Overview
5 years ago
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Friday, February 20, 2009
* quota quota..
this is coz saif said i should blog it...though he will forget that i ever did...we were talking about the quota system..and then i thought...that the best thing about the quota system or any system which promotes people from different backgrounds and ideas to mix...is that is allows different ideas to mix...people come from different places and when we are put together, our thinking evolves...those educational institutes in india where the quota is not really there (eg private and elitist places) only promote status quo...thye promote one dimensional thought...its dull, boring and static...i have learn the most when i have intereacted with people from different cultures, religions and regions...
i hate status quo...insecure masses!!
i hate status quo...insecure masses!!
Sunday, February 15, 2009
* theory is my valentine's
Why is the struggle for existence only limited to the material? Can you exist without happiness? Without resolution of conflicts?
Thoughts over Valentine’s Day…(point 6 is the coolest)
1. what’s Valentines day? It’s the expression of capitalism. Capitalism first makes us realize that we are lonely ONLY coz we don’t have someone to love…f*** capitalism….just having someone in your life doesn’t relieve you of loneliness and people who don’t have that person are not sad…ok…
remember capitalism does not tell us that we are lonely (that used to be there, when the market just told you what you are...like dark skinned, ugly, fat…poor, uncool…) but it’s a fallout that we begin to realize it…I support Saif’s argument that capitalism makes us individualistic thus, lonely…
2. ok fine, we are lonely (which is more of an inner feeling)…but then the market tells us that you are capable of buying happiness and buying happiness for you loved one…ah…buy a present...buy her gold earrings (what the hell were Indian marriages doing till date??)…buy her flowers (the phoolvaale are making money thanks to the market)
3.its become such a huge issue…sometimes its so embarrassing to accept that its happening here...in India…and coz of complex reasons…what’s amazing is that all of a sudden its become a thing…even last year, no one really cared that it existed…only metro couples (read: archies type) thought about it…
4.why? I give two reasons for this: a) the market has spread V day beyond the few cities it was in initially…b) the market has influenced other institutions to support V day…like today I watched the news (CNN- IBN) and the anchor begins “ today on Valentine’s day, we do not have good news”…matlab the first five news were only on V day!!...and the last news was on how to cook up something nice for your Valentines…so here you go…everything that is a product of the market is talking the same thing and making us conscious about it?
5. Now why these backlashes?...what the hell does religion have to do with love? (actually, V day is not about love*)…neither are these rebellions against love…this ‘new form of expression of love’ is seen as a threat to patriarchy and THIS IS WHAT religion can't take…religion (after marriage) enforces patriarchy and maintains it…(that’s why men are more religious!! And that’s also why men don’t see the need to rebel…they are blind to reality and oppression!)…
6. also the same democracy which allows this ‘new form of expression of love’ allows rebel…allows dissent, allows groups to mobilize and become strong…so both V day and its backlash are the products of the same thing
the funniest thing is that when we rebel against V day coz it’s a capitalist strategy…our goal becomes the same as the right wingers (winngers???)…that’s how ideology comes to a full circle…the liberal and the conformists have a common enemy…for the liberals its stauts quo and for the conformists it’s the change agents…that’s the beauty of V day…its for both to rebel
So this was theory…now practice…theory is so perfect, practice is full of contradictions and emotions…
So im gonna go now and enjoy my valentines with chocolate chip cookies (bought them for my valentine…my sister…I only bought one pack so we would learn to share them!!)
Thank you Chanchal, Saif and Sayed ……..
* what is love…I have no f****** clue…
Thoughts over Valentine’s Day…(point 6 is the coolest)
1. what’s Valentines day? It’s the expression of capitalism. Capitalism first makes us realize that we are lonely ONLY coz we don’t have someone to love…f*** capitalism….just having someone in your life doesn’t relieve you of loneliness and people who don’t have that person are not sad…ok…
remember capitalism does not tell us that we are lonely (that used to be there, when the market just told you what you are...like dark skinned, ugly, fat…poor, uncool…) but it’s a fallout that we begin to realize it…I support Saif’s argument that capitalism makes us individualistic thus, lonely…
2. ok fine, we are lonely (which is more of an inner feeling)…but then the market tells us that you are capable of buying happiness and buying happiness for you loved one…ah…buy a present...buy her gold earrings (what the hell were Indian marriages doing till date??)…buy her flowers (the phoolvaale are making money thanks to the market)
3.its become such a huge issue…sometimes its so embarrassing to accept that its happening here...in India…and coz of complex reasons…what’s amazing is that all of a sudden its become a thing…even last year, no one really cared that it existed…only metro couples (read: archies type) thought about it…
4.why? I give two reasons for this: a) the market has spread V day beyond the few cities it was in initially…b) the market has influenced other institutions to support V day…like today I watched the news (CNN- IBN) and the anchor begins “ today on Valentine’s day, we do not have good news”…matlab the first five news were only on V day!!...and the last news was on how to cook up something nice for your Valentines…so here you go…everything that is a product of the market is talking the same thing and making us conscious about it?
