Freedom and Me

The word “Freedom” is the most complicated the most treacherous, the most ambiguous, the most enigmatic and yet the most enthralling word of my limited vocabulary.

What is freedom? When for the first time I grasped the meaning of that word? I believe there were many keys in my life which helped me to unlock the doors of thousands of bondages to admit me to that divine kingdom where you’d believe that you could fly!

Going back a several years through the lane of memory I can see a helplessly curious child, with wide eyes still limpid, who used to look at the night sky & the material world would become imperceptible to her then. If you were present there & if you had seen the reflection of the stars in her eyes; then probably you could apprehend some amongst the endless emotions which used to bubble up inside her heart. I am sure R Kelly got the inspiration of his song from by looking into such a pair of eyes.

& the azure sky flooded with golden sun rays were no less awe inspiring. She lived in an alien world then where in the realm of the unadulterated beauty & care of Mother Nature, to barrier would dare to impede the wild gush of imaginations.

Years later a the animated version of Johanna Spyri’s Heidi used to evoke the same kind of emotions.& some years later Bibhutibhusun came with another key which let into a world where our oldest friends would welcome us with their unspeakable aronyak enthusiasm, which were misinterpreted as nonchalance to untrained eyes! Running beneath the starry skies on horseback was surely the definition of freedom[though Maneka Gandhi may raise up the sordid question regarding the poor beast’s freedom. but believe me whenever you’ll picture yourself properly in such an environment, the horse will become a part of you!

Then came Sharatchandra & Kamal & I was christened to sacrilege. Then through the magical door of leaky cauldron, a different kind of freedom was tasted which helped to overcome the bondage of insecurity & inferiority of a “Bengali medium” student.

Celline Dion was the person who handed me the key of western music which witnessed many of my blessed moment when I experienced the bliss of freedom!

Computer brought a very personal & private world free from the gaze of inquiries. Internet gave free access to vulnerable human mind & its endless emotions! & also the freedom of publishing my crap writings as the form of Blogs!

A lewd experience in Brindavan ensured the freedom from religion. The most wonderful freedom I’ve ever experienced. British Council Library with its solemn racks of thousands of books has till date been the heaven of my kingdom of freedom. It was here where I came across the creations of Paulo Coelho which showed me the freedom of distinguishing spirituality from religion.