Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Flowers


Few months ago, I went to one of my friend's house. An old buddy from the school, with whom I had shared countless events, days and nights. It was evening time and we were to go to some place. Waiting in around his garden I saw a few flowers. Coloured, soft skinned, wallowing with the mild breeze that was flowing, they really caught my attention. When he came out, ready to rush in to the newly opened multiplex in our town I asked, Man, when was the last time we saw some flowers around? I mean, looked at them and felt something?
The grass was greener.

I remember during the summer-breaks of our School days, we used to go to a nearby park in the mornings and kick start our days with sports and jogging. In the carved out lanes within the park, there were hundreds of flowers. The park even had a mini nursery inside. One of our favourites used to be something called a Dog Flower. It had a dog shaped mouth on its top and upon pushing it with the fingers around its bud it used to emulate a dog's barking action. My friends and I used to carefully tip toe our way to its lanes and pluck some. Almost always, being caught by a distant gardener and fleeing away in the process. I don't know what exact feelings we had at that time but I am sure it was a mix of curiosity, fun and deprivation. The last one because we too had gardens at home but there were only roses and marigolds. 
Now almost fifteen years have passed and not just us but our entire nation has changed. There has been development all around and development comes at a cost. Costs that are not just physical but psychological too. Standing in his garden, that evening I was actually paying the price for seeing them while they gave me a chance to relive the days we use to play with them.

No comments: