Yet mock we while we wail, for , could they know,
This life they cling to is but an empty show;
‘Twere all as well to bid a cloud to stand,
Or hold a running river with the hand,
#Sir Edwin Arnold
I was sitting at a Railway station waiting for the train to Trichirapalli ; which as usual was terribly late (I had to wait for 5 hours in the end). But NDLS (New Delhi) station proved to be quite the entertainment, unexpectedly.
There we a lot of people to watch in my boredom ; frequent travellers , vendors , Railway Policemen and policewomen , the catering staff and last but not the least THE COOLIE.[/b]
For those who are unaware a coolie is a paid Load-runner[/b] ; helping people transfer their luggage from one platform to another. This transference is difficult because the platforms are connected by overhead bridges and it requires a lot of stamina to carry the luggage over and down those. But still people pack a year’s worth for a weekly trip ; we will talk of vanity later though.
Now this coolie I speak of, is the unsung hero of the masses. He carries trunks, carpets , TV-sets , Grinders , and even beds – in and out of the station. Even the most timid ones can surprise you with their tenacity and physical capacity.
People use them incessantly and go on with their journey. Somewhere down the line we have made a coolie out of God too. Are you wondering how?
A large number of people are constantly pushing their luggage on to God. This luggage I speak of, may constitute of problems & worries from – work, personal life, future, kids, and many others. The moment some people are weighed down by some tough decision, they think of God-the-Coolie[/b].
God is not the only coolie out there, is he? In our day to day life we gladly put ourselves at ease by blaming someone/something for our situation turning sour. If someone sees you using the aforementioned coolie; they too see a wide opening and put their baggage on that coolie too. At some point everyone is a coolie. The Coolie system is the most decentralized system in the world. [/b]
Somewhere down the line, God who is up in the heaven – is laughing at how you will never need him ; as all your baggage is distributed amongst yourselves. But even so ; God serves as the Station’s head coolie. Any grievance on the coolie-community is immediately addressed to God.
The fact of the matter is , you are not in a position to solve all the problems – so why lose your hair over it. We see NEWS flash of the Jasmine revolution everyday. One of my friends used to cry and still watch it all over again. This cycle of Watch-cry-wash-watch[/b]; continued till some order was restored in Egypt.
What I want to come to through all this analogy is that; you should be selective in choosing your responsibilities. If you are like that; you won’t need a coolie to carry your handbag; will you?