The Electric Mosquito Swatter (EMS)

To the pacifist this is a weapon of war; to others it is just another way to ensure what is theirs’ remains with them. Having donated blood a few times I have come to appreciate that blood donation is a voluntary act, it is not a two way process, further there are no detrimental impacts to the donor. I would not call a mosquito nonchalantly landing on my skin to feast on my blood as voluntary blood donation, okay even if I were to allow it to; it would feel obligated to exchange diseases like Dengue, Malaria, Chickengunia things I do not care for.

What is worse with the mosquito is that it announces its presence much before it actually sits down to eat. The whine of a mosquito making a pass at a ‘meal’ is enough to get the ‘meal’ clapping with the hope that the mosquito magically gets sandwiched between the hands. But invariably what happens is that the meal just hurts himself as the mosquito deftly dodges the hands. What adds insult to injury is when the hand misses the mosquito absorbed in its bloody business on another part of the body.

The EMS, pictured here, is an instrument that solves a problem before it becomes one. It changes the rules of engagement by making the user more proactive.
It would make George Bush and Advani extremely happy as with the EMS the user can ‘hot-pursuit’ the target all over. The user could also use stealth and guile - acting as bait to draw the mosquito and then using the EMS when the mosquito is in reach, this in-effect means that the EMS can be used to create a no-fly-zone and enforce it.

The EMS gives grace to an unpleasant activity. To some this tool provides the much
needed athleticism to an otherwise sedentary lifestyle because the technique for use is badminton like so well captured in the image on the left. Its design also allows the user to adopt more fluid movements that are less stressful than the method pictured above. The movements of Taichi can be moulded into the use of the EMS. As the EMS is not about force but about reach and touch it suits well to the Dao of this system.

Besides the benefits mentioned above the EMS has been found to enhance relationships as it is a gift of concern and one based on empathy. Gifting an EMS is about empowering the other as it provides a painless solution to the user who till then only had a pair of hands and reflexes to deal with the mosquito.

The EMS is a tool of ingenuity as it combines the idea of the regular fly swatter with the broad sweep of a badminton racket. I don’t know what is more ingenious these adaptations or the fact that it was electrified or is it the whole package. I have written this with the EMS by my side not only did it provide me the requisite inspiration but it helped me enforce a no-fly-zone.

Proving a point

Today’s paper (Times of India 15 Nov. 08) stated that the Army officer who was instrumental in detonating a bomb that killed 6 and injured 101 in Malegaon did it to prove a point. The point being that the Hindus now could also act like the Islamist jihadi’s and blow up a few people. Being the democracy we are, with the ethos of absorbing and learning from others this right wing Hindu colonel went and asked the jihadis for help in assembling and placing the bombs around town/mosques (mosques were not acceptable to the jihadists though). What greater example of democracy, collaboration, respect, attempting to provide equal opportunities can there be today than this - two opposing right wing militant groups come together to share experiences and learning’s to destroy the country.

Both sides have a common cause or a common grouse. They both feel that history has been unkind to them and they are now beholden to right these wrongs by creating a land where the other is absent or not apparently present. The Right Wing Hindus suck on the lemon of being constantly attacked by Muslims centuries ago, worse still the current governments are handing out freebies to Muslims even after they ruled for so long. The modern Right Wing Muslim has a more recent grouse - the Babri Masjid demolition and the Gujarat Pogrom.

So both have grouses and they both are trying to prove a point. What the Right Wing Hindus usually try to prove is that Muslims and others should acknowledge the munificence of the Hindus and therefore show humility and respect. The other point they are trying to prove is that the only way to get back to the golden period of India is to regress as a country. However now with the ‘Hindu Bomb’ what the Right Wing Hindu is trying to prove is that they have had enough of the jihadist bombings and government appeasement of Muslims, they can take matters (bombs) into their own hands and can kill and maim just as well as the jihadists.

The point that the jihadist is trying to make is that the government (hindus) have to pay for their crimes because the law is not dealing with the perpetrators of acts against Muslims.

Proving a point is a necessity for those who imagine they are disenfranchised, its something similar to a tantrum thrown by a child. There is this sudden righteous need to say something or do something that brings recognition, draw attention and thus provide meaning to their Right Wing-ness.

This need to prove things is nothing new to fundamentalists and right wingers, Hitler did it in his attempt to establish a thousand year Reich. So it was no surprise that when the BJP came to power the first time, the first thing they did was to detonate a nuclear device. This was done to prove to the world that India was nuclear capable. This was also BJP’s method of blowing the conch to announce their arrival. This of course led Pakistan to prove a point too. Now both countries have proved a point.

‘Proving a point’ is like Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD), it breeds on distrust as it feeds on an unimportant past which results in an unknown and insecure future.