Gifted.

Aesthetics only.

Eons ago, there was quote I read in a newspaper article that remained etched in my memory.
It went something like this..

"Sometimes there would be a rush of noisy visitors and the silence of the monastery would be shattered. This would upset the disciples; not the Master, who seemed just as content with the noise as with the silence. To his protesting disciples he said one day, "Silence is not the absence of sound, but the absence of self".

Something similar ran through my mind last Friday while I was waiting for my train back to Bangalore, from Chennai. Surprisingly, I reached the station rather early and quickly to my dismay it started raining. Running for cover I quickly scanned the train listings and walked towards the designated platform. It was the usual huge crowd, noise and the smell of fish. I looked at my watch and realised that I was one and a half hour early! "Lord have mercy on my legs" was my first thought.

I walked along the platform, to get some coffee and while I was at it, I noticed this group of ten or twelve folks, probably in their mid 40s. There were folks from all walks of life and from different parts of India. They all seemed well to-do and everyone had a glowing smile on their face. They seemed of the chirpy,  happy-go-lucky sort, having a great and the most animated conversation ever. They were all a group of mute folk and one of them  was gifted with something better than sight. (I hate the term 'mute', but for the lack of a better word, kindly bear with me.). I walked a little for a closer look to see Sign language in practise, and immediately I was blown away and stood dumbfounded in awe.
Watching hands effortlessly working in an artistic precision, and faces expressing the emotions like never before, was like looking at magic woven by the Human spirit, in action.

I couldn't understand a bit of their conversation, all I could read was their emotions. I saw joy, shock, gossip, horsing around, and playful joking. The whole aura around that group was captivating, with ZERO sound, yet with a flowing conversation. I directed my focus towards the tall, mute and visually challenged (again...sorry!) person. He was a significant part of the conversation too! Whenever someone had to speak to him, they'd grab his hands and make signs, which he could effortlessly interpret and reply to, using the same means. Whats more, he could hold a conversation with two people, simultaneously! How many of us "Gifted" people can do that? I sure as hell can't.
One might think that's where the amazement ended, and couldn't be more wrong. Another thing that really got my mind blown with awe was when the folks could seamlessly join a private conversation going on between a few people. They seemed to instantly know what the others were talking about with their signs, and joined their conversation, as if they were there all along! Again, how many of us "Gifted" lot can do that ? We'd make a fool of ourselves, asking stupid questions about what people were talking about.

I spent a good hour just looking at them, till I noticed a lady, from the group looking at me with inquisitive eyes, probably asking.."What are you looking at, Mister?!". By then a small discreet crowd had gathered around them, all held in awe. I walked a little back, so as to not seem rude to the group, and casually strolled  around coming back, time to time just to feel what a conversation without the presence of sound, felt like.
To be honest, I felt a tad privileged and humbled, to be a witness to this sight. To see how flexible and generous Life can be, to give one the option to walk around a mountain, if one can't climb it, and with..

ABSOLUTELY NO SOUND!!!!!!!

Breathe Easy. \/
-Askios