nos-tal-gia (n) - A sentimental yearning for the happiness of a former place or time
Just the other day, a very close friend of mine was in her home town and she was reliving the days of her school and college, experiencing it in all it's flavour. I couldn't help but reminisce about my own life and the nostalgia that swept through me was simply undescribable.
Flowing out of the deepest crevices
it engulfs
it is euphoric
it is poignant
it feels like a conundrum
evasive at once , obvious otherwise
It is your identity
you want to hang on desperately
it is just a memory
fleeting and long gone
it is a play of neurons and hormones
oh I don't care
it is a source of immense happiness
it is something I will want to come back to
it is something I want to recreate
Having said that, this post is all about my memories of the most beautiful city of Mangalore. Nestled between the western ghats and the Indian Ocean, it is a true tropical paradise.
Every thing I remember about this place makes me feel alive. The ocean and the virgin beaches were my playground. Chasing the crabs that would zig zag their way into their sand homes and collecting shells of all hues and shapes was a pastime. In the sveltering summer, it was heaven to just gulp down a glass of cold milk and slurp on ice creams that were so darn cheap and flavourful ! It makes me cry when I think that I had so many friends with whom I could sit on a mango tree and chat away to glory. And then when it would pour, so much that it never stopped! For days there would be no sun and we would walk up to school in soggy shoes! I would be disgusted by the sheer numbers of centipedes, millipedes and snails that would crawl out and at the same time enamoured and enchanted by the lovely slithering snakes and the chirping birds. There would be parrots, mynahs, woodpeckers and robins. Ofcourse ther would be crows and sparrows too. We, my 45 year old neighbour and me had a special monsoon ritual. Every single year, we would rush out of our homes and get drenched in the first rains of that season. Just thinking about that makes me giggle. I also remember I collected feathers! I think I had a hundred of them in different colours and they would be traded like stocks! Travelling in city buses that never drove at less than 50km/hr speeds and played the latest bollywood numbers was so much fun and sometimes so annoying also, when it would get so crowded that I couldn't feel my own toes. The winding and narrow lanes, the tiled roof houses, the paddy fields, the bridge on the river, the friendly faces, the simple life, I'm happy that I had it.
I think deep down it is this feeling that stems patriotism. There is no doubt that the emotional connect with your place of birth or where you have mostly grown up is strong, really strong. But it is also important to remember it is the same for everyone. Personally, I am not patriotic at all, I truly believe I am a global citizen and what I mean is that every person on this planet belongs to the human race and we have this beautiful planet for ourselves! It is a philosophy and not difficult to comprehend, it is just a simple thought.
P.S - I felt as nostalgic as I ever could when I recently visited Trivandrum. I have had no connection to this place up until I got married. But so many things here are just like in Mangalore and you know what, I think it'll be pretty much the same if I visit any tropical place or further more any place by the sea ! So that covers most of the world, and the world is my home!
Give it a thought!
Just the other day, a very close friend of mine was in her home town and she was reliving the days of her school and college, experiencing it in all it's flavour. I couldn't help but reminisce about my own life and the nostalgia that swept through me was simply undescribable.
Flowing out of the deepest crevices
it engulfs
it is euphoric
it is poignant
it feels like a conundrum
evasive at once , obvious otherwise
It is your identity
you want to hang on desperately
it is just a memory
fleeting and long gone
it is a play of neurons and hormones
oh I don't care
it is a source of immense happiness
it is something I will want to come back to
it is something I want to recreate
Having said that, this post is all about my memories of the most beautiful city of Mangalore. Nestled between the western ghats and the Indian Ocean, it is a true tropical paradise.
Every thing I remember about this place makes me feel alive. The ocean and the virgin beaches were my playground. Chasing the crabs that would zig zag their way into their sand homes and collecting shells of all hues and shapes was a pastime. In the sveltering summer, it was heaven to just gulp down a glass of cold milk and slurp on ice creams that were so darn cheap and flavourful ! It makes me cry when I think that I had so many friends with whom I could sit on a mango tree and chat away to glory. And then when it would pour, so much that it never stopped! For days there would be no sun and we would walk up to school in soggy shoes! I would be disgusted by the sheer numbers of centipedes, millipedes and snails that would crawl out and at the same time enamoured and enchanted by the lovely slithering snakes and the chirping birds. There would be parrots, mynahs, woodpeckers and robins. Ofcourse ther would be crows and sparrows too. We, my 45 year old neighbour and me had a special monsoon ritual. Every single year, we would rush out of our homes and get drenched in the first rains of that season. Just thinking about that makes me giggle. I also remember I collected feathers! I think I had a hundred of them in different colours and they would be traded like stocks! Travelling in city buses that never drove at less than 50km/hr speeds and played the latest bollywood numbers was so much fun and sometimes so annoying also, when it would get so crowded that I couldn't feel my own toes. The winding and narrow lanes, the tiled roof houses, the paddy fields, the bridge on the river, the friendly faces, the simple life, I'm happy that I had it.
I think deep down it is this feeling that stems patriotism. There is no doubt that the emotional connect with your place of birth or where you have mostly grown up is strong, really strong. But it is also important to remember it is the same for everyone. Personally, I am not patriotic at all, I truly believe I am a global citizen and what I mean is that every person on this planet belongs to the human race and we have this beautiful planet for ourselves! It is a philosophy and not difficult to comprehend, it is just a simple thought.
P.S - I felt as nostalgic as I ever could when I recently visited Trivandrum. I have had no connection to this place up until I got married. But so many things here are just like in Mangalore and you know what, I think it'll be pretty much the same if I visit any tropical place or further more any place by the sea ! So that covers most of the world, and the world is my home!
Give it a thought!
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