As I start with my flowery poetries focusing on the lights, I realize my cab is stuck in the trafic...Traffic in Mumbai can't get more insane than anywhere else in India...But, surprisingly enough today it's really less as compared to a normal day, and probably that's why I have realized only now that I'm in traffic...As I look up and then outside through the cab, I realize, this is a slum area...It's not exactly slum, but under the flyovers, these guys have made their temporary (or permanant) huts with thick sack like materials...As I get really irritated with the fact that my cab didn't get any better place than this one (truly speaking these slum areas make me get scared, for some unknown reasons) and try closing the window, I catch sight of one of these huts in a closer way...There are 5 to 6 small kids in the hut, all below ten years of age...Before I could see if they were alone in the hut, the signal gets cleared and my cab leaves the place...But, I realize I have left my eyes and mind back at that place (and I do it so often with any incident)...I also realize, the picture of those malnurished kids, on a sack, in poor lights will haunt me, atleast for next few hours and at some point, will make me shed a drop or two of my tears...
They say, every brightness has a side that is totally dark...And, after seeing those little kids, I realize I can't agree more on this...In the same city (or should I say, on the same street), millions of lights are shouting out the happiness, joy and pride of prosperity, and on the other hand, innocent kids are lying on rough sack in almost darkness...Nor that, anyone can directly be blamed for this, but somewhere somehow (and probably long long ago) something had terribly gone wrong, and that has led to this extreme inequality in the lives of us...And, sad truth is that, however and as much as we want to deny, this inequality doesn't make anyone happy...We might decide to ignore noticing the poors on the streets (because that is so much safer than feeling guilty of having them around), but deep down, we feel sad for them...Their hungry eyes surely make us try helping them find ways to earn an extra rupee, but we genuinly avoid it, because end of the day, we know we cannot do much for them, because we have our own battles to fight...It's really so helpless of a situation...At this moment, I feel the same...While enjoying the brightness of the lights seem so indulging, I'm not able to make myself ignore the thousand dark moments that those little kids have already witnessed and will witness in their little lives...
I close my eyes for a while...And, pray in silence...Suddenly, I feel lighter...I realize, if not anything else, we can pray...Pray for millions of those kids who can't really manage to enjoy the lights around...I remember myself reading somewhere, that when you pray, some kind of energy is generated, because at that point, all of your attention is concentrated on the prayer you say...And when you pray in a group, a group of individual energy is generated, and if everyone is praying for the same thing, all of this energy is accumulated in favour of the cause, and thus the prayers come true...It might be only a logical definition, but, at the end of the day, faith does work...So, here goes a little request to all of you reading this write up...
Let's take out a moment from our busy schedule of indulgence and happiness, let's pause for a moment while enjoying the endless goodness we are ushered with, and let's make a wish...A wish for the ones, who are deprived of anything close to what we enjoy, who are cruelly cheated on by luck, who are mourning victims of the badness that this world has to offer....Yes, let's pray for all of them...For them, to be blessed with atleast some rays of these million lights...To be ushered with atleast some bites of the indulgence of this festive spirit...To be engaged with atleast few drops of the endless joy we experiencing...To be enlightened with few glimpse of their own hearty smiles...And, to be showered with the ecstatic feeling that, they also belong to this world, with a priceless gift from God, called 'Life'...
Yes, as we witness thousands firworks lighting up the sky, as we savour the scrumptuous delicacies flavoured with the festive touch, as we enter in a magical world with thousand lighted lamps around, as we keep our faith alive of good winning over bad, and as we celebrate the festival of hope, Diwali, let's also wish for all...To be ushered with all the happiness, love and prosperity... Let's wish, everyone out there gets the priceless opportunity, to see the light, and to create memories that they can treasure for life...With million moments of pure love, affection and warmth...
'Left or right', the cab driver asks me, which makes me stop writing, and look up...I realize, I have almost reached...I ask him to stop the cab in front of my building...As I pay him his dues, he wishes me 'Happy Diwali Ma'am'...I kind of get surprised...Some people really know how to make others smile...'Happy Diwali to you too', I wish him back...
As I walk up the stairs, I realise, I haven't carried the mental picture of those little kids home...Because, I have sketched it in my word doc...And, here I go with uploading it on my social networking page...With a hope, that you all will agree to make a wish...A wish for millions of those mourning souls, down every lightened up street in the city...
Happy Diwali to you all....
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