Why do we need a car?

Although many people think that the luxuries and conveniences of contemporary life are

entirely harmless, they in fact, prevent people from developing into truly strong and

independent individuals. Do modern luxuries serve to undermine our true strength and independence as individuals?

I believes so. Consider the automobile, for example. Most people consider the automobile as a necessity rather than a luxury. To the extent that we depend on cars as crutches, they prevent us from becoming truly independent and strong in character as individuals.

Consider first the effect of the automobile on our independence as individuals. In some

respects the automobile serves to enhance such independence. For example, cars make it

possible for people in isolated and depressed areas without public transportation to become

more independent by pursing gainful employment outside their communities. And teenagers

discover that owning a car, or even borrowing one on occasion, affords them a needed sense

of independence from their parents.

However, cars have diminished our independence in a number of more significant respects.

We've grown dependent on our cars for commuting to work. We rely on them like crutches for

short trips to the corner store, and for carting our children to and from school. Moreover, the

car has become a means not only to our assorted physical destinations but also to the

attainment of our socioeconomic goals, insofar as the automobile has become a symbol of

status. In fact, in my observation many, if not most, working professionals willingly undermine

their financial security for the sake of being seen driving this year's new SUV or luxury sedan.

In short, we've become slaves to the automobile. Consider next the overall impact of the automobile on our strength as individuals, by which I mean strength of character, or mettle. I would be hard-pressed to list one way in which the automobile enhances one's strength of character. Driving a powerful SUV or a sedan might afford a person a feeling and appearance of strength, or machismo. But this feeling has nothing to do with a person's true character. How often we have seen people suited head to toe ,driving a car worth lakhs, spitting on road.

In contrast, there is a certain strength of character that comes with eschewing modern

conveniences such as cars, and with the knowledge that one is contributing to a cleaner and

quieter environment, a safer neighborhood, and arguably a more genteel society. Also,

alternative modes of transportation such as bicycling and walking are forms of exercise which

require and promote the virtue of self-discipline. Finally, in my observation people who have

forsaken the automobile spend more time at home, spend more time with their families. The former

enhances one's independence; the latter enhances the integrity of one's values and the

strength of one's family.

To sum up, the automobile helps illustrate that when a luxury becomes a necessity it can sap

our independence and strength as individuals. Perhaps our society is better off, on balance,

with such "luxuries"; after all, the automobile industry has created countless jobs, raised our

standard of living, and made the world more interesting. However, by becoming slaves to the

automobile we trade off a certain independence and inner strength.

The Streetlight(Part1)

Hey Ram why isn't this line working ?.....Ram check line 22 ?.....Ram why is there so much distortion in the line ?
Hi my name is Ram Manohar Joshi a back office Jr. Technical asistant. My job title is more dignified than what my job is,they might as well put the title as "The telephone repair man" atleast this wont make me look like an imposter.Well the crux of the matter is basically I am a nobody, a non entity and I preffer it that way. I have this inherent belief that "things are the way they are and I really cant affect anything". This has been a self imposed doctrine.
My work shift is from 10 at night till 4 in morning. Daily an office cab comes to pick me up at 9 and drops me back at 4:30.
Hail,storm or snow this had been my daily routine for 2 years. But since past 2 months it had been different it had turned for the better.    
It was that insanely cold december night I was waiting near the bus stand waiting for my cab. A cold wave had swept over the city bringing along a thick dense cover of fog reducing the visibility to a few meters.Standingthere and waiting in those frigid conditions Oh! how I longed for a nice piping hot cup of tea...It was then I saw a small flickering light just across the road. Judging by its penumbra It looked like a tea stall I advanced towards it in order to validate my guess. As I moved closer the light became more distinct and so did its source it was indeed a tea stall thanking heavens I moved forward to ask the attendent who was busy washing glasses and stacking them neatly in a wooden cabinet just beside the stove humming a tune of the latest bollywood hit number, he was probably closing for the day so imprudently I asked him "Bhaiya,Dukan band kar rahan hain kya".Stratled by my voice he looked up at me glaringly as if I had comitted a felony by disrupting him. He then curtly replyed "saahab yeh 24 ghante chalta hain". Without any further delay I asked the attendent for a cup of hot tea, to which he obliged, as the tea was beeing made I patiently waited for my cab to arrive,the tea when made was served. Cupping the disposable glass in both my hands at first I relished the warmth emanating from piping hot tea, then savoured the delicious smelling tea.....It was ambrosial. I wanted to tell him what a commendable job he had done,but was stopped by the horn of my cab which had come quickly I finished my tea paid the attendent in change and rushed to my cab as we were already running pretty late. All throught my shift I kept wondering about that shanty tea stall and the divine tea they served and made a mental note of going back there as soon as the shift ended.

