Of Whales, Monkeys and Bindis

I know what I am about to say can be taken the wrong way. But are we really better than whales or monkeys?

For a people that prides itself on its culture and spends hours touting its alleged superiority, Indians seem to have come in behind whales and monkeys when it comes to embracing more people into our culture. I can’t tell you the number of times the Indian cultural police have hit the headlines complaining about the influence of the Western culture on the modern youth. Yet, when the modern w. youth does adopt one of the Indian cultural practices, what did they do?

I am referring, of course, to a slightly dated story on Selena Gomez sporting a bindi. I spent a good portion of my life being pulled up by random aunts, uncles, not to mention my dear mother about not sporting a bindi.

This cartoon sums up the Bindi troubles of any South Indian Brahm lass (Got this from http://tambrahmrage.tumblr.com/ – I tried to find the link to this post, but couldn’t. Luckily I had sent it for laughs within my family a while ago)

 

So, I expected the news that Selena Gomez was wearing one to strengthen their position. I mean, all they had to say was: “It is even fashionable, you still don’t want a bindi?”

I expected the Indian c.police to namaste-her, make an example of her and what not. What they proceeded to do, instead, was ask her to learn of the deep cultural ramifications of the bindi and enlightened folks like me about how it is not a fashion accessory.

http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-style/news/selena-gomez-wears-bindi-for-4th-time-despite-controversy-2013254

I can see your eyebrows shooting past the bindi mark now. Monkeys maybe, but have whales been sporting bindis too? You ask.

Well, the news item I read had nothing to do with bindis. It has to do with how these species learnt cultural behaviors from one another and adapted to changing conditions. Bringing more to the fold was critical to adaptation.

http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/2013/04/25/on-copyca-whales-conformist-monkeys-and-animal-cultures/

Clearly, we are lacking there. Also, it was just cool to link the cultural adaptations of monkeys, whales and humans.

That also correlates with this study where Indians ranked near the very bottom of the pile of folks surveyed, they would much rather live near themselves than welcome racial ethnicity. Even when they wear bindis.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2013/05/15/a-fascinating-map-of-the-worlds-most-and-least-racially-tolerant-countries/?hpid=z2

And so it goes ….

 

Despicable Me?

One time, we were waiting to start our hike at an unearthly hour in the morning. Typically, parking at the hiking spot tends to be a bit tight and we spend a few cycles trying to find parking. We watched sullenly as cars circled around the space and then made their way down-hill to park elsewhere. Then, a noisy bunch of people came and parked in the handicapped parking spot and piled out. At first we thought the kindly driver was dropping folks off and then was going to find a parking spot as the rest of the rambunctious party stretched themselves. But no. A bunch of solid people piled out of the car and all the solid people stretched on their solid limbs. The driver clambered out as well flexing his strong muscles and cracking his knuckles.

A bunch of hikers watching the whole scene unfold, kindly drew their attention to the fact that they were parked in the disabled spot. The knuckle-cracking driver said, “Oh don’t worry! I borrowed a disabled parking spot sticker and am planning to use it!” He then proceeded to look extremely proud of himself, like the most novel idea for the parking problem was his and he hung the disabled card before proceeding to crunch a few times.

My friends and I were shocked! I would have thought somebody who pulled a low trick like that would have the sense to be ashamed about it.

It turns out that it takes all kinds to make a world. I had dismissed the lot to the back of my brain till this news item brought them back to the foreground again.

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/manhattan/disney_world_srich_kid_outrage_zTBA0xrvZRkIVc1zItXGDP

http://www.cnn.com/2013/05/15/us/disney-skipping-lines/index.html

These rich people in NY hire disabled people for the day to take with them to Disneyland posing as family members, so they can cut lines and use the disabled access lines.

Now really! Come on! What is their favorite movie? Despicable Me?

 

Buggy Drivers

I sometimes wonder what it would be like to have self driven cars as the norm. I would love to use the time towards things I enjoy more than driving. Reading, for instance, or writing. I spent the morning crawling across 5 miles that I could have run across in the same time. When this happens, the mind looks for options and what a beautiful option Science threw my way!

Some scientists in Tokyo got moths to drive a free moving polystyrene ball. I quote:
The moths would scramble, or dance, across the surface, moving the ball, which moved the vehicle.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/krulwich/2013/05/08/182312510/moths-that-drive-cars-really

“Awesome!” I thought to myself and read on. Already envisioning a larger moth at the wheel of my car while I lolled around in the back. I wouldn’t have to make conversation with the moth, I could even sleep! *Gasp* A smile was slowly coming across my face.

I had hardly gone past a few paragraphs with that smile when this put a stopper on my daydreams.

