Quid Pro Quo With The Gods

On donkey

You have almost cracked it, Cheeniya!
She rides on Ass which is a unique symbol of negative animosity.

What a tenacity! You are a man of your word. I was still going circles and circles in my donkey pursuit. Good news, in that quest, I came across something called donkey sentence.

The following sentences are examples of donkey sentences.

Every farmer who owns a donkey beats it.
Every police officer who arrested a murderer insulted him.

Does that mean every farmer who owns any donkey beats all donkeys or beats only that one donkey?

Tell you, donkeys are more than the eye could see. They even have a concept named after them in grammar.

 

On Nonsense

Nonsensical talk is a virtue. I look at the world around me and everyone strives to be senseful. They want to publish their insights, their recommendations, their advice and opinion on how to chew a chicle to how to surmount obstacles in life. Internet is awash with unsolicited and purported sense that nonsense is a respite in that sense abound. When I joined the forum initially, I was frightened with all the senseful talk on where, what, and why and serious discussions on how and how-not. Then I mulled, is so much sense needed in my life. Where will I apply such good-will sense? I will hoard all that wisdom and where and on whom will I even use it. Thankfully, I have an extremely smooth life in auto-pilot mode. That was when the nonsense allured me. Nonsense not only offers the option to join and leave at will but it aerates your life with joy whereas sense only weighs you down.

VK-KM was the dude who said, “I am yet to see a vegetarian tiger and an American firing gun only in one direction”. Don’t compete with his razor-sharp wisecracks. He will leave you bruised and snipped like he did to the British and the West.

 

On Idealized Romance

Cute article on animal love.

I have heard of books and only sparsely read articles on "serial monogamy". Helen Fisher is one such writer who has written a lot on romance literature from an anthropological lens. How did man end up with monogamous mating for live? She reckons, the prehistoric man/woman was a serial monogamist who cared for his partner and children till they were on their own and later wandered away in search of a new flame. Mind you, the spouses were not cheating. But he/she was in a committed relationship till a certain point to the family needs and then serialized his romance by taking up another partner in due time. No one knows how "abiding monogamy" had begun. I don't know when this chapter of failed romantics jumping off from a cliff surfaced. Even that animal article hints of such serial and not necessarily life-long mating orchestration.

I found this observation in that article interesting.

One scientist observed that even after a penguin’s mate disappeared, she continued to check their old nest for him even after she had paired with another male penguin.

Woh! That is trouble. What happens if the old flame returned? What kind of ménage à trois would that be? Is that house-keeping call on the old nest necessary? What do you think, Mr Wol?

 

On Romance Counselling

Science goes everywhere! From animals to prehistoric man, we want to know everything about their mating preferences and rituals to compare with our own faltering or flourishing romance habits.

Danielle Teller has written a book on marriages and divorces called Sacred Cows. A title like that when encountered in a bookstore will turn even the incurious head. The title is a play on the unassailable sanctity in a marriage/relationship (M/R). I just flipped through the book, haven't read it. But here is the scoop. The book is not about people in relationships but it is about other people on the sidelines who counsel the pair in a relationship. He categories these counsellors into seven common sacred cows: the Holy Cow, the Expert Cow, the Selfish Cow, the Defective Cow, the Innocent Victim Cow, the One True Cow, and the Other Cow.

Say,

Holy Cow: These counsellors believe that M/R is holy. You should never snap from that bond.
Expert Cow: Believes that one-shop fits all. They dole out the same template to everyone regardless of case-based reasoning like a clueless and self-appointed marriage counsellor.
Selfish Cow: Believes that you are being selfish by not placing your M/R above your personal needs, whatsoever they are.
Defective Cow: M/R is foolproof. You are the defective one who is unable to fit in the model.
Innocent Victim Cow: Will manipulate you into believing that if you walk out, it will be a great loss to the near and dear ones. They will accuse you of trampling on the welfare of innocent victims like kids/parents who will suffer a great loss.

So on ..

Your undersigned was one of them. Before long, I was jaded with these fickle romances that I denounced my role as "counsellor". Having said that, I wasn't great at counselling. I would have been that "Expert Cow" doling out the same worn out advice: "Do what ever you want, who cares, no one really minds your affairs, you are not a national treasure that your romances would interest anyone".

And then you have Danielle Teller and her hubby Astro Teller talking about human love and counselling embedded within animal reasoning.

 

On Mouse (revisted)

I am not fully convinced. Agreed, a clean stomach is a sign of good health, but the more one poops, the greater it must be fed. What if the Council of Gods holds a budget planning and curtails Ganesha's rations to one bushel of grain a month. Would Ganesha be able to look after his ravenous mouse? You might controvert saying that Ganesha recruiting a mouse as his trusted chauffeur with built-in vehicle would save parking charges because a slight mouse is a pushbike whereas a rat is an SUV in rodent terms. Still, does that saver on parking afford the privations that his legged aide-de-camp deserves?

 

On scent

While watching the film Perfume: The Story of a Murderer, I was intrigued by the perfumery. At that time, I didn't know much about animal secretions used in perfume making. After finding out about the vomit, sweat, faeces and urine imbrued in perfumes, I realized that our senses and tastes are primeval. We are naturally titivated by secretions and excretions and find them overpowering. Then I read about the harvesting mechanism or expulsion of these perfume bases and was aghast at the inhumane treatment in the trade. The saving grace now is that labs are able to artificially synthesise or imitate the civet and musk scent which lets those hapless animals off the hook.

 

Everything is Barter .
From " Likes " in virtual world to Love in real world , everything is Barter .
We build shrines and make offerings to God, always with the rider at the end " Save me or Protect me " .
When organised religion began , had the tribal headman declared " God doesnt do anything , just sits decoratively , watching the drama of Karmas play out", no one would have made sakkarai pongal and vadai for Him.

Who is good .? Who is bad ? Who can tell ? . Everyone has a reason to do what they do , which seems good enough for them . Even our Epic heroes had their reasons to do some devious things .....and then they go and do prayaschittam too , which is also Barter .