At 4 in the morning the shift ended, by 4:30 I was back at the place where the cab had picked me up, I crossed the road and towards the the sun was'nt up yet and also the street light was'nt working so it was pretty dark if poetically expressed it appeared as if "the robe of darkness trying to engulf the humble abode of weary workers" as I approached the tea stall the attendent recognized me and greeted me with a nod and I reciprocated although no words were exchanged he immediately poured me a cup of tea. As I sipped away with pleasure,I noticed the hoarding of the tea stall it said in blaring bright red color "TCC" expanded below it in dark blue "TAJ CHAI CORNER". I simpered at the irony which I think the owner would not have thought of that was "TAJ MAHAL" the celestial structure and the Tea at that stall scrumptuous. The owner probably on seeing me smirking asked if there was something wrong with the tea? seizing the opportunity I tried to strike up a conversation with him......within 20 minutes and 2 cups of tea,we talked as if we had known each other for many years. Finally the rigours of my morbid job caught up to me as my mind started giving into my bodies siestic needs. So grogy eyed I parted company with my new old friend and started trudge toward home,with nothing but thoughts of warm bed with even warmer quilt.

Next day I was woken up by the clanger of the utensils, my mother was busy doing what she does best house hold chores....I never really understood women and there extreme proclivity towards 'cleanliness'everything should be in order, in perfect ship shape, Alas! they are women if we understood them would'nt we be Gods. On that thought I got out of the quilt, greeted my parents picked up the newspaper the headlines were filled with common wealth games budget fiasco and some other scams pretty much what the usuall Indian daily chronical would have, the heading was amusing though "COMMON WEALTH ATTACKS ON COMMON MANS WEALTH". I was never really the kind of person who would sit down and actually read the paper as though I had an exam(my Father does read like that). The only thing that got me intrested in the paper were the last 4 pages "sports section". After getting my daily update of the sports scneario around the globe. I poured my self a cup tea kept in the kettle I sat down on the couch switched on the Telivision set trying to savour that 1 day in a week that every white collared proffesional will look forward to "SUNDAY".

I took the cup and sipped....ugh it was'nt even close to what I had last night, suddenly I had this urge to go out and have that divine tea again. I asked my mother to close the door behind me. On the way to TCC, I tried to recollect the owners name and all I could come up with was a blank, I thought probably I never asked him his name. On approaching the bus stand.......

nothing yet everything: Learning A Cohesive Process

nothing yet everything: Learning A Cohesive Process: "We can usually learn much more from people whose views we share than from people whose views contradict our own; disagreement can cause str...

Learning A Cohesive Process

"We can usually learn much more from people whose views we share than from people whose views contradict our own; disagreement can cause stress and inhibit learning."
Learning is the process by which we try to expand our domain of know how. Learning is a collective task in which each individual gains knowledge by interacting with other people. It is a two way process that is when views are shared audience learns from the speaker and vice verse. Now sometimes it so happens that the views that we share on a certain topic may be in harmony with the views held by others or it may be in disagreement with them. Although the transfer of knowledge ideal should take place in harmony, but sometimes certain discords are essential.

One of the man's most inherent trait is that he tries to seek comfort in his own clique among people whom he recognizes or in some sense are similar to him, same is the case in the learning process he tends to be more comfortable with whom he shares the same view point. When we are in harmony with the people that are around us we often tend to learn more. Although having the same stance on a topic does not necessarily mean that our knowledge level is same, we learn new amazing facts which were previously not known to us. However there is a downside of having such a learning milieu that is we will get only one sided picture on any aspect that we might discuss. Although we would be in our own comfort zone but would be leading a life of ignorance. To quote “ignorance is a bliss that only fools relish"

