In The Name Of The Lord

 

"Most people do not pray, they only beg"

- George Bernard Shaw-

Beggars are funny people. I meet this lady almost everyday as I walk down a regular street. She sits in the same corner, sometimes lost in thought, sometimes drinking coffee given by men from a nearby hotel and at times actually begging, something for what she sits there for. If you look at her from close you will feel she is pretty dignified for the job, and the best part is her smile. Yes, she occasionally does! And with that for me she has now turned a known stranger. What surprises me is be it sun, be it rain nothing stops her. Every time I look at her I am compelled to think "Is she as helpless as she looks?" At the first few instances I did give her a few coins like most of us would do. I do not know if that has changed any part of her life. You know what, blood runs cold when someone comes to us in shattered clothes, arms outstretched and takes the name of the Lord. Half of us shove them away, half of us get away with the coins in our wallet. Beyond this there is no serious thought.

Life is such that we all fall short of something, not just money. And to keep it going we need to convince ourselves that days will definitely get better if we intend to make them so. Imagine if the whole world was on the road for whatever each one of us need. No matter what our backgrounds are before even thinking of dealing with a problem most of us die for an easier way out. Maybe that makes us feel human enough. What would make you sit on the road? What would make you give up your dignity? Poverty for many is a justification, hunger is the reason. But I doubt if it actually is.

It is a sticky business. The question precisely is this, what do you do if you spot someone begging. Ignore them and it pinches some corner of your heart. Encourage them by giving them a coin and you know you are just adding up to the problem. There lies the paradox. And how many of us would get down from the car or stop walking and talk to the person, listen to their problem and get him or her into some kind of effective rehabilitation. The picture is more complex than it appears and it will stay so because each one of us is busy drawing our own. That's life.

-R.

The Real Underachievers

Picture Courtesy

 Correct me if I am wrong, such cover articles do make you read them. 'Time' has come up with its Underachiever, and 'Outlook' with its. And their deeds or more so the lack of it do bear popular attention. Enough has been said and written about it. I am not going to put them under the knife here. Well with power comes responsibilities, and also some hard line journalism. But what we need to appreciate is that despite all the intrigue they manage to be where they are, no empathizing but its fair to consider these men on the top for just holding that position in two of the world's most uptight nations.

Look at this from a common man's perspective, the chai wallah or the rickshawallah on the street. Now who among them would critically analyze the performance of these leaders, no way here in India. For all we know most of us Indians may fail to remember our respective's name. Take a walk on the road asking " Who is our PM?" and you will know. He may be no superhuman, no extraordinary but still worth a you-know-who which most think he is not. An underachievement from our side if you were to call it, the choice that we make of unawareness. Among the so called educated ones, courtesy is the 'I-HATE-POLITICS' clan that is defintiely on the rise.

In all this muddle of politics and other issues most of the leaders themselves suffer from a lack of genuine insight and fail to understand that they play a pivotal role in progress, real progress. Facts and figures kept apart. Even if they do own one, remember its not just the Prime Minister or the President who runs it all. The ones mentioned in these articles are not fundamentally different from an average politician, or so their records will tell us. Maybe that's where is a part of the problem. The rest is just about each one of us. But it is important to understand that once you are there, you are just there running a madhouse! And if you do not run it as expected to, you still get to stay on the headline, the reason is the only 'change'. Meanwhile let's keep talking about it until it really happens.

-R.

Touch Me Not

All the world will turn a touch me not
If you my dear love only yourself a lot
So spread some life, and some green
Be the blessing of a bloom ever seen

-R-

The Antonyms

"The more you write, the better you remember" so says the God, well of cricket. The other day I saw Sachin in one of those television commercials saying this to a school kid. So inspiring and true! And then is when I realized what a long break I have taken from writing, particularly blogging. Its more than a week now that the inconsiderate in me had a look at this place. It is not that I have forgotten about anything or the genuine lack of time for people and things that matter to me. I really am tied up. All what I am writing is my dissertation data and trust me I see tally lines everywhere these days!

Somehow I cannot explain this, I guess its a thing about all of us. We tend to take things and people who are always with us for granted. A little lack of attention feels okay, and as days pass by but naturally things do change. Most of the times we realize this after enough happens and we lose it. But when I think of this blog of mine, I cannot and will not imagine it on that line. And so I am back here, ranting whatever that is coming to my mind. I have a progress report on my dissertation tomorrow, cannot help but laugh. Ask why? Dissertation and progress are perfect antonyms I tell you. Such a process, argh! Pray please !

Picture Courtesy

-R.