In Sickness & In Health

Anyone who has had an experience with sickness can vouch that being sick is not a good feeling.

Man prides himself in being strong and sickness just deflates this pride in him just like a balloon. It seems it is God’s way of showing that human being is merely a speck in this universe and that even a small creature like a mosquito can reduce man into a worthless being.

With sickness comes anxiety and anguish. Even a small bout of cold renders a man useless as he is irritated at all times and so goes to any length to get rid of this pestering malaise.

Medical check-ups, visit to the nutritionists, dieticians etc ensues just to stay clear of various diseases. In fact there are some people who avoid even a hand shake with a sick person with the fear that he might acquire an infection. What people do not realize is that it is human to fall sick and if at all he doesn’t; then he is no less than a superhero.

It is really peeving that people generally ignore the sick for their own means. Medicines have less impact on the sick compared to basic tender loving care. People who have prolonged illnesses are in more need of love than anybody else but unfortunately these are the people who are ignored not only by society but by close relatives and friends. May be it is because the care takers feel irritated and angry by the sick person’s behavior after some point of time and hence simply give up on them.

The key here is that the person should realize the pain and the anguish that a sick goes through and one should understand that it is not deliberately that one gets agitated.

One should be patient with the sick and see that emotions are controlled by both parties so that unnecessary confrontation be avoided which will make things even worse for all.

We often read in the news about crimes committed by the mentally ill. It could be because they are uncared for and so resort to misdemeanors to break away from loneliness. Sick people have a natural tendency to be volatile at times and are prone to frequent mood swings. Hence they should be looked after in a proper and humane manner so as to not divert to wrong paths.

Every individual is responsible for another and it is important that we as healthy beings tend to the sick and not abandon them in their time of need.

Educational Constraints

Education is the most important factor in one’s life as it helps in determining one’s future. A man’s formative years are spent in school and what he learns remains with him throughout his life. Therefore, a school being a temple of learning has a duty to impart education in a responsible manner.

Since initially a child is unable to question what he is taught, it is of utmost importance that the school provides factual information and not hypothetical theories and concepts such as Big Bang & Darwin’s’ Evolution which hold no truth. This kind of teaching may lead a child in having wrong ideas about the creation of mankind and the universe.

Also, myths such as diamonds are made from coal; the color of the water is blue and future can be determined by looking at star signs are some of many examples of fallacies taught by schools.

Even history at times is projected to students as incomplete or one sided due to certain political agendas, economic scenarios, social strata etc of that particular country.

Here, it has to be understood that children posses an inquisitive and a volatile mind and they easily grasp whatever is given to them. So it is important that they are fed with the right knowledge from the beginning.

Though there is no denying the fact the schools all around the world do a highly commendable job and one would be foolish to belittle the tremendous contribution made by the teaching staff, it would be better if schools take care and scrutinize their syllabus in some areas for the betterment of education.

An Ode to Minnows

With the completion of the London Olympics and the recently concluded IAAF Championships, one thing is evident that it is the smaller nations that are making greater strides in sports and gone are the days of the superpowers. In the early days, no one could ever imagine a small country getting their name in the medal list but now with the times changing, every country has an opportunity to achieve accolades in their respected area.

 

It seems that sports can be divided into two eras: Pre & Post Superpower. In the pre era, developed countries like US, Soviet Union, Germany etc were ruling the tracks; producing stalwarts at will, who took sports to another level. Such was the dominance of the superpowers that other countries were just making up numbers.

Now in the post era, the new generation feels that they have the confidence to match any country head to head and give them a good challenge. It can be said that they have received inspiration from the past legends and are not afraid to emulate their feats on the tracks. It is no wonder that records are being broken by athletes coming from small villages and towns from unknown countries.

One can’t help noticing whether a particular country’s on-field performance is directly proportional to the economic situation at that time. When countries like US and Soviet Union were at its peak, the athletes too were in their helm, churning out gold medals regularly but now since the fortunes of these countries are diminishing, it seems that the athletes too are suffering a beating. Conversely, economic turnarounds are happening in the lesser nations and it kind of reflects in their performance as well.

Also, it could be that some of the athletes have had an impoverished childhood and have seen the lows early in life which makes them more determined to succeed as compared to their counterparts.

But whatever the reason, it is certainly heartening to see the minnows making a mark for themselves in the world of sports. Even though one desires a level playing field but consciously, we are always inclined towards supporting the underdogs and really want them to win; not only their matches but our heart’s as well. 

