And so when I heard "Cast No Shadow" by Oasis, I was not surprised, neither at the timing that I heard the song at, nor at the alarming accuracy with which it converted my thoughts into words..For the privilege of the uninitiated, here are the words of this absolutely marvellous piece, by my reigning favorites, Oasis.
CAST NO SHADOW
Here's a thought for every man
Who tries to understand what is in his hands
He walks along the open road of Love & Life
surviving if he can
Bound with all the weight of all the words he tried to say
Chained to all the places that he never wished to stay
Bound with all the weight of all the words he tried to say
and as he faced the sun he cast no shadow
As they took his soul they stole his pride
As they took his soul they stole his pride
OH SWEET LORD! What lyrics.....! To elaborate on what got me to write this post..
Life, as we know it, brings us face to face with so much, that more often than not, we don't stop to look back and assess..N this occurred to me during one of my "solitary unions" (pun intended!) with myself, while travelling on the long Metro route, with my dear sweet music in my ears..:)
To put the facts in perspective, we complicate matters...Period. We do something, because they want us to do it. We say something, because they expect to hear it. We go somewhere, because we were expected to go there. We read something, because they said it is a good read, and it is a "bestseller"...Not realizing once, that by obeying the "they", we are giving way to more and more complications.
Funnily, it is not "their" fault! :) I was reminded of the million times when I said or did something against my wish, in order to conform to surroundings. But did I appeal to that little voice inside me that chided me for saying what I did, or for doing what I did? Clearly, No...
As the song came to an unwilling end, I quietly gathered my belongings, and walked out of the Metro, touched by what had just comprehended my clouded mind...Silent apologies were passed on to that sweet inner voice! N then, i ran into an acquaintance..Five minutes of precursory conversation later, it seemed pretty clear, there was no way out of this labyrinth...On an instinct, I looked up at the sun, n then at my shadow...I had Cast No Shadow!
Hmmmm...
ReplyDeleteIn-te-re-sting...
Yes, the curse of numbing perfunctoriness does plague the best of us..
Yes, actions without a directional consciousness, or even a second thought to why one must accept things the way they are, do come back to haunt one at the darkest of times..
But:
1. As you discovered within minutes after the revelation, man's existence as a social animal all but necessitates a certain minimum degree of such mindlessness.
2. And more importantly, one is always blessed enough to find a muse in the form of a song/sunset/puppy dog/poem/hyperlinked memory/ etal, which gently whispers to you in the ear, "Let it be.."
"Dont carry the world upon your shoulders."
"Stand by me",
"With our love, we could save the world"..
Cheers to that, immovable, ever living constance of goodness, that shines thru every time we need it most..
PS: Yes, cheers to the beatles as well! :)
Totally agree..!
ReplyDeleteLike I said, there are enough good songs to take us through all mindlessness..N yes, thanks to the Beatles, for writing most of those..But, I still wish there was a Utopian society where this prefunctoriness would be looked upon as an evil! ;-)
What the heck! Cheers to the goodness that somehow manages to creep back in someway or the other...! :-)
"...that somehow manages to creep back in someway or the other..."
ReplyDeletethose are the magic words... :)
cheers!
Preeti!!! why dont u become a writer yaar??? u will earn like hell... i have simply fallen in love with your style of writing... wow superb...
ReplyDelete@Justin : Magic words are another form of muse that help! :-)
ReplyDelete@Mafla : Thanks! M flattered, though I don't think I am as good as you made it out to be...'ll accept good comments...;)