Thank God It’s Almost Friday

Soosidal Thoughts

This week has been a pretty hectic week . It has also been a very sordid week with a spate of “Soosides” hitting the headlines just as bodies were hitting the water off the Worli Bandra Sea Link . This gorgeous bridge which is the pride of Mumbai has witnessed a new phenomenon – people jumping off to meet a watery end. Earlier this week we had a business man’s body come ashore at Dadar’s beach after he jumped off while later on this week he was joined by another hapless citizen .

It’s MY life to do as I please

What drives people to do such things? A small nick is painful enough and the thought of killing yourself is even more so. Yet there are hundreds of people, young and old, hale and hearty who are driven to this last stop in life. Late last night Arnav Goswami was discussing the suicide of a young airhostess who was allegedly driven to suicide thanks to her misalliance with a Haryana Minister. While I do feel sorry for the young girl surely she was not unaware of the risks involved of dealing with a married man, a Minister and a person from Haryana? Without meaning to be jingoistic or racial, it is unfortunate that a profile like this is only courting disaster. Yet, I am sure this girl like the two other persons were well aware of what they were doing, were aware of the consequences of their action both pre and post suicide and would have told any counsellor or advisor ” Lay off man! I know what I’m doing! It’s my life and I want to live it my way!” Unfortunately they chose to end it their way which is not really acceptable in any society.

Can life really be so hopeless?

Surprisingly, the answer is Yes .

We all of us come into the world alone and go alone but along the way we meet a hundred souls. These people come into our lives to help us, teach us, nurture us and stimulate us. They also drive us to distraction with their impossible demands, the erratic ways and their eccentricities. They drive us to despair with their unreasonable, abusive and impossible behaviour. There are also situations like terminal illness, mental instability, depression or sheer loneliness that can fuel feelings of being inadequate, non-useful and unappreciated and unloved.

Urbanisation with its emphasis on individuality and finding oneself often leaves you alone in a crowded room. However much people may deny it, the family is a sobering influence and people who are disconnected from their families either physically or mentally face this disconnect from life even more. Eventually we all come with our own destinies and our own Karmic Stories which we have to live out . But at the same time we should remember the immortal words :

No Man Is An IslandNo man is an island,
Entire of itself.
Each is a piece of the continent,
A part of the main.
If a clod be washed away by the sea,
Europe is the less.
As well as if a promontory were.
As well as if a manor of thine own
Or of thine friend’s were.
Each man’s death diminishes me,
For I am involved in mankind.
Therefore, send not to know
For whom the bell tolls,
It tolls for thee.
John Donne

Our actions cannot be seen in isolation.

We create ripples as we go.

Our lives are not our own to lead

The way we simply want to.

There are people who made us what we are and those who helped us on our way.

How can we forget what we owe them?

Our responsibilities? Our duties? Our gratitude?

For all those misguided souls who think otherwise and those poor people who took their lives –

May you find the peace you sought in death what you so desperately could not find in life.