Child rescue operation-2006

 someone’s plight other's woe !

(No one gets concerned for others cause. In fact, every person has his/her own reason for anxiety.)

Agra, March 26, 2008 (IANS) Three-year-old Vandana, who fell into a 50-foot deep bore well shaft in a village near here, was pulled out of the pit after day long rescue efforts. Vandana, from Tehra village in Saiyan block of Agra, fell into the uncovered cylindrical pit near her home. Army personnel, police and fire brigade experts worked hard throughout the day to save the girl, Crew of several TV channels had descended on this small village, tracking every move of the army and police officials. The marathon telecast of the news almost united the whole country. The every viewer of the live telecast seemed concerned from the bottom of the heart.

The whole country was found glued to news channels for 50 hours on 21st July 2006 when media started telecasting the live coverage about a 5 years old little boy from Kurukshetra who fell into a narrow 60 ft deep pit. This kind of non-stop 50 hours marathon telecast for a boy’s life was one of the rare experiences of my life. The rescue mission took hours and hours and hours and hours. People were restless observing the little kid trapped in a small hole. Army was actively working. Cranes were arranged. Every activity and plan of digging a parallel well and then tunnel to reach the boy was being shown. With the help of a small camera Prince was made visible on T.V. monitor. Fan was arranged and bulb was hung in the pit. Oxygen pipe was inserted too in the pit. Prince was the only topic of discussion among media channels. Media men were observed screaming-“ He is breathing…wonder what’s he thinking…what a brave, courageous boy…. he moves a little…see his leg has stirred…. hand moving…now he has moved a bit…people have been camping here for hours…Prince’s parents were there…. right here…. everyone here is concerned about Prince…messages are pouring from all over the country for safety and welfare of Prince…his mother is unconsoled” People were praying for his life across the country. Best wishes and sympathy were pouring out from every corner of India. People near the pit were shown praying from the depth of their heart-“ab chhod diya sab bhar tumhaare charno me…(O God, we have now left everything on you… and we are at your mercy)”The whole country was watching T.V. and concerned about Prince. Hindus were shown performing puja and moselman were shown offering Namaz and Christians were shown praying in churches. The endless repetitions of the story continued till he was rescued. Kids were seen cutting cakes and celebrating the labour’s boy’s birthday. Few of my relatives from remote places shared the experience over phones. People burst crackers to express their joy when the poor boy was rescued. Whether it was Star News or Zee News, Sahara Samaya or Channel 7, Prince’s rescue operation eclipsed everything-but everything. The media channels were rewarded by the unprecedented TRPs they no doubt sought when they decided on this unprecedented coverage. Lakhs of SMSs too benefited the mobile services. A dozen blasts could have probably taken place in Srinagar but none of the Channel would have blinked. People were seen uninterested inquiring news related to post Mumbai Blasts episode. Media ignored the reports of increasing suicide rate of farmers in Vidrabha due to failing crops. I wondered ….I amazed….it sounded incredible….but it was true that In India where crores of helpless neglected kids are observed begging in streets and lakhs die due to shortage of proper medical facilities and callousness of irresponsible government hospitals’ staff, a kid made the people wept across the country. In the true sense of his name he really became a “Prince”.
It is difficult to predict when, where and which event can attract the masses and stir public’s Sentiments and emotions overwhelmingly. At times public unexpectedly can be seen worrisome for a meager event neglecting comparatively drastically worth noticing incident. I remember during Kargil war the whole country was observed concerned over the capturing of two Air Force Officers by Pakistan Army. People were annoyed over this and wanted the rulers to take conclusive steps against Pakistan. There were many who claimed that they would have destroyed the whole Pakistan to get their people back had they been in the ruling authority. The whole country turned patriotic and emotions were pouring out. There concern for two Indians baffled me considerably. I never found people too concerned for their grief stricken neighbors or rushing for help to any passerby in trouble or extending helps for deprived and underprivileged Indian peoples. There is innumerable news of people proving mute spectators when some innocent person was being resorted to torture and brutality by goons.
