First post of 2011! A very happy new year to all regular and non regular visitors! :)
Posting after a long hiatus feels very weird. Instead of a long, well thought out piece, I intend to post several small thoughts to get back into the groove.
- Conformism and related ideas.
Many a times I tend to see myself as too much of a conformist, a person who is influenced both by other people and by general trends, a bit too easily perhaps. Most of the times I am able to convince myself that most of these "beliefs/practices" I give into, generally have a good reason/logical foundation. However, there are times I feel like a bit of a wuss, and try to find comfort by trying to find out chinks in the ethos of anarchists, or more specifically, those who live by the credo of being different. Taking this thought further, one can see that such mavericks, who live by only their self beliefs, and not to please others, have arisen out of a general distaste with social pressures/politics. Hence,albeit in a roundabout way, they too have been influenced by the behavior of group, an implicit reaction of which, has been to tread their own path. So we see the non- conformists, in a way are conformists as well! :)
- Corruption/Red tape saves our monuments.
The other day in the bus as I saw the mess made by the recent metro project, I was reminded of how much time it had taken for it to go from the drawing board to actual groundwork( some 20 years). In the process, it had caused the closure of several historical places, from shops to gardens. In a way, the slow pace of development of the metro, had allowed us to enjoy those places longer than we could have, had the works proceeded efficiently and without red tape. One of the things which money and progress can’t bring back, is heritage of a place or the memories associated with it. One can now go from one modern city to another without making out much difference between them. Mostly this happens because progress tends to apply the same filter to all places. Ultimately, it makes all places look much the same. So thank our corruption for slowing down actual work, so that we still have enough time to cherish/save such important landmarks. :)
One parting thing I'd like to preach, which I've been practicing off late.
Be honest with yourself about everything. :)
Thats all for now folks! Feel free to give me your ideas on current and past pieces.
See you soon with more.
