Barriers that we create

Dear Readers,

It's been quite sometime that I have not been able to blog. There were too many things going on - workfront, my Mom's health not keeping well etc. Now that all these are sorted, thought of resuming my blogging again.

Just few days ago, when my maid asked me for a glass of water, I was looking for the designated glass which I usually give her and others who help us in our daily household work. Just then I realised something - I am unknowingly following the same norm which I have seen in my childhood days at home. I have seen my Mom, my Grandmom using separate dishes and glasses for the maids. For the guests of the house, seperate kind of crockery set was used but the difference between the dishes for maid and for the guests was the quality of the plates. The guests were given higher quality material plates, the family would use the basic material plates (steel at that time) and the maids would get aluminium or old steel plates.

I immediately stopped searching for my maid's designated glass and asked myself, if today instead of her any other guests come to my home and ask me for water in which glass should I have served water? Definitely not the designated steel glass, but the from the neatly kept shelf - one of the finest glasses. I took out the glass from the guest shelf and served her water. I found respect and happiness in her eyes.

That day I decided to stop making or following any of the norms that unknowingly we follow, the behaviour or practice that we do to put barriers between people basis their financial status. Instead of serving food in the plate as per financial status or type of job that the people do, the most logical thing would probably be serving food in plates as per medical condition of the person. Let's say if someone is suffering from infectious disease or is ill severely, then that person should have a designated plate. Rest all should have food from similar type of plates.

Not only in home, we see social practice of putting barriers (basis of bank balance) in several places. Have you observed that in many offices people at higher management level will have lunch only with the people on the same table with those who belong to their grade? Or have you observed the team lunch where boss and his team have lunch together - where if you hear the conversation you would hear the tone something similar to the one which used to happen several years ago in a king's court where the king would only talk and rest of his people would just nod their heads in agreement? By hearing the conversation and body language you would know who the boss is. Or have you observed people in party or gathering where in a group particular someone would be in the limelight and smile all along, while the rest of the people would praise about his/her wealth or financial achievement?

From my childhood days, I had seen people with greater bank balance getting that social power - either getting validation from other people or getting the right to demean others with lesser bank balance. I would think if money is the power then I must have it.

My thoughts were shattered in many of the occassions and the phrase "Money is power" is so wrong in so many ways. There were several instances in life which taught me to value life more than money, to value gifts beyond their monetary value, to value people and not their profession, to value people and not how much do they earn.

I will quote one such incidences here. As I visited my ailing mother in hospital, I found several beds side by side. So many people from different age groups suffering from the same kind of disease were lying on the beds in that same ICU. I was feeding my mother with spoon and she was very reluctant to eat, because of her low appetite. Another lady almost of her age was slight better health wise,she was put to the bed just next to my mom's bed, she encouraged my mom to eat. As I looked around the room I found people from well to do families were there ( the hospital being a decent one). All their ego, all their bank balance, their pride ended on the hospital bed. All of them, irrespective of caste, creed, religion, birth, bank balance were fighting for the one single most precious thing - their lives. 

Value life while it lasts - my last thought for tonight! What's your? Let me know.

With love,

Twisa Dandapat