Editor,
A friend of mine invited me to attend his wife’s art exhibition and its inauguration ceremony a few months ago. It was a delightful experience to see some good works of art. The ceremony was to begin after lighting the lamps. There were five lamps to be lit. Four artists lit four lamps one by one. My friend requested me to light up the last one. I was taken aback. Me? “It is true that I love to dabble in painting but I’m not an artist,” I said to myself. Then I thought that I was after all a human being like those four famous artists and my refusal might sound like supporting the existing practice of casteist categorisation of human beings that I was vehemently against.
So, I went ahead and did my little job. After that an artist who was to preside the ceremony went to grace his chair on the stage and called the artist of the day ~ my friend’s wife ~ to take the chair beside him. But she declined saying that she could not sit beside him.
Again, I was taken aback as I thought her action of turning down the request to sit on the dais might hurt the renowned artist. I thought that some in the audience might infer that she was hinting at some negative aspect of the character of the artist on the centre-stage! But I gathered there was no such misunderstanding. That she was showing her humility and high esteem for the artist had been accepted by all including the artist himself, with a grin.
Is it at all humility to belittle our own self? The answer is simply ~ no. C. S. Lewis had once said, “Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it’s thinking of yourself less.” Indeed, we must not think that we are less capable. Just like a small banyan seed that has a magic blueprint within it to grow up to become a very big tree if it gets a field to grow; every human being has immense potential to become a great person if she/ he gets a level playing field to nurture her/ his talent.
But one must not think only about oneself as it is a falsehood to separate ourselves from the whole universe. By thinking of ourselves less, we will actually be able to enlarge us to live infinity and live oneness where there is no room for vanity, self-complacency and self-pity. And this will help us say a firm NO to casteist gradation.
Yours etc.,
Sujit De,
Via email
Blatant violation of MV Act
Editor,
A common sight in the congested and clogged streets of Shillong that we witness daily are mini vans and trucks carrying boulders, sand, stones and other heavy and sharp objects sticking out, outside the carrier, thereby posing grave threats to commuters and pedestrians. Often these vehicles ply during peak school and office hours and are seen in all the main thoroughfare of the city! Is this the way to transport rods that stick out of the trailers of jeeps and pick-up vans and which ply unconcerned under the nose of the traffic police? Is this not being done in complete violation of the law that prohibits carrying of such heavy and dangerous articles in this manner?
Why are they allowed to ply during peak traffic hours to slow down the already sluggish city traffic apart from posing grave risks? What if the ropes used to tie these heavy objects were to snap and these sharp objects roll over the hilly terrain of Shillong? Who will take the blame and bear the consequences if a tragedy was to occur? The driver; the contractor; the owner; the traffic police; the transport department or the government? This question merits an answer.
Are we citizens watching all these violations and waiting for a disaster to happen before the law is enforced? It’s time to put a stop to this method of transporting dangerous materials on the main thoroughfare immediately!
As the State goes to the polls on April 11, and candidates of respective parties make promises to uplift the lives of the people, I hope they also take note of such daily irritants which endanger the lives of citizens. This archaic method of transporting dangerous items needs to be halted immediately.
Yours etc.,
Moushumi Dey,
Via email