"I think life should be more like tv. I think all of life's problems ought to be solved in 30 minutes with simple homilies, don't you? I think weight and oral hygiene ought to be our biggest concerns. I think we should all have powerful, high-paying jobs, and everyone should drive fancy sports cars. All our desires should be instantly gratified. Women should always wear tight clothes, and men should carry powerful handguns. Life overall should be more glamorous, thrill-packed, and filled with applause, don't you think?" - Calvin

Today, a day after my country celebrated its 62^nd Independence Day, I opened my front door to bring in the newspaper.

To my mild annoyance I found the Deccan Herald instead of the usual Sunday Times.

However, a flutter of nostalgia at the thought of Blondie the only comic strip I could understand as a 5 year old helped me overcome that annoyance as I settled down with my paper and a cup of chai.

At first glance I was relieved to see a picture of Shah Rukh Khan instead of a wedding picture or a smiling family portrait of the latest victim of Swine flu.

And then I read the headline beside the photograph –

Shah Rukh Khan detained at U.S. airport, freed.

The article highlighted yet another instance of Muslims being targeted by immigration and airport security at international airports. The previous case being that of former president Abdul Kalam.

At the time I skimmed through the article before something came up and I abandoned the paper for the rest of the day and forgot about the article.

When I got home later in the night dinner out with my friends I found the paper lying on my bed and was glad to have something to read before I fell asleep.

One article that particularly caught my attention was that of Nek Chand and his rock garden in Chandigarh. The road inspector by profession showed his sadness for the way his world was changing and the modern concrete Utopia that was becoming Chandigarh. Perhaps it was also his anguish at being part of a city that was soon becoming a symbol of modern independent India which was built on land where 20 villages once stood.

He collected bits of discarded rubble from the construction sites of Chandigarh to take to his chosen spot for the garden he was creating. He fused these bits of urban refuse with rock and pebble collected from a nearby river to create his haven. I think it was his own vision of Utopia where one does not need to make way for another.

As I cut out the article enjoying the simple pleasure of running a scissor through flimsy paper my mind was filled with thoughts of the necessity of balance in our world and the many ways we have strived to recognize it, achieve it, tried, failed or succeeded.

When the authorities found out about Nek Chand’s activities, illegal as they were, they took it upon themselves to commission the project and give him a full time job to complete the rock garden.

My thoughts wandered back to the front page article about Shah Rukh Khan and I cannot explain it well enough but I felt the same despair at what I read as I had felt about the 20 villages razed to make Chandigarh.

From an urban to rural, personal, family and social level, ecological, economical, city to planetary level are what we are gaining worth the loss?

Is the indiscriminate bias towards brown people, Asians, Muslims in particular in the modern world and the Western countries in really making the world a safer place?

Is the assurance of safety worth all the goodwill and trust lost on all sides?

Has any discrimination ever made the world a safer place?

Have we considered to stop whining and co operate every time we are frisked or our bags are turned inside out even when we enter a movie hall?

Have all the acts of terrorism by some people elevated their status in the world? Got them respect? Made their children happy individuals and free?

How can the president of France condemn a woman’s personal choice to cover herself to head to toe when most people of that country would probably not bat an eyelid at a nude woman in their midst? Is he reflecting the liberal views and advanced culture of his people?

How can the many harsh words and actions done in a fit of frustration to someone you love ever be justified? Have those words made a difference to your life? Has it changed for the better?

A staggering amount of the taxpayer’s money is spent and in a few years the country as a whole runs like a well oiled machine as elections are held in the largest democracy in the world.

What is the point when nothing else seems to work the rest of the time?

Is it ironic or is it just me but doesn’t democracy finally come down to 1 person and how they choose to conduct themselves?

The government of Chandigarh could have demolished Nek Chand’s rock garden and persecuted him for using his position to obtain material and land for the rock garden. They chose instead to recognize and honour his sentiment and today the Nek Chand foundation has projects world wide and people like me see a part of our own lament woven into these gardens and find some comfort in its beauty.

Are we getting too anal for our own good? Is it just a matter of time before we stifle ourselves too much?

Today I believe that every person has the choice and every person has the ability to take a minute to make that choice and find a balance in their actions, in their lives in their world.

There are many reasons for people choosing not to. But there is a choice nevertheless,