Over 80,000 attendants at the 2013 Festival of Colors At Sri Radha Krishna Temple, Spanish Fork, Utah, United States
Smiling faces smeared in a pallet of colors; an amalgamation of men, women, and children in the euphoric outburst of floating colors; an overdose of sweets and delicacies; loud blaring music systems playing classic dance anthems and finally the happy forgiving embraces!
Holi, the grand festival of color invites you to take a dip in festive fervor and celebration - to experience how a drop of color can give meaning to the empty canvas of our lives.
The ability to give meaning lies with our own ability of imagination.
***
Holi is perhaps one of the least religious of all Hindu festivals.
It is widely marked and celebrated all over India, originally, observed as an agricultural festival, marking the onset of Spring season.
Holi is surrounded by many History and Rituals, but for most Hindus, Holi has become another opportunity to ignore the societal norms, disregard the essence of the festival and instead bask in callous merry-making; in general to "let loose".
So, while Holi is round the corner, here is a quick list capturing
Five ways NOT to celebrate Holi this year:
1. Water-Water Everywhere: India is a country where we give more weight to tradition, religion and rituals over logic, consciousness and wisdom. While no religious books or manuscripts have mentioned pumping gallons of water on a single day just to get your neighbor or friends wet, we have devised this obnoxious practice of wasting water in the name of celebration. There can and are other genuine ways of celebrating the festival of colors, without wasting an already depleting natural resource.
A gentlereminder and request to ring in your ears while you dip yourselves into the pool of water and shout Holi Hai! (It is Holi): refrainfrom wasting water.
Let us decide consciously and for once,
chose awareness over stupidity.
2. Rang Barse! Alcohol Nahi: Think about it - Amidst the cheerful celebration, overflowing colors, and the ecstatic waves of laughter, we indulge in intoxication. We desire to overdo, overdose at all moments. The want of doing more and experience something different and crazier than that is occurring around, attracts several dry mouths towards the poisonous alcohol - that which snatches away the sanctity of the auspicious day.
Sure, Krishnawas intoxicated at Mathura while splashing colors over Radha, but it was a drug greater than we humans can ever indulge in. Let Holi be the festival of sharing Joy and Love.
So while Holi might or might not be declared as a dry dayin your state, make the choices wisely.
Choose love - not alcohol. Be human.
3. Speed Thrills, But Kills: As the festive color from our faces fade away, so do several innocent intoxicated lives. Every year around Holi, several youths are killed or seriously injured due to overspeeding accidents. While police forces and other organizations are stipulated to curb and regularize peace and order during such events, shouldn't it be our collective responsibility and decision to behave sensibly behind wheels? A moment of recklessness or rashness can cause you or your dear ones the most precious gift - Life.
Think!
Do you want to paint yourself only in shades of blood-red?
Do not bereave us this Holi.
4. License to Molest: Holi gives an opportunity for many to bask in open obscenity and guilt free molestation. Women experience a strange "freedom" in an otherwise restricted Indian society and tend to participate rather aggressively in the festive spirit, making them vulnerable and easier targets to eve-teasers. There might be open vulgarity due to the phallic theme surrounding Holi's history and rituals. Often strange practices of hooliganism are commonly observed. The festival of colors is dubbed as an excuse to vent out the "latent heat" and indulge in physical relaxation. While a blame game is futile and unnecessary here, getting physically comfortable needs to be entirely a personal choice. A common call shall reach out to the hearts of the revelers to respect everyone's privacy instead of seeking cheap thrills in the name of merry making.
Your momentary pleasure or thrill
can cause long periods of distress and sadness to others.
Holi is here! Hold On your Testosterone fueled horses.
