Living Through Troubled Times

‘Flower power’ became synonymous in the 1960s. The slogan was used to describe the passive, peaceful resistance movement of the time, which was rooted in opposition against the Vietnam War. The flower came to be an iconic symbol of non-violence and harmony. My friend Vishnu and I, born in the 1960s, were recollecting our past six decades the other day and realized that it had not been an unchallenging ride. 

We were too young to grasp the gravity of what the country and its people underwent during the 1970s: the unsuccessful armed revolt by the JVP; demonetization of the 50 and 100 rupee notes; nationalizing privately-held estates and limiting the extent that could be privately held; education reforms; restriction of imports and introduction of rice ration cards and limited supply of essential food and other items; the riots against the Tamils etc., are some that we recalled.  
The CWE was the most powerful establishment at that time.  During our school holidays the parents in the neighbourhood had jointly agreed that their children could stand in the queue to have the ration cards renewed.  We took it in our stride and used to have a jolly time hanging out in the queue.  An incident that I clearly remember then is where a woman staffing the CWE pouring tea from a flask into her mug and walking over to a gunny bag of sugar to add a few teaspoons into the mug.  We found it funny but in hindsight we realize that privilege seems to come naturally to people who are in control and dipping into something that is not theirs, without any compunction, is in their DNA.

The 1980s were no better, with Black July in 1983 that started a brutal civil war that ended after a 26-year military campaign, the second unsuccessful JVP uprising in 1988-1989 etc.  In 2004 we had the tsunami resulting in 30,000+ deaths and displacing millions from their homes. 

Here we are now facing one of the most difficult periods of our times.  Protests to do away with the ruling coalition has been going on since the beginning of the month. The cost of living is on an upward trajectory with no end in sight, shortages of all essential items, including cooking gas and fuel is what we must contend with daily.  Chapters can be written on the horrors and troubled times we are currently going through.  However, in some instances it is like a parallel world we are living in since the well to do are living the life of Riley whilst the majority cannot put a meal together.  

“Vistas of Prosperity and splendour have turned to nightmares of poverty and horror,” was what I read in a letter written about the current situation by a citizen living overseas.

I do hope there will be a solution soon and life will get back to some normality, even though we all know that it will be a long journey for all to get back to the norms we knew.