Milestones - 2As we drove past the Nilgiri hills on our way to Ooty the bus stopped on one of the hairpin bends.
The weather was cloudy with a faint drizzle in the air – the greenness in the trees had come alive and they spoke the language of love with each other. The cool air caressed the land with affection and the musical birds were swaying to a symphony unheard …and yet the quietness of the surroundings was absorbing Don Dasgupta.
‘I will never fall in love again’ he thought to himself looking out of the window. He had been repeating this since the last 2 years. And had left no stone unturned. Work, music, movies, travels, more work…whatever worked to keep him away from her thoughts. He was on his final journey to the beautiful hills of Ooty to remove the last trace of emotion he had in his veins.
But the hills had other plans for him.
‘sir the bus won’t go further, we need to stop for a while, me and my helper will go to the nearest village and get some help.’ The bus conductor informed.
‘I knew it – something has to go wrong’… she‘s not going to leave me easily.-
Sigh why does my life have to be so difficult?’
‘well, so be it, I am not giving up.’ Don chided himself and picked up his back pack and started to walk up the hair pin bends. At the foothills there were 36 of them.7 remained now.
They were going to be steep and difficult.
As he set out on his journey, he stopped and turned back. The lonely waiting bus and the few passengers looked on expressionless. But somewhere deep hidden in his heart, a silent but unreasonable expectation voiced it’s desired to go back.
He let his mind answer that.
He turned around and headed for the first bend. An inclination of almost 40 degrees was tough. He saw a little lamb limping in the middle of the road. As he walked past, he noticed the little lamb’s left leg was bruised, unattended the blood had dried up on his wound.
‘Must’ve got lost or did his mother leave him mid-way? But what’s it to me. I cannot carry this to with me to the top. I have to move on’.
He let his mind talk again, but this time it did not listen to him.
He walked a bit and stopped. The lamb was following him.
He looked around and the hills suddenly seemed so lonely. There were dark clouds drifting ahead caressing the slopes. It was as if the hills were upset with him.
Brushing aside his thoughts, he picked up the bruised lamb and carefully put it by the roadside.
Having packed a first aid kit he felt relieved he could administer at least some treatment.
The little lamb’s eyes were calm again. They seemed to say something. But he never got the message.
It was time to move on.
Gyanban Thoughts - this is a short philosophy series.A stark departure from the mysteries and thriller genre.This is a simple story of Don Dasgupta,just a name of a you and me,running somewhere in life,with life,without life.Most of us run this path in ignorance even when the messages are in front of us.
In the journey that Don undertakes,you will find what he learns from life itself.What will the hills teach him? What will he learn? Sometimes in life we set out to achieve something,we are so focussed that we forget the little messages lying in front of us,giving us the clues to our mission,our paths or our destiny.
Find out if Don gives up or gets it in the end? What lies ahead in the remaining 6 hairpin bends?
Read Milestones -2
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