Quiet Flows the River - Part 2

One day, the river suddenly met a torrential flow of water on its path! "Who are you?!" it asked in absolute bewilderment. "I am you", came the reply - swift and clear. "Me?! How can that be?! Look at you! you are so different! So clear, fresh and lively! How can you be me?" the river refused to believe. "Indeed, so it is, for an eye untrained! Look from your inner eye, and you shall see who you are", came the reply. The river closed its eyes, and looked deep within. Indeed there it was, the same torrential flow, with dazzling, lucid water, fresh and sparkling its radiance all along. "I don't understand this, how is it that if you are me, I see you as different?" the river asked. In a flash, the water merged into the river. In utter disbelief, the river watched as it started filling with cool, clear water, the filth moving off to the banks, washing away everything that hurt the river, the debris of the past, the scum of the men, everything washed away, as the water level rose within it. There was a new flow of life streaming into the river, ebbing away the distress that had bottled up inside its heart.

"Now, look! Are we different? Can you separate you from me?! Which water is you, and which part of water is me?" the voice questioned. The river looked at itself, there was no way it could tell the difference. "Where were you all these days? Why did you take so long to come to me? I have been in much pain" lamented the river. "That is not so. I was with you all the while. You had just lost sight of me. It was because you forgot that I was within you, that I had to come out of you, and appear like this", the voice assured. "Now I am back in you, and there shall I remain, with you forever and ever, with no separation." The river smiled. As the river smiled, the forest reappeared on its banks, life sprang from the earth, and the river felt its creatures returning to the womb.

"I now understand", said the river, "the growing filth thrown into me, had made me forget myself, who I am, and what I am of. You are my manifestation, and you have returned to me. You were the part of me, who I had lost long ago, and now you have come back to me. It is my nature to wash away, and in the cycle of life, there are moments when the water recedes, but only to fill up later. I saw myself in the eyes of the creatures who defiled me, and now that I see myself through your eyes, I see myself as I truly am! I am a river, and flowing is my nature."

Before long, man rushed to see the river growing in magnitude, clear and fresh as it was before! "Look! A miracle! The river has rejuvenated! It is divine indeed!" man cried! And lo! behold, he and his companions rejoiced for they felt that the river was restored to cleanse them again! The river looked at them in silent sympathy. It no longer feared man. Weary of man's hypocrism, it asked "Where is the chasm that is drawing me to itself? Do you have any idea how much longer we need to go?" "I don't! Just like the way you don't know. But does it matter? It's a long journey, and now I am here. Your companion forever, I am you. So why fear the journey, let's take our own sweet time. What say you?" the voice replied joyfully. The river smiled. It looked towards the horizon, it seemed rather near, and yet far off. "What say, we turn around that corner, and have a lil' chat with that good ol' mountain we see there far off?" the river asked. "Off we go!" came the reply.

As the creatures, the sky, the clouds, all stood in rapt attention, the waters cut across, turning at the corner, in a wild glory. The laughter and glee filled the void in the atmosphere, and yet deep within it all, there was a silent song of peace, solitude and love.

The story like this has much been told,

For it sings of the mighty, strong and bold.

Yet there is a secret, hidden in it deep!

Of a love of the self, like a dream in the sleep.

A moral it shows for the eyes untrained,

What went behind it, is a knowledge ungained.

There is a love between two that this shows,

None but the river, is all that knows.

Quiet Flows the River!

Far upon the lush green mountains with their peaks covered with snow, and their valleys bereft with flowers and meadows, a river is born. Its crystal clear waters shining in the morning sun, reflecting with equal aplomb the dazzling rays and dancing its way through the cavernous depths of the mountain, it carves its way towards a chasm that seems to draw the river to itself.

Wild with gay abandon, the river fills the forests and valleys with its playful batter echoing into the hearts of the environment. Its laughter beckoning the creatures of nature to itself, in a wild amazement! "This must be the idea of a paradise", the river thought.

It descended the mountains into the plains, still carving its way, now in puzzlement over the changing scenes. Before long came man! "Oh! Look at the crystal clear water" he said! And in that he saw his own grotesque form! He feared what the river showed, and in fear he cowered! "The river is the redeemer, it showeth to me my follies, and in it shall I forsake 'em and make myself pure" he thought! In feigned veneration, he dipped himself into the river, and cast his murk into it. The nature of the river was to wash away, and so it did. "I am redeemed of my sins, and ugliness! Now I can get as dirty as I want to, the river is here to clean me!" the man rejoiced, and before long brought others to the river. The river washed them all, hiding their filth in its depths! The river was taken for granted. Man learnt to defile the river with his filth! "It washes it all away!" he assumed. The river carried it along the flow! All along the path, men cast more murk into its darkening waters! The friends of the river, the fishes and the creatures of the water, soon abandoned it, or died within.

