ARR - My mushroom ring!

My life seems to have no purpose.

This was a thought that kept constantly eating away at me nearly two years back. Not a single thing stimulated my interest. It was a dark phase. And many people helped me in my return journey to normality. Lao Tzu. Robin Williams. Charlie Chaplin. William Earnest Henley.

But the most important of them was a short humble man who celebrates his birthday today. Allah Rakha Rahman.

Lao Tzu showed me The way. Robin Williams showed me hope. Chaplin showed me silence and humor. Henley showed me grit. 
But Rahman showed me none of these. He, instead, made me feel. 
Feel hope. Feel silence. Feel grit. 

And by the end of it all, I emerged a simpler and happier human being with two recondite revelations:

• Every single thing that happens in life - from the most trivial to the most significant - has its own purpose.
• Rahman is at his best while composing for Mani Ratnam.

Like any other day, I stepped out of my hostel in the early hours of today morning, headphones inserted. Needless to mention that the song playing was a Rahman song. And I walked ahead, turning right when the road turned right and turning left when the road turned left. My eyes kept effortlessly searching around for any little beauty of nature that required a minute's attention and if needed, a camera click for a happy reminiscence. Most of the walk continued without much fuss from nature's side. But then, my eyes fell upon them. 

A troop of mushrooms. 
A family to be exact - There was a father, a mother and two small ones.

I sat down and took out the camera from my pocket. Placing it amidst a few blades of grass, I clicked a few shots of the family. As I went through the captured images on the camera screen, I felt not entirely satisfied. But for some reason, I did not feel eager enough to capture a few more and got up to continue my walk.


I was clueless when I sat down today evening, staring at the blank white space available for typing in my Blogger 'new post' page, having decided to type down a post about Rahman. I just couldn't resist a post.
A list of my favorite Rahman songs? Everybody does that.
An analysis of how he has blended carnatic music into many of his popular songs? I knew literally nothing about carnatic music.
An elaborate article on his Academy award achievement that turned the spotlight on Indian cinema? A lot has been written already.

I thought. I scratched. I banged. Nothing hit me. At least, not in the way a Rahman melody hits you as you lie on your cot, covered by your blanket and surrounded by darkness.

I gave up all hopes of typing down a post and started browsing about mushrooms. The family that I had seen in the morning stayed in my head for some reason and I started reading about them. As I continued reading, two words suddenly caught my attention.
I read them and re-read them and I couldn't help smiling.
Magical portals.

Mushroom rings were considered to be magical portals according to folklore. But I did not care reading any further. I had gotten the two words that mattered and sufficed. For a simple post about a simple man. 

Thank you, my dear Madras Mozart! Thank you for being the mushroom ring of my life!

Every single thing that happens in life - from the most trivial to the most significant - has its own purpose.