About falling and the moustache...

A jocular Tamil proverb sarcastically portrays a man who denies losing his balance and falling flat on his face on the ground. He would show the people around him a clean moustache devoid of sand. The man hoped the others would believe he was a macho man who never fell. (குப்புற விழுந்தாலும் மீசையில் மண் ஒட்டவில்லை - the said proverb.)

This proverb has been playing in my mind over the past few days during the recently paused India-Pakistan War. 

It started with a band of terrorists crossing over from Pakistan, killing 26 tourists just because they were not Muslims and retreating back into Pakistan. Pakistan vehemently denied being part of the killing or even harbouring any terrorists at all in their country. This heart-wrenching moment, especially the one involving a 6-day married honeymooning couple and a father shot in front of his wife and young son, stirred India to take retaliatory actions.

Both sides flaunted their military toys, and the war games were flagged off. The only thing is that these were not games. People actually died.

Then, the media war started. Both sides were quick to announce their kills and successes. Loud cries of jingoism filled the air. Visuals of destroyed enemy planes and sites filled cyberspace. The only thing is that, as pointed out by their enemies, much of the footage was old pictures of unrelated events. Citing military secrecy, many images of damaged sites were kept under wraps. So what actually happened is anybody's guess.

Finally, both sides seem to be congratulating themselves on a well-done job. Both boast of inflicting much pain and destruction. They claim to be on the side of truth, and truth prevails in the end. Perhaps, time would be the best judge. In time, all the putrefying rots would start stinking. Maybe then, we would know where each country stands. 

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