Disclaimer - this is part fiction and part fact, I leave it up to u the reader to decipher wot is fiction and wot is fact.
Ahhh. A journal entry, reminds me of the jlt days. That’s right, l and not I Jlt? It’s an acronym for just like that – the realm of space beyond all reason, where everything is done just like that only! For starters, I have always held the opinion that there is a reason behind everything, yes even behind the invention of things they sell on the telemarketing shows and even behind the people actually buying management books. And beyond that sphere of reasoning, there is me! Jlt. so here goes.
The journey
Finally, the isolation crept up on me. But it was very different from the isolation of the previous night. In fact it was more like desolation, which had gripped me as the people left one by one… people? Nay, my dearest friends with whom I had shared so much of love, laughter and pain in the last three months… but the sudden emptiness of the place had transformed to another time and place, where evry1 was an unfamiliar person just as in the beginning of the term. But the enthu of meeting new ppl and starting out afresh had also been drained out of me and tht left a big gap. I felt so waste, about the temporary nature of life and the classic Hindi cliché of apna – paraya. Agony multiplied when I returned back to my sty (my room for all further purposes) but “in the long run” it was going to be a good decision to have made. I slept. Morn came and before long it was noon. Read a few romantic forwards, had a heavy Kerala type traditional meal and I was already looking forward to the trip in the company of the few who had been condemned to the same fate as mine – to catch the Mangala express at 3.40 pm.
And now, here I was, all alone, trying to sleep, fighting unknown allergies, and thinking of u. it was then tht I saw moonlight trickling in from the coach window. Wow after so many days, I cud see a moonlit sky, and the terrain resplendent in the light of the moon. Borrowed light, but still, of the moon. How like humans I thought and tht brought me back to the topic of The human I was thinking of all along. The moon wud shine on all the things on the ground. So wud tht person. A temporary settlement wud shine out more brightly than the moon, but wud eventually fade away and the celestial body wud still be shining on all of us. A water body wud reflect more of the moon’s light and proclaim itself to be a part of the moon. The bigger the hydrous mass, the more the light. It wud even illuminate the shadows where the moon could not reach. Yet never did it give the impression of it’s being a unique identity. At times the moon wud be hidden behind the clouds, but clouds, like sorrows, passed and when it came out again, the moon looked even brighter than before. My thoughts wavered, drawing out analogies between the moon and us. It’s all up to the beholder whether he chooses to see the beauty of the moon or not. How much of it he takes, how much he reflects, how much he cherishes it… the moon is not affected. But we are. It’s not often that one sees the moon. Even if it is shining brightly. But when one does, it is necessary tht he realises the true measure of his blessings and make the best use of the time he spends in borrowed glimmer. Too much of gyan? Well I am sorry. Really sorry. Not the sorry in sfs but truly, deeply sorry. But unlike my last jlt venture, which continued for a few episodes, I don’t think this one wud ever hav a continuum so had to belt out all the frustrations of the first term. Chalo then my dear reader, hav a really nice time and lemme go back to sleep just like I did after all this musing in the train somewhere on the Konkan coast, humming MLTR songs. C ya, tata, good bye, sayonara, alavida …… abe ab to chale bhi jaa mere dost !!!