"Yaar, matlab main kar sakti hu but mere se ab ho nahi payega"
Glass Half Untouched
By Iravati Kamat
Sunday 27 December 2020
Letting go
Saturday 12 December 2020
The world's in safe hands
(Paddy, Mokka, Tappy, Silva were
huddled around the table, making some sort of to-do list, talking to each other
in serious whispers. Paddy’s mother enters the room and looking at the scene,
amused, she can’t help but ask-)
Mom - Hi everyone, what are you
guys doing?
Paddy - We are doing an
assignment for our class.
Mom - Okay? (prompting Paddy to
continue)
Paddy - ? (Paddy just frowns at
her)
Mom – What is the assignment
about? Which class?
Paddy – Mommmm (Paddy whines).
Can we do this later? We are really busy right now?
Mom - …… (standing there with a mom pose)
Paddy – ugh…alright. It’s for our
class of ‘community organization and planning’.
Mom (mumbling) – Leaders of
our country are failing at it and they expect the 12-year-olds to do community planning.
Paddy – what?
Mom – Nothing. So, tell me about
this assignment.
Paddy – We have to find a problem
in our society and find a solution.
Mom – Okay?
Paddy - ?
Mom – go on. Continue.
After staring at his mom for a
few seconds, willing her to go away, Paddy sighs, seeing that she is not
budging. He signals Mokka to start the narration. Mokka abruptly sits up
straight, as if he is reciting it to a teacher, grabs the paper from the table
and starts –
Mokka – The problem we often see
in society is that the conditions around the world are bad. The problems in society are increasing continuously. People often say that the world is ending.
But we have to understand why and I
think we have found a loophole. God is supposed to protect the world, save
the world but who is saving god. Our solution is a strategy to protect the god
to save the world.
Mom - …..
Paddy – So? What do you think?
Mom – Wow. Did you show this to your
teacher?
Paddy – Yes…(Paddy says with a
pause)
(All kids look hesitant. Looking
at each other. This topic definitely does not seem their favorite)
Mom – Well…what did they say?
Paddy – Umm she just kept saying uh-huh when we explained our topic. Then
we asked whether we should go ahead with it, she said sure. Tappy said she was laughing at us but I think she was just
smiling because she liked the topic. What about you? Do you like the topic?
Mom – Uh-huh. Sure.
Paddy – Great. See, I told you
guys.
Tappy – Paddy, I think your
mother is laughing at us.
(Mom putting on her best innocent
expression)
Mom – Well, I just really liked
it.
(A few moments of silence where
the kids assess what mom is thinking)
Mom – (clearing throat) So, what solution are you proposing?
Paddy – Okay. Let me start from
the beginning.
(This time he grabs the paper and
sits up straight)
Paddy – So, as per the common
knowledge and as per our close observations of the action movies, to protect
the god, we need bodyguards with the god and security at god’s house.
(Paddy looks up at mom to see if
she is following)
Mom – Uh-huh
Paddy – (Satisfied, he continues)
So, we start with the house of the god. Based on the places all of us have visited so
far, there are three types of houses of god. There are big houses like big
temples, churches, gurudwaras, mosques, etc. where we will place a guard at all
times and a security camera. Then there are community common houses where we
will request people from the community to provide security in shifts so that it
will be easy to manage.
Mom – Uh-huh
Paddy – Lastly, we have small
houses of god in our homes. There also we assign a person within that family to
protect the house of god.
Mom – That’s… that’s good. Very
thorough.
Paddy – no, no. We are not done
yet. Silva had a concern after this plan. (prompting Silva) Silva...
Silva – (sitting up straight) So,
I thought that since god is protecting the world and since we have been facing
a lot of problems recently, god must be on the field taking care of people.
(Silva looks at Paddy to make
sure he is on the right track. Paddy confirming his thoughts takes over)
Paddy – so we need to have bodyguards near the god. But we can’t see the god, so we have to guess and also ask
around. Because Corona is spread everywhere badly, god probably visits places
that have the most ill people.
Mokka – Yes. And there are
farmers protesting also.
Silva – Right, and Chennai was
hit with a cyclone.
(Mom looks reverently at the kids
excitedly adding to each other’s ideas)
Paddy – Yes, so we will also ask
around for the issues to know the exact location of the god so that we can send
help there.
(Tappy clears her throat)
Paddy – Yes, I remember Tappy.
Tappy has a theory-
Tappy – It’s not a theory. It’s
the truth.
