fleeting security...

*My condolences lie with the victims of Earthquake in Nepal, but we can always use little humor to cheer up I think*

Yesterday I was sitting on my veranda and enjoying the sudden breeze that decided to sooth our burning skin from heat, my vision engulfed a house standing alone within the green field. I can see this decorated bricked house from southern side of my caged veranda. This crafted house has a pompous household and a beautiful garden which my landlady and I envy during the fleeting spring.

I kept sweating and turning pages when I heard the commotion of closing iron doors from this house. I looked up to find the mistress of the household hurrying out of the gates again to turn around to enter the house. On other side of the gate, her chariot, the battery operated Tuktuk and its driver grumbled. My curiosity peeked up by leaps and bound and I morphed into the railings of my veranda. To see and listen to her. 

The woman in orange saree came back holding blue folder, a leather bag, a ploy bag and began locking up her gate with a silver tiny lock shining under the harsh sunlight in hurry. And she was apologising and dropping her things while locking up her house.  She was yapping about protection of the house in her absence and how she cannot feel secured if all the doors are closed. Oh yes I have bat ears.

Her words made me jump to events of days back when series of Earthquakes hit our neighbor country Nepal and rocked our houses to and fro. The day first earthquake shook us I was brushing my teeth and looking at other girls living up stairs rush out. I was looking at them with blurry eyes and kept doing my actions with the brush. Blots of colours flashed by me and tried to grasp the event of joy. It was my dearest landlady who pulled me out of the house realising I was still walking dream filled world.

After that whenever earthquakes happened each girl living in the hostel was aware and over conscious of motion. The tragic events in Nepal made us worry more. The place I grew up has shown us pretty scary earthquake over the years. On one such occasion three years back my mother and I we did not bother with belongings but our pets. My mom picked up our grumpy Persian cat and I unlatched our late German Spitz and ran down the stairs.

When my mom called after the latest earthquake, during the time earth decided to dance she found  our cook and maid running out and calling her to come down. But she decided to stay back home. She would rather be in rumbles with the pets then go down alone. My mom forget she has two daughters who were once more loved then those two devils in the house. I am not much sacred of earthquake or snakes or animals in particular. I am fearful of ghosts so I could understand lack of panic on my Mom's part. We have endured earthquakes now and then and our houses are built to resist the shakes.

Again when my eyes look back to the mistress of the pompous household she reminds me of our human condition. The idea of security comes from our pre-natal life experience, something I learned recently in class. I find security as soon as I fall on bed to be honest or be it a bed in home, a bed in hotel or a bed in hostel, a bed is heaven to me. But in class I learned Home- an enclosed space that provides for us and keeps us protected. That's what I learned that our desire to go back to our pre-natal days has lead humanity to create Home. 

We all seek security in our relations, work and hobbies and so on. With this we create houses and fill it up with things that make us happy and comfortable. Then we create headache for our self because we have accumulated too much. We have evolved ourselves to the idea of permanence. I mean some electronic product comes with life time warranty! In this search and need of security we lock our houses with locks as big as our feet or put up bugler alarm. We put peepholes on door and they always fancy me and I always try to peep through the wrong end and annoy the viewer on right end.  

In train people chain their briefcases with seats, some roll over the bags in bedsheet. A thief can break that tiny lock on gate, easily climb the wall and break into the house, if the thief is actually smart like they show in films they will kill of the electric supply at some point. If not thief the house may crumble with earthquake, burn down, get flooded or simply vanish. Yet we do these acts of security check to keep our minds at ease. Humanity will keep locking doors until the last breath.   

As I saw the mistress of pompous household leave I had a desire to yell out and say to her. ”Hey there ma’am even I can break that tiny silver lock of yours” with a huge grin. But I restrained.  Life’s first lesson is don’t talk to strangers. Why would I talk to her? I was a stranger to her. And second lesson I relearned yesterday in particular- Ignorance is Bliss.   

P.S- and if we still look for security! My advice is- Look at the Cats!

thanking you to bear with me

paulOaries