5. Bura Na Maano Holi Hai! (Don't be hurt, Its Holi!): Our ego fuelled anger is violent enough to cause turbulence to anyone who comes near. While Holi celebrates love, color, festivity and virtues like "victory of Good over Evil", we seldom forget the hidden meanings, instead, we direct our energy towards settling grudges and controlling the world around. Every year, during Holi petty issues and quarrels quickly escalate to heavy clashes among revelers - that use brawn over brain to resolve matters. "Colorful" street fights are a common scene. The eternal quest to prove one's opinion as correct or superior than the other seldom triggers such war of words that often take an ugly form.
Let us embrace it out!
Give peace a chance.
This Holi, Let Go of Ego.
***
[Bonus] The Bholenath's Bhang: A story surrounding Holi revolves around the great Hindu God - Lord Shiva:
Shiva is known to devote many hours in solitude and deep meditation. Once, Madana - the God of love, decided to test his resolve and appeared in the form of a beautiful nymph. Shiva recognized Madana and became very angry. In a fit of rage, he shot fire out of his third eye and reduced her to ashes. This is sometimes given as the basis of Holi's bonfire.
Corollarily, to celebrate the blissful meditative states experienced by the great Shiva, people in many parts of India indulge in the usage of Bhang - an edible preparation of cannabis. While Indian laws strictly prohibit the consumption and possession of cannabis, exceptions are made around the festival of color. Laws are bent, recipes are passed around and a great collective tripping is witnessed! Bhang Thandais's and Bhang Pakoras are prepared and sold all across inviting even first-timers to experience the unknown highs of life.
A smile adorned my face as I watched him build castles made of sand. We were at the beach! Reflection of the sun and sky in the vast sea embraced the father-son duo. His animated features – laughter, dark hair, petite limbs - induced a plethora of flashbacks across my nimble mind. "Look daddy! This castle is for you, me and mommy." The curiosity in those eyes reminded me of hers. Memories fade away like wild waves. How to reveal a toddler the abstruseness of motherlessness? Kissing my feet, the sea waves slowly washed away the castle of nostalgic dreams!
A man born in forgotten Jamaican streets during the troubled war era rises to stir one of the biggest international uprisings along with almost single-handedly gifting the musical world with a beautiful new word called Reggae. I dedicate this to you! Haiku 03
Often in our life's eternal journey we come across bridges. A dilemma is essential while making the choices that your heart and mind battle out. We either walk to the other side in hope to find all that we imagine would quench our desires, or light a fire to burn the bridge down.
I am a gypsy. Look at me, what do you see? Eternally embracing thy bright light, guided by intuition be always right. Fingers twirling at green glowing grass, this sick society’s labeled to upper-lower class. And all this painful pain be an illusion, Won’t you defy thy delusional confusion? Tell me why the fight o’er whose right. Or wrong, all be in your head till you drop dead. I am living, alive and breathing, feeling His presence, I am unwinding. Dizzy, dazed or confused, what may I be? ‘Coz I am a gypsy, look at me, I broke free Let me walk till the very end, And my soul to never ever bend. To glow with pride, my mind mend to fight, 'Coz this world's a crazy stage. Crazy mindset mummified with age, Then why you look at me like this, When my charisma chimes in eternal bliss. Needs quenched by nature, my mother, Earthy, watery, fiery, my brother. Why do I go on with a look so forlorn, To pretend or not, veiling mask before you ask. You are a soul, complete and whole, Peaceful and calm like the mighty tree. Now, close your eyes as I count till three, 'Coz I am a gypsy, look at me, I broke free!
Everyone can venture everywhere, save your mind, Open your heart, your intuition remains to find. Not here, not there, He rests on your holy spine, Connect thy inner eye, let Him shimmeringly shine! Your body be a temple of the lord, Won't you let him in peace, attuned at His accord. The prayers have been answered, What becomes of You, have you wondered? Wounded, defeated, battered but not dead, miles to walk and several stories etched in my head. Gracious grass glides through my hand, life slipping through like castles made of sand. I fear nothing! supplicated under Thy reflection, attuning my inner self for thee holy communication. Young youthful forever be me, Yes! I am a gypsy, my heart's been long set free.
