i wonder often...
the whole controversy (the way i see it!) concerning eating vegetables or eating meat (animals, fish,etc)... the whole veg. vs non veg. battle that often becomes a round table debate among friends and family... perhaps friends alone! Either ways, I find myself in "no mans land" as far as making a judgement goes: which is better- eating plants or eating both plants and animals!!
I proclaim myself to be a vegetarian.. I was a vegetarian when i was born, meaning that essentially my "brahmin" upbringing didn't really encourage the practice of eating from a kitchen that cooked meat, let alone eating meat!!(technically Im a "lacto-ova vegetarian" meaning i consume both diary and egg products but NOT any meat). Today, Im a vegetarian... what i wish to emphasise is there is a difference in me being a vegetarian Today than the vegetarian that I Was. Ideologically, i m a vegetarian.. and i realised the significance of it only very recently.
As I used to be a vegetarian early on and am one now, there was a period in the middle where i tried, to an extent some of the meats that were palpable- chicken, perhaps some fish and mutton..very little quantities... curiousity more than anything else. And its probably the genes but i never found it fascinating (tasty would be a better superlative here i suppose). In class 9(i think), i decided i would give up eating any meat anywhere... (not that i was eating lot of it...but this was just to firm things up a lil' bit). And consciously, I haven't touched meat ever since..... (there was more than one occasion where chicken (precariously) creeped in into my "vegetarian" food!!!!)..
very recently, while eating "egg biriyani", i chewed on a piece of chicken (again) and although im not paranoid about doing it (ideology and lack of intention-case denied!), it did raise a few questions...thoughts.... these, more or less have been in my mind for quite sometime.. and got piqued even more when i came to know that my best friend had just turned (back) to being a vegatarian (i was very happy for him!!and yes..i belong to the "support vegetarian fraternity"!!)..
im writing the next few lines from a very neutral point of view (or an attempt to be neutral atleast)....
i doubt there is anything wrong or right in this world..so having written that, how can one judge whether eating animals is wrong (which is what most vegans say... for whatever reasons)... ? once again, i visualise cutting a vegetable and popping it into my mouth; on the other hand, cutting a chicken and popping it into the mouth...somehow, there is some level of violence that enters the picture ( i won't deny 10% of prejudice..but only 10%!!). I should think human beings, when they were evolving... had to hunt and would've had to eat meat... the way i just described above...like animals....
tearing, gashing..... when fire evolved, the whole process of cooking (by accident) began... and yes, i guess that s where the whole culture of eating chicken 65 arose...
does a vegetable feel pain when I pluck it out of the ground and cook it and eat it?? perhaps it does.looking at it literally, it should..but i choose to ignore it.
For a non-vegetarian, either he/she doesn't cook (which means the pain is not felt or is completely ignored!! afterall, who would think a fish could feel pain!!)..or "they" simply choose to ignore it..out of habit. I can almost surely point out that a non-veg cook would've squirmed (a lil' atleast!) for the first time he/she had to handle butchering a chicken (or even just observing it)....would we do that to a pet? or a human(been done!) what do these observations imply? that humans choose to ignore or become impersonal to what appears or is undear to them... perhaps it is the simple and most basic law "survival of the fittest" (i think we tend to misuse that a little excessively, steering towards our own convenience)
...nothing else matters then.
22.2.07
19.2.07
I just remembered!! I had this awesome and exhilarating dream this morning....very weird ...very very exciting!!!!
i was in some city, with someguys i think..don't really remember whom..but i was quite familiar with them..and they appeard to be helpers (or friends) of sortsand life was normal..
Once or more (you know how dreams feel so surreal..you can never say anything spot on when you remember them!)
They would take me on this human rickshaw(mode of transport pulled by a man (very rarely women too!) ) i think..or something like that..i remember it had some sort of a wind catching device on it as well (or perhaps im just imagining it!)
one day, on an outing it begins to fly!!! Its quite amazing really... you see, it slowly took off defying gravity and catches the wind. VERY VERY scary for starters ....but slowly the excitement overtook all and any other emotions taht threatened to ruin the ride!!