Paddy – Okay. So, Tappy believes
that –
Tappy – It’s not my belief. It’s
the truth.
Paddy – Alright. Tappy suggested
- (briefly glancing at Tappy anticipating an interruption but Tappy is sitting
back, uptight, with her arms folded. Paddy continues) – that god lies where
people are happy and healthy.
Mom – Uh-huh
Paddy – So, we are also planning
a phase 2 (Tappy clears her throat once again. Paddy clears his throat louder)
As we all decided, there will be a phase 2 of this project where we will ask around to see where the people think god lies because
everyone has different ideas and then we will put in more effort and send more
security at those locations to protect the god.
Mom – Great. You guys have really
thought of everything, haven’t you?
Paddy – No, no. Wait. There is
more. (Looks at Tappy)
(Tappy sits up straighter if it
is even possible)
Tappy – We have observed that the
problems will keep on coming. No matter what we do. Looking at the current
situation, there is a possibility that the god is understaffed. So, we have to
help the god. Because we can’t have the god distracted or overstressed because
that’s even more dangerous. So, we are planning to set up a…ugh…
Silva – a council.
Tappy – Yes, that. We will get
all the intelligent people who know about these issues the society is facing to
understand the issues and come up with solutions so that there is less load on
god. (Looking at Paddy) Are we done?
Paddy – (goes through the paper
and double-checks) Yes, we are done.
(All kids turn to mom)
Mom – (stunned)…
Paddy – So? What do you think? Is
it good?
Mom – Huh (smiling). Sure.
(Mumbling) Want to save the
world? Trust the 12-year-olds to be better at it than the world leaders.
Paddy – what?
Mom – Nothing. I really liked it.
You guys continue with the assignment. I will make something special for you
guys. My treat.
(she goes to the kitchen,
smiling)
(Paddy turns towards Tappy)
Paddy – Do you think she was
laughing at us?
Tappy – No. I think she was
actually smiling.
Sunday 22 November 2020
The dumping well
I live in a well, a dumping well, like the dumping grounds you have. And I can tell for a fact that I saw it coming. Let me start at the beginning. Our well was gigantic, with no definite ends. Well, we definitely knew it opens at the top. Because things used to fall from there.
We never saw the top with our own eyes. But we knew it existed because we saw the things fall. Unused, broken, discolored, disfigured things. There were books, pages, letters, flowers, leaves, and whatnot. Along with flora, there was fauna. There were also beings, souls, tears, emotions, memories, and thoughts. We have seen it all, over the years, from the ugliest to the most beautiful journeys of the fallen.
There was a spiral passage inside the well to go up and down. Our houses were just behind the spiral passages along the walls. We had neighbors on both the sides. To go anywhere, we used to walk along the passage but we never walked the longer distances until it was absolutely necessary. If needed, we could spread the word through the houses.
On a clear day, we had a distant blurred vision of the other side of the wall. But clear days were not always granted. There were cold eerie days as well, where we saw the most horrifying memories, beings, and thoughts go down. There were days when it burned, when the ashes and fumes fell down, taking their own sweet time, burning everything on the way. Sometimes it rained tears for days.
Saturday 31 October 2020
The Talk
“Maa… Maaaa! I
am making tea. Will you have some now or later?”
Maa sometimes shared a cup of tea with me in the late afternoon. I shouted this question while already holding a vessel under the tap. There was no response. The vessel was filling fast.
"Maaa"
"..."
"Maaaaa"
"..."
"Mummyyyy"
"..."
I reluctantly
shut the tap and left the vessel on the countertop to see what my mother was
doing. It was unlike of her to sleep at this hour and especially such a deep
sleep which didn't get disturbed with my first call.
I went to look for her and checked the
washroom first. Perhaps, she was not able to answer because she was inside. She
didn't like answering her name calls while she was in the washroom. Apparently,
the ‘whole building’ need not know that she was in the washroom!
Not finding her
in the washroom, with peaked interest, I went to her room and there she was!.
In a corner, with her back towards me. She had apparently borrowed my
headphones and was watching something on her phone. And if I wasn't wrong, she
was silently crying.
Urghhh... Not
again!
"Maaa",
this time I said it loudly and firmly, in my 'mom' voice. Startled, she jumped
in her place and quickly turned around. Once she realized it was just me, she
started fumbling with the phone and headphones.
"You are
watching Baghban again, aren't you", I asked rhetorically.
