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Old wisdom – volte-face?
Some truths remain eternal like love, sincerity and honesty as the sky above and the earth below. But some which seem like the mighty Himalayas at some point of time loose their height with the passage of time. Everyday I experience a new revelation and muse over the changing norms and their social acceptance.
In the kingdom of fools everyone slept during the day and went to plough their lands in the starlit nights. Thus started an ancient story named The Kingdom of Fools. No one was allowed to work during the day. The day was reserved for snoring and night for toiling. But what was so foolish about the whole set up? Scratch your head or rub your forehead. No, you won’t comprehend what the story is trying to tell. After all you see a whole generation of Indians getting up in the wee hours of night and sleeping in the wee hours of morning. It’s a matter of a few years for evolutionary process to take over and convert us - the outsourced humans, into nocturnal creatures.
If you fail to grasp this story then how will this poor joke fare? When all Toms and Dicks had stopped bragging and boasting about their adventures Harry says that he was a guest of honour at his parents’ wedding. How does one laugh at this joke when there doesn’t seem to be anything funny about attending your parents’ wedding anymore, when marriage happens after the birth of the child? It’s a matter of time before marriage becomes a redundant institution if not in India then at least in occidental cultures.
An illiterate person putting his thumb impression on papers was a common scene in banks or any other legal place (maybe it still is). And one could hurl a derogatory “angoothachaap” on someone, who couldn’t distinguish an “a” from a “b”. But think twice before you call someone an “angoothachaap” now. With biometrics ruling the roost in identity business an "angoothachaap" could be anyone from the Monicas of White House to a top brass in Pentagon.
So next time if you are trying to enlighten your kid or maybe your own self with the wisdom of a grandma's story, or a proverb do think it over. We are treading on slippery grounds.