~ Punditji, a Life of Wisdom ~

Life is just nothing but a confluence of souls in body form – born in different scenarios and difficult-ease situation, every one of us are facing our own challenges. But in its vignettes, Life still deserves to be lived with zeal and zest…My approach to live with its impediments and love-hate situations comes from the observation of people around me, they are continuing and living life with the faith that one day will be different and would be as according to their own wishes and fantasies – god knows if ever that day would come and they would achieve and have their way of approaching life as they think –

Thinking so about these thoughts, I meet strange people living life with all its magnanimity – “Punditji”, is one such soul that I often meet, he sits on his favourite couch and sells potatoes and Onions in our weekly flea mart.

For me, he is the epitome of knowledge, for his whitish – grey hair tells his story of struggle and various life’s juggling – he has been an auto driver, a street hawker and now from a considerable amount of time a Vegetable Seller. His one liner about life is too profound to be considered again – specially when one falls in that scenario trap that we all face on day-to-day basis. He is a proponent of life’s simplicity and always proposes to ease things out whilst one is living. Living his history, he is always in a comparative analysis of time lived – for him now a days people have no patience and always are on the run, they are having fanciful expectations and aspirations from life and that they are not eating a healthy food.

All of his observations is a testament to the diminishing health standards of society we live in where life expectancy is sharply falling – never have ever heard of sudden heart failures and other health hazards – youngsters are as prone as oldies.

Punditji has a unique personality as he always sits in the ‘Lotus’ pose and has a lukewarm water flask as his benchmark – he had switched to drinking lukewarm water since a decade now – and it is his ubiquitous style that he has no ailment at 75^th years of his existence.

Sounds interesting to ears when I heard this, he is simplicity entwined in modernity and a role model for me, the struggles of his life have been unique too, he has raised three sons and a daughter with whatever meagre he has earned in life and all of his children are well settled in life… a feat in today’s world…

Last time when I met him, I had a question in my mind which I asked “Punditji, isn’t it time to retire? , now that every responsibility you have fulfilled and that there is nothing more to be done. He laughed out loud and said “Son, there is always a responsibility on your shoulder, even if your family responsibilities are off, there is responsibility towards people around you and the society for its greater good… Moreover, till the almighty wants me to work and keeps me hale and hearty, I will always work as it gives me my self esteem and my honour…and moreover to meet varied people” ….

Truly, Punditji is a happy man… and would remain so as he has made his life to be in all its simplicity with less needs and great thoughts….!

~ Three to Tango ~

It takes Three to Tango! This is what it seems to be when you see these musketeers roaming around here and there passing time. The school is over today and they are their own masters – though they have certain aspirations, though small and fit in their dreamy world.

If you are trying to open them up by initiating a frank conversation with them, in all probability they will shy away – a cheeky laugh will follow and they would be looking at each other with an expectation to speak up and that who does that first amongst them 😊! 

Just the other day they were playing and engrossed in their own small world, I was meeting them the second time and they instantly recognized me – as I enquired about their schooling and generally about their life, one of them spoke up meekly – “There is no school today!, winter holidays” , to which I reverted,

“Then what is the plan for the day guys?”…

Again came the voice “Uncle, we will just chill and play to our heart’s content and we have nobody to call and bother !” .

“What about your parents?” , I enquired.

The Cheeky one , who had just now found  his confidence talking to me replied “Uncle , both have gone to work and house is empty! 😊.”

Surely, all three were king of their own worlds today and were playing their heart out with a sense of contentment – There were no limitations to their being gaudy and had all the time in this world to be their real selves.

I asked the youngest of them about his name and he smilingly replied “My name is Ramesh” and on further enquiring I got to know that he indeed had no parents and was orphan and was just clinging on to life with both the other buddies he had befriended just months back – the other two being real brother and sister, their parents took Kishore as their third child and was taking care of him – though he was not sent to school.

As Kishore spoke “ Uncle, I will go to school from next session, I love going to School and I love books!” – those words brought a sight of relief and I talked about the importance of going to school or any teaching centre.

The conversations soon turned into a playful one and then I asked what games they were playing – amongst them, who wore a school uniform and went by one name “Kishen” shyly replied “Uncle we have just now created a game out of a single Brick that we found” and now we will pass our time with this brick! , All three musketeers were smiling ear to ear in tandem.

