The Urchin

You would have seen the photograph above. What was your first thought? Did the innocent joyful smile of the child bring one to your lips too?

The joys of living a life less privileged, it occurred to me. A contradiction. Maybe, just maybe, we live a life of bliss – blissfully unaware that the our accumulated creature comforts have blindfolded us into behaviours that rob us of the simple pleasures of life.

I am not suggesting that we give away our wealth, live in squalor and bathe out in the open. Or give up on any of the trappings of comforts and luxuries that money can buy. Very much a product of capitalist society, I am firmly ensconced in it, and wouldn't dream of life any other way. It is just that some visuals just embed themselves in the head and simply refuse to recede and fade away. This image is one such. Visuals that seem to make their way to the forefront of the mind in seemingly unrelated situations and living room discussions.

I am not referring to the vague sense of guilt that lingers long after we come across the poor, living in abysmal conditions. Nor do I want to, at this moment, consider the charity that I could do to benefit at least some of them. I am firmly pushing aside periodic news reports about smugglers, drugs peddlers and other big and small criminals who hide and operate from shanties, often creating a sense of doubt and distrust about the truth behind what we see. And other similar oft repeated notions.

There are life lessons that, today, we engage 'coaches' to guide us through and pay heavily for. The learnings from simple experiences that make us more human and keep us grounded seem to have taken back seat in our endeavour to lead a more progressive life. Let me try and list a few....

Relationship between the children of a family, for instance. I daresay it will be a rarity to see a ten year old help a two year old sibling bathe, in a better placed family, anywhere in the world. And probably, equally rare to find parents who will allow it unsupervised!

We know and meet people, adults even, who grow up without a sense of responsibility. Whether it is their inherent character or lack of appropriate education and training in the course of childhood, we will never know. Sharing and caring for one another within family and friends, innocently and unconditionally, and trusting one another, early in life, is a sure road map to creating a better society, don't you agree?

How we crave opportunities to enjoy the outdoors! We make elaborate plans and travel far to be able to sit by the sea, take a dip in a river, feel the warm stone or sand under our feet, have the sun rays fall on our face or allow the cool breeze to blow in our hair. A heightened sense of loss, is a fairly common refrain, on the last day of an outdoor holiday. A footloose and carefree childhood is not so commonplace anymore.

And the dreaded 'keeping up with the Joneses'. That alone would make life a whole lot more fun!

When we own less, we have little to cling on to, we have nothing much to lose. And that is freedom. The rest make haunting nostalgic memories.

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Originally published in 2015