In My View

My morning had started off confidently. Yet here I am, sitting on a bench in the local police station, brooding about things that have happened until now and those to come. I am waiting for the inspector to come and decide the next steps. It’s not like I have the choice to leave if I wanted to; I’ve been detained here. My cheeks still burned from the policeman’s hard slap. Things weren’t supposed to be like this. I was the one who wanted to file a police complaint. Instead, I ended up being the one against whom the complaint has been filed. And that too by people I’ve never seen before in my life...well, at least not until an hour ago. To know what really happened, let’s rewind my life by a couple of days.
I saw them while closing the gates after parking the car. They were sitting near the opposite house’s gate and looking at me with those innocent eyes that could melt your heart. Two cute fur babies - a white puppy and a brown one. I instantly fell in love with them. They mustn’t have been more than two months old. Siblings, most definitely. They must have come from somewhere else because I knew for a fact that the dogs in my street were already sterilized. I looked around for the mother but couldn’t find her. Mothers usually don’t leave their young ones alone for very long. So, were they orphaned? Well, I couldn’t come to that conclusion yet. I knew a little about dogs because I have one myself. My boy is three years old. 
I went over and picked up the puppies gently. A brother and a sister. Cute. I checked them out and they looked neat and healthy. Good for them. The little guy bit my hand with his razor-sharp teeth. The girl remained quiet and nuzzled against my chest as I carried them to my house. I placed them gently on the ground inside my gates. I quickly went into the house to get some milk for them. When I returned, I saw that they were already back at the opposite gate. They were small enough to fit through the grills in my gate. And for some reason, they liked their current spot. Maybe they felt safe there. 
I once again went over and placed the bowls in front of them. They drank the milk to their heart’s content. I knew bringing them into my gates would be futile because they would get out anyway. And I couldn’t bring them into the house because I didn’t know how my boy would react to it. Even if I could, I wouldn’t bring them into the house, in case the mother came looking for them in the street. I decided to take the puppies to my vet and leave them under his care if the mother didn’t come by tomorrow or the day after. I would then put them up for adoption. With this decision, I left them where they were and went into the house. 
I was busy with work for the rest of the day. In the evening, I came out to the gates and saw them sitting on the platform at the street corner. I whistled to them. They saw me and came running. Puppies run in a clumsy way. You cannot help but laugh at them. I gave them a good belly rub which they enjoyed immensely. The little boy once again started to bite my fingers. I went back to the house and returned with some powdered dog food mixed with rice. They ate a little and then started playing. I left the food there so that they could eat it later if they wanted.
The next morning and the evening too went on in this manner. The mother had still not come looking for them. I had watched out for her from time to time, all day long. So I concluded that they were orphans. I called the vet and he asked me to come the next morning. Just one more night on the street for the babies. I thought they would be safe anyway as it was a dead-end and there was no vehicle traffic excepting those of residents. How wrong I was in my thinking!
The clock had just struck 7 pm. I sat on the sofa enjoying a cup of hot tea when my dog started barking. Just then someone opened the gate. From the window, I saw that it was someone from the neighbourhood. I had seen the person walk by often but had never spoken to him. He was now looking at something inside my house. I quickly realized he was looking at one of my CCTV cameras at the front. I went outside. On seeing me he gave a half-hearted smile. Before I could ask him anything I noticed a few people standing around something in the background. I felt a knot form in the pit of my stomach as I ran over to them.
The puppies lay in a pool of blood. One of them was badly mutilated, with intestines spilling out. Both of them were dead on the spot. I let out an unearthly cry looking at the sight in front of me. Who had done this horrific deed? Were they run over by a vehicle? Or did someone beat them to death? Triggered with agony, rage and gloom, I shouted at the group of people asking them if they knew who did it. Tears ran freely down my cheek. The resident who had been looking at my cameras answered from behind.
“We didn’t see who it was. I saw the bodies when I stepped out for a walk and called the others”
“But someone must have seen something”
“Maybe, but we cannot go around knocking on doors to find out”
“How insensitive of you to say this!”
“I am only saying how it is, sir. Okay, fine, you can suggest what to do”
Then it struck me. Cameras! The man was looking at it. Why didn’t I think of it earlier? My anger and sadness had hindered my thinking. I ran into the house to check the footage. There was only one camera focused in the direction where the puppies now lay. 
The low-angle shot showed the puppies playing by the side of the road. I was overcome with sadness and guilt. I should have taken them in when I had the chance. As the puppies ran around, they were momentarily blocked from view by a signboard on my gate. At the same time, a car turned the corner rashly and drove into the opposite street. I couldn’t see the license plate but it was a dead-end. So the car should still be there. I couldn’t see the puppies anymore as the signboard blocked my view. So this has to be it. The car had run over the puppies, killing them instantly.