Look at me, I am liberated, but how? Sweet disposition, living loving now! Fingers twirl at green glowing grass, Growing gypsy defying classified class. And every time my head flows like a Frisbee, Feels like floating freely across the brim of thy loving sea. Happiness a choice echoed my voice, Counting stars and no more darn dollar, All be bundles of boring printed papers, Imagining my life to quench my inner will, Awakened! Seeking divine love for voids to fill. Mantra chants you must day and night, Take your focus off the evil useless fight. Going through ages, plundered and butchered, All must end, will His love be returned? Bholenath! You must count till three, And set the gypsy inside finally free.
Working late in the night all by yourself, can be ecstatic sometimes. When the only noise echoing through the entire floor are made by your fingers coming down heavily on the subsidized keyboard, particularly the low pitched hollow sound released to append a white space in between two separate words. Hitting the keys and gazing at my dim monitor screen to adore the magical letters dancing in front of me, adorning and giving shape to a nascent, unnamed thought that kept on lingering in my head for the past few weeks.
The diagonally-aligned ceiling lights overhead, along with the air conditioning speed had been turned down low to an unnoticeable level across the floor – reminiscent of a grim, impoverished store room, lined geometrically with revolving arm chairs that if pushed backwards reclined at an inaccurate but comfortable angle.
My eyes wore a murky shade of red – impoverished, sleep denied, an over-strained tool for visual assistance. The red color of my eyes could be attributed to the creamy herbs - hand-picked from the lush green hilltops.
The sempiternal battle between a cotton-mouthed throat and laggardly lazy limbs seldom ends in overpowering the latter. My legs lethargically carried me towards the cafeteria.
The cafeteria which during the daytime, bustled with boisterously decorated minions - wearing sleazy tags over their collar bones, discussing petty issues over long tea/coffee breaks - wore a deserted look then. Everything around seemed incommensurable that night -
The endless night!
I knew it was time to…
Floyd In
Pink Floyd was founded in 1965 by students Syd Barrett, Nick Mason, Roger Waters, and Richard Wright. They gained popularity performing in London's underground music scene during the late 1960s, and under Barrett's leadership released two charting singles and a successful debut album -
After one of the longest sigh's that night, I rested my earphones in front of my keyboard and took another sip from my coffee mug. It definitely smelled better than it tasted. The weather widget on my desktop announced it was cold enough to decline a self-skimmed, steaming cup of coffee. I remember leaning back to my chair, intertwining my fingers, gazing pointlessly at the grim ceiling.
I could hear them mumble chaotically in my head, panting every now and then -
"I found [Barrett] in the dressing room and he was so ... gone. Roger Waters and I got him on his feet, [and] we got him out to the stage ... The band started to play and Syd just stood there. He had his guitar around his neck and his arms just hanging down."
I took a deep breath and gently closed my eyes. The dry outline of my lips forming a beatific smile, as I sank into the eternal void- caressing and embracing me.
* * *
The night was still unwinding. With every nervous moment passing by, I was getting drawn inside the prism to be spewed out into the magical realm of mysticism. It started to get eerie. An uncomfortable, but pleasing assurance embraced me - the pipers had arrived!
The beatific smile crawled back safely over my pale face.
My heart plunged as the pipers came knocking for more...
I know, I should’ve written earlier. But a lot has been going on here since you left us.
See, the endowments you bestowed onto the few selected lot of imbecile monkeys to stride forward together, towards a more beautiful and peaceful home, have largely misinterpreted your divine blessing, taking undue advantage of their free will - replacing your statue of love and harmony with ever imposing hatred and never ending ego.
Whom, once you blessed as brothers are now up in arms, facing off and slaying each other over trivial issues you would be disappointed to hear. Yes, the conditions are worse as they sound, and, believe me, dear mother, I am not exaggerating.
What you might have once dreamt as your beautiful second home, outlined by shadows of your unconditional love, is slowly moving towards the dark side.
