L'enfant Souriant Près du Feu

Galerie des Chroniques des Chevaliers

The Beauty Of Existence

1. The Blaze of Pyrophilous Soul

Two children (Afghan migrants) sitting by a fire. See the fire closely, you will find a lot in it. See those eyes and that face, they say a lot. These both kids, even at this age, make a living by collecting recyclable paper. They both are the center and essence of the blog.

2. The Smile of Achlys

He is the other child sitting by the fire in the above pic, and I decided to portray him as a friend of mine. Though our interaction was only for half an hour, he taught me more than any other person in a time span so short. His miss fit jacket and adorable talk were priceless. And his smile is too powerful for me, so powerful that it can make my eyes have unshed tears. The reason for this is that he is smiling even amidst so much chaos and havoc; and we, even with everything, keep on complaining time and again.

3. The Iris of Emotions

        An eye with unshed tears, an eye in which you can see the reflection of that fire, in front of which the two boys were sitting (which is the specialty of this pic and the reason why I selected this pic). This is an eye which I can't see crying, whose crying makes me cry too. The expression that this eye wants to convey is vivid, but only to the person who has an open mind and an awakened soul to accept it.

4. The Hadean Kingdom Come

This building is an architectural feat, and was located just a few yards from the fire by which the two boys were sitting. That's the irony of it. Every reader can deduce a distinctive perspective from this. Several levels, several arches and a leaf like golden emblem on its top-this has a special hidden message for the readers to decipher.

5. The Alley of Consternation

A street just next to the area where those kids were sitting. There is a blur person at the end of the street. The street is leading to the figure (which seems disfigured) and what to infer from it, I have left unto the readers. The trees are leafless and the shadow they cast is adding a unique message to the image, fitting perfectly with the scenario. The roads and the whole image seems cracked and crooked, but there is light (though minimal) shining down and a little down the street from where the pic was taken, as a sign of hope.

6. The Beholding Antithesis

The souvenir you see on the right was a gift to me all the way from China. And the wooden sculpture you see in the back was another souvenir I got in a ceremony. The blue flowers painted on the souvenir (Kashikari) are a symbol of beauty, innocence and justice; whereas, the maquette in the background is a symbol of power. It consists of Horus (an Egyptian eagle like deity) sitting on top of Maahes (an Egyptian lion like deity), both of which symbolize power, war, authority and tyranny. Also the slight dust around it and in the background remotely hints at the evil it possess. Whereas the cleanliness around the flowers depict their purity. The specific perspective from which the picture is taken also conveys a special message--though the power is in the back, it still has a lot of influence throughout the world.

7. The Quietude of the Cosmos

This is an image of a friend (an awesome friend to be specific). He is one grade junior to me but has proved to be the best of my companions. The reason I chose this pic is to highlight the importance of equity and the bag he is wearing. There exists a contrast between the child in the second pic and my friend though both are from the same race too (both Afghani). The main difference between the two is what they carry. One carries a bag filled with books, the other carries a sack filled with recyclable trash. This is the dilemma and irony of our society, which I call the "Bigotry Paradox".

8. The Periphery of Perception

This is the pic of my beloved cat. She is the cutest and the best companion of mine. I had to deal with a lot to take this pic. Firstly, this set up was built by me (sorry that it looks too crude) and then to make her sit in front of it and look into the camera was a Herculean task. I had to trick her by food to take this pic and hold her by force into a static position (she ate twice as much she eats in a day just to take this pic, her doctors gonna kill me for that if he reads this). The awesome thing about this is that you can see the same fire, with the boys sitting by it, in her eyes too. If you look closely her eyes are also teary at the sight of those kids. This is the reason why I chose this pic. And the saddest thing is that though she is an animal, she is living a more comfortable life than those kids.

9. The Oeuvre of Enlightenment

Here is a pic of mine. I tried to be creative via the idea of showing a book dispensing the beams of knowledge unto me. The reason for adding this pic is to add meaning to the previous pics  and the whole story. It further agitates the interest and thinking capacity of the reader.

The Smiling Child by The Fire

Chilly winds of 1-to-2-degree Celsius, slight mist and fog in the air, a quarter moon in the sky, leaves of all the trees shed, the grass was brown and straw-like, the night was dark just like the sky, with only a few stars.; the awe bewitching scene that greeted me when I dropped by in one of the most lavish areas of Islamabad. There was a great contrast between what was on the land and what was in the skies. The street lamps were glowing pale orange, while the colors in the shops were multispectral, which was inducing a nocturnal effect throughout the atmosphere of the place. I could see a contrast between what was happening in the hearts and minds of the people which was quite vivid, at least to anyone who chose to see it-their eyes and their actions were saying it all.

After wandering about the streets, soaking in the beauty of the place, I decided to go into one of the restaurants to satisfy my appetite, which had been built up greatly since I was coming back from sporting. After about an hour or so, I was about to go back to my car but just a few yards out from where the car was parked, I saw a small fire. It was a minimal fire apparently, with a massive magnitude spiritually. From a distance, I could see two blur people sitting by it. I went up close, and with every step, my heart and soul got heavier. Up close, I got to know those two people were not people but were two small boys sitting by a fire to warm themselves. Huge sacks filled with recyclable paper were by them. That was their source of minimal living. Their eyes were colored and by their looks, I guessed that they were Afghan diaspora. Their excellence and consciousness could be felt in the strong aura around them. I was wearing a fine warm jacket to protect myself from the cold; still, I could feel the chills. But what were they wearing? Some worn-out clothes with a misfit jacket… But from the truth of my heart I say, they were both looking far more adorable and elegant than anyone I had ever seen. The jacket I was wearing was suffocating me in the swamp of guilt.  

