~ Gratitude towards Life…~

Walking down the lanes of Delhi, one can see many faces and souls who are just existing in the grandeur of life; they have seen the thick and thin of their daily living, but they certainly refuse to mellow down with the trial and tribulations of what life offers them!

Passing through a major intersection of crossroads, I chanced upon a middle aged lady encapsulated in her own small world, not looking towards the rigmarole of life passing through, she was fully engrossed in decorating and arranging her pavement shop which she so dedicatedly setup with an expectations of getting customers whilst they glance through her sellable items she has arranged superbly.

Her paraphernalia consists of hanker chiefs, socks, scarfs and kids hand gloves and other sundry items she could expect to sell considering the fact that she has been in the role of an ‘Entrepreneur’ for quite some time. Covid times have created situations for many a people to plunge on desperate efforts for a living. Without inhibitions, many folks have started what they could with their meagre savings and time they have to earn a living – who knows that a small step they have taken today under duress of situations they are in could lead them to an all-out entrepreneurship binge; As they say “ The journey of 1000 miles start from first step!”

Observing such sight, a sea of questions come to one’s mind – What has made them so tough to endure the vagaries  of life and its living, almost at the nadir of societal pyramid, the robustness in their attitude towards life is worth an emulate for many of us- if at all we see them as set examples to face the challenges of life – come what may. Their dignity of living and self-esteem desist them from begging or being a recluse.

Their home paraphernalia consists of existing with optimal items of daily life, not obeying to hoarding capacities that we generally inculcate. Living in shanties or roadside makeshift camps, their belief to take life as it comes holds true unlike many of us who fear life and its challenges which might come our way and what we may not be able to take it.

Nowadays reading unfortunate news of people who are giving up on life due to various trials and tribulations life offers them, a constant reminder to all of us can be people living in dire situations and still having zeal of living – they certainly believe in idiom of “This shall too pass…”. The lady in question can be termed as a visible example of such situations, she could have chosen the other path and had succumbed to situations life offered her – Instead she did not and their lies her victory and victory to all of us I the belief that whatever be the situation “Accept life as it comes  your way….at the end of it, you will cherish your journey…”

~ Raj Uncle - One Man Show ~

Sitting on the pavement with a confident aura and observing the passersby – sometimes shouting like a marketing genre, Raj uncle is an age old phenomena for me. I have known him for more than two decades as far as I believe. He used to be quite young and versatile in his personality, now that I could find him in a sea of people in the flea market, I could sanely observe that age has definitely took over him.

I generally went to say a sober “Hi” to the him and was never short of words when the conversation began. He at once recognized me as an old customer, though he did not expect me to buy any items he had displayed in front of him. I knew for better that he must have gone through tough times which had befallen on such assiduous souls who, in spite of all the dichotomy of life stood still and faced the situation with aplomb. Asking him about his ‘Business’ condition, he was quick to react, whilst he raised his hands above - “Everything is owed to HIM, we are nothing son!”.

This one sentence actually said it all for the cerebral mind. It encapsulates our exposed reality and our vulnerabilities of life. We believe on certain outcomes of our daily activities ignorant of the fact what actually is stored for us or for what we are pronounced destined!

Raj Uncle has been in the business of selling hand purses and handkerchiefs since I have known him. As far as I remember, he had two daughters – the same was asked by chatterbox in me. Suddenly, he started to smile; an emotion I have not seen in many now a days, and responded “Both of them are happily married, and well settled in life.” I am happy for them and they take of me and my wife by calling us every now and then and dropping in occasionally, what else a father wants in this life.”

Another streak of wisdom Raj uncle spelled midst of showing some ladies purses to some customers who suddenly happen to arrive from nowhere; though a good sign for his business. The deal didn’t go through, but Raj uncle’s zeal to sell just does not die – he shouted clamorously to attract all and sundry, to which there was meagre response. In between, he started to enquire about my well-being, to which I responded in affirmative. I just wanted to talk to him more and more as I could judge a sense of instinctive connect with him – may be due to the fact that I had met him after almost half a year, though I was also very conscious of the fact that he was going through his prime business hours and could not afford to be as talkative as I am, also bearing in mind that he was all alone to manage his paraphernalia.

