Thursday, September 25, 2008

My brush with sublime

While making last minute notes for my class on Kant and his insights on sublime and beautiful I lingered much longer than required on the former concept.It brought alive some pleasant memories of bygone days. To be precise I was reminded of our study tour to western Indian rock caves and particularly the journey to Nane Ghat situated in Western ghats. It was raining cats and dogs that day with hardly any visibility .Road was extremely narrow and I thought the scene was right for shooting a thriller movie.


I remember leaving my seat to sit on one of those red satin mattresses put on the front of bus where seats had been removed.As I looked out of the window the road was nowhere in sight..it almost seemed as if the bus was gliding on the valley.For a moment my heart stopped beating ..it was scary but probably it was more than that…because after a short time the fear was replaced by the sense of awe and respect for nature. The breathtakingly beautiful lush green mountains and gurgling sounds made by the river down in the valley had a wonderful impact on me.

While I was undergoing these unexplainable emotions which I am trying to weave in words I saw another bus coming from the opposite side. Suddenly I was curious to see how our driver would negotiate the problem.After what seemed like an eternity our bus driver reversed the vehicle and adjusted it so that one of its rear wheels was no longer on the road but was hanging in the air. Getting enough space the other bus moved ahead but I will never be able to forget the experience of hanging in mid air…It was fear mixed with extreme devotion…it made me feel so small…I was almost in a trance but I do clearly remember my thoughts which ran as……………

god I would have no regrets if I were to fall and die in this valley

Not that I have any suicidal tendencies but nature in its wildest form does have a maddening impact on people…it can make you cry, laugh, feel extremely insignificant or as I experienced ,happy to die it its lap….probably this is what Kant meant by a sublime experience………..