A walk down Memory Lane

जीवन क्या है, इक दोओर हवा का बड जाय छु कर के!

रह जाइन गी बस यादें और उन यादूँ की सरगम!!

कैसे कैसे लोग मिले और कैसी कैसी खूशियन !

बस ढूँढे गे उन यदून मैं तुम को और वो दुन्या !!

बीत गिए हैं कइतने मौसम और मौसम की रंजश !

डूंडा जिस को कोने कोने पाया दिल मैं हसरत बन कई!

कुछ दोंद्ले सी यादें औस की कुछ दुन्द्ले अफसाने!

लाख बूलाओं जिन किसोन को वो दिल मैं घर कर जायं

I am HUNGRY.........

My journey from office to home, It was around 6pm, sky was gray with the thick cover of clouds, little drizzle was pouring, light traffic on the road, it was a mystic evening. As I was approaching a cross roads (stop light) I saw a sign Hungry in the hands of a old pale male. I looked at him from behind the running wipers. He was pale, cold, and direct under the drizzling rain.
It was long stop light, I took out my wallet to find so I can give him something, amazingly it was hard decision to pick between a dollar or five dollars, a battle inside me, a dollar won’t buy him food but five dollars are too much to give in these economic times, I always believed whatever you give out you get 100 fold back, (reason for me being open to offer), it might not be true but I believe and it makes me feel good, not necessary that I need feel good feelings but………………., it is combination of several things, humility on part of the person who is asking for food as he helps me to apply the attribute of generosity.
Times have changed and so is our way of thinking, previously I would not have battle of materialism and my inner conscious, but it seems materialism may be gaining edge over me, though I was able to give him six dollars as I noticed that all the food chains have increased their meal prices.
It is not often you find a person begging on the roadside here, after all we are the richest nation in the world, but things are changing with the poor economic situations, nothing like this I have seen in my life, a time when almost every one around is suffering, a global melt down contributed to the greed of corporate world, a situation which was let out of the hand as every one involved in the process was making money and every one wanted to jump on the fast moving wagon of wealth created by the hype of artificially inflated housing values or unrealistic projections of the business houses, every one was in hurry to get the ten folds on their investments, not their fault, I would do the same as I want the best of the world for my son, so do others, even though I always thought I was detached to the earthly possessions but the fact and realty is it is not true, we all are attached to the materialism to great extent.
I do see the signs of worry and pain on the faces of my friends and people I know, which have lost 70% of their savings and are looking to a bleak future and uncertain times, retirements are gone and some of them in their seventies have started hunting for jobs which are hard to find.
Impact is not regional but global, beggars in Delhi were used to five or ten bucks are lucky if they get a buck, Global recession has its impact to all those who went beyond their means and borrowed huge some of money based on their jobs, now these companies are gone so are the Jobs and earnings but left is a huge debt and no solution in sight. Youth who were flying in the high colors of success and progress are left jobless and broke, they bought expensive homes and cars all on the borrowed money, which was not a norm in Indian society, and for that matter older American generation also bought things which were in their means.

Corporate greed and unthinkable pay packages and bonuses were a nail in the coffin of recession. Now it is the general public which has the carry the dead carcass and find an appropriate grave to burry all the corporate greed. The fear in those eyes are reflected clear who have lost all their earnings to corporate jets and CEO salaries and are forced to a life of uncertainty and poverty for none of their faults and the Irony is that people responsible for the melt down are scot-free. They have their millions in off shore accounts and will bounce back when time is right and will live a life full of luxury.
I could see desire for a worm meal in the eyes of this old man but he had no fear of his future investments, I guess all he has was in his pocket, all he was concerned about a meal and a warm place to sleep.

It makes me think of those nomadic I used to work with, they will move from plains to hills with the season change along with the herd looking for the green pastures, they never had a permanent home or address, no bank balances, no cars, no luggage, no belongings of great value, they were always happy with whatever little they had, not too much attached to material things of the world but they were attached to their sheep and goats. I had a chance to learn a great deal from them, I was there to aware them about the importance of girl child education but they taught me to be selfless and detached. I was not able to give them anything but got a good deal of values from their culture. The best of the lesson was to put yourself in others shoe and then decide, I did the same when I saw this elderly man with the sign in hand hungry…. I was holding a Sign “Hungry Please Help” I was able to justify myself after seeing myself in those shoes.

