What a day it is !

Usually, I am an optimist. It’s very rare that an event can send me into throes of depression and negativity. I love development, growth, progress, communities, traditions, festivals – in sum, anything that has anything to do with humans and their spirit. This inherent trait of mine shines the brightest on days like today that are special, rare and significant for multiple reasons. Today is 21st June and it’s difficult to find another day that packs so much in it ! Today is Father’s Day, Internationals Yoga Day, Solar Eclipse and summer solstice that makes 21st June the longest day of the year!

Now the moot point is that why someone of an eternal optimist like me should be feeling low on such a day that in fact should be fascinating! When the country is facing the worst of Corona pandemic, with India now recording 4th highest number of cases in the world and we are all mourning the martyrdom of 20 of our bravest sons, who died fighting an evil enemy, even the most fascinating of the events can be sombre.

Annulus Solar eclipse is an astronomical event when moon comes between sun and earth, covering the sun, almost fully, but leaving its edges shining bright like a golden ring. Annulus solar eclipse is in a sense different from full solar eclipse for the moon is far too off to cover the sun fully! However, astrologists, soothsayers and people of their ilk are seeing this natural event almost as one of the most inauspicious happening impacting all the sun signs adversely. My take is that how come this class of people come thronging everywhere voicing their views on such occasions with so much emphasis and conviction but are most of the times clueless forecasting tragedies like Corona pandemic? If astrology is a science, it needs to provide solid evidence like other sciences; lest people are having enough of this!

I have earlier also in one of the blogs written that while certain days like Environment day etc are important to sensitise the people towards nature, days like father’s and mother’s are really not important, especially in Indian milieu where mother and father are given the status of Gods and respected like them. For us, like offering prayer to God is a everyday affair, respecting parents is also an important daily chore. Yoga is now an acknowledged practice that’s a holistic treatment for mankind’s well being. Summer solstice heralds change in the planetary positions and for us in India, indicative of summer having reached its peak. We can expect rains and then autumn, leading to onset of winters that are still some distance away!

The above is all part of nature and life as usual, but martyrdom of 20 of our brave hearts is a consequence of human greed and their need to possess indefinitely. For Pakistan, Kashmir remains the only agenda and it can go any far to try to attain its unholy ambition, though in the process that country is itself getting disintegrated. China’s ambition to dominate and rule the whole world is now a known fact and in doing so it can lay it’s claim on any part of the land! Nepal that always looked more to be an Indian state rather than a sovereign country is raising serious territorial issues with India.

In a sense, even Corona seems to be part of man’s insatiable greed if conspiracy theory of virus being synthetic manufactured in a lab in China is to be believed. Even if not so, our propensity to breed uncontrollably has made this pandemic exceptionally contagious in over populated and dense places like New York, Mumbai and Delhi!

My pessimism or loss of optimism arises from facts that Corona is only spreading and not going off any time soon, our unfriendly neighbours will be dealt with appropriately but in the process a few of our brave hearts could get martyred and at this stage I would rather not worry about Pakistan, Nepal, economy and other such issues.

My optimism or pessimism doesn’t matter. What matters is the well being and prosperity of my country and countrymen. If India becomes stronger, more prosperous and the most peaceful state, we will all be the winners.

May God bless my country, it’s citizens and it’s brave forces who are facing the worst of enemies in the most unfriendly situations ensuring our protection and prosperity!