The prasad we shared

 

Last month, I along with my son, brother, sister-in- law and their daughter visited one of the most worshipped ( I was really confused what word to use while describing this temple.’ Famous, well known’ etc looked out of place. ‘A holy place’ sounded hollow. Then I settled with ‘the most worshipped’) temples in India.

One good thing about such temples is that you can have easy access to God if you are willing to pay a price for that. All those temples have privilege queues. The more you pay, the quicker you reach God. You can also enjoy this privilege if you are a celebrity or a politician.

There was not much of a crowd so we stood in the normal queue.  My brother knew I am not a great believer of God or temples and have the tendency to find fault with even the smallest thing around. I always felt god, who should have been a relief to the masses, was misused for commercial and political reasons. According to him, even if I am an atheist,just visiting the temple will fill me with blessings.

Our queue moved pretty fast. As we approached the sanctum sanctorum, I saw those lines meant for the richer guys. As we moved forward, I saw a rich family coming through the special line. Their confidence, bordered around arrogance, showed how privileged they are, even before a god.

The lady of the family was holding a huge and expensive tray full of ladoos, their offering to the lord. She had difficulty in carrying it. As she was struggling to keep the balance, one ladoo fell down. The atheist in me became focused and wanted to know how she will respond to this unexpected god’s lila. She was flustered for a second and then, unhesitantly, she picked the ladoo and put it back in the tray. I was aghast. Even a non- believer like me knows that an offering falling off the tray was a bad omen. Further, you are not supposed to offer something to God which had fallen on to the ground. But she was cock sure. She must have thought that, God being busy blessing everyone, might not have seen this small incident. Or is it the privilege which gave her that supreme confidence.

My brother understood that I had seen the incident and was eagerly waiting for my sharp comments. But I decided to take it easy. Being in the purified vicinity of God, how does it matter that a small ladoo had fallen down? The moment god touches, even the most defiled object will become prasad. I thought why should I bother about such irrelevant things and diverted my attention to the glittering splendor of God’s abode.

After taking the blessings, as we were coming out, we saw the family standing near the exit door and distributing the Prasad to everyone. I was in double mind to take it. Before I could respond, the lady stuffed a ladoo into my hands.

I was unsure what to do with the ladoo. My brother had a big smile and said, " that is the same ladoo which fell down. God is giving you a message. Now you eat it."

Even I was confused. Can there be any truth in what he says? Can it be the god’s way of teaching me a lesson? Can God really give such instant punishments? Then why is he hesitant in giving instant rewards too? I shrugged off those thoughts and was sharpening my arguments based on probability and serendipity. Just then, the sister- in - law came and took a piece of Prasad from my ladoo and ate. She gave another piece to my brother and her daughter. My son followed them. Then she announced," let us share this ladoo now and keep all other prasad’s with us so that we can have it later".

The sceptic in me could not prevent myself from telling them the story of the fallen ladoo and the possibility of the prasad we ate being that ladoo.  I saw their faces getting clouded with fear and anxiety. Things related to God can evoke more fear than peace in you.

I secretly glanced at my brother. He was swallowing the Prasad with great difficulty.

One thought still haunts me- were they punished because of my wrong deeds, or was I blessed because of their good deeds?

 

(That I wrote this blog just a day before the Ram Mandir sham is not coincidental)

New year thoughts

 

 

New Year

Tomorrow we will change the calendar. The number of months, weeks and days will remain the same. So, what will be different? Let us make some changes by:

Making:

Monday into WON the day

Tuesday to AMUSEDAY

Wednesday to WELLNESS  day

Thursday to THIRST( for anything) day

Friday to FREE day

Saturday to MASTER the day

Sunday to a SUNNY day.

 

Books

This year again I could read 150 books. Some of them were amazing, some average and some bad.  Will start 2024 with Jon Fosse, who got this year's Nobel Prize for literature, and Paul Lynch who got the Booker Prize. Few good books can illuminate your whole year. So, I wish all of you could read at least a few meaningful books this year.

 

The lame dog

In our housing society there is a lady who is paralyzed from waist down. Still, she drives a four-wheel scooter and manages most of the things on a wheel chair and I have always found her cheerful. She and her husband have a dog, who has only three legs. They take the dog out thrice a day. Either her husband will take it or she will take it in her scooter. If the husband is taking it, the dog will limp on its three legs, but with full of energy and enthusiasm.

