Life as in driving!
How we move on in life is in many ways very similiar to driving. One, for instance, would be how, while driving, our eyes are fixed on - and only on - the vehicle in front. If you are one who watches yourself while driving you would know that we tend to match our reactions with what the guy in front does. Accelerate, brake, signal, turn or even stop for coffee; do anything but do it as he/she does. But then there is the other kind who watch the traffic ahead, way ahead of the motor infront, and plan their own course. These are the ones who overtake, take a detour to avoid a jam and play on the road with like-minded people behind other wheels. And they end up having a more joyful ride and a richer feel of life.
Take your eyes off the tail lamps you are following. Look ahead to see if traffic is bottling up in front or if the guy infront is too slow for your pace. Overtake or take a detour. Turn off the music because when its on you are partially deaf. Slow down. Listen to the sounds from with in, like the revving of the engine and the rumbling of the tyres against tarmac. Catch that rattling noise early on so that you don't break-down enroute. I'm sure you can now think about more things than what I wanted to tell you.
Thanks to Robert Clements for his write up (AUTO INDIA, APRIL 2006) and turning the ignition key.
A joyful ride is what we all want!!.
A few melodic words of cheer!!
A Malayalam song, sung by Umbayi and heard on a drive to Coorg, caught my attention with its simple yet captivatingly positive message. It talked about the faith of a leaf in its last green vein and how the hope spread to everything around it, the branch, the tree, the woods, the earth, the sun and the poet himself. It tells me not to under-estimate the last ray of hope.
Here's the original lyrics in Malayalam and an attempt to translate the content into English, verbatim.
::==================================================================::
Oru njarambippozhum pachayaayundennu orila thante chillayodothi..
Pozhiyaathe orila ippozhum bakkiyennoru chilla kaattinodothi..
Oru chilla kaattil kulungaathe nilppundennoru maram pakshiyodothi..
Oru maram vettaathe oru konil kaanumennoru kaaadu bhoomiyodothi..
Oru kaadu bhoomiyil baakkiyundennoru mala swantham sooryanodothi..
Oru sooryaniniyum kedaatheyundennu njaaan padarunna raathriyodothi..
::==================================================================::
That a vein is still green on it, told a leaf to its branch..
That a leaf is still on it, attached, told the branch to the wind..
The tree told the bird that a branch is still on it, unshaken by the wind..
The woods told the earth that a tree still stood in a corner, unfelled..
That a forest is still left on the earth, told a mountain to its sun..
And I told the spreading darkness that a sun is still abright, unquenched.
::==================================================================::
Umbayi (P A Ibrahim, by the real name), has sung a bunch of songs, possibly the only
Ghazals in malayalam. The above piece might not conform to the strict rules of Ghazal, though.
You can stream a few Ghazals by Umbayi, from
here
