Life ishtene??

There was a “Mass Hit” song recently churned out by an all-lucky director cum lyricist of kannada movie, Yograj Bhat, which has punch line “life ishtene”. How silly. In what angle we can say that? Life ishtene means life is nothing but as simple as this. I wish it would have been like that.

There is a home in front of the BMTC depot in my locality. When I look at that house it strikes to me that god might have played that toy game of kids – plastic-building-blocks, since it looks closely packed series of homes in that line of govt staff qrts. I just pass thru that home. Nothing special than that. My mom also passes thru. Infact every one has to pass thru that home since it’s at the side of the road. Life ishtene?? Nopes. Its not. I might fail to observe anything apart from homes stacked neatly in that line, some others might notice only the vehicles parked inside or outside, some might take a sneak-view inside.

But my mom has different experience. That one home is different. My mom passes thru that home just like others. Yes, she has to pass thru since she uses that road to go to the milk dairy in evening everyday. But life is not ishtene. Atleast she doesn’t want it to be like that. Because walking thru that road is just not ishtene for her.

The other day I was going to jogging to HAL park, BAU. I went thru the twin apartment and reached the backside of the compound gate which led to the open play ground of the school. Suddenly I felt I forgot something. What? I looked around and parallely touched all over my body with my hands. Ah! Got it. Ipod. I forgot to plug it to my ears yet. Ok, I took out and was about to plug the earphones to my ears when suddenly 100’s of dogs barking sound hit my hears. I checked the Pod, no it was still not switched on. I lifted my head to see that a group of street dogs are barking at me. Huh. What for? I dint give a shit to it and turned back and took another way to park. Ok that’s it. Next day I again used the same route. This time instead of dogs staring at me, I stared at them, albeit without barking. That’s all. Life ishtene there for me.

But no, it was not like that for my mom. Life ishtene is for all others who pass thru that road, they all belong to one common category of ppl (its ppl, not animal, please underline it) “strangers”, provided that they don’t stay in any of the home their in that stack.

There is a small kid in our neighbours home. Less than 3 years old, he has only one occupation - To go to any home of his choice in our lane, go to kitchen, ask for food, eat and come back to pavilion. If he comes to our home, he stands infront of our tall double door fridge, points his right hand forefinger in diagonally upwards direction towards the freezer door of the fridge and says “chocki”. I wonder if Ambedkar came back to earth into his childhood using a time machine borrowed from Indra, since his posture is photocopy of any other Ambedkar statue in india. I tried giving a small book for him to hold in his left hand so that I can take a snap. But he is not interested in anything than the business for which he came to our House – to grab the chocki and eat it. Life ishtene for him I felt.

Of recently, if my body has got any vitamins or proteins of green leaf vegetable, the credit has to go to that home. Because it is just not any other home to my mom. Yes. Because there is an aged lady there. The height of the compound gate of that home and that old lady’s height match so perfectly that she leans over it with the help of her under shoulders effortlessly. Its 5.30 Pm, and my mom passes thru that road. This aged lady – like a grandma gives smile to my mom for which my mom also acknowledges. There might have been some unknown bond between them; they talk to each other too as if they know each other from a long time. Yes, that is why its not as “just another home” for my mom. The grandma of that home has got extended member in her life now. There is plenty of “vaali” – a green leaf vegetable growing in small garden in front of her home. We like that a lot. The grandma waits for my mom to give it to her once a week as and when it grows. If its not there, just BAU conversation will be there. But never its ishtene. For two unknowns souls, to gel together so well, there must be definitely something more than ishtene in life.

I know, everyone who reads this will ask me one question now. Why so many unwanted examples in between which are no way connected to what I wanted to say about that home. Hold on, life is not ishtene ok.