The Fifth of November
Remember, remember!
The fifth of November,
The Gunpowder treason and plot;
I know of no reason
Why the Gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot!
A happy Guy Fawkes’ Day to all our friends over in the United Kingdom. Enjoy the fireworks, blokes, lads and ladies! But stay safe too.
Are any of you still suffering from a Halloween induced sugar high? I know I am! And that’s despite the fact that Halloween isn’t traditionally celebrated here in India except for a few themed parties here and there. But your girl couldn’t leave an excuse to hog on some candy now, could she? (okay, maybe it was more than some but, hey, who’s counting?)
I’m a firm believer of the saying that there ain’t no Halloween without a bit of Stephen King. So I spent the long weekend curled up with his latest gift to the literary world, Gwendy’s Button Box. And no, I didn’t watch IT, or any other horror movie for that matter. I’m a big time scaredy cat with an over active imagination. Really, think Amelia Jane’s level of a runaway imagination (for those of you who grew up on a healthy dose of Enid Blyton). If I watch a horror flick, I end up with endless, sleepless nights riddled with nightmares. Answering nature’s calls in the middle of the night become a tricky affair too. I scare myself into thinking what if I look at a mirror and see a hand closing in behind me, or if I don’t look like myself? Shivers
Books, however, are a different matter altogether. The creation of a spooky atmosphere by spinning words is an awe inspiring art of which I’m a big fan.
Yet, howsoever much I tried to protect my sensitive and reactive mind from horrifying visuals, I did end up being scared out of my wits. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a movie, book or a scary costume. It was the real world and the monsters that reside amongst us.
I was at a complete loss for words when I opened the newspaper and read that a 100 year old woman was raped in a town not too far from where I live. A 100 YEAR OLD LADY. One too feeble to even raise an arm in protest. One too weak to cry out in alarm. One so ill and bedridden that she could not survive the agony inflicted on her and passed away even before she could be taken to the hospital.
Are you suitably horrified yet? Do I need to remind you of an earlier post in which I’d discussed a court case where a 7 month old baby had been sexually abused?
What world are we living in, really? Where has it been ordained that it’s okay to violate another person so brutally and sickeningly? When did we stop respecting people as human beings? As having a life?
Halloween itself stemmed from the belief that when summer ended and the darker half of the year began, the lines between this world and the spirit realm blurred and spirits, both evil and good, roamed the earth freely on this day. People dressed up in terrifying costumes so as to mingle with the monsters so that they could not be distinguished as humans and harmed. We literally, made ourselves look like monsters.
Today, I believe we need to do more in order to stand out from the vile, evil and disgusting people we live among. Differentiate ourselves. Make it known that we abhor being coupled with them as one. We detest what they do and it shall be condoned no more. Let’s bring up our children to be good people first, rather than just successful.
I know, naysayers would say our efforts would be like a drop in the ocean, meaningless and futile. To them, I’d like to point to a saying we have in India boond boond se Sagar Banta hai. Roughly translated, it means that an ocean is formed drop by drop. Every single one of it is material.
So this Halloween, let’s vow to slay the monsters within us and around us. Let it be a day of fun and frolicking and let real life monsters become a myth. Are you with me? We owe it to ourselved and the world to give it our best shot, after all!
Moonlighting Scrivener 