Daud

I don't know whether my words would actually be able to vent out the feelings that have sunk in, of what I saw today and for the first time I wish to write, other than my musings . This incident happened tonight after me and my friend stopped for dinner at a dhabha after 5 hours of strenuous journey on the highway. This "gumnaan dhabha" was a typical desi set up with charpais and planks above them to keep your plates and food on it. After washing faces and hands we tanked ourselves on one of these charpais right across a punjabi driver who also had just settled himself in the charpai along with his son.
The father seemed to be somewhere around 60 but quite stout still with calm and commanding presence. Like the father his son was too a muscular fellow and both carried the same pensive expression on face. And then came to us a bald baba with a typical dhabba menu starting from dal tadka (the cheapest ) to kadhai paneer ( the costliest ) . The place was full of those lorry men and we clearly stood out in that lot. But then whatever be it we ordered a lavish meal for us with one butter dal fry, one kadhai paneer, butter roti and cold drinks. The old baba took the orders from the two gentleman too and was back in a flash with what was demanded as they have almost all the things prepared up. As soon as he placed the food on to our planks we both immediately pounced on to it and didn't bothered to look up until we both finished two rotis each and to wait for the baba to deliver the next lot. Meanwhile I glanced on to the food of our charpai mates and observed some queer things as compared to our food. They both had just ordered one dal ( a simple one with no tadka ) and both were even gulping their rotis from the same plate.

The point of discontent to me was that the father and son had a far more strong built as compared to us and far more strong appetite compared to us and deserved far more food as compared to us but then also they had to just settle for one dal whose mere cost was 10 Rs. equivalent to that liquid we ordered to quench our thirst. I don't know what kind offa visceral sensation that image had on my mind but it repelled me to refrain from one more roti which I was about to take . All of sudden my mind was filled with a flood of questions which I think have taken a corner stone on my heart. I hope each one us will ask these questions to oneself at least for a single moment of our existence and realize that is it worth what it is.

? Is money taking human genome to a slow death where devoid of any libidos we are just mortal to find our end some day

? When shall the race for desires come to a halt when we already have what we need with us

? What will be the cost of satisfaction in this new world order

? Do the pizza bread, the burger, the dessert, the wine, the entertainment worth the value of a delicate stomach dying of hunger in some other world

? Why are people so bad to each other

? Hell ! Is this India, my country, for which Gandhi gave his life , Hell !

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And till the mind unravel these questions

Daude ja oh belagham ghode
Daude ja is anokhi duniya mein