October 4, 2008

Survival of the Fittest

Its 7:55 monday morning. I am at the Dombivli station waiting for my 8:01 semi-fast local. I can see the first class coach of another train in the adjacent platform. There is a crowd just outside the entrance. All trying rather fighting to get in. Someone is pushing people inside. There are some shouting at others to get in. Quite a few are holding on to the pole at the entrance. Few are hanging on the door only on their toes.

In the whole fight i see a young kid trying to make his way through. He is not as tall as others. He is not as strong as others. He cannot shout as others. But he surely knows how to make his way inside. Within seconds this kid is in while others are still struggling.

Its not just this morning. This whole episode goes on and on and on, 7 days a week, 30 days a month, 365 days a year.... this never stops. The fight only gets tougher.

My thought goes back to the kid in the train. What his parents must be teaching him? To respect elders, to be polite with strangers, to help others, not to be selfish, learn to give, etc, etc...

But what does he learn in reality?
He fights, he pushes, he shouts, he abuses...

And this is what each n every child in this society is learning. Imagine a society where everyone is only fighting against each other, where people only hate one another. Where there is space only for the strong, the aggressive. No place for the mild, the sober. Where all people will know is to get their job done ... without thinking about its effect on others.

Are we going back to the Darwinian days of survival of the fittest? Where only the strongest animal survives.

Are we then becoming animals again?
Our recent actions suggest that. Everyone of us carry an 'attitude' with us. The rough the better. An attitude which says 'who the hell are you to tell me anything?'.

That is the attitude we carry with ourselves everywhere. To work, to home, to parties, during travel. And that is how we express ourselves. This attitude reflects in the way we talk, act and react. To be different, be polite is just out of the question. Its unthinkable.

But is it that difficult?

Oh! there is a loud horn. I can see my train arriving at the station. The crowd gathers in a huddle. All ready to jump in. The train slows. The coach approaches. And then ... here i go ...

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Valid point, trideep, wonderfully said. It's very sad to see this. This bothers me on a regular basis now-a-days. We were raised with values. Why aren't they being passed on. This is certainly not for good.

Trideep said...

VM,

Its not that the values are not passed. The problem is that the application of these values are less in todays world. Everywhere we see that the aggressive and cunning gets his way... Hence people are not applyin the values.