A Live Bollywood Show!
Each one of us can be a real hero, writes Peter Fernandes
In India, for the most part, an aura of awe surrounds Bollywood stars, as fans admire the reel heroes as real ones. Bollywood movies depict supermen and superwomen, with heroic stance and spirit, ultimately victorious over evil. Nevertheless, the injustice in our society, corruption in our government institution, violence on our streets, violation of human rights, unimaginable scale of poverty, illiteracy, and other social evils compel people to search for a champion to cleanse the system. It is an enormous, almost impossible task for one hero to accomplish. These movies entice us with an unrealistic utopia, but in a way they beckon us to challenge the status quo in society, and explore new horizons to create a better situation in our own small way. Everyone needs a hero in life to bring about a positive change. Ironically, most people seek, the hero they long for, outside their being, not realizing that the hero lies within oneself.
In the recent past, Goa has become the laughing stock of our Nation, and the world at large. With each passing day, Goa and Goans seemingly enact a tragic scene for what could be a new Bollywood movie; and it is a movie without a hero. The irony of this enactment by our people is that it is tragic to our beloved State, but comical to the rest of the world. Even more heartbreaking is that nobody seems capable of deciphering the evil that has infected every strata of our society. This drama could be headed for a perfect melancholy, unless society is ready for true introspection and the transition back to the values that had sustained us for so long . The change will not come from outside, it should spring forth from within each citizen, to cause an unrelenting movement to fight the evil which has drained our society to its lowest ebb. Inner reflection should lead us to selflessness, and empty us of our greed, for greater good of the society.
Should someone ask why we have no hero, I would truthfully say I do not have the correct answer, but intend to find one. I thought our police force might give us a good hero, since they are the protectors of the executive component of democracy. There are several instances wherein they have done good to the state by nabbing criminals near and far. However they are not consistent and upright always . More often than not, they act at the behest of the Home Minister and other legislators, which is abysmal and disgraceful to our democracy. Not a single case involving “big brother” has had a logical conclusion. This attitude of our police force has triggered corruption and crime to a new level, resulting in a society where justice is unsustainable. The victims are yearning for justice, in vain.
We elect our legislators to be that hero to purge the system of evil decay, and bring in a positive change for peaceful and prosperous dwelling. The unfortunate reality is that we are unsuccessful. With great caution, I could identify one or two, but most are unworthy of even a salute. Our legislators have betrayed the people, and are the true scoundrels in this “Live Bollywood Show.” The latest twist to this ongoing dismal production is the catch (not really – he handed himself over – fortunately or unfortunately police could not nab him) of Mickey Mouse, who hid himself in a hole for almost a month. To his disadvantage, Mickey Mouse had shown disregard to the public ethic and moral standard of society on several occasions. Guilty or not, time will tell. However, to be somewhat sympathetic, he was caught up in the web of nasty political power desperados. I say this because, when other legislators or their kin were involved in a crime, neither the police nor the political parties showed any such interest in bringing justice to the victims.
Perhaps, we could find a hero in our NGOs. The NGOs mushroomed to redress the wrong in society, but evil continues to proliferate unbrokenly right under their noses. What can we gather from such an inference? Does it prove that NGOs are ineffective, and perhaps exist for their own gain? Even if one chooses to not notice, it is obvious that NGOs become quite visible and vocal when a big fish is caught in the net, but they brush aside what is politically insignificant. Like other institutions, the NGOs dance to the politicians’ tune, to gain mileage for their own selfish interest. Only when the NGOs truly and sincerely take up the cause of the voiceless, without succumbing to pressure from the ruthless politicians and lobbyists, will they have a chance to redeem themselves and be heroes for generations to come. At present, the NGOs are viewed with suspicion, and rightly so, for they have their own agenda to pursue.
