Take me home

The splendor of the setting sun crosses my mind…the soothing, warm, sultry winds from the Ganga blows across my face...I am standing motionless…Lost in thought…My eyes are searching…Someone…Perhpas a known face.

I am standing against the fading light near Princep Ghat…it wears a deserted look…a bihari couple holding hands stroll nearby…few boatmen engaged in talks…chirping birds…distant faded hawker calls…few evening walkers in brisk motion.

Its daybreak…time to be in home.

I look towards the magnificent Hoogly Setu…a mammoth structure…the sun is just the behind the bridge creating an intriguing pattern of lights and shades around the staircases leading to the Ganga…slow undulating waters of Ganga…slowly unfolding lazy another evening…no hurries…it is very quiet…

This is Kolkata.

I am thousands of miles away from my self styled exile...I am back to my city…city I belong to…City which taught me to live…to love…to give ADDA...

Clicking sound...someone is taking photograph…
A familiar voice…Rajat spoke “R koto chobi tulbi?”…“How many photographs will you take?”…Rajat… dost o ka dost …extrovert…lonely…hidden behind his broad smile…I can see faded memory…sullen…

This innocuous remark is aimed at the very core member of the Bangalore Group…Niladri… a perfect Bangal…great cook… good footballer…great foodie…unofficial mascot of Garia… always wears a smile under any circumstances….replies “Notun mobile…tai” “New mobile...that’s why!!”

Arijit has vanished again…he is one of our best buddies since college…prankster…perfect friend…trying his level best to capture snap of running train near Princep Ghat station...a narrow…old station...memories of past hung all over it.

Now Dan speaks up…“Ebare chol...amake jete hobe”...
“let’s go...I have to go somewhere”. Dan aka Piku…my oldest friend...since school days… a dapper in jeans and casual Tee’s…solid…stoic Man U supporter…uber cool…

Most silent member of our fabled team, Jico now replies “Dara jabi…Kak r Gari ache”…“We will go...Niladri has a car…”…Jico aka Ritam…a silent guy...with a wicked sense of humor…we call him the last known polar bear in Kolkata…

I was silently picking up their talks…smiling…laughing…it seems so similar to our long lost days...days of togetherness...days spent far away from our know city...our family….we were in Bangalore…We had celebrated everything together…birthdays...treats…fully faaltu parties…any damm thing which could celebrated in a grand way...
I played a very small insignificant part in that…
That was three years back…

“Hey”…A loud thumping noise…
“Say something” not so amused Team member asked…
I looked up…trying my best to get back to the present tense...eyes focusing slowly on a black VOIP… an unknown number flashes there…a faceless client demanding explanations…right NOW!
Air conditioned room…opaque glass panes…a white board with business model diagram…few neatly arranged chairs…a flickering laptop…business jargon…verbose technical talks...Everywhere…

I am back…
I am in the Silicon City...in midst of a client call...curious eyes look at me…they thought I was sleeping…
Winds…warmth…adda…known faces has vanished into wilderness...the tingling sensation of joy for being with your family and friends has disappeared…they are now replaced by a feeling of agony…a pain of separation… from My family...from my friends…from my city…those narrow gully’s…sweet shops near Garia Mor…Sobuj Dol ground…the strange smell of my house…the eternal sunshine on my Mom’s face…the unspoken warmth in my Father’s tired face haunts me...I need to come back… I have to…

I slowly try to regain my composure and mumble…“Could you please repeat that again!!”

I close my eyes again…they are waiting for me…