Auschwitz-Birkenau: Hate’s Shameful Showcase

‘For ever let this place be a cry of despair and a warning to humanity…’ screams a plaque at Auschwitz-Birkenau. January 27, 1945, about 7,500 Jewish prisoners were evacuated by the Russian Red Army from the most notorious of Nazi concentration camps. The plaque was erected by the survivors of the Holocaust, the horrific ordeal that began in 1941 when Heinrich Himmler, Nazi Germany’s Minister of the Interior, designated Auschwitz-Birkenau as the destination for the “final solution of the Jewish question in Europe.” In those three years, the Third Reich systematically aggregated and annihilated 1.5 million Jewish internees in the death camp. Most were gassed to death but a great number also died of starvation and disease. Today, the camp is a memorial museum and a 120 Zloty (€35) daytrip from the Polish city of Krakow, 70 km away.

On the 68th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, which fell January 27, AMANDEEP SANDHU shares memories of the seven life-changing hours that he spent there. Sandhu is the author of two books, Sepia Leaves and Roll of Honour. Learn more about his work at his website.

Rest in Peace. We are yet to learn the lessons.

With a number of preserved buildings and wide roads, the Nazi death camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau looks like a pretty middle-class industrial township. Industrious it was, just the industry was war. On a bright sunny day in early June, among many people who have come to visit, what hits one the most is how everything here is so silent.

Two rows of electrified barbed wire make the boundary of the camp at Auschwitz. Between 1940-45, 802 of the over 3.5 million inmates attempted to escape. Of these only 144 were successful. The boundary was less of wires and more of the emotional blackmail and fear of what could follow, especially of how the Nazi Schutzstaffel (SS) would deal with the family members and friends of those who attempted to escape. On the gate is the inscription in wrought iron ‘Arbeit macht frei’ ("work makes free"). A few years back, the inscription was stolen, allegedly, by a Swiss art collector or neo-Nazi sympathizer. It was later found in a Berlin flat, cut up in three pieces. The intent for violence has neither abated nor reduced. A lookalike inscription has now replaced the original.

Picture by an American surveillance plane, 1944. The Allied forces knew what was going on, yet they did not bomb not only these camps for fear of killing inmates but even the railroad lines that made it possible to transport the people to the camps. Notice the two coloured squares, red and yellow. Those were warehouses where the inmates were asked to leave their personal belongings. They were called Canada I and II. Upon the end of World War II, on facing imminent defeat, the retreating Nazis burnt and destroyed those storehouses. Photo: Amandeep Sandhu

Jews, Poles and Gypsies (from as far as Romania, Hungary, Oslo) traveled in railway freight carriages to the camp with one-way tickets. They expected to be set free. The able-bodied among them were selected on this platform and put into labour camps

What was perfected was that a cheap gas Zyklon B (aka Cyclon B), a cyanide-based pesticide, was very effective. It finished 700 to 1,000 people in about 20 minutes. The gas was invented by a Jewish agriculture scientist. Photo: Amandeep Sandhu

Killing is not an easy industry. There was the matter of bodies, of what was to be done with them. Before the bodies were cremated, they were frisked for everything: rings, any jewellery, gold teeth, basically robbed. One of the items stolen was human hair, both at arrival to camps (to prevent typhus) and after gassing. When the camps were liberated on January 27, 1945, they found 7 tonnes of human hair from approximately 40,000 victims packed in bags (picture not allowed). Photo: Amandeep Sandhu

All objects are behind glass panes which makes it impossible to photograph them without reflection. These prosthetics from the victims were ferried back so they could be fitted on wounded or amputated SS soldiers. Photo: Amandeep Sandhu

Food bowls, from victims. The actual objects were very large in number and supplied back to the Axis Army lines and hospitals and ration shops. There is no account of exactly how much material went out from the camp. Photo: Amandeep Sandhu

Eight to ten to fifteen people slept in each rack. The commonest problem was dysentery. If one fell ill, one was pushed to the lowest bunk and lay there dying in one’s own muck. No medicines.

The slanting beds were meant for eight to twelve people to place their heads on one

Pretty neat but not for around 2,000 to 5,000 people in one building.

This is all one needs, a hole in the ground.

The site of the shooting range where thieves and rebels or those who flunked the assignments were killed point blank.

Notice the barricaded windows around the death wall. Sounds are a more potent deterrent than seeing the killings. The two poles are from which victims were tied before execution.

Block 10 was used as a laboratory for medical experiments. SS doctors tested the efficacy of X-rays as a sterilization device by administering large doses to female prisoners. Prof. Dr. Carl Clauberg injected chemicals into women's uteruses in an effort to glue them shut. Bayer, then a subsidiary of IG Farben, bought prisoners to use as guinea pigs for testing new drugs. The most infamous doctor at Auschwitz was Josef Mengele, known as the "Angel of Death". Particularly interested in research on identical twins, Mengele performed experiments on them, such as inducing diseases in one twin and killing the other when the first died to perform comparative autopsies. He also took a special interest in dwarfs, and he deliberately induced gangrene in twins, dwarfs and other prisoners to "study" the effects. (Pictures not allowed) In Block 11 are located some of the dungeons where inmates were kept confined and standing for long periods: even weeks. This is where Saint Maximilian Maria Kolbe, a Conventual Franciscan friar, volunteered to die in place of a stranger. He was canonized on October 10, 1982 by Pope John Paul II, and declared a martyr of charity. He is the patron saint of drug addicts, political prisoners, families, journalists, prisoners, and the pro-life movement. Pope John Paul II declared him "The Patron Saint of Our Difficult Century".

