Some things are so beautiful.
A sunset.
A child smiling.
A breeze on a sunny afternoon.
Money in your jeans pocket when you have forgotten.
A long drive on the highway when you need to unwind.
A surprise that you always wanted.
Food cooked by mum.
A best friend’s hug.
A midnight walk.
Midnight walks. Yeah, I love those.
Not alone obviously. Unless I’m chatting on the phone or listening to music. But it’s the best with friends, and especially at times when you don’t say much, just walk together, relishing the peace and silence. Feeling the life in everything alive and inanimate, when your surroundings are fast asleep.
I remember my midnight saunters at Optimos. This was in 2004, while I was still an undergrad studying Psychology at Fergi. Optimos was my first fulltime job, and my office was initially located at Talawade, which is beyond Nigdi / Pimpri. The Kanbay campus where our building was situated had a huge stretch of land where we stretched our legs when we wanted to take a break.
This was usually around 12 or 2 am, as I was working 8 pm to 4 am. And it was as scary as it was exciting and relaxing. A mouse crossing our path and making us jump, an unknown man in the distance, the sound of crickets and lizards, some construction work going on nearby, a desolate building a few meters away… And the stories we made up and shared…
Miss those times… Miss those people... Urmeet’s endless anthology of gossip and tales, teasing and laughing with Gurpreet, coercing Sumant to give his very first musical recital only after I’d promised I’d never tell anybody (which I obviously did not keep)… Those were fun times. Miss you guys.
Now when I think of it, so much bonding happened over that half hour. The darkness shed light over our troubled minds and gave us solutions that we couldn’t come up with at our workstations. The soft breeze refreshed us and made us thank the heavens above for a good job and a good life. Midnight walks rock.
The wonderful effects of our stroll did not end at Talwade. We took this activity with us to City Mall where we moved in 2005. Though the office was close to the University, we could not loiter there, so we walked in the inner lanes and neighborhoods of Bhosale Nagar.
But that was a long time ago. Other walks that still come to my mind as if they were yesterday are the ones in Viman Nagar, Tukaram Nagar (I hope I’ve got that right), Koregaon Park and my society. And of course Mumbai, Pondicherry, Goa, and Mahabaleshwar. I really fancy walks, and the splendor of the night only makes it that much grander.
If I could, I would go for a walk at midnight every day. Maybe even for a swim. Unfortunately, there is no safe walking zone or pool in my vicinity. And even if there was, I believe there would be quite a crowd indulging in the same recreation. How I wish I had my personal ground complete with an Olympic size pool and a walking track surrounded by flowering trees. Sigh… What else could I wish for… I needn’t buy a house in Magarpatta for that now, do I?!! Not something I could afford for sure!
Bas Itna Sa Khwab Hai…
For now
:-)
Dream on!
Princess
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