Thursday, November 08, 2007

The Great Indian Procastrinator

Festivals are great procastrinators.

And they are used with good effect in India. A box of sweets, a hug or a handshake and a few sweet mumblings is all it takes to wipe the slate clean. A Makar Sankranti is a good occasion to forget all past issues and begin a relationship afresh. Not only for Sankranti, the thought largely applies to all festivals.

However, is a festive wipe of the slate necessarily a good thing? How many of us can withstand the guilty come clean so easily?

We are a nation which sleeps in guilt over ghosts we may have never seen. We are subconsciously troubled over the fact that, as much as we celebrate our diversity, it is still the root cause of all dissatisfaction among masses.

We are still unsettled by the fact that while we may exchange material posessions over Diwali, a part of this world may never see a festival that offers so much visual delight. And yet, it is the festivals which we hope will act as the leveller to all our follies, ghosts and greviences, every time.

My strong opinion is, that a festival only partially manages to succeed in the mission it sets out for. The purpose can be only fully served if every time, we vow to neutralise the negatives our follies, ghosts and guilts. And this, I believe, can be done only through constructive resolutions.

My question therefore is - shouldn't festivals be an occasion for new resolutions?
What do you think? Share your thoughts.

Caffeine injected love

A lot can happen over a cup of coffee.

Hands can be held. Lips can be locked. Deals can be signed. Bonds can be made. Memories can be revived. Hearts can be broken. Abuses can be hurled. Presentations can be planned. Wallets can be exposed. A lot can happen over a simple cup of coffee.

So much so, that today the Cafe Coffee Days, Baristas and McDonalds are playing a major role in the steering the course of human relationships. What is it, about these locations that is driving people to it? What really happens at these hangouts thats propelling a whole generation of caffeine injected love stories?

Or is something about coffee that works the magic? Your guess is as good as mine. Share it here.