No wonder, we they had understood life better in this tender age and that their daily living had taught them the value of resources and also to remain satiated and in humour with whatever they had in life… As I said a final “Goodbye”, all three were effervescent and reverted with full vigour – they had made me their friend – I promised them a small token of gift that they needed for them to play when they have such occasion – I am sincerely looking forward towards the next meeting and spending time with them – the purity of their thoughts took me into another tangent… being a child is always mesmerizing and finding little ones as a shade of your past living is an honour…

~ Silence, all there is… ~

The only thing which is speaking continuously in the universe is ‘Silence’ – the ultimate no-voice of the existence is keeping itself with the ticking time. So what is silence – to understand its demeanor , you will have to sit in complete oneness with yourself and with absolutely no thoughts – if it is possible – what you call the ‘No Mind’ situation! , Now that is just similar to attaining the Samadhi and the most closeness  you can have with GOD but to hear his voice , you need to be  like him.

On the material level, Silence is always trying to talk to you and showing its way to live a life beautifully – for that to be a lifelong experience, you need to observe the existence deeply and with a different sense of perceptibility – see the plants, animals, wind blowing , earth rotating at 1000 miles /hr – do you hear any voice? NO but it is all happening. It is happening because someone has designed things in that manner for it to happen . It is only we who are taking things for granted – as when we were born and took to managing our life, we saw things the way they are , not even thinking as to how such great miracle is happening without any known direction or without any instructions!

Another tinge of ‘Silence’ can be found within one’s own self – you and me have the same sense of silence withing which we see outside – things are happening all by themselves and they are not guided by any one second by second – though there must be some great force or divine conscience or intelligence which makes it happen without we knowing it – or rather we have not paid much attention to such changes  - the heart beats on regular intervals, you breathing, liver, kidneys, spleen and all the important organgs doing their gags in tandem to keep you alive as if they have been instructed to do so – all this they do ‘Silently’.

Sitting in the park and just observing the beauty of world around me, a strong force of thought tinged me to jot down these words – look at the sky – so vast and blue, holding key to all of your hidden questions – It makes you realise that you are just a small ‘dot’ in this big great grand design of living and existence – very miniscule and tinny not to be seen if we go just a few thousand kms up in the sky with zillion other stars and planets and universes – yet everything is perfectly grafted and placed not to disturb each other – life propagates here and might be so in such arrangement on other such galaxies and universes.

As they say you have a whole universe inside your being so as you have outside – to experience that dash, all you need to do is to sit in compete silence and talk to that “Oneness” who always wanted to communicate with you and guide you to a whole new world for which you were made to live In this beautiful universe speaking the language of ‘Silence’….

~ A Morning Breakfast...~

I always look forward to meet him during my spiritual sojourns twice a year, as the train culminates early in the day, quickly I rush to my hotel to freshen-up and have a tea cuppa with bread slice spread with butter, all done in a spik and span haste by the man I intrinsically adore!

He has gone old – as I know him almost since a decade, for nothing for him has changed, not even his clothes and his persona – I still strongly remember once on my very first meeting with him as a customer , he did not pay and heed towards my request of providing me with a cup of sugar-free tea and slice of bread laced with a butter or anything worth eating with my favourite beverage – he kept mum, as he still do, was totally engrossed in fulfilling an order of another customer who was eagerly waiting for his roadside “Breakfast” whilst it was dawn of the moment. 

I still don’t know his name as I never asked for it, this time when I had the privilege to meet him, he was being assisted by his younger son as he was teaching the ‘business’ of roasting bread on raw flame to him and also of applying a thin layer of butter on the load of bread… Both father and son duo were reticent and minding their own business. As the shops were about to open, their makeshift rollable stall was asked to shift forward for the convenience of customers who will footfall in the huge showroom when the whole mart is up and running.

As my breakfast was ready , I asked for the price that I had to pay, quickly came the voice “ Rs 50” – the father was quick in finishing off the conversation as he had another customer lined up to be served- surely both father and son were doing brisk business standing on the by-lanes. 

