From bread to being: mcdonaldization

Kaleidoscope was out for the mission "meeting The Queen" a self appointed secret mission in western ghat. It was an wonderful journey through western ghat in an air conditioned bus. The bus halted at some place to give time and space for intake and unload as it always happens in long journey. Kaleidoscope got out and started taking snaps.

While he bought a green coconut mixed with his favourite brand of cigarette he noticed this

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The archaeology of bread and Mc D:

[two months back - in front of an attractive Mc Donalds restaurant ]

Kaleidoscope: This is unreal you love eating bread so much

The Queen: This is no bread, this is healthy Mc Donalds, and I love Mc Donalds!

K: How could you love this fast food [As if K hates fast food!!]. It has two intentions, first, to make you fat and second, to drain your money to America.

TQ: First of all Mc D [Until this, K didn't know what is Mc D but given that he is smart he quickly understood] is not fast food, its healthy food. It contains fresh vegetable, mayonnaise ... ummm I just love it

K: Its meaninglessly expensive and I can't find why should I leave Chinese and Indians to consume bread

TQ: Because you have never tried, its fascinating...

[The debate continued]

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When the bus started Kaleidoscope noticed that the Mc D was located in the middle of a village to attract passers by. kaleidoscope knew having something is better than nothing but Mc D is next to nothing. He smiled and concentrated on the scenic beauty of western ghat.

[fast forward - the journey to the mission of meeting The Queen]

The mission went successful with effective Mcdonaldization in breakfast and in early lunch with The Queen. A fast forward journey required fast forward food and Mc D is another name of efficiency in fastest stomach filling, quantitative time management and predictable environment - everything is same and yet not monotonous.

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[pack up]

While Kaleidoscope looks at his anchor and his vessel he discovers an echo of sounds "I am busy", "I am running out of time", "Have to complete according to the 'terms of references' which actually same with what he hates about Mc Donald. Now Kaleidoscope knows that conflict with The Queen is rooted in his 'being busy' - being Mc Donald. He recognises that he has already transformed himself from emotional to calculative and rational being. That his calculative and rational being is a new barbarism.

Kaleidoscope also understands the irony: The Queen is totally in love with Mc D but cannot tolerate the McDonaldisation of Kaleidoscope. Kaleidoscope on the other hand hates Mc D but has a Mc D self.

Kaleidoscope decides to cope with his McDonaldised self!

READ IF YOU LIKE:

Ritzer, George. (2004). The mcdonaldization of society. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage

Neoliberalism Unplugged? Pretty Confused

Kaleidoscope is pretty confused now and then so you can let it go or perhaps can spend some time reading this.

The budget reflects: NEOLIBERAL AGENDA

• a reduction in public distribution system,
• private participation in agriculture sector like never before,
• little increase in allocation at sectors like agriculture and irrigation,
• foodstuffs stocking is not a priority which indicates lack of positive attitude towards price rise,
• Tax concession for middle class

(see Frontline March 26, 2010)

Now the difficult and 'should not say' section: OPERATION GREEN HUNT

Moment from Operation Green hunt

• Over 40,000 paramilitary troops and policeman
• Challenges like Human Rights violation is not addressed.
• Issues of killing of innocent people (From a Few at The Hindu to 30 to 40 per Week at The Frontline)
• Issues of identifying REAL Naxals and villagers
• Issues of real problems at the real context

Precursor of Operation Green Hunt (http://indianvanguard.wordpress.com/2009/12/15/chhattisgarh-groups-plan-opposition-to-operation-green-hunt/)

ADDING THE TWO

Neoliberal budget and continuation of Corporate hegemony

Invasion to tribal land where minerals and valuable resources rest. yet to be captured and capitalise.

So its Kaleidoscope's confusion - Are we ready to evacuate 'them' (Naxalite tribals!) from their homeland and start capitalise 'our' resources?

Just a fancy thought because LOK SABHA ELECTIONS ARE FOUR YEARS AWAY and LEFTS ARE LEFT OUT!

