humans and the earth

Let us stand up and spread both our hands full and wide. Assume that width indicates the history of the earth. What will indicate the length of human history? One arm length? Up to an elbow? Or the length of our palm? Maybe the length of a finger! Your guess is nowhere near the truth. You will have to see that under a microscope!

Though humans have been around for such a short time, they have achieved a lot. How has this been possible? No other species comes anywhere near humans in achievements; we will understand more about humans if we look at history more in detail. The first humans appeared about 2.5 million years ago in East Africa. The migration has started from those times, and the first migrants ended up in Europe.

Homo Sapiens, the first modern humans, appeared 300000 years ago. They were nothing special. They walked erect, had a larger brain, used tools and were highly social. But other human species also did these things like lighting fire and killing big game for food. Despite so many similarities, homo sapiens survived and went from strength to strength; other humans simply withered. Why is that so? Two theories led to homo sapiens overcoming all odds, and different human races went to extinction. The theory of interbreeding (between homo sapiens and others) is proven as modern humans show the DNA of different races other than their predominant DNA.

Another theory is the replacement theory. According to this theory, Homo Sapiens overcame other races and took away their food resources because of their superior brains. When required, they violently killed people from different races. This indicates that the Homo Sapiens led the other species to destruction, and at the same time, interbred with them to produce progeny.

About seventy thousand years ago, there was a sudden improvement in Homo Sapiens’ brain. Homo Sapiens took advantage of the same and started creating larger communities. They also started making more extensive tools, formed business networks to handle business more efficiently. This evolution in the brain is known as the cognitive revolution.

This evolution helped the homo sapiens find food and manage the harshest environment easier than other human species. Homo Sapiens reached America through the arctic cold of the Alaska region. To handle the extreme cold, they learned to kill the enormous nutrient-filled animals, made snowshoes and warm clothing out of their skin and fur to survive the bitter cold.

The revolution of brainpower helped homo sapiens to spread right across the globe to Europe and even to Australia with primitive modes of transport. This had another effect. Fifty thousand years ago, Australia had twenty feet long animals. These quickly raced to extinction after the superior Homo Sapiens reached Australia.

What is the most critical indicator of development in Homo Sapiens that indicates brainpower improvement? To me, the most important in the list would be human language. Language is one of the most complicated means of communication compared to other species. Other species use a very primitive method of communication.

Homo Sapiens are social animals. They can communicate by using language and sharing information about food, shelter, weather, and harmful elements from society. If an abundant supply of fruits was found, this information could be shared with the community. If a hiding place of a predator was known, all could be told to avoid going to that area. Common knowledge of many different aspects of life helped them to live peacefully.

Other species also work cooperatively, e. g. bees. Bees collect honey in the beehive, but their cooperation is very rigid. If there is a danger to the bees and beehives, they cannot communicate; they do not run away from the area. Chimpanzees work in groups, but with language barriers can share only to a certain extent.

Homo Sapiens were the only groups that could communicate with each other using language. This helped them speak about material things and abstract things like god, religion, history, and rights. This brought a more extensive community together, even though many may not know each other personally. This aspect gave rise to myths that were not physical, for example, religion! Societal bonding became closer with faith.

Early Homo Sapiens was, on average, a group of about 150 people. But with language came other improvements and developments. That led to the formation of villages, towns, cities, megacities, states and nations. In short, it led to the creation of the modern world as we know it. Finally, the technologies like the Internet has helped in the creation of global societies.

Another significant change that took place was agriculture. Ten thousand years ago, homo sapiens slowly started settling down to become farmers. Compared to hunting/gathering, farming was inefficient and depended on the vagaries of nature. By the time humans realised the downsides of agriculture, it was too late to switch back to hunter/gatherer mode. All became used to a quiet life of not looking for food/shelter all the time. Another improvement was that near own homes, abundant different variety of food became readily available. With that, it was easy to feed more people, families grew larger! Before this development, if you did not have food, you asked your neighbour for food. He would give you the same with the knowledge that you would do the same when needed. But with the abundance of everything, the barter system started where you exchanged stuff with each other. Simultaneously, with a stable lifestyle, different trades began, like making farm tools, knives, etc. But this could be done because there was stability in life. Soon the deficiencies of the barter system were realised. What did you do if you did not need a knife or a shovel? That is where currency and writing started to develop. This happened around the year 3000 BC.

The trade details were noted down on stone tablets, and a pig farmer was paid in currency. The currency was then used to purchase whatever else they wanted to buy. How to handle these complex transactions without disputes? The hierarchical system of King, his deputies, and then people ran administration right up to village level. That, my friends, was the beginning of the modern world.

Today we assume so many things, but we do not realise that the journey in this direction had begun slowly a few thousand years ago. Now improvement in systems happen almost yearly, monthly or even daily. But I am pretty sure that the human brain is large enough to absorb these changes elegantly!

Madhuri Dixit or Shashi Kapoor

I want to look like Madhuri Dixit or Shashi Kapoor or some such favourite celebrity. Every person wants to look and feel smart, but unfortunately, these things depend on our DNA, health, and maintaining diets and many other factors. It also depends on the traits passed on to us through the genes.

What do you see when you stare in the mirror? This is not a philosophical question, more a literal one. Do you like the way you look? Do you immediately notice flaws – a nose you wish was smaller, a stomach you want to be flatter, legs you want to were longer or capable of running faster?

Body image concerns are not merely superficial but can affect many aspects of people’s lives. Of course, this also means that developing a positive body image can positively affect mental and physical health and well-being. Despite being relatively slender, some people spend much of their adulthood concerned about body and weight. They vacillate between restrictive diets (for months or even years) and ‘regular’ eating habits. Ladies also worry about what they wear. Perhaps most disconcerting is the impact that their body dissatisfactions affect their relationships and mental health in general. Some days, they want to avoid people or situations because of how they feel about themselves, and they wrestle with depression and anxiety.

What is essential in life? The first and foremost thing that comes to my mind is that one should be a good human being first. Our body traits depend on the race we are born into, but at the same time, from ancient times, humans have been defining Gods as fair-skinned persons and demons as dark-skinned persons. Why this is so is difficult to say. But, in the end, do these things really matter? Tall and lithe is how a smart person is defined, but Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar were five feet four inches tall but were the tallest in their chosen profession. Mutthaih Murlidharan was a dark-skinned person, but he was the brightest of all spin bowlers ever!

