Enthralling Trails

“Most people do not really want freedom, because freedom involves responsibility, and most people are frightened of responsibility.”   ―   Sigmund Freud   The young girl ran for a while all along with the bicycle, and as it gained speed she mounted it with ease and crossed through the crowded market. She wore chappals and the road was in a bad state with slush and potholes filled with water which did not deter her. There was a tiny basket fixed to the handle of the bicycle inside which she had arranged a few vegetables, painfully bargained and bought. I kept gazing at her till she disappeared in the array of by lanes at the corner of the main road. It was late in the evening. She must have been fourteen years old but had the mellowness of an adult. As I looked at her, I reminisced the day’s happening.   It was a bright morning and the students of the second-year science in the Junior wing were being ushered to the seminar hall. Being new, I could sense t...

“When the trust account is high, communication is easy, instant, and effective.”   ―   Stephen R. Covey A sugary babyish voice crisped asking, “how much?” making me turnback to have a glimpse of her. She was around nineteen years old, clad in a track suit and a full sleeved ‘T’ shirt with her curly hair left open. A clump of curls covered her beautiful fair face making her look even more pretty. She had an umbrella and walked uncomfortably in her loose sports sandals. The fruit vendor, a fourteen year old boy said two hundred, now she pointed her finger to the next lot of apples to know the price. He struggled but answered back saying two hundred and sixty. My husband stood at the counter weighing mangoes while I kept selecting a few more. It was bright at about seven in the evening of a weekday. The fruit vendor had the last lot of mangoes called ‘Totapari and Kesar.'  This year the market was plentiful with mangoes due to a  del ayed monsoon. Further, the...

“Teaching is a calling too. And I've always thought that teachers in their way are holy - angels leading their flocks out of the darkness.”   ―   Jeannette Walls He had sent me a message seeking my blessings on the occasion of ‘Guru Purnima’. There were a few missed calls too. Having taken up a part time job of teaching the undergraduates and graduates in a local college, I had changed the sound profile to the silent mode. Guru Purnima  is an  Indian  festival dedicated to spiritual and academic teachers. This festival traditionally celebrated by  Hindus  and  Buddhists , to thank their teachers. It is marked by ritualistic respect to the  Guru , Guru Puja. The word Guru is derived from two words, 'Gu' and 'Ru'. The Sanskrit root "Gu" means darkness or ignorance. "Ru" denotes the remover of that darkness. Therefore one who removes darkness of our ignorance is a  Guru . Gurus are believed by many to be the most nec...

“Have enough courage to trust love one more time and always one more time.”   ―   Maya Angelou I saw tears flow as she tugged my hand and pulled me across, we stood in the line where a mass of devotees stood. We were on the right side,the side where all women stood. It was a special evocation (Aarti) to gain blessings of Shirdi Saibaba, a saint who has been a source of miracle in the lives of his devotees. We stood in deep silence, engrossed in the tranquillity and peace of the place. I wondered at the overwhelming response and their tears. Were they tears of joy on realising truth enforced through trust? They say anguish  in one’s life spews out as tears due to the undeterred belief in God. The trials and tribulations in life make us powerful and help us grow. My mother would often recite the couplet written by Sant Kabir which summons one to recall God in the good times warding off evils in the bad times while keeping one in bliss thereafter.  I recal...