~Three Musketeers ~

All the three are aimless wanderers with no way specific to go, ask them where they are heading to, in all probability you will get a two word answer “Don’t know!” – as obvious, they have not much pressure to perform, nor do they have grand dreams to accomplish, but for sure they want to be a happy lot and enjoying each passing day as it comes.

May be life have different designs for all of three school dropouts, as I spot them earnestly searching something amid the shrubs, they may have found something interesting to put their attention on. Hearing my sudden voice, they became attentive only to find that it was a friendly tone and the purpose of it was to give them something of daily use to them. Their face cheer up with a gentle smile though they still have a perceptible doubt, which stands obvious. As I try to converse with them about their life and daily living, they reluctantly share their name and whereabouts and where they actually come from.

I don’t know if the information they give me, first of all they share their name as “Mahesh”,”Ravi” and “Sanatan”. That they were school friends astonished me as their appearance didn’t look like they had ever seen a classroom. I for sure knew they were lying and on pondering the eldest one speaks up gently “ Bhaiya, we have left school as we didn’t like education and the discipline of school!” – to dire consequences that they may now face in life, I tried to convince them to revisit their judgement but a laugh closed the scope of further discussion on the topic.

On further prodding, they tell me that they are good friends and that they live in the same vicinity, a slum nearby and that their parents are ragpickers and are not at home as they leave early and come late. This gives them the opportunity to act like loafers throughout the day as they love loitering around without any purpose. Asked if who gives them food to eat during the day, they smile again and blushingly tell me that they sometime ‘Beg’ on red lights nearby.

I asked if they could be admitted to a school whereby, they would get free books and breakfast along with afternoon meal, will they be comfortable? Their eyes sparkled with an distinct smile , they were ready to take that leap, something was surely brewing in my mind as I gave them this proposal.

As we have interchanged some information, I could ask them few more questions but before that I observe that  one of them is quite shy and would hardly speak, but he is utmost attentive of my intentions, I liked him the most, as I spot him to be subtle and observant, I doubt he would open up with many strangers as he did to me.

As I try to convince them about what lies ahead in life for them, skipping school would pay them no heed in life and that they would be living life in poverty and just like their parents, they listen attentively and understand the repercussions- as it seems to me but have no direct answers to my talk. I know they need guidance and a proper direction and that their parents are not adept in doing so as their main aim is to earn daily bread and butter for their kids and themselves.

I ask them if I could be their friend and that are they regular to park, they did say yes though I doubted their hasty answer, as they were reluctant to speak more, our quick conversation was getting to its culmination, as we bid ‘bye-bye’ and with a commitment to meet again the next day, I kept on thinking about future of these street urchins. The vicious circle of poverty has enveloped their life completely and they or their parents are not in a position to come out of it.

I surely had a plan for them to achieve basic elementary education as I rang up someone close who runs an NGO for such kids – as I was quite hopeful for a positive answer which did come, the next day was the day I was waiting for the three to appear. As expected, they didn’t as they didn’t wanted to be bounded by life’s discipline or daily regularity – may be they wanted to wander as free birds and have got used to the daily living which circumstances have bestowed on them, but still for me the search continues…

~ In Guard of Honour...~

 He stands at an upright position to prove his loyalty towards his employer, whether assisting in parking of customer cars which come for shopping or when it comes to counting of sold items whence the customer is exiting the gate, Khem Chettri is at its best – his short height and marooned looks sets him apart from other mall guards.

His smile and comfort looks is what made me feel to chat with me whilst I came out of the mall ,but I had kept him in my mind beforehand as he was the one who came out running to assist me in parking my car. As I observed him, he was doing his duty diligently and without any much tantrums, a rarity now a days. His conversant aura was the next best thing which broke the silent between us….

As I initiated to ask about his name and from where he was …

“Sir, I am from Assam and spoke up in length from a small place called “Duliajaan”, as I had a friend who was from nearby place, “Jorhat”, the conversation got to its gravity as his eyes lit up in sparkle and he beamed his ear to ear smile as if someone from his village was speaking to him in this concrete jungle of land and buildings. As the conversation matured, khemji became more friendly and started to talk frankly about the place and its natural arena, I accepted his thoughts in tandem as I knew for sure that what he was talking of was pure nature.

