Random Thoughts To Share...

I had been procrastinating for a long time about reading Nine Lives by William Dalrymple. It is a travelogue, telling the tale of nine people who are carrying on their lives in the path of traditions that are many centuries old despite the onset of a wave of 'modernistic' living and thinking. But for me, it is more about W.D, celebrating nine people practicing their art, & though in one of the nine stories, the Stapathi clearly says, that "making idols may be a form of art for a lot of people but for us it is a way of devotion towards the almighty." I agree with the Stapathi too, in India it really is difficult to describe carving idols as someone practicing art, it would be degrading for those who do that as a form of devotion to their beloved God/Godess. But when I refer to it as 'practicing art,' I only refer to the part where centuries of practice transforms itself into skilled architects of Hindu dieties. The rest & everything around it is devotion, I believe in that. How else can someone explain the fact for generations one family continues to master it (leaving apart the politics of dominion over a form of earning a living, ofcourse). But being oblivious of politics is always a simpler & naiver way out.

But that is not what I really wanted to think aloud here. What caught my attention, was the reconfirmation of the fact that for almost all the Hindu Vedas & all Hindu philosophies, the four main goals of life are Dharma (virtuous living), Artha (material prosperity), Kama (aesthetic & erotic pleasure), & Moksha (liberation). The first three are believed to be aims of everyday life, while Moksha is the release of one from the cycle of birth & death. If these seem to be true then how & when did sex or Kama become such a taboo? I don't think it would be wrong if I argued that India pioneered the use of sexual education through art & literature. Remember Kama Sutra, written during the 1st-6th centuries :)

Infact, The Tantric school of Indic/Hindu philosophy formed at some point, during (1st & 6th centuries) the same time the KamaSutra or the Vatsyayana Kamasutra was written, and part of the philosophical system was the idea that sex, as a basic and powerful desire experienced by all humans, could be utilized as a way of achieving enlightenment. Some ardent devotees of this system for example might deliberately break sexual taboos that were ridiculed, such as extramarital sex, to master human nature and achieve greater understanding of the universe, their soul.

On the otherhand, the early Vedas had a more structured view on Kama. These mostly were moral perspectives on sexuality, marriage, & fertility prayers. Even then, nudity & sexual education or depiction of sexual postures was considered acceptable in art. Ajanta & Khajuraho temples are the living examples of the same. But this kind of lewd descriptions in art could also be debated as realistic depictions of the time & age. As in most countries with tropical climates, India being one, did not need to wear clothes, and other than for fashion, there was no practical need to cover the upper half of the body. This is supported by historical evidence, which shows that men and women in many parts of ancient India mostly dressed only the lower half of their bodies. Whilst this has changed in modern times, it is likely that taboo against nudity was not present in many Asian, African and South American civilizations.

It is mind-boggling to see how the Indian values have altered, almost to the opposite most time, so much overtime, & for me with the little reading that I could manage to get before this post, it looks like the invasion of the Mughals had only a little to do with the change, what with their Purdah system. We might think that the strict manner in which the Mughals followed the Purdah system, it might have infected the entire Indian populace, but there has been no apparent evidence that it was forced to the Hindu women. Also, the fact that Purdah did not affect men, leaves a lot to think about.

So, the only alternative, the British invasion on India with their Lords & Ladies, seems to have brought to India, ship-loads of clothing & bodice :). With the British Raj being ushered to direct rule, all Indian customs & mannerism started being ridiculed at. Victorian values stigmatized India sexual liberalism. The pluralism of Hinduism & its liberal attitudes were condemned as barbaric & the proof of inferiority of the East. The result, it led some & later some more Indians wanting to conform their religious practices and moral values to Victorian ideas of "high" civilization. There the end of free & happy sex to the invention of virginity locks :P

But that's not the end of it all, countries such as India became more conservative after being influenced by European ideas. At the same time, translations of the Kama Sutra and other 'exotic' texts became available in Europe, where they gained notorious status, and ironically may have triggered early foundations of the sexual revolution in the west. Irony as they say life is...

I know, I am stating the obvious, but it was just very fascinating to recall all this & share with all. Hope you guys have fun reading it...

Mr. Meister & The Gay Lord....What More to Say

On the Meister's request, changing Mia Meister to Mr. Meister...as I do not want Meister to have images of dirty men in dirty loongis spitting pan everywhere

Mr. Meister :The Gay Lord is theorising that i am gay

                                                         

Wasted :how? ping me his theory

  

The Gay Lord : tui staright nosh (You are not striaght)

Mr. Meister : eh?

The Gay Lord : tui eng hons keno korchilish ? (Why did you do eng honours)
str8 men study engineering, science, medicine

Mr. Meister : i love the language and writing is one thing i know i can do
ergo

The Gay Lord  : commerce

Mr. Meister : and to pick up chicks

The Gay Lord : not engriji

Mr. Meister : English has the best looking chicks

The Gay Lord : so wat
u r gay 

 Muahahaha!!!!

Shopping

Earlier in company of some of my friends, I used to shop a lot. Sometimes, way more than what I needed to. But it felt good, to hang out with friends while they or I bought stuff. Busy life never gave time otherwise, I suppose. I always get bored &/or tired of shopping within half an hour of entering a shop/mall. I think I just get bogged down by the neatly stacked rows of soothing cotton, dead & shiny synthetic, skimpy lingerie, pastel lotions, & hard & soft footwear. I would wear out after seeing five of any of these. That was my limit. My friends knew that & would sometimes tease me & sometimes indulge my boredom by hurrying through their purchase. I on the other-hand almost always did not feel comfortable buying stuff in groups. With my low tolerance, I was also a lone-shopper (if that is a word). I shopped better & quicker when alone. I hated & even today perhaps hate company when I really want to buy stuff. In a month, atleast twice, I would inadvertently trace my steps back to the crowded malls.

But all that was sometime back. Today, I just do not need to shop or buy stuff. I have perhaps not gone without buying clothes for this long ever. I like it this way. I have enough to wear & manage to look alright. I have unknowingly resolved to not buying things until & unless I really need them. But I know this too that I am allowed to slack in the decision now & then, when I just feel like. Afterall, it is not like one of those promises that cannot be broken. But I like it - not going to shopping malls. They used to make me feel tired & weary. Now, when I do go to one, I don't buy stuff mindlessly, I usually go there when I know, what I need to buy. Perhaps, I have become more like my brother in this regard. He literally window shops. If he likes something that is hung on the display, he buys, otherwise he does not.

Funny, how habits change, isn't it?

Blankness is a State of Being too...so here it is to life as blank as this