~ Tapestry of Living ~

~ Life Vignettes ~

Tapestry of living...

Sitting in the solitude of time, the lonely man looks intriguing to the eyes. His regular visits to the park on specific timelines sound like a prelude to the life he has lived. He has a specific set of tasks which he seeks to accomplish not before sitting on his favorite bench. Stashed with salt and pepper look visible via his beard and hair , his mysterious eyes look frowned with questionable existence - he wants his answers to the life's vignettes lived with aplomb and sarcastic parlance.

"Baba" as me and my children call him, the inquisitive glance sounds captivating when he looks at us.

Life throws challenges every now and then and some walk through whilst others get sidelined. The rigmarole of daily happenings can be gruesome for many like "Baba". His bets on life may have shattered his dreams of existence. Though able bodied, he just sits for a gravity of time and vanishes post dusk, to begin a new day.

His aura seems to be in shambles, so are his clothes but his disposition is catchy to the eye. What he does the whole day sitting in the bench could be an absorbing thought.

The perils of life might have taken him up, but he does have zeal to live it with dignity - not bowing for alms but brining his own food - both for stomach and thought!

Having courage to approach him seems to be distant as of time but who knows what befalls for the future, We, as all souls connected via strings of space and time can infer commonality at some point of existence.

Till then, let me observe my "Intriguing Man" and absorb his majestic living on the bench of his thoughts!

~The Blind with the Eyes~

~ Life Vignettes ~

~The Blind with the Eyes~

His grit was well entrenched in his actions of living a life of self respect and audition...

He stood to be a perfect example of showcase of ones self esteem against all odds and infirmities of body but certainly NOT Mind. "Ram Prakash" was his name to be and what I heard when he passed by whilst he uttered the Godly Name himself "Ram Ram"...

His lonely voice was well understood to showcase a life of uncertainty he has been living at this age.

As a perfect example of what life can offer during one's living,he uninterruptedly went passed by into the aisle of furniture shops serving common man's beverage - "Chai" to his solicited customers every day .

Though myself on a shopping spree near my home, I was dumbstruck at Ram Prakash's astuteness and self esteem of earning his living on his own terms and not succumbing to the fortitude of destiny!

Visual Impairment was not a impediment in his life's due course, he walked with almost perfection with the eyes!

Shouted one Shopkeeper who was well off with a huge showroom - with a sense of pride and ego in Punjabi "koi Idhiyan Aakhan koi lagwa Deyo" (Someone please have his eyes fixed) , the thought arose - what was the need of spelling these touchy words if you cannot do a bit of favor to his ongoing predicament.

He went off after giving the shopkeeper his daily cuppa and waited patiently on his next stoppage offering "Chai" to his customer ! The firmness in his stance and his astute character made me sit down and watch his demeanor with eclectic glance , he was my live role model who gave me a teaching to be on a continuous roller coaster tread called "Life" be whatever comes your way...

With dilapidation of his life came the happiness of still being worthy of a living at his own terms and not obliging to beggary which was the most easiest way out....

He became my life's another teaching and is now my role model to emulate how to life with humility against all of our egoistic aspirations and wants ...life could be defying at any time of your stay here. thanks and be pride-less for tomorrow could just be another day full of challenges which you have to obliterate !!!

~The Beggar HE was not ~

Passing by I observed a frail looking man with all of his qualifications to be a mendicant with a virtue of poverty – yes I say virtue of poverty for what he proved to me was his outright resistance to alms which are being offered in consonance with his decrepit situation!

Into his mid 40’s, the gentleman stood in front of a temple of worship – maybe his anger with God was the sole condition of his gesture – People passed by offering to give alms to this unique juxtaposition but to no avail, the “Beggar” was hell bent not to take goodies which people were offering him – to shed their inhibitions about GOD!

In India people visits temples of worship and do their share of humanity for a pacifying God’s existence in their thoughts and beings – having done so, they generally shed the burden of the wrongs they have done in their near past (forget about the entire lifetime they have lived on this planet!). The Mercy can beguile them to believe that their bit is done.

With all correctness, the urban hermit started to tread an unequivocal path of buying his own food whilst many had a starred look! How often would you see a beggar buying his own food with the invisible money he has sought? With all righteousness and ability of thought and action, he percolated the regular stance of all of us and that is, he might ask for money if not fruits and other disposable food items which we generally tend to give to them in lieu of seeking GOD’s solace!

