The Booze

Hi there! I'm back in no time. :)
Actually, it is something that has bugged and frustrated me a lot and I desperately need to puke it out. Before proceeding further, here's a disclaimer:

"All incidents, people and places mentioned in this post are real and any derived similarity with anyone or anything, living or dead is totally upto the readers' discretion."

What has been bugging me? Well, the title must have given you a hint. My conscience and self-concept has been under immense pressure and facing a number of challenges in the past 1-2 years. Yet, I'm trying really hard to retain and evolve my beliefs and pass this test. So far so good. One such challenge is "ALCOHOL". I have been a die hard antialcoholist all my life (and I presume that I will stay so forever, but who knows what the future holds). Neither do I like having alcohol nor do I like others having it (Don't know why). Well, but what can I do? I can't stop others from doing what they wish to do. I can just contain myself. In what context am I saying this? It's all about the Great Hostel Booze that I recently encountered.

Yes, it happened this week, one of the most frustrating experiences of my life. I had just came back from home after an extended weekend, had a dining extravaganza (But the quality of food turned it into a Paisa Waste Party) and there was more in store- a maniacal liquor spree, and that washed down all my jovial mood. Earlier, there were a few of them who used to drink, but this time the alcohol span was too wide. Guys who had never even tasted liquor were taking neat shots. People whom I used to trust with alcohol, betrayed me. Those who used to go big words against drinking also submitted themselves into the madness. But still, there were some (an absolute minority) who could refrain from joining in. It is really hard for me to understand what pleasures can one derive from these filth-tasting beverages. It's not the taste I'm sure. Probably, it's their cowardice of using alcohol as a device to evade the conscious or whatever.

One more question that bugs me- "What makes people who have family values against alcoholism fell into this habit?" I have tried finding answers and here are some that I have understood:
1. The stereotypical notion of machismo. "Kab tak bachche rahoge, daaru piyo, mard bano!" But contrary to this, alcoholism is a major cause of male impotency (I googled it! [:)]).
2. In this age, one of the chief motivators towards alcohol is peer pressure. You're tempted to have a sip because your friends do so quite often. You want to fit in, you look upto them, you want to be COOL like them and so on and so forth. Well, I've just got one thing to say to them, "Dikhawe pe mat jaao apni akal ladayo!"
3. Girls like it!! Duh! One of the silliest things to hear. I mean how can anybosy claim that is true in general, maybe some of them like it, but believe me, most do not. Besides, which girl will want to kiss you when you stink worse than urine.
4. Status symbol: This is for all those wannabes who think that drinking will make them HIGH SOCIETY. The cliche of SOCIAL DRINKING is courtesy- these guys. Drinking seldom brings social acceptance, but it can bring about social alienation.
There may be more such reasons that I have not mentioned here.

I have tried to advise (rather preach) my friends against the use of alcohol and will continue to do so. There are better things in life. But that is the best I can do. I can't command or dictate anybody. I'll be happy for those who don't fall for it and will lament for those who give in. After all, they all are my dear friends whom I love the most.
Statutory Warning: Consumption of liquor is injurious to health.

Out of the box!

Hello all my readers! This blog has been waiting for some activity from my side since its creation in January. This does not mean that the contemplation had not been going on. It is there all the time. Just that it was not able to find a way out of the mind. Perhaps it was not strong enough. Well, as I looked around and learned more about the surroundings and the way the others and I interacted, the thought became more and more profound and began to irk me. So I needed to puke it out.

The matter is - 'Think Different!', the idea of breaking the prevalent norms of reasoning, the notion of radical opinion, the act of stepping out of the herd. Sounds impressive isn't it? Maybe not for some. Well, this has been the BUZZ WORD (pardon me for using such cliches but they are inevitable in some places) in the scientific and entrepreneurial circuits for quite some time now, for obvious reasons having seen many examples in the past: Galileo, Einstein, Wright brothers and the list goes on. Modern consumerist and progressive society also claims to appreciate and respect people who dare to think out of the box. If you ask me about this claim, I'll just say, "Blah blah! Whatever!". This is the claim that I would like to analyze here, not in the broad societal sense but in an environment that I currently live in.

When in a group, certain group norms are bound to be formed. People tend to develop a coherency in thinking, a resonance in likes and a correspondence in beliefs. All these are very essential for the proper functioning and continuation of a group. But, the con comes when the norms start dictating the group. People who choose to take an off the track perceptual route are in grim danger. The punishment for the offense of asynchronous thinking could be ridicule, insult or implicit psychological alienation. If your opinion doesn't approve of the others, then you are called a c****** (I hope you get the famous Hindi slang). If you have a different perception or tend to critically examine both the sides of the coin, you are nothing but a weird moron. Why so? Simple, because you have not affirmed to the popular general sentiment. Seems ridiculous to me, but it is so as it seems (Again, just a matter of perception). As the time passes, the image of you being a {the same Hindi slang} is firmly rooted in and now no matter what you say, it is despised. Even if it is, "The sky is blue." Even if you try to criticize anything, just to know the other aspect, you get nothing but opposition. As said in a liberal Hindi saying, "Maano to Bhagwaan, na maano to Patthar", everyone has the right to have an opinion (I'll go for a flexible one) and not be insulted for holding it.

A lot is said about being bold and following your will. If it is so, then be bold at the cost of being an alien, be bold at the cost of being an outcast, be bold at the cost of being a c******.

(The initial frusration and the eventual enlightenment has led me to incorporate this important thought to the so called 'obscure' psychi)