The God "In" Small Things...

This caption sounds interesting. I had always tried to relate this to the novel after reading it...somehow I couldn't; the story and the caption seem far-fetched..so I thought of twisting and modifying and use it in my way in my own contexts. I am too naive to comment on the great piece of literature though. Somehow the what I write here relates to previous thread, like an extension of the previous topic. It has happened in most of my writings, I am aware; mainly because I tend to think further on the same subject; find my solutions to the problems harped on, myself, and make a better picture out of the situation, for myself.


So I was discussing as stated previously, about the mess of life and the quest to find an eternal answer to the dilemma. The answer is well within ourselves, within myself at least, I think. to narrate a small incident here..today I was telling my friend, that I am very happy. she asked the reason. I didn't give a second thought while replying her back."I finally got the ginger-garlic paste that I had been earching for over two months"...She sighed.."Ohh..this made you happy?"..."Why not? I had told you before I have hunting for it in practically all Grocery malls i my locality, I would find a separate ginger one and a garlic one, not a combined one that I desire..and found it finally..so is this not a reason!" I exclaimed. She came back, "The separate packets would have served the same purpose when put together...you were too patient to find the combination..some times you should compromise".."Nops! never what a combination tastes never will give out the same flavour as a the individuals, and you know me better, I am not the one who will settle for something inferior!", I gave back! Did I mean the same? Yes in a way I did, and did not. Did because I really don't go for any fashions, any quality, any thing for that purpose, when I know what I want exactly, the picture is inmy eyes. And No because I meant to say I try to find joy in small, minute things, that will not sound reasonable to some, though they mean a lot to me..Am I sounding peevish?


I don't know why..but some little things give me utter pleasure, and bring a broad smile to my face,"A big stupid smile that lasts long"..like Harini describes..Yes ..its just like that. A friend asked today..so whats the plan tomorrow. "Cleaning, Washing, Cooking....what else do you want!"..It sounded dull to him...but I really enjoy doing all this. I like to see my clothes drying on the clothes-line. After washing them, I like to wrinse them properly, drain all water out, and put them on the line. The whole three lines in our aunti's compound, full of my clothes..all colours, red, blue, yellow, green, pink, black, white...such a beautiful scene, I sit under the coconut tree and watch them dry, then I look at the coconut braches from the bottom, amazingingly circular space between the fruit and the branches, birds chirping around(though Bangalore has very few of them!), the otta on which I wash clothes..its just a pleasure to wash. I also enjoy conversation with auntie...even she is seeking someone to talk to, I feel. she finds pleasure in opening her mind out that times..and I feel happy for the same. Mom used to tell me this before. I realize it now. We had a lesson in our 5th class, wherein a Grannie tells her grandson, why she talks to her utensils, treats them as humans, cares them and scolds them..They are the part of her own world, a restricted space which is her's and only her's..and no one in the world dare touch it, snacth it away from her. Sometimes, I remember when I used to handle things improperly, Mom used to say.."I care more for my things than you people, for they will never betray me, ans serve me till end." I used to get angry, and then she used to console..but yes, it was so true..so correct!!


The other day I had to go to office on Sat..Asked Pallavi what she was planning for breakfast, told her that will be making "pohe" and she could have with me and we will make it together, but "Let me finish with the clothes first".."No issues" she said. Then suddenly she came up,"Ok..anyway I am not going anywhere, so better I make, meanwhile you complete your washing!" Not a bad idea. I finished washing, got ready for office, while she called out to have breakfast. Pohe were really tasty not only because she had made them nicer, but also for she had understood the need of the hour. I felt as though Mom had prepared the breakfast and I am leaving for college..I went back to those days, it was a drizzling cloudy day..first rains of the year..9th feb..I felt so beautiful..so touched. What else do you demand from life..Such an immense sense of gratitude, of content..of pleasure!! I couldn't ask for more..!!


I also learnt the French plat art from her..and am displaying it proudly all around today...with she knowing that it will definitely be there in the blog the very next day!!...Somethings can happen only with certain poeple...she is always there to wake me up if late, to open the door, when back home..donno I feel somehow very associated with her, ..with Anitha..life could not have been better than this...at present moment.

I recollect a the nobel laurette Sir Tagore's line in one of his compositions.."I went on and on ..travelled the world over..and admired the beauty of all the wonders of the world...But when I opened my door today, I discovered how mean I was, when I failed to notice the pulchritude of a tiny dew drop on a little flower on a herb in my garden...!!" Awesome this line was! I wish I never miss on this small moments of delectation in life...


Life can't wait..So live it to the fullest...


(To be continued...!)

Life In A Metro...

What is the most convenient thing that people, especially ladies will resort to in free time..Gossiping! Its generally a favourite pass time, when one is thoroughly perplexed over how to kill time. These days I am having ample of it. Life was never so dull, so lengthy before. Its pace seems to have slowed down;but I hate this, everytime when I ask myself by the end of the day, before closing my eyes- What did I achieve today?...Was I a better human being today, than yesterday's? And when my conscience answers in negative, it pricks me; and I scorn myself over the mistakes committed throughout the day, and promise that they won't get repeated. I ponder over the new things, thoughts, poeple, places I had encountered in the entire day. This practice has been going on for years by now, and I never have to give a second thought for this now-a-days.