For a long time, the people of Goa lived as true heroes, but lost the intuition somewhere down the line. This is clearly reflected in the escalation of maladies in our society today. First and foremost, Goans failed because we place an unconditional trust on corrupt politicians, as we continue to vote them. Recently, a great number of people came out to support the beleaguered Tourism Minister; and in another instance, to support the Home Minister, and his son. Are we supporting truth and justice, or blindly digging our own graves? Are we so limited by our fears and doubts, that we fool ourselves by taking bribes and engaging in other illegal actions on behalf of our politicians, to live as their slaves? We have become so steeped in the crab mentality, which is causing a greater downfall. Most Goans fight among themselves over a small piece of land or property. Yet they allow outsiders to take advantage. There are a few noble souls, but as a society we live like villains. Each one is concerned about his/her own welfare, uncaring of their neighbours. At one time, such behaviour was unthinkable. For us to witness contentment over the downfall of our neighbour, rather than lending a helping hand, leads to our own defeat and disgrace. This is not “Goanness.” In what used to be a viable society, the hero has been lost!
It is very unusual for a Bollywood movie to be produced without a hero. This is why Goa’s “live Bollywood show” is distasteful. The Bollywood movie heroes decipher the evil intentions of the villain and impede his scheme in time, to save society. How can we Goans allow this “live show” to continue without a hero who would pave the way to victory in our war against the rogues who decimate our society? A big question lingers! From where will a hero arise to transform the evil structure and its builders, which have created an inescapable web of seduction and deception in Goa? If we fully appreciate our true worth and the power given to us by our Creator to participate in building a just society, reversal and renewal is inevitable, with His help. Let us rid ourselves of selfishness and greed, and be filled with honour and the courage to embrace benevolence and charity. Know for sure, Eternal Paradise will be our reward. Each one of us will be a hero!
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You Are High On Life!
By Sajla Chawla
Did you win a booker prize? No.
Did you achieve success hitherto unimagined? No.
Did you reach peaks unattained? No!
Are you a great entrepreneur? Oh No!
Yet you are high, high on life. Strange!
Well, where does the “high” come from, I wonder! Some spunk or perkiness or even some perversity, always made you take the path less trodden. Youth makes you oh so reckless and sanguine! But the path less trodden, often comes up with curves and turns, you never imagined. It makes you go through such adversity, that you never dreamed of. You strive and strive, because you are in the midst of a journey from where there is no going back. YOU CHOSE IT! And now IT CHOOSES YOU!
There is no way out. There is no turning back. You cannot let go. You cannot just give up. The ones looking up to you need you to walk ahead. Their journey started with yours and you need to bring it to a point where you enable them thus, such that their independent journey can begin.
Along the way, you fought with many demons and now you realize it was only the society within you and its prescribed ideas that you were wrestling with. Often, you tried to walk on a herd journey, of looking for material success and social validation and obsessive compulsive habits. You wanted to belong and be a part of all the rest. And now you realize that the journey was your borrowed journey. It wasn’t your journey at all. So you embark on your own. Right or wrong, it is just your own. You have nothing to boast of but a childhood dream realized, and a youthful passion satisfied. Not many people you know would dare even half as much! On the way, you learnt many a thing and suffered many a travail. That opened your eyes a little more to others and their suffering. Now you value empathy more than success. You value strength more than achievements. You value people who touched your heart more than the expectations fulfilled. You can do only so much for them and they can do only so much for you! The rest has to come from within.
So you reach this stage when you have climbed uphill, amidst a road of thorns and pebbles, slipping and unsure, and suddenly you reach a clearing, from where you can see horizons flooding your skies, limitless and infinite. The valley lies before you and shows you that point from where you had begun and you realize how far you have really travelled and how difficult the path has been. You take a deep breath and then exhale. You have arrived! -Well, as little or as much one can!
And now there is repose like the calm unruffled waters of a deep river, not so much from without, as from within. You made the choices you wanted to. They define you as you are today. And look, you have come through it all! Stronger? Perhaps. Wiser? Maybe. Humble? Definitely.
You love the people around you; you have a measure of worldly success. But you no longer need any of those to complete you now. You are within yourself, a whole.
And you are high on life. You have no more agonizing goals. You realize your life was a goal in itself. That you lived it the way you wanted, was in itself a joy, however big or small that might seem to others. You do not look for reasons anymore to be high on life. You do not look for social validation. You create your own path and you walk as strongly as you can on it. That you survived it all and can still laugh and smile and be joyous and lose yourself here and there, every now and then, and celebrate every new morning, is reason enough to be high on life!
