chaotic order

An interesting personal conversation... Martin is studying to be a psychologist - specializing in addiction. A young man: tall, handsome, with light blue eyes and well maintained physique; I keep bumping into him oftentimes in the Sauna. He normally comes in with his friends for a vigorous workout, and then walks into the hot room alone for a fitting finale to a tiring regime of weights and exercises. Our acquaintance gradually has grown from mere greetings to a slightly more firm ground; and today both of us were alone in the sauna at 7.30 P.M, and we started talking. Soon enough, we realized that we were ravenously hungry; and after a quick shower headed to a nearby café for dinner. Night was setting in, and the intense heat and humidity of the day was now giving way to a faint cool breeze. It was heavenly after a tiring workout to feel the cool air on one's skin. We ordered dinner, and Martin started this conversation: “Hey Bala, Don’t mind me asking you this. I remember m

Fiction vs. Non fiction - a personal rumination I have heard this view from a lot many friends:... “Bala, I have stopped reading fiction, I only read Non-fiction” or “Fiction is waste of time, I am better off reading a book that increases my knowledge...”, or with a look of condescension in their eyes, they tell me “You still read fiction, what do you gain by it…” These are representative comments that I have gotten from many educated friends. Frankly, I don’t respond to these, only because I regard these individuals in high esteem, and would not want to offend them in any manner. They are entitled to their opinions and I respect them for it. But the purpose of this essay is to present a case for fiction, not because it really needs one, but merely as a plea to not get into a trap of snobbism, and start deriding the ancient art of storytelling as a distraction in an otherwise “purpose driven” human life. Good fiction is perhaps the earliest form of human communication. It is fictio