Why have I chosen the names of Madhuri Dixit and Shashi Kapoor in the title? They are the epitomes of beauty, smartness and general looks! But can all of us be like them? I am sure they must have made efforts to maintain their physique during their time. But do not forget that they were born the way they were. In addition to that, looks and body were requirements of their profession. Let me assure you it takes tremendous efforts and discipline to maintain these things.

Comparison of everything with others is a natural way of thinking. But is it really worth it? Ultimately it all depends on the profession you are in. Assume that you are working in a marketing department and fulfil the requirements needed by that profession. Later on, you have an accident, or you go through some illness. Your looks change. Is your organisation going to ditch you because you look different now? Stephen Hawkins was physically challenged, and he had difficulties making verbal communication with others for a duration. But his brain was so sharp, all these so-called minus points did not matter at all.

We all grew up hearing about the importance of not judging a book by its cover. But we all grew up in a world that values people’s appearances. If we were to totally ignore our appearance, never giving a thought to what we wear, we’d likely be viewed as eccentric or strange. We have to choose how much to care, and how much energy to spend on our appearance. We should try to live what we value.

An appreciation of beauty or the adoration of others might be components of our value systems. However, maybe we value compassion, diversity and equality more. Although improvements have been made recently, the beauty and fashion industries have rarely promoted images and advertisements that embrace people of all different shapes, sizes, colours, and abilities. It’s worth considering the extent to which we want to take our cues from industries that devalue so many of us. Further, it’s unlikely that the people we care about and enjoy are in our lives because of their physical appearance; we experience their beauty differently. Do we care if our childhood friend looks unconventional? Are we worried about our child’s big nose, or we are happy that she is a great singer? Are we apprehensive that our husband does not look like Shashi Kapoor, but he is known for philanthropy?

Living our values can mean embracing our own and other people’s bodies as they are. This might begin with appreciating that some naturally have relatively small bodies. Some naturally have larger bodies; people’s body sizes are not necessarily a direct indication of their health habits. In other words, we all have a natural body size that we’re likely to hover around when we’re adequately nourishing ourselves and engaging in a healthy amount of physical activity. Not everyone will be slender – even when they maintain healthy habits. Every diet does not create a slim person, and similarly, every healthy diet plan does make a very healthy person. Ultimately all these things are decided by your body and its traits.

We should use protective filtering in our life to avoid negative body image influence! You can function in a psychologically healthy manner while still avoiding following celebrities on social media. Some forms of media can be avoided more thoroughly than others. For example, you might decide against watching television shows such as beauty pageants that feature women in objectified roles focusing on their appearance. You should stop buying or flicking through magazines replete with articles and ads displaying emaciated women or selling beauty products.

One thing is that we should be presentable rather than being sloppy! There is one golden rule. Some “smart” people can carry any type of dressing, but not many can “carry” such dresses. So, avoid such things. Some colours match with certain skin tones- it is a good idea to follow this aspect. The “best dress” that one should always try to wear is a pleasant face and a smile on your face! That makes you a person who will be a Madhuri Dixit or Shashi Kapoor for many. Or Waheeda Rehman for oldies like me!

Too Busy to Enjoy!

A friend shared her experience, which made me think. They lived in Worli, Mumbai on the 19^th floor bang opposite their windows was the Arabian sea. A couple of her friends had come to stay with them for a few days. Just before leaving for the train station, the guest said, “Oh! There is the sea out there. You have a nice view.” For the duration of their stay, they never observed the sea. Come on; you cannot miss the sea. The guests lived in a city which was far away from the sea.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder is the idiom that comes to mind. In dictionaries, the usage of the word beauty is explained as

• the qualities in a person or thing that as whole give pleasure to the senses
  
• the beauty of the landscape along the coast was enough to take your breath away
  

Some enjoy the beauty in the smallest things, and others miss the ocean in front of the eyes. Why is that so? It could be that some of us are too engrossed in trying to find out the next meal! It could be that some of us are too busy arranging the meal for the seventh generation, down the lane- engrossed in making money! Some of us need to have alcoholic support to enjoy tête-à-tête with a friend. For a person like me, meeting a friend gives me a high! But experiencing something beautiful comes naturally. The most beautiful thing is the smile of a child who starts recognising its mother. Nothing can beat the innocent smile. Would there be people in this world who do not enjoy this smile? Yes, there would be! What are such people made up of is difficult to judge! My favourite Q! Is it in their DNA? Are they born with this defect? If that is so, then they are most unfortunate.

We see many people with lines on their forehead! Their brows are always indicating that they have to carry the load of the universe. People forget that they can do serious work, meaningful work, but for that, they need not take themselves seriously. You may be discussing the theory of nuclear energy or talking about military strategy, but during lunch or tea break, you can always share a joke or two. You might see some birds in the vicinity; and you may get a lovely drizzle, enjoy it.

There is a story that shows the thinking of people. We had a family friend living close by, in Pune. He was a nice person, but he had a different way of thinking. In Pune, we generally have beautiful temperate weather. For a week in monsoon, a couple of weeks in summer weather is not comfortable. Whenever I spoke to him, I would ask him how he was. Depending on the time of the year, he would reply, “Oh, it is so hot!” “Oh, it is so Cold!” “Oh, there is so much rain!” Surprisingly, these statements were made about Pune weather.

I will share with you a few things I have enjoyed in life. In our younger days, we always had a cat at home. One of them was smart. She had a few deliveries in our home. The cats change places where they keep the babies, till the kittens start moving on their own. The smarty would shift only one of the babies, and she expected us to move the other babies. We thought that we were smarter than her and shifted the kittens to a new place; it was a pre-emptive move on our part. Smarty did not like this. She moved one of the kittens to the first place and followed us in the house. We were wondering why she was following us. Then we saw what she had done. Then we moved all remaining kittens to the first place. She stopped following us and went to sleep with the kittens. It was a sight to see the cat teaching her kittens to catch small mice in our garden.

You do not need to go to Tajmahal, Niagara Falls or St Moritz to enjoy the beauty. These are of course beautiful, but in smaller things also you can enjoy. You must enjoy the paintings of Picasso, Rembrandt and Hussain but do not forget that HE is the most celebrated painter on the earth, he offers art show every day if you have an eye for it. It is free. We enjoy that show from our balcony every day! Who can paint better than HIM?

Now there is a trend to take holidays, and we travel with tour organisers. They spin you around for seven to thirteen days. When we take this option, we try to see that the coordinators do not have a hectic schedule. Also, we check in advance that they allow us to spend a day or two on our own. We want to enjoy at our pace, at the same time we want to soak into the beauty in our way.

