'NCC Mindset' - Inflicting Unnecessary Pain

There's this particular type of mindset that I'd like to classify as 'NCC mindset'. I chose to name it that because it's mostly found among NCC cadets in colleges. When in their first year, their seniors make them perform extremely physically exhausting activities in the name of 'punishment'. These junior cadets know how it hurts and how pointless and unnecessary such punishments are sometimes. They feel pain at that moment. They feel the same pain for at least one full year.

Come second year, these guys become senior cadets, and some new students join the NCC. Now, since these new 'seniors' know what punishment and pain is, do they refrain from inflicting it on their juniors? No. They don't. They continue the same 'tradition' of punishment. Ask them why, and they'd reply, "We suffered punishment from our seniors. Why should these guys have it easy?"

Seriously? Is that even a way to deal with people? And the funny thing is this is not even a 'tit for tat' kind of enmity. This is unwanted enmity, that just sows seeds of hatred in people. Sadly, this mindset is not prevalent just in NCC. It's found among most of us too. I've only used NCC as an analogy here.

We think, "I didn't have it easy. Why should someone else have it so?" and do things to make others' lives miserable. It's important to remember the saying "Treat others the way you'd want to be treated" at all times. That will prevent us from inflicting pain upon others.

No particular incident triggered this post. Just a thought. :)

Why It's Unfair to Ridicule the "I am Mukesh" Ad (A Translation)

I recently came across this wonderful status update by a Tamilian who's very active on Facebook. Like the title of this post suggests, it was about how people mock at the Late Mukesh Harane when he's shown in the ad and how it's completely unfair and insensitive. I agree with his viewpoints. That's the reason I decided to translate the status update, which was in Tamil, into English.

Please find it below:

"Knowingly or unknowingly, the “I am Mukesh” ad has become the subject of humour and ridicule among people.

Even though Mukesh’s speech might make you laugh, it is the deathbed confession of a cancer patient. Though the voiceover (in Tamil) sounds similar to the funny ones you can find in Chinese movies dubbed into Tamil, the message the ad wants to put across is very much true.

Being someone who used to consume tobacco, marijuana, and liquor, I now keep talking about their ill-effects, on social media. Please try your best to spread cancer awareness among your dear ones.

If you can’t, at least try to not make a mockery of ads like the one mentioned, which are aimed at creating awareness.

Mukesh is certainly not a national hero. But he’d have agreed to record details of his hardships, just with the good intention that his death should be some kind of a lesson for others.

We should ask ourselves if it’s fair to mock at a deceased person for the noble message he wanted to convey. We can avoid becoming the next Mukesh if we heed the words of that poor soul.

Those who know how painful and low the voice of a person with throat or mouth cancer sounds will never mock at Mukesh’s confession.

One of my friends had recently gone to the cinema with her kids. It seems the audience clapped and jeered at the Mukesh ad when it was played. My friend told me that even her kids had a good laugh, saying, “Yay! Mukesh is dying.”

Let’s keep aside the issue of ignoring the awareness messages shared by a dying cancer patient. It is evident that it is we who are completely responsible for sowing the same attitude of ridiculing his deathbed confession, among children.

I have seen kind individuals who share “Let’s prevent cancer” messages to spread awareness, and those who voluntarily come to the aid of cancer patients. Our ridicule of the Mukesh ad might also lead to the danger of others’ ridiculing the service of these kind people.

I myself have referenced cancer-based movie comedy scenes during conversations with my friends, in the past.

But it’s when my mother suffered from cancer that I realized it isn’t a matter of joke.

If you have to laugh (at the ad), laugh within yourself. You might be a gutsy person who isn’t afraid of death. But please avoid making jokes about Mukesh in the public space.

Just think of how a cancer patient would be able to stay casual if he/she were sitting next to you in the movie theatre and found themselves in a situation where the ad is ridiculed.

