Ok, so its been quite some time since i wrote here. But I do love to drop off the map once in a while. Anyways, to all the people, who take time out to read the stuff i put up here, thanks.

Anyways, i still cant seem to put up a title to these blogs and computer illiterate as I am, not to mention that my computer basically everything but explodes when I am around, I guess this one shall be untitled too. But its basically about all the audio, text and video blogging thats going on these days that makes me wonder if we are actually coming a lot closer than we expected? Now, I usually dont read blogs that have private stuff, daily dos and what nots, i feel thats way too private to air on the internet. But I did come across this video blog of this guy from Japan, who makes these video dairies about his thoughts on all this stuff, like fashion and t shirts. Anyways, it just made me realize how amazingly interactive internet can be if we put it to more use than scoring dates and silly stuff of that nature!

I mean, this dude's blogs just give such carefree insights, as opposed to the scripted crafted material countries put on travelogues. Of course its from a personal point of view, but theres always so much to learn from people around the world and it can be so much fun when you realize how quite similar we all really are?

We spend our lives in a bubble and in today's world, there's rarely any time for even living, what with meeting all these expectations we and people around us set up for ourselves. But in the time that we do have, we occupy ourselves with all sorts of trivial stuff. Anyways, its just always interesting to come across people from far of places, who give you this refreshing insight into how similar we are and how much of the problems we share are similar in their nature and origin.

if anyone gets time off watching nutcases such as that britney spears guy, do chec out some other stuff thats on places lie youtube. i guess i will paste the youtube lin of the japanese australian guy mentioned here.

tc and much love

shruti

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udYptFJqTgQ

STUDENTS AND EDUCATION

Ok, so I am a student and I feel that that qualifies me for stating my opinion on this matter. Now out of the safety valve of a graduate degree, I am coming to terms with the world outside and I feel angered. And i feel that most of my education was probably my doing! We all talk about education. Hell, it is a sull fledged industry that is booming by the day. Soon, there will be a university on every block, and they will start awarding degree's for common sense (which is good), to how to walk like a winner! Every course we want, every thing we desire, is supposedly just a mouse click away. Most would say that this is probably the best age to be born for a student. This, after all, is the age of education. The age of opportunities and the age of enlightenment. Or is it?

Everywhere I go, i see more and more confusion. Its silly to limit yourself and its fatal to be confused. The cost for knowledge (yes, theres a price to pay), is sky high, and you are promised all kind of electronic vibes and devices that apparently will merge with your brainwaves, the way they increase the price of the course. Then, theres the society aspect. Till school, we ARE our marksheets, and after school, we become our degree certificate. So there is always the preffered and the deffered. And in a way, they arent really wrong. Landing on the wrong side of the economy is a mistake we pay for. But tell me, where in all this, did we EVER talk about education? Where are we talking about WHY we need education? Sure, we need it so that we can sustain ourselves. Invest in our future earning capacity. But apart from that, why do we need education? Is it to get a fancy tag and social acceptance? Is it to make a gateway into a foriegn locale? Why do we spend a major part of our young lives behind the books, knowing very well that we will land in that place for sure once we are old and physically useless?

The ideal response to this would be, self development. We want to develop intellectually, understand the world and of course leanr something that can feed us, and maybe help buy that Mercedes. But mostly, we study, to sculpture our personality and character, to become the kind of independant individuals that are the foundation of any civilized society, the kind of people that the builders of the modern day society had in mind when they crafted these idealistic tenets of civilization. And, to realize the potential that comes with being a human. We study, because thats what humans do. Thats how ou species survives and prospers.

Yet, what part of education involves this? Or rather what part of education that you pay for? For one, all the places that come REMOTELY close to providing students with this kind of an environment where students are given a chance to broaden their vision and perspective, have rigid entry requirements and demand that you be nothing short of a genius. Oh, and that does NOT mean that you should actually be a genius. Just one on the academic records. That, or have highly specific preferrably marketable and understandable skills. Like being a compuet prodigy or tennis prodigy is any day better than being just smart. And i have no offense to that. But tell me, if I am your articulate, already perfected, well proven genius, then WHAT THE HELL DO I NEED AN EDUCATION FOR? Sure, my already accomplished self will find contacts and accliam and moolah in your premise, and all i probably had to do was sit hard and study and get a pretty marksheet. But tell me, what part of that required me to be a genius, or even intelligent. I just had to be smart enough to blind myself and just mug up. which is a very important quality in this world, but not necessarily one that these places of education claim to look for.

