Happiness

Ubiquitous yet surreal. This term has entered the lives of some while evading the understanding of most.

My understanding of the world is broadened by the scope of my experience and deepened by my understanding. While sitting back and looking inward, molds the shapeless mounds of knowledge and observations, leaning forward into this magnificent potpourri called the world is the other part of this little jigsaw puzzle called life.

In one of my previous blogs, I had written about the one thing that binds every single human on earth. His or her pursuit of happiness.

Trying to establish a uniform definition of this term is the most illogical act one could indulge in. How can there be uniformity in the experience of a sensation that is common to such a heady diversity!

In the field of politics, for instance... Everyone is trying to make someone else happy so that, somewhere down the line their own happiness is ensured. Is it?

Most of the ambitious people around me want to change the world. I find the world perfectly fine. Though I have absolutely nothing against their perceptions or existence, I wonder what drives them to desire changing the world then? Do they honestly believe that the world could be more peaceful, less bloody, more rational, less complicated, more happy, less tragic, more predictable, less exciting? Well, I don't. Call me a hopeless optimist, if you like! ;-)

So, what is this evasive concept of happiness? wrong question.

So, what is my concept of the pursuit of happiness? - To be.

It is this concept that connects people, builds understandings, nurtures relationships, breeds beauty, transcends conventions, unfolds passion and sparks new life.

The shit and the flowers

"The world is a fucked up place!", a friend once told me. I quite agreed with him back then and do so with even more fervor today.

The world is pretty fucked up. We have communal riots, wars, corrupt politicians, ecological disasters, cheating traders, lecherous humans, parasites, bureaucrats, murderers, flippant youth, senile old folk, poverty, disease, religion, mindlessness, altruism, ineptitude, wastage, ignorance, the list is endless and i'll spare myself the boredom of enumerating every misery we encounter.

So, let me get on with my world. We have revolutions, change, peace, nirvana, innocence, children, selfishness, science, freedom, knowledge, causes, brilliance, beauty, music, pleasure, strength, action, integrity, courage, skill, passion, hope, individuality and bliss.

We have the Ying and the Yang, we have the darkness and the torchbearers, we have it all.

Every single one of us plays our part. The universe is structured around this single binding principle.

"Life is a stage and we are all but actors". Shakespeare couldn't have put it better.

We are actors indeed. Our roles and our characters are not a dance of divine elements but a result of the zillions of big and small choices that have steered us into this wonderful moment called the present.

I look around me and feel it all around. This dance. Let myself flow? Why not? That is my role... To wander down the alleyways of life smelling the shit and the flowers... Fighting and dancing... laughing and crying...

I catch myself going rigid... and relieve myself of the burden with that wonderful phrase... "Why not!" It isn't a question. It's the ultimate embrace, a bear-hug to life itself. A proclamation that I'm not afraid of being myself and I'm not afraid of change.

I think of the people that matter most... They are islands in themselves not convoluted parasites sucking off the sap from the shrubs that cower from the sunlight ashamed of their very existence.

I'm an Island... I have within me cliffs and valleys, beaches and trees, birds and breeze and wings of my own... I'll rest and I'll fly again... That's the reason I am. I look across into the clear horizons dotted erratically with other islands, some lush green and some dry and sinking. Their fragrances waft towards me with the sea breeze.

Then I come back to where I am... This laptop, the books, the university, the people, the inanities, the facades, the knowledge, the experience, the moments, the challenges, the wastage, the risks... I look at it all and smile.

Why should I let it affect me? On the other hand, why not? Let it affect me... I'd like to see how deep it gets. Kick me in my ass as hard as you possibly can, I'd like to know how much it hurts.

I live in me, and nothing around me can change that. The world is already mine just as it is yours. I'll decide any moment to fly and until then keep kicking and I'll keep smiling.

रौशनी की एक पल

शमा के बुझने के पहले उटथी है ऐसी ज्वाला
जिसमे जल मरने का भी कोई गम नही
उस एक पल की ज़िंदगी के लिए मौत भी कम कीमत है

Cradle Song

What does little birdie say
In her nest at peep of day?
Let me fly, says little birdie,
Mother, let me fly away.
Birdie, rest a little longer,
Till thy little wings are stronger.
So she rests a little longer,
Then she flies away.

What does little baby say,
In her bed at peep of day?
Baby says, like little birdie,
Let me rise and fly away.
Baby, sleep a little longer,
Till thy little limbs are stronger.
If she sleeps a little longer,
Baby too shall fly away.

