A Dusk in the Garden

Just after the sunset and while the moon is about to appear, a few happy-go-lucky children with their after-Holi pink faces are playing on the garden grass. Some are rejoicing on the swings and others just talking. Alas! two little girls have started dancing. Funny though!
The mixed voices of those young girls is reaching my ears from a distance.
Some middle aged women are walking alone along the periphery of the garden, on the interlock-tiled floor in the calm breeze of this March evening. A few infants are accompanied by their parents or grandparents, supposedly for safety on the rides and swings. A secluded old couple is sitting silently on a bench. The temple door is open now. A toddler hopping with a tickle on her face just walked into the gates of the garden with her grandma. She waved goodbye to me after her grandma requested her thrice. Another lady, possibly in her sixties is standing in front of the temple, bowing to the god's idol. She must be tired through the day to walk up the staircases of the temple.

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One Fine Day - En Route Office

The other day, during my usual transit of nearly 10 km to the office I scrutinized all that happened on the way, which I experience regularly but tend to overlook. I recorded some of it in this post.

On leaving from home, I see a few school girls with their heavy school bags and hair tied into tight braids, waiting for their school bus.

On the main road, I see hundreds of others like me, rushing towards their office, probably.

Moving ahead, I notice the very-bindaas hush-hush cycle-wala, least bothered about any other vehicle on the road, rushing to his workplace. While he is driving, a small steel lunch box can be seen peeping out of his old torn bag hanging on the handle of his cycle.

A few kilometers from here, can be seen the blissful sight of a durgah and a temple on the opposite sides of the narrow road. There you see a shopkeeper selling garlands made of rose and chameli flowers. Whether or not you buy them, the deep fragrance stays with you for minutes for free! These few minutes are enough for me to revive the fact that these flowers do not discriminate between a durgah and a temple (rest is self-explanatory).

And those owning shops by the roadside, are busy dusting their shops, and some others flattering god with the pleasing aroma of incense sticks (agarbattis).

Alas! Did I forget our very own city van-wala, eager to mint 7 bucks per customer by yelling - "Rajwada, Nagar Nigam, Mhow Naka.....". Funny enough, but this guy is the most carefree, rather, careless guy, least affected and bothered of the traffic rules. It is advisable to drive atleast 4 feet away from his van, since he decides to stop anywhere and everywhere he finds to be suitable!

And then comes a traffic signal; the most painful moment of the day is when you reach the traffic signal exactly the moment when it turned RED. In the meantime, until the signal turns GREEN, you have a rendezvous with supposedly well-planted and well-uniformed beggars asking for a few bucks. Make sure not to offer something to eat, they accept only cash. In a corner, one often sees a policemen imposing challan of the fastest driver on the road- none other than the bike-wala. The signal turns green.

And then, on the posh roads of the city, I see some luring hoardings that read - "20% off on ladies footwear", "SALE SALE SALE at XYZ store", and some educating ones like - "Beti bachao, desh bachao" (save the girl child) or "Green City, Clean City".

Amidst the dust and the pollution, at a distance of every few meters can be seen Indore's (our city's) food joints serving poha and hot jalebi (breakfast snacks) - indeed, the most successful business in Indore !

And after an encounter with a few more van-walas, a few more cycle-walas, a few more hoardings and temples and durgahs and signals, comes the time to enter my den, my office. And I repeat to myself amusingly, whatsoever changes in our lives, all this would stay the same, everyday!

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तसवीरें

तसवीरें, यादों का आइना होती है,
वक्त को ख़ुद में किये ये क़ैद,
कभी गुद्गुदाती हैं,
और कभी आँसू दे जाती हैं,
कभी छोड़ जाती हैं एक मीठी मुस्कान,
और कभी दे जाती हैं बीते लम्हों को फिर जीने कि चाह,
ये गुजरते पलों को थाम लेती हैं,
ये ही तो हैं जो हमेशा साथ निभाती हैं

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