India is in festival mode.The bazaars are full of shoppers looking for the best bargain.Lights are begining to appear on the balconies of individual houses.Yet,amidst all this I was witness to a tragic event.A person jumped under the wheels of the subway train I was riding one early autumn morning recently.
As the train lurched to a stop and everyone got off with a macabre sense of curiousity,all I could see was a hand and bits of mangled flesh clinging to the wheels.It took seconds for the person to dive under the wheels like a swimmer diving into the pool.A jerk,some seconds of distraught silence and a Life was over.
I do not know who the person was and why and after a few minutes I resumed my journey but with such a feeling of emptiness that i cannot explain.In the papers the next day was a small paragraph saying it was a 24 year old.
Each age,each Generation has its own rage,logic and stress.When i was in high school i remember some of my less academic classmates on failing an exam were more occupied with avoiding their parent's beating than any real preoccupation with a longer term view or a take on their entire life.
Having seen this incident close-up I can relate to the daily news of suicides et all that fills the pages or our TV screens.
What can we do to try and sensitize ourselves to those less fortunate or not mentally strong enough to carry the burden of failure.I have read the Guru's say that failure teaches you to be brave,to try new things,learn etc etc
How many have reached that point and been able to pull themselves back?A very Few.A very few number.If I was ever pushed to that brink what wold I do?I truly do not know.
What can we do to reach out to strangers who we feel are not having the best of times in Life?I have started with my neighbours and acquaintances and sometimes it difficult to reach out to those we barely know.
We used to talk in disparaging terms of life in the west with its loneliness,cold impersonability and lack of sympathy-at least the Governments of the welfare states stepped in to fill a void.yet in India the same stresses have arrived quietly unannounced and we do not have a safety net!We lack EMPATHY and we have taken this rat-race too seriously.
Reminds me of a Sudarshan Faakir ghazal...
Kisi Ranjish Ko Hawa Do Ke Mein Zinda Hoo Abhi
Mujhkoi Ahsaas Dila Do Ke Mein Zinda Hoon Abhi
Mere Rukane Se Meri Saanse Bhi Ruk Jaayegi
Fasale Aur Badha Do Ke Mein Zinda Hoon Abhi
Zehar Peene Ki Toh Aadat Thi Zamanewalo
Ab Koi Aur Dava Do Ke Mein Zinda Hoon Abhi
Chalti Raho Mein Yuhi Aankh Lagi Hai ‘Faakir’
Bheed Logo Ki Hata Do Ke Mein zinda Hoon Abhi
Offcourse it might also mean that I am growing a lot older than I look on my Facebook pics...!!
