23.Again and again =repeatedly

Again and again =repeatedly

Repetition is an inevitable aspect of life and living. 

Everything starting from the invisible microbes to tiny ants to huge elephants everything and everyone repeats many things. 

Either the repetition is very frequent and essential like our breathing or is after a long duration but inevitable like our birth and death. 

Life and everything about life is a cycle and hence inevitably repetitive.

Repetitions can be dry, dull drudgery or they can be interesting activities with modifications, improvements and enhancements. Be it sleeping or having sex, all species have to repeat certain activities. We repeatedly eat many times every day or at least once every day, probably we may eat different items/dishes.

Repetition, like imitation, is a process and practice proceeding towards progress and perfection. 

Hence it is ubiquitous in all aspects of life. In a way all progress and perfection are the results of repetitive endeavors executed with sharp observation, attention and awareness. 

That’s why any change takes root only by making its way through some pores or passages of some existing repetitive practice as it offers a cushion of comfort for seamless transition; change emanates also a result repeated attempts towards progress, and , besides change takes place  because of the interplay of two major aspects of life , namely the concrete and abstract, while all repetitions are part of concrete aspect of life while the abstract aspect of life every now and then interacts, influences and injects itself into the concrete aspect of life and thus throws up the surprise elements in the form of change. 

Whole world is interdependent, interconnected, interrelated and interactive so no one or nothing can afford to be aloof, alone and away from the rest. It is only the intensity of interdependence, interconnectedness, interrelatedness   and interactivity that varies from person to person, from one thing to another and with different persons or things or even with the same person or thing at different times.

In a way biologically, even evolution and growth are a result of repetition, starting from the cell which initially evolved and grew in number through reproduction by repeatedly dividing itself into halves or smaller fractions and all species evolving through repeated performances of different forms of sex and then effecting growth through repeated intake of some food. 

Evolution in general and in brief, is constant and repeated attempts to improve existence and life. 

All mutations after all are the manifestations of submicroscopic factors repeatedly attempting to evolve infinite interrelationships. 

All the senses, organs, structures and components which science and philosophy have categorized and languages have labeled and those yet to be categorized and verbally labeled have all evolved out of life’s repeated attempts to understand, to use, to be of use, to fulfill its needs with its environment.

 Religions pamper, promote and propagate repetition either by asking to repeat a /some specific prayers; repeat a name/s of God/Gods/Goddesses or a /some mantras, some songs, forms of worship; repeat visits periodically to places of worship; repeat performing some /many rituals; repeat calendared observation of certain events; repeat reading a/some specific scriptures etc.

Science has scaled great heights through research which involved repeated experiments and attempts. Even the so called chance discoveries and inventions are the result of relentless and repeated dabbling in certain activities. These concrete activities every now and then  get co-operation from certain abstract elements or aspects which throw up surprises producing or helping to produce a positive result.

All technological advancements are the result of repeated attempts by human beings to aid their activities and/or ameliorate their life.

Perceptions are basically the result of repeated reference to our accumulated storage of knowledge, experience and thoughts.

Life, as it is mostly lived, rightly or wrongly, is in fact caught in the vicious circle of repetition, as I understood from the philosophy of the great J.Krishnamurthy, with probably some exceptional and extraordinary deviations, variations and enlightened emancipations away from the vicious circle of repetitions. You may wonder what I mean by vicious circle of repetition, simply explained it is like this, we act or react in life , either physically, emotionally, psychologically, intellectually, philosophically, socially etc based on our existing storage of experience, knowledge, thoughts, memory etc irrespective of whatever situation we are in. Then, based on our action or reaction we gain new or more or similar or same knowledge or experience and again this newly gained experience or knowledge is added to our storage of thoughts as additional memory or as a confirmation of our existing thought or knowledge base. So all our perceptions are confined to or caged within or conforming to this vicious circle of action/reaction based on our knowledge, thoughts, memory, and experience and so on.

No w we need to honestly accept these two major facts, namely, one repetition, which  is an inevitable part and parcel, if not the whole of our life and two that almost most of us normally do and are capable of acting, activating and achieving most of the things in life within the vicious circle.  Having accepted these facts, we need to ensure what best we can do in our life and how best we can make our life meaningful and worthwhile based on these two facts.

