Worrisome waning of reading habit

“The man who does not read good books is no better than the man who can’t.” – Mark Twain

Over the past year and half interacting with youngsters, through continuous mentor-ship at a youth literary organisation, I have learnt with sadness that the youth of this generation has lost touch with books. Reading among the youth has deteriorated so much that it raises concern.
The reading habit has been a great help in developing knowledge for the people of my generation.But today, in an age when browsing the internet, playing with smartphones throughout the day has had its debilitating effect on reading and also the quest for knowledge. Technology is taking firm control over individual lives, and reading is fast vanishing into thin air.

Not just reading good books, but even reading the daily newspaper is considered archaic. NO I'm not making a fleeting generalisation from limited observation. The malady is rampant.

One of the recent obsessions is the game of PubG. A majority of time each day is taken up by this addicting game, and its effects are alarming.

Player Unknown’s Battlegrounds or PUBG has become one of the most popular online multiplayer games ever seen and since the game was released for smartphones in form of PUBG Mobile, it has seen a massive reach among youngsters as well as gaming enthusiasts. With the increasing popularity of PubG, a debate has also started around the world where people are worried about addiction to this online game and the kind of mental damage it can cause. Schools have started warning parents against letting their kids play the game for extended hours after cases of addiction came to light. Here I am not talking about the ill effects of the game or advocating for its restraint, I am more worried about how reading newspapers and books don't get the same type of addiction?
There is no denying the fact that today’s students are under pressure for performance and the academic pursuit, with extreme peer pressure, leaves little or no time for quality reading. However, what baffles is the amount of time spent on mobile phones and dedicated time for non-physical sport - PubG and the like.

Reading books is crucial for gaining knowledge and lifelong learning. It builds in a person the essential attributes for self-advancement and development. But today, most free time that the youth have is taken up by social networking, smartphone games, TV and entertainment. The more the youth is taking to social networking sites, the less time they have for the printed word. While Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and other social networking sites are far more appealing to the youth, it is sad to see that these are used more for entertainment rather than knowledge enhancement.

The appalling fall in readership numbers of daily newspapers and the equally dwindling sales of leading booksellers and publishers confirm the growing apathy of the youth towards reading.

The youth of the day is totally oblivious to the fact that book reading not only nourishes the soul but rejuvenates the human intellect in probing deeper, analysing things, and providing guidance to people, to instances of life that they have not yet been exposed to.

The habit of reading enables the mind to think over objects of interest and helps a person in making informed decisions. Unfortunately, the number of book readers is continuously decreasing, which is an indication of scarcity of knowledge in future.

So, what is the solution?

Mandatory reading sessions in schools and colleges. Speaking forums that give impetus to inculcating the habit of reading. Celebrities championing the cause of reading – the youth follows by example, leading icons can create awareness for their fans/followers to emulate.

A revolution is needed, indeed!

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Pics courtesy: Internet

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The Metro

10.44 pm: It was the last blue line train and she hurriedly boarded it.

Moments ago she was rushing out of the high-decibel party zone in the building abutting the B Metro Railway station. They had just celebrated the birthday of her best friend from college.

Nikitha was alone, she was to travel to the far end of the city and was fortunate to be living close to the last Metro station on the route. Huffing and puffing after climbing almost a hundred steps, Nikitha barely got into the coach, when the doors closed.

It was quite deserted, hardly about fifty people, mostly late returnees from work heading home after a tiring Monday. Most people were busy lost in their mobile phones, either listening to music with earphones plugged in, or just simply sifting through their smart phones.

Nikitha sat alone at the far end of an empty row of seats and looked out of the window. The dark cloudy sky was constantly enlivened by constant flashes of lightning. A thunderstorm was brewing. As she gazed out of the elevated metro, she could see the lights from the towers that abutted the city. The fun and mirth of the evening brought a smile on her face, soon to be lost in thoughts of what lay ahead. She was embarking on a journey that would take her far away from her home and friends. To a world different from where she grew up and a culture, she was excited to experience, was soon to be a reality. A career path that she charted for herself was going to take her to the west for higher studies.