Post my breakfast, I commented, “ uncle the tea and bread were sumptuous and tasty, every time I come here I always have it from you as you start my day with aplomb!” – he gently responded by a cheeky smile and so did the son – I asked the young man, what you do to which he replied “ Bhaiya , I have finished my graduation and now assisting my father in this business..” As i continued, "dont you want to work in an office?, now that you are a graduate?" , he quickly nodded his head in a vociferous "No" ...I could sense his love and affection of his father's hardwork over the years and wanted to take this forward...

Truly serving bread and butter to all and sundry was their business which they revered since times immemorial, and more so they did this with utter dedication! 

As I said goodbye and thanked them, they smiled and reverted…” Jai Mata Di”….knowingly or unknowingly they were serving humanity…now that I came back home, I try to apply the same trick to have the bread laced with butter on the raw flame emulating uncle but in vain… no wonder, over the years, uncle has created a craft for himself and a patent which nobody can snatch for him even if anyone wants to…

As I eagerly wait for my next visit, the taste of that morning breakfast still brings passionate mouth-watering feeling but I simply cant match the palate served in that early hours of the day with love and affection…the await continues...

~ His Black World…~

It is one of the important organ of your body and engages you with the world – the world and situations that  you see and feel , “Eyes” as it is called may not be the penultimate piece of art that God has added in your body but is no less, ask those who are deprived of vision and have no colours in their life and have to exist with only the darkness of life and its many facets – Black is the only colour attributed to the unlucky those.

In my recent religious sojourn, I came back to terms with this fact that “Eyes” that we generally ignore are so important. The Individual who doesn’t have it know the true value of being visionless and being blind. I could see one such unfortunate soul sitting on the periphery and engrossed in his own living, having a flute and a gunny sack for alms, he was young enough to have missed the vision of the beauty of world. Looking at the calmness of his face, it was quite obvious that he had accepted the life he had been bestowed upon – though not having a sight was not a damper for him, for he was an excellent flute player and the sounds were melodious and captivating for every passer by – out of reverence for the artistic talent that he had, he was being paid and certainly NOT for his compromising situation and that he was disabled – Indeed he was commanding respect for his talent.

As the person that I am, I could not hold myself to just start a conversation with this young man.

What is your Name? I asked as I caught hold of his hand gently.

Pat came the reply “Ravi” and where do you live and what made you come on this pilgrimage?” , he was respondent and replied, “ I love Matarani ( Goddess Durga!” ) and that is why I am here to pay obeisance to her and playing flute and sometimes singing her Bhajans (Devotional Songs)”

He was thoroughly confident, and all by himself as he had come from a far-off place, making arrangements of his stay and also his departure.

As I asked, “Ravi, are you not scared of being looted or being mauled because you can’t see and can be taken from granted…”

He had a cheeky laugh and replied “Bhaiya, Ma Durga is my sole carrier and She is the one who is looking at everyone…”, such was the confidence he was exuberating. Alas, I went speechless and seeing his immense faith had no option but to watch him for some time whilst he started to play the flute with melody! 

Ravi’s life motto has been based on two sublime words… “Inclusion” & “Acceptance” – he has softly acknowledged these one word idioms in his life and that has given him the satisfaction and immense confidence in the way he has started living and conducting himself. Music for him has been a constant companion which gives him solace and respect in the society. It is is internal meditation as he tells me and it certainly cheers up his somber mood when he is feeling low.

One question that I asked him was “Have you ever SEEN your parents?” – He was little hesitant in answering this question and passed on my inquisition as a gentle smile, though he later did accept that he is born blind and do no know how people look like.

Surprisingly, he is a graduate and he did all his school and college via Brail learning and is in the midst of finding a constant job – A government job could be a certain add-on and he is hoping to find one someday.

Ravi certainly is a no eye catcher – he is just another disabled man who we quite often ignore and miss for his situation but beneath lies a deep sense of struggle and compassion, he doesn’t want any free alms but an equivocal respect like any other able-bodied beings.

As I started my journey again saying a friendly “Good Bye” and an “All the Best” as he got up to move, his confident smile complimented my greetings – surely, he was a soul I met by chance, internally he taught me a life lesson, come what may…just keep walking. Situation will change…

~ Care that she needs ~

She is sitting idle looking in the sky with expected eyes – the body has wearied out and limiting her to frequent movements – I have seen her in her prime, she was a school teacher, “Gita Aunty”.

