After the rout of the Communist Party of India – Marxist in the assembly election of 13th May, 2011, the CPI-M is now on the backfoot. Let me tell you, I hate the Communists but not Communism. These so called Communist leaders of the CPM emphasize on the evils of imperialism as is symbolized by the USA. They ask the common people not to trust them and to boycott them. But they all send their children to the USA or UK to study and work. For any medical treatment they rush to the USA or UK. The supporters of the CPM, including the Student Federation of India (SFI) leaders, are hypocrites without parallel. They refuse to wear anything but Levis jeans, John Philips shirts and Addidas shoes, and drink only Coke or Pepsi, and vehemently criticize the imperialistic policies of the USA. I have never liked them and I never will.
Before and during the assembly elections, the CPM had vehemently stated that their party did not have armed cadres or harmads, and that it was the Opposition that had all the arms and was creating terror in the countryside. But with their rout in the elections, the truth has poured out. The local populace has come forward to raid CPM offices and their leaders homes and have come up with arms and ammunitions of mammoth proportions. Enough arms, rifles, pistols, revolvers, hand cannons, bombs and live ammunition has been recovered till now from CPM dens that are enough to start and continue a civil war. There is enough evidence that the CPM has been hoarding weapons and there is evidence of their use. Why then is there no legal action being taken against the party? Why can we not try the party at a court of law, because arms have been found from a large number of their offices? Why are we not banning the outfit?
I do not think anyone would be brought to justice. The politicians of all colours are joined at the top. They instigate the party workers to fight the workers of other parties but the leaders themselves have a wonderful understanding and look after each others backs. We have seen so many instances of violence after independence, when political parties have protested against unlawful policies of the central and state governments but in these violence have we seen even a single leader being injured or killed? Rarely. It is only the party workers who die. Their deaths give the politicians a platform to scream and shout and gain personal political advantage and the death of the party workers are soon forgotten.
What will Didi do? She cannot do anything. The Congress, the BJP, the CPI, the CPM, the Trinamul, the DMK, the AIDMK, are all connected at the upper echelons of power. It is only the poor party worker who is misled into believing that a party stands for a principle or ideology. Many even join these parties to gain economic advantage. I do not know whom to blame for this present state of affairs. Should I blame the common people or should I blame the politicians?
Tuesday, 24 May 2011
Monday, 23 May 2011
Osama: The Power Struggle Begins
Osama Bin Laden is dead. The most feared terrorist in the world was killed by US troops in Abbottabad. This elimination of the head of the Al-Qaida has sparked many concerns and many theories have been forwarded by experts on how the world scenario would be like without Osama. Some have foretold that there would be an increase in terrorist attacks in response to the killing of Laden and that the countries of the world should be prepared for that. I see the whole scenario in a different way.
Osama Bin Laden occupied a position of moral, economic, political and ideological authority over terrorist organizations of all shapes and forms. Everyone in that circle aspires for that post but everyone accepted Osama in that position because of his iconic image. Now that he is gone, there is a power vacuum that needs to be filled and there are a number of contenders.
The position gives the person who holds it, enormous power, both economic and political. Thus, there are a number of strong contenders who are ready to go to any length to occupy that position. This post has now been offered to an ex-Egyptian special forces officer. It had been previously stated that Al Zawahiri, an Egyptian doctor, was the most competent for that post. So we see that a rift has already been made in the ranks of the terrorists.
History of Islam and the Caliphate tells us that the Egyptians are very different from the Arabs and are not very comfortable to be under the rule of the Wahabis. The Arabs, by nature believe that the sphere of Islam is their domain and no Muslim of any other ethnicity has the equal right to interpret and govern Islam. It is to be noted here that Egypt was the first region to proclaim a parallel Caliphate and move away from Arab dominated Islam. So, history has created a rift between Egyptians and Arabs.
The coming of an Egyptian to the head of Al Qaida has not gone down well with the rank and file of the terrorist organization. There are many dissidents. The present incumbent at the helm of affairs is trying his best to unite the organization by focusing on the revenge of Osama’s death, but that call for revenge is not being as successful as he had hoped. There seems to be a lack of a concerted effort and most of the leaders are only looking for opportunities to usurp power.
