An agnostic - I am!

A buddy of mine had felt offended after reading the fact that I call myself an agnostic. There might be some other souls too who might be incorrectly interpreting my agnosticism. So, here is the version of the clarification which I had mailed to my buddy:

Etymologically, an agnostic is a person who claims that they cannot have true knowledge about the existence of God (but does not deny that God might exist).

Of course, I believe (a belief - which is a vague idea in which some confidence is placed,  is different from knowledge - which is the  psychological result of perception and learning and reasoning) in the existence of a Supreme Authority (called by whatever name) but unlike most ignorant people (I call them so), I do not claim to have true knowledge about the existence of God.

The version which we hear about God in our everyday lives is a result of  religious prejudices. Why else would Allah, Jesus, Guru Tej Bahadur, Rama, et al. have different origins? Why do we have different versions of God for different religions (I often associate such version with technology only - different operating systems for different micro processors - Mac or Windows; Symbian or Android; etc.)? And for a person like me who believes in the religion of humanity - have we ever heard the name of the 'God of Humanity'? Perhaps, we would never hear it 'coz that God lies in the good deeds we do -  be it a gesture of kindness, a smile with purity or even some words of truthfulness. A movie addict like you would appreciate the monologue from Angels and Demons in the same context: "Religion is flawed because man is flawed" - this is precisely the contention that I have.

Further, I also see my parents as a manifestation of God. And there are so many other people and things with whom I can relate the so-called Godliness (have been hearing the idiom 'Cleanliness is next to Godliness' from my early childhood).

Why is there is plethora of confusion when we actually think about the existence of God? I do not have the answers! Hence, I call myself an agnostic.

i-Pill - boon or bane?

"Q. What are the two things that have beaten the economic downturn in India? A. IPL and i-Pill!" - aptly read the sms that I had received a couple of months ago. But the recent splurge in the promotional activities (numerous TV commercial during prime time, advertisements on Meru Cabs, slideshows on the advertising LCDs at Cafe Coffee Day, hoardings at prominent crossings and bus stops, jingles on FM radio channels, etc.) of i-Pill make me wonder something else - Is i-Pill promoting more unprotected and unsafe sex than preventing unwanted conception? Is i-Pill promoting more of unplanned sex amongst youth? What really could be the repercussions if my doubts are valid, given the fact that India is already among the front-runners of the number of HIV +ve cases?

Can the safety warning (which is hardly legible on the i-Pill website and reads - Important safety aspects: i-pill is neither a regular contraceptive nor an abortion pill. It is not a substitute for condoms and does not protect against sexually transmitted diseases including HIV/AIDS.) be made a mandatory part of any promotional activity for all similar products?

Driving in Mumbai

It's been almost a year that I've been driving in Mumbai but the experience in the last few monsoon weeks has been the worst of all. The other day I drove for over five and a half hours (in three sessions- - Powai to BKC to Jogeshwari [via Powai] and back to Powai), travelling a distance of less than 50 kms. And day before yesterday (Sunday), I nearly escaped a fatal accident (near Crawford Market) - a taxi driver hit on the front bumper of my car b'coz the wipers of the cab were not working properly.

While pondering over the incident (a speeding taxi hitting the car on the right side), the following thoughts, of what driving in Mumbai actually is, struck my mind:

1. No matter how well you drive, there would always be a few errant drivers to ensure that your car has a few scratches and dents.

2. Even if you drive recklessly at times, there would be a few souls who would ensure saving their as well as your vehicle from damage.

3. 'Bumper to bumper driving' is a literal expression.

4. Bumpers are meant for scratches and dents. You can see a car without any scratches on the bumpers only in a showroom.

5. Once in a while you would come across speed-breakers to make you realize that your car needs some extra ground clearance and that an SUV is actually meant for cities in India.

6. Maintain safe distance from female drivers (only when they are driving). With little observation, you can invariably identify a car parked by a female driver.

7. Cars used by motor training schools and those having the 'L' sticker have every right to halt in the middle of the road, that too when you least expect them to.

8. Car manufacturers have provided the flexibility of adjusting the wiper speed but the flexibility of intensity of showers in Mumbai can obviously beat them.

