Fantasy

 

My sleeps are generally haunted by nightmares. Amorphous creatures who pretend to be benign lead me on familiar paths and leave me in alien territories. I had a surprise last night, however. I was abandoned in some kind of a wonderland where everyone smiled like angels who were carrying some happy message to some Virgin Mary somewhere. Yet another virgin birth. The dream left me in a half-awake state. I knew I wasn’t dreaming. I knew I was fantasising. And I found it all quite amusing. Here are some of those delightful fantasies of semi-wokeness.

One

All the money in the world’s banks, all banks included, is distributed equally to all the adults in the world. Ambani, Adani, Advani, Kolani, Indrani, Malini, Shalini… everyone on earth now has equal wealth. And everyone is told by some mysterious angel that they will always have the same wealth as anyone else on earth as long as they don’t misuse it. If they misuse it – on drugs, for example – then the amount spent won’t be replenished. Instead an equal amount will be deducted from their amount. If they use it for helping someone else – taking an accident victim to hospital, for example – then double the amount will be reimbursed.

Wah, Wah! I muttered in my dream – or whatever it was. Imagine what will happen to those who show off merely because they have more wealth than the neighbours. Imagine what will happen to the GDP of countries. What will the world be like without superpowers trying to impose their whims on weaker powers. Imagine the beggar next-door building a house just like yours. What will Forbes do with their lists?  

Two

Anyone who speaks words of hate, however convincingly and eloquently, will get a slap for each phrase uttered in hate. Nobody will see who is slapping you though you may be addressing a rally of a few thousand party-workers or audience taken on rent. Mysterious angels have their way of slapping you left and right and you keep getting it throughout your speech which you thought was stealing the ground from beneath the feet of your perceived enemies.

Religions suddenly become meaningless. What are they without hatred of those who belong to other faiths? Political parties become useless. What are they without differences of truths? Leaders become redundant. Who are they when everyone knows the facts?

Truth is love. Then John Keats comes and says, “Truth is beauty.” And you know that love is beauty. Then Saint Augustine comes claiming that love is God. And you agree. You see clearly. Where the vision is clear, dissensions are welcome. Because you know what honest differences mean.  

Three

There is no politics. No parties, no rallies, no slogans… But the world runs smoothly. Because you are good.

I woke up feeling exuberant. And then I felt WOKE.