Era of Mistrust and helplessness .

India and Pakistan which is on the crossroads over the Mumbai attacks, It has been established that people involved with the terrorist attacks were Pakistani nationals, despite many denials and cover up Pakistan had to acknowledge that people involved were its nationals। It was not an easy acceptance on behalf of Pakistani establishment, Prime Minister had to let go country’s National Security Advisor for his acknowledgement to the fact that people who attacked Mumbai were Pakistani’s.

India and Pakistan which has seen more then two full fledged wars, over the issues of Kashmir, which is part of India and Pakistan’s grudge over Indian participation in creating Bangladesh out of west Pakistan. Pakistan an Islamic Nation which was carved out of India in 1947 before India was liberated by Brittan, Since 1947 India and Pakistan were quick to sow the seeds of hatred and destruction, despite 60 years of half hearted efforts to bring trust and understanding between both countries, many documents were signed many confidence building measures were taken but as mentioned they were all an act to suggest that both countries were positively looking for peace and peaceful solution of all outstanding issues. The fact is that none of these Nations wanted sincere solutions to their problems. Pakistan which thrives on the Islamic based politics can’t afford to offend clergy and hardliners who are thirsty for the blood of Indians and Indian forces, Pakistani Army which had suffered an embarrassing defeat at the hands of Indian army in West Pakistan (Now Bangladesh) has a burning desire to take revenge for it. Despite sincere efforts of some of the progressive Politicians of the Pakistan, they were unable to face the radical elements in Pakistan, Be it Zulfikar Ali Bhutto or Benizir Bhutto, despite being moderate and progressive leaders of Pakistan they were not powerful enough to stand the country’s clergy.

India on the other hand which is one of the oldest civilizations is also hijacked by the fundamentalist elements, Bajrang Dal which is a radical Hindu organizations and responsible for the demolition of a structure known as Babri Masjid, (which was a Hindu temple hundreds of years ago as per Hindu writers and was converted to Mausoleum by the Mogul rulers who forced many million Hindu’s to Islam). It was clear politics to garner to the support of Hindu’s on religious sentiments, many thousand people died during this conflict; they were both Hindu’s and Muslims.

When two countries have such long history of mistrust and hatred towards each other, how can an easy solution or a fix can be found to address all their grievances, Pakistan which has distinction of being an exporter of terrorism through out the world, Pakistan has acquired Nuclear weapons to counter Indian progress, is alarming as it reminds me of a monkey with a banana in one and in fit of rage can yank it at any one any time.
India on the other hand is a fastest growing economy with the forth largest army in the world enjoys being a nuclear power and does make efforts to twist Pakistan’s arm whenever there is a attack on Indian soil, India needs to remember that radical actions of Hindu organizations are the fuel to the fire, they are the reason for the home grown terrorist, Muslims living in India are not always treated fairly or they are mislead on the name of religion by the clergy opt to follow the foot steps to the so called Martyrdom or to attain the presences of Virgins. What ever their reasons are but their acts quench the life out of innocent people, leave children orphan and women helpless, I have not read much about Islam but I am sure Islam does not preach the killing of Innocent people, if it does, I suggest you stop believing in God and become atheist.

Despite patience and efforts by Indian establishment, Pakistan has not done or shown enough proof of co-operation and it is clearly established that for many years Pakistani establishment has been providing financial and technical support to the anti establishment and trained them to fight Indian forces in India.
It seems Pakistan government has finally told these so called Jihad Machines to wind up their shops under international Pressure, although it is a big achievement for India but India has its doubts that Pakistan would come back to the Jihad track as soon as the pressure is off from the International community.
Pakistan which is fighting an internal war of fundamentalism, poverty, politics and strong army interference in the elected governments has it own growing pains. It would be interesting to see if Pakistan takes a step towards progress or back towards the dark age of training mercenaries on the name of Religion.

My quest for perfection!

We all have quest for perfection, some of us acknowledge it, and some of us expect it and some just compromise with it. I wonder if quest for perfection was something infused in us by birth or it is unattainable desire we all have within us. Are we all created to attain perfection if so we all should be perfect as the firework which works in sequence or as perfect as traffic lights which work on the programmed timing, but we are nothing like them. Why?

