A Mother of 20 at 30

                                 We learn, we earn , we yearn. A bank account with 6 digit balance. A new house under construction. A car exchanged for a new one every 6 months. A shopping mall a week to while away the time. A group discussion at a friend's house - hot topics- London Olympics, New car designs, Latest mobile phones. All these describe a common life course of a young adult. This did not strike me abnormal until i witnessed a different hold on to life. It was a saturday afternoon. We were awaiting a guest at home. I am even ashamed to admit that I was borderline biased  about the charity organisations and was not eagerly awaiting them. We were setting aside things UNUSED for their USE. A young couple with 2 children came inside. Slow and steady, transparent and unbacked by purpose was their conversation. The young lady  was an employee in an IT firm, quit her job for a real purpose. Her husband, a forest officer was the bread winner. They have 2 children of their own and 20  other children they have adopted for education. The children were not orphans, but the children of daily wage workers and tribals who never went to school. They said that they had a really hard time convincing the parents into sending their wards with them for education. To bring them out of their dogmas, to ward off the feeling of inferiority in those children and instilling a spark of confidence should have been a mammoth effort. We saw the 2 children she had brought with her. Brightly dressed, cheerful and definitely confident were those young men of about 10 years old. Though they wanted to have a maximum of 5 children for this purpose, they couldn't stop the parents from bringing in their children at times. She was their cook, teacher and mentor. Her husband, a strong supporter, infact the initiator. I couldn't stop envying the match- the most beautiful pair I had ever seen! They shared a common purpose. What they said was this,"  Relationships wrought by birth are always there for a celebration but not when it comes to sharing the sorrows and joys of life." Though this is not a generalisation, it is a well known fact. She showed us some of their pictures. Her own children were 2 among the 20. I saw a God particle in there! 

The negligence of an insignificant man!

      As much as indelible consequences arise out of direct actions, they also arise from indirect unseen actions. We can endlessly go on quoting the recent examples- the child who fell through the hole in the bus, the Bihar bore well pit incident.. and so on. Who is to be blamed is the million dollar question. In a country where we do not have clear job descriptions and proper division of responsibilities, these mishaps can never cease. And more than the dents in the administration, the common man holds responsibility too. Of course within his reach, within his territory, where he need not bring in the role of the police officials or the politicians, unless he has the material and man power to tackle the same. And it is too much of an expectation that such a man with that amount of power should be concerned about these issues. So, let us have it as a hypothetical situation. The butterfly effect one should have been aware of or at least heard of (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butterfly_effect) gives much insight into this societal aspect as well. When we imagine us as a part of a society, however strong we are, however educated, well off, intellectual, we are unable to see the kinetic and potential energy we have buried within us. And what masks it? The arguments that we have lost? Unfulfilled wishes creating a false impression of a feeling of uselessness? Domestic inefficiency? Academic underachievement and so on. These shrouds shall be removed not by the awareness or solution to the problems, but the awareness that all these hurdles are not actually masking these apparently hidden competencies. They are made so and we learn to assume so. Now, relieved of the first obstacle to an ideal living environment, what else prevents us? Sane Selfishness can only divert you more into achieving this. So, that is no longer a tangible reason. The knowledge of what has to be done in a situation is vital in determining if the action will be made or not. It is a general tendency that people get to understand and do something about a problem when a solution is easily available. What I can relate to, is this.  Physicians can readily diagnose diseases that they have understood and for which they know the treatment. ( Do not be suspicious of your doctor if he doesn't diagnose your problem ). It is the human mind's natural tendency- "You see what you know". And all this blab definitely has something to do with our topic too. Rather than  the question, "Who is responsible for a mishap", asking " who and what all were responsible for the mishap" can lead to reasonable solutions. The exact sequence of events can never be tracked. But the possible complications with a structural setup can always be predicted and avoided. Let us take an example. The child who died following a fall in the bore well pit- Lot of rage in the media slamming every administrative personnel and the parents, and people praising the militia . What has been done about it? The worker who drilled the pit should have said he was not aware of the rules or regulations set by the firm or he was not being provided the material to close the pit or he was overworked. The bore well firm should have said that they always gave standing instructions to the workers but it was them who never followed it. The supervisor should have said that he was supervising elsewhere and man power was inadequate. The local people can very well say they were not aware of the fact that the pit wasn't closed or they never expected the child to have been allowed to play there. The area Councillor  can be questioned if he is available. He is busy preparing explanations for the previous session's questions. The chief minister says it is the responsibility of the minister for safety ( Do not be shocked if he says that the  bore well dug near his house remains open   too). The minister of safety now takes a partial responsibility and sets up a council to discuss on the safety measures already being followed at industrial sites. The concerned MD is being called for an explanation.      ( On how much he can spare for not being prosecuted). The council adds and deletes a few words on the safety measures and distributes it in a new form to the industries. All the workers are required to know it by heart and being given an exam on it. ( That is too much effort now).  Companies stick posters in the workplace. There it ends. What has the common man to know from this. Do we now know whom to call in case such a thing happens near our locality? There lies the refusal to assume responsibility and the negligence to assign responsibility. Say if they announced in the media- Call your nearest ___ in case you see an uncovered pit and he has to see to it and if he does not attend to it in 2 hrs, call ___, imagine what a change it would have been. The core problem in us lies not in the problem itself , but the hesitation to look for solutions. After all, it is the negligence of an insignificant man and who wants to make a story out of it !!!