Once upon a time, I used to be a one-book-at-a-time person. These days I frequently find myself eyeballs-deep in multiple books at once. I'm not sure it adds to my reading experience, as I generally exist at the pace of a Disney animated zen character from Disney's version of Ancient Wisdom China. I blame this on behaviour learnt from existing in the 24/7 universe of the internet, and the inevitability of the life of multiple-tabs. At present, I'm reading e-copies of Chosen Spirits (Samit Basu), Chosen Ones (Veronica Roth) and Dying to be Me (Anita Moorjani). And a nice old hard-copy of Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell (Susanna Clarke).
I've also been watching a shit ton of stuff on Primevideo and Hotstar. I heartily recommend 'What we do in the shadows', 'People of Earth', 'The Mentalist', 'The Grand Seduction'. 'Afsos', 'Pushpavalli'. 'Doctor Who'. And always, 'The Office'. I don't do gritty. Why tf would I? I live on Earth, in 2020.
***
There are people who need to shift their concept of agency and action from the individual to the collective. But also, we can never, ever subsume the individual under the collective because assholes will conveniently take advantage. At present, I am surrounded by individuals who (still) blame 1) the Tablighi Jamaat and Muslims in general for transmitting the coronavirus ("they are following the Quran's message to infect the infidels"), 2) maids and service providers who enable their middle-class lifestyle ("ban the maids!") but are themselves blithely and insistently ignoring measures like responsibly wearing masks, obeying strict quarantine after taking a domestic flight, etc. I'm not sure how they are squaring in their heads their blaming of the present community spread to "the lower classes" whilst also simultaneously asking said "lower classes" to resume their jhadoo-pochha duties, before finishing their 14 day quarantine.
***
Vocal animal lovers and advocates are many times assholes to fellow human beings. It's as if their entire reserve of compassion is poured into animals, leaving none available for "lower classes" and other categories of the 'other' in society.
At a fly-on-the-wall level, it is fascinating to observe the shades of human all around. Especially these surprising contradictions. Dog-lovers aggressively blind to caste and class. Islamophobes diligently paying salaries to off-duty staff, on meagre pensions. Apparently longterm Kriyabans victim-shaming Black people. We're all varying degrees of little shits. Now what to do with this information, except to circle back to the individual and keep trying? Deep meditation, attentive listening and learning does wonders. I recommend.
***
Pandemic 2020 has been kind to me, at a personal level. I've found my way back to some goodhabits. Six months into the year, however, they are threatening to go on strike.
My privileged ass is beginning to miss my coffee-shop days. It's not the coffee itself (I'm not a coffee pedant, and will happily be lost in a cup of whatever is considered to be the shittiest of instant coffees), but the commandeering of my favourite table/pulpit for upwards of 8 hours at a time that I'm sorrowing for. And of taking a bus to anywhere. Of taking a flight home. I love airports and airplanes. And the clouds I get to see out of them.
***
On a rare unrelated tangent (*pause for irony*) what is it with this new fad of subscription-based newsletters? All the kids are doing it. What extra purpose does it serve that a blog post on a reasonable blogging platform (definitely not looking at you, blogger.com) doesn't? I'm extremely curious.
That will be all. The End.
I've also been watching a shit ton of stuff on Primevideo and Hotstar. I heartily recommend 'What we do in the shadows', 'People of Earth', 'The Mentalist', 'The Grand Seduction'. 'Afsos', 'Pushpavalli'. 'Doctor Who'. And always, 'The Office'. I don't do gritty. Why tf would I? I live on Earth, in 2020.
***
There are people who need to shift their concept of agency and action from the individual to the collective. But also, we can never, ever subsume the individual under the collective because assholes will conveniently take advantage. At present, I am surrounded by individuals who (still) blame 1) the Tablighi Jamaat and Muslims in general for transmitting the coronavirus ("they are following the Quran's message to infect the infidels"), 2) maids and service providers who enable their middle-class lifestyle ("ban the maids!") but are themselves blithely and insistently ignoring measures like responsibly wearing masks, obeying strict quarantine after taking a domestic flight, etc. I'm not sure how they are squaring in their heads their blaming of the present community spread to "the lower classes" whilst also simultaneously asking said "lower classes" to resume their jhadoo-pochha duties, before finishing their 14 day quarantine.
***
Vocal animal lovers and advocates are many times assholes to fellow human beings. It's as if their entire reserve of compassion is poured into animals, leaving none available for "lower classes" and other categories of the 'other' in society.
At a fly-on-the-wall level, it is fascinating to observe the shades of human all around. Especially these surprising contradictions. Dog-lovers aggressively blind to caste and class. Islamophobes diligently paying salaries to off-duty staff, on meagre pensions. Apparently longterm Kriyabans victim-shaming Black people. We're all varying degrees of little shits. Now what to do with this information, except to circle back to the individual and keep trying? Deep meditation, attentive listening and learning does wonders. I recommend.
***
Pandemic 2020 has been kind to me, at a personal level. I've found my way back to some goodhabits. Six months into the year, however, they are threatening to go on strike.
My privileged ass is beginning to miss my coffee-shop days. It's not the coffee itself (I'm not a coffee pedant, and will happily be lost in a cup of whatever is considered to be the shittiest of instant coffees), but the commandeering of my favourite table/pulpit for upwards of 8 hours at a time that I'm sorrowing for. And of taking a bus to anywhere. Of taking a flight home. I love airports and airplanes. And the clouds I get to see out of them.
***
On a rare unrelated tangent (*pause for irony*) what is it with this new fad of subscription-based newsletters? All the kids are doing it. What extra purpose does it serve that a blog post on a reasonable blogging platform (definitely not looking at you, blogger.com) doesn't? I'm extremely curious.
That will be all. The End.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Comments