When I scan the newspaper or watch the television, the differing happenings that take place within our country make me wonder as to where we're headed. Morality, ethics and clean living seem to have become the casualties in this 'get-rich-quick-at-any-cost' world where everyone seems to be craving for that 15 minutes of fame.
The colourful(?) lives of people make instant headlines and the voyeurism inherent in each one of us gladdens the self from the other's discomfiture, but the means employed by some, in pursuit of the lure of lucre, puts off even the most shameless of people! I've this sneaky feeling that the general trend is to do things without getting caught and when caught, cover the tracks with a web of deceit and falsehoods to let time pass, hoping like mad that the harsh public scrutiny wears off as newer and more unusual misdemeanours come out into the open.
I'm just going through a few happenings that have bewildered me and would like to share my innermost thoughts on each of them:-
(a) The Sreesanth story.
No, I ain't going over his peccadilloes because they're still being discussed in the media and it's already
approaching saturation point. Many of the mallus are genuinely fond of him because he's a good player
and has contributed to certain spectacular wins for his country - can one forget that high catch that he
took to clinch one of the matches? But that doesn't mean that his misdemeanour can be pardoned, in fact,
I feel that he should be banned, for ever, from playing the game.
But the point that I'd like to make is that, was his deeply religious streak - the frequent trips to Guruvayur
and the other places of worship and a whole gag of colourful threads on his wrist - an effort to
invoke celestial protection for his shenanigans?
(b) Hit and run!
Again it's the story of a Malayalam film actor, Kalabhavan Mani, who'd misbehaved with a bunch of
forest officials the other night. And what has he gone and done after that? He went 'underground' soon
after, till he'd come up with a request for an anticipatory bail from the High court. Thankfully, the court
has declined to prevent his arrest.
Trust our heroes to have feet of clay!
(c) The single woman.
Why do many of us react differently on seeing a single woman staying next door? And that too women
with kids? There're umpteen number of stories that emanate from housing colonies - even posh ones,
which are supposed to have evolved and educated inmates - where the single women have had harrowing
times. And I shall quote the type of harassment from a Mallika Sarabhai column,
"Their(the neighbours) children knock on her door and disappear. They play near her door or play
music loudly, especially if her child is studying. They puncture the tyres of her car. They bully her help,
her tiffin provider and milkman. If servicemen or friends come, they're curious to find out as to who
they are. If a delivery man comes, they say that no one by her name lives there!"
What's this? A total loss of civility? Doesn't the single woman have the right to live and that too, on her
terms?
Tailpiece.
Whither India? God, where are we headed? When will we learn to appreciate and accept the other as our own?
The colourful(?) lives of people make instant headlines and the voyeurism inherent in each one of us gladdens the self from the other's discomfiture, but the means employed by some, in pursuit of the lure of lucre, puts off even the most shameless of people! I've this sneaky feeling that the general trend is to do things without getting caught and when caught, cover the tracks with a web of deceit and falsehoods to let time pass, hoping like mad that the harsh public scrutiny wears off as newer and more unusual misdemeanours come out into the open.
I'm just going through a few happenings that have bewildered me and would like to share my innermost thoughts on each of them:-
(a) The Sreesanth story.
No, I ain't going over his peccadilloes because they're still being discussed in the media and it's already
approaching saturation point. Many of the mallus are genuinely fond of him because he's a good player
and has contributed to certain spectacular wins for his country - can one forget that high catch that he
took to clinch one of the matches? But that doesn't mean that his misdemeanour can be pardoned, in fact,
I feel that he should be banned, for ever, from playing the game.
But the point that I'd like to make is that, was his deeply religious streak - the frequent trips to Guruvayur
and the other places of worship and a whole gag of colourful threads on his wrist - an effort to
invoke celestial protection for his shenanigans?
(b) Hit and run!
Again it's the story of a Malayalam film actor, Kalabhavan Mani, who'd misbehaved with a bunch of
forest officials the other night. And what has he gone and done after that? He went 'underground' soon
after, till he'd come up with a request for an anticipatory bail from the High court. Thankfully, the court
has declined to prevent his arrest.
Trust our heroes to have feet of clay!
(c) The single woman.
Why do many of us react differently on seeing a single woman staying next door? And that too women
with kids? There're umpteen number of stories that emanate from housing colonies - even posh ones,
which are supposed to have evolved and educated inmates - where the single women have had harrowing
times. And I shall quote the type of harassment from a Mallika Sarabhai column,
"Their(the neighbours) children knock on her door and disappear. They play near her door or play
music loudly, especially if her child is studying. They puncture the tyres of her car. They bully her help,
her tiffin provider and milkman. If servicemen or friends come, they're curious to find out as to who
they are. If a delivery man comes, they say that no one by her name lives there!"
What's this? A total loss of civility? Doesn't the single woman have the right to live and that too, on her
terms?
Tailpiece.
Whither India? God, where are we headed? When will we learn to appreciate and accept the other as our own?
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