Comments on: Aristotle as Kerala’s Suicide Cure?

By: gagan

gagan — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 12:46:13 +0000

Generally, good people commit suicide, i guess. So what we are missing is good-minded people of Kerala. But this can be reduced considerable, if there are enough social support groups.

By: Keralite

Keralite — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 14:18:59 +0000

Santa Clara murder-suicide of six. One more to add to the rising trend of multiple suicides among Malayalees (due to financial difficulties?), though the mode of operation is more copy cat US-DBD than typical Mallu joint suicides.

By: deemz

deemz — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 17:48:22 +0000

Wonders if there’s data on how many Keralites commit suicide outside of Kerala.

By: jujung

jujung — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 00:53:27 +0000

Great post.

25 Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â· portmanteau said

24 Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â· HammerSickleStar said
You should go hang out in a Kerala bar sometime!
i have buddha and aristotle are not that dissimilar — aristotle talks about the golden mean which is comparable to buddha’s path of moderation. both speak about virtuous conduct, and their views may not diverge that much. buddha is not about self-abnegation (he cares more about detachment) in the extreme way mahavira is.

What is the difference between detachment and self-abnegation? Attachment comes from non-self-abnegation (desire) which is the root-cause of all evil according to Buddha. And isn’t forced self-abnegation (may be because that is society’s ideal or may be due to lack of opportunity) one of the main reasons for suicide? According to Buddha, the lack of desire should come from an actual self-realization that desire is meaningless etc etc… I suspect such a philosophy will lead to a civilization in decline, which abandons/devalues all things material. How much of this affected India is anyone’s guess.. This philosophy contrasts with the disinterestedness in the result of ones action (nishkama karma) but not in action itself and the importance given to all the four stages of human life – student,householder,retired and renounced – in Gita.

I believe, the purpose or meaning of life does not lie in some end goal, but lies in the pursuit/action itself. And the job of any successful state is to facilitate this pursuit by all people with as few hindrances as possible.

By: melbourne desi

melbourne desi — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 00:06:35 +0000

When Melbourne desi talks about growing up in Pulionthope, I wanted to tell him about McCourt's childhood in a Limerick slum and his later visitations and the resulting emotions;

hmmmm

By: error

error — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 16:34:59 +0000

Watch the recent episode of Akkarakazchakal on youtube. This episode discusses how DOB mallus create this fantasy about Kerala and wants to relive their golden days.

By: Keralite

Keralite — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 14:10:06 +0000

Yes, I meant Rajakumaran Thampi, the son of Sreekumaran Thampi. Yeah, he is a Telugu director, but he has acted in quite a few Malayalam movies as a child artist and he learned film direction under Priyadarshan, a Malayalam director. So it is not like he is totally cut off from Malyalee culture and identity. His father is a Malayalam poet, he married a Malayali, and he grew up in Chennai where the entire Malayalam movie industry used to be based, so I would expect him to be more culturally Malayalee than an average Malayalee growing up in North India or the Gulf or the US.

True, while Kerala's lack of opportunities would not be behind his suicide, a Keralite's high expectations would be. The opportunities that he had and their outcomes would not have matched his expectations, perhaps.

By: green

green — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 11:42:32 +0000

growing “blade mafia” is another problem in Kerala

By: Lea

Lea — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 10:08:30 +0000

33 Â· Keralite said

Breaking news: Another high profile Malayali suicide. Film director on the eve of the release of his third movie. Previous two movies were hits, University rank holder, son of a famous poet/director, father of a toddler.... Now, that's a suicide fit for a philosophical investigation!

Keralite, I assume you're talking about the death of Telugu director Raj Aditya, who was born in Kerala, brought up in Chennai, and worked in the Telugu industry. I'm not sure his death can in anyway attributed to whatever problems exist in Kerala. For a director who had made two successful films, I'm not sure Kerala's lack of opportunities is really his problem.

By: vada

vada — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 07:05:18 +0000

Kerala’s problem? Traditional Indian family structures broken down by expatriation. This is caused by old fashioned Communism blocking any types of good jobs to be created in the state. Expatriates long to go back to Kerala due to nostolgia and the natives want to get out.