The ad is one reason I don’t even think of taking my mother to the cinemas. But my fear worsens when I think of whether she’ll be able to bear the mockery of the ad that happens in the theatre. I slightly feel shaken when I think whether this mockery would shatter all the motivation we have given to help her fight cancer.

This is my request to all the tomorrow’s Mukeshes who make fun of yesterday’s Mukesh: Please spare a thought about it.

If you cannot, just consider this as an “over-hyped, over-reactive” status update that is begging for likes.

A special salute to the deceased Mukesh. My special prayers for him for the noble thought to portray his sufferings as a lesson to others.

Thanks."

PS: This is my humble attempt at translating a post that I personally felt made perfect sense and was completely necessary. I have tried my best to not distort the actual message anywhere. But I might have gone wrong somewhere. Please feel free to bring it to my notice if you feel so. Will make the corrections required.

Links:
For the original post: https://www.facebook.com/umamaheshwaran.panneerselvam/posts/10201614246831423

Also, there's been a misconception among some people that Mukesh Harane is alive even now. However, I found through Google that he's indeed no more. Here's a news article that proves it: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/dead-son-face-of-anticancer-fight-family-lives-in-penury/1049922/

And a majority of people hate the graphic images shown in the beginning of the ad. That's understandable. However, the government will soon replace the existing ads with a set of new ones. For more info: http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/new-anti-tobacco-audio-visuals-released-113100101180_1.html

Why We Need More Animated Movies

Anthropomorphic toys. Houses that fly with just the help of helium balloons. Rats that get under a cook’s toque and almost become a secondary brain. Cavemen using starfish to create makeshift footwear. You have seen them all and you will see more, thanks to animated movies.

Nineteen ninety-five is a landmark year in the history of animation. The first ever 3D animated movie of the world—Toy Story—released with great fanfare and managed to capture many a heart across the world. It wasn’t until 2010, the year the final part of the trilogy released, that I got to watch the movie, however. Since then I’d have watched the entire Toy Story trilogy at least 4-5 times.

It’s not just the treat to the eyes that makes me love animated movies. The messages they try to convey, the lessons they strive to teach, the efforts they take to remind “mankind” of “humanity”. Not many movies remind us of the ‘fun’ side and good things of life as much as animated movies do.

Woody and Buzz (Toy Story) taught me to not give up on friendship, no matter what situation one is in. Horton (Horton Hears a Who) taught me that everyone, irrespective of their size and status, deserves to be treated well. Guy (The Croods) taught me to follow light in order to progress in life and that change is not such a bad thing. Carl and Ellie (Up), in that little montage, showed me how married life is supposed to be. Hero Girl (The Polar Express) taught me the value of belief. Mumble (Happy Feet) showed that it’s ok for one to be different. Alex, Marty, Gloria, and Melman (Madagascar) showed me that people can be great friends despite their differences. Marlin (Finding Nemo) showed me what pure fatherly love is. Diego (Ice Age) taught me it's never too late to turn a new leaf and be a good person.

I can go on. I can keep talking endlessly about characters in animated movies and what I learnt from them.

Considering that the first ever 3D-animated movie came out in 1995, we can see that 3D animation is just a teenager. But a very responsible teenager who knows what’s right and wrong. One who understands life. One who values relationships more than materialistic pleasures. One who wishes good for all. One who continues to teach mankind of virtues. The teenager whom parents wish their kids would hopefully emulate. The ideal teenager.

I’m basically the kind of person who considers each movie a work of art. That way, animated movies easily top my list of favourite artworks. There’s so much to watch and enjoy. There’s so much to learn from them and apply in our lives.

Francis Pharcellus Church, in his famous “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus” letter, writes:

“Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus. It would be as dreary as if there were no VIRGINIAS. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The eternal light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.”

Animated movies, again, are like the same Santa Claus. They make tolerable this existence. Their very existence and the lessons they teach can bring happiness to people's lives. We constantly praise animated movies for the ‘imagination’ and ‘creativity’ in them. I believe they deserve praise for their ‘life’ too.

Like I said, animated movies remind “mankind” of “humanity”.

