Antisemitic and Islamophobic cartoon 

Let us play war

 

You bring your bodies. I bring mine 

Let us arrange them in neat rows

Head matching the torso. Arms matching the legs

What doesn’t match shouldn’t bother us

Whole number is the whole human

To exchange stories of how

Missiles, guns, bombs, machetes, stones…

Blasted, shot, blown, chopped, hit…

Our god in heaven obliterate satan to eternal burning hell

Our god gouge eyes of satan in hell

Let us now haggle on numbers and claim avenging for blessed martyrs

Let us yell our narration of morals through shrieks of pain

Dead people of your land dance in joy in our land

Dead people of our land dance in joy in your land

Do you hear the beat?

 

Failure of collective will

 

We are facing existential crises that needs collective global response. Technology has made it possible for global collective actions the kind never seen in human history. The possibilities this offer is tremendous. But there is a failure of intent. There is a failure of collective will. It’s a colossal failure of humanity. Consequences are dire. There is urgent collective action needed to prevent climate breakdown -indications are pointing to growing fracture, how fast this will cascade into runaway climate is to be seen. With this the collapse of biodiversity and resilience of habitats and all that we care.

This failure of collective will to tackle crisis is now apparent in middle east conflict. There is a crime against humanity unfolding in Gaza. It’s a failure of multilateral organizations like UN as also other powerful entities that control narration. Israel, like any other country, has right to defend itself particularly when barbarians intrude and assault conscience of humanity. It has all the right to pursue the terrorists, destroy and decimate the terror infrastructure. It is incumbent on international community to extend unconditional support. Collateral casualties could be contained by precision targeting and intelligence gathering. This is the sanest path. It avoids the sinister trap laid by terrorists for war of accretion and mayhem, as also breakdown of rule of law within the civilized society and collective conscience. When you kill innocent people part of you also dies. When society becomes avenging blood thirsty jingoistic nation democracy and civilized norms gets sidelined. This works for devious people and authoritarian leaders.  

If Bush hadn’t taken the megalomaniacal path of retribution world would be a better place. What was needed was precision targeting terrorist hideouts and infrastructure with intelligent input. Carpet bombing Iraq as a personal vengeance against Saddam Hussain and all the mass killing and mayhem led to an unsafe world. Netanyahu is playing the same text book of incompetent leader trying to redeem himself using crisis as an opportunity to consolidate. He is unhinged. His bravado has serious consequence. What Israel needs is a new leader who doesn’t take this as a personal failure but a collective failure and works this crisis as an occasion for transformation. Enough of bombing Gaza, message is communicated that such barbarianism against state has dire consequences. But this really cannot go on. It has well past the retributive intent. It is now a crime against humanity. Those supporting this military action by Israel in Gaza need to pull the plug. This will have to stop.

Meanwhile supporters of terrorist groups must face full extent of rule of law. What also need to be understood is that when we support Palestine against, what is now essentially a crime against humanity, assault by Israel we are not morphing this as trap of Islamic brotherhood nonsense and the vicious narrations that it spreads, nor supporting Israel earlier has to do with zionism or stand against antisemitism. Suffering humans anywhere is a concern for all and we extend our support. Some suffering, it seems, has more traction than others among opportunists because it has more number of herds. Religion should have no place in identifying what suffering to associate to. These kinds of easy narrations are dangerous and meant to segregate and dehumanize, and undermine complexities and essential human condition as also devious forces at play. Democratic countries should have space for protest against massacre unleased by Israel but if it is calling for annihilation of Israel -very much orchestrated by islamic radicals as some kind of medieval war against jews, then we have to be very cautious and weed these out. The call for ‘free palestine’ seems to be couched in euphemism for annihilation of Israel. People must really make it clear what this means, or is it like what they are shouting in Britain; to ‘remove’ jews. One would avoid using words like antisemitism or islamophobia since these are trigger words for wider narration and counter narration of grievances that has absolutely no relevance in contemporary, indeed it complicates and vitiates. Beware of those who use these terms. It is a criminal lack of context and complexities of contemporary and an attempt at easy narration of control. Left movement, which was expected to provide vibrant viable option against wanton market capitalism and cronyism with assertions of socialist values that strengthens democracy, is seen with suspicion for associating with worst of humans as victims hence playing into revivalist regressive right. You cannot use common people as fodder. Collective will need intent of sincerity and concern.   

