Travelogue 8

Chandane Shimpit jashi….I always go humming to Anoushka’s bus stop. Sometimes really singing to myself loudly! Konala kay kaltay mhana and who knows me? Many a times I’ve been confused about her bus stop. You see, when she goes to school, its the bus stop on the one side of the street & on her way back it’s the one exactly across. I often check if I’m standing at the right bus stop. Sometimes with all the multi tasking, I have also often wondered ,”Did I just drop Anu to the bus stop or what?”... I stood in the cold, shivering..…. it was black n white all around. The Snow Queen was showering her blessings in abundance and the leafless trees stood lifeless. The air was damp and it was dark and gloomy. The cars sped by and I looked at the road….It was grey sprayed with tiny white chips…chandane shimpit jaashi.. May be I was feeling the same that day. I read a story once…. The moon was very hungry and asked his mother for some popcorn. She gave him a huge bowlful and just as he was munching them, the bowl slipped from his hands and all the popcorn was scattered in the sky. It is this that we attempt to count, look up in awe at, and romantisize. Mein tumhare liye tare tod ke laaoonga…. Thousands of beautiful sparkling solitaires that the flamboyant night often wears with her black satin robe…