Worth

Noun: Worth

1. An indefinite quantity of something having a specified value

2. The quality that renders something desirable or valuable or useful

I should concede that many a times I am suddenly struck by a mundane thing. Struck me as in gets me day dreaming. Nothing injurious. Symptoms being a completely blank visage, the transformation of the sensory organs into obsolete vestigial masses and systems of cells, hands freely doodling on the notebook and a blissful indifference to the surrounding...er...to the lecture. Most times I am stupid. If you didn’t realise that the last sentence was the disclaimer then you are too. Well coming back to my stupidity, I have so much empty space inside my cranium that I just can waste so much time thinking (well I feel a little guilty for terming the process as “thinking” because “thinking” would have felt insulted. Fair enough actually. But then as I was typing it just came. May be “rambling” would be little more fitting.). The best thing about this is that it helps me to keep myself entertained. That is when I no longer feel entertained by all the things accessible that could entertain (like Wikipedia, comics, novels, movies, games etc). But I always have this backup plan. And the best thing about it is that it requires no external apparatus. And it has an automatic trigger mechanism. For instance one day I had to wear all this rain coat crap because it was raining heavily and I had to go to class.(I don’t usually bother wearing them on the way back home). But inspite of the zipper and bottons I found myself wet. That is highly irritating because I don’t like wearing them in the first place and It silly doesn’t serve its purpose fully anyway. Even when we are using an umbrella our feet and ankle and some inches of the pant above it all get wet. Possibly some parts of our shirt (or Top.I advocate equality. Honest) too. There is no way we can truly escape the rain. And it struck me that it’s probably why we use phrases like “...Shower love...”, “....shower affection...” We can’t avoid being impacted if somebody loves us. No matter how many layers we cover ourselves with something in us is going to get wet. Something will get wet. How we respond to it is not what I am talking about here. My point is simply that there is no way that we can be indifferent to it. Even if its indifference it is going to be a consciously forced indifference which probably defies the meaning of indifference anyway. Probably what I just said was pure crap. May be.

I always say that everything has to be deserved. Well I don’t seriously care about what it actually means but it helps to both justify myself and to console myself. (Say I have done some horribly expensive exam horribly pathetic my mind obviously tries to tell me that there is some chance sticking somewhere that I would clear it. But I tell myself I won’t deserve it anyway. So what’s the point? It helps actually. I don’t even feel that sad about flunking. I know. What I just said is that I not only have the insolence not to prepare for an exam but also that I don’t even feel remorseful or guilty or sad about it. )

But this deserving thing is inevitably done by all of us if I am allowed to guess so. Our minds automatically execute the mental formula that gives a final value of worth.

Is that shirt as good as this one?

Is that job worth the trouble of leaving home?

Is that person worth helping?

Is that person worth getting help from?

Can I pity myself now?

Can I pity that person?

Is this laptop worth the money?

Is this course worth the time?

The most curious thing is that this calculation is so confusing and complicated and subjective we don’t understand it when the same calculation goes on in another person’s mind. That is probably one of the reasons why everyone looks crazy to us.

Consider the following:

Many a times I have found that the guys at the bottom of the grade sheet always have the propensity to “help”. I put that in quotes because that help can be anything including something that may not be help. Taking a Xerox for me. Coming with me to get my cycle puncture repaired. Coming with me to the bank to pay fees. No. I know that sounded nothing unusual. But they do such things when say there is an exam the next day, when, with a high possibility, I wouldn’t have done it for them under the same circumstances. And no I am not great pals with them. But it’s the group of people with whom we share a mutual respect and acknowledgement. But nothing more than that. And they do it for everybody (I am no special exemption or anything). Why would they do it? What worth did they see?

I did this project at a lab during my btech and as it happened there were some 15 people like me who were all given accommodation at the same place. But I was the only one who had to work in the lab that was near the hostel itself and the others had to go someplace else. So even though it’s them who make my buddy group there I am not with them for the whole day. So apart from the lab mates I used to talk with the security guards and cleaners and assistants (because anyway we are the only ones there). I used to have all sorts of conversations with them. Particularly one security guard was my favourite. Possibly he found me likeable too. The weekends I used to go to my relatives’ place and whenever I return back he would always say that it was boring without me there. When I think about it I don’t think anybody ever has told me that.( “All words” ) One day I remember he gave me mangoes which he had got somewhere. (“Bah! Big deal. ).Possibly he gave others too. And then there was this other person who wanted to take a picture with all of us there who had come for doing projects and would be gone in some days. Why would they do it? What worth did they see?

