"Beauty is truth,
truth beauty,
that is all Ye know on Earth,
that is all Ye need to know..." - John Keats


Thursday 25 February 2010

On the roadside man's message...

Today I was passing near the High-court,when I saw a man standing in the middle of the crowd holding a banner. The banner read,"Many communities eat cattle as meat,not JUST Muslims..."
There is something in that statement which deals with the specific issue of cornering muslims over the issue of cattle slaughter...
It is true that, Muslims are one of the communities,among innumerable other communities who have cattle as their food,what people here in India fail to realise is the unnecessary pin-pointing of Muslims...
The matter hasn't stopped there,people across the globe,ever since the Islamic extremism has made its point at 9/11,have started to view a human being who follows the path of Islam as a terrorist...
If this day,the menace of the global terrorism as grown to become an international threat,we can't blame just the fanatics,we can't just blame the faulty governments,we can't just blame the war crimes...
There is a bigger fuel which has burnt the engine of religious fanaticism,especially fuelling the Islamic fanaticism,and that fuel has been our attitude...
The way we have cornered a turban wearer,a Muslim,with our eyes of suspicion has force-fed the ranks of Islamic terrorist brigades...
It is our misguided paranoia that has made the Muslims,who would have otherwise been our friends,brothers,take up arms to kill millions of innocents...
If instead of us blaming the whole,novel society of Muslims,if we join hands in accepting the Muslims,who have followed Allah's teachings devoutly,without misguided interpretations of the sacred text of Koran,which teaches peace and brotherhood among all men,I am sure,the forces which try to disrupt our peace,shall shatter...
For once,if We shed our hatred,suspicion and anger,maybe someday,they will follow the suit...
What remains important factor which needs to be taken into account to solve this issue of terrorism,is to not allow those good Muslims, to lose faith on their status in the society,they deserve respect and dignity...
More than I do,or any other non-Muslim does,because they alone have shown the faith,strength and courage to endure the cornering that we have did to them...
They have shown the supreme strength of character to master the anger or frustration and believe in the path of Goodness,in a world filled with antagonistically feeling people...
As Gandhiji rightly said,"Whenever you are confronted with an opponent. Conquer him with love."

© Karthik Adithya Singaraju

Monday 22 February 2010

On the need for innocence...

And here we go again...
Yes,well today was a decent one,but again I suppose I was caught in a dilemma...

How far is it true that violence is an inevitability?

Well I am caught up in two different conflicting ideals,pacifism and realism...
Great pacifists like Mahatma Gandhi propounded that war is an immature and unnecessary resort to solve a dispute...
I used to have faith in that,but now I see more and more realistically,and have uncomfortably come to perceive that notion to be conflicting and not entirely practicable...
More and more study into the historical,political and the socio-economic conditions of human civilizations show that violence is an inevitability that man resorts to,time and again,to fulfill his goals and ambitions,and also those of his state...
The leaders of the world speak of diplomatic solutions to all the problems,then I don't comprehend the necessity of the frenzy over the arms race,which is gross violation of their own commitments and promises...
Yes,if we question this to one individual,he may reply that he would stop,but he can't trust that others will,and that keeps the one who is ready to stop also to go on...
Till when?
Well,we live in a society which amalgamates all kinds of individuals,democracy as they name it,and in democracy you are bound to have decent citizens and statesmen,but more than the availability of these human assets,you may find an equal or more voluminous amount of the rotten lot,who despite the outcry from the masses to stop this violence,will continue to wreck havoc for their own selfish designs and ends to be met...
What are they driven by but jealousy,hatred,disloyalty,greed,misguided ambition,suspicion and paranoia?
And it is not easy to attain the goal of a peaceful world where all these emotional negativities exist,and till man exists,these emotions will linger,if not in you,in someone next to you at this point of time,and there are really few individuals who have actually mastered these evils which are more deadly than all the nukes put together,and it would be foolhardy to expect every single person in this whole world to actually attain that state of pacifism...
Yes,I do think this is a depressing monologue,I don't mean to say that one must do war,but accept the fact the fact that war is inevitable,to someone,somewhere,at sometime...Although,what one must remember is to be tactful enough to avoid its manifestation in reality for as long as possible,because taking life is easy,but giving it back,impossible...
Yet there exist people who hope,people who think peace is possible,people who have been innocent enough to believe that peace is a permanent solution...
Well,I used to be one among them,but now I am too overwhelmed by contradictory evidences to accept that fact...
Knowledge is a wicked thing,it makes you see things others don't,but it also ends up making you feel things others don't...There is nothing as ghastly,as cunningly disguised a thing as knowledge,because at the time you are in the possession of great truths and realities,you lose something, you lose your freedom,your lose your sense of idealistic well-being and optimism,its always been my perception that cynicism was an unintended by-product of the process of gaining knowledge...
Yet I still feel,all that is good on earth,is in the hands of those few innocent,who believe in those ideals,who have the courage to hope,who have the tact to feel optimistic,who have the strength to be happy and who have the life flowing through there veins which helps them smile...
The earth is still a happy enough place to live in,because of those people,who have embedded a tiny ray of hope in my heart,and gave strength to give this realistic,practical mind a good fight with their idealistic hearts...
As Blake rightly suggests,it is the innocent who pass on from mundane to the realm of God,and it feels right to me, to say,innocence is a synonym for purity of thought and soul...:)

