A Warrior’s search for Synchronicity

One more stunning revelation of untold stories including the atrocitites unleashed by Indian Army on Hyderabadi Muslims and how Nehru and Patel hushed it up from International conscience. If you think about it, stitching together an India which was non – existent was no small task and may resemble the stories from many other parts of the world, however was it worth the cruetly the inhabitants of the country had to face from an organised military of the same country? No history books in Indian curriculum is taught about these shortcomings of great leaders of  India in their quest to make unified India a reality. Children are taught about unity in diversity  - Diversity there is , Unity simply does not exist, todays india is only 62 years old, the rich and varied history dates back thousands of years and there rituals like that of Madurai Meenakshi temple carried out for thousands of years without change in a single detail. Amidst all the invasions of modernity you can see people with modern educations and standing like software engineers, writers, diplomats flock to these ancient traditions. Indian psyche’s emphasis on faith is astonishing and that faith is a trust on the cosmic force and the sense of belonging to that force. For many Indians the innate calmness is from the awareness that “it is written”, from being able to identify with centuries of history and future and realising the momentary nature of one’s existence, yet contributing in whatever shape or form for the eternal good all beings and non-beings.

A detailed account into the lives of so many common men from different parts of India, with all their baggages from the past shadowing their present and future, how psyche evolves over decades, how each  influences the life – whether it be the British or Portugese rule or the local rulers and how the life is torn between several manipulations for power and business between state and central governments and above all how people thrive, even with all their fears and limitations. An interesting insight is that of inhabitants of Bombay having lived in spatial constratints enjoying a rich social life due to the proximity they share with a wide array of strangers – who cease to be strangers after a while and the way they adjust their life to living in such conditions. When these sort of people move out of Bombay into a place without such spatial constraints, they feel nostalgic and develop a longing for Bombay and the rich social interaction spun out of the lack of space.

However the account is of the India before 1990, before the economic liberalisation and the “banglored” era. Luckily for me the cosmic force has trusted a copy of the “Age of  Kali” through the hands of a dear one. On to that now

As the name suggests this amazing book tells a lot of stories about irrational behaviour of perfectly rational people. Some of them you may have heard before like Harvard Graduates paying upto $200 for a $20 bill. However Ori and Rom pulls together such stories and build context for us to be aware as well as to understand the intricacies behind certain decision making and preferences. After reading this book I am determined to read Dan Ariely’s Predictably irrational