Post Deepawali Ruminations

Deepawali. Next morning. I am in Vasant Vihar. Morning walk. Many
retired Super bureaucrats going about, for an early walk. carrying a little
shiny stick in their hand – their “Raj-dand”. Swinging it proudly and
marching ahead on the road to good health and long life. Some seem to be
chasing an electronic rabbit, ever receding..just a little out of their reach.

Next
crossing of this beautiful quiet residential area.. Trees lining the
road are in the bloom and the side walk was littered with pink petals. A
closer look: the “petals” were actually litter of Deepawali
crackers..Potato Bombs, Anaar, Fuljhadi, Rockets – outer red covering
blown to smithereens.. I tried to visualize the scene here last night: a
group of nervous children, being “encouraged” by parents to go for it! Show that you can do it, my boy!.. and the boys did it! All over Vasant Vihar!
Jai ho!

Further
ahead- a dog sitting by the side of the road.. something unusual, the
way it sat. One front paw resting on top of the other- daintily. A retired but
“important” looking bureaucrat proudly walks along, with his breed Dalmatian on a
leash. As the man and the Dalmatian cross, this second dog with a
dainty paw, gets up to follow them, may be, with hopes of being adopted
or just to be tossed a snack.. Now, I see the secret of its “dainty” paw: it
was hurt and the dog was trying to hop along the man on his three legs, painfully.

I
again could not help visualizing the scene here last night: A cracker
burning its paw? A cracker tossed towards the dog playfully by a child?
By a child who may not have received love, a lot more than a dog? A parent egging the child on?

Finally,
I shook all the silly and sick thoughts out of my head (oh, you can go mad, if you go on like this..), broke in a
gentle trot, towards the tea gardens- as the sun rose and threw trees
and bushes in a magical relief against the early morning light and the distant blue Himalayas..