A day or two before me and two of my lady colleagues had a nice chat in the discussion rom. Nops, it was not about work. Now everyone knows by experience, that when the fairer sex chats for hours together, it has never to be related to work,(not even a fake possibility !) So to say, we were chatting about the most interesting topic- lifestyle!! One married lady asked me,(that to out of the blue), "Do you drink?" I was taken aback...!!! My God! Do I look like that..I expressed the same."What has that got to do with the appearance? Now most gals do, don't they?" she retorted. Then she went ends together with how she goes to the pubs, discos with her hubby, drinks, night life and experiences there. She was blowing trumpets how she had being a village girl, now totally transformed into a cosmopolitan woman. Very Good!! I exclaimed. This has been an exponential rate of progress..that too within a span of no less than two years.

The other girl listening to all this stuff, was not so much surprised as I was- though she refrained from all this, but had duly witnessed certain situations the former lady had mentioned. Well she knew all things that go round, it was her brother who used to keep her updated with all the news. Then she had her part of experiences, and those that she described I felt what is picturized on the silver screen is far much lesser and decent than the crap she was telling. All Page3 stuff; experiences at work from the male counterparts, abusive languages and signs, disgusting advances and all that...My God! "this really happens...? I thought its just projected stuff". "Are yeh to bachhi nikali, ise to kuch bhi pata nahi"
"But why it never happened to me?"I questioned. "Kyun ki tu bahut khadus lagati hai !"she remarked.

Ohh..did I, really? I started introspecting myself. So whatever I am, am I so called underdeveloped, unpolished, devour of all the urban life? Why don't I feel like doing all this? What is stopping me? Pune and Bangalore are pretty same. Not much difference...so what was the difference? I never felt any urge, any need to indulge in these kind of things any way. I don't believe in yielding to any societal pressures, neither to I feel any necessity to pave by the social tabboos and stigmas, to folow the same paths which they I have labelled to be so called lifestyle. There is no lifestyle for me. I believe in following my own takes, devoid of any comments from whosoever.

Does life really change when someone comes from a village to a metro."In Rome, do as Romans do", they say. But do we really need to bend our principles, our values just to abide by the so called societal formalities. I don't see so. I will be the same wherever, whensoever, I go. I will never sacrifice my basic faiths in life for any company, any city, any person in my life-come what may. What is the person, who succumbs to peer presures, loses himself in achieving something, at the end of which he realizes he has attained a big "Zero". Life is too precious for that. I nurture my roots, and object to everything that go againt them. The veteran writer Shobha De quotes, "Mastering English does not necessarily mean becoming one"!!

To narrate another story here, back in my undergraduation days, I met Anagha- short dusky town girl, from Alibag, who had come to Poona with big dreams in her eyes. The only daughter of her parents, Anagha was quite startled with life and the people in her surroundings. She had some basic presumptions in life; no issues, it was not her fault, the way and the surroundings in which she was brought up. I consoled her for all the crisis she had undergone, supported her, and made her realize that her thinking was not wrong. Its the world which is blinded by false notions of pride and prejudices. The Laws of Nature are the same everywhere. God treats everyone in the same fashion, with no partialities, so she need not worry and keep things in her own way. She was convinced for the moment. Was thankful to me, had wrote touching letters to me, before leaving for the vacations.(those I still cherish)..but somehow time didn't help. She got a couple of subjects down that year, and the following year she lost completely. I went to meet her after that. She was astonished to find that I had come out of the way only to meet her. "You seem to be a changed person"..I asserted. She came back with an amazing line "Life teaches you everything dear, when I see my batch-mates proceeding further, when you sit at home alone; then you can't sit harping on the same string, but have to mend with the ways of the world". Life had changed her. No longer could I find the same old Anagha. She had surrendered herself to life, to the things around, only to be along with the world. Now she has a good job and thinks she changed for good. Ask me, honestly, she had paid the price of her own loss.

In my childhood, even I used to wonder, what it would be like in a big city, in a big world, big people, how things work on a massive scale.....only to find at this stage ..every thing is mean, too small than what I had imagined. Ironically people are planning big aims and games, in that fight losing the things they already possess. Fighting for life, but ignoring that life is already out of hands in the struggle. "A bird in hand is better than one in bush". I remember the Pardes dialogue wherein the heroine laments when asked how she finds it in the US, "Sab kuch hai;...kuch bhi nahi...." So true, so real!!At this point of time, I remember the famous illustration of Prof. Shivajirao Bhosale, a great orator and philosopher,"In the quest of the speices inhabiting on the neighbour of Mother Earth (Mars!), we forget that we don't know the name of them with whom we share a common wall with!!"

Quite Paradoxial..are these bad bad ways of the good good world !!

