“The hour was approaching six and up in the compound’s solitary
tree, sparrows began to call. Gustad listened to their chirping every morning
while reciting his Kusti prayers. There was something reassuring about it.
Always, the sparrows were first, the cawing of crows came later….”
Lines are (not so famous) from chapter one
of Such a Long Journey by Rohinton
Mistry. The purpose of quoting these lines implies the best hour of the day
begins at sunrise and in a city like Mumbai (Bombay) only two kinds of birds
one would hear, sparrows or crows or even pigeons if they are flocked at a
nearby Khabutar Khana. Generally,
pigeons are messy and a noisy lot they
are hardly romantic – the pigeons.
The pigeons they say, are a peaceful lot
and the only admirable part of a grey pigeon, is its multi-hued neck that keeps rising
and falling, its shiny velvet neck also speaks of the marvels of nature. Birds are interesting to watch in their flight and so
are those necessary pauses for rest to build their subsequent velocity and fly. They
tweet, caw or coo.
Man also needs that irrefutable pause to
gather up his senses, spirits and establish his worthiness. Very few get swayed
by that pause and thus the entity is preserved. Proliferated bouts of words,
actions or research can snap a connection in the brain that can leave a
permanent scar. Now you know why a person longs for that break in his schedule.
Take it or you can go berserk.
A pause has no definite time frame. From
ten minutes to ten hours to ten days. Nature has naturally inserted a pause in
the form of sleep that can refresh the mind.
But no, people are not convinced with that
mandatory pause. Me too, I have been on a mild tranquiliser these days without
which I may be nothing less than a demon next day. Although I do not lead a
tense life, my thoughts keep rallying around that can wreck the body.
Maybe I need a pause, though I am often
graced with a short holiday, a good book, an impromptu outing or shopping yet
the tendency to stay tense is there. My immediate response to tackle these
tense moments is to feed on jokes, a TV show or chat with a neighbour or a
stroll in the nearby park. It helps, I do feel out-of-place if these sops are
not around and a bit apprehensive about a feeling out-of-sorts which is aptly
noticed by my husband. He shares a joke every night before the lights are put
off. Of course we do chat over commonplace matters, soft music or some
comforting news. But a joke is the final word between us before sleep. I am
blessed.
So do smile before going to bed which will
lighten up your day the next day. Begin the day with the birds that soar,
aspire to do better and to watch them, select an hour before the day begins.
Comments