5. Now why these backlashes?...what the hell does religion have to do with love? (actually, V day is not about love*)…neither are these rebellions against love…this ‘new form of expression of love’ is seen as a threat to patriarchy and THIS IS WHAT religion can't take…religion (after marriage) enforces patriarchy and maintains it…(that’s why men are more religious!! And that’s also why men don’t see the need to rebel…they are blind to reality and oppression!)…
6. also the same democracy which allows this ‘new form of expression of love’ allows rebel…allows dissent, allows groups to mobilize and become strong…so both V day and its backlash are the products of the same thing
the funniest thing is that when we rebel against V day coz it’s a capitalist strategy…our goal becomes the same as the right wingers (winngers???)…that’s how ideology comes to a full circle…the liberal and the conformists have a common enemy…for the liberals its stauts quo and for the conformists it’s the change agents…that’s the beauty of V day…its for both to rebel
So this was theory…now practice…theory is so perfect, practice is full of contradictions and emotions…
So im gonna go now and enjoy my valentines with chocolate chip cookies (bought them for my valentine…my sister…I only bought one pack so we would learn to share them!!)
Thank you Chanchal, Saif and Sayed ……..
* what is love…I have no f****** clue…
* emosanal attyachaar
Arrey sapne dekhe jannat ke,
par mitti mein mil jaen....
tauba tera Jalwa,
tauba tera pyar,
tera emosanal attyachaar!
par mitti mein mil jaen....
tauba tera Jalwa,
tauba tera pyar,
tera emosanal attyachaar!
Watched Dev. D…
Made me high…
It will take a long time till society can make a film in the opposite way…why cant Devdas be a girl next time…society has not given us accepted ways to drown ourselves in intense feelings (u can call it love if you think it exists??) and ways to rebel…like alcohol and turning to sex…
but then also...what women have to rebel against are different things… (this can literally be a separate blog)
There are four things I would love to know:
1. from men: how would you rebel/drown yourselves in intense feelings
2. and how would girls do it?
3. and today what are women rebelling against?
4. and men?
At the end of it, we all are rebelling against conflicts…what conflicts? yup...society- its norms and practices versus our inner choices and wants
THIS IS MY DAILY CONFLICT
(on top of that I’m a thinking sociologist…just complicates the matter…talk about ignorance being bliss…knowledge is hell!!)
yes, a tiny….tiny….tiny section of women are struggling against the sexual conformity vs liberation conflict…
but all women (the thinking ones) are fighting against this conflict of crossing boundaries, transgressing norms…
why are ONLY men allowed to transgress norms yet be the 'patriarchs' and when women cross the boundary, its about social honour??
Made me high…
It will take a long time till society can make a film in the opposite way…why cant Devdas be a girl next time…society has not given us accepted ways to drown ourselves in intense feelings (u can call it love if you think it exists??) and ways to rebel…like alcohol and turning to sex…
but then also...what women have to rebel against are different things… (this can literally be a separate blog)
There are four things I would love to know:
1. from men: how would you rebel/drown yourselves in intense feelings
2. and how would girls do it?
3. and today what are women rebelling against?
4. and men?
At the end of it, we all are rebelling against conflicts…what conflicts? yup...society- its norms and practices versus our inner choices and wants
THIS IS MY DAILY CONFLICT
(on top of that I’m a thinking sociologist…just complicates the matter…talk about ignorance being bliss…knowledge is hell!!)
yes, a tiny….tiny….tiny section of women are struggling against the sexual conformity vs liberation conflict…
but all women (the thinking ones) are fighting against this conflict of crossing boundaries, transgressing norms…
why are ONLY men allowed to transgress norms yet be the 'patriarchs' and when women cross the boundary, its about social honour??
fuck the conformists!
I mean women are not even allowed to think that they can cross boundaries…and even when women are not crossing boundaries of society, but being women and doing what men have traditionally done- its like 'whoaaa, stop it there'* (yes, there are societies where even men transgressing those boundaries are not liked…but they are accepted sometimes- I will not take the names of these societies/and men)
* there are exceptions where women are allowed and even preferred to do what men have been traditionally doing...but these are because capitalism has allowed it...like women working....(controversial still)
But I am a liberated woman….coz I can think freely…that’s all….that’s harder than being physically liberated…now this is personal…but as a woman there are so many times I feel like ‘what are you doing?’…I feel that if society comes to see me in this way- society will die…
like..society has problems when I be with men…when I talk to them about anything (ANYTHING)…even in the middle of the night (I add)…but more than this, I feel it inside me…I have this constraining feeling…something that makes me guilty, at least makes me think…
But I am a liberated woman….coz I can think freely…that’s all….that’s harder than being physically liberated…now this is personal…but as a woman there are so many times I feel like ‘what are you doing?’…I feel that if society comes to see me in this way- society will die…
like..society has problems when I be with men…when I talk to them about anything (ANYTHING)…even in the middle of the night (I add)…but more than this, I feel it inside me…I have this constraining feeling…something that makes me guilty, at least makes me think…
after a point, society cant take the fact that i hang out with guys, that i drink chai at the street dhaba, that i talk to bus vaalas, that i walk alone in the evening on the street, that i flirt with guys...that i drink...
