The Old Man and his DREAM...

I still remember that eve; it was dark, just like an approaching night. The weather showed a sign of impending cavernous showers, as the grey clouds were endless in the sky.

Amidst of all those observations of mine, I felt I am flying a bit slow now,  I was sitting behind Misha as she was riding her scooter pretty fast.

 And now she slowed down and said “Here it comes, the reservation centre.” I had to book my tickets for home, the holidays had arrived and I was dying to go home, I was already too late to book.

I dropped off the scooter and entered the centre horribly, just not caring of anyone who would come before me, I just rushed. But, I never knew a disaster would await me over there.

I was standing at the same spot for about forty five minutes, the queue was not proceeding, I got out of it and went towards the glass box to enquire about the reason, and when I found it, I was shocked. The counter machines had stopped working; they were not printing tickets anymore. I cursed God; I thought he doesn’t want me to go home, as first my net stopped working (e-ticket) and now this.

In acute frustration I came out of the counter, the same way I entered. Misha was sitting on her scooter at the parking spot and seeking me. Seeing her face I could clearly make out that she was frustrated as well. And she had her neck exercise well done, as I could see her moving it frequently to find me amidst of the overcrowded counter, as the parking was in front of the counter itself.

I slapped her forehead and said “Your wait is over and so is mine, I think I am not going home.” Before she could utter the word “Why”, I heard a soft trembling voice behind me. “Bhaiyaa...bhaiyaa,” I saw Misha leaning a bit on her left, to get a view of the voice; I followed her as I turned back. I saw an old man, one foot shorter than me with long dirty grey hair, torn scruffy clothes and a piece of it in his hand.

“Please let me clean your scooter, I would just take 10 rupaiyaa, please bhaiyaa” he continued keeping his left hand on his stomach. I couldn’t fulfil his request; I was already so annoyed with the fact buried deep in my mind that I am not going home. I just ignored him by nodding my head, and headed towards the counter to see whether the machines have started working again or not, leaving both of them behind. I jumped in joy, luckily it had; the “buried fact” broke its grave and hopped off my mind.

Now the queue was proceeding, but at a slow pace, now the operators were to be cursed. But I was cool now, at least it was progressing. However, I felt guilty for something, something that I did just now. I cursed myself for ignoring that old man; I could have provided him ten bucks for nothing. I kept thinking of it as suddenly I felt a hand on my shoulder.

“I gave him ten bucks,” she said with a sad face.

As she finished, I suddenly heard some horrible sounds going on outside, some folks even broke their queue to check out what was happening. I was least concerned, as only one thing was going on in my mind “Ticket for Home”.

 I waited for the chaos to calm down; I kept Misha from going out to check. It was all quiet in ten minutes, then I paused for a moment and asked, “Oh really?” she still looked serious and sad, “Oh that’s good, did he clean the scooter?” I asked smiling though.

She nodded, “No he didn’t, I didn’t let him do that, I think he is suffering from some kind of stomach disease,” my lips came back to its normal position, “he is not letting his hands go off his stomach” she added.

After fifteen more minutes, the guy ahead of me in the queue disappeared with his ticket as my turn came; I booked mine in hurry and came out of the evergreen queue. Misha also told me that a guy was asking him about his treatment. He might be doing this job for the disease, I thought, but would it be enough to get rid of it?

As we stepped out of the centre, my eyes were earnestly searching for him, but they couldn’t find him.

“He’s gone, let it be.” Misha said looking at my face while I was still looking for the old man. How sweetly she could read my mind, I thought as I turned my head towards her. She gave me the keys and told to ride; she was in a hurry as she needed to get back home before her dad does, it was already late because of the hopeless machines and their slow operators. I couldn’t stop myself form looking for him, I wanted to kill the guilt within, he wasn’t anywhere around. I pushed the button for the scooter to start, Misha sat behind me and by pushing my back she would tell me to get out of the centre premises quickly.

