Saturday, November 29, 2008

Drama in real life

Now that I finally have the luxury of taking it at a slightly easier pace, there's really nothing on my mind worthy of a blog post, except for the Nightmare that's happened in Mumbai. I've been glued to the telly for the last couple of days, trying to come to grips with the horror that's being enacted on screen. I thought this kind of thing only happened in the movies. Time was when we escaped to reel life to get away from the sheer monotony and predictability of real life. Now I watch the movies to relax; there's enough drama and tension in real life.I'm obsessed with the why of the entire senseless incident at the same time that I am overcome with sympathy for those directly affected. The irony is that it takes something of this magnitude for us to come together as a nation.

Speaking of bonds that are formed and broken in the course of our lives, I've been thinking of the friends I've made online, here in the blog world, as well as in sites like Orkut and mIRC.It took me a month-long non-functional Internet connection to realize how much they have become part of my life. I guess what makes these relationships special is that, in most cases, people don't even know what you look like, sound like, or what your bank balance looks like. Therefore, you are not judged by mere appearances, something that sadly is becoming more and more common in "real" life. Which got me to mulling over the question of what is "real" and what is "unreal". If I feel more accepted, more comfortable with people I've never seen (and probably never will) does that make my relationships with them any less real? How is it that "virtual" reality makes more genuine people of us than the "real" world, where we feel compelled to be polite, restrained, scared to err, eager to impress, and quick to judge?

Reality. Surely those terrorists had what in their warped logic was probably an excellent reason to kill and maim innocent people. What is reality for some is fantasy - and nightmare - for others. So whose reality do we accept as the ultimate "real" thing?

Of course, the lines blur now and again. Coming back to these relationships, I realized that the ones online and those 'offline' need not be mutually exclusive.There are "crossovers". It was an unexpected, but rather pleasant surprise to have some "online" friends actually ringing me up just to see whether I was okay or not since I had been out of circulation for some time. Hmmm... maybe I shouldn't worry too much about where my friends are from, as long as I 'keep it real'.

9 comments:

  1. You got it, warped logic, brainwashing, the them and us mentality. In the past, men went out to battle and fought hard on the battle fields, now they fight hard on our streets, markets and public buildings. And I seriously think violence is hardwired into the human psyche. Some are done with it by playing out their violent fantasies on computor games but there's the dangerous faction who turn it into reality and onto the innocent through a convoluted twisted reasoning.

    Couldn't agree more on the online friends thingy. And I called you to find out if you'd really gone off to Vaphai to get that ...you know what :D

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  2. hello,i want to be frend with u,n ask u about educational things,need ur help,pls email me at zkhawlhring@yahoo.com

    Thanking you and expecting you

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  3. What concerns me is my inability to feel any other emotion but anger when it comes to the topic of Mumbai. I was reading some comment about some guy who said the best thing for our leaders to do at thsi point would be to 'vaporize' some Pakistani villages, and it scared me to suddenly realise that I kind of agreed with him!

    And I agree with you about the online friends thing. Some of my old online friends mean so much to me losing them would be harder than losing some 'real but not so close' friends :)

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  4. @calliopia: yeah, it's getting real scary with more and more people giving vent to violent tendencies. And it was a pleasant surprise to get calls from you and other Net friends. Thanks for caring.

    @anonymous : check your mail dude.

    @Jerusha: Yeah, I know, and that's what's so scary about it. Violence begets violence...

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  5. Mizo trawn in a KOMEN ve thei em..Ka PI?! xD

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  6. @Yo Yo Daggy: Eng tawng pawn a komen theih e, ka hriatthiam phawt chuan :)

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  7. The horror of terror attacks, for that matter all criminal attacks, is so overwhelming.

    And yes, on line friends are such a comfort. You can unburden your feelings and ideas, and here's this group to listen and support you without having even seen you. And on your side, being heard but not seen feels so good.

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  8. how i despise te terrorism...an act of a coward

    online friends can become your true friend...my only friends who keep me company were my online friends when i used to stay alone

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  9. We are terrorized in our homes, we are terrorized in the streets, everywhere in our world. Approximately, ten innocent civilians are killed everyday in Kashmir only.(Reuter). Zawhna awm thei chu heng min tithlabartute hi tute nge..media in terrorist an tih ngawt hi an ni ber em? Entirnan, Assam-ah chuan thingtlang mite chu Sipai in ringhlelin zingkarah an vua a, an hmeichhiate an rape a, tlai lamah insurgency group ten an rawn hlap ve leh thung..! tu ber hi nge terrorist chu ni ta le..!

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