Educational Institutions are the alma maters for those who wish to know, who SEEK to know. It doesnt require you to have a pretty profile and/or a lot of money. It takes raw talent, and burning desire, two things that they are least interested in. I spent so much time enquiring about universities left right centre, and the one thing that i got to hear was, see, you have talent, but its raw. They need you to have already developed it. I could have agreed to this excuse had it been a future employer or company. I mean of course they want sculptures and not just clay! The companies, businesses and employers are like art galleries. They display the sculptures, no clay. But the educational institutions were supposed to be the sculptors, not the middle men who milk the sculpture and the gallery people! Why do all big institutes look for flashy marksheets, great extra curriculars and loads of moolah only? I mean, agreed they are an easy way of knowing that the student may have talent. But tell me, does it ever occur to them, that a Mark sheet isnt a verdit on the childs intellect, just on his current devotion to the studies. By current devotion to studies I mean, how high they rank in his priorities. If i am probably someone going through some personal issues, scoring straight A's wont exactly be on my agenda. Also, it isnt necessary that ALL students from EVERY part of the planet will have the opportunity to develop themselves completely. HELL, THATS WHY WE ARE COMING TO YOU! And, if my parents already have a truck load of money, why the hell will i waste my time beyond a bachelors degree sitting in a University. God knows that we learn a lot more by travelling and working than we ever can by sitting in a classroom.

What you do get out of current education system though, is friends for a lifetime, and understanding of how people and world function and if you are a management or technical graduate, then a skill to live a life of luxury. Of course this statement is subject to conditions and exceptions. But apart from the technical part of it, where did these alma maters help us? Also, I know from experiance, that a book can be as good or better a teacher, and are way more cheap. So if it really is about making a sound business decision, go for the book.

I am not against education. I think we all need education. But education isnt about teaching us to think like Einstein, or giving us a ground to parade ou own skills. Its the one opportunity we get to actually grow and develop ourselves. And there is no bigger deed than that. I dont believe that there are humans who are not interested in self appreciation. We are all constantly trying to live an image we create in our minds as to who we should be. Every kid is born with curiosity, sharpness and a certain ability to understand. We are all born equals and the primary reason why most parents then send their kids to school is in hopes that theur child will develop upon this ability. Then why, after landing in an institute for education, do we become the good, mediocre and dumb students. Why after graduating from the higher halls of learning do we become a success or a failure? And why, after leaving them entirely, we actually start from where we had left as toddlers? Is it all just nature and evolution at play? Or did somewhere, education just really went wrong????

Life of Pi- what it means to be human

I would suggest that every human read this novel. Taking the authors words that’s its well researched, Life of Pi opens the doors to the truth about being a human in a way no human creation might have the power to. It isn’t just the story of survival, every page is a daunting discovery of the realization of the apathy of life, miracle of the universe, crucification of the now well twisted human ideologies and celebration of being born a human. It isn’t so much about the literary beauty and the ever persistent humor as it is about life and its factuality. There is something honest and animal about Life of Pi that I would find so starkly missing from any other forms of human creation. Imagination is mans ally in a bigger way than he would admit. That true. But our imagery and fears, blending together, have created a world full of useless ideologies and even more useless rebellions that they face.

