This is inspired by a soul two of my friends and myself met at a beach in Pondicherry on a night that was spent having inspiring conversations. I believe, us meeting this soul who we call Mr.Tambourine Man with much love, triggered the intense dialogue that continued through the night into the day. This is a tribute to him. Meeting him has reinforced my faith in the belief that the Divine, manifests in the littlest of things and even at most unexpected times to remind us that we are all united and woven together in this creation by the subtle yet powerful thread of love...
As we sat on rocks by an Ocean which carried with it memories of many a type: pleasant, not so pleasant, of sunny rains and fiery storms which swept our kind away, of old men sailing away to fill their stomachs, of lovers united, of pain thrown away into pieces of letters remembered to be forgotten, of hope that the new dawn may bring with it, of intoxication and its dirty remains and of unspoken dreams that many of us quietly whisper into the air which then touch the waves and take them to the horizon- with the hope that someday some force in the Universe will hear and make them come true...So we sat, and we spoke. Spoke of things I vaguely remember. What is still vivid as a colorful painting in my memory is the songs we started to sing. "Today is gonna be the day...I don't believe that anybody feels the way I do about you now...and afterall, you're my Wonderwaaal" , " See the stone set in your eyes See the thorn twist in your side..I cant live...With or Without you..." Perfectly out of tune we still managed to smile much with a certain air of confidence. Was it the fervor that we carried in us? I don't know. Singing chants that lovers of Kṛṣṇa sing to woo him into their lives came out from us effortlessly. Bliss crept in unannounced. The only thing missing was an instrument we could play to give our songs a beat. It wasn't too long before he came along. With his messy hair and crooked teeth, he knocked at our souls floating like cannonballs on the shores. Our eyes met and with no words exchanged the tambourine came into my hands. Winds of glee swept upon us and we started to sway. Every time one of us sang, the rest would sing along to. Finally, it was his turn. In tamil I asked the tambourine man to sing a song I had loved since a kid. A tamil song which sounded like a lullaby- Kanne Kalaimaane. Playing the tambourine and with his eyes shut tight, he started to sing. The passion he sang the song with, still does something to me. He was part of us without effort, without reason and most of all without expectation. We were getting into a unified blanket of trance which kept as safe and warm together. Finally, when it was time for his to take leave, he put his tambourine out. Hesitant to give money because of being afraid of him spending it on alcohol like most people do, I asked him what he would do with it. He said he would eat his meal for the night and remember us while doing so. A friend with me said, he should think of the divine who made it possible not us. The Tambourine Man, then said" I have not seen god with my naked eyes. But I see him now through the three of you."
With this, he took his tambourine and started to walk away. The three of us, just looked at each other. Not knowing what hit us, but feeling a divine presence amidst us, we could only smile with moist eyes. And then to celebrate this divine intervention we sang...
Hey ! Mr Tambourine Man, play a song for me
I'm not sleepy and there is no place I'm going to
Hey ! Mr Tambourine Man, play a song for me
In the jingle jangle morning I'll come followin' you.
Though I know that evenin's empire has returned into sand
Vanished from my hand
Left me blindly here to stand but still not sleeping
My weariness amazes me, I'm branded on my feet
I have no one to meet
And the ancient empty street's too dead for dreaming. . .
