Transit lounges.....

I found my self on a transit lounge again, in a different land and in a different time. This time being in AddisAbaba(Ethiopia) and with a different person, a young man to pass the next 5 hours.
Transit lounges sometimes become so symbolical and majestic to me, as if depicting the whole world in a small place. Allot of people from distant worlds and different times, trying to make their way from one gate to another, all these people acting like ships, floating in the sea of time, carrying loads of memories and experiences and a desire to keep the ship moving. The standing aero planes becoming the vessels of "desires", advertising hopes of the Promised Land....... No wonder an eye watching us humans from a distant galaxy would have enjoyed setting up all its telescopes on these small transit junctions to see the generalization of human variety in its minuscule version......

Just like common day life, their are people in the lounge who are just trying to survive from one gate (moments) to another and a look of frenzy is apparent on their faces....and then there are these 2nd type of people who, suddenly finding a lot of time ,try to get the most out of it, by shopping, sleeping or just seem busy thinking planning ahead. A third type of people are those who just like in real life give a damn to the time given to them and having a look of boredom hanging on their faces, wander around hopelessly. The fourth type, i consider my self to be part of are the writers. They are basically one of the three types above, but wherever they are, a part of them is always writing inside them, be it just life-journalism, biography, a poem or just creating a fictional story of a sweet blonde encounter to amuse themselves..

For a while i tried myself to be the third type and thought of about how boredom is related to Consciousness. Perhaps the equation could be

(Consciousness) x (allot of time) = Boredom
(Consciousness multiplied by allot of time equals to boredom)

This equation may not be agreeable for the religious persons, as for them the ample amount of time multiplied by consciousness would be equal to Heaven. Perhaps the religious types are the first type who are while existing in present try to live in future. I think the second type are also the ones living in future. But then are the third type the ones who are living in present? And if so, can the living in present be boring? I think it should be unless we forget about time. Perhaps the equation could become then

(Consciousness) x (Forgetting time) = Peace

But is it really possible to forget time and be conscious at the same time?


Oh Just forget about it, you know you never gonna find these answers (a bloody 3rd typer you are), now see that blonde looking towards you.....................

Freedom.......

Freedom....

One of the things I am enjoying in africa is getting a lot of time to read and think which keeps me busy most of the time.

I recently finished two very long and great books. "The road to freedom" by Nelson Mendela and "Shantaram" by Gregory Roberts. Both were autobiographies, the first one about a freedom fighter fighting for his countrymens' freedom from his own countrymen, the second about a freedom fighter fighting for his own freedom from his own countrymen........

Nelson spending his 27 years in prison in the persuit of freedom for his people and Gregory breaking the prison and living for years on run for his own freedom. Both men were running for freedom of somekind, and i was unable to rate whose motives were more purer although one being accredited with a nobel prize and the other wanted by interpol on various charges.

The idea seems funny to compare a renowned world leader with a nobody, but i saw alot of similarities....both men having common enemy(prison) and common goal(freedom)...both men sacrificing their immediate family for persuit of something greater... both men having that pinch of stubborness to be someone great... both men making their choices and living by its sadness and rejoices and above all both men doing things with honour, as Gregory puts in his book defining honour for a gangster, " people seem to mix the concept of virtue and honour, virtue is what you do and honour is how you do it", so i find both men honarable though sometimes not virtues even if the later one was part of an indian mafia but the same can be stated for nelson mendale of forming a militant terrorist organization responsible for setting up bombs in south africa and preparing for a gurella warefare, not to mention the colateral damage and loss of thousands of lives, both doing things for something great. Again i can quote shantaram "doing wrong things for right reasons"...... I wonder if mendela would have been even nominated for a nobel prize if the 9/11 incident happened in 60s.

The two books made me think about two concepts. Greatness and freedom.
What is greatness,what motives are greater, what makes a man great... is it the circumstances that make men great or is it the men who make themselves great by creating such circumstances.
And freedom. Is freedom a social act or a personal persuit, or is it just making choices and living by it even if that means going to prison for freedom's sake. All these questions i leave for you people to think and comment.


The more i think of these two concepts the more i see both being two sides of the same coin.

Alot of my close friends I think are doing great in persuit of freedom of somekind. Some trying to change the world for freedom's sake (freedom from satan, evil, or class struggle)and discussing whether it is good to make a church or a hospital. And others trying to live their lives in peruit of their individual freedom( climbing mountains,setting up businesses, living in alien and distant lands, going for yoga courses or simply bag-packing).

I find myself still sitting on the crossroads of going the nelson's way or Shantaram's way, thinking if it is really worth to feel great and free or is it just another illusion.........

till later

Salman