Mirage...

The word comes from the Latin mirare, meaning 'to appear, to seem'. This is the same root as for mirror. Like a mirror, a mirage shows images of things which are elsewhere. A mirage is not an optical illusion. It is a real phenomenon.The interpretation of the image, however, is up to the fantasy of the human mind.


Hope all you would have heard the phrase 'Life is a journey' well if not, at least the samsonite (suitcase) caption says that :-) This journey is quite an arduous one, and since it spans over at least 50 years and at most 92 years (well, that's how long my grandfather lived), one would have to go through all the terrains.

First 25 years of ones life, the terrain is an icy mountain terrain. Then for the next 25 years, its the deadly desert, then for the next 25 years for the few blessed/cursed (half glass full/empty funda) souls its the green meadows and finally for those above 75 its like Alice's Wonderland, no sense or sensibility/reality as they would already have entered the senility.

I am 27 and writing this!! Why would I choose the desert terrain to describe the journey through 25-50 years of a person's life??? Well, its the desert where the mirages are... and yes this part of a person's life is all about chasing mirages.

There are various types mirages one chases at different points of time. Like for example, 'Love', 'good' wife, job 'satisfaction', a 'fantastic' salary, a 'beautiful' home, 'top' car and some really weird ones like 'adventurous' life! Just think for a while, do you ever believe we could accomplish or get any of the above? You would invariably find that some one we know has a better version of any of the above.

The dangerous part of the plot is, we define these mirages for ourselves and alas there is no standard definition anywhere else. Furthermore, we cannot really tell what would be the satisficing point and convince others that it is reasonable to chase the same.

Usually, at the end of chasing these mirages, a person is drained out mentally and physically. That's why the retirement is planned at the completion of the chase. After the chase one becomes a 'senior citizen'. All the mirages would clear away and lead to Nirvana.

I have been chasing some of these for a while now. Recent mirage has been ' happy' married life. As discussed earlier, I have a definition. I have arrived at a satisficing point let me see where this chase leads me to.....

"Metaphysical Dilemma"

- Dilemma beyond physics/scientific explanation.

Now for people wondering what is being talked about, let me narrate an otherwise beautiful evening with a "friends for life" candidate. This could be excruciatingly long, so was the play. So, read this narration at your free time when you have absolutely nothing to do....It is one of the fateful turns that life takes, especially these days with just a call on your mobile or even through an SMS.

I got to know that there was a ticket available for the 7.30PM show for the play called Flowers. This information is more than sufficient especially when it comes as an invite from your best friend. Started from home at 7.00 PM we reached the Parking area front of the theater at around 7.10 PM. Parking was as usual a Gordian knot which needed an Alexandrian solution (paying the nearby roadside shop walla a 50 quid and asking him to take care of my 5lac black beauty. ;-)

I hit the queue along with the "Namdhari" crowd... Yes, if you have heard of Organic - shirts,shaving creams, syrups, salads etc., you would definitely understand what a Namdhari crowd is. They are the upmarket, affluent class in the growing Indian metros who shop for the environment and charity, who care for "Page 3" more than the headlines in the front page of a news paper, who appreciate the abstract (obviously without any exercise to the grey cells to understand) paintings of M.F Hussain and plays of 21st century Girsh Karnad.

With French beards, pony tails, bald with little shiny white hair type - uncles and aunties sporting gold reading glasses which were hanging round their neck, supported by a gold string (New age ornament) and super cool cotton kurthas galore, I was already looking odd with a standard Grey T- Shirt tucked in a pair of Jeans. Here I was, a normal, middle class guy, who had just graduated to a 3 box car and Fab India standing amongst the Namdhari crowd.

As I looked at the poster and prepared to pass my usual sarcastic comment, I saw Arundathi Nag :-0 shockingly simple and apologising for a delayed start. I couldn't understand !! This was a mono act play and as far as I could see from the posters, Rajat Kapur was clad in towel not even a dhoti.So, I quickly understood the cause for delay should have been much more serious than make-up !!

Now seated, and settled, Lights off and the play starts...
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A brahman in panchakancham (particular way of tying the dhoti) and shawl steps out from darkness into strategically lit walk way which was precariously hanging in the air. Comes to the end of this platform and starts to deliver his monologue. (Now I wish, if only I could have had a dialogue with the actor and the play wright....hmmm...)

Bangaloreans were "awakened" with introduction to the discipline of Moral philosophy through "Flowers" a mono act play by Rajit Kapur and Co., Play write: Girish Karnad. This play marked the commencement of Rangashankara" the Theater festival in Bangalore.

Globalisation of Ancient oriental philosophy carved out a new discipline of Philosophy called Moral Philosophy/Ethics.This was considered as one of the major branches of philosophy alongside metaphysics and epistemology by the Greeks and ancient Romans. This play was supposed to narrate one such internal conflict on ethics which a priest has.

The play starts off with the priest describing his feeling of lust for a courtesan called Chandraaaaaaavti...(I still am figuring out why Rajat was spelling out Chandravati with the drawl of a Texan.) Description of Chandraaaaaavati as narrated by Rajat is the best rendition of Playboy center cover photograph on stage I have ever heard. The priest's rendezvous with the courtesan and his relationship with Chandra..........is narrated as lucid as a CAT 3 (XXX) adult movie. At this stage (about 45 minutes into the play) am sure the audience would have drifted into their own 'private' fantasy world, their dark side of lives without bothering much about the "Metaphysical dilemma" which the play wright was trying to drive. Slowly but steadily the story reaches the expected climax when the Priest reaches a stage wherein he seeks a divine intervention to cover up his 'divine lover' and much to the anticipation of the crowd, he is absolved. Albeit, the priest commits a suicide, because of the metaphysical dilemma.

Fantastic narration...Rajit kapur in his inimitable style delivers a script. OK.....so what was the play wright trying to convey??? Million $ question !!! What was the takeaway?? Innovative fantasies or the metaphysical dilemma experienced by the priest??? Well, as usual it was left to the crowd to decipher and ponder.

The producers have put together a piece of article in the handout - It reads "It has been pointed out that the Indian Philosophical tradition has never treated what would be called moral philosophy as a separate discipline. But painful moral concerns are very much alive and find expression in the epic stories or narrative literature or as here in tales orally handed down"...

The narration of play was definitely not palatable. It had more on sex than moral philosophy. The narration was not about the jihad in priest's mind between morality and dharma, not about the internal conflict!! There is no discussion about the internal conflict except for a couple of lines sparsely interspersed here and there.We have innumerable literature in our ancient texts which talk about the concept of Metaphysical Dilemma. The most recent of them being 'Experiments with Truth' - MK Gandhi. In this book MK Gandhi describes his internal conflict with regards to the two ladies whom he used as support while walking. The subtlety with which the issue of moral turpitude has been dealt with in our epics and Upanishads is missing in Grish
Karnad's narration.

Anthamam:
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This folklore from Chitradurga which is supposedly a painful expression of moral concerns of a priest, turned out to be a narrative story as in Letters to Penthouse Volume - X. It is appalling and I would like to share my empathy with the audience who had come along, with their children and family and apathy to the Playwright for such poorly scripted play.

BTW for those wondering about the solution to a Metaphysical Dilemma, it is possible only from a knowledge of the absolute nature. This play is definitely aligned to my philosophy of Wine - Women & Wisdom !!! The priest seeks a woman, has a metaphysical dilemma and realises that his next step is to seek wisdom....here you go.........this is what I takeaway from this play! (Sorry Mr.Girish Karnad for having compared your play with my blog, but that's how much bad it is)...