well, F them...
if men, marriage and society exist to f*** women...i give it back..i say f*** them................f*** all the conformists who cant see change...who live and die in sameness...who merely exist...remember, its only the norm breakers that move society...and no society is static...its only the change makers that have been remembered...conformists are merely puppets, dumb masses, a sack of potatoes that rot in the sack...they stink of their sameness, of their dumbness, of their incapacity to change, of their impotency to struggle and their ignorance to innovation....
back to the point...and more than this …I accept it about me and I talk about it…I havnt talked to anybody, but unlike many girls, I have the guts to write about it…(but not beyond this)
Coz I believe in ideological freedom and talking about anything…after all, we are just people…we think alike…but we just hide it…(f****** ego we all have)
Sometimes I am a Paro and a Chandramukhi because I break norms…and society comes back on me to tell me that you are a woman…(that’s the beauty of the movie)
For the many dumb people - this is not about sexual liberation but ideological liberation…which can manifest in many ways (sexual being one of them)…its also a way to rebel against oppression…to hate status quo…………
One this clear…men do like women for their looks and their body
But what’s clearer is that men LOVE women coz women make them feel good about themselves…it’s a male ego thing…
Men are sooooooo lonely, and their ego is MASSIVE…and women are the best way to keep things in control…matlab, to stay out of loneliness and satisfy their ego…
But don’t worry…….women are luckier, coz we are more powerful…how? Coz we have power over men…and we can make them hate themselves and drink their life out ....f*** patriarchy i say…
But the movie is also about escape, from ourselves and from our conflicts…its about liberation…and the pursuit of happiness…
Its about being liberated and happy at the same time???
Only dev.d did it…can you???
I think I need a glass of vodka (but I like mine with sprite)
hahahahah
Coz I believe in ideological freedom and talking about anything…after all, we are just people…we think alike…but we just hide it…(f****** ego we all have)
Sometimes I am a Paro and a Chandramukhi because I break norms…and society comes back on me to tell me that you are a woman…(that’s the beauty of the movie)
For the many dumb people - this is not about sexual liberation but ideological liberation…which can manifest in many ways (sexual being one of them)…its also a way to rebel against oppression…to hate status quo…………
One this clear…men do like women for their looks and their body
But what’s clearer is that men LOVE women coz women make them feel good about themselves…it’s a male ego thing…
Men are sooooooo lonely, and their ego is MASSIVE…and women are the best way to keep things in control…matlab, to stay out of loneliness and satisfy their ego…
But don’t worry…….women are luckier, coz we are more powerful…how? Coz we have power over men…and we can make them hate themselves and drink their life out ....f*** patriarchy i say…
But the movie is also about escape, from ourselves and from our conflicts…its about liberation…and the pursuit of happiness…
Its about being liberated and happy at the same time???
Only dev.d did it…can you???
I think I need a glass of vodka (but I like mine with sprite)
hahahahah
Sunday, February 8, 2009
* Pappu Cant Dance Saala
This is sociological material!! Its called Pappu Cant Dance Saala…(I love saying that word…its so guy like…but then society wants women to be like men…well, damn society, you want us to be like men, then don’t regret it when we become like them…ewww……yuck!!...i would rather be fungus than a man!) hahahahha
Okie…now the point! hahahahahahha
Hahahahah
So listen to the song…(there may be some mistakes)
Hai Muscular,
Hai Popular,
Spectacular
He’s a Bachelor
Paapu Ki Gaadi Tez Hai,
Pappu Kudiyon Mein Craze Hai
Pappu Ke Aankhen Light Blue,
Pappu Dikhtha Angrez Hai
Rado Ki Ghadi Haathon Mein Hai
Perfume Gucci Waala
But Pappu Cant Dance Saala…
Pappu Nach Nahin Saktha
Paida Pappu Hua To Kismathein Chamki
Aur Uske Moo Mein Thi Chaandi Ki Chamchi
Pappu Ke Paas Hai Paisa,
Haathon Ke Meil Ke Jaisa
Pappu Yaaron Ka Yaar Hai,
Pappu Is Hot And Smart Hai
But Pappu Cant Dance Saala….
