I met a shepherd
when I went to one of the nearby mountain pass as part of my reconnaissance. He
asked for a pain killer as his throat ached of shouting after the herd. A
fragile, timid body he had, skin wrinkled at every possible place in every
possible angle… face uplift surgeons would take years to bring this one to
gleaming state I wondered..or maybe they will simply deny the possibility! Hair
all grey on him. He wore dusty grey kurta payjama, typical in this part of the
world, payjamas cut short above his ankle as per his religious beliefs. He
could understand little of what I said and so was the other way round. He had
sharp pointed ears, a long flaring nose with nostrils similar to domes as
perched on top of some old Mughal era monument, his pointed chin was covered
under long inverted triangular beard, which he said had never been shaved
completely.
On asking him how old is he? He replied his mother died couple of
decades back and he was twelve then so he is 32 years old. Further he added
after his mother’s death his father left him to be with another woman. He
worked as day laborer to survive, could never go to school and past few years
had been working as a shepherd, he takes care of sheep and goats and brings
them in the lap of Himalayas to be fed and in return is paid by the owners of
the flock. He had lost count of the years he had lived. He never married, he
couldn’t… life never gave him a chance, all he could think every morning is to
survive for another day.
He doesn’t know how many planets are there in our
solar system, he doesn’t know why the sky is blue, stars glittering, why it
rains why its dark in night, why moon shines, where does sun go in night? He
doesn’t even know why humans fight, why they kill each other, who are
politicians, what are politicians exploiting, what is power, what are borders,
what is state, what is country, which color flag is of the country? Does it
really matter to him? Is awareness to all these questions feed him? Is sense of
belonging to our great country will feed, clothe and shelter him? We all know
the answer.
So......
He just sits there staring at nothingness, looking
forward to blankness, waiting for the setting darkness, with no bright hope,
with no sense of achievement, success or panache. He doesn’t want to change
anything or bring any good to anyone. He didn’t choose this oblivion or did he?
He was born this way and will continue this way till he breath his last as
billion others incinerating in their own comfort corners from this officious
world and its risible sociology.
