It was late October in the hills and the morning air had the same crispiness, a sweet fragrance that enlivened my mind, old reminiscences reeled past, refreshing the sweet memories of the bygone days. Nothing had changed, even the big Pine tree stood at the end of the road with the old gentleman sitting under it on his usual bench. Even though I was visiting the place after a decade, it seemed as if the time had stopped ticking here and appeared that it was only yesterday that I had been there. Perched amongst the valleys of the lofty Himalayas, the small town seemed to be aloof of the happenings of the outer world, even the raging war by terrorists seemed to have had no effect on the life in the township. Everywhere an air of tranquility & senerenity prevailed, as if engulfed & cocooned in an aura of immense peace & security.
As if in a trance, my feet retreated their path towards the Pine tree, as they had a done a score of times during my childhood days. Now, standing in front of the old gentleman, who it seemed never aged, though his body now showed the signs of strain and he had become frailer, yet his face had the same radiant glow and whose air of dignity was enhanced further by his snow white hairs and a flowing beard. His sight and hearing, it appeared had become impaired with age and so I spoke out aloud – “Daddu, do you remember me? I am Sunny”. He look upwards towards my face and gestured me to sit next to him. He then scanned my face intently with his eyes, which appeared almost half shut and after a moment, there was a sudden flicker in his eyes and his face was aglow with signs of recognition and smiling he said – “How can I forget you little ones, are you not the one who used to stay opposite that big hotel? What is its name I fail to recollect?” Apparently, it appeared that his memory was failing him and yet he had recognized me after so many years. I told him the name of the Hotel aloud and a wry smile crossed his face again and he said – “Öh Yes! Yes! I always seem to forget the name of this hotel. Now tell me some thing about yourself?” Sitting there with him I told him briefly about my marketing career and also about the sudden demise of parents. He conveyed his condolences, as he knew my parents pretty well and then one thing led to the other and we landed up discussing the ups & downs in ones life and he tendered his advice in all his wisdom gained over the years regarding how to face adversities in life bravely. Suddenly we realized that it was almost noon and taking leave of him I trudged my way up towards the Hotel, as I was fatigued and famished after the long & tedious journey.
Reaching the Hotel, I got a pleasant surprise as the Manager there turned out to be an old school time acquaintance. After booking a room and having partaken some brunch (B’fast & Lunch combined) I took a short nap. By the time I woke up after the siesta, it was almost evening and I went and joined the Manager for a cup of Coffee and discussed about our school days, our present day lives and also enquired about the whereabouts of the other fellow alumni. I had again set the stone rolling and over the next few days time passed as a whirlwind meeting many a old friends over a cup of Tea or Coffee, sitting on the comfortable old set British style antique sofas, by the fireplace wherein the pine tree firewood burned slow & steady emanating an aroma which creates an environ which smacks of laziness & lavishness thrown in together. Sitting by the fire place and enjoying a cup of tea or coffee is a surprisingly pleasant experience during the cool mountain evenings. Whenever, I was left alone during the evenings, I would gather my pullover and would take a brisk walk upto the mountain ridge high above, to imbibe the immense beauty of the breathtaking sunsets which adorn the Himalayan Mountains, to the depths of my soul. The setting Sun, like a huge Orange-red ball of fire sets the entire valley aglow, imparting a reddish hue, till the Sun sinks behind the grey mountains and the valley gradually gets engulfed in darkness. The distant smoke emitting chimneys in the valley below, during the evenings, when everything is quiet & still, except for an occasional rustle of the Pine leaves produced by sudden gust of cool, crisp evening winds entrances one’s mind & soul through its sheer picturesque settings. It was here that I re-invented & realized the true depths of soul stirring narrations of the various poets who have described the beauty of nature through their verses, whose tranquil words came flooding back to my memory, sitting there, time & again. I was passing my days in an eternal bliss.
The world is not one made up of only dreams & fantasies rather that of reality & pains. From the heights where I had aspired to be in the heaven on earth, I was rudely brought back to the realities of living beings, the reality of life when I got the message of Rahul’s death. My friend, my best friend from the childhood days was lost for ever to a stray terrorists act. Terrorism in the guise of death had penetrated the protective sheath of this tranquil sleepy hamlet and had inflicted a wound that would take a long time to heal, yet the scar would linger on as a tell tale sign forever. Old reminiscences again reeled past my mind, as if seeing in a slow motion the replay of the yesteryears spent together, refreshing the memories of our childhood pranks, our small secrets & our chestful of happiness, but instead of smile which used to break on our faces whenever we remembered those bygone days, now only tears poured down my cheeks in torrents. My mind had become benumbed with grief and as if in a trance, my feet retracted their path towards the Pine tree.
I had not visited nor cared to visit the old man after that first day meeting, but a strange force drew me towards him today. With a heavy heart I trudged back to the Pine Tree and found the old man sitting at his usual bench. I poured out my woes to him, but to my utter surprise and anger, he neither sympathized nor consoled me but just sat there transfixed. After a long interval of time he was barely able to speak and in a trembling voice said – “No! No! This cannot be true, how could he be so cruel. He could have taken me, an old useless soul, instead of snatching my little one away from us like this”. He again fell back to his stupor and was quiet again, when he did not respond for quite some time I looked towards him and found drops of perspiration on his face which was as radiant as ever, only his eyes were unmoving and had a vacant look. I shook him physically to get him out of the stupor, but to my utter disbelief saw him collapse and on close scrutiny found him to have expired. I quickly rushed him to the local hospital where the doctors declared him dead and my assumptions were also confirmed by the doctors, the old man had died of a heart failure.
I was benumbed and a new realization dawned upon me. The old gentleman, whom we assumed to be a recluse during our childhood days, had proved a point beyond doubt regarding the fact that his love for the children of the hamlet was selfless. I had known him since my childhood days, many a hours we had spent sitting on his lap or around him, hearing stories of his exploits & heroics during the Second World War. No one amongst us knew or cared to know about his personal life or the primary facts as to where he belonged to or from whence he came during the early summers or where he went during the winters. But one thing notable about this gentleman was that unlike the other old gentlemen who came to hill station to ward off the summer heat and whose only past time was to gossip or play chess or cards at the local Club, he enjoyed his time, sitting under that Pine tree bench, with the children, who were his only acquaintances, his only friends. When these very children grew up to adulthood, in peculiar turn of fate were usually the ones, who made fun of him and ridiculed him, which was certainly a very strange irony! But only after his demise today, many a parents, children and adults like me, who got immense selfless love and affection from him and who had bestowed loved upon us as his own, have realized the true worth of his unselfish love and the immense loss suffered by the likes of us. A flow of unselfish love emanating from an eternal fountain has suddenly stopped flowing, thus creating a deep void in our lives. Today after losing him we have at last realized our follies and the old man his been immortalized in our hearts for ever. His act of spreading such unselfish love will remain a constant source of inspiration for us throughout our lives. I can never forget the old man sitting under the shades of the Pine.
(This short story was amongst the first ones written by me during my Graduation days, I suddenly chanced upon the original manuscript while going through my files and after making little corrections here & there, sharing with you all)
No comments:
Post a Comment