Life of Pi, is a fresh breath of pure air in such a circumstance. On the outside, it’s a story of survival of a castaway. A sixteen year old boy, a lone survivor of a ship that drowned with the rest of his family, finds himself on a life boat with a zebra, an orangutan, a hyena and a Bengal tiger. This fantastic tale, of an unlikely survival, isn’t just about hope and faith though. Actually, it undresses faith off its glittering and fantastic robes made by mans fear and depravity, removes the accessories of power purchased at the market of dreams, and presents it in a stark naked form. There are no miracles and lightning at just the right time. The plot is actually primitive in its setting. Man and animals on a lifeboat. All animals perish according to their place in the food chain. Result, the tiger and the man are the lone survivors on the boat. The tiger survives on his sheer physical strength and the man on his sheer mental strength. It’s the documentation of how nature dominates as they take their place in the food chain, man miraculously at the apex.

Yet, this tale leaves one with more hope and faith than any sap saga or contrived story of a human miracle. In its rawness, it lacks deceit and in its directness it lacks the verbal dysentery ( excessive use of words where none would be required). Life of Pi, in every page is a majestic celebration of life and everything about it. you learn as you turn pages, and you connect with what was lost behind through years of taming in the rigid society and classrooms and house.

I would tell everyone, who has the capacity to understand and put meaning to alphabets, to read this book. Not for some school project or with the intent of catching on to a new found trend of reading intellectual Booker fodder. Just read it, as you would do any other activity that we humans do to keep ourselves busy. For this one has a mighty reward. Life of Pi is the kind of book that you read in your childhood that makes an impact on you for the rest of your lives. It teaches, which is more than what we can say for most books around. It incites thought, instead of plying and satisfying the human vanity or providing 2 days worth of hope for 4 $. It is an amazingly realistic account of a character that can only exist in our imagination.

It is about the transformation of a three religions practicing, vegetarian Indian boy into a survivor that feeds on live turtles and manages to tame a Bengal tiger that’s always hanging like a bane on his existence. And no lighting strikes this boy to arise the beast in him. The transformation is so believable that you actually fall for the writers ploy of writing this book as a real life account. Yet, with every transformation in Pi, you will find a part of your naked flesh revealed to you.

In the structured, and protected world that we grow up in, we not only take our existence for granted, but proceed to occupy ourselves with something trivial to hide the glaring purposelessness of life. What must we do? We have food, security, shelter. Now we must busy ourselves by over reacting to unimportant details and filling the cavity that survival left with existence. Not all of us will ship wreck or find themselves in a jungle. Neither of us should. All we have our accounts and books. All we have are words. Words of one man, a manifestation of his experience, that will dribble and fall into the ears of million others, and get stuck only where they find a commonality of purpose. And for this very reason, I suggest you read Life of Pi.

Read it and see what it has to teach you. I came across this book when I thought I was going through a tough patch of pure delirium. You know the details, too much thought leads to lack of any eventually. Somehow, hope isn’t a good companion of delirium. True, when you are a wee bit down, a nice motivational tale will make you feel great. But these tales are usually too simplistic and generalized for you to draw any true motivation or idea from. They are just their to satisfy your overwrought nerves, and give you a calming alpha human feeling. I would say that a motivational tale is a teetotalers liquor. Its cheap, you remember it, and you don’t reveal the true ass in you in front of other camouflaged asses.

But Life of Pi actually gave me inspiration. In that slow, sedate, way life an ivy piercing your skin, transfusing little amounts of glucose, but doing no good for the pain and the suffering. I would rather have that, as its at least real. And not just a cheap high for my weak emotions. It made me somehow see above the delirium. Like any other good Booker worthy book, it arises emotion in all the right places and quantities. Laughter, tears, hope, suspense. Ah! Show business is the only business man seems good at. It is a perfect tale of the victory of hope and faith and God against all apparent odds. But these effects are temporary. They are imitable by any other nice writer trained in manipulation of emotions as opposed to transferring of knowledge and realization. They are the reason, why we read so many amazing books and cry buckets over them, but don’t remember what they were all about, for the life within us.

Life of Pi is different. It is a book I will remember for the rest of my life. Because I cannot afford to forget it. it answers questions and raises some new ones. What better way to make yourself unforgettable than to put that cantankerous mind in action for forever!