She has been a school teacher in a Government school and I have seen him running here and there with her two sons – Ankur and Samar – the family always boasted about their academic achievements as one was soon going to be a doctor and one an engineer – both from prestigious colleges , which was a dream of a typical normal earning middle class family, which still is!

Every time we used to meet her, she would surely talk about her two sons fairing well in college and also enquire about us – visibly she was in love with her two sons, her husband was always away as he was in a transferrable job , we could hardly find uncle around her much! 

Now that she is all alone, Uncle has passed away a decade ago and both of her sons are happily married but ironically not live with her anymore – life is totally different for her – The usual boastings have gone mellow and now the challenge is with upkeeping hale and hearty sans any caretaker – that is a big change Aunty is facing.

In the park, while talking a walk down the aisle, the speed has gone slow, the big steps have converted to smaller ones – the pain in the joints have turned excruciating as I see her often grimacing whilst she walks… All this has lead to one penultimate question of life which every parent wants knowingly and unknowingly when they grow old …”Will my Children take care of them when I will be along or would be old enough to help myself?”

Though only time has the answer to this question, the society is turning oblivious to our “Oldies” and they have been left alone many a time – career aspirations, internal conflict and many other reasons can be attributed to this decimation of family now a days .

Just the other day I again had the opportunity to meet her as she was strolling slowly and I asked her the same question “ how about both of your son’s , are they fairing well and do they call or visit you often?” the face soon got a sense of dejection as I could see her mood changing , as she answer's with a sense of melancholy “ The elder one sometimes call when he gets time , the younger one has almost forgotten me and that he is doing quite well in America and is Busy with no time to call!”

In this answer I could see the dejection life had offered her at this moment – the same lady some years ago was all in praise for the success of her sons and that they are achievers and now when she is in want of them, if not both but atleast one, there is no one to take care of them.

The maid comes and cooks – certainly she is the most vulnerable citizen of our society and is cynosure of all eyes for criminals as she stays alone .

Writing about her , my mind is still pondering about what life has offered her at this fag end of her living – all through her life she struggled to make ends meet and raise two sons with honour and provide them more than enough for what she and her husband could have actually afforded and now when she is all alone living  in seclusion, she is hapless…. No one to take care of her… there could be any medical emergency which she can encounter and for sure there would be no one at that sensitive moment of her life….

Seeing such examples, one’s conscience makes one think… What life is for people like her … they can be termed as “Victims' of Success…” and this is the success which has made them alone at this stage of their life… May God help them and be with them when need be….

~ Sans Legs, but Running…~

No legs but still working hard to live life of dignity! – there are enough inspirations around our daily lives that gives us a kick to keep walking the daily churn and travesty of our Destiny!

Just had an encounter with a man on a makeshift wheelchair who was not begging and held his dignity upfront – he was selling Chole Bhature and wafers in a neatly crafted cart that he had build with his own effort – his pride was living his own terms and not dependent on anyone nor he wanted that anyone should take pity on him for thinking him to be ‘differently abled’. 

As I was pulled towards his charm, I ordered a Chole Bhature and some wafers to satiate my temporary hunger – he took some time which gave me an opportunity to scrutinize his working singlehandedly and with all the effort, soaked in sweat for the humidity Delhi has now a days – he was not repentant that he was being grilled by the almighty or his lost destiny to make ends meet – but was thankful to the almighty for he being able to earn a dignified living – A proof of his mindset was a picture of a Hindu God that he believed “ Lord Hanuman!” ,that was neatly pasted on his cart and was just prayed upon, as I looked at the incense ash that was not cleaned since his morning prayers.

He was surely a struggler but his immense faith and respect in God was immense too – a thorough example of people who came to eat at his cart for the sheer taste of it!

As my turn came to have the Chole Bhature that he had neatly prepared and packed, I asked him his name to which he replied “Sanjay”, he was quick in setting an arrangement for me with onion, chutney, chole and Bhature and a slice of Mango pickle – so quick it was that I was oblivion to the fact that the plate was eat-ready and was nicely placed in front of me! – Sanjay was a man of few words and didn’t have much time to chat! The money he took for a plate of Chole Bhature was just worth it and I quickly became a testimony to the quality of food and the class of service he was giving singlehandedly!

