Thursday, November 3, 2011

REMEMBERING 'SULEKHA' FRIENDS...


For a long time I have been very irregular in posting blogs. Nothing unusual, we all have certain busy periods in between and go missing for some time. After shifting to lucknow i was also busy for sometime in the usual chores of settling down, rearranging home, meeting friends etc. but after that somehow or other a kind of lethargy set in. I visit here, read friends posts, give comments, posted two blogs in long intervals but regular writing is not being done. No it was not deliberate but an inertia has gripped me .Perhaps I needed a push to gain momentum and I did get that. Panchali dear, if not for you this post would not have been here at this time.and then there was MU telling me that it's my 100th blog so it should be something special. What can be more special than  this sulekha world. The relations we build here, the feeling of being wanted, being missed ,we get here. Nothing can be emotionaly more enriching than these precious bonds we make here, so I dedicate my 100th blog to the wonderful relationships we make here, the friendship and that bhav of bandhutva
दोस्ती
दोस्ती किसी सूफ़ी फ़कीर का चोला 
जिसकी फ़िटिग का कोई नम्बर नहीं होता
जो दीवानगी का फ़्री साइज़ होता है
जो तन के चीथड़े चाहे न ढक सके
मन का लिबास अवश्य बन सकता है.

this verse by Manjeet Tivada says it all about this beautiful relationship.
I am writing the poem in roman for the friends who find it difficult to read devnagari but can understand hindi.
dosti
dosti kisi sufi fakir ka chola
jisaki fitting ka koi number nahee hotaa
jo deevangee ka free size hota hai
jo tan ke cheethare chaahe na dhak sake
man ka libas avshay ban jataa hai.

The debate between the real and virtual is an ongoing one. How safe are relations from virtual world ? Can virtual be real? and so on. People have their opinions according to their own experiences but I feel it to be very real. We meet people here, build relationships, some of these wither away gradually and others become stronger and deeper with the passage of time. It happens in real world as well.
When I started my journey in sulekha, I was in pune. I did not have any friend circle there, the society we lived in also did not have many families living there, most of the flats were occupied by young boys and girls who left their flats by 8o'clock in the morning and were back by 9-10pm. For the whole day I used to be all alone on my floor with the plants and flowers of my society and books....and then sulekha happened.
I entered hesitantly, taking small steps,  knocking at doors, getting acquainted and then leaving after keying my comments. Then those visits started getting mutual and few of them blossomed into wonderful friendship while I still miss some of the once regular names, yash chhabra, melody queen, bhavna are few of them.
My bond with panchali, I firmly believe Ma wanted it to happen, till march 2009 we both were regular visitors of each other posts but had not talked or even exchaged notes. All our communication was through comments only, but even through exchange of comments one could feel that slight change in the comfort level and intensity of feelings between us. Panchali at that time had recently shifted to calcutta and fortunately I was to go there to attend my son's convocation ceremony at calcutta. I was to be at the city only for two days and of which a day was to be spent at the campus.
I never thought that I could meet her in that tight schedule. In fact I did not think of meeting her as I did not know how far she lived  from the campus and  moreover I didnt want to bother her by asking her to come over to meet me as she herself was going through the process of settling down there. I once thought not to tell her that I shall be visiting calcutta, but few days before leaving I had this sudden urge of visiting dakhineswar at Calcutta. it was a kind of sudden pull  I felt. It was so intense that I decided to go there. Who could tell me, whether is it possible to visit dakhineswar from zoka in that tight schedule. I didnt know how apart those places were. Then I dropped a note to Panchali. Promptly came her reply with her mobile no.and the wonderful plan of getting us all together. I strongly feel if not for that sudden pull towards Ma, I would not have dropped that note to Panchali. To me this friendship is Her gift to me and I value it a lot. Panchali dear, that evening spent in your cozy dining room with both our families together will always remain a special one for us. I can not thank sulekha enough for making this possible.
And then there is MU. I don't exactly remember how this caring, considerate and aesthetically inclined girl entered my world but she certainly is now a very important part of it.
Dr.Priya..........I have to mention her name without fail otherwise her screeching protests will follow incessantly. We share a relationship which gives her a right to get angry.
There are others with whom I feel attached in different ways at different levels. Meera, the sunshine of our sulekha family, madhvi, promilla, bina and nupur. I miss yashaswi's naughtiness nowadays and my bro prasad. He is also not to be seen here for a long time, the list is unending.
And there is this name which I deliberately saved for the end...........ehsi.........ehssas. We all know what a wonderful person she is. I feel blessed to know her.
Ehsi this one is for you. I wanted to write it on your birthday........
vah 
door se aati havao si hai
chupake se aa
gale lag jati hai
aahista se
vazood ka hissa ban jati hai
usaki beavaz siski bhi
mujhe sunai de jati hai
itna sukh bantati hai auro ko
ki
apne hisse ki ginati hi bhool jati hai.

I know it's not only me but all of us here share such wonderful bonds with others here. There might be some people who had certain bad experiences here but that one has to take in stride. Darkness walks hand in hand with light and I have all the light here. Thank you all. 

 
 

 


 pics by sunder iyer

WRITTEN IN NOV 2009,LUCKNOW

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