Baap Kehthe Hai Bada Naam Karega;
Mera Pappu To Aisa Kaam Karega
Pappu Ke Paas Hai MBA,
Kartha Hai France Mein Holiday
Pappu Guitar Bajataa Hai,
Jahan Jaatha Hai Chchaa Jaatha Hai
But Pappu Cant Dance Saala….
This is EVERY urban/elite/wannabe guy’s dream (at least in our Delhi). This is also sadly EVERY urban/elite/wannabe woman’s dream man!! (try to reverse it and see what men would like in women…it would be different). Now secondly, its cool coz it reflects our changing society, about hopes and ambitions of today’s youth…BUT
Isn’t it cool that its actually a BLOW to capitalism. It tells capitalism (and our new society) that dammit you can buy everything, achieve everything, but there’s one thing money cant buy (nor MasterCard) and that is the TALENT to dance…
It says that capitalism makes everything a commodity which can be bought and sold by anyone but society doesn’t just want this…its beyond capitalism
And the word saala deliberately plays on this paradox…its kinda a rebuke to the wannabes…
Hahahahahhaha
Wow…I was listening to music…and the song just came!!cool…..
I also like the music of the song!!
Okie…now the point! hahahahahahha
Hahahahah
So listen to the song…(there may be some mistakes)
Hai Muscular,
Hai Popular,
Spectacular
He’s a Bachelor
Paapu Ki Gaadi Tez Hai,
Pappu Kudiyon Mein Craze Hai
Pappu Ke Aankhen Light Blue,
Pappu Dikhtha Angrez Hai
Rado Ki Ghadi Haathon Mein Hai
Perfume Gucci Waala
But Pappu Cant Dance Saala…
Pappu Nach Nahin Saktha
Paida Pappu Hua To Kismathein Chamki
Aur Uske Moo Mein Thi Chaandi Ki Chamchi
Pappu Ke Paas Hai Paisa,
Haathon Ke Meil Ke Jaisa
Pappu Yaaron Ka Yaar Hai,
Pappu Is Hot And Smart Hai
But Pappu Cant Dance Saala….
Baap Kehthe Hai Bada Naam Karega;
Mera Pappu To Aisa Kaam Karega
Pappu Ke Paas Hai MBA,
Kartha Hai France Mein Holiday
Pappu Guitar Bajataa Hai,
Jahan Jaatha Hai Chchaa Jaatha Hai
But Pappu Cant Dance Saala….
This is EVERY urban/elite/wannabe guy’s dream (at least in our Delhi). This is also sadly EVERY urban/elite/wannabe woman’s dream man!! (try to reverse it and see what men would like in women…it would be different). Now secondly, its cool coz it reflects our changing society, about hopes and ambitions of today’s youth…BUT
Isn’t it cool that its actually a BLOW to capitalism. It tells capitalism (and our new society) that dammit you can buy everything, achieve everything, but there’s one thing money cant buy (nor MasterCard) and that is the TALENT to dance…
It says that capitalism makes everything a commodity which can be bought and sold by anyone but society doesn’t just want this…its beyond capitalism
And the word saala deliberately plays on this paradox…its kinda a rebuke to the wannabes…
Hahahahahhaha
Wow…I was listening to music…and the song just came!!cool…..
I also like the music of the song!!
* Haule haule ho jayega pyaar …
My favourite song aajkal (apart from Tujh mein Rab dikhta hai and Pappu cant dance saala)…
So another song I love is Haule Haule..from Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi!! Its so sociological!!...
Society constantly teaches us one thing. Be patient. Things will happen…slowly…haule haule…
Read the lyrics…they are cool…
Haule haule se hawa chalti hai
Haule haule se dava lagti hai
Haule haule se dua lagti hai
Haule haule chanda badhta hai
Haule haule ghoongat uththa hai
Haule haule se nasha chadta hai (hamesha nahin!!...for those who believe in the vodka shots!!)
… …. …
Haule haule ho jayega pyaar …
Society does one thing (turning to dear Freud) it works to kill our need for immediate gratification (Id)…and thus, it says to us ‘haule…haule’…it teaches us to accept that things take time!!...
Tu sabra toh kar mere yaar!!!!
So another song I love is Haule Haule..from Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi!! Its so sociological!!...
Society constantly teaches us one thing. Be patient. Things will happen…slowly…haule haule…
Read the lyrics…they are cool…
Haule haule se hawa chalti hai
Haule haule se dava lagti hai
Haule haule se dua lagti hai
Haule haule chanda badhta hai
Haule haule ghoongat uththa hai
Haule haule se nasha chadta hai (hamesha nahin!!...for those who believe in the vodka shots!!)
… …. …
Haule haule ho jayega pyaar …
Society does one thing (turning to dear Freud) it works to kill our need for immediate gratification (Id)…and thus, it says to us ‘haule…haule’…it teaches us to accept that things take time!!...
Tu sabra toh kar mere yaar!!!!