The ruins of the gas chambers at Birkenau.

The incinerator where the dead bodies were burned. The ash was sold as fertilizer.

The last selection took place on October 30, 1944. The next month, Heinrich Himmler ordered the crematoria destroyed before the Red Army reached the camp. The gas chambers of Birkenau were blown up by the SS in January 1945 in an attempt to hide the German crimes from the advancing Soviet troops

In one of the rare cases of justice after WW II, the camp's first commandant, Rudolf Höss was hanged to death here. Other cases were tried in the Nuremberg Trials. The court awarded many officers short sentences and some got life and death by hanging. The Cold War erupted, the short sentences became shorter, and some officers committed suicide.

In one of the rare cases of justice after WW II, the camp's first commandant, Rudolf Höss was hanged to death here. Other cases were tried in the Nuremberg Trials. The court awarded many officers short sentences and some got life and death by hanging. The Cold War erupted, the short sentences became shorter, and some officers committed suicide

What is eaten in one week around the world .....

Italy : The Manzo family of Sicily
Food expenditure for one week: 214.36 Euros or $260.11


Germany : The Melander family of Bargteheide
Food expenditure for one week: 375.39 Euros or $500.07


United States : The Revis family of North Carolina (Sure hope most American
Families eat more fresh fruits and vegetables and less junk food than this family.)

Food expenditure for one week $481.00


Mexico : The Casales family of Cuernavaca
Food expenditure for one week: 1,862.78 Mexican Pesos or $189.09


Poland : The Sobczynscy family of Konstancin-Jeziorna
Food expenditure for one week: 582.48 Zlotys or $151.27


Egypt : The Ahmed family of Cairo
Food expenditure for one week: 387.85 Egyptian Pounds or $68.53


Ecuador : The Ayme family of Tingo
Food expenditure for one week: $31.55


Bhutan : The Namgay family of Shingkhey Village
Food expenditure for one week: 224.93 ngultrum or $5.03
-------------------------------------------- -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chad: The Aboubakar family of Breidjing Camp
Food expenditure for one week: 685 CFA Francs or $1.23


How happy a man is, is not how much he has but how little he needs.
Don't know about you, but right about now, I'm counting my blessings!

To Study Death

“For one who has taken his birth, death is certain; and for one who is dead, birth is certain. Therefore, in the unavoidable discharge of your duty, you should not lament.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 2.27)

“Let’s study the iPhone. It’s a revolutionary piece of technology. Before it was released, I never saw many people carrying the same technological device. Maybe many people had the iPod, which was the music player made by the same company, but phones were always varied. Then suddenly so many people had the exact same model of phone. This wasn’t the cheapest option by any means. It didn’t have the best service provider, either. And yet people in droves rushed to the stores to purchase them. When a new model comes out, there is a long line just to get into the store. Therefore let us study this phenomenon. Perhaps we can extend our research to the iPad, which had the single greatest launch in terms of sales for any technological device.”

“Let’s study vitamins. Everyone is taking them these days. Do they actually work? Which vitamin supplements are necessary and which aren’t? Is it better to take the supplements or just eat the foods containing those vitamins? Are there any significant health benefits to taking these vitamins? Will people actually avoid cancer and other diseases? We’ll get an experiment set up and monitor the results. Then we’ll report our findings.”

“Let’s do a study on people who do studies. What motivates them? Why do they feel the need to observe others and do a psychological analysis? Is it so they can feel superior? Do they wish to hover above everyone else from their ivory tower? Let’s study whether or not they have any friends. Perhaps they are unsatisfied with life, so they take pleasure in trying to analyze others, all the while exempting themselves from the analysis.”

We see that there are so many studies undertaken. There is even a study of the mating habits of the Australian rabbit. And yet through it all there are few to zero studies about death. Death takes place for everyone. It is likely the single most important event in one’s life, as it erases everything. The hurricane can destroy your home and destroy everything in it. The boss can fire you and eliminate your current flow of income. The teacher can give you a failing grade and squash your chances of going to the college you want.

Still, none of these forces destroy everything; only death does that. Therefore it must be the most powerful force. Everyone is afraid of it to some degree, as who wants to lose everything? Who wants to separate from their friends and loved ones? Who wants to be forced to leave their surroundings that they like? Who wants to jump on to a train heading towards an undisclosed location?