Human beings are also conditioned to accept or work hard to attain perfection; it starts from mother’s womb when a mom desires a perfect baby, a baby with sleek nose, sharp eyes and big smile. Every step of the growth reminds us about the perfection and levels vary from person to person, it is a never ending race which starts from the childhood and keeps till we move to the other world. Concept of perfections starts to sink in when a mom boosts to her friends that her child is perfect, what she doesn’t see is that it is her unconditional love for the child.
As we grow we all look for that perfect person who we all know does not exist but we still love to live in our own created world of deception and belief that there is some one perfect over there, a perfect match, a perfect boyfriend, a perfect girlfriend or a perfect husband and wife! Certainly we create dream world of our imaginations around us and those imaginations include what we want from others not what we have for others. We all aspire for what is higher then us or what is hard to attain and especially in relationships we go above and beyond to impress assumable future partner and each word said is sugar coated, boundaries of dreams and desires reach beyond the boundaries of moon and stars. We all try to be on our best behavior, share our best side, my question is how long can you sustain which is not you, but I admire a desire to change for the better and desire again leads us towards the beautiful pink door of perfection a world of dreams where pastures are green and birds sing beautiful songs every morning and evening to wake you up.
Expectation is a big empty sack which has no weight when you walk into any relationship with it but it is not too long when it starts filling itself with the pebbles of disappointments, arguments and deception. We all in order to keep alive what we have, what we love…. extend ourselves to all the measures which can make us perfect and desirable. It is not only in our world but also happens in animal kingdom, they too look for perfection in their mate, and certainly the criteria’s are different from ours.

We are conditioned to seek perfection and perfection comes in different forms, as a young man and women it starts from the appearances, What our eyes seek as a perfection is some one with proportionate physique, tall but not too tall, thin but not too thin, eyes to be certain way with certain colors, nose to be sharp but not too long or short, so is with the cheeks. Hair too is an issue, if you have less hair, which too is a major issue and makes you out of the category of the perfection. You will be lucky if you have all these short comings and still manage to be on someone’s perfect list. People not only change their behaviors but also their out look as well. We are witness to the ever increasing plastic surgery which fills in the as a gap wish to be perfect, I have many friends who have opted to go under knife just to make sure that they look perfect. My question, is looking perfect can make you perfect? Answer is no. Each time I try to find a perfect person the first question comes to my mind how many short comings do I have, if I start counting, the number is way beyond my finger tips. I sit back and question myself if I have so many flaws, what right do I have to expect or demand perfection from some one else. We all are tested on different levels, sometimes people think we are just a waste on the earth and other time some one would come and say Gosh you are perfect and that is the moment when I start looking at myself and then gaze the person who made comment, my first reaction may be she had little more then she should have consumed, or she really doesn’t know me. I do have doubts about myself so do millions, but we all try to project an image of perfection. I like what someone said “Every one is weird once you get to know them”

As human beings we are created with elements like emotions, pain, love, lust, greed, ego, pride and anger and to overcome these is not that easy. Recently I met a very beautiful person who has been feeling very low, I asked for the reason and answer was she does not feel as beautiful as she used to, my question to her was what makes a person beautiful and her obvious answer was I know it is not the skin but the beauty inside, I think she is very intelligent and collected person but still she was feeling insecure and less desirable. I found I was too incompetent of an individual to reason with her or to make her change her mind, she was not only mentally prepared to change her looks by increasing and decreasing certain parts of her body but was willing to go an extra mile to please someone people around her. I thought of millions of those people, who go through the plastic surgery to enhance their looks, every one has a different reason but the ultimate goal is to be desirable and feel needed. I admire their courage to change themselves for the simple reason to be a likeable person and I wonder if inner qualities or the outer shell makes a person desirable and I wonder what is after this? How much an individual can change him/her to be perfect?

An old epic story as per the Hindu mythology a man by the name of Vishwa Mittra who was a very pious person, he took oath virgnhood for rest of his life in order to attain control of Heaven, he was seeking perfection in himself despite the fact that all human beings are created with emotions and weaknesses, we can make an effort to be perfect but it is something which is hard to attain. In order to take control of the Heaven Vishwa Mittra went to the woods for pious worship, after many years of worship he was able to keep himself away from all material and earthly enticements, which has became the cause of concern for Indra (Controller of Heaven). He was having sleepless nights with the thought that he might lose his station to an ordinary man. He was looking for options to break his oath so he decided to send two beautiful women from the heaven to Entice Vishwa Mitra and they were not only able to entice Vishwa Mittra but also had his baby. He ended up fathering children with beautiful heavenly angels and forgot his mission. By indulging in physical relationship he lost his claim to the Heaven. It was something which was in him but he was fighting not only to his inner conscious but also his desire to stay away from the women in order to attain perfection but unfortunately he realized that perfection is something you can wish and desire for but you can’t hang yourself by the hook to attain it. This does indicate that all of us no matter how perfect we consider ourselves still attaining perfection is far distance a dream.

