Realisation dawns in the form of leopard play

I saw a leaopard cub playing with it's mother's tail lazily while lying on the branch of a tree.

It pushed and pulled it this way and that, and every time it tried to keep the tail down it would rise up again.

I saw that, smiled with my entire being, and said to my mother

"When I see this, I know why I am alive and what is the meaning of my life"

Those who are confused, it might help to see this.

The lovers behold your limitless beauty, where a thousand idols fade away

Guftam elaaj e zindagi
Gufta ki deedar e manast*

"And what cures life of all it's ills?"
"To behold my beauty," He said**

* Hazrat Amir Khausrau

**(Translation by Muzaffar Ali)

Take a step back, and ask yourself...

What your priorities are.

I have liked being the self appointed pointer-outer of what we as a race need to stop and take a look at, introspect and reflect upon etc.

Here is one more.

This horrible and extremely eerie system of a six day working week.

Does it not make you stop and wonder about what you prioritise? What we as a nation prioritise if we have so many people working six days a week? Since when did work become the be all and end all of our existence? Why are we going in the wrong direction rather than the right one? By which I mean from greater freedom and chances to live, to stricter deadlines and too much stress about making a living.

Of course, I am not disregarding the rising prices that make making a living a difficult dream for many to realise. What I am saying is that there should be some sort of rule that makes it punishable to work more than five days a week.

For everyone- regardless of age, caste, class and religion.

Recently, discussions with colleagues who have children etc. led me to discover the ugliest of ugly facts. That children are going to school six days a week now, instead of five.

My thoughts on the education system can wait for another time and another post, but six days a week for kids? This should be enough to make us stop dead in our tracks, isn't it?

What happened to our ideals of life being about doing things you enjoy doing, being with people you enjoy being with, surrounding yourself with books, beauty and melody?

If we do not wish to examine our lives individually, let us at least look at the fact that we are all , collectively, tending towards this despicable habit.

We are turning ourselves into working drones people.

Our actions say a lot about who we are and what we stand for. Raise your voices against a six day week. Be home. Be with your family. Be with your children. Be with what you cherish and love and what makes living worthwhile for you.

This can only work if we work in unison. If I start protesting along against working on the sixth day, I will just get fired and there will be plenty of other drones waiting with hands raised to take my place.

Can it happen? Perhaps. We will only know if we try.

It's a bit like the custom of dowry. If all the women say no, the greedy men will have to either change, or stay single.

The dog who found sleep on my feet

Hum aapke kadmo par
Gir jaayenge ghash kha kar*






(Taken using a friend's cellphone camera)

*What is ironic is that I was the one khaoing ghash and nearly fainting from joy that threatened to kill me, because of him.

The Maina Series- The Fifth and Final Part

See parts 1, 2, 3, and 4.

Some anecdotes not captured photographically.

Throughout the time they were around, I did not need alarm clocks as they would create a racket with the million different types of sounds that mainas make. They also caused me to sometimes wake up and smile, without even opening my eyes. Just the knowledge that they were around made the whole world better.

The building is quite a tedious process. They actually do jodo-ofy the house, tinka-tinka ikattha kar ke ( putting it together stick by stick). During this process, the female maina I think, is in the driver's seat. She would be present constantly, like a supervisor. Her partner would bring a stick, look at her and bob his head a little as if seeking approval. She would then make a "trrr" type sound after which he would make his way into the shoe-box to fit it in somewhere. It was real teamwork. And also extremely cute.

Once the eggs had hatched, the male didn't just fly off to find another mate. He stuck around, and often came and stood just outside the shoe box calling to his female. She would then come out, and let him go in to see the eggs he had helped make. Most lovely.

Mainas who choose to come and live near me, are bound to get five star treatment. They were given fresh water in a small clay diya every morning, and spoilt senselessly with various delicacies ranging from light and not very sweet Marie biscuits, to coconut cookies, to butter cookies, to chocolate cream filled cookies. Also, they didn't seem too impressed with me when I gave them brown bread. Who would be, after all this?

