Dear “City Of Joy”,
Never thought, that someday I would be writing this letter to you. Can’t deny the fact that you and your people had been a great host to me for the past few years. Can’t deny that when I first stepped in you , I was a little girl with big dreams and bigger expectations from life; and today while writing this letter to you, I believe I am more matured a lady ,prepared enough to accept the ups and downs of reality.
First of all I would like to thank you. Thank you for the warm welcome from your part. You are so very colourful that your colours can easily make a newcomer get addicted to you. And your crowd seems to be so full of energy that one can get involved so very easily. Thank you so much for letting me be a part of the life for a while. Thank you.
But there is a confession to be made. I could not be a part of your crowd with all of my heart. And I am sorry for that. I am sorry that I could not accept the life you offered. But please do trust me, I respect you a lot and so I did sincerely try to be a part of the colours, the crowd…I failed. And I am sorry.
It was not your fault dear City…but mine. I guess I had a different notion about life, a different bit of expectation from it. I realized it very late that reality is a different thing altogether, and dreams are after all dreams, far from the real world. And one day I suddenly woke up and saw …hundreds of them, walking down the street, in different directions, to different destinies, carrying different expressions on their faces…only one thing in common …all of them were facing the harsh reality…all of them doing what they should do instead of what they really want to do. And I felt so sorry for them. If I am allowed to put it this way (no offense to the ones who does not agree), it’s a pity that in spite of being a part of the crowd, all of your people seems to be so lonely, it’s a pity that when they feel like crying they hardly finds a place to themselves…and thus most of the times they are deprived of the pleasure of crying.
And so I feel sorry for them…and I feel sorry for you dear City…you must also be in tremendous pain, isn’t it? Seeing so many of your people continuously compromising with life…it must be heart breaking for you…I understand…And everybody calls you the City Of Joy…what an irony!!
And finally before ending my letter I would like you to know…that one day I cried for you, and I wished that you were a person instead of being the gorgeous city…coz’ only then it would have been possible for me to take you to my Small Town, and let you know how my life had been before I came to you. How God had painted my place , not as colourful as yours, but a lively green. How the Autumn leaves falls over a school going little girl on a bicycle , and makes her feel like a Princess being welcomed in her own Kingdom. And how the dawning dusk throws its twilight over a flock of birds returning to their nests…and how a mud stained little boy reluctantly walks back home from the playground. And there are so many love stories that begun with the monsoon drizzles…and the silence of the winter nights only being disturbed by the sound of the dew drops… … …
I might sound a lot silly to your citizen…but trust me, you have so much in you…only this bit of ‘silly’ simplicity is missing …
Thanking you,
Yours Small Town Girl.
I am blessed enough to have stayed at both the places and this is what makes me appreciate the simple and the larger things in life more. For when I miss one, there is always the other.
ReplyDelete