A Sanskrit saying says "KALAYA TASMAI NAMAHA", meaning everything is enslaved by time; everything changes with time; nothing is eternal. Writing this post on my blog, I exclaim "How true!!". One of my recent experiences did change my outlook towards life - until which I strongly believed that though times change, people with who I have grown up shall remain the same; the equation between those people and me shall never change. No wonder great souls have said that life is the greatest teacher and that man is a constant learner throughout life. You can always take home positives from the darkest of situations(something which Dhoni says after each and every defeat - whether he does, it's a question mark!!).
It had been a very long time - 6-7 months - since we schoolmates met. This time we did for a cricket match. Just to rekindle that on-field rivalry between the teams. Off-field, we are all great friends - or so we pretend to be! I thought 'Let me observe as I play. Maybe, I shall get something to write'. Initially, I thought none of us have changed - we still stuck to the habit of running late!! As usual, everybody gathered around an hour late. The first change I saw was that we - who greeted each other with bear hugs - had suddenly become formal and the greeting was through handshakes - as though we had met for a business meeting to close deals!! It is just 5 months into college and we have changed so much!
It seemed like we have aged years; grown old; have lost out our youth..... Yes. Egos seemed to have crept in from nowhere. Nobody seems to listen to the other....Each has his own way....And I wondered if were playing as a team at all....Months ago we were all working as a team to inflict defeat on the opponent and now....We seemed to be willing to outshine our own team mates - even at the cost of the game itself!
Also, the bodies seemed to have rusted in the long gap. Maybe due to lack of time after entering college, maybe due to the change of priorities on entering college - whatever the reason is, it was indeed difficult to perform like the OLDEN DAYS - the body just didn't co-operate.
As we sat in a huddle after the game, I saw new persons in everyone. They seemed to have matured so much within those 6-7 months. Have they really grown up? Or is it a change in me that makes them look different? You never know...Because even I am affected by time. All my BUDDIES appeared to have built high fortresses of ego around themselves. They wanted to be different. At the same time, I noticed a self within themselves craving to break free and return back to the (G)OLDEN DAYS. They wanted to talk like the earlier days, wanted to use their favorite slangs - which to a certain extent they did. Yet, something seemed to stop them.
Sitting here, writing, a question crops at the back of my mind - "Did we really want to change? Or is it that we were forced to change by the ever moving currents and tides of time?". All we can do is to hope. Hope that things once again return to the way they were. After all, a great soul has said "The wings of hope carry us, soaring above the driving winds of life." The self within me asks if I have learnt anything at all from this experience.... Ah! Yes I have.... Life is never the same.... As I have heard someone say - change is the only constant!!!
