It's time

The epicenter of the recent quake was at a distance of roughly 1223 kms from Delhi. A flight to Kathmandu is, approximately, 1 hour 45 minutes and perhaps another some hours to the place, which was the epicenter. Nature's wrath, for the same distance, took a few nano seconds to reach Delhi.

Humans are so instinctively greedy and assume to be most powerful. We acquire lands, build structures and shrines. And then, we fight for all that. We have ammunition to reinforce the power and consistently claim every inch of this earth assuming it was all meant for us and will, forever, be there for us.

As I look at the pictures of shattered man made faith, temples that became naught and idols that now are rubble, something tells me that it's time we stopped assuming, it's time we stopped fighting, it's time we stopped acquiring and it's time we stopped wrecking.

Are we really losing as we are gaining?

I, somehow, am not liking the world we live in today or maybe I have turned really old to be reminiscing good old days. 

Days when a Sunday morning family special brunch was more valuable than anything and likewise the once-a-month extended family dinner. The unmatched excitement after sighting the monotonous DD circles oozing the quaint music, which of course came after anxiously staring at the multi-colored vertical lines for hours. Or feeling like the luckiest person to have your favorite song on Chitrahaar or to have an Amitabh Bachchan movie on the weekend. Sneakily crunching an ‘almost’ entire packet of uncooked Maggi with your cousin and the new found bliss to be allowed an extra hour to play ‘hot and cold’ in the lane outside your house. Stuffed in a Fiat car with food and frisbees, there were the India Gate picnic outings. Devotedly waiting for Saturday nights to accompany mom and dad to friends’ get together for interesting storytelling sessions from an uncle.    

We lived in the moment and enjoyed the smallest things. 

Today, we meet people and excessively discuss about money, material things, yearn for better ‘things’ that we should have in the future and what other people are doing wrong, intermittently swiping our mobiles. Our minds are anywhere but in that moment. 

I have to admit that I am way too habituated to all the technological changes to wish for good old days to be back. But I do wish that we can be present in the moments we experience, appreciate experiences and be able to remember them someday.   

Extinct humanity

On Saturday while on the road, I saw a piglet hit by a car crying in pain and covered in blood. This was on Tughlakabad road. I've had dreams of it since and have cried feeling guilty that I couldn't do anything to save the poor little life. But what could I have done? Where are the emergency numbers for animal rescue? Where are the hospitals for animals?

In a country where after years of comitting the most heinous crime on a human, the criminal is retarded enough to still think of gender inequality and blaming a girl for instigating the crime. In a country where power and democratic rights help you get away with anything or at least delay your punishment. In a country where so many children are dying of diseases and there is no medical care for them.

In a country where humans are many but humanity on the verge of extinction, where can the animals go and who can take care of them?

An emptiness left behind

I know I know absolutely crazy but, whenever flying, I can't help but think. Think of the last thoughts that must have run the minds of those who die in an air crash. In those last minutes, just before the doom. Are they hopeful or sure of their end? Do they pray? Are they numb with fear? Or do they reminisince their entire life? Do they expect a miracle to happen? Do they have regrets or a sense of peace engulfs them? Do they ask 'why me'? Or accept the imminent end as cruel destiny? Do they laugh at the triviality of their aspirations so far or do they close their eyes, empty their minds and give in?

Just sometime back while some of them must be headed for an important meeting and others waiting to say something to a loved one. And some ready for a new something while others going to meet someone important.

But unpredictably and sadly all is left incomplete. An emptiness left behind.

My dreams

I dreamed of diving in the deep sea,

Swim to the farthest corner,

To see the wondrous creatures beyond,

That live afar from human reach.  

I dreamed of climbing the mountains,

Fancied they would embrace me close,

And then gaze from the highest peak,

At forms of life that would seem like naught.

I dreamed of traveling to all places,

I dreamed of exploring the world,

I dreamed of dancing in the rain,

And I dreamed of singing at a concert.

But now my cold small feet are buried under,

My tiny hands, I cannot move,

The hands ma and pa held so delicately,

And assured that my dreams would come true.

It was the monsters with ugly guns,

“Why me?” I wished to ask but fell on the ground,

I closed my teary eyes with excruciating pain,

My dreams, they wrecked in a second, all my dreams.

Charity begins at home

I really appreciate when organisations talk about all the CSR initiatives. And I appreciate it all the more when I see those talks transforming into action.

But like it's said...charity begins at home. So I am deeply saddened to see the office guards, manning the gates for hours in the scorching heat, without drinking water or not being able to have a proper meal. And I feel really disappointed to see the lack of seating arrangements for the pantry and office boys or the staff cleaning the restrooms. And you know what disheartens me the most, when people speak to them in the most crude manner.

So for that Marks & Spencer blazer that makes you really chic or that Van Heusen shirt that makes you look so classy...Some generosity and kind words will really add so much grandeur to your personality. Don't forget your manners at home while talking to the support staff.

And for the organisations planning their next year's CSR initiatives, a request to begin charity at home.

It's that feeling

It's that feeling again. I step on cemented ground with the same sinking feeling. In the midst of those high rise buildings, my lethargic steps start to move. The same routine follows...I try to scoop the regulars from my handbag and like every single day, get into the scouting battle for a couple of minutes. Troubled and harrowed faces around me with seemingly the same sinking feeling. Disinterested but determined to follow the routine, determined to complain at the end of the day and determined to remain bound.

I close my eyes and within seconds try to transport myself back. I am walking on the quiet cobbled streets again...There a smiling old couple and there the laughing younger lot. People busy chatting in an alien langauge...at ease, happy. The homeless playing the best guitar and the proud wrinkled lady basking in the winter sun. There a gleeful pet dog jumping with affection and then the strong alternating whiff of coffee and smoke filling the air. The breeze is chilly and yet it embraces me with a soothing warmth. Sipping into the refreshing strong coffee in that cafe on the cobbled street, I get the feeling...There isn't a need to worry, to conform, to think.