Remusings

Breathing - the act of taking air in and out of our bodies - is an activity intrinsically tied to being alive, yet most of us live with little conscious awareness of its existence on a daily basis. The reality of being alive can be defined by the act of breathing itself. Breathing in and out in a steady rhythm signifies that there is life within a body. When one places the finger under the nostrils of a corpse, one is seeking the feel of the breath as the telltale sign of the presence of life. However, despite the vital role of the breath in the phenomenon of life, one can feasibly spend an entire lifetime without ever noticing that one is breathing. In lives lived such, if ever this awareness does arise, it might only be when when one finds oneself gasping for breath, after a hard workout or maybe in the unfortunate situation when one is drowning underwater. In the absence of breath, breath is quickly recognized as the most important necessity for life. The human body is an orch...

Yesterday, my city, the place of my birth and childhood, was bathed in blood and tears. Deep wounds were inflicted, during an overnight orgy of brutality and violence, in a stunning degradation of all things sacred we have ever held dear. For 13 hours the nation watched, helpless, petrified, and terrorized. The victims: They were one of us Reports that emerged first read '20 foreigners killed in terrorist attacks in Dhaka'. Even as the standoff was diffused, the narrative remained the same - ISIS militants have specifically targeted foreigners in Gulshan area, the diplomatic zone of my city. Its reiterations had reverberated worldwide by last night, when I get a call from a friend abroad. He says 'I am sorry to hear it man. A tragedy. Although it is not a direct tragedy for Bangladesh, really.' Really? Did it really make a difference? I told him how confused we were all feeling about what had just happened. Does it have to matter that apparently no Bangladeshi...

It was one of those conversations had in tipsy stupors, when the topic of religion materialized in our midst. The thread that led to this theme included multiple steps - beginning with the sorry state of our world today, quickly transforming into global geopolitical dynamics, to the polarities of East vs. West. Hanging out with social scientists can lead one into such snaking trialogues, which more often than not were cyclical. And too often they ended with somebody raising their arms in despair and yelling "Fuck it! It's all going to hell!" "Western religions are not worth busting your heads over!" said my friend, almost on the edge of one of those cries of despair. Terence and I were being thoroughly entertained by (and partaking in) Baba's periodic outbursts for a couple of hours now. "These religions are suffering from such a crisis of spirit. There is nothing left in them. Christians are no longer christians -their new religion is money!" ...