তোমার টা গুছিয়ে নিতে দেব না (we are not going to let you settle your affairs)

I started this blog some years ago sitting at home during the dark days of COVID-19 when the city of Kolkata had come together in its unique way to voluntarily respond to the return of the menace amongst us. The lock down was not even announced in the March of 2021, but we responded on our own, we shut our shops, we stopped going out, we hunkered down, and we said to the disease, "we will not be beaten." That is what makes the city so unique - we do things because we know what the right thing is - most of the time, the people know. And the people respond. Today, we fight a different disease. Today when we are now trapped in a web of self-interests, greed and the desire for power, I am witnessing the city respond again. The people matter. In this city. Self-interest is now the disease. And it is not new. Even at a personal level, the entitled people abandon others for selfish reasons, and I have seen many such people, for whom we say in Bangla, "যে যার নিজের টা গুছিয়ে নিলো (Everyone took care of their own things)" at the cost of those who they had promised to protect and nurture. These despicable people exist in all ecosystems, and they can live with hurting others with no compunctions. And their victims suffer in silence because the victims are individuals with no recourse and support. But what the city is witnessing now is institutional self-interest. And we are responding. When the entire ecosystem is the victim of narrow self-interests, the ecosystem responds. Individuals can hurt other individuals and get away with it, but the city is reminding us that it is not possible for the selfish institutional few to victimize all of us. The nature of the current movement is unique, because it is not about a despotic system where the hoi polloi eventually storms the Bastille or throws tea chests in Boston harbor. The battle is not with the traditional despot, but this struggle is similar to the struggle of an abandoned lover who finally realizes that his selfishness has trumped integrity. It is realizing that the one she trusted has now walked all over us, leaving us as the victims, while they are able to settle their homes and affairs at our cost. My city is responding and the response, at its essence, after one cuts through all the "viral" videos, is essentially saying, "we are not going to let you settle your affairs (তোমার টা গুছিয়ে নিতে দেব না)" and you will have to pay for the harm you have done. It is similar to the way we together fought the disease of a virus; we are now fighting the disease brought on us by the self-interested who hope we will forget and move on. But this time it is different, because like the virus, this disease has killed, it has taken life, we could lock down then to stop the disease from spreading, now we can do other things to stop another disease - selfishness. It is what Buffalo Springfield said in the 60s, "What a field day for the heat/A thousand people in the street." Like all diseases, I have a feeling, a cure and a vaccine is imminent.

For those unfamiliar with what I amk talking about see:



Comments

Anonymous said…
Excellent write up
Anonymous said…
Well written article . It really touches upon the scourge of today 's world now manifesting itself rearing its ugly head in a macabre ubiquitous way all over our State. Let us not blame our politicians alone . Along with the digital revolution and social media Holocaust, the operative word for most of us us " selfishness ". This of course is most pronounced in modern day politics where the one and only objective is to garner votes to remain in power. All and anything may be dine to achieve this end. It is a sad commentary on our times that the politicians we thought had a modicum of righteousness when it came to serving society, have now thrown caution to the winds and recklessly pursue power at any cost.

In all this mayhem., we the people and citizens of our country are the sufferers. It is now high time that we realised our rights and fight for purging of the system, just like the passionate , dedicated , freedom fighters selflessly flight to extricate our beloved Nation from the auticracu of the British

The time has come for concerted action and change. Remember we get the Government that we deserve !!
S.Murali said…
touches a chord; well expressed; hope thousands of such pleas cause a real change in West Bengal !
Ananda Mitra said…
Thanks for your thoughtful response

Popular posts from this blog

You are not welcome

Are you an honorable person?

May 31, 2021 Commentary from a car seat