* when theory gives me space for emotions
This is almost a masterpiece for me!!...its very personal mixed with complex ideas…it’s the hardest thing to write about!
This is one of the coolest ideas that struck me. No society accepts love. Even if you think that the French society is all ok with it, then think again. Or better yet, ask the French. I bet if a French girl tells her parents, that she is love with an Indian man and wants to marry him, they will be like “????” and not say “oh wow, you are in love…great”. The other liberal society I can only think of is of the Scandinavian countries. But I have one argument to support why this society does not accept love easily too.
Its simple. Love is the only force which can destroy society. Duh!!
Only love has the capacity to destroy all institutions and status quo. It can crumble hierarchy and structure. It can shatter our roles and status in society. This is the ONLY reason why society hates it.
Love can destroy capitalism. It can destroy caste. It can destroy marriage. It can destroy religion. It can definitely destroy patriarchy. Love is the only alternative. While revolution is a means. Love is an end. I keep thinking about alternatives. I am searching for alternatives to this society. And I have found one. Its called love.
Now for the masses, what is love???
For me, love is a selfless unconditional feeling for others. It requires only one thing. Kill that ego. But people are selfish, people want to prove themselves better and demean others. They have this fake self-pride. Hollow creeps! Thus, people are incapable of loving. Thus there is no revolution, no change, no rebellion with a cause, no one to break status quo, no one to shatter the structure, the hierarchy…
Coz society makes us so egoistic…so group oriented, so material, so power oriented that we don’t even give a shit that there are other people…
Ok this was anger…
Now the theory…..arre the theory is sexy!!
Capitalism
Caste
Religion
Marriage
Patriarchy
These are the facts of the Indian society (even culture…but im being biased, coz I aint against culture)… theory has only been able to find an alternative to one of these..that is capitalism (the rest are waiting for the theorists!!, so you all contribute).
Now I like two alternatives to capitalism…(this is personal!!)
I like Gandhi’s concept of community living
And I love Marx’s concept of communal ownership of property (im reading more on this…)
Now Gandhi and Marx are the same…its just their way of writing and expressing the same idea is different…Remember for both it’s the ‘commu’ which is more important than the ‘capital’… (or people over things)
For both the society they conceived of rested on the idea of love. It was a selfless feeling for others. It was about drowning our self-pride and our flushing our freaking ego…isn’t that amazing!
But then we all are hypocrites…we talk about religion teaching us nice things and being good to others…well, religion has failed to teach society about being good to others (if it was supposed to do that and if it wasn’t …then tell it to go to hell).
Its easy…its about being good to others (for the hedonist - this does make us feel good about ourselves). It’s about putting others before ourselves. And it’s about giving without thinking about receiving, its unconditional!!
Capitalism is one thing which works on the individual, his need, his pride, his achievement, his merit, his ego, his reward, his goal, utility, gratification…
But anyone who lives by these values will be destroyed. Its self-destruction. Capitalism destroys the individual. And love destroys society. That is why society hates love (and not capitalism). Society doesn’t give a shit about individuals. It only cares about itself.
Its funny that if love is so complex and selfless and painful (if I can add)…we still want to be in it...!!!hahahah…f*** society!
* When knowledge gives up!!
There are three things which neither sociology, religion, science…or whatever epistemologies you turn to… can explain
Power
Gender/Women*
Love
these remain the most debated, complex and largely experiential aspects of society…they give us questions, paradoxes and personal and social conflicts…you cant find a solution or a fixed path…perhaps that’s why no subject has taken it up to study them (though sociology has taken the former two somewhat)…and even psychology has done some justice in understanding them…why psychology has succeeded in its endeavors is because these things are totally ‘experiential’…they are in the mind… but they are in society too!! The most amazing thing is that they are ubiquitous.
Power
Gender/Women*
Love
these remain the most debated, complex and largely experiential aspects of society…they give us questions, paradoxes and personal and social conflicts…you cant find a solution or a fixed path…perhaps that’s why no subject has taken it up to study them (though sociology has taken the former two somewhat)…and even psychology has done some justice in understanding them…why psychology has succeeded in its endeavors is because these things are totally ‘experiential’…they are in the mind… but they are in society too!! The most amazing thing is that they are ubiquitous.
* depends on whose side you are on!!
* Yeh koi vivaad nahin!!
Some feelings are inexplicable. And there are points in our life when we feel them. Like ‘self-actualization’, ‘trance’, ‘enlightened’… ‘high’…
I seriously love these moments!!...here’s one where I felt so high…
Went for an entrance exam somewhere and the first task they gave me was to translate a hindi news item to English.
Two weeks before. We had to write and practice some news at college. So I picked up some Hindi news item. Why?