In this state of internecine conflict, the best strategy for the West would be to stay put and not get involved. Troops should be withdrawn from Iraq and Afghanistan as scheduled, and there should be minimal response to terrorist attacks. The least we need now is an external enemy for Al Qaida, which would give them a reason to unite. Now as the organization is on the verge of a power struggle we should help in the struggle by staying out of it. They will destroy themselves from inside.
Osama is dead but he has left a legacy that people are ready to do anything to inherit. The only obstacle in their path is each other and not an external enemy. We should just sit back and watch as the drama unfolds and respond, and not give them a reason to respond.
Osama Bin Laden occupied a position of moral, economic, political and ideological authority over terrorist organizations of all shapes and forms. Everyone in that circle aspires for that post but everyone accepted Osama in that position because of his iconic image. Now that he is gone, there is a power vacuum that needs to be filled and there are a number of contenders.
The position gives the person who holds it, enormous power, both economic and political. Thus, there are a number of strong contenders who are ready to go to any length to occupy that position. This post has now been offered to an ex-Egyptian special forces officer. It had been previously stated that Al Zawahiri, an Egyptian doctor, was the most competent for that post. So we see that a rift has already been made in the ranks of the terrorists.
History of Islam and the Caliphate tells us that the Egyptians are very different from the Arabs and are not very comfortable to be under the rule of the Wahabis. The Arabs, by nature believe that the sphere of Islam is their domain and no Muslim of any other ethnicity has the equal right to interpret and govern Islam. It is to be noted here that Egypt was the first region to proclaim a parallel Caliphate and move away from Arab dominated Islam. So, history has created a rift between Egyptians and Arabs.
The coming of an Egyptian to the head of Al Qaida has not gone down well with the rank and file of the terrorist organization. There are many dissidents. The present incumbent at the helm of affairs is trying his best to unite the organization by focusing on the revenge of Osama’s death, but that call for revenge is not being as successful as he had hoped. There seems to be a lack of a concerted effort and most of the leaders are only looking for opportunities to usurp power.
In this state of internecine conflict, the best strategy for the West would be to stay put and not get involved. Troops should be withdrawn from Iraq and Afghanistan as scheduled, and there should be minimal response to terrorist attacks. The least we need now is an external enemy for Al Qaida, which would give them a reason to unite. Now as the organization is on the verge of a power struggle we should help in the struggle by staying out of it. They will destroy themselves from inside.
Osama is dead but he has left a legacy that people are ready to do anything to inherit. The only obstacle in their path is each other and not an external enemy. We should just sit back and watch as the drama unfolds and respond, and not give them a reason to respond.
Wednesday, 18 May 2011
1943
Not many people of today are familiar with the Bengal Famine of 1943. We do not study it in the standard history text books in school. But this famine, during the Second World War, was a devastating one that took its toll on the people of Bengal. My grandmother was then just a little girl living in Calcutta, but the images from 1943 are still vivid in her memory.
Our house in Calcutta was built in the year 1897 by my ancestors in Ballygunj. It is a double storied and a stout house that almost juts onto the road, or rather I should say that the road was built close to our house. With this layout, the balcony on the first floor has a very strategic location – you can pour water on the heads of people on the road (that is exactly what we do during Holi).
1943 was an important year in the history of Calcutta. Most of the well-to-do Bengalis living in Calcutta had left the city for fear of Japanese bombing but some had stayed behind, including my grandmother’s family. It was also the year of the famine. Thousands of starving people swamped the streets of Calcutta in search for food.
The first memory of 1943 that my grandmother has is of enemy-plane-warning sirens going off at all hours of the day. All the windows had to be covered with paint or cloth or paper so that no light escaped from the houses at night. Vehicles were not allowed to ply with their headlights on and could only use a headlight-shade with the permission of the authorities. She still remembers standing at the balcony and watching the two black plumes of smoke spiraling up from the Calcutta docks after it was bombed by the Japanese.