 What really caught my attention is, there are two stray dogs in the society who will be waiting for this dog to come out every day. Generally, the guards won't allow stray dogs in our society. But these two dogs are always allowed. These two dogs will be waiting outside for the other dog to come out. The moment it is out they will rush towards it and for many minutes there is a display of pure love among them. They will cuddle, hug, rub each other's body, wag their tails and do whatever they could to show how concerned they are with that lame dog. The owner will allow them to carry on for a few minutes. The stray dogs will accompany the dog till the gate. Once the lame dog is outside the gate, both the dogs will come back and wait near the flat again. At every sound they will get up and confirm whether their friend is back or not. They will be eagerly waiting for the lame dog to come back. The moment they see him from afar, they will rush and it is time for another round of displaying love and affection.

 I always wonder what makes them bond so closely and what can be the reason for such intense love. In fact, it is contagious because after watching it for a few minutes I also feel happy and positive for the whole day. In those few minutes, I feel, they elevate happiness to ecstasy or rather blissfulness. I wish the new year will bring in such blissful moments to everyone’s life.

 

Hospital

Last week my son got admitted in hospital at Delhi due to some infection. We all know, today hospitals look more like five-star hotels. This one was not different.

The couple of days we stayed there gave us sour experience. The nurses were courteous and obliging. But I felt it was more out of training than their natural self. I was not expecting a ' Lady with a lamp'. However, that warmth was missing.

They have almost all equipment’s which could help doctors to get their diagnosis easy. Still, they were struggling to get to the real cause of his disease and in the process ended up doing so many tests.

I met two types of doctors there. We were sharing the room with another patient and his doctor always came early in the morning, wished him a good morning, explained the situation, clearly described his course of action, and while being strict on many aspects, gave a lot of comfort to the patient. On the other hand, our doctor was irregular, incoherent, inarticulate and looked confused many times.  With all due respect to the doctors, it felt he was more focused on the commercial part than the treatment as such.

 In short, the couple of days stay was not comfortable for any of us. We know hospitals need a lot of money to maintain their infrastructure and provide all facilities. But that should not make them consider every patient as a source of income. I fear, in the age of artificial intelligence, the processes are becoming more artificial. The warmth was really missing. Hospital should not be a place for treatment alone. It should provide comfort and confidence to every patient who walks in. I really wish that they bring in a bit more of humane and natural elements into their purely commercial minded systems.

 

Demolishing my own school

 

My primary school was just across the road from where we stayed. It was a modest building with a long hall. Class rooms were separated by thin wooden partitions. The walls were weak, but neatly painted. The floor was cemented, but not polished. The roof was covered by asbestos sheet.

But I never felt these shortcomings during my four years, initially. These inconveniences were superbly compensated by the excellent learning atmosphere created in the school. The teachers, except for ( yes you guessed it right) the math teacher, were loving, caring and knowledgeable. The Head Mistress was very calm and wise. She taught us all the etiquettes which are still useful. The art teacher was a wonderful singer and she exposed us to various forms of art. We even got opportunity to showcase many of them at All India Radio. Though we had a very small playground, we were encouraged to spend as much time as possible for physical activities. During annual sports we competed fiercely among ourselves. The Bal Vihar classes were a treasure of wisdom, where, thorough stories, we were taught the fundamental values and morals of life. In short, those four years made our minds so fertile for the seeds to be sown for our future life.

 One major drawback was the school not having the required recognition and on the last year the students had to go to another school, get ourselves registered there and then appear for the exams. During those days, since such things were common, it was not considered as a disadvantage.

During the last year, I was the school leader. Since we had around thirty students in the whole school, there was nothing much for the school leader to do. One privilege I had was the responsibility to monitor the morning and evening assemblies. Still, being the school leader was an honor.

It can be quiet shocking to know that in spite of me loving the school and being grateful to whatever it provided me, I felt like demolishing it towards the end.

We were in the month of November and since we had to leave the school by January, the classes were almost over. It was during that time that a strange idea came into my mind. For reasons unknown, I started hating my school. I felt they had not done enough for us. The infrastructure was not adequate and even after many years they were not able to get the recognition. Because of that we are forced to go to another school and spend the remaining days in unfriendly and challenging conditions. At that time the fourth standard exams were important for further studies.

To my amazement I found all my love and respect for the school turning into a kind of hatred. I shared the feelings with my friends and they also supported my views. It did not take much time for my mind to get corrupted. Despite the values and the morals the school tried to inculcate in me, my mind wandered into muddy shores. That is when me, along with my friends, decided to demolish the school. We knew we could not do much but wanted to do whatever we can within our limits. Thus, we decided to focus on one particular wall and kick that wall as much as possible whenever we got time. So, those who supported the idea started kicking the wall whenever we were free. We used to run towards the wall and kick it with full force. We thought, with our constant efforts we could at least make a dent. We were confident that if we could make one hole on the wall the whole school will collapse.