So, yes. The world does need more animated movies.

Who Said Casteism is Dead?

I really don’t know how and where to start this post. Much has been spoken about this topic by many writers, but the casteist mindset of people is still prevalent even today.

The Internet, in general, and Twitter and Facebook, in particular, have shown me how even educated people still stick to their casteist identities strongly. Caste-based handles and bios on Twitter, Facebook display names displaying one’s caste so blatantly—it’s all there in the social media world.

While the people of the city themselves have such strong casteist tendencies, it’s not surprising to see the same among people in small towns. I got to witness this personally last month when I had gone to Mantralayam for a cousin’s wedding.

I was at the ‘sathram’ having my lunch. The caterer was sitting beside me and having some discussion with another person. The conversation was in Telugu. The translation is below.

Caterer: The uggaani-bajji and other items we make cost Rs. 75 per plate.

The other person: Whoa! Really? Why is it so costly, man? We get the same thing for a much cheaper price at roadside shops.

Caterer: That’s made by maadigas. So there’d be a difference.

T.O.P: Ah, yes. You are right.

I felt really bad on hearing that conversation. I’d have taken it as a valid response if the caterer had said that the hygiene levels are low in such roadside shops. But he didn’t. It was the vendors’ caste that seemed to bother him more.

I’ve heard a lot of my relatives use the words maadigoda or maadiga munda so frequently while cussing at someone. During my childhood, I used to think it was just a generic cussword like poRukki or poRamboakku. It was not until a couple of years ago that I realized it referred to the name of a caste. That too was when I had been to the Chennai High Court regarding an accident case in which a few friends from school and I were the victims. A vehicle with the name “AAI Associates” and “Proprietor: Madiga” on it was what opened my eyes. And the vehicle was that of manual scavengers who clean up the city’s sewer system—people who regularly get themselves dirty in order to clean up our impurities. I first giggled at the appropriateness of the name “AAI Associates” for a scavenging service, but realization dawned upon me when I got to know that all these years, I’ve been hearing people use the name of a particular caste to refer to someone as inferior.

And that changed the impression I had on many people I knew.

There’s another incident that I must talk about here. This happened in 2007, the year I stepped into college. One day, we had some other lecturer substituting for one of our regular ones. I’d heard that this lecturer knew the subject well, but he wasn’t going to teach us any of it. He suddenly started lecturing on the varna differences mentioned in the Manu Smriti and justifying that Brahmins are superior and people of the other three varnas, especially Shudhras, were inferior. His substantiation was a sloka from “Purusha Sooktam”.  He went ahead with the Brahmins came from the Purusha’s head and Shudhras came from His legs crap. I hadn’t known much about the intensity of casteism in our country back then, but one of my best friends from college, Suresh, put up an argument with him. The lecturer had no rational explanation for the claim he made, but kept parroting that “The holy scripture says so. Therefore, it’s true.”

That’s another occasion when I got to know of the cheapness of the so-called high caste people.

And keep in mind, this is not the 18^th or 19^th century. This is the effing 21^st century when people are envisioning a world without boundaries and trying to make “One world. One humanity.” a reality. It is, therefore, really saddening to see such people live amidst us even today.

It’s really funny when a Brahmin says “It’s very painful to be treated as a second-class citizen in one’s own country.” Those are exactly the moments when irony commits suicide and vows not to return ever.

Yes, it’s not just Brahmins who consider themselves superior. Yes, the aforementioned caterer was not a Brahmin himself, but he belonged to another so-called high caste. Therefore, everyone shares the blame equally. But Brahmins should never talk about being considered a second-class citizen.

They are the ones who created the spark. So they should never ever cry that it has turned into a wildfire and started burning them in return. In one word, karma.

Another argument that today’s Brahmins put forward is “This is something our forefathers did. How is it fair to make us suffer the consequences?”