What is urgently needed is to defuse the situation  in middle east. Israel must cease its military actions. Hostages must be released. Outside forces must stop its meddling and let civil society meet and work it out. Negotiate without falling into the semantics and pitfalls of the past. This is not about history. This is not about religion. It is about human beings. It is about the contemporary reality we live in, and only this awareness can help find some meaningful attempt at peace.   

  

Israel need to stop

 

ENOUGH. Israel must cease its attack on Palestine. Message is conveyed. Terrorist will be pursued for their crime against humanity (ideally multilateral international agencies must be involved), their infrastructure and safe havens destroyed.  Israel has no reason to stretch it beyond this. This cannot becomes vendetta of failed leadership to justify its fringe element at home. This is akin to Bush's personal war against Iraq. It is now crime against humanity. Netanyahu has no reason to continue as decision maker. His government has catastrophically failed to protect Israel's border. Ofcourse Hamas is terrorist organisation and all its infrastructure must be destroyed and each and every supporter pursued and dealt severely under rule of law but that doesn't exonerate Israel of its amazing failure to protect its border and citizens.   

President Biden, and USA, is therefore now responsible for this continuation of attack on Palestine. This will have to stop immediately. Declare Palestine as separate country but with restriction to arm itself or right for defense force which should be strictly monitored by international agencies. Israel has existential fear from extremely hostile neighbors and from dangerous herd indoctrinated to see 'Jew'/other humans as eternal enemy, network of terror. There seems to be no other solution to this carnage perpetuated by worst of people against humanity. The world cannot sit back and ogle at 'viral videos' of death and misery that numb sense. This horror will have to stop.    

Human misery and semantic traps

 

As war mongers trap ordinary people through devious systems and work the fracture for opportunities, to gather power and influence, what is being lost at an alarming rate is space of sanity, of liberal values and egalitarian contexts. Complacency of elites in open societies (that provided democratic progressive spaces, individual liberty and freedom) has become a significant source of this degradation. Their proprietorial authority over common people through medieval feudal structures, nepotistic association and neo colonial control has severely damaged the social contract. Their sense of entitlement has seen to it that they use common people as fodder to cover up their irresponsible ways for easy fixes. They let egalitarian values and democratic ideals to be diluted as they nurture primitive systems. Instead of letting humans thrive and reach their potential they authenticated systems that dehumanizes and degrades humans. They patronized religion and wanton consumption-based capitalism to play havoc while they used semantics of higher morals to consolidate their positions as representors of better world. They sold themselves as smart operators and aspirational figures. Democracy therefore is reduced to a conduit of brutal power plays. The reason why charlatans and psychopaths have such influence.

Democracy needs constant vigilance, it took centuries of effort to reach this stage of human progress, to consolidate this humanism based endeavor and value systems to take root in societies, into individuals and the way they think and influence their surrounding and world, and is therefore preferred across the world as optimal way of governance. It guarantees individual right and provides freedom to pursue one’s dream and aspirations. This is what progress means, this is the most significant and abiding achievement of humanity,  all scientific and technological achievements are byproducts, and this is where the future is hinged. This has come with great sacrifice and tribulations. The forces that sought to undermine were always active and still are. If we are not vigilant then this progress will wither away. There are grassroot movements that seek to consolidate the gains of democracy into individual relations and social institutions. They work under tremendous odd as obscurantist regressive forces gain across the world. Unfortunately, in the name of vigilance what we are increasingly having are rant rakers and activist opportunists who create the binary noise against the leaders without ever wondering why are certain type of people getting elected or that people are preferring them. These opportunist choose the easy narration and play local guardian to herds -as oppressed, without pointing out the reason. They failed to critically scrutinize systems that churn out these herds, whether religion herd or market herd or herds of circumstance who became incapacitated to apply their mind since they are too much coopted by the system. Vicious forms of religions are gaining control while some are searching viciousness in benign beliefs to match the threat and counter threat. These have severely eviscerated egalitarian intents and weaken democratic institutions. Regressive dehumanizing religions, feudal systems that nurture crony capitalism and consumption and provide base to neo capitalism have become serious threat to humanity. These are not accidents or providence; they are culmination of sinister forces working the fracture.  