Mislead and misguided, often with deliberate attempts of choking on meaningless desires, that never ceases to lure the human greed. Peace, love, harmony are mere words, sung by disheartened dreamers, long boycotted by the vicious circle of rules, regulations, sect, creed, religion, their version of reality, woven in a perfect hallucinatory design, earmarked to believe as truth.
But you cannot see the truth with your eyes closed. Or can you?
The messengers of love - young men and women singing in your glory, spreading the divine word, narrating the doctrine of peace - end up burdened under relentless conspiracies - piles of unfinished stories. Sadly, only the powerful and ego-maniacs win.
Oh! You won't believe we've invented this object termed money - that has further aggravated our existential on this beautiful planet. We actually pay for living, for staying alive!
As if every breath blessed by your loving grace, connecting us and making us merge with The One was not enough - yes, we have invented a bigger pursuit than happiness.
It is more than mere peaceful existence - we have started to be something else you chose us to be. We have forgotten the purpose we started this euphoric journey the first place.
Yes, we have pushed and shoved your image away. We sadly have taken our existence for granted, ignoring to dance to the rhythm of the universe, blinded enough to overlook the obvious patterns and designs we were born to.
Choosing to forget that we chose to be here inside the human bodies of ours for a much bigger reason, than chasing and filling our lungs with greasy bundles of printed paper, giving fake promises of an accomplished life.
Sigh!
I envisage mortality as the single toppling brink that has helped your offspring's survive midst tremendous pandemonium that prevails on your blessed land since centuries. We have collectively failed to realize Love is the answer.
Maybe our ego curtained ignorance is too perdurable to view the obvious, finding happiness in everything else but within ourselves.
As I write this disheartening piece of letter under the influence of the divine invocation, many hapless heads are being butchered for non-existential boundaries and borders, greedy hands vying to butcher every inch of your blessed endowment.
Lamenting, I throw my nimble hands up in the air, seeking intervention. I know all isn't lost - there still is hope.
All my brothers need is a sign - a divine harbinger whispering into their deaf ears - that shall resonate and awaken them from their long hibernation to discover the abundant radiance of the almighty surrounding and embracing us all.
That infinite ray of light beaming and exploding through the minds of all, thrusting us in togetherness towards the One.
“Hey, Bob, look out, we got two of those flashers out there. They could be SLA [Spacecraft Lunar Module Adapter] panels. I don’t know. They’re alike in intensity and pretty regular in the bright and dim flashes they come out with, and they’re widely separated.”
A dazed Bob gazed into the infinite ceiling above his shining head. It was a week later his centurion day on his mystically surfaced planet.
Flashbacks of the crazy jamboree his mates back home threw to commemorate his special day, pranged back his head. Never before had he felt so dazed and confused.
Realizing and perceiving stories during his mystical blackouts under the influence of the Shaman's medicine paved path and gave birth to this journey he decided to disembark with his long time comrade Tim.
They were midway solving the long existing puzzle as to what might happen if one dared to break free and egress the divine pattern that was all connected and delineated by Gaia herself.
Was it even possible?
To ignore the obvious links and knots you knew were handcrafted to exist. What could life possibly mean without being breathed in, caressed and treasured by the loving hands of nature, and when the rightful time arrives, being breathed out and rested in sublime sleep - transcending to an alternate dimension - a possible alternate life hidden away from the realms of this existing form. A panting Bob joined his frenzied pal and zoomed their optics out into the open space - an infinite omnidirectional dimension as they were always narrated and made to learn about in their dorms.
Their superior sense of vision - a characteristic that was common to off springs of their lineage made them good explorers - a job that was much in demand and sought after in their homeland - Paxterra.
Their forefathers had envisioned a near perfect system and way of existence, that was well preserved and eventually passed on to the upcoming cohorts. It was widely believed and revered as the divine's way of existence. No one, till then ever imagined a life devoid of the peaceful existence that was meant to devour on the souls of all beings on their territory. The pair was the first to wander and explore the possibilities of breaking away from the devout bond holding all beings together as one.
