Catching the ghost

It was as much faith as it was reason. Faith in tradition. Reason in fact. There were easier alternatives that took more time but did not require as much effort as this. But no. He shunned them. He believed that a man proves his mettle by adopting toughness. Like quenching a hot piece of metal in water, pain makes a man stronger from the inside. It emboldens him, and gives him the confidence to face tougher tasks. He would build tolerance and patience. There is no easy way out.
With all these thoughts running through his brain, he threw the  Vicks Action 500 he was clutching in sheer disgust and instead opened the Draw, searching for his Dad's cache of menthol tablets. He smiled as he found  one that will take him through this trial by fire, metaphorically. The rat-a-tat of the lid of the vessel on the stove indicated that the water has reached its boiling point. He slid the vessel off the stove and opened the lid to the vapour fumes as they burned his skin slightly.
It's about time he caught the ghost.




For my fellow beings who do not understand what the last line meant, The practice of inhaling menthol tablets dropped into boiling water is called "Aavi pudikardhu" in Tamil, which literally means, catching the ghost. It is one of the fastest and most effective ways of combating common cold and nasal congestion. 

Secularism

Secularism is not pandering to the minority. Neither is it a policy of tolerance, where the majority "tolerate" the minority and give them rights. Who the fuck do you think you are, anyway? Secularism isn't about selective policies that aid minority communities while ignoring the vast number of the down-trodden among the majority. That's called votebank politics you asshole.
True secularism is the total elimination of  the influence of identity politics and religion  from policy making.  Secularism does not mean we should censor speech/videos that offend the sensibilities of the minority. That is censorship you dickhead. True secularism is the defense of any form of speech, irrespective of the damage done by it on the sensitive sensibilities of any religious prickhead,  from physical and legal repercussions.  Ofcourse, you might still have to lawyer up for a defamation suit if you go around calling people names, so be sensible in your speech if you are not willing to fork up shitloads of money.

An open letter to all open letters

Dear open letter,

I've wanting to write this to you for a long time. I feel guilty for not having told you this earlier. You see, intellectualism has created this opinion that outraging and voicing out opinions and harsh reactions on paper can change the society and eliminate cancer and corruption ." A pen is mightier than the sword" is the most quoted quote these days. Never mind the fact that in a few years all pens will be replaced by touchscreens and keyboards. And try slicing a tomato with a pen.  You will just get tomato juice all over you like you fell into a tub of ketchup.
Anyway back to the point. I am not going to mince my words. It is high time you realized the truth: you are useless. Utterly, butterly, useless. Come to think of it, were you written on paper, I could have atleast used you to wipe my butt after a shit. But I just got hit by this truck of realization that the worst thing you could ever be in the universe is a digital open letter.
Why ? Because you are mostly just an opinion. Mostly. And opinions on the internet are more than individual sand grains on the beach. Worthless.
Second: On the internet you are addressed to either
a) a person who doesn't know English
b) isn't on facebook (or)
c) makes too much money to give a fuck about you
So chum. It took me a lot of effort to tell you this. I know it is hard, but being a good friend of yours,  I have no choice but to lay it out infront of you. Please die. You are simply not worth it.

Your Sincerely,
Another useless open letter.

the art of letting go

how easy it is. To hate someone you loved the most. To reply to rejection with bitterness. For the affection to turn into apathy. Blinded by thirst for revenge. The glow of warmth and happiness now replaced with a cold, harsh, cutting wind of negativity.  And to rise above it all, to love unconditionally; to accept the situation and move forward without losing hope.