the lonely man

Its 4 am. The empty streets, the starry sky and a stray dog are all whom you can see. Life is at a standstill, everyone sleeping comfortably in their beds and yet, there is someone there; a lonely man sitting on a roadside bed, wide awake, as if the world has no relations to him.

The clock strikes 4-30 and clouds are appearing in the horizon signalling a wet day to follow. A few people trickle out of their comfortable beds, still drowsy, eager to catch the morning bus or train to work. A few cars and bikes can be spotted on the road at times, but a lonely man sits there on a roadside bed, watching patiently, lost in his own thoughts.

5 o clock and the local tea vendors start opening their shops hoping to scrimmage just enough to get through another day. The clouds start to cover the stars which have already started fading in the still dark sky. The early morning bus leaves for its destination with seats filled with sleep deprived faces staring out of the windows hoping to catch a glimpse of something interesting. Yet, the lonely man just sits there, on the roadside bed, watching the world wake up to its morning routine.

5-30 means it’s time for the tea vendors to finally open shop and serve the small crowd of people who have gathered around the stall. The darkness is slowly and steadily giving way to light and the birds start to rise from their slumber, chirping away at their merriest best. Morning walkers and joggers can be found literally dancing to a tune. Still the lonely man sits there, a figure no longer hidden by the shade and the darkness.

6 o clock and the sky is a bright red. The sun is just beyond the horizon and most people have already woken up and are going through the motions, ready to jump in back to their little rat race. The birds are now flying from one tree to the other, jumping around as if a baby playing with a new toy. The shops start opening and the buses have started plying. The lonely man still sits there, lost in his own thoughts.

The sun shines brightly in the sky, yet the clouds rush towards it, ready to engulf it and take away the morning glory. A multitude of people have gathered all around, everyone of them ready to trudge on in their attempts at earning a day’s meals and the lonely man is lost, gulfed up by the crowd that surrounds him.

ADAPTATION

The clouds around us are grey and dull; the rains lash against us as if reminding us of our losses. It feels as if the whole place is overcome by the gloom of the situation. Death is in the air, and yet suddenly out of the blue, it’s all gone. The sun is shining, the blue skies bring about a cheer to life and the sun shines in its own splendour.

This is a synopsis of each and every moment of our lives, every moment death is around us and yet we are born to live. Just like the phoenix, we are born to rise from the ashes of the dead. A part of us dies each and every second we live whether we know it or not. Yet, from these very ashes a new part of us is born. Darwin observed over a longer period of time and coined the term evolution and survival of the fittest but it’s happening everywhere all around us, life always takes away a part of us and a better or shall we say a part of us is born which is better adapted to the situation, to whatever we have faced in this world or we think we will face in future. People call it experience, but it is actually adaptation in the truest form. In the present age, mental adaptation is much more important that physical adaptation especially for a species whose greatest asset is the brain. Those who cannot adapt are either branded insane or outcasts or they wither away in their own little world, again proving Darwin and his theory of survival of the fittest. Life is never easy, it takes a lot away from us and yet gives us what we deserve and what we need.

“Behind every black cloud is a silver lining”

the letter

Sitting by the road on an overcast evening, I caught a fleeting glimpse of your dusky face. A face so beautiful that that glimpse was all I needed to know that I needed you, that I wanted you and yet, now that I am so close that I know I have you, now that I can feel your hand waiting for mine, I know, deep down, that what I wanted was not what I needed. Now that I know that you are mine, I don’t crave you. You are just one of my mere possessions; you have lost that magical aura about you which had once made you an angel in my eyes. Maybe it’s time to say goodbye and yet, I can’t do it. I know that all the time I spend with you is just pretence but I can’t force myself to say the last goodbye, to break that final bond between us. How long shall we go on pretending? How far will your closeness to me drive me away? What do I need to do to finally break away? I know you are happy when you feel the touch of my hands on your body and you enjoy the feel of my body against yours but don’t you understand it was the unachievable that interested me and now, now that you are in my grasp, under my control, ready to obey all my orders to the last letter, you have lost the charm that had made me lust for you. You have become normal, like all the others who give themselves up on the false superstition of ‘love’! The time has come that you should know all this and realise that I can’t put up with this act anymore. All I can say is I am sorry, goodbye, may you regain that charm that made you irresistible.

The leaves

The leaves dance to the rhythm of the winds, the dewdrops start flowing down step by step as if climbing down a ladder. A sudden burst of thunder breaks the silence and warns me of the impending rain. I see people running for cover in the distance to prevent themselves from getting wet and others running out into the open to soak themselves. I just sit there, on the roof, hoping no one will come by to disturb me at my place of solitude and peace. It has started to drizzle, the beads of water start kissing my body and the cold breeze takes them away from my body. The winds slowly grow stronger and the rains start lashing harder against my already drenched shirt. I can barely keep my eyes open due to the rain. I hear a faint voice, somebody is out there and he is definitely intruding on my private space. Why can’t I have some time on my own? Why do people always have to budge into my own personal space and time? Nonetheless, I turn around to see who is there as I can clearly hear that person calling out my name. As I stood up on the ledge, I could feel my legs slip and feel myself whirling down towards the musty and muddy soil below, my memories flashing in front of my eyes and all of a sudden, everything goes dark...

I open my eyes to find myself in my cosy bed. It was all just a nightmare. Damn, that was scary! I head up to the roof to figure out what that dream meant and to get some peace and quiet. A cold breeze is blowing. The leaves dance to the rhythm of the winds...........

wish you were here

Standing on the top of the mountain, I look down at the view below and I see a sight to be help in my memories forever. I can see the sun’s rays breaching the darkness of the world and the first reddish streaks of light emerging from among the clouds. The birds are starting to chirp and yet, even in this beautiful place, I am missing something. I try to think what would have made this scene complete and I know the answer immediately. I guess you know as well that your presence would have made this moment one of the most memorable moments of my life, but reality is that I miss you. I can see the rays of the sun reflected off the lake below, a truly divine sight. I only wish you were here so that I could stand beside you and we could share this image of beauty together, so that I could hold you in my arms and so that we could be lost in each other while the sun rises to cast its light on us. The chirping birds would know we were here, but they don’t care, neither would the people down below by the lake but we would know, that we were here and that this moment of joy could never be taken away from us. I see the sun rising from behind the mountains in all its grandeur and I don’t know why I miss you so much. I came here to be alone and yet in this solitude, all I long for is your touch and to have you by my side soaking in these glorious moments that only God can provide us with. I can hear Pink Floyd ringing in my ears:

“We are just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl year after year,

Running over the same old grounds and how we found, the same old fears,

Wish you were here”