‘Tis the Season to be Jolly!

-

 
Dreamstime stock photo

December begins with a tug of the heart, my favourite month especially since it happens to be my birthday month as well. Not for nothing do we call ourselves Sagittarius, (I recently discovered that the word ‘Sagittarian’ does not really exist.) However, it is like the word ‘awry’, which for years, many of us mispronounced till we realised that it was ‘a-wry’ and not ‘awwry’!  Awful, really! I haven’t lived that down yet.

Montages flit by on the television of Christmas being celebrated around the world – green pine trees, shining stars and angels on top, stockings hung, glittering gifts galore, holly, mistletoe and tinsel – and just the hope that Santa will come down one’s chimney! 

Pixabay
Delicious Xmas feasts and the sound of fun and laughter as families gather to spend the festive season together! The sound of carols being sung, the story of Joseph and Mary and their miracle baby, Jesus, who was born in a manger add on to the aura of Christmas.   
                      
                                             
                   Unsplash                         

 On another level altogether, the noise of guns shut out all other sounds as innocents perish in the crossfire. Houses demolished, the population decimated, and the saddest thing of all, children being orphaned; little hearts broken, little minds marred. There are women who have been killed as they have scrounged for food to feed their families, men who have stepped out for errands and never returned. In those war-ravaged countries, there are no thoughts of Christmas, as they live from day to day, night to night, unaware if they will survive another twenty-four hours. The uncertainty of life, the insecurity, the perils of war engulf them as they send up fervent prayers to their God.

Kyiv, Ukraine - Unsplash pic

How do two such diverse scenarios exist side by side in a world that is increasingly turning polarised? Survivors have lived through two devastating World Wars. There have been conflagrations in various countries, the latest being the Russian-Ukraine conflict and of course, the Israel-Gaza confrontation.

 Mother Earth is also retaliating in her own way for the ill treatment being meted out to her through earthquakes, the melting of ice in the polar regions, tsunamis, forest fires, the COVID-19 debacle. Climate change is a burning topic on the minds of governments.

Climate Change - Unsplash pic

Maybe we are tiny cogs in a world too vast to be measured, but isn’t there anything we can do to retain the balance that would make us live better lives, wherever we dwell? Isn’t that the message of Christmas anyway, as also the message of all religions… create a world in which all creatures live together in harmony? 

The motto that we follow in our school reinforces this principle. “Let the peal of harmony be the appeal of all religions.” For it is in schools we must start, where we teach our little ones the significance of respect, gratitude and of course, the art of living together in peace and joy.

On Christmas eve today, my fervent prayer is a universal one.

May all wars and conflicts end, and be replaced with mutual understanding!

May this Christmas be a wonderful one! 

May peace, love and harmony follow us always!

 

Unsplash

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Clouds and Waves by Rabindrananth Tagore - Poetry: The Best Words in the Best Order - #BlogchatterA2ZChallenge2021

-
Image
     CLOUDS AND WAVES Rabindranath Tagore Amazon.com Serenity in the Garden Mother, the folk who live up in the clouds call out to me - "We play from the time we wake till the day ends. We play with the golden dawn, we play with the silver moon." I ask, "But how am I to get up to you?" They answer, "Come to the edge of the earth, lift up your hands to the sky, and you will be taken up into the clouds." "My mother is waiting for me at home," I say, "How can I leave her and come?" Then they smile and float away.    But I know a nicer game than that, mother. I shall be the cloud and you the moon.  I shall cover you with both my hands, and our house-top will be the blue sky.  The folk who live in the waves call out to me - "We sing from morning till night; on and on we travel and know not where we pass.            Sunaina Coelho I ask, "But how am I to join you? They tell me, "Come to the edge of the shore and stand with yo
Read more

THE STRANGE CASE OF THE MISSING TEETH

-
Image
                                                                            Clipart.com I cannot forget the shocked expression on the young dentist’s face. “Where are all your teeth?” “Uhh… in my mouth, where they should be?” I mumbled, perched on the leather chair as he peered into my mouth. His eyes widened with bewilderment as he leant forward, almost falling into the gaping cavern in front of him. “Three missing here… three on the other side! Two more here and a broken tooth!” I was quite shocked out of my wits. Where had all my teeth disappeared to? I did recall a few sittings earlier where some of my wisdom had been yanked out, but eight and a half teeth? I was a walking miracle! More importantly, an ‘eating’ miracle! When my better half agonised over one painful grinder that made life (and mealtimes) miserable, here I was, chewing away at everything in sight with not a care in the world. The mystery deepened. Had I swallowed my teeth unwittingly? The X-ray of my mout
Read more

The Miracle of Love - Fiction - Post Number 8: #MyFriendAlexa

-
Image
Credits: Col. Gopinath Menon The waves crashed on the rocks, a sound that Sudesh loved, as he sat feeling the freshness of the spray on his face. Voices echoed around him, and he could feel the vibration as people jogged along the beach, and his sightless eyes turned towards the movement. He had been coming to this spot for many months now, ever since he had shifted to Mumbai, after his mother had passed away.  The sound of the sea evoked a vision that he could only feel, not see. He could smell the delicious puris that Ram Prasad was frying, very near to where he sat. Every day the cheerful proprietor would look for a moment when there were few customers, and hand over a plate of piping hot puris and delicious potato curry to the gentle blind man who sat there, so young and so uncomplaining!                                                                                                                                                               Youtube Sudesh
Read more