Death takes place nevertheless, despite one’s ignoring it. It may be the elephant in the room, but at the right time that elephant will strike. For this reason in Sanskrit the word for time is the same as it is for death, kalah. Time destroys everything eventually through what we call death. Time destroys right now, little by little, the body we accepted at the time of birth. Therefore death is the complement to birth; when there is birth, there must be death.

Of course the main reason that death does not get studied is that one cannot see what is going on. You can see the effects of a new technological gadget. You can observe what happens when people eat a certain food. You can see how different animals behave. You can’t see, however, what changes when a person suddenly goes from living to dying. There are some studies into the physical differences, as in the weight of the dying person, but there is no way to see exactly what causes the change. Moreover, why can’t the same person who was alive a minute ago come back to life?

Without knowing these things, man’s knowledge is imperfect. With imperfect knowledge, of what use is knowing so many other things? If I don’t know the most important thing, why should I bother with the least important? The validity of this rhetorical question is substantiated by the behavior of the animals. They don’t perform any studies. They are not wise enough to detect patterns for a large population of creatures. They go by what nature gives them. They act on their instincts. Through this limited intelligence they can eat, sleep, mate and defend just fine.

The study into the higher subject matters, which naturally include death, is meant for the sober human being. If a discipline did actually study death, one would have to assign it a higher importance. It is not surprising, therefore, that the most important Vedic work deals with death right at the outset. In the Bhagavad-gita, the wise speaker, Shri Krishna, speaks of the eternality of the soul and how it is different from the body. The magical change we witness at the time of death is merely the exit of the soul from the temporary body. That soul is inexhaustible in its existence. It does not take birth or die. At birth it enters somewhere and at death it leaves to go somewhere else.

“For the soul there is never birth nor death. Nor, having once been, does he ever cease to be. He is unborn, eternal, ever-existing, undying and primeval. He is not slain when the body is slain.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 2.20)

These truths are straightforward enough. They make sense if we think about it too. To those who say that we only get one life to live, then we also only get one childhood. In adulthood that childhood is gone. Was the childhood wasted, then, if it was spent in study? Did the child waste their time going to school? On the other side, if a child didn’t go to school but rather played all day, did they live a successful childhood life?

Of course such questions are silly because in adulthood the same individual is still alive. The childhood was merely a period of their life. That period is gone forever, however. There is no way to get the childhood body back. There is no way to reclaim that innocence. And yet just because it is gone it doesn’t mean that the individual ceases to be. So the eternality of the soul is easily understood in this comparison. The soul continues to exist into old age, and it will continue after that in the next body, which is subsequent to death.

I know that death will come. From reading the Bhagavad-gita, I know that I will take birth again after death. The question that remains is where that next birth will occur. Do I have a say in where I go? Again, the example of the present life can be used to answer the question. Do I have a say in where I go today? Do I choose where to eat and where to work? I do, and so I can do the same with the next life. The key determining factor is consciousness, another point made by Shri Krishna.

“Whatever state of being one remembers when he quits his body, that state he will attain without fail.” (Lord Krishna, Bg. 8.6)

Since Krishna discusses these most important topics, providing the only real study of birth and death, He is the wisest person. Not surprisingly, being conscious of Him means going to Him. Actually, being conscious of anything leads to that thing’s association. If I am conscious of eating all the time, I will get a body in the next life that will allow me to eat all the time. If I am conscious of earning a lot of money, in the next life I get a body suitable for business.

These bodies lead again to death, thereby repeating the cycle. A body that associates with Krishna, however, does not take birth again. Krishna’s body and spirit are identical. In His land there is no such thing as birth and death. Time exists, but it has no ability to destroy. It instead constantly creates new opportunities for association with Krishna, who is God in His personal form. In Krishna’s land, there is no need for costly studies. There is only constant enjoyment, bringing back the childhood-like innocence but in its purified form. All of this can come from the quick study of death and much more found in the Bhagavad-gita, the most valuable work for human society.

In Closing:

Upon new gadget’s release,

Variety in ownership to cease.

Study of this phenomenon let’s do,

Take on studies and vitamins too.

But why interest in death not to lend?

For rich and poor alike destined end.

Shri Krishna tackles death and much more,

No more rebirth when His vision in mind to store.

The meaning of life..

Colorful and Poisonous Frogs

Web searches predict epidemics

Our bad habit of Googling our symptoms could help provide an early warning system for epidemics.

Image: Annette Shaff/Shutterstock

The habit of Googling for an online diagnosis before visiting a GP can provide early warning of an infectious disease epidemic.