"Ummm"
"Maa, just
how many times are you going to watch that movie? I am sure you have already
watched it at least 25 times. And how can you cry every time you watch it. Ohh,
let me guess. Someone's children moved away again?"
Maa just nodded
with her head down wiping her tears. Maybe those were lingering Baghban tears
but looking at her like that, I immediately felt bad for practically scolding
her.
"OK. If you
are feeling sad, how about we just talk
about it?"
"Alright"
"So, Maa
tell me. What happened?"
"Look… I am
not exactly sad. It's just that... Reema and Naren weren't ready for this. They
asked their son to stay here but there was a great opportunity in the US and he
was getting a promotion so it became very complicated…
Reema was
continuously crying when I visited them."
"But their
daughter is still here right? In the same city? Just half an hour away, I
guess?"
"But she is
married. They can't rely on her."
One look at my
face made her rephrase that.
"Not my
words. They said they can't rely."
"And why
Baghban?"
"Because!
Look, I know it's a film. It is supposed to be fiction and not real. But then
something like this happens…"
"Are you
worried that...you know...this can happen in our family?"
"No I am not”, her response came quickly but then she lingered, “But you never know… Reema and Naren did not see it coming either and I don't want to say it but Amitabh and Hema also..."
"Maaaa..."
"Alright.
Alright. Let it be."
"No, it's
ok. Let's talk about Baghban. If we are comparing, let’s do it properly. If we
are looking at children, let’s compare the parents also. Achha, tell me this,
how many times have you actually waited for Papa at the door with freshly made
tea and snacks; let alone every day? Yes, you are a homemaker but you have
passionately continued your job and maintained your hobbies at the same time.
Let’s not forget that. Of course, you may have compensated with your own health
for that at times and we might have something to do with that. But let's leave
that discussion for another day. My point is that I have also seen days when
you used to come home late and Papa made tea. And the times when he cooked. He
handled everything without any qualms when you had to go out of town for work.
It’s something that I don’t find relatable at all with Baghban."
"Pch… See,
I know that but…"
"Ok then
let’s look at the children moving away since we were just talking about it.
Remember how you took a strict stance when I got an opportunity to go abroad
for 2 years? I was not so sure but you convinced me that I should take up the
challenge. And if you are worried that you will be left all alone with nothing
to do after your children 'fly away', that's not going to happen. Let’s face
it. Both you and Papa are retired yet you are busier than your children. You
are so engaged in other activities that you hardly spend quiet days at
home."
"OK, OK.
Alright. I understand that. What I don’t understand is why you are so worked up
about Baghban?"
"Because
Maa...”, I sighed. The initial high of adrenaline slowly left my body and my
shoulders must have visibly dropped because I could immediately feel Maa’s hand
on my shoulder. I continued,
“It’s not only
hard on parents. It’s difficult for children too. I see my friends and
colleagues struggle with it like you do. And the movie tells & glorifies
only one side of the story. It sort of gives validation to parents like
Reema aunty and Naren uncle who feel abandoned when the children move
away."
"Are you
saying that parents shouldn’t feel abandoned when their children leave?
Children actually do abandon their old parents, you know? I agree it is a film
and they may have not portrayed it correctly, but that story is not that far
from the painful reality that surrounds us where children just leave their old
parents on the street."
“I agree. But it
depends on every family, every situation Maa. I am not saying children don’t
abandon their parents but there is a difference between abandoning and moving away.
And in today's times, the world's getting closer and children are moving away to
grab the opportunities offered to them. No one is at fault here. What a family
can do is discuss and decide together how they want to plan it out. Every
member is accountable for the wellbeing of their family. But I don't get these
selfless responsibilities. Be it responsibilities of parents towards their
young kids or kids towards their old parents."
"Fair
enough. But you know it's easy to say; it's much more difficult to actually do
it. We learn these things while growing up, about how responsibilities work in
a family. Every family member has a role to play. How many families actually
sit together and discuss future plans, finances, or even feelings?"
"I know
Maaa. It's not easy but it's not right either."
With that, my
mother let out a loud sigh.
"Don't worry.
It will happen. Some day. With more conversations about Baghban", she
teased me while squeezing me with her arms around my slumped shoulders.
I snorted before
continuing,
"Ya I
guess. So, will you have tea now or later?"
"Later I
guess. Let me finish the movie first."
"What??
Maa? We just discussed- "
"The movie
is quite dramatic and let's face it, funny also at times. After that visit to
Reema’s house and this heavy conversation, what I need is entertainment."