Yes, it was true; both of them saw a pale blue dot hanging out motionless in the distant space. As small and insignificant as a speck of dust, it reflected back light from the near and distant stars that blessed its surface - an assurance, it had no light of its own - a possible satellite or may be a planet - a possibility it could usher similar life forms blessed and taken care by Gaia.
But, stumbling on something so precious in this infinitesimally spanning dimension was never easy! Their fathers had futilely spent their entire lifetime trying to make contact with other species, merely trying to understand their existence and to share their treasured knowledge that helped sustain and flourish the mesmerizing Paxterra. They started to jot down notes and excitingly taking snaps of what laid ahead of them.
"Umm, Yeah! We are making a detour. This pale blue dot might be interesting. Wish us luck! Namaste."
Several nervous moments of intense breathings and constant static followed from the chambers of the bronze plated speaker and mic setting that laid tangled in front of Bob.
With every dripping of red sweat from his third eye – a clear indication for Tom, that his pal was feeling the heat – his hunch about a possible existence of life form in the pale blue dot converted to a belief. An affirmative nod followed.
“Hi this is Bob, yes we see some strange gas, all black and stinky filling up the atmosphere surrounding the planet. Poor bastards shit them inhaling down here!”
][shivering…][
“Ha! This is crazy!”
][After some heavy static...][
“Yeah! They are in terrible shape James. Shruck! These ego driven minions seem to lustfully live in utter Helter skelter. Shruck!
I fail to understand how should I react at this moment? Shall I be angered at these potheads for blatantly ignoring the obvious channels of love and mutual co-existence or should I be brimming with pitiful tears of sorrowfulness and stretch out my hand to pull them out of this plight…”
][A loud thud subduing a heavier explosion resonates the sealed chambers...][
“ Shruck! They are in desperate need of our help...The message must be delivered. At once – flash of light needs to be… Shruck! The divine message...”
“Uhm, you sure about it?”
][Heavy crackling voice resonating… ][
“We don't understand the universe yet. We don’t understand any of this stuff. They've come to believe, inside every black hole, there is another universe.Wrap your fucking head around!”
* * *
III.
DAY
AFTER
TOMORROW
You are standing in an empty room. A room made of little pieces of stardust that carry emptiness between them. There are no pieces of furniture - no chairs or tables. They were there, but they took them away. There are no monsters from your bad dreams, although, they never were there. Remember! You are standing in an empty room. While breathing in and out, you feel the movement of the emptiness inside you and that the emptiness is You. At this moment, you see that the only things which are absent in the room are the impossible ways of existence.
Do you see the reason for your existence?
Seeing is not always believing ... Or is it?
"My third eye has been active ever since I was a child. Years back it turned into a full blown Kundalini awakening - you know the kind that feels like lightning bolts shooting down your spine through the major chakra pathways. But when I was a kid, I could physically feel things near my forehead and it would intermittently tickle. I used to telepathically communicate to the street dogs and they would rub their whiskers against my forehead and it would send intense energy soaring through my endocrine system. This sounds kind of weird but I grew up thinking that all people experienced these sensations in their pineal gland until I had the Kundalini awakening and learned that hardly anyone does. It was hilarious when I was trying to explain this to my doctor and realized he had no clue what I was talking about. They tested me for brain seizures and everything." But then one day it happened again... Of all the significant hypothesis proved, equations etched, laws imposed against the will of nature - I chose one - a bicycle trip - that single handily has the potential to outweigh almost everything else, making the mere existence of all the egocentric motives and rituals around you laughable. Throughout human history, as mankind has witnessed a plethora of groundbreaking declarations - most of which can - and has made us question our will, only one can be earmarked as worthy decree, that one single bicycle trip that seemed to change the very perception of human senses and made us see what our eyes were designed for - what our minds were fabricated and connected to perceive - what our souls roamed for in human forms endlessly craving for - the dream to finally be exigent - to be here and now - opening the doors of perception and realizing to free your mind should be the ultimate whim of the moment. Nothing else should matter!
