Satyameva Jayate!

Satyameva Jayate! is the national moto of India. Something that I have been taught since the very beginning of my education. Something that I have believed with all my heart. Simply put - it means 'Truth alone triumphs'.

It brings into light the tragic shortcomings of the Indian education system - a system thats been in place since forever and refuses to adapt to modern changes and realistic idealism. For all that is worth, Truth, is the rarest commodity in India. Given a chance, I would teach the national motto to kids with a caveat - 'Truth alone triumphs ............ in the end.'

So heres me posing a basic conundrum to the 0.1% of readers who would understand this blog. Given that Truth triumphs in the end, we have a choice; to lead a life of principles or to take the shorter conscious free road. A few years ago - I would have said - the shorter route isn't really an option at all. In a way - it isn't - if you truly are a man of principles, then breaking them is never an option.

But it leads me to wonder..... wonder and look at people and friends - who have no such restrictions, people who lie when convenient and live their life until death claims them. Is it really as bad as I would think???

I don't know, on the one hand, you have an entire life of struggle and suffering with glory at the end...... on the other hand, you have a conscious free rich life and earthly pleasures - until one final day - you die.

Principles or not - courage or not - I believe, in the end what matters is - "Of the days you were alive. how many did you spend - happy and content?' ......... and if a consciousfree guy gets to spend his life in a majorly happy state, then I would wish him to remain the same... as opossed to a stupid person - who just blindly believes in Truth - not knowing that the happiness he seeks for in such a way - might take the rest of limited life and make it a living hell.

Any ideas as to which should a person prefer??

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Kaccha Nimbu

[Image Credit: http://www.canet.be/galerie10.htm]

'Kaccha Nimbu' is a concept. To those who are not familiar with it - heres a brief description; 'Kaccha Nimbu' literally means unripe lime - its a term used to refer a kid who either because of age or because of physical injury can not play a sport with other kids on equal terms. Say for example, you got a sprained ankle, but you still want to play dodge ball with your friends, so you take part in the game as a 'Kaccha Nimbu', or theres a kid who is too small to play, small in age, small in his body frame - but the kid still wants to play - and everyone else is big, then you let the kid play as a 'Kaccha Nimbu'.

Being a 'Kaccha Nimbu' offers delightful privileges; if you are playing cricket and you get 'Out' you can still bat one more time, if you are playing carom, you can place your striker any where on the board and hit anything you want, you can even drag the queen piece into your favorite pocket and no one will say anything - "He's kaccha nimbu re!"

As you grow adult, slowly the 'kaccha nimbu' opportunities die away. Till a time comes when you can no longer play as a 'kaccha nimbu'. I just finished my third semester as an international graduate student - having to deal with tedious projects and endless submissions - I was really really wishing some one in my graduate school would let me play 'kaccha nimbu' for the last week of the semester.

There is an archetypal cliche; "No one is perfect" - yet I do not accept this as an excuse for not trying, neither do I tolerate flaws in character under the disguise of so called 'imperfection'. But often times in dealing with an imperfect world, I have been bogged down and frustrated to infinity by the burden of my self imposed rules. And in those times, I wish I can play a 'kaccha nimbu' with my rules. But thou hath not this chance - for thou hath grown up now. And since when were principles negotiable any ways ??

May be it is a force of nature or the imperativeness of age - that lately I have had an insatiable desire to find a partner. At least companionship to start with. Some one who will come to you and say - take a break, some one who will let me be a 'kaccha-nimbu' with her. Some one who would tolerate albeit for a short time. Some one who can understand that subtle and unsaid desire that each person has of being a 'Kaccha-Nimbu' .....

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