The other day I was walking out of Hostel 8 after a sumptuous dinner with a friend.Belching with satisfaction and enjoying the cool february winds blowing past me,walking down the lonely road guided by moonlight,a moment when the easel of our minds is closest to clean and empty and our whole being overcome by the beauty of the present ambience.These are the few times in my life when my mind reverts back to fundamental albeit vague questions lie what my life stands for and if I am satisfied by my present state .So i thought aloud,'what are we doing in life,i mean,are we happy?'Hari's grin told me'oh ravi,u began again!'.I pestered on,'Come on,tell me'.The grin vanished and he bent his head gazing at his moving silhouette ,seemed like the surroundings had conspired against us to force us to do some serious contemplation.A brief silence followed but what was going inside our minds,i tell you was nothing close to silence,a storm of thoughts ravaged -I thought about my own moving shadow,we are known by our shadows ,the shadows that our acts and choices cast upon the world ,the shadow of our overt expressions,and to the world we are our shadows, a fact so very universal that we forget that we
had our own inner self lying untouched for ages.Hari broke my train of thought saying he was not happy at all and for a moment i felt guilty of murdering the cheerful Hari with whom I had dinner.Its not that I have discussed such stuff with Hari before but today I decided to take a different turn,I asked him ,Tell me what really makes you happy,as in,what would a happy life mean to you'.Hari answered,'A good life with lots of money ,a beautiful woman and wonderful little children'.I nodded disapprovingly,it was not him but his shadow that was speaking for him.I asked again.'no,Hari,i mean real happiness'Hari got me finally.This was what he said:
"I would like to be back at Hyderabad to my mother.Wake up every morning,call my friends from the neighbourhood ,play cricket all day.Have delicious lunch cooked by my mother.Chat with grandma before afternoon siesta and in the evening again spend time with friends."The smile was back on Hari's face,a smile that came straight from the heart.I too felt happy suddenly,in fact ecstatic.I thought about happiness too .Hmm for me it would be travelling all around the world ,meeting new people,observing the world around me and writing .
Happiness ,what a beautiful thing,how naked and simple,yet so evasive.We are sent to this world to lead happy lives,but over time we get engulfed and wrapped by our own shadows.
Sometimes,take up a torchlight and explore the world that your shadows have blinded you from.Unlock the doors of ego,pride ,ambitions and pretensions and you will discover that there is a place called happiness.There IS a place called happiness.
had our own inner self lying untouched for ages.Hari broke my train of thought saying he was not happy at all and for a moment i felt guilty of murdering the cheerful Hari with whom I had dinner.Its not that I have discussed such stuff with Hari before but today I decided to take a different turn,I asked him ,Tell me what really makes you happy,as in,what would a happy life mean to you'.Hari answered,'A good life with lots of money ,a beautiful woman and wonderful little children'.I nodded disapprovingly,it was not him but his shadow that was speaking for him.I asked again.'no,Hari,i mean real happiness'Hari got me finally.This was what he said:
"I would like to be back at Hyderabad to my mother.Wake up every morning,call my friends from the neighbourhood ,play cricket all day.Have delicious lunch cooked by my mother.Chat with grandma before afternoon siesta and in the evening again spend time with friends."The smile was back on Hari's face,a smile that came straight from the heart.I too felt happy suddenly,in fact ecstatic.I thought about happiness too .Hmm for me it would be travelling all around the world ,meeting new people,observing the world around me and writing .
Happiness ,what a beautiful thing,how naked and simple,yet so evasive.We are sent to this world to lead happy lives,but over time we get engulfed and wrapped by our own shadows.
Sometimes,take up a torchlight and explore the world that your shadows have blinded you from.Unlock the doors of ego,pride ,ambitions and pretensions and you will discover that there is a place called happiness.There IS a place called happiness.
