Love with Levity

 

Levity is one word I’m in love with. I cling on to it as much as I can like a victim from a crashing plane to a parachute. As much as I’m in love with this word, I guess I irk people around me!

 

You’ve forgotten the keys! – Oh its ok – I can spend another hour outside reading my ‘fiction’ with the help of the streetlight (err was it Tolstoy who did it before?..not sure!!). You’ve taken all the keys with you! – Borrow the neighbor’s lock for once! Keep some money with you – Oh I have the bus fare. You haven’t combed your hair, your bindi is not there, you look like a disaster!– You say the same when im ‘best dressed’ with all possible feats to beautify myself! Anyways I’ll carry a comb and ask my colleague for a Bindi! Oh I love hop the wall, pop the corn life I was floating through.

 

It isn’t all that easy everyday I guess. Especially when I get into a Volvo to escape the ‘poking crowd’ and sit next to the ‘well dressed gentleman’ ahem no I’m completely conscious of the probability of the readers in here and I swear I didn’t notice any further. Anyways It wasn’t easy to sit there and search a bag that is ditto to a school bag and churn out coins from among all the other trashes (my endeavor to save the roads from litter.. you see) and count it right there with a stranger staring at you as though you have landed right from another planet all for the heck of forgetting your purse! I almost thought I might have to ask for a rupee or 2 when fortunately one of the innermost pockets of the bag gifted me a long forgotten coin!

 

So I entirely understood the plight of another ‘well-dressed’ person with an ID card and US accent climbed up to the first floor of the building and knocked at our door for 70Rs! He even offered to keep his gold plated watch with us. Since Eby was there to deal with the whole situation I conveniently sat there behind the curtain in the comfortable sofa enjoying my ‘chocolate ice cream’ only to be shocked to hear my husband deny that man.

 

??!! He ought to be in utter disaster if he had all the patience in the world to learn US accent (quite perfectly I would say), and then go around for 70Rs! But Eby had for a change become a Sherlock Holmes! How was he drunk this early? He said he met with an accident, Y dint he have any dust or dirt in his clothes, why did he climb up till the first floor when there were actually more people downstairs and other houses nearby? Why did he fumble when I said there weren’t any bachelors in the house he claimed to be his friend’s house? Why didn’t he approach occupants of the same building who would have at least known his friend? Why couldn’t he call up a person he knew? Why didn’t he take an auto to someone he knew and then pay the Rick fellow? What if I kept his watch here and he later claimed that I robbed him of all his belongings and the watch was a proof! What with the happenings here for the past few weeks, how can I trust anyone! (Did I hear appreciations for living with a detective? J thank you!)

 

So the next time I forget my lock inside and ask for another lock I’d better be safe that the neighbor doesn’t think me a crook forging keys! Next time I dream of borrowing a rupee or two I better not risk being mistaken for a planned deceptive ‘watever’! I can’t blame Eby for being reluctant to part with an odd figure of 70 bucks to a drunk ‘well dressed’ stranger. Nor can I come to think that a person who looked like that would intend to do anything! But the fact is, his branded clothes, shoes or a gold plated watch & accent did not save him from the humiliation of being turned down for 70rs thanks to the happenings around us in Bangalore. For here, with the horrendous surging of murders & robbery, people sure seem to go to hell in a handbasket! No one seem to have any clue whom to trust and whom not to.       

 

There was a time when the world and our thinking were not like this. A time when the good old village of mine, never heard of conning. There was a time when you step out of your house with a bruise and you have your whole village asking about it. Don’t know about other cities but thanks to the cops in Bangalore (who seem to be in an indefinite slumber) and the crime rates soaring up faster than skyrockets – we are left on our own. Get hit, Get lost, Get strangled no one would help or rather no one would dare to!! That extra money, extra pair of keys and extra caution L seems inevitable! Alvida dear levity!

 

 

 

Admiring Terrorists

I’ve loved Mani Ratnam’s movies..not just bcoz they are so perfect but they always had a message. A powerful one..which says he tries to reaches out to the society pardon me for my limited knowledge..there may be many but let me cling on to Mani Ratnam. Recently I saw 2 of his old movies..’kannathil mutham ittal’ & ‘nayagan’+ another director’s ‘terrorist’ the three giving you more than a glance into the lives of terrorist. And coming back to the title..of what Ive learned from the movies..Ive come to admire them! – YYY??

I admit their aim is ‘destructive’ their mission highly an offense to humanity. BUT their lives? There are this group of people who sacrifice life, love and toil day in day out swearing that they’ll stand by the cause to avenge the death of their people! It shows that there is so much power in humanity. So much tolerance among men to suffer, to starve, to sacrifice for a cause which brings no personal benefits!

They toil morn and night to prepare themselves, immense brainwork for the sourcing of material and escaping routes, sacrificing earthly pleasures and relations and finally? bring on a death that’s dreaded the most! Pity their aim is to avenge by deaths!

I just mused what if all this energy, this effort was for a better cause? for uplifting the poor, the illeterate, the helpless? It’s impossible..only revenge can bring in so much of energy and will it seems..someone else’s input! Fine..they give all their lives for their cause..can I form a group which is willing to give 1% of their energy? One day every week with unrelenting service. So what if there is a group so energetic to kill lives, I can devote a day everyweek to better lives?

As Ive read through many posts..ive seen many scorning the destroyers! including me..Why dont we actually pick a piece of brick and put it in place than scorn the misplaced!

I enrolled and even went for the induction for ‘teach india’ man you shouldve seen the pride in me! Im going to teach …India!! Its been over a month now. Every weekend I keep calling them the organizers whoever gave their numbers..please can i come and help? They keep telling me they’ll call me later and I never got a call!

I’m sure many of us..atleast 3 out of the six who are here in the blogosphere have it in us..the spirit undying against injustice, tears for the hapless, thoughts for the downtrodden, compassion for the innocent. It all revolves in our hearts and in our heads. Do we have it in us to bring it to our hands? One day of ours in the 7 days..or even in the 30 days we live for ourselves can we spend for the lesser blessed?

The terrorists they say are assured that if they die a death of martyr they’ll be long remembered! They live and die for that memory I reckon..but how many of us know one person by name?  Its the passion in them that makes them so strong I guess..the passion for their fellowmen..what right do we have to scorn them when we dont have one third of their will to serve our society? I do admire them. And if I should raise a voice against them it should be when I invest part of life, love and energy without hopes, afterthoughts or expectations..

PS : Anyone who is in Bangalore and think like me are welcome to give me suggestions as to how as a group we can help.