Repetitive activities become our habits, our second nature [sometimes totally obliterating or taking over our original self] and thus lead to form our character, personality and overall identity physically, psychologically and socially.

So we need to ensure how best we can deal with these two facts. First of these is repetition. We must develop healthy routines, by healthy routines, I do not mean any specific religiously or socially sanction and approved activities. What I mean by healthy routine is anything that makes you happy, healthy and peaceful without harming yourself in any way, others around and the environment; anything that contributes to improve or increase the intrinsic value of either your body or mind or enlightens soul or spirit or contributes the overall welfare of the society or all or some of the above.

Now,  what to do with the second aspect, namely, vicious circle  which  has many aspects like knowledge, action, thought, experience etc all of which are too complicated, relative and therefore difficult to define clearly. But then, here too we can adopt the same principle, act and think of anything that makes us happy, healthy and peaceful without harming ourselves in any way, others around and the environment; anything that contributes to improve or increase the intrinsic value of either our body or mind or enlightens soul or spirit or contributes the overall welfare of the society or all or some of the above. Helping us to  do these two things with optimum level of efficiency and effectiveness is precisely the basic work of all types of education be it religious or scientific [please do not confuse this with academic qualifications] and worldly wisdom [please do not confuse this with enlightenment which forms and functions in totally different realms]  is when our routine, i.e. repetitive activities and our ‘vicious circle’ of operation are as effectively functioning as described above.

But life as it is, in its totality and reality, not as lived by most of us, is both beyond and besides all forms of repetition, with either the same splendor, or perhaps, greater splendor than the life that we live and perceive and practice with repetition and within the confines of the ‘vicious circle’. This is proven repeatedly beyond doubt if we observe nature in many of its micro and macro manifestations. This fact also has been repeatedly demonstrated by great souls and spirits that have lived and live still, whom we have labeled as extraordinary, excellent or enlightened and set them on a high pedestal, deified them or secluded them as aberrant species, eccentric individuals or exceptions not worthy of  being part of the normal society.

However, if we study and pursue carefully the annals of repeated events and peruse attentively the channels through or in which repetition plays a major role either as a factor of influence or as a fact of life, we would notice that predominantly they are confined to the physical and mental aspects of life.

This is so because body and mind operate in just one part of dichotomy of life, namely the concrete, the other being the abstract. Body and mind are mostly in the realm of the concrete and all repetitions are mainly and mostly the inevitable factor of the concrete aspects of life.

Therefore, to enhance our physical and mental aspect of life can we develop certain activities and/or some forms of thinking that enable us to move ahead as better human beings? Or adopt new and different thought processes? O r new methods of perception? Or adopt new forms of observation? O r new and multiple frames of reference? If so what are they? Are they the same everywhere for everyone at all times? Or develop multiple labels to classify and categorize whatever we think, hear, see, feel, imagine etc? Starting from Benjamin Lee Whorf to Sapir to Boroditsky many have come up with very valid theories that language and the words in our vocabulary influence our thoughts, perceptions etc to a very great extent. This is obvious because human beings can easily understand things with names and forms. That is precisely the reason all concepts, wild dreams, hyper imaginations, and all forms of abstract ideas are also given linguistically understandable, logical and identifiable terminology and /or sometimes even image and symbol/s accompanying them. However, this need not necessarily  , nor it does, exclude smarter, greater and higher perception beyond the confines of name and form , but as mentioned earlier for the normal and average ways of life  caught within the web of or capable of perceiving the repetitive modes and functioning within the ‘vicious circle’ these hold good.