Convincing customers nowadays is a tricky spell in business, I observed him to be quite a rainmaker in his art of selling. Finally, I fell for his articulative stance and thought of buying purse for my mom – needless to say, he was more than happy to see me as a customer again, the deal was struck quickly with little haggling – for me buying his sell was just a symbolic gesture and a way of overcoming my guilt of wasting time of his whilst he was working!

A final goodbye and note of thanks exchanged between us and my thoughtful mind started to reminisce our past when he never used to sit on the pavement and sell his goods but to stand in front of the road and gesticulate and shout every now and then to attract customers – may be decades of workmanship has made him acknowledge the art of instinctive selling and also as I observed now , Raj uncle’s age has taken over it with passage of time.

Giving the purse to my mom – the final cult came, “Did you bring it from Raj sahib?” – that is the honor the man holds in our house and why not he deserves all the praise one can gift for his fighting spirit and living for a purpose with a thankful stance for All!!!

~ Market Glitterati ~

After ages, I have true honor of seeing our favorite flea market in full swing – Saturday are special days for all of us as we have been accustomed to seeing this flourishing market for more than five decades or so!

The market represents true mix of old and new and has been a cross cultural festival amongst all and sundry. I call it ‘cross-cultural’ as you will see people of all cultures buying and selling various items in all its traditionalism – from south Indian spices and to north Indian cheese and papadom's , you see yourself to be in a gifted place and can cheat yourself to a one time shopping spree!

 I have seen a major revamp of orthodoxy of this age-old market where second generation and even third generation of marketers have taken ground. In my juvenile days, I used to frequent this market for cheap plastic toys and tennis balls and even cricket bats which were quite affordable according to my pocket money , now that that the market has been bombarded with Chinese paraphernalia, it has taken an aristocratic shape. It consists of all sorts of items; you name it and they have it – From kitchenware to fruit and vegetables to the famous road side eateries - the famous ‘Chole Bhature’ and ‘Tickies’ to South Indian ‘Idli Dosas’.

The only thing which has been a diligent constant are the vegetable vendors; though they have also accommodated themselves towards fast changing times; they have started to sell ‘Chinese Ginger’ which is placed under Chinese LED lights. They have mastered the art of arranging various vegetables and fruits in an attractive fashion. You will observe tomatoes being extra-ordinarily ‘glowing’ under the aegis of Chinese red LED light – your eyes get captivating towards cleverly projected lady finger under razor focused green LED light – – beware, both of the temptations are illusion to your eyes which gets busted once you come home and see what you have bought!

At this stage of my life, the purpose of visiting the Saturday market has changed – now it is primarily for fruits and vegetables with an occasional demand from my kids to bring stationery items , though I still wait eagerly for Saturday market to come in full swing which had lost its sheen due to Covid restrictions.

Today being one of those lucky days, I had the honor of visiting this iconic market and meet age old hawkers who have been my permanent fruit and vegetable vendors. A general chit-chat with them after six months have been pulsating – enquiring about their wellbeing and vice versa has been satiating to the mind as I got to know that everyone was safe and sound, though a big pain was significant drop in their day to day earnings, but still they were happy to repeat this idiom “ Health is wealth, we can earn later in life , no problem!”  Their roadside wisdom has been acquired from experience they have had sitting on various tranches of life, first with their fathers and grandfathers and now themselves.

The happiness quotient they carry is far beyond the luxuries of corporate life – they have dreamy aspirations which makes them class apart from regular rigmarole of life, they are not averse to taking risks and experiment in the journey of life – conversing with them sets your thinking apart, their charisma of greeting a customer is phenomenal so as their inviting nature. They bestow true spirit of entrepreneurship and have many ideas to reckon with – today after meeting them after ages, all I could say is that they truly represent the zeal of living life be whatever... they eventually become my role models and life coaches for the art of thy living...

~ “Kishen” - The Young Entrepreneur ~

 Chit chatting with my friends and having a glass of lemon juice, I suddenly chanced upon makeshift stall in front of me - ‘Ram Ladoo Bhandar’ as the name is famous in our vicinity and hardcore street food foodies quite often throng the stall to have delicacies it offers. What is captivating to the eye is not serpentine queue sometimes one sees through at peak time in the evening when people are desirously waiting to have their plate of ‘Ram Ladoos’, but a young lad earnestly working so hard along with his father that he does not spare time to look up

I have quite often seen him washing dirty plates and picking up leftovers from a makeshift bench that the father son duo have positioned near there stall for customers to cherish their feed.

