SYMBOLISM

1 July, 2013

Symbolism -

Symbols abound to represent some idea absolving the need for excessive description. Symbols are used by the roadside to provide direction to a pedestrian or a driver. Ancient to modern symbols are constantly being downloaded into human minds through verbal and electronic mass media. Any symbolism is meaningless or useless unless it becomes a part of individual’s life experience.

During the first eight years of my life (1932 to 1940), I grew up in Jagdalpur, Bastar State,  India. Our one story bungalow sat cutely in the middle of a spacious fenced yard. This bungalow was assigned to our father in the capacity of Principal of Grigson High School. The entire school facility including school buildings, staff quarters, student hostel and playgrounds spread over several acre \ land which was fenced off to prevent any through traffic. Within our house yard, there was a large Banyan tree and just outside our fence there was another much larger Banyan tree aged around 200-years. Both of the Banyan trees provided ample shade for us kids to play. The kids included me, my younger brother, Surendra, and a few others who often played for hours together. The long shoots of Banyan stemming out of the Banyan's large branches and heading towards the ground provided playful opportunities for us to act out as Tarzan and chimps.  As a child, I was always curious about how a tiny seed even smaller than a mustard seed would sprout in the ground and grow up into such a huge tree without even being tended by a gardner. Those happy and innocent memories are etched in my consciousness. The live image of Banyan stands as a symbol in my consciousness. It is for this very reason the picture of a Banyan was picked to appear on the cover page of my book titled “Seamless Generations” released in March 2013.

As I grew up into adolescence during the age of 10-22,  I had lived along with my four siblings in our maternal grandparents house in Dhantoli, Nagpur to pursue studies in highschool and the university. During the academic holiday seasons, we travelled to Jagdalpur to stay with our parents and revisit the Banyan trees.

Our grandfather’s spacious bungalow had a cemented water pond at the front end. The pond served the purpose of watering the garden at the front end of the house. The pond with clover shaped projections on four sides was about 4-ft high and had an overall circumference of a 6-feet diameter circle. The top surfaces were lined with 12-inch wide stone tiles, which enabled us to sit on top ledge or rest our hands comfortably while standing near the pond.  At the center of the pond was a water sprinkler enhancing its beauty.

In the pond, there were always small colorful varieties of fish. A Lotus flower creeper floating in the pond seemed to look after the welfare of the fish offering shade under its broad leaves that floated on top of water. Other creepers besides the Lotus seemed to establish residence in the pond contributing to a healthy ecology balance within the pond. Various other green organisms flourished harmoniously in the small pond. As a kid, I would sit on top ledge of the pond and just look at the little universe that existed within the pond. Different varieties of fish seemed to enjoy their lives without fighting with the other species. I would often immerse my palm coated with moistened wheat flour which attracted many fish to lick the flour off my fingers. In sunlight, the skin of fish displayed brilliant fluorescent colors. Especially on weekends after lunch , we siblings would cluster around the little pond to watch the wondrous world of the  little fish in the pond with Lotus flowers and their broad leaves topping the scene. This set of innocent and happy experiences with the pond, the Lotus flowers and the colorful fish etched another set of symbols in my heart.

At the age of 30-31, I visited Sagar in MP, India for the first time along with my parents. My father had attended high school in Sagar, which was quite close to his hometown Raheli. One evening, we walked over to a nearby landlocked Pond, which was the size of two soccer fields. At the very first sight it reminded me of the small pond in our Nagpur residence because this large pond also had lots of large size Lotus flowers stemming out of its calm water.

After stepping in a 10-ft long canoe we signalled the boatman to take us slowly across the pond. He rowed the canoe slowly meandering around the thick Lotus creeper. Just a couple of feet under the water we could see as well as feel a thick network of Lotus roots intermingled with the roots of other creepers. It was a frightening idea to drown in such waters and thick silt. Afterall this was a landlocked pond which collected water only from the rain water and nothing ever flowed out of the pond. As a result, the pond had developed its own ecological system and the locals did not seem to disturb it. I shuddered at the very idea of mosquitoes breeding in the still waters of the pond. Except for the natural beauty of the Lotus flowers growing in the midst of thick silted water and our enjoyable canoe ride, the landlocked pond by itself has become a symbol of closed-in minds amongst humanity.

Our oldest son Deepak had graduated and started his first job with Kemper Insurance Company in Buffalo Grove, Illinois during 1990-91.. I had driven Deepak a few times to the beautiful Kemper Company campus. On the Kemper campus grounds, I had often seen a flock of graceful white Swans around a pond stretching across half a mile in the midst of well maintained green lawn and flower beds.  A family of snow-white Swans often seemed to be standing along the edge of the pond for soaking up the sun, while some were gracefully floating in the Pond. Once in awhile, I would see a Swan step out of the water with absolutely clean and dry feet. I was told that the Swan’s skin around his feet readily shed away any silt or water. As I internalized this experience, the elegant Swan has become another  precious symbol within my consciousness.

Over the years, the land-locked pond with heavy silt deposits has become symbolic of humans with closed minds. The beautiful Lotus flower in various stages of budding and blossoming in the midst of thick silt symbolizes  those amongst us who blossom into pleasant humans beings with universal wisdom in spite of the stagnant surroundings. The graceful Swan that steps out of the silt and water with absolutely dry feathers and clean feet symbolizes a human that stays unaffected by the adverse surrounding elements and goes on to experience universal wisdom and consciousness.

Mother Nature offers us absolute freedom to choose meaningful symbols from our life experiences, The picture of a landlocked water Pond, Lotus flower, Swan and Banyan tree painted on a single canvas are my meaningful symbols for seeking universal consciousness.

Every human gets to personally pick preferred symbols for experiencing life. A symbol or a word becomes meaningful only after it is in our experience.