Inhumanity Unlimited: End Of The World?

The still raging mystery of the Sheena Bora murder case is just another reflection of the modern society. It brings out again the erosion of morals, the degeneration of cultures and the fast spreading malaise of depravity, inhumanity and perversion. Ironically, Indian television serials have been decried by many including this writer for portraying devilish characters of grandmas and mothers, but now, these soaps stand vindicated by seeming to show the ‘realism’ in our society. Today’s criminals could be your next door neighbors or people who are a part of your day-to-day existence, and you are at a total loss to anticipate their vile moves that could endanger lives all around you at any moment of time. This is relevant not only to India, but to the whole of modern society across the world. Of course, India with its uncontrollable population and accompanying unemployment is at a far greater risk. 

Of particular concern is the fact that today’s adolescents are emerging as the most dreaded criminals—raping, murdering and plundering. Their mindset has become so atrociously wrong that even terrorists can invade their innards and enroll them as cadres at will. This evil has become so pervasive in India that the Government had to ponder consider and change juvenile laws. However, the menace can no longer be controlled by mere promulgation of laws or rules. They are the largest chunk of India’s population and instead of promising to be the future they are busy destroying the enduring fabric of the country.

Maybe keeping with the degeneration terror has also undergone basic changes in terms of inhumanity and barbarism. It has ceased to be operating on specific targets, but has taken over the charge of annihilating innocent unsuspecting people all over the globe including countries that have no record of terror strikes ever. If we were trying to wish over the horrors of 9/11 by Al-Qaeda or the 26/11 Mumbai attack by Pakistan terror outfits we were not being realistic enough. More lessons in the annals of barbarism had to be learnt with the Taliban ravaging Pakistan and Afghanistan. And then to the most dreaded terrorist organizations, the Boko Haram and the ISIS—the very names inspiring fearful chills down your spine. The US did in fact kill Osama Bin Laden, but even deadlier monsters than Laden have multiplied in the meantime. 

All limits of inhumanity or barbarism are being crossed nonchalantly creating milestones of cruelty at every step. Who could forget the massacre of innocent children in Peshawar making it the worst terror strike ever to happen in Pakistan? Who could forget the massacre of innocent people including women and babies in Assam—a state of North Eastern India? And the horrific details of the ISIS or the Boko Haram, unfolding every moment? A monstrous competition seems to be raging on trying to break the records of barbarity set by one by others. And just imagine, some people in our society are ready even to welcome such depraved deeds by demons.  

Some say that the mythical Kalyug or the age of downfall is at its last phase and that demonic acts are only likely to worsen leading to the shattering climax. So then, is the end near? There is no end of forecasts setting date after date for the Armageddon and the resulting total destruction. The end of the world soon? 

Test Cricket: India Finally Manage To Break The Jinx In Sri Lanka!

India under the young Test skipper Virat Kohli finally managed to break the 22-year no-win jinx in Test Series hosted by Sri Lanka defeating the hosts by 117 runs in the third Test today thus winning the Series 2-1 after wasting a huge opportunity in the first of the three Tests mostly dominated by them. In the first Test at Galle a win for India seemed only a formality when a dismal bout of batting ensured a win for Sri Lanka. In the third Test in Colombo India put Sri Lanka on the mat setting a huge target of 386 runs and capturing three vital wickets for 67 runs at stumps on the fourth day yesterday. They needed to capture 7 wickets today for a series win in Sri Lanka after 22 years, but their bowlers again showed the haunting lack of penetration for most part of today with the scare of Sri Lanka either drawing or even winning the match and the Series looming large. However, at the last moments of the fifth day Ashwin came back to capture 4 wickets ensuring a win for India. In the second Test India won hands down by 278 runs giving the first ever Test victory to Kohli as a captain. Ironically, it was after the second Test that the legendary Sri Lankan cricketer Kumar Sangakkara decided to retire from test cricket and in the third Test without this mainstay of batting, wicket keeping and all-round leadership India could not capitalize to a desired extent upon the hosts.

The third and the final Test match between India and Sri Lanka in Colombo has proved to be the best one with the series level at 1-1 prior to it, both teams staging fight-backs from tight situations, tails of both teams wagging and the match stretched to full five days. Sri Lanka gave India an advantage too by opting to field first after winning the toss—maybe because playing without the assured presence of Sanga after some years. However, India struggled to make 312 and in reply Sri Lanka struggled more, but finally able to reduce the lead to just 111. India struggled again and finally managed to reach 274 setting a seemingly invincible target of 386 runs. And finally on the last day today Sri Lanka could not prevent India from creating history by breaking the jinx. Virat Kohli has an away Series win under his belt now. R Ashwin who took a total of 22 scalps was rightfully named the Man of the Series. Unfortunately, Ishant Sharma got a 1-Test ban for his undue aggressiveness on the field and so will miss the first Test against South Africa. Well, if Australians are aggressive it is only natural, when Indians do, rarely though,  it is an offence! 

