WTF?!

Well, fuk you Pinker. This one is fukin brilliant.
http://www.tnr.com/politics/story.html?id=246c0071-a9cd-46e2-a665-c6e61a45377e

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I usually like this integral, cross-dimensional, cog-sci approach. some have really mastered the art of writing this way. Nithya Chaitanya Yathi. Douglas Hofstadter, Steven Pinker. And then, Ken Wilber.Especially, I love Ken. Still Hunting for his 'Sex, Ecology, Spirituality'.

But sometimes, this whole integral, 'sensin-order-out-of-chaos' stuff tires me out.Abstractions over abstractions.demystifying the patterns and tryin hard to be all-encompassing. Overt generalizations to get that 'up from Eden' view et all. i switch over to much simpler books. Ramanar. Or Arthur Osborne's 'My Life'.

Then, I realize, these are two ways of looking at the same thing..like two arrows, taking radically different paths, and yet moving towards the same point in the dashboard. Like the real story of Madhavan Nair and Achutan Nair.

You could find Madhavan Nair in that famous toddy shop in Mahe. He is in his 60s, and is renowned for his jocular nature. From the outside, he looks like any other keralite. u speak to him for 5 mins, and u would be able to feel his vibrant personna. his experience is vast and he could talk abt any arbit thing..from those little papers which the japanese tie in those serene monastries, with some wonderful haikus written on them to the food habits of indonesian soildiers durin the world war. Like any other Keralite,he is a wanderlust and has this thing for travel.. When he was 18, he ran away from home and joined the Indian Army. went to japan. got caught as a POW. escaped from there. fell in love with a japanese girl. married her. and loved her like mad. But, she died suddenly and he was on the verge of depression. thn, he started taking weed. became an alcholic for some time. then, came out of it. went and joined the crew of a ship. travelled all arnd the globe. to baltimore..to thailand.. to cape town. had numerous lovers and girl friends and lots of other blah relationship inbetween. then, once, in cuba, he met Che. and became a communist. joined their ranks. went to africa. was involved in the congo guerilla warfare. then, he was arrested by KGB in bulgaria for some internal issues within the communist. a german officer helped him and he escaped from there. went to france. stayed there for some time. learnt some painting. then, again the KGB was after him. ran away. went to america. started a business.. went on a big loss.. then, from there he went to canada. and finally, came back empty handed to Mahe at the age of 58, after almost 40 years of his nomadic existence. he wanted to die there.. in Mahe, after his extremely eventful life.

And then, there is his twin bro - Achutan Nair. His parents never let him out of Mahe, since his elder bro fled away. did his schooling, college in Mahe. got a job as a teacher in the same town. got married to a gurl in Mahe..had kids.. but he never ever went out anywhere else except on a singular occassion to Guruvaayur for his gradnson's religious ceremony.. he too, is awaiting death... after his tranquil and serene life.

Two arrows. Different paths. And yet, finally, meeting at that Singular point in the dashboard.. maybe, that is when wherein we feel that whatever we considered ',meaningful' and 'great' till then look 'ordinary' and also, at the same time, we realize the there is nothing 'ordinary' or 'meaningless' about anything at all..

Well, I don't know if this is a true story. I read it in a book by Jeyamohan. But I like to believe in the story.

Now reading 'Dibs in Search of Self' by Virginia Axline and 'The One-Straw Revolution' by Masanobu Fukuoka. Sometimes, I feel Reading forms the very core of my otherwise-banal *existence*. Take that away from me and am not sure what else would be left behind.