They also managed to, a number of times, tilt the diya over causing all the water to fall all over the cookie crumbs making a sick little mess on the ledge of the window. And yes, I scolded them a little for the same. Not the first time, not the second time, but the third.

All the eggs did not hatch. Only one did. There was some noise and squeaking for some days after which there was silence. One fine day, they were all gone.

The shoe-box remained though.

And we are most delighted to share that it is now home to another maina couple, and three fine little pearly white eggs.

PS- Turns out it didn't end there. Story continues here

The Maina Series- Part 4

For part 3, go here


The house was finally deemed fit enough to re-build this...

to house these....

Part 5 here

The Maina Series- Part 3

For part 2, go here

After the storm in 2, Holy Cow felt bad for the destroyed home, and built a shoe-box home with her equally animal crazy mother and some strings.

As the pictures show, the home was duly checked out for holes in the plumbing etc. ....



by both the mainas jointly...

This last one reminded me of "Yeh tera ghar yeh mera ghar"

Part 4 here

The Maina Series- Part 2

For Part 1, go here

That was followed by this

Part 3 here

The Maina Series - Part 1

First, there was this

Part 2 here

Once in a while, there comes along a Fwd that is more than just trash.

Someone forwarded me a long list of crazy "things-to-do-when-you-are-bored". Some are more like general tips on good living. I liked. I also appreciate the thought that went into coming up with them in the first place. Don't know who did though. Whoever! If you are reading this, let it be known that a good time was had because of you and that your mind has been of good use to someone else. Congratulations for that!

Now, not only were some of them awfully American and totally not applicable to India or Indians, some were actually quite offensive to animals (For e.g. there was one that suggested "throwing your cat off the roof to see if it lands on all four feet" or "shave your cat") and those have been removed from the list below.

So yes, read and enjoy and take down these Vishesh Tippanis.

I have taken the liberty of minor changes to some and have of course, given my own experiences with the VTs or thoughts on the same.

Presenting: What-to-do-when-you-are-bored-or-what-to-refer-to-when-you-need- a-little-direction-in-life

• Sharpen your teeth
  


• Play Houdini (I would love to. Under supervision and with the paramedics waiting of course. Houdini has always enraptured my mind)
  

• Clean and polish your belly button
  

• Water your dog...see if he grows (Okay, I didnt think this was offensive)
  


• Wash a tree (Gladly. Have washed a plant before)
  


• Knight yourself (Done that in my mind a few times)
  


• Give your cat a mohawk (Don't have one. But I imagine this might be fun if the cat doesnt scratch your eyes right out while you are in the process of styling its hair)
  


• Purr (Done this before. It is thoroughly enjoyable)
  


• Whine (Who doesn't?)
  


• Listen to a painting
  


• Play with matches (Done this. I wish matchsticks were longer. Maybe I should add, "Invent long matchsticks" to this list. Consider it added)
  


• Read Homer in the original Greek
  

• Change your mind

• Change it back


• Learn Greek (Alrighty!)
  


• Watch the sun...see if it moves (Check. Buy special glasses first)
  


• Stand on your head (I have a weird head problem which makes my head hurt if I am upside down for long. So this might not be fun for me. But others are most welcome to try)
  

• Stand on someone else's head (Believe it or not, have done this before. Again, enjoyable but kinda difficult to retain balance. Hold a wall while at it, is my suggestion)
  


• Build a pyramid (Next: climb it)
  

• See how long you can stay awake (This is only possible if I do many of the other things on the list)
  


• See how long you can sleep
  


• Speak with a forked tongue (I couldn;t really imagine this, but I think this has potential for fun-ness)
  

• Have a proton fight ( *Grin. Reminded of Calvin and Hobbes)
  


• Quiver (Ooh, what fun!)
  