As she was reflecting on what to expect in the weeks ahead, the train passed four stations and quite a few people got down. She looked around and found just about a dozen people left, most of whom were now almost half asleep in their seats.

As the train pulled out of the ‘East’ station, it started raining, the drizzle soon turned into a huge down pour and the sound from the water beating down on the windows got louder. Slowing down to engage the curving path over the junction beneath, the train was now at the highest altitude on its path. The flashes of lightning accompanied by thunder grew. Just as Nikitha looked out of the window, the train was passing beside the cemetery. A bright big flash of lightening hit the solitary tree in the cemetery and it caught fire. It seemed eerie out there, the bright white light bathed the entire area and she could clearly see every tombstone as if it were mid day on a summer afternoon.

She also saw something strange! Bewildered she moved her eyes away from the exterior and looked inside the train, and was shocked to see that there was no one, except her in the coaches. It was totally deserted. A chill ran down her spine.

The silence was broken by the automated voice that announced the arrival of the next station. The voice tapering off “… doors open on the right side”, is all she could hear. Her heart started beating faster.

“Should I get down here and take a cab home? Six more stations… could there be more people getting in? Would I have some company? Let me wait in here”, she told herself, grabbing her bag tightly.

At the next Metro stop, the doors opened and she saw about four or five people walking out from the train and about the same number getting in. She wondered, “Where were they? How did I miss seeing them, Invisible people?”

An old lady, who just got in, came and sat in the empty row of seats in front of her. Nikitha smiled at her. The lady did not acknowledge and gave her a cold stare. Nikitha was fine with it, she was glad to have company.

Over the next few stations, she just shut her eyes and didn’t bother to look out on to the platform. The penultimate station was one of the busiest junctions in the city and almost everyone, of whoever was left, got down there. With a late urge to join them, she got up from her seat, only to see the doors closing and the train pulled away from the platform.

For the next hundred-and-twenty seconds she could hear her heart pounding. The last station was approaching and it seemed to be dark, there were no lights on. “Is there a power break down, then why is the train still moving, if so? Is the place haunted?” thoughts were flashing in her mind.

HAUNTED? Nikitha just couldn’t get over the thought. It came like flash, and it stayed… the next few seconds seemed like eternity. She started fearing for the worst.

Flashes from her past rendezvous with the abnormal, the hallucination of travelling in a horse drawn cart and the strange phenomenon from her train journey started to play in loop at high speed.

Nikitha started perspiring, she wished it was a dream and it would end soon. The old woman sitting across was not be seen either. “Did she get down at the previous station? Why didn’t I jump out before the doors closed?”

Then, suddenly the lights in the train went out, it became totally dark and it was frightening. A streak of lightening in the sky brightened the compartment, but only momentarily. The thunder that followed rattled her and she shrieked out loud.

Just as the train was about to halt, a lady tapped on her shoulder. “Last station Miss, you’ve got to get down”.

She opened her eyes to the bright lights in the Metro station, even as dozens of people walked out into the crowded platform. Nikitha realized, she had dozed off after a tiring party!


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Pic: Internet

Summer Rains

...and I love the Petichor!

Petrichor: the scent of rain on dry earth, or the scent of dust after rain.

The Hyderabad summer has been quite different this year, with the scent of the soil treating us quite often these days. While, it does rain on two or three occasions every year during the March-May period, this year it has been much more.
Over the last few eight weeks, there has been intermittent rains almost every week, in some corner of the city or the other. It does bring cheer and respite from the sweltering heat, not just the day temperature dips, but the nights also become pleasant with the plummeting mercury levels. But then, it also enhances the humidity to make the non-rainy Summer days unbearable. However, this year the summer, thus far, has been far less scorching.
The summer rain not just cools the senses, but also the ice-creams give way to the hot spicy rainy-day snacks.

So why does it rain in summer?

