Departures, All Through Life

"Sometimes everything in life becomes an act of letting go.

But what hurts, is not taking out time to say goodbye."

Golden words, aren't they? Penned down by Yann Martel, brought to life by the indomitable Irrfan Khan on screen in the film 'Life of Pi'. But it is significant, words beautifully woven.

No. You haven't stumbled upon an ever-belated Life of Pi review. Only a contemplation about how these lines are important. That they happen to be part of Life of Pi is by no means a design of mine.

We always let go of various facets of our life. People, places, material belongings, dreams and desires. In the movie, Pi has to let go of his home, his love, then his parents and the animals that were his companions as he evaded death.

When we shift cities or places, we let go of our homes and the place we have called our own and end up in an alien territory. We let go of people, our friends. Sometimes, we are bound to let go of our dreams and our desires. Love, again, is something that we happen to let go of, for whatever reason, and whether we like it or not. We don't always wish to let go of these, but are a victim of circumstances. Occasionally though, we knowingly depart. But it hurts when it is abrupt, and we cannot do anything. Somewhat like how Richard Parker left Pi in the movie. Without gratitude, without acknowledgement, not looking back once. And Pi was left with a bitter taste in his mouth, after having struggled together in the rough seas for so long.

But life goes on, and whether or not we take a moment to say goodbye, we would have to move on at some point of time. That was also essentially what we understood from the movie which had deeper lessons to give, not just the incredible enough story of a young boy and a tiger. We find our own niche in the world, and we are always on a proverbial merry-go-round, of emotions, of surroundings, of occupations and of company. But there is one thing that we never let go of: ourselves.

We can't let go of ourselves, and so whatever be the outset, we blend. Amongst the departures, we survive.