of winter nights and city lights...

this winter is all about winding bus rides and random walks across the city.
walking aimlessly about the city through unknown lanes and bylanes past quaint shops,roadside joints,small eateries can be very engrossing.
the last few days have seen me travelling through the same old alleys,browsing through the same old books/magazines/hoardings/posters/records.Yet,everytime the experience has left me richer than before.
I had been getting nagging thoughts about school,lately.so when i finally dropped in at elgin road on friday afternoon,my premonitions got answered.the building still stands tall but things around it have changed drastically and how!the pavements look despicable what with the peddlers having set up small eateries,std booths,paan shops on either side.there was something oddly nostalgic about the red uniformed little girls storming out of the gates,though!
the normal din hovered casually along the Academy premises.but what caught my eye was a little kid sitting on his haunches at the farthest corner smiling sheepishly at me with his grimy and soiled face.And when i tried approaching him,he jumped up and ran away clumsily,all the time looking at me through the corner of his eye.
the cathedral(St.Paul's)wore a festive look,already.the manger and the magis were mostly in place.a little away,a makeshift stage had been erected and kids pranced merrily to a rather warped version of jingle bells with added gusto.contrarily,the inside rendered a calming,benign ambience with an old lady practising hymns on the piano.the music flowed freely and effortlessly through her fingers and for a while it seemed as if it had imbued life into the mute walls and pillars.
outside,the air had grown thick and cold as it hung heavily all around.
the walk along parkstreet mostly comprised occasional halts before bookstores,galleries,hoardings while hundreds of nameless,faceless individuals scurried alongside as if tied by an invisible string of camaraderie.and two tiny travellers infront of me clung onto their father's shoulders devouring the fanfare,lights and glitz with unabashed hunger.
leaving the flashyness and psychedelia behind,i plunged into an otherwise uneventful corner.a few minutes' brisk walking and i had been transported into a different world altogether.the night air reeked of old motheaten books and timeless records.gaily festooned quaint little shops with equally eager pairs of eyes peering at me confirmed i had reached free school street.remininscences of a kashmiri shawlwallah with big,doleful eyes selling muslin shawls with so much vigour and enthusiasm although he knew i couldnt buy any,still keeps harking back.and then there were muslim boys,clad in lungi and surma rimmed eyes who sold christmas goodies in stalls.cheap incongruous hindi music flowed out of obscure bars and sometimes,unsteady men flanked by equally unsteady,flamboyant women in gawdy jewellery would come out of them,all wobbly from intoxication,cursing abuses and swearing at humanity in general...

the past few days has been pretty much full of this and much more.there were so many faces smiled at.so many shoulders brushed past,so many faces gaped at...
and every moment gifted me with an overwhelming sense of belonging,of being held together as one whole and each time it reminded me of my miniscule yet integral existence in this throbbing megapolis.