The Moon

As he stepped out of his college building, something wonderful happened. The first image he received was that of the full moon. Round, clear and spotless. A Chinese poem states:

"The fresh and beautiful moon is traveling in the utmost empty 

sky. When the mind-rivers of living beings are free, that 

image of the beautiful moon will reflect in each of us." 

He set his eyes on the Moon. It reminded him of the past. The one he was trying hard to forget, the one he was trying to let go of. It reminded him of her. Her carefree laugh started to echo in his ears and their talks captured his mind. They would always fight over who had a better choice. Her choice was Moon, his was she herself. And this was the only thing where he didn't love to lose against her. He stood by his beliefs, she stood by hers. Never coming to an end. And then one day, a new chapter started. She had vowed to prove him wrong. He had always asked her to be strong, confident and fight till the end with a great willpower but he never knew these skills could also be used against him. He stood shocked as she went on to prove how bad a choice he had.

Tomorrow, she may not be with him. He may forget everything about her. But what about the moon? The moon would always be there. And remind him of his imperfect choice. Always.

Man's Greatest Invention

Twitter is one of the greatest inventions ever made by man. Anything and everything in just 140 characters. As simple as that. Apparently, when people have less space to express, they tend to be intelligent with their words. Restoring the previous session in my Firefox brought me to my Twitter homepage and a twitter trend made sure I didn’t switch the tab. It was #greatestinvention which had got my thoughts racing. What could be the greatest invention made by human?

Is it the wheel? It changed the entire life of human beings. It gave the actual meaning to movement and has made the world smaller and smaller. Or is it the printing press? It was one of the first media of communication. It changed the ways how information was collected, stored, retrieved and distributed. Could it be the telephone? The idea of talking to a person sitting thousands of miles away from you was incredible. While the wheel made travelling possible, it reduced the necessity to travel. Okay, if not wheel, then what about automobile. Invented after a long time of the invention of wheel, it improved transportation and made movement swift and hassle-free. Television also stands a strong chance. It improved upon the radio and allowed better ways of transmission of news and other important media. It also became an excellent source of entertainment. Then I wondered about Computers. Since its invention in 1837 by Charles Babbage, the computer has changed billions of life. It changed the way we work. From a collection of vacuum tubes covering two rooms to a device which fits in your pocket, the computers have evolved exponentially. And the invention of Internet has only added to the value of computers. Internet was one of the revolutions which converted the globe into a village by fostering the share of information.

The list goes on and on. Steam engine, airplane, LASER, DNA, several vaccines etc. etc. A quick search on Google with the keywords “the greatest invention ever is *” returns thousands of results ranging from sex to space travel. Some consider the remote control the greatest whereas some think the same for seedless watermelon. 

Suddenly something struck me. The greatest invention ever made by man has to be… GOD!! Yes, God. None of the above mentioned inventions could control the minds of millions and millions of people making them conform to one ideal. None of them. There are and have been thousands of Gods. The Hindus alone worship 36 crores of them. A word defined by the brilliant minds of a few humans in the ancient times, God has touched the life of everyone on this planet Earth in one way or the other. Along with God, came Religion, the byproduct of God. It is the best tool to control a mass of people. It has enabled a bunch of people to control the entire human race by injecting fear and religious madness in their minds. It is the only thing which can make people wonder not only about their present, but also their previous and future births. What other invention can make people fight among themselves or even give up their own life? What else other than God can make people accept everything wrong that happened to them?

Inventions were made and forgotten, but God is immortal, the greatest of them all. How can any invention ever stand up to God?

So Close Yet So Far

A lot can be written about Mother but it's not easy to write about Father. Mother is a metaphor for emotions whereas Father has the power to control. He is like a silent poem; which has an external toughness and is devoid of emotions. And this is the reason why most of the children fear him. The ones who can see through this shell and feel the amount of emotions he hides in himself shall accept his greatness. Undoubtedly, he has the same amount of love for his children as the Mother. He has loads of emotions and feelings but he generally keeps them to himself making it difficult for the others to experience them. He has a large heart and a larger personality. He is the one who lets others to be free-minded and carefree.

A mother is often referred as the first teacher of any child but I believe, it's the father who prepares him for the journey called life. She is there to make him survive for the first few years and Father is the one who makes sure he survives the rest of his tough life. He not only tells him about the positive aspects of life but also warns about the adversities he might face. He teaches him the art of survival and makes him tough enough to bear the brunt of the real world when he steps out of home. He shares his knowledge and experience with him.

If there is one single word to sum up father, it has to be humble. He rarely talks about himself unless you ask him something. This is the reason it is somewhat hard to really get to know him. His silence encapsulates his personality. Very few would have seen him crying. He is immovable under all circumstances. He is head-strong and soft-hearted simultaneously. He'd always worry about things but would never let others to worry about them. He is generally like that only. Calm, composed, thoughtful and emotionless. He is the main pillar which supports each and every brick of the building called family. He not only fulfills our needs but also puts constraints on our unjust demands. He is the childhood hero and the idol of every child.

He is the one who knows when to leave you alone but is always there when you look behind your shoulder. Someone who encourages you not to settle for anything less than the best. Someone who lets you have ice-cream for breakfast and the one who loves you unconditionally (actually). Someone who wants to keep you from making mistakes but instead lets you find your own way even though his heart breaks in silence when you get hurt. Someone who holds you when you cry, scolds you when you break the rules, shines with pride when you succeed, and has faith in you even when you fail. He is the person to turn to when you have to take any tough decision. He wants to catch you before you fall but instead picks you up, brushes you off and lets you try again.

That's dad for me. All I know about him. But He still stands unexplored; the journey is unending.

"If you are friends with your father, you have a friend for life."

Recognition

It was half past eight in the morning. The Delhi Metro was standing still midway with the notifications about the delay going on. A man in his sixties was sitting in front of me. He was well dressed and had a glowing face, beaming with joy. Looking at his watch again and again, counting the number of stations left and then eagerly looking outside to check if the train started moving, he was getting very impatient. With every passing moment, he was getting a bit disappointed. Observing him for the last five minutes, I decided to strike a conversation with him.

"You seem to be in a hurry. Have you got an appointment with some doctor?", I enquired noticing the envelope of a hospital in his hand. "No. I have to take breakfast with my wife. She is admitted to a nearby hospital.", he replied.

"Ah, I see. How is she now? What happened to her?" This came entirely out of excitement.
"She is suffering from Alzheimer and has been admitted to the hospital for a long time. We always take our breakfast together", he replied with the same calmness.
I asked again,"Would she get angry with you if you got a bit late?"
"No." He took a long breath and continued. "Due to the disease she has completely forgotten about me and has not even identified me for the last five years."
I got a bit surprised. "You go to have breakfast with her daily even though she cannot recognize your presence!!!"
This time he smiled and replied,"She might not remember who I am but I know who She is."