It was my first meeting of sorts with him and though I didn’t want to ask personal questions, I intently did! – “Sanjay ji, how did this tragedy happened?”, with a smile he just said , “Sir it was an train accident, I fell of it while boarding it as I was doing it in a hurry oblivious to the dangers around it , hence this happened!”

I could not stop myself to praise him for his endless efforts and he was appreciative about it – though it hardly mattered to him whether he was been ridiculed or praised for his predicament, he certainly believed and accepted that it was his fault and now that this has happened, he wanted to still live the way he wanted to and not being dependent! 

As he packed my plate of Chole Bhature, he again smiled and thanked me for giving him an opportunity to serve him – now this melted my conscience, it should have been the other way round as I quickly reversed the pleasantries…. As I said “Sanjay ji , it is people like you who are role models for many people around you whose lives you have touched knowingly or unknowingly by your sheer gumption and that we should feel proud and honorable to see you as perfect example of life lived with resourcefulness!

As I walked away, I could not take my eyes off , he got absorbed in packing the next order in a haste, for sure, he didn’t had the time to chat as it was peak lunch hour and that he knew this fact very well…though bodily he is not complete but the completeness in his stature makes us all believe in the positivity of life… “Sanjay ji…you made us aware of the acumen on has and that how this life is to be lived…be whatever comes your way…”

~ Why Me...~

 Why Me? Has this question often knocked on your head? Be it when you had aspired to be something and achieve a goal or a target which was very close to your being and it did not happen? This question is the obvious outcome of the result but there must be something grandeur which made it not happen to you – many a time the answers which you were seeking from the almighty come to you with a semblance of truth.

Why Me surely has different dimensions many a time – there could a situation or an event which has peculiarity with you and only you are the protagonist of whole story weaving around that situation. Many a time the situation is build to guide you towards something or shackle your ego and all of your airy feelings and post this, you bump into the ground! 

The situation would be such that would catch you unawares - it could be a test which is being bestowed on you for your betterment or simply testing your aura and to prove your behaviour in life!

Let me be honest, I have been tested umpteen times by such situations and believe me many a time I fail – sometimes there is something going at the back of my mind and the situation occurs such as someone comes expecting a favour and you are engrossed in such a complexity that you are unable to help him / her – realizing so , you see that the time as gone and when you start looking for the person, he/she is gone! – you fail yourself actually!

Today, I think I somehow passed or kind of little bit I made my way to peace within myself….A street urchin holding a set of pen in his hands came to me and told me if I needed some – as the quality of pen’s were not upto the mark, in previous such instances they simply Don’t work! – I took the privilege of saying “N0” – though he insisted again – “Bhaiya, Le lo please.” [Sir, Please buy some.], to which I again denied. As he took turn and started walking.

Something in me kicked and I shouted and called him back – don’t know what within me asked me to converse with him. He came back and I asked his name “ Bhaiya, Mera naam Arjun hai!” [Sir, My name is Arjun].

Kitne pen chahiye ? [How Many Pens do you want]

I told him “Give me two, but they don’t work!”

He rapidly replied “Nahi Bhaiya aap chala ke dekh lo, sab chaltey hain.” [ Sir, all of them work perfectly, please scribble somewhere for yourself to see.”

He was right, both of the selected pens were functional and working fine.

I asked “Which Class do you study ?”

Quickly he replied, “Bhaiya, 4^th Class.”

Before I could have asked another question, an impromptu question he asked with all expectations.

“Bhaiya Rs30 mein 2 kile Atta Aaajeyga?” [Will I be able to purchase 2 kgs of flour from this money?]

He had absolutely no clue as he opened his palm and showed me Re 20 note that he had just earned!

I was speechless and he tore me from inside – I asked “Beta Aapke Papa kya kartey hain?” [Beta what does your father do.” , he reverted “Bhaiya who ghar par hain, lachaar hain, aanko se dikhta nahi! – [Sir, he is at home and helpless as he can’t see from his eyes and is blind, mother is a housewife., I work partime and study and try to support my family.!] 