Sites which made Kaleidoscope confused:

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/operation-green-hunt-and-its-challenges/526473/

http://beta.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/article101706.ece

http://indianvanguard.wordpress.com/2009/12/15/chhattisgarh-groups-plan-opposition-to-operation-green-hunt/

The blank pages

Its about one month worlds and words started and its about three years Kaleidoscope is writing things on facebook walls, orkut scraps, google tag lines and in JPG magazine. These small, crispy, and 'smart' tags add to the web personality of the Kaleidoscope and he is happy about it. When people talks about his tag lines Kaleidoscope feels the change in chest circumference and a proudly smile on face. Computer screen is not a mirror so Kaleidoscope never quite notices these changes. Recently his parents decide to repolish some of the old wooden furnitures and Kaleidoscope has to remove his stuffs from the almirah. In doing so he suddenly notices this

so, Kaleidoscope decides to talk to his friends about their writing habits and whether these google stuffs have taken away the habit of writing diary?

Shrove : The corpse and letting go

I am corpse from the past. I believe I am still here and writing nonsense in the blog because no one let me go! Its not that I have so many people who loved me and could not think of a world without my existence, rather it is my actions which made me unforgettable. It is my sins which made me stay and never allowed me to go. My heart stopped pumping yesterday or may be the day before (CAMUS? yeah I am not a good writer) how could I know? I am like many walking with a decomposed soul!

I think you have identified me. Its sweet thing that after a while after reading some nonsense suddenly it starts making sense. I know, I know its self reflection and I am part of you! You are facing the mirrored image.

You remember you lied? you lied to a person you felt most close to you? you remember you never kept promises which you should have? you remember your fickle nature killed so many souls and your too included?

I know you remembered...

Now let me say my story... I was alive and well... I was joyous, had dreams to make others happy... but unknowingly I was self centered. Nothing in this world was more important to me than myself. Can you identify two souls living with a single heart? Perhaps not. You need more explanation.

My first soul was the ideal soul - my expectation from me - to be happy, to make others happy, to be responsible, to be caring, to be sensitive and emotional who understands others!

My second soul was the real soul (of which I was long unaware) - I was not happy with myself and the way things were arranged, I never wanted others to be happy, I always looked for an excuse to escape from responsibilities, I never cared for others, I was not sensitive and emotional!

Now what killed my soul?

Its just the consciousness, yeah my awareness about the difference between my ideal and real soul killed my heart. It has stopped pumping - and yet I am here with decomposed soul, because nothing lets me go... I can not let me go

Messy beginning

My coffee's gone cold/

I wonder why did I get out of bed at all?

I drank too much last night!

I have got bills to pay

COULD YOU PLEASE MAKE MY DAY?

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A typical beginning of a weekend. Young, bachelor, workaholic life. Money, money and money - yet the nothingness.

Its the IT boom... its the call centre "COOL" employee!

In their words:

"DONT DRINK AND DRIVE... SMOKE WEEDS AND FLY"

"I AM KHOOL... MY FAMILY IS KHOOL... LIFE IS KHOOL"

"I AM KHOOL WITH $ AND MAGGI"

Left Luggage: what happens when we leave.

Throughout life, we keep on doing things we like to do. We feel as if life never ends! But It does

Left Luggage: tortoise shell on the sea shore

Life:

An endless pursuit of self maximisation, an endless search for our self, and then depiction of ourselves. Yeah! we wish to leave a mark! We wish to depict our existential reality.

power is situational

How would you mark?

Now that is a question. A very common nature of depicting our self is the impression on material world. Most frequently it is the place where we live. HOME. A place where i belong. We wish to personalise and make a point of our existence. Architectural achievements, gaining prestige, security and the perception of space, all goes through shaping, reshaping according to our being in home.

What transcends?

Yeah, I know I am not here to stay long, but I wish to transcend time. I take death for granted until I am fragile. The unconscious, our being perpetuates the thought that it is the matter that transcends time. We keep on constructing. As we construct the matter we also construct our world, our ideas about who we are what we are.

