TRANCELUCID

I landed in Pune at 9am. Took an auto to Koregaon Park. Got off at Osho Ashram and entered German Bakery. Nothing had changed. The wooden tables, the phsychedelic flourescent wall hangings of unknown creatures, the ads by new age gurus guranteeing a peace of mind, the coffee, the cheese crosissant, the spilt sugar on the tables, the flirty tibetan owner behind the counter, the tibetan lad handing me my croissant and coffee, a foreigner buying organic tea and tofu, a traveller having his breakfast of brown toast and eggs sunny side up, the puffing osho-ites in their maroon clothes, a dubious drug pedlar with stoned eyes.

All my characters were here. Change is over-rated.

But I was alone this time around. Three years back while studying in Pune, it was one of our favourite places to be. I remember one rainy evening in Pune. Me and Anjali came over for some coffee after a sumptuous dinner at Sweet Chariot's. German Bakery or GB was dimly lit. There was a general chatter and hum drum noise, clanking of coffee cups and spoons. While we sipped our coffee, a man on a table away from us was talking animatedly about the social character of GB. The tables of GB are not divided or separated. It's a sort of community dining. You will most likely be sitting next to a stranger while having your meal. We over-heard this man explaining to his guests, the importance of this community flavour of GB.

And here I was sitting alone on a table with my backpack as my partner. Not for long. An Osho-ite dude came over holding a glass of water and asked if he could sit next to me. Well, its true, there was no place around. Ah well, sureee I said.

It was not awkward. The clairvoyant senses in me knew what to expect. He introduced himself and asked me about myself. I lied about being a student from these parts. And then he asked me If I knew anything about Osho and his Philosophy or read anything written by him. Well, I admitted I was quite fascinated by him but had never read him deeply.

Did he see some disturbance on my face? Or was it simply because he saw me sitting alone, that he asked me if I was at peace with myself. He told me that Self-Love would liberate me and a person as young as me should not worry, and maybe join the ashram for a while. The man, whose name I do not remember, had left a well-paying job as an architect in Bangalore and moved to the ashram completely. Once on a visit to a friend in Pune, he was so enamoured by the movement, that he decided it was time to leave. He had long black curly greasy hair.

How true was that story, I do not know. He could either be a salesman or a mystic. It made me think. But I did not understand him and I did not bother. I was disturbed. I was agitated. Was my job worth it? What was I seeking, What did I want? Where was I going? Those were questions that haunted me then, and whose answers I still do not know. I munched the last remains of my cheese croissant, thanked him, and walked out.

I walked past the ashram. Its a beautiful green stretch where time seems to stand still. An Indian man and a foreign lady dressed in Osho robes walked past me holding hands and seemed to be on the verge of a kiss. I wanted to click them from my camera hanging in my neck. They walked past and I turned around. The moment was gone. I walked around, and saw an old woman dressed in an osho robe sitting outside the ashram. I asked her if I could click her. She refused and said no photography was allowed outside the premises. Just as well. I ambled and ambled by myself. It was so peaceful.

I think about him right now, while I attach meaning to his banter. Sometimes people leave you with prophetic words, that make sense only later, when they need to.

"A child has nothing to do with age. Childhood is a state. You can be old and yet a child. You can be a child and yet old. Childhood is a certain attitude deep inside you, of your being ready to learn; that from wherever and whatsoever source life comes, you will be ready to receive; that in your heart there is a deep welcome; that you are not afraid; that you are not yet crippled by knowledge, information; that you are still in a flow and not frozen."
----Osho

[Photo Credit: Harmanpreet Kaur]