Of coffee and conversations

Last few evenings have been great. Post work i.e. :)

A colleague had come over home one of the evenings and stayed over. We (room mates included) sat and spoke till may be 2 am. Another evening, I was invited for dinner to a friend's place. We ( a bunch of us) stayed till late enjoying conversations over beer and dinner.

Both the nights, I don't remember what we spoke about, as there was nothing specific. The conversations were free flowing moving deftly from economy to religion, oil industry prospects to Tendulkar's innings in Chennai in 1999 to election strategies. We poked fun at each other, cracked some silly jokes, caught up on each others lives, took a couple of snaps and later reluctantly called it a night - courtesy 8 am meetings.

Both the evenings left all of us with a warm fuzzy feeling. As I reflect back, it is not just the conversation but the people who made the difference. Genuinely nice, warm, no hang ups, willing to listen and share and most importantly able to convert just-being-together-time to I-had-a-great-time. I am lucky and privileged to have such friends and acquaintances.

It took me back to college days. I like coffee houses. A lot. In fact, one of the books I am reading currently is 'The Coffee House – A Cultural History’ by Markman Ellis. Quite a good read. A friend of mine from college and I shared this fascination for coffee places. We would always be on the lookout for new coffee places in Madras.

This one time, we went to an old 1940s mansion, in a small by lane. The ceiling had these huge heavy wooden bars running across painted in deep dark brown, the walls painted in rust and earthy brown shades. There was a woody smell to the place, the nostalgic type. We were there for a private movie screening. I don't remember the movie a bit but what I remember is the coffee place in their balcony. I rarely hear of houses these days (let alone see) which have huge balconies.

We sat in the balcony, post the screening sipping our cuppas. Our conversation was lyrical amidst the operatic cacophony of bird -chirps. They were returning home, just as the sun enjoying its little swan song, was painting the sky crimson and brown and orange and finally black. It was beautiful. It was so beautiful that that evening scene is photographically etched in my memory. I can close my eyes anytime and remember all the details.

This other time we visited a coffee place that overlooks the sea. We sat in the open air balcony, sipping our coffees and chatting till way past midnight I think, till they closed down and asked us to leave. In fact while the orders closed much earlier, we cajoled the staff to let us stay while they cleaned up the place. It was a full moon night. The moon was right above the sea and it formed a path of light, as if showing the way to some place. The waves washed up tirelessly thus providing us a rhythmic backdrop. Peace!

I nurture this tiny dream of setting up a coffee house. A place where one could meet new people or catch up with old friends. It would be a place that enables and fosters conversations - from intellectually charged discussions to gossips and friendly banter. A place from where when you walk out, you feel warm and fuzzy. Inshallah!

d. We chose to

The Mint Quick Edit today (24th Feb) is titled The Slumdog in all of us. Quite topical I must say.

There are striking parallels between the story of Jamal— the slumdog who became a millionaire—and resurgent India. Both have faced ample adversity and yet strived to break out of the dark circle of poverty.

Well, with a statement like that, who can disagree? The economic liberalisation is bearing fruit and we are striving to break out of poverty. The current economic slowdown in India (read slowdown and not recession) is a minor blip in our story. We are here to stay. Yipee! Applause!

Now that we have established the feel good factor, Mint goes further ahead and makes a candy sweet statement to pander our egos.

Be it our technology companies or the neighbourhood chaiwallas, Indians can be as innovative and street-smart as Jamal.

Now, we know this too, don't we? The example of technology companies is something that no one would debate. (I would like to, but that is for later.)

And here comes the finale.

Ask yourself the question posed at the beginning of the film, though in the national context. The boy (country) wins because: (a) He cheated; (b) He is lucky; (c) He is a genius; (d) It is written.

The answer you pick will reveal a lot about how you view India.

Why not the option of (e) We chose to (f) Because We can (g) We did not mean to. Mint could have guided us on how we should view India by giving us the choice of (e) We chose to. But it lost a golden opportunity and wastefully pandered our already bloated egos.

