Organic or produce?

• Today I have completed 14Y on the highway to hell... road to perdition. Maybe I'm little harsh on myself. Well failure, even if well anticipated, is not easy to swallow. But I don't know how to stay morose and silent on the occasion. I find it an accomplishment that I survived 14Y. I did have my shares of joy, enjoyment and memorable associations even though the secular trend in my professional life has been long term bearish. Honestly, I have no repentance; no grudge against anyone. That's strange... but somehow I still remain unmoved by the balance sheet of my profit and loss.
• Prakash Jha, a renowned film-maker, said in an interview that he wasn’t inspired by Anna Hazare’s way of revolution and expected it to fail. He gave his reason for this failure. He feels it’s Anna’s apolitical stance that spoilt the prospect of channelizing the youth support that he garnered initially into something fruitful. The youth, on the other hand, expected an easy way to change things – as if wearing a cap or sending sms or forming social networking community, all in the name of Mr. Hazare would do the job. My simple idea is: either we start by changing ourselves first and spread it across or let a few not-so-suave men kill us in a rage against the machine and call Adam and Eve to replay their game. I don’t think we are comfortable enough to live without corruption. We are not quite there yet. May not be that unusual given the sorry state our economy… just that we need to come out of the closet.
• Is advertising about helping sell a product with any smart punch-line or model? A one-liner that outsmarts your peer is good enough? A celebrity who does not use the product, may not even believe in that product, will say a few lines for a quick money – is it same as acting? What if the product is of inferior quality – let’s say that brings along health hazards – who will judge it? The recent headlines about wireless towers and how these are installed in residential areas flaunting all regulations are extremely disturbing. In some cases the radiation levels are much higher than the norm; sometimes the antennas are dangerously close to habitats of families including kids. A frustratingly long list of people, with representatives from all strata of our society, is involved in this heinous act. On the surface, it is a glossy world of telecommunication, which feeds on the concept on “You and I, in this beautiful world”… it’s all about triumph of science against distance, about enabling human beings to be more reachable anytime, about saving lives in crisis. Truth is far from the surface. Is it the same breed that criticizes sending of Laika to space (knowing that it wouldn’t survive)?
•  Today my daughter (5Y 8M), an ardent admirer of TV commercials, asked me that a toothpaste brand (be TP_A) says there is no other toothpaste better than them. Another brand TP_B claims the same. Which one is the best then? I felt like on cloud number nine (don’t know the exact meaning except the ecstasy with which Mr. Adams sings the song). This was a spontaneous question raised by a child who is just stepping into the world of contradictions; and a helpless father watches by. Hope she made a random utterance and not approaching the age of reason so fast. I don’t want that to happen – hope she has enough time left to play around.
•  The world with all its briskness is turning so disturbingly boring for me. Today I watched Mt. Kanchenjunga for the first time. It’s an inspiring experience. I offered my ignorance to it while bowing down my head. This is the tallest figure I have ever seen… far taller than the supermen I thought I was born to salute. Who cares if there are 2 even taller points on this planet – bronze medal is always a tall order for an Indian. The white calmness of the peak; the personality – it’s hard to take one’s eyes off. It’s worth writing songs about, saying “I’m sorry” to, being sentenced for life imprisonment by, or even worshiping. It is capable of overseeing all the card players’ hands, all the backstabbers, every roof-top restaurant, almost all other mountain peaks – in one word, of a true top view of the world.
• Spending holidays in hills recharges batteries for some. They come back to their life rejuvenated – to kill all their competitions, to wipe out their enemies and to achieve whatever was left out. They are James Bond. I am rather not that… I say “Son, I am Captain Jack Sparrow. Savvy”? I come back more tired than ever - with no interest to even live another day; start seeing everyone around me as ETs; wish starting a new terrorist outfit. I just lose the whole sense of being normal. Taste of freedom and nature do bear a price tag!
• God has turned Doraemon. Nobita is within us. Every day we look for newer gadgets from God. God has a tough task in hand in order to stay relevant – keep producing machines without fail. Else we, the cry babies, may start taking more interest in alternatives… God particles sound like one!
• Hey man... what's up? Nothing much... producing the same old organic stuff every morning! These 2 are my dark horses - "organic" is already in. Can't wait to see "produce" sections in "supermarkets". Just the dilemma to have a signboard with a commonplace verb "produce" is keeping a whole nation jittery. I think we will overcome this nervousness soon and start flooding the air conditioned markets with loads of "produce". My fellow countrymen… go ahead and lift it. It’s fine as a noun to replace dated words like fruits/vegetables – I did check the dictionary. The Brits won’t curse you! Think about it positively. Onion is in nervous nineties in some parts of the country – just a push of being “organic” can make it hit a century.