Good old days are at the tip of the tongue today because one of my old school and college friends wished me on the “SALAM” the celebration day of Maha Shivratri.
Let us go to the memory lane some two decades before. Those days were truthful, full of happiness, with high regards for elders and mentors, without any 'CHAL –KAPAT' in mind and moreover the pocket empty may it be school or college. I cherish those moments especially my school and college friends like Jhon, Hassan, Tariq, Girdhari, Tej …. and few mentors like Shah Sahib from Seelu, our work experience teacher Majid Sahib whom with we would make wooden articles like clock cover etc and many more. To monitor my class as head boy, to be group commander of the class to salute then education minister at high school Bomai grounds, to remain in the eyes of other classmates especially in co education environment, to listen eagerly “rasnia rasnia tara ki tera bada manda lagda…..” probably the first Dogri song heard at that time beyond Kashmiri language, the punishments by Shah Sahib to me on pen of Hassan who lost the pen during class change, the chinars of the school grounds which used to give us cool breeze after the games, the saint “SAID SAHIB” in front of school grounds, the way to Zinipora over the school and many more.
During these years away from the childhood place, nothing faded in these two decades, even got refreshed in mind from the day we departed from the place of birth. The situation, traditions, climate, language, relations, age, thoughts changed a lot even beyond imaginations but the thirst about those old golden days remained alive in the hearts and probably will end with the end of our lives. We as a community also changed a lot, earned a lot, even got better chances to present ourselves at new places, got our children settled at better places, but what we lost is our motherland, the environment in which we got birth, in which we studied and over all we lost our mother tongue. As for as I am concerned I have always felt that physically I am at different place but my soul ”ROOH” is still wandering somewhere within my roots which keeps me connected.
Through this blog I wish my all class and college friends a warming hallo and wish them all the best.
Bharat B. Das ( an el eye cee’ian)
