Highway highs. They are timeless!
The stories never end. I keep going to the highway and it keeps invoking emotions.
The stories are all over us. You don’t need your usual two ears and two eyes to see them, to hear them, to feel them.
Open your Heart and you will find that ‘Ear’!
A Bike, A Father and the Infant.
After a busy day, finish your work and be ready to leave for home. There is a thrill, an excitement, always!
But this time, on your way home, you will carry your beautiful infant in a baby sling!
And yea, forgot to tell you. You are a Father!
I am nowhere differentiating between the love of a Father and a Mother, but it’s natural that a Man and a Woman think differently. So for a Father to pick the infant, carry on a sling and that too on Mumbai’s busy road…..it kind off give me a wow feeling that day. I witnessed such a beautiful moment that evening!
The click from my camera might not be that clear, but the moment left a permanent image on my heart. Blue shirt, blue jeans, blue scooter, a white head-scarf on the baby’s head and a black sling. Everything was so soothing about that moment.
My car and his bike were at the red signal. The baby was fast asleep, the Man was time and again looking at him with such pure motherly love. Bliss!
The rag picker
Rag pickers are a beautiful story in themselves. And they are everywhere, every time. See them on a lane close to your house, see them on the highway, see them inside the filthy gutter, see them on that barren land. They are always searching. For that Luck! For that one chance!
That day, that lady rag picker was different. She had a small drum attached to a stick. She was not hand picking instead she was letting the drum go inside the heap of waste and just pulling it back. And then checking the drum, if it caught anything. I saw such a thing for the first time. Generally, rag pickers carry a big bag with them and keep picking items as they move.
I noticed carefully, that thing was not a drum!
They were multiple magnets attached to each other! She was trying to pull out things which only magnet can. Even rag pickers have specialization!
Isn’t that creativity? Isn’t that value addition? Innovation!
We all do hard work. Few do it smartly!
The Jasmine lady on the bus
I took the early morning bus to office. I was the first one on the bus. Soon passengers started joining. A lady sat on my adjoining seat. I was reading a book. She was on a call and talking in her local dialect. But I could guess, she was confirming to her closed one (probably, her child) that she caught the bus and is comfortable.
Suddenly, there was a strong smell of Jasmine flowers. It was kind of soothing and fresh. For few seconds, I had to close my eyes to feel the freshness.
I glanced towards the lady. Probably in her mid forties, a south Indian attire and she was making a garland from the jasmine flowers. Instinctively, I just told her that the smell is very nice. She smiled and thanked me for the appreciation.
I continued with my reading but one section of my mind was curious in knowing about the story behind the garland. Why is she making it? Is there an occasion today? Is this a ritual? Is this some kind of a meditation?
After lot of pondering and waiting, when she was done with the garland, I asked her if she makes the garland every day, is it a ritual? She was happy that I was showing interest. She replied: “I like making it and I make it for my friends too, they all love the scent”.
For me, she became the “Jasmine lady on the bus”!
Demolition, development and lost hopes!
What goes behind the scenes when a city decides to grow and that too fast and exponentially?
Hard work, patience, money, new dreams, shattered dreams, hope and much more!
Demolition.
Few things needs to go away to make way for a new one.
A growing city like Mumbai can make dreams come true but during the course, many of them are shattered, too!
We always thought and hoped that those shanties, those illegal shops should be razed. They block too much space and are an absolute nuisance. They make us late, there is filth, they look ugly!
That morning, at the corner, our car took a turn, everything was gone! Everything was razed! The shops were gone, the houses were not there. The owners and the residents were all over the place, women were picking small belongings, men had stories to tell and kids were playing, as usual. Shattered dreams were making place for new ones!
And I was thinking, how could I reverse whatever I wished for!
The Water bottle
May is hot and humid in Mumbai.
The BEST bus was waiting for the signal. The traffic policeman, in his trademark white uniform was having a chat with the bus driver in his khakis.
A transaction happened!
They exchanged a water bottle. A big green bottle, full of the cherished liquid.
The bottle quenched thirst of the two men. Two men with different jobs, different background, different liking, different mood but similar thirst, hunger and dreams.
The Water bottle quenched their friendship!
Commute is one of the stressful events of our day. We dread that each day but with small shift in perspective, things can be improved. Look around you and goodness is ever where.
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