Maybe she was missing the caressing of people in the
city or maybe she was the only one who had the time to think about the
loneliness too much.
Some of the colleagues also tried to take her to café’s,pubs
and human libraries.She enjoyed initially but wasn’t able to find the connect
she had lost in the train to Mumbai in the long run.
This very thought came to her mind and she determined
herself to finally take a leave from work and visit the holy place..her home.
Sitting in the train of Banaras she felt more and further
more relaxed.
It was midnight when an old lady entered her coach
and settled on the berth opposite of hers.She had a Murakami book in her hand which
got our girl interested in exchanging words with her.
She-hie,you read Murakami?
Her-yes,very much.The odds in his books make me
intrigued to read them.
She-I used to love reading murakami back in the
days,now I don’t get enough time from work.
Her-o!where do you work?you hail from Mumbai itself?
She-no,I am from Banaras..i work in a publishing
company in Mumbai though.
Her-Banaras!what a lovely city..i wish I could go
back to the place where I belonged too.
She-you are from there too?
Her-I was,but got married to my man who was from Calcutta.
,then we shifted to Mumbai,the great grand city of
dreams as people call it.
She-yeah but don’t you think it steals a lot more
than give?
Her-you mean your comfort?yes definitely but it
provides you a lot more than any other city can give you.All the learnings you
gain from the city helps you build or sometimes rebuild yourself for better.
She-you say this because you have a family here,I am
alone and I miss home terribly.
Her-I wish!I live alone,my entire family was killed in
the attacks that happened in “The Taj”
She-M so sorry to hear that.I could understand how it
must have been for you but living alone is a curse in itself.
Her-well yes,I thought it to be a yes myself but now I
look at it in a different way,a selfish way if I may say so.
She-what do you mean?
Her-you said a while ago that you feel alone in this
city...have you ever considered enjoying
your own company?
She-own company?
Her-since the time I got married I had always been
involved in kids and my husbands choices never once did I think about myself.
Though it was lovely being with them and living for
them everyday,but what was missing was understanding my ownself,loving my
ownself and taking care of “me”.
Once they were gone,I didn’t even had the courage to
live.I would have nightmares of them in fire for months.Days were bitter and
nights were seizing into depression.
She-then?
Her-just one day my neighbour took me to a book
exhibition and I reluctantly agreed.There I got to chance upon my used to be
favourite books and a stroke of memories hit me hard.That ver moment I realised
how much I loved reading and spending time with myself,how much books would
teach me and help me explore things with a better perspective.
And it’s a no brainer that I purchased minimum of 5
books that day and since the day there is no turning back.
I read books,participated in various workshops,lived
in the present and it helped me grow a lot as an insightful person even at this
age!
She-you prove to be a survivor!
Her-you can be one too,you cant change what life
gives you or throws you away from but you can always choose how to make the
most of what you are thrown at.
They chatted whole night about Banaras,Calcutta,Mumbai
and life in general.
Close to dawn the old lady now in dreams was sleeping
peacefully and the girl from Banaras was just surprisingly looking at her in
awe.
She took out her mobile phone from her mustard yellow
block printed sling bag and looked at the time,it was 4:12 in the morning.
When
she had gotten into the train she was in desperate need of the Banaras
views,now was waiting to be there and embrace the beauty of it just return to
work with the power she never had before and to enjoy every moment of life Mumbai
gives her,not to forget the dance she would now perform for the travellers of Mumbai
roads in rains!
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