WHERE ARE U HEADED TO...?

Koi mile ki bichade, yahan kisko kya padi hai

Sab log chal rahe hain, duniya yahin khadi hai...

Khamoshiyon se kahiye chalkar zara pukaarein

Khwabon ke jangalon se aayin hain kya bahaarein

Neendon ka yeh zamaana bas aur do ghadi hai

Sab log chal rahein hain duniya yahin khadi hai

Aankhon mein khushboo ke manzar wahin khilenge

Lagta hai chalte chalte khud se wahin mileinge

Manzil hamare kad se bas do kadam badi hai

Sab log chal rahein hain duniya yahin khadi hai...

I heard this first when i coincidently happened to see the film 'Meenaxi- the tale of 3 cities'- directed by the legendary M F Hussain saab. The thought, the mood and the essence of these lines hit me very strongly then and over the years i have found myself reciting these lines at various times whenever i have become conscious of the pace of my life and of those around me. Each time i see a person restless and eager to maintain or gain a pace that is contradictory to logic and reason i feel like shouting out- Sab log chal rahe hai my friend par duniya yahin khadi hai!

Its remarkable the different pace that so many of us live their lives at various points of time and i find it amusing when at times that pace is being controlled by others whom we have no connection with for instance when you are in a hurry and there has been a traffic jam on account of someone's car being punctured in the middle of the highway! Now that person has no idea the amount of your life's pace he or she has effected.

Another instance- which is my favorite- is when people keep nudging ahead at a red light, some even go to the extent of honking knowing fully well that unless the light turns green no one is going to be able to cross the junction! yet the pace of your life is controlled and you cannot breathe easy. There is the constant gunning of the car engine and nudging going on!

I have always laughed at the manner in which people push, hit, quarrel, abuse and charge to get into a train compartment. Only to find themselves waiting for the train to move after all the violent activity of alighting and boarding is over!

As recent as yesterday i had been to the Gate of India to take some random bytes of people for a presentation i was making. It required people to answer my 2 questions on camera. I wanted people to pause and give me a byte that would last not more than a minute including my explanation time. However not surprisingly i was disappointed! Everyone seemed to be in a hurry! No one paused and i felt like a salesman on the traffic signal trying desperately to take a moment out of people's life! Even a gentleman staring out at the sea or simply walking by the promenade found my activity hindering his pace and thus was restless.

I remembered the above lines again then or even the line from Steven Spielberg's "Catch me if u can" which goes something like- "Where are you going tonight?". Everyone at every point seems to be going somewhere and all seem to be in a hurry to get there so what happens of- Sab log chal rahe hai, par duniya yahi khadi hai?!!...While everyone is walking to somewhere...the world stands... right here!!

For all those who read so far... thanks for the moments you spared...you can get back to running now...