as a Delhiite, i find hope in unexpected places. stuck in the cacophony of honking cars and chaos personified, i pause and gaze around. i see tiny 4-year-olds donning rudraksha bands, and i find hope. what an irony, really! for I'm an atheist, and one might expect me to be repelled. but, a memory resurfaces. i recall how one of my friends gifted me a rudraksha bead and told me to keep it safe for it would keep ME safe. but I lost it, both the bead and the promise of safety. then, in a moment of recklessness and serendipity, when i attend a satang and someone secretly slips a guru-ji bracelet in my hands, i feel there's a sign of hope. so, i listen to their stories - of questions being answered, of issues being resolved and of life being born, and miracles! but somehow, within that sacred space, hope seems to elude me once again. and im reminded of how fleeting my hope is. so as a Delhiite, I lose it all in unexpected places too.
