Creation and Criticism

Dr OP Arora, a well-known poet, novelist and short story writer, has published five volumes of his poems, The Creeping Shadows, Embers in the Ashes, The Edge of the Cliff, Pebbles on the Shore and Whispers in the Wilderness and three novels, A Bite of Paradise, The Silken Traps and Beyond the Mists. He has to his credit two books in Hindi too—one, a novel, and the other, a collection of short stories. He has an excellent academic record and holds a Doctorate in English Literature from Panjab University, Chandigarh. He has taught in Delhi University for nearly four decades. He resides at A-2/B, 183A, Ekta Apartments, Paschim Vihar, New Delhi- 110063; and can also be contacted through email: arora.omp@gmail.com.

Received on June 11, 2024; Accepted on July 12, 2024. Available online: Oct 10, 2024. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License

“So, playing with the birds.”

“Oh, you! So early! Lovely.”

“But you seem to be so completely engrossed in them. How do you care for me?”

“What are you saying? You see, this is my time with them—eight to eight-thirty morning. At exact 8 a.m. they land here in my compound. They take their breakfast here. Then we play and chat. Their twitter creates a melodious atmosphere here. I get lost in that, and enjoy the divine melody. At eight-thirty they go back to their nests, feed their kids, play with them and take them around.”

“Funny. So much research on these birds! Or you have yourself become a bird? Darling, what is all this? You never cared for me that much. Very interesting.”

“Swati, not joking. They come here every morning. That half an hour is the best part of my day. I love them. They are my best friends. You see, they are natural beings. No hypocrisy, no deceit, no betrayal. And truly, they understand my language too. They sit on my palm, on my shoulder, sometimes on my head too… They are delighted to play in my lap. I am really in love with Nature.”

"That is dangerous, very dangerous, Prashant. What about me? If you are in love with them, what would happen to me? You have perhaps forgotten that I too am in love with you, and crave your attention.”

“My God, Swati, you are jealous of them. Jealous even of my birds! What would be your condition when you find me with ten other girls?”

“I would kill them. You too.”

“I would love you more for that”, Prashant said and laughed. “ But look here, look at the difference between man and birds. You would kill my friends for your love, and they have started jumping and hopping and want to sit in your lap. Their world is guileless. Simple and innocent. I enjoy being with them so much.”

“OK, my dear Wordsworth. Your love for Nature is OK, and I love you even more for that. But what is this that I hear? You, on fast unto death! Is it another joke of yours?”

“No, Swati, this is no joke. And if it’s a joke, then it is a very serious joke.”

Swati grew serious. Apprehensive too. Coming closer to him, she gazed into his eyes for a while, and said, “ What do you mean, it’s not a joke? I can’t believe it. You, such an easy-going and comfort-loving person, not bothering about the social and political issues and rejecting altogether concepts that are philosophical or mystical. I have been away only three months, and find you altogether a changed man. What has happened? Some crisis? Some big shock? What has changed you so much? I am really worried.”

“No, Swati. Nothing unpleasant or awful. In fact it is a kind of awakening from slumber. You have rightly said I was a kind of walking corpse. Most of us in India are. We are thoughtless people. Nothing disturbs us unless we are personally affected by something. Social, national or international issues, they don’t have any significance for us. As Wordsworth said, we lay waste our powers, “ earning and spending”.

Swati was baffled. She had known a different Prashant. Just three months and this much change! Looks terrible. No, it can’t happen normally.Either some big shock or an inspirational guide.She had tried her level best to engage him in some kind of social activity or charitable work but he had flatly refused: That is not my cup of tea. She could not comprehend how he had undergone this transformation. “ Prashant, you are a different man. You are talking big. I don’t understand it all. I am afraid. And wherefrom did this awakening come, my dear?” Swati said and smiled with her twinkling eyes.

Prashant looked far into the horizon. “ Swati, it’s indeed a mystery, this life. What may stir your soul and awaken your latent spirits, you never know. When a thirteen year old girl stood before the so-called great leaders of the entire globe, and with fire in her eyes, thundered: How dare you? Those three words got imprinted on my mind, and I really became thoughtful. And when she said, You are killing our generation, and you talk of GDP! How true! Only she had the guts to stand up to the mightiest leaders and tell them they are the culprits, murderers not only of the coming generations but also of the Mother Earth.”

“Oh, Greta!” Swati said somberly and got lost in thoughts. She recalled how she too had got shaken by her sharp, accusing words and powerful voice. Somebody had to rise above the self and show the mirror to these leaders of the human race who were always inventing excuses to put off the strong and immediate action needed to prevent further damage to the environment. The whole globe is burning and they are sleeping.

