Inner Metamorphosis

The idea that government must be involved in family planning presupposes the inherent utility in having lesser population, which would presumptively put our resources to lesser strain. It is argued that since our resources are limited, the people would receive a better share of them, if lesser number were to compete for them.  Family planning has no cultural ethos in India as newly wedded couples are typically blessed to have as many children as possible by elders. Somehow, modern thinking (western to be accurate) has led us to this ‘realisation’ that more means trouble. This informs our basic understanding of the concept of family planning and remains so entrenched and few if ever have tried to question it. The utopian scenario that family planning aims for is a working couple with abundant resources having to spend them all on their one child as against a relatively poorer family struggling to meet ends with many children. This contrast in prospects bet...

Seven years ago I wrote my   first blogpost   this day more to seize the joy of seeing my writing in digital print than any literary ambition. The irony of launching it on Valentine’s Day won't be lost on my friends – couldn’t a boring philosopher-aspirant find a better day? Nonetheless, the occasion offers an opportune time to survey my work. Looking back at   my   earliest   works   with cold blood, I can still perceive the   raw   enthusiasm   of a   young thinker   impelled by the desire to   express   his   deeply considered opinions   which deserved wider circulation. Writing is primarily an act of   ego , for it presumes that someone out there might actually want to read you. I started mostly with philosophical pieces, apart from lengthy posts on the then trending   Telangana movement conversations . Some of them appear reasonably well-argued to me even today, though wanting in many as...

Outside the fictional landscape of The Fountainhead , how would a real-life Howard Roark fare? What might be the fate of an individualistic professional who stubbornly chooses to struggle for what he believes to be true and right instead of compromising his vision and values? The non-fictional counterpart of The Fountainhead may as well be “ The Killing of an Author ” . In the former, the protagonist is finally rewarded with flourishing career, reputation and the leading lady. How does narrator-protagonist of the latter book do in real life? This is a true story, and the author uses real-life names of many prominent people to retain the authenticity of the narrative. Book Struggling his way through lower-middle class Mangalore family, Richard Crasta clears IAS exam only to find his calling in writing.  Off he flies to the land of opportunities, US, where his creative wings would be at full liberty to sour unrestrained – or so he feels! It begins with what ...