I went outside the house and headed into the opposite street. People were still standing around, looking at the bodies like a museum exhibit. I overheard one of them say it was good riddance as the puppies had urinated in front of her gate the previous evening. Seriously! Has humanity come to this? Their bodies were still warm and all you can say is this! I couldn’t look at the bodies; didn’t have the heart or the stomach for it. The resident who had spoken earlier asked me if the footage showed anything. I didn’t answer him and just shook my head indicating No. Why should I tell him anything? I didn’t know him. For all I know, he could be friends with the guy who ran over the puppies. I rushed past him and reached the car that was standing outside a house. The engine was still warm. I checked the wheels and underbody but couldn’t find any blood on them. Anyway, it was dark and I couldn’t see properly. In my hurry, I had missed carrying my mobile phone with me; I could have used the torch in it. However, I was sure it was the car. I looked up to see a lady come to the gate.
“Yes, what do you want?”
“Does this car belong to you?”
“Yes. Why?”
“Please call your husband.”
“He has gone out. Why? What is the matter?”
“I need to talk to him. Did he just drive back home?”
“Yes. But why?”
“The rascal killed two innocent puppies. I need to talk to him.”
“Mind your words. You are mistaken. He wouldn’t do such a thing. Will you please leave?”
As she said this, the resident came over. The lady looked at me.
“Here’s my husband. You can ask him yourself.”
Then she turned to her husband.
“This man says you killed two puppies by running them over with our car.”
The resident responded.
“What nonsense! I did no such thing. Hey Mister, we are a decent family. Don’t create a scene here. Do you have a proof for what you accuse me of?”
I was startled by the man’s audacity. It was him! And he had come to my house like an innocent neighbour only to check if the CCTV had recorded anything. I was now so pissed off.
“The CCTV footage will prove that it is you. You wait and see, you rascal. See what I do.”
“Do what you want. Mind your words and get out of here. Otherwise, I will call the police.”
“You will call the police!!! You just wait. I am going to call them myself to take action on you for what you did.”
I left the place with seething anger and didn’t wait to hear his response. 
Though I had put up a confident and brave face in front of him, I was not sure if the police would take me seriously. It was an accident involving stray puppies. Would they consider it a punishable offence? Moreover, I was not very confident about the CCTV footage either. It was dark outside when the incident had happened. Moreover, the view was blocked by the signboard. So I was not sure if the footage was good enough as evidence even if I managed to file an FIR. But someone had to stand up for the puppies. They can’t just be blown out like a candle, can they? I decided I would give it my best shot.
Their bodies still lay on the road. There was no one around except a guy on the phone who stood just fifteen feet away. To him, the bodies weren’t even there. I took a few photos of the bodies in case the police needed it. Left to the people of the street, they would just leave the bodies there for the garbage man to pick up the next morning. I went back home, wore a pair of latex gloves and returned with a couple of cloth bags and a shovel. I looked at the torn bodies of the babies. Once again, I was overcome with emotion. I could still feel the little fellow biting my hand, and the little girl nuzzling against my chest. They died without even a name; without ever knowing that some humans could still love them from the heart with all they have got. They were orphans but stuck together even in death. Maybe they are now happy somewhere; reunited with their mother. I gently picked up the bodies one last time, placed them into the cloth bags and returned home. I buried them in the garden and placed a stone marking their graves. Sleep well, my little babies.
I came back into the house and looked at the footage again. Where did the signboard come from? I had not affixed any board to the gate. I didn’t recall seeing it that morning either. I once again stepped outside to check it out. The board read ‘A2Z Mobiles’. It was an advertisement board from a mobile shop. And at the very bottom, after giving all their details in large-sized letters, the words “No Parking” were painted in very small letters. These guys were using my personal property for their advertisement. And the consequence of it was that an incident was blocked from view when I needed it to strengthen my case. Such irresponsible people! What right did they have to do this? I decided to pay them a visit the next morning.
At 11 AM the next morning, I was at A2Z Mobiles. It was just a couple of streets away from my house. I asked for the owner of the shop. A man stepped forward.
“Yes Sir, how can I help? Are you looking for a mobile? We are having a wide range of mobiles for you to choose from.”
“Did you fix your advertisement boards on house gates in K-Block yesterday?”
“Could be, Sir. We covered many houses yesterday. Did you see our ad and come here? If so, we are having special discounts for such customers.”
“I didn’t come here for your mobile. How dare you use my property for your ad? Because of you, my CCTV camera view was blocked and an important incident could not be captured properly. I can report you to the police for this.”
The man was not bothered at all. In fact, his tone changed totally.
“Hey, if you don’t want the board, just remove it and throw it away. Don’t waste my time giving empty threats. Now don’t bother me during business hours. Get lost.”
“How dare you talk to me like this.”
In my anger, I gave the man a tight slap, and in the same flow picked up a mobile phone lying on the counter and flung it at the opposite wall. It shattered to pieces and fell to the floor. After venting out, I got back to my senses. But it was too late. The damage was already done. The man had already called the police and was talking to them.
So here I am, sitting on a bench in the police station. I don’t know what will happen next. But I am going to fight it out, tooth and nail. And when this is over, I am going to fight for the puppies too, come what may.

