Summer sanity


The sun has set on another day and it paints the dissipating clouds in orange hues, as I take an after dinner walk. I hear the honking and look up to see the perfect v formation of a gaggle of geese; flying in from the south excited at the man-made pond, at our waterside apartments. They descend down into the water in a flapping of wings; to perhaps settle down for the night, after their day’s flight. In the gathering darkness I see a lightening bug hovering over the evergreen bush; appropriately lighting up the dark shadows, in its bursts of light, as it celebrates its life.

I return home and cut up one of the last mangoes of the season; and enjoy its sweet and tart pulp and yank the dryer switch, to continue on in its weekly task. Another summer of my life is coming to an end; and I look back and realize, that I have much to be grateful for. There were birthdays and anniversaries and love making and parties and movies and plays to enjoy. Summer here in the south is a long season; and the farmer will probably reap two harvests from the wild fields, with neatly rolled haystacks for the winter. Spring had begun with hope and museum visits; and summer is ending with book readings from across the centuries on the Kindle, and movies unlimited from Netflix. I am entangled in the World Wide Web like never before; on Facebook and my blog, and there is often not a moment to lose, as life goes on with its merry whirl.
I often grapple with my loneliness; as I am an alien, in an adopted land, and sometimes the passing of time in itself becomes a burden, resulting in sleepless nights, watching trash or reading it. There are times when there is no one to love or share the day’s happenings; except for this stray cat that has adopted me, and comes by morning and night, mewing and forcing its way into my life. I feed it my version of tandoori chicken; which it licks its lips and enjoys, or on lazier days just tuna fish or the chicken of the sea from a can, which it relishes, and then spends countless hours preening itself lying outside my door. I guess we are kindred spirits in this complex; having no one else to call our own, or to depend on, that life has randomly thrown together to spend together, another summer of wondrous happenings. Unlike me it hunts at night; and when I found it with its head buried in a hole one late night, it ignored me completely and kept at its task of findings its prey, as it is a part of its existence, it keeps to itself.

These dog days of summer are not driving me insane; as I remember the philosopher’s famous words that “Insanity in individuals is something rare — but in groups, parties, nations, and epochs, it is the rule.” -Friedrich Nietzsche, (1844-1900). The summer has been particularly insane; as the world seems to be unraveling slowly, at it’s seams. Wild fires burn, floods devastate whole states, unemployment of our young leaves many dreams unfulfilled, wars rage on, suicide bombings, rapes, pillaging and wile human deeds increase and the economy does its own thing. Statesmen cannot find consensus to move forward; and the consenting cannot find morality it seems, as they look forever backwards. Society is a schism of the haves and the have-nots, and the divide grows greater every day. The poor scramble on in desperation; and the privileged look down on the bourgeoisie, as if they do not belong in the same world. The earth turns and the seasons come and go and I live this life, in awareness of my own impending death. I look around me and find people mostly believe in their own infallibility and the death of others.

Political parties are at loggerheads; and do not allow the business of those who elected them, to prosper. There is no gain in a common good as; if they can keep their faithful living on in this delusional state, then all will remain well in their world. Power is now in overwhelming force and not in the ability, to do the most good. When Zuckerberg gathers the likes of Facebook, Samsung, Nokia and Erickson into a mighty coalition to provide cheaper connectivity and the web to the masses; Bill Gates sadly points out to all who will listen, that no application can cure diarrhea, in the population they are trying to reach. Progress is now measured in bytes of digital media and not the bites that feed the hungry. Sanity would be to provide healthy food, clean water, decent housing, green clothing, higher education and equal opportunity to the under privileged. The cat is mewing outside and it is probably bringing me the news; that she just spied the last sane man sneaking out of our complex, and we should probably hurry up, if we do not want to miss the last plane leaving Bent On Ville.

This entry was posted in Nature, Self actualization by Rajiv Kapoor. Bookmark the permalink.

About Rajiv Kapoor

Rajiv Kapoor was born in New Delhi. He was educated by the Jesuits at St Xavier’s, and graduated with Honors, from The University of Delhi. Rajiv Kapoor did his MBA in International Business from Penn State and is now settled in the US. He has traveled across most states of India, when he was working on modernization of Rice Mills, and understands their diverse culture and history. This book is a historical fiction, dedicated to his city of birth. His extensive research dives deep into a critical moment, in India’s long history, for his latest Historical Thriller “The Peacock Throne Wars”..

5 thoughts on “Summer sanity

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