So to sum up, to encounter better and enhance the concrete aspects of our life, namely our body and mind, we need to follow healthy practices physically especially taking appropriate cues from nature and for both the body and mind sharpen our awareness; use multiple scales of observation; adopt  suitable, sober, and sensible frames of reference; refine, redefine, refresh our thinking; prepare it to proceed from and towards multiple aspects and angles so that nothing gets omitted from our thought process; properly define , label and categorize everything for suitable identification and reference for life enhancement; in all the above matters allow variety to flourish; understand the oneness of everything; accept everything without getting attached to anything; never resorting to hastily defy or deny the importance of anything  or anyone; while following scrupulously all these things be open and eagerly await the abstract aspect of life to play its part in a mystic marriage with the concrete aspects of life to make life a wonderful splendid spectrum because  the soul or spirit is free of the influence of repetition. That’s why real and great philosophies and spiritual experiences, totally creative artistic works etc emanate from and are part of something that is beyond the body and mind and are not easily understood by most human beings and very often not that easily well communicable either. This is one of the signs of enlightenment.

Repetition creates patterns which then attracts attention, produces familiarity, and helps memory and understanding. The human brain loves to repeat what it likes and that is the reason all forms of music, poetry have repetition. Language  and literature employ plenty of methods of repetition to emphasis and ensure what is spoken  or written is drilled into the listener’s brain and delve deep down. Our brains love to recognize patterns. Some of which we encounter every now and then elucidating, enticing, and encouraging us to eagerly explore further or enjoy the sonic effects like Alliteration.

Repetition resorts to recapitulation, summarizing to remind the convincing aspects as in Anacephalaeosis.

Repetition of a word, phrase is made at the end of a sentence to start with, start with the same word or phrase the next sentence as in Anadiplosis.

Repetition of a word or words used at the start of successive clauses,  start of successive phrases, start of successive sentences etc as in Anaphora.

Repetition of word/s used with different meaning[s] every time to emphasis a main point and the main point being emphasis as in Antanaclasis.

Repetition of a clause, with reversed wording in the second clause is a way used to get through any important message effectively and the important message must get through the way reversed wording is used effectively as in Antimetabole.

Repetition of a word /s in a different form, order, function to effect a specific impact impacting effectively using different forms, functions and order of the same word/s as in Chiasmus

Repetition of words from an earlier/a previous phrase/sentence are used in the reverse order ensures the ensuing elucidation effectively dispels doubts as doubt dispels effectively more than elucidation and ensures orderliness than reversals as in Epanados.

Repetition of words made at the end of successive phrases or sentences effectively to put across your point of view, to emphatically get across your point of view, to ensure that everyone at least listens to your point of view and ultimately try to make everyone accept your point of view as in Antistrophe.

Repetition is used in a hidden manner to enhance the importance of a good idea by presenting it as better and great, and ultimately ensuring that it is the best and greatest of all as in Auxesis

Repetition is used subtly to extend the utility, to enhance the importance, to exaggerate the greatness and above all to amplify something on the whole as in Correctio .

 Repetition is built up, stacked up like dominos, consciously accumulated, and then broken down suddenly with a contradictory twist or turn to create an impact to ensure attention as in Dysrhythmia.

Repetition of a word/s is made at the end of phrases, clauses, or sentences to draw the attention, to retain the attention and ultimately ensure total attention as in Epistrophe.

Repetition of a word is made with emotionally packed voice, emphatic stresses and pauses, sentimentally charged vocabulary, psychologically appealing terminology to effect vehement impact as in Epizeuxis.

Repetition of a word or phrase used to draw the attention with just few intervening words which in no way affect the attention but rather ensure the attention as in Diacope.

Repetition is used by restating a point in different words, varied vocabulary, multiple expressions and myriad jargons to drive home a point as in Exergasia.

22] after the regular closing time=after hours

                                          

               

