SOS

A farmer commits suicide every few hours in this country and there is nothing 3.5 billion of us can do for it?

It’s enraging how politicians are getting narrowed down to one homogenous genre every time I lift the newspaper. People who somewhere on the path of selfless service and altruism lose their hearts to the magnitude of their stomachs. It is this greed that consumes them and then the 90% of the population at their mercy.

At 21, I’d rather die trying to make a difference than live to see the future that lies ahead. In my head I am sure that if a power a Mamta Banerjee possess can be divided and distributed to a thousand local activists, we’d have one great state. I get to see rural politics each day of my life and still cannot comprehend how a Sarpanch can favour rich relatives over dying neighbours. How does this man sleep in the next room, knowing that he has done wrong?

I left a buzzing city to feel better about myself and the work I want to do. Mumbai’s soul was crushed many years ago under an overburdened local train. The city now exists in the small bubbles of each individual’s selfish life, where nothing matters unless you are satisfied. It thrives because it’s a million minute lives, not one integrated city. The more I tried to find its soul, the more it seems hidden in the crevices. And no one can be blamed anymore. Each one is fighting hard to live; its difficult to get them to look out for others.

But that’s the case only with select metros. What about the others?  Now I’m working in a district in an underdeveloped state, trying to bring some ounce of peace to the villages. And again, I find myself faced with the commonality of heartlessness and helplessness. For now, I cannot see a way out.

Will we ever have the opportunity of seeing a leader who has one bit of the essence of giving back, fairly and honestly? Politicians do need the will to see change. And to be change. To be genuine and loyal. And be ready to help. I see none of it for now.

It’s all greed and glamour. With a price tag...