Our unbounded enthusiasm continued till the time we were caught red handed by the Head Mistress. She asked only me to accompany her to the office.

When she asked why I did it, I was not having a proper answer.

Do you hate the school so much? She asked. I was dumbfounded and even could of think of a valid reason for the hatred.

Then the Head Mistress gave me some pearls of wisdom, which I till treasure.

She said, “I have few things to tell you which I hope you will keep in mind throughout your life. 1) If you don’t like something or feel something is not adequate enough, don’t try to destroy or demolish it. Instead, try to build something which you feel is appropriate. 2) I know others are also partners of the crime but called only you because you are the leader. By being the leader, you are representing the whole school, with all its values and morals. So, when you make a mistake, you are not letting yourself down, but the whole school. 3) Since you are the leader, you have to accept the punishment.”

She removed me as the school leader with immediate effect and asked me to stand in front of the assembly so that the whole school will be aware of the mistake I made.

Why mind got corrupted so fast is still a mystery for me. However, that day I realized how easy it is to smudge even the purest of minds. Like a drop of ink dropped into a glass of water, it spread throughout my thoughts, making me extremely vulnerable.

Since then, I have met many leaders in my life and have read and known a lot about leadership. Nevertheless, I am yet to meet a leader who accepted the responsibility of a mistake he or she made and stepped down from the position he is holding or the privilege he is enjoying. I am yet to meet a leader being severely punished for his or her destructive and thoughts and ideas. I am yet to see a leader made to stand in front of the citizen, with his head hanging with shame for the mistake he did.

I think what we need is a lot of such calm, wise and powerful headmistresses.

മരുഭൂമി

 

അടുപ്പെരിയാത്ത അടുക്കളകൾ

രാവിലെ നടത്തം കഴിഞ്ഞ് തിരിച്ചു വരുമ്പോൾ ഗേറ്റിലെ പാറാവുകാരൻ വിഷണ്ണനായി നിൽക്കുന്നതു കണ്ടു.

ഉള്ളിലെ വിങ്ങൽ ആരോടെങ്കിലും പങ്കുവെയ്ക്കാൻ വെമ്പി നിൽക്കുന്ന പോലെ, എന്നെ കണ്ടതും പറഞ്ഞു," എല്ലാം ഒരുപാട് മാറിയിരിക്കുന്നു".

എന്താണ് മാറിയത് എന്നുറപ്പില്ലാത്തതു കൊണ്ട് ഞാൻ ചോദിച്ചു," എന്തു പറ്റി ദാമോദരേട്ടാ"?

" ഒരു വീട്ടിലും അടുപ്പ് പുകയുന്നില്ല എന്നു തോന്നുന്നു." ദാമോദരേട്ടൻ വിഷമത്തോടെ പറഞ്ഞു.

ദാമോദരേട്ടൻ സാധാരണ രാഷ്ട്രീയം പറയാറില്ല. രാജ്യത്ത് സാമ്പത്തിക ഞരക്കം ഉണ്ട് എന്ന് ഞാൻ അറിഞ്ഞിരുന്നു. പത്രങ്ങൾ വിസ്തരിച്ച് വായിക്കുന്നതു കൊണ്ടാവാം കാര്യങ്ങൾ ഒന്നും മനസ്സിലാവാറില്ല. എന്റെ അങ്കലാപ്പ് കണ്ടിട്ടാവാം, ദാമോദരേട്ടൻ പറഞ്ഞു: " രാവിലെ മുതൽ രാത്രി വരെ ഞാനേറ്റവും അധികം ഗേറ്റ് തുറന്നു കൊടുക്കുന്നത് ഭക്ഷണം പൊതിയിലാക്കി കൊണ്ടു വരുന്നവർക്ക് വേണ്ടിയാണ്. രാവിലെ ആറു മണി മുതൽ രാത്രി ഒരു മണി വരെയൊക്കെ അവർ വരും" ദാമോദരേട്ടൻ പറഞ്ഞു നിർത്തി.

ശരിയാണ് എന്ന് ഞാനും ഓർത്തു. ഒരു ദിവസം എത്ര പേരാണ് ഭക്ഷണം വിൽക്കാൻ ഈ പടി  കടന്നെത്തുന്നത്! വിസിറ്റേർസ് റജിസ്റ്ററിന്റെ മുക്കാൽ ഭാഗവും സ്വിഗിയും, സോമാറ്റോയും, പോട്ടാഫോയും ഒക്കെയാണ്.