A brief reading of the science columns of the newspapers threw up some clear answers. Here is one:

During summer, the sun being overhead, there is intense heating of the land and the air above as compared to the surroundings. The air. on being heated, becomes lighter and rises.As the specific heat of water is higher than that of the land, it takes more time to heat the water, whereas the land gets heated up quickly. This causes air to rise, creating an intense low-pressure condition on the surface. As the air rises, it expands and loses heat.The warm, moist air on cooling thus, reaches a point called the condensation level, where the water vapour condenses and turns back into a liquid. This process of condensation leads to the formation of clouds in the atmosphere. As the clouds continue to grow and when they cannot bear the weight of water droplets, it leads to precipitation.This process of rising air is called convection and the type of rainfall which occurs during peak summer is called convectional rainfall.This process also leads to the formation of Cumulonimbus clouds (formed due to intense low pressure or atmospheric instability), which causes heavy rainfall, but for a short duration accompanied by thunderstorms.

(Source: The Hindu)

So, why am I talking about the Summer rain? 

Well, before that, a few lines from HW Longfellow's ode to summer rain:

From under the sheltering trees,
The farmer sees
His pastures, and his fields of grain,
As they bend their tops
To the numberless beating drops
Of the incessant rain.
He counts it as no sin
That he sees therein
Only his own thrift and gain.
These, and far more than these...!

The concrete jungle, that we live in, with its parched lands, too needs to quench its thirst. We cannot bear the relentless heat for too long, the natural way of cooling is quite welcome. well almost. The flip side to the summer rains, that come with huge gales and winds accompanied by thundershowers and hailstorms does cause much damage to the crops. It's fruit season and we have not been isolated either. There have been hundreds of premature felling of mangoes in my backyard too. We lost a few hundred mangoes in April and whatever was left, continued falling in dozens this May. 

It still augurs well to have summer rains, the climate change effect apart, the dip in temperature apart, the dust and pollution levels are vastly reduced. Breath easy!

... and then the famous Cliff Richard number of 1981 - "Summer rain will come again so the Harvest is a good one..." 

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Pictures: From my Social Media posts. #iPhone7Pics

The Saree

“Mom, why are you doing this to me?” Nikitha exclaimed.

Her mother was busy wrapping her daughter in the most beautiful Zardosi Saree, one she had treasured for over 3 decades.

“This is my mother’s favourite saree, you are lucky to wear it today”, her mother replied.

“But, Mom it’s too heavy and I am not sure I will be able to carry myself in it all day” Nikitha said.

“Your Grandma was very beautiful and prettiest in this saree, today my Nikki will be the cynosure of all eyes” said her mother as she finished putting the saree pin to the blouse on her shoulder.

“Wow, that’s it. Have fun and be a good girl” her mother exclaimed, as Nikitha adored herself in the mirror.

Nikitha got into her car, the blazing red Polo, waved to her mother and drove to college.

She was in her final year, and it was Ethnic day that day. It was the first time she was wearing a saree in her life. The earlier ethnic days were more of the North Indian ghagra choli kind of attires. Nikitha was quite an extrovert and one of the most popular girls in the college. She had as many friends as enemies for her in-your-face frankness and an attitude that bordered on brash as much as on over confidence.

As Nikitha parked her car in the far end of the college parking, she knew she had to walk the almost half a kilometer distance to the Auditorium in the blazing March sun.

Nikitha clad in her grandma’s cream Zardosi saree, walking across the college ground was soon in spotlight. While the boys skipped a few heartbeats, the girls who already were green with envy at her confident demeanour, could hardly take their eyes off her.

It was close to noon and the campus was buzzing with activity. Like any other Ethnic day in any other college, the students were decked in beautiful sarees, kurtas and other traditional outfits. The college premises wore a cross cultural feel. Mr. and Miss ethnic was one of the star events, where people came up to show off their ethnicities. Dance performances, ramp walks by the students and delectable food from across the country were the most looked forward to. They displayed vibrancy in harmony.

The day went off smoothly as the events unwounded and girls and boys mingled to exhibit cross cultural camaraderie. By 6.00 pm the events concluded. The college buses ferrying students to their destinations left early by 5.30 pm.

The auditorium was almost deserted barring a few dozen students, mostly organizers winding up their duties.

Nikitha realised all her friends had left and it was time for her to leave and was feeling tired from the last hour of dancing. She did carry herself well in the saree and had a wonderful day.

As she climbed down the stairs of the auditorium and walked across the basketball court thinking “Mom was right, I really had a wow day today”, she felt somebody was following her.

