Friday, June 22, 2007

Take time to look around!!


“Why don’t we put that between the grills of the balcony? It is worth a try” said my dad to my mom. My mom thought it was hopeless. But she didn’t want to disappoint my dad and so she asked him to give it a shot. So with that determined look, he carefully lifted the artificially entwined hay, dried roots and leaves and placed it on a thick cardboard. Then he lifted the cardboard and placed it between the grill links on the top right corner of our balcony. He stood there for a minute staring at his work and then beaming proudly he said, “This will be not be empty for long. I am sure it will be inhabited.”

Everyday, my dad used to observe if anything new has happened. You gotta be really patient if you are gonna test nature. Sheesh…. I can never be patient like this. I often tease my dad saying that he is wasting time but he just walks away saying “I will not do that if I were you”.

April- May is the period during which I would never invite anyone to Chennai. Dreadful Chennai… Temperature shoots up; with the sweat and dehydration you feel restless and irritated all the time. Oh Man… Chennai sucks. And above all traveling in such climate, makes everything worse. I used to be dejected and tired when I reach home late at night after traveling for an hour from my work place. It was one particular night; I came home very late and went to the balcony to relax. It was pitch dark outside, cool breeze, rustling of dried leaves, clear sky, and the twinkling stars… It was a very relaxing sight. To compliment this amazing view, a soft chirp was coming from nowhere. But the chirp was very clear and distinct as thought it was coming from near by. I looked around and then I remembered… I ran inside to switch on the balcony lights and as I expected, there it was…!! It was an amazing sight. A small bird was sitting in that nest…. Is it the color of the bird or is it its pointed beak or its sharp eyes, I don’t know what captivated me so much. I stood there for some time relishing the sight. And then I went inside and woke my dad and told him what I found. He said “Yeah I know…”

“That’s it?? That’s your reaction? You waited for all these days, to get it inhabited. Why don’t you enjoy? Come and see it…” I compelled.

My dad looked at me for sometime and said “Your life has become monotonous. You have time to SMS for hours, you have time to watch a movie every week, and you have time to roam around. But you don’t have time for me. You don’t even have time for yourself… I just want you to understand simple things... Relax... Look around... Spend sometime everyday for yourself… there are lots of things to notice… That is a gift for you! Take time to enjoy and relish the simple things around you. Good night!”

4 comments:

  1. Hey really very true.
    U kno these days life has become so bad, that i started writing down checklists with wat i should be doin for the day..The checklist doesn have any major tasks, but jus the simple life relishing activities..
    Watever may be the reason stopping us, ignore them all and jus concentrate on the sweetness of Life.
    Ur msg was loud and clear !
    Hats off Nivi :-)

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  2. tht was really encouraging.. thanks bala...

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  3. That was a sweet n tender narrative :-) except the chennai sucking part!
    Life story with a moral? Cliche! but as all moral stories go...pretty true too! It made a nice read.

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  4. yeah mat.. I gotta remove that chennai sucking part... :-)))

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