My friends always have issues, because the enter into a relationship with the beautiful dream that their admirer is perfect, certainly no ones fault but we all try to show our perfect side to impress or convey our desirability, which starts fading as two individuals come to know each other, some times it takes days and in other cases it takes plenty of years. How easy is it for two individuals to think on the same wave length? It is rare and not often two people think or have similar chain of thoughts, but still two people can live a very happy and fulfilled life if they don’t expect other to be perfect because we are not, Trust me if we were we will be not be deep thinkers or people with emotions, tears would never touch our eyes and heart would have no blues for any one, we will never feel pain.

I wish I could see my shortcomings before I search perfection in others, In Guru Granth Sahib, it says “My desire of finding faults in others took me to a place of no return! But when I sat down and searched inside me I could not find any one more sinner then I am!!”

जिंदगी की तलाश मैं !!

बिगडा हूँ बना दे तूं
जो सपना हूँ बुला दे तूं
जो चेश्मय नज़र आऊं आन्खूं से हटा दे तूं
गर यार सेहर आए ख्वाबून से मिटा दे तूं
बे रंग सी दुन्या है न रंगूं को सज़ा दे तूं

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जीवन तुम बिन कैसे बीता किस को सुनाय किस को बतायं
नूर महल मे गन्गूर अन्देहरा किस को सुनाय किस को बतयां
उमर की ढलती शाम मैं हम ने हर कूने मैं चीराग जलाऐ
के जन्मूं का भटका मुस्फीर जो भूले से जे शहर को आए
पूछ जिगर के हाल न हम से हर कूने मैं ज़ख्म हैं खाय
बीत गये न जाने कितने मोसम पर अपना झारा थम थम जाए

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नहीं करार मेरे दिल को एक मुदत से
न जाने कोअन सी मंजिल की तलाश है मुज को
हवा चले है तू कानू मैं कुछ gungunay है
न जाने कूँ सी आवाज़ की तलाश है मुज कों
भरे शहर मैं मुस्फीर सा यार फिरता हूँ
नज़र नहीं जो आए उस शक्स की तलाश है मुज को
गुलूं के शहर मैं कांटे बी हैं चुबन बी है

On the cross roads......

Zoni Beigum’s home is quite and celebrations are gone with her only son, while all her neighbors and whole of the valley is celebrating Eid. All who are some what directly or indirectly involved with her misery are also celebrating.

Zoni had only one son who was 45 years of age just couple of weeks ago and now what she has is that she had a 45 years old son who became victim to religious fanaticism, what he left behind is his wife, a thirteen year old daughter and an old mother who doesn’t remember how old she is; and lots of unanswered questions, poverty, helplessness and pain; little Tabusam is still waiting for the return of her father who was a lorry driver working hard to feed his family, she also waits for the promise his father had made to her, a promise of new clothes, similar kind which Aishwarya Rai wears and lot of Eidi (sweets and chocolates). She has to wait rest of her life as her father was unable to fulfill her promise because his life was cut short by those who were fighting for a piece of land for religious place, a family man who had many dreams for her daughter, her education and marriage. I wonder how was it for Alii Sheikh who was surrounded by many thousand rioters who were protesting against the cancellation of a barren land which was allotted by government to Hindu pilgrims and later reverted back because of the protests of Muslims in the valley. It is political disaster for common people but a reason to get closer to the microphone for the politicians. He must have seen death knocking at his life; he must have seen those merciless eyes. Cannibals in the human form, what else can you call them who can’t think or value human life.

Kashmir has lost a generation to the militancy, people who are 20 years of age has never seen those peaceful and golden days of Kashmir, but they hear of it all the time from their parents and grandparents. Peace full Kashmir was turned into a violent fanatic state by some misguided and freedom seekers, majority of them are resting in the graves but left loved ones still grieve them and are unable to heal their wounds, they wonder what it would be like if they were alive?