Obviously, he was paid more, the smile on his face meant everything to me! Hoping that this was much to buy 2 Kilos of flour!

As he tried to walk off, there was a temple nearby and he just stopped there and went inside for few seconds and bowed down to the deity – I was just flabbergasted – he had actually THANKED the almighty for small token of help and that today he will be able to provide food on the table for his family, may be!

I felt ashamed at myself for not saying “Thanks” for doing so much …but today I say “Thanks!” to HIM for choosing me for this little honor with a sense of expectation that next time I shall be completely prepared for such chance meetings with souls who come specifically to test my being!

For the rest, are you prepared to be the 'Why Me' moment... don't worry, one day you will be the choosen one, in the midst that does not happen, prepare yourself to get pass this test of life...!!!

~ 23 and Counting! ~

“23 and counting!” – I am aghast on the way I am hearing the news of suicides which our youngsters are doing in Kota – a small town in Rajasthan, notoriously famous for cracking the almost uncrackable IIT and NEET entrance exams! Hearing such news, my conscience goes for a toss and I think “ is it the only aim of life , to be at the top?”

They seem to be toddlers of life for whom the only aim is to be a doctor or an Engineer, for many the burden of aspirations has been put on them by their parents – many of whom themselves were both moderate students and were not able to crack the elite exams! 

Time and again I read that it is a Rs 10,000 CR industry or almost $1.5 Billion – the moolah seems to be much and so is the competition. Lakhs of students come for fulfilling their dreams and make it Big in the world of corporate life or to start their own business as it is a well-entrenched phenomenon in India.

Securing a seat in IIT is a sure shot ticket to land of dreams – America or for opening their own companies – Startup as the call them in today’s jargon and getting to the headlines of majority of English Newspapers! For sure there is a heavy price to be paid in this razzmatazz of life and earning big, many flounder and are not able to take the pressure of paying heed to books for almost 18 hours of day – the insecurities follow suit and they succumb to the huge burden of their own airy aspirations.!

All I can say is that “Please give Life a chance as It is for sure a beautiful journey , the best part is nobody knows what twists and turns it brings in due course !” – anyways if you end your life, for sure you will not get anything as you don’t exist anyways , but your near and dear ones will surely be on the receiving end and will live with a huge sense of anticipation and may be guilt as why this happened or that they could have stopped it by not putting unrelenting pressure on you.

See around, are everyone is a doctor or an engineer – “NO” there are zillion such souls who are more successful that an IITan or a doctor from AIIMS ? are not people with mediocre education have achieved cult status through sheer hard work and being patient? 

 I strongly feel that the panacea lies in right education , first at home and then in School / College. If we look around, there is no education which teaches us to cope with failure – only counselling comes in this regard – think twice, have you ever seen a teacher telling his/her kid “ Don’t worry , If you fail then also you will be big enough!” – the seeds of fear are sowed in these classroom sessions, everyone is injected with a sense of fierce competition as if life is race and everybody should be a numero uno!

I only want to end this note by saying again “ Life life to the fullest as it is only once that you can as you are, you will surely be born again but not in the same era / family/ situation / city/ country, may be but today what you are – you have been give a beautiful gift – cherish it wholeheartedly and wait for the right ball to toss a Six ..but for that to happen, at least you should be on the Pitch….

~ The Freedom of Independence ~

What does freedom mean to us? It is not sign of just physical liberty but also mental one – freedom of speech and action and our wholesome living was adjudicated by our constitution but where the society has gone now – we are entrapped by narrow domestic walls of our thoughts. The liberty is deemed to be locked in thoughts of referential living . 

We abide our living by our narrowed thinking and actions – what others have achieved or are doing form the base of our talks and thoughts – the cult of existence have changed a bit towards our strong material desires – we want everything in the world which satisfies our ego and makes us feel proud , be whatever it takes to achieve it .

We lost our freedom to attain peace whilst we live and share our relationships with each other – we chose our relationships and are bonded by our minds to ignore many – such is the freedom of thoughts' the society carries –

Not many of us our lucky, especially after Covid, there have been many losses of life and livelihood, how many of us still care about those who need our help and assistance on regular basis till they get their lives back on track? Do we care or are we more sought after our freedom to enjoy and care less for such souls! How many of us have conquered the bondages of our thoughts and have attainted freedom of thoughts to go all out in the society to help them?

