Friday, June 4, 2010

Who is driving my car?

Ram Mohammad Thomas, a Dharavi teen, providentially wins a major quiz show transforming his fate overnight. … catchphrase “D: Destiny it is written”. Pleasant feel good fiction, as the artistic liberty settles on a joyful end. The imagination got moderately acknowledged but the adapted movie, though critically unworthy, was showered with awards. Seems like the exhaustion of protracted war-for-peace, fright of international terrorism, chained natural cataclysm, the greed driven financial panic, the looming climatic catastrophe; all so chronically synchronized to co-ordinate with the eschatological doomsday forecast, have created an imperceptible whirlpool sucking optimism to the depths of the globe. Action is defunct, assurance is the prerequisite. Consequently things promising hope are bestowed supreme attention, be it either a Slumdog endorsing predestined destiny or a relatively newbie politician orating excellent changes to be.

Inspite of following a joyful climax the concluding catchphrase “Destiny: It is written”… scares. If it is, then how come are we real? Aren’t we too characters of a fictional plot performing as per the whims and fancy exercised by the creator, hypothetically assumed as God? Where is the space for free living? “When all we are, are random variables fit into the equation of hope and fate then why pursue desires?” A friend said… good lines!!. Never been able to believe in the supposition of God, as always even then I thought of advocating free will, but we didn’t debate over its unenthusiastic connotations.

To free will, destiny thing is bullshit phrase akin to “Marriages are made in heaven” which is impugned by witty T-shirt answers ‘So are we here just to have sex? ’ But at times temptations subdue my all encompassing will… are these subversive forces the masters governing me? Individual temptation yet again is genetic instigation.. so is my life genetically coded in the 23 chromosomes… again prewritten…well if only I could decipher my DNA to match my will.

What if I say being pre-destined do I have anything to fear? .... precarious thought!! Fatal upshots of a written destiny were edited by granting an individual some say in his own destiny. The theory of reincarnation plotted by present actions came into folktales. Errr… a loop hole.. this present itself is already “Written”. A catch-22 situation indeed. Seems like neither destiny nor free will is the answer… then where to search… may be in some very elusive place between these two simplistic poles. No definite rules …the whole game is a flaw.

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