I quite often see him doing Sundry works which are of immense help to his father – Work types such as cleaning the bench, picking up leftover plates and quite oddly even frying the ‘Ram Ladoos’, whilst he puts himself in great danger in doing so.

He has quickly become cynosure of all eyes as according to his age and physical appearance, he works so dedicatedly towards the task assigned to him – His father has a reprimanding tone and quite often calls him with high pitch but ‘Kishen’ as he calls him, is always a consistent and obeying son trying to beat time. Today as I observed him, he was busy cleansing utensils and for that he was trying to prepare the spume which is needed to do so!

Aiming to finish a hoard of dishes which lied on a pile – Kishen had taken this as a task to complete within a timeline set against all odds. For him, his ‘Karma’ was his playground – At this stage of his life, he is learning the tricks of the trade and is a quick learner – Talk to him and he would give a confident reply that he loves doing all this paraphernalia and helping his father.

I asked him once ‘Do you love all this?”, his answer was in affirmative and that too with a big smile.

At other time, I asked “Don’t you study?” – he replied “ I study in the morning and afternoon and then in the evening I come here with my father and help him setup his stall – in the interim, I do menial work what my father tells me to do!”

“What you want to be when you grow old Kishen?”, I once asked.

He was a bit shy first of all then suddenly when this question was repeated by his father – his reply was that “ I want to convert this makeshift stall to a proper shop and start his own setup and employ people – I was flabbergasted on hearing about his vision that he had perceived for himself – Kishen had made up his firm plans to be an “Entrepreneur” at this stage of his life and that is why he was so dedicatedly engrossed in all types of works in his father’s stall. He could strongly visualize that right in front of him were legalized DDA shops and one can operate this type of setup from a concrete shop and thus have a formal arrangement. He knew fully well that for this to happen they would be needing lot of money – this again added to his zest to come with his father and contribute in his own way!

Enquiring from his father about his working so early in his life, he says – “ I have three sons, Kishen is the youngest of them all – he is 7 years old but comes with me on his own, he loves to be in the market and do things and is not shy of anything, seeing his zeal and dedication, I don’t stop him accompanying me. “

Nowadays, my visit to the local mart has an aim – to see Kishen working with his father hand in glove and to bless him internally for him to achieve his aim in life , but surely not before completing his studies and become educated enough to open not only one shop but string of shops with his hard work and dedication!

~ Like a Girl...~

 Today ,I broadcast a beautiful poem being recited by a girl in her teens – The poem suffix’s her internal thought and lateral thinking about what she is and what she believes in!

Her ruminations are synonymous of her existence in this world – A vociferous spell of her convictions and dreams!  She emulates herself to the greatest icons of womanhood – ‘Liberty’, 'Teresa’ &’Indira’  – all woman of substance and her role models of life...

She recites about her apprehensions of being a girl and what people thought it to be like….

Her aspirations, thoughts and aim of achieving grandeur of life and her strong convictions of reality whilst she sets to dream in this world of man’s domination……

May she achieves the world beyond words and sets apart for herself into dominion of a ‘Girl’ who then becomes a signatory and an exemplified communion of Womanhood….

~ It’s a Dog’s Life, Beautiful Just... ~

 The sleepy head is oblivious to the market rigmarole and having a dreamy sleep – I generally see him walking the market aisles every now and then, observing the gentry walking past by him. The canine is a foodie and generally has a dedicated set of food givers – mostly shopkeepers who obey him by feeding him with goodies which he likes!

Wagging his tail as usual he comes to them on one sweet shout or a soft whistle knowingly fully well that there is something interesting coming up – either a sumptuous meal or slice of cake or biscuits which is a general evening breakfast of shopkeepers. His conduct varies from person to person and as I observe him , he has a sense of aristocracy to his behavior – sometimes he walks with pride as he is the sole owner of market area he has made his home. There are certainly other meekly canines posing a stiff challenge to his dominating position in the area he occupies. He has been into some deadly fights to defend his proprieties and have thus won and earned his dominance – in the midst of all this he has made some loyalists who always walk behind his arrogant style – giving me an impression that now he has made his bodyguards too!

