The Aufbau Principle

“You just sit there… don’t look up. Don’t look in the eye. Don’t look! …act as if he’s invisible. He’ll just go away… or else the light will turn green and soon you’ll drive away. You’ll be home and then you can forget about it.” These are the first thoughts.

A deeper thought if ever taken reveals that one never wanted to forget about him. All of the ignoring actually means that he was never in your mind. The teeming million poor people are never in our minds. In fact no one else ever is. I know for a fact.

How did we ever organize ourselves in this society this way? Who made the rules? I am embarrassed, but I’ll tell you. I ignore all those little boys and girls begging at every crossing in Delhi. I don’t look at them in the eye. I look through them. I act as if they’re invisible. I roll up the window. I rev the engine. I rush away as soon as the light turns green. I don’t want to give any money as I know that one coin will bring in twenty more outstretched palms. Or will it? I don’t know. I’ve run away every time. I’ve never checked it out.

Who put them there in the first place? Is that very naïve of me to ask? Should I just let that question be? Can I ever find answers to that question? Or will it be entirely clouded with concepts of economics, development strategy, political will, gross domestic product, manufacturing sector, insurgency etc etc etc ad nauseum.

The simple fact of life: “hungry stomach needs food” has today been confused and manipulated to such an extent that we have nations of obese people co-existing in the world along with malnourished nations all in the same world. But it doesn’t matter right: it’s not your country, it’s not your home, it’s not your problem.

Who is to blame? Or is it not about a blame game? The ancient Indians would have us believe it is karma. Some are destined for greatness, some are destined for poverty. Or is it that some work harder than the others? What is the role of equal opportunities? What if I am a closet literary genius of the Swahili language? I just never got the opportunity to blossom that talent, having been born in India. Or is it that I was never meant to?

of longing and belonging...

as days give in to other days and nights give in to rainy mornings, one wonders at the sense of delight God must feel with his little toys.. US

He plays with our hearts, or bodies, our cars, our houses and He presumable has fun... oh! right, lemme play with that road.. a little tweak and voila! An accident... else, it's Ah shit.. missed again! heard that joke?? let's just put this girl there and that boy there, they'll meet after so many years, but wait!! Things can't be easy, even after they meet, lemme put some other factors like work for instance and keep them apart..

Let's make him enticing, but let's have them stay apart.. each day a struggle, each moment a bit of pain.. Well, when they meet sparks fly asunder, but the yearning.. Oh the yearning..

Why?