Shakarparay

I’ll go down the memory lane and share two memories with you. While writing this post I’ll relive those moments and you will probably reconsider the fact that we live in an eventful world and one life is too short to experience everything. That’s why we tell stories and that’s why we read 🙂

In a small village an elderly man lives in a small house. Every afternoon he makes around 20 Kilograms of “Shakarparay” (It’s name of a sweet) and opens a door of a room in his house that opens into the street. There isn’t any board, nameplate or wall-chalking to attract people. When he opens the door, smell of the fresh sweet fills the streets of the village and everyone knows what to do. Like roses and jasmines attract honey bees, this smell attracts people towards this opened door. I passed through that village one afternoon and was lucky to stop and buy warm and fresh “Shakarparay”. Unfortunately I don’t remember the face of the person who makes the sweet as it was a bit dark inside that small room from where I bought the sweet however the smell, taste and that small street is still fresh in my mind.

It was a cold morning – I was traveling on an old bus that was cruising through small localities. It stopped every now and then because either someone wanted to get off or board it. It was an annoyance but I was also observing the people as well as enjoying the fields and houses on the sides of the road that were flying past my eyes so I wasn’t that annoyed 🙂 Eventually it crossed a long bridge on a river and the driver parked it in an open area beside the road. People started getting off the bus, I had no idea what’s going on as I wasn’t expecting this stop at all. Probably it was well understood by the people who traveled through that bus that it stops after crossing the bridge for a while. Anyways I came down to be welcomed by the cold winter morning – my hands quickly went in the pockets of my jeans and my chin started exploring the possibilities of hiding itself in my sweater but to no avail. The river was covered by a thick sheet of mist and far in the east the sun was about to rise. The warmth of the first rays of the sun that rose there after a few minutes, are a source of warmth and joy for my heart till this day.

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Present

Time flies – it certainly does. Our environment, our lives as well as the lives of people around us keep reminding us that the wheels are rolling. As it is on the move – it is being spent – It signifies the importance of every single moment – specially the present moment. Although there is so much to see and do in this world – our life spans can never be enough to taste all that has been served on the table therefore we should learn to be thankful for all that is being presented to us and appreciate what is on our plate.

To be able to enjoy what we are capable of enjoying, we need to show some courage against the odds. Think of a child who wakes up on a winter morning and clumsily drags himself out of his bed to go out in the sunlight – after hours of sleep in the long winter night his eyes will not be ready to face the sun at first – however, as few seconds will pass he won’t squint anymore as now he’ll be able to keep his eyes wide open and see what’s happening around him. Just like that when we face a sudden transition or a challenge in our life we become a squinting kid – at that time we must persevere, and if we do so – we’ll become eligible for the “present”.

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Effort

Sweet and soft melodies emanate from rough, hard and coarse materials like wood, metals and hides. Their vibrations, flow of air in them and as of today the movement of electrons in the integrated electronic circuits of musical instruments produce pleasant sounds that soothe us. The transformation of these materials can teach something very useful to us.

If we are ready to put some effort to shape the metal into a guitar’s string, a horn or a clarinet or if we are determined to carve a wooden stick into a fine flute, the sweet tunes produced by these transformations will be our reward. Similarly we are also rough and coarse until we start working on ourselves and channelize our energies to become the best version of ourselves however we are not like an instrument which has a final shape. For us, sky is the limit.

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Sooner or later

In the darkest nights

In the times of despair

gather yourself to look up

the stars will be shining upon you

and if you can’t see them

don’t lose hope

as sooner or later

the clouds will give way to the moon

and it will smile for you

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Impulsive Sin

On a mid-February afternoon

I sat beside the Bangpakong

as it flowed in style

like a model on the ramp

The breeze was nice and cool

But towards which direction the river flowed?

That was hard to tell

I was trying to figure that out

While my eyes caught a yellow flower

that wind brought near my feet

It was dry but still bright

With its cheek on the warm concrete

i looked up towards the sky

The moon was there

dull yet visible

Like a half bitten cookie

Yet beautiful

And then the wind got rebellious

As it caressed my face and ruffled my hair

I didn’t mind that excesses though

But with the next swirl

It tore apart that little yellow flower

And blew its petals in the air

Hither thither

A beauty reduced to pieces

And bright yellow dust

It made me sad – not only for the flower

and I knew I can’t but I wished I could ask the wind

What did you do to the flower?

Why did you do that to the flower?

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Void

The void is there

eyes haven’t seen it

yet i can feel it

senses have fathomed it

and it has to exist

it can’t be filled

as the mortals have pushed their souls

back to the wall

and now their emotions

are not their’s anymore

they follow what they are fed by the feeds

and they only feel touched

when they are given teddy bears

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Ride your bike

To the eyes that shine

Even when there isn’t any hope ahead

To the eyes that smile

When there isn’t something amusing

A never ending childhood

Is locked in those eyes

 

Kudos to those who dare to rejoice

In the times of despair

Kudos to those who are stronger than sadness

Whatever the odds

They ride their bikes against the wind

And their hair dance behind their back

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The One – Which one?

