Karrots Play Home

Driven by hunger! – Gulshan Rewari

Today while going for not –so-early morning walk, it was past 8.30 am, I came across two young squirrels running around, one chasing another. They never took a breather, hopping on and off the track several times before vanishing into the tall greenest grass. I wondered off too, but not before the incident set my thoughts racing, contemplating about what would be the subject of my blog that day.
I often wondered how I was the victim of the lack of ideas striking my mind lately, but today I had no such complains what so ever since my encounter with the young, innocent, often unnoticeable creatures encroaching humans territory, or is it the other way round. I noticed little something in the mouth of the first squirrel that was so earnestly being chased, and I thought aloud if that was the cause of such a flurry of activity between the two. Food- is it all that matters to them! Not just them but to all of us breathing mortals! Isn’t hunger the root cause of our endeavors? We may not like to agree but it all started that way for the mankind hundreds of thousands years ago. The urge of hunger for food is still the strongest of all the urges and the main cause of all our endeavors. Hunger is associated with food, as greed is with money and power, lust with s*x and so on.
We have confused hunger for food with lots of other milestones such as success, love, wealth etc. I fail to understand when someone says, ‘he/ she is hungry for success, powers etc.’ If I over satiate myself with food, I more or less feel guilty of overeating and wowing not to do it again. Can the same be said about success or gaining power? Nobody complains of over achieving success.

Someone must notice the legs of a rickshaw puller. They resemble that of an athlete, who couldn’t get a chance simply because he had to satiate his and his family’s hunger. Simply put we have to help access people get their two square meals daily for them to concentrate on anything at all. It’s the duty of the government to fulfill the basic needs of the ordinary Citizens before it expects them to contribute to the society or nation building and be converted to the extra ordinary one.
For all the blogs by me kindly visit the link below and revert with your honest feedback. I would be grateful. Thanks!
https://www.blogger.com/u/2/blog/posts/3130151902722909403?pli=1

Mynah 🐦 v/s Mrs. Sudha – by Gulshan Rewari

(Images and references courtesy: google search)

