Pink City Bleeds

It hurts,
definitely even if we don’t express it or we try to be unconcerned. Anything
that has been a part of our life, be it a person, a home, a pet or a city
suffers, it hurts. We may not cry, not sigh but we feel a pang in our heart, it
should not have happened. Best years of my life were spend in and around that
city. Those were wonderful years, college days. Last exam be it mid term or
final was always scheduled early in the morning, so that we may have time to
roam around in the city. It took us 2 hours to reach Jaipur and buses were
jam-packed, University manages special bus service for students. Everyone
wanted to get in to the first bus leaving, we didn’t mind even if we had to sit
on luggage or sometimes on the roof of the bus. For home, very deliberately
buses or trains were selected that started late in the night. We were
butterflies flocking around taking pleasure in simple things of life. A
roadside ice ream, mirchi bada (my friends were so fond of it, though I never
tasted it). No one was ever in a hurry to reach home, there’s something in this
city and its people that I don’t feel as an outsider. Deewali holidays were
O.K., during summers I felt hostel-sick; there must be some umbilical
connection between me and this city. It seems like my own place. Bapu bazaar is
a shopper’s heaven. Bargain as much as you can one just needs enough of time.
At night the scene is straight out of some dream place. Colors and lights all
over, I enjoyed walk in the market at night. Rajasthan itself is a colorful
state. People prefer dark vibrant shades, full of life. Food is simply superb,
one can never have enough. Desert doesn’t seem to suck people out of their
vitality. You don’t love a place because it’s beautiful, but because it shares
best memories of life. Some bonds are eternal, there’s no logic or rational
behind feelings, inexplicable, simple to understand yet difficult to define. I
had to pack my baggage to continue my education, but I never really left that
place, it stays in my heart and a part of mine was left there. And then, these
bomb blasts, suddenly unimaginable happens. I wanted to be there this weekend
only. I have been so screwed up off late that could not find time to visit
anywhere, the moment I’ll finish it, will rush there.