22] After the regular closing time=after hours

                            Alumni meeting after 40 years

After almost four decades our group decided to assemble for an afterparty [ a small party held after a larger event, such as a pop concert or film première,     to which only a select group of guests is invited] after play followed by an afterpiece [a short dramatic piece  performed after  a featured play]. The party started off and since all were meeting after four decades after the initial inquiring after each other’s family members [to ask about the well-being of someone]. It was not the usual aftershow bash but a more of oldies get together, as all of us were well nearing our sixties and some even beyond sixties. All have turned up spick and span in their best attires and the fragrance of the after shaves combed the nostrils. The inevitable introduction session started. After all it was a small closed group, so it was decided to share about each one’s present profession, family strength and if they feel like they can disclose details of family members and their activities and some unforgettable event in the past four decades that impacted their life either positively or negatively and reminded them of their school day s. We had a small brief about our good old happy school days. First it was the turn of Adikesavan , the naughtiest of the whole bunch who started off,  “well friends, I must confess I totally regretted in afteryears  [the years  following a specified event] my lazy and laid back approach to studies in school days coupled with nasty naughtiness which brought cheer to all of us but in the end did not bring any cheers to my life. I ended up as doing a variety of things starting from working in a cowshed cleaning, feeding and milking the cows till the afterings [last milk drawn when milking a cow] and taking care of the afterwil  [locking the barn after the cows have been let out]; then for a very brief period worked as an afterguard in a ship [work the aft sails at the quarter deck or afterdeck], followed by all sorts of  menial works which I  may euphemistically term as blue collared including  carrying huge and heavy logs at a timber depot , thanks to the good physical afterload [the natural muscle strength that helps to contract ,stiffen and also rest the muscles]and strong bones I could do that . Still  ultimately after all these hard work my family is pathetically poor and now  I have become physically old and weak so for the livelihood of the family my eldest son is doing some afterschool [after attending school]jobs to pay his school fee and I work at a factory as a sweeper afterhours[after regular closing time]. So I have come a full circle and experienced the after effects  of irresponsible youth”, and he continued , “ to add to all these my wife keeps after me [ continually reminds me to do something ] to work somewhere to pay off the accumulated debts”. After the storm comes a calm [Things are often calm after an upheaval after something very harsh ]. Then Bhaskar got up, always a happy go lucky person, cheerful and focused. After listening to that rather very unpleasant tale from his childhood mate he did not want to  sound too much otherwise and hurt the afterwise [wise  after the event; or wise when it is too late]feelings of Adikesavan, So , said in a soft tone, “ I am looking after  Asian operations of the much  sought after brand mobile phone sale. How I wish we had mobile when we were at school.” Murali interrupted, “you mean you are the Asian head of sparrow killing machine”. Everyone laughed. Vaidhyanathan ,a neuro surgeon by profession, named after [given the name] his late grand -father and not because of his profession [ in Tamil VAIDYAN means doctor] a specialist in treating anomalies of the afterbrain[metencephalon=the anterior section of the  hindbrain, comprising the cerebellum and pons]his wife ,also a doctor was running an aftercare [the care and treatment of  a  convalescent patient]center and he continued “I  am searching after someone who can manage the maintenance  my wife’s  aftercare center with staff under his disposal and after listening to Adikesavan I am keeping the doors open for him for that job and I can look after the educational expenses of his children and his family expenses and in addition I can assure to pay a good salary too”, there was a deafening applause. He continued “I always used to think I wish I had the energy and talent of  Adikesavan in our school days to cheer my patients”. As a doctor I believe in doing only one thing after the fact [after something has happened] i.e. remedial action. I have often felt what ultimately  is the big benefit in chasing  around after [seeking for in many places ]material benefits and hanker after [long for] physical comforts throughout our life without caring and sharing and I am really thankful to God that I have got one more opportunity to do that”. And turning towards  Adikesavan, he said, “ Adi but looking at your frail body you  must look after number one [to take care of yourself first]”. Then it was the turn of Madhumitha, “I am a gynecologist enjoying my profession, Murali again interrupted, you mean the butcher of afterbirth [n. - The placenta and membranes with which the fetus is connected, and which come away after delivery.]”. She giggled it off, while the rest could not catch the joke. She continued “but I had a disastrous married life, I had a wonderful child, got divorced   and my son is with his father.” The afterimage [a visual image or other sense impression that persists after the stimulus that caused  it is no longer operative.] seems to have popped up and the afterlight [a view of past  events; retrospect.] jolted her emotionally she went into tears while Murali came near and consoled and calmed her.  