Juniper and the Dove.

Long ago at the periphery of a small village in northern Bhutan, there was a small forest. Different species of plants grew there and the place was dwelled by many animals and birds. Amid these woods, there was small spring water, which flow down as stream to finally pour into a big river. By the source of the river were trees and bushes, which grew profusely and abundantly. The species of trees were numerous, mostly being broadleaved deciduous trees. At the ultimate source of the stream was a little cave nearby which grew a tree of unique species, a single conifer of Juniper. 

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As the tree grew by many animals took shelter beneath it, many birds perched on its branches but none took shelter and refugee on that tree forever. All came and went but the tree remained firmly, as evergreen as its leaves, with branches spreading like a conqueror. Its root was so firm that it could behold the entire earth from earthquakes, and its stem, it was so strong that even the strongest of wind could not break it off.

One fine day, during early spring, a pair of doves came all their way from the warmer valley to escape the rising heat. They took shelter on that lucky tree for few days and before they could leave for their final destination, it was time for brooding so the duo dove made a nest on it where the female dove laid three eggs. After a few weeks, the eggs hatched and gave rise to three little doves. The parent then on rotational basis fetched food for their young ones and fed them. As days passed by, the minute naked hatchlings soon developed furs of feathers and before monsoon breaks out, they were almost ready to fly back to their final destination to spend the entire summer.

One fine morning when the sun was shining brightly, the parent doves planned to fly to their destiny with their three little doves so both the father and mother dove went out of their nest and flew on top of the crown of the tree to see their way. While two elder brothers followed their parents to the topmost crown of the tree, the little brother dove was caught by a sparrowhawk but luckily, the little dove got a mere escape thus fell on the ground with a thud. He was seriously injured and his little wing was nearly broken so he could not even rise up. He called upon his brothers and parents for help but they did not hear shivering tweets. The parents tried to search the lost little dove but were in vain so the family of four flew ahead in tears, on that ill-fated day. 

The ailing little dove after recovering the bashful fall, made little efforts to search food for his survival, from the crack of dawn till the close of dusk. After struggling for a month the dove completely recovered from the pain he endured and was capable of flying miles of distance away, but he promised to the tree that he would never leave the tree until his soul leaves his body. He was thankful to the tree for providing shelter during the time of adversity. The dove travelled the day to the nearby villages, roamed the other reaches of the forest, and toured the day with endless flights but never missed a night from the mighty Juniper. The local villagers use to visit the site and chop down trees but never harmed the only juniper considering it blessing from almighty, and when the dove sings perching on the branch of the Juniper, the farmers were pleased and consider the year ahead prosperous. 

Higher and higher, the little dove will fly,

And colours of rainbows would fill the sky.

Down in our village, the yield will be in bounty,

And the first reap, we will make offering to almighty.

The folks use to sing along with the bird.

As years passed by, the tree grew older and so was the bird. However, there was a continuous bliss in that forest. The monsoon showered on time and the farmers reaped a bountiful yield from their toil. 

One day during the monsoon season, as the bird was resting on the trees, looking down the valley and enjoying the serenity, bizarre thought of missing his parents and fellow brothers conquered his mind. Suddenly, there blew a fierce wind that shook the tree ruthlessly, and some of the braches were even broken. Then the sky was down casted with dark clouds. There was flash of unlimited lightning followed by squeaky roar of thunder. Then came a heavy downpour which have the potential to soak even the most remote corners of the tree, which generally faces no pressure from moisture during normal rainy days. 

The dove was taking shelter under one of the lowest branches with his body shivering. He prayed to deity that his mother tree be never uprooted by the floods, nor its branches and stems be broken by the fierce wind, but then his prayers were in vain. The stream swelled very fast and the rocks from the tiny cave fell down one after another causing a massive flood. The age-old roots of the tree could not hold a single knob of earth but it drifted along the flood towards the river, not leaving even a sign of the presence of such a mighty tree. There was nothing the dove could do than to shed tears and wave good-bye to the only companion of his life, when such a disaster shook their life. The dove too left the site and flew to the north for forever after praying that the tree and bird be reborn together in their next life, realizing the impermanence of life. 

P.S: Adapted from the folk song, Chum Tsang Chhu Joo Sai ka Go Luu.

Through the Pane

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 Alone amid unknown travelers,

I boarded an express train.

Seated nearby me were strangers,

With whom I didn’t share a single word.

I just gazed and gazed,

Not at their face but through the windowpane.

Enjoying the serenity of vales and woods,

And of course the happenings outside.

Through the pane, I could see,

The queue of vehicles waiting the passing train,

Though delayed, happy they were, as they knew

Patience is the companion of wisdom

Through the pane I could see,

A man fishing in a stagnant pond.

Fishes escape yet he tries, as he knew

His duty, duty to serve his family.

Through the pane I could see,

Children playing by the roadside,

Worrying not about the accidents,

‘cos of their ignorance, for ignorance is bliss.

