It was a busy day. Finishing my last few activities at work, I reached home. I was excited to travel to Hyderabad for my bestie’s wedding. I completed my left over tasks at home and packed my things. All set for the next day’s travel, I retired to bed at 11 pm. Waking up as early as 4 am, I got ready and started to the airport. The early morning sight in Bangalore kind of refreshed me and disturbed me. Not paying too much attention, I carried on. Hyderabad – my first time alone in this hurry burry city.
The drive from the airport into the city appeared like a country side drive for a while. The green trees, cattle moving by the streets, colorful banners and posters added vibrancy to the busy city. After a while, the vibrant country side was no longer to be seen but the high tech buildings! The glass doors illuminated by the bright sunlight seemed to welcome me warmly with a bright smile!
Moving around the city and meeting my dear friends, I checked in to my hotel. I received some calls from my ex-colleagues and was eager to meet them. Getting ready, I left the hotel to the wedding party.
It was awesome to see my bestie as a gorgeous bride. Chatting with a few of my ex-colleagues reminded me of the good old days with the best teams I had worked with. Funny sprint cycles, scrum meetings, QA checks, GA builds, releases, team meetings, ratings and managers – much more to discuss. We felt like traveling through time. Spending good time with my friends, I waved goodbye and retired to my hotel.
“It must be 3:30 am; Why didn’t the alarm ring?” my mind voice shook and woke me up. I turned on my phone to see it was 3:28 am and turned off the alarm before it could sound! Well, that’s typically me all these years 😉 Let me get ready now! As I got ready and wondered when the cab driver would call me, I received a call. Dropping the keys to the checkout box, I boarded the cab and turned on my playlist.
The city seemed to be calmer. Except for the zoom zoom sound of the cabs probably moving to the airport, I heard no other sounds. The pitch darkness of the city was broken by the high beams of the vehicles now and then. The shadowed trees seemed to appear as giants. The glass windows and doors of the tall buildings seemed to sing a melancholy of the lost love. The cattle were no longer seen but the dogs were trying hard to chase the vehicles aggressively. The colors of the banners were lost in the darkness and failed to impress.
What seemed to be pleasant the previous day seemed to appear as monsters now! As the cab zoomed, the trees seemed to move farther. Cars competed with each other and so did the tall buildings! The chase of monsters in darkness! It reminded me of the lines of William Wordsworth “There hung a darkness; call it solitude or blank desertion!” in his writings from “The Prelude” where mother nature is first lovely to describe but later scares him!
“What was so comfortable and uncomfortable the previous day in Bangalore? It was almost the same time that I started!” I questioned myself. “Well, it was this calmness and darkness maybe!” I answered myself! “Ma’am, Rs. 550 please!” the cab driver broke the silence. I handed over the money and said “Thank you!” I proceeded to the security checks and found myself a seat in front of the boarding gate.
“Good morning!” the air hostess greeted me with a warm smile. With a smile and wish in return, I found my seat. The disturbing sight of the early morning was wandering in my head still. “Cabin crew, ready for take-off” the announcement said. The wings flapped faster and faster and reached heights. I was calmly observing the sky. “What a calmness in the dark!” I exclaimed. The sky seemed to be upset and looked pale. It looked dull as if it had shed tears the whole night sleeplessly.
“How could the same bright sky that appeared glossy and vibrant appear so dull and fainted? Maybe, it’s the lady who shed tears of her lost love whole night? Maybe, it’s the mother who lost her baby in her womb? Maybe, it’s the woman who was constantly taunted at work? Maybe, it’s the woman who finally gave up all her strength and cried out alone without getting noticed?” my mind provided with number of examples. Yes, it’s nothing different to people who try to cover their emotions and appear bright. Within every person lies a darker shade which the world fails to notice because it’s sleeping in the dark!
As these examples were provoking my thoughts, I noticed a small faint light that was like a dot on the sky. The light was extremely faint but since the sky was darker, even the faint light appeared to be some hope. Slowly, the light was trying hard to penetrate through the pitch darkness. It seemed to fight with the black monster. The dot tried to expand but appeared funny at first. How could a tiny dot invade the wide sky? I carefully watched. Slowly, the dot was growing and spreading a pale blue color over the black monster layer by layer. The monster didn’t seem to agree at once. The dot seemed to persuade the monster little by little. What seemed to be a faint light in the beginning seemed to grow into a tiny ball of pale orange. The light blue was becoming a bit brighter. The sky seemed to get more comfortable with its new friend, the orange ball. They spent some time talking to each other and now the orange ball was spreading its essence on the light blue. The sky seemed to be convinced now and she seemed happier becoming pink.
They seemed to blend well and the pale orange ball now turned bright yellow. He spread his happiness all across his friend, the crying sky which glittered in different shades of blue, pink, orange and yellow! Very soon I could see the bright yellow ball turning golden and shining up above the horizon lighting up the whole sky. The sky shone with him! They seemed to smile at each other.
“Wow! That was an amazing one! The depressed sky seemed brighter under the influence of a tiny dot that grew! Isn’t it the same as in our lives? Many a times we are depressed and upset over something. A small dot of positivity tries to penetrate our sadness. If we carefully observe this little dot and listen to it, definitely the black monster can be kicked off and we could see the bright colors in our lives! It could be in the form of a best friend who knows you thick and thin trying to influence you and make you brighter; It could be your family who is close to your heart trying to provide a mental support to you; It could also be your inner conscience trying to invade the darkness of your soul to transform it to the vibrant shades as you like! We fail to notice the faint little dot trying to be your companion. It is when we listen and allow the little positivity to penetrate our dark thoughts, that we experience true happiness and come out from our void! As my friend once said, this is truly Emptying your emptiness!”
“Vandhu vandhu pogudhamma ennamellam vannamamma!” sang my playlist which meant “Thoughts are wandering in my mind colorfully!” and it was the right lyrics at the right moment!
“Cabin crew, ready for landing” the announcement stated. Taking my bag, I got down the airplane. I drove out of the airport to hear the quirky sounds of the birds. The high tech glossy buildings seemed to rise high and shine; the trees seemed to wave goodbye to me shaking their branches; the green fields danced to the tunes of the wind. I looked up above to see my dear friend brightly shining and smiling, wandering with his friend – the bright sky. I smiled at him. He lit her life; so did my thoughts – the day dawned!