9. In crowded streets, the side mirrors of the vehicle serve the purpose of honking.

10. You'll come across a traffic police, ready to be bribed, at least once every quarter.

11. The shortest route generally takes the longest time to cover.

Beauty

I had gone out for lunch with a few office colleagues at Barbeque Nation (Bandra/Khar (West), Mumbai) a few day ago. As usual, there were a few good looking girls in the restaurant. Out of the blue, a female colleague popped a question - "What is BEAUTY?" to the  three males in the group (including myself). I was busy savouring the desserts and did not really want to participate in this abstract conversation but it was difficult to escape the continuous badgering. I recollected the short story which I had written a few years ago, showcasing how beauty is not what you see but what you feel and what you believe. Here it goes:

“Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder”- an idiomatic phrase which you might have heard, read and even spoken a thousand times before, but what follows is a tale that you might be reading for the first time. Let me take you to Tiny Tots, a kindergarten school in South Kolkata. One early morning, soon after the classes for the children had begun, a worried mother rushed to the entrance of the school with a bottle of milk in her solicitous hands. On being questioned by the school-maid the reason for her anxiety, she reasoned that her daughter had forgotten to have the milk in the morning breakfast and so she has brought the same for her to have it now. The maid offered to help her by asking her daughter’s name so that she would give the bottle of milk to her. To this, the mother, peeping through the fence which barricaded the garden where the children were all playing, replied, with a smile on her face, that she wanted the bottle of milk to be given to the “most beautiful child” in the school. Yes, her daughter was a true cherub - curly blonde hair, rosy lips, chubby cheeks, and blue eyes!

But the phrase “most beautiful child” somehow struck the maid in a divergent overtone which instigated her to restate in an appalling tone– “most beautiful child!” The mother, with the smile still on her face, replied in the affirmative – “Yes, please give this bottle to the ‘most beautiful child’ and let her have it as I watch through the fence”. The maid passed through the fence to enter the garden, went near a group of children and handed the bottle to a clumsy, dark complexioned little girl and let her have the milk. The mother, watching through the fence, got this blow out of the water and her smiling face deformed into a tragic face. Barely, had her wide-opened eyes blinked when she felt a gentle hand on her shoulder. It was the hand of the principal of the school. She smiled at the mother and said, “The girl drinking milk from the bottle is the maid’s daughter. To every mother, her child is the ‘most beautiful child’ of all”.

Beauty, after all, is not just what you see but what you feel and what you believe! 

Prized possessions

I have a bad handwriting yet a pen has always been an object of admiration and fascination for me. The latest additions to my collection include a Parker Sonnet Silver Fougére Fountain Pen and a Waterman Hemisphere Mars Black Gold Trims Fountain Pen (pics below).

These recent gifts have surely become my prized possessions but what I observe in deep thought is what makes an object a prized possession for a person? Is it the monetary value which is tagged to that object? Or the utility of that object in a person's life? Or the importance of the person who has gifted that object? Or is it the envy of friends, neighbours and the world for that object?

Somehow, for me all my belongings have been my prized possessions, be it the first TV video game my mom got for me way back in 1994 (was as good as new when I gifted it to my nephew a year ago) or the pencil box which I started using when I was in the second standard (and I still have and use) or the ordinary handkerchief which I use everyday.

Most of my acquaintances find this strikingly odd and unusual. But I truly treasure and take pride of ownership of all my belongings, no matter how cheap or even obsolete they might be!

Is it my 'moh, maya'? Certainly not! I can live without these objects and can even gift them  to people I want to but does this necessarily mean that I need not classify them as my prized possessions? I would prefer leaving that unanswered.

Anyway, after these two recent prized possessions, I'm craving for a Montblanc StarWalker now! :)

Lifetime validity on shoe-polishing service - what an !dea, sirjee!

I usually get my shoes polished by a professional (a cobbler, as most people call) once in a week before reaching office. It's been around a year now that I've been availing the services of the same guy (who sits on a footpath opposite to Citibank, BKC).

This story actually started around 2 weeks ago when I was getting my shoes polished by this same man (appears to be over 50). In a grim disposition, he sought my help. He was unwell and wanted to see a doctor but had no money since it was just the beginning of the day. He requested me to give Rs.20 which he would adjust towards future services and I acceded to his request.

Thanks to the Mumbai rains, today I went for getting my shoes polished after two weeks. The guy greeted me and I asked him about his health. He said that all his earnings have been expensed towards his medical treatment (madicines and pathological tests) and that now he has also run out of all materials (polish, cream, nails, threads, etc. ) which he requires to carry on his profession. He showed me the empty containers and said that there hasn't been much business because of the rains and that one day he got drenched in the rains and that had made his condition worse.

I asked him - "why do you consume alcohol when you are unwell?" He replied that it's been 3 months that he has quit drinking and he doesn't even have money to eat and feed his family. Not that I believed his story and was moved by it, but his voice definitely evidenced some pain. He said that he was thankful for the Rs.20 I had given him earlier but asked me to advance him a further Rs.50. I inquisitively asked, "And how and by when do you intend to repay that to me?" He said that he would provide me his services for a lifetime without any charge! It actually takes either a lot of guts or complete insanity, to make such a statement! I am yet to figure out the reason in the instant case but the statement indeed impressed me and I paid him Rs.50/-

I really do not know whether he would keep his words or not and whether I would ever pay him again for his services or not but the idea of having a lifetime validity on shoe-polishing services (or any other service for that matter) was worth exploring at a cost of Rs.50!

