[Writer: KAUSAMBHI MAJUMDAR]
LOST IN CHAOS
It’s said idleness is a devil’s workshop. That’s what I was doing on a Sunday
afternoon. Idling away, drowning down in depths of boredom. I decided to do one
activity that says ‘I’m doing something but I am exactly doing nothing.’ I took my
phone, shoved the earphones in my ears, hit the play button, and sat on my bed
staring at the trees outside the window. It was going to be sunset in sometime. The
sky was washed in colours of the dusk
.
Some kind of inspiration hit me. Rather than being cooped up inside, I thought
about going up to the terrace, take in some fresh air & admire the sky in its
entirety. Up I went with music still blaring in my ears. I went over to my favourite
spot, atop the water tank. I guess whoever stays in apartment buildings will say
that’s their favourite place.
As I sat musing, a firework burst somewhere down below. Disturbed by the sudden
noise, a flock of pigeons flew out of a tree. As if on cue, they swooped down in a
glorious spiral motion finding a new place to settle in. The sun, a brilliant globe of
orange, was setting down behind the high-rises. The sky was drenched in bright
orange, red and pinkish hues. A few stray dark monsoon clouds hovered in the sky.
A jet flew over leaving a trail of white clouds behind it. At a distance a train pulled
out from the terminus, releasing thick black smoke.
There were sounds of cymbals, drum beating in quick frenzied rhythms and
firecrackers bursting. Today being the fifth day of Ganesh Chaturthi,most people
were performing the visarjan.As I looked around from atop at the clusters of sky-
scrapers, the sparse trees between them-I drank in the sounds, the colours and hues
of sky, the sights of pigeons flying in circles around me and the rush of wind on
my face.
That’s when realization dawned on me. This is what I had missed this past year.
When I went away to be tucked in still and quite Mysore, away from the noisy
hustle-bustle called Mumbai. This concrete jungle, the sight of pigeons that peeved
me to no end, these noises, these sounds; my heart was aching for all these. I used
to whine every moment about missing home. Still home didn’t feel like home, until
today. The sun had set. The fire-works came alive in the sky, like a perfect ending
to a fairytale movie. The dark clouds reflected deep red from the street-lights lit all
over the city. And I lost my heart, again, to the chaos.
+++++
Mumbai