LIFE AS IT IS

It is a life measured in numbers. If something is not countable, it merely takes a back seat today; the front seat honor is reserved for things to which numerical values can be attached. Today, we want to be able to measure everything that goes on in life! The Daily Star link We count everything - from the size of the paycheck deposited to our bank account to the number of likes on our last Facebook post. We count likes, follows, and views  on our social media accounts. The more likes, comments, follows, and views our posts get, the more acceptable and popular we become, or that is what the countable world would have us believe.  Our friends have become numbers. We count our friends --  five-hundred, eight-hundred or more. The more friends and followers we have online, the greater the likelihood of pocketing more of those intangible ‘heart’ and ‘thumbs up’ ideograms. It’s all about number, you see. We count seconds, minutes, hours, days, and months. “I had...

We witnessed blatant rivalries among school friends in the months of June and July. No, they were not participating in any competition, rather their favorite teams were. It was the 2010 FIFA World Cup, which turned our friends into foes. It was one occasion when two close pals did not necessarily support the same team. Arch rivalry sparked among the Brazilian and Argentine supporters. An Argentine fan wrote on his college friend’s Facebook wall about the rage that engulfed him upon learning that his friend, who was once an Argentine fan, is now a die-hard Brazilian supporter. The Argentine fan clearly felt betrayed by his friend - this happens only in football. We witnessed taunting of friends. I remember a friend jeering an Argentine fan, saying “Could you properly digest the ek haali goal (or, the four goals)?” Another friend promised that he would donate money to the poor if his team made it to the finals. Statuses were updated even at the darkest hours of the night. The wor...