Question...

What is it that drives human will? Maybe this question has been asked before. Or maybe for some, this question is very naïve to ask. But there can be plenty of answers and the question is how do you decide which is the most important of all. By driving the human will, I mean providing the motivation to struggle against adversities, to hope when surrounded by dire circumstances and to fight for what one desires. This motivation, does it come from some ancestral instinct or is it acquired after birth in childhood years.
We can possibly classify the factors of this motivation into two broad categories; fear and want. Both stem out from basic survival instinct. Fear in a broader sense, as an instinct, teaches us to seek protection from that what might harm us. Be it beasts, storms or enemies. Fear then develops into many different types depending upon the situation. In the most primitive environment, the fear can be of a wild beast or a storm. In modern sense fear often stems not from direct objects or events but rather consequences of events. In simpler words modern day fear is about losing. Like fear of losing money or wealth, fear of losing loved ones or fear of losing power and status and so on. In some parts of the world fear for life is still very much a real phenomenon. Genocides, civil wars and terrorist acts continue to spill blood even in the civilized world.
Fear may be the driving factor in most of the cases. Especially in situations threatening status quo, may it be an extreme incident like natural disasters or riots and wars where actual existence is at stake. In such cases we find exceptional will power in most common people. The will to survive enables people endure worst suffering in hope that it will pass. Another type of circumstances may be less extreme in comparison but still can have a huge impact on an individual’s life. These may be serious in varying degrees. From losing one’s job to having a heartbreak, from facing public disgrace to losing wealth and status. And each individual will react differently and in different extent to each of these threats.
While fear drives most people to bring forth will power even they never knew hitherto existed, want drives people to draw on enormous strength and resolve to get what is desired. An entire gamut of emotions comes under the want category, from simple survival needs like food and water to natural instincts like sex and excesses like greed, ambition and lust. Simple logic might suggest that more basic is the need, stronger the will to fulfill it. This is true in most of the cases. A person deprived of food might kill to eat. But there are many occasions when excesses like greed, luxury or lust drive people so hard that they tend to forget the difference between the right and wrong, giving rise to crimes like corruption, scams and rapes.
While we search for the answer to the question about what drives the human will, we also need to search for one more answer. How do we use this knowledge to mould and channelize human race from civilization to super-civilization, a mature society where peaceful co-existence and mutual co-operation are pillars of the social order? Golden era of human race may then truly begin.

The Lazy Cloud...

Like a silver gray cloud,
Lazily drifting with the wind,
No intention to pour soon,
Just enjoying the ride,
Believing in my silver lining,
But still too indolent to shine,
I can see everything,
But care to do nothing,
About anything,
The stupor induced,
By slow glide ride,
Giving in to the wind currents,
Even languid to change direction,
The lethargy prevails.

Blood Brother ...(Poem)

The blood that runs through the veins,
Flows through the streets like rivers,
The ties broken long ago,
Beckon our souls no more,
The battlefield full of unnamed graves,
Of soldiers from both sides young and brave,
The cities of skyscrapers, neon lights and cars,
The countenance of society veiling the scars,
Separated from my brother by barbed wire,
The path to union splattered by gunfire,
I wait for the day when I can call my kin my own.

Blood Brothers...

Last night while partying, my friends and I met up with a Pakistani guy. There were hi and hellos and he was easily included in our group. Dancing with us, drinking beer and watching some good looking girls around us. He looked one of us, dressed like us and spoke our language. That was the moment I realized that he is one of us. A blood brother, same race and from what used to be same country a little more than six decades ago.

Then why are there lines that divide us? Pakistan and India have had long standing enmity between them. The relationship between the two neighbors has always been lined with mutual suspicion and mistrust. The derogatory slogans for the other have not been uncommon in both the countries. The Kashmir and terrorism has been the bone of contention. This hatred has overflowed in the arena of sports in form of rivalries like in cricket and hockey.

But is this the ground reality for the whole of the two nations? Does a humble fireworks factory worker in Kerala (the southernmost state of India), who can barely make ends meet, care so much to hate Pakistan or Pakistanis? Or would a poor rickshaw driver in Lahore, who listens to Bollywood music and is Shahrukh Khan fan, prefer to be at war with India.

The common man on both the sides is well aware that war would only bring ruin to both the countries. If both the Governments concentrate on developmental issues and seek each other’s cooperation then probably there will be no stopping for us. And India and Pakistan together can bring the entire south Asian continent to prosperity. The key to the future for more than a billion people of the sub continent is end of the animosity between the blood brothers.

Global Village...

One of the benefits of travelling is that it opens up your mind. After being exposed to so many different cultures, customs and view points, it is difficult to be narrow minded. I love this aspect of travelling. Yes I love sight seeing, the monuments, the museums, the marvels of the modern world. But more than that I love meeting people, talking to them, mingling with them and knowing them.

