PARADISE LOST

THE INVERSE CURSE

funpail — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 07:31:18 +0000

What is a curse? According to most dictionaries, the curse is a solemn utterance to invoke a supernatural power to inflict harm or punishment on someone or something.

Who uses curses? Curses are used by those without significant social power or who simply lack power over those they wish to curse. In general, the same people with the authority to bless also have the authority to curse.

Now, the reason I am broaching up this subject may sound bizarre. The whole thing started with someone telling me that I have a hidden power to curse. Remember : a) That person was no stranger to me. b) He himself is someone given to spiritual leanings all his life. c) He knew me well enough to cite examples taken right out my life and d) He had/has no vested interest/malintent in drawing up his conclusions.

I was chit-chatting with him (let us call him Mr. Guru) and the subject veered around to the misfortune befallen on a certain individual(Mr. X) and all of a sudden our discussion took a strange turn. The follwing conversation throws light on what happened next:

Mr. Guru : I am perfectly aware of the kind of trouble Mr. X created for you despite your well-meant moves.

Me : Why do you say that under the present context?

Mr. Guru : It is possible that Mr. X is under the spell of your curse.

Me : I wilfully curse no one, whatever might be the provocation. That is simply not my way.

Mr. Guru : Didn’t you feel anguished by the behaviour of Mr. X?

Me : Not at first. But the pesistent trouble caused by Mr. X might have made me think in exasperation, ‘Why, God, I get the wrong end of the stick for something which was my legitimate claim’.

Mr. Guru : Well, with a person like you, such exasperation can, in mysterious ways, act like a curse. You may not really intend harm on anyone deliberately. But, through what I call strange powers within you, your innocuous thought may cause harm to your quarry.

I fell silent for some time. In the interim, Mr. Guru rattled out few more examples from the pages of my life’s archives in an effort to substantiate his hypothesis. And what he said was ominous.

” This is something that is beyond your control. But unfortunately, there is a flip side to the whole affair,” said Mr. Guru. “In one or other form your malediction , from time to time, can come to haunt you. So, this is no one-sided match.”

Ever since that tete-a-tete took place, I did not take Mr. Guru’s proclamations seriously. Being a rationalist that I am, I took it with a pinch of salt.

But the march of events later on, always created doubts in my mind about the validity of Mr. Guru’s claim. My only hope is that, considering for a moment that Mr. Guru was right, my moments of exasperation with anything or anyone wouldn’t cause unjustifiable harm.

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INDIA AND ENGLISH

funpail — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 06:33:40 +0000

 
Whereas two centuries British rule in India has left the legacy of English 
language, Indians on their own, enriched the language with innovative usages. 
‘Prepone’ is a typical Indianism which means to advance or bring (an event) 
to an earlier date. ‘Your good name please’ is not a usage in standard English 
but a translation of ‘Aap ka shubh naam’. Similarly Airlifted, pin-drop-silence, 
‘I am loving it’ (of Macdonald fame) are but few examples.


Even in the past, English language itself had drawn from Indian situations. The 
word ‘juggernaut’ (large and powerful destructive force) had its origin in ‘(Puri) 
Jagannath. Because in the days of yore, worshippers used to jump under the 
chariot of Lord Jagannath while the chariot itself moved on unhindered. The 
words like ‘mulligatawny’ (Tamil – milagu tannir = pepper water), mantra, 
avatar, pundit etc. stood the test of time in the English language.


The greatness of English language is that it draws uninhibitedly from global 
sources. Recently, after a woman called ‘Bobbit’, chopped off her husband’s 
genitalia, the word ‘bobbitised’ came into use for similar situations. 
And one who loses his job to outsourcing is said to be ‘Bangalored’.
Describing the situation involving foul play, a friend of mine put it like 
this: ‘I think there is certainly some bofors in it..!!!!

GLORIOUSLY VAINGLORIOUS

funpail — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 08:21:45 +0000

Call it vainglory or extreme vanity. But the truth is that most of us, at one or 
other times in our lives (and for a few all the time), try not to show what we 
really are by showing ourselves to be what we are not. If it sounds like bumble, 
an explanatory illustration will clear the air.


