the village idiot

[Date of this entry only an approximation]

At home we’ve known about the usefulness of the microwave oven but somehow never actually got down to buying one, somehow it seemed unnecessary. However recently one finally made its way into our kitchen in the form of a birthday gift for my mom. Then there was the debate about what kind of vessels we could use for it, metals were for sure a no-no, but then what about plastics?

There were some people visiting my home – now generally these are really nice people whom I’m pretty close to, only thing is in this particular aspect they had a different view. They said that we could keep any plastic container in it.

Now I was pretty sure that there are certain things that are marked as ‘microwavable’ and even though nothing really bad happens when we put in other plastic vessels, its my gut feeling based on things I’ve read long ago that other plastics kind of melt and are toxic and contaiminate the food. Now I have absolutely no clue how I can prove that this is right or wrong, its just that it makes me uneasy. But on the other hand there was no way I could convey this point to the people who said that any plastic container will do. After all they have been living in the US – the most advanced country in the world, where a microwave is as ubiquitous as a housefly in India and they’ve been using one for decades – and consequently know everyhting thats worth knowing about it. Whereas me, apart from using them occasionally here and there, its new for me in my kitchen, and so I’m practically like an uneducated village idiot in comparison! 🙂 Plastic is dangerous? Forget it. No chance at all.

There have been several situations where this kind of thing happens. I have half a mind to rename this blog to ‘the village idiot’ instead of ‘common man’ Earlier such a situation – where something I say sounds so ridiculous, even though I’m pretty sure of it – used to cause me some annoyance. But now I’ve learnt (atleast to a certain extent) to accept it a bit more gracefully, knowing relatively better the fine line when to persist and when to give up! Acknowledge my own inability to communicate.

Communication is always a two way channel, so my inability in some situations could well mean the inability to see the other’s point of view. Of course there are quite a few situations where I find that what I was saying really was ridiculous after all 😉 Its hard to say the difference during that particular situation – I appreciate criticism, counter points and even being proved wrong. Truth is more important than opinions!

So anyway, after a certain point, sounding like a village idiot was no longer a concern, the next main concern was that the other person is missing the point. But even there eventually I learnt its critical to acknowledge my helplessness and get on with life discarding any element of seriousness! Instead of making it an obsession to “teach” the other person. Swami Nityananda made a truly great statement “You can never teach. Only life can teach”.

But I do appreciate just being given a chance to have my say, and that’s where this blog comes in handy 🙂

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A note on the term village idiot (“haLLi guggu” in Kannada): Its a common phrase in the city because we city people have this tendency to assume that those who come from a rural background are naive and stupid. Being born and brought up in the city naturally I too had this tendency. But going by some people I’ve come across, I feel that their apparent stupidity is mainly because they’re not in their elements.

Put a city goer in a village and he’ll probably turn out to be a “city idiot” in that environment We see especially in city schools that students from a rural background could well be far more sharp as well as diligent, though unfortunately they might have an inferior complex or introversion, esp intimidated due to this tendency by his/her city classmates or even this teacher! 🙂

On the other hand, because they have been brought up in a relatively more natural lifestyle (living a simpler life, spending more time with nature, doing a lot of physical work or walking long distances, etc) , if we look beyond what is initially obvious about them, they could also turn out to be in many ways more sensitive and emotionally intelligent than city goers.