09/14/13
GMT 2040 hrs
THE
SHACK
I
have been living in this 5 x 4 meter structure, the one that you see in the picture below, for more than two
years now. it was initially a single room 4 x 3 sq meters. A
varandah was added later on and it gradually got changed into a sort
of anteroom where I can do the cooking and keep my washing machine
and things. There is running water.
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Electricity
was there from the very beginning – the 75 – 135 volts supply for
which I was paying at Rs. Seven per kWh from the construction
connection. Now I have a separate regular connection for this place
though I had to pay Rs. 10,000/- for a post which I had to purchase
and the connection was established in just ten days from the date of
paying. And the voltage is now a steady 230 volts! The KSEB can do it
all if they want!
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The
mud track has been changed into a proper road and only the metalling
is remaining and I no more have to put up with the back breaking half
a kilometer bike journey upto the junction.
So
things have improved drastically in the last two years; but the most
important thing for some one like me who of course cannot be a chooser is that every year I am staying here I am saving
>Rs.50,000/- on house rent alone ( the last time I was in a rented
house I was paying 4000 per month – of course it had a "swimming
pool" and "air conditioning" and all which made it worthwhile ) and that way I think I have
recovered half of the money I have expended on the shack ! And the
shack is still very much there.
THE VELVETY BLACKNESS IN BETWEEN
Looking
back I find that some of the finest moments in my dreary life of the
recent past are the ones I had spent sitting in the court yard of
this very humble abode of mine watching the starlit sky – the night
sky here is also beautiful as it is all over the earth. A
renowned british astronomer I had the good fortune to listen to was
heard recollecting how she used to wonder about the velvety blackness
in between the shining bodies rather than the stars themselves !
That is a genius at work and NOT an ordinary mortal relaxSingh.
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I
mostly sit here in my arm chair, many a time well into the wee
hours of the morning, facing the north thereby shutting off all the
neighbouring houses of the locality from my vision – the northern
side has no houses.
When
the occasional meteorite streaks down and burns out I religiously
make a wish – there is no harm trying and - never give in!
The
most prominent of the heavenly bodies that I can identify, is the greatBear which is
visible in the northern sky in my area almost throughout the year,
except perhaps for a few months.
As
hours pass by,
(
remember
“It
is not time that is passing by;
it
is you and I” )
as
hours pass by, the great bear turns round and by the early hours of
the morning the constellation is standing on its head; but the first
two stars at the head end have themselves oriented in the same
direction, always pointing to the north, to the north star to be
precise.
And
that is how you make out the North. In fact I owe my ability to
identify a few of the constellations to the night navigation classes.
The north star is in line with the line joining the second and first
star ahead of the first star by seven times the distance between the
first and the second star, that is if I remember correctly.
The
seven stars of the great bear according to indian mythology are the
sapthaRishees, the seven great saints of hinduism. And the north star
is Dhruva.
Dhruva's
is the first reported case of child abuse in Indian mythology. The
little prince was forced to leave his house at a very tender age by
his step mother. But dhruva had a dotting mother and with her
blessings was able to please the gods with his thapasya. The gods
impressed with the kid's devotional fervor elevated dhruva to stardom
and a special place was allotted to him in the heavens - so says the
myth.
By
their peculiar positioning the two rishees dutifully watching over
the child probably are ensuring that little dhruva is never out of
their sight.
I
invoke the sapthaRishees:-
“Great
seers, bear me Witness.”
&
& & & &
SALIM
ALI WATCHING
this
addendum is about a cartoon I had seen long back - I am afraid
the word cartoon cannot do justice to this particular piece of
creative genius; but with my limited vocabulary I cannot find a
better terminology.
Two
migratory birds, a mother and her this year's chick were flying high
in the sky. The mother referring to the man with a pair of spy
glasses on the ground below instructs her young one :
“ look
carefully and you can see dr. salim ali watching us.”
Where
do I fit in, as the mother or the chick ?
oh No; I am not the father; she wont have me.
oh No; I am not the father; she wont have me.