" ഇപ്പോൾ ഒരടുക്കളയിലും അടുപ്പെരിയാറില്ല എന്നു തോന്നുന്നു. കഴിഞ്ഞ തവണ പോലും ഡോക്ടർ പ്രത്യേകം പറഞ്ഞു വീട്ടിലെ ഭക്ഷണം കഴിച്ചാൽ മതിയെന്ന്. എന്നോട് ഭാര്യയും ഭക്ഷണം വരുത്തി കഴിക്കാൻ പറയുമോ എന്നാണ് പേടി".

ദാമോദരേട്ടന്റെ കണ്ണിലെ ഭയം ഞാൻ കണ്ടു. അതിനപ്പുറം, സെക്യൂരിറ്റി കാബിനിൽ വൃത്തിയായി അടുക്കി വെച്ച ചോറ്റു പാത്രവും കണ്ടു.

" അടുത്ത തവണത്തെ മീറ്റിങ്ങിൽ ഭക്ഷണം ഓർഡർ ചെയ്യാൻ സൗകര്യമുള്ള മൊബൈൽ ഫോൺ ഞങ്ങൾക്കും പാസാക്കി തരണം" ദാമോദരേട്ടൻ അഭ്യർത്ഥിച്ചു.

എന്തു പറഞ്ഞ് സമാധാനിപ്പിക്കുമെന്നറിയാതെ പരുങ്ങുമ്പോൾ, ബൈക്കിൽ വന്ന സ്വിഗിക്കാരന് ഗേറ്റ് തുറന്നു കൊടുക്കാൻ ദാമോദരേട്ടൻ പോയി. ഞാൻ വേഗം നീങ്ങി. ഇടയിൽ അയാൾ എന്റെ വീടിന്റെ നമ്പർ പറഞ്ഞത് കേട്ടു. ഞാൻ മുന്നേ എത്താൻ ആഞ്ഞു നടന്നു. പക്ഷെ എന്നെ തോൽപ്പിച്ച് ആ ബൈക്കുകാരൻ വീട്ടിലെത്തി കേളിങ്ങ് ബെല്ലമർത്തി. ഒഴിഞ്ഞ അടുക്കളയിൽ ബെല്ലിന്റെ ശബ്ദം മുഴങ്ങി.

 

അനാഥമാക്കപ്പെടുന്ന ശവശരീരങ്ങൾ

 

മരണമാണ് മനുഷ്യന്റെ ഏറ്റവും വലിയ ഭയങ്ങളിൽ ഒന്ന് എന്നാണ് പറയപ്പെടുന്നത്. നാം മരിച്ചു കഴിഞ്ഞാൽ നമുക്ക് പ്രിയപ്പെട്ട പലരും ഒറ്റപ്പെട്ടു പോകും എന്നതാവാം ആ ഭയത്തിന് കാരണം. എന്നാൽ, മരണത്തിന് ശേഷം ശവശരീരം ഒറ്റപ്പെട്ടു പോവുകയെന്ന ഭയാനകതയെക്കുറിച്ച് നമ്മൾ ഓർത്തിട്ടുണ്ടോ?

മണിപ്പൂരിൽ വർഗീയ ലഹളയിൽ കൊല്ലപ്പെട്ടവരിൽ തൊന്നൂറോളം  ശവശരീരങ്ങൾ അനാഥമായി കിടക്കുന്നുവത്രേ!

എന്തായിരിക്കാം ഇതിനു കാരണം? ആ കുടുംബത്തിലെ  എല്ലാവരും തന്നെ കലാപത്തിൽ കൊല്ലപ്പെട്ടിട്ടുണ്ടാവാം. അല്ലെങ്കിൽ, അക്രമത്തിന്റെ ആഘാതത്തിൽ, ഇനിയൊരിക്കലും കണ്ടുമുട്ടാൻ ആവാത്ത വിധം അവരെല്ലാം വേർപ്പെട്ടു പോയിട്ടുണ്ടാവാം

ഒരു പ്രദേശത്ത്, പരസ്പരം വിശ്വസിച്ചും സ്നേഹിച്ചും കഴിഞ്ഞവരാകാം അവർ. പെട്ടെന്നാണ് ഒരു ദിവസം അവരുടെ ജീവിതം കീഴ്മേൽ മറിഞ്ഞത്. എന്താണ് എന്നറിയുന്നതിന് മുമ്പ് പലരും കൊല്ലപ്പെട്ടിരിക്കാം. പലരും ചിതറിത്തെറിച്ചിരിക്കാം.