And then she talks about the famine. She remembers the announcement made by the authorities one early morning requesting people not to throw away the starch after boiling rice as it would be given to the people as food was short. She still remembers the people flocking through the road in front of our house – people wearing nothing but loincloth and with their ribs showing and children with bloated bellies trailing behind. They carried earthen utensils and stood in front of the houses with their utensils outstretched. People poured starch into them and the people fought over it. These starved and half naked people used to stand below our balcony and my great grandmother and my great grandaunt used to pour starch into their bowls from the balcony.
These are the memories that my grandmother has of 1943. These are the memories that still haunt her.
Our house in Calcutta was built in the year 1897 by my ancestors in Ballygunj. It is a double storied and a stout house that almost juts onto the road, or rather I should say that the road was built close to our house. With this layout, the balcony on the first floor has a very strategic location – you can pour water on the heads of people on the road (that is exactly what we do during Holi).
1943 was an important year in the history of Calcutta. Most of the well-to-do Bengalis living in Calcutta had left the city for fear of Japanese bombing but some had stayed behind, including my grandmother’s family. It was also the year of the famine. Thousands of starving people swamped the streets of Calcutta in search for food.
The first memory of 1943 that my grandmother has is of enemy-plane-warning sirens going off at all hours of the day. All the windows had to be covered with paint or cloth or paper so that no light escaped from the houses at night. Vehicles were not allowed to ply with their headlights on and could only use a headlight-shade with the permission of the authorities. She still remembers standing at the balcony and watching the two black plumes of smoke spiraling up from the Calcutta docks after it was bombed by the Japanese.
And then she talks about the famine. She remembers the announcement made by the authorities one early morning requesting people not to throw away the starch after boiling rice as it would be given to the people as food was short. She still remembers the people flocking through the road in front of our house – people wearing nothing but loincloth and with their ribs showing and children with bloated bellies trailing behind. They carried earthen utensils and stood in front of the houses with their utensils outstretched. People poured starch into them and the people fought over it. These starved and half naked people used to stand below our balcony and my great grandmother and my great grandaunt used to pour starch into their bowls from the balcony.
These are the memories that my grandmother has of 1943. These are the memories that still haunt her.
Monday, 16 May 2011
Untouchable: A Scientific But Misused Concept
Everyone today thinks that the whole concept of ‘untouchability’ in the Indian society is an inhuman practice – a practice that arose due to the degeneration of the Vedic system of social hierarchy. The whole issue of ‘untouchability’ has been seen from various angles, like political, historical, economic and social, and has been politicized a lot. But I believe that the whole concept of untouchability had a scientific origin.
During the ancient times in India there was a social stratification based on occupation. This stratification was not very strict and there is no evidence of people being labelled as ‘untouchable’ based on their occupation. That period in time was an era when the reasons for a disease was generally taken to be a result of the wrath of God or a result of impure acts in this or the previous life of the person affected. The concept of bacterial infection was unknown and the remedies of diseases were mostly rituals. Only the remedies and causes of a few disease was known.
The social stratification, based on occupation, during that time led to certain people given the task of maintaining sanitation and disposal of the dead – both animals and humans. These people came in very close contact with disease carrying bacteria. Initially a large number of them may have died, but as time went by, they acquired an immunity to these diseases. The people engaged in other activities never had any major exposure to these disease carrying bacteria due to their occupation and remained vulnerable to these diseases. Over time, it was noticed by all that when other people came in close contact with the people who were in charge of maintaining sanitation and disposing off the dead, generally fell ill. It was also noticed that when there was an epidemic, these people suffered less casualties. The people of that time could not explain this phenomena in any other way apart from seeing it as a divine plan. These people were seen as the cursed people who brought only misery to the others. To stave off disease they cut off all physical contact with these people.