It is matter of grave concern that egalitarian liberal values are confined to few spaces across the world, and in the last few years sought to be further reduced thus a significant setback to progressive values. With technology and awareness one would have thought liberal values will spread and world would be happier place with all possibilities. Unfortunately that is not what is happening. There are also efforts made to subjectify and degrade democratic institutions to let in primitive systems as a case for inclusiveness without scrutiny. West is severely compromised by its complacence and sense of entitlement. In the schizophrenia of self-assured superiority and self-loathing angst they don’t realize they are being eaten from inside. The rise of China doesn’t hold much hope, and will be a constant source of regressive consolidation across the world. This is not what China is -indeed could have been a source for progressive forces but is shackled by devious authoritarian forces making them a serious threat, so is the case of Russia -and opportunist elite in West have much to blame as they gained from crony capitalism and strategic influence with fall of USSR. NATO has no role in the contemporary and is invoking fractures of cold war. Instead of strengthening multilateral agencies like UN they made it ineffectual to deal with global challenges. Much of Arab world is barren land of medieval religion/values and competing feudal forces presenting not much hope. There is money and glitter, but nothing really progressive. Pathbreaking ideas comes from spaces that nurture excellence -it is necessarily based on liberal values that provide freedom to question. Inquisitiveness doesn’t thrive in closed society.

Humanity progresses by not falling into the traps of past or sustaining systems that nurtures these. As humanity gains more awareness meanings of the words used must assimilate the changing context, or else we need new words to factor the evolved awareness and stop using words of the past. We really cannot repeat the same words and expect the world to be different. Just like science, as the knowledge is updated meanings changes and therefore the reality changes. So, it is matter of serious concern that western leaders and commentators are falling into semantic trap of the past and thus nurturing fractures of past hence persisting the misery. Meanwhile authenticating vicious obscurantist forces seeking to segregate and trap humans into fixed narrations lacking any complexity or regard. We fall into the well-set trap and carry the burden of history, and keep looping the misery without much learning or any control over fate. Hence what shouldn’t repeat repeats with appalling frustrating regularity. Words are incapacitated to convey iterating understanding or awareness of contemporary. History can only repeat when societies are static and dead while humans are incapacitated as herd to be manipulated by devious forces and everyday charlatans. A world in status quo will necessarily repeat the tragedies of the past.

Words that are critical of religion cannot carry the burden of past. There is nothing wrong with anti-Semitic nor is there any problem with being a religiophobic -islamophobia or hinduphobia or whatever, these are western narration of compromise that is devoid of contemporary understanding and has dangerous ramifications. Anachronistic juvenile context of misery spreading religions must be critically scrutinized and ridiculed. Followers are not special, and indeed are major source of degradation all across the world. Recent scenes of support for horrendous violence of terrorist group Hamas (that surely has pattern of a religion which has not been scrutinized critically and is relativized with other religions. Clearly, large numbers spread across is holding some kind of blackmail call hence precious values are being compromised and common people fed as fodder) is not anti-semitic nor attack on innocent people in Israel anti-semitic. Nor does these horrible attack invoke history of genocide of jews. This horrible violence is not anti-semitic, giving into this narration is to prise open the wounds of history that has no comparison or relation with contemporary realities whatsoever. It is playing into the hands of devious forces who seek to control and segregate through religion and attaching sins of history. Attack on innocent people in Israel is an assault on humanity. It is a deep wound on collective psyche of humanity. It is not anti-semitic. To reduce it to attack on jews is an affront to the world we live in. These horrors are reflection of complexities that we face, and religion can only be given minor significance. Complexity of changing aspirations, of widespread technology and access, of toxic social media, of weapons with tremendous destruction power, of shifting geopolitical complexities and depravities so on. Complexities also include actions of Israel as also present reprisals that surely needs to stop.

It also needs to be pointed out, and firmly asserted, that the action of british newspaper The Guardian against cartoonist Steve Bell is deeply disturbing, it is an attempt to use this terrible occasion to expand the sphere of control of religion. There is really nothing wrong with the cartoon here. It is stark and appropriate. This is an assault on press freedom. It is censoring individual freedom. High moral posturing devious people posing as media are curtailing freedom of expression. As it is britishers are severely compromised and ensconced in feudal values and christianity grip, not knowing what to do their angst constantly shift between pandering to sycophancy to supplicating the exotic and religiophia, they end up feeding the worst that create misery across the world -because of their colonial legacy and semantic reach. They provide safe space for scums on earth including caste cannibals, monster mullahs among others. Meanwhile hamas, as also their supporters -specifically those in West who enjoy all the freedom and comfort, that millions of deserving people around the world do not, these depraved vicious herd must face full force of the rule of law. They must get lessons on evolved collective values. There are opportunists who want to work easy narration for benefits, as also lack of awareness of complexities, they have assigned human fancy identities and expect to barter their soul. Beware of those who use semantics of the dead past to control and degrade the present and influence future as if there is some game going on. Every attempt must be made to retrieve humans from herd. That is the deal of democracy and dealing of democratic institutions. That is the responsibility of egalitarian forces. To retrieve humanness and to establish humanity.