I did the same, and when I was just about to hit the road I found my neck turning to the right without my permission, I saw him. He was standing straight with his hands off his stomach, his eyes were glowing. The time turned slow, Einstein’s theory of relativity took its place, and he gave me a vanishing smile as I rode away in horror. I couldn’t dare to stop; the outlandish sight scared me out of my wits.

I couldn’t sleep the whole night, as both the encounters kept hitting my mind every time I tried. Both of them were as different as chalk and cheese, having a hidden meaning, a sense in them. The smile had a sweet revenge in it, and it’s not letting me sleep, I would stay up the whole night. The guilt was killing me from inside; it was getting deeper every minute. I was scared to close my eyes, his face would bother me every time I did so, and I was sweating like hell.

I got up and had a glass full of water. And then, I decided to throw away guilt from the inside, decided to fight it. I should get to that place tomorrow and should meet him again, I thought. I somehow managed to close my eyelids, and luckily sleep followed by, no face troubled anymore, strange it was.

I woke up early in the morning, dressed up light and left for that place. The reservation centre was not far from my home, it was hardly 2.5 kilometres, but I decided not to walk so as to reach there as fast as possible, and therefore took an auto. I reached there within ten minutes, the auto stopped near the gate and I stepped out of it and entered through the gate.

 I searched for him intensely; the search was more desperate than yesterday. I was looking here and there, everywhere. I could see number of scooters and bikes parked, and I would look for him over there hoping to find him with a cloth in his hand cleaning them. Had I seen him doing so, I would have never let him do it again. Meanwhile when I was searching for him, I came across a man who must be in his forties.

“What are you looking for brother?” he asked with his left eyebrow raised and a soft smile.

 “I am looking for someone, an old man who cleans two wheelers over here for 10 bucks.” I answered in a fast pace, seeking a positive answer from him.

He looked down for a bit, I leaned to match up my eyes with his.

“He was a good man, Rahim his name was” he uttered keeping his eyes low, I got what he meant. “When did this happen?” I asked with a shivering voice.

“Yesterday afternoon” he answered with his eyes on my eyes now, he had a smile.

My throat went dry and heart was beating fast, I asked about the time.

“Around 3:30 pm,” he replied. These three words were enough to make me think of what I saw yesterday turning my head on the right while exiting. Another sleepless night awaits me, I thought.

“Why do you need him but?” he broke into my thoughts.

“No...Nothing, I just owe him ten bucks” I jiggled.

“Oh I see...then you should just try buying some biscuits and gift them to a nearby lake, he loved biscuits” he said as he took his steps away from me.

How does he know this? I thought. I stopped him, and asked the same.

He reversed the few steps he had taken, “We were good friends, I am the one who cremated him, and I am the one who curses every person who ignores him, including you, you people ended his life.” He went away having his eyes wet.

I needn’t ask him anymore. I had the picture clear in front of my eyes; he had seen me yesterday, ignoring his buddy. I did the same as he had said me to do; I bought some biscuits and made it flow into a nearby lake. It felt good, and I had no guilt in me anymore.

Auspiciously, I never got a sleepless night again in my life, neither did I ever ignored another needy one seeking for my help. I used to get regular dreams of the old man; they were not horrible, but rather peaceful. He looked beautiful in my dreams, he wasn’t gone for me. He was living in my dreams; I had made a connection with him, more in dreams than reality.

Ever since then and even now, I feel that everything was predestined, the first meeting, the ignorance, the second meeting, the sleepless night, the ‘old man’s buddy’ encounter and his curse, everything. I feel that his curse has turned out to be a blessing, as I stand before my “Rahim Hospital for Geriatric Care”.

I think he had this dream in his subconscious, a dream of not letting other people suffer and die like him. That’s why all this happened to me; happened because he wanted it to happen, and he made it happen through me.

And I know he is free from all his agony now, having his dream fulfilled by an unknown but yet known one.

