Monday, February 1, 2010

Bombay ki hawa..5

Recently in a conversation with a friend on people, I found myself saying the following without comprehending the full meaning of it. I said there were two kinds of people in the world - those who are with you and those who are not. My friend didnt react and I found myself brooding over it for a while.

Very often we meet people at different points of our life . They don several roles like classmates,friends, lovers, mentors, colleagues, bosses,partners, acquaintances, neighbours..While some choose to stay with us, some drift away into the oblivion. I am not referring to the broken relationships or the failed marriages here . Im talking about those people who have held our hands and lifted our hearts , laughed and cried with us and yet,they become faceless memories and the emotions that we shared at one time become fossils nestled in our hearts .

I remember my classmate in my nursery who told me not to cry as she felt like crying. I dont know where she is now. In my 8th std, I befriended a srilankan tamil and we used to spend hours chatting. I have no clue if she is in india or in srilanka.

But this post however is dedicated to those two men who I met in Bombay and are today lost to obscurity . No amount of combing through facebook, orkut, linked in have brought them back to me. I wonder where A & S are .

A&S. I cant help smiling thinking about them. I met them first in a flight from Madras to Bombay in September 1995 when I was returning to college after a brief holiday. I was just 3 months old in Bombay and I was already feeling like a veteran . We made eye contact quite frequently during the flight, but something held us back. I was 21, single and footloose, trying to grapple with my independent spirit and they were probably trying to get over a boring flight . But the body language was unmistakable. We finally spoke and when we did, it was about directions. They had to get to Worli and my destination was Breach Candy and we impulsively decided to share a cab after a five minute conversation.

A, I learnt was from Bangalore. Dressed casually in jeans and T shirt, he seemed to be indifferent to the conversation that S and I were having. When he did speak, he spoke in a quiet tone and always asked pointed questions. A seemed impatient with S who was giving me his entire story. S was a Syrian Christian from Trichur and was very friendly. He rolled his sleeves as he spoke and his wavy hair kept falling on his face. He was slightly darker than A, but his big eyes were warm and his thick mustache stood out in that very soft face . Both of them were IT professionals who had just returned from US and were on their first trip to Bombay. As South Indians in a big cosmopolitan city, we connected instantly in the cab. S had by then told me all about his family in Kerala ,while A kept looking out of the windown.We reached Worli and S said a quick good bye and rushed out while A took his time . He stretched his tall frame and reached out and paid me Rs 500/- It was agreed that we all three shared the money, but A would have none of it. And for the first time, he smiled as I looked up into his eyes and at his weather beaten face. Take care, he smiled again and the cab left . We didnt share numbers .

10 comments:

Compassion Unlimitted said...

Many a times people communicate without uttering a word ! A seems to be one of them..nicely written
TC
CU

Lakshmi said...

Yes, CU and thats what makes A a very intriguing and endearing at the same time..Ive lost touch with him..

Arun said...

enjoyed reading these posts.. the writings flow smoothly..

Gomathy S said...

This post made me think of the people in my life...it was a nice read!

Anonymous said...

Thank you for expressing your self so truthfully in this post. It's bittersweet to have loved someone at a time, and lose contact. However, losing contact with that person, that sense of love, is just an illusion. We never lose each other, we are always connected and one in the essence that makes us alive. Be well.

Aapurb said...

well nicely expressed,enjoyed reading!!!

Parag Tipnis said...

yes..sometimes we meet people and we don't think much about them at that time...but later on just feel that we should have done something to remain in touch...exchanged phone numbers or email ids maybe...i know that feeling...

Anonymous said...

i think A was part of broken relationship..............what say

Lakshmi said...

Arun - :) its one of the best times of my life

Daisy Blue - thank you :)

Jonathan - I think that the connection exists somewhere in our memories..

lookingwithin -Thats so true..

Anon - I dont think so..some people just drift..they are never meant to be in a relnship (Why do u choose to be anon..pls use yr name )

American Girl said...

"Those who are with you and those who are not". Interesting. I usually think of it as "The Have's and the Have nots".

Maybe I should switch to your philosophy, I like it better.

Your blog is an interesting read.