May I think?

May I think?
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I had heard that man is a social animal. True. I had also heard that he thinks and therefore he is. True again. Somehow since I don’t know when, I could not understand how both of them could be true together. If man is to work for society like an animal without questioning, he is no longer thinking. If he thinks that there are better ways for doing stuff than what is currently done in society, he is deemed a rebel and anti-social and many a time called evil.

I was forced to think as to what makes us different from all other animals on this planet, and what exactly makes us human. Is it our instincts? No, we have all the instincts of animals. Is it our emotions? Perhaps I missed one or two but again, animals have all the emotions we display. What is the one thing that we have and animals don’t? It is our capacity to think, the fact that we have brains and intelligence. This is what makes us human. We can make abstractions, logical deductions and inferences. We can decide! But animals also decide. So how are our decisions different from those of animals? It is simply because we can decide with our brains and logic, whereas animals just use their instincts and emotions. But things become a little complicated here. We humans also can decide using our emotions and instincts. So how do we maintain the difference and be humans? Does our complicated society structure help us in our decisions?

I remember the umpteen incidents when I was so happy pleasing everyone and doing things for others. I always shared my chocolate as a kid. I cherished those moments of appreciation and praise. In fact, I wanted everyone to share his/her gifts. I did that because I respected the words of my elders. But there were also times when I was caught between conflicting demands of “other people”. I ended up hurting them anyway or the other. At that time I could think for myself. I could see that what I am saying or doing is correct and what others tell me is wrong. Much of what they told me didn’t make any sense. When any of my friends cheated with me while playing, I used to beat them up. After all, why cheat, and that too with your friend? My maternal grandfather, who is my real-life idol, taught me self-control and simultaneously he taught me to think practically. We are still told that higher marks mean more knowledge and sharpness. I remember avoiding the first rank in all school and college exams on purpose, and still winning academic scholarships that mattered. My parents were sad, but will they not be sadder if I am just a mugging parrot and not an intellectual that I can be? For instance, if I see a girl and I instantly know this is the girl I was waiting for my whole life, why should others tell me I am probably mistaken? They are neither me, nor do they know what I want and nor they are going to live my life.

Consider an example: suppose my parents, wife and children are sick. I don’t have enough money for their treatment. So should I steal? Should I let my parents die? Should I let my wife die? Should I let my children die? Should I beg? Should I just pray and do nothing? Society will never help me decide, will it? It is such moments of time that choose a human from the non-human. In my opinion, the ones who begged or prayed were not human. Humans try. They use their brain and their will and try. What good are the morals taught to us our entire lives then? What good are the society’s ethics if they cannot help me save lives I value?

Some of you may find the above example an extreme case with leading questions. Maybe you are right. But can you be fully sure that the above example is impossible? What will our society do if such a thing happens? Prevent it, or provide help in such cases? In the past few minutes there may be an impression in your mind that I am against society. Then my friend, you were hardly reading with your mind open. Don’t you agree that in your youth days there were times when you thought that this is the way things should be, but you were disappointed? I am just trying to be a youth inside you. Don’t you think there are things that are better in other countries or homes? You have an idea of an ideal society in your mind. Chances are that you have articulated your idea inadequately. Each one of us will have a different idea of an ideal society. We would probably never be able to reach a conclusion on what an ideal society should be. I have loved the colours of our diverse culture and I want it to remain. But even in that diversity, we have always preserved our sense of similarity and our identity. Go to any part of India and you will ever feel you are not in India when you talk to people. That is the India I love, the India of freedom, argument and acceptance.

You must have seen that I have been questioning many things that happen around us. I am happy that I am allowed to question. I follow some of our cultural traditions, like touching the feet of some elders because I was told why it is done. It is because you trust and respect the other person so much that you offer your neck to the other person and he will not kill you. But I don’t listen to things like not going for a haircut on a Saturday. “Something bad will happen” is a ridiculous and laughable reason. I don’t believe Sri Krishna was a god. For me he was a wise human of ancient times, and I try to live by what he said in the Gita, not because I am god-fearing, but because it was sensible. He told us to fight and even kill our family members if they are wrong. If I think my family is wrong, I am not in favour of such extreme steps, but I can at least question and discuss. In this age of modernity and reason, only the things that are rational will survive. This is the same rational society that Swami Vivekananda had envisioned.