For all the purists…who are highly uncomfortable to hear my hindi…and still wondering why I did something like that…
Well, Khayyam wanted to do it in Hindi (he was my partner) and so I agreed, I told myself, “there’s nothing you can do, come on, take it as a challenge”..i will admit that I thought Hindi is easy…but people…news Hindi is sooooooooo hard if you don’t have much exposure to it (yes, I have never read a Hindi newspaper, and i just cant understand Hindi news on TV…so I watch it in English)….i had nothing to loose to do the news in hindi…
So what are the Tamil Tigers doing??..i asked Khayyam…is it yudh?? Ladhai??...he said no…it’s a ‘vivaad’…….So the first word I learnt that day was vivaad…
Now back to the written test, I was given the hindi script…and the first word of the piece was “vivaad”…wow…I was so in love with Khayyam and myself…I was so happy that two weeks ago, for the first time in my life, I took up a challenge…I had never done before…its was meant to be
My classmates laughed at me and so did my professor…arre…even my dad mocks at my hindi…but man, I don’t give a shit…big deal….i can do what no one else can..i can be different…
I am remembered of two people I recently like..one is Katrina Kaif..she cant speak hindi well, but India likes her…she makes the statement that hindi can be spoken in an accent..(thank you)…and then there is Farhan Akhtar…been watching Oye its Friday…he gives you the perfect example of Hinglish…
Hinglish??...yes, for the purists, its blasphemy…for the real…its true
Hinglish is NOT…I repeat NOT a mixture of hindi and English, it is not random selection of words...but it’s a careful selection of two genres of words (which happen to be in different languages)…
Lemme explain…
Chalo, ab hum apna agla performance dekhte hain…
Kitni saari political parties contest kar rahi hain…
Yaar, train late thi…
Im not sure ki mujhe yeh achcha lagta hai ya nahin….
See, words like performance, late, parties..are used in english, their hindi translation wont be used…and words like ‘ghar’, ‘achcha’ will mostly be used in Hindi…
Like you wont say ‘main apne home jaa rahi hoon’…or ‘yeh ice cream kitni good hai’…
For the linguist, this is food…
Ek toh, Hinglish has lots of Urdu in it…ok…so for the purist…..hahahahahhahaha
Chek out the word to be ‘bored’…
Boriyat…(I think its Hindi or Urdu or Boredom...am I right??)
Boredom, boring…is English..!!
I seriously love these moments!!...here’s one where I felt so high…
Went for an entrance exam somewhere and the first task they gave me was to translate a hindi news item to English.
Two weeks before. We had to write and practice some news at college. So I picked up some Hindi news item. Why?
For all the purists…who are highly uncomfortable to hear my hindi…and still wondering why I did something like that…
Well, Khayyam wanted to do it in Hindi (he was my partner) and so I agreed, I told myself, “there’s nothing you can do, come on, take it as a challenge”..i will admit that I thought Hindi is easy…but people…news Hindi is sooooooooo hard if you don’t have much exposure to it (yes, I have never read a Hindi newspaper, and i just cant understand Hindi news on TV…so I watch it in English)….i had nothing to loose to do the news in hindi…
So what are the Tamil Tigers doing??..i asked Khayyam…is it yudh?? Ladhai??...he said no…it’s a ‘vivaad’…….So the first word I learnt that day was vivaad…
Now back to the written test, I was given the hindi script…and the first word of the piece was “vivaad”…wow…I was so in love with Khayyam and myself…I was so happy that two weeks ago, for the first time in my life, I took up a challenge…I had never done before…its was meant to be
My classmates laughed at me and so did my professor…arre…even my dad mocks at my hindi…but man, I don’t give a shit…big deal….i can do what no one else can..i can be different…
I am remembered of two people I recently like..one is Katrina Kaif..she cant speak hindi well, but India likes her…she makes the statement that hindi can be spoken in an accent..(thank you)…and then there is Farhan Akhtar…been watching Oye its Friday…he gives you the perfect example of Hinglish…
Hinglish??...yes, for the purists, its blasphemy…for the real…its true
Hinglish is NOT…I repeat NOT a mixture of hindi and English, it is not random selection of words...but it’s a careful selection of two genres of words (which happen to be in different languages)…
Lemme explain…
Chalo, ab hum apna agla performance dekhte hain…
Kitni saari political parties contest kar rahi hain…
Yaar, train late thi…
Im not sure ki mujhe yeh achcha lagta hai ya nahin….
See, words like performance, late, parties..are used in english, their hindi translation wont be used…and words like ‘ghar’, ‘achcha’ will mostly be used in Hindi…
Like you wont say ‘main apne home jaa rahi hoon’…or ‘yeh ice cream kitni good hai’…
For the linguist, this is food…
Ek toh, Hinglish has lots of Urdu in it…ok…so for the purist…..hahahahahhahaha
Chek out the word to be ‘bored’…
Boriyat…(I think its Hindi or Urdu or Boredom...am I right??)
