Each morning we drive miles and kilometers to various destinations

Balaram Palace , Gujarat                    Jan  30 ,  2012                                         Mon  10 : 45 PM     

Mounted police to control the crowds … !! After returning from Sidhpur, the only place where the ‘shraadh’ ceremony is done for women .. so sublime and gentle and full of sanctity ..

In pensive mood at the area filled with temples and where the ‘shraadh’ is performed ..

The ‘toran’ at VadNagar, the birth place of the Chief Minister Mr Narendra Modi .. stunning and just strangely standing there as a symbol of what ? I do not have any idea .. majestic .. !!

At the prayer for Mother’s soul and its peace …

Each morning we drive miles and kilometers to various destinations, all of which have some significance in the history of the region. Each morning the crowds diligently stand by the side of roads and cheer. The smile on the faces of those that wave and scream and cheer, is poignant and sad for me. Their smile is so open and warm and honest. It is pure and simple. It is all that they have. But it is the best that they do.

Those that line the roads are from different walks of life. In the city there is the youth and the jeans and jackets and hoodies. Through the villages, there is first a sense of amazement,  and then it erupts ; their faces light up, they raise their hands in recognition and cheer, but what is most is the nature of their smile – open and warm and genuine, free from all other thought. The poor of this nation are a reflection of what truly this land stands for, believes in. Despite all the poverty and the paucity of food and house and clothing, they still remain happy and full of belief. A belief that all will change someday, that better days shall follow. They just need to pray more intensely and sincerely. The poor live through hope and fresh air, nothing more … and yes prayer ! Prayer to the God’s for mercy, for forgiveness and for the resurrection of their fate.

No matter how much we may want to do for them individually, or through collective effort it shall still never be enough. Never enough to bring them to an equal level. And if not equal then to a semblance of equality for their needs and wants.

We who have advantage of all basic needs have worked hard for its accomplishment. But so have the others. They have worked no less harder, but the Almighty showed us the way to an enlightened life. For the poor, it had some and did not have some. Why ? I still do not think that science could ever have an answer for it. I certainly do not and I am certain that many like minded would be in a similar dilemma. Which is why religion for the poor and needy is perhaps their most important crutch. They pray and they show devotion to the deities and Gods of the region, bring them along with the stories that have been associated with them for centuries, propel the truth of their existence, the values they possess and how prayer and hope can fill their life with a better tomorrow !!

It has worried me through my years of existence and worries me still because we do not have a solution for this ailment. But just like the others, I believe that hope shall be replaced by fact and fructify into more positive thought word and deed – namely, all the basic necessities required to live and survive in this world, shall come with some dignity and respect, at a time not too distant in the future.

I leave today with a heaviness, not of some physicality, but one that disturbs my mind – not such a good wave to be in possession of just when the night calls on us, to retire for the day …

Good night and with love …

Amitabh Bachchan