Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Fear of the Dark


‘Wait, finish this game and go, Sid…’


‘No, I am already late’, said the seven year old as he ran out of the football field.


Siddarth had to get home before sundown, that’s the promise he gave his mother while she let him go out to play with friends. He didn’t realize how fast time slipped by and now it was really late. His little legs were now paddling away furiously towards home.


Where the road curved, Siddarth slowed down - Through the main road, it will take ten more minutes to reach home. Or he could take the short cut on his left, which will get him there in half the time. But the narrow path led through an abandoned estate area and not many people frequent this way. An image of his angry father by the gate popped up in Siddarth’s head and he was already running through the estate road.


The dry leaves creaked under his feet with every step he ran through the deserted forest. It is really surprising how much sunlight trees can cut down. Siddarth realized it that evening as he got inside the estate; what was a late evening while he took the turn had suddenly transformed almost into night. He looked back, it was dark all the way back too. An owl crooned from above. A chill spread across his heart. His small feet slowed down, as he tried to make his way through the darkness. The tall tress and thick bushes around seem to suffocate him. Siddarth stopped dead on his tracks and listened. He heard heavy breathing.


‘mmmm......I smell human’, an eerie voice rang out.


‘Yes, so do I’, an equally eerie female voice announced.


Siddarth’s heart beat uncontrollably and his mouth went dry.


‘He’s mine’ Roared the male voice.


‘No, he’s mine’ the female voice echoed.


‘I saw him first, I will drink his blood first’


‘No, I will’


Fear paralyzed Siddarth. Though he wanted to run, he stood there frozen for a minute. Somehow, he managed to get behind the nearest tree and he slid down amidst the bushes, and lay there, hugging the root of the old tree ... waiting for the inevitable, not moving, not making a sound. All the while the voices kept circling around him like an invisible fog.


Then, the voices went quiet. Siddarth waited in the darkness. First, he thought he imagined it, but then he heard it - someone was calling out. He slowly peered from behind the old tree- he saw light. He waited. Now he heard his name being called out, loud and clear. It was Kunjan, their gardener. When Kunjan, with the lantern in his hand came close enough, Siddarth ran towards him, hugged him tight, and started sobbing.


‘What happened, Little Siddhartha?’ Kunjan asked kindly


When the sobbing subsided, Siddarth said, shaking:

‘There are two ghosts there, and they were going to drink my blood’


Siddarth told the whole story.

‘Come let’s have a look’ said Kunjan taking Siddarth’s hand in his and the lantern in the other.


‘No, don’t go there Kunjan’ Siddarth cried.


‘Its alright Little Siddartha, see I have my sickle right here,’ he said pointing to his back where his sickle was perched close to his body. Unsure, Siddarth followed Kunjan, holding his hand tight. Through the dim light of the lantern they saw a small worn out hut on the other side of the road. Just as Kunjan started opening the gate, a voice roared:

‘Now I will drink both your blood’


Terrified, Siddarth hugged Kunjan . They stood still.

‘Yes, now we will have a feast’ the female voice joined in.


Kunjan took out the sickle and walked forward, into the house, closer to the source of the voices. Siddarth followed him, shivering. They entered the verandah of the house and could sense the voices right next to them. Kunjan held up the lantern and let the light fall on an old ragged man, almost naked, lying on the floor. It was the madman who used to roam about the town.


‘I will kill you both’ he said in the same eerie voice


‘No, I will kill them’ he said now in the female voice.


‘See, little Siddhartha…’, Kunjan said


Siddarth slowly emerged from behind Kunjan and watched the man talk in both voices.


That night in his bed, Siddarth peered into the darkness and smiled. From that day on, Siddarth was never paralyzed by fear.


The young Siddarth was one of my fathers’ managers who told this incident to his team. My father told this to me when I was very young and somehow it has stayed with me. Even now, whenever an unusual sound is heard in the middle of the night, I don’t panic- I go after the source. Once you know the reason, there is no reason to fear. It is the unknown that fills us with fear, know it – and the fear vanishes!


It is a different story that known everyday fears are harder to master. Ghosts, I can handle. It is normal everyday people that still baffle me!


Friday, July 4, 2008

Us and Them



I think I am on the monkeys' side now.

(I started my first blog by re counting an incident of two monkeys invading my home and the ensuing battle of species)


Why are we humans so cruel? We kill animals, take their tusks, skin and whatever else that can be sold for money. Sure, animals kill animals too, but only for survival. The money the tusks and skins too buy food, some may argue. Not true. This money buys big cars, big lands and more big money ...you see, its big business. No hungry man has ever gone and killed an elephant, pulled out its tusks, sold it and had bought his meal with the money and said: ‘ Ah, I have my stomach full now, am satisfied’. Far from it, it’s the opposite of satisfaction that’s at work here : Greed.


As the superior species it is our duty and right to save and protect other beings and nature. But what do we do? We go ahead and destroy them, little realizing that we are digging our own grave.


The following piece of dialogue from the movie ‘The Matrix’ rings so true in this context. In the scene the robotic villain has Morpheus, the human leader in captive and chained to a chair. He is sermoning about his dislike for human beings. Listen to the dialogue without prejudice:

“Every mammal on this planet instinctively develops an equilibrium with the surrounding environment, but you humans do not. You move to an area, and you multiply…and multiply, until every natural resource is consumed. The only way you can survive is to spread to another area. There is another organism in this planet that follows the same pattern. Do you know what it is? A virus. Human beings are a disease. A cancer of this planet. A plague. “


You’d say, ‘I’m not like that, not all people are like that.’

True. But what is also true unfortunately is that, as a community, the above observation is not too far from the truth.