Recently I had gone on this trip to someplace with some friends. One part of the trip involved boating and the shore of the lake where the boats are moored was marshy and muddy. So when we got on the boat the boat guy showed us specifically strategic locations to keep our foot in. And there were these kids there who are probably like helpers to the boat guys and they were basically helping the boat guys. So off we went on the boat. After a couple of hours we returned and one of those boys helped get the boat docked. And one of us got stuck in the mud. And in the process lost one slipper. And in the process of trying to retrieve it lost the other one too. Both the slippers were stuck in the slushy brown dirty mud. They were not even visible. Stuck under. And the person didn’t know what to do. We didn’t know what to do. Then this boy , shirtless and slipper less, nonchalantly walked up to the spot, stuck his hands into that same nauseating mud, pulled out the pair of slippers, threw them at the feet of the owner, then with the same indifference with which we give a beggar a coin, he walked back to the boat. Why would he do it? What worth did he see?

I could go on. And if you had read at least one of my previous posts then you would know that I could go on. And please don’t see what I am saying with respect to poverty or anything like that. It has nothing to do with it.

My point is simply that I (or we, if you relate to my point) would never get to understand others’ formula. So what? Well may be I (we) should sometimes recalibrate our own formulas.

Quite often somebody (like a friend...I should say that I am always very squirmish to use that “friend” word...I am just never able to correctly define it...are classmates friends? Sometimes; some of them; may be; I don’t know ;) says something that hurts. The natural response is to retort. The first thing that comes to my mind is whether that person is worth enough to me to let it pass without me retorting. Obviously with my people I wouldn’t even care because I would know they are as dependent on me as I am on them and whatever they do is out of the right they have on me. I am not talking about them because with them I wouldn’t even recognise it. I am talking about the peer group or whatever we call it. Acquaintances. What do we do? Is retorting worth it? Or is not retorting worth it?

Now compare it with the prospect of putting our hands into mud for a total stranger who is in all possible ways better positioned in this world. Our predominant reaction towards somebody better than us in anyway is probably envy or intimidation or insecurity or inferiority complex or if that person is an "acquaintance", affected appreciation. May be its worth the effort trying to recalibrate.

Many people have this idealistic notion that it is wrong to encourage beggars by giving them money. May be. May be not. But can anyone deny the fact that they don’t feel that slight happiness that comes out of the feeling that we have actually helped someone? May be it is an action arising out of what is called as “survivor’s guilt”. May be that action in some small unintended way shows a condescension that arises out of pity that arises out of our superior position in the scenario which is in no way related to our skills or talents. Yes. But may be that miniscule momentary reprieve that we could possibly provide is worth it.

“People deserve our love most when they least deserve it”. May be it is worth it.

May be those who don’t have are the ones who give because it is probably those who don’t have who know the worth.

Everything i just typed were clichés.

That brings me to my very first point. Things that are mundane suddenly strike me.

It strikes me because I realise they appeared mundane because I didn’t know its worth.

We always get wet in the rain. It’s just that we don’t notice it.

Hypocrisy

Hypocrisy

Noun: Hypocrisy

1. An expression of agreement that is not supported by real conviction

2. Insincerity by virtue of pretending to have qualities or beliefs that you do not really have

We hate hypocrites. All of us do. The only problem with the statement is one of introspection and metaphysical cognition and other higher things we never understand. Ah.yeah. The problem is only with the understanding part. The problem can be very lucidly expressed. And something that can be expressed can be typed too. And so here goes...Hold your breath. This is the moment..The curtain is going up..The stage is going to be bared...aaaand..Voila!

We are hypocrites.

Ok. Sorry for the hype. Well, am sure you almost guessed what I was arriving at anyway.

(After all everything in this world survives at one point or another through the undeserved advantages bestowed upon it in the guise of distorted perception caused by the exaggeration of its actual nature and value. And I am a student of biotechnology. Ok. Sorry. I was a student of biotechnology: The perennially hyped up area. In fact I remember somebody saying ATGC should be replaced with HYPE. So I am at home with hype. No problems at all. (Well for the uninitiated, ATGC stands for Adenine, Thymine, Guanine and Cytosine, the base pairs in a DNA strand. And because this anyway came up let me warn you. Never believe what a biotechnologist says. Because we are always optimistic and we think anything is possible. So if you can’t resist being naughty and end up having AIDS you are going to die even though biotechnology would “promise” a drug. But we will test on you anyway and if you get suspicious we will just say that you would be helping your children or grandchildren by helping us with the tests that entails subjecting yourselves to our whims that are justified only by our nonexistent knowledge. Ok. Fine. Enough of that. That was for fun. We biotechnologists are really nice and good people. Seriously good people. Though may be a little illuded.))

