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.

In Support of Wars

You might be surprised to see the title saying that I stand in support of war, and you may wonder what had prompted me to say that. It is true no sensible human person can ever advocate war. I am reminded of the 84 year old Benjamin from Xavier University in Cincinnati, who holds an anti-war theory, inviting the people around to fight against the war system. Paradoxically here is a man who is warring against war system, and I cannot help but take my hats off for this man, who is fired with so much zeal that he talks about it at every time he gets an opportunity. But what sort of wars do I recommend: is it the kind between the nations we hear on newspapers each day morning? Of course not. I am in support of war against all that dehumanizes human persons, robs them of their basic human dignity!

I wish nations will take into account their needs and how their needs deprive someone outside. There is no limit to the greed of people in the Western nations, and they would go all the way to fill their stomachs, even when they know that there are millions of hungry stomachs, crouching in their beds night after night. I wish the developing nations will war against the multi-national companies, who enter sheepishly into the poorer nations, to rob their wealth by introducing consumables not needed for them, thus creating an artificial need in them, through their surreptitious ad campaigns. There are very few wealthy nations who have avowed to eradicate poverty in the other half of the globe.!

It is time that the world rises to understand the importance of war, but not with weapons, artillery, guns and rockets. Here is a call for a bloodless war, where the aim is not to destroy but to build (yes, to destroy human greed and avarice, self-centredness and jealousy). Here is a call to put together what centuries of neglect, hatred and vengeance has caused to humanity beyond shores. Time is running short, and it is time that we put together all our strength to wage war against nations and state which believe in survival of the fittest and the fastest. Every one of us has the responsibility in rebuilding the world through war against the enemies of human family.!

Often I am shocked to see the evil, whose tentacles spread far and wide each day, drawing to its vicious circles all those who are weak and wish for soft solutions for hard problems. Corruption at different levels of governance and social living has made honest men and women aliens in this world, and have even branded them as misfits in this beautiful world. Is the world not losing fast the breed of honest and sincere men and women? Is there anyone to war against this kind of epidemic spreading to all corners of the world? This is one lesson I have to learn today : if I am not part of the solution, then I am surely part of the problem. If I don't raise my voice against injustice today, I am part of the perpetrators of injustice in this world.!

I am fully conscious of my own limitations and capacities; what I can and what I cannot, even if I desire so much. But there are things which do not require much from me, but my mind and heart. If only we war against our minds and hearts which are becoming narrower each year, then there is a hope that some day we may find peace returning to the earth. Today I would like to pause for a while, and go through the day slowly and reflectively, and pick up one or two moments, where I needed to war against. It is possible that I was quiet when I should have raised my voice, or I raised my voice, when I should have been quiet. It is often within my power and control to reverse many of the evils that plague our society. If only I want. Is it not necessary that we continue to war till the world is transformed into a garden of Eden, and regain her pristine glory she enjoyed millennia ago.

Annual Clearance

Probably there is no other creature on earth as selfish and greedy as the human beings, and this is not something that we can be proud of. All around us we see the fruits of human greed, in the economic melt-down; the small-scale investers and producers find it hard to keep the shutters, and they are looking up to the government and industrialists to work out a magic formula that would ease the tension that hurts the pockets and purses. But will there be a viable solution to this global phenomenon? We are yet to see the signs of a reversal of processes.

If only we had the humility to learn lessons from nature, the earth would be still full of flowers for us to admire, grains to fill our barns, fruits to keep our stomachs full. But we are all too proud to take lessons from nature. The animal world too has so much to teach us. Is it not a wonderful thing that a tiger would never hurt the best of prey, once its stomach is full. Have you heard of a lion which kills a prey, and after eating its fill, stores the rest for the next day? It would leave the rest in open for others to eat.

Sometimes I feel guilty when I open the cupboard/almirah in my room, and find clothes that I dont need to use in the next three months, when there are millions in the far flung corners of the country who have nothing to wear. Is it not a crime on the personal front? It is because many of us have the compulsive tendency to hoard things (often superfluous objects of pleasure), that the deserving dont get a chance to enjoy them.

May be it is possible for us to undertake an "annual clearance" day, and clear all the excess that may lie in our cupboards, and give to the people who are in real need of them. They could be clothes, gadgets, equipments, books, objects of pleasure... anything that costs a price. It is a fact that the more we hoard, the more will be the greed to acquire more, and that will never come to an end. On the other hand, once we start clearing all the excesses (just like shedding of the extra kilograms in our bodies), we would feel so light, so joyous.

Today the Lord calls me to keep a check on my life-style - am I floating with the trends of the world, which are far too removed from a contended life that I can live within the means I have, or am I fully in control of the means to a happy life at my disposal. My prayer to the Lord of the Universe is that I may have the generosity and the heart to tell Him/Her, Enough Lord for the day. Let me share the rest with the deserving brothers and sisters around me.