Message in a bottle

Arun @ 17

Dead end street of 1997

City of no hope

State of Anxiety

Pin Code – l05er


Dear Arun,

I hope you are doing well (needless formality knowing fully well that you are confused and suffocated). 


With the benefit of my sharp hindsight, I declare that you lacked foresight. You were also shortsighted, literally so in this case. 


You would be delighted to know you have done reasonably well for yourself in 2020. You have surpassed your low expectations. In the ensuing 23 years, your goal was to lead a normal, boring, and mundane life. Your decision landscape was driven by conformity rather than conviction. You would be pleased to know that you achieved the convenient bar you set of yourself!

1997 is the year you passed out of school. You almost passed out before you passed the exams. However, this was not a pass for the exciting journey that you were to embark upon. What should have essentially been an engaging journey of discovery and knowledge turned out to be a pothole ride to rote examinations. I must remind you that you viewed your results in a flat board in the dilapidated corner of the school building and not on the magnetic board of the internet's shiny lawns. You had to snail mail your relatives. Count your good fortune that your scores were neither broadcasted in the WhatsApp groups nor tweeted out. My apologies, count your PARENTS good fortunes that they did not have to suffer this ignominy.


You must know that many of your fears were unfounded. What appeared to be a nail-biting climax is now an inconsequential trivia in your memoir. What dominated the worry map was just a blip in the time zone. I wish you knew this then, what you know now. You would have been able to enjoy the ride much better. I know, I know how oxy" moronic" I sound here. Serendipity or not, you made good choices.


The final years of the millennium was a fascinating place to be in. Things were not in abundance as it is today, but it was not sub-optimal either. You valued your possession more than you seem to do today. Do you recall the unannounced knock in the door by a friend, a phone call from that memorable phone booth, or the handcrafted inland letter? Did you remember rejoicing over the simple pleasures life had to offer? But then you were itching to grow up. You had your blinders on then, so do you now. 


With my wisdom today I would have told you

Arun @ 40 – Thoda hain thode ki zaroorat hain, zindagi phir bhi wahan khoobsurat hai

But you disregarded it with disdain and kept chanting the second line

Arun @ 17 - jis din paisa hoga vo din kaisa hoga, us din pahiye ghumenge aur kismat ke lab chumenge, bolo aisa hoga


With all that is said and done, you did lay out the garden path for me. It is now my turn to thank you for being you during those heady days. But for you, I wouldn't have been here today and gone tomorrow!


Loyally and emphatically yours

Arun Ram

Hind street of 2020

City of possibilities

State of stability

Pincode – Cloud9

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