Readerdom.

Hi!
Long time, no read.

Nothing can make me smile like a well written essay or story or even a sentence. I guess that applies to many of us. What is it about language that is so enchanting? Music does it too. Movies. Photographs. But there is another kind of pleasure in reading, that cannot be derived from elsewhere. A perfect celebration is a good book, cozy room and peaceful surroundings. Sometimes when I am not reading, I imagine myself reading, which is enough to make me happy. Just the thought.
   Everyone has a different taste for reading. I cannot expect all readers to be enraptured by an intricate description of a beautiful landscape or by the classic, aristocratic language that transports you to another era or by a flowing, witty and comic dialogue or clearly explained mathematical theorems. But everyone surely is touched by some sort of words. There is one particular type that I have been exposed to, a lot, in the books that I and most of the my-age-people have read AND in the movies and shows watched. The witty-remark-laugh-witty-remark-again-impressed-but-i-will-end-the-wit-game kind. Whoa. Many books use this type of writing a lot. Either because the authors know readers love it or because it is understood that there is a general lack of it in reality (could be solely my case). Then there is a type that describes the beauty in the waves, the elegance in the dew drops and the sound of crickets. It is actually enjoyable when it comes intermittently. But sometimes it reaches the length of three-quarters of a page and then it becomes boring. The classic English one? Honestly, I tried to keep myself away from it as much as possible but being a voracious reader as I am, some did catch my attention. While most people dislike classics, like me until very recently, I think it is mostly because of our pre-set bias that they are considered incoherent. Not only the fiction/non-fiction reads, but also the academic ones can be captivating(No, seriously), given that they are written with a lot of illustrative effort. Of course, there are a lot more categories. But I have wanted to do this for a while now:
To be continued...



MYD

ThatWorld.

This post is not going to be a passionate outflow of words against most of our “systems”. I will adhere to the sweet part of me, instead of the spunky one. I want to write about books. I even want to write books, but I wouldn’t know what to write about. I will probably end up writing about the Pythagoras Theorem or Bohr’s postulates.

    I generally read all those books typically suited for teenagers, fantasy/fiction sorts. My love for these is very obvious from the fact that I haven’t missed a single word in the Harry Potter, Hunger Games, Percy Jackson, Heroes of Olympus, Divergent, etc. series. I have read and reread every single bit of every single book. And I am a voracious reader. Not boasting, but I finished The Fault In Our Stars in 6 hours, which could have been bettered if mom didn’t disturb me for snack, milk, dinner and eye-rest. While the effective reading time is short in my case, the total involvement with a story lasts for weeks. When I am reading, I am simultaneously imagining, creating the scene in my mind palace. And then when I think about that book in bed, I recreate those scenes and wish that I dream of the book. But these wishes have conditions. The protagonist or the next-to-protagonist is replaced by me. Earlier, I used to take the female lead’s position. But after my feminist ideals evolved, I take the lead, whatever the gender. And I have all kinds of stupid, horror, serious, action, drama dreams, but only ONCE did I actually dream of a book (I stood in the middle of 12 Greek gods after some heroic battle). Guess my brain gets so overdosed that it doesn’t want to think about it anymore. Recently, I have been resisting all urges to read a book because I know that if I do, I will get lost. Get lost in the world of fiction, fighting every moment to get out of it.

        My older friends ask me to read non-fiction or very-realistic-fiction novels. And it’s a straight no from my side. Because according to me the whole point of reading a novel is escaping from reality. Don’t we live in the real world all the time already? Yes, but books could be misleading too. People say that they give you a sugar-coated version of most things, cherry-topped with a happy ending. I believe that is why most authors these days make sure that they kill our favorite characters in the end. Unnecessary reality checks. Or maybe we would not like those books so much if the end was not impactful and un-cliche(accent). If we didn’t feel like strings were detached and pleasure stolen. Maybe that is what leaves us wanting for more. For a sequel. It is probably a strategy to leave the readers wondering, hence wanting more explanation from the author.