ഉറ്റവരും ഉടയവരും ഇല്ലാതെ , ഇപ്പോഴും സൂക്ഷിച്ചു വെച്ചിരിക്കുന്ന ഈ ശവശരീരങ്ങൾ അർഹിക്കുന്ന ആദരവോടെ മറവു ചെയ്യണമെന്നാണ് കോടതി നിർദ്ദേശിച്ചിരിക്കുന്നത്.

 ഇന്ന്, ജീവിച്ചിരിക്കുമ്പോൾ തന്നെ അനേകം കാരണങ്ങളാൽ നാം പല ചേരികളായി മാറി കൊണ്ടിരിക്കുന്നു. പകയുടെയും, വിദ്വേഷത്തിന്റെയും, വേർത്തിരിവിന്റെയും ആസുര വിത്തുകൾ ആരോ നമ്മുടെ ഹൃദയത്തിൽ പാകിയിരിക്കുന്നു. എന്നാൽ, കൊലക്കത്തിയാൽ അറുക്കപ്പെട്ട് വെറും ശവമായി തീർന്ന ശരീരം പോലും അനാഥമാകും വിധം നീചമായോ മനുഷ്യ മനസ്സ്? അനാഥമാകപ്പെടുന്ന ഈ ശവശരീരങ്ങൾ എന്റെ സ്വാസ്ഥ്യം കെടുത്തുന്നു.

 

മരുഭൂമി

ഏറ്റവും വലിയ മരുഭൂമിയേത് ?

ടീച്ചർ ചോദിച്ചു.

" എന്റെ മനസ്സ്" കുട്ടി നിസ്സംശയം ഉത്തരം പറഞ്ഞു.

ഉത്തരം മനസ്സിലാവാത്ത ടീച്ചർ ജനറൽ നോളജ് ബുക്കിൽ നോക്കി, ഉത്തരം തെറ്റ് എന്നു വിധിച്ചു

മറ്റുള്ളവർ ഉത്തരം പറയും മുമ്പ് ഇന്റർവെലിന് മണിയടിച്ചു.

മുൻ ബെഞ്ചിലെ ഒരു പെൺകുട്ടി മാത്രം അവന്,

അവൾ കരുതി വെച്ചതിൽ നിന്നും

ഒരു കുമ്പിൾ വെള്ളം

പകർന്നു കൊടുത്തു.

“THINGS FALL APART..” -CAN POETRY HOLD IT TOGETHER?

 

 

The other day I attended the book release of one of my old teachers. He is eighty years old and the book contained a collection of poems which were written in the last ten years! Though he was one of the best teachers I have come across, I never knew he wrote poems. Looking back, during college days what attracted me to him was his brilliance as a teacher. Today I realized that I was so enamored by his brilliance that I failed to recognize many other facets of his personality.

In his speech he said that these poems were his way of expressing his concern, pain and angst about the countless atrocities happening all around us. Many of his poems boldly address few topics like- are we, the human beings, slowly turning into beasts? Are we losing our hold on many things? Are we, in our unquenchable urge to amass power, destroying nature and also our fellow beings who are weaker? He further asked whether art in general and poems in particular help in alleviating the situation. Will words be the panacea for many vices ailing the world was his major concern.

I don't remember him having discussed such topics in class. Nevertheless, his question haunted me for many days. Can art change the outlook and belief of the people completely? I doubt. There is no doubt that art, in its various forms can influence our thinking. It can stir us, prompt us to probe further, help us to form our opinions, shake us from our slumber or at the least push us out from our comfort zone.

This thought took me to those old college days when lines from many fabulous poems had a lasting impression on me. Some of those lines looked extremely relevant in recent times as they emerged with larger meaning. These are lines which most of us might have come across in our life. Still, I will quote them just to prove how they fit into the present times. Of course, great poems are those which withstand the test of time.

 

The first lines which came to my mind are from " The Second Coming”, the powerful poem by W.B.Yeats. It seems, years ago he could foresee the present when he wrote:

"Things fall apart; the center cannot hold;

Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,

The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere

The ceremony of innocence is drowned;

The best lack all conviction, while the worst

Are full of passionate intensity".

Today, can anyone describe the world around in better words? Everything is getting disintegrated as we can't hold each other together. The invisible thread of compassion, which was holding us together, has snapped. Millions of innocent lives are drowned in blood, while the hatred, violence and conceit are gaining intensity day by day.