Boredom, boring…is English..!!
* Reverberation of Religion
Ok, was thinking superficially about how sound is related to all religions. Its amazing. All religions have some hymns, bhajans, sung prayers…some reference to sound. That is so sexy for a sociologist, it puts you into trance!!! I haven’t sung much ever. But nowadays, I am trying to get hold of some things I can sing. (its hard, coz you can only do it in a group). That’s what I love about Durkheim. Religion is collective, not personal you silly!! He feels right when he says that some form of ‘effervescence’ is created when members of a ‘single moral community’ come together (like through the singing/sound). Its actually fun and feels great to sing together!
Another thing I like about singing is following the ‘lyrics’ of religious songs/hymns/prayers. Honestly, I don’t understand most of it. Its very hard. What is it? Hindi? Sanskrit? Braj? Urdu?...dont mind my poor vocabulary. (trust me, my vocab sucks!!) Well, there are three types of prayers I have sung a bit. I only know them superficially, but I actually thought that the ethos they sing about it quite different.
Most mainstream Hindu (Sanatan Dharam) prayers are narrative in structure. They have some underlying story. They materialize most aspects of life- like God, morals etc.
I maybe wrong, coz I have only read one or two…I definitely cant understand them!!
I read the Radhasoami prayers (still cant understand them!!). But they are more abstract, more transcendental, more other-wordly, more typically what we like to brand as ‘spiritual’. (This would be close to the Arya Samaj philosophy and all Bhakti movement philosophies). This is definitely food for the historian!
And the only prayers I understand are the Christian ones (yes, it’s the English!!). And I have been exposed to them in heavy doses. Christian prayers see God in a different way than the other two. God is your friend. God is your adviser. (now, for the Hindu, Lord Ram is definitely not your friend!...but Jesus is). Christian prayers are a lot about ‘blessings’, ‘forgivingness’…they are heavily loaded with morals. The Radhasoami prayers are less of morals, but more of salvation and duties. Hindu ones are more collective, while the other two are more individual oriented. Hindu ones I need to read more, to know more.
But this is my view. And I need to get back to reading more prayers to get to know more. Its just that I cant understand them. (Religion trust me is for the elite!!). Actually the fact that religion is believed to be contained in books/texts makes it elitist. Dammit have you seen the literacy rate of our country??? No wonder why we cannot be seen to be religious!!hahahah.
Now I am reminded of Robert Redfield's concept of great tradition and… the oral tradition. (im developing a new theory on Hinduism…wait for it)
I’m tempted to quote the God of sociology of religion. Here’s to Durkheim:
"A religion is a unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things, i.e. things set apart & forbidden-- beliefs and practices which unite in one single moral community called a Church, all those who adhere to them."
Another thing I like about singing is following the ‘lyrics’ of religious songs/hymns/prayers. Honestly, I don’t understand most of it. Its very hard. What is it? Hindi? Sanskrit? Braj? Urdu?...dont mind my poor vocabulary. (trust me, my vocab sucks!!) Well, there are three types of prayers I have sung a bit. I only know them superficially, but I actually thought that the ethos they sing about it quite different.
Most mainstream Hindu (Sanatan Dharam) prayers are narrative in structure. They have some underlying story. They materialize most aspects of life- like God, morals etc.
I maybe wrong, coz I have only read one or two…I definitely cant understand them!!
I read the Radhasoami prayers (still cant understand them!!). But they are more abstract, more transcendental, more other-wordly, more typically what we like to brand as ‘spiritual’. (This would be close to the Arya Samaj philosophy and all Bhakti movement philosophies). This is definitely food for the historian!
And the only prayers I understand are the Christian ones (yes, it’s the English!!). And I have been exposed to them in heavy doses. Christian prayers see God in a different way than the other two. God is your friend. God is your adviser. (now, for the Hindu, Lord Ram is definitely not your friend!...but Jesus is). Christian prayers are a lot about ‘blessings’, ‘forgivingness’…they are heavily loaded with morals. The Radhasoami prayers are less of morals, but more of salvation and duties. Hindu ones are more collective, while the other two are more individual oriented. Hindu ones I need to read more, to know more.
But this is my view. And I need to get back to reading more prayers to get to know more. Its just that I cant understand them. (Religion trust me is for the elite!!). Actually the fact that religion is believed to be contained in books/texts makes it elitist. Dammit have you seen the literacy rate of our country??? No wonder why we cannot be seen to be religious!!hahahah.
Now I am reminded of Robert Redfield's concept of great tradition and… the oral tradition. (im developing a new theory on Hinduism…wait for it)
I’m tempted to quote the God of sociology of religion. Here’s to Durkheim:
"A religion is a unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things, i.e. things set apart & forbidden-- beliefs and practices which unite in one single moral community called a Church, all those who adhere to them."
