A Typical Mylapore Story - Part 3
Its been 10 months since I first started writing it, well I didnt know how to end it and finally figured it out.
Part-2
He had money; he did not know how to spend it. It was his maadaveedhi upbringing, counting every penny he spent. He chooses to live in a small two bedroom apartment in the city of Madras. His wife too was of a similar upbringing, but for her the money had a purpose. For her the money was a sign of societal status. Growing up in a lower middle class family, she lacked financial strength. The money mattered to her. She would not step into a five star restaurant for dinner, but the knowledge that she could afford such a dinner gave her power. She did not want the Mercedes, she was content with a second hand Hyundai, but the knowledge that she could buy a Mercedes if she needed to gave her a sense of fulfillment.
The void soon filled his existence. Every time he looked at his wife, he envied her. She seemed to have filled her void, family and financial security seemed to suffice for her. It was not for him. He desired more. His professional success nor his family filled the void. It always reappeared. He realized the void is what kept pushing him to push himself. He owed his success to fill the void. He had spent his entire life meeting societal norms, he had met their norms. The fog of mediocrity had engulfed him, his neck was above the fog, but he was still a part of it. He was pulled down by the weight of mediocrity. He needed to break free from it. The fog of mediocrity arose out of his feeling that his life had no purpose.
He was walking down the streets, he saw an old man lying on the pavement, not an uncommon sight in Indian streets. The old man’s worldly possessions, he wondered probably consisted of the bag he used as a pillow. The man probably had a family, probably had kids, who had deserted him. The old man’s daily struggle for three meals kept him busy.
The old man was not different from him, he too had the same concerns, food, feeding his family well when he had one and kids. The similar concerns which dominated most of his existence, he was just better than the old man at meeting these goals.
It seemed to him that the entire purpose of his life was to procreate. Help the homo sapiens species survive. In this process it was upto him to feed his family, in the paternal society the Homo Sapiens had built. It was the same objective as the rest of the world, within this objective he had tried hard to distinguish himself, and he had succeeded. The entire construction was built on an illusion driven by a strong desire to distinguish him from the herd.
He desired to seem different; he started companies, reveled in material comforts, his huge bank balance made him seem different, but his ultimate objective was the same as the old homeless man on the pavement. Despite his attempts to differentiate himself, he was drawn subconsciously towards the only motive of his life, because it’s the only purpose for the existence of the Homo Sapiens, just like all life. Since the beginning of life, all species had the same objective, and will continue to have the same purpose for as long as life exists. He realized he had gone behind an illusion which did not exist, and believed the illusion was real and meaningful.
His existence here onwards was waiting for his body to degenerate, disintegrate and collapse. He had been extreamely successful at the only objective he could have in life, survival and procreation. Now he was literally useless, his sole purpose of existence, ensuring the survival of the homo sapiens had been met. He was no different from every other species on the planet. He had a wait, probably a long wait ahead of him, though he wished it came sooner for he felt useless.
Part-2
He had money; he did not know how to spend it. It was his maadaveedhi upbringing, counting every penny he spent. He chooses to live in a small two bedroom apartment in the city of Madras. His wife too was of a similar upbringing, but for her the money had a purpose. For her the money was a sign of societal status. Growing up in a lower middle class family, she lacked financial strength. The money mattered to her. She would not step into a five star restaurant for dinner, but the knowledge that she could afford such a dinner gave her power. She did not want the Mercedes, she was content with a second hand Hyundai, but the knowledge that she could buy a Mercedes if she needed to gave her a sense of fulfillment.
The void soon filled his existence. Every time he looked at his wife, he envied her. She seemed to have filled her void, family and financial security seemed to suffice for her. It was not for him. He desired more. His professional success nor his family filled the void. It always reappeared. He realized the void is what kept pushing him to push himself. He owed his success to fill the void. He had spent his entire life meeting societal norms, he had met their norms. The fog of mediocrity had engulfed him, his neck was above the fog, but he was still a part of it. He was pulled down by the weight of mediocrity. He needed to break free from it. The fog of mediocrity arose out of his feeling that his life had no purpose.
He was walking down the streets, he saw an old man lying on the pavement, not an uncommon sight in Indian streets. The old man’s worldly possessions, he wondered probably consisted of the bag he used as a pillow. The man probably had a family, probably had kids, who had deserted him. The old man’s daily struggle for three meals kept him busy.
The old man was not different from him, he too had the same concerns, food, feeding his family well when he had one and kids. The similar concerns which dominated most of his existence, he was just better than the old man at meeting these goals.
It seemed to him that the entire purpose of his life was to procreate. Help the homo sapiens species survive. In this process it was upto him to feed his family, in the paternal society the Homo Sapiens had built. It was the same objective as the rest of the world, within this objective he had tried hard to distinguish himself, and he had succeeded. The entire construction was built on an illusion driven by a strong desire to distinguish him from the herd.
He desired to seem different; he started companies, reveled in material comforts, his huge bank balance made him seem different, but his ultimate objective was the same as the old homeless man on the pavement. Despite his attempts to differentiate himself, he was drawn subconsciously towards the only motive of his life, because it’s the only purpose for the existence of the Homo Sapiens, just like all life. Since the beginning of life, all species had the same objective, and will continue to have the same purpose for as long as life exists. He realized he had gone behind an illusion which did not exist, and believed the illusion was real and meaningful.
His existence here onwards was waiting for his body to degenerate, disintegrate and collapse. He had been extreamely successful at the only objective he could have in life, survival and procreation. Now he was literally useless, his sole purpose of existence, ensuring the survival of the homo sapiens had been met. He was no different from every other species on the planet. He had a wait, probably a long wait ahead of him, though he wished it came sooner for he felt useless.
Labels: Life, Philosophy, Story