In St Moritz, Switzerland, they had suggested that we go and enjoy the beauty of four peaks in a day which included Matterhorn. We did only two. We spent a lot of time at Matterhorn. We believe in soaking into the beauty at our pace!

We have a home where we lived for about seven years. It is a row house. There we have a garden, and there was greenery. We used to have an adda of friends quite regularly, having tea-coffee and Gappa. We had garden chairs and a table under the shade of trees. When the chairs were full, there was a platform to sit on. I remember sessions after sessions of Gappa even in monsoon during a drizzle. It is the atmosphere, it is the ambience, and it is most important how you want to seek the beauty with which you are surrounded. In Madikeri resort jungle, I would enjoy early morning tweets by birds. I was hoping to find in vain the sequence in which different birds tweet- I never succeeded. I thought that they chirped at random- it only showed that my knowledge of the subject was poor!

Our life is full of ups and downs but we need to handle it in such a way that we find good stuff from what is around you. Do not shut eyes when at home; to enjoy the beauty of the world we do not necessarily have to travel. When you can find good things from the world around you, you improve your life’s balance sheet by making entries to the credit side!

 

Neurologist or Psychiatrist! Or Stupidity!

A Pakistani poet wrote this about India: 

“Tum bilkul hum jaise nikle 

Ab tak kahan chhupe the bhai? 

Woh moorkhta, woh ghaamarpan 

Jis mein hum ne sadi ganwai 

Aakhir pahunchi dwaar tumhaarey 

Arre badhai, bohot badhai!” 

India and Pakistan are bitter foes, but they agree on one thing a explained in the above.  

 

The world is full of people who have a different way of thinking, but when ordinarily intelligent, smart professionals behave differently, one starts wondering why this happens? Then I start wondering whether these people need a Neurologist or a Psychiatrist! We also have “I care two hoots type” of people. Or they are plain stupid. Let me explain.  

A doctor used his son’s bike to go to a shop. After a few days, during morning tea, his son told the doctor, “Daddy, I received a ticket for my bike for Rs.200/. I paid it off!” The father said, “Where did you break the signal?” The son said, “You had taken my bike, and at one of the signals, you had stopped on the zebra crossing. Police have shared the photo.” He smiled and further said, “ You were the only one on the crossing; all others had stopped behind.” The doctor was upset and threw tantrums. His logic was what happens if I stand on a zebra crossing?  

The doctor is a well-known professional. What should have been his reaction? Oh, my God! How could I do that? No urgency could justify my actions. It is so embarrassing to see that I was the only one who broke the rule. That reaction would have been the expected behaviour. But, no! He seems to be riding a high horse, thinking that he is a famous personality. The rules are for ordinary citizens. Are ambulances not allowed to jump the red signal? Come on, doctor! Ambulances are permitted to break the rules when they are rushing a patient to a hospital for treatment.  

I had driven like an ambulance, years back when our family friend had a stroke. We lived nearby. We just put him the car and rushed to a hospital. I was morally unambiguous that I was trying to save a life.  

What happens to such people? Do they have a twisted brain or they have a psychiatric issue? Who should handle such “patients”, a Neurologist or a Psychiatrist? Is it about the way you grow up? It is said that the children look at the parents for guidance. Parents, you need not take care of how your kids behave, see how you behave while your kids are growing up! Most of the time, the kids blindly follow parents.  

Is it about the society in which you live? If a higher percentage of people break basic rules in public life, the chances are that we may also do the same, because we think that we can get away by doing anything!  

I remember once many moons back, Jaya and I were in Ottawa. We were going home after dinner at a friend’s house. It was around 11 pm. We reached a junction, and the signal became red. It took about two minutes for the signal to become green. In between, our friend just muttered, “This stupid signal.” But he did not move an inch. Those were days with no cameras anywhere on the road. It was about discipline and the thinking that the law is the same for all. He was a well-known scientist in Canada.  

India has a big divide as far as the public discipline is concerned. As we reach the south of Vindhya Parvat, people tend to be more disciplined. Recently, I was in Indore. The city has transformed into a clean city. It is rated number one for cleanliness in India. I found it clean, but that traffic discipline had hardly changed. Does it mean that in public life people do not bother about rules and regulations? These are meant for the betterment of society. Why the northern part of India lacks public discipline in general? Is it in their DNA? Humans world over are the same. There is a small percentage of people breaking the rules, but we have it the other way round. What could be the reason for that?  

The financial systems of nations are designed for income tax compliance. The taxation is part of any democratic system. Taxes are used for the development of the infrastructures industry, roads, airports, railways and many things. The government uses the part of the same income to create a social network to have nots. But people break these laws with impunity. How much money is enough is a question like “how much land the does a man need?” Working sincerely and smartly are ways to achieve the goal of making money. But in India, people do a lot of business in cash to remain outside the gambit of tax laws. In most developed countries, people deal in cash, but it is done for illegal deals like drugs, prostitution etc. But in India, it is done on a day to day basis. The same people also are at the forefront of groups blaming governments for lack of development in the nation. 

Are we as a society sick people? Do many of us need treatments from the Neurologist or Psychiatrist! Are these professionals following the fundamental laws of society? Do they have a moral authority to tell others to improve by following societal norms? Do professors who are involved in plagiarism have the moral right tell their student to write original research? Does a parent consuming alcohol, regularly, say to the child not to do so? Can a parent who misbehave with old parents have it in them to tell the child to behave?  

The other day a classmate called me, I thought to say hi! After the usual banter, he said, “Are you at home?” “Where else could I be in lockdown times?” I said. He said, “Good, I will drop in for a cup of coffee.” I was shocked but somehow recovered to say, “Please do not come; in our condo, the visitors are not allowed.” I was aghast at his suggestion. He is my classmate, so we are of the same age. The fellow wanted to socialise in these pandemic times. The person, of course, comes under the stupid category! He further said that he roams around everywhere without a mask and no helmet! Of course, he is Punekar, so he feels that wearing a helmet is a crime! 

Pune and helmet have a personal equation. Even though there is a Supreme Court ruling that the helmet is mandatory while riding a two–wheeler, many refuse to wear it. Oh, you feel so hot! It is so uncomfortable! I asked one chap if you slip and your head bangs on the road, would you feel hot or uncomfortable? He had a reply ready, “It is my head; how are you concerned?” 

Friends, you categories these people as per your choice!  

I thought I should also share the translation of the above poem. 