We have problems with understanding it because we have problems with understanding anything that juxtaposes us with other living-feeling-thinking-beings which have similar problems with understanding. Our antennas which always just work fine just go berserk when they sense a homo -sapien with a similar set of antennas in the proximity.

I am sure empathising and sympathising would always remain elusive skills. In this case practice would only help us to realise that it is so tough that it is almost impossible.

Consider the following.

Noun: Festival

1. A day or period of time set aside for feasting and celebration

2. An organized series of acts and performances

What does the word “festival” brings to our mind?

Fun. Frolic. Celebrations. Holiday. Dresses. Sweets. Phone calls. SMSs. Post card greeting. Electronic greetings. Relatives. Friends. Family. Neighbours. Bonus. Crackers. Cakes. Heavy food. Religious rituals. Tours. Trips. Picnics. Malls. Movies. Restaurants. Gifts. Happiness.

Does the season of a festival bring joy to all, irrespective of the caste and creed and job designation?

May be.

May be not.

To put my question differently, does a festival bring only and only joy to all?

Consider the fact that among the things that I listed above most of them, a vast majority of them, entails the presupposition of the presence of both money and the means to spend. Definitely that is not true. At least it cannot be universalised. (According to Kant’s theory of ethics universalisability is one of the criteria something has to satisfy to be concluded ethical, the other being reversibility. Can you believe it? I learned that in an mba course.)

My apologies for what my point is going to be.

Let’s say it is diwali time and we are all busy getting excited. There are all sorts of offers that are getting advertised on every possible media. Marketers are so skilled that we all buy stuff that we don’t even remotely need. There are exchange melas and discounts and freebies and zero interest loans. In fact when we enter any big store during the festive season we find it filled to the brim with people (So crowded they are that sometimes we will get the delivery of whatever we are going to by only after some days.) The place is so crowded that the sales men and women are literally dishevelled. It’s these people that we bombard with our questions

But never does it strike to us that its festival season for those sales people too.

Electronic shops: What is the price of this? Of that? Of both together? What is selling most? What is the warranty period? When will we get the delivery? Can we test it?

Do those people buy new stuff because it is a festival season? Do they get to change the television because the one they have has become old? Do they get to buy their first colour television?

Apparel showrooms: Can we try the dress? How is the cloth material? Will it shrink? Will it fade? Will it last?

Do they get to try on new dresses they always wanted to wear? Do they get to buy their children the clothes which they find other parents buy for theirs?

Sweet shop: Which sweet is fresh? Do you take bulk orders? Can you pack the sweets separately in 5 boxes?

Do they get to buy gulab jamun? Do they get to give sweets to their family and friends?

Jewellery shop: Is that KDM jewellery? Do you discount wastage? Do you take old gold?

Do they get to buy ear rings for their loved ones? (Er..Pardon my emphasis on ear rings alone..In my opinion ear rings are the best of the varied accoutrements that the female species adorns itself with. And men wearing ear rings is extremely gross because nothing can be more genuinely and brilliantly feminine than an ear ring and men are just desecrating it by wearing it. It is also a desecration when it’s worn anywhere other than the ears. They ARE ear rings after all. Anyway if there is one piece of jewellery that holds its own it is an ear ring. Even without the associated ear an ear ring independently looks splendid. I have a whole lot of opinions about ear rings. I will not be able to do justice if I talk about it here J . If you don’t believe me well then sample this. In my opinion the best ear rings are those which hang. Not sure what they are called. Drops? Or droppings? hee hee Well. Not just anything that hangs. It should not be very big to seem gross but it should be big enough to slightly oscillate when the head turns. So there. I could go on and on. So you better believe me)

**That was to lighten up the conversation, in case you didn’t notice it.

We don’t think any of those (in italics) do we? Sure that doesn’t mean that we are hypocrites. And my point is not about the poverty or the differential spending potential of the population of the different economic strata. No. My point is this.

Festivals are one of the greatest hypocrisies because in the name of joy it sure must be causing discomfort to a lot of people.

Somewhere in the minds of people who cannot buy and spend the way others surrounding them are able to, there must be a little uneasiness and anger at the whole design. Sure that is applicable anytime. But festivals heighten and deepen the perception of the divide.