Well, let’s take the example of the Bhopal gas tragedy. Over 5,00,000 people were affected by a major gas leak that happened in 1984 in a Union Carbide factory. Though the exact death toll is unclear, most sources say it must be somewhere between 15 and 16,000 in the initial few days. But the tragedy did affect more than 5 lakh people, as mentioned earlier.

It’s been close to three decades since this tragedy happened, but people still claim compensation from the main culprit, Union Carbide. If you remember well, we Indians outraged greatly when Union Carbide said it’d sponsor the London Olympics in 2012. Now why do we still demand compensation from UC even after nearly 30 years? Because the impact has been very huge.

This is not very different from the impact of casteism. Why do people so strongly support reservation? Because the negative impact of your “forefathers’” casteism is great and long-running. People are still affected by it. Reservation is the compensation for those people who were suppressed in the name of casteism. If the victims of the Bhopal gas tragedy deserve compensation even after 30 years, don’t those who have been subjected to suppression for centuries together deserve it too?

Please be conscientious when you answer that question. Be objective.

I find it very painful when Brahmins say that they’re treated as second-class citizens in their own country. Just because they’re not being true to their conscience. 

Peace.

PS: You HAVE TO read the great Indian writer Mulk Raj Anand's "Untouchable" to really be able to gauge the kind of cruelty Brahmins and other high caste people perpetrated against the others. Do read. You won't regret it.

You Have Sight. Now Have a Vision.

What: Reading Sessions for Visually Challenged Students

When: All Sundays, from 10.30AM to 12.30PM

Where: PSBB,KK Nagar and Nungambakkam (annexe, near Vidyodaya School. NOT THE MAIN CAMPUS)

Why: Well, nature has given us the gift of eyesight, whereas some brothers and sisters are very unfortunate for not receiving the same. We can either carry on with our own lives or make it a bit worthwhile by investing a fraction of it in helping our friends achieve their ambitions.

What exactly you need to do: Just read out their lessons aloud for them. They are mostly Tamil/English literature students from various colleges in the city. [It's NOT compulsory to explain the lessons for them, but if you can, it'd be great.] Some students just follow the lessons, while some record them on tape. Some even take notes using Braille. Sometimes you might even be asked to write assignments for them.

What you gain: First and foremost, the satisfaction of helping people. There's no greater gain, IMO. Secondly, knowledge. You don't get to read for the same student every week. You'll be assigned to read out to a different student every week. Therefore, the chances of your gaining knowledge on different topics is very high.

What the procedure is: No procedure at all. Just walk into any of the two campuses on a Sunday morning (10.30) and tell them you're there for the reading session. The volunteers will tell you what you need to do, and allot a student.

Perks: You'll get a glass of tea and two biscuits around 11.30. :D And they also serve lunch for all after the session ends. Eating there or not is your personal choice. But trust me, the food tastes great. [This is how it used to be when I attended these sessions back in 2010. Hope it's the same now. Also, I've attended only the sessions at Nungambakkam. Never been to the KK Nagar campus. So I don't have an idea about the sessions there except the fact that they're held there as well.]

You'll get to know in what other ways you can be of help to these students once you attend a session. You can register your phone number with the organizers if you're willing to be a scribe, and they'd call you in case there's a need for scribes during exams. That's another great experience, I say. I had the opportunity of serving as a scribe once.

Well, I've summed up all the information required, I guess. Feel free to contact me if you have any other queries. Will be happy to oblige.

PS: The person who began this service has been doing it for more than 20 years. And I had the privilege of being a part of it for almost a year. I do miss these sessions a lot, and that's the reason I've been strongly insisting you guys at least to be a part of it.

The reading sessions have a break of 3-4 weeks when the students have their exams. You'll be informed of this beforehand if you attend the sessions regularly.

Also, there's a great demand for Tamil readers. So kindly attend the sessions if you can read Tamil well. தமிழ் இனி மெல்லச் சாகும் என்னும் கருத்தை உடைத்து, அச்செம்மொழியை வாழ வைப்போம்.

And do spread the word.

Service to man is service to God.

Cheers! :)