The Sentimentalist

 What would a cold dry wind know about a warm sentimental T-shirt. If it did, it wouldn’t have blown my shirt off the terrace into the neighbour’s house. I stood on my terrace looking down at my shirt, crumpled up and lying by the sidewall of the house. I admit that the shirt is quite old and riddled with holes. I’ve even patched it up in a few places. But I am still holding on to it with all my heart. I wear the shirt only inside the house so that no one could see me in it, other than my mom of course. My father gifted it for one of my birthdays a few years ago. And he is not around for my next birthday. So yeah, I will keep the shirt. Period.

I have to retrieve the shirt before my neighbours see it. They’ll take one look at the shirt and judge me based on it. They wouldn’t understand my reasons. According to them, I am an upper-middle-class guy working in the software industry, earning a handsome salary and buying branded stuff. And uncle Rajan, my neighbour, has always been comparing me with his son Nakul, who is my age. Nakul is into software too. Uncle Rajan likes to brag about how well Nakul is doing in his work, the frequent onsite trips he makes, the costly stuff he buys and so on. If he sees the shirt, that would damage the image I’ve built for myself in this competition.

Anyway, there is no reason to worry. I will just go in and get the shirt. It will be an easy surgical strike. Well, that’s what I thought until I saw Peanut walk into view. Peanut was uncle’s dog and he was nothing like his name. He was a big, fully-grown Rottweiller. I’ve always wondered why they named him Peanut. In fact, I think he hates them for it and is just looking for an opportunity to have his revenge. He was not on a leash today and was roaming around freely. Why was he not on a leash? He was usually kept inside the house or tied to the window’s iron grill outside. Peanut and I don’t have a good history together. In the past, he has made a few attempts to bite off a piece of my backside. So, how was I ever going to get inside the house and retrieve my shirt?

My mind went blank. I didn’t want to ask my neighbour for the shirt. But I wanted it back so badly. It looked like I had no other choice. I dialled uncle Rajan’s number and heard his mobile ringtone. After a few rings, I heard his voice.

“Yes Sundar, tell pa”, he said.

“Nothing uncle, just wanted to know if you are home”, I answered.

“No pa, I am outside. Why...anything important?”, he questioned.

“Nothing important, uncle. Actually, my shirt has fallen into your house. I thought I will come in and take it. But then I saw that Peanut is not leashed. So, I wanted to ask you for the shirt.”, I said, imagining that I would soon become a laughing stock for his family.

But uncle said, “Oh, but I will be back only in the evening pa. All of us are in Kancheepuram now. We will be back by 4 PM. I can give you the shirt then.”

“Ok uncle, no problem. I will wait until you get back”, I said.

“Don’t worry. You must have many new shirts with you to bother about this one. See you in the evening”, uncle laughed at his own poor joke before hanging up the phone.

It was only 11 AM. So, uncle wouldn’t be back for another five hours. I guess I didn’t have any other choice but wait for him; wait for him to come back and make fun of me.  For now, I could imagine and cringe about it for the next five hours. Damn dog! It was making things difficult for me. As I stood cursing Peanut, I saw him walk over to the shirt and sniff at it. He then grabbed the shirt tightly with his teeth and shook it violently. Was he playing with it? He knew my smell and I guess he caught my scent in the shirt. I don’t think he was playing. He was going to rip my shirt to shreds. He couldn’t do it to me, so he was going to get his revenge by destroying my shirt. I caught myself imagining stuff and stopped the line of thinking. I had to do something to save the shirt.

As he kept shaking his head vigorously, he lost his grip of the shirt. The shirt flew a few feet and landed in the bushes by the side of the building. This was my moment. I whistled at Peanut from the terrace. He looked up immediately. The moment he saw me, he started barking madly. How much he must love me.

Okay, now I got his attention away from the shirt. But it won’t be for long. And I can’t retrieve the shirt if I am going to just stand on the terrace and hold his attention. I had to get down there and do something. He shouldn’t rip the shirt by then. Momentarily there was a sound from the front side of my neighbour’s house and Peanut dashed to the front gate. It was the postman. Peanut now stood at the gate and kept barking at the postman. That was good. I could work out a plan now. Maybe I could jump the wall and retrieve the shirt. But it was still too close to the front gate. I needed Peanut on the other side of the house. But how could I get him there? The moment he sees me, he is going to bark and keep all his attention on me. I need to cause a diversion without him seeing me.

I went downstairs and cautiously approached the boundary wall of my house. Peanut was still at the front gate and barking furiously at nothing now, as dogs always do. As I contemplated my next steps, my eyes fell on the coconuts stacked up against the wall at the back of my house. I knew what I had to do. But it would need an awful lot of timing though. I quietly tiptoed to the backside of my house and picked up a coconut. From my vantage point, I could see the boundary wall on the other side of uncle’s house. I flung the coconut into the house. It landed on the ground with a loud thud and rolled to a stop against the boundary wall.

The effect was instantaneous. I heard an angry bark from Peanut. But I didn’t wait to see him run to the back of the house. I was already running to the front side of my house. From what I know about dogs, they have an excellent sense of direction. I was banking on the hope that Peanut would rush to the source of the sound, following the direction from which the sound came, which was the other side of the house. I was right. I heard him running on the other side. I didn’t have a moment to lose. In one swinging motion, I jumped the boundary wall into the house. I went to the bushes and quickly retrieved my shirt. As I turned to jump the boundary wall again, I saw Peanut turn the corner. He stopped on his tracks when he saw me. He bared his teeth and gave a low growl. Then he rushed at me at full speed. I stood petrified. He only had to cover a 20-feet distance. 

