Sunrise and sunset on the meadow

Opinion 1

The weak is wounded

One of the delightful experiences in the morning is to watch the morning sun awaken the lawn outside the eight house residential complex, where Anna and I live for the last two years.  The lawn was a visual feast in the evening sun with a glow that would hold our attention for long. For about six months now, the morning sun is blocked, by a multi-storey building in the front and the evening sun, by the high-rise residential complex in the back.  There are patches of dry grass in the lawn, extending to the periphery rapidly. The gardener has been very active with 24hour sprinklers, watering the grass and offering some protective measures to save the grass.

I stopped by to ask the gardener, the reason for the grass to dry up. He offered me an explanation, which made some sense to me. The gentle morning sun used to prime the grass to withstand the mid day sun. The priming was particularly important if there was dew in the grass during the winter months, for the dew to dry up and allow the photosynthesis to begin. The absence of which exposes the blades of the grass harshly to the heat of the mid day sun. The evening sun is another primer for photosynthesis before the dusk. Both of these were denied to the lawn for the last six months as the buildings blocked the morning and evening sun.

The buildings look elegant and imposing and soon they will be occupied and used fully. But the lawn has suffered a loss. There is often a disadvantage to the weak, when society is set on a development path.

I recently watched a farmer standing tearfully outside the farm, which he sold to raise money for the expenses of marriage of his daughter. The new owner converted the land into housing plots and made a huge profit through their sale. The farmer requested the new owner to give him a small share of his profit, out of consideration to his loss. The new owner refused to oblige.

We are caught in an aggressive development mode. The weak is wounded in the process and their voice is feeble that it goes unnoticed or get subdued in the development agenda.

Jesus of Nazareth, whom His followers revere for his compassionate approach towards the weak and the wounded, once told a story of a man waylaid by robbers, leaving him wounded. Two people while on their way to their job, looked away, seeing the man lying on the wayside. A third man stopped, dressed his wounds, carried him to a rest house and requested the steward to take care of him till he returned to pay the expense. 

The development will be aggressively pursued, as it is driven by a lobby, that has tasted success and gain. That is what highlights the need for caring for the weak and wounded, as a priority.

I noticed in today’s newspaper, a mother pushing her disabled teenage daughter in a wheel chair, to the Collectors’ office with a petition for her mercy killing. If a mother is pushed to such an extreme plight, how awful and intense must be her struggle for survival!

The weak is wounded. They are with us and around us. We need to promote their plea for justice and fairness. 


M.C.Mathew