Tomichan Matheikal's blog

O P Dhankar [Courtesy The Hindu ] Farmers are criminals and cowards, according to the BJP.   The party’s agricultural minister in Haryana, Mr O P Dhankar, explained the logic .   “Committing suicide is a crime , according to Indian law.   Any person who commits suicide escapes from his responsibilities and leaves the burden on his wife and innocent children and such people are cowards .”   Mr Dhankar was the former head of the BJP’s Kisan Cell. It is easy to dismiss Mr Dhankar’s view as a personal opinion.  Rahul Gandhi, who seems to have found some enlightenment after his long contemplation abroad, has started questioning the BJP’s anti-farmer policies eloquently if not effectively enough.  His lack of effectiveness stems from his lack of vision.  It is not enough to question a system; one has to suggest an alternative one.  Mr Gandhi is yet to rise to the stature of a leader with any practical vision in spite of rubbing shoulders with the aam aadmi for quite some time.

When the wind played with the mulberries outside my transient residence The wind played among the foliage Bringing down the mulberries prematurely. The wind comes from the heavens Where games are cosmic and frolicsome. Give me a Sougandhikam, bring me the delight; But I’m no Draupadi and there’s no Bhima in sight. Some quests are fated to die before they’re blessed, Some quests are obliged to clash with other quests. The mulberries seemed infinite in their potential And sprouted more and more fruits the very next day. The wind whispered in cosmic frolic: “When everything is lost, is real freedom found.” Note : Draupadi saw a Sougandhikam accidentally fallen at her feet and demanded more such flowers.  Bhima, ever happy to please her, went to fetch them.  He crossed mountains and forests and reached Kadalivana, abode of Hanuman.  

Ludwig Feuerbach  The 19 th century was a century of revolutionary changes in human thinking.  People started questioning religion openly without fear.  The Romantic Movement questioned the absolutisms of classicism.  Karl Marx laid the axe at the root of the traditional social hierarchies.  In spite and because of Marx, capitalism broke a million more traditions. Industrialisation pulled people out of family-based work, colonialism led to miscegenation of different races and cultures, the Enlightenment of the previous centuries conquered new heights in human consciousness, women began to assert themselves against the strictures of patriarchy and religion was forced to take a backseat.   Ludwig Feuerbach is one of the many philosophers who redefined divinity for the thinking man (and woman, of course) in the century of various upheavals.  The leading religions of the time had externalised God and put Him (not Her , significantly) somewhere out there – Heaven or some such p

Historical Fiction “Generally speaking, truth has been suffered to exist in the world just to the extent that it profited the rulers of society.”   [Barrows Dunham, Man Against Myth , 1947] “And yet it moves,” mumbled Galileo as he walked out of the Inquisition Chamber having accepted the punishment imposed on him for upholding the truth.  Galileo (1564-1642) The earth is not the centre of the universe.  Galileo had argued.  The sun was the centre of the solar system.  The earth moved round the sun.  The earth was just another planet like many others. “Your teaching explicitly contradicts the Holy Scripture,” said Cardinal Bellarmine.  “You run the risk of being branded a heretic and being burnt at the stake.  “We exhort you to abandon the mathematical hypothesis completely and unconditionally.  You will not hold the opinion that the sun stands still and the earth moves.  You will not henceforth hold, teach, or defend it any way whatever, either orally or in writi

Fiction Mr and Mrs Fernandez wanted a holiday.  The school where they were working was being bulldozed.  That was the reason.  But they couldn’t write that as the reason in the leave application. Bulldozing schools had become the fashion in the city. Land mafia had become the fashion designer under the new government. “Medical,” wrote Mr Fernandez.  “The hell awaits those who tell lies,” warned Mrs Fernandez who was a regular Sunday Christian. “The hell is already here,” Mr Fernandez dismissed her fear with the hubris that comes to him as naturally as the rain from a clear sky in the days of the Antichrist. Mr Fernandez regarded himself as practical as the bulldozer that was breaking down enormous buildings into smithereens in seconds.  So Mrs Fernandez found herself standing before the best eye specialist in moments after the alleged holiday journey. “You’re not seeing things clearly,” declared Mr Fernandez.  “So walk in, the automatic door will open for yo

Japan's latest maglev train   When Japan was test-running the fastest maglev train in the world, India was discussing whether Taj Mahal was originally Tejo Mahalaya, a Hindu temple.   In spite of all the great slogans like ‘Make in India’ that the Prime Minister bestowed on the nation, nothing has changed for the better since the BJP came to power.   Many things changed for the worse, in fact.   There is more communal polarisation, for example.   There is increasing disgruntlement among the economically weaker sections.   And history is being twisted out of shape. History as social science is being replaced by history as fantasy and myth, says the editorial in today’s Hindu .  Why is India still so much obsessed with religion and its infantile myths and rituals, when countries like Japan are making rapid progresses in science and technology in spite of the conservatism that runs deep in the people’s veins? The BJP wanted to come to power and used religion as an easy t

1.  The Burial of the Dead April is the cruellest month, stirring The winter-frozen blood in the veins, rousing Mosquitoes and dust storms, dousing The light in the souls with the fire of the sun. You came riding waves of promises, Development topped the list, Quality was sought in and through workshops, Sweatshops are what we are left with. Unreal City, Under the glare of the blaring sun, A crowd flowed over bulldozed debris, Performing the rituals chanted by the Guru. “You! hypocrite lecteur! – mon semblable, - mon frère!” 2.  A Game of Chess The Chair she sat in itched her bum with allergens, Her dress, words and smile sanitised by detergents, “Your move, your move,” cried she ready to pounce On the King on every board, every board she played against Keeping multiple gadgets alive on her capacious crowded table. “Bulldozer,” people called her. Queen, she considered herself. Heads rolled when she smiled. Tails wagged whe