Some Recent Thoughts

1.

In Bharatpur bird sanctuary I came to know of two things. One, there is a specific variety of birds that pick on the teeth of tigers. A tiger having had a dense meal sits leisurely, possibly drooling, with its teeth open to the sky. These birds come and sit on the tiger’s mouth and feed on the tiny morsels of meat stuck between the spaces of its teeth. So, this results in two things: the cleaning of the tiger’s teeth and feeding of the hungry bird. Second, woodpeckers peck on tree stems in search of food like ants and insects of variety, resulting in creation of warm labyrinths, which are then enjoyed as homes by parakeets.

Nature has devised wonderful complimentary patterns of survival that hints at the fundamental grammar of melody and ethic.

2.
If rape (in the sexual context) is defined as sexual assault and act of hostile intercourse against the wishes of another person, how then can rape be gender specific? But the problem is: it is hardly defined in a gender neutral manner! It is always meant to be an act of sexual aggression by men on women. Rights activists argue that a man can never be raped; at the most he can be sexually harassed. What about men being sodomized by men and transvestites, and transvestites and eunuchs by men? Because men have disproportionate power in the realm of the real world compared to what women have, hence acts of all kinds of aggression (including rape) on women by men will of course outnumber similar acts on men by women. Further, the rape of a man is likely to be least reported in the present context because involving in a sexual act is seen to be macho behavior (and, men do not enjoy being projected un-macho because that’s just so un-cool!) and as such, shying away from sexual activity (where opportunity permits) is seen to be cloaking oneself ungainfully with feminine traits. I have listened to many stories where the men had to be involved unwillingly in sexual intercourse with their wives (yes wives!) to demonstrate: their interest in marriage and their partners, and their ability to perform; they were threatened by their powerful wives (on account of having more access to wealth and accompanying beauty in most of these cases) that otherwise they would face desertion and public humiliation of the worst kind. In such cases, these men have reported to have felt the very act of getting aroused excruciatingly tormenting. This is not rape but not very different from rape either.

Although, I do agree that men cannot be physically or emotionally bruised or violated or put to risk to the extent a woman can be in an act of rape.

While rape laws should be written considering the existential realities arising out of the enormously disproportionate gap in power between men and women in every sector of our society, however, there is every reason to alter the gender specificity of the act of rape in its literal meaning: just because it is not true.

3.
Children rob you of your basic freedom to rebel. In this context children are seen to be obfuscation or an impediment to ones individuality whether they are born to a plan or by default. I know of innumerable incidents where parents have abandoned their children both under impoverished as well as privileged conditions for multifarious reasons. There are situations akin to abandonment even in cases where the parent might not have left the family physically. I must add: I have also met parents who have gone out of families due to discord with their partners, and yet have been very dutiful to and protective of their children.

I have often wondered about the possible incentives in abandoning your children (although considering respectfully that in all the cases it must have been a very painful experience for the parent). There is of course the life of Buddha in search of truth having abandoned his family and kingdom. It is complicated but the life of Buddha (specifically his act of abandonment) can be viewed in many ways. Parents, who abandon, in most of the cases, alter their memory to find an underlying justification to abandon to unburden the weight of guilt that sits on their soul like a monster. The souls of children get mauled in the process of abandonment for they do not understand and their vulnerability, both emotional and physical, alters their understanding of life and existence.

There is a violent world prowling around us.

If we have children it is ethically incumbent on us to protect them from the shadows of this ever-increasing violence, and try to help them grow as fine individuals.

4.
There is so much talk all around about the reforms in the modern education system. But nobody in power seems to be talking about reducing the burden: both in terms of the number of subjects and the constituent syllabus, especially up to high school. Education is no longer contemplative and is not aimed towards sharpening our faculties to understand and realize. Education must help us to observe the universe and our lives with sensitivity and humor, and must help us to think and question. But that is not the aim of the education industry and mafia for sure! I want to write about this in greater detail sometime later. To end may I say: The examinations per se are not bad but the format is?