Peeping Toms/Tabithas



Indians have always been interested in the affairs of others. Mind you I'm not talking about the Myanamar and Tibet issues. When it comes to really helping our neighbours, we decide to turn a blind eye and a deaf ear towards them. Inspite of the fact that we ourselves are constantly on the recieving end of some aid or the other. But other than that, we love meddling in the affairs of others. We can never refrain ourselves from giving opinions and offering advices to others. It does not matter that we are afraid of even a rippling shallow pool of water, we will not cower when it comes to offer tips on extreme river rafting.

And I believe that all of this, somehow, is connected to our voyeuristic tendencies. There is a hidden pervert in all of us. Well not pervert actually. Since we cant all be perverts, we have a macabre, morbid fascination in the acts of those who are. And yes, all those who stand there naked (figuratively speaking) in all their glory, for the world to see are, in my book, Grade A perverts. We love to watch. And though our linen may be spick and span, we love watching people washing their dirtylaundry in public.

And this fact has been exploited. More and more clones keep popping up all over the place. The Schadenfraude element comes in play. The part of our brain that is exited at the misery of others comes into play. That in itself should tell us about ourselves as a generation and humanity. Its not the talent that is spinning money. We all know and realise the fact that the winner, let alone the contestants arent going to get squat out of it. They know it too. But for them its the thrill of being on a stage and holding everyones attention. And for us, its about seeing them in all their misery.

A generation of wasting fools who have entered a redundant cycle that appeals to all and benefits none. Attention grabbers and nosy pokers. Thats what we are.

A Pathetic/Apathetic Situation

Our generation gradually moves towards an apethic state of mind. As we grow number and number (ok, ok if all the wise cracking smart alecs have finished asking "WHICH NUMBER" ill move forward)or actually more and more numb if u will, there are fewer things that amaze us any more. Lets face it, sensationalism just isnt as sensational as it once was. Everything is breaking news, the varying shades of the scarf worn by the dog that belongs to a mediocre cricketer, who just happens to look good is worthy of generating debate and is worthy of at least 30 mins of solid prime time newsreel footage.

But there is a sad aspect to this matter. There are brutal, despicable acts, terrible calamities, ruthless atrocities occuring all over the world that dont get enough space because they dont generate enough (and here i gesture mock inverted commas with my fingers as well) "Human Interest". A high society murder or a high profile kidnapping is something that we can all relate to. That can be follwed up endlessly through months. And its not just the news. Every contest, every reality show overindulges in pregnant silences and sensational drum rolls. So much so that they need only shoot 5 minutes of footage and roll it for the entire 20 minutes by constant repetition and excruciatingly slow Slow Motion.

Our generations has grown unfeeling over time. As it is, we lack the ability to concentrate for more than a few seconds (this fact, demonstrated never more clearly than when we flick through numerous channels without hovering over a single one for more than 10 seconds). Add to that the loss of our ability to empathise with real suffering and the fact that we can shrug off the death of thousands of people when the responsible cause is "just a natural disaster".

This apathy also spills into our personal lives. This gives fuel to the already rampaging juggernaut inside us that drives us towards every increasing self centric tendencies. We are too full of ourselves to look beyond us. And again, yes again, for the umpteenth time and certainly not the last, ill condemn the damned youth brigade with its youngistaan concepts for feeding shit to bloat the egos of already prissy youths.

Then we move on to condemn everything and feel good about it. All the while, we ourselves are trying to get noticed by competing in no matter what talent showcasing against likeminded fools. Its not that we dont want to care. Now, even here people are more concerened with making a show of caring...dealing with the superficial formalities as it were. But to get back to the point, we do want to care. Its just that we have unwittingly shoved ourselves into a quagmire of self indulgence. Everyone is running about concerned only about survival..their survival, then goddamit why shouldn't we? Robots will be redundant in the future if we end up behaving like them ourselves. But what can we do. Oversensationalism compels us to either go mad with their constant implosion or shut our senses off from them.

