The week that was...
There's still a day left to it but I thought it couldn't be too different from the others...
This is how it went:
First the row started by one of the communities (Gujjars) in Rajasthan who want to receive the 'Scheduled Tribe' status to avail of the quota benefits ('affirmative action' in India where Scheduled Tribes (STs), Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Other Backward Classes get preference in education and jobs). It's an extremely politically sensitive issue here (as it would be anywhere in the world I suppose). But Rajasthan, an otherwise rather peaceful state, burned for a week. Some 25 people killed. The Supreme Court of India called it a 'national shame', not that it would've been otherwise if the Supreme Court hadn't said so.
The rioting had spread to the borders of Delhi too. As I took a right turn to my office on Monday, I found the road blocked by policemen. So I took a detour. Some colleagues couldn't make it too work at all. But the work went on without really anyone being able to pay any attention to the events outside. By the evening we heard things were better and that a truce had been called. And as I drove back home I saw remnants of a burnt tyre and thought how disconnected, how uninvolved, I was with what was happening. It's like we're living in different worlds in the same country. And then I got caught up in traffic and forgot about it.
The day before was very upsetting. I reached home at about 10.30pm and saw my sister standing outside the door trying to feed something to one of the stray dogs near our house. He kept crying and couldn't move. It was a pathetic sight. We called some 10 numbers but none had a 24hour service. Finally found a number of some guy who's not studied much but is fond of animals and has learnt 'veterinary things' on the job. He gave two shots of pain killers to this poor little dog and we put him in my car and drove some 35kms away to a hospital. There the vet looked and said "suspected rabies", we'll have to put him to sleep. I asked if he was sure and he said they'll keep him under observation for 2/3 days. By the time I left this duration was being referred to as 1 day and I had a sad feeling they'll put him to sleep the minute we turned our backs. But the dog was immobilized in the lower half and seemed so much in pain that I wondered if that would be better for his own sake. I didn't have the heart to call again to find out what happened...
Last night I picked up a book of short stories in Hindi and read a bit before sleeping. Was reading a Hindi book after such a long time. Was refreshing to take in a new script. Before sleeping I promised myself that I'd swim in the morning today with a friend but all that happened this morning was that I instead swam in a small pool that was new to me; warmed up with funny dances before plunging in; people asked me if they should wear a cap for they had long hair; didn't remember what I answered; found the pool being in the basement was rather dingy and depressing; and finally figured out it was a bloody stupid dream when I started swimming the fly…
Today was rather unexciting except that the weekend feels closer.
Lying on my desk are 'Three Colours Blue' and 'Jeux Interdits', both of which I think I'll be returning to the library without seeing them.
Well somewhere in the middle of nothing I managed to read Amy Tan's 'The Joy Luck Club', which was mesmerising...
2 comments:
I'm saddened to hear of the dog your sister found, but thank goodness you did what you did, even though you feel it was insignificant, you saved it any more suffering.
Your tales of home are frightening, as I know nothing of your world but what I read here, until I stop and think of the land I call home and the human atrocities that are played out each and every day and they aren't so very different...perhaps worse in some ways.
Evil is a global epidemic and does not discriminate, just as peace and goodness can be spread worldwide, I would like to believe. Perhaps I am naïve? But I do understand complacency and wearing blinders disguised as rose-colored glasses in order to forge ahead with a normal, peaceful existence, in a world that sometimes seems to be collapsing around us.
I hope your weekend is blissful!
Tell me of your daily swims…
Thanks for your thoughts Jill. Naivety or not, I think I'd agree with your take on the universality of peace, goodness and evil. They may of course come in different shades, different contexts.
On another tack, it's not all the bad here really. I perhaps have a tendency to paint a darker picture! Maybe a trip down here someday will help you make up your mind about it? But as far as compassion towards animals goes, I think this could be rated as one of the worst places in the world really!
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