* To be or to do
This is cool. You can be a Hindu without practicing it. But can you be a Christian without practicing it? Perhaps that’s why Atheism as a philosophy grew in the western world, where Christianity was dominant. Not in countries where Hinduism is dominant! Hinduism gives you the freedom to not to do Hinduism! Perhaps Hinduism differentiates between doing and being. You can be without doing. Ha society! What can you do??? Stupid society, you have failed here again. You have failed. Society says you have to be what you do, like a woman, a member of a caste, a capitalist…but society what if I separate the being from the doing???...what if I be a woman and not do it??? (the last question is debatable...plz do NOT even try to answer it if you are not a woman…)
* For Sir Amit Kumar Sharma
This is one thing that I have found to be the one of the deepest thoughts about society. It was August 2007. JNU. Methodology of social sciences was the class and Professor Amit Kumar Sharma said this cool thing. He said that India is not a religious society, but a cultural one. I was put into thought…what I believed for years that India is soooooo religious was just put to the background…what??..what??..what did he mean…its been more than three years and I so love his thought…he comes up with the deepest sociological facts about he Indian society, that most people cannot comprehend. Today I support his argument and I try to explore it further…I cannot explore it to the best, but will give it a try.
I have felt more religion in America than in India (thanks to the comparative method Radcliffe- Brown and Durkheim taught us!). Some reasons to support this. Sunday church is like mandatory. Hollywood has glorified those films which rest on Biblical themes. You gotta say ‘Amen’ before lunch. Well, ‘in God, they trust’.
In India, culture comes before religion. Religion just happens to be infused in culture. But like Amit Kumar Sharma said, India is a land where people like to sing, dance, eat... celebrate. Then India is truly a land of culture first.
Now I wonder why.
India is multi-religious, so to put religion in the forefront in society, you need to specify which religion, which you can’t. Nor, are we are monolithic like America which has allowed one religion to dominate.
Within religions, we have millions of differences!
But this is what the ‘aam’ sociologist says.
Think deeper. Here are my reasons why.
We have infused culture with religion. Only half of our material culture corresponds to religion (and the other half really has no literally/direct religious affiliation like ‘papri’chaat’). Our non-material culture is quite religious though. (still need to think this over)
In America, their non-material culture is very religious also. But their material culture is more capitalist than religious.
Our culture (the other half) and way of life is very much associated with livelihood issues and existence. (like harvest, rites in initiation). America has more or less tackled the issue of livelihood, so they have time (and fear- of God) for religion. I do believe that when man is materially prosperous, he turns to God. So thus, in America, ‘in God, we trust’…bhai, it is God who only made capitalism no?? (sorry for the supporter’s of Max Weber’s The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism)
In India, God is not so much associated with our material wealth…he really gives no shit about our poverty! Actually, we have never put God along with our livelihood issues. Rather, we have put culture.
Actually the fact that religion is believed to be contained in books/texts makes it elitist. Dammit have you seen the literacy rate of our country??? So thus, we are not religious!! hahahah. (This is a sarcastic argument, not a sociological one!)
I have felt more religion in America than in India (thanks to the comparative method Radcliffe- Brown and Durkheim taught us!). Some reasons to support this. Sunday church is like mandatory. Hollywood has glorified those films which rest on Biblical themes. You gotta say ‘Amen’ before lunch. Well, ‘in God, they trust’.
In India, culture comes before religion. Religion just happens to be infused in culture. But like Amit Kumar Sharma said, India is a land where people like to sing, dance, eat... celebrate. Then India is truly a land of culture first.
Now I wonder why.
India is multi-religious, so to put religion in the forefront in society, you need to specify which religion, which you can’t. Nor, are we are monolithic like America which has allowed one religion to dominate.
Within religions, we have millions of differences!
But this is what the ‘aam’ sociologist says.
Think deeper. Here are my reasons why.
We have infused culture with religion. Only half of our material culture corresponds to religion (and the other half really has no literally/direct religious affiliation like ‘papri’chaat’). Our non-material culture is quite religious though. (still need to think this over)
In America, their non-material culture is very religious also. But their material culture is more capitalist than religious.
Our culture (the other half) and way of life is very much associated with livelihood issues and existence. (like harvest, rites in initiation). America has more or less tackled the issue of livelihood, so they have time (and fear- of God) for religion. I do believe that when man is materially prosperous, he turns to God. So thus, in America, ‘in God, we trust’…bhai, it is God who only made capitalism no?? (sorry for the supporter’s of Max Weber’s The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism)
In India, God is not so much associated with our material wealth…he really gives no shit about our poverty! Actually, we have never put God along with our livelihood issues. Rather, we have put culture.
Actually the fact that religion is believed to be contained in books/texts makes it elitist. Dammit have you seen the literacy rate of our country??? So thus, we are not religious!! hahahah. (This is a sarcastic argument, not a sociological one!)
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