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Humanity without boundaries, Love without Borders

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Visiting the “Genocide Museum” at Kigali was sobering. The pain the nation, communities, families, and individuals went through, and the millions murdered was beyond comprehension.   Seeing the museum, with all the pictures and videos of atrocities perpetuated by one community against their own brothers and sisters was disturbing and confusing. How can brothers and sisters kill their own?  But then this is true of many nations, including my own.  What encouraged us was – the national leaders had the vision to put the brokenness of their own nation, out there in the public as reminder for upcoming generations. Yes, the past is painful, but it must be openly communicated so that we can learn from our mistakes and not end up doing it again.  But then, many other nations too have created such memorials. Cambodia, Holocaust museums, Bosnia, and such others. Friends who have visited these locations told us, all these have something in common. These nations had the courage to put the inconven
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Violence of Love...

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Sixty-five nations around the world are currently in a familiar season that recurs every 4 or 5 years. These periods are characterized by distinct patterns, which can be summarized as the ABCD season. A – Assassination: During this time, assassins metaphorically roam about seeking ways to assassinate people's credibility and character, particularly those from opposing camps. The powers in authority utilize all means to achieve this, while those without power often voice their concerns, hoping to be heard. Fake news and media manipulation are rampant, aiming to sway the masses through distorted information.   B – Benevolence: Every leader portrays themselves as benevolent, showing care and compassion, especially towards the less fortunate or those whose allegiance they seek. Stories of their sacrifices for community betterment abound, and there's a noticeable flow of funds in various directions.   C – Confusion: The general populace and communities become understandably confused
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Virtual realities of life...

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A casual conversation with a car driver and a friend in his early 50’s.   “Saahbji, a few years back when some baby is born or a marriage occurs or something like that happens in my extended family and friends, we will go with a small present (We do not have much) but spend time with them. Today, I do a video call and pass some money by G pay and tell them, but a present for the child or whoever it is”.   “I have only one sister and she stay in the same city. Earlier I would go and meet them at least two or three times a month, take some food or chocolates for her children. We still have a good relationship, but in the last one year we haven’t met face to face. We have video calls and I pass some money to her to buy chocolate for their children”.   “There was time when I used to look forward for the board meetings of our organization. All the members will drive and come, and while the meeting is going on, we drivers have a great time together, and we became close friends, even our fami
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Audacious Audacity

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I learnt a new phrase today (or rather coined). “Audacious Audacity”. It is like “double whammy” – a situation in which two bad conditions exist at the same time or two bad things happen one after the other.  But amid this, people have the audacity to have an audacious belief that things will work out fine!    There is a beautiful story in the Good Book. A meeting between a prophet and a widow. It goes like this… "Some time later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land". “So the Prophet got up and went to Zarephath. As he came to the entrance of the village he met a woman, a widow, gathering firewood. He asked her, “Please, would you bring me a little water in a jug? I need a drink.” As she went to get it, he called out, “And while you’re at it, would you bring me something to eat?    She said, “I swear, as surely as your   God   lives, I don’t have so much as a biscuit. I have a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a bottle; you found me scratc
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Smouldering wicks

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Traveling on Indian railways is always an exhilarating experience. Flights can never replace the joy of train travel. And with the massive upgrade of the railways, it is better than ever before. The new facade of the railway stations, the colorful lights, and the ethnic architecture are worth admiring. The new trains and the upgrading of the old ones, with new colors and pictures, are great to see. Vande Bharat (VB), the most recently introduced one, is sleek and cute. But once you enter the station, it is still the same or better than before. Crowds are more than ever, almost a stampede at times, a 4-hour wait for the VB to arrive and a 7-hour delay to reach the destination, the waste from the previous run pushed into one corner of the train (there was no time for the turnaround trip), the large beautiful bio-toilets, but left un-flushed by the previous occupant, the automatic closing of the doors, etc., give you a mixed feeling. That some things never change. The uncertainty of trave
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Will my house stand?

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Recently, it dawned on me the seriousness of the matter: that I should consider my life as a house being built. I could choose any type of brick to build it—gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay, or straw. Some are costly, heavy, and take effort to procure and build, while others are easily available, not too heavy, and easy to handle. But I am expected to choose the best. I am expected to keep building it until the last day of my life, when I will be given the house to occupy. I knew this earlier, but I never took it seriously.    Looking back, in some seasons, I had money, time, and resources to choose the best material. In other seasons, I had to use whatever was quick and easy because I did not have the time, money, or resources to go for the best.   However, I did not know that before I am given the house back to occupy, there will be a structural stability check by a team of civil engineers. The tool they will use is fire and storm, the storm will check the foundation, and the f
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Fortresses that we build...

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Traveling, I came across this fort. Well-built, for the defense of the Kingdom of yesteryears, this would serve as a stronghold for the King and his team. “A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region  during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin fortis ("strong") and facere ("to make").' We have moved away from such stone age structures. Now it's more drones and barbed wires, not just against enemies, but also against those who ask uncomfortable questions. To keep unwanted brothers and sisters at bay. But then there are others who do not have the power or resources to build forts. Those protecting themselves from the powerful who want to take over their land, for economic interests, must find other ways to protect themselves and their land. We see this in different parts of the world including some parts of our own na
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