Flowers are losing fragrance !!

Coffee shop

In a coffee shop, a seven year old boy is playing game on iPad. His father wearing a Bluetooth headset is busy talking over his cell phone. His mother is seriously reading an English women’s magazine. Boy is happy after winning a level. He tries sharing his excitement but neither of his parents is bothered about it.

TV channel

In a dance reality show on a television channel, a young girl, who has just danced to a Hindi film masala song, is being congratulated by judges. TV camera focuses onto her parents and she runs and touches their feet. Thanks to excellent screenplay, tears in everyone's eyes!!

Upper middle class family

A girl has been brought by her father to the house of a couple, both of them working as well-paid Architects. That girl is supposed to help a middle aged woman relative of the couple to look after their 11 month old baby.  Girl’s father gets an advance amount from the couple and heads towards a wine shop.

Playground

A boy studying VII standard is playing with his friends in the playground near their apartment. His mother, who made sure that he is busy with Music, Dance and Yoga classes throughout the day, does not like her son to play with local children in that playground. She bribes him saying he can use Facebook if he stops playing there.

Roadside

Kids of a woman, who is begging near a temple, are standing at a nearby play school and observing a grand gala going inside with eyes wide open.  Colour balloons, decorations and children dancing to rhymes played on audio system awe them.  A guy smoking near a Pan shop sees them and gives a chocolate each. They ask what that celebration all about is. He says they are celebrating CHILDREN’S DAY !!

Witness

Poorna Chandra who witnessed all these situations is just walking through a flower market area. He hears an old man shouting at a vendor that why flowers are not fragrant. Vendor is arguing they are hybrid flowers that look colourful but does not have fragrance.  He is also saying flowers are there with fragrance but they are not fresh.  The old man gives him a retort saying he can better sell plastic flowers.

Reaching home, Poorna Chandra observes something interesting in his neighbouring house. Though he comes across that scene daily, it looks special on that particular day.  There is a family of four, Ravi, his wife and two small children living next to his house. Ravi is a carpenter and his wife is a servant maid.  Ravi’s wife is feeding their little boy standing on the road and Ravi, accompanied by his daughter, is checking his bicycle.

Ravi waves at Poorna Chandra, smiling. Poorna Chandra gives some chocolates to the children and says Ta-Ta. Seeing smiles on their faces, he recollects boy at coffee shop, girl in dance show, girl looking after baby, boy playing at play ground, kids outside play school. Suddenly flower market conversation comes to his mind “No fragrance – Not fresh – Plastic flowers”.

He closes his eyes and hears slogans “Globalization Zindabad ! Economy zindabad ! Freedom of women zindabad ! Power of men zindabad ! Media zindabad ! Child rights zindabad !” 

and his inner soul says finally with a deep and steady voice,

“Flowers are losing fragrance!!”