HE MAKES DESERTS BLOOM - AND LAKES DIE
“Man is a complex being:
he makes deserts bloom
- and lakes die.”
Gil Scott-Heron
A
small piece of agricultural land had come to me after our dad’s death. It was
about 35 years ago. The land was used by my grandfather, later by my dad, to
cultivate rice (paddy). A highway passed along its side, and the land did not
seem profitable at all considering the deserted surroundings and low area which
was prone to flooding. By then, I had migrated to Bombay (now Mumbai) in search
of better prospects, assuming, that there was where gold grew, not paddy. So,
when I needed some money to set up my small coaching centre, here in Bombay, I
asked my widowed mom to dispose off my piece of land…
Which, mom did,
and sent to me the proceeds: Rs. 2,70,000!
It was a ransom
to one who badly needed it, at that time… Then, I simply forgot about what was
once ‘my piece of land’…
A simple man, a
mechanic, was the new owner of that land, now. He erected a temporary tin-shed and
ran his workshop – we called it a ‘garage’ – and did attend to the passing
vehicles for some years…
Some twenty
years later, the entire highway side turned into a goldmine, just like the shanties
turned out where now BKC stands… The simple mechanic sold ‘His piece of land’
for 4. 5 Crore!
When the news
came to me, a thought passed through my human mind: “O God, why didn’t you tell
me this before? Had You made me wait for 20 years, and had I got those crores, You
would have spared me from all the struggle I had to go through in my life… My
life would have been a heaven on earth…”
As I said, that’s
what my human mind was saying…
My sane mind was
saying this:
Was it your
land?
No, it was my
dad’s…
Was
it your dad’s?
No, it was his
dad’s…
Was it his dad’s?
No, it was of a
big landlord. He held acres and acres of land and had leased it out for several
simple village folk like my grandfather…who were expected to pay the
lease rent annually through some quantity of produce of the land. The man had long
settled in Bombay… Then, when Mrs. Indira Gandhi enforced the Land Reform Act,
every simple village folk, who was once a tenant, now became the landlord…
Okay… Did the
land belong to the ‘big landlord’ before he came on the scene?
God alone knows…
whose land it was…
But, I hear God
saying, “Fools, it was mine!”
Since yesterday, I have been watching the videos on the deadly Southern California wildfires in the Los Angeles metropolitan and vast surrounding regions…
Imagine the halo around the name ‘LA’!!!
How many people
must’ve envied the celebrities and billionaires who owned their mansions and luxurious
cars – and wished to live in that heaven on earth!
My heart goes
out for every soul who is affected – every child, young boys and girls, young
couples, elderly, every rich man and not so-rich man… Yes, my heart bleeds for
each one of them…
I send my
prayers… “Dear God, have mercy on them, on all of us… Amen.”
During
the time I had to sell ‘my piece of land’ for better prospects, 35 years ago, a
dear friend of mine had shared this powerful, poetic speech of The Great Red
Indian Chief… It directly made an impact on me and I prominently shared it in
Dawn Club magazine – ‘The Bloom’…
Today, as the deadly wild inferno still rages savagely along the prosperous vast lands of LA, California – I wish to share the same timeless speech, here, in this blog…
Hope we pause and reflect on these poetic words and, also, register what Terrance McKenna said:
“Nature is not mute; it’s man that is deaf.”
GERALD D’CUNHA
Pic’s: TIME
Videos: 1. 9 News Australia 2. PerformingPoetry
Comments