On 24th my room mate and one of my best friends left to California! Well! He got a new job, and so left on another "adventure". And this, offset another stream of thought in me! Sure, you keep hearing the usual cliche about life being a long journey and everyone else being our co-passengers who join us and leave us as time passes (or rather as journey continues). But I have always felt that companionship is much more than this! Isn't it about staying together always? I do not mean physical presence. I know, that's not possible! But for two people to stay together always, there are other means isn't it? Memories, for example!
Ever since childhood, we meet people who grow dear to us, we call 'em friends, relatives, and any other name that sounds endearing! Isn't all this an effort by man to keep alive those associations? For that matter, even the enemies we despise are also the effort by man to keep them alive in the deep recesses of mind!
Memories of good, old and ugly, all of them grow up to become endearing to us over a period of time. Things that we cannot live without, people to love and despise when in solitude! To think back and laugh at the funny moments, cry at the sad ones and curse at ill ones! What would man do without memories? On the flip side of it, maybe he wouldn't waste a lot of time broodin' over them and maybe there wouldn't be much to write in journals and blogs! hehehehe.. so with all the free time, maybe he would do more creative works!
But then what would inspire man to do these creative things?! How would man get the motivation needed to keep himself alive even after he is long gone! Memories.... you can't live without them, you can't live with them! Yet another new page has been added to the memories! The book grows in length and content! I know one thing for sure, the times of solitude would be packed... I have a lot of reading to do!
Meanwhile, I am just happy humming the number so wonderfully rendered by Kishore kumar..
jeevan ke safar mein raahi milte hain bichad jaane ko
aur de jaate hain yaadein tanhaayee mein tadpaane ko !