    I wish to make a cliff-hanger statement but

MYD

RelSystem

Belated Happy Diwali!

     A lot of our lives revolve around festivals. And well, they are very welcome. Welcome because I think they give a good break. A good excuse to skip homework ("There was a puja yesterday"). And some good fun with the guests. But to think of the underlying hypocrisy...
    The altruists, the business men, the police men, the criminals, the thieves- all celebrate the same festivals the same way. Now, festivals are supposed to be those days when something grand happened in mythology or just a day charted out by the constellations (or whatever astrology goes behind it) when we worship more than we do normally. But then it is surprising that all kinds of people pray for the same thing, regardless of their deeds. Now now there is another topic that I do not want to touch here. But to make the understanding of my thoughts clearer, I would say this. I not going to start speaking of karma nor am I going to talk of Godly existence. But I just wanna say that the supreme power that governs the universe must not be blind to the deed record of someone. And that is clear in most situations. Now I should return to the hypocrisy or else my creepy-over-age-philosophy will... become creepy.
   So yeah, even the most corrupt of ministers and the most brutal of murderers pray for more money or I don't know ...more victims?? And I don't think that the God they are worshiping fulfills their wishes based on the sweets they offer or the money they give in the temples(which finally goes God DOESN'T know where).
God does not want people to fight in her name. God does not want the destruction of her creations unnecessarily. If only we understood.

MYD

EdSystem

A little late? Yeah. Busy with what we call education.
After my last post, I received mostly positive feedback. I could not think that anyone would not agree with my overflowing expressions on such a pressing issue. But some actually did not like it. It is called "unnecessary" or "not exactly true". And I realized they were right. If I were to be defined in one word, it would be- complicated. So sometimes my complicated thoughts don't come out uncomplicated (mostly *emoticon*). And I accept and understand the meaning and importance of what is called an 'opinion'. Nothing is right and nothing is wrong. Yet we spend all our lives trying to do 'what we feel is right'. That is it. Rightness is FELT. Not DEFINED. But if we all give up trying to do something just because there anyways isn't any RIGHT, what will be the point? So I must, you must, we must: DO. More on this later.

Where was I?
      Education.
My life has basically followed this pattern: Study. Play. Fun. Exam. Result. Post-ResultReaction (which can vary from celebration [which further varies from watching a movie to going swimming/shopping] to tears[the same old variety always *failed attempt at funny*]). It has been particularly affected by the exams. For me, exams are always unwanted(that goes for most people I guess). I have always thought that 'exams do not test one's true potential', 'they are the worst performance days', 'not the right way of assessment' and the most cliche(e with the weird slash on the top) of all- 'Did not prepare'. But the sad truth is that while I curse exams, I celebrate like crazy everytime they go well( I actually do, to all those who know me).
     Drifted again.
Now to speak of the SYSTEM. The system goes beyond schools and teachers and exams. It starts at home. And very often, education is associated with career. There are many families where a particular career is favored. It is mostly engineer/doctor here. And oh that phrase- "Lucrative job offers". (I am glad my parents support me in what I do. <3 ) The entire matter is: Job. Most people do not really bother to explore. They stick to the norm. And they end up being happy sometimes. They end up killing themselves sometimes.

Here in India, you see more advertisements of 'Coaching Institutes' than you do of smartphones and refrigerators. [Coaching rhymes with poaching( In all ways.).] Rigorous classes for students wishing to grab high ranks in the most prestigious competitive examinations. (My whole post needs to be in quotes.) Every other day its the institutes advertising their numbers-of the selected, the qualified and I wonder why not: The Killed. Let me tell you already that I myself go to a coaching institute. If my mum and dad told me to sit at home and never go to coaching again, I would never agree. I cannot tolerate the absence of exciting knowledge. I cannot tolerate not learning. I love to attend the classes more than anyone else. I love the teachers. But the part of coaching I do not like is how they(whoever are the masterminds) ruin the joy of knowledge with the stress of 'consistent GOOD performance'. How all the awesomeness math and numbers is destroyed by the other numbers. The growing suicide incidents are obviously not liked by the institutes. They do not mean to kill. But they must still understand that without intending to to do so, this is happening. And so a solution must be found.
     And the masterminds are not the only ones who need to work. The folks need to too. The society needs to. No child will kill herself because she is doing something she likes. There is a serious misconception ingrained in us: Good job. Good life. Comes from HARD work.
1. If you are working HARD, you are actually doing something that is difficult. But if you did something you enjoyed, well then it would be FUN work.
2. Straight from a super-hit movie: First Excellence. Then Success.
3. Good Life follows. (Thanks Dad for all the counseling.)

