High Spirits...

Just the other day, during a cordial discussion with some colleagues, out of just plain curiosity I asked what it is that makes people want to drink (consume alcohol).

I didn’t know that my pretty harmless question would evolve into a considerably animated (and occasionally heated) argument. I had barely completed my question when someone made a statement – “A person who drinks has no character”.

Obviously, the debate intensified several notches after that comment as there were bound to be counter arguments for and against alcoholism, but my original question got lost in the process.

As far as logic goes, terms like addiction, dependence, etc. can be used to explain why a person tends to indulge in alcoholism on a regular basis. But I wonder what exactly is it that causes him or her to get addicted in the first place. What exactly does a person experience after consuming alcohol ?

As far as I’ve heard and known from common knowledge, alcohol gives a sense of being in an enhanced pleasurable state. Scientifically, alcohol intake acutely increases dopamine levels in the brain. So it is logical why some people turn towards alcohol when they are depressed. And it may also explain why some normal people consume alcohol when they want to experience even more pleasure, or maybe a state of euphoria.

Also, I don’t think a person’s character has much to do with what he or she consumes. Getting addicted to alcohol (or for that matter, even some other food or drink) may be related to a person’s will power or the lack of it. So, it is likely that a person gives in to the temptation to get on a high after consuming alcohol.

But the difference between getting addicted to alcohol and getting addicted to a McDonald’s burger is that one doesn’t lose his or her senses after consuming a delicious burger even though he may experience a sense of increased pleasure too.

A person may get a ‘kick’ after consuming whatever he or she likes. It may be a pizza, a chocolate, a coke, a dosa, a jalebi, a mango shake or whatever. And many times, certain food stuffs have their own adverse effects on the body. But what they don’t do is that they do not affect the person’s mental state (which alcohol notoriously does).

So isn’t it actually that deranged cognitive state (with decreased inhibitions and increased sense of pleasure) which people seek by consuming alcohol ?

I have even heard people talk of wanting to ‘try it once’ just for the sake of experiencing that strange cognitive state. Well, such a wish may be quite harmless if a person wants to try it out just once. I don’t think a single episode of alcohol intake will result in any serious medical effect on one’s body.

But people tend to forget that even a single episode of being ‘under the influence’ can have ever-lasting physical and social effects if the person is drunk beyond being capable of controlling his or her actions.   

If people wish to indulge in alcohol just to be in a false and pleasurable cognitive state, even if it destroys their body slowly, they should be free to do so as long as they don’t bother others by their actions or words.

But as far as I’m concerned, I have enough reasons to keep myself in a state of euphoria than to resort to methods that create a false sense of pleasure.

"We drink to each other's healths...

And spoil our own !!!"

Image courtesy : Google Images

Too Fast and Too Furious...

The other day, one of my ‘Facebook-friends’ while wishing everyone happy ‘navratras’ (the nine auspicious days in respect for the Goddess) also commented upon the number of days left for people to once again enjoy all the non-vegetarian food and alcoholic drinks which they were unable to consume during these nine days.

This led me to remember how I witnessed crowds of people literally mobbing the non-veg eating outlets and wine shops just the night before the start of ‘navratras’. And I have been observing this for a few years now. So, I just remembered a small incident in my hostel during my college days.

Being the avid foodie and non-veg fan I always was, I used to go out for dinner with many of my batch mates quite frequently. So, one evening as I emerged from my room, I saw one of them in the corridor having an animated discussion with someone on his phone. As I went up to him and asked him whether he would come along with me for some non-veg dinner, I was a bit taken aback by his reaction.

He suddenly removed the phone from his ear and gave me such a wide-eyed look as if I had just informed him about the latest murder I had committed. He then held both of his ears in his fingers and put his tongue out and blurted something about it being sacrilege to even mention non-veg during ‘navratras’. And then he returned to his animated discussion with the person on the other end of the phone, continuing to mouth the worst expletives a sane person can possibly mouth.

This made me wonder… whether the Goddess made it a point to actually come out of her heavenly abode during these nine days and looked out for people who would be consuming alcohol or/and non-veg secretly, and hence punish them for it.

Another little incident I remember is about when I went to get some books from an old friend of mine. As I made myself comfortable in his room, he brought the customary glass of cold drink with my favorite chocolate biscuits for me. (I don’t touch tea !) When I asked him about his glass, he informed me that he was on a fast as it was ‘Janamashtami’ (the Birth Day of Lord Krishna). I oh okayed as he went again to get the books which I needed.