This was a scientific move, one we call today as quarantine. The access to the water sources were also closed to them – also scientific. They refused to even tread the shadow of these people – this was going too far but the people can still be pardoned for this as they had no means of explaining what was going on or what caused it. The children of the ‘untouchable’s also began to be shunned as they lived in the same environment as their parents and other children who came in contact with them fell ill. This concept of untouchability became institutionalised over the ages and has been used and misused and proliferated for political gain.
In today’s world, when we are aware of the causes of diseases caused by close association with maintaining sanitation and disposing off the dead, and we have medicines to cure illnesses that occur from these – it is time we moved ahead. The scientific causes for the creation of an ‘untouchable’ class are no longer as significant as it used to be. It is time we grew up and break out of this misused tradition. But the present political scenario in India will not allow the stigma of ‘untouchability’ attached to so many people to be removed since the proliferation of this concept will lead to a better vote bank than if ‘untouchability’ is removed.
During the ancient times in India there was a social stratification based on occupation. This stratification was not very strict and there is no evidence of people being labelled as ‘untouchable’ based on their occupation. That period in time was an era when the reasons for a disease was generally taken to be a result of the wrath of God or a result of impure acts in this or the previous life of the person affected. The concept of bacterial infection was unknown and the remedies of diseases were mostly rituals. Only the remedies and causes of a few disease was known.
The social stratification, based on occupation, during that time led to certain people given the task of maintaining sanitation and disposal of the dead – both animals and humans. These people came in very close contact with disease carrying bacteria. Initially a large number of them may have died, but as time went by, they acquired an immunity to these diseases. The people engaged in other activities never had any major exposure to these disease carrying bacteria due to their occupation and remained vulnerable to these diseases. Over time, it was noticed by all that when other people came in close contact with the people who were in charge of maintaining sanitation and disposing off the dead, generally fell ill. It was also noticed that when there was an epidemic, these people suffered less casualties. The people of that time could not explain this phenomena in any other way apart from seeing it as a divine plan. These people were seen as the cursed people who brought only misery to the others. To stave off disease they cut off all physical contact with these people.
This was a scientific move, one we call today as quarantine. The access to the water sources were also closed to them – also scientific. They refused to even tread the shadow of these people – this was going too far but the people can still be pardoned for this as they had no means of explaining what was going on or what caused it. The children of the ‘untouchable’s also began to be shunned as they lived in the same environment as their parents and other children who came in contact with them fell ill. This concept of untouchability became institutionalised over the ages and has been used and misused and proliferated for political gain.
In today’s world, when we are aware of the causes of diseases caused by close association with maintaining sanitation and disposing off the dead, and we have medicines to cure illnesses that occur from these – it is time we moved ahead. The scientific causes for the creation of an ‘untouchable’ class are no longer as significant as it used to be. It is time we grew up and break out of this misused tradition. But the present political scenario in India will not allow the stigma of ‘untouchability’ attached to so many people to be removed since the proliferation of this concept will lead to a better vote bank than if ‘untouchability’ is removed.
Saturday, 30 April 2011
Polluting Nuclear Power
With the nuclear fiasco in Japan the world has turned its attention to the pros and cons of using nuclear power. There are great people at the top who are studying the situation, experts in the field of nuclear physics have been studying the use and effects of nuclear power, and they say it is safe and it is an alternative to thermal power stations as they cause less pollution. Absolutely right! Nuclear power plants produce a miniscule fraction of the pollutants that a thermal power plant produces. But does that necessarily mean that the whole process of producing nuclear energy pollutes the environment any less than what a power plant using fossil fuel does? NO! NEVER!
Thermal power plants: they generally use coal, which produces a lot of smoke – it definitely pollutes the environment. Then there is coal mining and its transportation and the dumping of the waste. All this does not cost much but it does pollute. Now look at the nuclear power stations: we can see no blake smoke plummeting out of chimneys. We say – hey, look, there is no smoke… this definitely does not pollute! Yes, there is no smoke at the power station, but there is a lot of smoke everywhere else.
