A Sojourn Down Memory LaneAs a child I've travelled a lot.I haven't been to a lot of places , nor have I travelled far & wide but, I've travelled a lot, in terms of frequency of disturbances, and of displacements. Those with parents having transferrable jobs will appreciate it better. I've spent the majority of my first twelve years in the beautiful and tormented state of Assam. And hopping from one place to another , and at times, back to a previous place, again.As far as I can remember we've (our family that is) been twice to a previous place (a transferrable job isn't always that interesting). And I've different memories of it for each time.But that's maybe bacause it's the same place at different times.I also tend to mix up certain incidents related to those two places in terms of time.And maybe... maybe that's because space-time is curved!! And recently during my last journey back home for the Diwali holidays I was again sucked back into that space-time realm, going back to those wonder-years ....
One of those places was a town called Tinsukia, a busy and flourishing one it was then, and one could find more than the majority of all the Marwaris in Assam here. Well, that's what the situation was at least in my school, with the roll-register full of Agarwals, Kejriwals, Perrywals, Jajodias, Bajodias and what not! It was one the biggest business hubs of Assam, and for that matter, for all the seven sisters too. And so with all of them here the ULFA's weren't far behind, and every now and then we used to hear of those horrible tales of extortion, blackmail,looting and ofcourse, slaying. By the time we left the place the business was in tatters, and half the Marwaris had vanished.I've no idea how it's there now.
But for all the other reasons it finds a fond place in my memory.We used to have a big house with a big lawn in the front.With gardens on either side, on the left we'd flower beds and of edibles on the right.And although I couldn't taste the difference (maybe my taste buds weren't that developed by then ), but my Mom kept saying that home grown things tasted a hell lot better than the local bazaar stuff. But even if it wasn't, the mere sight of one's front lawns full of lushy green vegetation and budding flowers was more than soothing to the heart ( and eyes!).
Across the road was a hut of a destitute Bihari family who had two small kids.The elder one was called Surju, I can't recall the other's name. And with them we, myself and my brother, used to play for hours together. Kite flyng, cricket, football, make-shift hockey (actually it was far more rudimentary than what actual hockey is).... and those kids used to be a part in our games : to trace the kites, to bring back the balls, help us in our finds and such stuff. To them that was a game in itself, and how merry they were.And then, when we were not allowed to play outside(thanks to the elements), we used to watch'em play hide 'n seek (with little to hide), WWE, run after chicks( ones with feathers and wings), stone yet unripe mangoes of their own trees.And play gulli-danda.It's one game I've played less and watched more.I only played it a couple of times at school and I wasn't allowed to play it at home.If you don't know what it is, don't bother.It's too primitive and dangerous a game to know now.Another of their favourite pastime was to run behind this small wheel they kept driving with a stick.May seem like a fool's run but hey, at that age everything is fun, and nothing is preposterous.
Coming back to the train journey, I'd a ticket with no reservation ( a WL of 55 which finaly settled on to 31) and was lucky enough to find two M.Techs going my way, only to find they're worse-off than me.And so for the first time I didn't go to sleep as soon as I got on to the train. One of us had a RAC seat, and that was all we had : three guys on a single seat.I was given the initial privilege, but after sometime out of courtesy and boredom I went to the door to get some fresh air.And amazingly stood at gate for more than 5 hours at a stretch, captivated by the outer scenery, those fields and huts, children playing with wheels and gulli-danda, chasing each other across the fields..... and it brought back those childhood memories.And looking at them (and the constant thought on the back of my mind on the current scenario of the semester gone-by) I wished I had such a life : no schools, no colleges, no expectations,no duties,no nothing.... just eat, sleep and play ( and attend to nature's call in an open field , though this was not thought of ,but, then such a life doesn't come with a Parryware). How simple and enjoyable life can be without all the intricacies that has been imposed on us : to dress well, to speak well, to perform, to out-perform, to achieve, to devote, to dedicate, to listen, to follow, to behave, to restrain and to what not! There's a life beyond these boundaries and people are quite happy out there, may be happier.But then again, at this moment I can't think of a single moment without my PC and as addicted as I'm to it ( for all the wrong reasons) I'm not quite sure which world I'd like to belong. But then I don't want to miss out on any of such wonderful servings of life, and knowing that one has to face so many unknown ( and many a times, unpleasant) vicissitudes in life, I 'm again at that cross road where I don't have a clue as to what exactly is my calling in life. As for now, as I've been doing for so long now, I'll flow along the tide.
As greedy and mean as I'm I'd probably want the best of both worlds.
How? I don't know.For if had known I wouldn't have been here in the first place.But then maybe (whoa ! thats a lot of 'maybe' for a single post I guess) I'm here exactly for that purpose......
