You study various subjects in school and wonder why is there need to learn and study unrelated subjects, in case a student wants to study creative subjects then why does he need to study mind boggling mathematics? Similarly a student interested in sciences then why boring economics???
When you have food, you need accompaniments rice,dal, subzi to make a complete meal similarly when you come out after graduation you would have tasted a number of subjects,never know when it will be of help, because to study when young is storing data in your mind to recycle for future needs.
At your age the mind is very receptive so all that is gathered in school and college will be simply downloaded when the need arises
So the need to study varied subjects,varied experiences which will eventually mould your personality
We never forget the sights,even certain smells/odours,the happy,sorrowful and joyous experiences of our childhood
Last time we tasted a little bit about our ancient past,today a little bit of human nature and his reactions to everyday life and how we carry them on to adulthood.
What is Pure Love
Many years ago, l took my little son to the beach, he carried a few toys along,and as he was playing he drifted towards the shore not very faraway but within my sight.
Later on,a little boy joined in and inched towards my son.
Alone and supposedly poor, clothes convey a lot of information about the person wearing them!!
On the sand,lay a toy unattended which the intruder picked and started to play,immediately the owner snatched and reprimanded him.
The little boy turned aside and started building a sand castle complete with doors and windows,enclosed the structure with a boundary wall and a moat outside and another higher boundary wall.
Now, it was time for my son to inch towards him,he gave him his toy,then another and another finally all the toys were inside the compound of the castle strategically placed.
They played together till the sun set,and now it was the oceans turn to inch towards the two of them One wave,the boundary wall was gone,the waters came in to carry away the castle, the stranger boy was quick enough to gather all the toys and place them near me . My son stood and saw the ocean carry away the castle and all.
My son,came back to where we were sitting, the stranger and me,forlorn and quiet, my son huddled beside me,all three of us were looking in the direction where once stood a “Dream Castle”.
I asked the boy his name and whereabouts, he said his house was near the coconut groove a little distance away,his name he said was Pranav, l asked him if he knew the meaning of his name,he said,his mother told him,when he was in his mother’s womb she would often sit by the sea,and listen to the sound of the lapping and receding waves,and all she could hear was. ” OM “, so christened him Pranav.
We said our goodbyes,he went his way and we ours .Both of us silent,reminiscing the events on the beach .A thought passed my mind,this child my son’s age made an amazing sand castle out of nothing. Just sand,seawater and a few seashells strategically and creatively placed .It was a masterpiece out of nothing.
I knew,it would be taken away by the sea and wanted to see how each boy would react.
As my son stood watching the tides carry away their toil, l saw him drying his eyes on his sleeve as the waters of the ocean crept and destroyed the world he shared with this stranger,a boy his age.The sun set,the castle became part of the ocean!!!
l had asked the little boy while sitting beside me,does it not bother you the sea has taken away your castle? He said,” My mother,taught me to make the sand castles, and when they were washed away, she would say,they have gone to their Master the Ocean.”
On the dinner table,my son broke his silence and asked whether we could go to the beach again to meet Pranav, he is my friend,l want to give him this tomorrow,as he thrust forward his favorite Lego toy.l asked him whether that was the only reason he wanted to go to the beach,to which my son replied, “Pranav,lost his mother a few days back, just like the sea took away our castle to where it belongs never to come back,so too,his mother, as she was dying told him she was going to the Master never to come back,so stop making castles,you have to grow,be strong and work truthfully and honestly to make a strong castle far away from the ocean”.
I was flustered.
My son said, Pranav needs this toy more than l do l need to give it to him.
Next day, my son and l romped the beach searching and calling out to Pranav. Sun was nearly setting,we saw a little boy hunched over near a hut,we ran towards him, it was our friend Pranav.
He looked up towards us,his hands meddling over a half woven basket,looked back again at his basket trying very hard to weave it like the other baskets meticulously stacked . He said,”can you wait,l am just about finishing this half woven basket left behind by my mother “.
He was struggling to give it a proper weave,l signaled my son to leave,we were intruding on his time and concentration.
On reaching home,l kissed my son good night and saw the Lego placed on top of his books,it stayed there right through school and college and was part of his baggage to Hostel.
At 2 am, the other day my phone rings, bleary eyed l reach for the instrument,my son screams from the other end l found Pranav he is in Germany, he has studied to be an architect and is there on deputation.
My eyes filled,l replied,why did Pranav not search for you,to which my son said,we did not bother to give him our identity nor did we search for him again mother.
The was silence on the other end, l could hear my heart thump, felt guilty closed my eyes,in prayer.
God Almighty hears every prayer,holds every hand and helps lessen our sorrows in His own way
Pranams.
Shashi