They would take me on this human rickshaw(mode of transport pulled by a man (very rarely women too!) ) i think..or something like that..i remember it had some sort of a wind catching device on it as well (or perhaps im just imagining it!)
one day, on an outing it begins to fly!!! Its quite amazing really... you see, it slowly took off defying gravity and catches the wind. VERY VERY scary for starters ....but slowly the excitement overtook all and any other emotions taht threatened to ruin the ride!!
it (we?)flew for some distance..and i got it down somehow...it felt as if my fears (or thoughts) had manifested into controlling the craft. anyway,the best part's not over yet-
then what happens... a few days pass or something..
then i tell those two guys that we ought to try it again!!
so we do..and this time..it doesn't stop..or rather..we don't stop it..
and boy!!i m telling you!!i've never had such a ride in my whole life...and it was sooooooo real!! and awesome!!better than a roller coaster!!!
and i could see all land.... and so much of ocean..beautiful scintillating blue-green stretches with earth in irregular patches!it felt alien! we didn't fly at neither a consistent pace, route or height- we kept swirling, flying close to rooftops and taking steep climbs. It was unnerving in comparison to the short ride we had had earlier. And in addition to all these emotions I was going through, there was this constant fear that i would fall into the water or be indefinitely swept off by the strong gusts of wind that seemed to create the effects i described above!!
(all this i was experiencing it as a first person... so i never could actually see what the other two felt or how they hung on to the device that flew... i did know, however that once or twice, due to the sudden gusts of wind, they almost flew off and hung on to the craft so they wouldnt' get blown off!!)
(all this i was experiencing it as a first person... so i never could actually see what the other two felt or how they hung on to the device that flew... i did know, however that once or twice, due to the sudden gusts of wind, they almost flew off and hung on to the craft so they wouldnt' get blown off!!)
We had flown away from where we started (i shall call that home!) and had lost complete orientation as well..realising the need to get down and figure out a way to get back, the next time the device went low..i somehow managed to make a landing..and the way it landed was weird too...it was like how one lands after parachuting.. :D (i guess it was some kind of a glider or a parachute..though i never felt so!!) the place we landed was very sandy...
we had got diverted far far away. figured we had landed somewhere in north india..(or so my mind said..after listening to the name of the town (which appeared quite populated and affluent)...it wasn't a popular name, if i remember.. but i accepted it nonetheless..
we had got diverted far far away. figured we had landed somewhere in north india..(or so my mind said..after listening to the name of the town (which appeared quite populated and affluent)...it wasn't a popular name, if i remember.. but i accepted it nonetheless..
As we accustomed ourselves with the surroundings and were figuring out a way to get back (which meant looking at train schedules, trying to spot our geographical location, etc etc (yes..all these thoughts were in my mind then!!) ) we got befriended (quite strangely at first) by this family (i came to know only later that they were a family...and a weird one at that..you'll see what i mean as you read!)
We did not try to attempt flying again for the fear of getting lost and making it worst for us.
scene at the house where we were staying: I hear some kind of altercation at the home of the family (our friends) (and ya..they had taken us in apparently)... and i find that the daughter of the father (also my friend now) had some power.. a special mental ability greater than the rest of them around (mind you..everyone in the family had this "special" ability) that enabled her (and the rest) to use their mental powers to do things... duel with people, move objects..I really don't know what else..
anyway, coming back to the altercation..this girl had locked herself inside a room and was throwing a tantrum with her "power" that none were able to counter or stop. I don't know what prompted me to do what I did next ..but the rest of the family just stared at me... so i closed my eyes and strained my mind (dun ask me how..i think its quite similar to what one would do while feeling constipated... except..i did this with my head... and shut my eye tight..as if i was trying to squeeze some juice out of it!!!)...and slowly, i figured i was able to counter this girl's power (what i figured was that she was using her "power" to keep the door closed.. i could somehow open it with mine!! and without much effort too!)... well, i opened the door..and she stared at me..the rest of the family didn't appear very surprised..
later, i came to know that the family had befriended me cos they had seen this "power" in me... (or something like that..which is the reference to them being "weird" incidentallY)... this was a very very strange revelation..and also explained why we flew...it was probably my subconscious that made it happen (or im not sure but it did anyways!)...I stayed in that place for a while... and tried it out a few more times. it was quite scary actually..to know you had such a power...
