The Massacre...

Dear Friends,

Its been ages since I blogged and a lot has happened in the interim period.......my exams, for instance (and that IS a lot!!!!). But now all that is behind me and I am back to what I love most....writing!

If there's anything in the recent past that has affected me more than anything else, it has to be the disaster wreaked by the suicide bomber at Virginia Tech last month. I know its a bit late for me to be writing on that now. Nevertheless, I will add my humble two-pence to the story. 32 people dead (including the killer himself) and so many more injured, it was something that took almost the whole world by shock.

Just imagine.

A student who spoke to her parents the previous night saying everything was fine and she was very happy with the way her studies were going and same with life in general at Virginia Tech. And next day, those parents get to know that she's gone. They'll never see her again, hear her voice again........

Just imagine.

A group of friends who met, planned a get-together on the pretext of combined study. And before they know it, their plan is blown up just as their bodies, into innumerable shrivels, the bits never to be out together and the plan, never to materialize..........

Just imagine.

Professors in the staff room, huddled over a desk making course plans, setting timetables, preparing test papers or simply chatting over some tea/snacks and the next thing they know, they're gone......just like that........in a fraction of a second......like clicking your fingers.......

Just imagine.

The pally twosome walking around the campus cheerfully talking, gossiping, laughing and fighting.......and then bidding goodbye across the ground not realizing that its the last time they'll be doing so or worse still, one of them suddenly seeing the other going up in flames and smoke........

Just close your eyes and imagine all of these................................

The physical damage that has been caused is definitely very costly. Loss in terms of infrastructure, damage to the lawns, the building, etc can be seen and felt. But infinitely more serious damage has been inflicted on the survivors and their mental and emotional stability. The ones who went up in flames suffered for a nanosecond and before they could realize what was happening, they were gone...forever. But the people they left behind were, and indubitably still are filled with a deep sense of loss and a shock that'll continue to haunt them for life.

The parents of the deceased, their close relatives, friends and acquaintances are bound to be consumed by grief but even those they may have never known, the common man like us, is terrified by the event. The prospect of sending a loved one away from us (more so for parents sending their children abroad) suddenly seems frightful.

In the midst of all this comes a second angle to the tale. The killer - Seung-Hui Cho. A person who was subjected to neglect and at the same time made an object of ridicule, who eventually succumbed to his own insecurities and decided to take away a few dozen other lives along with his own. However much we sympathize with this lad (though I must admit I don't in the least), the premise can't be a legitimate one for an act such as this. Whatever it was that egged him on to perform this disgusting act was surely not laudable.

If anything, he was a psychopath who shrouded his instability of the mind by a veil in the nature of a complex insecurity cast upon him by his colleagues at the university in one of the two ways - neglect or ridicule. And he played this trump card making it the supposed motive of his cowardly act.

Whatever the reason, friends, a massacre is a massacre and nothing can justify it. What's done is done and all that remains is a charred legacy of the height of a sadistic psyche. The tragic sight of the bombing will remain with the witnesses and always remind them of how narrowly they escaped, how ruthlessly their colleague had behaved (misbehaved rather!!) and how tragically they had lost their friends.

This post is a prayer for those poor shattered souls that are up in heaven now and for their families who grieve for them and feel a deep sense of bereavement. Amen.

A tear-jerker this one, hope for a happier post next time. Till then, from Slo, this is Tally-Ho!

The deadly fangs of Terrorism!

Terrorism......the art of spreading terror......yes, I call it an art because an art is anything that is possessed only by a few people and I wonder how many people would be daring enough to nonchalantly fool around with the lives of scores of innocent people.

Terrorism......the menace of modern times.....something which makes people unconsciously wonder just as they are leaving their homes to get to work or college or school or wherever as to whether they would be fortunate enough to get back home in a single piece....whether they would ever be able to stare into the face of their loved ones again.

Terrorism......the violent and unreasonable chase of few people to achieve something even they have no clear idea about....something out of which their gain is marginal and yet, what is at stake is their life and the lives of their near and dear ones and the lives of million others.

Terrorism......a wild goose chase for an abstract goal, a gruesome establishment of one's power, a cowardly display of disgraceful nerve/guts/courage (no...not courage....I can't insult that term!), a mark of shame to a nation, a warning for darker tomorrows to the world...........

Terrorism is nothing but spreading unabated terror indiscriminately...........Terrorism is not just about waging wars and fighting fierce battles.....it is an everyday battle that is to be fought by every human being. It is the battle of the mind......against fear....which is why people think twice before stepping out of the safety of their homes....it is a battle that people win everyday and yet, a battle that they are scared of losing eventually.........

