A
few days ago, I was talking with one of my childhood friends over the
telephone. We had spent our childhood together in one of the largest tea
estates in eastern Assam. While me and my family do not stay there any more, he
is now an employee of that tea estate. While I was talking with him, he shared
with me the present whereabouts of some of the boys I grew up playing cricket
with. I also asked him about a few other persons, who were once our neighbours.
At that moment, I realized how relationships change with time. There was a time
when our lives revolved around these people and now I do not even know where
and how these people are.
After
finishing the call, I started thinking about all the people that have been a
part of the journey of my life. I recalled the moments spent with people in
various walks of life. And, although I still have regular contact with many of
my friends, cousins, old neighbours, extended family members, I realized that
there are many persons with whom I have totally lost contact.
I
then remembered another incident. A few years back, while attending the
marriage of my aforementioned friend, a boy came up to me and asked whether I
recognized him or not. I looked at him but couldn’t recognize him. Only when he
told his name, I remembered that we used to play cricket together. I also
remembered that his brother too used to play with us and asked him about his
whereabouts. He said that he died of an illness a few years ago. I was shocked
to hear that. That ever-smiling boy, who used to hit the stumps with his
accurate throws, was dead! I had felt quite sad at that news.
In
today’s frantic pace of life, we are slowly drifting away from the people who
were once the very fulcrum of our lives. Our worlds are shrinking and getting
limited to our parents, spouses, children and a few other select persons. The
relationships are slowly turning fragile.