the landscape changed to a modern city suddenly and somehow, the whole scene and "flavour" changed to something else... which i really don't remember... it was just very weird... i heard some young people looking at me with questioning glances as if i really didn't belong there..
and then, as if to create a link (that the mind often does), i heard someone else talking about my "abilities" and that somehow puts them in awe...
hmmmm.... i dont' remember much after that.... the special parts of the dream was the "flight" and experiencing the "power"..somehow, it felt amazing (whenever i did have the guts to try) when i tried to use this power... i hadn't been aware of it before..i didnt' know it worked that way...all one had to do was close the eyes and think hard...or think...(even "hard" was not a criteria") and it would occur...
outstanding!!
scene at the house where we were staying: I hear some kind of altercation at the home of the family (our friends) (and ya..they had taken us in apparently)... and i find that the daughter of the father (also my friend now) had some power.. a special mental ability greater than the rest of them around (mind you..everyone in the family had this "special" ability) that enabled her (and the rest) to use their mental powers to do things... duel with people, move objects..I really don't know what else..
anyway, coming back to the altercation..this girl had locked herself inside a room and was throwing a tantrum with her "power" that none were able to counter or stop. I don't know what prompted me to do what I did next ..but the rest of the family just stared at me... so i closed my eyes and strained my mind (dun ask me how..i think its quite similar to what one would do while feeling constipated... except..i did this with my head... and shut my eye tight..as if i was trying to squeeze some juice out of it!!!)...and slowly, i figured i was able to counter this girl's power (what i figured was that she was using her "power" to keep the door closed.. i could somehow open it with mine!! and without much effort too!)... well, i opened the door..and she stared at me..the rest of the family didn't appear very surprised..
later, i came to know that the family had befriended me cos they had seen this "power" in me... (or something like that..which is the reference to them being "weird" incidentallY)... this was a very very strange revelation..and also explained why we flew...it was probably my subconscious that made it happen (or im not sure but it did anyways!)...I stayed in that place for a while... and tried it out a few more times. it was quite scary actually..to know you had such a power...
the landscape changed to a modern city suddenly and somehow, the whole scene and "flavour" changed to something else... which i really don't remember... it was just very weird... i heard some young people looking at me with questioning glances as if i really didn't belong there..
and then, as if to create a link (that the mind often does), i heard someone else talking about my "abilities" and that somehow puts them in awe...
hmmmm.... i dont' remember much after that.... the special parts of the dream was the "flight" and experiencing the "power"..somehow, it felt amazing (whenever i did have the guts to try) when i tried to use this power... i hadn't been aware of it before..i didnt' know it worked that way...all one had to do was close the eyes and think hard...or think...(even "hard" was not a criteria") and it would occur...
outstanding!!
closed for maintenance....
this blog shall hereby be closed down (temporarily hopefully) due to shortage of "blogging content" (or the lack of it) furthered by lack of creative writing material.
to the palmists of the world..... behold!!
significant or insignificant... the hand of a murderer or the greatest living artist?? or a hand that belongs to the everyday, run-of-the-mill man... or a crossdresser perhaps?? anyone for the taking??
i think.....
the other night, I was working..working quite hard (as architecture students are supposed to do (and most don't... (and end up burning the midnight candle (in this case, its electricity thats going waste!!!!) ) ))
sorry to interrupt the "thought".... just a mention of my "writing methods" to those who might've some trouble (if you know english, its good enough... (if you don't... its even better!!)) trying to figure out what i m writing (with all these bracketed texts, urrrrgh!!) ....
I write what i think.. i guess most people do that..i m almost scared of writing...i don't think i can write without having a parallel thought.. (or for that matter, a contradictory thought... or a tangential thought.. (add any superlative actually!) )... so..in order to remain true to the spirit of the human (spirit) mind, I strive to express whatever i think (in parallel universes et al)..and what one ends up reading (including myself) are these "bracketed-sub bracketed-sub sub bracketed" IRRITATING chain of text that probably (thats Probably with a capital P) is very irritating (and highly repetitive as you might've already observed).
