Sushant Singh Rajput

Sushant Singh Rajput, a 34 year old promising actor committed suicide yesterday. Yet again we witnessed the media doing its damnedest best to outdo each other in being crass and insensitive. Where is society headed? Is media a reflection of society. Do people really want to know what Sushant's bereaved father would be 'feeling' at that moment or for that matter the method he chose to end his life?

If the media is showing a mirror to society, I am afraid we are a sick bunch of people. This perverse mentality is a much bigger threat than COVID-19 or the economy or joblessness. We have been on a downward slope as I distinctly remember the media being a lot lot different when I was young. First of all, we were never bombarded with breaking news throughout the day. We just had to contend with two or three news bulletins for the entire day. No one missed anything in such 'news deprived' times! People were less edgy, more tolerant, more inclusive and much happier. At least this is what I would like to believe. By and large my childhood was spent in relative comfort as we were never deprived any of the necessities. Craving for luxuries was not so common as all of us had kind of accepted class distinction. Everyone was on the same level. Very few had cars and even fewer had air conditioners. These two were symbols of affluence. The three of us were under no pressure from our parents to perform. And there was plenty of time to play around and read. Nutrition, play and interacting with people of varied age groups is essential while growing up. Sadly today we see kids only interacting peers. Social connect has been broken as most families have just a single child. Grandparents no longer figure while growing up as usually they stay at a different place. Anyway... I am rambling a bit.

The point I am trying to make is that Sushant's tragic suicide would be soon forgotten as the beast known as the media will pounce upon the next breaking story. Us citizens should treat this as a wake up call. Depression is more common than what we would like to believe. Today the incidence of depression is on the rise as people are getting more and more alienated from friends, peers, relatives, loved ones. A person is usually unaware that he/she needs help. It is up to us as friends, relatives of such people to guide them in the right direction, without casting aspersions or making derisive comments. People are vulnerable and do not open up. Sushant Singh Rajput's death, lamentable no doubt, will probably help many people who would be in a similar position.

My mind went back 22 years yesterday afternoon. I have been thinking of Ajit. It was traumatic for all of us. I wonder if Harshad and I have really digested this loss. I usually try to shrug bad news or emotions and try to put on a brave/nonchalant face. But it is time we really come to grips with Ajit's suicide. How come none of us realised Ajit would take such a drastic step? We had seen a completely deflated Ajit a few months before he took the terminal step and had been shocked by the way he dressed and talked. He was completely in shambles. Why did we not report this to Kaka and Kaku. Was it because we feared they would not respond positively? Why did we allow the then existing animosity come in our way? Baba and Aai are no longer around so the onerous task of asking these questions falls on Harshad and I as Alkatai was at Kolhapur. It is very easy to say 'shit happens'. This is a popular and supposedly 'philosophical' way of getting around an uncomfortable topic. I think my mind will be plagued by such questions for a few more days. Is there anything at all I can do to assuage my guilt feeling? I have to recognise this feeling as it lay dormant in some corner of my mind all this while.