Indigenous voices need protection and representation

 

Democracy needs protection of vulnerable voices -voices that represent indigenous knowledge and understanding rooted in thousands of years of connection with land, least contaminated by ludicrous religions and arrogance that it breeds. Voices that have deep knowledge of the realities of world they live in. Voices that are voice of earth. Voices that were brutalized. Voices that have become important for the survival of humanity. In a disturbing usurping of democracy protection of minorities is ransacked by viciously competing religions and is posing as vulnerable. Segregating and dehumanizing religions not only isolate people from surrounding but also give them grander narrations of omniscience. These entitled worldview and intolerance that it breeds is a serious threat to democracy and egalitarian values.

Today’s rejection of referendum by Australia to give political rights to indigenous population is a serious setback. Some common pattern needs to be recognized here. Countries like Australia, New Zealand and Canada have conducted genocides against indigenous people, to decimate quaint cultures and enslaved them into their religion and way of life. While no real attempts were made to give political rights to voices of these oppressed uprooted vulnerable voices, they showed devious vehemence to showcase degrading religions and regressive values as exotic hence minority and showered with kindness -that these religions surely do not deserve while they usurp minority voices and ideas, weakening democracy and individual rights. Canada was, and continues to be, extremely violent towards indigenous population while they encourage worst of religions. What is significant is that these nations i.e. Australia, Canada and New Zealand are headed by british monarchy, white people/christianity. This should shudder the soul of humanity that this colonial legacy -that necessarily represent wanton exploitation of land and people, is still carried on without any irony while indigenous people are denied their voice. Compromised political system -that places centrality to feudal values and christianity, has led to misplaced and easy redemption seeking through feeding other religions -as minorities and exotic presence, for deviant compulsions of multiculturalism. Worst of people and values are being nurtured. It is not at all surprising that these nations are breeding ground for religious extremism and active source for misery across the world. Britain has done immense damage to the world, and continues to do so.   

Over the last few centuries indigenous people, tribes and aborigines were brutalized by powerful competing forces across the world, and sought to be decimated. These are original people of the land. They have deep connection to the world they live in. They carry the wisdom of centuries. They are soul of the land. They represent the entirety of biodiversity of the land as they are intricately connected to it unlike dehumanized people slaving for power and money while destroying their own habitat and nature with impunity. As earth is reaching a point of no return for human existence it is the indigenous voices that matter most. They are not exotic presence with colorful attire to fill in the gala of photoup. They need active representation not only at national level but at all international forums. Voice of indigenous people is the voice of earth. We need to listen. We need to listen carefully.  

*Many years back I spent time with various tribes across India, mostly trying to understand their world view as also language and poetry/oral traditions. There maybe bit of romanticism here, mundane and disappointments, but yes there is lot to learn. You could easily sense deeper connections through language, poetry, certain aspects of way of life and thoughts.

You may visit me for few of my visits https://iseeebirds.blogspot.com/2011/03/ (for Toda tribe)  https://iseeebirds.blogspot.com/2012/01/ (for Irula tribes)              https://iseeebirds.blogspot.com/2013/09/geez-its-streaked-laughing-thrush.html (for Warli tribes)...and for many more you can visit the blog (apologies for cringe typos)   

Sights

  

Where do you hinge your soul? 

Is it in the memories of bright sky caught in latticed branches

Green etching the blue, all the delight of colours 

Or is it frolicking waves and crinkling fronds

Sights of scooping pelagic birds

Frenzied ghost crabs among ruckus of crow

Or is it kept safe in quieter recess of time

While you negotiate noisy traffic among careless drivers

Liberate it to pause passing skein into the setting sun

Take it as if it is the last breath     

#WorldMigratoryBirdDay

Sins of 20th century

 

Herd kill each other for the sins of the past. They kill because they are trapped in the systems of past controlled by sinister forces. They kill because they are incapable to be human. They are the sins of 20^th century that raises its ugly face to shadow the hope of future. They are kept trapped in semantics of past as they are incapacitated to live the realities of present. Herd is a profound lost possibility of humanity. More they grow more they end up wasted.

