It's only words.

Words have power.

Just say the right words, with the right emphasis and right intent and every problem will be solved.

Feeling ill, a headache may be? Here, say these words .. you will feel better.

In a tough spot? Here, these are the words you should be saying, designed specifically for this situation.

Getting up in the morning, going to bed, eating, walking, oh you sneezed, it's rude (not to mention sinful) if you don't say these words.

Words, repeated often, lose their meaning. Yet the same words, give some people the power. The power not to do good, because the words good power is just personal, but the harmful effects are social.

Say the wrong words against someone you should not be mouthing against, and you head will be served on a plate to you.

Words from getting up from till going back to bed, repetition repetition, unless, heavens forbid, one gets a few moments of mind time alone to think for himself.

I choose to remain silent.

Awkward moments

Isn't it awesome. You meet the same person twice and both the encounters are an year apart and yet somehow you manage to make both the times so awkward you won't forget then for a long time.

Bravo! *Standing ovation*

Other's opinons

Should everyone's opinion be given the same value? Does it matter who is saying it ? How honest is the person in giving his opinion and does he have your good intentions at heart ?

These are they types of question that are going around in my head at the moment. Should I listen to someone who is (to be very blunt about it) less educated than me? I am okay with listening to people's views and opinions about things, I don't mind if you tell me that aliens actually exist and that homeopathy works .. but what I want from you in the next few sentences is some evidence for that claim. Otherwise, your view is based in ignorance and does not matter. But everyone has the right to their opinion, so am I wrong in opposing such things? If someone believes prayer can cure their headache, who am I to tell them to take an Aspirin?

Here is where the actual problem is. Everyone can have an opinion. Everyone is also entitled to it. Does it mean that every view is equally valid? I don't think so. A view based in knowledge is more likely to be correct that one based in ignorance/superstition. So if you tell me that the twisted ankle can better be cured by some Malishi and you don't need to go to the doctor, I will oppose you with all that I have to make you understand that your well being is based not in superstitions/misinformation/word-of-mouth but in actual knowledge for which people have devoted time and energies, conducted conclusive tests and experiments and then developed the cures and medicines.

If you tell me that I need to get married right now because you want to see my parents become grand parents, I have every right to point it out to you that I do not have time to pursue such an endeavor. All the examples that you bring to the table are of the people who had nothing better to do with their lives. (and yes education does count as doing something better) I don't care who got married when he was how old. This is my life, thank you for your concern, but I am happy the way I am.

I have increasingly being feeling that I have started to analyse things, every little thing. I get annoyed when someone tell me something that does not conform to the way I think. Do I have a right to do so? Do I have a right to do so specifically because I know more than them about the subject? Should I tell them why they are wrong? Or should I value their ignorance and let them lead their life with their delusions?

I feel that there are some subjects that you can talk to everyone about. Telling people that the universe is about 14 billion years old doesn't raise an eyebrow. Telling people that pi is the ratio of the circumference to the diameter of the circle, less so. But if you contradict them about their core sets of beliefs, or you talk to them about their worldview, people get easily offended/defensive. Is is a good thing to challenge people about how they think? Can any good come of it ? I can't say. (In my heart the answer is yes, knowledge is a good thing. But somehow I can not back this claim up at the moment)

In my view, I have started looking at the hideous world the way it is without any preconceived notions. People are so ugly without that mask, except some.

IDWTLOTPAM

I don't want to live on this planet anymore.

The girl with the dark eyes.

I was at the Sanfermies festival in Pamplona last weekend. The whole event was a big whoop of celebration just for the heck of it. That is one of the things that I like about Spanish people, they know how to party!

Well the story of the festival is a long one, and may be I will post some picture here too, but the real reason for this blog post is to remember the dark haired, black eyed maiden that I ran into in Pamplona. I have seen her before somewhere, that is the only thing that I know. I have not seen here in any place that I have lived. I have either seen her on the way to somewhere in a bus/train or in another city (I think Nice, France) but I am not sure. The only thing that I know is that I have seen her before before I can not forget those haunting eyes. I saw her and I followed her just to ask her where she is from, but alas! as I turned a corner, she disappeared.

