This morning, besides a very busy road, I saw a small
girl. The road was not good, and it had cracks through which water from was
flowing, perhaps thrown by some nearby shops. The little girl who was alone was
carrying something; perhaps having bought it from some shop and returning to
her home. She had stopped and was dipping one of her footwears in the stream of
water. She was completely lost in thought, not bothered by the chaos of busy
traffic and neither caring for safety or any concerns. She was totally focused on
‘understanding’ water. That moment and her state of mind felt totally like ‘nirvana’
to me.
A few months ago, I saw a similar scene where a small
boy who was going somewhere with his grandfather, had also stopped and was completely
immersed in thoughts and focused on a little ‘pond’ of ‘water’ on the road.
I wonder what was so special about these scenes that I
paid attention? It is not that I was wandering around in an observation mode; I
was actually riding and moving. But these moments got captured in my mind like still
photographs. I think first, these moments were so ‘out of the ordinary’. In the
adult world, we are so used to doing things on purpose and we are always on to
something, that such moments of pure carefree indulgence feel strange. Second,
I got curious also because I thought about the ‘state of mind’ of these kids. And
I could not name it or could not find words to describe it. It was like a ‘blank
slate’; and anything blank is so precious in the modern world because it is
full of possibilities.
I hope that out of the many things frozen in my memory,
these too remain safe and secure. The little kid checking out water on the
roadside – what is with children and water? Perhaps it is better never to
figure out.
- Rahul Tiwary
