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BEGINNING

PUPPIES!

not reality

old man smoking

Modest Mouse + hummus + crazy Bahaman beer + room escape games + rainy day = Happy Jake

Twas yesterday when we went for a 45min boat ride to Rose Island. 

White sand … clear waters … heaven on earth … 2nd time there … just beautiful :)

Holy Ship!:

Who is going to this? Oh wait, its me.

Sammi Star Bahamian artist

The Bahamas.

This is some purdy good beer.

Long Island, Bahamas.  This is the result of my love of ambiance.

The Bahamas. This is actually just me wanting to get play with scraggly looking psychedelic colours and awesome bedraggled chandeliers. 

Windy Day by sugarock on Flickr.

Long Island, Bahamas :) Honest to god they have the whitest, finest sand there, it’s amazing.

Modest Mouse + hummus + crazy Bahaman beer + room escape games + rainy day = Happy Jake

Frenzy of the cultured

Few years ago, one learned professor, the vice-chancellor & the registrar in the Punjab University had serious issues with the word ‘rape’ used in the title of the epic poem ‘The Rape of the Lock.’ They said it was an indecent word & this book shouldn’t be a part of the curriculum. These cultured fellas regarded the word ‘rape’ as having an indecent connotation. But we all know that over-enthusiastic people never embark upon the venture of cleansing the society from the real act; so they find faults with words & call them dirty, indecent & judgmental.

Anyway, ‘The Rape of the Lock’ is one of the finest mock epic poems that relates a trivial incident & describes the theft of the heroine’s hair. It makes a good commentary on the upper-class English society of that time, which was infested with numerous follies & vices. Hence the word ‘rape’ in the title is the most appropriate one, because it depicts the emptiness of life & Alexander Pope ridicules it by choosing this particular word.

Literature offers new & creative ways to interpret the world. Different writers look at events or happenings from totally different angles, which enable them to assign different meanings to what they see or experience; as a result, they produce different descriptions of them. Those who think that Literature is just about playing with words & talking about sex need to hold their sacred views to themselves. When we need their opinions, we’ll ask for them.

Anyway, it’s just not the word ‘rape.’ People have problems with innumerable words. Lechery, desperate, sex slaves, human trafficking, incest, fuck, bastard etc etc are some of the words that can drive people nuts. I have witnessed that madness, but I don’t feel sorry for such people. Those who regard particular words as dirty, judgmental, indecent, inappropriate are most welcome not to use these words, but what’s the point of imposing their rotten views on others? We all have the right to learn things on our own. We don’t need this kind of madness; it is not just madness but it is also corrupt on the part of anyone who forces others to do what they want to do. You don’t want to use a word. Don’t use it. Why do you want others not to use it or to use it?

In fact such acts remind me of one of the slogans of the party in 1984 that says: “Ignorance is strength.” Maybe these people are inspired by the Big Brother & his lousy principles. Maybe even here the main aim is to narrow down the range of thought. When words won’t be there, people won’t be able to think.

“It’s a beautiful thing, the destruction of words…After all, what justification is there for a word which is simply the opposite of some other word? A word contains its opposite in itself.”

George Orwell

“In the end we shall make thoughtcrime literally impossible, because there will be no words in which to express it. Every concept that can ever be needed, will be expressed by exactly one word, with its meaning rigidly defined & all its subsidiary meanings rubbed out & forgotten.”

George Orwell

You know nothing is too coarse for my chaste pen. I often use the word fuck & it is considered unethical by many but quite frankly, I don’t give a flying fuck to it. Come to think of it, if we don’t use the word lechery, lecherous people will not be wiped out from the planet & neither would lechery. People may stop using terms such as human trafficking, but sex slaves will not disappear in thin air. Yes you can close your eyes but you can’t change the reality. By putting emphases on words like bastard or harami, you’re not contributing anything. The plight of illegitimate children wouldn’t reduce by even an inch.

I had the misfortune to work with this dysfunctional lady & she used to say that we must always use Mister & Miss when we talk to people. We shouldn’t use he/she or him/her as that is disrespectful. There are too many mad people out there & we don’t have time to know how fucked up are they anyway.

