Suicide by ‘lover boy’ of
Telugu cinema, Uday Krishna at the prime age of 33 came as a shock. Uday began
his acting career with a bang with a hit film "Chitram" directed by
Dharma Teja in June 2000. He became popular soon and also received Filmfare
award as best actor for his role in film "Nuvvu Nenu". According to
his father, "There was no reason for him to commit suicide. He had enough
money. If it was a question of his career not progressing well, he had time on
his side".
According to WHO (World Health Organization)
worldwide, up to one million people die by suicide every year and during the last 45 years, suicide rates have
increased by 60%. It is also said that suicide is among the three leading
causes of death among people aged 15 to 44.
It is truer for India. Every
morning we find some reports in the newspaper on suicide deaths in different
parts of the country. The reasons may vary as the gap between expectation and
achievement, dreams and despair, but the fact remains that incidents of suicide
in our country have been on rise, may it be farmers or youths or adults.
Reports say, ''Suicide in India is slightly above world rate -20% of all
suicide deaths in the world are Indians. Suicide rates in rural India are about
twice as high as in urban areas. The problem is disproportionately serious in
rural areas due to easy availability of pesticides – the most consumed item for
attempting suicide, the other common method being hanging.”
In the last two decades, the
suicide rate in India has increased from 7.9 to 10.3 per 1,00,000 population.
In a study published in The Lancet in June 2012, the estimated number of
suicides in India in 2010 was about 187,000 (21 deaths every hour) of which 71%
are by persons below the age of 44 years.
There are many reasons for
this growing social menace. In fact, through rapid urbanization, India has
witnessed a change in family structure, with people moving out of joint
families into nuclear families. As such, financial, social and health
issues are in general contribute greatly in this regard for persons of all
ages. However, talking about female suicide, which has risen rapidly in recent
years, it is linked to post marriage domestic violence (more for dowry related
problems) and also due to forced mismatch marriage. The major reasons for men
on the other hand, have been lack of gainful employment, excessive stress due
to cut throat competition at work place and above all emotional barrier to
communicate and share their problem openly. For youths, the fear of failure and/ or failure itself
both in studies and pre marriage relationship have found to be the major
reasons. To say, families now are fractured and the social and family support
systems are weak, if not non- existent which used to be in place earlier and
hence the situation is becoming more serious.
Undeniably, besides loss of a human being who
is born to live and contribute to his family and society by growing well and
healthy, this is a serious cause of concern as it imposes a huge social,
emotional and economic burden in totality.
Notwithstanding what has
been said herein above, the real and important issue is how to address this
grave situation. As per famous psychiatrist Dr. Sanjay Chug, “More than legalization of the
act, what is needed is spreading knowledge and making people more mindful and
sensitive toward mental health as a field, as it would automatically open doors
for devising means and methods to combat it”.
Awareness and motivation
undoubtedly play a great role. Changes in lifestyle and thought process have
found to be very helpful for persons passing through such adverse situation.
It’s a common knowledge,
life is full of ups and downs, but if we open our hearts to embrace the changes
of life, believe me, even in most difficult situations, we can feel that life
is full of suspense and splendid things. And after all who has all the goods
and no odds in life. But
all those great personalities whom we admire knew well that we are all born
with a divine fire in us. Our efforts should be to give wings to this fire and
fill the world with the glory of its goodness, as our beloved former president,
scientist and thinker, APJ Abdul Kalam used to say. And, by the way, happiness
is not a happening; it is a state of mind. You can have everything in the world
and still be miserable or you can have relatively little and feel unbounded
joy. See around you and you will appreciate the truth of these words.
Life is invaluable and hope
is the main driver. Do you know: man can live without food for 40 days, 3 days
without water, 8 minutes without air (Oxygen) but without hope - may not be for
a minute. Isn’t it? So, never say die. Give your life full chance. True,
everybody doesn’t get everything at the same time despite putting up seemingly
same and similar efforts. You may get something today which your friend might
get some years later. Life is after all not a 20-20 cricket match. Everyone
passes though different phases of life from childhood to senior citizenship,
but how young or old you are, you can still be creative and influential,
provided you have faith in yourself and a conviction to do what you think is
right.
It is worth trying and
finally practicing, in whatever manner and magnitude you like; the
prescriptions of Swami Vivekananda, the great role model for Indian youth who
lived in this world for only 39 years but could leave an indelible imprint on
the soul and mind of millions of people world over. Swamiji says,” Be generous
in prosperity and thankful in adversity. … Be a treasure to the poor, an
admonisher to the rich, an answerer to the cry of the needy, a preserver of the
sanctity of the pledge. … Be a lamp unto them that walk in darkness, a joy to
the sorrowful, a river for the thirsty, a haven for the distressed, an upholder
and defender of the victims of oppression. …Be a home for the stranger, a balm
to the suffering, a tower of strength for the fugitive…. Be eyes for the blind
and a guiding light unto the feet of the erring….
Then, say a Big “YES” to life and the Biggest “NO”
to negative thoughts. Have large circle of good friends to share the pain and
gain, spend quality time with your family; have some time for your passion. And
finally, start counting your Blessings and not the Curses. Life has many
good things in store for you.
#Published in Indian
Currents.org on 20.01.2014
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