The heat is on, and people are on a short fuse as well. The cooler climes of hill states like Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand do somehow manage to enable largely temperate public behaviour. But even some pahadis have been landing in pressure-cooker situations these days, as evidenced by seemingly authentic video reels. It is another matter that these tense exchanges occur, whenever the aforementioned short-fused worthies from the big cities decide to take an uphill break.
Exasperatingly enough, a highly enhanced number of violent reels are being floated, indeed fanned by social media these days. Mischievous reel uploaders are hell-bent upon disturbing the peace of the land, tenuous though it always is. The fastest-finger-first of these naughty reel makers ensures that, within minutes, a large cross-section of society has viewed skirmishes, arguments, insults, even punches in the face, accompanied, of course, by the most colourful adjectives, and not so gentle abuses.
Good news is often tardy in traversing the same course and in any case, many Instagram addicts simply scroll past anything which is just ‘smile-worthy’. Human beings love gossip, drama, even humiliation, but only if the subject is someone distinctly else. The denizens of our society thus crave for, and unfortunately are thoroughly spoilt by all the ‘masala’ that keeps popping up on our screens.
But even more worrisome is the habit, the tendency, of perfectly gentlemanly looking people, who seamlessly break into bouts of anger in public these days. Slanging matches, verbal diatribe and even fisticuffs have become increasingly common modes of displaying our collective angst. These perpetrators of PDA (public display of anger, in this case) care two hoots about who’s watching and who’s filming them, at such times. They tend to go hell-for-leather at the slightest of provocations and end up losing their control, their cool and their shape.
The recent trend of police personnel in uniform, on duty, being shouted at, abused, or even attacked, is truly despicable. The instigators and the dramatis personae are clearly looking for eyeballs on the internet and they don their most virulent avatars in order to please the gallery, so to say. How and what benefits accrue to them, in terms of garnering brownie points in local politics or for whatever reason, is a questionable point. Especially if they land up in the lockup before any such benefits come their way!
Even worse is the impact of such hooliganism on young and old viewers, who spend most of their waking time devouring such videos. Respect for the law, for authority, and by corollary, for seniors in their own families, is, or should be, a basic tenet of a civilised society. But these unseemly goings-on are playing havoc with all norms of decency, decorum and dignity. Swearing in public has also increased rather than reducing, as I had once foolishly hoped, years ago. College boys are almost entitled to engage even in normal conversations with the usual embellishment and profanities. But as I motored along the road called life, I found varied sections of society indulging in similar tendencies, especially in the corporate world. So much so, that nowadays the dialogues of our films and OTT shows are replete with expletives in all languages.
As always though, it is the mindset which matters. There are those who never lose their cool, or seldom do. And others who are very well behaved amid their known circles but absolute louts when travelling. At a very recent training session with Punjab Police officials I was able to emphasise the need for “aboveness”, even when losing one’s self-control is a highly tempting option. The young are keenly watching us and our demeanour is forever under scrutiny. Happily, they agreed to most of my suggestions. But then, real life is a testing matter for them too.
It is possible to reverse the acerbic trend that’s overtaken society, but only if the school students of today are prepared for life ahead in wholesome, inspiring ways. That’s where the future of the world is being honed at present, and there’s still time to channelise it in directions which are noble, as well as cheerfully constructive. Otherwise, we are simply plunging into the abyss.
vivek.atray@gmail.com
