Thursday, February 7, 2013

Two chai's with Raju

Raju, chai-shop owner, sitting next to me. We are talking about madness. He says "Sab log pagal hai" (everyone is mad), "kuch log paise ke peeche pagal hai, kuch log pyaar ke peeche pagal hai" (some are mad after money, some over love). He says the one who calls another mad is mad himself first. In Benaras madness is everywhere. Its also called Kashi. The land of Kashi and Shiva. The place where dialectics plays trumpets in every street corner, in every cul-de-sac, in every set of eyes. There is madness in the flames burning bodies, madness in the things that make up the surrounding, the light of the sun is mad with glory, the tree is mad about the sky, that's why it looks upwards, treefingers open to receiving the sunlight and transmitting them to us mad people walking the earth. We see the birds fly, mad about the wind, mad about aviation with that certain look in their eyes. Isn't life itself mad? To think how we have two hands, two legs, two nostrils, two ears and the primordial two eyes. Dialectics again. Polar opposites. Like the eight of infinity. Going up the curve, then going down again.

2 comments:

  1. That fine madness that leaves me restless....

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  2. "Ganga, you nurture shores, endure people, remain a Goddess. An ancient Benaras cradles even today in myth. This point of people congregation is Energy. A place like this, devoid of worship or gamble, is a story of lies. Every inch is possessed by act - prayer, forgiveness, wisdom and trouble. The city is like Ganga, they say. From turning Grey each day, to nursing newer challenges borne everyday.."
    -from my findings in Benaras, June 2012

    Benaras w/o madness is a lie.

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