“Her words electrified me, but I might have forgotten them easily after a drink with my friends”, Prashant said looking straight into Swati’s tell-tale eyes. “ But I was horrified by the response of those great leaders who are the guardians of this planet, they who are killing this beautiful planet. Callous and indifferent. Decrying her serious and sincere pleadings, unmindful of the burden they were carrying. Once again, moving on to the non-issues, and money-talk. Suddenly my spirit revolted: Is money more important than the human race or the earth? Global warming, Pollution, ground-water depletion, climate change, they were the real issues, weren’t they? And what had happened to these so-called leaders? They were leading the human race to extinction. And before that, to all sorts of diseases. Cancer is spreading like an epidemic.”

Swati was delighted to see Prashant changed. But she wanted to dissuade him from going to the extreme in the first go. “ Relax, Prashant, relax. You seem to have gone very deep into the environmental concerns. That is good. We can always raise our voice. I am with you. But, what is this, fast unto death?”

But Prashant was in a belligerent mood. His face was radiating determination. “ Once your spirit awakens”, he said holding Swati’s hand, “ you cannot take things lying. We in India have been very merciless with Nature. We have destroyed all the assets of our great country. Our cities, horrible! Most polluted cities in the world. Our capital, the most polluted capital in the world. We have denuded all our hills. Killed the Himalayas too. We could have seven Switzerlands in the Himalayas and here we are. Look at our rivers, even the most sacred ones. Our greed has killed everything that was beautiful. And now, here comes the news, this piece of reserve forest, where these birds have their homes, which gives us some comfort, some oxygen, which is the lifeline of this area, is being given to a developer for a Mall. Money changes hands and the land-use is changed. Ugly high-rise buildings, concrete jungles, splashy cars creating more pollution. And people in the area lose all hope of a waft of fresh air. Now what do you do?”

Swati was happy that Prashant was determined to fight for the environmental issues. Maybe, we could save the Antarctic and the Arctic glaciers from melting anymore. Maybe, the world would awaken to save the earth. Strange! We are destroying life on the earth while going into the space in search of life. Man is a big puzzle. Here is Prashant, she thought, who too had suddenly become a big puzzle for her. “Prashant, let us go”, she said putting her hand on his shoulder, “and meet the officials. Let’s write, let us argue, let us plead. They would listen.”

“Nobody listens. I have tried all these things. They only listen to the jingle of money. Powerful people, they have sacks of currency notes, and can buy anyone. This land has already been allotted. In a few weeks from now, the trees would be cut and then would begin the construction of the mall. I have no option but to try this last one”, Prashant said stoically, sadly.

Swati took the cue from his own argument and pleaded, “ You have rightly said, who cares? They won’t care for your fast or anything. They would call it ‘ development’ or ‘ progress’, and you would be maligned as the enemy of ‘ progress’. They are very callous people here. Money is their God. They worship only the goddess of wealth.”

“How does it matter?” Prashant said and grew serious but adamant. “ Some people have to make sacrifices. If you think you are fighting for a good cause, you should be ready to sacrifice your everything, even your life, for it. In fact no price is too high for saving the Earth. Isn’t it amazing that despite watching all the warnings Nature is giving them almost daily all over the globe, they turn a blind eye to the catastrophe that is awaiting all of us. Gigantic failure of the human race. How can we be so selfish? Think of only our today. Small people with petty minds.”

“But Prashant, this is suicide” Swati now pleaded, her voice almost choking.

“No, this is a sacrifice for a good cause. Maybe, they learn something.”

“Please give it a second thought. We might find some other way to get things done.”

“I have already written to them, and announced my protest fast unto death. No way. And I wouldn’t backtrack”, said Prashant firmly.

“But Prashant, you were always Arjuna—avoiding, evading the fight at the last moment.”

“Swati, Greta became my Krishna. I am now firmed up. I will fight till the last and will win. This forest will not go, whether I live or not.”

“OK”, Swati said with a sad smile. “Since you are so determined and doing it for such a good cause, I won’t dissuade you anymore. And now I too would sit with you. We two together.”

“No Swati, no”, he said lovingly. “You won’t sit on the fast. Because I would badly need you for mobilising people, particularly the youth. You are very good at that. Social media. It would be of great use. The more the people, the bigger the movement. And politicians can’t afford to lose their votes”, Prashant said with a wink. He put his hand on her shoulder and smiled. “ I know you would do everything in your power to save the forest. “

“Yes, I would do everything in my power to save you, or I shall be mourning you all my life as a widow”

“No, please don’t do that”, said Prashant pinching sweetly on her cheek, “ or my soul would be haunting you all the while.”

Swati’s eyes welled up with tears. She rushed to hug him tight, and gave him a warm and passionate kiss.

Prashant’s hands curled around her and they both continued gazing into each other’s naughty eyes.