A Hidden Note.

These days, I have been indulging myself a lot in my room cleaning. With a month’s summer break, my folks out of city and with me having to stay at home (since I am yet to receive the visa docs and I do not want the postman to find a locked apartment), I have had a lot of time in my hands of late. So I decided to cull through the clutter in my room to see what I'd need and what I'd better throw away before mom does so.

Mom has a particular funda. She believes that one must get rid of all the things one no longer needs. For the more you have, the more you tend to forget which thing has been kept where. Not that I disagree with her. Still, it’s very difficult to sift through 25 years’ worth of things. Plus there are so many things that you’d never really need, yet keeping them keeps so many memories alive. My report cards since 1984 are still kept in order. And so are the family snaps. My nani perhaps even has every piece of paper I’d scribbled on as a kid. Even the wells and the mangoes and the flowers I’d draw then.

Now room cleaning is easier said than done. For every article tucked away in the hinterlands of the cupboard would have some old memories attached to it. No wonder even after 4 days of backbreaking effort (and my room is no more than 10 ft by 12 ft, I assure you), I've been unable to finish off. Knee deep in dust and grime and sweat, my sleeves rolled up to show off my biceps, an elastic band (in vain) trying to fix up the unruly strands of my hair, I've tried hard to decide what to take and what to leave. For my airline is not going to allow me anymore than some 56 kg in all to carry. And apart from books and warm clothes and numerous other essentials, I don't think there are many a “fond memories” I'd be allowed to carry with such a weight limit.

Little did I wonder that my small room would be housing so many stuffs I’ve never bothered to see for quite some time now. It was like opening the proverbial Pandora’s box, when one thing led to the discovery of another, and that is exactly how it has been going the last few days.

I have a huge collection of greeting cards collected over a period of 10 years or so. Those were the days of Archies cards and slam books. I went through them one by one, wondering where are these people and what are they doing now. For I’ve lost contacts with most. Needless to say, most of them had to be thrown in the bin (though I’d have loved to keep them, yet I cannot).

Then came another box filled with letters. These were mainly from school friends when I left school. I once again wondered what amount of time and patience we used to have then, sending hand written letters and then waiting for weeks to get a reply. Perhaps technology has killed all suspense in our life. These days if you write an email, you wouldn’t really have to wait for weeks to get a response. Still, I am too lazy to even write my name at the end of the email. A person would obviously get to know it from the sender’s name. Yet those were the days when I’d run down the steps on the ringing of the doorbell, waiting eagerly for the postman to hand me the envelope and then try to identify the person from the handwriting.

I have a huge collection of shells. This perhaps includes all kinds of shells, conch shells, normal shells, designer shells (he he, I coined the term), spiral shells, comb shaped shells, fan shaped shells. I’ve had them collected from whatever places I’ve visited. Not only that, there are many collected from the beaches of Europe too. It is so fascinating, going through them again and again and marveling at the designs. Strangely, no two designs are the same. Perhaps I’ll need to carry this bit with me. I just cannot think of the idea of parting with them.

One more thing I’ll have to carry is my huge collection of snaps, right from my school days. There are 3 large albums and 7 small albums filled with them. These are not just pieces of paper, these are the flavors of my life, my childhood, my school days, my college days. How different I used to look then. I’ll put up some of the snaps with an account of the hilarious incidents associated with them (like I did with the petrol pump post). Just give me some time to get into the mood.

Clothes and books are perhaps the two things I’d hate to part with. For every piece of garment I possess is very precious to me. Right after school, I got into the habit of earning to see me through college. And every pair of denim, every top, every shoe was bought saving up money. I am the typical kanjoos as far as donating clothes are concerned. There are stuffs I’ve been wearing over the last 10 years or so. The colors fade, the designs change, yet I never really get rid of a particular dress till mom forcibly gives it to the maid/washerwoman or deliberately uses it to wipe the dining table.

The same goes with the books. Of course I’ve been trying to get rid of most of my books (since they date way back since I was in Std.VI). I’ve been donating them or selling them off at throwaway prices these days, since once I am gone, the books would naturally be of no use to anyone. I wonder what I’d do with the huge collection of story books I have amassed over the years. Thrillers, novels, classics, prizes given by the school and won during the Durga Pujas. I love the smell of books. How I'd hate to part with them.

I found a particular greeting card not dated long back that caught my attention. Inside it was written in small, neat words,

“Wish you and *** all the very best in life. May you two be together soon.”

This one particularly brought tears in my eyes (and made me weep for some 10 minutes), since the wishes now stand defunct. There is nothing to be together anymore. It’s all over. I simply crushed it into a ball with all my force and threw it in the dustbin. When this did not make me happy, I picked it up, tore it up into pieces, and flung it off the balcony.

But then, I found another hand written note (this one was not a greeting card) that made my day. It read like this-

Whoever said food scarcity in the third world countries is due to population problems and other economical problems is damn wrong. For you need to look into the food habits of sunshine to realize this. She is the one behind food scarcity.

Keep hogging sunshine, for that’s when you look the prettiest, with food stuffed in your mouth (thankfully that prevents you from talking too).

This was accompanied by a box of chocolates. Of course the chocolates are all gone, but the box still remains. And so do the memories.

Such friends I have.

sunshine.