In the meanwhile, his little nephew, who was just about six or seven years old, came in playing with his new toy car. As he stood near me, I offered him a biscuit to which he shyly shook his head. But on my repeated insisting, he finally took it and started munching. When my friend returned with the books, he exclaimed in surprise on seeing his nephew enjoy the biscuit. On my asking the reason for his reaction, he informed me that his nephew shouldn’t be eating the biscuit as he was on a fast too.

All I could say was, “Excuse me… ?!?!?” He then told his nephew to go away and not to tell his mom about the biscuit adventure.

Now, I wonder, how could a little kid of six control his urge (more so his hunger) on seeing a delicious choco biscuit after being deprived of food since morning. Did he even know why he wasn’t being allowed to eat ? But yes, he would eventually grow into an adult who would doggedly observe fasts and expect others to too without even thinking about the sense behind it all.

I wished to discuss this with my friend. But I knew it’s futile to discuss the merits or demerits of someone’s faith with him or her. Though if I would have tried, the discussion would have gone pretty much on the following lines.

Me : Why do you observe fast on ‘Janamashtami’ ?

Him : Because it is Lord Krishna’s birthday.

Me : Okay. Do you think Lord Krishna loves you considering we all are the Lord’s children ?

Him : Of course. We all are his children.

Me : Okay. Suppose it was your birthday. Would you like your children to keep a fast for you ? Or would you rather take them to a nice restaurant and treat them ?

I’m sure he must have an answer to that too. But for me, I can’t think of anything to answer for that.

Which makes me wonder why do we keep fasts. It’s not about having it on a particular day or a set of days. Neither is it about respect towards a particular God or Goddess. But shouldn’t the basis of a fast be the practice of controlling one’s urges to indulge in things instead of putting it on some God and expressing helplessness in God’s name ?

Should we need a God to scare us from preventing to indulge in something bad just for some specific days ? And if we abstain from such things for some days, does that make us any more devoted or religious ?

I’m a non-vegetarian. Usually vegetarians would accuse me of sacrilege if I consume non-veg during ‘holy’ days. But I never touch alcohol and never will. But that does not provoke me to judge someone just because he or she consumes alcohol irrespective of when they do it. It’s everyone’s personal choice to what they consume.

And also, how do we know that a particular God abhors the consumption of a particular food or drink ? So why is it about non-veg and alcohol ? Why don’t people stop smoking during such fasts too ? Or why don’t people abstain from oily, fatty and fried junk food which really affect one’s health.

Is it because non-veg foods and alcohol are considered bad ? I would accept if someone would relate non-vegetarian food with the killing of innocent animals. I agree. But alcohol is from plant origin. Then why is it considered wrong to consume it during fasts ?

I’m not favoring the consumption of alcohol (as I myself never touch it). But I’m questioning people’s sensibilities about their views regarding particular beliefs.

And, are our Gods and Goddesses so ‘human-minded’ that they would get upset by what we eat or drink or how we dress during certain occasions ? Is it not our own senseless belief which we just blame on the imagined likes and dislikes of our Gods ? But if you so much as even question people about this, you get to face their wrath.

I like eating non-veg and I consume it any of the 365 days of the year. I dislike alcohol and I never consume it irrespective of the occasion. It’s as simple as that. Not consuming something for some days wouldn’t take me any nearer to God. And consuming something on other days wouldn’t take me away from God either.

I just wonder how our Gods and Goddesses would be upset if we consume particular things on some particular days. And on the other hand, the same Gods and Goddesses wouldn’t care a thing if we use abusive language, watch corrupt tv shows and plot and plan against each other during those very days.

But yes, if I question people’s sensibilities on this, they would surely get furious and label me as a non-believer.

(Image courtesy : Google Images)

Autumn Equinox...

It’s not often that at the stroke of midnight, I find myself relishing a full serving of hot biryani for dinner…


And being treated with with Forlan at his very best for Inter Milan in an action-packed game live on tv…


And with my phone to my ear, hearing two girls sing “Happy Birthday to you…” simultaneously over a conference call…

I couldn’t have asked for a much better start to the Autumn Equinox, could I ??? :D :D :D

Hope to finish it off with a grand dinner by the time the day ends ! (That’s the most I look forward to every day in life. :P :D Why worry about the future ? :-) )

P.S. : Equinoxes are the two days of the year when the day and night are closest to being equal. In more technical terms, the day when the sunrise and the sunset are closest to being exactly twelve hours apart.