After all is said and done the aftertaste [remaining sensation following an unpleasant experience, incident] of a bad marriage is difficult to get rid of mentally. Sanjay Patel, whom we all use to trot after [follow]in our school days as he was the richest guy then and who sponsored all our good and bad deeds now  had a successful travel agency business  and who patterned it after [to use something as an example or model   when making something ]the top international travel agencies, began with his usual patronizing tone and typical marketing  jargon of starting off anything only in first person plural, “ we offer the best packages, escort services , tourist guides and hotels to  stay at different places  and I as a owner of the business would like to offer a short trip  with two days stay at GOA  for all of us free of cost .”It was at once welcomed with high decibel cheers. Murali asked, “does it include alcoholic beverages too”.  There was laughter all around. Patel continued, “ of course yes, by God’s grace I am really very well off and my business is doing well, initially I was throwing good money after bad [to waste additional money after wasting money once] without knowing the intricacies of the business and this continued for  day after day [daily] months after month [ every month], year after year [ every year ]and it was all the more difficult to set things right in our business because there would be no point in locking  the stable door after the horse is stolen [prevent something that has already happened; to act too late. ] because the failure in one season cannot and need not be the reason that the next season also will be a failure and you must have everything ready for the tourist season. You cannot start off things after the season begins. Then one fine morning my wife who is a women after my own heart [someone who is similar to you in tastes and perceptions] told me ‘If you run after two hares, you will catch neither’. [Prov. You cannot do two things successfully at the same time.] and impressed upon me to give up my textile business and concentrate on travel agency alone, then once I stopped my textile business, whether it was a coincidence or clever counsel things started working really well in this business.” Raj , started ,  “ I did my IPS and I am a senior police officer”, then at once Murali interrupted hope your wife never told you anything like, “ if you run after two thieves, you will catch neither”, again everyone went into peals of laughter. Raj continued, “You may think that it is a great profession, but then I have sleepless nights and with advanced methods of crime the task is becoming tough day by day and when we move on to solve the crimes. Nowadays, it is not at all easy out there being after somebody’s scalp [punish someone for something bad that has happened]  or being after somebody’ s blood [to catch someone in order to punish them] . We are also forced to take care of the aftercalps[unexpected repercussions] of tracking the criminals time after time  [ time and time again] especially their political, terror network links etc and almost every day I remember the lessons that of G.K.Chesterdon where he writes ‘ the thief is a creative genius whereas detective  is at best a critical analyst’.  Last but most important news is that  my daughter is a teacher in our school’. Murali “ hope at least she manages to produce some creative  geniuses unlike our teachers who have produced only critical analysts”. Raj, “it is just that she has taken after her mother [follow] who too is a teacher”. Murali no other go she has to take after her mother as you were busy taking off after [chasing] the creative geniuses”.  Raj  after almost one hour took out his left hand from his pant pockets and showed to all of us how he lost two of  his finger  once when he was  heading out after a thief [ pursuing/chasing a thief]  Murali, “ Hey Raj what happened to that Vahul  the after-witted  [ slow-witted]chap who was very close to you”.  “Oh Murali don’t ask about him. He changed his name after his leader as Chand. He is now a leading political leader doing every possible fraud and looting the nation but he is very well off and one among the top 5 richest people in the country. Well devil looks after his own [Prov. Evil people are often prosperous or well taken care of. (Implies that they must be getting their prosperity from the devil, since they are not earning it by being good and deserving.] He must thank his stars that he is not here now otherwise I would be getting after him [bother and criticize him about] on many of his deeds which are detrimental to the nation not that I want to go after him [to attack or try to hurt someone] in a very personal way. Swathi’s turn, “I am a cardiac surgeon and so for I have performed some 100 major surgeries and 500 minor ones.”, Murali “I am hunting for the past so many years to look out for a single woman after my heart [woman who does or believes the same things as I do; someone with similar tastes] but I have not been able to find even one heart but you are after so many hearts, really what an heart splitting experience you must behaving.”Laughter all around and Swathi resumes, “In fact I thought how nice it would be to have our teachers too now. To tell the truth I have taken after the fashion of [follow in the manner of ] our moral science teacher after a fashion [ to a great extent but not fully] I follow not only whatever she taught me but also conduct as she used to be simple, honest and cheerful in disposition but serious , sincere and ensure perfection in whatever I do and by God’s grace I have been successful till date because unlike other professions heart surgery and brain surgery are two activities where you must be perfect even at the first attempt you cannot afford to b e otherwise or afterwise [Wise after the event]. In fact I very often bask in the afterglow [trace, impression, etc., of past emotion] of the purple pages [pleasant days] of my past life especially at school and I am indeed really very happy to meet all of you”. Murali, “See, I always knew women are of two types, haughty and heart tearing”. Ravi, “ I am always flocked after by fans, I have acted  so  for  in five movies as hero, well I am enjoying my profession and I am sure most of you also would have seen those films.  