"Happily Ever After"

Once upon a time, there lived a gentle King who ruled the land of Glory Dale...so on the story goes and after a lot of trials and tribulations, which normally includes rescuing a gorgeous damsel in distress, fighting a wicked witch and then riding away in an idyllic landscape on a milky white horse. The story ends in "Happily Ever After."

Such fairy tales were an integral part of my childhood and I was besotted by them. But as you grow older, you realise that the Prince Charming doesn't exist and the wicked witch looks pale in comparison to the real life villains. The dreamy idealism of childhood slowly gets eaten away by cynicism of adulthood. The innocence is replaced by an uneasy sense of responsibility. Sometimes you are tempted to get lost in this transition.

Deaths because of terrorism will become more common than natural deaths but the winners of beauty contests will wish for "World Peace" with a pearly white smile stuck on those plastic faces. The Antarctic and the Arctic Glaciers will melt but we'll continue to consciously ignore it, hoping that Santa Claus who lives in the north pole will magically set it right! The Panda along with our Olive Riddley Turltes and many other species will become extinct and we'll say "Tch tch, what a tragedy, they were such cute things". Civil war will break out in many of our neighbouring countries replacing the farcical democracy with dictatorship but we are more bothered about the IPL dates. Unconcerned desi politicians will politicise Valentine's Day but wont give two hoots about the 10% rise in poverty in the country where the number of children dying because of malnutrition is the highest in the world, beating even the Sub Saharan countries of Africa. Girls will get beaten out of their dignity for not upholding our "culture" and we'll celebrate Women's Day with aplomb. I will go on writing about these things and frankly I don't really have a point to make. Its a glaring reality.

Its in moments like these, I wish I could escape to the unbridled life of ignorance and bliss. Sing songs of joy and laughter with Hansel and Gretel. Play ringa-ringa roses with the seven dwarfs of Snow White. Take a world tour in Cinderella's pumpkin carriage. Have a chat with a leprechaun and find out the secret of sliding down a rainbow, maybe he'll show me that elusive pot of gold. Have a romantic dinner with Aladdin on the moon, Genie can arrange that and then climb trees with Mogli. Spend the next morning with Alice in her Wonderland and catch a glimpse of the Cheshire cat. Go trekking with Pocahontas and then a wild life safari with Simba who'll show me a breathtaking view of the forest and all its animals from the Pride Rock. Meet Little Red Riding Hood's granny. Finally I would help build an elevator for Jack to go up his Beanstalk.

As I sit here reminiscing about the various fairy tales, fully aware of the escapist nature of it all, the world continues to reel under the cruelty of its most intelligent species. I can't help but wonder whether I'll ever have my own "Happily Ever After."