Sensitivity

I just saw an NSD adaptation of "Rama Nama Satya Hai". An absolute tear-jerker. The plot revolves around terminally ill patients in a hospital, some even delusional, all addicted to cheap alcohol and tobacco, some explaining their dreams, others relating their life history. A most no-frills presentation with minimal sets, and in fact, the characters didn't even return to stage to gather applause.

Lack of sensititivity has become a problem in my life. My dreams are full of high rises and exotic resorts, while I can't even see those less fortunate around me, the social barriers prevent me from noticing how life is lived around us. The play was meant to slightly sensitize us, those with selective vision.

Brand name association brings along with it superiority complex, an elitist attitude and a separation from most of the earthlings. Education, employment and consumption revolve around brand value. Sensitizing implies removing all these filters and annotations and returning to basics. Had George Bush stepped out of his Yale dorm room, his Crawford ranch, or the White House, the big wide world could have made more sense to him.

It's a dog's life otherwise. It comes at you fast. One moment you're running an empire, the next you're on a footpath. A dialogue in the drama, by an ex-mafia, hit with AIDS by a bar dancer and terminally ill in the hospital states, "99% of what happens is our calling, we ask for it".