Some post cards, a diary (the last one)
Some black and white photographs
Some blank greeting cards that waited to be sent
Old books with papers turning into hues of brown, smelling so good
Some books 'spoilt' by my scribbles and drawings, when I was a kid
Some letters from relatives carefully preserved
Some scribbles on the diary methodically documenting the monthly expenses
Or recording the details of things done, places visited or visitors at home
Or visits to physicians, or details of personal savings
On some pages where the handwriting is barely legible
As if in a hurry to pen down a whole lot of things
Some newspaper cuttings with cricket match schedules
Some newspaper cuttings with interesting news and pictures
Like the one with a picture of the crow trying to drink water from a tap
That appeared in The Deccan Herald on 23rd May 2005
Somewhere in between all these things, time stands still
As I recollect the days when everything was in 'hard copy'
When everything had a physical existence, unlike today's virtual
When post cards, inland letters and greeting cards
Had to be 'posted' and not 'mailed' online
When collecting postage stamps was a popular hobby
When diaries were handwritten and remained truly personal
When everything had a meaning beyond its present form
When things were preserved, cared for and valued
Surprising isn't it! This was not too far away
Since it is still fresh in my memory
The speed of change ...wasn't it too quick
So quick that it sucks the recent past like quicksand!
These are some thoughts as I lay my hands on few things in the cupboard, left behind by my father. Though, not a single day passes without remembering him, it's on 22nd February 2006 that his condition worsened and he survived till 11th March 2006.
Some black and white photographs
Some blank greeting cards that waited to be sent
Old books with papers turning into hues of brown, smelling so good
Some books 'spoilt' by my scribbles and drawings, when I was a kid
Some letters from relatives carefully preserved
Some scribbles on the diary methodically documenting the monthly expenses
Or recording the details of things done, places visited or visitors at home
Or visits to physicians, or details of personal savings
On some pages where the handwriting is barely legible
As if in a hurry to pen down a whole lot of things
Some newspaper cuttings with cricket match schedules
Some newspaper cuttings with interesting news and pictures
Like the one with a picture of the crow trying to drink water from a tap
That appeared in The Deccan Herald on 23rd May 2005
Somewhere in between all these things, time stands still
As I recollect the days when everything was in 'hard copy'
When everything had a physical existence, unlike today's virtual
When post cards, inland letters and greeting cards
Had to be 'posted' and not 'mailed' online
When collecting postage stamps was a popular hobby
When diaries were handwritten and remained truly personal
When everything had a meaning beyond its present form
When things were preserved, cared for and valued
Surprising isn't it! This was not too far away
Since it is still fresh in my memory
The speed of change ...wasn't it too quick
So quick that it sucks the recent past like quicksand!
These are some thoughts as I lay my hands on few things in the cupboard, left behind by my father. Though, not a single day passes without remembering him, it's on 22nd February 2006 that his condition worsened and he survived till 11th March 2006.