So it turned out you were just like us! 
Where were you hiding all this time, buddy? 

That stupidity, that ignorance 
we wallowed in for a century – 
Look, it arrived at your shores too! 
Many congratulations to you! 

Raising the flag of religion, 
I guess now you’ll be setting up Hindu Raj? 
You too will commence to muddle everything up. 
You, too, will ravage your beautiful garden. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The great equalisers! Our Habits!

There are many equalisers in this world. The top of the list is death. In death, there is no difference if someone is old or young. All are equal, whether super-rich or super poor! But India is a unique country with a diverse population, caste and creed, many religions and five-thousand-year-old civilisation. We rightly boast of our history. In fact, sometimes we boast of these things ad-nauseum. We are proud of many things, but we forget that along with some fantastically great things, we have carried forward some horrible ways of behaviour.

People have a great habit of drinking water while driving vehicles. It is a typical habit of driver community, those who drive taxis or buses. Imagine cruising at a speed of 100 km on a highway. You are in a sizeable Volvo bus or an Innova. Suddenly, the driver bends to side, picks up his water bottle. He starts drinking the water from the bottle at that speed, holding the steering with one hand. Oh, and religion does not play any role here. He could be from any religion. He is a human being and gets thirsty. I am good with that, but what is the issue in stopping the vehicle and drinking water? We usually stop on the highways, after a couple of hours. Can’t these folks wait for a small duration to drink their water quota? They are not going to die in half an hour if they remain thirsty.

These same folks perform another action. Before drinking water, they gargle a bit and spit a mouth full of water. Where? Wherever they are! I remember one more queer action by people on highways. After each toll booth, there are urinals. Our friends will drive a few kilometers from the toll booth, stop and pass urine-open air! Oh! The pleasure!

Now auto-rickshaw drivers in cities have picked up another similar habit. Now they use earbuds while driving, to listen to music.

Why such behaviour takes place? One, I care two hoots attitude! Who is bothered about public hygiene? Another reason for this is the weather. People don’t understand that we are blessed with beautiful, warm weather almost round the year. Try open-air urination at minus 15 deg C! Another aspect is women folk don’t indulge in this act because of modesty! But we don’t see the women drinking water at 100 km speed. Neither do we see them spitting gargled water! They are more sensible than men!

Another trait that we observe in India is spitting in public spaces. Are these issues due to the historical culture of chewing betel leaf (Paan) and tobacco? The vices developed in the five thousand years of chewing paan with tobacco or only tobacco have messed our cleanliness culture. Sometimes, I feel that there is no difference in the dogs and these people. You must have seen that the dogs do their natural thing where ever they are and whenever they feel like it. Dogs have been human pets for a long time. But now a new trend of adopting dogs has also come up. After marriage, some couples don’t want kids; neither do they want to choose humans. They adopt dogs. But in foreign countries, humans take the responsibility of clearing the dog poop! We don’t bother about such stupid stuff in India.

But in India, the more intelligent race, the humans, spit anywhere and any number of times. Once I was waiting for the red signal to become green. An auto-rickshaw guy was waiting next to me. In the one minute that I was waiting at the traffic signal, our friend spat his tobacco juices at least five times. I was so frustrated, and I stopped looking at him.

What has happened to our mature culture? Are we mentally still trapped in the olden times when everybody lived in villages? There were no tar or concrete roads and buildings in olden times. So, the spit at least merged with the dust. Not that spitting was the correct thing to do. Now the favourite places for spitting the betel juice seem to be the corners in the staircases, especially of public buildings. In many buildings, I have seen tiles with Ganapati photo are fitted in the corners. But the human urge of spitting is more than the respect for God! They spit on such tiles too! It looks like we are very efficient in passing on such culture to the next generation. Add to this our unique attitude of not bothering about others. But people forget that germs can and do get spread by spitting. What about cleanliness? Oh! What is that?

Another gem from our culture is the Tatti culture! In olden days, when there were no modern toilets, people would go for their morning ablutions to the fields. Modern washrooms have been available for some time now. Since last five years, the Indian Government has started cleanliness drive under the Swatch Bharat Abhiyan. Government is offering money to people in villages and sometimes in cities to build washrooms. Oh, but they don’t pay the people to use them. Government has also made a law that people who do not have a modern toilet at home, cannot stand for elections. So, people take the money, build the toilets and use the fields for the morning things. Why? Oh, it feels so manly! Manly culture is still prevalent in the Northern part of India. “Tatti Karni hai to kheto mein!” (I would rather S**t in the fields!)

Many times, people from western countries say that they believe in God after visiting India. They know that it exists after they observe our behaviour. They are surprised that there are no continuous epidemics in India, looking at the cleanliness culture that we follow in public places. Go to any public site, and the toilets indicate the culture. The other day, I went for work in a large organisation in Pune. While waiting at the security area, I went and used the urinal. If large private establishments cannot maintain the cleanliness levels, who will do it? I felt ashamed that day.

We have developed another dangerous trait in the last 50 years. I was visiting an organisation, the road there was at least 30 meters wide. I slowed down, waited for the traffic from the opposite direction to pass. My headlights were ON; my right indicator was ON! I thought that I had a smooth opportunity to take a right turn and enter the gates. I was ten feet from the gate, and a bike swerved and passed between the entrance and my car. I sighed in relief, and suddenly another bike came and passed through the small gap between the access and my vehicle, this time distance was five feet. Imagine, I was moving albeit slowly as I was taking a turn. I braked hard and simply gave up!

Friends, we are a lovely country with a great diversity of nature, people, religion and traits. But there are traits which discussed are common irrespective of diversity. Why is this so? Is it in our DNA? Is it that we don’t want to go away from what we have been doing for thousands of years? Governments can do only up to so much. It is for us to ultimately improve and change society. Due to Coronavirus many mandirs, Jatras are closed. Will God punish us for doing such unheard-of things? But is there God? That friends is the basic question. It is said the cleanliness is the same as godliness. Why not take that path?

Better India!

My dear friend Shrikant wrote a message on our WhatsApp group, which truly reflected his frustration. But It is not only his frustration but all of us have the same feelings. I will briefly write what he said. “Since I remember, I feel as if I am living in a vicious circle of development and expansion. First, the roads are broken, then later they are broadened because of capacity issues. Then comes tarring, and then the time comes to build flyovers! After that, the time for concretisation comes. All the time we have pollution and traffic congestion. Now at the age of 70, I am looking at the Metro project coming up. There are so much indiscipline and chaos that I am fed up, mainly because I have to go Chakan every day! I hope now at in this phase of my life I will sometime see everything going smoothly with regulated traffic and less chaotic life!”

