Imli ki chutney versus Tomato Sauce… Aam ka ras versus Frooti… 1980s versus today… so much has changed… some call it development… to some it’s doom… Whatever it is but surely we do miss those leisurely hours, that dinner time with the family, that pollution-free air and many more things. Indeed the tlot-tlot of the tonga has been replaced by the shrill and deafening honking of cars. They call it social status but it seems more of a mad race towards an unknown destiny. The days when people lived miles away yet knew each other, and the day when members of the same family live in compact houses yet are distant from each other. In these days of live-in relationships, we seem to have forgotten how to live at all. In all these years we have learnt how to make a living but forgotten how to make a life. The days when the mornings began with a cock-a-doodle-doo of the roosters and the day when the alarm of our mobiles shakes us up after the sleepless nights…
The analog telecast of Doordarshan, the Chitrahaar, the Sunday Movie (punctuated with the typical ‘रूकावट के लिये खेद है’ ‘Sorry for the Interruption’ messages flashing on the screen every now and then) are in a striking contrast with the 24 X 7 digital quality of movies, music, news and other masala. The all-time popular Nukkad, Malgudi Days, Buniyaad and Hum Log have been dethroned by the so-called Reality Shows. We have come a long way, in a very little time. It seems that information travels faster than sound or light in this age of computer technology. The styles have changed. Professionalism has crept in every field. Moral values are crumbling while manners have improved. What are we heading towards? Perhaps we, ourselves, are not aware of our destinations. Still we are moving ahead – unmindful of our goals – oblivious of our traditional richness – into a cul-de-sac which signifies the dead-end of our spiritual odyssey. In this age of shallow relationships, when matter rules over minds, the family values are virtually non-existent. In this age of perpetual dilemma, we all need a mentor who can pull us out of this muck of mediocrity and help us lead a life of grace and dignity. The revival of ‘the spiritually hollow’ man has become the need of the hour. May the genuineness of the human smile live forever… May human beings begin to love everybody from the core of their heart… May the Divinity prevail…