Nowadays, I mostly see him accompanied with an elegant female companion which he has somehow befriended to kill his boredom – I strongly guessed that my favorite doggy is now in love 😊. Whilst I was buying something from the shop, the canine came to me and looked at me with a gently and poked his nose to have my body smell – a behavior very unique to certain dogs – the objective being to have a sense of acquaintance.

Today, I saw a scene captivating to my eyes – ‘Sheru’ was fast asleep  and seeing him at this state of wellbeing, I asked my shopkeeper friend as to why he is sleeping at this time of evening when whole market is up and running, the market rush and noise does not concern him – the answer came as a shock to me; “‘Sheru’ seems to be heartbroken as he is missing his female companion since two days – a tragedy had stuck his life and whilst they both were crossing the road nearby, a fast approaching car had hit her and she died on the spot – Sheru showed his anger by relentless barking and chasing the car but to no avail. He came back and sat near the almost crumbled body of his love and did not had his food since two days now – he generally has lost all enthusiasm of living , we all shopkeepers are seriously contemplating of taking him to a doctor, though once we have tried thus but he has been growling at us as well. He certainly does not like to be disturbed and wants to live in this state of despondency.”

After hearing the heart-rending  love story of my favorite canine, I felt sorry for him – his predicament was imaginable – I just went near him with an aim to woo him with his favorite cake biscuit which he so eagerly loves and enjoys but to no avail – he opened his eyes with a little effort and saw me and wagged his tail as a reciprocative gesture and then slept again – I assume he started to dream about his lost love – I could equate his feelings with strong sense as I observed a face of despondent lover! All I said was “May almighty give him strength to overcome this phase of his life and his beloved rests in peace above – the short and sweet love story of our Sheru would be ingrained in our hearts and mind in times to come!

~ Life’s Oxymoron...~

Went on a buying spree and the conversationalist that I am , I could not stop to utter a few words of appreciation of merchandise Uncle was selling in his shop. Articulately dressed, the old man had one assistant to help him out in finding my requirements of Tees. In the midst of it all , I started a  general chit chat about the current situation and how his business might have got impacted whilst he opens his shop quite reluctantly. He is about 70 years of age and in the target range of government advisory for not being let out without any valid reason.

During the course of our conversation, I did mention him to take care of himself whilst the whole world fight this dreaded disease – having said that , I guess uncle went into a deep pause and started to share his sordid – happy story – I deliberately write this down as ‘Sordid – Happy as hyphenated – the two oxymoron's!

He started to share that he has one son and one daughter, both married and having kids – he has a big house near his shop and that he stays with his family – et all , it consists just his wife! Both his kids are out of India since a decade, happily married and settled – They don’t want to come back and stay with their father and mother who have grown old and fragile and now they need a helping hand – if not financially but emotionally!

I did raise this valid point during the course of our jest conversations and uncle fully acknowledge this fact that now he actually wants his son to come back and stay with him. “He is earning well outside and has 2 kids going to school there, he cannot equate his earnings in India. Though I am happy that he has done good for himself, but I don’t have the courage to tell him that he should think of coming back as his mother and father have passed their ripe age of living – time is clicking fast and our health is of no guarantee now!”  His sense of early pride soon turned out into a feeling of melancholy.

I fully acknowledged Uncle’s concern but kept mum as I could see the ignominy of a desperate father who wanted his Son to do good for himself but the cost of it, he has to pay now at this ripe age.

As our conversation gelled “Son, many a times , I have had medical emergency in the night and it is my neighbors that have come to our help – though I can afford good medical support in India, I cant do things myself or for my wife if anything uncertain happens.”

I reverted “ Uncle, you should frankly talk to your son as to what he thinks about this situation that you face now , you have good property – Shop and 3 BHK home in a good locality and your son must have had a good savings as he has been staying outside for more than a decade – he can buy his own home here and make himself comfortably placed. What do you think?”

Uncle juxtaposed my argument with one sentence which summed that all – “ Son, new generation will never understand the situation which old parents face through at fag end of life! All through my life I stuggled to setup business for my son and he never obliged my hidden plans for him – He went to study outside and never to return. I have accepted this as my destiny and God’s will.”