Land is about power. The control changes with time. To claim that land eternally belongs to a particular religion doesn’t stand the scrutiny of time nor civilized expectation of contemporary reality. The claim of religion over land cannot be allowed to be normalized. There is no Islam land or Jew land or Hindu land. Land belongs to people who inhabit, and not of eternal control of religion. People have different identities and claims, to straight jacket identities of vibrant people into staid religion is the biggest racket orchestrated by sinister forces in the recent times, to divide, distract and control. There were sacred sites in the past and as the power control shifted the site became irrelevant. This has been the history of homo sapiens for thousands of years unlike blessed herd want to believe from the assumed security of their eternal trapholes. Invading marauders, religious nutcases, colonizing psychopaths captured land and claimed to be theirs. Narration controlling historians authenticated these simplistic versions and thus seeped it into common knowledge which now becomes rallying point for herd claims and counter claims, hilarious and horrible. History is much complex than what historians with limited access can perceive. Indeed, it is difficult to comprehend history, and is as difficult and meticulous as paleontology. Atleast paleontology doesn’t suffer as much conjecturing as history does. We need to be humble about our lack. At the most we can get a glimpse, and to claim the glimpse is the whole is  initiation of simplistic version leading to ever simplified occupation of herd mind. History is sought to control the present, the reason why narrow version of history is fed through control of medium. One would have thought that with dilution of control through social media they would acknowledge the humbling complexities hence work together but instead what we get is rabid ranting hawkers of little glimpses they carry arrogantly as their version of whole world while cheered by ever polarizing herd. They fight with each other to impose their superior glimpse of history over other hence control and claims. While sinister controllers evaluate the situation for opportunities.

If humans were humans, alive to the complexities of life, there wouldn’t be claims of ‘our land’ and ‘their land’ that juvenilities of religion feeds. So, people can move and settle wherever they want while adhering to rule of law and basic decency. This synergic involvement for evolved expression is what democracy proposes. The reason why herd has audacity to not only claim their unique sacredness but divine right to kill other humans, even children, is what sinister systems does to people. Human take the extreme step of killing another human being for possession, passion, to survive or is mentally ill. Human is no longer a human when they kill for system. They become herd, and gain potential to do worst atrocities. Since they are detached to what is to be a human, they objectify other into ugly version and abstract lessons of history. So, innocent children could be massacred, women are stripped of any individuality (and as pointed earlier primitiveness of religions vary, some haven’t really been scrutinized critically hence move around with their depravities intact while well placed opportunists use this as bartering tool for power and influence) and reduced to object of power display. In the meanwhile, nature is as much vandalized. Sacred life is violated in every possible way while herd claim sacredness of their land and their inviolable right to destroy. A human being realizes that to destroy life is to destroy oneself. Herd is incapable for such nuance. Herd is eviscerated of any human qualities hence works in the Manichean binaries of simple world of loyalties and punishments of horror.

Challenges of future can only be faced by human being aware to human condition and vibrantly alive to complexities. Juvenile fictions of holy hell books and anachronistic dehumanizing feudal systems have no space in the future dealing, at the most they can be warily tolerated, ridiculed and critically scrutinized. They cannot have any special ordained place. To give dehumanizing systems a special place is an assault to humanity. Semantics of 20^th century cannot be allowed to be carried without scrutiny. These embed fractures of past, and are meant to trigger the herd into set pattern of actions and counter actions. Complexities of contemporary world cannot be confined to dreary patterns of the past.

Those who are nurturing dehumanizing systems and feudal values must be called out and held responsible. They don’t value nor respect human life. They infect every egalitarian effort for their sinister control. They know that religion can easily be used to trap and manipulate vulnerable people hence nurture these as identities for easy control. Every thread that weaves systems of control is responsible for degrading life on earth. They are responsible for each and every violation on humanity. They are responsible for recent attack on Israelis and now on Palestinians. This righteous posturing is sickening. As for godforsaken sacred land. The Israelis and Palestinians must learn to be humans, and yes if left to themselves they would easily find their humanity. There is more in common than systems like them to believe. This is difficult to achieve since there are sinister system controllers and depraved herd nurturers with laden semantics and loaded guns keenly evaluating the proceeding for opportunities. As long as religion claims identity and feudal values defines dealing people will be massacred with impunity -as semantics of past trigger horrifying pattern of brutal past, and while we watch in horror sinister posture for moral high grounds and opportunities. These patterns had it run in the past. This cannot be allowed to repeat. Hence looking at history for lesson or input is futile. Freeze the border as it is now. Declare Palestine as a country with specific safeguard for provocation against Israel -use of land for terrorism -since herd controllers have grand plans of depraved world. Meanwhile every attempt must be made to weaken herd controlling systems. Religion cannot be identity nor given any sacrosanct space, the more it encroaches more humanity loses. Not only religion must be critically scrutinized and denied central role in human dealing but also herd must face stringent rule of law to make them realize the importance of evolved collective will -any violation is violation of humanity. Also, dismantle feudal systems of West that has left these regions severely compromised and vulnerable to deviant value systems of high moral ground stampeding fattened fluffs. They have nurtured the worst and are persistent threat to the world as they wallow in their colonial luxuries while lazily seek angst guilt redemption from next exotic estimation.  

