I woke up to Minmini's song. May be for the first time in my life, I switched on the TV, the moment I got up. "Chinna chinna asai" and a cup of Nescafe. Mani Ratnam! Santhosh Sivan! A R Rahman! Vairamuthu! Nothing can beat this morning. I smiled. The sunlight was flickering through the leaves and the birds were singing. The church bell. The choir. Oh! I missed the mass again. But if God is this immense peace and hope that I am feeling right now, I am in His presence. Now, mom is back from church. She wants to make 'Battura' as Sunday special. Asked me to go to the nearby shop to buy some ingredients. "Oh! I look sleepy. All those people who are coming back from church will see me", I complained. Yet I set out for the adventure. Oh! No! My old classmate-the next door guy-the one from my own church with his dashing smile. One among the very few friends I have in my place. "So you are here! I didn't know! When did you come back? All your exams over?" Thank God, at least he didn't spoil this beautiful day, asking "what next", early in the morning. A small chit chat for less than a minute in front of the shop and I do not have any idea how many people just smiled at me as if wishing a good morning. I do not know all of them. I always wonder how these people never fail to recognize me. This is not where I was born. This is not where I was brought up. We shifted to this place just 9 years back. I was here just for 5 years. A girl who never talked to the natives for she missed the old place so much that she didn't want any connections here. A girl who was never regular in Church because she over-slept. Occasional visits on Christmas and Easter holidays for the past four years. Now, I am back home and every time I get out of my house, I see these smiling faces. I miss EFLU so much at times that I want to go back, to shout, to scream, to do everything that I want to do the moment I feel like doing it, to BELONG. Though, I am not a stranger at this place anymore. Because they smile at me. Something which I never fail to give back. The only thing that I expect from others. Thank you world... :-)
beautiful!! finally you agreed that you miss EFLU! everyone will, one day, including me! there is a sense of belonging, as you said. glad to read about the smiles :) im smiling here and also inspired to "write, and write more" :)
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot Appu, for the reading and the comment. Yes, there is a sense of belonging. I remember Vaishnavi telling me once, "I don't want to be here anymore. This place is not real". And recently have seen an album in which Akka Mahadevi is tagged as a "parallel universe". So true! Yet, there is a part which always want to be there, in everyone, including you and me... :-)
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