Sep 6, 2008

searching for memories

long back, when in college, while winding up for the day from the canteen (well, there were many days, when we went to college, but did not attend any class, lolled in the canteen the whole day and returned home from where we started the day), we met a middle aged man...
he struck us because he was not a familiar face and most middle aged men were our teachers whom we knew and who would not come that way, anywhere near the college canteen...
the other reason why he struck us was the searching look on his face, his eyes in particular... he was tall, very well dressed, carried an expensive leather brief case (the kind that was in fashion then), wore the latest (then) cut shoes that were shining clean...
we crossed glances with each other amongst ourselves and one of us asked him, "are you looking for somebody?"
at first, he did not answer... on another attempt, we understood that he had not heard our initial query at all... and replied politely, "yes, memories"... and continued immersed in his search with a faraway look in his eyes...
intangible it was then, tangible it is now...
we do go back to college sometimes, if not every visit to the city, at least once in five years... now, we have taken the place of the man whom we found so out-of-place then... i am sure there are teenagers who discuss us the same way we discussed the gentleman... and find the same look in our face and eyes...
one good fortune for us is... part of the memory stays with us... B was my class mate in college...

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I donot think we are in middle age yet, and will not be after another 15 years. It's a myth that root grows deeper with age, the truth is root remains younger if the age stops sequencing.

Don't we search for young roots always ?

Suranjana said...

yes we do search for the roots, mid age I think we are all in, in fact i feel nearly completing 2/3 of my life span, cause, its definite, i dont want to live beyond 60, Age is a problem