~ Som

(Published in Durga Puja Souvenir of Sarita Vihar, 2006)

The Girl in my life!!!

The Girl in my life!!!
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Strange is the way she smiles,
with such grace in her eyes!
Casts just a glance on your face,
And the pulse begins to race!

How to describe her elegant gait?
To imbibe its beauty, even time can wait!
The steps she takes, the way she moves,
Like a leaf dancing to the breezy grooves!

When she talks, a song she sings,
Far in the distance, that special bell rings!
Nightingale, they say, has the sweetest voice,
Compare them, She'd be my only choice!

Look at her face, the expression it bears,
A sky, which many rainbows pierce!
It's a nature's gift, a beautiful scenery,
Better than pastures lush with greenery!

Her magical tresses, they fly and fly,
Long, dark, straight, My oh My!
When she smiles, it's break of dawn,
Look at her, and your worries are gone!

You mind must be asking "who is she?",
Who fills one's heart with joy and glee,
Perhaps she is an angel, or maybe a dream,
But still you want her, how difficult it may seem...

If you ask me now, "hey, is she real?",
"Can i ever get her?", and i will say "Real???"
"Just open your heart, and let your mind be free",
"I found my sweetu, miracles happen you see"

I found her in *Sreeparna*, let it be known,
Seeds of love, are always waiting to be sown,
If ever you ask, where art thou oh lovely one?
Just look around, and to her your heart'll run!!!

~ Som

(Written in late October 2004)

The Sculpture I Create

The Sculpture I Create
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I think that I am someone old,
And I do have a name
I am proud of my sculpture
That brings me fame

Each passing day I modify
My sculpture again and again
You might think I am crazy
But I assure you I am sane

It seems like ages,
But what I want is perfection
Heavens above have faith in me,
I’ve to live up to expectation

I trust my tools
And have faith in my experience
Above all I have my skill
All these give me confidence

But today I have to do something new
There are sculptors just like me
Our aim is to better our sculptures
By copying from each other, what we see

After all, we all want our sculptures
To be beautiful and ornate
But what do we do, if the base is weak
It has to crumble says the judge, Mr. Fate

Can I trust my rationality?
Will I copy anything nice I see?
Or wait for others to copy my style
In which a strong base is a must be

More questions start popping up now,
As I steal a look sculptures around,
I gloat of trusting myself and all I have
But still I quickly copy something new I found

I know I have the responsibility
To make our sculptures the best
Should I show them by taking a lead
Or just follow the popular like all the rest

I am the people of this country
And I can only make my culture
I have always stood my ground,
Though there have been many a vulture

I trust our tradition, that’s my experience
I have tools of various forms,
To all the other people they are
better known as my social norms

But as we move towards a global village
I can’t seal myself and pride in my work
I have to be geared to meet the future,
The opportunity, I know, is enough perk

I have succeeded in shielding my work in the past
As always time has changed, I can see…
But why do I question my skill now
Perhaps, it’s a sense of self hypocrisy

I have prided in my “secular” credentials
In fact, it is there in my constitution
But when my hindu sister loves a christian guy
I just call that unwanted rebellion

Still I say caste system is now over,
Well, as long as saying works, its okay
I don’t even give or take dowry any more
Though some “small giftings” are here to stay

When I’m a rustic and I vote for my clan fellow
I am ridiculed by them for my stagnation
Though they, whom education has made elite
Vote the same, but just provide elegant justification

It has become busy these days
At my work for days on end,
If I stand back and think for a while,
Acceptance is the essential to make things bend

Things seem crazy right now but
Solutions would come to us I know,
The best sculpture is waiting to be made
It is just that some thoughts need to flow

And maybe I am just old because
I have stopped thinking my usual way
All other sculptors would copy my art,
I hope I’ll pass the test of time that day

~ Som

(Written sometime in November-December 2004, IIMA)