absence makes the heart do strange things

hmmm. so the teacher manages a good job everytime. yes suparna, that’s the muse 🙂

i was away. and came back yesterday. too tired, with a slightly damaged knee and a much calmer mind. it was an official trip, extended into a holiday, paying greetings to the Mother Goddess, residing up there in the hills.

from Kathua to Katra, to the Vaishno Devi Temple, back to Jammu & to Delhi. At last. one thing i realised quickly though. all those bollywood movies were not ‘that’ crap. you do happen to miss the one you love so much to see her face amongst strangers, to catch her glimpse at the most unlikeliest of places and to feel her presence almost everywhere you go. and then you smile, nod your head in disbelief and move on.

hmmm. its not everyday that dear boss catches me in a meeting, sporting a totally blank look and smiling all too often for comfort. its even better he didn’t check the notes i was scribbling.

all through the journey; in cars, in trains, in markets, in temples, while meeting people, while leaving places, in hotel rooms, on open terraces, on window seats, with music beats, while climbing a mountain and while limping back to where it all started…all through the journey, just one thought, one desire, one silent dream from within…’wish she was here.’

life is not my own anymore. it has become something significant to be shared together. shared between two people, still a distance apart.

i was away and i came back yesterday. and i missed her. and i still wish she was there. and i wish she was here.

p.s. most of the pics we clicked there were deleted accidentally. so i might not be having much except the big textile mill in Kathua, where we went to as their advertising agency. Kathua, is a few hours away from Jammu, the winter capital of the northenmost state of Jammu & Kashmir. From Jammu, the devotees go to Katra, sort of a base camp for the climb to the hill-based shrine of Goddess, Shri Vaishno Devi. Sadly, it has become more of a tourist spot in recent years. The climb is of 14kms of metalled roads with all the facilities one usually requires. By the time i reached up, a long lost twich in the left knee locked it completely. We’d the most memorable of ‘darshan’ (glimpse) at the temple. Being a part of the morning puja is truly a unique memory. Mind you, not much people are fortunate enough for that. Returning, i had to trudge half way back before finding a horse. And it was not much of a comfort as well. The knee still aches. The memories, definitely will stay longer than the pain 🙂 Jai Mata Di.