I am fortunate till now to have had opportunity to travel across India and then in middle east and Africa. Each city I went to, each country I lived in, I found some new and different things and also few similarities. Yes similarities, thats what prompted me to write this post. When I cam eto Africa, I did not expect to find anything like India. The portrayal Hollywood movies and Discovery and National Geographic documentaries had helped me form my perception.

And yes it is different, very different. The people are different, the culture is different. But I was surprised to see so much of Indian influence here. The kiswahili (thats the language of kenya) word for tea is Chai, and the one for keys is chhabbi. That was about language, another area where influence of a culture can be observed is food. Chappo is a part of the staple diet for breakfast lunch or dinner. Now chappo is a roti or chapatti or a parantha.

But I was amused most by something else. When I was working in India I used to attend meetings in Government offices and all used to be same. They will start with a formally written agenda and lot of unnecessary attendees. Then the discussion would drift away from the topic at hand to some random interdepartmental talk. And the would come the tea break, with tea, biscuits and samosas. When I came to Kenya, I went for some meeting in Government departments here. The office premises are exactly like Government offices in India, polished wooden panels and doors, huge desks and vintage look, a common British legacy. Then the meeting went exactly like India, the agenda, the attendees and the random talk. And then came tea with biscuits and..........yes samosas. Samosas here too...Now that is the Global Village.

Destiny and Identity

The cacophony that surrounds me,
Engulfing the elusive peace within,
Which I strive hard to find,
The rush of moments,
The nostalgia and adrenaline.
Never reaching within, ever without,
Knowing the answers which,
I don’t fully understand,
The questions that never cease.
Reality refusing to seep in,
Stinging eyes blinded by haze,
Way too clear, road obscured,
Visions clear, vision blurred.
A destiny to fulfill,
An identity to discover.

Nobody is Perfect..

Not much of a realization. A kind of widely accepted principle, I must say. But still, I have this habit of evaluating people’s behavior and analyzing their actions. When I meet someone new, I do not form instantaneous opinions of them. For some time, I observe their actions and their reactions to various stimuli and then form my perception of them. This again, is not my final opinion. I keep on observing and assessing the person. Yes, there are some times when I like or dislike a person at first glance. But I try to overcome such bias and understand the person better.
But the problem comes after an opinion formed after much of evaluating and analyzing proves wrong. Well, most of the times it does not prove completely wrong but many a times some vital assumption about the person turns out to be incorrect. I do not expect anyone to be perfect. I will not, at least till I can call myself perfect, and I am still far off from that target.
Sometimes a person is very nice and interesting to talk to, very kind in his manners, very amicable by nature but later on a selfish tinge appears on them. I mean we all are selfish, but in varying degrees, and there is a threshold of selfishness, which if crossed, makes selfishness very apparent and annoying at times. Someone I met recently appeared to be very meticulous, very dedicated towards his work and very hardworking. He is also very honest and frank person. I had begun to respect this person a lot. But lately I have noticed an ‘I know all’ attitude in this person. A mix of arrogance and ignorance which is seldom obscured by his friendly demeanour.
Such instances suddenly bring to fore the reality that nobody’s perfect, and that too in a very ‘in your face’, vehement way. What matters more is then to live with that reality. Hence rather than the ability to gauge and recognize people, which itself is a very important skill, more important is the ability to accept people as they are and be more understanding and compassionate.

The Rains...

It rained in Nairobi after long long time. The weather was growing hotter by the day (southern hemisphere!!). The earth was scorched, the rivers drying up. It is a famine situation in some parts of Kenya. And the rains were a welcome change.
But for me personally it was an especially welcome event. I have always found rains inspiring. My creativity peaks in monsoons. Just the sight of pouring rains, green treetops, puddles of water and little streams of water brings images from worlds I have never visited. The entire emotional spectrum is wide open. From love to lust, from excitement to ecstasy, from sorrow to nostalgia and many more feelings stir the depths of the heart. The words flow from paper to pen like a raging river. Poetry comes from deep within and naturally. I love rains.

The pouring rains from heaven above,
And cold winds, the smell of earth,
The touch of a fairy tale from faraway,
The treasure chest of joy and mirth.

Visitor Count

Just put a visitor count on my blog. Wanted to see how many people endure my writing. :)

A Fine Balance...

For quite some time I have been thinking of this and that. Mostly being the direction my life is taking. Sometimes I ask myself am I doing what I like to do? Well I don't really know if we are 'born' todo something or be someone, like born to be a writer or a singer or an actor. Maybe. But one thing is for sure that there is somethig that we 'like' to do, or maybe even 'love' to do. Now if that thing, that activity becomes your occupation then offcourse there is no greater delight. But if you are doing something else for a living and maintaining a hobby then it becomes a fine question of balance. How do you managae the balance between work and hobby? How do you know you are doing justice to both?