Seawater turning sweet......a miracle...or a public fiasco??

This is how it all started....

I got up at about 12:35 am.The only problem...I just couldnt manage to sleep a wink.Thought of reading anything i could lay hands upon.But then i dismissed the thought altogether.Across the room lay my only refuge in the worst spasms of paranoia(a little bit...occasionally)and imsomnia(well not so much a little bit......and yes,quite frequently).....the one-shot,cure-it-all....my best friend and worst foe(believe me.....at the same time...),the idiot box.

I switched it on,and what i saw first made me puke.....then caused me to go in a fit of insanity(laughing my head off.....that is).There was this report about people flocking to the shores of mahim creek,by the bucketload.......only to drink sea water.....which they claim had turned sweet as a result of a miracle!!!But tending to the controversial and explosive nature of the news,it spread like a fire through a forest in autumn.

But then,rational thinking got over me.....and made me wonder as to what was wrong with all the masses here...how could someone be so gullible and naive...or worse so blindly fanatical and irrational??How could faith probably explain such an occurence??Ok,I do agree faith can work wonders,i could exagerrate it to such an extent by saying that the boundaries of faith begin only where the limits of rationality and science diminish.....but an occurence like this is totally nonsensical.

And then,the usual story...news channels and media personnel flocking to the scene...pouncing upon this piece of news with such a savage hunger,that it makes you wonder whether they actually have anything else to look forward to in their miserable lives.....the BMC also rushed to the spot going about trying to convince people that it was unsafe,rather injurious for them to consume the water,sadly,in vain.The reason for the same was that the water contained large quantities of heavy metals like Lead,Zinc,Mercury,Cadmium,etc and also extensive quantities of industrial sewage,chemical fertilizers and pesticides.On account of all this,the toxicity levels in the water shoot upto an extent where even the most hardy lifeforms(with the exception of certain bacteria,and viruses)find it hostile,and extremely inhospitable to survive.But sadly enough,the people seemed too engrossed,or fitting as it seems,possessed by the sheer thought that this water is indeed the Aab-e-Zamzam(the holy water) and that God has indeed worked a miracle for the non-believers and atheists to demonstrate his power,and to turn the believers onto the right path,ceased to listen to the authorities anymore and continued with their consumption.People,take my word...dont suck the Mahim creek dry....if you are in need of miraculous water,go fetch a pail and scoop some from the loo;that would be less toxic,and more "sweeter"than the stuff you want.I cant guarantee about how miraculous the pail from the loo would be,but certainly you would die a little later than u would after consuming the "water of miracles."

The next day,when the samples were examined they showed a record 40% drop in salinity levels...(not unusual though)..authorities cited the cause as the flooding Mithi river overflowing into the creek,due to heavy rains in prior days.Once again,science had an accurate and a satisfactory answer to the occurence.....

But the main question is....Why are people in India so strongly motivated by faith(in this case...blind faith),to such an extent that they dont even bother to,atleast look at the other side of the picture??The answer probably lies somewhere in our age-old traditions,rituals and customs where faith is always given a higher pedestal when compared with rationality and logical thinking!!!
It is this irony of our way of life that has in a great way,retarded our progress in the ever-evolving race for improvement!!!!

The Means Of Survival

I was set alone to walk this path..So dark and utterly desolate...At times i was engulfed in wrath...But i decided to resign it to fate.
My dreams lay upon my feet,shattered....My visions for tomorrow,blurred....Ambitions were merely a vestige of former selves,all so tattered....But yet,after all this,my soul refused to be stirred.....
I had seen this,long ensuing....The grim and swarthy future, inevitable.....But i knew from within,this wouldnt be my undoing......I knew i had enough left for one more fight,enough to turn the table.....
The thirst for challenges had perished eras ago,The bloodlust of battle had slept...How had i changed to be someone i hardly know.....Introspected and bitterly wept,
But tears werent all that would suffice,Blood and sweat needed to flow too...Only then would i triumph in this conflict....But triumph against who???
It was a battle like no other....me against the demons of my mind.....alone i had go on,sans another....to slay some of my own kind.......
It was the face-off for my survival...so that i may flourish.....at the cost of countless others....who,sadly would need to perish....
Remorse crept into my wonted heart...How i wish it hadnt happened this way.....but then i couldnt keep them apart....In my paths they would always hold sway......
When it was all over....I remained behind,surviving and satisfied.....pleased with just a single thing in my mind.....they had a chance to fight,of that they werent denied......

The true value of independence.......

Its Independence Day today.The 15th of august every year.....its a very special day.....atleast for me...dunno about the rest of you people.In a way,people often say that its on days like these that patriotic feelings in people are arisen!!!!!! I say,to the gutters with people like these......why do patriotic feelings need to be expressed on days of national festivals like these??? I mean doesnt it sound ridiculous???? Well thats not the only thing that i found ridiculous.....I've heard of worse.....imagine someone saying he/she feels patriotic after watching a particular movie,or listening to a particular song......

Is this what its finally come down to??I mean c'mon people,get real.......this is our country....this is the only reason in the world why we are who we are.......INDIANS. This is the only reason I am proud of my cultural identity!!!!(cant say the same about everyone else!!!)

Where are the virtues that our forefathers tried to instil within us....whilst mitigating their lives....their name,fame,wealth.....their everything....just so that their successors..thats us..could see the light of a bright new dawn......a dawn that heralds the arrival of freedom with its coming.
Why are we to depend on days like national festivals,patriotic movies,or songs...to make us feel more patriotic??? Have we let those martyrs down????This is a question i ask myself today.....coz its independence day .