In a new study published in Lancet Infectious Diseases, internet-based surveillance has been found to detect infectious diseases such Dengue Fever and Influenza up to two weeks earlier than traditional surveillance methods.
Senior author of the paper titled Internet-based surveillance systems for monitoring emerging infectious diseases, QUT Senior Research Fellow Dr Wenbiao Hu said when investigating the occurrence of epidemics, spikes in searches for information about infectious diseases could accurately predict outbreaks of that disease.
Dr Hu, based at QUT's Institute for Health and Biomedical Innovation, said there was often a lag time of two weeks before traditional surveillance methods could detect an emerging infectious disease.
"This is because traditional surveillance relies on the patient recognising the symptoms and seeking treatment before diagnosis, along with the time taken for health professionals to alert authorities through their health networks," Dr Hu said.
"In contrast, digital surveillance can provide real-time detection of epidemics."
Dr Hu said the study found by using digital surveillance through search engine algorithms such as Google Trends and Google Insights, detecting the 2005-06 avian influenza outbreak "Bird Flu" would have been possible between one and two weeks earlier than official surveillance reports.
"In another example, a digital data collection network was found to be able to detect the SARS outbreak more than two months before the first publications by the World Health Organisation (WHO)," he said.
"Early detection means early warning and that can help reduce or contain an epidemic, as well alert public health authorities to ensure risk management strategies such as the provision of adequate medication are implemented."
Dr Hu said the study found social media and micoblogs including Twitter and Facebook could also be effective in detecting disease outbreaks.
"There is the potential for digital technology to revolutionise emerging infectious disease surveillance," he said.
"While this study has looked at the effectiveness of digital surveillance systems retrospectively, Australia is well-placed to take the lead in developing a real-time infectious disease warning surveillance system.
"The next step would be to combine the approaches currently available such as social media, aggregator websites and search engines, along with other factors such as climate and temperature, and develop a real-time infectious disease predictor."
He said it was also important for future research to explore ways to apply internet-based surveillance systems on a global scale.
"The international nature of emerging infectious diseases combined with the globalisation of travel and trade, have increased the interconnectedness of all countries and means detecting, monitoring and controlling these diseases is a global concern."
Dr Hu is also part of QUT's School of Public Health.
The other authors of the paper were Gabriel Milinovich (first author), Gail Williams and Archie Clements from the University of Queensland School of Population, Health and State.

Editor's Note: Original news release can be found here.

Microparticles cut heart damage

This is the first therapy that reduces heart attack damage and scarring by targeting the key driver of that damage.

Image: Sebastian Kaulitzki/Shutterstock

A University of Sydney discovery has the potential to transform the treatment of a heart attack, after a new approach boosted heart function and reduced heart scarring in preclinical studies.
The research breakthrough, published in Science Translational Medicine, involves injecting tiny "microparticles" into the bloodstream within 24 hours of a heart attack to reduce tissue damage made by inflammatory cells.
The discovery was made at the University of Sydney and is the result of an international collaboration with researchers at Northwestern University in the USA, and Bonn and Münster in Germany.
After a heart attack (myocardial infarction), much of the damage to heart muscle is caused by inflammatory cells that rush to the scene of the oxygen-starved tissue. But researchers found this damage was slashed in half when they used the microparticles to keep the highly damaging cells away.
"This is the first therapy that specifically targets a key driver of the damage that occurs after a heart attack," said Dr Daniel Getts, one of the original discoverers from the University of Sydney, now based at Northwestern University in the USA.
"There is no other therapy on the horizon that can do this. It has the potential to transform the way heart attacks and cardiovascular disease is treated," he said.
Nicholas King, Professor of Immunopathology at the University of Sydney and co-discoverer, said the power of the treatment was that the microparticles triggered a natural pathway that destroyed the inflammatory cells.
"We're very excited," Professor King said.
"This discovery means that we can prevent major tissue damage simply because the inflammatory cells pick up microparticles in the blood stream and are then diverted down a natural cell disposal pathway into the spleen."
The discovery also has huge potential beyond the cardiovascular system.
The research shows the microparticles reduce inflammatory damage and enhance tissue repair in disease models as diverse as multiple sclerosis, inflammatory bowel disease, peritonitis, viral inflammation of the brain and kidney transplant.
"The potential for this approach is quite extraordinary," Professor King said.
"It's amazing that such a simple approach can limit major tissue damage in such a wide range of diseases."
The next step is safety tests on the microparticles, which are tiny balls of absorbable material, 200 times smaller than the thickness of a human hair. They are made of a biodegradable compound, poly lactic-co-glycolic acid, used in absorbable surgical sutures and already approved for use in humans.
Clinical trials on heart attack patients should follow within two years at the University of Sydney.
The research was co-authored by Professor King from the University of Sydney, and Dr Getts and Professor Miller from Northwestern University.

Editor's Note: Original news release can be found here.

