When was the last time you set your feet somewhere and you are literally blown back by this strong wind of memories, pictures,that-happened-theres and you feel like just closing your eyes and wish someone would give you a free trip to the past !
And that is where I found myself a day ago, when I set my feet at SM Street ( ‘mittayi theruvu’). The Sweet Meat street. The shopping hub of Kozhikode city. The place where you are sure you’ll FIND something , even if it’s the most impossible thing to find in the rest of the world.
I wouldn’t claim to be the biggest fan of SM street during my graduation years. I used to inevitably return with my special ‘Kozhikkodan’ headaches everytime I spent more than an hour there. A headache I almost yearn for now. About the headache. As much as I blame it on the crowd or the sun, I know from within ( and always knew it ), that this headache was mostly my shopping-o-phobia playing with my weaker nerve. Those inevitable trips for the onam-saree-jewellery stitching and shopping. The farewell saree shopping.The last minute run for the Farewell-costumes and props. The shopping-for –the sake-of shopping trips. The birthday shopping for my best friend’s boy friend ( Trust me . I’ve never hated the stuff guys wear more).The lens shopping ( after the eye-infection and visit to Vasan’s eye care). The Ragam dance-group shopping( I’LL NEVER forgive you dance devils for making me do that picking-up-from-the-tailor’s job).The one-hour-before-the-movie shopping. Trust me. There was always a reason to visit SM Street.
As I stood there, in the midst of the bustling crowd, I was thankful for those memories. There was a time when I honestly thought none of it would come to an end. That May 2009 would never happen. And yet it happened. May 2009 did come. The batch of 2005-2009 did graduate. The proud graduates did make their way into life outside NITC. Yet , there is that invisible thread that holds us together still doing its job of holding us together. The thread which makes sure that whenever an NITCian meets another NITCian , there is never an awkward pause or a what-do-i-say-next dilemma.
Somethings should be just left unsaid. And the rest that was to follow shall remain that way. Unsaid:)
:)) paro here...
ReplyDeleteSM street and kozhikode has a special meaning to me, thanks to you guys of 05-09 batch...
and the thing abt what happens wen an NITCian meets another today - it still feels the same,its as if time never passed, the thread of talks or chalus or anything at all seems to have never left us! And you have no idea how grateful I am for that feeling!!!