On and on it goes!

On and on it goes! Life I mean. It seems so curel at times. Pitting us against uncertainities daily. In seconds changing destinies, and smashing dreams. Depressing beyond all comprehension. Cruelty that men are capable of far suprasses stuff that can be imagined in books, films or even dreams. Am reading Robert Fisk, Conquest of Middle East. Insightful, informative yes... but also dark and depressing. Not because he writes in such a manner. But the catalogue of events he's collected over the years about Middle East are such.. Self interest, political expidency, greed for money, power or maybe just pure religious fanatic madness, all are displayed by powers that be, and powers that wanna be. Catalogue of events reads like a horror tale. Robert brilliantly highlights the bad, the ugly and the unnamable of all the major world powers whose deed indeed is darker than the dark despots because its done in broad daylight hoodwinking the world, like US, USSR, UK, Europe and of course all the despotic, desperate, deranged regimes with which middle eastern countries have been afflicted with over the ages, may it be Taliban, who were out to recreate whole of Afghanistan into slums of their refugee camps in Pakistan, Saddam, Osama, Various Iranian regimes, Saudi Royalty, et. al. The deaper vien of the book lies not in just cataloging the history but rather bringing out futility of it all. The tragedy of war, the hatred that does dwell within humans, the depravity that is so evident in behaviour of so called developed and democratic nations, and of course fate of the innocents.

Read it and you will never sleep sound again. The story of Saddam's secret police, shooting a 9 year old boy, than 7 year old girl, than bashing the head of a babby against the wall, before letting the mother go since she had no information to give about her husband, have become my memory. The fact that Britain very well chose to bomb Iraq villages with mustard gas in 1920s the kind of bombing ment to scare civilian population into submission .. similar to the kind of bombing that Americans find expeditious today is also no less nerve wrangling.

How strange it is, that when we have an account of deliberate murder of a baby, head bashed against the wall, blood curdles... How many of us pass over mention of civilian cassualties or even wonder about any that may have been there, when we read accounts of bombing or 'advance' on villages in remote places like Iraq. Don't we know that in this case thousands of babies are being killed, countless more deprived of food, clothing and shelther and maybe even parents a fate probably worse than death? Why do we have this ability to turn blind eye to crulty if its spun into glorious sounding aims and words like WAR, Fight against terrorism, Fight for freedom etc. Death is death, inflicting death is cruel.. conciously promising to bring death, preparing weapons to use for killing and murder, specially weapons which kill enmass like rockets and missels is the worst thing humans can do. They don't even have passion of a murder who atleast feels the pain and gravity of his deed when he kills with his own hand. How dispassionate a hand that pushes a button to launch a missle. Does that person realise the suffering he/she bestows... NO... nither do we.. We feel more for 1 murder than 1000s killed. Thats just the way things seem to me... And I wonder why?

All in all a worthwhile read. I went through Contemporary history of Africa before I picked Robert's book. It was dispassionate, narration like account of forming of nations throughout africa, and their contemporary situation. However it had non of the spunk that is present in Roberts book. I don't even remember the name, and will post it later. Read Maximum City by Suketu Metha before that one.. Now thats a book on Mumbai that deserves a whole post on its on... Its got fantastic style, and is thoroughly researched. Bringing mumbai alive in its pages, I thank Suketu, for bestowing upon us such a masterpiece, and my friend Bindi for making me buy and read it!