The task of writing daily is getting harder by the minute, if not because of writing, then because of remembering to do so. But, they say it takes 21 days to turn an action into a habit, so I am hopeful.
The morning went traversing the crowded lanes of Sunday bazaar with my client hunting down carpets and other flea-market finds. What is it about other people's junk that is so bewitching and captivating? Why are we so riveted in procuring things that have been long discarded by previous owners and now lay abandoned and lost? Is there an element of rescue involved here? Are we? or rather am I fascinated by the thought of bringing an ignored unloved object home and nourish it with love and care?
But, going to Sunday Bazaar is always draining. There is too much to see, too many people to go through, too many cars and, too much of everything. I always feel super exhausted when I come back from there. So,on my return I had an appetizing lunch and since Musti was with Farhad, I slept like a log.
The evening was lazy. I walked over to Bina's and sat sipping tea in the garden amidst flowers and greenery. Came back and worked out on the cycle for 45 minutes. That felt good, I keep wondering whether the exercise is going to make a difference or not? I guess only time will tell, whether it helps me shape up or not, it certainly is helping me to think, feel and breathe better!
I also finished a book on Scheherazade and how western women are as enslaved by different kinds of harems literally prisons such as having to look like a prepubescent female even it they are nearing fifty! If the Islamic sharia forbids the open and free access of public space to women, and forces them into invisibility and marginality in the hijab (veil), then the western media and the western culture is no less ruthless. In the name of desirability and sexual attraction it makes older women invisible and marginal because they are not considered attractive.
The pressures on women of both the East and West are tremendous, they have to and must conform to ideals set by men, and they must abide by the rules if they want men to love and cherish them!
Richard Dawkins, the famous author of The God Delusion and several other books, professor of Biology at Cambridge, has always intrigued and fascinated me with his unstinting and passionate belief in Darwinism. His all time hero is Darwin, who propounded the famous theory of evolution in the 19th century, literally shaking the foundations of human belief and perspective for all times to come. One of the most potent facet of our being human, and the one that certainly differentiates us from other living things is our propensity to 'question' our own purpose and existence. No other animal has been endowed such a conciousness that man has been given to wonder, to think as to what our purpose, if any at all, in this life is?
In his famous book, The Blind Watchmaker, Dawkins argues that complex beings, and complex designs can, if given enough time, develop on its own, that is by chance or randomly, but the time frame given for this to happen is not easily comprehended by our limited understanding.
He says that Man came into being not as a pre-defined thing by a higher intelligence, rather it was to random adaptations over millions of years that shaped man and its complex machinery. Basically what he is saying is that, man is a successful creature, not because a 'designer' designed him before hand like a plane or a car is designed to perform a certain function, it came about by forces other than concious formation and design.
The theory of Darwin, is in direct conflict with God, though there have been attempts to synchronize it with God. That God is the overall creator and he fashioned man for a certain defined purpose. Darwin is basically saying that for life to come about on this planet or any other part pf the Universe, a creationist God, an omnipotent God is not needed. Fine. For me and millions of other people, the very argument that we are so complicated and could not have been brought about with chance is the proof of an overarching God who has created the world, the universe and all there is in it.
Since science can be a bit dry, I have also started reading the great 14th century Persian poet, Hafiz, whose poetry is legendary. I can't say much about it now as I have just begun the book.
Adios for now.
Comments
Post a Comment