Life changes faces and today I can juxtapose this fact with an unexpected rendezvous as you may call it with my senior in school and seeing his predicament, I could just oblige to what life can do to any of us.
Gaurav , was his name as far I can
remember its been almost two and half decades that we passed out but some
intricate memoirs of our travelling in our school bus full of miscreants are
vivid.
He was an obedient student and always a Mam’s favorite – the parameters at that time to qualify for such accomplishments was marks and obedience which I shamelessly didn’t bother to achieve. No wonder, he was also a sort of unspoken or tagged monitor of our school bus and had to report to any of the mischief which we as backbencher girls and boys created. Though at times, he would also fall in line and participate in moments of joy and chivalry, when it used to come to show-off in front of school damsels we used to see in awe not because of the beauty but knowledge and study types they were.
I still remember his English vernaculars
whilst he used to address us in his authoritative voice (thanks to the backup
of teachers on board the bus.) and this
created rift many a time and became the cause of small fights which broke out
on the bus aisle. I could not find a single eligible reason to see him in dire
state as I had seen him now!
Now that life shows its other
side, I see Gaurav falling in the vicious circle of life’s dilemma’s, he was apparently
looking depressed and had a shabby demeanor – with an unkempt looks, un-pressed T-shirt an unfashion tericot pant and local sports
shoes (what we used to call gola boots in 80’s and 90’s dialects.)
The situation of life made him talk to his own self with utter murmur as he walked slowly engrossed in his own
though process. I made myself convinced that next time he comes in front of me,
we would certainly exchange pleasantries and start the talk by a simple ‘Hi”.
The moment finally came when we
were going to hit head on and he was coming towards me oblivious to my presence,
as he came near me and I felt I could be
audible to him , I said “Hi” but to my surprise
my friend gesture felt on deaf ears. He gave me a friendly glance but
did not recognize me, though I tried to reminisce him our ‘Happy School Days’,
could this be the time lapse or what depression or his health condition has
done on him, I could not concede. All my efforts went in vain and gave me a
feeling of sadness, what on earth I could do to help or assist him and put his
life back on track. His attire was catchy in some respects as he was wearing a Rudraksh
beads around his neck and donning almost a white beard – he looked well beyond
his age.
Soon, he had passed by me as if nothing had happened but made sink deep into the agony of doing nothing – a man, a friend and a former school mate we used to think highly-off had been disgraced by life and fallen ground. Why life had treated him the way it did? And what sort of circumstances he had gone through or may be going through that he got himself bow down to life’s tribulations? May be I would never get to know his predicament, but the lesson today I learnt from living is that “ Life can turn tumultuous anytime , your situation can change despite your best of efforts and what is coming forth your way , you certainly don’t know!”
Today, I just pray for my friend’s betterment and that he should cover his lost ground and start living normally , I don’t know his family’s situation or any help they might be pouring in for his getting back to life’s majestic self but seeing him in thick and thin of living certainly makes you feel gloomy…
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