-       SHOUVIK rryan ROY

The colors of life- A RAINBOW

Oh! Nissan, the colours form the rainbow, colours- a part of this mysterious life...seven they are, like the seven gods...one of the brinjal, the other deep as sky, the ocean comes after nicely, the leaves surely comes above it, and then it grows old, then comes the colour that flows inside you, the blood, but the saints of India come under it...

It’s a painting, a beautiful one, painted by the heavens even now, to console us that the world is still being watched.

Who said you can’t see? Colours don’t need eyes, it needs feel. Forbid those who say you see only black, as I know you can see all colours, rainbow is just a part.

Rainbow is all within you. It’s a magic, it’s a sign of a good dream knocking your soul, it’s our lives being pictured in the skies, to remind us we still live whatever may come and go, the colours as they name it, are nothing but elements of our lives, they don’t need a view from the eyes but the heart, they need a sense of infinite perception, and an arousing touch...

White got the right to be the mother of the seven colours, it creates them, it’s the atrocity your mother was reluctant to wear, and it’s the divinity the lovely moon enjoys. It covers the sky when the light pierces the dews; it’s the purity every politician fears but still wraps it.

The sign of fire, it forms the upper layer, like the engine of a train, whose whistle wakes you up every dawn. Have you ever got angry? Have you ever had burst in rage? Yes you did I remember, when you do, it turns red, it’s one of the rainbow, it’s the one which burned your little finger once, and it’s the one which made you cry, when you fell down and thought your knee is melting. It is the sun, and the skies love to wear it every dawn. It was red, it is red.

 You remember, when your beloved mother used to get you those pulpy fruits from the market, the way you savored them, ever imagined?  Ever thought that it could support your anger? Support it by nicely coming under.  It was orange and ever will be. You can call her the sister of red, they are born together, and they are somehow parallel, somehow related.

When I had jaundice, I suffered horribly, my face and my whole body turned pale, I turned yellow; you would touch me and say I am not well, say I have turned fragile. Now if you could make me lie beneath the oranges, I could turn beautiful, I form the third layer, I form a part, and I am yellow. The juice you had this morning, it’s made of the fruit which I once smashed on your head, and it flowed down nicely onto your lips, you told it was sweet, it tasted like heaven, Nissan, it was of yellow, it was all yellow. It's the dead leaf, which waits to get merged with the earth. It's the flower, the rose, the aroma Misha once gifted you, saying she is with you forever.

 Green comes then sweetly, bewildered? It gives us life, it gives us air, it is a colour, and it is green. It is the identity of all the non speaking leaves, when they are young. It comes after yellow, it tells her not to forget that she was once green.  It’s the one which you feel when you walk on the grassland every morning. It’s the one that suffers the most now Nissan, it’s the one dying; it’s an angel with half burned wings...

Taste the sea and you would feel salt, close your eyes and you could see blue, the colour born cool, and the colour, which the sky reflects, which the birds feel when they fly. Blue succeeds yellow, just like a sunflower being thrown away in the sea, hoping a dolphin would grab it, so as to keep her from extinction. Kiss the pigeon next time and it could tell you how blue is, it could tell you that the moon, the breeze exactly feels blue, feels cool when she makes her young ones sleep in the nest every night...

Then Blue gives birth to a child, she would be named Indigo. She is born bold and lovely; just like her mother. In the rainbow, she nicely seats on her lap, and blue adores her, and tells her not to grow on earth, so as to stop the Indians being browbeaten by the Englishmen.

Violet, tells them not to leave her alone, she would love to bear the seven colours, and she would recreate the beauty of the illusion called rainbow, and she makes it shine. She could be found anywhere, from the brinjal farm to the deepest of imagination.

