the pigeon keeper

-- Just a scribbling on a secondary school essay topic... written by so many under 15...

Gandhi was staring at the pigeons before him. The keeper had strived hard to get all the pigeons together to shield them from the lurking dogs. But they fought amongst themselves and seem to have no gratitude towards his act. It was unusual, but nevertheless a fact. It did not bother the keeper; he always wanted to protect them from the external threat. Déjà vu. Gandhi closed his eyes, there was silence in his lips and a deep sense of disappointment was apparent in his countenance. It was the distress of a man who sacrificed his life to save the earth from aliens and then saw the earthlings self destruct. This was happening with India. Then he had looked ahead in hope and now, we were looking back with despair.

In an attempt to read his mind, I was eager to strike a conversation with him. Some moments elapsed, and he was ready to pour his heart out after seeing all the years that had gone by and the happenings they brought along. He started:

“The witnessing of the current state of our country brings a shameful feeling as my first reaction. That was a time when there were men of purity who could have lived their life selfishly and spent a great life. Still they renounced the comfort for the well being of others. There was unity in diversity and people were ready to sacrifice their lives for others. Countless were the number of deaths and the amount of blood our soil soaked, to see the downfall of that flag. I had laid down non-violence as the path for my followers. Today I see speculations about my motive, genuineness, and actions. I do not want to justify my course. You can see it for yourself what the world has seen when men decide to take violence and revenge as their course of action. I did not want any man to go through the humiliation meted out to me in South Africa. Then, every meal was accompanied by great fear. Then I enforced a fast on myself. Now I see it enforced by others. I thought the divide would bring non interference and independence to both of you. I am ashamed of the hatred and acrimony still existing. There is Civil Disobedience between the workers and the government, Non-cooperation Movement between states and countries, Satyagraha for trivial reasons. What have we done to ourselves?”

I too had always felt the same. Despair and pessimism towards the future of our country. We had ruined us ourselves and there was no way we could get out of it.

A feeling of nostalgia surrounded him, as he began recounting about his colleagues:

“What men were they? They had strength of character and a vision to drive our country forward. Our country was so low on infrastructure, modernization and resource management. Yet the Political organism was so powerful and empowered with able men, that we were hopeful of progressing and seeing a prosperous India. And what is the current political state of the country? Corruption, Power game, Black Money, scandals and scams, sleight of hand, double standards… and some greatest frauds that can be committed on people. There is western culture all around us. Brain drain is killing us. The respect for patriotism has decreased. There’s no way we can heave up from this vicious pit. I give up.” With tears in his eyes, he got up to return.

All that he said was true. These were the exact thoughts infringed on my mind and millions of others, I assume. But the moment he gave form to these thoughts, it dawned on me that we are missing a point here. When in dark, all good things come to light by a small spark.. and not by cursing the darkness. We had missed the sparks of humanity and progress that was prevalent in our society.

I interrupted his departure. I explained to him that there was an other side to these things. He gave me some moments to gather myself. All good things came one by one to my mind. Finally I decided to show him the positive side of things. Right at that moment, he started with all the things whirling in my head:

“Post independence, we had a sound political system but our progress was slow. There were still communal riots, divides and disharmony among the people. But as time progressed, our outlook towards life changed. We started developing as a country. Communal harmony increased due to collaboration with other countries. We adopted globalization and modernization as our principles, which resulted in India competing in the international arena. The sound educational framework, incredible business infrastructure, technological and medical advancements etc. could not be overlooked. Today we boast of being a country which never instantiated a war and which never supported terrorism. At the same time, when someone threatened our independence, we showed them our character. The country’s reaction to Kargil and natural calamities is testimony to our spirit and humanitarian attitude. Barring a few who bring disgrace to politics as a whole, there are still many powerful leaders who are striving hard for the progress of our country. Men and women are progressing alike and we are no more chained by superstitions and blindfold traditions. The per capita income of an average Indian has increased and with such a huge population, it’s an amazing feat. As of today, Brain drain is really not a cause for concern, there is sufficient intellectual investment here. As far as patriotism is concerned, a man living his own life in a disciplined manner not giving in to corruption and stagnation, is indirectly doing his wee bit for the country. In a fast paced world, only relevant things need the Human in us. Ultimately, a massive effort to live our lives progressively, added with a little effort to be socially helpful will result in continuous prosperity of our country.”

These were the exact words I had for him. He knew it and there was content in his face. Knowing that I had realized what he wanted me to, he bid adieu saying:“There are many youths still sleeping and I need to go now to awaken them.”

The keeper too was now gone, since the Pigeons were now at ease.

Gandhi faded away and left me a way of thinking, which promised the development of the Self, and hence of the society and the country.

I woke up in the morning to the beaming sunlight.