The Great Escape


Okay, let me start off by warning you that my following few blogs will all have the same recurring themes about panning reality shows and condemning the youth of today. I'm damned busy, frustrated and worried at the moment (no, no..not at the state of our youth...they can all go boil their heads for all i care)and as such my thoughts are quite disjointed. So what else is new say my regular readers. You never made much sense anyway they scream. And I care not as i lazily flick a speck of dust from my impeccable mechlin cuffs...its another matter that I'm wearing a half sleeved T-shirt with a stoned out skull bearing the legend Chill Out or Die and have never even set eyes on mechlin cuffs. But to get back to the what i was saying unable to connect them and bind them into one or two blogs i will examine different aspects of the same phenomenon over the next few blogs. Please bear with me as i ramble along.

We have entered an age of ruthless consumerism and mindless escapism. We dont care how it affects others, what is the longterm aftermath or anything else. Going with the mindless Youthcentric trend, we are living for the moment. ADD afflicted apathetic zombies flicking through channels with a bored expression desperately searching for whatever can hold their interest for a few minutes. Too much? Well, don't blame me. I'm not feeling too charitable. Like babies they are. Shutting their eyes from the world, they think they are invisible to all (here I'm not gonna give the ostrich burying its head in the sand analogy. Its a bloody myth. They do no such bloody thing.). The think tanks at the entertainment channels know that people will go to any extent in search for some moments of escapist pleasure. And we are feeding off ourselves in the proccess.

There is a spate of reality shows where people come to demonstrate what they think is talent. What we do see is artificial emotions which are better served in any weekly movie release and mindless histronics. What happens when they win? Who cares. Its the even more senseless journey that takes them to a senseless finale that captivates us. Love hunts, the search for the true wandering spirit (Roadhoggies/Roadies) or below all, the incessant singing &/or dancing shows that ultimately lead the participants to nowhere are in full vogue. And we love it. We quite knowingly mislead ourselves into believeing that whats out there is real. Real human emotions, real joy, real frustration and the true triumph of human spirit. Pah...Gimme a break.

As real life gets tougher and more tedious, the baby syndrome gets yet more pronounced and people rush to anything that will give them brief respite from the reality that they have to face every single damned day of their miserable lives (okay, maybe not everyone has it as tough as I do, but things have taken a turn for the worse you'll agree) Unfotunately, what they escape into is what i have just described and will continue to describe over a period of time for the next few blogs.

Inanimate Animosity


Why choose things over people? Well, several reasons actually. Books, songs, movies reflect moods of several people. So at least its an interaction with people. Indirectly. And they do not have the unwanted element of unpredictability. That is not to say im afraid of surprises. Its not that easy to surprise me. I do have some experience at psychoanalysis and can gauge moods and patterns. But to do that when 90% of the people are useless and boring is
just a criminal waste of time and energy.

Besides, things dont lash out for no reason whatsoever, they dont question your preference of other things, things aren't vindictive, and most importantly things dont gather a gaggle of giggling girls, dithering like idiots, smirking behind your back (yep, the last one is targeted specifically at the lesser quotients of the human equation). When you are constantly surrounded with people, you need to filter out the bullshit out of the conversation. You need to
tolerate whats likeable and whats not. With books, movies et al, you can just take your pick and skip the rest.
For an intensely private person like myself, being constantly surrounded by people takes its toll very soon. The sight of a contended person sitting alone in a corner irks them. How dare he not crave our company, how dare he sit self satisfied like a zen monk without the urge to smatter himself all over us.

Because they can never be at peace alone, they wont let you be either. They come over and snatch the book you are reading (Which novel is this? is it related to the course? And yes, always a novel, even if the cover featured mathematical configurations and formulas, it will to their eyes, always remain a novel.). Or they peel of the earphones off your ears (this is one of the most irritating things i can think of, and is more than enough to send me into a murderous rage).

But it can be gauged from this that even they are smart enough to consider these objects as their rivals as far as my attentions are concerned. So my philosophy is, you dont need 100 friends. Even a few, those that can be counted on the fingers of one hand, will do, so long as they be staunch and true (no, thats not my pathetic attempt at poetry. It just happens to rhyme). A handful of friends, a laptop, an ipod, an internet connection and you have everything you could possibly need right there.