AN INSIDE-OUT WORLD

A story to CELEBRATE the INDEPENDENCE DAY! 

A VERY HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY TO MY NATION

HUNZA VALLEY, PAKISTAN

Behind me was a path trodden by men for many millennia. In front of me was a valley, as if nature had put a large bowl, with a green back-drop and flowery décor on it. I was sitting on a stone, which was positioned at the brim of the bowl, with my legs hanging down, and my heart throbbing, trying to settle down the strong urge rising inside me to descend and explore the green world.

The path behind me stood in contrast to the green bowl, lacking all vegetation and life form. It was the same path which I took before finally taking a pause. Moving on and on the journey I would not have taken out time to stop and reflect but for a traveler I met on the way. An Old man in shabby clothes with a wooden rod in hand, his voice was weak but eyes shinned with flame.

“It’s been a thousand years that I have been wandering in the deserts and mountains. My appearance may depict weariness but my bag holds valuable things! For you my child, I wish, end the wandering, and find a place for yourself, where you may practice what these thousand years have taught me!”

Saying this he handed over his bag to me, and before I could even ask him to elaborate what he meant, he was back to journeying the path. Out of curiosity I opened the bag only to find a map, leading me to the same green valley now stretched in front of me.

 I came from a land where knowledge and analytical skills were in power, science would find its destination there and poets would never exhaust describing beauties. But for me it presented a dead-end because I never considered science, knowledge, and beauties to have strict definitions. It was a challenge to my belief about the never-ending search and the far-fetched horizons of creative capabilities of Human Being. My faith could not be shattered but I was still in search of a way to bring that creative instinct to light and develop out of it an ever-lasting unity. Therefore the map and the advice of the Old man seemed a blessing and presented an opportunity to solve the riddle of my Life.

Upon arriving here and taking a glimpse of the valley, I felt I could move no longer. My courage and faith gave way to doubts and fears of the unknown. Taking just one step forward became impossible, and a cloud of helplessness covered me; when I heard a melody, and a voice soft and medium-pitched but young and dazzling.

“Division shows incapacity. Unite! For in Unity rests Faith. Come, if you want to shatter your fears and explore what has been especially arranged for you to discover… Come!”. A beautiful young bride, moving towards the valley was inviting me to accompany her.

A strange sensation took over me as soon as I entered the valley, where Past and Future seemed to amalgamate into Present, and it was just THIS moment which was most important.

I was in a small town. The sights I witnessed were strange, and were unlike what I was anticipating. It was a simple town. The buildings and market, attire and behavior of men and women, the happily roaring crowds of children were all very usual, nevertheless were remarkable in a way. I moved on, as if the scent of the bride was guiding me, and my feet were touching the ground as if in a dance move.

Inside the town, the temples were strange for they housed no gods but soul of all men. The priest taught not rituals but how to observe, using one’s senses, and experiment based on one’s knowledge and instinct.

Science wasn’t locked up in laboratories or libraries and the unseen and unknown was not ignored or considered inferior to it.

Town-hall witnessed people from different backgrounds, contemplating on the matters of their concern, with no obvious, distinguished personality present among them. Consensus was what they sought through discussions, and even a child had her/his voice heard. Number of votes didn’t count; creative unconscious of the masses was the Rule.

Fantasies weren’t up for sale in Cinemas; instead they served as a social binding force, providing a platform for freedom of choice and ideals for social reconstruction.

Those who had the ‘pen’ sit next to those who were not literate, sharing thoughts, telling experiences and moving together, hand in hand. University was not the limit to knowledge, nor did the exams served as basis for classification; soul was the source and the endless Space and unity of Time were the canvas for exploring mental competence.

At dusk, though not tired a bit, I wanted to rest so as to reflect on what I had seen and explored. In search of a quiet place I came out of the town, got seated under a tree, when on looking at the departing rays of the sun, the bride could be seen once again. She was between me and the Sun rays, with half her face visible to me, where I noticed bliss and a strange shine.

“Torch bearers and those who get light from the torch are One. Unite yourself and nourish your shared consciousness, for Life get amused when someone tries solving its riddle.”

It was dawn when the trance of the melody ended and I found myself seated on the same stone at the edge of the valley, but to my shock the path taken by me previously was no more barren. The travelers weren’t in their previous shabby dresses and children and women were gaily moving around! I was yet not out of the astonishment when a young girl offered me a flower bouquet. Her innocent smile instilled in me a surge of intense hope. Holding her hand, I joined the merry party!