“Why did you sit there? I was shocked to see you sitting there. Didn’t anybody tell you about it?”
About a couple of months ago, I too was a happy-going day scholar to my college. It was good to make the boring journeys in a crushed auto-rickshaw or the flooded RTC bus. I enjoyed, in the sense that everyday had to make through the beach. With the enormous layout and the salt-stricken air causing some sort of much un-needed humidity, my journey back to my room/house was followed every day. But the most annoying part of the journeys was the comfort. There was no comfort making the journeys. The people, I mean the ‘Auto-wallas’ are really crocked minded and would stuff the normal 3-seater plus children seat plus the sides of the driver’s seat with the students, Engineering students. And some sort of respite would be there, once on a blue moon day. And some are the trusted customers of the ‘BUS’ and would prefer to travel by bus flagging their ‘Bus-passes’ and others with the money from their purse. But even then, ‘standing’ and ‘hanging on one leg’ are simply un-escapable.
One day, while suffocating myself with the daily foes, I was bewildered on hearing about the seat in the college hostel. I said a big “DAMN” to myself. I wasn’t quite expecting such a disaster ever since the inception by my parents. I knew that it won’t be possible with some sort of recommendation. But somehow, for hell’s disaster and my misfortune hit me real bad and I landed over here; two months ago from this very date. Now common, don’t wish me for completing two freaking months.
Now, to hit me more hard, they got some rules which I didn’t have previously. And to add to it, this place is quite far from the city. Though, my hostel is located near the beach and surrounded by mountains and also a cool room, I don’t like being here because “I don’t like the idea of HOSTEL”. The place is very calm. My sincere apologies. I just said a lie, white lie. It is preferably a calm place, but there is never ending hip-hop going around in the hostel. It seems almost every day, it is someone’s Birthday. Even if there are no such birthdays, these people don’t take a step back to turn on their mini-surround system and play music. The rock music from the top floor is distinctly heard from the ground floor where I stay. But that is still the top floor and the competition never dies. Soon, it takes a minute from a person from my adjacent room to turn the ‘Woofers’ on and get the impatience out of me.
By the way, I was new to the hostel. Hmm... Err... I mean I have stayed in Hostel, but college hostel is some-what different. The innumerability of people quivering around the place and the atmosphere is quite different also. In the beginning days, I rather thought to be conserved. Hmm... Actually I am a bit conserved no matter what the circumstances are. But my in-sight of the situation appealed to me that the people around are really different, say like stubborn and quickly my imagination ran over them. I made vague calculations of the human attitude and behaviour. What else could you do when you are to a place that is new to you. I think I was quite good at learning their ways of human behaviour. Suddenly, I found myself donning a “I don’t give a ‘DAMN’ care about you” attitude after looking up the “I don’t care about you” attitude. But at the end of the day I am myself, back in my room flirting with the under-laid ideas and heavy thoughts. And the bottom line is that ‘I can’t be them’ no matter how hard I try.
So, one day I happened to get bored of sitting at almost the same place in the hostel dinner area. So I thought of shifting to a place where there was considerably less population and I thought that would be a good place. So I started befriending the newly thought idea of changing the place. So, in a matter of few days it became usual until one day I was darted by a peculiar question by one of my friend who happens to be staying at the hostel for two years of so. As usual, I had my dinner and wsa sitting in the garden outside my block known as ‘Santhi Sadan’. He came to meet me and the first thing after the formal hai-hello was a question.
“Why did you sit there? I was shocked to see you sitting there. Didn’t anybody tell you about it?”
I was a bit shocked to hear a question of that height of worried-ness or say shocking. I anticipated with his feeling that he was surprised as well as a bit shocked. After seeing his shocking face and I without a change of feelings, though somewhat shocked replied casually, “Yeah, I had been sitting for a few days and more over there was Vikas, so I sat over there”. With his linking response, I woken up. He said, “That place is only used by the C-people and they don’t allow any other people to sit over there. And once, when someone sat over there, there were some minor/major hot debates. And did you not observe it? And those people don’t talk to others and once if they do, they are held back for some sort of counselling after their dinner”.
The conscious inside me replied to me, “You had been sleeping”. Probably, I was. I was completely unaware of the fact that I was living in a C-dominated region and they could do anything under their realm. I almost forgot the differences. I was just like any other kid, like the now in kinder-garden where we don’t know what that complication actually means. The complication of religion, caste and the human distinction where they are divided in into different groups through their sarcastic ideologies. I felt like, I just no came to the real world. Aah... that single sentence by him just struck me through my mind and I can’t help myself looking at that place whenever I go for breakfast, lunch or dinner.
We talk about secularism, integrity, sovereignty, et cetera that are there in the Indian Constitution, but I feel we actually don’t know what they really mean. Do we? There is a lot of difference between talking and doing. Isn’t it? We would be fighting among ourselves for piece of land on the basis of religious sentiments. I don’t understand one thing. Compromise isn’t a word in any of the religious books. Right? Is it there? Then what for it is there when the people don’t actually know the real meaning of the same. Yeah, I am talking about Ayodhya verdict. I know the case is solved, but why in the first instance they had to fight for a piece of land. Religious sentiments can't with-hold anything and can draw any person to do anything to make it the best and to achieve dominance. Am I right? On the same day as the case’s decision, I received a text which read as, “It is a historic day. Once a long time ago, God created a place and decided where man could live. And today, the man has decided where the God should be there”. Isn’t it true?
We find a superior group of people who are trying to maintain the superiority by suppressing the people below them. The people try to maintain their standard of living of superiority. This is the basic human thinking, and probably God can only change; if at all he exists. Blah, blah, blah... I think you know about the happenings around you and it is more like I am writing an English-essay on the “Indian Scenario at Present”. I guess you people know much better than me.
Simply, but brain-strikingly, I was woken up by that question. The question which was questioning my presence over here and the complications that one needs to follow over here when there is someone above your head. I should consider different attributes which I have to consider when these people are around excruciating behaviour I should be following to avoid ‘conflicts’. I forgot I was living in an Indian society where sometimes un-expected things happen and we don't even know where they started from. But even then, I would be a donning a “I DON’T GIVE A DAMN CARE ABOUT YOU” attitude as far as I can. Hope, I successfully accomplish the task. [ :P , :D ]
nice,liked it..!!!
ReplyDeletei cant comment much becoz topic is on c..!!!
@ Sai Dinesh :: Thanks for liking and the compliment. Well, I understand.
ReplyDeleteAnyways, thanks for reading and the comment!!
~ Ajay Kontham