Interpretation of "Madhushala"

The late Dr.Harivanshrai Bacchhan wrote this great piece, which on the surface seems so simple.But as one tries to see under the surface and probes deeper into the words,you find so much to ponder over and learn.Everytime I hear the prologue in my weak moments,it gives me a new lease of life.

"Madiraalay jaane ko ghar se,chaltaa hai peene waalaa

Kiss patth se jaoon asmanjas main hai yeh bhola bhaala......"

The destination:Madiraalay

The seeker:Peene Waala(Sharaabi)

For the drunkard,the ultimate destination is the Madiraalay.He starts off from his house and wants to reach the Madiraalay where he will find the elixir of life,which for him is the sharaab or madiraa.Similarly, all of us want to find and reach our lifes ultimate goal.

But,he is confused (&%^*#).He has lost his path and doesn't know how to reach the Madhushaala.Being naive he is unable to find the right path.

The same applies to all of us.Though we have a vague idea as to what we want from life,more often than not we just don't know how to get there.

"Alag alag patth batulaate sab...par main yeh batulaata hoon

Raah pakad tu ek chalaa chal...paajaaega madhushaala....paajaaega madhushaala....."

The problem:Confusion/too many advices

The solution:Single minded focus/devotion/belief

In his quest to find his way to the Madhushala,he comes across many people.Each one telling him to tread a different path ,resulting in more confusion for him.Finally in a chance encounter he meets the poet ,who advices him to follow one path with all his heart and soul. He assures him that this way he will reach his Madhushala.

When on our way to realise and achieve our goals,we come across so many people ,each giving his own suggestions,ideas,words of wisdom whatever you may choose to call it.More often than not they do more harm to us than good.Its not always that people give us unwanted advice,most of the time its we who want it and run after it.

The poet ,in just one line offers a solution which seems so pragmatic.It reminds me of why Arjun(from the epic Mahabharat) never missed a target.He just saw the birds eye,nothing else seemed to bother him.So,if we just know where we want to reach and focus on our goal without drifting here and there,there is high probability that we may end up reaching our destination(Madhushala).