Just Another Leaf

One more leaf fallen down the tree, leaving it bare stems. But tree never bent back to pick it up and resent over it. It fought its whole tough time standing firm. Each and every gust of wind tore it away, but it still stood firm. Sun burnt its naked bark to pieces, but it did not lean, it still looked up. Tough times are there to test our ability to live, if we stand firm nature loads us with good times in our lives again. Springs do come after all the winters. And that tree too was again loaded with leafs and flowers.
We take whole of our precious life to shape our dreams, and one day they leave us shattered, alone under the sun of truth. Faith looses, love goes away, trust can’t find its base, and no one looks helping us, not even that wind which used to cuddle us once, now tearing us apart. What is left is just our SELF. Yes, just an alone self. This is the time when this tree tells us to look up and stand firm the tough time, so that when springs come we have enough arms to welcome it.

THOSE SMALL THINGS

One day, when I was purchasing a gift from a shop, a woman came and asked the shopkeeper for an electronic toy car. That shopkeeper showed her a number of cars, each one with a different functionality. But the kid with her found a simple key chain with little stars hanging on it, more attractive and kept insisting on buying that. That lady was a little surprised with his erratic behaviour and tried all her efforts to convince him to buy some child like toy, but he did not yield. She finally had to buy that key ring only. The happiness was immense. The boy grinned with joy and showed me his latest win.
This incidence reminded me my own childhood days.
Those carefree days, when I used to go with my mom for her shopping! Generally it used to be a big list of items when we begin from home, but after surfing all the market we always ended up buying only few of them. In the process all kinds of market surveys used to happen, to find out the cheapest, best looking and durable option. I did not have any interest in feminine products and still spending hours for their search used to annoy me a lot. My eyes always used to search for some toyshop, or some chat shop, and it used to be even worse when I had to pass over it without a halt. But it was not always when she disappointed me and sometimes she used to get me one. That immense feeling of happiness I used to get is unexplainable.
A little me and little my expectations. So were the causes of my happiness.
Days passed and things changed drastically. So did my expectations. Small things no more make me any happy. I have learnt to fight for what ever I do not have now. Day by day the cause of my happiness is becoming expensive and hard to achieve, and the amount of enjoyment is becoming even lesser. I don’t know, when did I start feeling those small bits of happiness I used to collect in my childhood are not sufficient for me, now?
In the race to achieve (I don't know what?) I kept skipping those small happy moments, which could have filled my life like stars in the sky. There has never been any end to desire, but sometimes I stay and think what I have at present was my dream of gone days, makes me feel really happy and achieved.
My mom knew that a cheap purchase can be the best buy, but I still have to learn.