The whole conversation took about five minutes – time was up as his assistant bought the requisite merchandise of my choice, the next thought was of business – I selected a few Tees and paid and said “ All the Best uncle, may you be hale and hearty and I see you again living life with equal fervor.”

The reply was “God Bless You.” Coming out of his shop , I went to severe thinking about such parents and the predicaments they face during their lifetime. This turned out to be a catch 22 situation and many a parents are in this situation as they want their kids to be well settled economically and personally but at the same time want them to be near them – “A Life’s Oxymoron” as I would say it – as one cannot have the best of two worlds at the same time, the situation makes it more complex with the time we live in now. For the kids, I genuinely feel stuck up at crossroads of life as many of them might feel obligated to stay with their parents at this stage of their life but the pulls of better life make them stay away from them – calling them ‘Victims of their own success’ what an irony I summed up this situation as I walk back home thinking about Uncle’s predicament….Life thus goes on…!

~ Vaibhav - A Life of a Cobbler ~

Quite often , I see some street urchins roaming around the aisles of a commercial mart near my office, their prawning eyes are always focused down below looking towards footwear of the gentry – having found one , they quickly start to converse with the prospective customer in one word which sums up their intention – “Polish?”.  I know one of them amongst the lot as I have befriended him since 3-4 months.

Walking barefoot throughout the scorching heat, Vaibhav goes on to chase his customers who need polishing their shoes – the irony being he himself cannot afford a shoe and thus maintain it.

His worn-out feet juxtaposes a history of sorts, he comes to his ‘Karmic’ Region barefoot and keeps on roaming around with a sole objective to earn a certain amount per day to accommodate his lunch as well as safe for his dinner in the night. He belongs to Ajmer and had come to Delhi with is village friends – a lot of two other urchins who also are in the same profession as Vaibhav.

Asking him about he school he quite vociferously tells me “ School is closed due to Covid – I don’t have a mobile phone or a computer so as to attend the online classes – though I have bought the books when I started from Ajmer and when I have time in the evening, I read them quite occasionally

Vaibhav meets me without fail on all weekdays and hardly takes a break from his ‘Business’ as he confidently calls it with aplomb. He wants to open a shoe factory in the long run as he thinks he has not only mastered the art of polishing shoes but also has started to make them.

Further asking him as to why he has not made shoes for himself, he tells me “ I don’t have money to make shoes for myself but I am saving for that day when I shall wear a shoe made by my own self.” – His proudness was well recorded by me and I prayed to God that one day he should get what he has dreamt of. Every person dreams big out of life for himself and Vaibhav is no different, his situation in life is tricky as he has to balance his economic situation along with his studies and take care of the family as well.

His parents belong to economically weaker section of society – His father is a cobbler and his mother a housemaid. He has two elder sisters – both married at an early age – another anomaly in our society where young girls are married off at puberty only to become mothers at adolescent age!

Vaibhav does want to ruin a life of any girl till the time he sets himself strong foot economically – his prudence of life at this stage is well honored and at least he knows the poverty trap he has to set himself free. He works hard throughout the day, only to leave by 7 pm in the evening, when shots and offices in the commercial complex sets to thin down. Post this, he long with his friends go on a little evening breakfast consisting of Tea and Rusk or biscuits. A general chitchat follows among all four and they laugh and discuss life and be merry – that is the time which belongs to all three and they cherish these moments to their hearts content.

Vaibhav has one big quality which is in his blood – he never overcharges for his labour and never undermines his effort, whatever he quotes for the work type that becomes his last word. Though in nowadays parlance this is not the right attitude, but he says he is right in his might and he wants to stick to the rules he has made for himself and thus follows it with all earnest.

Before taking leave, I wish Vaibhav and his friends a good bye and ‘All the Best’ greetings – I would certainly like to be in touch with them, and honestly want to see them grow not only in age but also about maturity of living and may they achieve their dreams which they have set their eyes henceforth!

~ Disha Aunty – A Life lived in Wisdom ~

As the phone rang some days before, I sitting next to it was the first one to pick it up – expecting a near or dear one to be calling us – a routine nowadays considering the times we are living by – This landline phone is testimony to our living and is with us for last 36 long years – I still remember vividly!

Getting a call on this means no wrong number – for us it is most of the times my mother’s friends which they found it convenient to dial in as we live in the digital world induced by mobile phones.