© Karthik Adithya Singaraju

Tuesday 16 February 2010

On things that go wrong...

When I first spoke,
all was calm,and all seemed blessed,
but now I don't see where it went wrong...
When I thought about the things I see,
all seemed well,all seemed nice,
but now I don't see where it went wrong...
All these years,hope pulled me,
it showed me how one can live,
with one small smile amidst despair,
but now I don't see,how I allowed it to go so wrong...
All those days we lived as friends,
when all those hours we spent near the sea,
I don't think I saw how things could have gone wrong...
But now I sit alone,
bereft and in self-pity,
I pull myself into the dungeons filled with my tears,
and in that lone dark room,
I rake what is left of sane whole mind,
thinking what I did to make it all go wrong...
Now I cry,head in my arms,
thinking,how could I let this darkness creep on,
now I wish that I never wished,
now I wonder
why things have gone so wrong,where did I miss,
where did I not foresee?
Where was I unjust?
and how I let this sorrow seep into me...
For all I know,that,is wrong...
Things do happen,
things do shape,
things do have a way to say their say,
there is no reason to despair,
there is no reason to lose hope,
and one thing that remains,
is a reason to believe,
that the things that go wrong,
will be set right soon,
and one day I will wake,
thinking nothing can go wrong,and so it will remain...

© Karthik Adithya Singaraju

Monday 15 February 2010

On English...

Yesterday I happened to be a part of an interesting conversation,which was on, "whether,English language has been,a boon or a bane to the global society?.."
So,here I wish to pen down my views on English language and its influence on the global happenings. (Well these are my own views based on my knowledge and observations,and maybe wrong,in which case I beg the pardon of the audience for my own lack of strong base and on the fact of me being a mere amateur enthusiast,not a professional):)...
The question which came under consideration was whether or not English has influenced the native tongues of various societies and if so to what ends...
Well I personally feel that languages are also like living beings,they evolve continuously,and likewise they are bound to influence each other...
In these days of cultural globalization,nothing is left untouched,everything is connected...
Due to the colonial influence of British Empire,I suppose the influence of the English language has been very extensive...
Hence,many native tongues have liberal additions of English terms in their diction. I would add that English is structurally one of the most simplest (sometimes to a flaw) and syntactically uncomplicated language,so it has been naturally favoured by many around the world,and hence,has gained the universality that it enjoys today.
When we compare English to other classical languages we see that the levels of complexity have been considerably reduced,though it is sometimes a cause for confusion,but nevertheless,it has survived the test of time.
For example - the mode of addressing in English is generally common in second person which is "you", but in other languages like German (du and Sie),Hindi (tum and aap) or Telugu (nuvvu and meeru) etc., there are two or three classifications based on the degree of formality and respect. This is but one example of the simplification of English in contrast to other languages.
Linguistically and lexically perceiving,English is very flexible in its structure as well as diction,unlike most of the classical languages...
My opinion on English language's role in the contemporary world would be that it has been a wise and an appreciable choice,as a medium of universal education as well as marshalling of affairs,owing to its innate simplicity... As one of my friends rightly suggested,"It is a language of ideas,of convenience,for the masses."
It may not possess beauty like in the sophistication of its contemporaries,viz. German or French,neither may it possess linguistic depths of Sanskrit or other oriental languages,but I am pleased to say,its sole beauty lay in its simplicity and it surely proves what Darwin said about the living organisms and hence becomes one itself.
It has survived the test of time,because it is all about the "survival of the fittest." And English has,undoubtedly proved itself to be the fittest.

