Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Only A Surviour

I have been staring at the monitor for a while now, wondering what to write. No where to begin. There's so much that I'm itching to say. So much that's been happening. MT would have perhaps labelled this as Random Crap and be done with it. I can't somehow agree with that title, even though at the end of the it does seem an exercise in futility. Sign. It's one of those days.

More than 30 people died in the twin blasts in Hyderabad. One of the sites, Koti, is where we go to buy second hand books for cheap. We were there last week. And yes, we went to Gokul Chat too. A week ago.

I read this news report, about a victim. A man, who had taken a deture to get a snack for his wife, who had been fasting. He lost his life in that blast. I wonder how his wife will ever get over the incident. The last line of the story, quoted her saying that their son, just in the first year of his college, will now have to take up a job to support the family.

More than the man, more than the wife, I felt angry for that boy. He'd have had plans. He'd have had dreams for his life, which he now has to put on hold, probably forget about altogether. Why?

Whenever there is a blast, an act of terror, everyone harps about the victims. The pain of the survivours. And the compensation given by the government. But what are a few thousands going to do to help this boy? Unexpected death. That term makes no sense to me. When do we really ever expect to die? His father would not have planned to die that day. He'd have had obligations, liabilities. Promises made, and meant to be kept. All that now on that young boy's head. He'll learn to cope you'd say. Yes, we always do. Probably a few years from now, his proud tearful mother will say that her son grew up, and took the family's responsibility after his father unexpected death. And he'd probably smile. But will he ever forget the dreams that he buried along with his father's body? He could have been great, but now he'll only be a survivour.

Where terror wins is that it leaves a void where there was a person. It leaves a blank noice where there was laughter. Tears will dry. And people will move on. But lives will be altered. Forever. They don't take lives, they take dreams. And no Mr. Minister, you cannot compensate that with money.

13 comments:

Pavitra said...

Well life is about compromises...the only differentiating factor is how you make them.

mathew said...

really sad..life is never compensated with money..this incident will be forgotten soon..just another statistics..

these dumb terrorist should rot in hell..it is simply heart wrenching to hear such incidents..

unforgiven said...

I understand your thoughts, and feelings.

Unfortunately the only thing that can be said is simple.
Shit happens.


There are six billion people on this planet. I think we'd be okay if one didn't get to accomplish all that he really could have.

crumbs said...

@ prude,

Somehow I still feel it shouldn't be. Rather it needn't be.

@ mathew

"just another statistics"
thats the worst. For them, it's their lives, and for the rest of us, just a statistics. Must be a horrible fate, to be reduced to a mere number in a list.

@ unforgiven

that'd be one way of looking at it. When there are six billiob people in the planet, we'd be okay even if one billion do not get to accomplish all that he/she really should have. But then, for that one person, it'd have made a world of difference.
And it is unfair that he/she or anyone for the matter, should not get a chance to live life on their own terms, just because there are so many of us around to replace them

unforgiven said...

Did you just use the 'f' word?
Child, life isn't fair. This world isn't fair. Hell, very little around us actually even close to fair.

So, yes, it is unfair. Can anything be done about it? No.


Good morning.

Anamika said...

i need time off to think.....really..

Anonymous said...

No random crap this...

Serial,sequential,planned crap at taking lives and rducing the living to a bunch of broken dreams..

but life goes on...it has to..
survival of the fittest..

ToOothlEss WOndeR! said...

i had packed my bags and locked teh house to come back to bangalore when an uncle died.
He had carried me around as a kid, and put me to sleep with stories at night.
I did not get on that bus that day, and carried him to his pyre.

All that you said about lives changing - those apply here too.

But I saw that death doesnt change too much - that the "uncertain" future is only as uncertain as it would have otherwise been.
That people move on and get behind the wheel in days.

(I refuse to be terrorized, you mad bastards! )

crumbs said...

@ unforgiven

Sigh! I sense another fight coming up. Do you HAVE to be so patronizing??
I know that the world is not fair. Doesn't mean that it'd stop me from being any less happy about it.

I have no great illusions bout changing the world with a blog post. That was an observation...that the world is unfair in more ways than we think of.

@ Vrinda

guess we all do :)

@ MT

Life goes on. Always. But I'm not sure if this is survival of the fittest, or of the luckiest anymore.

@ toothless

Wow. You still amaze me.
I'm sorry for your loss. I admire the way you look at it.

You are right. Death does not make the uncertain future any more uncertain than it already is. But you just can't help wondering "what if". And that sucks...at some level

D said...

It's a good read but only a good read. Perhaps, it helps in venting out, more like what Rambert does initially (The Plague - Camu) but the truth is another of such blast will happen, someone will write about it and then it will become another post. Perhaps the intellegentsia needs to redefine itself. Hold on....why only the educated, morons like me also need to rethink. Afterall it could have been me in that blast.

Anu said...

well they do report it as he is survived by his yada yada yada right!!!
I dont think u can blame the terrorists cause all they want to do is to terrorize, money cant get his life back but it can help ease the pain (read this somewhere... not in quotes though)

dreams can be achieved if uve the will and determination. I know this sounds philosophical but I believe that life changing events happen and is called so cause its life changing. From then on u chose to get busy living or get busy dying!!! (again some movie dialogue...!!!)

Anonymous said...

Dear Crumbs,
I love reading your blogs. They really make some good reads. However, I wish you wouldn't get so negative at times. Now this is like throwing an open challenge to you asking you to be totally inspirational all the time! Not sure if that’s going to be fair. Do you think I must welcome your blogs as an analysis of human behaviour and just let you post your critiques? And I haven’t forgotten that you’ve mentioned that you’re still in the process of discovering yourself....so I guess, I should just let you be?

Anonymous said...

Oops! The above comment was meant to be for your latest post titled "The Return of the Original Chauvinists." Please accept my humble apologies.