Desert Living -12

Syria : 17.12.2009

 

Let me return to India, I shall get into a fast unto death agitation till the central government announces a separate state of Olavaipe. Development is not coming to my village. As I have been telling through my earlier postings, except three government institutions – the LP school, the ayurvedic clinic and the post office - we have nothing to boast of. Even in these three institutions, patronage is too less. Their survival is in crisis at present. I too need to develop. How long should I work like this? How long should I continue counting Gandhi in just thousands?
 

India has been divided into states, first in the name of language and then, of late, in the name of development. Now perhaps people are making hue and cry to make smaller states only with a view to make their own fiefdoms. Look at Uttarakhand. Madhu Koda, till the other day, was a labourer in some mines. His daily wage was a desperately low figure that never crossed two digits. In a newly formed state, that was formed in the name of ushering in development to the region, only Madhu Koda and his accomplices could develop. More states create more Chief ministers, Governors, Bureaucrats and resultant large scale corruption. Nothing more than this was achieved in the recent past in the name of separate states.
 

By the way, today is ‘Kuchela dinam’. It is believed that this day Kuselan visited his long lost friend Lord Krisha at his palace. Though both the friends differ like chalk and cheese in the case of their financial status, on the ground zero, the intimacy of the personal relation got better of it. This story underlines the importance of relations, especially friendships. Nothing like social status, lack of time or fat bank balance shall stop us from saying a hello to our friends and relatives once in a while. If there is will, there is way too. But remember, no kuchelan shall be entertained if it involves any financial implications, for, we are no Krishnans!!
 

Also, today another significant incident took place in our office. Our construction manager has come to office sharp at 7 in the morning. Let me repeat, sharp at seven. He otherwise never turns up in the office before 8 and invariably leaves the office by 3 in the afternoon. Keeping all of us in the desert camp, he lives with his wife in the nearby city. He travels up and down daily. When he came to site office today, not many of the guys were present in the office. Most of us come to office by 715 or even later. However, I, as usual, was present in the office at 645. Today, for the first time, the boss saw that the office is almost empty when the office is supposed to start. He immediately sent a circular, instructing everyone to be present in the office latest by 7. Look, boss can do anything. He need not be the leader by example. Who will ensure the punctuality of the work force? The boss will never be there to see them keeping the time.
 

Our friend Vincent has a blog spot about the Hindu Religion. Recently he had posted my write up about Ramayanam with the title Ramayana masam in his blog spot. By no way, I have propagated any particular ideology through that write up. I never saw it till now. Recently I had tried on the google to search the name of our village Olavaipe. Then vincent’s bolg- spot was there and my story was the first in that. When I clicked to open this blog-spot, I was shocked. It is blocked here! Whatever be the reason for this, I never digest it. The people whom I came across in Syria so far are very nice ones. They are very simple. Though they are very religious, religion by and large is a private affair for most of them. Thankfully fanatism is not seen so far among them.

 

I could see a special kind of glow in their faces, when I say to the young workers and technicians here “you are so good”. Really these words go straight into their hearts. They want to hear it again and again.
 

As a general principle, good and bad people are existing in every society. Remember, at one point of time, USA was toying with the idea of having peace talks with moderate Taliban elements? Look, even in the extreme and stone age ideologies too, we were able to see something positive! People with exceptional intelligence like George Bush only could identify this.
 

Surely, all angles have not descended on this part of the world and settled down here. They are proportionately distributed in this world. Why the government and the institutions that lead the people can not let winds of various cultures enter their homes through the windows of their hearts? Like China why Syria too fear this? I felt so sad about this. It is unacceptable to the free citizens of any country to let the government decide what we should choose.
 

We can see isolated houses in the vast expanse of lands in Syria. One family lives amidst nothing. Even water will not be available. They fetch water in tanker lorries. A few hundred meters away, there may be another house. Like that I could see three or four houses in this locality. I do not know why they live like this. For everything they may have to depend on the outer world, that may be even hundred kilometer away. Even in a medical emergency, they can never expect any help. There are hundreds of houses dotting the Syrian open lands like this. Do they really care for their children’s education? Don’t they prefer a life in the middle of a cultured society? Whatever be the factors that are forcing them to live here, it is extremely deplorable. They possess weapons for self defense. Every house possesses at least a vehicle. There is no question of public transportation here.
 

Any takers for such a life? If space tourism or a moon walk is not possible, let us have at least a day out in one of these houses.