Phone Calls to Remember
11:12 AM |
| If ever word we utter was listened what our life would turn out to be? |
Aladdin had a magic lamp. When he summoned, the genie would appear and grant his will. When technology had reached the threshold, everyone had access to the magic lamp. But the complexity was staggering. Everyone became an enslaved genie to each other. Summoned upon dialing a number, and limited to the amount of 'currency' in the account each resided with the split identity of Aladdin as well as the Genie. Yes, mobile phones are the magic lamps of this generation. When technology superseded emotions, words lost its meaning. In the flow of words human beings learnt to shut their emotions. Upon summoning a person, we failed to communicate what must be communicated. Every act of our lives turned into an act of a mere tweet or a post or text; if utmost important then a call.
I received a few calls to remember, the one I remember the most was when I left my house for the first time for my higher studies. I was a world apart from my home and my phone rang. The ringtone was so clear that it shut the world around me. At the other end was my Father, slowly I heard the faint voice of my Mother. I do not remember what we talked but I felt them closer than ever before. It kept my heart at peace for a few moments. Some moments are powerful enough to make you realize how beautiful your life indeed is. I was at home for that moment no matter how far I was. Was it the brand of phone I used? Never. Was it the OS of the phone? Well it was a Nokia 1100.
Then came a day to remember, few years down the lane of my life when I met with an accident and I was crumbling in pain. I was trying to make sense after I realized that the injuries could be a full stop to my dreams. I was falling apart and darkness was spreading around me. The phone rang, I was slipping down to the end of a tunnel. And voice from the other side asked me, "Are you okay?" The person who called was someone who never pick my calls or used to be in her own world most of the time. The gravity in the voice and the concern had the power to keep me going when I though it was almost over. I was not alone in that moment of darkness. Well, least I made my mind that it was not time to give up. Just like a boxer crawling back to the corner to fight one more round, I made my mind. Hell I was not okay, but I found the light I was searching for. The irony was that I have never even seen the person ever before and still we are strangers. How much I wish I could smile to the person and thank for the miracle of words that flowed that night. Still I remember the simple sentence that put me back on track.
Finally an event that etched profound thoughts, it was rather an experience that haunted me for a long time. I was in Guruvayoor Temple in Kerala, along with my parents. I took my cellphone along for it had the games to get rid of my boredom. My parents were inside the temple, while I was seeking God outside the temple. While the rich begged inside, the poor begged outside the temple walls. While these thoughts played in my brain, a woman came to me. I digged my pocket, but she said she don't want money. She said she was lost in the crowd and want to make just one call. Her silver hair and calm face announced that she wasn't the one to be suspected. Her eyes were tired, and the lips were drooping and trembling, to reflect the situation of being lost in that crowded place. Reluctantly I handed over my phone, slowly she uttered the number and dialed it. The phone rang on the other side. I waited, she waited. The call was picked. She said "Hello". Suddenly the call was disconnected from the other end. Her eyes reflected helplessness. She handed over the cellphone to me. Not a word was uttered but one could see how she struggled against the weight of pain that was tormenting her. As she walked away from me the shopkeeper who was noticing this smiled. He said to me the words that tore my heart. "She was abandoned at the same spot three months ago. Nobody responds to calls. May be she is too much of a burden to bear." I didn't knew what to do. By that time she faded in the crowd. If that call was answered my cellphone could have made a difference. I owned one of the best phones money could buy, still it is incapable of connecting an abandoned mother to her child. In a world where hearts have lost their reason, what value is for words uttered from the depth of one's soul? I tried that number to no vain for a few days till it was deemed disconnected.
If we re-learn to bring emotions and care back to our life, world is still a beautiful place. Smiles will dwell forever in our lips and in our eyes will blossom a thousand roses.
“There is a candle in your heart, ready to be kindled.
There is a void in your soul, ready to be filled.
You feel it, don't you?”
~ Rumi
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