FROM THE HERMENUTIC VIEW

In the land of the Indigo children,
I see all that can be seen,
Come, lets see the sacred 150 year old Banyan tree,
Standing resolute, deep rooted and mighty.

For the monkeys, the branches are a playful exercise,
For the bees, an ideal spot for their next hive,
For the homeless, it is a place to rest one’s weary eyes,
For the Lord Buddha, it is a place of awakening and coming alive.

In front of it is an idol of Lord Ganesh with a freshly lit Agarbatti,
Behind it here comes a man to pee,
Beetles run hastily all over it, probably in search of a gastronomical delight,
While the Fireflies emit small amounts of radiant light.

This tree is so like the Earth,
Full of life yet silent and still,
Under its thick canopy echo sounds of Gilli Danda and mirth,
Look! Look! Running off are two squirrels with zeal.

Just one day of observation and I learn so much,
And too think I was knowledgeable,
The eye’s lesson is over, and what of the ear, nose, taste or touch?
How right was Socrates fable*.
(* - Socrates once narrated a piece whose moral stated by him was – ‘All I know is that I know nothing’)

I learn my own lesson from all this too,
There are multiple ways of looking at anything,
Work can be fun, girls can be just friends, not every ghost has to scare you,
The greatest powers of destruction can be vested in a small stone Shiv ling.

It all boils down to the way we look at it,.
It’s we, not the world, who decides good or bad,
So the next time something’s upsetting you,
Change your outlook, your attitude,

Who knows? It might just be you who’s making you feel sad.
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Completed on 1/6/2010
By Anirudh Vasdev