Essentially, what i mean to convey is that this "style" of writing (multitaskism parallelism (don't ask me what that means!!!) ) is aimed at diversifying and conversifying the flow of thought into written matter....
Now that you've figured (for better or for worse) what i really meant by the above "mobius" lines, "let us the get the movings"...
(if you still haven't figured out, (im sure you HAVE!!!) then you'll figure out soon enough..do forgive me for going round and round (get the link ??? "MOBIUS HELLO!!") )
the other night, I was working..working quite hard (as architecture students are supposed to do (and most don't... (and end up burning the midnight candle (in this case, its electricity that goes waste!!!!and boy!!we're so energy deficient!) Architects must be banned!!! ) hail the architects!!!) architects are society's artists!!)<<-----(i dunno what that was all about ...)
alright... so i was working..and I got up (after a long stint at the job) to take a stretch and wash my face (I do not depend on narcotics... (translates to coffee and tea (for all you cafeine addicts (and coffee lovers!!) )...and suddenly... there was this flash of thought.. i guess thoughts do appear in flashes..but this was one was not a continuous thought, it just flashed and was gone in a jiffy.
Generally, the problem with such thoughts are that they make you feel like you're a goldfish (apparently..they've very very short term memories... i dunno how they found that out though!!!)... atleast they generally make me feel like one (damn those scientists!!). Anyway, this thought (or flash!!) was more a "feeling", if you get my meaning... one of those striking moments where a whole "concept of thoughts" flow in all at once (and you transform for that one second (or 3 for that matter) into a super evolved human being)..this was one such moment. So..the point is that its all quite overwhelming you know..
To add more "masala" to this "flash effect", I happened to gaze (happenstance) into the mirror at the basin and boy!! that could've been the trippiest experience ever (i think i blame the lack of sleep for all of these "ethereal" experiences!!anyway..)...
What i "felt" was, at that moment of time..I was sitting (uncomfortably) on a chair, working like a zombie just to complete something for some purpose..and suddenly the purpose, the something and everything else just didn't seem to matter. It all appeared non-existent in front of this "feeling"... it was as if the message i got was .. "hey.. all of this doesn't matter..."... all this was exhilarating for those few seconds but leads to further complications (when dealing with my brains, handle with care!!)... the question that arose was, "what then really matters?"(eventually, i went back to sleep (after the wash (note cafeine drinkers!) ))
well..the question's been there in my head for a while... and i've been subconsciously observant of people, occurances, etc around me....and it came back to me again albeit the next level of questions:
what is right or wrong?
who defines what is selfish and whats not?
Who's not, for that matter?
Are you justified in doing something if you feel passionate and conscientous about doing it?
You see..most of these questions arose with relation to architectural practices happening around the world, in our country, in the backyard..and well...at our own schools..looking beyond it transgresses into the general realm of human existence as well.
I do not know whether i 've lost faith in (hu)mankind... I do not know whether i m cynical and "old"...I have not yet passed any judgement or written anyone off... however down the situation might seem, there has always been a spark of light that ignites hope.... its always positive vs negative... (does not refer to good vs bad, right vs wrong).... I feel its up to you (or me) to figure whether you want to get back to "positive" rather than the other side (by the way, i m not sure how i would define both those opposites)....
I have thorougly enjoyed this confusing ride... so looooong then!!!
sorry to interrupt the "thought".... just a mention of my "writing methods" to those who might've some trouble (if you know english, its good enough... (if you don't... its even better!!)) trying to figure out what i m writing (with all these bracketed texts, urrrrgh!!) ....
I write what i think.. i guess most people do that..i m almost scared of writing...i don't think i can write without having a parallel thought.. (or for that matter, a contradictory thought... or a tangential thought.. (add any superlative actually!) )... so..in order to remain true to the spirit of the human (spirit) mind, I strive to express whatever i think (in parallel universes et al)..and what one ends up reading (including myself) are these "bracketed-sub bracketed-sub sub bracketed" IRRITATING chain of text that probably (thats Probably with a capital P) is very irritating (and highly repetitive as you might've already observed).