I regained my senses, and with adrenaline pumping, I jumped the boundary wall into my house. But as I landed on my feet, I felt a sharp pain in my arm as it was twisted behind my back. I turned around to see Peanut gripping the shirt with his bared teeth. He must have caught it as I jumped. He stood on two legs, balancing himself on the boundary wall. He pulled at the shirt violently. I tugged at the shirt at my end with all my strength. Instantly, Peanut let go of the shirt. I lost my balance and fell down. I thought he was preparing to jump the boundary wall to attack me. Scared out of my wits, I slowly got up only to see him back at the front gate. He now started barking at a cat on the road. That’s the thing about dogs. One moment, you are holding all their attention. And the next moment, you are not even there.

I came back indoors before I checked the shirt. I was dismayed by what I saw. The shirt was totally ripped where Peanut had grabbed it with his teeth. It cannot be worn anymore. My precious shirt was gone. And to think that I had also lost a coconut in my efforts to retrieve it. Such a loss. 

When I reflected upon it, I realized that I had gained something from the experience too. I conquered my fears today; my fear of Peanut; my fear of getting hurt; my fear of losing something precious. I saved my father’s most precious gift to me, myself, from getting ripped instead of the shirt.

The shirt was just a symbol of the sentiments I was holding on to tightly. I didn’t need it anymore. Smiling at my own realization, I went back to the boundary wall. I threw the shirt into uncle’s house. Then, I whistled. Peanut came back running and barked at me. The next instant he saw the shirt, sniffed and grabbed it once again with his teeth. He started playing with it vehemently. In his enthusiasm, he even forgot that I was still there, just a few feet away from him. 

I felt a strange sense of contentment seeing him play with the shirt. He was only a child. Who knows, maybe Peanut and I would get to become good friends eventually. But definitely not today. I came back indoors. I didn’t have to worry about my image anymore. When uncle sees the shirt, he is going to think that Peanut ripped it to shreds. He is even going to apologize for it. He is never going to know that I wore them with holes and patches in it. He is never going to know that I had jumped the boundary wall and stepped into his house. He is never going to know about how I escaped from Peanut. My image and my backside are intact. It was all that mattered to me. I don’t know what he was going to make of the coconut though.  

Should Schools Sell Fast Food?

 

Impact of Fast Food

In today’s fast paced world, where people are looking for quicker, tastier and cheaper meals that they can buy and eat on the go, fast foods have found a definite place on the menus. Burgers, french fries and pizzas are relished by adults and children alike. Companies selling them reap profits with some of them setting up a chain of brand stores at strategic points to lure customers. In fact, fast foods have found their way into school lunch menus as well. However, fast foods can have adverse health effects due to the cheaper ingredients using which they are prepared. So we can imagine the impact they would have on the health of children who would consume them without restraint if they are sold in schools.

Health Effects of Fast Food

People choose fast food over regular food because they are cheaper, quicker to get and tastier to eat. However, what they may not realize is that fast foods are prepared with cheaper components such as high fat meat, processed grains, hydrogenated oils, etc. Such foods are high on sodium, trans fat, cholesterol, and saturated fat which cause adverse health effects if consumed for a prolonged period of time. According to medical experts, fast foods are one of the major contributing factors of obesity, high blood sugar, high blood pressure and even cancer. In fact, as of 2016, unhealthy food choices have been a cause of more than 500,000 deaths in the U.S (Despres, 2018).

Why Are Schools Selling Fast Food

Schools have various reasons to resort to selling fast foods. Firstly, in a brand conscious world, even schools have to bring in big brand name to keep their cafeterias running. Having a McDonald’s burger in their menu boosts the sales compared to homemade food items. Secondly, it reduces the overheads such as labor costs associated with preparing homemade meals (Lehmann, 2013). Lastly, with the overhead costs reduced, they are sold at cheaper prices that are affordable to students from low-income families. In a fast world where both parents are employed, parents too find it difficult to prepare lunch at home for the children so as to prevent them from having food at the school cafeterias.

Nutritional Alternatives

From their side, food joints and brand names have also started coming up with healthier varieties of fast food. The salads offered by McDonald’s and the healthy yet tasty sandwiches at Subway are good examples of fast yet healthy food. Fast foods now come with low calorie options such as low-fat milk, low-fat cheese, etc. There are a lot vegetables and fruits available as options for the toppings in sandwiches and pizzas. Foods that have a low carbohydrate and high protein content are also available. Such foods can be healthier and tastier alternatives available to children in schools. Schools, while continuing to offer fast foods on their menus, should move to healthier options. This would benefit the children and the schools alike.

To help people with making informed nutritional choices, the FDA (Federal Food and Drug Administration) has necessitated certain labeling conventions for fast food restaurants. It is mandatory for chain restaurants to provide calorie-related information on the food menus (Young Men’s Health, 2019). Students should be informed to look up calorie information to make appropriate food choices that is not detrimental to them.

Future Outlook

Fast foods are here to stay. They will continue to be popular due to their taste, cost and faster and easier availability, despite the various ill effects on health. For various cost and logistical reasons, schools continue to offer fast foods in their menus. Children by themselves may not have the self-restraint to avoid unhealthy food options. Thus, it is necessary for schools to replace regular fast foods with healthier alternatives which will continue to bring in the revenue while ensuring the ill effects are avoided.