மாமல்லன் சுத்தமானதும், ஒளிமயமானதுமான ஓர் இடம் - எர்னஸ்ட் ஹெமிங்வே

ஒரு வயதான மனிதர் தவிர அனைவருமே ``கபே’’வை விட்டுச் சென்றிருந்தார்கள். மின்விளக்கின் கீழ் மரநிழலில் அவர் இருந்தார். பகல்நேரம் பாதைமுழுவதும் மகரந்தப் பொடிகளால் மூடப்பட்டிருந்தது. ஆனால், இரவின் பனித்துளிகள் அந்தத் தூள்களை அகற்றியிருந்தது கிழவர் நேரம் அதிகமானாலும் தன்னந்தனியாக இருப்பதையே விரும்பினார். அவரது கேள்வித்திறன் முழுமையாகவே கெட்டுவிட்டது. அமைதியான இரவில் அதற்கேற்றதான மாற்றத்தை அவரால் தெரிந்து கொள்ள இயலும். கபேயின் இரண்டு வெயிற்றர்களும் கிழவர் மிக்க போதையில் உள்ளார்  என்பதை அறிந்திருந்தார்கள். அவர் மிகச்சிறந்த வாடிக்கையாளராக இருந்தாலும் போதை அதிகமாகிவிட்டால் சிலநேரங்களில் பணம்செலுத்தாமலேயே வெளியேறிவிடுவார் என்பதையும் அறிந்திருந்தார்கள். எனவேதான் அவரைக் கவனித்துக் கொண்டிருந்தார்கள்.

``கடந்த வாரம் அவர் தற்கொலைக்கு முயன்றார்.’’ ஒரு வெயிற்றர் கூறினான்.

``எதற்கு’’

``கனவுகள் பொய்த்துப் போன நிலையில் அவர் இருந்தார்’’

``எதைப் பற்றி’’

``ஒன்றுமில்லை’’

``எதுவுமில்லையென்று உனக்கு எப்படித் தெரியும்’’

``அவருக்கு நிறைய பணமிருந்தது’’

கபேயின் கதவு அருகிலுள்ள சுவருடன் சேர்ந்தவாறு அவர்கள் இருந்தார்கள். இளங்காற்றில் நடனமாடி நின்ற மரக்கொம்பு நிழலில் அமர்ந்திருந்த கிழவரைத் தவிர யாரும் இல்லை.

ஒரு பட்டாளக்காரரும், இளம் பெண்ணும் பாதையில் நடந்து சென்றார்கள். அவரது காலரில் பொறிக்கப்பட்டிருந்த பித்தளை எண்கள் தெருவிளக்கு வெளிச்சம்பட்டு பளபளத்தது. பெண்ணின் தலையில் எதுவுமே இல்லை. அவள் வேகமாக அவருடன் நடந்தாள். ``காவலர் கண்டிப்பாக அவனைப் பிடிக்காமலிருக்க மாட்டான்.’’ ஒரு வெயிற்றர் கூறினான். ``அவருக்குக் கிடைக்க வேண்டியது கிடைத்தால் என்ன தவறிருக்கு’’

``இப்போது அவர் தெருவிலிருந்து மறைந்து செல்வது நல்லது. காவலர்கள் பிடிப்பார்கள். ஐந்து நிமிடம் முன்தான் அவர்களும் இது வழியாகச் சென்றார்கள்’’

தணலின் அருகில் இருந்த கிழவர், கப்பைச் சாசரில் உரசி சப்தமெழுப்பினார். இளைஞரான வெயிற்றர் இதைக் கவனித்து அவரருகே சென்றார்.

``என்ன வேண்டும் ஐயா?’’

``இன்னுமொரு பிராண்டி கொண்டுவா’’

``நீங்கள் குடித்து நிலை தடுமாறுவீர்கள்’’

கிழவர் நேரே அவனைப்பார்த்தார். வெயிற்றர் அத்துடன் அங்கிருந்து நகர்ந்தான்.

``அவர் இரவுமுழுக்க இங்கே இருப்பார்’’ அவன் இன்னொரு வெயிற்றரிடம் கூறினான்.

``இப்போது எனக்குத் தூக்கம் வருகிறது. மூன்று மணிக்கு முன் நான் எப்போதுமே தூங்கச் செல்வதில்லை. கடந்த வாரம் அவர் தானாகவே கொலை செய்யப்பட வேண்டியவராக இருந்தார்’’ வெயிற்றர் பிராந்தி பாட்டிலும் உள்பக்கக் கவுண்டரிலிருந்து இன்னுமொரு சாசருமெடுத்துக் கொண்டு கிழவர் இருந்த மேசையை நோக்கி நடந்து சென்றான். பிராந்தியை நிரப்பினான்.

``கடந்த வாரம் நீங்கள் சுயமாகவே கொலை செய்யப்படும் நிலையில் இருந்தீர்கள்’’ அவன் செவிடான மனிதருடன் பேசினான். கிழவர் தன்விரல்களால் சைகை செய்தார். ``கொஞ்சம்கூட’’. வெயிற்றர் மீண்டும் சாசரில் நிரம்பிவழிவது வரை பிராந்தியை நிரப்பினான்.

``உங்களுக்கு நன்றி’’ கிழவர் கூறினார். வெயிற்றர் காலி பாட்டிலை எடுத்துச் சென்றான். மீண்டும் தனது நண்பனின் அருகில் அமர்ந்தான்.

``அவர் பயங்கரமான போதையில் உள்ளார்?’’

``ஒவ்வொரு இரவிலும் அவர் இப்படித்தான்?’’

``எதற்காக அவர் தற்கொலைக்குத் தயாராகிறார்?’’

``அது எனக்கு எப்படித் தெரியும்?’’

