‘There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy’
That’s Shakespeare-speak from Hamlet. Forget heaven, which at present sights, looks well beyond our reach; there are enough things to not dream, but dread, just on this earth. ‘Good’ may have won many battles, but ‘evil’ has so far won the war. And it owes this unassailable historic lead to just one single, strong and supremely reliable source: The human mind.
Ideally, I would like to thrash that guy smoking with relish and spewing toxins in style on his kid sitting on the lap. But that, thrashing someone and not smoking, is a criminal offence. It’s difficult also to resist the temptation to trample on the tippler sprawled on the street after a busy evening at TASMAC outlet while his family is starving back home. But again, booze is a birthright, dispensed by welfare States too.
Agitations top the charts presently. From ex-servicemen to Patels to trade unions to small groups to families to some isolated individuals, the landscape is littered with agitationists of all hue. Suddenly, strikes, sit-ins, dharnas, fasts or some such sort of protest are all over the place.
TN alias Tipplernadu may often be water starved, but rarely thanni starved. Ever since the bottle was uncorked in the early seventies, liquor has flooded this rational-cum-religious State as much as flattery, freebies and foul cash. The addiction looks set. The State budget is banking on booze and the bulk of populace are beholden to Bacchus.
I am one of those who staunchly believe that Chennai predates its official birthday, chosen by some ‘colonial cousins’, by several centuries. I am pretty certain Mylapore and Triplicane, to mention just two areas, were not ‘founded’ by the British nor can Chennai be confined to the walls of Ft St George, which the Brits did build over whatever structure existed earlier. But let me go with the crowd as it happens in city railway stations (not the new metro ones, sadly) when we seamlessly move in and out without aid of our limbs.
For most, ‘Made in Taiwan’ is more familiar than Taiwan itself. It therefore turned out to be a journey of discovery for me during a week-long visit to the island as part of a delegation of Asian journalists.
Something else about Dr Abdul Kalam evokes more pathos than his death. He failed to impact our lives. Now wait before you reach for the nearest missile or a choice cuss word. I was about to add it was not his fault that he was a misfit in a polity and society that held little value for the things he stood for and spoke of. That he still maintained a cheerful demeanour and exuded positive vibes marked him out as a shining, sterling gem amidst mud.
Some things are intensely personal. Music is such. Almost everyone loves music but the reasons you love it are your own. It is as if you dip into a community pond to scoop out your special share which you deem distinct. Any way, that’s how I justify my ‘exclusive’ bond with my favourites who all just ‘happen’ to be in public domain!
Metro Rail is certainly a matter for great celebration for Chennaiites. But Metro Rail is also a miserable metaphor for the laggard, leisurely, laboured pace at which our cherished city is struggling to become a real, well, metro. As we rejoice at the latest locomotive landmark, we can’t also avoid rueing the missed and messed opportunities. The hoot that heralded the first Metro Rail was also a wake-up call.
