Untitled journal entry
After 10 years I am heading for a friend’s house who lives in Mirpur. The locality at first glance seemed ok and to my surprise---quite unchanged. I was going there with lots of anticipation …the place where I used to come so frequently, I thought would look quite different to me. After all it’s many years that I haven’t visited the place.
But that was not to be. I was quite sure I’d reach the place anyhow. It is all about naming the place correctly to the rickshawalla. We used to do this in our earlier days when as kids we roamed around. I would go many places without exactly knowing the roads. This time I did the same trick. I asked a rickshawalla to take me to a well-known area that was named after a pond and after some hectic ride he took me to the place. I knew that even if I cannot recognize my friend’s house I would be able to get hold of my friend by asking people at the many dukans located in the area. You know my friend is no stranger to the area. In fact he is quite renowned by his own merit. But that was not required…I reached the place with almost no trouble but my friend was not home that day.His father, now a bearded man told me that he was out for attending the math festival…. usually he is at home around this time but today he is out.
After many years I met my friend’s father. So he couldn’t recognize me at a first go. I asked about his health and other family members. I was totally out of touch with my dosto. So I had to ask about my dosto. I did not have the new telephone number so I took the number. My friend’s father however did not bother to call me in. So I decided to leave. I was about to leave when uncle, my friend’s father quipped
-Now he is quite ok…I think
I was surprised a bit... Is he talking about my friend? He took no notice of me. He continued, he was quite sick at first. We admitted him in a rehabilitation center for a while… twice…now he is fine...though not out of drug but in control.
I kind of started to get the rest of the picture. So here I am meeting a friend after a long time. My friend is now perhaps recovering from addiction he had and all these happened in these middle years when we were not in touch. I mean I knew that my friend was doing drugs but couldn’t understand that he continued this habit this long. So he was never out of this all these years…!
I was about to leave then. After all, my friend is not at home. I have known him and his family from my childhood days so I made a point to leave as quickly as possible because I was afraid to face his mother…she can come any moment. So I told uncle that I would go now.
Uncle, who is soon to retire from his Government job looked tired …tired with his eldest son!
“Try to convince him son, you are his friend. Tell him at least to sit for the BA exam…”
He can pass it any time, uncle reflected.
I kind of nodded at his statement. I knew it was not the right moment to ask whether my friend was doing poetry anymore. But I asked. Uncle assured me that yes he was pretty much into this… he is about to publish a book of poems…I have agreed to give him money! I looked at uncle with some ease now.
Finally after a day or two, I went to Mirpur for a second time … The closer I came to the area where my friend lives I kind of sensed that this time my effort will be fruitful. My friend was at home this time and what is more important I found a man after long years who is engrossed in poetry, literature and music. So I was happy. We talked about literature, music and many other things, small bits of information we did not share before like when we first met at the school or even in our collage days. We were kids then but I still remember this friend of mine had a passion for poetry quite early in our school days. He would spend a lot of time on poetry and poetry rehearsals.
That was my friend in his teens, enthusiastic, happy and witty. And here after many years of detachment it seemed that the feelings are the same ….my friend decided not to appear for the BA exam…his father seemed annoyed with this and why not, he was a good student in a reputed university but never completed his education. Now he spends most of his time in his own room, mostly reading poetry …a 9-5 job is something he strongly detests.
Perhaps till this day he is not totally free of drugs. His father asked me to request him to get involved in something and I instantly responded but when I finally met him I found an engrossed man at work. Can you imagine in these days of consumerism and spending habits some body declaring that I want to spend my life like this, reading and writing and of course my friend is not the type that he would go to the literature editors to beg a publication. He publishes very little and that too in locally circulated school magazines and in some little magazines. But the good news is my friend’s book is hitting the market very soon.
November –December 2004
But that was not to be. I was quite sure I’d reach the place anyhow. It is all about naming the place correctly to the rickshawalla. We used to do this in our earlier days when as kids we roamed around. I would go many places without exactly knowing the roads. This time I did the same trick. I asked a rickshawalla to take me to a well-known area that was named after a pond and after some hectic ride he took me to the place. I knew that even if I cannot recognize my friend’s house I would be able to get hold of my friend by asking people at the many dukans located in the area. You know my friend is no stranger to the area. In fact he is quite renowned by his own merit. But that was not required…I reached the place with almost no trouble but my friend was not home that day.His father, now a bearded man told me that he was out for attending the math festival…. usually he is at home around this time but today he is out.
After many years I met my friend’s father. So he couldn’t recognize me at a first go. I asked about his health and other family members. I was totally out of touch with my dosto. So I had to ask about my dosto. I did not have the new telephone number so I took the number. My friend’s father however did not bother to call me in. So I decided to leave. I was about to leave when uncle, my friend’s father quipped
-Now he is quite ok…I think
I was surprised a bit... Is he talking about my friend? He took no notice of me. He continued, he was quite sick at first. We admitted him in a rehabilitation center for a while… twice…now he is fine...though not out of drug but in control.
I kind of started to get the rest of the picture. So here I am meeting a friend after a long time. My friend is now perhaps recovering from addiction he had and all these happened in these middle years when we were not in touch. I mean I knew that my friend was doing drugs but couldn’t understand that he continued this habit this long. So he was never out of this all these years…!
I was about to leave then. After all, my friend is not at home. I have known him and his family from my childhood days so I made a point to leave as quickly as possible because I was afraid to face his mother…she can come any moment. So I told uncle that I would go now.
Uncle, who is soon to retire from his Government job looked tired …tired with his eldest son!
“Try to convince him son, you are his friend. Tell him at least to sit for the BA exam…”
He can pass it any time, uncle reflected.
I kind of nodded at his statement. I knew it was not the right moment to ask whether my friend was doing poetry anymore. But I asked. Uncle assured me that yes he was pretty much into this… he is about to publish a book of poems…I have agreed to give him money! I looked at uncle with some ease now.
Finally after a day or two, I went to Mirpur for a second time … The closer I came to the area where my friend lives I kind of sensed that this time my effort will be fruitful. My friend was at home this time and what is more important I found a man after long years who is engrossed in poetry, literature and music. So I was happy. We talked about literature, music and many other things, small bits of information we did not share before like when we first met at the school or even in our collage days. We were kids then but I still remember this friend of mine had a passion for poetry quite early in our school days. He would spend a lot of time on poetry and poetry rehearsals.
That was my friend in his teens, enthusiastic, happy and witty. And here after many years of detachment it seemed that the feelings are the same ….my friend decided not to appear for the BA exam…his father seemed annoyed with this and why not, he was a good student in a reputed university but never completed his education. Now he spends most of his time in his own room, mostly reading poetry …a 9-5 job is something he strongly detests.
Perhaps till this day he is not totally free of drugs. His father asked me to request him to get involved in something and I instantly responded but when I finally met him I found an engrossed man at work. Can you imagine in these days of consumerism and spending habits some body declaring that I want to spend my life like this, reading and writing and of course my friend is not the type that he would go to the literature editors to beg a publication. He publishes very little and that too in locally circulated school magazines and in some little magazines. But the good news is my friend’s book is hitting the market very soon.
November –December 2004
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