And the award goes to…..

The best man, of course!!

Do you need to write a blog on this? I asked myself.

I swear I wouldn’t have needed to, for if it were not for these two little children, Vivaan and Sohana, I wouldn’t have anything to say.

We were holidaying together, and it was at the breakfast table, when these 6 and 7 year olds expressed their wish to explore around.

I offered to go along, and this little exploration, led on to a revelation.

Oh and what a revelation that was!

As we climbed down the stairs, off to our little adventure, they noticed that I was limping down.

That is when the cute little pranksters decided to take charge of our little outing.

Caringly they held my arm one on each side, helping me down the not so steep steps till we reached flat ground.

The weather was quite pleasant, and the view breath taking, so we decided to walk down instead of taking the buggy.

We had planned to go to the recreation area, and as I walked down with them, I noticed something that touched my heart like never before.

Nearing 60, I hadn’t experienced anything like this before.

On the go, and actively taking pride in my activeness, I had developed a subtle sense of ego.

By subtle I mean, one I was unaware of until now.

Now as hard as I tried to keep pace with them, I was unable to.

So we had to stop at every corner, where I found a bench to sit on.

Constant walking stiffened my joints, and to rejuvenate them I had to take little breaks to sit down more often.

Expecting children to be a little impatient, wanting to reach their destination soon, these two were otherwise.

Instead of complaining, they joined me in them, sitting around, laughing and joking .

I felt joyous and 6 again.

Enjoying our walk, we climbed a few steps up, and then a few steps down, till we were in the game room.

A few shots at table tennis, then off we went to the carrom board, the best game for all ages.

Since we were a trio, the winner was the one with the maximum coins.

Vivaan and Sohana had a special bond, one difficult to understand, for when we began our game it was strange to see them play.

Each played consciously, not trying to get into the territory of the other.

And also amusing was that if one had already won more coins than the other, and if they had equal chances of striking a win, they considerately let go.

This was a game, and we had always learnt to fight tooth and nail to win.

They showed me a different way.

For as I saw Sohana reaching out to strike a coin, she looked at Vivaan, asking him if he wanted to strike it.

I asked her why so?

She retorted back, ” I don’t like him to sulk”.

I like it when we laugh together.

I told her to strike it, and as it went into the pocket, Vivaan who would have been perturbed, just let be.

He looked a little dismayed at first, but then thought better of it.

He let her enjoy the glory of winning, and as he played his shot, he gave it his best.

Neither did Vivaan nor Sohana intrude on a coin in the other’s territory, thus making the game enjoyable.

I enjoyed myself, playing just to be in the game, enjoying their strive and spirit.

For as we got up it was a win win situation.

There was no winner or loser, there was us, enjoying ourselves.

Then , as I caught a gleam in their eyes as they looked at each other, I knew for sure, that it was their win.

A win over life’s illusions, which were made of lose and win, of achieving and hoarding,

Here there was none.

This was a sure win.

A win which had no lose.

These kids taught me something today,

That there is abundance, of everything for everyone,

Just focus on your needs, they are there within your reach.

For the minute you go beyond, these,

You steer off the guiding radar,

And step into another’s land,

Where you are lost to your own forever.

And now we can say the award goes to them,

It is without any strings attached,

No fame and acclaim,

It’s just there, beyond the illusionary one,

For those who know their pick.

It was there for these two little innocent pranksters,

who though cried and laughed, like all did, were yet so different.

And as we took the buggy home,

I knew the award went with them. The best men…

The breeze brushing against their smiling faces could tell,

They’ve reached home wise with a message to spell.

That life is no race to win.

The win was not to be in the rat race , but in being out of it.

The very watching was the win.

And as I discover this its cheers all the way,

To these naughty pranksters, who lead the way,

To the award which can be ours too…

The unsaid award, with no acclaim, fame, possession, none at all,

But when you receive it, you know your there..

You’ve won the game of life…