Laughter :)

Reading has always been in my list of favorite "To-do" activities. Perhaps, it feeds my brain, nourishes it providing food for thought. Now, going by my current state of affairs, when monotony has taken a center stage, overpowering every bit of enthusiasm, I find no other thing or person coming to my rescue except my cherished hobby of reading. The motley collection of text that I have read in the past few days, thanks to the EIL library, has indeed been refreshing, offering some respite from the insipid nature of work with which I have been associated for past 2 weeks. 

Now, it was yesterday when I read a piece of article on "Laughter" and found it deserving enough to get a place in my Space. Here's an excerpt from that article-

"Laughter is needed for you to exist. It has to be understood....there are three types of laughter. The first is when you laugh at someone else. This is the meanest, the lowest, the most ordinary and vulgar when you laugh at the expense of somebody else. Deep down this laughter there is always a feeling of revenge.

The second type of laughter is when you laugh at yourself. This is worth achieving. This is cultured. And this man is valuable who can laugh at himself. He has risen above everything. He has risen above lowly instincts- hatred, aggression, violence.

And the third is the last-the highest. This is not about anybody- neither the other nor oneself. The third is just Cosmic. You laugh at the situation as it is. The whole situation, as it is, is absurd- no purpose in the future, no beginning in the beginning. The whole situation of existence is such that if you can see the Whole-such a great infinite vastness moving towards no fixed purpose, no goal- laughter will arise. So much is going on without leading anywhere, nobody is there in the past to create it; nobody is there in the end to finish it."

I don't remember what kind of thoughts went through my mind after reading the above article, but what flashed before my eyes were the past 2 weeks. What followed next was "Laughter". COSMIC  it was, I reckon !!

20 minutes !

It's cold here in Delhi. The mercury is dipping, the days have become shorter and the nights even longer. One thing that I really like about these wintry nights is the silence that they bring with them. On a chilly winter night, the warmth of the quilt and a cup of tea, perhaps have been my perfect companions since childhood. As I introspect today I find nothing has changed. The winter is still the same, the silence is still profound, the quilt continues to shed its warmth, the tea continues to make my nights merrier but one phenomena that has become an essential part of my sojourn is "Solitude". I experience it every now and then, whether I am on a crowded street or on a deserted road, disregarding all notions of space and time, it just grips me up.

Recollecting one such evening when I was on my way back home, after a day of mindless and meaningless activities at work, where 9 hours seems like eternity, I decided to get down from the bus at the penultimate stop and a take a stroll back to my house. The weather was pleasant, dusk making way for the night to spread its cover. The streets were crowded hustling and bustling with people, draped in their winter attire, oblivious of their surroundings, some deeply engrossed in their own thoughts, some chatting with their friends while others lost in their world of cell phone. The street lights entrusted with the responsibility of dazzling the roads with bright light were in full charge. The shops along the roadside were drenched in white light. Everything seemed perfect. Even Delhi's traffic, which I have always found "pathetic", seemed to be oozing along, the buses speeding away, making way for the lighter vehicles. Everything seemed to compliment each other. Amidst all these invigorating sights, the sight of a flock of birds on their way back home, was indeed liberating. I felt happy. I felt relaxed. I experienced solitude. 20 minutes of walk gave me something to cherish, something to forget,  indeed a bouquet full of colorful moments !!