Monday, September 27, 2010

Epiphany

I grew up in a society which used to be quite peaceful then. The local shops and vendors would recognize me and tend to know most people by name. There used to be a fixed shop for groceries, for stationery etc. There also used to be this roadside juice vendor where we used to go have juice quite regularly.

With time a lot of new shops and malls begun to open up. A new juice shop also opened giving it some competition with more options better fruits and some sitting arrangement. Not to forget it had an electric machine which means quicker service and hence a more favorable option among the two.

Years passed and I've been living away for so long that I didn't even remember that there was ever a juice cart outside my colony. This time when I visited home I happened to pass by the same spot. That juice cart was still there. He'd grown quite old now, lesser fruits on his cart, far lesser hope on his face. He looked up and nodded to acknowledge that he knows who I am, I nodded back in despair for him.

What did I see?
Stagnation, despair, grim reality.

What did I learn?
You can either move forward with the world or get left behind to be despised later.

Change is inevitable.

6 comments:

  1. this is the human side of the mad rush of development on which we have embarked.
    I guess you have read short story Quality by John Galsworthy.
    I am not sure if he is being despised,He has just become part of the multitude that has been ignored,
    a part of bharat that India has ignored.
    http://manybooks.net/titles/galswortetext01qualt11.html

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  2. Moving forward with a slight touch of old tradition is far more better than following the new trends blindly.

    Imagine this, had the juice vendor moved to the modern techniques but with the same "human" touch, he would have had a far more loyal customer base.

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  3. @Mishraji: I'm talking about inability of the 'ignored' section to accept that the change is inevitable and they need to adapt with them.

    @VS: Exactly! It's always nice to maintain traditions but to not change at all will only break your back...

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  4. i used to wear that t-shirt in college.. as usual ahead of the curve ;)

    and i don't completely agree with your conclusion.. you can still be despised even if you move with the times.. there is no dodging despondence.. dejection.. despair.. desolation..

    change is inevitable.. so is disappointment

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  5. @Changi: well seems like still ahead of the 'curve' :P

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  6. Aah so true!! Call it the bitter truth of life.

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