He is right, and he has hit the bull’s eye with his thoughts. All of us have the same feelings. There have been responses saying that the development is a never-ending cycle; the fruits of work done by grandfathers are for the grandchildren to enjoy etc. These responses are also correct. The phenomenon of development cycle happens all over the world. But to me, Shrikant’s frustration has a different connotation.

British rule ensured that our infrastructure remained poor. In the US, highways were built in the 30s /40s of last century. Hitler built autobahns in Germany in 30s of the last century. In India, this cycle has started in the last twenty years!

We as Indians have diverse culture, 25 main languages, snow-clad mountains and lovely beaches; we are a nation of diversity. But we have one common culture that of personal and public indiscipline, and I care two hoots attitude! It is not only on the roads; you go anywhere in public place; things will be chaotic. We at heart have remained villagers from the time of Baba Adam! This attitude continues irrespective of whether you are rich or poor, educated or uneducated. One can give many day-to-day examples. In the cities or towns, one basic rule is followed, not to follow any rule. Shrikant was talking of Chakan. In Chakan and many towns, there is an excellent four-lane road. But the divider in between is sometimes breached “officially” under pressure from politicians, and at other times unofficially. For taking a U-turn, people do not want to drive a Km or two more! Cutting corners where ever possible is there in our DNA! Add to that indiscriminate parking in such towns along the roads. Driving on the wrong side of the roads is also very common!

If you drive on Mumbai Pune Expressway, which is like an expressway, anywhere in the world, we sometimes see people driving Motorcycles on the road skirting! The road is meant only for four-wheelers and multi-axle vehicles! There are two places where you pay the toll. Near these toll booths, there are washrooms. But we invariably see a few men relieve themselves in the open about 100 to 200 meters away from the urinals. In the main city areas, there is a thought process that vehicles used by the government departments can be parked anywhere, including on footpaths. Cutting the red signal is a norm rather than the exception. The police department tries to discipline, but when a significant % of people start breaking the rules, how many police can you deploy?

These aspects should be taught to children right from KG schools. But when their mothers break the rules, children grow up thinking the same way. I was waiting at a signal to cross the road in Montreal a couple of weeks back. My granddaughter Rhea was with me; she is six years old. She asked me a question, “Why don’t people in Pune wait for the signal to turn green?” I had no answer. When there is a traffic jam in Pune, we see people driving their motorcycles on the footpaths to move ahead! All of them are “busier” than the Prime Minister of the country and have no time to wait!

World over in most cities, there is work in progress for an extended period! In Boston, the tunnel work was going on for ten years. In Mumbai, flyovers were built over a few years. Same is true with Metro. But if the primary discipline is not followed, the indiscipline and chaos will never go away. The problem is not city-specific, it is India specific.

In today’s newspapers in Pune, there was a news item. A car used by an officer of the Municipal Corporation was parked on the footpath. It used to be at a specific place, with the driver sitting in the car. The driver was told to park it in the right zone. The driver said, “The car is used by Asst Commissioner!” The police were not impressed. After the same suggestion for a couple of days was ignored, on the third day, they put a jammer on the car and fined him Rs.2000/. The officer tried to pull rank on the policeman, but they were not impressed. He had to pay the fine.

As against this, I had read a story. Commissioner of Tel Aviv was found talking on a cell phone while driving his car. A police officer stopped him; he did not recognise the commissioner. He fined him but later came to know that he was their biggest boss! The next day, he was called to the commissioner’s office. The policeman was worried and was trying to find a way out of the situation. To his surprise, the commissioner received him in his office, and there was a two-minute ceremony. The Commissioner congratulated the policeman for doing his duty, issued a special commemorative certificate for performing his duties in an exemplary manner! It shows the difference between developed and undeveloped societies.

In India, we are lucky that because of the temperate weather we can do all our development work almost round the year. In cities like Montreal, because of the snow in winter, the road work can be done only during 6 to 7 months in a year when there is no snow. So, every year, on many roads, some repair work or the other is going on all the time. New development work is also going on during this period. Traffic gets choked, it gets slowed down, but no motorcycles are driven on footpaths! On the street where we lived, pipeline work was going on for almost four weeks. Car parking was not allowed from 7 am to 7 pm. Not a single car was ever parked during this period!

So Shrikant, it is about self-discipline, it is about the implementation of rules. Improved traffic rules have been created by the Central Government; hefty fines have been suggested. But the state governments don’t want to implement this because of expected public backlash. It is the will of the people, will of the government that needs to change. Development thing is going to be WIP all our life!

I am an absolute optimist, but I told a 25-year-old boy the other day, that if the primary self-discipline does not become our culture, India will be at the same place even after 50 years! (Of course, I won’t be around!)

But many good things are happening! Metros are made ready in ¾ years, ISRO is doing a great job, online payments, online railway bookings are improving day by day at breakneck speed! Many good things are happening, but people’s attitude is not changing. The problems we face daily are the result of this unchanged attitude! Let us hope at some stage this will also change.

Are we a nation of petty people?

ISRO, Large computer literate population, Recent jump to power surplus nation though distribution is an issue. India as a nation surprises people with extremes; we have extremes in the number of major languages written and spoken, extremes in rainfall variations, extremes in average temperatures. India and the Indians are an enigma. People world over find it tough to understand India and Indians.

Even I find it challenging to understand our own people. From the early 90s of the last century, economic changes started happening in India, leading to the creation of wealth. The changes led to the creation of a massive group of middle-class people. The story continues; inflations, deflations are always there, but the large number middle class has become a fact of life.  This group of people has started travelling on holidays in India as well as in foreign countries. The subject of the title is how Indians are getting infamous on the travel circuit. I had written an article on a similar subject a few months back.

https://panvalkarpramod.wordpress.com/2019/03/07/how-well-do-we-travel/

There are many examples of petty-minded behaviour of Indians on the tours. How does this happen? Why does this happen? Have we not overcome the shortage era of the 60s and 70s of the last century? Indians sometimes travel in large groups. Ages back, we were taking a flight back from New York to Mumbai. There was a group of fifty people on the plane. It was a direct flight. The noise and chaos they created on the flight were to be seen and heard to be believed. Finally, when we landed in Mumbai, they clapped and danced for five minutes, as if they were on a charter flight. They did not follow the instructions of the crew, not to stand up while the plane was taxiing. The pilot finally announced that he would stop the aircraft unless people sat down. Okay, you are in a group having fun, but what about others?  What about basic decency?

