APOCALYPSE

The world as we see it today is the outcome of a plethora of transitions that have, at times, entailed gigantic shifts in the history of the universe. Planet Earth has silently withstood the test of time, surviving catastrophic events such as meteor showers, earthquakes and the defining Ice Ages while the infinite life forms it has been host to have gradually vanished into oblivion, making way for more adaptable and superior beings. Like the changing seasons, it has been subject to constant metamorphosis - from a tiny speck prior to the 'Big Bang', to a humongous mass of solid matter containing the most wonderful of natural endowments that make it so charmingly beautiful.

And yet, come 2012, it must end.

One would never have thought the world would have been manufactured with an expiry date. Well, anybody except a few enlightened Mayans blessed with awful foresight. Perhaps they ran out of material to continue their legendary calendar post the 21st of December, 2012. Or their prediction was just an ingenious gimmick aimed at having their name inscribed forever in the pages of history even after their entire civilization was expunged from the face of the planet. Or maybe, just maybe, we are indeed approaching 'Judgement Day'.


It would be interesting to argue what would beget 'doomsday'. I have been told of possibilities ranging from  natural causes such as climate change or global warming to human blunders such as a nuclear holocaust to climaxes bordering on the insane, such as a zombie invasion. I would envision the curtains being drawn to a close after a more grandiose finish. Definitely better than cities being engulfed in a sheath of ice or flooded by ocean waters. It would be nice to go down with some noise. For example, a war between mankind and aliens would be apt. And what if, a certain John Connor eventually survives to reconstruct the human race once again.

The finale could be left to anybody's imagination. The looming question, however, is -
How long until we can confidently declare : "That's all folks !" (?)

THE VACATION-VOCATION PARADOX

There are no bound limits to human wants and earthly cravings - one always desires for more. Be it a small child longing to experience the fervor of a brand new playstation, a shopaholic whiling away time lavishly on the latest gadgetry and fashionable attire, an amateur entrepreneur aspiring to reach the apex of corporate success, or a famished pauper searching for crumbs of bread within mounds of trash disposed of as useless by higher echelons of society - with each fulfillment is coupled a sense of inadequacy and avarice that propels us further towards still unrealized dreams and ambitions, and life continues to revolve in a circle around a central object, only the latter metamorphoses intermittently as time rushes by.

From velvety cholcolates to miniscule gadgets to swift bikes to good grades, most of my demands have been met to my contentment, albeit with censure and sometimes after much hullabaloo and tantrums from my side. There has been one in particular which has eluded me each time I come to wish for it, not one that can be realized by tangible means and measures - an extended vacation.

A day lost in travelling. Another spent remunerating for the hours of sleep the common IITian has so often been deprived of - at times cramming volumes of ominous facts and on rare occasions sweating it out on the badminton court (yeah, people do that at Cautley Bhawan !) or watching a critically acclaimed movie.
A brief excursion, lots of TV, occasional games of football, half a novel, a few mouthfuls of mom's blissful cookies; and before you know, it's time to pack your bags and head back to the land where unrelenting professors barge into your dreams and untimely exams draw out the little energy that remains after each wadded, eventful month.

If you've been working for what seems like eternity, you wish holidays were near. If you happen to be jobless for a long time, you look for better, fruitful endeavours. A holiday is seldom a pleasant respite from monotonous activity. It is a welcome change all right, but more often than not a pretext for shifting to some other selfish pursuit that is only somewhat different from our regular engagements - this especially holds for a B.Tech 3rd year undergraduate faced with the dilemma of choosing between a peaceful holiday and a promising, ambitious career.

Perhaps for now a 'holiday' is forbidden. But I'm waiting for the day when I have so much time just to lay back on nature's carpet in the beautiful sunshine and observe the clouds drifting across the blue sky - that I would truly call taking some time off.

Will Technology push Mankind back to the Primitive times?

Since time immemorial, when Homo Sapiens first evolved from the apes, mankind has been constantly treading the path of progress - scientifically and technologically (I won't say economically, going by the state of [monetary] affairs in my hostel and the recession in recent times). It all began with the Almighty's noble gesture in the prehistoric era, helping man to heed his brain and better sense over chaos and utter nonsense.

However, of late, there has been a thought lingering in my mind, maybe the consequence of days of inactivity that's driving me nuts - "How and when did technology start to evolve, and what would happen if it continues to be refined and moderated at such a rapid rate to suit our whims and fancies ?"

I start reasoning from the following perspective, which some of you might consider funny or rubbish, and some might appreciate my ability to wander to mental domains so remote and preternatural. A glutton might eat and devour everything that meets his eye, but there will be a point when his ponch will not be able to accomodate any more food and a reversible process will throw out all the balance trash.

Same is the case with Technology. Whatever means we may employ to enjoy comfort by making our work easier with the help of increasingly sophisticated machines, there will arrive a point of saturation whereafter nothing more can be accomplished, no progress made. Mankind will be reduced to a race of languid, idle creatures - plump due to "inertia" and total dependence on moving masses of metal, robots and androids (recall the animation movie "Wall E" ? - that will give you a better idea of what I'm blabbering about).

At some stage of time, humankind will finally come to terms with the fact that its their tumefied physique that is the reason for not finding suitable partners of the opposite sex to go on a date with, and they'll vow to start moving their limbs to exercise and shed some useless extra weight.....Ultimately, men and machines will be at loggerheads (while the ladies rush to the existing spas and beauty parlours), and you know who will finally emerge triumphant because of one possession that the machines would lack - presence of mind. [Man ! My story is going to sell !]

And then, after all the robots have been diminished to a pile of metallic junk, and humans begin to handle all their tasks by themselves, the journey to earlier times would commence - when regular mechanical engagements kept people slim, hale and hearty; when there were no clanky machines to disturb their peace of mind. Once again the steam engine will be built, and then fire ignited from rocks. Neanderthal man will spring back to life - the difference being he would have been evolved from modern man and not from the apes. This all may take place during the 3rd millenium AD or so, but it will all be the same as in primitive times.

Thus, while time might have advanced in reality, it would virtually have spun backwards..... I suppose this much is enough for my first theory. Thank you for staying with me till the end and enduring the bizzareness of this weird proposition, but I hope you would have enjoyed it all the same.

PS : I'm waiting for the award ladies and gentlemen ! - whatever it may be...