One day Mrs. Ritu Sudha noticed a couple of Mynahs sitting on the air conditioner unit, mounted high on the wall in the verandah, outside her bedroom. She immediately crossed her fingers in delight, expecting some good fortune to descend upon her as those were her favorite birds. Ever since her childhood, she had strongly believed the superstition, ‘One for sorrow, two for joy,’ and undoubtedly counted upon it. But as she saw littering of straws and leaves around the place, almost immediately her feelings turned negative and she realize the obvious. She went to investigate the unwanted visitors, fluttering about all over the verandah, like they were making an annual inspection usually required at the onset of summer season in northern India for the AC service. On sustained observation, Ritu’s worst fears came alive as she discovered that they were in the process of building a nest on the unit. But to be absolutely sure, she mounted on a wooden stool and stretched high on her toes and saw the birds, particularly the one smaller in size and probably a female, carefully weaving a nest of twigs and straws, while the other was feeding it with the constant supply of raw material. Struggling on her toes, she couldn’t hold on for long and quickly dismounted to the ground with a thud as her feet entangled in the nightie she was in. She cursed under her breath and hurried inside, looking for something to scare the birds away, vowing to teach a lesson they will remember for life.
Myna or Mynah, as it is commonly called in India is an omnivorous bird with strong territorial instinct that has adapted extremely well to the urban environments. It is one of the most invasive birds that had just about met her match in the equally stubborn Ritu, who was now looking at ways to dismantle their unfinished abode. After weighing in countless options, she returned with a long handled broom, and placed it over the unit to scare the birds that kept coming back repeatedly like they were going to attack. After some lull in the activity, when she thought to have managed to convey the message across, the bird, together with her partner, kept moving the broom little by little until it fell down. Frustrated Ritu sought other remedies while barging in and out of the verandah and muttering under her breath. Witnessing something amiss, tall and lanky, Mr. Ravi Sudha couldn’t resist his curiosity to inquire, and got instantly sucked into the matter. Now both of them were exploring ways to get out of the situation that had presented itself that morning. Ravi’s morning tea was dependent upon finding a quick fix to the problem at hand.
But nevertheless he tried to reason with his wife, ‘I thought this was your favorite bird.’
‘Not if it is building a nest and making a mess of my verandah,’ she snorted back.
‘But she isn’t alone, her partner is with her and you would see them every day,’ he reasoned.
‘No way can I have them create a nuisance at my place,’ she said with finality, gesturing with her hand to dissuade her husband from making any more argument for it. Mr. Sudha understood that this pair of birds would have to breed elsewhere and pretended to help her in whatever she was doing.
Originally, a nursery rhyme about the number of magpies seen, tells if one will have bad or good luck. As the superstition goes;
One for sorrow,
Two for joy,
Three for a girl,
Four for a boy,
Five for silver,
Six for gold,
Seven for a secret,
Never to be told.
Eight for a wish,
Nine for a kiss,
Ten for a bird,
you must not miss
Eleven is worse
Twelve for a dastardly curse.
The whole poem, barring first couple of lines, was of no consequence to Ritu, who since her childhood was a firm believer of sunshine horoscopes, numerology and fortune teller tales and their remedies. If she had heard that bird’s nest in the house was inauspicious then so be it and no one could challenge or change her beliefs. After few of Ravi’s suggestion were rubbished and shown way to the dustbin, she called up her mother and dissected the whole issue with her in detail. Putting to use her mother’s advice she got on the stool once again and sprinkled the unit with turmeric powder, red pepper and some other herbs and waited behind the pillar. Ravi, getting hopeful for a cup of tea which was a necessity with his morning paper, requested politely that he would keep vigil while she prepared the tea inside, but Ritu was having none of it that morning. ‘Can’t you wait, don’t you see how important this work is?’ she shouted, while peeking from behind the pillar to see if her trick was working.
The birds were taken aback for few minutes, inspecting and smelling the impediments that lay so elaborately spread out their way, but soon settled on the unit to wipe everything clean with their feet and resume the construction of their new home. Ritu, who was by now shaking uncontrollably with rage, sprang out of hiding and ran wildly towards the AC unit with her raised arms to scare the birds away. But the determined birds would fly off for a while and again get back to their task high on the unit, leaving fuming Ritu to her misery below. She stood there brandishing a long wooden rod, discouraging them from doing their task but at the same time being extremely cautious of not touching and damaging the unit. The sun was beginning to beat hard on her soft skin and it was becoming increasingly unbearable to stand there and keep waving the rod like a flag in the stadium, without being ridiculed by the neighbors. Ritu left the battlefield dejected and miserable to step inside to the comfort of her bedroom and plan her next strategy.
Ritu phoned few of the staff members of her now shut school owing to the nationwide lock-down on the account of Covid – 19 pandemic. By evening some suggestions that looked promising, were acted upon and items like black paper crow, a stuffed monkey, (full of dust) belonging to her son’s infancy years and a fake egg were collected from various nooks and corners of the house and placed on the AC unit while the birds were away. Ritu felt glad when she went out in the morning to check to find all items intact on the unit and the birds absent; and the lucky husband got his tea that morning with the newspaper. Ravi wanted to comment that day as well but decided against it realising fully well his views on the matter wouldn’t be tolerated. He was anyways content that his morning tea was served without him being bothered in any way; but somehow he wasn’t convinced that the matter was done and dusted as yet.
