Myriad of Images

The mind wanders. It is filled with a myriad of images.

It struggles. Fights with itself and tries to shake of a gnawing perception but something deep, fine and pure keeps pulling it back. It tugs at the soul and shows an image.

A dazzlingly bright image. The image makes you want to instinctively shut your eyes for a mont. But the brightness also carries a certain warmth. As the eyes grow slightly more accustomed to this bright light, the heart (hitherto undecided) now decides to take a leap of faith and with a silent prayer on its lips and sharp intake of breath just lets go...

Down, down, down the rabbi hole.

As one plunges further and further down, the sounds of various passions become more distant, a sound belonging to a distant world.

~silence~

Om.

Yin Yang

And finally, the two come together... with an explosion waiting to happen.

Baby

Silence.

Deathly silence.

Noises of the world fade into the background.

All that he could hear was his own laboured breathing.

He could not stop the smile which silently crept up on him.

I am alone.

Again.

Finally.

I am alone.

His mind fell down the rabbit-hole that Alice knew so well.

And like a flash of cards, images swept by his mind's eye...

Quiet birthday celebrations...

Mahatma Gandhi...

His old house...

The stories that Shivaji's mother used to tell him when he was a child...

Ramayan...

Mahabharat...

His first job...

Inexplicable joys in the simplest of veg. rolls on Park Street...

JRD Tata...

Durga Puja...

Relationships...

Break-ups...

Scheming relatives...

...and as he continued falling down the rabbit-hole, he felt a sense of relief, that perhaps at the bottom of this hole all his thoughts would end.

Finally, he hit the ground.

No images, no sounds.

Just a monotonic humming... perhaps it was the air-conditioner.

His mind seemed to have gone as silent as the enclosed world around him.

He smiled once again at the thought of a dark, quiet world.

I'm in a womb once again and I can suspend reality for the time being... at least.

He smiled one last time before drifting off.

-----------------------------------------------

Doctor: What's the report on bed no. 3?

Nurse: I've given him a strong dose of sedatives like you advised. He mumbled incoherently for a while, but is resting now.

Doctor: Do you think he'll sleep well?

Nurse: (Smiles) Like a baby.

A tribe fights

The warrior sat at the feet of the sage and listened with rapt attention. His bow and arrows were lying in one corner of the hut. It was time to relax his mind, breathe deeply and take in every word of wisdom that the sage had to offer. The warrior had not spoken a single word to the sage. Yet, he was somehow acutely aware of the fact that the sage had read his thoughts and knew of the dilemma that he was in.

Before long, the sage opened his eyes and spoke.

“They indeed were a curious tribe that lived in the jungles at the foot of the hill. Their spies had told them that their enemies were regrouping and were going to attack the jungle in a couple of days. The tribesmen decided to offer a sacrifice to God and seek His blessings. The village priest, an old and venerated man whose predictions had always proved correct in the past, told them something rather unsettling. He told them that they could try all they could but they would lose the battle. On hearing this, the warriors of the tribe got the entire village together and held a meeting. Long they debated and discussed what they would do. The old priest had never been wrong. What should they do in the face of certain death and defeat?”

The sage went silent and with kind eyes surveyed the warrior’s face closely. Slowly, a kind smile spread across the sage’s face.

“You know what they did, don’t you?” asked the sage.

“They fought,” came the reply.

“Yes. Even though they knew. They fought. Because that is what they were supposed to do. That is what they were born to do. That is what they were destined to do. Fight.”

The fall

Move ahead…fall some. Climb up some more….but one careless footing, a second of your wavering attention and you lose the grip and risk losing everything you ever gained.

But life ain’t that unfair…yet.

Falling down the mountain slope, your hands grope for some sort of support. As you continue the mad slide down the rocky surface (which leaves cuts and scars on your face, something you’ll cherish for the rest of your life and point to a youngster only so that you can tell him, “I was there”) you pray hard for this madness to stop. This just could not be the end.

“I have to get myself out of this. I will find a way out.”

Meanwhile, the slide downhill continues….

The Joker says...

Madness is like gravity; all it takes is a little push

-The Joker in "The Dark Knight" (2008)

Pain

Man is a funny creature.

He thinks he can take only so much of pain.

And then, there comes a time with even more barbs of hatred pointed at him. There's more of the blood-stained and deadly arrows aiming right for him...and only once they strike him, mercilessly tear his flesh apart, pierce his heart...only then does he realise...

...that he is capable of taking in more pain

...that he is capable of suffering more

...that he can still look up at the heavens...smile...and say proudly "I'm still standing...I'm still walking"