Friday, November 8, 2013

Kali Yuga

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A discourse by Markandeya in the Mahabharata identifies some of the attributes of Kali Yuga. In relation to rulers, it lists:
  • Rulers will become unreasonable: they will levy taxes unfairly.
  • Rulers will no longer see it as their duty to promote spirituality, or to protect their subjects: they will become a danger to the world.
  • People will start migrating, seeking countries where wheat and barley form the staple food source.
 ....wiki

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We don't need to consult Markandeya to verify if we are in Kali Yuga or not. The symptoms are all over us.

Apostles of peace are crucified or shot dead. Their disciples indulge in wars and war-crimes. Strict followers of the religion whose name means peace vow to kill school girls nominated for the Nobel. Followers of the Buddha love to kill unarmed children and women. And, according to the followers of the Hindu Hridaya Samrat, this ancient land of Dharma that ought to have been ruled by them as belonging to the lineage of a true Gujju Sardar are ruled by an imitation one remote-controlled by a foreign-born widow...

But let us come to the wheat and barley mentioned by Markandeya...he must be a South Indian Brahmin.

For generations we, the Southee Brahmins, lived on rice and rice products. My granpa loved to have rice for breakfast, lunch, snacks, and dinner. Rice was cooked and mixed with curries and sambar and curd. Rice, powdered or ground, went into idlis, dosas or arisas.

Then came the Second World War. And Father brought home what he called a long red strip of hard paper calling it the Ration Card. And informed mom that rice has entered the black market and the ration shops (fair price shops for you) gave out a measure of rice if and only if you bought an equal measure of reddish broken wheat. And mom didn't know what to do with the wheat accompaniment. And she cooked it like she cooked her rice. And tried to feed us. All of us declined to have anything to do with the gooey stuff and even our street dog wanted white rice instead. The broken wheat was given away to the maid in lieu of rice. And she stopped coming to our house next day onwards...

And one day I fell ill with a high fever in Muthukur. And Dr Iswar Reddy advised Father to buy the latest product in the medicine market called Robinson's Barley Powder. I threw it up and never fell ill again at my father's place.

Then came a variety of Kali Yuga variations of food stuffs. 

The worst was a sugar substitute called saccharin. It was bitter-sweet like life itself. Then came nicotine-free cigarettes...they didn't exactly capture the market. Then there was sodium-free salt...the hypertensives preferred hypertension:



Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.


And yesterday I read that the latest manifestation is the 'tear-free' onion:



 






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