Five Minutes of Courage

There is hope for a society to grow and flourish so long as it has people who stand up in courage to say no to malevolence.

I realized this lately on the eve of a special worship night in Pakistan. This night of worship is special because the Muslims are recommended to pray for their health, atonement, sustenance and dearly departed ones. Since some years, it has been hijacked by youngsters who blow noisy firecrackers in a bid to ‘celebrate’ the occasion. Some of the crackers are so loud that they literally scare the hell out of little children and frustrate the elderly; especially the ones who are ill. The government has banned the practice however it continues on the fringe and has made the whole experience of this night a sheer misery.

Anyhow, I was recently visiting my folks in Karachi who live in a residential compound with a lovely small park in the center. Compared to the general pandemonium and anxiety found in Karachi for its increasing lawlessness, this little place strikes one as a place of peace and tranquility specially in the evenings when people of all ages come out to spend time in the park.

On the eve of the special night as I mentioned, some boys brought in very loud crackers into the compound and began their deafening adventure. Since I was indoors, my gut reaction was to check if my 5 years old boy was safe and sound in the park. As I rushed out in mild panic, I saw a neighbouring lady lash out fiercely at the boys who were busy exploding crackers in the back lanes; apparently in a state of competition with the rival band of boys.

Five minutes of passionate admonishment by the woman who nearly hunted the boys out of their dens and stared them into a bent head silence, resulted in peace. Suddenly, as if by magic, the park was pulsating again with the sound of  children playing and the koels hooting in the neem trees.

I was quietly embarrassed by my own lack of courage as my first reaction had been to ask my boy to run back home. And I was highly impressed by the courage of our neighbour who stood up to do what was right.

Maybe the secret of this little neighbourhood being a place of serenity is its residents who take charge when they have to.

I reflect and wonder, how many of us are willing to throttle our gut reaction of self protection and to stand up to malevolence around us? How many of us are willing to break the spell of selfishness and replace it with small acts of courage that could make us a civilized society?

If five minutes of courage from a passionate homemaker can restore the tranquility of a neighbourhood, I can only imagine the consequences if conscientiousness outnumbers apathy in a society.