Old and New

New Year, and a new beginning! As everyone talks about "new" things which try to capture our attention wherever we go, I thought it is worth reflecting about this newness that we attribute to things, persons and experiences. If we have to wake up the dead Greek philosopher Heracletes and ask him if there is anything new in the world, he would leap for joy and shout that every moment of human existence is new. Was it not the same old philosopher who said we do not step into the same river twice? Newness all around, and mind you, the very concept is very subjective; that is to say, there is no objective criteria to label a thing or an experience new or old.

True, what is new for me might be very old for someone else; and the reverse too can be true. I dare not stand against Heracletes and shout that there is nothing new in the world; whether we like it or not, we are get into the same old rut (to be in line with the river image of the Greek philosopher). In fact, the newness is not so much in an object, but in our eyes! Here we land up with John Keats, beauty is in the eyes of the beholder! So newness is in our eyes, in our hearts, in our minds. It does not exist out there. But is there anyone who would buy my proposition?

To stand up for a while in company with Heracletes is a great pleasure; everyday morning as I open up my eyes, do not a fresh new morn welcome me with a song of the bird, scent of the flowers, and a adorable 'namoshkar' of the insects, and a soal-soothing radiance of the golden sun? Can the song of the birds ever become old? Will the golden rays of the sun ever become old or stale? Can a human smile ever become monotony? If ever they do, then probably I may need to show myself to an ophthalmologist and get my eyes checked; and then to a psychiatrist and get my sanity checked!

Even before the year 2009 bade goodbye, there was too much of noise, fireworks, firecrackers to welcome the year 2010! Park Street alias Mother Teresa Sarani was a sea of mirth and jubilation, and what happened after the clock stroke 12 at midnight? Except the cheers and bursting of the crackers (and opening of the much awaited Champagne bottle in select hideouts and restaurants), nothing seemed to have changed. For the manual laborers of the municipality, the day has not changed, because when the new day broke, they were back on the street to clean it as they had been doing for years! Has anything changed for them? Or has anything changed in fact?

We see newness all around and yet things seem to be the same, much against our expectation and longing. I have a bright idea to offer to the people who do not find newness around them : get a dozen different color celophane papers and cut them to the size of your spectacle glasses size, and stick one color papers to your spectacles each day, and look things with that glasses. The next day, change the color papers, and you will see everythng with a different color, and that would have changed how they looked to you the previous day. Am I just kidding? But until we change our mindsets and eyes, perhaps this great idea may supply some newness to our otherwise mundane, monotonous lives!

Miracle at your doorstep

The rain-soaked earth had a unique fragrance, which perhaps no perfume-maker can fake; nature has the copyright, and no one can tamper it. Thank God for it; the Americans may still be trying to fake it, or claim it (as they do, even for the things which have not been discovered or invented!). One needs to feel the earth, the soil still holding grains of rain, as if they were all too full with the sap of nector. The trees stood dripping drops of water, as if the small children after bath were standing with water dripping, waiting for their mother to wipe them. Nature had her own arrangement. Gentle breeze wiped the trees and hugged them gently, warmly.

The nocturnal creatures were in full form; the bats moved about frantically smelling the earth, sitting on the cold tree branches, and still wondering what magic has cast a spell on the earth that they were unable to realize it is the same earth they had known before. There was a silence in the midst of the traffic noise; one has to wade through the noise and din of the neighborhood, the fan, and even one’s own heart-beat. The silence can be heard so loudly that all other sounds may fail to compete with it.

No, dark clouds had decided to stay by in order to let the earth has its thirst quenched. The sun had let the childish pranks of the clouds take their turn, as he stood by looking tenderly at the earth he had been giving light for several millennia. The mighty sun stood helpless as the dark clouds showed their back to him, with tattoo marks, No Entry Zone! The momentary passing clouds dared to challenge the mighty sun!

It is not easy to feel the pain and agony of Mother Earth, as rain drops fall on to her lap, varying their pace and intensity, like the ayurvedic therapy with oil that fall on the forehead of persons drop by drop. But the earth stood still. Human beings have covered her body with a layer of impenetrable substance, cement and mortar, and the waters flowed lazily to the drains, but Mother Earth stood still thirsty. Luckily there were pores, through which she could try to wet her tongue. But it would take centuries for her to really quench her thirst.

One of the greatest miracles of nature is the rains; one needs a thousand eyes to behold the rains lashing on arrogant men and women, playing hide-n-seek with pavement dwellers, chase hopelessly those who had no umbrellas, drop heavily on the bald-headed, snap the little clothes that the women carefully wrapped around, give yet another chance for the lovers to get wet. You do not need to pay to witness this great miracle; all you need to is open the windows and doors, and you have a life-changing experience awaiting you.