Dear whosoever came across my blog and decided to read on..for whatsoever reason,
Today, as I was returning from an audit ( which is, by the way, very very (very) far from the limits of the city.. I wonder why they have their office there..anyway,) in a bus, I decided I would give my city a closer look than usual, instead of choosing the easier way of killing boredom, to sleep.
The city has become a big city now.. and I mean a BIG city.. the airport apparently looks marvellous ( I haven't seen it yet, so the 'apparently' comes in). The roads are covered with what they call 'luxury cars' and huge malls and big branded stores and many many outlets of several kinds.. I'm impressed..
The city looks fancy and modishly illuminated with the neon (I guess) lights of the many many restaurants and malls and coffee bars and eat outs and every other kind of store or whatever, that I think I can't even name. For a while, my thinking tube was switched on and I gave it a thought.. 'Wow! My city is growing.. It has almost taken the shape of an ideal metropolitan.. Hyderabad is growing rich'.. This thought stayed on my mind all along the way till I reached the Taj Krishna.
Here, I saw this young man with an orange coloured shirt ( I wouldn't call it rugged, but by the look of it, it was a clear sign of poverty and helplessness) on the other side of the road.. The bus had stopped at a signal, so I had enough time to observe him. He followed a 'routine'.. As the traffic stopped at the signal, this man would limp across the road to reach the nearest vehicle to hold his hand out for some cheap money. And then, when the traffic would start moving at the wave of the traffic police's hand. This man would retire and stand aside to get some water to drink.. By the time the traffic stopped again, he would've finished two or three sips from his almost empty bottle and then he would get back to 'work'.
Richness and poverty go so well together, eh? It's a pity to see such imbalances, especially when they come to sight one after the other.
I went on with my 'journey'.. As the bus goes into a lane (not away from the main road) I see a young chap talking to an old man.. This old man looked lost.. I don't know what exactly had happened, but I could make out that there was something wrong with him. This young guy really wanted to help.. He was trying to get him to talk, patting him, assuring and re-assuring that he'd be alright.. The bus didn't wait for me to see what that guy did to help this old man.. I really wanted to see..
Well, if richness and poverty are in a fix, goodness still exists.. there is hope still left that the world could really grow into a place of genuine goodness.. If they say, 'money doesn't matter'.. they should know, goodness does.
So, then we moved on.. My eyes fell on this wine shop (don't ask me why).. And i noticed that there was a crowd around the stall- all of them, customers.. As I was wondering why so many people wanted their night to end with a bottle or two of wine (or whiskey or vodka or whatever) I noticed a short figure in the crowd.. It was a little boy standing at the stall.. Why would a little boy be anywhere around a wine shop? Not as a customer, I hoped. But, this kid walked out with a cold look at the world holding a whiskey bottle and slowly slipping it into his pocket.
What has the world come down to? Little kids turning out to be devotees of alcohol?And we talk about child rights, etc?
Was I thinking of the world in a different way till now? Was I turning my back to the paradox of life? Had it slipped my mind that it takes all kinds to make the world? Or, is it just that I did not grow up at all to understand these strange faces of the being?
I have no idea why this happened, today.. All these sights in one go...
Can you answer? Do you think you can explain? I'd love it if you do..
Thanks..
Lalita.
Today, as I was returning from an audit ( which is, by the way, very very (very) far from the limits of the city.. I wonder why they have their office there..anyway,) in a bus, I decided I would give my city a closer look than usual, instead of choosing the easier way of killing boredom, to sleep.
The city has become a big city now.. and I mean a BIG city.. the airport apparently looks marvellous ( I haven't seen it yet, so the 'apparently' comes in). The roads are covered with what they call 'luxury cars' and huge malls and big branded stores and many many outlets of several kinds.. I'm impressed..
The city looks fancy and modishly illuminated with the neon (I guess) lights of the many many restaurants and malls and coffee bars and eat outs and every other kind of store or whatever, that I think I can't even name. For a while, my thinking tube was switched on and I gave it a thought.. 'Wow! My city is growing.. It has almost taken the shape of an ideal metropolitan.. Hyderabad is growing rich'.. This thought stayed on my mind all along the way till I reached the Taj Krishna.