We human beings are known for their resilience. Even while treading through the most desperate times, we, with amazing ease used to gather positive energy from somewhere. That always helped us in keeping the balance. That light, though bleak, at the end of the tunnel always made us march forward. The optimist in us always won the battle. However, it seems that hope is slowly, but surely diminishing. Deep within we are losing our faith. We fear things may not be same forever. This angst of ours were beautiful captured by Mathew Arnold when he wrote those inimitable lines:

" Ah, love, let us be true

To one another! For the world, which seems

To lie before us like a land of dreams,

So various, so beautiful, so new,

Hath really neither joy, nor love, not light,

Not certitude, nor peace, nor help for pain;

And we are here as in a darling plain

Swept with confused alarms of struggle and flight,

Where ignorant armies clash by night".

( Dover Beach)

We may all be feeling that we are not a part of the atrocities and anguish loosed upon the world. We may feel that it is the hand work of few powerful people. As the poet said, we are ignorant of the fact that, unknowingly we all are the part of those armies which are clashing by night. It is our silence, ignorance and innocence which is encouraging the dark powers to unleash such terror on us.

What is prompting them to do that? Nothing but the unquenchable thirst for power. Those who claim to be the leaders of the world are no more concerned about the wellbeing of the poor and down trodden. They grab power just to trample the hapless by elevating themselves on those golden thrones and to remain there are pushing the whole human kind to unending misery by engaging into unending wars. They are out there to create a history of their own. They hope to inscribe their heroic deeds in golden letters, which they believe, will be eternally treasured. I wish such leaders read the shocking yet prophetic lines of P.B. Shelley:

"..Two vast and trunkless legs of stone

Stand in desert. Near them on the sand,

Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown

And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command

Tell that its sculptor well those passions read

Which yet survive, stamp'd in those lifeless things,

The hand that mock'd them and the heartd that fed;

And on the pedestal these words appear:

' My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings:

Look on my work, ye mighty, and despair!'

Nothing beside remains. Round the decay

Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare,

The lone and level sands stretch far away".

( Ozymandias of Egypt)

 

The poet, in few lines, make us aware how short-lived our fame is, how momentary our powers can be. Those who claim to be the ' Leader of the whole world' will be eventually reduced to those " trunkless stones" in the vast ruins of the desert.

Coming back to the point, I still don't know whether words can heal our wounds. Poems may not stop wars. Art may not turn us into monks. Still, a few powerful lines can remind us of the benevolence and compassion we are supposed to carry in our hearts. It will make us aware how transient life is. It will help us to use our faculty of reasoning and may urge us to use it wisely. It will gently whisper in our ears that, life is not always about power, position and privileges. It may hold a mirror at the truth. It softly touches your inner heart and beg you to remain a human being always.

Words or poems may not be the solution for everything. However, that can't be ignored completely. Art, undoubtedly, is a major factor which defines the values and culture of a nation.

So let us encourage artists to express their feelings fearlessly. Let us appreciate their efforts by spending some part of our valuable time for them.

 

#POETRY # W.B.YEATS, # MATHEW ARNOLD # P.B.SHELLEY,# SECOND COMING # DOVER BEACH # OZYMANDIAS OF EGYPTH # ART AND POEM # WAR # WORLD LEADERS #BOOKS # PURPOSE OF ART# PURPOSE OF LITERATURE.

 

തിരികെ വരുമ്പോൾ

പാതയ്ക്കിപ്പുറം നിൽക്കയാണു ഞാൻ

തിരക്കാണ്, മുറിച്ചു കടക്കാനാവാത്ത ഒഴുക്കാണ്

കർക്കിടകത്തിലുമപ്പുറമിപ്പുറം

നീന്തി കടന്നിട്ടുണ്ടേറെ യൊഴുക്കുകൾ

എങ്കിലും വയ്യ കടക്കുവാന്നപ്പുറത്തേക്ക്

ഈ ഇത്തിരിവട്ടത്തിലൊറ്റയ്ക്കു നിൽക്കുന്നു ഞാൻ

ഇല്ല , കൈ പിടിച്ചപ്പുറമാക്കുവാന്നൊരാൾ .

പച്ചയും മഞ്ഞയും ചുവപ്പും വിളക്കിന്റെ

കൈപിടിച്ചാലെത്താ മപ്പുറം

എങ്കിലോ കണിശമാണവയുടെ കണക്കുകൾ

ഒരു ഞൊടിയിട തെറ്റിയാലീ

മഹാ പ്രവാഹത്തിലൊലിച്ചു പോവാം

എന്തൊരൊഴുക്ക്, ജീവന്റെയോരോ കണികയും

ഈ വഴിയിലൂടെ, ഒഴുകിയെത്തുന്ന പോലെ.

തിരക്കാണെവിടെയും, ഏവർക്കുമറിയാം

എത്തുവാനുള്ള ലക്ഷ്യമേതെന്നു നിശ്ചയം.

