Dare I trust you, Delhi.

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You usher into an elevator or a car full of strangers in Delhi, and people steal their eyes away from you, scuffle into a corner, avoiding all contact. Me, I am trying catch someones eye, to say hello or exchange a smile. Do we hate and mistrust each other so much now?

It saddens me that a country that thrived on the values of community and camaraderie, has given way to collective paranoia, mistrust, and snap judgments.  The perversion of the system has permeated deep into our psyche. The poor are not to be trusted since they will steal. Why? Because our state can not provide for them. So lets shun them, and ignore them. This is the caste system with an economic seasoning. But whom do we trust really? And can we blame the poor for being opportunistic? What with the BMWs and Audis running wild on the streets of the metropolis', while some don’t even have a whole cloth over their naked body, can we really say that those who do not have a square meal on any given day, be content with their situation? 

I can only speak for myself, but I do feel that if I hadn’t eaten for days, and didn’t have a warm coat to protect me in the winters, my morals would be shaky too. Would I be able to speak of integrity, and morality, and honesty? I can’t be sure that I would. What recourse then we have of making a better society, a society built on trust and camaraderie? I want to say it should happen organically, but this idealistic view is a tad naïve. Unless our government does something to build institutions’ that provide food, shelter and overall physiological security to millions, I don’t think there is a solution. I only see an institutional recourse at this point, nothing else. Sure, each of us can do something everyday, and we shouldn’t shirk from it, blaming the governments reluctance or absence. This Hawain parable speaks to the very issue:

A man goes out on the beach and sees that it is covered with starfish that have washed up in the tide.  A little boy is walking along, picking them up and throwing them back into the water.  "What are you doing, son?" the man asks.  "You will never make a difference."  The boy paused thoughtfully, and picked up another starfish and threw it into the ocean.  "It sure made a difference to that one," he said.

So note to self and anyone who may be reading this: smile away, make a conversation, break the ice, stop shoving each other in queues, and for gods sake, please don't make me feel that my non-aggressive stature is a shortcoming. Living with patience (less honking at cars, and more deep breathing), love (if someone shouts, be kind to them), and forgiveness (you know that lady that jumped the queue, forgive her, don't fume).

The tide will rise, till it does, each one of us must.