A QUAKE OUTSIDE... AND A QUAKE INSIDE












Pic.: Sudha Ahuja

 Our TV has not been working for more than a month now. My wife and I are not at all motivated to get it fixed…  News, IPL, Travel shows, Reality shows – honestly, we are missing nothing. Even the daily newspaper lies there unread somewhere in the corner of our house.  So, what happens around us, we are unaware without TV, Radio or newspaper… and, yes, without the social media.
A thought often comes to me: Am I aware of what happens within me? Do I need a TV, Radio or newspaper to make me aware of it?


My wife and I had left for Pune yesterday. Today was our son’s convocation. Though, presently, he is in Seattle attending a film festival, we wanted to attend the convocation ceremony. So, we decided to spend the night at our dear friend Deepak’s house. It was so quiet and beautiful!


And, in the morning today, as we were about to leave Deepak’s house, his dad informed us about the tragic news of earthquake in the Himalayan region. He graphically placed before us the grim situation and, I could feel a helplessness building within me…


Could I do anything about it, except for genuinely feeling sad and sorry for thousands of victims… except for a sincere prayer… and, probably, for a deep sense of gratitude for God’s kindness towards me and my family?


Convocation was a happy moment… a proud one. The auditorium was packed with dignitaries, faculty, students and parents… Just before declaring the ceremony open, the CEO of our son’s institution urged the audience to stand up and observe a minute’s silence for the tragic victims of earthquake…


My heart stopped!


“Pride comes before the fall.” An old proverb that was. I was standing there, for a minute of silence, trying to do away the pride from the proud moment, which we had gone there, all the way, to attend... 
A deep sense of gratitude came to rest in me…


A deep sense of awareness of the world around me and the world within me...


A quake outside and a quake inside!



GERALD D’CUNHA




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