Risible World I see.......

 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.