An old gentleman oblivious to the fact of true character of this new age hermit starts to chat with him, with an intent to make him believe and accept the “Goodies” he has brought from his marvel. The situation remains grim and acclimatized to all of our acceptances, the end result is the same.

With a gluing look the Beggar blabbers – I am not a Beggar you all think BUT “It is time that has made me come to this compromise of life!”. All of my family members have discarded the notion that I was a husband to my wife, a father to my two lovely kids and a son to my Ageing parents!

No one dare asked him the reason for his penury and a situation --- by the time any one had the guts to approach and unlock this mystery of self-proclamation , the guy started to walk gently and never looked by –  I am in awe with the time when he would meet me again at the same temple I so often visit and bow, till then The Mystery just continues and enchants us all with its own altered ways of time !

~ Life Vignettes - The future I Want ~

Everyday I create a future I want - the line made me into a thoughtful precedence, the Gentleman in question was at his best wits of humor and his witticism made me dissolve in his charm.

Sitting in his little dwelling and doing "Work of his Dreams", he started to enthuse the influx of customers as he started to throng his makeshift arrangement. The earnest effort made me inquisitive of more deserting questions - with no time to spare as he got busy with every passing second, he started to serve his "Guests" for today - as he calls his Customers.

His working style was not of a usual street vendor and it seems to be ( being neatly attired and articulate in his speech) - this bought me to my usual conversationalist style and it bore fruit - breaking his silence whilst he was "at Work", he started to define his intentions and what he was in real sense.

The talk further got deeper and he put me in awe of his academic achievements - being a qualified Chartered Accountant had made a mark on his resume didn't desisted him to carry a a legacy of his of his father - who had worked tirelessly for 30 long years as a street vendor , selling "Pani Puri's".

For him  " No work on this planet is demeaning and each effort and work you do can take you to a  next level of achievement to be emulated by someone else."

The most intriguing question i asked started with his first comment " Everyday I create a Future I want" , but How I tried to inquired?

For him, he could not have valued more his father's bygone 30+ years of experience which kept the house running and made him achieve what he did!

Street economy for him was a blessing in disguise and he had already made up his plan for his entrepreneurial journey in the very first year of his professional Journey!

The plan was catapulted into doing investments in a corporate style van and carefully picking up spots near offices and corporate houses where it could make a killing.

With passage of time ,quickly my turn came to have "Pani Puri's" from a future honcho - making it a timepiece to remember for coming times!

May all of his ambitions and aspirations converge into success as I desire to meet him again but with in a differential situation that today!

~ Continuity of Life's Melodrama ~

Roaming in park with its perfect ambiance of what one calls as Evening, you catch an eye with a soul who is self absorbed in its own magnitude....

'Avengers' was a theme for this boy who was partial paraplegic. With all his effervescence , he was showcasing his newly found subject of gossip - the theme of the movie and what experiences he had with it.

With his bodily restrictions and a differential moves , he started to gesticulate the story to a passerby who was left perturbed. The situation got worse when the physical movements of the eager storyteller got more flexible, the passerby got flabbergasted for no fault of his - not knowing about the situation of his new unwarranted companion.

Suddenly his excitement reaches a fathom of emotions and he catches up with passerby and clings onto him to tell what he wanted to - A sudden push throws him to the sideline bushes and he falls rock bottom accompanied by great pain.

After the turn of events, the loud noise is heard by the lad's father , who seeing his son in distress comes to the rescue , not knowingly what transpired when he was away.

Observing all this melodrama in quick succession , I had another life recording event - that come whatever, life continues - his grace would let your through. In this case, though the lad was not in his senses but he understood his love for watching his favorite movie - not knowing that for others he is a superstar in his own being and thus running the show of life with all his earnest capabilities God has given him.

~ In a Lifetime ~

~ In a Lifetime ~

It Catapulted me into another being of non-substance , a thinker, a wanderer into realms of multivariate thoughts...

Judging it from the core,it looked like all effervescence  making me  pervasive to a higher being...

What I now get to know is the "IT" being is called "Life" for others. How it unfolds within deep mystery of time and space...

Unfolding mounts of dimensions and unearthing experiences of timeless thoughts...

Today as i sit reminiscing my past into my whole being, how it all started and where it would end, it seems to be an endless search ...deep into the contours of time lived...engraved by destiny...

We all will shade away into history with passing of each second and would cast our shadow for the generations to come, the stamps of time will remain forever for our next generation and we shall be remembered for what we did on this realm...