To see the light we must embrace the darkness.
I met Jesus while he was raving during the days of cannibal holocaust. It was intense. They came, they delivered the message, and with a flash of light, every moment of happiness gushed out from our lifeless veins into the infinite pool of love and harmony of the universe.
The message that should’ve been learned a long time ago was finally being whispered into the deaf ears, resonating inside the mind of the numb receivers with every available inch of dimension, every tune delivering a different meaning – a magical world of truly infinite possibilities.
Where none was judged or jester at the way one thought or held an opinion about everything close or remotely associated with his world.
Oh! A world where every head was held high and all understood the meaning of each other’s existence inside the creation we all were collectively a part of – where everyone held equal responsibilities towards the betterment of the environment they were attached to as a whole.
All embraced and held each others’ nerves during tense moments of intense peaks - vibrations racing down from their crown spiraling across The Sushumna tunnel of enlightenment, dissociating its energy across the floral shaped ground on which they stood.
Only after intense dark nights arrives the brightest shimmering sun.
140bpm… 180bpm… 220bpm…
It was close to five in the morning, the moon which radiantly overlooked the night proceedings slowly started to recede midst the shy gray bordering clouds, creating intricate patterns outlining mystically shaped faces in the sky that made way for that nascent reddish sunbeam outstretching across the abysmal horizon.
][A boisterous mob had gathered, looking up at the sky, dazed and confused!][
“You are ant-like pitiable creatures living in your own confined dimensions, unaware of an existence beyond your known defined realms. You are a nightingale singing gaily in your own delusional world, elaborately created by your adroit mind. You don’t want to invest any time rationalizing out your thoughts, it’s easier to make a blanket statement that everyone is equal and inherently good. Not true. All of you are instinctively reacting to your own circumstances. The fact is, there is only one obvious truth out there. There is or there is not. It makes no sense to me as to why you morons would choose to make your own deities when common sense demands only One. Human history keeps on repeating itself because you have been designed by The Mother, one short of perfection. See, you can’t fix this mess the way of conquering this planet, simply because you did not author it the first place. So quit trying. Accept things as they are meant to be, rather than over analyzing and tweaking everything as per your own whims. You are incapable of total unity – as there always will exist diametrically opposite dualities. There is no creation without dual existence. All you walking bodies of bones and veins are in dire need of enlightenment. Even within your ethnic differences, all are aware of a presence of something higher – that has guided and created every inch of this universe into existence. Even your children are born with this awareness – but are too soon sucked into the giant heap of evil schemes and plots weaved to mess things up by sick bastards out there trying to vanquish and conquer your holy mother! Wake up! Did you come into existence into this beautiful realm for this? Think while it is still legal.”
][Harsh laughter crossfades across the skyline with harsher music, raining full power!][
Bizarre images flashed in front of him, questioning his own confined vision, he entered realms unknown to his trained mind.
See, this is why knowledge is dangerous. It limits your mind. We forget too quickly that the mind craves infinity.
Quit taming your mind to believe what you think is apposite to affirmation, 'cause the mind wants to turn on, tune in and drop out.
When the veil of ego floating on the wings of knowledge fades off, frightful thought loops overtake those who try to control the mind – those who don’t want to let go. He rose up, looking around, quickly realizing this – all new dimension he was puked out, bordering with grim faces, echoing with eerie voices and strange noise - was not taught or narrated in any of those books he was made to love as a kid. He wanted it to stop, wishing to exit this strange dimension. He started to breathe heavily, as more confusion poured over his fazed mind.
