Tuesday 28 January 2014

The War in our Hearts

'Brahmos is an Indian Russian missile. And Tejas is a fighter plane completely Indian.'
'No, no. The engine's second hand.'
These talks of war and war equipment filled my ears as I looked out of the window of my school bus. Every country seemed to have prepared ALOT for war, as if... as if war is going to strike right now.
I wondered - how would it be like during a war? I have read The Diary of Anne Frank, how it is to be compelled to go into hiding. How life doesn't mean any more than caution and secrecy and depressed hearts.
How would it be like if war was declared in India? The scene outside the window transformed. The autorickshaws were replaced by green, grey and black army vehicles. Guns protruded out of the windows as the soldiers were transferred from one part of the country to another.
Overhead, a helicopter came into sight. A person dropped a ladder, which was being descended by a man wearing a similar uniform.
The partially kaccha houses of Dabri softened up into tents and warehouses - built in a cleared-up zone for the soldiers to assemble. The wild rush of Delhi wasn't there anymore, all was immersed in a stunning silence.
The footpaths were clear of the pedestrians, the common people who were afraid of leaving their houses, who clinged on to their families, thinking, if we die, we'll all die together.
Our happy heads converted into a bowl containing a nameless fear. There's hesitation. Hesitation of going out, of thinking good thoughts. Yes, even positive thoughts seem to be miles away.
Arvind Kejriwal is brave enough to sit on a dharna against the rivals, who with their western minds aren't acquainted with a thing of that sort.
The people who follow their dharna are the bravest, not afraid of water cannons or tear gas or anything of that sort. Those who sit at home are either against sitting on a dharna or are fearful and a bit protective of their families.
FEAR. Fear. A nameless fear. An uncomfortable silence, so powerful it has consumed all the laughter. People go into hiding - forgetting their ambitions. When will this damn war end? Why war? Why not a peaceful agreement, or a chess tournament?
What if the war includes the use of biological or nuclear weapons. The effects are long-lasting. You don't want to pass on the effects to the next generation. This war, it makes the whole country suffer.
I cry when I imagine my beloved country like that.
These powerful contries, instead of making agreements for exporting weapons, why not make agreements for peace? I thought the national leaders understood this...
Gunshots sound in the air. Water isn't available. Food is scarce, there's a famine. We cry together, hope springs inside us and at this moment, all the citizens of the country unite to fight against that greatest devil of all - WAR.