A Road Runs thru' it

It’s an ordinary road,
With shops on both sides
and pavements bursting with people.

But it’s extraordinary,
For what I see is…
Not the teeming millions,
Or the colorful displays,
But you…
Those long walks, longer talks-
Thoughts, images and dreams.

As I move on,
It all comes back to me…
Winter evenings, made cozily warm,
By the cheer in your voice.
Rainy afternoons,
Refreshed by the circle of your arms.
Windy nights,
Made starry by the passion in your eyes.

It’s the road,
That stretches from my heart
To infinity and beyond;
To you…
Who is so far off.
Sometimes I see you;
Standing on the opposite pavement
So close; yet so far off;
Distanced by the snarling traffic
Of time and personal responsibilities.

And yet…
There are lanes and by lanes,
Where we meet,
Quietly without anyone’s knowledge
So desperate; so vulnerable
That I live from
One meeting to another
From one road-
To another

Dead Man's Path

The verse below is an attempt to trace the journey of an accident victim from his home to the other world. Maybe this is weird imagination but then it might be true…for the heart holds on to the secrets unknown to the mind.

Part I- Amrita (Nectar)
They say that a person who is about to die receives his summons – and is well aware of the future.

From the window of my dreams,
I peep into the future – what the merciful God has held back
from me and the rest of the world.
I travel to the ancient lands of
Egypt, India and Tibet, until,
I arrive in a beautiful garden.
Standing at the gates I realize,
it’s my own mind, in all beauty and form.
In the very centre there is a statue
of the whitest marble or is it light only?
Surrounded by the flowers of unknown land
and smells
So beautiful, so mysterious…was that a dream or heaven?

Part II- Surrender
His soul knows that this is the last journey he is taking- the last farewell to the wife and kids; followed by the accident a few hours into the night.

It’s my last journey from home,
I may not know, but the recesses of the heart do,
that I’m going, never ever to come back
I say my farewell to everyone; as usual,
and yet there is a new note in my tone
for I can hear some voices calling me,
beckoning me to the other side.
I’m now on the road…with death following me
Like a shadow...
I feel Fear.
Pain.
Anger.
And yet there is no escaping
Oh! It’s so near and yet so distant…
I feel like a fly trapped in a glass case,
or a being lost in a forest on a stormy night.
The more I try to reach my destination,
the further I go away from it...
Slowly she arrives like a mist
Till I’m one with her-
the shadow of my life
Gone on to the other side…

Part III – The Lonely Road
Leaving the body and meeting the other souls.

It’s the same road I was traveling,
yet so different.
Lying on the roadside,
I try to rise…
I rise, my body left behind.
I look back at it with vague feelings.
I remember those, to whom I had said farewell, just a few hours ago
They must be sleeping, unaware
That I’m no more…
A tear slides down my cheek, it’s the last one
It detaches me from my body, my clothes
Of the life gone by.
I look down on the true me
for the first time
and move along the lonely road
With the fellow beings…



Part IV- Distant Voices
Leaving the world- the Maya Nagari.

These voices beckon me; they prohibit me from feeling the pain
of what is no longer mine.
Some of them of the loved ones,
I lost eons ago…
The echo of their smiles makes me feel welcomed,
And I move as quickly as possible to be one with them, atleast,
For right now,
I’m Nobody and Nobody’s mine….
Still……..

Part V- The Dark Night
Traversing to the other side

The darkest night of my life, for I belong
to Nowhere.
I bow in self pity,
yet I keep moving on the dark road
Towards the only light I see…
Is it the sun? Or is it the mirage of imagination?
I don’t know where I’m going
Yet,
My steps are steady and the mind focused
But the heart craves to go back
To the wife and children I’ve left behind.
There is no going back, there is no avoiding
The dark dark night.



Part VI- The Gate Keeper
The entry to the other world

I see big gates, but those lights are blinding…
As I move towards them, they tower over me,
guarded by the Yama, who rings the gong
and laughs aloud at my plight
I fearfully move in for I have no where else to go.
Immediately all pain leaves me
I see the scenes from my own life
The hurts I’ve given, the love I received
and vice versa.
Oh! I want to see it once more
The beautiful face of my wife
But I can’t stop it, I’ve to keep moving and moving
Because that light is so blinding
Where am I?

Part VII-Shambala
The last leg of the journey.

I wake up to the sound of waterfall
and cool breeze
I’m in the countryside, bright and sunny.
I feel no pain, no love, no hurt, no anger
Just good enough...
I look down and see people pining for me
Burning the body that was mine and crying
I want to ask them,
Why do you cry?
I’m still there…
But I can’t and I don’t care
But I do care….
I will always protect you, my sweetheart
A boatsman is waiting to row me,
to my final destination; from this countryside of gold
I take one last look and then move,
to meet
the almighty across the water.

Part VIII- Destination of Life
In the land of God

The island arrives;
the boatsman instructs me
In a strange language
Yet I understand
I stand where he directs
for cleansing
Dressed in white, (or is it light?)
I start moving,
towards the holiest place in the universe.
Thousands like me are standing and chanting
in some unknown language
I join them, in praise of the light giver,
As far as the eyes can see
Its sand and chanting figures in white
With the light in the very centre-
A bright beam that emerges from nowhere
and ends nowhere

Part IX- Moksha
The end.

