I have been harboring
this thought for quite a long in my mind. I initially thought it was weird to
pen it down. But here I am! I guess, if I haven’t been able to ignore it, there
must be something special which needs to be mentioned.
Sometimes when stress
seems to be taking its toll, I prefer to relegate to the beautiful ambience of
an ageless park nearby. Its hard to find such an open green paradise in a place
like Delhi. Irrespective of the time of the day, the weather and the season, it
always exudes an energy that is characteristically, its very own. There are
flowers and trees and birds and squirrels and children and young and adults,
all of them busy with their own things.
But there is something
else too, which mesmerizes me. I have always noticed a lot of oldies in the park,
be it morning or evening. Come 5o’clock, and you see them rushing to the park
as if they have been waiting the whole day for the clock to tick 5. I see them sitting
there in ‘gangs’, chatting, giggling and having a good time in each other’s
company..at their own pace and in their own way. What I understand out of it is
that in life, there is always something to look up to. That zeal to live never
fades whether you are young enough to sprint or old enough to be at the mercy
of the walking stick. In fact there are no destinations, only journeys to be
taken.
The cutest of it all is
to see an old couple taking a stroll hand in hand. I have tried a countless times
but I must confess, I have never been able to take my eyes off them. Its such an
incredible thing to watch. In a relationship like marriage, the definition of
love changes with time as a couple progresses through various milestones. But I
think that the essence of togetherness, respect and care is at its zenith when
one is old and lucky enough to be with one’s partner. This is one time when a
lot of things don’t matter, things that are otherwise immaterial but consume a
lot of our useful time in the youth. I remember the case of one of my friends’
sister’s marriage. It was awful to see the prospective grooms being so
particular about the caste, color, looks, even hair. Isn’t it weird? Would any
of these ensure one a happy and a fulfilling life? Would any of these add or
subtract to the beauty of taking a stroll in the park with your partner when
you are 80years old!
What matters in the end
is how you accommodate the other and how you get assimilated yourself. Rest is
taken care of. This is the lesson of life that the park has whispered to me and
I am sure, it would stay with me forever..