Through the pane I could see,

The rickshaw paddlers, striving so hard,

With sweats, and perspiration,

For they knew hard word is key to success.

And within the train came a beggar,

With both legs lame, and eyes blind,

Yet he challenges to live his life,

Since he knew that life is precious.

Life is a Journey

“Life is a Journey” is an adage passed down generations and today at the first quarter of twenty first century, a person like me does not have other dynamic phrase to describe life than to replicate the same phrase, “life is a JOURNEY.” The journey back and forth, journey up and down, the journey east to west, journey through pleasure and pain and of course the journey towards the path of success and towards the edge of failure. 

The path that we choose is never by choice the path towards perfection, nor it is a path of insanity but as we humans lack the power to forecast the result of our present deeds instantly (we can imagine and predict things though) so we are prone to err. We are never sure whether the path, which we travel, will lead us to the destiny of success or other way. It might doom us in disarray of disappointment.

While it becomes prominent and imperative for us to take vivid decisions by using our inborn instincts, it is never a certain decision we are taking. Who knows our instinct based decision of following the major populace at a midpoint of roads may lead us to the crematorium where the folk actually proceed for the funeral of dead body. The journey of life therefore is never as easy as boarding an express train and taking a deep slumber until we reach the final destination.

Life indeed is the greatest gift of God and we human beings are the most fantastic creation of God. We do not have potential to fly like birds but we can conquer the space and explore the farthest. We do not have latent habit to swim like alligators but we can reach the depth of oceans. We lack the ability of rodents like rats and porcupines to burrow the soil but we can connect the different world via tunnels and what not we can do many more though we are helpless physically, Why? Only because we have started the journey of life by making the best use of our inherent ability of think and reason. Our ability to speak out what we think and make judgment and reason out the complexity of this world defines our existence human beings, which other creatures are devoid of it.

So while living a life and longing for success, we have to make the best use of our mental aptitude and thinking ability in making our own decisions and step forward, the journey of life, rather than sitting idly in the corner dumb folded like a crackpot waiting for a jackpot, which in reality is a dreary dream. It is never too late to start something new and to begin any endeavour/ task, or better late than never. To proceed and achieve the miracles of life ahead, we should begin our task patiently from the minute yet important, a single step, for journey of thousand miles begins with a single step.  

"To get through the hardest journey we need take only one step at a time, but we must keep on stepping" 

  Chinese Proverb

Glory of April Shower.

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With the flash of glittering light
Came a shrill of thunderous roar.

To awaken the thoughts of untamed soul

And to sow a glimmering hopes of delight.

Pitter-patter pitter-patter

The raindrops splashes,

On roofs above and in ditches,

Everywhere I could hear was splatter.

The breeze swept the dust on ground

And water drained the dryness,

The ripples reinstated the stillness

And it was moisture all around.

Rustles of the leaves and parchedness

Was replaced by the flutter of new leaf.

Thus along with rain came a sense of relief,

For days ahead will be full of joy and happiness.

Along with the odd winter habits

Gone are the sorrows of my unrequited love,

The soreness of unfulfilled dreams of little dove,

And the perplexity of my loyal heart and its beats.

Like the blossom of fresh spring flower,

I shall rejuvenate my stumbled thought.

As rain cleansed the clogs, my soul caught

I shall sing for the glory of April shower.

A Way of Life

By birth we are all strangers be it siblings or close relatives. Though the siblings inherit the same gene from a common parent, they all existed in different realms before the very existence in this world. Our parents’ gives us a name, and distinguish our unique identities and thus we become a part of them. So by virtue of being born in the same family and having resided under the same roof since our birth, and having got the maximum interaction amongst the family, our parents, our siblings, our relatives and then our village folks become our first acquainted personnel’s in our life. 

As we proceed away from the doorsteps of our homes, we enter the complex and complicated sphere called world. Complex because world is not a single entity of one kind but it is a combination of many recipes and complicated because without proper awareness and conscience, we may fail to enter the correct door from the myriad available.

 In the journey of life, we come across different people. Some we just ignore them because we do not have enough time to halt and chat. While with others, our conversation starts with a polite hi, but disappears so soon before we could waive goodbye. There are others, who enter our lives, leave a light footstep of remembrance and turns away. And there are few whom we meet by luck, talked by chance and become friend by destiny and such person lights ray of hope in us, guide us during confusion, and occupies a special place in our heart. We fear losing such people from our life but then nothing is certain. Yet there are others who leave an incurable pain in our heart and others who betray our trust in them. Had we remained strangers for forever then such phenomenon of meeting and departure, love and loathe, and reminiscence and remorse will not exist but man is a social animal who cannot bear the pain of loneliness for a short while.

Therefore, there is nothing wrong in the Buddhist principle of relating everything being interrelated and interconnected because the theory of cause and effect is not only a theoretical ideology but in reality, everything we do for our own good or for a good cause has its proportionate effect to others as well. Just for an instance, even the Ones that are far beyond the rolling hills and distant places have a great impact to the life of others, which are residing millions of miles away and this is a way of life.