Reluctance

Its interesting to notice that there is such a longing for change and very little acceptance for the same. this is no blanket statement but its amusing to note that change is ridiculed and longed at the same time. it maybe the human need to exercise control, implying that not only do we want change we also want to control exactly what kind of change we want and where we want it.

that form of reluctance to change is still heard of. if you thought human reluctance ends there..READ ON. recently i had a lecture on Gandhi in college, it was about the father of our nation as spoken of by a biographer called Eric whose second name now i forget. anyway the lecturer was talking about Gandhi's sex life...not that i missed the curtain-fall silence in class. but the interesting thing happened at home when i shared this with my parents and other adults. they found it hilarious. In his time, Gandhi had been quite verbal about this aspect of his life; his journey to the vow to celibacy..but people i spoke to rejected the concept even though they had heard various manifestations of this idea of Gandhi.

it made me think about the Gandhi my father introduced me to as a little girl through books and stories. was it Gandhi the person or the Gandhi the propaganda? was the father of our nation becoming a projection without even knowing it? why is it so hard for people to accept that Gandhi was a human..and that like other human beings he had different dimensions to his personality..that he too is quite capable of erring?

if the hushing was because of the topic of sex..PLEASE!! don't even get me started on how sexually explicit the Hindu way of life is. our Shiva lingam, our carvings in caves and the biggest testimony of all..kamasutra!!!!

if the hushing was because of some sort of conditioning that we are put through. then that needs some thinking doesn't it? you know there is really something very interesting about the human mind. when we get some new information, or are exposed to something that is novel, we spend more time in trying to differentiate it and classify it into something than trying to accept it, understand it and absorb it..if there is a new actor in the industry..is he a comedian?is he an action hero? is he a melodrama king? if he isn't one then he has to be the other and if he doesn't fit..he is redundant..if that is not close mindedness then what is? if one is interacting with a space we cant identify with then she should either be a witch or be mad if she is neither???..well she has to be one of the two....it could also be our desire to make things simple..classification is often held synonymous with simplifying and filtering information.

there is something i have noticed in older people(again not making any blanket statements..its open to discourse)their experiences and life paves a shift in their way of thinking..it goes from being open-flexible to a linear way of thinking..its like moving on the road...from a junction to a one-way street...interesting are the ways of the man..

another thing..i might even be the older person i have described above..its probably the unidentifiable conditioning...or of course (the most comforting classification to all this)it could be bull crap!

poison on the table

Food is the source of human energy...all actions that we perform in a day depend on that energy generated from food. that is easy enough to understand. we wake up, brush our teeth have breakfast and that's how we get charged up for our day. unfortunately it isn't quite as absent from complexities as we would imagine.

food adulteration is not going to be a new term for anybody who is literate and reads the newspaper at least on a weekly basis. its a more common phenomenon than we would ever care to imagine(if it all we care to think about what is trashed down our digestive system). to make the food crop look bigger, better and taste superior (maybe sweeter) farmers of these food use pesticides and a lot of chemical fertilizers as it is. as though these chemicals did not sediment enough toxins in our body, sellers indulge in their own little killer process.

this is adulteration. with ground powders that we purchase, they may use chemicals to make the colour more appealing. with fruits, such as apples, they may use wax to give it that extra shine and blush. watermelons are injected with chemicals to grow to be bigger. why they indulge in such activity is obvious. they get more appealing products and since a consumer goes by the face value of the product he is definitely going to be lured with a perfect looking apple to buy it and eat it. this is definitely profitable to the producer.

Genetically Modified food crops are the next course of our last supper. given, the stress human population has put on the earth and her capacity to generate resources to compliment us; such crops made with scientific combinations that increase yield, reduce crop failure and curb cost of production. but is everything as nice as it sounds??

NO. a scientific intervention like this, that is going to come to our doorstep(table tops rather), requires extensive research and risk analysis. by the rule book they require seven years of research before implementing the GM food in the market. the first GM food crop they are going to implement is the GM brinjal. however this is not a well researched. the tests have been done on rats..and the results are not very encouraging...but its still going to find its way into the market..

its queer that a "for the people of the people" govt will even tolerate such insensitive scientific progress..but that's that. what is however encouraging is that the youth is not playing a mute role this time. there was a protest..and a temporary ban has been called on the introduction of GM foods till appropriate research is not brought to the table...

that's what is important. especially today when politics is spiralling out to be something more than just mere administration, holding leaders accountable to us not just through our votes but through our voice which is bold and strong. why did i write all this?? just to tell myself perhaps that what i have in me as thoughts and principles is perhaps more than just idealism.