"It is in the nature of the river to help us!", so man thought. And in thinking so, they checked its flow, diverted its path, exploited the river. The river was choked with bewilderment, sadness and grief. "Let us trace the river to its origin!" claimed the Man. And followed its course to up the mountains! The trees of the forests were cut, the animals killed! Their bodies strewn into the flow, the river bore witness. In silence the river wept, the tears washed away by its own waters! Nature held the river a traitor, the sun shined with disgust, scorching its waters. As the river lost its water, the hidden filth of the man shown!
And the man was scared... scared that his dirt shall now be exposed! And in despair, his cunning showed! "Oh Look Hither!" he cried, "the river is filthy! There in its depths lies its own putrid filth! Oh what a swindle this turned out to be!" He refused to see his filth and attributed it to the river. "The river spreads diseases, shunned it must be! And so did no animal, or bird or man ever approach the river! Lonely and abandoned the river continued to carve its way, in desperate search for its never ending chasm.

Before long, nature smiled again, and it rained, and snowed, and the river was fresh. Along came a water fowl, the most beautiful that the river had ever seen. A very colorful fowl with rich feathers and graceful body. The river smiled at the bird, and the bird smiled back. "Would you like to dwell on me?" The river asked with delight! It felt the life returning to its waters... "Oh I'd love to!" said the water fowl. "Would you be with me, for this journey?" the river asked. "So I shall!" it replied. And they travelled long distances, till one day, another bird landed next to the water fowl. "The river hides filth in its depths!" said the bird. "Do not trust the river for its cunning and a cheat! The men were talking so" said the bird.

That night the fowl spoke to the river. "How can I trust you? You are a river! The bird is one of mine!" the fowl said to the river. The river smiled in silent grief. "Fly my dear", it said "and stay happy wherever you are". The bird flew off. Stricken with grief more severe, the river flowed in silent mourning. In silence it lamented at how ghastly and vicious it had become. "I am a monster", it thought to itself.

Hitting a Century and a Tag!!

The ball has been passed down from Disha to Manju. Manju is eyeing Praveen very intently. The crowd awaits with baited breathe! It's a turning point in this blog match, and its the clash of the titans! Manju wants to throw a yorker completely baffling the batsman, and embarassing him into accepting 6 of his most weird facts! The ball comes rolling down the air making a swishing noise.. Praveen swings the bat, and the ball is swung into the high air with one swift move! Praveen is standing still! Following the trajectory of the ball! Manju follows it intently looking forward to catching the ball and throwing Praveen out of the match, thus gaining the vantage point in this series! There goes the ball.. higher and higher.. and Oh God! What a moment! What a glorifying moment!! The ball has clearly crossed the boundary into the seatings, bouncing over 6 other peoples whose names I guess we will be disclosing shortly! Oh! What a shot! And Praveen has now hit his century!!!! A momentous day in the life of "Soliloquies in Hiding!" The 100th Post by Praveen! And that resulted by the tag of Manju!! *claps *claps *claps!! The bowler acknowledges the feat! Manju and Praveen are seen hugging (The Awwwwwwwwww moment from Karan Johan Productions! Its a Kodak moment rite there!) *hugs *hugs *hugs.. the crowd is going hysterical! More Roaring ovations! Praveen gracefully acknowledges it all!

And now coming to the details of the tag.... most of us, including me, are accused of being involved in a scam equally scandalous as that of those pesky emails that prophecize luck or wealth or happiness if we pass on the mantra, or the saying, or the quotes to a bunch of people. Even more annoying are certain emails that test our friendship by the facts of whether or not we forward the email back to the person who sent it to us!! My Oh My! What hard days friendship hath had to endure! Now that our esteemed self has been tagged by the esteemed self of Manju!I am left with no other option but to embarass myself with these idiosyncracies of me! And lemme tell you, the first person I hear sniggerin', gawking, snorting and giggling will find the vertical protrusions lining the frontal section of their mouth strategically dislocated or displaced and randomly distributed over a vast area following poission distribution. ********* A small

pause to let the idea sink into the itsy bitsy you know what of my detractors *********

Now that being said, and everyone being happy.. here goes the list!