Ravi was jolted out of the depths of his newspaper when he heard an alarming commotion outside his bedroom and he leapt towards the verandah to witness the adamant birds, now in the company of their friends, being helped to slowly push the fakes down the unit one by one. All of Ritu’s dreams of the securing a victory were being shattered with bang and she grew out of control shouting at everyone around in hope to scare the birds away. Two of her neighbors ran inside, confused and terrified of her behavior but not the birds that were quickly getting rid of everything placed there to commence their activity. Indoors once again, calls were made by Ritu and new tenders invited for the complete dismantling and decimation of the invader’s abode. Many plans and strategies were discarded and new sought from her friends and family members but all the while Ravi was kept out of the consultations.
In the end when nothing measured up to Ritu’s expectations, Ravi suggested something she was forced to consider as it made perfect sense. Suspicious still, she examined the idea with her mother and friends and only after being given a go ahead by them, she decided to implement it. Two of her peons were summoned from their homes and upon their arrival, a big ladder sought from a neighbor to climb up and measure the gap between the top of the unit and the ceiling. Once that was established, card-boards of that size were searched by all concerned in and outside of the house. With cues once again from Ravi, two empty shoe boxes were pressed and glued into the gap leaving no space for anything living or dead between the AC unit and the ceiling. Now there was no way anything could be built there and everyone left immensely satisfied and relieve at the same time.
Ravi’s efforts and ideas bore fruits and he was treated to some delicious meals in the following days by Ritu, whose victory was glorified by her relatives and friends and her resolve for all things important in life were appreciated immensely. She subsequently started to accompany her husband in the verandah for morning tea and occasionally glanced towards the AC unit to make sure of her victory.
“I feel bad that I didn’t allow them to settle here, but the dwelling in the east brings bad fortune. I wish they had chosen the back unit instead,” she lamented one morning sounding dejected. Ravi was tempted to say something but decided against it and just smiled. In the times of the lock-down, people were always indoors but lot of Ravi’s time was spent in and around the verandah particularly at the dawn and dusk and he noticed something intriguing.
It was when the clouds, were being as adamant as his wife, in keeping the Sun from being out on the horizon, Ravi noticed a mild movement around his AC unit. It was followed by a faint sound of flapping of wings and there in an instance emerged a beak out of nowhere from behind the unit and from a tiny space between the unit and the wall it was mounted on, flew a Mynah, swiftly disappearing into the dense surrounding of the neighborhood. Ravi let out a small cry and hurried on to inspect the site that had appeared so calm till moments ago. On studying very minutely, he detected a small hole plucked in the shoe box from where the bird had appeared. It looked like the perfect game of chess where clearly his wife was checkmated all ends. The birds had cleverly used the opponent resources to house their new family. After being certain that the mynah had laid eggs that had probably been hatched by now, Ravi leapt toward his chair before his unsuspecting wife could lay the tray of two tea cups thereon the table and pretended to admire the cloudy weather. Ritu looked little apprehensive about the nervousness of her husband but didn’t make much of it since he was quite odd in her eyes anyways.
While sipping on his tea and hiding behind the newspaper, Ravi went into a deep thought as to what should be the course of action to counter this new development. The daily stomach bulging feast, sweeten by pampering, was on the line. Moreover the calm prevailing over the family during the pandemic was a welcome change for him and his two children who were also surprised with the sudden generosity of their mother. If he didn’t do anything about the situation, sooner than later his wife would notice the presence of the birds and turn this serenity on its head into a storm.
He sat thinking for a while and then blurted, “Ritu do you know the whole poem about Mynahs.”
“I don’t and have no interest in knowing,” said Ritu, little surprised at the sudden topic.
“But I googled it and learned that more than four of these birds bring in Gold and Silver as fortune,” declared Ravi, who wasn’t ready to give up so easily.
“No I have had enough of these for now,” rebutted Ritu, who wasn’t having any of it.
Ravi remained calm and showed her the poem and explained to her that if they had let the birds nested, they could have called good fortune upon themselves. Ritu reluctantly agreed to the fact that whatever she had done wasn’t quite right and wished none of it to have happened. That day was the most difficult to pass as Ravi decided to wait till the next day to break the news to his wife. At night he again lamented the events that had occurred in the last few days and brought Ritu to agree to regret her deeds.
In the morning Ravi waited patiently under the AC unit for the bird to emerge while Ritu was in the kitchen preparing tea. He patted the unit lightly with the wooden rod to stir things inside the shoe box and soon a parent hopped out of the hole to make an inquiry. At that moment Ravi, in hope to break the story, shouted to beckon his wife. Before Ritu could approached he exclaimed, “God has listen to our prayers and guided the birds to make the nest here in this shoe box.” He excitedly showed her the birds and hugged her tightly hoping to deter her from making a scene. Ritu was too stunned to react and got carried away with her loving husband’s display of affection and slowly but surely embraced the situation. She reclined to the fact that God had mended her wrong doing and although she had lost the battle of jealousy and hatred, she had won the war of good fortune and peace.

