Macbeth's Witches oops Wishes

(Ref : Wikipedia) Shakespeare's witches are prophets who hail Macbeth, the general, early in the play, and prophesy his ascent to king.  Upon killing the king and ascending the throne of Scotland, Macbeth hears them ambiguously prophesy his eventual downfall. The darkly contradictory witches, their "filthy" trappings and supernatural activities, all set an ominous tone for the play.

Macbeth - a book that I read as a teenager, left me always wondering about the three witches. Do witches really exist ? If yes, will I also meet one? Is it indeed possible to know about one's future ? All these doubts gradually ceased to exist as my personal and professional life grew engrossing, busy and satisfying. I realized that our inner strength and interest drive our life in setting and realizing our goals. Even the journey along the way of goal realization is an experience in itself. Friends and well wishers provide the directional arrows to keep us on our track. We neither need the witches nor their prophecy to realize our dreams, but yes; any wrong intentions surely require the support of witches; for it is the witches who merely provide the fuel to the fire of destruction. In fact, the witches are nothing more than mere wishes.

This fusion of human nature and story telling is also seen in our everyday lives. Every individual is an architect or bearer of his or her life. Both roles ie of architect and bearer; are important for the living and gelling of ones life in the man made society. I recall an incident that confirmed it. 

One day,  over cold glasses of nimbu pani in the hot summer sun, five friends were trying to catch up with the happenings in their life after a gap of about five years as a result of them graduating and moving along their chosen career.  The talk started with individual current happenings then moved to family and their likes and dislikes; their individual career and job aspirations; their individual household problems and so on... Each had their idea of happiness and also had problem areas that were either manageable or out of their control. The regular flow of talk about family and career soon progressed to being just individuals. And no sooner, Macbeth's witches also joined in. The distinction in this personal talk happened as soon as negative emotions took over the friends. The 'witches' oops 'wishes' resided for as long as the group thought fit and no sooner they realized the effect of the 'witches' than the group of friends quickly held their words in check. 

The incident is an example of human nature at its best. It dawned on me that dissatisfaction at times leads to the calling of the witches to vent out the frustration. Macbeth probably did not meet the witches but acknowledged his wishes. 

Memories not Monies

Hurriedly, me and my daughter locked our home after a quick appreciative glance at the mirror and left for a pre wedding function. We were welcomed with all smiling faces and a 'mogra veni' to be put in the plait or bun. The beautifully decorated hall along with smiling faces added warmth and effervescence to the entire proceedings or the rituals. Small and big groups of people and the running frenzy of children; added life to the venue. We greeted all who's who of the family. The initial hi's and hello's soon turned into recollection of funny incidents or memory rattling acquaintances. No matter the age or gender, the talk would soon divert to childhood anecdotes, marital musings, health howling and so on. All would be happy in just the recollection of old memory or the thought of being able to relive it again. The smile and joy on their faces is unparalleled; even a hearty meal is no comparison of the contentment brought on by the memories.

The same feeling of contentment is brought out after recalling the memories of hardship and strenuous work. The actual situation may have been difficult at that time but once it gets retold, you cannot escape the satisfaction that was achieved by the person who at that time might have totally given up all hopes. Our elders talk of such physical and financial hardships and how they saved every penny for a better future for their children, enduring pain and giving up basic comforts.

When we see our children attending birthday parties, we do recall our own and wonder if they could qualify as parties at all given today's expectations. The entire recollection of a party would ideally revolve around the problems involving organization, invitation, execution etc given the fact that you had to take your parents approval, convey messages, manage within a budget and so on. Compare this with today's scenario when the children are provided with everything.

Observe the animal lovers and pet owners who will recall with pride and moist eyes their most loving experiences about their each and every pet. Pets teach you to be responsible and considerate and most of all they provide you with a life time of memories. Their playful faces, their angry growls, their irritated meowing, their health, their mischief; everything gives you memories.

Memories are what brings joy to our mundane lives. Money is necessary as per our concerns or wants but no amount is satiable. I feel that the memories are more desirable and hence I try to weave them into my daughter's life in my own way. No wonder, I ask her to help me in covering the books for the next academic year; No wonder I ask her to be considerate towards others, No wonder we argue over trivial things (at times); No wonder we bake a cake together; No wonder we go out in the rain to bring pani puri packet; No wonder we stay awake late into the night during examinations; No wonder, I decided to bring a manageable pet in our flat, just so that I could give memories to my daughter. It is more satisfying to have a recollect-able memory than the monies. 

My Pet is My Family

I remember my childhood with many incidents and anecdotes involving our pets. The many cats and dogs; irrespective of them staying in our home or in the garden or on the streets; all have added color and 'enjoyable' chaos to our lives. Each pet had distinct personality which compelled us to understand it and in turn it would always dictate its terms to us ! Once I got a chance to witness the birth of kittens where the mother, a complete black cat with emerald eyes, felt happy by my presence and the warm milk. The kittens were a delight to play with and I still remember the ropes or threads always attracted them. Their mother, the same black cat had at one time got herself locked in one of the empty houses and kept on meowing at the top of her voice to grab our attention. Finally after an entire day, we were able to hear her and rescue her with the help of few Samaritans. Over the years, we got acquainted with cats eating tomatoes, corns, etc in addition to their 'normal' diet. 

Even the dogs were welcome in our hearts and one in our house. The dogs had their individual names and references. They would always maintain a vigil for our house and wait for their food. Our neighbors also fed them leftovers and in this way the bonding between people and animals, grew. There was one dog who would try to imitate my mother during her yoga sessions. Another went straight into a neighbors open house to the room where he heard my voice and wanted to check if I was alright. Such happy incidents were also interspersed with some accidents and the presence of VSPCA always helped the animals in distress. Most of the people willingly try to help or get help for injured animals. This in turn has always ensured good experiences for children playing with animals. All feel responsible for the animals well being. 

We are fortunate to be born 'human' but it is upon us to be 'humane'. Being human is all about living with simplicity and caring towards others. It is our moral responsibility not to abuse any animal. I believe that my pet is my family. Buying a pet on an impulse and then abusing it or driving it away later on is not right.