No. We are not guilty by intention of course. (Since I used “we” It becomes incumbent on me to define it. Well, lets say it includes us who have internet connection and the time to read blogs).

But I am sure this doesn’t pacify the guilt that we feel isn’t it? Very similar to the temporal pang of guilt that we get when a kid wipes and cleans our table in a restaurant. There is no logic to it. There is no spurt of action after it. There is no tangible means to atone for it. There is nothing that can be done. There is no reason.

We do just one thing. We forget it in a minute.

No. That doesn’t make us explicitly bad either. My point is however hard we try we cannot stop ourselves from hurting, from causing some sort of pain to somebody. It is so because we never know how and what and where. It is so because our antennas don’t work. It is so because we have to survive. It is so because the system is vast and complicated.

Most of us agree on right things. We passionately support equality. We claim to be very nice people. We claim to have never hurt anyone. We claim a whole lot of things. (Well for a start we should ask our friends and family about that). The most ironical thing is that even if we actually truthfully honestly wholeheartedly try those, there is no way that it is possible.

It is so because we cannot help but celebrate festivals.

It is so because most of us are innocent.

Sinfully innocent.

Void

Void
Noun: Void
1. The state of nonexistence
2. An empty area or space

There are a lot of voids that we can bother ourselves with.

There are a lot of voids that we don’t see. (“Of course! Silly! Obviously one cannot see a void. That's is why it is a void isn’t it?” If you just thought that please make sure you talk to me. I am sure I would like you. “Ha! Big incentive!”. Now I am sure you thought that too if indeed you had thought the first one. Did you actually believe it? Gosh! You ARE naive. I was just humouring you. Silly. (see the point? We could have really stupid conversations  ).

There are a lot of voids that we can choose to consciously ignore. But there is a glitch to this stratagem. I know all of us know it but being the masochist-cum-sadist that I am, though I can pull it off as a ruthlessly honest person instead, I am always irresistibly tempted to rub it in. How the hell are we supposed to “consciously” ignore something (imagine me miming the quotes with my hands in the air. I know. It is a highly irritating gesture. But come on, where is the fun if we can’t be harmlessly irritating? Anyway to be irritating in any other way is bad right?) . To consciously ignore something is trying to be brilliantly oxymoronic. Oxymoronic because it IS oxymoronic. And “brilliantly” was used sarcastically. How dumber can it get? My above criticism applies to all such phrases. “Try and forget”, “try to let go” etc. To put it more bluntly, “forgetting”, “forgetting”, “letting go” refer to passive end states. And “trying” is a conscious activity. How can it possibly lead to a passive state? In fact in my opinion the effort would only add to the irony, add to the anxiety, add to the despair. In a way the voids that we don’t perceive (which of course says that we never knew the value of the thing that caused the void and we would never know it either, which is ironic too) are way better than the ones we try to “consciously ignore”.

I fervently advocate attachment. (I would any day have a go at the people who claim that detachment is the first step to spiritual enlightenment. Hypocrites. Even if I accept that it does, what is one supposed to do with spiritual enlightenment? Can it be securitised and traded? If not then thank you very much I don’t want it. Well then this is a totally different area and it warrants a dedicated debate. In fact if my English and writing skills were better I would attempt to write about it...it is like one of those things we would like to be even though we know it is not probably meant to be ) . I keep thinking about it. The phenomenon of missing. I miss somebody because somebody is not near. No. That is not it is it? It is because somebody not being near causes a void. A temporary void may be. Void nevertheless. It is a peculiar phenomenon. Sometimes it is even crippling to the extent of causing an emotion almost near despair. Despair that comes out of the feeling of loss. Loss of all the precious times which could have been spent with our people. Re–living past memories, thinking about the various conversations, of the times spent, of the things done, of the laughter, of the fun, of the sense of belongingness, of the felling of security, of the sense of purpose, of living. These are symptoms of missing. Manifestations of void. One of the most frequent arguments I hear is “ It is stupidity to keep thinking about the past” . But aren’t we defined by our past? It is our memories that makes us what we are. And whoever said the symptoms are sad? It is beautiful. Yes. It does makes one long(ha..that was a pun!) But that is the whole point isn’t it?

