dreams

if there is one thing that makes us different from all the other species on the planet its the power of dreams..while the size and intensity may vary for each of us...the phenomenon itself is unwavering.

animals live in a forever extended present. their thoughts and actions are based on a consistent appraisal of their changing worlds and the need to adjust along the short term time horizons.
they don't plan and any swift changes in nature's plans decimate their entire ranks...ask the dinosaurs...once the mighty, unchallenged rulers of all the lands.
and worse, they don't dream (at least in a human like fashion and vividness)

Freud believed that dreams are the royal road to the unconscious. the unconscious which is the repository of the exchanges of our life and our personal analysis without us ever knowing about. the unconscious which is the reservoir of our primitive needs , a fountainhead of our desires, the keystone of our pleasure.

Freud believed dreams have two sources, wish fulfillment and day residue. to anyone who has ever dreamt this would sound prophetic. in his theory of symbolism Freud analyses the crucial nuts and bolts from our dream works, the subtle and simple movements of everyday interactions.

and yet there are millions who have never dreamt. some forced not to by the grinding poverty of their everyday day, others weaned away by the comfort of riches. sometimes i feel dreaming is a typical middle class pastime imposed upon unsuspecting audience by expatriate writers, dream merchants and quacks of all hues in search of universal palliatives.[:)]
and the most alarming fact is , they lack the barest conception of what they miss.

when i hear martin Luther king pronounce, 'i have a dream...' my levels throb with energy and direction towards the red hills of Georgia to see the rolling down of the the most spectacular sight of our entire lifetimes. Nehru's tryst with destiny, pulls me to the birth-dawn of a new nation untarnished by its latter failures. Tagore's clear stream of reason skips the dreary desert sand of dead habits and flows down the gangetic plains through the Bengali heartland.

such is the power of imagery , and of human mind. two hours of wanderings on a rainy Delhi evening , took me everywhere across the planet and back. in the extremely couple - friendly cafes that happen to be my usual haunt ( honestly...its only because of a total vacuum of choices..lol) i never feel alone. even when a hundred eyes reinforce the fact i never feel outlandish my dreams sustain my rhythm for better purposes.

everyone has a favourite dream.
here's mine.

its a mild summer afternoon.
the sky is a clear light golden. wide avenues are populated by tastefully located eateries. yellow leaves keep falling submitting to the whimsical nature of shifting pressure conditions and the consequent light summer winds. its a port city so the breeze is slightly more pronounced. white houses are interrupted by regulation black lamp posts. its a picture we have forever seen on the water color boxes that were so precious and hard to come as kids.

I'm walking. there's somebody next to me. i can't see her. my 180 degree viewing angle is totally unhelpful. and like is older Hindi movies , the dream stays steeped in suspense. its destined to keep us away from the charms of Mona Lisa smile as long as it rationally (come on its a dream...even irrationally can..lol)possible!!

perfect man (is there a creature like that??), perfect woman (more plausible...but again hard to believe), on a perfect vacation in a perfect world..lol....mills n boons should try me, I'm every bit of a bored American Midwest housewife as any is.

and yet, despite the scepticism and mockery, i believe in my dreams. i wait and cherish for those moments when they will materialize. when they will transmute from raw fantasies to tangible , calculable objects. moments when an entire lifetime of efforts will fuse to create one line, " the man who would be the king"

wishful thinking...lol...but then what are dreams for ..go see your dreams..conquer your worlds!!