ASHES

The events of last Saturday evening have left a permanent impression on me. I have come to know what I am really capable of, and what we as a society are capable of. As blasts set of in different parts of Delhi on Saturday the 13^th, I experienced three emotions in a very quick time.

Since the blasts happened in areas where some people very close to me stay, I got a little tensed with the news at the outset. After making some frantic calls, marred by a jammed network, I finally felt relief. I had experienced two emotions in almost 2 hours. And then I felt the third, which will probably stay with me forever.

I don’t know if the terrorists have planned it or not, but more than killing a lot of people, they are killing something much more valuable and important for their cause. They are killing the very soul of every human being. With every blast that occurs, we go further down within ourselves. What is the first thing we did after hearing of the blasts? Checked for the well being of our loved ones. And by 9pm we were partying weren’t we? Well maybe not all of us, but many of us. This is the level to which our ‘insaniyat’ has come, if I put it a little filmy way. And every successive blast will reinforce this shallowness within us. The third feeling is a feeling of shame!

The next day we are making fun of shivraj patil, because he has nothing to say or do whenever blasts occur. But I don’t think we have a moral right to point fingers at him, or anyone for that matter. Afterall we say the exact same thing every time as well. We are cowards, trying to hide behind the faults of others, lest someone should see how insensitive and immoral we are. When people die it’s just a news program for us on tv, as long as we are safe. What we don’t realise is that we are waiting for the day when someone we know will be collected in one of these blasts.

I know its perfect human nature to care about somethings and someones more than others. But if we talk about living in a society, we can not behave like that always. Still we will perhaps feel that way forever. My cowardice inhibits me from having a dress code changed at office, and I talk about resolving the terrorism issue. Either we will live and of course die like this. Or there is a mutiny that can over throw this oppression. I know some of my thoughts might resonate with what naseeruddin shah said in the recent movie. But its so pertinent. If the terrorists kill too many people in one go, there are more chances of a mutiny. So its always effective for them to strike in short bursts. And we will sit on our bottoms, hoping that we will have a lucky escape everytime. I wish everyone good luck.

Labels: feeling