Excelsior English Academy: 9992025844, 9468417154
Online English Speaking Class: For students of all classes.

• Develop strong base in English.
• Study English Grammar in practical manner.
• Learn to think in English.
• Speak English Confidently.
• Add new vocabulary.

A ride to forget- by Gulshan Rewari

‘Jharia, Jharia,’ shouted the lithe helper of the approaching tracker jeep, swerving uncontrollably over the bend on the busiest intersection of Dhanbad, before coming to a screeching halt. Sc****ly clad, in ganji (vest) and shorts, he was majestically mounted barefoot on the tiniest of space on the foot rest at the left side of the vehicle, by balancing his right toes on it and beckoning the passengers frantically as if there was an emergency of sorts. His posturing and waving of the arm resembled that of a seasoned politician or a mighty Nawab acknowledging his subjects. The crowd, comprising mainly of coal mining workers both men and women, begin to stir a little in anticipation as to who would get to make the trip to Jharia, situated 15 km away. Jharia was a large coal field initially that grew into a robust town full of business activity, thanks to the purchasing power of large pool of employees of various coal mining companies that were later nationalized into Coal India Ltd.
The Jeep looked full to me with people sitting tightly in the three rows without doors, and also crammed up on the two short stools facing each other at the back. As far as all of my fifteen years were concerned it shouldn’t have stopped there because it was completely full. Leaping out, right in front of me from the yet to fully stop lopsided monster, the arrogant looking khalasi, (helper) gestured me, “Come on,” his eyes stern and glaring and voice breaking. Not much older than me, he was full of swagger and raw gestures which I declined instantaneously and took a step back to give him a clear signal that I was not least bit interested. He moved to others, grabbing them by arm, one by one and pushing them into the newly created spaces by serving flurry of instruction to those already seated, to move a little left and right, front and back. He even sorted them according to their size and gender to optimize the space utilization. Some reluctant passengers were pulled out from one place and ushered to another in the cabin and they all obeyed him as if he was their master; not one resisted or argued. He must have doubled his fare with ease and beaming with pride as if he had won a battle, gestured me one final time to join in. Sensing my disapproval, slapped the side of the jeep to indicate to the driver to move on and in no time the stop was cleared and I and few others were left to wait for the next one.
The scene was in the summer of 1983, at Dhanbad’s busiest Chowk called Bank More from where numerous cycles, rickshaws, overloaded buses, cars, trucks, jeeps and trackers passed each minute. Amidst the fierce sun, the deafening traffic noise of the late morning and unbearable black dust that defined the atmosphere there, an unruly circus of sorts made me sick with disgust. Our Handloom shop was right on the edge of the T- point where Jharia Road bisected the Chas Road. If one counted the small gully on the forth side then it was a proper Chowk where extortion (rangdari) gangs were most active. Every driver halting his vehicle there had to make a small payment to the gang member stationed there before picking or dropping their fares. How these ruffians were identified in the crowd, as they wore no different clothes from the rest, baffled me at that time. They openly displayed the currency notes in their palm such as one sees at petrol pumps and with bus conductors, as if the exercise was perfectly legal. They called it the ‘Protection Money’ and boisterously announced repeatedly that if paid, they would not be harassed by anyone there. It was like the famous dialog of the megahit Hindi movie ‘Sholay’ in which the main villain, Gabbar Singh, calls upon the villagers to shell out grains and food items to feed his gang in return of the protecting them from himself.
I think it was the fourth or the fifth tractor that lured me in, not because the condition was any better but because I got the seat with the driver and the long slender gear rod prevented the over cramming of passengers there. Thus began my first shared ride on the single but wide road full of ups and down like it had caved in at some places. I would be told later it was because of the extraction of coal at those places. It gave the feeling of riding in the hills which I always enjoyed. Although there were frequent designated and unscheduled stops, the driver would speed up like there was no tomorrow. As soon as someone said or gestured to stop, the helper would slap once on the side and the driver would swing the mass to the left and hit the brakes without a care or scare of the following traffic. On entering the town, the road became narrower and the stunts bigger. People sat with bated breath and never uttered a word even while an approaching tracker from the opposite end would come dangerously close, and their drivers separated the two overloaded bodies of scrap in the swift maneuvers while exchanging a devilish grin. Sometimes the helpers would clap high five and exchange quick information regarding a damaged road or a new rangdari gang active in the area. Thus after loading and unloading of passengers, gas filling and running an errand or two in between, the journey of 15 km got completed in about 45 minutes.
The trip could have been worse had one Rangdari goon not agreed to the amount being paid and had the two kurta-pajama clad gentlemen not intervened to stop the commotion that irrupted suddenly and grew out of control. The henchman began to lift his T-shirt and appeared to withdraw what looked like a revolver. The passengers became as stiff as statues when he began to shamelessly brandish the gun, shouting choicest expletives at the driver. The two gentlemen positioned there by luck (or design), settled the matter and facilitated the exchange of cash and blessings between the two and put the vehicle on its way. An easy calm descended upon us in anticipation that our journey may soon be completed.
Although I enjoyed some rash driving myself but this kind of close encounter created upheaval in my chest bringing my heart to the mouth and I gasped for breath. I hadn’t anticipated anything like this and I was quite crossed at my salesmen for not warning me about such a trip. At my stop, acting to adjust I gathered myself and swore never to undertake a shared tracker ride in Dhanbad again.

