Educated idiots

"Well, you can jump out- if you want to.. " The last words spoken to a mother of two who leaped out of 14th floor two weeks ago in a Mumbai suburb. She was found in a pool of blood by the apartment security - too late for any first aid . She had left two kids who could not believe that their mother was gone - forever. This was the news in the 4th page in the Hindustan Times some days ago. I could think of it on my way to HongKong - as I put aside the headphones on the JetAirways whose noisy engines prevented me from getting engrossed in a old "Hope" serial.
Young Lady... Hope you are resting in peace.
I don't know what the quarrel was. I don't care either. It is all about sense and sensibility. What kind of husband you had had for the past 11 years? Why simply you could not walk away with the kids?
Sure, you have the social pressure of rearing two kids alone.. and have to tolerate the ugly passes that men make at times , when they know you are alone. But, Mumbai society does not have time to think about you. Neither you had time to think about yourself/ your kids before you jumped out.

How the kids would receive your body soaked in blood? Could you not feel the younger one screaming at your feet? Will you wake him again tomorrow morning with a glass of hot milk? Who will fix his favorite breakfast?

I am not blaming you squarely.. your husband is equally a partner in the crime. May be his more criminal than you; but the fact is your ( both ) irresponsibility has orphaned two kids. Who and when would answer that?

I see lot more stress in the Mumbai life.. blame it on the globalization and the BPO call centres who work 24/7. You were working in a BPO.. didn't you? Maybe , someday, I would ponder about your colleague's mental health and jot a few words. But, for now, I reserve my sympathies for your kids.
One phone call to a friend, one shriek on your husband, one bang on the door would have evaporated your anger/ frustration and prevented this horrible act. What stress you have gone through in life before? Have you ever stayed for 3 days without food while in college? Have you ever dropped out of an elite course just because you could not fund that?... I know some guys who have gone through all these and yet alive till today ... I can show one in my mirror.
It is not about boasting.. it is about sharing and commitment and resolution to fight back. May be one day , we need to talk about life more than the etiquette of taking a call from San Jose, we need to talk more about positive energy than positrons ; we need to discuss more about fighting back for life than bandwidth allocation. Our colleges produce more intelligent robots than wiser men and women.

I sound too much of a priest in a Sunday Sermon. May be it is time to get some sleep.