One Year Ago: The Highway man

Yesterday was a day that would be hard to forget for sometime from now. What a day it was? Random happenings in the lives of some crazy souls in town!

Scene I

To start with, a friend celebrated her birthday one day in advance, reason being the leaving of another dear friend later in the night and hence to make sure that she doesn’t misses out on the fun and all on the D-day. After all, she might not be back amongst us again. Like, people always leave. And, like life is a journey and how we have different roads to take.

I’ve not often written of friends and dear ones for some personal reasons and, I’ve been judicious in my ramblings while mentioning anything about anyone or anything in particular. Not that we have been involved in some underground activities.

However, I just thought it won’t actually hurt much if I write a few lines about certain friends and, perhaps they deserve an honorable mention here, if not much.

As I just mentioned at the start, a friend of mine left the city and actually may not come back again. It was hard to say bye to someone who has been around since the last one year and it specially hurts when it has to be someone who has been one of the very close friends that I have in this place. And, the fact that it could very well be the last good bye makes the heart heavier like all other previous ‘good-byes” in life. Farewell my dear friend. Here is wishing you all the very best in life.

Scene II

I went partying with these few friends; downed a few mugs of beers. And, then we went to see off our friend immediately thereafter. It was already 12 A.M.

Scene III

12:30 A.M. Now it was too late to return back to camp. A little high already, a wild idea just did strike at this odd hour of the night. The hills that are just a couple of hours drive away from the city; and the sunrise view that it was popular for during dawn, and the night drive along the highway…good idea, we all concurred. And, then there we were on a cab on our way to the hills.

Scene IV

The cops stop us in the middle of the highway. Upon questioning our driver, they wanted to speak to one of us in the car. I get down, cross the road and reach the police van on patrol. I see two police officers.

“Yes, sir?” I shout as I peep through the side window pane.
‘Where are you up to in this time of the night?’, one of them inquired.
‘We are on our way to the hills’, I respond.
‘Why?’
‘To watch the sunrise’, I reason.
‘Oh I see’.
‘Sunrise, huh!’, one of the cops says in disdain.
‘Yah, the beautiful sunrise!’ I reply back not the one to take things so easily especially when I am a little high on beer.

One of the police man sought to know who the girls in the car were. “My sisters”, I told him, as a matter of factly, trying to sound convincing and brief.

“You can’t go where you are going”, the other police man reminds me.

All along I was losing my temper as I took every bit of the shits of these jobless marons on the highway.

“Excuse me sir! We have every right to move anywhere we want to as long as we are not doing anything stupid on the highway’.
“Aren’t you drunk?’ he jibed.
“Yes, I am. And, I have every right to get drunk”, I shout back at him.
“Where are you from”…
“We are from a law school in the city", I announce with all brevity.

End of story. Cops leave us alone. In much peace.

Scene V

Back inside the car, my "sisters" looked visibly tensed and taken aback by the  sudden turn of events.

"Get me another beer", I said, smiling as we sped off with a one-finger salute at the police van on the other side of the highway, loud music blaring out from inside the car.

Here I Go Again

Let me start this maiden post with a short story. As it often happens (some would say, always) it is love that has taught me to write, to sing, to rhyme and to drink. Hence my acknowledgement to where it is due before I move ahead.

I started writing for my first blog three years ago. That’s when I first fell in love. Love found. Love lost. Love found again. I wrote about stuff like that. I wrote “All About You” then. Love stories in bits and pieces.

As I grew up a little I tried my hand on poetry. The verses didn’t rhyme most of the time. But, it has been like a passion I kept as and when I had the time to lose myself in poetic thoughts. I penned that piece which I called ‘Night of the Flower-girl”.

My liking of music started quite late. Again it was love. I started to appreciate songs and understand the meanings of their lines as they came automatically when I was so much in love. And, the songs came equally handy when I was so lost in love. Songs for all seasons and I picked up the ones best suited for the occasions.

I mixed water with beer the first time I tasted it. It tasted strong enough for a teetotaler like me. Then two years after that infamous rendezvous with diluted beer, love came to my rescue. The stronger the better I could forget the pangs. And, it tasted much better and tastier.

I thought I write better when I drank. The words came by without much of an effort. And, all the things that love taught me seems to have complemented when I sang “Nothing is Lost” on a melancholic starry night which I still remember to have been my sweetest hangover ever.

That is how it all started for me. Today, I am back to where I was and used to be. I ceased to understand love the way I did then. I can feel it in its own right. I no more drink. But I continue to write. I am no more the alcoholic poet who abused words in the manner I did.