We must do what we like. We must learn for the pleasure of learning.

P.S. Wrote this one in mid-sleep. Because I really wanted to. So, disconnected thoughts.

MYD

W&MSystem.

Disclaimer: Please ignore incorrect grammar.

One sunny afternoon, I was going back home in my school van. A minimum of 5 kindergarten kids are always there in my van. To listen to their chit-chat is by far a better pass-time than looking out of the window for a one-hour-long journey. Surprisingly, they very frequently discuss the male-female gender bias. I knew that this frustrating stereotype permeates most parts of the society, but to see two little-little kids talk like that(!) is shocking and I shall say, scary.

So, this is what happened. The macho-boy (MB, aged 5) and the doll-girl (DG, aged 6) were fighting. DG decided to stop the ongoing water bottle attack by saying, "Listen, I am girl. Girls are weak and boys are strong. So, boys do not hit girls." (Translated)  The paragon of manliness, little MB, replied,"Yeah. You are right. Sorry."
I was...disgusted. This is the time when we say the youth will bring the change. The new generation will bring with it surges of feminism never before seen but the kids are already so sure of their capabilities and so limited in thinking! But I quickly reprimanded myself for disliking those kids. You see, it is not their fault. From the day a child is born, the society starts pouring. Pouring its ideals, its beliefs, its desires, its silly(x20) stereotypes on the child. The child evolves, not into an older human-an adult, but essentially into a man or a woman. Man is not just a gender, it is more like system of beliefs, needs and typical roles. And MAN demands superiority in most aspects of many things. Man demands to be the carrier, the symbol of humankind. Whereas Woman is a subsidiary body, a subset, a secondary system of beliefs, needs and typical roles, which too are defined by and subject to those of Man.

While today there are many places, many countries which are proud of gender equality, of improved opportunities for females, of the general air of feminist spirit, there are those other places-not only separated by geographical boundaries but also by the unsaid agreement on what is Man and what is Woman. Those other places lie deep within, where no anti-rape law or equal wages act or girl child policy can reach.

But the question is whether we can change THIS or not? I would not say that we cannot. Because we can. But this involves an effort that is more individual than general.

BTW, Why should it be mankind for humans? Let it be womankind. Why should all ambiguous persons be 'he'? Let it be 'she'.

There are many more questions. There are even more answers.

MYD.

P.S. Not a good ending, still working on that.

First-Blog-Post.

 Let me tell you that I have absolutely no idea of a first-blog-post. But, here goes.

Have you ever wondered how many times a day you conform? How many times do you decide to do or not do because of  the  “acceptability” of it? In plain words, we often do what we do not like. AND there is a lot to not like presently- the orthodoxness, the hypocrisy, the education, the very unnerving and constantly hovering presence of “what will people say?” and the underlying principle of almost all our activities and decisions – ‘Practicality Precedes Passion’.

My upcoming posts will take you (hopefully) through the stark superficiality and non-sensicalness of so much of ‘our stuff’. The ‘hopefully’ was typed since most of my friends don’t understand many of my ideas because of the way I put it. So, I hope my thoughts come across clearly and in the manner I want them to, with zero misinterpretation. Did you get this, by the way?

This is going to be my all-time post-ender, the meaning of which, will be revealed soon. ( Guessing entertained ):

MYD