A faint tinkling sound of anklets startled her, she turned around to see no one in the 100 metre vicinity of the outside of the Auditorium. She started to walk faster, the noise got louder. She reduced pace and occasionally stopped to look around. The tinkling was intermittent but following her for sure. She was quite a bold person and every one in her college knew it, none dared to prank, leave alone get into trouble with her.

It was getting dark as she neared the car, she cut across the pathway and walked in the sand and grass. A husky voice called out her name slowly – N i k i t h a… she froze in her tracks. A tap on her shoulder from back, and she turned around in a jiffy and screamed. 

“What’s wrong with you Nikki, You Ok? You seemed scared and pale” said her friend Aparna.

“Well, I am ok, just felt someone was following me” replied Nikitha.

“I was, but from across the other side. I was running towards you. Could you give me a lift in your car till my home?” Aparna asked.

“Of course”, said Nikitha. As they walked together over the next 100 metres, the tinkling noise seemed to have subsided or gone. She was relieved to have company. But was still looking back to see if she was being followed.

As they got into the car, she felt she heard the tinkling sound one more time and almost freaked out. “Did you hear any noise, I mean sound of some tinkling”, she asked Aparna, who by now had got into the seat beside her.

“No, are you hallucinating? I just heard the sound of the car beep when you unlocked it.

Nikitha wiped the sweat off her brow and started the car. The air-conditioner took effect and cooled her nerves. Soon they were out of the campus and discussing the day’s events.

“Girl, you were looking gorgeous, and all those boys clicking pictures, quite haunting” remarked Aparna.

Nikitha smiled, she focused on the last word. Then they laughed.

The car was now cruising on the city roads, playing Arijit Singh songs on FM Radio.

Aparna then checked her WhatsApp, was looking at the pictures and describing them.

Nikitha banged the horn, applied sudden brake and screamed aloud. The car came to screeching halt. Aparna almost hit her head against the dashboard. “You scared me, what happened”, she asked. Nikitha rolled down her window and shouted at a guy walking across, with earphones plugged in and looking into his smart phone. He didn’t hear her.

“That jerk just got down from the bus and walked right in front of the car, I would’ve killed him”, screamed Nikitha. She composed herself and continued to drive, a bit more cautiously.

“There, stop near that last Metro station, I will get down”, said Aparna. “And yes, take care, you seem to be ruffled, Bye” she added.

“Thanks for the company, I am ok now. Bye” replied Nikitha and drove home. She parked her car in the garage and got down to get into her house. As she locked the car with the remote, she saw that the rear window glass was down. She was surprised. “I never rolled it down, when did this happen” and then rolled up the window. As she walked towards the door, she heard the tinkling sound again. It wasn’t loud but distinct. She was petrified.

As her mother opened the door, she flung herself into her arms and hugged.

“Are you Ok Nikki, how was your day?” her mother asked.

“I am tired Mom, it was a great, Grandma’s saree was the star of the day”

“Change and come, have your dinner. You seem hungry”, said her mother.

Nikitha had a quick shower, changed into casual wear and joined her mother at the dinner table. She then told her about the tinkling sound of anklets following her and the averted accident.

Her mother consoled her and said she should forget it and sleep long. The next day was a holiday for College.

She had her dinner and watched a few shows on her laptop. It was close to midnight and she opened her phone to check on the WhatsApp messages. As a habit she scrolled down the group messages ignoring the comments and forwards.

Suddenly something caught her eye. In the College classmates group there was a picture of an anklet. Shwetha had posted it with a caption below: “Lost my silver anklet in the auditorium, if someone finds it please return”.

Nikitha jumped from her bed and checked the saree, at the bottom was a similar anklet stuck in the border.

She smiled and immediately dialed Shwetha’s phone number.

“Give me a good reason to wake me up at this hour”, shouted a half-asleep Shwetha.

“Hey, I found your anklet, it was stuck to my saree”, replied Nikitha.

“That can’t be mine. I found my pair after I posted that message, it was on the stairs” saying Shwetha hung up.

Nikitha held the Anklet under the light and looked at it shine – It was made of gold.

