Life knows no fair play or foul play. Life is simply in an
eternal state of play!
As I
write this The Hindu’s website is
breaking news that there has allegedly been a rape on the Pune campus of IT
major Infosys (Infy). My first reaction, that I even tweeted (@AVISViswanathan),
was “Gosh! There must be a way to end all this!” Earlier this morning in The Hindu’s Open Page, Rya Sanovar asks
a very pertinent, albeit disturbing, question: “Why do I get and they don’t? Is this world we live in so unfair that
it can’t provide its people the basic amenities of Life?”
The word ‘amenities’ can be replaced with ‘security’,
or with ‘dignity’, and Sanovar’s question will still ring true. Yet there’s no
point asking that question. Life never promised anything, least of all
fairness, to anyone. Fairness and unfairness are social labels. They
expectations that are born from within us humans. Life is simply at play. Life
keeps on happening: one event after another. And each event, each happening in
Life, is an experience for sure, and, if you care to pause and reflect, it can
be a learning too. To crave for fair play from Life is to invite misery.
Period.
In the film Zindagi
Na Milegi Dobara (Zoya Akhtar, 2011), Farhan Akhtar recites his father
Javed Akhtar’s poetry. One of the poems is this one:
Dil Aakhir Tu Kyun Rota Hai?
Jab jab dard ka baadal chhaya
Jab gham ka saya lehraaya
Jab aansoo palkon tak aaya
Jab yeh tanha dil ghabraaya
Hum ne dil ko yeh samjhaya
Dil aakhir tu kyun rota hai?
Duniya mein yun hi hota hai
Yeh jo gehre
sannate hain
Waqt ne sabko hi
baante hain
Thoda gham hai
sabka qissa
Thodi dhoop hai
sabka hissa
Aankh teri bekaar hi nam hai
Har pal ek naya mausam hai
Kyun tu aise pal khota hai
Dil aakhir tu kyun rota hai
Listen to/watch
the original poem here.
The poem so beautifully captures the essence of
what I am trying to say here – that Life distributes sunshine and sorrow
equally. Yet, it appears unequal to us because we compare. When you compare
your home with Mukesh and Nita Ambani’s Antilia,
you may feel, in real estate terms, poorer, less endowed. But when you see what
you have compared to the person who seeks your attention – and alms – at a
traffic signal, and who sleeps on the pavement, you feel so much more blessed.
The truth is all our lives are perfect – yours, mine, Mukesh’s and Nita’s, and the
pavement dweller’s. Each of us has what we need and gets what is due to us. Comparisons,
therefore, serve no purpose. They simply ruin your inner peace. Besides, there’s
no point in asking why is Life unfair or why is there inequality, why is there
hunger, why is there rape and so on. “Why?”, in the context of Life, is a
wasted question! Instead ask yourself how you can contribute to make this world
better – how you can bridge the inequality gap, how you can feed someone today,
how you can touch a Life and make a difference?
Life may not have promised fair
play. But Life’s always open to you playing along. Will you?
Haa! Reading your post gave me a chance to introspect about a learning I had during my school days - Tears are self inflicted so do smiles. Nobody can make anyone cry or smile unless the person intends to. When such responsibility lies in one's shoulders where is the 'question' of 'Why' because Why always targets the other and expects someone else to answer. Great Post. Happy to be connect and be here.
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Katie
http://chennaifocus.in