What's the time? taya ji (my uncle) asked me, giving me the cup of tea he had just brought for me from the shop.
Its 10.15 pm, i said.
that bus is half an hour late, will be here by 11 pm...taya ji said.
how come?
dunno...your dad just called me.
Me and taya ji were at bus stand to receive my parents, who were coming from Shimla that night. It was the month of December and gods had just wrapped a fresh layer of snow around mighty Dhauladhars that day,submerging whole valley under cold waves with mercury shrunk around freezing point. Cold waves seemed to have sucked the life out of the valley.Bus stand was also in a lifeless state with very few souls present there.
So, idea of spending 45 more minutes in such weather saddened me.I tried to concentrate on my tea. It was Kangra tea and its splendid aroma always kept my senses in check during the harsh winters in our valley. I was fully under my pashmina shawl from head to toe.
"Excuse me, is the bus for Jammu here yet?" , a guy asked me.
I looked up, he seemed to be in his early twenties, six feet tall with a lean build, a normal forehead, small brown eyes and a long pointed nose.He was wearing a long kashmiri coat and a black woolen cap.
I dunno...can't see any here...i said..why don't you check with the guy at reception.
I did,there is no one there, he said.
I looked around, there was no one there really.
maybe he's sleeping in the dorm behind, i said.
He smiled and sat next to me..placing his bag under the chair.
i looked at my watch again. it was 10.20, felt like that weather had slowed time also.
are you also going somewhere? he asked
not actually.....just waiting for someone, i replied.
How about you?, you are from Jammu or just a pleasure trip, i asked him
no, he said, I'm from Srinagar, so just going back home.
Srinagar..i repeated...wow man, you are from heaven.
He smiled and said, no buddy...nothing like that, your place is beautiful too. i fell in love with the beauty which nature has bestowed upon this place.
well!!!, thanks for that..i said smilingly.
hmmm...I'm Ankush, by the way..i said.
Jeeshan, he said, holding his hand out of his pocket.
Jeeshan.....cool name, i said.
ya, my Abba gave it to me...he said
so, are you a student? i asked
no...not one right now he said, did my bachelors two years ago, then banged my head on UPSC's walls last year and now the whole world is zooming right in front of my eyes.
ha ha....what happened?
well, i perished in mains..was kind of disturbing after studying so much for an year.
Don't worry mate, these tests are for robots anyway, who can study for sixteen hours everyday mechanically, i said comfortingly.
ha ha...exactly...he said...most of'em are nerds.
apart from that, you still have enough time to reappear again...just take some time off from your studies, freshen up and hit'em again, i said.
ya..exactly...i did that...haven't touched my books for past three months..was selling woolens with my uncle here...he replied in a kiddish enthusiasm with spark in his eyes.
what....you were selling woolens??? i asked in amazement..
yaaa..he said..my uncle comes here every year and since he visits every village here, it was an excellent opportunity to see the real beauty of the place.
hope..you weren't disappointed, i said.
not at all...like i said, this place is amazing..so beautiful temples, lush Fields, tea gardens...i loved every moment i spent here.
hmmmm....you are really a vagabond..
kind of...he said with a brief smile on his face.
He seemed a jovial kind of guy. we kept talking on various issues. we talked on cricket, bollywood starlets, corrupt politicians etc etc..for thirty more minutes.Then his bus came, he took mine face book id, promised me a Kashmir coat and hurriedly left for his bus.
Taya ji looked under the chair, on which he was sitting, after he left.
what are you looking at? i asked
are you mad or something??, when will you start seeing things as the way they are, you are twenty five now...taya ji said without answering my question.
What happened now?? i asked..wondering what wrong did i did
what happened now?..taya imitated me...you should know who to talk with and whom not too..
i held out my hands in exasperation....signalling i wasn't getting anything.
din't you noted his name...taya asked
it was jeeeshan khan...pretty cool one.
dunno what's wrong with this generation....nothin was cool about that name.....he could have been a fuckin terrorist, taya said...
Tayaaaa....i said in a slow tone...he was just a guy like me...and he loved Sachin Tendulkar...and moreover he's attempting civil services....he'll be a commissioner some day...
Now taya gave me a look as i was a fuckin terrorist too.
everybody loves Sachin, taya was unmoved...and they don't become commissioners..they blow commissioners..
ahaan....tau..i said..throwing my arm around his neck jokingly...why you old guys think so much..all fingers aren't same...
don't bring fingers here kid....we have a history...all I'm telling you to be cautious...rest you know better...taya said...
we don't have to reference our history for everything, i thought...instead why don't we give our present a chance to be peaceful...i remained silent this time because this debate of proving one right and other wrong could have gone to eternity....like many of our numerous conflicts since time immemorial.
okay!!!, i am bringing one more tea for you..tau said...
sure..i said...turning my ipod on.