After twenty years of horror and bloodshed on the roads, some people still don’t get it and for sure Sayed Ali Shah Gilani has no clue and doesn’t get it, because he has not lost his loved ones to the existing turmoil which he is also an architect of, all his children and grandchildren are safe under the watchful security of police protection by the state of India. He keeps infusing gasoline to the fire whenever the flames are ready to extinguish and there is hope of peace returning back to valley, whenever there is a hope that nightingles will sing again on the lofty trees of valley. He keeps it alive by scratching the old wounds and preaching hatred for Indian establishment and the fodder for the fire he ignites is poor people like Tabusum’s father Ali Sheikh who was on his way back from Jammu when he was caught in middle between the hate mongers, How can any one claim to have a religion when they advocate violence and killings that includes Gilani who leads the Friday prayers for Muslims. Ali sheikh knew that Hindu’s were agitating over the peace of barren land which was allotted to them for the religious purposes and Muslims were agitating against the allotment. Muslims are provided millions in subsidies by the state of India for their Hajj, what a double standard…… any way Hindu’s have right to protest the government decision but do they have right to resort to violence and killings? Ali sheikh was the victim of one of those mobs, who did not see love in his eyes for his older mother, for his daughter and wife, what they saw was a Muslim in a Hindu dominated community, all their hate for Gilani and his kinds were displayed on the poor Ali sheikh who even showed them that she has a little daughter who is waiting home for her gifts, he begged for forgiveness for none of his fault other then that he was born Muslim, but who was there to listen, some one poured gasoline on the truck and rest made sure that he can’t escape from the burning truck, police was quick to response and came to Ali Sheikh’s rescue but it was too late as Ali Sheikh was burnt 70%, Police shifted him to the nearby Army hospital for the treatment. All this time Ali Sheikh was thinking about his 13 year old daughter, poor mother and wife, where would he get money for treatment, who would feed them if Ali Sheikh dies? He struggled for few weeks but later succumbed to his injuries inflicted by the patriotic Hindu’s.
Government of India which has always played religion based politics is hesitant to call them rioters and secessionists because they rule the majority vote bank. Not all Hindus follow the sentiments of few who resort to violence because they have been messengers of peace for many centuries. But this new breed of fanatic political affiliates who have calculated moves for their own good…….. same or the other side of Gilani coin, Cunning and Opportunistic, they rally the emotions of unemployed less privileged youths who don’t see any light at the end of the tunnel to seek revenge and negotiate better political packages for themselves. No matter if you are a Muslim or Hindu, if you have hate for anyone or anything living trust me you are neither.

People responsible for Ali Sheikh’s cold blooded murder would never be brought to the book. State of India guarantees to protect the rights of its, living politicians and political affiliates under all circumstances even if they have been proven guilty of heinous crimes, they are bestowed with Chief Ministerships, Cabinet berths and protected bungalows, one such example is Chief Minister of Chattisgarh and many more….

Under political compulsions and compromises no one would be punished for Ali Sheiks murder, which would encourage similar behavior in future too and who cares for a poor lorry driver except little Tabusam who will be raised as an orphan, she will have no one she can demand things and expects unconditional love from someone, she will be one among 400000 who lost their parent on a path which promises freedom and peace. She will have nothing except hate for not only those who killed her father but all who belong to Hindu religion for rest of her life.
Eid went peacefully for Alii Sheikhs family; some friends and strangers brought few things for the family which is on the edge of starvation, but have plenty of tears to drink for rest of their lives.

Not sure what kind of freedom they wanted and what kind of peace they were looking forward to? Their Idea of one religion one country can live in peace or their merger with Pakistan could bring them much desired peace, then they need to look deep inside and ask a question why is it happening in Pakistan despite being an Islamic nation, Pakistan should have attained heavens of peace and prosperity but they are themselves in the hellfire and reaping what they sowed in Kashmir by encouraging the kinds of Gilani to wage war against young children, working parents. They not only shattered the dreams of those who wish and desire to live a peaceful life in ever changing world which by far is turning into a global village, where we all need to get together to solve human misery and hunger.

I wish I had magic or power and I could bring back Alii Sheikh to her family especially
to her 13 year old daughter, I wish I could see the hug Alii sheikh would give to her daughter, I wish I could see little Tabusam wiping tears of his father. I wish I could take those who killed him to the hellfire if one exists, I would not mind taking Gilani also there so he can feel the first hand experience of what pain and suffering means, What it means when your words become responsible for mass killings.
I am sure I will never have those divine powers otherwise kinds of Gilani and Killers of Alii Sheikh would be hiding in the burrows.