Recently, I have read two new items about people stealing items from the resorts and pinching apples, cakes, and scones from the breakfast spread; this was done to save money on lunch later during the day! A hotel in Switzerland had put a notice specifically for Indian guests. It is humiliating, and industrialist Harsh Goenka formally protested against it. After many more protests, they removed the notice. But why did they put it up? They must have seen our brethren taking away food items for later consumption.

A group of 1300 hundred Indians, dealers of an organisation, were taken for Sydney harbour cruise. The total number of passengers on the cruise was around 2500. The group created so much ruckus during the cruise that others were fed up. They troubled the staff too, but staff had to continue with a smiling face. The chaos was in the food area, the bars, and the play area. Where ever they went situation went out of control. The issue was reported to the management of the cruise company. At the end, when the cruise ship came back to the harbour, all the passengers other than the group were given an apology letter. They were offered a full refund or a coupon which could be used in one year’s times, for the same cruise. Can such acts of rough and rowdy public behaviour be justified, ever? Why did this group behave this way? I have no answers.

A recent viral video that showed Indian guests getting caught stealing hotel items in a Bali resort, triggered controversy in India and abroad. While many Indians acknowledged that Indian tourists had received a bad rap in the West for misbehaviour, many others argued that the family caught stealing in no way represented Indians in general. The resort was a high-end resort, so the people who stayed there had loads of money. That does not mean they behaved better; it is simply in their DNA.

In the video circulating on the net, members of the Indian family are seen arguing with the hotel staff. But that didn’t stop the security man from opening every suitcase and taking out things that were stolen from their room – such as towels, electronics, decorative pieces, and other stuff. “We are really very sorry. It is a family tour. We will “pay you.” (bribe?) Please let us go because we have to catch our flight,” one of the women is seen telling the man.  Other security officials are also seen frisking their baggage in the video. “I will pay,” one of the family members exclaimed,  but the man from the hotel refused to “take” money (offered as a bribe) “I know you have a lot of money, but this is no respect.”

There are a couple of other methods people follow to save on the expense. When we go to some museums or monuments, there are guides on hire.  These people follow a group who have hired a guide. They stay a couple of meters behind and can hear everything!

One more method used by these people is when they want to use the loo! Many washroom areas have the main door which can be opened on paying the money. When the door opens, as many people from the group as possible will barge in at the cost of a single payment. Poor show?

Is this a modern trend? Is it a new style? In olden days only rich people would fly internationally. I knew someone who used to mint money. He used to travel to Europe 3 to 4 times a year for work. Once he invited us home for a cup of coffee. I had never flown in those days. I saw many small pillows of different types and shapes. I asked him where did he get such lovely pillows? He said, “When I fly to Europe, every time I bring a couple of them from the plane!” Wow, he used to steal them but was he proud?

I am aware that shop-lifting is a sickness. This sickness is called Kleptomania. But from the examples discussed above, none of the people seems to be a Kleptomaniac. Is this behaviour justified when a person is short of funds? The thoughts that come to mind are about why do people try and do something which is not correct!

Let me end this with a sad story. An IT engineer stayed at a five-star hotel in Hyderbad for one month, about 15 years back. In those days large, flat TV’s had just started coming to the market. He was a very talkative person and had shared the details like his flight number, back to Pune. He checked out. After he went away, to the horror of the staff, the TV from his room was missing. They managed to reach the airport as he was at the check-in counter. He had hidden the TV in one of his bags! Well, I cannot even think of explaining such behaviour. He had a high salary and could have easily afforded the TV, still why he did it? Kleptomania?

Self-help books.

Musings-The Life’s ways!

When you are in semi-retirement or retirement phase, you have time to look at the world with open eyes, ears and mind. Jaya and I take our grand-daughter Rhea for gymnastics training. We take our car to drop her. The lane where we go is narrow; last week the road was dug for pipeline work. Only God knows when it will back to its original condition! There are ups and downs and parking the car has become very difficult. Hence we take an auto-rickshaw to pick her up. While Jaya goes inside to pick up Rhea, I sit in the auto chatting with drivers. These chats give me a lot of insight into the life of different people.

Today’s driver had taken training as a Millwright fitter. He had worked in factories like Ruston & Hornsby and Cummins diesel. His general knowledge was quite good. I asked him why he did not continue with his regular jobs. He said that there was no one to guide him in his younger days, he is now around fifty. He wanted to become an actor and was a part of a troupe performing street shows. He never took his day jobs sincerely and lost them. If he had continued working in Cummins, he would have found himself comfortably settled, financially. But wrong decisions led him on a path of no return. Here he is now driving an auto-rickshaw to earn his living. He knew a lot about how actors had struggled in the film industry and art in general. I would have been happier if I had met him under different circumstances, where he had succeeded in his acting career. But I also found that he was not bitter about it. He was philosophical, “I am aware that only one ten thousand have reasonable success. In my case, it was not to be.” He said that their troupe continues to perform street shows for social causes.

A few days back, I met another guy. We had taken an auto and went about five meters. The auto guy had some issue, so we asked him to terminate the trip. This other guy was just behind us and immediately stopped. He said, “Please hop in, I will take you where ever you are going!” We sat in his auto and started our short journey. He said that he does not like when the auto guys refuse the fare while moving around with “On Hire” meter! He looked quite polished and chatty. I was trying to gauge his background. He said, “I only drive the auto between six pm and ten pm.”

Before I could ask him, he said that he had a day job in Pune Water Works. I thought maybe he works as stores clerk or in some such administrative position. He said, “Sir, I have done my M Sc in analytical chemistry. I work in the Lab where we keep on checking the chemistry of the city water supply.” I was pleasantly surprised. Before I could ask him why he was driving an auto in the evening, he said, “I am still unmarried. I have come from a background where most of my family and friends are not much educated. They while away their time during the day and in the evenings doing nothing. Auto driving keeps me busy, and I get to meet people like you!” I asked him, “What is so special about me? How do you know what I have done in my life?” Promptly came the reply, “ The way you were curious about my life, the way you were asking questions, I was sure you had done a lot of things in life! You were asking the questions with a lot of empathy. In my day to day life, nobody talks to me the way you did.” He thanked both of us profusely for the interaction.

