Enough Of Locks!

Sixty years back my father gave me a five rupee note, a priceless possession in those days.Came along with it, a sense of insecurity as well as a lock and key.Lock memories die hard.

When I was away in my office,my two year old son bolted the door from outside and locked my mother-in-law inside the kitchen.The small child kept all the neighbours nervous for two hours.

My children,when lost the keys occasionally while returning from school, had to wait at the closed door steps for hours.

The concept of locking as well as the related problems have undergone sea of change.You have to simply press a button now a days to open or close.

My cousin had a bitter experience with his remote car locking.In spite of highly impregnable barriers built in his car,the criminals could deactivate his remote and loot all the valuables inside the car, thanks to the new signal jamming tactics.
In San Diego my son had to park his car in a private place which was provided with a broad lift.When we returned from site seeing ,the lift room locking system failed.We could not open the lift.nearly 20 cars were parked underground.The owner could not get help from any mechanicand had to pay lodging charges to all the 20 families.My son could not attend the conference scheduled for the next morning.

Air travel is no exception for break-lock incidents and is becoming more and more unpleasant inspite of providing internationally recognized locks to the boxes.

Who can forget the poem’Rape of the Lock’ by Alexander Pope?

Forget about door locks. See the computer. It has number lock,scroll lock and shift lock.Another horror is opening with ‘passwords’.We would not have taken so much trouble even to name our children, which is just one time affair.It is really a nightmare to remember key passwords and change them every now and then.Lock with password!A nasty task.

Even with such precautions,expert hackers can completely damage the system within seconds sitting across the globe.Even if you memorise all the words in a dictionary, you can’t get a successful password.

What about human brain?It has got an inbuilt self locking system of facts in a particular order and opening the same on appropriate occasions, the opening process is called memory.

One has got so many secrets locked in us, so personal, not to be revealed to anyone.By middle age our mind is full of secrets-whether it is an adolescent act of college days, your daughter/son’s confession about a misdeed,.They are becoming heavier day by day threatening your health.Holding on them puts the brain in an awkward position.The cortex is always wired to tell the truth.It cautions the brain to share the information so that it can carry on with other important parts of learning and assimilation.Capability to lock a secret is no longer a virtue but it is actually working against nature..

No lock is devoid of problem. There is trouble in wedlock,air lock,dead lock,and interlock- not to talk of BLOCK in the arteries which may sometimes lead to inevitability.

I know how my mother suffered to keep the valuables safe from the stealing eyes of a distant relative who stayed with us.Key within key, lock within lock-always a confusing battle.

I am reminded of a funny incident that happened in 2002 during the valaikaapu function of my friend's daughter.

As the bridegroom's ancestral house was in a village in Tiruchirapalli, the function was to be celebrated in the village home.I too attended the function.

As my friend was very well off, they arrived by air from Bombayto Tiruchirapalli and thereafter by Taxi to the village.They had purchased grand pattu sarees for valaikaappu and seemantham, ruby studded gold bangles and special glass bangles from Jaipur specifically for Valaikappu.
It was around 7 P. M. the previous day when the parents of the girl arrived.After initial exchange of pleasantries, my friend who used to be very conscious of her status , gave a hi-fi account of how she made special efforts to have sarees woven at Kanchipuram and about her special choice of bangles from a famous jeweller in Bombay.

Then she brought the big suit case and asked everybody to have a view of the seer varisai.
She tried to open the suitcase with her key.It was stuck. Her husband came, tried in vain. Daughter and son-in-law also placed their hands in vain.The process went on for 35 mts. The box was adamant and shut. The valaikaappu , Seemantham sarees, dhotis, all the bangles, and the paruppu Thengai packed in ornamental cones were inside the box.
As it was a function connected with child birth, every one hesitated to break open the lock, as breaking was considered inauspicious during the function.My friend was totally upset.

The bride groom's grandma pacified everyone, went out to the adjacent village where the valaiyal chetty was residing. She asked him to come home early next morning. There was only a small textile shop which was already closed. The patti went to the shop owner's house , requested him to open the shop and purchased two normal cotton sarees and simple dhothi that was available in the shop.
She prepared two small sets of paruppu thengai cones within an hour.

Early morning the girl was in a simple Graamiya saree..The Valaiyal Chettiar made her wear traditional rustic rural bangles as per village customs.people in the village looked on with curiosity how a rich family's valaikappu was being conducted.

Kanchipuram sarees and, Ruby bangles seemed to mock at my friend from within the box.My friend was totally broken and could not control her tears. All her vanity was shattered to pieces.

However rich the girl was, she was destined to wear a sungadi saree for a special function-that comes only once in life time.,thanks to the lock strike!

The function went off well. The box, the treasure chest, , was a silent witness to the progressing events.
After 40 days, the girl delivered a male child.
My friend broke open the box only after 3 months and looked at the contents with anger, hatred and remorse.
Now a days she never uses a box with in built lock.

How many locks, passwords, I pin numbers for ATM Cards,Credit cards and On line transcations! I was awfully depressed with lock and key system itself.I wanted to get rid of the issue’lock stock barrel’.Just to divert my mind,I attended a lecture on Bhagavat Gita. Soon after the prayer the Guru started his lecture with quotes.'Ye tu Brute!Here too locks!

“Prayer is the key of the day and the lock of the night.” And “ Faith is the imperative key that opens all the doors”.

When he added that we lock our doors to physical dangers but leave the mind open to spiritual enemies,the message never reached my ears.Philosophers advise us more often to turn the key inwards.To which key they are referring to and what they mean by ‘inward’ creates lot of confusion.
Enough of locks!

Jayasala 42

 

Dear Shri Kamal,
Thank you for the first FB.So many things are locked in us. Some reuse to come out and certain things rush out at inappropriate timings.Our brain should have a sensor mechanism as to when to open and what to open.

Jayasala 42

 

Dear Shri Ojaantrick,
A great story you have narrated.I think some of the girls today would have faced the challenge.We need a lock whether is anything inside or not.
In Shani Shinganapore, in Maharashtra, the house and banks are not supposed to have locks as thieves are afraid of lord Shaneeswara.But in 2011 there was a serious threat to the security of banks and they started providing locks to the vault.
Some five years back, in a bank predominantly populated by famous diamond merchants, a lock smith had a safe depost locker.He entered the vault as a customer, took wax print of the customer lock and bank lock from the outside visible holes and within three months emptied many of the lockers which contained valuable diamond stones.
In banks , bank is no way responsible for the contents of the locker and customers cannot complain even if something was stolen since locking is a dual responsibility.Ultimately on complaints recd from many jewellers CBI investigated.They were able to trace the culprit from the frequency of his visits and the fact relating to his profession.But only a portion of diamonds were recovered.I don't know what penal action was taken against.
Jayasala 42