When he stopped, I asked “Where do you live Chettriji?”, to which he reverted “Sir, I sleep in the mall and have a small room attached, I use the bathrooms for washing and other sundries. I have been staying in the mall for last eight years! the Malik (owner of the mall) is a nice man.”

I asked him about his family whereabouts, to which he vehemently espoused his feelings and thus spoke “Sir, I have a son and he is doing engineering and my daughter is in 12^th grade, both of them as good students.” I appreciated his stance and congratulated him for doing so much for his family, he nodded with a grin and felt happy at my words of appreciation, though quite internally I could sense that he was proud father to his kids.

Suddenly, Chettriji had a task in hand and there were customer bags to be scrutinized whilst they made way to exit the mall – a task he did quite conscientiously and with sharp focus , as any misses could lead to loss to his ‘Malik’ – he was a truly honest employee, no doubt.

At last he finishes his adhoc task and makes efforts to accommodate another car which is trying to adjust in the compact parking. Finally saying a temporary adieu, I make my way towards the final exit, keeping in mind the conversation that I had made with my newfound friend, life’s best instances is actually found in beautiful conversations …. Today it proved true for me….

~ He is no More...~

He is no more today, the end come as a sudden jerk life-pulls … just few hours ago we were on whatsapp sharing the muddles life offered us and how we should align to the grand design, but suddenly a message pops up "HE is no more..." sending in waves of frenzy all over – that’s life!

A friend and a brother for more than 15 years who has been a constant source of inspiration and fights too suddenly makes you lonely on this terrain, a sudden void which is matchless and which cannot be filled with any glimpse of life anymore, such was the attachment.

Today as I type with deep melancholy, my feelings of how we have become so vulnerable to the sudden happenings and vicissitudes of our living, it surely makes me believe in the power of destiny. Every one of us is planning a fortitude for ourselves and our families only to believe that a day would come in our lives for we to make a merry, but in doing so, completely neglecting the way life is treating us. The day would never come till the time we enjoy our present day – the postponement would always prove costly!

He had mega plans to enjoy his journey of life, everyday we were in thorough conversation to do what our hearts said…those hiking trips to the deep forests in Himalayas, the gigantic ranges of the mountains would always be in our dreams – the wonderous cottage that we were planning to hire was not only a fantasy but could have soon become a reality – now all this would be a far off dream my friend, this is an ode to you , for wherever you have gone, nobody comes back but for sure you will watch me doing crazy stuff on this plane called ‘Earth’, it is not that you said 'Adieu' ...it is certainly something within left me today!

As you always said, may be today I realize you had a strong sense of intuition, “My life is no bigger than yours, and I mean it !” – to me, these lines were not joke until you proved it today – your strong sense of absorbing those hidden messages from the other world meant a true meaning to me today as it became a sordid reality for many of us not to engulf – life is certainly harsh today, for the simple reason is “You” – Goodbye my dear friend, until I meet you again in this vicious circle of birth and death, until then, rest in peace and keep watching the dance of destiny of which you were once a part of…

~ He is "Bahadur"...~

He speaks in his own sign language, which is tough to understand, you need to be observant and upright to let know yourself what ‘Bahadur’ wants to tell you. He is partly Nepali and partly Indian as he calls himself in this dialect, but nobody knows his true background. Bahadur is the self-professed caretaker of the temple which shares its boundary with the MCD park. He is paraplegic but has not led his disadvantage hit him hard. He wakes up at 4:00 a.m. in the morning and after doing his morning ablations takes bath and does his prayers and meditation. 

He has a strict schedule during the day and tends to many routine activities for which he has been doing since more than two decades. Activities which include sweeping the floor, tendering to the plants, cleaning the prayer leftovers, and sometimes donning the hat of temple guard, he is an all-in-one employee.

