Fleeting Glimpses of the Few Last Memories - Part 2

3rd April, 2007

Revisiting places that have had special significance during my stay here in Pune has been one of my pursuits lately, and a dinner at Bashos ranked pretty high on that list – it is a place which had been the turning point of my life in myriad ways!

Tonight, when my friends and I reached Bashos, I could feel the mist of memories clouding my eyes… especially the memory of my first visit to Bashos, which will be etched in my heart forever – for that, was the day I realized that miracles do happen in real life!

My mind raced back to my second year… circumstances had been quite cruel to me just before my birthday, and I remember praying fervently for something to happen on my special day, that would lighten up my life and give me a reason to look forward to live…

We’d been to Bashos for my birthday party, and it was there that God answered my prayers, and gave me my birthday gift – a Darling Angel, who gave me a million reasons to be happy, who never broke my trust, who was an absolute gem of a person!

God not only answered my prayers, he also granted them in a way that I’d never expected in my wildest daydreams! He made me experience the miracle of loving someone without any restraint or expectations, the miracle of being completely swept off my feet, and most importantly, the miracle of self-realization!!!

Life since then has never been the same… My Darling Angel is no more my lover, but that one-year relationship has given me more happiness and joys than the 24 summers that I’ve seen so far put together! And I did get something to cherish all my life – his unwavering friendship, love and companionship… so what if we are no longer lovers, I still love him as much as I did on that day in Bashos! Nothing’s changed, because he taught me a lot of lessons in life – and to live life without any expectations was one of them…

Bashos, like always, did make my heart ache, but the flood of his sweet memories, like always, stemmed the flow of my tears…

4th April, 2007

Kuchh baatein sirf ehsaas mein hote hain – translated, it means “some things can only be felt”…

Shopping for some necessaries was the primary aim today, but my heart was not in it… don’t know what made me do it, but I made my way towards the Sarasbaug temple midway through… and thereby added one more treasure to my collection of amazing memories… one of the “few last” ones!

Sarasbaug to my eyes seemed all decked up today, as if to wish me and bid good bye… the round red moon shimmering between the trees, the leaves swaying to a gentle breeze, the flowers in full bloom, the pond full of beautiful water lilies and lotuses looking like spots of white and pink among the green, green leaves… all the things I just love about the place… it was as if Sarasbaug was also yearning to give me one of those “few last memories” that I’d cherish forever…

The primary reason why I went alone today was because I wanted to feel the silent beauty of the place… this is the place which taught me the power of silence and how to enjoy it… the place where I rediscovered what “dignified silence” can do… as I slowly walked through each part of the park, I remembered all the times I’ve been there and spent good times… all the times when a walk through the beauty of the place had soothed my soul, and made a lot of things much easier to bear…

Sarasbaug looked as beautiful to me as on any other day… don’t know if I was imagining it, but it did feel at times that there was a melancholy tone to it today… I did try a few times to capture the beauty of the place on the lenses, but could not – and that’s when I heard someone whisper to me: “Kuchh baatein sirf ehsaas mein hote hain”… this trip no doubt is one of those!

5th April, 2007

The days of the “few last memories” are coming to an end… over the last few days, I’d been getting numerous calls, messages, mails – bidding farewell and wishing luck for the future… entreaties to keep in touch… but today, it seemed more final than ever…

When two of the people I’ve been closest to in this year left for home today in the morning, it felt sore… my heart sobbed and wept… the inevitable was come at last!

As if to seal the final proclamation of the ending, my date of departure was also settled upon today… now I know exactly how much time I have to create a few more “few last memories” and trust me, I’m trying very, very hard to utilize every moment of it…

And all the time, I still have that yearning in my heart – why couldn’t it last just a li’l bit longer…?

Fleeting Glimpses of the Few Last Memories - Part 1
Fleeting Glimpses of the Few Last Memories - Part 3