Life as i live, I abide by his grace, the honour of everyday living and observing the silence of time pass by...never to return ..ensuring a deep stamp of remembrance into our memories to cherish....

~ When Silence Speaks ~

~ When Silence Speaks ~

Life takes it turns and twists and with aplomb teaches us its meanings and true character...

My weekly visits to the famous Saturday flea Mart brings  me to podium whereby I can  well converse with the czars of true marketing....How they sell their produce ? and how they make merry whilst they do so...

I struck a bond with the "Man" with no sound or voice....be it listening or speaking...in other terms complete deaf and dump....  His archaic clothes tells me the visible story of trying to make his ends meet for his own good and his family...

The fragility didn't allowed him to hold back and sit in the dark corners of space...instead he was upright and on top of his gestures to sell his basket of what he  had brought to give himself the gift of earning... that too with honor...

Further "takings' lead me to believe that he was all ecstatic for the customers who thronged his pavement shop he sets up at a particular place in this flea market...

How can a man living in such hostile conditions be happy ...An Oxymoron-ic thought came to my mind, how on earth can a being be happy in poverty...with no backing of living for tomorrow...with meagre means of income and body handicap, he showcases a laughter of a filthy rich man with endless pursuits to power and pelf... The question still begets my mind with no reasonable answer!!!

My only regret was that whilst i was in dire need to know his name..he could not tell me ... He becomes my friend for life..his charisma and "Midas-Touch" of living life with all what one has gets deep routed in my heart...My being changed completely living that moment of humility and thanking the all powerful and wishful subject that we call "Almighty"...

~ The Honour Of Wasting Time...~

In the line of an ATM Queue, I get fragile with impatience of long lasting conversations with two gentlemen , one an Octogenarian and other in his middle age, discussing ‘Something of Importance’ to themselves.

The ‘Hurry’ inside me made me quite unaccustomed to as I had a timeline to match. Thinking to myself as to what these gentlemen might be discussion in all perpetuity, I was about to ask them to please hurry up their chores and thus free the ATM machine to make me do the transaction in quick earnest.

Don’t know what stopped me from doing so, I kept waiting and sulking. On a further look I saw that the ‘Problem’ statement was not the ATM machine but the ‘Card’ which was not being accepted by the machine. The wait thus goes longer and so does the temperature within me.

Suddenly with a thug , they ‘CLAP’ and catch my attention and I get to know that the much sought after transaction has just ‘Gone Through’ and the buzzling sound of the ATM is a sign that cash will just flow now. Seeing these two gentlemen, I reminisce that the two elderly gentlemen must be old friends and today unexpectedly the ATM counter has become a meeting place with a lot of coincidence involved.

After the ATM buzzle, the counting of notes thus begins, the ‘Old-Habit’ never dies as they say, this reminds me of the times when these oldies used to count every single rupee to their satisfaction and then leave the cash counter in any nationalized bank.

Coming back to the situational analysis I was in , the ATM door opens and both the gentlemen come out by supporting and balancing each other with a note of ‘Thanks’ towards providing a helping hand for a ‘Successful’ ATM transaction.

To my surprise both turn out to be ‘Strangers’ and in anonymity met with the coincidence of time. The sight turns tearful for my ego , as earlier thinking this to be a waste of time standing in Queue of an ATM and waiting for the Slow ‘Elderly Gentlemen’ to fasten up their transactions turn out to be lesson for life.

Be whatever, even if time is less, the ‘Helping hand of God’ shall always seek you wherever sought. Thinking of the middle aged man, who was repeatedly explaining the nitty-gritty of an ATM machine and its operational attributes, wearing his Office suit, he must have been getting late but still shows his patient side and sees to it that his elder partner is not left half way through the process of extracting money from the ATM Machine. The way they parted ways by greeting themselves off turns out to be a sight to remember.

If I were to sit and think if I had so much of patience to help in such a situation, I could endow myself with a difficult answer. Generations come and go but the values you have engrained from test of time and your family remains encapsulated in your genre and his would be the ‘KEY’ to your day to day performance in Life.

Lesson learnt, the situational analysis on each and every eyesight can be a learned lesson in your life.

Those ‘Ten Minutes’ of my learning would be along with me for a long time to come and thus keep me of remembrance of the situations one can be and the conduct one needs to endure to have successful and pleasing living.

Who Am I...

 Travelling in the pieces of time...
 Mere a witness to the unfolding of events...
 Days pass by and I be a Spectator of destiny..
 Waiting for the last tick of time when one would call it a Day for Ever!!!