Is Simplicity a Virtue?

While describing a personality an inevitable characteristic that will creep up is the way he/she handles his/her life. Nowadays, we have started branding people as ‘simple’ with out knowing much about their personal background. Simplicity does not just lie in the way we dress ourselves but it lies in the way how we present ourselves to the world. For example, I would not reckon Gandhiji as simple just because he was wearing a dhoti through out his life. He commands respect and reverence through his belief in a scrupulous, unpretentious and truthful means of life that he successfully demonstrated. Probably, it is irrelevant to bring Gandhiji into the present day scenario of simplicity because Gandhiji had to do what he did. He wouldn’t have been successful in involving masses in the revolution if he himself chose to live in costly houses and roam around in cars.
At this stage, I would like you to know what prompted me to choose this topic. It was an article in Hindu that I read couple of days back in the open page which mentions about the lack of idols for today’s Indian youth. There is a great dearth of personalities in India who stand for a specific virtue. They win beauty contests saying they want to follow Mother Teresa, only to involve themselves in the item numbers of bollywood. They fight among themselves on the issues of holding posts which fetch them profits, when everyone knows that the very post they were elected to by the public has become a relentless source of revenue. Enemies now, friends today, promises for coalition for tomorrow and god alone knows what would happen next.( This is in particular reference to the Tamilnadu politics which makes me feel sick because neither can I distinguish each of the party’s name nor can I associate them with their respective allies.)
Right then, coming back to the topic, (enough of digression and didactism. Of course, you are here to experience it), when I make this point about simplicity, I very well know that I cannot give you any example of a person who looks pompous in his appearance and yet leads a simple life. These two personalities may not go together but it is my strong belief that I will encounter a person who is a perfect blend of both these qualities. To reinforce my point in a much straightforward way, to judge simplicity of a person in modern day’s context, I hardly care about how a person is dressed or how big his house is or how many cars he owns. I am only bothered about his/her personality, their inherent beliefs, their truthfulness and their behavior and it’s relevance to the position that they enjoy in the society. If this piece makes you understand what I intend to convey, kudos to me. If not, I have, once again, successfully and effectively wasted your time, kudos to me.

While you were sleeping

Yes! it is just seven days into the month of February and irrespective of what i scribble here , my Feb Archive is going to survive. Anyway,I always like the first paragraph to deal with the issue of the post and would direct this one to do the same. As i was washing my clothes, the most hated mundane activity in my life which demands nothing more than a pair of hands, a brush and a lot of patience , it suddenly struck to me that i've neglected this area of inhabitance for a while and decided to saunter through it for the sake of my ardent readers. But what do i post about?Saarang.

Trivial trivia:Saarang is the cultural festival of our college and please refrain from concluding that this post is all about the review of how Saarang Rocked this year with enticing professional shows , amusing literary events and flamboyant exhibition of art. Among one of the competetions held during Saarang was the Creative writing contest and this is what i created.

The topic given(around -- 200 words) -- "While you were sleeping… "

While you were sleeping, I traveled far and wide. I slipped into a state of euphoria when long-forgotten memories of the past flashed before my eyes - My nursery teacher, Guileless smile of my childhood friend , my school ,my first crush, my academic triumph, my joys , my sorrows & my life. It was like an odyssey back into the roots of my existence. It reminded me of the times when I used to enjoy the smallest pleasures of life and find unfathomable source of inspiration from self-evaluation.
It is then, that you came into my life and embedded frivolous thoughts of conquering the world. Ever since, We have worked very hard, challenging the boundaries of physical turmoil, suffering from all forms of tensions that life can offer, abstaining ourselves from pursuing happiness but in this process, missing the very essence of life. Even after possessing all the riches of the world, it always seemed to me that we are in need of something that would make our life more complete and more happy. It would be preposterous to ignore such occasional insinuations from one's mind about the displeasure in the moments of triumph. A man is a sculptor of his own destiny and self-conquest is both the beginning and terminating point. Lack of self control triggers avaricious desires and quixotic goals which seem to lead to a path of happiness. This is how you were born and 'I' ceased to exist.
This is the real me. I am glad that I could bring this out while you are asleep. I wonder if I could make 'you' sleep forever.

ME,MASOCHISM AND NARCISSISM

Some sufferings are inevitable, some are enjoyable (!) and many others are accidental. But ever thought of pains that arise out of a systematic planning, flawless execution much to the pleasure of the pain-bearer. If you think I am alluding to the antics of a masochist, this post will disprove that line of thought.

It was ten in the morning. I was alone in there. Of course, ten in the morning is quite early considering that Christmas partying is still hanging in the air around. But then, this is the guileless city of Visakhapatnam where people prefer family to wild partying, where still western style of socializing is not widely popular, or simply, where late night parties are rare. (I have given myself freedom from digressing from current issues by choosing an apt heading for my blog but i will try to provide occasional insinuations to the current topic of purpose).Right then, I was alone in there.( this sentence is cleverly repeated to get the reader back into a speculative mood….oh but now I think I spoiled it again….).All sorts of doubts started sprouting in my mind….Is he credible? Is it bearable? Is it popular?

So, the moment has arrived. I entered the room. It was a big chamber with around eight transparent partitions and a lot of sophisticated equipment. “Certainly, a state-of-art ache inducing facility in Visakhapatnam”. But to my surprise,there were already people inside the Chamber. There was a row of supine bodies, oblivion minds and tense nerves but failed to realise that I would soon join them.

He was really fast. The torch-bearer, glove-wearer, equipment holder seemed to be an acumen of amputation.He was playfully paining my fellow insane brothers and was approching me fast.Five….four…three…two…one….and my share of luck arrived. He examined me and quickly realised the gravity of situation and suggested that there were two kinds of long-term pain inducing strategies that could be adopted. One is an Indian technique which would be less time consuming and also less effective. Another one is an internationally followed version, although costly,the results are known to be more reliable and the pain is sustainable.

Second option seemed more sensible, killing blow first. No sooner that I conveyed my response in affirmative, he was on his job. "The best way to accomplish our mission is by amputating FOUR of your body parts and….” I did not, actually could not, hear the statements that followed because i knew that there is no looking back now and had to acquiesce to his plans. Four of my intricate, inner integral parts have to be sacrificed but all this had to be done for the pious aim of target achievement.. “Do whatever you want, I want results of highest international standards” , I informed him.

“Two in the morning, two in the evening, some finishing work and other tips for pain sustenance- tomorrow”, he chalked out the plan and he showed that he was a stickler of perfection by executing it with immaculate precision of pain causing.Everything went according to the plan, payment requirements fulfilled; he promised that he will take utmost care for the suffering to be prevalent for eight to ten months, provided I visit him monthly once.

Discipline, dedication and devotion is necessary to fulfill any goal. I realized this within ten days of this experience and now in this state of aphasia, I once again pledge that I would continue to abstain from any sensual pleasures like eating pizzas and all and would be professionally puritanical in brushing my teeth twice a day.

Yes!, if you did not guess until now, I was at the dentist and the driving force was narcissistic pleasure than anything else.

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