TAARE ZAMEEN PAR

Flying has always fascinated me. My father, a frequent flyer, always gets me the window seat, and I sit for hours in awe at the constantly changing landscape below. Night flights are different altogether. As the aircraft descends towards Mumbai, the city lights illuminate the darkness, turning it into a kaleidoscope of colour. It's like an enormous, lit-up motherboard, throbbing with energy, each light a crucial part, all functioning together to keep the system alive and breathing. I call it "Taare Zameen Par". 

 

One evening, not so long ago, I stood at my window, lost in thought about this very idea, and it appeared as if the stars had fallen, covered by a brilliant, man-made constellation. Although I always loved these flights of fancy, the wonder that once filled me was replaced with a disturbing awareness: in our quest for advancement, we have, in fact, brought the stars to earth.

 

The irony is stark. Mumbai, the City of Dreams, once presented a view of the real stars, a canvas where generations dreamed big, prayed for guidance, and found solace. Picture gazing up at the night sky with the innocence of childhood, like Katrina and Hrithik in 'Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara,' their faces bathed in that starlight, feeling the universe unfurl before your eyes. Or the raw, pure romanticism of Shah Rukh Khan stretching for the stars in 'Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge,' a gesture that transcended the screen, mirroring the aspirations of millions. 

 

Don't our dreams take shape in the great breadth of the night sky? Our innermost thoughts, most cherished desires, seem to find voice when whispered to the stars. Aren't the stars the ultimate goal, the beacons guiding our dreams? Now, the very lights illuminating these dreams, a testament to our relentless ambition, have muted the stellar display, throwing a long shadow across the dreamscape that once inspired them. 

 

With the stars hidden from our view, where do we look now? Where are the souls of those loved ones that we've lost, have they become part of the stars we've gazed up at before ? Or is all of this simply myth-making for our own consolation, and are our loved ones nothing but extinguished existences? How do we reach for something that once seemed a distant hope, now within grasp, yet somehow further away than ever? How do we reach for the stars, if they are no longer visible?

 

Now, all of these stars are here beside you, a breathtaking sight, a testament to our ingenuity. But a feeling of discomfort remains. Have we actually attained happiness, or only built a brilliant but artificial constellation? Is this the height of human aspiration, a life where the only stars we know are the ones we've created? Adults always lecture us on letting go, but they hold on to their accomplishments, their creations, until they are a burden, a block to the very things they were intended to light the way for. This relentless striving, this unceasing push for progress, makes me think of a person craving long, gorgeous hair but afraid of the temporary inconvenience of a cut. They hold back from trimming the split ends, afraid it will slow their final destination, not realizing that by letting the damage propagate, they are in fact keeping their hair from its maximum potential.

 

Therefore, as lovely as the cityscape is at night from up above, I would gladly exchange that for a glance of the true stars, no matter how short-lived. That’s all it takes, a moment to dream, make a wish, and reconnect to the universe.

 

If ever I am near these far-off gems, I'd come back to Earth having stolen a glance, for I know where I stand in the universe is to look upon them from below, to leave them far away from me. A life spent grasping these unattainable stars has a greater, richer fulfillment. The more important realisation I've had is that true exploration lies not in conquering the universe, but in appreciating its grandeur and our place within it. I'd much rather those stars appear far away, so I don’t stop aiming for them. This enthusiasm for discovery uncovers a long-hidden brightness.

 

The brightness of human potential, the ability to love, to care, to create, these are the real stars, shining in each of us. And in cultivating these inner stars, we can recapture the wonder and awe that once abounded within us when we looked up at the starry universe.

 

For even in the heart of the most dazzling metropolis, the true stars, the ones that matter most, still reside within us, waiting to be ignited.