6. I like to eat my mom made goodies by stealing it in the middle of the night, rather than take it directly from her whenever she offers.

5. I would add sugar to even sambar/rasam when no one is looking.

4. I sing and dance when no one is looking or atleast when I feel that no one is looking.

3. I always want my table set in a certain way, my clothes folded in a certain way, and am very possessive of the plate I eat in. People are absolutely welcome to share my food, but not my dinner plate at the time of dinner.. well I guess u got the hang of it!

2. I hate slurping sounds and chewing with the mouth open. And when no one is around, I try to imagine situations with people, and practice my expressions/emotions in front of the mirror!

1. I like to keep checking my fridge ever so often, even though I know its empty, in hope of a miraculous appearance of delicacies out of nowhere!

And that being said, I may also point out that.. whatz that? What did u say?! Oh No!! No sireee.. I do not want to go through any psychological testing to understand the underlying and inherent reasons behind this kindof behavior! And rather in strict compliance of the rule that when one is embarassed, he must also try to embarass the others present around him.. I would like to take this wonderful opportunity to tag the following 6 scapes!

1. Chandan

2. Velu

3. Harsha

4. Praveen Mayakar

5. Ridgeet Roy

6. Giridhar

uhahahahaha... Mogambo Khush Hua!!

Pain in the A*** !!

Its 12:15 AM in the midnite. I am trying to type the draft for my thesis report which is due by Monday morning. Apart from the excruciating task of zeroing in on the content for the same, I have to put up with the ruckus being created by the next door dudes!! Aaaargghhhh!! Can't someone plaster their mouths and sink their music systems?!!!

There is something to be said about the annoying accent of gults! Well not trying to sound an anti-linguist here.. but surely gimme a break!! Well guess what?! Lemme just put on my walkman phone and listen to some foot tappin' numbers. Hopefully by the time I am done, these pests wud've vanished magically! Better still.. turned into roaches...aaaah! there.. now that I have gotten it out of my system.. am feeling so much better.

Am I sounding cranky? OH well! take a break .. type a thesis report and am sure u'll realize it too.. and oh yeah.. have a whole bunch of chatterin' monkeys throwing their horrid accents while you are at it!

Predilections and Dogma!

Q.)What is man to do if the predilection towards doing something is set against the dogma of being someone?!

Ans)..............

Because, I cannot love but one!

The hill tops must have snow covered all over 'em isn't it? I am sure you are feeling the stinging sensation of the cold wind, as it hastens to touch your bare skin, and wither it. Do not mind the cold, darling. It is just jealous of the warmth your rosy cheeks are sporting! How could it ever know that your sweet thoughts of me, shall enfold you in warmth, making you oblivious for its onslaught!

I can see you running freely in the lush green meadows as the air playfully teases your locks, lifting them up in its arms, as if smoothing out your hair! Did you feel my touch in it? I had asked the breeze to bring me the wafting aroma of your hair. It smells fresh of the flowers that you had worn that morning. Even as I savor its elegant smell, the breeze magically transports me to your arms.

I can see the plesant shock and happiness in your eyes - of finding me in your lap. It's a gentle dream, you seem to think, and I see you closing your eyes gently. As the lashes close in, locking the image of me on ur lap, my soft kiss on your eyes seems to tell you that its real! So real, that it seems to be a perfect dream. Keeping your eyes closed, you hold me tightly, cradling me in your arms. I can feel your breathe on my neck, as I softly tighten my embrace around you. Time comes to a stand still. I think its afraid lest its movement may disturb our tranquility. Or is it that its stunned at our love? Wondering, if it is indeed so real! I don't seem to care. Me being with you is as real and at the same time as dreamy.

You rest your head on my shoulders, and together we look at the distant hills, full of greenery, a spot of snow on their tops. What's the meaning of that soft, playful smile you threw at me, as I looked into your eyes? Every look of yours seems to tell me so many things! Wonder who gave them such an elaborate vocabulary! As my lips choose to respond to your eyes, I close my eyes.

When I open them, am still in my apartment, and I know you maybe out there among the lush green hills. Hey! But I was there too! Right next to you... and I have a picture in my eyes to prove it and a soft wetness on my lips! The picture in my eyes are the ones of your feet and hands adorned! The time has again stood still dear.