Works Of Contemplation

Posts

On P.G.Wodehouse and why he should be read more.

I enjoyed reading Saumya Balasubramanian's article in the Open page dated 16-JUNE-2019 (Wodehouse, undistilled). I truly believe this world needs to be made aware and talked of PGW's works more than it currently is now. I am all of 25-years old and I was initiated into the world of Wodehouse by my family who were and still are crazy fans of the author's oeuvre. When everyone around me was fervently and reverently talking of Jeeves, I would be gnawed by a feeling of being left out. Of knowing zilch about this fictional character who apparently had given and still gives a glut of laughs when his exploits were explored in family conversations. To add more salt to this wound, my aunt would relate anecdotes wherein she used to fight with her cousins and uncles and father of how and where Jeeves had been right and wrong. I would feel frustrated at not being a member of this league and I resented that. One fine rummy day, I took a leap of faith from my staple reads of Hardy B

At or through the looking-glass?

Let's embark on a clay-moulding competition! A tent fit to accommodate a grounded, forward-facing human's perspective of horizontally lined dozen elephants has been erected in the center of a sprawling meadow. 6 contestants have each been provided with a clay ball of equal size. Their goal is to mould the given ball into the best-possible structure. There are no time-limits, effectively rendering evaluations and rewards to be posthumous. The contestants will also be required to elaborate the function of the mould submitted. Once submissions are done, to determine the winner, we would need a judge. An impartial and just one at that. The judge, Celia, is from a part of town that is completely far away geographically and culturally from the entirety of the contestants'. Now, she has an extremely difficult job to do though she had never volunteered. She has to judge each mould and evaluate it for success based on present appearance and dissecting its implied function based o

For you or for me?

Does altruism truly exist in us humans? Whatever one does channeling one's altruism may bring goodness into the world, but the underlying reason for why they do what they do has apparently been commonly blown up as altruism, either by the society or in talks with the self. How can it be altruism when the very action that you do advances a feeling of goodness within you? Are you not performing the act for the sake of selfishly advancing your actionable answer to the existential crisis? The society labels as you being a person that abides by the couplet இன்னா செய்தாரை ஒறுத்தல் அவர் நாண நன்னயம் செய்து விடல் . (Do good unto all, immaterial of being done bad unto you) Society can see only a finite version of you. It sees the words you utter and coupled with your actions, it qualifies you to be of a certain pedigree. A certain type of character that fits in to their definitions. And ages of stagnation and subjugation have rendered their definitions obsolete and outdated to accommoda

Forks.

There is a tide in the affairs of men, Which taken at the flood leads on to fortune. Omitted, all the voyage of their life Is bound in shallows and in miseries. On such a full sea are we now afloat, And we must take the current when it serves, Or lose all our ventures. These lines were spoken by Shakespeare through the guise of Brutus in 'Julius Caesar'. Had my high-school English text not contained lessons on Shakespeare's plays, my thoughts would never have been influenced or widened to the level it currently has been now. The above quote has been one of many that I have tried to understand and also could relate myself to, during my trysts with life's curves. Being an open-minded person comes with its own travails. Acquaintances dismiss you off with a wave of the hand or a shrug of the face whenever you contradict society's opinion. Friends do not quite grasp your flight of thoughts and utter all-too-familiar refrains of exasperation. To ride all this a

The glory of intangibility.

Admittedly, the title reeks of sophistication and mumbo-jumbo. Yet, read me out, persist and put in an effort to understand the lines. As individuals, I reckon all of us are obsessed with the notion of quantifying. We set ourselves standards and goals. Unfortunately, with an intent and a foresight that such-and-such goal should be established as 'achieved' or 'failed' to the world at large, we begin to set yardsticks and measurable results. Few of the common goals that I have heard people set for self include 'losing 5 kg in 60 days', 'securing a 90% score in the upcoming exams', 'walking 30 minutes a day', 'burning X calories per day' and so on. I concur with the argument that certain goals need to be quantified as a measure of evaluation. However, I counter-argue that metrics need not be and should not be set for goals that are put in place with an intent to improve an individual's quality of life. The word 'quality of life&#

Stars

Glittering are the stars above my head Shimmering they are, to my eye She looks down, at faces wry And hopes Not of a happy emotional flood But of a life deeply explored Not of a rich material load But of removing each's illusionary shroud. And to them I say, Be true, to self and all in fray.