I Remember When...

Being a city born girl, there was a very unique thing about the suburban area of my grandparents' house that has fascinated me ever since i was little. But everything SEEMS so changed now. No, everything HAS changed now.

My grandparents live in a town named Jalpaiguri. As a kid, we used to visit them during every vacation, though now the frequency has decreased. Our visit meant, firstly, endless fun with my cousins ( my maternal uncle's sons who used to live together with them) and secondly, getting to experience something that very few city born people get a chance to experience.

Every other evening, my uncle used to take me out for a ride on his scooter. The road connecting their house to the main road would be pretty dark, so I could take a breathtaking view of what was above.

Clutching my uncle's shirt with my little fingers, the cool breeze would kiss my face and my head would be raised high and my widened eyes fixed on the sky, as thousands, rather millions of stars shone against a never ending dark sky, on those cloudless nights. Some tiny, while some comparatively quite big, stretching from one end of the sky to another. It was a scene best seen than explained. Each of those evenings I would be awfully awestruck. I would never get tired of counting those endless stars (though I never finished!!). Everything around me would come to a standstill as I would savour the moment between me and those stars. Although they are mere balls of burning gases, they have always filled me with immense joy and satisfaction of a different kind. I could spend hours watching them. They were no less than friends with me.

But you know what has happened now? They are no more. What then seemed like an eternal galaxy, has now been reduced to just a handful of them, barely five to eight, that takes not more than a couple of seconds to finish counting, as they shine dimly. One of the strongest reasons for which I would always look forward to visiting that place is no more, i don't know why. Maybe because of the immense air pollution we humans are causing due to which all sorts of poisonous gases, dirt and god knows what no longer make the stars visible.

So, an experience which was exclusive to my grandparents' town, exists no more. That excitement no longer prevails. But even today, when I think of it, my heart fills with the feeling I had then. A feeling so pure and alive that it'll never diminish. I remember when I was a kid, I was friends with the stars.

"Though my soul may set in darkness, it will rise in perfect light, I have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night." ~ SARAH WILLIAMS.