KEEPING QUIET

Witnessing the present dreadful COVID scenario and the painfully muted lockdown days, I would like to quote some lines from the renowned Chilean poet Pablo Neruda’s beautiful universal poem ‘Keeping Quiet’ - “Those who prepare green wars, wars with gas, wars with fire, victories with no survivors, would put on clean clothes and walk about with their brothers in the shade, doing nothing.’’

No doubt, the present lockdown observed in almost all parts of the world have shown one thing in common. When an unprecedented and unpredictable shadow of inevitable danger looms large over life, even the most dreadful enemies of mankind - the extremists, the tyrants, dictators and warmongering leaders tend to resort to measures that maintain peace and stow away the barrels of their guns at least for some time until the greater crisis passes. These days are days of definite silence, of keeping quiet and introspecting upon our current plight and what led us here. Let us understand ourselves. We also have to fully appreciate the fact that the human desire to overpower, avariciousness to dominate people and land and our innate burning desire to rule the universe comes to nothing in front of a virus which stealthily demolishes the very essential and advanced pillars that hold up modern-day humanity! Let us hope that these lockdown days are days for everyone to purify their body and soul. Let us home that this time our can shift some basic tendencies away from selfishness and shortsightedness and moves us towards a path to being better global citizens and neighbours. Let us join together in this new world to come in order to create a peaceful, good, healthy and harmonious existence where man is not at odds with nature and more importantly, with his fellow man.

M PRADYU, KERALA via email