I have mentioned my discomfort with 'the rightful place for us' in earlier post in 2007

Anyways, the point where I disagree is that we have a rightful place in this world which should be given to us. We do not have any rightful place. The only righful place is the place where we want to be and for that we need to work hard. Really hard.It will not be given to us on a platter.

The part which I fear is the fact that this new found self confidence should not turn in over confidence and arrogance. We have not even achieved the tip of the so called iceberg of development. There is a long long way to go and we need to keep going on. While pride in our achievements is required, smugness is an unwanted guest. It is in our interest to stay humble of our achievements and realistic about the long road ahead.

Let is be clear. It is not written anywhere. It is nice to be romantic, to talk about destiny but it would be only shooting ourselves in our foot. Our well-wishers and enemies are engaging in realpolitik for advancement of their national interest. If we do not get real, I am sure there will be no dearth of people to write-off the India story. To borrow a term from cricket - India flattered only to deceive.

To me Destiny is Plan B. We need a vision to create our own future and concrete ideas and plans to get there. While we work to advance our national interest and influence, the touchstone to our success should always be enduring human values of equality, freedom and integrity.

When someone looks back at Indian achievements and progress in 2025, I hope they arrive at the conclusion that it was (e) We chose to as the right answer. Jai Ho!

East or West, West is the Best!

When I picked up the book 'The History of Western Philosophy' by Bertrand Russell, I was all excited. One, I felt it would help me learn and understand different schools of thought, in philosophy, but more importantly I felt it would help me understand the schools of thought in context of the era in question. And that I felt would give me a more rounded perspective.

I haven't progressed beyond four chapters and I don't know if I would also. The book is well written and it keeps you engrossed. Paragraphs with differing contexts and perspectives on the same theme mesh nicely into one another. However every now and then, you come across a statement that makes you squirm.

The first statement that put me off came right on the second page.

'Philosophy as different from theology began in Greece in 6th century BC'.

I always thought that the Vedas were dated to 1500-2500 BC if not further back in time. Many Upanishads are dated pre 6 century BC. And its not just Vedas and Upanishads but Buddha and Confucius were contemporaries in 6 century BC. So what about their philosophy? And if we were to assume that their philosophies could have been influenced by the prevalent ideas and beliefs then philosophy in Eastern hemisphere can definitely be dated to pre-6 century BC. But how is he so sure of 6 century BC for Greece itself? Anyways according to Mr. Bertrand Russell western philosophy began in 6 century BC. Fine granted. Let us move ahead.

And just when I was settling back, he comes up with this gem.

'Now almost all the hypotheses that has dominated modern philosophy was first thought of by the Greeks; their imaginative inventiveness in abstract matters can hardly be too highly praised. What I have to say about the Greeks will be from this point of view; I shall regard them as giving birth to theories which have had an independent life and growth, and which though at first somewhat infantile, have proved capable of surviving and developing throughout more than two thousand years.

Yes, I know that the title of the book is History of Western Philosophy but the above statement seems dismissive of non- Greek philosophies. Isn't it naive to assume that there was absolutely no knowledge transfer between the Greeks and Mesopotamians and between Mesopotamians and the people of Swat (Suvastu in Rig Veda) of the Indus- Saraswathi Valley civilizations?

So I decided to Google on the fact whether there has been any documented record of Indian influence on Greek philosophy. And by chance, before Googling, I came across Offstumped's post on the same topic today. He quotes from the book - 'The study on Ancient Thought - comparative Studies in Greek and Indian Philosophies' by Thomas McEvilley. To quote from his post -

…The massive transfer of ideas or methods of thinking, first from India to Greece in the pre-Socratic period and again back from Greece to India in the Hellenistic period

Since the ideas in question remain fundamental elements of Greek thought for a thousand years, it is time to acknowledge that one of the major strains of Greek thought was Indian Influenced - that it might even be called the Indianized or Greco-Indian lineage

I am going to be lenient to towards Bertrand Russell, given the fact that he wrote his book in 1945 and was ill-informed in developments in archaeology and the fact that Indus-Saraswathi civilisation was discovered in 1924-31. Not to mention the fact that Sir William Jones downwards had translated many Samskrit treatises. right from 1750's. Anyways, the good news is that Mr. Russel has clarified his undying appreciation for the Greeks and their thinking, so I now know what to expect when I read further.