Though Bahadur is a busy man but he is meekly paid by the temple trust as in lieu of his financial aid, he has been given a room to stay within the temple premises. Interacting with the temple trustees to enquire about his background gives a sordid picture of human insensitively. The temple guard had found him one early morning in a small cradle with some spare clothes and a some sachet of milk and a letter of prayer and repentance for this act... he was profusely crying and wanting to be loved but his parents or caretakers played deaf ear and had a heart of stone to cast him away as if the child was lifeless. In fact, after knowing that he was born paraplegic, his parents didn’t want the child to be a burden on them from the day he was born and he was discarded quite thoughtlessly – how could parents be like that? “the guard asked, as he is still an employee of the same temple. There is another twist to this gloomy tale, Bahadur still thinks that the guard ‘Manohar’ is his biological father and that his mother died whilst giving birth to him.

With love Bahadur calls his father as ‘Kaka’ and both of them share a inseparable bond of love and respect. Bahadur is a secondary school pass out by a nearby government school, as with efforts of temple trustees, he was given ample ground to study and a volunteer ‘tutor’ was designated to provide him tuitions in weak subjects. It is due to tutor’s effort that he passed his secondary school examination and is quite conversant with reading and writing – a trait that his father lacks! 

Nowadays, I see him often strolling down the aisles of park and conversing with anonymous fellow-beings and enquiring about their health – someone has given him the update of the new corona variant ‘Omicron’ and that has become his muse-subject of starting a chat with the unknown passersby … Today he was upset as he met me with a complaint, he had just made to God… “Bhaiya, today I wanted to sit in the sun and expected a bright sunny morning, the fog has played spoil-sport…. Maybe tomorrow would be a better day….”, I nodded my head in all acceptance of his judgement and exchange pleasantries and enquired about his ‘Kaka’, he responded with a smile as he told me that he had gone to talk to ‘GOD’….I laughingly ignored his comments as I knew that his father used to clean the idols of Gods , a work type I had seen myself being done by ‘Kaka’, but I was soon corrected by him as he further stated that he has lost his father to corona last year… I kept mum and gestured in reverence of the departed soul, he smiled again. as if he was happy that his father was in the company of GOD and that now his prayers had a definitive foot to present before the almighty… as he walked away talking to himself ..he left me with a two thoughts in my mind first that he is really a "Bahadur" and that such is life and its vignettes always happening good or bad but will continue to roll come what may...!!!

~Money is boring...~

“Money is boring” – the word echoed in my ears from a stalwart who is in the US for more than 3 decades and he is a close relative who once had the dream run to make it big in the land of opportunities and to live the ‘American Dream’. Now that he has aged and is expecting an early retirement from the daily chores of his living, he stated this incredible line which made me pay attention to his state of mind.

No wonder many of us still believe in the dichotomy of living in our country – lovingly or not, but still thinking of going abroad for greener pastures – an average Indian honestly thinks so- as there are many follies that decimate our standard of living – be it the social overhead capital or the infrastructure as we call it or the health facilities and love for one country, we know where we stand.

The tables get turned when these are the subject of some foreign land , more so America, then the tide gets turned towards it supremacy and the life it offers to a common man.

Not likely – the gentleman who is the subject of my writing today has had an overwhelming life in worlds strongest nation and one may presume him to live a life of dignity and honour – but not the way it is perceived to be. The gentleman after completing his college education in India tried his luck in higher education in foreign land and was lucky enough to get into a management college in Chicago – and soon landed a job for himself in one of the prestigious management consultancy firm – as further luck shined on him, he was able to find a girl of his choice and soon got married with his parents affirmation – so far so good, then came the most remarkable moment of his life – his separation from his wife, who live with him for just one year and didn’t find him to by her type of husband – so suitable as it was, both got separated but not divorced and since then he has been living a private life full of self-discipline and loneliness.

As he laughingly says “ I only have one thing dear, and that is Money, no love and nothing that I can boast of as a relationship.” – as he is entering septuagenarian age, he is planning to come back and settle in Gurgoan but it seems to be tough as still according to him, the Indian way of life is not his cup of tea.

As I broached the subject of Indian IT doing spectacular business in the world – America being the prime market for it and zillion of IT engineers making it big in the land of opportunities – his only answer was “ they may try their luck in the world of professional relationship but they have to be doubly lucky in their personal life, as for them running after dollars will take them far off from their family and one day the breach would be well enough to be contained…!”

