It was around 11 in the night ...27th December in Delhi...the mercury must have dipped down modestly below 5 degrees. i was feeling too cold to wash the utensils after dinner.....and was in a mood to procrastinate till the next morning......dwindling between when i would feel less cold to wash them in the night or early morning ..... almost like a choice between the Devil and the Deep Sea...
Nothing 'new' all through the day other than the 'news' of the assassination of Benazir Bhutto. it moved me ....may be more coz when the mind first started getting signals of the political colours, it was the Rajiv Gandhi and Benazir Bhutto regime....and of course the aura of these two young leaders was amazingly appealing...when i was in my teens.
In retrospect was just wondering, how the ''means" to their "ends", were so similar. If i tend to forget the fact that there are so many socio-religio-political forces, whose interpplay determine such consequences, it just boils down to one question....'how powerless are the powerful too".....and how must have these individuals felt ....at that spur of the moment ....when they are blown to a thousand pieces or when the bullet smashes those gray cells...which have been trying to determine the future of many.........
....as a common (wo)man, without the strokes of RK Laxman, as much as i thought of which would be the best time to wash the utensils...may be these are people who think which is the best way to kill and what is the best way to die....Dont know....small minds ...smaller worlds ...
Standing at the threshold of 2007...when, otherwise it would have been natural to browse through Yahoo or MSN Greetings and send you all wishes for 2008, i am just recapitulating. Last year also, while half the TV channels were busy with the new year fervour of 2007, live shows filled with jazziness and glitter the rest of the news channels were showing the execution of Saddam Hussain.....and how he wished that his head is not covered when the hangman performs his act.... This year also it would be similar ....analysis of Bhutto's assassination at one end, fear of its aftermaths....and the 'new year celebrations.
As a plebein, i find very difficult oscillating between such contrasting happenings...in fact bewildered and baffled, not being able to decide, which faculty of mine should reign, the responsible citizen, or the free one......and finally it might be another cold weekend for me, some special cuisine for the householsd, some paintings for myself and flickering thoughts of some pending work in office....we all have our own ways out !! as Tagore mentions in "Threshold" :-
The child cries out when from the right breast
The mother takes it away..
In the very next moment to find, in the left its consolation .......
I liked your writings in your blog. Though could read only one, the first piece on Benajir. Tried to post comments but failed. Here was what planning to post:
ReplyDelete"Thrishna, liked your piece of writing. It reminds me of a simple truth that we humans beings take pride of making mountain out of a mole but forget that MEANS are many but END is one; MEMORIES are many but LIFE is one........ Let's ENJOY and FEEL the LIFE as it comes by each day......Past DOESN'T BUILD the future, its the present which it DOES...." - By Suprio Dasgupta, Counsel
The world keeps spinning around while so many contradictory events keep happening simultaneously, over and over again. Life and death are really two sides of the same coin, and one cannot exist without the other facet - imagine, if one never existed, then one would never die, and if one never died, then what sort of life would that be?
ReplyDeleteI think your Tagore quote sums up the story well.