Spring

Spring is here yet again. It has been a dark year for many people for many reasons; their hopes remain fractured — be it through societal or economic turmoil, war, or through the suffering inevitable to the human condition. The long winter, with its dark clouds, frigid air, and broken sun rays always adds to the pain we as humans are destined to feel. Yet, spring is here. Things feel less hopeless. There is less anger. Even if it may be temporary, there is a tangible radiance that animates the human spirit with the passing of the seasons. Cricket is back, and people are happy. Things are still hard, but the sun is shining. Hope is a difficult business in this country; inequality across all domains of our society cannot be more evident than it is in our public spaces where there is an accelerating and marked difference between the saabs and the rest. Yet, this is not the time to bemoan all that. We all have these battles to fight, to make our land a place of love, tolerance, and radical dignity. But right now, let us take one moment to feel spring; life is incredibly short, and we are persistently distracted by the constant bombardment of the horrible tragedies that engulf our world or more banally through the perfunctory quotidian tasks we think as important.

People are worried about a nuclear war. The Europeans in their hubris have made this planet of ours uninhabitable. They think of us as lesser humans, but they do not understand the dignity accorded to us by our proclamation of there being no God but God. They do not understand that our creed breaks the chains that constrict their minds. They do not understand the beauty of Africa, of Asia. Let us not curse them. Let us be better for there is space for all in this spring of ours. Let us celebrate our vicegerency. Let us be happy for who we are. Let us be happy in our skins. They have made us suffer very much but let us not outrage because we have each other. Let us be together.

The trees, the leaves, the shrubs, they are all starting to bloom again, even if for a short while before summer takes them. Spring is forgiveness; it is love and generosity. It is not the time to call for jalali retribution and justice; yes, all that is important and all that will follow, and we will fight for what is right, speak the truth even if it may hurt, for this life is unworthy without sacrifice of the highest order. But for one moment, we will lie still with our loved ones, sipping on glorious cardamom-tinged chai, and bask in that soft tender sun light brushing past the newly sprouting leaves of the trees that line our alleys and streets. For one moment, we will lie silent, look inside, enjoy our joint solitudes, tell each other stories of our lives before the inevitable winter comes. For one moment, we will question everything. For one moment, we will trust in ourselves. For one moment, we will be perfectly certain.

If sorrow is all we feel, we stop being human. There must be space for joy, even if ephemeral, fleeting, and momentary. Everywhere, even where we don’t expect, people long for a listening ear, to shed some of their sorrow; they long for days where years of suffering would transmute into happier moments. Spring is here. Let us tell them that. There will be darker days for us all, but not today. Today is when our heartbeats become fuller, and today we dream without limit. Today, we push back against the tyrannical demands imposed on us, on our identity, our time, and on our souls by modernity. Today, we see each other fully, looking each other in the eye, and being with one another because that is all we have. We do not know what the next winter will take from us, so let us be together because we need one another; let us not be embarrassed at being human. Let us keep each other safe in ours arms and minds. Let us refuse to move forward without one another. Let us break through the calloused shell of the collective loneliness that shrouds our imagination. Without our loved ones and God by our side, we walk with demons; being a maverick without cause is no bravery. Being strong does not mean shunning beauty; being stoic does not mean not feeling. After everything, we must refuse to be afraid, even if we may be scared.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, March 5^th, 2022.

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