His advice and deep observation of life was well entrenched and pointing to the situation that he himself had faced overseas – the blind love of moolah  certainly took him too far off from his personal choice of love and care, which he might though of taking it for granted, but life did had a certain plan for him for the choice he made.

This profound conversation with him today made me feel a little pity for the man I knew for so long – his love lost story certainly deserved a patient hearing for he must not be having anyone to spare such a time for the man who once came to America with a dreamy eyes and a go getter attitude – but now life has come a full circle for him – and it is only his memories which would be his greatest partner he would ever cherish whilst he lives each day….

~ I think...~

So what is in a writer’s mind, nobody knows, his muse is the surroundings and situations around him, the life he is living, he is not oblivious to people’s turmoil’s but rather he is sensitive to situations.

The foremost principle of putting situations to words “ You need to put In emotions to related to a subject and the circumstances. Second and more importantly, you need to present the storyline with a penchant of heart and soul of the subject – why would one choose a muse as mundane as a common man we all see every day ?  The answer lies in its simplicity of situation and that  he is living with a world inside him and still he is calm and compose.

Everyday we confront so many people around us as ‘Subjects’ who are living life and accomplishing tasks which may look quite ordinary to you but in fact is a bread and butter for him. Be it a fruit seller who is raising his shouting and raising his voice to high decibel levels to make a sale or be it a garbage picker who makes his presence felt daily by his sound whisperings, all are doing their duty.

The observer in each one of us just make a passing glance to such regular happenings in our life as a daily chore but the writer identifies his subject to write upon – there are a zillion questions which he thinks when he observe and then carefully chooses his subject to write upon – questions such as ‘Would you would have done such task if you were on him? Or how he would be fair in life when he gets old and what has life stored for him in future considering the work  he is doing – does he save much for his old age and his future generations?, there is one life that he has got and for this purpose? …. All sorts of questions hit the thinking mind and when it fills up to the brim, the overflow happens in form of jotting of words… the turnaround is quite simple in fact.. what you observe in daily life, or the situations you face or people you meet, you ought to jot down in sentences, as if you don’t oblige your talkative mind, you won’t rest in peace and have a sound sleep, the internal tribulations would question you as a constant reminder to present before the world the common man who daily makes great difference in our life, though silently.

After all what the mind tells is that we are a part of that grand design entrapped in various scenes of life and fulfilling our respective tasks… a day would come to say goodbye… that inevitable truth, I thanks the knocking mind for being a friend to me and giving me ideas to jot down the stories which I feel should be written …not for people to read but for my own satisfaction and belief that these become a silent ode to those invisible characters we so potently ignore….

~ Plan of Life..~

 So, what is the plan for life? This is an intriguing question one encounters quite often, more so, when one one is in her/his teens, parents are worrying lot and many of them just observe their kids traits to just take a glimpse of what their kids would become. A casual talk with a friend made this question more so remarkable, considering the fact that he belong to the family of 2^nd generation doctors and all through thick and thin he was told to pursue this profession when he passes his 12^th – that his life was superseded by destiny, as he was just ‘told’ and not ‘asked’ this lifetime question.

I met suresh after many years of our separation as he had to Delhi to participate in the recently concluded republic day celebrations – he walked the aisle of Rashpathi Bhawan for the second time in his career spanning 20 years. He was an excited lot, though his father had retired as a CMO from one of the private hospitals of Delhi, he still had one regret – he didn’t become a ‘Doctor’!

Nonetheless, his parents , specially his mother was a proud woman who was always a chatting lot about his son’s achievement, be his posting in sensitive Kashmir or in the upper reigns of Himalayas – the great Siachen, he had accomplished it all and that became the subject of talking for his mother every now and then.

But this time we met as he came home yesterday, he was at his unusual self, he wanted his daughter to join the ‘Army’ 😊 as he considered it to be an upscale career option filled to the brim by honour and pride. “The respect and army man gets is unmatched, as officers, wherever we go we are saluted – specially in terror torn areas of our country – not to forget the amenities which we get  and the gentry we live with, we have our own aristocratic society to comply!” – hearing these words, I felt like to be degraded as we civilian folks were just good for anything and have wasted life and  earned for our own selfish self!