Its 10.15 pm, i said.
that bus is half an hour late, will be here by 11 pm...taya ji said.
how come?
dunno...your dad just called me.
Me and taya ji were at bus stand to receive my parents, who were coming from Shimla that night. It was the month of December and gods had just wrapped a fresh layer of snow around mighty Dhauladhars that day,submerging whole valley under cold waves with mercury shrunk around freezing point. Cold waves seemed to have sucked the life out of the valley.Bus stand was also in a lifeless state with very few souls present there.
So, idea of spending 45 more minutes in such weather saddened me.I tried to concentrate on my tea. It was Kangra tea and its splendid aroma always kept my senses in check during the harsh winters in our valley. I was fully under my pashmina shawl from head to toe.
"Excuse me, is the bus for Jammu here yet?" , a guy asked me.
I looked up, he seemed to be in his early twenties, six feet tall with a lean build, a normal forehead, small brown eyes and a long pointed nose.He was wearing a long kashmiri coat and a black woolen cap.
I dunno...can't see any here...i said..why don't you check with the guy at reception.
I did,there is no one there, he said.
I looked around, there was no one there really.
maybe he's sleeping in the dorm behind, i said.
He smiled and sat next to me..placing his bag under the chair.
i looked at my watch again. it was 10.20, felt like that weather had slowed time also.
are you also going somewhere? he asked
not actually.....just waiting for someone, i replied.
How about you?, you are from Jammu or just a pleasure trip, i asked him
no, he said, I'm from Srinagar, so just going back home.
Srinagar..i repeated...wow man, you are from heaven.
He smiled and said, no buddy...nothing like that, your place is beautiful too. i fell in love with the beauty which nature has bestowed upon this place.
well!!!, thanks for that..i said smilingly.
hmmm...I'm Ankush, by the way..i said.
Jeeshan, he said, holding his hand out of his pocket.
Jeeshan.....cool name, i said.
ya, my Abba gave it to me...he said
so, are you a student? i asked
no...not one right now he said, did my bachelors two years ago, then banged my head on UPSC's walls last year and now the whole world is zooming right in front of my eyes.
ha ha....what happened?
well, i perished in mains..was kind of disturbing after studying so much for an year.
Don't worry mate, these tests are for robots anyway, who can study for sixteen hours everyday mechanically, i said comfortingly.
ha ha...exactly...he said...most of'em are nerds.
apart from that, you still have enough time to reappear again...just take some time off from your studies, freshen up and hit'em again, i said.
ya..exactly...i did that...haven't touched my books for past three months..was selling woolens with my uncle here...he replied in a kiddish enthusiasm with spark in his eyes.
what....you were selling woolens??? i asked in amazement..
yaaa..he said..my uncle comes here every year and since he visits every village here, it was an excellent opportunity to see the real beauty of the place.
hope..you weren't disappointed, i said.
not at all...like i said, this place is amazing..so beautiful temples, lush Fields, tea gardens...i loved every moment i spent here.
hmmmm....you are really a vagabond..
kind of...he said with a brief smile on his face.
He seemed a jovial kind of guy. we kept talking on various issues. we talked on cricket, bollywood starlets, corrupt politicians etc etc..for thirty more minutes.Then his bus came, he took mine face book id, promised me a Kashmir coat and hurriedly left for his bus.
Taya ji looked under the chair, on which he was sitting, after he left.
what are you looking at? i asked
are you mad or something??, when will you start seeing things as the way they are, you are twenty five now...taya ji said without answering my question.
What happened now?? i asked..wondering what wrong did i did
what happened now?..taya imitated me...you should know who to talk with and whom not too..
i held out my hands in exasperation....signalling i wasn't getting anything.
din't you noted his name...taya asked
it was jeeeshan khan...pretty cool one.
dunno what's wrong with this generation....nothin was cool about that name.....he could have been a fuckin terrorist, taya said...
Tayaaaa....i said in a slow tone...he was just a guy like me...and he loved Sachin Tendulkar...and moreover he's attempting civil services....he'll be a commissioner some day...
Now taya gave me a look as i was a fuckin terrorist too.
everybody loves Sachin, taya was unmoved...and they don't become commissioners..they blow commissioners..
ahaan....tau..i said..throwing my arm around his neck jokingly...why you old guys think so much..all fingers aren't same...
don't bring fingers here kid....we have a history...all I'm telling you to be cautious...rest you know better...taya said...
we don't have to reference our history for everything, i thought...instead why don't we give our present a chance to be peaceful...i remained silent this time because this debate of proving one right and other wrong could have gone to eternity....like many of our numerous conflicts since time immemorial.
okay!!!, i am bringing one more tea for you..tau said...
sure..i said...turning my ipod on.
5 comments:
nandu beta likhna seekh gaya ...........
bada ho gaya
beta bada ho gaya .....
likna sekh gaya ...........
thanksss kapluuuu...
There is a beauty in ur writing man. Keep going.
thankyoo arun...
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