In the winter of 1998,I said goodbye to all my friends who waved back at me as I disappeared into our old ambassador.With my head popped out of the car window, I still fixed my gaze at the diminishing outlines of my friends,my first ever group of friends who introduced me to cricket,friends who taught me to run when there was trouble,friends whose presence made my every birthday a joy spree,friends in whose company I had become the cynosure of the street's eyes.....friends who made my childhood very special.Yet it did not dawn on me that it would be that last time I'd be seeing half of them.The lanes of Oaklipuram in Bengaluru run through my mind as they create a nostalgic feeling when I think of my bachpan.
I remember them....
I remember them......
Whenever I dream of paying a visit there,I have always picturised myself returning with a feeling....a feeling of immense satisfaction.But I rather carried a different feeling in my mind when I was at the exit of Oaklipuram a week ago.The more I think of it, the more the feeling occupies my mind space.
.
Everything had changed.My home was destroyed and as its replacement stood a taller building with withered paint and noticable water leaking spots.Apparently, the building was sobbing.There werent many friends left who stayed there.I managed to meet one only to discover that he too was ignorant of where the others were.
" Time flew fast man!Some shifted to mumbai,some to chennai,one left the country" he said."But, I am not in touch with them" he added.
Rambo,the only non-homo sapien of our gang had been an "all-bark-no-bite" dog which had a unique reputation among other street dogs.The lengthened silence throughout my presence made me comprehend that Rambo was no more.There was no need to ask my friend too.Some things are best understood in silence which is sometimes the best form of communication..
Old John uncle had always been kind to us.Sipping his evening tea,he used to relax in his easy chair during the evenings and watch us play cricket.Sometimes he even joined us posing himself as the umpire.
Well, that was old John uncle and now he was older,stopped talking,spent most of the time on bed and was gradually losing his memory.
That was enough....I spent some time drifting across the old lanes trying to recollect things.It was time to leave and I knew I wasn't leaving with what i thought I would be.Today as I sit back and think,I realise that all the good things happening to you now are past in the future.The past which you can never recreate ever again.Worse or hopefully better, but you cannot live the created past with the same feeling as you lived the original past.If I ever believed in a God, I'd say TIME IS GOD.
P.S 1)If what I realised is an obvious thing then :P
2)This is what I felt( It may not be true or universally applicable)....as they say.."there are always 3 versions of the truth...your version, my version and the actual version"
Friday, December 4, 2009
Monday, October 19, 2009
The beach
It was dark.Moonlight was of little help.The two boys made themselves comfortable in the cold sand of the beach.The sea waves were kind enough to not scare them.The two witty boys were the closest pals.They would spend hours in the sand playing during the night.Not a single audacious attempt to get near the sea during the night for a slightly magnified image of it would inundate their minds with fear.Such was the power of the dark.But,their grey cells knew that the beach and the sea were inseparable....and so were they.
Unknowingly they lived within each other.A sweet scent of friendship filled the medium around them.Many visited the beach everyday but none would take a second look at the two spread across the beach selling hats in the melee.By night, they would dump the hatsacks in the godown nearby,grab some food and rush to the beach.At times when the owner snatched huge part of their collection,they would share the meal.Innocence covered their flamboyant faces.Apparently,they would exchange satisfied looks after every meal.
Noon was the time when they would study people and their attires.Sun glasses were always an attraction....Their tired looks screamed of hunger.Their dried throats reflected an unquenched thirst
On a similar noon,Both were watching over a game of beach ball with the huge bundle of unsold hats with them.
One of them started"I like this game Ryan"
"Me too, but we don't have a ball like that" admitted Ryan."May be we can never have" he sighed and turned his gaze towards the pile that sat between them.
It was a huge cry of exclamation that abruptly ended the conversation.The ball had been hit in the wrong direction and now it was on the way to get a peck from the waves.
"I'l go get it" Ryan's friend jumped and ran towards the ball even before anyone one of the beachball chaps started to make a move.With his mouth half open Ryan started to hesitate but could already see his friend running halfway.
The ball would not stop.It raced up to the waves.The boy behind would only look at the ball which was now being hugged by the wavesThe ball slid deeper and deeper...but the boy wouldn't stop.
There were silent spectators watching this until an old lady started screaming when she saw a kid disappearing behind the waves.A few people rushed to the water.There was a sudden rise in the tone of a small yet cheerful crowd which now started to panic.
Ryan had been watching.The time taken for him to react was too expensive........
24 years later
A middle aged man was standing on the beach, his hand clasped with a tiny one.A lady sat behind them.It was almost sunset.
"Its time Ryan,we must leave" his wife spoke from behind.He nodded and smiled at his daughter who stared back into the watery eyes.
P S It was no one's mistake..
Unknowingly they lived within each other.A sweet scent of friendship filled the medium around them.Many visited the beach everyday but none would take a second look at the two spread across the beach selling hats in the melee.By night, they would dump the hatsacks in the godown nearby,grab some food and rush to the beach.At times when the owner snatched huge part of their collection,they would share the meal.Innocence covered their flamboyant faces.Apparently,they would exchange satisfied looks after every meal.
Noon was the time when they would study people and their attires.Sun glasses were always an attraction....Their tired looks screamed of hunger.Their dried throats reflected an unquenched thirst
On a similar noon,Both were watching over a game of beach ball with the huge bundle of unsold hats with them.
One of them started"I like this game Ryan"
"Me too, but we don't have a ball like that" admitted Ryan."May be we can never have" he sighed and turned his gaze towards the pile that sat between them.
It was a huge cry of exclamation that abruptly ended the conversation.The ball had been hit in the wrong direction and now it was on the way to get a peck from the waves.
"I'l go get it" Ryan's friend jumped and ran towards the ball even before anyone one of the beachball chaps started to make a move.With his mouth half open Ryan started to hesitate but could already see his friend running halfway.
The ball would not stop.It raced up to the waves.The boy behind would only look at the ball which was now being hugged by the wavesThe ball slid deeper and deeper...but the boy wouldn't stop.
There were silent spectators watching this until an old lady started screaming when she saw a kid disappearing behind the waves.A few people rushed to the water.There was a sudden rise in the tone of a small yet cheerful crowd which now started to panic.
Ryan had been watching.The time taken for him to react was too expensive........
24 years later
A middle aged man was standing on the beach, his hand clasped with a tiny one.A lady sat behind them.It was almost sunset.
"Its time Ryan,we must leave" his wife spoke from behind.He nodded and smiled at his daughter who stared back into the watery eyes.
P S It was no one's mistake..
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