Venki v/s Monkey

(He came, he saw, and he scampered)

I am sure he received no invitation,
And that should make his visit – AN INVASION.
But not long after he left,
I felt bad having offended the guest.

Announcing his presence was a low rustle
Of covers, behind the next room’s door.
And there he was, searching, without any hustle!
For the caramel I’d kept; squat on the floor.

As a shout of surprise escaped me,
He broke out of his trance with a jerk.
His eyes lit up with a look of familiarity,
And smiling, he returned to work.

As I stood there lost in admiration
At his amazing powers of concentration,
Suddenly, dawned upon me the realization
That this was A BLATANT ACT OF CONTRAVENTION.

Mustering all courage I could summon
I let out a semi-loud “Shoooo!!”
Clearly shocked, I saw his jaw drop open
As if claiming, its here he belonged and not the zoo.

Suddenly aware of the equations of power
Betraying his fears he began to cower.
With new found courage, I threw a menacing look
But to take the fizz out, the sight of his teeth is all it took.

While I was completely overwrought,
To inch closer to the door, he used the time he got.
And then, with great alacrity,
He made a dash for the balcony.

“You lose”, his eyes seemed to tell me
Boy! He sure was relieved to be free.
And with massive leap he landed on the tree,
In his hand was the confectionary.

Even as he departed, he had me convinced
How easily the roles could have been reversed.
For, his reactions spanned the entire gamut
Of expressions, we humans lay claims at.

For, don’t we all have some atavistic traits,
pointing back to our monkey days?
“Dude, Darwin! Man, you ARE great”
Man must have surely come from Primate.

Say, if this monkey could live a few hundred years
Perchance, like in “The Planet of Apes”, he’d become me!
And I would be on the tree; but my worst fears
Are that I would be treated with cruelty.

For, that’s what we do to them in laboratory,
Under the pretext of exploiting the similarity
They bear to us; we subject them
To perverted experiments. Oh such sham!

If Man can derive pleasure by inflicting pain
On a creature, so similar to him in mien,
Even cannibalism, isn’t maybe much cause for surprise,
For cruelty to animals is in no way, becoming of the wise.


Stop Being Cruel to Animals!

Upon the sea, unto eternity

Wake up! Is this but a dream?!
Rushing hither is a silver stream.
Alas! At my feet it breaks into foam,
And as though ashamed it retreats home.

Behold! Tell me if you see Moon melt,
Dripping milk into the sea;
With gentle tosses, the tides flaunt their wealth,
A wealth that shall remain theirs; unto eternity.

Splash! I am woken from my reverie
The sea has caught me by surprise.
Is this a reprimand for my thoughts of jealousy,
At the display of wealth in front of my eyes?

Doesn’t life do the same to you?
Lure you with promises that may not be true.
The tides answering to the pull of the moon,
Are akin in nature to the vagaries of fortune.

High up in its aerie, in full flourish,
Conducting the opera with great relish.
Setting to music, the tides upon the sea
the moon stealthily encroaches into the night’s tranquility,
As it shall continue doing, unto eternity.

On a roll, but role-model?!!

Most of the people today, especially children, look upon movie stars and professional athletes as role-models. Hence the stars have a higher moral responsibility especially because they are paid in million by the people for their entertainment.

In the civilized society, sport stars and movie stars are probably the two categories of people who, in their lifetime, have the kind of brush with immortality that was reserved for warriors, gladiators and brave men of nations in the past. Be it the remuneration they receive or the honor bestowed on them, these public icons are non-pareil. However, the price to pay for fame and fortune is often a complete abnegation of one's personal liking and strict adherence to the code of conduct framed by the rabble.

On one hand, this responsibility of public life may seem a small price to pay for being the cynosure of all eyes. In a society where apotheosis of achievers is not uncommon, it is only natural to expect these achievers to shoulder the hopes and expectations of the common man, failing which vilification and obscurity await the icon. Having to live one's life in full view of the public and within the framework of societal norms, unsettling as might be, must be accepted as an integral part of public life.

On the other hand, every individual is entitled to his inalienable rights, the most significant of which is one's privacy. Being a public icon, if anything, should only serve as an additional qualification and should certainly not be looked at as grounds to deny the individual his right to be the master of his own life. Fans of movie stars tend to get carried away by their larger-than-life on-screen persona and pin unreasonable hopes on these heroes in real life. Sportsmen who give the entire nation the vicarious thrill of representing the country earn the wrath of their fans when they don't measure up to the standards set.

