Rays of Hope
One evening I and my friend Aarush went to see the sunset. We took our bikes and arrived at my favourite spot – Mountain-view Lighthouse. Situated on the outskirts of Mumbai, it’s a perfect getaway place from the city’s constant hustle.
We parked our bikes and sat on a rooftop right in front of the lighthouse. The view was stunning and so was the weather. I folded my arms around my neck and lied down gazing the blue-orangish sky.
Looking at Aarush face I could see some sense of discomfort, so I threw a question at him. Is everything all right? Aarush is a deep thinker and you can guess that by the way he speaks and articulate things. Yeah, all cool! – was his reply. It’s hard to lie to your friend especially when you are seeing such a beautiful sunset. Sunsets have been a doorway to many hidden conversations that we carry out in our mind. Aarush looked at me and said – do you ever feel the burden of being a good boy every day? What do you mean? I looked puzzled.
“Sunsets have been a doorway to many hidden conversations that we carry out in our mind!”
He turned his face towards the setting sun and kept quiet. After a long pause, he stood up and said, you see those waves? Yes, I replied in excitement to hear Aarush’s upcoming perception. Do you think these waves are tied to this ocean by their choice? I was confused. He kept going, we know the scientific reason behind why these waves are formed but from their perception do you think they have a choice whether to be formed or not? I chose to be silent. Like the ocean, our mind is never still. There are so many of us who are playing the character of a good boy/girl throughout our lifetime. Bound by society and culture, they are doing justice to their character. But, is that the character they want? We are born, and so many external forces regulate our lives. Some are lucky to have an environment which protects them from such forces and allows them to be themselves. And then there are people who are tied in a loop to take actions that are in line with the external forces.
I interrupted Aarush, can you make it easier for my poor brain, it’s getting way too much for my top floor? Aarush said, I want to do so many things in life but I’m always bounded by the restrictions of this society just because my parents are tied to it. For every step that I take, it requires me to think from everyone else’s perspective. I kept looking at Aarush and noticed the colour of the sky change from a bluish-orange to dark red. It’s not that I don’t care about my parents, I do! I genuinely do. But I don’t get the point of why society has to play any role in such decision making.
There was something deep inside my heart that Aarush has touched today and I can now understand what he’s been trying to say. I now get your question and we can talk days on it but first let’s enjoy this beautiful sunset and then we can carry on our life’s talk.
Aarush smiled looking at the sunset and replied “Poetry sunega?”, “Kyun nahi!”, I replied.
And by the way, Aarush is a gifted poet – You will get to know more as we unfold his story and mind.
“कितने सूरज डूबे हैं यहाँ,
फिर कहीं सवेरा करने के लिए।
कितनी कोशिशें हुई हैं यहाँ,
फिर इस दिल को बहलाने के लिए। “
– आरुष