-Alfred Tennyson

Ecstacy

Free. Potent. Ecstatic. Infinite.

Surrender

Complete surrender to whatever life has to offer.

Tender and opening up like the petals of a flower.

A strange confluence of strength, tranquility and effervescence emanates from this vision...

Michelle

Michelle. My home for a long time. I've explored alleyways, jungle paths and expressways riding her. The pillion seat has been the perch of some wonderful people with my arms perpetually on the throttle.

Saying goodbye to her was like bidding farewell to the moments that had gone by. Moments that I cherished and treasured in the depths of my heart. It hurt but, only to a certain extent.

I will ride into the horizons once again.

This is what I wrote the first time I rode her.

The fatigue of the day
deflated by this moment of flight,

the darkness washed out
by a beam of light.

My heart beats in a body of steel
fueled by the vision of the road, i feel.

The Kashmir Conundrum

Kashmir – An area of conflict in South Asia that hasn’t seen peace, freedom and security for a very long while. After several hundred years of imperial rule, part of Kashmir became a part of the Secular, Democratic, Republic of India while the other part became a part of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. A minute section of Kashmir is also occupied by China.

The History of the state is the key to understanding the basis of the Indo-Pak conflict and also offers the means for a peaceful resolution of the issue. The last ruler of Kashmir was Maharaja Hari Singh, a man who was despised predominantly by the Muslim population of Kashmir for his autocratic and anti-Islamic regime. It is Hari Singh who handed Kashmir over to the Government of India through a document of Accession which many claim he had no right to write in the first place by virtue of his lack of control over the Islamic rebel groups in his own kingdom.

This is where the feud between India and Pakistan began; over who had a claim over the territory of Kashmir. Pakistan chose to separate itself from India as a nation built for the Muslims because they felt marginalized in India. They claim Kashmir due to its Muslim majorities and India claimed Kashmir by virtue of the accession document signed by the Maharaja.

The real reasons are the strategic importance of the region in terms of Defense and Trade along with its abundant natural resources like water supply and the potential for agriculture. These reasons, along with a strong tendency towards power-play, are apparently sufficient for both countries to wage large scale conventional wars (1947, 1965 and 1971).

There are blatant human rights violations in the area coupled with a severe lack of development and employment opportunities that lead inevitably to large sections of the Kashmiri population living in conditions of fear, anger and squalor. They have not yet been given the right to exercise their will in this matter. This has led to the growth of various militant organizations in the region that oppose the oppression of the Indian Government. These “freedom fighters” are labeled terrorists by the Indian government justifying their military pressure over the entire civilian population in the area.

In 1947, when the Kashmir issue was first referred to the United Nations, India did not want to be at an equal footing with Pakistan while Pakistan was openly hostile towards the Indian Government. On 31^st December 1947, Nehru wrote to the UN Secretary-General:

“To remove the misconception that the Indian Government is using the prevailing situation in Jammu and Kashmir to reap political profits, the Government of Indian wants to make it very clear that as soon as the raiders are driven out and normalcy is restored, the people of the state will freely decide their fate and that decision will be taken according to the universally accepted democratic means of Plebiscite or Referendum.”[1]

More than 50 years have gone by and the Kashmiris are still not acquainted with “normalcy”. They still have not had the (long overdue) plebiscite.

India’s stand was that, Kashmir was formally a part of India according to a legal agreement with the Maharaja to this effect and that any claim to any part of Kashmir by Pakistan is illegitimate.

Pakistan was of the opposite view where it felt that the Maharaja was driven out of his country by the people of Kashmir and that he had no authority to hand over the state which wasn’t under his control anyway. This nullifies any agreement made between the Government of India and the Maharaja.

Another dimension to this problem is the Pakistan sponsored jihad that was responsible for flushing out more than 2 lakh Kashmiri Pandits from the region ensuring a Muslim majority in case of a plebiscite. This endless muscle play by both India and Pakistan is obviously not going to lead to a sustainable solution. It is about time that we started considering a real solution.

The road ahead

The most pragmatic solution to this dispute comes from an unlikely source… Pakistan’s Military Dictator, General Pervez Musharraf. His commitment to humanitarian issues can definitely be questioned in the light of his ongoing feud with the rest of Pakistan for keeping power in an extremely undemocratic fashion. However, if one ignores the nature of the source of these suggestions, they are absolutely logical. The proposal included a four-point formula that addresses the key problems to this conundrum:

1. Demilitarization of the disputed area.

This would be done by both sides; India and Pakistan in tandem with a UN sponsored cease fire leaving room for organizing a plebiscite in the area.