Murali, “but I see and remember only the heroines in films”.  Ravi continued, “I too had a very turbulent life some ten years back when I lost my father and within one week after that I found out that my second daughter had a major heart problem and a month after that my wife divorced me.  It was (just) one thing after another [bad things kept happening] till I did a movie which was big box office hit and my daughter too got totally cured thanks to our Swathi. Life after all that [returning to a normal existence after doing all these unusual and unexpected things] has been good to me as both my daughters are with me. Now people who have known me and have been with me through all these can say like a fairy tale ending that   we, my daughters, my mother and me, live happily ever after [Cliché to live in happiness after a specific event/s].”  He continued, “for most of the problems that I have faced in life I must confess honestly that I need to take the blame. Initially I was such a drunkard that night after night [for several nights without interruption] I used to get drunk and stay after  everyone else [ remain behind later than all the rest].My poor mother used to send after me [request to be brought] the bouncers used to lift me and push me inside the car and afterwards  our driver used to literally drag me from the car into my house. A gem of a driver who used to patiently pick up after me [tidy up after me], a great and good soul I am pining after him [longing for or grieving for him].”  “I was lusting after many [desiring sexually] who visited those pubs and running after some of them [trying to get the attention or love of some of them] and morning after (the night before) [a hangover; the feelings associated with having drunk too much alcohol] I used to carry forward the idiocy of seeking after those girls [keep looking for them] and tailing after them [Fig. to follow them]. I never listened to the sincere advices of my mother , fell for one such girls, voilà the results are for everyone to see and the afterword [ concluding statement]  of all the fiasco I can say out of my  experience  is that too much of drinking not only ruins your  purse but also your physic and the purpose of life”. All in chorus, “common the comedian  bachelor Murali it is your turn”. He gets up, turned around , “ yes it is my turn for the dinner, my story is long, so  we can have  it after dinner as they close the dinner in another hour”. So everyone goes ahead to have dinner. They all finish the dinner  and while some are busy swallowing the very sugary Indian afters[ (Cookery) Informal dessert; sweet] Murali started off  à la Swami Vivekananda, “ Dear brothers and sisters , we all hunt after meaning [ seek or pursue meaning]in life and hunger after [ crave  for ] identity; strive after our goals [ try very hard to fulfill] but hardly ever bother to  aftereye [ look after] uncared for accident victims and poor cancer patients. I have a trust which precisely does that. Almost all of us spontaneously resort to afterfacting [the running of one's mouth after the fact, especially accidents and disasters and say things like ‘I told you so’ ‘I knew it would happen like that’ etc] and also pitying presuming that they are seeking self pity, be it the aftershocks [a small earthquake or tremor that follows  a major earthquake]; be it the victims fighting for breath coming out of an after-damp, [an irrespirable mixture of gases consisting chiefly of  carbon dioxide and nitrogen, left in a mine after  an explosion or fire];be it taking care of cancer patients after treatment when they are convalescing  or completely physically cured but mentally yet to come out of it; we have  been looking after all such people and I can tell you that as a profession it has given something great not because it is socially acclaimed deed but because it has taught me irrespective of whatever we  do what is important is not what we get nor even what we give, it is more than all of that:it is  rather what we become. I have become naturally compassionate, humorous ,sharing openly and mingling without any inhibition all of which make me float in a world of pleasant unqualified and unconditional love which I share with  all, especially the less fortunate as they need it more than the normal ones. In fact for many of them it is like reincarnation or rebirth, they have come out from the claws of death. Consciously all human beings are nice and as an after act we all feel for the less fortunate  but subconsciously we must develop compassion; only then, it will pop up unsolicited and automatically despite any block up commands. As I remain unmarried I have hundreds of children to love; as I do not own any personal property I own the whole earth with all its beauty; as I don’t have any personalized confined relationship I am related personally to all these children and this is the only reason why I have not got married and now I am too old to think of marriage. Meeting all of you has not only given me immense pleasure but as an after thought  [ something thought of after our present meeting] I take the liberty to ask all of you to, if you people have time , to join with me and strengthen my resolve to help these young accident victims and cancer patients in whatever way and manner you can , I would welcome your suggestions and support in whatever form you deem fit”.

