The Futility of it All

"We are fated to pretend" - MGMT
There is a monotony to life which was encapsulated well by an older man I once spoke to; he said, "Everyone lives like that, why does he think he can live differently."
As one grows older, and I have seen it with a few people, one tends to accept the flow of life and the fact that the ambitions and freedom of a younger age are momentary.
Too many people succumb and hopefully I (and you) don't look back with disgust at this post. Fighting is important and fighting the norm is crucial, it's what makes life - for humans, at least.
'Recreation' has an odd place in Indian diction; outings are social events and social events are largely mandatory.
There is a strong global movement of people going back to themselves and nature, to independence and solitude, to self-actualization and respite from the race - the race that has eaten the very essence of our desire to live.
The futility is in the pursuit of that extra unit of currency. It is a topic I think of ceaselessly and speak of continually. At the expense of hoarding more space on the internet I will say that making a living is essential but forgetting to live is sacrilege.
Earning a living becomes a habit and people refuse to look back or look away or step back to get a better view - the same society, the same neighbourhood, the same commute and yet people get by. Why? Because getting by is what everyone, and I mean everyone, does.

Some of my friends have lambasted my thoughts and/ or my actions for being outrageous or naive or privileged. Many believe that I am a 'wannabe' - with a negative connotation. But I am a wannabe with a whatever connotation. I want to be closer to nature, I want to experience a few of nature's showcases, I want to meet new people and I want to breathe some fresh air, I want to go for Oktoberfest in September of 2011 and I will find a way to go there.

I was writing yesterday, it's something I love; I wrote of limiting restrictions. I hate being answerable to a boss and may be that is a very Gujarati trait in me... I hope that I don't fall for a girl who is ever going to truly doubt my sincerity or restrict my simple desires for travel - that is a massive expectation. So I'm going to be single till I am 47 years old. Alas. Not something I want, which is why I will change my behaviour and limit my eccentricities.

This is an example of letting go of something glorious for something more glorious.
Somewhere, people have it all down in a weird way... "I will take 2-day break from office even though my boss hates it and I will go to Lonavala!!! There, I will eat at Smokin' Joes." Exaggeration - yes. Is it alright to be afraid of being frowned upon and ridiculed for being too carefree with life? Yes. Only because we live in a country where people are aggressive about attaining things - the competition is so fierce that one has to continually outperform. It's a miracle that the IT related jobs came to India, otherwise the pay scales used to be hilarious (They still are I should say).
People don't realise it often but they work for a pittance even though companies can afford something more wholesome for their employees. But people are commodities in India and hence, are not valued. It's something, I believe, that will never change.

So, do we accept this sitting down? We don't have much of a choice do we? Leaving the country is daunting - O with all the burden of family and marriage and Indian food and Indian customs.

My request to all the deadening souls out there - spend a little of what you are earning on something that will last you well. My friend exclaimed the other day, "What fool spends 15 Lac Rupees on a car??!!! - that's insane." And I thought, "Yes, it is. And that same person will think twice about buying a plane ticket to Goa for the weekend. That same person will be outraged at a proposition of spending Rs 50,000 for a vacation."
That is the sad reality of Indian behaviour. It's sad because there is a melancholic monotony to our lives.

For all its evils, I love India and I love what Indians are capable of enduring and creating. I hate the culture that values rote-learning and discipline. I hate the system that encourages paperwork and long lines. I hate the apathy that people have towards things more than 5 minutes away from them - I belong to this club.

I might have to endure terrible pain in the very near future - I might be diagnosed with cancer or suffer from a life-changing injury. I might become a pauper or I might lose my sight. I might have to suffer the loss of people close to me and may be this world ends in 2012. I might suffer from bronchitis or my liver might fail (I won't be able to have wine, bourbon or wheat beer then :( ). Is it wrong for me to want a little adventure and dream just a little? If it's not wrong for me then it isn't wrong for you.
Yes there are restrictions. But please put your foot down and find your spine. Rebellion is glorious. Pain is cruel. Rebel before you succumb.

The Tree of Life

Simple statements can influence us. I was watching the trailer of 'The Tree of Life' - a movie which looks promising. Towards the end of the trailer a voice says, "Unless you love, your life will flash by."

Think about it and kindly act on it.

The Simple things

I have written in the past about this on my other blog (Khadda) but may be it makes sense for me to write them separately.
I was watching Boston Legal today - a very smart series revolving around legal practices. Today's episode, from the second season, spoke of a woman suing a video game firm because her child died while playing it. The boy had been playing it for 36 hours straight without rest, food, etc. and suffered a heart attack by the end of it. The game was known to increase dopamine levels - dopamine is associated with pleasure and addiction. The mother had been working 2 jobs daily to make 'ends meet' and hence could be said to have been neglecting her child.

The simple things:
A young child is at home playing a 'game' on a television. The game revolved around being born as a ghost, getting through hell and finding his soul just to be alive.
The alternate reality that a lot of us are living right now is appalling.

We have facebook and online poker and 'farmville' games, alternate personas, computer games, a hectic work life... where did we disappear?

The mother in the above story seems to have barely had a social or family life. Why?
Capitalism has changed the way we are living and it is difficult to question the way we live...
Do we question why we are making money or why we have fake friends or why we give so much importance to useless people or why we choose emotional servitude over independence?

The simple things have been forgotten.

Why are we?

The title is not incomplete, rather, it's perfect. This blog is an ambitious attempt at filling the voids that we autonomously decide to overlook.