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”

change

One more exam goes by and I feel the urge to ask this question. Why are we doing this? Why give exams which literally have no meanings in our lives? Subjects are supposed to be interesting such that you learn, but an exam is a forced way to make you mug up whatever you get, to make you a parrot who can repeat what the teacher wants. So, I ask “Are we really learning anything?”

Well, my point of view may differ from the masses but I do feel that the education system we have as such does not really educate, it just teaches you to mug up whatever study material you get in front of you. Education cannot be measured by a set of questions. A set of questions is just a lottery which shows how lucky you were in mugging up the right questions. Couple with that the fact that some subjects are useless and can only deter you from studying. Well, I think I should rephrase that because a subject can never be useless, a good faculty can enthuse you into learning any subject but these good faculties are like diamonds in a coal mine. So, basically a boring subject together with a sub-par faculty drains out the interest of the student. I believe the student should have his say on which topics he needs to study in order to be successful and not be forced into the subjects and if he is in college, he should be able to realise the importance of any subject to his field. I believe this measure can improve the education system a great deal. As for examinations, I feel examinations should never be a set of questions, the faculty should be able to judge the student on the basis of merit and how much he understands a topic and not by which questions he can answer. If a person understands a topic but is not able to mug up questions, he stands to lose his interest as well as his grades. I have no idea how that is possible but I do believe in one thing “CHANGE IS NEEDED”

The Shadow

I stand here all alone, the cars rush by at a terrifying speed, the wind blowing in my face, the skies have opened up and it’s starting to rain. There are lots of people around me and yet I am all alone. The only presence I feel is of you and yet, you are the only person who is not there. My heart tells me that you are right there behind me but when I turn around, all I see is a shadow of you. A shadow that comes closer and to me and suddenly pulls away. The shadow seems to follow me everywhere but is never within reach. I know it’s always there behind me, I can feel it and yet, I cannot see your face casting it. I can feel your breath on my shoulders but never feel your touch. I move along to the river, the winds lashing out, the raindrops are heavy but I move on. I move on into the river hoping you would come out from the shadows and bring me back to life and yet, I can see the shadow standing there, not moving an inch. The water is up to my knees, I look around again hoping against hope that you might call me back but I still move on. I see you come to the banks but I still can’t see your face, you are still shrouded in the shadow and the mysteries surrounding it. I move on, the water rises to my waist, I know you want me to come back but your chance is fading away fast. The rain has stopped and the sun is shining, ready to go back to its slumber for the night into the deep horizon behind the tall skyscrapers and yet, I move on. The water rises to my chest, I am feeling cold but I know I must go on to escape from the mysteries that surround you and your shadow. The skies light up in an orange hue as if they are waiting for me and I move on. The water is up to my neck now, this is your last chance, I can still see you standing ankle deep in the cold waters of the river, but you do not make a move. I just stand there and I look at you hoping to unravel the shroud of mystery surrounding your shadow but the sun is setting and I must go. “GOODBYE CRUEL WORLD”