Many Variants of Life

There are so many different ways a life is lived. What is wrong today is right tomorrow due to changes in social practices and vice versa. Again, the practices are place-dependent. Not easy as we move from one to another. My cousin was stopped at Heathrow airport by a sniffing dog as she had 'paan' in her bag. Paans, together with usual accompaniments, were inside a small pouch. Besides the embarrassment, it took a while before she was allowed to continue with the journey.
Look at another side. It happened to me on a hartal day. I was a faculty at Dhaka University. I was inside my room with the door locked from inside. I was working on a report. All gates of the building were shut. The strikers found out and were not happy. I was forced to leave. The altercations were not pleasant and most of them were non-students. That is how the country was run. That was mob control. Irrespective of which political side one belonged to, the country was the hostage. It continues today in a similar manner. Gone are the days when politics was a profession. It is now a business as can be seen from the profile of political leaders in the country. Youtubers, some from outside the country, have field days as they portray the insanities of our life, from riding on top of a train to driving on the wrong side of a road.
Contrast the situation. Back in the seventies Hartals were part of everyday life in the UK. A Miners strike brought down the country to a halt like the various agitations we have. That was in the seventies when I was a university student. It is now gone, in that country. Is it possible for this to happen here? Needs bold leadership with courage to rise over group sentiments that are contrary to general welfare. This is how it happened in the UK.
The problem permeates all layers of society. I remember one such incident when I was a young faculty. My seniors were very cordial and helpful. One day, one of them came to me praising my teaching. This he found from his son who was my student at the time. The son was not a good student and did not do well in the exam. This is when all hell broke loose and I was accused of being an incompetent teacher. My complaint was of no avail considering his age who was due to retire within a year.
Among the reasons for this bleed, one is dearth of space. A life needs space, physical space, to breathe better. The number of people in the country has crossed the tipping point of healthy life. Yet, efforts to correct the situation are not there. Casualty is the country that now has an image of being the least liveable place on earth. There are other countries with the same predicament. Difference is the land area that in our case is too small. Besides, there is a lack of awareness among the populace at all layers of society. China had a similar predicament. They took steps to correct the situation. India almost followed the footstep though the effort was short-lived. We are now up against a wall. It needs intervention.
Going one step further the planet bleeds from excessive withdrawal of core elements such as fossil fuel and mineral rocks. Primary reason is the number of people that has trebled in the past century. But there is a peculiar contrast in how this has happened. The number has declined in some countries. These are the so-called developed countries. Reasons include lifestyle. Consequently, a typical family has one child, below the replenishment rate. On the other hand, the number has multiplied in the others. Reasons include social practices such as children being considered as old age pensions. The sum total is a hugely positive number. If the practice continues unabated, the world will soon have two more poles with redrawn national boundaries. Of the two poles, one will consist of pockets, each with fewer people. The other will have pockets, each with too many. In the olden days there were places to run away. This is how Europeans moved to America and Australia. All such places are now taken. As a result, the restriction on movement of people between the 'almost new poles' get harsher. There was a glimmer of hope for a short while as Elon Musk talked about his plan for the planet Mars. As realities sank in, it was understood that this was not likely to happen in the near future. The inclement factors are too many including weather and gravity, beside the distance. Yet, if it ever happens, life there will be very different. People may have to live inside domes under the control of many buttons such as control of gravity. Commute between domes will require extra gear beside a jacket. The better option is to act now, for a balanced growth, within and between nations, to make the planet liveable once again. At the least, this will give us breathing space to get ready for journey to Mars, whenever that happens. As for us, it can begin with better discipline.