The problem is, they didn’t know they were driving. They are moths, after all. What they thought they were doing was zeroing in on a lady moth. Dr. Ando procured a supply of moth perfume, the pheromone scent of an aroused female, placed it at the end of a tube, turned on a tiny fan and blew the scent at the male.

I am not sure I would like to entrust my precious life to a moth who is more interested in showing off for the female species. I mean what if this moth smelt a tantalizing fe-moth in the ocean or flying t. moth above? Too risky if I intend to nap in the backseat, on the whole.

As a software engineer, I should have known to stay away from buggy drivers – sigh!

Google’s self driving cars seem to be a better bet for now.

 

The Amway Pistachio Flavor

One fine evening, I found myself strolling along in the bookstore, breathing in the books and smiling more than was strictly necessary, reading a page there and a page here. Mentally noting which ones to buy and keeping a stash of potentials etc. A friendly person came up to me and asked me to suggest a book for her to read. My eyes popped a bit at first, but I asked her what kind she likes. She looked at the shelf nearby and said, “Fantasy. But I am really looking for a change. So, I was hoping you will be able to help me out with some titles you like.”

Ask me something like that and I can get a bit carried away. I set aside the stash I had in my hand, flipped to my notes and got to work.

My suggestions included picks from historical fiction, non-fiction, biographies, autobiographies, business, literature, Indian authors, short stories and would have gone on. I mean I had really opened my heart up. I had my phone open and was reading her titles I had noted down earlier and was giving her the tour. I must’ve talked for 3 minutes straight before I realized that her eyes had a slightly glazed expression making her look like a Krispy Kreme doughnut. She didn’t look all that interested in what I was saying. I paused for a second and she asked me what I did. I gave her an answer and asked her what she did.

She looked at me and said she runs a business. She had one of those young, enthusiastic smiles and apart from not being interested in the list of books I suggested, seemed nice enough. So, I gushed, “Wow….that is lovely. What kind of business do you run?”
“I run a skin care business. I could suggest some things for your face right away to make you glow.”

I didn’t think my face needed any work in the glowing department given that I was standing under some harsh lights in a bookstore. I told her that I don’t really use too many skin care products. I bristled a bit. I hadn’t suggested a doughnut shop for her after all, why should she offer me help on glow or lack thereof?

Conversation languished for a bit after this. I was keen to get to my books and she was keen to get my face to glow. She talked of this and that, told me she had moved to the US recently and invited me to her home. I thanked her for the invite, encouraged her on her business prospects and moved on.

“You didn’t give her your number did you?” asked the husband later with an amused smile playing on his lips
“No…but I sent her an email so she would have my mail id. Why?”
“The Amway Pistachio flavor, that’s why.” said the h.
“What? No way she was Amway! I mean she was so friendly, and she even invited me to her home for a cup of tea.” said I.
“Oh and how many people you see for the first time in shopping aisles do you invite for tea to your home?”
The husband had a point, and I stopped midway through my retort to mull things over. The more I mulled, the more apparent it was that I had in fact been taken.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amway

I’ve lost my touch I tell you. Scalded cats used to take training sessions from me before getting scalded I mean. So, they would know what to do when scalded. I would go shopping or browsing and I could spot folks from Amway a mile away. The moment I spotted them, I would hide in nooks or clamber up shelves to avoid them. Then, reeking with pride, I would gush about the best techniques to avoid them.

But like creatures of prey, these folks evolve. I was used to looking out for apparently friendly folks who ask me if I am from Chennai based on the fact that I hollered to the errant child trying to topple themselves down from somewhere in Tamil. I would then put on a stern face and say ‘No!’ and move away. Or they would ask for some advice on products that I knew they weren’t buying just to get the conv. ball rolling and I would know.

Maybe of late, I have not lingered at store aisles long enough but I haven’t seen the Amway sales specialist in a long time. I feel bad for them. If their best business prospects are picking up folks on random store aisles by sacrificing their week-ends, the business can’t be a very enjoyable one can it?

 

The Real Estate Tent

I am not much of a financial-reports-reading sort of person. I can’t call myself as having my pulse in the economic hub of things, but I know the housing market is picking up in the US. “How?” you ask. You see, the market only has to increase slightly every other day and a glossy piece of paper arrives with a picture of a realtor on it.

I suppose somebody told the realtor community that posting their own pictures on pamphlets appeals to folks.

“Look friendly, look approachable and open and smile!” says the photographer before clicking away.