I like narrating an event about Abraham Lincoln in many of my lectures. Once, Abraham, riding on a horse was going around the forest in search of a prey. He was wearing a new and expensive suit that day. He happened to notice a pig stuck in swamp. The pig was desperately striving hard to move out of the swamp but every time he slipped back into the swamp. Lincoln realized the whole situation and went ahead to render assistance. An intensive desire to get the pig relieved of the plight generated strongly. With the help of whip and horse he pulled the pig out of the swamp. He felt as if he had relieved himself from a great burden. The innocent pig thanked him by flapping the ears and splashing mud on his expensive new suit. Lincoln latter confessed to one of his friends that by saving a pig’s life he in fact made himself relieved from the grief that grappled him seeing the pig in trouble.
Many of the listeners hurl several queries on Abraham Lincoln’s contradictory nature. How could the person who was searching a prey be compassionate to a pig? How could a person be both kindhearted as well as cruel to animals at the same time?
I am from a staunch vegetarian family. I was brought up in such an environment where non-vegetarian people were negligible. During childhood I had natural strong compassion for animals and highly sensitive for poor, old, down trodden and helpless. I could never tolerate people beating street dogs and cattle mercilessly. Two such incidents of beating animals created strong impact on my tender mind. Once, I witnessed a street dog being beaten almost to death by a drunkard man as the dog barked and chased his son. My heart tore in pieces seeing a helpless lying dog receiving uncountable thumping of thick and hard wooden planks mercilessly till his bones broken to bits. Similarly, I can refresh the agony I underwent seeing a cow being driven away by canning strongly at her stomach and poor cow rushing bellowing. It was first month of 1990 when I, for the first time saw an innocent little creature being killed mercilessly for food. It was a cock with both the legs tied that gave a helpless cry before his neck got separated from his limb. I could not sleep for several nights and kept on pleading peoples to stop cruelty on animals. I could realize the anguish of Siddharatha (Buddha) he underwent when he observed a fateful bleeding swan that became the aim of the arrow hurled by his cousin brother. I wanted people to convince me against this cruelty and sought scientific justification for this killing to get myself relieved from the anguish for several days. But all their logics and justification proved futile to console me. The most common justification of the people was equating these killing with cutting of the plants. They shrugged my question saying, “ vegetarians too are cruel as they kills plants for eating” In fact their logics were too shallow to justify killing of animals. I understand that we, human beings have natural instinct to feel the cry, emotions, pain or agony of living beings. I am sure that every child has compassion for living beings. It’s we who make our children immune to such natural realizations and convert them vegetarians to non-vegetarians. In the case of plants, human beings are not naturally gifted with the ability to feel plants’ pain, emotions and realize their agony (if there is any). Moreover, unlike animals plants are not observed rushing or struggling to save their lives or writhing in pains. Unlike animals human beings raise different plants or crops in different seasons. One of my friends confessed that his four-year daughter raised uproar and cried hysterical when she saw a goat being butchered for the first time. She was with her father at the meat shop when he ordered for fresh meat. I learnt that oldest human’s remains (Lucy’s 34 lakh year old skeleton) made scientist to conclude that earlier human was vegetarian by nature. I wonder, what made human beings to turn non-vegetarian?
Once in my primary class a teacher narrated a story of Mahatama Gandhi. We were told - “on seeing a small puppy trapped in mud Gandhi rushed to help him. Gandhi not only took him away from the mud but also he cleaned the puppy under a water tap”. The teacher wanted us to convince that only a great people like Gandhi could have such kind of pity on animals. Like several other kids I wondered how this event could be attributed to greatness of a person, as every one would have done the same if he were at the place of Gandhi. On many occasion teachers are found ignorant of child’s psychology. They peep through any event as par their own vision or understanding and glorify the legendry personalities by exaggerating their insignificant and ordinary act. In fact, kids are inherently sensitive of other’s pain and animals’ misery. Many of us who are accustomed of unnatural activities like hunting or killing of animals for food too get their natural sensitivity against other creatures’ plight triggered now and then. The moment their natural sense gets awaken they feel like to help others. Abraham Lincoln who was after a prey suddenly got his instinctive nature stimulated for a while and he struggled passionately to relieve the pig from his plight. Similarly, in Prince’s episode the little boy’s unending trauma became the part of people’s misery. They were restless seeing the innocent little kid in the sixty feet deep narrow pit crying and striving for life. They were relieved from their pain after the boy was rescued.