Patriotism.

One starts off by feeling patriotic about his/her own country.
That is a good thing.

As we grow up in an increasingly networked world, we progressively feel less possessive about our country.
Global news becomes of as much importance as local information, perhaps even more.
We are shuttling between countries owing to large scale businesses spanning multiple regions of the world.
What we do feel is a sense of belonging to the trend of globalization.
Inherently, there is a strive to ensure that the world becomes a better place as we continue to live within it.

The entire world seems to be our playground.
Effectively, we start feeling patriotic not about our country, but about this world.

Ergo, if we can transition our feeling of patriotism from our country to the entire world, is it not possible to transition this same feeling of patriotism from our world to the entire universe?

And, if the universe is the only thing in the universe, so to write, what exactly do we feel patriotic about and why?
Suddenly, the concept of patriotism dies as you no longer need to feel patriotic about anything since the entire universe is yours and that is the only thing in the universe (!)

The point, ladies and gentlemen, then is that there is no such feeling as patriotism.

Now, if there is no such thing as being a patriot, are there no traitors too?

The corridors of power.

Dhi Only One walks.
A coffee mug in his right hand.
A mobile phone tucked in between his tilted head and his left shoulder.
His access card in his left hand.

Someone throws a chocolate at Dhi Only One, asking him to catch it.

In a fraction of a second, Dhi Only One has to decide the following:
1. Whether to catch the chocolate or not.
2. If the chocolate is to be caught, whether he should let the access card fall down or the mobile phone or the coffee mug.
3. If the chocolate is not to be caught, how should he avoid the chocolate from hitting him.

It turns out that the fraction of a second is too little.
Dhi Only One ends up doing some sort of a hand trick but to no avail.

Result:
A broken coffee mug on the floor, coffee on the floor, mobile phone on the floor, access card on the floor.

The chocolate is not to be seen.

I am happy.

Besides this, nothing is worth blogging about.

Dhi Only One always used to say life rocks.

Probably uncertainty is what rocks it all the while.
And when uncertainty decides to be certain, life comes to a halt.

The cradle stops rocking.

The onlookers continue to remain just that – onlookers.
The tears haven’t dried yet.

Art, ladies and gentlemen, and science are made up of the same thing.The guidelines are different.

A+B = C
In science, you need to prove this.
In art, you need to appreciate this.
But the point is A, B and C remain the same in both art and science.

Pi = (Circumference of any circle) / (Diameter of that circle)
In science, you need to understand this and accept it.
In art, you need to be fascinated by the beauty of this universal truth.
Again, Pi remains the same in both art and science.

In fact the above explanations do seem scientific enough.
But are they artistic enough?

Our galaxy is on the edge of the universe.
A suburb.

I would like to live in an uptown galaxy.

The standoff between me and the playback group continues in my mind.
They are not aware of it.
They believe I am still the same.
They believe I have accepted that it was my mistake to have worked with another theatre group.

I no longer want to work with the playback group.
They just cannot decide on what a person does in his/her spare time.

The act of me having worked with another group was termed as “contamination”.
Apparently, I got contaminated and now when I get back to the playback group, I am contaminating the others.

That seems so much like an underground cult.
Like one of those secret societies.

Besides, the coordinator who came up with this term himself has worked with some other rock bands. Isn’t that contamination? Why not?

Ladies and gentlemen, let me make one thing clear.
Playback theatre, as an art form, is wonderful.
Its one of the most beautiful ways of spreading happiness and cheer, driving a message, enabling people to think and learn.
Above all, playback theatre is all about sharing.
Sharing your joy, your sorrow, your fear, your guilt, your everything and coming out feeling refreshed.

It’s a pity that currently this art form is in the hands of people who don’t even realise its value.

It has worked wonders for me, and I would really like a lot of people to benefit from it.

I remember the early days when I used to go for my playback workshops.
Playback Member: So, How’s work?
Dhi Only One: Good, great, loving it.
Playback Member (shocked): How can you like your work? You are a software engineer damn it!

In effect, they would hate it if you told them that your life outside their forum was wonderful indeed.
They expected you to say that your life was boring and hectic.
And when you would say so, they would immediately jump to let you know that they love what they are doing. They are in love with life because their work is their passion which is of course “full-time theatre”.
Well, okay, I am glad that you are all in love with life and are pursuing your passion as a profession.
But why do you need to cling on to someone else’s hectic, boring life to prove that your life is indeed worth living?