Fog - by Gulshan Rewari


Walking through fog, see the trees so calm.
Houses ponder to provide warmth to the occupants.
Animals appear serene from the human cruelty.
Everything feels and absorbs the Mother Earth.
Mystery manufactured around life, explodes into simplicity
And the basic prevails over the complicated.
Be kind, be human before the mist lifts.
Sometimes we need fog to see clearly.
Just as we halt running to catch a breath.
Just as galloping to success we need to pause and stretch our back.
We are not some data points to be plotted on the graph
We should balance our act and not only our sheet
Lest we be consumed by life before we live.

Environment is our baby! - By Gulshan Rewari

We are created by our surroundings, our environment or Nature as we call it! But our perpetual abuse has left the environment vulnerable for our future generations. Humans have impacted both diversity and the quantum of animals and plants by spreading his foot print. From coral reefs vanishing beneath the oceans to rain forests being turned into savannahs, nature is being destroyed at an alarming rate. The oceans are spurning and expunging plastic, rains are lasing the deserts, floods are replacing famines and vice versa; there is sheer chaos and unpredictability with respect to weather today. Who is responsible for wiping out thousands of species from this planet and making it a living hell; the mighty human!
Man is spreading like a wild fire on Mother Earth and wiping it clean of breathable air. He is murdering the weak and fragile ecosphere with all his might and not even repenting. What more horrors must be unleashed by him before everything wilts and becomes irreversible. All the progress that is being made by the mankind would come to naught if our children and their children cannot enjoy our Nature. We must pause and take corrective measures before it’s too late.
We must adopt the environment as our baby and protect it as any good parent would. We should be concerned if someone tries to harm it and do everything possible to stop him from doing so. But to justify any such acts to discourage others from spoiling or polluting our environment we must set an example ourselves first by respecting it. The onus is on us to curb its degeneration any further and nurture it back to its full glory. Jai Hind!

