Dicartomy

“The era of sedans is over”, screams Mahindra’s new ad even as a huge container from outer space mercilessly mashes an innocent white sedan meekly parked by the road-side much to the horror of the sapiens on the sidewalk. The Xylo is coming soon to obliterate all sedans or at least that is what it purports to do. But didn’t M&M just hail the arrival of their much hyped wide-bodied Renault-blooded sedan, Logan, a few winters ago?! Agreed Logan was still-born, but still, the last rites need not be so caddish. Do you perhaps reckon that the advertisement would have been craftier if Logans were actually scorching Indian asphalt? I feel bad for Renault, not because it launched an absolute dud of an oil burner housed in an even more uninspiring monocoque, much like the person who endorses the vehicle, lots of oomph but little substance (ok wimmin, don’t frown at moi) but for having partnered with the likes of M&M which seems to be cold-shouldering its now already attenuating French partner!

With a front grill that looks like an accessory rejected from a badly designed chariot made for Ben-Hur, I can’t seem to understand just what the honchos at M&M were up to when they saw how their supposedly Innova-beating baby (could actually happen you see, Indians have taken to the WagonR for gods-sake) looked head-on! We are on territory where “Pathetic” is synonymous with “Praiseworthy” as far as looks go (apologies, Xylo lovers) but the automobile itself seems to be endowed with intelligent interiors, good build quality and a nice engine, all of which are offered at an honest price. Can’t think of a better word than utilitarian notwithstanding the multi-functional display being touted as a fuel-conserving widget, hardy har har!

Xylo, my dear friends, is an MPV squarely built for Parveen Dabbas, not Aamir Khan.

And for Renault, let’s hope that Bajaj snubs you much more subtly and not with a campaign like "The era of small cars is over! Coming soon, Bajaj Tuk-Tuk"

Mind Matters

Caveat: Reader discretion advised.

He who jerks off each night thinking about knocking a nipper is no paedophile, she chomps on her breadsticks assuming they were the fingers of her best friend at school, she is no cannibal, he who plots the most torturous death of his colleague at work is not homicidal, she derives immense pleasure from the sad plight of her distraught pal but is no sadist for these people feed their dark phantasies in a world inaccessible to anyone, their minds.

The mind is a complex place, a stronghold of myriad feelings most never experienced, thoughts untaught, ideas idle, wonted whims, fantasies unfulfilled, ignis fatui incarcerated and in the midst of all this buzz is a small fraction that we actually translate into actions, the things that we say, do, proclaim, share and own responsibility for.

This post is about the major part of the matters of the mind locked in the vacuum of the self. At this mental level, I think there are no good or bad people, no right or wrong, no gentlemen and rustics, no perverts and purists for what’s inside of you is something no can figure out to be able to make a judgment about you. It is a level playing field where every individual is an equal and this fact though troublesome to many, is beautiful to me.

Our actions define us, not our thoughts. The mind is like the wild wind, the roaring river, the ceaseless cosmos it is meant to be unrestricted and unfettered, it is meant to be the harbinger of germination, the source of life and creativity, elite and eclectic, shoddy and shameful, the mind must do what it was meant to do, generate all the permutations and combinations possible and then you decide what you want to do with them by choosing the best ones to act upon, like how we select the best roses from the orchid to present to our beloved or pick the freshest fruits to take home sifting through the basket loads. I believe that a great person is not someone who has learnt to mould his mind but is someone who has an ascendance over his actions. It is not about destroying the dangerous mob - it is about choosing to shoot below the knees to disperse it, it is not about annihilating your adversary - it is about acknowledging his dominance while vowing vehemently to best him, it is not about lusting over your daughter’s classmate – it is about a life that you could positively influence being a responsible adult, it is not about the slum that you can build a castle on – it is about the countless souls you can help sustain on a piece of lifeless earth……

May be that’s why, even the great mahatma decided to adapt the adage, “See no evil, Hear no evil, Say no evil”, without adding “Think no evil”, for as long as you don’t intend to actuate it, the resident evil is actually harmless.