It's not new to our world; Earth has been the sole witness of our stupidity. A new era, a new beginning meets a similar conclusion, an evident end with destruction. This article, I am sure will be overlooked as another piece on 'social activism' or 'outdated thinking' or 'blah blah' but this will only bring us closer to ignorance of the concluding era. Ending something is scary, life is too precious. Sitting in the metro for after office journey, thinking how tiresome the day was, all you want is to sit on your couch with your family and sip nectar pleased to imagine your retirement and college for kids; all set. That is when there a pair of serious-looking men talking about the Nepal Earthquake, the death of thousands of people and still counting, that talk makes you feel sorrowful towards the dead of Nepal and the ones still trapped, you make a mental note of donating unwanted stuff and excess amount, if any, from your pocket, that is generous indeed. But then the same chatters move on to the impact of that earthquake in India, shaking the ground and throwing buildings as far as Mumbai, this shakes you too. But not enough to pay heed, your building is waterproof, thunder resistant; I am sure earthquake-resistant too, it's made of the best cement and it is written in the paperwork's too, isn't it? Plus, all the valuables are in the bank, surely the bank walls are strong, after all, it's the bank! There cannot be a mark on your life because of this Earthquake, you sigh.But then at the crack of your eyes, you catch the glimpse of news from a neighbouring fellow seated with an iPad, there was an explosion of the gas cylinder. Where was it? OH NO! That is your neighbourhood! And the next line you catch sends chills down your spine, numbness overcomes you. You reach for your phone, several doubts in your head, most chilling of all 'is your family fine?' Your fingers cannot manage to dial the number, your choked voice asksfor help from the fellow beside you. Nobody answers the call. 'Are they fine?' is your child fine?' 'Is your house fine?' 'How will you manage now?' you skip a heartbeat when nobody answers your wife's cell either. That is when you call your neighbour, and you feel relief when he replies that your family is fine, not completely, not until you see them yourself, but it is a relief. Just when you thought everything was fine, your environment was invincible, nothing could change; when the very foundation would risk crumbling. There, you skipped a beat on your life when you realised all that you own, all that you have has an end in it, it is scary and it is not quite agreed to but it is necessary, plan what stands ahead. Nobody wants to believe everything that they buildis destructible, and it cannot only be ensured by financial security. Not promoting life or any other insurance policies here, not part of my job. But there are certain obligations of us as humans that ensure such a morbid imagination shall never come true. Now imagine the ice in the freezer melting, it melts slowly with increasing pace and drops into the liquid form, popularly known as water and makes its way down the refrigerator walls to the floor and forms a small circle of water. But as the pace increases, the water is flowing down as though your freezer walls were the Western Ghats and the water was a fall. And the water pouring into the circle on the floor is beyond the control of the tiny piece of cloth, so you bring a bigger cloth, and it still grows. It won't stop until the top world is frozen again for the falls to freeze. The water now reaches crooks and knacks of your kitchen walls. Under the drawers, cabinets, dining table, wastebasket everywhere, goodness! It's wetyour collection of butter papers! And now it's making its way to the living room, it will wet your sofa, your newspapers! You run to remove the Friday's shopping of groceries, NOOO! The spices are all wet (and they are not in plastic). And you pick up the bag and there goes your feet between the water and dry floor (some parts at least) and shoots your leg a goal and drags your body with you, in a twisted fashion. There you see moons and stars! If only you were not reckless enough to break the stabiliser of the refrigerator. OH Yes! It IS inbuilt, totally modern technology. But perhaps you didn't find it interesting to read "preserving a hot container can break the stabiliser" anywhere on the fridge, just not tasty enough to know. Hope you find painkillers tasty. Well the hospital bill is going to cost you, is it beyond the liquid cash you have? Your husband will have to break your Fixed deposit, oh no there he goes, another bill for medicines and my Diwali shopping down the drain. The doctor has a happy face, smiling like an angel, he will recover me soon. Sooner than later his pretty mouth says the words MRI and operation, and his smiling face turns into Tadka now, evil on his tongue. No more can I buy a new washing machine, the pretty lady on TV will disappear and more stale food cooked by my husband, where on earth is my mother. X
