God writes the gospel not in the Bible alone, but on trees and flowers and clouds and stars. ~Martin Luther
It is still like yesterday when I first met her and before I could realize, it’s almost 7yrs since I am friends with her. In the past years, her beauty has decreased... like a gracefully aging gal, but I do miss the one I was got acquainted to.
It was a chill evening in December 2001… first day since I came to Bangalore (Indira Nagar). Knowing new place, new people, new responsibility and new friendship all happened on the same day & was too much for me. Planning to take things gradually, I walked out of my cramped up, noisy hostel & a few meters away, saw her & also noticed many being attracted to her. And I was no exception to that.
That day was the birth of a new friend I wud cherish for ever… and I christened her ‘my park’. It was a Sunday & when I reached the park, which was a small abode of beautiful fauna (the chirping of birds can b heard only in the silence of the soul) & flora (which can speak volumes to an admirer), it was dotted with kids, all in various color outfits and most of ‘em younger than 5yrs old. And the kids chaperoned by young parents, hyperactive older siblings, grandmas & grandpas, lovers with hopes & dreams… a lovely sight that was to behold.
It was a chill dusk… all in their sweaters & warmers, but the beauty of this scene was that all wanted to be near the fountain to feel the spray of water on their uncovered face and palms. My fav spot too became the arena bench near the fountain. After that day, every time I’m with my friend ‘my park’, am always in my fav spot or wait until someone who has occupied it to get lost & sit there until the park closes at 7.15pm.
As I sit there, I look at the kids play together with a ball from one household, a bat from another, something else from yet another. Which part of their childhood do kids suddenly get to realize some things belong to THEM? Juz a thot that crossed my mind… I don’t ponder on it much and move on to see the other people in my friend’s stretched out hand.
Bordering the park were few eatery stalls, filled with the teenage crowd happily munching away & I thot, how many of ‘em wud ‘ve got on their mom’s last nerve for not eating even the required serving of home-made food prepared with so much care & affection.
Days fly, I left my friend & with hope I said ‘meet ya soon’. I move to Coimbatore, then Chennai in the following years and also, I move back to Bangalore in December 2004 to build my career. I could’ve settled down anywhere in the wide city but as luck wud‘ve it, I came to Indira Nagar again and closer to my friend.
In the years I missed being with her, I noticed a lot of changes as she would’ve of me. In the place of the fountain, now stood three pipe stumps that remind one of the beauties that once used to attract so many. It was like the crown which an old lady won when she was a titled Miss Beautiful ages ago.
Nothin had changed much… except by the years that‘ve passed by. I met some of the most important people of my life in the same park and all of us cherish the time we spent there. At any moment, be it in the hot sun or the cool evening, I feel a sense of belonging when I’m in that park… feel one with the nature. As William Hazlitt (English essayist, 1778-1830) once quoted -- I can enjoy society in a room; but out of doors, nature is company enough for me.
Talking about nature, I read a quote …"What a country chooses to save is what a country chooses to say about itself."( Mollie Beattie, Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service from 1993-1996). How true. Let us preserve something today for the tomorrow to be proud of.
We generate our own environment. We get exactly what we deserve. How can we resent a life we've created ourselves? Who's to blame, who's to credit but us? Who can change it, anytime we wish, but us?”
Richard Bach quotes (American Writer, author of 'Jonathan Livingston Seagull', b.1936)
Shree... Wil tel u somethin'.. This is ur best post, as far as I'm concerned. It really brought some old memoirs of me and a similar park, in Rajaji nagar, when I was in B'lore.
ReplyDeleteI wz exactly doing the same thing, at that time. . . In the evenings, I use to go to the park , sit in a favorite place of mine, and then switch on my imagination... I saw some romantic couples, some playful children, some concerned mothers, few freak outs, some children from a school tour, some beautiful ladies, many old guys, and even some Uskaaning ppl...
I njoyed all these, leaning back in my favorite bench, with a cup of masala chai and some chips... Those memoirs were really sweet and I was lost in them for some time...
Frankly, when we think abt the parks, they certainly are a distinctive part of our lives, isn't it? Just like the bus stand, bakeries, our favorite theaters, some buses, college steps and many more.. Once , they play a big part in our lives, and when we move on to the next phase, they becum like an everlasting sweet drizzle which embraces us, on a pleasant evening (Remember Dil chahta hai, where aamir khan , at the end,drives past his college, where he sees himself, saif & akshay playing in the college steps.. that's one of my most fav scenes) . .
Thanx for making me to remember my own ' parky' days :) . . Njoy life & hv fantastic fun ! ! !