Those were the days

Gone are the days when our forefathers used to live together as a society.  No doubt, there was poverty, scarcity and complexity but there was a beauty in life and pleasure among all. There were few privileges to enjoy, yet life was complete, meaningful and nourishing. There was care and concern, love and affection, proximity and the true bonding. Teachers were praiseworthy and schools were truly nucleus of learning. Furniture’s were alluring and houses were economical. Despite wars, tranquility prevailed earlier.

There was trust. There was hope. There was illiteracy but more wisdom, less technology but more comfort, less schools but more scholars, less inputs but more productivity. Craftsmanship was worthier and vessels were flawless. Disputes were promptly sorted out and courts had fairly less business. Production was meant for survival and the cattle farming were familiar. Agriculture was the priority and chasing profits were tertiary. Trees were all around, with birds on them chirping amazing sounds.  Faith was strong and the minds were clean. Hearts were pure and the smiles were natural.  Men were working in the fields and the women were spinning wheels. Elders were respected and parents were worshiped. People live longer and the children grow healthier. Big and joint family was the fundamental norm. The cockcrow was a principal alarm to get out of beds.

Unlike surgical deliveries, women would deliver a baby while harvesting the crops or working at their homes and no wonder new born babies were trained to say ‘Allah Allah’. There was no valentine day, face book day, twitter day, fathers day, mothers day, doctors day nor there were electronic gadgets and privileges, yet the connectivity of people were physically powerful and emotionally divine.  My grandmother (May Allah rest her soul in peace) used to tell me such tales when i was a teenager. I even heard her saying that murder had been committed somewhere, if the sky turned out to be the red. Our present era is burdened with worries and uncertainties. Economic recession, unemployment, terrorism, drug abuse, global warming, scams and scandals etc. have become the worst nightmare of common men. We have turned to be excessively doubtful and suspicious for no real reason. There is growing chaos in the lives of children, youth, and families.

People’s minds are polluted with all the bad things. They are simply getting mad. They are unhappy with everything they have. They find themselves arrested into lineage, economics, wealth, faith, self-seeking and so on. They simply do not know how to unreel themselves onto and how to catch a glimpse in a mirror. I wonder how electronic gadgets go on increasing and how the soul goes on perishing; how the technology go on growing and how the technicians goes on vanishing. Our leaders enjoy the five star life having delicious food recipes on table while their people have nothing to eat. Corruption is sucking while lust is killing. Diseases are deadly while treatment is costly. Elders are neglected while parents are considered as a big burden by their beloved children. Society is caught up in nobility of craving where every action is taken with the self in mind, where politicians suck as leaders, where poor are exploited by immoral doctors and where teachers are accused of having illicit association with their students.

People today are too individualistic in nature. They may admire you today because you have money but no sooner when you are bankrupt. We survive in a world that is shaped by greed, egoism, and the never ending quest for wealth. We cheat for it, lie for it, and no wonder kill for it. Whether it is greed, materialism, abhorrence or lust, all these emotions dominate the soul, causing blindness and leading to mental pain. We have become a hardboiled creation. Our eyes have gone pale and parched. We are not mere thoughtless, ignorant but very unpredictable. Children are taught that richness and prosperity is the ultimate target in life. We focus on what fits with our egotism and creed. There is no one who could facilitate an old man/lady to cross a busy street. I get so disgusted with the illogical political bickering over the different issues, the corruption of our ministers/executives, and the total breakdown of our morals. 

Each day our newspapers reveal disturbing reports that’s happening in our government, with the ecological destruction, black marketing, massive deforestation, human right violation, corporate greed, innocent killing etc. It is not astonishing that increasingly headlines express the disgusting tale of parents slaughtering their own children and vice-versa. Even unborn kids are killed by their merciless mothers. Repeatedly we witness natural disasters, wars, rioting, political unrest, economic turmoil and killing of innocents. We live in a volatile set up where the funerals of young innocent teenagers are carried by their fathers on their shoulders.  Of course, this pain should peck our heart and moist our eyes but we are numb grown very piggish with our new modern way of life. One question always struck my mind that whether the present system could be reverted to traditional metaphysical world where parents were available for parenting, teachers for teaching and leaders for leading.