Have you come across the word  ‘ Nyctophobia’ ?  A little girl learnt it the hard way. 

It was a lazy summer afternoon. The six year with a head full of curly hair and wonderstruck eyes was simply bored. She wanted to do something. Curiosity led her to the Store- Room of her grandmother. She wandered aimlessly amidst the pile of old clothes, torn toys and splendid dreams. But lo behold! Someone had locked her from outside . The little child was forced to stay in that dark room for several hours. How she was rescued is a different story which will be narrated some other day.

The experience stayed with her and she became part of the world of Nyctophobia. 

Yes in common parlance it is known as extreme fear of night or darkness. 

What is fear –

Fear , a universal emotion ,  like a tempting mistress, is always eager to entice people with her tempting eyes.  But the wise believes 

The moment there is a feeling of threat, fear , like a clever chef, spreads before us a wide array of rich delicacies of wild and fearful thoughts. Now what are we supposed to do ? Should we deny the stimuli its legitimate feed or find out the causes the stairs that lead to it ?

Stairs that lead you there –

A teenager may be afraid of facing the roving eyes of the audience before him on a podium. The uneasiness of public speaking might be related to the mild stammering he had in childhood. 

I have a forever fear of sitting in an aeroplane. My friend Rita is afraid of being alone at any time of the day in her house. 

Namita always dreamt of being a good doctor. But she could not qualify  the Medical Entrance Test in her first attempt. She got trapped in her fear of failure and never mustered enough courage to try again. Jokingly sometimes she was told that she must have been a sworn enemy of king Robert who was inspired by the insignificant but the spirited spider. 

But the worst fear is the fear of unknown. The beauty of the journey is lost in our struggle to reach the destination.

Phobia – the rich cousin of Fear

The little girl in the beginning of the narrative needs to be again dragged in here. She is still there amidst us  with her anxiety, depression and hesitation of facing the darkness. 

The disproportionate scary reaction to a situation gives rise to phobia. The Lexicon, in turn is burdened with words like ‘ Claustrophobia’, ‘Hydrophobia’ or ‘ Coulrophobia’. 

Ramesh could never enjoy the splendour of thunder and lightning outside his window. He was struck by Astraphobia since childhood. 

Crossing the threshold –

The present Pandemic situation can be best described as “ Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the times to understand more, so that we may fear less.” – Marie Curie. Fear is the reigning queen of the present situation., no doubt. But we have to master the art of crossing the threshold. But how? 

“ Move outside the tangle of fear thinking . Live in silence “. - Rumi

May the little girl  with whom we began the journey may find solace in the spirited  little  angel called Anne Frank, who although herself a victim of the Holocaust, but has lighted the candle for us with words like “ He who has courage and faith will never perish in misery. “