Looking at the other side, when contradictory views clash it exudes tension in its surroundings which definitely does not promote learning on the contrary it inhibits learning, stifles the growth and dispersion of knowledge. There are many reasons why this happens one of them can again be attributed to one of our fundamental follies that we often believe that "we are always right" thus when someone tries to challenge our view point, we with our misplaced sense of justice try to fend of this adversary because we feel that our pride is at stake, our ego takes over and we absolutely gain nothing from such an argument. Sometimes rivalry can also be the cause of developing contradictory views that is having a different view from your enemy, this can be classified under the category of "inferiority complex" which prohibits any sort of learning process from taking place. But we cannot refute the fact that contradictory views are actually important and conducive for growth in the process of learning. It provides a completely new prospective on the topic, something that is out of the box. It might give rise for further even more new ideas. This is beneficial up to the point when knowledge is being shared and learning takes place but when various complexes take over that is the point when learning actually stops , that is the point when effusion of knowledge is inhibited.

To conclude I would like to say that although we might learn more when our views are in harmony with that of others but having different views is equally important for the complete overall growth of a person. And in the end I would like  to quote "world isn't divided into black or white there is often a grey area and is in this area that we truly define ourselves". 

Moral values V/S Rationality

"In  the Beginning there was Man and what followed was Chaos" history shows strong evidences that man has always been responsible of his own demise, often because the morals or the Ideals that govern him are irrational. Most of the people are under the false impression that the code by which they lead their lives are rational thoughts whereas logical thoughts have almost no connection to the deeply embedded values in a person.

The way a person leads his life depends on the values that govern him, values that are embedded in him since his childhood. But do these morals actually bear the test of times; we can never know the strength of our moral fiber until it is been severely tested and when a person is made to suffer it is there that one can actually find the moral values which are his code of life. Thus values are not decided by a rational choice but by the experiences that forms these values.

There are many instances where men have actually gone against the rational belief set, men who in other situations would have acted in a completely different manner for example In Europe During the Dark ages when church was all powerful.It was during this point in Europe's history when the preachers of God and peace were committing crimes that were against the teachings of God, these crimes were being committed under the name of religion. The church had completely seized the right to freedom of thinking and  any radical thinker was either ostracized from the society or was convicted and imprisoned for life  like Galileo, Joan of arc etc. Another example would be Gujarat Riots in which innocents were massacred. Moral values, integrity of character were completely overshadowed by the mob mentality.

On the other hand there are people who in the severest of condition have stood tall, firm and confident because their values were iron willed. To quote " Moral excellence comes about as a result of habit, we become just by doing just acts and brave by doing brave acts"
Now looking at the other facet of the Issue that the values that are instilled in a man during his childhood are completely rational, those values are logically cohesive. Values such as truthfulness, hard work, perseverance to name a few are the basic building block of character. These values are the bare essentials that are required by any person to establish his own code of conduct, the code by which he leads his life.  
To conclude I would like to quote "you can not teach a man anything you can only help him to discover it in himself" thus Experiencing life and learning from those experiences is what building moral fiber is all about and in the end I would like to say that 
Values define who we were, who we are and who we will be.... 

nothing yet everything: Donkey's years

nothing yet everything: Donkey's years: Finally I gathered the courage to post my first poem for public viewing. Hope you enjoy it and if not please feel free to criticize it!!

Donkey's years

What age is it ?

What will I be ?

What has become of me ?

These are the question that perplex me.

At age 5 I was

What I wanted to be An Astronaut

With my wild Imagination running amok

Supporting my crazy dreams of the size behemoth.

 So betrothed I was with my fantasies

That I forgot what was my reality

But Alas I was at 5.

An age when Dreams Is what we lived by.

At age 15 I was

Nothing better than what I appeared

With fear smeared all over my thoughts

Like a prisoner on the execution platform

It is the time I would like nothing better to forget

For it was then I enrolled into the Rat Race, I regret.

In the end it separated me from my friends

Caused some irreparable dents.

But Alas I was 15

Nothing more than teenage trying to find his identity.

At age 18 I was

Finally free to do what I want

Or so I thought.

With the advent of my new life style

Getting used to my college took me a while.

I often wonder why was I there, engineering was like drinking bile

Engineering was made survivable by few a friend, some bonds established were never meant.

But Alas I was 18

Confused and filled with naivety.

At age 22 I am

Entering into a new world

The question Am I ready for it as yet? I wonder.

But Alas 22 I am

Still as confused as back then.

What age is it ?

What will I be ?

What has become of me ?

These are the question that perplex me.