Children's parade in Bukit Tinggi.

When I see children set in their natural environment and having a time of the day enjoying the most at what they do best I feel the prescence of a higher Being preserving the sanctity of life. All the madness that is exploding all around with the killing and the chaos due to Greed, Hate and Ignorance seems to dissipate into oblivion. I feel safe among children.

There is no doubt that children today will face a greater hardship tomorrow than I ever did
and the fact that they are mostly oblivious to this is what makes them pure and beautiful. These Indonesian children wearing their native costumes in imitation of their parents parading along the road on one sunny day in Bukit Tinggi, somewhere in central highlands of Sumatra were celebrating life.

I have always loved parades of anykind so long as it gets people together and collectively join in the merry making, it creates tremendous amount of positive energy and life could do with much more such energy today.

Looking at pictures does not do justice to such an occassion as one misses the noise, the heat and the smell the permeates the whole energy field of the event. It can be felt in the faces and the looks of the children each in his or her own world curious and excited but the safety in numbers and collective spirit makes them look free and full of vigour.

In parades like these happening anywhere all over the world it is the colors that stands out most profoundly, all imaginable colors that the mind can conceive and each trying its best to outdo the other and yet in the end becomes a collective whole like a sea of colors.

The costume must make a child feel he or she is special at least on this day among his and her peers and watched over by the parents and teachers it makes them feel they belong and the own that which is called life.

It looked like a pilgrimage of joy and celebration, a mini Marde Gras, accompanied by the out of sync and out of tune mini band which reminds one more of a Chinese funeral than a marching band it all happened and for that day in Bukit Tinggi I was happy and excited just as they were.

The Children are the future we keep reminding ourselves whoever we are especially those who have them, but sad it is indeed that their future is bleak for most and no thanks to us those who are leaving the stage soon and did little to make things right for them.