We need words to think. We need words to express ourselves. Shakespeare once said, ‘Nothing is good or bad, but thinking makes it so.’

Since I’m not a psychiatrist or a psychologist, I don’t know what’s wrong with people who have problem with words. Either they have experienced something so bad that they can’t help being what they are. They don’t even want people to use such words that remind them of such incidents. It is some sort of disorder. I don’t think it’s a normal behaviour to impose such views on others.

If freedom is our birthright, then we can use any word we like whether the world approves of it or not. Of course there are man-made chains every where…this is a fact we can’t run away from. But to put boundaries on your thinking is I guess the worst crime a human can do to himself.

I Talk to Myself

To fuck or not to fuck…
Bloody shit! Is this the question?
That is no more the question.
Why raise such a question?

******

Is it raining again?
The rain is mine and so is the rainbow.
You want them now?
When you had them, you didn’t even know.
But I cherish what I have at the right time.

******

Relax. Just relax.
I also don’t like unfunny jokes.
Do you ever think about the ravages of time?
Cici do you?
How come it’s all shattered?
You destroy it, because you can never make it.
This evil eye is not going to last forever.
Then what you’re going to do?


******



The rest of the book is available online at the following links :


The paperback is available at the following link:
http://www.lulu.com/content/6031372


And the e-book is available at the following link:
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/635

Nadira & Zaira

Innocence Tainted

Promy: I think I’m really quite fucked up, Salma. It doesn’t sound so cool. Right? Well, it doesn’t feel that bad either till the fucking loneliness gives me a tight slap on my face, which it does quite frequently now. Previously, it didn’t hurt as much though.

Come to think of it, I’m a lonely man. I’m not sure if I’m a sad lonely man. Am I Salma?

Salma: Look Promy, one can’t sound cool 24/7. And I don’t think you’re fucked up. Yeah, but loneliness is some kind of gift and some are chosen for it. I don’t feel lonely when I’m all by myself, but when I’m with people…the feeling just disgusts me. It seems as if I’m the most loneliest person on this earth, but I’m sure I am not and neither are you.

Promy: That sounds familiar. I’ve been through this shitty feeling time and again. And seriously man I haven’t got much choice since I have to be there amidst a huge crowd for one obligation or the other.

But frankly speaking girl, it does make me feel more lonely too. Knowing that you’re surrounded by so many, but there is no one who really knows you.

Salma: People know us all our lives and yet they don’t know us. And I think it doesn’t really matter anymore. If you know yourself, that’s more than enough. But then how many of us succeed in that?

Promy: I guess that’s what nobody’s interested in doing. But what everyone wants to know is how the hell others are doing? Are they more miserable today than they were yesterday? Are their lives more screwed this year in comparison to the last year?

Which reminds me that we have entered a new year, Salma. I’m glad that the crappy year ended. But I’m not sure if I’ll be able to please everyone around me – since I don’t know if this year would be crappier for me as per their expectations.

Salma: Not just that Promy…they also know as to what a person should do with his life but ironically, they don’t know as to what should be done with their own. Even if someone is a loser or mad, then let it be. Who are people to approve or disapprove, in the first place?

Well 2009 can’t be any different man. It’s just like any other year and that’s it. This year I didn’t even wish many folks. I just think no one is worth it…And what’s the point of celebration?

Promy: I guess some things will change of course. On a macro level, things will be difficult. All in all, it’s going to be a challenging year globally.

But yeah I doubt if people will change for the better. However, Salma I do feel that we should have tried to celebrate.

I’m afraid…but I think we have stopped smiling just ‘cause a lot of shit is there.

Salma: Oh come on Promy, you know I’m ever ready to have fun, but momentary pleasure is just momentary pleasure. It doesn’t contribute much. Yeah we’ve
forgotten to smile, but at the same time, we’re not crying any longer. Or are we so numb with pain, that we don’t feel anything any more?

After one hour:

Promy (all drunk and singing): Tell me why are we so blind to see
That the ones we hurt are you and me

Salma: Quite a sad celebration!

Nadira & Zaira