References

Lehmann, Deborah (2013). Why school cafeterias are dishing out fast food. Education.com. Retrieved from https://www.education.com/magazine/article/fast-food-school-cafeterias/

Despres, Cliff (2018). Study: Unhealthy eating is top risk for early death in U.S. Salud America!. Retrieved from https://salud-america.org/unhealthy-eating-is-top-cause-of-us-death/

Young Men’s Health (2019). Fast food facts. Young Men’s Health. Retrieved from

https://youngmenshealthsite.org/guides/fast-food/

Building a generation of advanced dimwits

 I belong to a generation that is painfully caught between the old and the new; something of a cusp. I hold values that my forefathers held, yet I am also facing the pressure of adapting to the modern generation of today, which is not easy. It is not because I am rigid, but because I don't see where it will ultimately lead me towards.

The generation of the present and future are advancing towards a lifestyle that knows how to use everything but does not understand the value of anything. Information is data rather than knowledge. And science, to them, is a subject rather than a curiosity.

My early days as a boy were spent differently though.

1. Selecting a TV channel was simple. There was only one. I watched every program without bias or choice.

2. I read comics and novels with equal fervour, no matter how much I aged.

3. I ate food together with the family. We all talked. We shared not just the food but also the thoughts and affection across the table.

4. In exams, I never set myself a target to lose not more than two marks out of 100. I rather aimed to not score two marks out of 100. The aim was to keep the head above the water. One thing I realized long back was - all that you will ever learn in life can never be contained within the pages of the textbook. So I cultivated the habit to observe life and nature around me.

5. My sister was only 4 years old when I was 13. Yet I played every possible game I could think of with her, getting right down to her age and mentality. Thus, the child inside me was always alive.

6. Rajni and Kamal were just actors. Instead, my dad was my hero. My mom was the most beautiful woman in the world. And to me, a hero was always a good guy, who never hurt anyone and was always kind to people.

7. Edison and Einstien were my role models because of how they fought over odds and acheived greatness in their fields, not because they looked cool and had flamboyant lifestyles.

8. Computer time was strictly rationed. The simple, floppy-based 2D games that I played actually got me thinking more creatively than only entertaining me. The games were constructive and did not involve massacring onscreen game characters with blood and gore.

9. I believed in heaven and hell, and that every sin I did would lead me to hell. I really shivered at that thought.

10. I carried a childish curiosity in everything that touched my life. I didn't assume anything nor tried to be something that I was not.

11. I never tried to rush through life, rather let every age go through its part.

12. I believed in true love and chivalry (I still do). The innocence stayed on for a long time. I did not believe I needed money and beauty to fall in love and be loved by a girl.

13. I let life lead my way all along. But that was a lot of fun, because the child in me always looked forward to the 'what next' without ever getting disappointed. Many times, there wasn't much money in hand, but when I got it, I felt like the richest man on earth.

14. There were no instalments and EMIs. There were no debit cards, credit cards, and ATMs. You had to save up money for everything, which meant one had to plan things way ahead. I had to go to the bank to draw money which was a tedious process. So I was really careful about how much I drew and how long I kept it in hand.

 

But the generation of today is so different. They have so many choices in everything. Desires are expanding and the values are shrinking. Today a gun wielding hero on screen who speaks fancy dialogues and shoots ten people in the blink of an eye are heroes. The release date of the favourite hero' movie is remembered more well than the birth date of family members. Postcards are non-existent. In fact, English vocabulary is becoming smaller and colloquial but less respectful. Husbands and wives wish each other happy anniversaries over Facebook. People have become comfortable interacting as virtual entities in social sites. There is hardly any time for the world around us, no time to smell the flowers, or provide stray animals with water. The children today already know who Sunny Leone is but do not know who G.D.Naidu or S.Radhakrishnan or M.S.Swaminathan was. Celebrating Valentine's Day has become fashionable today but no one remembers Mother's Day or Father's Day. Parents are quieter; children are louder. Parents consider it an embarrassment to talk about their financial difficulties to children. Children demand anything and everything they want, without learning how to earn something. Families have gone on from being nuclear to atomic. Every individual is a family on his own. Enrolling an old parent in the old-age home is easier and cheaper than getting a young kid admitted in LKG in school.

In short, we are building a generation of technologically advanced, busy dimwits who are arrogant enough to believe that they are going to make this world a better place with their current attitude towards life.

Science behind Hindu beliefs and temples

 Idol worship followed by Hindus is often a subject of mockery and controversy. The recent blockbuster Bollywood movie ‘PK’ did touch upon the subject in a couple of scenes. In one scene, the protagonist states that the milk poured over the Hindu god shrines should be distributed instead to the poor. In another scene, he explains how a stone smeared with vermillion can instantly turn into a God. I am sure these scenes would have evoked a lot of laughter. But we have to think about the reasons behind such customs and the actual origin of it.

 

Hinduism is a faith that originated in the Hindukush region in India thousands of years ago. Eversince, this faith has undergone a lot of revisions for its betterment; to be able to discipline mankind to form a peaceful society. While being one of the oldest faiths on this planet, it is also a faith that is based on scientific doctrines as well. So we cannot disregard certain practices just because it has taken on a different form now, or we do not understand it.

 

So what is with this idol worship in temples? Why does a temple smeared with vermillion become a shrine instantly? Is it out of superstition or because of fear of God’s wrath? It is neither, but has a basis that is strongly etched in scientific principles as well.