• Learn to type...with your toes (This is seriously on the agenda)
  


• Be someone special (Err...blah)
  


• Go back to square one (I seem to find myself here all the time, causing me to wonder whether there ever is anything beyond it)
  


• Memorize a series of random numbers (I bet this is invented by Ebbinghaus' grandson)

• Learn Sanskrit (Sob sob. I shall. I promise! I even bought myself a "Teach yourself Sanskrit" book two years ago. Aham Gacchami)
  


• Exist...existentially, of course (Favourite thing to do. Or something I always aspire to do)
  


• Take a picture (Done. Sigh etc. Wish I could do it more often)
  


• Sandpaper a mushroom (He he. I don't like mushrooms. So this sounds promising as a potential outlet for latent aggression)
  


• Put it back (Mutters to self)
  


• Run for Pope (First, run after. Second, run over. And then run for- :-P)
  


• Count to a million...fast (See, this seems do-able. But doesn't excite me as such. Why I left it on? Who knows?)
  


• Make a schematic drawing...of a rock (I am sure I have done this in the past)
  

• Commit seppuku...with a paper knife (I recently bought a blunt switchblade that has cost my friends some of their sanity as I keep going on about what I can do with it and where I can use it. This may be the beginning and the end)
  


• Think shallow thoughts (Haven't I shared my profound insight about how I think shallow is the real deep? That needs an entire post altogether)
  


• Sleep on a bed of nails (Yes. I have always been inspired by Bhishma)
  


• Boil ice cream (This made me make a face similar to --> :-^ but worth doing once)
  


• DON'T toss and turn (I like this. It proves that the thinker-upper of these things to do really wanted to prevent this uncomfortable behaviour that people engage in when bored)
  


• Run around in squares (Would it still be called running "around" if one does it in squares?)
  


• Think of quadruple entendres (Hmmmm....*scratches chin thoughtfully)
  


• Speak in acronyms
  


• Have your pillow X-rayed (Err...okay but only if you promise I won't be arrested for the 3 kgs of Cocaine they will find there)
  


• Drink straight shots...of water (I am a water fan. Drink about 16 ltrs a day. Haven't tried this ever. Have had shots of orange juice though. And had Fanta with a spoon. Both were enjoyable activities)
  


• Calmly have a nervous breakdown (Love this one. I am sure I have done this)
  


• Give your goldfish a perm (I don't have a goldfish. But again, sounds like a plan!)
  


• Exorcise a ghost ( *grin)
  


• Be bluem (Done that)
  


• Be red (Never felt red)
  


• But don't be orange (Dont think I will be)
  


• Paint stripes on a lake (On the agenda for sure. First thought that came to mind- Dal Lake. Second thought- stripes wont go with the triangular mountains surounding it)
  


• Sleep in freefall (I will probably be too busy dying)
  


• Test thin ice...with a pogo stick ( :-) )
  


• Do a good job (I didn't know if this means, with the above recommendation or in general. I like it if it means the former)
  


• Crawl (Done this. Fun.)
  


• Watch a watch until it stops (Real 'time killer')
  


• Flash your goldfish (Oh the poor thing! But I laughed when I read it so left it on)
  


• Paint (Done that. Even with fingers. Painted a star on a friend's wall once, and she said it looked like it had flown in and slammed against the wall and gone "Splat!". I took as a compliment. My star had a personality)
  


• Smile ( :-) )
  


• Paint a smile (I hope they mean draw and not paint paint)
  

• Kick a fire hydrant
  


• Pretend you're blind


• Apologize to it (This was sweet)
  


• Plant a shoe


• Sweat (Yes. You will not be out of line to say "Why the hell?!. But think about it. It may have something that you are missing)
  


• Give a Rorschach test to your gerbil ( *grin)
  


• Turn (This I like because I think it is random-est of them all)
  


• Take your sofa for a walk (I imagine doing this. Without a leash though)
  


• Write a letter to Plato ( Thumbs up)
  


• Mail it (Shall I send it by registered post where he has to sign for it?)
  