21.enough;just/barely enough/adequate= after a fashion

                21. enough;just/barely enough/adequate= after a fashion

                  

Fashion, Fashion, Fashion all the way

Fantastic façade fashioned out of fine marbles from Jaipur of a huge swell [stylish; elegant] housed a freaking out fashionista [dressing according to latest fashion] Mr. Pehanaava Patel who was especially very generous in spending on all latest fads. He was surrounded by some fashion loving friends, one of whom was lawyer.

The bonding of this beau monde [fashionable society] was based purely on fashions and not any real friendship. This chic youth brigade which moved around in haute couture [highly fashionable] attire and dernier cri [latest fashion] shoes was the cynosure of the fashion loving metro. There were two things that were common to this entire bunch, they were all foppish and easy go-lucky guys, thanks to the huge amount of unearned wealth that they were sitting on. They naturally conducted themselves after the fashion [in the manner or style of] of insolent 18th century royals. They were so arrogantly flaunting their wealth that sometimes they fashioned [converted, made, formed] the bigger currency notes as wrappers to role ganja and the smaller ones as fidibus [a paper spill used for lighting cigars or pipes] to light the ganja.

Add to these Patel was about to inherit a huge wealth from his childless paternal uncle. To ensure that he should not face any legal hurdle and to avail of legal consul he confides this to his lawyer friend who tells him that he need not worry at all and at the appropriate time he would advise him as to how to go about it.

Super abundance had its flip side. They hardly respected anyone who rendered real service to them. They were predominantly pampered with pelf and perceived people through the prism of pamphysicism [the doctrine that material nature is the source of all phenomena]. They respected and listened only to those with good bank balance and fashionable attires and à la mode accessories and showed utter lack of concern for human values. They not only fashioned [modeled/patterned] their life on those of models, film personalities, the only intellectual activity that found fashion with them was whenever they gathered at some bar they would parrot-fashion [repeat without understanding the words like a parrot] the interviews of models and film stars.

However, they had a smooth life cocooned in their filtered in fashion [in style] circle of comfort loving and cozily living group. Patel had a very faithful driver, Parek, a man who was not a fashion victim [someone who buys too many fashionable clothes] and therefore was spotted with his out of fashion [old fashioned] dress which was out of sync with the entourage of people steeped in fashion [in style]. Parek smelt something was going wrong from the body language of the lawyer and two of Patel’s other friends.

Inevitably his suspicion coupled with his concern for his master goaded him to closely follow the lawyer and the other two, but he never ventured to tell anything about this to his boss because he would not allow him to talk on such issues. He planted two of his friends to spy on the lawyer and the other two, they did their job, followed him discreetly everywhere, tracked his calls and hacked his mails to the other two friends of Patel.

Of  late, they were meeting very frequently, at a cafeteria, of course without the knowledge of Patel. Unfortunately they were using some code language which neither Parek nor his friends could understand. However, he knew they were planning to do something detrimental to Patel. He wanted to caution Patel but he was hesitant because he wanted to make sure that he does not land himself in the firing line of his boss. Finally he found out that the lawyer had hatched a plot along with his other friends to murder Patel after he inherits his uncle’s property. Finally Parek plucked his courage and conveyed this to Patel who, for a change believed after a fashion [almost but not completely] what Parek had told him but not the entire details and denouement of the plot because Patel felt some of the details were not in tune with the normal attitude of the lawyer friend.