If all the verbal influx is too much for the non readers cum feelers, just read it once. Even if it’s the only book you ever read. You might find it worth the effort and it will resurrect the faith in the power of written word, and the opportunity this medium holds, back into you.

so, i am out of town, again...and have just this laptop that has no pictures and no music, save iris by Goo Goo Dolls. one of songs thats closest to my heart... so its all right. while life for an indian in India is all about fitting into the frame of " the perfect life", with the million bucks career in a famous MNC, a gorgeous spouse with an even more high paying job and then kids that get medals at school and grow up to become doctors. there are times, when while travelling through the normal, you see the not so normal. it seems to me, that most of the life happens and passes by us when we are just too busy trying to live it in our own definition of the perfect. which is basically what i am doing right now.

the fact about life is, if you find your boat, even stormy seas having a calming effect. and that was a totally random thought. so, to cut all the introspective crap out.. well i noticed something about the cities. when we meet a person, we form our first impression about that person. this first impression is usually a combination of both their and our personalitites. just like that, every city makes a first impression and if we just become a bit more patient and observant, then a rather precise one. i mean, all cities have roads and buildings and city centres and all that. yet they are all different.these are some of my first impressions:

Pune: student haven. it seems like one large extended campus. everything else that doesnt fit into a university setting is a mere means to an end. you feel like you have suddenly been transported into an area with strikingly young demographics. the roads, the houses, everything is same. but what strikes you is the whole education feel thats in the air. everyones learning something.

Delhi: i think even if someone didnt know, he would know that New Delhi is the capital city of India. its well planned and its got these odd, government looking buildings. i havent visited Delhi in quite some time. but there is a distinct air of conmanship around it. you just become a bit more alert in Delhi. and if you dont get duped after being there for 4 odd days, then you are probably lucky. its funny, scary and at the same time, a bit tiring. but Delhi is a great looking city.

Bombay: rush hour is not so much a time period but the basic setting in which Bombay thrives. its ALWAYS rush hour. it seems that even on a leisurely day, the people have problem with slowing down. there is an urgency in the way they move. my first memory of Mumbai was actually rather unpleasant. i was a kid, caught in a rush hour ( of the rush hour city) crowd, by body caught between a sea of people, dangling somewhere between the local and the platform. i was petrified and screamed to no end. eventually i got into the local and did make it in one piece, but as a result, hated Mumbai right down to my guts. i get claustrophobic in places like Mumbai that must have basically invented claustrophobia! till i actually got a chance to stay there for two months, a few years ago. one thing about Mumbai that i would say is, it makes a terrible first impression, but manages to change that, and more in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th. that city has a life of its own, and so when Mumbaikars rave about its larger than life status, not all of them are raving out of vanity.

Nagpur: great roads. great sights. great lakes. weird language. friends. no more comments!

so, i was watching heroes and thinking about time travel. the way it has been portrayed in all forms of fiction is, when a man travels back in time, the future self travels back in time. meaning that if you travel back to when you were 10, there will be two of you in that time!

the basic theory behind time travel, from what i gather, is that time is a dimention where a person can travel from point to another, just as we can in the other three dimentions. but and travel is epitomized by displacement. meaning that, if i travel to 2 years back, i shall be displaced from 2007 to 2005. but there will already be a me in 2005. meaning, that syndrome where your past self meets your future self and how it shouldnt happen. but the fact it, it meets the totally new entity. its not supposed to be you right, or is it.

in essence, it is matter that has travelled through time, matter that made me up. so does that mean that me in 2007, and me in 2005, are made of separate matter? otherwise, it is completely illogical to think that my 2007 and 2005 self can exist together. that isnt travel, that is replication!!!! and this would mean that i could travel from this time to that to some other, replicating myself. so where does this replicated matter go when i travel to another time zone. even the idea seems absurd to me.

come to think of it, when you do travel in the future or past, havent you separated yourself from who you are? in that essence, hasnt your soul or whatever, separated too?? you possibly cant be the same again. if i choose to travel to 2005, something in me should be altered, for i will relive that phase and hence, the me in 2007 before time travel will change. imagine a physical change like say loosing a hand. in tht sense, where will that matter disappear in 2007 me. before time travel, or rather the 2006 me???? would just disappear? just like that? what will happen to the 2006 that i did live with that hand? and what will happen to the memories of people who saw me in 2006 with that hand?

