AN EARLY SUMMER KICHDI POST

Memories of Shimla

Around this time last year I was on my way home from Shimla filled with mixed feelings. Sometimes I felt sad and sometimes glad. I felt sad that I was leaving behind such a wonderful place and wondering if I’d ever get another chance to visit the scenic town. I felt glad because I was carrying some wonderful memories of Shimla and of the few good friends I made in the week I was there. The other day I remembered it was the birthday of one such friend who was my roommate at the hostel in Shimla. I called him up to wish him and he seemed glad I had remembered. Next I called up another friend and got some bad news. The friend told me he was just coming out of a depression brought upon by an upheaval in his life. He told me that shortly after he had returned from Shimla he had split with his wife. I felt upset when he told me that they had been married twenty eight years. I wondered how such things could happen to a couple who had been together that long. I wanted to ask him the reason for the split but he was not in a mood to talk. There was nothing I could think of to tell him other than promise to visit him some day soon. But that wasn’t the only tragedy that had happened to someone I had met at Shimla. Another officer from this state who had come along for the training lost her husband in a road accident shortly after the Shimla trip. The last time I saw her was at a traffic junction when she was crossing the road a couple of months ago.

Whatever, I was glad I had made that trip to Shimla though I was not very inclined to go. One of the vivid memories of Shimla is the walk I took at the Ridge early in the morning on the day I was to catch the bus to Delhi. I wish I could go there again for a longer stay and on a personal trip because I want to explore many places I couldn’t go. The entire week that I was there it had been a hectic time what with the day long training sessions leaving only a couple of hours in the evening free. Except for one day I went daily to Shimla from Mashobra and spent a few hours walking around watching people from all over the country and the world going around shopping or just strolling the streets in the chilly evenings. The natty jacket I bought at Shimla is proving to be quite a head turner whenever I happen to wear it to ward off the cold and the rain. I only wish I had bought one more similar jacket.


The Andaman Dream

Another week and it will be the fifth anniversary of the day I set off on my 90 day sojourn in the Andamans. I cannot believe five years have passed since the day I anxiously and nervously stepped into the plane bound for Chennai en route to Port Blair. It was one of the biggest adventures that I had in my life and now I feel really glad I overcame a last minute bout of second thoughts about the whole trip. I almost called it off but somehow I stuck on to my decision and, boy, am I really glad I did it. Though I cannot really say that the three months I spent at the Andamans were the most wonderful days I can claim that almost every day was filled with something new, something that opened my eyes to a lot of things, especially to life on the islands. Apart from a lot of memories of the jungle, the sea and the lonely trips I made to remote and isolated beaches I came back with three more good friends in my life- Eswar, Rahul and Shamik with whom I am in touch even now.

After returning from the Andamans I wished I could somehow find a way to spend a year exploring the islands and write a book called ‘A Year in the Andamans’ but it appears impossible. I would need a lot of money and also lots of courage to break off from the peaceful job and the company of family and friends for such a long time and go live in that beautiful and unforgettable place.

Restless for Sunday

What I am really excited about is that next Sunday happens to be the first Sunday of May and there will be The Literary Review to devour. I am sure there will be something about the Pulitzer Prize winners especially about Siddhartha Mukherjee’s ‘The Emperor of All Maladies’ that I plan to buy some day. It was Sunday yesterday and having missed watching ‘Just Books’ on Saturday evening I caught the program on Sunday night. In the ‘What’s On My Bookshelf’ segment Mrinal Pande showed off her collection of books. Most of the books on her shelves were Hindi books. The only book in her collection that I wish I had was Ryszard Kapuściński’s ‘The Soccer Wars’ that I am still looking for all over.

Four days from now the month-long wait will finally be over.