"Hah. Ok,
I'll go have tea then and maybe join you for the funny parts.”
-------
Saturday 24 October 2020
The God Complex
This article is neither about the god nor
about the literal meaning of the god complex. The god complex that I want to
talk about today can be understood through the concept of the pedestal (the
base or support on which a statue, obelisk, or column is mounted, as per Oxford
Languages) on which the god is kept.
Pedestal
What I have observed so far about the relationship between the god and a devotee is that it consists of majorly two components – offering your faith and seeking power or strength from the god or from the faith that you offer to god. You can offer your faith or seek strength in whatever shape or form, of course.
One cannot deny the power dynamic there. Two distinct levels where the god always stands tall. And funnily, even though the question often arises - whether the god exists, nobody, for a second, questions the existence of the pedestal on which the god exists.
This pedestal is built with our faith and
expectations. And you know what I am talking about when I say faith and
expectations. Just imagine any prayer place in the nearby community or even the
prayer place at your house. How you communicate with the god, builds that
pedestal. You know how we say keep doing your job, don’t work for rewards.
Don’t expect anything in return. Well, but that is not really said a lot in the
context of prayers or worshipping the god, is it? We always expect something in
return or at least ask for it. It is never a trade in our mind, never a
bargain. It’s a request. With full faith that it will be fulfilled.
Pedestal comes to life
The concept of this pedestal can be applied in our daily interactions as well. Only in our regular life situations, the god is manifested in the form of a person. It’s when we put a person on that pedestal and offer our faith that this person will help us or solve our problems. It could be anyone – our parents, our friends, our siblings, simply anyone. We start taking this person for granted without their or even our knowledge and thus, begins the god complex.
It creates a power dynamic in the relationship that generally materializes in the form of one-person responsibility and accountability to alleviate issues, to solve problems, to help, or to just be there without any expectations. Unconditionally. And that is a lot of responsibility for one person. The person who is very graciously put on the pedestal as the ‘god’.
Just to give you an example, we all have that
one friend who always listens to our problems and guides us, maybe a mentor or
a parent with whom you always discuss your issues, or imagine a family member
who is caregiving for another family member. Of course, in all these scenarios,
the god complex isn’t necessarily manifested. But all these relationships are
prone to it.
The give and take
The ill-effects of the god complex might generally go unnoticed if it’s born in a short-term relationship or if a ‘god’ in one relationship has a ‘god’ in some other relationship to communicate or transfer their worries to. However, imagine the toxicity that a person might feel through the pedestal of expectations if the god complex is manifested in a long-term or a lifelong relationship, or if someone’s ‘god’ doesn’t have a ‘god’ in their own life (in such cases, people often explore spirituality or approach the god to draw their strength from there since physical support around them is not enough).
There is no easy way to break the vicious
cycle of the god complex once you are stuck in it. Of course, a good place to
start would be examining and re-examining the relationships around you.
Meticulously looking at the give and take in the relationships. I said
re-examining because it’s difficult to identify the god complex in a
relationship at the first glance. Because we live in denial. I wouldn’t want to
accept that I am relying on someone unconditionally and not offering much in
return except my belief that they are great and they will help me. I also
wouldn’t want to accept that the unconditional support that I am offering to
someone might be toxic and may have an adverse effect on me because it is my
job, an obligation, or a social convention to provide the care, support,
patience, energy, or time to someone.
The seeker
As the ‘seeker’ (let’s call it that) in the god complex dynamic, after evaluating the give & take it would help if we offer our support or just simply remind the other person (and ourselves) that we are there for them if they need anything. There are a lot of things one can do to destroy the pedestal brick by brick to make both parties ‘equals’ (of course not in terms of tangible things such as knowledge or experience or the social role but in terms of responsibility and accountability) in a relationship. In the spirit of equality, probably a great way to start would be a conversation where we acknowledge that we couldn’t be there for the other person as much as we wanted to be but we wish to correct that. And then hopefully, the conversation will only grow.
I understand that you are going through something difficult and there are not enough support systems around. And that’s probably why you have to rely on your ‘god’ for certain aspects. And that’s ok. Trying to find support to survive, to deal with your troubles is more than ok. But it’s also important to build more sustainable modes of support. Because the situations will get better and then might get worse later. Difficult periods in life don’t come with warnings or have specific reasons behind them. It’s always better if we have plans B, C, D, and so on in place to accommodate the negative emotions that flood in unprompted.
