Yeddy Current and Freedom (to die on railway
tracks) at Midnight
As some dude said, based on a fake Gandhi quote, “The measure of any society is how it treats its most vulnerable members,” and we, I’m proud to say, have
measured up to the highest level. In these times of corona, we knew who those
most vulnerable were. The builders, of course! Quite clearly, they have been suffering for
long and Yeddy knew that instinctively. And, to his credit, he acted immediately.
He
rightly and rightfully instructed those inconsiderate migrants to go round and round in
circles in their tin bungalows. This, he knew, would generate a current known
in scientific circles as "yeddy current" (no relation to the eddy
current you learn in physics). Another thing is that this Yeddy current is also beneficial to the environment according to some NASA studies.
Even then, some of
those migrant guys are defying government orders and selfishly walking and cycling home,
insensitive to the fears of the vast middle class. Why can't they buy one of
those exercise bikes or treadmills off Flipkart or Amazon and install it in their
balcony? C’mon yaar. Anyway, it's heartening to note that people like Yeddy and
Yogi and the police are rising to the challenge and imposing strict measures and scrapping these
stupid human and labour rights.
Also, it’s about time
these people learned where their respective places are in the society. When you
think about it, we did have an excellent ancient system, with in-built social distancing rules and all, which was screwed up by all these new-fangled ideas.
In
the olden days, people knew where they stood in the pecking order. Sivan knew
that. Remember Sivan? I had written about
Sivan some time ago. Though his name was Sivan, nobody called him that. Partially
deaf and considered by many as being a few cards shy of a full deck, he was
“pottan” to everyone. Pottan is a term used generally for a deaf person, and often
also used to paint someone as stupid. My mother used to call Sivan that. Her household help and driver called him that. Everyone in the neighbourhood called
him that. Those who came looking for his service called him that. Even I used
to nod when someone asked the confirming question “Pottana?” when I say
something about Sivan. The only person who seethed every time she heard that
word was my wife, who always addressed him as Sivan-san. But then, being a
foreigner, she doesn’t understand the nuances and intricacies of our ancient
system of keeping people in their respective places.
Well, one day, Sivan was on one of his evening jaunts,
unkempt and unshaven, bundle of belongings hanging from his shoulder, trudging
along as usual, exchanging pleasantries with a utility pole here and a stray dog
there, but generally being harmless, when, out of the blue, there was a
stinging pain in his bottom. He turned around and saw a police jeep with a
policeman swinging his thick cane at him. Sivan did the only thing that he knew he could do. He ran. He ran like hell. The police did the only thing they knew.
They chased and kept swinging that stick at him. “F#$%ing a$$%*+#! The temerity
to walk with bundle and s#$% on the road,” the policeman shouted. Sivan kept
running and ran into my parent’s place. The police stopped at the gate. They
didn’t open that gate and charge inside. That gate had certain rights that Sivan didn't have, which the police didn't dare infringe on. They noticed my parents’ household help standing there and asked
about the bad guy who just ran in. She said she knew the person and saved Sivan’s
ass for the day.
A few days later I heard about this incident and went
to Sivan. I was all indignant. To be honest, I still don't know what had gotten
into me at that time. Could've been a mild bout of anti-nationalism. “C’mon Sivan. Let’s go file a complaint,” I said, spouting highfalutin words
like human rights, etc. Sivan, however, just plainly refused. Under normal
circumstances, I would expect such a refusal to be accompanied by a sarcastic
smirk, but Sivan was all sincere in his response. He was adamant that he didn’t
have any complaint against such big-big officials, who have the right to punish
people like him as and when they pleased. He was also scared of the revenge
they’ll take out on him for his insolence once I went back to Japan, if he
complains.
I thought over it. I will be leaving in a few weeks.
And, I am no activist. Neither I’m a man of action, like certain leaders who
can take dramatic overnight decisions. For example, someone like
Bollywood villain Ajit says, “Aaj aadhi raat ko theek barah baje, Hindostan ke
baarder pe apna helikaapter aayega (Tonight, at 12 o’clock sharp, my helicopter
will come to Hindustan’s border). Michael, tum cycle leke jaa (Michael, take
your cycle and go)”. Michael will dutifully take his bicycle and go to the
border. If a supreme leader gives such an order, every Michael in the country will
dutifully get on their bicycles and go to the border. That’s the power of supreme
leaders. I wouldn’t go, because I’m not named Michael. But, I’ll be standing in my
balcony, clanging my vessels in moral support when those Michaels pedal by. My train of thoughts was going crazy as if in search of migrants
on tracks. Anyway, good sense prevailed, and I got out of my reverie and thanked
Sivan for teaching me the right concept regarding rights.
Looking at the things
happening now, I beseech the government to grasp this golden opportunity and eliminate or modify
those foreign concepts, while lobbying internationally (Trumpji, I’m
sure, will be amenable) to amend the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to
reflect the real issues faced by vulnerable sections of the society such as builders,
stockbrokers and jewellers. Clauses granting nations the right to split people into
first-class, second-class, and so on should be included when revising the declaration. As mentioned earlier, we have the ancient blueprint for that. The possibilities are infinite if you can sub-divide those
classes further. Everyone will know their responsibilities and will stop going
walkabout on railway tracks and all. Let’s hope we don’t miss that train of
progress this time at least.
