I had wanted to write about this particular case when it broke out itself but there just seemed too much of attention, hype and coverage of this event then. i found it interesting to go through everyone’s interpretation of the event though.

which case am i talking about?

The Murder of Adnan Patrawala- the teenager who was lured on Orkut, the popular social networking site, and murdered by those hoping to ransom him.

so I won’t  go into the details of the case- everybody knows what happened anyways.

the key elements of the case are some of the things that I have been highlighting about in my blog for quite some time now. i also touched a lot about in my last post.

Our lives have become so superficial and so anchored in transitory pleasures that one wonders about the kind of future generations- sure, they are ambitious. thank god for that so India is assured of economic prosperity at least  but this obsession to be seen as one of the “have it”’s is worrisome. Money and more importantly the importance of letting everyone know that you have money, Partying(have to be “seen”), Lust (the poor child had not even seen this girl whom he had set up a date with!)- but u c having a girlfriend is a must. All these areas, though pleasurable I agree, are all superficial in nature, things that are hollow and once done with leave no value in the person’ life. They all contribute in the supposed elevation of the perspn’s status in society but what good is that happiness which is anchored externally? which depends on the whims an fancies of others and their fickle and ever changing tastes?If they are happy , you are happy. If they think you are cool, then you are cool.

That kind of state of mind, so dependent on others is akin to living a life in debt.

Nobody wants to do that but society has come to such a point now that it considers such  a way of life supreme.

he had a skoda car, flaunted his wealth and  wanted to grow up fast.

and mind you, in his circle and amongst his friends-his way of life would have been considered cool and the right way.

At the end of the day, i thought to myself, how could we blame him? he was but a child.

what about his parents- the adults in this story. the ones you look upto to guide you in life.

That is when the power of society comes even more to the fore. you see, how can they guide him when they too believe that those are the correct values to be pursued? how will the child learn if the parents are doing the same?

A skoda car was given to a teenager. there was no parental supervision in the child’s life. and let me tell u, they are not alone. in their friend’s circle, they must have been considered to have “arrived” in life. so much of wealth, out there for everyone to see..

it was here that i faced a roadblock. generally, i like to throw a couple of things out there as my views as what we can do to change the situation but here i thought: here the parents are a major part of the problem. how do we guide those who are supposed to show us the way?

Readers, any ideas? I leave this one to you.

Muyalaka.

That’s the name of the mythological character of the day.

Also known as Apasmara, Muyalaka is the name of the demon that Shiva crushes during his cosmic dance (in his form nataraja). Muyalaka signifies ignorance and worldliness. in a society that has become steeped in transitory pleasures and considers wordliness the right way in life and is ignorant of what will ultimately give us happiness and contentment, Shiva’s act of crushing Muyalaka symbolises the importance of realizing that what we want, though we may not understand it, does not lie where we seek it. And more we follow the way of the world, unquestioningly, the more further we get from our goal. and along the way, sorry incidents like this case take place.

Let’s keep that malignant dwarf ,Muyalaka, steeped in our society and in our mind under control.

* btw, the bully in the previous post is now married.