Do We Have A Day For The Street Urchins And Orphans?

By Sumit Paul, New Age Islam 8 February 2025 Har Rishta-E-Khaas Ka Din Ek Muayyan Hai Kisi Yateem Ke Liye Bhi Aisa Koi Chalan Hai? Naseer Bakhtiyarpuri (There's a day fixed for a special bond/ Is there a day earmarked for an orphan?) … There's still a week to go for Valentine's Day (February 14). Yet, there's a Rose Day, Chocolate Day, Hug Day and whatnot before the D-Day. We've Days for mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters. But do we have a Day for the orphans? Ancient Greeks used to have particular days to express their emotions. Aristotle ridiculed this and wrote to his most important philosophical student Theophrastus, “Only those, who're false and ingenuine, need a specific day to express their emotions." The ancient Greeks even had a 'Laughing Day' and 'Mourning Day'. It's worthwhile to mention that though Greeks were exceptionally brilliant people, they were also the most self-centred and ostentatious race that believed in the display of the most intimate emotions. What was condemned by Aristotle millennia ago is still prevalent and with a vengeance at that. Apart from the flagrant commercial considerations of the different Days like Mother's Day, Father's Day and the most famous Valentine's Day, there's also a subtle perfunctoriness to the whole concept of multifarious Days. The warmth and closeness that used to bind people together, can't be seen any longer. We all have become too matter-of-fact. If you love your beloved, your mother or your father, you don't require a specific day to emphasize your love for them. It shows that your affection and feelings for the person aren't uniform. It's a 'day-based acknowledgement.' We all look for short-cuts to expressing our love, feelings and emotions without taking trouble to do that every day. Behind the success of all these stupid Days is the make-believe self- assurance of discharging one's duties to the near and dear ones (in one go!). We feel happy and the nagging prick of conscience gets somewhat diluted. You give away expensive gifts to your beloved, mother, father and those who 'matter to you' but have no time for them. So, a day is fixed to atone for that. 'The greater a gift, the hollower your emotion.' This Dutch adage encapsulates the popularity of Days. There's always a sub-conscious reciprocal response attached to these Days, which nullifies the depth of emotions. A New York-based Indian writer had the honesty when she wrote that she sent very COSTLY gifts to her parents on Father and Mother's Day to be in their good books! So that they didn't give away all their properties and assets to her younger brother, who was living with the parents and looking after them. This is emotional bribery, albeit perfectly acceptable in these times. This doesn't shock you anymore. To be brutally honest, all our so-called care and concern for our near and dear ones are based on vested interests. Lastly, we've earmarked Days for lovers, mothers, fathers, friends and even pets. But do we have days for orphans, street-urchins and beggars? How can we've, when we don't get anything from them in return? Naresh kumar 'Shaad' aptly said, “Har Rishta Ek Ummeed Jagata Hai/ Muflis Se Bhala Koi Kya Paata Hai “(Every relation or association triggers a semblance of hope/ What does one get from a poor man?). Materialistic reciprocity is the root of almost all associations in this world. One is not talking about the exceptions. They prove the rule. Uss Se Jab Kuchh Mila Nahin/ Rishta Todne Mein Koi Gila Nahin (When you get nothing from a person/ There's no qualms in severing ties with him/her). When the world has become so over-practical, why should one care for those who're poor and why should there be a Day for such ill-fated people? But just recall when you gave something to a poor kid and the child grinned like a Cheshire cat as if saying thanks to you. That gives you a feeling of ineffable joy which even a beloved's most stunning and breath-taking smile cannot give you. Nida Fazli knew how it felt, Jab Kisi Rote Hue Bacche Ko Hansaya Jaata Hai (Ghar Se Masjid Hai Bahut Door Chalo Yoon Kar Lein/ Kisi Rote Hue Bacche Ko Hansaya Jaaye). Alas, there's a plethora of Days/ These are fake people's fashionable ways. Ostentatious indeed. No longer do we frown upon the commercialization of even the most sublime human emotions. The overall erosion of genuine feelings and emotions has engendered all these Days. Affectation is the new-age affection. But to quote an Urdu poet, “Kuchh Aur Badal Jayegi Ik Roz Ye Duniya/ Kab Tak Hum Isi Baat Pe Hairaan Rahenge?” (This world will further change a bit / for how long shall we continue to be surprised?). ----- A regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul is a researcher in comparative religions, with special reference to Islam. He has contributed articles to the world's premier publications in several languages including Persian. URL: https://newageislam.com/current-affairs/day-street-urchins-orphans/d/134557 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism