We had a prolonged winter in Calcutta this year. The cold days stretched well into February and we had unusual bouts of rain at regular intervals. The bright sunshine and blue skies of the famed Calcutta winter eluded us till the end of the season and Vasant Panchami didn’t quite herald spring. To add to the general gloom, scientists claimed that an ice age would be descending on Earth from 2020, for the next 30 years. The sun was already in hibernation, I thought to myself.
These are dark times — even our children are feeling it. The ugly polarization of Indian society that had started off insidiously last year has now transformed into open and widespread warfare. Burning issues that threaten the very fabric of our lives have enveloped the whole of our country. Our senior students have become noticeably restless and seem somewhat more argumentative than before. Some of them say that they have ongoing battles with their parents or with other students about their different worldviews. They also worry much more about their future these days, as they do not know where it would be safe and worthwhile for them to pursue their studies. Meanwhile, college students are worried sick about the bleak job prospects. The economy is certainly not looking up.
Our younger students are oblivious of economic and political problems but they are well aware of the deadly coronavirus that everyone is panicking about. Yesterday, a parent suggested that we encourage our students to wear masks. I was immediately reminded of a dystopian graphic story, where every character in a polluted world lived in his individual sanitized bubble and clean air was carefully stored indoors in bottles. The thought of children wearing masks all the time is extremely distressing although it is already a reality in some places.
In the midst of all this gloom we managed to snatch a few bright and happy times. We must consciously do this for the sake of our children. Nature always comes to the rescue when we feel blue. This time too, Mother Nature gifted us a couple of hours of sheer pleasure when we went bird-watching at dawn. Our school garden is transformed into a mysterious, shadowy place just before daybreak and we felt a special thrill when we heard the distinctive calls of the different birds that inhabit the giant old trees, bushes and shrubs that dot our garden. The smaller birds seemed to have a penchant for the bottlebrush tree around which they flitted like overgrown bees. We watched kites gliding across the sky and glimpsed a cluster of rose-ringed parakeets diving for the nearest foliage. A white owlet was spotted at the mouth of the pipe that jutted out of the chemistry laboratory and our joy knew no bounds when we sighted a brand-new bird that we had never seen in our garden before. It was a shikra and it looked like a small version of the falcon. It was perched amongst the dark foliage looking somewhat sinister. As the sun made its way up, I realized that along with the children, we adults had spent a magical time with nature, quite undisturbed by any dark thought.
Later that morning, I went to an exhibition at the Birla Industrial & Technological Museum, comprising models made by school students. The large hall was charged with enthusiasm that only the young can exude. The excited chatter was about the models they had made and were now exhibiting to viewers and judges. Some of these represented efforts to improve the environment while others were labour-saving devices for farmers and other workmen. It was reassuring to be amid constructive activity and meaningful talks, far removed from hate speeches and health warnings.
Music is what we turn to when we need our spirits to be lifted. In the midst of ‘gloom and doom’ came this sudden invitation to an evening of classic rock and jazz played by ‘Amyt Datta & Friends’. The occasion was the launch of a remarkable book, Calling Elvis, a compilation of Shantanu Datta’s interviews of music greats who had played in India, and especially in Calcutta. It was also the story of his own life interwoven with that of the greats. The evening was enchanting; it began with a delightful conversation between the author and his school friend, Samantak Das, and was followed by a musical feast. We found ourselves drowning in the magic of melody, all else forgotten, and returned home at midnight thinking of the words of Bob Dylan that Shantanu had chosen for his book: “Someday, everything is gonna be smooth like a rhapsody/ When I paint my masterpiece.”
Most of us can escape the harshness of reality by reading, looking at works of art, playing games, watching films and by digging into our favourite food. No doubt, it is comforting to be with friends and family but nowadays, whenever we get together, in spite of all our resolutions, we inevitably start moaning or raging about the dark days that have come upon us. But my work does not allow me to wallow in gloom because I work in a school. Children always light up our environment and we must make sure that we do not let our current fears and anxieties infect them.
What adults, young and old, must resolve to do is to join forces to secure a happy, free and stable future for our precious children.
