It's a Mad, Mad, Mad World

 I was thirteen. I got admission in a college in Ranchi (India). That was 1961. Ranchi is famous in the world for its mental hospital.  It has a capacity to take care of hundred plus mentally challenged persons. I had seen one or two mentally challenged persons in my life but never a crowd. I with my colleagues planned a visit by bicycle to this 5Km distant place.
There was a huge closed metal grilled gate visible from a distance. Lots of people were seen to be occupying the long pathway leading to a huge building. When we came nearer, we found a lush garden on both the sides. Some people were cleaning or irrigating plants and shrubs. Some were sitting randomly. I saw a 40 year old person wearing a cap and standing with one leg perched on a stone. He seemed to be in deep thinking mode looking at the sky with fingers of his right hand placed on the chin. I had earlier seen a sculpture of Pallas Athena in such a stance in my course book. We dared to come very close to the gate to have a better visual. Suddenly a huge man with a bucket in his right hand clasped my hand resting on the gate grill with his left hand. From the grasp, I, at once knew that it was difficult to get my hand released.
That man in his fifties fixed his gaze. He smiled at me and whispered,” What are you doing inside? Come and see outside. It is great.”
To my relief, a person in khaki uniform came to my rescue. I immediately rushed back to my bicycle. During my return and thereafter for quite some time, I was an object of mockery among colleagues.
Today, when I am 63, I could comprehend slightly better, the meaning implicit of that advice.
The mentally handicapped man was by far very happy in the given environment. He wanted me to share his happiness. He found us to be still imprisoned in our environment and circumstances. He had a one undivided world. We are still looking for one world-one society-one religion.