A walk across the border

Recently I took a leisure walk of few hours in another country without having to sign papers or security checks. We walked freely in to Phuntsillong, Bhutan from Jaigaon, India. Those few hours reinstated my belief that borders are no longer geographical but are essentially political.

Many a dreamers have dreamt about countries without borders (and conflicts). But increasingly geographic borders have become LoC, war zones, breeding ground of insurgents and rebels and political agendas.

Be it Kashmir or Georgia or any other conflict around the globe. The bone of contention is the same: demand for separate state, demand for redefined border or boundary, demand to have control over a piece of land. Political and extremists leaders seem to want new borders only to erect new barbed wire fences, to deploy more army and confine human movements. But path for true sustained peace between countries must lie in increased human exchange and mutual trust. History shows conflicts make way only for more conflicts.

Indo-Bhutan war has been relegated to history pages and what I saw and felt was mutual trust and friendship in the border-zone on either side. Military was present and watchful but not suspicious. I was surprised to see even currencies being exchanged freely. Maybe compulsions of politics, trade and economy have forced countries to have more open borders. But it definitely has brought in peace in the serene hills dotting Indo-Bhutan border.

As I walked away from border I had a new hope and dream that someday world will have freedom from all conflicts and there will be a new dawn of freedom and peace.

Why world loves to hate?

Hitler hated Jews. So he mobilized people and machinery to eradicate the whole race. His concentration camps became death industry. He didn’t need nuclear weapons of mass destruction. He used basic hatred and intolerance to his advantage.

World hated Hitler. So there was war. World wars left millions dead and created a new geopolitical history. America destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki by nuclear bombs. Again multitudes of people died and suffered nuclear holocaust. Hating can be justified but mass killing?

At present Robert Mugabe is using the same time tested weapon of hate. How else can Zanu PF and militia kill and maim fellow Zimbabweans? Only extreme emotion and mass hysteria can carry out such genocide.

Most countries of African continent are engaged in ethnic conflicts. They rape, abuse, kill and butcher men, women, girls and children.

Al-Qaeda’s jihad hates anti-muslim world and has mobilized support from all pro-Islamic groups and has trained them to love one cause and hate another so much that they can blow themselves up along with the targets.

US hates fundamentalists and terrorists and everyone who wants to harm its interest. It declares war and destroys Iraq and parts of Afghanistan. More killings.

There are internal conflicts in many countries all round the world where they breed hatred in the name of god, religion, race, development, politics and even language.

In countries like India, female infanticide is rampant. They hate girl children. Can we call it gender hatred?

Hatred and intolerance leaves millions dead, raped, abused and brutally injured all over the world. Who will curb this WMD used by one and all in present society and politics?
Is human race evolving at all? Why do we need to hate? Why hate works? Technology has only made killing more easy and sophisticated. It hasn’t taught the world to love and heal. It hasn’t taught us to work towards egalitarian goals. Instead of bridges we have wider chasms. Maybe I am looking only at the darker side of the moon…I hope I am getting it all wrong…

The Storm

Light breeze kissing the leaves
Dancing waves touching the shore
Whisper to me
A storm is on the way…
I want to be silent
I do not want to burden the wind
For my words might trigger a storm
I wait silently for the storm to pass
Once again I shall be ready
To throw my words to the winds

1999

Reality:Real and Virtual

Kamal ghar bagh...
Kamal, see the house...
Thus begins one of the lessons in primary school texts in Marathi (Maharashtra, India). The book carries a picture of a smart girl-child with colourful frock but another picture flashes simultaneously in the mind of another Kamal, one of the many Kamals that we come across in our households as maid servants. They are dutiful and professional as maids, but unfortunately live only as servants. Inspite of free education for girls in Maharashtra and other states and many incentives by government and organisations we have many Kamals and Reshmis today, who by choice prefer to live as maid servants. They drop-out at a very early age from school.
Kamal and Reshmi prefer accompanying their mothers (who too are house maids) at a very early age. They become very familiar to the interiors of middle class and upper middle class houses. They help their mothers clean the houses. School? Kamal's mother general reply, “She doesn't like going to school...she has no brains...she is only good for household labour” and Kamal smiles shyly and keeps making negative gesture whenever school is mentioned. Soon she begins to work independently and earns quite a bit thanks to the enlightened middle class or upper class houses. She will be very fortunate if one of her employers sees a daughter in her and motivates her to continue her education, acquire some skills and slowly make a professional shift. But majority of them continue as house servants...they are exploited and at times molested too...married off at very early age and they get resigned to their fate. Their reality can be much worse if they become victims because of their sex.
These two are the two sides of the same coin; government wants to eradicate child labour, education is free for girl-childs, there are social workers who try to trace the drop-outs and there are adult literacy and sex education programmes and there are Kamals!!! These dropped out Kamals come back to adult literacy programmes after learning the hard way about the need of education.
Why is our Primary education so uninteresting? Even the incentives of free books, lunch can't lure them to schools. They find virtual reality of well to do houses where their mothers work more interesting. They seem to prefer the touch and feel of glass showcases, watch TV depending on owner’s generosity, eat good leftover food than the dull class rooms, dictating teachers, no blackboards and distasteful food. It takes years before the reality hits them hard. Can't we make our primary education more interesting with the use of modern technology?
We need to hold back such Kamals, shape their futures differently rather than have them back as adult learners with very few options and choices ahead. After all not all Kamals return as adult learners; some just get lost in this world.

Foxes in my backyard

Once upon a time outskirts of Kolkata were very green and wild. Some generations of that era are still lurking behind whatever that is left of the foliage. In some parts of Salt Lake and greenery behind Airport one can hear wild call of the foxes at night. There may be more of them in other further outskirts of the metro. As the green patches slowly vanishes one wonders where will they go? Is this the last generation calling out to the moon? When will techno savvy human beings leave some place for other animal life to survive and breed?
Amazingly these foxes never disturb the humans. They live off the leftovers spilled by humans and whatever small animals and birds they can catch. Known as ‘sly’ animals but they can be more appropriately called ‘shy’ animals. Human beings have forever hounded and hunted them. But never read any where about these animals harming human beings. They just walk away and disappear in their holes at the slightest sign or sound of approaching feet. As the famous legend of ‘Belstone Fox’ goes (which was made into a film) they do get acquainted with human movements and learn to elude them in smarter ways!!! They attack only if threatened of immediate physical harm.
Will we ever spare a small thought for them and their habitat before turning city outskirts into concrete jungle? This planet is as much theirs as ours…can’t we preserve their habitat which consists of a small water body and green foliage with singing birds as our backyard? Mind you this will be a peaceful haven not only for them but a symbiotic ecosystem for all of us and can offer a practical insight to school kids who struggle with environment education compulsory lessons. We need to save foxes and birds for our next generation and we need their next generation to save our planet.

A break

Took a long break for no particular rhyme or reason...
Feels great to pause while everything keeps going on perpetually maybe...
Earth moves, blood circulates, planets rotate...all fixed trajectories...
My thoughts seem to have no fixed path...so all the ramblings...

Conflicts

Ongoing conflicts have no ends these days...they never get resolved.
One gets used to conflict news bytes and conflicting news...
Maybe conflict means good business for all...for arms sellers and buyers, negotiaters, politicians, investors, media...everyone thrives on them.
So what if innocents die in the crossfire?
In this world of inflation and sensex what is the cost of one human life?
How many get killed in one single day all over the world in such conflict zones?
YES, ofcourse life must go on...killings must go on...
All for a unknown cause...