It was a matter of time and now time is the essence of the matter. This sentence might seem a bit weird-worded or it might seem too complex. A little bit insight might throw up some light on it.
Let me turn the clock back to the Fall of 2007. It is a good three years back in time. Life had come to a virtual standstill after passing out of college. The next (big) thing was TATA Consultancy Services and the many people I met there. Some melted away immediately, some hanged on for the sake of being there, some became lifelong friends but one stayed on for the next three years and perhaps forever.
What followed was a like a dream, in the truest sense, perhaps because of the speed at which these three years flew past. It is said that if you do or act in pure thought, happiness follows you like a shadow. I feel blessed in this regard. What followed after shifting base to my home town was pure and profound happiness- be it in the form of regular and repeated visits to the handful malls in Kolkata, occasional visit to temples, visits to ice-candy or pop-soda stalls or be it in the form of (I so hated it) regular bouts of window shopping. So much so that waiters at a particular coffee joint had become friends with me. Laughter and shouts punctuated by occasional bouts of cries made the ambience around so wonderful, the melody of the beautiful voice rang out loud. The present silence contrasts it to a larger extent.
It did not stop there. I have always vouched for Hindi and traditional music and yet here I was listening to music sung by people whose very existence I was unaware of, singing in a language I can only read, write and speak. No wonder our car stereo used to throw up at times. Imagine the agony it (and me) bore right in the morning en route office and on the way back (waiting time excluded). But then happiness cannot be measured on a scale of negativity, it was only to be cherished.
Shakespeare had correctly said, “All the worlds’ a stage and every man‘s an actor”. I can personally relate to a recent and very successful Hindi flick ‘Hera Pheri’. The third sequel to it was acted out on the streets of Kolkata and over coded messages and countless calls; the actors were the two people in the context of this write-up. So very true that it all seemed a dream.
As I sit here alone in the distant land on America, I try to hold the clock back at the times I think of, I try to stop it there. Is God listening?
Let me turn the clock back to the Fall of 2007. It is a good three years back in time. Life had come to a virtual standstill after passing out of college. The next (big) thing was TATA Consultancy Services and the many people I met there. Some melted away immediately, some hanged on for the sake of being there, some became lifelong friends but one stayed on for the next three years and perhaps forever.
What followed was a like a dream, in the truest sense, perhaps because of the speed at which these three years flew past. It is said that if you do or act in pure thought, happiness follows you like a shadow. I feel blessed in this regard. What followed after shifting base to my home town was pure and profound happiness- be it in the form of regular and repeated visits to the handful malls in Kolkata, occasional visit to temples, visits to ice-candy or pop-soda stalls or be it in the form of (I so hated it) regular bouts of window shopping. So much so that waiters at a particular coffee joint had become friends with me. Laughter and shouts punctuated by occasional bouts of cries made the ambience around so wonderful, the melody of the beautiful voice rang out loud. The present silence contrasts it to a larger extent.
It did not stop there. I have always vouched for Hindi and traditional music and yet here I was listening to music sung by people whose very existence I was unaware of, singing in a language I can only read, write and speak. No wonder our car stereo used to throw up at times. Imagine the agony it (and me) bore right in the morning en route office and on the way back (waiting time excluded). But then happiness cannot be measured on a scale of negativity, it was only to be cherished.
Shakespeare had correctly said, “All the worlds’ a stage and every man‘s an actor”. I can personally relate to a recent and very successful Hindi flick ‘Hera Pheri’. The third sequel to it was acted out on the streets of Kolkata and over coded messages and countless calls; the actors were the two people in the context of this write-up. So very true that it all seemed a dream.
As I sit here alone in the distant land on America, I try to hold the clock back at the times I think of, I try to stop it there. Is God listening?
Nostalgic thoughts from a far away land....really nice post...hope you are doing great out there
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