I was standing in my old locality looking at the deserted streets with longing. These streets were not deserted even in the scorching heat of midday. Someone would leave the house and look for a friend. Then gossip from all over the world, stories from all over, old tales of one’s own and never-ending stories would start. One after the other friend would become a part of this unfinished party.
But today civilization is changed, time is changed, hobbies are changed. Worries of earning have shortened leisure hours. Those moments of loneliness that could have been borrowed even from these short time spans, have been snatched away by the never-ending busyness of TV. Any person you meet today does not have time. How can we have time? When the ‘slave of earning’ arrives home after spending every drop of his energy, a night partner awaits him with a treasure of melody, fear and curiosity, humor and knowledge.
These colors of TV don’t give him a chance to think. Don’t give it a time to read. Don’t give him leisure to meet friends. Don’t give respite to visit relatives and neighbors. It doesn’t give him the loneliness he needs to think about himself; could think about his world and the hereafter; could consider the country and the nation.
Apparently, today’s man is very prosperous. He is very happy. He lives in good houses. He is affluent with the blessings of TV, AC and vehicle. He has gathered the goods for his happiness and refreshment. But today’s man has lost himself. He has become such an animal who is surrounded by green grass, but he is no longer a man who thinks and sits in solitude to contemplate the facts.
I know that those leisure of day and night can’t come back now, but if someone takes a few moments of loneliness for reflection and self-accountability, the voice of this poor man will not go waste.
Translated by Muzamil Nazeer