Posts Tagged memories

Misplaced Nostalgia

He was twenty-eight when he left India. Since he was a little kid, he always wanted to go abroad,  just like every other kid in his town.

The culture, the people, the society, and the way everybody was …… everything was different, very different. The life in California was not what he had imagined, but he adapted.

It was a big adjustment over the years, many compromises at every turn. In spite of all that, he did not complain much; after all this was his own decision – going abroad.

All those days, all those years  in America, he felt homesick; he missed the life he had left behind. The childhood memories, the old friends, the open fields – he often day-dreamed the life that used to be.  At times, he felt empty inside. He wished he could go back; go back to his real home, his real life.

The recession came; he lost his job – the high paying engineering job he had taken for granted. He looked for another job, half-heartedly; no luck. Perhaps he was secretly wishing not to work in US anymore.

“May be this is a sign from the God! My be I belongs back home – in India,” he thought, he rationalized. “My own people, my own culture, my own skin tone, my own mother tongue – that is my place; that is where I should be!” The recession made it easier for him to decide – it was time for him to go back. It was time to cure his nostalgia permanently. Read the rest of this entry »

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The Summer Memories!

 One more Summer gone by, where are your memories? :)

The kids are going back to school; the days are shrinking again, the nights getting longer. The sunny days of summer are ready to say goodbyes. There is a chill in the morning air…
The days go by, the time keep ticking; the meaning of life is lost somewhere in between…

It was only yesterday that we were kids; we used to look forward to the summer breaks. With the hot sun scorching all day, we never cared or complained about the summer heat of India. The air conditioners were rare. To save electric-power, there were electric shut-downs everyday for hours, but that did not bother us much. There were very few things to worry about.

Every summer, there used to be something going on. The life was simple but rewarding. Every day eventful. Even the trivial stuff mattered. Roaming aimlessly with a group of friends had a purpose. The lasting monsoon rains and lightening storms never stopped any of us from venturing out. Stopping was not in our plan towards meaningless destinations… or wandering thoughts….

I remember one summer a friend of mine was infatuated with this girl. She was visiting her aunt, a few houses down the street from his house. She was in town for the summer break.
Every evening on a set time, she used to come out on the roof-top balcony. He would wait for hours- even though he knew she would not come out until her aunt is busy in the kitchen. On the far side of the street, he would stand there waiting…
Eventually she used to come out and he would stand their with a smile; they would exchange the ‘hellos’ by waiving, the controlled little waive without letting anybody else see the gestures. This was their daily ritual that would last from a few minutes to half an hour depending on the surroundings or nosy neighbors. One day, on his asking, I watched them from behind his door. I was his witness, so he could brag to all our friends about this ‘achievement’ of his…. Read the rest of this entry »

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