NOSTALGIC MOMENTS

I had a good time today. More so because I got to meet my old acquaintances and friends from SMILE, the organization I’ve been associated with ever since my college days. Of course, a lot more of the new ones have joined in and who are all younger than me, but the fact that we all come collectively with a common purpose is what makes the get-together more momentous and rewarding. And with all the crazy schedules at work, this kind of a breather keeps me grounded and happy.
And I’m glad to have met Paul today. For someone who has dedicated twenty years of his life to social services, he has my biggest respect and appreciation. And he’ll always hold a special place in my heart because, for me, he’s an unsung hero, someone who’s been inspiring a lot of young people to have a purpose in life, to have a goal and facilitate others as well. Many may not know him or his name might not appear in the news pages. But silently the work he’s been doing and the people he’s been rousing, will surely be making a difference somewhere, albeit in a small way.
Today’s gathering made me nostalgic too. When my friend John said that recently he’s been to Jyoti Shroad School for the Blind at Shillong and the children and the Institution Head kept asking about me, it made me miss the children and their company all the more. I regret that I could not visit them last year due to my various other engagements at work. I’m happy though, that they remember me with fondness. I specially miss the kids close to me like Daman, Stephanie, Lily and all the hardworking ‘kongs’. I miss the kitchen boys and the cooks who would tell me stories after the children go to bed and I’d be sitting with them by the fireside. And I wonder what Ben would have asked about me if only he were alive. I missed Ben today, quite a lot.
I remember I went for an orientation programme of SMILE (Student Mobilization Initiative for Learning thru Exposure) years ago when my mother didn’t want me to stay at home idle during summer vacations. And I’m forever grateful to her because that summer opened a whole new world for me and I believe that the experiences I’ve had through SMILE has made me perceptive to the surroundings around me. In the years that followed the orientation programme, I’ve had the opportunity to go to places no one would dream of going, like slum areas and pockets of rural villages where people are not fortunate enough to have the benefit of even the basic necessities of life. I’ve experienced days at the worst of environment and exposures to such places at a young age have made me more humane. SMILE has indeed taught me a lot and given me the dexterity to face life’s challenges in a positive manner.
SMILE is a movement under IGSSS (Indo Global Social Service Society) and today Paul and I made exposure trip plans for the coming year, including a trip to Sweden. Hopefully things will get into place. John told me that the children at ‘Jyoti Shroad School for the Blind’ were asking if I had got married. That’s because I’ve already missed a couple of visits, and more so because I had told them that when I get married and have children, I’ll be spending most vacations at their hostel together with my kids. And that we’d all live happily ever after…

UNTITLED

He had a solitary facade with calm demeanor,
His restrained thoughts difficult to make sense of.
And yet he had a sparkle in his gaze
And a grin on his lips.
No one would know the mystery behind the
Twinkle in his eyes,
Or the uncertainty behind those smiles.
It was like when life had turned a corner
Or a wish had come true.
When suddenly everything had become different and new.
Like when we’re stuck in a rut
And the cloud opens up and sunlight breaks through.
Or when a lifetime of search for someone is over
And the intensity of two hearts entwined is hard to convey.
As I stretched out my hand
To grasp the feeling of the moment in time,
Like a ‘catcher in the rye’
He gave me a fleeting look
And turned away with an impassable glance,
The grin still adorning his face.
And only the gentle wind echoed
Of what once walked in undying pursuit.