Another problem that was cited out as a result of me having worked with another theatre group was that it would cause other playback members to lose their focus.
Why on earth would someone lose focus because of me doing something in my spare time?
I fail to understand this.
Are you insecure about what you are doing?
I am sure that people would do what they feel like doing best.
And if playback is something that they like doing, they will continue to do so irrespective of whether I am jumping fences in the neighbourhood or sipping coffee.
You ought to know that if your area of work is appealing enough, people will continue to be with you and give their best.

If by any chance I do decide to continue with the playback group, it would be for the sheer love and respect that I have for that art form.

Dhi Only One is indeed contaminated after this brief episode.

21st June 1979.

This was the day when God finally decided enough was enough.
God knew that He had to do something about the poor race of humans running amok in this world.

So he sent Sridhar Raman, later to be called Chilli by his disciples.
The messenger who single handedly carries the flag of Singularism (that’s his religion by the way).

More on Singularism later.

I met Sridhar Raman first in the 11th Standard.
It was quite evident that he would be the first in 11th Standard as well; which he goes on to prove at the end of the year.

Here are snippets from the life of Sridhar Raman from the time we know him:

Innocous looking short guy on his bigger-than-him cycle.
Being brandished by the Physics teacher for something; topping Physics nevertheless.
Topping every exam that was ever conducted on this planet.
The gang surfing the internet like scavengers on his shell account.
Spending endless time drinking Pepsi.
Spending some more time drinking Pepsi.
Worshipping his Gods which are Stephen King, Rahul Dravid and A. R. Rahman.
Quiz and trivia wizard.
Ability to praise anything that he likes with a lot of passion.
Ability to criticise anything that he doesn’t like with a lot more passion.
A tea-drinker.
A mocktail-drinker.
A good wicket keeper.
A good batsman, especially when playing on the leg side.
Intelligent (how did I miss that early on??)
An avid Tamil movies watcher.
A good footballer.
Knows every restaurant in Bangalore and within 40Kms radius of Bangalore.
Has eaten at every one of these restaurants and also knows their menu by heart.
Great sense of direction.
Poor in Hindi.
Used to blush whenever he spoke to a girl during school days; later on he became the Casanova of the gang (many movies and dinners that our God has spent in the company of women go on to strengthen my point).
Babes in the gym flock to him and do “pole-dances” when he is around.
Mocks the CAT and GRE like he was writing mock tests.
An IIM-B post-grad.
Would watch all episodes of Friends that were aired during the day (I think there were around 7, including repeats).
WinPolis!
Squash.
Sabarimala and his antics at the Forum.
Curly hair and being complimented by a lady.
Co-Founder of Singularism.
Now the only founder of Singularism.

The list is endless ladies and gentlemen.

Above all, Sridhar Raman is a great friend to have.
He is infact what constitutes the core of the gang.
I am privileged.

Happy Birthday dude

Stressed out, beyond the brim.

Relatives had flown in for the weekend to attend a wedding.
But that was just an excuse.

Within 5 minutes of their landing at the airport, they brought out tiny sharp swords that prick like tiny sharp swords do.

Their weapon of choice: Marriage.

Excerpts from the weekend-spanning conversation:

You should get married now
You are well settled
You can study even after marriage
This is the right age and time
I have spoken to her parents
I have spoken to her cousin sister, she is good looking and eligible too
Give me your bio-data
Give me your photograph
Give me your profile view
Next time we shall all come to Bangalore only for your wedding..ha ha ha
So what kind of a girl do you like?
Are you seeing someone?
Do you have a girlfriend? If yes, let me know I shall take it forward.

It scared me more than Omen Part 1.
It also got me shivering inside my blanket and leaving me sleepless. (Which, incidentally, Omen Part 1 failed to do)

Suddenly, I am the only suitable boy on this whole planet.
In fact, even aliens are seeking matrimonial bliss for their daughters and are landing in my backyard.

No, I don’t want to get married.
I am not in that “groove” (as today’s generation would say).
I just can’t.
Its as plain and simple as that, ladies and gentlemen.
Yet it has me stressed out and agitated.

To hell with the idea of writing a witty line to end this post.

Thanks a ton to Chilli, Kaushik and Bandar for the aquarium!!
More details on the aquarium coming soon.

Fishes rock……………………………………..and water – They make up the aquarium.