Living In a Material World

Money, Money ,Money ...must be funny In a rich man’s world.
This evergreen hit song sung by ABBA in 1976 aptly describes the value of money in one’s life. It has relegated every other want or desire to an inferior position and placed this on a pedestal and has almost become a monopolistic entity.
Money can almost buy anything on this planet except perhaps happiness. The law of diminishing returns perhaps is made to look ridiculous by the sheer lust it has created amongst the mortals who fight for a tiny morsel of the same.
Numerous ways have been devised to acquire the Vitamin –M and People try out novel ways by applying various permutation and combinations available within their ambit .
Some gain it through specialised skills, some through destiny, some others due to hard work, perseverance and dedication. Some are lucky enough to inherit the same.
The inherited money is the primary cause of discontent igniting the inferno of bitterness in families and destroying the thin fabric of love and compassion existing amongst the siblings.
It is sad watching the siblings slug it out between themselves for the share of the pie which incidentally has been ‘’baked’’ and ‘’nurtured’ ’by their fathers and forefathers and their own personal contribution towards its actual nourishment is practically zero.
The siblings who during their kindergarten years have shared food, clothes, love and happiness within four corners of a room suddenly start manipulating and conspiring against one another to lay claim to their ancestral wealth.
The morals can further deteriorate if one of the more opportunist and wily sibling gets control of the ancestral assets through dubious means casting aside the rights of the others.
It is but natural that every individual tries to improve upon his/her standard of living and yearns to earn more by utilising and applying their skills and knowledge and gain foothold to the luxuries of life.
The simple basics of life are forgotten –we come into this world empty handed and would leave it empty handed one fine day, whatever be the amount one may have stockpiled during his/her life time.
It is a common sight nowadays about well to do people struggling to work odd hours, investing in shares and property day in and day out in a desperate bid to add to their already filled kitty and perhaps outwit financially their nearest relative, acquaintance, or friend out of sheer jealousy.
If despite having enough fortune the heart still aspires for more, it will be futile to gain satisfaction in life besides putting an enormous amount of stress due to comparing/matching their wealth with everyone within their vicinity and community.
We usually tend to compare ourselves with those who earn much more than us or those whose standard of living is tad higher than us rather than comparing ourselves with those who struggle to earn two square meals a day. It is very difficult to identify or associate ourselves with persons who strive to earn the bare minimum. Our place in society, the respect we get from our relatives/friends is determined by the income we generate which incidentally provokes us to go all out in quest of this never ending saga. The comparison with a lesser mortal is perhaps a realistic way of measuring as to where we stand. The day we realise that we have been blessed with a small but cosy house, can afford a comfortable if not, lavish lifestyle and live with a clear conscience, life would be more comfortable and peaceful.
It is true that every service or product comes with a price tag and one should have enough money for their old age, medical emergencies and other comforts but to amass money in a greedy manner with no real end in sight would take away the satisfaction that is needed to live a cheerful, bountiful and meaningful life.
It may be too late to realise the harsh truth that the money so painstakingly nurtured, gathered, or pilfered would not be with us once we leave this mortal world at the end of our limited life span.

The Forbidden Fruit

Life has become so cheap that it can be snuffed off just for anything and by any one for the flimsiest reason.
The scorching summer heat over the sub-continent takes a heavy toll of both humans and cattle alike due to dehydration and depletion of essential minerals in the body. Survival of the fittest as depicted by Charles Darwin seems to eliminate the unfortunate few who cannot withstand the brutality of either Man or Nature.
The Chilling incident which unfolded in a small town of Harishchandrapur, a district in Malda -west Bengal on 9th May 2011 will stand testimony till eternity for lynching a small girl aged 9 years for a petty ‘crime’ she so innocently committed.
The sight of juicy watermelons laden aboard a truck in addition to the parched throat courtesy, the glaring summer heat induced the girl to pilfering the fruit.
Unfortunately the act was witnessed by the driver of the truck who along with his accomplices tied the hapless girl to a tree and then mercilessly beat her up with bamboo sticks. The little girl succumbed to the injuries inflicted soon after.
Malda district of West Bengal is one of the impoverished and most of the people barely manage to have 2 square meals a day. Does this act induced by acute hunger and thirst quantify to be a crime? The minor age and the innocence of the kid too was at stake.
This incident is just one of the many that happens routinely in one of the largest democracies of the world and is brushed under the carpet as the Victim is living hand to mouth and has no platform or support to fight against the oppression.
The photograph of the dead girl with deep anguish writ all over her innocent face would have moved the most hardened person to tears. It was perhaps even reflecting the calm serenity of death which released her from acute Poverty, from the clutches of starvation, from living a life which often pondered when the next meal would arrive.
If God is hell bent on giving her a re-birth then I earnestly appeal to him to at least give her a life which will not coerce her to commit a ‘crime’ and lose her life over a goddamn fruit.
Stealing is a crime and the perpetrator should be dealt with stringently.
This being the case the politicians who have stolen, misappropriated, embezzled billions of dollars should be handed the most apt Punishment commensurate with the extent of committed offence.
Our Country has always boasted of separate laws –one for the common man and one for the elite.
In unison we wish that the waves of change that is engulfing the Country at the moment would be instrumental in abolishing the glaring disparity/lop sided development pervading the shores of our ONCE great Nation.