It has been a surreal two and half months.I have never looked at life this close .The barrage of reports of the migrants ,just everywhere,the reality of India,the poor India has hit everyone on the face.
The migrants on the road,walking,dying,tiny children marching through the length of our country is a nightmare for any sound thinking person let alone those who are responsible.
Farmers committing suicide in some parts of India and just plain inaction ...I am at a loss of words.
There is no section of society which has not been hit in one way or the other by this mamoth catastrophe. My sibling who has stayed long enough in Sikkim finds it amusing to see me taking a social history of everyone who walks in through our gate .
Amidst all this conundrum our washing machine conked off so we had to call the mechanic to fix it.He was a youngish chap from somewhere near Patna who had been educated in a shakha .He seemed absolutely at peace and had a ready made excuse for all that was going on.
Looking a little further I asked him if he was homesick ,to which he promptly replied he has been in Sikkim for twenty years and considers it his home now.
He seemed absolutely detached from all that was going on elsewhere but was well informed.
Is this the actual face of India? I shuddered.
I have wept so many times watching the news clippings,social media reports at the plight of the migrants because I have worked closely amongst the poor most of my life and can put names and faces when I hear the word migrant but for the majority most probably, it is utilitarian ,and a news report.
Closer home ,Ravi Zacharias ,the apologist passed away.I had the privellage to walk into one of his meetings ,I don’t remember which city but I have a faint memory of hearing a faultless monologue which left me a little cold then and he looked like a star ,tall,shining and everything.However,his written work and his messages have blessed me and secretly I have been more than happy to have him on our side ,defending the gospel.
However last week when the news of his terminal illness was doing the rounds I was struck by the extent of influence he has had .
The news of his demise had just come in and I felt a sense of loss but as I looked across the horizon I saw this heart of clouds on top of the hill.I whispered a prayer for the family and wrote a one line tribute for him and prayed that the Lord would raise many more Ravis.
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