Comparison
“Shall I compare thee to summer’s day?”
Asked Shakespeare,
But did not stay for an answer!
Thiruvalluvar compared timely help
To human hands hastening
To right a slipping dress.
Bharati compared fear to death.
Linguists compare languages
Critics compare literatures and theories.
Philosophers do have their comparisons.
Chomsky claims his grammar to be
An analogue of the native speaker’s mind.
Management gurus compare systems
To eliminate silos effect.
Teachers relate their ideas to life
By means of comparison.
Christ’s parables, Aesop’s fables, Panchatantra tales—
Are all comparisons, implicit or explicit.
All this is possible because
Comparison is a mental faculty.
And the instances cited are all healthy comparisons
And so far so good.
But when someone rich compares themselves
To the richer, then there is trouble.
It is unhealthy and is bound to
Breed jealousy or frustration;
Would engender a rat-race syndrome;
Robs one of the joy of living.
But, unfortunately, our educational environment
And the corporate ethos seem to put
A premium on rat-races.
Even a system like yoga,
Which seeks to foster detachment,
Or a spontaneous and leisurely
Activity like poetry writing
Is not spared nowadays:
Pray, what is a Yoga competition
Or a Poetry contest, if not a glorified rat race?!
— Ram, R. V.
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