My dear little flower girl

I saw you some months back in the same traffic signal where I saw the old beggar too. A little wisp of a girl who hardly reaches my car window. Little hands, cute face, hair in two pony tails, a wary pair of eyes, and a mouth that doesn't smile. The first time I saw you, I was startled at the resemblance you had with my sister's second kid.

I saw you snaking your way through the cars and bikes, trying to sell the jasmine strands you had in a little plastic bag. I called out to you and bought a strand of the flower. I didn't bother to notice the type of flower, the quality of it, or its price. All I saw was a little girl fumbling with the strand in her little hand, trying to cut it with a blade. You took the money I gave to you and ran to the next car. I saw you from the rear-view mirror till the signal turned green.

From then on, buying flowers from you became my ritual. You did charge two rupees more than the market price but the two rupees brought you closer to me every day. I touched your head one day and asked you if you went to school. You just nodded your head without answering my question. These interactions started happening almost every alternate day, with me looking out for you in the signal and you coming running to my car whenever you saw me.

One fine evening, I asked you what your name was. "Meena" you said in your little-girl voice. I touched your head, gave your money, sometimes cut the flower strand for you when you lost the blade, and gave you an apple whenever I purchased fruit on the way home. Even then, you took the apple but I never could see the smile I looked forward too.

Little Meena, you made me cry so many times....In so many places...
On my way home when I was thinking of what would happen if you are not careful enough in the signal.
On my dinner table when I saw food in front of me and wondered if you had something to eat
When I saw the cost of a movie ticket and felt that I could have bought the whole packet of flowers from you for the price of a ticket and sent you out to play.
When I thought of you getting punished at home for not selling all the flowers that you had with you.
When I thought of taking you home with me as my child and giving you a life you needed.

But Meena, I am a coward...I couldn’t do anything except buying flowers from you, touching your little head, and giving you apples. Do you know how many days I cried myself to sleep thinking of your plight and my inaction? Do you know that I wanted to park my car and come along with you to sell flowers and talk and play with you later? But I didn’t do it either Meena. I always drove ahead when the signal turned green. I always was in a hurry to reach home. But my thoughts were with you, little girl.

And one you did smile back at me. Oh! What a beautiful sunrise it was for me Meena. That was the first day I smiled all the way home. Your smile was like an ever-glowing match that lit the candle of my heart.

But I don’t see you now at the signal. I do vaguely recollect seeing you at another signal with a group of little boys and girls selling little toys. The traffic moved on and I could not check if it was really you. A few days later, I did see a group of kids in the same signal where I met you. They were selling something too. I was not interested in them. I was searching frantically for you in the signal. And I found you. Sitting on a little push cart, you were shaking your legs. When you saw me, you waved your hand with a big smile. I waved back at you and saw you till the vehicles honked me away.

You were looking more confident. Like someone who is sure of her life, and confident that she knows the way to make money. Looks like you have learnt the art of flower selling and have made some money too. Whatever, dear girl, I wish you a good life. Would love to see you more often at the signal. Maybe one day, I will park my car and walk with you. Or maybe, I will buy off the entire lot of flowers from you and watch you play with other children…

Dear Meena, I do miss you...But I am happy if you have found your space and peace…

Yours lovingly,
The lady in a pink car

Experience the Avatar

Watched Avatar in my DVD. I am sure many of you would have watched it in the theatres and enjoyed the effects of 3D too.

This is not a movie review. But yet, can't let go without saying what I felt when I watched this movie.

Beautiful, out of the world, creative, philosophical, and dreamy...

I had always been a dreamer. As a kid, when I gazed at the star filled skies, I imagined me going over there. I wondered at the secrets those glittering stars held. I dreamt of the colors I could experience on those yonder lands. I thought I would get there after my death.

Over time, I stifled my dreamy nature and tamed my senses to stay grounded to the Earth. But now when I saw this movie, I realised that I should not have put to my dreamy nature to death. Because when I saw this movie, I noticed that it was my dreams out there in a different dimension.

The movie is not about science. It is not a piece of fiction. It is not about animation or graphics.
It is about love. Love for nature, love for every other living thing that breathes around you, love for this beautiful planet that twists and turns, for us to live.

This movie made me think of innumerable questions.

When did we start disconnecting with nature? - was it when the first human started covering himself in the name of civilization? Or, was it when the first wheel was invented?

Should we really rejoice about the innumerable inventions we make everyday in the name of Science and evolution? - We invented from nature. But we took the inventions far away from it. So, what is there to rejoice about it?

In the course of our evolution and civilization, did we ever find the key to living? A purpose to life? We never did. The evolved souls are almost there but drop off before paving the way for the others to evolve.
This movie showed that the key to make things work around you is hidden in the heart, in the mind, in the silent part of our selves that reach out to the energy levels of the other. Not in words, not in commands, not in fear.
The path is love. The magic is to relate. From within. Somewhere I could sense Paulo Coelho's Alchemist in this movie too. And his beautiful words 'And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it'.

There are movie makers like Cameron and story tellers like Coelho who have unearthed the truth of life. But yet, we have travelled so far apart in our minds that we touch the spark of truth only for a few moments and then snuff it out with the darkness of our evolution.

I watched this movie twice already. I loved the colors of Pandora. I liked the planet around which Pandora is revolving. I loved the wisps of white floating flowers that descends all over to show a sign.

You can't understand what I am saying here. You can't relate to it. That's because you don't relate to me...:-)

Just take my eyes for a few hours and watch the movie through it. Relate to it as I did. Don't analyze how humans went to Pandora. Do not think how someone can float from one body to another. Do not compare the Navi's looks with the Krishna and Hanuman of our Puranas. Just let go of what you know. Be willing to embrace the possibility of the impossible. If you still don't understand what I have written, then you will never relate to me. We will part as the Navis did with the Humans....:-)

If there is a soul inside me, I want to float over the different worlds out there and be born again as a creature with my heart and senses tuned to nature...

Started dreaming again,
A naive Kalps :-)