The Bright side of darkness | In On The Act

Probably his words were inspired by the world that was then as dark as Whistler's canvas*. The bright yellow ball of light we call the sun is an amazing creation. Its absence translates into an unimaginably dark world. The impressions of Monet, a French artist, would have made no sense had it not been for the sun's radiance. Van Gogh's painting too would have been meaningless had there been no light. The fate of human existence would have been similar if there was an absence of light.

No wonder that light is more than just radiance and glow. Light represents knowledge, wisdom and power. Maybe that is the reason why scientific debate started with the light i.e. the Sun. The debate was whether the Earth revolved around the sun or vice-a-versa. And, it was Galileo who reversed this debate and was also punished for his discovery. We all know in ancient time, the Egyptians worshiped the sun as the supreme god Ra. These are a few instances that need to be mentioned in this context. Besides, there are numerous proofs like this in human history.

When Thomas Edison on his umpteenth try wrote on the note
LET THERE BE LIGHT!
Z...z...z ..a...a...a..p
And there it was
An electrical bulb

Thomas Edison's invention of the electric bulb is a symbol of knowledge, power and extension of god's creation. Darkness inspired god to create light. And maybe the dark night provoked Edison to invent the electric bulb. Light itself is a beautiful original creation but it was darkness that provoked, inspired and pressured both god and humans alike to create light.

In the 21st century, sunlight and electrical light have been a taken for granted aspect for humans. It is no wonder that the Sun god is a mythical imagination in an era where artificial daylight can be used to keep away the darkness. Likewise, electrical light is a foundation on which giant technology is built.

Today, darkness is a state of mind. For Nepalis, epitome of darkness came into being in the 21st century:

When Bidhyut Pradhikaran spelled
LET THERE BE LOADSHEDDING!
Six hours a day
Thirty six hours a week
We quietly accepted and said
LET THERE BE LOADSHEDDING!

Though this darkness brought by the load shedding has become an embarrassing truth of our country, it also defines our state of being. But let's be the optimists we are and see the situations as the glass being half full. Maybe there is a Thomas Edison in every third Nepali, who might get provoked by darkness and rescue us. Till then, LET THERE BE LOADSHEDDING!

*An American 19th century painter who is famous for his monochromatic full-length figure titled Arrangement in Gray and Black: Portrait of the Artist's Mother