In all this hoopla, one little gesture almost went un-noticed. One of the news channels showed a clip of some Maulawis who sat near a statue of Mahatma Gandhi, I think in Lucknow, to protest against violence in the name of religion. Some of us might say that this was done purely to protect their community from the backlash in the aftermath of the blasts. It’s possible. After all, we can’t read anyone’s mind. But there also is a possibility that this section truly believes that we all can live together without being at each others’ throats all the time, that we have to stand and fight this menace together and that “united we stand, divided we fall”.

I just wish more and more such people would come forward to give peace a chance and a voice which needs to grow louder steadily so that it can rise above the sound of bombs going off and might, just might turn back some of those who have gone down the wrong path.

I remember watching a movie once - I think it was “The Abyss”. Towards the end of the movie, they show a huge tsunami about to strike a city. It’s just one of the measures that the aliens – it’s shown that they started life on earth – are taking to destroy the always-at-war-with-each-other humanity that they have become disgusted with. And then, abruptly, the Tsunami freezes at its cusp and recedes. The protagonist - played by Ed Harris – asks the one of the aliens if this was their way of warning us about what they can do. The alien tells him that they stopped it because they saw this one message that he sent from the bottom of the sea “Love you, wife”. They saw that there is hope, yet :-)

I am not saying we are being watched by long-necked, four legged alien forefathers (God knows some of the politicians world over bear a distinct resemblance!). What I am saying is that some of us who are losing hope fast need to see such messages, such tiny beacons of light that will give us the strength to do our bit to bring about peace.

Remember Rabindranath Tagore’s poem? When the Sun asked who is going to light up this earth after he is gone. It wasn’t the chandeliers and bright lights that stepped forward – it was a small humble earthen lamp that said that though it can’t promise to drive away the darkness it will certainly do its bit to light up its corner.

Each one of us must be such an earthen lamp. Each one of us must light up our corner of the earth.