Innocence, we know, is one the rarest of attributes that can neither be manufactured nor attained by making physical effort. It is a divine attribute bestowed upon those who are pure by heart and have a virtuous mind. Yet the challenges posed by modernity has not left anything or anyone unaffected thereby leaving little scope of its manifestation anywhere.
The imminent material concerns, encompassing all aspects of our lives, has squeezed out many chances of its evolution among the humans. It is not for nothing that this valuable trait has become extinct gradually over the decades after the Industrialization of this planet.
The pace and depth to which the modernity and its constituents spread its tentacles has also made the ground barren for its progression. It is the continuous struggle. The challenges posed by this perennial struggle are immense as it ever keeps its shape and size changing.
The material and gadgets amassed in previous year turns out to be obsolete and inadequate for the year in progression. These are the commodities that are neither essentials nor luxuries but things to make lives relevant under current circumstances. These were not part of the regular household paraphernalia till recent past and got added for posterity with its own merits and risks.
All this eats-up major portion of the income of majority of the population or there is high mismatch between their earnings and necessary expenditure. This resulted into the perpetual anguish for them thinking how to get their ends meet.
The situation is further exacerbated by the numerous ignoble customs related to our birth, death, solemnization of marriages besides other day to day affairs. These are the occasions of draining us of all the hard accumulated wealth or ushering us into the trap of debt thereby wrenching out any traces of peace for the remaining years of our lives.
In this pursuit people have this tendency of resorting to every overt or covert means to execute their plans of extravaganza. For the same is wishful to be organized out of the legitimate resources belonging to them. Unfortunately there is either no or little check from the recognized institutions of society, on these ill found practices that incurs more harm to us than any good.
These circumstances have changed the overall ambience of the region towards more of a civilization at odds with its constituents. The lifestyle and mindset of people predominantly weighs against the age-old traditions of coexistence, interdependence, endurance, acceptability and patience towards each other. Even the significance for blood relations has taken a major hit in this narcissistic epoch where people serve nothing but their self-interest.
Therefore the trait of innocence which was a dominant feature of Kashmiri folks till the beginning of this millennium is not to be witnessed anywhere both in its rural and urban areas. Its glimpses are rare hence more admirable and engrossing.
The instance which grabbed my attention is its manifestation in the friendship of my 3 year old daughter, Mirha and her friend Abeera from Srinagar. Both belong to different places and met by chance at a non-native location where their parents had sojourned in pursuit of their worldly commitments.
Both felt an urge to mingle with each other on first sight irrespective of the fact that their parents were not acquaintances. In fact it is their unison that compelled their parents to follow the lead. These friends found everything of each other highly attractive and charming. And my daughter started to emulate most of the things, including the tone and dialect, her little older friend used to talk in.
She always wanted to climb up to the terrace of the building, a spot they met first time, housing the apartments they were living in. On the other hand Abeera too used to sneak in after finding any window to reach up to the designated spot. Thereafter both of them used to spend hours together immersed in each other and had to be tricked to part them from each other.
This unspoken commitment for each other remained there even when they were not before each other. On our trip to Delhi, my daughter often talked about Abeera and the way she would meet and greet her on reaching back to Jammu. Although the novelty of the place enchanted her but her thoughts remained hinged to the person she adored most.
Such was the affinity from Abeera’s side that she confided to me that each time she was out she used to check the door of our apartment for any clues of our coming back. She is just couple of years elder to Mirha but she is a teacher par excellence for her. In a day or two she made her recite some popular kindergarten short stories quite eloquently. She motivates her to do what we are unable to persuade her for despite making several efforts.
Abeera left for her home shortly after that but she didn’t leave the place she lives inside her friend. Thanks to technology she never forgets remembering Mirha after every day or two. She ensures that she has something interesting to share with my daughter whenever they meets virtually. Mirha, still a little kiddie may not be too expressive to respond in the fitness of things yet she has no one to eulogize in all her activities but Abeera.
Abeera, I pray for both of you to grow equally adorable, reasonable, kindhearted and upright. You two had many a similarity to be guarded for lifetime. I hope both of you would come-up as an epitome of goodwill befitting for human values. This place is so small and when your destiny brings you face-to-face someday, you had plenty to celebrate about this impeccable ‘bond of innocence’ you had established in the age of early childhood.
BY Anznoo Wasim
(Author is PG Mass Communication & Journalism (2009-11 Batch) from MERC, University of Kashmir)