Earlier, it used to be a pleasurable experience to pick up the newspaper in one hand, flip through its pages soaking in the previous days events while sipping a steaming hot cup of tea with the other. But nowadays, each day, the newspaper is the same.....some bomb blast somewhere, thousands dead and millions injured......I doubt if people can still take in their tea while reading through reports of such gory episodes....I, for one, can't....and that has nothing to do with the fact that I don't drink tea in the morning!!!!!!!!

Jokes apart, what is our world coming to???? Why are there people out there who get immeasurable joy out of creating discord and disharmony among people and nations???? Hasn't the world learnt from its violent past???? Have the lives of people become so insignificant that they are mortgaged against the minuscule wants of an irrational section of our society???? Isn't there anyone who is answerable to the victims and their families???? Or is it that the ones who are answerable are themselves searching for answers?? Are there no answers to these questions???????

Too many questions?????? I know, but all of them have deserved answers for long enough.......and each time they've been carelessly pushed behind other "more important" issues and left to be tackled as and when the "time comes"! And when will the time come???? I guess everyone knows deep down, whether they accept it or not, that the time has come......not only to answer the questions but to act.........

Its time we realized that we've had two super-destructive World Wars already and the last thing we need right now is a third one. Because this time around, people seem to be more intolerant and hot-headed, the weapons are much much more destructive than what was used in the past and all in all, what is at stake is a lot more than what was at stake in the 1030s-40s. We've survived two World Wars but there are many signs pointing to the fact that should there be a third one, an amicable pact is a far cry.....a near impossibility.....

Let's all sit back, shut our eyes and think for a while......Is this what our forefathers envisaged for us when they fought wars?? Is this is the legacy we want to leave for the generations that are to follow ours???? Then let me tell you, if things go on the way they are now.....there won't be a generation to follow us. The situation is grim, the future....dark all the way.

But again, there's light at the end of the tunnel.....and our aim should be get there as soon as possible. Somehow, I feel that the trouble is in our mind. In my opinion...and mind you, this is only my opinion.......our ancestors, when they fought, fought for peace. And they fought principally for moral purposes.....of course, exceptions have always been there....where we had a Mahatma Gandhi, we also had a Hitler. Where we had a Roosevelt, we also had a Napoleon. But essentially, the ultimate goal was always peace. But today, even the goal seems to be blurred. Half the people fighting their lives at the battlefront do not know what they are fighting for. They have no clue what's going to come out of the war. They fight because they get paid for it...it feeds their family and so they fight.......What is the use of such a war????? People are fighting singularly for their own selfish wants. And if these wants are not satisfied after the war, they will not hesitate to wage another war....and another...and another and the cycle continues.

Its a pity really that we are all witnesses and victims to this modern day war....an everyday war.....each night, we can only thank our stars that we are alive and pray for a similar tomorrow. Unpredictability and uncertainty looms large over our heads at all times. At this time, a poem by Thomas Hardy comes to my mind......it was part of our syllabus in grade 11 I guess....a poem that I always liked but one that holds special meaning to me now that I’m speaking of wars and terrorism........

The Man He Killed
by Thomas Hardy

Had he and I but met
By some old ancient inn,
We should have set us down to wet
Right many a nipperkin!

But ranged as infantry,
And staring face to face,
I shot at him as he at me,
And killed him in his place.

I shot him dead because--
Because he was my foe,
Just so my foe of course he was;
That's clear enough although.


He thought he'd 'list, perhaps,
Off-hand like--just as I-
Was out of work--
had sold his traps--
No other reason why.

Yes quaint and curious war is!
You shoot a fellow down
You'd treat, if met where any bar is,
Or help to half a crown.

*************

How True!!!!! And how unfortunate!!!!! I guess the poem says it all.......War....a meaningless exercise which does a lot of damage and causes a lot of loss.....damage that's irreparable and loss that's irreplaceable.

So, it's time the warring agents put on their thinking caps - and sensible ones albeit!!!! - and decided to give the world a chance to recover its lost glory....leave behind a legacy of good sense, consideration for all and eternal peace instead of miscalculated haste, unreasonable decisions, hatred and discord. In Michael Jackson's words......."Heal the World.....make it a better place...for you and for me and the entire human race. There are people dying, if you care enough for the living...MAKE A BETTER PLACE FOR YOU AND FOR ME!!!!!"

Enough has been said on this for today..probably instigated by the blasts in Mumbai yesterday.......So, signing off now.....

More Later....Till next time, from slo, this is Tally-ho!!!!