LIFE

It was early March 2008. I was trying to find some ground in my mothers fight with cancer, talking to people, going through the net and meeting doctors in various hospitals. Even I knew the hope is dim but when everything is over its just the hope which is left. After discharging her from a Delhi hospital we came back to Bareilly. But soon the pain was unbearable and condition miserable, not only for her but for all of us. I went to a hospital in Bareilly to find some pain relieve in her last counted days. But India is now a land, where people live for money and die for money. He suggested me Chemo though I knew it’s the last thing I would like to go for. However he convinced me to meet a village lady of some 50 years going through Chemo. I entered the room; it was a quite and calm room, with silence smelling of death. There were two elderly people with face hardened by miseries of life. The old lady was lying on the bed undergoing chemotherapy. What touched me was the courage with which these two people – old, poor, uneducated- were fighting against all the odds. She told me her whole story, about her disease, her loneliness and how poor people have nothing but courage to fight even a deadly disease such as cancer. She described how her treatment was delayed by four months as her husband was not able to manage 1000 Rs and doctor was not ready to start the treatment without that. 1000 Rs! That’s exactly the same amount I spend on parties and outings every month, my monthly phone bill,my jeans costs mere 2000, my bike fuel takes on an average the same amount every month, my internet bill comes around the same. In short these 1000 Rs, which I spend without thinking twice, are the bridge between her life and death. And the paradox of life is I couldn’t save my mother with my money and she who can be saved doesn’t have the money!

Sometimes I wonder how we have reached a stage where we have lost the very meaning of word “life”. How it has been limited to my money, my work, my fun, my enjoyment, my love, my girl friend, my party, my life. How everything else happening in our own world has just become news, fact and figures for us. 5 million dying of respiratory diseases, 2 million of TB , 2 million of AIDS, 1 million of malaria and 1 million of nothing but dysentery. How these have become just figures coming in reports year after year. Millions of people die in our country due to malnutrition and hunger with food rotting in go downs. Millions perish in road accident, riots, encounters and other violence without any base or purpose. But when ever we see such things in newspaper, we immediately turn the page to Page 3 news of glitter, happiness and fun, thinking nothing can be done about this, India is like this only. I remember one of my friends told me she doesn’t like slums in Mumbai, she likes those tall sky scrapers and want to be a proud owner of one of those. She doesn’t want to think about all this dirt of poverty, misery, terrorism and other problems facing our country and world in general. She wants to be happy and enjoy this life, and so does everyone!

But can we survive like this? World is very small today, a thing which is effecting a small village, somewhere in Gujrat today, may have repercussions in Mumbai tomorrow. And then we will be unknowingly, without our consent become a part of the system, we hate to even think about! The horror effecting some one “unknown’ to us today may affect us tomorrow! Human life is very precious. When one farmer commits suicide his entire family is doomed, when one soldier dies on border his entire family witnesses a new world, when a person dies in a bomb accident his entire family and friends are wounded forever.
Can we survive in this world taking only its happiness and ignoring miseries? Can we dream of Las Vegas without thinking of Darfur? Can we live in a society just at its brink, using its resources without giving anything in return? What goes out from you comes back to you.

My friends have always criticized me for being theoretical, just talking and doing nothing. Taking their criticism in consideration I am considering a plan. We contribute a small part of our monthly income say 1000 (nearly 2.5 % of our income) , collect it together and contribute it to the welfare of the oppressed and downtrodden . It has just two pillars to support it- feeling for others and trust on one another.

One of my friends recently commented there is inherent selfishness in human nature. But I think otherwise , we all are inherently good and caring, its just fighting against the odds of society and battered by its indifference , we loose our compassion somewhere in between. It’s the time to rediscover ourselves , to find that “ good” in us , become one never knows what future will bring!

In case you want to join me in this journey of self discovery , please contact me freely at marine.apoorv@gmail.com and for all those who just want to contribute financially without getting “ involved” the path is
Account no.: 020501508197 ICICI BANK

Lets hope we start on a small scale and make at least little contribution to our world!