© Karthik Adithya Singaraju

Tuesday 9 February 2010

On perception...

Well the things always have an uncanny knack to be profoundly deceiving. Yes,howsoever mundane and ordinary these things may seem to a mortal's eye,more often than not,every passable thing evokes a certain curiosity to the mind of a patient observer of this admirable set of souls...
To prove that very point,I perceive,poetry was developed as a form of expression;and to reinforce this fact,Coleridge rightly described,the ability of a good poet is to perceive the ethereal out of the ordinary...
As one of my teachers rightly describes,there are always those "red,red roses" which all of us have seen,but the way one sees it and the way one perceives it using one's faculties of imagination,make a poet stand out from the bystanders... Wordsworth clearly showed that by using those commonplace "red,red roses" and "daffodils" in his works.
Today,I bore witness to an interesting incident,which showed me the immense potential of our intellect and the abundance of lessons which can be learnt by careful observation of others around us...
As I was travelling in the morning,in the usual bus that goes from my place,a person sat next to me,who was a daily-wage employee,illiterate and of non-local origin.But since he was a regular commuter in that bus,he had got acquainted to the conductor of that bus. So this person was talking to the conductor,and it seemed the conductor was asking for some money,to which this person was saying he wouldn't lend.
When conductor asked him why wouldn't he lend him money inspite of the assurance that he had given him that he would pay him back the next day...This person simply replied,"who has seen tomorrow?"
His answer hit me with an extreme impact...
Though I don't think his reply was a sophisticated or polite one,but the truth in it struck me...
At that instant I marvelled on the fact,as to how deep a message one can come across from how odd a source and in how simple a diction and commonplace a situation.
At that time all that I could do was smile at the truth,of the magnanimity of human intellect and how small our aura of perception is,and for one who is a real student of humanity,how varied the source of wisdom can be;which brings me back to the main theme I wished to discuss here. All that is necessary to learn,is a perception that enables the process of education. For example,for many,the question that this person asked would just be a cheek,but if one cares to be a bit sensitive,he can see deeper and much more profound meaning in that simple four word question...
After all,all I say to conclude is,human race is quite interesting and the gifts it possesses is quite more intriguing...:)

© Karthik Adithya Singaraju

Monday 8 February 2010

On that teacher...

Sands of time may turn it sour
sands of time make make it more...
But when one looks back,
when one sees those days,
where a son slept in his mother's lap...
When one thinks of those days,
where a brother gave up his life
to make his brother's a better one...
The day when the father gave up his son,
for the sake of those souls unknown...
It is that day that one remembers,
that old English teacher,
who said one life lost is worth
those hundred sleeping with peace at home...
I remember that day,
when that Captain laughed,
I remember that day when he cried,
I remember that day when he laid to rest,
his younger brother who lost his life...
It seems so weird to look back now,
and think of that person who called himself unknown...
These sands of time,makes his memory one diary,
where I kept all that I learnt
and all that I lost with a smile that was spent...
These sands of time,make my eyes grow damp,
for they remind me of a lost father in that camp...
But as he rightly said,
life must go on,
one must say adieu when its time to move on...

