Saturday, May 24, 2008

Believe me, there was a God.

A few poems and useless articles. Now is the story time. Let me tell you a story- the story of a man who was beyond words. This story begins but doesn't end because people who are beyond words never end. Let us give some name to the protagonist. Lets call him Mr A, hope that's fine.


So the story of Mr A begins with a small town in the midst of hills on 3 sides and a beautiful river on the other side. Beautiful people with innocence and simplicity exist in the town- the town is in that stage from where you want to grow on to become a city but sadly enough opportunities and resources (i mean the lack of these) restrict you. Drizzling of noise in the daytime and the calmness of deserts at night make this town a place where peace is the most prized possession.


Okay, lets come back to the protagonist and his family- a small happy family of 4000- Mr A, his wife, one 15 year old son and a daughter. 1..2...3....4; who are the rest 3996? Well the answer is in front of my eyes. Let me explain.


Today is Monday and people from across the tribal areas surrounding the town are coming to the town- the locals call it the 'haat' day. Tribals of all shapes, sizes and ages selling things which will give them the weekly stock of food. There is a special crowd in front of a shop, people with strangely sick faces are queuing outside to get into the shop. What a shop is this? Seems like the owner must be a successful businessman. Mmmmmm....Wait for a second, oh this isn't a shop, its a clinic, a doctor's dispensary; and the doctor sitting inside is Mr A. Lets see whats going on inside. A man sitting in front of the doctor with a small boy tells A that his son is having fever from the past 10 days. Mr A inspects the patient and asks his name. The man replies Srivastava Yadav. Strange name, Mr A says. A surname is the first name, really strange. The man replies- he doesn't know whether the word ' Srivastava' is a surname because what matters to him is his belief that the word 'Srivastava' is the name of God himself and he has kept his son's name after a God. And then I have a look at the nameplate of Mr A's clinic and it says Dr A.K. Srivastava. I don't think I need to say a word more about who are the rest 3996.


Lets fast forward the story to 10 hours later. Mr A is returning from the day long tiring experience of treating patients and helping dying people live ,free of cost. He knocks at his house's door and here is his son standing in front of him with a glass of water in his hand- seems like a very disciplined child in awe of his father. Mr A smiles and gives a lovely hug to his son, lets name him B. Even before he is able to complete his glass of water, he hears voices- B has done that again, he is so indisciplined that he mouths foul words to even his mother, B is the worst son one can have, B has gone beyond the activities of humans and is no less than a shaitaan etc. etc. I think these are the voices of Mr A's wife and may be some relatives or neighbors; thats inconsequential. Whats consequential is that their words make you feel that B is a misanthrope who is on the verge of becoming a real devil if not controlled. Whats the real thing? How can we know? Mmmmmm..ok lets peep into the heart of B himself, lets see what his heart is made of- uhhh its so dark inside...well i can see hatred, i can also see anger, greed and many other vices but I can also see love- love which Mr A has for him, love which has the ability to overshadow every other vice, love which is so much that even if B has no real friend or anything else, this one day's love shall be enough stock to make him live successfully throughout his entire life.


At the start of this story I told our protagonist is beyond words, so how do you expect to write about how and what he is. I hope the day in the life of Mr A should have given you at least some idea of what Mr A is. Though this story won't ever end, lets try to give a stop to flow of words by letting you have a peep into the current day.


Current day, time 11 am. The same town , the same shop, oh i am sorry, the same clinic and the same 3996 people. There is no crowd outside the clinic today and the clinic no more looks like a clinic, its a shop now - a medical shop where you buy health depending on the prescriptions by the businessman in the dress of doctor inside. And the doctor cum businessman inside is not Mr A- its someone else.

The 3996 strong family of Mr A is there but no Mr A. He is not there even in the smell of the town, neither in the air or water of that place. He seems to not exist at all any where, not even in the hearts of the 3996 strong family. He's vanished totally from every aspect related to the town. A look at his house 2 kilometers away from this shop also shows no signs of Mr A. Where has he gone? How can a person regarded as God by the people of this peaceful, innocent and simple town simply vanish from a place which was his home? Where has he gone? A lot of search and effort finally finds him. He has decided to divide himself into 3 parts and he lives in those 3 places only- the hearts of his remaining few family members. He is nowhere else, and do you know the reason? The reason is this- Answer this question. Suppose you know and believe that God has created you and made you what you are till date. Thats why you pray to him everyday. Suddenly you come to know from confirmed sources that God no more plays a role in your life. Will you pray to him the other day? I know, you won't. And what shall happen a few weeks later, i think you will even forget that there was a God.


But believe me, there was a God.



1 comment:

Aayush Shrivastava said...

Both of us have a warehouse of unspoken words about which we never talk. I wish someday we will cross that barrier.