Naturally and soon Patel realized it is out of fashion to believe that lawyers can have normal behavior and he also noticed that of late the lawyer gulping too many pegs of whisky like it was going out of fashion [ taking too much of it very quickly] and was over polite and abnormally nice towards him.

Abnormal nicety always has lurking motives.

One day Patel made the lawyer get totally drunk with specific foreign liquor that he fancied most and mimicked the voice of his other friend and lawyers being prone to verbal diarrhea at the slightest ignition, let off everything about the plot and so Patel got to know of the plan which was true as Parek had informed.

20.Frightened easily /timid= afraid of one’s own shadow

Frightened easily /timid= afraid of one’s own shadow

My write ups

All the pleasures, problems and pains of life are experienced as different manifestations of these two extreme feelings FEAR and LOVE. We can neither deny nor defy either of them. Though we may have read and recollect many methods or theories about how to deal with them, we may philosophize excellently about them , still when we face them all these theories and philosophies take a back seat. That is the power of these two feelings. But there is one excellent way to deal with both these emotions and this is perhaps the only one way to deal with these two emotions, it is allow them to get in and experience them as they are. When we do that they may either increase in intensity or gradually disappear. We cannot avoid them because they get deeply planted in our mind and heart and then become part of our mind and heart.

A to Z verse on fear of

Indecision is caused by fear of action;

Youth is spoiled by fear of becoming old;

Jealousy is caused by fear of comparison;

Health is spoiled by fear of diseases;

Freedom is curtailed by fear of enemies;

The present is spoiled by fear of future;

Stress builds up through  fear of goals;

Self doubt sets in due to fear of hatred;

Inferiority complex sets in due to fear of intelligence;

Participation is hindered due to fear of jeering;

Activity is hampered by fear of kibitzing [making unwanted and intrusive comments];

Manufacturing activities are reduced for fear of labor problems;

Independent individual ideas suffer due to fear of majority opinion;

Human welfare suffers due to fear of narrow national interests;

Free speech of children is crushed due to fear of objection;

Free thought suffers due to fear of parochial perceptions;

Rituals are religiously enforced due fear of uneasy questions;

Fear is institutionalized by religions for fear of reasoning;

Individual liberty is often curtailed for fear of social acceptance;

Pleasures are lost due to fear of temptations;

Peace suffers due to fear of usurping;

Human life suffers due to fear of violence;

Global progress suffers due to fear of war mongering nations;

Harmony of human species does not happen due to xenophobia;

Peace of mind suffers due to fear of yearning ;

Sense of balance suffers due to fear of zealots.

Quotes from famous authors:-

Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear.— Mark Twain

Expose yourself to your deepest fear; after that, fear has no power, and the fear of freedom shrinks and vanishes. You are free— Jim Morrison

How can you defy fear? Fear is a human instinct, just like hunger. Whether you like it or not, you become hungry. Similarly with fear. But I have learned to train myself to live with this fear.— Shirin Ebadi

In morals what begins in fear usually ends in wickedness; in religion what begins in fear usually ends in fanaticism. Fear, either as a principle or a motive, is the beginning of all evil.
— Anna Jameson

“The Only Religion That Ought to Be Taught Is the Religions of Fearlessness If you read the Vedas you will find this word always repeated - fearlessness; fear nothing. Fear is a sign of weakness. People must go about their duties without taking notice of the sneers and ridicule of the world”.-Swami Vivekananda

“Despondency is not religion, whatever else it may be. If there is one word that you find coming out like a bomb from the Upanishads, bursting like a bombshell upon masses of ignorance, it is the word fearlessnes”. Swami Vivekananda

They were afraid, never having learned what I taught myself: Defeat the fear of death and welcome the death of fear.— G. Gordon Liddy

Courage is... the knowledge of how to fear what ought to be feared and how not to fear what ought not to be feared.— David Ben-Gurion

“It is okay to be afraid ….our inner emotional voice reacts to our fears…and either calms, inspires or responds with a specific painful voice giving rise to worry, anger or disappointment….and fear is good”-- Robert Maurer, a psychologist