Metaphor of life
It was a lazy Sunday winter afternoon when apart from dozing off, there was nothing much to do. But sleep was hard to come by and that brought me to the open window to gaze at the world outside. Not a soul to be seen walking on the road, no birds chirping in the shade of the Banyan outside, the usual hawkers selling their wares were not to be seen, all probably enjoying their Sunday siesta. At the far end of the road below, on the other side could be seen a beggar covered in rags trying to shield himself from the midday sun in the shade of a shop that was closed. A few feet away from him lay a man belly down, may be in his mid thirties, with half his body exposed to the sun, while the other half was under the shade of the shop. His awkward position brought me to the conclusion, that either he was in drunken stupor, or he had really lost his senses. Some distance from them could be seen a public tap dripping water due to leakage. Meanwhile on the road, cars were occasionally zipping past with their dark tinted glasses. The entire panorama I was witness to in those few minutes, which by no means was extraordinary, suddenly turned me philosophical and think of the world we live in and where it was headed.

I started asking myself why it was so hot, unusual for this time of the year. I wondered where had all the people who normally, unmindful of the weather, could be seen walking purposefully or loitering around, gone. I could not help but wonder why no birds were found at all on the Banyan branches, let alone chirping ones. I started wondering where had all the hawkers gone, because I well remember earlier, that they would still be around, shouting their throats out, beseeching all and sundry to try their wares. The rest were however all common occurences. Seeking answers I became disturbed, when slowly it dawned on me that what I saw on the street below was actually a metaphor, a microcosm of the human condition, that was staring me in the face. Probing deeper, I realized that each of the characters in my visual canvas at that moment were trying to tell me a tale.

Thanks to globalization and purchasing power, man had become rapacious, insensitive, not even leaving mother nature to itself. In the process, if what scientists say is believed to be true, we have brought upon ourselves the phenomenon of global warming and greenhouse effect, which explained the unusually hot weather. Now how on earth can birds chirp and sing in such weather with their habitat destroyed in the name of development. How can any sane person walk under this blazing hot sun. The lone Banyan tree surrounded by concrete was standing testimony to man’s naked desire. Thanks again to Globalisaton, petty shops and roadside vendors have given way to airconditioned shopping malls with everything under one roof. For the former, their livelihoods had been lost, families ruined, and far from enjoying their Sunday siesta, the hapless hawkers found themselves staring at an uncertain future. Finally with money in their wallets, again courtesy Globalisation, why would anybody walk, when they can cocoon themselves in their proud possessions and zip past, literally mocking at people like me- Hey man, this is the age of consumerism.

The only constant reminders from the past were the beggar, the man under the suspect influence of alcohol and the leaky tap. Each one of these were common sights from everyday life we do not stop, to see and ponder. They actually were a mirror held to us on the appalling and unending poverty(beggar), man’s vicarious vices(alcohol), and the apathy and indifference of the ruling and ruled classes(leaky tap). One thing became clear that day that the new order provided solutions but it also created its own share of problems.

Life truly is a great teacher, an honest mirror, and I in that short period of time on that Sunday afternoon learnt my lesson.