"Allah hu akbar Allahhh...."
Mmmmm.... One can never appreciate an Azzan [the Muslim religious prayer] till one has heard it. And today I woke up to it. I am staying in an Islamic majority area near Worli, in Mumbai. I had noticed a few masjids around from the roof. So now I guess I will have these wake up calls everytime I oversleep. To jerk me up and tell me to do my duties...
But I was still lazy. Stayed back in bed till lunch! My mind was confused as to what to think about. Choices are very tough for me to handle. :D So it finally gave way and went to sleep. :) The afternoon workshop had me run here and there between disciplines ranging from electronics to aeromodelling to biology. I was again confused. I had too many choices of things to do! I just went back to my room and sat there trying to prioritise the choices for the next few evenings... Faintly I heard the melody of the evening Azzan again & I wondered why. But, I almost fell asleep again swaying to it and got delayed for my planned visit to Crawford market to get some bargains for my home etc.
I can never guess why I decided to goto Haji Ali later! But I did... Not to all those 'happenning' places around, but Haji Ali! I walked till there and had missed the sunset (I should say - thankfully). I walked down the footpath towards the Dargah which slowly curved from the East towards South... thinking about some things which were making my thoughts a jumble...
And then in the colourful Dusk I saw it! The Crescent Moon!
I stood right there... spellbound! A glowing crescent on top of a Dargah... I knew it was not a sight to be repeated for me... It was like something which had to be gupled down. and I ve been here for the last half hour now looking at it slowly set. The night has got darker now and its growing more beautiful every moment. For a 'lunatic' like me, this is the best sight possible.
I have sat down on a bench and I have sketched the scene (sketching real life only the second time in my life...!) Its lousy but something in me says I am going to do it more. The path to Haji Ali is over the water to the left, lit with yellow lights. The dargah itself is illuminated with multihued lights with a green glow to the towers. All around is just the sea lit by the reflections and above all is that Glorious Crescent.
The First instant I saw it I wanted to hold onto something/someone coz I was almost shivering with excitement. The second instant I missed not having my camera coz all my important people would be missing this. The third instant, with tears in my eyes, I knew... It was My event! Meant for Me, Deserved by Me. A reward for living maybe...
[If you do, then...] What do you expect God to Give you? This is near maximum I guess, a heavenly pleasure of senses. And eerie coincidences related to human beliefs could make anyone believe in God at such a time. So I have somehow been dragged into this highly affected state. Its so dreamy. This is Nirvana, Heaven, Jannat... I'm not sure I'm alive. & I would not regret dying tomorrow.
I still sit there watching, waiting for my leaden legs to come back... As my field of view widens, I notice...
Two people were "getting a Life" at that moment.
One was Me.
Absorbing something 'God-given'.
I could suckle off the crescent of the heavenly orb, getting all the ebbing inspiration back from the reward, getting all the nourishment for my Mind from this limit-testing sensual experience, getting immunized to the torture of the taxing, unjust, futile world...
And besides me was the child of a poor Mother at her breast.
Was she the God to him? Was He her reward?
The Moon set, the Mother left...
As I walked back, for a while, tears kept welling up with the returning tide on the sea-face.
Mmmmm.... One can never appreciate an Azzan [the Muslim religious prayer] till one has heard it. And today I woke up to it. I am staying in an Islamic majority area near Worli, in Mumbai. I had noticed a few masjids around from the roof. So now I guess I will have these wake up calls everytime I oversleep. To jerk me up and tell me to do my duties...
But I was still lazy. Stayed back in bed till lunch! My mind was confused as to what to think about. Choices are very tough for me to handle. :D So it finally gave way and went to sleep. :) The afternoon workshop had me run here and there between disciplines ranging from electronics to aeromodelling to biology. I was again confused. I had too many choices of things to do! I just went back to my room and sat there trying to prioritise the choices for the next few evenings... Faintly I heard the melody of the evening Azzan again & I wondered why. But, I almost fell asleep again swaying to it and got delayed for my planned visit to Crawford market to get some bargains for my home etc.
I can never guess why I decided to goto Haji Ali later! But I did... Not to all those 'happenning' places around, but Haji Ali! I walked till there and had missed the sunset (I should say - thankfully). I walked down the footpath towards the Dargah which slowly curved from the East towards South... thinking about some things which were making my thoughts a jumble...
And then in the colourful Dusk I saw it! The Crescent Moon!
I stood right there... spellbound! A glowing crescent on top of a Dargah... I knew it was not a sight to be repeated for me... It was like something which had to be gupled down. and I ve been here for the last half hour now looking at it slowly set. The night has got darker now and its growing more beautiful every moment. For a 'lunatic' like me, this is the best sight possible.
I have sat down on a bench and I have sketched the scene (sketching real life only the second time in my life...!) Its lousy but something in me says I am going to do it more. The path to Haji Ali is over the water to the left, lit with yellow lights. The dargah itself is illuminated with multihued lights with a green glow to the towers. All around is just the sea lit by the reflections and above all is that Glorious Crescent.
The First instant I saw it I wanted to hold onto something/someone coz I was almost shivering with excitement. The second instant I missed not having my camera coz all my important people would be missing this. The third instant, with tears in my eyes, I knew... It was My event! Meant for Me, Deserved by Me. A reward for living maybe...
[If you do, then...] What do you expect God to Give you? This is near maximum I guess, a heavenly pleasure of senses. And eerie coincidences related to human beliefs could make anyone believe in God at such a time. So I have somehow been dragged into this highly affected state. Its so dreamy. This is Nirvana, Heaven, Jannat... I'm not sure I'm alive. & I would not regret dying tomorrow.
I still sit there watching, waiting for my leaden legs to come back... As my field of view widens, I notice...
Two people were "getting a Life" at that moment.
One was Me.
Absorbing something 'God-given'.
I could suckle off the crescent of the heavenly orb, getting all the ebbing inspiration back from the reward, getting all the nourishment for my Mind from this limit-testing sensual experience, getting immunized to the torture of the taxing, unjust, futile world...
And besides me was the child of a poor Mother at her breast.
Was she the God to him? Was He her reward?
The Moon set, the Mother left...
As I walked back, for a while, tears kept welling up with the returning tide on the sea-face.
Written on 29th April 2006.
PS: A coincidence exactly an year later made me post this. No reason for this to be hidden...
No comments:
Post a Comment