Twenty- five Seven

Personally speaking

Recent Posts

  • The logic of Life

    Introduction to Logic

    I can never forget that first day of college when I heard the term LOGIC. What was used so freely by us – namely in describing people like  XYZ who were so illogical took on a completely new meaning-  especially when delivered as a lecture by stern Prof . Swaminathan in his deep sonorous voice and perfect English diction. As 17 year olds appearing for our Intermediate Arts examination, all of us tried to look suitably intelligent as he went on and on about Deductive Logic . All that I remember after all these years is the derision with which he looked at all of us down his sharp Patrician nose and words like ” the validity of a syllogistic argument” ,  ” Modus tollendo ponens” and  “Modus Tollendo tollens” and the ultimate ” dictum de omni et de nullo” that still float somewhere in my  the deep recess of my subconscious mind or dare I say Id?

    The problem 

    What brought all this logic to the surface was a conversation yesterday at the beginning of Yoga class where we were discussing the incident of the boy who fell out of the window from the 19th floor. We wanted to know what the real story was :

    1) Did the boy jump out of the window because he was a jilted lover?
    2) Did he fall out of the window while attempting to puke, losing his balance as he was in a deep state of inebriation?
    3) Was he pushed out by his friends and as alleged by his father?

    Whatever it was, the result was the same – the 18 year old lay dead in a pool of blood at 4.30 am and no amount of knowing the reason that led to his fall would bring him back alive.

    This brings me to the following beliefs which I am trying to connect and bring to a logical argument.

    1) The first premise is : Our lives are not ours to take or give away because it is a Gift from God
    2) The second premise is: If our lives are not ours to take, whose life is it anyways?
    3) The third premise is : If our lives are not ours to do with as we will, then do we have the right to live our lives the way we want?
    4) the fourth premise is : If we can’t live our lives the way we want to, then how do we live our lives?

    So how do we solve the argument? And what is the logical conclusion? 


    If any of you dear readers, have the solution to this problem, please help.

  • Fashion and the World Economy

    A passion for fashion

    A few years ago I was asked to show a young lady from Harvard Business School the sights of my city. This girl who looked more like a Fashion Major rather than a Business Executive was formerly employed in a luxury fashion house and her haute couture look belied her hard headed nose for money. Since fashion was her passion, I tailored my tour around her interests and took her to Mangaldas Market my all time favourite tourist destination in Mumbai. Even though it was grey, rainy and miserable, the lady was gracious and willing to step into the puddles we came across and happily went through the entire gamut of low end and high end fashion stores in Mumbai.

    I was quite amazed by her interest in Mumbai’s Haute Couture because I thought it had little resonance in a sophisticated western market. But she was not only interested in the amalgamation of traditional skills ( shadow work and zardozi) with modern fabrics and cuts but also interested in a new angle to couture – tapping the skills of the unorganised sector and getting them on board with high fashion. 

    Beware the world’s interest in India

    My pet theory which I shared with her seems to be coming truer by the day.
    When the world shows an interest in Indian fashion, it is the sign of a great recession. I had noted this trend earlier and I find it even more pronounced now. Karl Lagerfeld’s India inspired fashion show  in December 2011 is a case in point. From fashion this passion for all that’s Indian has spread to Yoga , meditation, food, medication and even occasionally a  holiday destination.
    Now that’s really scary because we all know that in their heart of hearts no one really likes things Indian least of all Indians themselves who blindly go for anything “foreign”. 

    History always repeats itself

    And what is scary is that the world situation is quite similar to what it was before the Great War. 
    • There is an economic recession
    • There is a perceived persecuted ethnic minority
    • There is marked social and economic inequity
    • There is uncontrolled inflation
    • There is policy paralysis almost everywhere
    • There is political discontent the world over
    And last but not least, there is an interest in all things INDIAN.

    So while all governments ( our included) have announced measures for economic reform, I have my doubts about the economy picking up. 

  • Telemedicine zindabad ! A catching trend?

    Doctor in the House

    I am lucky to be blessed by good health and even more lucky to have access to good medical care . Being the daughter of a doctor and the mother of a doctor,  a relative by marriage to several other doctors and a friend to other doctors not covered by the gamut of  my “family” doctors I can get advice for any ailment that strikes my body from head to toe. 

    My father having spent most of his life practicing as a general physician despite his specialisation in dermatology has always been my first point of reference and in the recent past Anna Shetty has developed as the new generation doctor along with her new generation therapy . Both these are just a phone call away so whenever I feel uneasy, I just dial a number and whine away and get an instant diagnosis on the spot. No appointments, no waiting in lines, no second opinions . How simple is that?

    Very recently Hubby dear was unwell and was treated long distance by my dad. This time it was a rash which needed to be diagnosed: I took a photo of the offending redness, emailed it to my dad who at the crack of dawn came back with a diagnosis and line of treatment.

    A likely scenario?

    I hope one day this form of medical consultation will be taken a step further where a software enables  you to hook up to a computer and carry out a complete physical check up measuring your pulse, palpating whatever needs to be palpated , percussing whatever needs to be percussed and auscultating whatever needs to be heard thereby enabling the doctor at the other end to figure out what is wrong with you. This will save not only a lot of time and cause timely treatment but will cut down on angst and anxiety waiting for an appointment and interminable waits at hospitals and clinics.

    But on the other hand, it will also cut down on spread of infections and several interesting interactions. I can never forget those long waits at the pediatrician’s clinic with two restless kids waiting for a vaccination or a quick visit for a seasonal cold, hoping to keep other more serious infections at bay, listening to some other kid whine and sniffle, overhearing an overbearing parent shouting on the phone and finally being asked a dumb question : Are these really your children? No, I was tempted to say – I am a professional taker of strange babies to pediatricians.

    Don’t get me wrong. I’m not complaining and would be more than happy to have  my real ailments treated in real time by a real doctor at the end of my virtual world. Perhaps the doctors too would be spared the agony of needless conversation and stupid observations by patients ever ready to give their own take on their own symptoms and disease.


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