One of the most vital questions we will face in our lives is how to deconstruct popular myths, religion, ethnocentrism, and age-old belief systems to think positively: The path forward is through the mystery of being yourself. Have a lot of pinch-yourself moments. If you can’t live by any criteria, then you must live in love. Live your life for love, beauty, nature, poetry, good books, food, music, memories, giving, friends, and friendship; these are essential to the survival of the human race.
Not Smoked Salmon or Sushi!
So, how is life treating me in these pandemic times? Fuck knows. Now and again, life gives me goosebumps for no apparent reason. I realize no one is perfect, and everyone has got something to deal with: unpleasant thoughts, memories, and emotions, or typically experience a sense of fear and anxiety that we collectively face today on a planetary scale.
My tipsy brain has no clue, or am I overthinking? I dunno... But right now, I’m pining for some quintessential Bengali sweets, for example, the juicy sumptuous dessert Chanar Jilapi; lovely golden brown Malai Chom Chom; heart-warming Pantuwa; spongy-soft round Roshogollas to melt in my mouth; Malpua with rabdi on top; lip-smacking yellow coloured with kesar Raj Bhog; stuffed with raisin and coated in ground sugar Lady Kenny or Lyangcha; the folded sweetness of Lobongo Latika; the subtly sweet heart-melting beauty Mishti Doi; super soft paneer balls immersed in creamy rich milk Rosso Malai. Just hand over the entire cauldron of the Mathai Bhandaar to me!
Sweets are the cornerstones of my life, a meaningful reason for my existence, aside from resorting to eating sweets without really sparing a moment to ponder about the sugar levels that will increase excessively in my blood. Whatever, these delectable Bengali sweets are a dream come true; if you overthink about sugar levels, you can’t eat sweets then, eat bitter gourd! None of us has it easy, but going without sweets is excruciatingly painful. My typical Instagram-worthy fame. Seriously? Naw! Who wants to be a #hashtagged Instagrammer? Most certainly not me.
Nonetheless, I try to keep the goosebumps from rising when I realize that it’s an exciting time to be reading book after book bought online, encouraging myself to engage with top-notch fiction and non-fiction works of writers from around the world. Apart from gorging on homemade sweets, I read books and have written a bit. Food, family, and books helped me adapt to the anxieties and phobias during the all-India lockdowns and social isolation restrictions that the COVID-19 pandemic had brought us up close and personal. My friend Sam suggested an old 1970 classic title I hadn't had a chance to read before: ‘Future Shock’ by Alvin Toffler. Reading it felt like it pulled the rug from under my feet. The book paints a picture - both grim and shocking in equal parts - “the anxieties of a world upended by rapidly emerging technologies.” The future is coming at us fast. Disgustingly fast, I’d say. Some of Toffler's visions for the future about “the effects of rapid industrial and technological changes upon the individual, the family, and society” are startlingly accurate.
Obsessing over popular culinary delights - particularly those of the Indo-Chinese personal favourites, for example, Fried Rice, Chilli Chicken, the tangy tomato-flavoured variant of Schezwan Noodles, or as basic a staple as Hakka or Veg Soft Noodles with a smattering of veggies - that we normally would eat outside in a favourite restaurant, but since, in a traumatic time like this, being unable to order online through Uber Eats or Swiggy (though I still don't like to order food online), menus like that could only be made and feasted at home. Not to mention besan Pakoras with garam Chai (tea). Ek Garam Chai Ki Pyaali Ho…
As though embarking on a new culinary adventure, the whole family unites in the kitchen and at the dining table, taking daily mandatory home food tours, prowling and sniffing around the house, and spending quality time with family. While the world outside continues to be a no-show, everybody is cooking and eating home-cooked delicious meals like Chicken Curry, Rajma Chawal, Gobi Mutter, Malai Kofta, with servings of hot Aaloo Paneer Curry and Cucumber Salad on the side. Remaining confined to working and learning from the comfort of their home sweet home has its enticement, food is one such. Home is where, nowadays, all week long turns into a truly-necessary weekend DIY (do it yourself) picnic. But during dishwashing time, everyone seems to vanish. And maids cannot come to work! What day is it today, by the way?
Others, like me, are homesick for another world, another time, another era, dreaming about days that have all blurred into deep oblivion of the past, good old days long gone. Nostalgic memories.
Others, like me, are homesick for another world, another time, another era, dreaming about days that have all blurred into deep oblivion of the past, good old days long gone. Nostalgic memories.
Bure din after bure din
Remember the Foucauldian dictum, "Care for the Self"? Are the "Achche din" (good days) on their way? Because of our country's high inflation and a sluggish economy, we must continue to deal with "Bure din" (bad days) after "Bure din." Socioeconomic inequities never go away; in fact, they are the bane of human existence. Achche din is a misnomer.
Even so, humanity should not, at the very least, panic. We should begin to embrace insufficient or adequate - depending on your point of view - radical changes across society, economics, politics, and technology, bend the curve, and, finally, make amends. As they say: “Neki kar dariya mein daal”. Do a good deed or two and then forget about it; don’t expect favours in return. Forgive and forget. Mask up, sanitize, and get double-vaxxed. Move on.
Fight non-violently, or don’t fight at all. Mahatma Gandhi’s ideal, ‘Ahimsa,’ as an Indian value system, both as a concept and in practice, goes a long way toward bettering us politically, economically, socially, and, most importantly, compassionately. Making minor tweaks and adjustments for the sake of our planet will not suffice. We must consider the big picture. Make significant changes that count because human civilization is unquestionably in a more precarious state than it has ever been, and if we don’t, we’re all doomed. I mean, we continue to be worse off in every aspect of human existence in an interdependent world that is deteriorating at an alarming rate in the "Age of Anything-Can-Happen."
Desperate times necessitate desperate measures until, gradually but steadily, let us hope, all the frequent troubles of our days would begin to go away; otherwise, nothing won’t ever. With our so-called highly evolved consciousness and intelligence, we all need to radically alter our relationship with the dying planet we inhabit and begin responding swiftly and conclusively to the common problems we face, most especially the systemic environmental disasters. We’ve still have got a long way to go. Take action right now to shorten the distance, if possible.
Let’s hope it’s not too late for incremental change towards improving our chances on this beautiful brown, grey, green, and blue planet, our lonely paradisiacal home: this third planet which is about 150 million km away from the Sun.
Giving a little gyaan: So instead of hoping, take action right now. Don’t wait; act now, but leisurely. Stop competing and start helping. Don’t rush. Because only then might we stand a chance to continue living on our beloved planet. Let us hope that this is the case. Hope is a floater.
The Sun still comes out every day, and thank God.
By Arindam Moulick