So while I was expecting the superlative treatment of Greek thought, I did not imagine that he would overlook facts.

... But certain elements had been lacking [ in civilisations of Egypt and Mesopotamia] until Greece supplied them. What they achieved in art and literature is familiar to everybody, but what they did in purely intellectual realm is even more exceptional. They invented mathematics (deductive reasoning) and science and philosophy; they first wrote history as supposed to annals; they speculated freely about the nature of the world and ends of life, without being bound in the fetters of inherited orthodoxy. What occurred was so astonishing, that until recent times, men were content to gape and talk about the Greek mystical genius.

Well, given that the book was written in 1945, it was well established by then that Chinese and Indians had developed art, philosophy, mathematics and science too. Greek civilisation is credited with inventing Mathematics and Science? Really? Isn't that a little far fetched.

By now I have come to believe that Mr. Russell’s undying love for Greece and its ancient wisdom has clouded his judgment and he is no longer a dispassionate narrator. And then he fires his next salvo, by when I decided to close the book.

.. But in Plato, St. Augustine, Descartes, Spinoza and Kant there is an intimate blending of religion and reasoning, of moral aspiration of logical admiration of what is timeless, which comes from Pythagoras, which distinguishes the intellectualised theology of Europe from the more straightforward mysticism of Asia'.

Think Mr. Thomas McEvilley is bang on when he says

In response to the 19th century imperialist view … this investigation has shown that every mystical element in Indian thought can be found in Greek thought too and every rational element in Greek thought in Indian as well.

It is not to say Indian thought and civilisation was more advanced or better than its western counterparts. What ticks me off, is that this book is one of the revered books studied as a primer to Western Philosophy which could influence readers wrongly. The fact that, in the light of new evidence which is quite opposite to the long accepted belief of western supremacy, not much is being done to correct this imperialistic view point is a little worrying. I think we need more sub-continental and east Asian scholars writing about the sub-continent and Eastern Asia ourselves. And till we get to that point Orientalism by Edward Saeed should be a compulsory read for all.

Baby Steps

Science tells us what we can know, but what we can know is little, and if we forget how much we cannot know we become insensitive to many things of very great importance. Theology, on the other hand, induces a dogmatic belief that we have knowledge where in fact we have ignorance and by doing so generates a kind of impertinent insolence towards the universe. Uncertainty, in the presence of vivid hopes and fears, is painful, but must be endured if we wish to live without the support of comforting fairy tales. It is not good either to forget the questions that philosophy asks, or to persuade ourselves that we have found indubitable answers to them. To teach how to live without certainty and yet without being paralyzed by hesitation, is perhaps the chief thing that philosophy, in our age can still do for those who study it.

- Lord Bertrand Russell in The History of Western Philosophy

I have always had a great interest in philosophy and I completely resonate with the paragraph quoted above. And the last line.. '... to live without certainty and yet without being paralysed by hesitation'.. isn't this similar to the verse in Bhagavad Gita

"karmanye vadhika raste
ma phaleshu kadachana
ma karma phala hetu bhurba
te sangostav karmani"

You have a right to perform your prescribed duty, but you are not entitled to the fruits of action. Never consider yourself the cause of the results of your activities, and never be attached to not doing your duty.

I had posted earlier here that both faith in God and scepticism can be equally powerful motivators in quest for answers. Philosophy described above takes the path of scepticism - 'living without certainty..’. Somewhere I get this feeling that the above description removes philosophy from faith and religion completely which may not be necessarily true. While philosophy should be free from dogmas, should it also be necessarily free from beliefs?

With my limited knowledge, I currently feel that Advaitha philosophy, beautifully combines the belief in supreme (not necessarily god) and scepticism through 'tat tvam asi - you are that' . These are my nascent thoughts that would evolve in due course. The process is thrilling. And to help me through this journey, I picked up this book -The History of Western Philosophy – Lord Bertrand Russell. I am still reading the preface (quoted above) and it already looks like a great read. It is a big fat book and is going to take me months to peruse through. Looking forward to some stimulating conversations.

