An Affair of a Lifetime!!!

Last few days saw me visiting Gujarat and in way it was one of the most nostalgic journeys for me in recent times. We were visiting my brother in Jamnagar and as soon as we got down at the railways station there were millions of memories which came hurling in. I was visiting it after 5-6 years and surprisingly the place hasn’t changed.

It is still that sleepy town where I had spent numerous summer vacations. Summer vacations, which were eagerly awaited when I was in Banasthali and were equally hated when I moved to Roorkee.

The place reminded me of the horrible cyclone in 1998. I remember vividly, Dad had left for office (which was some 30 kms away & the route was bad) and I & Mom were enjoying the strong wind and even laughing at a guy who was unable to maintain balance. We understood the seriousness of the situation when one by one the window panes in our home started shattering. We understood the real seriousness when we had to close every door & window and were sitting packed inside the dining area with wind making horrible howling noise. The cyclone was so bad that there was no electricity & water for almost a fortnight. One of the most difficult fortnights of my life it was.

Though this was the only natural calamity that I have lived through but my parents & brother have lived through the earthquake (2001) as well. At that point we used to say the only major calamity left to touch Jamnagar is Volcano which is thankfully not possible.

For me Jamnagar is the place where I got my first job, the place where we celebrated my parents 25th Marriage Anniversary (I had gifted 25 handmade cards to them :-) but then that will make a separate post in itself), the place where both my parents had an heart attack, the place where I got the great news that I had stood second in all streams my 2nd year of Graduation, it is the same place where we heard the news of the demise of both my maternal grand parents, it is the place where I had the first taste of professional experience though my summer training. It is the same place where we had seen numerous movies all in late night 9-12 show; we even bought the tickets of Josh in black, hated the movie and traveled some 30 kms back late night.

There are so many memories with Jamnagar but the strange thing is that I don’t look at the city with a fondness and neither do I look at it with bitter eyes. It’s the place which has given us a mixed bag of a life. Some very happy moments & some sad moments but what it most importantly gave me was a bag of memories which will always remain with me.

A city which has given me the fondest memories of my life is Ahmedabad and if I say that I have left the city but a part my heart still lives there then it won’t be any exaggeration and that is the very reason that I was in no mood to visit the city in this trip.

I know I have given two contradictory statements but I let me explain.

We were to initially visit Ahmedabad for 2-3 hours and when that was cancelled we were to touch the city and move ahead but a part of me was revolting.

For me Ahmedabad is the place where I had gained my independence. When we were driving towards Ahmedabad all I could think was of the lovely days spent there. The only bad memories I have of that place were of my Paying Guest days but then the good memories always over powered the bad ones. My mind & heart were on an overdrive I was thinking of how I used spend my days, where all I used to go, how lovely the independence was et. al. and then there was sudden urge, an unexplainable one to say the least.

I wanted to get down in Ahmedabad and visit all the places that I had been, all the places which had fond memories of. I felt was as if I was entering a home where I had stayed for years and had an urge to touch & feel everything. Yes it was strange because we can leaf our fingers through books, we can touch a cupboard, we can touch the window panes and think of times spent in front of it but how can we touch a city to feel it.

I also knew that if am visiting Ahmedabad few hours is just not enough for me it would be too less. I want to visit the city to feel it & to let the feeling sink in that I am there. I would love to go to Ahmedabad all alone because that is the way I have loved the city. It was my companion in my singleton days and it will remain that ways forever. A place which I might have left but it still resides in me and will always.

Have you ever felt this ways for a city?

P.S We took a bypass and skipped the Ahmedabad all together and as I said in a way I was happy. But yes now there is an overpowering urge to go back and relive the loveliest days of my life.