Maali

He observed his Maali (The gardener) going from one shrub to the other, plucking some of the shrubs, cutting with his knife, and sometimes breaking ends with his dry hands. Sometimes, the thorns of the shrub pricked his hand, and then, one large thorn pierced his hand and he started bleeding.

"Serves you good Maali, The Shrubs have punished you for hurting them. Why are you hurting them? Let them grow", the boy said.

The Maali said," Master, by breaking them and cutting them, I am in fact allowing them to grow better, controlling their direction of growth. Overall it is beneficial for them".

The boy asked," But do they know that ? They look hurt" ?

The Maali said," Its OK if they don't understand, I will be happy to see flowers blooming on them".

Direct Konnection

"Maata, Pita, Guru, Devoo...........", the Preacher spoke loudly.

"What does it mean", the boy asked.

The Preacher spoke, "It shows that Parents are the highest priority for a human in this world, even God comes after them".

"Why so ? After all parents are also human", the boy said.

The Preacher smiled softly, "Yes they are human, but they are images of God on earth".

The boys eyes started to flow. He said, "What about the unlucky ones like me, who don't have Parents and who have no Guru" ?

The Preacher chuckled, and spoke softly, "My boy, then you are under the direct care of God, for he takes care of you himself".

Tick Tick Tick ...............

Painting was his new hobby. He wanted to paint everything.

As he sipped the hot tea, he surveyed the surroundings from his terrace for a good subject to paint. His attention went to the evening sky, the crimson that was setting in.... The artist in him recognized this as a good picture.

So he started off on his canvas, sketching out the sky and the dipping sun. His Abbu was observing him from behind. As he started to colour them, he struggled. Every second the shades of crimson changed. From golden to dark Crimson, and finally a colour that he found difficult to describe or mix on his palette.

Understanding his situation, his Abbu patted him, "Son, its life, it doesn't stay still for you, like an ever-ticking watch".

Point of View

The Brahmin got up with a start. Has the station come ? He got up and jumped from the side upper berth, where he had slept uncomfortably through the night. He saw the lower berth was empty and looked out through the window. He gathered the malayalam words and realized it was Palakkad station.

Relaxed now, he looked around, time was still 4.45. Most of the passengers were sleeping. He saw the person on the side lower berth coming in with a packet. The man settled down on the seat and started gobbling the contents of the packet. The Brahmin wondered, "Its 4.45 am, Shiva...... some people just live to eat" ! And he watched the man opening another packet and gobbling it down again. The Brahmin thought, "No wonder people are so unhealthy these days, they follow no timings for food, eat and make merry...... shii......."

The Brahmin started packing his bag, as he had to get down at the next station. The man asked, "Where are you going" ?.

The Brahmin said, "I am Lord Krishna's devotee, so visiting him at Guruvayoor. I am glad that after years of waiting, I am able to visit for the first time".

The man said, "Is it? My home is very close by. You can join me, if you don't know the way".

The Brahmin thought that this offer was very good, so he kept silent and accompanied the man. As the journey progressed, they discussed a lot of topics related to God and spiritualism. And the Brahmin was impressed with the man's views. Finally the man left at kunamkulam, and directed the Brahmin to the bus stop that led to the temple.

While leaving, the man said, "Nice meeting you. I have to rush home. I have a Iftaar party to arrange....................... Today is the 28th day of my Roza"

Didnt you notice ?

After 20 years of hard penance, finally Lord appeared before Gajapati. The Lord asked, "Gajapati, what do you want" ??

Gajapati replied, "I want you to be with me throughout my life".

Lord said, "I cannot, I have so many people to attend to" !

Gajapati said, "You have made a promise, you must find a way".

Lord smiled and said, " Tathaasthu" ! and he disappeared.

Long time later when Gajapati was at his death-bed, he called the Lord. Lord appeared and Gajapati started his complaints. Gajapati said, "Lord, you never fulfilled your promise, I never saw you around when I needed you".

Lord smiled and said, "Didn't you notice" ?

I came to you as your friend, as the postman, as the traffic policeman who stopped you on the rainy day, as your house owner, as your watchman, as your manager, as your chief engineer.........

I came to you as the death of your uncle, as the truck which hit your bike, as the Tsunami, as the crow who pee-ed on your shoulder, as the black cat who crossed your way..........

I came to you as the sun beam, as the September breeze, as the rain-drop, as the hot sun, as the dry autumn leaf, as the cuckoo in March, as the mosquito in your bed................

Didn't you notice ???

Gudiyaa

He inserted the coin, and then put one more tick mark against the piggy-bank. He counted to confirm. The marks added up to Rs. 40.

This is the amount he required so that he could buy the Gudiyaa that he wanted. He had seen the Gudiyaa in Ram-Lakhan Stores display pane. Since he did not get pocket money from his parents like his friends, he had to cut on his expenses. He walked sometimes to home to save the bus ticket, made books out of old paper to save on stationary, put 50 paise instead of a rupee in the Shiv-mandir hundi. But he did not mind all this at all. He wanted the Gudiyaa. So, he broke open the piggy-bank, and counted the money again. It was accurate. Enthusiastic and overjoyed, he ran to the stores. He showed the money and demanded, "Give me the Gudiyaa......"

The Shopkeeper replied, "You are too late. The last one sold out yesterday evening".

He travelled back to his home by bus.........