Meanwhile take a look at what could be possibly middle-east “sacred” region in few centuries from now   

          

        

Human Infection

 

A serious breach

 

So, Norwegian writer Jon Fosse is awarded the Nobel prize in literature. I look forward to these awards since these give reference to best in literature across the world. Not that the awards are only reference for perceptive writings. Over the years I found much quality in these writers hence became definitive reference for sophisticated literature and nuanced ideas and expressions herein. I do buy atleast one book of these writers to get the reference. And of all the Nobel laureate writers if I had to choose influence, I would pick Samuel Beckett’s fiction for stark relentless stare into human condition, Camus for his nonfiction writings of immense insight, Naipaul for skill with language and observation, and ofcourse Szymborska for poetry. I do have list of others too including those not awarded so on. Must add that in recent times I have shifted to nonfiction, reality has become too stark -luxury of long fiction is getting limited to few people. But I do keep an eye on literature since these are defining expressions. So, with much excitement of finding a new writer searched net (placed order online for the book ‘Morning and Evening’). I found a short story -that is removed from paywall for this occasion, and some interviews conducted few years back (https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/a-second-silent-language-a-conversation-with-jon-fosse/). I am quite concerned. Ofcourse Fosse is a prominent writer but what is disturbing is his coopting to be part of dehumanizing system. For a perceptive empathy driven human being to make such a choice -however personal maybe, is truly distressing in the context of times we live in. This is a serious breach. Is it because of lack of biodiversity in Scandinavian region (unlike say India) that they are stuck in human created systems for redemption?

Fosse says in an interview “When I manage to write well, there is a second, silent language. This silent language says what it is all about. It’s not the story, but you can hear something behind it -a silent voice speaking”. I am really concerned about this silent voice -implication of Fosse, his ideas and expressions. He says “In my teens, I was a kind of stupid Marxist and atheist -it was the normal thing to be in those days for young, aspiring intellectuals. But in the process of writing, there was something I couldn’t quite understand, some mystery: where does it come from?” There is nothing really stupid about Marxism it has provided insight into society and is an abiding reference into understanding human condition. Ofcourse it is flawed but NOT stupid. Marxism is as flawed as capitalism in its practice, and is a necessary corollary to exploitation. Socialism has much influence from Marxism and communist thinkers, and democracy takes root and thrive with socialist values. Any perceptive human being will realize how much capitalism as a system -essentially controlled and defined by few, created the havoc that the future generation will heavily pay for. Much of nature works on mutualism, the myth of competition is outcome of this control unleashed by psychopaths with wanton greed and insatiable consumption onto hapless people. Church as “anti-capitalist theology” is more of wishful thinking, and doesn't pass historical scrutiny. Religion has always been in conduit with power (right from colonialism, slave trade and other horrendous past, also don’t forget church’s role during holocaust or recent revelation of child abuse), ossified in certainties, relegating humanity from humans. Even the idea of capitalism can be traced largely to Church -protestant ethics, so on. Those who are attempting to assign respectability to ridiculous are suspect. Take the example of Kerala -where I am located, church played a significant role in undermining initiatives to protect western ghats. They side with exploiters and normalize patriarchy. To assign religious systems some benign divine attribute, indeed spiritual, will be resisted. These don’t pass the basic scrutiny of realities of the world we live and the challenges we face. And yes, in the contemporary context atheism is a natural extension of humanism. This cannot be emphasized more. Humanism is an enlightened expression of what is to be a human that has long tradition across the world and has enthralled best of minds across centuries who made invaluable contribution in the progress of humanity. Humanism is necessarily being part of nature. Humans as free souls jiggling in collective euphoria of living. 