• Play the piano...with mittens on (I have always wanted to. Play the piano that is)
  


• Contemplate a cockroach (Again, surprisingly I have done this)
  


• Get a dog to chase your car (I didn't like this one)
  


• Let him catch it (Until I read this)
  


• Form a political party (A friend told me to once, in all seriousness. At the time, all I could come up with was the "All India Non Religious Party of Liberal Humanism")


• Climb a sidewalk (To give a bhaashan - speech)
  


• Have a political party


• Sharpen a carrot (This I thought was very innovative)
  


• Interrogate a gerbil (Now, one would think the inventor had it in for gerbils in a big way)
  


• Annoy yourself (Don't think I can. But I can kill several hours trying to!)
  


• Get mad at yourself (Umm...)
  


• Stop speaking to yourself (NO!!!)
  


• Be a side effect (Love this one!)
  


• Be someone simple (I would be someone complexly simple or simply complex)
  


• Scheme
  


• Sit (Done this)
  


• Stay (Starting to feel like a dog being trained)
  


• Roll over (Hey! There better be a treat at the end of all this!)
  


• Wriggle (Done this)
  


• Play dead (Done this)
  


• Donate your brother's body to science ( * Evil Grin. Can I be the scientist too?)
  


• Find a witch (Ooh, don't forget to pick her brains clean and take notes. Detailed!)
  


• Regress (Done this)
  


• Sleepwalk without sleeping (Done this, I think)
  


• Jump back (Done this. Also, this is definitely more fun than jumping forward)
  


• Play to lose (Done this. Usually while arm-wrestling with kids)
  


• Read a tomato (What fun! I will snack on a cut up book while doing so)
  


• Sharpen your sleeping skills (Have been, in recent times)
  


• Interview a cloud (Big thumbs up)
  


• Put out a fire
  


• If you can't find a fire, make one (This is more fun than the putting out part)
  


• Crumple (This is immensely satisfying)
  


• Translate Shakespeare into English (I like the sentiment here)
  


• Cheer up a potato (Ah! This sounds like a great plan and is worthy of inclusion in the list twice by virtue of being a pass time, as well as a life's little instruction type thing because of its prosocial hues)
  


• Do aerobic exercises...in your head (Done this)
  


• Build a house with ice cubes (This also reminds me of Calvin and Hobbes)
  


• Change your name...daily (Good. I have always wondered how parents can zero in on one name for their kids)
  


• Wonder (Do this. A lot)
  


• Be a square root (Hmm....of?)
  


• Ask stupid questions (As above?)
  


• Spew
  


• Be a monk...for a day (Yes. Definitely worth engaging in)
  

• Staple (I like stapling)
  


• Run away (Oh, what wouldn't I give to..)
  


• Intimidate a piece of chalk ( :-) )
  


• Abuse the plumbing (Done this)
  


• Create random equations
  


• Tell your feet a joke (I am not a good joke teller. But I will ask my feet to tell me one)
  


• Throw a tomato into a fan (Can you imagine the amount of fun this could be?!)
  


• Pretend you're a dog (Have done so. Several times. In fact, have done so in this post itself by now)
  


• Dial-a-prayer and argue with it (Gladly!)
  


• Relive fond memories (I Do)
  


• Gargle (I Do)
  


• Count your teeth with your tongue (Have started, but lose track half way. Must complete)
  


• Decay (I Am)
  


• Build a house out of toothpicks
  


• Howl (Do. Silently)
  


• Wear a lampshade on your head (I can see myself doing this, having perfected the art of wearing a tea-cosy on my head when I was a child)
  


• Memorize the dictionary (Aspire to. Dictionary of several languages)
  


• Make yourself a pair of wings (I would use chiffon dupattas)
  


• Be immobile (Done this)
  


• Dance 'til you drop (Done this)
  


• Moo ( :-P Done this)
  


• Bounce a potato (Can try!)
  


• Out maneuver your shadow (I mean, what a brilliant idea! Really, hats off to the thinker-upper again! Have tried this btw! Great great fun!)
  


