That is what I heard from a shop keeper, who has his shop for clothes and ready made dresses. He pointed out to me the vacant parking spaces in front of his shop. It is about a year since the parking space would have vacant spots at the golden hours of shopping in the evening. Listening to him, I realised that a low income household who would buy a set of clothes for the family, during the three festive seasons of the year, do not do that anymore. The upper strata would not come to his shop as they like to go to the bigger shops in the adjacent towns .
After this conversation, I saw a presbyter who was returning after his shopping. I overheard him say to his wife, 'how will we manage with our income, if costs are going up'!
I wonder who hears this! The answer a minister of a state government had about increased price for tomatoes was: 'stop eating tomato. Then the price would come down'!
It was against this, I heard about a local initiative of a shop who gives away 200 grams of tomato free to those who have a ration card. A shop in Tamil Nadu gives a small packet of tomato to all those who come to drink tea.
A church has a food gallery for non-church members from the same locality, from where they can gather vegetables at a minimum cost or no cost.
The above initiatives remind me of the hidden presence at difficult times. In Manipur, if people are seen helping others, they too get noticed and targeted, if whom they help happen to be their opponents. The target is to make those who live in the mountains to leave as there is evidence that there is mineral wealth in that area, for which the place has to be vacated. The business lobby is eying this place for mining.
From visible or imposing presence, I wonder if this is a time for hidden presence! We can live altruistically and live that as our vocation!
From the leadership of Russia to the leadership in some countries, which impact global trends, we find aggressive, manipulative, exploitative, capitalistic and controlling mindset! I could not imagine that Israel would have a parliament, which would pass strictures against the judiciary in order to help the president of that country to escape the rule of law!
Th history of humanity is formed by historic events. The two world wars bear testimony to this. We believed that anything even remotely similar to the habit and practice of Adolf Hitler would not be seen in the global leadership! But today, some leaders behave as if they have a lineage of that ugly trend in history!
A orange billed Babbler was hidden in a tree in our garden, with the foliage all around covering it, from being spotted! It was getting dark and windy and threatening to rain! It found its shelter in that hidden place.
It is when we can remain hidden, we can bring the flavour of the leaving presence!
Our small acts of kindness and mindfulness would be the fruits of our leavening presence!
A friend, who has close contacts with Manipur sent me a message that, those left their villages at the time of the violent conflict do not have houses to return to as they were burned!
There is a long journey ahead of them!
They are looking for helping hands!
That is why each of us can become a neighbour to them!
M.C.Mathew (text and photo)
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