Between you and me

It was a random thought that occurred sometime during my nature jaunts (snatches of which I soak with my camera and squeeze into the hard disk). The thought slowly percolated, first in dribbles, then in a steady stream and finally became a creed.

Think of this –

If nature is the phenomena of the physical world, isn’t man part of it too? Then why do we separate ourselves from nature and view it as if we are on the other side, as spectators? Why do we split the phenomena into two – MAN & NATURE?

On its part, nature considers us integral to it and doesn’t love or loathe aspects of ours, as we do. Of this I am certain. Nature then isn’t a physical thing, it is that which integrates existence. Every little petal, mountain ridge, broken bits of seashell, call of the cuckoo, fraying fronds of the palm, erupting volcano, the crack of dawn, the breeze that lifts my hair, the snake that slithers down, the floods that swamp the earth, the rising moon, the boatman’s call, the warmth of a human bond….everything, every single thing from the tiniest to the most humongous, from the apparent to the actual – aren’t things to merely behold, but to sense, feel like we feel our very presence, moment by moment. A relationship not based on mere symbiotic dependence, but of unified existence. Damn! isn’t this so easy to see, as easy as daylight? That you and me aren’t separate, the sea and the surf aren’t different, and the body and the breath aren’t two!

I wonder if this thought will stay constant with me and if this will be the realm on which I will spend every sentient day of my life, for alas, material life is much more than random thoughts and realizations that happen during nature walks. Everyday life distracts, calls for acts and charades that alienate us from that which we are. But then again, I am reminded, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”

It is this word of God that keeps me deeply entrenched in Life, and somewhere out there, the lines begin to blur. In those open vistas, there is no ‘You and I’. There is only Love. And of that Love, we become natural parts.

Come to think of it, there is nothing BETWEEN you and me.

#NotesFlashFiction

ASLI SWAAD ZINDAGI KA

What does it take for my day to get a head start? A mere jingle from the past.

The winter nip is still hanging in the air like a reluctant lover after a wild night and the balmy sun filters in through the curtains as the day dawns for me a wee late, thanks to a movie and then Mount Etna that kept me glued to its pyrotechnics (LIVE) late into the night.

It was sensational to watch Lady Earth vent the fire in her heart, making me wonder if it was ire or passion that she spewed. It could be either or both, for who knows what secret sentiments lie at her core that she sleeps over for prolonged times and one day purges in sudden, glorious eruption, as if she had suddenly discovered a new song of love and life.

Taking such spectacular sights to bed probably has its own benefits. It mellows your night, humbles your heart and invokes the lyrics of a forgotten song that celebrates the wondrous nature of life.

KYA SWAAD HEIN ZINDAGI MEIN! – I wake up with this inspiring, old jingle in my head, like Lady Earth woke up to her fiery love song last night, and it is playing nonstop like an anthem in my ears. What in my sleep could have rekindled it many years after we left it on the backyards of Doordarshan I can’t say (was it the splendour of Etna?), but the way it emphasizes the beauty of life makes me want to reach out instantly and touch with my breath all that is khaas about living. The woes of the world can wait and the cankers in my heart can rest for a while. I have a song in my head today that takes me to where life rejoices and breaks into a dance.

Thank you, Piyush Pandey, for bringing magic into our lives. For the love of life and in memory of an old jingle, I shall bite into a bar of Cadbury today. How wonderful it is to know that the real taste of life lies in small bites of joy!

In nibbles of a volcano’s visuals, a walk by the sea, a piece of poetry, a drizzle, a sunshine, a song, a sunset, a dream, a drink, a love…and moments in which resides infinity.

Moonlight

There is fear even in our sleep,

Nightmares now speak as if they are alive,

Flush with blood and breath.

The streetlights don’t dispel darkness,

They impress the depth of the night.

Soon there will be walls in the air,

Hanging, like bats,

And the skies, earth, seas

Will be a dystopian abode of gore and ghosts.

The moon will still be shining high,

Profusely white. Breathing promise.

Waxing and waning, though.

Keep the moon alive,

Give her your deepest passions,

For, in her boundless love alone

shadows will find shelter

and our dreams survive.