By following frequent references to Theodor W. Adorno in Ranko Bon's “Residua”, I came across a view that Adorno and Horkheimer share in their “Dialectic of Enlightenment”, which, in my opinion, defines a context in which modern progress should be analyzed, “Enlightenment is mythical fear radicalized,” claim the authors, because the ultimate drive for enlightenment is fear from unknown. This simple sentence explains a lot. We didn't really make that big of a breakthrough with our civilization of progress. We just approached the same problem in a different way, but the problem is still there. We still didn't free ourselves of our primordial fears and on that level we still function in the same way men have functioned throughout the history. It's just that we are little more “efficient” in venting our frustrations.

After work I went to buy a mosquito net, because of bad experience from the previous night. Then I went to Raj Palace, a nearby hotel, to have a dinner in their restaurant on the roof. It is a very pleasant place, elevated above polluted and dusty streets, cooled down by a sea breeze. I order a chicken kebab, which is actually a wrap made out of roti and stuffed with chicken and vegetables, and a Kingfisher. Actually, I ordered a naan too, but Ganesh, my waiter, realized that I didn't understand the concept of their kebab and canceled that order for me. A guy at a nearby table had a drinking session with his buddy over the phone.

At home my reading is interrupted by Thiru and Pachai. They brought the last missing piece for my stove. They install it and make it work! I am pretty excited, because I have been preparing for a while to start experimenting with Indian food. They also help me with the mosquito net. We celebrate job well done with some scotch.