“Nature discriminates, its natural.” I have been making peace with my conscience since a long time with this line. Each time those hollow eyes look at me through the rolled up windows of the car, asking me to buy yet another flower to give to a loved one, so that maybe today, they can take back some money. Each time the child of my house helper accompanies her and gives the toys of my sibling a wistful look; Each time I see them loitering outside my society playing with their new found tire while my cousin is busy with a new Nintendo edition to his collection; each time during winters when I see the watchman of my building trying to keep himself warm with a tattered, flimsy blanket while I look ahead to a hot shower followed with nestling hot soup in blanket.
How could god be so unfair? While on one hand he gifted us with the mind and intellect to develop our lives, on the other hand, how could he over look the pain of so many? Who on earth invented the words ‘rich’ and ‘poor’? Why was there a need to create a category for the under privileged? To make them aware of the fact they are different from you and me? As if they did not know that already. Because I do not know whether to feel guilty that I am blessed to be born in a financially stable family or ignore the fact that while I am here getting a tetanus for that scratch I got from a rusted pin, on the other hand a kid just lost his life because his family could not afford 10k for his treatment. All these years I have tried to dodge such thoughts with “Nature Discriminates”.
I am not going to preach about how we should donate and help those in need because a person who does that, needs not to be asked to do that. It’s a feeling that comes from within. We are told that in life, we should concentrate on the positive aspects of life and ignore the negative ones. But tell me, if we keep on focusing on our happiness, how on earth are we ever going to make way for the pain for others to ease?
Yes, I can start my NGO and teach under privileged children.
Yes, I can once in a while give my ice cream to a kid who does not even know how to pronounce the word.
Yes, I can as much as possible, donate towards the medical expenses of those in need even if it is just a grand.
Yes, I cannot appoint an underage kid as a helper in my house.
But amidst the confusion of choosing between Levis and Adidas; Paris and Ibiza; tough guy burger and not so wicked burger, the compassion and the thoughtfulness somewhere gets lost.
I am not saying that we sacrifice and become a hermit but what I want to convey is when you can spare 2k for that DJ night, you sure can save 200 bucks a month and save that for a year and donate it to an orphanage.
Yes, I am saving. Yes I am taking the initiative.
– Sakshi Tyagi
Backroom Defiance 