2 Little Huts

 

This is the very first image that I clicked from this camera (Sony NEX3) that got few years ago, and these colorful little huts are painted by my children.

There is a time for everything - Painting

The Book of Ecclesiastes is part of the wisdom literature of the Old Testament also called the black sheep of the Bible,  but it is one of my favorite book.



Like many other books in Bible, this book does not directly identify its author. There are some clues in the context that may suggest a different person wrote the book after Solomon’s death, possibly several hundred years later. Martin Luther was probably the first to deny the Solomonic authorship. He regarded the book as "a sort of Talmud, compiled from many books, but the conventional belief is that the author is indeed King Solomon.



In fact there were endless arguments against this book and its inclusion in the Old Testament. The reason for that is that there are certain passages in this book which seem to deny that there is life after death, that it is all over when this life ends and "eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we must die" kind of philosophy.



The Ecclesiastes writer Throughout the book, again and again he says, "A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work." Although he accepts a kind of fatalism according to which there is a definite time and place for everything, his book is filled with advice about how a person should live in order to get the greatest enjoyment out of life. Above all else, he counsels moderation: "Do not be over righteous, neither be over wise — why destroy yourself?" A person should find a happy medium. One of the tragedies of life, the author tells us, is for a person to spend so much time and energy preparing for old age that when it arrives, the person is unable to enjoy it. We should enjoy life while we are young, for old age is characterized by weakness and infirmities that are but a prelude to the time when "the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it."



Here one of my favorite passage in this book that I have painted.



There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:
To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up:
A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.



Eccl 3:1-8





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Lead Kindly Light ( Hymn Painting )

I made this painting four years ago for an auction in our
church ‘harvest festival”.  Later I made
many such works for some popular hymns  like ‘Abide with me’ , ‘How great thou art’
and stuff. even now people tell me ‘ Hey you know, that goda waala (horse) painting
was good ‘ and then I had to correct them saying that was mule not a horse.  



Why do people Generalize?

Generalization is an inherent to human nature, and for good reason. We can’t help it. And the judgment is personal, individual. Such stereotyping is practiced by almost everyone. But we are smart creatures. We know not put tomatoes in fruit salad. we understand the power of wind and the water. We have the wisdom to understand what is eatable and what not to eat.

Unfortunately that’s bit tricky when it comes to people. In society we often hear stereotypes about others, although they are questionable, but here are some stereotypes that I had heard and read in the past.

British are too proud. Australians have no culture. Blondes are dumb. Chinese are straight in business. Jews are greedy. Dutch are stingy. Americans have fat arses. Arabs are not trustworthy. French are considered the worst drivers...

In India - Tamilians are slaves. Mharashtrians are not ambitious. Bongs are selfish. Keralites are not be trusted. Sindhis are kanjoos (stingy). Beware the Brahmins. Gujus are business mined. Sardars are stupid.

 

These are all narrow-minded labels the society put, however it does detract from the credibility of the message that the person is transmitting. I think it is very important to understand others by not misjudging them. It’s not easy, needs a lot of practice and courage to do so.

I do sometimes, bitching people. But knowing it’s wrong, and trying to do my best to stop such stereotyping and generalization is the first.