Life, Death and in between

"Life is like a camera. Just focus on what’s important, capture the good times, develop from the negatives, and if things don’t turn out – take another shot."

This saying caught my attention when Shruti put it up as her Whatsapp display picture. I couldn't agree with the last part right from the moment I saw it on her profile. Especially in this digital age, when cameras have become as simple as toys and every child or adult with a DSLR is deemed a photographer, the comparison to life seemed to be a very irrational and restitutionist thought.

Life has a much higher level of accountability and doesn't always give an observatory interface with negative portions like through a lens. Life is priceless and doesn't give you a second chance with decisions pertaining to its course. If life is anything like a camera, it would be like the old film roll camera but  which would let you click only a select few shots. Life is judged on the basis of its content and virtue.

Life also shares virtues of patience, ability, wisdom, compassion, hope and love. Life demands accountability unto God and Man. It is this sense of accountability thst promotes the sense of faith and symbiotic compassion amongst the human race. 

The restitutionist idea of perceiving life pursued by reckless and unaccountable people damages the equilibrium in the society due to their disregard and disrespect for vital aspects of life. The "eat, drink, merry for all is well and all is for good" motto does not even stand for those who preach it. 

These very people find themselves giving up on life and yearning for hope when faced with life threatening situations and terminal diseases. 

It is the accountability of our lives that qualify us to be strong and rely on the mercy of hope in times of strife and ailment.

Life is precious. It needs wise judgement and accountability for the goodness of self, family and society. So capture the good moments, be grateful for it. Develop or correct the negatives and keep hope till the very end. But even if it seems like things don't turn out, don't give up waiting for another chance because only one who shows faith till the end will succeed. 

Change beyond Chillar !

Change seems to be the most appealing 21st century idea in our societies. Though we have learnt and heard repeatedly that change is disliked by the majority and change always faces unbeatable resistance, facts around us seem to project the contrary. History presents change to us as a phenomenon associated with the passing of thousands of years, war, disaster or fall of regimes. But today change has taken a new and powerful form all together. A form that has been upheld by technological growth, media and most importantly youth. We have seen this very change electing to power the first African American President in the world's largest superpower which allowed Blacks to vote only less than 50 years before.

Barack Obama is serving his second term as Commander in Chief of the world's most powerful nation presiding over a nation that oppressed his forefathers less than a century ago. Today he is regarded as the world's most powerful man and the true American hero by one and all around the world. Looking back at his campaign to understand what brought about the historic election of a black President, we will clearly see it wasn't any revolutionary event, definitely not a war and as a matter of fact not an eventual happening over time. It was simply a brilliant change mantra he believed in, propogated, marketed and clung on right throughout. "Change we can believe in" and "Vote for change" became very popular brands being used on t-shirts, caps, wristbands, shoes, plates and almost everywhere.  It was the perfect branding strategy. We do not know if they really understood what the change they sought was but the whole idea of showing solidarity to a mass movement that chanted "change" and showed rebellious commitment to its manifesto was alluring and exciting to the people especially the youth.

Talking about youth, India has been ranked as one of the youngest countries in the world with more than 50 percent of its population below the age of 30. It is said the 2014 elections registered upto 150 million first time voters. It is doubtless that most of these new voters would be eager to make difference and will quickly declare allegiance to the change movement. To understand the whole excitement and appeal of change we can almost compare it to the Communist movement especially in Kerala and Bengal. In the recent past we have seen plenty of change movements.  The biggest one being the Anna Hazare led Lokpal movement which became popular among the women, working middle class, bureaucrats and students who were for a long time silent in the nation's political process. The so called Gandhian movement led by Team Anna for a corruption free India, saw colorful and eager participants in bike rallies, social media debates, PR campaigns and even strip tease courtesy Poonam Pandey.

The parliamentary elections being the ultimate report card of the change movement, we have the Aam Aadmi Party asking you to elect the broomstick that promises to cleanse the scam-struck national political scene on one hand having attracted support from movie stars and socialites probably to make everybody feel Aam enough.

 

Self proclaimed national savior Narendra Modi with extravagant marketing campaigns and promotions encourages the public to vote for change and believe that the NaMo chant is what the nation needs. Though his repeated promise of making India like Gujarat is slightly terrifying for those who remember the Godhra incidents and Gujarat riots, he has managed to create a well planned and marketed wave almost good enough to challenge the Obama campaign.
But India has much more change than one thinks. A change that overwhelms the conservationists, a change that relieves the transgenders, a change that ignores the tribals, a change that is irrelevant for the poor, a change that is exciting for the modern educated youth, a change that confuses the working middle class and a change that balances the spirits of our diversity. 

The Great Indian Elections 2014

The Indian parliament elections is one of the greatest events on world democracy's calender with delegates from different parts of the world visiting India just to observe and understand the process of universal franchise in the world's largest democracy. The 2014 Lok Sabha election has not only seen a surge in mass media marketing techniques adopted by political parties but also the actual turnout at the polling booths have been massive and refreshing for those who still believe in the ideals of democracy. I voted from the former French colony of Pondicherry. Though only a Union Territory and having a single constituency, Pondy showed a remarkable polling percentage of nearly 83%.

 This election has had several interesting and novel aspects that make it memorable-  the advent of a political party which grew out of a mass movement, the soaring amount of capital invested by political parties on marketing and PR campaigns, the wider participation of celebrities from the entertainment industry, the idea of women's rights and youth empowerment unequivocally raised by all parties and finally the promise of hope that prevails despite all the miseries of the nation Arnab Goswami,  BBC and friends continue to talk about.


While we wait and see whether India voted for Har Haath Tarakki, Har Haath Shakti or thought Ab ki Baar Modi Sarkar, media takes our focus to why thousands of voters including veteran lawyer Ram Jethmalani and HDFC chairman Deepak Parekh couldn't find their names on the voters list. They also flash pictures of movie stars who parade our screens in stylish attires and inked fingers making the whole process of voting trendy for the modern Indian.

In three weeks, we will have a new Prime Minister and fresh government term which will be responsible of fulfilling the hopes of a nation that believes in democracy. In three weeks we will also hopefully have a new identity, a better impression and an improved position in the fraternity of fellow nations.

Happy to have a day off in the middle of a working week, it has been a good day and a memorable election. Hoping for a government that upholds progress, social stability and integrity, I bid farewell to another day.

The virtue of compassion !

In the world of today that prioritizes on competitive advantage and mass acquisitions, the virtue of compassion is hardly understood let alone practiced.
Despite all the social networking and increased media of interaction between people, people have forgotten values like unconditional care and empathy which have for generations been the binding force amongst societies. Emotions even among family and friends have been diluted by preconceived conditions and are treated as transactions. Though the emotion of love is much more spoken about and explicit, it is rarely found in its pure and unconditional form.
As I discussed this my wife, she asked me how is this virtue of compassion inculcated? Is it genetic ?

Though I have no expertise in determining that, my strong belief is that compassion is an imbibed instinct. It is learnt and assimilated into one's personality following the right kind of exposure. It could be from people, from philosophical studies, religion, education or other sources of knowledge. We get a better idea when we try and perceive compassion as doing unto others what we want others to do unto us. However it is not a weak virtue. It is a very rational and powerful virtue that encapsulates all other morals.

It is the greatest defense for all relationships in a world that is blinded by competition and focussed on self gratification. The true education of our lives is to perpetually seek intellectual integrity and universal compassion. May all true relationships - families, couples, friends, colleagues, team-mates, children, parents and all positive acquaintances be founded on the lasting virtue of compassion.