Life is a blend of colours Nissan, and so is the rainbow; a sign of life in the sky. It comes and goes without notice, it gives joy, it clears pain, it tells you what you are, its everything you are made of, it’s an aroma, it’s hope, it’s struggle, it’s success, it’s a drop of tear, it’s the stretch of your lips, it’s everything that is around you Nissan, it's a feeling, a sensation, an illusion. It’s the enchantment everyone hopes for, in their lives. A bit of rainbow in life and it's all set. You just need to see them with your heart Nissan...and I know you can see it... I know.

-        SHOUVIK rryan ROY

The World- 2022

The future is unpredictable and uncertain. Life could turn up into anything in the future, whatever may be the time span, whether ten or fifteen years. But given the topic, I would like to cover many aspects of our daily lives and surroundings that might perhaps change radically in the next decade or so.

To go with technology at first, I would like to mention that advancement in this particular field is very much needed to enhance our day to day life and the economy of a particular nation; all this rudiments are co-related to each other. 

To be honest and frank, I can see a major change in the field of technology and its impact on people. Now whether the impact and the change would be on a positive or on a negative side, that I am really unsure about; it especially depends on the mentality of the generation that we are going to have in the near future. The change might turn out to be a disaster and the impact might turn out to be a shock.

Now as I see the changes coming up at this time, I can sense that inventors and developers are inventing and developing such things which our grandparents never thought would come up in this era.

 Palmtop is a very recent and strong example. As we see the laptops just killing the need of desktops nowadays, within few years’ or so the palmtops would take over the laptops like a whoosh, and I would be using it even when my bathroom is stinking as I am shitting, my food is burning when I am cooking, and my plants are dying when I am gardening.  

Now as they are also developing robots recently (especially the Japanese), I think within few years they are going to outdate the need of hands and legs too. Now there would be some kind of a machine or a robot that might just put the spoon filled with cheese and curry in my mouth and utter “now your hands are free from tyranny” Oh god! What my hands are for then? It’s just like a smack on the face of god and cursing him for giving us hands. Then, there could be another robot that will jog for us and in turn we will burn calories in his place, the use of legs also gone. I can just see people getting overweight within the next decade if they get obsessed with the world of upcoming robots.

Albeit robots may have many good things in them too, as they may be used in defence purposes, or taking out rescue operations in danger areas, or may also be used against terrorism, which is indeed a very important task, but, I personally feel that they should be owned mainly by the government of a nation and not personalised in a major basis as we don’t know with what mentality and motives people may come up in the future.

There are also many technologies in the list that may come up to blow up our minds. Have you ever imagined of closing your eyes and be able to watch live television? Yes! This thing is possible in the next ten years or so. Television inside your eyelids, isn’t that terrific? Now, you can see how the technologies that we are experiencing have a huge chance of getting updated in the near future. Another example is that of cooking, a special micro-oven coming up that would only ask you to put all the raw ingredients inside and just type the dish you want to make; within a minute your dish is ready, awesome that is. We can also have portable wings, with which we can fly to anywhere we want, and this particular technology would be owned by the airlines, for this change we could also experience rains of tears of the Right Brothers falling from the heaven as their invention could be fading away in the next decade or so.  The concept of telepathy also may come up in a highlighted manner, through which I can get connected to anyone I know and want to talk to, and know his whereabouts. If developed, I can really see this technology screwing up the mobile companies and the teenage life in the near future. Though it may also be used by the American government to know where their dear Osama bin laden is partying right now. Around 2022, we can also find aliens sitting by our side and enjoying a cup of tea with us. The NASA may also come up with the discovery of the clone of earth, to be precise another planet similar to earth in every aspect. All these sounds awesome, though it may sound imaginary, or a bit illogical on the other side taking the fact that the time span is only ten years, and it’s too less to have these kinds of developments.

The ideas and technologies that may come up are never ending and infinite, but it really depends on the mentality of the next decade as how they execute it. How it is going to help the common people. I would also like to foresee the short scale industries turning into large scale industries and bringing up more profits and boosting the economy of India. Though, considered next to impossible, it might happen that some force could really execute the plan of “GARIBI HATAO” and erase poverty from India, the education budget getting a boost, all Indians getting educated, and India finally turning out to be a super power. I can also see the African nations coming out of the war like environments and living a life of peace and prosperity. Yes, this may happen in the next ten years or so, dreams do come true, but only when they are driven by positivity and clarity.