Essentially, what i mean to convey is that this "style" of writing (multitaskism parallelism (don't ask me what that means!!!) ) is aimed at diversifying and conversifying the flow of thought into written matter....
Now that you've figured (for better or for worse) what i really meant by the above "mobius" lines, "let us the get the movings"...
(if you still haven't figured out, (im sure you HAVE!!!) then you'll figure out soon enough..do forgive me for going round and round (get the link ??? "MOBIUS HELLO!!") )
the other night, I was working..working quite hard (as architecture students are supposed to do (and most don't... (and end up burning the midnight candle (in this case, its electricity that goes waste!!!!and boy!!we're so energy deficient!) Architects must be banned!!! ) hail the architects!!!) architects are society's artists!!)<<-----(i dunno what that was all about ...)
alright... so i was working..and I got up (after a long stint at the job) to take a stretch and wash my face (I do not depend on narcotics... (translates to coffee and tea (for all you cafeine addicts (and coffee lovers!!) )...and suddenly... there was this flash of thought.. i guess thoughts do appear in flashes..but this was one was not a continuous thought, it just flashed and was gone in a jiffy.
Generally, the problem with such thoughts are that they make you feel like you're a goldfish (apparently..they've very very short term memories... i dunno how they found that out though!!!)... atleast they generally make me feel like one (damn those scientists!!). Anyway, this thought (or flash!!) was more a "feeling", if you get my meaning... one of those striking moments where a whole "concept of thoughts" flow in all at once (and you transform for that one second (or 3 for that matter) into a super evolved human being)..this was one such moment. So..the point is that its all quite overwhelming you know..
To add more "masala" to this "flash effect", I happened to gaze (happenstance) into the mirror at the basin and boy!! that could've been the trippiest experience ever (i think i blame the lack of sleep for all of these "ethereal" experiences!!anyway..)...
What i "felt" was, at that moment of time..I was sitting (uncomfortably) on a chair, working like a zombie just to complete something for some purpose..and suddenly the purpose, the something and everything else just didn't seem to matter. It all appeared non-existent in front of this "feeling"... it was as if the message i got was .. "hey.. all of this doesn't matter..."... all this was exhilarating for those few seconds but leads to further complications (when dealing with my brains, handle with care!!)... the question that arose was, "what then really matters?"(eventually, i went back to sleep (after the wash (note cafeine drinkers!) ))
well..the question's been there in my head for a while... and i've been subconsciously observant of people, occurances, etc around me....and it came back to me again albeit the next level of questions:
what is right or wrong?
who defines what is selfish and whats not?
Who's not, for that matter?
Are you justified in doing something if you feel passionate and conscientous about doing it?
You see..most of these questions arose with relation to architectural practices happening around the world, in our country, in the backyard..and well...at our own schools..looking beyond it transgresses into the general realm of human existence as well.
I do not know whether i 've lost faith in (hu)mankind... I do not know whether i m cynical and "old"...I have not yet passed any judgement or written anyone off... however down the situation might seem, there has always been a spark of light that ignites hope.... its always positive vs negative... (does not refer to good vs bad, right vs wrong).... I feel its up to you (or me) to figure whether you want to get back to "positive" rather than the other side (by the way, i m not sure how i would define both those opposites)....
I have thorougly enjoyed this confusing ride... so looooong then!!!
16.2.07
EVOluTion II
this one- i specifically call the "monkey" evo... or the "hindi movie sway sway" evo.. don't ask me for reasons though.
*#&*$(#$*#$(# Where did that odd one come from?? oooops!! i forgot... ahem ahem (to be visualised as "Clearing the throat" the way the English do)... (clears the throat)...
EVOLUTION ladies and gentlemen... Evolution....
Evolution I
a Photo series
a look at split transformation
(or evolution as i term it) whilst in front of a camera....
(also notice the interesting body language!)
disclaimer: nothing personal! ( i think this one's quite pretty ..... figure something odd if you can...
the winner gets... umm.... well...some maturity perhaps!:P )
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and... there was Light....
(what a way to begin a blog! )The Museum of Light is incidentally a "live" project thats going to be located in Bangalore. What do you think can really happen in such a museum? display of BULBS!!! perhaps lot more..
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