It is she, isn't it?

We are prisoner of our thoughts and dreams. For in them we see not who we are but who we want to be. And there lies many a problem. When we are unable to distinguish between us in reality and us in dreams, we end up dejected because of misplaced expectations.

Thanks da! That was so helpful. It is as universal as 'desire is the root cause of all evil'. It does not help one bit.

Well then, tell me what would help you?

I don't know. If I had known that, then I would have to gone to the place where I could find solution, not to you to understand my problem.

I see. So, well, what or who is bothering you?

Hmm.. I think it is the “who” and hence the “what”.

... or “what” and the “who” are mixed here. I don't know. Why don't you tell me.

If you want me to spell it out,, then you will get universal statements. . It is she isn't it?

Yeah!

So what about her?

Well, it seems like a forced conversation every time I talk to her. I mean conversations were simple, free flowing - like the way she writes. Not the simple part but the free flowing part. Its not like I have conversations daily, but then … you know..

So what has changed?

Guess I have. She has. We both have. May be the context has. But I wish she looks at things differently.

Why only she?

hmmm..

... but why not she?

That wasn't my question.

Don't ask me questions. Give me answers.

But I thought you would go to a solution provider for solutions, you are here for issues.

You win. Please deign to be the solution provider and tell me Oh Great one what...

Let go.

Huh? She is not...

I tell you this because I know you and her. Let go. She is and will be a special friend. But then don't define special by the 'what' in the conversations but by how it feels for both of you. Now for the universal motherhood statement - You don't need to change friends as long as you accept that friends change.

Yikes. Eeeks! You can’t get more cornier, can you? I though you were better. Don't give me that now. I used to get these statements in greeting cards on friendship day when I was sweet 16. So spare me.

Well, obviously you never read those cards then.

Pursuit

Mahaseer is a popular fresh water fish. It is found abundantly in India and many parts of South east Asia. It is a fresh water fish, living mostly in rivers and fresh water lakes. Mahaseer derives its name from Maha-seer meaning big head. Angling/ fishing for Mahaseer is now a recognised sport with camps that have come up in Ganga, Kaveri amongst many other places.

Mahaseer is usually found in plenty around Rishikesh and Haridwar in the gentle waters. However, once a year, during the monsoons, when Ganga swells up from a gentle Mandakini (one that moves slowly) to a torrent with strong downstream currents, these Mahaseers begin their journey upstream supposedly to the place where they were born themselves. They swim up into the small streams that feed the Ganga to find crevices and corners to lay their roe.

It is like a genetic map is hardwired into them that pull them back towards the origin, despite the perils that they face in the raging river that sometimes carries boulders and copious amount of silt and down its path. Not to mention the predators. I have often wondered whether all of us also have this desire to go back to our sources hardwired into us. All of us, in some form and magnitude, overtly or in sub consciousness are faced with the question of - Who am I?

At some point in time, we go back to the place where we were born to trace our origins or may be to the place where we finally could make sense of the world around us or to that place that makes us just happy. Some trace their family roots - going back to ancestral villages and homes in their quest while many a men since the time of legends have pondered about roots of the entire human race. The schools of thought that have emerged are two – one look outside and the other look within.

It always intrigues me that people would take pilgrimage tours visiting shrines in spite of physical and emotional discomfort, while arguing all the time that God lies within each and every one of us. May be it is to reaffirm to ourselves that our individual beliefs are in sync with the society at large. Or may be we seek some inspiration at these shrines. But, what we set out to seek, to discover, lies within us in the first place and we know that, then why the journey?

Pilgrimage as one definition reads 'A long journey or search, especially one of exalted purpose or moral significance.' In my understanding, the exalted purpose is self discovery which tries to find a justifiable answer to ourselves to the question – Who am I? It certainly is a long journey, sometimes even life long. And in this journey some put their faith in God and some in skepticism and surprisingly (or not) both can be equally strong motivators in the pursuit of self discovery.