A big mountain, a small stone. A matter of perspective. A bird wants to defy conventions, a snow monkey waits. The mountains of Ladakh and the ice caves of Siachen become a canvas for this story.
SO CLOSE YET SO FAR
photographs, 41 part poem
1
'cold' said the bird
i want to fly. i want to fly so high.
i want mushrooms.
'no. it's not something that little birds eat.'
but i want it.
'don't be adamant, i know what is good for you.'
please, i want to fly. i want to fly so high.
i want mushrooms.
i wont ask for anything else.
just this once.
i will make you proud.
i want to fly. i want to fly so high.
2.
‘but why mushrooms?’
‘its not something that even the grown up birds eat’.
‘most of us don’t even think it helps.’
‘you cant digest it. and we don’t know what will happen if you eat it.’
i can handle it.
please give me mushrooms.
‘how do you know that?’
i know because i want it,
isn’t that simple?
all i want to do is to fly. i want to fly so high.
please give me mushrooms.
3.
‘you are not scared, you scare us’
‘how do i handle you’
i don’t need handling, and don’t worry about me.
‘no, we are. ’
‘the other day, you wanted to cross the rainbow.’
but i did
‘we know you did, but none of us have done it’
‘we think its dangerous, no bird does it’
why?… it was beautiful.
‘nobody dares, what if you change colour?’
i didn’t change colour. besides i was happy when i crossed.
and what if i changed colour?
‘people identify us by the colour we fly’
‘we change colour, they change us’
‘its too much for a bird to risk’
4.
‘and what about the rain flight?’
what about the rain flight?
‘you danced in the rain. in-between the clouds’
‘that was so scary’
‘i have the responsibility to protect you’
but i have a responsibility to live happily.
‘and flying there with your body drenched, heavy
between the clouds, in dense rain.
it was as if the air got colder and thicker’
it was beautiful.
i look forward to the next rain
‘birds will die, they are not trained to fly in the rain’
‘you have to hide behind the dry clouds’
5.
mom but give me mushrooms.
i want to fly. i want to fly so high.
6.
‘what makes you disobey me’
‘no bird has the strength to disobey’
i am not disobeying; i am finding what makes me.
i am meant to fly.
i have wings, i don’t have fear.
and a bird has to fly.
i want to fly. i want to fly so high.
don’t teach me limitations that will make me weak.
just let me be.
i want to fly; i want to fly so high.
please please give me mushrooms.
7.
‘ i don’t know what to do with her, she would not listen’
‘she actually wants to eat mushrooms; can you believe It?’
‘do you know what happened to the other bird?’
‘it could not gather strength when it flew in. you know, so it burnt itself’