वृत्तरेषा (Circular lines)

This poem is based on a video or thought by the famous Richard Feynmann. He is talking about the perspective one has about the world. He had said that we can view the world as a perpetual line of people getting up and doing this ritual of brushing their teeth. 

 

Feynmann's view

 

And then it gave rise to this poem.

चक्र गतीचे फिरते फिरते 

गोल पृथ्वीचा फिरतो फिरतो 

एक अनोखी संध्यारेषा 

आणिक दुसरी प्रभातरेषा 

अंतर राखून तेच बरोबर 

एकच तरीही कशा समांतर ? ! 

मुखमार्जन ते प्रातःकाळी

उठून करती जन ते सत्वर

रेघ जणू ती त्या सगळ्यांची

फिरत राहते सदा निरंतर!!!

किती झोपी जाती नंतर 

पलंगावरी वा कातळी त्या 

मागाहून संध्यारेषेच्या 

त्यांची देखील रेषा कातर 

कुणासाठी हंगाम विणीचा 

कुणासाठी हापूस आंब्याचा 

कुणासाठी तो स्ट्रॉबेरीचा 

कुणासाठी डुरियन फळाचा ! 

हंगामी या सगळ्याचीही 

रेषा तिथली तिथे उमटते 

काही महिने दिवस काही वा 

आपुला ठसा सोडून जाते ! 

कुठे वर्षते वर्षाकाठी 

कुठे हिमपदे सर्व पांढरे 

कुठे पानगळ लाल पिवळी अन 

कुठे गुलाबी पाने नवथर 

 

 

रेषांमधून उमटत राहती 

असे ऋतूंचे किती सोहळे 

शिशिर वर्षा कितीक नावे 

जणू रंगांचे ठसेच सुंदर 

सणासुदीची मजा आगळी 

रोषणाईने नटती नगरे 

त्यांच्या दिवशी त्यांच्या रेषा 

उमटून जाती भरभर झरझर 

दूर दक्षिणी वरी उत्तरी 

षण्मासांचे रात्र दिनांतर 

रेषा सगळ्या तिथेच विरती 

परी चक्रासि ना गत्यंतर ! 

 

सजीवकर्मा दिला पृथ्वीने 

या सर्वाचा सुंदर पडदा 

त्यावर घडते नाट्य नित्य अन 

प्रत्येकाचा प्रवेश पळभर !

This is a freeflow translation of the same poem! 

 

Circular lines

There is a twilight line

And the other is the line of dawn

Equidistant as they travel (in time and space)

They are one yet they are parallel!

 

Many people get up everyday

They brush their teeth along that line

Their line revolves every moment

It goes on and on everyday

 

Then there are people going to sleep

Some on rosy beds some on the rocks without a home!

They have their own line

Which follows the brush-line!!

 

Then there is breeding season

And the season of alphonso mangoes

Some have a season of strawberry

While others have it for Durian

 

Every season leaves its line

With its own glory and shine

Lasting for some days or months

It leaves a temporary imprint

 

Somewhere it rains only for a season

Some others have snowfall

Some have the season of fall

While some celebrate the pink spring after all

 

Amongst the lines these all appear

The festivities of seasons in the nature

Some call it Shishir (fall) or Varsha (Monsoon)

They seem to be stamps of beautiful colors

 

Festivals have their own charm

Villages and town all bear lights

They have their own lines or patches

Momentary but with full of their might

 

At the poles the picture is different

Six months are consumed for a day or night

The lines dissolve or converge there!

But still there is constant cycle which every place has to bear!

 

For the karmas of all the beings

There is this backdrop of lines and colors

The play is performed on this backdrop

And everyone has an entry for just a moment!

एका वेळी एकच

 जुनी गाणी ऐकू लागलो

जुने पिक्चर बघू लागलो 

तेच आता आवडलंय 

अस वाटत मी काहीतरी निवडलंय 

नाहीतर काय अल्गो निवडतंय 

तुला घडवतय बिघडवतंय ! 

मग दाखवेल ते एखादा विनोद 

किंवा एखादी छान सुंदरी 

हुरळू नको;(!) ती बहुधा नसेल खरी !  

अल्गो नसेल तर दुसऱ्या साखळ्या 

बांधून घेतल्या आहेत मी सगळया 

व्हाटस अपवर आहेत कित्येक गट 

आहेत माझ्या बुद्धीचे तट 

किंवा इन्स्टाच क्षणिक रीळ

नका देऊ फार बुद्धीला पीळ 

काय म्हणता, "याला कसं कळलं ?

"माझच जणू आयुष्य या मीम मध्ये कस दिसल " 

हो, पण बघून तुझं दुःख नाही का विरलं!?  

आणि समजा नसेल तस सुद्धा, तर आहेतच  - 

मुलाखती, गप्पा, आणि पॉडकास्ट 

नाही, ते जरा बरे असतात 

काही तरी खरे भासतात  

थोडा विरंगुळा, थोडा उपदेश

आणि काहीच नाही  तर गुंगवून झोपवतात पण 

अहो पण अती झालं काही, कि येताच ना दडपण ! 