(Image courtesy : Google Images)

Ohhh... What a Waste !

As most of my friends have classified me in the group of nocturnal animals, I was, as usual, seconding their views about me and fooling around while the rest of the neighborhood slept in peace. And before long, I was surfing the channels on the telly to find something worth watching till the time I dropped off too.

And it was then, when I stumbled on to ‘MTV’. Since the time when I first came to know about it, ‘MTV’ was supposed to be ‘Music Television’. A channel, that was related to music of all sorts. But as I find it now, music is the last thing you would find being telecast on it.

We are living in the times of reality tv. But what has reality tv got to do with ‘MTV’ is something I find hard to understand. Shouldn’t they be aired on channels made for all round entertainment ?

Well, I guess I’m drifting away from the point I want to make here.

And the point is that when I got to ‘MTV’ I found another of those reality shows. It’s called ‘The Fast & The Gorgeous’. I don’t know if you have heard of it. But I had seen a few minutes of it one or two times before.

For those of you who are still unaware of the contents of ‘F&G’, I’ll just try to brief you about it. Well, they have assembled a group of (apparently gorgeous) girls from all over India (well, mostly from Delhi and Mumbai) and put them up together to compete with each other. They are given certain ‘tasks’ to perform through which they can ‘vote out’ one or two of the competitors each week.

And what do the winners get ? They get a chance to become the ‘face’ of the ‘Force India’ F1 team, travel with them around the world, host the after-parties and appear in the F1 calendar. (well, the F1 calendar has nothing to do with the schedule of the F1 races but is another form of the ‘Kingfisher calendar’, if you know what that is actually about… )

Ok. So that pretty much appears to be another normal reality show. A show where girls try their best to depict themselves are ‘commodities’ which would be the best bet to help to enhance ‘Force India’s market value. Probably that of ‘MTV’ too.

As I stumbled upon this show, I just watched on to see what they had in store this time. And the ‘task’ in progress right then made me twist in my chair. I don’t know if you have ever experienced being twisted in the chair while relaxing in the short hours of the night after a yummy dinner. But if you have, you’ll understand just how it made me feel right then.

They had coupled those ever so skimpily clad girls in teams of two. Each team had to take on another team in a very simple competition. According to which, one girl from each team would stand in between two poles, her hands tied to them, blindfolded, while the girl from the opposite team would try to hit her on the face from some distance. Each girl getting six attempts in a span of one minute. All very simple.

But, what made me twist was the object which they had to throw at each other. It wasn’t a ball or a water balloon. (I guess a shoe would have been the best possible option here) But they were actually using ‘pizzas’ to throw at each other’s face.

Well, our country has had the likes of Anjali Vedpathak who had exceptional abilities to aim at the target using her air-rifle. (won so many medals for India)

But there cannot be a comparison between a well trained shooter and some (apparently gorgeous) girls throwing pizzas at each other’s faces.

And so, they picked up pizza after pizza and hurled them with all they had got. And with each miss, my heart bled. One after the other, those delicious discs of bread baked with all the yummy toppings, flew past each targeted girl.

I felt as if even the pizzas didn’t approve of the idea of getting anywhere near those girls and dodged themselves past those make-up loaded faces. And eventually they kept ‘biting the dust’ all around the place.

Ok. I admit treating myself to a wholesome and taste-buds-satisfying dinner a few hours earlier. But I’m not one with a heart of steel who wouldn’t think much of so many pizzas simply going to waste….

But, on a serious note, I wonder if such a ‘task’ was actually in any good sense. There are countless number of people in our own country who go to sleep every night with an empty stomach. And here we are, finding fun at game shows wasting so much of food just for nothing.

I wonder if a particular Dr. Mallya who owns ‘Force India’ and ‘Kingfisher’ would give a thought to diverting just that bit of money used for the ‘pizza task’ for feeding those unprivileged people sleeping with empty stomachs.

Dear Dr. Mallya, we are, no doubt, happy about you naming your team as ‘Force India’. And we won’t protest either if you decide to add some glamour to your team. You manage some big business in India as well as around the world. But surely you wouldn’t approve of even a part of that money being put to wasting of food ?

I do hope that sooner than later, you would take notice of this and prevent any more wastage of food. If they need to hit each other in such reality game shows, let them find other options. But please spare the wastage of food at least.

And if you really want to add real glamour to your team, keep away from those girls in ‘F&G’……. :D