The City

He had seen many things in the city- slums, nightclubs, bookstores hidden in dilapidated buildings. He had friends there and his college as well. He knew quite a few people, handpicked from various places such as Facebook or his school and college and sometimes just by saying hello on the street.

He remembered the time when he went shopping at Gariahat for the first time, how the crowd had seemed immense and had frightened him. He remembered walks down College Street and the Esplanade area, looking for something unusual to add to his collection of knick knacks. He remembered meeting his sister in law at Cafe Coffee Day and how proud his brother had looked while making the introduction. He also remembered the bookstore a friend took him to and how there were books there on every surface. Memories filled the city, such as meeting his junior’s girlfriend and hitting it off with her, or the first time a senior had said hello to him in college.

He remembered his student’s father, whom he had introduced to Coldplay. He remembered the look in the man’s eyes when the song Fix You finished. He remembered getting on the wrong bus just to go somewhere else for a change or stepping out of a crowded metro train because he saw a friend on the platform.

The city never failed to surprise him. He knew the city and the city knew him. It was a bond forged in his infancy. As he grew, the city smiled down on him, beckoning him to explore. He remembered wandering its alleyways and shopping malls with people who had become his close friends. He remembered the phone call that brought back a friend he had known since class 4, and the surprise meeting with another one at Mani Square.

Recently his family had moved to Asansol. For three years he had taken a bus down the highway to meet them on weekends. He had lived, but without his parents it had seemed a half life- with one foot on the ground in the city and the other miles away in Asansol.

But, his parents were moving back to the city. Soon, he would reside in it with them. He had missed them. He need miss them no longer. The city was waiting for them. All would be as before. There was always hope in the city.

The Bilge Master