Friday, August 30, 2013

Crooked

Being crooked by a rickshawala gave rise to profound thoughts.

The moment I was not careful, he charged an impossible amount of fare. My fault was that I did not fix the fare from beforehand. And though I could have argued with him after having got down at my door for having been dishonest and charging double the usual fare, I realized that it was, after all, my mistake. I was careless. I did not think of doing the usual – being careful.

And so it is with everyone around us. The moment we stop watching our back, we get a reminder – sometimes in the form of accidents or sometimes as betrayals – that we can’t afford a single moment of slack. It’s imperative that we work like machines. The basic honesty and trustworthiness has become so rare – and I’m sure that most of us regret it – that if we find an honest taxi driver or an honest maid, we become overwhelmed with the presence of goodness in human beings.

But this was hardly the case with our parents’ generation, let alone that of our grandparents. They could trust, without having the lurking fear of being cheated.

And can we blame only the poor economy for this? Isn't there a continuous degradation of humanity which has less to do with the fall of the Rupee and more with the rise of Capitalism? The want of more. Better mobile, better clothes, better shoes, more brands; you have the i-phone, you want the i-pad – you have the Metro, you want the Louboutin.

Am I any different? May be not. I have been thinking of buying a new phone for some time now. And after today’s experience, I wonder if my phone isn't working fine for me. I have all the required features in it. Then why do I need a new one? Anyway, this longing for “more” is hardly going to stop anywhere.

Monday, August 26, 2013

Innocence and Experience

Once there was innocence.

The laughter sparkled with the rays,
The games were fun, and the touch?
Oh! The touch was cool.

We didn't know when the worms came.
Seemed like a heartburn at first.
At times, slow pain eating into the heart,
Once or twice, the eyes were damp and foggy -
The sparkle was lost to this new-found doubt.

And then the worms grew -
In size and in number.
They went inside the skin, tearing away every bit of peace.
And the heart was caught, at last.
Pain, sharp words, anger, disgust.
We fought and again we did ;
The worms had gone into our hearts.

The loss of innocence -
This is what we live.