These two people were not run of the mill auto-rikshaw drivers. They had something different in their DNA. The older one had the clarity that it was too late in his life for any change to take place. But still, he mentioned that he had decided to ply the auto to the best of abilities. The younger was a real gem, and I hope he continues to do better in his day job. From the ten minute talk I had with him, I felt that he was sincere; he was hard working. I hope that destiny will pull him out of his current strata and give his traits justice.

Friends, you need to put your apprehensions away and take the opportunity to speak with unknown people. You may not meet them in your life again, ever. You can get priceless information from them. You can know about their aspirations, you may find a person who wanted to become an actor but failed. Still, he did not show bitterness. But one thing I realised that even though his acting career failed, he continued with his passion for acting. I sincerely hope that at the least young man’s dreams will be fulfilled.

In the year 1973, I joined the industry as a trainee along with two of my friends. We were all Metallurgists by training. I had done my Masters too! (But to be honest, we had zero knowledge of the real world) For the first couple of years, we worked in non-ferrous foundry section. We had a guy called Sakharam Gund, he was leading the pack of workers. He had worked in this foundry for five years and had reasonable, practical knowledge. We always took his help to learn the ropes. Our works manager generally had an attitude that we had to learn things on our own! We came very close to Sakharam during that period. One day Gund’s father expired. He lived nearby. We went to meet him. We sat with him for fifteen-twenty minutes. As we were about to take his leave, he said, “Sir, you have come to our house for the first time, and I don’t know if you will ever come again. Please have some tea.” It was very embarrassing. The body was still in the house! Under these trying circumstances, we drank tea to honour his request; it also showed his love! We had met on a personal level for the first time!

People express their feelings about you in different ways. These are small gestures done subtly! In my thinking, I would have never have offered tea in similar circumstances. But when Gund offered tea, I had to think out of the box and accept his love! To me, everything else is immaterial other than the respect and love for each other. I distinctly remembered this incident which had trained me for my future about interpersonal relationship! Life goes on, but it is the people that matter!

Carpe Diem- Seize the Moment!

Carpe diem, (Latin: “pluck the day” or “seize the day”) phrase used by the Roman poet Horace to express the idea that one should enjoy life while one can. Different thoughts are going on in the world about life and death, this includes the reincarnation. Reincarnation is the belief that the soul, upon the death of the body, comes back to earth in another body or form. Well, I am personally a firm believer in the thought process that there is no reincarnation. The life that we have got is the only one we have got. The picture above displays Sundial, which indicates that time is always slipping by! So, seize your moment if you can!

What do we do with life, and how has the dice fallen for you? How your mind is made? Circumstances or genes or DNA make your persona. But that is not what we are talking about. This one life that we have is all we are getting. We don’t know when it is going to end, we have no control over where you are born, you have no control over who your parents are. You are what you are. You are born with a mix of different characteristics. But maybe you have control over what you become, what memories you leave behind!

Carpe diem to me is a philosophy! It is like writing in the sand on the seashore depicted in the picture above! If you don’t seize the moment, the wave will swallow the writing! Either it can be used constructively or destructively. In today’s world, the term gets used in the wrong way. You have an important meeting the next day or a job interview or an opportunity to meet someone to settle a broken friendship or relationship. A long-lost friend calls you the previous night and suggests to have a night out and have fun! Well, that’s a great opportunity to make, and you think it’s a Carpe diem moment! It’s YOLO moment as per today’s buzz words! You Only Live Once! But will it be the right thing to do? Is it the right thing to seize the opportunity to meet your long-lost friend? Probably not, because next day you are trying to finalise that once in a lifetime deal, you may get your dream job, you are finally getting to settle that long-time issue which is dear to your heart! The interpretation “To seize the opportunity” comes with a rider! It is for the betterment of life, improvement of the quality of life or dream cum true! It is not just binging with friends and have a night out! Yes, that is also important when done at the appropriate time.

There is a story about the 89-year-old Naval officer from the British Navy. In the year 2014 people had decided to celebrate 50 years of landing at Normandy, 2nd world war’s decisive invasion point! This gentleman was in a sanatorium, passing his retired life. He decided that he must join the celebration, but there was no question of him getting permission. He simply dressed up, wore a raincoat and a hat and walked out of the sanatorium to the railway station, 1 km away. He took a train, hopped into a ferry to go to Normandy. By the time people realised that he was missing, he was already in Normandy. He knew that he would be admonished when he came back. But the story of his escape was all over media; when asked by a reporter, he said only two words, “Carpe diem !” To hell with everything else! The ferry company gave him a lifetime pass for the journey he took! Alas, he died in six months!

Taking risks at appropriate times is seizing the opportunity, it is not doing whatever comes to your mind, though the end results may be bad, sometimes! It is about doing the proper risk analysis, thinking through the opportunity and then seizing the moment. It is not for only seizing the moment or for YOLO.

The message of Carpe diem matters more than ever today. We live in an age of distraction, where we are checking our phones, on average, 110 times a day, and are more interested in being spectators of life on the screen than living it for ourselves. Immersed in the second-hand pleasures offered by our electronic gadgets, we need to reconnect with the wisdom of Carpe diem. This philosophy calls on us to taste the wonders of experiential living in the short time we have before death. In a group of college friends, we made the group, forwards free. There were so many fights, so much resistance. We have very become used to the second-hand pleasure of sharing forwards. Finally, when we could make the group forwards free, there are only 3 to 4 contributors, most others prefer to be silent spectators because they have nothing original with them. We seem to have forgotten that the formation of the group of friends, who were in college together 50 years back,  was a Carpe diem moment!

I will share one simple incident. A gentleman aged 84 was in a hospital for a few days. His daughter went to be with him for the day. He said to her that he wants to eat Masala Dosa. The daughter said, ok, I will get it. He said no. He got up, changed his hospital clothes and said let us go. They went to a restaurant, had the dosa and came back. Of course, it was no big deal, but that was Carpe Diem. But change the case to a 45-year-old patient sick with liver issues; he goes out similarly and has a couple of drinks and comes back. That is not Carpe Diem, it is sheer stupidity.

Carpe diem is seizing the moment or seizing the opportunity! The word “opportunity” comes from the Latin ob portum veniens, meaning “coming toward a port”. It originally referred to a favourable wind that would push a ship into a harbour. So, the question is whether we’re going to hoist our sails and catch the wind, or whether we are so worried about hitting the rocks that we keep the sails down. Yes, if the real opportunity is there, take it even at the cost of some risk.