So, every single one of them wills themselves to put up pictures of themselves. The problem is that some people want to look sincere too. But when they have to also look approachable and open and warm, they are trying really hard to put a lot into that smile and the results are slightly bizarre. There was one realtor whose picture looked like she was pursued by a clown down a scary path that leads into a forest with a puppet party at the end of the path and the only thing to lead her to the puppet party was a nasty smell that she was sniffing out sincerely.

Every time a realtor leaves their precious picture on my doorstep, I smile (a genuine smile) and look at the pictures. I must note down what I think of each realtor without knowing a thing about them and make a collection of it. Of course, real estate is a tough business and people try all the options available to them. Mostly I bestow a benign eye at their attempts and wish them luck, but this one went a bit too far in my opinion.

This was his pamphlet:

I am all for enthusiasm, don’t get me wrong here. I am an enthusiastic person myself, but I know to draw the line. Really! This is MY house he are talking about. What does he mean by saying “I want to sell it immediately?”

I suppose realtors will soon be leaving complimentary tents along with their pamphlets so we can camp out in neighboring fields while they sell our house!

I like the gall. Just for that, I am not selling my house! I should take a print-out of that and give it back to him with a picture of myself on it. You know? Frighten the fellow a bit.

 

Sense of Humour? Wicked!

I sometimes wonder why people have such a wicked sense of humor (How do you pluralize sense of humor? Is it sense of humors or senses of humor or senses of humors)

I remember one time walking down the street in the evening and admiring the beauty of the large moon. The next day, I see a you-tube video pasted all over my Facebook page explaining the beauty of the moon and how to make sure that the phenomenon was really a matter of perception. When closer to the horizon, it seems bigger, that is all.

The problem is not the video. The problem is the place asking one to verify for yourself by bending and observing the moon through your legs like this:

Before you know it, the roads are full of chaps bending over and trying to verify the size of the moon through their legs. There is nothing more inviting for a practical joke than a person attempting that on the road. Do you think there is some kind of reality video app for everyone who clicked the video to see them bending over and making fools of themselves on the street? There was one man who was wearing a suit and carrying a briefcase. He had that prosperous-lawyer-or-accountant look about him. One minute, he was breezing along admiring the large moon and the next his stride faltered. It is hard to see whether a man is blushing from the back, but in his case, proved easy. He was blushing pretty indeed. He looked discreetly over his shoulder, discovered we were walking behind him, and might boot him on the back if he exposed himself to the risk and shelved the idea. But, had he been a man of stronger nerves, I should not have been surprised if I had seen him peering through his legs at the moon.

There are three or four methods by which people get you.

I don’t know whether you’ve seen these numerous posts that tell you life’s most wondrous things will unfold before if you cock your eyes and type ’1′. I usually ignore these, but gave in to my curiosity just once. I cocked my eyes and sat at the edge of the chair waiting for life’s mysteries to unfold before me as I typed ’1′. But I swear nothing happened. Nothing. I suppose that is the mystery of life.

There is nothing to expect when you expect it.

Then of course, there are these huge matrices of letters telling you that the first word you find describes you the best. I found ‘TUB’ I wonder what that means…oh well.

 

How Public Policy Shapes Life

Public policy is powerful. Public policy shapes our daily actions more than we realize. There are also results that are not always foreseen by the policymakers.

Take the experience of shopping for instance. Recently, the county we live in passed a decree that forbade businesses from doling out plastic bags. We could buy one for 10c if really wanted, but the idea was to encourage more environment friendly bags.

Where before, people were before doing their shopping in the most organized manner possible and sometimes preferring to finish up their grocery alone, the recent public policy of no plastic bags and charging 10c for the bags has increased family togetherness.

I walk into stores and I see large families shopping together. There is a sea change I tell you. The change is best explained in the check-out lanes where the harassed looking clerks ask you whether you would like a bag for 10c and you look him in the eye and say, “No Siree! No I don’t. You see I have 5 children of my own and I offered to babysit three of my neighbors. Then, I just borrowed a bus and came grocery shopping!”

There is a look of utter disbelief on the clerk’s face. The table is full of groceries and the customers have no bags! This is when the customers stoop in with a bugle call to the children, “So Ed, Louis, Dennis and Menace pick up the bread, milk, meats and sauces. Don’t hold the eggs and yogurt in one hand Millie! Tie a string around the goat cheese and hang it around the baby’s neck. Anne, do you have the pastas? Good! Whose that child? Does she belong to our party?”

“Yes Father.”
“Well…come here then and lend a hand with the ice creams young lady.” Nobody is spared. The produce is collected and the family outing is done without spending a dime on bags.

That is economy.

PS: I like the idea of no plastic bags, and marvel at how a simple policy can change people into bringing their own bags. The environmental awareness was the same before, yet the implementation of the policy made all the difference.