She then slumped in bed.

Absurdity of the Scientific Conquest of Death

Delaying the inevitable 

जातस्य हि ध्रुवो मृत्युर्ध्रुवं जन्म मृतस्य च |

तस्मादपरिहार्येऽर्थे न त्वं शोचितुमर्हसि || 27||

jātasya hi dhruvo mṛityur dhruvaṁ janma mṛitasya cha

tasmād aparihārye ’rthe na tvaṁ śhochitum arhasi

Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 2, Verse 27; Meaning: Death is certain for one who has been born, and rebirth is inevitable for one who has died. Therefore, you should not lament over the inevitable.

I returned to blogging 10 weeks back with a piece that summed up with the thought – Is death the true meaning of life…? The search for answers continues... Life goes on...!

I continue to believe in the Bhagwad Gita and the fact that Death is the ultimate truth, yes Death is certain for one who has been born… till that part I am certain science has no denial. While the later part of the quote “and rebirth is inevitable for one who has died” is not scientifically proven and I am not making efforts to discuss or disprove it at this juncture.

This morning I woke up to a post from one of the most erudite gentleman in a WhatsApp group that I am part of, which said Death will be optional by the year 2045!

Incidentally, I got news of a friend’s father passing away yesterday, today was his funeral. The septuagenarian suffered from multiple organ failure following a long period of recuperation from the dreaded C.

So I checked the calendar on seeing the whatsapp ‘report’ – confirmed it was May 1st and not April 1st.

The post didn’t quote the source. It spoke about how the ageing process will be 'reversible', according to two genetic engineers during the presentation of their new book in Barcelona. It went to give technical details of how the process will involve turning 'bad' genes into healthy ones, eliminating dead cells from the body, repairing damaged cells, treatments with stem cells and 'printing' vital organs in 3D. Summarily it said humans will only die in accidents, never of natural causes or illness, by around the year 2045

I did a quick check and found the source of the article, you can read more of it here: Death will be optional by the year 2045 - A report dated April 21, 2018 in ThinkSpain.

Well, ThinkSpain, like many neighbourhood websites dotting every town these days is a Valencia based advertisement driven portal that primarily ‘lists’ information on travel, real estate, apart from also providing continually updated news, features and information relating to living and holidaying to the visitors to their site. That in short is the credential of the news source. No there is nothing about it on BBC or New York Times or the Guardian or The Hindu.

Then I remembered this quote by the celebrated American author, computer scientist, inventor and futurist:

I and many other scientists now believe that in around twenty years we will have the means to reprogram our bodies’ stone-age software so we can halt, then reverse, aging. Then nanotechnology will let us live forever. ~ Ray Kurzweil

The flip side to the argument that a few scientists propound and a few learned people propagate is immortality. Like the ThinkSpain report says: “Immortality will not necessarily mean the planet becomes overcrowded, the scientists say: there is still plenty of room for more people on Earth, and these days, people do not have anywhere near as many children as they did in past decades and centuries; plus, 'it will be possible to live in space by then’.”

It makes sensible people with a decent scientific temper to judge the optimistic enthusiasm of the learned scientists, who think death, can be conquered and life can thrive in space.

If anything this world has taught us only to delay the inevitable. Death is that inevitable, so says the Bhagvad Gita and so says human wisdom that still grapples with science and technology’s proven might to create a Frankenstein more often than a cure to the maladies, the diseases!

The next time you see a Vaikunta Ratham – Anthima Yatra van and hear the beautiful voice of the great Telugu singer Ghantasala Venkateswara rendering the Bhagvad Gita with the meaning… *పుట్టిన వాడు మరణించక తప్పదు అలాగే మరణించినవాడు తిరిగి జన్మించకా తప్పదు..., spare a thought for an entire industry that may go out of business, the vehicle is just the visible part of the journey. There is huge chunk of human race that thrives on birth, growth, prosperity, disease, cure and above all death.

Death in itself is a huge money spinner for life to sustain. Death of Death will mean death to life?

Ponder!

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*Puttina vaadu maraninchaka thappadu alage maraninchinavaadu tirigi janminchaka thappadu... Telugu for: Death is certain for one who has been born, and rebirth is inevitable for one who has died.
Pic courtesy: Internet

Merciless!