I am standing on the crossroads of a thought process that i’ll try to share below in a generic way so that you may relate to it. I’ll be glad if it can be of any help in your pursuit towards enlightenment.

Ancient wisdom describes this world as “A wonderland” because when a baby comes to this world he is welcomed by the plethora of surprises and the world doesn’t cease to surprise this baby even when he turns into a grey-haired old man. We start our lives with a blank mind, record some information and events in it during the course of life and cease to exist when our heart stops pumping blood into our veins. To summarize it in a poetical way we can say that from dust we rise and to dust shall we return.

On the stage of this uncertain world, where we don’t choose our entrance and exit everyone tries to create some certainty because it helps a human being in easing his restlessness. To do so one has to interact with the universe. All we seek is scattered around us or lying within us. If we diligently pursue, we get what we truly seek. However if someone is doubtful; their restlessness will not go away even when they’ll get what they seek.

People try to connect with universe in various ways. These connections are highly governed by their needs. In the eyes of a hungry man, a serving of food would be the utmost connection he seeks until his hunger is pacified. However there is another interesting thing to ponder – sometimes it is difficult for us to identify what we need the most.

Apart from food, abode and other such basic necessities we seek something that is special. Something for our soul.

While basic necessities connect our body to the world around us, our soul needs a connection to acquire true peace. People follow various rituals, rules and procedures to connect their soul with the divine power of universe but nothing can truly help until they are ready to let go of the worldly desires or at least start preferring the happiness of soul over the happiness of body.

We all need to work on our souls and try to go forth in the journey towards peace without doubts. Everyone does so according to their level. We can’t force people to change their ways – we can’t force them let go of their doubts. However we can be kind and merciful to them by understanding their difficulty in overcoming a hurdle. We can help them too. Just as a tortoise would take a minute to traverse a speed breaker on the road; a hare would cross it in a single leap on the other hand – some of us need more time to deal with certain situations. What will happen if we start pressurizing a tortoise to start acting like a hare? A better option can be training the tortoise and putting our feet in the boots of poor tortoise to understand how much improvement can be achieved in reality.

Sometimes fixing a toy ends up breaking it for ever. Human soul is much more delicate than toys – it deserves more care and patience. Be kind and merciful to the restless souls around you and help them find their path towards eternal peace and happiness. If you can’t help – at least don’t harm anybody.

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River Story

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Back to wilderness

The traffic starts diminishing as i start walking away from the hustle and bustle of the city. Gradually shops and homes start looking less lavish and i see more children playing in the streets.

Then the mesh of roads and streets vanishes and i find myself walking beside the weather beaten rail-track that reminds me of the British rule in the subcontinent. This track was laid by the British to connect far flung parts of “The Golden Sparrow” to ensure constant supply of food in the times of peace and the soldiers to fight for the crown in the times of war.

The decades old track swirls around the rocks and hills – bridges upon the chasms and tunnels through the mountains where the options to route it through an alternate path are limited or don’t exist altogether.

I try to walk upon this track like an acrobat with my arms wide open and my legs trying to balance my wait on the narrow carbon steel until the track takes me to the other side of a small river and from here i take a right turn to loose myself in the wilderness.

The yellow blossoms on the acacias, the white blooms on the shrubs and wild flowers welcome me here.

The wild red berries have started to ripen – i collect some of the fruit and fill it in my side pockets to eat them after giving them a cold water wash at the nearby stream. As i move ahead i see a proud dandelion – with its bright yellow petals – all set to say hello in an awesome demeanor. A worthwhile prize for anyone who leaves back a soft couch or a bed to visit him in the wild.

I go near him and bow my head down to pay homage to the little beauty. I am glad that the meeting with him was so deep that i didn’t even think of taking his picture. I was lost in his charms.

 

After that encounter I walk forth and come across some more plants and flowers that are still nameless in the book of my vocabulary. Still, i feel a connection with them. Being unfamiliar with their worldly names don’t disconnect me from them. For somehow i have got a connection with all the particles and atoms of this universe.

As bedil says,

na ba sahra sarey daaram, na ba gulzaar sodaye

be her ja mee ravam, az khesh me balid tamashaye

Neither i seek the solitude of deserts nor i am greedy for the colors of the world – however when i go to wilderness or visit a garden i see my reflection in the things that comprise that place.  

I come across the doves which make a whistling sound when they suddenly flap their wings against their bodies to fly away. Every now and then they do so to perch upon another tree which appears relatively safer to them. The little bees are busy in collecting nectar and the beautiful butterflies are kind to the visitors for letting them look at their colorful wings from as near as any one can get to them.

These are a few things that i see and there are many things that i think about and feel while across this stretch of land. Sometimes when i get heavy with the loads of thoughts, i want to be a buffalo with a calm mind, walking behind the others of my kind with very few things to worry or care about.

 

I’ll conclude with a verse where Rumi writes a beautiful wish in one of his ghazals:

dar do chashme man nasheen – Ae Aan ke az man mantari 

Come and stay in my eyes – You! who are more me than myself

Nature soothes and cures me. I feel myself ready to visit any place where i can have a profound conversation with the nature. As for some of us nature is the remedy for all our pains and problems.

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