असो, म्हणून मग वाटत एखादा जुना पिक्चर बघू 

जेव्हा ऑफिसात गेलं की घरातला मेसेज नाही 

आणि घरी आल की ऑफिसची पिरपिर नाही 

जेव्हा काम तेव्हा काम 
जेव्हा आराम तेव्हा आराम 
जेव्हा गाणं तेव्हा गाणं 
जेव्हा खाणं तेव्हा खाणं 

हळू हळू असेल ते जगणं 

एका वेळी एकच व्याप 

जागतिक युद्धांचा नाही डोक्याला ताप 

म्हणून लावतो जुनी गाणी 

फुरसत के रात दिन म्हणणारी 

किंवा मंद झाल्या तारकांना आठवणारी 

किंवा साध्या फोनवरून बोलणारे जुन्या पिक्चरमधले ते लोक 

नवीन गाणी नवे पिक्चर - ते पण बघतोच कि आपण 

पण जुन्या गोष्टीत, जुन्या गाण्यात असते -

एका वेळी एकच गोष्ट करणाऱ्या माणसांची आठवण !

9W231: en route Mumbai VIA N80: en route London - part II

3 Oct, 2-3 minutes past 10 pm:

Now What? It was already past 10, and I had no ticket for 10:15 bus.
Last hope for the bus was internet banking. That worked and we managed to get a ticket!

Now we were waiting for the bus. So we booked the ticket for 10:15 bus at 2-3 minutes past 10, using bus app.

3 Oct 10:15 pm: 
Abhijit: Arey, the bus is not coming. That is why I do not prefer the bus. I use pool-car.
Me : Hey man, be positive, the bus will come. (We were already tensed and this man is hoping for the worse!! :D)

3 Oct 10:25 pm:

Finally, the bus came - N80 - Dusseldorf - Eindhoven - London was written on the route-board of the bus.

But now, I had another tension - this was a sheer after-effect of panic situation we just had; maybe Murphy's law (?)!

I should have checked the pickup and drop point of flixbus in Eindhoven. For, if it is not near Sanket's home, I would have to see for some local transport. Considering that the bus was reaching there at 12:15 am and Eindhoven being a relatively smaller city, that would be still more difficult.

Anyway, I got my passport checked and luggage kept in the luggage compartment but now I had no clue where would I be dropped and how am I going to travel in the foreign city at 12.15 am and catch flight to India tomorrow morning!

Then, me and Abhijit started asking the same to the driver and co-driver of the bus.

Now, they were French and knew very little English! Oh no! Ab yahi hona baki tha!
But, once you get struck in bad situation, you start feeling unlucky in every case.

"My English - poor!" - said the co-driver. We tried to ask the question to them in various ways, but as they were not getting the meaning of the question, they were simply reluctant to answer. When we approached the driver, he simply ignored us and started looking at the documents of other passengers. That driver, just reminded me of a typical ignorant public servant at many places in India.

Without that confirmation, I was also not ready to get into the bus. What a drama!


3 Oct 10:35 pm: I was just walking here and there and Abhijit was talking to other passengers to see whether he could get some information as to where is pickup point in the city of Eindhoven. There were people from various places in the world - viz., some from Arab countries, some from other countries etc. So it was very hard to find a person who would know both French and English in small subset of people, going from German city Dusseldorf to London via Eindhoven, Netherlands!

Meanwhile, through internet, I found that John F Kennedylaan (JFKLaan) is the pick-up/drop point for the bus. Off to google maps - I immediately saw where it is - on the map, it showed that it was far from station. This was certainly going worse than we thought!

SOS to Sanket for help! I asked him via whats app - He said that the JFKLaan is near his home.

By that time, Abhijit finally found a girl passenger who was also travelling with us in the bus. She knew both English and French and could talk to them! Oh, finally some help! 

Then, she asked the driver - "Is the pickup point at Eindhoven near the railway station?"
He was still reluctant to answer but said frowning, that it was near the station. However, considering the series of events that had happened I was not too sure. Because the way he answered was not ensuring enough.

Then, reluctantly I got into the bus. 

3 Oct 10:40 pm to 4th Oct 12:20 am: I would never forget that hour and half of my life. I was fully tensed. Although I was tired and body was demanding sleep, I simply could not afford to sleep. I turned on my GPS, risking mobile battery and started it to see where I am going. There I was amongst very few passengers who were awake during the travel, continuously looking into cellphone to see GPS tracking. Cutting through the blanket of darkness, the bus left the city of Dusseldorf. German roads are devoid of streetlights. That night, they were scarier for me.

The girls who asked the driver was sitting nearby. Her name was Jeanette.I requested her to do translation for me if the drivers make any announcement in the bus using speakers.

I have this habit of sleeping during travel. So I was afraid that if I keep sleeping while the bus stops at Eindhoven, I would straightaway wake up in London! But I don't have a valid visa for the same. Then I would get into legal troubles! Oh God! Fearing the same, I asked Jeanette, "How the bus will the bus cross the border, through tunnel or through ferry. "It is not certain!" she replied, "But there is a checking at the border!"

What a foolish thought I had! If a person does not have a valid visa, how would they allow him/her into their country! Anyhow, with full efforts I stayed awake throughout the journey. 

I could see the signboard showing direction towards Eindhoven. After 5 minutes or so, bus entered a city. "This must be the Eindhoven city", I thought. Although, I had spent just two days in the city, the street lights, white and yellow, were so assuring.

Finally, the JFKLaan was there. I could see the familiar bottle statues. 

John F Kennedylaan at Eindhoven

Haah! 😌😃

It was a feeling like coming to my home-town. At last, I was there at the city of Eindhoven - on the familier roads near station. I walked to Sanket's house. I could sleep for at least 4 hours at his home. By morning train at around 6:15 am, I reached Schiphol airport at around 9 pm. 

So there I was, from N80 en route London, to Flight 9W 231, en route Mumbai!  

A selfie clicked just after I reached Schiphol Airport

(This is a short incident which is very memorable to me. This was during my first foreign visit. I visited Netherlands and Germany for European PV Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition in Sept-Oct 2017. This incident is while return journey)