~ And WE Met Again ~

He withholds the test of time – his age and maturity is beyond comparison – just 4 years back when I met him, he looked the same and this time I see him in the same dimension – Alas! , somethings don’t change for good.

Raghu has been selling Tea and local snacks for most of his life – he lives on a plateau covered with lush greenery and to the amazement of everyone, always blessed with pleasantness of weather – the western ghats are truly accommodative to rains in much of the year.

Treading the western ghats with slush and slippery terrain, you can reach his small makeshift shop – He will always be present with his welcoming smile and asking you that medieval question “ Sir Chai?” [ Sir Tea?] – this time I met him after a gap and as a natural human tendency he didn’t recognize me, but thanks to rage of Camera Phones, an old pic gelled the bond – instantly a loud laugh made its way between both of us !

Life is so funny sometimes, you meet strangers and develop a sense of intangible bond and you want to capture those finetuned moments that one can remember back home – seeing the pics and living the moment again and again – this was once such occasion.

I asked him to make ‘Kadak Chai’ [ Strong Tea] for me as a mark of remembrance of this meeting – he readily agreed and offered me a place to sit – it was nothing more than a finetuned rock covered with a neatly labelled cloth – as the meeting progressed, we exchanged pleasantries as now that he had recognized me Suo moto on the basis of last trip’s pictures.

I keenly observed his aura and found he had not changed at all – Raghu was the same man I had met four years back – the only change was his salt and pepper look – his hair was greyed and he had grown and dense beard – his tone and calm and welcoming demeanor was the same! 

As I enquired about his family , I vividly remembered about his two daughters that he had told me last time – both of them were now in local college! – the adage “Girls grow fast!” had again proved itself!

AS I again asked him “What about your wife?, does she not come here to help you?”

With a comatose smile, Raghu answered “ No sir, Who will look after the girls then!, I stay here for whole week and then close my shop on Sunday and go and meet them in the town!”, a routine that Raghu has followed since he got married.

“Sir, Kamana bhi toh hai!, Ghar kaise chalega agar kaam nahi karenge!” – that was the responsibility almost All of us shoulder in tandem – The living and character of World remains the same wherever you go – it is the essence of human  Nature.

“Raghu, aap chai mast banatey ho!,”[Raghu you make fabulous tea!], as I prodded after having my first sip – in reciprocity, he laughed gently – a general talk regarding customer footfall and business followed – Raghu was happy in his life and always paid his obeisance  to the almighty – indeed, I knew him to be a God fearing man, a point which was proved by the pictures of Gods he had in his shop.

After a brief stoppage, it was certainly time to say a “Goodbye” , until destiny would meet us again – As a token of respect for each other, pleasantries were exchanged and a friend hug culminated this meeting….{don’t worry, I paid him too for my tea cuppa 😊}.

Thanks Raghu for the sumptuous cup of Tea that you always make with all your love – hope to have it again, don’t know when though – but for sure before we say goodbye to this world, hopefully things would have progressed in your life till then….and you would have a different story to tell!!

~ Life's 'Other' Plans... ~

So What is it that you want to control in your life? , you want things ‘Your Way’ – your career, your family and friends, your wife, kids and what not?, but as you grow old you will recognize one fact – “ You cannot control your life!” – the sooner you admit to this sense of wisdom, the better – life will turn beautiful and chasing a chimera of dreams and getting heartbroken would be less!

The Occurrence of events in this world is phenomenal, consider the latest devastation – AIR India plane crash that took lives of innocent people who were oblivious of things which they themselves could not decipher – happy souls going to London, sashaying an ostentatious goodbye to the loved one’s minutes before…and then the tragedy stuck – doom prevailed and people get vapourized! 

No one could decipher what was coming towards them just minutes before – else who would have boarded the plane if they were deemed to be so clairvoyant – that truly is a live example and a remembrance to the fact that , we control nothing in this universe, leave alone our lives.

As the Vedic wisdom trolls, you are just living life as per your ‘Karma’ and ‘Destiny’ which was bestowed to you due to your past livings and ‘Prarabh Karmas’ – the time you are born, your family, situations and various scenarios, your success and failures, struggles, friends and foes, everything – almost everything is pre planned.

Yet, rationalists will strongly argue the concept of ‘Free Will’ – of course in between the jingle of life that you are living, you will always apply your thoughts and do your actions according to your own will and understanding – no one would stop you to do it, for sure, but the outcome again would be subjected to different parameters and not your saying!

Coming back to the tragic Air India Plane Crash that unfortunately happened in Ahmedabad, there were some success stories too – as they say “ Every Cloud has a Silver lining!” – the idiom testified itself – consider the case of Vishwas Ramesh Kumar who was the lone survivor of this tragedy, When asked how did this happen, he was in a state of shock and simply replied “I don’t Know!” – a Godly miracle has saved him out of the blue and none other of the ill fated plane – was he destined to live – now that we have a conclusion, the answer is ‘YES’ while others had to GO ….that is the only human explanation one can soothe oneself from.

Also, sometimes your failures turn out to be a case of success! – what else can proved beyond doubt about another case – Ms. Bhoomi Chauhan, who missed her Air India flight by 10 minutes due to traffic – her innumerable pleads has no ears and she was not allowed to board the ill fated flight – again – the grand design had other plans for her and now that she recognizes this fact!

Summing up, Nature or Grand design, whatever you love to call has always plans for you – each and every minute you live is being controlled and gauged by a higher authority – we as puppets are clever enough to make our own plans, trying to defy the greater good – living consciously and with a sense of hourly gratitude towards what we have been bestowed up will tread this path called life with ease and purpose – till then , let destiny happen for all of us…Amen!