Judging a Day Above Another

                                                

Romans 14:5 One judges one day above 

another; another judge every day alike. 

Let each be fully persuaded in his own mind.

In the New Year celebration, January 1st is also one among many other days. Nothing is special about it. The sun rises in the east and sets in the west. Then, thick darkness shrouds the entire world. Again, the next day, the bright light shines from the east. This is to someone who lives the Crusoe-like life. For him only the routine of the day counts. Rest doesn't matter to him. He regards one day as special as any other day or else disregards it as one among many other days. But to the one who lives in a metropolitan city, this calculation is totally different. He is compelled to regard January 1st as a special day. Even if he prefers not to, the city won't. It prepares itself for that one day a week ahead. Hence, regarding a day or disregarding a day doesn't matter to us. City chooses to celebrate it for us all. We have to accept the festive mode of the city with compliance. 

One week before January 1st, I took my daughter, Poorvi, on a bike ride by the seashore of Palavakkam. In order to prevent people from entering into the water, the long-stretched seashore was barred with wooden barricades. Wooden watchtowers were also erected here and there on the sand. It is an unusual scenery from an ordinary day. When new things are spotted, Poorvi’s curious question of ‘why’ sets on rapid fire. Slowly her question of ‘why’ will reach the pinnacle of philosophical discourse of ‘deference.’. One answer to that question of ‘why’ is not sufficient. If you try, answers and meaning will be on proliferation from one ‘why’ to multiple ‘whys.’. 

“Daddy, why did they erect those towers?”

“Police need them to surveil the commuters on the eve of the new year.” 

“Why do they need to surveil people?”

This question cannot be answered easily. If so, another ‘why’ will sprout. It's a question only for my self-reflection. Yes, what is the meaning and purpose of those watchtowers? It was a self-reflective question to me. But what happens in the absence of those watchtowers at the peak of the new year celebration? Will the commuters be in control and behave themselves in an orderly manner without them? We are not sure about it. But to think about the thousands of people thronged together without being surveilled by the watchtower stirs fear from deep within. We need those towers at least for the sake of our feeling safe from sudden outbursts of riot or any other form of turmoil. Here on the seashore, the watchtowers guarantee safety to our inner feelings. Towers subject our human consciousness to the belief that someone is always watching us above for our safety. 

I cannot convey my self-reflective thoughts to Poorvi in simple words. At certain points, to the prolonged questions of ‘why’ from her, my silence can be the best answer to keep her quiet. It is very hard to stop her with my dead silence. Long silence is not good for both of us. I have to break my silence, changing the subject from Watchtower to something else. For that I have to be much more creative to invent new subjects for better entertainment. 

On the day of the new year, January 1st, halfway to our home, tomatoes were strewn on the road. At the end of the road a number of trays full of eggs were toppled down from the tricycle. Yellow yolks and albumen of white were spread on the road like pools of blood. Accident of vegetable life and chicken life! Thank God! They are good enough to atone for the evil ‘thirusti’ of the new year.