Castrati

In Italy, during middle ages, women were not allowed in churches or operas. So choirs were mostly composed of young boys to provide the high pitch to the songs. The problem with young boys was that after a few years in choirs their voices cracked and they became useless. So the tradition of castrating them started. Young boys, seven or eight years old, were made to sit in tubs of hot water and their testicles were massaged softly for some time and then forcefully crushed. A short procedure gave the society its polyphonic voice. In some parts, these young boys were regarded as pious as the nuns. A small portion of these castrati went on to become very successful in their lives. The rest lived unimaginable lives. But far from protesting, many parents and sometimes young boys themselves applied for their castration.
If one thinks about it, one realizes how most of his or her life has been spent giving respect to various institutions. From those with big corridors and passages to those that operate out of dilapidated old buildings we serve them all. We dress up and we make up and we smile and we oblige. What we do not realize is that an institution, howsoever ostentatiously made up, and whose concepts are howsoever intricately woven into our skins, is still just meant to serve the individuals and not to castrate them. And that one's testicles, one's voice or one's right to hold an opinion should not be sacrificed to any organization. While a nihilist hatred of every structure is better avoided, fanatically upholding an institute's well being is also unhealthy, some times for the institute itself.