Delight and Despair...

All this while I didn't feel like writing about it...
But life moves on I guess, so here it is...


PART I : Delight

The first day of every month has a certain freshness about it. And as for this month, I went 'Pujo' Shopping with my mother. It IS a BIG thing for us people in Bengal, atleast for most of us.
And buying clothes with cousins and friends may be fun but when your priority is quantity, you are better off being with parents. I'm quite far from being a 'shopaholic'... infact this is the only time of the year I feel like freshening up my wardrobe. But having lots of new clothes during the festival season is something I like.
So as planned, at around one in the afternoon we reached 'Shyambazar', and within another hour I found myself with a T-Shirt, a Casual Shirt, two pairs of trousers... the first one being Jeans and the other Chinos. We stopped midway for a 'Paapri Chaat' break. And after the interval it was time for Ma to get herself a sari... a pure Silk one. She had done the bulk of her shopping on a previous day. We rounded it off with a 'Panjabi' for the day of 'Ashtami' and a pair of Walking Shoes.
Being out with parents after a while can be a wonderful experience... and I wasn't going to forget it in a hurry! If only I knew the next day was going to be even more unforgettable...


PART II : Despair

When the first sound that infiltrates your subconscious mind is that of your mother trying to wake you up, you just know that its the beginning of another normal day... a day of college.
As usual... between the small periods of after-sleep (each one brought to an end by subsequent calls from Ma), occasionally I keep stealing a glance at the wall-clock... and only when I realize that I cannot stay in bed any longer... do I get up and start the routine procedures.
After having a small breakfast of sorts, I left home around 9:10 and at around 9:45 found myself at Salt Lake Tank No. 4, the bus-stop from where I take a bus to college everyday. I usually reach there a few minutes earlier, but I had gotten late that day.
So the first bus I manged to squeeze into was Bus No. DN-46. It was crowded as expected. And I barely managed to hold onto an overhead rod with my left hand while taking support from the ceiling with my right. At the very next stop a large number of people got down from the bus. And while doing so, many of them brushed against my side. I didn't realize anything odd then, but within a minute or two when I put my hand into my left-pocket I couldn't feel my cell-phone!
It was gone!
The sinking feeling that you get is just impossible to explain.
Things unfolded rapidly... first the realization... then the consequences... and finally the reaction... Another fellow passenger had suffered the same fate! So both of us approached a third person to call our numbers... in both cases it reported that the cell phone had been switched-off.
In college, friends were supportive (except one who found it funny for some 'overly-intellectual' reason only he knows of), they helped me get the SIM blocked. My department teachers were also helpful and gave me the permission to go out and lodge a FIR. And after going through two police stations I finally returned to college at around noon.
I called Ma from a telephone-booth outside, she was shocked to say the least, but didn't enquire too much... she knew I would explain everything when I got back home... and that I did.
Next day got my number restored and since then I've been using the replacement SIM from my previous phone. I don't feel like getting a new one... don't feel I deserve it.
It was a four-month old set... my Nokia 6303c, and despite the fact that I'm not a gadget-freak, I really loved it.
The features were really nice... it had everything... infact more than what I needed in a phone... and the part I liked about it the most was the the way if gave off a faint-bluish intermittent glow when there were unread messages. These are small things that get you attached to things... I will miss my cell phone... I really will.
I don't want to turn this into an Ode, so I'll bring the description to an end.


All the above events took place within a span of 24 hours...
Despite everything, I guess I did learn a few things...
Necessity makes you do things which you normally wouldn't even consider.
And yes... Life does change very quickly.
But the time-span required to adjust to these changes is not quite as small...