When a VIP guest is about to visit our home, especially of the NRI kind, we spruce 
up our abode which hitherto has been in quite a disarray. Walls see new coat of 
paint and furnishings get a facelift. Cobwebs are swept away rendering the 
resident spiders homeless (and jobless). 


Exotic implements and gadgetry, so far hibernating in dark corners, suddenly appear 
adorning strategic spots. Great classic novels, mostly borrowed from somewhere, 
stack the wall cabinets to exude a scholarly ambience. And all this we do to impress 
upon the visitors that this is how we live all the time.


Looking back, I can remember any number of instances when my vainglory came to the 
fore. One such event was when I needed a small nut tightened beneath the under-
carriage of my car which called for crawling under the vehicle face up. I was 
hesitant, for, I feared that some neighbours or passers-by may see me doing 
the garage-boy act. But crawl under the car I did, but not before making my 
school-going son and daughter hold a screen to hide me from prying eyes!!!

Conquering such traits in our character is a tough task. It needs paradigm shift in 
the way we see our own image or the SELF. Then we need to crack a whip on our ego. 
I have been fighting this scourge all my life. I am still fighting.

CREATURES OF HABIT

funpail — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 10:29:35 +0000

 
‘HORN---OK---PLEASE’. Does it ring a bell? Well, most of us in India have seen these 
words on the rear of trucks. Why do the truck owners write the phrase? Because 
others do. And others do because their fathers and fore-fathers did the same. No 
one paused to think of something new. They just copied. No questions asked. As in 
the case of the ‘roaming calf.

Once upon a time, a calf grazing in the grassland strayed out and ran into the deep 
forest. The cowboy chased it in order to bring it back. A few travellers who 
came there a little later, seeing the footprints of the calf and the cowboy, went 
along the marks thinking it to be a walking track. And over the years many travelers 
went along the same track and much later the forest was cut and a city rose in its 
place. But the original serpentine calf track continued to be the main thoroughfare. 
No one ever gave a thought as why the main road was so tortuous.

 
A certain community has a small wedding ritual. All the womenfolk surround the bride 
and ‘teach’ her how to wear a sari. It has its origin from the times when child-
marriage was a norm and the child-bride needed to be taught how to wear a sari. But 
the ritual is blindly followed even today. And no questions asked.

The moral of the story is that the societies evolve only when the deadwood of all 
practices that become irrelevant are abandoned. A day may come, decades from now, 
when men wear their underwear over the trousers. Historians would tell that the 
practice was started by a bloke called Michael Jackson. But the people would 
continue to wear the ‘external undies’ faithfully. And no questions asked.

WALKING DOWN THE GARDEN PATH

funpail — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 07:46:52 +0000

‘A fool and his money are soon parted’- so goes an old adage. In this drama of fool-parting-with-his-money, there are two protagonists: A con-artist and a gullible victim or the bakra. The modus operandi of the con-man has remained unchanged for centuries; only the tools of the con-game have changed.

‘You have been chosen for the ‘Beacon of Mankind’ award by us for your achievements’ said a communication from abroad to me. It was, as per the missive, for my significant contribution to the social reforms, which was news to me. The only catch was that I had to remit $200 to an address in New York as the ‘processing fee’. I was not about to loosen my purse-strings and that was that.

There are any number of ‘schemes’ that the con men hatch. Like the ‘Chain-marketing’, ‘Money Doubling’ and even the promise of alchemy (turning ordinary metals into gold) which always find willing sacrificial lambs.

A carefully planned mischievous ‘tip’ in the stock market circles invariably finds unsuspecting rookies falling prey in droves. When one batch of lambs gets slaughtered a fresh crop appears to take its place.

A bloke once wrote a book titled ‘108 Surefire Ways Of Making Money’ or some such crap and the copies were sold before you could say ‘Dollar or Rupee’. While the readers raked their brains about the ‘surefire ways’, the author laughed all the way to the bank.

What makes a con man tick or a bakra lick? It could be any bodies guess. But surely the ignorance and/or unadulterated greed of the potential victim besides the hypnotic charm of the con artist are crucial ingredients of every con saga.

If any one knows better, please enlighten me.