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

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

MUTHU KODI KAWARI HADA

Image
Pic.; Ashwin Mohta M y Hindi was always bad. It still is. One reason for this was, that they introduced Hindi for us only in 6 th standard. Or, was it in 8 th ? I don’t remember… I only remember struggling to write and read… leave alone speak! But, I loved Hindi movies, and, strangely, I could understand the dialogues and the lyrics of the songs… I used to sing those songs (of course when no one was around me!) as if I was the lyricist… One of the songs was a very funny one. ‘Muthu Kodi Kawari Hada’. It was from Mehmood’s super-hit comedy – ‘Do Phool’. I was a 15-year-old high-school boy when I had heard that song (not watched the movie). I could grasp the meaning of two words – ‘Muthu Kodi’… which meant ‘Give kiss’… But, what ‘Kawari Hada’ meant, I have no clue till date! It was just like ‘Why this kolaveri di’... Yes, why ask? Simply enjoy the beats… And, the beats are great… The rest... Who cares? Really! So, whatever bit of Hi...
Read more

SELLING MIRRORS IN THE CITY OF THE BLIND

Image
“I laugh when I hear that the fish in the water is thirsty. I laugh when I hear that people go on pilgrimage to find God.” - Kabir T here is a universal human weakness – and it dates back to the days of fallen civilizations – and it is: to place people on pedestal and trying to be smothered by them, feel loved and protected in their company… worship them as mentors, heroes,  gurus, Mahagurus and Satgurus… Make these mortals larger-than-life cut-outs, worship them as flawless, pure and give one’s all… And, then, ‘take’ everything from them blindly as divine… Give everything to them blindly… Eventually, what happens is:  one more dangerous bondage… What was supposed to free you now becomes a new prison… It’s sad to see this happen! T his room, where I am writing this Post, has no image of any deity. I have no image of any Guru or Master around me… My question is: “Am I not able to feel close to Almighty God?  How ...
Read more

"HAPPILY EVER AFTER IS NOT A FAIRY-TALE... IT IS A CHOICE"

Image
“Love doesn’t just sit there, like a stone… It has to be made, like bread; remade all the time, made new.” – Ursula K. Le Guin,  The Lathe of Heaven T welve years ago, when Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie got married, the world began to hail the couple as ‘Brangelina’. It became a fashion for couples around us to call themselves so… Norbert and Teresa renamed them as ‘Noresa’…  Amol and Vishaka baptized their relationship as ‘Amoshka’… and, Salman and Nargis became ‘Salgis’! I and my wife, too, got tempted to re-christian our matrimonial relationship as ‘Germa’... That is, Gerald and Anima, to be precise! B efore I proceed any further, let me make it very clear, here… that, I have no business to judge on the break-up of Brad Pitt and Angelina’ Jolie’s marriage. I have no inclination to go into why, how, what when etc behind it… The couple ‘chose’ to split. And, it’s their choice… Only they know how good or bad… how joyful or pain...
Read more
THE WILD, WAYSIDE FLOWERS
There is, always, something extra-ordinary in the wild, wayside flowers...