Here, I saw this young man with an orange coloured shirt ( I wouldn't call it rugged, but by the look of it, it was a clear sign of poverty and helplessness) on the other side of the road.. The bus had stopped at a signal, so I had enough time to observe him. He followed a 'routine'.. As the traffic stopped at the signal, this man would limp across the road to reach the nearest vehicle to hold his hand out for some cheap money. And then, when the traffic would start moving at the wave of the traffic police's hand. This man would retire and stand aside to get some water to drink.. By the time the traffic stopped again, he would've finished two or three sips from his almost empty bottle and then he would get back to 'work'.
Richness and poverty go so well together, eh? It's a pity to see such imbalances, especially when they come to sight one after the other.
I went on with my 'journey'.. As the bus goes into a lane (not away from the main road) I see a young chap talking to an old man.. This old man looked lost.. I don't know what exactly had happened, but I could make out that there was something wrong with him. This young guy really wanted to help.. He was trying to get him to talk, patting him, assuring and re-assuring that he'd be alright.. The bus didn't wait for me to see what that guy did to help this old man.. I really wanted to see..
Well, if richness and poverty are in a fix, goodness still exists.. there is hope still left that the world could really grow into a place of genuine goodness.. If they say, 'money doesn't matter'.. they should know, goodness does.
So, then we moved on.. My eyes fell on this wine shop (don't ask me why).. And i noticed that there was a crowd around the stall- all of them, customers.. As I was wondering why so many people wanted their night to end with a bottle or two of wine (or whiskey or vodka or whatever) I noticed a short figure in the crowd.. It was a little boy standing at the stall.. Why would a little boy be anywhere around a wine shop? Not as a customer, I hoped. But, this kid walked out with a cold look at the world holding a whiskey bottle and slowly slipping it into his pocket.
What has the world come down to? Little kids turning out to be devotees of alcohol?And we talk about child rights, etc?
Was I thinking of the world in a different way till now? Was I turning my back to the paradox of life? Had it slipped my mind that it takes all kinds to make the world? Or, is it just that I did not grow up at all to understand these strange faces of the being?
I have no idea why this happened, today.. All these sights in one go...
Can you answer? Do you think you can explain? I'd love it if you do..
Thanks..
Lalita.
Firstly, this post needs a title. Quite a scary post, don't ask why. Its probably because of your affiliation to the "Art of Living". I have a completely different approach to life. Yes, I did have an approach similar to what you would have had while writing this, but that was a long time ago. All that matters is your approach to life, that's what it all come down to. I wouldn't like to comment about the kid and his experience with alcohol. Goodness exists, so what? Does it change the equation? Sure, goodness does matter but not most of the time. This is the 21st century in which literally everyone is a vagabond, so goodness isn't everything.
ReplyDeleteSomewhere this post touches one in a different way.It makes one uneasy and at the same time a little resigned to the way the world goes.Life is indeed a paradox where poverty and misery co-exists with richness and prosperity, where good co-exists with bad.And you know what, it is true that richness wouldn't be special if not for the poverty of the world and goodness wouldn't be great if not for the evil in this world. So that's the way it is. My funda in life is a simple one. We cannot expect to change the whole world but if each one does his or her bit to be good or atleast not to be bad, we can make the world a better place to live in. Anyway the writing's good and subtle feelings brought out well. Keep it up!
ReplyDeleteI must say,I'm quite happy to see you adressing social issues,not too many people do it out of genuine concern. For one I know you do.I'm not going to say that it is very touching...It is true the world is becomming quite a grab for young children these days.I don't quite agree with the"we talk about child rights" bit,it doesn't deal with stopping little children from doing things...it only ensure that they get proper education and other such things.Apart from that I think you're good.
ReplyDeletep.s: hope I'm being a fair critic....and you can do without all those brackets :)
hello...remember me ??
ReplyDeletenyways it is that every one is preoccupied with the so called "busy"ness. People, now-a-days don't have time to look at their own children.Then are relying on their parents to take care of their very own children.In this kind of a world,one cannot expect a normal human to stop his daily routine and start thinking of the fellow human beings who are no-way related to him.
All these are consequences of that
should have been a ride huh.... :)
ReplyDeletewonder of being here. all u can do i s just wonder, ponder nd then do nothing about it. it passes and then everyone is back 2 their lives.
experiences such as this just show wt a small world we live in nd how much bigger it actually is....
another suggested site would be street shopping on sunday at abids. :)
hi your blog @creativity is nice
ReplyDelete