Don’t throw the baby out with bathwater! – By Gulshan Rewari

Today a handful of politicians are controlling the lives of billions of people and are adamant on deciding their fate. They think that they are some kind of incarnation of God who can change the lives of people in their country and catapult their lives into some glorious future. The country or rather countries that are in focus here are Iran, North Korea and Venezuela. Someone like the President of the most powerful nation on Earth, happens to believe that in order to bring the leadership of these countries on its knees, he must subject their people to starvation and misery by imposing economic sanctions. He is hoping that the hard pressed and frustrated public would revolt and overthrow their leader. This theory is based on the modus operandi that in order to kill a Lion you must first kill all its preys so that it (the Lion) starves to death!
Dangerous situations are prevailing in various countries today, where the governments of the day are framing laws and policies contrary to the founding principles of their constitutions. They think if the people have elected them than they can do anything. Brazil, Lebanon, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Turkey etc. are some of the glaring examples where people’s voices, no matter how important, are not being heard. Whether you agree or not, whether you act according to those contrarian opinions or not but it’s the duty of every government to listen to its citizen with empathy and explain its position patiently.
In India too, some confusion has been created, leading to nationwide protests marred by violence in some cases, over the newly passed act called Citizen Amendment Act (CAA). Although it has been passed in both the houses with majority, it is the duty of the government to explain to the people, its content and intention so that they don’t fall prey to the rumor mongers and disrupt the social plurality of our Nation. The need of the hour envisages the government to explain the act fully without omissions to the general public and assures them that no one would be mistreated because of it. People are wise enough to understand their benefits.
Lot is being done by the politicians worldwide for advocating and following the idea of anti-globalism. The narrative is being clubbed with ‘Nationalism ‘and ‘Nation First’ theories, leading to false sense of patriotism and it agonizes those who oppose it by labelling them as ‘Anti-Nationals!’ We mustn’t forget that the destiny of millions of people cannot be controlled by an individual or handful of people but only God who has created us. If anything the UN must be made more effective and meaningful to decide international matters concerning various nations.
Let us not make a case of throwing the baby out with the bathwater, through our politically motivated interests and create solutions to the problems that are not there at the first place. We should only repair what is damaged or broken like our environment or our egos. Jai Hind!

“Hair Transplant is against Body Shaming.” –by Gulshan Rewari

Body Shaming, meaning criticizing oneself or others because of some physical trait of appearance, is growing into a colossal epidemic that is engulfing today’s youth. Be it television, films or various social media platforms, protagonist often exploit their mane with swagger and superiority and rubbish those without one. Similar are the conditioned opinions, cemented through generations and cutting across all sections of society, that a full head of hair signifies virility and athleticism. These myopic views on baldness are playing havoc on the psyche of people, particularly men.
The issue of body shaming has traditionally been a female concern, but lately the focus and the stress is somewhat shifting on men too. One is often told through left-handed compliments, to alter appearances and hide their so called ‘imperfections.’ Receding hairline and baldness jokes are doing rounds all over in the parties, cinema and multiple social platforms, such that, jokes apart, going bald can be a hair-raising experience! ! Those who experience hair loss are losing more than their hair. It’s common for them to over-eat, reduce their physical activity and become socially withdrawn leading to lower a self-esteem.
Interestingly majority of hair loss sufferer women who themselves are able to wear wigs and hair extensions, wouldn’t like to date bald men trying the same tactics to camouflage their baldness. These stereotypes makes men miserable particularly those who internalize their feelings. So what can come to rescue at this junction and catapult them back to their prime self- Hair Transplant!
Hair transplant may be viewed by some to be an enabler to body shaming, I regard it as a remedy that can restore self-esteem for the people who choose it. Just as people have liberty to choose branded and designer clothes to look good and others have gyms to exercise and be healthy and fit, bald can take solace in hair transplant. It provides a sense of security and a permanent solution, brings back spring in the stride of the recipients and beat the blues of their baldness. Those undergoing hair transplant, reap many psychological benefits that significantly boost their confidence, sn*******ng them to exuberance and improved general health. It gives them renewed impetus to lead life with vigor, which they are so entitled to. Although nobody should choose hair transplant under duress of meeting someone else’s expectations but it is well within their rights to feel good about themselves and bring their jest back in life.

