THE ASSAM IN MY SOUL













Presently, there is terrible turmoil in Assam. The state is in a mess. Yes, I read the news reports… watch the endless stories and gory images on television… and, start reacting in my mind. 


What is happening out there in Assam… I do not like. It disturbs me…


But, what can I – an ordinary citizen from one corner of far-away Mumbai - do about it?




It is just like watching on the television the horrifying images of the Twin-towers of New York City collapsing!


It is just like watching the frightening scenes of tsunami or earthquakes somewhere out there in the world…


It is just like watching the American fighters bombing the cities in Iraq or Afghanistan…


It is just like watching the chilling sight of a gunman shooting down dozens of innocent children in a school…


The mob goes on a rampage at Azad Maidan…


The terrorists storm luxury hotels and hold the nation at ransom…


A desperate young watchman sneaks, in the dread of the night, into a young lady’s flat, when she is alone and fast asleep… and, does his brutal job!


A thousand scenes like these, near and far, keep unfolding before me, almost daily… and I watch them helplessly… and, I react in my mind!


Yes, I am concerned about them… 


But, can I do something about them? Can I stop them from happening? Can I help in some way?










 Anna’s fast has ended… Now, this incorruptible soul has folded up his mission and gone back to his village. 


What am I doing here - I mean, to end corruption… to ‘bring back’ the black money?




By the way, who is corrupt … 


the Ministers alone or me too? 


Who has black money… 


the Ministers alone or me too?
 


Come on!!!


Why am I not willing to fast to end this corruption, this black money… this brutality, intolerance, hatred and terrorism?


Why do I need an Anna or a Baba  for it? 


Come on!!!


The more I think about it, the more I feel how dumb I can be!


What is easy to douse – the fire in the streets of Assam or in the valleys of my own heart?


What is practical – to free India of corruption, or my own soul?


What is worth fasting for – the messy world outside or the messy world inside?



‘I am Anna’… if I do not know what those words on the topi mean, then, it is time I wore a topi that reads: ‘I am a fool’!




GERALD D’CUNHA

Pics.: Manohar Kadam



Comments

Anonymous said…
Powerful post! Very stimulating! Roma
August 23, 2012 at 1:06 PM
Vinu Nair said…
Assam and Soul, I did not know they could be two 'states'!
Vinu
August 23, 2012 at 4:17 PM
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