Black Friday

Rarely have I ever gone in to watch a movie with such high expectations and come out satisfied. No unnecessary song and dance. No unnecessary monologues. No needless drama. No needless tears and no mindless action. The script stays tight and true to the plot. And the actors do justice to the script.

It was fitting that I went alone to see it. It was fitting that I saw it in a second-rund theater rather than the glitzy multiplexes. It was fitting that the movie was interrupted for a briefest moment (a power cut?)

For many of the people around, it was just a movie. It was entertainment. Not for me. It wasn't just another movie just as it won't be just another movie for those millions of mumbaikars who toil to fulfill their burning dreams.

The headmistress of our school - Ranjini Madam - lost her son to the bomb blasts in the Bombay Stock Exchange. She used to be the last authority in school. All the students were scared of her. She seemed to lose a bit of her edge after that.

12th March 1993. Thirteen years ago. Is it enough time to heal such pain? Is it enough time to soothe the scars? Ask those who lost their near and dear ones. They alone can tell.

Nik told me about his experience in the Bombay riots. He used to stay on Malad Link road then. He was standing on the balcony watching the city below. There was a muslim guy who had come to see his sister. The auto took a right turn to its destination. A bunch of hindus somehow got wind of the fact that a mussalman was in the auto. They took a kaccha road diagonally to cut the auto. Dragged the boy out. Torched him. A live human being on fire.

Such mindless hatred. Such thoughtless killing. What is it about riots, about mobs that reasonable, educated individuals turn to animals. Being in a group - men turn to beasts. Is it some sort of fantasies coming true? Ask those who were part of the mobs.

One can rationalise human tendency to distrust people from another race, another location, another custom. It is a behaviour derived from millions of years of evolution. Nature in its infinite wisdom preserves those behaviours, just as she does those organs, which are crucial for the survival of the species. That is also how one rationalises the human need to stereotype. One race meets another on virgin land. They are a threat. They are unknown. They are competitors for meagre supplies of food and water. And hence, the mistrust. Only when the basic necessities are abundantly fulfilled do these barriers fall. Trade begins. Slowly. Cultural, Educational Exchange. Exchange of ideas. Slowly. Blossoms. The basic requirement though, of abundance of supplies for both parties must hold. Friendship exists, but only among equals.

The parallel between this model of levels of human interaction between two clans and the individual's growth along Maslow's hierrarchy is uncanny. Basic needs first. Economic standing next. Love and Respect. Self-actualisation - the last. And thus also in case of communion between two communities.

Enough intellectualisation for a day. Getting back to my basic needs of sleep now! Sweet dreams...