Musings Own Thoughts

  How can I describe the day of my admission to Grant Medical College? The 18 y ear old Vispi Jokhi I remember was a dreamer, an idealist who had in the weeks preceding the fateful day had lost his dear Eruch Kaka who at the age of 57 died at home following a m assive cardiac event. As such I was ruing the fact tha t admission to medical college was eluding my grasp as my idealist nature had prevented me from bagging a few e xtra marks which were offered to me by my friend Nozer Sheriar for represe nting JaiHind college in inter collegiate swimming. Since all on the swimming team could not swim, we were only to fake injury and the scene of the day of June 29, 1979 would n ot be a reality.    So, I went to the iconic JJ Hospital building, The entry from main JJ Road was far from impressive, in fact to this day from the road a shabby old building which is known as the Old Boy’s Hostel, reminded me of some old medieval haunted house. After passing a uninspiring ty...

  The evolution of work has been a subject of interest as far as we humans are concerned. The historical analysis of the same is complex and difficult to summarize and maybe ChatGpt might do a better job at it. Do not worry I am not going to do that. Suffice to say that we have evolved from the nomadic hunter gatherer foraging for food to becoming domesticated in the age of agriculture, harnessing animals to do one's work. These then gave way to the local artisans using some tools and machines maybe in the Iron age. Industrial Revolution created more machines and assembly line factories with major human exploitation. However, with increased automation threatening to replace humans in production, there started the whole business of service industries, financial institutions, banks and companies to regulate and manage commerce and trade. Transportation, tourism, healthcare, Engineering, Information Technology, Entertainment, Communication, Education, Legal, Management, Administration...

 I often think of this and the best exposition of this debate was the one between two of the greatest sons of India, Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore and Mahatma Gandhi. They were very cordial to each other but differed on the subject of nationalism vs humanism. Before I get into this debate I will try and simply define the three terms in simple language juxtaposed against dictionary definition.  Nationalism is defined as an identification and support for one's nation to the exclusion and detriment of other nations. The simple meaning is I love my nation good or bad and my love blinds me to such an extent that without question I will hate and attack the other who is not in line with my nation's thinking or actions. There is often in this a political identity shaped by either religion, race, caste or cult which is shaped by some true or false hatred of the other based on real or imagined wrong of the past.  Patriotism is defined as a love for one's country of a kind which is ge...

 The topic of this blog is based on the choices we make in life at different stages in terms of age, the base instincts, nurture, knowledge, power or lack of power and finally the basis of intellect. Now the reason why this idea of writing on this struck me when I heard a story of choices made by a householder in different times. Once, in ancient India a householder was told by a corrupt minister of a King to lie on oath to protect him by lying to the King about his mistake. Since those were the days when moral values took center stage in life and most of the people were God fearing the idea that such an act will not only invite retribution to the individual lying and to his family in turn. Therefore he will refuse to lie for the sake of his family. The householder will say cut to a similar situation in 2025 if a politician forces one to lie on oath and in turn threatens him today he would lie on oath and justify in going so for the same reason to protect his family.  I think ...

 I was rudely awakened a few days back to a notification of a kind where we were suddenly told to be part of a mock drill to ensure that we are war ready. I can only say one thing that my reading of our world was that in the last 40 years or so man has reached a situation where famines, wars and pandemics were becoming more and more infrequent. This is also borne out by the fact that as man has advanced technologically, his power of imagination and ability to believe in a false order makes him capable of unprecedented collaboration and therefore renders the possibility of conflict becoming more remote than ever before. The doctrine of deterrence  and the threat of mutual destruction was a boon for the arms race and the ammunition industry, but yet paradoxically it reduced the possibility of their use.  In 2019-20, the covid 19 pandemic came from nowhere and engulfed the world with a deadly virus which was so virulent and so infective that it killed the vulnerable like mot...

  The fundamental aspect of the states of consciousness are very difficult to comprehend for us ordinary souls. This is more true in a world where body consciousness is so strong that we think it is the only thing that matters. The famous story of Ashtavakra and King Janaka is a fine example of the lessons to be learnt in day to day life. I am aware of the fact that the story of Ashtavakra being born deformed in 8 areas was on account of a curse given by his father Kahoda on account of pointing out the 8 mistakes he made while reciting the Vedas and explaining them to his wife Sujata. So the story is of false pride of a father who thought because of his ego that this small child in the womb could not rival his wisdom. Is this not the lament of youth that the adults refuse to believe that the generation of today can be cleverer than them? I recollect listening to a podcast where a very well read mature author lamented that the reading habit had declined in general and more so among ...

  There is a verse in the Isa Upanishad the first verse which talks rejoicing in renunciation. This almost seems like an anachronism in this day and age when there is a need to rejoice only in acquisition. The world of my childhood the sixties and seventies seems like a horror story. Imagine a world without Air conditioning,, a leaking roof on a cottage like house with an asbestos roof, no phones, no cars, irregular erratic water supply, primus kerosene stoves, no fancy toys. That tin asbestos house became an oven in summer and waterfall in the rainy season and on a rainy day sounded like staccato machine gunfire. As a small boy I have vivid memories of our house in Parel and even remember it was a one room, but large room and kitchen house. The house had a three step entrance to a porch covered with an asbestos roof supported by wooden columns with grey peeled off paint and supporting horizontal beams. The right side had an old but elegant pomegranate tree and some other greenery ...