Bird's-eye view

Humans have a craving for running after the superficial and totally neglecting the deeper things in life. Money, fashion, consumerism all seem so much more important than life, happiness and well-being.
Yesterday, a family member just got into a rant about how money is 'flowing' out of his hands, with total shock and desperation in his voice. I thought about it and responded with a question: Are you happier today when you have money to spend than earlier, when you didn't? He fell silent. I am guessing he had his moment of introspection to help him put things in place.
A few years ago, my wife and I lived in Delhi and we 'ran after' everything that the corporate world wanted us to buy: a car, a flat... We spent more than we earned and soon we fell deeply into debt. We used the credit card to withdraw money (the last resort for money, for anybody who has some sense in addition to a credit card) and scraped off all sympathetic sources of money to buy stuff, which in retrospect we realized, we didn't really need.
We had to find a way to wriggle out of debt and fortunately we soon did, in foreign shores, where we compromised more than we ever will in the future. In a gradual turnaround, we soon became debt-free and also managed to acquire a bigger flat.
Today my wife and I crave no more for the things we did a decade ago. I wonder why some family members still do not see the writing on the wall. Why don't they see that they are being pulled deep into a quagmire of consumerism where one is tempted to buy what one doesn't need in a vicious cycle of desire and purchase?
The reason is that we get caught up in the worm's-eye view of the world where, to use the metaphor of maps, we can only see the end of the street we are on. When we get there, we only decide to turn left or right. Then another end of street to run to...
I hope we can all get a bird's-eye view of our lives, where we can see on our maps the direction to take to reach the ultimate destination, which I hope is happiness, well-being and life; not money or belongings.
Stepping back from the rat-race to do a PhD has given me more than I had bargained for: a fresh perspective on life's priorities... Waiting to get back to the real world outside this university...

Othering heights

Why make much of burning paper-and-wood RavaNas

When you can’t burn out the corrupt, the scamsters?

Why vilify the ‘asuras’ when those you call your own

Stab you on your back day in and day out?

Why other me and my much-maligned ilk

When skeleton after skeleton falls out of your cupboards

On senseless, sombre, sensation-crowded prime-time?

“Education for All” and sundry!

Yes, it was such a success, the programme,

The scholars listened all rapt, at what,

The linguist had to say about the tense phrase

And the negatives and neutralization with rehearsed ease,

While outside the glass window she stood, her face pressed against the

Cold glass through which she thought she could see what

She wanted to become tomorrow. Damn her, she doesn’t know

How we’ll try to snuff out her dreams and try our best to keep her OUT

Of this select collegium of renowned scholars,

And how we dread the idea of letting her pollute, and dilute

Our community’s academic standards

And how we’ll do anything to maintain our high moral ground.

Not for nothing that we learnt from our English masters the art,

Of pretending to give, while holding back,

Of seeming humane while being selfish and smug...

Ah, she shall never know how MUCH, with every bit of our being, we HATE her

And the fact that she vies to be here, that wretched, wretched good-for-nothing!

Global English!

Now say after me with rounded lips,

The schwas and aitches in the proper way,

Make sure you stick to established standards,

And never make a mistake, never do it.

English is ours and we’ll tell you all

Exactly how to use it and teach it to all,

We have scholars like you can never have

And it is our language, in case you forgot.

You foolish good-for-not-a-things

You thought we let you have an English of your own?

Ha! The thought of it. Beware, don’t usurp

What is only ours. We stand all, hand-in-glove

And attempt to sell to you what we think

Is best for you. Do you have any idea

About how to go about it, without our holding you by the hand

And letting you see the marvels of our land and tongue?