``அவர் எந்த முறையில் அதற்குத் தயாரானார்?’’

``ஒரு கயிற்றில் தூக்குப் போட்டுக் கொள்ள முயன்றார்?’’

``கயிரைக் துண்டித்து விட்டது யார்?’’

``அவரது மருமகள்?’’

``அவள் எதற்காக அப்படிச் செய்தாள்?’’

``அவரது ஆத்மாவுடனான பயத்தால்தான்?’’

``அவருக்கு எவ்வளவு பணம் இருக்கும்?’’

``ஏராளமான பணம் கையில் இருக்கிறது.’’

``அவருக்கு எப்படியிருந்தாலும் எண்பது வயதிருக்கலாம்?’’

``அவர், வீட்டிற்குச் செல்ல வேண்டுமென்று நான் விரும்புகிறேன். மூன்று மணிக்கு முன் என்னால் ஒரு கணம் கூட தூங்கச் செல்ல இயலாது. படுப்பதற்குச் செல்லும் நேரம்தான் எப்படிப்பட்டது’’

``அவருக்கு விருப்பமுள்ளதால்தானே இங்கேயேத் தங்குகிறார்.’’

``அவர் தனிமையில் உள்ளார். நான் தனிமையில் வாழ்பவனல்ல. எனக்காகவேப் படுக்கையில் காத்திருக்கும் மனைவி ஒருத்தி இருக்கிறாள்.’’

``ஒரு சமயத்தில் அவருக்கும் மனைவி இருந்திருப்பாள்’’

``இப்போதைய நிலைமையில் அவரின் மனைவி இருந்தாலும் எதுவும் செய்ய இயலாது.’’

``அப்படிச் சொல்ல இயலாது. மனைவியுடனான வாழ்க்கையில் அவருக்கு நல்லதோர் வாழ்க்கைக் கிடைக்காமல் போகாதே.’’

``அவரது மருமகள் அவரைச் சரியாகத்தான் கவனித்துக் கொள்கிறாளே.’’

``அவள் அவரைச் சிதறடித்து விட்டதாகத்தானே நீங்கள் கூறினீர்கள்.’’

``எனக்குத் தெரியும்’’

``அந்தளவுக்கு வயதாகியுள்ளதாக கருதுவதற்கு நான் தயாராயில்லை. வயதான ஒருவர் . . . பார்வைக்கு மேசாமான உருவம்தான்’’

``எப்போதும் எப்படி இருக்க வேண்டுமென்றில்லை. இந்தக் கிழவர் நேர்வழிக்காரர். தத்தளித்துச் சளைக்காமல் அவரால் குடிக்க முடிகிறது. இப்போதுகூட குடிபோதையில்தான் உள்ளார். அவரையே உற்றுப்பாருங்கள்’’

``எனக்கு அவரைப் பார்க்க விருப்பமே இல்லை. அவர் வீட்டிற்குச் சென்றால் போதும் என்றுதான் விரும்புகிறேன். வேலை செய்பவர்களை அவர் மதிப்பதேயில்லை’’

கிழவர் கண்ணாடி மூலம் வெயிற்றர்களைப் பார்த்தார்.

``இன்னுமொரு பிராண்டி. . .’’

``இன்றைக்கு இதற்கு மேல் இல்லை. சீக்கிரமாக முடித்துக் கொள்ளுங்கள்’’

``ஒன்று மட்டும்’’

``இல்லை முடிந்துவிட்டது’’

கிழவர் எழுந்து நின்று மெதுவாகச் சாசர்களின் எண்ணிக்கைச் சரிதானா எனத் தெரிந்துகொள்ள முயன்றார். பாக்கெட்டிலிருந்து தோல்பர்ஸை எடுத்தார். ``அரை பிஸட்டா’’ டிப்புடன் மதுவின் விலையைச் செலுத்தினார்.

வெயிற்றர் அவர் தெருவில் செல்வதைக் கவனித்துக் கொண்டிருந்தான். மிகவும் வயதான நிலையில் சரியாக நடக்க முடியாமல் இருந்தாலும் அவர் தனது மதிப்பைப் பாதுகாத்துக் கொண்டிருந்தார் என்றுதான் தோன்றியது. ``அவரை இங்கே தங்குவதற்கும் தொடர்ந்து மது அருந்திக் கொண்டிருக்கவும் நீ ஏன் அனுமதிக்கவில்லை’’ இன்னொரு வெயிற்றர் கேட்டபடி ஷட்டர்களைத் தாழ்த்தத் துவங்கினார்.

``இப்போது மணி இரண்டரைக் கூட ஆகவில்லையே.’’

``எனக்கு வீட்டிற்குச் சென்று படுக்க வேண்டும்.’’

``ஒரு மணி நேரம் பொறுத்தால் என்ன.’’

``அவரைவிட என் நேரத்திற்கு அதிகமாக மதிப்பிருக்கிறது.’’

``மணி நேரம் என்பது இரண்டு பேருக்கும் சமம்தானே.’’