Fuel needed to run a nuclear power station is not commonly found and is not as abundant as fossil fuels. Their mining and extraction requires the use of a lot of machinery, much more than coal mining, and these minerals are then processed and readied for commercial use. The whole process requires the use of a massive amount of machinery that pollutes much more than what coal mining and transportation does. Then where is the edge that scientists and politicians are saying there is when they are touting nuclear power as less polluting? I see nothing special, only added problems.
Thermal power generation is much cheaper than producing nuclear power and it is safe. The mining and extraction of nuclear fuel is very expensive, much more expensive than coal, and then there is the added cost of transportation – as a lot of security is involved in the process, trying to protect it from falling into the wrong hands. Added to all this, the equipment used in a nuclear power plant is far more expensive than the ones used in a thermal power plant. And then there is the added expense on air-tight security at a nuclear power plant.
I fail to understand the use or the need of nuclear power stations when they do not contribute any less to pollution and are astronomically expensive to run – I leave aside the effects in the case of a catastrophe. A wrecked thermal power plant requires far less expenditure and is far more environment friendly than a wrecked nuclear power station. We could use the astronomical sum to research and develop renewable sources of energy like tapping solar energy at the Stratosphere level. Can someone please tell me what the big deal is with nuclear power, other than making a handful of people multi-billionaires?
Thermal power plants: they generally use coal, which produces a lot of smoke – it definitely pollutes the environment. Then there is coal mining and its transportation and the dumping of the waste. All this does not cost much but it does pollute. Now look at the nuclear power stations: we can see no blake smoke plummeting out of chimneys. We say – hey, look, there is no smoke… this definitely does not pollute! Yes, there is no smoke at the power station, but there is a lot of smoke everywhere else.
Fuel needed to run a nuclear power station is not commonly found and is not as abundant as fossil fuels. Their mining and extraction requires the use of a lot of machinery, much more than coal mining, and these minerals are then processed and readied for commercial use. The whole process requires the use of a massive amount of machinery that pollutes much more than what coal mining and transportation does. Then where is the edge that scientists and politicians are saying there is when they are touting nuclear power as less polluting? I see nothing special, only added problems.
Thermal power generation is much cheaper than producing nuclear power and it is safe. The mining and extraction of nuclear fuel is very expensive, much more expensive than coal, and then there is the added cost of transportation – as a lot of security is involved in the process, trying to protect it from falling into the wrong hands. Added to all this, the equipment used in a nuclear power plant is far more expensive than the ones used in a thermal power plant. And then there is the added expense on air-tight security at a nuclear power plant.
I fail to understand the use or the need of nuclear power stations when they do not contribute any less to pollution and are astronomically expensive to run – I leave aside the effects in the case of a catastrophe. A wrecked thermal power plant requires far less expenditure and is far more environment friendly than a wrecked nuclear power station. We could use the astronomical sum to research and develop renewable sources of energy like tapping solar energy at the Stratosphere level. Can someone please tell me what the big deal is with nuclear power, other than making a handful of people multi-billionaires?
Saturday, 16 April 2011
Kashmir Enroute
Kashmir has been at the center of controversy and debate ever since partition. Terrorism, militancy, separatism has been some of the issues associated with it. A large number of commissions and committees have been formed to try and solve the problems associated with the picturesque landscape. But none till now have come up with any plausible solution to bring peace to the lands of Kashmir. The only way forward seems to be the way shown by the Kashmiris themselves in the recent election in the state.
The various separatist leaders of Kashmir had been urging the Kashmiris to boycott the panchayati raj election of this year. They accuse the Government of India of corruption and intent to loot Kashmir. The believe and propagate the belief that the present situation in Kashmir can be attributed to the treatment meted out to Kashmir by the Indian government. They want Kashmir to be a sovereign country. So this time, when the elections came, they asked the local populace, rather threatened them to abstain from voting. But it so happened that the people of Kashmir did not seem to share their opinion and went all-out to vote. It was a massive turnout.
It seems to me that in consonance with the present mood of common people all over the world, the Kashmiris have taken matters into their own hands. They have had enough of the fightings and accusations and want to build their own lives now. They have lost enough Kashmiri lives to this mindless game of politics.
