Are you angry, Mama?

Are you angry, mama?

Rain, rain why won't you go away? Little Chelsea would like to go for a walk today!

It's been raining pellets for over three months now, and there are times, when I am at my brooding best, wondering if God is angry. Well it just feels that way, you know. Lightning, thunder, heavy downpour... as if at any moment, the Earth will come to a halt. But imagine a population of 1.25 billion plus ants coming to a stop. Would seem unlikely right?

Whenever you’re out and about this larger-than-life city, do you see and I mean really 'look'? If not, take a pause now and then, when you're sitting in your car at a traffic light, or when you’re waiting for a train to come. Just look around and what do you take in? Do you observe the pain and suffering going on in those less fortunate than us?

I question. Aren't we all God's children? Hasn't He said - Love one another as I have loved you? Somehow I see a lot more hating than a lot more loving. Makes you wonder - if you're one of those people who takes the time out to 'wonder' - when will it all cease to exist. When will we stop making mothers and babies cry, while men sigh silently and look away. When will we heed nature’s war cry while her womb is stripped bare and dry. When...

As far as I can remember I have always called Nature - Mother Earth. In India we haven't really been taught to love and nurture nature. For a country so plentiful in everything, we have learned to take our abundant supply of the goodness of her bounty for granted. Take food for example. Inflation is what, 10% plus? When was the last time you saw a news piece of how the grains in our godowns are being feasted upon by roaches and rats? When was the last time you read about farmer suicides? When was the last time you read about drought and starvation?

In a certain way it does feel as if all these flash floods, tornadoes, El Nino's, earthquakes, are a sign for our time. A sign maybe telling people to wake up to the fact that we are exploiting Mother Earth to her bone. Telling us maybe we really are sucking out way too much marrow. Leaving just figs and leaves. In my mind, I really believe Mother Earth isn't punishing us, or threatening us. How about just cleansing us?

Stories appearing in the papers everyday about how some conglomerate or the other, whether domestic or international is eating away our land. With international avenues drying up, the rich fertile lands of India are today prime targets for land acquisition. What does our government do?

Sleep.

What irritates me is how low people can stoop or even how low people can turn a blind eye to the stench of corruption that plagues our nation. Why do we wait for reports and court order judgments when blatant corruption is caught on tape? Why are the rich allowed to post bail when they commit fraud? Why are people in positions of power always ALWAYS allowed to escape courts because they get medical ailments ONLY after they siphon off crores? Why is it that our press is spineless as to not dig deeper, and get more details? Why are we stuck on PR and Bollywood and Cricket?

What are my options again?

The time is going to come and soon for people to stand up and face up to reality. Every time we turn a blind eye, there is someone getting raped and murdered. Every time we glance away, someone's home is bulldozed or we lose an entire culture and civilization because land is cleared off, of 'so-called' encroachment by tribals or as I like to look at them the indigenous people of our rich heritage. Every time we look away, someone is stealing tax payer’s money; someone is robbing the poor and making themselves even more wealthy.

Every time.

"If we cannot love the person whom we see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see..."

Mother Teresa