2. Self Government.

Self-Government by the Kashmiris implies that both India and Pakistan will need to bring the Kashmiri interests to the table and add them to what has become a bilateral argument involving only Indian and Pakistani interests. Let the Kashmiris decide what they want.

3. Softening of existing borders.

The primary reason for the existence of hostilities amongst India and Pakistan is Kashmir. Once the region is divided according to the plebiscite, there will be no reason to have gargantuan armed forces regiments posted in the area leaving room for more productive interactions like trade and development. This can be achieved through creating, in phases, a permeable border amongst India and Pakistan.

4. International supervision and guarantee from the UN and major regional powers.

International supervision is necessary to ensure that both sides are operating in the interests of the people caught in the crossfire. The border drawn after the plebiscite and division of Kashmir will need to be recognized by the international community.

The plan is quite straight forward. However, implementing this plan is another challenge altogether with the primary obstacle being India’s unwillingness to give up territory. The Government of India will have to be convinced about its priorities. Territory comes after people. The people of Kashmir are suffering and are being driven into desperation. This could pose a serious law and order situation in India through the coming years with an increase in the already high levels of “terrorist” infiltrations across the country.

So put simply here is the solution I propose; i propose a referendum in the area. Follow it through in collaboration with Pakistan. The "terrorism" will subside. Draw an international boundary. Reduce expenditure on military. Divert these finds to Jammu and Ladakh redevelopment. Relocate the Kashmiri Pandits and print new maps. I am quite aware of the excruciating (almost intolerable) simplicity of this plan. The complications pour in when we start thinking about its implementation.

For starters, the Indian public also needs to be made aware of the situation that prevails in Kashmir today. The Government has skillfully kept this away from them through manipulation of the mainstream media. Demanding accountability and productive action from the Government of India should be the first step preceding international pressure through sanctions and power play. There is a severe dearth of objective, unbiased information about Kashmir. This will take a lot of courage from the Indian media… to stand up for what they were built to do; defend the truth.

I speak only of India because Pakistan is prepared to sit across the table and talk about trade-offs. India currently lacks the political will to do so. The people need to take up the initiative to push for political action.

This is an urgent situation that requires immediate remedial action before it exacerbates into uncontrollable dimensions. Let this be the last generation of children who grow up in Kashmir amidst the sounds of explosives and gunshots. Let this be a true test of the Indian democracy.

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Statutory warning: This article is purely my opinion and can be potentially undermined for the lack of primary data. I have not visited the region of conflict yet. The information that has led to the formation of my opinion has its origins in the data collected by NGOs, International organizations and publications on this issue. These have been largely neutral sources. I also attended a conference on the issue which was scathingly biased towards an independent Kashmir at all costs. There were a plethora of testimonials that corroborated the human rights violations as a result of Indian forces in the region. It was silent about the situation on the Pakistani side of Kashmir.

Now assuming that there are human rights violations happening on the Pakistani side as well (which is extremely likely as well), does that undermine my argument for a plebiscite or strengthen it? It does not take a very wise man to decide.

The conclusion and primary argument of my article is to hold a plebiscite and not to play a blame game. Most of the Indian readers who have criticized this argument profusely have done so on the premise that one cannot trust Pakistani action. India, in their opinion, has lost a lot of blood on this issue already. My question to this is whether that was necessary. Also, is the Indian blood all that matters? What about the Pakistanis and the "collateral damage"? Maybe they just deserved to die right.

The reason my country has drawn so much of my criticism is perhaps because it matters to me when their democratic stance seems like a facade that can be adorned depending on the circumstances. Also, I find it terribly inappropriate that the tax money of millions of citizens is spent on war supplies when the matter can be resolved through political will and action.

Yes, this might seem anti-Indian or outright heresy coming from an Indian. A splatter of rationality with a dash of detachment from nationalistic tendencies could straighten that perception out.

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[1] Jawaharlal Nehru, as quoted in Korbel, Danger in Kashmir, p. 98.

The responsibility to protect

The responsibility to protect refers to the right for a country to Prevent, Respond and Rebuild in the context of what it perceives as a violation of global interests by another country. This violation is usually on humanitarian grounds like those happening in Palestine or Sudan or Kashmir.

Before embarking on trying to assimilate this theory let me make one thing very clear. No country operates on any ground other than its own national interest. That is the reason they are countries in the first place. Simply put, countries are simply not driven by the altruistic motive of welfare to all. They will do something if they benefit from it.

