Can a name reveal an identity?
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Oftentimes, some incidents, some people, some words stay put in your mind. Like fossilized bones they surface up every time you dig the dust of time and mercilessly force you to ask the same question without revealing the answer - "WHY?" - and when you once again fail to find the answer, you let the bones be, amass dust of time all over again, until its time to dig again...
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7 comments:
A name reveals lot more than identity..... sometimes a complete story....
Anyways i am one of your old fans... who is following your posts ever since you are on this space.... just found out that you are married and hence the wishes.
Hope the anonymity is not much of a trouble :)
Rarely. Names and even faces are often masks.
More with reference to the generally ruminative tone of posts:
In plucking the fruit of memory one runs the risk of spoiling its bloom.
and
For the great mass of mankind the only saving grace that is needed is steady fidelity to what is nearest to hand and heart in the short moment of each human effort.
Both by Joseph Conrad
An answer to the "WHY?" does exists. It is just that we often intentionally or unintentionally overlook the answer for our own comfort. :)
@Anon: Thanks :) It is always nice to know that people like what you write - no matter how random it gets!
With respect to Anonymity - I love the sheer freedom it equips one with. It is like owning an invisibility coat :) and wohaaa! life could be SOOOO exciting !!
For people at the other end (myself in this case) - it's even better - isn't exploration, chasing the unknown, getting attracted by the mysterious innate to man? It is to me atleast - hence totally comfortable with anonymity. This doesn't mean that I wouldn't eventually want to know the true personality of the anonymous :)
@Solo: I dont understand what Joseph Conrad meant by "In plucking the fruit of memory one runs the risk of spoiling its bloom".
Isn't Memory - BECAUSE it is memory, is in its full bloom? - since you know everything and anything about it that could possibly be? and not just a blossom that is yet to reveal itself?
I have read some of Joseph Conrad and like his style, but sometimes I simply fail to understand his point. For example, he is a great proponent of fidelity however, he says something like "steady fidelity to what is nearest to hand and heart" - nearest to hand is too opportunistic (will that not be diluting fidelity to what is actually worth your attention and not just what is available at close quarters?) and nearest to heart is contra - nearest to hand - atleast in most cases. I guess what he means is live by the moment - which is a good philosophy but man being man, seldom follows it.
@Anon: In practical light "yes" to what you said. In philosophical light "no" to what you said :) - and as you can imagine, too much practicality is distasteful to me :)
In my view, fruit stands for the past (i.e. that which has already bloomed and fructified), and the bloom (to come) the future. Perhaps Conrad meant that we should dwell less in our memories and more in the reality present before us.
The second quote follows directly from this, exhorting one to have the will to act rather than just think and plan.
But your interpretation is equally valid and quite interesting. Truth be told, almost everyone who likes to write dwells as much in his/her memory and imagination as the real world.
There is an important caveat: two statements taken out of context can't really be representative of an author, or of you. I'm sure Conrad has written much in the vein of ponderous reflection also (Heart of Darkness immediately comes to mind), and I suspect you reserve your ruminative self for the blog and are more action-oriented in the real world. Not to mention possessing an agile mind that dissects comments effectively :)
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