LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL

Keralites witnessed a spate of political violence and murders with shock, indignation and apprehensions recently. We lamented over the fate of our beloved small State once endowed with magnificent landscapes, quietly flowing rivers, splashing lakes and lush greenery, a State blessed with cent percent literacy and political consciousness succumbing to gut-wrenching murders to settle scores between rival political parties we are at a loss to find out whether the humane qualities about which we were proud of for a prolonged period in the history of Kerala are getting dried up. For example, road accidents are a daily phenomenon in our State and many lose their lives and many maimed for life, many injured for a variety of reasons like rash drunken driving down the dilapidated roads, due to the negligence on the part of our rulers who are obsessed with looting as much money as possible and also for throwing mud against each other. As we are aware the number of vehicles which enter our roads are mounting day by day but unfortunately our roads are not developing accordingly to accommodate lakhs of vehicles due to the poor infrastructure facilities that too owing to the apathy of our ruling class, be it United Democratic Front or Left Democratic Front governments. I am not singling out rash and drunken drivers, even a host of innocent and careful drivers including pedestrians are getting caught up in accidents most of which occur in our urban areas where vehicular traffic is at its peak.

I am coming back to the erosion of humane qualities with which we were endowed with once.

For instance, we often read in newspapers and watch on the electronic media certain horrendous accidents. Suppose a two wheeler rider accidently is knocked down by a speeding vehicle either bus, lorry or tipper and badly hurt as a result of which he bleeds profusely the vehicles or the onlookers see him fighting for life and the other passing vehicles rushing down the streets care not to take him to hospital even if the hapless person lies for hours on the street, even onlookers care not to rush him to hospital. We people are condemned to read or watch such horrible incidents and lament about the eroding humane qualities and think about ourselves. Sometimes, yes, sometimes if we were the ones at the steering wheel of the passing vehicles or onlookers we would have done the same. ‘If we don’t somebody will’ like attitude. In the end no none will come forward until the men in khaki uniforms arrive with the ambulance.

Many interpretations are likely to come from many people. While some find time in cursing those who turned a blind eye, some will sympathise with the victim of the accident and philosophically speak about the cynicism prevailing among our generation, the lack of loving and caring qualities of today’s average citizens etc. Discussions, debates, deliberations, solutions abound among the so-called social workers including media personalities.

Have we lost all the qualities expected of a human being? Sometimes we feel like so with deep sighs. Sometimes we turn optimistic seeing light at the end of the tunnel. In other words a silver lining in the horizon.

For instance for the last one week or so we are reading about a girl child falling prey to jaundice. The disease was diagnosed belatedly. The only remedy left was a liver transplantation. Regrettably. her mother was willing to save her daughter’s life by donating a slice of her liver. The the child’s auntie came forward to halve her liver for the child and it was found to be fit.But the operation expense was estimated to be around 25 lakhs, a whopping sum which the child’s parents couldn’t afford. The whole village from which the girl child hails from got united in collecting the fund and within an hour they collected Rs 17 lakhs. The philanthropists from outside the village too donated a large sum. Thus the problem of shortage of funds solved and an emergency operation carried out which lasted about 8 hours and it proved to be successful to the delight of all. The child is now blessed with a fresh lease of life. Yes, all of us can with abundant confidence, comfort ourselves with the belief of abiding human qualities are still prevalent among our brethren. Hope is always there.