Ok now you would say, “First Optimus Prime is a name, and second, Mr. Pritam Barhate you are not Optimus Prime not by a long shot!”
I agree with the second not with the first. Optimus Prime is not just a name! It’s more than that. It’s an idea. The oldest in the world of fiction. It is “the brave and righteous conquers the evil”. This is how names stop being names, they become ideas, consider this Ram, Ravan, Ghandhiji, Hitler.
Of course most of us rarely reach to that level. But that’s not the point. The point is do we try?
Ok let me give a little context to this first. This post started as comment to the blogpost : http://bit.ly/mCOPiy.
नाम न होता तो क्या होता
Written by Ruchi Raval, who is my colleague (and who writes a fabulous blog). While writing the comment I found that I had so much to say on this topic that I started a blog post.
So, If I am not just a name, who am I?
In her blog Ruchi writes,
My answer, though not final, had been Water. It does not react with anything. The litmus test shows it to be neutral. It fills the vast oceans yet fits in a tiny blood cell. This quality – neutrality – is the most sought after and ideal state of the human mind.
So though it may seem silly, ‘If I had no name, I’d say I am water’.
My response would have been something same. "neutrality" Anything but about being unique or different. That beings me to a different question:
What stops me from saying: I am special who has the capability to make difference to my life and to others?
PS:
To Ruchi: Sorry, if it sounds like I am passing a judgement on you. I am not and to be fair you make sound water like being sublime. But I somehow find "neutrality" more appealing.
For those who got bored of my rambling, here is something interesting - the original Optimus Prime quote:
Awesome post sir! (not only 'cos I've been mentioned :) )Names become ideas - true and profoundly put! And what better ideology than Optimus Prime to be identified with! (Read on wiki - not familiar with Transformers jargon - and the video is blocked in office :D )
ReplyDeleteRegarding water - a lot of people asked me why Water? And I have not been able to portray the whole thought process in the post.
There was a time when I wanted to be balanced, neutral - not react to any provocation/happening around me. I felt that the basic human nature is to be neutral and not as some people say that 'to react is to be human, to err is human' - nay - we are all meant to reach a stage where no tangible thing matters and we begin to recognize universal entities in their true form. (Nerdy - I know :D )
Basically - it was a struggle to know if the Classical Newtonion theory(of perfect reference frames) held or Einstein's Relativity was right in saying that nothing is perfect.
I had literally started worshiping neutrality and hence the quest for an entirely neutral object/substance/living being existing on Earth. Inert gases were an option - but water is more special as it is a part of and accessory to our own existence. The central idea behind choosing water was to symbolize neutrality only. :)
I think can write an entire post on this again :) Gee.....I read my comment again - a true geeky one. :D I am bad at justifying/explaining my POVs. :D