THE RAIN CLOUD
When I was in my ninth standard, we - my parents and we five brothers - had to leave our joint family, and settle somewhere else. I was the second child; the elder brother was still studying, and the younger ones, were too young to comprehend the impact. My mother had borrowed Rs. 500 from a kind neighbour, and rebuilt our home, from the scratch. Living with honour, with her head high, was more important for her than living in a constant hell of family discord. Those were tough times. The Bangla war was raging on the two frontiers of our nation. Millions of refugees had flooded into the Indian land, and there was a killing scarcity of food, oil and other necessities.
Here, in our village, ours was a different kind of migration. We were refugees of another kind. "Will India pass this test?" ... "Will the homeless millions be able to get back on their feet?" ... "Will our family get back?" ... These were the questions that ceaselessly haunted the nation, and us.
It is close to four decades, now. Our nation has passed this test. And, our family, too.
Yes, we all have survived ... and greatly!
Life is a movement. This one truth is enough to anchor us during the times of our 'tests', our crises.
Every thing - I mean every thing - that stares at us with its dreaded look, every thing that threatens us, intimidates us, paralyses us, makes us depressed and cynical ... Yes, every thing has to pass. Like a rain cloud.
The belief, that 'this is how it is' ... oh! It is truly liberating!
The rain comes when the cloud bursts. We should have faith. The patience.
The life-situations come and go - making our life a true 'Kurukshetra' ... our spiritual battle ground. If we believe in life, the life-situations - however grave and however complicated they may look like - will fail to dampen our spirits. The wars break out, and then they end; the famine breaks out, and then it ends; the tsunami strikes, and it goes ...
Life is a 'constant' movement. It lasts unscathed ...
I am the 'flint of this eternal white fire' ... called LIFE ...
The fire that doesn't die!
GERALD D'CUNHA
Here, in our village, ours was a different kind of migration. We were refugees of another kind. "Will India pass this test?" ... "Will the homeless millions be able to get back on their feet?" ... "Will our family get back?" ... These were the questions that ceaselessly haunted the nation, and us.
It is close to four decades, now. Our nation has passed this test. And, our family, too.
Yes, we all have survived ... and greatly!
Life is a movement. This one truth is enough to anchor us during the times of our 'tests', our crises.
Every thing - I mean every thing - that stares at us with its dreaded look, every thing that threatens us, intimidates us, paralyses us, makes us depressed and cynical ... Yes, every thing has to pass. Like a rain cloud.
The belief, that 'this is how it is' ... oh! It is truly liberating!
The rain comes when the cloud bursts. We should have faith. The patience.
The life-situations come and go - making our life a true 'Kurukshetra' ... our spiritual battle ground. If we believe in life, the life-situations - however grave and however complicated they may look like - will fail to dampen our spirits. The wars break out, and then they end; the famine breaks out, and then it ends; the tsunami strikes, and it goes ...
Life is a 'constant' movement. It lasts unscathed ...
I am the 'flint of this eternal white fire' ... called LIFE ...
The fire that doesn't die!
GERALD D'CUNHA
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