Ode to Stephen Court

There is still life in the burnt out three floors of Stephen Court, which underwent a test by blazing fire that went on for over 12 hours. There were hundreds of men and women standing a few yards from the building were as helpless as many of the government officials, who seemed to have been maimed by the raging flames. Even as several men and women were charred to death inside the building, the modern generation watching the fire pulled out their cellular phones to catch the moment. There were no room for the bravehearts to venture into the building to salvage the few people who were caught inside. I was one such mute witness to the loss of over 50 persons in the fire.

The remnants of the fire are still to be cleared from the burnt floors, and every day as I pass by the building during my evening walk, I can recollect the fateful day. Whatever be the social status, religion or cultural group of the residents of this old building, one thing was sure: human greed knows no bounds. If only the administrators had paid a little more attention to proper and timely maintenance of the facilities, so many persons would not have been charred to death. The building still stands as a mute witness to human wickedness and greed; is this the way how nature tries to teach the human beings a lesson for life?

I was also able to witness the number of people of the city pouring in to the building and its neighborhood to console and comfort the survivors of the fire. There were many groups who organized prayer meetings and candlelight procession in honor of the people who had lost their lives and their dear ones. There were many posters posted on the entrance to the fateful building, many of which portrayed the sentiments of a cross section of city-zens! We are sorry, we could not save you! I felt this was the pathetic helpless cry of the hundreds of men and women who watched the whole floor burning but could not do anything! There was no lack for empathy for the victims and survivors from the part of the people of the city.

Though the building stood just a few meters from our residence, I never dared to venture into the building, and needless to say, I had no business in that building. But now I feel a close affinity with the building, and I look at it with a lot of sympathy and empathy! Much have been lost, and yet there is life, and life has to go on! For many families, life had come to a standstill, and the stories that I had read in the dailies about the people who were searching for their dear ones day after day, hoping one day they might get them back, they were heart-renting. This was indeed a test for not only for the corporation, but also the human heart! How do we respond to this kind of calamity?

Everyone knows for sure that this is not the end of the era when several persons lost their lives in fire; this will be repeated after a few months, and many more will continue to be charred to death! Stephen Court will get back its lifeline and resume life anew, and the lessons learnt may also be forgotten too soon. I wish Stephen Court had known our language, the human language, so that it could pour out its own pain and agony, of carrying and nurturing so many hundreds of men and women day after day. I wish to pitch my ears to the walls of Stephen Court to listen to the unheard stories of this building, the cry and pathos of its walls, for if only we begin to listen to what our buildings say, what our lifestyle say, we cannot afford to neglect the essentials of life.

Daring to be Different

I remember watching the hilarious 'My Fair Lady' for the first time; I was no better than Eliza, whom Mr Higgins turns into a well-groomed English lady! Eliza was expected to act and behave like all educated, genteel English, and not exhibit her raw intonations and pronounciations! Higgins in today's idiom would have expected Eliza to fall in line, or to get lost! His was a laborious task of bringing Eliza in perfect alignment with the rest of the crowd, whom he considered enjoying a social standing and appreciation, which was worth all the trouble! Today we would question the noble intentions of Higgins, and ask him, Why can't Eliza be as she is?

If there is one dinstinctive feature of God's creation, it is the variety. Is it not wonderful to realize that there are no two plants the same; no grasses are identical; no two human persons are ditto! Not even the so-called identical twins are not the same; they have their own distinctive features; not even the Siamese twins! This is what makes the universe so very wonderful. Remove the variety, then the world will soon lose its color and vitality! I would love to look at a flower garden, decked with dozens of varieties of flowers. It is a feast to the eyes and the senses. You also look at a garden with just one variety of flowers, however enchanting it may be; it may not be as captivating as the former!

Unfortunately the society recommends uniformity, because that is how it is easy to bring an order and discipline. Variety and differences bring a seeming confusion and chaos. Let me illustrate it with an example. In a family, if all the children eat chicken, it is easy for the mother to cook one dish; but if there are three children, one fond of chicken, one pork, and another mutton, what would be the plight of the poor mother; she cannot be cooking three dishes each day to satisfy the three children! That is why uniformity is considered a great virtue to impose discipline. But where there is uniformity, you cannot expect variety, color and a flowing dynamism.

