GURU PUJA SPECIAL EDITIONverbal cues and an aura of persuasion. It was hard to
say NO to him. Ram agreed.
Atul took him to a strip in the park where some
sunflowers were planted. Yellow hues in the midst
of green grass were a sight in itself.
“What's a flower if not the ultimate result of the
efforts made by a plant, to give something to the
world. Something to behold our interests,
something to radiate beauty or positivity, or
something to just state that I'm alive and hence, I'm
beautiful. Come closer, have a look but don't pluck or
you would cease its existence. Caress its beautiful
petals and observe carefully. Maybe, if you pay
enough attention, you would hear something,” Atul
said as if he were in a trance.
Atul was flabbergasted to see his friend
transformed into a poet. His voice became heavy as
if his words were carrying something heavy. An
emotion, perhaps! Bent on his knees, he carefully
brought the sunflower near his face to realise that it
was not just a yellow flower! Being closer to the
flower, he could smell its fragrance and could notice
its core structure. Slowly, his reluctance turned into
curiosity, and he got transfixed. He felt as if the
flower has become alive. He could see the pattern of
its core and how seamless all the petals were
woven together. He noticed that it has many hues of
yellow, beautifully arrayed like a spectrum on its
petals.
“What do you feel right now?” Atul asked.
Ram: It's strange, yet mesmerising! It's inducing a
calm feeling inside me. It looks so simple from above
but its core is unimaginably beautiful. Just like some
neural patterns. It feels so authentic and so
dedicatedly structured.
Atul, “Isn't it? And humans think the Creator has
spent time over them only. Sunflower is a beautiful
symbol of positivity and dedication. Its neural
pattern-like structure and beautiful hues suggest
that life also has many layers, and often the inner“How come....you didn't even....what are you
doing..?” Ram was perplexed that Atul was not even
surprised to see him there.
Atul: Relax, bro... C'mon, let's sit together. We have a
lot to catch up to! I thought I would come to meet you
after your 7:30 to 7:45 bath, but I suppose nature
has other plans.
Atul had the same childhood innocence but
looked totally different. It was this innocence that
Ram found so familiar even on meeting 10 years
after their school's farewell.
Ram: That's funny! Let's go home... How come
you are in Delhi? Weren't you in Assam for
something?
Atul: Yes, I was there, for a project. Now, I have a
project here. So, I was just getting familiar with the
surroundings.
Ram: Oh great, let's go then!
“Wait. Let's sit here. I have heard that the
mornings after a night-rain in Delhi are blessings for
Delhiites. Why to trade it with the fragrance of room
fresheners or the noise of constant bickering by the
neighbours?” Atul said as he caressed a small
sapling growing by his right foot.
Ram: Did you change your masters to philosophy?
Atul: My subject was such that philosophy was a
gift.
Ram: If you had said art or poetry, I would have
agreed; but how come philosophy while being a
botanist?
Atul: Well, flowers whisper!
Ram: They what!? I assume that you are mistaking
their rustling for their whispers or whatever!
Ram seemed irritated with Atul's eloquence and
daydreams, and Atul sensed that a long-lost friend
has become an uninvited student whom he should
help to listen to the whispers of flowers!
Atul: Ok give me 15 minutes of your time, and you
will hear their whispers too!
Ram was reluctant but Atul had a way with non-
14 AKHAND GYANETERNAL WISDOM JULY 2019