We were in 3rd/4th grade and everyone used to play games in the playground during the recess. There were no rules, no age-bar, no gender bias; one could witness kids playing hide and seek, ice-water, red-letter, steps, catch-the-ball or a football match-especially during the monsoon when the ground was full of water puddles.
These matches were either intra-section, inter-section or even inter-grade at times. After the 40-minute recess got over, the PT teachers used to collect the skipping ropes or footballs or tennis balls.
The teams used to sing after the match. Not “sing-a-song” sing, but a slogan. The winning team sang- “Hum jeet gaye, hum jeet gaye; wo haar gaye, wo haar gaye” (We won, we won; they lost, they lost) while running towards the school building happily. It was their way of expressing joy. Happiness. Victory. Everyone appreciated it and none of the teachers asked them to shhh.
BUT, the team which lost, ALSO used to sing – “Hum haar gaye, hum haar gaye, wo jeet gaye, wo jeet gaye” (We lost, we lost; they won, they won) – with equal enthusiasm and appreciation for the winning team. This team might have been upset about losing, but their happiness was all about playing the match whole heartedly, knowing that it’s just a game they played in that short recess, which refreshed them and prepared them for the next.
Both the teams used to walk together, happily, in a group, teasing each other, smiling, laughing, hugging, pushing, clapping and giving high-fives. Their uniforms would be full of dirt, black polished shoes turned brown with mud; and faces and hands messed up. But the smiles on their faces and the care and appreciation they had for each other was outstanding. It was human.
We all grew up on the same swampy ground and played in the same mud – at a different time and place, maybe. Like numerous lotuses in the water pond. Some turned out to be the flower petals, some roots, some the plant leaves. And some even the foundation – the water.
But now, it is not just a ‘match’ for us. We are formal, and our ‘uniforms’ are now stained with a competition to get the best ‘catch’. There is no genuine appreciation or encouragement, nor we are expressing victory or failure whole-heartedly. We are chasing our ‘goals’ wearing formal polished shoes. We serve ‘penalty shots’ and blame others for expecting or even asking something out of concern, and then often declare a ‘foul’.
Its time we again take a short recess, trust the light, grow through this dirt, believe in new beginnings, breathe in deep and let life unfold. Bloom.
Shines & Shadows 