I love movies.
(Gotcha! Hee hee)
OK. I do love movies. All kinds. And somehow I feel some of the most moving ones have some element of death to emphasis whatever it is trying to emphasis.( In fact, just now I saw the movie “The lives of others”. Good movie. But somehow someone had to die. I was wishing for the movie to end without anybody dying. But no. And I expected it. Take any good movie. (Yeah..not all of them of course. But the sample space supporting my hypothesis is quite enormous. It would be statistically significant. I suppose an ANOVA would prove it.) Forrest gump, Crash, City of angels, etc (I know a whole lot of movies but somehow they are evading the probing tentacle of my memory..Its funny when it happens, when we can’t remember things we KNOW that we know..Funny brain..anyway) ... any movie in fact. Same thing goes for books too.

Death is the fluorescent highlighter.

And I see the logic too. It does move me. The impact is enormous. The perception of the theme enhanced.
Voids are undesirable. Death probably creates the worst kind of voids.

Doesn’t the very thought scare the living day lights out of us?
That is what is scary about voids. Sometimes they just cannot be filled. Nope.
Being the sadist I am, if given a choice, I suppose it would be preferable to pass into the void ourselves and cause voids in others rather than getting voids inside us. Yeah. That was hypothetical. So chuck it.

May be for somebody not doing a particular job creates a void. May be for somebody not being in a particular building creates a void. May be for somebody being idle creates a void. May be for somebody not hanging out in a pub creates a void. May be for somebody not flirting regularly creates a void. May be for somebody not doing certification exams creates a void. We never know what creates a void.

May be everything has the potential to create a void. But they are probably the kind which we don’t perceive.

Missing people create voids. And they are the kind that we try to “consciously ignore” (or rather think we are forced to do so).

A relationship (ahem..any relationship) that doesn’t create a void (as in whom we don’t miss) doesn’t exist in the first place. If there is something about some people that really scares me (usually I am too thick skinned and numb skulled to even notice that I am supposed to be intimidated) is the casualness with which they handle “some” losses. It’s unnerving. Probably it was never a loss for them. I have been told that it’s natural for people to fall apart. That is the most alien thing I have ever heard. Extra terrestrial. (at least in the movie the alien was cute) May be voids are subjective.

Voids teach one his/her priorities. It is a simple matter of changing the perception rite? Instead of trying to ignore it if only we had the prudence to look at our most troubling voids we automatically know where our hearts lie. And then we only have to revisit our priorities list. Do some process re-engineering. And then “consciously” try to destroy the void. (“Bah! Theoretical idealistic Crap”. Yes. Absolutely. I like typing such stuff because things that are not there are the ones that attract us. Now what was that quote..something like “That which is seen is temporal. That which is unseen is eternal”)

May be we are utterly helpless with some voids. But not all of them. (may be good grades would help. Considering chaos theory and the profound educational syllabus we never know)

I see only one solution. The snag being that the solution takes as its entourage considerable discomfort and irritation and it also demands as a prerequisite certain disregard for the collection of thoughts and emotions commonly termed the “ego”. I am sure it would be a great challenge. How much can one tolerate looking like a fool to himself? So the solution is probably not pragmatic at all. Another Theoretical idealistic Crap. But at least I find it really heartening to know that there is something we could do. Because the most powerful and most dominant emotion caused by a void is helplessness. (I am sure there will be a consensus on that..helplessness is the most irritating of emotions. How many times have we felt it? Helplessness even in the most trivial of scenarios like we being in a bus and our silly bladders finding themselves overloaded, are most disappointing and disconcerting.)

The greatest injustice that we could do to ourselves is letting voids form.
And the theoretical unpragmatic idealistic crap of a solution?

Never let go.

Indifference

Indifference

Whenever a drink (Pepsi or coke or slice or amul cool) has been consumed a little amount of the fluid gets left behind in the bottle. Possibly due to various reasons such as

1) Pure negligence

2) The bravado of taking the last big gulp in a flash and almost banging the bottle on the table and leaving without taking another look at the bottle

3) Being the offspring of a rich mother or dad that such things are a way of living, not just a cool drink bottle

4) The inner voice that says that it will look really cheap to be seen licking off the last drops off the bottle

Let me now start on the post.

Scene 1:

I am sitting in my room and wondering what to do. Just before that moment I had read Calvin and Hobbes for almost an hour and before that I had read a book, a fantasy novel (Eldest to be specific, the sequel to Eragon) and before that I had been watching a movie. And before that I had been studying for a test and when I was studying for that stupid test I had been cursing and fuming and fretting about me a poor little kid being unable to resist the strong circumstantial forces which had, in some past moment before the whole thing, had made me join a MBA course.