For India Dhawan, Kohli, Rahane, Rahul, Pujara and Sharma scored quite a few runs each. However, the consistency was lacking with almost all making  big individual scores in one outing followed by flops in the next. Of course, India had the disadvantage of playing without the service of their regular openers—Dhawan and Murali Vijay. Dhawan could not play after a century in the first Test. Vijay played only the second Test. Ravichandran Ashwin’s ten-wicket haul in the first Test went in vain, but Ishant Sharma’s improved line and aggressiveness gave India something to hoot for in the near future. For Sri Lanka too the batting lacked consistency except for the glorious 162 by Chandimal in the first Test and some good scores by Mathews. On the bowling front Herath’s performance in the first Test was memorable with some aggressive bursts from pacers Prasad and Pradeep. Next India go into the home series named Gandhi-Mandela Series against South Africa starting end of this month. There will be three T20s, five ODIs and four Test matches with the first T20 starting on 2^ndOctober and the first Test starting 5^th November in Mumbai. 

Nostalgia: The Golden Habit of Book Reading!

The late sixties to the late eighties—the golden period for us as far as the habit of reading book is concerned. For my father the period started from around the early forties. Rightfully, my father and we children were termed as ‘book worms’ by family and friends. We used to coil up wherever and whenever possible with books—books of various nature ranging from detective novels to heavy non-fiction in mostly English, Assamese and Bengali. We can hardly forget those golden moments of reading—on a fresh morning in the veranda armchair or reclining on the sofa in the drawing room or half inclined on the pillow in the bedroom or on winter nights after supper inside the warm quilt with the table lamp burning. On Sundays my mother had a hard time getting us on to the table after serving lunch. My father had the usual habit of trying to finish a book on a single sitting and we also tried to imitate him on various occasions. Thanks to my father’s childhood we favoured English classics a lot and were desperate to procure those from all possible sources apart from the huge home reserve of classics built up over time.

My father was in the civil service and it was transferable. Therefore we were used to move from town to town every two or three years. Coming to a new town our prime focus was to locate the public library. Normally my father took us two brothers there and we were never happy with two membership cards insisting on four and getting them due to his support. Almost at every weekend we brothers used to walk up to the library, returning the read books and searching all nooks and corners for newer ones. Back home we used to display our treasure of books enticingly enough knowing that father would soon hover over them. He would select and pick one and retire to his favourite place to devour. We would contend ourselves with the rest for the time being with our sisters also joining in now.

Those days it was not easy to buy books even though the price was much lesser, because earnings were also very less, and our father, being an honest officer, had only his meagre salary to take care of everything. So we tried to save out of our daily pocket money to save enough to buy books later; we used to cajole and beg ‘able’ family guests to take a trip with us to the book-store and once there we were bolder to get our demands through; on our birthdays or any special festive occasions we used to request, depending on opportunities, the likely visitors to gift us only books.

There was such a ‘book-reading bond’ with our scholarly father that whenever we managed to buy a book we used to show it first to him and if he preferred to devour it immediately we let him to do so waiting for our turn with a happy and joyful heart. Even my farmer grandfather and half-literate grandmother were avid readers too. When they visited us they would normally join us reading books at every opportunity. During the time when grandmother came to live with us a crisis of sorts was building up. She was devouring books at an alarming rate and we were running out of our stock of books. Since that time we brothers got employed outside the visits to the public library became far and less. So often we would discuss the problem with our mother how to solve it!

I remember one particular book-store in a particular town. Not having enough savings at the time and enticed by a whole new series of exciting books I went over there with my bicycle quite often. I would always ask the owner for a particular book and try to demonstrate by leafing over that I really intended to buy it. As the owner got busier with other customers I would proceed to the corner of the counter and read the book then and there. I would finish it in about two hours if I was lucky and would return the book with a smile. I repeated the exercise many times and the kind owner never showed any suspicion. Maybe he knew and was amused or maybe he did not suspect genuinely.

Now your mobiles, iPhones, tabs, laptops or desktops and the 24-hour television channels hardly give you enough time to read books. Whatever little or more you may read now it is invariably on the electronic screens. Many of you may have already left the habit irreparably behind. Personally I would buy a book with all pristine excitement planning to read it coiling up in my favourite corner, but would not succeed for days on end. However, it is such a beautiful experience that everyone would like to come back to it now or later, I’m sure. Members of the present young generation should first try to realize what they are missing out on before getting hooked again to their gadgets. For me the nostalgia is just overpowering.