THOSE ROSE PETALS ON OUR BEDSHEET

 




“You may give them your love, but not your thoughts;

for, they have their own thoughts.

You may house their bodies, but not their souls;

for, their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow,

which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.”

Kahlil Gibran in ‘The Prophet’


 

It’s sacrilegious to compare our lives with our children’s lives. The two stories are as different as fact and fiction. If that is not convincing, they are as different as a day and a night.

Recently, I had attended the wedding celebrations of my nephew, Kenneth. It’s a grand celebration… very cheesy, classy, and the one which would be talked about…

As I was witnessing this dreamlike celebration, my mind travelled back in time...

Some thirty-two years ago, Kenneth’s dad (My late brother, Harry) tied knot to Dora, alongside me tying knot to Anima. It’s a joint wedding-celebration. Kenneth and Sharyl had hired a white Mercedes; we – Harry and Dora, me and Anima – had hired white Ambassadors…  The entry into the wedding venue, today, was on a chariot or a Bullet/Harley-Davidson motor bike… We had just walked in, holding our hands… The dances, this time, were choreographed by fine professionals, and rehearsed  for weeks, so that every step, every move went perfect… Our dance just went along the music beats and our quaking hearts. We went to spend a couple of nights in a hotel in Kudremukha (which is a devil-forsaken place, presently!) and another couple of nights in a local resort by the name ‘Summer Sands’…

Most certainly, these kids (I haven’t checked), may fly to Maldives or Bali. If not, to our own Shimla-Manali, at least.

After we returned to Mumbai, Anima and I had hosted a small reception to our Mumbai guests… The venue was the old Community Centre at Anushakti Nagar. Madan, my dear student, now a dear friend, had sent his humble Premier Padmini to ferry Anima and me to the venue… That’s our bridal car to the venue. To ferry us back to our house, Ram, my another dear student, now a dear friend, had taken out his topless Mahindra jeep… That’s our bridal jeep to back home.

When we opened the door and went inside, there was this sight to behold: some of my freaky students – like  Pikku, Justin and others – had spread a bedsheet they could find around, and decorated it with  rose petals plucked out of the bouquets the guests had just gifted… We both stood there, alone, smiling and nodding our heads!

It's over three decades now… Our only son, Kenrick, is married, too, by now.






The Wise say, “A wedding is a ‘day’; a marriage is a ‘lifetime’”! Yes, it is  taking a lifetime to realize this truth!

As Kahlil Gibran said on children, we may have given our love to our children, but not our thoughts. For, they have their own thoughts. We may have housed their bodies, but not their souls. For, their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which we cannot visit, not even in our dreams…

Gibran, also, said: “You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you. For, Life goes not backward, nor tarries with yesterday.”






Love, best wishes and blessings to our children – for a ‘lifetime’!


 

GERALD D’CUNHA

 

Pic.'s.: Pixabay

 

Video: RedFrost Motivation

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