The hanging bridge of relationships
Introduction:
There is no definite formula to make the relationship sweet and strong. Relationship may exist between father and son, husband and wife, brother and sister or between two friends, but such relationship is turning out to be bitter and business centric. There is one deep rooted notion in our minds that people with power and fortunes create good relationship among others, but this is a misleading notion because the relationship created by virtue of money and power can hardly be satisfying and lasting. Such relationship continues till the money is spent or power or position continues. Many time convincing people, rich people, affluent people or businessman exploit others depending upon them. People who depend upon them hardly find any other alternative that to sacrifice their honesty, character or family peace. In such situations, a relationship does have face value only. Love, affection, devotion or honor has no place for compulsion.
The affluent should realize this or else his sense of iness eats into the very fabric of his personality. Once Adolf Hitler passed the order that all cinema halls before screening their films would have to show his photo in the beginning which would be honored by people standing en mass. Hitler himself visited a few cinema halls in disguise to know the extent of acceptance of his order among the spectators. He himself kept seating while his photo was exhibited. The man standing next to him indicated to Hitler to stand like them, but Hitler said that he didn’t have respect for that wicked person. The man listening to Hitler replied to him that he also didn’t have respect for that person, but in order to avoid punishment he was compelled to stand. He also added that the news of his disrespect to Hitler would behead him. So it would be better to stand and show respect than to speak of reality. The disguised Hitler came back from the hall at once and withdrew the order in no time. This speaks of humanity and the humility of a person of stature of Hitler with colossal power to realize the reality to come to the level of the earth from the sky heights. Respect comes from within. It is commanded. People bows their head before a respectable personality with love, devotion or friendly feeling.
Extension of love and affection:
God has endowed almost all sisters of this world with abundant love and devotion for her brother even after her marriage. A sister always feels concerned about the well being of his brother. Very limited exceptions are observed in this area world over. However, a brother in order to please his wife overlooks or offends his sister in most cases. One can imagine the sense of happiness and satisfaction a sister gets when her brother visits her in-laws house with some sweets or presents. Her joy knows no bounds. She suddenly gears up into action and prepares as many delicious dishes as she can to feed her brother. Nevertheless, sisters-in-law in general don’t like their husbands to pour so much love and affection for their sisters which according to them diminish the extent of love for his wife. She stands criticizing or rebuking her husband for his so called negligence for her. The solution to such a problem is not to let others know of the contribution or relation someone is extending to others.
Wisdom and education:
A woman has multifarious roles to play in the society. She is a mother, a wife, a sister or a daughter of someone. She changes her role accordingly as a chameleon changes its color to suit its surroundings. It is but natural she cannot always be ideal in each respect. So what is left for us is to realize and peep into the situation that she is in. Utkalmani (Diamond of Orissa) Gopabandhu Dasha of Orissa was a revered personality, a visionary, a poet and a social worker who devoted his whole life to the service of suffering humanity, never caring for his own self, his kith and kin. All people know. The role played by him during the great Orissa flood during the British days. How he dared the adversities of a dent into the unapproachable roads and villages and rescued people in huge numbers dying of floods. In the process, he neglected his family and his ailing son breathed his last without medicine and care at the presence of his father. This is a sad story-a story of sacrifice and tears. What I want to impress here is that though Utkalmani, the diamond of Orissa loved and served people at large the same attributes could not be extended to his son who died of paternal neglect primary. Let us examine a father and son relationship during this age.
The great satirist, Late Fakir Mohan Senapati in his short story “Dak Munsi” (meaning postmaster) has delineated a story of a father suffering at the hands of his son. This story goes like this. The father once a post peon continued to live with his son after his retirement from active service. Despite his meager income of a few rupees, he could educate his son to a respectable officer with handsome salary. But the same son, taking advantage of his old age, treated him like a servant and extracted the maximum possible service from an ailing old man. Coming to the present day world, search instances are not rare. Numerous incidents of fathers being ill treated by sons are afloat in the nooks and corners of hamlets and houses. Such a relationship does not have humanity, general courtesy or dutifulness. Many people think themselves as wiser than their fathers who turned out to be the cause of their own disaster and downfall as well as torture and timidity of their parents. But a wise and proud son does not realize this despite all his wisdom and education. He forgets that the present day son is a future father and his retirement will cash the same influence on his son whose treatment is going to be as savvy and sorrowful as he has been subjecting his parents. The instances of the sons identifying themselves with their famous in-laws, not naming or announcing their own father’s name and identity due to their low position and poverty. Is this relationship of a father and a son? No, it can’t be.
Conclusion:
The present day civilization is the outcome of sacrifices of our forefathers. Nonetheless, in the present day society egoism has taken over the attributes of sacrifice. In such a way situation, we cannot imagine a resurgence of sweet and lovable relationships. We have become intolerant of others. We only demand respect; hardly respecting others in turn. Our relationships should not be business like with profiteering attitudes. We all should realize that we have not been able to collect a few pebbles on the vast pool of knowledge.
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