The wind was too cold and too strong. The sound that the swishing of the dried leaves made by the strong gusts of wind was like coming from a war-horn of sin, the frequency of lament to my ears. The impact of wind was like cold shots fired from canons. And those kind, those innocent souls were tackling with this all valiantly and still smiling-sitting by the fire and just smiling. And when I looked into the fire, I could literally see those demons in the fire, devouring the wood and converting it into ash after extracting its soul. More the souls those fire demons devoured, the bigger and stronger they got. But were those demons actually demons?  They were the fallen angels protecting those children from the chilling winds right from the Cocytus. Seeing the children like fearless chivalrous knights in this typhoon of malignance, I could hear the cursed and forsaken demons in my head, singing the symphony of tormented calls into my ears:

    Ah! Those demonic gusts of wind so cold
    Wants of yours, those desires you hold
    That child so innocent, that smile so bold
    That fire so munificent, take off the blindfold

    See the soul that cries, the face yet smiles

    So happy by the fire, in this life of trials

    Hopelessness I see, the darkness for miles

    Greed is the force, every soul that defiles

    Shadows by the fire, that obscurity so black

    Rising up and up, the flames set a track 

    Those rising ashes of yellow, out to attack

    Demons through fire, holding them back

    That passion so fiery, so sheer that force

    Haunt you not, O guilt and remorse

    Seeing this sight, the reality so close

    Fabric of truth, when will you endorse?

    See that eye so dejected, those tears that fall

    Can’t see that gloom? Your perspective so small

    Lament in my mind, the reapers in it crawl

    How can I forget, there’s so much to recall

    That maquette of power, those flowers that contrast

    Discriminating us all, us humans and this caste

    Nail we must, the true, our colors to the mast

    This arrogance of nature, till when will it last?

    Those buildings so high, yet inside so low

    Filled these streets are, covered with woe

    That treachery with equity, this treason you show

    Lesson of order, nature’ll let you know

    Path through shadows, those lines to that figure

    Yet brightness I see, in this blurriness with vigor

    The haunting in this alley, inducing in me a rigor

    Cracks in my soul, by this only grew bigger

    Same is their race, alike they so are

    One has a tuition, other has a scar

    This irony of existence is still so bizarre

    Efforts are unlike, yet with each other on par

    But he so little, still his smile so luminous

    Amidst these tensions, joys so numerous

    Happy I am made, by his aura so voluminous

    Demons are angelic by this boy so numinous

    She little is cat, happy and warm

    Safe she remains from every trail n storm

    Yet the child so innocent, but by this norm

    Is out on the street, this needs to transform

    By this havoc so striking, I cannot forget

    The guilt of superiority, hitting like a threat

    Intuition then led me, to pacify the regret

    The light of the book, to make everything set

This song induced a state of trance in me and in a moment, this all went through my mind. I wanted to do so much for the child, but I felt shackled; shackled by the restriction of my enterprise. I wanted to bring the whole world in front of these children to preserve that little smile of theirs for eternity, to give a true reason for the child to smile. Then, I saw my shadow and felt it was trying to say something to me. And on closing my eyes, my eyes could truly see and my ears could truly hear. I felt myself harnessing the power of a necromancer. There, at that point in time, I could sense my intuition forming a nexus with spirituality. My shadow was turning into the daemon of mine, trying to help me destroy this picturesque portrayal of the world and call upon a true halcyon onto this world, and then began a life-changing whisper:

“See these children, see their hands? See the dirt on their faces? Do you see? And still, amidst this cold-hearted desert, he smiles. Do you feel your legs held by the devilish monsters beneath the ground? Are your feet not immovable by the weight of your heart? Aren’t you seeing the hellhounds spread throughout these winds and lands? The dried leaves and trees are like vessels deprived of souls. See me, see your shadow. Have I also not become a cause of fear for you? But why do you fear yourself? The dark soul of ego, ignorance and pride has been seen by you in every other being and in yourself too, but don’t confuse this fear with opportunity. That child and his innocence is the light that you need. Feel it and learn from it. An act of kindness and an act of generosity is all you need. Live to see not what is wrong; live to see what is right and heal the wronged. This child, this child is the very sculpture of piety and the virtuous beam of beauty. Mold your life as to become an angel to serve them. Become a shadow that follows the opportunities to serve anyone in need like I’ll follow you till the last of your breaths. Become a clairvoyant of justice and see the beauty that exists in the small and trivial acts of kindness. Start now, start from this very moment. Start by vowing to do something for these children. Give them hope, give them something to smile for. And the only resort you will find from these demons of guilt is in invincible rays of knowledge. Know the power of knowledge, feel it, dispense it, and live it. Labor is not what these children are for, knowledge and education is what they should live for…”

And from this, another moment of trance, I turned to the child and simply smiled back, to the naïve child that taught me so much without teaching me anything….