can we seriously meddle with time that easily? or rather are we supposed to? think about it, if life and memories and events will be made so easily alterable, wouldnt that just change the entire meaning of life and the importance accorded to it. wont life actually become unimportant in its essence? and replicatable, making immortality a possible future?

also, does travelling in time mean that we arent loosing any time on our time clocked bodies either? meaning, does time actually have such a tremendous control on mass that if i keep travelling back to 2005 as soon as i get out of it, my body too will remain in fixed age of 20 that i am in 2007 and with which i travelled to 2005?

or will all this just be created or happening in a parallel universe? assume the theories around time travel to be very valid and true. then couldnt it be possible that somewhere, the future me already travelled in time and altered course of my existence, which i will remain unaware of, as she has changed a course and separated us in matter. meaning i might have a dual life cycle, one in this and one in another dimention?

any answers?

SOME ADVICE ABOUT ENVIRONMENT- AND NO, U DONT NEED TO STOP USING WATER OR TOILET PAPER

so, i read recently, that Sheryl Crow has posted on her new blog that there should be a limit to the use of toilet paper in a bid to save the environment. while environment and its preservation is a cause i am passionate about, i see this as one of the most useless advices ever! sacrifice basic hygiene for um, saving trees? when you know that your co workers like Paris Hilton and all will make thei dogs write books that will be widely published by cutting these very trees???!!!!!! its rather stupid. while environment seems to be the new 'it' thing on the block, people are fast joining the bandwagon of people supporting this cause.

but in reality, none of them offer any advice on what an individual can do to curb global warming. political initiatives, though far more effective, are places where we will be wasting energy. politicians are usually too near sighted and contrived to come up with anything that has JUST good effects. its the people that you have to take a cause to. an individual is stronger than any ridculous system. all individuals is an undefeated entity. and this is what i wanted to do. i wanted to find out what a normal everyday doctor, day care worker, student or house maid could do to curb global warming. after all, they form a major chunk of the world population, not vain and stupid celebrities who prove time and again that you must have an IQ of below 100 to be famous, and waste their fame championing only those causes that involve visibly deformed little pitiable people.

in a world of nine billion people, time has come that we wake up. so i mailed every organization i could find on the internet, hoping that they would give me pointers on what non environmental activists could do to curb global warming on their part. i got no answer from all of them. like all charitable organizations, they want your money and signature on petitions, but will never tell you anything about the change you must make. ultimately, i used the one resource that is reliable, common sense. global warming is due to high carbon content in atmosphere. while there is nothing i can advice about curbing the CFC's, as AC's and fridge are for our comfort, i do have some pointers, that i am sure can help, and be incorporated in our daily life. and we dont need to go back to stone ages, or compromise on basic hygeine for that. all of these and more, i put to practice in my daily life.

1) TRAVEL BY CYCLE WHENEVER YOU CAN:
now, use your common sense. if its 12 o clock and summer and you have temperatures above 30 degree celcius, or you are getting late for exams, you obviously wanna pick up that car or motorcycle. but there are so many places we travel by car that we dont need to. if its a class you gotta attend early in morning or sometime in evening, and if it isnt 40 kms away, then pick up that bicycle. something like back to school thing. you might say that your time would be wasted, but that is a lame and non existant excuse.
first off, how much time and money do you spend in gym subscription? or time in front of the television watching pure bullshit. or in front of the computer dating virtual strangers, thinking it makes up for not having a life out of cyber space? it takes 12 mins to travel 5 kms by a car, and 20 by cycle! just 8 mins for 5 kms. plus, you do something for your figure, that no gym can do. Just going to a gym cant give you legs like Gisele Bundchen.... thats a myth they sell their products by. and even if they do, you will have strech marks. cardio is by far the most effective form of exercise, and cycling possibly the only one that strengthens your joints and tones your legs. plus, it increases your stamina, which means you wont loose a race with your great grandfather ( i cant understand how teenagers dont die of embarassment out of that).
if you go in gruops, thats even better. also, use cycle for extremely short distances, like a quick ride to the grocery store on the next block. this one a deal, only an exceptionally dumb person will let pass.....

