The Veneer of Religion and Democracy

‘Ma’am, I am very very upset … Yeh ho kya raha hai?’ I heard a student addressing two teachers, right in front of the Department room. It was the almost 12.30 the start of lunch time. Not wanting to intrude, I attempted to walk past them into the Department Room, while getting into the room, I glanced at the student and one of the teachers catching my eye looking at me said, ‘she is really upset …’. I stopped and looked at her bespectacled face, clutching her books tightly, almost as if shielding herself. She now looked at me, ‘why is the Government not doing anything … so many people are dying’ she asked me. She was clearly upset.

‘Oh, if you want the Government to do something …’ I offered, ‘it’s easy, they’ll just ask you to remain at home and assure you that as long as you do nothing, you’ll be safe at home … they’ll protect you’. ‘But what about the people being killed …’ she insisted. I realised the teachers she was talking to, had by now, disappeared. Was I left alone to ‘fend off’ the ‘concerns’ of the student. Were they just her concerns. The gory images of rage, revenge and rampage were bound to sear impressionable hearts and minds. The wanton social media, fake and or forthright was bound to set off physical and mental anguish and angst.   

She stood there, eyes peering at me through her spectacles. ‘what is the solution … to all this?’ she persisted. ‘Think of … this as an accident’ I suggested. ‘An accident?’ she shot back. I realised, I’d need to tread cautiously. Sounding smart or condescending would it help? ‘yes, an accident’ I continued. ‘I am walking on this road, keeping to my side of the road, quite cautious and safely, and hardly a few steps forward, I am hit by a car … What should I do? What should the Government do? …’ The quizzical look on her face, was hardly assuring. ‘At times …’ i added, ‘I imagine that dictators in the past were accidents … in History … costly accidents’. ‘Sir, are you saying what is happening right now is an accident?’ she asked almost in disbelief ‘am really not too sure …’ I whispered.  

‘It all sounds senseless, especially in times like this’. I continued, ‘Sir, what is the solution?’ she persisted,’there must be some solution …’ she trailed off. ‘Have you been to a beach?’ I asked, ‘beach?’ she repeated, ‘yes, sea, ocean … beach’ I offered. ‘Ji, yes … Marina Beach …’ she replied, clearly curious. ‘Look at it this way …’ I began, “have you seen the huge waves near the beach, they are almost constant, the noisy waves hit the beach recede and return …’ the look on her face, was hard to describe. ‘Have you noticed, the waves are always near the shore … and it is not too deep near the shore’ i kept on. ‘yes, we were able to walk into the water …’ she recalled. ‘Perhaps … our sense of Religion and our conception of Democracy could be like the waves … all noise and fury, incessant, mechanical and hardly voluntary …’ I deliberated, ‘and .. am not sure if you ever had an opportunity to sail into the deep ocean … unlike the noisy shores, it is just so calm and quiet … there are no noisy waves and the deep waters are hardly disturbed by weak winds. We are shallow people’ I added looking right into her eyes. ‘Cowards, shallow folks, unwilling to venture into the depth of things … and therefore most of us are condemned to be caught up in the tumult and noise, and accidents …’. ‘Religion … Democracy … and a lot of other things are for most of us  … mere cosmetics … they easily wear off …’ I went on. ’Want to catch a bite, we are almost done?’ one of the teachers shouted from inside the Department room. ‘oh yes …’ I said and excused my self.