The Hindu temples built in ancient India were built over specific places on earth where the earth’s magnetic field was at the maximum. These were places where great Siddhas also attained Samadhi because they specifically chose this place of a power magnetic field. People went to the temple every morning when the sun’s rays were not intense but tender such that the light from the sun carried all the key energy elements (which was why suryanamaskar was to be done at the time of sunrise). Men wore a dhoti or kachhai and were bare-bodied at the top. Women wore a sari so that some portions of the body were decently exposed to allow the rays to fall over the skin. The floor of the temples was laid with granite stone blocks that had uneven surface. People walked barefoot inside the temple so that the uneven floor acted as acupressure points. The main deity sat right over the point of the magnetic field. People went around the deity so that the radiations fell on them from all sides.

 

The idol itself was made of a particular kind of stone or even navabhashanam (the nine poisons which when mixed together became a potent medicine). This material further accentuated the magnetic effect. People stood before the deity with their palms together (in a namaskar pose) because this completed the loop. The feet were planted on the grounded and the rest of the body was a loop completed by bringing the hands together, thus acting like a flux capacitor to gather the maximum energy. In front of Lord Ganesha, people did the ‘thopukaranam’. It was a form of a sit-ups exercise by which the physical health of people was also given importance. When saying prayers before Lord Ganesha, people balled their fists and slowly tapped the sides of their temple. This was because those were again acupressure points and by doing this tapping, the nerve centres were activated.

The kumkum (red vermillion) and vibhuti (ashes made from cow dung) were disinfectants. Since the men walked bare-bodied early in the morning, the vibhuti also acted as an agent that absorbed moisture so that people did not catch a cold. Women applied the kumkum on the forehead which not only was a disinfectant but also prevented the woman from being the victim of evil eyes. Milk and water were poured over the stone deity in ‘abhishekam’ were collected and distributed to devotees as prasadam or offering, which they consumed. This acted as medicine because the liquid flowed over the special stone or navabhashanam and thus got enriched by its properties. The devotees were given ‘thulsi’ as a prasadam because thulsi has medicinal properties and builds the immune system in the body. Finally people prostrated in front of the deity because it allowed the most of the body to come in contact with the ground which further gave the body the energy from the magnetic field. Visiting the temple had a great positive physical impact. Also since everyone in the temple only thought about good things, the general psychological atmosphere inside the temple was also very positive. This is the reason why devotees felt so refreshed after they came out of the temple.

 

About the mockery in the movie PK that even a stone smeared with vermillion becomes a God, why not? Hinduism has never preached idol worship in the superstitious sense. Hinduism has taught mankind to respect all the five elements of nature – air, water, fire, land and sky. Hinduism teaches that God exists in every atom of this universe. Then why cannot He be present in any stone that I want to call as God? God is the omnipresent, omnipotent force that is present everywhere at the same time, because He is everything. Just because you do not understand Him or you do not understand the principles of Hinduism, it doesn’t mean that the faith itself has failed. God does not test man, but it is man who keeps testing God for His existence. Everyone accepts that there is one God, but say that the one God is their God. That is where all problems with religion begin. So let God be. If you want to criticize a faith, first learn something you can about that faith. Do not be self-appointed theologians or scientists when it comes to religion.

 

I am a proud living being, born in a family that practices Hinduism, proud that I came to learn about other religions also, enough to coexist, accept and respect other Gods for what they are, proud that my faith does not ask me to enforce my beliefs onto others and allow people the free will to choose. Let us be what we are, and only seek the truth for our own salvation. The planet and God will take care of themselves if we just shut up and do our work sincerely without harming the planet or others.

Selling for the Needy, Greedy and the Lazy

 Anyone who wants to venture into setting up his/her own business so that they are their own boss, or they want to create employment opportunities or all other reasons that may be, will have to consider three main lines of business that will sell, and therefore has a better chance of succeeding.

 

1. Business that feeds the need of people

2. Business that feeds the greed of people

3. Business that feeds the laziness of people

 

The need of people denotes all those aspects of life that mankind will require for a daily sustenance of life. Food is an important requirement on a daily basis and thus an hotel established in a strategic location has a higher probability of succeeding. Other examples of need include educational institutions, grocery stores, or even services such as carpentry or electrical repairs. These are needs that people can never compromise on as it is a critical element for sustenance of life, and therefore the businesses catering to these needs will also be sustainable.

 

The greed of people are extensions of the 'need' that has transcended into luxury. Getting food at a hotel is a need. But eating at a McDonald's is a greed that satisfies that gourmet craving of human beings. The mouth-watering advertisements showing delicious looking burgers and fries trigger the gluttonous greed of people, while in reality containing agents that are harmful to health. Yet people go after these food items because they are unable to put a lid on the greed that has taken over the mind. Greed does not restrict itself to food alone. Anything that converts a need into a luxury becomes greed. Setting up businesses or services that caters to this greed of people bring in more returns if it turns out to be successful. If planned strategically, these businesses have a higher chance of success depending on which strata of the society you cater to.