A Birds world........

Does any one know why the world is divided? I wish I had wings and I could fly, I could fly without the restrictions of boundaries and Visas, without the restriction of what religion I belong to and which places I can go, without the fear of those hateful eyes which constantly follow any one who is of a different color or look.
Birds do have a better view of the world but are still scared of the hunters who not only claim bravery shooting a little helpless bird but also feel pride in stuffing them to keep them in their drawing rooms for visitors to see.

I know one such bird a beautiful bird with lots of colors, she had two little babies, both are unable to feed themselves or protect themselves, their whole world is their beautiful mother, who shines in the beautiful sun when she moves out of her nest. She has worked hard to bring some thorns and sharp grass which she has spread around her nest so that snakes and other enemies would not be able to scale through those barriers, she brings mouthful of food and water for her babies and they get so excited to see her that they jump up and down as if they are saying you are magical mom!

It was a day with lots of clouds, and mom bid farewell to her babies and told them she will be back mid day with food for them, babies would like mom to stay there but they knew they will need food to survive so they say may creator keep you safe. Mother bird was little stressed that their was very little food left in the forest and she was told by another bird that there is a green home in town which belongs to a very generous man who leaves lots of food on his roof for birds, she thought of it and decided that she will go to the town and pick up food faster and come back to be with her children during this cloudy day.

She made her way to town and found a rooftop full of food, she was very happy to see that people care for birds, she thanked creator for such kind people and landed on the rooftop for food, she started feeding herself, when she was full she grabbed mouthful for her babies and was ready to fly to her children, she was unable to fly as she found herself covered from all directions, she made desperate efforts to find a way out but could not find one, she was afraid and her heart was beating fast, all of sudden she saw a man, a tall man with smile on his face, bird went closer to him and looked into his eyes and said can you please free me, their was no reply from the tall man, she again looked into his eyes and said I have little babies they don’t know how to fly and they are hungry, she got no reply from the man, little she knew that men don’t understand any other language except their own. She took off food from her mouth and said I am so very sorry for the food I ate and I promise I will return each of the grain back to you, could you please let me go, I promise I will never come back to town again, she made many pleas but there was no ear which can hear her, tears were coming down her eyes and she was worried about her babies.

Tall man left, she tried her best to come out of the trap but each try she would hurt herself, she was exhausted, tired and thirsty because of the many hours of captivity. It was getting dark, tall man came with a flash light and transferred bird to a very beautiful cage, cage with separate place for water and food. Lots of food and fruits were all around...... and were humans... who were looking at her with amazed eyes for her beauty. Bird thought that she might get released but that was her hope but not reality and the realty is she is housed into a beautiful cage. After she realized her fate she made last effort for her release, she hanged herself upside down in the cage (as her leg was tide with a string) and stopped taking food or water.
On the other hand little babies were worried about their beautiful mother and they were hungry too, they were scared who would protect us if snake comes here and the other one was thinking where did mom go, is she well, did she forgot way back home, they have lots of question and the only answer they had was that mom had gone to town for delicious food for us, little they knew that their mom now lives in a beautiful golden cage. After long wait little babies decided they will go to look for their mom, they were aware they have very little feathers or no feathers and mom had told them not to go out of the nest but they made a plan that they will fly together towards the town and bring their mom back home, they made their way closer to the branch and decided to take off, one of the babies in their quest to fly and find their mother fell down from the tree. He thought he might be able to fly, seeing his sibling on the ground other baby bird wanted to help him but was unable to do so, so he started crying for help, but his cries were so weak that no one can hear them and their mother had chosen a tree which was very tall and away from the rest of the birds so predators would not be able to reach her precious babies. After crying couple of hours and seeing his little sibling in pain he decided to reach him especially when the one on the ground told him that some ants were crawling on him. He jumped and fell right next to his other sibling and they were there for each other, night was getting darker and darker all the insects and species were gone to their place of rest, but these two motherless were staring in the open sky and bright moon still waiting that their mother will fly in and take them back to the nest. They were hungry but more then that they were heart broken for their mother, they talked whole night about their beautiful mother her beautiful feathers, her sweet kisses, hugs and warm cuddling, her beautiful stories about beautiful world, beautiful trees, beautiful meadows, lakes and streams. Her explanation of Good and bad, her advice and her unconditional love, they were dreaming and the night kept marching slowly….. slowly. It was getting colder and they tried to huddle next to each other in order to keep themselves alive till their mother finds them. They were worried that their mother will scold them but she loves them so much, she will forgive us one of them said. One kept talking while the other one was quite, so he asked him why are not you replying are you sleeping? He kept asking but got no response, He was no more so the other sibling kind of hugged him in a best possible way he could have done without feathers and much movement. I love you so much my dear brother, I should not have let you fly…. It was my fault, he kept crying ….night was getting longer and longer without any end in sight so the other one also bid farewell to this beautiful world which they had heard of but never seen or experienced. With the first ray of sun came vultures and took them away may be for their babies……

