In a symposium at Jamia Millia Islamia the previous day I was moved to tears when I heard young brave journalist Rana Ayub saying that we, the Ummah, are morbid human being. No hope. As a perennial optimist that I’m, I’ve not yet given up hope.
I remember the old lyric – ‘Raat kitnee bhee sangeen hogee, subah utnee he rangeen hogee. Kiske roke ruka hai saverah?’ The horizon of Delhi’s is overcast with heavy grey clouds and air is filled with poisonous gases. The political climate is even more distressing, suffocating and intimidating than ever before.
During our childhood our villages and towns often used to see rainbows after the heavy rains. Those are just memories now. However, as the poet says:
O Joy that seekest me through pain,
I cannot close my heart to thee;
I trace the rainbow through the rain,
And feel the promise is not vain,
That morn shall tearless be. —George Matheson
Sometimes a poem or a song or a quote stored in my memory becomes more relevant, and therefore more appreciated, many years after I first encounter it.
Enjoy the rainbow I remember the small hillock ‘Pazawa’ in my school neighborhood. One day, after the rain had fallen, I was startled to see a huge bright rainbow at the very end of the hill. We rarely have had rainbows there, and certainly not one arching over the entrance to our neighborhood. I stood spellbound there admiring the beauty of nature.
Since then, I have thought often about that rainbow. That event was etched upon the memory screen. I was a child then and perhaps the rainbow’s meaning (if there was one at all) was different than what I draw now. But it was a joy I’d captured forever. And it rejuvenates and dispels the despondency in life.
If you are in the midst of sorrow or stress, I hope you can believe with me in the beautiful rainbow that often comes after a storm. We may not see it, or even if we do see it, we may not recognize its timeless meaning. But it’s there, and as it was from the beginning, it’s the symbol of a promise. I say – We should never give up hope! Every darker cloud has a silver lining.
