Nurturing a new spirit to bloom

I have one gripe with my fellow countrymen. They just won’t say the word “no”. Taxi drivers tell me they know where something is and get hopelessly lost, waiters insist something is “most definitely” available and then don’t deliver it. Auto rickshaw drivers take me to a market that he knows is closed, shopkeepers say they have something, then hide because they don’t have. It’s bizarre. Perhaps it’s an honour thing, or perhaps “yes” can mean “no”, like the head nod can mean “no way” and a side-to-side shake can mean “of course”. The puppet-like wobble mixture of a shake and a nod can mean anything or nothing – it breaks all the cultural and language barriers. It’s a case of “actions speak louder than words”. In other countries, it’s not uncommon to hear people say, “Hell No!” Indians on the other hand can’t be brought to say that. Asking a yes or no question will invariably be answered with, “actually, it is…”Asking to meet at a certain time can be met with, “I’ll try.”

Everything is always “not bad” with Indians.

Some time back, I saw a bumper sticker that read, “Losing faith in humanity one person at a time.” I laughed about it and went on my way.

Last month, I was disheartened when the Himalayan tragedy was made worse by human greed as buildings tumbled down like house of cards in the raging waters, villages wiped out, roads washed away and people left bruised and dead.

Worldwide, the aftermath of natural disasters are typically characterised by heroism and a sharing of resources, not selfish panics. During the terrorist attacks of 9/11, for example, there were no accounts of people being trampled rushing out of the World Trade Center towers; rather, those who needed assistance descending were cared for, and calm mainly prevailed. The same occurred after the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear meltdown in Japan in 2011.

In India, while discussions swing from the floods being human-induced events to the role of changing climate in triggering them, survivors recount the images of brazen thefts (donation boxes and treasure chests at temples ransacked) and of harrowing tales of insensitivity (being forced to pay Rs.200 for a Rs.5 biscuit packet) of people who tried to make most of the tragedy. Not even the dead were spared -- a video shot by a survivor shows a man using pliers to cut open a bracelet from a dead body!

Is there still some hope? No, yes, maybe.

When violence, poverty, hopelessness and despair make headlines every day, sometimes it’s easy to simply look out the window and think humanity is doomed. We are a bit short-sighted, and perhaps could use some prescription lenses, but one thing that has driven Indians against all odds is the relentless desire to survive.

When Mark Twain wrote Huckleberry Finn, it was more than just a story of a boy on a raft in the Mississippi, it was a treatise on how our morality can evolve just like any physical trait can evolve.

I believe the same thing has happened in humanity as a whole, and while cultural and societal differences have left others slightly behind, they will all get there eventually.

It’s true that we are capable of incredible cruelty, but so too are we capable of incredible acts of compassion and understanding. The Himalayan tragedy was also about the heroics of the armed forces and Pushpa Singh Chauhan, a grocery store owner, who offered free food to the stranded tourists on the Uttarkashi-Gangotri highway. Pushpa’s ( means “flower” in Sankrit)kindness stood out as a stark contrast to greedy shopkeepers, hotel owners and transporters. A perfect symbol of this country. The lotus. Out of the slime, out of the crowded, worn land rises, glorious perfection. After watching her on TV, I felt a regrowth in my desire to rise above my muddy mind to be an unspoiled spirit that can soar above place and circumstance, to be happy and strong and open. For every Osama Bin Laden, there are ten Mother Teresas. For every abusive husband, there are ten caring men that loathe the idea of domestic violence. For every murderer, there are ten that would lay down their own life for another. As much as I loathe maths, in the equation that defines humanity, the good will always outnumber the bad.

Is India nurturing a new spirit to bloom? Inshallah.

Suparna Dutt D’Cunha is a freelance journalist based in India.