Hell is.....

Hell is -other people!

Jean-Paul Sartre was a French philosopher and one of the pioneers of existentialism in the 20th Century. The above maxim coming towards the end of "No Exit",a play written by Sartre in the mid '40s, is a play on Sartre's basis on existentialism.

In order to deconstruct this statement and understand it's meaning, I have to put forth and defined some terms.

Noumenon* is a term used to define the cognitive part of the human consciousness. It can also be referred to as the "thing in itself" or the self that is aware.

Noumenon is generally considered to be infinite,having no bounds.However, according to Sartre,any attempt to become self-aware fails as it is an attempt to define the reflective consciousness in an infinite state. The Self (having a conscious boundary) cannot define itself because it is infinite and hence has no bounds .

In order to define self, there needs to be a conscious "Other", which is also infinite in nature. The beauty of the above maxim is in it's interpretation.The protagonist of the play utters the above statement to reject the distorted image of himself that he perceives from the mind of the Others(other characters in the play,audience).This is our Original sin.When we start playing the part in society that is not fundamentally ours we start losing our ties with our Noumenon,our reflective consciousness.When a human being lies,cheats,steals and cons, s/he blames circumstance(noumenon-phenomenon play),society and other forms of conscious "Others". And therein the original personality becomes distorted and fractured.On realising this damned state the conscious mind rejects it as a wrong perception of being when it is seen from the mind of the audience,the people that s/he interact with,friends and family, the others.

The "Hell" that has become the protagonist's consciousness has been transferred to the "Others", a typical human trait!


* not to be confused with a Keralite, ;-)

The Limit

"On a given day, a given circumstance, you think you have a limit. And you then go for this limit and you touch this limit, and you think, 'Okay, this is the limit'. And so you touch this limit, something happens and you suddenly can go a little bit further. With your mind power, your determination, your instinct, and the experience as well, you can fly very high."

On May 1, 1994 Ayrton Senna da Silva, the iconic Brazilian Formula 1 triple world champion, died.He was leading the San Marino Grand Prix at it's famed Imola racing track.He was 34. When I read about the news in the papers, as a fourteen year old,I along with million other avid racing enthusiasts mourned the death of a Champion.A
Champion like no other.A man obsessed.A passionate driver who thrived on competition, beset with the goal of improving on his 'limits'.The Original 'Rain Master'.One of the few drivers in the world to have mastered the 'Jewel of the Formula One Crown', the Monaco Grand Prix( He won it 6 times,more than any other driver in the history of Motorsport).

I had first read about Ayrton in Sportstar,a popular sports magazine published in India. I also got to watch highlights of his feats on 'The World This Week', the NDTV programme that was so popular in the early 90s.I also enjoyed playing him the 'Super Monaco Grand Prix' PC game on my HCL 386 Computer.He was one of the main reasons why I preferred the McLaren Team ever since.And when Formula 1 began airing in India on Star Sports, I was hooked.Thanks to Youtube one can watch some of his interviews and he comes off as a passionate and committed person devoid of a pompous ego or airs.He championed the cause of driver safety in Formula 1 and it was ironic that he died a victim.If he would have lived, I am sure he would have won more races and championships,apart from setting more records in place.
If anyone had any doubts about Ayrton's relentless pursuit of excellence, they will be settled by this quote of his.

"One particular thing that Formula-1 can provide you, is that you know you're always exposed to danger. Danger of getting hurt, danger of dying. This is part of your life, and you either face it in a professional, in a cool manner, or you just drop it, just leave it and don't do it anymore really. And I happen to like too much what I do to just drop it, I can't drop it."

Another striking fact to consider is that ,National Geographic's TV Docu ,'Seismic Seconds: The Death of Ayrton Senna',reached a conclusion that if Ayrton would have been slower in instinct at the time of the crash, he would have survived!

We have had some amazing Formula 1 races ever since, and amazing superstars like Michael Schumacher ,Damon Hill, Mika Hakkinnen , Kimi Raikonnen and Fernando Alonzo,but they all pale in comparison to this towering giant.

Every year ,on the 1st of May, I celebrate my Uncle's Birthday.I also mourn silently on this loss that all motorsports enthusiasts feel on this tragic day.The day Ayrton Senna drove for the last time.This is the day...

I remember.Ayrton Senna.Champion,Icon,Legend.

He looked serene. I raised his eyelids and it was clear from his pupils that he had a massive brain injury. We lifted him from the cockpit and laid him on the ground. As we did, he sighed and, although I am totally agnostic, I felt his soul departed at that moment.

Professor Sidney Watkins,Head of the Formula 1 On-Track team at Imola,on Ayrtons death.