Dregs of Yore

There is a growing tendency towards the embracing of communism and neo-Marxism, and the casual disregard of systems and institutions, among the young, educated people of modern societies. Especially in universities.  Of course, endless debate has been carried out on the whys and hows of this phenomenon, and endless solutions offered by personages wiser than I am. However, I offer a wild solution, with absolutely zero data on whether it will achieve the desired outcome. I think there is a lot of emphasis on the teaching of modern history in schools. That is, the history of wars and nations, and economic history post the 1800s era. What happened before that is generally covered in very little detail and usually not beyond elementary school. (Of course, I speak from the point of view of education in my own country, and I’m aware that the structure would be different in every country.) Here’s a wild idea - teach young children about the economic history of our civilisation in much gre...

By the grace of God, I was blessed with a number of role models while I was growing up. These people were brave, kind and wise, and taught by example more than by instruction, and I point to them when I think to myself of all those who had a hand in shaping my identity. Most of these people are not alive today to see and reap the fruit of their creation, but they are fondly remembered, and their legacy will be kept alive and passed on to my children.  One of the most important women of my life has been my maternal grandmother. The magnitude of her contribution to my life almost dissuades me from attempting to write about it at all, for fear that I might do her a disservice by being unable to capture it all. But, all things considered, it is better to take a poor aim, than take no aim at all. My grandparents lived in the same city as the one in which I grew up, which meant that I saw them once or twice a week. My grandmother once told me that she was lucky to have this luxury, but i...

The message that the world’s greatest religions and cultures taught young people: Seek the truth, do your duty to your family, eat healthy, don’t drink your youth away, honour the gods and your ancestors, marry and have children, and serve your people. The message that social media and pop music teaches young people today: live for yourself, don’t settle or sacrifice, drink, smoke, party, sleep with whoever you want, God is an interpretation, family is a farce, you don’t need a man, you go girl. If young people do not live a life with purpose, mental health is bound to suffer. The consequences of poor decisions cannot be fixed with pharmacological solutions. Of course, it goes without saying that not everyone who has poor mental health is doing something wrong.  Many of the codes to a well-lived life, a life of meaning and purpose, are actually quite simple. Religious and cultural values taught us ways to achieve good ‘mental health’ before science had even taken its first steps. I...

“If we get to choose our pronouns, why can’t I choose my adjectives? I demand to be called mighty and wonderful. And if you don’t comply, you’re prejudiced.” How long before people begin to demand such changes next? If the sanctity of language breaks down for individual whims, some of the greatest advances of civilised society, such as marriage certificates, country constitutions, peace treaties, employee contracts, will break down. It will be the end of dialogue as we know it. Peace was never the default state of man’s societies. It was negotiated, often after long periods of war and violence. The stability (relative) of our times is hard-won. And by no means, is it irrevocable. The pages of history are bespattered with blood, and the good times of today are erected upon the corpses of lives lost in the process of reaching where we stand today. Are we so accustomed to it that we take it for granted and hack away at the very foundations that made this peace possible? Or do we knowingl...

Friedrich Nietzsche, one of the greatest philosophers whose works are still impactful today, the author of oft-quoted works like Beyond Good and Evil, The Antichrist and Thus Spake Zarathustra , is also perhaps the most misread author of the 19th century, some would even say, of all time. The ideas of geniuses are so original, that it is understandably tempting for a reader to fit them into pre-formed templates through which he has learned to see the world. This calls for slicing them up where necessary, distorting their shape or intent, and even breathing ideological fervour into them. “It is difficult and painful for the ear to listen to anything new; we hear strange music badly.”   - Friedrich Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil. In order to be able to reach somewhere, one must run the risk of thinking freely no matter where it may lead you. Conclusions are to be drawn out of the observations, rather than the other way round. Observations are not to be shaped to substantiate p...

The date was 22nd October. It was a Sunday. For most of us in India, it was also a long weekend owing to the festival of Dussehra. Long weekends must be salvaged, so goes the maxim among young professionals. Some of them went to their hometowns to spend the holidays with their families. As for me, I was in Dehradun with my boyfriend, a small city in the foothills, spending the long weekend driving off in hill stations, sampling cupcakes in quaint little bakeries, and hopping from cafe to cafe consuming copious amounts of coffee. Everyone has their own ways of blowing off steam, and this is mine. Elsewhere in the city, after 2 p.m., the mood visibly changed. People stopped dragging their feet. There was a cricket match that day that I had been watching the first half of. My boyfriend took me out for dinner to a nice restaurant. I wanted to go, of course, but a part of me was stuck on the idea that I’ll miss the end of the match. I needn’t have worried. Only in India would a fine-dine re...