STICHING THE BLEEDING CUTS

“Do you understand the violence it took

to become this gentle?”

Nitya Prakash

 

More than two decades ago, I had published a book by the title – ‘Why The Sun Burns’. It carried some of my notes, which I had scribbled in my diaries over the years. One such note – passage – was this:

“The light doesn’t emerge

unless the candle burns;

It’s not my wish

that I should suffer,

to spread a little goodness around.”

Anger, hurt, pain – these are very much present in our lives. No matter how sagely you may find me from outside, that’s not what I am inside. Inside, yes, inside this mountain, there is burning lava... waiting to be exploded... and, now and then, it does...

But, anger is like the poison a cobra is blessed with. Did I say, ‘blessed with’?

Yes Sir, I did say that...

The presence of poison and the presence of anger inside us – both make us who we are. The cobra doesn’t go on a rampage, just because, there is poison inside its head... Likewise, you and I do not – and should not – go on a rampage spilling our anger...

India and Pakistan both got ‘freedom’ from the British rule, you can say, on the same day. But, then, even though British left us, our own distrust and enmity haven’t... As two separate nations, we are still enslaved with the chains of hurt, anger, hatred and insecurity. Wars, terrorism, surgical strikes – yes, all these things haven’t helped both our countries to live as two good neighbours; and, by the way things appear outside, we may get to see the brotherhood, nowhere soon...

Hurt, pain and anger, when mixed with the desire to avenge – well, whether we agree or not – it turns into violence...

 

There is a character by the name Major Iqbal (Arjun Ramphal) in the latest blockbuster - ‘Dhurandhar’. In one scene, he narrates, that he was only 6, when Pakistan was crushed by India in 1971 war. He heard Gen Zia-ul-Haq’s slogan on radio - ‘Bleed India with a thousand cuts’.

So, this man justifies why, when he (Major Iqbal) grew up, he had to take revenge with acts such as 26/11 and several more such attacks. To him, and his gang members, they were patriotic acts – holy wars. But, to us, here, they were terror acts... exactly how the British felt when we all carried out such acts against them...

Freedom from fear, distrust, hate and insecurity is not guaranteed by political freedom. Hatred and violence only keep us there – in slavery of the mind.

As a piece of cinema, I loved ‘Dhurandhar’. It kept me, my family and the entire packed cinema hall spellbound. But, there ends my admiration. I am worried about this road we two neighbours have been taking... We will only keep bleeding one another with a thousand cuts, and for a thousand years...

At the interval, I was coming back to my seat holding a tray which my son had asked me to carry inside. The tray had two medium-sized popcorn packs and a coffee. As I was about to take a turn towards my row, I lost control of the tray in my hand, spilling the coffee and popcorn... Half of both, popcorn and coffee, had spilled on the seats in front row and on the floor of our row. Fortunately, the occupants of those seats hadn’t still come back... I was feeling very bad, a lot embarrassed, too. Meanwhile, the young couple from the front row had just reached their seats which I had messed up... “It’s ok... Please don’t worry,” both of them said, as I expressed my regret and started cleaning up the mess with my handkerchief. “No, no; it’s perfectly okay,” they, once again, assured me, and the lady went outside to request the housekeeping team to come inside to clear it off. All the while, I was feeling bad... “I should have gone outside to call the housekeeping,” I heard the voice inside me. As the young couple began to settle down, I, instinctively, offered the popcorn pack in my hand to them (I had no heart to eat it, out of guilt)... “No Sir, please relax,” the couple calmed me down.

We were treated with unimaginable amount of violence on the screen. Maybe, because of the pent-up anger inside all of us, we were not finding it gory, and unbearable... and, yes, in the end, we were even promised: ‘To be continued in March 2026’!

What would continue? Bleeding each other with a thousand cuts more, and for a thousand years more?

Mercifully, I was coming home with a very humbling, healing and promising experience. I had put the stranger couple into inconvenience... not purposely though. But, to see through this blunder with tolerance and understanding – yes, to me, it was a superior act of humanity – trust and strength. Naomi Klein says:

“Extreme violence has a way of preventing us 

from seeing the interests it serves.”

 

GERALD D’CUNHA

 

Pic’s: Pixabay/ 1. www.learnreligion.com   2. Joshua

Video: JioStudios and B62Studios