Getting to notice the true test of time when one was young and sport a hearty smile with equal measure of confidence, Disha Aunty used to go to office  trailing miles and ever engrossed in her true Karmic sense – She used to go from one hospital to another; as she worked as a medical officer in prestigious Government of India company She was ever agile and talkative in nature and lure almost everyone who came in contact with her with her bags of never-ending stories!

Now that she is of 73 years of age, and ill bound to do things of her own and that time has taken over the regimes of her existence, she has many age-related problems – Sugar, Hypertension and has had an open-heart surgery in recent past.

Speaking with a philosophical mindset, Aunty speaks words of wisdom when she tells me “Son, so many people you meet at definitive occasions in this journey of life, you remember some but forget many. Even your near and dear ones who have departed now occur as a dream and their memories become intangible thoughts now!”

Further she tells me “This life is a beautiful till the time you are in great health and you have a great family with whom you can cherish your living. Lack of Money can still be compensated via love and care for each other and with continual support, one can transgress life with a happy living!”

Giving examples of her colleagues whose sons and daughters have left their aged parents in midst of this trying times of Corona virus. She blatantly speaks of curse which will befall on those lifeless souls who have left their parents entrapped in uncertainty of life – more so when their aged parents want much of care and love at this stage of life. “I don’t know why the younger generation does not comprehend one grueling fact of life that “It comes back to you with a bang and at that time they will face the same situation. No one on earth can dodge the unrelenting Laws of Karma which are always working incognito.”

Finally after exchanging goodbye pleasantries she kept the phone down with enthusiasm and excitement of talking to me again not before a humorist sarcasm “Quite hopefully I should remain alive by that time 😊” – Those final words were rhetorically rejected by me with sayings “ Disha Aunty you will be alive and kicking and will surely call us soon to share some marvel moments of life that you have lived , It is always a pleasure receiving your phone and talking to you for so long!”

As the phone rang today, I vehemently rushed towards the instrument to pick up the call as I generally do – the voice on the other side was quite somber to disclose an unpleasant happening – with a heavy heart ,I received an unpleasant news of Disha Aunty leaving for her heavenly abode leaving behind slew of memorable moments which she so frequently used to share with me!

In the Midst of time, when we navigate in retrospection what we owed to the world and what we actually gained, you will see a highly skewed benchmark set against time...correction will require decades, but only the prudent ones will ever get to know what they did wrong....!!!

I know Disha Aunty – you must be seeing us ALL from the ‘Other Side’ of the world – having a panoramic view and meeting  your departed near and dear ones – not to forget the innumerable blessing you must be giving us from there for such true moments that we shared as our paths crossed in this world – Be live and spread your smile as you did to this physical world – God Bless your Soul!

~ Life’s Offer…~

The secluded finisher always sees himself in the midst of rolling his hands or doing brisk running and hardly takes are break. His persona at this stage of his life is riveting to me, almost at the fag end of life, his zeal to keep himself fit has been phenomenal – sometimes doing a glancing ‘Hello” or a “Namaste” gives you a feeling of intrigue to have a long conversation with uncle.

One such day hence arrived, on reaching the tracks of the park early in the morning, I started to do brisk walk with a purposeful aim of loosening my still body after a deep sleep – I had only circumambulated the park’s track that I could see the old gentleman coming towards me, whilst he was jogging.

Clothed in his favorite track suit which he generally loves to wear, I had made up my mind to be a conversationalist with him, be whatever it takes. The moment thus arrived, after about 40 mins of walking he took a short break and positioned himself quite satisfyingly on the nearby bench. Taking out his water bottle , he sipped through gently as if the thirst had overcome him after a hard exercise regimen. As I was observing him for some time, he used to sit on the same bench which could be termed his favorite. With a streaking eye contact, I started the conversation with a pensive thought – “ Hope he is in a mood to talk.”

“Hello Uncle, I often see you jog and do exercises , at this age you are so fit and fine, what makes you do all this , you can come to park and sit calmly and introspect the best moments of your life in all those moments.”

With a grimace , he thus spoke “ Son , I have been working so hard all through my life, I had a electronics shop and never took a break almost all my life, Sundays were too occupied as there was lot to do and achieve as per my aspirations.”