ദൂരദേശങ്ങളിലെത്തേണ്ടവർ,

അറിയാ പാതകൾ താണ്ടി കടക്കുവോർ

ഒരല്പമെങ്കിലും വൈകിയാൽ തെറ്റും കണക്കുകൾ.

വയ്യ പിഴയ്ക്കുവാൻ അല്പ മാത്രയെങ്കിലും,

യാത്രതൻ വേഗമൊരല്പം കൂടിയാലും ശരി.

കടന്നിട്ടിലിത്തരം വഴികളിതുവരെ

കടന്നു വന്ന വഴികളെല്ലാം ലളിതമായിരുന്നു.

അപ്പുറമിപ്പുറമെന്നു വേർത്തിരിക്കാത്ത

 നേർവരകളായിരുന്നു.

വഴിക്കിരുവശവും തണലായിരുന്നു.

തണലിൽ, പോകുന്നതെവിടേ ,ക്കവിടേക്കെത്ര

ദൂരമെത്ര നേരമെന്നറിഞ്ഞു,മളന്നുമെടുത്ത

 പാഥേയ മന്യോന്യം പങ്കുവെയ്ക്കാന്നൊത്തവരുടെ

മധുരമാം ക്ഷണമായിരുന്നു.

നടന്നു തളർന്ന പകലുകൾക്കപ്പുറം 

നിലാവു വിരിച്ച രാവായിരുന്നു

കുശലം പറഞ്ഞും, കുട പിടിച്ചും, 

കൊച്ചു സുഖ ദുഖങ്ങൾ തൻ കഥ കൊറിച്ചും

ഇടറുമ്പോൾ താങ്ങായി വടി പിടിച്ചും

ഏറെ ദൂരങ്ങൾ നടന്നിരുന്നു, വാഴ്‌വിന്റെ

വേറിട്ട കാഴ്ചകൾ കണ്ടിരുന്നു.

ഒഴുക്കുകളേറെ കണ്ടിട്ടുണ്ടെങ്കിലുമിനീ

ഇത്തിരി ദൂരം താണ്ടുവാനാകാതെ നിൽക്കുന്നുയീവശം

എന്തായിരിക്കാമപ്പുറം, ഉണ്ടാകില്ല

നറുപ്പൂഴി പരപ്പിൽ ഓടിക്കളിച്ച്

തളർന്നു കിടക്കുന്ന വെള്ളരി വള്ളികൾ

അണ്ണാരക്കണ്ണൻ ആർത്തിയോടെ കാർന്ന്

പാതിയോളമെത്തിയുപേക്ഷിച്ച മാമ്പഴം

ഓടിക്കളിച്ചു തിരികെയെത്തും നേരം

" ഇന്നെന്തേയിത്ര വൈകി" യെന്നമ്മയുടെ ലാളന

പുതിയയിടങ്ങളിൽ വഴി തെറ്റാതെ, 

നേർവഴി ഏതെന്നറിഞ്ഞു നടക്കുവാൻ  അച്ഛന്റെ ശാസന.

എത്ര നടന്നാലും തളരാത്ത നാട്ടിടവഴിയിലെ സൗമ്യത.

അസ്തമയം കണ്ടിരുന്ന കുന്നിൻപ്പുറങ്ങളുടെ വശ്യത .

ഏതു മണ്ണിൽ വിതച്ചാലും വിളയുന്ന സൗഹൃദത്തിന്റെ

 വിത്തുകൾ മനസ്സിൽ വിതച്ചവർ.

പുഴവക്കത്തെ കടവിലവസാനത്തെ തോണി

തുഴഞ്ഞകന്നിട്ടുമെനിക്കായ് കാത്തു നിന്നവൾ

തൊടിയിലെ പറങ്കിമാവിൻ ക്കൊമ്പത്തൊന്നിച്ചിരുന്നു

നാം വായിച്ച വരികളിലെ പ്രണയ നിഗൂഡത

നീയെഴുതിയ വരികളുറക്കെ ചൊല്ലിയ മനസ്സിന്റെ ധന്യത.

തിരക്കൊഴിയുന്നില്ല, ഒരിക്കലും പെയ്തൊഴിയാത്ത

 മേഘങ്ങൾ വിണ്ണിനെ മൂടുന്നു.

ഇനിയൊരു പ്രളയമെത്തും മുമ്പേ തിരിച്ചു പോകാം .

