Top of the Mind

Illusions should come packaged with statutory warnings, something on the lines of “Illusionary state of mind is detrimental to anyone accompanying the person in question“ . Its like passive smoking, the difference being the effects are more at a mental level. Spending time with someone having illusions about himself or herself is like spending time in the gas chamber only this time the brain is getting smothered. Now think about spending the whole life with yourself when you are constantly having megalomaniac thought about yourself. Thinking of Jekyll and Hyde, Schizophrenia, Insanity, nah more like plain old stupid So why the above rant? I was going through my mail archives, when I came across a script or that was what it was supposed to be when I wrote it. Not long ago I had illusions about wanting to be a director. I remember the time very well, we were working on a project deadline, my colleague and best friend gaurav slogging away at the terminal doing his best to deliver on time....

A drop of sweat trickles down the forehead, I have never done this before. in front of me is a chasm whose depth I cannot fathom. No tape, measure, laser has been invented which could reach the end and tell the world its depth. The gorge lay there from ages, none knows what created it maybe a meteorite hit or a dormant volcano. The gorge has a reputation of being a killer, multitudes of trekker and vehicles have met their nirvana at the base of the sharp and craggy edges. I can see my whole life go past me in a microsecond., a kaleidoscope of colours and events vivid and at the same time compacted into a moment. It is not long back that my kin had tried to dissuade me from going on this adventure, they tried their best to coax me to go to an alternate journey which was equally stressful but relatively safe, relative being the word I am stressing on here. But I was adamant on doing this, it was the monkeys paw on my back. I had to get it off my conscience, I had to complete this journey...

Imagine a racing event with pure breeds lining the gates, impatient to get off the blocks, neighing to show off the power and in their midst a horse which looks impressive has pedigree but somehow it seems to have one of its legs tied and that too by the jockey. If at the end of the race the three legged horse ends up second will you as the owner of the horse rue the fact, that it did not win the race and retire it to the stables or untie the leg, get the jockey on your knees give him a sound thrashing as one would give an errant kid, put him back in the saddles and promise the jockey a repeat hiding, if he did anything more than move an inch in the opposite way during the race. Think again what you would do, why should it be any different when the horse in question being India, the jockey our esteemed politicos and the race, the race to create a livable future for all and live up the ideals enshrined in the constitution. A growth rate of 9% over the past years, trillion$ club, outflow...