"Ek pal hai zindagi, ek pal kuch bhi nahi;
Kaheka gum kaisi khushi;
Khadi akena ek ghadi..!!"

The Jungle Of Civilization

This was a beautiful piece in one of the magazines( Frozen Thoughts! )that I read today morning. Beautiful idea expressed in a very simplistic and subtle language. Of a grandfather and a grandson...and how this grandpa awakens his grandson to the dawn of enlightenment,of life. To be concise, the grey headed rural fellow tells the lad asimple secret of life: "Might is right is the rule of the jungle, of animals; Man goes a step ahead and deliberates..even the lesser mighty have their rights in human race...So the prime duty of us is to do as much as we can and soothe the feelings of people around, in a way to contribute to humanity..". Sounds logical...doesn't it?

Back to me...Presently, somehow it was very difficult for me to bind up all the ideas and experiences under one title. I thought if I couldn't do justice to all these feelings at one go..under one roof..but this title struck, I found this convincing enough for all the happenings in the recent past. Before that I just remembered the chaptor No. 1 that we had in class X in the English text. I don't recollect the title, though I remember it had got to do with spreading the happiness and a feeling of belonging all around. It was about a common man like you and me; spreading a sense of felicity all over to the people he met, through his petty kind deeds and words...lessons like these always touched my heart, and used to keep reading them on and on, to get deeper into those, find the hidden context, to read between lines, exactly what the author has to convey. Sorry Mom, I never topped the merit list, neither could stand out in the "Our pride" boards displayed at the school. But I guess I learnt lessons for life, perhaps some board rankers might not recollect the lessons they had revised days and months together to grab a positon in the state - toppers. Pardon again Mom, I could never realize your dream of making it, but I believe you have taught, there is a lot of difference in being a literate and in being an educated human being, the former nourishes the corpse, the later- the soul, the mind and in turn life.

So going back to the point I want to mention explicitly, I had few instances which made me feel ..yes I am actually doing that. I thanked myself, my knowledge and my inert sensation, by the bliss of which I was able to sense all this.

(To be continued....)

All but Numbers !!

Scorching sun, this February afternoon, and we were walking down to our towers after lunch. Anitha and me...Vatsala auntie(I fear to call her by single name! ..though many of my colleagues have told that I should do so..because I am just not comfortable with that idea..she being my Mom's age!)found her way to the bank behind the office. We strolled till Anithas's tower counting things that life had to offer during the weekend; her family..mine..and the problems associated. With a heavy heart left for the work, she to her and me to mine. Walking down few steps Vatsala auntie came and patted me, I was quite astonished to find her back so early, or were we talking so long..time flew it seemed!!

The she came up with the entire story of the work she had. She had locked her account by forgetting the PIN no. at the ATM. She had requested for it and got the same processed.Ohh..that was it! I wondered; So many PIN nos., passwords, account nos, driviling license no., PAN no., house no.,employee no., what all and what not! Then I really wondered, what place - a mentally-ill person or a person terrifically struck with tragedy in life, got blank somehow - at all had in this world full of numbers; she agreed; said its as good as been dead. Then she validated the point by exemplary illustration of the US Security system wherein if one does not get oneself enrolled in there, its just analogous with one not existing at all; If not all is over then, we have that mobile company 'idea'- wherein each one of the group is refered by a mobile no; "what an idea Sirji"!!We are all but numbers ..she lamented!! (I duly thanked her, there and then for giving me this caption!)


I just reminded her, of some time back when we had a good laugh over the mechanisation and the thorough computer literates that we all had become. We were just using the computer terminology for very simple things in life. The other day I was telling her about the girl who had got locked in the restroom in the dormetry; and how I rescued her. No big deal; but felt sorry for that girl and again for myself along with the entire human race; she expressed my emotions in one precise phrase- "loss of human touch" she was humourous; "what should be done in such kind of emergencies? Log a call in the HRweb/Raise a request/Goto a question of answers/Search in FAQs..????what? " ..So true. she had put it exactly.


Taking liberty of divulging from the topic, I dont know how come I take pleasure in the company of matured people. Some-one of her age, or the friend I made at the German class, or Anitha(though 1-yr senior to me!!..she has enough maturity)..or even before- the college times when I used to enjoy with the aged Physicist and go round with my lecturers and seniors rather than wasting time on the 'kuttas' with a group of friends. I always seek fulfillment and comfort in older, senior people; don't know why..perhaps..they called me 'grannie' in school too! I never minded!!

Coming back to where I left, I conclude- the human touch is lost, though not entirely, but on the verge of annhilation. I worry we don't call each other by numbers as shown in the advertisement! "what's is their in name?"..the lord of literature Shakespeare quoted! though true; I feel that's what make us humans; or for that matter living things..Or if not, then why is it that a toddler often refrains from uttering its name to some stranger- I guess when it utters its name, it feels as if it is giving out a part of itself. Yes we are all abstract creatures and I believe our names hold the most of us...!! Something which cannot be measured in NUMBERS !!


"Prisoners of their own device do not really deserve names;
Long live the rebels!!!"