Spontaneity is a form of Carpe diem, which involves throwing plans and routines to the wind and becoming more experimental in the way we live. We need to liberate ourselves from our electronic calendars and booking up our weekend’s, weeks in advance and take a more unplanned approach. Take an unplanned weekend holiday when we are not constantly checking the time and are obsessed with being “efficient” and “productive”. Let go things once in a while!

Political and social Carpe diem? Don’t be surprised!  This is about taking up from the individual level activity to the collective level through mass political action. Think of the Carpe diem demonstrations that brought down the Berlin Wall in 1989, which were full of spontaneous and enjoyable spirit. We need more of this today to challenge the big issues of our time, from climate change to the rise of far-right extremism. Look at what is happening about the MeToo movement! It is happening by the collective action of women from a different field, coming out in the open for their rights!

As the modern generation says, YOLO! Yes, you only live once, so make the best use of the opportunities, make the best of the chances you get! What are you waiting for? Just jump from the plane you are flying on but don’t forget that you have your parachute with you!

 

Human nature, a mystery!

Free as the wind
Tall as a tree
Wide as a mind
Deep as a sea

Human nature is a bundle of fundamental characteristics—including ways of thinking, feeling, and acting—which humans have in them, naturally. I have used a few lines from a Michael Jackson song, released in 1983, which appealed to me very much the way the lines tell us about the nature.

The question of whether there are truly fixed characteristics, what these natural characteristics are, and what causes them, are among the oldest and most important questions in philosophy and science. The science that examines human nature is psychology and more recently also neuroscience. These questions have particularly important implications in economics, ethics, politics, and theology. This is partly because human nature can be regarded as both a source of norms of conduct or ways of life, as well as presenting obstacles or constraints on living a good life.

How much do we know each other? It is a million-dollar question and I am not sure if we have an answer to this question. Let me assure you that this is not a rhetorical question. Yesterday, we had chat session, over a cup of coffee, with an old friend of ours. His wife has travelled to the US to help their daughter with the baby. He is from the same engineering college as Jaya and I went. He is a couple of years senior to me and we have done some professional work together.

We met, maybe, once a year or so, for a cup of tea, generally in my office; he would leave his home early to come to my office for updates and tea. We always had terrific interactions both professionally and personally. Jaya also knew him from college days as his sister was a year senior to her in school. Somehow in all these years, we had never met personally. I would always tell Jaya that he is a terrific person, with a lot of clarity on everything, a great sense of humour and the person to have as a friend! Yesterday’s chat reconfirmed all our views about him. We reluctantly ended our session, with a promise to meet regularly and asap!

When can we say that we know someone well? When we have a few meals together, or when we meet someone over a drink, once a while? Or when we meet someone over a cup of tea once in a while? In Hindi, someone may say, पहेचानता हूँ पर जानता नही हूँ ! This means I know of him but I don’t know him! Our friend told us a story. He said that a few years back, he and couple of his friends went for stag holiday out of Pune, for 2/3 days. On the first night, they chatted a lot, had a few drinks, and in general, enjoyed. By the time they felt sleepy, it was well past midnight. One of their friends insisted that the next day they all must go for a walk on the beach, early morning. Except for this person, others felt that they should laze around, instead. This friend was insisting so much that there was a minor disagreement. Ultimately only that person went to the beach. My friend said they all knew each other for 55 years plus, they were aware that this friend had a few strong views but on that day it was almost like “My way or the high way”! My friend said that though we knew each other for so many years, have met reasonably frequently but they came to know about this aspect of his personality only after they stayed together. Does it mean that you know someone only when you live together at least for a small duration?

I am sure one would start knowing someone well during life and death situation like war, or when you live together in hostels or dormitories. This living together for studies, doing small and big things together daily, borrowing small money for tea during month end money shortage, helping each other with studies, playing together and most importantly living together, brings that bond, a closeness which otherwise can never be there.

This brings me to another question. What forms your nature? What forms your persona? Is it in your genes? Is it in your DNA? When we say that something has come from genes or DNA what does it really mean? Children from the business community become business minded because from childhood they listen to various aspects of business being discussed at home. Children from doctor families tend to join medical courses because they always hear medical stories or discussions at home.

Consider this example. Two siblings one a lady and the other a man, not much of age difference. Born and brought up in an orthodox modern family. Their path in life has been, outwardly, exactly the same. High intelligence,high IQ, same education engineering plus post-graduation in management, started as trainees, reached the top of their respective organizations, extensively travelled, with long stays abroad for various professional reasons! The lady is a leader with excellent management skills, equally involved in family life, excellent human relationships! The gentleman obviously a good professional but as human being very difficult to deal with, sometimes too aggressive in personal things too! What has made that change mentioned in the last sentence? Only thing I visualize is the vast difference in EQ or Emotional Quotient! Do you pick up EQ on your way? Similarly you can pick up Empathy on the way! In simple language, the lady has become a cosmopolitan and the man has never reached there, missed his bus! The man missed out on picking up stuff from EQ & Empathy shops!

Considering complexities of human nature, I am just going to comment on a couple of important characteristics of humans as there are are too many to discuss!

What is the difference in introverts and extroverts?

One major difference between the brains of introverts and extroverts is the way they respond to the neurotransmitter dopamine. Dopamine is a chemical released in the brain that provides the motivation to seek external rewards like earning money, climbing the social ladder, attracting a mate, or getting selected for a high-profile project at work. When dopamine floods the brain, both introverts and extroverts become more talkative, alert to their surroundings, and motivated to take risks and explore the environment. But this dopamine is higher, in general, in extroverts!

Why people become aggressive?

There are many psychologists who believe that our aggression is mostly due to a biological input such as hormones, genes or our amygdala. Experts feel that our aggression is more nature than nurture, suggests that aggression can be found in the structure of the limbic system of our brain and this is where the amygdala can be found. The Amygdala controls one’s ability to perceive emotions towards others. This idea first started as it is believed the amygdala triggers our aggression. There is the other side of the argument, in which people believe that our aggression is a learned behaviour due to our experiences and the people around us. Jury is still out why we are aggressive?

Friends, the concept of human nature is traditionally contrasted not only with unusual human characteristics, but also with characteristics which are derived from specific cultures, and upbringings. The “nature versus nurture” debate is a discussion about human nature in the natural science that will always go on. The type of human nature I prefer is expressed the lines below, which are also from the same song by Michael Jackson.

And do just what comes natural
The first thing on your mind
Do just what comes natural
I prefer your kind of human nature

Only problem is that the natural in some people is not good enough to make you a good person in the society where we live!