This is my world, in al its beauty
where I’m a part of the almighty
I traverse in distant lands,
with the fire, water and air
I’m a part of Ganges
I’m the flower you placed before God
I’m the wind that blew across your hair
I’m the smile on your lips
and the tears in your eyes
I’m nearer to you than ever before
Smell me, touch me, feel me
Here, there and everywhere.
Till you complete the circle of good and evil
Close your eyes and you will see me,
for sweetheart I’m not far off-
Waiting for you, just on the other side…
So that when you come; I’ll receive you with open arms
and together we continue the journey
traversing the universe,
side by side forever, never to be parted ever again.

Why's with What's trailing behind.....

Introduction:

The following are a series of “Why’s” that have been answered based on the popular inputs received over from friends, family and society at large. Some of the why’s are followed by “What’s”- they are for the reader to answer for himself.

-Robin


Q. Why are we born?
Ans.
- To carry the generation forward
- Conceived as an act of lust by parents
- Conceived out of rape of the woman of an unhappy union
- Conceived by “mistake”
- Born out as a symbol of love of parents
- Born because the relatives would not leave the young parents in peace; who wanted to adopt kids in the first place.
- Born out of wedlock
- Who cares? I’m here to enjoy life.

THINK : What is birth?


Q. Why do we do things that we are asked not to do?
Ans.
- The grass is always greener on the other side
- Sin is sexy- for it’s forbidden.
- We do not learn until we experiment – past experiences form the basis of future learning.
- To err is human

THINK : What is right and what is wrong?


Q. Why are children scolded for the same things that their parents were scolded for; in their childhood?
Ans.
- Parents are concerned; it’s the inborn emotion of the role called parent
- Human species is not designed in a manner that they learn from the mistakes of one generation.


Q. Why do we marry?
Ans.
- Social obligation – just for the heck of it
- To put an end to flirting career (at least socially) and act more responsibly
- To bear kids and take the generation ahead.
- Parental and Peer pressure
- To have loads of free sex without any fear or favour.
- To share our lives, joys and sorrows with someone who is of a similar age group and leave the parents’ nest for they are old now and cannot take care of us.
- Because we love someone and cannot stay away from him/her


Q. Why can’t we just live lives by ourselves?
Ans.
- Too much of solitude isn’t good.
- Its human to stay in groups- anything beyond is either a punishment or madness
- Absence makes the heart look out for other available options; resulting in a socially illegitimate scene.

THINK : What is solitude? What is loneliness?

Q. Why do we have so much work and so little time?
Ans.
- Work expands to fill the time allotted.
- So that we can be free of worries. An empty mind is a devil’s workshop.
- We have time but we just don’t realize that the clock is ticking away.
- I will have time when I have money. Time=Money


THINK : What are you living for?


Q. Who decides how much is too much?
Ans.
- Parents, family etc
- Society at large
- We, each one for self
- Close circle of friends
- Destiny
- Law
- I decide for myself – based on the broad framework of what is socially acceptable.

THINK: Whose life is it that is being affected?

Q. Why do we go to offices and work?
Ans.
- That’s life- everyone has to work from Monday to Saturday and have a break after that.
- There is nothing better to do at home. Plus the office has free AC, internet, gym etc and a vast circle of friends.
- To earn money - money is my God
- To earn money – to support my family and needs; including those related to hobbies.
- To escape from home, solitude, parents, wife and kids- that’s the only time I have some peace.



Q. Why don’t we live our lives the way we want to-doing things that we just want to do?
Ans.
- There are specific things that a human has to do- for the larger benefit of the society
- Stigma – what will everyone say?
- Cant afford to upset parents/family
- My own heart doesn’t approve of excesses-it’s bad.
- I do what I feel like; who cares. In the end it doesn’t even matter.

THINK: What if you had just a few days or maybe just a few hours left to live?

Q. Why don’t we adopt children and old people?
Ans.
- Aren’t one set of parents enough?
- My generation must carry my blood not that of an unknown filthy stranger
- Who has the time to do so?
- I give out money for social causes- the rest is taken care of by the authorities and NGO’s. Doesn’t make sense to drive them all to unemployment.
- I would adopt children if only I do not have any of my own- the last resort.
- Can’t afford to at the moment; but the day I am; will do so.

THINK: What are your best memories as a child?

Q. Why do we die?
Ans.
- To be born again in some other role
- To put an end to miseries of this life.
- To get back the same kind of treatment that we provided others with in the previous life
- So that the creepy crawlies and bacteria can have food for the next few days
- Of diseases, stress, pollution and lifestyle.

THINK: What is death?

Q. Why don’t we remember all the people who died?
Ans.
- Out of my sight, out of my mind
- Remember a few because they were close-they brought me happiness
- Remember my enemies and feel happy they aren’t there anymore
- Remember the beggar who died on the roadside and had no one to claim him

THINK: What do you want to be remembered for after you die and by whom?