2) TURN OFF THOSE LIGHTS WHEN U DONT NEED THEM
ok, this is an extremely common and annoying habit that even i used to have. it takes concsious action for a month and then you will be habituated. so, turn off the electricity when you dont need it!!!! DO IT!!! you dont need lights at 12 in the noon, or AC in temperate climate. and you know somwthing guys.... if global warming happens any faster, your body will have to acclimatize to much higher temperatures. and you will even get toasted every time you go out in sun. stay out of sun, and your skin will look like an old toilet paper twice used. so, it makes sense to turn them lights off. other thing is, use individual electronic devices. like, dont turn on your comupter just to listen to music. GET A FREAKING IPOD!!! trust me, you will save a lot more on electricity bills than you spend on that damn ipod. just by turning off computers when not actively using them, a normal working office can save 1000000 rs every year in electrcity bills. computers are amazing, but they consume too much electricity.

3) PAPER BAGS, AND DUSTBINS
in india, due to administractive apathy, people rarely use the dustbin. USE IT! or throw thrash in someone else's house, so they will come throw theirs in your house. then you will know what kind of a nuisance littering is. another thing is, please stop sticking to plastic. i know its inconveniet, as platic is the most useful material ever invented. but i would take a new approach than the more impractical Ban Plastic one... CONSERVE PLASTIC. use your head, come up with ways to limit the plastic content of your house. use air tight containers as opposed to those million plastic bottles. when you stock water in plastic bottles, you might wanna know that a few good quality ones are better than a 100 odd ones. or just use your coke bottles. ( i know ppl still prefer them over cans). stocking a lot of plastic bottles means more bottles to clean, which if you are a lazy bum, you wont do. this is actually extremely unhyegenic, as even platic, with a little bit of dust ( and the elixir of life water stuck all over it), is a germinating ground. you could be drinking those bacterias and viruses!!!!!
also, recycle whenever you can. invest your money on things you can recycle. this will create a market for things that can be recycled and manufacturers wont have a choice but to recycle stuff. consumers control the market, not the other way round like its happening. so, RECYCLE!!!
oh, and if you recycle intra house, you might save money and space too. lots of it. take a sunday and just clean your house. look at the things you have that you dont even need!!!! you work your ass off on a college degree and job to earn money that you eventually spend on things you dont even need, that clutter up your lovely house, and frustrate you!!!!!! it doesnt make any sense. so till they make recycling bin as common as public toilets and dustbins...... RECYCLE, inter and intra house.

ok, this is all i have for now. if anyone else has any suggesstions, you are invited to add em on here. look at these.. they are beneficial not just for environment, but for you too. they dont require you to compromise or go back to stone ages or burn to death, all of which are likely to happen if we remain indifferent towards environment. all they require is for you to be proactive and use your head. if you cant do this, you definitely aint saving on any toilet paper either.
so GO GREEN!!!! its not an option, its a requirement!

WHY WE NEED HOPE

While there is no dearth of hope in this world, actually, there is quite an economy that operates on selling hope and dreams, and earn big bucks; there are reasons to be skeptical about hope. Why do we need hope? I mean, we all know that while that song about hope, that nice motivational lecture you last attended, that movie you saw, that news report you saw where justice had been delivered finally, are feel good factors with a low shelf life. Then, before you know it, darkness descends again. Stuff happens to people who do no wrong. Psychos turn enemies and friends turn psychos. Another irony about life is that there is this pattern to it. When things are going all right, and you actually start believing that things are as nice as they seem, they suddenly change their color scheme to the exact opposite. While we keep reading about the battle between the wrong and right, the good and the evil, nothing prepares us for the evil present in good, and the wrongs the rights commit. The only resultant that remains, and is actually more faithful than any of these factors, is cynicism. At least doubt is permanent.