There is no gainsaying that a person, who voluntarily or otherwise projects himself as an exemplar citizen, must take on the onus of conducting himself with dignity in the eyes of the public. For leadership is all about leading from the front and none epitomizing this virtue better than our sportsmen and film stars.

But it becomes imperative for the public to shed notions of infallibility about their icon, and realize that their heroes are also men of flesh and blood. While it is reasonable to state that maintenance of public image is a concomitant of public life, one must know where to draw the line lest they intrude on the personal space of their heroes.

Two to tango

Two heads are better than one. So individuals must be encouraged to work in a group to provide faster, better results

"Man is a social animal" is a universal truth.
Throughout the evolution of Mankind, the common thread running through various civilizations that has been instrumental in the progress of Man is his sense of team spirit and ability to work with his peers in a group.

The advantages of working in a group are manifold and nature holds evidence for these in plenty, one of them being the pack-hunting behavior of certain less-gifted but successful predators. In a group, division of tasks is possible and this allows specialization of labor as well as parallel solving of the ramifications of a single large problem. Apart from the quality reduction in time and focus on minute details, group-working also reduces the burden on individual and helps increase the overall productivity of the individual as well as the group by enabling sharing of vital ideas and information.

Helping one's peers in a group and learning from them helps build camaraderie between fellow-beings and enriches Man's life. It is important to note that even in group-working the competition is prevalent not only within various groups but also within the individual members of the group. Thus, apart from better results group working also ensures betterment of the members of the group.

On the other hand, even a single malcontent or incompetent individual could critically upset the rhythm of the entire group and might balk its functioning. The tensions arising from sharing of credit for the work, which is a concomitant of team work, could sow the seeds of jealousy and acrimony amongst the group-members. In a diagonally opposite scenario, credit might be wrongly accorded to individuals not deserving of it, and individuals who did not actively participate in the progress of the group but chose to bask in others' glory. The nature of different tasks could lead to ego problems within the group, since often a certain type of work may be deemed superior to another, and an individual might believe that he is better suited to the work than his peer.

There is no gainsaying that a group working in tandem can provide better, faster results than an individual working alone but the proviso here is that such a group must be firmly built on the virtues of team spirit. The group must be well balanced in terms of the abilities of its members and a good rapport, understanding and mutual respect between the individuals of the group is a must for the success of the group. It is often said
"Two is company, three is crowd". The number of members in the group must be commensurate with the nature of the task and the group must be well directed and led.

Where there is a will, there is a choice

The concept of free-will is a fallacy. In reality man is offered no choice in most of the situations

"Man is born free, but everywhere he is in fetters"- this statement has served to represent the sympathy expressed by several philosophers for the apparent helplessness of Man in deciding the course of his life. The concept of Man's bondage has long been the theme of epics, and great works of art. The very fact that he cannot exercise control on the vagaries of nature has often led Man to think that he is not the true master of his destiny.

Often, we are confronted by situations where no real choice is manifest, and decisions have to be made taking into account the demands of family, society and nation rather than out of one's own volition. The role of circumstances in determining one's fortune cannot be underestimated. Unrestrained exercise of free will to a large extent remains a myth.

On the other hand, it is necessary to understand that the conflict of interest between Man and society itself presents Man with a very important choice; he can either choose to tread the beaten track or venture to cut his own path. But whichever path he chooses to tread, there can be no escape from the consequences of his actions. Man's refusal to be held accountable for his actions is the offshoot of the skepticism that has crept into Man's thinking owing to excessive self-sympathy; Man is so taken in by the concept of fallacy of free-will that he attempts to vindicate himself of all sins by shifting blame to vicissitudes of life. This attitude is highly detrimental to the progress of mankind, and must be banished from Man's memory in the interest of society.

The very definition of free-will depends on the perception of the individual. The undeniable truth is that Man is presented with choice at every stage of his life, although his current choice might influence the choices presented to him in the future to a large extent. In the interest of the nation, every individual must be made to face accountability for his actions and receive the consequent reward or punishment without shifting blame on factors beyond him.