Another routine morning, rushing through daily chores, gobbling down breakfast, bolting out of the house ….. Looking at the wrist watch every 5 minutes, mentally grumbling all the way to work….traffic bad, traffic constable worse, and driver worst (he always takes the slowest moving lane).

The FM radio was on—and some inane Hindi film song was being played---meaningless stuff. Bored, I asked   the driver to switch channels. After speaking rapidly for what seemed like eternity, the RJ played 2 fast moving, once  top of the charts numbers, English Rap songs, back to back (I do hear this guy’s songs when with friends &  in a more relaxed state of mind, but then my attention is not on the song but on  talking with friends). But, at that moment it seemed to me that the song was like the RJ was speaking at the fastest pace he could, punctuated by very loud music. The lyrics had a message----- the message was basically “BE SELFISH”---- live your life just as you want to, anyone who doesn’t agree with you be damned, (even if she is your mother), the only thing that causes happiness is drugs & only thing that cause pain is love. (These are not the exact words, but this was the meanings of the lyrics of those songs).

I took up the newspaper yet once more---- same old news---wars, bombings, insurgency, and plain simple murders. People are taking to violence at the drop of a hat …even school children…. Nobody seems willing to see another’s point of view. Whatever the cause whatever the effect …innocent people are always the victims.

Somehow, this seemed like the surreal world that Roger Whittaker described in his song WHY….

“Someone’s lost the plan

For the brotherhood of man

And no one’s trying to find it anymore

And the winds become a sigh

For those who hate and those who die

And the waves are black and slow along the shore

And will the grass be gone from underneath the sky

Will the golden flower wither soon and die

Will the fire burn out the land

And the sea fill-up with sand

Will the last word ever spoken be why?

Will the last word ever spoken be why, why, why?

Will the last word ever spoken be ….WHY?”