Waiting………..!!
Its 7:15am and I stand here in the bus stop waiting for the office bus to
arrive. I stand here in the same spot as I did a few years back waiting for
my college bus. Little did I know then that things would change so much in
2 years; the tree under which I was standing seemed to be looking at me and
smiling, perhaps the only living thing that stands as a testimony there,
watching the transformation of a loud and bubbly person into a quiet
professional. I wouldn't blame the professionalism for the change though.
It is destiny, or may be you could call it life. Yes Life, esoteric in the
true sense, for one does not understand why you meet hundreds of people
everyday, work with so many, and still remain lonely.
I am now in one of the corner seats in the bus, looking out of the window
watching people trying to catch up with "life"! It's an hour's journey and
the only company that I generally have is the chatter of the RJ. I seldom
notice the person sitting next to me, for its going to be yet another
stranger or may be you could say another acquaintance. It is annoying at
times when the radio is switched off, not because I am cut off from the
melody (?) but because I would now be thrust with the thought of the
solitary travel ahead. I can't help thinking about the short bus journeys
to college, well it's a paradox to call a distance of 10 kms "short", but
that is how it always seemed. A typical college day always begins in the
bus with all the familiar faces; you look forward for all your friends to
get in from the various stops, the reasonless giggles, the loud laughter
that were stifled to avert the eyes of the lecturers and professors who
would watch on us as if we were their prospective prey for the day, well as
I said it was a different life then.
The pleasant memories of college are in itself good enough to save me from
the misery of the bus journey. I notice that it is time for me to get down
and flash my smile of acknowledgement to all the known strangers that I see
as I walk towards my cubicle. A few of my project mates greet me with their
morning wishes and as always, we exchange our pleasantries. Discussions
jump to the weekend plans and I wonder what I'd do over the weekend. It
would be just another day staring at the mobile, wishing it would ring and
bring back some wonderful moments that are now missing in life or maybe the
safer option would be to come to office, for it's my new founded asylum
these days. A few years back, weekends or weekdays didn't matter to me, I
was always busy. I always stood doubting the authenticity of the wall clock
that seemed to be in running too fast to perceive its movement. Alas, now
it seems as though my clock is suffering from some kind of paralytic
attack.
There is a time in life, where one needs to go ahead, leave behind all your
friends and carry along only memories. You do make friends, but then you
never get back the same old close ones, you do meet people who'd be so good
to you that you could tell them anything and everything, but you'd not find
a person, to whom you needn't say things, friends who just know you.
Occasional calls from such friends, has been the only thing that I seem to
look forward to, but I cant help but notice the uneasy pause that lingers
around the conversation, pause not because of the relationship, but because
it is too short a duration to say everything, and of course you cannot
completely rule out the paucity of words!
As I sip coffee from the ubiquitous coffee mugs, watching the drops of
rain, trickling down the tinted glass panes, veiling the scenic beauty
outside, I tell myself, may be there'd be a day when things change, when
life offers a rewind, a recap of all the events, and I'd just have to wait.
Capricious are the ways of life, for I know there would be many who'd be
able to empathize with me, ironically, even the dear ones that I miss this
moment, waiting perhaps.
.I thought its only me who cribs...But seems you too crib for those days...