 

When luxury transcends into lethargy or desperation, it becomes a laziness. People wanting soap powder to wash their clothes is the need of life. People engaging a servant maid to wash the clothes is a greed of life. People who want an automatic washing machine so that they need not pay for a servant maid but still don't want to move a muscle to do the work themselves denote the segment that belongs to laziness of life. Usually commodities or services that cater to the laziness of life are more expensive than the luxuries that are more expensive that the need. A child can be educated in a government school which would be fulfillment of a need. However,  choosing a convent education transcends to greed and going to an international school is seen as a laziness. Laziness is not physical laziness alone, but anything that man tries to do by throwing around his money, for making his life as grand as possible. These are the most egoistic people and the business set up with these customers in mind should do enough to trigger their ego into buying your product or service. The more useless/lazy/comfortable a product/service makes a person, the more likely that it is very expensive. Such a market may be small, but the profit margins can still be large enough to make a sizable package over a period of time once established.

 

Thus, the need of people will have a wider audience, have smaller profit margins and will sustain better. The greed of people will have a substantial yet smaller audience, will be of moderate profit margins and has a decent potential of sustenance. The laziness of people will cater to an elite few though it can bring about a substantial profit, and comes associated with a larger risk in operations.

 

Any business that does not feed the need, or greed or laziness of people has a lower chance of survival if your marketing strategy is not top notch.

The Idealistic Virus

    It’s been two weeks since the outbreak. I’ve even seen a few zombies running around for their next victim. However, I am not hiding out in a house with barred doors and windows as you would see in the movies. In fact, I am sitting at McDonald’s enjoying my cheeseburger. I am confident that the burger will save me. In fact, it already has, so far.

    It is the least scary of outbreaks the world has seen so far, I must say. This idealistic virus, as I call it, only infected the fittest among us. The old, the very young, the ones with disease, the diabetics, ones with blood pressure and cholesterol, were all immune to it. The virus needed a full-grown, healthy body to infect and multiply. Well, that straightaway eliminated a majority of the world’s population from being the virus’s next victim. Imagine the sick ones being the safest! 

    The virus insulted us by ignoring us. And we insulted it back by moving about freely out in the open. So here I am, watching a handful of zombies running around aimlessly as I eat my cheeseburger.

The Face of Ron McAlester

As the first rays of the sun hit the penitentiary walls, Reggie Anderson was all tensed up. He’d not slept a wink last night. After all, he had killed Ron McAlester in cold blood. Ron was now strung up to the ceiling to make it look like a suicide. But big Ronnie was not the suicidal type; he got his kicks out of breaking necks. He deserved to die alright. The judge had slapped only three consecutive life terms on him. He would’ve lived out his days like a king in prison. That would’ve not been fair. But Reggie didn’t kill him for that.

He killed Ron because he didn’t like a black man giving him hard stares that unnerved him. He didn’t want anyone to know that he was afraid of Ron. How dare he see me eye to eye, Reggie would often think.  He actually enjoyed killing Ron; enjoyed hearing the sound of his neck break. Arranging for Ronnie to find a bottle of booze under his pillow was easy. Strangling him and stringing him up was the difficult part. But Reggie managed it. Once the deed was done, he locked up the cell and left quietly.

He sat in his room waiting for the alarm to go off in the morning once the body was discovered. It happened exactly as he expected. Reggie rushed to join his fellow guards in Ron’s cell. But what awaited him was something that shocked the life out of him. As they brought the body down, he got a good look at the face. It was his own face! 

As he stood, shocked out of his wits, the guards turned towards him. The moment they saw him, they drew their weapons and commanded him to raise his hands slowly above the head. One of the guards removed his gun and handcuffed him. As they led him away, he happened to glance at the mirror in the cell and looked into the face of Ron McAlester.

The Laughing Man

The man strolled into the street with a careless abandon. He was oblivious to the world that didn’t care about him. He walked over and sat opposite our shop, across the street. He must have been in his mid-fifties, we think. He wore a dishevelled look along with his patched pyjamas and kurta. His unkempt hair and long beard only added to his scary appearance. None of the passersby gave him a second glance. But we couldn't help noticing him. We had opened our shop just a few minutes back and were waiting for our first customer. The street had its share of daily commuters since it connected to the main road. Most of these commuters were also our customers who stopped by for something or the other and kept our meagre income flowing.

As our mind was preoccupied with thoughts about the day ahead, the man suddenly started laughing. It was not a loud guffaw, but still loud enough to be heard across the street. A few heads turned, searching for the source of the laughter. Once they saw the man, they ignored him, taking him to be a lunatic, we presume. The man continued to laugh. Soon one good samaritan opened an instant bank account for the man by flinging a coin in front of him. Pretty soon other passersby followed suit. People wanted salvation in life and sincerely believed that the coin they spared the man would add to their good karma. We smirked at our own cynicism and continued watching, amused by what was happening in front of us.

By mid-day, quite a pile of coins had accumulated in front of the man. But he was oblivious to it as he continued laughing. Sometimes he just chuckled. And then he would let out a loud guffaw. At times, he even seemed to be crying, we are not sure. But never once did he touch the coins. A kind lady came over and placed a packet of leftover food in front of him. He picked up the packet and examined it as if he were studying an otherworldly object. Then he began to eat, chomping noisily. It was the first time since morning that he did not laugh. After eating the food he laid down on the pavement to sleep. The afternoon sun was beating down on him but he didn’t seem to care. We felt sorry for him.

