By Nimisha Jain:
How obvious and at the same time strange is it that life takes us to diverse places and people, and changes its route so dynamically. This very nature of life makes it look a lot like a train journey. Just as what happens when we board and travel in train, same goes for life – we meet people, become intimate and then say goodbye. The mysterious voyage of life on which we embark contains the same essence with which a journey of a train is draped. But there still lies a big difference; unlike the certain turns, halts and changing milieu of train journey, the same traits of life are much less apparent.
As we board on a train we meet new people, become friends in a few minutes and after a short while, the connection appears to have reached the maximum broadband frequency. We chat, share emotions and have all the fun together. But then the train takes a halt at a station and some of the co-passengers say goodbye. People who were so intimate only a few hours back, move to some other world leaving behind memories and a sense of reality that the period of togetherness has come to an end. But then again, new passengers arrive and the cycle continues and reaches the same end point. Either the others or you have to get down on a specific station and move on. Isn’t this what we actually experience in life?
Our childhood days, the days of our teenage which we spend in school appear to be heaven. The fun, excitement and strong bond which we share with all the school friends are thought to be never-ending. The lunch breaks, the stupid games, the class tests and the company of amazing friends in everything we do are seen as the only elements with which our world consists of. But then the dynamism of life violates this stability and so comes the time to say goodbye. The promises of staying in touch and being the best buddies forever lose their path of fulfilment. This lands us to our respective stations of college life.
The college invites new life, new people and a place to create new memories. The goodbyes which we just said to a few are then followed by “hellos” to others. Then begins another journey. Again a world of fun and frolic is created; those whom we greeted with a formal smile initially are now the ones who compel us to burst out in laughter. They make us cherish every little moment of this beautiful life, they stand by us through every thick and thin, and therefore, by healing the older wounds of partition they again tie a thread of hope to our lives to remain together forever. And it’s at this time that the smooth journey of life takes a sudden turn and reminds us of different stations which lead to partition. Yes! Even college life comes to a halt and the pain of being without our closest friends hurts the soul immensely.
It’s not just in different stages of our lives that the feeling of parting plays its role. It’s a natural fact which can greet us at any point of time. Sometimes it’s about very close relatives, our neighbours or someone we had not known for long but still had a strong connection emotionally. The dreams, hopes and expectations of a beautiful life of togetherness get shattered when the close ones depart and, time and distance do not allow the reunion. The meaning and beauty of life appear to be lost somewhere and it’s the feeling of loneliness that wraps itself around our lives for a while (sometimes for long).
Unlike the train journeys in which the time, place and most importantly the instinct of departure from other passengers is known with certainty, the same for the journey of life are very dissimilar. In life, the emotional ties between people don’t allow them to envision the parting phase of any relationship and therefore the unexpected goodbyes prove to be very excruciating and thus the feeling of being alone knocks on the door. At this point one often asks as to why life follows such a trend? Why does it always happen that those who provide life to our lives have to leave it for us to live alone? Well, the interrogations can’t be solved certainly but there does exist a hope of other stations which will bring new passengers into our lives who would fill it with all the beauty that it deserves and encourage us to live and enjoy it to fullest.