But as arguments matured, I put in the same question as his father had put forth him about 20 years ago. What is that you want to become in life and what is your plan of life? – he was repeating the same mistake, his father was a successful doctor and treated patients with care and thus whilst he did so, he patients that he treated game him lots of wishes which bloated his pride with humility and honour, no wonder, he wanted his son to be a top class doctor, but destiny superseded his choice of career. The wheel of time is churning again and Suresh is at its cusp – he meekly admitted his folly as I reminded him his times….

“Yes , we can only propose what our kids can be, now there are lots of career choices and what one can be, unlike our times.!” – Though internally, having kissed the dignity of Army life, he still want her elder daughter to be an officer – the recent government decision to include women as Permanent Commission officers added value to his argument – as we ended our discussion over a cup of coffee, the inevitable question still remained “What would want to be in life?”, … time would provide us the answers, "Man proposes, God Disposes is the only phrase which we can satisfy with....!!!

~ Vinodji - A Man in Reverence...~

 Thanks to the weather spoilsport, the urge to have a tea cuppa led me to an old tea kiosk which has its own uniqueness and that is – it is managed by a stalwart who has been doing this work with all his dedication and commitment for more than thirty long years… yes you read it right …’thirty long years’

Vinod-ji – the reverence comes naturally when you meet this man and fall for his contagious smile which leads your to his tea stall ‘Uttrakhand Tea Stall’ which he ‘founded’ as a small shanty. His entire life has been dedicated towards running this stall which started as a small tea shop and gained the singular distinction of being the longest running roadside tea shop for such long! As Vinodji has seen his hair turned grey and now they have completely turned white, his experience and determination says it all.

Even today the man in his early sixties, though he does not look so, wakes up at 4:00 a.m and starts preparation for his regular customers, who are mainly the labourers and now ‘urbanized’ dwellers from Axis bank which is across the roadside. The stall is opened till 10:00 pm every day , though nowadays the lockdown has hampered its opening and it gets closed by 8 p.m. His first daily task is to remember his God which he says has led him to tread such a long journey as he came empty handed from upper reigns of the Himalayas in order to make a life and career out of this big city. As time passed, he found an opportunity to start a small tea shop with only bare minimum he could save from his previous job. Single handedly, he started his kiosk with an aim to settle himself in this big city – it was early 80’s as he told me, “ I was hell-bent not to go back to my village and that I had no choice but to settle down and support myself in that phase of my life.!

In doing so, he had two things in his stride then – faith and hard work, which he could do relentlessly. Now that he terms himself as successful and with a strong daily base of customers and home in Delhi, he surely is a satisfied man – though now too, if you go and ask for a cup of tea, he would prepare it with all his love and infectious smile – you wont be able to keep silent at his kiosk and would definitely be breaking the norms of silence and start conversing with him.

My case was quite similar too, just after my morning jogging with my old pal and discussing matters as mundane, we both had the urge to have tea – the weather being benevolent and it was a little drizzle which prompted such desire in us – it lead us to Vinodji’s kiosk and as soon as he saw us coming, he started to give us his welcoming smile – the premature talk of weather led to discussion regarding the upcoming elections and also to other perky topics.

Suddenly, I noticed a young man working hand and glove with Vinodji – he was introduced to me as his son ‘Manish’ who was well qualified and was working in Gurgaon in IT sector – being a holiday today, he had just spared some time to help his father in his daily chores – though Vinodji has given employment to two associates. Installation of Paytm and Google pay scanner is purely his thought, as I could  clearly sense that his tech-savvy nature is giving wonderous results to Vinodji's' daily effort.

The conversation was routed to Manish and to what he does in life, to my surprise, he was a software engineer employed with an IT firm – it was his way of paying obeisance to his father and he had no shame in doing so – the best part being , he had a similar captivating smile on his face whilst he was doing his work – both the father-son duo  were a formidable combo – though the son didn’t seem too interested to tread on his fathers footsteps… but time is a great leveler… who knows…

My inquisition led me to ask questions to Vinodji about his family apart of his son and he smilingly said , “Sir, I have 4 daughters and 1 son” – all of my daughters are well settled, 2 are teachers and one is a UI designer in an IT firm and she is the one getting engaged tomorrow…. My question seems to be quite pertinent… I wished him a customary congratulations and internally felt the respect his hard work and accomplishments have done wonders for his family – the best part being, his son realizes his father’s life journey – for him being working on his tea stall on a holiday when others of his age are enjoying theirs is a silent salute to his father!!!

