By Tadrash Shah:

Invisibility has long been fantasized by almost all of us. We remember the movies that have fictionalized the invisibility concept and Shekhar Kapoor pioneered that in Indian cinema with Mr. India. We all would think of what we could do when we get invisible and think how it would enable us to do what we wish to do without any inhibitions and apprehensions. That would be bliss. But yes, as it is always said, with privileges comes larger responsibility. Not to worry much because nobody is giving the invisible coat to you, and neither to me. There are no taxes for fancying.

When I was to write on this topic, there were a plethora of thoughts that abruptly clouded my mind. Take a minute and think what would you do if you were to go invisible? This makes us realize that there is so much we want to do, there is so less we would think of doing and a lot lesser is what we do.

When I read about the invention of this cloak which, when you wear, makes you invisible, the first thought that struck my mind was that this is not a bliss for the human race. Rather, it may bring terror. For a very simple reason, when anybody owns the cloak, they would always wish to pursue their desires to do things that they would otherwise not do due to the frame of a character they have to fit in for the society. And more often than not, the desires are morbid. Because we live in a society and follow some decorum. I agree that decorum is imposed upon us most often crushing our wishes and freedom, thereby consigning us with pressing anxiety. Though this may hit on our individuality and natural behavior, this is needed, else what difference would remain between the jungle raj and this cultured society? I advocate the decorum though it comes with a cost. That decorum makes us fit for coexistence.

We cannot read human minds. Not apparently at least. And hence, we can never imagine what one would do if given an invisibility cloak. They will be at large completely, missing totally. I googled the question and was aghast at the things that people would want to do. There were some innocent answers on the forum, like travelling to places without a ticket, to filthy desires like sneaking inside friends’ bedrooms, watching porn publicly. And then a girl said she would watch men bathing, a boy wrote that he would bomb his classroom and his teacher among other shocking things. The list almost tormented me. I do not deny the positive aspect of the cloak – the cloak bearer may spy into the matters of our corrupt politicians, punish the unethical businessmen, give a tough lesson to those who deserve the same and things like that. But those things are not the first that occur to the human mind. They would always want to shed off what they have been confounding in their intellect. A really good man can only exist in the movies, seldom in reality.

As blackberry cell phones have proved, such a cloak would come as a blessing to terrorists. And would be equally lethal if rapists, government leaders and serial killers could lay their hands on it. Yes, we may not sell them publicly so that it is not easy for them to acquire one; but who would really control the access to the cloak. No security system in the world is to be trusted when the planet as a whole is at stake. Jesus will be required to flood and fold the planet after finding Noah of this century.

I may have sounded like a pessimist, but when we are directly dealing with human intentions and intellect, freeing it from the shackles of the character and tags which society has hung to them, we would rather be cautious. It is but natural that negativity precedes subtleties of positivity and it will be a good tool for the anti-social elements. Such trepidation would have resisted our great knowledge holders to not open certain mysteries. Please save me the effort of listing them.