© Karthik Adithya Singaraju

Saturday 6 February 2010

On love and sacrifice...

Life always has great things to teach us. It becomes such a matter of importance in some cases,what we term as sacrifice. Yes,sacrifice is sometimes,I presume, an art,sometimes a necessity,sometimes an inevitability. Nevertheless,always it has carried some beauty with it. I have been able to perceive that it helps us learn many vital lessons in life like humility,and always served as a symbol for care,and affection.
People,especially youngsters talk of,getting talked into a relation,or maybe demanding their requirements from one's partner,and such stuff... But what I have observed in this trend of so-called "love" is that the essence of the beautiful phenomenon is lost.
One may counter argue,that what the other person does by giving in to one's demands or subjection and objections can be called sacrifice for the sake of love,but I find it irksome to accept that,that feeling can exist when one faces unfair treatment. I would bow to such person who does what is unfairly expected of him/her without resentment,and I can vouch for this fact that if he/she is really belonging to our own emotionally vulnerable,sensitive species then there would be at least one tinsiest bit of resentment somewhere in that person. I may be proven wrong,but till the time I am not,pardon me the liberal view that I take, when I say love only prevails where there is mutual understanding and care,and to an extent 'unasked' sacrifice (not sacrifice on demand).
In some lives, often, it so happens that one knows that the person whom he/she loves maybe someone with whom he/she can never even feel it is feasible that a relation can be realised. I have found it difficult,yet an admirable feat to just let go of that person,whom you know that you can never stop loving,but for their and through them for your happiness' sake, you let go of them;this is one of the most painful sacrifices one can make,but if it is worth saving what you actually have with that person and if it is worth the smile that you have fallen in love with,its worth letting go of that person and trying to move on...
As I write this piece,I begin to see much more clearly how much deep the bond goes between the two words,love and sacrifice.
Its as though there has not been any difference between the two except the artificial barriers we erected or maybe the two words are flipsides of the same coin.
I think the happiness one gets through the pain endured by sacrificing is the most chaste and highest form of happiness one can derive,and if one really believes that he/she is truly in love,I think he/she truly finds pleasure in that sacrifice.
After all,the ultimate strength of a man is tested by how much he can endure,and how much he can forgo,and still smile with a joy that surpasses the comprehension of the unthinking,simple lot,as it hardly is or has any mundane phenomenon,rather it gives a serene flavour to itself.

© Karthik Adithya Singaraju

Thursday 4 February 2010

On an anecdote of criticism...

A random person whom I knew perchance ages ago,came up to me and asked me a favour,which was, to give my opinion on a certain topic on which he had made an attempt to write a commentary... I was mildly taken by surprise,yet was very happy to be invited for giving my view and politely accepted his request, and I read through his piece. Well it was a decent commentary,quite passionately written. The feelings were quite appreciable but the content in the piece seemed a bit deprived, or for the want of a better expression,be called immature. But I hardly dispose myself to reject or negate one's effort in writing something,and appreciated his effort,while mildly advising him to concentrate upon more feasible,and universally applicable solutions for the questions he envisaged to answer or at least make an attempt at answering. And then out of professional curiosity I ventured to ask him if he was happy with my reply,and he answered,"yeah,kinda,but not entirely."
But I was perfectly satisfied with that answer,as I don't think anyone can hope to be thanked for saying 'you got to get tuned up.'
This day I again met him,and considering his enthusiasm in the issues discussed,asked him to join a group I had planned to create,and the reply I got is,first you make,I will join later.
To that I said okay and sought his leave,when he stopped me and informed me of certain oppurtunity he had chanced upon which opened up prospects for him to become a columnist in future. I asked him as to how he come across such an oppurtunity,and he replied that it was because he knew many friends from media field and they informed him as to how well they appreciated his piece (in a tone which clearly said,"dude people better than you,think I am better"),and seeing his elation at the sense of personal accomplishment,I congratulated him. He went on to tell me in how many different ways he gained appreciation from them,and when he got tired of it,I asked him jocularly to get me a job too...:)
And, this is where the criticiser started becoming the criticised,and he started telling me the flaws in my ideology, and how conveniently common and boring my areas of interest were, while his included those shrouded alleys which have seldom seen any human footprint! Then,when I pressed him to explain his stand,he ended up saying that he never wrote on things that "everyone" wrote upon,but he concentrated upon things that people don't think of,and hence, he was approached with an opportunity.
And he advised me to keep on writing,on what my views and interests tell me,and he will,his,and thankful to his auspicious advice,I have written this piece on being critcised.