Not just that, but the other day I was watching a soap on TV. A lady and her daughter were being eve-teased and they were so helpless since no one around bothered what was happening. The husband attributed this to his own behaviour - "I have also been such a silent spectator whenever I encountered such situations. How can I do that and expect people to help my wife and daughter now?"

Certainly, there is some reality in the man's statement. Why do we expect others to help us when by ourselves we shirk away from people who need our help? Something definitely worth pondering!

Aptly, today's incident made me recollect the metaphor by Shakespeare - "not on thy SOLE, but on thy SOUL"!

ECG of LIfe!

Thanks to my whims and fancies, recently, I got myslef into some trouble and botheration which was uncalled for. Given my traits and behaviour, this wasn't something new for me since that is how I have grown-up and now I have started accepting such situations as part of the routine life. But my indifference to the grave situation was certainly a cause of concern for my well-wishers, and it seemed difficult for them to accept my indifference.

And then I shared the analogy of the ECG (ElectroCardioGram). Probably, we all have seen the ECG of the heart. How does it appear to be - ridges and troughs or ups and downs (in medical terminlogy, represented by the P, Q, R, S, and T waves). And what does the ECG show when a person is dead - a constant straight line!

The situation is similar to what keeps happening in our day to day lives. We all desire stability, which is nothing but a CONSTANT STRAIGHT LINE - it implies DEATH! Perhaps someday we would appreciate that the ups and downs are symbolic of the existence of a normal and healthy life. Then only we would be able to accept the so-called bad or troubled phases of life as a routine activity.

Real Life?

The other day I was having a discussion with my friend how most people keep thinking that real life would begin after they do this...achieve that...complete this...purchase that...etc. And I recollected something which I had read online and which answered the question - Real Life?

Here it goes (with some modifications to the one I had found online):

For a long time it had seemed to me that life was about to begin - real life. But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, or a debt to be paid. Then life would begin. At last it dawned on me that this was my life. This perspective has helped me to see that there is no way to happiness. Happiness is the way. Today I have so many reasons to be happy but I no longer need reasons to be happy. Happiness has now become my way of life! And I'M LIVIN' IT! :)

Gol Maal Hai!

Mumbai is a city of its kind and there is no gainsaying to the fact that one would learn some smartness (not just in terms of fashion but in terms of common sense too) just by living in this city. Or better put, just by the sheer shrewdness of some people.

Here are two incidents which have further reinforced my belief not to trust people and be really cautious when it comes to money matters (no matter how small or large the sum is)!

Incident No. 1: I purchased an article (say 'X' - you may start making wild guesses what it was) and the cashier gave me an invoice (written in ink) to make the payment. The price tag of the article read Rs.1455/- and the invoice mentioned the same. Further, VAT (Value Added Tax) @ 4% was added and the total amount payable was mentioned as Rs. 1542/-. Fortunately (you may call it so) or otherwise (my knack with numbers-not bragging), it seemed odd to me (total amount should've been Rs.1513/-) and I decided to verify the calculation. It turned out that the cashier had computed VAT at 6% (no such VAT slab exists) though the percentage mentioned was 4%.

After a brief altercation, the guy admitted his mistake and reduced the bill amount by Rs. 29/-. It's not too large an amount, but the practice vexed me. The shopkeeper might be habitually marking-up the VAT amount since most people do not really check the tax amount, and in return be duping the tax authorities as well his customers.

The calculation in case of Service Tax with Education Cess (including secondary and higher education cess) is a bit more complicated because of the decimals in the percentage. So, the scope of such duping might be greater.

Moral: Check the computation of any taxes in your invoice properly.

Incident No. 2: I had ordered some pizzas (3 non-veg of Rs. and 3 veg) for an office treat and the offer was that I would get a 50% off on every second pizza I order (50% off on the value of the pizza with an equal or lower price). The guy who received the order over phone told me that he would compute the total and call up in a while. Again, the amount which he told me seemed a bit unobvious (call it fortune, instinct, or the 'knack') and I asked for a detailed break-up. Since it was a detailed calculation, I took out a calculator and found that the bill amount was marked-up by Rs.25 - again not too large an amount but still why should I pay even a penny more?

I asked the guy on phone to take out a calculator and started instructing ...a + b + c + d +.... and he admitted to his mistake.

Of course, he apologised and assured me that he would reduce the bill amount by Rs.25/-. I thought of ignoring this as a one off incident but my colleagues apprised me that usually they have some problem with the billing amount when they come out with offers.

Moral: No matter how reputed a brand name might be, there is always a possibility for such goof-ups. Please ensure that you do some calculation when ordering things over phone.

There might be many other such instances which keep happening everyday in our lives and they go unnoticed...err...we get duped!