On a fine afternoon at home one
day, I was at the public square anticipating my chance behind the Gas supply
vehicle. 30 odd people across all age groups had put their daily chores on
stand-by and assembled behind the much awaited lorry. The count was well beyond
50 the last time this vehicle had invaded the geography, almost making the
vendor and his 3 ‘vassals’ instant kings without kingdom. They came from
everywhere with empty cylinders loaded on their shoulders, scooters, bikes- unfailingly,
first and foremost trying their luck at the fore end of the some sort of a
staggered queue that had formed at that place, only to be informed by the
vendor and rebuked by the people- “Kahan?
Line lagao bhaiyya”. They’d then sniff for a chance all along the ‘line’,
searching for a Pappu (read
‘acquaintance’) who’d adjust him with
himself, before finally ‘sedimenting’ to their place at the bottom. This went
on like a ritual.
At that juncture, I could not
help recall the numerous escapades at my hostel mess queue in our first year.
Dozens of starved denizens clamoring for space, close packed before the counter
that held the day’s nutrients- fitting, fighting, struggling, grabbing, dodging
and finally evading. Those who managed to get their plates, (without spilling
its contents in an inmate’s pocket) took a seat to savor the day’s
entertainment- watching others repeat the feat.
“This should be declared a sport”, would remark my friend, gesturing to
the mob that would ravage the plate that would get replenished and robbed of rotis in precise spans of 300 and 3
seconds respectively. And if ‘special appetizers’ were on the menu, the
pandemonium would drift to the other side of the counter as well, making the
poor man who sat there and made accounts every day wielding pen and papers,
seem helpless, lost and pitiable.
The scene barely got better in
second year. Perhaps a misplaced sense of seniority imbued in people some sense
of lining up. But there did exist a class of people, with their body mass
exceeding their IQ, who consistently tend to warp, curve and disturb the local
gravitational field, making others waste up to 40 minutes in the mess merely
for the routine task of stuffing their stomachs.
India is a jam packed, resource
starved nation of the busy and reckless middle class. So this seems the order
of the day at banks, post offices, hospitals and other places where you got to
wait for your turn and people seem to be taking Amitabh’s on-screen words- “Hum jahan khade ho jate hain, line wahin se
shuru hoti hai…”, a little too seriously. Anxiety and restlessness often
get the better of us and no one wants to be ‘a decent man in an indecent time’.
Or it’s just the hurry to finish off and get our ass out of the mess. And just
when we feel we’ve done good enough, in comes a distraction, marching straight
to the counter, with some sifarish- inspiring
disdain.
“Introduce a little anarchy,
upset the established order and everything becomes CHAOS”
We’ve come across such Jugaad several times and felt cheated.
Sure, we need some ‘free energy’
to create order out of this chaos, and patience and the habit of queuing up do
not come to us naturally. But these are traits we can acquire. Instead of behaving like headless chickens, we can show some
common sense (which, these days, is not so common) to
ensure things proceed amicably. This virtual rush and hurry, then makes us
resort to malpractices like bribery, nepotism and lawlessness. How many times
have we heard incidents of mob clashes at public places, stampedes near temples,
adrenaline charged fans and violent protesters on a rampage and other such
avoidable mishaps, causing valuable property to be ‘Destroyed in Seconds’, where
a little planning and organization could have saved lives?
It’s a small thing indeed, but
promises to make a substantial difference. ‘Everybody seems to have a clear
idea of how other people should live their lives, but none about his/her own’.
The age of revolutions is far behind us. Today it is only by such petty
practices of self-tutoring, self-discipline and self-control that we can hope
to wrought desirable changes at our homes, in our society and the nation at
large.
Well thought out and well written article...
ReplyDeleteThe issue you've raised might seem trivial on the surface, but I think that it points to a much bigger problem, a much bigger pitfall inbuilt in human nature which is -
'In any ideal democratic system,if an individual gains sufficient amount of power; he would exploit the system, no matter how pro-system he initially was.'
This is evident in the mess queue when that body-mass-exceeding-IQ dude, who should have entered at the back of the queue breaks it and enters right in the front as soon as he sees a friend standing there.(yeah! that's power).
On a larger scale, this is evident when our dear politicians, upon gaining political power, begin to consider themselves above the system - a position where no one can touch them and they can exploit people as much as they want.
Clearly, we will have to uproot this tendency from our very natures if we wish to see a change our society and nation.
Having said that, I wish to raise another point.
Suppose I am a person who follows the law, a person who never breaks the mess queue. If everybody else was doing the same then i would have to wait just for 5 minutes or so, which is fine by me.
But as I stand there at the back, I watch all the others around me breaking and entering; being served food before me. I keep on waiting and waiting and waiting, sometimes up to 30 minutes, and all this time my insides are burning with hunger. My aching stomach signals my brain which in turn forces every fiber of my body to break the queue like the others are doing.
But i cant do that. Why? Because i follow the law.
This is ridiculous. How long can i resist? After all I am just a human.
My point here is – ‘It is easy to follow the established order when everybody else is doing the same. However, when there is anarchy all around you, for how long can you remain righteous?’
What do you think?
Point well made.
DeleteLet me try.
It is difficult, I do confess and I tell you it takes a lot to hold on to your codes, to be OK with looking like a fool who chooses to stick to discipline and to adhere to one's principles in times of conflict or moral dilemma such as above.
But to be uncompromising -lets say- in times of challenge and more importantly, to be YOURSELF in a world that is constantly trying to change you, isn't that the ultimate mark of a man?
I think quotes are useless and deceptive but this one really drives me home, although i can't recall the person, it says- "The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of calm and comfort but what he believes in times of challenge and controversy."
And come to think of it, all of this holds and applies for life in general. As you rightly state, this is a seemingly trivial issue. The real life temptations will be far more strong and it is much easier to lose all that you stand for and submit yourself to the prevailing anarchy. But, as my favorite superhero says- "Whatever comes our way, whatever battle is raging inside us, we ALWAYS have a choice. Its the choices we make that make us who we are."
As for our mess, we do have a mutual friend who would be THE ideal example of resistance and righteousness- leading by example. And he tells me he's never felt the weaker one in abiding by the queue. In fact, he says it speaks of his strength!
PS: Of all my friends, I knew you would have the strongest views on this one.