This election shows that the Kashmiris have finally rested their hopes on the working of the democracy that India promises. Instead of depending on the dubious MPs and MLAs to take care of them they have taken charge of their own fates by depending on the Panchayats, the local government, to take care of their needs. After all, who will understand their needs better than they themselves. They have been supported in their efforts by the chief minister, Mr Omar Abdullah’s faith in Panchayati Raj. This devolution of power to the grass-roots had decreased the incidence of militancy in a marked way.
Militancy was able to strengthen its roots among the people as a means to solve their problem. But instead of solving them, militancy has increased the problems faced by the local people and only helped the aspirations of a select few. Panchayati Raj and democracy seem to be the only way out of their problems, and a very good one I must say. If the Panchayati Raj system works, then militancy can say farewell to Kashmir. I am not saying that there will not be militants. There will still be militants among the people of Kashmir but they would find it very difficult to garner support for their cause and work freely.
The cynics may say that there are a large number of examples of panchayats diverting democracy to the material welfare of a select few and the corruption that is prevalent. With due respect to their concern I would like to point out that there is much higher concentration of corruption in the upper echelons of power than in the lower strata. Kashmir deserves a chance and they have earned it by electing to vote despite threats. It is my belief that these people will be able to use democracy to bring peace and prosperity to Kashmir. You may say that my belief is a bit utopian but you will have to agree that in the present scenario it is possible – very possible. Instead of harping on the what-ifs of the upcoming election in West Bengal, we should pay more attention to what has happened in Kashmir and learn our lessons from it.
The various separatist leaders of Kashmir had been urging the Kashmiris to boycott the panchayati raj election of this year. They accuse the Government of India of corruption and intent to loot Kashmir. The believe and propagate the belief that the present situation in Kashmir can be attributed to the treatment meted out to Kashmir by the Indian government. They want Kashmir to be a sovereign country. So this time, when the elections came, they asked the local populace, rather threatened them to abstain from voting. But it so happened that the people of Kashmir did not seem to share their opinion and went all-out to vote. It was a massive turnout.
It seems to me that in consonance with the present mood of common people all over the world, the Kashmiris have taken matters into their own hands. They have had enough of the fightings and accusations and want to build their own lives now. They have lost enough Kashmiri lives to this mindless game of politics.
This election shows that the Kashmiris have finally rested their hopes on the working of the democracy that India promises. Instead of depending on the dubious MPs and MLAs to take care of them they have taken charge of their own fates by depending on the Panchayats, the local government, to take care of their needs. After all, who will understand their needs better than they themselves. They have been supported in their efforts by the chief minister, Mr Omar Abdullah’s faith in Panchayati Raj. This devolution of power to the grass-roots had decreased the incidence of militancy in a marked way.
Militancy was able to strengthen its roots among the people as a means to solve their problem. But instead of solving them, militancy has increased the problems faced by the local people and only helped the aspirations of a select few. Panchayati Raj and democracy seem to be the only way out of their problems, and a very good one I must say. If the Panchayati Raj system works, then militancy can say farewell to Kashmir. I am not saying that there will not be militants. There will still be militants among the people of Kashmir but they would find it very difficult to garner support for their cause and work freely.
The cynics may say that there are a large number of examples of panchayats diverting democracy to the material welfare of a select few and the corruption that is prevalent. With due respect to their concern I would like to point out that there is much higher concentration of corruption in the upper echelons of power than in the lower strata. Kashmir deserves a chance and they have earned it by electing to vote despite threats. It is my belief that these people will be able to use democracy to bring peace and prosperity to Kashmir. You may say that my belief is a bit utopian but you will have to agree that in the present scenario it is possible – very possible. Instead of harping on the what-ifs of the upcoming election in West Bengal, we should pay more attention to what has happened in Kashmir and learn our lessons from it.
Tuesday, 12 April 2011
Growing Up
People always ask us to grow up. Don’t be a child they say. But what do they mean when they ask us to grow up? I have tried to fathom this question several times and I have always failed to get a satisfactory answer. I am tall and big now, is this not growing up? Not exactly. People expect us to act all grown up and this concept of growing up also varies from person to person.