Fosse elaborates on his believes “In the mid-1980s, I went to a mass in a Catholic church…and I liked it, to the point that I even started to attend a course to become a Catholic…I decided to convert to the Catholic Church”. He mentions his encounter with near death experience, and how it became an influence. Well, I too had near death experience, and not once but few -and yes for people existing in congested hellholes of Delhi every day is skirting between death and living. As a human being how do you factor in these experiences defines you. For me it helped to work on the priorities, and in an overwhelmingly mediocrity thriving crass society it gave necessary perspective. This fact of living with constant awareness of absurd. Most become fatalist, but then most are unthinking herd incapacitated by powerful systems and easy options, they really don’t have choices nor the capacity to use their faculties to understand their condition. Indeed, if they are able to use their intellect to understand their condition isn’t fatalism better than hopelessness? There is lots of suffering in this world. And there are controlling systems that seeks to trap human being into its fold. Foss says that “I call myself a Christian, but it’s very hard for me. It’s so reductionist. In a way, I am a minimalist, of course, and in another way, I am a postmodernist — I was influenced by Jacques Derrida”. There is lot to untie here. Ofcourse to claim to be a Christian is to claim to be part of system based on miracles -of Jesus and holy book. It also means to be responsible for the misery that such dehumanizing systems spreads. To choose such a response to one’s tribulation is reflection of moral weakness and a deeply flawed understanding of human condition. A skilled writer placed in such dehumanizing value system and anachronistic narrations may impress but doesn’t really pass the scrutiny of being a human. The tribulations of the protagonist will be necessarily limited by restricted world view of writer. It’s a loss to humanity. 

Now, take the instance of Fosse’s remarkable short story ‘Dreamed in stone’, I like the style of writing here. It reminds of Beckett’s iconic ‘Waiting for Godot’. Read these concluding lines of the story.   

I go in, in behind the stones, and I sit down. I sit and look at the stones. I see that it’s me. I am the stones: it’s not like me, but like what is I in me. I go out between the stones and take my place, I stand there with outstretched hands, like a cross. I see a cross. I look down. I look up. I sit down. I look at the stones, so beautifully laid, stone on stone, in a wall. I get up. I stand.

And then you hold my hand. And the stones say that love exists, love is.

Weren’t you scared?

No, never.

But you almost died.

I wasn’t afraid to die.

I am not afraid to die either.

No.

 

Clearly the implication here is of dying moment of the protagonist. There is a reference of cross, and holding of hand -essentially God -in the context of cross it has to be interpreted as Jesus, and Christian preaching of love, so on. A writer not restricted by religion would have worked to elevate into spiritual experience of universalistic timeless value resonating with eternal longing of reader hence leaving an abiding impression. The above, although extremely skilled, doesn’t resonate with me, nor with anyone who is not a practicing christian -to moved by this you need to be a devotee -a follower. The reason why Beckett’s ‘Waiting for Godot’ -located in time and space without any social or geographical reference is still brutally social and political rooted in every time and every space of human life, has such everlasting connection of emptiness and existential absurdity. 

Let me take another example that could be much relevant to context of Christianity. Raymond Carver was a brilliant writer. There is a short story titled ‘Cathedral’ -and those who have read it will never forget, it’s a deeply moving story that brings in the same framework of Christianity through the sacred building -cathedral, but swiftly move into realm of everlasting beauty of universalism of human angst and yearning. The sheer beauty of this story elevates much beyond restrictive views of religion into ephemeral moment of connection. This is how the story ends, and those who haven’t read it I am spoiling it, the condescending man is trying to show the blind man what a cathedral looks like by drawing it with both holding the pen. What happens is entirely unexpected…It takes a blind man to make this connection; to see beyond human eyes. 

 

“Keep them that way,” he said. He said, “Don’t stop now. Draw.”

So we kept on with it. His fingers rode my fingers as my hand went over the paper. It was like nothing else in my life up to now.

Then he said, “I think that’s it. I think you got it,” he said.

“Take a look. What do you think?”

But I had my eyes closed. I thought I’d keep them that way for a little longer. I thought it was something I ought to do.

“Well?” he said. “Are you looking?”

My eyes were still closed. I was in my house. I knew that. But I didn’t feel like I was inside anything.

“It’s really something,” I said.