The rest of the afternoon went by silently. We've had very few customers so far; there have been worse days before. We contemplated keeping the shop open for longer but decided to wind up for the day anyway. We would continue to worry about the dwindling business the next day. As we started to close up, our thoughts shifted to the man. Though we could not place a finger on it, we were worried about him. Would he be alright if we just left him there? Convincing ourselves that he would be fine, we left for home, leaving him on the pavement.

The next morning, when we returned to the shop, he was still there. But all his money was gone! Who would steal from him? Maybe a bigger beggar. The man sat quietly, looking at the place where the money had been. We thought he was going to cry. Instead, he began to laugh. No surprises there. Only this time, he was louder.

As the laughing continued, the passersby started throwing irritated glances at the man. None of them spared a coin for him now. The irritation caused by his laughter superseded their desire for good karma. We were amused by the behaviour of these people. They were just passing by and yet couldn’t tolerate the man while we sat in front of him all day long and only felt pity for him. We walked over to him and, interrupting his laughter, offered him a couple of bananas. He grabbed them and ate it in a single breath. With his hunger temporarily satiated, he continued to laugh while we returned to the shop to attend to business.

Hardly an hour had gone by when a police jeep drove into the street and stopped in front of the shop. A couple of policemen got out. A middle-aged man from one of the houses nearby came running and pointed out the man to them. They went over to the man, who was still laughing and asked him to get up. But the man did not care. This irked the policemen. Losing patience, a policeman struck the man hard on the legs with his truncheon. The man howled in pain and clutched his leg. The policeman, satisfied by the result of his shameful action, smirked at the man’s agony. But the satisfaction was short-lived. Soon to his dismay, the howling quickly turned to laughter as the man continued to clutch his legs. Worried that the policemen may strike the man more severely this time, we ran over to them and told them that the man was just a crazy beggar who meant no harm to anyone. The resident cast a glaring look at us and argued that it was a residential area and the man could pose a threat to them. But all the man did was laugh. We never knew you could kill someone by laughing. The policemen couldn’t care less. They didn’t think all this was worth their time. Sensing their thoughts, in order to urge them to haul the man away, the resident offered the policemen some money. They immediately found their much-needed encouragement. They dragged the man away, much against our pleadings to leave him alone. We were helpless while the resident went back to his house, having done his deed.

The rest of the day went by restlessly and in agony, as we worried about the fate of the man. Would the policemen hurt him? We hoped not. For reasons unknown, we had developed a soft corner for the man. He looked like he had once been a decent family man. Even now, he never really begged for food or money. He only sat at his place and laughed. We knew in our heart that he meant no one any harm. We wonder, what circumstances in life could change somebody into someone else? With this question, a lump formed in the throat as we thought about our life. We could hardly make ends meet. Every day brought a new struggle with no relief in sight. All the personal miseries almost always culminated into harsh words, fights and the urge to commit suicide. Nobody wanted us here. Nobody cared. 

We contemplated going to the police station to plead with the inspector into letting the man go. But what could we really do? Poor people without money hardly mattered to anyone in this big world. Many times in the past, these policemen have come to our shop and threatened us with dire consequences if we didn’t vacate the place. They called us thieves who were staking out the area for our next theft. At the end of every such harassment episode, we always ended up parting with most of our hard-earned money to make the policemen go away, only for them to come back another day. When our own days went by in this manner, how could we convince the inspector into letting the man go? In fact, it is possible that the inspector may simply claim the man to be our accomplice for a theft we were planning to commit. We didn’t want to end up in a lock-up. At the same time, we were worried about the man. How sad that a poor could not even afford to worry about another one.

The night passed with restless thoughts. The next morning we were still preoccupied with the thoughts as we made our way to the shop. We wondered if we would see the man again. Our question was soon answered when we saw him sprawled on the pavement at the same spot from where the policemen had picked him up yesterday. The blood on his lips had dried up. The black eye told tales of the ‘hospitality’ to which he had been subjected by the policemen. We could only conclude that, with no valid reason to hold him and not wanting to take the responsibility of finding him a place, the policemen had simply dumped him back and washed their hands off.

The man was lying in the middle of the pavement and the day was getting hotter. We moved him to the side, into the shade, but not without attracting disdainful looks from people walking by. It was clear that the man was not wanted here, and people didn’t appreciate him being shown any pity. We sat in the shop, looking at the man, waiting a long time for him to wake up. He finally stirred awake and winced in pain. He sat up slowly and looked around as if to get his bearings. Before we could offer him water, he reached over to the dirty bottle near him and took a swig of the water. Once done, he sat quietly for a few more minutes before starting to laugh. We could not believe it. He could laugh even after taking a severe beating. We could not take it anymore. He could get hurt again. We ran over to him and told him to stop. He looked irritated as if he were stopped midway during his musical concert. This was the first time we looked at each other closely. 

We told him, “Why do you laugh and attract attention to yourself? People don’t want you here and will only hurt you if you do that again. So stay quiet.”

The man replied, “Nobody cared when I cried. I cried so much and none of them stopped to ask, or asked to stop. So why do they hurt me now when I laugh? Are they irritated with me because they think I am happy while they are not?”.

Saying this the man continued to laugh. It was louder than before. Even as we stood transfixed at what was happening, some people who could take it no longer gathered together and came towards us, with the clear intention of beating us to a pulp, we sensed. In those moments, as the man’s words swirled in the mind and the ways of the world became clear, we started to laugh even louder.