The ability to imagine separates human from other nature's creation. We are bestowed with a brain wired to imagine and create our own reality. As many brains, as many realities. Everything we perceive around us, nature included, is an extension of our imagination. One's power of imagination is boundless. The herb enhances it. All over the globe, millions claim that the herb can actually bring peace to this world. The believers have felt its peacefulness. I felt the same. I was amazed at how calm I became. You expand your imagination, enter a peaceful zone within the walls of your bustling brain, care less about the worldly things around you - not amounting to be careless - just care less! The herb is indeed magical! Sad it is illegal.
***
Almost a year ago, I became friends with him. Our chanced acquaintance slowly cemented to a strong bond of friendship, over several herb-sessions. I still remember the day when we first met. I was out in the sun, carefully hid in the grass, getting baked. And there he stood- with a bright sparkle in his eyes, staring blankly at me - a hunger still unsatisfied! I observed his dark locks being swept across his shoulder in slow motion, by the cool winter breeze. He was tall, taller than me, had an average built, with a wheatish skin complexion. The first indication that he was one of us -an ardent devotee of the herb - was his T-shirt that proudly had the hemp grass printed all across it! Trippy! A long silence followed. A bird flew above us, its wings casting a brief shadow on our blank faces. I noticed his eyes - blood red, brimming with water. A second later there was a crooked smile on his face, perhaps he too had noticed the color of my eyes. I smiled. After a long dead air, I said the first words... Let's go up in smoke?
***
There was no looking back after that. As if both of us understood each other's imaginative state of mind. We had finally found each other! He talked about things I could understand and relate to. We shared a common taste in music, art, literature and even the post-session munchies. I was proud of him! I shared my thoughts with him, at times seeking answers. He was intelligent. He had learnt how to use the herb to enhance the power of one's imagination, for one's welfare. I gained several of such prowess and hacks from my dear friend. He explained the evolution of one's brain from a normal functioning unit to a fully explored and trained machine, the magical herb being its fuel, galvanizing the magnanimous thought process. I was amazed at his cognition. During the course of our trip, we loved discussing any worldly or abstract matters around us. I loved those discussions. Looking heavenward, I would bow down to the Lord for sending me an angel!
***
It happened during one of our routine toke up sessions in the streets of my neighborhood. Like most of our evening trips, I chose to keep quiet. I observed instead. He was talking about the suddenness of life. Ups and down being a part of life, he pointed out the subtle transformation from an upper wave - to a downer, happens almost instantly- in a blink of an eye- comes knocking at your door without prior warnings. "Life can never be presaged", he commented taking a long drag as the smoke engulfed his face. I dwelt on the thought...
Is life really so unpredictable? Can any event go smooth and hassle free as it was supposed to be? Or are the tides a part of life? Can we really risk being complacent for even a slight moment and expect the world around to stay unaltered? Can things actually go up in smoke and vanish in front of your eyes? Let it be... I cared less! He stood in front, more than a couple of steps ahead of me. I noticed I had trailed. Lost in my thought process, I gazed aimlessly at the objects around me, looking out for things that could go up in smoke. It was getting dark, nothing except the lonely street lights gave us company. He was ready with the next spliff. I had the light, it was my turn to do the honours. He stood near a rusted transformer. A complex entanglement of wires poked out from every inch of the old machine. It was dangerously suspended from a height with just a couple of rusty pillars to support it. Power fluctuations were common in our area. I had heard stories of many such transformers bursting into flames. Electricians would calmly remark "the transformer tripped" Funny! I thought. He called out my name, I was lost in my own train of thoughts. I began briskly walking towards him. As I hurried, the lighter fell out of my hand... I bent to pick it up... and then, suddenly I heard it! It was one of the most powerful sounds I had ever heard. A bright light, an immediate spark and a loud explosion followed by complete darkness. The area where he stood was filled with white smoke. A burnt stench spread. Moments later I could hear people screaming and complaining that the transformer had tripped again! A few of them even cursed God. Tripped Funny- I thought!
***
I still keep on looking for him during my evening trips...
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