Goodbyes

Goodbyes are never easy especially to very very close friends. Since it was decided, all the friends have been planning everything keeping his farewell in mind. And now that he is actually gone, the void has emerged - not only in the seats around dinner table but in our thoughts. The feeling has not even sunk in yet and next few days will evoke the small memories more prominently as the dust of the excitement will settle down.

I remember someone once saying: NRIs kahin ke bhi nahi rehte, na des ke na baahar ke. And to think it right at this moment, its cruelly apt. Having spent some very important years of one's life outside the home and away from family, this place is not a strange-land anymore. To have adapted to and breathed in this air, the aroma of the culture here has blended in our perspective. But at the same time, I remember how I, U and N were once standing at 8th floor in my office building, watching the NY downtown from the cafeteria. N had just come back from his home in Brazil and was talking to us about it. He said, "I would love to go back." Then he stared at the skyline and said, "This is beautiful and I have enjoyed my 2 years here, but this is not home". I knew what he meant. I will never forget it because that statement resonated with my inner thoughts. We smiled and went back to our desks. He is in Chicago and I am here. And I love this place. And, whenever I go back, some part of me would stay behind. Its a choice that one has to make at some point in his life. Its a choice that S made and I am happy for him. All I know is that at this very moment, we all miss him for I have no relatives here but friends. To lose one is a very dear loss. However, its not entirely a loss, I will see him very soon and till then, let me miss him.


img courtesy: flickr