The Hoax SMS!

The ways of the world are often stranger than fiction! In a recent incident in which I was subjected to  a known person sending a hoax SMS about my health to a doctor friend was deeply perturbing and terribly malicious. People afflicted with the tendency to fabricate can  create terrible consequences from their actions. That it leads to a domino effect that causes panic is the rush of power that feeds such devious actions of these people who indulge in such senseless actions of spite.

Two evenings ago I received a call from my childhood friend, who is an eminent orthopedic surgeon, and who now practises in Delhi. He  told me that he had received an SMS message from a mutual acquaintance (who I  had just visited not more than an hour before that ), which informed him about me being unwell with a brain tumour! This led to my friend getting terribly worried about me, and when I didn't answer the phone (as I was driving), he called up another mutual friend who in turn called up another mutual friend.....all the while with everyone worried and anxious about my well being and scared that I was perhaps terminally ill.

When I got home and viewed my missed calls, I called back my friend in Delhi, and of course completely oblivious of this chain of events, prattled on about this and that without too much thought for his initial question about the state of my health. He then explained his anxiety about the message he had received, (personally sent only to him), about my being unwell with a brain tumour. I was so shocked at the intended mischief of this message, and so completely perplexed that someone I was in fact helping quite extensively since the last few months,  could behave in such a manner with me. The saddest thing was that this was not even meant to be some warped practical joke, but intended to create genuine panic for a laugh.

I immediately called up the person in question to ask why such a message had been sent. She initially denied it vehemently, but comprehending that evidence of a message from her mobile cannot be a figment of another's imagination, she confessed to it the next day by sending me a message apologising for her actions! She offered no explanation and I preferred to just leave this sordid issue without probing her intentions and merely replied saying: Thank you for the apology. I was extremely saddened by the false message you sent and the panic it created. Such unwarranted messages only hurt people and cause inconvenience. 

This unfortunate event reminded me of the numerous occasions when political agencies use similar tactics to destabilise communal harmony. The spreading of false stories that hold fear causes grave panic, and fuels a chain reaction that spreads incorrect information like wild fire. In the case of individuals being attacked and targeted ,  truth often gets appropriated because of the cowardice of those too weak to own up to their faults and mis deeds.

My attempts as a teacher is to insist on an exacting truthfulness from my students that may sometimes be painful in what gets addressed or confronted. But the lessons to learn from it are vital as it trains the mind and conscience to behave in accordance with a responsibility and accountability that is self governed at all times.

Why this lady in her late  fifties, chose to send a fabricated story to my doctor friend remains a mystery to all of us. However what  I do recognize in this lady's actions are the clear signs of a mischief maker at play. What she thought she stood to gain is difficult to know; what has occurred unfortunately for her is that she now stands exposed as a trouble maker. More is the pity that she has lost the trust of a person who had only her best interests at heart.