Another Confession… this was a long kept secret… got to get it out now!

May 2014: It was getting worse! She was getting on my nerves quite often, had to put an end to this relationship. She wouldn’t leave me easily… I had no choice!

May 31, 2012: I was making a major move in my career, a move purportedly up the ladder. I had decided to take up the promotion and leave my hometown. I had to leave my family back and stay alone for at least year in my new role.

Well, this story is not about my career move. It’s different. It’s about her!

Just a day before I left the city for the Metropolis, she was introduced to me by a colleague. I wouldn’t deny it was love at first sight, but couldn’t express it so easily. I was cautious, just gave a few glances and let the day pass.

She travelled with me in the flight, we didn’t speak. I just smiled at her, not sure if she reciprocated. But I was fine, she didn’t have to. But I kept thinking, she was gorgeous… well not the right word... demure may be. She was much more than all that, at that moment, as I closed my eyes and the flight took off, I had no idea that a rollicking hot relationship was waiting to unfold. I would discover soon…!

I was busy settling down in a far off apartment, shuttling to work by bus, hitching a ride with colleagues, eating out at new places, getting used to the change of weather. That weekend I came back to my hometown to take my car and a few necessary household items. On Sunday night I drove on the highway and again started thinking about her.

I needed new company in the new city, someone new to spend time with, someone who would give me all the attention, and be with me all the time. I let the thought pass as driving all night meant the focus had to be on the road. After 11 hours of driving, I reached my home-away-from-home, in the early hours of Monday, a fresh start to the work week beckoned. It was a day that things started to churn.

The Monday began with my office providing me with a new mobile number. I still was using the earlier number and was wary of the prohibitive money being spent every time I spoke on phone. (Back then mobile roaming charges were pretty high, and picking up calls from unknown numbers were a strict no no).

Later that afternoon the new number buzzed for the first time. I was excited. It was her. Don’t even ask me how she got my new mobile number – this is one secret I’d rather not talk about. I eagerly wanted to be home early, easier said than done on a Monday.

As I got home late and tired, she was with me. Yes, we were alone and it all began to unfold fast. We talked, we laughed, we played and we…! I can’t go into more details though. It was just the beginning. She demanded my attention all the time, she got it most of the time. I was in love! The new relationship was breezy, we were together almost all the time. Shopping malls, multiplex movies, beach, eating out, long drives and yes, she even accompanied me to the cricket matches I played on the hot Sunday afternoons. She was my sole chat companion and all those night video calls… Let me stop there.

It was less than a year before I moved back to my hometown. She followed suit, not that I detested her move… I loved her company… but things started getting sour soon.

Back to May 2014: It was getting worse! She was getting on my nerves quite often, had to put an end to this relationship. She wouldn’t leave me easily. I really had no choice… the two words that I dreaded the most was going to end a love-hate relationship of two years – ‘Break Up’ was inevitable. A smooth ending was impossible though.

I hatched a plan to eliminate her, without any remorse. It was a restless Monday, I decided the time, the place, the modus operandi and above all the getaway after committing the crime. I chose the deserted under construction multi-storey building a little away from home for staging the ‘accident’. 

The light was fading, there were hardly anyone in the street, I stealthily walked along with her into the building and climbed up the six floors, with little or almost no conversation happening. Once at the top, we moved to the rear or the east end of the building and looked west, the sun had set and the sky was reddish. Leaning on the parapet I just looked at her, she didn’t look into my eyes. In a cold merciless moment I just pushed her off the precipice and walked down the stairs in a hurried pace. There was loud thud, the watchman and a few workers living in the nearby huts rushed to the spot. They were all aghast at what they saw, she was dead before she landed on the ground. I exited the lane fast to reach home, I heard the approaching police van siren, my heart was pounding, and my steps became faster.

An hour later I was sitting at the dinner table and trying to forget the incident of the evening. Hard as I tried, it wouldn’t leave me, that's when I turned to browsing on my new iPhone and a smile escaped by lips as I thought – rest in peace blackberry!

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Picture: Internet