Does it transcend?

"They say nothing last for ever" but they do transcend, they do fight longer than we do. They do challenge time. When the support system brakes down, time conquers. We leave... leave impression on the materiality of the world. What happens to them? They die, in a more painful and slow process.

In the end it is the stuffs in transformation. "Nothing lasts for ever" but nothing in this world disappears. In the end what remains is the GREAT NOTHINGNESS - a blurred boundary between whether we have existed... or we have not. whether we have lived or not. Whether we have died or not. Does it make a sense? (What do you mean by sense)

The whole lot of trouble of questioning. Does the transformation hold the ultimate truth? Whether a palacial building or left out stuffs or the the tortoise shell on the sea shore...

Tired? Shaken?? Broken???

Lets be happy with our nothingness.

Fire play... the day before holi - something we tend to forget

We seem to add value something at the expense of something else.

The Context

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In Bengal, on the day before the festival of colour, festival of fire takes place. At the end of the winter, people collect fallen leaves dried up branches of the trees to burn down and wait for the new beginning.

The Spring mood

The Mood

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The festival of colour commonly called Holi which is equated with spring. Onslaught of spring depicts picture of dried up branches flowery trees, clear blue or crystal black canvasy sky, dry leaves that create sound with each step. The soothing temperature, vibrant flowery nature sets the mood for a 'search' which brings nature closure.

Spring and laws of attraction

The Myth

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The festival takes place during 3 or 4 days preceding the full moon day in the month of Phagan. The myth says, ancient demonic King, Hiranya Kashyap had compelled everybody to obey him except his own Son Prahlad. Prahlad used to be a true devotee of Lord Vishnu and in consequence, King's tremendous torture and attempt to murder remained unsuccessful. Once the Hiranya asked his sister demonic Holika to hold Prahlad and sit on fire. King thought, since Prahlad is immune to fire Holika would also remain unhurt. However, as the fire set on both of them, Holika died but Prahlad remained unhurt.

The fire festival according to myth indicates the killing of demonic Holika and protection of devotee Prahlad.

Fire - hit and wind

The interpretations

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Social scientists and symbolists have focused on the diffusion of Tribal elements to the Hindu Religion. It symbolises the true spirit of devotee whose faith has the power to overcome any adverse situation.

Fertility: interpretations

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The festival takes place at the end of winter and beginning of spring. The moods and attitudes of the festival participants indicate breaking down boundaries. The fire symbolises pride and the source of power located in human fertility. The symbol of fire indicating fertility is used by many in films and also plays a central role in Hindu rituals having deep rooted connotation.

People's participation and play with fire enhances and sets the mood in comfortable temperature with naked trees and fallen leaves. The interaction and chorous voice "Aaj aamader nerapora kal aamader dol/ purnima te chaNd utheche bolo horibol" - To day is the fire tomorrow is the colour/ look at the full moon and say "horibol". The word horibol has at least two connotations in contemporary bengal – a) a loud call to the God Vishnu, who is also known as 'hari', and b) it indicates a frenzy, anomic and disorganised condition. The God Bishnu has different names and appearances among them Shri Krishna is very famous for love making. In a way the symbols of love and people being frenzy with the fire indicates the mood of romance and love making.

The Culture and Cognition

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In the relational domain, strong kinship, defined and compartmentalised society leaves little room for a free flowing touch, smell and mixing of people. Human beings being not just another animal have learned to control certain drives and instincts. In a way instinct is replaced by freedom, however, the freedom is structurally exercised by the society. However, relative freedom is provided, in the name of festival which starts with burning down the old and unused and in a sense symbolically provides a refreshed cultural domain.

The Functional Domain

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The festival uses accumulated heaps of dried leaves, branches and waste materials. Burning down these items yearly indicates hygienic behaviour. People's large scale community based participation enhances social capital.

When we are in the mood for colours and play with our frenzy self are we still missing something?