Irony of Life

Image Courtesy : NDTV India

Ufff....finally I am posting something after nearly 50 days. After lots of travel over the last few weeks I sat down to post this last week only to find my broadband cable split and dangling. (Muck Fe!!:P). Thanks to my manager who surprisingly has got little work for me this week and also for not reading my posts(:P), I now have time to blog from my office. A lot of travel over the month showed me few things that we won't generally know in our daily lives. These few things that I would be mentioning, unfortunately have nothing to cheer. The first one being the pathetic plight of a few flood-victims and the second being the unanimous cry by the autowallahs of Bangalore for justice (which I would mention in my coming post.)

Of the worst-affected areas hit by flash floods was Kurnool. We have seen the horrific videos and images 24*7 over the media and I am sure all have been generous in lending a helping hand in whatever manner we could. A close family friend of mine happened to be one of the victims of this disaster. A couple of incidents he recited about the situation shook me violently and left me in an even more helpless situation than I was at the moment. The first being when his home was surrounded by 10 feet deep water in a couple of hours. Having taken refuge on the terrace the inmates of the home and a few others were desperately waiting for help which luckily arrived only after 4 hours and when the water almost touched their feet on the terrace. A boat with a couple of guys driving it was looking for survivors. The boat could take 10 at a time. But one could enter only if he was worth it. Yes, you read it right. Only if he/she was worthy enough was he rescued. The boatmen were generous in lending a helping hand but as always man's greed for money never ceases even at the time of death. It was a barter system. My friend had to give away his wedding ring and his wife gave away her mangalsutra for their lives. He recollects how he even hand to surrender his chain to save another man who unfortunately did not have enough to satisfy the boatmen's greed. He recollects this was the case in many places. He saw people left behind over roof-tops, trees, electric poles though help was at their door-step. The only thing they could trade with the boatmen was their lives, which they ultimately did. Neither was he nor I able to decide whether to thank such men or detest them. Does such men require a round of applause for their generosity or a thorough beating for their greed?

The flood waters receded leaving behind further woes. The tons of silt deposited was enough to swallow even the tallest man around. The Government had setup help-centers. He recollects that Rs.1000 being lent for house renovation. Though it was a meager amount people didn't miss it. The classical mantra 'Something is better than nothing' was the norm. Most of them must have lost the house documents in the flood waters. The only document the Government trusted to help people was the good-will of the people. By the time my friend reached not only was his amount taken by another man, the entire colony's amount was given to a single man. How was an amount more than Rs.1000 given to a single man by the issuing Government servant is no mystery. It's another classical rule, you give me more than I deserve, I give you a share in mine. It comes back to the first classical rule 'Something is better than nothing'. The entire colony was at a loss and the clever man expectedly was no where to be seen. I don't blatantly say this was the case everywhere, but the very civic sense of man has been destroyed by man himself at times by his own creation, being wealth. God created man, man created wealth, wealth created greed and greed destroys man. I know a couple of you guys are eying my ATM card and bank account after reading this. Please stay away, I am not greedy, I am just cautious at times :P

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