COME, BE A PART OF THE SOLUTION







Pic.: Amit Ganguly
Essentially, we have two kinds of people around us: Those who curse the darkness and those who light a small candle.

Unfortunately, the ones who curse the darkness – the habitual cribbers – outnumber those who quietly light candles – the doers.

“We should do this and we should do that… That is not right, this is wrong… and, this should not be that way and that should not be this way...” They know why the country is in doldrums… they have great suggestions… even instant solutions. But, then, ask them to get up and do something, they will take the backdoor!

Finally, this world has survived - in whatever manner it has - only because of that minority – the quiet doers… Those who quietly light the candle and do away a little of darkness in this society…

“If you are not the part of the solution, you are the part of the problem.” I firmly believe in this old saying. I consider, the cribbers and fault-finders ‘are’ the part of the problem, always. They do more harm; they only add to the problems… And, guess what: It is difficult to change them!

That means, it is difficult to change the majority in this world who curse the darkness!

Yes sir… It ‘is’ so.

Am I being cynical?

No sir… I am being practical.

I would rather prefer to be in the minority… and choose to light a candle to dispel the darkness, a little at least… rather than in the majority of cribbers and add to the problems…


I was in second standard when our primary-school teacher told us the story of the Special General Body Meeting of the Mice community… They had a genuine problem in hand: the terror called ‘Cat’… So, in that meeting, they all had come out of with great ideas to end their agony… The consensus was fantastic: to bell the cat! What I loved the most about this story, even as a little boy, was the question that little mouse asked and made famous: ‘WHO WILL BELL THE CAT?”

And, I was in ninth standard – a teenager – when my high-school teacher taught us the English lesson. It was John F. Kennedy’s famous inaugural speech: “Ask not what your country can do for you… Ask what you can do for your county.”


There will, always, be these two kinds of people in this world: Those who curse the darkness… and those who light a small candle…

And, there will, always, be a choice to make, before all of us:  which kind to belong!


GERALD D’CUNHA

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