• Climb the walls (Have half done this)
  

• Appreciate everything (Cant)
  


• Challenge yourself to a duel (Have imagined this several times. In a black vs. white body-suit)
  


• Let the best man win (Woman, you mean)
  


• Hold an ice cube as long as possible (Have done this. It stings, but it's fun)
  


• Adopt strange mannerisms (Already have)
  


• Blow up a balloon until it pops (I have surprisingly poor lung capacity for blowing up balloons. Have blown bubbles till they pop though. Even with non stick chewing gum)
  


• Sing soft and sweet and clear (Done this)
  


• Sing loud and sour and gravely (This is what it sounds like to others when I am actually trying to do previous one)
  

• Open everything (I am a close-r, really)
  


• Balance a pencil on your nose (Tried. Failed)
  


• Grind your teeth (Done this)
  


• Chew ice (Do this a lot)
  


• Gesture (Do this a lot as well)
  


• Make a pass at your blender (Ooh, *wink)
  


• Make up words that start with X (Xorry! I Xant!)
  


• Sing a duet (Sung)
  


• Balance a pillow on your head (Done)
  


• Hold your breath (Done)
  


• Faint (I thought this was a great idea for a thing-to-do-when-bored)


• Stretch (Done)
  


• Learn to speak Farsi (Damn! This thing is a mind reader as far as me and languages are concerned. I want to learn Farsi. Mostly for Khusro)
  


• Swear in Russian ( Zavali yebalo! I googled it and found it here.)
  


• Use an eraser until it goes away (How come I never thought of this myself!?)
  


• Interview your feet (The first question will be - Can you tell me a joke?)
  


• Make a list of your favorite fungi (You know which fungi I dont like? Mushrooms!)
  


• Sell formaldehyde (Thumbs Up. Reminded of Fight Club)
  


• Make napalm (Thumbs Up. Again, as above)
  


• Begin (Begun)
  


• Hold your earlobes (Done)
  


• Fold your earlobes (Done. This is fun)
  


• Flap (The earlobes? Or the wings I made earlier?)
  


• Squawk (Dont think I can pull this one off)
  


• Read tea leaves (Sorry, I can't drink a book while)
  


• Analyze the Koran (Started. Will do one day. Also the Bhagavad Gita. Actually my brainstorm was to do a comparison/similarity finding type thing. Got it while brushing my teeth one morning many years ago)
  


• Be Buddha (Can do. I wouldn't abandon my family though. Would be wise enough to not have kids either, rather than having them and calling them names)
  


• Award yourself a Nobel Peace Prize (Ah! Glory!)
  


• Think lewd thoughts about yourself (Umm...next !)
  


• Peel grapes (Done)
  


• Make paper from the skins (What an idea!)
  


• Send chills down your spine (Done this. It's a fairly regular feature of my existence)
  


• Blow bubbles (Done. Who doesn't enjoy this?)
  


• Bloat (Sigh. Feel like I am most of the time)
  


• Get run over by a train of thought (Done that)
  


• Make up famous sayings
  


• Bite your pinkie (Done this)
  


• Design a better toilet seat
  


• Shred a newspaper (Fun. I like destroying stuff I think. But I would recycle the paper after shredding)
  


• Scratch (my back and I'll scratch yours)
  


• Have a headache (Do. Does anyone want one?)
  


• Sniff (Done that. Fun only if met with tender and soothing words)
  


• Hatch an egg (I have seen a 6 year old do this. It was hilarious to watch. He was playing a game with me where I had to guess what he was)
  


• Spill (Oops)
  


• Act profound (Did I not just say shallow is the new deep? That's profound)
  


• Stare (Done that. Not at people)
  


• Truncate (Would love to)
  


• Put your feet behind your head (Have tried. Got one of them there)
  


• Hold your hand (Done this. It's quite nice. Jodi tor dak shune keu na ashe tobe ekla cholo re)
  


• Watch the minute hand move (But I already watched my watch till it stopped)
  


• Pretend you're a telephone
  


• Ring
  


• Radiate


• Skip (Done that. Should start again in fact.)
  


