Barrackpore Cantonment... the place where i grew up

I woke up today to the sounds of thunder grumbling in the clouds above, I opened my eyes to find that the sky was overcast and the weather was gloomy, I always had my romance with this kinda gloomy day and just when I wondered where all those good ol’ cloudy monsoon days had gone, mother nature decided to present me with ‘TODAY’.

I woke up, got myself a large mug of coffee and sat down by my window, gazing out of it, on a small pool of water, that had collected in front of my house, from the overnight rain, the reflection of the grey sky was evident on the undisturbed water surface, and looking at it, I let my mind wander off into a not so distant past..

 the road leading to our school

Only 4 years prior, I had enjoyed going to school in this weather, I remember we used to have our morning assembly in the long corridors of our school building, used to be quite a sight. I also remember how fresh the Barrackpore Cantonment area used to appear in a day like this, with all its green floral canopy..

We used to get ourselves drenched in the morning rain, whilst going to school, and then dried off under those large fans which we had had in our ancestral school building. There was something about the place..Something special, Something magical..

My thought was suddenly broken by a cycle rickshaw which passed over that pool, and I realized it was 8.30 in the morning, I finished my coffee and plugged the head phone in my ear, and while lying on my bed and staring at the ceiling above, my mind seemed to be at the place where I grew up, my mind, which unlike my physical self, wasn’t bound by the realms of the walls around me. It seemed to beckon me there, and after a while I realized there’s no place I can be rather than my good ol’ school at that moment, so I got dressed up, got my pod, and started my journey on a road which I had taken so many times..on a time, that seemed so so long ago..

ASB

As I travelled through those roads, goose bumps went all over my body, and my heart questioned..why do we have to grow up, why do all good times have to come to an end?

As I entered the cantonment area, I couldn’t contain my joy..It had been so long, so very long..Those green trees, those winding roads, fallen leaves, smell of the wet earth..

Barrackpore is the oldest cantonment in India..The buildings, the trees..they have been present for such a long time, our school building itself is from the British era, and their architecture is evident everywhere u see..

While cycling there my pod was playing LP, and the song was ‘burning in the skies’..I don’t know why but somehow the song was perfect for a dark, cold and gloomy day.


I was travelling through the winding road which runs parallel to a railway track, that through years of neglect and non-maintenance is now rusted and covered with weeds, still, few supply trains run on it, once in a blue moon, and if u happen to see one of them, u might as well be lucky to win a lotto..

As you travel along your eyes make out the trees and creepers up to a certain distance beyond which it’s really difficult to separate the trees. One can only make out the thick canopy entwined to create a wall containing many shades of green…resembling the various shades of life.

Many rusted warehouse rise from the behind the woody shrubbery, bearing testimony to the colonial past the place had shared. Built in the 1870’s u just wonder in amazement how they stood the test of time, I guess that’s a testament to the gritty British mentality.

The road carries on endlessly and I wonder only if the path of life was covered with such cool green shades all the way. Nature is selfless and this place bears testimony to it.

emptyness

And finally when I have reached my school building, I am surrounded by my loneliness, I can see the playground, I can see the cafeteria but where are my friends, where is the golden time that has passed away, I know it will never come back, it makes my eyes heavy as I try to check my emotions, in a distance I can see the CSD by with her son in her lap..I stare at her.. long after she has faded away in a distance .Birds can be heard chirping somewhere close, only to be broken off by the sound of a distant helicopter that hovers over the sky above..

I miss these sounds, somehow these sounds have got lost somewhere in the white noise and the blaring cacophony of life. Sitting there by the bench just outside the campus premises, I wonder, ‘why do I miss the place so much’, ‘why do I pain for it every day’, and my mind turns out blank. Maybe it’s because life was simpler those days, the world outside is a much more violent, ruthless one.. You don’t have a moment to wait, stare and appreciate the beautiful gift of life and probably that’s why we feel discontented no matter how happy we are, ‘coz the real happiness, lies within.

I sit there on that empty bench, as hours fade away, as a sense of contentment fills my heart. It’s drizzling again, and I look up at the sky. Raindrops fall on my face, indeed it feels divine, and as I sit there in the drizzle I realize that I don’t know what ever will happen to me in future, in my life, but certainly the times spent here ,those 14 years ,will be ‘the most cherished memories of my life’.

And for all you folks, who haven’t been to the cantonment area of Barrackpore, please do come and visit at least once, it will certainly help you rejuvenate your mind.

PS: a sincere apology to all my readers for not being regular in the last month and a half, been pretty busy with sems, but I promise to be regular from now onwards.

PSS:  a special thanks to LP and Coldplay for giving me company on such a lovely day with their lovely lyrics.