~ A timeless meet…~

There are people just around you whom you may see almost everyday when you pass through the aisles but you never have thought to converse with them. They are silent workers who may not be having all the material happiness in the world but they still drive the courage to dream big – they are just non-existent in the dictum of the world for they do menial jobs which many may desist to do but they are surely provide their worth in the value chain of life

During my recent sojourn, I felt a strong urge to have tea but could not find any meaningful place which could offer it to me – treading for almost half an hour, I could spot a dilapidated ‘Tea Stall’ which came as a respite for my dying soul – the weather in upper region of mountains change fast, and I was a witness to the fact – quite scarcely clothed, tea was the only hot-supper which could have given me relief from the chill.

Rushing to the gentlemen duo, I could see them both looking at me as I approached them – both had a welcoming smile which was well enough to break the ice for our conversation. A quick catchup followed but not before I straightforwardly asked them to prepare that life saving ‘Tea Cuppa’ which was the need of the hour…

The elder amongst the two was quick to respond and quickly poured water in the pan and started the process in no later than a second, I was impressed with his response and said ‘Thanks’, the younger lad was observing this quick one side conversation but his eyes had a catchiness in them. Both of them were little Shy as I could understand the mundane business they were doing – their tea stall was located in an unorthodox region of mountainous belt I was trekking, and were occasionally visited by few trekkers like me , above all who were tea lovers…

The conversation thus broke and I asked their names and from where they belonged. To my utter surprise I got an answer in English!!! that alerted me as this was not expected of from them. The elder of the lad with a sense of shyness told me that his name was ‘Kishore’ and he was a native of the same place and that  this was his tea stall – he had in fact ‘taken over’ this business from his father who ran the same shop for almost two decades! … and that he was a graduate in History from Shimla.

With a sense of reticence, he broke his silence again and thus spoke “ I wanted to purse IAS but situation and destiny had other plans for me.!” , whilst he narrated his tale, he popped up the tea cuppa in front of me in no time. As I was desperately in want of the beverage, I took the fist sip and inquired about his ‘Buddy’ – “Oh, his name is Rajesh and he is my maternal cousin!, he goes to school and often comes here to help me during the day...”. 

Having taken few sips of tea, which I should admit was one of its kind, I could not held myself back to appreciate his quick recipe. Kishore smiled again and thanked me for my genuine words of appreciation for him. He inquired about me and my purpose of the visit – I told my side of the story and what I do and what is that bought me to their dwelling. 

As I took the last sip, it was time to move forward, I profusely thanked the two for being such a good hosts not before taking snaps and asking them to pose for me as I wanted to capture the time of our meeting as a fond memory, they both reservedly   agreed with their chivalrous smile which confirmed my new found friendship with them… A final goodbye was the last thing I wanted to say to them but the need of the hour was something else…not before sparing me to pay them for such a beautiful gesture at the time of dire need…. A gesture which I will owe to them for my entire life…

~ Change, It Always Was ...~

 What happens when you start to observe a just-stand-up toddler running haywire on the green grass and asking her mother elementary questions about life? As for her everything is just new and a complete change – she has started to walk on her feet from a six month crawl and is inquisitive about things around her, be it birds flying or dogs barking – she is very careful while observing small nitty-gritties of the grand design around her!

A sudden and radical thought came to my mind whilst I observed her – her questions must not be making sense to many kids and other loiterer’s around her -even oblivious to her presence but to me it was something very subtle which almost each one of us almost ignores on day to day life and that is ‘Change’ that is happening around our living being…

Ponder over yourself, when you yourself were too small to walk and would held hands with your parents or grandma and learnt the art of walking, with passing of age, the silent change happened and you started to walk all by yourself – you probably ignored it as you seem to observe as just another activity around you. Then it was elementary school time and then a proper school hit you hard when you had to regularize your life to the new found environment around – that came out to be a big change but again you took it in your stride!

