The Dangers of Imagination.

Children always live in a world full of imagination. Sometimes these imaginations may be bizarre but sometimes they prove to be factual. However, unlike those of an adult, a child’s imagination is always tinged with an element of magic.

Years ago, one fine day, my cousin came running breathlessly and announced that there was a ‘magic drink’ available in the pan shop nearby. He began collecting five paise from each of us and when there were eight annas to his credit, he went and brought home one bottle. All of us were visibly excited as we hurriedly locked ourselves up in a room for the magic show to begin. My cousin stood in the center with a bottle opener and very carefully, he flicked open the black glass bottle. Suddenly there was a hissing sound. As we carried on looking eagerly, the little magician put his lips to the bottle and took a huge sip of the effervescent liquid in it. He then shook his head and made a silly face.

‘It goes straight to your head’ he said dramatically. We nodded eagerly, impatiently. He then took another sip and another and another. ‘Now see the magic’, he said, as he brought out a straw and with force, blew into the bottle. There was a sudden fizz and the bubbling black liquid spurted right off the container. ‘Ahhhhh’, we said collectively, as we marveled at the ‘magic’ that had suddenly made the bottle seem full again. The little magician carried on drinking and carried on blowing, all the time telling us about the ‘magic’ that never allowed the bottle to get empty. Until all the sparkling fluid had finally vanished into thin air. That was my first (I can’t exactly say taste) glimpse of Coca Cola.

This magical drink, except for a brief period of hibernation, continued to ensnare the entire nation. And not because the bottle never got empty but because our hearts could never get enough of it. Of course, the black magic slowly pronged itself out to multiply into a whole new array of colours. Then were born the tributaries of these transparent liquids. They all had a clear choice labeled on their colourless, orange, yellow, blue and what have you forms. The multinationals, in a desperate bid to outshine their rivals, kept spurting each other with flaunting displays of demeaning advertisements. And the foolish public got caught in an equal frantic game of sampling everything that life had to offer.

Till recently, no one even bothered to look into what actually went into the making of these fluid rainbows. As long as everyone’s thirst kept getting quenched in summers and the ‘hanging out’ joints bustled with activity in the off seasons and the MNC’s got richer and more widespread, nothing seemed amiss. But the latest reports about the inclusion of pesticides and insecticides have given some of us a new reason to think more seriously.

As it is, nothing in this world comes in a pure and organic form anymore. Even the air that we breathe is so infected that it would put poison to shame. With the insects and the pests having invaded into our lifestyle to such an extent, it is but inevitable that everything that is grown and consumed (right from vegetables, to fruits to paddy), be sprayed with a generous dash of pesticides. As if that is not enough, repellants are supposedly being directly instilled into the elixir of our life. What for? So that our insides are also subjected to an occasional atomizer- just in case a few microorganisms did manage to stray down there?

Of course, for some people it does not matter. ‘So what?’ they say as long as the burps keep coming. For some it might just be a rumour. ‘So what?’ they feel, as long as their parched throats keep getting soaked. And for some it is a positive thought that there will be no repercussions whatsoever. ‘So what?’ they think, as long as their industries do not run out of business. These are the ones without any imagination.

. But for those with imagination, it is a different matter. Some activists even strongly feel that all this while our entire nation was being ‘slow poisoned’. Already I can feel my mind’s eye beginning to sprout another twin. And from now onwards and forever, the next sip betwixt the bottle and the lip will always generate a gnawing doubt. None of our entrails come with a built in insurance policy. What if our twisted guts ended up looking like some vibrant Vibgyor with a seasoning of insecticide? I totally agree that this hallucination sounds more like a dish than the innards of a human body. Then again, those are the dangers of having an imagination. But what about the dangers of not having any?

Nargis Natarajan.