MEMORIAL

Today, I went to see the Veteran's Memorial Service at the City Hall in London which is the office of the Greater London Authority. The City Hall is on the River Thames and is a beautiful elliptical building near the famous Tower Bridge of London. The ceremony was a tribute paid to remember those people of London who had served during the Two World Wars and had lost their lives. They also paid tribute to those who died in Iraq and Afghanistan. The British have a history of doing things in a very solemn and ceremonial way. The entire ceremony which lasted for an hour was moving and done with a lot of dignity. It also left one feeling proud and was inspirational. There was no pathos or bitterness. It was very solemn. There were a lot of old people who were there in their Uniforms with their medals displayed. Some of them had a lot of difficulty in walking, yet they had come to pay tribute and be a part of the memorial ceremony

It brought to my mind the thought that in our lives, we keep on building memories, which will one day be memorials to some relationship. In our dealings with our own people, we are often very callous. We do not remember that what is today, may not be there tomorrow. The relationship that we build today, needs to be strong. The bonding that we have today has to be mature and honest. That is the basis of true friendship. Unless we are good friends of our children, our parents, our spouse, our relationship cannot be strong. Where we cannot be honest, we deceive. If we are not able to express our true emotions, the foundation of that relationship is bound to be based on egg shells, and needs to be tread on very cautiously. A true friend is one who will understand the other, who will know the friend well enough not to misunderstand , or be judgemental and not change opinion of the friend every day. A true friend would be one who would know and understand true colours and moods, and stand by the friend through thick and thin. If one has to take care of one's P's and Q's with one's true friend, then that is surely not true friendship.

APPRECIATION OF ACHIEVEMENT

The victory of Barack Obama is being seen all over the world as an achievement, a landmark, a victory of the oppressed people against injustice, dehumanisation and exploitation. He is being viewed as the first black President of the World's biggest power. It is really a very very big achievement, unparalleled in history.

However, there are some who feel that referring to Mr. Obama's colour will not promote inclusiveness and will inflame resentment. They want his victory to be heralded as a victory for a talented, charismatic, inspirational person. They do not like the constant reference to the colour. Viewing this victory devoid of the reference to colour will make the triumph just a simple victory. This victory is not usual, so why should it be seen as such? Why must this unusual triumph not be viewed with the disadvantage that it actually had. Why is it that those who have never faced discrimination, never want to acknowledge that it does exist. Why play down an achievement which is historical. It has to be understood that bias, discrimination and exploitation does exist. Simply turning a blind eye to it, or wishing it away, will not make it a myth. We have to face the way human beings exploit some other human beings. Caste in India, race, colour, religion all over the world is a divisive feature. Some who have the power, exploit those who don't.

With equal opportunities and availability of education for all, the oppressed people have been able to find a voice for themselves. They have been able to gather together to form a critical mass which can fight exploitation and learn from each other and support each other. They have learnt that they are human beings who have a right to freedom and are able to fight against oppression. In the Indian context religion was the factor which exploited people on the basis of caste. The caste system degraded people of lower castes to the extent that they became Untouchables, whose shadow was enough to defile a person of the upper caste. People were treated worse than animals. They were not allowed to hear the scriptures and not allowed to sit in class rooms. If people from these oppressed castes with so much disadvantage managed to reach a position of power then that achievement cannot be viewed as equal to that of the person from a higher caste. We have to view every achievement along with the background in which it was achieved.

Similarly when women achieve a high position in a man's world, that achievement too must be seen as unusual. Women have been exploited all over the world. They have not been given equal opportunity. They have had to fight for every right. The purdah system, the treatment given to the girl child, the status of women in society as second class citizens,has made girls fight for their rights. In India till a few decades ago girls were not treated equal to sons. A son was needed to pave the way to heaven for the parents. Pind daan could be given only by a son, who would do it for all the forefathers. The tragedy is that no body tries to examine these rules laid down centuries ago. Blind faith makes people follow age old unreasonable customs and traditions. In this world where the birth of a girl is heralded with sorrow, if a girl is able to achieve something exceptional then that achievement cannot be usual. It is unusual, and needs to be given its due appreciation. This brings to my mind that a messenger in my Branch in State Bank of India had named his daughter Nirasha, which means 'Despair'. This was about 6 years ago. I felt very sorry for the girl who has to live in this world with such a name.


Exceptional feats have to be accepted as such. They should not be underplayed.
No achievement can be seen devoid of the circumstances. They need to be seen, understood and heralded in their totality.