I went to my friends home, I knew he had lots of birds but those were all born in the cages commercially, I was never in favor of keeping anything in the cage but people say these birds are meant for the cage and would not survive outside and I always wanted him to see how it would be if he was in a golden cage at a place no one knew him and no one understood his language. He was very excited to show me his new catch, a bird hanging upside down in a golden cage. My first question was why this bird is hanging upside down and came the answer I caught her yesterday and she is in shock and wants out. “Why don’t you let her go” I told him. He tells me the beautiful things about the bird which included that they enjoy soaring high in the sky and lots of other habits which made no sense for the bird to be in the cage and all my arguments went to his deaf ears, I was quite upset and irritated but was not ready to give up my friendship for a bird. Aren’t we human beings selfish? Who has doubt about that......., so I left him and went for a long drive, bird was in my imaginations hanging upside down. I had to go back to his home, as he had invited me for family function, so I went back passed through the hanging bird, not sure how to react and what to say and what to do, Party was pretty boring for me. My friends wife came and sat next to me, she asked me why I was sad, I tried not to tell her but finally I told her about the helpless bird, she too was struggling with it, so we decided to go out in the lawn instead of sitting among a crowd of people who enjoy stuffed animals and birds. I asked her do you mind if I release the bird, she was all for it and encouraged me to release and no one would know as her husband would think some kid must have released the bird. I opened the cage untied her string and let her fly, she was so happy she took off immediately for a long flight, it was amazing that she came back sat on a branch looked at me as if she was saying thank you and went towards her journey to freedom a journey towards her beautiful babies.

She went to her nest and was devastated to see both her babies missing, she inquired about her babies and found out that they fell down from the nest to the ground and were taken away by a vulture, she without wasting time went to vultures nest and requested that he can have her but please spare her babies, she was crying and requested vulture for the safe return of her babies, vulture was very kind and told her he would not have brought them if they were not dead, vulture told her that they were lying dead on the ground with ants all around them. Vulture was very sorry that she lost her babies. Little bird was furious and heart broken, she fly back to town and went straight next to the tall man, looked into his eyes and said you killed my babies you are a killer of two innocent babies, you took my soul out of my body, I can’t wish same for you but may creator give you heart to respect other lives as well. Tall man saw was a bird chipping and told his wife see bird is back, I told you she likes the fruits and food I gave her. He again caged the bird.

Next day when I came to my friends home I saw the same or similar bird hanging upside down on enquiring I was told that she came back of her own and also bit my friend on the hand. My question if she came of her own why is she hanging upside down? I went closer to the cage and looked at the bird, it seems bird recognized me and she turned and sat on a swing in the cage, she looked at me with wet eyes, I tried to read, she was saying something but I could not read anything from her beak, So I looked into her eyes and she went into my soul saying what was the fault of my children? She had questions in her eyes and sadness on her existence, I opened the cage touched her with my finger, she came and sat on my finger I opened her string and brought her out of the cage, she was still sitting on my finger, I patted her with my other hand kissed her forehead and said I am very sorry what happened with you, I promise you I will never have a cage, even if it is made of the Gold and told her that she should fly back to her beautiful world and start a family again and forget all this as a bad dream. I know she will never forget it but time is a healer and may be……
She flew back sat on a branch of a tree looked at me, bid me farewell and took flight back home, this time she had no enthusiasm, no desire, no dreams but a wing following the other carrying her motionless body back to her once beautiful world now filled with the memories of her babies.

I wonder if we will ever get out of the cage we have made around us? Many questions and fewer answers……………………..