Today, September 30, 2010 was a very different day for me. I got up very early in the morning to reach office as soon as possible. Normally I never made to office before 10 AM. But today I did not leave any stone on my way unmoved to be at office before 7:30 AM. Unbelievable…!! You know way.. ?? Our organization changed our working hours for ONE day…!!...not for fun… there was a reason:
“Our management made an announcement yesterday that Ayodhya Verdict may lead to some “untoward” incident in city, so everybody should come early to go back to their respective places before verdict is announced”
The word “untoward” sent a chill down into my spine for a moment. I fell into my own thoughts, Can something really happen..??.. Are we trying to be over conscious about it…?? …. Thought, thought and thoughts…!!!
Anyways…. where I was?.. Yes…. I left my cozy place at 6:45 AM as I was expecting huge traffic on my way as usual. But guess what… I struggled to get a bus. Few public buses were there but packed to their capacity. You know, I avoid getting into these public buses in this condition, right from the day someone stole my mobile from my pocket. So, I kept waiting for my favorite AC Volvo bus, but I did not see any bus for quite long. Time was running out. I also changed my preferences for a while and decided to take risk of boarding into a packed public transport bus, but no luck. I felt those buses were avoiding me in revenge now.
My eyes were craving to see some source of transport on outer ring road like someone craves for food and water in drought hit area. To cut time I thought of listening to some music on my mobile and started exploring through the albums. I was to choose a latest hindi music album but suddenly I changed my mind and chose a devotional recitation (keeping the current situation in mind).
And suddenly a Tata Sumo stopped in front of me and driver almost screamed something in kanada. I had no idea what he said… I thought.. Maybe he was asking for some direction… but somehow I came to know that he was offering me a “paid” lift..!! Well money is a universal language.. everyone understands it. Anyways, I thought God was impressed with my idea of listening to devotional recitations and sent this vehicle for me…!! Without wasting time I got into it and started towards my office.
Against my expectations I did not see any traffic on my way and it was a smooth drive. Finally I reached office at 8 AM. I called up few of my friends who work for other big IT companies in city. Most of them declared holiday for today. Again, some alarming thoughts ran through my mind but I got busy into my work and forgot everything going outside.
Generally in our cafeteria I hardly find a place to sit in lunch time, but today it was almost an empty hall. A TV channel was telecasting some discussions on Ayodhya verdict. They are doing same continuously since last one month. I had my lunch and left office with same disturbing and alarming thoughts.
I was on bus stop. But same situation, rather worst this time. No buses. There were few which were coming after a long interval. Few buses came but people were literally hanging on the doors. Meanwhile bus stop was heavily crowded. Every eye was looking for a source of transport. I started observing the crowd. One of them captured my attention. He was a boy of my age and surely from some IT company nearby. He was running here and there, giving hand to all vehicles pubic/private. He managed to stop few cars but I guess they refused. Looking at his body language and the whole crowd around me, I really started considering the consequences of any “untoward” incident after verdict. To settle my mind I started listening to some soofi music on my mobile.
After more than half an hour of wait one more packed bus came to the bus stop. It was crowded but at least people were not hanging on doors. So I managed to get into it and got some room for my feet. I just gave a look on people around me and found the same boy standing by my side. After around 45 minutes of journey through a heavy traffic I finally managed to get into my cozy place.
It was 3:00 PM, half an hour before the final hearing started in Allahbad High court. I just tried to conclude my day out. I always thought how a verdict in a court can disrupt things in a city like Bangalore where people are so busy in their work. But first time I genuinely felt a communal divide in some sections of our society wide open. I thought how a few acres of land is dividing our beautiful sub-continent. I wish what I am feeling is merely a chemical imbalance which is caused by the tense environment out there. I should practice what Amir taught us in ‘3 idiots’… “All Iz Well”.
It is 5:00 PM. India’s most awaited Verdict is out and as I just said “All Iz Well”. Judges of High Courts have solved this matter like a family land dispute. They divided disputed land equally in all three parties. From initial developments it sounds like that Hindu groups are satisfied and Muslim counter parts are still not fully satisfied and want to go to Supreme Court. I think all national leaders who enjoy support from various sections of our society should inject positivity in people. This will help our country to unite. One wrong and irresponsible statement will just help to divide us further.
I liked the decision. I think this is the only way out. I personally believe that we should not drag past too much that it spoils our future. I am sure God does not care if people establish his idols on piece of land. But God will really be interested if we establish his idols in our own hearts. Well I am not good at writing devotional stuff, so I will wrap up here.
Looking forward to a better tomorrow. J
