Today, the 2nd of October, is the day that Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi came into this world in 1869. More commonly known as Mahatma Gandhi. This man, dared to dream. He dared others to follow his dream. One involving non violence. Involving intellect rather than brawn. He, was a true geek. He used the strength of his mind to bring down an empire that had been built by using mind power to overcome sheer numbers.
As I see it, the British used psychological warfare to take over, and control their colonies. And Mahatma Gandhi was one of those who realized that. So..he fought mind with mind.. and had his original dream come true, he would have achieved success without any bloodshed. I have read about people who felt that Gandhi was not secular. That he had many faults. And I totally agree with them. After all, he was human. But the main point of the matter was that he dared to dream.. and dared others to make his dream come true. It is this spirit that I truly admire.
Thinking of Gandhi reminded me of my own grandfather. As far as I know, my grandfathers were not anti british. In fact.. they were probably pro british. Both of them lived pretty pro-western lives and they seemed to like western goods. And neither of them were freedom fighters. As far as I know.
I have this deep desire to talk with my grandfathers. Find out what their lives were like. Find out how they coped with it. Somehow, I feel a very close relationship with my maternal grandfather. I wish that he had not passed away...only those 3 years ago. I wish he was alive today..to see me as I am... and discuss with me, about life. At this juncture in life, when so much seems to be making sense.. and yet so much is a maze, I wish he was here to just speak with me. And then again...I feel his touch. I think of him smiling at me from heaven... and able to hear every word I think.
My paternal grandfather died before I was born. I was named after him. To this day, I hear stories about his brilliance and his extremely naughty childhood. But what was he like? Who can tell me? Maybe I should ask my grandmother.... or my dad. My dad told me that he was very close to his father. Sometime...I should make time and talk to him about this.
random thought
Once again, it makes me think, everything major that one learns in life, one learns from one's own experiences. One can be taught only so much. Once again.....I come to Siddhartha...by Hermann Hesse (do read my earlier blog on it...if u want more info).
So, what will I learn? What am I learning??
/random thought
Today, I went with some friends to a party. An Indian Student Association After party actually...at a bar. But I felt so out of place there. I somehow... suddenly realized.. that I am a useless conversationalist. I can talk forever... but I cannot maintain a conversation. I run out of topics pretty fast. Well.. anyway...I ended up being the designated driver for a friend's car (being sober..).. and I ended up talking with another friend on the phone for an hour... while my friends went to an After After party after the bar closed, at another guy's apartment. And I wonder why I even try. I try to fit into something I cannot. I mean, I get along fine with these guys in normal life. But I just cannot party the way they do.
I just feel so different here. I should head home. To India. And live in a remote corner of the mountains. where there is a morning mist... and little flocks of sheep... and gardens...or atleast greenery. Ahh to live in such a paradise.
a.. UFOs: Occasionally you might see what looks like a UFO with blinking colored lights and weird sounds emanating from within. This is an illuminated bus, full of happy pilgrims singing bhajans. These pilgrims go at breakneck speed, seeking contact with the Almighty, often meeting with success.
a.. The result of a collision between a rickshaw and an automobile, this three-wheeled vehicle works on an external combustion engine that runs on a mixture of kerosene oil and creosote. This triangular vehicle carries iron rods, gas cylinders or passengers three times its weight and dimension, at an unspecified fare. After careful geometric calculations, children are folded and packed into these auto rickshaws until some children in the periphery are not in contact with the vehicle at all. Then their school bags are pushed into the microscopic gaps all round so those minor collisions with other vehicles on the road cause no permanent damage. Of course, the peripheral children are charged half the fare and also learn Newton's laws of motion enroute to school. Auto-rickshaw drivers follow the road rules depicted in the film Ben Hur, and are licensed to irritate.
a.. The moped looks like an oil tin on wheels and makes noise like an electric shaver. It runs 30 miles on a teaspoon of petrol and travels at break-bottom speed. As the sides of the road are too rough for a ride, the moped drivers tend to drive in the middle of the road; they would rather drive under heavier vehicles instead of around them and are often "mopped" off the tarmac.
a.. Most bus passengers are given free passes and during rush hours, there is absolute mayhem. There are passengers hanging off other passengers, who in turn hang off the railings and the overloaded bus leans dangerously, defying laws of gravity but obeying laws of surface tension. As drivers get paid for overload (so many Rupees per kg of passenger), no questions are ever asked. Steer clear of these buses by a width of three passengers.
