Faces of a small world

There is a multitude of people surrounding us. A vast sea of people within whose confines our existence is often concealed. There are all kinds of people. People who are kind. People who are selfish. People who are mysteries. People who are lost. They are all outside us and yet within for we are but mere humans. Perfection is a flaw that some of us choose to live in. But for most it is just being human and being so in the most extraordinary way!

The past week has been enlightening. I work and I travel and I come home only to find myself repeating this ritual and wondering what it means. I was troubled by trivialities. But as I sat on the public transport that bears the brunt of a “cosmopolitan city’s” existence I realized that the different faces around me had stories of their own. Stories of a lifetime. And so I thought to myself,” Would it not be interesting to imagine their lives as my own for a day ?”

Troubled question for it comes with equally troubled answers.. I see the face of a mother who is looking at the watch every two second and waiting to return home. To a family and its responsibilities. I see a girl reading a book oblivious to the world around her and the constant change of passengers in her adjacent seat. I see a child tugging at my kurta while grinning and I think, “There’s a happy face!”. I see faces that are laced with anger and doubt, malice and hate, dissatisfied yet undefeated. There are bitter faces and sweet faces and faces who make me wary. But bitter faces have harsher truths of life’s bitterness embossed on them. And sweet faces are well just sweet! But every face is complex riddled with doubts and uncertainties that bare themselves unto the day’s end. Pretense can be only for a while but  the facade has to wear off. It is amazing to see that even in this mad rush of people and sweaty foreheads; there are smiles exchanged between strangers. There are those faces that belie trust and help when you find yourself lost and disgruntled. And when it is so simple to be rude and oblivious to anything except your own skirmishes, these faces act as buffers to control your own rage at life and be calm. Such faces draw you home and you realize that life for all its bitterness, selfishness and unfairness can still make you smile. That even in times of desperation a ray of light falls that warms you up and rekindles joy within you.

Life isn't about brooding over mishaps of supposed love. It’s about acknowledging the warmth that a stranger emanates and maybe sometimes it’s okay not to be skeptical about every little thing. That humans make mistakes and it’s alright. In this magnum opus of life we are playing our part that is somewhere making something complete in the universe!