THE OTHER SIDE OF THE COIN

It was a very busy street and I was strolling down to my house after a hectic day in office. With a thoughtless mind I was just walking down. Everybody was seems to be in some kind of hurry to go somewhere, without carring where to go. They were just going somewhere, and since I was also a part of that crowd, I was also just going. Suddenly I felt a tap on my back. At first I did not notice it (or may be unconsciously I ignored it), then someone held my hand and pulled it sideward. I suddenly turned towards it. It was a young boy, in a shabby dress, and trying to make a pitiable look on his face.
I asked him "What? What do you want?"
He was a beggar and was asking for some money. I instantly refused; I have always been against young beggars like him. They are the future of nation, and by begging no nation can progress.
"saab please give me some thing, otherwise my young sister will die. Please saab" he asked in a more pitiable manner.
I gave him a disgusting look and said "I know you people very well, these are your tactics of begging, I wont give you anything and now go away from here".
He held my sleeves and pulled "No saab, please give me something. It has been entire day, and I could not get money even to feed my little sister. Please saab" this time he burst into tears. And I could make out those were not fake tears in his eyes.
I stopped and looking into his eyes, " What is your name?"
"Ramu", he said.
"Ramu, why don't you leave begging and study? That way one day you can also earn for your family."
He swept his eyes and said softly, "My little sister and my mother both are sick, and father has deserted us long before, I can not afford to go to school, first I have to save my family."
I did not have courage to ask him, why he had not been working. He was too young to work.
I was steered and speechless, I stood there motionless for a moment, and then took him to the side of road.
I took out 100 rupees note and handed over to him.
"take it and get some food for your family. And promise me you will start going to school once your mother and sister are alright."
He took that note and looked at me. All emotionless.
I was trying to read him, but nothing was clear. I just turned back and started walking again to my house.
It was just two steps I could complete before I felt another tap on my back and I turned back suddenly...
It was the same boy, came in front of me and said, this time more confidently "saab, I can not go to school"
I said confusingly "why? what happened?"
"saab you are the first person who paid any attention to my problems. Nobody ever bothered to stay for me for even a moment. But you stayed back and listened to me, I can not lie to you. I can not go to school as I'll need money for that. And I am the only person earning in my family, my life started with begging, and will end with it. Saab once I tried to work with an auto garage also, but I was beaten badly for a theft that I did not do? saab everybody suspects helpless persons only. Now you tell me what should I do in this situation?"
He left a big question mark. What should he do now? I did not have an answer. It was only then I realized how difficult is it to promise him anything.
"Saab I know you can not help me more, I don't expect also, I just talked to you so much, because this is the first time I had a chance to say something about myself, I'll go now, I need to get some more money today."
And he fledaway, and started begging to someone else.
I kept looking at him, he was again trying all sorts of tactics to get some money.
I again started walking down to my home. But now with lots of questions floating in my mind. Lots of why's popping up in mind, one after the other. I did not have any clear answers for them.
It is so easy to talk about reforms, education, jobs, security, food, health etc etc. But how many of us bother to go and see the real problems of majority of our fellow society members facing. I could not help that little boy more than money. But what he needed was not money, not just money. Perhaps he wants a right to live a free life. How can a society be called independent when its members are not free from birth.Where does our promise for equal opportunities go, when it come to help poor?
Why Ramu had to beg from childhood, for his family?
There were lot many why's hitting my mind and I did not have any answers to them
Now I was lying in the bed but could not sleep. I was having glimpses of my childhood, and what I saw today.
Two different sides of the same coin... life!

THE TREE

These were my summer vacations; I was spending at my Aunt’s village. I used to enjoy being there very much. Vast stretched farms, herds of cattle, canals, bullock carts and above all that fascinating fragrance of moist soil, used to paint a soothing sight for sole. Everything was pure and earthy even those emotions on everyone’s face.

I used to spend most of my time playing with my cousins. There was a big ground in the backyard, where we used to play cricket in the evenings. But that day somehow nothing seemed to interest me. Everyone was playing, screaming, having fun, but I was just sitting quietly under a Banyan tree and was watching them playing. The game was so slow and boring that soon I got irritated and finally I lied down on a stone near by, and suddenly the whole view changed. There was a big tree above me, spreading its branches everywhere I could see. The light music of wind relieved me slowly and I got lost inside the maze of intertwined branches and leaves.

Suddenly something captured my attention. It was a long procession of ants on its trunk. I just got a bit closer and found that they were not alone. There were so many other tiny creatures just moving in, what seemed to me, a directionless march. They were looking like a part of that botanical identity called "Ficus Benghalensis". I don’t know when I started feeling as a part of that group, and when I looked up from an ants eye, I realized the grandeur of that tree, it seemed so big as if it was one whole world in it self. Yes, in fact it was like one whole world for those tiny insects and I don’t think most of them would even touch the ground in their whole life. They were born there and would probably die there, a complete cycle of life on tree.

This tree always fed each and every one who wanted shelter from it. It never refused anyone. Not even those borers who were penetrating it mercilessly, always stood straight right there to protect everyone from storms, rains and offered a warm lap when they were tired. It never ever demanded anything in return. I heard that these trees live for thousands of years, how many generations would have born, lived and vanished in front of it. But its arms were always open to accept everyone. So many stories to tell, but no one was there to listen to them.

To me it was looking like a saint who was born just to bless others, whose sole motive of life was to prosper other lives, standing on his one leg with his arms spread, and just praying for the prosperity and betterment of the world.

The next year when I went there, the tree was not there. It was cut for a house that could just accommodate a few human beings.

It could only have been a Man who didn’t even think a bit before cutting its only leg leaving it helplessly lying in front of someone whom it always fed like its child. All the stories died, lives shattered, all at once. End of a long story of sacrifices with no marks left.