This is an old post written in May but I forgot to publish this... I never realized that it was still in draft status..!!!! Nevertheless, better late than never..!!!
It was a hot day of May.... 29th to be precise. In fact, the entire week had been unusually hot. Generally, Hyderabad becomes slightly cooler with some drizzles during this time but this year it was quite different. As a matter of fact, the entire nation reeled under an unusually hot summer. Naturally, many a news channel carried programmes showcasing the hardships of the oppressed denizens. One such piece was carried out by NDTV on the tryst of the capital's distressed citizens.
The reporter first took an interview of a family from the dingy by-lanes of Old Delhi. It was a family of modest means. The head of the family was a daily wage laborer. The family lived in a decrepit single room house. It was embellished with just a ceiling fan. In this oppressive heat, it is quite but natural to use the fan but more often than not a fan is not enough to cool our excruciatingly hot heads..!!! The reporter was inquiring about how the family beat the heat.. Well, since the family found it tough to meet both ends meet, there was no other option for them but to live in that small dingy room. But the family came up with indigenous ways to fight the heat. They drenched their bed-sheets in water and slept on them. This helped keep themselves cool.
I felt really sad and happy after watching this. Sad, because of the hardships the family had to endure. Happy because the family did not allow their deprivations to come in the way of their cheerfulness and happiness. They were happy with what they had..!!!!
Picture shifted to the next family staying in an upmarket plush colony of New Delhi... And they had a different tale to tell....!!!
The family in question had 5 air-conditioners in their house, one in each of the rooms. Apart from this, the family would hit the swimming pool both in the mornings and evenings to beat the heat... But still they were morose all through the interview. They looked so gutted as though the entire burden of this world was on them. There was not a single cheerful face in that family. I don't know if that was a bit of over-dramatization by the family, but it really irked me on ends.
This contrast of lifestyles once again brought to the fore the glaring differences between the haves and the have-nots. The differences between extravagance and subsistence. I am still nonplussed by the way life is... Someone who has all the material benefits with him is not happy whereas someone who is deprived of basics is cheerful...!!! This again shows that man's wants and desires are never-ending. The more we have the more we crave. This also inadvertently results in undue sorrow, gloom and distress..!!!!
But how would this world change. I have absolutely no idea whatsoever. Even I am one of those who is never satisfied with what I have. I am desperately trying to come out of this vicious and debilitating cycle of wants and desires... BUT HOW...????????????
It was a hot day of May.... 29th to be precise. In fact, the entire week had been unusually hot. Generally, Hyderabad becomes slightly cooler with some drizzles during this time but this year it was quite different. As a matter of fact, the entire nation reeled under an unusually hot summer. Naturally, many a news channel carried programmes showcasing the hardships of the oppressed denizens. One such piece was carried out by NDTV on the tryst of the capital's distressed citizens.
The reporter first took an interview of a family from the dingy by-lanes of Old Delhi. It was a family of modest means. The head of the family was a daily wage laborer. The family lived in a decrepit single room house. It was embellished with just a ceiling fan. In this oppressive heat, it is quite but natural to use the fan but more often than not a fan is not enough to cool our excruciatingly hot heads..!!! The reporter was inquiring about how the family beat the heat.. Well, since the family found it tough to meet both ends meet, there was no other option for them but to live in that small dingy room. But the family came up with indigenous ways to fight the heat. They drenched their bed-sheets in water and slept on them. This helped keep themselves cool.
I felt really sad and happy after watching this. Sad, because of the hardships the family had to endure. Happy because the family did not allow their deprivations to come in the way of their cheerfulness and happiness. They were happy with what they had..!!!!
Picture shifted to the next family staying in an upmarket plush colony of New Delhi... And they had a different tale to tell....!!!
The family in question had 5 air-conditioners in their house, one in each of the rooms. Apart from this, the family would hit the swimming pool both in the mornings and evenings to beat the heat... But still they were morose all through the interview. They looked so gutted as though the entire burden of this world was on them. There was not a single cheerful face in that family. I don't know if that was a bit of over-dramatization by the family, but it really irked me on ends.
This contrast of lifestyles once again brought to the fore the glaring differences between the haves and the have-nots. The differences between extravagance and subsistence. I am still nonplussed by the way life is... Someone who has all the material benefits with him is not happy whereas someone who is deprived of basics is cheerful...!!! This again shows that man's wants and desires are never-ending. The more we have the more we crave. This also inadvertently results in undue sorrow, gloom and distress..!!!!
But how would this world change. I have absolutely no idea whatsoever. Even I am one of those who is never satisfied with what I have. I am desperately trying to come out of this vicious and debilitating cycle of wants and desires... BUT HOW...????????????
