Skip to main content

Create, not Produce


There is too much productivity in our world.  We are bombarded with commodities.  Half of the TV time is dedicated to advertising commodities most of which are not necessary in anybody’s life.  Half of the newspaper space is similarly dedicated to redundancy. Shopping malls and popular markets bring us a lot of commodities which we don’t need really.  

Suppose we change our focus from production and consumption to creation.  Suppose people start spending some time every day on creating something like a flower vase from waste material, a poem about the agony left by the religion of bombs, a short movie on the mobile camera... Well, each one of us can create something according to our taste and skills.  Create, not produce.  Creation is an act of love.  Production is mere commerce.

The world will be a different place.  Qualitatively different. There will be more beauty than vulgarity. More refinement.  More happiness.


Comments

  1. This is food for thought! It would be a great initiative especially if started early on, say schools encouraged children with a special period each day set out for such an activity. Yes, definitely, food for thought and action!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Unfortunately our schools end up destroying creativity.

      I'm glad you endorse my suggestion earnestly.

      Delete
  2. Creativity vs. Capitalism? It would be a utopia if genuine creativity overthrows capitalism of demand-supply creativity.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Why not dream for such a utopia? After all, the world runs on dominant ideas and ideologies. Can we reshape the contemporary capitalism?

      Delete
    2. I do dream of such utopia. I do Tomichan:) Yes we can reshape it, but how many are with us? In a democracy, majority always wins. A sad part. But I am optimistic

      Delete
    3. Religion is the only obstacle, I think. Let's keep up our optimism, in spite of the majority.

      Delete
  3. Such a nice thought. The world would be a better place if people created than produced.

    ReplyDelete
  4. The more you have, the more occupied you are. The less you have, the more free you are.--Mother Teresa

    ReplyDelete
  5. for this we need to understand real definition of man

    " Man eve manushyanam" & not defination of animal " Ahar nidra bhay & mithunach

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, Sunil ji, dharma differentiates man from animals. Dharma, I long for it as much as Draupadi did!

      Delete
  6. Uniqueness vs Mass Production.We do need such ideas to make the world a better place

    ReplyDelete
  7. If people follow this idea, the world will be definitely a better place.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. And it isn't a difficult thing to do. Just a change of perspective.

      Delete
  8. Yeah that's a valid observation, when even learning is not directed to creativity. But how is it going to be done!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Parents and teachers can guide the children. But the society has to change its perspectives too.

      Delete
  9. Creativity over production? Interesting thoughts. Yes, the world would definitely be qualitatively different then. :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. a poem about the agony left by the religion of bombs......this makes me cry.....at the tragedy humanity is becoming.....

    ReplyDelete
  11. yep that is true !! Too much focus on consumerism is snuffing out creativity .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Look at our children who are addicted to certain products.

      Delete
  12. I agree with you absolutely. It's important to create value all the Tim. Just churning the same old leads to Liss if quality.It's important we value what's already there ,but don't forget to "create"as you said so rightly.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Perhaps we should learn to distance ourselves a little from monetary considerations.

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Adventures of Toto as a comic strip

  'The Adventures of Toto' is an amusing story by Ruskin Bond. It is prescribed as a lesson in CBSE's English course for class 9. Maggie asked her students to do a project on some of the lessons and Femi George's work is what I would like to present here. Femi converted the story into a beautiful comic strip. Her work will speak for itself and let me present it below.  Femi George Student of Carmel Public School, Vazhakulam, Kerala Similar post: The Little Girl

The Art of Subjugation: A Case Study

Two Pulaya women, 1926 [Courtesy Mathrubhumi ] The Pulaya and Paraya communities were the original landowners in Kerala until the Brahmins arrived from the North with their religion and gods. They did not own the land individually; the lands belonged to the tribes. Then in the 8 th – 10 th centuries CE, the Brahmins known as Namboothiris in Kerala arrived and deceived the Pulayas and Parayas lock, stock, and barrel. With the help of religion. The Namboothiris proclaimed themselves the custodians of all wealth by divine mandate. They possessed the Vedic and Sanskrit mantras and tantras to prove their claims. The aboriginal people of Kerala couldn’t make head or tail of concepts such as Brahmadeya (land donated to Brahmins becoming sacred land) or Manu’s injunctions such as: “Land given to a Brahmin should never be taken back” [8.410] or “A king who confiscates land from Brahmins incurs sin” [8.394]. The Brahmins came, claimed certain powers given by the gods, and started exploi...

The music of an ageing man

Having entered the latter half of my sixties, I view each day as a bonus. People much younger become obituaries these days around me. That awareness helps me to sober down in spite of the youthful rush of blood in my indignant veins. Age hasn’t withered my indignation against injustice, fraudulence, and blatant human folly, much as I would like to withdraw from the ringside and watch the pugilism from a balcony seat with mellowed amusement. But my genes rage against my will. The one who warned me in my folly-ridden youth to be wary of my (anyone’s, for that matter) destiny-shaping character was farsighted. I failed to subdue the rages of my veins. I still fail. That’s how some people are, I console myself. So, at the crossroads of my sixties, I confess to a dismal lack of emotional maturity that should rightfully belong to my age. The problem is that the sociopolitical reality around me doesn’t help anyway to soothe my nerves. On the contrary, that reality is almost entirely re...

Break Your Barriers

  Guest Post Break Your Barriers : 10 Strategic Career Essentials to Grow in Value by Anu Sunil  A Review by Jose D. Maliekal SDB Anu Sunil’s Break Your Barriers is a refreshing guide for anyone seeking growth in life and work. It blends career strategy, personal philosophy, and practical management insights into a resource that speaks to educators, HR professionals, and leaders across both faith-based and secular settings. Having spent nearly four decades teaching philosophy and shaping human resources in Catholic seminaries, I found the book deeply enriching. Its central message is clear: most limitations are self-imposed, and imagination is the key to breaking through them. As the author reminds us, “The only limit to your success is your imagination.” The book’s strength lies in its transdisciplinary approach. It treats careers not just as jobs but as vocations, rooted in the dignity of labour and human development. Themes such as empathy, self-mastery, ethical le...

Mahatma Ayyankali’s Relevance Today

About a year before he left for Chicago (1893), Swami Vivekananda visited Kerala and described the state (then Travancore-Cochin-Malabar princely states) as a “lunatic asylum.” The spiritual philosopher was shocked by the brutality of the caste system that was in practice in the region. The peasant caste of Pulayas , for example, had to keep a distance of 90 feet from Brahmins and 64 feet from Nairs. The low caste people were denied most human rights. They could not access education, enter temple premises, or buy essentials from markets. They were not even considered as humans. Ayyankali (1863-1941) was a Pulaya leader who emerged to confront the situation. I just finished reading a biography of his in Malayalam and was highly impressed by the contributions of the great man who came to be known in Kerala as the Mahatma of the Dalits . What prompted me to order a copy of the biography was an article I read in a Malayalam periodical last week. The article described how Ayyankali...