The enlightened call a person wise when all his undertakings are free from anxiety about results.

— Krishna in The Gita

The mind is everything. What you think you become.
— Buddha



Thursday 8 July 2010

Daane daane par likha hai...

Sometimes the most ordinary situations can drive home profound truths. A friend, who lives in Bur Dubai, often walks about two kilometres in the evening to reach the creekside to feed atte ki goliyan (tiny balls made from wheat dough) to fish.
She claims it’s one of the most satisfying activities she can think of.
Last evening I decided to join her, never mind the choking humidity. She led me through the narrow corridors of Meena Bazar and the charming old souk. By the time we reached the spot, near Bank of Baroda, I was soaked in sweat. “Never mind,” my friend said brightly. “A little trouble to make the fish happy.”
She handed me some of the wheat balls that she had carried from home and instructed me to throw them one by one over the railing at the creek water below, where I could see shoals of small, black fish. Next to us was a Filipino gentleman, engaged in the same activity.
I was a bit worried whether it was illegal to feed fish with homemade atte ki goliyan.
But my friend pooh-poohed the thought by saying “we are engaged in a noble cause.”
So there we were, gently throwing the balls one by one at the eager fish that would gobble up the feed in the twinkling of an eye. It was a nice experience indeed, meditation-like, to stand quietly by the water feeding the fish and watching them glide and swim in the water.
Next I saw were some pigeons trying to scoop up the stray wheat balls that had landed on the wet embankment. But no sooner would the pigeons catch the balls in their beaks, the damp wheat would slip out and fall into the water to be gulped down by the fish.
When I pointed it out to my friend, she wisely remarked: “Daane daane par likha hai, khane walon ka naam.” You’ll get something only if it’s meant for you.
Truer words were never spoken.

12 comments:

  1. True. Bhale hi daana piskar atte ke goliyan ban jaaye:D
    Really, being close to Nature is one of the most refreshing forms of relaxation. Feeding birds or fish or any other animal( which is not caged) helps to settle the mind, think clearly and have a retrospection.

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  2. But that is true.
    As for feeding the fish is concerned, it seems to be a ritual Hindus observe.A couple of years back, we had gone to Haridwar and it was a common sight there.
    I think, even Buddhists follow this ritual.

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  3. The pigeons should have used dry towels first!

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  4. yeh to sach ha, even my grand pa used to say the same thing.

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  5. bilkul sach hai ye.. nice blog title.. :))

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  6. so true & pass my smile to ur freind too :)

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  7. Hi. Good one! You are a keen observer where most of the people dont take a note of happenings in the routine life. Most of your blogs are on day to day incidents. I look forward to read your book waiting to be published.

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  8. Such a nice blog. Nice you landed on mine, other wise I would have missed this wonderful post. The tile is so meaningful. Writing style is simple and beautiful.Following you.

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  9. Hi,
    Thanks for visiting my blog.
    I write about everyday life mostly. I have been writing for quite some time in windows live. com, and only now I have started posting some blogs here. I like travelling and write mostly about places visited by me.
    This a nice blog, very profound. Every time I am cooking rice or eating rice I always seem to remember these lines.
    Rama.

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  10. Good day!
    Interesting blog!
    Thank YOU for Your comment.

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  11. I loved your blog Neena, your post is very interesting, simple things in life can take us towards such deep conclusions :) its amazing!
    Thanks for visiting my blog, would definately be visitn your blog from now on :)
    Hey another interesting thing about your post is that I got to know that even Dubai has a meena bazaar;)

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