My very close friend once asked me when I will grow up. I said tomorrow. Well, you can guess the effect this answer had. Growing up to many means to act like adults. You are now free to do anything you like. You are expected to be suave, polished, be politically correct, behave in a particular manner and even talk in a particular manner. When I told my friends that I neither smoked nor drank, they asked me to grow up. When I ran out into the pouring rain in Delhi without an umbrella and splashed around in the puddle, they asked me to grow up. When I went to the market in my pajamas, they asked me to grow up. When I begged the girl whom I loved to stay, they asked me to grow up. When I watched Tom & Jerry Show, they asked me to grow up.
Now, if I listen to my friends and decide to do what they say and grow up, I shall have to drink and smoke, stay dry while it is raining in Delhi (which is rarely), always dress up when going out, be emotionless and stop watching cartoon and having a good laugh. If I do all this I shall be grown up according to my friends. But if I do all this I will not be able to recognize myself. I shall be doing my best to become someone else and stop being myself. I am not a kid. I know what is proper and improper. I shall obviously not be nagging and try being a kid. I am just being myself which others do not seem to like. Everyone wants others to be like them. I love to be with people who love cartoons, chocolates, and love to be creative and original. Why should I be like everyone else.
Growing up, to me, means to be mature – mature in your outlook towards life and society, mature in your thoughts and actions, and mature enough to handle your own problems. Whether you love to watch Pokemon or Pingu or you are crazy about ice-cream, really does not matter. It is these idiosyncrasies in us that make us unique and individual. If we always try to be what others want us to be, we will never be ourselves, in the process losing our individuality and creativity.
Grow up, I say, but do not give up what you love to do. Grow up, I say, by looking at the world around you and appreciating it for what it is. Grow up, I say, by maintaining your integrity and following your dreams. People who ask us to grow up and be like them have long stopped being individuals, stopped being human and stopped being interesting. Grow up, I say, in your thinking and outlook but remain a child in your heart and soul. Only then will you live for the joy of living.
My very close friend once asked me when I will grow up. I said tomorrow. Well, you can guess the effect this answer had. Growing up to many means to act like adults. You are now free to do anything you like. You are expected to be suave, polished, be politically correct, behave in a particular manner and even talk in a particular manner. When I told my friends that I neither smoked nor drank, they asked me to grow up. When I ran out into the pouring rain in Delhi without an umbrella and splashed around in the puddle, they asked me to grow up. When I went to the market in my pajamas, they asked me to grow up. When I begged the girl whom I loved to stay, they asked me to grow up. When I watched Tom & Jerry Show, they asked me to grow up.
Now, if I listen to my friends and decide to do what they say and grow up, I shall have to drink and smoke, stay dry while it is raining in Delhi (which is rarely), always dress up when going out, be emotionless and stop watching cartoon and having a good laugh. If I do all this I shall be grown up according to my friends. But if I do all this I will not be able to recognize myself. I shall be doing my best to become someone else and stop being myself. I am not a kid. I know what is proper and improper. I shall obviously not be nagging and try being a kid. I am just being myself which others do not seem to like. Everyone wants others to be like them. I love to be with people who love cartoons, chocolates, and love to be creative and original. Why should I be like everyone else.
Growing up, to me, means to be mature – mature in your outlook towards life and society, mature in your thoughts and actions, and mature enough to handle your own problems. Whether you love to watch Pokemon or Pingu or you are crazy about ice-cream, really does not matter. It is these idiosyncrasies in us that make us unique and individual. If we always try to be what others want us to be, we will never be ourselves, in the process losing our individuality and creativity.
Grow up, I say, but do not give up what you love to do. Grow up, I say, by looking at the world around you and appreciating it for what it is. Grow up, I say, by maintaining your integrity and following your dreams. People who ask us to grow up and be like them have long stopped being individuals, stopped being human and stopped being interesting. Grow up, I say, in your thinking and outlook but remain a child in your heart and soul. Only then will you live for the joy of living.
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