Observing Life....

One of my favorite pass-times is observing things... they could be anything... people( especially kids ), animals, insects, plants, electronics, streets, ceilings, art, etc... It provides me ultimate satisfaction and lets me be alone to have my own opinions about the things I look at.

I had been quite disappointed in the past few days as I couldn’t sense the festive atmosphere around me... Diwali was around the corner and life seemed so routine... without much excitement around. It could have been because I wasn’t in touch with the world around me as I had been slogging my ass 18 hours a day at work. But then yesterday when I finally got time out for myself and family, my dad tells me we got some shopping to do... which included crackers... for which we had to go to Irla... so I ask him lets catch a rickshaw... but then my dad had something else in mind... he says... "its been a long time I haven’t traveled by a BEST bus...so lets take a bus..." I have to follow him like a sheep while he walks me to the nearest bus stop... to my surprise he doesn’t halt and keeps walking... we cross the second and the third bus stop...when I finally ask him what he is up to...he says...."I am going to miss my evening walk today... so why not make use of this time... its better than waiting at the bus-stop.." Very well I say and follow him... cursing my fate...we walked all the way to Andheri Station...which is a good 3km away from my house...and believe me it didn’t tire me out... I was happy and refreshed... Diwali was in the air...yes it sure was!!!

We crossed an area called Sher-e-Punjab... an area full of Punjabi family and equipped with a Guru-Dwara...which is the main cultural hub... It was well lit and decorated... the kirtans were on and people kept frequenting in and out... there were stalls around it and a balloon seller around whom kids gathered eyeing his goods... some hopped around with balloons in their hands others blew into these really long whistles. The charged up expressions on their faces was a sight worth watching... we walk a little further and cross GULATI sweet shop... The aroma of fresh sweets could be sensed from the other end of the road where we were walking... I could see a fat Sardar happily greeting his customers and wishing them Diwali... outside the shop was this tiny Sardar with a toy-pistol in his hand which would go bang each time he would pull the trigger... a spectacular light and sound display for the young... I remember even I was crazy about them as a kid. A little further we come across street vendors selling bright yellow flowers with fresh green leaves... making garlands out of them... the seemed happy with what they did... everyone around seemed happy with what they were doing... I suppose that’s what a festival does to us...

The station is another 2.5kms from where we reached by then... keeping in mind we just crossed the second bus stop and a Hanuman Temple, which was freshly painted in orange and the Banyan tree in its complex was just being shaved of the last years offerings and decorations for this year’s rituals. We then cross a Tabella (that’s where they hoard all buffaloes and cows to milk them) people were busy out there too. Then enter this area called Pump-House... and we come across Aghadi-Nagar... a colony of Muslim people... It too was decorated and I could hear the evening namaaz in progress, whereas outside... the fruit and vegetable vendors were getting ready to sell their goods as people would break their (ROZA) fast for the day... Ramzaan was on too...!!!

Then there was this sloping road... with shops on either side with lanterns and diyas on sale... certain restaurants, general stores, opticians, another Tabella, medical stores, etc ... all of them decorated and well lit... The most visible aspect of all of them were hoardings and banners of offers and sales... people were sure in a good mood to reduce prices ... for their own profits...off-course!!! My grocer waves to me and my dad from his shop and joins his hands ands shouts out his greetings from his shop... we too return our pleasantries my smiling and nodding back...Then this thought strikes me... why do we wish people during festivals...??? is it because we are happy or want them to be happy or is it just a formality... a routine??? I suppose its a kind of mutual bonding and passing of respect and joy... its kind of a communal feeling... no wonder they say festivals bring people together...

We walk underneath a bridge and surprisingly my dad takes a left... whereas we are supposed to take a right... " Short-cut..." he winks at me. In some time I am walking down this road I had rarely passed all my life. Small people lived out there... that’s what others say... but from what I saw yesterday... they were small people big at happiness... Kids running around with toy pistols in hands... crackers being fired around... music being played aloud. A little ahead this small kid bumps into me, apparently he was trying to wear a shirt in which he got his arms and neck stuck awkwardly. His mother comes rushing and pulls him away from the street as there are vehicles passing by... she was too jovial to smack the kid for his idiocy...And then there was another Tabella in our way... with a well besides it where all the mammals were being given a wash and a silly dog was barking around them. There were small huts around with diyas lit outside them and colorful rangolis adoring their doorsteps. I realized besides the hustle-bustle of high-end residential areas... there are other people existing too and keep the festive spirit alive... though devoid of the materialistic aspects!!!

Finally we enter the main road once again which leads us to the station... there are more shops...more people and more excitement in the air... and certainly more traffic... I had been silent all this while looking at the surroundings with great intent. There are these local cobblers who make boots and shoes on the streets... which I have heard are of good quality and provide a custom fit... today they were having a bonanza I suppose... then all of a sudden my dad stops and hails a rickshaw... we commute our further journey in the rickshaw...and we pass the fly-over and enter SV road... I still look outside and admire the surroundings... with this unexplainable feeling in the back of my mind... I suppose walking and observing was much more fun...

I suppose the festive mood was surely around... but it was I who wasn’t seeking it. On my way back I was alone as my dad had a meeting to attend. My rickshaw stopped at the signal besides Shopper’s Stop near juhu galli... A street peddler peeks into the rickshaw and stretches his hand out which held a bunch of lottery tickets... and says "Sahib...Diwali hai...Laxmi ko ghar le aao...Apni kismat aazmaaoo"... I get tempted a bit...but shoo him away... as he turns around he accidentally drops a bunch of tickets in the rickshaw, I pick them up and shout for him... he comes back takes them from me... touches them with his fore-head and turns around once again, but stops half-way and says... "Sahib le-lo...aapki kismat mein likha hai 1 crore ka inaam... dekho islliye hi aapke paairoon parr girra tha... mein jhoot nahi bol raha... parr yeh bhagwan ka good luck sign hai... nahi to aapke pass thodi naa girrtaa....hainaa???" I am trapped in an awkward situation...I ask him the price of one ticket...Rs.20 he says... thoughts are swirling in my mind...the signal is about to turn green...it does turn green... to my surprise he hops into my rickshaw...and asks me to tell the driver to take it in a corner... I tell the driver to do so... I remove my wallet and see I only have hundred rupee notes. The vendor looks disappointed as he had no change... he plucks a ticket and gives it to me and says... "Sahib sau ka note do...mein abhi chutta kara ke laata hun..." Im pissed by now... n chuck the ticket back at him ...take my money back and tell the driver to proceed... Then the driver tells me... " Sahib ye log aise hi karte hain... bholle aadmi ko dekh karr phasate hain...usne ticket jaan-boojhkarr...auto mein girraya tha..." This sure was a complex modus-operandi...I laugh to myself....and think aloud...its all part of the festive season ain’t it... and wonder how sensitive a human can be to hopes, expectations, dreams, beliefs and superstitions....another learning experience in its own way.....

There was much more I have to share but I guess... I would rather talk about them than write about them...

Wish you all a Happy Diwali!!! Have a cracker of a time!!!
Sahirr