; all that they want and all that they ask for is to escape the real world for a while... those who beg for a moment, a moment atleast, of calm and peace and I feel 'let the light shine' let the day dawn for those who find life too dark in the dusk of their life, let them who want to sublimate, exercise their right to do so and those who give them the support in whatever capacity they can, do find strength to provide through this catharsis.

In the meantime, there is someone who has written about a cupcake she has made which has not come out well and this lad who wants to show the world how patriotic he is by cheapening the other countries around us and this other gal who just joined who has written a "great post" and wants us to believe how innocent, religious and virginic she is-those three that promise us of a trust-worthy commodity (I wonder how well behaved we all pretend to be around here... like we do when we know that our parents are trying to get us into an arranged-marriage. Duh!) and I got to read them all... after all I have all the day to waste so might as well "read, promote, comment"...

p.c: http://funnnyphoto.blogspot.in/2012/03/funny-kick.html

Once Upon A Time

This poster made a lot of sense and I just felt like sharing it with other readers. The rest left unsaid lest it hinders your perspective. Learning to speak less these days.

Antz

Clicked yesterday right outside our abode. And I just read that an ant on the move is better than a sleeping ox.

How 13 Can 13 Get

It is called TRISKAIDEKAPHOBIA... and it affects many people even today; many religions attach extreme significance to certain numbers, 13 being one of them or rather the fear for it makes it so interestingly elusive.

Here are some interesting observations about 13:

1. Industrialist Henry Ford wouldn't do business on Friday, the 13th
2. Multimillionaire Paul Getty once stated "I wouldn't care to be one of thirteen at a table."
3. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt would not dine in a group of 13 people
4. Many hotel guests refuse to stay in Room 13, so rooms are frequently numbered 12, 12A, and 14
5. Some speculate that a fear of the number 13 is the reason we recognize only 12 constellations in the Zodiac, omitting a thirteenth... Ophiuchus ( the Serpent Holder) that, by its location, could be included
6. The ancient Hebrews thought 13 was unlucky because the thirteenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet is the letter M, which is the first letter in the word "mavet," meaning death
7. Some believe that 13 is unlucky because it follows 12, which in ancient Babylonia, China, and Rome was considered to be a lucky number associated with completion and perfection
8. Years ago, London bakers were subject to harsh penalties if they were caught selling bread in what was called short weight. The bakers would add an extra loaf to each dozen to be sure the sale met the minimum weight requirement. They avoided the word thirteen and the process of adding an extra loaf became known as the "baker's dozen
9. Some like to trace the origins of fear of the number 13 to the Biblical version of the Last Supper when Jesus has his final meal with his 12 disciples (making it a count of 13) before being crucified. The inference is clearly that one in the group of 13 will be doomed
10. 13 turns make a traditional hangman's noose. Anything less would not snap a neck
11. A year which contained 13 full moons instead of 12 posed problems for the monks who were in charge of the calendars
12. It is at this point that a person becomes a teenager when headache arises and fever shoots up for the teen towards the family and vice versa
13. And I just felt that there can be no time more apt than this to point out that there are 13 followers right now for this blog. Hahaha! Oh how deep this factor can make me think, not to mention point it out to the reader to follow this blog and save the group... what do we lose after all?

By the by, these 13 points above are my 13 reasons to make this statement. Hope you enjoyed it; else, I might have to wonder how unlucky and unfortunate I could be today writing these 13 points.

SOCRATES: "What Plato is about to say is false."

PLATO: "What Socrates has just said is true."

p.c: http://teamyours.blogspot.in/2011/06/adamanitum-trax-13.html

Collage Invitation

Just clicked the pictures of 4 of my collages and posted it in http://thathuvumasi.blogspot.in/ the other blog for art. Check it out... you might find this art form interesting. Takes so much time to make a single piece yet so less known form. Here is just one; click the above link to view the other 3. Thank you.

The Difference Between The Rich And The Poor

"A rich man is just a poor man with other needs"

I remember a story I read... There was a sage who was looking at other sages around him and found that none of them smiled. So he tried to find out why. He asked a bearded, scholarly, eternal-bachelor who was in a brooding world of his own why he was sad and the scholar replied, "So much to learn and all I have learnt is just a drop in the ocean... what is there to be happy about?" "An ocean to learn!" he exclaimed and walked by gripping his book even tighter. Through the day the sage kept walking, asking different people the same question, "Why are you not happy? Why do you look sad" and everyone had so much to learn, so much to do and so much, much more of unfinished business that just kept them too busy to be happy.

Just then as he was passing through a brook, he saw a simple woman in tattered clothes, cheerfully whistle a tune, smiling all the while as she squatted on the floor doing a mountain of dishes outside her humble hut. He stopped in disbelief and like a man surprized to see light in the darkness, after a moment of puzzled silence, proceeded to ask the woman, "How come you are so happy? What makes you so happy???" She looked up, smiled again and like a school-going girl, giggled and shyly said, "Oh great one! you see, water here is so scarce and if I get a bucket of water to wash my bum, I am happy any day... so very happy!" and today she was!

The sage didn't have a word to say and walked on running the montage of people he had seen earlier that day in his mind and wondered "If only they had..."

How happy are we? With always having more to learn, more to earn, more to do, more to burn, more to turn, more to woo and with our endless list of things to do, sinking with every want, more and more into our world of chronic dissatisfaction and suburban drudgery. And all the while we think money makes us happy?! If only it does...

p.c:http://s3ak.buzzfed.com/static/enhanced/web03/2012/2/21/14/enhanced-buzz-wide-18157-1329851209-32.jpg