It is so very easy to flow with the currents; to be like the rest is no big challenge. In a democratic society, most people do not raise their voice against injustice and corruption, and it is safe to be so. But if one dares to raise one's voice against the injustice, one is asking for trouble; it would not take much time for him/her to realize that his/her last hour has come. So, is it proper that we try to align ourselves in line with the rest of humanity? True happiness is not in this kind of passive alignment, but in active dynamism, which propels me to contribute my distinctive feature for the betterment of society. If I can add just one different color to the existing rainbow, the beauty of this array of colors is only enhanced.

But daring to be different has its own share of troubles and challenges. A fish which tries to swim against the current has to fight against the forceful current which keeps pushing her towards the sea. Moral determination and personal commitment are the pre-requisites for any venture that involves this daring. Criticism and branding are the usual consequences of daring to be different, criticism which can at times try to smother the fire that burns deep within, but if one is determined, no criticism can really put off the fire. The world today beckons humanity to open up her heart, to let the million hues and shades criss-cross the skies, and celebrate the wonderful array of colors, of being unique and different!

Children of Chance

The weather forecast for these days has been quite right, and the cold wind seemed to dip day after day, and the cloudy weather added to the woes of the common people, who have no big shelter to protect themselves from the cold wind blowing, especially at the early hours of the day. Those who live in high-rise buildings have nothing much to worry, even if the temperature were to dip to zero and even beyond; they have all the comforts set right to protect themselves from any sort of heat and cold; they cannot be touched by any kind of weather! But I would like to imagine the Ultadanga slum-dwellers who had lost their “hutments” at the fire that broke at midday!

It is said that over 500 families lost not only their shelter, but also all their belongings. Some of them were left to stand and stare at the bellowing of flames, slowly eating up all their possessions, however big or small they are. Now that these people are left to wonder what they could do to get back to life, there are politicians ready to play their cards, throw the sympathy trump cards, and get into the good books of the hapless victims of circumstances. There would be theories which may attribute the fire to the deliberate tactics of certain political parties in order to clear the place at one go. Whatever be the theories, one thing is for sure: these people have been left to huddle with open sky over their heads, and warm themselves with the rags salvaged from ashes!

It is hard to think of these poor slum-dwellers to rise up to new life like the proverbial phoenix; there is one saving factor: they are quite used to these kinds of predicaments; they have seen several such fires, and had begun life anew several times. It has become almost a routine affair for them to keep looking at life with bright eyes, and then let the flames devour their dreams at a time they least expect. This is one thing they do not have much control; to prevent such calamities dawn on their dwellings. They seem to be playing a duel with chance, and there are more chances that they lose the battle, with all the other forces supporting the chances!

Even as 2500 people of the slum struggle to gather whatever has been left behind by the merciful flames, for most of us, the event has not touched us in any way. Our food for three times is assured; the morning coffee and the evening tea will be there, even if the whole world were to collapse! Unless there is a major natural calamity, we are sure that our building is strong and will stand for another 50 years to say the least. What do we need to worry? Many of these people who have lost all their earnings and belongings, may wonder what they will eat before they go to bed; the parents may have to beg food for their children, and their plight may not touch my life in any way!

It is not that I should now rush to handover the food cooked for me to the hungry people; that would not solve the problem in anyway. It may only seem crocodile tears! How am I to express my solidarity with these people, that would make a difference, if not for the people I symbolically care for, but at least for me! It maybe a social-crime to enjoy a cozy evening inside my room well protected from excessive heat and cold, while there are people who do not have a decent place to lay down their heads tonight. Will it be possible for me to do something for them, which may make a difference? Probably there may not be anything which I can do to make a difference, except that I do not forget the faces of these people even as I go to bed with full-stomach, after having a warm bath! If I carry them in my mind at least for a while during the day, it will have its own impact and repercussion!