The next logical step was college but you didn’t realize that you had started to shave by that time 😊, and a change that you almost accepted with your machismo , it was happening around you just always and you were the one who was living it but took it for granted…

The biggest change came when you were asked to get ‘Settled’ – the definition of it being different for different people – the most equitable one being – ‘Getting Married’ and having children… you being an obedient child did just that and in doing so you on fine day saw ‘Salt and Pepper’ look on your hair, and you questioned that “When did this happen?” – as I say, it was already happening…

For many of us life is a constant change, the toddler playing was an eye-opener to the vastness of this change from we all started and have reached to the decades of our living. For many of us our bodies have started to defy our commands and we have adjusted to the habits of daily living, as change was the order of the day as it ever was…

In life’s many variables, the ‘truth’ is the only constant and that truth is ‘Change’ – we are made to accept it knowingly or unknowingly as you consciously observe it, seasons are changing, weather is changing, every cell in your body is subjected to change …it is continuous evolution.

The toddler made me realize another magical aspect of this aspect when she suddenly started to see an old man sitting far-off on a wheelchair which was being assisted by his caretaker – “Mom, why that uncle is on a wheelchair?, cant he walk ?, It is same as my pram that you made me take around for walks…!” – the question certainly had a deep meaning and a definitive answer… it was where we all are heading to one day, the change will surely take us there as that is the way life has always be…till then … enjoy your constant change as a part of living for it being your best friend knowingly or unknowingly…

~ Its a Dog's Life...~

He is my favorite companion in the park, always roams as a guard beside me and keeps on watching me eyeball to eyeball, don’t know if he has any past-life connection with me, may be yes – as his compassion and tail wagging love for me suggests.

Just today he was at its witty best, the ‘fog-hole’ sunshine had just lit whole ambience in the park as a streak of freshness – believe me it was just godly, with strings of wind and rays of sun giving your equal measure of warmth, the hound just came and jumped over me, as if he was just waiting for my love!

Many are scared of him as he falls in the category of unvaccinated street mongrel, many are dreadful of him and not even his playful nature can make their heart melt as for them he is always a threat whilst they do their regular runs and jogs on the park aisle.

Now the worst part was that he at one point of his life was a pet for somebody who seems to be insensitive to the mongrel – for me who has grown with vagaries of pets who were my upbringing companions – Dogs were the foremost, from German Shepard’s to Pomeranian, Cats were the next and also squirrels and once even a tortoise and Rabbit ( which we had suspiciously named ‘Einstein’ for his research capabilities !). So when I got to know that my Park buddy was actually abandoned by the owner, I felt angry and my mood swings were for everyone to see as I could see the agony of being all alone in a world where he was not prepared to exist. How he must have managed his living and made a place for himself along with other hounds who were kings of a particular area. Also, how he would have fend for himself – all these questions were palpable in my questionable mind and I could decipher the situation he must have gone through.

I just wanted to know the owner and may be if possible convince him to take the mongrel back as fully qualified to be a sensible pet but suddenly I was made aware of the tragedy that had struck at his owners house which had led the dog as homeless and wandering the streets. The story was regretful when I heard it and fully sympathized with the fall of events – the owner and his wife were happy married family of two living with the dog but a sudden bout of corona had struck both of them and they were just no more! – The neighbor’s tried to adopt the pet but he was remorseful and didn’t wanted to be tied up at any home sans his original masters, hence he had adopted to the new situation in his life.

The guy telling me the story was actually the couple’s neighbor and it was him who was quite familiar with the pet that he would come along with him in the park – other than that, ‘Monty’ as the mongrel’s name was, used to sit just outside the locked house for hours – “We give him his daily food and he has been staying here as a street dog for more than a year now! He is a good pet and obedient one, who knows each and every person living in the vicinity – we all love him for his nature , though we are equally sorry for his predicament!”

Hearing the sorry state of affairs for Monty, I fell in love with his demeanor, he truly has become my closet confidante in my early morning walks, though I don’t find him everyday but whenever he is there, he is always brimming with that oomph moment and believe me it is quite contagious for it cheerz me up too….