Hope on the other hand, is like drugs. It gives you a temporary high, but then, reality strikes and you have to face the consequences. One of my dear friends once said, that hope is a fools weapon. There are times when I almost agree. Look at this world! Everyday, things seem to be getting worse. The crimes against innocent, the crimes on the streets and on the internet. You can’t trust anyone, you can’t depend on anyone. People you know, show sides you would rather not see. All this not only weakens Gods and goods case, but also that of hope. Forgive me for acting the devils advocate, but happiness, trust, virtue, good and God, all disappear when you need them most. Pain and hatred at least stay. You can never predict or claim, that if you are fair to people, they shall be fair with you. That if you do good, you will get good in return. But I can bet that if you do something bad, you shall receive bad. if you kick someone, you can trust them to retaliate. But if you hug someone, you can’t trust them to reciprocate.

It isn’t a comforting thought, but then there is that miniscule element of conformity, and at least that, is something that hope doesn’t have. Cynics say that hope is a pretty good way of spending the time in between two tragedies. Your life may not actually be beautiful, but at least it will seem beautiful. That cynic is me. It makes you question, why do we need hope? So that motion picture industry can earn mega bucks? So that motivational speakers and religious leaders don’t have to go search for new jobs? I mean, if life isn’t going to be fair, why bother with hope and things like that? Why not join the bandwagon and become as indestructible a destroyer as you can. People wont dare hurt you, because they know that you will respond to a slap, with a sword. No one shall mess with you, and if that doesn’t happen, you can pretty much live life your way. I mean, then it can be fair, or blue or orange. After all, when every human being starts keeping a gun in their overcoat, the only way to ensure that you are safe, is to carry a tank and an army. So that any time someone shoots at you, you blast their existence off this planet.

BINGO!! Exactly. Aren’t these gun totters the very people whose menace we try to hope against. I mean, if things just go wrong, if there is a tsunami, you don’t complain much. Its when your friends disappoint you. its when people you don’t even know, come and hurt you for no reason. Its when crime happens. Its when bombs drop from the sky like bird dropping. Its when an indestructible destroyer wannabe comes with a toy tank and pokes you, scaring you into believing it’s a real tank, that you hope. Then, you question hope. Then you question fairness. Then you kill hope and convince yourself that world is not going to be fair. Then, you know that you can be unfair too. Then, you become one of those very people you were trying to thwart. You become exactly what you battled against.

Its ironic, that even though hope seems inconsequential in this battle called life, it seems that it’s the death of hope that starts this battle in the first place. Why do we need hope? To validate fairness? No. fairness isn’t just some pinky sweety concept created by human mind. It is the fulcrum of this planet. It is the conclusion of the experiment called life. Life isn’t fair because you pray everyday so Gods watching and everything. Life is fair, because in this world, nothing is created nor destroyed. What goes around, comes around. Matter and anti matter exist together. When you suck out the space, you will get vacuum. It wont all end. When you forsake your ideals, something in you dies. It wont come alive when you really need yourself. No human being can sleep well with a guilty conscious. If you hurt someone, it will deprive you of sleep, or worst, numb that area in your mind which tells you what you are doing is wrong. Which means, you have committed partial suicide!!! Which is rather foolish.

We don’t need hope to validate fairness. Fairness is probably too profound for us to grasp, because we think that every time someone hits us in face, they will immediately turn back and fall in the ditch. We don’t see that their hand hurts as much as our chin, and somewhere in their mind, something right just disappeared. Then, thinking that hopes waste, and we can slap around, we become the same, and start slapping people. There are others who cry and whine and basically become ultimate destroyers of hope. They are the kinds who tell you, “ whatever you want, you will not get. Whatever you fear and hate, will eventually become your destiny.”

We don’t need hope to live our lives for us. To fight our battles or to make things right. We need hope to keep the boat sailing in storm till its past. We need it to keep us going till life comes full circle, because it will. We need hope, because we have no option. Don’t give it up. Its more precious than you might know. And giving it up, will make things as worst as you envisioned, for all you know.

copyright 2007 shruti bhutada