• Play hopscotch...with real scotch ( * Grin)
  


• Clock the velocity of your REMs (Es posible?)
  


• Put your shoes on the opposite feet (Have. :-P )
  


• Cross your toes (Do)
  


• Roll your tongue (Over :-) ? )
  


• Crystallize
  


• Hide (Do)
  


• Declare war (Ah. Finally I can join El Querido when he says "Hamle ke liye tayyar!"
  


• Seduce your stick shift (err.... the thinker-upper started thinking too much with his own it would seem)
  


• Wink ( ;-) )
  


• Memorize the periodic table (Sigh. Again?)
  


• Mummify (Ooh!)
  


• Collect electrons (There's Calvin and Hobbes again. I swear, they are an overpowering influence in my life)
  


• Repeat (There's Calvin and Hobbes again. I swear, they are an overpowering influence in my life)


• Fade (I shall, one day)
  


• Listen for non-satanic messages (i.e. "Drink milk")
  


• Dial-a-Prayer and tell them they're wrong (Gladly!)
  


• Go into a bar and ask for a Molotov Cocktail ( B-))
  


• Learn everything there is to know about the Holy Roman Empire (Incidentally, have been watching the TV series lately)
  


• Walk on water...but don't get caught (Shh. Okay)
  


• Confess to a crime...that didn't happen
  


• Be in the wrong place at the right time (for some reason, this sounds more fun than being in the right place at the wrong time)
  

• Plot the overthrow of the Government (Gladly)
  


• Write a book about your previous life (Yes. I have an interesting candidate who fits the bill for my previous life)
  


• Jump up and down...on your alarm clock (For the sleepers, I bet this is something they have mentally done fifty billion times)
  

• Make a quilt out of cocktail napkins
  


• Sterilize your stereo...with Jack Daniel's
  


• Carve yours and your girlfriend's/boyfriend's initials...in a marshmallow (Probably wouldn't do in on a marshmallow. But it's a passable idea for a passtime me thinks)
  


• Defend your neighborhood from roving Mongol hordes
  


• Recite romantic poetry...to your toaster (I thought I was hitting on the blender??)
  
• 
  
• See if you really can build a nuclear device in your own basement (Okay. But I want the IAEA out of it!)
  


• Phone in a death threat on President Kennedy (This was American but worth retaining)
  


• Carry a tune...drop it, see if it breaks
  


• Make a deal with the devil...but keep your fingers crossed


• Give a lecture on the historical significance of cream cheese (I would prefer paan)
  


• Debate politics with a fern
  


• If you lose, stop watering it and try again. (Love this following previous one)
  


• Be a threat to the American way of life ( *grin)
  


• Do research into the cause of World War III
  


• See how small you can scrunch your face (Done this)
  


• Raise professional certified racing turnips (Ah, don't change your passions for glory!)
  


• Give your grandmother a raise and another day of paid vacation (I thought this was cute)
  


• Park your car...with a friend (Done)
  


• Park your car...with a group of friends (Done)
  


• Frame your first statement of bankruptcy (Yes. I have to be ready for when the turnips fail)
  


• Place it on the wall of your office


• Practice the Aztec method of heart removal on your professor
  


• Sneak into a nuclear physics lab and stay the night (Would love to!)
  


• Play with anything that looks interesting (Do)
  


• Try to ignite water (Hmmmm)
  


• Draw Venn diagrams...screw them up (Yeah. They always annoyed me anyway)
  


• State fallacies as fact (like, "peanuts grow on bushes")
  


• See if diamonds really do cut glass (Yes. And in future don't believe everything they tell you!)

• Tenderize your tongue...chew on it for a while (This is so morbid and appeals to me)
  

Sunset- somewhere near Dehradun

Flower on a balcony railing

I saw it lying there casually, probably carried and placed here by the wind. I saw it and my heart skipped a beat with the frank and open beauty of it.

