The watchman
India is in the throes of election mania these days. The chaiwala of last season is fast changing into the chowkidar this one. While the opposition tries to brand him a chor his followers try to glorify him. It is in this context that I am reminded of a few lines by Miriam Vedder about a chowkidar r watchman:
The watchman walked the little streets
With slow and steady tread;
He slung his lantern as he went, —
" All's well! " the watchman said.
Behind close blinds, a woman sat
Who had no more to sell;
The watchman paused before her door, —
" All's well! " he cried, " All's well! "
An old man shivered in the dark
Who had no bread to eat;
Echoed the watchman's cry, " All's well! "
Along the empty street.
The watchman passed a silent house
Wherein a child had died;
A candle burned against the pane, —
" All's well! " the watchman cried.
And through the night the watchman passed
With slow and steady tread;
And ever to the little streets
" All's well! " the watchman said.
Aamir Khan aka Rancho aka Phunsuk Wangdoo of 3 idiots fame has immortalized the” All ij well” idiom into the minds of Indians. But is all really well under the watchful eyes of our chowkidar? Time and history will be the true judge of this question, we as observers of the current milieu can only try and set up a balance sheet to see if the ledger books have matched up favorably. It is for us to put the 5 years in perspective before we head for the ballot boxes again or in India the EVMs.
While I will not sit on a judgment or to analyze whether Chowkidar (Watchman) is chor(thief) or chappan inch wala (56” chest), I will definitely dwell on the words of Miriam from earlier. Is the watchman extolling all is well when people are suffering from hunger, when the family folks are silently mourning the death of their young, lamenting the loss of work, while there is only the loud echo of all being well by the watchman for there is no other voice to dissonant and only silence of the night to resonate and echo his cry.
India has unfortunately witnessed all this and more. Farmers have committed suicide out of debt and hunger. Their cries of plea have not been heeded. Demonetization came and went, the general public made long queues to withdraw their own monies and some suffered, some even died. Yes, India has seen its fair share of hunger.
The blood of our soldiers who have died in their prime, of students like Rohit Velmurra promising yet extinguished before they could bloom re testimony t the silent sobs o the family folk in our nation. The families of the victims of cow lynching, of unbridled nationalism that has led to death, of crony cultists that have gone unchecked under the watch of the chowkidar have all shed silent tears. Tears that ask questions to the chowkidar of whether all is well?
Employment and business opportunities is another area where we need to wonder if things are on track. Statistics are saying otherwise while the government is saying otherwise. While we must trust our government, but then as they say even Caesar's wife should be above suspicion so all claims made by the government should be such that there is no scope for people to question.
As election season comes and the bandwagon of promises by one party or the other will start flooding in, we need to focus on issues that affect us in our living. Issues of employment, issue of price rise, of health care, of livelihood, of homeland security. I m sure Ram temple and triple talaq will be used to build up a frenzy. Surgical strikes Balakot and nationalism will be bandied around. The opposition will cry itself hoarse on unemployment and Rafael, on the farmer suicides and on intolerance, on beef eating and on petrol prices. The rulers will talk about governance, about ujjwala, about Jan Dhan and mudra loans. But we the affected will need to separate the chaff and identify the actual issues that will affect us.
As we will walk to the polling booths I am sure our expectations will be of a secure future. For some, it could be the cloth of heaven spread beneath our feet in the form of a Ram temple or black money coming in from yonder land and into our accounts. But for the prudent majority we need to be the poor man who spreads his dreams at the feet of our Chowkidar, and in the words of William Butler Yeats, plea “I have spread my dreams under your feet; Tread softly because you tread on my dreams”.
Our hopes lie on the chowkidar whether the current one or a new one that the cries of all well that he echoes down the roads is not an empty one
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