 

This story left me bleary eyed. This wouldn’t have happened if there were references of Cross or Christ or whichever God, I dare say ‘silent voices’, indeed there is not even cathedral. It’s an open space that connects humans to their primal bearing and longing. That is why this story has so much compassion and deep awareness of human condition. One can also see this in Dostoevsky, especially The Karamazov Brothers (and let us be clear his context was limited world of 19th century, unlike sinister context of religion now), even questioning Jesus like figure (the grand inquisition discourse is best of world literature), "You didn't do well, there is suffering". The idea of god unable to fulfill basic needs -of food, security, while propounding high sounding virtue and freedom. Indeed people are ready to give up freedom and don't have problem to follow or somebody to tell what to do. This is failure of god and miracles -why not bread from stone every time? The devil is able to do much better. People will barter freedom for happiness -to reduce suffering, and for security. Dostoevsky was able to see human mind and what makes totalitarian forces rise to undermine freedom. It cannot happen without consent of people. This is where he places the blame on God -Jesus, abstractness of faith moved away from realities of life. This is what is expected from best of literature. The reason why I had such a bad taste when I started with Indian literature -trapped in its own self referral loops of self obsessed grandeur. Where the writer is incapable to see waterfall as waterfall and verdant nature but dreadlocks of god and divine designs. Where human condition is joke of fate, blessing, entitled position as writer hence arbitrators of sacred narration to correct and guide fellow humans and hapless people, pedantic righteousness and festering sickness of mind. There are ofcourse rare occasions where the soul of the sensibilities channelized through centuries sprout out. Kolatkar's Jejuri is one such occasion. There is so much compassion and awareness of predicament of people that is rooted in the land that effortlessly uproots for universal acknowledgment of human condition. The irony of lives of suffering fatalistic people makes ridiculous a portal of deeper understanding."...he popped a stone/in his mouth/and spat out god/what is god/and what is stone/the dividing line/if it exists/is very thin/at jejuri...scratch a rock/and a legend springs". When I first read it I was blown away (and told as many people to read. Visited the site few times and even took pictures working on the references of poems. You may visit me at https://iseeebirds.blogspot.com/2013/09/rise-of-sparrow.html. I abandoned this blog about a decade back. I would like to correct few typos but forgot password/phone link hence no longer in my control). 

I am also upset since in the same line where Fosse claims to be christian (infact a “good christian”) he also identifies as post-modernist influenced by Derrida. O dear. How can a man -indeed a skilled writer, entrenched in primitive system claim to be postmodern? If there is no fixed meaning then how can there be a fixed system -that too hinged on ridiculous? There is an unbridgeable contradiction here. It’s insane. The fixed ideas of religions are persistent threat to humanity. 

Derrida had elemental influence on me, ofcourse I took it to extreme to work my context, indeed even my name. There was a time when I was really into Derrida, and took deconstruction as weapon of choice! What is neglected by systems and its dominance is where the worth is. There is a world beyond the neat solutions of religions. Nature thrives in chaos and entropy is the eternal reality. There is more to life in confused chaos than in clarity and quick fixes of religion. This attempt at using Derrida to create binary of respectability for religion is 20^th century. I seethe in anger at this breach.                             

 

Attosecond: Real time vision

 

Nobel prize in science are reference for knowing about the best in scientific achievements. You come to know about significant steps in research that you never knew. Today’s Nobel prize in Physics is for methods to “…generate attosecond pulses of light for the study of electron dynamics…”. It’s about observing electron dynamics in real time thus providing insights into how electron move and interact at quantum level, timescales previously inaccessible. It is like having a new sense at attosecond level. This access to nature is quite similar to Gravitational Waves that gave us a new sight to observe space. The implication of attosecond is set to revolutionize fundamental science -imagine most people (including me, and I like to keep myself abreast with latest in science and technology) were not even aware of this, and numerous technological applications with this real time ability to control and harness properties of electron.

It also reminds me of some incredible examples from nature. For instance, Fire Chaser Beetles can sense fire at a whooping distance of 130Kms -imagine that! Their heat seeking pits are as sensitive as quantum detectors using much less energy. Another example that comes to mind is that of Killer Flies found in Mediterranean region that have ultrafast vision -indeed it could be quantum level real time. Eyes don’t perceive at speed of light. Eyes work at different speed, meaning, what we perceive as real time is much slow from insect’s perspective. For Killer flies it takes 6 to 9 milliseconds for its photoreceptors to react to incoming photons and then for the photons to send electrical signal to brain and to respond, that is, to send command to its muscles. All these three steps are achieved in mindboggling 6 to 9 milliseconds. For humans the first step -for photoreceptors to receive the signal, itself takes 30 to 60 milliseconds! Which means by the time we even perceive Killer fly has already caught the prey!

What would be interesting to know is whether species have evolved through the 3.8 billion years of evolution of life to tap the potential of attosecond (indeed, a question was asked about photosynthesis during the Q&A session today. Few years back I happen to see Prof. Jim Al Khalili's documentary that had reference of quantum level jiggling during photosynthesis. Or the process of mimicking by species). Will awareness of attosecond help us to study survival strategies of species better hence insight into potential applications and understanding nature?