Fear Factor - by Gulshan Rewari

People live by love mostly, whereas I live by fear! There are different emotions governing different people, be it love, passion, compassion or even hate in some cases but the central and most defining factor in my life has always been the fear factor. From having a fearless nature like every child, I went on to acquire ‘I damn care’ attitude as an adolescent, and indifferent to fear in late teens but I have never lost sight of fear. Even while getting married I suddenly donned the cap of a cautious individual taking on my martial duties. With the passage of time I grew a new family while still bound to old one and each moment saw me develop an over cautious approach to life. With time I turned into this scared individual who was afraid of almost every situation. My enthusiasm to try new things in life was overcome by some invisible fear. We humans somewhat latch on to tinniest of thing to stay afloat in life. While some people rely on their virtues like honesty, courage, talents and Love to carry out their missions and ambitions of life; fear somehow chose me. It’s said that fear is the strongest emotion as it is tied to human intuition.
I’m inclined to think that fearful situation and circumstances are on the rise. As our population grow, urban spaces expand and people’s resources stretch, there is growing uncertainty about things going out of hand any time. People are on the road to nowhere, to attain no real goals, clinging only to the manifestation of something called success which to me is dreadful and scary. Peoples are waiting for things to fall in place somewhat miraculously after hearing promises of good times by our politicians. They have been impressed upon, endless times, that their best time is about to arrive so much so that they have forgotten to live the present. And now with this millennium age and generation, the patience is running thin. They want instant and positive results to enhance their living standards, to reduce the gap between rich and poor and to get basic services like health care, education, clean drinking water, 24* 7 power and good infrastructure, as it has been promised for ages by our leaders. The situation may be calm now but it can suddenly turn to chaos…
Road rage incidents are on the rise, suicides among different sections like farmers, students, and even civil servants are on the rise. Joblessness, bankruptcies, especially of the small business, are on the rise. All the unpleasant things that should be bottoming out are rather becoming gigantic with time. There is this restlessness gripping our young people which must be curbed before it explodes into something dangerous. We all are in grip of materialism. The reigns of Nature are somewhat slipping in modern times and people, especially children have started living in virtual world, so aloof and alienated from reality that may sometimes think of their relatives and even parents as strangers. Children today would look up every query from the net rather than real people and therefore when confronted with some real, physical problem they may fall line nine pins. Not only they hurt physically so easily, but they scar mentally quickly as well.
Can we not teach our kids that a car or a sports bike is not a symbol of success and that walking doesn’t represent poverty? There is a dire need to teach our children the importance of observing and feeling things around them. They must express freely the real issues and emotions with their near dear ones and not be confined to a cocoon lifestyle. But before educating them we as elders should resist from clinging to hand gadgets themselves or pretty soon that’s what would be only left in our hands. Let’s explore the surrounding and spend quality time with our family, devoid of Mobiles, Laptops, music devices including Bluetooth and Wearable ones and undertake activities of yesteryear like picnics, family vocation to relatives and friends and road trips to create an everlasting bond between the family members. This togetherness breeds love and harmony and alienates hate and fear. Let’s celebrate life and dispel fear from it.