Let me deal with it the last — the whole problem, I mean.

It is New Year Day in India. Or rather was, until 8.30 am today. Incomprehensible ? Quite. It is Frequently described as a luni-solar calendar. Its start is equinoxal, March 28 this year, which is not the equinox proper.

The Indian New Year starts with a nine-day festivity of prayers, fasts and offerings to the deity. Which one ? Commonly, it is dedicated to the Great Mother of the universe, a form of Her for each of the nine days. Or, one could be rejoicing in the memory of a 7000 year old event — return of Ayodhya Prince Ram after 14 year exile — described in the classic epic, the Ramayana. He is none other than the Great Lord, incarnated to destroy evil forces and ameliorate people’s sufferings through his blessed ideal persona and his reign as the King of Ayodhya.

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The mercury is shooting up and up – 40/23 C. Sunday is predicted to be a tiny shade cooler : 38/21 C. It affects the body, by need for greater intake and loss to ambience. The seasonal adjustment is stressful to the organs and physiological processes. Which in turn would impact on inner disposition, mental and emotional, and our behaviour if one is not watchful.

Happily, for the rest, all is well. As in, there are capable and conscientious people at work…in the government, judiciary, the parliament, and sports. That shows. The trouble makers in media and politics have receded to darker confines. Criminals are more and more finding the environment less conducive to their trade.

Some bright sparks in sports : CricketIndia won over the Aussies, dramatically I must say. Saina Nehwal, the ace shuttler, is getting more and more confident through her comeback after knee surgery. PV Sindhu is brimming with belief. Even the footballers scored over Myanmar. And the country is priming up for FIFA U – 17 World Cup.

Those familiar would recognise the name : Carolina Marin, the Spaniard who is current world champ of badminton. Her despatches are a pleasure to read, especially when she shares about her other-than-court experience. They are light, transparent with just that little gush to breezily touch you.

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The renowned liberal icon Bertrand Russel says, “The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wise people so full of doubts.”

As I understand, it is lamentable that decent folks are frequently unsure and the bigots are so totally convinced. The liberal rangers however present a different interpretation : that, everybody who is clear and firm in his Knowledge of things is a fanatic, a fool who has yet to evolve into the meritorious state of doubt.

And that is the whole problem. Is it that people do not have knowledge of avenues to evolve from that inevitable state of doubt to a state of knowledge ? Or, are they simply lazy, merely inhibited for one reason or other ? Or, is it that they are just terrified of becoming clear, of finding answers that can no longer be refuted ?

I do not know. But, most certainly, I am reminded of the whole problem everytime I hear learned blokes waxing on their intellectual moons, with little regard for tons of historical evidence and empirical clues about the real phenomena happening on the ground. Apparently, they find no cause to move against forces, way of life or belief system, that are heaping misery on millions of people on earth.

That indeed is the whole problem.

Let’s hear what Ian Andersen has to say in his Jethro Tull song : No Lullaby.