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Intolerant temptations

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By uday

Somewhere in the midst of this human expression of life on earth lies a sweet little corner that I call my own. It used to be a rather secluded locale quite far from the hustle and bustle of the city life. The area actually was part of a village at one point in time and we took great pride on living on the geographical edge of the city area.

Time passed and the maladies of modern life caught up to surpass the serenity and tranquil of the place, the populace poured in, all the time making and creating space for human heads. The term village is no longer associated with the region and we are all part of the same municipal corporation of Belagavi.

While loads can be written regarding the changes and living and perspective, what dawned upon me in an little instance is the manner in which the residents have invented weird and uncomfortable ways of adding to the cacophony.

angolI stepped out of the house right after dinner and the trusted old dog on the street heard the clang on the gate and sprinted towards me in anticipation of its daily dinner which it has quite cutely learnt to claim as its own. The dog crossed the street and made its way towards me and as I had taken my first steps a kid and I mean quite literally a kid if not an underaged brat wizzed past on this scooter at an amazingly dangerous pace. To top it all, the headlights were off and could only see a decorative blue light in the front and the shocked expression on the face of the dog as it quite deftly avoided the speedy intervention. The chap travelled a distance but before he did, I managed to get a yell across to him, just enough to draw his attention to my irritation. He paused at a nearby store and gave me a stare and went on to pick something from the shop. With disgust written all over my face, I made my way across to the nearby medical store to pick provisions for myself. The trusty old dog followed in my footsteps and thankfully with a short lived memory it had managed to forget the recent happening and focussed on me the chap who would eventually serve dinner.

I was just striking a conversation with the pharmacist when the vehicle with the front blue light whizzed past again. This time, the chap had on board another of his own age and they quite rashly parked the vehicle just across the road opposite the store. He must have noticed me again and gave me a stare to see if I would flinch and when I did not, he sheepishly disappeared behind a house.

He is part of this notorious gang of kids that hang around my house loud mouthing profanities all the time. I mean every word and every phrase has a foul word to decorate it. The reckless driving is just another form of their obscene expressions. And why talk of my neighbourhood, the scene is equally obscene even around educational institutions. One step out of the school or college and the license to be inhumanly inconsiderate is back. Isnt it so?

I struck a conversation with the pharmacist and his customer and we, in a private conversation continued to express disgust over how things have come to be. We always protest in private and tolerate in public, dont we?

The area has several little kids on the street, not to mention some real senior elderly folks who make their way around. What if the kid manages to hit one of them in a conveniently termed accident. What then? What about the effect that the obscene ramblings have on little kids in the region? The discussions continued and the collective fear expressed was that if we stop this kid then maybe somewhere in the darkness, he will sneak up to my place and throw a stone at maybe the car or the window. This is the kind of fear we live in. This is how we have become tolerant to all this that transpires in the neighbourhood.

Maybe we should do something about it. Should we? What should we do about it? And if others dont, should it be me who reaches out to the kids and if needed the families with the hope that we can, together, put and end to this madness? Or should I just be turning a blind eye and keep going about life with focus on my own window pane?

I personally believe that in the name of tolerance and whatever we term as the modern way of living, the system of family values has been seriously compromised. I am only tempted to get the parents to their duties all over again in the real sense of the term. Had I done the same when I was a kid, for sure, hell would be unleashed at home. If I talk to this kid or this parents, there is a greater likelihood that hell would be let loose on me even now. And not to mention, they would all claim that

I am intolerant to these negligible things.

Am I? Shouldn’t we all be?

I for myself and tempted to be INTOLERANT!!!

2 thoughts on “Intolerant temptations”

  1. Forget Tolerance or Intolerance – U should have an honest open talk with the kid and make him understand the situation. Well it may or may not work but at least you have put across your view and made him cognizant of the situation. Cheers.

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