 I, personally wish, hope and dream that the life and the world in the next ten years be full of prosperity and positivity. Regardless of the fact that we might be having bunch of negative forces bugging us in the future, we should always remember that negativity can overtake positivity in no way and never if our hearts our pure and minds are focussed.

                                                                                          

My Best Place

It is ecstatic, the elaborate air, the green fields, and the lady waiting below a tree for me. I favour a place where I am safe, unlike reality, where a favourite is hard to find. I am lucky to be safe when I am with my eyes closed, when I have a difference with reality

I close my eyes, and I am there, I am there where I am suppose to be. Dreams are nightmares when you see what you don’t want to, when you be where you don’t want to. But dreams are dreams when it’s just the reverse. Dreams are the one who get me to a place every night, the place where beauty is endless, where trees stand elegant, and where the chicken could cross the road without being questioned.

I call myself a piece of the white dust, of the enchanted beauty of nature when I get there. I get there with my running feet, pushing back the crystal grass, running towards the tree that’s the same whenever I dream of the safe. I see the roads not entertained by the sons of polymer but with flowers of blue. The sky showering me fired ice, the trees showing me the embroidered way to the violet waterfall.

 Here, I feel safe, I feel peace, as I breathe free, and I walk free from all insecurities, from all dismay. I am scared of waking up; I am scared of losing the heaven that befriends me in my subliminal. A lady with a stunning smile would stand below a tree and would seek me forever and a day; I guess she’s my mother, with her arms wide open. She would call me; embrace me with her golden arms, and with her sharp fingers she would show me the cloudy barriers, of the land that she would say descends from the heavens.

I fear the reality, the truth, which stands so far from this unique subconscious terrain of splendour. Reality is so hideous, the dear Kashmir is no paradise anymore, and the leaning tower of Pisa doesn’t lean gracefully. The beauty which I sense in my dreams is far more endearing than the world I see with my eyes open. Whenever I touch the silver bushes; I feel the fervent hands of Aphrodite on my arms, whenever I drink the water of mauve, I feel nectar being poured on my heart by Zeus. I see the prairie bestowing me diamonds when I own them with my feet. I hear the clouds singing a melodious lullaby, which keeps every dust from waking up, and bothering the eyes of the squirrel that never rests on the golden trees, the trees which lays its branches on me and saves me from the flames of adversity.

The insecurities fear to rush through my blood whenever I am in this place of thrill, the honey bee would not sting me anymore, and the antelopes with green blue eyes would come and seek embracement.  The road ends nowhere, and the rivers are filled with sweet porridge.

The calm air enshrouding me with its blissful aroma; and the saffron birds paint the sky in sync. The sun would never set; neither would it burn me on a hot day. It shone bright and calm every time. I would see the ores being safe down there in earth and not being used for the arsenal, I would see the leaves never getting old, neither the rock losing its form for the sweet despotism of the lilac waterfall. All is quiet and out of harm's way.

I could see a hut being cared by a young man, and a dog looking at the west to seek the shadow of grey. The mud would feel like snow, and the leaves would dance on the tunes of Aeolus. I could look at the sun with pride, it won’t hassle my eyes anymore.

I favour this heaven, I wish I could dream forever, and savour this place till I attain wrinkles on my face. A place where the soil is so true is a pain to lose. A place that gifts divinity on every visit never deserves to shy away from my priority.

My mother would lay down her sharp fingers, and would tell me it’s time. Though never intending to go back, I would hurt a tree by tearing its golden leaf, and snatching a cord of the silver bush, and when I wake up, I see my hands empty, and I see dismay and uncertainty frowning on me...