The US is the perfect example of this. They claim that spreading democracy is their primary goal. Bullshit! To keep this free from frills. They perceive a national threat in countries moving towards communism. Politics is nothing but power play and leftist governments are a threat to American power. Just to elaborate on the hypocrisy of the altruistic idea... Look at China! Sino-American relations have always been strangely conducive apart from occasional hiccups ever since Kissinger had this marvelous brainwave of using befriending the Dragon. The reason America liaised with China in the first place was its economic and political potency and to use it as a tool to curb the growth of the more threatening Soviet expansion. I would also like to bring in the massive opprobrium that have been brewing in South American leftist regimes against the US muscle play. However, I'll keep this focused.

The primary shortcomings in the responsibility to protect can be substantiated in two essential questions:

1. Who enforces this responsibility?
2. What about the sovereignty of states and their right to reject incursion?

This responsibility is given to a nation by whom? International organizations one might say... The United Nation? :-) We all know where that is going to lead... a veto! Because ther is not such thing an an International Organization. The UN is a negotiation desk for pursuing National interests.

By what right does one nation intrude on the affairs of other nations? To make things simpler... by what right does the US intrude into the affairs of Iraq? All states have the right to sovereignty. So theoretically speaking Iraq has the right to determine what happens within its borders because of its right to sovereignty.

The next issue is how should one define sovereignty? A state that cannot protect its citizens anymore obviously cannot be considered sovereign. The very reason for the existence of a government is the protection of the citizens it governs. If this does not exist, how can the sovereignty exist. Natural disasters, Genocide, Military oppression lead to the loss of sovereignty of a state. This is a purely logical thought.

Now does the loss of this sovereignty justify intrusion of another nation in the affairs of the victim? When national interest is at stake, of course it does. But, let us not label it as service to mankind.

The way I see things, the primary responsibility of remaking the sovereignty of a nation is with its citizens. This is what any intrusion must stress on - creating a system of referendums within a nation rising from the aftermath of a revolution or disaster. This is why states are not the optimal medium to put into effect such a referendum. They will be biased towards serving their own needs (even at the cost of others). A truly supranational organization could be of real help here. That was what the UN was intended to be. I hope that reforms are heading in this direction.

Jonathan Livingstone Seagull

One evening the gulls that were not night-flying stood
together on the sand, thinking. Jonathan took all his courage
in hand and walked to the Elder Gull, who, it was said,
was soon to be moving beyond this world.

"Chiang..." he said a little nervously.

The old seagull looked at him kindly. "Yes, my son?"
Instead of being enfeebled by age, the Elder had been empowered by it;
he could outfly any gull in the Flock,
and he had learned skills that the others
were only gradually coming to know.

"Chiang, this world isn't heaven at all, is it?"
The Elder smiled in the moonlight.
"You are learning again, Jonathan Seagull," he said.

"Well, what happens from here? Where are we going? Is there no such

Place as heaven?"

"No, Jonathan, there is no such place.
Heaven is not a place, and it is not a time.
Heaven is being perfect." He was silent for a moment.  
"You are a very fast flier, aren't you?"

"I... I enjoy speed," Jonathan said, taken aback but proud that the

Elder had noticed.

"You will begin to touch heaven, Jonathan,
in the moment that you touch perfect speed.
And that isn't flying a thousand miles an hour,
or a million, or flying at the speed of light.
Because any number is a limit and perfection doesn't have limits.
Perfect speed, my son, is being there."

The Haze

When does the world around not matter?

Why do these sights dissolve into a hazy mosaic of colors? ... like a palette waiting to be used to transform everything I see.

I am the artist of my life... and I choose to take those colors and create a whirlpool of experiences, a storm of sensations and I shall dwell in the eye of that storm.

My cup of answers runneth over.

Feel

There is a river of life bursting within you... Surely, Steadily.
There is an ebullient fountain of fantasies quenching the thirst of your desires.

Strumming the strings of your heart, are the rhythms of your world.
All you've got to do is close your eyes and feel them.

Discard that wooden mask you call your friend.
Discover that tender flesh that envelops you like a gentle armor.

Let yourself flow with the currents of the river
as the cool breeze of wisdom caresses carelessly.

Then there are those shards of rock piercing your skin,
as you climb towards the acme of liberation.

Your life started as a dream that turned into a legend imprinted on the sands of a shore
to be washed into the endless oceans like countless others who came before you.