Romantically Responsible

Different people have different notions of love. Many people mistake love for romance but it is far away from it. Romance can be a small part of love but can never be called love itself. The reason being that romance is short lived but love is forever.

When sparks fly between man and a woman; both the individuals term this phase as love but in reality it is only romance and only if this romance last the tides of time; it develops into love.

In the real sense, love is responsibility.

When a child is born, the parents pour out unflinching love for the child; regardless of the fact that the child will give back the same love when he grows up or not. This is because the parent is responsible towards the child. Similarly when a man and woman get married, both the individuals are responsible for each other. This responsibility and commitment is called love. This feeling of responsibility to someone who we love, do last long in one’s life whereas romance on the other hand just diminishes with time. This sentiment of love should not be limited to the near and dear ones but should cross beyond boundaries

Every individual has to realize that he is responsible for other fellow human beings. A man’s actions affect the lives of others, in one way or another. For this world to flourish; it is imperative to exhibit love not only towards his close companions/relatives but to towards entire mankind. A person can say that he is in true love only when he is concerned, committed and responsible towards the betterment of the whole humanity. And if at all for some; love is romance then lets romance the world.

A Moral Tale

Christmas is a few days away and Jonu has dreams of making it special. He has his eyes set on the newly released CNC Video Game. With each passing day, his desire of owning this device increases as he sees the numerous adverts of it everywhere. But in the back of his mind, he knows that this dream of his may be a distant reality as he is aware of the family’s current financial situation. His father makes ends meet by working in a cloth mill whereas his mother stitches clothes for the neighbouring folks.

Jonu finds his happiness in the local school where he plays football and mingles with his friends discussing the intricacies of the brand new CNC video game. Suddenly, the students gaze towards Lobu, the mill owner’s son, who is carrying the much vaunted CNC video game. Now the once lonely Lobu has become the center of attention of the whole school.

On his way home, Jonu develops an envious streak for Lobu; thinking why he is deprived of the luxuries of life while Lobu has it all. He ponders upon his cousin Lesot, who has made a name for himself by indulging in illegal activities though he is now banned from the family. He thinks of taking help from Lesot in obtaining the CNC but drops the idea afterwards.

On the dinner table, Jonu is uneasy as he is engulfed by the image of Lobu holding the CNC video game. It is Christmas eve and Jonu has made up his mind. He sneaks out of the assembly, enters the empty class, approaches Lobu’s bag and grabs the video game. Jonu’s face is beaming with pride as he plays with his newly acquired possession. He is so dearly engrossed that he does not notice the bike coming his way. It brushes past him and there is a thud. He looks at the ground and sees his prized scalp broken into two pieces. Jonu is distraught and does not know how to react.

He reaches home in an abject state. He feels his heart has been broken into pieces and not the CNC. His parents cannot understand his disappointment and they let things be. It is Christmas morning, the sun’s rays beam on Jonu’s face. He wakes up and finds his parents standing in front of him. His father is holding a gift in his hand. Jonu sulks and reflects on his past gifts which haven’t come close to what he wants. Still frowning with anger, he opens the box slowly and does not believe what he sees. It is his dream, his wish, the thing that he had desired the most from the start. Tears flow from his eyes uncontrollably. He quickly grabs his gift and rushes from the house. He reaches the mansion and meets Lobu. He hands him the gift & apologizes for his wrongdoing. Lobu is stunned in silence.

Jonu returns home, hugs his father and declares, “This is the best Christmas ever.”    

POSITIONS, DESIGNATIONS AND WHAT NOT…..

For the life of me, I don’t understand the reason for people being obsessed with positions. Every individual wants to have a certain designation in their lives so that they can boast it to their fellow human beings. Is a title or a designation so important under their name that they cannot do their normal work without it? Whenever a person is asked about their career; they proudly brag their position and to actually confirm this they quickly give out their business card.

 

The world has come to this state that more than the name; a man’s designation is of more value. It seems that one can attain anything in life just by using their position. This obsession doesn’t stop with individuals but goes beyond countries. If a person is living in a particular developed country, he is considered above the rest and in this case a man’s designation doesn’t matter as the country compensates for the lack of it.

In the olden days, people use to work without any concern of position but now we see designations coming up on a daily basis, some of which are unheard of; just so that they can fleet up their ego.

In the real sense, the men and women who really matter and contribute are those who have no specific designation. When we enter a plush mall or a five star hotel, we feel a sense of goodness from inside; but have we ever realized how much toil, sweat and hard work have gone from the workers who have built these luxury places. These are the people who work continuously day in and day out in harsh conditions just so that people like us feel pleased. Even the home that you live in has been built by the labour of these people but do we ever consider or think of them.

