Malgudi Days - Relived

Its been going so busy over the past few weeks that I have been hardly finding time to sit back and take a breath in peace.Days are just flying past without me realizing or acknowledging them I guess.And last weekend just before going to sleep I realized that in this busy schedule of mine I have not even been opening my bedroom window before dropping off to sleep.And when finally the window panes were ajar the cold gush of wind on my face made me just stand by near the window for a few minutes….feeling the cool breeze.The wind felt so very refreshing that u couldn’t just help but stand still there taking in the freshness along….being carried away along with the breeze.And in that lost state my glance fell on the slum area that is directly visible from my bedroom window.

Somehow whenever I look at those small huts and houses present in that slum I always get reminded of the serial “Malgudi days”.The most amazing thing about the people in that slum is that they are always in the mood of celebration.All round the year you see them organizing some or the other event in their place and you can hear the music and laughter in the air.Every evening they make sure that loud music is played and all the little kids of the slums are called and made to dance.The whole crowd of grown ups sit around the kids and encourage the kids with claps and cheer them.You can make out the pride in the little kids eyes for entertaining their folks and for the admiration that they are gaining in return for their performance.And when there is a festival the grown-ups are also not spared.Everyone of them is forced to perform and the kids do the cheering this time…it’s the kids turn now :)!Its so good to see the whole fun-filled group up from the Bedroom window.And every morning is greeted with hymns from the small little temple in the slum and you can see everyone right from a small kid to the elders offering their morning bows in the temple.

I wonder when I last made it to the nearby temple early in the morning.I wonder when did our society here last have an unplanned celebration or a get-together.I somehow feel we are all in such a hurry always that there is absolutely no time and importance given to such simple events in life that can add some cheer to it ….hurry to reach office…the honking vehicles that blare into ur ears right in the morning just like those morning hyms from the temple…hurry to meet deadlines set in task deliverables…to be noticed in the team and get a good appraisal….hurry to make a point in the group meetings and make ur presence noticed….hurry to catch up with an onsite assignment and make a few extra bucks and add a few extra stars to ur resume…hurry to make a seat in an MBA college to make a bigger job which is again directly proportional with the pay-package ..so the quicker the seat is grabbed the better….hurry to be among the first few in the queue to be served for lunch in order to get a little extra of the fries and sweet dish for the same pay……hurry to play ur way thru to reach the top of the career ladder quickly…..hurry to find a shorter route to success…hurry to catch the first bus home….and finally hurry to get back home and catch few extra hrs of sleep again with the blaring horns standing testimonial to it.A hurried world that we all live in everyday.Why we are all in so much hurry I do not know….why does patience have to take a back step….why everything in our world needs to be achieved in such a hurry who knows….probably that’s why even happiness and peace also gives us a hurried visit most of the times and goes away before we can realize!!

Sometimes I really wonder is it a different world down there in that slum.Malgudi days in its reality may be!!That short stories serial which used to be telecasted long ago on television…the small cheerful dream-town of Malgudi with its cheerful bunch of people celebrating every moment of life together in a different world altogether…..far from the busy schedule…far from the grim faces that u see everyday at work place…far from all work place related complicated politics….far from the complicated thot processes of people who have failed to realize simplicity and value it in the truest sense ages back…far from all the hurry and everything.A crowded little town with ultra simple people residing in it with absolute peace and cheer in the air living each and every moment of life in the simplest way possible miles away from the hurried busy world of the city .The slum and the people in the slum that I see from the window of my bedroom remind me of that serial always and how much I envy them. Long live their cheer and happiness which is so contagious that it will always bring a smile on all those faces who are viewing them from their bedroom windows.And thanks to them for making me realize that a little time off from the hurried schedule can feel so very fulfilling.

Yet another Valentine’s day :)!!

So, yet another Valentine’s day it is. And today I don’t know why I got reminded of the way we used to celebrate Valentine’s day in college. It was not just any other day as it has become over the years for all those poor mortals like us deeply involved with our all time valentine that is work :P :)!!But yeah, when I now look back at the way Valentine’s day used to be celebrated in college it brings back a lot of memories….it was definitely not just another day…It never mattered to us as to who really had a valentine and who did not among us we nevertheless made sure we make the day special for ourselves. Apart from the tiny little gifts (not exceeding Rs 50 in price) that we used to buy for each other and make sure that every single person in the hostel wing is bestowed with the precious little gifts although it meant almost crashing the room doors if the poor girl has gone to sleep on Feb 13th midnight…there used to be a lot of enthusiasm in the air…or do I call love in the air :P…yeah, I could just that the love was for the tiny miny gifts :))!!We made sure that each of us were dressed in something close to red on that day…close to because not many of us had red dresses and the rules were such that even a thread of red in ur dress would do :)!!And not to forget about the wonderfully planned pranks that we used to play on each other….we would carefully order for a pink rose targeting the most innocent and gullible mortal among us as the victim and plant the rose on the poor soul’s door…the rest of the events that followed this does not need a description…its obvious that the poor soul would be tormented till she is close to freaking out and that’s when the actual truth would come out followed by a thunderous guffaw :)!! And there were even a few of us who used to buy gifts for themselves , wrap it up with a nice beautiful gift wrapper and open it at dot 12 ‘o clock and celebrate th day…no matter how crazy it sounds but it had its own excitement :)!!And ofcourse a good dinner in those five star dhabas always topped it all.
And now those sweet little celebrations seem to have gone by long long ago covered with layers of responsibilities and priorities…but even then they do lie somewhere back in the mind and surface on these special days called “Valentine’s Day” :)!!I have heard many a people referring to such days as waste of time…for that matter few people don’t even give much relevance to b’day celebrations and other such special occasions…they are even referred to girly stuff sometimes.But girly stuff or not all such days do hold some relevance and the significance is that they never fail to bring up a nice wide smile keeping up their relevance and speciallity.So, inspite of the grim an serious faces around typing away in fury on the keyboard….inspite of the horror of the approaching deadlines of code-submissions…inspite of everything the day 14th Feb whenever you see this date on the calendar it does bring back all the dust laden memories back.And you don’t feel like its just a ‘Yet another Valentine’s Day’ is it ??!! :) Wishing a very special Valentine’s Day to one and all :)!!