Thursday, May 28, 2009

Enjoy the journey while reaching your destination...

This thought occurred to me early one morning while I was returning from swimming pool a couple of days back after my swimming session. I don't go for swimming daily as I am getting lazier day by day these days. But whenever I go for swimming, this is my experience all the time. The journey is wonderful!
Early morning when you walk, a freshness is there in the air. You also feel charged up as you walk in this fresh air. The early morning air seems pure also as it is not polluted as vehicles have not started crowding on the street early morning. I like listening to music so I wear my headphones and walk listening to my favourite songs. But even if you don’t listen to music on your phone or i-pod, there is lot more on the way early morning when you walk on the street in that fresh air. There is chirping of birds, noise of bicycles of Doodh-wallahs,ho-ha of newspaper vendors and newspaper-delivery boys on the side of the street, voices of children going to school, radio being played in some house or shop around the corner of the street etc.etc. I always enjoy these sounds of morning when I am not listening to music on my cell phone.
I walk for around 25 minutes to reach swimming pool. Swim for about half an hour and start my return journey. During my return journey hustle-bustle of city life has begun to some extent. I see employees waiting for their company bus at specific points and I feel I haven't even had my break-fast and bath! Looking at those employees, I feel I am late! And I increase my speed to reach home faster!
I also encounter few other health-freaks like me returning from some gym, in their exercise-attire. I meet lot many different kind of people, most of them starting their day.
I like feeling rays of early morning sun on my face, during my return journey.
This season, I was fortunate enough to experience first shower of monsoon during my return journey from swimming pool. I enjoyed the rain heartily. I listened to the track 'Barso Re...Megha Megha..' from Guru and caught the raindrops on my body. Mother earth was also enjoying the rains and was giving rise to that lovely smell which I love very much! All this time it was waiting for the rains after getting heated badly through the summer.
It was a very nice scene looking at people behaving differently on receiving the rains unexpectedly. Some were running here & there to find shelter for not getting wet. Few others (like me!) were enjoying the rain by expanding their hands as if to greet the rain with their welcome hug! I loved the touch of the raindrops on my face. Suddenly the climate became sunny when the rains had not stopped yet. I felt like singing that song we used to sing aloud in childhood - "Aav re Varsaad..Dhebariyo Varsaad..Ooni Ooni Rotali ne Karela nu Shaak..!" (When the rain continues in the sun-light, we used to call it 'Nagadiyo varsaad'!)
I saw a few dogs and a cow getting wet and felt like they were also enjoying the first rain of the season!
At this point of time only I thought of sharing my feelings with you all through blog! And finally today, I got time to put my thoughts here!
I have always felt that journey is more enjoyable most of the times than the final destination. During a Trek or a picnic also I have enjoyed my journey thoroughly.
Is not life like that too...If we consider it as a journey (and heaven (or hell!) as the final destination, than we can make it memorable by doing good deeds and enjoyable by giving joy and a reason to smile to others whom we meet on our way!

I hope we all enjoy our journey of life by living every bit..!

Sunday, May 24, 2009

A "Help" experience...

Once I was returning from my office as usual in the evening. My home station - Malad came and I was pushed out with many others by the flock of co-travellers who were getting down at Malad. Crowd and moreover humid-hot climate of Mumbai make the local train travel, a worst experience. I breathed relief after getting down on the platform. The train moved further and so did I.A few steps further I noticed a herd of people surrounding somebody lying unconscious on the platform, near station master's office. Out of curiosity, I also could not help myself from checking out who it was. There was a young guy, little younger than me, lying on the ground unconscious.
People have this very bad habit. Crowd a place where something has happened and be a mere dumb spectator. Do nothing. Enjoy the Tamasha.
Looking at the unconscious boy, a few said that the boy might have got epilepsy attack; a few others suggested he might have had empty stomach and might have fallen unconscious due to weakness. One of them even suggested the boy might have fallen from the train. A lady was saying,"somebody shall make the boy smell an onion or a chappal (footwear)." But nobody was taking any action. Infact they had surrounded the boy and ensured that he does not get enough air to breath.
I ran out of the station to bring an onion, as I knew that just outside the station a few vegetable-sellers used to sit and sell vegetables. I asked and grabbed an onion and came back on the platform where the boy was lying. But I noticed that nobody was there now. Neither the boy nor the crowd! I went to Station master's cabin and asked about the boy. A person sitting in that office said in a rude tone that if I was a relative of that boy or what. I replied that I was not related to that boy in any way. But I wanted to help him and I had brought an onion for him to smell. He signaled that the boy is lying inside the room. I went inside.2-3 police officers and a few other men were trying to shake him and bring him into his senses. He was responding and in a few moments he came to conscious state. But still he was in a drowsy condition and he tried to get up and walk but didn't succeed. He fell back. I gave the onion to one of the men there and he broke the onion and took it near the boy's nose so that the boy could smell it. The boy though weak, was conscious now. He snatched the onion from the man's hand and threw it! Police man asked him if he was hungry. The boy nodded to indicate he was hungry. I told him I would feed him and asked him to come with me to the stall outside, on the platform. The boy had to take support of one of the police man's and my shoulder to come out of station master's office room. The boy was not able to maintain his balance and stand or walk properly. We managed to bring him to the stall. We made him drink water and I ordered a Vada-pav and a tea for him. The police man told me the boy had drunk and due to empty stomach he was in this condition. I felt a shock. I don't know why but I felt a sense of regret. I felt I should not have helped this boy at all. A drunkard should not be shown any pity and left on his own. I hate such people who do not have any control over themselves and after drinking beyond limit who loose senses and behave like animals. In parties also you find many such people vomit and spoil the venue and the party. Their friends have to carry them back to their homes. I have a strong sense of disrespect and disgust for such people. They not only loose consciousness but create trouble for their family members and friends also.

The boy tried to eat vada-pav.He just ate a byte and due to his semi-conscious state could not hold the vada-pav and it fell from his hand. I saw it and didn't like it but could not stop there any further and left for my home.