A DAY WHEN I WAS OLD
In actuality, this is all about the suffering I have experienced in society.
This can be my story, your story, or you can give this narrative a face, but this is definitely a story that shattered me.
I was strolling down Silguri's main street today, savouring the pleasant weather and the company of my good friends. I was overcome by the company, and the weather favoured me as well. At times, we were giggling uncontrollably and occasionally taunting one another. My gaze was drawn to a handsome and well-dressed uncle and aunty who were sitting by the Siliguri Municipal Corporation's garbage tank. I am not sure why, but their body language and lifestyle did not fit the circumstance. My buddies drew me away from the spot, but my soul was impelled to go and ask if I could assist the elderly couple. And in this war between the soul and the legs, the soul prevailed, and I inquired, uncle, where are you from and where are you going?
Surprisingly, Uncle Ghosh informed me, Beta, that I am aware of my origins but unsure of my destination. That was a little more difficult for me to comprehend, but I had the distinct impression that they had been abandoned, and upon further inquiry, I discovered that their highly educated son and daughter in law had dumped them in the garbage street.
When I heard this, I burst into tears and wondered where I was actually living. Is this the same world in which someone died for another's unrighteousness?
In India, 50 children are born every minute, and every minute, 30 parents are evicted from their homes. What direction are we taking? The growing number of Old aged homes reveals us untold stories; do we truly need old aged homes?
The same couple who could raise four children in a single room now have little space for their parents in their four bedded rooms. What a shame and how unfortunate that we still love to say 'Mera Bharat Mahan'. Bharat to mahan ho gaya, but log insane nahi ban paye. (My India is great, and it has gotten magnificent, but the people have not been able to become human.)
We forget the magnitude of their sacrifices for us, and we frequently forget that we are in a verse of ageing.
As with our dreams, there was a moment when they were joyful, when you were born, when your family shared ladoos (Sweets) for you, and when they danced in celebration of the birth of a son and a daughter in the family.
Consider how upsetting it would be for them to be thrown by the one they had proudly brought to the park and declared would transform our future, but alas, you changed their home.
My cherished buddies, Consider yourself as an elderly person. How do you envision yourself? The world operates on a reciprocal basis.
Let's be different to make a difference...
Joseph Khati
Comments