തിരിച്ചു പോകാം എനിക്കറിയുന്ന വഴികളിലേക്ക്,

പുലരിയുടെ ഒരു പൂവിൽ നിന്നുമാകാശത്തിന്റെ

അനന്തതയിലേക്കുയർന്നൊരു പൂമ്പാറ്റയുടെ നിറവിലേക്ക്

അവസാനത്തെ തോണിയുമകന്നു പോയ കടവിൽ നിന്നും

കൈകോർത്തിറങ്ങാം,

ആ ഒഴുക്കിന്റെ ഉത്സവ ധന്യതയിലേക്ക്.

NATURE- WAR- SUN

 

NATURE

It was well past the evening. The sky was getting darker. The caretaker had switched on the lights inside our housing society complex. I saw two small birds hovering around the light, which was unusual. Animals and birds are very prompt when it comes to time keeping. They get up and start their work early in the morning and get back home also early, after having their dinner. I have not seen birds once it gets dark. That increased my curiosity. They were small birds with black and white feathers and were watching something keenly. I thought they may be those naughty birds who always reached home late and was worried that their mother will scold them for that. However, both the birds were not up to any mischief. On the contrary they were completely focused on something. Then I realized that they were intensely watching at the moths that were flying around the street light. By then it really got dark. In a flash one of the birds darted towards the light and had a couple of moths inside its beak. Then it was the turn of the other one. For a few minutes they continued their late-night hunting and once their stomach were full, flew away. By then it was almost night. What bothered me was the thought- have the natural resources became so scarce that even the birds have to work over time?

WAR

Majority of us will be aware of the unimaginable amount of loss we suffered due to the second World War. Millions lost their life; those who were alive lead a miserable life having lost their wealth and health; cities and villages were razed to ground; nature was destroyed in whatever way possible and as if these were not enough, we bared our vicious mind by dropping two atom bombs on innocent people, thus burning the very conscious of humanity (if they ever have one). It took decades for us to recover from the physical and mental damages the war inflicted on us.

 I always felt human kind will never think of a war again. It was not just the horrible experiences of the world war which made me think so. I was given to understand that science and spiritualism are gaining ground and they are promisingly injecting sense, sensibility and sensitivity into human mind. Science, I was told, was bringing people together. Every invention is towards that goal. While Spiritualism was helping us to nurse our wounds and be more benevolent.

However, the recent tendency of the nations to engage themselves in war for flimsy reasons have shaken my belief. Normally, the responsibility for war is forced upon the politicians or the rulers. That may seem to be the right way to look at it. Can we hold only the rulers responsible for these wars? Are we not, by remaining as spectators, not responsible for it? Why Science and spiritualism (I will also add Art to it) not able to rise as an alternative force thus nullifying the human need for war? Since human well-being is one of their important responsibilities, how can science, spiritualism and art remain silent and try to wiggle out of it by just making some feeble protests? The very purpose of Science, Spiritualism and Art should be to replace hatred with compassion. Their failure will be the failure of the human race.

Taking a step further, are we as individuals not responsible? We live at a time when even a cricket match between India and Pakistan is given the stature of a war. Is it enough if we read the details of the atrocities unleased and restrict our concern to a close group of people around? If this trend continues, the whole world will be devastated and that will completely damage the lives of the future generation. I think it is high time we discussed war seriously, among ourselves to start with, and consciously raise our voice against it. We need to say NO TO WAR loudly so that rulers will understand that they cannot fool us or distract us by creating wars and always cleverly using their brinkmanship.

As I was writing this, the news of a hospital with over five hundred patients being annihilated by a bomb came. It seems, the barbaric beast in us is at its devastating best. What is shocking is, even after such a horrendous act, we are discussing who is responsible for this inhuman attack. If we still have doubt, then the unpleasant truth is we- the human beings, are responsible for this heartless massacre. If we don’t take responsibility and make amends now, it will be too late.

 SUN

The other day, my neighbor, who is also a doctor, shared something extremely relevant and thought provoking with me. During his preparation for a lecture on the’ History of Medicine’ to students he came across this wonderful information. It is about a scientist who invented an extremely useful medicine for many of our diseases. However, even after inventing the same, he refused to get the patent for the same, thus denying himself the opportunity to become a multi-billionaire overnight.

Someone asked him,” You invented this medicine but have not claimed the patent for the same. So according to you the medicine belongs to whom?’

His response should teach us few lessons on integrity, simplicity and selflessness. He said,” I suppose it belongs to the people” and then he asked back a magnificent question,” Who has the patent for Sun?” We all are victims of the greed of the medical companies fleecing us for more and more money. With this one question he hints that medicines should be as affordable and available as sunlight and breath.

I was standing in the balcony, staring at the sun. Suddenly I realized that I am not staring at the sun, rather I am receiving the benevolence of  the UNPATENTED MEDICINE. I had my prescribed dose for the day before going inside.