The odyssey of life is full of unexpected turns, jerks, and bumps. As long as one is hale and hearty and earning well, everything seems wonderful. Never does a thought cross our minds that we are mortal beings; instead, we carry ourselves with an air of immortality. Then, the Almighty often chooses to hold up a mirror and remind us of our rightful place as fallible human beings. A recent visit to a distinguished hospital due to some personal urgency, which I wish to take up in another blog, prompted me to share some of my observations and insights about what I witnessed there. My first impulse was to flee from the entrance itself. There was such an overwhelming rush inside and outside the hospital that a surge of fear ran down my spine. I wondered, for a fleeting moment, whether the whole world was sick. At every stage—from obtaining a token and undergoing the required tests to finally reaching the doctor—everything seemed like a herculean task. The attendants accompanying their patien...
Fire, fire, fire, Can I dare to beg of you to be hired? Hired by someone as fragile as me, A timid soul, afraid to set herself free. I know I am too timid to dream of taming you; It is idiosyncratic, perhaps, to think this through. It is in no way wise to walk these lines, Yet your fierce companionship my spirit designs. I want you by my side to help me burn away All that is negative, all that leads astray; All the weeds in the dying, diminishing garden of my life, All the bitterness, sorrow, and silent strife. The effigy of greed, of need, and all that dares To kill fine human values and replace them with snares, Needs to be set on fire, yet I feel My weak bones lack such divine zeal. Though I aspire to rise like a phoenix from my ashes, To emerge renewed after life's cruel clashes, For that, you must become my ally, A force within that will never let me die. Fire, you who are a symbol of both death and resurrection, Of destruction, creation, and sacred transformation, You graciou...