© Karthik Adithya Singaraju

Monday 1 February 2010

On Avatar...

It is so nice a feeling... Once I started watching the movie,I could but ignore the feeling that our own race,our own people felt aliens in the movie,and those people from the depths of bard's imagination felt more like family... Yes... I am speaking of the movie Avatar. Cameron proved again,what has been time and again proved,'our imagination is a wicked thing.' Well the only reason I went to watch the movie today was to enjoy a 3D Hollywood movie in a multiplex theatre,'cause this is the first chance I got to watch one... When you enter the theatre and see that the ticket-costs still touches the sky,the first feeling one gets is,"what is so freaking great about this movie anyways?" With these kinds of thoughts and a bit of guilt at bunking my college,I sit down between a Bengali couple (newly-married I suppose,looking at the lack of hostility) and another lover of peaceful,movie-watching in solitude,like me... Well when the movie began,all I did was wear glasses and search for the effects,and waited for something to come and hit me,at least feel like about to hit me... But later after the first Na'vi person enters,all my attention gets riveted to the movie... The first thing that caught my eye is the substantial borrowings that Cameron has done from previous box-office hits... For example,one can't fail to notice the use of those robotic war-machines which quite distinctly resemble those from Zion in Matrix... even the mind-travel concept seems borrowed from Matrix...Then there is this concept of a person's connection to the beast which seems a borrowed idea from Christopher Paolini's Eragon,and the Horse-riders' clan from the plains of Pandora reminds one of the Horde of Rohan from Lord of the Rings Trilogy,another box-office mammoth,while the description and the settings and the effects again reflect the Elves and their lifestyles as described in the Inheritance Trilogy by Christopher Paolini,as does the concept of Eywa;the tree of souls is again something we read in Christopher Paolini... Ignoring those small loans that Cameron takes from other Hollywood giants,the movie in itself follows an unique perspective... Till now all have read or watched about aliens invading earth and/or race wars among people on earth,but Avatar for the first time speaks of we attacking a peaceful,nature-worshiping race of people called Na'vi,in the alien planet called Pandora...
The saga follows quite in a way like the standard Hollywood movies of saving-the-earth-from-aliens genre do,just the difference is here the protagonists are trying to save Pandora from human greed and malice... The standard lead,the most unlikely of em all,a decommissioned handicapped marine whose genius brother is killed,and he is the only replacement,the same old native girl who he falls in love with,and the same trend of changed heart,a very uneven fight and unlikely win of the under-dogs (the good guys)... The story is a pure tickle to one's emotions,and makes us think a bit,introspect,if the word may be used...
The effects and beauty of the animations is simply a thing unto itself,and the story,which may not be put otherwise into the category of being brilliant,falls into the same, just for the fact that it follows that unique perspective of "we" as the outsiders. All in all a nice treat,which surely will strike a cord and touch a vein or two of the viewers,kids will love it,elders appreciate,if not more,I would say it is a must watch for all,who like to chill out for a few hours,away from their busy lives,and come out of the theatre smiling... my ratings for Avatar would be -- 3.75 :P

© Karthik Adithya Singaraju