I am sitting in my room and wondering and then I decide to take a nap

Scene 2:

Michael Crichton passed away today. I am feeling bad about it. He is..Was a brilliant writer. And his genre was something that felt like he is just writing for me: science fiction that involves a very realistic extrapolation of existing technology (as far as science fiction goes). After hearing the news I log onto his website. Then I visit discussion forums dedicated to him. I am pretty..well..I suppose I cannot say “sad” because that would be a lie but I am somewhere there.

Scene 3:

I am packing my stuff for my return to the wonderland called hostel. Sorry. That was wrong. My mom and dad are packing my stuff for my return to the wonderland called hostel. My mom has already made checklist and she is ticking off on it. Dad is arranging my stuff inside the bags. And of course I am helping (mostly by not complaining about anything). Mom is asking me to take food and snacks and I am refusing to pack them all because I feel it’s an unnecessary load and already the bags are full anyway. So in the midst of arguments regarding what is essential and what is dispensable, packing goes on.

Scene 4:

I am engaged in a very serious conversation regarding the Mumbai blasts with my friend over the phone. As things usually are, one thing leads to another and it becomes a full fledged dialogue consisting of all tones of speech: Reprehension, Scepticism, Sympathy, Empathy, Anger, and etc etc.all of them revolving around the country, its politicians, its people, and the people’s value system and so on

I am all out for separating India into separate countries. I am putting forth my points supporting it. Very sensible points too..er..ok...they were points..I am not sure of the sensibility part. My friend is telling me that the whole thing is troubling. The discussion leads to topics of death and life or more dramatically put..The relevance of life. At least death seems to escape the need for relevance. And obviously when topics such as these are discussed the next in line is the great evasive enigmatic illusionary Warlord: The Career. I am, as I always do, sticking onto my point that it’s a pity that we allow career to rule our lives and even knowing this doesn’t help. But ironically, it sure does adds on to the feeling of desperation, the feeling that what we actually want in life is going to be always out of reach or something crappy like that. Then I tell my friend a punch line “Life should not be fitted around career. Career should be fitted around life”. I have a propensity to talk like that. And anyway by this time both I and my friend have run of topics to discuss (or rather bore the socks off each other). So we decide to say goodbye and so we say “goodbye” and end the call.

Scene 5:

I am out with my friends to what is called a Night canteen. To eat of course. But it’s more like this daily routine of an extended chat session in the pretext of dinner. The conversation can be classified as just one category: The category that cannot be classified. We are talking about everything ranging from the economy to the resolve it takes to maintain the status quo of being single when surrounded by a lot of peer pressure. But today the topic is predominantly skewed towards the sanctum of MBA: the placements. We are talking about how bad things are and how unlucky we should all be for getting to graduate out of a B school now. I am also complaining about the woes of having to wear formals which I believe to be a real pain. In between we also have a word with the server, who by the way is a kid, regarding the discrepancy of the side dish that had been served. Then the conversation goes on. As is the routine after the parathas we all decide to have some cool drink and then we start walking away after paying the bill, still talking.

Scene 6: Immediately after scene 5;

The kid who served me the food is busy. He is so engrossed in what he is doing.

He is so involved in it that he is totally indifferent.

Indifferent to education

Indifferent to the economy

Indifferent to India

Indifferent to Bombay

Indifferent to bombs

Indifferent to Tata Nano

Indifferent to Pakistan’s Infiltration

Indifferent to the fact that Adiga had won a Booker

Indifferent to the fact that he is wearing shabby clothes

Indifferent to Obama

Indifferent to career

Indifferent to pay packages

Indifferent to the westernisation of culture

Indifferent to Malls

Indifferent to the lack of Pizza shops in the campus

Indifferent to the next quarter results

Indifferent to the difference between Gross and CTC

Indifferent to the fact that Daniel Craig is not as suave as Pierce Brosnan

Indifferent to the fact that he does not have a resume

Indifferent to the fact that Potter gets to marry, of all the people, Ginny

(I am cutting this list short..Please feel free to continue the list in your mind)

The reason behind this appalling apathy and indifference is pretty apparent.

He is busy.

He is carefully collecting the small amounts of the drink that are residing at the bottom of the bottles we left behind in the previous scene. He is collecting them in a single bottle. Very meticulous. Not letting a single drop flow out in the process. So proficient he is in the task that at the end he has almost 30 ml. A whole 30 milli Litres of Slice. He seems pretty smug about it. He is happy. He drinks it.

Indifferent to the fact that he could be (and is) seen doing it.

Scene 7

I feel slapped.