The book I read some time ago comes to my mind now:  The Anthem By Ayn Rand.  There she speaks about how Collectivism gave way to Individualism, in the name of development and evolution.  The novel starts with the pronoun We throughout, but it is very symbolic that the last chapter of the book speaks of the protagonist as “ I”.

We are all catapulting towards the above doctrine today.  Be it in the name of self-growth, or development, or even self-awareness.  But sadly, in this process we seem to lose touch with our core selves, that one point in all of us,that keeps us connected to each other.  In the human sphere, we cannot think of it but in terms of qualifying and formalised relationships.  This kept the structure of the family, community and country together.  As time progresses, we stand stuck.  We are not growing, not imbibing the finer qualities of humaneness, but letting go of them in the name of it being burdensome, and too cumbersome.  Even the labels no longer seem to matter and disconnect seems to be the order of the day, with no time to invest in relationships.    

I remember writing a piece sometime back of a squirrel that visits my balcony every morning for crumbs.  And how the crows that caw for their share of morsel, patiently wait for the squirrel to finish eating, or the squirrel leaves some crumbs for his  companions in eating.  That was about inter-species camaraderie, a sense of belonging. 

But we are so far removed from their world today, that let alone take care of other species, we don’t even resonate with our own.  Individuation at its peak today!

Mankind attempted to keep the social fabric together by making rules and regulations in the forms of festivals, ceremonies and functions.  But he forgot to make the rules with consequences.  Or did he?  I am not sure.  Maybe the consequences are not immediate so we do not really bother.  So we redefine our priorities in attending these rituals and ceremonies, stating unavailability of time, (for we dare not yet state inclination as the cause), social pressures, etc., and beg to be excused from being present.

And when we do face the consequences, of a sense of rootlessness, of a sense of disconnect with the rest of humanity, resulting in pathological diagnosis of depression, anxiety, little do we realise that it is largely our doing;   it is a result of us running ahead so fast, leaving our loved ones behind that when we do turn back and look, we are indeed really, really alone… and perhaps too late.

MOHANA NARAYANAN

JULY 3, 2017