The act of freedom has different definitions for many of us – for some the liberty which we get to act is the real freedom , for others it is an expression of saying “Yes” or “No” to anyone and portray our sense of ability – Very less are people who think and are responsible in expressing and executing the true freedom to be a kind and generous human being obliging to others with a sense of responsibility.

Remember this idiom “Power begets Responsibility” , and this holds true for all of us who are thoughtful of their new found freedom as they enter adolescence age! The scourge of suicides and the young going into act of depression is an aftermath of insane freedom laden with high aspiration of parents… why not give our young ones attainable goals and a sense of freedom to attain those with mild effort and enjoyment? 

Give Life a Chance, what if you don’t become and engineer from an IIT, or a Regional engineering college, or you don’t qualify NEET and become a doctor? – What makes them think that there is no career path if one could not be so – look around so many non-IIT’s or doctors have made it big in life without such degrees…. As I always say… “Give life a chance!” …. Go with your freedom of expression and thoughts and try a different path… We are here to live not to end our lives…

What stops us to have a egalitarian society which holds something good for all of us? That is the true freedom to live…

~ The Haircut that was ~

You often find yourself in situation which makes you think about the world around you – the people living their life with all zeal and facing the heat of their own varied situations.

He came with his young son, who was of playful nature and seem to be have matured before his age deemed so, he made his father sit in the chair as if he was acting as his support system and a guardian angel. As I was comfortably sitting and having a haircut, both father and duo had no choice but to wait for their turn to have a haircut.

Soon the conversation broke out between my hairdresser and the new customer as he asked “How are you sir? And what about your health? What did the reports say?”

With a flurry of questions being bombarded onto him, he was little taken by surprise but he didn’t loose his smiling stance and asked his son to go out a play for  a while – though I felt that this act was on purpose and sensed something was strictly wrong with the man.

As he replied one by one to the questions thus asked by my hairdresser, “ I am otherwise fine, but the reports tell me otherwise, the doctor after having look at the reports and declared its malignant Cancer!” – now this man speak this with a melancholy in his voice… but also with a sheepish smile, as if he had lots to tell and complaint at the Grand Design.

“That’s life!” was his stoppage words before he had tears in his eyes but also balanced his emotions with a smile. As I felt like an unwelcomed listener, I could see and sense a deep sense of melancholy and helplessness in his life.

Suddenly, his son came back thinking so that now it was time to get the haircut done and also to take care of his father – His son had suddenly turned adolescent and a caretaker of his father, realizing  what his father must be going through – as he saw a tinge of sadness and a drop of tear in his father’s eyes, he hugged him and tried to motivate him with all his demeanor – the scene had stopped time for all four of us in that room!

Here was a father who wanted to live and that life had made him confront a situation he was not prepared to tackle – there were responsibilities to be fulfilled but the grand design certainly had other plans for him!

As he spoke again to the barber, “Sir, I have never had smoked a cigarette or have drank liquor, still I am facing this tough problem…. I have an elderly mother of 75 years of age at home and this young son who is in class 7^th, life has just stopped midway for me…!”

As I got up from my seat, with my haircut done, I turned around and tried to give him composure – “Sir, believe in HIS plans, certainly he has planned situations for everyone, may be to teach and sometime reprimand our being – the karma has to be lived and just pray for your goodness and that you should be able to fulfil all the family commitments and responsibilities!”

As I exited the barbershop, the forlorn face of the man was in my thoughts – could life be so unpredictable and this can happen to anyone of us – the randomness of life was my subject of anger and started to question the grand design about what I had just seen!

The quietness of time was all over my being, after some moments of anxiety the calmness took over and the answers started to flow …”Who am I to confront HIM and his HIS plans? …were you born by asking him or has things shaped up according to your will? , these intriguing question had no definitive answers and may be each one of us have to tread a different path to know about thus – as my thoughts subsided, I just put in my prayers for that lovely and simple soul for his betterment and that he should pass this test of time with courage and strength and that his young one and his family remain of steadfast support to this testing hour!