THE SHADOW

Hector was a prince of Troy in Greek mythology, son of King Priam and Queen Hecuba. His wife was Andromache and they had a son called Astyanax.

Hector was considered the greatest warrior of Troy, but he did not approve of the war that had started between the Greeks and the Trojans. During the Trojan War, he was the leader of the Trojan army. It was prophesied that the first Greek who would land on Trojan soil would die. Odysseus, cunning as he was, threw his shield on the soil and landed on it. Therefore, the next person who stepped off the ship was Protesilaus and was killed in a duel with Hector, fulfilling the prophecy.

Hector later proposed that a truce be called between the two sides, and a duel should decide the result of the war. Ajax was the Greek hero who stepped forward and dueled Hector. However, the duel ended in a stalemate after a whole day of fighting, and the two heroes exchanged gifts, admiring each other's strength and skills.

The last fight that Hector gave was against Achilles. However, when he saw Achilles and while he was ready to fight him, he suddenly was overcome with fear and started running. Achilles chased him, and Hector finally decided to battle his fear and stopped running, after seeing the goddess Athena in the form of his brother Deiphobus. Achilles threw a spear against Hector, who managed to evade it. However, when he turned to get a spear from his brother, he saw no one there, and realized that he was about to die. With the last amount of courage, Hector drew his sword and died after a fierce duel. Achilles, then dragged Hector's body with his chariot, outside the Trojan gates for twelve days, before he finally accepted to give it to the Trojans, so they could bury him properly.

The story of Troy is one of marauding humans as they lived to fight. The duel between Achilles and Hector drew various shadows on various canvases of life. The physical shadows of the warriors crisscrossed each other as their weapons clashed to prove their supremacy. The shadows of pain, anger, hurt and anguish reflected on many faces as they saw the bloody duel in front of the their eyes. The pall of gloom shadowed entire Troy as Hector fell to Achilles sword.

Shadows- what a role they play in human lives! Shadow starts tracking a human from the moment he gets active. Shadows continue to change their length and sizes as humans move about in various directions and the light falls from various angles. Shadow leaves the moment darkness falls and there is no light around the human. Shadow makes a human think about various forms and figures. Humans have the unique ability to create various shapes with their own shadows and bring smiles across faces. Shadows can even create rumors and ignite emotions. Shadows emerge sometimes from nowhere and help to caution the humans before they fall!

Shadows do everything that they do, but silently and without getting entangled with other shadows. Do shadows respect each other as they go about stretching themselves or thinning out? They merge with other shadows and seamlessly. Shadows get used even in virtual format. Shadows of natural calamities loom large over humanity as outbreak happens. Man-made conflicts have cast their shadows all over the globe and pinned down humanity. Predicting shadows of various angles of humanity is an interesting science in itself. Analytics moves in as shadows get predicted and the impact can be controlled.

Shadows are everywhere around humans. There is no escape from them. Shadows integrate various aspects of human endeavor. Shadows impart important lessons to humans. The most important message is that of survival. Shadows stretch and compress without any pain to the humans. They go about their business quietly and merge or de-merge without any hurt to any other shadow around them. Shadows have no demands and no suggestions for anyone. Shadow does not interfere and does not disturb. Shadow willingly takes the shape that the humans want them to take. Shadow provides succor from heat and provide instant comfort to humans seeking shelter from the sweltering Sun. Shadow exposes the humans to chill factor when they leave the Sun’s comforts. There is a message in everything that the humans do with the shadows.

Achilles threw his shield and formed into an attack shape. He had less load to carry and more agility. Both Hector and Achilles were without headgear as the duel ensued. With the speed of lightening, Achilles moved and in one swift attack pierced the heart of Hector. Hector’s shadow merged with the ground as he fell on the ground-dead. Achilles had cast his lean shadow around Hector and mowed him down to establish the Greek supremacy over Trojans. Shadows grew longer as Trojans accepted defeat though Achilles also lost his life in the final attack. Shadow left both Hector and Achilles as they both fell to the vagaries of the battle. Hector lost his life to a Sword and four arrows took away the life from Achilles.  Shadows only leave when the human falls.

Humans can do better than what they have achieved, but, the spiral is too deep and entangled. Many shadows are circling around humans in various arenas and confusions erupt volcanically. Each learned human has a role to play to ensure a better tomorrow. They have to de-tangle the various shadows stuck inside their arenas. Think positive, think big and think for better humanity all around the globe and many shadows will de-merge to disappear. Each human can carry his own shadow well and ensure that the shadow keeps following him till he falls. The human who falls for smaller gains does not get up as the same human that he was before he took the wrong plunge. The shadow though does not change but the head of the shadow does show the strain!

Keep the chin up and poise straight- the shadow looks great and would follow as it is supposed to do. Do you love your shadow now, eh?