My Lucky Stars

I have to reach office by 9:30. It takes me better part of an hour from my home. I left home just now. Its aleady 9:00. As I reach the main road, I see a Bus zip by. Its the bus I wish to catch. And its almost empty. What choice do I have? I begin to run.

WHY? Everyone in this world has their own version of what Heaven means to them. Ask any true Mumbaikar. Our version of Heaven is a ride on an almost empty train with no delays, or an almost empty bus through comparatively less traffic.

So I am running... But the bust stop is far. And the bus is faster than me. Make no mistake, I can run pretty fast (relatively speaking. Relatively speaking - to a snail, even the turtle is fast) - and that too for a whopping long distance of 1 to 2 mtrs... But the bus stop is a bit farther than that distance-limit.

The bus has stopped.

I am still running.

Some passengers have got on to the bus.

I am still running.

The bus has started.

I stop running.

Huffing and wheezing, I stare helplessly at my version of ideal heaven leave me behind. 

But wait... There is a Tata Sumo, blocking the road, as it tries to cross over to the other side. The bus has stopped. I start running again!

The Tata Sumo is moving ahead.

I am running.

The Sumo has crossed the road.

I am still running.

The Bus begins to move.

I stop running again... :(

I have reached the bus stop. But I have missed the bus...

"You wanna catch the bus?" I hear the voice. I turn. The voice belongs to a man sitting on a scooter. I never noticed when he stopped by my side. "Sorry?" I cant believe what I am hearing. For the implications of what he has said are profound. He is promising me my Heaven.
"You wanna catch that bus?" he repeats.
Who am I to turn down such an alluring invitation?
"Is that ok with you?" I ask. Its a rhetoric, asked as a mere formality. I am already getting ready to sit behind him on the scooter.
"Yeah no problem", says he, then waits for me to settle down behind him, and suddenly guns the motor...

The scooter lungs ahead at break-neck speed, wind lashing my face, cars zipping by, as my unknown benefactor hurls the bike ahead to help me catch my bus.
I hold on for dear life, as I fearfully contemplate what are the chances of me meeting my ideal heaven alive and in one piece.

With the scooter now talking to the winds, we quickly cover the gap between us and the bus, when! Disaster!
We are forced to wait at the next traffic signal, while the bus slips away. I stare forlornly at the fast receding backside of the bus.
But soon, we pick up the break neck speed and rush towards the next stop. By the time, we are nearing the next stop, the bus has already moved on...

But fortunately there is another traffic signal right ahead. And this traffic signal, so well-known for its habit of making people wait and gain curses from them, makes the bus wait and gains a blessing from me.
My unknown benefactor stops right besides the bus. I get down. I have not asked his name. Neither has he asked mine. I simply thank this helpful stranger and get onto the bus... Heaven at last!

The bus has started to move. I stare out, but find no sign of the guy who helped me out...
I look around, with an urgent longing to rest my tush... There is no seat available... So I stand along the aisle waiting for a seat to vacate.

While I stand there, I suddenly happen to look at the back of the bus, where this guy sitting on the last seat is smiling and beckoning to me. He is pointing out a vacant place on the last seat, the one that occupies the entire width of the bus. I gladly oblige

As I leave my standing position and make my way to the back of the bus, the thought suddenly hits me - "Whats going on? Out of the blue, two complete strangers offer to help me out... In a span of few minutes?" Must be my lucky stars!!! :)

Up there, and back again...

Today I was feeling very down... depressed, sad, pissed off at the world in general and myself in particular... For no particular reason really - just a mood swing... Or may be there was a reason... But its lost somewhere in the quagmire of a sad and depressed evening that is now a part of the ever bloating past... Not that this was the first time - I have felt such downs before. The sine wave of life is full of them...

So I was in the grips of a very depressing mood swing. Even when I left office on time (not a regularly afforded luxury, I assure you), I steered clear of the office bus. Instead, I chose to walk 30 minutes to the Railway station. Maybe a walk would sooth my nerves? To help me cheer myself up, I plugged in the earphones and listened to some cheering music. But all of this to no avail. The free body massage, exercise and steam bath afforded by the rush in the trains did not help either. As I alighted at my destination, I decided to take a longer route home.

On the way, along this longer route lies a temple. For some reason that I am not very sure about, my steps took me into it. Some days its pretty crowded there. Today was not one of those day. Thankfully. I don't understand how anyone can feel one with God in all those crowded famous temples? I prefer quiet and seclusion when cribbing to God.

I went in. Stood there in front of the Goddess. Closed my eyes. And for a while I was lost to the world... I did not spill out my woes. I started to state my demands and requests, but those thoughts soon trailed off... For a while I just stood there, eyes closed, thoughts lost, attention fully concentrated on the sudden nothingness within my head.

Suddenly peace descended upon the turmoil-ridden landscape of my mind. I am not a very religious person. I hardly ever visit temples - only when I usually have something to ask of God - not otherwise... And here I was, standing in the temple - arrived there for no particular reason - and I think I had found what I was subconsciously seeking - some Peace of Mind...

Even when I visit the temple on those rare occasions, I hardly ever sit for more than a minute. Today I sat in a corner for nearly 5 full minutes. 5 minutes of blessed peace and quiet. But soon it was time to leave. Harsh realities of life were waiting outside. Already I was beginning to feel the uneasy intrusion of tense thoughts. The shadow of my former dark mood was lurking somewhere nearby.

So I got up and went to the shoe rack. As I was getting my shoes, I heard it... "Meow". It was a cat. Standing nearby. It looked up at me. "Meow" it said. What it meant I did not understand. "Kay re kay pahije tula?" I asked. What I meant, it did not understand. For it did a feeble meow-ing sound and turned its attention to something on it's left. I bent down and patted it on its head.

Now its attention was drawn back to me again. It did another couple of meows and head-butted my open palm. I scratched it behind its ear. It seemed to like that, for it just stood there contentedly enjoying my ministrations. Then it turned its head a little more, to get me to scratch a bit lower. After a while, it turned its face the other way, indicating that I should scratch it on the other side too. I obliged.

I haven't known cats to be so forthcoming and docile as this one was, not in their first encounter with a stranger. But bent as I was, my back was beginning to ache. So I stood up, and moved to the nearby bench to wear my socks.

The cat meow-ed for a while, looking at me. Then it came towards me. It brushed first its head, and then the side of its body against my leg... Then it did something I never expected. Imagine my surprise, when the cat jumped up, first onto the bench, and then straight onto my lap! No doubts, its dirty paws would leave dusty impressions on my trousers. But at that moment, I did not care. I petted it, and it enjoyed my attentions.

All this while, the serpentine tense thoughts and the shadow of the dark mood that had begun to creep back upon my mind was completely forgotten. I was once again at peace with myself. The worries of the world lost to the winds...

Life is a coal mine. And hope, peace, happiness are the diamonds. We are always digging for these diamonds, hardly ever getting them... And sometimes they just pop out in front of us in places we least expect them to be... This was how I found my little unexpected diamond of peace.

I petted the cat for awhile. But the spell was soon broken by the incessant buzzing of my cellphone. That's what drove the cat away.

I cut it off, but by then the cat had jumped down the bench. I called it, but it had found something more interesting in a speck of dust on the ground... So it ignored me...

So I left it to its feline tasks, wore my shoes, and left the temple with a new-found peace of mind.

Not long after, my cellphone buzzed again. It was a well-wisher. He talked. I listened. For nearly an hour... By the time we were done, my little Diamond was lost... Good bye Peace of Mind... Welcome back, Harsh Reality...