Then suddenly his voice chocked, and his eyes turned wet, after a brief pause, he started to speak again – “I lost my wife and my only son got separated as he got a good career option out of this country. I am all alone now and thus have lot of time on this planet till I am alive, almost nothing to do.”.

“Last year I was prognosed with Cancer and am undergoing treatment and have to periodically go to hospital to get rid of the disease – Don’t know if I ever will be able to do that!”

As the story got melancholic, quite inquisitively, I again asked “But what about your shop?”

He replied “Ah, I closed it down at the peak of my earning capacity – as there was no zeal left to continue after my wife’s passing away and my son taking his own stance in life. I never thought that one day I shall close the dream of my life on such account. All my life I dreamt that one day my son would take the reigns of this business and I shall sit at home and thus enjoy the time life has to offer, but God had decided otherwise.”

Though it was a sad little story – It made me wonder about most of us who are struggling and running  an endless race without almost the same outcome – One day we shall be left alone with all the money we ever thought we could amass but without near or dear ones and compromising on our health.

Taking leave from Subhash Uncle – As we conversed I gently asked his name and thus told him that I shall be addressing him thus so , I started to take my own course as the sun had started to shine quite bright hinting for a humid afternoon coming over, not before promising myself to meet him the next day with yet another round of fruitful conversations whilst we shall sit in beautiful meadows of monsoon greenery!

~ Code Name God ~

Sitting sometimes in your own lonely world of wanderings  you start to ponder about the mega happenings in life and its attributes – the first question begets your mind “Who Made this all ?, the Stars, Moon, all these heavenly bodies”, the cosmic intelligence is always performing its task without any hiccup; the sun rises on time, moon has its own orbit, various planets with gigantic masses always moving with phenomenal speeds

Alas! All this does radically intrigue’s one’s mind about a strange coincidence about such major appearances around us; The general question being, who made it so perfect and in perfect symphony with each other? Who actually programmed it so perfectly? Not even an iota of error one can decipher in the laws of the world. The best of humanity – Physicist, Biologist and other intellects of highest order as still trying to uncover the greatest mysteries of this universe. Only the insane can be judgmental to the tune of not acknowledging the power and existence of the higher order – what we call GOD or ‘Cosmic Intelligence’ running this universe with so much perfection!

Looking at life’s intelligence around ,you can surely get a strong understanding of the hidden working of greatest order – the growing of a seed into a huge tree, a plant germinating via seeds and sprinkling flowers and its fragrance, the birth and death of living beings – all this seems to be such beautiful in this intransigent world of thoughts and actions.

Not believing opens a wide range of debates, the answers to which are hard to find and makes situation more complex – the total acceptability of an unknown ‘Cosmic Governance’ satiates one’s intellect and make us stay focus on the tasks we have been assigned to do whilst we live each day.

Many of the biggest thinkers of this world have propounded big theories for the existence of this universe and how this was propounded by just a Big Bang – but as we research more and more onto it, many intriguing questions have evolved which challenges this age old theory of evolution – for many the quick and simplest answer is ‘ There is a Supreme and Supernatural Power always at work, It is HIM that he wishes , so does it happen!” – The prudence and enlightenment of this theoretical talk goes well with what you see and feel – It is you who have to be a judge of your own existence, many thoughts of you being born to a particular family and into life situations will ponder you erratically – There is a seeker in everyone of us, for some it is at a dormant level and for many it is live and kicking.

Many of us are working from close comforts of our homes, spending time with families but at the same time living under constant fear of the uncertainties of life, of losing our close ones. Fears of some tragic instances which we all see and hear from various sources – many questions arise in our ever-engaging mind and thoughts – what if…?

All what I have live and experience in this beautiful journey of life led me to think laterally – that many of your life’s situations are pre-existing and defined; we are here only to live upto that script written as according to our own ‘Sanchit Karma’s’ – the only silver-lining being that it is our free will with which we can act with impunity whilst we exist on this planet. All this has a significance of your living, what you do today will be recorded in ‘Akashic Records’ and shall come back to you with equal fervor – for this to believe; start living with a conscious state of mind – observe the Deja’ vu moments life offers you everyday, the hints it gives you hidden in small moments and situations ; you never know this might lead your to a path of self-enlightenment and you find the source of that ‘Big Cosmic Intelligence’ which is playing around since time immemorial – Happy Searching!