It wouldn’t hurt to just re-examine other
relationships, other aspects of your life to understand if there is any
imbalance there, if you are a ‘god’ in some other relationship which adds to
your stress.
The god
For the ‘god’ in the god complex dynamic, after examining the give & take, more re-evaluation is required, I am afraid. Re-evaluation of self. Where are you in your priority list? And while you simply cannot change anything about your priorities at the moment (that is generally the immediate response to the re-evaluation of priorities), find a way to do something for a few minutes every day that doesn’t involve anyone but you. If the god complex has taken over certain space in your life (your office, your house, your college, your bedroom), find a way to step out of that space for a few minutes of self-indulgence or indulging into something sustainable that engages you. You may start with 5 minutes and work on increasing that time. A five-minute break to lock yourself into a room to sing or dance, a five-minute break to water the plants, a five-minute coffee break on the terrace, an hour dedicated to exercise or a walk, a part-time job for a few hours outside the house, a few minutes dedicated to reading a few pages of a book every day, converting a hobby into a work opportunity, getting a new hobby, anything, and everything. You will be surprised by the number of impossible possibilities that become possible once you move yourself up on your priority list.
Once you sort out your priority list, you also
need to start working on taking down that pedestal one brick at a time.
Learning to say no, finding more sustainable ways to provide support would be a
start. Most importantly, asking for help. I think that will be the biggest
crack in your pedestal.
Be mindful
Of course, these are the solutions to work it out on your level. Another way would be to seek counseling services. This is for the ‘seeker’ as well as the ‘god’. I am sure you will find plenty of solutions to your concerns there or anywhere actually if you look for them.
What we can also do is look out for signs so that we don’t build another relationship based on the god complex. Of course, that does not work if you are born into one. For example, parents. Mothers specifically, if we add the unconditional obligations that come from being a woman to the mix.
Before I stop, I just want to say - imagine that you and your ‘god’ are equal (again, not in terms of tangible things such as knowledge or experience but in terms of responsibility and accountability) and you actually end up helping the god or even relieving some load off them and the god thanks you. The god thanks you! That is so cool! At least in my opinion, the gratefulness of god is way cooler than their support.
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A Marathi Article by Dr. Anjali Joshi which talks about this concept- https://www.loksatta.com/chaturang-news/stress-of-understanding-other-person-psycorscope-dd70-2226917/
A few starting points for more sustainable support -
TISS - http://icallhelpline.org/
NIMHANS - https://nimhans.ac.in/pssmhs-helpline/
Vandrevala Foundation - https://www.vandrevalafoundation.com/
Mpower Minds - https://mpowerminds.com/oneonone
Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment - https://fit.thequint.com/mind-it/indias-first-national-mental-health-helpline-kiran-is-launched
Monday 12 October 2020
The End
Everything is out of order. People are running in all directions. Seemingly trying to save themselves. And I wonder if this is how the end looks like.
It is barely drizzling now but every droplet comes with a promise. It comes even if it knows it isn't welcome. There is already plenty of it; on our streets, in our homes, in our eyes. There is nothing we call ours that could welcome these droplets. Yet the droplets come with an unwelcome insistence to take over and I feel numb all over.
I know I have to join the chaos around me soon. I will have to run in some direction to get somewhere where I will feel safer. Who knows if safer even exists. But I will have to run soon to find the safer ground.
Because even though it is clear that there is no hope, accepting that would be giving up. Giving up would be letting go of everything that is mine. Perhaps that's how the end looks like.
I must move. I must run. At least when I know where I should go or when I stop feeling numb long enough to be able to move, or when I am able to talk, shout, cry, think, breathe. Any moment now. I must move.
If I see someone I know, maybe they will help. But I don't know if I can talk to them, ask them for help, tell them where I need to go.
Maybe it's better if nobody sees me. I don't want to talk to anyone and tell them what I can't explain. If I don't move long enough, probably no one will notice me standing here. If I don't move long enough, I can kiss the droplets, hug the water, and then there wouldn't be anything to be noticed. Maybe that's how the end looks like.
Based on Robert Frost's 'the road not taken'
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Attended Rupikaur's poetry workshop recently. It was refreshing and helpful. I never take pride in my poetry writing skills but I enjoyed it so much that I am sharing one of the poems here. She asked questions and prompted words (highlighted in Bold) that we can include in our poems. She also gave a background theme and a few words to begin the poem. So, it is particularly useful for writers who are feeling stuck or just want a break to explore their thoughts and shake up their imagination a bit.
Letting go
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