Happy B'day, Addy!

Well, it's May 30th again. Time to raise a toast & wish my best friend Adwait Ranade (Addy to all his friends) a verry happy bday. Here it goes:

A toast to this great lump of a person...Should I call u a philosophical doctor or a philosopher who also sometimes wore the garb of a doctor! Friend extraordinaire, amazing son & my soul-brother..Nd above all a great human being...Confused, exasperating, jovial...A friend who taught me how to enjoy simple things in life...Nd also made me do lots of bowling while playing cricket (buddy, u still owe me lots of batting turns).

Thanks for everything, buddy...Wishing u a very happy Bday from the whole gang...Nd a big MISS U.... I am sure, u must be flirting with all the lovely nymphs & playing cricket with the angels in Heaven...

...whenever u find time to come out of your philosophical discussions with God, that is!!!

Mumbai Blues-I

Heard this very interesting story last week. Made me really question my own goals in life.

On the Juhu beach, an young ascetic was relaxing, stretching himself out. A passer-by noticed & asked," While everyone else is rushing around & working, why are you lying down doing nothing?"

The sage asked," What is the use of working?"
"To earn money, of course!", came the reply.
"And what if I work & get money...?"
"You will get all the comforts of life..."
"If I get all the comforts...?"
"You can relax & remain idle!"

And the ascetic replied with a smile,"Well, right now, I am doing the same thing, aren't I?"

The story somehow reminded me of an old Ghazal lyrics -

Seene mein jalan, ankhon mein tufan sa kyu hai?
Is sheher mein har shaks, pareshan sa kyu hai?

Kya koi ajeeb baat nazar aati hai hummein,
Aaina humein dekhke hairan-sa kyu hai?

Dungeons & Dragons!

Somebody asked me yesterday conversationally,"Hey, U still read Harry Potter na?? Escaping from reality, Veekay?" And that made me think....

Every child lives in his own magical world, a world full of enchanting princess, of dragons & dungeons galore. He hears stories of mighty kings, blood-thirsty knights, of the wicked witch, of evil stepmothers & of the prince-charming. And starts believing in the idiom, "Burai par hamesha sacchai ki jeet hoti hai !"
'Happies Endings?'

As time erodes & reality creeps in, he realises that the world he lived in is a make-believe world. An Utopia. An illusion.

In real world, good may always not triumph over the evil.
In real world, prince-charming may always not come to the rescue of the princess.
In real world, it is not always possible to unchackle the chains of the dungeons.
In real world, there are no knights-in-shining armour battling ur demons for u. U have to battle ur own demons.

The child then starts thinking that ours is an age past frontiers, past adventures. The mysticism is lost; lost along with innocence of childhood.

However, if u dare to keep aside the cloak of realism wrapped around ur eyes, u realise that the mysticism still exists though forms have changed. Dragons wear political-outfits & terrorism-suits today. Society's demons have taken the form of nepotism, hypocrisy & bureaucracy. The evil witch roars in the altruistic form of reservations for difft sections including the so-called "minority" & the "weaker sex".This is really like a playground bully going to the principle to get the really smart kid in the class punishment, because she studied and did better on the last test than he did..

But along wth this mystic evil, real life princesses, prince charming & knights also exist; however, even they have been so blinded by the appearances in this crafty, indifferent world, that they themselves need to be convinced of their own powers.

Yet sometimes, in this jaded world, there are some who have realised the truth, who make us believe that we still can wield the 'Excalibur', which can help us change the world as we wish.

All is not Lost; the magic still exists. We are magic!!