Let us question, damn it.
(This is purely from an Indian’s perspective)
That, is a picture of curd, or yogurt, as it is known to many people who do not know the word “curd”. I’m going to try explaining the main theme of this article using that wonderful mass of food.
When having food in Tamil Nadu, India, people have varieties of rice during a meal, generally having a particular type of rice- lemon, tamarind, coconut, sambhar, rasam and whatnot- along with the ever-famous curd rice. The basic number of rices(I have no other way to put it) people consume during a standard meal is two, and it usually goes up to a maximum number of three. I know, it sounds relatively stupid to declare a minimum amount as “two” and a maximum amount as “three”- but numbers aren’t the topic of this particular conversation.
One of the greatest battles I have ever fought in my life before one of my aunts actually took the time to explain it to me was the battle about curd rice. Since I don’t follow mainstream thinking, I prefer to have one type of rice, instead of two, and have a cup of curd to go with it. While I don’t mind mixing rice with curd and sambhar with my bare hands(It’s better if you visualize the Tamil term for “mixing rice” here), having curd rice when the rice in question is steaming hot is something I despise. I despise it more than I despise gingers. (The vegetables.)
So whenever someone tells me, “Why aren’t you eating curd rice? It’s unhealthy! You should always have two types of rice!”, or “Why are you having curd in a cup? It’s fattening!” (Yes, I know it fattens me, thank you very much for those wise, ancient words of advice), I (innocently) ask them, “Why can’t I? What’s the difference between having a cup of curd and using the same amount to mix curd with rice?”.
This is where the trouble starts. I watch as their faces go blank- or puzzled- or startled- as they go silent for a second; and then, sometimes, depending on the person, in a reprimanding tone, they say, “B-because that’s how it is! Y-you shouldn’t question the elderly! J-just e-eat what we give you!” (Or something similar.)
It took me a reasonable amount of time to extract the answer for this particular conundrum- when one day, one of my aunts patiently took the time to inform me that having curd rice essentially lowers the amount of curd you consume, thus making you less fatter, and actually substituting buttermilk for curd(yogurt mixed in water) tones down the fat even further. This was around the time when I had just begun to study B.Sc- and I think I posed the curd rice question when I was… oh, high school, I think.
Now- I’m not questioning the fact that my aunt(or whoever served the curd in question) “didn’t allow me to have my dinner the way I wanted it”; nor am I rejecting the fact that a cup of curd is not very healthy compared to, say, a cup of buttermilk. What I’m questioning is these words uttered by technically every member of the older generations of India when they can’t properly answer a question put forward to them:
Y-you shouldn’t question the elderly!
Don’t talk back!
Or variations of this:
Listen to what we say!
Don’t think too much! Focus on your present!
(I categorically agree to the above quote)
You think you’re smarter than me?
Essentially speaking, these three words that limit our intelligence:
Do not question!
Why? WHY? Why can’t we question? Is there a rule for it in the Vedas, or other religious texts? Is there a law that prohibits questioning in the government? Is there an ancient story passed down from generation to generation about how curiosity killed the cat? (Satisfaction did bring it back, you know.) Or is there an unspoken legend about a ten-eyed monster who will suck your grey matter out from your brain if you dare question? Why is questioning and thinking frowned upon so much in this society of ours?
This is one of the most unfair things anyone can ever experience. A child who questions about why the sky is blue is reprimanded by their parents to finish their homework. A student or teenager who questions “why can’t they do this” or “why can’t they do that” is met with shopworn tidbits like “because we said so” or “because it’s good” or “because it’s the safe way”. Some people go out of the boundaries, dictating a no-questioning, totally authoritarian environment (But they expect us to answer multiple choice questions, 3-mark questions, 5-mark questions, 10-mark questions and 20-mark questions.) People want the younger generations to be dutiful and mature- but start questioning society, or their own lives, and (fill in the blanks). They expect Indian youngsters to be intelligent, but they won’t allow us to speculate about the world, “because it’s a waste of time”- and they give us long, hard speeches on how we’re not studying well when they could’ve taught us to think instead of not doing so. They teach us the pen is mightier than the sword, but they contradict this fact by emphasizing on doing, not thinking.
Speaking of thinking- have you ever heard of this quote? It goes like this:
Wisdom begins in wonder.
It was said to be uttered by a Greek philosopher called Socrates. People would know about him if they weren’t too busy “doing their duty” while society slams them down with their own brand of “reality and practicality”.
So, to every member of the older generation out there who tries to hold down the younger generation’s thoughts, consciously or unconsciously, I end my (contradictory, argumentative and possibly stemming from an outburst) article by sending out a request:
Let us question.
One day, you’ll be glad you did.
P.S. I might have posted a lot of questions up there.
