Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Knock Knock! Who's Inside You?

This incident occurred yesterday evening. I take public transport for commuting to and from home-office as my workplace is very far away(or rather my residence is outside the city limits). I was waiting for the bus at the central bus station. The buses come in an interval known to them. I spotted a bus that goes to my destination and walked forward to hop on in. At that time; a lady; probably in her early 40s rushed through. In an effort to barge in; me and her put our best foot forward at the same time. In the process; I by mistake stamped on her foot. It was unintentional.
I was about to apologize; when she stood for a moment; stamped by right foot hard; then continued hopping onto the bus. Ouch!! That terribly hurt.
I got myself a window seat; just behind the lady. What I felt was not animosity; but happiness. Well; here it is why.

The lady just demonstrated that there is a kid within her; always looking for a chance to get unleashed and let her hair down. She was content with her achievement of stomping on my poor feet. She did it! Have we not done these silly things as a kid? How happy were we to go stealthily behind that bad girl; pinch her and run away.That ultimate surge of joy in pulling that poor girl's plait, the satisfaction of playing in the mud; getting our hands dirty; with not a worry on our mind.

As a kid, I wanted to grow older. I remember how I draped my mom's Saree; wore her sandals and walked like her; trying to be her. How I would grumble when my parents bought me shoes which had mickey mouse and flowers on it? Why not the the sandals as my mom wore? I remember courting the number of years for me to go to get out of school. Because that was ultimate freedom for us innocent kids. No need to wear the boring school uniform each day; no need to carry the lunch box.; and yeah above all no need to attend all the classes. We were looking forward to our future as we wanted to break ourselves from the limitation and rules set by our elders.

But what has happened now that we have grown up? Each one of us are fighting our way to survive in this mad dog-eat-dog world; trying to keep up with this rat race. We are being adults tackling our responsibilities; trying to fulfill our obligations; forgetting that the inner-most child within us now is waiting patiently to fulfill the essential part of being us - happy, peaceful and serene. What is preventing us from be the genuine part of us. Look beyond that harsh; wicked and cunning you; you would see the real you; yearning for a simple life - When you can

draw wings to a puppy and paint the sky green;
run around chasing butterflies;
fight over a broken toy;
get your hands and legs dirty;
cry to finish off your milk;
Jump into a puddle;
run around bare-footed;
enjoy your chocolate;
drench in the rain;
try to feed your pet;
Climb trees;
Laugh out loud after a nasty fall;
Cry over a broken shirt button;
Get scared of the ghost;
Ask silly questions;
Wait for Santa Claus on Christmas Eve;
Look forward to cutting cakes on your birthday;
Count the stars;
Draw a tree upside down;
Learn alphabets ;
Talk nonsense;
Forget to tie shoe laces;
Have a piggy bank;
Frown over long journeys;
Find elders' talk boring;
Laugh your gut out watching Tom & Jerry;
Be worried about your Math class;
Listen to bed time story of Alice in Wonderland;
And imagine having a town made of chocolates, ice creams and candies......................

The list is endless isn't it?

And yes, the best in you surfaces with the child in you.
A couple of my creation when I unleashed the child within me

5 comments:

  1. Excellent blog on human behavior and yearnings. However, I don't think the child in that lady would have surfaced if she was stomped by a man or a woman who is 6'2" and weighs 225 lbs. (instead of you).

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  2. Seriously; a drop of tear rolled down my cheek. I don't know if it is because of happiness after realising such innocent truth, or nostalgia, or may be it was because I was imagining you narrating the whole story. This post of yours has deeply affected me and I found that was staring at some imaginary point dreaming about random stuff. I later came back to reality when I realised that I wanted to post a comment! :-)

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  3. Thanks Mano...
    Hahahaha....maybe yes. But I am glad that I was a catalyst to bring out the child in her.

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  4. I am glad Gautam that this post got you into nostalgia. Its a privilege to have brought about happiness in you. And yeah; you always walk your child within you hand in hand..:-)

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  5. hiii
    nice post yaar

    bachpan ki yaad aa gayi..:)

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