``நீங்களும் ஒரு கிழவரைப் போலப் பேசிக் கொள்ளலாம். அவர் வெளியிலிருந்து ஒரு பாட்டில் வாங்கி வீட்டில் வைத்தே குடிக்கலாமே.’’

``அது எப்படியாயினும் இது போன்று இருக்காது.’’

``இல்லை இல்லை. அப்படியல்ல.’’

``நான் அவருக்கு அநீதி இழைக்க வேண்டும் என்று நினைக்கவில்லை. எனக்குச் சற்று அவசரம் அவ்வளவுதான்.’’

``அது உனது விஷயம், நீ சரியான சமயத்தில் செல்வதை விட கொஞ்ச நேரம் முன்னால் சென்றால் எந்த பயமும் இல்லையா.’’

``நீ என்னை ஆட்சேபிக்க முயல்கிறாயா’’

``இல்லை. நான் விளையாட்டிற்காகத்தான் கூறினேன்’’

``இல்லை’’

``எனக்குச் சக்தியுள்ளது. நான் தேவையான சக்தியுள்ளவன்தான்’’ வயதான வெயிற்றர் கூறினார்.

``உனக்கு இளமை, ஆத்ம நம்பிக்கை, ஒரு வேலை இதுவெல்லாம் இருக்கிறது’’

``உங்களுக்கும் கூட எல்லாம் உள்ளது’’

``இல்லை. எனக்குக் கொஞ்சம் கூட தன்னம்பிக்கை இல்லை. அது மட்டுமல்ல ; எனக்கு இளமையில்லை’’

``இதையெல்லாம் முடித்துக் கொண்டு வருகிறீர்களா? நான் பூட்டிவிட்டுப் போக வேண்டியுள்ளது’’

``நான் கபேயிலிருந்து பெரும்பாலும் தாமதமாகிச் செல்வதற்கு விருப்பமுள்ளவன்தான்’’ வயதான வெயிற்றர் கூறினார்.

``இரவு நேரங்களில் தூங்கச் செல்வதற்கு விருப்பமில்லாதவர்களுடன் இருக்கலாம் அல்லவா? இரவில் கொஞ்சம் வெளிச்சம் விரும்புவோர்களுடன்’’

``நாம் இரண்டு பேரும் இரண்டு வேறு குணங்களைக் கொண்டவர்கள்.’’

``அது எப்போதுமே இளமை, தன்னம்பிக்கையின் பிரச்சனை அல்ல. இவைகள் மிக அழகானதாக இருந்தால் கூட. ஒவ்வொரு இரவிலும் கபேயை மூடுவதற்கு எனக்கு விருப்பமேயில்லை. ஏனென்றால் அது தேவைப்படுவோர் யாராவது இருப்பார்கள்’’

``இரவு முழுவதும் திறந்திருக்கும் வேறு கடைகள் எதுவுமில்லையா, ஸ்பானிஷ்கார மனிதரே’’

``உங்களுக்கு ஒன்றும் புரியாது. இது சுத்தமானதும் அமைதியானதுமான கபே. இங்கு நல்ல ஒளி இருக்கிறது. மிக உயர்ந்த ஒளி அமைப்பு இங்குதான் உள்ளது. இப்போது கூடப் பாருங்கள். அங்கே இலைகளின் நிழல்கள் வீழ்ந்து இருப்பதை...’’

``குட் நைட்’’ இளமையான வெயிற்றர் கூறினார்.

``குட் நைட்’’ மற்றவர் சொன்னார். தனக்குத்தானே பேசிக் கொண்டிருந்தார். ``வெளிச்சம் தேவையான ஒன்றுதான். ஆனால், இங்கே சுத்தமாக இருக்கவேண்டும். அழகானதாயும் இருக்கவேண்டும்.

உங்களுக்கு இசையின் தேவையேதும் இல்லையே. அல்லது ஒரு பாரின் முன்னால் பெருமையுடன் நிற்கக்கூட இயலாது. இந்த நேரங்களில் மிகவும் தேவை இசைதான்.

அவர் என்னதான் பயப்படுகிறார். அது பயமோ எதிர்பார்ப்போ அல்ல. அவருக்குச் சரியாகத் தெரிகின்ற ஒன்றுமில்லைதான்.

மொத்தமாக அது ஏதுமில்லாத நிலைதான். எல்லா மனிதருமே ஒரு ஏதுமில்லாமையின் உருமாற்றம்தான்.

அது வேறெதுமில்லை. அதற்குத் தேவையானது வெளிச்சம் மட்டும்தான். கூட சுத்தமும், வரிசைத் தன்மையும்.

அதற்குள்ளேயும் சிலர் வாழ்கிறார்கள். ஆனால் அவர் அது ஒன்றுமே தெரியாமல் இருக்கிறார். இதுவெல்லாம் வெறும் சூனியம் என்று அவருக்கும் தெரியும். ஏதுமில்லாமையின் உள் உள்ள ஏதுமில்லாமைக்கு வாழ்த்துக்கள். உங்களுடன் ஏதுமில்லாமையும் வாழ்கிறது. அவன் சிரித்துக்கொண்டே பார் முன் நின்றான். பளபளத்துக் கொண்டிருந்த நீராவியினால் இயங்கும் ஒரு காப்பி இயந்திரம் அவரருகில் இருந்தது.

