SOUNDS OF WATER - 1

When I wanted to write this post, I was drawn by the word - Water.

Dr. Bhashir Badr says - 

Ek katra palkon par, gham ka samandar hai,

Badr tum kahaan samjhe, aansuon ki gehraai.

Source of life, anouncer of birth, playground for a child, adventure for the youth, struggle for the family man, cleanser, purifier, medium of anointing, final destination for some.... water has so many roles. As water changes form, it also can be explained by different people differently.

In the beginning, God made heaven and earth; The earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the Spirit of God was moving over the face of the waters. These are the first few words of the Bible. 

On a different level, how many of us can forget the paperboats and dancing in the rain. For some, water has been the reason for huddling under a single umbrella and also the tears shed in solitude.

My cousin goes for whitewater rafting for the thrills of it, while my neighbour wakes up at four in the morning to fill water from the taps as the government supply comes for one hour. What struggles, both for survival, one for fun, other out of compulsion.

Recently I had returned from the Holy land, carrying water from the river Jordan and olive oil from the blessed land of Israel. Water, the bouyant force in Dead Sea where I saw people float, the Jordan waters used for baptism, purification and annointing...I also saw water in the eyes of a small boy in the disputed land where he was begging for food, his father now a memory of a stray bullet.

And finally at the death of a person close to heart, I did not have the courage to see his remains being immersed in the Indian holy river. Is this the end of life?

They say, dust to dust... but as I see it, it may be... from water, through water, with water and finally to water....

I am getting crazier day by day.

 

LONGEST BEACH IN INDIA - CHENNAI