Man, by nature loves to be around clean surroundings and if a person comes across even an iota of filth, he becomes jittery. But how many of us really think about those people who actually wake up in the wee hours of morning just to keep out streets clean. If it weren’t for the sincere duties that these men perform; the whole world would end up like a garbage bin.

These are the invisible men and women who neither thanked nor looked after. When we ever come in contact with these people; we quickly run forward for the fear that their stench will cling on to us. These are the people who don’t care about any position or designation but perform their duties with full sincerity, so that we can walk the streets and go to places with ease.

The point being made here is even though, every individual in this universe has job to perform for this world to evolve; let’s not be too concerned about our positions and consider our work as just work and not something to flaunt. Also, let’s start applauding these unsung heroes who toil hard without ever complaining so that we can live our life in comfort.  

Technologically Yours…..

It’s difficult to understand whether technology has made things easier or more complicated. Even though technology has contributed greatly in the advancement of mankind, it seems that simple pleasures of life have been sacrificed. In the olden days, man gained good physical & mental strength by doing manual work without relying on any kind of technology. But nowadays, since everything can be accomplished just by the click of a button, man has become languid & hardly moves a finger. It’s funny because one spend loads of money in acquiring new gadgets to make things easier but ends up spending even more money in a plush gym to remain active and not to mention the queues at the doctor’s office in order to check their cholesterol & blood pressure due to their lethargies.

The essence of life’s simple pleasures is missed due to this advent of technology. The delight of receiving a letter or a card by mail is being side tracked by e-mails which don’t hold the same joy & feeling because of lack of touch. In most cases, an e-mail is either read once or even deleted at the same time but a letter brings about good memories even when read in the future. Also, there was a time when making pen pals from different countries felt good and the wait of receiving a letter from them was satisfying. This joy is now replaced with social networking websites where people log in only to acquire an inflated ego.

The invention of television has really affected the strata of the family as no one has the time to spend with each other except for staring at the idiot box for continuing hours. Its no wonder that parks are being substituted by real estate projects as no one has the inclination to come out of the houses; with men busy watching sports and women their telly dramas. There has come a time where some people skip the family functions with the fear that they will miss their favourite show or a match.

The pastimes of children are now changed from playing outdoors or reading a book to sitting at home and playing video games or surfing the internet. This trend however has benefited the optometrist with so many young people wearing eye glasses.

The point that needs to be highlighted here is that even though we all are engulfed with technology all around us, kindly spare a thought that wouldn’t it be good to avoid technology in some cases and only use it when it is absolute necessary. By doing things in a more traditional way, the environment will benefit as power consumption will reduce considerably and more importantly one will be able to experience the simple joys of life  which are now lost in this techno savvy world. 

The White Fixation

Since time immemorial, the world has been fascinated by the white man. He has been treated and considered as a supreme being and sometimes even close to God. Since his birth, he has been given all the privileges of the world, may be not by his parents but by the whole mankind. Anywhere he goes; he has been treated as a king and rarely looked down upon. The question here arises is that why all this fuss about just a color of the skin. Is the color white more pleasing to the eyes? If a colored man applies white paint on him, will he be treated as a royal entity.

The advantages a white man gains as compared to his counterpart are numerous. He can travel almost any part of the world without any restrictions whereas people of other race are bombarded with countless procedures and questions just to get their entry permits that it feels like they are participating in a quiz show. When the white man enters a foreign land, he is regarded as a being coming from another planet as all of them ogle at him until their eyes pop out of its sockets. We are so much in awe with the white man that we ape each and every thing that he does. We want to eat like him, wear clothes like him, act like him and basically do all that he does. It seems that this behavior of ours makes us look very wise and intellectual but in fact makes us look like fools.

A person is treated as normal in his own group of friends but once he befriends a white, his chest puffs up with pride as if he has achieved something really incredible. He considers himself as a superior entity, needing no one else but his white friend. It’s funny because, if one takes a look at history, the white man has caused so much anguish and misery in this world that the after effects are still borne by the entire human race. These ill effects will keep on continuing unless we open our eyes and think that a white man is just a human being just like you and me. The world in large talks about equality but this feeling goes down the drain when it comes to the white man as consciously we always go out of our way to gain their trust as if we would falter if we don’t please him. It’s about time people realize that treating human beings as equals is the way forward and this undue favoritism to someone will surely bring our downfall. It is important that nobody should despise or disrespect anybody because of their caste, creed, religion etc but  it is more essential that nobody should get or take undue advantage because of their anatomy.