``உங்களுக்கு....என்ன’’ பார்மேன் கேட்டார்.

``ஒரு சிறிய கப்’’ வெயிற்றர் கூறினான்.

பார்மேன் நிரப்பிக் கொடுத்தார்.

``வெளிச்சத்தின் தன்மையும் அதிகப்படுத்தப்பட்டிருக்கிறது. தேவையான அந்தஸ்தும் அதற்குள். ஆனால் பார் அழகுபடுத்தப்பட்டு பளபளப்பு இல்லாமல் இருக்கிறது’’ வெயிற்றர் கூறினார்.

பார்மேன் அவனைக் கவனித்துக் கொண்டிருந்தும் அவர் ஏதும் கூறவில்லை. நடுச்சாமம் வாதத்திற்குத் தகுந்த நேரமுமல்ல.

``உங்களுக்கு இன்னும் தேவையா’’ பார்மேன் கேட்டார். ``வேண்டாம். நன்றி.’’ வெயிற்றர் கூறினார். அவன் வெளியே வந்தான். அவன் பார்களையும், பலசரக்குக் கடைகளையும் வெறுத்து வந்தான். ஒரு சுத்தமான, வெளிச்சம் அதிகமுள்ள கபே என்றால் அதன் சிறப்பே வேறுதான். இப்போது அதிகமாக ஏதும் சிந்திக்காமல் அவனுக்கு வீட்டில் தனது அறைக்குத் திரும்ப வேண்டியுள்ளது. பதுமைமிகு மெத்தையில் சாய்வான். கடைசியாக பகல் ஒளி உள்ளபோது தூக்கத்தில் ஆழ்ந்து செல்வான். தனக்குள்ளாகவே கேட்டுக் கொள்வான். சில நேரங்களில் தூக்கமில்லாமையாகவும் இருக்கும். அனேகமாக இது பலருக்கும் ஏற்படுவது என்னவோ உண்மையாகவே உள்ளது.

நன்றி : நோபல் பரிசு பெற்றவர்களின் கதைகள் காவ்யா வெளியீடு 

 மலையாளம் வழி தமிழில் : பொன்மனவல்சகுமார், குறிஞ்சிவேலன்.

FB is a self-therapy tool

Writing on Facebook makes users reflect upon their actions, which in turn helps them reshape their identity.

Image: Annette Shaff/Shutterstock

Writing on Facebook isn't merely the act of a narcissist - in fact, it's based on an age-old practice that helps people understand and improve themselves, a QUT media researcher said.
A new study by Dr Theresa Sauter of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Creative Industries and Innovation (CCI) at QUT shows social networking sites can be a form of self-therapy.
"Social networking sites invite people constantly to share their thoughts and actions with others, confess their wrongdoings and highlight their achievements," Dr Sauter said.
"This turns these sites into tools for self-reflection.
"It's like keeping a diary, but it's more public, frequent and up-to-date. For users, it can become a therapeutic tool that helps them to discover how they feel and how they can improve themselves."
By posting about achievements, from cooking a good meal to being successful at work, users show that they're doing well in their day-to-day lives, Dr Sauter's study reveals.
Conversely, when they publicly admit their mistakes through Facebook posts, they show an awareness that they've digressed from what is good, normal and ethical behaviour.
In doing so, users share their own reflections as well as inviting feedback from their friends and connections.
"However, this is not necessarily a conscious practice: it is a by-product of using Facebook regularly. While public self-writing was previously limited to an intellectual elite, social media technology now makes it accessible for everyone," she said.
"Such practices have their precedents in history, going back to ancient Greece and early Christianity, when people wrote to reflect on life or to confess sins and ask for forgiveness."
Today, social media have become an everyday confessional.
"For instance, users might post about not doing their tax returns or buying unhealthy food, and ask their friends if they were bad. They're confessing that they haven't lived up to the norms and standards they set for themselves."
Dr Sauter said posting more could encourage people to reflect more frequently on their own behaviour, even though they were unaware of it.
"Throughout their day, when people think about how they can portray an event on Facebook or Twitter, they're reflecting on what they've done and how that aligns with what is expected of them," she said.
"So writing on social networking sites is more than an outlet for narcissistic bravado or a way to express oneself and communicate with others.
"People can use these sites to work on themselves. It doesn't mean they create new personalities on Facebook, but rather that they understand and keep reshaping their own identity through self-writing."
The study 'What's on your mind?' Writing on Facebook as a tool for self-formation has been published in the journal New Media & Society.
The ARC Centre for Excellence for Creative Industries and Innovation (CCI) is helping to build a creative Australia through cutting-edge research spanning the creative industries, media and communications, arts, cultural studies, law, information technology, education and business. It is funded by the Australian Research Council (ARC).

Editor's note: Original news release can be found here.