THE DEATHLY HOLLOWS

I am at a fix- - unable to perceive how to make head or tail of these things which have, swirling out of nowhere, suddenly threatened to overshadow my life….

It is almost embarrassing to think, that I had once considered the mere possibility of being rejected by someone, as the most difficult, and heart wrenching of affairs that I can ever  encounter……now that the foundations, ideals, on which I had built my life up to now, are being rendered false and weak, how am I to withstand this sudden onslaught???

Consider this--an average, middle class, Indian, born and brought up in a reasonably conventional manner, imparted the usual ideals and notions about ethics, etiquette, morality, good and bad…..suddenly, one day, wakes up to find that everything around him has turned topsy-turvy…the people who were supposed to his role models, suddenly being exposed as not-so-virtuous characters…every one of his ethics flouted, violated..All good and evil jumbled up….what else is supposed to happen when you find out that the very person who inspires you to be idealistic, virtuous and good, himself abandons all these qualities and crosses over to the evil side?? It really overwhelms our poor protagonist…as he has trouble discerning the cause behind such a massive reversal in roles…..and it does not help when the person against whom he’s supposed to protest is his parent- the same person who guided his faltering steps when he needed help most…and now the same person behaves in such a manner, which according to his own teachings, is nothing short of condemnatory.........

It’s as if the walls he had constructed to support his life have almost crumbled down upon him…..and to make things worse, it isn’t really an option making his woes public..that would result in monstrous backlashes, both against him and the rest of the “dependants”….and they also have the social ramifications to consider…which brings me to the point of my discussion—social ramifications of this matter…..

It is evident that the fear of being ill-perceived by the erstwhile social circles is one of the main reasons why such problems do not get exposed….the resulting chaos and shame would be destructive to the interests of the family concerned…while every gossip-monger in the region gets a new and spicy matter to circulate, it becomes unbearable for the people involved in the matter to escape the after-effects of the scandal….be it the  person who benefitted from the atrocious act, or the ones who were on the receiving side of the stick—both sides are exulted to the level of celebrities, but not in the good sense….their dirty linen gets washed in the public, people whisper behind their backs…..and the family history is often referred to while considering their candidatures for any event., be it marriage, jobs or even while discussing the general countenance of the person… in a nutshell, such an action is destined to result in an inexplicable, illogical but strong prejudice against them in the minds of the general onlooker, irrespective of their allegiances in the course of this “atrocious” matter…. So, it would not be unusual for any individual, involved in such a face-off, to shun the society and its unwritten but well-established norms, as these were instrumental in the deterioration of his/her opportunities in life, albeit no fault of their own…it would be extremely normal for this individual to form a grudge against the society in general ….and to breed the habit of not caring about the norms and regulations laid down by the society…isn’t it??

Well..the answer to this question can easily be a whole-hearted yes….it would be so nice to just get away from the purview of the society…to bask in the glory of solitude…..not to be bound by any conventions…do as you like….no reason to worry about anything anymore…don’t care what the others think…don’t give a damn to what they say….. to what they deem as allowed in the society…I am entirely at liberty to whatever I please and whenever I please—these are the sentiments that are most likely to be echoed in the thoughts and actions of that individual…

But wait a minute, let’s just go through these few lines once again –aren’t these the very thoughts that had initially caused this debacle?? Wasn’t non-compliance with the norms of the society and its rules the reason why this afflicted individual is standing at this point?? Was it not for the disregard of long-established code of conduct that such a pathetic situation resulted?? Did not the “i-do-what-I-want-the –world-be-damned” attitude lead to the destruction of what could have been a happy family earlier??

So is this what is going to happen again?? Is the hapless individual, the initial victim destined to repeat the mistake, maybe fully, maybe partially, which had earlier rendered him a social outcast?? Will there be no end to this vicious cycle??

Well..

Tough call……isn't it?