The Luxury

She was excited to be here. This would be a great story. Views from people who knew him personally. And she was getting some response too.

A little girl, who said she was glad. Her father, who shushed her and said, “no. we didn’t want it like this.” “Yes, we believe in law,” the wife said. “Yes, law,” the old woman in the cot, probably the grandmother, snorted.

The next family asked her if they’d be on TV. When she assured them, yes they would indeed be, they shut the door to her face.

And then, she saw the old man sitting at the corner smoking bidi. There was a strange aura around him as if he didn’t care at all about whatever was going around him. She rushed towards him with the cameraman.

 

“What do you think about the encounter?” she asked. He just stared. “Did you want to see him punished by the law? What about the people who supported him, the police, the politicians?” she kept blabbering. She didn’t know why, but she wanted this man to answer. Just when she thought he wouldn’t, he did.

“It must be nice,” he said, “to have sympathy for just everyone. To have that luxury,” he said. His voice was flat, no sign of sarcasm or even envy. She waited for him to continue, but he didn’t.

She went on with the village, but the words stayed with her. What did the man mean? A normal person would have ignored that crank, but she was not normal. She was a nosy reporter, who never let it go.

When she finished with the village, she looked for the old man. She had to find out if he was high or serious.
“What did you mean?” she asked him. When he didn’t say anything, she continued, “ in the afternoon. about the luxury.”

She thought, he hadn’t heard her. When she got up to leave, he answered.
“There are two sets of people. The first set who may have experienced fear, but not sheer terror that robs you of your human feelings. They believe in the law, and worry of the fate of innocent people if law and order fails. They’ve never been raped, tortured, or seen that happen to their dear ones, never had to see the mutilated bodies of their loved ones. The second set are the victims. They have seen the horrible fate of innocent people. They know law, justice are figments of imagination. All they want is the terror to stop, and they don’t care how.
The animals in the jungle rejoice the death of the hunter. They don’t care about the men giving the license to hunt. You know why? Because they know, there will be hunters with or without the license. All they want is a moment of peace.”

All through her return journey, she wished she hadn’t talked to the old man. Now, she too could hear the cries in that silent village. She wanted it to stop. And she knew it would stop in some hours. Just like it always did after watching a tragic movie. After all, she had the luxury of not being the victim.
© 2020

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