If you could, what would you criminalize?

Having babies. That’s what.

Its shocking, the extent of narcissism a man will indulge really. I refuse to believe that there is something else that propels human beings to have children, apart from the fact that a. they can and b. this joy ride that they take on their egos, just so they can say “Look what I made! And now I will play with it and make it listen to me till it is old enough to realize that life sucks, and curses me for it”

This whole idea seems surreal to me. That of having children of course. Do you do it because you want to hold on to the illusion of longevity through the propagation of your genetic material from one era to the next? If yes, then don’t be so stupid. When you die, you die. Finito. Nobody lives in or through anyone else. Or perhaps it’s a displaced rage that makes you have kids? Nobody asked you. Your parents just went ahead and had you. You didn’t choose to be born, and didn’t have control over your own life so you want to redeem yourself by exercising choice with respect to another? “So what if I couldn’t have that? At least I can have this!”

Ah the fools! You can’t exercise revenge backwards in time! And for the first few years, you are likely to suffer more! If you’re pissed about what was done to you, put an end to it!

Seriously though, this post is for those who complain about life being tough, insufferable, unbearable, painful, point less and all those things not normally associated with pleasure. How, I repeat, HOW can those people choose to have kids? Is it not pure sadism at work? You crib crib crib about something and then voluntary inflict that upon another creature! Shame on you! Shame on all of you!

When confronted with such people I just feel like smacking them across their face really. If you desire to have children, at least pretend like you love life and would like to give this gift of life to a million other people! But please-oh-please don't say that life sucks, and then force more people to have a taste of it! Why would you do that?!

There is a bit of masochism also at play I suspect. I am here reminded of that oh-so-complete book of verses- The Rubaiyat and of that lovely one where they (i.e. Khayyam and Fitzgerald) speak of the checkerboard of nights and days on which we are but pieces of the game He plays.

True. True as my heartbeat. But those who have children, I ask you, are you not caught in a sado-masochistic game with the He in question? Do you not, by virtue of having children voluntarily, toss these pawns in his lap and say “Play on, so I can do the damage and then keep blaming you”?

God a.k.a Nature a.k.a The Unpredictability of Existence might have given you the ability to procreate. But you have the choice not to. Its great that you have this skill. Really. Congratulations etc. But surely you should be more prudent before you go about acting on it?

Just yesterday, someone who recently had twins had come over. They’re very cute and playful and fun to watch etc. but what struck me was the 4376528764 times that their mother pointed out what a handful they were. I mean, what did you expect? That they would pop right out and that’s it? The real work begins later on my dear, and even I know that! There was a strange sense that I got from the mother. That horrible horrible feeling of….regret. Absolutely terrifying that. Makes a shiver run down my spine to think that a parent would feel that way. My mind automatically gasps and whispers, “My God, what have you done?”

You know why I think having children should be criminalized? Because it is kind of akin to murder. Don’t feel all proud and glorious about having created life. What you have inadvertently done is in fact create death, pain, loss, suffering. Especially in the world as it is today. Complete with melting ice, terrorism and rising prices.

What makes it even more sordid is, that it is the supposedly 'wiser' adults who are having these children. If over 20 years of existence hasn’t been enough to make you realize that the world isn’t fit to live in, and that the human race is worse than pond scum, much MUCH worse, then I question the quality of the very genes that you are transmitting to the next generation and plead with you to think twice.

And then some fifty three thousand eight hundred and forty six more times after that.

La madre amable :-P

Comfort: It would really make me so happy if you have kids

Holy Cow: I see!

Comfort: Because I know you will make a wonderful mother

Holy Cow: Yeah. Maybe, by not giving birth to the kids, I am already being a good mother by shielding them from the suffering called existence.

Stop Female Foeticide

This is what adorns one of the walls of my room at work. I think the painting is as beautiful as it is symbolic.

Below it, the text reads-

"To all the woman who have made our country great.
And to all the little girls who will make it even greater"

*Artwork courtesy UNFPA