The next time I run into you, I want to get to know who you are. It feels like destiny. If you are reading this, and you know I am talking about you, get back to me. May be we can a coffee or something. Any ways, it was nice running into you again, and I hope it happens at least one more time.

The absolute monarch

Once upon a time, not so long ago there was an absolute monarch, lets call him/her AM for short. AM was the kind of monarch who ruled absolutely otherwise it would be silly to call him AM. So AM went about AM's business ruling and doing stuff as he/she pleased. AM was not the insensitive or cruel type of monarch, no sir. AM believed that he/she was the just-the-right-amount-sensitive-and-admonishing type of monarch who ruled with and with out both love and fear.

But as the story moves along, we meet some of AM's subjects. AM's subjects all love AM when they are in front of him. All praise, all hail AM as they should because AM has decided his rule not to making the life of his/her subjects better but also giving them a sense of purpose and a sense of direction for which AM's subjects are very thankful. But AM is also the kind of monarch who can be a little too much to deal with after a certain time, you know like a mother who is unable to accept that her kids have grown old enough to be independent.

But let's head back to AM and his/her subjects. This is (let's call him) John. John is a good guy, works hard, loves his job and all , the average hard-working-decent-earning-good-living sort of person. John is very happy at being born in a kingdom where AM rules because to him all the other monarch are flawed but AM is perfect. He admires and appreciates everything that AM has done for him and his fellows. If you were to ask John about anything related to AM, John would be all praise and nothing else.

But here standing a little over there is Jack. Jack is also the same amount rich as John but has a little more of a critical mind. He appreciates AM for the good things but he wants to criticise AM for the things that are not fruitful for the people. Just the other day, when everyone was asked to remain silent for a whole day because AM was not feeling well and did not want to listen to any noise. Jack was happy saying that he has not had such a sound sleep in a long time while John complained that the silent nearly drove him crazy and he was afraid that he might have become deaf. But the monarch was sick and needed silence so it is justified.

Then came the annual festival of festivities. Everyone was expected to participate with all their zeal, emotion and offerings. The biggest attraction of this festival was the grand offering from AM for all the people who needed anything. Everything imaginable was brought into the kingdom from all over the not-kingdom to be distributed free of cost. Anyone could get anything, the trick was just to get to it first. The second in line to the throne, AM's beloved son, The Almost Absolute Monarch to be was on a visit to the kingdom to the west of his own (to be). He was very excited about returning home in time for the annual festival of festivities. On his was back, he saw something that no man in the kingdom had ever seen. Something so precious and so beautiful that the folk back at the kingdom did not even have a word for it. So the prince called it "the beauty" and decided that thus forth is should be called just this. It was also because the name of the the beauty was absurdly difficult to both pronounce and remember and the prince was not the sort of person looking to engage himself with further troubles. So the beauty was added to the prince's caravan of animals (mainly elephants and camels) and was given a ride back home to be exhibited and possibly given away at the festival of festivities.

The day before the festivities began, the prince arrived at this palace and was exhausted enough to just fall on his bed and sleep without even telling his servants to bring him something to eat or to drink. Long journeys can be physically and emotionally draining and the solace of one's bed is what every weary traveler dreams about. The prince had a sound sleep, after a long time. He never could sleep well in the not-kingdom.

The next morning the festival began as soon as the sun was able to look into the kingdom. The people would have started before that but light brought life with itself and the kingdom sprang to its feet in anticipation.

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Revolution

As the famous saying goes "Religion is the opium of the masses" along similar lines "Revolution is the opium of the intellectuals." They think, eat, sleep revolution including the pseudo-ones. But we should be free to think how we want.