Just a few of days back, almost in the middle of the road, a young boy, perhaps in his 20s, facing downwards, looking dead, with worn-out cloths; cars passing by him, people rushing here and there, and as their eyes hit on him, they turn away covering their noses. Some spitting sideways. ‘It stinks like a petrifying carcass,’ a young man, wearing sunglasses and worn-out pants (modern worn-outs) expressed to himself. The scene was quite depressing, not just because of the boy, but because of the people who seemed to have not shaken by the condition of the boy. Actually, the boy was drunk, and it appeared that he was lying there uncared for hours on end.
The question again arises, why are we such careless humans?
Just like dogs engage in searching for the leftovers most of the day, we remain pensively obsessed with this-I-have-to-do-and-there-I-have-to-go ends, no matter what those surrounding us, calling our attention, are subject to. See someone in extremes, we bother not to bat an eyelid; and we walk off as if we’ve seen nothing coupled with the torrent of Ehh-like Or Disa Maafi Or Ba’ad May Jaa’yay expressions.
Just a few steps outside home, and everything hits one’s eyes, stirring not our conscience; and we becoming the worst version of ourselves. It’s not we are born like one, but, unfortunately, we have become like one. Worst, mean, selfish, egomaniacal, narcissistic, and end up punks.
Anyways, let’s, for an instant, modify the statement and feel how it feels – “It stinks like a petrifying carcass,” to “God! I must help him.” Such underlying emotions then turn into best of the actions, unfold umpteen ways to solving the problems, and in the end offer something to the person disturbed, and the society at large. Will thinking of yourself alone and alone save this planet? No! But, of others will. It’s not just limited to the drug-abusers, it’s same with the people in pressing need, those that beg just for a morsel of food, and the similar ones.
Quite often I see my guardians unfold the pages of history, speaking of the ages-old empaths, who cared for their fellow beings, and not just for themselves alone, those that fixed the worst of the problems with the best of the solutions. It’s unfortunate but one has to say the more civilised we have become, the more trash we have turned into. Is anyone listening?
Author is pursuing bachelors in arts, Gandhi Memorial College.